Back in the kingdom, he had an audience with the king, announcing the successful elimination of the creatures. As expected from him, the king was very surprised, because he could not believe it, he wanted to have proof. Leo took a sack and pulled out the head of one of the many creatures. At the sight, everyone recoiled in fear. So far, most had only heard of the creatures but never seen them. Leo was amused by the sight of the nobles, the king was not amused. Leo was expelled from the palace and sent back to the soldiers. Once there, he told his squad that they were allowed to rest for the time being. After the men were paid, Leo went to the main building. There Soran was waiting to question him.
"A 3 day journey became a 10 day journey, kind of weird now isn't it? We had already written you off, but you arrived. I must say that in the beginning I was sure that you would somehow survive, but after 7 days I already doubted that you still exist. There is a lot to report, I'll take over the report handover so tell everything calmly without any pressure."
Leo told about the crazy and cruel experiences they had. He was completely honest with Soran and also told him about Alias and the all-important equipment, besides showing the head of one of the creatures. For a second he doubted Leo's honesty but then he remembered how Leo exactly is.
"So you're saying that creatures with blue-black metal armor were wiped out by these barbarians and that without any problems? And that the metal is a wonder weapon as long as it's not used against each other? And this beast is ultimately responsible for your victory? I've never seen one of those before, but I haven't really seen many mutants. I will fulfill your request and keep the information to myself, but in return you will train every day from now on and without your miracle equipment. Your weapons are only as good as your talent. And you lack that talent by far."
Over the next few days Soran tried to improve Leo's fighting skills but he made little progress. Soran thought that there was a blockade in front of Leo that he could not break. But he could at least improve Leo's endurance and stature. In return, he taught Soran everything he knew about fusing the different elements and magics. This allowed him to develop better strategies and save troops. When Leo asked about his friends, Soran informed him that they were still not back. Leo became restless and nervous but in his current situation he could hardly help them let alone make decisions. Soran introduced him to a tavern that was also a hostel. Soldiers met there after their duty and told their stories. Sorin spoke to the owner of the tavern and told Leo that he could sleep there from now on. A break from the uncomfortable room here in the training area was a blessing for Leo. In the evening they both went to the tavern, in the back sat a whole section full of soldiers.
"Talk with the men, you're not a real one yourself yet but do yourselves good. The best trust is formed in the seal of beer and wine."
Soran was taken in by the soldiers, but Leo stayed apart despite Sorin's advice. He thought about many things. I wonder how my friends are doing? Will they return soon? Has Marah had outgrown her trauma? In the midst of deep thought, he was nudged from the side.
"What are they looking so thoughtful General. Isn't this a place for celebration or am I looking at it wrong?"
"Wels sat down next to him and chatted with him.
He was soon followed by other men from his unit who joined him. The soldiers in disbelieve when they saw the other soldiers accepting him like this.
"Haha, actually I'm supposed to help my wife in the morning but now the general is here for once, I guess I can make an exception."
Freo could barely contain himself, ordering one beer after another. The archer, who had a broken arm, also joined them. Leo learned that his name was Arios and he was in the army because of his lover, without the money the two of them could not live a normal life. Leo looked puzzled when he learned that Arios was only 4 years older than him. To him he looked like a man who was already approaching thirty. It was all the more astonishing when he learned that the two of them had been living together for almost 15 years. Both were orphans and grew up together until they finally left the orphanage to live in an old house. As the alcohol level rose, their stories were even funnier and they really got along better. Leo only now realized that they each had their own stories and could have all been friends under different circumstances. He was grateful for the company, it distracted him from old memories. But even the general was not spared the customs of the soldiers, so he drank a beer for the first time at the age of 17, then two and then more and more.
When he woke up the next morning, he was in a soft bed, his head felt heavy, but surprisingly he did not feel sick. But he couldn't remember a thing about the evening and stayed in bed for the time being. This was the first time Leo had a complete hangover. As he was about to leave his room he saw that a bag full of money was lying on one of the chairs. With the money in his hand he went downstairs to ask the owner what else happened yesterday. But only a young girl was wiping the plates.
"Uh excuse me, I have a few questions regarding last night."
