The Nation's Longbowmen

A month later, the sky was a deep, translucent blue, and the sun hung high.

Outside the Whispers, at the training grounds of the Thorn Legion.

Under Amparo's shocked expression, Gryn pulled the bowstring back with ease.

The longbow in Gryn's hand was a custom-made piece with a draw weight of approximately 200 pounds.

Whoosh! The arrow Gryn loosed emitted a bone-chilling whistle, a truly heart-shaking sound.

Lena's eyes widened in astonishment, the expression on her face freezing solid. Her small mouth hung open in a wide 'O', and she remained rooted to the spot like a wooden statue.

For the past month, Gryn had set aside time every day to practice archery.

Gryn's original self had already possessed excellent archery skills, and with his physical fitness steadily improving in every aspect since his transmigration, Gryn felt the day he would transform into a beyond-visual-range marksman drawing ever closer.

The 200-pound longbow was custom-crafted by his artisans. Gryn estimated that with this specialized bow, his effective lethal range was within 300 meters.

Beyond 300 meters, the arrow's penetrating power would begin to drop off a cliff.

After shooting, the deep-seated anxiety Gryn felt regarding dragons diminished significantly.

Gryn was well aware of how terrifying dragon fire would be in the later stages, and he certainly did not want to see the soldiers he had worked so hard to train destroyed by a few breaths of dragon flame.

He had carefully studied the House Crabb genealogy and confirmed that House Crabb did not possess the Targaryen dragon-blood, meaning they could not tame dragons.

Since he had confirmed he could not be a dragonrider, Gryn had no choice but to become a dragonslayer.

A rational Gryn would certainly find ways to avoid a direct confrontation between his legions and dragons, but when it became unavoidable, aside from the cumbersome dragon-hunting ballistae, Gryn himself would be the most dangerous dragonslayer.

Gryn could tolerate the existence of dragons, but the moment they threatened him, he would be ready to eliminate them.

He began his preparations at this very moment.

The carpenters would continue to produce bows with even higher draw weights; as long as Gryn could wield them nimbly, the greater the power, the more satisfied he would be.

Clap, clap, clap!

"Woo-hoo!"

Those around him cheered and applauded their lord's marksmanship.

Gryn quietly instructed the carpenter, "Make another one of similar power. When you carve the designs, ensure the thickness is pre-reserved so that the carvings don't affect the bow's structural integrity. As for the pattern, focus on the Marsh Marigold."

The 200-pound longbow would be the one Gryn used publicly; anything exceeding 200 pounds would not be shown to others and would be practiced in secret.

The standard-issue Crabb longbow was too simple in appearance, and Gryn intended to carry a bow with him when he eventually went to King's Landing.

By adding exquisite carvings to his personal longbow without compromising its performance, it would look significantly more refined.

Everything Gryn used represented the face of House Crabb, and in a world that valued noble prestige, catering to these expectations would make things much easier.

Gryn was preparing to contend for the realm, and to avoid unnecessary conflict, he could not afford to have his energy delayed by trivial matters.

Lena hopped over, bouncing with excitement. "My Lord, my Lord! You have god-given strength!"

"Oh, and following your training methods, the sisters have all gained quite a bit of strength! Drawing the bows is getting easier and easier. Only I haven't made much progress!"

"Lena, you need patience. You are still young, so don't be too anxious. Besides, you are a commander now. Your voice is very high-pitched, a trait others lack, which is very helpful for commanding soldiers."

Though small in stature, Lena possessed the loudest voice in the Thorn Legion. In a world where warfare relied entirely on shouting, this ability was a significant advantage for a commander.

"Yes, My Lord, just watch! I will work hard. Together we stand!"

Gryn nodded with a smile. "I am watching. Together we stand."

Amparo's voice rang out: "Lena, fall in for training!"

Once Lena left, Amparo walked up to Gryn.

"Lord Gryn, shall I arrange a place for you to rest?"

Gryn shook his head. "No need, I will be leaving shortly."

As he spoke, Gryn reached out and gently patted Amparo's left upper arm. "You have done well. You are always diligent. Training soldiers is a monotonous task of unchanging repetition, but you must get used to the tedium. If you persevere, more of them will survive on the battlefield."

"I will always remember that, Lord Gryn. You said that only by sweating more in routine training will we shed less blood when we go to war."

After the previous battle, the Thorn Legion had made a name for itself. Building on the original foundation, they had quickly recruited 180 speiwives from the original territory, and with the 200 speiwives absorbed from the Mountain Wildlings captives, the Thorn Legion now totaled 500 soldiers.

As the legion commander, Amparo knew the lord intended to reclaim the old lands of House Crabb. With the next war looming, she was extremely dedicated to the training of the Thorn Legion.

Following the war, Gryn immediately established a male-dominated legion equipped with longbows as their standard gear, officially named the "Crabb Longbow Legion," or "Longbow Legion" for short.

Gryn selected several men from the Crabb Clan Soldiers to serve as commanders for the Crabb Longbow Legion, and after the first recruitment, the numbers reached over 100.

In the future, the Crabb Longbow Legion would be the most inclusive legion. As the arsenal produced more longbows, the second profession for most people in the territory would become that of a longbowman, serving as reserve soldiers for the Crabb Longbow Legion.

For example, according to the new laws of the Crabb Lord, every subject of the Crabb Territory was required to dedicate one day out of every ten to participate in longbowman training. Gryn had established detailed regulations for the content and standards of this training, and those who were absent, defiant, or failed to meet the requirements would face corresponding punishments.

Gryn also planned to hold territory-wide archery competitions for longbowmen every three months, divided into various skill levels, with generous prizes prepared to drive the subjects' enthusiasm for longbow training.

This was precisely the "universal longbowmen" vision in Gryn's blueprint.

After completing the recruitment for the Crabb Longbow Legion, Gryn established the "Crabb Spearman Legion," or "Spearman Legion" for short, which used 3-meter spears as their standard equipment.

The Crabb Clan Soldiers were loyal and reliable, serving as veterans with extensive combat experience, and Gryn regarded them as reserve commanders.

The commander of the Crabb Spearman Legion was naturally handpicked by Gryn from among the clan soldiers, and after a period of recruitment and equipment procurement, the legion reached a strength of approximately 200 soldiers.

The Crabb Territory lacked warhorses, making it impossible to form a cavalry regiment for the time being; the Spearman Legion was established to protect the longbowmen with dense formations during field battles, particularly against cavalry charges.

Aside from cavalry, the various troop types in the Crabb Territory were relatively complete, and with daily training and strict discipline, the overall combat effectiveness of the Crabb Legion continued to grow.