Chapter 64 : A Brief Lull (4)

Chapter 64: A Brief Lull (4)

Chainmail, three hundred sets.

If you really wanted to get them, you could. Compared to plate armor, the price difference was like heaven and earth. What threw Branch Manager Marhen into confusion was that Shatien needed three hundred chainmails to put on his subordinates.

Subordinates?

Weren’t they mercenaries? A mercenary was going to outfit the mercenaries under him out of his own pocket? She had never heard of such a thing.

“...So you are saying you are going to spend your own money to arm your mercenaries?”

“That is right.”

In the previous battle, Shatien had felt firsthand just how powerful heavily armored infantry could be. Among the mercenaries he had lent armor to that day, some had been injured, but not a single one had died. If he wanted to prepare for the wars to come, he had to get ready in advance.

‘I need to raise them more. Much more than now. If I can, it would be best to put the entire mercenary company under my command in heavy armor.’

If he had three hundred heavily armored mercenaries, they might show power on par with those famous mounted knights. Especially in large scale engagements.

Of course, to Branch Manager Marhen, this idea was nothing short of shocking.

“Your subordinates are… I mean. Well. Uh... They are mercenaries, aren’t they? Just a relationship based on money. It is not like you have that tight bond of sworn retainers.”

She asked as cautiously as she could. It was the kind of question that could easily become an insult.

But Shatien did not mind.

“I know. But we also have loyalty and trust between us. As long as we put our swords next to each other and fight, we go together as comrades. As their commander, it is my duty to gladly lead and manage them.”

Mercenaries supplied their equipment entirely out of their own purses. That was why most of them died when they were still green, and it was hard to raise veteran soldiers with real skill.

‘I need to break that vicious cycle.’

In the days of the ancient empire, did they not pay wages to their soldiers and even lend them arms. There was no reason he could not do the same.

He would need even more mercenaries and even larger armies in the future, so there was every reason to prepare early. Shatien had a clear reason for trying to gather equipment even if it strained him.

“You really are different from a normal mercenary, Sir Shatien.”

“I am only trying to prepare for the future. Looking at the situation, it seems the war is going to continue, yes? I need people who are definitely on my side.”

“Hehe. That’s exactly why you’re far from normal.”

Branch Manager Marhen opened her eyes wide with interest. It was that particular feline gaze that beastkin cats showed whenever something caught their curiosity.

“Then what exactly do you want? If you are going to arm your mercenary company, you probably do not need full jacket chainmail like the knights wear, right?”

“You are right. A hauberk that comes down to cover the thighs will be enough.”

At his request, Branch Manager Marhen called someone over and had a hauberk brought out. Unlike the full jacket chainmail that knights wore, this armor only fell to the thighs. The lower portion was open, so it did not seem like it would hinder movement.

“Normally, if you wear a gambeson under a hauberk and carry a shield, you get close to a decent knight’s level of protection. Since they will not be on horseback, there is no need for full jacket chainmail that protects the entire lower body.”

“Indeed. It looks that way. Can I also buy greaves that protect the shins?”

“Hnnnng… You really are serious about this, Sir Shatien.”

For some reason, it felt like surprises kept piling up for Branch Manager Marhen that day.

At the same time, she thought she absolutely could not afford to lose this mercenary, no, this man who was now a knight.

‘Our merchant company’s northern holdings are constantly at war. This is exactly the time we need a reliable mercenary company.’

On top of that, he was young and had a fairly decent, rugged kind of charm.

He passed the test(?) for now.

If he took such good care of his men when they were nothing more than lowly mercenaries, then if they built up trust with each other, he could surely become a great asset later on.

“Very well. Then I will make a bold decision. I feel generous today. Hehe.”

“All of a sudden?”

“Presents like this are only fun and pleasant when you get them without warning, you know?”

The way she spoke, winking like that, struck Shatien as oddly suggestive.

Regardless of what he thought, Branch Manager Marhen ordered someone again to bring more goods from the warehouse.

A short while later, they lugged something over, grunting with effort.

-Thud!

Inside the crate lay chainmail coifs and helmets made to protect the head.

Branch Manager Marhen pointed at them, her ears pricked up proudly.

“In consideration of our relationship, I will throw in the coifs and helmets as a free service. You only have to pay for the hauberks.”

“Is that really all right? Is that not too much of a burden for you?”

“It is fine. To tell you the truth, we originally supplied this batch to the imperial army’s heavy infantry. Now that we have fallen out with the imperial army, these pieces are dead stock until they find a new owner.”

Of course, with the war raging, it would not have been hard to find new buyers. This was all part of Branch Manager Marhen’s plan to put Shatien in her debt.

On top of that, she decided to help him even more. No matter how you looked at it, three hundred hauberks were more than most nobles could afford.

“How did you plan to pay for all these hauberks? If you need it, I can use my privilege as branch manager to arrange funds for you.”

Of course, it was not charity. She would charge interest in coins. But borrowing at all required credit. If you did not have connections, you could not borrow money in the first place. That was just how this era worked.

