The human soldiers' class advancement paths were noticeably different from the barbarians'.
Spearmen were nothing special, just a regular unit type, but the Javelinists made Loren's heart stir.
Normally, an army wasn't complete without melee units, ranged units, and Spellcasters.
Archers were the best choice for ranged units.
But given the current situation, there was no way they could train archers anytime soon.
Not for any other reason. They were simply broke.
They had neither people nor equipment.
Archers had to be built with money. A single longbow cost as much as a full suit of armor.
The Gray Eagle Territory's finances were so dire they were painful to look at.
The arrival of the Javelinists gave Loren a way to make up for his lack of ranged forces.
What's more, the Javelinists' advanced classes were especially powerful.
Berserk Javelinist, Berserk Hunter. Those names alone sounded impressive.
With that in mind, Loren used the Eye of Truth to inspect the human soldiers gathered before him.
To his disappointment, most of them had little potential, and their loyalty hovered around 60. Half of them were barely above 50.
Loyalty 60–70: Normal loyalty; willing to serve you.
Loyalty 0–59: Uncertain; not truly willing to serve you, and liable to betray you for personal gain at any moment.
That left Loren with a bitter taste in his mouth.
But the territory was so broke it couldn't afford a decent pair of pants. He had no choice. If he didn't change these sorry excuses for soldiers into another class, he'd have no one to use.
After a moment's thought, his gaze sharpened. He looked over the crowd and spoke loudly.
"Soldiers of the Gray Eagle Territory, I am your lord, Loren Grant."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a confidence unlike anything he'd shown before.
The forty soldiers below immediately fell silent.
"Though the Gray Eagle Territory fell during the last Bloody Day, it wasn't because of any failure on your part!
I saw the effort you put in and the blood you shed."
Loren's steady tone suddenly rose.
"Wrongdoing will be punished, and merit rewarded!"
"That is the ironclad rule of Loren Grant."
"I've called you here today to tell you this."
"I will never forget a single subordinate who fights for me."
"You have all rendered meritorious service. You'll be rewarded for your achievements."
The soldiers' faces filled with disbelief. The lord actually remembered them?
They were overwhelmed by the feeling of being honored.
They were nothing more than slave soldiers Loren had bought from the slave market. Their status was a little higher than that of ordinary slaves, but not by much.
When had nobles, those lofty masters, ever cared about them?
And Lord Loren was a descendant of the Orchid Family. For nobles of such standing to speak kindly to them would have been an immense honor.
Now Loren's words of praise struck them right in the heart.
The feeling of being valued and acknowledged warmed every soldier.
Kool, the guard captain whose loyalty had already reached 85, tightened his grip on his sword hilt. His lips trembled as he shouted,
"Lord Loren, it's our duty to defend the Gray Eagle Territory! It's our honor to give our lives for you!"
Loren watched the crowd's excitement, a little surprised. He hadn't expected these men to be so easy to win over.
He cleared his throat and nodded approvingly at them.
"Good. Kool, I've always remembered everything you've done for me."
Then he swept his gaze over the crowd, his voice ringing out with stirring fervor.
"You are my subordinates, my soldiers, and your achievements have never been forgotten!
The Gray Eagle Territory will not neglect you, and I will never treat you unfairly!
Listen up, everyone. I promise that the Gray Eagle Territory will institute a military merit system.
If you earn enough military merit, I'll allow you to shed your status as slaves and become free men.
You won't be allowed to leave the army, but you'll be allowed to start families, take wives, and have children."
The crowd erupted in an instant.
The soldiers' eyes shone with excitement and fervor.
"Goddess above, what did I just hear?"
"We can really get married? Lord, I want ten wives!"
"Kid, you're too young. Once you're married, you'll understand that having one wife is actually a man's protection."
"..."
As their masters' private property, what were slaves? Merchandise. Livestock.
For millions of years, people had held the same beliefs. Who had ever heard of a master willingly setting his livestock free?
The day they became slaves, their hearts had died. Almost none of them still hoped to escape that lowly status.
But now, the great Lord Loren had given them hope: with enough military merit, they could shed their status as slaves!
They had truly been given this precious, unimaginable opportunity!
The immense joy nearly had them leaping off the ground.
The promise that they could take wives and have children especially left them almost beside themselves with excitement. Their loyalty shot up from 50 or 60 to over 70.
Praise the Goddess! Praise Lord Loren!
Clear rewards and punishments were essential to running an army.
On Earth, the Qin dynasty in Huaxia had used a system that awarded noble ranks for military merit, and it had built an extraordinarily powerful army as a result.
Loren didn't know the details of that history very well, but the principle was the same: the essence of a military merit system was to give everyone a clear goal to strive for. As long as they put in the effort, they would reap the rewards.
If killing ten enemies could earn a soldier a promotion or ten acres of land, would he not fight hard?
With the chance to escape slavery as bait, these soldiers would risk their lives for him in the future.
More importantly, this was an excellent start. From now on, these soldiers would surely spread the word about his greatness to every soldier who joined the Gray Eagle Territory after them.
Loren wouldn't have to explain his ideas to new soldiers anymore. The soldiers who received these rewards would be living advertisements, spreading his glorious image to everyone.
Since ancient times, a good scheme had always won people's hearts.
The soldiers thought Loren was rewarding them, but they had no idea he was using them to lay the groundwork for the future.
"Now, everyone, kneel.
In the name of the ruler of the Gray Eagle Territory, I'll reward you for your service."
The soldiers immediately dropped to one knee, excitement and anticipation shining in their eyes.
Ding~ Would you like to change the class of 40 Human Soldiers to Javelinists? Confirm.
The moment Loren confirmed, a rumbling filled the minds of all the soldiers. They felt an endless stream of information pour into their heads.
How to throw a spear, how to aim at an enemy, how to strike a vital spot, how to improve their accuracy.
As they absorbed the knowledge, their auras steadily grew stronger.
A moment later.
Kool was the first to open his eyes. The man whose forehead wound had yet to heal sprang to his feet, clenched his fists with both hands in overwhelming excitement, and flexed the steel-hard muscles in his arms.
Sensing the surging power within him, he dropped to one knee again.
His eyes blazed with fervor.
"I feel stronger than ever before!
Thank you for your blessing, my great master. May the Goddess's light shine upon you forever."
Eye of Truth.
Kool
Level: Middle Silver
Bloodline: Human Bloodline (Unawakened)
Loyalty: 90
Unit Type: Javelinist (C-class), Class Skill: Deadly Throw (C-class). Unleashes all strength to hurl a spear, greatly increasing the damage dealt.
Bond: Precision. Automatically activates when the number of Javelinists exceeds 100, increasing the accuracy of their javelin throws by 30%.
Evaluation: A decent Javelinist. Loren's eyes narrowed slightly as he finished reading Kool's attributes.
The bond he'd gained after changing class—Precision—was a perfect fit for the Javelinist class.
Unfortunately, the territory had only forty soldiers, not enough to reach a hundred, so he couldn't activate it yet.
The Javelinists' class skill, Deadly Throw (C-class), looked unremarkable, but if all forty Javelinists used it while aiming at the same target, the damage they unleashed would be astonishing.
He could keep expanding his Javelinist force, turning forty into a hundred, then a thousand, and raise them from Bronze to Silver and Gold. Then, perhaps, they could try hunting dragons...
Loren looked forward to seeing the Javelinists attack together, their short spears blotting out the sky as they pierced the enemy commander until he was covered in holes.
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