Chapter 10 : Chapter 10
Chapter 10: The Covenant of Iron and Bread
Beyond the boundary marker of Grayrock Town, the scenery between heaven and earth changed abruptly.
The earth took on an unsettling dark crimson hue, as if it had been soaked repeatedly in the blood of giant beasts.
Vegetation vanished entirely, leaving only jagged rocks and wind-eroded gravel.
The wind carried a blade-like chill that stung the face. The sky was perpetually gray, the sun like a white disc hanging at the horizon, drained of all warmth.
This was the true Wailing Wastes.
The newly recruited hyenas were utterly shocked by the desolation and death of this land.
They were already a group of failures whose courage had been wrung dry by life. In the Rat's Nest, at least there had been four walls to block out the cold wind.
Here, they felt like they'd been thrown into a boundless graveyard, surrounded on all sides by a death-like silence waiting to devour them.
The atmosphere in the column was oppressively grim.
Day after day of monotonous marching constantly eroded the illusory hope they'd kindled for two copper coins and full meals.
The black bread was hard as stone, the salted meat so salty it tasted bitter. Every day people fell behind, or came to blows over trivial matters.
The young miner named Finn couldn't help but approach a burly man named Barton, whom he'd met once in the Rat's Nest.
Barton claimed to have served in the Blood Axe Mercenary Company and was one of the few among these new recruits with combat experience.
“Brother Barton.”
Finn's lips were cracked, his voice hoarse.
“This godforsaken place… is there really a way to survive? I feel like we're a flock of sheep being driven to slaughter.”
Barton spat, his expression equally grim.
He glanced at Caesar riding silently on horseback and lowered his voice.
“Shut up, kid. If you don't want to die, stay close. Remember, we're all grasshoppers tied to the same rope now. If that noble brat dares to deceive us…”
He made a throat-slitting gesture.
Caesar sat on his horse, taking all of this in with an expressionless face.
Barrett urged his horse forward and said in a low voice.
“My lord, if this continues, morale will collapse.”
“These scum won't settle down without being taught a lesson.”
“A few of them are already secretly hoarding food, preparing to desert.”
“No rush.”
Caesar said calmly.
“Fish need to be starved through before they know the value of bait. Let them walk another half day.”
After another half day's march, the column turned into a narrow canyon.
The canyon was flanked by steep cliffs. The terrain was treacherous, and the wind echoed here with a wailing sound, like a widow weeping—this was Weeping Widow Canyon.
“Halt!”
Caesar reined in his horse and gave the order.
Nearly two hundred new recruits stopped in confusion, looking around warily, thinking they'd walked into an ambush.
Their hands instinctively tightened around their wooden clubs and rusted swords, their faces full of terror.
At that moment, the heavy sound of wagon wheels came from deep in the canyon.
Shortly after, more than a dozen carts covered with thick oilcloth, led by Roland, slowly emerged.
The hyenas immediately grew restless, unclear about what was happening.
Under the uncertain gazes of everyone, Caesar dismounted and walked to the front of the convoy, saying calmly.
“Roland, uncover them.”
“Yes, my lord!”
Roland waved his hand. Several veterans stepped forward and yanked off the oilcloth.
WHOOSH!
Under the sunlight, blinding cold light burst forth instantly!
The entire canyon fell deathly silent, leaving only heavy breathing and gasps.
On the first cart sat neatly stacked hard leather armor, each piece gleaming with a solid sheen, the bronze buckles glinting brilliantly in the sunlight.
On the second cart were bundled regulation shortswords and hand axes, their sharp edges reflecting cold killing intent that sent shivers down spines.
The third cart, the fourth… rows of brand-new crossbows, their limbs flashing with metallic coldness, bundles of bolts with neatly arranged feather fletching, like venomous snakes waiting to drink blood.
The last several carts were piled high with sacks of wheat flour, hanging with rows of salted meat still dripping with oil, and even several large wooden barrels emanating the rich aroma of ale!
Finn, Barton, and the others stared with eyes wide as copper bells, their gazes locked onto those excellent pieces of equipment and food they wouldn't dare dream of, their Adam's apples rolling frantically.
Finn reached out with trembling hands, as if wanting to touch that illusory vision, yet not daring to actually do so.
This wasn't a group of desperate wretches at the end of their rope! This was a fully equipped army preparing for war! That noble brat… he wasn't a madman, and he wasn't a fraud!
Caesar walked before the dumbstruck crowd, his voice not loud but carrying clearly to everyone's ears.
