"Run for your lives!" "It's the Raider King! The Raider King has appeared!" "Hurry, flee!" Screams echoed through the village as people ran in terror. The reputation of the Raider King was so well-known that everyone had packed their belongings lightly, ready to flee at a moment's notice. Since they were already preparing for relocation, no one hesitated; they ran without looking back. Even the village militia had been ordered by the lord to retreat rather than fight when the Raider King's forces appeared. With a club in hand, Ghislain shouted loudly, "Break everything down and take it all!" "Yeah! Let's loot it all!" The knights didn’t know why Ghislain was doing this. They figured it was just another of his whims, possibly because he was bored or displeased with something. They didn’t pay much attention to the workings of the territory; all they cared about was their training. So, they mindlessly followed Ghislain’s lead. As they went along, however, a thought began to creep into the minds of the knights. 'This... this is oddly fun.' 'Could it be that I have a talent for banditry?' 'I don’t know why, but I want to keep doing this!' Most of the knights had come from mercenary backgrounds or lowly origins, so even though they bore the title of knight, they hadn’t lived as rigidly as knights from other territories. Though Fenris offered a level of freedom uncommon elsewhere, there were still rules, and Gillian, who was once a mercenary himself, was stricter than anyone. After being held to such discipline, indulging in this mischievous act after so long felt oddly liberating. "Yeah! Smash everything!" "All the food in this village is mine!" "We’re the northern raiders!" They were no longer just acting—they had fully embraced their roles. "Heeheehee! Catch them!" "Mommy!" A masked knight cackled and chased after a fleeing child. The child’s mother, horrified, cried out, "No! Spare my child!" When the knight noticed he was getting too close, he pretended to trip over a rock. "Oh... I... fell... there’s a rock here?" The mother clutched her child in relief, offering a prayer to the goddess as she quickly escaped. Those around her were too terrified to notice the knight’s awkward acting. Thus, the Raider King and his forty bandits continued their rampage, scattering the villagers and then proceeding to destroy the homes. **Boom! Bang! Smash!** Claude, wearing a mask, urged the knights, "Hurry up! This is embarrassing!" As much as Claude could be reckless, he was a former academy scholar who had graduated at the top of his class. He found this sort of undignified behavior mortifying. "Oh, come on! This is fun!" The knights laughed heartily as they eagerly demolished the village. After tearing down the houses, they gathered up all the food and materials they had looted and triumphantly returned to the fortress. They changed into clothes they’d hidden nearby to avoid being recognized. Upon seeing Ghislain and his knights return, the villagers watched them with awe and gratitude. "I heard our lord chased off the bandits." "They numbered over 500, and now they’re down to just 40." "Oh, how exhausting it must be to go out every day like this." Ghislain waved to the people with a weary expression, and they cheered passionately in response. "Lord, stay strong!" "We’ll support you!" "I’ll join the army!" Seeing their lord fight so hard for their safety, the villagers were inspired to take action. Their current peace was all thanks to him. With a grateful smile, Ghislain spoke to the crowd. "Your words are heartening. You are the hope of this land. Let’s drive out the enemies together!" "Yeah!" The fortress echoed with their cheers. With such daily events, enlistment numbers were steadily rising. As soon as he entered the fortress, Ghislain turned to Claude. "So, how much did we get today?" "...It wasn’t much; it’s a small village." After hearing the amount, Ghislain scowled. "What? That’s all? Come on, we should move faster. Did they already take everything and run?" Claude glanced at Ghislain, thinking to himself, *This guy is completely hooked on this bandit act.* Being wild and unpredictable had always suited Ghislain, but Claude felt out of place. Forced into participating, he questioned whether this was what he’d signed up for as overseer. Thanks to the Raider King’s exploits, the notion of a looming threat had spread throughout the territory. With the cities and forts bustling with soldier movements, there were no doubters left. "Hurry up! Reports say the enemy is approaching!" As the soldiers rushed about, the villagers grew increasingly anxious. "Is the enemy coming again?" "With all the food we have here, everyone would want to seize it. Why didn’t we realize this sooner?" "Is it the raiders again? Or another lord’s scouts?" An elderly man approached a soldier and asked, "What’s happening? Has the enemy shown up again?" The soldier responded gravely, "It seems so. We’ve received orders to move to the border immediately." This was the only way the soldiers could respond. They were simply following orders without knowing the true circumstances. And so, the soldiers continued moving, and the villagers grew more and more anxious. The army, which they’d relied on, seemed to be struggling against this unknown threat. The fear of losing their land to outsiders, of returning to a life of poverty, weighed heavily on their minds. To them, it seemed the territory was already in a state of war, which only further drove up the enlistment rate. After a while, the upper ranks would issue another command: — The lord has intercepted the enemy at the border. All units return to their posts. The soldiers would sigh in relief, praising Ghislain. "Our lord really is something." "We should be helping him." "I heard another unit fought alongside him." Though they hadn’t fought, they believed other units had. With information exchanges between units restricted, there was no way to confirm otherwise. Seeing the steady increase in enlistment, Ghislain smiled with satisfaction. "Good, we’re almost there. Let’s put on one final performance." The forced relocation of all villages was complete. There was no longer any small village left in Fenris territory where spies could hide. Now, all residential areas were limited to cities and fortresses. With everyone consolidated, organizing people during wartime would be swift and efficient, and logistical movement would be much easier. This was a ruthless plan focused