Knight and Wand

Chapter 103 Barracks Construction and Training

On the east side of Selva, at the busy logging site, old Brian listened to the creaking sound of trees being chopped down by young men with axes. He looked around and then turned to look at Leon and others.

"Sir, how many soldiers do you need to build for long-term stationing and training?"

"Although I can only maintain a standing staff of thirty people at present, in the foreseeable future, it must be able to accommodate the daily life and training of at least two hundred elite soldiers." After estimating in his mind, Leon gave the old blacksmith a relatively redundant number.

After knowing that the young knight in front of him might be promoted to a higher status, Old Brian is no longer surprised that he will have the need and power to build an army and lead it in the future.

Brian walked towards the river with a limp.

A group of people followed closely behind, even passing by the place where Olivia killed Baron Dawson. They strolled around the woods in the east for a long time before returning to the logging site.

"The area you have envisioned is too small. A long-term barracks is not just a place for soldiers to sleep. Soldiers need more spacious space for training, independent cooking areas, warehouses, stables, medical camps, and defense facilities, outer stake trenches, walls, and arrow towers.
The previous site selection was not ideal. Although it was close to the river, the wind direction was not good."

Old Brian recalled the familiar terrain and the climate of Selva in different seasons over the years. He roughly pointed to the location he suggested for his current lord and gave a rough estimate of the area.

Leon listened carefully to his plan and simply calculated the total area given by Old Brian. The military camp for two hundred soldiers is expected to occupy an area of ​​about 23 acres, which is indeed nearly twice as large as what Leon and Azerien originally envisioned.

".After eliminating the three villages, the remaining 100 or so people will be more than enough for the labor, but the number of construction craftsmen is insufficient. If you want to complete it as soon as possible, it will be too inefficient to rely on only seven or eight carpenters and a few roofers to process materials and assist in construction.

I am afraid that according to what you said, the construction period will definitely not catch up with the subsequent war, and we will have to abandon it halfway. Moreover, not only carpenters, but also stonemasons and livestock for transporting building materials are needed in the current team."

Old Brian explained everything in detail to the young people and also took out a complete construction schedule and estimated expenses.

Olivia couldn't help feeling a little strange as she watched her old father teaching everyone how to set up a military camp and train soldiers.

It's not that she hasn't seen her father look serious before.

But I've never seen him like this before. His temperament and eyes are completely different from those of a commoner.

Leon, who always felt that the old blacksmith was not an ordinary person, did not have the same feeling as the girl.

He listened attentively to old Brian's proposal and learned that if he wanted to quickly complete the construction of the military camp, in addition to the craftsmen hired from the local young and strong laborers, he would still have to go to the town and nearby villages to recruit a dozen carpenters, at least ten stonemasons, and some skilled handymen.

There is not enough animal power in the village, so we need to buy five more cows and five transport carts.

Fortunately, most of the forest and stone resources around Selva can be obtained locally.

Hiring workers, purchasing carts, tools and equipment, and food supply for all workers
Taking into account all the various expenses, the total construction cost of completing this fortified military camp with complete supporting facilities in more than two months is estimated to be 146 gold crowns.

Fortunately, this is a one-time expense and can be afforded now.
Leon lamented that money came and went quickly, and secretly calculated the funds on hand.

The Kantardar gold coins obtained from the earliest spoils of war had been completely spent after sending Azerien to purchase basic military equipment and food reserves.

Now all he has are the 500 gold crowns that Boss Earl gave him.

The daily life of the people in the three territories plus the raising of horses and livestock cost 24 gold coins per month.

The newly recruited heavy guards and archers, currently 36 full-time standing sergeants, have a monthly salary, food, training and maintenance cost of about gold coins.

The total long-term monthly expenditure is around 60 gold coins.

Now, it is February 673, 2 in the Orland calendar.

There are still five months left until the tax collection period for the three territories this year, which is early July.

By July, Leon knew he had only about 54 gold coins left in his pocket.

However, by then the income from the territory will naturally be taken over.

According to the statistics compiled by Azerien, the total annual income from their three territories this year is worth about 220 gold crowns.

Therefore, after the income from the territory's output continues in July, the funds can last for more than four more months.

Even if we maintain soldiers and horses, this is still far from achieving a balance between income and expenditure.

However, even if nothing changes, they will not have to worry about money at least for the next eleven months, that is, until mid-January next year.

Of course, Leon knew that once Baron Elliver's army was mobilized and began to act, it would be impossible for earth-shaking changes not to occur this year.