“Three days ago, in the Rat's Nest, you were trash who had to fight over a single piece of moldy bread.”
“You followed me, gambling on an ethereal future.”
He swept his gaze across each person, his eyes sharp as blades.
“These three days, you've walked over a hundred miles, enduring hunger and fear. Not one of you deserted. You've proven with your actions that your bones haven't been completely shattered by despair.”
He pointed at the convoy behind him, his voice suddenly rising.
“So from today forward, you are no longer hyenas!”
“Take up the weapons and armor that belong to you! Eat meat, drink wine! You are no longer vagrants selling your lives for a few copper coins—you are my soldiers!”
Caesar took a coin purse from Roland's hands and overturned it sharply.
With a cascade of crisp sounds, over a thousand gleaming silver coins spread in a thin layer on the ground, shining with a light more alluring than steel.
“Starting this month, each of you will earn one silver coin! In my territory, one silver coin is enough to feed a family!”
He spread his arms wide, as if embracing this wasteland.
“What I give you is iron, bread, and dignity!”
“What I need from you is your loyalty, and the courage to defend that dignity with the blood of enemies!”
“Now, tell me—are you willing?!”
After a brief moment of deathly silence, Finn was the first to throw down his iron rod. Like a maddened bull, he charged toward that mountain of equipment. He didn't grab a weapon but knelt on the ground, his trembling hands caressing the cold leather armor as if caressing a long-lost lover.
The next second, he buried his face in the armor. Tears suppressed for years burst forth like a breached dam as he let out a beast-like roar.
“I'm willing! My lord! I, Finn Stonefist, am willing to give my life for you!!”
“Damn right I'm willing!”
The burly Barton cursed, his reddened eyes full of fervor. He grabbed a heavy hand axe and raised it high, roaring with all his strength.
“For our lord!”
“For our lord!!”
In that moment, nearly two hundred new recruits seemed to have been injected with brand-new souls.
They surged madly toward the carts, clumsily yet reverently donning the leather armor and taking up weapons.
On those numb faces, the flame called hope reignited, and this flame burned fiercely, transforming into the most primal worship and fervor.
When the column set out again, it was utterly transformed.
The former rabble had become an army that, though its formation was scattered, radiated killing intent.
Roland and Barrett, like two fierce sheepdogs, constantly barked orders and corrected their ranks.
Everyone stood tall and straight. The weapons in their hands and the armor on their bodies gave them unprecedented confidence.
At dusk, the column finally reached the black mountain range that stood like a giant beast's skeleton—the Blackspine Mountains.
“My lord, this terrain is treacherous and unsuitable for making camp.”
Barrett rode up to advise.
“If we're ambushed by magical beasts from above, we won't even be able to organize an effective defensive formation.”
Caesar didn't answer him.
He dismounted and walked alone to the edge of a towering cliff, gazing down at the valley below shrouded in shadow.
In his vision, the entire world became a different picture.
【God's Eye】.
Countless pale golden lines outlined the essence of all things. His spiritual power, like invisible tendrils, probed toward the seemingly solid earth beneath his feet, deeper still… eighty meters, ninety meters… one hundred meters!
Suddenly, a trace of azure-blue veins, like the blood vessels of the earth, appeared clearly in his imperceptible depths of perception.
It was a joyful, pure pulsation filled with vitality.
【DING!】
【Detected: Underground river. Water quality: Excellent. Flow rate: Stable. Depth: 97 meters.】
Caesar's breathing paused slightly.
A water source! In this cursed land where even rainwater was a luxury, a stable underground river was worth far more than a gold mine!
He forcibly suppressed his excitement and spread his perception to the surroundings.
Soon, not far from the water source, deep in a mountain hollow, he “touched” an inconspicuous mass of energy emanating faint warmth.
【DING!】
【Detected: Minor geothermal hot spring. Temperature: Suitable. Contains trace amounts of sulfur ore. Depth: 65 meters.】
Water, heat, and mineable minerals.
All the elements for a perfect underground base were complete.
Caesar withdrew God's Eye. The world before him returned to normal.
He turned to face the soldiers behind him who had changed into new equipment and were looking at him with trust and expectation written all over their faces.
“Roland, Barrett.”
“Present, my lord!”
Both men answered in unison, their voices resounding like bells.
Caesar pointed at the ground beneath his feet and issued his first construction order on this wasteland in an unquestionable tone.
“Move the column downward. Our home lies below.”