For over a week during the day, Akira led the army in the new marching and shield formations.
Later in the day, he joined the Dwarves to help work on the armor that was still needed for the army with the help of the other blacksmiths, all werewolf soldiers had a full set of new armor that they were now training in.
Akira stood at the training field in front of the warriors after completing their morning run and exercises to warm up their muscles. He took a quick look at the message window that had popped up several minutes before.
The warriors under your command have a complete basic understanding of the marching and shield formations.
Continue to train the warriors for a perfect understanding.
Command skill level up! Fluffball has leveled up to level 20!
He wanted to continue training only the shield formations until they were at perfect but he could not stop worrying about the demigods being quiet for so long.
It would be best if they started on skirmish fighting so that they could stay in full fighting shape for anything that came their way.
The 1st-5th heavy infantry units stood at the front in full white heavy armor with the crest of Kodria on their large tower shield and on their breastplate. Their armor was designed similar to Akira's but did not have the added benefits of the Dwarves runes or magic stones.
Behind Akira were several hundred snowmen that had been erected in several rows.
“Before we start with full skirmishes we have a few more exercises I will be adding every day. Everyone must use the hand-crossbow given to them and shoot ten bolts at the snowmen from 50 yards away.”
“Marching formation! Step forward one unit at a time,” ordered Akira.
“Begin!” shouted Akira as the units quickly followed orders and moved smoothly into formation.
Akira watched and marked down the names of those who were able to hit the snowman ten times in a row on their first attempt.
There were only 20 who managed to score a hit with all ten, 11 from the Longtail clan, 6 from the Darkmoon clan, and 3 from the Madmane clan.
Akira would be keeping an eye on them and would see if it was just a fluke or if they could do the same thing the next time they shot the small hand crossbow. The majority of the warriors missed three to four shots. The worst accuracy was from the heavy infantry who missed five or more times.
After all of the cross-bolts were gathered from the ground and the deformed snowmen they returned to the marching formation.
“You all understand how to march prettily. Now you must show that you can keep that formation while charging the enemy line and attacking the enemy!” said Akira pointing at the rows of snowmen.
“1st -5th heavy infantry you will rotate in protecting each unit until they have all successfully completed the charge to my liking. You have the duty of protecting those behind you in battle so you can count this as extra training. 1st unit and 6th unit step forward!” shouted Akira.
“Charge!” Akira watched as the twenty warriors ran forward in almost perfect unison. But when they got to the snowmen the shield wall disappeared as they moved their shields to attack the enemy with their swords.
The warriors from the temporary 6th unit were a mess as well, as they tried to land an attack of their own while the heavy infantry was hacking away at the deformed snowmen in the front row.
“Do it again but this time do not let the shield-wall fall! Let the warriors behind you attack the enemy!
Your job as heavy infantry is to take the punishment dished out by the enemy so that those behind you get to the battle in one piece. When you reach the enemy smash into their front line, push them back all while keeping formation and blocking the enemy from breaking through your shield wall.
You may attack if it will not cause the shield wall to collapse or if given an order by me or an officer,” shouted Akira.
On their second try, the warriors of the 6th unit threw their short spears over the heads of the heavy infantry while charging forward towards the enemy.
The solid shield-wall slammed into the snowmen and braced for a counterattack, their weapons ready to attack the imaginary enemy if there was a chance. While the warriors of the 6th unit behind them stabbed at the enemy from behind the protection of the shield-wall.
“Good that's what I want to see! Next two units!”
When each unit had successfully completed one charge at enemy snowmen. Akira turned to Azura and Mileena who had joined him.
“Did you manage to find enough help?” he asked.
“Around 100 of them,” said Azura.
“Their mothers all said pretty much the same thing they have to be back for lunch,” said Mileena.
Akira walked over to the group of 100 kids, the majority of them boys.
“All right listen up! As chief and commander of Kodria, I have a mission for you guys. Do you want to know what it is?” asked Akira in a quiet whisper.
“Yeah!!!” shouted the excited kids.
“Shhh...” said Azura.
“I need you to stand behind all of those snowmen and whenever the soldiers charge I want you to throw as many snowballs as you can until they stop attacking the snowmen. Can you guys do that?” asked Akira.
