The Overlord of Blood and Iron (WN)
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chapter-23
Kang Chul-In dove straight to post-war management. But as soon as he started, the veins in Kang Chul-In’s forehead bulged. It happened after he checked the amount of gold among the spoils.
What is this idiot?
Unfortunately, the gold that he had won from Kimura was only two thousand gold.
Two thousand gold.
If you estimated 1 gold to be about 400 dollars, two thousand gold would be about $800,000. It was a lot of money.However, that was not enough. It was incomparable to the amount that Kang Chul-In had expected.
Control yourself, calm down!
Kang Chul-In had to fight the urge to run to Kimura and grab him by the collar. He mustered all his patience to calm himself.
It was too little.
The price of the Burrow lands would be at most 4,000 gold, but aside from the two thousand that he had acquired, where had the remaining four thousand gone?
“Lord.”
Lucia, who was holding Laputa’s Soul Core gingerly, asked carefully when she noticed Kang Chul-In shaking in anger.“Is there something wrong?”
“There is too little.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“The gold that we took from him is too little. There is only two thousand gold.”
Lucia was also surprised at what Kang Chul-In said.
“Two thousand? There is no way! There needs to be at least four thousand!”
” I think he spent a lot. He probably spent excessively after seeing the money.”
“Oh my God!”
“There is nothing we can do. We can’t tell him to return gold he has already spent.”
“That is true.”
“Lucia.”
“Yes, Lord.”
“That’s why.”
“Please speak.”
“Can you get me 500 gold from my private reserves?”
Kang Chul-In said, a little embarrassed.
Private reserves.
It was personal money only for the Lord. More simply put, it was an allowance of sorts for the Lord. It was usually decided after consulting the Secretary, but Kang Chul-In was embarrassed because the financial state of Laputa was quite bad. They were very close to being in financial trouble, but as soon as some money came in, he had asked for personal money.
“Sigh.”
Lucia sighed.
Kang Chul-In, a bit embarrassed, pretended to do something else.
“Lord.”
“Speak.”
“I would have given you a thousand gold if you asked without hesitation.”
“There is a saying: a man is able to be proud if his wallet is full.”
“Yes.”
“If you were to maintain your dignity, you would need at least a thousand gold. I will give you a thousand.”
Lucia had big hands.
“This Lucia, even if we have to save and go without, will give you enough allowance! Even if all the people have to eat boiled cattle feed instead of bread!”
But she must have also known how to apply pressure.
“Give me only 500 gold.”
“Is that enough?”
“It is more than enough.”
Kang Chul-In successfully obtained 500 gold in allowance.
It was then.
From far away, Timothy ran with his short legs towards him and kneeled in front of Kang Chul-In.
“Lord!”
“This Timothy, after much thought, has decided to serve you, Lord! Although I am an unfaithful person who is changing Lords, I will give all I have to serve you! Please take me!”
“Stand, Timothy.”
Kang Chul-In smiled widely and raised Timothy to his feet.
“You are an important asset that will take care of my territory’s administrative duties and distributions.”
“I will appoint you as the territory’s executive official. Also, I will also entrust you with the military distributions. Your title…”
Kang Chul-In thought for a moment, then turned his head and smirked widely.
“…is administrative supply officer.”
“Administrative supply officer!”
“Yes.”
“Entrusting such an important task to me; I am truly grateful!”
Timothy was crying as he thanked Kang Chul-In again and again. However, Kang Chul-In’s intentions were black and evil.
Heh heh. I will bury you in papers.
Timothy had the skill of being more and more effective the more and more he was overworked. In order to make him the most productive, night shifts were a must.
“I will go attend to post-war management, so you rest well for the time being.”
“Yes, Lord!”
Kang Chul-In, after sending Timothy away, went immediately to his Royal Guard to reward them for their contributions.
“Hooray! Hooray!”
“Glory to the Lord!”
“Congratulations on the win!”
Laputa’s soldiers congratulated Kang Chul-In and celebrated their victory.
“Tonight, I will send beer and sausages, so everyone, eat and drink to your heart’s content!”
Kang Chul-In suggested a meal to comfort the soldiers and reward them for their hard work.
“Woah!!!”
“This is the best!”
As young, energetic men, the soldiers were extremely happy at the news of beer.
He met the people of the territory as well.
A couple of the women in the territory gifted Kang Chul-In bouquets of flowers or necklaces made from flowers. Amongst them was also Lana, Rustler’s daughter.
“Milord”
Lana, who was not yet of age, blushed and looked embarrassed.
What the? What’s wrong with her?
Kang Chul-In was taken aback by her, who was fidgeting, but he did not show it.
“Lord… Lana is”
Rustler’s only daughter spoke and lowered her eyes to the ground. Her ears were so red that it seemed like they would explode at any moment.
It was then.
Commander James quickly ran in and shouted towards Kang Chul-In, drowning out Lana’s voice.
“Lord! Lord!”
“What is it, James?”
“I have gathered the surviving Ants and the fire toad in the drill grounds!”
