Chapter 311
Chapter 311 – What a Wonderful Battle It Was! (2)
“Chief Officer, time’s up.”
At Wendy’s words, Claude nodded.
“Alright, let’s go.”
Finally, the day of the decisive battle had arrived. Today was the day for the mock battle.
The experimental participants must be starving by now, barely able to move, since they had only been given water and that strange powder for each meal.
Claude moved with a confident expression.
The destination was the large gladiatorial arena located in the Desmond Territory.
The arena where gladiatorial slaves fought was one of the facilities that could hardly be found in any territory other than Desmond’s.
Ghislaine, who had arrived earlier, waved when Claude made his entrance.
“What’s with that expression? You look so relaxed!”
“Ho ho, is there a need to be tense in a game where victory is certain?”
“Didn’t that happen last time too?”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“……”
Sure enough… someone like Claude, who had nothing left to lose, could be this relaxed.
One by one, key figures from the territory began to gather in the audience seats. As the crowd grew, Claude waved his hand.
Kaboom!
Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!
The door on one side of the arena swung open, and 200 soldiers emerged in an orderly fashion.
Each soldier was armed with wooden shields and clubs made from bundles of straw.
To avoid casualties, non-lethal weapons were prepared. Even though they were made of straw, they would still hurt quite a bit if struck.
These soldiers had been trained by Claude for an entire month.
Ghislaine observed the soldiers with a subtle smile.
“What’s this? You said you were getting additional soldiers, and they seem quite prepared?”
“Of course, I took special care of them.”
He had selected only those with strong physiques and power. They were provided the best diet and refined their bodies through proper training and rest.
Plus, he had Piote work them hard to ensure they always maintained peak condition using divine power.
Claude was not someone who only emphasized mind and willpower. He utilized all his knowledge to quickly create excellent elites within a short span of time.
Seeing the soldiers, Ghislaine nodded.
“Indeed, he’s capable. Just a bit foolish in strange ways.”
With all the work in the territory, to nurture soldiers like this in just a month… Claude’s determination to win the bet could be felt vividly through the soldiers.
Claude’s satisfied smile grew as he looked at the soldiers he had prepared.
“Ho ho, this bet is completely different from before.”
In past bets, he could only watch the results unfold, unable to do anything himself.
But now, with the soldiers he raised, he could turn the tables. The bet this time was about who would win.
Although he didn’t expect those who had been starving for a month to be at their best, he didn’t let his guard down and prepared thoroughly.
He had also repeatedly instructed the soldiers to defeat the opposing soldiers decisively.
Once Claude’s prepared soldiers were in formation, Ghislaine gestured again.
Creeeak…
The door on the opposite side slowly opened.
After a long wait, no one emerged. Everyone stretched their necks to peer inside, but dense darkness shrouded the interior.
“Ugh…”
After yet more time passed, the starving participants emerged, screaming.
Ten knights, twenty elves, and twenty soldiers made their appearance. They were far fewer in number compared to Claude’s prepared soldiers. The count was reduced simply because the knights were included.
All of them appeared staggering, armed only with clubs made of straw. They had even discarded their shields, claiming they were too heavy.
Claude smiled, confident of victory.
“Ha! They’ve completely turned into zombies, huh? Of course, it makes sense; there’s no way they could be normal after a month of starving.”
They all looked noticeably thinner than before. Their eyes were sunken, and their strides seemed weak.
Especially Gordon, whose muscles had shrunk from grotesquely large to just looking somewhat cool.
Unlike Claude, Belinda looked slightly surprised and her eyes were shining.
“The muscle hasn’t diminished as much as expected? Their eyes are still alive.”
As an assassin, her keen observation skills allowed her to quickly assess the condition of the participants.
While they certainly looked fatigued and drained, it appeared that they had actually shed excess weight. It seemed plausible they had been intentionally eating less and exercising.
Their eyes were indeed alive. Something burning like anger filled them.
As Ghislaine gestured once more, Gillian shouted loudly.
“Start!”
Kaboom!
Claude’s soldiers raised their shields in front. They only had to defend so that the experimental participants couldn’t break through.
Meanwhile, the participants were to break through the soldiers and access the delicious food behind.
