Armored Cavalry, survive in a world full of mods

The awl used for drilling is not made of iron, but a sharp, pale yellow ram's horn with a spiral shape—the horn of the Pantansi argali sheep, sharp and hard, capable of easily piercing thick bear skin. However, due to their frail bodies, they rarely injure predators, making them quite useful as tools.

By simply placing the corner in the right position and applying a little force, a perfectly round hole can be punched. Then, a finely scraped leather rope is threaded through the hole and sewn together. The edge is then rolled up once, glued in place, and sewn with fine thread. A leg guard that provides perfect protection regardless of the season is now complete.

She straightened up and rubbed her aching back. The middle-aged woman smiled and hung the leg braces she had just finished under the eaves. Further treatment would be needed, but for now, this was all she could do. Afterwards, she would have to rely on what her man could get from the market.

Suddenly, a complex commotion arose outside. A series of noises, like wasps flying out of their hive, made the woman cautiously and curiously walk into the yard, approach the fence, and then peek out to look at the end of the village.

Just one glance, and the rosy glow on the woman's face visibly vanished, replaced by a deathly pale color of panic and fear...

The flashes of dense armor appeared at the village entrance. Warriors clad in full armor had appeared around this simple village at some unknown time, silently forming ranks and waiting quietly for something. The flashes of their weapons imprinted layers of silver highlights on the surrounding leaves, almost blinding one's eyes.

A magnificent banner, over two zhang tall and elaborately decorated, fluttered in the fresh morning air. A golden double-headed eagle stretched out its talons to the sides, spread its wings, and seemed ready to take flight with the air currents.

This is the Empire's army! — Everyone who remained in the village realized this. With the village chief absent, the villagers were somewhat disorganized, which is why there were bursts of noise.

This would be a nightmare for any village: a well-equipped army appearing around the village, most likely to storm in and loot. The remaining men in the village had already begun organizing the women and children to flee to the back mountains, where they prepared to resist these uninvited guests.

Just when the heavy atmosphere was becoming suffocating, the army took a further step—a man wearing gleaming silver chainmail and leather boots walked towards the village, carrying only a longbow on his back and no other weapons.

In a few thatched huts near the village entrance, several hunters had gathered, their bows drawn, watching the approaching figure warily… But as the figure drew closer, a middle-aged man with a stubble beard suddenly looked puzzled and lowered his fully drawn bow:

"Look at this guy, he looks so much like that kid Kochkin!"

"Are you talking nonsense? How could that poor kid be dressed so well? Are you scared by seeing so many soldiers?"

"Go away, what nonsense are you spouting? Open your eyes and look closely, this is clearly Kochkin. I remember clearly when this guy was a kid, he stole my vegetables and escaped through the window, he accidentally hit his head on a rock, and I can still see the scar! Look, on the left side of his forehead, his eyebrow is broken off!"

Upon hearing the middle-aged man's words, the others also focused their attention on his forehead... Sure enough, a section of his left eyebrow was missing.

"It really looks like that kid Kochkin... Not only does he have the same face, hair, and eyebrows, but he also has that smug grin on his face. Isn't that him?"

Another middle-aged hunter gave a positive assessment, and the others calmed down from their earlier panic and confirmed the fact.

The young mountain boy walked to the center of the village with a rather smug look on his face. Then he stood on a small earthen platform, took out two horseshoes from his pocket, and banged them together above his head, producing a crisp, sharp sound.

No one knew why this guy was carrying two horseshoes, but his meaning was easy to understand, so the villagers came out of their houses and began to gather in the center of the village…

………………

They sped along, carrying heavy prey on their shoulders, but the two of them still returned to the village in a short time. Standing on a gentle hillside, watching the gleam of armor flashing on the outskirts of the village, Saratag suddenly didn't know what to say...

Although I knew my daughter was no longer the same as before and would definitely be doing better than me, I never expected her to be this good! Did our family's generations of hunting in the forests suddenly become incredibly lucky? My crazy girl went out for half a year and actually brought back an army!

