Chapter 57

Chapter 57 Is it already the New Year. Time flies, Lord Logan. Its already been two years since we first met. Yeah, its already been that long. As winter reached its peak, a new year began. The distribution of food rations was still ongoing. It was said that the citizens of the territory, who now had more leisure than in the past, were even holding New Years celebrations. However, outside of Teslon Castle, regardless of such festive moods, soldiers were still sweating through their training. One! Ha! Two! Ha! Despite the biting winter winds, soldiers clad in iron armor continued to swing their swords, drenched in sweat following the intense swordsmanship training that proceeded their 10 km run. No more dropouts. As you mentioned, only those with the requisite physical strength and perseverance remain. It appears so. After ninety days of training. Starting personnel: 1,000. Dropouts: 12. Deceased: 1. Those who passed basic training: 987. Regular soldiers: 502. Excluding regular soldiers, with knights and other forces including a mercenary troop, the number totaled about 1,300more than Logan initially planned. He couldnt help but be satisfied with these results. Basic training seems nearly complete. The production of the crossbows you mentioned has also progressed considerably. Not enough to equip all soldiers yet, but we have 400 new ones. Good. Hamar has worked hard. Logan couldnt help but chuckle when he thought of Hamar tirelessly producing crossbows and directing village construction immediately upon returning from leave. Every time they met, she seemed to curse him with her glare, but at least until a civil war broke out this winter, the plan was to keep things tight. Thanks to her, the foundational military power he had planned was nearly in place. Then. Now, it seems we can undergo a real battle. A real battle? Youll find out. Look forward to it. Kais face was expressionless, wrapped in a sense of unease, but Logan simply smiled faintly. * * * You want to clear the Monster Forest for timber supplies for the town Is this also your idea?Updated from The Monster Wave is bound to occur sooner or later anyway. Since we dont know when the monsters will come rushing out, lets take this opportunity to clear the forest. Do you think the Monster Forest, left untouched by our Houses ancestors for hundreds of years, will be easily logged? Yes. Now that we have sufficient forces. Of course, that includes when the knights have been mobilized. Logan had faith in the repeating crossbows that had already been tested several times against the monsters of the southern forest. The subjugation of the Monster Forest was feasible because he had confidence that even dozens of the lowest-tier monsters could be handled in an instant. And Padric agreed. Hmm. A forest at the base of the mountain range should be easy. The knights need real battle training too. Oh? Then, the inheritance of the Ironblooded Sword The basics have been mastered by all. But practice leads to proficiency. I agree. Only real combat can enhance skills. At the moment the most powerful father-son duo in the domain joined hands in satisfaction, the grueling fate of the MacLaine troops had been scheduled without their knowledge. * * * Is everyone ready?! Yes! Faces drained as if they werent even Force users. Yet unnaturally, they responded robustly with bright smiles. The real fight is more comforting. The knights were reduced to half their previous selves due to the extreme swordsmanship training disguised as drills in recent months. At that moment, all of them shared a single resolve. But. However many low-tier monsters the Monster Forest holds, a scratch earns you three days of personal sparring with me. Understood! Padrics roar momentarily silenced the rowdy knights. What? Some ridiculous This is insane Soft curses began to spill from the mouths of a few heads bowed low. While there were small variations depending on the knights skill, southern mountain ironwood treesguaranteed by Hamar for construction, untouched by human hands, each as thick as a mans torsofell. Such a task would have definitely been impossible for the MacLaine knights of the past. Wow! I cant believe it works Amidst the astonishment of the watching soldiers, the knights themselves erupted into cheers. Having been relentlessly drilled for two months, they freshly realized the power of the Ironblooded Sword, the intermediate-level sword technique focused on forceful strikes. And as they heard the knights cheers, Padric joined in with a small smile and immediately shouted. Move right! Redeploy in horizontal formation! South of MacLaine Castle, half a days distance. A forest possibly a kilometer long started to get trimmed from the edge. Rumble. They had been working for over three hours. As the booming sound of falling trees became familiar and the soldiers began to yawn one by one. Nine golems of about 2 meters in height, and one even larger at over 3 meters, were busily moving the felled trees. Unlike people, the golems were neither intimidated by the loud cries from the animals and monsters within the forest nor slowed down by fear their unwieldy movements bore immense strength as they effortlessly transported the trees to the rear. As Logan was giving a thumbs up to Clayton and his disciples, Shriek! An unpleasant raspy breath followed, and then small humanoid monsters with black horns, only about half the size of an average person, poured out of the forest. Goblins! With the knights shout, the boring ambiance instantly shifted. Low-tier monsters living collectively in the forest. Small but quick, and efficient with small weaponry like daggers and poison darts. But Of all things, the first to come out is Slash! Goblins! Scrape. So boring! Slice. Squeak! The first wave of goblins that rushed out were swiftly dealt with by the knights at the forefront. Kiek! However, with the cries from deeper within the forest came more goblins not confronting the knights directly, but scattering left and right. Formation! Crossbows! Ha! Sweep away the escaping ones! Open wing formation to the left and right! Currently, the goblins scattered from places crowded with people, but if left alone, theyd regroup. And a horde of goblins without a home could deal fatal damage to commoners. Luckily, having anticipated this, the soldiers reacted quickly. Ratatatat. Broken into 100 squads of 12, the soldiers spread to the sides and pursued the goblins. And then, Fire! Following the squad leaders orders, the firing commenced. Ratatat. The bolts fired from the crossbows rained down like streaks of light. Lacking speed to outpace horses or leather tough enough to withstand arrows, these feeble low-tier monsters began to be slaughtered without resistance. In their midst, one particularly large, red-skinned goblin fell under concentrated fire from the soldiers. We got the Hobgoblin! Leave the escaping monsters! Back to base! Without their Hobgoblin leader, the goblins couldnt form a group. Knowing this, the soldiers, following their training, returned to their original formations, leaving the scattering goblins behind. Ha ha ha! See that? I killed two! I got three! This is nothing! I cant believe I was scared of these things. Soldiers exchanged their experiences with flushed faces, comparing their battle exploits. Most were new recruits on their first engagement. The appearance of the goblins provided a welcome kick of energy to soldiers bored of repeated drills. But that was a fleeting moment. Kyao! An eerily different wail echoed, turning their faces to stone.