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. It 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 across the air.
The surrounding spit and blood droplets had intertwined, drawing 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 fun, even though it made him dizzy too.
… Uh, uhh.
His legs lost strength. His waist bent over. The ground came closer. Against his wishes, his head fell to the ground with a hard thud. He was forced to kiss the ground as his lips smooshed down. Blood seeped out from his lips again.
That was when Sir Ulrich's senses finally returned to normal. The heavy pain from his busted lip, knocked-out molars and broken cheekbone came with it.
“... Urkkk?”
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 for nothing. The answer was offered far too easily.
Along with the shovel falling down.
“What, what!”
Bam!
“... Urk!” The shovel falling straight down landed on his solar plexus.
He couldn't breathe. His waist bent like a shrimp. He looked up to see who dared attack him
Sir Ulrich's eyes soon widened. “Young…? Ugh!”
Bang!
The shovel hit his face.
His head sharply rolled over as his lips were 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 merciless for him to make any hasty attempts.
In front of the 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.
And odd determination was embedded in his mind groaning in pain.
I-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 gaze toward him was proving it. His eyes were too calm while swinging a shovel.
Of course. I need to stay calm to push down someone stronger than me.
Bam! Lloyd relentlessly swung his shovel. 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 amiss.
After all I did to successfully launch this attack, do you think I'll let go of this chance? Me?
The first rule of successfully initiating an attack.
It was to ambush Sir Ulrich without even 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 blow without warning. This was especially true if you were a low-class sword user who just barely conjured a mana heart.
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 out of them all. He was a low class sword user who barely conjured a manaheart.
Even in his position, he thought poorly of Lloyd. 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 were 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 have awful personalities.
The so-called mentors.
There were many warmhearted people.
However, his luck was bad. An ill-tempered mentor became his pair.
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 who was a 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 on them once.
It was true then too.
He lost control of himself the moment he heard his family being insulted. Immediately, he based his mentor with a shovel he was holding.
Not surprisingly, the site went into chaos. But after?
Things got easier.
No one readily bothered him like 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 manaheart recently. I thought an attack like this would be enough to crush you.
He made the plan using the novel.
Lloyd predicted that Sir Ulrich would fight back or act arrogantly toward him onsite at least once. And his prediction was right on the mark.
His punishment had served as a warning to others and he became a scapegoat.
Pow! Bang! Slam!
Lloyd didn't stop his shovel.
A scream finally burst out of Sir Ulrich's mouth “Agh! Aghh! Y-young Master! Why!”
“Why else. It's because of the rebellion”
Bam!
Everytime he swung the shovel, Lloyd's words became more frigid.
“Now, try repeating what you said earlier”
“Wait… Agh!”
Bam!
“You're an honorable knight? You can't accept an order to oversee dirt sacks getting carried?”
“But… Ah!”
Bam!
“But nothing. Should I set the record straight? Does it look like I gathered all the soldiers without notice for personal reasons? Hm?”
“Agh!”
Bash!
“Do you see what the receipt here is? This is a confirmation slip to mobilize soldiers. It's an official document that was approved by father and issued by the administrator. So…”
Wham!
“It means you dared to use your honor as an excuse to rebel against a legitimate order from the lawful lord of this estate to whom you also pledged loyalty. As such…”
Thwok!
“One, you disobeyed the lord's orders”
Thwok!
“Two, you dishonored the lord and failed your duty as a knight”
Whack!
“Three, you have thrown away your own rights and honors”
Baang!
Fully swung like a golf club hitting a tee shot, the shovel flew up.
The flat side of the shovel head 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 had fainted.
“Haa” 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 have to get rid of everyone I need to somehow.
The Knight of Blood and Iron.
The Frontera barony he peeked at in the introduction scene was a mess.
This was proved by the fact that Sir Ulrich, a man who had no loyalty or talent, was called knight.
A guy like this 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 money for the rest of his life. If he wanted to exploit and grow this place for a long time, he needed to bring in more talents.
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 the scene, flinched and turned their heads,
Lloyd gestured for the soldier near him.
“You here, and the two there. Come over”
“Yes, yes…!” The 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.
Not long after.
“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 looks better than what I imagined from reading the novel.
Sir Bayern.
He was one of the five knights of the Frontera barony. Along with Javier, he didn't betray his lord even at the very end.
His loyalty was verified through 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 ultimate goal was to entrust Sir Bayern with the construction team.
Well, I created this situation from the start.
He called Sir Ulrich, who would cause harm in the future. He ended the protests onsite. He used the punishment as a warning to others.
Then he called for Sir Bayern, who was originally planned to be entrusted with this position.
That was how he intended to get rid of everyone he needed to, by setting the right mood onsite and even appointing Sir Bayern, whom he would cultivate in the future.
Lloyd spoke toward Sir Bayern “Yes, I was looking for you. I am thinking of entrusting you to oversee the site today. How about it?”
“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 their 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 what happened. But he didn't show any signs of it.
That made him feel even more trustworthy.
Like so, Lloyd entrusted the red 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 specialty artisans waiting for him.
Of course, there wasn't anything close to admiration in the artisans' eyes looking at him.
They were worried about why this scummy troublemaker called for them. And disgusted by him, they wanted to avoid getting involved with him as much as the circumstances permitted.
Their eyes seemed to be only filled with those sorts of feelings.
However, Lloyd didn't mind any of those looks from the artisans.
He calmly walked in front of them.
“Starting now, I will inform you about the design concept and construction method of 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 that, he was trying to teach the artisans, who were old hands at construction.
It was like trying to teach a fish how to swim or blow fumes in front of a dragon.
A scornful emotion 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 heated flooring system in front of them
It was an intricate blueprint plan done with great design skill. The rural artisans, who constructed buildings with rough estimates, had never seen such a thing before.
“...”
Following that, Lloyd's brilliant and professional explanation flowed smoothly like a fast drum beat.
The artisans' gazes started to change a little hearing it.
♣
Half a day passed.
As expected Sir Bayern did not disappoint him.
Thank to Sir Bayern's careful oversight the soldiers carried the red clay to the construction site without a hitch,
The physical training they got in the process was a bonus.
All the while, Lloyd had been busy.
He spent the entire day spearheading the artisans onsite.
Wearing an extension belt on his waist, he sweated profusely while putting down the flat stones and taught them how to construct the heated flooring system.
This is the process that allowed for a successful first day of construction…
The sun started setting before he knew it.
Now that he had completed his official first day of construction in success, Lloyd looked around the construction site being wrapped up.
Luckily, the artisans are learning faster than I expected. It'll get easier in the future.
Nonetheless, they were artisans at the end of the day.
The experience they accumulated in the field was not just for show.
They showed strong interest in the heated flooring system they had first encountered then.
They understood the fundamentals of the heated flooring system after only learning about the design concept.
It seemed that he could completely entrust them with the construction site if he guided them for just a little longer.
Then we would finally have a system put in place. The artisans can do the skilled work, the soldiers can do the menial work that requires manpower and the general supervision can be done by Sir Bayern. This means I can concentrate on other things since I don't need to stay onsite every day for the heated flooring construction to move forward.
That was the reason he organized a professional construction team from the start.
A business needed to run on its own.
That was how to make money while creating time to invest in other things.
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 off.
It's about time I get a message.
It was around the time Lloyd had that thought.
“Young Master Lloyd? I came because I had 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.
A traitor who contributed the most to the downfall of the barony in the novel The Knight of Blood and Iron.
Facing Sir Neumann, who finally came out here, Lloyd smiled like a fisherman who caught a big fish.
