Chapter 87: Joining Forces Again
The wrecked hall and outer courtyard had been quickly tidied up by the servants.
The spoils of war from the morning’s battle were piled in an empty space near the kitchen.
Ralph was reporting the detailed figures.
"With this victory, we’ve slain a total of 113 Frog Fish Monsters. Sharp Knife, our butcher, estimates we can harvest roughly three thousand pounds of meat from them."
Three thousand pounds of edible meat—this was a very nice haul.
Duane ordered, "Reward each of the Guards who participated in the operation with ten pounds of meat, and each member of the Militia with three. Use some for Cooking over the next few days, and store the rest."
At the same time, he found himself wondering, ’Is this Frog Fish Monster a frog, or a fish?’
’If it counts as a fish, I wonder if I can use it to make Delicious Fish Soup?’
Unfortunately, he still had no leads on Vigorous Grass; otherwise, he would have definitely run an experiment.
Besides the Demon Beast Meat, the spoils also included the spears wielded by the Frog Fish Monsters, which would come in handy for the siege.
As for the Hemp Rope Nets, they would probably be more useful dismantled into rope.
"Sharp Knife, be careful when you’re skinning them. Alternatively, you could find Yanger and Zuona and get their advice. Make sure to keep the Frog Fish Monsters’ scales as intact as possible."
All those scales would be enough to make several sets of Soft Armor.
"Yes, Baron. I’ll be careful."
As a recruited Slaughter Master, Sharp Knife was about to have his hands full.
Before long, Kubatu of the Broken Wave Gang arrived with a message: Bard was ready to coordinate an attack on the Holy Hand Association at any time.
Duane hadn’t expected Bard to make a move before his injuries had fully healed.
Wary that delays could breed new problems, he decided to give Kaelon three days to prepare.
They would set out on the morning of the twenty-fifth, arrive outside Daniels’s castle at nine, and then launch their attack.
"My lord, Bard is being very eager. Does he truly see Daniels as a mortal enemy, or is this a trap?"
A slight smile played on Duane’s lips. "We might just find out soon."
Before, when Hardy was his only spy, Duane had worried about being betrayed again.
But now, with Simone as his safety net, he wasn’t worried about being deceived.
"There are twenty sets of Cloth Armor and six sets of Light Armor in the warehouse, along with Two-Handed Swords, One-Handed Swords, and Shields. Go get them from Ralph and distribute them to the Militia."
The performance of the Militia in the morning’s battle had been truly pathetic, so Duane decided to give them an upgrade.
"Tell them the gear is just on loan for now and must be returned after the battle. Of course, if they perform well, I wouldn’t be opposed to letting them keep it as a reward."
These militiamen had passed through two rounds of selection; they all had potential worth cultivating.
Duane believed that great rewards would attract brave men.
"Inform them that if they die in battle, their families will be freed from serfdom. Furthermore, their families will receive an annual subsidy of six hundred pounds of grain for the next five years."
Being freed from serfdom meant they would have to pay fewer taxes.
And the grain subsidy would ensure that if the man of the house died, his family wouldn’t starve.
This arrangement once again earned Duane Raymond’s admiration.
Many who risked their lives for the Nobility, especially those from the lower classes, feared that if they truly died in service, they would receive nothing in return.
Having knocked around in the army for many years, Raymond had seen this sort of thing happen far too often.
It could be said that when it came to treating his subordinates, Duane was even better than Carter.
"I believe that with your generous promises, they will definitely fight to the death!"
Duane smiled faintly. ’If you want a horse to run, you can’t just give it grass; you have to give it a reason to gallop.’
The Militia currently only had about thirty men, which was admittedly a small number.
But at this stage, quality was more important than quantity.
Take the morning’s battle, for example. The Holy Hand Association and the Broken Wave Gang had suffered far greater losses than Duane.
According to Duane’s plan, he would first properly train these thirty militiamen and then move on to a second batch.
A typical city of thirty thousand people would have a standing army of 300 to 500 soldiers, with more in border regions.
Although Black Forest Island faced the threat of Demon Beasts, its people were impoverished. Raising such a large force in the short term was out of the question.
Duane would be doing well if he could first raise a company of one hundred soldiers, and then form a reserve unit of one hundred militiamen.
...
Under the moonlight, Bard and Gaius darted through the woods, having changed their clothes. They were headed for Broken Wave Bay.
