Chapter 381 - 52 - 55

Chapter 52

Slaughter

"Oh, the slavers are here already? Well, I guess it's a given since we destroyed their roadblock and killed 30 plus of their people. I'll go check it out," said Lorist as he turned towards the tent exit.

"Oh? Milord you managed to kill so many of them?" asked Charade. Potterfang and the other two were stunned.

"That's right. What other fate would they have for daring to obstruct our passage? Milord ordered us to obliterate the roadblock right away," answered Els proudly as he followed behind Lorist.

"But milord, you've just arrived. Shouldn't you take a short rest?" Potterfang asked. Lorist understood the hidden meaning in Potterfang's words: Potterfang was suggesting that he not act rashly and analyze the situation at hand first. He didn't know that Lorist already had a clear grasp of it from asking around at the port and already had already made a decision.

"That's not needed. It wouldn't be too late for me to rest up after wiping them out," Lorist answered. He then instructed, "Dulles, go to the carriage and get me a few quivers' worth of javelins. Remember to stick close to me later."

It was much more efficient to eliminate the enemy by throwing javelins infused with internal energy. Even a fully prepared Silver Swordsman couldn't take it head-on, not to say much of one who is unwary of the threat the javelins posed. During the battle at the roadblock, two riders and their mounts were nailed to the ground by javelins thrown by Lorist.

"Pffft…" Lode Wales who was following Potterfang laughed out loud. He said, "Pog, your lord is quite the bloodthirsty one. He can even say something like wiping all of them out like it's the easiest thing in the world. Don't forget that they have three Gold ranks."

"If Lord Locke says so, he'll be able to accomplish it," said Potterfang without turning back as he headed towards the camp's main entrance.

Arriving at the entrance, Lorist told Terman, "Organize these fellows and get those who are armed and equipped to follow me. Also, prepare the knights for a charge. Els, bring a few mounted soldiers with you and carry more javelins. We'll definitely kill the rowdy bunch of slavers who dared to mess with the Norton Family."

Upon hearing what Lorist had said, the whole group of people around him started cheering out loud while waving their weapons in the air. "Kill them all!"

The entrance of the camp was opened and Lorist rushed out as the vanguard towards the attacking slavers.

The two camps were only 200 meters apart and at that moment, the group of slavers numbered around 240 people. They had just crossed the middle of the battlefield and were shouting something along the lines of avenging their fallen comrades. Seeing the camp's door open and Lorist rushing out, they stopped in their tracks. There was only a distance of tens of meters between the attackers and the camp now.

Seeing the horde of slaves holding spears and crossbows, the attackers' expressions changed.

"Damn! We really shouldn't have stopped attacking a few days before. Now that they are armed, they'll be far more troublesome to dispose of and cause us even more casualties," said a yellow-faced man who was wearing a One Star Gold Battle Force badge.

"There's no point mulling about it now. It's all the fault of the useless ones we sent to block the road. If they were half as competent, they wouldn't have let them transport the weapons back to their camp. Oh well, I'm sure they'll rush back into the safety of their camp once we kill a number of them," said another bulky middle-aged man beside. On his chest was a Two Star Gold Battle Force badge.

"It's not just that! Only 5 of them managed to come back with the rest all dead. The main reason for that was I didn't expect the enemy to have any reinforcements and only intended to stop them from going to the town to purchase food and other provisions. I thought that we could crush them after they run out of resources. What I'm more worried about now is whether we have actually mistaken the forces of the Norton Family for another slaver group. If that's the case, then the aftermath definitely isn't something to look forward to," said yet another old man who wore a Three Star Gold Battle Force badge in a worrying tone.

"Stop worrying about it, old chum. Didn't the ones who returned tell us that they only had 5 Silver ranked knights and 10 other Silver Swordsmen? They said that the main reason they lost was because they were caught off guard. It's still not too late to hold them off right now. Also, when Master Pike and boss come back in ten days, the enemy will no doubt be crushed. Even if we don't manage to break into their camp, at least we can still hold them here," said the middle-aged man confidently.

Currently, Lorist by himself was already within 20 meters of his enemies. The first thing he said instantly enraged the attacking slavers.

"So, trash like you dare to obstruct the Norton Family's way? Do you have a death wish? You guys had better kneel and expose your necks so that you may enjoy the luxury of a painless death."

The yellow-faced man was the first one to succumb to the provocation. He said, "I don't know how you got the galls to spout bullshit like this. I'm anticipating the look of your face when you beg for mercy the moment I defeat you."

"Since you came over to die on your own accord, I'll grant that wish of yours," said Lorist as he drew his sword and rushed forward.

"Hahahaha..." The middle-aged man standing at the back starting laughing uncontrollably. "Damn, I even though he was some kind of Sword Saint judging by his attitude and the way he spoke! But in actuality, he's just an Iron rank who doesn't even have a blade glow! You gotta respect him for being brave enough to come forward to offer his life. Third brother, make sure you make a good example out of him so that the enemy attackers will think twice before acting."

Even though Lorist didn't wear a Battle Force badge, the absence of the blade glow on his sword gave his rank away. The group of slavers started laughing out loud at the incongruous situation.

The yellow-faced man readied himself and with a gleaming flash of his sword, he sent a light blade projectile towards Lorist's silhouette. But the shadow of Lorist suddenly jerked and the light blade passed his body by a hair's breadth. By that time, his longsword already slammed hard into that of the yellow-faced man, burying it deep into the ground. The distance between the two closed within an instant.

Badly startled, the yellow-faced man attempted to retreat only to discover that he wasn't able to move from his spot from having his sword stuck in the ground from Lorist's previous strike.

With a loud swish, Lorist's left hand drew a short sword from his waist and traced a path with it across the yellow-faced man's neck. After the blade reemerged from the other side of the neck, the head of the man flew off and landed on the ground with blood spurting all over and the body still standing slumped and unmoving.

All that happened within a time frame so short that the observers only saw the two figures clash once before witnessing the gruesome death of the yellow-faced man.

The Two Star Gold rank standing behind was shocked into a stupor. Before he recovered, he heard Lorist say, "It's your turn next."

Seeing Lorist rush over like an unstoppable storm, the middle-aged man scrambled to draw his sword and infuse it with Battle Force to parry the incoming strike.

Like a raging tempest, the sword in Lorist's hand lashed out in a series of attacks nonstop, with each strike creating a loud, crisp sound of clashing metal.

Clink! The sword of the middle-aged man which was radiating a faint blade glow snapped into two from Lorist's attack. Unable to believe what just had happened, the man stood there unmoving and in but a flash, one of his arms was severed and was sent flying through the air.

"Arrgh!" cried the man in much agony, before Lorist decapitated him and silenced him permanently.

"You…" The Three Star Gold ranked old man standing nearby was retreating nonstop as if he had just seen a wraith. Seeing Lorist turn his attention to him only served to unnerve him even more.

"Old man, now it's your turn to pass on," said Lorist with a smile. In the old man's eyes, the smile looked ever so sinister and terrifying. The contrast between Lorist's low voice and his light-hearted laughter sounded like the cry of a bloodthirsty demonic being. For two Gold ranks to fall under his blade within but a moment was something that old man could never dream of. Given his knowledge of the abilities of the two other swordsmen, one of whom had a sword style that was even more devious and aggressive than his own, the old man understood that to face Lorist head-on was akin to suicide.

Scared beyond his wits from being targeted by Lorist, that old man backed off until his way was blocked by the people behind him.

As he approached, the old man shouted loudly, "Everyone, let's attack together! He's only one person! Turn him into mincemeat..."

After that, the old man disappeared into the crowd.

Even though the slavers at the front witnessed Lorist slaughter the other two Gold ranks, the ones behind were not aware of the situation and started rushing towards him at the sound of the old man's shout, pushing the ones in front forward as well.

Lorist laughed and said, "Just in time!"

The sword in his hand whooshed as it arced through the fabric of space. Lorist completely abandoned his usual principle of keeping his abilities hidden and engaged in total massacre. After all his friends joined him on the journey despite having to forsake their comfortable lives at Morante City, nobody would have expected for them to be oppressed by the slavers right after their departure. If he still wanted to hide his abilities at this point, there was no doubt that his soldiers would lose their morale and cause many issues to surface in the future.

To foster the confidence of his forces and take action in response of his injured family knights and the other senior students of the academy, Lorist steeled his resolve to not spare any one of these slavers. Thus, the first battle on the journey north broke out.

