Barracks Below

"Hello, Sergeant Donnie. I'm Second Lieutenant Sean Winchester. Pleased to work with you..." Sean introduced himself with a calm expression and a flat tone, then gestured to Torr beside him and added, "This is Corporal Thor. He'll be my messenger. Get to know each other first—I'll relay orders to you through him from now on..."

"Sergeant Donnie, hello. I'm Torr, the young lord's attendant. Pleased to meet you." Torr, standing by Sean, stepped forward promptly to greet Sergeant Donnie.

"Corporal Thor, hello. Welcome to the Guard..." Donnie, in contrast, showed a much warmer demeanor toward Torr, who came from commoner stock.

Sergeant Jason didn't interrupt the initial meeting between Sean, Torr, and Donnie. Only after it concluded did he chime in at the right moment: "Sergeant Donnie, you've been appointed adjutant to Second Lieutenant Winchester. I hope you'll help the lieutenant familiarize himself with all military regulations and signal flags as soon as possible..." He then fixed a stern look on Donnie and continued, "This is a direct order from Deputy Commander Merkel himself. Sergeant Donnie, I trust you understand..."

"Understood, sir." Donnie's heart tightened. His eyes flickered gravely over Sean's youthful face as he barked out the reply.

"Lastly... Sergeant Donnie. Remember, Second Lieutenant Winchester is your direct superior." Sergeant Jason, eyeing Donnie who had clearly sobered up, warned him in an unyielding tone. After a pause, he turned toward Sean, his voice reverting to deference: "Second Lieutenant Winchester, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. If anything comes up, feel free to find me—I'll handle it immediately..." Jason deliberately said this in front of Donnie, then swept a cold glance over him.

"Thank you for your kind help, Sergeant Jason. I'll let you know if anything arises." Sean replied with a gentle smile.

Sergeant Jason smiled back, exchanged a few casual remarks, then took his leave. He gave Sean a slight bow, nodded to Torr, and turned to walk away.

"Sergeant Donnie, lead the way." Sean gestured for Donnie to begin, his face stripped of the warm expression he'd worn while chatting with Sergeant Jason.

"Understood, sir. Please follow me, you and Corporal Thor..." Donnie turned and led the way. Once they reached the main drill ground, he pointed to a company of soldiers before him and explained to Sean, "Sir, per your appointment, you'll directly command a company of fifty soldiers. These are all the men under your authority."

Pausing, Donnie began detailing the basic structure of the Imperial Army. The grassroots soldier organization consisted of squads, companies, and battalions: a squad of ten soldiers led by a corporal, a company of fifty led by a sergeant, and a battalion of one hundred led by a second lieutenant. Since Sean was a cadet officer, he was downgraded to command a company. The naming for units above battalion was somewhat similar to what Sean knew from his previous life.

Above battalion was the company-level unit, comprising three hundred soldiers led by a captain. Above that was the battalion-level unit, made up of three companies plus one direct battalion of one hundred, totaling one thousand men, commanded by a major. Above battalion, the structure split into two types: main combat forces and local garrison forces. The local garrison forces formed a regiment from three battalions—Linshui City Guard followed this organization. The Imperial Army's main combat regiments consisted of five battalions, all commanded by colonels. As for higher military structures, Sean hadn't encountered them yet, so they were set aside for now.

Sean listened intently to Donnie's detailed explanation, occasionally interjecting to ask about unclear points. Donnie didn't brush him off or slack off but did his best to clarify everything.

Standing before the soldiers, who were arranged in five rows by squad, Sean spoke in a cold, low voice: "From this moment on, I am your commander. I want you to remember that firmly..." His sharp eyes swept over the men as he slowly introduced himself: "I am Second Lieutenant Sean Winchester, a cadet officer recommended by Linshui City Noble Academy. From now on, I expect you all to obey my orders. Understood?"

A few scattered, half-hearted replies came from the ranks, making Sean frown.

"Bastards, did you skip breakfast?" Before Sean could scold them, Sergeant Donnie roared. He wasn't trying to bolster Sean's authority—he was simply dissatisfied with the soldiers' listless, perfunctory attitude.

"Understood, sir!" The soldiers, jolted by Donnie's roar, instinctively straightened up and shouted back in unison.

