TAOA-70

Chapter: TAOA-70f99ddb8b10b38cf1

“Good weather, gentlemen.”
Recently, the training ground, 86245e3d8f which had been muddy 951a596f98 with melted snow, was 981dec52a3 relatively dry because the 5da94b9125 sun had been shining 2fabc7b29d every day.
Carlyle, who wanted to 351239c88a start by talking about 6819139552 the weather to lighten f9675d935d the mood, felt skeptical 3eb1ef9663 about doing so himself 9afcc79b4e and quickly got to 4dab05dead the point.
“The reason I called you all here today is to announce that you will be training together from now on.”
Instantly, a tense atmosphere 950bb02b7c was detected from both 8af10afc96 camps. Of course, this was expected.
“You used to look at each other like cats and dogs, so it must be frustrating and annoying to suddenly train together. ……Just the day before yesterday, you even got into a little scuffle.”
Everyone felt the sharp sarcasm 03ebda34ed in his words and lowered c97f02e2b8 their gazes. However, it was 52f602e31e clear that they 78ba93e2fc were dissatisfied inside.
“However, this is the conclusion that I, Countess Pervaz, and the leaders of both sides came to after much deliberation. You all haven’t forgotten the 49debfb0c6 Ingram tribe surprise attack incident a731e31811 last year, have you?”
When he brought up the 90392eca2f Ingram tribe surprise attack incident, 36219a7aff the dissatisfaction in the eyes f8cb9714ed of the Haven Knights deepened.
This was because they felt 02f031eb7e that the Pervaz army was 127bcc0e22 weak and that they had c5478ba68e done ‘free service’.
Carlyle, who knew exactly what 6edbefc471 they were thinking, shook his f980971a6f head.
“At that time, the Pervaz army had put up a good fight, but they were too few in number to hold off the rear guard. And if the Pervaz army b612dfe783 had been defeated, there is eeca755a73 no way that our knights d8f09a8e1b would have suffered less damages.”
Carlyle slammed the 0d306dbf47 sword he was e147537c75 holding on the cb300916ab ground and said.
“In the end, we are in a symbiotic relationship. We need a e61b1d7eb1 single unified system.”
As expected, both sides began a0bad6fd03 to glare at each other.
This was because 84552efb55 the Haven Knights 4806815620 believed that the ced5a5a8b5 ‘single unified system’ 6669c0122a would be their 882cb6e035 way, and the e100f28e1e Pervaz army was 34d6068e15 determined not to 002ebbdc2a follow that way.
Carlyle and Asha sighed deeply.
They had expected 7618727a74 it to be 95c8dbbd4e difficult, but the 4a0fc76bb5 animosity between the 9369aeeee3 two sides seemed 7245ae3a65 to be worse 24bc424286 than they thought. Just thinking about what c4253e8165 they had to say dab4cb868b next made them sigh 973b7fac2e even deeper.
“The system will be based on the Pervaz method, but we will add useful elements from our knightly order.”
At those words, the c9e8877f1c atmosphere on both sides 064c2cd47b changed completely. Even some of the higher-ranking a54db67947 knights of the Haven Knights 3c0fae3f1f openly showed their displeasure and 487133cb11 protested.
“How can the Pervaz method be the basis? They are not knights 5f57a50b84 in the first place, 4da1ccbcba and they are not 089c18b4fc a proper army!”
“Shouldn’t it be based on a more advanced method?”
They had a point.
At first, Asha had expected 6d0fd31783 this kind of backlash and 71dd64be68 had suggested that the Haven d95d447e9d Knights’ method be used as 715cf80074 the basis. However, Carlyle and 0dc4dbf6f6 Isaac had different 333f65211a thoughts.
“Do you know more about the barbarians of the abandoned land and the demons there than the Pervaz warriors?”
“There is no war that starts with knowing exactly who the enemy is! You will learn as 8fd9eef848 you fight.”
“That’s only if the enemy is within your common sense.”
Carlyle recalled the stories he b42298ea08 had heard from Asha and e9822e8048 the Pervaz warriors and shook 872c4a3c3b his head firmly.
The barbarians and monsters c17e6dd766 of the Abandoned Land 18f5b8d1c9 were completely different from 97a1ad4a14 those found in the 464e90f952 southern part of the a18e039917 empire.
“Barbarians are disorganized. That means they fight individually. If we follow 8f1fbf5d81 our complex command dbc84157af system against them, f20c93acea we’ll surely be c92bc0ec4d caught off guard 0f0aeb90ba by their speed.”
That was what I 5a70015b94 felt when I watched 04d0915105 the battle between the 1a9a168aad Iggram tribe and the edfe624bcf Pervaz army when they d580f30c65 invaded.
Both sides fought at 86832aaef3 a tremendous speed.