At that moment, Lorist felt extra energized and focused. From his dynamic vision, the incoming enemies looked like a horde of slow, stunted puppets. With a low grunt, Lorist danced with his sword into the sea of people....

Blades flashed all over with chunks of meat airborne as fountains of blood stained the whole battlefield. Amidst severed heads and limbs as well as broken weapons, Lorist was akin to a tiger that had gotten into the middle of a herd of sheep. Chaos broke out wherever he went: everything could be summarized into a series of agonizing screams, swords clashing and surprised gasps. The enemies started to retreat as quickly as they had rushed over, much like the coming and receding of a wave at the shore of a beach.

The slavers all backed off from Lorist, leaving him standing alone in the middle of a circular space. Bathed all over with blood, his whole form was dyed dark red with about twenty seven or twenty eight corpses lying on the ground beside him, some of which were headless or had their limbs separated from their body.

The whole battlefield fell into complete silence with everyone looking at Lorist, speechless at the gruesome sight. The slavers were all dumbfounded by that scene while the Norton Family's forces looked upon him with crazed fervor, admiration, and respect.

Wales and Malek both had their mouths agape. Looking at Potterfang, Wales asked, "Is… Is he really an Iron rank like you said..."-

Wiping some blood off his face, Lorist could see the Three Star Gold ranked old man gingerly moving away from him.

"Hehehe…" Lorist started laughing lightly. "Old man, where do you think you're going? You better stay there obediently so that I don't have to waste so much energy on you."

The old man instantly broke into a run...

Lorist quickly followed and slayed those who dared to impede him. The slavers who got out of the way had temporarily survived while some who were still dumbfounded found themselves on the ground the next moment with their necks slit.

The slavers' group quickly collapsed as most of their members tossed their weapons and ran back in the direction of their camp, terrified.

Terman waved his hand and his group of knights leveled their lances and started their charge...

Riding over with ten other senior students of the academy, Els shouted loudly on horseback, "Norton!"

Their other students responded by shouting in unison, "Norton!"

The cheers were echoed by the multitudes of slaves as well. They all shouted the name of Lorist's family spiritedly.

....

That old fellow was rather sharp as he didn't return to the slavers' camp but instead circled around it to escape to the town. He believed that he would be able to blend in like a fish in the sea the moment he reached and escape that horrifying youth.

Huffing and panting, the town was already within sight. The old man stopped and breathed a sigh of relief. But the moment he turned to his back, his soul almost fled his body.

Behind him was that freakish youth who still had blood dripping all over his body. With a face full of smiles, he said, "Go on, keep running. I'd like to see for how much longer you can last."

That old man felt both his legs give out at that moment and he couldn't do anything about it. He even felt the irresistible urge to relax his bladder and let out the contents within.

Kneeling in front of Lorist, the old man said, "I… I surrender…"

"Hey, old man, you think that we're playing pretend war like little kids? Do you think I will spare you just because you said you'll surrender? It doesn't work that way, you know." Lorist felt that the old man's action was pretty laughable.

"I, I'm already pretty old and I've been thinking of quitting for some time now. I only stayed with them because I had no other choice. Also, I didn't even kill one of your men and only managed to wound that fat one lightly in the first battle, which isn't anything he shouldn't be able to recover from…" The old man kept kneeling as he tried to find excuses for himself.

Oh, so Charade was hurt by this old guy.

"Then you're implying that I should be thankful to you for that and let you go?" laughed Lorist.

"I wouldn't dare…" replied the old man while he shook his head.

Sounds of horses galloping could be heard. It was Dulles who came over with two horses and some other javelins.

"Milord, sorry I'm late," he apologized.

"Hehe, it's no big deal. These slavers turned out to be quite a piece of cake. They're all bark but no bite," replied Lorist. He looked over to that old man and said, "Oldie, no matter the circumstance, you're still a Three Star Gold rank you know. Shouldn't you at least draw your sword and die from a glorious death?"

The old man shook his head fervently and he said, "That's merely suicide, I don't want to do that at all. I only ask for you to spare my worthless life."

Alright, this old fellow seems like a pretty laid back fellow. Taking out a javelin from his quiver, Lorist hurled it towards that old man and it landed only inches beside him. The old man's body twitched as he wet his own pants on the spot.

"Sol, oldie… You actually got so scared you wet yourself… You truly bring shame to Gold Swordsmen…" cursed Lorist.

"I… I've always been the cowardly sort… I couldn't hold it in after seeing milord's mighty form," stammered the old man with a face reddened from embarrassment.

"Well, I wouldn't mind sparing you, but what's in it for me?" asked Lorist.

"I… I'll give half of my savings to you, milord. There should be at least 1000 gold Fordes," said the old man after considering it for quite a while.

Lorist shook his head and said, "It's not enough. You're a Gold Swordsman, and it's not like I lack any money either. I'd rather cut your head off and show it off to the others than take your measly amount of money."

"I'll even give you my high-ranked Battle Force manual," added the old man.

"Hehe, it's already a given that I'll get it after I kill you," said Lorist as he readied another javelin.

"It is not with me right now," said that old man stubbornly.

"Relax, I'm sure there's someone who would recognize you. I'll just have them lead me to your home and take that whole place apart if I have to," consoled Lorist.

The old man despaired and he finally said after hesitating, "I… I have a granddaughter and she's really beautiful. She's only 18 and is still a virgin… I'll… I'll let you have her, milord."

"Sol, old man… You're too shameless you know. For you to offer your own granddaughter to others for your own life is the worst thing you can do as someone's elder!" shouted Lorist angrily.

"That's not the case. My granddaughter can only survive if I am alive. The only reason she's not being oppressed is because people take into account that I am her grandfather. If I die, she'll be helpless on her own and might even suffer a fate worse than death. That's why at the very least I have to survive to ensure her safety and well-being," declared the old man forthrightly.

"Oh, you do have a good point. However, that still doesn't cut it. I can easily get your daughter the same way I get your other belongings after I kill you," said Lorist.

"Milord, I beg you… What can I do to make you spare me?" The old man couldn't help but break into tears.

"Dulles, what do you say?" asked Lorist as he made a hand sign to him.

Dulles got the message and started playing along. "Milord, that old man is so pitiful, and it's not like he actively acted against us and killed any of our comrades. Why don't you let him live?"

"That won't do. Those who dare go against the Norton Family must be punished without exception," said Lorist as his killing intent filled the surroundings.

"Then, how about this? Milord, why don't you take him in as a slave? Let him serve you for 10 years and if he does well, he'll be able to regain his freedom by then," suggested Dulles.

"But do you think he'll be willing?" Lorist pretended to be interested and shook his head. "I think killing him will be easier though, otherwise I'll be worried that he'll act against me one day."

At that moment, the old man started kowtowing and said, "Of course I'm willing! I'll definitely serve milord to the best of my ability and be loyal at all times!"

"Alright, then I'll you live. Dulles, tie him up and make him sign a slave contract once we get back to the camp. After that, take his gold coins, Battle Force manual as well as all his family members along. Don't forget that pretty granddaughter of his," said Lorist.

"Yes, milord."

Occupying the Bastide

Seeing Lorist and the other two return to the battlefield, Els rode over to greet his lord.

"Milord, the battle was a huge success. We even managed to conquer their main camp," said Els excitedly with a face reddened with excitement as he shouted towards Lorist's group of three.

Lorist asked, "What are you doing? Walking the horses?"

"Nope, Knight Potterfang had me scour the area for any slavers that might have escaped," Els answered.

"Did you just say that we conquered their camp?"

"That's right. Locke, when you unleashed the beast within and started slaughtering nonstop among their ranks, the slavers' forces broke formation and rushed back towards their main camp. We have successfully taken advantage of that and occupied their base in one fell swoop. Just now, Charade had someone carry him to the enemy base so that he can help manage the loot and asked me to call you over." Even though Els was a Norton Family knight, he was pretty casual when he talked to Lorist and frequently forgot the formal nature of their relationship and behaved as he would when they went on mercenary missions.

But Lorist didn't mind it as it made him feel less awkward around him. He asked, "How are our casualties?"

"Casualties? There were none, other than two slave soldiers who accidentally tripped and fell during the charge and sprained their ankles and got some bruises here and there. The two of them instantly became the laughing stock of the whole camp. As for the slavers, at least half of them perished and the rest were all apprehended by our forces. Oh, and you better head there quick. There are still another 2000 plus captured slaves waiting to be handled based on your decision," Els said.

