King

The flames were still burning, the peculiar smell of burning corpses pervading the entire camp. Hudson, holding his nose, was unable to sleep.

The stimulation of the day had been too great. From a regular man who had difficulty killing a chicken to a butcher on the battlefield, Hudson didn't know how he had made the transition.

The pressure to survive induces transformation. If it hadn't happened for real, Hudson wouldn't have known that he had such a rational and ruthless side.

Indeed, a person's potential is always forced out. Having been baptized by blood and fire, Hudson became more mature and rational.

…...

At dawn, a red cloud just appeared in the sky when the horn for assembly sounded. Military orders were like mountains on the battlefield and Hudson could only gather his exhausted body and assemble his forces.

The soldiers weren't in any better shape, it was clear that yesterday's intensity had overwhelmed everyone and they all needed a break.

Unfortunately, their say didn't count, the commanders wanted swift action, why would they care about the sentiments of low-ranking soldiers?

Of course, setting off wasn't as easy as simply announcing it. The Nobles' Allied Forces, a band of thousands, if not well organized, might fall into chaos even before they find the enemy.

This was a point all the nobles understood very well. After all, there had been plenty of unexpected incidents along the way.

The organization began, predictably, with families as the basic unit. Though it was not particularly scientific, it was practical.

More than eighty percent of the forces were a chaotic collection, barely manageable even under command of their own Lord. If a different officer were put in charge, they might as well not go to the battlefield.

According to the military system used across the continent, ten men a squad, a hundred a company, a thousand a regiment, ten thousand an army, whether it was right or wrong, they rigidly imposed it.

The composition was temporary and they didn't demand military pay. In this respect, Governor Piers was extraordinarily generous, establishing five armies, all understaffed, in one go.

There were five, coincidentally the same number of people present at last night's meeting, who became the Five Army Commanders. If this development wasn't contrived, Hudson would eat his knight's sword.

As expected, the five armies weren't balanced. The First Army, led by Earl Piers himself, were the elites; the Second Army, under Viscount Orlan, wasn't too bad, but the remaining three armies were more questionable.

Generally speaking, the further back in order, the weaker the force.

Unsurprisingly, the original members of the Alliance were independently organized into a separate force, with Knight Charles appointed as the Legion Commander.

Due to the heavy losses in yesterday's battle, this newly formed army had unfortunately become the weakest among the five.

Thanks to his large number of troops and some achievements on the battlefield yesterday, Hudson was appointed, much to his honor, as the regiment commander of the Tenth Regiment of the Fifth Army.

This Tenth Regiment, however, looked truly pitiful. Besides Hudson's own forces, it was assigned six hundred masterless serf soldiers. It was a true ragtag gathering.

In fact, even those six hundred serf soldiers were an inconvenience no one wanted, and they became Hudson's just because they were cheap.

Due to this, the Tenth Regiment became the only fully-staffed regiment in the Fifth Army, and one among the few in the entire Nobles' Allied Forces.

In the Fifth Army, other regiments generally only had four to five hundred soldiers. In contrast, the Tenth Regiment, with over a thousand soldiers, stood out significantly.

They were all driven to this point. Though it was nominally a whole army reorganization, when it came down to the execution, they still respected the will of the noble lords.

Logically speaking, with his previous acquaintances, it shouldn't be difficult for Hudson to form a team. The problem, however, was with the position of "regiment commander".

All of them were hustling in the noble circles, and they might not possess military talents, but a political mind was absolutely indispensable.

Any sensible person would understand that the higher one's rank in the military at this time, the more initiative they would have in the upcoming war, and the greater their advantage in seizing territories in the future.

When it came to personal interests, no one was willing to step back. All these undermanned regiments were the result of compromise.

Stronger families chose to go solo while weaker ones were forced to unite.

But these unions were also just small groups comprised of a few knights, with not many participants.

This situation was due to interests. If there were too many allies in the union, even if they acquired territories, there wouldn't be enough to divide among them.

Thanks to his previous performances and the Koslow name, Hudson was seen as capable of monopolizing profits.

Those considered equal in strength chose to remain independent, those weaker didn't trust Hudson's promises even if he showed willingness to lower himself to form alliances.

Even if the relationship was good, when it came to this point, everyone maintained enough rationality to make decisions based on their interests.

With things at this stage, Hudson was powerless. He couldn't explain to them: "My main force hasn't arrived yet, those who came are all cannon fodder. Let's forge an alliance without worries, you won't be left out after the war."

Even Hudson himself wouldn't believe these words. Even if the main force hadn't arrived, couldn't it still come later?

Interests motivate. If they had more time, they would've been eager to gather strength, why would they hide it?

Seeing other teams with several knights and a number of elite infantry, ranging from a few dozen to several hundred, Hudson had no confidence.

In a place where everything is battered, becoming the most beaten-down, Hudson felt like crying but had no tears.

To strengthen his force, he had to fight for the masterless serf soldiers. More precisely, it wasn't a fight. The moment Hudson brought up his request, he got everyone's unanimous agreement.

There was no other reason. Everyone had a hard time managing their own serf soldiers. They were already driven to their wit's end and didn't want to borrow trouble.

To be honest, Hudson's initial target wasn't the serf soldiers, but the leftover guards of the deceased lords. Unfortunately, these experienced soldiers were snatched up early by Legion Commander Charles.

To put it bluntly, not just the Tenth Regiment led by Hudson, Charles's First Regiment didn't fare any better either.

Apart from personal strength, the few dozen soldiers under Charles were nothing to brag about.

Even though he abused his position as Legion Commander to monopolize a few dozen leftover experienced soldiers from their unlucky allies, it didn't change much.

In fact, in order to fill up the numbers, Charles had to accept masterless serf soldiers. But considering his command, he was much less assertive.

He only took in fewer than two hundred soldiers, making the First Regiment the smallest in terms of numbers.

If it wasn't for the Tenth Regiment at the bottom, Charles's First Regiment would be the weakest of the Fifth Army.

Hudson even suspected for a while that Charles made him the Tenth Regiment commander just to avoid embarrassment.