Quick Draw

The very next day, Greem Bluehill was summoned in the Battalion captain Arthur Greenford's tent, along with John Warmth who was very pale. It seemed like he had been scolded very harshly by the old man.

Arthur Greenford was a respected figure throughout [Oasis]. The number of bandits and monsters he had subjugated far exceeded common sense. But rather than his fighting skills, the soldiers respected him for his wisdom and principles of justice. He was a fair man.

"Greem...I heard about John's actions...", Arthur spoke, "However evil and wicked his actions are, however, your words greatly sadden me. You said you wanted him out of the battalion?"

John seemed to look at Greem with pleading eyes. It seemed like John's fate in the 13th battalion, where John had invested countless years of his life into, was in Greem's hands.

"I have never done anything to antagonize others. Ever since I joined Oasis after leaving my household, I was met with discrimination. However, I bared my fangs at those who bared theirs against me. John wronged me, and I want compensation", Greem spoke with a grin

Arthur nodded: "Then...You do not want him to leave the battalion. You just want compensation, then?"

Greem nodded: "Yes"

John immediately bowed: "Thank you"

An hour later, John's smile of relief turned into intense wrath. His father was an imperial knight himself, and he had lost his arm in a battle, turning him into a cripple. The imperial army decided to reward him with a knight killing technique, a resource that was usually restricted to those of noble birth.

[Analysing the data...]

[You have acquired the knight killing technique [Quick Draw], allowing to slash your opponent while drawing your sword at extreme speed. Do you wish to optimize the technique in order to make it 12% faster?]

Greem nodded

[Task initiated...Duration: 12 days, 10 hours remaining]

As Greem returned to his tent, soldiers who came accross him had shivers. Whenever the [Grinning Knight] smiled, there was trouble arising. Most soldiers in the 13th battalion respected Greem as much as they feared him. His spars, his training, everything about his actions was no meant for humans to follow, but demons with no feeling of pain.

Jack Burrows.

The man used to be a farmer, who was conscripted into the army after the [3rd Imperial Decree] of the Child Emperor. After the old Emperor Henri VII died, his son Henri VIII took over, at the young age of 12, five years ago. His young age did not prevent him from creating decrees to strengthen the empire.

Some talked about the Child Emperor as a reckless monarch, with no experience and ideologies. Others were amazed about his creativity and resourcefulness. No matter their stance, however, no one could deny the effectiveness of his 10 decrees. In five years, the dominant Dalian Empire increased its territory, tripled its merchant attractivity, and conscripted more than 200 000 soldiers throughout the empire, after forcing every family to send at least one warrior to the Imperial Army, the noble families being exempted from this rule.

Still, the noble families who sent their heirs to the Imperial Army would see tremendous opportunities to increase their influence, and even their ranks through merit. Naturally, it was part of Greem's plan to inherit the household.

Anyway, Jack Burrows joined the Imperial Army at the age of 25, with plenty of hopes of becoming a knight. His strong build that came from the land's work and his talent in spears had allowed him to reach the preparatory knight level. Unfortunately, the knight realm was not something easy to achieve. Even with talent and resources, becoming a knight required talent at sensing life force, and eventually igniting it.

For nobles, it was somehow easier, since the practice of breathing technique basically increased one's life force and stimulated their life force senses. For commoners who did not have access to those breathing techniques, becoming a knight could only be done by going through life and death battles, where their very survival would depend on their ability to break through. As reckless as this method was, it proved to be quite effective.

Jack Burrows had just finished his patrols. Unlike officers like Greem, soldiers were given tasks to complete. The boring ones were about patrols, cleaning duties and training. The dangerous ones were usually related to sand monsters like giant alligators, monstrous scorpions and investigations, which were often related to cults, or bandits.

In the South of the Dalian Empire, in the very desert they were stationed, there were countless bandits. One may think that a grand empire like Dalia would have gotten rid of bandits a long time ago, but even after a hundred years, its inhabitants had not accepted the Dalian rules, and turned into banditry for the sake of revenge, turning into a massive headache.

His break, however, was ended shortly as Greem Bluehill roared: "THIRTEENTH BATTALION! MANDATORY TRAINING FOR ANYONE WHO HAS NOT A BREAK! THOSE WHO SKIP IT WILL FACE MY BLADE, MARK MY WORDS"

The boy might have an adult's mind in his teenager body, but the fact remained that he had gotten a new toy: [Quick Draw], and he could not wait to test it out. And what better material to test it than soldiers from the thirteenth battalion?