Chapter 257 - 256: The Underwhelming Alliance Army

News that the Lord would lead the Knight Squad on a campaign had long since spread throughout the Wubei Territory.

Many of the common folk, especially those living in Swamp Town, were worried they would be conscripted for the battlefield.

After all, that was how Baron Reisen had operated. As a Vassal of Wushan Castle, he would answer the call to arms, but that didn’t mean he would send his most elite troops to fight.

When Reisen thought there was a profit to be made, he would send a few more Knights; otherwise, he would send fewer. It seemed that on one occasion, he sent a force led by only three Basic Level Knights.

If he sent few Knights, he would naturally send fewer of his well-trained Cavalry, Infantry, and Archers as well. But to make his force seem larger, Reisen would temporarily conscript Peasant Slaves and poorly trained militia to pad the numbers.

You couldn’t say he didn’t answer the call to arms, as he genuinely sent over a hundred men to fight;

But you couldn’t say he did answer it either, because his troops had no combat effectiveness to speak of.

Given Reisen’s history, it was normal for the people of Swamp Town to have such worries.

However, their worries were clearly unfounded.

Since he didn’t need to worry about logistics, Ronin had no intention of padding his numbers with Peasant Slaves and militia. It was better for them to stay in the territory and handle the autumn harvest, road repairs, and land reclamation—and in their spare time, make more people—than to waste their lives on the battlefield.

Although this was what he thought, it wasn’t how things were publicized in the territory.

The officials, led by Wilson, would tell the public that this was the Lord showing mercy to the common people, unwilling to let the untrained die on the battlefield. It was a sign of the Lord’s benevolence, and so on.

At the same time, they also promoted the justness of Ronin’s campaign, exaggerated the enemy’s wickedness, and explained the dire consequences a defeat would bring to the Wubei Territory.

This would make the common folk feel that the war was relevant to them, that they weren’t just outsiders, while also building up Ronin’s image from another angle.

Of course, this propaganda likely wouldn’t have much of an effect in the short term. Some ignorant Peasant Slaves wouldn’t understand any of it, and some who harbored hostility toward nobles might even pray for Ronin to lose the war.

But with persistent, long-term propaganda, it was bound to be effective. After all, Ronin had indeed allowed them to live in peace, and their lives would only continue to improve.

Take this year’s autumn harvest, for example. When the common folk saw the lush wheat stalks in the fields turning a golden yellow, swaying like waves, they knew it would be a bountiful year.

And this bounty was thanks to the guidance of the village heads and group leaders, and to their own work fertilizing and tending the crops—all of which originated from the Lord.

「The seventh day of the seventh month.」 Ridder had already led the troops out of the Wubei Territory several days ago, but Ronin, with his Giant Dragon, had yet to depart. He didn’t want to waste time traveling on the road.

During this time, he once again rode Carlos to the swamp to inspect the areas he had previously marked.

The fourteen locations suspected of having wild rice shoots had now yielded results.

Nine of them were just ordinary wild grass, but the remaining five were wild rice, growing alongside barnyard grass, with green panicles already sprouting!

Although the scale was small, the discovery greatly excited Ronin. His plan for cultivating rice would be fully implemented in the coming years.

To get a bigger harvest, he dug up the barnyard grass from among the wild rice and transplanted it nearby. The weed hindered the rice’s growth, but it had its uses, so Ronin only moved it instead of pulling it out and discarding it.

He estimated the rice would ripen sometime in mid-to-late August and planned to return then to harvest it.

It was a good thing he had Carlos now. Otherwise, he wouldn’t know how he’d manage to harvest the rice while at the front lines. After all, this place was too far from Swamp Town for Wilson and the others to reach easily.

After dealing with the wild rice, Ronin rushed back to Mountain Forest Castle without stopping.

Knowing the principles of the Papermaking Skill, he went through the steps of pulping, mixing, sheet forming, pressing, and drying, and finally produced the first sheet of paper in this Otherworld.

Although it was a grayish-yellow color and not as nice as white paper, it was clearly fine for writing.

Ronin spent two days teaching Gallon the initial steps of the Papermaking Skill, such as preparing the raw materials and boiling the fibers, so that he could prepare more materials while Ronin was away.

When Ronin returned to Mountain Forest Castle after the war, he could recruit some papermaking artisans and get more people involved in the grand enterprise of papermaking, freeing the territory from the trouble of expensive sheepskin.