“Right, I will go now.”
Kang Chul-In turned towards the drill grounds right away. It was important to deal with the enemy troops.
Lana, who could not finish her sentence, puffed up her cheeks and glared at James, but no one noticed.
Kang Chul-In arrived on the drill grounds and looked at the enemy troops from the reviewing stand. They looked horrible, with all of them being horribly burned.
“Lucia!”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Bring all the honey from storage and feed them.”
“Yes, Lord!”
Honey for ants was the best health food and the medicine that cures all. For those that were insects, sugar was the most nutritious.
“James!”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Give them potions. Take care of them so their wounds will heal well.”
“Yes, my Lord!”
After giving the orders, Kang Chul-In left the stand and headed towards the leader of the Ants.
“You are probably hurting a lot and also very depressed.”
“….!”
Verna, the leader of the Ants, opened its eyes wide at Kang Chul-In’s comforting words.
“I feel pity.”
“N-no…”
“But what can we do? War is all like this. If I did not want to die, I had to kill you guys instead.”
“I know….”
Verna lowered her head.
“You must hate me and despise me… but what can we do? The Burrows are under my leadership now.”
“Yes, Lord.”
“I wish to entrust you with the architecture of this territory.”
“….!”
Listening to the tempting offer, Verna opened its eyes wide.
“I will not send you to battle. Building. I will only ask you to build. Would you help me and build grand buildings in this territory?”
“D-do you mean that, Lord?”
“I know that your happiness is work and only work. I do not need anything else. I want only work and not fighting power from you.”
“Then!”
“Will you do it?”
“Yes, Lord! No, yes, milord! I will serve you!”
Verna bent her six legs and bowed as best as she could.
“I will serve you to the best of my ability!”
“I will serve you to the best of my ability!”
“I will serve you to the best of my ability!”
All the ants all vowed their loyalty to Kang Chul-In.
Simpletons.
Kang Chul-In smiled on the inside.
Honestly, this kind of show was not needed, for he was able to control them, but there was a big difference between doing it and not. There was a difference in loyalty.
[Gained +30 Favorability from the Ants] [Loyalty of the Ants rose from 60 to 75]
It was effective, as expected.
Ants are great for labor.
Kang Chul-In wanted the ants a lot.
There were dwarves who specialized in architecture, but dwarves were more useful in craftsmanship or as blacksmiths. For simply building architecture, ants were the best in construction sites. They were manual laborers down to the bone and were a great labor force, so they would be extremely helpful in internal affairs.
Also, they enjoyed doing manual labor, so he did not need to feel guilty when putting them to work. They would not complain no matter how hard he worked them.
“James.”
“Yes, Lord.”
“Follow me with the flame toad.”
Kang Chul-In left the drill grounds and finally went to the place where the territory’s blacksmith worked.
“Oh, welcome, my Lord!”
The old man who worked as the blacksmith of the territory was called Vulkanos.
“This guy, can you raise him well?”
Kang Chul-In handed the flame toad’s leash to the old man.
“This guy!”
“This place is the foundation that determines our territory’s military force. The blacksmith’s workshop needs to be well-stocked so that good weapons can be made.”
“T-thank you, my Lord! Gifting me with such a good monster!”
Vulkanos kneeled and bowed.
For a blacksmith who worked with metal, a flame toad would be extremely helpful. It would be a great asset and friend.
“I will support you well from now on.”
Kang Chul-In was a conquest Lord. There was no way he would be stingy in providing support for where the weapons were made.
“This old man will pay back with twice, no, ten times more than what you have supported me with!”
With that, the post-war administration was finished. Night had fallen, and torches were hung all over the territory.
I can finally go home.
Kang Chul-In was planning to return to Earth as soon as the sun rose tomorrow. He would visit his mother and also check on the status of the search for Kwak Jung.
The next morning, Kang Chul-In stood in the magic square that lay in the center of the Lord Hall. However, he could not see the person that he was supposed to see.
“This idiot, where did he go?”
Kang Chul-In asked, and James’s face stiffened.
“It’s that…”
“Speak.”
“It seems like he hid somewhere.”
“What?”
The person that Kang Chul-In was looking for was none other than Kimura. He was going to take him along when he returned to Earth.
“There were a couple of people who heard him whining that he did not want to go home.”
“He doesn’t want to go home?”
“Apparently, he is scared of his home and has said he would much rather stay here.”
“What is he?”
Kang Chul-In put his face in his hands as if annoyed. He had spared Kimura’s life, yet he didn’t want to go home. He could not understand what kind of messed-up situation this was.
“Find him before I get back,” Kang Chul-In ordered.
Then, a man who seemed like he would be handy with a pair of handcuffs answered.
“Yes, milord.”
Podolski smiled wide and answered. On his waist was a pair of silver handcuffs that gleamed in the light.
“Leave it to me, milord!”
Was it just he who felt assured that it would get done when Podolski answered?
Kang Chul-In shook his head and activated the Warp Gate. Returning to Earth was the priority.
