Chapter 179: Feltron’s Training Regime

A giant bat, two meters tall and covered entirely in muscle.

That was probably Feltron’s true form.

Just like Shugl’s main body that I had seen before.

Because his size had grown so much, the unreliable feeling from earlier had completely vanished.

Wait, but where the hell did he get that black octagonal hat?

Standing there with that thing on, he looked like he could actually handle a bunch of owls.

Anyway, Feltron had a real talent for raising subordinates.

If it was this guy, it seemed fine to hand over the training of Lelbrant Barony’s troops.

“Public security demand will only keep rising from now on.”

“That is probably true.”

“Instead of increasing the number of troops, how about leaving the training to this friend here?”

“If it is someone Your Highness has personally guaranteed……”

Kazan trailed off.

Whatever came after that sentence was probably along the lines of “it does not matter who it is.”

In that case, there was no need to stop him.

It was not like I could train them myself anyway.

But then a sudden thought crossed my mind.

Why is this guy being so cooperative all of a sudden?

Even though he had joined my side, he was originally the type who never listened to orders.

I wondered if it was because he could now receive vitality points more precisely.

The scraps he used to eat for free were decreasing, so now he had to earn respect directly……

Ah, so that is it!

The moment the thought connected, lightning struck inside my head.

I had been wondering what this cunning bastard was aiming for.

He was planning to become the instructor of the Lelbrant Barony army and suck up vitality points like crazy.

As the saying goes, even a dog at a private school learns poetry after three years.

He must have been watching from the side and learning how I had been doing things all this time.

That much, I can turn a blind eye to.

It was respect he would earn by working hard on his own feet.

There was no need to stop him.

But then a hologram message suddenly appeared before my eyes.

「You can also distribute vitality that goes directly to your subordinate half-demons.」

Oh? So that is how it works?

This was basically automatic hunting.

Feltron does the work, and I just keep sucking up the vitality.

I smiled faintly and patted the now-reliable white bat on the back.

“Work hard.”

—Oh! You are giving permission?

“Yeah. Just do not overwork them too much. Keep it moderate.”

—Of course. Without proper balance between training and rest, growth will actually slow down.

“You know your stuff.”

It seemed I would not have to keep a close eye on him.

Feltron’s ability to raise troops had already been proven in the north.

Besides, this guy had nothing else to do anyway.

Only Adam and Shugl were scheduled to be mobilized for the civil engineering work.

This worked out nicely.

I handed Feltron over to Kazan and immediately wrote a letter.

The recipient was Vice President Xavier.

It contained instructions to mobilize Dapan Group’s funds and distribution network to support Lelbrant Barony.

“Well then, let us all do our best in our respective areas.”

After leaving everyone with a word of encouragement, I headed for Marlow Lake.

Lelbrant Barony’s barracks.

When the enormous white bat appeared, everyone showed surprised expressions.

One soldier even unconsciously grabbed his spear and tried to charge.

But at Kazan’s hand signal, he hurriedly lowered his weapon.

“Now, everyone, please gather for a moment.”

Kazan called all the soldiers together.

The troops approached with sluggish steps.

However, their discipline looked quite lax.

—Hmm? Is this the usual atmosphere here?

“Ah, yes. Because we had to increase the troops in a hurry, we had no choice but to accept people of lower quality as well.”

—Hmph. I see.

The situation of the Lelbrant Barony army was much more serious than expected.

Not only were they poorly trained, but even basic discipline had not been established.

—This is supposed to be an army?

Feltron had once been a hero of the northern nomads.

He was such an outstanding existence that he had become a great threat to the Empire.

That was why he found this even more absurd.

He had never experienced an army with such broken discipline before.

—Is this really all there is?

“The soldiers on duty at the fortress are out right now. Some are also on patrol outside the territory.”

—Call them all here too.

“T-Then the public order of the territory will become unstable.”

So what.

Nothing would happen just because we left it empty for a few days.

Besides, if anything appeared, our captain would take care of it.

Kazan had no choice but to nod.

It was not because he trusted Feltron.

It was because of Abel Carius, who was currently staying in Lelbrant Barony.

If that person was here, even a dragon attacking would not be frightening.

Kazan immediately sent messengers to each fortress.

While waiting for the troops to gather, Feltron stood still under the blazing sun on the training ground.

As a half-demon, he was barely affected by the weather.

But the soldiers were already sweating profusely.

Naturally, complaints began to pour out.

“Hey, why do we have to listen to that pale bastard?”

“It is the acting lord’s order. He told us to gather, so we have to do it.”

“No, since when did you listen so well? If work is over, it is over, right?”

“Well, that is true, but……”

The soldiers’ opinions were split in half.

Should they keep following the acting lord’s orders even though he was nowhere to be seen?

Or should they slip away to the shade and rest while keeping an eye out?

In the meantime, Feltron’s existence was not even mentioned.

Complete disregard.

Eventually, several soldiers who could no longer endure it tried to leave the training ground.

But at that very moment—

Thud!

With a heavy bursting sound, a soldier collapsed while clutching his abdomen.

Judging by the foam at his mouth, the impact must have been tremendous.

