Lord of Rot

”Did it work?”

”They’re slow learners.”

’I can really make insects learn!’

”Don’t overwork them,” Leech said.

Using the Wasps for pest control was just one of Leech’s sudden whims. Gelan had been constantly reporting to him about the pest problems in the wheat fields, but Porcupine Territory had no way to deal with them. Locusts had even started to appear recently. While not numerous, they were still a major headache.

If this batch of non-aggressive Wasps could be deployed in the wheat fields for pest control, the harvest in Porcupine Territory would be even better!

”TWEEET—!”

A sharp whistle sounded, and Leech turned his head to look at the wall.

The soldiers’ training ground was right next door.

Sharp Nose had already crafted military whistles, and they had been officially put into use for training.

Leech arrived at the training ground.

”Lord!” Sir Quick Blade was dressed in cool linen clothes, the back of his shirt soaked with sweat.

Although he was a Knight now, he still loved training with the soldiers, and he thrashed them soundly every day.

’Leave professional matters to the professionals. I just need to check on the overall progress and results.’ However, Leech would still write some training suggestions based on his knowledge from Earth.

For example, he suggested some military physical training methods, but it was up to Sir Quick Blade to decide how much to adopt.

’Everyone has their own specialty.’

Leech looked at the soldiers training in scattered groups and asked, ”Don’t we have too few soldiers?”

”Too few?” Sir Quick Blade hadn’t expected Leech to say that.

Other minor noble lords might only have a hundred people in their entire village. Including militia, they could muster ten men at most.

’It all depends on who you’re comparing us to.’

Many noble lords didn’t maintain a large number of soldiers. Instead, they would opt for a militia, making the commoners in their territory serve in the army.

Soldiers came with huge expenses: food and board, wages, armor, and weapons. Militiamen were far more economical. During peacetime, they farmed, which meant they could feed themselves and pay taxes. When war broke out, they could don leather armor, grab their scythes and pitchforks, and march to the battlefield.

But Leech clearly didn’t think that way. ’Population is precious! To throw lives away like that... it would break my heart. It’s much better to keep them alive and farming.’

Porcupine Territory didn’t have a large population at the moment, so they definitely had to take the route of an elite force.

Besides, if he wanted cannon fodder, he could raise a whole army of them quickly, as long as he had enough corpses.

But the war had served as a wake-up call. ’There’s no such thing as eternal peace.’

Sir Quick Blade didn’t think that far ahead. He just followed his Lord’s lead and went along with him. ”It is... a little small.”

”I haven’t gotten any exercise in a few days,” Leech said.

Sir Quick Blade understood Leech’s meaning and grabbed the whistle hanging from his neck.

”TWEEET—! TWEEET—! TWEEET—!”

Three long blasts from the whistle. Assembly.

The Porcupine Soldiers, who had been training and resting, immediately dropped what they were doing and sprinted over. Even those who were taking a piss had to pull up their pants and run.

In a short moment, everyone had arrived and was standing ramrod straight.

It seemed Leech’s tidbits of military training knowledge were useful after all. At least the formation was neat.

These men had all been on the battlefield, killed people, and seen blood.

They naturally exuded a fierce aura.

Leech announced loudly, ”Does anyone here think they’re a better fighter than Sir Quick Blade? One Silver Moon for anyone who wants to try!”

The soldiers’ eyes went wide, and each one of them looked eager to give it a shot.

Sir Quick Blade was an ordinary man. Though he was in his prime and his fists were heavy and painful, the soldiers had long been itching to give him a beating.

On one hand, they had to obey his orders. On the other, they really wanted to beat him up. None of them thought they were no match for Sir Quick Blade.

Sir Quick Blade grinned. ”Lord, you’re not getting in on this yourself? Well, I don’t mind taking them on. If they win, the money comes out of my own pocket. If they lose, they can wash their asses and come to my room tonight.”

”Fight me?” Leech rolled his shoulders and started doing leg stretches to warm up. ”One Silver Moon isn’t enough of a reward. How about this: whoever defeats me becomes the Cavalry Captain?”

”Cavalry Captain?”

”Cavalry Captain!”

There had been rumors for a while that the Lord wanted to select cavalrymen, but there had been no news.

They never expected the Lord to show up at the training ground and offer such a huge reward.

The soldiers’ breathing grew ragged. As the Cavalry Captain, they would ride a warhorse, charging on the battlefield to seize glory.

No man could refuse a magnificent suit of plate armor, a warhorse, and a lance.

Seeing their reactions, Leech said to Sir Quick Blade beside him, ”Sir Quick Blade, take a count of the men who plan to challenge me.”

”No, Lord,” Sir Quick Blade said. ”I believe that everyone here, including myself, wants to challenge you.”

Leech smiled. He preferred his soldiers to be brave, not cowardly.

