After the soldiers from the royal guard were dispatched to the nearby village to rally soldiers under the banner of Yuki.

Saito sparred with Yuzuru and Yuki to improve their swordsmanship while Lily was observing the three of them.

With a smile on his face Saito easily deflected Yuki's sword by hitting it on the handle. He then jumped sideways to avoid Yuzuru's attack.

"You always lunges towards your opponent first Yuzuru-san. If your opponent simply moves to the sides then they can avoid your attack and quickly counter attack."

"As for you Hime-sama. There's no problem with your swordsmanship since your growth is even faster than mine. Your a quick learner and you have talent with the sword. But your attacks are too easy to read. You don't use faints and also try to learn a bit of hand to hand combat. Aside from those issues there's no problem with your swordsmanship Hime-sama."

"Nn."

Yuki nodded and with a smile on her face she told Saito.

"Please don't call me Hime-sama anymore. That goes for you too Yuzuru-kun."

"Understood. Yuki-chan."

Saito then nodded and showed a wicked smile on his face. 

"I-I'm sorry but I can't obey your orders Hime-sama. As a servant of the crown I cannot call you anything other than Hime-sama, Her highness or Her majesty."

"It's fine if you want to call me that Yuzuru-kun."

"Let's continue our sparring session Yuki-chan and Yuzuru-san."

Then Saito changed his stance into a sword-draw stance he said to the two in a serious tone.

"If you can't land a hit on me by the end of this day then I'll leave your side and side with your enemy. Do you understand what that means Yuki-chan?"

"Your testing us aren't you Saito-kun? This test is to help us grow since we're not taking this too seriously we're not learning much. But by putting us in this situation we must take this seriously or else our main war potential will drop am I correct."

"Nn."

The two looked at each other and nodded then the two of them ran towards Saito at the same time.

Yuki then lunged towards Saito and quickly begun their exchange of blows.

"Not bad Yuki-chan. But if you want to beat me you'll more than just speed and power."

After doing a roundhouse kick Yuki then leaped backwards as Yuzuru lunged towards Saito. 

"Please stall him for at least ten seconds Yuzuru-san!"

Shouted Yuki as her body was suddenly surrounded by a bright light. After Saito noticed it he ran towards Yuki only to be intercepted by Yuzuru.

"Now get out of there Yuzuru-san!"

After hearing Yuki's shout Yuzuru quickly leaped to the right and a ball of fire was launched towards Saito at a speed that was faster than light itself. Saito then stabbed his katana on the ground and he started chanting some words."

"Mana gather here and protect me from harm. [Light shield]."

After finishing his chant a bright light surrounded his body and afterwards the ball of fire made contact with the light and an explosion occured. Seeing that as their chance to attack Yuki and Yuzuru ran towards the smoke to attack Saito while he can't see.

Saito then swings his katana once and the smoke created by the explosion vanished and he quickly leaped sideways to evade the attack of the two.

"Is that all Yuki-chan?"

Saito said to Yuki while having a bright smile on his face. He then returned the katana to it's scabbard and he said to the two.

"It's your win. Look you've managed to hit managed to hit me once. But don't get too overconfident that you've somehow managed to hit me. The only reason why I took some damage was because Yuki's magic was stronger than my barrier that's all."

Putting his hand on the hilt of his katana Saito then said to the two.

"Doest the two of you know what me must first do if we're going to war and reclaim to throne from the duke?"

Yuki then raised her hand and she said confidently.

"We must first gather troops and supplies such as weapons and food. Then we need a place to establish our base of operation."

Saito showed a serious look on his face as he then told Yuki.

"Well done then what's next?"

Yuki who gulped once then replied.

"Then we'll need some time to prepare before the battle. Like training our soldiers, waiting for our supplies to arrive at our base and we need to find a location to fight our enemies that's more favorable on our side."

Saito then placed his hand on his chin and asked Yuki.

"Is that all Yuki-chan?"

Saito then let's out a sigh and he said.

"If that's all can you guess why we're attacking the enemies in the cover of night?"

"If we take out their commanders then the enemy will lose any means on performing an organized attack."

Saito placed his hand on his katana and he said proudly.

