Bondrewd pondered the information that had fallen on his head for quite some time. The man was as focused as possible, and those present were frankly afraid to disturb him, even through the helmet you could feel the workings of his mind. "This is very interesting, but unfortunately there is too little information, well nothing we can wait a little, and then I will act according to the circumstances."
The lord looked around the room, the aura was not very good, one could say tense. Putting aside useless thoughts now, the man spoke.
"Let's continue, the weapons will be produced by the blacksmith guild, please maintain the utmost secrecy, and more." Lord of Dawn turned towards Avitus. "What about the size of the army?"
The king was somewhat embarrassed by such a question, usually it was his cue, but with the arrival of Lord Bondrewd things had changed abruptly and the monarch gave an account without a shadow of embarrassment on his face.
"Badly, we have suffered significant losses. The siege of the necromancers and the Minor rebellion have thinned us out, and by preliminary calculations half of our personnel are still on their feet. Another part of the rebels have gone on the run and left the capital. Additional forces have been sent to capture and destroy them, which..."
"We're so short right now, I get it, but be specific about how many people we have left." People don't win wars, they are won by numbers - Bondrewd knew that very well.
"Thirty-seven thousand men, there are still wounded, but even with them we will not gain much more than forty thousand." The monarch's words sounded like a verdict, Silia was not a big country, but for her such an army was too small, and if we take into account the current situation the situation was catastrophic.
"We need replenishments, and significant at least one hundred thousand, better one hundred and fifty and most of them should be armed with new weapons." The Lord's obvious words shocked those present.
"Lo... Lord Bondrewd these are very good words, but the question remains, where can we get so many people?" Each of those present, as it usually happens, thought about the problem from his own perspective, Avitus was shocked, his feudal worldview did not allow him to think of something else, this system was established before his great-grandfather and he considered it not his competence to change it. Aivina's face sank, she realised that she would be paying for the banquet, the royal family had nothing to take from her, and she preferred not to mention the Mages' Guild.
Mira smiled stupidly, she didn't care about such problems at all, mentally she was already in her laboratory and together with Bondrewd was preparing new discoveries for the world. The girl did not take her eyes off the Lord, this man was one of the few who aroused her genuine interest.
Bondrewd simply remained silent. "Why do I have to chew them up every step of the way, they're grown men, but they're like little children."
"Recruit an army of serfs," Bondrewd said loudly and clearly, his words literally pulled everyone present out of their own stream of thoughts by the scruff of the neck.
"It is impossible, the nobles will not support it, they will revolt." Issuing one argument after another, Avitus knew in his heart of hearts change could not be avoided, but he couldn't imagine what kind. "Tiresome." - Bondrewd thought to himself. Lord of Dawn increased the brightness of the light on his visor, pretending as if he was preparing for a shot.
"Auitus - that's not a suggestion, that's an order, and as for your concerns, you don't have to worry, I'll take care of it." The tent was filled with an aura of mild bloody madness. Avitutus surmised how Lord Bondrewd was going to deal with the issues that had arisen and spoke hastily.
"Bondrewd I suggest another option," Bondrewd turned in his direction, and the king wandered his eyes slightly, to the questioning looks of the two girls.
"If you marry my daughter, you will automatically become crown prince, and the nobles will see you as their man, and their discontent will be nipped in the bud by your authority." The girls' faces contorted beyond recognition, both of them had their own plans for the lord, and marrying him was definitely not part of them.
"Your Majesty, aren't you fucking nuts," the girls shouted in unison. The usual quarrel in this tent had begun.
"You want to shove a lord into your family, you cheeky bastard?" Aivinia shouted.
"Aivnia is right, your majesty, if Lord Bondrewd joins any of us, the balance will be upset." Avitus stubbornly endured the verbal attacks with a grey complexion and a stony face.
"Hey, answer us something?" Aivina didn't stop, her feminine nature was raging, a promising man was being taken right out from under her nose. This could not be allowed to happen. And then the monarch's patience ran out.