solely on enhancing war efficiency—a strategy very much in Ghislain’s style. The rising enlistment rate had also helped wrap up the relocation process. "Alright, let’s go! No mistakes this time!" Ghislain and his knights returned from their final raid, covered head-to-toe in blood-red bandages. Belinda had specially treated the bandages with a spicy red dye to give the appearance of bloodstains. The knights’ noses were red, and their eyes teared up from the pungent smell. The villagers looked on in shock. "Our lord... he’s injured." "Isn’t our lord supposed to be a Swordmaster?" "They say the enemies were overwhelming. Some of them must have been strong knights." The villagers anxiously watched the knights, who appeared weary, heads drooping and limbs limp. As the crowd gathered, Ghislain concentrated mana in his foot and jabbed Black King, his horse, in the ribs. Neigh! Black King jerked in pain, and Ghislain dramatically tumbled from his saddle. "Oof!" "My lord!" The crowd moved to help, but Ghislain raised a hand. "I... I’m alright..." At that moment, Black King, still irate, kicked Ghislain in the back. Thud! *This damn horse...* Ghislain glared at Black King but couldn’t break character, so he channeled his anger into a pained expression. "My lord!" cried the villagers. To them, Ghislain was the benevolent lord who had fed, clothed, and sheltered them. Seeing him injured and exhausted filled them with heartbreak, and some even wept openly. Especially the elderly, who viewed him as their lifelong benefactor and savior. In a halting voice, Ghislain muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear, "If only we had... more soldiers... we’re so short on men..." With that, Ghislain closed his eyes, feigning unconsciousness. The knights bit their lips in feigned sorrow. *If I laugh, I’ll really die,* they thought. *Hold it in, hold it in... Oh, I miss my parents.* Claude closed his eyes and turned away, pretending to fight back tears. *This is so embarrassing.* Beside him, Wendy bit her lip, looking skyward. Belinda and the attendants soon rushed out from the fortress. "Oh no, my lord!" Belinda shrieked as Gillian lifted Ghislain onto his back and carried him inside. Gillian’s face was flushed with embarrassment. This playacting was far from his style, but he couldn’t let Ghislain down. Fortunately, the villagers, seeing his stony expression, assumed he was holding back his rage. Watching the spectacle, Alfoy and Cain, who were transporting materials, clicked their tongues. "Just look at them. What a spectacle." Soon, news spread like wildfire that the lord had collapsed in battle. This sparked a massive wave of voluntary enlistment across the territory. "Our lord is fighting for us! Let’s stand by him!" "We must protect our land! If we don’t, who will? Do we want to go back to how things were?" "Every able man, enlist in the Fenris Army!" The term of service in the Fenris Army was ten years, similar to other territories, but the people didn’t mind. With determined expressions, they eagerly volunteered. A short time later, Claude reported back to Ghislain. "...Including the knights, we now have over 12,000 soldiers, surpassing our target. Why is this even working?!" Claude, frustrated, burst out. He knew the lord was popular but hadn’t anticipated this level of devotion. It felt like every person in the territory adored and respected Ghislain. The fact that these theatrics worked so well only made him more annoyed. His jealousy flared up, wishing he could be so loved. "Ugh, in any case, with the knights, elves, and labor battalions included, we now have a force just over 13,000." At this point, only Rayfold and Desmond could muster a larger army in the north. Considering the knights and new equipment, Fenris could now rival the might of these territories. Of course, the new recruits were still raw. They’d need training to become elite soldiers. Ghislain grinned, satisfied. "See? I told you we had enough people." "Yes... You must be thrilled with your popularity. Lucky you." "Are you jealous?" Ghislain asked with a smirk. "Yes, very much so." Ghislain clicked his tongue at Claude’s grumbling before continuing, "Now we start serious training. Gillian." "Yes, my lord." "Oversee the training in the southern region, with Stonehaven Fortress as your center. I’ll assign you 100 knights to assist. I’ll take charge of the northern region." "Understood." With soldiers spread throughout the territory, Gillian alone couldn’t train and oversee them all, so they split up the duties. Ghislain assigned him to the southern region, centered around the key Stonehaven Fortress. Any invasion would have to pass through there. While Ghislain, as lord, couldn’t be away from the main fortress for too long, he assigned the farther southern area to Gillian, providing him with knights to help manage the large number of soldiers. Ghislain laid out his training goals clearly. "Train every soldier to become skilled in mounted combat. Once 2,000 soldiers are proficient, they’ll receive archery training to be organized as archers and mounted archers." For the Fenris soldiers, basic riding skills were already mandatory, but Ghislain wanted them to reach an advanced level. "The rest should be trained in spears, swords, and shields, so they can switch roles as needed in battle." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞 "And the timeframe?" "Three months. I know it’s short, but they need to be battle-ready by then." "I’ll do my best to fulfill your orders." Though tight, they had to meet the deadline, not knowing when the civil war might erupt. Ghislain quietly sighed, ensuring no one noticed. Because of him, the future had changed, moving faster than in his past life. He couldn’t afford to let his guard down for even a day. Addressing his retainers, he added, "For now, put all development and policies on hold. Our top priority is the soldiers’ training. Direct all support toward that." With that, Fenris Territory’s war preparations began in earnest, with soldier training as the first step. The intense training would be tough, but the soldiers were motivated, having enlisted to protect their land. Now, they needed to be prepared for the battlefield. Prepared to face even the forces of Harold Desmond, the strongest in the north. With a confident smile, Ghislain declared, "The day we become the strongest in the north is fast approaching." The preparations to conquer the north were nearly complete.