SOTBW - 64

“… And the next agenda item is…”

Olkoni spoke tiredly as he surveyed the commanders. Originally, it was supposed to be Taylor’s responsibility to run the meeting, but due to his worsening condition, Olkoni was filling in for him. None of the commanders expressed dissatisfaction about this.

Olkoni was the knight most likely to inherit the leadership of the Recheo Knights after Taylor’s passing. Taylor still relied heavily on Olkoni, and since the position of the Defense Commander was vacant, it didn’t matter who ran the meeting.

In fact, the commanders thought it was better that Olkoni was leading the meeting instead of Maximón. They had wanted to confront Maximón about what he had done to Nathan during this meeting, but they feared that the meeting would devolve into chaos, so they had decided to bury the issue in silence.

Anyone with a good sense would have realized that Najane’s abduction and Nathan’s severed ear were not separate issues, but part of the same incident.

Britto, the commander of the Helquos Knights, was deeply disappointed by Maximón’s actions in this matter. Though he had been disappointed by Maximón in the past, the assault on Nathan was far more shocking than the usual reckless behavior Maximón was known for.

Regardless of Nathan’s nobility, this incident made those stationed at the Noctis Fortress fear Maximón even more. Many, including Britto, had always been uncomfortable with Maximón’s disregard for human life, but he was considered an indispensable figure for defending the fortress, so they endured their grievances in silence.

At least they believed Maximón would never harm his fellow soldiers. No matter how little camaraderie there was, surely he would show some respect for his fellow knights.

As long as Maximón was there, they believed the fortress would be safe for at least a few years. That was the comfort they held. But Maximón had cut off Nathan’s ear without warning, igniting the fears of those who already viewed him as a monster and setting a fire that would not be easily extinguished.

Maximón didn’t even offer an explanation for his actions, as if he saw no need to justify it.

Because of this, Olkoni was sweating nervously in the unnaturally quiet atmosphere of the meeting. The commanders sat arrogantly in their seats, casting occasional glances at Maximón. Maximón, however, showed no interest in the proceedings. Of course, he was never one to participate willingly in meetings. If he had known in advance that Taylor would not be attending, he likely wouldn’t have shown up at all.

“Apparently, a band of thieves has been causing trouble near Count Elbision’s territory. The supplies that were supposed to come to Noctis Fortress have already been looted twice.”

“Ha, this is really the end of times.”

Phesis of the Selenu Knights muttered mockingly.

Olkoni sighed.

“… Anyway, as a result, a request for reinforcements has been sent to the Noctis Knights.”

“Reinforcements? Did Count Elbision actually ask us for reinforcements?”

Curis asked in disbelief.

“To ask for reinforcements while the Noctis Knights are already short on soldiers? That’s insane!”

Even Britto, who rarely showed anger, raised his voice in astonishment. Olkoni merely shrugged his shoulders, not offering a response. The calmest among them was the commander of the Dellerna Knights, Alec.

“Calm down, everyone. It’s likely that the shortage of soldiers is due to the forced conscription from all the territories.”

“The royal family did send some of the Royal Defense Forces, but the number of thieves continues to increase, and it seems they failed in their attempt to clear them out. Well, that’s at least what’s written on this paper here.”

Olkoni said as he picked up a piece of paper, his voice full of concern.

Phesis snorted.

“Unbelievable. In this day and age, with the number of beasts increasing, which knight order would spare any soldiers? Even if mercenaries were contracted, the knights need to maintain a certain number of troops. The number of soldiers in the order must be barely enough, right?”

“What about the Noctis Fortress’s defense forces? Can’t they be called upon for support?”

Britto asked.

Olkoni quickly scanned through the documents.

“That might be difficult. Aside from the security forces, all personnel have already been deployed to the field…”

“Wait. I don’t recall receiving any support from the fortress defense forces.”

Phesis furrowed his brow at the unexpected information. Olkoni didn’t respond to his question but instead glanced at Curis. Every knight commander’s gaze, except Maximón’s, turned fiercely toward Curis. Phesis’ face twisted in anger.

“So you just received support and kept your mouth shut?”

Curis avoided their gazes awkwardly.

“Only two hundred soldiers have been dispatched to Eschus.”

“Two hundred? Do you honestly think we can enlist well-trained soldiers in a situation like this?”

Britto scolded in a disapproving tone.

Alec turned to Olkoni with a question.

“What about the Papal Army? They’re still fighting at Noctis, aren’t they? Wouldn’t it be better to send them?”

“They are under the authority of the Papacy, so we can’t control them. To mobilize them, we would need to submit a request to His Holiness the Pope, which... is a bit problematic…”

“How many soldiers did Elbision request for reinforcements?”

Suddenly, Maximón spoke up. The previously chaotic meeting room went silent. Thanks to this, the glare that had been directed at Cyris softened. All the commanders focused on Maximón, who had suddenly spoken. Olkoni hurriedly rifled through papers.

“Ah, uh, just a moment... Yes, two thousand.”

