Chapter 125: Kingdom Conscription Order!

When Gervas returned from the wizard's hut in the side courtyard, an armed squad of knights galloped toward the castle.

While the Storm Guards stood on alert, Gervas knew full well that the Iron Wolf City's conscription order had arrived.

Indeed, as the armed knights drew near, Gervas recognized the royal griffin banner planted on their backs.

Clatter! Clatter!

The ten armed knights reached the castle's gentle slope and halted, advancing no further.

They must have feared that the people atop the castle would react impulsively, causing unnecessary trouble.

"We are the Iron Wolf Knights of the Southern Realm, dispatched from Iron Wolf City to deliver the King's conscription order to the Storm Domain. Please notify your lord, Baron Gervas Gale!"

"The King's conscription order?"

Upon hearing this, the entire castle fell silent; both the knights and the guards turned pale with alarm.

For minor nobles, the King's conscription order meant free exploitation, but for the knights and guards, it represented a life-or-death trial.

"I am Gervas, Lord of the Storm!"

Seeing the expressions of his subordinates, Gervas naturally held no blame.

He descended from the ramparts and stepped directly outside the castle.

Upon hearing this, the captain of the Iron Wolf knights dismounted and trotted to the castle's main gate.

"My lord, here is your conscription order! After receiving it, you must reach the designated location within half a month, or face punishment according to the Kingdom's laws!"

"Half a month? Wasn't it twenty days in the past?"

Gervas frowned; although the war was also taking place in the Southern Realm, one front was in the far east, the other in the far west.

Half a month was already extremely urgent.

"Baron, the situation is critical, hence the tight deadline; furthermore, this time limit is stipulated within the conscription order itself!"

Gervas nodded. "May I ask how the knight addresses himself? Since you have traveled far, why not rest inside the castle?"

Gervas had originally intended to keep the Iron Wolf knight for a while to inquire about any information he might possess.

But the Iron Wolf knight refused outright. "I apologize, my lord, and thank you for your generosity, but we must distribute the conscription order to all neighboring noble territories before today ends!"

Immediately afterward, the Iron Wolf knights departed in a frantic rush.

After the Iron Wolf knights left, Gervas confirmed the wax seal was intact, peeled it off, and began to read directly.

First to catch his eye was the gilded royal seal.

It was said that the King's golden seal was itself a magical item; after stamping, magical energy would flow through it, making forgery impossible under any circumstances.

As for the conscription order's content, it matched the intelligence reports quite closely.

This expedition's destination was the southwestern frontier, targeting the Western Tribes as the enemy.

The conscription order also added a muster location and a muster deadline.

Of course, it also specified the number of personnel required to join the battle.

A border baron like Gervas was required to lead at least four hundred men into battle!

"Four hundred men?" Gervas frowned.

That meant, excluding the guard squad and pirate slaves, he still needed to recruit two hundred serfs to meet the requirement.

For the Storm Domain, where population was scarce, this was a heavy burden.

"My lord, where exactly must we fight this time?" Mi Gen and others watched Gervas closely.

Seeing their lord frown, they all could not help but show nervous expressions.

"The West!" Gervas handed the conscription order to his subordinates.

"The West? At least it's not the North; I've heard that fighting the Beast Tribes of the Northern Beast Court results in an outrageously high casualty rate!" Mi Gen and others, in contrast, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not necessarily; I've heard the threat from the Western Tribes has persisted for decades. If the Kingdom has failed to eradicate them over so many years, they certainly won't be inferior to the Beast Court!"

Lei Meng, while reading the conscription order, poured cold water on Mi Gen and the others.

By the end, he too frowned. "It really is a half-month deadline. My lord, the situation on the southwestern frontier must be severe, and given the Storm Domain's distance, we truly must depart at maximum speed!"

"Therefore, I have decided to assemble the troops and depart tomorrow!" Gervas declared.

Counting it up, this was truly urgent.

Fortunately, regarding this conscription order, Gervas had actually been preparing long ago.

So it was not truly a case of being caught off guard.

Except for the two hundred serfs who needed to be conscripted.

For all other weapons, equipment, and even supplies, Gervas had made preparations in advance.

Soon, Gervas urgently summoned all Storm Domain management personnel and began assigning tasks to them.

First was Lawrence, the centurion of the guard squad; Gervas would grant the guard squad one day off today, a pre-war benefit allowing them to reunite with and bid farewell to their families.

Next was Thomas, the civil administrator; the shortfall of two hundred slaves needed to be selected by him.

For this shortfall, Gervas would select from all slaves, with fifty percent coming from the new slaves of the Refugee Island and the remaining fifty percent from the older slaves.

Of course, to soothe the slaves' emotions, Gervas would distribute three silver coins as relocation funds to the families of the slaves participating in the expedition.

Furthermore, he promised that if any participating slave died bravely on the battlefield, their family would receive a special pardon and be restored to serf status.

Believing the slaves would hear Gervas's promise, they would not resist the expedition so strongly.

Next was Old John; Gervas needed him to lead the servants to inventory the supplies and load them onto carts at the fastest possible speed.

Fighting for the liege lord was, after all, free.

Not only did they provide manpower and effort, but they also brought their own supplies.

Therefore, Gervas needed to prepare at least three months' worth of supplies.

One month was for consumption during the round trip.

Two months were for consumption during the battle.

It was not that Gervas was absolutely certain the battle would end within two months.

Rather, it was because a vassal's maximum annual mandatory conscription service lasted only two months.

Beyond two months, the liege lord had to provide a safety net, not only needing to pay the soldiers' wages but also to provide food and drink.

Therefore, many times, the king also thought of fighting quickly and deciding the matter swiftly regarding war.

If the time dragged on too long, the old king would feel the pain.

After temporarily arranging matters at the castle, Gervas took Lei Meng and other knights out of the castle.

Traveling urgently all the way, they reached the Dragonblood Grass Canyon; confirming the two o'clock direction, Gervas continued forward.

After running roughly thirty-plus li, a patch of black pine forest indeed appeared ahead.

"My lord, is there something good here?"

Knight Mi Gen and others were already very experienced.

Once their own lord led them on a long trek to some strange place, it definitely meant a new discovery had been made.

"That's right; Moon Chaser reported discovering a hidden stone house nearby!"

As he spoke, a patch of black pine forest appeared ahead.

And this black pine forest was the only one nearby, so Gervas could already confirm the target.

"Everyone dismount here!"

Gervas grew vaguely excited; inscribed weapons!

Besides his own storage ring, this would be the second supernatural weapon he would obtain; he just did not know what this supernatural weapon would be.

Immediately, Gervas wasted no time, leaving the knight squires behind, and led a group of knights into the black pine forest!