Chapter 78 Promote

  In the frozen tundra near the border of Osezdin, the power of the sun gradually emerged. The snow melted under the sunlight, but it didn't bring any warmth. It was the coldest time since spring began, and the melting snow absorbed too much heat, causing the temperature around it to drop sharply.

  But this had nothing to do with Jony. In the midst of the volunteer camp, surrounded by tens of thousands of people, all he could feel was that the land under his feet seemed still quite fertile. If the frozen soil had been hard before, it was now no different from ordinary mud after the arrival of two groups of horses.

  When there was no wind, Johnny even felt a bit sultry.

  "How boring! How boring!" William stretched out his arms towards the sunrise and shouted, "So boring!"

  "Can't you just calm down a bit?" Johnny walked out of the tent, twisting his neck from side to side. "It's been three days now. I gave you more training and you didn't want it, isn't this what you're asking for?"

  "Older brother, my captain!" William looked at Johnny with a bitter face, "You might as well teach us some giant sword fighting skills, that push-up and sit-up thing is meaningless!"

  The other members of the ten-man team also came out of the tent one after another. Upon hearing William's words, they all nodded in agreement.

  "Not impressive?" Johnny sneered, "Be content, when I practiced, I was carrying a wooden shield used for defending the city back and forth in the village!"

  The fact that he hadn't run for a few days was something Johnny felt his men didn't need to know.

  It's been three days since the massive military group, Volunteer Army, has been stationed near the border. Jony doesn't know what those officers are thinking or doing, but every day he receives orders that always say "wait, train, and prepare for battle". Is it possible that those high-ranking officials in the military just want to move the new recruit camp outside the country for training?

  As a low-ranking officer, Johnny had no way of knowing what was going on upstairs. But as a responsible low-ranking officer, Johnny took his job very seriously and every day he would drill his men with strict training.

  "After dinner, each of you will do 200 push-ups, and then review the techniques for releasing force and counterattacking that I taught you yesterday." Johnny laid out today's schedule.

  A new day begins amidst a sigh of sorrow.

  "It seems that Osedin's military training is quite problematic." Ignoring the gaze of those around him, Joanie looked around at the surrounding tents.

  Not everyone can equip themselves with a fine giant sword. Just yesterday, Joanie saw that in a team of ten people not far away, from officers to soldiers, they were all holding the same scimitar. Upon closer inspection, it was almost identical to the one hanging around his neck.

  "You rely on this sword to kill enemies?" Joanie couldn't help but ask at that time.

  Their attitude was good, but it sounded extremely fanatical: "What Odin and his companions could do back then, we can too!"

  These religious fanatics can really get together!

  Even if it's a soldier holding a German two-handed sword, it looks like it belongs to the slashing flow. Joanie once asked a young man from the countryside in his team to try out the weapon. The shape is the mainstream shape, but it seems to be much heavier than the one in his hand. The blade is also wider, and if you say that it's suitable for slashing, it's indeed suitable.

  But this thing shouldn't be used like this! Johnny can only lament in his heart.

  "I don't know what the situation is like in the army." Johnny looked at the busy camp and muttered to himself.

  After a series of training, it was just lunchtime. Set up the iron pot, cook a pot of salted dried meat, and eat it with dry food, the young men felt that their strength had returned.

  "If we were to select a group of sturdy soldiers, dress them in solid plate armor, and then mount on wooden handles a heavy, thick, and sharp large knife." Jonyi gestured to his subordinates, "Then let them form a neat formation, raise their knives simultaneously according to the officer's command, slash, raise their knives, slash. Isn't that powerful?"

  "Old question," William countered, "How are we going to defend against the enemy, say, the barbarians' giant axes?"

  "Never mind that," Jony said with a wave of his hand. "My weapon is longer than their axes."

  "What if someone else's handle is longer?"

  "Then let the warrior with the giant sword deal with them."

  The remaining eight people looked at Johnny and then at William, as silent as ever. They thought both men were very reasonable and had no opinions of their own to express.

  If they were discussing how to harvest a good crop, perhaps they could still join in.

  "What if your team is defeated?" William was still somewhat dissatisfied.

