Knight: Becoming King of the World

These places seemed to possess a special power that could attract or even generate Inferior Horned Beasts.

This discovery excited Henry. He knew this might be the key to finding the source of the Inferior Horned Beasts.

He decided to personally lead his army to conduct a deep reconnaissance of these special areas.

So, that day, Henry went and found Ratifa while she was playing in the snow, telling her his idea to venture into these areas and explaining his reasoning.

Ratifa stood frozen, her mind filled with the information Henry had just given her, unable to process it all at once.

Her eyes were wide, as if she was suffering from information overload from the sudden intelligence.

She remained dazed in the snow for a long time before gradually coming to her senses and starting to slowly mull over Henry’s words.

When she finally understood what Henry was saying, Ratifa grew uneasy.

She felt a hint of resistance. The thought of a massive army of Inferior Horned Beasts suddenly appearing in those special regions made her heart pound with anxiety.

It reminded her of the day Henry had frantically slaughtered the Inferior Horned Beasts. That scene was seared into her memory like a brand, and whenever she recalled it, she could almost smell the thick stench of blood.

Ratifa shook her head. She didn’t want to experience a battle like that again.

Her Personal Guard had already suffered heavy casualties, and the soldiers’ morale had taken a hit. They had already sacrificed too many people.

Her Personal Guard was in no condition to support her in continuing the fight.

Originally, she had a Personal Guard of eight hundred Heavy Armor Infantry. Although their combat effectiveness wasn’t outstanding compared to Henry’s army, and they weren’t a decisive force on the battlefield, they were still a respectable contingent.

But now, with her Personal Guard’s numbers cut in half, they had been relegated to a support role, which was a blow to her pride.

Furthermore, Henry had recently taken the initiative to give her a portion of his grain, replenishing her nearly depleted military supplies.

However, as a Count—and the wealthiest Count in the Northern Lands at that—accepting such a handout made her extremely uncomfortable.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her emotions. As the leader of a fief, she couldn’t let personal feelings affect her decisions.

Ratifa finally spoke, her voice a little hoarse. "Henry, your discovery is important, but... we can’t act blindly."

’Huh??? Weren’t you the one who was so anxious for an answer yesterday? Am I hallucinating? This must be a plot by Jianqi.’

"Then what do you have in mind?"

"Send a letter to the Prince. Have the Prince dispatch troops to garrison these areas."

Henry was completely bewildered. How could she pass up a "golden opportunity" like this to camp the enemy’s spawn point?

"Ratifa, if those places can really spawn armies of Inferior Horned Beasts, we’ll be rich!

We can rotate our troops to train them in combat and hone their Martial Arts. We can also get the heads of Inferior Horned Beasts to demand money from the Prince—that guy’s a real fat cat.

And all that scrap metal on the Inferior Horned Beasts might not look like much, but once it piles up, it’s a huge fortune!"

Ratifa rolled her eyes. ’What is wrong with this man? How is this a good thing?’

’Yes, the heads and equipment of the Inferior Horned Beasts can be exchanged for money, but are they just livestock tied up and waiting to be slaughtered?’

’In battle, people die!’

Ratifa was speechless. Henry trained his troops constantly; did he not know how much energy and money it took to select, recruit, and train soldiers?

’To think he’d be so willing to expend them!’

Ratifa took a deep breath. She decided to stop hiding her true thoughts. If she didn’t want to fight, she didn’t want to fight; there was no need to put on a brave face just for the sake of pride.

"Henry, I don’t want to participate in this battle anymore. My Personal Guard has already suffered heavy losses, and I can’t let them risk their lives again."

Henry was stunned. He hadn’t expected this was what Ratifa was actually thinking.

He had forgotten that for a Count, the loss of four hundred Heavy Armor Infantry was a crippling blow!

Raising four hundred Heavy Armor Infantry was indeed a hugely expensive undertaking. Heavy Armor Infantry required high-quality armor and weapons.

A full suit of heavy armor, including a helmet, Chest Armor, vambraces, and greaves, had to be meticulously crafted and was incredibly expensive.

In addition, they needed weapons like Long Swords, battle-axes, or spears, as well as defensive equipment like shields.

’Even if you scavenge the battlefield after a fight and strip the equipment off the fallen soldiers, doesn’t it cost money to repair it? Do you think this is a game where you just click an option and it’s fixed?’

’Don’t blacksmiths need to be paid? Don’t they eat? Aren’t raw materials free? You don’t have to buy them? Even if you have mines in your fief, doesn’t it cost money to operate them? Don’t the miners need to eat?’

’Even a serf has to eat!’

Besides, not everyone was like Henry, able to use "Overlord Training points" to mass-produce a batch of powerful, loyal soldiers in a single month.

For other nobles, the training period for Heavy Armor Infantry was very long. They needed to master how to fight effectively while wearing heavy armor, which included physical conditioning, weapon skills, tactical drills, and more.

During training, it might also be necessary to hire experienced instructors and tactical advisors, making the training costs comparable to those of a Cavalry unit.

Of course, even after training was complete, maintaining such an army required continuous investment in food, lodging, equipment maintenance, and replacement—all of which cost a damn fortune in energy and Dinars!

If you didn’t want this Heavy Armor Infantry to be a purely ceremonial unit, you had to find ways for them to participate in battle after battle, using the battlefield to sift the wheat from the chaff and select qualified soldiers.

For a Viscount with a prosperous fief, organizing and training a four-hundred-man Heavy Armor Infantry army meant his quality of life would decline by a third for a period of time.

To put it bluntly, the training for Heavy Armor Infantry was so rigorous that it could lead to injury or even death among the soldiers. Excessive recruitment and training would also affect the fief, for instance, by reducing the available labor force.

And Ratifa’s Personal Guard was composed of the best of the best, hand-picked from her entire army.

To lose half of them at once... it was a testament to Ratifa’s strength that she hadn’t broken down crying. It was also possible she cried herself to sleep at night, but he wouldn’t know.

Henry looked at Ratifa’s serious expression and felt strangely unaccustomed to it.

He was used to discussing the war, eating meals, and planning tactics with Ratifa every day. Her sudden decision to leave caught him completely off guard.

"You’re going back to Tiyaer?"

"Yes, I plan to lead my troops back. My soldiers need to rest and recover. Besides, I don’t think we can be of much use here anymore."

Henry fell silent. He knew Ratifa had a point. Her troops were indeed exhausted and needed to recuperate.

But her sudden announcement of her departure left him with a sense of loss, as if a good friend had abruptly left—or even passed away.

"I understand your decision, Ratifa. But are you sure this is what you want?"

Henry believed that although he was responsible for most of the victories in the last two battles, Ratifa still deserved some credit. If she played her cards right and spread the word, she could totally ride his "celebrity" coattails to recruit a batch of Warriors and Wandering Knights.

Ratifa nodded again. "Yes, I’m sure. This war has already claimed too many of my elite soldiers’ lives. I can’t let my people take that risk again."

Henry sighed. "Alright. I’ll arrange for some men to help your troops return safely to Tiyaer. We will always remember your army’s contributions here."

Ratifa gave Henry a grateful look. "Thank you, Henry. I know this decision might have surprised you. By the way, don’t send an escort. You’ll need your soldiers more than I will."

On the day of Ratifa’s departure, Henry stood at the entrance of the camp, watching her leave.

Ratifa glanced back at Henry one last time. She waved, then turned and led her troops on the road home.

Henry remained standing there until Ratifa’s figure disappeared over the horizon.