Blood Emperor Throne

Page 18

A market was rebuilt outside the castle, situated on a tributary of the Rue River. Every three days, new grain was transported from outside the city and sold to the common people at low prices to stabilize their livelihoods.

These stable, low-priced grains quickly stabilized the previously chaotic livelihoods of Castellía.

The refugees from the beast tide war gradually settled in the villages outside the capital castle, allowing the population, which had been rapidly declining, to recover to two thousand.

After all, for these ordinary people at the bottom of society, nothing is more important than food.

These batches of low-priced grain were naturally not purchased.

In just half a month, Asmodian, leading his centaur herds and the Purple Nightingale knights blessed by the Lord of Pleasure, annexed nearly a hundred large and small herds within an area of ​​almost ten thousand acres surrounding Castellania Castle.

The food, vegetables, butter, and salt stockpiled by these nearly one hundred beastmen were enough to supply Castellania with cheap food for a month.

The number of calamity beasts also expanded rapidly with the conquest, with the number of centaurs soaring to nearly two hundred and the number of horned beasts approaching eight hundred, and still growing.

This sustainable, exploitative approach to raiding the Beastmen not only ensured that Castellania's food supply was sufficient to maintain a stable livelihood but also provided ample resources for military reforms.

The surplus grain was used to pay tithes, stored, and also used to train new recruits.

These new recruits included some of the surviving members of the Earl's Guard and others of newly recruited refugees and farmers.

The number of new recruits was around two hundred, enough to form a square formation. However, only ten percent of them were veterans; the rest were farmers and porters who had only ever handled machetes and sickles. They were not only thin but also lacked courage.

But these seemingly weak and powerless recruits received a luxurious diet during training.

Breakfast is a fixed egg and a piece of bread or bread with cheese; lunch is a fixed bowl of savory potato stew and soft bread; dinner is fried fish with fresh vegetables, and every three days there is also a steak.

The recruits, who used to only eat black bread mixed with sawdust and stewed broth with a few pieces of potato and a small amount of smoked meat, were thrilled to see eggs for breakfast.

He practically wolfed down the whole egg along with the whole piece of soft toast, stuffing it into his mouth, choking and burping but not wanting to leave a single crumb.

By noon, the rich and flavorful potato stew and the bread spread with butter were licked clean, leaving not a trace at the bottom of the bowl.

As for the fried fish and vegetables for dinner, they felt as if they were in a dream.

Compared to the lavish meals, their extremely rigorous and high-intensity training during the day, where they held extra-long wooden sticks and stood in formation under the scorching sun, along with the gradually increasing intensity and duration of training as their physical condition improved, and the strict military discipline, seemed insignificant.

However, Asmodé did not intend to use these newly trained pikemen to fight the Castellarian rebels.

Firstly, the training time was too short, and secondly, the extra-long spears and short halberds that he had equipped for this batch of new recruits had not yet been put on the blacksmith's forging schedule.

Currently, all forged weaponry is primarily intended for deployment to the centaur tribes.

For the past two weeks, forty robust and tall male centaurs have been equipped with chainmail smocks covering their bodies, iron-plated helmets, and iron-plated leather armor on their upper bodies. Their weapons are steel-tipped spears and steel longswords, which will serve as rangers.

Sixty agile and swift female centaurs, armed with crossbows and steel longswords, and covered with fine linen robes that reached their legs, served as patrolling horse archers.

In addition, he spent nearly eighty gold dirs to customize a close-fitting chainmail robe, a breastplate, and shrimp-shell-shaped horse leg armor for Claudia, along with a fine steel spear and a fine steel longsword.

The remaining eighteen female centaurs, blessed by the Lord of Life, have had their physiques and vitality strengthened. Armaments have not yet been put on the agenda; they are only equipped with basic cloaks, crossbows, and longswords.

The price for equipping nearly a hundred centaurs with weapons in a short period of time was naturally the use of steel, leather, alum, coal, and other minerals and goods that the beastmen had plundered from caravans, which were seized during the sweep of the beast herds, as well as nearly a thousand gold dirs obtained from clearing out the beast herds. All of these were used to forge the centaur herds' weapons.

Therefore, these newly recruited soldiers, who lacked weaponry, were given training first and were not used in the war for the time being.