"Oh, so it's you. Took quite a beating yesterday, even drank the guys next to you under the table. One of your friends had to carry you upstairs. He already paid for the night so don't worry about money. If you want you can eat here too, usually no customers come at this time so I use the time to eat myself. How about it, are you interested?"
Since Leo's stomach was rumbling at that very moment, his answer was already decided. Besides, he wanted to know in more detail what exactly happened yesterday during those few hours. The girls name name was Ester and she was the daughter of the tavern owner. Since he was fetching new barrels of beer, she took over the service and the food. Leo was amazed at her talent and dedication to the job. When she told him about his adventure with his boys yesterday, he blushed and could hardly believe he had done such a thing. To his reassurance he hadn't said anything about his past, even in a drunken state he had control over it.
"Aah, that felt good. Thank you for the delicious food, I still wish you a good day. How much gold do I owe you?
"Oh, you probably don't know anything anymore haha. Your friend paid for 3 nights and food. I wouldn't upset him, it's not often you get a partner that good."
"He's not directly my partner, we only work together sometimes. Still, I want to at least thank you for your hospitality. I'm going to visit my friend, he's probably already waiting for me."
Leo quickly left the tavern and made his way to the training ground.
"Hmm, weird boy, but kind of cute too..."
Still with a headache he arrived at the training ground. There Soran was already waiting impatiently. Without a word, he threw a sword over to Leo and ran head-on with his sword at him. Leo managed to parry three of his blows and then went down.
"Not too bad for your condition, at least you're not a walking corpse like some other soldiers. Still, you're late so there's a longer special training today."
"Hey, you are partly responsible for my situation. I was forced to drink along and that's just at 17 years old."
Haha, I don't think anyone gave you common sense. Usually guys start getting drunk at 14 or 15 beers. Sure you'll go down at first but with time everyone gets used to it. I started at 13 and look at me, no one can compete with me."
Leo didn't feel like listening to his bragging again. Unfortunately, he had been thinking too loudly this time.
...Grae has always beaten you...."
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?! THAT SLIMEBAG ALWAYS WAITED UNTIL I WAS UNPREPARED. OTHERWISE I WOULD HAVE BEATEN HIM EASILY. I THINK YOU REALLY HAVE A DEATH WISH, I CAN FULFILL IT FOR YOU."
What followed was a lesson like Leo had never experienced before. Completely powerless, he was tortured by Soran until he finally lost his temper. In the end, Leo did end up as a walking corpse.
"What, six hours are already up, I still have an audience with the king. You weren't too bad, the strength training is starting to pay off. Rest up for today, we'll get back to it tomorrow."
"Tomorrow I'll really be dead..."
Completely exhausted, he made his way to the tavern to go straight to sleep. When he opened the doors he saw the soldiers drinking and telling stories together again. Today there were more guests than yesterday, Leo was even more uncomfortable than he thought. But instead of being laughed at by the soldiers, they paid their respects to the half-dead man with silence. Ester put some food in front of the door that he pulled to him with one arm and slowly closed the door. The food worked a miracle on Leo, he felt a little refreshed again but he could not sleep. He was worried about his friends and how they were doing. They were still not back and Leo was getting more and more restless, he would have liked to go in search of them but he was still too weak to help them. Suddenly there was a knock on his door, Soran wanted to talk to him urgently about Leo's future. He had a serious look on his face.
"I have good news and bad news...although the good news is also bad at the same time. Your unit is being promoted to "Jekura Squad" one of the best units in the kingdom.
"Hey that sounds good, at least now we'll be recogni-"
"An Jekura Squad is almost a death sentence. The last Jekura Squad was dead less than two weeks after promotion. The peculiarity and specialty of this squad is that they completely devote themselves to the kingdom without paying attention to their own lives. They are incredibly strong because of their perseverance. They are not given just one mission, new ones are added constantly until eventually either the whole squad dies due to overload or the missions run out. At the very worst time, of all times, the Jekura Squad will have to wipe out the endless portals. No help will be given to them as they are a special squad acting completely on their own. The king despises you because of something in his past, so he will do anything to get rid of you. Your men will think that you yourself recommended them for this and will probably feel hatred against you. Many of them have a family they do not want to lose. Don't even think about trying to escape, you will be hunted to the end of your life before you even pass on important information to the other races. In the worst case, even the chosen ones will hunt you. If they were here, they might be able to change the decision, but they are still on their way ho-""
"They are on their way home? Were they successful, are they unharmed?
