The Levy

Early the next morning, while Little Louis was still fast asleep, the village head rummaged in the corner of the room and found a chest. Inside were a tattered nasal helmet, a patched leather cuirass, an iris shield, and an iron spearhead.

Looking at these items, the village head's face turned grave as memories of the past flooded his mind. His son had died in battle five years ago wearing this very gear, and now, was it his turn?

The village head's thoughts were filled with his sensible grandson, and his body stiffened momentarily.

"Village head," Norn appeared behind the village head with his hands folded, smiling and saying, "How about you hire a mercenary to go in your place?"

"A mercenary?" The village head turned around sharply, but upon seeing Norn's small frame, which was less than 5 feet tall, he shook his head. "The knight won't allow a child to take an adult's place."

"But he can!" Norn pushed the somewhat bewildered Jinn forward, striking a pose of introduction with his hands. "Allow me to introduce, this young man aspiring to be a knight—Jinn! Don't be fooled by his short stature; he's got plenty of strength."

The village head sized up Jinn, who was over 5 feet tall and nodded with some satisfaction. Seeing this, Norn added fuel to the fire, "More importantly, he's cheap. As long as you lend us this set of weapons and provide food and supplies, he'll complete this levy for you."

"Of course, all the spoils of war will be ours. But you won't have to worry about medical expenses or resettlement fees," Norn continued to pitch.

However, Jinn wasn't having it.

"Enno!" Jinn finally shouted in anger, seeing himself being sold off like this.

Norn just turned his head, his eyebrows twitching, and patted his chest. "I'm here! No problem at all!"

Remembering Norn's impressive track record, Jinn kept quiet.

"And we're a buy-one-get-one-free deal. I'm going with him too," Norn threw out his final condition. "Where else are you going to find such a good deal? The village head, make your decision quickly!"

"Grandpa, what's going on?" Little Louis, awakened by the noise, asked groggily.

"Nothing, my Little Louis!" The village head walked over with a smile, subtly nodding at Norn.

Norn's lips curved into a smile; the plan was set.

Two hours later, the village's levy was assembled. The ten men ranged in age from around 15 or 16, similar to Jinn, to those in their 40s with graying temples, like the village head. In terms of equipment, three men had only a pitchfork or iron spear, while the rest managed to have a helmet and shield.

In contrast, Jinn, still in his leather armor, stood out like a sore thumb.

Norn got a sturdy wooden pole from the village head and attached the spearhead he had previously taken from the tax collector's guard.

Anna watched quietly from the side, her face etched with worry.

Norn smiled at Anna, took out a purse from his bosom, and also pulled out the iron spearhead from his bundle.

"Anna, you'll stay here with the village head these next few days and keep our luggage safe for us," Norn patted Anna's head. "We should be back in four days. Remember to wait for me!"

Although worried, Anna nodded. "You be careful too. I'll wait for you here, Norn."

"Good girl, Anna! I'll bring you a gift when I come back."

The village head and Little Louis watched the small group from the side. The village head was holding a large bundle containing the supplies he had promised Norn.

Taking the bundle from the village head, Norn nonchalantly waved, bidding farewell to Anna and the village head.

"Big brother! Thank you!" Little Louis ran up, holding a small piece of dried meat high. "Thank you for helping my grandpa. Here, have this."

Norn took the dried meat, patted Little Louis's head, and said lightly, "Go back quickly! Don't worry your grandpa."

With the village head, Anna, and Little Louis watching, the group slowly left the village, heading down a path into the unknown.

The atmosphere on the road was somewhat somber. Everyone knew they were going to fight for the knight, so the mood was extremely gloomy—except for Norn.

Humming an unknown tune and carrying a spear, Norn seemed completely out of place, as if he were on a picnic rather than heading to a battlefield.

Jinn, who had been anxious, couldn't help but ask curiously, seeing Norn like this, "Enno, aren't you scared?"

"Scared of what?" Norn was slow to catch on.

Looking at Norn's carefree nature, Jinn felt exasperated and shouted, "Fighting! We're going to war!"

Everyone who heard the shout turned to stare at Jinn and Norn with displeasure as if blaming Jinn for bringing up the painful reality.

Jinn's face turned bright red, and he quickly lowered his head, pretending to be an ostrich.

"It's just a fight with another knight! No need to shout so loud!" Norn soothed his injured eardrums and responded discontentedly.

After all, Norn had seen the bigger picture; the current situation was hardly nerve-wracking for him.

However, Norn did tone it down a bit, no longer humming, but still wearing a relaxed expression.

The group followed the path until the afternoon when another, larger village came into view. The squire who had gone to the village to gather troops was standing at the entrance, watching Norn's group.

A village elder immediately trotted over, bowing and scraping to the squire, saying something.

The squire glanced at the group, focusing on Jinn and Norn for a moment, especially on Norn, who looked like a child. But seeing that the group had 11 people, one more than the required 10, he shifted his gaze.

Under the squire's guidance, Norn and his group arrived at a shack filled with straw, which would be their room for the night. Norn and Jinn found a clean corner and began eating the dried food they had brought.

"Wow! The village head is nice to us!" Norn took out a sausage and a small piece of cheese from the bundle given by the village head, breaking half off and tossing it to Jinn.

After eating his share, Norn hurried outside and didn't return until it was almost dark.

"Where did you go?" Jinn asked curiously.

"I was gathering intel. It looks like my earlier guess was right; there's no real danger," Norn deliberately raised his voice, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

Upon hearing this, Jinn quickly asked the question on everyone's mind, "Enno, what did you find out? Tell us!"

"Ahem! My throat is a bit dry," Norn affectedly coughed. Jinn, who had been standing there foolishly, finally handed over a waterskin at Norn's prompting.

After enjoying Jinn's service and getting back at him for the earlier shout, Norn finally spoke, "This levy is mainly due to a dispute between Knight Jacob next door and our local Knight Andrew."

"A few days ago, Knight Andrew noticed that the water level in the village irrigation stream had dropped significantly. So he traced upstream to find the cause. It turned out that Knight Jacob had dug a canal upstream to divert the water. Knight Andrew stormed over to confront him."

Norn paused, recalling the squire's odd expression when he had bribed him, and continued, "No one knows what happened during the confrontation. But Knight Andrew came back with a head injury. After that, Knight Andrew immediately sent a challenge, agreeing to settle the score with Knight Jacob in three days, which is tomorrow."

"We don't care about that," Jinn said irritably, seeing Norn rambling on. "How many enemies are there?"

"Well, don't worry. I heard that although Knight Jacob's territory is more fertile and he's levied quite a few men, probably around 50, he's got a bad temper and isn't well-liked, so he doesn't have many friends. As for knights, it's probably just him and a few squires."

Hearing that there weren't many on the other side, Jinn felt a bit relieved and asked, "What about us?"

"Our Knight Andrew may be a bit poor and doesn't have many levied troops. But he's got a knight father-in-law," Norn said with a flourish. "I found out that his father-in-law will come to help. So we'll have two knights on our side."

"Don't worry! We've got a big advantage!"