Chapter 76 - More Earning and More Trouble (Thank you, Lokiher.)

“Zelos, you can scare her good. This will be a good lesson.”

A vein began to throb in Irlene’s forehead, that felt like Irlan was underestimating her, but soon she realized what her brother was talking about.

Zelos used his charging technique and then reappeared in front of Irlene already swinging his sword. Irlene barely had the time to raise her guard… Her spear blocked the attack, but the impact pushed her backward and made her fall and roll on the ground several times. When she got up, she saw that her spear was no longer straight… such has been the power of the attack.

“Ah… that was my favorite spear!”

“Do you get it now, Irlene? Not a lot of people have a lot of brute strength like Zelos, but fighting several of them will make them feel like all the attacks are all like that.”

Irlene went silent and began to think about that… it made sense. That much brute strength was troublesome, but it should be fairly common among those who have traits that boost their strength. Moreover, the enemies could also have special techniques like the one Zelos showed… Irlene realized that she needed a lot more in order to truly be ready for a battlefield.

“... Humph. I will come again next week.”

As it turned out, Irlene ended up trying to spar with Zelos truly every week. Thanks to that, he learned that she had been selected to join the clan as well… At the same time, Zelos heard that they got six hundred new members, even though they still had nine hundred active members.

“That confirms that Hei is waiting for something to happen soon, but we don’t know what.”

“We have to fight pretty often, so I wonder why we are preparing for this. The captain didn’t say anything either, but I guess the orders came from the capital.”

Irland nodded while saying that. With the Emperor’s passing, it made sense that the Prime Minister now held most of the authority. It was a natural shift in power dynamics, one that the Prime Minister was likely keenly aware of. In the vacuum left by the Emperor’s death, the Prime Minister saw an opportunity to expand his influence and consolidate his position.

It seemed probable that the Prime Minister was now seeking to obtain additional territories to bolster his authority and increase his popularity among the population. By expanding the empire’s borders, he could demonstrate strength and competence, consequently solidifying his position as a leader.

However, while the Prime Minister’s actions might appear strategic on the surface, there were undoubtedly deeper motivations at play. Power struggles in the wake of the Emperor’s death were likely to intensify since Liry wasn’t planning to go down easily.

“I suppose that would make sense… People are loyal to their interests. If they see that they can benefit a lot by following him, they won’t hesitate in forgetting about the royal family.”

“... People aren’t that bad, Zelos.”

“If you had to choose between the future of your family and Liry’s future, what would you choose?”

“Why would I have to choose? What kind of crazy situation would happen to force me to make that kind of decision?”

“Forget about that shit and decide on one.”

In the end, Irlan couldn’t do that… he could, but he couldn’t say that out loud since the members of the clan responded to the imperial family. They received payment from the capital, after all. At the same time, the prime minister was the richest man in the country, so he would be able to improve the lives of a lot of people while Liry only had her charisma and some accomplishments for now.

“Speaking of which, I need to find a way to invest the money that I am earning lately. Do you have any recommendations? Don’t worry, I am not expecting much, so you can speak freely.”

“You change the topic like that and then still say that kind of thing… anyway, I guess we are always in need of weapons and armor, if you can buy a mine somewhere, you can probably make some money fast.”

“Everyone knows that, so the competition would be a pain in the ass. We are having a hard time selling all the milk that we produce, so perhaps I should use it to produce something else.”

Zelos recalled what it could be done considering his resources. One of them was butter, butter is made by churning cream, which is the fatty part of milk until it separates into butterfat and buttermilk. 

Another one was cheese is made by coagulating milk proteins, usually with the help of rennet, and then separating the curds from the whey. The curds are pressed and aged to produce cheese. Condensed milk was also made by evaporating most of the water content from milk and then adding sugar. It has a thick, sweet consistency and is often used in baking and dessert recipes. Zelos looked at the sky while wondering why he suddenly recalled that, but he couldn’t recall the important stuff from his real life.

“I guess I will try cheese since the people here buy it from outside. Other more sweet products could be good too.”

“One more round.”

Irlene was on the ground until now with her arms aching since she tried to block one of Zelos attacks Instead of dodging it. She still looked like she was still in pain, but her stubbornness was stronger than her wits, apparently.

“Go and rest your arms, if something happens and you injure them further, you will be in a bind if we are called to fight. If you want to be respected as a mercenary, use your head and stay ready for work all the time.”