"Then what do you propose, what is your plan?" the king's face was plastered with a sneering grin. "I think I understand why you're getting so excited, the marriage will be political, so you two can jump on the Lord as much as you want, if he allows it." A smile graced the king's lips, and the girls fell silent with a guilty look on their faces.
"Am I disturbing you gentlemen?" Bondrewd, who had hitherto been silent, suddenly broke into the dialogue. The girls' faces were redder than a tomato. After a sobering pause, Lord of Dawn continued.
"I consider Avitus's plan to be quite adequate, but the wedding will have to be held as soon as possible, I have plans to leave the kingdom." The room was again tense silence, Bondrewd did not tell them his plans, but no one dared to contradict the monster in human form.
"Lord Bondrewd, where do you want to go?" Mira whispered quietly.
"To the Baharut Empire, of course. The Necromancers are still a threat and must be eliminated. We need allies and the Empire is the first candidate. This concludes our meeting." Said the Lord and rushed towards the exit, the company of the cream of society he was quite tired, and on a subconscious level he wanted to leave this place. But at the exit he stopped and said.
"Mira, there's something we need to discuss, I'll drop by your tower tomorrow." Lord Bondrude left, leaving behind a bitter aftertaste. Mira was the only one who was cheerful, and she smiled broadly in Aivina's face, encouraged by the Lord's last phrase. The latter was not particularly confused and replied.
"I don't think that the Lord will throw himself at the bones," Aivina said with a sneer, putting a hand on her large breasts, Mira kept her playful expression, gave the head of the trade guild a stern look and left the tent. Aivina followed her. Only the king remained in the tent, "Fuck, I never thought that the fate of my kingdom would depend on a womaniser and a couple of mutts." Sighing tiredly Avitus stepped outside, the sun was warming the forest glade and it was hurting his eyes. Having looked around the camp with a managerial glance in his heart, a faint hope sprang up. People were actively mastering the new equipment.
"Time to get to work, time is of the essence."
...
Some time ago.
A powerful explosion went off like a storm in a clear sky, barely hiding behind the nearest hillock, Dick and Grim pressed tightly into the ground. The shock wave swept right over their heads, bringing with it a sea of grey-brown dust. After lying there for a few minutes, the men rose to their feet and opened their mouths in amazement.
The mountain was literally missing a whole chunk, a huge chunk the size of a small town. "Whoa, whoa, what the fuck was that?" Grim couldn't contain his amazement, stretching each word like a child.
"As my suzerain once put it, This science, bitches!" Dick did not fully understand the meaning of this expression, and the word bitch, he added from himself, but what he saw was astonishing. Multi-shot guns, rockets, and the final bang left no chance to be indifferent. Dick turned to Grim; the old man stood like a statue, unable to move, which Dick hastened to take advantage of.
"Well, old man, soon to retire, with such weapons necromancers, and all those around will be crushed." Finishing his verbal performance the brigand clapped his mentor on the shoulder. He didn't expect such a setup and fell on his back, losing his balance. Raising a cloud of fresh dust.
"Cough, cough. They both coughed and grinned oddly. Fuck you, you little cunt, I'm going to have a field day with you, you need someone else to teach the likes of you." Both men laughed, the jokes were their constant companions, neither took offence at such invectives, the men had been through too much together, and Grim saw Dick as much more than just an apprentice, though he tried to hide it.
"Will they give us those?" Grim asked. The answer was not long in coming.
"Of course not, not for you, but I guarantee you a good cane." Grim laughed to himself, but seeing the slightly faded eyes of his teacher and a slight sadness on his face. Hastened to answer in earnest.
"Of course they will, you are an experienced warrior, and I am his vassal, I think there will be no problem, but you are right about the new warriors needing to be trained." Dick felt guilty, so he spoke quickly, trying to cheer up his old friend. His sadness was blown away like a wind, and the Man roared like a horse, through the laughter the militia commander shouted.
"Dick. You're so thoughtful I'm going to cry." Dick looked at the teacher with an uncomprehending face, and when he understood, he shouted without restraint.
"You cheeky old man." After a friendly skirmish, the men had a long discussion about what they had seen on the range, and did not hesitate to express their vision of a future army that would conquer the world.