Chapter 123: Unstoppable

Seeing Nelson’s confused expression, Victor knew exactly what he was thinking. "I certainly know that with this bit of strength, one can only serve as a mere pebble. But there is another kind of invincible power! Before that power, let alone this small creek, even the Golden River could be forced to change its course! And this power is waiting for us to seize it!"

"What power?!" Nelson asked, his eyes burning with intensity; he had immediately thought of the forces backing Victor.

"The power of ordinary people," Victor said calmly.

Nelson: "........"

Seeing Nelson pull that same expression again, Victor felt a bit awkward. After pondering for a moment, he continued: "Nelson, the power of ordinary people is greater than you can imagine. Castles are built by ordinary people, farmland is cultivated by ordinary people, weapons are forged by ordinary people... Why are you making that face?"

Nelson said innocently, "My Lord, I know all that! Isn't that just what ordinary people do?"

Victor: "........ Fine, let me show you something."

"Bang!"

Wood chips flew into the air as a thorite crossbow bolt pierced straight through the trunk of a giant tree, vanishing from sight in an instant.

Victor tossed the heavy crossbow to Nelson and said, "I used this heavy crossbow to kill the ant-man that was hunting you, and Shack used it to kill that dire bear. What do you think of this weapon?"

Nelson stroked the pale-blue heavy crossbow, his voice filled with fervor: "Brutal! Perfect!"

"Nelson, if ordinary soldiers were equipped with these heavy crossbows, could they kill a knight?" Victor asked.

Nelson shook his head. "Impossible! Ordinary soldiers cannot keep up with a knight's speed."

"What about a hundred of them? A thousand?"

Nelson’s expression shifted, filled with sudden realization. "Forget a hundred; even with just ten marksmen like Shack wielding these, a knight would struggle to escape death! I fear even a Silver Knight would be forced to flee! My Lord, are you saying..."

Victor nodded. "Since we have one heavy crossbow, we can naturally produce more. Once ordinary people possess force comparable to that of knights, the world will change. This weapon is now in our hands, and we need more people to wield it!"

"My Lord, just tell me! What do you need me to do?" Nelson said solemnly, catching a glimpse of a different future.

"I plan to establish a mercenary company... Could you please stop making that face!" Victor glared at the bewildered Nelson and continued: "We cannot keep spinning our wheels in this territory. The York family’s control over this land is a settled matter. We must break out of these territorial limitations and seek greater opportunities."

"During the fight against the ant-men, the War Bear Mercenaries left a deep impression on me. Every one of them is a battle-hardened warrior—a precious talent! For too long, many excellent mercenaries have been treated as cannon fodder, sacrificed pointlessly on the battlefield. It is a massive waste! But the lords don't care; knights never see ordinary people as their equals."

"By forming this mercenary company, we will cultivate such talents. Someone like Barret will inevitably become an outstanding general in the future. Because the nature of war will change because of us."

Nelson cautiously reminded him, "My Lord, the income of a mercenary company is unstable, the risks are high, and recruiting personnel is not easy. Uh, what I mean to ask is, what is the purpose of us forming this mercenary company?"

"Heh, the mercenary company we form won't be taking contracts from others; it will only be for opening up trade routes! It will serve my chamber of commerce! As for personnel, Renault and his men are the best soldiers," Victor said with confidence.

Victor had been contemplating a question recently: the alchemy tower would soon be at full capacity. For the sake of this territory, should he show his strength? Should he fight the York family?

Victor’s conclusion was: he could not fight. Setting aside whether he could win, he looked directly at the consequences. If he lost, there was nothing to say—death was certain. If he won? Could he hold onto the alchemy tower? Obviously not. The York family’s leadership over the Human Hill was the popular consensus and the trend of the times. His biggest weakness was that his foundation was too shallow; he had no backers. Going to war with the York family was equivalent to declaring war on all factions—that was suicide.

The thorite heavy crossbow might be able to kill a Silver Knight, but what if a Gold Knight came for his head? Thinking of this, Victor shuddered. Moreover, the York family had never treated him as an enemy; they had always maintained a cooperative relationship. Why should he treat them as enemies? If he put himself in the York family’s position, controlling the entrance to the Great Swamp was a necessary option. Strictly speaking, the ant-men were the common enemy.

Since he had decided to cooperate with the York family, what path should he take next? Victor touched the thorite heavy crossbow and suddenly realized something. All this time, he had been circling within the framework of a feudal lord, trying to force modern concepts into his territory, only to suffer repeated setbacks. Now, sitting on a fully staffed alchemy tower, he had enough strength to step outside the rigid boxes set by the lords and the church.

