After almost half an hour passed, we were led by the commander Laurence to the training field of the army. We walked towards the northern part of the city and when I asked why was it here, although obvious the answer was still a bit surprising.
[We were forced to move it by royal decree two years ago when the monsters appeared. Well...that and the fact that the old training grounds has been replaced by the dungeon that appeared a month ago. The reasoning behind it is, that in case of assistance being requested from another neighboring city or state in their fight with the monsters, we must mobilize the troupes as soon as possible.](Laurence)
"It does make sense, but have any other cities been attacked until now?"
[Yes. Pretty much every city on our continent is targeted by different monsters and all other army commanders have reported at least one monster village in the general vicinity of their territory, similar to the Goblin one discovered by us. We can't even begin to understand the meaning of this, but we took it as an invasion and bolstered our forces as much as we could. If what you and milady said is true, then we will be able to use the dungeons in our favor and rid ourselves of this plague, after increasing the general level of our soldiers.](Laurence)
[The situation is the same on the Elf continent, Ahrein. Every elf settlement reported a monster village and a dungeon appearing nearby.](Clara)
"Ahem!"
[O..or at least that's what my sources tell me...](Clara)
"Could it be that she's the airhead type of character? Anyway, if that's the situation, is not really a monster invasion, but rather this world's God forcing them to raise their levels through it, since he's losing the game..."
When we reached the training ground, we found three different groups of soldiers aligned and waiting, in front of which Laura and the other two were standing slightly confused.
They seemed a bit surprised seeing me again but I only nodded greeting them silently and moved forward. I was quite curious about how this was going to play out...
[At ease you lot! Like I already explained, you have been handpicked based on your exceptional talent and potential to grow, in order to assist milady Clara in cleaning the Goblin village that tormented our people for two years now. You should feel honored since you will be under her direct supervision!](Laurence)
As soon as those words ended, clamoring could be heard and the faces of the people were filled with happiness and excitement. I guess any soldier would be glad to fight under the most famous person in this world. This might make things difficult for Laura and those two though...
[Calm down you morons! Now, there is more. You have been separated into 50 spear wielders, 30 sword and shield holders and 20 archers. That has been done in order to prepare a special type of unit, an elite one! Silence you idiots! Do you want to run laps around the city until the first morning light?](Laurence)
Wow...isn't it barely midday? Either way, they are surprisingly okay with this so far... rather, don't they look oddly expectant about it?
[Is fine commander. I will take it from here. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Clara Works and I hold the occupation of 'Assassin'. Because of a special request, I will personally help you improve your strength and liberate this city of the Goblin village nearby. However, since I can't do this alone, I will be assisted by four people in total. I want you all to treat them as you would treat me, since otherwise you might dislike the repercussions.](Clara)
Silence followed. I was expecting them to be clamoring here rather than before to be honest. I wonder, is it because they are curious about those four people, or because they have been threatened by the strongest person in this world?
[I will start by stating that your affiliation with the army will be from this point severed and you will answer only to those four and me. The chain of command will be as following: ranked commander of this elite troupe will be me, Clara Works. I shall decide on your training regimen and I will decide on all other actions effective immediately. Is that clear?](Clara)
[[[[[Yes!]]]]]
[Good answer! Next will be the captain of this group and her name is Laura Espada. You should know her otherwise as the person that received the 'King's blessing'. I strongly believe that there isn't a person more fit to fill this role than the daughter of your general, that received a blessing from the God of this world directly. Don't you lot agree?](Clara)
[[[[[Yes!]]]]]
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
They seemed surprisingly hyped about it. Rather, aren't those eyes filled with more than respect for these two beautiful girls? They look like a group of starved hyenas rather than an elite group. And also, the person herself seems to be rather shocked about the sudden development.
"That's why I told this hyperactive high elf...poor girl looks almost crushed by the sudden announcement. I guess it should be fine if I'll tell her later that her idol has high expectations of her. She seems to be the type to get worked out over that kind of thing..."
[Good replies! I personally have high expectations from Laura and I think she will soon become the second person in this world to attain the job of 'Assassin'. Look forward to her leadership!](Clara)
[[[[[Yes!]]]]]
"Oi!!! Don't just randomly add more pressure on her!!! ...even if you wink at me, at this point is not cute but scary! How did she know?"
