Training His Core Team

"Didn't you eat? Get your spirits up, every last one of you!"

"Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in war. Why don't you idiots understand something so simple..."

Under the blazing sun, Hudson watched the sweat-drenched youths and lectured them without pause.

Ever since the Knight Squire selection had ended, this had become routine. Everyone had long since grown used to it.

Knights were born for war. Going to the battlefield was only a matter of time, and as squires, they naturally had to keep up. Not only did they have to kill enemies, but at critical moments, they also had to serve as human shields.

For the sake of his own life, Hudson put his full effort into it, applying every bit of training knowledge he had in his head.

After three months of being put through the wringer, these ten men had begun to look properly trained. Even the usually imposing Baron Redman had acknowledged Hudson's results, declaring that he had the potential to become a general.

Unfortunately, potential was only potential. Having been beaten up by society before, Hudson did not think he was all that impressive.

No matter what others said, he had never relaxed his training of his subordinates.

Anyone paying attention would have noticed Baron Redman nearby, watching with his three younger sons—or rather, secretly learning.

It could not be helped. In this isolated world, knowledge was simply too scarce. Knowledge related to the military was especially difficult to come by. Even if one wanted to learn, there was nowhere to do so, leaving them no choice but to explore and summarize things slowly.

The scattered notes left behind by elders were the most precious inheritance of the nobility.

A large part of why great nobles had always maintained their advantage was their monopoly over knowledge.

The training methods Hudson considered ordinary seemed priceless to Baron Redman. Too embarrassed to ask his son for them directly, he simply learned and recorded them from the side.

This made things difficult for the three little fellows. They were at an age when they were naturally mischievous, and with the Baroness spoiling them, they had no idea how precious this knowledge was. Baron Redman's efforts were destined to be wasted.

Lesur in particular was glaring at Hudson venomously. Had Baron Redman's attention not been elsewhere, he likely would not have escaped a beating with a bamboo switch.

After hesitating for a long while, Lesur finally could not help but say, "Father, I have completed my basic knight training. About the Life Essence..."

Before he could finish, Baron Redman's expression darkened at once. He shot him a fierce glare but said nothing.

That only made Lesur more uneasy. He had paid a painful price for that Life Essence. If he failed to obtain it, he would truly suffer a crushing loss.

Left with no choice, he could only hope his two younger brothers would speak up on his behalf. Unfortunately, noble children matured early. Even blood brothers could not overlook the fact that they were now competitors.

Family resources were limited. The more you took, the less I received. There was no way around that. Lesur had committed a grave taboo; if he could be kicked out of the competition, it would benefit everyone else.

The fact that they did not kick him while he was down was already out of consideration for brotherly affection. After exchanging a glance with Lesur, the two little brats tacitly looked away.

This scene happened to fall into Baron Redman's eyes. Yet it was not enough to move him.

The world of nobles was cruel. If one did not fight or seize opportunities, one simply could not gain a foothold in this world where the strong preyed on the weak.

The virtues of a knight: humility, honesty, compassion, bravery, justice, sacrifice, honor, and soul.

Yet the rules for noble survival were: profit above all else, hypocrisy, utilitarianism, selfishness, rationality... all essential skills.

Only after survival was assured could noble spirit emerge: integrity, righteousness, a sense of duty...

What people could not obtain was always the best. The more everyone praised something, the more likely it was to be what they lacked most in real life.

"Don't let yourselves be distracted. Watch Hudson train his men carefully. It will benefit your future development."

Baron Redman spoke earnestly.

They were his sons, after all. He could not be completely cold and heartless. In his view, Lesur was completely losing sight of what mattered. Rather than obsessing over Life Essence that did not belong to him, he would be better off taking the opportunity to learn more.

In fact, when Baron Redman had first discovered Hudson's talent for training troops, he had considered having him train an elite force.

But his purse was not well stocked, and he simply could not afford to maintain a Standing Army. The only armed force in the entire barony was the castle guard, numbering fewer than fifty men.

Since their numbers were small, individual combat ability naturally mattered more. Besides, guards and soldiers were not the same kind of force. Blindly copying methods would only backfire.

In a sense, the art of training troops was a tasteless burden for small nobles. Only by serving the King or great nobles could it find a place to be used.

Unaware of his father's plans, Hudson continued training his men with all his strength. In this world of supernatural power, ordinary people found it difficult to contend against such forces.

Even a Beginner Knight like Hudson could easily defeat more than ten strong men. This was the true foundation of the noble class's continued rule over the world.

Restricted by their monopoly on resources and the tacit understanding among nobles, Life Essence was never allowed to flow outside noble circles. For commoners, becoming knights was almost impossible. The only supernatural path suitable for ordinary people was that of warriors.

Though both were supernatural, knights completely crushed warriors at the same level. It was not only because of the assistance of their mounts; more importantly, they had awakened a Life Seed.

Although Hudson did not understand what exactly a Life Seed was, he had personally experienced the benefits of awakening one.

The most obvious change was the improvement in his overall physical condition. After every bout of intense training, the Life Seed released a stream of energy that repaired damage to his body.

Warriors, by comparison, had it far worse. Without the support of a Life Seed, they accumulated plenty of hidden injuries from daily training alone, not to mention after going onto the battlefield.

Long-lived knights were common, but long-lived warriors were few and far between. Most did not live past fifty. Their short lifespans naturally limited the growth of their strength. Across the entire continent, the number of powerful warriors could be counted on one's fingers.

As for the mysterious mages, they were a gap in Hudson's knowledge. The few brief mentions in his family's books could not explain much.

There was even less to say about other niche professions. Ordinary people might not encounter one even once in their lives, and Hudson had no way to learn about them.

If he were merely cultivating Knight Squires, a little basic training would have been enough. There was no need for him to work this hard.

In the end, he still had a restless heart. Even though he kept telling himself to lie low first, his body honestly continued striving to cultivate his own core team.

The first pot of gold in life was always the hardest to earn. For now, he only had ten men he could use. Their numbers might not be great, but they were better than nothing.