It wasn’t a well-traveled path, but having lived on Black Forest Island for many years, both men knew the mountain forests like the back of their hands.
Before long, they arrived at the eastern slope above Broken Wave Bay. After covering their faces with cloth masks, they moved at top speed toward Daniels’s castle.
The castle’s drawbridge was already raised, a clear sign of high alert.
Figures moved along the top of the walls—patrolling Guards.
Gaius observed, "It seems Simone has already relayed the message. Daniels intends to defend the castle to the last man."
Bard scoffed. "If we really attack, how long can he possibly hold out?"
Just then, a sharp voice barked from the walls, "Who goes there?"
Bard said nothing. Gaius called out, "Have Daniels or Uleir come out. We have business with them."
"Hah! You think you can just summon them on demand? Have you forgotten where you—"
BOOM!
Bard threw a punch, and a projection of his Fighting Qi slammed into the wall right beside the guard, instantly silencing him.
"Don’t test my patience!"
The guard didn’t dare say another word and immediately scrambled down from the wall to report.
Soon, Uleir rode out on horseback and stopped on the other side of the drawbridge.
He was extremely tense, thinking the Baron’s men had arrived to attack.
When he saw there were only two people, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Who are you?"
Bard gave a cold chuckle. "Don’t you recognize my voice?"
Uleir’s eyes widened. "You..."
"Cut the crap, Uleir. If you don’t want to die, take me to see Daniels."
Facing the former subordinate who had betrayed him, Bard’s expression was anything but pleasant.
"Don’t overthink it," he added. "After all, it’s just the two of us."
Uleir hesitated for a long moment, but ultimately, he didn’t give the order to lower the drawbridge.
"Wait here. I’m going to inform Daniels."
He spurred his horse and galloped back into the castle.
"What a lecherous coward!" Bard cursed.
Another ten minutes passed during this delay.
Just as Bard was getting impatient enough to leave, Daniels finally appeared with Uleir and Simone in tow.
"Ha, an honored guest, are we?"
Daniels sneered, "What, did you come to reminisce about the good old days before attacking my castle?"
"Enough with the pleasantries, Daniels," Bard said. "This isn’t the place to talk. Lower the bridge."
Daniels didn’t waste any more time and had the drawbridge lowered. At last, the group was inside the castle.
"Spit it out. What do you want?" Daniels demanded.
Bard hated looking at the constant, hypocritical smile on Daniels’s face.
But he had no choice but to join forces with the man.
"Did you know? We’ve both been played!"
He explained in a low voice, relaying the intelligence he’d received from Broo.
Uleir was the first to react. "That damn Baron! He’s been running us in circles!"
Daniels sneered. "The Nobility are all treacherous, regardless of their age."
Simone remained silent throughout, which was typical of him.
But he sighed inwardly. ’These idiots probably have no idea that the Baron predicted Bard’s betrayal long ago and has already made preparations.’
Daniels looked at Bard, already knowing why he was here.
"So you’re here because you want to use the Baron’s attack on me as a chance for us to join forces and eliminate him?"
"Of course!"
Bard didn’t hide it in the slightest. "This Baron has been using his schemes to win people over. We can’t wait for him to grow any stronger. This is our best chance!"
"Good, I agree!"
Daniels agreed. He was already backed into a corner, so he naturally wouldn’t pass up a chance to turn the tables.
"What do you need me to do?" he asked.
Bard smiled. "First, I need you to heal my injuries. Then, I need a Sauce Meat Fruit."
Daniels laughed. "What’s this? I thought you hated these things. Didn’t you make a special point of reporting me to the Baron over them?"
"Heh. I never said I hated them."
Without any hesitation, Daniels pulled a small box from his pocket and tossed it to Bard.
"That’s the last one. Eating it isn’t a guaranteed breakthrough, but it might help with your injury."
As he spoke, he began to cast Magic to help Bard’s injury heal.
"So, what’s your plan?" he asked while performing the healing.
"It’s simple!"
Bard basked in the warmth of the Magic, the pain in his right shoulder already starting to subside.
"I’ll pretend to cooperate with the Baron as he breaks into your castle, and then I’ll betray him. You’ll attack from the front, I’ll hit him from the back, and he’ll have nowhere to run!"
"Hahaha~"
Daniels burst out laughing. "That’s exactly what I was thinking!"