[Now then, she will also be helped by the other two people you see here. Her first lieutenant will be Vincent Gottu and he will be in charge of the spear troupes, as the second lieutenant will be Ian Braght, in charge of the sword and shield, as well as the archers. Any objections?](Clara)
[[[[[None!]]]]]
For these two posts I actually thought things through. Unlike Laura, this two guys have trained for over twenty years and each are specialized more than the regular soldier in their specific fields. Vincent wields a spear and with his level 4, one of his skills is Spear mastery, meaning that he will be perfect for the job. Regarding Ian, it was a tough call since he is really close to evolving his job to Scout, however he has both Sword mastery and the Take aim skills, so if required to prove why I chose him for this post, he can do that with ease.
Well, looking at their faces, they are just as surprised as Laura is regarding their sudden promotion. I guess congratulations are in order for them and their families...
[Good. Now the last person will hold the rank of military adviser, however don't be fooled by that! He is probably the only one here that can hold out in a serious fight against me, more than five minutes. Due to his extensive knowledge, we were able to find the location of the Goblin village since he himself went there and discovered it, after killing more than ten Goblins and today after exploring the dungeon west of the city, he discovered a treasure trove that would allow you lot to increase your power without doing anything. You should be thankful to him! His name is Michael Corbett. You'd do well to remember it.](Clara)
[[[[[Yes!]]]]]
I said that I would like not to be dragged into this whole mess, but unfortunately is not possible. That's why I decided to do what I can and make use of my limited knowledge to help as much as is doable, so that later on I can relax and take it easy. Even if that might be into the far future...
[Now, a word from our adviser regarding what you will be doing today!](Clara)
"Huh!? What 'word' you stupid elf??? We didn't talk about this!!! I'll make sure to get revenge later..."
"...ahem! Hello everyone and thank you for gathering here. Like you already heard from Ms. Clara, I will be providing advice regarding our military conduct from this point onward. There are two things that you will be doing today and the first has to do with the huge stacks over there."
After pointing in a specific direction, 104 people - commander Laurence included - turned around to see what I was talking about.
Near the training grounds where they were gathered, three towering stacks of round shields were blocking the view back to the city. This would be the first step towards the elite troupe I have in mind.
"It might be ripping off the knowledge I have from movies and most of it will be inaccurate. However when it comes to medieval fights with low technological weapons, there are tactics involving shields, used to decrease the number the damage took by your own army, as well as to stop the charging enemies. You can find it in every movie that has that kind of fights in it, something called 'Shield wall'. I only hope we can recreate it..."
"What you see in front of you are 75 shields that you will wear from today onward every hour you are awake and you will sleep with them by your side, until they become a third arm for you. The spear unit will bear from today onward in its left hand a tower shield, while the sword unit will wear on its left a round shield. The purpose of this training shields is to have you all get used to the weight, their general feel and then we will also conduct actual battle exercises once you are accustomed with them. Commander Laurence?"
[Yes, of course. Listen well you lot! This time since we didn't have enough time to prepare them, the shields are made of leadwood, so don't think they are going to be easy to carry. Also, to make it harder, you will start from tomorrow to do training exercises with the shields attached. Any complaints?](Laurence)
[[[[[None!]]]]]
"I hope this will work. When I thought about shields and spears, the praetorian roman legion came to mind and for the swords and shields I decided on the spartan round shield. After all both boast of a tremendous effectiveness and defense."
Even if replicas made of wood, the commander managed to prepare them with the help of the town's artisans which I suggested two days ago, based on some drawing I gave them. They really surprised me by having them ready so fast. The tower shield covers the body from shoulder to ankles, in order to create an impenetrable wall without hindering the sight or movement. The round shield covers the body from shoulder to knees, boosting the defense while allowing large movements and unhindered sight. If this 75 people manage to master the shields, they will wipe out with ease any monster settlement.
"Be prepared because soon, the real deal made out of steel will be handed to you. When that happens, the weight will at least double! By then you must be able to train with the ones you have without sweating. Understood?"
[[[[[Yes sir!]]]]]
We then explained the situation to the three that were still kind of out of it and asked them to go inside the dungeon under the guidance of the two guards and Clara.
I returned to the inn and took a nap, preparing for tonight.