"If I wanted to I can easily take out five thousand or more soldiers. But do you understand why I'm not doing this Yuki-chan?"

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Yuki then placed her hand on her chin and started thinking and after a few seconds she then said with a confident look on her face.

"It's to teach us a more effective way on fighting wars rather than just clashing against each other with numbers. With these kinds of strategies then the number of casualties from both sides will decrease."

"These kinds of strategies don't always work but this is the best that I can come up with to decrease the number of casualties. There's also the option on poisoning the enemies provisions. But you people find it as an in-human act."

"If this is the way for the number of casualties to decrease then it's fine by me. If this strategy really grants us victory without spilling much blood then it's fine by me."

Said Yuki with a serious look on her face as she stared at Saito.

"The people sent to the villages has returned."

Saito then turned to the royal guard member who notified him and he said in a serious tone to the man. "Good work."

And Saito quickly went to the castle entrance along with Yuki and Yuzuru.

And there they saw over five hundred men wielding hoes, pikeaxes and rakes. When the royal guard saw Yuki, Saito and Yuzuru they all saluted and Saito turned to the men and he said in a serious tone.

"For all those who came here I'm here to thank you for your courage. And for those who wishes to join the battlefield then you're most welcome too. But those who wishes to fight in the front lines but first train the basics of swordsmanship. Those who can use the bow please step forward."

After Saito said those words one hundred men stepped forwards Saito then said with a smile on his face.

"I never expected those who can use the bow to be this many. Fine for now you'll be assigned to the third platoon under Yuzuru-san's command. And for staring tomorrow you'll begin practicing hitting targets whose distance is over five hundred meters from your location. Can you do that?"

All one hundred men nodded then Saito turned to the rest and he said with a serious tone.

"The battles here will claim a lot of lives from both sides. For those who wishes to leave may leave now. Because once the battle begins then you can no longer return to your families. And for those who survives after the war will be given the title of knight. And we'll provide financial assistance to the families of those who are killed in battle."

All the men looked at each other and nodded and one of the men stepped forward and he said in a serious tone.

"All five hundred of us will remain here. If the Yuki Hime-sama seeks our aid then who are we to decline. Though some of us may lose our lives. But if it's for the greater good then we'll be glad to die in battle."

Yuki then shook her head and she said timidly.

"..... No that's not right, Instead of dying in battle it's better to return back to your home alive rather than becoming a corpse. All prioritize your life above anything else got it?"

All five hundred men nodded and Yuki turned to Saito and she said with a smile on her face.

"Can I ask a favor from you Saito-kun?"

".... Y-yes what is it Yuki-chan."

After hearing Saito's reply Yuki blinked a few times and she said to Saito with a timid voice.

"Will come to Sandalia village with me Saito-kun?"

Saito then stared at Yuki with a dumbfounded look on his face as he asked Yuki.

"Why do you want to go to Sandalia village Yuki-chan?"

"I wanted to see how the commoners live. I wanted to observe the town for a day."

Saito then scratched his head and he said to Yuki in a serious tone.

"Are you sure about that Yuki-chan? The duke might send some assassins to assassinate you while were at the village. Though I'm skilled I can still fail to protect you if their numbers are great."

Yuzuru then tapped Saito's shoulders and he said with a smile on his face.

"Then I'll come along with you."

"No having more people will also attract more attention. And besides the people from the palace knows your face. If recognizes you then that will only put Yuki-chan in-danger. And also Yuki-chan you must always wear a hood to cover your face just in case."

"Nn."

Yuki nodded after hearing Saito's words while showing a bright smile on her  face.

"W-wait a minute Yuki Hime-sama, If you go to the village without escorts then if your attacked then the chances of getting killed will also increase. Please bring atleast five escorts along with you."

"No if we bring too many people then we'll only attract more attention. And that will only endanger both Yuki-chan and the villagers."

Yuki then climbed aboard a white horse and ran towards Saito while reaching out her hand and she said.

"Grab my hand quickly!"

Following Yuki's orders Saito quickly grabbed Yuki's hand and rode the horse away from the fortress. Saito then shouted.

"Train the newly recruited soldiers while I'm away Yuzuru-san. I'll be back later."