Since I already have my armor and weapons on, I spend the five minutes looking around at the castle. It is a very small castle, more of a large fort in my opinion, but it is well maintained. There are only five hundred troops stationed here, under the command of ten captains.

Each captain has a fifty man troop and the troops are rated based on strength and numbered accordingly. Of course I am the tenth captain, and my troop is the tenth troop. Personally, I am probably stronger than the other nine captains combined, but rankings are based on troop strength.

In order for me to have an effect on the war that is coming I will first need to raise my troop's rank. If I can do that then the other captains will at least listen to me when the battle starts. As I watch the first of the troops rush out of the barracks and line up I quickly realize it is going to take a lot of work.

They are obviously not in top shape, and what's worse I can tell from how they move that they aren't well trained. Their combat potential is extremely low, I could kill all fifty of them in a minute or two. Once the last one has joined the line I order them to follow me and set off at a slow jog.

I lead them out of the castle grounds and through the town, by then they are already panting heavily. Once we are outside of town I stop and let them catch their breath for two minutes. Then I lead them in a slow circle around the town, well slow for me anyway.

About halfway around the town I notice several of my men are starting to fall behind. So I order the soldier in first place to continue around the town while I stop to let everyone pass me by. Instead of saying anything to the ones at the back I just wait for them to pass me as well.

Once the last soldier has moved past me I start moving, as I move up behind the slowpokes I let out a terrifying growl. Amazingly the exhausted soldiers in front of me suddenly find their second wind and take off running. They are acting like some ferocious beast is chasing them or something!

With just a little gentle prodding all of the soldiers manage to complete the run. I then lead them at a walk through the town and back to the castle. For some reason a lot of the town's people are giving the soldiers looks of pity.

"Alright, you can rest for the rest of the day. I'll see you again tomorrow morning."

The soldiers, who have all collapsed to sit or lay on the ground, suddenly look like someone told them they were about to die. I admit I am having fun already, at least this test isn't going to be boring. After leaving the troops I walk around the castle to take a look at the other troops.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Most of them are currently training which lets me get a good idea of their strength. While all nine troops are currently stronger than mine, I am surprised to find they are all only basic troops. Each troop has ten archers while the rest are all trained as swordsmen, no mages or mounted troops.

Even the swordsmen are only split between sword and shield and two-handed sword users. What surprises me the most is I don't see a single spear or polearm anywhere. Not only do those weapons provide greater reach, but they are much easier to master than the sword.

Since I have some time, I head to the castle's library, I want to see if I can learn more about this kingdom. After spending a few hours in the library I give up, there seems to be no useful information. Since I haven't eaten yet I head for the main hall, which has tables laid out for the troops to eat at.

After getting a tray of food I look around, quite a few soldiers are eating lunch already. When I spot the captain of the third troop I decide to see if I can learn anything from him. When I walk over the captain looks up at me and I am glad to see no fear in his eyes.

"May I join you?"

Shard says "Sure, I'm Captain Shard, third troop."

"Ash, tenth troop."

Shard says "Oh, I'm aware of who you are. Everyone in the castle knows who you are. After all, you are the only beast in the army."

"I guess that's true. Mind if I ask you a few questions while we eat?"

Shard says "Sure, why not."

"Okay, first off, is there any rule about our troops using weapons other than swords and bows?"

Shard says "Other weapons? No, there is no rule against it. But you will have a hard time finding other weapons for your troops. Also, anything like that you will have to pay for out of your own pocket."

"Fair enough. When is the next competition to determine the troop rankings?"

Shard says "Two weeks from tomorrow."

"Excellent. Is there any combat between captains to determine strength?"

Shard says "Not really. You can challenge other captains if you want to show off your strength, but it doesn't matter to the rankings."

"Hm, disappointing. What about using mounts?"

Shard says "While it is technically allowed, it will never happen. Only nobles can afford to keep horses."

"Oh, it's that expensive?"

Shard says "Yes. There are no horse breeders in our kingdom, all horses must be imported."

"Too bad. Alright, any good ways for a captain to make some money on the side?"

Shard says "Not unless you can convince a noble to back your troop."

"Yeah, not likely."

Shard says "True. Well, if you need some personal funds there might be another way."

"Oh, what would that be?"

Shard says "If you don't mind risking your life, you can always join the adventurer's guild."

"Is there one in town?"

Shard says "Yes, it's on the east side of town."

"Thank you for the information!"

Shard says "No problem, we are on the same side after all."

"I wish everyone else thought that way."

Shard says "You just became a captain, give everyone time to get used to you."

"Thanks."

After quickly finishing my food and thanking Shard again, I leave the castle and head to the east side of town. Even though I memorized the town map, it didn't really show the differences in buildings. It is only as I wander the east side of town I realize all the buildings here are better built and bigger than the rest of town.