Chapter 435: Shield Training—The Importance of Shield-Holding Posture

Jier shouted with a grin: "Don't stand in the wrong queue position as before! Whoever stands in the wrong place will be punished: run four laps around the Yingdi!"

He gestured with a four, which made the group, who were jogging over to assemble, complain again: "Isn't it three laps?"

Jier gave an explanation: "It's a simple rule: every time there is a punishment, one lap will be added to the previous running distance. Starting at three laps is already me being exceptionally merciful. This punishment gets more severe the further it goes, but if everyone makes no mistakes, it will just be a symbolic punishment."

Jier's words made the group uneasy; after all, who could avoid making mistakes? This punishment didn't look like much, but it would become increasingly difficult later on. The group could only try their best not to make mistakes where they were prone to them.

The team assembled quickly. Jier had the Captain, Aoni, confirm the headcount and whether everyone's position was consistent with before; he would also double-check it himself.

If Aoni confirmed it, but Jier discovered a problem upon inspection, Aoni would also have to follow along and run the laps as punishment.

"This is good! If the group doesn't do well, he has to run along with them!" a Warrior muttered.

Jier heard this but didn't mind the group whispering. After all, this was his first time training a team of Warriors who listened to his orders. There was no need to prevent the group from even talking or complaining. If there was a problem, they should say it out loud; that way, even if he, Jier, did something wrong, he would know if the group complained and could correct the training methods and content in time.

Aoni had a worried look on his face because, although his brain was decent enough to call out the name of every person in the team, he couldn't remember if the positions these people were in now were consistent with their previous positions.

But he wasn't stupid either. He noticed that Knight Jier had arranged the team according to their height, so the shortest Warrior in the team must be the first one on the left in the first row, and the last Warrior on the right in the second row must be the tallest one in the team.

With such a rule to rely on, Aoni repeatedly confirmed everyone's position. But he was overthinking it; although most of the Warriors in the team couldn't recognize everyone, they could still figure out who was in front, behind, to the left, and to the right of them.

"Knight Jier, there is no problem with how everyone is standing!" Aoni reported loudly to Jier after repeatedly confirming.

Jier then asked with a grin: "Are you sure?"

This question instantly made Aoni lose his confidence. He turned his head and carefully looked at everyone's height again, confirming that they were all arranged from shortest to tallest. Thus, he still replied tentatively: "I have confirmed it, there is no problem with the queue."

"Very good. Next, we will proceed to the second queue for training. All Warriors who use a Shield, or who have a Shield among their personal equipment, step forward to me. Everyone else, stay put."

As soon as Jier finished speaking, the Warriors looked at each other. Because none of them were holding their weapons or equipment, the Warriors who didn't use a Shield were looking at the others.

Five people did stride out and stand before Jier.

Jier, however, was not satisfied: "The basic rule of the queue is to line up neatly. Starting from my right, which is your left, arrange the team again from shortest to tallest. I don't want to repeat this reminder for similar situations in the future."

The five Warriors looked at each other and consciously stood in a row in front of Jier from shortest to tallest.

Jier nodded: "Very good. You are now the Shield Squad. Remember your members and who is to your left and right during training queues. Next time I call for the Shield Squad to step out, you will consciously come out and line up as you are now. Any problems?"

"That's easy, Knight Jier!" the Warriors of the Shield Squad answered loudly.

"Now, dismiss and go get your Shields. Only take your Shields; today you are only training in the simple use of the Shield. After you have them, consciously assemble behind me in this current queue."

Jier clapped his hands, and the five Warriors dispersed.

Subsequently, Jier said to the remaining team members: "All team members who use projectile weapons, including Warriors with bows, crossbows, Javelins, Throwing Spears, Flying Axes, Flying Knives, and Throwing Daggers, assemble before me."

The remaining Warriors looked at each other. The group did not have many of the projectile weapons Jier mentioned, so in the end, only three Warriors who used bows consciously stood in a small queue from shortest to tallest in front of Jier.

Jier nodded: "Very good. No need for me to repeat the reminder. The team must consciously stand in an orderly fashion like this. Of course, this is during training; everyone must pay attention. In actual combat, you don't have to stand in a row from shortest to tallest. When fighting, line up however is fast and convenient for combat!"

"Understood!"

"Got it!"

The Warriors all around responded.

Jier said to the three bow-using Warriors in front of him: "From now on, you are the archers in this team. Because you all use bows and have no other projectile weapons, we will simply call you the Archery Squad. Now dismiss, go get your bows, and just bring one bag of Arrow each. After you get them, assemble behind me, lining up behind the Shield Squad."

"Yes, Knight!" The three Warriors of the Archery Squad jogged off to get their bow equipment.

As for the remaining twelve Warriors, and Captain Aoni who was standing to the side, Jier took a big step forward and said to them: "The rest of you, I require you to reorganize the team into a single line of thirteen people, quickly!"

