Chapter 668 (1/2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Shortly after the first snow fell, Dahl Hill’s winter “clean-up” army set out from the city.

The main force of this army was dominated by a private army under Baron Dahl’s command. It consisted of a total of 100 professional soldiers. These 100 people should not be belittled. Not only did they receive full-time training all year round, but every single one of them was also fully armed to the teeth. Baron Dahl was very generous when it came to the expenditure on armaments. All his soldiers had changed into a simplified full-body armor that was introduced by the Republic of Northwest in recent years. On the basis of a one-piece breastplate, the additional features consisted of armor around the waist, arms, and legs, as well as a helmet and mask, which were all made out of stamped steel sheets. This was truly a heavy-duty, full-body armor. Not only that, it was also much lighter than the traditional full-body armor. Putting it on might not allow its wearer to travel long distances, but the soldiers could at least raise their guns while charging at their enemies. This was something way beyond what the heavy-duty, full-body armor of the past could ever allow.

As for these people’s weapons, naturally, they would all be equipped with a uniform set of sophisticated weapons. Long rifles, big blades, shields and battle axes—they certainly didn’t lack anything.

Other than these professional soldiers, there was also an equal number of archers. They were classified as part-time soldiers. They would usually receive a salary, but they had to prepare their own equipment. During the battle, they were mainly responsible for rear support. With a single arrow, these skilled archers could usually shoot and finish off the weaker demons, like the gnomes. When 100 soldiers were gathered to form an army, their combat power could also be extremely forceful.

This army of 200 men was most probably where Baron Dahl found base for power. As for the remaining 300-odd men, they were just there as do-all factotums. Among them, about a hundred were militia—and a majority of these 100 men were ruffians and rogues gathered from several villages. Baron Dahl did not expect these men to be able to fight tough battles, but they could provide backup by the side, and help to destroy enemies like the gnomes by making good use of the advantageous situation their army was in. They were still capable of handling such tasks.

The final 200 men were purely servant soldiers. Among them, there were specialized servant soldiers, people who grew up learning how to serve soldiers, how to march, how to set up camp, how to build the battlefield, etc. But the bulk of the group was made up of the poor people who came from slums around the city. This group of people consisted of both male and female, from young to old, all of whom who were basically untrained. They were only responsible for work like helping with the transportation of supplies and gear of the army, as well as serving the soldiers.

Yes, they were only required to do this. As for the other jobs, such as being cannon-fodder, militiamen, troopers, and so on, their services would not be required.

The key to how these poor people enlisted as servant soldiers were able to receive such treatment was naturally because of the clergymen from the Church of the Void Mask.

To protect this group of poor people, including the local bishop and Bishop Kabbalah, all 10 clergymen had been mobilized. They even roped in two other church members to help. Twelve of them came together and formed a powerful squad.

In this squad, three were of middle rank, and nine were only at the junior level, but their combat power was definitely not inferior. Even if they were pitched against Baron Dahl’s bodyguards, they still had a 50-50 chance of winning.

And the personnel allocation on this squad was fairly reasonable, with two paladins, one bishop, three priests, and six Sacred Warriors, and if close-combat or spells we needed, there was enough manpower to handle that too. Bishop Kabbalah even moved the sacred altar over and placed it within a big cart specifically made for it. When the need arose, he could definitely display a power that would scare any enemy away by relying on this altar.

Yes, any enemy, whether it was a wild beast, demon or any human with ill intentions.

This was the thing that made Baron Dahl particularly distressed. Originally, he had wanted to integrate those clergymen into the vanguard, then leave them to die as they grappled with the formidable demons. In the end, those clergymen pointed out that, “Our altar is right here. If you want to give us any orders, you can negotiate with Our Majesty on your own.” So he could only concede defeat and retreat in shame.

His Majesty, the Void Mask, was a good god, and Baron Dahl did not feel that he was seen as someone appealable to His Majesty. He felt it was better not to make himself unwelcomed.

Since he did not have the guts to discuss it with His Majesty, then of course, he would not directly issue an order. However, Baron Dahl was, after all, a smart businessman. He was quick to figure things out—being unable to scheme against those clergymen was in fact, no big deal. Anyway, when they crossed paths with the powerful yet evil demons, would these clergymen have any other choice but to fight head-on?

If they were to flinch, then they did not deserve to be clergymen!