Chapter 18 : It Hasn’t Even Started Yet (2)
Thud!
As soon as the training began, one knight who had entered the snow mountain had his pouch of jerky snatched away and was sent flying out of the snow mountain.
“Disqualified. You’ve been changed from a mid-ranked knight to the very lowest rank among common knights.”
The knight who beca the first disqualification after falling to Zero early on sprang up and protested to Acacia.
“How could this even……!”
“I must have emphasized this several tis, didn’t I? Once the training begins, I will not intervene under any circumstances.”
“…….”
“I’ll say it once more. From now on, you’re the lowest-ranked mber of the Ragnar Knight Order. Aim for the next chance.”
Among the three who understood the aning of Acacia’s words, one had produced a disqualified participant right from the start.
It could hardly be called an unexpected turn.
40 common knights, 35 mid-ranked knights, 25 upper-ranked knights.
It had seed like it would take a long ti to filter them down until a total of 99 disqualified participants erged, but it beca clear that the quota for common knights would be filled quickly.
Watching the first disqualification of the survival training, Acacia pointed toward the training grounds.
“You will run laps around the training grounds until the training ends.”
“But Sir Zero used aura!”
“When did I ever issue an aura prohibition? I don’t recall doing that.”
At Acacia’s remark, the knight lowered his head deeply in despair.
Even if he wanted to protest properly, the image of the knight who had been dealt with by Acacia in the training grounds flashed through his mind, leaving him unable to do so.
Just then, Kyle, who had not shown himself during the first-co training, walked over.
“Acacia, has the first disqualification already co out?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“I thought at least one day would pass without any disqualifications, yet I never imagined the Ragnar Knight Order had fallen this far.”
“It’s a complete ss overall.”
Clicking his tongue in displeasure, Kyle looked down at the knight slumped on the ground.
Clinging to even a straw, the knight tried to appeal his injustice to Kyle.
However, when he actually began to speak, his voice rose, making it sound like an outright protest.
“Grand General, this result makes no sense! A mid-ranked knight has never been demoted just for performing poorly in a single training session!”
At that sight, Acacia’s expression stiffened in an instant.
‘Is he out of his mind and asking to die?’
In response to the knight’s protest, Kyle reached out and grabbed him by the collar.
“So you’re dissatisfied?”
“Ugh…….”
Seeing the knight hanging there pathetically, Acacia shook his head.
But even he could not escape Kyle’s reprimand.
“I clearly told you to grind them down without rcy, didn’t I?”
“……I’m sorry.”
“A knight making this kind of protest to
is your fault, Acacia.”
Bzzzz―
As pain like needles piercing his entire body surged through him, Acacia hurriedly bent at the waist.
It ant that Kyle’s mood was not good right now.
“I’ll grind them properly again.”
“I will personally oversee the survival training. You just grind down the disqualified ones.”
Taking his gaze off Acacia, Kyle dropped the knight he was holding straight to the ground.
Then, kneeling on one knee and locking eyes with him, he asked,
“Do I look like soone beneath you?”
“N-no.”
“And yet, judging by your actions, it doesn’t seem so. Did you make such a protest because you found
laughable?”
“I’m sorry, Grand General…….”
At the sight of the knight unable even to et his eyes, Kyle muttered softly.
“The training hasn’t even begun yet. Things that should beco Ragnar’s symbol are this frail.”
With those words, Kyle vanished from the spot.
Acacia glared at the knight sitting on the ground and ground his teeth.
“Yeah, I guess I was too kind.”
As Kyle had said, this was his fault.
Instead of grinding them down rcilessly from the start, he had acted out of character and tried to assess the knights’ condition first, only to give Kyle disappointnt.
His fury-filled gaze poured down on the knight.
“Send every single disqualified one to the training grounds the mont they appear!”
The mbers of the Special Operations Unit who had been secretly assisting Acacia revealed themselves at his irritable shout.
“Yes, sir.”
“You all better do this properly too. Especially, don’t disturb my lord’s mood.”
Acacia glared at them with his eyes wide open.
---
Kyle frowned as he watched the Ragnar Knight Order train.
He disliked everything about it.
When Kyle’s family still existed, the Ragnar Knight Order had been the strongest.
They were noble knights with an insurmountable gap within the Daon Kingdom.