Victor realized that there was a massive wealth in the human world that had been ignored: ordinary people. The knight class looked down on ordinary people. Even the vassal system only liberated a tiny fraction of their potential—nothing more than farming, building castles, and training a small number of elite soldiers. The church did protect ordinary people, but it treated them like a flock of sheep; it was a protection that acted as heavy shackles, completely stifling their development. Knights, clergy, elite soldiers, castles—such simplistic tactics were the reason humanity was retreating before alien races. But now it was different; the thorite heavy crossbow allowed ordinary people to exert terrifying combat power, enough to change the human world.

Now, Victor had to obtain this unrivaled power. He thought of another path of development: the East India Company—an organization that integrated a military group and a business syndicate.

There was a strange phenomenon in this world: powerful nobles could not pursue commerce, and those who pursued commerce had no power. There were real reasons for this, but the lords had forgotten that there was another force that could engage in business: the freemen!

Lords had a love-hate relationship with freemen—they couldn't do without them, but too many were a disaster. However, freemen possessed an advantage the lords lacked: they were free! The lords could not stop the movement of freemen. Therefore, freemen could become merchants. The factor constraining them was their own weakness. But Victor could solve that. He would form a mercenary company to engage in smuggling.

Victor’s vision was this: using the alchemy militia as the core force, with the War Bear Mercenaries as leaders, they would organize dozens of mercenary companies. They would recruit a group of freemen to form small merchant caravans to enter the mountains and collect goods from the mountain tribes.

The private merchant caravans would detour around the borders of territories, finding weak lords. The freemen would enter these territories as small peddlers to hawk their goods, buy local specialties, and then go elsewhere to make a profit. Of course, most of these petty lords would try to confiscate the smuggled goods. That was when the mercenary companies would strike. The alchemy militia, armed with heavy crossbows, would teach these petty lords a lesson—striking until it hurt, until they sat down to negotiate, at which point he would pull them into his interest group. A carrot and a stick, beating and coaxing, would gradually form an invisible power.

If the lords united to wipe out a caravan? Fine. Victor would let the dogs loose. Twenty alchemical war hounds would be enough to bring any territory to its knees. These alchemical creatures were incredibly fast and possessed wild beast intuition; even a Gold Knight couldn't wipe them out. When the lord could no longer bear it, a mercenary company skilled in dealing with dire wolves would show up: "We'll handle the dire wolves for you; just let us trade here!"

As more and more lords joined, this force would snowball, growing larger and larger until it became unstoppable. Eventually, it would form an organization similar to the East India Company, and Victor would be the big boss.

At the beginning, Victor would stay behind the scenes. This was inspired by the three freeman organizations of the York family; the mercenary companies were freeman organizations, and their conflicts with the lords had nothing to do with Victor. In fact, the lords and the church would never trace it back to him. The alchemy militia would never betray him, and the War Bear Mercenaries would gradually fade into the background, becoming the organization’s top leadership.

Now, the most critical link was securing the support of the War Bear Mercenaries, which was why Victor had revealed his secrets to Nelson.

"When our power becomes unstoppable, the York family will willingly return this territory to us! In fact, the York family is also a party we need to unite."

"The church interfering? They won't. The church protects freemen; they don't care if they are rich or poor—they only care about faith. You must know that faith and actions are two different things! Tell all the freemen who join our smuggling caravans to pray regularly. We will donate along the way; the church will be too happy to care."

"The integration process will surely be bloody, but we won't aim to occupy castles. We will only fight field battles with the disobedient lords. If they can't stop the ant-men, they can't stop me! For every soldier they lose, I will replenish them. Don't worry, I have someone backing me!" Victor patted Nelson’s shoulder, brimming with bravado.

Nelson clenched his fists until they cracked, saying excitedly, "My Lord! I don't quite understand what’s going on, but it sounds incredibly powerful!"

Victor: "........"

"My Lord, you just said you have someone backing you?"

"Yes! But they are already dead!"

"Ah?!"

"However, I have inherited their legacy!"

"Oh!"

"My Lord, there is one more thing..."

"Speak!"

Nelson said earnestly, "Renault and the others are ordinary people, right? They must have a method to become so strong! Could you teach me? I want to become stronger!"

Under Nelson’s anxious gaze, Victor remained silent for a long time. "I can teach you, but I cannot guarantee anything. As you have seen, Renault and the others aren't very bright; smart people usually can't learn it! There might even be danger."

"I want to try! I don't want to be chased around by ant-men anymore!" Nelson said firmly.

Victor nodded. "But remember, you must never pass this on! And you must never leak what I told you today—including the war hounds and the thorite crossbows. Some secrets must be buried deep!"

"I promise!"

Victor and Nelson shook hands firmly. "Good! Nelson, let us create a new era together! Ah..."

"My Lord? What is wrong?"

"My hand bones feel like they are cracking. Could you use a little less strength?!"