After a brief welcome, Derek said, "I need to recruit 10 new soldiers, one attendant, and one blacksmith."
Andrew was a bit surprised; the first two requests were straightforward, but he wondered what the blacksmith was for. "Derek, the village blacksmith can only repair farm tools and forge a few spearheads. A simple iron sword won't be reliable. If you're just repairing weapons, you don't need to specifically recruit a blacksmith."
"Don't worry, Uncle, I have other uses for him," Derek replied.
"That's fine. There's a batch of militia that just completed training; they're all young lads. I’ve checked, and we can recruit twenty, which is plenty. As for the blacksmith, the old blacksmith's son is about your age and should have some skills."
Andrew was indeed thoughtful and had even made preparations in advance. "I also need to buy a house; it would be best if I could borrow the training grounds."
"Buy a house? The training grounds near the police station are fully equipped. You can stay there and save me the trouble." Andrew waved his hand dismissively; it was nothing, as it was all his father's estate.
Derek thought for a moment; saving a bit was always good. He couldn’t completely sever ties with his family, so he might as well take advantage of it.
With the help of the local strongman, Derek's preparations went very smoothly, and everything was arranged within a day. Bedding, furniture, daily necessities—Andrew took care of it all. He even sent someone to bring a few bags of wheat, saving on food costs.
Other relatives were busy too, sending various gifts, all very practical: Uncle Three sent 30 spearheads, Uncle Four sent 3 sets of simple leather armor, and Aunt sent 5 iron swords...
In the blink of an eye, Derek spent not a single penny and had gathered the equipment. Looking at the twelve strong lads, he nearly broke into song.
"Back in the day, when my squad first started, we only had… never mind, too showy." This was the joy of nobility; a knight from a common background would never understand.
The gifts from these relatives ranged in value from one to three or five gold coins. If it weren’t for him choosing to venture out alone, there would surely have been even fewer gifts.
With a solid foundation in place, the first thing Derek had the new soldiers do was set up a blacksmith's forge.
Yes, a blacksmith's forge.
The blacksmith's son, Little Tru, officially joined and was assigned under the army panel.
Tru
Occupation: Army Blacksmith Level 1 (22/100)
Experience Pool: 0/100
The coverage of the panel was indeed broader than imagined. The new features Derek discovered provided him with more choices. Compared to living on the edge of a knife, making weapons was far more profitable, especially for high-value weapons and equipment.
A full set of heavy armor sold for sixty to seventy gold coins; how long would an ordinary person take to earn that?
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While the other eleven new soldiers began training, the blacksmith Little Tru embarked on his forging journey. In fact, being a blacksmith could provide for a family quite well.
Little Tru's appearance in the military was, of course, due to "volunteering." If the young master of the baron’s house had his eye on you, would you dare say no? Believe it or not, tomorrow your whole family might end up with knives in their backs.
Little Tru was ready to become a soldier, but upon arriving at the training grounds, he first built a simple forge and set up a workbench. Then, when handed a hammer, Derek gently said to him, "Little Tru, your family has been blacksmiths for generations. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to go home and get it; I’ll pay for it."
"I... I... can only make some farm tools and repair broken weapons." Little Tru was almost in tears, worried the young master might expect him to forge weapons and armor. If he produced substandard items, wouldn't that mean his death?
"I know. Just start by making spearheads for training; I won’t hold you responsible for quality issues." Derek was exceptionally easy to talk to, but Little Tru remained skeptical.
Noble lords' reputations... Well, the Ferreira family was indeed credible.
That day, when Little Tru returned home to explain the situation, Old Tru packed up his equipment and sent it over. If Derek hadn't refused, Old Tru would have eagerly taken Little Tru's place.
Indeed, it was like punishment. To expect Little Tru to do something he couldn’t do himself was clearly tormenting the boy, wasn’t it?
Derek didn’t bother to explain further; he simply put on the air of a baron’s son, and the Tru family complied. Before leaving, Old Tru teared up, saying, "Kid, you have to hold on! I'm counting on you to take care of me in my old age!"
Little Tru was also in tears, feeling uncertain about the future.
Turning around, Old Tru returned home and immediately shut the door. "Honey, we need to hurry and have another child."
It was said that for the next few days, Old Tru closed shop.
Little Tru began to smelt iron and started his forging career.
The next day, new soldier training commenced.
"Thrust!"
"Reel!"
"Thrust!"
Snap!!!
The spearhead broke.
The spearheads Little Tru made were of seriously poor quality.
Derek maintained a poker face and continued directing, "What are you looking at? Just because the spearhead broke, you think you can relax? The enemy on the battlefield won’t wait for you; keep thrusting!"
Training continued!
During the training days, Andrew occasionally stopped by, finding Derek operating in an orderly manner and couldn't point out any flaws. As for the results, it was too soon to tell. However, he had some criticisms about Little Tru's progress, but after a few failed attempts to persuade him, he decided to let it go. After all, it wouldn't hurt to let his nephew get a few bruises as a lesson; he wouldn’t lose much anyway.
Before long, a month had passed. When the panel was opened again, due to the increased intensity of training and Derek's stricter demands, all eleven new soldiers had reached at least level five in militia rank. Little Tru’s progress was slightly slower, having only reached level three.
After reaching level three, the rate of experience gain slowed again. At the current pace, it would take at least another month to level up.
Tru
Occupation: Army Blacksmith Level 3 (11/100)
Experience Pool: 0/100
Crafting weapons and equipment had daily limitations, which paled in comparison to training. Moreover, the difficulty of gaining experience increased over time.
By level three, the spearheads Little Tru made were already adequate, costing about two to three dozen copper coins but could easily sell for seventy to eighty copper coins. Little Tru could produce three to five spearheads daily, yielding a profit of around two hundred copper coins.
The official exchange rate was 1 gold coin for 10 silver coins and 1 silver coin for 100 copper coins. However, the official rates were practically useless, as the unofficial exchange rates fluctuated continuously.
One gold coin could roughly exchange for 15 to 17 silver coins, and 1 silver coin could exchange for 120 to 130 copper coins. In other words, a qualified blacksmith could earn over one and a half silver coins a day, amounting to two to three gold coins a year—three times the income of an ordinary soldier.
If his skills improved further, he could earn even more. However, Little Tru had signed a servitude contract, so escaping was not an option.