Chapter 136 : Chapter 136
Chapter 136. Now It’s Not About Survival (3)
After the oath ceremony.
The archery and cavalry platoons returned to Kroxen Castle, while Roden headed to Vinchih with the infantry platoon.
It was to visit the various domains trading with the Billem Caravan and to have a regular meeting with Abtal.
Nedhab, who took Chevalier's place next to Roden as soon as he left, spoke.
“It's a hassle for you to have to visit Vinchih every time, Battalion Commander.”
“It’s a necessary evil to obtain valuable information. They want me to show my face, and more importantly, the profits we secure here are not insignificant.”
For now, they could live on the supplies sent from each country belonging to the Allied Forces.
However, once the war was over, it would be solely Roden's responsibility to feed and keep alive the more than 100 members of the Special Task Force Company.
Because Roden desired independence.
Therefore, he had to diligently earn money while he could.
So, Roden was seriously considering expanding the scale of the Billem Caravan, and he planned to do so this time.
“You remember what we decided to do this time, don't you? I'll set the overall direction of the
business, but your role is important. You'll be the one to practically run it.”
“Yes. Don't worry. Even if I can't do it, the others will do a good job.”
The others Nedhab mentioned were Federico, Zailo, and Terne.
Indeed, the three of them were dependable.
Federico, as the Deputy Platoon Leader, could lead the Billem Caravan when Nedhab was out of his mind, and Zailo, as confirmed last time, was quite bright when it came to business.
Lastly, Terne was the one who had developed the meatball recipe, which could be called the core of the Billem Caravan.
It wasn't for nothing that Roden had decided to expand the business when it was the infantry platoon's turn.
“Right. I’m thinking of expanding the meatball business. The help of those two will be important.”
That was right.
Roden was planning to expand the meatball business, not the food business.
The reason was none other than this.
This side was more profitable than the food business.
In fact, the food business did not yield much profit.
In the first place, he had started this business with the purpose of obtaining information.
On the other hand, in the case of the meatball business, the demand was considerable.
There were continuous requests to open branch stores.
So, Roden had no choice but to decide to put his efforts into the meatball business.
While conversing with Nedhab.
Roden finally arrived in Vinchih.
***
'Phew. It was harder than I thought.'
Roden stayed in Vinchih for fifteen days and handled all his schedules.
At the same time, he expanded the meatball business as planned, and fortunately, the results were not bad.
He had succeeded in adding twelve more branch stores.
'And these branch stores are not directly operated by us.'
Until now, Roden had operated the meatball stores as a concept of directly managed stores.
At least one member of the Special Task Force Company was made to pay attention to the meatball store.
This was certainly useful for maintaining quality.
But now, securing safety and making money was the priority over quality.
This was even more so because he didn't know when this business would come to an end.
'We have to leave when this war is over. If things go well, we might have to leave even before this war is over.'
Above all, this was not a real business.
It was one of the operations to shake the Empire.
So, even if the quality of the meatballs declined while expanding the branches in an octopus-like fashion, securing short-term profits was the priority.
That was why Roden had boldly decided to increase the number of branch stores this time.
'And we decided to withdraw our soldiers from the stores that were previously managed like directly managed stores. That way, safety will be secured.'
Until now, it had been unavoidable for the smooth operation of the stores, but now the practical affairs of the Billem Caravan were run by only employees of Imperial origin.
So, for safety, it was right for the soldiers of the Special Task Force Company to step back from the front line.
'The atmosphere in the Empire has been unusual lately, so we need to be more careful.'
He could feel it while meeting with various lords and treasurers this time.
The fact that the Empire's sense of crisis had deepened.
It was only natural, as there were continuous talks of the participation of high-ranking nobles who had been avoiding the war in various ways, such as dispatching only troops, supporting only food and other supplies, or having only some of their family members participate in the war.
In fact, some nobles were declaring their participation in the war one by one, unable to withstand the pressure from the imperial family.
'If the time comes when all the high-ranking officials participate in the war, I won't be able to maintain the Billem Caravan even if I want to.'
When that time came, the lives of the people would become indescribably impoverished due to the intensification of the war.
So, even if there were meatball stores, the people who used them would inevitably disappear.
In the end, this business expansion was a last resort to pull in profits for the last time.
“I’ve already told you several times, but be thoroughly prepared so that you can slip away at any time.”
Roden, who had organized his thoughts, urged Nedhab before leaving.
