Suddenly, Elric didnt feel drowsy anymore. His mind went on full alert at the sight of the dogs green eyes and he snapped up to his feet. Together with the other rcenaries, he began to flee to safety.
A beaten and exhausted Elric ca crawling back to the camps hours later. Sohow, he was able to evade the dogs for just long enough for him to make it back here. And judging from the sight he ca back to, other rcenaries had managed the sa feat.
Charle clapped his hands, catching the attention of every other rcenary. Alright thats enough resting! Get up! Its ti for you brats to get your al!
Then he brought every single one of them to the river.
Taking his boots off, Charle waded into the river. With how shallow it was, the river only went up to his knees at most. Everyone watched attentively as Charle stood there, transfixed at sothing in the river, before abruptly plunging both hands into the river and grabbing hold of a fish.
Charle smiled. Wading back to the bank, he threw the fish far away from the water and onto the sand.
Turning around, he faced the rcenaries in front of him and began to explain the basics of fishing before ordering them to try their own hand at it.
In no ti at all, the river was filled with rcenaries trying their best to catch a fish.
For having spent two hours in the river, Elric was completely without a fish. Exhausted, he collapsed onto the soft sandbank near the river and looked around. Many other rcenaries looked like they were empty-handed as well.
als served, gather up! Charle called out, banging two pots together.
Ah, a al for us. Elric thought. As tired as he was, the overwhelming power of hunger had him crawling up to his feet and shamble toward the large pots.
Likewise, the other n who didnt catch a fish followed suit.
At the front of the line, Elric was imdiately assaulted with the strong scent of spices and herbs the mont when the pot lid was lifted.
He didnt know what it was. Roots, leaves, and many other things he couldnt even identify were mixed together in the pot as it simred and boiled.
Whats wrong, brat? Dont want it? Go catch a fish then. Charle glowered at the sour looks on everyones faces.
As disgusted as he was at it, Elric hadnt the strength to refuse. Allowing himself to be served a dollop of soup, he retreated to his own spot and sat down. The grass soup looked absolutely disgusting, but it couldnt be helped. Tilting his head back, Elric poured as much as he could of the soap straight into his throat. He refused to even entertain the notion of tasting it.
Only the thought of Belladonnas delicious cooking and that absolutely decadent sponge cake he had before strengthened his resolve to keep the soup down.
The al was finished without any further trouble. Seizing the opportunity to rest, Elric tried his best to catch as much of it as he could before Charle began to speak again.
Gather up you brats. Ye had yer fill, ye had yer drink, now start running again!
Elric bolted to his feet. He could already hear the dogs barking.
The following days were spent in a similar fashion as this one.
A brisk morning run being chased by dogs.
A noon break to catch fish.
No fish? Ti to eat so grass.
Be chased by dogs the rest of the afternoon.
It was painful, this training. But he got better. An entire month of this kind of training helped Elric improve his stamina imnsely. Now, normal dogs didnt even stand a chance chasing down Elric. Catching fish beca a simple matter for him too. No longer did he have to eat grass on a common basis.
Everyone was improving, by extension. The stamina of the average rcenary was now far higher than before. Each one of them could easily run for miles at a ti without trouble.
So that ant it was ti for Charle to move onto the next phase. For the next two months, hed start beating into them combat skills.
Of course, this was sothing every rcenary was excited to hear. No more running? A celebration was in order! That night, every rcenary could be seen gathering in groups of three to five with a pot in the center. It was a night for hotpot, even if it ant using whatever ingredient on hand, like the grass, fish, or dog.
The next day, every rcenary was gathered in front of Charle in a half-circle. In front of them was a pile of pikes and Charle. Grabbing one, the man began to perform a series of moves with it. From spinning it around him, sweeping it left to right, thrusting with it, and swinging it down, Charle perford every move with masterful expertise.
Elric never thought itd be possible to use a pike in so many ways before.
Every infantry was expected to know how to wield a pike. It was a weapon befitting the lowest of the low, the weakest soldiers. If any soldier had an aptitude for fighting after three months of training, then their commanding officer would most certainly move them elsewhere. Most would be relegated to learning how to use a sword and shield.
In these cases, those soldiers would be equipped with heavy armor and fight against the pike-wielding infantry. And if they showed even more aptitude? Then theyd be picked out to be taught proper swordsmanship or the halberd.
Only the weakest soldiers, the ones with no potential for the art of war, would be given a pike. They would serve as the border guards or put to work elsewhere in the army.
Ultimately, even the ordinary pike proved to be a formidable weapon in the hands of Charle. Elric watched, transfixed, as Charle swung the pike in a perfect arc before the latter suddenly released his hold onto it. Flying through the air, the pike shot past a few panicked rcenaries like a teor and lodged itself deep into a tree.
Thwock!
Almost comically, if not for the rcenaries that had nearly been in its path, the shaft of the pike swung back and forth like a trono against the trunk.
That caught the imdiate attention of every rcenary there.
Having reached his goal of impressing the rcenaries, Charle saw fit to ending his demonstration there. Thered be no dissent to being taught the pike for the next few weeks, hopefully.
Any one of ye brats want to tell why we rcs use the pike the most?
Before, Elric wouldve said that it was because rcenaries usually werent worth spending money for better weapons on, thus why they had to use the lowly pike. But in the hands of Charle, the pike was most definitely a very advantageous weapon of choice for rcenaries.
Because its strong? A rcenary asked. That too, was sothing Elric thought about.
Idiot, if thats the case, then the entire army would use it. No one would say piken are useless then! Charle snorted.
Being a rc is dangerous work, victory ans little to us. Whats most important is survival! So instead of choosing a weapon best for fighting, we choose one best for keeping us alive.
Blank stares returned Charles explanation, prompting him to pike up another pike to thrust forward.
See that the pikes main purpose is for thrusting? In combat, thrustings the perfect option when the distance between ye and yer opponent is large. Its the safest choice! Thats why we use em.
He spun the pike around his waist and then over his arm masterfully before letting it go at the sa exact tree as the first one.
Thwock!
See now? Can a two-hander do the sa? But if ye aint convinced, answer this; what does the pike do better than other weapons?
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