Slam!
"Ugh!" Sir Ulrich yelled without realizing it. The world spun. It felt like his cheek had disappeared. Something burst out of his gaping mouth. It flew and scattered in the air. It was only then that Sir Ulrich could vaguely make out what was flying into the distance.
Teeth? Three white molars were separately spinning through the air. The surrounding droplets of spit and blood had intertwined, tracing out a complex line of trajectory.
This is… interesting.
He felt strangely dazed, like time had slowed down around him. Within his view, there were teeth and blood flying in the air. He had never seen anything like this in his twenty-six years of living. It was funny, but it made him dizzy.
"Uh, ugh."
His legs lost their strength. He was bent over at the waist. The ground came closer. Against his wishes, his head hit the ground with a hard thud. He was forced to kiss the ground as his lips smooshed down. Blood seeped out of his mouth again.
That was when Sir Ulrich's senses finally returned to normal. Heavy pain from his busted lip, knocked-out molars, and broken cheekbone came with it.
"Aargh!?" It hurt. It really hurt. It hurt way too much! "What! C-cough!" He tightly held one side of his face. The pain and shock made it impossible to think. He tried to understand the situation.
How did I get hit? An accident? If not, an attack? By whom? He frantically racked his confused brain. However, his furious worrying was no good. The answer was offered far too easily, along with the shovel coming down toward him.
"What, what!?"
Bam!
"Urk!" The shovel came straight down and landed on his solar plexus.
He couldn't breathe. His waist was bent like a shrimp. He looked up to see who dared to attack him. Sir Ulrich's eyes soon widened.
"Young…? Ugh!"
Bang!
The shovel hit his face again. His head rolled sharply over as his face was further battered.
But Sir Ulrich couldn't give a proper response. He had already received too many blows, one after another, in his defenseless state.
H-how come? Why?
He couldn't understand. He couldn't respond. He couldn't even dream of standing up. The shovel Lloyd wielded was too deadly for him to make any hasty attempts.
Faced with this ruthless violence, Sir Ulrich did nothing but groan and wrap his arms around his face and head.
Pow, bam! Slam! Whack!
"Gah! Ahh!" Sir Ulrich's face crumpled in fear. An odd determination was embedded in his mind, which was howling in pain.
F-I'll really die at this rate! It was true.
The glimpse of Lloyd he could see ahead of him, through the crack between his arms wrapped around his face, said it all. The troublesome young master's face was proving it. His eyes were too calm.
Of course. I need to stay calm to push down someone stronger than me.
Bam!
Lloyd swung his shovel relentlessly. All the while, he thought about how Sir Ulrich would get up if he was even given the slightest chance to catch his breath. If that happened, then his plan would go awry.
After all, I did successfully launch this attack. Do you think I'll let go of this chance? Me? The first rule for successfully initiating an attack was to ambush Sir Ulrich without ever giving him a chance to react. Thanks to that, he had complete control over the situation.
Even if he's a knight, he can't help but collapse if he receives this kind of assault without warning. This was especially true if you were a low-class swordsman who could just barely conjure a mana heart. Like in The Knight of Blood and Iron. A few of the baron's knights he read about in the novel came to mind. Sir Ulrich was the most incompetent knight of them all.
He thought poorly of Lloyd, even with that status. He pretty much looked down on him.
That's why I called you today to make an example out of you. It'll be problematic if more people try to sabotage everything I do. At least in the fiefdom, that is. A person's determination was important.
If you gave in during a conflict? If excessive generosity became a habit? Afterward, sacrifice and kindness would become an expectation. You would be reduced to a pushover.
He had very painfully learned this truth in South Korea. Especially on construction sites. A few of the old men there had awful personalities. The so-called mentors. There were also many warmhearted people…
However, his luck was bad. An ill-tempered mentor became his co-worker. He had to suffer all day. His mentor nitpicked over nothing and usually cursed at him the entire time he was working. He endured it at first. It felt wrong to fight back. He just laughed and tried to be the good guy.
But that wasn't the right answer.
One day, the man, his so-called mentor, insulted his parents. He had made a derogatory joke about Lloyd's family.
How did he respond that day?
I did this.
Swack! The shovel Lloyd wielded struck Sir Ulrich's shin this time.
"Ackkk!"
