Everyone Does Their Best

The sound of neat footsteps echoed in the hallway. Eric and Simon entered the conference room one after the other, punched their chests, and gave a standard military salute: "Lord Baron!"

Seeing Eric had also come, Raven's lips curved into a playful smile. He knew his retainer's thoughts.

Raven had been too busy lately, essentially handing over the army's affairs to Eric. The two had few opportunities to meet, and even less to communicate.

The latter, though seemingly rough around the edges, clearly had a sense of urgency. Now, he naturally wanted to make his presence known while Simon was being summoned.

Raven felt no dissatisfaction with this. Eric acting this way showed his utmost loyalty; otherwise, he wouldn't harbor such subtle intentions.

Raven nodded in greeting and looked at Eric, "How has the training for this batch of soldiers from Shining Gold Town been going?"

"Under the guidance of your wise and superb training methods, progress has been rapid, my lord!" Eric first flattered him, then added, "However, they are not yet ready for deployment."

"Still the same old problems?" Raven asked.

"Yes, my lord." Eric showed a hint of shame on his face, "With two months of training, these soldiers from Shining Gold Town are far inferior to our soldiers from Eagle Town."

Raven wasn't particularly surprised by this.

The soldiers from Shining Gold Town, coming from a town, were accustomed to slacking off. Although smarter than the soldiers from Eagle Town, they also had more of their own ideas, valued their lives more, and were far less diligent in training than the soldiers from Eagle Town.

"This isn't your responsibility, don't feel pressured." Raven comforted Eric, then turned to Simon, "You seem to have something to say?"

"Yes, my lord." Simon stood rigidly straight, his eyes fixed above Raven's head, "I believe there are some issues with the current training methods."

Eric cast a displeased glance at Simon; it was clear he had already heard this before.

"Don't be so tense, I won't whip you for just one or two sentences." Raven smiled gently, "Speak your mind slowly."

"Yes, my lord!" Simon's gaze relaxed slightly but remained sharp, "Currently, the biggest reason for the poor training results of this batch of soldiers is not their poor quality, but that they miss home."

"Miss home?" Raven blinked, then became intrigued, "Elaborate."

Sensing Raven's attitude, Simon breathed a sigh of relief. He swallowed and said, "My lord, when we were training, although we had night drills, we could still go home every few days. Since it was close to Eagle Town, we could even go back during lunch breaks sometimes."

"But now, these soldiers train in the barracks all day with no rest time. You've also stipulated that gambling is not allowed after nightfall, so they generally harbor some... resentment."

"They're still not being disciplined enough." Facing this report, which could almost be called an accusation to a superior, Eric's expression turned somewhat grim. "My lord, this is my dereliction of duty. Starting today, I will increase night patrols."

Raven raised his hand, signaling Eric to be quiet, then lowered his head in thought.

The reason he hadn't given these private soldiers any leave was to temper their will and correct their "spoiled" nature.

Especially gambling.

As a daily pastime, a little bit of casual gambling might be acceptable, but in the army, it was a source of chaos that disrupted morale and greatly damaged relationships between soldiers.

As far as Raven knew, in both his past and present lives, there were not uncommon incidents of large-scale brawls, or even deaths, caused by gambling.

It seemed his approach had been a bit too extreme.

Everyone needed entertainment and relaxation, and soldiers were no exception.

Even in his past life's army, there were regular holidays, and after resting, they could have their own recreational activities, such as watching TV, reading, or playing games.

Moreover, the quality of soldiers in this world could not be compared to the conscripts of his past life.

With long-accumulated stress unable to be released, it was normal to have some resentment, and it was understandable that training efficiency would not improve.

"This is indeed my oversight." Raven said after some thought, "How about this, starting next week, give them one day off each weekend."

Eric expressed his objection, "Lord Baron, isn't that too frequent?"

"Let's try it this way first." Raven didn't completely dismiss Eric's words, "Let's see the effect. If the training results decline afterward, we can adjust."

Feeling that Raven respected his opinion, Eric replied respectfully, "Understood, my lord."

"Simon, you did very well this time." Raven's face showed a satisfied smile, "Mr. Gordon, please note that Simon can receive double his salary this month."

Simon's eyes widened, his voice filled with excitement, "It is my honor, Lord Baron!"

In contrast, Eric's demeanor was less pleasant, and his gaze toward Simon was filled with strong displeasure.

