Chapter 14: 14 Deterrence

Facing the surging crowd of Guards, Luoning smiled and gestured for everyone to be quiet.

"With the approval of the Marquis and the Count, I can only take thirty of you."

Luoning thought for a moment and said, "Now, please, those under eighteen years of age, move to the right."

Swish—the crowd moved rapidly, and a group of people stepped out.

Luoning counted carefully; there were fifteen people in total, exactly half the number he wanted to select.

"Good, you have been chosen," Luoning said with a smile.

For those under eighteen, there was still a chance to awaken Battle Qi and become a Professional Knight.

Therefore, Luoning used age as his first screening criterion.

As for whether any of them could become a Magician, Luoning dared not hope for such a thing.

Because the conditions to become a Magician were extremely harsh; he remembered it required one's Mental Power to be many times that of an ordinary person, and the age limit was not eighteen, but ten.

This group of Guards had long since passed the age of ten; it was impossible for any more Magicians to appear among them.

According to what his predecessor knew, the total number of Magicians in all of Wushan City did not exceed two digits, and they were only low-level ones at that.

Professional Knights were more common and better known to the people.

"The rest of you, start from where you are and run one lap around the training ground; the first to return to the starting point will be able to follow me."

Running was part of the Guards' daily training; at Luoning's command, forty-five Guards began to run along the edge of the training ground.

The training ground was not very large, about eight hundred meters for one lap.

The good terms Luoning offered made the Guards exert all their strength to sprint forward; some who failed to pace themselves were quickly left behind.

Some who were slow or lacked stamina gradually began to show signs of fatigue.

Soon, the first person returned to the starting point; Luoning nodded at him, and the man shouted with joy.

Then came the second, the third, the fourth...

When the fifteenth arrived, Luoning signaled that the others who had not reached the finish line could stop.

He smiled at the thirty Guards gathered on the right: "Congratulations on being selected. From now on, you are the Guards of the Baron of Shanlin Town, Luoning Liehuofengbao!"

"We are willing to serve you, Lord Baron!" the Guards shouted in unison.

"I will certainly fulfill what I promised you."

Luoning looked at Chahaer, "Chahaer, one silver coin for each person, distribute them now."

"Very well, Master!"

Chahaer carried the prepared money bag over and began to distribute the money one by one.

The Guards who received the money were all beaming; there was nothing in this world that made people happier than receiving money.

As for those who were not selected, they looked on with envy.

While the money was being distributed, two cavalrymen escorted five traitors slowly onto the training ground.

At the same time, a tall man dismounted and came before Luoning, performing a Knight Salute.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Luoning. Captain of the Seventh Squad of the First Knight Order of Wushan Territory, Jiaman Situote, greets you."

Luoning felt a moment of confusion, but as his memories surfaced, he understood.

The First Knight Order of Wushan Territory was permanently stationed in Wushan City, and today, it was the seventh Knight Squad of this order that was responsible for the castle's defense.

Luoning remembered that the captain before him was an Advanced Knight and also a Conferred Knight of Weijinsi.

A Conferred Knight could also be considered to have entered the ranks of the nobility.

"Hello, Sir Jiaman."

Luoning greeted him warmly, "What brings you here?"

Jiaman waved his hand, and immediately five Attendants kicked the five traitors, forcing them to their knees.

Jiaman cleared his throat, "Everyone listen, look!"

There was no megaphone, but Knight Jiaman's voice was very resonant, causing all the Guards to quiet down.

"The five people kneeling here were once the Guards of Baron Luoning. Not only did they fail to protect the Baron's safety, but they even pointed their longswords at the Baron!"

Jiaman's voice was stern and heavy, "The Wushan Family does not allow traitors!"

The voice echoed, and all the Guards were shocked; such a thing had actually happened!

Betrayal—how could they dare to betray the Baron?

"Such traitors have no value in living!"

Jiaman snorted coldly and drew the longsword from his waist; a cold aura swept across the area—this was the Battle Qi belonging to an Advanced Knight.

Luoning felt that perhaps this Knight Captain was even stronger than his father, Weijinsi.

"Kill!"

Knight Jiaman struck the ground with his longsword.

Pfft, pfft, pfft...

The five knights raised their longswords high and then swung them down; five heads rolled on the ground, and blood sprayed out.

The smell of blood permeated the air, and everyone's nerves grew tense.

"Being able to become the Baron's Guards is your honor. As your former captain, I hope you cherish this honor and serve Lord Luoning wholeheartedly!"

"If you ever harbor thoughts of betrayal in the future, even if the Baron is merciful enough to spare your lives, I will not spare you, and the Wushan Family will certainly not let you off!"

After saying this, Knight Jiaman sheathed his sword; his cold, clear voice startled everyone.

"Jiaman takes his leave. I wish Lord Luoning all the best." Knight Jiaman bowed to Luoning and left with great composure.

His Attendants began to direct the unselected Guards to clean up the corpses.

Luoning glanced at the five people who had been killed; to be honest, his emotions were still a bit turbulent, as he had only just transmigrated and had not fully adapted to many things.

However, he understood that this was simply how the world was.

Letting Jiaman execute these five traitors in public was a warning to the thirty Guards he had selected today, letting them know the consequences of betrayal.

This was to strike fear into their hearts.

Luoning looked at the figure of Moste not far away, guessing that it was likely Marquis Lulansi who had instructed this to be done.

After spending time together a few times, Luoning discovered that this old Marquis was indeed quite good to him.

If only his predecessor had been more capable, perhaps even with the matter of Selina, the old Marquis would have forcibly suppressed it.

As for Count Weijinsi, he could not be said to be good or bad to his predecessor; he was just short-tempered and a bit foolish.

Putting away his thoughts, Luoning took a deep breath and shifted his gaze.

"Alright, Guards, you have one night to tell your families about this matter; tomorrow morning we will gather at the gate of Wushan Castle to depart!"

He waved his hand, signaling the Guards to go and prepare.

"Maiken, the group of Guards behind will be left to you to train," Luoning said to the Knight beside him.

"Understood, my lord!"

Maiken bowed in agreement, but then looked somewhat troubled, "But my lord, Maiken does not have experience in training troops."

This was indeed a problem, but Luoning thought of a solution.

Of course, he also did not have experience in training troops, but on Earth, he had participated in military training, which was a rare and valuable experience.

Although the content of military training was mainly to cultivate discipline, Luoning looked at these departing Guards, and wasn't discipline exactly what they lacked?

Furthermore, Luoning had learned the Sixteen-Style Military Boxing during his military training; whether it could improve actual combat effectiveness remained to be seen, but at the very least, it had the effect of strengthening the body.

"It's fine, I will teach you a plan when the time comes," Luoning said to Maiken with a smile.

Do you lords still have votes? Ying ying ying, begging for votes online~

(End of this chapter)