Chapter 125

When Gervas returned from the wizard’s cottage in the side courtyard, a mounted knight squad galloped toward the castle.

As the Stormwind guards went on alert, Gervas knew full well: the Kingdom’s conscription order had arrived.

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

Clip-clop! Clip-clop!

Ten armed knights halted at the castle’s gentle slope and did not advance further.

They likely feared triggering a defensive reaction from the castle’s defenders, causing unnecessary trouble.

“We are the Iron Wolf Knights of the Kingdom’s Southern Frontier, from Iron Wolf City. We come to deliver the King’s conscription order to Stormwind Hold. Notify your lord, Baron Gervas Gale!”

“The Kingdom’s conscription order?”

At these words, the entire castle fell silent. Whether knight or guard, all faces paled.

For minor nobles, the Kingdom’s conscription order meant free exploitation—but for knights and guards, it was a trial of life and death.

“I am Gervas, Lord of Stormwind!”

Gervas took in the anxious expressions of his subordinates and did not blame them.

He descended the ramparts and stepped directly outside the castle.

Upon hearing this, the Iron Wolf knight captain dismounted and jogged to the castle’s main gate.

“My lord, here is your conscription order! Upon receipt, you must arrive at the designated location within half a month, or face penalties under Kingdom law!”

“Half a month? Wasn’t it twenty days before?”

Gervas frowned. Though the conflict was in the southern frontier, one end was the far east, the other the far west.

Half a month was already extremely urgent.

“My lord, the situation is dire, hence the tight deadline—it is stipulated in the conscription order itself!”

Gervas nodded. “Might I ask your name, knight? After such a long journey, would you not care to rest inside the castle?”

Gervas had originally intended to let the Iron Wolf knight rest awhile and inquire about any information he might know.

But the Iron Wolf knight refused outright: “Apologies, my lord, thank you for your generosity, but we must deliver conscription orders to all nearby noble lands before today ends!”

Then the Iron Wolf knights departed in haste.

After they left, Gervas confirmed the wax seal was intact, then broke it open and read the order.

First to catch his eye was the gilded royal seal.

It was said the King’s golden seal was a magical artifact; once stamped, magical energy flowed through it, making forgery impossible.

As for the order’s content, it matched the intelligence reports almost exactly.

This campaign’s destination was the southwestern frontier, against the western tribes.

The conscription order also added the assembly point and deadline.

Of course, it specified the number of troops required.

As a border baron, Gervas must lead at least four hundred men into battle!

“Four hundred?” Gervas frowned.

Excluding his guards and pirate slaves, he still needed two hundred additional serfs to meet the quota.

This was a heavy burden for Stormwind Hold, where population was scarce.

“My lord, where exactly are we being sent to fight?” Mi Gen and the others watched Gervas closely.

Seeing their lord frown, they all grew tense.

“The west,” Gervas handed the order to his subordinates.

"The west? At least not the north—fighting the beast clans of the Northern Beast Court has an absurdly high casualty rate!" Mi Gen and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

“Not necessarily. The western tribes’ threat has lasted decades; if the Kingdom hasn’t crushed them yet, they’re surely no weaker than the Beast Court!”

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

He too frowned at the end: “Half a month? My lord, the situation on the southwestern frontier must be dire—and given Stormwind Hold’s distance, we’ll need to depart at maximum speed!”

“So I’ve decided: we assemble and depart tomorrow,” Gervas said.

In truth, it was urgent.

Fortunately, Gervas had already been preparing for this conscription order.

So it wasn’t truly a surprise.

Except for the two hundred serfs needed.

All other weapons, equipment, and supplies, he had prepared in advance.

Quickly, Gervas summoned all Stormwind Hold administrators and assigned tasks.

First, Laurence, captain of the guard: Gervas would grant the guard unit a day off today—a pre-battle benefit, allowing them to reunite and say farewell to their families.

Second, Thomas, civil magistrate: he must select two hundred slaves to fill the quota.

For this quota, Gervas would draw equally from all slaves: fifty percent from the new arrivals from Refugee Island, fifty percent from the old slaves.

To soothe their emotions, Gervas would grant each slave family participating in the campaign three silver coins as a resettlement allowance.

He also promised: if a participating slave died bravely in battle, his family would be granted immediate amnesty and restored to the status of free serfs.

Believing Gervas’s promise, the slaves would likely not resist conscription.

Next, Old John: Gervas needed him to lead the servants in swiftly inventorying and loading supplies.

Fighting for your liege is free.

Not only must you provide men and labor, you must supply your own provisions.

So Gervas needed to prepare at least three months’ worth of supplies.

One month for the journey there and back.

Two months for combat consumption.

It wasn’t that Gervas was certain the battle would end in two months.

Rather, a vassal’s maximum mandatory service per year was two months.

Beyond that, the liege must cover costs: paying soldiers’ wages and providing food and drink.

Hence, kings often preferred swift victories.

The longer the war dragged, the more the King would suffer.

After briefly arranging castle affairs, Gervas rode out with Lei Meng and the other knights.

They rode hard until reaching the Dragon’s Blood Grass Gorge, then followed the two o’clock direction and pressed onward.

After roughly thirty miles, a patch of black pine forest appeared ahead.

“My lord, is there something valuable here?”

Mi Gen and the others were seasoned now.

Whenever their lord led them on long journeys to unfamiliar places, it meant a new discovery.

“Correct. Zhui Yue reported finding a hidden stone hut nearby!”

As he spoke, the black pine forest came into view.

And this was the only such forest nearby, so Gervas could confirm his target.

“Dismount here!”

Gervas felt a quiet thrill—inscription weapons!

Aside from his storage ring, this would be his second supernatural weapon—he didn’t yet know what kind.

Without delay, Gervas left his knight retainers behind and entered the black pine forest with the other knights.