”Alright. Everyone will get their chance.”

”Lord, are you planning on... a gauntlet?” Sir Quick Blade asked in surprise.

He knew Leech’s Swordsmanship was superb and his strength was immense. He’d seen it before on the training grounds, and they had even fought on the battlefield together.

But one man fighting over a hundred... that was a bit ridiculous, wasn’t it?

”I have to go check on the smithy later,” Leech said, shaking his head. ”They can come in pairs.”

’This is a good chance to test the effects of the honey water on my training.’

”Yes, sir!”

”Form up!” Sir Quick Blade blew his whistle. ”Pairs of two!”

”Have Miss Oak Barrel brew me a few cups of honey water,” Leech instructed his young page, Carrot, who was watching from the side.

”Yes, sir!”

When the honey water was delivered, Leech drank a cup, then picked up a sword. ”Let’s begin.”

The first pair to step up were two new recruits, youths selected from the local populace. A few months of training had made them physically strong, but they were far behind the veterans in terms of skill. However, as young men, their advantages were greater stamina and strength.

Leech picked up a blunted bastard sword and refused the protective armor Sir Quick Blade offered him.

A gauntlet required conserving stamina. The more armor he wore, the more energy he would consume, and it would hinder his agile movements.

The fight began. The two soldiers, swords in hand, charged at Leech simultaneously from the left and right. Their long training had given them a fair bit of coordination, but in Leech’s eyes, their movements were full of openings.

’What level am I at right now?’

Leech hadn’t met many exceptionally powerful fighters, but he was confident that, unless he ran into some protagonist-template Sword Saint, he was definitely top-tier among those below the rank of Transcendent.

The soldier on the left held a long staff and thrust it at Leech’s chest. The one on the right wielded a two-handed sword, also using a thrusting attack.

Leech pushed off the ground, stepping back as he raised his sword and struck the staff. CLANG! The blow knocked the staff aside, causing it to collide with the two-handed sword.

They had crashed into each other.

Leech seized the opportunity, raising his sword high and sliding it along the staff toward the body of the soldier on the left.

The soldier instinctively tried to retreat, but his speed and strength were far inferior to Leech’s. Combined with his forward momentum, he could only watch helplessly as his own neck ”crashed” into the bastard sword in Leech’s hand.

The sword stopped just before his neck.

A cold sensation.

GULP. He swallowed hard.

He was already ”dead.” He could leave the stage.

But Leech suddenly reached out, grabbed the staff from his hand, and viciously thrust it behind him. The other soldier with the two-handed sword was caught off guard, the staff striking him in the chest and sending him stumbling backward.

”Cough! Cough!” He fell to the ground, clutching his chest and coughing.

’Good thing I’m wearing armor, or that would have definitely broken a bone.’

”Next pair,” Leech said.

”Lord, I’m not like those two.” The next one up was a veteran—bald, and armed with a dagger.

His partner was a silent veteran with a one-handed shield and a bastard sword.

’A more sensible pairing than the last one.’

The veteran with the shield charged at Leech, while the bald man hung back, circling to Leech’s left, waiting for a chance to launch a sneak attack.

’Everyone knows the Lord is a skilled fighter. Since it’s already two against one, a sneak attack shouldn’t be a big deal, right?’

Leech hefted the staff in his hand, then suddenly drew his left arm back.

WHOOSH—!

The bald man at the back was instantly struck by the staff, which flew like a javelin. His entire body was sent flying before landing heavily some distance away.

Leech was most confident in his throwing skills; he was already at the pinnacle.

The remaining silent veteran’s Swordsmanship was no match for Leech’s. Without his partner to help pin Leech down, his throat was at the tip of Leech’s sword two moves later.

”Next pair.”

”Next pair!”

”Next pair!”

Some of the men had planned to wait until the Lord was exhausted to pick up an easy win, but they soon realized this was impossible. The Lord defeated each pair in just a few moves, barely expending any stamina.

Leech, who was basically cheating openly, drank his honey water and felt his strength increase slightly.

’Just using the honey water as a recovery potion to restore stamina was indeed a bit of a waste. It’s much more effective when used during training. None of it is wasted; my body is rapidly absorbing that miraculous energy.’

He was also looking forward more and more to the Griffin Grass maturing. ’A single one of those herbs will definitely be enough to make me a Transcendent!’

A gauntlet. He fought over a hundred men all by himself.

In the end, Sir Quick Blade also stepped up, but the outcome was no different.

”It seems none of you are fit to be the Cavalry Captain for now.”

As Leech left, he wondered if he should come back tomorrow. He even had the illusion that he could become an Extraordinary Knight just by drinking honey water.

The soldiers on the training ground fell silent.

’All of us together couldn’t even defeat the Lord by himself?’

’Could the Lord be a Giant Dragon in human form?’