Badge in Azure

Chapter 352: Building an Army, Building a City (Part 2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"My enemies are far stronger than you think. Even I, myself, am not confident of surviving. In the beginning, all of you chose to follow me out of desperation. But right now, I will give you a chance to choose." Saleen looked like he was narrating an event which was not related to him. His blue eyes were as pure as lake water in the spring, clear and cold.

The four magic beast swordsmen looked at each other blankly, at a loss for what to say. Even if they were to leave Saleen, they would not be able to live peacefully either, unless Emperor Jupiter stopped pursuing them.

With a solemn expression, Jola asked, "If I choose to leave, will the sword be taken back?"

The sword Jola was referring to was Tears, which had been specially made by Aini.

"Of course," Saleen replied firmly.

"Then I won't leave." Jola's reply was also equally tenacious. In his heart, Jola had his own thoughts. It is unknown how those three powerful spirits were subdued by Saleen. If I do leave, and Saleen decides to retaliate, then I will probably end up like the three kings. That will be the worst outcome.

"My lord, we will follow you until death," the four magic beast swordsmen replied at the same time.

"Very well. All of you shall stay here for the time being. Every day, you will practice with each other for four hours in front of me. Also, I will make a new set of equipment for each one of you."

"Master!" A white figure charged into the room, crashing into Saleen's arms. Even though Saleen had a perception which surpassed that of a grade-6 mage, he had not been able to foresee that. Nailisi hugged Saleen tightly, felt Saleen's heartbeat, then muttered, "You're not dead, you're really not dead!"

The four magic beast swordsmen were stunned, while Jola's gaze glowed with passion. However, Aini withdrew himself, trying to steer clear of Nailisi. As a death mage, Aini did not know why he was afraid of a maidservant who had no status. Aini suspected that this might have been psychological trauma. Back then, Nailisi had indeed been a fearsome presence. Furthermore, up until now, he still could not find out what abilities Nailisi possessed.

Jola had not seen Nailisi's violent side, so he grinned as he watched Saleen push Nailisi away, then asked, "Sir, who is this beautiful lady?"

Saleen pushed Nailisi aside, but Nailisi was not angry. She went back into his arms and pulled at them, fussing over him.

"Nailisi!" Saleen raised his voice. In front of the new followers, he had to maintain his majesty and dominance no matter what.

"Master, are you going to punish me?" Nailisi's voice was filled with seductive vibes. Suddenly, Saleen's heart lurched as he recalled Nailisi's interpretation of a punishment. At this point in time, he noticed Jola's blazing gaze.

Oh no, Jola. This fellow even dared to mess with Emperor Jupiter's daughter. He will definitely pester Nailisi. Given Nailisi's character, she will most probably eat Jola, to experience what a grand swordmaster tastes like. Saleen remembered very clearly that Nailisi was interested in the flesh of experts. This kind of interest stemmed from her appetite.

"This is my servant, Nailisi. This is Jola, Vinz, Singiles, Gos, and Lola. They are my followers. When all of you are protecting me, you must also ensure Nailisi's safety."

"I will use my life to…"

Saleen interrupted Jola's oath, and said, "Your life is mine."

Jola looked at Nailisi disappointedly. He could tell that Saleen and his maidservant shared an unusual relationship. However, he did not mind. As long as Nailisi appreciated him, he would not give a hoot about who Nailisi had been with in the past. What disappointed him was that Nailisi had never even looked at him once all this while. More accurately, ever since Nailisi had entered the house, she had focused all her attention on Saleen.

"All of you can go and rest now." Saleen's sentence was interrupted by Nailisi. Saleen felt that he should not rush things. He would need at least a year to accomplish his army training plan. But in order for his army to reach the level of proficiency of Lex's subordinates, he would need at least ten times that duration.

When Jola and the others had left, Saleen then said to Nailisi, "Nailisi, Jola is a black metal grand swordmaster, but he has the abilities of a silver grand swordmaster. Don't harm him."

"Harm him? Why would I?" Nailisi was all smiles when she answered Saleen. This Jola looks just like a lecher. I don't have to do anything. When Lex returns, it will only get more interesting.

Seeing that Nailisi looked shameless, Saleen was also helpless. He could not guarantee that Nailisi would not do anything.

"Aini, I have some things to say to Saleen. You need to leave the room for a moment," Nailisi commanded Aini in a stern manner. Aini's mouth twitched, but he did not rebut her nor did he become angry. He left Saleen's room obediently. If Aini was still afraid of anyone in this world, that person was surely Nailisi.

Even in the face of the three kings, Aini had only been excited and nervous. But in front of Nailisi, he experienced a kind of unspoken fear. He did not know why, and he did not want to know why. Fortunately, Saleen was his friend, which made him feel slightly at ease.

After Aini left, Nailisi then put on a straight face and said, "Master, you have to speed up the project."

"What?"

"The city is being built too slowly, and our army is too tiny."

