There were nobles in far-off places, such as Naurillia, who did not believe in the fame of Encrid.
No, it wasn’t that they didn’t believe, rather, they thought it was embellished with a bit of exaggeration.
After all, listening to minstrels sing of ‘The Song of the Iron Wall’ or ‘The Knight Who Alone Blocked a Thousand’ didn’t make much sense.
He supposedly drew a line on the ground with his burning sword, and a wall of flames erupted in front of it.
Although there were those who wrote more detailed songs about what Encrid did, such stories needed to be exaggerated and fanciful to spread well.
The point was that it had to be spiced up with the typical elements of fantasy.
In an era when public executions were a source of entertainment, stories like these themselves were an enjoyable pastime.
Some people in those far-off places believed it only half-heartedly or even less, while the naive ones genuinely thought Encrid wielded a flaming sword.
But within the Border Guard, Encrid's renown only continued to soar.
There were those who had fought alongside him on the battlefield and their families as well.
All of them spoke of Encrid's name as if witnessing the birth of a hero firsthand.
A monster could cut down a thousand, but he stopped a thousand with only sweat and no bloodshed, ending the battle.
No one present in that place failed to chant Encrid’s name.
“I’ll grow up to be a Knight of the Iron Wall!”
The streets were filled with children shouting like this.
So, how do you think the soldiers viewed Encrid?
Just fighting alongside him should have been an honor. But now, this hero wanted to participate in training.
A Knight, one bearing the title of the Iron Wall Knight and the supreme authority ruling over a territory, wanted to join in the same training as the soldiers.
Even those nicknamed the Mad Company joined in.
All the soldiers were tense yet excited.
Some had trained alongside Encrid before, but even they almost forgot his past for a moment.
Even those who clenched their teeth at the name Audin did not think Encrid would drive people as harshly.
Renown often put rose-colored glasses on people's eyes.
So, no one expected what was to come.
Moreover, Clemen was a soldier who enlisted after Encrid left for the west.
Despite there being no full-scale battle, she had once twisted her ankle by herself. She wasn’t particularly ashamed of it.
At the time, she was so excited that she saw nothing but Encrid’s back, the wall, and the halted enemy troops.
“I heard about the soldier who got injured by herself.”
She thought so until the great Knight himself came to her and said this.
“What? Ah, I’m Clemen from the infantry division!”
“Ah, is this the one? The friend who hurt her knee by falling over alone during a battle where no one else got hurt?”
“I heard she twisted her ankle.”
Rem commented, and Jaxon chimed in. Then Audin laughed as he spoke.
“You got hurt from falling over? Sister, do you have a problem with your ankle?”
“Does that make sense?”
A man named Pel also threw in his piece, and then Lawford said, “Even I can’t take your side on this one.” looking at her, and Clemen’s mind went blank.
What was this?
Were they criticizing her for falling by herself?
No one else said anything, though?
Encrid took over the conversation naturally.
“It’s due to a lack of stamina. Starting today, we’ll be conducting mountain runs.”
The expressions of the surrounding soldiers, especially the veteran ones, changed as they recalled past memories.
Now that they thought about it, Encrid was a training fanatic.
He wasn’t just harsh on himself, he was harsh on everyone around him.
The regular running course, which used to be the parade ground or the fields behind the city, suddenly changed to the Pen-Hanil Mountain Range.
Of course, they weren’t going through the center of the mountains, but entering a mountain infested with monsters and beasts didn’t sound right either.
Recently, the Border Guard had killed so many monsters in the mountain range that the creatures were forming colonies, weren’t they?
That was actually happening.
It was common for monster or beast groups in the mountains to form colonies.
In the past, the ones Encrid killed during his patrols were those types.
“Not running? Does everyone have an ankle problem like Clemen?”
At Encrid’s one comment, everyone began running.
It was the start of a grueling run where rest was something to be thrown to the man-eating dogs.
It was literally running until they were on the verge of death, with monsters and beasts popping out as a bonus.
“Don’t stop. If you stop, you’ll die.”
The bonus was handled by the Knight forces.
Not fought, just handled.
“Go to the side of the Gods!”
The punch of the former instructor, Audin, displayed a destructive force that no one dared to face.
Even if it wasn’t that, anyone who had gone to war would not dare confront these people.
Some soldiers thought it was a learning experience to see Knights fight up close, but that was only for a short while.
