NOVEL FROG Chapter 427: A Year of Banditry
"Good!" Leo said, smiling as he observed the work in the mine. After adding new 'Obligated laborers,' the extraction process was moving much faster.
As someone from the Blue Planet, Leo wasn’t a fan of slavery, but he wasn’t exactly one of those righteous protagonists either. As long as it benefited him and wasn’t too extreme, he could tolerate it. Still, to ease the slight guilt he felt from forcing innocent people to work in the mines, he ordered everyone to refer to them as 'Obligated laborers.'
He looked at the first knight he summoned and said, "Give them good food."
Aldric nodded and responded, "Yes, my lord! I will make sure your 'Obligated laborers' eat well and work hard!"
Satisfied, Leo nodded and left.
Among the captives from the trading group were many men and some women. Leo was reluctant to use women in the mines, but he had little choice. If he allowed them to roam freely, they would certainly cause trouble. After all, their husbands, brothers, and sons were working as 'Obligated laborers,' so it was natural the women wouldn’t rest easy. Even though he didn’t want to let them work in the mines, he also couldn’t afford to let them go free. The mine served as a prison, preventing any escape, so in the end, Leo decided to keep them there.
To these poor people captured from the trade group, Leo was nothing but a ruthless bandit leader. They had been traveling on a public road, delivering goods, when they were attacked and captured. They never could have imagined that a 'noble' would dare act this way.
...
With the bandit group now established, Leo's financial troubles began to ease. Each raid brought in various goods—food, metals, wood, and more. His bandits were like ghosts, striking quickly, capturing everyone, taking everything, and then vanishing without a trace.
However, Leo’s most impressive income wasn’t from the goods themselves but from selling the horses. Each raid netted him at least 20 horses, which were often worth more than the cargo itself.
...
One Year Later
Over the past year, Leo had earned thousands of gold coins, even after deducting costs. These costs included feeding the 'Obligated laborers', maintaining his harem—which now consisted of 25 'maids'—buying new luxury items and improving the castle walls. It seemed that, at least in medieval times, stealing was indeed the fastest way to get rich.
After a whole year of summoning cards, Leo still hadn’t drawn another Great Knight. Lucan remained his only one. That said, he had drawn eight other knights, bringing his total to twelve knights, along with one Great Knight. Not even most counts had that many. He also commanded close to 300 city guards and over 300 bandits, all of whom were summoned troops completely loyal to him.
A few months ago, Leo disbanded all non-summoned troops. They were weak compared to the summoned ones, and their loyalty was questionable. At first, he kept them because he didn’t have enough summoned troops, but now that he did, he had no reason to retain soldiers from the native population. Those he dismissed were given land to farm.
Through exploration, Leo managed to discover two more mines: a small copper mine and a suspected silver mine. With over 1,000 'Obligated laborers,' nearly all of whom were captured along Silverleaf Road, the work was much easier.
The bandit group had also grown significantly. It expanded from 100 troops and a single knight to now having 3 knights and 300 soldiers. The bandits had split into three independent branches to improve efficiency, as big operations tended to be inefficient.
...
Leo glanced at his system panel:
Name: Leo Fitzroy
Age: 24
Title: Baron
Level: 50
Physical Constitution: 7.9
Strength: 1.8
Agility: 1.6
Spirit: 2.5
Combat Power Evaluation: Knight Attendant
Free Attribute Points: 0.8
Skills:
Hidden (Max)
Mental Immunity (Max)
Critical Hit (Lv 1)
Horse Riding (Lv 2)
Sword Skill (Lv 3)
Bow Skill (Lv 2)
Evasion (Lv 1)
Quick Mind (Lv 4)
Photographic Memory (Max)
Power Surge (Lv 4)
Accelerated Regeneration (Lv 5)
Agility Surge (Lv 4)
Advanced Regeneration (Lv 1)
Senses Enhancement (Lv 1)
Improved Digestion (Lv 4)
Disease Resistance (Lv 4)
Yang Enhancement (Lv 2)
Cold Resistance (Lv 1)
Clear Headedness (Lv 3)
Poison Resistance (Lv 8)
Skill Store (Open)
Skill Points: 18
Next Draw: 3 minutes away
Skill Explanations:
Advanced Regeneration (Lv 1):
Passive: Upon serious injury that causes permanent loss to your physical body, such as loss of a limb, you will begin growing new organs. Speed depends on the injury; Level 1: you can regrow an entire new arm in 100 years.