"There's no rush," said Lorist. He turned to the old man behind him and asked, "Hey, old man, where did you guys get the slaves in your camp from?"

The old man looked rather pathetic as he was tied up all over with a long rope with its end held in Dulles's hand. A quiver with five javelins was also hung on his back because Lorist was worried that the horse would tire out quickly from the load. Lorist said that even though the captured fighter looked aged, he was nevertheless a Three Star Gold rank and had incredible physical endurance. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to run all the way to the town in one breath. Having just escaped the fate of certain death, the old man could only accept his treatment without a single complaint.

The old man replied, "Master, these slaves had all been purchased or captured from the Redlis Kingdom during the past half year. I heard that some of my colleagues had razed several villages and killed all the elderly while enslaving the young and able."

Life in troubled times truly is akin to that of a dog's. As a common peasant, not only did they have to labor tirelessly to pay the unreasonable taxes levied by their lords, they also had to survive invasions from enemies, especially slave traders. The common folk could be carrying out their daily routine like any other day only to end up as slaves with their family members killed overnight from slaver attacks.

Lorist said disdainfully, "Old man, as a Three Star Gold Swordsman, why are you hanging around these scum that are no better than foul beasts?"

The old man said, "Master, I did not have a choice in that matter. Six years ago when I was on the way to Morante City with my granddaughter, she fell ill when we were resting at Armatrin Harbor and I didn't have enough money to give her the appropriate treatment. She only managed to survive because I relied on the slaver group. During these six years, I have never harmed a single slave and even helped quite a number of people..."

The old man was originally a garrison captain of a small city back in the days of the Krissen Empire and lived quite a decent life. However, when the three princes started the struggle for power, the first wave of battles engulfed his hometown. WIth his son and daughter-in-law both dead, his own wife soon passed away from extreme depression. Worried about his daughter's livelihood, the old man deserted the army and brought his 12-year-old grandchild to Morante City, only to be forced to stop at Armatrin Harbor due to severe seasickness. When he found that he had no way to overcome that hurdle, he met the leader of the slaver group, Sloph and joined their group to ensure her daughter's health and safety and has remained within it ever since.

The old man said that the leader of the group knew that he didn't like to do dirty work, so he was tasked to stand guard and protect their army camp instead. He explained that he managed to stop some others from needlessly hurting the slaves during his years of service there.

"But in the end they were still sold off, right?" said Els in a dissatisfied tone. "Old man, since you are of the opinion that slavery is an unethical business, why didn't you leave right after your granddaughter recovered? For you to have stayed there for 6 whole years… They say birds of the same feather flock together. Since you stuck with them for so long, don't pretend to be a good person."

"Do you think they'll let me leave just because I want to?" said the old man bitterly. "When my granddaughter recovered, they moved us to the Sloph Bastide right away and we have stayed there ever since. That is Sloph's main base of operations and the security there is nothing to laugh at. It would still be fine for me to escape alone, but there was no way I would be able to pull that off with my granddaughter. Aside from that, Sloph himself is also a Gold ranked fighter with his cousin brother Pike being a Blademaster. At that time, I could only accept my fate."

Lorist's expression was a little heavy as he said, "Old man, tell me about Sloph and his bastide as well as that Blademaster cousin of his. I'll need as many details as I can get."

Having spent six years with the slavers, the old man was quite informed about their situation. He said that in the early days, Sloph used to be a mercenary who somehow got to know a slave merchant at Port Nupite and started catching slaves for him. The internal conflict within the empire was a golden opportunity that he exploited and over the years, his band of slavers had expanded quite a lot with over 300 men in present day. Even the local lord couldn't do anything about Sloph.

When Sloph started profiting quite a bit from the slave trade, he commissioned for a bastide to be constructed over a large plot of land and made it his home base. Within it lived the family members of the slavers as well as 800 other slaves who worked at the vineyard within the bastide. The wine produced by Sloph had started gaining quite a reputation in recent years.

There were two main factors that contributed to the bastide's strong defense: terrain and manpower. However, just last month, Sloph intended to get a noble title and establish himself as a landed noble and brought a couple of people to the capital for that purpose before proceeding to Port Nupite to handle some other business dealings and would only return after around 10 days. Now that most of the slavers were at the camp in the pine forest, the bastide's defense was currently at its weakest with only 10-odd Silver Swordsmen and 50-odd Iron ranked constables who were put in charge of patrolling the town and keeping the slaves in check.

Even though Sloph was a Two Star Gold Swordsman, his recent successes had caused him to gain quite a bit of weight and his combat ability to even deteriorate. Right now, his main backing was that Blademaster cousin of his.

"Have you sparred against Blademaster Pike before?" asked Lorist.

Nodding his head, the old man answered, "Yes, I have. It was almost half a year ago during a banquet held in celebration of the harvest festival. I was picked to be his sparring partner and fought for about 10 bouts and dropped my sword and surrendered when I saw his displeased expression. I estimate that I can continue on for a hundred more moves and might even stand a chance to win."

Nodding, Lorist already had an idea about the Blademaster's skills.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot to ask for your name," said Lorist.

"Milord, I am called Engelich," replied the old man.

...

After arriving at the main camp, Lorist saw that the the main entrance was open. As he was about to bring his horse to the stable, he saw Charade sitting on a cushion in the middle of the camp plaza, enraged. It turned out that Charade was angry because the scribe he tasked to write down the things he said because his hand was injured had terrible handwriting and kept getting the words wrong. The senior student who was helping him out also had a rather bad temper; after being scolded, he threw the pen and beastskin down and said that his hand was meant to wield a sword, not to write and that Charade should be grateful that he bothered to help out in the first place. After that, that man left and Charade started blowing up again.

Trying hard to suppress his laughter, Lorist picked up the stuff on the ground and handed it to Dulles. "Dulles, go to the slave camp and pick a few of them who can write well and let them serve Charade. Els, bring Knight Potterfang and Knight Terman over, I have something to discuss."

Without delay, Terman, Potterfang and his two comrades came over hastily.

After briefing the knights on the situation of Sloph, Lorist suggested that they attack the bastide right now as it is at its most unguarded state and handle Sloph and his cousin Blademaster Pike when they returned ten days later.

Lorist planned to have Engelich, who had just surrendered to him, trick the guards of the bastide to open the gates before having Terman bring his troops to quickly wipe out any resistance that sparks. Finally, he would have Dulles lead the slave soldiers to clear out the bastide while Els would lead another group of slave soldiers who could ride to seal off the entire bastide to avoid letting anyone from within to escape. When the trouble settles, the group would then abandon the camp in the pine forest and move over to the bastide entirely.

And while they attack the bastide, Potterfang was to stand guard at the camp and make sure nothing out of the ordinary happens.

Everyone agreed to Lorist's plans except for Potterfang who was worried Lorist would run into trouble by bringing the Three Star Gold ranked old man alone with him to trick the enemy to open their gates. However, Wales said, "Why don't I accompany Mister Norton here on that trip? I've been feeling quite bored and don't have anything better to do anyway."

Potterfang was extremely pleased that Lode Wales had offered himself to help and thanked him while patting his shoulder. Lorist politely saluted him and expressed his gratitude as well. "Mister Lode, I shall be troubling you to help me out. I'm really grateful for your assistance."

Wales quickly returned the greeting. "Mister Norton, you're being too polite. If you don't mind, you can call me Loze just like Pog does."

Lorist laughed out loud and stretched his hand out for a handshake. "Alright, Loze. You can refer to me as Locke too. That's what my friends call me."

...

After taking a bath and changing out of his bloodstained garments, as well as letting Engelich wash up and change his urine-stained pants, he got the rest to complete the preparations and rode off to Sloph's bastide with Loze and Engelich.

The bastide was approximately 7000 meters from the slaver camp. Several buildings could be seen on the hills west to the main highway near the town. Lorist and Loze chatted and laughed along the way to their destination.

In actuality, Loze was quite a candid and proud youth. He said that his father used to be a mercenary and had left him a high-ranked Battle Force manual, hoping that he would one day become a legendary mercenary. However, due to having been exposed to stories of knighthood and chivalry at a young age, Loze enlisted for the army without letting his father know. His dream was to become a knight instead of a mercenary and that enraged his father to the point where he almost got a stroke.