“Yes. I will do so. But what should we do with the new recruits if something happens?”
The new recruits Nedhab was talking about were the troops that had started from the Imperial citizens who had been living like slaves in the former Sahar Caravan.
As they were united by a strong hostility towards the Empire that had not protected them, their intention to defect to the Allied Forces was tremendous.
For that reason, Roden had accepted this and intended to raise them as allied troops.
And he had selected some of the new recruits with a clear intention of loyalty and brought them to the east several times.
He had not yet deployed them in actual combat, but he planned to organize them as a reserve for the main battalion when the time was right.
Fortunately, Alexis had also permitted this.
'Come to think of it, I haven't been paying attention to them, but there were new recruits.'
Roden, who had been too busy with other things to pay attention to the new recruits whose training he had entrusted to others, asked Nedhab.
“How are the new recruits being managed?”
“After moving them to the east several times, we are focusing only on their training. But there are quite a lot of them.”
“How many are there?”
“I heard there are roughly over 500.”
“...Purely soldiers? Not their families?”
“Yes. In the first place, the new troops we bring in have almost no family. Because they are former slaves.”
“Huh.”
Roden had given the order to the Billem Caravan to recruit and train new soldiers.
It wasn't just recruiting ordinary Imperial citizens.
It was the task of taking a portion of the Billem Caravan's profits to continuously purchase slaves, promise them freedom, and militarize them.
But for that number to be 500.
The number was much larger than Roden had thought.
It was a part that showed just how deeply rooted the slave system was in the Empire.
The fact that they could recruit so many with a limited budget would mean that the price of slaves was that cheap.
“Of course, among these personnel, there are also some prisoners of war from the Allied Forces.”
“The war isn't even over yet, and they're trading prisoners as slaves?”
“Since the war situation is not good, it seems that the Imperial Army is selling some prisoners who cannot receive prize money as slaves to make a profit.”
“I see…”
Hearing Nedhab's explanation, he could understand the situation.
No matter how deep-rooted the slave system was, the situation was too serious.
In any case, Roden had to decide what to do with the new recruits when something happened.
“For now, start moving personnel to the east little by little, focusing on the new recruits who are former Allied Forces prisoners.”
“Understood. Then should we stop recruiting new soldiers?”
“No. Continue the current trend. It will be difficult to take care of everyone when something happens, but it would be a good thing if we can save even one person like this.”
Nedhab, who had suffered all sorts of hardships as a member of a small tribe, though not a slave, quietly nodded his head at Roden's answer.
Because he could understand the sincerity in those words better than anyone.
Of course, it wasn't that Roden had ordered this simply out of a desire to save someone.
'The new recruits recruited like this will not only become the main battalion's reserve but will also be able to become my personal private army in the future.'
Not everyone would follow Roden, who was set on becoming independent.
But considering the situation the new recruits were in, the possibility of them becoming a private army was high.
The gratitude for being saved from a crisis was always greater.
And so, Roden was able to finish his business in Vinchih by securing financial power and succeeding in increasing the military strength of his group.
***
Roden, who had finished all his schedules in Vinchih, returned with the new recruits.
Since he was returning to Kroxen Castle anyway, it was a good idea to move the new recruits to the east.
Roden moved forward, casting detection magic at regular intervals and distances.
In fact, this detection magic was the decisive secret that had never once been detected by the Empire.
Even though the Special Task Force Company had rotated several times, and even while moving the new recruits to the east.
For this, Roden had been periodically sending pieces of wood enchanted with detection magic to the Billem Caravan.
While moving smoothly, Roden was lost in thought.
What captivated Roden's thoughts was the prediction of the future war situation.
'To think they've decided to supply magic artifacts to the regular units as well... The Empire must be in quite a hurry.'
During this journey, Roden had not neglected to acquire information, the purpose of the Billem Caravan's creation.
As a result, he learned that the Imperial Army was not planning to operate the Magic Artifact Unit separately.
This was very bad news for the Allied Forces.
It was unknown how many magic artifacts the Empire could secure, but that number would secure a force of at least 1-star knight level.
At the same time, it was a part that could confirm the Empire's will to turn the tide of the war.
'Not good. The only thing that could be called an achievement is the fact that I've found out which mage tower is selling magic artifacts to the Empire.'
It was new information obtained from Abtal, who was always a generous tree for Roden.
The mage tower that was selling magic artifacts to the Empire.
The identity of this mage tower was, surprisingly, the Penitudo Mage Tower.