“Urrgh!”

“Huh? Why? What is wrong with him?”

Screams and worried voices erupted late.

Everyone had bewildered expressions, unable to understand what had happened.

Feltron walked over with his arm around the soldiers’ shoulders and curled up the corner of his mouth.

They had quite a bit of guts. To ignore the orders of the territory’s highest authority like this.

“W-Who the hell are you?”

—Me? From today onward, I am your devil instructor, Feltron.

“Instructor?”

—That is right. I have been granted authority over the training of all troops in this territory by Duke Carius and Baron Lelbrant.

“I-Is that true?”

If you do not believe it, go check.

“T-Then, could you give us some time……”

—No. You lot cannot leave the training ground.

Telling them to check while not letting them go was insane.

When everyone stared at him with dumbfounded faces, Feltron lifted his head.

His eyes gleamed beneath the black octagonal hat.

—Training has already begun. Now then, shall we start with guerrilla gymnastics?

“Hah! Gymnastics?”

Someone snorted at the word that did not sound particularly difficult.

However, it did not take long for screams to burst from their mouths.

A few days later.

I had finished surveying the topography of Marlow Lake.

When I applied the all-purpose holographic graphic, it seemed there would be no major problems with building the dam itself.

But the power to open and close the sluice gates was the issue.

“We cannot boil water to turn a turbine either. This is tricky.”

—What are you talking about?

“There is such a thing.”

I waved my hand roughly at Shugl’s question.

How was I supposed to explain generating electricity with steam pressure to this guy?

He was an idiot who only knew about vitality.

“In the end, we have no choice but to use human power?”

If I installed something similar to a capstan used for raising anchors, it seemed possible with manpower.

As I spread my imagination in my head, the hologram shape began to change immediately.

Even the parts that required human involvement were clearly divided.

Oh! It can even do this?

I gathered Adam and Shugl and explained the plan.

“Now, do you see this?”

—It is a blueprint.

—A design drawing.

The two of them glared at each other warily before focusing on the blueprint.

It was because I had shot each of them a sharp look.

They had been scolded so many times that they would no longer bicker.

“Focus.”

—Okay.

“From here to here, we are going to connect it entirely with rock. You can do it, right?”

But, human duke.

“Why?”

—You are going to do everything by yourself anyway, so why are you explaining this to us?

Now that I thought about it, he was right.

Adam and Shugl were only lending their powers.

I was the one doing all the overall coordination.

I had done the same when building the aqueduct.

“Ahem! I am just telling you in case something unexpected happens. There are variables, you know.”

—Yeah, yeah. If the human duke says so, then that must be it.

“Ugh.”

At Shugl’s sarcastic remark, I clenched my fist.

But I could not hit him on the head like usual.

I desperately needed this guy’s power right now.

“I will let it slide this time because we have important work ahead.”

Hehe! I should do this kind of thing more often from now on.

“You little……”

—Eek!

“Now then, let us begin.”

At my firm gesture, Adam and Shugl quickly moved into position.

Soon, the powers of the two beings concentrated into me.

Rumble!

The ground rippled violently, and an enormous pressure could be felt.

It was on a completely different level from when I had built the aqueduct.

It was because that much power was being poured in.

「To construct 95% of the design at once using the powers of the half-god and half-demon, 500,000 vitality points are required.」

「Will you proceed?」

On top of that, I even had to use the vitality I possessed.

That was how precise this construction was.

It is a waste, but it cannot be helped.

After all, the vitality I possessed was 1.4 billion.

Besides, that fixed number was not set in stone either.

As people’s praise accumulated, it would continue to increase.

There was no point in being stingy over a mere hundred thousand.

I immediately moved my gaze to the accept button.

Kugugugugugu!

With a tremendous vibration, the terrain on the eastern side of the lake began to change.

Rocks that shot up from the ground blocked the edge of the lake and gradually raised layer after layer.

But then, a group of people suddenly entered my view.

Dozens of people gathered near the lake.

What are these guys doing?

They were most likely residents of Lelbrant Barony.

This was not a region where tourism was particularly developed.

So I decided to just ignore them.

As long as they did not get caught up in the construction, there would be no big problem.

「Rapid civil engineering construction using the powers of the half-god and half-demon has been completed.」

「Since the sluice gates have not been installed, the dam cannot be opened or closed.」

Finally, the entire process was finished.

I could just bring artisans from Dapan Group later to install the sluice gates.

Even if it took quite some time, it was fine.

There would not be much rain for the time being.

With this, the floodplain below will become an ordinary riverside.

Now floods would no longer cause water to overflow.

As long as the dam did not collapse, that is.

In that case, ships could be operated much more stably.

“Now we just need to build the canal over there.”

The connection between Marlow Lake and the Kurin River only happened during the rainy summer season.

We would have to dig the ground and create a waterway for ships to move.

Just like the dam, it would probably consume several hundred thousand vitality points.

But once the waterway heading east was completed, far more would be gained in return.

Everyone would be shocked when they saw the dam and canal.

Just like the man currently running toward me and grabbing me by the collar.

“Y-You! What the hell do you think you are doing!”