In the Whitelion Legion, Loze was known as a fearless and unparalleled general. However, the legion was disbanded after the civil war tore the empire apart. Loze returned home only to find his family and friends all gone. Suddenly losing everything he cared about, he no longer had any attachments and formed a group with a few other of his comrades to go venture the world. On one fateful trip, he rescued a slave trader from a bandit attack and got hired as a bodyguard and followed him all the way to Port Nupite. It was then when he bumped into Potterfang who was there to purchase some slaves to form the main force of the Norton Family on the journey to the Northlands. Intrigued by the prospect of adventure, Loze brought another friend who was unwilling to continue working as a bodyguard for a slaver, Mons Malek, along to see Potterfang.

The conquest of the bastide went without a hitch with Loze not even having to fight himself. Any sign of resistance was settled swiftly by Lorist using his javelins. Upon reaching the gates, the guards who were on duty dropped their guard entirely after seeing Engelich and lowered the drawbridge for them to enter. After Lorist slit the guards with his sword, the other Silver ranked guards all rushed over to swarm Lorist's group, thinking that they had an edge because of the disparity in numbers.

At that moment, Lorist took a javelin out of his quiver and with lightning speed, flung it out one after another, unleashing a rain of javelins unto the enemy forces. Of the ten Silver ranks that rushed over, easily half of them fell from the first volley with the rest preparing to cut down the javelins with their swords, only to be met with following waves of incessant javelin fire and ultimately experiencing gruesome deaths from being pierced straight through. After Lorist expended three quivers' worth of javelins, not one enemy remained standing.

Having witnessed that terrifying scene, Engelich started shivering and felt extremely fortunate that he recognized the might of that man and surrendered quickly, thus having his life spared in the end. Loze on the other hand was admirably praising Lorist's skill.

Terman subsequently brought the rest of his troops into the bastide and successfully occupied it, followed by him cooperating with Dulles to clear out the whole bastide of enemy troops. Even though the Iron ranked slave supervisors attempted to retaliate, under the assault of Terman and the senior academy students, they gave up entirely after ten or so of their own died with not even one of Terman's men injured in the slightest. Dulles commented that the supervisors were digging their own graves for being crazy enough to take on a fully-armed group of Silver Swordsmen with only a few whips and shortswords.

Lorist then instructed Terman to bring a group of people to go back to the camp and inform Charade and Potterfang to move over to the bastide and have some carriages go to the port to transport their other resources and equipment.

After that, he told Dulles to gather the slaves in the bastide together before detaining the other family members of the slavers and kill anyone who dares to resist. He also instructed Els to increase the level of security at the bastide. The tasks he had to do just kept piling up.

Wistful cries at the residential area of the bastide could be heard as the fierce, imposing slave soldiers marched inside and gathered the residents per Lorist's orders. Some sounds of battle and conflict rang out as well.

However, the resistance was short-lived and was soon quelled, resulting in a few lavishly-dressed corpses littered around the pavements and yards of the houses. It could be seen from the state of the corpses that the pent up rage and hate harbored by the slaves was no small matter.

During all that, Lorist followed Engelich to his granddaughter's residence. Along the way, the patrolling slave soldiers all greeted him respectfully and the families of the slavers looked at him with hateful glances.

Lorist was relieved that the slave soldiers didn't break any regulations, and only killed the ones who resisted without harassing the women nor taking the slavers' belongings as they pleased. Though, perhaps that was because the knew that they would have to hand in the loot anyway and would end up being punished for any attempt at embezzlement. After forcing the family members out of their houses, they patiently awaited their next order.

Engelich's granddaughter was quite the beauty, being quite fair-skinned and having a quiet air about her. She stood in front of the yard with a slight look of terror on her face beside a 16-year-old handmaiden. After seeing her grandfather, she leaped forward and hugged him tightly, unwilling to let go.

Nodding towards a saluting slave soldier nearby, Lorist checked out Engelich's granddaughter before saying, "Let's talk when we're inside."

Even though the hut was small, it was quite well-kept. Lorist saw a half-written beastskin on the table and picked it up to take a look. The words on the beastskin were organized and neat except for the last one, which ended in a very long stroke. It was apparent that she was in the middle of writing the document when the slave soldiers attacked.

"Are you copying a book?" asked Lorist. The girly shyly nodded.

"Your words are pretty neat," praised Lorist.

"Engelich, it's time you handed over your goods," Lorist continued.

The old man's expression turned downcast as he entered a small room and took out a small box with a beastskin book. Upon opening the box, a pile of glimmering gold coins could be seen.

"This… This contains all my savings over the years. There are 1437 gold Fordes within," said the old man with a pained heart.

Taking out one gold coin, Lorist said, "Old man, do you know how much blood and tears have been spilled for these gold coins? These coins are unclean and tainted. If you spend them, you will one day face the consequences. If you don't get punished, eventually, your descendants will. I think it would be better for both of us if I take it away and resolve that problem for you."

He then took out a pouch from his pocket and tossed it to the old man. "Within that is 10-odd gold coins which are clean and rightfully earned and isn't the product of anyone's suffering. You can spend them with a good conscience, knowing that nobody has been harmed for those gold coins. I'll be giving them to you."

"As for this water attribute Battle Force manual��…" Lorist flipped through the manual and tossed it to the young girl beside. "Have your granddaughter make me a copy and keep the original for yourself. During these two days, you are to stay here with your granddaughter and her handmaiden while I think about how I should handle you. If you need anything, just tell the patrolling soldiers outside, understood?"

The old man quickly saluted and said, "Thank you, milord. I will await your further instruction."

Lorist then took the box full of gold coins and left the hut.

Reorganization and Maidservants

At the central plaza of the Sloph Bastide was a sea of people. It was the third day since Lorist's group occupied the bastide.

In the middle of the plaza stood around 700 spear-wielding slave soldiers with their family members all gathered up beside them in the square, along with another thousand plus slaves who worked in the bastide's vineyard.

Appearing before all of them on the balcony of a building that faced the center of the plaza was Lorist who could be seen holding an iron bullhorn in his hand. On the second day the bastide was conquered, his armed forces have moved over entirely to the bastide from the camp in the pine forest. WIth the miscellaneous matters out of the way, what followed was the force's reorganization. Lorist intended to give a speech to the slaves present and inspire hope and dreams within them as well as confidence for them to join him on the journey to the Northlands.

Putting the bullhorn to his mouth, he said, "I'd like to introduce myself. I am Baron Norton, the head of the family of the Roaring Raging Bear of the Northlands." Lorist introduced himself while shamelessly adding that he was the head of the Nortons even though the official ceremony of succession hasn't been carried out.

"I believe that many of you here understand back then that my knights have paid quite a heavy price to liberate the likes of you from the grasps of the slave traders at Port Nupite along with your family members to join us on the journey to the Northlands and promised your freedom when we reach there. However, what I didn't expect was for us to run into the assault of these asinine slavers who wished to deprive you of your birthright and treat you people like nothing more than products and property whose sole purpose is to make them profit.

"Before I could send reinforcements to your side, you have managed to fend of the attack of the slavers despite being not properly equipped and managed to keep the camp secure before my arrival. After that, you have also successfully swarmed the camp of the slavers and even occupied this bastide, which is their main base. During the whole process, you all have managed to fulfill your responsibilities and obey the regulations that we have set up and completed the tasks we have assigned you. Your performance has truly won my heartfelt respect, as well as earned yourselves the freedom you deserve.

"As the head of the Norton Family, I, Baron Norton, hereby declare that from today onwards, you are no longer slaves and are instead proud and noble soldiers of the Norton Family..."

"Yeaaahh! ...." All the slave soldiers at the plaza gave a loud cheer that shook the eardrums of everyone present.

Lorist waited for a while and gestured for the crowd to quiet down. "By the time we reach the Northlands, your families will be treated as free citizens and will be eligible to enjoy benefits that are entailed to family members of the Norton Family Armed Forces. You will also be assigned houses and farmland and will be able to lead the rest of your lives in peace..."

At that moment, the family members of the slave soldiers cheered loudly together as well.

"During this resistance against the slavers, 17 of our heroic soldiers has sacrificed their lives for our victory with four others injured and handicapped as a result. However, the Norton Family will not forget the contribution and loyalty of our soldiers. The family members of the fallen soldiers will still be entitled to the treatment of that of families with members in our army and will also receive 1 large silver every month as a pension for up to twenty years. This applies to disabled soldiers as well, but they will be able to continue receiving the pension for the rest of their lives. This policy of mine will definitely not change."

