Luo Ning's Training

It was the same road they had traveled yesterday, but Luo Ning's state of mind was completely different.

Yesterday, he had led nine traitors who harbored thoughts of betraying their master, but today, his guards were utterly loyal to him.

The group moved at a fairly quick pace, thanks to Count Wiggins gifting Luo Ning an additional five carriages.

With them, Luo Ning could have everyone ride in the carriages instead of walking and slowing their progress.

There were more than thirty people in the caravan, and the carriages bore the Wushan Family's "Golden Mountain Range" crest. Even if they encountered a small band of bandits on the wilderness road, the bandits would not dare make a move.

As for the merchant caravans they occasionally encountered traveling to and from Mountain Forest Town, there was even less to worry about.

The owners of those caravans personally came over to offer Luo Ning their sincere greetings. One of them even enthusiastically gifted him ten jin of premium honey.

Luo Ning accepted it with a smile and wished the man a safe journey.

The carriages creaked along, adding a touch of music to the tedious journey.

When the sun drew close to the western mountains, Luo Ning signaled for Macken to halt the caravan.

"We'll camp here today. There's a small stream to the south, so we can fetch water."

"Yes, my lord!"

Macken lightly squeezed his warhorse's belly and galloped ahead, having the vehicles in front stop.

Once the caravan had come to a halt, Luo Ning stepped down from his carriage and walked to the middle of the road.

After everyone had arranged the carriages, Luo Ning gave a deep shout.

"Everyone, assemble here!"

"Follow the rules I laid down at noon. Form six rows and five columns!"

The thirty guards all hurried over.

This was the training their baron had arranged after lunch. Though it was strange and unlike anything the guards had ever seen, the baron had let them eat until they were seventy or eighty percent full.

So upon hearing the command, they remembered his noon instruction and did not delay for even a moment.

Before long, all thirty guards had assembled. Though there had been some stumbling and confusion, with some people entering the wrong row or standing in the wrong column, they eventually corrected one another.

Luo Ning nodded inwardly. Compared to their slackness yesterday and that morning, the group now looked somewhat the part.

"Attention!" Luo Ning issued a brief, sharp command.

The guards responded accordingly.

"What are you doing?"

Luo Ning pointed at a short guard in the fourth column of the third row and demanded, "Attention means bringing your feet together, straightening your legs, drawing in your abdomen slightly, and naturally lifting your chest. Who are you hunching over for?"

The guard seemed quite young. Being criticized so directly, his face immediately flushed red, and he hurriedly adjusted his posture.

Two familiar guards beside him could not help but chuckle.

"What are you laughing at?"

Imitating an instructor's manner and expression, Luo Ning was so stern that the guards barely dared breathe.

"Anyone who laughs again won't get dinner!"

Faced with a noble's authority and the temptation of food, the guards had no choice but to take things seriously, standing properly in military stance in the middle of the road.

The sight was somewhat comical.

"Macken, I taught you the key points of the movements. Go forward and correct anyone doing them wrong."

As the baron's Guard Officer and the strongest knight in the group, this seemingly simple task brought Macken unprecedented pressure.

In order to master those few movements from noon, Macken had spent the entire afternoon studying their essentials whenever the group rested. He had even asked Luo Ning about them several times.

Fortunately, his efforts had paid off, and he had mastered them fairly well.

"Yes, my lord!"

Macken answered and stepped out of formation, beginning a careful inspection of the thirty guards.

Luo Ning stood to one side, observing the assessment while wondering whether this kind of training was useful at all, considering this world possessed Supernatural Power.

But he soon figured it out.

So what if Supernatural Power existed? Supernatural beings also began as ordinary people.

This training could sharpen awareness, cultivate team spirit, and improve discipline. It was clearly useful.

"Military stance is only one part of the training. Later, Military Boxing and sparring competitions will all need to be arranged."

As he pondered, Macken finished his inspection and came before him. "Reporting, my lord, the inspection and corrections are complete!"

Luo Ning nodded. "Return to formation."

Macken gave a symbolic salute before returning to Luo Ning's side and standing straight.

"At ease."

At the new command, the guards made a new movement.

Luo Ning gave them only a cursory glance and found no major problems, so he did not have Macken correct them.

"Today is the first day of the specialized training I've arranged for you. If you make mistakes, I'll only correct you and won't punish you. But starting tomorrow, if anyone is still careless, don't blame me for being harsh. Do you understand?"

"Understood..." the guards replied somewhat timidly.

"Louder! Do you understand?" Luo Ning roared.

The shout startled the guards, and they hurriedly responded loudly, "Understood!"

"Good. Dismiss on the spot. Follow the division of labor from noon and begin preparing dinner."

Luo Ning said with a smile, "As long as you train properly, I won't shortchange you when it comes to food and drink."

The guards' tense nerves relaxed considerably upon hearing those words.

In truth, they had heard quite a few negative rumors about Luo Ning: that he was obsessed with banquets, excessively indulgent, neglectful of cultivation, bad-tempered, and so on.

But after spending the day with him, they found that this baron was not nearly as bad as people said.

They had originally only followed him to Mountain Forest Town for money, but now they suddenly felt that following Baron Luo Ning might be a good choice.

"My lord, your honey water is ready!"

Chahar came over at just the right moment, holding a crystal cup.

"Thank you."

Sipping the sweet honey water, Luo Ning felt exceedingly refreshed.

"We'll be camped here for the night. Macken, remember to arrange for people to keep watch."

Luo Ning instructed, "Have two shifts take turns guarding so that everyone gets a certain amount of rest."

Though this was not within the Wushan Mountain Range, and there were no powerful Demon Beasts, weaker Demon Beasts and wild animals still existed.

Luo Ning did not want to fall asleep and wake up dead.

"Rest assured, my lord. Leave the defense to me. I absolutely won't let a single enemy approach our camp!"

"Mm, I trust your ability. After dinner, light a bonfire. I have some new movements to teach you."

"Alright, alright..."

Macken felt somewhat uneasy, but also curious about what kind of new movements they would be.

Luo Ning handed the empty cup to Chahar. "Remember to tell everyone that drinking water must be boiled before it is consumed."

Though the air and scenery here were primitive, Luo Ning could not be sure whether the stream water contained troublesome bacteria or something similar.

In any case, drinking boiled water was always the right choice.

"Rest assured, my lord. All the water in the waterskins was boiled and then cooled."

Chahar said respectfully, "I've also informed the other guards responsible for cooking. There won't be any issue with the water."

"I'm always at ease when you handle things."

Luo Ning laughed heartily, took down his longsword from the carriage, and called out to Macken.

"Come on, it's time for you to teach me swordsmanship."