"I know all that, but this time around, Aini and I have subdued the three kings. In the future, we will have about five thousand spirits at our beck and call. And as for the construction of the city, I feel that we can begin constructing the magic towers."

"Master, do you think Aini is reliable?"

"He is. Have you discovered something though?" Saleen rebutted.

"No, but I've realized that he keeps avoiding me," Nailisi said in a doubtful tone. However, she did not know that Aini avoided her because of an unspoken fear in his heart. Those were the sensitive instincts which death mages possessed.

"Don't think too much. Aini is almost as reliable as Lex, but less than you or Sika."

"Of course." Nailisi lifted her chest. However, in her mind, she thought, Master thinks that I am reliable? This is no good, I may have to do a lot more work in the future. In the past, things were so good. Master was worried about delegating too many tasks to me, so I had plenty of time to sleep and evolve.

"How is Jupiter?" Saleen asked Nailisi as he thought of the pirate whom he had left behind.

"Very good. He is pretty enthusiastic when it comes to training the warriors."

"What about the five hundred swordsmen which Aini brought?"

"They're not bad either, but their abilities…"

"Abilities can be trained, several battles will do the trick. They have a good foundation though." Saleen enquired about the affairs of the city systematically. After he had left, Nailisi had effectively been the one running the city base. She was also the highest in command among the people who stayed behind.

The two of them spoke late into the night. After Saleen understood all the matters which had taken place when he was not around, he began planning for the future.

Firstly, the city needed to have a name. This was not an important matter, and he would not need to wait for Lex to return to discuss it. Next was the size of the army. From north to south, this city had a width of four miles, and from east to west, this city had a length of six miles. Hence, it was not considered big. At least in comparison with the central cities of some empires, this city was only a smaller intermediate city.

Be that as it may, the number of soldiers required to defend this city was not very small either. At the line of defense on the eastern side, at least one swordsmen's camp had to be built. Plus, three swordsmen's camps needed to be built between the northern and southern sides. Also, the shore in the east had to have a navy on top of a mandatory swordsmen's camp.

Even if everything was simplified, a city this massive also needed about sixty thousand soldiers for defensive purposes. If the number could not hit sixty thousand, then the soldiers would not be able to swap out amongst the defenses in the event of an intense battle. As a result, the city's defenses could be crumbled in just a few days.

This number was not exaggerated at all. Even though this city was designed to utilize the magic towers as the main form of defense, mages also needed to rest. They could not possibly fight for the entire battle. Even Sregl Island had swordsmen, not to mention Saleen's city.

An alchemical crossbow used for defending the city required four soldiers to operate it. No matter how Saleen calculated it, the manpower could not be reduced any further.

Lex had agreed to bring ten thousand men. And if Saleen had a chance to go out to sea next spring, he could continue recruiting pirates in order to get another ten thousand men. However, the remaining forty thousand vacancies would be hard to fill.

The three kings were able to summon about five thousand spirits and station them on the Myers Mainland, and that was the limit given their current abilities. If Lex could produce a large number of war puppets and then these puppets were merged with the spirits, then there would already be enough manpower to form a camp. The offensive power of this camp would be equivalent to that of two elite swordsmen's camps, but its depletion would also be greater. War puppets were fueled by low-grade magic nuclei, while the five thousand spirits had to be commanded by a mage in order to be an offensive force.

Saleen commanded the three kings to begin expanding the city, before summoning everyone else and then discussing the issue of expanding the army.

"Master, if Sister Sika brings back enough people, she will be able to form a camp on her own." This time around, Nailisi spoke to Saleen solemnly. Saleen felt reluctant. He felt that he was too indebted to Sika, and he did not want to implicate Sika in his conflict with the Holy See.

"Master, even if you did not appear, the lives of the Caucasus people would have still deteriorated. If they want to multiply their numbers in the north, sacrifices will have to be made." Nailisi spoke like a scholar found in history books. Saleen nodded in response. He knew that Nailisi was right, it was just that he felt uneasy.

"There are quite a number of priests among the Caucasus people. If they are merged with the barbarians, their offensive abilities will be greatly boosted." Nailisi kept encouraging Saleen as she stood beside him.

"I get it. This idea will work."

"Sir, we can also acquire mercenary groups," Jola suggested. At this moment, he knew that Saleen was filthy rich, but Saleen did not have much manpower.

"Acquire mercenary groups?"

"Yes, some newly emerged noblemen obtained their private armies by acquiring mercenary groups since they lacked a firm foundation."

"What about loyalty?" Saleen felt that even though mercenaries might have been trustable, they would not be loyal. His city was too important. If it was placed in the hands of the mercenaries, he would never obtain peace of mind. In the past, if Aini had not deceived the Nut Mercenary Group, he and Aini could have been killed in Baron Cook's castle. They would not even have been where they were today.

Saleen was a person who learned from his mistakes. From that day on, he had never trusted mercenaries again.