The soldiers of the family were all moved by the speech with some of the family members of the fallen soldiers breaking out in tears. It was apparent that they were quite worried about being abandoned by the lord as they would effectively be a burden on the convoy. For normal foot soldiers who lived their lives walking on tightropes, their biggest worry was the fates of their family members after their deaths on the battlefield. If they served under a generous lord, their family might receive a few silver coins as reimbursement for their loss. But for selfish lords who didn't care about the welfare of their families, not only would they blame the loss of the battles on their own soldiers, they might even sell the family members of the fallen soldiers to slave traders for a small profit.

The promises that Lorist had made were completely unprecedented in the history of the Grindia Continent. It was common knowledge that as the number of fallen soldiers reach the tens of thousands, the pension fee would add up to a rather large sum which would become an unbearable burden on the ruler. In the midst of a war-torn age, there was no lord who dared to make promises like that to their soldiers.

In actuality, Lorist had gotten into quite a big argument with Charade over the issue. Even Potterfang was against Lorist's decision, citing his experience in the Whitelion Legion that the family members of the fallen soldiers were only paid a year's worth of the soldier's salary in a lump sum and not throughout the span of twenty years like Lorist had decided.

Lorist then brought up the battle with the slavers. By the time he had killed more than 30 people alone, which was not even half of the number of people the enemy had, the slavers crumbled and retreated right away. After Terman and Els's assault, they killed another half of their forces but didn't sustain any casualties at all, apart from the two jokers which had hurt themselves from tripping.

Lorist told Charade and Potterfang back then that he wanted to foster the kind of army that was willing to fight until their last breath and wouldn't give up even during the gravest of circumstances, to the point that they would gladly sacrifice their own lives just to give their own forces the slightest age in battle, unlike the slavers they had fought who turned and ran the moment the battle was to their disadvantage. Only an army like that could become a force to be reckoned with and deter any other powers from preying on the Norton Family and make them think twice whether it would actually cause them more loss than gain should they decide to provoke the Nortons.

And to build that army, Lorist said that the first thing that should be handled was the alleviation of the soldiers' worries and attachments so that they would not hesitate to perish for the sake of their families, which was what the whole point of the pension plan he had in mind was centered around. He also told Charade and Potterfang that the pension fund wouldn't be that big a burden that they had thought: twenty years worth of pensions for a fallen soldier would only amount to 240 large silvers, which was equal to 12 gold Fordes in total.

Even though 12 gold Fordes might not seem like a huge amount to a soldier on the battlefield, it would be able to provide their families with 20 years of security and comfortable living. Additionally, the pension was to be handed out gradually and not all that once. It was akin to the Norton Family borrowing 12 gold Fordes and paying an interest of only one large silver a month and the money could be used to develop many things in the dominion. A large silver of interest per fallen soldier was actually a relatively small amount.

It was at that moment when Charade and Potterfang realized the real benefits of the plan and felt that they didn't think as far as Lorist had. Lorist also mentioned that this was only the first step, and that there were still many things to be managed within the family's armed forces such as educating the soldiers to obey orders and regulations, as well as developing their sense of pride and belonging to the armed forces of the Norton Family. However, that wasn't something that could be done in a short amount of time and had to be gradually nurtured and polished from long periods of training and participation in battles.

As the cheers from the people at the plaza started to quiet down, Lorist once again raised his bullhorn and said, "Soldiers of the family, the Northlands are still far away and the journey will no doubt be arduous. Before we resume our march, you will have to undergo reorganization and further training. I will provide you with helmets to protect yourselves and sharp weapons for you to cut down anyone who dares to bar our way. Whether they're bandits or greedy lords who dare to set their sights on us, they will no doubt end up as ash and dust beneath the wheels of our chariots! Nobody can stop us from going home! I promise that I will not abandon any single one of you in the name of the Raging Bear! We will definitely return to the Northlands and live the rest of our lives in bliss!"

The crowd in the plaza instantly erupted and began chanting, "Norton! Norton! ..."

Once again raising the horn to his mouth, Lorist addressed the slaves who had been liberated from the bastide and the enemy camp. "There are no slaves in the Norton Family, and the family will also never deal with slaves. Hence, I am declaring the slaves who were liberated by us from the camp and the bastide free men and women!"

Once again the people at the crowd broke into loud cheers.

"However, even though you've regained your freedom, you will not be allowed to leave just yet and will temporarily have to remain in this bastide until the day we depart for the Northlands. At that point, we would also provide the ones who wish to leave with funds for transport and food. If you have nowhere else to return to, we also welcome you to join our army and let your families enjoy the benefits of being one of our soldiers. For those who do not wish to stay, you shall be assigned work and be paid for your efforts before we depart."

He then placed the bullhorn down and waved to the crowd, triggering loud applauses and cheers once again before he turned and left the balcony.

"Giving a speech in front of so many people is still a first for me. I was nervous as heck," Lorist muttered, before receiving the linen cloth Shadekampf passed over and wiped his face with it.

The lounge on the second floor of the building was currently fully-seated with Charade leaning on a soft couch and Terman and Yuriy seated beside him. Opposite to them sat Potterfang and his two comrades with the rest of the people in the room being the 38 senior students from the Dawn Academy, some of whom were still wearing bandages from the injuries they had sustained.

Els and Patt were absent from the meeting as they were tasked with patrolling the area while Reidy brought Alisa to the park in the bastide for a walk. Howard on the other hand, stood beside Lorist as his personal attendant with a solemn look on his face.

Aside from them, Engelich could be seen leaning on a wall at a corner of the room with his beautiful granddaughter beside him, patiently waiting to hear what Lorist had in mind for them.

Lorist sat down on his seat and Shadekampf stood at his place beside Howard.

"So, we'll be executing it according to what we've discussed for the past two days," said Lorist. "Knight Pog, I will assign the task of reorganizing a 500-strong heavy-armored battalion to you."

Potterfang stood up and saluted before he said, "I will not let milord down."

"Yuriy, the reorganization of the 60 men light cavalry must be hastened and not taken lightly as that unit will serve as the eyes and ears for our army."

"Yes, milord. Please be assured," replied Yuriy as he got up.

"Terman, your knight brigade is a little too small with only 14 men in it. How about this, let every one of your knights pick two attendants who will be granted the rank of a squire when their Battle Force reaches the Silver rank. Should they earn an achievement, they will also be allowed to join the ranks of the family knights."

Of the 38 senior students from the academy, only 13 others and Terman have formally received training to be a knight. As knights served as the main assault force on the battlefield, Lorist decided to add a couple more to their ranks even if they weren't properly trained ones so that the brigade would seem more domineering and threatening on the battlefield.

"Understood," replied Terman.

"Dulles, I'll leave the 12 carroballistas to you. Assemble some people to operate them as soon as possible."

"Yes, milord," saluted Dulles.

"Lundmorde, how's the formation of your herbalist unit going?" asked Lorist.

"Milord, I have found a beginner rank herbalist as well as two herbalist apprentices from the slave camp. Unfortunately, those three were the only ones who had remotely any knowledge in the field. I've already recruited them into the unit. However, there seems to be a man and his daughter in the bastide who are respectively mid-ranked and beginner rank herbalists who were employed by Sloph and are currently in detention. Milord, how about it?" said Lundmorde, standing. He was one of the senior students at the academy who had the qualifications of a beginner rank herbalist, but had somehow gotten into an argument with a herbalism professor in the academy, Nate Borg, and had his own status as a herbalism instructor revoked. He was then convinced by Charade and joined the northbound journey in the heat of the moment.

"Hmm, go ask the slaves and see if the father and daughter have committed any atrocities towards them like their masters. If that is not the case, then release them and return their belongings before asking them if they want to join us. Should they be reluctant to do so, do not force them and let them leave as they please,"said Lorist.

"Yes, milord. I will do as you will."

Sigh, we're still quite lacking in capable people, thought Lorist as he started to set his sights on Potterfang's two other comrades.

"Mister Mons and Loze, can I ask the two of you for a favor?" asked Lorist politely.

Loze gave a carefree smile and said, "Lord Locke, please do not hesitate to state your request. We'll be honored to be able to help you out."

Mons Malek also nodded in agreement.