They started running before dawn and returned by sunset, making some wonder if this was the right thing to do.
Clemen, in particular, was mentally exhausted.
“Does everyone want to fall like Clemen?”
Encrid shouted.
“Do you want to get hurt like Sister Clemen? Should I momentarily dislocate your ankle for you, brother? Just say the word.”
Audin’s voice, booming every time he opened his mouth, echoed again whenever they were about to forget.
“You might get hurt without fighting, but let’s not get hurt because of a lack of stamina! Run, Clemen!”
Lawford, a former instructor, also didn’t miss his chance to speak.
“Why do you think Clemen or whatever her name is fell? I think it’s because she lacks talent.”
The last one was a guy named Pel, whom Clemen found the most annoying.
“She lacks the talent for running. No, she lacks the talent to stand properly. If you’re lacking, work harder. ‘Effort’.”
He said this without a hint of a smile, making Clemen want to kill him.
Clemen endured.
It wasn’t, of course, that they were doing this just to torment one soldier.
This soldier was just the catalyst. A catalyst to train harder and run more.
Most Commanders knew this, so they treated Clemen well.
Lawford also made sure of it from behind.
Lawford knew how to take care of his unit in various ways.
He was originally clumsy and awkward at it, but his time spent in the Mad Company made such tasks second nature to him.
If no one else took care of them, he had to do it himself.
Audin was the same, they were people who only drilled soldiers to death.
But it wasn’t just about training.
There was still time until they reached the Royal Palace, and while individual training was important, the goal was to raise the entire unit’s capability.
Krais had this to say about raising the army’s capability quickly:
“Separation by specialization. Divide the unit according to individual specialties. It’s already underway, but picking out soldiers with exceptional skills takes a lot of effort. Creating units from them and making them fit together requires effort as well.”
Among the soldiers, there were many with skills far beyond the ordinary standards.
The Border Guard’s name had spread across the continent, and its reputation was so immense that it reached the heavens.
Even if some corrupt priests tried to establish a foothold here, the religion couldn’t easily take root.
In the Border Guard, Encrid was akin to a religion.
Thus, it was only natural that people flocked as his fame soared.
And just as priests were filtered out, so too were swordsmen.
Sure, some came aiming for high pay, but the training intensity of the Border Guard Reserve was brutal beyond belief, making one wonder if this place was hell itself.
Thus, a diverse group of people gathered.
Even excluding Teresa, there were quite a few Giant hybrids.
There were also several Frogs, as well as Fairies, Dwarves, and beastkin.
Encrid believed that just looking wasn’t enough to evaluate someone’s skill.
To put it roughly, there were those who just gave off a feeling, and to elaborate, it meant examining stamina, swordsmanship, posture, and even attitude.
He was doing the same now.
Pushing them to their limits, making them run, observing such attitudes.
Well, honestly, half of it was just for the fun of teasing an injured soldier.
If the soldier had been too discouraged, she would have stopped, but didn’t she bite her teeth and fight back?
Whenever her name came up, a few would frown.
Some short-tempered, aggressive ones thought this training was happening because of Clemen.
Rem picked a few of them.
“You’re out. Fall back and join over there.”
Encrid had told his subordinates to pick out soldiers they liked, those who gave them a good feeling, and Rem picked the ones he wanted to beat up, those stubborn enough to still be defiant even after a good beating.
It was his preference. It was easier to teach through beatings.
Audin also picked a few, focusing on the devout ones.
Those who sought the Lord and Father even while running.
Physical condition could be overcome through training, but devotion could not be forced.
Both valued the basics, but their criteria differed.
Teresa also picked a few. She only picked those with similar builds to her own.
Giant hybrids, those with innate strength, or those born large.
Soldiers who had grown up being called monsters where they came from.
Lawford only focused on skills.
When dealing with monsters or beasts while running, everyone’s habits would emerge.
When exhausted, one’s innate instincts come out first.
Pel found group training awkward. He was a shepherd, not a soldier. Thus, he declined a direct unit assignment, and Encrid didn’t force it either.
Why make someone do something they disliked?
This viewpoint hadn’t changed from when he first became the Troublemaker Squad’s Leader to now.
Perhaps that’s why people naturally admired Encrid?
Rem, Ragna, Jaxon, and Audin all knew how terrible Encrid’s skills were when he first started.
Was the Encrid of then any different from now?
Of course, some things had changed, but the core remained the same.
