Chapter 16: 16 Luoning's Drill

The road was the same road traveled yesterday, but Luoning's state of mind was completely different.

Yesterday he was leading nine traitors who had hearts set on betraying their master, while today his guards had absolutely no disloyal thoughts toward him.

The speed of the troop's march was not slow, thanks to the five extra carriages Earl Wiggins had gifted to Luoning.

With them, Luoning could finally have all his personnel sit in the carriages instead of walking and delaying their progress.

A caravan of over thirty people, with the Wushan Family's "Golden Mountain" emblem on the carriages—even if they encountered small bands of bandits on the wilderness road, they would not dare to make a move.

As for the occasional caravan encountered traveling to and from Shanlin Town, there was even less need to worry.

The masters of those caravans would personally come over to express their sincere greetings to Luoning, and one even enthusiastically gifted ten jin of premium honey.

While Luoning accepted it with a smile, he also offered the other party a "wish you a smooth journey."

The carriages creaked and groaned as they moved forward, adding a sense of music to the tedious journey.

When the sun neared the mountains in the west, Luoning signaled Maiken to stop the caravan.

"Let's camp at this spot today; there happens to be a small creek to the south where we can fetch water."

"Understood, my lord!"

Maiken lightly squeezed his warhorse's belly and galloped to the front, having the leading carriages come to a halt.

After the caravan was parked steadily, Luoning stepped off his carriage and came to the middle of the road.

Once everyone had arranged the carriages, Luoning shouted in a deep voice:

"Attention everyone, gather here!"

"According to the rules I set at noon, stand in six rows and five columns!"

Hearing this, the thirty guards all hurried over at a run.

This was the training program the Baron had arranged after lunch; although it was strange and the guards had never seen it before, who told the Baron to let them eat until they were seven or eight parts full?

So, upon hearing this order, they remembered the admonitions from noon and did not delay for even a moment.

Before long, the thirty guards had finished gathering; although there were bumps and stumbles in the process, and some people stood in the wrong row or column, fortunately, they corrected each other in the end.

Luoning nodded secretly; compared to the slackness of yesterday and this morning, the troop now looked like it had some semblance of order.

"Attention!" Luoning issued a short and sharp command.

The guards performed the corresponding movement.

"What are you doing?"

Luoning pointed at the small person in the fourth column of the third row and demanded, "Attention means keeping your feet together and aligned, legs straight, lower abdomen slightly tucked, chest naturally out; who are you showing that hunched posture to?"

That guard could not have been very old; being criticized while pointed at like that, his face turned red in a flash, and he hurriedly adjusted his posture.

Two acquaintances nearby who had a decent relationship with the guard could not help but chuckle out loud.

"What are you laughing at!"

Luoning imitated the attitude and expression of an instructor, sternly making the guards not even dare to breathe loudly.

"Whoever laughs again won't be eating dinner!"

With the dignity of a noble, plus the temptation of food, the guards had to take it seriously and stood in their military posture in the middle of the road in earnest.

The scene looked somewhat comical.

"Maiken, I have taught you the essentials of the movements; go forward and correct those who haven't done it right."

As the Baron's Guard Officer and the Knight with the highest combat power in the troop, this seemingly simple task brought unprecedented pressure to Maiken.

In order to perform those few movements from noon well, Maiken had been studying the essentials of these movements throughout the afternoon whenever the troop rested, and he had even consulted Luoning several times during that period.

Fortunately, hard work pays off, and he had mastered them quite well.

"As you command, my lord!"

Maiken responded, stepped out of the ranks, and began to earnestly inspect the thirty guards.

Luoning stood to the side, inspecting them while also thinking about whether this training method was useful, after all, this world had Transcendental power.

But he soon figured it out.

So what if there is Transcendental power? Even a Transcendental starts as an ordinary person.

This set of training could exercise one's consciousness, cultivate team spirit, and improve the team's discipline; it was clearly useful.

"Standing in military posture is only part of the training; later, there will be military boxing and combat competitions that all need to be arranged."

While he was deep in thought, Maiken finished the inspection and came before him, "Reporting, my lord, the inspection and correction are complete!"

Luoning nodded, "Return to the ranks!"

Maiken even gave a symbolic salute before returning to Luoning's side and standing straight.

"At ease."

Following the new command, the guards performed the new movement.

Luoning only took a rough look and, finding no major issues, did not have Maiken go to correct them.

"Today is the first day I have arranged specialized training for you; if there are any mistakes, I will only correct them and not punish you, but starting tomorrow, if anyone is still inattentive, don't blame me for being impolite, do you hear me?"

"Heard you~" the guards responded somewhat timidly.

"Louder, do you hear me!" Luoning roared.

This roar startled the guards, and they hurriedly responded loudly: "Heard you!"

"Good, dismiss on the spot; follow the division of labor from noon and start preparing dinner."

Luoning said with a smile, "As long as you train well, I will not treat you poorly in terms of food and drink."

The guards' tense nerves relaxed quite a bit after hearing this.

In fact, they had heard many negative rumors about Luoning, such as being addicted to banquets, excessive indulgence, having no heart for cultivation, having a violent temper, and so on and so forth.

But after spending the day together, they found that this Baron was not as unbearable as people said.

They, who had originally only followed him to Shanlin Town for money, suddenly felt that perhaps following Baron Luoning was a good choice.

"Master, the honey water has been prepared for you!"

Chahaer walked over at the right moment, holding a crystal cup.

"Many thanks."

Sipping the sweet honey water, Luoning felt extremely refreshed.

"We will camp here for the night to rest; Maiken, remember to arrange for guards."

Luoning instructed, "Remember to arrange two shifts to take turns, ensuring everyone has a certain amount of rest time."

Although this is not inside the Wushan Mountains and there are no powerful Magic Beasts, some weak Magic Beasts and wild animals still exist.

Luoning certainly does not want to disappear while he is asleep.

"Rest assured, My Lord. Leave the defense matters to me; I will absolutely not let any enemy approach our camp!"

"Mm, I trust in your ability. After we finish dinner and light the bonfire, I have new movements to teach you."

"Good, good..."

Maiken felt a bit guilty, yet also curious about what kind of new movements they were.

Luoning handed the empty cup to Chahaer, "Remember to tell everyone that drinking water must be boiled before consumption."

Although the air and scenery here are quite primitive, Luoning was still not certain whether the water in the stream contained troublesome bacteria or the like.

In any case, boiling water to drink is always for the best.

"Rest assured, Master. All the water in the waterskins has been boiled and then cooled."

Chahaer said respectfully, "I have also informed the other few Guards responsible for cooking; there are no issues regarding the water."

"I am at ease with how you handle things."

Luoning laughed heartily, took his longsword down from the carriage, and called out to Maiken.

"Come, it is time for you to teach me swordsmanship."

(End of chapter)