Sir Ulrich, who was just then struggling to stand up, clutched his shin and drew back.
However, Lloyd's face didn't change. It only gets easier in the future after I flip out on them once.
It was true then too. He lost control of himself the moment he heard his family being insulted. Immediately, he bashed his mentor with the shovel he was holding.
Not surprisingly, the site turned into chaos. But afterward?
Things got easier. No one readily bothered him as they did before. In a way, it was an opportunity that made him realize one truth about life.
That's why I called you to the site. Out of all the soldiers of this fiefdom, you're the weakest one. You were just barely able to create a mana heart recently. I thought an attack like this would be enough to teach you a lesson.
Lloyd based the plan on events in the novel. He predicted that Sir Ulrich would fight back or act arrogantly toward him at least once. And his prediction was right on the mark. His punishment would serve as a warning to others. He became an example.
Pow! Bang! Slam! Lloyd didn't stop his shovel.
A scream finally burst out of Sir Ulrich's mouth. "Agh! Aghh! Young master! Why?"
"Why else? It's because of your lack of loyalty."
Bam!
Every time he swung the shovel, Lloyd's words were more ice cold.
"Now, try repeating what you said earlier."
"Wait… Agh!"
Bam!
"But…"
Bam!
"Argh!"
"But nothing. Should I set the record straight? Does it look like I gathered all the soldiers without notice for personal reasons? Hm?"
Bash!
"Aaargh!"
"Do you see what is written here? This is an order to mobilize soldiers. It's an official document that was approved by my father, the baron, and issued by the magistrate. So…"
Wham!
"It means you dared to betray your honor as a knight and refused a legitimate order from the lawful lord of this estate to whom you pledged an oath of loyalty. In other words…"
Thwack!
"One: you disobeyed the lord's orders."
Thwack!
"Two: you dishonored the lord and failed your duty as a knight."
Whack!
"Three: you have thrown away your own rights and honor."
Baang!
Swung fully like a golf club hitting a tee shot, the shovel flew up. The flat side of the shovel slammed up under Sir Ulrich's chin. That was the end.
Spray!
The blood droplets from the violently beaten Sir Ulrich were flying into the air along with the motion of his head. Sir Ulrich crumpled like a puppet without its strings. He passed out.
"Hal." Lloyd caught his labored breath. He felt like his lungs would burst from the first intense exercise he had done in a while. But it was worth it.
I must get rid of everyone in my way somehow.
The Knight of Blood and Iron. The Frontera barony had been introduced to in the very scene was a mess. This was proven by the fact that Sir Ulrich, a man who had no loyalty or talent, was made a knight.
A guy like that needs to be nipped in the bud as soon as possible. Afterward, I need to fill in his empty spot with someone promising. That's the only way this barony will have a future.
This fiefdom would be his main source of income for the rest of his life. If he wanted to exploit and grow this place long-term, he needed to bring in more talent.
He wiped the sweat dripping down his forehead with his arm and looked around. "What are you looking at? Is there a show going on?"
The soldiers, who had stopped working to watch, flinched and turned their heads.
Lloyd gestured to a soldier near him. "You here, and the two there. Come over here."
"Yes, yes…" The three soldiers rushed over at full speed.
Lloyd pointed his chin toward the sprawled-out Sir Ulrich. "Put him away. And bring Sir Bayern from the mansion."
"Yes!"
They had just plainly seen what happened to the soldier who disobeyed Lloyd. As soon as he gave the order, the three soldiers moved at lightning speed. The three carried Sir Ulrich, who had swollen up like a balloon and collapsed. They hurriedly walked back to the mansion.
****
"I heard you called for me, Master Lloyd."
A knight with a sturdy figure and rugged face arrived at the site. It was Sir Bayern, who he had ordered the soldiers to bring earlier. Lloyd put on a satisfied smile as soon as he saw Sir Bayern. He looked better than what I imagined from reading the novel.
Sir Bayern was one of the five knights of the Frontera barony. Like Javier, he didn't betray his lord, even at the very end. His loyalty was verified by the novel. This is the kind of person I should invest in. If the novel is correct, his skills are just ordinary, but I need to prioritize people I can trust.
Sir Bayern was an honest and faithful man. That's why Lloyd's goal was to entrust Sir Bayern with the construction team. Well, I created this situation to begin with.