"I...think so...but shouldn't you be thinking about other things...like how to solve this crisis? How can you think about them in this situation? Don't you care about your life and the lives of your men?"
"Of course I do, but I still have a promise to fulfill with them, so I wanted to know if they have completed their task. And now it's time to fulfill mine. As you say, I have no choice but to fight and not let my squad die in battle. I had never a real purpose in my life, but now that has changed. As a general, I feel comfortable even if there is a monster task ahead. I may not be the best in battle, but I have far more strategies and knowledge on my side. My head and the morale of my men are weapons that should not be underestimated."
"I don't know if you're an insane idiot or a determined dumbass. Whichever it is, now you have the biggest responsibility of all of us. In 2 days you will leave so prepare well. I will not force you to train, the offer still stands if you want to. But I think your unit has a lot to discuss with each other and you surely want to think about some things and tactics. So rest, from tomorrow the waiting for your hell trips begins."
After Soran closed the door, Leo dropped his facade and became panicked and afraid. Never in his life would he have imagined ever being in such a situation. All night long he couldn't get a wink of sleep and thought about how they could best fight each opponent. He knew they had an advantage with their equipment, but in time it wouldn't matter.
The next day he had the responsibility to tell his men the decision, nervously he had them all gather in front of them.
"I have important news concerning our future as soldiers. After I reported, the king personally gave me, or rather us a great responsibility on the way. Since we succeeded, our unit has been promoted to a higher level. However, it is a level that no one has ever successfully reached before. From this day on, our unit has a fixed name. From now on we, unfortunately, are the Jekura Squad of the Kingdom. You probably know what this means and what your future holds. The decision has been made firmly, so there is no way out of this situation. Of course you will be richly rewarded, the money will be given to your families if you have one. The rest of the soldiers will take their money with them on their journey, there will be opportunities to use it. In the last few weeks there have been a lot of problems in the north, probably from mutants but also from other dangers. In 2 days we will leave, not even a day's march from here 2 villages were destroyed. Our task is to search for survivors and look for the dangers. After we have successfully completed the mission, we move on to the next area. There will hardly be any opportunities to travel back here so use the time to say goodbye. This way is the hardest one you can go and pride is not exactly in the foreground here. Of course we will take our special equipment with us, but we won't get any help from allies, nevertheless I have procured magical emergency weapons. If you want to hate me then do it in 2 days, use the time now to gather your thoughts and prepare."
Leo kept a serious face, but inside he was on the verge of collapse. The looks of his soldiers were mixed with sadness, panic, fear and hatred. The worst hit was Freo, who almost collapsed on the spot. Leo could not watch it anymore and so he left the training area and took care of his plans. The two days he could hardly sleep and did not come out of his room, Ester had to force him to eat something.
The last night he dreamt again of his childhood, how he was locked up in the mansion and hardly spoke a word, how his foster mother's daughter hated him and especially how the man in the black suit smiled at him when he looked down at him from above. His face turned into that of the king and he laughed out loud. At that moment Leo woke up, a switch had flipped in him. He was no longer nervous and fearful, now he was filled with determination and fighting spirit. He took off his usually friendly childish face and put on the mask of a real man. Ester looked at him very sadly as he thanked her one last time, but now it was time for Leo to be fully concentrated. He learned from Soran that they even got a ceremony and farewell from the king himself. When he entered the palace, everyone was already waiting for him. He ignored all the meaningless sentences and words and just waited until it was over. After that he went to Soran for the last time, he had his wish fulfilled and the things Leo had explained to him had been built. He said goodbye and went outside the city gate. There his whole troop had their equipment on, their family and children had tears on their faces as their lover/father said goodbye probably for the last time. They were even given a white horse to show that they were the Jekura troop but Leo used the horse to carry his rations and items. The nobles were not very enthusiastic and the people also looked at him strangely. He gave the order to move out and their long journey into endless battle had begun. On the way to the first objective there were many quarrels which Leo could stop quickly. He was not only fully concentrated but also determined to prove everyone wrong. What followed was to shake the whole kingdom and make it clear that there were indeed miracles.