12 Chapter 11, Setting Out_1

Opening the armory, he took out the weapons that had been collecting dust for a long time. Hudson's good mood vanished in an instant.

He had originally planned to just "wing it", but looking at the pile of scrap metal in front of him, he knew that even without slacking off, he wouldn't be making waves on the battlefield.

Seeing this, Baron Redman standing next to him also felt a bit embarrassed. He knew that there wasn't much of worth in his armory, but he hadn't expected it to be this bad.

"Our clan isn't wealthy, so we cannot afford to have too many weapons and armors. In the armory, there are seventy-two sets of armor, thirty-six battle axes, forty-eight fighting axes, ninety-seven scimitars, one hundred eighty-seven spears...

All these are our clan's accumulation, although they are a bit old, they can still kill. For now, we'll make do with them. If we make a profit on the battlefield, then we can change out gear."

Baron Redman said, with a hint of embarrassment.

Originally, he planned to keep some weapons and armors, fearing losing it all. But now it seems unnecessary, no matter how well these broken, rusty metals were stored, they still showed the marks of age.

Especially the armors, many had fallen apart and were scattered on the ground. Even if they could be stitched back together, the thick rust on them could not be concealed.

Hudson picked up a piece and gave it a light squeeze. As expected, it crumbled into dust in his hands.

Seeing this, Baron Redman decisively chose to vanish from sight. It was so embarrassing, he simply couldn't face it.

Of course, he could not be entirely blamed. There hadn't been a major war in recent decades, and a small-scale conflict required only the guard team.

You could tell by the gear that the guard team wore, they were all top-notch weapons and armors, proving that he was a martial family head.

As for the armory, there was nothing to be done. Weapons have a lifespan. If they aren't in use for a long period, the best option would be to store them.

Storing weapons and armors isn't easy either; it needs mages to do it. Once it's sealed, it won't be re-opened until it's needed.

But no matter how well they are stored, they can't withstand the erosion of time. On paper, the armory can barely equip five hundred troops, but in reality, less than a third can be used.

That's only counting those that can be used. If you nitpick at the quality, hardly any can meet standards. Looking around, there weren't many pieces in good condition.

Given the situation, Hudson had no words. He hurriedly sent the damaged weapons to the blacksmith's shop for repairs, salvage what could be rescued.

In reality, this was also an optimistic view. Given the short amount of time, even if the blacksmiths in his domain were working non-stop, they could not repair many of them.

Better than nothing, Hudson could only compromise as he equipped his soldiers with the most basic weapon - spears, not typical weapon spears, but bamboo-made spears.

To achieve stronger defense, Hudson mobilized his domain people to make "shields". Without a doubt, these weren't ordinary shields, but makeshift shields made of bamboo.

Looking to use these to defend against weapons, chances are likely slim. But their opponents are the rebel army! If their own army is in such a state, how could the rebels have complete weapons and armors?

Even if they're rendered useless on the battlefield, these preparations aren't wasted. With a little modification and adding a moving bamboo panel, tied up with a rope, they can be worn like a turtle-shell backpack.

Normally it can be used to carry dry rations, on a battlefield, it can bolster soldiers' confidence. In case they encounter enemies wielding wooden sticks, they can still provide some defense.

The main problem was the lack of time. Hudson could only make some rudimentary tools.

Of course, just because the ordinary soldiers' gear were a sorry sight, that didn't mean he, as a knight, was equally pitiful.

Knight's sword, war horse, armor, all necessary knight's equipment were complete. Even his ten assistant knights were given corresponding armors and weapons.

In this respect, Baron Redman was not stingy. As for the pitiful state of the regular soldiers' equipment, Hudson would rather believe it's beyond his control.

The war came too suddenly. Had they received intelligence from the very beginning, with the productivity of the domain, they could've made over a hundred weapons.

...

Time flies, and the three-day deadline had passed in a blink. Riding on a horse, dressed in shiny armor, carrying the knight's greatsword, Hudson led five hundred "well-trained" soldiers to set off amid the cheers and farewells of the crowd.

The "resounding spirit and high morale" didn't last long. Not long after leaving their territory, the orderly squad became disorganized. This infuriated Hudson.

So the training of these two days was just for show. The so-called 'trained' soldiers only held their form in front of the hometown crowd but let their true colors show once they were out.

With no other choice, Hudson had to slow down the marching speed. The original plan was to march sixty miles a day but was forced to cut it down to forty.

You need to understand that this is a small unit marching, only carrying a dozen pounds of dry rations, with no heavy logistical supplies to slow them down.

With such a speed, it's practically at a turtle's pace. No, let's not insult the turtle. Once a turtle becomes a magical beast, its speed is much faster than this.

As soon as the speed slowed down, the situation instantly improved a lot. Although they can't be expected to march neatly, at least some basic formation was retained, and they weren't running around chaotically.

Hudson knew very well that this was due to the incompetence of the officers he appointed on the fly. The officers couldn't control their troops.

But he had no choice. These days, any military officer with some degree of competence was basically a noble. How could he command them?

As for recruiting wandering knights as officers, that would stay a pipe dream. With such meager resources at their disposal, how could they afford a knight?

In a sense, you could gauge the power of a noble by the number of knights under their command.

Generally speaking, if you could afford around a dozen knights, you could be classified as intermediate aristocracy. To step into the ranks of major nobility, you must have at least hundreds of knights under you.

Of course, this is only Hudson's personal, subjective judgment, and it isn't representative. If this was all it took to become a major noble, then the major nobles would be too cheap.

Take the Koslow clan for example. By virtue of their strong fertility and widespread descendants, they likely had hundreds of knights scattered throughout various places.

However, because their territory was too scattered and their power was not concentrated, the Koslow clan could still only be considered minor nobility.

They just appeared slightly stronger in the circles of nobility due to their sizeable population.

This could be seen from their own armory that was covered in dust. In recent decades, their neighboring clans have been relatively peaceful.