"Well, the thing is, I want to form another 360-strong company of crossbowmen with another pike infantry regiment. Can I temporarily invite the two of you welcome guests of the family to serve as the officers in charge of these two units? I believe you also know that many of my mates from the academy have no experience in the army and wouldn't be too appropriate for the role of an officer at the moment. Given that the two of you are experienced military officers, would you mind lending me a hand in this matter?" asked Lorist.

"No problem. How about you, Malek?" Loze answered quickly without hesitation and looked at his partner for his response.

Mons Malek merely nodded.

"How about this, since Malek was originally the military judge of the Whitelion Legion, let him take charge of the crossbowman company. I'll lead the pike infantry regiment since getting up close and personal with the enemy is more of my thing," said Loze.

"Then I'll be relying on you two from now on," said Lorist with much joy.

"Currently, we only have about 700 official members in the family's armed forces. But we have liberated over 3000 slaves just recently and most of them are strong youths whose families have been either killed or captured by the slavers. That's why I hope that you guys will do your best to encourage them to join our army. But make sure you do not force them to join unwillingly, alright?"

"Yes, milord," replied everyone in the hall.

"Knight Charade's task will be the heaviest of all of you. He's the chief supervisor of our convoy and all matters large and small must be handled by him. I have also appointed Shadekampf to be his aide. Other than that, I will also have Knight Els recruit some people to form a constable unit that will be in charge of maintaining the order of the people of the convoy," said Lorist. He then looked towards Engelich who was leaning on the wall and his granddaughter before waving for them to come over.

"You guys are really lucky," said Lorist as he looked at the pair intriguingly. "I have just made an oath publicly that the Norton Family will not have slaves, so you two are still free people. However, the fact that Engelich had participated in the fight against our forces still stands true. Even though I've spared your life, you must still pay for the consequences of your actions. I have here two contracts for you and your granddaughter to sign. Don't worry, they're not slave contracts but servant contracts instead. After ten years of service, the two of you are free to leave the Norton Family."

Shadekampf came over from the side holding two beastskin parchments and a pen and handed the items to Engelich and his granddaughter.

Staring at the contract with his face twitching for quite a while, Engelich gave a large sigh before signing his name and putting his fingerprint on the contract. His granddaughter followed suit with a pale look on her face.

"So, you're called Molise?" Lorist asked as he looked toward that pale-faced girl.

"Yes, milord," replied the girl in slight fear.

"Your handwriting is really neat and the Battle Force manual I had you copy for me was nicely done without any errors. Don't worry, I won't be letting you do menial chores like serving drinks and the such. Do you see that fatty over there? He was hurt by your grandfather and is unable to write due to his injuries. That's why from today onwards, you will be his personal maidservant and act as his right hand. Not only would you have to look after him and attend to any of his needs, you'll also have to write down whatever he needs you to. Your role is to basically be his assistant and secretary, understood?" said Lorist as he pointed at Charade.

The girl bowed and said, "Yes, milord. I will do as you wish and serve as his maidservant and secretary."

Charade had a stunned look on his face. "Milord, milord… Locke, stop kidding around. I don't need any maidservants. Why don't you keep her by your side?"

Charade was so flustered to the point he called Lorist by his nickname.

Lorist responded with a straight face, "This is my decision and it is final. It's not like I need a scribe following me around anyway. I'm sure you'll appreciate the extra help as you'll get pretty busy soon enough. Also, your tent is as messy and dirty as a pig's sty! You'll definitely need to have someone help you keep the place orderly. Also, you can also use the other slaves who helped you out with the writing to carry out your errands and help you out with the matters of the convoy.

"Oh, and Molise here also has a maidservant herself. According to what I've heard, her parents were both killed by slavers and Molise was the one who purchased her from the slavers. Right now, she has regained her freedom. Charade, you may also get her to sign the servant contract and have her serve you together with Molise. Engelich, please stay by Knight Charade's side for now and obey his instructions."

"Understood, milord. Your will is my command," said Engelich as he breathed a relieved sigh. He was satisfied as long as he would be able to be by his granddaughter's side.

...

Everyone had left after the meeting, including Howard who had gone to look for Alisa. Rubbing his temples gently, Lorist thought, gosh, it's so tiring being the head of the family… I need to manage almost everything. Thank goodness I have Charade helping me out. Otherwise, I'll definitely go crazy from doing every little thing by myself.

"Hey, Locke, I heard that you gave a beautiful young lass to that fatty." The only one who dared to speak like that to Lorist was no other than Els.

"Ah, you've come," said Lorist as he raised his head to see Els rapidly approaching.

"Just now, I heard Yuriy and the gang talk about how jealous they were of Charade when I passed by."

"Surely they can search for their own maidservant, right? I heard from Shadekampf that we have liberated more than ten beautiful virgin girls from the slaver camp who were originally going to be sold for high prices at Port Nupite. Shadekampf even tried to get a few of them to be my personal maidservants but I've rejected that offer. Later, you can tell Yuriy and the others that they are allowed to let any of the girls sign a servant contract, but only if they do so willingly," said Lorist.

"Huh? Something's not right. Locke, are you not feeling well or something?" asked Els curiously.

"Hmm? What about me?" Lorist was also confused as to why Els asked something like that.

"Let's see, there was that one time you did it with Louise on your birthday, and then there were five times with Nina over the years, four times with Sala, three or four times with Jumile and finally, we have the new girl Molly, whom you did it with the most, somewhere around seven times. You've basically bedded almost every girl in the inn. It's not like you're impotent or against having intercourse with women. But this time, not only did you give such a great beauty to Charade, you also refused to take in the pretty, young girls as your servants. Is something wrong your junk?" said Els as he looked at his hands and recounted the times Lorist engaged in coitus.

"Good Sol..." Lorist really didn't know what to say and freaked out by grabbing hold of Els and gave him a good pummeling. "I'm a man who has needs too you know. At that time, I've just broken up with my girlfriend, so where else do you think I could have gone for some intimacy? The brothel you've opened? Who asked you to peep, huh? Who gave you the permission?"

Needless to say, the fact that Els was so informed about the matter was because he was observing every one of Lorist's encounters in secret. Even Lorist himself wasn't that clear about the number of times he had intercourse with a woman.

Lorist felt much better after giving Els a good beating. Sitting back on his chair, he said, "Sigh, Els, you should understand best… We haven't even started heading north, but we've already run into our first obstacle. Who knows how much tougher it will be on us during the rest of the journey? What do you think others will think of me if I lust after women at this point in time? Wouldn't they be disappointed and leave me in disgust? You've also been the leader of a syndicate yourself. Surely you understand how the people who follow you think. If I'm really that desperate for women, I wouldn't be leading this convoy in the first place."

Els stood up again and nodded. "You do have a point. But still, a girl that pretty is really a shame to not have by your side."

Even though he pummeled Els in the face, Lorist didn't use too much force and Els got up looking fine without showing any sign of pain nor injury. Then again, it wasn't the first time Lorist hit him like this.

"That's hardly anything to feel unfortunate about. Beauties are all over the place. During this journey north, I must also make sure the senior students that followed me get some benefits as well. It is my hope that they find their soulmate during the journey so that they may settle down in the dominion when we finally arrive there. Also, Els… You've reminded me of something. Didn't we also detain the concubines of Sloph and Blademaster Pike? You should go get Loze and Mons Malek and let them pick one girl each to be their maidservant. Let the rest of the senior students choose from the remaining ones after that. Actually, you can pick one yourself too," said Lorist.

"Understood, milord," Els answered as he bowed and saluted.

Ambush and the Yields

"Milord, I really don't have the guts for this... The moment I stand in front of you, I lose all my will and energy to swing my sword. I don't usually feel this frightened even when facing a Blademaster like Pike. However, the moment I see you, I have the urge of dropping my sword and surrendering right away. I... I really don't know why I feel like this as well..." stammered Engelich.

Sol, this old man has had his balls burst from fighting against me that one time and wouldn't spar with me at all... Lorist lazily waved his hand and said, "Fine, you can leave."

The old man felt like he had been spared a death sentence and left hurriedly after saluting Lorist.

Currently, the most important thing on the list was handling Sloph and Blademaster Pike when they return ten days later. Lorist was confident that he would be able to take care of Gold ranked combatants, but he's never fought against a Blademaster before, so he still wasn't sure if he would be able to tough this hurdle through.