Without Jier needing to say more, the Warriors, whose queue was scattered and untidy due to the lack of people, consciously arranged themselves into a line according to their height. Because Aoni had to join them, he carefully compared his own height and then inserted himself into the team.

Facing the thirteen Warriors in front of him who used melee weapons, Jier said: "You are all Warriors who use melee weapons. Since there are no Warriors in our team who use Long Spears or spears, I will not conduct detailed grouping. You are the Warriors of the Melee Squad from now on. Remember your positions and who is to your left and right. Now dismiss, go get your weapons and equipment, and after you are done, assemble and line up behind me, behind the Archery Squad."

Jier clapped his hands, and the Warriors jogged off to dismiss and get their equipment.

Immediately, Jier turned around on the spot. Behind him, the five Warriors of the Shield Squad had already retrieved their Shields and were standing in a neat queue behind him.

"Very good, very neat. Training is a serious and earnest matter, while combat is an intense and passionate matter; they must be treated differently."

Jier walked up to them and began to inspect the Shields in their hands: "Let me see your Shields."

He had never carefully inspected the Shield equipment of the Armed Squad members before. Looking at the Shields of these Warriors who had joined his command now, he found the situation was not very good.

The Warriors came from the Refugee Team's Armed Squad, and the weapons and equipment of the refugees' Armed Squad were basically all captured, captured from the various Bandit groups that everyone had defeated together.

Because they were not regular enemies, you can imagine the quality of the Shields in the hands of the Bandits.

Jier could only barely call them Shields. They were basically all made of wood—round, square, shield-shaped, triangular—almost every common Shield shape was actually gathered in the hands of these five Shield Squad Warriors.

This was also an interesting thing, but it made Jier scratch his head a bit.

Because these Shields were not only inconsistent in style, but the level of craftsmanship was also uneven. They were basically made by using Iron Nails to nail wood onto two horizontally placed pieces of wood, and then using Rope on the back to make two loops for the arm to slide into for gripping.

He shook his head and sighed as he looked. He knew that at this stage, he could only teach everyone some simple things. Many of the experiences in Shield use he had accumulated in a series of battles could not be applied with these crude Shields.

"Follow me!" Jier called out, letting the Shield Squad follow behind him to one side of the expanded Yingdi, where the newly lit bonfire provided illumination, making it quite bright.

Jier had everyone put their Shields on their left arms and stand still.

"Good, don't move, maintain this posture." Looking at the various Shield-holding postures before him, Jier sighed, stepped forward to correct the Warriors' postures, and taught them how to correctly hold the Shield.

"Shield defense, the key is not in the Shield or the hand. Who knows the answer? Tell me!" Jier asked.

But the five Warriors of the Shield Squad all wore embarrassed yet polite smiles; clearly, not a single one knew. To this, Jier had to answer his own question: "The key lies in the feet and the legs!"

Because Jier did not forbid everyone from communicating, discussing, or talking, one Warrior immediately asked: "Knight Jier, I don't understand. Why is the key to using a Shield not in the Shield, but in the legs and feet? We clearly use our arms to use the Shield."

"Good question. Now keep your posture and don't move. If I were an enemy and wanted to push you now, you must try to maintain your defensive posture." After speaking, Jier stepped forward and, without using much force, gave the Warrior's Shield a push.

Bang, bang, bang! The Warrior couldn't withstand Jier's force and directly retreated three steps violently. At the same time, his upper body tilted back quite a bit, and the Shield in his hand also tilted to one side because his body posture was off, exposing his chest.

In his previous life, this would be called "wide open," and if someone hit him head-on, he would have lost.

Jier pointed at the Warrior's current situation and said to the others: "Look, this is the deficiency in your posture right now. If someone pushes you, you will fall backward, and you won't be able to perform an effective defensive action at all."

A Warrior felt it wasn't right: "That's still because you, Knight Jier, have too much strength. It would be different if it were someone else."

Jier shrugged: "Fine, then let's change someone. Aoni! Come here for a moment." Summoning Aoni from the Melee Squad, who was standing to the side waiting for instruction, Jier signaled for this young man, who had just been promoted to Warrior Captain, to replace him in pushing the other four Warriors who were using Shields.

Aoni was relatively sturdy. Hearing the order, he also moved his wrists with a mischievous grin on his face: "Brothers, don't blame me, it was Knight Jier who told me to do it!"

"Hurry up and do it, Aoni, how could you possibly push me!"

"How do you know it won't work if you don't try?" After Aoni finished speaking, he let out a loud roar, sprinted forward two steps, and pushed out with both arms. It looked quite imposing, but in fact, compared to the casual push Jier had just given, the force was still lacking.

"Ah—" The Shield Warrior, whose Shield was pushed violently by both hands, let out a cry of surprise, his feet involuntarily retreating two steps, his body tilting even more severely this time, and the Shield held in one hand naturally could not contend with the pushing of Aoni's two hands.

"Knight Jier, is this okay?" After pushing, Aoni immediately asked Jier.

