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After the Garrison Commander was executed, other senior officers in the army were also weeded out. After the elimination, there was no one of the high ranks left. Because of this, the chain of command had collapsed, and the already reckless soldiers had not trained in any way for the last few days.
"Her Majesty 13. Prince Zephyr Juna la Arcania honored!"
In front of the thousand soldiers lined up was a man in his thirties. He had carefully given his military salute. His eyes were hazy as he looked at the vehicle that stood ten feet away from him.
After the vehicle stopped, one of the guards opened the door and carefully accompanied the prince.
When the prince came out, the soldiers paused, whispering among themselves. Even those who yawned were distracted. She looked beautiful with black hair falling on her shoulders and moonlight blue eyes, milky-white skin, and fox-like facial features from her mother.
'If she was a girl, she would have a lot of suitors.'
These were the thoughts that went through the captain's mind.
"I'm sure he'll aspire to be a man, though."
"Captain Roalt, go forward and report the situation!"
Zephyr woke up the stunned soldiers from their dreams with his calm tone. After hearing the captain's name, he stepped forward and began to describe the current state of the camp.
"The number of adult males in the camp is nine hundred and ninety-eight, sir! All of them have passed basic training. Lately they have been left with a skin and a bone because they have not been able to eat healthy! I want it to be done."
Roalt was one of those who hoped the new governor could change anything. Because he was not a member of the popular strata like Kylo. He was one of the princes of the whole country. He should have had many supporters and sources of funding.
"I understand. I came here today to settle things and put the garrison in order. Let the captains set aside and the others set aside. We're going to have a test."
"I don't understand?"
Roalt held himself hard not to laugh.
"Let the captains be divided to the right side and the others to the left. In addition, the company commanders should be in line right in the middle. Today we will take a test and measure your situation."
Zephyr's words caused unrest among the soldiers in line. Despite being quite polite, most of the soldiers were swearing. If they were not the child of the king in front of them, they could have killed him.
it! Are we going to deal with that?"
"I already miss the old days."
"Let's finish quickly and keep playing cards."
Garrison soldiers had no duties. They were no different from Kylo's bloodsuckers standing here for show, receiving small salaries and lying on their side. Thanks to a natural shield like Misty Forest, Twilight was never attacked.
Who would work when they could come and lie down?
Especially for the sake of an empty purpose.
Roalt was about to say something when he fell silent when he remembered what had happened to the governor and the envoys.
"You order!"
He turned around and began directing the soldiers. There were those who whined, of course, but they knew the cruelty of the prince and did not dare to raise their voices.
Zephyr turned to one of the guards next to him and said, "Leo, I want you to test them."
"Your Majesty, however you like."
"You will look at the combat and reasoning abilities of your soldiers. As for your captains, you'll look at your martial management, flexibility, striking combat power, and reasoning abilities."
"Moment-Understood."
Leo was stunned by what the prince wanted. He thought the only thing he was going to do was fight them, but it was clear it wasn't what he thought. He had never heard such words before.
He didn't want to say that he didn't know how to measure them.
"You just fight them, I'll decide."
"You order."
Leo breathed a sigh of relief and confronted ordinary soldiers who had split to the left.
"You're going to fight me."
Hearing this, the soldiers' faces turned white. Leo also had a low level among the royal bodyguards. He could not be compared to Roguelin, one of the team captains.
But even so, no one here was chosen by God. Yet Leo had been chosen by God and had mastered the advanced mana arts. Among the soldiers there were even those who did not know the meaning of the word mana.
"I'm just going to use my physical strength."
Even though he said those words, no one was relieved. Realizing that no one would stand out, Leo pointed to a random soldier.
"You, come forward and fight me."
The soldier he pointed to was a puny young man in his twenties. His upright posture was a rare feature in the camp. When Leo looked into the eyes of the young man, he saw his own youth. That's why he chose him. Although the age difference between them was very small, he sensed something.
"Yes, sir!"
The young soldier stepped forward fearlessly. His eyes were shining despite years of suffering. His name was Tony. He was one of the recruits who had only turned twenty-two this year. He was not one who joined the military to serve his homeland.
Like most of them we had come for free food and mansion.
Tony fearlessly stood five yards from Leo. 60% of the soldiers did not have a solid weapon. Since Twilight was a war-free area, the Garrison Commander sold all the weapons.
'His posture is not that bad.'
Leo set his sights on Tony and gave a brief assessment of the situation. He slowly opened his palms and took his basic stance from the special martial art taught only to royal bodyguards.
Since he was an ordinary soldier in front of him, he could not use swords and mana. They just wanted to know their combat skills and whether they could make the right decisions.