“Uh heh heh heh…”
Gordon and Lucas, who led the charge, stumbled forward. The elves and soldiers trudged along behind them.
It was really no different from zombies approaching.
Thud, thud, thud…
Slowly at first, the participants’ pace picked up. At some point, they began to run wildly.
“They’re coming!”
The soldiers braced their shields tightly. It was said they just had to block until they got tired; despite the knights being present, everyone had been unable to eat well, so they thought they could endure.
But that was their mistake.
“Get out of the way!!!”
Gordon shouted fiercely and swung his straw club.
Kaboom!
“Keek?”
A soldier trying to block the attack was struck and went sprawling.
Following him, Lucas and the knights also swung their clubs wildly.
Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom!
The sound of clumsy straw smack was extraordinary. Surprisingly, faint blue light emanated from the knights’ straw clubs.
Claude jumped up from his seat.
“W-What’s going on? How are they still in such good condition? How are they using mana?”
Even if they were starving, those who could handle mana should have been able to last longer than those who couldn’t. The mana sustains life.
But after not eating properly for a month, it should have been normal for even knights to have significantly diminished mana. They shouldn’t look like they’d never starved.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
With around ten knights moving fiercely, it was hard for even the strong soldiers to hold their ground.
Of course, these soldiers were also elite trained in their own right, swinging their clubs and holding steady, but their opponents weren’t just knights.
“Hey, you bastard!”
Ascon flew into the soldiers with a furious expression. His eyes were wild.
“Damn it, motherfers, you bds, son of a…!”
Vulgar curses flew messily from his mouth. The soldiers, offended by insults to their parents, swung their clubs with renewed anger.
“Just die!”
“Give me food!”
“AAAH!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Both sides were absolutely caught up in a brawl.
Though the knights had significant skill, the soldiers weren’t pushovers either. Given their power and bulk, they weren’t easily overwhelmed.
If they were fighting with swords, it would have been difficult for the soldiers to block knights using mana.
However, pouring mana into straw clubs only made them a bit denser. Plus, all the soldiers were heavily armed, making it tough for knights to strike to the death.
Ultimately, both sides had no choice but to engage in a fierce melee.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“AAAH!”
Screams echoed all over the chaotic arena.
Though the soldiers had numbers, the knights pushed forward methodically, one by one felling opponents. The elves and soldiers behind also pulled attention and added their strength.
Claude watched the scene with an indifferent expression.
“……”
Though they had not yet broken through fully, the verification was almost done. If the knights had been appropriately armed and used mana, half the soldiers would already be dead.
Ghislaine shot Claude a grin.
“Looks like this verification should suffice?”
“……”
After a moment of silence, Claude suddenly jumped to his feet and shouted.
“Hey! Hold them back! Don’t let them through!”
If they could fight like that, the only option left was to bully them verbally. No matter how well they fought, if they couldn’t break through the soldiers, it would mean their combat power had diminished.
After all, the bet was not about whether they could fight, but whether they could break through the soldiers and eat the food.
With forty troops including ten knights, they were expected to pierce through 200 soldiers.
The soldiers Claude had prepared were determined to hold their ground. They had agreed on a rather decent reward for holding out.
Alfoy, the wizards, Max, and the Resolver watched the battle with anxious eyes.
They were all sweating profusely and had gone pale. No matter how they looked at it, the soldiers seemed destined to be breached.
Eventually, Alfoy, known as “the man who defeated a god,” closed his eyes and clasped his hands tightly, shouting.
“Goddess! Please! Help us!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“AAAH!”
Gordon and Lucas displayed exceptional strength. They unleashed the accumulated stress they had been bottling up.
They figured they could endure even a few hits with straw clubs.
“Damn it! F! You csuckers! F! F!”
Ascon lost the fight long ago and lay on the floor. Even while curled up and clutching his head, he would not stop cursing the other side’s parents.
Most of the elves and soldiers were already down. Regardless of their hunger, with just them alone, they couldn’t possibly withstand 200 elite soldiers.