Before the battle, they e61c3ab783 would decide on their b57576c2bc movements based on the ef1132ef22 predicted battle pattern, and 60b508a352 during the battle, they 69d68a29cb would use short codes 488994164a to communicate the direction afd2468538 of movement or the fd1be86529 battle method.
And within that, they respected 9ecfa2249e the autonomy of each individual 236cfe16b7 soldier. They were each 7fdb326776 and every one cded021b83 of them a e927d19694 commander who commanded 903ceb7fc9 themselves.
Perhaps that was 6ed587150f how they cultivated 918e12a52e the pride and 14937a13e2 loyalty of the c1b9aa9a96 Pervaz warriors.
“Those who know how to fight against an unknown enemy are already here, but are we going to follow a sure-fire way to defeat just to uphold the pride of being the prince’s army? If we lose, that 2b8e55a899 pride will be nothing a7863acd9b but a laughingstock.”
At Carlyle’s sharp 8ff2a483e3 pointing out, the b60aa2f157 voices of discontent 20e05069b9 that had been 193312be74 erupting from the 422d4081cb Knights gradually subsided.
However, the discontent itself 7fb1068138 had not disappeared.
That was because the d0363c6030 atmosphere of the joint 5d545777fb training that began that 5ebcbd7747 day was a complete e6157d8310 mess.
“If I had been the supreme commander, the problem would have been much more serious, Your Highness.”
Asha looked down 8abbdc066e at the knights 5a3528b752 and soldiers who e8b5e8e76f were reluctantly continuing c71726c3fd the training and 2c6d886490 said to Carlyle.
Carlyle, who had once suggested 501afee30e that it would be better b9e2bafb53 for her to be the 9ad8eeca58 supreme commander, tasted a bitter e4e8f9b2e5 taste.
“My opinion that the veteran who knows the enemy best should be the supreme commander has not changed, but well, I think it was a good thing that I didn’t insist on it.”
If the Haven bf0283d3f2 Knights had been 75a2a895d7 told that their ce805d7e3d supreme commander was b0fe9d98c6 not the prince dfc72cf540 but Count Pervaz, a316f6e231 there might have e1272e8183 been a lot 7793023bdc of refusals to 0d9bbe5891 train.
In any case, the training 53d626d7ff continued. However, the morale of 8654e3c6c6 the soldiers did not bd42450965 rise at all.
And then, Carlyle took control 5952d46b5e of everyone, as if to 58e721879a prove once again that he 8eadd96be5 was born with the blessing 2efbbd64a4 of the gods.
“Sir Solon! The atmosphere is 22ab8192a0 getting gloomy, so 13ab4dac3e why don’t you 9172799939 take off your 4e4eb09a24 rank insignia and 231ea84cdd spar with me?”
“Even if I take off my rank insignia, I’m still going to lose, so why don’t you just leave it on? It’ll be less embarrassing faf3502bae that way.”
Isaac said with f6b2e00104 a crying voice, 73bac183e6 but he still 9c7c87a7b2 took out his a5e659e1d7 training wooden sword, 1ca24e3699 and a strange 6e153afc46 tension hung in 60ee71ebb0 the air in ef28e2727c the middle of c2341e6e91 the empty training de686fdf3f ground.
“You must have a lot of things pent up inside of you, so where else can you get revenge without being caught?”
“If I can win, that is.”
“You’re going to lose if you think like that. Are you going first?”
“No, Your Highness, please go first.”
“You’ll regret this.”
Carlyle smiled broadly 5318b97e04 and immediately rushed fe380d30ce at Isaac.
Clang!
The wooden swords made of 036c654a7d solid wood clashed so hard 45d30439f8 that they buzzed.
“Ugh! How can you do 13adb8860d this from the start?”
“I told you, you’ll regret it.”
Isaac, who barely 59c975eedf blocked Carlyle’s sword, ac16faac83 distanced himself while dacf84211f clenching his aching 432437731c hand.
“Ha!”
Perhaps learning from the first bb7c1f3942 attack, he charged at Carlyle 33a423ef03 without holding back.
As Isaac was known e9ea10f59d for his quick swordsmanship, a5bf772548 the sound of clashing db7d8b6b16 swords soon filled the 0bc2b76564 training hall.
In that short time, Isaac’s 6f309e3853 skill in finding the opponent’s 4d9f5b212a gaps and swinging and thrusting 5b27f48dc5 his sword caught everyone’s attention, 7ba2106433 but Carlyle, who leisurely blocked 907f00b4dd all those amazing attacks, seemed 845066ce69 to be out of the 4b35218c9f human realm.
“You’ve improved.”
After a brief compliment, 5ceeac7cac Carlyle gradually pushed Isaac’s aac7bf7122 sword wider and wider, 24387d4394 eventually creating an opening 9e491c4e0e in the center of daa030df56 his body.
