Gods, Ashes Descend

Chapter 11 The Fallen Son of a Noble Family

bath?

I haven't taken a bath since I became ashes; all my cleaning skills come from dying once.

Li Wei glanced down at himself. The leg armor of the Nameless Knight set was covered with unidentified substances, and his thermal underwear worn during the night shift, combined with the Gravekeeper's outer garment which was almost tattered, made him look like a trainee vagrant.

The reason why it's called an apprenticeship is simple: as a modern person, Li Wei has no calluses or sunburn marks on his hands and face, making him stand out from the crowd.

"Let's go, Li Wei. This is such a mouthful. I might as well just call you Li. Come along. You scared me half to death. I'll take you to a tavern for lunch."

As the captain walked towards the accommodation area, he called out to everyone. After saying goodbye to the Baron, Li Wei quickly followed.

The accommodation area consisted of rooms for guards and servants, and its exterior resembled a two-story longhouse, much like a motel, with only a single wooden staircase leading up and down.

If you want to take a hot shower in the morning, you have to chop firewood and boil water in an iron pot, or simply burn stones and use them to heat the water in a large wooden basin.

As mid-level personnel, the captain and advisor naturally didn't need to chop wood themselves.

The captain was seen standing outside the longhouse shouting.

"Ken! Where have you been, you lazybones?"

Less than a minute later, a door downstairs was pushed open, and a young man holding a rag responded.

"Captain Mara, I haven't been slacking off. I'm cleaning the armor that the night shift guards took off."

Captain Mara waved his hand and complained.

"Those things are fine, it's okay if you don't wipe them, let those lazybones wipe them themselves. We need to use some firewood, this is the new consultant."

"If you really want to learn a few sword moves, serving him well is much better than spending your days polishing the armor of those thugs."

The young man named Ken's eyes lit up.

"Use the firewood freely. I'll replenish it after I finish cleaning the armor. I promised to help Sergeant Fiore and the others clean it today."

"Whatever, kid."

After the captain finished speaking, he turned around and walked towards the edge of the fortress.

"Let's go, Li, we still have to fetch water and boil it ourselves."

An hour later, the two grown men were soaking in a large wooden tub and chatting.

"Damn it, Li, your flesh looks even more tender than those girls in the city brothels! That big white ass is prettier than my face."

Li Wei found it hard to resist this overly friendly captain, but he was still somewhat dissatisfied.

"Brothel? Ass, you certainly know how to use a metaphor."

The captain responded nonchalantly.

"Forgive me for being such an ignorant country bumpkin. The girls in the city brothels are the youngest I've ever seen. Do you think a scoundrel like me could possibly marry a pampered noblewoman who's never lifted a finger?"

He sighed as he spoke.

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed that you could use a sword. There's not a single callus on your hands. How do you maintain them? I'm hopeless, but I'd be quite interested in raising my son to be a pretty boy like you so he can seduce a respectable lady in the city."

"That can't be changed by birth, but you're talking about your son? Would he agree?"

"Of course not. Ken is the son of a servant. His father died from a water ghost, but he is quite diligent in doing odd jobs, and everyone likes him. The lord doesn't mind having another mouth to feed."

"And what about your son?"

"He ran off with my wife and is now studying in the city. He's an intellectual now, much better than his old man."

After the captain finished speaking, he sighed and then asked in his usual nonchalant tone.

"Alright, my advisor, now I have to ask you something serious. What else can you do besides swordsmanship? After all, everyone has to be assigned a job. If all you know is swordsmanship, then you're in for a rough time, leading people around to clear out water ghosts, dealing with wolves that suddenly appear around the forest, and occasionally ghouls that pop up in the graveyard."

What can I do? That's a good question. Li Wei didn't know what he could do either. He'd been exposed to the information age, and he'd seen all sorts of things in games—it was all too diverse.

Moreover, the world is a huge makeshift operation, and Li Wei felt he could handle most of the problems, so he naturally didn't hold back.

"What can I do? It seems like I know a little bit of everything except magic."

The captain paused in wiping his body with a cloth, looked at the boastful young man in front of him, and asked a question.

"What are they roughly?"

"I've studied basic math for over a decade. Although I don't understand your language, I should be able to offer some advice if I know some essential business knowledge."

My training and command skills shouldn't be too bad either. I've commanded 4,000 troops in simulated battles on a war table, and I've also commanded smaller-scale battles with fewer than 1,000 troops.

Friend, there are training methods all over the internet, you can find something to read even if you just browse around.

As for command, check out Total War and Mount & Blade.

Although I've never eaten pork, I've seen pigs run.

This is why Li Wei dared to boast so confidently. Even if he only knew a little bit, he was still considered a top talent in the Middle Ages when there were only tens of thousands of people in a national war.

The captain immediately cursed.

"If what you say is true, the lord has really struck gold."

After considering it for a moment, the captain immediately made a suggestion.

"I'll go with you to check the accounts later. If you can figure out all those messy numbers, you're guaranteed ten crowns a week, no doubt about it."

After lunch, we should go check that damned account.

........

At night, Li Wei lay in his single room staring at a small spider hanging from the ceiling. He finally had a proper bed, but the food and drink were tasteless, which was really frustrating. Half of the joy in life had been lost.

Meanwhile, the Baron, holding the ledger given to him by the captain, pondered what kind of person Levi was.

"Have you found out anything? What kind of person do you think he is?"

As the Baron's confidant, the captain naturally had to report his observations.

"He was probably an aristocrat; at least his hands weren't those of a peasant, and his skin didn't look like that of someone who spent all his time outdoors."

Moreover, he knows a lot and can explain everything clearly. He has already proven mathematical problems, and I have even asked him about marching techniques.

He could also talk about logistics support and environmental adaptation, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, marching discipline and troop management, formation changes and tactical deployment.

But this is beyond my comprehension, though I think what he said makes a lot of sense.

At least I'm certain this isn't knowledge that ordinary people would know, and it's not taught in schools.

At this point, the Baroness spoke up.

"It wasn't intentional. We were eating our smoked meat in the carriage with great difficulty, and it felt like we could hardly swallow it. We couldn't fake it."

Moreover, the way he looked at everyone was without arrogance or anything like that; it was very consistent, treating us the same as ordinary people.

The Baron stroked his beard and gave his summary.

"And that subconscious frown he made when passing through the village... could he really be the son of a fallen noble from a foreign land?"

"Who knows? Anyway, he's settled here now, so let's take it slow."