Chapter 36: Caught with Neither This Nor That

Draxel, helmet in hand, raised it high and bellowed, “Your lord is captured by me. Surrender and spare yourselves!”

Among the enemy ranks, around twenty Khergit horsemen immediately dismounted, knelt, discarded their weapons, and raised their hands, signaling surrender.

The thirty or so personal guards of Noyan Tulu, however, seemed determined to resist to the end.

“Being stubborn, are you?” Safiya, unrelenting, fired a volley of arrows, bringing down several guards instantly.

Draxel understood these personal guards would remain loyal to Noyan Tulu, whether in life or death, and thus could not be kept. Without hesitation, he decided to join forces with Safiya, leading Xiao Nan and the remaining cavalry to eliminate these last defenders.

With Safiya’s aid, the final sweep was executed efficiently, bringing the larger-scale siege battle to a close…

[You have gained 4500 experience points, 2000 Denars, +50 reputation, and +4 honor points.]

[Current reputation: 150, Honor points: 10.]

[Assessment: Congratulations, once again you’ve won with the help of women. Both Safiya and Ronnie played their parts.]

The system wasn’t wrong. Ronnie provided the army, and Safiya joined the fight. Draxel acknowledged his good fortune.

Draxel couldn’t help but smile, responding, “Yeah, lucky me, right? Are there any other updates?”

[Captured: Noyan Tulu]

[Captured: 20 Level-3 Khergit Horse Archers]

[You lack the ‘Hostage’ skill, hence unable to manage prisoners. The 20 Level-3 Khergit Horse Archers have automatically dispersed.]

‘Wow, what about the guy with neither a nose nor eyes?’ Draxel mused internally.

【Noyan Tulu, being a special character, is automatically detained in the Uxkhal town prison.】

“Fine, fine. Off you go, you useless so-called advantage, you’re much worse than other systems, just scram.”

Draxel then organized Xiao Nan and the remaining light cavalry and veterans to clear the battlefield and provide proper burials for Awang, Xiao Jia, and the other fallen soldiers.

Subsequently, he and Safiya headed back into town to calm the populace and penned a letter to the King of Swadia, detailing the battle results.

While reporting, Draxel also highlighted Uxkhal’s grim situation, hoping the King would send reinforcements to deter further enemy incursions.

In the midst of this, Safiya asked, “Count, do you think the King will send support? They are typically driven by self-interest.”

“If Uxkhal falls and the territory falls under Khergit Khanate control, it will be more disadvantageous for the King. I believe he’ll take action.”

Pausing to think, Draxel added, “Besides, we’ve won this battle. Noyan Tulu’s lands are now poorly defended. The King might attempt to seize them. I doubt the enemy will have the resources to attack us again soon.”

“True, we should be safe for the time being, even without reinforcements.” Safiya agreed, nodding.

After handling these matters, they returned to the lord’s hall.

[Mission Accomplished]

[You’ve successfully defended your land and captured the lord of the Khergit Khanate, Noyan Tulu. He might be worth a substantial ransom.]

‘How much could this blind, noseless man be worth? How much would the Khergit Khanate pay to redeem him?’ Draxel pondered, not expecting much from the ransom.

Despite the victory in war, the cost to Draxel was severe. The town of Uxkhal was akin to a ruin, its prosperity levels were significantly reduced.

Now, he faced the enormous task of rejuvenating the devastated area. This entailed establishing new watchtowers and training grounds in the other two villages and repairing Uxkhal itself.

Additionally, there was the need to assess the remaining light cavalry and veteran soldiers, oversee their upgrades, and press Merchant Marnid to expedite the commercial operations of the grapes.

Moreover, he had to find a way to gather the 7000 denars owed to Ronnie. Thinking of all these unaccomplished tasks gave Draxel a headache.

Worried about overlooking something, he sat down to thoroughly recall if anything had been forgotten.

“Damn it, right, there’s still that accursed Wolf King’s materials to be forged into weapons!”

After going over all these issues, all Draxel wanted was to sleep soundly, to face the next day’s challenges afresh. He would tackle each task one by one tomorrow.

Before sleeping, he visited Safiya and Young Dragon Lein. Both were deep in slumber.

“Good night, my dears,” he whispered, feeling reassured and quickly went back to his room to sleep.

The next morning, greeted by a radiant sun and a sky as blue as if purified, Draxel faced the day with a less scenic thought, “Okay, let’s see which TMD trouble to tackle first…”

He mentally called upon the system for an update on his troops’ status.

[System Alert: Some soldiers who were scattered or severely injured in the war have now regrouped.]

[Your remaining forces include: 1 level-4 Tavern-hired Knight (Xiao Nan), 10 level-3 Tavern-hired Light Cavalry, with 3 eligible for promotion, and 14 level-2 Tavern-hired Veterans, with 10 eligible for upgrade.]

[Other special characters include Dragon Mother Safiya and Merchant Marnid.]

Draxel frowned, his expression filled with distress.

“Damn, the casualties are severe,” he thought. Originally, he had brought back 77 soldiers, plus the 4 Swadian recruits originally in town, making a total of 81.

After the great battle, his forces were reduced to merely 25.

However, on the brighter side, his finances had improved significantly. Merchant Marnid had generated 2200 denars, and the victory in battle added another 2000, plus the existing 500, making him relatively wealthy now.

[Evaluation: You seem to have forgotten about the 7000 denar debt to Ronnie.]

“Ah, right… I’ll deal with that later! For now, let’s upgrade everyone.”

[You’ve acquired 3 Tavern-hired Knights and 10 Tavern-hired Light Cavalry, leaving you with a balance of 4300 denars.]

With these upgrades, Draxel now had a total of 4 Tavern-hired Knights, 17 Tavern-hired Light Cavalry, and 4 Tavern-hired Veterans.

“Those four veterans can continue as guards. I’ll have Xiao Nan command the 21 cavalrymen.”

Draxel mused to himself, contemplating his next steps: the restoration of the town of Uxkhal.

[System Alert: Repairing the town walls, gates, and streets will cost a total of 1300 Denars. Without the ‘Construction’ skill, repairs will take three days.]

“Crap, why don’t I have this skill or that skill?”

[Evaluation: To be blunt, you’re just not that skilled yet. That’s your current level.]