Chapter 131: 131 Recruitment

Chapter 131: Solicitations

The day after Philiton delivered the ransom, Ronin set off to rush back to Shanlin Town.

He had brought a large contingent of men upon his arrival, but for the return journey, he took only Maken with him.

Though it appeared that Huitu Village would not engage in any new conflicts with the Black Collar Tribe in the near future, if a war were to break out between Shanlin Town and the Thane Fief in the days to come, the likelihood remained that it would unfold right here.

Therefore, leaving the knights to live on this side and familiarize themselves with the terrain was highly advantageous for future operations.

Over the past few days, although Rydal was said to be resting, he had merely refrained from wielding his sword or engaging in combat; he had not halted any of his daily administrative duties.

He had been discussing training regimens with Maken, filtering out and discharging unqualified militia, overseeing the construction of watchtowers and several scout camps at the border, and forming a knight-hunter squad to sweep Huitu Village and its surrounding mountain forests.

Seeing that the defenses on this side had been arranged in perfect order by Rydal, Ronin naturally felt quite at ease leaving the Huitu Village frontline in his hands.

He could not help but recall when he had first summoned the man, who had claimed to be the commander of the Flame Expeditionary Force.

Looking at him now, though Rydal's memories were incomplete, his commanding talents were gradually manifesting.

Upon returning to Shanlin Town, Ronin immediately sought out the administrative officer, Wilson, instructing him to cooperate with Maken to select sixty-four soldiers, which would be required to form a complete knight squad.

After handling this matter, the only things remaining that required his attention were the iron smelting, the construction of the kilns, and, of course, the daily dog training.

Black Tiger was growing exceptionally fast; in just over ten days, his size had already reached thirty centimeters, looking truly like a puppy.

Perhaps because he had been mingling with several captured dogs over the last few days, with a few clicks of Ronin's tongue, the little fellow came trotting over as joyfully as any other hound, his small tail wagging non-stop.

Indeed, environment was truly the best way to change a person—no, a dog.

However, Ronin also knew that raising him alongside ordinary dogs could only train his obedience; Black Tiger was a magical beast after all, and could not truly be treated as a mere hound, so the necessary targeted training was still required.

Nowadays, Irene had to prepare lessons every day and would set aside an hour in the evening to tutor David, Bella, and the others in reading and writing, leaving Ronin to shoulder some of the training duties.

He planned to wait until Black Tiger grew a bit larger to take him along for a stroll into the Wu Mountains to hunt some small animals.

The temperature gradually dropped, and upon entering December, the daytime temperature hovered at most a few degrees above freezing, while the nights would plummet to zero; according to past experience, Shanlin Town would soon welcome a snowfall.

To ensure a secure winter, the peasants' work of clearing wasteland had already ceased, and most of their time was spent repairing houses to withstand the wind and snow, while storing enough firewood and wild winter vegetables.

In the past, this would have been a tense season, as the fief's subjects needed to spend money, grain, or labor to purchase the right to fell trees from the administrative officer; to them, every single tree obtained came at a price.

Some people possessed none of these three resources and could only stealthily gather a few dry twigs.

But how could a handful of dry twigs solve the problem? Consequently, in previous years, people froze to death every single winter due to the bitter cold.

But it was different now; Ronin had opened up the logging policy.

As long as it was within his designated boundaries, the subjects required no payment whatsoever to fell trees.

This was an immense blessing for all the people of the fief.

Thus, those families with able-bodied men spent almost all their time on the mountains, save for staying at home through the night.

Even if they had to chip away at them stroke by stroke with stones, they would manage to haul one or two trees back before nightfall.

Though the labor was grueling, they praised this policy of the Lord immensely during their toil.

In reality, this was nothing short of a win-win situation.

Ronin utilized their enthusiasm to increase the speed of clearing roadblocks, accelerating the opening of roads leading to the outside world and the three northern villages.

"My Lord, according to your requirements, I have converted the open kiln into a sealed one."

On the fifth of December, Jim the potter brought tidings of joy; the modification of the kiln was complete.

With his hands behind his back, Ronin scrutinized the two-meter-high kiln chamber from top to bottom, left to right; though it was only the initial version, it bore a striking resemblance to the shape in his memory.

Furthermore, the independent kiln chamber, air ducts, and fire flues that he had requested were all fully present, though the construction materials were somewhat lacking, as no refractory bricks had been produced.

"Not bad. Now that the materials and the site are all ready, we can attempt to fire the first kiln."

During this recent period, the steps of refining the clay, shaping the greenware, and drying it had already been completed.

A large quantity of feldspar required to make the clear glaze had also been excavated, and after washing and grinding, it had now become powder; it only needed to be turned into a slurry to be applied.

Ronin looked forward to it with great anticipation.

However, the results would obviously not be visible today; after glazing, it still required drying, which would take a few more days of preparation.

With the kiln preparations mostly settled, the next crucial point lay in the blast furnace for iron smelting.

Construction was also in full swing at the newly built blacksmith shop; Ronin had provided simplified drawings for its internal structure, making its construction far more targeted than that of the porcelain kiln.

Yet compared to the kiln, the blast furnace for iron smelting needed to be integrated with a larger bellows, and some design was required for the separation of molten iron and slag at the bottom, making the overall complexity significantly higher.