And yet…….
‘To have deteriorated to this extent in just 15 years—no matter how much it was Elder Pan, was it really that difficult to straighten out a knight order that was already tilting downhill?’
Because Pan had maintained the position of commander, Kyle had thought they would at least have preserved a certain standard.
However, the current Ragnar Knight Order had nothing but inflated pride; their actual skill was miserable.
If Kyle had not returned, it might have been only a matter of course for the Ragnar Knight Order’s lineage to be cut off.
At least, there were only three who stood out, and among them, one was the commander Akun, who had to be excluded from consideration.
That left Deni and Zero.
Deni was facing three mid-ranked knights alone and was taking their jerky from them.
‘His skill isn’t bad, but he still lacks strategy.’
Martial power was important for a knight, but one also had to know how to deal with opponents efficiently.
In that regard, Zero was ahead.
Zero took the belts and pieces of clothing he had stolen from the knights so far and made a snare, then covered it with the snow piled on the ground.
Knights lured there were caught in the trap one after another and handed over their jerky without even being able to resist.
From that sight, one could glimpse not only his martial power but also his judgnt in utilizing the terrain.
‘Was he the youngest of the Castellan of Saie? The little brat has grown well.’
It was astonishing enough that the brat had already beco an adult and was participating in knight order activities, but that thought lasted only a mont.
‘The pace is far too slow.’
Two days had already passed since the training began, yet the number of disqualified participants was only around forty.
Kyle stood atop the snow mountain with a displeased expression when mbers of the Special Operations Unit approached.
“What is it?”
“The Military Strategist has sent a letter.”
At the words that Aron, who had headed to the front lines, had sent a letter instead of returning, Kyle nodded.
One of the Special Operations Unit mbers then handed over the letter, and Kyle imdiately checked its contents.
[My lord, the number of monsters appears to be between five thousand and ten thousand. However, the situation on the front lines is not normal. I believe you should co to Chaplin Castle.]
Kyle handed the letter back to the Special Operations Unit mber and issued an order.
“It looks like we need to end the training as quickly as possible. Go and bring Akun.”
He wanted to interfere as little as possible, but in this state, there was a high chance the training would not end even after more than ten days.
At Kyle’s instruction, the Special Operations Unit mber disappeared.
And shortly after, Akun climbed up to the summit of the snow mountain.
“You called for , Grand General?”
“Akun, there’s no ti, so I’ll get straight to the point.”
At his words, Akun wore a bewildered expression.
However, Kyle gave Akun no chance to ask back and imdiately continued.
“The vice-commander of the Ragnar Knight Order is Zero.”
Akun, eyes wide open, stared at Kyle in silence for a long while.
“……Weren’t you considering Deni?”
“The hierarchy of the Ragnar Knight Order must be determined strictly by strength. At present, Zero is stronger than Deni.”
“But I’m not sure Zero will accept the vice-commander position. He’s a guy who really hates standing out…….”
“I’ll take care of that myself. End the training as quickly as possible. The situation at the front lines is not normal.”
Hearing Kyle’s words, Akun’s gaze sharpened.
“Are the monsters stirring again?”
“At least five thousand, at most ten thousand.”
“……I’ll wrap it up within an hour.”
“The next training will be real combat.”
Although the change in training was sowhat abrupt, Kyle thought it wasn’t bad.
What the knights needed right now was urgency.
Akun also agreed with Kyle’s intent and withdrew without complaint.
Not long after Akun left, a Special Operations Unit mber brought Zero along.
As soon as Zero spotted Kyle, he dropped to one knee and offered his greeting.
“I pay my respects to the great Guardian Sword of Ragnar.”
“……Do you rember my face?”
“How could I not?”
The man who had appeared like the wind when everything seed over and wiped out the Orc Legion.
Not only that, but he had played an enormous role in stabilizing the Ragnar Territory.
Above all, Zero had encountered Kyle once long ago.
“Was it about sixteen years ago? Viscount Saie brought his youngest son, who showed promise in swordsmanship, before . I still rember him asking
to check how much talent the boy had.”
“……To think you would rember even that, I consider it an honor.”
It had been nothing more than a passing encounter, and Zero had never imagined Kyle would rember him.
