17 Deceiving

Chapter 17: Bluff

At night, several blazing campfires lit up the wilderness road bright and clear.

After dinner and a brief rest of a few dozen minutes, Luo Ning gathered the guards and began teaching them commands like March Step, Goose Step, and Halt.

Four years had passed since his university military training, and while he couldn't recall the professional terminology for these movements, he still remembered the basic essentials of each action.

He taught while recalling, spending a full half an hour back and forth before all the guards, including Macken, had basically mastered the movements.

"Starting now, train in rows of five. Those not marching, keep your eyes wide open and reference others' mistakes to correct your own!"

Luo Ning looked at his Guard Officer. "Macken, I'm leaving this to you. You call the commands. Tomorrow morning at morning drill, I'll check the results!"

"Understood, Master!"

Macken walked to the side of the formation with a nervous heart. "First row, listen to my command. Attention~"

After handing the training over to Macken, Luo Ning returned to a campfire and sat down, noticing his manservant Chahar grinning foolishly while adding firewood.

"What, you want to join the training too?" Luo Ning said with a smile.

Chahar immediately withdrew his gaze and laughed awkwardly. "Master, I just think their training looks very interesting."

"Haha~"

Luo Ning said with a smile: "If you want to go, then go. There's nothing to do anyway."

Chahar hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth, stood up, and said excitedly: "Then thank you, Master!"

With that, he ran toward the formation. After Macken's approval, he joined the last row.

Seeing this, Luo Ning couldn't help shaking his head. Tomorrow he'd crank up the intensity, add some penalties, and then teach them Military Boxing. We'd see if Chahar still wanted to train then.

He rested a while, drank some water, then drew his longsword and practiced a few common attack moves: Chop and Thrust.

His previous self's skill in this area was practically zero. Like those guards, he too had to learn with focus.

Lost in study and training, everyone completely forgot the time. Only when Luo Ning's arms grew sore and he was panting did he stop his sword practice.

He turned back to look at the guards still training. Though they kept at it under Macken's intimidation, their exhaustion was plain to see.

"Let's stop here for today."

After giving the order, Luo Ning walked aside, scooped up two buckets of water to shower, and was the first to return to his tent to lie down and rest.

His was the only tent in the entire group; everyone else had to sleep by the campfires. Luckily, it wasn't winter.

After being dismissed, the guards barely bathed. They went straight to the fires, plopped down, and started resting.

Macken arranged the night watch and then stood guard outside Luo Ning's tent.

The camp soon quieted down, leaving only the crackling of burning firewood and the uneven rhythm of snoring.

Luo Ning wanted to sleep, but he forced himself to stay awake. He was waiting for midnight to arrive.

Time ticked by. Finally, just as he was about to give in, the familiar text appeared:

[Check-in successful. Attribute Points +1]

Luo Ning looked at the Seven-Day Login panel. With a thought, he claimed the fourth day's reward.

Instantly, in his vision, a Premium Gift Pack opened gorgeously, bursting with light, followed by two lines of text:

[Attribute Points +60]

[Energy Essence +100]

Luo Ning had already braced himself for the Premium Gift Pack to yield nothing good, but seeing the amount of Attribute Points and Energy Essence, he couldn't help breaking into a grin.

He looked at the Attribute Panel:

[Level]: 1 - Beginner Knight (32/100)+; 1 - Beginner Mage (0/150)+

[Attribute Points]: 61

[Energy Essence]: 100

With these Attribute Points, Luo Ning's warrior level progress was only seven points shy of completion. Unfortunately, due to his constitution's limits, he could only break through both professions together; he couldn't raise his Knight level to Intermediate first.

"Even though I can't break through, Macken can!"

Macken's Knight level progress had already reached 80/100. It would only cost 20 Energy Essence to let him break through and become an Intermediate Knight.

Beginner and Intermediate—just one level apart—but for a Knight, it was a qualitative transformation.

An Intermediate Knight's Battle Qi would burst forth from its seed, allowing the Knight to attack with Battle Qi, greatly enriching a Professional Knight's offensive methods.