Because of this, when Katharina saw the price list for training these new recruits, she was so angry that she almost tore it up.

They were not used on the battlefield, yet they maintained such a generous diet, and the cost of their weaponry was comparable to that of the original Earl's Guard.

Moreover, even if you train them well, can your pikemen really handle a mass charge by the Knights?

In addition, Asmodae had just abolished a large portion of the taxes in the territory, leaving only basic taxes such as tithe, land tax, commercial tax, agricultural tax, forestry tax, hunting tax, and fishing tax. Where would you get so much money to maintain such a large expense?

It's important to understand that while Castella's taxes, though seemingly numerous—nearly twenty—were actually quite low compared to the fifty or sixty, and sometimes nearly a hundred, taxes levied on other territories.

Otherwise, given Castile's terrain and less than 10,000 acres of habitable land, how could it possibly support a population of 8,000? Many western earls even have a first-night tax!

Therefore, Katharina strongly opposed it, refusing to spend so much money on these new recruits.

Even though Asmody had her hands tied behind her back, leaving her only in an extremely revealing bright red halter-neck transparent lace dress, and pressed her against the French windows,

Facing the garden where only maids and female knights came and went, he picked up her long, sexy, and fair legs and ravaged them in a shameful split.

This shrewd and calculating lady did not budge an inch.

Asmodie had his own way of getting past Katharina's stubbornness and prying open her luscious red lips.

Just as this noble and aloof lady was about to reach her climax, he would suddenly withdraw, leaving her biting her red lips with extreme resentment, her swaying, snow-white buttocks yearning for more but still unsatisfied.

After this happened several times, Catherine, panting and dazed, bit Asmodeus's shoulder and agreed to pay him. Then Asmodeus pressed her against the French windows and, under the shy gazes of the passing maids and knights, she was sent to one peak of pleasure after another in a very wanton manner.

After reforms aimed at improving people's livelihoods, such as tax cuts and maintaining stability, as well as military reforms involving training a new army and equipping it with centaurs, came agricultural reforms.

Of the 30,000 acres of land in Castella, nearly 20,000 acres are covered by the Ancaru Forest, and beyond that lies the endless forest.

The soil in these primeval forests is extremely fertile due to years of accumulated decaying branches and leaves and the nourishment of wild animal carcasses. In addition, it has never been cultivated by anyone. Coupled with the mild southern climate, if the farming is done at the right time of year, three harvests a year is not a problem.

But why has the Count of Castella never considered logging to clear land for cultivation?

Naturally, it's because of the Beastman.

In the Carolant Empire, wherever there is a forest or deep mountain, there are beastmen; there are even more in the Ancaru Forest.

These half-human, half-beast creatures reproduce extremely quickly and are highly adapted to forest terrain. They live in very scattered settlements and have a keen sense of danger, making them virtually impossible to eradicate.

Whenever humans launch a large-scale extermination campaign, these beastmen burrow into the deep mountains and dense forests, making it impossible for the human knights and arcane mages to effectively carry out their missions.

On the contrary, the Beastmen were able to frequently attack human logistics and launch continuous night raids by relying on their highly mobile centaur herds in the woodlands, as well as giant beastmen and minotaurs that were unaffected by the forest. This resulted in heavy losses for the humans who entered the forest to encircle and suppress them.

Therefore, for the Beastmen, the Empire was in a state of complacency.

If the beastmen dare to venture out of the forest to raid, they'll cut off your outstretched claws with a single sword stroke.

But if you stay obediently in the forest, without invading territory and only plundering some commoners and caravans, the lords and nobles will turn a blind eye.

This measure is convenient, but it has caused suffering to ordinary people at the bottom of society.

Throughout the entire Carolant Empire, every day, ordinary people who simply go into the forest to gather firewood or hunt are kidnapped by wild beastmen who emerge from the depths of the forest.

Men were typically used as laborers, and after their service, they were either sacrificed as offerings or slaughtered as livestock.

Women, however, suffer an even more tragic fate. They are used as breeding grounds to reproduce until death, only to be cooked and eaten by the beastmen in their endless cycle of sexual exploitation. (The last two lines appear to be unrelated and possibly spam/advertisements.)