  Joni stood up, his hands grasping at the air, making a slashing motion: "Like this, even Tanias' heavy cavalry would be cut in two. How could they possibly be scattered? It's just like reaping wheat, one stroke at a time!"

  "How long can that last?" William also stood up, making a slashing motion with his sword, "Even if it's just a virtual slash, and it's a giant sword, ordinary soldiers can't take it after a hundred or so slashes. Like you said, to cut someone in half, how heavy must the weapon be? How many times can it be swung?"

  "Hmmph." A sense of superiority arose in Jonyi's heart, "I'm telling you, when I practiced sword techniques, I wore iron guards. Do you know how heavy they were? Each guard was almost as heavy as your giant sword!"

  Everyone was shocked at once, and the eyes looking at Joanie were filled with deeper admiration. No wonder this guy is so strong, it turns out that's how he practiced.

  "So, if we select some strong and powerful soldiers, add some training to them, they can definitely hold on for a battle." Joanie said with some pride, "And you have to consider the enemy's morale! With such a reaping wall of lives in front of them, will that army dare to keep charging?"

  "This..." William wanted to find fault, but couldn't find any loopholes, and could only reluctantly nod his head, "You win."

  "What's all the commotion about?" A middle-aged man walked over, none other than Jony's superior officer, their former instructor and current centurion, Wolfang Frederick.

  "Attention!" The new recruits stood up straight, and Johnny reported, "Reporting to the officer, we are discussing the improvement of military weapons!"

  Wolfgang waved his hand, indicating the end of the courtesy, and then asked curiously: "Improved military weapons?"

  "Yes, sir." Johnny repeated his thoughts.

  "Full-body armor?" Wolf frowned, "Wouldn't that make these soldiers very slow-moving?"

  Before Joanie could respond, he added, "And you should know that full-body armor is very expensive, right? Although Ocedin's resources are rich, it's absolutely impossible to arm many soldiers like the ones you described. According to your description, how many such soldiers would this army need?"

  Joni thought for a moment and replied: "I don't know about that, but I think as long as there are two rows, the number of people in each row should be determined by the scale of the battlefield."

  "Let's assume it's a hundred-man squad. Wolfga seemed to be in a rather serious mood, "A hundred sets of full-body plate armor would be an unbearable expense. And we'd also need blacksmiths to slowly forge them... Come to think of it, this tactic is actually suitable for those iron-skinned Tanias."

  Seeing Johnny looking somewhat dejected, Wolf patted his shoulder: "Your idea is good, it's just not suitable for our situation. Don't be discouraged, think more about it later, and there will come a day when you'll think of the right strategy."

  Joni had already thought of that. He tried to get around the setting of the board armor, but found it impossible. A lightly armored long-handled large knife - or a halberd soldier, under the opponent's crossbow shooting, absolutely has no chance of survival.

  "Alright, stop spacing out." Another heavy pat, "I came over to inform you, pack your things and get ready to hit the road."

  Are we on our way? Have we set out? The crowd looked eagerly at their commander. And Joanie also reacted, looking at Wolfang with great surprise.

  "Get moving! What are you staring at?" Wolfka glared, "The First Army has sent back word that they've found the enemy's trail, we can set out now."

  A burst of cheers spread throughout the entire camp, one after another.

  At the same time, the female battalion also set out for the border in their long and unyielding struggle.

  "Are you going to the battlefield, are you afraid?" Lancelot checked his equipment and casually asked Daphne. As soon as he finished asking, he regretted it a bit. Did he need to ask? With good skills like Daphne's, of course...

  "There is one thing."

  Huh?

  "I've been practicing martial arts since I was a kid, but I've never actually killed anyone," Daphne said, looking a bit dazed. "The old soldiers in the city say that when it really comes down to it, arms and legs are flying everywhere."

  "Which old soldier told you?" Lancelot's heart also skipped a beat upon hearing this, "How can he say something so... disgusting?"

  "It's true, barbarians use axes and we use greatswords. Even if it wasn't as he said, it was still a bloody scene." Daphne looked at Lancelot, "I heard many new recruits vomit after their first kill."

