Chapter 142: The Ambitious Knight Solovy

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Leo could only take Valery to the Solovy Knight Domain to provide guidance on their infrastructure. Valery carefully observed the village’s size, terrain, and the roughly one hundred able-bodied men the village head had managed to gather. As a pioneering domain, Solovy certainly had more laborers than this, but the village head could only muster so many. Given the demands of the infrastructure and the quality of the laborers, Valery estimated that it would take at least half a year of full-time construction just to build a perimeter wall. For a village starting from scratch, merely gathering enough materials would likely take two months.

He advised that for now, the focus should be on repairing the old wooden walls, dams, and roads. Once a portion of the villagers had been trained in basic craftsmanship and sufficient stone and wood materials were stockpiled, then it would be appropriate to consider building a military camp wall. Valery, a craftsman apprentice with a bit of knowledge in everything, had already become an engineering expert capable of providing strategic advice.

On his second visit, the Solovy Knight inspected the military setup of the Riverbend Domain. Upon returning, the domain formed a militia and even acquired a batch of crossbows from Rigolov. Solovy already had a militia, but his personal combat prowess was so overwhelming that the militia existed in name only and hadn’t drilled even once in a year and a half. The round shields issued to villagers were basic thin wooden planks, some already moldy and decaying. As for weapons and armor, when the Misvich family left, they took not only their armed retainers but also the weapons and armor. Hence, Solovy had to continue requesting supplies from his lord, Rigolov.

During his service with the Gale Knights, Solovy had not fought for free; his military pay was comparable to that of a knightly domain under the Petukhov family. All this money was entrusted to Rigolov, who now had no choice but to provide funds, grain, and weapons. Compared to aiding Riverbend Domain, Rigolov was far more generous with his own younger brother. Within three days, thirty sets of silver scale armor and thirty thick-ribbed iron swords arrived. Even Solovy’s second brother sent a hundred iron spearheads and twenty crossbows upon hearing the news.

So, in less than a week, the Solovy Knight Domain had assembled a militia of fifty armored infantry, fifty spearmen, and fifty crossbowmen. Urian’s eyes turned red with envy. Without the addition of kobolds and wildfolk, even after six months of effort, he couldn’t have reached this level. However, despite the militia’s well-equipped status, their combat effectiveness was worrying. They could barely form a basic formation and shield wall before scattering at the slightest movement.

In this regard, Solovy had considerable experience. He employed standard military methods to train them with sound and rhythm. Still, after witnessing the fierce valor of the Riverbend militia, he looked down on his own militia somewhat. The opposing militia stood as if ready to cut down their enemies, while his own seemed destined to be cut down. He didn’t even dare to take them on bandit-hunting missions, fearing they would scatter like frightened sheep.

Who wouldn’t want to command elite troops? Yet, forming a militia was not without merit. At least the villagers’ collective consciousness had been restored considerably, and they responded more actively to the lord’s orders, with fewer internal conflicts. Moreover, weapons, equipment, and training were key morale boosters. Next time a bear or wolf pack entered the village, the villagers wouldn’t run around in panic.

This was Solovy’s third visit to Riverbend. The militia on guard already recognized the handsome, imposing, and earnest knight and did not dare to stop him, letting him pass immediately. When Urian descended the wooden steps of the lord’s manor, Solovy was already approaching on horseback. Urian warmly took the reins as Solovy dismounted, instructing his men to tend to the horses. Meanwhile, Leo, Fisa, Freya, Little Mouse, and four or five kobold pups sat obediently in a row along the wooden steps, watching Solovy attentively.

Since Freya arrived at the camp, Fisa had come down to Riverbend more frequently, almost daily to play. The three fools of Riverbend reunited and refused to part for a moment. Although a mature three-and-a-half-year-old dog, Fisa was unwilling to play house with Freya and Little Mouse, but watching from the sidelines did not diminish her status as the Kobold King. Olivia even prepared a small room for Fisa in the lord’s manor, so she could stay there whenever she didn’t want to return home.

From Leo’s perspective, Solovy was like a second Fisa—once he saw the merits of Riverbend, he wanted to learn everything from them. Leo actually hoped for this, as the relationship between Urian and Rigolov bound Riverbend Domain closely to the Petukhov family; it was best if they thrived together.

Facing Urian, the earnest lord of Riverbend, Solovy behaved with much more courtesy. According to his nephew Roman, this seemingly simple, cunning, and fundamentally chivalrous veteran not only saved Rigolov’s life but also Roman’s. Yet, Solovy, having experienced the battlefield, knew that among comrades-in-arms, it was hard to say who owed their life to whom more. Thus, he showed ample respect to this elder’s old subordinate and his nephew’s former superior.

Having visited twice before, Solovy was also more familiar with Riverbend’s “zoo” and no longer as surprised as initially. So, as he approached the wooden steps, he greeted everyone in turn.

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“Princess Freya, good day.”

“Hello, Sir Solovy!”

“Princess Gurvig, good day.”

“Hello…”

“Princess Fisa, good day.”

“Sir Solovy, greetings as well!”

“Leo, Sikhs, Rambo Rabbit, Saventing, Sertie, hello to you all.”

The little kobolds wagged their tails energetically.

Leo was incredulous. “You’ve only been here twice and can already recognize them?”

Solovy was even more surprised. “Isn’t that normal?”

Leo stroked his chin, eyeing Solovy suspiciously, suspecting he had some ulterior motive regarding the dogs. Sure enough, Solovy spoke up: “Princess Fisa, I’ve come this time to borrow some dogs to scout my knight domain for any mineral deposits.”

Fisa hadn’t expected to be involved, especially with a powerful human knight addressing a kobold with such respect. Neither Leo nor Urian had ever been so polite. This delighted her immensely, making her want to gift him the entire Kobold Valley.

“Woof woof woof! Sir Solovy, good friend! Take as many dogs as you want; I’ll provide them all!”

Solovy smiled. “Thank you very much! I will pay a fair reward.”

Fisa assigned twenty golden retriever sniffer dogs, accompanied by two Riverbend infantrymen, to follow Solovy. Without familiar infantry to accompany them, these dogs trained by Fisa dared not leave their territory with strangers.

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