Branch Manager Marhen was willing to lend to him.

However,

“No. That will not be necessary, Branch Manager.”

“That settles it— …Nya?”

Shatien refused in a single breath. She was so shocked that she let out a cat noise without realizing it.

“Y-You will need a considerable amount of money you know?”

“It is fine. I have more than enough.”

Shatien took a pouch out of the travel bag he had brought. Inside, it was packed full of gold coins that gleamed with a rich golden shine.

“It turns out noble ransoms are quite lucrative. Thanks to that, I am rather comfortable for the moment. Haha.”

“...?!”

At his offhand remark, Branch Manager Marhen almost jumped. The amount of money was enormous.

‘Just how many knights did you have to knock down for that?’

No wonder they had given him that outrageous nickname, the Noble Killer. It seemed there was a reason.

“What is wrong? Is it not enough?”

“Oh, no. It is more than enough. Enough is not even the word. Honestly.”

Branch Manager Marhen waved her hands quickly.

It was not just enough. It was far too much.

“Then when will the armor be ready?”

“It will take about two weeks. All I have to do is contact the merchant house in Loren.”

It was longer than he had hoped. With not much time left in the truce period, Shatien felt pressed.

“If it arrives sooner, I will pay you ten silver coins for each day saved. What do you think?”

“...You really know how to spur a merchant. In that case, I had better move as fast as I can. I was going to stay one more day.”

“I will be in your care.”

With that conversation done, Branch Manager Marhen soon left the camp with her caravan.

Left alone, Shatien had his hands full organizing what he needed to do next in his head.

The truce with the imperial army had not expired yet, but the situation was not easy. The details of the war might have changed from what he had experienced in the past, but the main force led by the Holy Empire’s emperor himself would not be much different in strength.

‘Even so, more than half of the imperial army is just peasants in arms. As long as we can handle the knights, we can push the battle in our favor.’

To do that, he needed to put his men through harsh training.

He had to raise a powerful heavy infantry unit that could stand against the knights’ lance charges.

‘In the end… I need to train pikemen and halberdiers.’

Hadn’t Centurion Jacri said so in the past? Mercenaries live and die by discipline. If they formed a dense square of long pikes and raised an elite corps of halberdiers, they could smash even those fearsome knights.

Shatien intended to bring that legendary combination of arms, which would only appear later when the civil war in the empire reached its height, into the world ahead of schedule.

* * *

The Black Raven Mercenary Company went around the nearby villages to recruit more men.

At first, the villages kept their distance and tried to avoid the recruitment, but before long, men were coming to them on their own. Somehow word had gotten out. Thanks to that, despite their lack of skill, a great number of sturdy young men with solid builds volunteered.

It was because the reputation of the mercenary company had spread widely.

“Huff… huff…”

“Urgh. Water. Wateer…!”

With heavy sandbags strapped to their legs, the mercenaries ran up and down the hill to the supply depot without stopping. They wanted to quit at once, but Shatien and Miles were standing behind them.

“Run! You pigs. You have so much fat packed on that if I tap you, you will roll down the hill like a ball!”

At Miles’s shouting, the mercenaries groaned like they were dying.

“I-I am going to die like this.”

“My leg is cramped!”

“Oh dear, is that so?”

Miles grinned and looked at Shatien.

“Our country bumpkins say they are going to die. They say they cannot train any more. What do you think?”

“...In that case, there is nothing we can do.”

At Shatien’s unexpectedly mild answer, the mercenaries’ faces lit up. They seemed to think he would give them a break.

“Anyone who finds the training too hard is exempt. Hey, rookies. If it is tough, raise your hand. I will send you back to your villages at once.”

“?!”

“Gasp!”

The mercenaries, who had all been groaning in unison, panicked and put strength back into their legs.

“N-No, sir!”

“Who is the bastard whining that this is too hard? Run. You pigs!”

They had already seen with their own eyes the terrifying equipment Shatien had brought. If they finished training properly, they would get all that gear issued to them. They would have to pay for it, of course.

“Wow. Shatien, this is just perfect. They listen so well now. Yes?”

“Kiik kiik kiik.”

“Oh, you think so too? Ehehehe, Those pigs need to lose weight fast so they can pull their own weight.”

Watching Miles laugh along with his pet monkey, Shatien shook his head. Even after he became a Centurion, the man still had no sense of dignity.

Leaving Miles behind, Shatien shouted at the training mercenaries.

“Think about the weight of the armor. For now you will only be wearing the hauberk, but later you will be putting heavier armor on top of that.”

In truth, the reason Shatien was so obsessed with stamina was less about the armor and more about the weapons. To handle long pikes several meters in length freely while in full armor, stamina took priority over raw strength.

‘We will have to repeat this training every day. Stamina does not come in a single night after all.’

Thinking that, Shatien stepped into the ranks of mercenaries himself.

Stamina training. He needed it as well. Besides, in matters like this, a leader had to lead from the front.

“All right! Then let us run. Move out!”

“Yes, Centurion!”

“Uwaaaah!”