Passive (for followers): Your followers close to you can recover even from the loss of body parts. Level 1: Growing a whole new arm for followers takes 1,500 years.
Senses Enhancement (Lv 2):
Passive: Increases your senses, including hearing, sight, touch, smell, and taste by 30%.
Active: Increases the senses of allies around you by 2% for one day. It can be used once per month.
Improved Digestion (Lv 4):
Passive: Increases your digestion speed and efficiency by 60%.
Active: Increases the digestion speed and efficiency of allies around you by 4% for one day. It can be cast once per month.
Disease Resistance (Lv 5):
Passive: Increases your resistance to all diseases by 75%.
Active: Increases the disease resistance of allies around you by 5% for one day. It can be cast once per month.
Yang Enhancement (Lv 2):
Passive: Increases your "power in bed" skills by 30%.
Active: Increases the "power in bed" of allies around you by 2% for one day. It can be cast once per month.
Cold Resistance (Lv 2):
Passive: Increases your resistance to cold by 30%.
Active: Increases the cold resistance of allies around you by 2% for one day. It can be cast once per month.
Clear Headedness (Lv 3):
Passive: Increases your mental clarity, improving resistance against bodily urges and desires by 45%.
Active: Increases the clear-headedness of allies around you by 3% for one day. It can be cast once per month.
Poison Resistance (Lv 8):
Passive: Increases your resistance to poison by 120%.
Active: Increases the poison resistance of allies around you by 8% for one day. It can be cast once per month.
Leo had spent the last year exclusively using his skill points to improve his survival skills. He had tried to enhance his fighting abilities, like swordsmanship and horse riding, through training. However, despite dedicating hours each day, his progress was minimal due to his lack of talent in these areas.
Even after two years in this world, he was still only at the Knight Attendant level, which was laughable compared to other transmigrators who typically reached the top in a few years.
But Leo wasn’t worried. His primary goal was to extend his lifespan as much as possible, buying time until he could learn the way of mages.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, Leo hadn’t been able to persuade a mage to come to his territory to teach him. He could have asked Sir Lucan, a Rank 1 Mage equivalent, to kidnap a few mage apprentices, but the risks were too high. Leo would only consider that once he had at least one Silver Knight.
Fortunately, Leo was extremely healthy, with no medical issues. He could easily live up to 120 years. If he managed to break through to the Great Knight level, his lifespan could even exceed 200 years. He had time on his side, time to wait for the chance to summon a Silver Knight.
...
Recently, Leo had grown increasingly excited over the progress of his bandit camp, which had brought him great wealth. However, the number of kingdom troops patrolling the area had increased, raising the risk of confrontation. The number of caravans willing to use the road had significantly decreased as a result. Leo knew the bandit business wouldn’t be a permanent solution.
The kingdom’s Ministry of Police had repeatedly asked Leo to allow royal forces into his territory to eliminate the bandits, but he always refused. Without a vote from the House of Lords, the bandits remained safe from attack. Leo knew the king wouldn’t dare to invade his territory without that vote. It wasn’t out of fear but rather because of the importance of precedent. If the king bypassed the nobles' rights in Leo's case, it could open the door to similar actions against other nobles.
However, Leo was also aware that this tolerance had limits. If he pushed too far, the king might hire a Great Knight to deal with him discreetly. For now, everyone thought of Leo as an incompetent, spiteful baron who refused royal troops out of spite. No one suspected he was actively supporting the bandits. They simply believed he wasn’t smart enough to orchestrate such a scheme.
...
00:03... 00:02... 00:01...
"Congratulations! Golden Knight card +1!"
"What?" Leo stared in disbelief at the word 'golden.' He was completely stunned. This was too sudden. Not even in his wildest dreams had he imagined this.
"Golden Knight? Even above Silver Knight? Oh my, oh my gods!"
Without wasting a second, Leo summoned the Golden Knight. A flash of intense purple light appeared, and with it, a man in golden armor. He wasn’t overly muscular but had a sharp aura. His figure was more modest compared to Sir Lucan.
"My lord!" The Golden Knight bowed.
Leo quickly checked his stats:
Name: Sir Caelan of the Golden Shield
Physical Constitution: 600
Strength: 691
Agility: 664
Combat Evaluation: Golden Knight
"His stats... unbelievable! His lowest stat is 600! Finally, with his help, I can start learning magic!" Leo couldn’t contain his excitement and burst into laughter. The Golden Knight silently watched as his 'lord' jumped up and down like a child.