Shortly after the first snow fell, Dal led the winter sweeper army out of the city.
The main force of this army is the private army under Baron Dahl, a total of one hundred professional soldiers. Don't underestimate these 100 people. Not only do they train full-time throughout the year, but each one of them is fully armed. Baron Dahl was very willing to spend money on armaments, and all the soldiers put on the simplified full-body armor introduced by the Northwest Republic in recent years. This kind of armor is based on a one-piece breastplate, plus waist, arm, leg armor and helmet mask made of stamped steel sheets. It is a real heavy-duty full-body armor. Not only that, it is much lighter than traditional full-body armor. Although you cannot travel long distances after wearing it, you can at least charge with a gun, which is beyond the reach of heavy full-body armor in the past.
As for the weapons of these people, they are all exquisite weapons, such as spears, swords, shields and battle axes.
In addition to these professional soldiers, there are also an equal number of archers. They are semi-off-the-job soldiers who usually receive a salary, but they have to prepare their own equipment. In battle, they are mainly responsible for supporting the rear. These experienced archers can often kill weaker monsters such as goblins with one arrow. The combat effectiveness of an army of a hundred people is also very powerful.
The army of two hundred men was the source of Baron Dahl's confidence. The remaining more than 300 people are just odd jobs. About a hundred of them were militiamen—mostly rogues gathered from various villages. Baron Dahl did not expect these people to be able to fight a tough battle, but they could still do it if they helped to eliminate enemies such as goblins while taking advantage of the situation.
The last two hundred people were pure servants. There are specialized servants among them, those who have learned how to serve soldiers, how to march, how to set up camps, and how to build battlefields since childhood; but most of them are poor people from the slums in the city. This group of people includes men, women, old and young, and has basically no training. The only tasks they are responsible for are helping to transport baggage and serving the soldiers.
Yes, that's all they need to do. As for other jobs, such as cannon fodder, cannon fodder, cannon fodder, etc., they are not needed.
The key to why the poor servants are treated like this lies in the clergy of the Church of the Mask of the Void.
In order to protect this group of poor people, all ten clergymen, including the local Kabbalah priest, were dispatched. They even recruited two church members to help. A group of twelve people formed a powerful team.
There are three intermediates and nine beginners in this team, and their combat effectiveness is definitely not low. Even against Baron Dahl's personal guards, the outcome would be between 50 and 50.
Moreover, the staffing of this small team is quite reasonable, with two rangers, one priest, three priests, and six paladins. There are sufficient manpower for long-range, melee, and spells. The Kabbalah priest even moved the sacred altar and placed it on a special cart. When necessary, relying on the altar, he will be able to exert a power that will frighten any enemy.
Well, any enemy.
Whether it's beasts, monsters, or humans with malicious intentions.
This was especially uncomfortable for Baron Dahl. He originally wanted to organize the group of priests into the vanguard army, and then let them fight to the death against powerful monsters. As a result, the priests said, "Our altar is here. If you want to give any orders, you can negotiate with our Majesty yourself." He had no choice but to give in and retreat shamefully.
His Majesty the Mask of the Void is a kind god, and Baron Dahl doesn't think that he might fall into the category that the old man likes, so it's better not to bring trouble to yourself.
Since he didn't have the guts to discuss it with His Majesty the Mask of the Void, it was certainly not easy to give the order directly. But Baron Dahl was a smart businessman after all, and he quickly figured it out - it was not a big deal if he couldn't count those clergymen. After all, when they encounter powerful and evil monsters, can these priests still be able to resist
If they shrink back, then they are not worthy of being priests!
Seeing that these people could help him fight a tough battle, Baron Dahl did not care too much about the Church of the Mask of the Void, and did not even let the poor servants risk their lives.
In order to make huge profits, there is no need to worry about small things. Business people must know how to make big and small trade-offs.
Of course, Baron Dahl would not place his hopes at the critical moment on the priests of the Church of the Mask of the Void. What he really felt most at ease with was his personal guards.
A bodyguard composed of knights, thieves and mages.
There are four intermediate-level experts in this bodyguard. In particular, the mage who specializes in protective spells and the thief who is good at tracking sneaks are the helpers that Baron Dar spent a lot of money to hire. They have lived in Darling for five or six years, and everyone has always been happy to work with them. Generally speaking, they are trustworthy.
The other two mid-level men are the members of the Dahl family themselves, two reliable knights.
These two knights have been affiliated with the Dahl family for three or four generations and are extremely reliable. One of them is also a distant relative of the Baron - the knight's mother is also named Dar, and the Baron has the same great-grandfather.
With such reliable subordinates, Baron Dahl dared to go out in the ice and snow to sweep away wild beasts and monsters, laying the groundwork for next year's safety.
He has a map in his hand, which the thief compiled this year. It roughly summarizes the beasts and monsters in the Dal Territory. On this map, the most dangerous thing is a tribe of ogres that migrated here not long ago, and the ones closest to them are a group of goblins.
Or rather, a tribe of goblins.
"Our first enemy will probably be a group of goblins." When they were camping at night, the Kabbalah priest who also had the distribution map of wild beasts and monsters in Darland, and his accuracy was far superior to that of Baron Darl, gathered his fellow believers. He stood up, unfolded the map, and introduced the situation to everyone, "There are probably more than 200 of these guys, a lot of them. Among them are a chief, a shaman, six warriors and fifteen shooters. In total, , not easy to deal with.”
A single goblin cannot even defeat a relatively strong farmer. Even if there are two hundred, they are nothing more than a group of living targets. As long as three or five brave soldiers charge and kill two or three, the rest can be easily dispersed. But if there are goblin warriors among them, then they will be more courageous and able to withstand certain casualties. And if there are more chiefs, they can even set up some decent battle formations and make some clumsy but effective coordination, which greatly increases the danger.
Not only that, with the goblin chief, the goblin tribe will have a division of labor, and thus advanced monsters such as goblin hunters and goblin shooters will be born. Goblin archers are enemies that adventurers hate. These guys who use short bows are very skilled in archery. If they are not careful, they may hit your vitals with an arrow.
And the most terrifying thing is the goblin shaman. Their own strength may not be high, but they can greatly enhance the goblins' ability to fight in groups.
"So, in tomorrow's battle, our first target is the chief and the shaman!" Almost at the same time, the chief priest of Kabala and Baron Dar made the same decision.