He recalled that time when we went to visit Instructor Claude back when he just broke through to the level of a Blademaster. Back then, Instructor Claude felt the increase in his abilities and confidently stated that should he fight against Lorist in a duel, it wouldn't end up like the last time on the island when Lorist managed to last more than 200 moves.

Even though Instructor Claude considered Lorist at the Iron rank of power, he was unaware of Lorist's cultivation at the peak of the Bright Stage when they were on the islands, not to mention that Lorist had already broken through into the Dark Stage by the time he made his visit, which would make it even harder for Instructor Claude to completely dominate him in battle. During the visit, Lorist asked Instructor Claude about the differences between a Three Star Gold Swordsman and a Blademaster.

Scratching his head in thought, Instructor Claude then took out a few cups and made a simple demonstration for Lorist. He first placed the smallest cup on the table and said that upon the awakening of Battle Force, it was as if the body had a vessel that was like that cup which could store and release Battle Force. He then took out a larger cup and said that if the smaller cup was the Bronze rank, then the larger one would be the Iron rank. Lorist nodded to signal his understanding.

Claude then placed two bowls, one large and the other small, on the table. He pointed at the smaller one and said that it represented the Silver rank while the larger represented the Gold rank. He then proceeded to explain that the difference between the various Battle Force ranks, Bronze, Iron, Silver and Gold, was a quantitative one rather than a qualitative one. For example, there wasn't a difference between the size of the blade glows at the Gold and Silver rank, but rather the amount of time the blade glows could be generated. An Iron rank could circulate their Battle Force for tens of minutes while a Gold rank would be able to easily reach one hour of Battle Force utilization.

That's why, it wasn't too surprising for an Iron rank to defeat a Gold rank if the difference in swordsmanship of the Iron rank makes up for the relatively lesser amount of time the Battle Force could be used. Claude then took out a large plate and said that it represented a Blademaster. According to him, Gold Swordsmen and Blademasters didn't differ much in terms of Battle Force capacity. For example, both the bowl and plate could contain the same amount of water as each other.

The main difference was that the area of coverage of the plate was far larger than that of the bowl. When one fights against a Gold Swordsman, as long as one stayed outside of the bowl, one wouldn't be affected much. However, during combat with a Blademaster, one would inevitably be within the range of the plate and each and every action would no doubt be restricted within that area of influence. Instructor Claude took the bowl that represented a Gold Swordsman, placed it on top of the plate and spun it around. The bowl moved around within the plate but not once did it move outside the range of the plate onto the table.

It was then when Lorist felt enlightened and fully comprehended what Instructor Claude was trying to express. The qualitative change that came from breaking through to the Blademaster level from the Gold rank was akin to having a three dimensional solid spreading its volume flat over a larger surface area. While the actual surface area of the object didn't change, the range of influence definitely increased.

"Then, how about Sword Saints?" Lorist asked.

"Hmm, I believe they will be like the table on which the bowls and plates are placed. This table is like a Sword Saint's domain and we are like the tables and plates on the table. No matter how we move around the table, we will still not be able to escape the influence of the domain," said Instructor Claude resignedly.

According to Instructor Claude's explanation, Lorist came to the conclusion that the difference between a Gold rank and a Blademaster was the field of influence they had. Instructor Claude added that when he sparred with his wife, Instructor Anfya, right after he broke through, no matter which direction or method she swung her sword, he seemed to have a precognitive instinct that allowed him to predict his wife's every move, even when she attempted to change her fighting approach entirely.

To Lorist, it sounded this ability of Blademasters was on the same level as his dynamic vision. However, that ability was not as specific as his own in that it only gave one a general 'feeling' instead of true visual feedback that his dynamic vision provided him. That was to say, a Blademaster would be able to predict the direction a strike was coming from and react to it, but Lorist could even perceive the velocity and force of any incoming object.

Engelich also said that he was confident in being able to withstand up to a hundred strikes when confronting Blademaster Pike. That's why Lorist wasn't that worried about being defeated by him and felt that they would arrive at a draw at most. Even so, that didn't mean that Lorist didn't intend to exploit the fact that he knew about a Blademaster's range of control that was far superior to that of a Gold rank. With a plan in mind, he decided to see whether his 'range of influence' was far superior to that of the Blademaster.

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Lorist stood at a balcony which was the highest one in the entire bastide that allowed one to oversee each and every corner of the place with absolute clarity. Rumor also said that this was Sloph's favorite hangout. Perhaps it was because it offered him a sense of control and domination over the whole area.

At the plaza opposite the main building, Dulles could be seen directing the twelve carroballistas around. Even though each only required three men to operate, Dulles had up to five people on one and cited that the larger chariots allowed for more people to be on board and the extra two could help with shielding the rest from enemy fire or stabbing enemies with halberds, thus effectively increasing the defensive and close combat capabilities of each unit. The extra people also allowed for the injured to switch out with someone else to retain the core functionality of the carroballistas, ensuring that their assault wouldn't be stopped halfway just because one or two men got injured from enemy resistance.

On a small hill not far from there was Terman and 13 other knights who were coaching their 28 Iron ranked attendants to remain within formation when they charged toward their enemies. 40 plus horses could be seen racing around the small hill, causing a cloud of dust to cover the whole area.

On the far end was an even larger vineyard plot which Potterfang had repurposed into a training field. The sight of 600 men who were equipped with black helmets, black plate armor as well as black shields standing within formation seemed like a large black beast from afar and gave others a feeling of danger and distress. Satisfied with the results of the training, Lorist felt that Potterfang was indeed perfect for the job given his military background. Within but a few days, he had managed to train the 600 men which constituted the heavy-armored battalion into tip top condition.

The slaves they had managed to liberate this time from the camp and the bastide numbered around 3000 and many of them were more than happy to join the armed forces. Other than a few who yearned to return to their homelands, all of the youths and their family members had decided to join the convoy on the journey. The total number of Iron ranks including the soldiers they had bought at Port Nupite was around 900 with 400 more being of the Bronze rank.

That was why Lorist had decided to reorganize the various types of units he had. Firstly, he increased the number of soldiers within the heavy-armored battalion from 500 to 600. After that was Dulles's carroballista unit which totaled around 65 people with 60 assigned to the 12 ballistas and the remaining five including Dulles acting as messenger troops which were in charge of relaying orders within the group for them to be able to effectively function as a unit.

And then there was Terman's knight brigade. While the number of knights didn't actually increase, the 28 attendants they recruited all had Three Star Iron ranked Battle Force. As for Yuriy, he had expanded his light cavalry scouts to 80 people who were each equipped with chain mail and leather armor and were given two mounts each. Other provisions included 24 javelins, one crossbow with 24 bolts, a scutum shield[1] and longsword as well as some makeshift tools such as nets or throwing axes which could be used as weapons according to their preferences. Even Potterfang was envious of the equipment the light cavalry scouts were getting; they were far better equipped than the troops of the Whitelion Legion back in the day.

Most of the soldiers who joined these army units were of the Iron rank with the remaining 100 or so were recruited by Els into the constable unit he led along with 7 other Silver Swordsmen who were forced into slavery from being threatened with their family members' lives. The rest of the Bronze ranks formed the basis of Mons Malek's 420-men-strong crossbowmen company with only a few Iron ranks and Bronze ranks joining Loze's pike infantry regiment. Loze complained that even though the unit he led was the largest, their actual combat potential was the weakest of them all. They were only equipped with pikes and leather armor and most garrison troops in other dominions were far better equipped than they were.

Lorist apologized for that and said that the main function of the pike infantry regiment was to maintain the order of the convoy during the journey and that the main force on the battlefield would be the heavy-armored battalion, the carroballista unit, the knight brigade and the light cavalry instead of them. The pike infantry regiment's participation was actually only limited to bolstering their numbers to make their fighting strength seem much higher than it actually was and to clear up the battlefield after each skirmish.

The original plan was for Engelich to be the officer in command of the pike infantry regiment as he had experience being a garrison officer back in his day. However, Lorist was worried that the old man wasn't completely loyal to him yet and decided to hold off giving him a position for a period of time while he observed his behavior and made sure of his intentions.

At present time, Yuriy had led his light cavalry scouts somewhere outside the bastide and their location was currently unknown. In the vineyard far away, volleys of arrows could be seen being fired as the training for the crossbowmen company was being conducted. On the walls of the bastide stood the members from the pike infantry regiment and the others who were not on wall guarding duty were split into small companies and were training under the instruction of their respective officers in charge.

