"Alright! We'll be resting around here tonight. The duty of night watch will be given to the graduates. Second-Class officer Hespar, are you confident to take over this duty?" said Eidos Luther.
(The rank was written as assistant leader before this, but I think Second-Class officer would sound nicer)
Eidos Luther publicly announced his decision after everyone gathered in the core area. This ensured the graduates knew who to look for during their assignments. Additionally, it would allow the graduates to get accustomed to this practice earlier.
"Second-Class officer, Hespar, gladly accepts this responsibility. Please rely on us." Hespar placed his right fist on where his heart was and responded to Eidos Luther's order.
"Good. Half of the guards shall take the advantage to rest now. The other half shall take your turn next. Drivers, please cooperate with the second officer here on unloading the raw food."
"We'll be using the Square-Wall formation today. Make sure the carriages are appropriately parked before unloading. For Officer Hespar, take a clear look at what the driver will do. The formation we're employing now belongs to one of the ten basic formations we often use in the eastern front." Eidos Luther said.
"Yes, Sir!" Hespar responded before leaving with the drivers.
The other graduates immediately work together to start building their tents around the area. In a short while, more than fourteen tents were constructed around the core area.
Hespar's previous teammates, such as Paul, Ashley, and Selene, were assigned the same duty.
Meantime, Hespar is studying the so-called Square Wall Formation they'll be using. Like how it was named, the arrangement followed the order of 4-2-2-4, with the captain's carriage in the middle.
The 4-2-2-4 formation would look the same in all directions while protecting all the crew members throughout the night. There are many more variations depending on its uses. From what Hespar was told, the ones they're using were made based on escort missions.
After getting a rough idea of what they'll be facing at night, a group of ten graduates was posted on each corner. As for the remaining sixty graduates, half of them would be allowed to rest first, while the other half would be the backup.
From what Hespar was told, this route they're using is often attacked by Forest Goblins. It was said that the number of goblins here was tripled compared to what they've seen before near Lavos Village.
But at the same time, Hespar could catch a hint of sarcasm behind the veteran soldier's speech. It felt like they were plotting something.
'Weird... How can I feel a hint of distrust behind their words? Would that mean the situation will be more dangerous than what we were told?' the more he thinks about it, the more suspicious he feels about the soldier.
Hespar would likely smile foolishly if he knew that his suspicion was right on the spot.
As Hespar was going around to arrange some precautionary measures, Eidos Luther and his two younger officers were having a private discussion inside their leader's carriage.
"What do you think about these graduates? Do you found any of them with good potential?" Eidos Luther asked.
"I found a few of them to be quite interesting. I wonder when we reach the Fonterra's eleventh camp, would we be allowed to choose a few to follow us." asked one of the two younger officers. It seems a few graduates had caught his interest.
"What about you?" Eidos Luther asked his other officer.
"I'm thinking of taking the two girls that run around the most for the afternoon." this officer said. It seems his attention landed on both Ashley and Selene.
"It's rare to see you took an interest in the girls. Did they have something special?" the other younger officer quickly interrupted. He knew that his friend here was someone quite hard to approach.
He's strict, harsh, but very responsible in expressing his support towards Eidos Luther. And in return, he's responsible for everything, from delegating manpower to inventory and making a couple of decisions.
Even the graduate's arrangement to showcase their ability tonight comes from him. They had around four nights to decide since there's still a distance from here to the Fonterra's eleventh camp.
Their reason for doing so was to select the potential candidates out of the group.
Those chosen would likely follow the officers to their respective camps according to their specialty. As for those that don't, they'll probably get grouped together and sent to whichever camp needs manpower the most.
Some unlucky ones might get thrown into the vanguard division, whose primary job was to charge forward. This division also has the highest number of casualties in every mission.
"Yes. One was the daughter of a merchant and skillful camp planner. Another was the daughter of a physician. Both would be valuable assets to the young officer's support division if appropriately groomed.
"What about you, Eidos?" the officers addressed the convoy leader with his first name. This was normal since they all came from the same village up north.
"I think I want that fella called Hespar to follow me... But it's going to be a challenge." Eidos Luther said. The leader seems to have quite a favorable opinion of Hespar after exchanging a few words. And at the same time, he sighs at his pickiness.
He wanted to take Hespar away from this 1000-men battalion but found it challenging to provide an excuse. Especially when Hespar was one of the appointed officers through the baron's hand.
"Leader, North tower here. Around twenty Forest Goblins are coming for our carriages." a report quickly entered the officer's Bronze-Grade Communication Stone. Since the trio was the top officer of this convoy, it was understandable to get the news simultaneously.
"Did the graduate notice the goblin's arrival?" Eidos Luther asked.
"I don't think so. None of the graduates is unsheathing their sword or... Wait... Why the hell they're using their bows at night?" the scout noticed something weird amongst the graduates posted here.
Hespar arrived less than a minute after that. Then, he started to whisper with the others in this guarding carriage, and the sound of the hamstring being released could be heard.
A few goblin's dying cries can be heard after that.
That was not all. The arrow was continuously fired until no more goblins were left alive. Those that didn't make a move earlier soon left the carriage to collect the hearts that managed to be kept intact.
Even the arrows were retrieved, except the few broken ones.
"HUH? Can these boys see at night? How can they be so relaxed about this?" the scout finds it weird. Did this graduate group happen to be the cream of the crop amongst the hundred people?
Even Eidos Luther finds it unbelievable. His people would have to fight for over ten minutes with a torch in hand to get rid of the twenty goblins. But to the graduates here, all they took was effortlessly a few minutes from a distance.
"Explain clearly. What else did the graduates do?" Eidos Luther asked.
"Leader, I've reported everything I've seen. Even I cannot do what they did just now, let alone see everything they did clearly." the scout continued. He had a hint of mood swing from the leader's distrust.
Their response couldn't be helped since nobody amongst the 20 guards had an idea about Hespar's Aura. Furthermore, they can't even verify if this was the deed from Hespar's Aura.
"South tower reporting. Fifty Forest Goblins were spotted." another report came in. But as the scout reported, one of the young officers noticed Hespar moving past their carriage.
"This fellow... Is he going to the south tower?" the officer took a peek outside and guessed. But he has no eagle-eye sight like the scouts. Hence his view over Hespar was gone in less than ten seconds.
"The Second Officer is here." the scout reported.
"Looks like the south tower is getting ready to fight. Should I help, leader?" the scout asked.
"No. Not until I give an order. Continue to monitor for now and make sure you look carefully. I want nothing escaping our sight." said Eidos Luther.
"This is the west tower. We've spotted some Forest Goblins here." the report for trouble kept coming.
"East Tower, Hobgoblin spotted." the report of hobgoblin made the three leaders immediately grab the sword beside them. It was time for them to move since the leader class monster had appeared.
"South tower here. The graduates are engaging against the goblins as we speak." the scout quickly gives an update on the situation.
"This is the west tower. The graduates have engaged in the battle." reports keep coming up. Although Eidos Luther was well prepared, he couldn't help but feel flustered from the sudden arrival of so many goblins.
Furthermore, there's one issue that worries him the most.
'Why nobody is trying to get the fire bigger? Don't they know the basics of engagement?' the young officer interested in Ashley and Selene complained. As they ran past the fire, he quickly tossed a few firewoods into the flame.
"T-This..." the voice of a scout came as Eidos Luther was getting closer to the eastern tower.
"What happened?" Eidos Luther stopped just ten steps away from the tower and asked.
"Leader... This is the south tower. Fifth-Fifty goblins cleared. The post is safe." the scout continued.
"What? Are you joking with me? That's fifty goblins, not slimes. And we're in the dark right now, so how can you assure that the battle is over?" Eidos Luther said.
"I'm not lying, leader. Everyone is busy harvesting the goblin's heart right now. And leader..." the scout had something he hesitated to talk about.
"What else?" Eidos Luther stepped into the carriage while talking.
"The second officer is on his way to the eastern tower, sir!"