The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Because the scene of the heavenly soldiers suppressing the bandits was so shocking and brutal, none of the rescued savages offered any resistance to going to a new territory.

All the rescued savages boarded a carriage and prepared to head to Gray and White Collar, while two armored soldiers were responsible for protecting them, and the other soldiers escorted the captured bandits back along another route.

One of the soldiers responsible for protecting everyone was the one Laurie called the clerk. On the way, the clerk kept telling everyone about the various rules of the gray and white collars, and told them that from now on they were all citizens of the gray and white collars, their debts were wiped clean, and they were protected by gray and white collar laws.

In fact, the savages were somewhat resentful of suddenly becoming subjects of a territory, because most of them became savages to escape the lord's exploitation, even though the scribe described the Grey-White Territory as a god-like kingdom on earth, where even the lord had to abide by the laws he set.

But who would believe that? Can't the lord just change the law whenever he wants? Although the scribe tried his best to explain, most people still thought that the previous attack on the bandits was just a double-cross. However, due to the intimidating presence of the scribe's burly soldier and their trust in the scribe, no one had any intention of running away.

Darcy's focus wasn't on the new territory they were about to reach, but rather on shifting his position in the carriage and moving closer to the burly soldier.

While the clerk was still explaining the gray-collar and white-collar policy, Darcy asked the fierce-looking soldier, "Is your army still recruiting?"

The soldier glanced at Darcy and then replied, "Bruno."

Darcy paused for a moment, then realized the other person was introducing themselves and immediately replied, "My name is Darcy."

Bruno nodded and began to answer Darcy's question: "Of course we recruit, but the lord has always felt that we should have fewer but better soldiers. He only recruits people with clean backgrounds who have never done anything wrong. Moreover, our army has many rules, and many of the first batch of recruits resigned because they could not adapt."

Darcy understood, but it also seemed like he didn't quite understand.

Aren't soldiers just supposed to be able to fight? And what soldier can resign? In Darcy's mind, soldiers were nothing more than bandits with noble backgrounds. Bandits were like combs, soldiers were like fine combs. Soldiers might rob even more ruthlessly than bandits. After all, bandits only wanted to grab a quick buck and leave, but soldiers were meticulous in their exploitation.

Seeing Darcy's blank expression, Bruno pulled out a booklet from his pocket and pointed to the titles printed on it with his dark, thick fingers, saying, "If you can accept these, you can give it a try."

"I can't understand it, I can't read."

Darcy shook his head.

Bruno's expression remained unchanged, still stern and fierce. He pointed to the first word of the title and read it aloud, word by word: "The Three Main Rules of Discipline and the Eight Points for Attention."

Then, Bruno opened the booklet and began to read its contents.

It seems that Bruno was just beginning to learn to read, so he read in a halting manner. However, since Bruno had read this booklet many times and could recite it from memory, he read it more and more fluently as he read on.

Darcy stared in disbelief at the contents of the booklet. To be able to do all this, he could certainly be called a paladin, right?

This character trait is so admirable that it could easily be described as the standard by which a legendary knight of the gospel is born.

Then Bruno went on to describe the soldiers' benefits, which made Darcy's mouth water. As the smartest man in the village, Darcy knew how extravagant these benefits were. No wonder the requirements for character were so high. It was really too much to go out and rob when you had such benefits.

Darcy calculated that if he saved money, he could support his sister and even pay for her medical treatment after joining the army.

As for the daily training that Bruno mentioned, although it was very tough, Darcy didn't see it as a problem. No matter how tough it was, he wouldn't have to go out hunting, he would have a stable income, and he could earn merits in battle. But then Darcy heard Bruno say, word by word, "You also have to learn to read."

This left Darcy stunned. Did soldiers really need to be literate?

But Bruno continued, "It's not mandatory, but you must at least be able to understand orders, and you can't get promoted if you can't read."

Actually, what Bruno said isn't the real problem. The real problem is the prejudice in people's hearts. In this era, being a soldier is never a good choice. It means that you may die in battle at any time, and you may never return to your hometown. In this era, there is no such thing as a glorious retirement. You either die in battle or you are abandoned by the army when you can no longer fight.

Not to mention ordinary soldiers who are not professionals, they are not fundamentally different from bandits and vagrants, all living a precarious life.

But after hesitating for a moment, Darcy said, "I want to join the army!"

This is an opportunity, a chance to rise above others. Darcy keenly noticed the soldiers' extravagant equipment, indicating that the lord truly valued these soldiers. Their casualty rate must be extremely low; perhaps being a soldier was actually safer.

"No."

Bruno glanced at Darcy and said, "You're too young. The lord stipulates that one must be at least sixteen years old to join the army."

"I'm already sixteen, but I'm a little short."

After saying that, Darcy showed off the muscles he had developed from years of hunting.

Bruno, after carefully examining Darcy's body while stroking his chin, still said, "Even if you are an adult, someone who has just entered the gray-collar class cannot join the army. At least you need to accumulate enough work points before you can sign up."

Darcy glanced at the scribe who was explaining the system, and began to ponder with a troubled expression. Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, Darcy asked Bruno, "Why does your lord want to make us savages his subjects?"

Bruno actually knew, because before each mission, Lind would emphasize what they were fighting for.

"In order to increase the population of the territory, the lord said that the current population of the territory is far from enough, and he wants us to go and persuade the savages in the mountains to come down."

"Then why not just issue a bounty to capture the savage?"

Darcy realized he'd asked a stupid question as soon as he blurted it out. How could a lord who could write down those rules and regulations possibly expand the population using such methods? Issuing bounties directly would indeed be much more convenient, but nine out of ten people would just use the simplest and most brutal way to capture people, just like those bandits before.

Bruno simply replied, "The lord said to treat it as training."

“I know many villages of savages. I can lead the Lord to them. If I can persuade them all to join the gray and white collars, can they earn work points?”

Seeing the excited Darcy, Bruno, still with that fierce expression, nodded and said, "Of course."