Otherwise, why would he go to so much trouble to recruit soldiers and build barracks?
By noon, except for a few laborers who stayed behind to take turns guarding the supplies at the logging camp, Leon and the others dismissed the young and strong men and returned to Selva for a nap and meal.

After finishing his meal at the mansion, Leon gathered everyone around him to his hall to discuss matters.

After letting everyone sit down, Leon looked at Azerien on his left with some apology: "I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to go around the town and make a few more trips to recruit craftsmen. If I didn't have something important to deal with as soon as possible, I would definitely go with you. After this trip, I will make sure you have a good rest at home."

Leon felt deeply guilty for going back and forth, always asking his good brothers to help him run around the territory. However, his daily magic training had just begun, and it would not be appropriate for him to interrupt it unless something serious happened.

"Don't worry, it's not a problem for me. I benefit a lot from interacting with all kinds of people." The noble boy smiled faintly and did not feel tired. He liked the feeling of being in charge of all the affairs of the territory.

Leon kept his gratitude in his heart for the time being and turned to look at Lohak next to Azerien.

This boy always felt that Selva was safer, so he was unwilling to let Ms. Elena move to Longka to live with him.

Leon thought about it and made arrangements: "In the afternoon, you lead ten archers and the remaining Longka militiamen, bring more shields and weapons back to Longka. With them stationed there, ordinary undead will not be able to threaten the village.

Once you have made all the arrangements, come back and spend some quality time with your sister. If things get chaotic later, we will have to run around a lot."

After Lohak happily agreed, Leon looked at old Brian.

"Uncle Brian, I now appoint you as my military advisor and centurion of the Selva troops. From today on, the construction of the barracks will be fully entrusted to you."

"Please rest assured. I will live up to your trust." Old Brian stood up and held his chest.

Leon nodded, and suddenly continued: "Although you said you don't want any compensation, one thing is one thing. Since you work for me, I can't not pay you. Don't refuse. Even if you don't want it, I will force it on Olivia."

After hearing this, Old Brian had to swallow his words of refusal.

Although he had hidden a lot of treasures elsewhere and was not short of money, that was the assets he prepared for his daughter in case she encountered difficulties in the future, so old Brian was not in a position to say it openly.

Seeing her father being officially appointed as an officer of Leon, Olivia knew that this also meant that she would never have to move away again. She blinked happily and looked at Leon.

"What about me? Is there anything I can do to help everyone?" the girl asked expectantly.

"Of course, and it's very important." Leon smiled at her.

I'm not trying to make the girl happy. The value of Olivia's martial arts is not just that she can fight.

His unique sword-fighting philosophy and body movement skills are not an unrepeatable miracle.

Whether it was himself, Lohak or Azerien, their martial arts skills had improved rapidly under her guidance and communication. Hawke, who unexpectedly stood up yesterday, was the best example, which was enough to prove the great value of Olivia's skills.

In his previous life, Leon had come into contact with some outstanding martial artists during his exchanges with sword gyms across the country.

But most masters are indeed very strong themselves, but even if they are willing to teach, it is difficult for them to organize their personal martial arts experience and skills that are different from ordinary people into clear words.

Knowing how to fight does not necessarily mean you can teach. There are many things the body understands but cannot express in words. The hard-to-describe principles of force and the instincts gained during practice can ultimately only be attributed to talent and perception.

It is extremely rare to find someone as smart as this girl, who is not only able to fight, but also has a deep understanding of the skills she has figured out.

Considering her age, even without the physical strength bestowed by the ancient bloodline, her miraculous little head is still an unimaginable genius.

Therefore, during this period of time, Leon was reluctant to waste the girl's wisdom in martial arts.

Every night, he would take a short while to ask Corvis to write down the martial arts techniques, principles, and insights he had gained from practical training and verbal communication with Olivia during the day, even if he was too tired to move.

He also took time out to discuss with the girl and correct her understanding of the words written on paper.

The so-called "Olivia School" of martial arts in his mind was no joke.

It was still in the drafting stage, as Olivia had never thought about how to describe her abilities in a book.

But Leon felt that if this set of manuscripts was completed and bound into a book in the future, and a painter was hired to add detailed illustrations, this martial arts book covering the girl's swordsmanship, spearmanship, body movements and other skills would surely be passed down through the ages.

Of course, even if this invaluable martial arts book has not yet been released to the world, Olivia herself is right in front of him, so asking her to train a few elite warriors under her command is obviously not a problem.

Leon has already made a preliminary plan, and will try to change the approach in subsequent special training.

While training his own martial arts and perception abilities, he also needs to let the six outstanding guards join in.