Ronin inspected the construction of the new blacksmith shop along the way, finding the progress reasonably satisfactory, and believed that by the time spring arrived next year, there should be a substantial harvest.

"My Lord!"

While on his way back to the castle, Ronin encountered Wilson, who had rushed back from Qingzhu Village, followed by three newly recruited cavalrymen who were already capable of riding horses.

"Ah, Wilson, how is the situation over there?" Ronin inquired.

During the latter half of November, Wilson had taken the village chiefs and section leaders of Shanlin Town to visit Qingzhu, Ziguo, and Huitu villages.

In Ronin's words, this was called agricultural technical guidance; Wilson needed to lead his men to impart the planting schemes currently used in Shanlin Town to Celis and the others, allowing the planting techniques of these three villages to gradually align with those of Shanlin Town.

"This trip was mainly to check on the winter preparations of these three places."

"Your benevolence toward the subjects has ensured that their homes have sufficient firewood and grain; surviving the winter should pose no problem."

"I have also conveyed your command to Commander Rydal, Knight Horn, and Village Chief Celis, forbidding a single person in the territory from freezing or starving to death."

Ronin nodded; Wilson was indeed becoming more and more like a proper "administrator," with his enthusiasm and initiative showing considerable improvement.

Just as he was about to praise him, he suddenly felt a touch of coldness on the tip of his nose, only to realize that snowflakes had begun to dance in the air at some unknown moment.

"It's snowing!"

This was the first winter he had experienced since transmigrating, and the first snow he had witnessed.

"You have all worked hard. Come back to the castle with me."

Meanwhile, outside Huitu Village.

Rydal brought Babulin, Tom, and others to the border to engage in a year-end contest with Joffrey, the former chieftain of the Black Collar Tribe.

Originally, Rydal had not the slightest interest in this inexplicable challenge, but the opponent had subjected the sentries and scouts to continuous days of mockery, curses, and provocations.

With the mindset of teaching his opponent a lesson, he had taken action.

Rydal had thought Joffrey's strength would be ordinary and that he would not last a few rounds under his blade, but he discovered that the opponent's level was not low; he ought to be an advanced peak knight as well, only one step away from joining the Bronze rank.

However, under Rydal's fierce onslaught, Joffrey quickly succumbed to the swift sword.

"Speak. You have invited me out for days on end; what exactly is this about?" Rydal pointed his sword at Joffrey, who was lying on the ground.

"Heh, you truly are strong!"

Joffrey wiped a smear of blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled, saying, "Baron Rayson asked me to tell you that as long as you are willing to follow him, not only will he overlook past matters, but on the contrary, he will bestow upon you manors, servants, beautiful women, mounts, and the like—a hundred times better than your current treatment!"

"Oh?"

Rydal was somewhat surprised; he had not expected that this man, who had clamored for so many days to draw him out, did so precisely to recruit him on behalf of Baron Rayson.

Joffrey cast aside the longsword in his hand and simply sat on the ground, continuing in a lowered voice:

"Ronin is merely a minor baron trapped in these great mountains; it will be difficult for him to ever walk out of here. Moreover, I have heard that his aptitude is extremely poor, and he will likely remain an advanced knight for the rest of his life. Your strength is formidable, and your talent is excellent; following him will only bury your abilities."

Do you wish to be trapped in this forest forever? Do you not yearn to shed your commoner’s status and rise to nobility?

He regarded Ridal with solemn eyes, a glimmer of admiration shining within. “Following Ronin holds no future—he can at best grant you the title of Honorary Knight, the lowest rank of nobility.”

Here, Goffrey’s tone shifted. “But Baron Resen is different. He has the power to become the new Viscount of the northern Wushan lands—his future is bright!”

“With your strength, if you choose to follow him, you shall surely become a baron one day!”

Ridal swung his sword in a slow arc, sheathing it with deliberate calm.

Goffrey, seeing this, believed his words had swayed the man. “Well?”

Ridal smiled. “You see only the trees, not the forest.”

He took two steps forward, closing the distance between them.

“If your goal in following Resen is glory, escape, or a chance at a future—I can serve as intermediary and recommend you to my lord.”

“Huh???”

Goffrey’s eyes widened. It took him several heartbeats to realize—Ridal was trying to recruit him.

He let out a chuckle. “Ridal, what possible claim does Ronin have to stand beside Lord Resen?”

“Lord Resen is a Bronze-rank knight, commanding a full squad of knights and wielding extensive connections. Your master has nothing!”

Ridal shrugged, offering no reply.

After all, Ronin’s true strength remained a secret to the outside world; all the transcendent ones in the Forest Town had been ordered not to speak of it.

“If you’ve come to recruit me, there’s no need to return. But if you seek to pledge loyalty to my lord, I welcome you at any time.”

Ridal glanced past Goffrey at the group of knights behind him, a faint, almost imperceptible smile tugging at his lips.

Then he turned, walking away with his back to Goffrey, his voice ringing clear behind him: “Think carefully, Goffrey. Sometimes choice matters more than strength. The Forest Town suits you better than Sain’s domain.”

Goffrey frowned tightly, then snorted in disdain, bending to retrieve his sword.

He’d have to be mad to follow a lord with no future.

Tomorrow I must rise early for the hospital. The noon update will come tonight.

(End of Chapter)