Saratag was so shocked he couldn't close his mouth and was speechless for a long time. After composing himself, he finally spoke to his daughter with a relieved tone:

"If I had known you were so promising, I should have sent you to the plains... Hanging out with those village hooligans every day almost ruined you..."

"Stop standing there, come with me to see the general!"

Colin didn't listen to what his father was saying at all. He just grabbed him and rushed down the gentle slope toward the village.

"Ah, isn't this your subordinate?"

"Of course not! I'm just a military officer now. What nonsense are you talking about? Hurry up, there's something that needs to be explained..."

Saratag suddenly felt a bit depressed—logically, this should have been a great thing to bring honor to his ancestors, but it fell far short of his original expectations, causing a considerable sense of disappointment.

Upon arriving at the village entrance, the villagers gathered there, and two strong young men took the prey from his shoulders.

After the explanation was clear, the villagers were no longer afraid. Instead, they became curious and gathered around to look at the capable soldiers. When they saw their village chief return, they all greeted him.

The man, unable to speak to anyone else, was driven away by his own daughter and led to the center of the army, where he met the legendary general...

Tersolius carefully examined the blond man in front of him—upon closer inspection, although he was unkempt and had a stubble beard, one could still see that his facial features were strong and handsome, and his eyes were deep and bright. However, his beard and hair had not been washed for a long time and had become matted into clumps, like a group of homeless people gathered in a dark alley.

The other person had the same bright golden hair as Colin, although many parts of it had turned black from dust. He was tall and strong, and his clothes were mostly made of animal hides. A short hunting knife hung from his belt, giving him the look of a hunter going out hunting.

At first glance, the man and his daughter don't seem to have any particular resemblance, but if you observe them for a while, you can tell from their subtle expressions and details that they are indeed father and daughter—their fearless attitude is exactly the same.

As he walked, the battle-hardened armored cavalrymen around him scrutinized him. The combined gaze of these seasoned veterans was enough to deter even a lion from approaching, but the man remained cautious, observing everything around him without revealing the slightest fear.

He hadn't expected things to go so smoothly this time, and after just a quick look at the village, he had already made his own judgment... those bandits had nothing to do with this place; after all, it was a bandit den that had plundered numerous caravans and become incredibly wealthy. The owner of the place certainly wouldn't go out hunting to make a living... and the residents wouldn't live such a leisurely life. Even if the thieves were rich, they wouldn't be so careless.

After all, they are desperate criminals, not fools. Knowing that they are in a life-or-death business, with the constant risk of losing their lives, they would either squander their wealth or become paranoid... but it's practically impossible for them to be so relaxed, as that would be no different from putting their own heads under someone else's blade.

Moreover, when they saw the army coming, they would either fight to the death or scatter and flee immediately... In any case, it couldn't be like this now. This is probably a village where a group of mountain people who fled have gathered together, and it was only built not long ago. Even the outer walls of the houses haven't had time to grow moss yet.

But regardless, as people who live here, they must know something...

171 New Circumstances (2)

The soldiers were setting up camp outside the village. Now that the alert had been lifted, they no longer needed to be on guard. Before the truth was revealed, in order to prevent any possible bandits from escaping from their hands, they sealed off the entire village. All the women and children who had been sent to the back mountain were intercepted by them, and no living creatures left the village.

Now they no longer needed to maintain the high-pressure stance they had just displayed. It was already afternoon, and it was time to set up camp. After all, even if they set off for the city immediately, they wouldn't have enough time to return to their military camp before nightfall.

Each squad has its own designated area. They need to use their axes and picks to cut down bushes, level the land, dig drainage ditches, and set up tents. The cooking team sets up large pots, finds fallen dead trees and dry branches from the surrounding woods, and builds strong fires under the pots so that they can prepare food for hundreds of people by sunset.

In addition, the other squads were responsible for digging trenches and driving wooden stakes around the village. Before long, a sizable camp appeared next to the village, even looking more impressive and respectable than the village itself.

After all, the village was surrounded by a fence made of tree branches, but this camp was made of hard wooden stakes, each as thick as an arm and sharpened at both ends, enough to deter any wild beasts. It was far more secure than the camp.

