Beginning of the Second Volume

It has been a week since the Gang arrived in the Underground Town of Lan Zhe with the 8 large Wagons of food gathered in the Outer Lands of Crutal Kingdom. The entire town celebrated their arrival and success with a big feast which was now affordable to throw thanks to the taken action.

It is not easy to hold a feast where over 700 people are included, but Commander Alia made it all possible because of the lusty Farmers she was able to manipulate without them getting anything good out of it.

All those Farmers did was give huge stock with big discounts and loosing their precious "things" after as a token of her appreciation.

Since Eric was crowned King before they made their journey to the Outer Lands, it was no longer needed or reasonable for Commander Alia to have any control over the entire town like she did before Eric was crowned King.

That's a job for Eric now but everyone in the Town has a deep respect for Commander Alia and her Contributions will be written down in the history of Lan Zhe, which is a big honour itself. But she didn't loose her privileges of Authority due to his crowning, she is the King's Second in Command and her word is as respected as Eric's.

Although Woldemir had the 55 Guards under his command for less than a week, he sure did help them progress in Combat. Woldemir is sure dedicated to Swordsmanship but he also discovered the love of passing his wisdom to many who appreciate the art, through these past few days. It is an honour, seeing tens of men and women picking up what he has too teach.

The way of the Sword can't be learned in a day, but Woldemir has exercises that could sure help them progress a bit faster than usual, his days of failure and simply progressing the slower way, helped to aid such a task.

Not to forget the Calidum Lutum are physically stronger and more endurable than any Ignite. They can handle more long term exercises better than an Woldemir ever could with an effort that doesn't push them to the limit, to the point of hurting themselves.

A few of the exercises he made them doo was for two Guards to hold swords against each other. This exercise helps with preparation against an enemy swing, if their Sword ever meets another. In these chaotic times they most likely will, this exercise helps keep a more stable stance.

It helps to avoid being overpowered by another Sword, and to avoid another Sword making its way to the defender's body. It is quite effective as standing still, pushing the Swords against each other with might, helped develop the muscles needed for that specific defense form.

It consumed energy a lot though but everyone sees it as worth the time and effort.

To avoid any cuts, Woldemir asked the town's Black Smith to make dull Swords. It was difficult to do though since there isn't a translator to be spoken off here, apart from Kazer. And even he struggled to understand Woldemir, but thankfully they managed to understand each other at the end.

Good enough, making a dull sword doesn't take much time either. He still didn't manage to make them all considering that he has his hands occupied with making full body armor for 55 Guards.

But at first he made 10 dull Swords which Guards took turns on using while the rest did other exercises, so there was no time to waste. Each day he made 6 more, the amount gradually increased which led to better more organized exercises.

Being this huge and powerful, came along with the fact that they need 12 hours a sleep each day to recharge. Understanding that fact, Woldemir prepared a special schedule for them. As soon as it was time to train, the Guards started training.

Being late however would lead to consequences such as doing more exercises while others were given the time to eat. This will give the rest of the Guards the sense of order and discipline.

Both order and discipline were needed if 10 of those Guards were to attack a Kingdom, the Kingdom has roughly 100 Guards after all but an opponent is never to be underestimated. They need order, they can't be spreading around individually, risking being overpowered by arrows and spears.

After an hour of exercise early in the morning, each Guard would eat a light snack and were permitted to rest for a bit which averagely took 10 minutes. Getting food on their stomach and having a bit of time to catch their breath was effective for better progress.

After that they continued to exercise for 4 hours straight with a minute break in between exercises so they don't pass out. Woldemir is strict when it comes to learning the way of the Sword, wasting time is not an option and is punishable with 150 pushups.

During those 4 hours, the Guards were shown various types of attack and defense forms. The defense forms of course had to be done with dull Swords but the attack forms didn't require them as the Guards wouldn't be training it on one another.

One of the attack forms was to stab with the Sword. To do the attack properly, one would need to get a firm grip to the ground with his or her feet, requiring careful positioning.

The right foot needs to be set forwards first to get a light grip on the ground and with that right foot used to do a biggish leap, while the left foot used to give a bit of an extra boost.

The Sword is pointed almost Horizontally straight forward, such stab could terminate an opponent regardless of body shape and size.

That exercise is to be repeated for an hour straight with no breaks in between, it takes a lot of effort to withstand such long exercises.

Another Defense form would be one Guard holding his Sword above his or her head, the right hand on the Handle and the left hand on the other side of the Sword, holding the side that isn't sharp of course.

While one Guard will be Holding the Sword like that above the head, the other Guard would attack. To avoid any accidents, the attacker swung down his sword at a slower lighter pace to see how much the defender is able of withstanding. If the defender can withstand more, the attacker can swing down harder.

A bigger more fulfilling meal followed after such long exercises and of course a bit more time to relax was given. This break usually took 30 minutes which allowed the Guards to recharge rather well. Food gives energy, it clears the clouds on one's mind and grants efficiency. It is neccesary for shaping warriors.