Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 222 Kubant's Poetry and Distant Places
Leaving Master Whitney's workshop, Cuban looked at Haven with a complicated expression. This younger brother, who was a few years younger than him, seemed to be more capable of shouldering the responsibility of being the heir to the Lord of the North. Thinking about his own actions during this period, a strange sense of shame arose in Cuban's heart.

"Havent~"

Havent, who was walking leisurely ahead, tossing a gold coin in his hand, heard Kubant calling him. He turned around and saw the warm winter sun shining on Havent's face, making the boy's features exceptionally bright. His gray-green eyes became even clearer under the sunlight.

"Huh? What's wrong, Kuban?"

"Thank you so much, you've really gone to a lot of trouble~~~"

Looking at the solemn-looking Kubant, the boy standing in the sunlight revealed a very sunny smile.

"Hahaha, what are you thanking me for? What's wrong with you?"

"You've done a good job for the future of the North. I mean, I haven't been much help—I've always... I've always been terrible."

clap~~~
A crisp slap.

Havent cupped Cuban's cheeks in her hands, her beautiful grey-green eyes gazing quietly at him.

"Hey, brother, don't cry over spilled milk, and don't regret what's already happened. We Northerners have it tough, and no one can comment on any period of time."

"Overall, you've done a good job. You've held on for so long, so of course you can relax and take a break, do something you enjoy. Don't feel ashamed for wanting to do what you want to do."

"Then, the most important thing now is..."

Cuban stared blankly at Havent, who was cupping his cheeks, the boy revealing neat, white teeth.

"Come with me to the Hendry Chamber of Commerce. I'm going to have a very lavish wedding. Your wedding ceremonies here are just so tacky."

Watching Havent turn around and hum a little tune as he walked toward the carriage, Kuban reached out and touched his cheek, then broke into a cheerful smile.

"Hey~ wait for me, you brat."

Cuban, who had caught up, attempted a neck lock on Havent, but Havent easily dodged it and even kicked Cuban in the butt.

"So you're planning to establish an academy in the North? Don't we already have one?"

Once back in the carriage, Kubant stopped looking at the books he had brought and began to seriously talk to Haven about the North.

"Hey~~Want some? This stuff is supposedly a magical drink that came from the southwestern provinces. It tastes pretty good, sweet and sour, and really refreshing."

Cuban looked at the glass Haven pushed towards him, not particularly interested in the kiwi juice-like drink, despite its high price.

"No, thank you. There is a Winter War Academy in Solitude, the Marquis of Charlton’s city. It is quite large. Many of our northern subjects and soldiers have been trained there. You should have been there. It is a very large institution."

Haven's eyes flashed with regret when Cuban refused the special drink he had bought at a high price. After all, it was called a drink, but it was actually herbs. It was a real pity that Cuban hadn't been tricked. With a wave of his hand, he gave it to He-Man to drink.

"Really not drinking it? It tastes great, and it's good for your health."

Seeing that Cuban remained unmoved, Haven regretfully took the cup back and put it aside.

"I've been to the Winter War Academy, but how should I put it? We in the North invest very little in education, which is wrong. We people of the North are not afraid of death, and we can even bravely charge into battle when facing death."

"But normally, courageous people shouldn't die like this. You must have read some reports about the Ama Line, right?"

“Normally, when a soldier in our regular combat regiment wants to kill a soldier from a mid-ranking orc tribe, the ratio is usually one to two. For the top thirty orcs, such as the wolf orcs, the giant elephant tribe, and the mountain bear tribe, the casualty ratio is usually around one to six.”

"But the orcs are too prolific. Even tribes like the giant elephant tribe and the mountain bear tribe, which don't have such high birth rates, are far more prolific than us Northerners. And if an orc child is born and grows up normally, he can become a decent novice warrior. With some effort and a couple of years of fighting on the battlefield, he can grow into a mid-level warrior."

Cuban listened attentively. He was already familiar with these reports, which only fueled his curiosity about what Haven intended to do.

"But we are different. Even though the people of the North are equally brave and fearless, humans are not as physically strong as orcs. A human child can only begin basic training from birth to around ten years old, and that training is only the most basic. When they grow up a little older, they will enter the army for training, and at that time, they can only learn military techniques. Then those with talent will be sent to the Winter War Academy."

"We performed terribly. In this respect, we were not even much better than the Orc Empire. We fought with blood and courage, but unfortunately, we could not defeat the Orcs."

Watching Havent's fingers fiddling with the gold coin, Cuban pondered for a moment, seemingly understanding what Havent meant, and tentatively said:
"So you want to establish many basic academies in the North? And then arm the people of the North?"

boo~
A crisp snap of fingers.

“That’s right, this is part of the plan. Of course, the plan is more than just this. I’m going to give money to all the people in the North so they can become rich and have more children. The more children they have, the greater the reward.”

"What? Are you crazy? That would require a lot of money, and would the other nobles in the North agree to this plan?"

A startled Cuban jumped up from the leather sofa, clearly unable to accept Havent's somewhat unconventional idea.

"Hey, sit down, sit down. Why did you stand up? I have to criticize you for this. Your father, Earl Morley, was much better in this regard. He only spat out the wine he was drinking. As for composure, I can only say, brother, you still have a lot to work on."

At Havent's prompting, Cuban slowly sat down. Although he had anticipated what the brat was up to, Cuban still couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed when he actually heard Havent's words.

"Havent, do you realize what the other nobles in the empire will think of us for doing this, and what His Majesty the Emperor will think?"

