Vofors City,
The outskirts of the capital city are lively in February. Soldiers of the republica gather to participate in a joint training proposed by the Kingdom of Ryntum. Although many were sceptical about the kingdom's true intention, the higher-ups of Vofors decided to play along for now. They see no reason to reject the king's offer.
After all, Vofors do need to step up their combat ability. The defeat by the hand of Inverloch is disastrous, to say the least. The republica witnessed a large swathe of land in the south getting conquered by the empire at a terrifying speed.
In the end, the republica army somehow managed to protect both cities of Vofors and Dalfos. But, hundreds of villages were lost. These villages are crucial suppliers of grains and agricultural products to the city. As anybody can guess, the prices of food in the two cities skyrocketed.
Metternich and his administration received tons of critics from the public and his political opposition on this matter. Protests took place on the streets and happen almost every day. The media, instead of calming the people is fanning the flame.
In the chaos that erupted, there was an opportunity for Ryntum. This is when the kingdom with its massive food production output stepped in to resolve the situation. It uses food to hold the republica by its neck and as leverage to convince Vofors into joining the alliance.
Hence, left with no choice, Metternich readily agrees to the proposition presented by a woman named Audrey. It's God's sent for him to amend the situation. For a new nation, they're extremely fragile. At all costs, he wants to avoid the republic from collapsing.
....
Bang—
The bullet flew out from the arquebus, flying in the air to the target. The soldier smiled as he let out a long sigh of relief. His comrades were impressed by his feat. His chest bloated due to the sense of accomplishment he felt. Ignoring the sweat dripping down from his forehead, the soldier turns around, looking at the instructor.
"Did you see it, Sir Gerrin?!" With a prideful tone, he asks. Not every day one could see the bullet hitting the target, especially using the arquebus. There's no particular reason for his question aside from wanting to be praised by the stern instructor.
Unfortunately, the soldier was bound to be disappointed. The instructor remains unimpressed. Not because he dislikes the soldier or looks down on him. It is simply because he is already accustomed to seeing that kind of achievement back at the military academy. In his opinion, Rogvor people are way above the league. As if they were specifically born with a talent to snipe enemies. With their high perception that exceeds the limits of normal humans, shooting a target 400 meters away is an easy task.
"Too slow!! Your reload time is too slow. Not to mention you took leisure time to pull the trigger. Do you think the enemy would wait for you? Do it properly, damn it! Back in the academy, there are tens of you." Gerrin, the instructor sent by Ryntum shouted. He doesn't give a chance for the soldier to bask in the praise.
He is formerly a head knight of the dead Baron Csorvar. When Riz raided the baronies and conducted a purge on them a couple of years ago, Gerrin was surprisingly the first one to surrender unconditionally. Albeit dishonourable, he wasn't a fool to sacrifice his life and family for a baron. Rizieri, who was a marquee at the time, has grown too powerful to be contained.
The king ultimately pardoned him. However, his career took a hit. The betrayal he committed to the baron he served was unpleasant in the king's eyes. Gerrin understand, nobody would dare to put their trust in a fickle knight, let alone give him a command power.
To fully utilize Gerrin, the king finds another way around. Gerrin was ordered to devote himself to the academy, teaching warfare and military tactics to the young generation of soldiers. Since then, the former head knight had been a part of the teaching force there.
"You always say the same thing, Sir!!" Insults from Gerrin hurt his pride. Unsatisfied, the soldier attempts to challenge Gerrin into a shooting showdown. "If you Why don't you show us the right way to do it."
Gerrin's eyes twitched as he was challenged by a snotty brat. "You punk!! If I win, all of you won't get any rest for the rest of the week."
Sure enough, the soldier backed off pretty easily. In the event he lost, everyone was going to hold him accountable.
He continues, "Pathetic!! Back in my days, we swung swords a thousand times every single day, from sunrise to sunset. You kids sure had it easy. Now, resume your training!!"
The republica soldiers quickly get back to their shooting practice. Gerrin felt these soldiers still had a long way to go. His order was to turn them into proper line infantry. To accomplish that goal, he needs to instil strict discipline in their bone.
Sigh—
When he first arrived here, he thought it was going to be easy work teaching linear tactics and formation to them. The tactics that need to be taught are the fast deployment of line and rapid shooting while the formation basically only consists of the line, the square and the column. In Ryntum, a month is all the cadets need to grasp the basic concept. He doubts this timeline work for the republica. No wonder Vofors was utterly humiliated in a war. Discipline, the very basic thing that they lack as soldiers.
"How's the training going?" A sudden voice penetrates Gerrin's ear. He turns around to see Metternich standing behind him with eyes glued on the struggling soldiers.
"Mr President, I don't know you would visit." Gerrin lied. He knew Metternich would come and visit. The president was so determined to make him defect. Had to say, he was a bit tempted by the money and position offered. Knowing the king's personality, he was unsure if he could survive, though.
"I have some free time, so I thought I'd make a quick visit and see how things are going."
"As you can see, their movement improved significantly after starting the training. You can finally call them a proper army, not a ragtag of weapon wielders."
"That's good to hear."
Visit freewe𝑏nove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺 for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience