A modest looking wagon passed through the broken city gate, riddled with holes. The streets were deserted, with the occasional person. The eyes of those on the streets were filled with despair and resentment, a silent protest against their current tragic lives.
Brettel City was as dirty as Han Shuo had expected, looking only slightly better than the sights he'd seen on the road. A few lazy soldiers watched indifferently as the carriage entered the city, not asking about his background or for an entrance fee. It seemed that Brettel City was on the brink of death.
"Hey, can you please tell me where the City Lord's mansion is?" Chester pulled on the reins and smiled at a civilian who looked like a beggar.
This person lay lazily in the sunlight, concentrating on picking the fleas off his body. He did not seem to have heard Chester's question. He didn't even raise his head.
"I'll give you a silver coin, where is the City Lord's mansion?" Chester had been born poor, so he knew all about the temper of the poor. With a smile on his face, he asked again, patiently.
The mention of the silver coin immediately showed its effect. Sniffing the seductive aroma of money, the seemingly deaf beggar suddenly stared at Chester. He pointed in the direction of the road to the east, "Go straight on for three hundred metres. The tallest, most dilapidated mansion is the City Lord's mansion."
A silver coin, gleaming in the sunlight, spun through the air and rolled to a stop on the ground in front of the beggar. Chester whipped the horse and left without a word of thanks, following the directions to the City Lord's mansion.
The beggar hastily picked up the silver coin, clutching it tightly in his hand. Then he looked in the direction they had gone and muttered, "More people have come to Brettel City. If it's not some risk-taking merchant looking for a profit, it must be that legendary unlucky count. Poor fellow".
Whenever Brettel City was invaded, the City Lord was the focus of their affectionate attention. As such, the walls of the large, tall building weren't too sturdy, and there were still several holes in the ground nearby, remnants of a previous bombing that hadn't been repaired yet. When Han Shuo's carriage arrived, only a handful of maids and less than a dozen soldiers were present.
The attitude of these maids and soldiers towards Han Shuo's arrival was quite indifferent. They were neither enthusiastic nor welcoming in the manner of a subordinate. Of course, a welcome banquet, which would be normal in other areas, was even more impossible.
The city lord's mansion was at least five times larger than Han Shuo's mansion in Ossen City. However, it really had no use other than being large. Since the city lord was the first to flee whenever there was an invasion, there were no soldiers stationed here. Therefore, the city lord's mansion was always the first place to be looted.
Even some things that were hard to take away were all gone after successive attacks. What was incredibly ridiculous was that Han Shuo actually saw a large rectangular hole in the ground - the remains of a white jade tablet that had been peeled away. This was enough for Han Shuo to imagine the real situation in Brettel City.
Describe the current situation of Brettel City to me." Han Shuo asked Dick as they sat in the tattered lobby of the city lord's mansion. Dick was the Dark Mantle's liaison in this city and had arrived after hearing of Han Shuo's posting.
Dick was a man of about forty years of age. He looked ordinary, with his nose set high on his face. It was a unique feature of the mountain people of Brettel City. Dick paid his respects to Han Shuo and replied in a somewhat awkward version of the imperial language, "The former city lord of Brettel took a total of five hundred family members with him when he left. The entire city currently only has over three thousand soldiers. The population of the city is less than fifty thousand. The three thousand soldiers aren't enough to guard the city gates, not to mention that they tend to flee even faster than the civilians. The city's defences were never repaired after each attack due to lack of funds, and now it's lost almost all of its defensive capabilities".
"The mountain people are native to Brettel City, and most of them live on several steep mountains in the area. These mountains produce precious ores. The natives are very familiar with the terrain of the great mountains, and it's difficult to launch an attack on the mountains. That is why the mountain people can resist the invasions of the Seven Grand Duchies.
"In fact, Brettel City has been relatively safe until now. After dozens of large and small invasions, the seven grand duchies all know that there's nothing left to plunder in this city. Even if they were to invest the time and resources in a raid, there wouldn't be enough in the city to make a profit. That's why there have been no further raids in recent months.
"Rather, the mines in the great mountains surrounding us, which the natives protect and harvest, have become the target of bandits and private armies. But the mountain people there aren't as incompetent as the Imperial soldiers. So far, they've barely been able to resist the onslaught of attacks..."