Jier nodded: "Very good, continue to push the next person!"

Aoni grinned hideously and strode toward the next Shield Warrior who was prepared but had a grim expression.

Bang! With a violent two-handed push, this Warrior, like the previous one, could not block it, his footsteps involuntarily retreating twice, but this one timely used both hands to brace behind the Shield, so at least after being pushed away, the Shield was still facing forward.

"There is progress, Aoni, switch to the next one!" Jier continued to command.

Aoni did not talk nonsense either; after rubbing his wrists, he shouted and exerted force to rush toward the fourth Shield Warrior.

Bang!

This Warrior was much smarter; he actually took a step back voluntarily when Aoni collided, avoiding the point of Aoni's strongest force. Although he was still subsequently pressed on the Shield by Aoni, who had reacted, causing him to retreat a large step passively after his active step back, at least the degree of being pushed back was reduced.

But Jier shook his head: "This won't do, Bloom. In battle, a Shield Warrior must stand on the front line of the formation; you have no room to retreat. This is not a single duel where you can retreat and dodge at will. Your duty is to block in front, defend against the enemy's attacks, and create opportunities for your companions behind you to counterattack and injure the enemy. Moreover, your little cleverness was not very effective either; you were still pushed back quite a bit, right?"

The Shield Warrior called Bloom pursed his lips and nodded. He thought he was going to be punished by running laps, but Jier did not punish him because he had at least used his brain to think of a solution.

"The last one, Aoni, give it your all. These Warriors are also rapidly absorbing the lessons learned from the previous few people." Jier encouraged the Warrior Captain.

Aoni took a deep breath, took two steps to gain momentum, spread his arms wide, and then slammed into the last Shield Warrior's Shield.

This Warrior had also learned from the experience of the previous people; his hands were firmly gripped behind the Shield, his left forearm was bracing against the Shield, and his right hand was bracing the upper part of the Shield. His waist was held straight, and his body and legs were also turned sideways, firmly planted on the ground.

Bang!!!

The result was something no one could have predicted: Aoni and that Shield Warrior both fell to the ground after the collision.

Although it looked ugly, that Warrior was not pushed back even a single step by Aoni.

Jier pulled the two people on the ground up and said to the others in the Shield Squad: "How is it? A simple test, I think you all saw how inadequate your previous shield defense postures were. You should also understand from this last Warrior why the key points of shield defense are the feet and legs, right?"

Seeing that the Warriors of the Shield Squad were all thoughtful, Jier took the opportunity to explain further: "The Shield is meant to receive the impact force of the enemy's offensive. It is not that when it hits the Shield, the Shield absorbs the force and the force disappears. That is wrong!"

Jier took the Shield from a Warrior's hand and used it as a teaching prop to explain: "When the Shield is hit by the enemy's offensive, it first resists the impact force and the blade's cutting. A good Shield requires the main construction wood to have a certain degree of elasticity."

Jier knocked on the main wooden structure behind the Shield, making a sound: "Although it looks very sturdy and not easy to bend, in reality, when it receives an impact force, it will absorb the force and slightly deform itself to provide a buffer."

Everyone nodded, but they all looked at the Shields in their own hands with confusion, because the manufacturing level of several people's Shields was actually not high, the wood used was naturally not good, and they could not achieve, or could only partially achieve, the absorption and buffering effect that Jier mentioned.

And the Shield in Jier's hand was already the best wooden standard shield-shaped Shield among those in the hands of these Warriors, captured from the Bandits.

After briefly explaining the Shield, Jier continued: "Next is our arms. They not only provide support, but they can also effectively provide buffering. The key is, haha, do not hold the Shield too close to your own body, especially not close to the chin and chest."

Jier gestured, imitating the appearance of the Shield being hit by an impact force and striking the chin and chest: "If it hits the chin and your Helmet does not protect this area, then you are finished. If the chin is hit, a person will fall down directly. Because the bone connected to the chin is directly connected to the skull, if the chin is hit heavily, a person will directly faint and fall to the ground."

"I don't need to describe how terrible the result of fainting and falling to the ground in battle is, right?"

Everyone shook their heads, and many people rubbed their own chins, realizing for the first time that this part, which is very easily hit by others at the first moment, is actually so important.

"The chest is the same. When holding a Shield, if it is too close to the chest, when the enemy delivers a heavy blow, before the Shield does much, the Shield and forearm being pushed back will strike your chest like a powerful hammer."

Jier clenched his fist and struck his own chest twice, but the armor made of hard cowhide only made a thumping sound, causing no damage.

"Being struck by your own Shield and arm in the chest will lead to an inability to catch your breath, which will greatly affect any of your subsequent actions, if you can still fight. At the same time, the heart is also close to here. After being hit heavily, some people with poor health may have their hearts stop beating or suffer heart injuries as a result."

Everyone touched their own chests, and each of them felt a lingering fear.

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? (End of this chapter)