“We’ll send one thousand soldiers from our side. The rest will be filled by other knight orders. However, the commander of the reinforcements will be elected from Romsoa. Any objections?”

Cyris widened his eyes at Maximón’s words. In a situation like this, one thousand soldiers was not a small number—it was, in fact, a very large force. The commanders grew suspicious of his sudden shift in attitude. Maximón had always been inattentive during meetings, even when Taylor presided over them.

Cyris stared at Maximón with a look of unease.

He couldn’t understand why Maximón was suddenly so cooperative. Could it be because of the Nathan incident? Was he worried that his chance at becoming Defense Commander might slip away? But it was impossible to read Maximón’s thoughts.

Britto also doubted Maximón’s willingness to offer soldiers, but the truth was, there was no one else here who could easily spare a thousand soldiers, so he quickly resigned himself to the reality with an expression that bordered on acceptance.

“But a commander? Don’t we just need to send soldiers?”

Phesis asked, puzzled. There would likely be a captain or knight to lead the troops once they arrived at the battlefield.

Maximón smiled faintly.

“We can’t just send soldiers. It’d be better to send at least one knight. Someone trained from fighting Seriths should be able to hunt down humans without much difficulty.”

The word “hunt” made everyone instinctively uneasy, though they tried not to show it.

Alec asked.

“Who are you thinking of appointing as the commander?”

“Daniel Luamars.”

At the mention of Daniel’s name, Phesis raised an eyebrow.

“Wait a minute, Lord Elgort. Isn’t he a knight who fights on the front lines?”

“That’s fine. I’m always at the front.”

It was an arrogant remark, but no one dared to challenge him.

The commanders briefly exchanged wary glances. If they could fill a thousand soldiers from the six knight orders, it wasn’t a bad deal.

Cyris quickly ran the numbers in his head. The knight orders were already struggling with wounded soldiers, and though they were unsuitable for fighting Seriths, they might be fine for dealing with untrained bandits.

If they sent only the wounded soldiers and failed the operation, they could shift some of the blame to Daniel by appointing him as the commander…

Other commanders also began calculating the potential benefits for themselves.

Olkoni cautiously observed the expressions of the people in the room.

“If there are no objections, may we proceed with Lord Elgort’s proposal? I assume all the other commanders agree?”

Everyone nodded with lukewarm expressions.

Maximón, looking bored, said,

“Once it’s decided, let’s move on to the next agenda.”

“Understood. The final agenda for today is... a request to check if it’s feasible for each knight order to employ female soldiers.”

“What? Wasn’t this supposed to be canceled because of tax issues?”

Phesis muttered irritably. Olkoni felt the same confusion.

“I thought so too, but... it seems there have been ongoing discussions in the royal meetings about enlisting at least some women in their twenties as soldiers, and they want to test the effectiveness.”

“That’s true. In Recheo, most of the knights are women. There are even two female knights in Helquos…”

Britto said, agreeing.

However, Phesis slouched back in his chair and frowned.

“The real problem is who’s going to invest in this troublesome task. It’s already frustrating enough raising whiny kids into soldiers during training, and now they want to add more work? I’ll pass on this. We’re out of it.”

Phesis shook his head. Considering the cost of training new soldiers, it was better to contract with another mercenary group. The kingdom was continuously drafting young boys, forcing them through training, but these unskilled soldiers only held them back rather than being helpful.

Each knight order already had thousands of soldiers, but about a thousand of them were too young to be sent to the front lines. They were more like parasites, draining the military resources without offering any real support.

Thus, the commanders were skeptical about the idea of female soldiers. While they didn’t voice it as openly as Phesis, none of them were particularly eager about it. It wasn’t that female soldiers were useless.

Many knight orders had around twenty female knights. They had proven that women, when trained, could be just as capable as men. However, the reason the commanders weren’t eager to recruit more women was due to the financial, housing, and male soldiers’ issues.

Although Eschus did own a servant’s quarters, only Romsoa had separate training grounds and knight barracks for women. If they were to enlist women, accommodations would have to be provided, but none of the knight orders had the funds for that.

They could let them share a dormitory with rats and cockroaches, but that would undoubtedly cause problems. The male soldiers, who were half-crazed from fighting Seriths, might do something to the female soldiers.

They had been suppressing their anger and violence through the strict rules of the knight orders.

The reason female knights had been able to coexist without problems in the barracks was because they were nobles. However, it was a different story for commoner soldiers. The commanders were concerned about this issue.

Considering the costs, time, and potential crimes that could arise, it would be better to go with mercenaries as per the original contract, even if it was a bit uncomfortable.

“Then how about letting Recheo handle it? Most of their knights are women, so it should be fine.”

Alec suggested to Olkoni. Olkoni couldn’t hide his surprise and waved his hand.

“I’m sorry. I’m just the acting commander, so I can’t make decisions like that…”

“If it’s just one or two soldiers, Romsoa can join in too.”

Maximón said dryly. The commanders once again stared at him, shocked.