"Since you are both here today, I can speak my mind." Raven's gaze swept over them, and he said in a deep voice, "You should both know that I have been very busy lately."

"I have just become a mage, requiring meditation, spell practice, and also managing the workshop's product research and development."

"And as a Baron, what I lack most now is much more—Elvish, imperial history, the major noble families of Nord Province and their members, all of which I need to learn, memorize, and understand."

"Not to mention business activities, territory development, settling residents, army training, all require my effort."

Raven spoke sincerely, causing old Gordon and Eric to blush slightly.

Nobles had always taken pride in indulging in food, drink, and extravagance, and felt shame in practical matters.

It was a disgrace for the retainers to have placed so many burdens on Raven's shoulders.

Raising his hand to suppress the apology that was about to escape old Gordon's lips, Raven continued slowly, "I also know that you have both done very well, but I hope you can be... more meticulous."

"Just like Simon did today, helping me identify problems in advance. For every problem found, my pressure will be reduced, and our Eagle Territory will get better and better."

Eric's face was the reddest at this moment. As the current person in charge of the barracks, the biggest problem was discovered by Simon. Although Raven hadn't mentioned him directly, he was undoubtedly using this to admonish him.

"Lord Baron, I have indeed been a bit negligent recently, often returning home at night." Eric straightened his body, "Rest assured, starting today, except for routine meetings, I will not leave the barracks for half a step. When they get leave, I get leave!"

No need for repeated urging, Raven was satisfied with Eric's attitude, "There's no need to go to such extremes. Just pay more attention normally."

Saying this, he looked at Simon, "How has your horseback riding been lately?"

"Still working hard, my lord!" Simon said. "Right now, I can only manage to gallop on horseback, I'm not yet skilled enough to use weapons while mounted."

Raven asked, "How many soldiers are at your current level?"

"Besides me, there are four in total." Simon proceeded to name four individuals.

"That's enough." Raven nodded. "How is the 'homework' for this week coming along?"

Upon hearing this, Simon unbuckled his belt and handed over a folded piece of parchment.

The parchment was spread out on the table. It showed neat squares outlined with clear ink, with various ink dots and lines within them.

The top right corner was marked with a cross and arrows indicating the East, West, South, and North directions.

At the very center was Shining Gold Town, occupying one square.

A slightly curved line extended eastward, spanning four squares before marking the location of Riverside Workshop.

To the south, a winding double-dashed line ran from northeast to southwest, traversing almost the entire parchment, representing the Golden Sand River.

To the west, a slightly curved double solid line represented a road. After a distance of ten squares, it extended to Shining Gold Town.

Three squares to the north was Eagle Fortress.

This was a map, with the specifications provided by Raven, and personally drawn by Simon, depicting the current Eagle Territory. It was already the eighth iteration.

Double solid lines represented roads, double dashed lines represented rivers. Mountains were depicted as large rocks, forests as single trees, circles represented cities and settlements, and the squares were pre-drawn by Raven to serve as a scale, with each square representing an area of 200 by 200 meters.

Back when they were in Shining Gold Town, Raven had realized that the crudeness of ordinary maps in this world made them impractical. Thus, he devised this clever method to cultivate Simon's map-drawing abilities.

Although it lacked modern contour lines, it didn't hinder its considerable practicality.

Eric had known about this for a while, but when he saw the finished product Simon presented, he couldn't help but gasp in admiration. "My lord, this is almost usable as a military map!"

"Yes, it's truly excellent, Simon. You've done a fine job," Raven said with satisfaction. "It seems I can confidently entrust this task to you."

As he spoke, he took out a stack of parchment from his drawer, all of which already had squares drawn on them. "Here are 10 blank maps with pre-drawn squares. Three of them have smaller squares where one grid represents one kilometer, and seven have larger squares where one grid represents 200 meters."

"I need you to lead those four skilled horsemen, each with two horses, carrying sufficient food and water, to scout the Bloody Highlands and draw complete maps of the routes they travel. Use the larger grids for the overall terrain and the smaller ones for detailed terrain, as detailed as possible. Can you do it?"

Simon, as if he knew no fear, thumped his chest. "Your will shall be carried out, my lord!"

Eric immediately recalled Raven's previously audacious plan:

To counterattack the Bloody Highlands.

