Volume One: The Forest Knight Chapter 91: The Rampaging Beast, Part One

Berrion set down his wine cup and said to Gamji with rare seriousness, “I want to raise a cavalry troop. Nolandenburg is all infantry at the moment, but if we ever face a great war in the future, we simply cannot do without horsemen.”

When Gamji heard this, he was struck speechless. He hurriedly tried to dissuade him. “Brother Berrion, I know you have ambition, but there are strict limits on the number of knights and squires each rank is allowed to keep. If they catch wind of it, the great lords will think you mean to rebel. Then you’ll be in serious trouble.”

Berrion smiled and patted his shoulder. “I’m only hiring caravan guards. Aren’t you going to raise another caravan anyway? Use your caravan’s name and give me twenty slots for caravan guards. How about it?”

“Hahaha!” Gamji burst out laughing. “That’s exactly the sort of answer you’d come up with. Fine, I’ve got no objection.”

Then his expression turned earnest again. “But you’d better think this through. Keeping cavalry is expensive. Take the household knights of Count Gri’s estate, for example: the money each of them costs in a year, just for warhorses, equipment, and training, is about the same as the taxes from a village of two hundred people.”

“Don’t worry, my dear brother. I’m only putting together a light cavalry unit. I won’t arm them to the standard of true knights. When war comes, it’ll be enough if they can perform raids, cover retreats, and handle defense. I’m not going to have them charging head-on like knights.”

Berrion explained it patiently in simple terms.

In this age, in the world where Berrion lived, the number of heavy cavalry was one of the key factors deciding victory or defeat in war. After the empire split apart, civilization across the continent of Veylin fell into decline, regressing from a highly centralized, absolutist society back into something not far removed from tribal times.

For that reason, the rulers of the four kingdoms, along with their vassals beneath them, were much like tribal chieftains. In war, a number of minor lords would each bring their soldiers together to form a small force; those small forces would join into medium armies, and the medium armies into great hosts.

The scale of these forces depended on the level of conflict. Wars between states meant great armies; private wars between lords and the like were fought with small or medium ones.

This loose, poorly organized military model made heavy cavalry all the more important. Whichever side had more of them could smash through the ragged formations of peasant levies and slave soldiers, then slaughter them to its heart’s content.

Though some enlightened lords had already recognized the value of elite infantry, the inertia of custom, fiscal constraints, and similar problems meant that very few had truly built a dependable standing army centered on infantry.

In his former life, Berrion had been an enthusiast of ancient weapons and old wars. He knew that a well-trained, well-equipped standing force of elite infantry was the inevitable trend of the age, something that could not be halted.

And cavalry, as a branch of the military, would steadily lose ground in the course of military history, until in the end it would dwindle into little more than ceremonial pageantry.

But for the moment, Berrion could not do without cavalry. Although his Nolandenburg infantry regiment was already a relatively elite standing force, without mounted support he would lose opportunities in pursuit, long-range raids, flanking maneuvers, and encirclement, all because of a lack of mobility — and that could mean losing battles, even wars.

In Berrion’s plan, there would certainly be some heavy cavalry in the future. But heavy cavalry was costly and slow to train, and it did not suit Nolandenburg’s present, frail strength. So Berrion had to settle for the next best thing: light cavalry.

He intended to equip these horsemen with the same padded armor worn by the infantry, except that their helmets would be replaced with visored helms for better protection. They would also carry cavalry sabers, lances, and short crossbows.

The cavalry saber was modeled after the mature saber of his previous world: a blade with a certain curve, ideal for high-speed charges on horseback, where it could easily slice through an opponent’s clothing and armor and deal grievous wounds. It was also well suited to slashing and chopping, which made it highly useful when chasing down fleeing infantry.

In addition to the saber as their main weapon, Berrion also equipped these light cavalrymen with nine-foot lances. Unlike a knight’s lance, theirs would not be so thick and heavy, and the slimmer shaft would make it easier for a rider to wield.

Beyond the saber and lance, Berrion planned to issue short crossbows to his cavalry. Compared with infantry crossbows, cavalry crossbows were smaller and easier to span.

With such an armament, these light horsemen could loosing a volley of bolts as soon as they met the enemy, inflicting casualties and harassing them; and when retreating, they could continue to shoot at pursuers all the same.

Berrion had already given Hama the designs for the cavalry saber, lance, and short crossbow. Before Berrion arrived in Yangvikshuo City, prototypes of all three had already been completed.

He was very satisfied with the things Hama had made. After suggesting a few minor revisions, he told Hama to produce thirty sets first, with the intention of outfitting Nolandenburg’s first cavalry unit.

Seeing Berrion lost in thought, Gamji did not want to disturb him, so he left. Before going, he told Bran and Hark, “Come early tomorrow morning. We’ll all go pick out the caravan guards together.”

The next morning arrived in the blink of an eye. Gamji, who had labored hard all night long, came to find Berrion with dark circles under his eyes. The moment he entered, he sat down at the table and did nothing but yawn, making Berrion and the others, who were eating, burst into laughter.

Seeing them laugh at him, Gamji sprawled over the table and yawned between words. “You lot are still too young. Wait until you’ve tasted that kind of thing yourselves, and then you’ll understand why I’m this exhausted.”

After hearing that, Bran asked with utter sincerity, “Uncle Gamji, did you make that sister take the stick again?”

The second Bran said this, Berrion laughed so hard that milk shot out of his mouth. Broda, who was drinking porridge beside him, choked on his own laughter and started coughing.