“Yeah,” said the children quietly.
“We also need those who are good at building snowmen to help replace the ones that get destroyed. Any takers?” asked Akira.
Several kids raised their hands.
“Alright everyone, take your positions!” said Akira quietly.
Akira waited until the children hid themselves behind the many rows of snowmen. The warriors had seen Akira quietly talking to the children and although they could eavesdrop if they transformed they did not dare to do such a thing like that.
“We are increasing the distance to the enemy! 1st and 6th unit, start at the end of the training field and charge the snowmen!” ordered Akira.
The 1st and 6th unit formed up before charging forward and as soon as they started the run...
Thunk! Thud! Thump!
Snowballs rained down on them surprising them. Although it was unexpected they continued to charge forward under the rain of snowballs.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
For the rest of the morning, the units continued to charge at the snowmen while under snowball attacks. After each charge, the kids who had volunteered continued to help make new snowmen and patch up the less damaged ones.
The heavy infantry was getting the worst of the training as they had to lead the charge with all of their heavy armor and large square shields. They ended up charging the snowman three times more than units 6-20.
During the morning training, Akira received several messages of units leveling up together as they learned and gained a better understanding of the new formations and fighting.
“What's with all the fighting of snowmen?” asked Mileena.
“If their shield wall falls apart while trying to fight the snowmen, then just think about how bad it would be if they fought against the demigods in mess like that,” said Akira in between bites of the steaming meat stew that the girls had brought him and the others.
“If you say so but it seems kinda silly to me, especially the kids throwing the snowballs,” said Azura.
“Yap,” said Fluffball who disagreed with her as he liked running alongside Akira, dodging the snowballs, and jumping at the snowmen.
“Varbu how are your warriors doing?” asked Maya.
“Not bad. We're doing somewhat the same training as Akira so we should be on par with each other,” said Varbu.
“Gi giii gi giiiii,” said prince Gobbers.
“He says that his warriors are doing fine as well,” translated Varbu between bites of food.
“I heard that Burkin returned several days ago and left before I could say hello,” said Mileena.
“Yeah, he told me that he had met several wandering clans and made some great deals with them. He dropped off some of the stuff he traded for at the general store before heading back up the river to sell the stuff at Jerora and pick up his wife. Soon he'll be back with more items and even some alcohol.
I know Delgar and the other Dwarves have been dying from not having anything strong to drink so I'm sure they will be happy when he comes back,” said Akira.
“Kodria is really growing well with all the new buildings and homes being built. I heard from the Grand elders that the village has enough food right now to last us for several months so we don't need to worry that much,” said Azura.
“It's all because my man found, planned, and helped build the village that everything is going so well! Now all you have to do is keep up the good work with the military and we'll have nothing to worry about!” said Mileena while laying her head on Akira's cold metal shoulder using the cape as a cushion.
“Thanks for the kind words but we still have a long way to go in order to be at the point where we don't have to worry about the demigods,” said Akira as he rubbed Mileena's furry ears.
The rest of the day the warriors continued to train in shooting the crossbow, charging the snowman, and spear throwing.
Akira joined the training alongside his own bodyguards and did everything he had the warriors do. Fluffball, energetic as always followed Akira enjoying his time playing in the snow.
The Grand elders would soon be looking to see which bodyguards lived up to the standards they wanted so they gave it their all as they knew that they were being watched by the grand elders from the castle keep as well as by Akira.
Four days passed as they trained in all they had learned over and over again.
Akira now stood in front of the warriors after the warm-ups had finished.
“I have chosen 20 of you to create the 6th and 7th skirmish unit of the 1st omega wolf pack. Your role in the army will be, but not limited to, scouting and fighting alongside the heavy infantry as skirmishers shooting at the enemy from a distance. When your name is called step forward and join your new unit.”
It only took a few minutes to reorganize the units so that the new 6th and 7th skirmish units, while the temporary units that had lost men were re-organized.
“From now on the 6th and 7th skirmish units will follow after the heavy infantry while in line formation. The 6th skirmishers will support the 1st heavy infantry and the 7th skirmishers will support the 5th heavy infantry in all formations unless ordered otherwise.”
“Today we will be taking a break from formations, charging, and crossbows training. We are going to have some fun with a wrestling contest!”
