69novels Chapter 74 Selection and Examination of the Imperial Guard
Chapter 74 Selection and Examination of the Imperial Guard
Erwin pulled a piece of paper from the notepad and spread it out in front of Ron.
"Hollington was one of the first three villages where we established our intelligence network; the village chief's daughter married into our estate."
So this line has always been the most stable and active, but a few days ago I discovered that the latest intelligence from this village hadn't been delivered, which is somewhat unusual.
"I sent a regular army squad to investigate, and the sergeant reported that a massacre had taken place there."
"The whole village?" Ron asked.
"The entire village, men and women alike, was wiped out. During the search, the soldiers found a survivor, a little girl. Based on her account, they were able to reconstruct what happened."
Erwin's voice was even lower, each word sounding as if squeezed out from between his teeth.
"A monster appeared near the village, and the village chief hired a demon hunter to deal with it. After the commission was completed, the villagers and the demon hunter got into a dispute. The little girl couldn't explain the specific details."
Perhaps the issue of payment wasn't resolved; in any case, the final outcome was that the witcher was injured, killed the person who attacked him, and then, losing control, killed all the other villagers who were unaware of the situation.
"The team followed the trail of blood and found him. He was a Witcher from the Cat School, a school with a terrible reputation. The Witcher's current reputation is inextricably linked to this school."
They not only take on witch-hunting commissions, but also work as assassins. It's said that because of a major flaw in their mutation, Cat School witchers are prone to going out of control, and once it erupts, it's uncontrollable.
Erwin paused. "He refused to surrender and tried to resist, but was surrounded by the shields of the regular army and riddled with spears until his body was unrecognizable. The soldiers brought back his badge and silver sword."
Of course, that's what the soldiers say. If I remember correctly, there were sergeants from Holloton in that squad. Only they know the specifics of what happened.
Ron paused for a moment. "What about the surviving little girl?"
"She was brought back to the manor, and Aina is taking care of her; she lives with the other children."
"Settle according to standards, expand troop strength as needed, and increase patrol frequency." Erwin wrote it down word for word and turned to the next page.
Outside the window, the noisy collisions from the training field had been going on all morning.
The training ground, shooting range, and swordplay area were set up with schedules, and the Fionas stood in a row with their arms crossed in front of their chests.
Today's selection is of great importance. Those who pass the test will enter the reserve ranks of the Royal Guard and undergo exclusive training with the armored cavalry and Fionas.
Those who successfully complete the training period will officially join the Guards, receiving not only a promotion but also a significant increase in salary, making the competition fierce from the very beginning.
Several soldiers were competing in riding skills on the equestrian track. When the horses galloped out, they kicked up a lot of mud. Someone overtook half a horse's length on a bend, and a soldier watching the fun shouted.
At the shooting range, three soldiers were competing in spear throwing. The moment the spear shaft left their hands, the wooden target was hit repeatedly, causing it to tilt backward slightly, and the target surface was deeply penetrated by the spear.
In the sword fighting area, two soldiers were locked in combat within the fence. The sounds of their weapons clashing were crisp and frequent. One of them was knocked back half a step, but regained his footing and slashed at his opponent's wrist with a backhand. The weapon flew out of his hand, and cheers erupted from the sidelines.
Langvid was also on the field. His opponent was a sergeant who was half a head taller than him. Langvid seized the opportunity when his opponent changed his steps and stabbed him in the ribs with his sword. His opponent staggered, took half a step back, and nodded to indicate that he had given up.
Langvid returned to the sidelines, panting and recovering his strength. Several veterans patted him on the shoulder; he had gone from Langvid in the swamp to a regular soldier.
From being knocked down by Fiona in three breaths to holding on for seven breaths without defeat, he can now finally go toe-to-toe with the veterans in the arena.
Weiss and several blue-clad guards leaned against the fence, hands on their hips, watching the soldiers inside the enclosure searching for weaknesses in the rapidly changing offense and defense. She shouted at them.
"You rookies, whoever loses today will have their training load doubled for the next month. Get serious, all of you, and keep your spirits up!!" The soldiers on the field silently increased their attack speed, the shadows of their swords becoming almost blurry.
The blue-clad guard next to him nudged his companion with his elbow and lowered his voice.
"These recruits are progressing at a frightening rate. Is that potion they're drinking really that powerful? Should we apply for some and try it out?" Another blue-clad guard didn't respond, but just silently watched the recruits on the field.
Ron stood next to Weiss, his gaze fixed on the field, and casually began to chat, "Radovid wrote me a letter."
Weiss turned her head away. "Huh? What did that son of a bitch say?"
"Threatening me to outwardly remain loyal to Nilfgaard, and telling me what to do when the time is right," Weiss snorted, looking into Ron's eyes.
"You should find a chance to talk to Roche. He knows Radoved better than you do. He's dealt with Radoved a lot, and he owes you a favor."
Ron nodded, and a series of muffled thuds came from the field. Champion Fiona began to personally test the waters. The bullseye was replaced with a moving target, which darted back and forth on the zipline, moving much faster than a fixed target.
The soldiers taking the test drew their bows, aimed, and released the arrows in one smooth motion, the arrows striking the bullseye with a thud. Fiona shouted in Calradian, and although the soldiers couldn't understand it, they could guess the general meaning: "Not bad, you didn't embarrass yourselves."
Karl had a space cleared out on the training ground, and several sergeants brought out a batch of heavy training equipment: a one-handed hammer, an armor-piercing staff, a two-handed axe, and thickened training armor.
This is specifically designed for the heavy armor close combat assessment. The selection of armored cavalry cannot only be based on swordsmanship and horsemanship; foot combat is also a required course.
The crowd gathered toward the open space. Old Gort walked to the center, held the thick-handled training axe in his hand, and slammed it into the ground. The soldiers watching quieted down.
He glanced at the soldiers around him. "Today's assessment: close-quarters armor-piercing combat, two people per team, blunt weapons only, until one side is subdued."
The first group consisted of two soldiers who had passed the swordsmanship test. One sturdy soldier chose a one-handed hammer, while the other opted for a two-handed axe. The two donned heavy armor and walked into the center of the arena.
The soldier with the hammer struck first, smashing the hammer at his opponent's head with one hand. The opponent raised his axe to block, and the hammerhead hit the axe handle with a dull thud. The axe-wielding soldier lowered his center of gravity, grabbed his opponent, and pulled him back, twisting his entire body to the side.
The hammer-wielding soldier was thrown to the ground. His opponent did not pursue him further, but instead pressed his knee against the soldier's chest, the spikes at the ends of his two axes pressed against the gap between his helmet and neck guard, and looked up at Old Gote.
Old Gort pointed at the soldier pinned to the ground. "See that? His armor is very thick; you can't cut through it with a sword. But once you're down, no matter how thick your armor is, it's useless. Your opponent won't give you another chance to get up."
He gestured for the two men to stand up. "I declare Henry from Scalitz the victor, and he is qualified to join the Imperial Guard's armored cavalry reserve."
The shouts, the sound of horses' hooves, the dull thud of spears hitting the bullseye, and the cheers of the soldiers mingled together and echoed throughout the entire manor.
In the direction of the chapel, Aina led the little girl from Holloton through the courtyard, her hand tightly clasped in Aina's.