Chp 6
The day of the training exercise arrived and we the students traveled alongside a battalion of the army to the eastern forest in the kingdom which took three days.
We set up a large camp at the edge of the forest and we got into our groups.
The person leading this training exercise was Lieutenant Colonel Meyers. The villages surrounding this area having been voicing worries about more recent monster sightings so the army came to dispatch their fears.
The Lieutenant Colonel came with his battalion which numbered roughly 500 soldiers which would work together with us 200 students to get rid of the monsters.
The ranks in the army are a little confusing at first but I was able to learn it during class. First, we have the regular soldier in a squad. A squad typically has soldiers which is led by a squad leader who usually has the title of knight.
Then, there are second lieutenants who are in charge of two squads. Then there are Lieutenants or First Lieutenants who are in charge of two second lieutenants so they are in charge of roughly 40 to 50 soldiers.
Above lieutenants are captains who take care of two lieutenants, which means they lead roughly 100 soldiers which adds up to a platoon.
Above captains, are majors who are in charge of two captains so they control a company.
The lieutenant colonel rank is above major and they command battalions. Battalions have a range of 300 to 800 soldiers. Lieutenant colonel Meyers who is leading the training exercise with us today has a battalion of around 500 soldiers.
Then, there are Colonels who are the superiors of two to three lieutenant colonels, so they command regiments which include roughly 1000 or more soldiers
And then, there are Brigadier Generals who command brigades that have about 3000 soldiers under their leadership.
Above them are generals who command two or three brigades which turn them into divisions so they can command up to 5000 to 10,000 soldiers.
And finally, there is the Field Marshal or the Grand Marshal, which is the highest rank in the army, where there is only one person occupying that seat and is a position granted by the king and must have the support of two other generals.
The hierarchy in the army is quite complex and takes a while to memorize but this system of ranking is necessary or else it will be quite chaotic as there would be no order.
I think I remember from one of my class teachers saying that our entire army has roughly 70,000 soldiers currently in active duty.
The majority of the army is situated in the east border next to the Rezia kingdom who is ruled by warlords and has no real king. Because of their chaotic situation there are frequent attacks by bandits who try to cross the border and pillage our own lands and sometimes other warlords from there attack us so, it’s necessary to have soldiers stationed in that area.
But, the army has been doing well defending the border for many years now, so people don’t usually worry about it too much.
The lieutenant colonel gave orders to his subordinates and we were placed into groups of 30. Five of which were mages. Three of the mages were from the academy and the other two were part of the army.
“You nervous Dom?” Vince came and asked me.
“No, not really. It’s just that I’ve never seen a monster before.”
“Haha, they’re ugly bastards, we’ll probably mostly be seeing goblins and hobgoblins. You’ll be fine you’re plenty strong. As long as you remember your training and follow orders you’ll get through this without a scratch.”
“C’mon, the leader of our group is about to speak.”
We both headed to where the rest of the group was and someone caught my eye.
She was the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. Platinum blonde hair, beautiful grey eyes and mesmerizing lips. I couldn’t help but stare with my jaw open. She certainly didn’t look like a young student. I think she’s at least a fourth or fifth-year student.
“That’s Alina Castlin, second year student. She’s the granddaughter of Duke Castlin. She’s a beauty ain’t she?” Vince said with an admiring look towards her.
I got out of my stupor as the captain began talking about our formation. The mages were going to be in the back with the archers, providing support to the group while the rest of us would be going in a semi-circular formation in the front.
But I couldn’t help but keep on staring at Alina. Our eyes met briefly and I quickly turned my attention back to the captain.
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My heart was beating so fast I could hear it beating rapidly in my ears. I was embarrassed. It felt like I was a young teenager again… which I was. But my mentality was that of almost a 30-year old man so I couldn’t help but be embarrassed with myself.
We all set off into the forest and Vince was teasing me in a low voice the entire time.
The forest covered a lot of land, so there were many groups setting off in different directions in search for monster camps.
Each group had two scouts that went ahead of the group searching for tracks. We were always within half a mile range of the other groups so that if we ever ran into a large group of monsters reinforcements would be somewhat close by.
We came across a herd of deer and some wild forest animals but no monsters.
It was mid-afternoon where we were taking a short lunch break when the scouts came back informing us that there were five goblins roughly a mile ahead of us.
The captain told us to get ready and that we were going to maneuver around that area so that we can surround them.
We had to be careful to be quiet and after about 30 minutes we had the goblins surrounded and they were completely unaware.
The goblins have keen noises so after we got around 50 meters around them they became alert to our presence.
“Alex, Edward, Kyle, Simon and Dominic! You students each take care of one goblin each!” The captain shouted out.
