Chapter 38: The Banquet in the Military Camp

Dean was very familiar with Baron Tier; the other party had some of the faults typical of nobles, but he was absolutely not an idle fellow. Even though he loved taking credit for great achievements, often gave up halfway, or fell short at the last moment, this did not deny that his starting point was good.

Of course, if this Baron had some ability, that would be even better.

In Dean’s memory, after the Blood Moon War broke out, within Vauban County, Baron Tier was the first person to raise his War Banner, and in the end, he died in battle, neither retreating nor surrendering. Compared to those within the Emerald Kingdom who fled the city at the first sign of trouble, or even simply led their men to switch sides, this Baron had done well enough.

Added to this was the life-saving grace the other party had once shown him, so Dean held no ill will toward Baron Tier.

However, to make this slightly rigid Baron acknowledge his identity as Knight Order Regiment Commander, Dean understood that he had to achieve three things—

First, Dean had to live up to expectations, which meant getting the existing members of the Knight Order to acknowledge his identity.

Second, he needed to avenge the previous Knight Order Regiment Commander and personally kill those bandits who had ambushed the Knight Order’s elite.

Finally, and most importantly, was his baseless noble identity.

Based on Dean’s understanding of Baron Tier, the last point was the crucial one; even if the first two were not established, as long as the last one was, it would be completely sufficient.

He knew all too well the vastly different attitude Lord Baron had toward commoners and nobles.

Of course, in the Emerald Kingdom, it was not just Baron Tier; most nobles were like this.

Fortunately, Dean now had enough Gold Pulton to prove his ‘identity’—a rich man was not necessarily a noble, but if one was a noble, he was certainly rich. Even a declining noble was no exception; after all, one or two family heirlooms were enough to let them live a life that, while not entirely respectable, was wealthy.

As for Potts and the Knight Order’s elite being ambushed by bandits?

That was naturally also a part of Dean’s plan!

To quickly gain command of an army, the best method was undoubtedly to establish sufficient prestige, and the easiest way to gain prestige was naturally to lead this army to victory time and time again—this was exactly what Dean planned, and his targets were those bandits hidden in the Snowplains Dense Forest within the Tier Territory who had ambushed the Knight Order’s elite.

After the buffer of these past few days, Dean could be certain that the battle situation he had arranged—where the Knight Order’s elite was wiped out and the Snow Bear escaped injured—had been discovered by those bandits who permeated every corner of the Snowplains Dense Forest. Faced with the corpses of the dead, fully armed Knight Order elite, these bandits would absolutely not be polite.

And once they picked up the ‘trophies’ on those corpses, they would naturally take the blame for Dean.

As for the bandits’ explanation?

Given the hatred between the two sides, within the Tier Territory, from Baron Tier at the top down to an ordinary subject, no one would believe the words of a group of bandits.

After all, those cruel bandits, when plundering, did not distinguish whether you were a noble or a commoner.

……

“Regiment Commander, Regiment Commander!”

When the shout of Militia Captain Theron came from outside the door, Dean had already dressed himself neatly again and was leaning back in his chair, feigning sleep for a moment.

Hearing this shout, Dean immediately stood up full of energy and walked toward the door.

“Regiment Commander, your victory banquet is ready!”

The young Militia Captain said happily upon seeing Dean walk out.

He was happy to have such a generous superior, and also excited to be able to eat a good meal—for this young man who had not yet seen much of the world, a delicious meal was something worth getting excited and looking forward to; in fact, within the Tier Territory, only a few very special festivals each year offered such anticipation.

And this time, there was suddenly an extra one.

How could Theron not be excited?

If he hadn’t remembered that he needed to come and report to Dean, and that the banquet couldn’t start until the protagonist, Dean, appeared, he would have already rushed impatiently toward the white bread smeared with jam and honey, the roast meat, and of course, some vegetables that were very rare in this season.

However, compared to the former, the attraction of the latter was much smaller for Theron.

Especially those white breads; he hadn’t tasted them for almost two years.

“Let’s go, let’s see what good food Ike has brought back for us!”

Seeing the young Militia Captain’s eager look, Dean had no intention of staying any longer, and they once again walked into the Military Camp hall where Dean had been hosted last time.

Only, last time, Dean was considered a guest.

And this time, Dean was the master—

“Regiment Commander!”

“Regiment Commander!”

