Chapter 130: Chapter 129: Strong Soldier Plan

The fortress in Grey Soil Village was simple and small.

When Ronin and his dozen or so subordinates crowded inside, the space felt cramped. There weren’t many stools, so some men had to stand behind the table, like guests without a seat at the feast.

“Ridder’s performance in the recent battle was excellent. I hope you all can learn from him. This is especially true for you Professional Knights. Your Commander is never stingy with guidance to help you improve.”

Sitting in the main seat, Ronin said with a serious expression, “However, we must also face reality. We managed to avoid a direct conflict with Sain Territory this time because of Ridder’s individual strength. We cannot ignore the external threats that still exist.”

Everyone understood in their hearts that a territorial dispute would not disappear because of one small victory.

Reisen, in particular, had set his sights on the Wilderness Tribe early on. But in the end, Ronin, a latecomer, had secured greater control over it. Reisen would never be content to accept such a situation.

“Although we won this duel, we cannot afford to bask in a momentary victory and ignore our own weaknesses. Aside from our top-tier combat power, there is still a considerable gap between us and Sain Territory in other areas.”

Ronin recalled the feeling he had when he first saw Reisen’s Knight Squad. He had felt a sense of pressure, and at the same time, a pang of envy rose in his heart.

’I, Ronin, need a squad like that too.’

“First, every knight in Reisen’s Knight Squad is hand-picked, while we have many newcomers among us.”

Ronin’s gaze swept over Juliet, Sim, George, and Tomasz.

Some of them had only awakened their Fighting Qi Spirit Seeds less than two months ago. Others came from the Wilderness Tribe and had poor combat skills to begin with. Compared to the knights in a proper Knight Squad, they were undoubtedly a tier weaker.

“We need to start drilling!”

Ronin looked at Ridder. “Don’t worry about injuries. I brought Elron with me this time. From now on, he will be permanently stationed in Grey Soil Village. If any of you are injured during sparring, you can go to him for free treatment.”

“I understand, Lord!”

Ridder nodded solemnly. “Starting tomorrow, the Professional Knights and Guards will begin their drills. I will formulate a corresponding training plan to improve their combat skills as quickly as possible.”

What Ronin had taught them before was merely for training discipline and obedience. For actual combat, he needed people like Ridder and Macken, who had experience leading troops, to take charge while he provided support in other areas.

“We will hold a knight tournament at the end of the year.”

Ronin laid out his plan. “All Basic Level Knights will participate to compete for the top three spots. I will provide the rewards: 10 Gold Coins for first place, 5 Gold Coins for second, and 1 Gold Coin for third.”

All the Basic Level Knights present exchanged glances, a sharp glint appearing in their eyes.

If Advanced and Intermediate Knights like Ridder and Babulin participated, they would have no chance of placing in the top three.

But now that the competition was limited to Basic Level Knights, they had a real chance. It wasn’t even impossible for one of them to take first place.

Everyone had experienced the Lord’s generosity. In the past few months, there had never been a single instance of delayed wages. Since this prize money was announced publicly, it was as good as set in stone.

A 10 Gold Coin reward! That was equivalent to a year’s salary for a Basic Level Knight!

All the Basic Level Knights present silently clenched their fists. The end of the year was approaching; they had to give it their all.

“The Guards will also have a competition. I will award 5, 2, and 1 Gold Coins to the top three.”

Ronin continued, “This competition will be held twice a year: once at the end of June and once at the end of December. Elron, you will be in charge of the specific arrangements.”

Elron smiled and said, “Lord, this tournament will definitely motivate the Knights and Guards.”

Ronin’s goal was indeed to foster a competitive spirit among his knights. Otherwise, relying purely on drills would be a bit lacking. Creating a ranking and setting up rewards would give them much more motivation.

After settling that matter, Ronin moved on to the second item on his agenda: forming Mountain Forest Town’s own Knight Squad.

Only a Baron with a standard Knight Squad was a true Baron.

Given his current strength, funds, and the power of his main followers, he could finally consider this matter.

He currently had enough knights. Moreover, including Erin, he also had three Mages.

Putting aside the group’s true combat strength for a moment, the number of Transcendents at least met the requirements for a standard Knight Squad.

What he lacked now were Cavalry, Infantry, and Archers.

“Ridder has been training dozens of militiamen in Grey Soil Village recently, but most of them are still a bit too frail.”

Ronin said to Ridder, “Survival of the fittest. Go back and select the best, weeding out the weaker ones. Tell Macken to recruit however many we’re still missing from Mountain Forest Town. We’ll configure it according to the standard for a Knight Squad: thirty-six Cavalry, sixty Infantry, and ten Archers.”

The two men responded in unison, “As you wish, Lord!”

However, Macken had some reservations. He had been following Ronin from the very beginning and knew a few things that Ridder didn’t.

“Lord, it seems we don’t have enough warhorses.”

On his journey to this point, besides his Cloud Stepper, Ronin had acquired three fine warhorses, five common warhorses, and twenty-three riding horses, for a total of thirty-one horses.

In addition, he had another nineteen draft horses, but they were different from riding horses and warhorses and were not suitable for charging into battle.

This meant he was indeed short by around twenty warhorses.

“I’m aware of this.”

Ronin said thoughtfully, “I’ll set out for Wushan Castle again in the middle of next month. On the way, I’ll make a detour to Pasture City to purchase some from Marvin Viscount.”

In truth, besides warhorses, there was also the issue of equipment.

The Ironwood Workshop was up and running, and its armor was perfectly adequate for ordinary Cavalry and Infantry.

As for the knights, because they faced enemies of varying strength, Ironwood Armor was acceptable for Basic Level Knights, but Intermediate and Advanced Level Knights still needed to be equipped with iron armor.

Ronin currently only had seven sets of Full Body Armor. It was barely enough for now, but he would definitely need to acquire more later.

However, that could be supplemented later. The priority was to finalize the personnel and begin training. That was the real business at hand.

“For now, my arrangements only concern the Basic Level Knights and the Guards. But the Intermediate Mages and Knights present, as well as you three Advanced Level Transcendents including Elron, must also improve yourselves as quickly as possible.”

At this, Ridder couldn’t help but spread his hands and look at Ronin with a grin, as if to say, ’I’d love to improve, but I can’t.’

Ronin could only give him a look that said, ’Don’t worry, it’ll be soon.’

“In the future, Mountain Forest Town will definitely not be limited to a single Knight Squad. There will be room and positions for all of you to display your talents, so work hard!”

Everyone knew that Ronin himself was powerful. Although he had never revealed his specific Level, it was clear from his many spars with Macken and Ridder that he was, at the very least, stronger than any of the Basic Level Knights in Mountain Forest Town.

The Lord himself was powerful, he had two subordinates comparable to the Bronze Level, and a Senior Mage with the Light Attribute. This group of people gathered together was anything but simple.

For early followers like Tom and Juliet, this was one thing. But for the Transcendents who came from the Wilderness Tribe, they felt more and more certain that following Ronin was the wisest decision they had ever made in their lives.

So, even though Ronin was making grand promises, after the victory in this duel, everyone was more than willing to believe them.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep