The cheers from the Cave Tribe echoed once again from the southern shore.
The satisfaction level in the system continued to rise steadily with each passing day.
Kent smiled and set down the goose-feather quill that had been scribbling away on the parchment. He walked over to the window.
The sunrise over the Hunter's Spear Valley painted the eastern mountain ridges in brilliant golden hues. Against the blue and white sky, it resembled a serene oil painting. Kent rested his hands on the cool cement windowsill, gazing at the morning mist spreading over the Hunter's Spear River.
The first rays of sunlight finally crested the mountain, streaming through the windows of the lord's castle. Light spilled over the peaks and through the forests, bringing the world to life once again beneath his feet. The cheers of the Cave Tribe echoed through the valley like a tidal wave.
Spring had arrived.
The population of Hunter's Spear Territory would grow even more rapidly in the coming year.
The territory now boasted over six hundred half-orcs and two hundred barbarians. The forces that had fought in the early defense campaigns were sufficient for now. However, for the long-term, Kent knew that a more reasonable military structure needed to be built. This would not only involve dividing and organizing the different species and their respective military units, but also establishing a mid-level officer system, military discipline, and reward-punishment policies — a massive undertaking.
Kent had designed a new military structure for the Hunter's Spear Territory, taking inspiration from the existing army systems on the continent.
Ten soldiers formed a small squad, ten squads made up a battalion, ten battalions constituted a brigade, and ten brigades made up a legion.
Unlike existing systems, Kent had reduced the number of soldiers in each battalion from five hundred to a hundred and had introduced a more detailed small-scale combat structure, with squads of only ten soldiers.
Kent's future plan was to pursue a strategy focused on elite troops. The idea was to strengthen the combat ability of small squads, allowing them to rapidly gain a localized advantage. This advantage could then be amplified by coordinating between squads in larger-scale battles to achieve an overall advantage.
With a focus on nationwide training and production, this approach would increase the input into production at the current stage of development. It was similar to the ancient military conscription system, but with half-orcs and barbarians naturally gifted for combat, the lack of training time due to their production duties was mitigated by their innate talent for fighting.
The first enhanced mixed brigade of the Free Legion had already been formed, including an understrength guard battalion, six fully-staffed half-orc combat battalions, two fully-staffed barbarian combat battalions, and four fully-staffed Cave Tribe crossbow battalions.
The dozens of warhorses they had captured were all assigned to the guard battalion. The remaining combat battalions, which had been trained earlier, saw the half-orcs and barbarians broken into smaller groups and appointed as squad leaders to train and indoctrinate the newly arrived slaves. This process had quickly shown results, thanks to the combination of new policies regarding freedom, new housing, and the communal meals provided in the territory.
In addition to regular training, all warriors were required to work three days a week. The barbarians primarily worked in mineral extraction, the half-orcs helped in the forge and kiln, while the Cave Tribe handled tasks like composting, building, and general labor. A new project, land reclamation, had recently been added to their duties.
As for discipline, Kent had borrowed the song of "The Three Major Disciplines and Eight Points of Attention" that he had learned as a child and adapted it into the anthem for the Free Legion. He modified some of the lyrics to make them more comprehensible to this world, such as changing the opening line to "The Hunter's Spear warriors must remember the Three Major Disciplines and Eight Points of Attention" and emphasizing military obedience, respect for the organization, non-disturbance of others, and the prohibition of internal conflict.
When teaching the anthem to the various battalions and squads, all but the Cave Tribe members — including Haka Chak — wore puzzled expressions, some even stifling laughter. Reluctantly, Kent declared that a singing contest would take place a week later, with each battalion competing. The best-performing battalion would earn points for their entire unit, while the lowest-ranked would face a penalty.
Once the announcement was made, the entire territory was swept up in a wave of learning the new military anthem.
The first batch of slaves from the Blood Hammer Camp still had more than six months to complete their one-year military service. Kent wanted to prepare for the upcoming personnel changes in advance. He was determined to honor the promises made to the slaves, but he preferred a dual-choice approach, allowing some to choose whether they wanted to stay in Hunter's Spear Territory.
To implement this, Kent established the Department of Territorial Affairs and introduced a new policy for free citizens.
Under this new policy, anyone who joined Hunter's Spear Territory, regardless of whether they were a slave or a civilian, or their race, could, after one year, exchange their territory points for an independent house and a plot of land.
The newly formed Department of Territorial Affairs had revised the methods for earning territory points based on the expansion of the territory's industries and military structure. Each profession could now earn points, and participating in external expeditions or defense campaigns also contributed to one's point total. Those who made outstanding contributions would not only earn points but also receive the Lord's Medal of Honor.
The design of the Lord's Medal was based on the pattern of the Hunter's Spear red star. Currently, three materials were used to make the medals: bronze, black iron, and red iron. After an evaluation, medals would be awarded according to one's contributions.
The lowest level was the bronze medal. During the attack on the Blood Scythe Camp, the twenty warriors who had scaled the mountains had all earned bronze medals.
The second level was the black iron medal, awarded to those who had made notable contributions, like Leo, who had guided the construction of the Bison Meadow Fortress, Haka Chak, who had supervised several engineer battalions, and the members of the guard squad who had led several slave camp raids.
The highest level, the red iron medal, was soon to be awarded to those who had made even greater contributions. Kent also planned to introduce higher-grade silver and gold medals once precious metal veins were discovered.
The twenty reserve officers who had participated in rotating training in various fields became the first official employees of the Department of Territorial Affairs, marking the beginning of the official administrative body of the territory. Kent would now begin teaching them the management and operational techniques he had learned from running companies. Once the first round of training was completed, Hunter's Spear Territory would officially enter a new stage of development.
Time was still against them. The winter had hidden the traces of the army that had raided the Blood Spear and Blood Scythe Camps. When the Bloodstone family finally discovered that it was Hunter's Spear and not the Tiger Clan that had attacked the three camps, they would surely seek violent revenge.
Additionally, the rebellious Tiger Clan, now back in control of the Forest Alliance, could ignite a war at any time.
Kent wasn't worried about retaliation from the Bloodstone family.
His identity as the illegitimate child of a highland wilderness tribe ensured that this was a personal feud, not something that would involve the Ironstream Tribe. As it was a personal grudge, Kent had plenty of ways to justify the attacks on the Bloodstone family's camps, making the reasons for it seem entirely reasonable.
The Bloodstone family, with its notorious history, had simply collided with Kent's urgent desire to develop the territory.