Add to that the neat rows of white tents, the orderly paths between them, and the drainage ditches around each tent... all things considered, if given a choice, the villagers would definitely prefer to live here.

Such a temporary camp sounded very complicated, but it appeared on the open space next to the village in just one afternoon, leaving all the villagers speechless with amazement. In particular, their fellow villagers, whom they knew, were also very skilled and looked exactly like soldiers of the Imperial Legion, which amazed them even more.

The Empire's army always emphasizes discipline, and this discipline extends beyond just marching and fighting; it covers every aspect of the soldiers' lives. Long before enlisting, the young men of the Empire receive military training and acquire basic skills, much like a piece of unrefined iron.

The discipline within the army is like the collaborative work of craftsmen, who heat a lump of rough iron in a furnace and hammer it on an anvil, transforming them from dull-witted lads into qualified soldiers. They learn a series of skills such as forming ranks, setting up camp, and marching. This is precisely what makes this country so terrifying—a mature system and strict discipline can train qualified soldiers at an extremely rapid pace. Once the country's war machine is set in motion, it will utterly destroy and crush its enemies.

Those young men, who were originally just hunters in the mountains, naturally had no discipline whatsoever. But after becoming soldiers under Tersolius, through the training and tempering they underwent, the discipline of the legion was also etched into their very bones.

This might not be so obvious under normal circumstances, since they are surrounded by disciplined legion soldiers, but at this moment, compared with their former fellow countrymen, it is particularly striking... Even a fool could tell that the air of absolute obedience and perfect order was so palpable.

"Kochkin! You mean you went to rob them under Colin's leadership?...Robbed those guys covered in iron?!"

Kochkin was intently digging a trench, while another person shoveled soil to help him, shoveling it out and patting it onto one side of the trench, quickly piling it into a low ridge.

A young man who used to drink and fool around with him was leaning on the fence next to him, looking at him with a shocked expression as he asked such a question... There seemed to be a hint of looking at him as a fool in his eyes.

This look made him quite uncomfortable, but he felt a little guilty thinking about what they had done, so he could only cough and explain:

“We have a plan, you know? We have a plan. As long as we follow the plan, nothing will happen! ...Besides, we were starving to death at the time, so we didn’t care about anything else...If we don’t get food quickly, the few children who have survived will starve to death.”

"Did none of the children born last year survive?..."

A rare hint of bitterness appeared on Kochkin's face:

"There was no other way. We simply couldn't feed them. The women were starving, so how could they have enough milk to feed their babies? Basically, within a month of our departure, there were none left. We buried them all under the Xiangxi tree. The rest of us had to keep going... We wouldn't have done this if we hadn't had no other choice."

"But you still got caught, didn't you?"

Seemingly trying to dispel the gloomy atmosphere, the young man suddenly asked this question, which made Kochkin a little embarrassed, and he stammered:

“There are always unexpected things, you know… the kind of unexpected things. You can even get pricked by an antler while hunting a roe deer. We never expected the adults to venture into the woods to find us for just two bags of grain, so… but anyway, it turned out well. Look how well we're doing now!”

At this point, he became smug again, even looking around before putting down his tools and showing his chainmail to his fellow villager:

“Look at this outfit. Even that old guy from the Paris tribe back in our hometown couldn’t afford many of these, right? But now everyone can wear it. If it gets damaged, the best craftsmen will fix it for us. If it’s too worn out, we can just replace it!”

"And look at this helmet! Look at its thickness, and these brass reinforcing beams. If I wear this, I dare to stand still and let you chop my head off with an axe! Back in the Holsteins, there was a guy with a greatsword who hit me hard on the head, but it only hurt his hand. I took the opportunity to stab him in the stomach with an arrow."

"And this arm guard, it's lined with the thickest cowhide! These tempered steel plates are all fixed to it with copper rivets, that's why I dare to stick my hand out of the shield to stab others."

…………

As Kochkin continued his incessant chatter, more and more young people gathered around without him even realizing it. As if encouraged, the guy completely forgot about his job and stood on the edge of the trench, talking at length about his experiences over the past six months.

