Those that still could move quickly tend to the wounded, and after a while everyone were quickly absorbed into the Snowdrifts’ ranks.
As they were not a part of the guild, they are technically Tommy’s private army, but with only a barony he couldn’t legally hold such a large military force and thus they will have to register under the Astroire family.
The Frosthral Frontlines had over a hundred thousand soldiers left. After they did a tally, their exact numbers were 167,201 barbarians in total, with 1222 Chiefs, and 7 War Chiefs.
Amongst their group, 31205 barbarians were not subordinates of anyone – either their superiors had been killed or they were freelancers that joined the frontlines.
Most of the Chiefs and War Chiefs had lost soldiers after the battles, some more tragic than others. These leaders need not go through their own promotional trial a second time, but until they recruit enough soldiers their titles will not be recognised.
Those still following them will have a chance to change a group when usually they could not; though their decision largely depends on the charisma of their leader.
Tommy’s first promotion trial had elated him to a Barbarian Lord with over a hundred thousand soldiers. By the number of his subordinates, he is considered mid-tier amongst his peers, but the war had taken its toll and his group is far from enough.
An optimal army of their numbers would have 1 Lord, 16 War Chiefs, 1655 Chiefs, and 165529 untitled barbarians. With over 400 Chiefs and 9 War Chiefs short, it will be hard for them to function as they should, but other than that they are battle-ready.
At this hour, a small detachment came over from Esley’s group.
They were well-dressed on the battlefield, with shiny scale armours that looked without a smudge of dust and decorative mounts, suitable for prancing around but terrible for in any kind of fights.
Heading them is a middle-aged looking man around his fifties, of course, his actual age would be much older. He had a wide smile on his face as he looked for Tommy.
When he spotted the new Barbarian Lord, he went forward with his entourage.
The joy on his face when he stood before Tommy made it hard for people to dislike him. He had small, slanted eyes, small nose, and smile wrinkles. Without exception, everyone felt that he is an approachable and kindly man when he appeared.
He dismounted and introduced himself with a soft and calming voice, “Baron Tommy Styrkur, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am called Biyo, a humble servant of Saint Empire.”
Tommy who is seated and dressing his wounds looked up at the man.
The thing he is sitting on is a suspicious-looking black mound. On closer inspection, one can see a certain charred man rolled into a ball. The slight movement every now and then shows that he is still breathing.
Of course, it wasn’t a coincidence that Tommy is here. The things that the charred man said, and the hatred he incited had all been heard clearly.
Later on, this person still has an appointment with his other sworn brothers.
He stood up to the relief of his seat, then gave Biyo a stiff greeting.
“The pleasure is mine. May I know the nature of your call?”
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Biyo: “It is nothing much. I am here to extend congratulations from the crown. His Grace, the Royal Retainer, Calculate Devilheart, had heard of your accomplishments on the frontlines and would like to show you his favour and the heartfelt appreciation of the citizens of Saint Empire. You are to receive a medal of honour for acquiring an army for the crown. Please return to the royal palace at the earliest.”
Tommy went silent for a moment as he pondered his words.
On the side, the expressions of Ah Gui and the rest changed explicitly when they saw the man having a conversation with Tommy. They approached Kairos and quickly the soldiers in their group opened a path for the fifteen of them.
As wartime regulations, not many could come close to the commander of their army, Kairos. However, everyone knows that these folks aren’t just anybody.
The group had a special pass as his Reserved Disciples.
There are different levels of discipleship. According to the normal placement that a guild or sect would have, they are classified as the following, in order of increasing importance:
Registered Disciple （记名弟子）- Anyone who registered to join. They are accepted according to their moral integrity.
Apprentice Disciple （入门弟子）- Students that passed the entry test.
Outer Disciple （外门弟子）- Students that mastered the guild or sect’s foundation techniques and received their identification badge.
Inner Disciple （内门弟子）- Higher-class students that could represent the guild, they are given the permission to leave the guild premises for official businesses and to hone their skills. This group of disciples are the main pillar of a guild or sect’s financial income.
Core Disciple （核心弟子）- Talented students, selected to receive better training and resources. Most of the organisation’s budget is used on them in hope to turn them into future Elders.
Elite Disciple （精英弟子）- The cream of the crop. They are selected from the Core Disciples and will one day become Great Elders.
Reserve Disciple （挂名弟子）- Any disciple that could receive personal training from an Elder, Great Elder, Grand Elder, or Sect/Guild Master. The importance the guild or sect place on them is according to their teacher’s position.
Personal Disciple （亲传弟子）- Any disciple that will receive inheritance of an Elder, Great Elder, Grand Elder, or Sect/Guild Master. Each teacher will only have a single Personal Disciple out of many Reserve Disciples.
Sacred Child （圣子/圣女）- Amongst the Elite Disciples, Reserve Disciples, and Personal Disciples, the top male student and the top female student is the two Sacred Child.
Successor （首席弟子) – The next leader, and future Grand Elder upon retirement. All the Grand Elders are previous leaders.
Ah Pui, Ah Gui, Selena, and the twelve other covert specialists are considered Kairos’ Reserved Disciples and their positions in the Snowdrifts guild are unique. Likewise, for Watts, Gigas, Lucas, and Lee, it is the same but as they joined later, they are the younger disciples.
After walking through thousands of men, they reached Kairos and hurriedly pointed at the man next to Tommy, “That’s Old man Biyo, our previous superior.”
“Old man Biyo? Is he the one you lot said that took good care of you before the change?”
Kairos’ disciples bobbed their heads up and down.
In the past when they were still death warriors working in the Devilheart family, old man Biyo was their first mission coordinator.
They had plenty of help from him and learned how to survive as covert operatives. However, their superior was soon swapped with a young and arrogant coordinator, and the fifteen suffered constant abuse under him.
Their first mission he sent them on was to gather information on Kairos and the other boys, and eventually to capture them.
In an unexpected twist of fate, they were the ones captured instead, and made into Kairos’ disciples.
However, it was the start of a new and wonderful life for them, and they felt rather lucky. Even though he is from the Devilheart family, they still felt thankful to the care that Biyo had given them and wanted to put a good word in for him to their martial master.
Kairos looked at them and nodded, gesturing he understood, however, in the deep recesses of his mind, a cutesy voice suddenly sounded out.
The owner of this voice, without saying, isn’t Kairos himself, but a mischievous tiny dragon hiding in his inner pockets.
Kairos~ Kairos~ Kairos~
“Yes, Aisa, Aisa, Aisa?”
I wanna tell you…
“Yes…?”
I wanna telllllll…
“Right?”
Let me beat up that wrinkly young boy, okay?~
“Wrinkly young boy… you mean old man Biyo? I forget, everyone is young for Aisa. But why do you want to hit him?”
HEHE
Kairos suddenly felt shivers down his back and he silently bowed down his head in prayer for Biyo. He doesn’t know how that person offended Aisa, but it is a good time to reserve a funeral parlour and a good piece of land.