Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Three months later.
"Already a new year..."
"Time flies, Lord Logan. It's already been two years since we first met."
"That's right. It's already been that long."
Winter was at its peak, and a new year had begun.
Food distribution was still ongoing, but unlike in the past, the territory's people now had enough leeway to hold New Year's feasts.
However, outside Tesron Castle, soldiers continued to train relentlessly, indifferent to the festive atmosphere.
"One!"
"Ha!"
"Two!"
"Ha!"
Clad in steel armor, they ran 10 kilometers before immediately launching into high-intensity swordsmanship drills. Even in the biting winter winds, sweat beaded on their brows as they swung their blades.
"There haven't been any more dropouts. As you said, only those with both stamina and grit have remained."
"Seems so."
Training Period: 90 days.
Initial Trainees: 1,000.
Dropouts: 12.
Deaths: 1.
Basic Training Graduates: 987.
Excluding the 502 regular soldiers, the total force—including knights and mercenaries—now numbered over 1,300.
Far exceeding the initial plan, Logan couldn't help but be satisfied.
"Basic training is mostly complete. The crossbow production you mentioned has also progressed well. We don't have enough to fully equip the soldiers yet, but we've added 400 new ones."
"Good. Hamar has worked hard."
The thought of Hamar, who had barely returned from leave before being thrown into overseeing village construction and crossbow production, made Logan smirk.
Though Hamar's glare practically radiated curses whenever they met, Logan planned to work him relentlessly—at least until the civil war broke out this winter.
Either way, thanks to him, the basic military strength was now in place.
Which meant—
"It's time for live combat."
"...Live combat?"
"You'll see. Look forward to it."
Kai's expression darkened with unease, but Logan merely smiled faintly.
"Clearing the monster-infested forest to supply timber for the town... Is this also your idea?"
"It's about time for another monster wave anyway. Who knows when they'll come pouring out? Might as well clear the forest now."
"You think the forest our ancestors left untouched for centuries will be easy to log?"
"It will be. We have enough troops now. Of course, that's assuming we mobilize the knights as well."
Logan trusted the rapid-fire crossbows, which had already been tested against the southern forest's monsters.
He was confident that, no matter how many low-tier monsters swarmed them, they could be dealt with swiftly.
And Patrick agreed.
"Hmm. Well, a forest at the foot of the mountains shouldn't be a problem. The knights could use some live combat training too."
"Oh? Does that mean the Iron Blood Sword Technique—"
"They've all grasped the basics. But true mastery requires real combat."
"Of course. Nothing hones skill like live combat."
As the territory's two most powerful figures shook hands with satisfied smiles, the MacLaine forces unknowingly had their fates sealed—another round of grueling labor awaited them.
"Everyone ready?!"
"Yes!"
Their faces were haggard, utterly unlike those of aura users. Yet, despite their exhaustion, the knights answered with bright, boisterous grins.
'Honestly, live combat is a relief compared to this.'
After months of swordsmanship training masquerading as extreme hazing, their faces looked half-dead.
At this moment, they were united in spirit.
But then—
"Even if it's just a monster forest, most of them are low-tier. If even a scratch appears, you'll face three days of personal sparring with me. Understood?!"
Patrick's roar instantly silenced the previously rowdy formation.
"...What?"
"This is insane..."
"Absolute madness..."
Muttered curses slipped from a few bowed heads. But as those curses erupted simultaneously from all directions, the training ground's atmosphere turned chaotic—like a marketplace.
Then, as Patrick's expression twisted into something terrifying, silence fell once more.
"Oh-ho. You lack the confidence to face mere low-tier monsters unscathed? Is this the extent of MacLaine's knights?"
Fortunately, none of the knights were foolish enough to take the bait.
The issue wasn't the monsters' strength.
It was the unprecedented scale of the operation—while being forbidden from so much as a scratch.
Even stray branches had to be avoided.
Instead of charging valiantly, they'd have to move cautiously.
But their deranged lord added another absurd demand.
"Advance in a single line! Cut down trees in unison! Eliminate any monsters that emerge! Utilize the Iron Blood Sword Technique to its fullest! Hold your ground—no retreating!"
"Tch..."
"He's trying to kill us..."
"What if some monsters slip past?"
Even low-tier monsters possessed combat instincts.
Unless vastly outnumbered, they wouldn't recklessly attack knights. And if too many charged at once, some would inevitably break through.
Chasing them would disrupt the formation.
It was a reasonable question—but the answer was simple.
"Let them go."
"...What?"
"We've stationed the newly trained soldiers behind you. Their performance needs testing too."
In other words, the knights' real mission was lumberjacking.
Their pride stung, but no one protested.
After enduring two months of training, they'd learned firsthand just how far a high-tier knight—one who'd abandoned all restraint—could push them.
Any dissent would lead only to the nightmare of one-on-one sparring with their lord.