After handling these miscellaneous tasks, and seeing that the autumn harvest in the territory was proceeding in an orderly manner, Ronin finally mounted Carlos and left his domain. It wasn’t long before he caught up with the army led by Ridder.

"Lord, you’re finally here!"

Seeing Ronin suddenly emerge from the Forest Land to their side, Ridder wasn’t surprised at all. The soldiers at the rear, however, were very confused. ’Wasn’t the Lord still in the territory? Why is he walking out of the woods?’

"How has it been? Did you encounter any other nobles’ armies along the way?"

"We met the armies from Pasture City and Lake Town."

Ridder replied, "But their supply train is longer than ours, and their marching speed is a bit slower. They’re probably more than ten *li* behind us now."

Ronin nodded. He had indeed seen troops behind them from the air, but he couldn’t get a clear look. Unlike the Wubei Territory’s army, those guys weren’t flying their heraldic banners high.

Ronin looked at Rogner in the ranks and asked, "Rogner, how many men did your father bring this time?"

"As far as I know, it should be a Knight Squad led by Baron Snow."

Baron Snow is Krami’s father and a Silver Knight.

To be able to field a Knight Squad for this war, Viscount Marvin had shown considerable effort.

"Is Baron German leading the contingent from Lake Town?"

"Yes, Lord!"

The one who answered was Macken. He had accompanied Ronin to Lake Town and Wushan Castle and had met the one-armed "lone wolf," Baron German, in person.

"However, his force is smaller than Viscount Marvin’s. I’d estimate five or six Knights, a dozen or so Cavalry, and forty to fifty Infantry."

Although Lake Town is only a Baron’s Domain, its fishing business is good, so German’s family fortune is quite substantial. He should have two Knight Squads under his command.

Ronin frowned slightly. ’To only bring a handful of men... isn’t that a bit too few?’

But at least the Bronze Level Lord was leading them personally. Though the numbers were low, their overall strength probably wasn’t weak. It was acceptable.

"Giant Stone Territory is less than a hundred *li* ahead. We’ll slow our march to conserve the strength and condition of our men and horses."

They also had supplies with them, but not many. Once they reached Giant Stone Territory, Galier would take over.

Because Ronin had slowed their pace, Viscount Marvin and Baron German caught up with their forces on the third day. The winding road was suddenly crowded with people, finally looking like a proper army on the march.

Ronin glanced at their two armies.

The Knight Squad from Pasture City naturally looked a bit higher in quality overall. Their horses and Cavalry were equipped with Iron Armor, but their Infantry and Archers were lacking.

"Uncle Marvin, I think you need to procure some Ironwood Equipment for your Infantry and Cavalry."

Ronin said with a smile.

Marvin and German couldn’t help but turn to look at Ronin’s Knight Squad. After two months of increased production, most of his Infantry were now wearing Zha Armor, looking far more imposing than their own infantry forces.

And, though they weren’t sure if it was just an illusion, both men felt that Ronin’s soldiers were more orderly and disciplined in their movements.

"I asked Rogner just the other day if you were selling any, but you didn’t have any available."

Marvin said with a laugh, "After we get back this time, give me sixty sets of Zha Armor to start. I’ll get my Infantry equipped first."

"Give me sixty sets as well."

Less than half of German’s troops were elites, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to equip the soldiers he hadn’t brought along.

"No problem!"

Ronin replied happily. The war hadn’t even started, and he had already closed two business deals.

The three armies slowly approached Giant Stone Territory, where Ronin encountered more and more noble armies.

But the state of their forces made Ronin’s expression grow increasingly grim.

It turned out that Marvin’s and German’s troops were the best of the lot. The armies brought by the others were completely inadequate.

They were either pathetically small in number or just a mob of disorderly soldiers who couldn’t even stand straight—the kind that clearly had no fighting ability.

Take the nearly bankrupt Baron Kona, for example.

Ronin was touched by his loyalty to Wushan Castle, joining the war even on the brink of bankruptcy.

But his "army," which consisted of only three men including himself, was truly pathetic.

"Viscount Vitorino didn’t come?"

Ronin’s brow furrowed slightly.

Viscount Vitorino of Sharp Horn City was a Silver Knight. With him absent, the Alliance Army was missing one of its high-end fighters.

"Who else is missing?"