He began his tale in the southern wilderness and continued until the great battle with the Curists… He seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of words, speaking fluently and clearly. His speech was imbued with a rich emotion that easily drew the reader in, drawing them in and unconsciously stirring their emotions, eliciting cheers as the story unfolded.

This made him even more carried away, completely forgetting everything else, and he began to describe things more vividly, making his words increasingly exciting. Everyone around him held their breath, afraid of interrupting him, and greedily listened to every word.

In this process, Kochkin inevitably had to mention their commander, Tesorius—he already had great respect for his general, and when he encountered such a good opportunity, he naturally couldn't miss it, occasionally adding fuel to the fire, but he didn't say anything wrong.

In his description, this general, who led his men out of the enemy's encirclement, marched thousands of miles, and even captured an important strategic city while being pursued, quickly took control of the entire city, and used a small force to rout an enemy many times their size, making the Hols army run around like monkeys, inspired awe and admiration in all the young people.

Especially the great battle that took place in the Pantas River Bend a while ago, the mountains of corpses and the heavy losses suffered by the Kurist people, they had heard about it... Before that, the biggest scene the young people had ever witnessed was just a few villages joining forces to fight over water and hunting grounds, they simply could not imagine what a war that would cost tens of thousands of lives was like.

Upon hearing that their fellow townsmen had participated in that war and even gained glory and wealth as victors, many people immediately couldn't bear to listen anymore.

No young person with passion in their heart could stand this, especially seeing their former fellow townsman now extraordinary, outstanding and respectable, almost like a completely different person. Who wouldn't be envious?

A short while later, the person who had initially struck up a conversation with him couldn't help but ask a question:

"Brother Kochkin, do you think I have a chance? Can I serve under that lord like you?! I'm a good hunter too!"

Seeing this guy, who had just been chatting and joking with him, suddenly become so friendly, even addressing him as "Big Brother," greatly satisfied Kochkin's vanity. He felt lightheaded, almost as if he could sprout wings and fly into the sky, as if his life hadn't been in vain. His attitude immediately became even more enthusiastic.

"Of course, no problem! Although you don't have household registration yet, it will definitely be resolved after this matter is over. Then you can head east to the capital city of this province. There will be a good opportunity in the next couple of days, and you can live as well as I do through your own abilities!"

"It's definitely not good to not go out and see the world. Look at me now, I'm a completely different person from before. You'll see for yourselves once you go and see for yourselves. Even if you don't pass the exam, you'll still broaden your horizons."

………………

It was a busy time, and although Kochkin, as a centurion leading over a hundred men, wouldn't be delayed much even if he took a short break, he seemed to have caused a commotion. Colin still got up from the tent, intending to calm the guy down.

"It's okay, let that guy go. He's doing us a good thing, so let's not dampen his enthusiasm."

Tersolius laughed and stopped the girl, simultaneously delighted by his discovery—he realized that Kochkin, that guy who always liked to cause him trouble, was actually quite the orator. He was a natural-born speaker, instinctively able to stir up the emotions of his audience and guide their thoughts; in just a short while, he had already attracted the remaining young men of his village to his army.

Even with hundreds of people watching him, this guy showed no sign of stage fright. On the contrary, the more people there were, the more excited he became, his speech became more fluent, and his voice became louder and more resonant. At this moment, he had become somewhat oblivious to his surroundings and stood on the village well, towering above everyone else, spitting saliva in all directions.

This is a truly rare talent. It's already quite rare for someone to be able to express their opinions to others in a loud and clear voice without any stage fright, let alone someone whose quick wit allows them to speak fluently and eloquently without needing to prepare a draft. They are a natural talent for public speaking.

After slightly adjusting his thoughts, he turned his attention back to this place... At least under his watchful eye, that guy wouldn't dare to be too reckless, so there was no need to worry.

Saratag held a glass of strong liquor, watching helplessly as his daughter and the young man discussed how to get rid of the remaining young men in the village. He felt a mix of emotions...