I was surprised that he called out my name. I didn’t expect that as a first year, I would get a chance to partake in this training exercise. I expected to just stand in the sidelines the entire time while the upperclassmen did all the work.
I unsheathed my sword and approached the group of goblins with my upperclassmen.
The goblins were, put simply, ugly. Green skin, unclean, sharp teeth and nails and they only wore loincloths that covered their privates. They weren’t that tall, probably 4”5 at most and they were holding poorly crafted spears and one of them held an old rusty sword.
The goblins rushed towards us baring their teeth and yelling out a bestial cry. I didn’t expect them to be so quick.
I activated my aura and the movement of the goblin rushing towards me slowed down in my perspective. I could easily see the flaws in its defenses as it thrusted its spear at me and I dodged its attack easily by sidestepping and with a swift swing of my sword decapitated the monster.
Edward and Simon knew how to use aura so they were able to easily dispatch the goblins. While Alex and Kyle took a little bit longer but they finished the job.
The archers and mages were ready to attack in case anything happened to us, which luckily, nothing did.
“Great job Dom!” Vince came up and clapped my shoulder. “You seemed like a natural born killer! That was great!”
I didn’t know how I felt being called a natural born killer but I accepted his compliment.
Some of the soldiers whispered while looking at me, apparently surprised that a first-year like me was so calm and collected.
My attention turned to Alina but she didn’t seem to care about what happened.
I honestly, don’t know how to feel now that I killed a monster for the first time. I didn’t really feel anything except that it was really easy to slice the head off and felt disgusted by seeing all the blood.
We burned the corpses and moved on in search of more monsters.
There was nothing eventful that happened that day, other than spotting a mother bear with her three cubs and see stayed clear away from her.
We set up a small makeshift camp because the sun was setting and began to prepare dinner. The captain gave out orders for people to set up a rotation watch just in case we were attacked during the night.
I saw Alina eating alone on a log. I mustered up my courage and told myself not to be little bitchy teenager and to go up and talk to her. So what if she has the looks of a beautiful goddess?
I walked up to her and gave a confident smile while I asked, “Hi, do you mind if I sit here?”
No response. She just stared at me and continued eating.
I took that as a yes and sat down.
“My name’s Dominic, nice to meet you.” I said as I stretched my hand out for a handshake.
“I know who you are. You’re the first year who beat up one of the instructor’s right?”
She had a lovely voice.
“Uh… ha ha. The rumors are greatly exaggerated. I just punched him lightly and he just kind of flew off on his own.” I hoped that she didn’t think I was some sort of undisciplined underclassman.
She gave out a small laugh. “Yeah, a light punch that sent off an instructor who could use aura.”
“Why are you sitting here alone and not with the rest of the group?” I asked.
“Sigh… it seems you still don’t know the intricacies of politics. Vince is the crown prince, therefore, those who are with him are naturally those that support his claim to the throne. But my grandfather is in support of his younger brother, prince Vaughn. So, if I’m seen mingling with the crown prince and his posse then it would pose a problem for my grandfather.”
“Hmm… I didn’t know that politics still played a huge role in the academy. What type of magic do you use?” I tried to change the topic.
“I use wind magic, what about you?”
“I use wind magic too! Well, I’m still in the beginner class so I haven’t really learned much on how to cast spells but I’ll be able to do it sooner or later. You’re good at magic right? You wouldn’t be here in this training exercise if you weren’t. Will you be my private tutor?”
“Huh? I don’t know…”
“Oh pleeeaassse! I bet you’re a star student in the magic class. Truthfully, I don’t have much talent in magic but that’s what I’m passionate about! I would be really grateful if you would teach me!”
“I don’t know, I’ll think about it.”
Well, the fact that she didn’t chase me away by now means that she kind of likes me so I just changed the subject to what kind of hobbies she has and what she likes and we just simply got to know each other.
You know? She wasn’t as intimidating as I thought she’d be.
The next day a scout from another group contacted us, saying that they found a monster camp and that we were to head to their location.
We headed there and most of the other groups were already there.
The lieutenant colonel gave out orders and we marched to the monster camp. Soon the monster camp came into view in the middle of the forest.
There were a couple hundred of them bustling about, mostly goblins and hobgoblins and I spotted a few ogres in their midst when suddenly a war horn from their camp resounded because we were spotted and they prepared for battle.
The lieutenant colonel had the mages prepare their spells and unleash them upon the charging monsters. It was practically a massacre.
The monster had no way to resist the magic that was being fired upon them so they retreated. We then charged into their camp and attacked them.
Pretty soon most of the monsters were killed. We went around the camp making sure that all the monsters were dead.
I searched inside a poorly constructed tent and looked around and found a small bundle of furs. I took a look and saw a baby goblin.