He called out Sir Ulrich — who would cause harm in the future — and put a stop to his protests for his troops to see. The punishment would serve as a warning to others.
Then he called for Sir Bayern, who he had originally planned to entrust with this position.
That was how he intended to get rid of everyone he needed to, by setting the right mood onsite and appointing Sir Bayern to serve as a positive example.
Lloyd addressed Sir Bayern. "Yes, I was looking for you. I am thinking of entrusting you with overseeing the site today. How do you feel about that?"
"I will do anything you ask."
"Good. It actually isn't much. The soldiers are collecting the red clay here and moving it to the construction site. Supervise the soldiers to make sure they aren't goofing off too much during the job. Obviously, give them sufficient breaks from time to time. It'll be problematic if they pass out from overworking."
"Understood."
He didn't make a single complaint.
Sir Bayern most likely heard of what happened. But he didn't show any signs of it.
That made him seem even more trustworthy. Thus, Lloyd entrusted the clay collection site to Sir Bayern and headed elsewhere. He went to the heated flooring construction site. There were carpenters, blacksmiths, masons, plasterers, and other workers waiting for him. Of course, there wasn't anything close to admiration in the eyes of the artisans looking at him.
They were worried about why this scumbag troublemaker called for them. They were disgusted by him, and they wanted to avoid getting involved with him as much as circumstance permitted. Their eyes seemed to be filled only with those sorts of feelings.
Lloyd didn't mind any of the looks from these craftspeople. He calmly walked in front of them. "Starting now, I will instruct you about the design concept and construction methods for the heated floors. Listen carefully."
"What…?" The artisans tilted their heads. In their eyes, Lloyd was a troublesome young master who never worked a day in his life. Despite them being old hands at construction, he was trying to teach them something new. It was like trying to teach a fish how to swim or blow fumes up a dragon's snout. Scornful emotions rose in them. But that didn't last long.
"Let's look at this first. Attention everyone."
Swoosh!
Lloyd spread the construction blueprint for the floors in front of them. It was an intricate blueprint done with great design skills. The rural artisans, who constructed buildings with only rough estimates, had never seen such a thing before. Following that, Lloyd's brilliant and professional explanation flowed with the rhythm of a steady drumbeat.
The artisans' expressions started to change a little upon hearing it.
****
Half of the day passed. As expected, Sir Bayern did not disappoint him. Thanks to his careful oversight, the soldiers carried the clay to the construction site without any problems. The physical training they got in the process was a bonus. All the while, Lloyd had been busy.
He spent the entire day training the artisans at the work site. While wearing a work belt, he sweated profusely while putting down the flat stones and taught them how to construct the heated flooring system. This was the process that allowed for a successful first day of construction.
The sun started setting before he knew it. Now that he had successfully completed the official first day of construction, Lloyd inspected the site as it was wrapped up. Luckily, the craftsmen were learning faster than he expected. It'll get easier in the future.
Nonetheless, they were skilled artisans at the end of the day. The experience they accumulated in the field was not just for show. They showed strong interest in these construction methods that were brand new to them. They understood the fundamentals only after learning about the concept behind the design. It seemed that he could completely entrust them with the construction if he guided them for just a little longer.
Then we would finally have a crew in place. The artisans can do the skilled work, the soldiers can do the menial work that requires manpower, and Sir Bayern can supervise the whole operation. This means I can concentrate on other things since I won't need to stay onsite every day for the project to move forward.
That was why he assembled a professional construction team from the start. A business needed to run on its own. That was how to make money while making time to invest in other matters.
Now that he had achieved that goal, it was time to move on to the next phase. I'm not done overhauling this estate yet.
Sir Ulrich was only the start. There were still thick rotten roots he needed to cut out. It's about time I get a certain message. It was around the time Lloyd had expected.
"Young master Lloyd? I came because I have something to tell you regarding Sir Ulrich."
An arrogant yet haggard voice came from behind him.
Javier? It wasn't him.
You came as expected, Sir Neumann.
The senior knight of the Frontera barony, Sir Neumann, had finally arrived. A traitor who contributed the most to the downfall of the barony in the book The Knight of Blood and Iron.
Facing Sir Neumann, Lloyd smiled like a fisherman who had just netted a big fat catfish.
Translator: https://bettertranslation9.wordpress.com