Becoming a Swordmast Chapter 136 : Chapter 136

Chapter 136. Now It’s Not About Survival (3)

After the oath ceremony.

The archery and cavalry platoons returned to Kroxen Castle, while Roden headed to Vinchih with the infantry platoon.

It was to visit the various domains trading with the Billem Caravan and to have a regular eting with Abtal.

Nedhab, who took Chevalier's place next to Roden as soon as he left, spoke.

“It's a hassle for you to have to visit Vinchih every ti, Battalion Commander.”

“It’s a necessary evil to obtain valuable information. They want

to show my face, and more importantly, the profits we secure here are not insignificant.”

For now, they could live on the supplies sent from each country belonging to the Allied Forces.

However, once the war was over, it would be solely Roden's responsibility to feed and keep alive the more than 100 mbers of the Special Task Force Company.

Because Roden desired independence.

Therefore, he had to diligently earn money while he could.

So, Roden was seriously considering expanding the scale of the Billem Caravan, and he planned to do so this ti.

“You rember what we decided to do this ti, don't you? I'll set the overall direction of the

business, but your role is important. You'll be the one to practically run it.”

“Yes. Don't worry. Even if I can't do it, the others will do a good job.”

The others Nedhab ntioned were Federico, Zailo, and Terne.

Indeed, the three of them were dependable.

Federico, as the Deputy Platoon Leader, could lead the Billem Caravan when Nedhab was out of his mind, and Zailo, as confird last ti, was quite bright when it ca to business.

Lastly, Terne was the one who had developed the atball recipe, which could be called the core of the Billem Caravan.

It wasn't for nothing that Roden had decided to expand the business when it was the infantry platoon's turn.

“Right. I’m thinking of expanding the atball business. The help of those two will be important.”

That was right.

Roden was planning to expand the atball business, not the food business.

The reason was none other than this.

This side was more profitable than the food business.

In fact, the food business did not yield much profit.

In the first place, he had started this business with the purpose of obtaining information.

On the other hand, in the case of the atball business, the demand was considerable.

There were continuous requests to open branch stores.

So, Roden had no choice but to decide to put his efforts into the atball business.

While conversing with Nedhab.

Roden finally arrived in Vinchih.

***

'Phew. It was harder than I thought.'

Roden stayed in Vinchih for fifteen days and handled all his schedules.

At the sa ti, he expanded the atball business as planned, and fortunately, the results were not bad.

He had succeeded in adding twelve more branch stores.

'And these branch stores are not directly operated by us.'

Until now, Roden had operated the atball stores as a concept of directly managed stores.

At least one mber of the Special Task Force Company was made to pay attention to the atball store.

This was certainly useful for maintaining quality.

But now, securing safety and making money was the priority over quality.

This was even more so because he didn't know when this business would co to an end.

'We have to leave when this war is over. If things go well, we might have to leave even before this war is over.'

Above all, this was not a real business.

It was one of the operations to shake the Empire.

So, even if the quality of the atballs declined while expanding the branches in an octopus-like fashion, securing short-term profits was the priority.

That was why Roden had boldly decided to increase the number of branch stores this ti.

'And we decided to withdraw our soldiers from the stores that were previously managed like directly managed stores. That way, safety will be secured.'

Until now, it had been unavoidable for the smooth operation of the stores, but now the practical affairs of the Billem Caravan were run by only employees of Imperial origin.

So, for safety, it was right for the soldiers of the Special Task Force Company to step back from the front line.

'The atmosphere in the Empire has been unusual lately, so we need to be more careful.'

He could feel it while eting with various lords and treasurers this ti.

The fact that the Empire's sense of crisis had deepened.

It was only natural, as there were continuous talks of the participation of high-ranking nobles who had been avoiding the war in various ways, such as dispatching only troops, supporting only food and other supplies, or having only so of their family mbers participate in the war.

In fact, so nobles were declaring their participation in the war one by one, unable to withstand the pressure from the imperial family.

'If the ti cos when all the high-ranking officials participate in the war, I won't be able to maintain the Billem Caravan even if I want to.'

When that ti ca, the lives of the people would beco indescribably impoverished due to the intensification of the war.

So, even if there were atball stores, the people who used them would inevitably disappear.

In the end, this business expansion was a last resort to pull in profits for the last ti.

“I’ve already told you several tis, but be thoroughly prepared so that you can slip away at any ti.”

Roden, who had organized his thoughts, urged Nedhab before leaving.

