Chapter 64: Those with a Twist (3)

“Grrrgh—!”

With Jade’s vigorous shout, the plow began to dig into the earth as it turned the soil forward.

Jade plowed about twenty meters that way.

Perhaps because he was using muscles different from usual training, he looked a little exhausted.

“Not easy, is it?”

At Raion’s question, Jade stretched his legs before loosening the arms that had been pulling the rope.

“Phew—! It’s more exhausting than I expected. Especially since it doesn’t move forward easily, it’s even tougher.”

“Alright! Did you all see that? The soldiers will work in pairs of two—one pulls the plow, and the other tills the soil with a hoe!”

Raion shouted to the soldiers who were just standing there, blankly watching.

Of course, the soldiers murmured among themselves instead of responding, too busy glancing at one another.

“Quit standing around! Move!”

At his loud command, the startled soldiers hurriedly began to move.

“I forgot to mention something important. The field we’re cultivating now will later be rented only to residents who need farmland. Taxes will be paid with the harvest, and you’ll only need to give twenty percent of it.”

At that explanation, the soldiers’ reactions completely changed.

It was an incredibly generous condition.

That meant a soldier’s family could rent farmland and make a living from the crops.

One soldier cautiously raised a question.

“S-sir, is that really true? Anyone can rent land outside the castle?”

“I promise it on my name. As long as they’re residents of the territory, it doesn’t matter. Of course, that means you’ll need to work hard from now on, right?”

Leaving those words behind, Raion led ten senior knights toward the forest at the end of the field.

It was a safe area, recently cleared of monsters.

“What do you plan to do here?”

Since Jade stayed behind with the soldiers, the Knight Commander, Alkas, stepped forward to accompany Raion.

“What else? We came to train.”

“Train, sir?”

“From now on, all of you will try to escape from me in this forest.”

“What kind of training is that?”

“Let’s call it… guerrilla warfare training.”

Of course, it was a term unheard of on the Phalon Continent.

Alkas and the knights couldn’t quite understand what he meant.

“Jade went through this training before. Just try running away for now! Oh, and every time you get caught, you’ll have to run all the way back to the farmland we were just at, and then return here.”

It was easily a kilometer from the castle gate to the forest.

Running that far back and forth was no easy task.

“What kind of—”

“The important thing is, I won’t be using my hands when I catch you.”

Raion opened a storage shed and pulled out a wooden rod about a meter long.

“You mean… you’ll hit us with that?”

“When you get caught by the enemy, you’ll die. Keep that in mind while running.”

Whoosh!

The rod cut through the air sharply in his hand.

At that sight, Alkas looked flustered.

“You’re not going to… infuse it with aura, are you?”

“That depends on how well you all run. If you run properly, you’ll live. If not, well, you’ll die.”

At that moment, a chilling murderous aura began to seep out from Raion’s entire body.

Alkas and the knights had no choice but to believe he was serious.

“Well then, shall we begin? I’ll start counting to thirty, and then I’ll come for you. One… two… three…”

As he spoke, Raion began counting out loud.

“Move! Quickly!”

Alkas shouted loudly.

The knights, tense and nervous, dashed into the forest in haste.

And when the count reached thirty—Raion’s figure sliced through the wind.

Shuaaaak!

Moments later, dull thuds and screams echoed from deep within the forest.

That was the day the infamous “Hellish Tag Training” of the knight order was born.

Dozens of days passed in the blink of an eye.

Raion felt satisfied as he inspected the expanded farmlands and the production levels of goods from Theron Village.

Of course, he also found some problems.

“So, you’re saying that some of the soldiers—those who used to be mercenaries or adventurers—are feeling dissatisfied with the farm work?”

Standing before Raion was Jen, who had once been an adventurer before becoming a soldier.

Because he was well-known and respected among adventurers, Raion had appointed him as the overseer of the farmland expansion project, in Jade’s stead.

“It seems that’s the case, since they’re used to earning a living through monster hunts or guild requests.”

It wasn’t a wrong statement.

They hadn’t originally taken root in Kanas, so it was natural they lacked attachment to the land.

That was a point Raion hadn’t considered.

“How skilled are they, roughly?”

“They range from C-rank to E-rank.”

“There were even C-ranks who enlisted as soldiers?”

C-rank mercenaries or adventurers were considered to possess considerable skill.

Among ordinary soldiers, that would be equivalent to the rank of a squad or platoon leader.

Given that Jen had even been a party leader, it was only natural that he felt dissatisfied.

“There aren’t many—around twenty or so.”

“That’s a manageable number. Then I’ll have them trained separately—together with the knights.”

“When you say the knights, do you mean… the ones doing that in the western forest?”

Since the knights’ training had begun, all kinds of rumors had been spreading among the soldiers.

After all, the knights returned battered and bruised at the end of every training day.

“That’s right.”

“Will they even accept that? Some of them might desert.”

As a Centurion, Jen seemed to feel a sense of responsibility.

