Chapter 58: What’s Needed to Overturn the Foundation (3)

The members of the Red Sand Mercenary Corps standing behind Calsios began to murmur.

They couldn’t help but be surprised—it was a proposal from Raion, the very man they had tried to kill.

“What do you think? You’ll be treated properly as knights. Of course, you’ll have a stable income, and I’ll help you become stronger than you are now.”

“Are you saying we should serve you as our master?”

“How you serve me is up to you. But I also need a reason to make you stronger.”

Calsios thought for a moment, just as he had back with Alkas, then turned around.

Alongside Derek, the mercenaries of the Red Sand under his command answered him with firm expressions full of determination.

That alone was enough for Calsios to know their answer.

“Will we be able to become as strong as you?”

“That depends on your resolve. Still, if you’re worried, should I remind you of my strength again?”

Shrrring…

Raion slightly drew the sword hanging from his waist.

Calsios vividly recalled the memory of Raion’s strength during their fight in the forest.

“No. I think I’ve experienced it enough.”

“Then it’d be better to start by changing the way you speak.”

From the beginning, Calsios had been speaking informally to Raion.

Even Jade, standing beside them, seemed displeased and was glaring at Calsios.

“Understood, Your Highness.”

“Instead of that title, call me Master.”

After saying that, Raion turned his gaze toward Patrick.

At some point, Patrick had already tidied up the chair and table Raion had been sitting at.

“Patrick, prepare a place for them to stay.”

“Yes, Master. Also, Dike came by earlier saying the prototype has been completed.”

“Really? Got it. I’ll head there right away. You all will follow Patrick’s lead from now on. Also, follow the orders of Alkas, the Knight Commander. If the hierarchy gets messy, Jade will sort it out.”

After giving his instructions to those in front of him, Raion headed toward the annex of the mansion.

There were several rooms there that Lord Shtefan had arranged for Raion’s people.

Entering the annex, Raion opened Dike’s door.

“You said the prototype of the item we discussed earlier is complete?”

“You’re here? I also tried making a few other things!”

Dike, her sky-blue hair fluttering, guided him to a table placed to one side of the room.

On top of it were neatly made yellow-brown bricks, a slingshot—also called a sling—and a foot-operated water pump, the kind only seen in rural areas on Earth.

The bricks were made according to a synthesis combination formula Raion had personally given her.

As for the slingshot and pump, Dike could easily build them as long as she had the blueprints and materials.

Raion picked up one of the bricks as he examined the items.

Tok tok—!

He tapped it lightly with his finger; the hardness wasn’t bad at all.

If they could produce these in sufficient quantities, the architecture of the Kanas Territory would undergo a significant transformation.

Especially since they would no longer need to carve out rocks or clumsily pile up mud.

“Not bad.”

“When I lowered the viscosity a bit from the method you taught me, it became easier to mold and harden the bricks!”

He had intentionally only taught her the method of making bricks.

Yet Dike had taken several steps further, even developing her own applied techniques.

“Good work. So, what material did you use for this slingshot?”

“I used a steel handle and the dried tendon of an ogre. It has the best elasticity. But… the cost comes out to a little over two gold per piece.”

Dike seemed a bit intimidated, worried about that part.

Ogres were classified as A-rank monsters, and their tendons were rare and valuable materials.

“That’s quite an expensive price.”

Considering this weapon was meant for regular soldiers, that was quite costly.

“If we use orc tendons instead, the power will drop a little, but it’s still not bad.”

“Let’s see.”

Raion picked up the slingshot made from ogre tendon. He opened the warehouse, took out a lump of steel, and used Formation (形成) to shape it into a steel pellet.

Hooking the pellet onto the center of the ogre tendon, he drew it back.

Paaak—!

When he released the fully drawn tendon, the pellet shot out at tremendous speed and pierced straight through the wall.

If that had been a person, their torso would’ve been blown through.

“This might require too much strength.”

The problem was brute force.

Only someone like Raion could pull it back—ordinary people wouldn’t even be able to try.

To make it usable for normal soldiers, the tension had to be much lower, even if the power decreased.

“Let’s try with the orc tendon.”

“Here you go.”

Raion replaced it with the orc tendon Dike handed over.

He hooked the steel pellet onto the new tendon, drew it back, and released it.

Paaak—!

This time, it didn’t pierce the wall but embedded itself into it instead.

The power was slightly less than with the ogre tendon, but still a satisfying result.

“This will do.”

They had already finished exterminating the orcs previously, so there was a plentiful supply of tendons.

They had not yet disposed of the materials, so using those, they could produce quite a number of slingshots.

“If we add a loop here, we could hook an arrow onto it and shoot as well.”

It was something known in modern times as a slingbow.

Dike had applied the same kind of creative thinking she used for the bricks and cement and came up with the idea.

“That’s good too. Try making one.”

Now, only the final item remained.

