章節 22: Returning to Nineveh and Meeting Nero Alex
After Lambert was paralyzed, Asher saw potential in ovoks tendons and even sought to make armor out of their skins for the archery troop.
Maybe he was on his way of creating the very first unique troop after a few months of his arrival in Boundless.
Asher came to the conclusion that unique troops had to be troops with an affinity over an element. They didn't need to be able to control lightning, as long as their arrows could cause a similar effect. Although weaker than the destructive force of true lightning, it was a game changer on a battlefield.
If a strong, veteran soldier like Lambert could be on the ground without the ability to control himself, Asher thought of the possibility of his enemies convulsing on the ground. At that point, they were at his mercy!
At this moment, he sat behind a table, writing on a piece of paper.
He was writing to Kelvin to prepare for their arrival and also inform Dan and Lois that he would be having a meeting with them concerning the creation of new armor for the bonestrike rangers.
There was always a chance to alter the advancement to produce a different version of the chosen troop.
Since he had about 700 strongmen and women in total, he decided to station 50 here in silverleaf. Silverleaf was solely for mining, and the miners had to be protected or their loyalty would slowly drop until there was rebellion.
As of now, their loyalty stood at its peak.
When he was done, he sealed the letter with the Ashbourne seal and sent one of his special falcons out the window.
With his hands clasped at his back, he watched the falcon disappear into the dark skies.
'Wasn't this winter supposed to be the worst there ever was? The beasts we encountered are fewer than those in the records, and there's no sight of an abyss worshipper or an abyss creature. Turns out all those rumors might have been lies.'
Asher turned, took two steps and halted.
'But a noble family like the count family believed it. Even Slade, son of a duke, also believed it.'
A gleam flashed through his dull golden eyes.
"Alex!"
Creak!
The door was opened.
"Yes, Your Lordship."
"You will stay in Silverleaf with two vanguards for the last month of winter."
Alex frowned but bowed his head.
...
The next day, Asher left Silverleaf with his troops.
Some days later, they arrived at Nineveh, and the soldiers were welcomed by their families and other citizens. From atop his wolf, Asher looked at children that stretched their hands toward him with gleaming eyes.
He was no doubt their idol.
They were so enamoured about him that they didn't fear Sirius, unlike their parents.
All of a sudden, a kid who had curly black hair dashed out of the crowd and stood before Sirius. "I want to be a soldier, Your Lordship!"
His eloquence and courage caught Asher's attention, and so he leaned on his wolf.
Silence fell like a blanket over the street.
"Your name, young lad?"
"Nero Alex, Your Lordship!"
"How old are you?"
"I'm ten!"
"There's no need to shout, lad. To be a soldier isn't easy, but since you're so brave, I want to know, is your father a soldier?"
"He is your personal bodyguard, Your Lordship." Nero answered in a softer tone.
"Ah, so your father is Alex."
Right at this moment, a woman rushed out of the crowd and covered the boy's face.
"I apologize for the disturbance, My Lord. He doesn't know what he's saying."
The woman said.
"I'll grant him the right to join my personal troop if he awakens at least a D-grade talent."
The woman's eyes went wide. She knew her husband recently began to receive a pay of 20 gold coins monthly, and the pay of other vanguards was 10 gold coins.
One had to know that 10 gold coins had automatically made them wealthy enough to feed for six months without a problem, and her husband received twice that in a month!
The future was bright as long as her husband's connection to Asher was kept, and once the stronghold grew and beautiful gowns were produced or imported, she would surely be the finest dressed woman in Nineveh, but all this was nothing compared to her son gaining the lord's favor at just 10!
If he didn't mess up, he was bound to be greater than his father.
It all came down to Nero's awakening.
Tomorrow he would officially become 10, and the awakening might be on the first day, second day, or even the last day before he became 11, so Nero had one year.
However, the boy was so excited that he hoped he would awaken the next day.
"You gave him so much hope."
Eritrea said as they continued moving.
Asher just smiled.
...….
Inside the dining hall, as Asher ate his delicious meal, Kelvin walked in with a piece of paper.
"What is that?"
"It's the bill for your workers, My Lord. You have to pay 300 miners since the others are on hard labor, and you also have to pay your men so they can get Golden Fragrant corn, grains, and meat for their families."
Asher dropped his spoon and looked at Kelvin in such a way that the man had to cough away his embarrassment.
"You're doing this because you've seen the amount in the Treasury."
"No, Your Lordship. The reason is because you have to pay your citizens, and those working within the castle walls are included."
Asher ground his teeth at Kelvin's thick skin.
He slammed both hands lightly on the table and breathed out.
"Okay. Tell me how much it is again."
"For each miner, 20 silver coins; each soldier, 2 gold coins; commanders have a higher pay; and you also have to pay Dan and Lois, who are always researching to produce something new for the army."
"What kind of absurd amount is that?!"
"But you orchestrated this to entice people to work."
"That was then, not now, Kelvin. Scratch that absurd payment and make it affordable. We have roads to build and more professionals to pay. That can't happen if we are going to splurge like that when we haven't even established a stable trade."
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