Chapter 157: Standing Army Winter Training Program

Throughout the entire afternoon, Velin pondered how to poach Devonshire, his future chief knight instructor, completely setting aside the tasks of gathering intelligence and finding a companion for his guardian knight.

Unawares, the exhibition duel drew to a close. Devonshire ultimately claimed the championship, a knight belonging to Uncle Alcott secured the runner-up position, Cassius took third place, and six others achieved victory, among whom was Ishius.

As night fell, a grand banquet was hosted, and every noble immersed themselves in the social dance.

Scanning the crowd in search of Devonshire's trace, Velin finally discovered him in a secluded corner.

"Excuse me, mysterious sir, do you require anything?" Devonshire opened his eyes, looked at Velin who had appeared before him, and asked with guarded vigilance.

"Lord Devonshire, you are quite vigilant."

Seeing that the other man harbored no hostility, Velin brazenly took a seat nearby.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Velin Aokex. I greatly admire your abilities, and I hope—"

Before Velin could finish, Devonshire bluntly refused, "I am sorry, Sir Velin. I have no intention of leaving the Church, nor do I wish to exclusively mentor any individual."

"Very well, I wish you a pleasant evening."

Noticing the other's cold expression, Velin smiled awkwardly and subsequently departed.

However, he had no intention of giving up internally.

Only individuals with character were truly worth recruiting; bringing them under one's command brought a genuine sense of accomplishment.

Once this banquet concluded, Velin planned to make a trip to the provincial capital to investigate Devonshire in detail, hoping to find a breakthrough.

Returning to the banquet, Brian held a goblet of wine, looked at Velin, and said with a smile, "How is it? You failed, didn't you?"

"Not quite, we've only just begun," Velin replied with a smile.

"Very well, Devonshire is a man of few desires, and external enticements can hardly move him. If you can thoroughly investigate why he renounced his surname, perhaps there remains a glimmer of hope."

"A fine idea, cousin."

Looking at his enthusiastic cousin, Brian shook his head and shifted the topic. "Let's put this matter aside for today and properly relax."

"Understood."

Subsequently, a number of lesser nobles gathered around to converse with Velin.

It was nothing more than flattery. Velin skillfully exchanged polite pleasantries, maintaining a cordial surface relationship with them.

After all, for a long time to come, he would reside in the Kadero Province, and maintaining good relations with these minor nobles would also facilitate the future sale of his products.

On the third day after the banquet concluded, Velin bade farewell to his uncle and returned to Starfall Lake.

Three days after returning to the castle, Randolph brought the new ledger into Velin's study.

"My Lord, a total of five hundred black-skinned meat hogs are ready for market this year, each weighing at least three hundred catties. Excluding bones, they yield one hundred and ten thousand catties of meat.

"As for the rhinocamel beast ranch, in accordance with your instructions, it was relocated to Blue Yarn Town at the end of this year. Currently, the ranch located in Starfall Town houses a total of eleven rhinocamel beasts, among which five are newborns from this year—two males and three females.

"From the six red tea trees in the Red Tea Tree Gorge, a total of twelve catties were harvested. Twenty branches have now been transplanted, sixteen of which have taken root and survived. Their normal growth condition will need to be observed for another two years to determine whether they have completely survived.

"Additionally, aside from those distributed, there are eighty bottles of glowing wine. Furthermore, there are three thousand bottles of ordinary wine, of which one thousand eight hundred have been distributed to the three towns, and the remaining one thousand two hundred stored in the castle treasury."

Velin listened to Randolph's report while reviewing the ledger.

"With you in charge of these matters, I am entirely at ease." Velin patted Randolph's shoulder in praise. "Keep one catty of the red tea leaves, take ten bottles of the glowing wine, and I will give you an additional six hundred bottles of wine."

"My Lord, this..."

"Do not rush, let me finish." Velin interrupted Randolph and continued, "These items are not entirely for you. You may keep a portion, and the rest are to be distributed as rewards to the ranch workers, estate farmers, and garrison soldiers.

"As for the black-skinned meat hogs, the yield is too small, and I still need to train my troops, so we will not be setting those aside for you this time."

"On behalf of the five hundred warriors and the more than one thousand workers and farmers, I thank My Lord for your benevolence." Randolph struck his chest in a military salute and said loudly.

"Keep up the good work, and I hope you can achieve even better results."

After Randolph departed, Velin began drafting orders, instructing the herald to dispatch the commands to the three towns.

The slaughtering of the black-skinned meat hogs marked the moment Velin initiated his winter training program.

He intended to spend three months elevating the quality of his standing army.

The meat of the black-skinned hogs was tender and rich in magical energy, beneficial for transcendental cultivation—this had been his original intention when exchanging for these livestock.

Less than three days after the orders were issued, except for a small garrison left behind, all standing troops from Blue Yarn Town and Orlando Town were transferred to the main encampment located twenty kilometers west of Starfall Town.

Simultaneously, fifty black-skinned meat hogs were slaughtered and transported to the winter training camp.

At the winter training camp, Velin, clad in silver-white armor, stood upon the martial platform, gazing down at the four distinct divisions arrayed below.

Furthest to the left was the castle's direct force. Excluding the five hundred troops associated with Randolph, there were eight hundred men, and the battle casualties from the previous engagement had been entirely replenished.

Next was the Starfall Town force, numbering one thousand two hundred men. Fully armed, some wore iron armor while the majority wore leather armor, a forest of long spears bristling. Leading them at the front was Yden, a high-level Bronze warrior who had studied under Baird for over a year.

Following them was the standing army of Orlando Town, numbering eight hundred. Relying on Orlando Town's large iron mine, every single soldier was clad in iron armor, armed to the teeth, temporarily commanded by Cassius, whom Velin had appointed.

Finally was the standing army of Blue Yarn Town. Compared to the other two towns, their weapons and equipment were a notch behind, and their numbers stood at only eight hundred men, yet every single one exuded a murderous aura. Over the past year, they had been constantly fighting for territory against monster clans, engaging in small skirmishes every three days and major battles every five. Command was held by Ishius.

All three thousand six hundred men had successfully stepped onto the path of the warrior profession.

As a transcendental profession that was easy to enter but difficult to master, the vast majority of practitioners spent fifty or sixty years permanently stalled at the Bronze rank. Aside from natural talent, the most impactful factor was the availability of cultivation resources.

However, while nobles viewed the warrior profession as a dead end in transcendence, commoners regarded it as a radiant highway.

"Starting today, these three months will be the period of winter training."

"Cultivation resources will be provided, and healing potions will also be available."

"I have only a single requirement: over these three months, the strength of every single one of you must undergo a qualitative leap."

"Those who fail will be expelled from the standing army and demoted to the militia."

"To me, useless individuals are not worthy of remaining in the standing army."

Velin's voice was not particularly loud, yet every standing soldier present heard it clearly, understanding the principle that failing to advance meant being eliminated.