Sean's brow twitched. He felt a surge of displeasure, though not because of Donnie. To him, Donnie came across as a straightforward, pure soldier—rough in speech but dedicated in attitude.

Sean knew the real reason for his frustration was his own youth, which invited the soldiers' contempt. But he also understood this wasn't the time to lose his temper. Keeping his face cold, he continued, "As your commander, I'll train alongside all of you for the next month. Also, if I'm not in the barracks, you must obey Sergeant Donnie's orders in everything." With that, Sean gave a slight nod to Donnie, who looked mildly surprised.

Then Sean turned, sneering coldly: "Lastly... if anyone doubts my ability, you're welcome to challenge me anytime..." He paused, smirking at the soldiers who seemed eager to test him, and added in a casual tone, "One more thing—I'm a Rookie Knight... so you don't need to worry about your lives..."

Sean watched with satisfaction as the soldiers' faces shifted to shock at his words. Even Sergeant Donnie couldn't hide his surprise, clearly stunned that someone so young had already become a Rookie Knight.

Under Sean's orders, Donnie took over command of the company. Sean and Torr formally joined the unit, beginning a month of basic military training.

In the blink of an eye, the month passed. Today was March 1st, Monday morning. The weather was clear, and the temperature had risen slightly.

After a month of intense training and study, Sean and Torr had largely adapted to barracks life. They'd picked up a certain military bearing, for better or worse. As for the soldiers in Sean's company, their nightmare was finally over. Because of Sean's irritation that first day, he'd shown no mercy in any of the hand-to-hand combat drills over the past month—punch after punch landed solidly, thoroughly disciplining those unruly soldiers. Still, he was careful not to kill or cripple anyone.

Of course, the soldiers weren't the type to just take a beating without fighting back. But whether they ganged up on him or tried to ambush him from behind, it was useless. Instead, Sean used the chance to beat them black and blue. This completely changed how they saw him, and it also made Sean look forward to his barracks life a little more.

Military training wasn't what Sean needed most right now. What truly benefited him was learning the army's unique command methods. The Imperial Army used special signal flags to coordinate large-scale corps operations—every officer had to master them precisely. Sean found this flag system fascinating, especially since this world had no wireless communication devices.

Torr had successfully become a qualified corporal, so Sean appointed him to lead a squad. This squad consisted of soldiers Sean had carefully selected over the past month—not only were they solid in fundamentals, but they also deeply admired Sean's strength. He planned to use this squad as his direct unit.

Of course, Sean hadn't neglected his knightly training during the month. After over a month, his stats had become:

Strength: 2.509 Constitution: 2.517 Agility: 2.7375

Before breakfast, Sean led the entire company in a slow jog around the drill ground. This was one of the extra training sessions he'd mandated. Though the soldiers had occasionally grumbled over the month, they'd quickly adapted. Just then, Sergeant Jason called out from a distance: "Second Lieutenant Winchester, Deputy Commander Merkel has ordered me to relay his command—please prepare immediately as per the order."

Hearing this, Sean ordered the soldiers to rest temporarily and walked over to Sergeant Jason.

"Sergeant Jason, please give me the order." Sean reached him quickly and spoke with a smile.

"Here you are..." Without further ado, Sergeant Jason handed Sean the order signed by Lieutenant Colonel Merkel.

"Maintaining order at the Sacrificial Ceremony?" Sean glanced down at the parchment bearing the written command, then looked up.

"Yes, sir. Not only will the City Lord attend today's ceremony, but I hear many Noble Lords from the city will be there too." Sergeant Jason saluted respectfully, then added with a smile, "So the Guard needs to blockade the main roads around the ceremony area and ensure the safety of these important figures... Deputy Commander Merkel, considering you've already familiarized yourself with your company, has assigned you to secure one of the intersections."

"Please inform Deputy Commander Merkel that I'll set out with the soldiers after breakfast." Sean accepted the order solemnly.

Sergeant Jason hurriedly saluted and left, clearly needing to relay other commands. Sean didn't mind. He turned, gathered all the soldiers, and announced the contents of Lieutenant Colonel Merkel's order loudly in front of the entire company.