Chapter 28: Recruitment (1)

The next day.

Roman received the information he had requested from Hans.

"This is information on the Barco family. According to the Information Guild, their recent activities have been suspicious."

A few days ago.

Roman had investigated the Barco family.

He had a rough idea of their level, but he believed detailed information was necessary for his future plans.

So, he commissioned the Black Moon, an information guild active in the northeastern region, to gather information.

He asked them to find out what the Barco family had been up to recently and to assess their strength.

After Hans left.

Roman reviewed the information.

Rustle.

'Barco family. A family that has been established in the northeastern region for over a hundred years, but they only truly rose to power when one of their members joined the central government. Their military strength is not as formidable as one might think, but their influence in the central government is absolute in the Kingdom of Cairo.'

The Kingdom of Cairo.

One of the six kingdoms and two empires that make up the Salamander continent, it is considered a minor nation.

The Kingdom of Cairo, except for the mountainous regions in the northeast, shares borders with other countries, and has suffered from foreign invasions since ancient times.

As a result, the central government naturally gained power.

In principle, local nobles have the authority to maintain private armies, but with threats from outside the country, they had to unite under the central government to survive.

In particular, the authority to conscript was absolute.

Those who did not comply with conscription were considered to have left the Kingdom of Cairo, and the central government would dispatch troops to suppress the rebellious forces and reclaim the territory.

In this process, neighboring lords who provided assistance would receive a certain amount of land as compensation, and the rest would be given to new nobles who were loyal to the central government.

As a result, the central government, that is, the nobles of the capital, had to be powerful.

The Barco family relied on the central government and the power structure gave them intangible strength.

[The Barco family recently used their connections in the central government to secure a large loan from the Golden Bank. The amount is at a level that is usually impossible, but it is estimated that the Barco family secured this transaction with a credit guarantee without any special collateral. The money obtained in this way was channeled to the Berge mercenary group. The Berge mercenary group, led by the A-class mercenary Berge, consists of over a hundred mercenaries and primarily engages in resolving disputes between territories for a fee.]

The information was detailed.

It explained how the Barco family secured the funds and what they intended to do with them.

[Furthermore, it is estimated that they will attack Lawrence within two weeks based on the recent conscription of their subjects.]

The Barco family had completed their preparations.

Since the announcement of the annulment of the engagement with Dmitri, they had been actively moving, and Lawrence had to face the Barco family's attack alone due to a momentary mistake.

With war imminent, according to rumors, Lord Lawrence was desperately seeking support from neighboring nobles.

'The Barco family has gained power through their connections in the central government. The difference in strength is clear, and there is no family that would risk the threat from the Barco family to help Lawrence, except for Dmitri. If this continues, even if Lawrence fortifies himself, it would be practically impossible to hold out for more than a month.'

The outcome was obvious.

Therefore, Roman set a different premise.

'What if the Barco family and Dmitri were to clash?'

He inflated the size of the opponent.

He calculated the variables and considered the worst-case scenario, but the conclusion for any hypothetical situation remained unchanged.

'If they fought a hundred times, Dmitri would win a hundred times.'

An overwhelming difference.

That was Roman's conclusion.

There is a misconception.

People think that wealth and military strength are separate, but in the case of a family like the Dmitri, which possesses vast wealth, it is different.

Typically, ordinary nobles maintain a private army of around 200 soldiers.

Maintaining a larger force is costly, so they usually govern their territories with an appropriate number of soldiers and supplement their forces with conscripts during special situations like war.

This was no different for the Barco family, and thus, the employment of the Berge mercenary group, specialized in combat, was a significant issue that could greatly influence the situation.

In contrast.

The Dmitri family was different.

They always maintained a private army of over 300 soldiers and cultivated a military organization beyond just soldiers, known as the Dmitri Knights.

Moreover, while conscripts are often poorly equipped, the Dmitri family, known for their blacksmithing, provided conscripts with complete armor.

Instead of just giving them a spear and sending them to the battlefield, they equipped them with leather armor and sturdy shields to protect their bodies.

As a result, even among conscripts, the combat strength of the Dmitri family was inevitably higher.

Finally.

The Dmitri family started as a merchant guild.

To protect themselves while traveling across the continent for trade, they maintained a close relationship with the Benjamin mercenary group for decades.

Initially, the Benjamin mercenary group was not large, but with the support of the Dmitri merchant guild, they grew into a group of over 500 mercenaries.

This meant that any conflict with the Dmitri family would also involve the Benjamin mercenary group.