He had initially dismissed it as a joke, but he never expected Raven to have already made preparations. The reason for training Simon's cartography skills was precisely for this purpose.

Old Gordon also sensed something amiss. "Lord Baron, please reconsider. The Bloody Highlands are fraught with too many unpredictable risks."

"Everything carries risk, and the bandits in the Bloody Highlands won't just attack once," Raven replied. "Now that we've reclaimed Shining Gold Town, there are more places we need to protect. Mapping out the terrain in advance will also be beneficial for future defensive operations."

This righteous-sounding reason left Old Gordon with no room for rebuttal. Even Eric was speechless – from a military perspective, this was indeed something that should be done.

Seeing that the two of them no longer objected, Raven's gaze fell upon Simon again. "This time, I want you to remember not to reveal your objective or your identities to anyone. Therefore, for this expedition, you must wear leather armor without the Griffith Family's insignia."

"I don't care how you achieve your objective, but the map must come first. While ensuring your safety, the more detailed, the better."

"Have I made everything clear? Any questions?"

Simon shook his head. "No questions, I understand perfectly!"

Raven walked over to him and patted his shoulder heavily. "Excellent. Then go and prepare yourself, get a good rest today, and report to Eagle Fortress tomorrow morning for departure."

With firm steps, Simon bowed and turned to leave.

Although this mission was arduous and accompanied by the risk of death, he did not fear it, for he knew that even if he were to perish on this mission, the Baron would absolutely not neglect his family.

Only after Simon's figure disappeared did Eric quietly ask, "My lord, are you planning to train Simon into a scout?"

Raven sighed. "Yes. I hadn't fully decided before, but now it seems this is his best developmental path."

"Lord Baron, you truly know how to utilize people's talents," Eric said sincerely. "Simon is smart enough, loyal enough, but his nature is still too... soft."

"Rather than soft, it's more like an ill-timed kindness," Raven corrected.

Simon must have been unable to withstand the pleas of his subordinates, which is why he bypassed Eric to report the issue to him today.

It is said that compassion cannot command an army. This doesn't mean that a commander must be cold-blooded and ruthless, but rather that a commander must have the resolve to make a difficult decision and send his soldiers to their deaths when necessary.

And Simon couldn't even bear to sympathize with the soldiers' complaints, even going so far as to disregard Eric's authority, which was enough to show that he was still too soft-hearted.

This was an ingrained nature, not something that could be changed with a few words or a few actions.

If he were to continue leading troops, he would inevitably cause big trouble sooner or later, harming himself and others. However, his qualities in all other aspects were excellent, and it would be a waste to not utilize him, and it would also greatly damage morale.

After much thought, being a scout seemed to be the most suitable role for him.

"Next, transfer Moxigan to the recruit camp to temporarily fill Simon's position, and increase his pay as well."

"Understood, my lord," Eric replied. "Then I will return to the barracks."

Eric turned to leave, and Raven leaned back in his chair, rubbing his neck. "Mr. Gordon..."

Seeing that the old retainer did not respond, Raven asked again, "Mr. Gordon?"

"Oh, my lord, my apologies." Old Gordon snapped back to attention and quickly bowed.

Raven didn't mind and waved his hand. "Mr. Gordon, what were you thinking about just now? You seemed so absorbed."

Old Gordon was thinking about the series of events that had transpired today.

Simon's questioning of Eric was like a sharp, resounding slap across Eric's face; no matter how upright the retainer was, he couldn't help but feel a sting.

However, the issues Simon raised were indeed valid, and Raven couldn't punish him for them.

This meant that if Simon remained in the army, as events unfolded, he would continuously undermine Eric's authority within the military and also sow seeds of discord in Eric's heart.

By sending Simon away and appointing someone else to his position, Raven had effectively removed him from the army's command structure.

The soldiers, unaware of Simon's whereabouts, would undoubtedly assume this was some form of punishment for him.

In this way, the soldiers would clearly understand Eric's standing in Raven's eyes, which would inspire greater awe towards Eric and also make Eric feel more indebted to Raven.

"My Lord Baron, I was just thinking that Eric was mistaken when he said you were good at recognizing talent," Old Gordon praised sincerely. "In my opinion, you've achieved 'putting everyone to their best use'."

"Ha, 'putting everyone to their best use,' you flatter me too much," Raven said with a chuckle. "But since that's the case, shouldn't we now, 'make the most of everything'?"