This is why the lords and nobles of the empire's various territories allowed the Ankaru Forest to continue to spread and devour the empire's territory, without ever considering any land reclamation.

Therefore, after Asmodal cleared the herds of animals of all sizes from the ten thousand acres surrounding the castle and organized the reform policy of returning forests to farmland,

These civilians, who survived the beast tide war and were forced to join the land reclamation efforts for a living, gradually discovered some extremely incredible things.

During the two weeks they were logging, they didn't encounter even a single trace of a horned beast.

Just as the knight commander had said, all the beastmen around the castle had been wiped out!

Chapter 20 The Widow's Obedience, the Little Ewe

"Have they encountered difficulties in clearing out the beast herd? A small ewe? And a herd of half-orcs numbering a thousand?"

At dawn, in the quiet garden of the lord's castle.

Asmodeus frowned slightly as he listened to the report from the beautiful knight Cassandra beside him.

This report is utterly absurd.

He deftly twirled his longsword and sheathed it, then took the towel offered to him and wiped his sweat.

"You mean, a single ewe, along with a herd of a thousand orcs, stopped the expansion of the Calamity Beasts?"

"Yes."

Cassandra looked at Asmodie, who had finished practicing her sword, and crossed her long, slender arms. She turned her spring-like eyes slightly to the side, and her full, honeyed lips parted, releasing a sticky, sweet fragrance.

Before me stood Asmody, his strong and upright figure, his snow-white shirt soaked with sweat, clung to him, outlining a perfectly sculpted, rugged physique.

Beneath the slightly open collar, muscles as hard as steel were solid and robust, as if sculpted by a master craftsman. They were not bulky or overly muscular at all; on the contrary, they were long and perfect, containing an astonishing amount of power.

It also exudes a masculine charm that makes her ripe, almost dripping honey-like flesh soft, tender, and hot.

These days, Asmodie has frequently led her and the Knights of the Purple Nightingale to clear out the beastmen around the castle,

This noble and alluring knight has had her fair share of adventures in the open primeval forest.

Pressed against the tree trunk by this savage, beast-like, strong, and tall male body, she was ravaged by his juicy, fleshy, and tender body, experiencing wave after wave of pleasure.

Or he could press her down, lift up her plump, firm legs clad in high-heeled silver boots and glossy stockings, and ravage her like a raging wolfhound ravaging a white sheep who sacrificed herself to protect her daughter, until her flower core was soft and nectar was splashing everywhere, until it was filled.

Many times, she was even being ravaged by this man while standing right in front of her knight daughter, Sera, just a grove of trees away, pinned against a tree trunk.

Or perhaps, when her daughter is alone, out of her daughter's sight, she lies down under the table, obediently sitting down with her long, plump, firm, glossy legs, gently parting her full, soft, and alluring head.

Even in the castle, sometimes in gratitude for the man's protection of her daughter Sera during the wars against the beastmen, she would obediently lie in the warm, clear spring water of the bathtub and cleanse him of his impurities.

Or perhaps she's half-lying on the edge of the bathtub, gently biting her full, soft, and moist lips.

With her alluring eyes glazed over, she raised her fair skin, moistened by the warm spring water and smooth as if coated with fragrant cream, and let the man's strong and tall body lean over her plump and graceful white jade back, splashing water everywhere in the bath.

At first, when she was violated by this man for the first time, she could still think of it as a way to treat her injuries.

And in the bath, when she enjoyed his plump, soft, and ripe breasts, it was only to repay him for saving her daughter.

But when she conquered the centaur herd from the forest, she appeared humiliated and ashamed, but in reality, she was completely defenseless and violated by this man in the open woods.

Later on, this noble and alluring knight gradually stopped resisting Asmodie's violation and ravaging, and instead became more and more intoxicated by this immoral and absurd depravity.

She did it all just to heal her injuries, just to beg this man for the Countess's help, just to protect her daughter, and just to repay him for saving her daughter.

She used one plausible reason after another to cover up her immoral and depraved behavior when Asmodie ravaged her, becoming increasingly intoxicated by the man's masculine charm.

Even last night, in her bedroom, this man was in front of her deceased husband's portrait.

She, dressed only in an extremely revealing coffee-colored silk slip dress and flesh-hugging lace stockings, lay on the Gothic bed where she had married her late husband, like a newlywed bride.

