Chapter 368 - 258: Who’s the Wildest in the Eastern Grasslands? (2)

Chapter 368: Chapter 258: Who’s the Wildest in the Eastern Grasslands? (2)

He would start over, from the beginning. He would take up his sword once more and reclaim his strength.

’This time, I will use my own strength to protect my family and my men.’

They pressed on, passing through the forests of Mizea and galloping toward Rovar. A flicker of life returned to John’s face.

’Henry, you took everything from me, but you can never take away my will to fight,’ John murmured to himself, his inner voice tinged with unyielding defiance.

His figure faded into the forest, but a new fire had already been kindled in his heart.

Henry stood on a high platform in the center of Odoche, his hawk-like gaze sweeping over the new recruits arranged in neat rows below.

His face was expressionless. He just watched in silence, as if lost in thought.

"My Lord, the new recruits are ready. We can begin their training," Vasco reported in a low voice, stepping up to Henry’s side.

His voice held a hint of excitement, but Henry merely gave a slight nod.

"Continue their training. Don’t stop."

Vasco nodded and turned to relay the order.

Vasco had finally taken over for Bain and the others. He was honored to be the assistant for training Henry’s new army and was inwardly ecstatic.

In truth, Henry was just as excited, but his elation had come two days earlier.

Yes, just as he had expected, on the tenth night of his stay in Odoche, his Overlord Panel suddenly began to flash.

Henry, deep in sleep, was instantly jolted awake. He had been dreaming of fighting that immensely powerful, red-skinned creature.

Henry opened the panel and saw that a new location for a loyal training encampment had been unlocked: Odoche! This meant he could rely on the Overlord Panel to train and cultivate more loyal soldiers right here in Odoche!

What’s more, the loyal training encampment at Westwood Laine Castle was still active!

A wide grin spread across Henry’s face. He just knew the Overlord Panel wouldn’t disappoint him.

The encampment at Westwood Laine Castle was operating smoothly, and now he had another place to train troops in Odoche.

This would save him a tremendous amount of time and drastically increase his war potential!

For example, if he couldn’t conduct loyalty training in Odoche via the Overlord Panel, Henry would have to return to Westwood Laine Castle, a journey that would take five days at the very least.

After a month of training, leading the army back to Odoche would require at least half a month of marching time. Furthermore, a massive amount of rations would be needlessly consumed!

One trip might not seem wasteful, but what about two?

The trip from Odoche back to Westwood Laine Castle might not seem far, but what about from Danustika? Or Autongard?

Henry’s gaze once again drifted toward the horizon. A plan had already formed in his mind.

According to intelligence gathered from Minstrels, artists, and Travelers, the various Counts had already begun preparing for war and were forming an alliance. But Henry wasn’t worried. His trump card was now unstoppable.

"Claude, continue recruiting and conscripting men. We need more soldiers."

Claude nodded from behind him and turned to leave.

Ever since joining the army, Claude had grown increasingly taciturn. However, he was also becoming more and more adept at his duties, performing them with ever-greater excellence.

"Come on, then. Come all at once. It’ll save me the trouble of hunting you down one by one," Henry murmured, his voice laced with a chill.

"I’ll be waiting."

His gaze was sharp as a blade. He could already see the coming battle. War was inevitable.

"My Lord, you were looking for me?"

"Jemins, your current attire makes you look more like a theater artist than a Minstrel."

Jemins smiled and replied, "My Lord is very generous. That’s what has led to my current success, honor, and lifestyle."

Henry nodded. The little guy from the tavern had become a big shot.

Then, his expression changed in an instant. With unchallengeable authority, he commanded, "Have your people spread the word far and wide that I am recruiting soldiers. Let everyone know that the Bro Clan’s army is constantly growing!"

"My Lord, won’t this be too... brazen?" Jemins asked, a little concerned. He knew Henry was immensely ambitious, but he worried that being so conspicuous would attract unwanted trouble.

Henry smiled faintly, his eyes firm. "Don’t worry, Jemins. I *want* them to know that the Bro Clan’s advance is unstoppable. I’m going to draw out all our potential enemies and wipe them out in one fell swoop!"

His voice turned ruthless. "Even if we don’t kill them outright, we will cripple them! We will crush them!"

At this point, Jemins had no choice but to accept his orders and depart.

Soon, the call for recruitment echoed in every corner of Odoche’s territory, and people from all walks of life were being conscripted.

The commoners in the city stopped their work, putting their heads together and whispering amongst themselves.

Henry’s recruitment order swept through the city and its surrounding towns and villages like a hurricane.

His ambitions weren’t limited to Odoche; the entire eastern steppe was part of his plan.

He continued to recruit and conscript troops, intending to double the size of his army!

"By next autumn, I will have conquered the entire steppe. When that time comes, I’ll have to face the Imperial Legions, my old headmaster’s Forbidden Army..."

This wasn’t arrogance on Henry’s part. At his current pace, unifying the entire steppe might happen even faster than he predicted.

After all, the most difficult parts of siege warfare were the bloody battles on the walls and the breaching of the gates.

No one used Catapults to smash down city walls anymore; doing so only dramatically increased the subsequent costs of governance and repair.

Furthermore, damaged walls would attract the greed of others. After all, if you could take the city, so could someone else. Without the protection of its walls, everyone would want a piece of the pie. Even if they didn’t launch a full-scale attack, they would be a constant, grating nuisance.

That’s why full-blown sieges were rare. Even when they did occur, they devolved into months-long wars of attrition.

But then an anomaly like Henry came along. He could smash a city’s gates with his own two hands and let his army pour in! Who else could do something like that?

On the battlefield, his strength, his very presence, changed the rules of war.

Traditional siege tactics seemed utterly powerless before Henry. His individual might became the turning point in battle.

A single man could change the course of a battle! As long as Henry was on the field, no city was impregnable.

His silhouette on the high platform stood like an unshakeable mountain. Henry’s ambition was a raging inferno, impossible to extinguish.

Meanwhile, a group that no one could ignore—Henry’s old upperclassmen scattered across the land—also began to stir.

They wanted to pledge their allegiance to their wildly successful junior. After all, not all of them had found such great success.

Though most of them had become ministers to nobles, Wandering Knights, Knight’s Squires for other nobles or their own families, city Engineers, academy instructors or directors, or even captains of Mercenary companies, and so on.

But their abilities were far greater than that. They had ambitions too! They longed to change their destinies!

"Did you hear? That kid Henry even conquered Odoche from the Hoyland Clan! He’s recruiting soldiers now, preparing to make a big move!"

"Yeah, he commands a powerful army now. If we could pledge ourselves to him, maybe we could snag an official post. It’d be way better than my current job as an instructor."

What graduate of the Knight Academy doesn’t dream of becoming an officer?

"I’ve decided. I’m going to Odoche to find Henry. Maybe he can give me a chance to make a name for myself."

"Count me in. I hear he’s in desperate need of people. We could probably find a place for ourselves under his banner."

After all, we’re old schoolmates. He should at least give us a chance to prove ourselves, right? They had absolute confidence in their own abilities.

The weight carried by the words "Knight Academy Graduate" was self-evident. Within the empire, they represented an elite class that combined Wisdom, combat prowess, and social acumen all in one!