Release that Witch

“No, I’ll use them,” Roland refused Carter’s suggestion. He didn’t have a good opinion of the mercenaries who worked for money and did not love the land, and besides, he didn’t form his army to only deal with the demonic beasts — throughout history it was seen that only a force whose member came from their own civilities would be strong and full of vitality. Whether it was the feudal forces, the forces from the not-very-distant past or modern army troops, there were countless examples which verified this rule.

“Well, you have the final say,” said Carter while shrugging with his shoulders. “Then I will start to train them from tomorrow onwards? Although I don’t know how useful that will be…”

“With a sword? No, you will first take them all for long distance running.” Roland suddenly thought of the fact that his chief knight never had experienced these kinds of training exercises. Without any better options he had to change his plan, “Try to find the hunter from last time and bring him to me. You both will be the first to look at how I will handle the training.”

*

Today’s experience may be even more inconceivable than what happened in the last two decades combined.

He actually saw His Highness, The 4th Prince Roland Wimbledon from close range. He passed directly by himself and even smiled to him. My God, was the prince drunk?!

Three days ago, when he heard the speech of the 4th Prince on the square, he knew that this winter would be different from the past. This time, they would not go to Longsong Stronghold, instead, they would spend the long winter here. The truth was that he didn’t understand most of the reasons mentioned by the prince, but he supported from the bottom of his heart the result of this decision. His own brother died two years ago in the slums of Longsong Stronghold after a whole month without any food supply. They could only rely on the hard-earned coppers he got from unloading goods at the docks. With them, he was able to buy some black bread and share it with his brother. But the winter was too cold. The wind would blow through the many holes in their slum shack. Without enough to eat and with no possibility to maintain their body temperature they couldn’t survive. When his brother got sick, he fell into a coma and never woke up again.

Here in Border Town, he at least had a house built out of soil brick. There was no fear of the falling temperature or the many days with snow fall. He also saw many ships filled with wheat docking at the pier, and then the wheat was moved in batches into the castle. Therefore, when he heard that the 4th prince was recruiting a militia force, he directly registered himself.

Of course, he had to give up his job as a gravel producer. But the temptation was too big, after all, they would get a monthly salary of 10 silver royals. This was comparable to a skilled mud artisan! He was no longer a young boy. He was only waiting until the spring of next year to marry his future wife Sheryl, a tavern maid. Now he had no problem to save some money.

As for the requirements and the future tasks of the militia shown on the notice, he did not pay any attention to them. Anyway, it was to carry the burden of protecting the civilians on behalf of the lord. They had to patrol along the city wall and keep the beasts from climbing up the wall, and withstand the crazy attacks of the demonic beasts.

He had to go through a very strict screening process. Alone, the sight of some knights was enough to make people feel afraid. Fortunately, he had a sturdy physique and got through the review, but many scrawny guys were carried away by the knights. In the end, only 100 men were recruited.

But he had never expected that the person who would train them would be His Royal Highness the Prince himself!

For their training, they were brought to a grass field west of Border Town. In the background the city wall was being built, and in front of them was an unceasingly and continuously extending forest.

The prince ordered everyone to line up, and then he went to the site to rest. Just a few days ago they had heavy rain, so the ground was still damp and muddy. The water infiltrated his shoes along the seam at the soles, which made his whole body feel uncomfortable. The stance they were ordered to take was not a normal one. Their hands needed to be aligned vertically, attached to the sides of their thighs, while their backs were required to be perfectly straight.

Only a quarter of an hour later they already felt terribly fatigued. This was even harder than breaking stone with a hammer. But he gritted his teeth and tried to hold on. After all, His Royal Highness had said before that those who moved would get no egg for lunch. God, it had been so long since he had eaten an egg. Apparently, all the people around him felt the same way. Although they staggered, most of them still endured.