Everyone cheered at his words.
“We will be holding a weekly contest from now on. Although you will be fighting Kodria's enemies with weapons there may be unforeseen instances where you will be forced into a fight without your weapon. I expect you to not shame the Kodria or the army by not knowing how to fight the enemy with your bare hands.
The rules of the competition are simple, everyone will transform and use their bare hands to defeat their opponent. Three losses will mean you are out of the competition. Those who lose will have to do ten more laps around the village after the contest is finished! The winner of the contest can take a rest while everyone else runs,” said Akira.
There was another happy cheer as everyone was determined to be the winner and not have to run the extra ten laps.
The morning passed by leisurely several of the villagers along with the Grand elders who had no work for the day came to watch the fights. The event was full of shouts of encouragement and had a festival atmosphere to it.
“What do you say to having the Orc champion and the werewolf champion fight after they win?” asked Varbu as he jabbed Akira playfully in the side.
“Or how about the both of us show off our skills in front of everyone,” said Akira as jabbed Varbu back.
“Awoooooo~!”
The loud howl echoed through the cold air caused the cheerful atmosphere to disappear in an instant as they listened to it.
Fluffball let out a howl of his own in response to the howl.
“What is it?” asked Mileena who was sitting next to Akira.
Ding!
Urgent Mission received!
Defend the mines from Invading attackers!
Difficulty: C+
The reward will depend on the results of the mission. A bonus may be added if you choose to do certain things.
“Someone is attacking the mines!” said Akira as he stood up.
“How did they get past the ships?” asked Varbu.
“That's what I want to know as well. Warriors! Marching formation!” shouted Akira.
Without thinking the warriors disentangled themselves from their wrestling matches and along with those that had been watching them, rearmed themselves, and got into the Shield line marching formation.
“Double time, March. To the docks!” shouted Akira. Fluffball followed beside Akira even though he tried to get him to stay with Mileena and Azura.
The werewolf warriors followed by the orcs and the goblins jogged through the snow as they headed to the docks.
Akira now had a dilemma since there were no ships built for carrying the troops across the water and the large ships were already out patrolling the lake and would still take time to get to the docks to allow them to move them to the island with the mines.
There were several medium-sized fishing boats that had just finished unloading their morning haul of fish tied up at the docks.
Akira made the decision right then.
“Fishing captains, we need you to take us to the mines quickly!” shouted Akira.
The captains of the boats were surprised to see the large gathering of 200 fully armored warriors who all looked the same and were being led by a warrior that was wearing dark blue armor.
It was their first time seeing the Kodria military up close and they were shocked for a few moments.
“Close your gaping mouths and move aside to let the warriors onto your ships!” shouted Dolph, snapping the fishermen out of their daze.
The boarding of the ships took more time than Akira had expected due to the need to balance the ships in order to not capsize the ships due to the many heavily armored warriors.
The ships began to transport the werewolf warriors over first and would come back for the goblins and the orcs on the second and third run.
As the ships reached the docks of the rocky island Akira hoped down from the ship onto the dock.
He had several thoughts flowing through his mind as he oversaw the warriors as they disembarked from the ships.
'This is a major blind spot I never thought about. When this is all over we'll need to create some ships for transport and we'll need to train in amphibious landing.'
There were over thirty regular werewolf warriors who were gathered at the docks when they arrived.
“Where is everyone else? And where is the enemy? Is it the demigods?”
“Chief! The enemy is holed up inside the mine! They didn't look like demigods to me. The other miners are stuck in the mines guarding against the enemy with their pickaxes but can't do much against their numbers without their armor and weapons. The enemy killed nearly ten people that I saw.”
“How many were there?”
“I couldn't get a definite count but it looked to be over two hundred of them,” said the miner.
“Stay here and make sure no one tries to mess with the docks while the orcs and goblins are transported over,” ordered Akira.
Seeing that they were going into battle Klyn and the shaman under him started to cast their buffs on the werewolf warriors. Klyn made sure to stay close to Akira so that he could make sure he was able to assist him if needed.
“Marching formation! Double Time, MARCH to the mines! Klyn, have one of your shaman scouts find the enemy and see how many there are.”