Chapter 200: War Really Is A Bottomless Pit!
"To wage war, you need first of all money; second, you need money, and third, you also need money."
Raimondo Montecuccoli (Military leader, 1609 – 1680, Austria)
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August 15th,4009 ASA (after species awakening)
Railius and his 1600 Pelican Guards and Protectors arrived in the vicinity of the ancient Nartook Fortress, while his men joined the new recruits in their training. Railius himself was on his way to an important meeting while musing about the cost of the upcoming war.
To make contributions and potentially use military merits to gain a landed noble title, Railius has pulled out every ounce of strength his noble house can muster.
Nearly 10,000 elite soldiers had been mobilised in total for the upcoming war by House Aurellion, if you consider the 8000 men from Sigismund Security Solutions to be within that number, despite many of them not knowing that their leadership secretly serves the exiled noble house.
And of these nearly 10,000 men, only the 1600 with him who had registered as soldiers in Nathia would be paid for by others being able to draw a salary from the coffers of the Kingdom of Nathia, the nation House Aurellion now serves.
This fact was not lost on either Ranier Lantier, the commanding general of Nathia’s forces, the crown prince or the king that Railius was using their gold to help upkeep what is essentially a small private army for himself, but they all agreed that it was best for Railius to keep his presence unknown to their enemies for now so that he could appear suddenly at a crucial moment and shock the Nathian veterans and older generals.
As a result, to keep up this pretence, they had to act like Railius’ men were nothing more than newly recruited soldiers, and so, as a result, had to pay them the salary of a soldier, conveniently allowing Railius to skimp on some expenses and save some money.
Railius was many things, but it is agreed by all who know him well that he knew how to make the most of a situation and milk his allies for all their worth; however, as soon as Railius reveals himself to the world, that money would stop as the kingdom does not pay the upkeep for a nobles private soldiers which is what the Pelican Guards are.
After all, no one would pay money for an army that is not theirs, which they don’t want around, especially when that army is more loyal to a certain lord rather than the kingdom as a whole.