  "Blood isn't anything to be afraid of." Lancelot patted his chest, comforting his own spirit which had been frightened by the "heavenly hands and feet". "I often see blood when I hunt animals in my family's forest. It just smells bad, they must have been smoked or something?"

  "Who knows?" Daphne shook her head lightly, "But the kingdom chose to send troops at this time, aren't they afraid of delaying the sowing? I heard my father say that the population of Ocedin is not particularly large."

  "It shouldn't be a problem, right?" Lancelot shrugged. "The boys in our village are just helping out with farm work, they're not much use for anything else. And this recruitment is voluntary anyway, those who come to join the army are probably just people who can't stay at home, it shouldn't have much impact. Besides, I heard many city folks and young nobles are signing up too? Real farmers are few, aren't they?"

  "Maybe," Daphne said noncommittally, this was beyond her knowledge category. "Let's go, line up outside."

  When these girls walked out of the Osutin territory with excitement, carrying huge swords and shields, they received a new order, an order that made them extremely angry.

  "Reorganize on the spot and take over the task of the First Army's Thousand-Man Team."

  What mission? Managing military supply depots.

  Undoubtedly, it is another large-scale **.

  "Still can't go to the front lines, huh." Daphne chuckled and shook her head at Lancelot. "To think about it, our thousand-man squad really doesn't have any military discipline, if we were to take them to the battlefield, no one would feel at ease."

  Lancelot looked at the robust female soldiers shouting and waving their arms outside the tent, nodding his head in force.

  In the depths of the wilderness, a new tribal alliance is gradually taking shape.

  "Those detestable Ossetians are coming again, will you wait for them to kill you alone or follow our great chieftain with all your brave warriors and fight against these southerners?" The envoy of the Ussuri tribe went back and forth among various barbarian tribes with their guards.

  The alliance was formed very smoothly. Even if some small tribes chose to stay out of the way, there would be messengers' guards to help them make the right decision.

  The weapons and equipment brought back from the Ossetians, combined with the military supplies brought by the distant pagans, almost allowed the Ussuri tribe to have one metal weapon per person.

  Even the forest barbarians were included in the list of recruitment: "(Barbarian language) Oh, great warriors of Usga! Can you sit back and watch the odious Odinists invade your territory? Have you forgotten the harm they have done to you? Let us put aside our prejudices and fight against these invaders from the distant south with the powerful Usuris tribe leader!"

  The forest is the domain of the barbarians, and even the Ussuri tribe did not dare to use force before the war. Fortunately, some barbarian tribes agreed to these terms, of course, at a price.

  "Tell your master that the descendants of Usga cannot fight side by side with the followers of Azugar. But if he can bring us iron ore, we may consider giving him a reward."

  But there was a small flaw in the whole plan.

  The magical icy wilderness is home to many magical creatures. Just as they suddenly disappeared before winter, the white sheep flock followed the spring breeze and returned to the world of humans again. This mysterious and beautiful animal, their meat is the staple food of barbarians, their fur is a very good warm clothing material. Generation after generation of barbarians lived in the icy snow with the help of the white sheep's fur.

  But this year seems to be different. Even among the strongest Ussuriysk tribes, there have been cases of elderly and weak tribe members freezing to death.

  "This weather is really cold!" Odara hugged her arms and jumped up and down in the snow.

  "Why didn't anyone in our household mention that the wasteland would be so cold?" Al was also shivering, "I hope our weapons won't freeze either."

  After everything was over, the two surviving sentry soldiers were incorporated into the First Army and continued to serve as their own decurions. The two men brought down from the front line still followed them.

  "My old man never said it was this cold," Odara complained, "He also killed the tribal leader at about this distance back then."

  The weather was abnormally cold, and every hundred-man unit had several soldiers who were frostbitten.

  "Ah." Iwida exhaled a warm breath, which immediately condensed into mist in the cold air. "Notify the volunteer army behind us to stop advancing, set up supply stations, and apply for warm clothing from the imperial capital. This year's weather is somewhat abnormal."

  A gust of wind blew by, and the people around Iwida all shivered in unison.