Lord of Rot

Just as Leech had calculated, when Qiao returned, Beekeeping Village was just beginning its honey harvest.

The first-generation honey extractors spun, flinging the sweet liquid against the barrel walls, where it slowly slid down to pool at the bottom.

Under the guidance of the Insect Control Remnant People, the bees gathered together and were moved into new hives.

Qiao inhaled the sweet fragrance, his eyes taking in a scene that astonished him. When he had left, Beekeeping Village had none of this equipment, nor was its beekeeping operation anywhere near this scale. In just a month or two, Porcupine Territory was able to ship out honey barrel after barrel.

In the distance, the two Akelie brothers wore smiles as they directed the swarms of bees. This work had earned them great respect, and more than a few girls had shown them affection. But the two were rather obedient; without an order from their lord or their father, they would never dare get involved in any messy relationships.

Qiao, however, was sighing with heartfelt admiration for the lord’s wisdom, to have been able to unearth such precious talent from among slaves.

Leech noticed Qiao’s gaze and thought to himself, ’Ark’s family isn’t the key.’

’In the early stages, the three Arkke siblings were indeed needed to control the bees, but once the bees settled into the hives, the role of the Insect Control Remnant People will diminish significantly.’

’As long as they wear protective clothing and take proper precautions, ordinary people can harvest honey too.’

’The techniques and knowledge of Porcupine Territory are not impossible to replicate. I know my technology can’t be kept secret forever; others will copy it. My only option is to turn my other ideas into reality as quickly as possible. As long as I develop and innovate fast enough, they’ll all be left eating my dust!’

This time, Leech himself would lead the Soldiers to transport the honey to Green Forest Castle.

At the welcome-back banquet, Leech had the kitchen prepare a few extra dishes. When a salted egg yolk pastry was served, Leech stared at the strange-looking thing, completely unable to figure out what it was.

Was it a pressed cake? A sponge cake? A layered cake?

In any case, it looked terrible.

But seeing Qiao, Gelan, and Quickblade eating it so happily, Leech resisted the urge to make a snide comment.

"I’ll be making a trip to Green Forest Castle soon," Leech said.

The three men listened quietly. They were his subordinates, responsible only for obeying their lord’s commands. During their time together, they had come to understand Leech’s personality and temperament; the lord only needed people who could get things done properly, a fact they were keenly aware of.

Anyone else would find it hard to imagine a lord holding such immense authority in his own territory—so much so that some slaves willingly gave up their prayers to the gods and prayed to their lord instead.

"The journey will take about half a month," Leech said, looking at Qiao. After Qiao nodded in confirmation, he continued, "So... I expect to be away from Porcupine Territory for two or three months."

"I will leave you with tasks to complete during that time."

He didn’t want to be gone for so long, but the trip to Green Forest Castle had been decided on long ago, and it was indeed a great distance away.

If he wanted slaves and a larger population, he needed his grandfather’s help. This was a trip he had to make, no matter what.

Leech put down his chopsticks. "Quickblade, you and Gelan will discuss the production of weapons and armor. For now, this batch of orders can only be sent to Iron Stone City."

There was no other way. The good blacksmiths were all in Iron Stone City, so Leech had no choice but to spend more money.

To fully arm a single infantryman—including their innermost armor, chainmail, a Porcupine surcoat, a shield, a flail or Longsword, a spear, and so on—would cost an estimated 90 to 110 Silver Moon. To re-equip 100 Soldiers would cost 10,000 Silver Moon. For the Leech who had just transmigrated last Lily, he had only 8,000 Silver Moon even after emptying his coffers. He couldn’t have afforded it at all.

And that wasn’t even counting the monthly Soldier salaries, weapon and armor maintenance, and providing meat for them during training.

But once trained, these 100 elite Soldiers would have no problem taking on 1,000 militiamen.

Leech was more than willing to invest the capital.

If Porcupine Territory weren’t currently limited to supporting only one or two hundred Soldiers at most, he would definitely be training them with all he had.

Armies are raised for a thousand days to be used in a single moment.

Training Soldiers only when war has already begun is a waste of life.

"I need you to train a troop of fearless Soldiers who can charge and kill," Leech said, looking at Quickblade. "I can tell you one thing in advance: from these 100 men, I intend to select a few exceptional ones to be trained as Cavalry. Not just from this batch, but in the future, I will always cultivate Cavalry from among those who perform outstandingly."

The Lu Leiyi Continent was still in an era where Cavalry swept across the battlefield, capable of fighting one against a hundred.

This "one against a hundred" didn’t refer to all Cavalry, but specifically to heavy cavalry.

Clad in heavy armor, with their mounts also draped in heavy plate, they were like living tanks sheathed in iron. When they couched their lances and charged, they were invincible.

In an army, heavy cavalrymen were typically nobles. Firstly, commoners couldn’t afford the upkeep. Secondly, the feudal lords themselves were unwilling to spend so much money training them.

A single heavy cavalryman was never just one person.

They were usually followed by at least one mounted squire, like Rob and Little Joel.

In addition, they were supported by a Swordsman to handle close-quarters combat.

There would also be a mounted archer, responsible for scouting, pursuit, and providing support from the flanks.

These three types constituted the light cavalry component. Beyond them, they also required infantry, crossbowmen, archers, and spearmen, numbering six or more men in total.

Some wealthy heavy cavalrymen would even have several mounted archers in their retinue.

You could say that seeing a heavy cavalryman was the same as seeing a noble lord, and you wouldn’t be wrong. Even if he wasn’t a noble lord at that moment, he was certainly held in high regard by his own lord, because heavy cavalry wasn’t an ordinary military unit—they were charging Jinri!

The light cavalry that followed a heavy cavalryman were his retainers; protecting the heavy cavalryman was their primary mission.

Even though Leech only needed light cavalry for now, Quickblade couldn’t help but get excited.

"Yes, sir!" he boomed.

Leech nodded. He had no intention of changing the paradigm of Cavalry on the Lu Leiyi Continent. He was only training Cavalry because he wanted to wait for Betty’s research on Magic Gunpowder and Magic Firearms to bear fruit, then equip a troop of firearm cavalry.

’The results should be spectacular.’

As for training heavy cavalry, forget it. That would require throwing away a sea of Jinri.

When it came to charging, corpse heavy cavalry would surely be more effective than noble young heavy cavalrymen.

Porcupine Territory’s heavy cavalry was Leech himself. Heavy cavalry represented high status; even if he couldn’t defeat an enemy, he would only be captured, not killed.

If one day he received a command from the Golden Thorn Sword Clan to go to war, he would don his armor and join the other young nobles to form a Knight company and charge. If he was unfortunately captured, he would just pay a ransom for his freedom.

"Qiao, I’d like you to take some of our agricultural products to the nearby villages and towns. Selling goods is one thing, but the main goal is to let those merchants know that Porcupine Territory has things to sell," Leech said, looking at the merchant’s son. "Also, Gelan and I have discussed the commercial district. You can use your experience to consult with Gelan on zoning and pricing. For maintaining order, you can talk to Quickblade. He will be in charge of security in Porcupine Territory, and you can go to him for the security team as well."

Only Leech would have the audacity to delegate so much authority.

If someone truly betrayed him, he would have an undead team to crush the rebellion. The corpses soaking in Magic Antiseptic underground were the true source of his confidence.

He could already control 26 undead Soldiers. Leech was feeling very secure.