Now he was a Knight, and after the war with Aspen, his skills were roughly on par with theirs, yet it was the same.
Jaxon was busy handling his own subordinates, and Sinar was originally in charge of a scouting unit. Making them Sinar’s direct subordinates would suffice.
The most unusual case was Esther, who already had her own unit.
She selected a few soldiers with talent for spells and trained them, and Krais even named them the Spell Infantry Unit.
For some reason, she was diligently teaching them, and their number had grown to nearly twenty.
“Run.”
Encrid said, eyeing a few.
Those who clenched their teeth, refusing to even show they were struggling.
Skill, talent—all were set aside, he looked only at their attitude.
Everyone had their own standards.
One day, two days, three days, four days.
Some of the Border Guard Reserve soldiers gave up on enlisting.
It couldn’t be helped.
“This is insane.”
Why endure such training?
The surprising thing was that none of the ones the Mad Company had picked out quit.
Maybe they had an eye for people.
Well, the ones Rem took probably couldn’t quit even if they wanted to.
“You’re the axe unit starting today. All of you, use axes.”
That’s how Rem began.
“Why should we use axes? Dammit, I’ve been using spears my whole life.”
“Can’t even fight properly, and you’re talking back?”
Rem was forceful. But he showed through action. The axe was a short weapon. Shorter than a sword and much shorter than a spear.
But at the distance he desired, its destructive power was overwhelming.
The ones Rem picked were all stubborn and aggressive, often charging in regardless of what they held.
If they were going to recklessly charge with a spear bent and warped, then why hold a spear in the first place?
Rem wasn’t the type to kindly explain.
He just beat them.
“Just do it if I say so.”
A runaway? Rem wouldn’t let that slide.
“Run, and I’ll kill you.”
He said this while exuding real killing intent, making them shut their mouths.
There was no place to complain about being trained harshly.
In truth, many secretly agreed with Rem’s methods.
Grabbing an axe and doing as told really did improve their skills.
“Hey, want to learn some magic?”
Rem got a little greedy there.
He thought teaching them a few sorcery tricks might be good.
However, a problem arose.
They weren’t like Encrid.
Not everyone would keep at it desperately whether it worked or not.
“Like this, see? Why can’t you do it?”
Moreover, Rem wasn’t particularly skilled at teaching either.
Looking at the overall situation, Krais wished for more talents.
‘Lawford’s good at it.’
The others were close to tormenting the soldiers.
Among them, Lawford was the most ideal.
But even he was considered excessive when seen from the outside.
Some soldiers complained about why they had to train so hard when they weren’t fighting, but Krais shoved them into the Pen-Hanil Mountain Range.
‘Why not use the training ground right behind us?’
There was no reason not to.
While busy with the treaty with Aspen, Krais knew well that nothing would go right without preparation.
Especially when raising an army.
Even if equipped, if a soldier fell from weak mental strength or poor leg strength like Clemen, there’d be no answer.
Victory and defeat would be decided.
At this point, Clemen had become a sort of proper noun.
Drills and basic training aside, in the end, when facing real combat, it came down to the training of the unit and the individual soldier’s capabilities.
“If you lag behind, you become the fallen Clemen!”
Such sayings would pop up.
And Clemen gritted her teeth, enduring the training to eventually be selected as a member of Encrid’s personal guard.
“Hah, when I get promoted, I’ll show them.”
She developed grit and spite.
A month flew by.
To be honest, it was spent entirely on training.
There was a brief festive period after the war ended, but it was just a moment.
“Well, I’ll be counting on you while I’m gone.”
Before leaving, Encrid left his personal guard under Pel’s command. Pel had acted like his deputy during training, so it felt natural.
Anyway, it was time to head to the Royal Palace.
“Have a safe trip.”
Graham and Krais saw Encrid off as he left with Rem and Audin.
Ragna was absent due to injury, and Jaxon shook his head, indicating he had no intention of going.
Sinar seemed engrossed in training her unit recently, and Esther’s intentions were unclear.
Thus, the three of them set out for the Royal Palace. It was a journey with a vastly different atmosphere compared to their last visit to the Capital.
It was thanks to the efforts of Krang and Krais who had established a safe route.
Thanks for the Chapter Bro!!! :DD
Thanks for the Chapter.
Is it updated regularly? Also what is release schedule
Creo que he leído el manhwa, talvez lo esté confundiendo.. 🤔