Irlene’s face got red thanks to anger and frustration, but she knew that Zelos had a point and ended up leaving without saying anything.

“At least someone can say that to my sister and not let her say anything in response.”

“That was supposed to be your job.”

“It is impossible for me, it hurts more when she is angry at me than when I am cut by a sword.”

“Your sword wounds are probably very shallow then.”

“Anyway, did you see Kaitrine recently? I see Edea from time to time and it seems that she helps the Caspian with paperwork.”

“No, I haven’t seen her since.”

“She must be scouting the enemy’s territories with Kai, then. Something troublesome is truly approaching…”

It felt like Irlan was determined to jinx the group. Fortunately, nothing happened for quite a while and in the end, three months passed in no time. In that period, Zelos shared the idea of producing products made from milk with the old man farmer and he actually agreed to it since they were more valuable and they had too much milk. Such products were also highly sought in other cities and towns.

In no time, they began to produce it and began to sell it as well. Thanks to that, Zelos began to earn around twenty-five sapphire coins daily instead of twenty.

“I guess I should consider the next step of expansion of my business… Making good food is always a good way to guarantee sales.”

Still, it looked like things wouldn’t go as planned for Zelos. Around the same time, rumors began to spread around about the Huxi clan heading South to attack the weakened southern enemies of the country of Zania. However, soon the word began to spread that one of the clans in the North had been decimated and their territory was lost. Irlan came to talk with him about that and confirmed the rumors.

“It seems that our break is about to end… after four months, perhaps this is unavoidable.”

In the end, the group began to prepare for the next mission. Heirina even stopped training the kids who might end up taking the tests the next time to join the clan. At the same time, they suddenly saw Kaitrine moving around the town. It looked like she had returned from her special mission.

“It is time for the final tests,”

Zelos headed to his training grounds near the river and soon he threw upward the iron balls. When they began to fall, he punched them nonstop. The aim wasn’t perfect, but they all hit the boulder near the river and the impact made chunks of it fall in the area. The power and their speed certainly increased.

Health: 1790/1840

Magic: 620/620

Stamina: 1720/1720

Strength: 90

Vigor: 94

Precision: 78

Wisdom: 20

Willpower: 42 

Traits: Regeneration Lv 90

“I guess that this much is fine… losing only ten points of health with those attacks is fine,” Zelos thought. “Still, there are still improvements that can be done here.”

Thanks to the training, Zelos’s vigor began to increase more than his strength. He also tried to improve his willpower a bit more, but it was clear that he could have done more. Regardless, there was no point in worrying about that. Besides, Irlan came to pass a message to him soon enough.. They received a call from Hei as well and that puzzled them, since the clan didn’t make any big movements.

“Thanks for coming, everyone. Sorry to say this all of a sudden, but I have a new job for you all.”

When the group appeared in the living room of Heirina’s house, everyone was already there, showing complicated expressions. It couldn’t be helped since it has been a while since their country had lost a territory. In any case, Hei told them to sit down.

“You should have heard by now that an army of Erenzis attacked our northern territory and decimated the clan that defended  that territory, but it isn’t all… they also killed all the population that they managed to find. Women, children, elderly… they didn’t hesitate in killing unarmed people.”

When the group heard that, they opened their eyes widely… they didn’t expect that, after all. Soon enough, since Zelos didn’t know much about those enemies, they began to explain some extra things.

The enemies in the North are a particularly troublesome bunch. They’re not your average soldiers, they’re mad warriors, fueled by a deep-seated hatred for the people of Hillania. These warriors came from Erenzis, and their animosity toward Hillania runs deep.

The roots of this enmity trace back to past conflicts, where the people of Erenzis suffered heavy losses at the hands of a clan of bandits from Hillania. The devastation caused by these bandits left scars on the people of Erenzis, turning them into vengeful fighters who are focused solely on returning the favor.

One of the most challenging aspects of facing these warriors is their infantry. They’re incredibly resilient, refusing to go down even after receiving mortal wounds. It’s said that only hits to the head or heart can truly stop them, making them formidable adversaries on the battlefield.

Their stubbornness and ferocity make them a force to be reckoned with, and dealing with them requires careful strategy and skillful tactics. The people of Hillania know all too well the danger they pose, and facing off against them is no easy task.

“They look like quite the lovable bunch the more I hear about them.”