The foot-operated water pump—something commonly used in modern rural areas—was, in this world where wells were the norm, the most desperately needed.

“I tried making it, but I’m not sure if the water will actually come up. We’ll have to test it ourselves.”

“Let’s do that.”

Raion went out to the lord’s manor well together with Dike.

Of course, Patrick, who had been waiting outside, followed after them.

They set a prepared copper pipe into the well and installed the wooden cover and the foot pump.

Once everything was ready, Patrick stepped forward and began to move the pump handle.

Creak! Creak!

After a few loud noises, water began to gush out of the pump’s spout.

“Master, it works! This is extremely convenient. As long as there’s groundwater, anyone can easily draw water with this.”

“Doesn’t it require too much strength?”

If the pump handle was too stiff, women might have trouble using it.

“It’s manageable. Even Miss Monica should be able to handle it alone.”

“Good. At this level, we can install these all over the Kanas Territory without issue.”

Now, the items needed for the territory were being completed one by one.

Not long after, large public notices were posted throughout the Lord’s Castle of Kanas and nearby villages within the territory.

The contents of the announcement were very simple.

[Recruitment of Soldiers and Laborers in the Kanas Territory]

Soldier — Monthly Salary: 220 Gold

Laborer — Monthly Salary: 190 Gold

— Subject to change depending on position

— Preference given to those with experience in the field

Recruitment Location: Kanas Castle Employment Agency

The average salary of a soldier was around 200 gold. In Kanas, which had been suffering from financial difficulties, even 170 gold was hard to achieve.

Moreover, Kanas suffered constant attacks from monsters, and soldiers stationed at the outer posts risked their lives every single day.

Considering such harsh conditions, 220 gold was an extraordinarily generous offer.

Laborers were also being recruited on the basis of steady, guaranteed income.

Naturally, within days, massive crowds gathered at the Kanas Castle Employment Agency.

Of course, they did not hand out jobs without screening.

Only those with experience or firm resolve for dangerous work were accepted as soldiers.

Those who failed the soldier examination were recommended for laborer positions instead.

In front of the employment agency stood a carriage marked with a distinctive insignia.

Inside, Raion and Shtefan were seated, speaking to one another.

“Is it truly all right to recruit soldiers in this manner?”

Shtefan, watching the employment agency bustling for the third consecutive day, couldn’t help but worry.

“Are you concerned that the operational funds of the territory—secured from the confiscated property of Conrad—will soon run out?”

“Well, that too… but there’s no reason to recruit that many soldiers to maintain them.”

Up until now, the existing knights and soldiers had protected the territory well from monsters.

Furthermore, surrounded by mountains and sea, they were safe from invasions by other territories or foreign nations.

As lord, Shtefan saw no urgent need to expand the army.

However, Raion had a different plan in mind.

“Kanas must be equipped with forces strong enough to withstand any threat from now on.”

“Are you expecting a war to break out?”

Since the nations on the Phalon Continent had settled into place, peace had been maintained for a long time.

Because of the peace treaty led by the Dior Empire, no country dared to provoke another unless it wished to become a ‘common enemy.’

“War may happen someday. But for now, the troops are necessary to secure stability within the territory. As for the lack of funds, I’ll take care of that myself—no need to worry.”

Previously, Raion had provided a massive sum of 3,000 gold for the monster subjugation.

That money had been properly distributed to the mercenaries and adventurers who participated.

“What exactly are you planning?”

“It’s a grand plan. Ah, and soon, we’ll also subjugate the Sellios Dungeon and the Sea Serpent Nest.”

Shtefan was startled by those words.

“That is absolutely out of the question! You have no idea what those two places are like!”

“Of course I know. I’ve done my research.”

The Sellios Dungeon and the Sea Serpent Nest were dangerous regions located to the west and north seas of the Kanas Territory.

The Sea Serpent Nest, as its name implied, was a large habitat of Sea Serpents, B-rank monsters.

Even worse was the island in the western sea—Sellios Dungeon.

A dungeon referred to a specific area inhabited solely by monsters.

In other words, the Sellios Dungeon was an island teeming with completely uncharted monsters.

Because of that, Kanas’s sea routes had been cut off by these two hazardous areas, making sea travel impossible.

“If you know, then you should understand you cannot do this! We’ve occasionally commissioned adventurers and mercenaries to investigate those places, but no one accepts—and even those who went in the past never came back! How could Your Highness possibly think of going there!”

As the lord, Shtefan had a duty to protect the prince.

Naturally, he could never allow the prince to risk his life in such a dangerous place.

“For the development of Kanas, those places must be cleared.”

“They’re impossible regions!”

“Then do you plan to abandon sea trade forever?”

“We can’t just send people to their deaths in an impossible place!”

Shtefan had heard about Raion’s strength from Alkas, but even so, he couldn’t simply approve a reckless expedition into a region where countless others had perished.

Thus, Shtefan’s expression grew more serious than ever before.

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