As for Hark, who had seen much of the world, he doubled over, clutching his stomach, unable to stand. Laughing wildly, he said, “Take the stick? Hahaha! Little Bran, who on earth taught you that way of putting it? I can’t bear it anymore, it’s too funny — calling it a woman taking the stick, hahahaha...”

While everyone around him roared with laughter, Bran wore a wounded expression and muttered, “That’s what the lord told me. That time we went to look for Uncle Gamji, the lord heard noises from inside the house at the doorway.”

“He pulled me aside and said it wasn’t fit for children, and told me that the sister making those sounds was taking Gamji’s stick.”

At that addition, even Gamji, who had been listless only moments before, laughed until he could no longer straighten up. And Hark, who had already been clutching his stomach in hysterics, was now rolling on the floor.

This gave Jennifer, who had come to bring breakfast, quite a fright. She hurried over to see what had happened to her son. After learning the cause, she shot Hark a glare, then blushing deeply, lowered her head and left.

After that interruption, none of them had any appetite left for breakfast. After taking only a few bites, they saddled up and followed Gamji to the tournament grounds near the Mule-and-Horse Market.

The men who came to apply as caravan guards were generally poor. They could only afford to stay in the market, in those filthy, stinking livestock sheds. The conditions were harsh, but at least the lodging was free.

And since they had only strength and martial skill to rely on, they did not want to spend their days doing dock labor. Their only way to make a living was to win prize money in the tournament grounds.

For that reason, if one wished to recruit guards, the tournament grounds and the Mule-and-Horse Market were exactly the right places to look. Gamji first brought Berrion and the others to the arena, which Berrion had never seen in this age, so Gamji took him there to have a look.

At the same time, anyone with truly polished fighting skills would likely remain at the tournament grounds for the long term, earning prize money from bouts — precisely the sort of men Gamji and Berrion wanted to recruit.

The arena had been built during imperial times. Though not especially large, its construction was of remarkably high quality. More than a hundred carved, towering stone columns formed a ringed colonnade. Within the colonnade were tiered stands, and in the flat center lay the combat floor.

The arena featured four kinds of contests in all: unarmed duels between two men, armed duels between two men, armed melees among several men, and man-versus-beast combat.

The most thrilling of these was man-versus-beast combat. Conveniently, there was one scheduled for that very morning. Gamji had asked for the timetable in advance and reserved their seats and private box.

Since they had already come, Gamji told Berrion they should watch the most dangerous and exciting contest of all, so that they would not leave with any regrets.

Before entering the box, Gamji paid the admission fee and the box fee. In return, the arena graciously announced that wine and food would be provided for the honored guests in the box, and they even handed Gamji a betting sheet so that he could place wagers at any time.

Just after the group entered the box, a booming voice rose from within the arena, signaling that that morning’s man-versus-beast contest was about to begin.

“Ladies and gentlemen, good morning to you all, and welcome to the tournament grounds! Welcome, friends from every corner of the land!

“Here today, you will witness the finest combat entertainment imaginable — thrilling, breathtaking, blood-stirring! Come once, and you will not regret it. Watch it, and you will feel your ticket money was well spent!

“Today’s star attraction is a savage brown bear from the Mist Mountains. By the Fire God, this is the first time I have ever seen a beast so enormous and so frenzied. Now, let us hear the roar of this monster!”

As the host spoke, he gave a signal to the men below.

Two men stationed before an iron door opened a small hatch in it, threw in a chunk of bloody beef, and then everyone heard a thunderous roar.

After the roar, the host touched his own head in astonishment and said, “By the Fire God! This beast seems even more savage than when it first arrived. It looks as though it will put on a wonderful show today, and I can hardly wait.

“This savage brown bear was drugged and subdued only after half a month of effort and the loss of three lives by ten bear hunters. Otherwise, there would have been no way to capture it at all.

“According to the hunters’ description, this crazed beast’s paw is as large as a grown man’s head, its claws as sharp as spears. Its hide is rough and thick; ordinary blades and swords cannot harm it. Its mouth is huge, its teeth are sharp, and with one bite it could swallow a living man whole.

“I’ve said so much, I’m beginning to get thirsty myself, hahahaha! Come now, ladies and gentlemen, let us cheer for today’s protagonist, the savage giant beast from the Mist Mountains!”

At the host’s invitation, most of the spectators, Berrion included, cheered loudly. Everyone had indeed been thoroughly piqued by the host’s words and by the bear’s roar, and they were all impatient to see just what sort of thing this so-called savage giant beast really was.

But clearly, the host had no intention of letting them see the bear so soon. First, he meant to introduce the men who would face it.

At that moment, a second iron door on the opposite side opened, and five combatants, each wearing only a single layer of leather armor, filed in. They carried spears, pole hammers, axes, and other weapons as they entered the arena.

These five men were tall and powerfully built. As soon as they stepped into the ring, they raised their weapons and saluted the spectators in the surrounding stands, earning a chorus of cheers in return. It had to be said, they were a rather impressive-looking bunch, though their actual combat ability remained to be seen.

When the cheering had subsided, the host introduced them excitedly. “Look closely! These are the five warriors from the Dunbas Hills. They have slain wolf packs, hunted black bears, and once defeated savage bandits while outnumbered five to fifty. Today, these five valiant and battle-tested heroes will, as challengers, take on the savage beast we just heard from. Let us once again cheer for the warriors!”