He held her large, fleshy suspenders, which were marked with extremely plump, soft, and sensual marks from the thin, fleshy suspenders, and wantonly violated and ravaged them.

Faced with such an extremely immoral act, she simply buried her face in the soft pillow, biting her plump, soft lips, her alluring eyes swaying as her voluptuous, oily stockings yielded to the man's advances.

From that day of brutal possession to the present, this noble and charming knight-errant has had her plump, soft, and juicy breasts, her plump, round, fleshy, and moist breasts, and even her fragrant, soft, tender, and plump feet all brutally possessed and violated by this man other than her husband.

All that remained was that tender, plump bud, a place even her husband had never set foot in…

Asmodian handed his longsword to the beautiful knight beside him, then sat down on a stone bench in the pavilion, wiping his sweat as he examined the territory report that Catherine had sent on the stone table.

"Tell me carefully."

Cassandra, carrying his longsword, followed him, bending slightly at his side with her voluptuous waist, and unfolded the map.

In this position, her plump, white breasts, which were only covered by a thin, sheer white shirt, were stretched so tight that the shirt was almost bursting. Her fleshy, moist breasts, outlined by tight black fitted trousers, trembled and stood high in front of the man.

Asmodie glanced at it, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

In the past two weeks, this noble and alluring female knight has become even more radiant and charming.

Cassandra was already used to Asmody's unrestrained and passionate gaze. She simply raised her hand to brush away the strands of hair from her forehead, concealing her alluring charms as he profaned her, thus demarcating the area where the calamity beasts were active outside the Castellan territory.

"This is the area where the calamity beasts are active."

"Within this area, the beast herd has been completely wiped out, but outside this area, we encountered another large herd."

"This herd is mostly composed of orcs, including about five hundred cavalry units of the fowl-like type. They are accompanied by ten herds of horned beasts, each with one hundred beasts, as well as a herd of minotaurs, about thirty of which are monstrous infantry units, and..."

She paused, then continued, "Two minotaurs, one of which is a Gur beast."

"Gurmon?" Asmodie frowned.

"It is a minotaur that has devoured the flesh and blood of its own kind."

Cassandra explained, “It has four arms and is much larger, but it’s very prone to going berserk. And this Gur beast, along with this minotaur, is currently taking orders from a little ewe.”

"This little ewe is a female half-orc with goat horns and a human body. She has dealt with Claudia and is referred to as the little ewe by this centaur chieftain."

"She was a forest priestess, blessed by the forest, and the minotaur and the gory beast were her tamed servants."

"Moreover, under her command, this horde possesses a basic metallurgical industry, seemingly owning countless coal and iron mines. The half-goat cavalry are equipped with rudimentary iron armor and iron weapons, while the minotaurs are clad in thick heavy armor."

“Claudia’s Calamity Horde territory has already bordered this Horde’s territory, and several minor conflicts have broken out. However, the other side does not seem to have any intention of invading and is only active within its own territory.”

"However, the other party's territory is too large, which has led to the blockage of all the Calamity Beasts' current outward expansion. They have to stop expanding towards the Endless Forest and turn back to other directions."

Asmodé rested his chin on his hand, examining the map, tapping his fingertips lightly on the table, lost in thought.

After these two weeks of reforms, the armaments of the armed calamity beast horde are now basically sufficient.

Forty centaur rangers, equipped with chainmail on their horse bodies and iron-trimmed leather armor and iron-trimmed helmets, and armed with spears and longswords; and sixty centaur horse archers, equipped with linen cloaks and crossbows and longswords.

The remaining centaurs, apart from the male centaurs reserved for pioneering, although lacking such sophisticated standard equipment, still managed to gather ordinary iron-tipped spears and leather armor through their continuous battles against beast hordes over the past few days.

As for the lower-level horned beasts, he simply removed all the inferior horned beasts, even dismantling their original stone spears and bows, with no intention of letting them participate in the battle, but rather using them for other purposes.

Beastmen are of low intelligence, and Lesser Horned Beastmen are even more cowardly and weak. Furthermore, Beastmen's fingers are not dexterous, making it a pipe dream for them to be trained as craftsmen.