The difference between the Barco family and the Dmitri family was significant.

The intangible power of the central government alone was not enough to surpass the Dmitri family in the northeastern region.

'Dmitri lacks neither wealth nor military strength. The issue is that Lord Dmitri is of commoner origin. The family's history is short and their background is humble, so the nobles of Cairo do not recognize the Dmitri family as true nobility. However, regardless of their perception, the fact that the Dmitri family is a major power in the northeastern region cannot be denied.'

The Dmitri family is powerful.

With the support of the family, punishing the Barco family, who had driven Roman to his death, would be a simple matter.

However.

Roman had no intention of doing so.

Standing at a crossroads, he knew what he needed to do to make a leap forward.

'The nobles in the northeastern region do not see Roman Dmitri as a significant threat, regardless of his background. While Roman in his previous life deserved such treatment, I, Baek Jung-hyuk, am different. Antonio Barco provoked me. Therefore, he will pay the appropriate price, and relying on the family's power is not the right way to prove myself.'

In the 12th cell.

Baek Jung-hyuk personally crushed the leader's head.

It was a moment that changed his reputation from weak to strong, and he needed a similar clear leap forward.

Roman fell into thought.

How could he achieve the maximum results with the minimum effort?

It was clear that to build something of his own, he needed people to support him.

Therefore.

Ding dong.

"Hans."

Roman called for Hans.

In the next two weeks.

There was something he needed to take care of first.

* * *

As the northeastern region was filled with the tension of war.

A man arrived at Dmitri.

"Dmitri is as it has always been."

The man's name was Lucas.

A B-class mercenary.

Having experienced every battle as a mercenary, he recently endured a truly harrowing time in a battle near the border.

He thought he might die.

Fortunately, he survived by stepping over the bodies of his fallen comrades and, needing rest, left the battlefield without renewing his mercenary contract.

Now.

Lucas came to Dmitri to reorganize himself.

Although not born in Dmitri, the blacksmiths of Dmitri were renowned among mercenaries for their high-quality work.

"Damn, from now on, I won't even go near the border. Because of the reckless actions of those who don't know their place, my decades-long mercenary career almost ended. Sigh, those bastards."

He sighed.

Looking down.

He saw a chainmail that had been severely damaged.

He had paid a fortune for it, but it was torn in several places, exposing the wounds, and the sword, which had lost its edge, could barely cut through flesh.

During the battle, he cursed fiercely.

He almost lost his life because he had equipped himself with weapons from a new supplier.

Indeed.

Iron products were made by the Dmitri family.

So, he immediately headed to Dmitri and, upon arrival, went to the blacksmith to commission the creation of new armor.

'I'll stay in Dmitri for a while and recuperate.'

The battlefield was tiring.

Thinking about the moment when he was covered in blood from head to toe, he felt a chill.

Lucas moved his steps.

He intended to go to a restaurant to have a meal, but a group of people were gathered and murmuring in the city square.

Murmur.

'What's going on?'

Curiosity arose.

In his decades-long mercenary career.

He lived by curiosity and almost died because of it.

It was an undeniable part of Lucas's DNA, and he naturally pushed his way through the crowd.

There was a bulletin board.

It was used to post orders from the lord or to share information among the people, and a single post caught everyone's attention.

[Recruitment of Private Soldiers]

- Qualifications: Healthy body, desire to become stronger.

- Number of recruits: 30

- Salary: 8 silver per month

- Special Note: This is a position directly under Roman Dmitri, not the Dmitri family. Keep this in mind, and only those willing to dedicate their lives to Roman Dmitri should apply.

It was a recruitment notice.

The conditions were not bad.

The average monthly living expenses for a typical family of four were around 5 silver, so offering 8 silver was a good deal, even considering the risk.

Moreover, the qualifications were not particularly high.

It was a tempting offer for an ordinary person, but as a B-class mercenary, Lucas was unimpressed.

'This notice doesn't concern me.'

A B-class mercenary.

Not the kind to join as a private soldier.

If he were to swear loyalty to a noble, he would need at least 50 silver per month to consider it.

At that moment.

"Even if you're thinking of applying, don't. There are already hundreds of people applying to become private soldiers."

It was an old man standing next to him.

The old man seemed to think Lucas was interested.

Normally, he would have ignored it, but Lucas couldn't just let the old man's words pass.

'Hundreds of people want to become Roman Dmitri's private soldiers? Is it worth it?'

Roman Dmitri.

Famous in the area.