Chapter 201.1

VOLUME 3: CHAPTER 200 – RETREATING BATTLE 2 (1/2)

The main armies of the Merchant Nation of Pena were the Blue Knights and the mercs that were considered a mixed army. They didn’t really acknowledge being called a mixed army, however, as the mercs were affiliated with various clans and were paid according to their achievements in battle.

What was most important here was the Blue Knights, which was employed by Pena as the regular army.

“…Knight-commander. This is the 15th group,” a knight said with a faint voice.

Allen sighed. “I”m not asking for the Swallows or something on that level, but couldn’t you at least find someone decent?”

“That’s…”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to complain. Forget I said anything.”

The problem at hand was the maintenance of order among the mixed army which was made up of various clans.

The Blue Knights were half destroyed in the last battle, so they needed to make up their missing numbers with the strength of the mixed army and with conscription. Unfortunately, that meant diluting the number of troops.

When the Blue Knights took back the territory usurped by the goblins, the Blue Knights were always at the front. And while they did manage to take all the territories back in the blink of an eye, unfortunately, Allen had no idea how to govern them.

The Blue Knights were both prideful and a standing army. As such, they did not engage in pillaging or needless violence. When such cases did arise, they were rare.

Unfortunately, with the dilution of the troops, more and more of such cases were appearing.

The clans of the mixed army ranged from populations of 100 to 1000, and it was the bad apples from those clans that were causing them much trouble.

Or at the very least, that’s how Allen saw it.

But the elder council had decided to employ the decent part of the different clans.

The clans along the level of the Swallow clan that Allen was talking about were hard to use in battle without direct command. Not only was each clan member expensive, they were also few in number. Unfortunately, number was needed when maintaining the public order in a territory.

As such, the kind of power that Allen wanted from clans was the sort that would cost so much money it would tilt an entire nation.

Clans such as the Leon Heart Clan and the Red King Clan have discipline ingrained into their very bones.

Clans like the Elks Clan share a familial bond among themselves.

Clans like the Swallow Clan have many elites among their ranks.

Unfortunately, those sort of elite clans weren’t the only ones around.

In fact, they were rare, and it was because of that rarity that they were highly valued.

“Valkyuria doesn’t seem like she has any plans of moving from the east,” Allen’s aide said with a troubled voice.

Allen sighed deeply. “No point in insisting on the impossible.”

Allen no longer joked as much after becoming the knight-commander. He needed to become a suitable knight-commander, so he was always putting in the effort.

As such, the trust of the remaining members naturally gathered onto Allen, who has yet to abandon hope and continues to push forward yet.

But if one asked if that had any connection with the trust of the clan members, then the answer would be a resounding no.

The only thing the clans cared about was compensation and the assurance of survival.

Unfortunately, even though Allen was now the knight commander, the money was held by the elder council. Hence, there was nothing he could do in the face of such problems.

“Commander Allen!”

Suddenly, a messenger barged into the office, causing Allen to turn his sharp gaze toward him.

“Reporting!” Said the messenger. “The Kushain Believers and the Red King clashed at Cultidian. Germion Kingdom helped the Red King, and as a result, the Red King won!”

“…What happened to the Kushain Believers? Were they wiped out?” Allen asked.

“They are currently holding up in their castle!”