As Dean appeared, the young people gathered around the dining table shouted and saluted one after another.

Of course, the young people’s eyes were mostly fixed on the food.

“White bread, steak, vegetables… hmm, and is this local wine?”

Dean swept his gaze over the cone-shaped pile of white bread on the dining table and the three large slabs of meat ribs; judging by their size, they should be from a wild boar or a similar animal. The vegetables were contained in an extra-large basin, and adding the familiar-looking wine jug.

It was very clear that the young man Ike had listened to his advice and gone directly to ‘Snow Bear’s Home’ to make the purchases.

“Yes, Regiment Commander, it is very good strong liquor from here!”

The thin Militia Captain nodded.

“Very good. Although it’s a bit harsh on the throat, it’s not bad… You did a great job, Ike!”

Dean did not hold back his praise. Amidst the smile of the thin Militia Captain, he turned around and shouted loudly: “Everyone, the victory banquet begins—aside from the food and wine left for the soldiers on duty, the rest… depends on your own ability! What are you looking at? Whoever grabs it, gets it!”

After saying that, Dean picked up a plate, took some food, dodged two steps to the side, and then did not forget to fan the flames with a remark. The surrounding young people were stunned for a moment, but the next moment, they rushed toward the dining table like a swarm of bees; even the two young Captains were no exception—

“Bastard, Theron, that piece of white bread is mine!”

“Ike, shut up, are you a dog?”

“Damn it, Mah, my wine!”

……

Dean stood to the side, eating while shouting encouragement. At this moment, he completely lacked that pretended noble elegance, possessing only a temperament belonging to a soldier—honest, fiery, and full of blood. In fact, this was Dean’s true temperament; whether acting as a killer, an Assassin, or an underground merchant, he constantly changed his identity, but his essence never changed in the slightest.

Because this was one of the things he considered most precious—the personal teaching and example from that Grand Duchess.

In fact, this pre-meal scrambling was also from the Grand Duchess’s teaching.

Of course, that Grand Duchess was training small-scale team cooperation.

As for Dean?

It was entirely to close the distance between himself and his soldiers—’To become a good general, eating and living together is just the foundation!’

Remembering the Grand Duchess’s words, Dean finished the food on his plate and joined the scrambling team.

Suddenly, the tightly locked battle was scattered into chaos by Dean—his physique far exceeding ordinary people, and those special little tricks, allowed Dean to charge recklessly among these young people, occasionally kicking one and punching another.

At the same time, he didn’t forget to put food into his mouth.

Very quickly, Dean’s actions aroused public anger. When a rash young man charged at Dean and was thrown out by him but received no scolding, the young people immediately shifted their targets and charged at Dean—they had already seen that if they didn’t push Dean out, they would have no hope of eating a big meal.

However, it was clear that the young people had underestimated Dean’s Strength.

They were thrown about until they were dizzy and bruised.

However, these young people from hunter families would not give up easily, especially when delicious food was right in front of them.

Gradually, Dean found it a bit hard to hold on—the physical quality of a normal adult should be ‘1’, and although these young people in front of him had been malnourished for a long time, their foundation was still there, so their Strength and Agility reaching ‘1.1’ or ‘1.2’ was no problem. Dean, on the other hand, currently had [Strength: 1.7][Agility: 1.7][Constitution: 1.7]; although far exceeding these young people, he was not able to directly crush them.

Perhaps facing one, crushing them would be no problem, but facing a group of nearly thirty, Dean was still somewhat outmatched.

Feeling his breathing become rapid and taking a few punches due to his declining Stamina, even though his [Health] hadn’t dropped, Dean still laughed loudly and sprang out of the fighting crowd. However, he still held a piece of white bread in his hand—what he needed was to close the relationship between both sides, not to get beaten up, and of course, to fill his stomach.

“The rest is yours!”

Saying this, Dean sat directly on the main seat of the hall, quietly watching the battle that became even more intense after a brief pause.

Undoubtedly, with Dean’s presence, even without suffering any scolding, the young people’s mindset of distinction between rank still made it hard for them to let loose. But after Dean left, these young people, who had consumed most of their Stamina, became even hungrier, which made them absolutely show no mercy. One look at Theron, with his red swollen nose and a mouth full of Blood, was enough to know.

Just as the battle for the food became increasingly fierce, Ike, who was slightly thin, withdrew from the fighting circle and came before Dean.