“I’ll promote them from regular soldiers to Centurions like you. I’ll inform Alkas about their transfer.”

“Understood. Then I’ll take my leave.”

As Jen opened the door and stepped out, Patrick entered right after him.

Seeing him, Raion turned his attention back.

“How’s the Sling Unit’s training coming along?”

Because Patrick had once looked down on Dike and Monica, Raion had deliberately assigned him to lead the unit himself.

Though quite some time had passed since then, Patrick had faithfully assisted Raion and continued to train them.

“They’re starting to get the hang of it, and improving steadily each day.”

“That’s good to hear. And have you made contact with the Eye of the Moon?”

“Well… it seems things have gotten noisy over there lately.”

The Eye of the Moon didn’t have a branch in Kanas.

Because of that, the funds sent by Fordman were transferred indirectly through Filat Village, after paying quite a hefty sum.

Each time, they managed to exchange brief updates.

“What’s going on?”

“According to information from Regina at the Royal Capital branch, an executive at the Hasein branch of the Eye of the Moon is targeting the distribution of our goods.”

“That’s… unexpected.”

The Eye of the Moon was a strictly disciplined intelligence organization.

It was well-known for never touching its clients’ assets or funds—one of the reasons people willingly paid a high price to use their services.

“It seems an ill wind is starting to blow.”

If such a notorious underground intelligence group were to lose its credibility, the damage would be catastrophic.

Of course, the products Raion had created were spreading throughout the Phalon Continent, generating tremendous profit.

Naturally, since those funds were moved through the Eye of the Moon, it wasn’t surprising that greedy individuals had begun to covet them.

“I suppose I’ll have to take some action.”

“I’ll go and handle it personally.”

“And how do you plan to resolve it?”

“Considering the meaning behind sending us such information, I think Regina is asking for our help. I’ll go assess the situation first, then act accordingly.”

At Patrick’s answer, Raion pondered briefly before speaking.

“Do as you see fit. If it’s confirmed that the Eye of the Moon has fractured, you can bring that Regina woman over to our side. Once she’s with us, we’ll support her fully in whatever she needs.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Then I’ll go make preparations at once. I’ve already given training instructions to the Sling Unit and left command with the deputy leader.”

The deputy leader Patrick referred to was Derek, the right-hand man of Calsios from the Red Sand Mercenary Corps.

He was a swordsman with decent archery skills, which was why Patrick had specifically appointed him as deputy.

“Handle it as you will.”

“I’ll return to prepare, then.”

“Ah!”

“Yes, my lord?”

“If things don’t go your way… you can raise a bit of hell.”

At that, Patrick gave a faint grin and exited the room.

Left alone, Raion recalled the rapidly changing circumstances around him.

For now, since the Royal Capital didn’t know the exact situation in Kanas, it would likely remain quiet for a while.

Besides, since they had already laid the groundwork, if Raion tried to return after two years, they would definitely try to stop him.

Of course, Raion had no intention of going back.

Because the very center of his incomparable plan was here, in Kanas.

“It doesn’t matter who does what elsewhere… but getting the Eye of the Moon into my hands—that’s something else entirely.”

Information was power in any part of the world.

The Eye of the Moon knew that well, which was why it had expanded its influence so widely.

But now, that very organization was starting to shake at its foundation.

For Raion, it could become a tremendous opportunity.

Queen Elina of the Canel Kingdom turned pale at the news delivered through the Dagger of Darkness.

“You’re saying there’s been no contact at all with the assassins sent after the prince?”

At her question, Feian, who stood before her, couldn’t lift his head.

An enraged Elina hurled a nearby iron ornament, striking him on the head.

Clang—!

Feian didn’t dodge.

Blood trickled down from the cut on his forehead.

“My apologies.”

“Are you sure you hired the right people? You said it was guaranteed! And this is the result? Don’t tell me they just took the down payment and vanished?”

Still unable to believe the situation, Elina threw out one suspicion after another.

But Feian sighed at her words.

“The man named Aiden of the Night Ogre Mercenaries is a renowned fighter, said to be close to a Sword Master’s level. Even in Hasein, there’s no one capable of handling him—that’s why we hired him. He’s never once broken a contract.”

Originally, they were to meet at the agreed location a few days ago to pay the remaining balance.

Of course, the Dagger of Darkness had planned to ambush Aiden and his men there, erasing them completely.

But days had passed since then, and Aiden never showed up.

“Could it be he simply hasn’t completed the mission yet? There’s been no word from the Kanas Territory either.”

“If that were the case, he would’ve contacted us to extend the contract period—or at least sent a messenger hawk.”

At Feian’s report, Elina’s sense of unease deepened further.

Then, someone knocked on the door.

Knock, knock!

“Prime Minister Duke Alito Kright seeks an audience with Her Majesty the Queen.”

At the servant’s voice, Elina’s frown deepened.

“Let him in.”

At her command, the door opened, and Duke Alito entered the room.

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