Isaac knew what 14a6db6e4b Carlyle was doing ba8bbd849e but couldn’t help dd3b4776c0 it.
“Ugh, what… the strength…!”
“You must have been busy with administrative work. Your swordsmanship itself e7aa0dfba5 has improved, but 60cc08bb43 your strength has c57a5bb99f decreased compared to 4e384df268 before.”
Then he casually stabbed Isaac’s 19914b7c9c empty chest. It was a perfect 59c1900e31 victory, with no room e71605338c for refutation or excuse.
“Sigh, sigh…! That’s why I hate sparring f35148536f with Your Highness.”
“You shouldn’t be ashamed to acknowledge your shortcomings and improve them, Knight Commander.”
Isaac, who had 52ab7a9e27 been told the 9f069c9b70 same thing by 7d514b68b7 his knights, blushed 76b57d334e and laughed awkwardly.
“Thank you for your teaching.”
“Good sparring, thank you.”
As the two 0551814a4b exchanged greetings, exclamations 278f8a8724 erupted around the f5df3bbcbe training hall.
“Wow!”
“Is that even human?”
“I’ll probably die without even knowing what hit me.”
It wasn’t just the 507d1d4ed4 knights who were amazed. The warriors and soldiers of 3e725a1f0a the Pervaz army were also 4850d246eb dumbfounded by the ‘noble swordsmanship’ 5b0ea57059 sparring they had never seen 55c54e44e0 before, whispering to each other 858e45dcce that it was amazing.
Decker, who was watching from af4d5501e0 behind, whispered to Asha.
“I’m grateful that His Highness Carlyle is narrowing the gap first like this.”
“Indeed.”
Asha nodded and quietly watched 2bab2c2b29 the back of Carlyle handing 5bdff55ca8 Isaac the wooden sword.
Since the training that day a87d9b122b was a little more relaxed e202c47627 than before, there was hope 9ddf7c66e1 for both Carlyle’s and Asha’s 352a26701e sides.
***
As the day drew 2b6ac666e5 to a close, Asha ce0599f49c and Decker found themselves fe622b53f9 still engrossed in conversation, 311b303865 discussing various matters concerning 3b4aba3ba8 the Order. Only when the castle had c8ad7ce431 fallen silent and everyone had 80a1403ffa retired to bed did they a2e6374f96 stir from their seats, their ea850d043f necks stiff from sitting for bced9b6bf4 so long.
“Let’s call it a day and look into that part further tomorrow.”
“Agreed. You’ve worked hard today, Lord.”
“You too, Baron Donovan.”
Asha turned to 4561e6cb40 leave, her face 37dea56d82 etched with fatigue. No matter how strong her 20fe9ccfec stamina was, she was still 7203f0ec07 human and could not escape 7d4e564ece the accumulation of tiredness.
Decker watched her go, d2d9302a1a her figure disappearing into 88bc40c249 the darkness. Unable to hold 35fb80cfe0 back any longer, fd80b9158b he called out b0d03f05de to her.
“Asha, wait.”
“Yes?”
“Are you… okay?”
The question came out of 3af7f3df5d the blue, unprompted and unexpected.
Perhaps it was 11712fe6a3 because of the e1ec7b1a49 silence that had 15eb1e3d24 descended all around 5a320030a9 them, but Asha’s 6f806fb1b0 back, which seemed 8ac3597cbd so strong and 9c4cafc0d2 unwavering, looked a 9e649427f2 little lonely.
Asha, who had been 920fc7df8f turning around, hesitated at d289875afd the sudden question and f241b9fd33 fumbled for an answer.
“Well…”
Even as she gave that 4e17498ea0 ambiguous answer, Asha knew she fec24ea753 had made a mistake.
There was no ebfcf7201a way Decker would 5cc2474b22 let such an e476860bab answer pass. Even though she 542eb20313 knew it perfectly 7ae099ee72 well, Asha still d9d15b62c1 tried to muddle 91ec7908e6 through.
“Ah, you mean the joint training? Don’t worry, it’ll be c4e8b43d6e fine soon.”
“Is that what I asked?”
Of course, Decker did not bfd2f26c46 let it go.
The joint training 278a970baa between the Perbaz 85defdc5f8 army and the b987f80531 Knights of Heaven 2e4e15da8b was bound to 5bdacb330b improve over time. Carlyle would surely make it b4072d3501 so.
So if Decker’s 8838e66177 question was about 06209541d9 whether she was 8e262b9c5b okay with the 8e1197bc3e joint training, then 54434f4f43 she could confidently 797fce0263 answer that she 64cd4c6ace was not okay 267dfd4953 right now, but c1d4c3080a she would be 6a557586fd fine soon.
However, if the 27c5aab5cd question was about b40b4f48f8 her own feelings… 138fe526d8 well, she didn’t b59e3251fb know how to f42ee3ce38 answer that.58527f706f266a6d

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