“Yes. I will do so. But what should we do with the new recruits if sothing happens?”

The new recruits Nedhab was talking about were the troops that had started from the Imperial citizens who had been living like slaves in the forr Sahar Caravan.

As they were united by a strong hostility towards the Empire that had not protected them, their intention to defect to the Allied Forces was trendous.

For that reason, Roden had accepted this and intended to raise them as allied troops.

And he had selected so of the new recruits with a clear intention of loyalty and brought them to the east several tis.

He had not yet deployed them in actual combat, but he planned to organize them as a reserve for the main battalion when the ti was right.

Fortunately, Alexis had also permitted this.

'Co to think of it, I haven't been paying attention to them, but there were new recruits.'

Roden, who had been too busy with other things to pay attention to the new recruits whose training he had entrusted to others, asked Nedhab.

“How are the new recruits being managed?”

“After moving them to the east several tis, we are focusing only on their training. But there are quite a lot of them.”

“How many are there?”

“I heard there are roughly over 500.”

“...Purely soldiers? Not their families?”

“Yes. In the first place, the new troops we bring in have almost no family. Because they are forr slaves.”

“Huh.”

Roden had given the order to the Billem Caravan to recruit and train new soldiers.

It wasn't just recruiting ordinary Imperial citizens.

It was the task of taking a portion of the Billem Caravan's profits to continuously purchase slaves, promise them freedom, and militarize them.

But for that number to be 500.

The number was much larger than Roden had thought.

It was a part that showed just how deeply rooted the slave system was in the Empire.

The fact that they could recruit so many with a limited budget would an that the price of slaves was that cheap.

“Of course, among these personnel, there are also so prisoners of war from the Allied Forces.”

“The war isn't even over yet, and they're trading prisoners as slaves?”

“Since the war situation is not good, it seems that the Imperial Army is selling so prisoners who cannot receive prize money as slaves to make a profit.”

“I see…”

Hearing Nedhab's explanation, he could understand the situation.

No matter how deep-rooted the slave system was, the situation was too serious.

In any case, Roden had to decide what to do with the new recruits when sothing happened.

“For now, start moving personnel to the east little by little, focusing on the new recruits who are forr Allied Forces prisoners.”

“Understood. Then should we stop recruiting new soldiers?”

“No. Continue the current trend. It will be difficult to take care of everyone when sothing happens, but it would be a good thing if we can save even one person like this.”

Nedhab, who had suffered all sorts of hardships as a mber of a small tribe, though not a slave, quietly nodded his head at Roden's answer.

Because he could understand the sincerity in those words better than anyone.

Of course, it wasn't that Roden had ordered this simply out of a desire to save soone.

'The new recruits recruited like this will not only beco the main battalion's reserve but will also be able to beco my personal private army in the future.'

Not everyone would follow Roden, who was set on becoming independent.

But considering the situation the new recruits were in, the possibility of them becoming a private army was high.

The gratitude for being saved from a crisis was always greater.

And so, Roden was able to finish his business in Vinchih by securing financial power and succeeding in increasing the military strength of his group.

***

Roden, who had finished all his schedules in Vinchih, returned with the new recruits.

Since he was returning to Kroxen Castle anyway, it was a good idea to move the new recruits to the east.

Roden moved forward, casting detection magic at regular intervals and distances.

In fact, this detection magic was the decisive secret that had never once been detected by the Empire.

Even though the Special Task Force Company had rotated several tis, and even while moving the new recruits to the east.

For this, Roden had been periodically sending pieces of wood enchanted with detection magic to the Billem Caravan.

While moving smoothly, Roden was lost in thought.

What captivated Roden's thoughts was the prediction of the future war situation.

'To think they've decided to supply magic artifacts to the regular units as well... The Empire must be in quite a hurry.'

During this journey, Roden had not neglected to acquire information, the purpose of the Billem Caravan's creation.

As a result, he learned that the Imperial Army was not planning to operate the Magic Artifact Unit separately.

This was very bad news for the Allied Forces.

It was unknown how many magic artifacts the Empire could secure, but that number would secure a force of at least 1-star knight level.

At the sa ti, it was a part that could confirm the Empire's will to turn the tide of the war.

'Not good. The only thing that could be called an achievent is the fact that I've found out which mage tower is selling magic artifacts to the Empire.'

It was new information obtained from Abtal, who was always a generous tree for Roden.

The mage tower that was selling magic artifacts to the Empire.

The identity of this mage tower was, surprisingly, the Penitudo Mage Tower.