Not much time had passed, but his daughter had already become a stranger to him… It wasn't just that she had matured and become more composed; more importantly, the unspoken understanding he had with a stranger left him with mixed feelings. He felt he should say something, yet he also felt that nothing was quite right to say…

The presence of this high-ranking official made him somewhat flattered, but the thought of the potential consequences if all the village's young people were taken away made him uneasy. He decided to voice his objections… After all, Colin was there; she couldn't just watch her father suffer, could she?

"Ahem! Your Excellency Tersolius, the young men in our village are vital to our workforce. If you take them all away, we cannot survive on the old, weak, women, and children alone. So, do you think we could discuss this further?"

"No need to discuss it anymore! Not only their father, but you're coming with us too!"

Before Attorney Teso could answer, Colin announced his decision with great bravado, making Saratag's eyebrows twitch and veins bulge. She almost couldn't resist jumping up and hitting her on the head.

They acted as if there was no need for further discussion, completely disregarding her as their father!

“Mr. Saratag, you may have misunderstood.”

Tersolius began to speak:

"You don't need to worry about the elderly, women, and children being left unattended and getting into trouble, because a new town will soon appear here."

"??!..."

172 New Circumstances (3)

"Although this forest is rich in resources and vast in size, its terrain is too treacherous and complex, and an important trade route passes through it, making it far too easy for bandits to thrive..."

“I reviewed the province’s records from last year and found that there were as many as eight bandit incidents in this area in just one year… Moreover, due to the complex terrain, it is impossible to eradicate them. The nearby residents are also unwilling to live here because the thieves here are almost impossible to kill. New ones always emerge, and it is difficult to guarantee public security.”

"Even if we wipe out all the bandits this time, it will only be a temporary solution. This place is too suitable for bandits to make their fortune. There will always be new desperados who will take the risk and settle here, making the situation here complicated and chaotic."

A clear, melodious voice rang out from inside the tent. A serious-looking Talina put down her thick notebook and gave a final summary to the three people before her:

"Therefore, the way to improve the situation here is to develop the forests, make the resources here truly available to the empire, and truly develop this place. Then, those bandits and robbers will have nowhere to hide, and the safety of this important road can be guaranteed."

"Mr. Saratag, your village is in a very suitable location, so we have decided to use this as a starting point to develop and build around it. More people will move here, and more troops will be stationed here, so there is no need to worry about security. Once these young people join the Imperial Legion, the military pay they can receive each year will be enough to support their families, and this place will become prosperous and wealthy."

"Clap!"

Tesolius was the first to clap, which led the bewildered Saratag to join in. He then looked at his daughter, who looked completely understanding, with a puzzled expression, wondering what she had actually comprehended...

"I have no complaints about this plan, so let's stick with it for now. We can adjust and change it later based on the actual situation. I authorize you to allocate some manpower to be specifically responsible for this matter."

Tersolius was lavish in his praise, and with considerable emotion, he drew a straight line on the map with his finger:

"The transportation between Miles Province and Cherisonas is inconvenient. Whenever the Kurist people cause trouble on the border, the Empire's support is always unable to arrive in time. This should have been done long ago... By developing all the forests around this pass, we will be able to strengthen the connection between the two provinces."

"Alright, we should discuss the matter at hand now."

Tersolius turned to look at Mr. Saratag, who seemed lost and out of place inside the tent. The somewhat weathered mountain chief clearly hadn't understood what they had been discussing and was completely bewildered, having no idea what he should do next.

Seeing that Tersolius had turned to look at him, Saratag, who had been panting and anxious, felt a sense of relief—at least he should be able to understand what was to come.

“Just yesterday, something significant happened on the main road over there in the forest. A messenger carrying government orders was robbed and killed by bandits… You should understand what this means.”

Saratag was immediately jolted awake, realizing what was happening—openly killing someone's messenger was tantamount to rebelling against the emperor! Were bandits these days so audacious?! Daring to steal fish from a brown bear's claws?!

Even though the man's knowledge was limited to his hometown, he quickly realized, through some kind of innate intuition, what was most likely to happen next... The entire forest would be turned upside down, all the bandits would be wiped out, and the Empire's terrifying legions would destroy all the suspicious creatures here.

At the same time, he also felt a sense of relief at having survived a disaster.