"Take your positions! I'll cover the rear!"
To the knights, it sounded like a threat: "Fail, and I'll smash your skulls."
Behind their visors, their eyes gleamed murderously.
"Monsters will flee toward you from behind the knights. Let none escape."
"Yes!"
"First volley: crossbows. If any get too close, the standby units will engage. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers' faces were taut with tension.
Not just because this was their first live combat since training.
Logan had declared that those who excelled here would be selected as knight trainees.
Their eyes burned with ambition—but Logan watched them impassively.
'Just as I suspected... What I sensed during training wasn't a mistake. Maybe the tests were unnecessary.'
Those he'd kept an eye on had improved slightly.
Observing their training, Logan noticed something peculiar.
A subtle change in a few soldiers—chief among them, Victor.
A faint accumulation of force, unlike the others.
Not even enough to call it aura—just a whisper, a scent of potential.
Most who exhibited this had been chosen for their sensory aptitude, though some were existing soldiers or even those picked solely for physical strength.
It was unfamiliar even to Logan.
Perhaps his Force Core's growth had sharpened his perception.
A minor difference—but a monumental discovery.
'If I can identify those with high aura potential without tests...'
The more he focused, the clearer it became.
If his senses grew further, and he observed these soldiers' progress to find common traits—
He might fully uncover what even the future Empire had failed to define: the talent for aura.
No magic could detect it—but if he succeeded, history itself would change.
'Which is why I need to confirm whether my instincts are correct.'
This forest purge wasn't just live training—it was data collection.
And regardless of talent, those who couldn't perform in combat were useless.
With that in mind, Logan had armed the standout soldiers not with crossbows, but swords.
To observe them at closer range.
'In that sense, only having 400 crossbows might've been for the best.'
150 soldiers he'd noted, plus another 150 who excelled in martial training.
Logan expected their performance to provide further insights—preparing for the future.
As he scrutinized them, eyes alight—
"Begin!"
"Ha!"
A simultaneous shout erupted from the knights lined at the forest's edge.
CRACK.
The sound of splitting wood echoed as 73 trees shuddered in unison.
THUD.
Though skill levels varied, each knight felled the ironwood trees—thick as a man's torso—in two or three strokes. Trees Hamar had deemed perfect for construction.
A feat once impossible for MacLaine's knights.
"Whoa!"
"It... actually worked!"
The watching soldiers gasped—but the knights themselves roared louder.
They'd just experienced firsthand the power of the Iron Blood Sword Technique, mastered through two months of brutal training.
Patrick allowed himself a faint smile before barking—
"Advance left! Reform the line!"
Half a day's journey south of MacLaine Castle, a forest stretching over a kilometer wide began shrinking from the edges.
THUD.
Three hours into the operation.
As the soldiers grew accustomed to the crashing trees and began yawning—
Nine 2-meter golems and one towering 3-meter golem diligently hauled away the felled timber.
Unlike humans, the golems didn't flinch at the forest's eerie cries. Though slow, their strength made light work of the logs.
Logan gave Clayton and his disciples a thumbs-up—
SCREECH!
—when a horde of black-horned, half-human-sized monsters burst from the trees.
"Goblins!"
The knights' shouts shattered the monotony.
Low-tier pack monsters.
Smaller than humans but faster, wielding daggers and poison darts with deadly efficiency.
But—
"First wave is..."
SLASH.
"Goblins?!"
THUD.
"How boring!"
SQUELCH.
"Keeeek!"
The leading goblins were dispatched instantly.
"Kyeheek!"
But as more screeches echoed from deeper in the forest, some goblins began flanking—scattering east and west.
"Units! Crossbows!"
"Ha!"
"Wipe out the fleeing ones! Wings formation!"
Left unchecked, the scattered goblins would regroup.
And a displaced goblin pack could devastate civilians.
Thankfully, they'd anticipated this. The soldiers reacted swiftly.
THUD-THUD-THUD.
Divided into 100 squads of 12, they fanned out—pursuing the goblins.
Then—
"Fire!"
At their leaders' commands, they loosed their bolts without hesitation.
THWIP-THWIP-THWIP.
A storm of projectiles rained down.
Too slow to dodge and too frail to withstand the barrage, the weak monsters were slaughtered wholesale.
Amid the chaos, a larger goblin with red skin fell to concentrated fire.
"Hobgoblin down! Ignore the stragglers! Return to formation!"
Without their leader, goblins couldn't regroup.
Following their training, the soldiers withdrew—mission accomplished.
"Hahaha! See that?"
"I got two!"
"Three here!"
"This is nothing! Why were we ever scared of these things?"
Flushed with adrenaline, the recruits compared their kills.
The goblins' appearance had injected energy into the previously bored soldiers.
But the respite was brief.
"KYAOOOO!"
A new, far more chilling screech froze their expressions.