Chapter 3: Authority Forged in Blood
Rhodes's voice caused the guards carrying corpses to freeze in place, and the mercenaries binding the thugs also stopped what they were doing.
Gunle's eyes lit up. He spat out the stalk of grass in his mouth and shouted,"Damn, that actually makes sense!"
Durant lowered his head, rubbing his chin with his wrist as he thought.
—What the lord said really does make sense.
At that moment, Durant suddenly realized the truth.
Their lord's goal had never been merely to weaken the Jinsha Caravan or increase bargaining leverage. Instead, he had allowed the rioters to loot the caravan first—and then seized everything from the rioters.
Although the goods were originally the caravan's, after this transfer, Rhodes—acting as the lawful lord of Blackpine Ridge—could legitimately confiscate all of it as spoils of war.
Even if Durant were to study the empire's laws in detail, he wouldn't be able to find a single flaw.
Lawrence, unaware of Rhodes's true identity, covered his face and shouted angrily,"You have no right to do this!"
"Right?"
Rhodes's expression instantly turned solemn.
"Let me be clear. I am Rod Tulip—the fourth son of Earl Tulip, a hereditary baron granted by the Empire, and the newly appointed lord of Blackpine Ridge in the Northern Wastes."
As soon as he finished speaking, the guard beside him produced the certificate of conferment and displayed it.
Upon seeing the Imperial Seal and the Tulip family emblem, Lawrence fell silent. He and the others bowed hurriedly.
"As a lord, I have the responsibility and obligation to eliminate bandits within my territory," Rhodes continued."All bandit property must be confiscated to compensate for losses within my domain.""I don't care where these goods originally came from. After the bandits were eliminated, they became spoils of war—my spoils."
Rhodes's gaze swept across the caravan members, his voice deep and commanding.
"And all of you are now my prisoners of war."
The caravan guards, who had been sitting on the ground tending their wounds, immediately sensed danger and stood up.
Durant reacted first, drawing his longsword and pointing it at them.
"Don't move!"
In an instant, steel rang out as swords were drawn and pressed to the guards' throats.
Gunle tilted his head, raised his axe, and shouted,"Anyone who moves dies!"
Rhodes gave Durant an approving glance.As expected of a veteran knight—his reactions were faster than anyone else's.
"I don't want to kill anyone," Rhodes said calmly. "And you don't need to resist."
His tone softened slightly."Relax. I won't turn you into slaves. Pay the ransom, and you're free."
"But you may not use your belongings as ransom," he added evenly. "If bandits captured you, you'd be stripped naked, and everything you carried would become spoils of war."
"But, Baron," one guard asked, voicing everyone's fear, "if someone has no money… do they become a slave?"
Rhodes had been waiting for that question.
"If you don't have money, you work it off," he declared. "Five years."
"For those five years, I provide food and lodging. During festivals, you'll drink, celebrate, and enjoy yourselves. If the harvest is good, you'll receive bonuses."
"After five years, you may leave—or stay on as free citizens. I'll pay wages."
The caravan guards exchanged glances. Their hostility visibly weakened.
"That doesn't sound bad…""Five years isn't short, but anywhere I go, it's eat, drink, and whore anyway.""Following a lord might lead somewhere."
A guard with an injured arm planted his sword in the ground and sat down."I'll do it."
"Me too.""I'm willing to serve."
One by one, weapons were lowered.
Only a single tall figure remained standing.
"Sir," the person said, "I like playing with men."
Rhodes paused, then looked more closely. Beneath the grime was a short-haired woman.
Survival in the Northern Wastes had little to do with gender. Rhodes didn't judge.
"Men are everywhere," he replied calmly. "No need to wait for festivals. Enjoy yourself."
Laughter erupted.
The woman smiled and crouched to bandage her wound. The tense atmosphere dissolved.
With the guards compliant, the other laborers quickly gave up resistance.
Only Lawrence stepped forward again, his voice trembling."Your Excellency, please allow me to write to my family and request the ransom."
"You may," Rhodes said with a faint smile."But you'll write it after we reach Frostleaf Town. For now, prepare a detailed list of the goods."
"…Very well, Your Excellency."
Lawrence sighed deeply but had no choice.
Rhodes issued orders. The caravan laborers were assigned to reload the scattered goods, and preparations to depart began immediately.
The dead were counted, buried in pits, and recorded to be reported to the empire at year's end as military merit.
Durant completed the arrangements swiftly, then returned and spoke quietly.
"My lord, please inform me of your plans in advance next time, so I can prepare accordingly."
Durant had expected Rhodes to take only the goods. He hadn't anticipated detaining the people as well.
Goods didn't resist. People did.
If the guards had resisted more fiercely, bloodshed would have been unavoidable.
"You're right," Rhodes admitted. "I will."
This was his first time ruling. He accepted the advice seriously.
In truth, Rhodes had decided to seize the caravan only after seeing how badly injured the guards were. The risk had been minimal.
Durant bowed slightly and stepped aside to supervise.
At that moment, a text prompt appeared before Rhodes's eyes.
[First time leading troops to defeat bandits within your territory. Unlocking attribute: Commander's Might]
[Commander's Might (White): When commanding in battle, soldier morale increases by 20%. Trust in the commander grows after each victory.]
"An unexpected bonus."
Commander-related attributes were tied to territorial events and often hidden.
Morale reflected a unit's mental state—their will to fight—and directly influenced combat strength. In large-scale battles, morale differences could decide victory even between evenly matched forces.
With morale disparity, it wasn't uncommon for smaller forces to defeat larger ones.
Commander's Might was invaluable—for both conquest and defense.
Rhodes found himself looking forward to encountering more bandits.
Because after unlocking the first commander attribute, the condition for the next one had already appeared—
In the next bandit suppression operation, personally kill more than ten bandits.
That wouldn't be difficult.The Northern Wastes were crawling with bandits.
"Your Excellency!"
As Rhodes pondered, a notorious bandit from Durandra was dragged before him.
"This one revealed something," a guard reported. "We should be cautious."
"Oh?"
Rhodes looked down at the trembling man kneeling before him.
The bandit stammered,"Someone… someone told us about this trade route. So we… we left our noble lord in the wasteland."
(End of Chapter)