As days and weeks passed, Edmund continued to train Ariadne every day; at a point, he came to the conclusion that his training sections contributed a lot to the people of the duchy, especially the city itself, to see her as a goddess.
Every time his eyes glanced over the crowed that watched them train, he saw their eyes fill with admiration, and the new faces among them started to pray as soon as the two started to fight, impressed by the speed and strength of the blows traded between them.
He also noticed that Ariadne became more confident and her temper more controlled. Training with him was the time she lashed out the most of pure frustration or when he made jokes but now she doesn’t react at all or gives him a smile, making him wonder if her personality is changing.
In another training section, he evaded her strike and put his hand right on top of hers and looked into her eyes. The two stopped and she looked around. The usual people were there cheering her on or in complete disbelief at what they saw.
‘I noticed that you are more focused and don’t lose your temper when I provoke your highness.’ Edmund stuck his sword in the ground.
‘So you did all of that on purpose?’ She looked at him with the corner of her eyes.
‘Well, is funny, but I was just trying to see how well you did under stress. We will have only one chance to go into the dungeon; if we fail, that is it.’ He scratched the back of his head and looked her awkardly.
‘I know… But to answer your question, yes, since noticing this connection I have with these people, I feel more calm and reserved compared to before.’ She walved at the crowed.
‘I think we are ok for a time; I have to go with Alon like you ordered me to, so if you excuse me.’ Edmund bowed to her, extending his hand.
She turned around and gave him her sword and started to walk in the direction of the crowed with a shy smile on her face. Edmund, on the other hand, walked towards the warehouse to store the swords there.
After some time, Edmund was entering Alon’s office and saw him at the back reading something on a tablet. Getting closer and locking around, he noticed that now there was a giant map of the duchy on a table in the middle of the room with one Shafran male moving some pieces around as he walked past it.
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'Hello, Captain, how is it going to be? Another suicide mission or what?’ Edmund smirked at Alon.
‘No, this time we are going with a company of two hundred soldiers. You said that we would be testing another weapon that you have; I’m excited for that.’ The captain smirked back at him.
‘It is just one; we will net your brightest minds to use it and one week to train and explain how to use it; that will also apply to the leaders of your... company, right? Yeah.’ Edmund tapped his chin with the point of his index finger.
‘Is that complex? I can push back the operation another week if you need that much time, but no more than that, ok? You can go now; tomorrow they will begin.’ Alon waved at him to get out as he returned to read his tablet.
Edmund turned around and walked out of the room. He was surprised at how he built on the basic information he provided to Alon, like the new ranks and command structure; it was not the same but a better version. This made him happy as he looked out of a window.
The next day Edmund entered the class where he normally gives classes, but instead of his usual students, soldiers were sitting on the chairs. was happy to see some familiar faces like Ethan, Egor, Bartel, and even Alon were right there in the front row. He continued to walk until he stopped right on his usual desk.
‘Hello, you know I find it really interesting that you guys don’t salute me; I’m a part of this too.’ Edmund crossed his arms, looking at the soldiers.
‘Let’s begin, Edmund; stop joking around, but to answer your question. You are a slave.’ Alon looked at him with a bored expression.
Edmund looked at Alon and burst into laughter. Ethan rolled his eyes and shook his head in disapproval. The others had mixed feelings, some chuckling, and others just ignored what Edmund was doing.
‘Ok, ok, ok... What we are going to learn is how to use this thing right here, so come closer.’ Edmund pulled an object from underneath his desk.
Everyone stood up and made a circle around the desk. The device was a cylinder-shaped object with two legs on its front. At the bottom was a pointed piece of metal. Edmund pulled a metallic square piece and put it at the bottom of the device, using the pointed piece to attach it to it.
‘This is our new weapon, the A-RCM1, or just rail mortar; I called it that because it uses the same principles of the rail cannon we all know and love but now to propel up and make an arch to strike our enemies at a distance.’ Edmund was pointing at the weapon.
The soldiers were not impressed by it and didn’t understand the need for them to be there. Egor broke into Edmund’s shoulder.
‘This looks simple to use; why do we need to be here to learn how to use it? I don’t understand.’ He looked puzzled.
‘My friend, you need to know how to calculate the distance if you are going to use it and the leadership needs to know to because you guys are going to call for it; the guys that are going to use this are not going to be on the front lines.’ Edmund looked explaining.
‘So is it more complex than I imagined, hum? Do you use these knobs here to adjust the position of this thing? Interesting.’ Alon pointed at the different knobs.
‘Yes, at the front you need to call the distance correctly because if you don't, they will hit you instead, so pay attention to the class for the next few days and the practice right after, ok?
The soldiers got back to their seats, and Edmund took the weapon and put it on the floor right in front of his desk so everyone could see. He turned his back to the soldiers and started to write on the board.