Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: 57. Red Hood (2)
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Yuri hired architects from Brioll to oversee the construction work.
Instructors wearing red hoods trailed behind, barking orders at the knights.
They built the training facilities at a rapid pace.
At first, they didn't conduct much practical combat training. It was all extreme endurance drills aimed at reshaping their mental state.
But as the spirit of Brioll began to take root in Joachim, the training started to evolve.
"Third Instructor, what is the spirit of Brioll?"
"Can't you tell by looking, Second Instructor?"
"No way..."
"That very thing."
"With grit and guts?"
"Training like it's real combat, real combat like it's training."
"Pardon?"
"Pardon?"
Second Instructor Gonte and Third Instructor Ena stared at each other.
"What do you mean by grit and guts?"
"My apologies."
"Don't get any funny ideas. Brioll doesn't rely on outdated notions like that..."
Meanwhile, First Instructor Yuri, who had been drilling the owls, shouted out.
"It's grit and guts! That's what Brioll is! That's Joachim now! Got it?!"
Hearing that, the Second Instructor glanced at the Third. The Third cleared her throat awkwardly.
"W-well, instructors have their differences of opinion."
"Right."
In any case, the training quickly got on track.
Now, Joachim's knights were climbing atop towering wooden structures like towers, leaning their upper bodies over the railings, and screaming amid their fear of falling.
The First Instructor standing beside them bellowed.
"57th Owl, do you have a girlfriend?!"
"Yes, sir!"
"How old is she?!"
"S-seventeen!"
"What?"
Murmurs rippled through the onlookers.
Even the instructor faltered, lifting his foot to kick before barely holding back.
"You lunatic... How old are you, 57th Owl?!"
"I-I'm seventeen too!"
"Hm?"
It turned out they were the same age. Yuri retracted his foot and gave the knight a closer look. His initial misunderstanding wasn't entirely off-base.
Yuri offered him some advice.
"After training, make sure to slather on some sunscreen. Got it?!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Jump! 57th Owl! Airborne!"
"Airborne!"
At the airborne command, the 57th Owl straightened up, kicked off the railing, and leaped into the air.
It looked for all the world like he was simply hurling himself to his death.
But below the structure, three thick ropes stretched out at intervals, crossing each other.
The 57th Owl grabbed the first rope and held on, then the next, and the one after that. In the end, he didn't touch the ground, clinging triumphantly to the final rope.
A mud pit lay below.
Knights who failed the acrobatics ended up splashing down there, enduring the humiliation of looking like drowned rats.
"Excellent!"
The 57th Owl inched along the last rope with grunts of effort and safely escaped the pit.
To wage guerrilla warfare against the Empire's forces in the future, these men needed nimble movements that let them traverse the treetops.
Once this training ended, arrows from who-knows-where would strike terror into the Empire.
"Next! 58th Owl!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Do you have a girlfriend?!"
"No, sir!"
"Airborne it is!"
"Airborne!"
"Not that airborne!"
"Aaaahhh!"
The training was a resounding success.
Yuri checked the notebook in his hand. After the aerial acrobatics course wrapped up, full-on combat training would commence.
"Archery, huh..."
The knights didn't favor bows.
Even infusing arrows with mana, the energy inevitably dissipated during flight.
Thus, they lacked the power to fell knights of equal caliber.
But Yuri, drawing on memories from his past life, had recruited a master archer who slew countless knights with arrows.
Unknown now, but when war engulfed the continent, his covert archery would become an object of dread.
Murray of the Shadowless Kill.
Killing a person doesn't require overwhelming force.
Just enough impact for a sharp blade to pierce flesh and sever life.
So power isn't the key.
It's striking vital points.
Murray's arrows made no sound, left no trace.
Countless knights died with throats pierced, unable to react.
"Once this training ends, the Fourth Instructor will take over. Act cocky even once, and you'll go from owls to dogs. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
Normally, such secret techniques weren't easily acquired.
But Murray was still just an obscure hunter.
He had no inkling of his archery's potential in mountain warfare. He was simply focused on hunting beasts.
So when Yuri offered lifetime employment plus a pension upon retirement, Murray immediately pledged his life to Brioll.
He was a civil servant now.
He'd make history in Brioll's Forest Service.
"Instructors Five and Six haven't arrived yet?"
"They're on their way."
"I see."
Yuri crossed his arms after descending the structure. Turning Joachim's knights into elite guerrillas still required more.
Trap setting and disarming, ambushes and tracking, wilderness survival skills. Much left to learn.
"First Instructor."
Second Instructor Gonte approached Yuri.
"This might be belated, but thank you."
"For what?"
"Look at their eyes."
He pointed to Joachim's knights, their eyes bloodshot. Though training had just begun, sharp glints already flickered in their gazes.
"Aren't those the eyes of true knights?"
