Chapter 237 - Ballistawomen

After the War of Pameres Kingdom, 120 men of the two local Platoons taking part in battle, were slaughtered. Which caused a lot of disorder since a lot of the best Guards lost their lives that terrible day. With 60 more men from the third Platoon ordered to stat here, Pameres Kingdom is left with 140 Guards.

The Kingdom became tremendously weak defense wise due to this war, yes the Calidum Lutum dug them out of trouble last time, but who would help them if a battle is to break in the near future. Even Isabel isn't fast enough to reach back in time with more Guards and the town of Lan Zhe can't really afford it either.

The Army of what they thought off as 600 men at first, caused a great Soldier/Guard shortage in three domains. With just one attack?! King Zar realized at that point that he can't solely rely on the number of Soldiers but better technology instead.

Let's think one fact through. Before the attack, these three domains carried 400 Soldiers all together! And those couldn't have nearly fought off 800 alone, special assistance was required. But now? Gaster Kingdom is left with 50 Guards, Pameres Kingdom is left with 140, and 65 more are at Bale Town. From 400, only 255 Guards are left! It nearly isn't enough to fight off another attack, not a chance.

So Seer was ordered to write a recruitment letter and put it up on the Kingdom centre, furthermore he and his wife Maleesa were ordered to manage the current amount of Guards. A boat load of work fell upon them, such as the fact that Guards are paid with more than free food and warmth now!

The Patrol Guards, who take shifts around the city to assure the Kingdom is crime free and like everyone else these Guards would stand for Pameres Kingdom if a future battle was to happen, earn the lowest salary. They will earn 75 Gold Coins a month, but free food and warmth will still be provided for them. With the recent battle, a offered salary was the best way to keep the Army together and lure in new Guards. To assure that the Guards don't quit over a period of time, they were all ordered to sign Contracts. Each Guard regardless of importance and salary, will have to serve 5 Years in the Army. After 5, they can choose if they would continue another 5 years or chose another craft.

With all the recent business relations set with the Zamerians which increased the monthly income for an estimated 40,000 Gold Coins(Expenses exlcuded), Pameres Kingdom can afford to pay 100 Guards. If Pameres Kingdom spends under 20,000 Gold Coins in the entire army monthly, they can all even make a bit of profit instead of letting the budget sink to the negative.

But what about other weaponry that requires a bit more skill and caution? Such as Ballistas and Catapults! King Zar ordered 50 Ballistas from the Zamerians ensure a bit more quality compared to here in Ignis, but also cause double the price! One Ballista only costs around 500 Gold Coins here in Ignis! But at Zameria? Only one costs 1000 Gold Coins!

It is tremendously expensive to buy 30 Ballistas in Zameria, so the King of Lav Kingdom negotiated some deals with the neighbouring Kingdoms there, solely due to the fact that Pameres Kingdom has proved very useful even though population low. So instead of paying 1000 Gold Coins, Pameres Kingdom will have to pay 900 per Ballista which equals to a total of 27,000 Gold Coins.

Ballistas require 2 men each to operate, thankfully there are two Soldiers sent with the Ballistas and Catapults to show the Guards here how to use them. So, in that recruitment letter the Ballista Operators were offered the biggest Salary. Catapults are more deadly yes, but Ballistamen (Or women, respectfully.) would be in more risk. They would need to leave the comfort of the Kingdom's wall in order to provide impactful in battle, there is only so much a Ballista shot can reach and they can't wait for the enemies to be close to the walls, to attack.

The man who is here to train the Ballistaguards, claims that this fine piece of weaponry reaches a range of 300 meters per shot! It is a good way to attack from a good distance and back up in the process, letting the close combat Guards deal the final damage after.

One particular problem with their duty, is that they won't focus on Swordsmenship. So if the enemy reaches them in battle, they will be 60 sitting ducks. Which is why their pay is the biggest, reaching 120 Gold Coins. Warmth and food are provided for free as well, it is a low price compared to how much other people of different crafts earn but King Zar requested understanding, their salaries are promised to be raised for at least 20 Gold Coins, this year! Not just for the Ballista Guards, but for the entire Army! Paying 7,200 Gold Coins monthly for the Ballistaguards is a hassle, but necessary for the Kingdom's defences.

As for the Catapults? Each one requires five people to Operate, five! King Zar did a good move at this case, if they ordered 30 Catapults it would be tremendously hard to find Guards for each one under a short period of time. The art of war is unpredictable, you can never now when the enemy can be at your door so they can't risk stretching this recruitment project for too long.

These Catapults are medium sized, otherwise it would take up to 10 people to operate just one. It proved good Gold-wise too, because one Catapult was reduced from a price of 2,400 Gold Coins to 2,100 Gold Coins. When put all together these Catapults cost 21,000 Gold Coins. It isn't hard to calculate but it sure ate up the Budget. King Zar decided to pay everything at first month, the Kingdom can afford it and such an expense will be replenished in a matter of months. Such a Catapult would cost 1,200 Gold Coins here in Ignis, this proves how much they have spent here just because of the fact that they are defying the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance.

These Catapult operators will be offered 100 Gold Coins a month, 50 of them will be paid so this neccesarily converts into the smallest portion of pay in the Army. When all calculated, these recent expenses eat up most of the Iron Sword project, considering that Lav Kingdom will offer to purchase more Iron related products, this won't neccesarily be a problem.

One thing that caught a lot of attention, is the fact that Seer stated that there are no Gender restrictions. Women and Men can join the Army as long as they are at least 20 years old. A bit different compared to other Crafts which usually requires 16 year olds and up, but Ballistas require matture mental and physical strength.

Here is a twist on the plans, there aren't any gender restrictions for Ballista operations. A man can be mixed with a woman to operate a Ballista, since they are just two. But a women or two can't be mixed with 3 men to operate a Catapult. King Zar can't risk men getting caught up on glaring at women and cause casualties. They will be flinging large heavy rocks after all across a distance of 400 meters! They can't risk wiping out houses here along with people due to the lack of attention! A Catapult is tremendously powerful!

So King Zar thought it best to use the 40 remaining men on the Catapults and hire 10 more to ensure full proper operation. As for the Ballistas, men and women can join but they don't have to be 25 with 25. He is aware that the soul thought of women working in Houses only won't get him much female recruits.

So he had Seer add something in the letter that might grab more attention, on the bottom of the letter it stated. "Women will be given priority on salary increases."

Men of these times tend to be egoistic to the point of facing financial trouble due to the soul thought of, "I don't need no man to stare at my daughter or wife." But along with the salary raise priorities, King Zar stated that if the men of the house disagree to let a women join the Army even if she wants too, will have to pay a fine of 100 Gold Coins or face 30 days in the dungeon.

A small reasonable price to pay, but it isn't about the gold. The Kingdom just can't afford to be invaded due to such normalized s.e.xism. This will be a good way to establish a even stronger financial situation for the Kingdom in the near future. They managed to bring so much income with barely any women included, but what if Women take part in forming this community even more? The average salary here would increase to 300 Gold Coins instead of 150!