It wasn't just a one-on-one fight between him and Olivia like before.

The six guards who passed the test also had to join the sparring under the girl's guidance and besiege himself in the Boiling Heart state.

After telling Olivia about this idea, Leon suddenly felt quite ashamed when he saw the girl selflessly agree to his proposal.

He felt that he really had the talent to be a black-hearted boss, and it seemed that his partners were about to be squeezed out of every penny of surplus value.

He secretly vowed to compensate his companions for their dedicated help in the future. After discussing the final trivial matters of the territory with everyone and before announcing the adjournment of the meeting, Leon looked at his companions for no reason.

Azerien, Lohak, Olivia, Uncle Brian, Corvis, and myself.

Among the six people, three were knights, one was a former knight, and one was a prince who would have certainly been a knight if his family and country had not been overthrown.

and also
Thinking of this, Leon looked at Olivia.

The thought that had been on his mind since he had confirmed it with Knight Balfe came to mind.

Leon made up his mind that he would realize that subtle "idea" after he could put up the square flag soon.

It would be better to replace the long dining table at home with a round table.
After assigning their respective tasks, Lohak led the young and strong men of Longka and ten archers to return to his territory that afternoon.

Uncle Brian began to officially take over the young and strong team, reorganized and arranged the labor, and started to build the barracks according to his own plan after many years.

The next day, Azerien took enough gold coins and the remaining ten archers as escorts to recruit craftsmen and buy livestock in the surrounding areas.

Leon called six guards and asked them to receive Olivia's martial arts training every day with him and Corvis.

At first, the five guards from other places except Hawke did not understand why the lord asked them to learn martial arts from a delicate and beautiful girl.

But after picking up weapons and enduring a "severe beating" by the girl, no one harbored any resentment anymore.

Leon saw that the girl was in high spirits as she taught seven grown men martial arts tirelessly every day. It seemed that she was really enjoying the life of a coach of the imperial guards.

However, although there were more people to teach, with the help of the extra guards who joined in and the high-intensity sparring with Leon who was in a boiling state, Olivia's burden was actually lightened a little.

However, the backyard of the house, which was originally spacious for one person on one basis, immediately seemed small due to the increase in the number of people. Leon had to take the guards to the pasture outside the village for training every day.

Whenever it was Corvis' turn to recuperate for a few days to restore his magic power, Leon would not sit idle. He would take the guards on horseback and train them in riding skills.

Thanks to his memories from his previous life, Leon is actually better at horse riding than Olivia, and he finally has the opportunity to be the girl's teacher in this area.

The days go on as planned.

Apart from occasionally leading soldiers to exterminate the undead beasts that sporadically invaded the territory, there were no major fluctuations.
The first to return was Lohak.

Not long afterward, Azerien returned with the craftsmen he had recruited.

A team of more than thirty craftsmen, under the command of old Brian, the Centurion of Seval, were engaged in the construction of the barracks in full swing.

Leon felt more and more excited as he watched the wooden walls, building foundations, and tunnels taking shape day by day on the construction site outside the village.

A few days later, a knight from the Thorn Flower Family who had never been seen before came to the village with his men in search of a local guide.

After the meeting, Leon read the baron's letter handed over by the other party, and immediately sent people to cooperate with the Farolis family's actions, to guide them to the site further east outside Selva to build a transit camp.

When these vanguard troops passed through the Selva Barracks which was under construction, the knight was not at all surprised by this seemingly presumptuous action.

Within the Thorn Flower Family, all those who are worthy of the lord's trust already know more or less what kind of status the young knight, who was granted a fief at the age of only sixteen or seventeen, now holds in the family.

On the morning of February 18th, just as Leon activated the boiling power as usual, he enjoyed the full siege of the increasingly well-armored guards.

But the daily rigorous special training was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of little Lina.

It turned out that there was a messenger from the Farolis City Chamber of Commerce asking to see him.

When he returned to the mansion to meet the messenger, Leon raised his eyebrows when he saw him present a wax letter with the noble coat of arms of Kantadar.

When he opened it, he was delighted by the contents inside.

It has been two and a half months since the letter demanding ransom was sent from Dragonmaw City, and the wait has finally come.

Mamur's relatives have arrived in Kossos County, waiting for his ransom, with Kantadar gold coins worth one thousand Orland gold crowns.

Leon couldn't help but feel happy when he thought that the villagers of Selva would finally be able to share in the huge ransom.

It is true that this money does not go into one's own pocket, but the people in the territory are becoming wealthy, which is obviously a good thing for the territory in the long run.

(End of this chapter)