Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

In the eyes of Palatu law, whether militia are considered "common laborers" or "soldiers" doesn't matter to other ethnic groups—they're all there to do a job anyway.

But for the Dusacks, the distinction couldn't be more significant.

If militia are "soldiers," then Dusacks serving as militia could offset their service time, even though the work they actually do is that of common laborers.

This was an idea from Brother Reed, who, after a couple bottles of wine, couldn't keep his mouth shut.

The surviving elders of the Dusacks had all sworn an oath to Marshal Ned thirty years ago, formally aligning themselves with the Republic of Palatu, and eventually settling and multiplying into what is now the Newly Reclaimed Land of the Dusans.

And their descendants, upon coming of age for service, would swear the oath anew.

But within all the oaths, only "eternal loyalty" and "service" were mentioned, without specifying the form of service, leaving room for interpretation.

For the Dusacks, serving meant being soldiers, killing, and cleaving down with horse sabers—it was a matter of course.

They failed to see the significant loophole in the system—that militia were soldiers too, and serving as militia also counted as service.

Now, for every day a Dusack joins the militia, in theory, their future period of service could be theoretically reduced by one day.

Although it's essentially exploiting a loophole, the Dusacks would be pleased since it lowers the risks associated with their duty;

The other four villages of Wolf Town would be happy too since they would have fewer people to send;

Winters would also be pleased, as he turned a bad situation into something of a mixed bag;

The only one probably not happy would be the Republic of Palatu, but what ruled the Republic was a clumsy, massive, bloated system of power.

It was so slow to react that it could take a long while to notice a minor cut, and it's highly unlikely that it would make a fuss over a small advantage taken.

This "transformation of civilians into soldiers" tactic was proudly hailed by the old charlatan as "exploiting the system."

The old man had even more outrageous strategies: The precondition for the Dusacks to be granted land was to complete a term of service, but the definition of a term of service was equally vague. Serving in militia auxiliary units and automatically concluding service upon their disbandment—doesn't that count as "completing a term of service"?

Then there were even more outrageous, utterly shameless strategies: The "Teldorf Accord" stipulates that in times of emergency, the Garrison Officer has the right to conscript civilians to form militia units.

But what constitutes an emergency? The "Teldorf Accord" didn't elaborate, thus the interpretation naturally fell into the hands of the Garrison Officer.

And a town-level militia unit was still a militia, legally equal to the militia conscripted by a legion, meaning that serving in a town-level militia counted as service.

So theoretically, Winters could simply declare an "emergency in Wolfton" and establish a nominal militia to allow the young Dusacks to serve their term until they were granted land.

Reed's continual exploitation of the system left Lieutenant Montaigne dazzled and speechless. The poor lieutenant had attended a military academy from the age of nine and had never seen a "system exploiter" like Reed who could push every loophole to its limit.

Compared to other system-exploiting strategies, the initial method seemed like child's play, barely counting as taking advantage of the public.

"But you've got to be careful, son. The last two tricks aren't just bloodletting with a small knife, they're chopping off toes with a big axe!" Brother Reed, even in his inebriated state, didn't forget to warn Winters, "You're forcing officials to close the loopholes and you will definitely provoke retaliation from the authorities. So don't overdo it. Let the Dusacks serve as militia and accumulate some service time, perfectly solving the source of the militia. If higher-ups ever call it into question, you'll have an excuse."

However, the old monk was clearly overthinking it, because the mere tactic of "transforming civilians into soldiers" had already turned Lieutenant Montaigne's world upside down. As for more aggressive, greedier system exploitation, Winters hadn't even considered them.

Not expecting to change the Dusans' way of life, Winters was content with contributing something modest to Wolf Town. At the Revodan garrison, he received a satisfactory response.

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Major Ronald had some hesitation initially, but Captain Apel, the head of the garrison archives, brought up a case from eight years prior to support Winters' claim.

Eight years ago in Dastone Town, which was also under the jurisdiction of Iron Peak County, the town's military officer urgently called upon the Dusacks to form a militia to suppress bandits. During the process, a young Dusack who was not yet of age unfortunately died in battle.

It was customary for Dusacks to serve at the age of twenty. But in rural areas, marriages happened early, and many Dusacks already had children before reaching the age to serve and obtain land.

The young Dusack who died fighting bandits in Dastone Town left behind a son, a daughter, and a widow.

After the militia disbanded post-bandit suppression, the Dusacks of Dastone Town went all the way up to the headquarters of the garrisoned legion to petition.

They hoped the legion would recognize the death of the underage Dusack as "fallen in service."

Because the only way an un-landed Dusack's son could inherit land until he came of age was through the father's death in service, otherwise the death was in vain.

The petition eventually landed on the desk of then-Legion Commander General Ferenc, who was deeply moved upon learning that the deceased Dusack had been pierced by several arrows yet continued to fight the bandits until his death.

General Ferenc personally approved the fallen as "killed in service," and the injured were also recognized as "wounded in service," to be given commendation.

This case from eight years ago provided the support for Winters' claim.

Even if it came to a debate in military court, to reject Winters' claim would mean to overturn General Ferenc's precedent first.