Tony raised his fists and took a simple stance.
"Get started!"
Tony began to run as a result of the command given by the prince. Since the distance was short, it took him only seconds to exceed ten meters.
He waved his fist fearlessly.
Leo stretched his foot forward slightly without looking at his fist. Tony was suddenly slammed to the ground. Before he even knew what had happened, Leo's kick landed in his stomach.
"Ouch! Öhhö!"
Tony had tears in his eyes.
'Of course, it would be that simple.'
Leo twisted his lips as he looked at the fear and surprise in the soldiers' eyes. This man in front of him was one of the people. How could he get to the martial arts he used?
But just at that moment a kick came out of sight. He was coming in the middle of his face at a frightening speed.
"Weak!"
Leo pulled his head back slightly and survived the kick. He then grabbed the kick with his left hand and lifted Tony, the owner of the kick, by the leg.
He was a simple man. No matter how strong he became, no matter how hard he worked, he would never be able to challenge a royal bodyguard.
After all, royal bodyguards were trained from a very young age. Almost every guard, including the captains, swam in the seas of blood. Although they were not skilled in things like strategy and politics, war was their field.
How could an ordinary soldier stand up to it?
"Get behind me."
At that moment, the voice of the prince was heard. He carefully examined the soldiers set up in his chair.
"You order."
Leo nodded and let Tony go.
"Walk behind the prince and be nice."
After Tony shook his head, he got up and walked behind the prince. The whole process had proved something to him. No matter how hard he tried, he would never be able to defy a royal bodyguard. He hadn't even used a special force called mana yet, but just two small moves were enough to kill him.
After Tony got behind the prince, the 'test' continued. Guided by the instructor, Leo began to act much harder than his struggle with Tony.
As a result, the soldiers began to pour out one by one. Leo usually finished his work in one fell swoop. Just a move and a knockout. The soldiers were turning upside down without even realizing what was happening.
This caused awe among the captains.
Five hours later.
Light slowly gave way to darkness, and the last team led by Roalt was completely defeated. This was the tenth team and captain to lose against Leo.
After fighting a thousand people, Leo felt exhausted many times. However, thanks to the renewed power of mana, he relieved his tiredness and fought again alive.
"Is the number of captains who passed the exam only two? Among the ordinary soldiers, there are only a hundred people. That's too bad..." Leo muttered, as he looked at the soldiers lined up behind the prince. With the exception of Roalt and one captain, the other captains were eliminated and expelled from the camp.
All but a hundred were likewise expelled from military service.
Zephyr slowly got up from his seat and tied his hands behind his back in front of the soldiers.
"What I care about when I choose you is neither your experience nor your appearance! The only thing I care about when choosing you is your effort to show your potential! The fact that you are here is a sign of your talent!"
As Zephyr spoke, the expressions on the soldiers' faces changed. As they pondered what was going to happen, the sounds of horse-drawn carriages began to fill their ears. Twenty horse-drawn carriages entering the camp stood behind the Zephyr, and the servants began to flock down from the carts.
"What's going on?"
Roalt looked at the servants getting out of the car in a puzzled manner. Suddenly, the tables appeared and were carefully laid out in the middle of the camp. The meal boxes that were lowered from the horse-drawn carriages that followed from behind were opened and placed on the tables.
"Every achievement deserves an award! Eat, my friends! Because after that you won't have much opportunity to eat."
Although the soldiers did not understand what he was saying, they did not even hesitate before sitting down at the table. The smell of delicious food made them feel a desire they had never heard of in their lives. The food they ate in the camp was only slightly better than that of ordinary people. Other than that, they couldn't be compared to even one of these dishes.
After Roalt sat down at the table, he plucked a large butt from the fried chicken in the middle of the table and took a big bite. The hot flesh of the crispy chicken was melting in his mouth. It was so delicious that he had tears in his eyes.
Zephyr looked at them and took a sip of his wine.
"From tomorrow, Leo the Guardian will be your personal trainer. I will prepare a special program for you and everyone will stick to it. Those who make progress will be rewarded with what they want, while those who fail will be sanctioned."
The soldiers were grateful to Zephyr for the meal, but that didn't mean they accepted him immediately and wouldn't give him a second say. The soldiers were people who were dissatisfied with their lives.
Maybe they could risk death for the prince if the training really worked.
Nom, nom, nom!
Leo raised his glass as the soldiers laughed and ate their meals.
"In honor of Zephyr, Prince of the North!"
The soldiers were momentarily stunned by this sudden slogan but laughed and joined Leo.
"In honor of Zephyr, Prince of the North!"
They didn't realize they were being brainwashed.