Just then, a rustling sound came from the northern mountain forest, accompanied by continuous muffled grunts.

Luo Ning's expression tightened. He was wide awake now and caught the anomaly immediately.

The second to notice was Macken, outside the tent. His eyes shot like lightning toward the source of the sound, where several tall silhouettes grew clearer in the night.

"Ah, Demon Beasts! Demon Beasts are coming!" The guard on night watch also spotted the situation and shouted urgently.

Panicked cries spread through the camp. The sleeping guards jolted awake, grabbed their weapons, and went on alert.

Under the campfire's glow, the three massive creatures revealed their forms.

They were not demon beasts, but three giant wild boars.

"These creatures aren't afraid of fire?"

Luo Ning stepped out of the tent, looking at the boars, each the size of a calf, and clicked his tongue in wonder.

The three giant wild boars showed no fear of humans. They stared fixedly at the carriage, drawn by the aroma of grain and vegetables wafting from it.

"Sir, leave these beasts to me!"

Luo Ning gave a grunt of assent and, at the same time, used all 20 points of Energy Essence.

Hum~

At this moment, something within Macken seemed to break. A muddy yellow energy surged from his Heart Area, then coursed through his entire body.

"What is this?"

Macken felt the Battle Qi within him in astonishment. He couldn't believe it—he had actually broken through.

He knew this was his Master's doing, yet he was still amazed that Luo Ning possessed such ability.

"Go. End this battle as quickly as possible and let the guards witness your might."

"As you wish, sir!"

Macken's gaze was firm. He drew his longsword, leaped forward, and his speed left all the guards in awe.

The wild boar let out a roar. Instead of retreating, it charged at Macken.

"Let's go too! Help Captain Macken!"

The guards did not shrink back either. One by one, they raised their longswords and rushed into the fray.

But just then, a flash of light blazed. Macken swung his sword, and a blade of light formed from Battle Qi crossed several meters to land precisely on the boar's head.

The Battle Qi Slash tore through the boar's hide and flesh. The immense impact struck its skull, stunning it and sending it crashing to the ground.

"Battle Qi Release!"

A knowledgeable guard shouted, "Captain Macken is an Intermediate Knight!"

All the guards who trained year-round knew the hallmark of an Intermediate Knight. The moment they saw the Battle Qi Slash, they recognized Macken's rank.

At his shout, every guard halted their movements.

An Intermediate Knight handling three ordinary wild boars needed no help from them.

Just then, someone asked in confusion, "When the captain introduced himself during the day, didn't he say he was just a Beginner Knight? How is he Intermediate now?"

A know-it-all explained, "You wouldn't understand. Knights often conceal their strength, deliberately stating a lower rank to confuse their opponents in battle."

"Oh, so that's how it is!" The listener nodded, half-understanding.

Luo Ning stepped forward at this moment. "No. During the day, Macken was indeed just a Beginner Knight."

His words instantly drew the guards' attention.

Luo Ning smiled mysteriously. "It's just that he practiced the movements I taught him with dedication, and after finishing training tonight, he broke through."

His reason for saying this was mainly to boost everyone's enthusiasm for training.

In this world, who could resist the temptation of obtaining Supernatural Power?

These guards—especially those under Eighteen Years Old—were merely ordinary infantry in the Knight Squad, with limited prospects.

If they wanted to rise higher, they could only hope to awaken a Battle Qi Seed and become a Professional Knight.

Originally, this wish was difficult to fulfill.

But now, Luo Ning had given them an explanation, and they had witnessed with their own eyes that Macken, a Beginner Knight during the day, had become an Intermediate Knight by night.

What did this imply?

Luo Ning did not state it directly, but the guards automatically made the connection: as long as they practiced the movements the Master taught them with dedication, they could improve!

In a daze, Luo Ning sensed that the guards' gazes seemed to have changed—they now burned with a craving for Supernatural Power.

Thank you to the two Masters, Always on the Road to Losing Weight and Flash of Light, for your vote of support.