Lorist's armed forces now numbered 2300 people with 3000 others being the family members of the soldiers. If the near 6000 people convoy were to depart for the north without any training or regulation, chaos and confusion would no doubt ensue. That was the main factor behind Lorist's decision to continue his stay at the Sloph Bastide for a couple more days before restarting the journey.

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That night, the injured Charade brought his maidservant Molise over to report the gains they had acquired during the recent days. Ever since occupying the Sloph Bastide, the main supervisor of the place was most reluctant to give out the location of the hidden treasuries. As a result, he was put onto the spinning chair before being spun around on the hollow rotor. After that, the old supervisor confessed the location of Sloph's two secret treasuries after he emptied the meals he had that day from his mouth, bladder and intestines uncontrollably.

The two treasuries increased their total assets by a staggering amount. The larger one was for the use of the bastide administration and it was filled with various coins from different currencies which amounted to around 50000 gold Fordes in value. The smaller one belonged to Sloph personally and the gold coins and gold Forde notes within totaled up to 70000 gold Fordes. The armor and equipment stored within the treasury was also distributed by Lorist to his knights whereas the other expensive items like rare paintings or treasures were kept just in case he would need them as a gift to improve his relationship with some other party in the future.

To sum it up, the convoy gained an extra 100000 plus gold Fordes, thus solving their financial bind at the moment. The other resources within the armories, taverns and food warehouses further replenished their resources. Els even personally suggested to Lorist that they resort to raiding bastides should they run low on resources in the future.

However, that was not all. When Lorist brought Engelich's box of gold coins to Charade, he realized a huge fact that he had neglected the whole time. Charade quickly got all the family members of the slavers and put them through the same process they did to the old supervisor of the bastide and had them confess the locations where they hid their gold and other valuables.

"Milord, after three days of searching and questioning, we have gathered around 30 to 40 thousand gold Fordes' worth of assets from the 300 plus households in the residential area as well as 7 high-ranked Battle Force manuals and some other treasures, which I have already handed to Shadekampf for safekeeping and sorting. The only remaining issue now concerns the treatment of the slavers' family members," reported Charade.

There wasn't a simple solution for that as they wouldn't be allowed to join the journey north nor could they be released scotch-free. There wasn't a doubt that they harbored seething hatred for Lorist's group for ruining their livelihoods. However, Lorist wasn't willing to kill them off as the ones who did wrong were their family members who joined the slavers rather than them. Even though they could also be considered partly responsible for the slaves' woes, they were not the main cause and thus didn't deserve the death sentence. A few days prior, Els suggested that the families of the slavers to be sold to slave traders so that they may have a taste of their own medicine.

However, Lorist was hesitant about that idea as there was no way that he could trade slaves after announcing that the Norton Family does not endorse slavery. Gosh, what a headache. I guess I'll figure something out later since there would be some time left before we leave, thought Lorist as he irresponsibly postponed the issue for another time and decided to temporarily detain the families of the slavers for the moment.

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A three-masted barque[2] flying the flag of the Sloph Slavers could be seen approaching Armatrin Harbor. This was Sloph's personal ship that he used for his excursions. As the crew of the ship were the locals of Armatrin Harbor, there wasn't a need for them to use a guide to navigate shallow waters.

"The harbor is much deserted than usual. There's not even a shadow in sight," Sloph said to Blademaster Pike who was standing beside him. Sloph's figure had bloated up like a barrel after two years of nothing but indulgence.

"Well, you should be aware that the people of the town use your name to scare their children into obedience or face the consequences of being caught and sold by you. It isn't weird for there to be nobody at the harbor if you consider that fact." Blademaster Pike was an aged man of tall build who usually wore an expression of pride and arrogance.

"Hehe, I guess that's true. Then again, I suppose it's a good thing to be feared. If I show a little bit of kindness, that might come of as a sign of weakness in these lowly folks' eyes and they'll start to think of ways to weasel more benefits from me. It's better to have them fear and revere me and not cause me any trouble," said Sloph, snickering as he shared his experience in dealing with people with his cousin.

As the barque docked at the harbor, the sailors on the ship jumped off and tied several ropes around the stakes at the harbor before placing a walking board as a makeshift bridge. Sloph and the Blademaster got off the ship with twenty other sailors who hauled large chests following behind them.

Sloph looked around the harbor and started cursing vilely. "Did I leave for too long this time around? Those bastards at the bastide should be coming here to receive me by now! I'll make sure to give them a lesson that they'll never forget when I get back."

At that moment, Blademaster Pike inspected the surroundings and his expression tensed up. "Be careful, something doesn't feel right..."

The sound of a pair of hands clapping could be heard as Lorist approached the harbor followed by Reidy and Patt who were each carrying three quivers of javelins in their hands.

"Who are you?" asked Blademaster Pike as he narrowed his eyes to stare at Lorist with the sharp gaze of a hawk.

Ignoring him, Lorist continued to clap and 600 heavy-armored soldiers who carried black diamond-shaped shields in their hands showed up behind him and surrounded the harbor. After that, 400-odd other crossbowmen appeared behind the ranks of the shield-wielding soldiers.

If the heavy-armored battalion had not shaken the Blademaster, the crossbowmen definitely did. The400 crossbow-wielding soldiers would without question be a serious threat to even a Blademaster like Pike.

"Who are you and what are you up to?" shouted the Blademaster. The fat slob who stood beside him had a pale look on his face. Sloph retreated behind two of his chain-mail-wearing men and revealed a fierce expression.

"My identity is of no importance. What you need to know instead is that I intend to take your lives," answered Lorist calmly with a tone full of confidence.

"If you want my life, you'll need to be capable enough to take it," said Blademaster Pike as he drew his sword from his scabbard.

Lorist waved his hand and the twangs of hundreds of bowstrings could be heard. Within but an instant, more than 400 arrows were airborne and headed towards Sloph's group...

The sword in the Blademaster's hand danced frantically, shattering many of the arrows that came its way...

The rain of arrows stopped and Blademaster Pike looked extremely haggard. However, not one injury could be seen on his body and it was apparent that he had managed to deflect all of the arrows that threatened to harm him.

Taking advantage of the crossbowmen who were reloading, Blademaster Pike let out a loud grunt and dashed towards Lorist with near-lightning speed...

As the two were only twenty meters apart, Lorist smiled coldly and took out a javelin from the quiver...

The sharp sound of the javelin being shot out at breakneck velocity reverberated throughout the area. The javelin's velocity caused the Blademaster to be unable to avoid it and be forced to deflect it head on...

Bam! The javelin was shattered into smithereens with the Blademaster staggering a few steps back from the force of the impact. His expression instantly changed as he had never felt a javelin thrown with that much energy. However, before he managed to complete that thought, Lorist sent a fusillade of javelins in his direction.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Series of sounds of javelins being smashed apart could be heard as the Blademaster was forced to retreat from the successive impacts of the javelin...

"Agh!" Cried the Blademaster in agony.

"Ugh," grunted the Blademaster with much suffering.

After all six quivers of javelins was expended, Lorist exhaled loudly with his face flush red and his hands and legs relaxing from having used all that energy. He had launched 72 javelins packed with his internal energy in quick succession and that has sapped up most of his energy reserves and left him in a difficult position. He made a mental note to not perform this kind of feat ever again so that he would have enough stamina for emergency situations.

While Blademaster Pike was still alive, a large javelin had found its way through his thigh and another could be seen infused within his right shoulder. The most serious injury came from the javelin that hit his torso and went straight through his body and reemerged from his back. For him to be able to block off the 69 other javelins was already testament to his abilities as a Blademaster. It was too bad that he wasn't able to do the same to the remaining three.

"You... You didn't give me a chance to utilize my skills..." grumbled the Blademaster as blood flowed out of his mouth.

"I'm not stupid enough to fight you head on. That's far too risky and dangerous." Even though the Blademaster's voice was exceedingly soft, Lorist heard it clearly and waved once more to signal the crossbowmen to fire. The Blademaster ended up looking like a huge porcupine by the time the arrows stopped flying.

As for Sloph and his other followers, they had long perished from the first volley of arrows and died miserable deaths.

"Clear up the battlefield and occupy the ship. Also, cut off Sloph and Blademaster Pike's heads and bring them with us," instructed Lorist.

[1] A long rectangular shield usually wore on an arm. See: Wikipedia.

[2] A classification of boats. See: Wikipedia.