Seeing Cuban's concerns, Haven casually waved his hand.

"I know what you're trying to say. Your father has already said this before. It's nothing more than the idea that as nobles, you must always be careful to maintain your ruling position. If your subjects receive better treatment, you'll do this or that."

"In my opinion, such restrictions are meaningless. As long as there is oppression, resistance will never cease. Rather than waiting to be attacked from both inside and outside and wiped out, we might as well take the initiative to seek reform. If we do well, the current awkward situation in the North can be changed. If we do poorly, the North will be finished after another generation or two."

Although Haven's words made a lot of sense, Cuban's upbringing made it difficult for him to view the matter as an equal. "How did my father see this?"

Cuban felt his mouth was a little dry, and subconsciously reached for the drink on the table. As he took a sip, his facial features instantly contorted.

"Hahahaha, how is it? The taste is pretty good, isn't it? Doesn't it instantly refresh your mind?"

After a dozen seconds, Cuban finally came to his senses, picked up the cup with an incredulous look, examined it, and then pushed it far away.

"Why did you buy such awful stuff?!"

"Hahahaha, that's hilarious! I felt the same way the first time I drank it. It wasn't bought, it was a free gift I got in exchange for military merits. They said that drinking it regularly could improve my physique. I plan to take it back to the North and try it out with a unit first."

After the laughter subsided, Cuban looked at Haven again.

"Your father, to be honest, your old man's initial reaction was also very strong, but later he acquiesced, after all, your old man's position allows him to see the current situation in the North more clearly than we do."

"As for whether the other nobles in the North will agree, do you think the undead army that appeared in the North a few months ago was really that easy to appear? Our North is no longer a monolithic entity. Whether they agree or not is no longer important. If they want to leave the North, that is their choice, and those who stay will firmly carry out this plan."

By the way, this line was said by your old man himself. I must say, Earl Morrie was quite dashing at that moment.

Hearing that his father had agreed, Cuban didn't say anything more. Although his upbringing and social habits told him that this was inappropriate, Cuban, who had been alone in the capital for a long time, also knew very well that Havent's view on the future of the North was correct.

"So that's why you came up with the idea of ​​exchanging military merits for supplies and money?"

“bingou~~”

"That's right, young minds work fast. Military merits are just static; they're useless if left unused. And the amount we can get from the Imperial Military each year is limited. Since we all have our own needs, let's make a deal. We should do more things that benefit everyone!"

Despite receiving praise from Havent, Cuban showed no joy on his face.

“Havent, the conflict between us and the people of the Southern Province is very deep. If we open up the exchange of military merits like this, the military merit check strategy we made before will become ineffective.”

Haven naturally understood what Cubant meant by the strategy of military merit checks and balances, but he didn't like this method of killing a thousand enemies while losing a thousand of his own.

Although the military merit exchange system served as a check on some nobles in the south, it did not bring any benefits to the north except for demoting or putting some minor southern nobles in danger of being demoted. On the contrary, it made the antagonism between the two sides in the court more obvious, as evidenced by the fact that the subsidies the north has received in recent years have been significantly less than expected.

"That foolish plan should have been abandoned long ago. Besides making us look even more like royalists, did it bring us any other benefits?"

"Since we can't crush those guys in the South with this method, it means it's a useless strategy."

Seeing that Cuban seemed hesitant to speak, Haven showed no sign of stopping and continued:
"Of course, I don't want to ease the tension between us. After all, we have different positions, and I don't want to become a puppet of the church."

"However, there is absolutely no need for things to get to this point. Stance is stance, and interests are interests."

"Compared to the possibility of new large noble families emerging in the south or other provinces in the short term due to the exchange of military merits, the real priority is to exchange military merits for resources and then build up the northern border."

"When our ordinary troops can undergo proper and advanced training, be well-equipped, and achieve a one-to-one kill ratio with the orcs, and when the population of our northern border doubles, those current predicaments will naturally have a better solution."

Seeing that Kubant was deep in thought, Haven stopped talking and turned to look at the scenery outside the window. This plan was actually proposed before he left the North. Later, after he learned about the current situation in the capital, he communicated with his father through letters. Finally, with the joint approval of the three upper-class noble families in the North, the plan was put into action.

Although he didn't know why his seemingly anti-aristocratic plan was approved, since he had already decided to do it, given Haven's personality, he had to do it well. Otherwise, if the situation became more difficult after he inherited the family business, it would be even harder to do.

"Havent~~"

"Ok?"

Haven, who was resting his chin on his arm, was reviewing his recent tasks when he heard Cuban's voice and looked up.

"What's wrong, Kuban?"

"I'm planning to go back to the North~~"

"Hmm? Go back to the North? Don't you still have three years before you graduate?"

Looking at Cuban's solemn expression, Haven glanced at the latter with some surprise.

"No, I need to go back to the North to help you. You can't do all the work by yourself. The capital city is enough for you. I'll go back to the North to help you with those things."

At this moment, Cuban's eyes were exceptionally firm and serious, as if he had made a tremendous decision.

"Oh? But didn't you want to become a scholar?"

After saying those words, Cuban relaxed, as if the suppressed anger in his heart had dissipated.

"No, you're right. We Northerners must save ourselves. I'll go back after the Winter Festival!!!"

Haven looked at Cuban, and the young man, a few years older than him, merged once again with the figure of him fighting bloody battles with that group of Southerners.

"You bastard~~"

Thanks!

(End of this chapter)