However, thanks to them holding onto legs and providing distraction, the knights managed to bring down more than half of the opposing soldiers.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The knights continued to advance, beating soldiers with straw. For those who followed Ghislaine and went through numerous real battles, this was just child’s play.
Eventually, they even began to encase their bodies in mana and roughly attempted a breakthrough. After all, since their opponents were hitting with straw, a little pain was all they had to endure.
Pow!
While swinging the club in a frenzy and taking blows, Lucas realized at some point that no one was in front of him.
“I broke through.”
All the surrounding soldiers were down. Though there were some still standing, the mock battle ended the moment they pierced the formation.
The knights who followed Lucas tossed aside the straw and shouted.
“We won!”
“Bwahahahaha!”
“That food is ours!”
The knights rushed straight toward the food. Various meats, fruits, and even liquor were laid out as if to celebrate their struggles.
Seeing the knights gobbling down food crazily, Claude murmured.
“This… is strange? I clearly felt hungry after tasting it?”
How did they manage to bear a month of just that? Even after that, they could still fight like this.
Ghislaine stifled laughter as she observed Claude’s perplexed expression.
The scholars and wizards from his previous life had focused only on reducing volume for portability, ensuring energy would last longer when consumed, so a slight hunger was inevitable.
Eating the same thing repeatedly without variety was bound to get tiresome. But it was still an excellent nutrient source for the battlefield.
In reality, hunger wasn’t the crucial factor on the battlefield. What mattered was constantly providing nutrients to keep movements up under extreme tension.
Since Claude had never experienced the front lines, he made the mistake of judging only by regular human standards.
Even if he’d known, he probably wouldn’t have been able to survive for a month on just that either.
Ghislaine nudged the dazed Claude and said.
“So? Looks like the outcome is decided?”
Claude glanced around, his eyes trembling as he saw everyone waiting for his acknowledgment of defeat.
“Ha…”
With a sigh directed towards the sky, Claude let out a self-deprecating laugh this time.
“Well… I suppose it can’t be helped. Who would have thought the lord would succeed again? Where the heck did you learn all this?”
For whatever the reason, he had to accept defeat.
That’s what a “gambler” does.
“Very well. I concede.”
Yet with nothing gained, he felt surprisingly refreshed this time.
“Ah, ahh, ahhh…”
On the other hand, Alfoy, the wizards, Max, and the Resolver were trembling, producing strange sounds.
Max and the Resolver had already lost thirty years. The wizards had become slaves for sixty years including the previous bet. Thank god they weren’t dead within those sixty years.
They all stared at Claude with their mouths agape.
When Claude’s eyes met theirs, he could only shake his head with a bitter smile as if there was nothing he could do.
He lightly nudged Alfoy with his fist and spoke.
“I lost, but you fought well. It was a truly wonderful battle. Right, bro?”
“Uh, uh…”
Seeing Claude smiling, Alfoy raised his hand. He wanted to shoot off some magic like old times, but his hands kept shaking, and he couldn’t focus mentally.
“Ugh, uhhhh…”
He felt like he should hit that smiling face with a fireball.
“Damn…”
Thud.
Alfoy fainted before finishing his sentence.
*
The new combat food was proven effective.
Having a means to endure even when supplies were cut off or delayed would undoubtedly be an enormous advantage in wartime.
Everyone praised Ghislaine until their mouths were dry.
“Fantastic! Truly our lord!”
“The operational radius in warfare will increase tremendously.”
“It’s also sufficient for emergency supplies in critical situations!”
Ghislaine nodded and spoke.
“We will establish combat food factories across the territory. Once a sufficient quantity is produced, we will distribute it to the residents, instructing them to keep some for emergencies. And we need to research storage methods and maintenance periods to ensure quality. It should last several years in theory, but it may vary based on how it’s stored.”
“Understood.”
Though there was much work ahead, the retainers did not oppose it since it was a vital task.
Claude also applauded in agreement.
“Indeed, our lord is remarkable. Quite an extraordinary individual!”
“……Sure.”
Claude truly seemed at ease without a shred of selfishness.
Ghislaine looked at him, shook her head slightly, then turned to everyone.
“I think it’s about time you all helped me with my training.”
Everyone’s eyes widened in shock at the sudden statement.