Honestly, Yuri thought they resembled something else more than knights, but Gonte's joy was a good sign.
Yuri nodded.
"Hearing that from you makes me glad."
"Meeting you in the Allied Forces—Prince, no, First Instructor—must have been a stroke of luck. For Joachim's future. Fate, perhaps?"
Yuri chuckled.
"It's just the beginning. Too early to celebrate."
"Yes, sir."
"Then let's keep drilling these owls."
"Right."
Off in the distance, the Third Instructor was already pushing the owls hard. She rarely let them rest. Among the instructors, she was the toughest.
"The Third Instructor scares even me."
"She's doing it on purpose."
"Pardon?"
"Second Instructor. You play the good cop."
"But..."
"Our training ends here, but you'll lead them back in Joachim. Leave the bad cop to us."
"Such profound intent..."
Of course, the Third Instructor acted without deeper thought, but Yuri framed it nicely for her.
"Understood."
Yuri gazed at the sky. The sun, high at midday, was beginning to tilt westward.
Another day at the guerrilla training ground drew to a close.
Yuri stared at the distant horizon with a somber expression.
A day passing meant tomorrow's arrival.
Time flew relentlessly.
And at its end waited an unavoidable war.
He longed to storm the imperial palace and slaughter the black magic wielders, but that was impossible. All he could do was prepare thoroughly and wait for good news from Hernando or Asana.
Yuri sighed.
"If only some unexpected good fortune would come."
Since the orcs were subjugated, Balshard had enjoyed peace.
Before, fear of orc raids kept residents from venturing far, but now only scattered remnants roamed.
Balshard's people expanded farmland and trade. Strangers frequented the city.
Thus, guards weren't surprised by approaching figures.
"Hold up."
At an outpost outside Balshard Castle, two guards stood watch.
One, peering through a telescope at the horizon, tapped his comrade's shoulder.
"Over there."
"Hm?"
"People coming."
"So?"
He was lounging in a chair, flipping through a magazine imported from the Empire: Night of the Imperial City. The continent's trendsetter was popular even among non-imperial folk.
"People are coming, I said."
"So what? Happens every day now."
"From that direction."
"What's wrong with that?"
"The east."
Balshard sat at the continent's eastern edge.
Travelers came and went via the west.
The east had been orc territory—nothing but wasteland.
"Huh?"
His comrade finally set the magazine aside and stood.
"People coming from the east."
"What, settlers looking for land to farm?"
"Doesn't look like it."
"Then?"
"Like long-time wanderers."
"Oh?"
"And clothes I've never seen."
"Never seen?"
"You know... like..."
He raised the telescope again.
"If folks from the Eastern Continent showed up, it'd feel like this."
"What?"
His comrade took the telescope and scanned the horizon.
A group approached with several wagons. Their garb was utterly exotic—flowing robes, riding horses. No mistaking them for locals.
"Should we report to the lord?"
"Heard she's swamped lately..."
Marirose, Balshard's magic tool engineer lord, had been holed up researching underground.
Her steward handled most affairs under her orders.
"Let's report up the chain."
"Yeah."
"I'll go."
He dashed off toward Balshard on horseback.
The lone guard swallowed hard, telescope trained on the mysterious group.
All wore swords at their waists.
Rumors said Easterners excelled in martial arts—if true, Lady Marirose might need to deploy Balshard's magic barriers. None could breach them.
"Hurry up already."
The strangers moved swiftly; no word from his partner.
Soon, they neared the outpost.
He clenched his fists.
Duty called.
Steeling himself, he strode down boldly, chin raised to greet them.
They exchanged glances, then one stepped forward.
The guard spoke.
"Who are you? State your identity to approach Balshard."
The figure replied.
"Mind if we rest a day in Balshard?"
Red hood, face veiled in cloth—only eyes visible. Voice betrayed a woman.
"We're a merchant caravan."
"Merchant caravan? Ha..."
The guard snorted, but chills ran down his spine.
Hiding identities spelled trouble. Hand on hilt, he stammered.
"M-merchants come from the city side, not the wasteland. Think I'm an idiot?"
"The city has an east gate too."
"What?"
She unveiled her face.
The guard blinked in surprise.
Sun-kissed skin, radiant beauty full of vitality.
She grinned.
"We're on a trade run back. See the goods?"
"Then which city..."
"Passed through so many, can't recall..."
She turned back. A silent comrade spoke.
"Sachun had the biggest deals."
"Right, Sachun."
"What's Sachun?"
"City on the Eastern Continent. You wouldn't know."
"Eastern Continent?"
Now he noticed the fluttering flag. Initially meaningless, small text at the corner read:
Ireine Merchant Company
The famous name known continent-wide.
She flashed a bright smile.
"I'm Ireine Wood of the Ireine Merchant Company, and these are my companions. We've come trading with the Eastern Continent."