Chapter 108: The Horse Bandits Take Action
“It seems you’ve made up your mind to attack the Hydra family’s territory.” Harvey was no fool. He could guess Buddy’s thoughts from his reaction. In fact, this was their only option besides leaving in disgrace.
There were many noble children like them who came to the Northland. It wasn’t that those people didn’t have the ability to gather so many people; the main reason was that it was easy to gather but difficult to feed them. Moreover, if they were not careful, they would be backstabbed.
This was mainly because they had limited manpower from the Empire and needed to recruit directly in the Northland most of the time.
The problem was that they couldn’t recruit decent people. They could only recruit bandits and horse bandits, who were not easy to get along with. If they were not careful, they would lose both their men and their wealth.
The three of them were different. They were more ambitious, so they spared no expense to use up all the wealth they brought from their families and purchased a batch of equipment through their family connections. They armed hundreds of horse bandits and successfully captured Mara Town.
However, they were not very happy afterward because Viscount Mara’s decisiveness made them miss the noble seal. Without the noble seal that represented legitimacy, even if they occupied Mara Town, they were still horse bandits, not nobles.
This immediately disrupted their plans, making it impossible to use this as a bargaining chip to exchange for further support from their families.
To make matters worse, a demon centaur was wandering around. They had encountered it when they were chasing after Viscount Mara before.
At that time, Buddy made a prompt decision and took the initiative to attack. After a fierce battle, not only did many people die, but Viscount Mara also escaped in the chaos.
If they hadn’t occupied Mara Town and fulfilled their promise to the nomadic tribes, the deaths of so many people would have been difficult to explain.
No one was a fool. The nomadic tribes were willing to be horse bandits under them purely for profit. If they couldn’t bring profit, those people wouldn’t mind killing them and changing to another leader. After all, they had already received the benefits.
Therefore, Buddy needed to find another target for these people and establish his prestige through victories. Only then could he completely control these horse bandits. The only place nearby that met this condition was the Hydra family’s territory. The others were either too small and unprofitable or too far away.
“You guessed right. However, although it’s very risky, we have no other choice.” Buddy sheathed his wiped clean sword, placed it flat on his lap, leaned back, and said in a flat tone.
Their origins had already determined the upper limit they could reach in the future. If they wanted to break this invisible restriction, they had to jump out of this circle, so they gambled everything to come to the Northland.
However, if they couldn’t achieve anything, they couldn’t expect their families to continue providing them with resources. So, even if there was a huge risk, they couldn’t retreat unless they were willing to be real horse bandits or settle down as farmers. Obviously, they were not willing.
Harvey added a few pieces of firewood to the fireplace and stretched out his hands to warm them by the fire. At the same time, he moved his boots, which were almost soaked through by the snow, closer to the flames. After pondering for a moment, he said,
“The Hydra family is developing too fast. There’s obviously someone supporting them from behind. Have you considered this?”
“Have you forgotten? We have no choice.” Buddy tapped his sword with his finger and said in an emphatic tone, his eyes fixed on Harvey.
Compared to the other taciturn collaborator, Harvey had the best mind. However, having a good mind meant having many thoughts. If he wasn’t reminded from time to time, who knew what he would do?
Harvey remained silent, but he knew in his heart that the only one who had no choice was Buddy, not him.
Buddy came from the best family and had the strongest personal strength, so he held a leadership position among the three. Even if they seized Viscount Mara’s noble seal, he would be the only holder.
Therefore, when Viscount Mara escaped in the chaos, Harvey even felt a sense of relief.
No one didn’t want to rise to the top. Even if they were subordinates, they wanted to follow a strong person, such as the Hydra family.
Compared to the small boat of the three of them, which could capsize at any time, the Hydra family undoubtedly had more strength and potential and was a good target to serve.
The only problem was that Buddy was unwilling. He had a bet with his family. The better his achievements in the Northland, the greater the support he would receive. If he could become a Count of the Northland, his family would even be willing to recognize him as a branch member. At that time, he would gain a lot of connections and political capital and have the opportunity to bypass the restrictions of the Northland nobles and join the Empire’s circle of power.
Therefore, Buddy wouldn’t allow anyone to give up or fail. Hence, Harvey didn’t refute his words because he didn’t want to die inexplicably.
He had seen too many people die from backstabbing since he came to the Northland. He didn’t want to be the next unlucky one, so he changed the subject.
“I went to the Hydra family’s territory before winter. The population is over a thousand, and the number of soldiers is close to three hundred, including dozens of cavalrymen. They are all well-trained professional soldiers. It won’t be easy to take them down.” Harvey couldn’t help but reveal an envious expression. In fact, it wasn’t just him; even Buddy was the same.
A population of a thousand definitely couldn’t support three hundred soldiers, so they definitely didn’t believe that the Hydra family had no one supporting them.
However, this was also normal. There were quite a few nobles in the Empire’s circle who saw the potential of the Northland. However, those of a higher level looked down on it, and those of a lower level couldn’t reach it. Only those in the middle had the ability to interfere.
The problem was, looking at the scale of the Hydra family’s development, the resources invested by the other party were definitely not small. Should they really attack?
At this time, even Buddy began to hesitate. After all, if they really fought, they would offend the other party to death. However, if they didn’t fight, it meant that his ambition and his future would all end here.
“We have to fight even if it’s not easy. Besides, those herdsmen are very greedy. A mere Mara Town can’t satisfy their appetite.” Buddy said to Harvey with a sardonic smile.
Harvey nodded. He was the one who dealt with the nomadic tribes the most, and he could also feel their greedy nature the most.
“When will we set off?” Harvey knew that it wouldn’t be after spring because the food in Mara Town wouldn’t last until then, so he asked.
“In three days.” Buddy said after calculating the days.
The winter in the Northland was very cold, but the coldest time had passed. If they were well prepared, they might be able to give it a shot.
“Alright, I’ll go slaughter the livestock and make preparations.” Harvey nodded, warmed his hands by the fire again, and decisively pushed the door open to leave.
Livestock was life to the herdsmen. If they wanted to slaughter the livestock that could survive the winter, they had to offer a sufficient price. Therefore, Buddy stepped forward and gathered the herdsmen.
“The Hydra family’s territory has endless food, warm and comfortable houses, and every family has an iron pot. As long as we take it down, everything there will be ours!” Buddy’s words were simple and direct, and they were more likely to arouse the greed in the hearts of these herdsmen.
If it were a single nomadic tribe, they wouldn’t have the guts to do this.
A tribe of a hundred people only had one-third who could fight, and because of the lack of ironware, they could only use wooden sticks as weapons. They couldn’t exert the advantage of cavalry at all. Faced with a lord who had built a wooden fortress, they could only sigh in admiration.
However, now that seven or eight nomadic tribes had gathered in Mara Town, they could gather two to three hundred horsemen. With the iron weapons provided by the three of them, their ambitions began to swell.