Han Shuo gradually understood the situation in Brettel City thanks to Dick's overview. When Dick finished speaking, Han Shuo looked at a soldier in the city lord's mansion and ordered, "Gather all of the city's soldiers in front of the city lord's mansion. I want to see what they look like right now."
"Yes, Sir Count!" The soldier replied lazily, climbing onto a thin horse before slowly leaving the castle.
"My Lord, you will be disappointed." Dick shook his head with a long sigh as he spoke to Han Shuo.
"I know. But I don't think I will be disappointed again in the future!" Han Shuo smiled blandly before sinking into silence with a frown.
After nearly two hours, the scattered soldiers of the city finally began to gather. They gathered at the front of the castle with no order or discipline. Their bodies didn't look very strong, and their complexions were sickly, Probably because of problems with food. None of them showed any sign of the attitude and spirit a soldier should have. It was clear that they wouldn't be able to withstand a single blow with their current fighting strength.
The swords, bows, and spears in their hands were of inferior quality and covered in rust. Han Shuo felt that almost any weapon forged by the dwarves could shatter all of their weapons. Only a third of the soldiers were middle-aged men and strong youths. The rest were much older old men who moved much slower. Who could expect to rely on the fighting skills of these people?
Han Shuo stood on the high platform in front of the mansion and watched these soldiers for a while. He thought silently before he said with a grin, "From today, your unlucky days are over. Soldiers over the age of fifty will be removed. For these people, I will guarantee you a normal life".
"As for the rest of you, not only will you have enough food to fill your stomachs, but you'll also get new weapons and armour, as well as strong war horses. Of course, you'll also be trained in a cruel and torturous manner, waiting for the next chance to wash away our previous shame with the blood of the invaders. With me here, Brettel City must change, completely".
The older soldiers below erupted in anger. They were indifferent to Han Shuo's retirement order, but doubted his guarantee of a life with enough food and clothing. The young men turned to look at each other as they processed his words, not knowing what he actually meant.
"Sir Count, do you mean it?" Dick stood next to Han Shuo and asked him in shock.
"Your Lordship, even if the thousand of us were to get new weapons and war horses, do you think we would be able to stand firm against ten or twenty thousand bandits or tens of thousands of soldiers from the official armies of the seven grand duchies with this broken city wall?" A rough looking bearded soldier raised his head and shouted at Han Shuo.
"You need not worry about that. As a soldier, if you have no way to stop the enemy from invading, you should offer your own head to wash away your failure and shame. I will personally cut off the heads of those who dare to escape to prolong their lives. Han Shuo looked at the brawny man coldly and snapped.
"Your Lordship, I think you'd better leave while it's still early. This place has been abandoned by the empire. Do you think you alone can change the situation in Brettel City? Without a hundred thousand imperial elite soldiers guarding this city, it won't be able to escape its fate of being invaded forever. If you want to seek death, can you please not take us with you?" This stubborn soldier was extremely arrogant as he ignored Han Shuo's cold eyes and rebelliously replied.
Whoosh!
A dark brown beam of light flashed. No one knew what had been launched as something shot towards the rebellious soldier. The next second, a head rolled off a pair of shoulders, fresh blood spurting from the neck like a brush painting a beautiful picture.
"From now on, all you have to do is listen and carry out orders. You have no need to doubt, and even if you do, you must keep it to yourself!" Han Shuo looked murderous as he shouted, his face cruel and ruthless like a butcher. The soldiers below tightened their mouths one by one.
At that moment, a shining troop of over a hundred warhorses, their riders holding shiny weapons in their hands, slowly entered the castle. A man in full silver armour with a silver spear in his hand bent his body slightly on the warhorse to pay his respects to Han Shuo, "Sir Count, Earth Rider Faulke will dedicate my all to serve you and obey your every command."
Han Shuo didn't have to think much to know that Faulke had been sent by Lawrence. From this man, Han Shuo sensed an atmosphere of slaughter that only true warriors who'd been through hundreds of battles had. He immediately cast a malevolent glance at the soldiers of Brettel City and said with a sinister laugh, "Faulke, from now on, they are under your command. Use the cruelest method you have to train them. I won't blame you if someone dies during the training.