Seeing Zero’s gaze, Kyle gave a brief chuckle, then spoke in a solemn voice.
“The vice-commander of the Ragnar Knight Order is you.”
“……I am not a person worthy of bearing the responsibility of vice-commander.”
“That’s for
to judge. You just need to follow.”
“Grand General, wouldn’t it be better to entrust the vice-commander position to Deni instead? There would be no greater humiliation for the knights than that.”
It was a fair point.
However, Deni was still lacking, and he needed a rival worth competing against.
“The vice-commander of the Ragnar Knight Order must be the knight with greater martial power.”
“……Am I allowed to refuse?”
“No.”
“Haa…… I don’t have confidence that I can do it properly.”
“Is that really so?”
Even if he didn’t want to accept it, circumstances had arisen where he had to.
As long as Zero was the son of the Castellan of Chaplin Castle, he would have to grit his teeth and take control of the knight order.
Only then could he protect Chaplin Castle and the Saie family from monster attacks.
“Monster activity has been detected around Chaplin Castle. The numbers range from five thousand to ten thousand. Once this training ends, we will imdiately march out.”
As Kyle conveyed the situation at Chaplin Castle, Zero’s eyes widened.
Just as Zero was about to speak, Deni was pulled in by the hand of a Special Operations Unit mber.
“I pay my respects to the Grand General.”
“Welco.”
“The training is still ongoing, so for what reason did you call …… And why is Senior Zero here as well?”
“We were discussing the vice-commander position. The vice-commander of the Ragnar Knight Order will be finalized as Zero.”
At Kyle’s words, Deni nodded.
He had expected it.
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t disappointed, but even so, Deni had no intention of giving up.
“I’ll think of it as you temporarily entrusting the vice-commander position. Within a year, I’ll make sure you step down from that seat, Senior.”
After staring at Zero with blazing eyes, Deni then bowed his head toward Kyle.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t properly live up to your trust. But I will strive to change from here on.”
“Don’t be disappointed. Opportunities will co again.”
When Deni t Zero and beca convinced that Zero’s skill surpassed his own, he let go of his ambition for the vice-commander position.
He decided to be satisfied with simply becoming an upper-ranked knight.
However, if ti passed and he could fully master the swordsmanship of the Light Family, the gap was sothing he could overturn at any mont.
If he allowed himself to be disappointed and discouraged here, the ti he had endured in the Ragnar Knight Order would have been a waste.
“I’ll do my utmost.”
“We need to head to Chaplin Castle, so end the training as quickly as possible.”
At the sudden news, Deni’s gaze sharpened.
There had to be a clear reason for deciding to move to the front lines while the training was still in full swing.
‘A monster uprising.’
At Kyle’s command, Deni bowed his head.
“I’ll end the training as quickly as possible.”
“Commander Akun has already begun moving, so once you two move, the training should end quickly.”
“I’ll move right away.”
As Deni moved, Zero also ca to his senses and descended below the summit.
Kyle, left standing where the two had disappeared, closed his eyes.
‘In this live-combat training, we must reclaim at least one iron mine, no matter what.’
Of course, there was a high probability it would beco a dangerous battle with considerable casualties.
Even so, reclaiming the iron mine had to proceed no matter what.
Only then could the Ragnar Territory rise again.
At that mont, a Special Operations Unit mber cautiously approached Kyle from behind and spoke.
“I think this may be too hasty a sortie. The knights are still very lacking.”
Slowly opening his eyes, Kyle looked at the Special Operations Unit mber.
“Do you think Ragnar has the luxury to wait for the knights? There’s no experience more certain than real combat.”
“……My lord.”
“You were like that at the beginning too.”
At Kyle’s gaze, the Special Operations Unit mber bowed his head and retreated.
“Don’t worry about unnecessary things. Tell Acacia to prepare for the sortie. And also convey that Seros is to return to the territory.”
“Yes, my lord.”
---
The survival training ended quickly.
Through the exploits of Akun, Zero, and Deni, all the knights were eliminated, and at the very end, Deni himself stepped out of the snow mountain.
When the final three ended the training without clashing, doubt rose in the knights’ eyes.
However, with a single sentence from Kyle, the knights instinctively understood what was happening.
“After one day of rest, we march out to Chaplin Castle.”
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