Chapter 118 – Preparation for War (4) *Isabella Running Uniform Illustration
Preparation for war (4)
When Eliza and Lichtenauer began to harass the knights, Juno also came to the soldiers’ training center and inspected the soldiers’ condition.
Unlike the knights, who were completely undisciplined, the soldiers gathered at the parade ground under the command of the Cheonjangjang, probably anticipating Yuno’s arrival, were all lined up in an orderly manner, and their uniforms were also quite well organized.
“How do you feel? The military training is perfectly prepared.”
Viscount Leverkin spoke while looking at Juno with a confident face, but only an unknown smile was on Juno’s face.
“Hmm… It’s perfect, right? Then, can I run a few tests?”
“Yes! Of course. I have trained my soldiers so that they can create any formation in an instant.”
“Okay. Then let’s go to the training ground where the soldiers were training. Guide them. Tell all the soldiers to follow.”
When we went to the training ground next to the parade ground where the soldiers were gathered, we saw a large plain where 20,000 soldiers could train at once.
“Wow, that’s amazing? If there’s a place like this, I can train on a much bigger scale than I thought.”
“You can try as much as you want. It is a wasteland where it is difficult to grow crops, so the terrain is large enough to accommodate 50,000 people for training.”
“Okay! Then let’s get started right away! Sister, cast a loudspeaker spell for me.”
“Okay!”
“Ah, I will convey this to the entire unit. My name is Juno Alexander Windrage von Vulkan, and I am assuming the position of commander-in-chief of this army as of today.”
It seemed as if the soldiers had already heard the news and showed no particular reaction to the high-ranking person’s visit.
“I heard that Viscount Leverkin next to here trained you guys quite hard. I trust Viscount Toys, so I believe you will be able to handle formations and military techniques similar to the imperial army to some extent.”
The soldiers, who were concerned that the young royal family member would come in as commander-in-chief and bother them by giving various orders, sighed and looked relieved.
“But are you guys confident?”
At Yuno’s unexpected question, the 20,000 soldiers simultaneously looked puzzled.
“Are you confident that you will survive against the imperial army that will soon arrive here?”
It was an army made up of private soldiers brought in by nobles from the eastern region, and because they occasionally had the opportunity to see the imperial army fighting with the Kingdom of Leon on the eastern front, they knew well how strong the imperial army was.
Therefore, the soldiers sighed in response to Yuno’s question emphasizing that the opponent was the imperial army.
“Um… Your Majesty!! You’ve already destroyed morale like that…”
Viscount Leverkin next to him tried to dissuade him, but Juno ignored him and continued his speech.
“Of course, you guys have trained a lot and have raised your level to a certain level. But the army I lead, the army led by this Yuno! It must not be at a similar level to the enemy army. It must be at a much stronger level! I am here now. As the commander-in-chief, I command you to survive until the end without leaving a single one behind!!”
“Yes! I understand!!”
As the cries of the Iman soldier resounded across the plain, a satisfied smile appeared on Yuno’s face.
“Good! Of course, I don’t think that you will become stronger simply by telling you to survive. This commander will spare no effort in helping you become stronger! Disarm all troops and place them on the ground!”
Although they were taken aback by Yuno’s sudden order to disarm, they obediently disarmed because it was an order from the commander-in-chief.
“Start running now. You will run around this plain in a large circle, and the distance covered will be measured in meters in your head.”
As instructed by Yuno, Isabella cast distance measurement magic on all troops in advance.
Because it was a very low level basic magic, even though all 20,000 troops were enchanted, Isabella still looked fine.
“Commander! Then, how far can I run?”
“I decide that! All you have to do is run until I tell you to stop! However! If the soldier in the back is overtaken by the soldier in the lead, that soldier will immediately end his run and be discarded.”
“Well… If I’m a straggler… Can I just drop out of the ranks and desert?”
Yuno brought despair to the soldiers who were waiting and asking if they would be able to rest after being left behind.
“After putting on all the weapons they had taken off, the stragglers must continue walking until the number above their heads reaches 20 km. They will not be allowed to return or receive meals until the distance is reached, so figure it out!”
“Of course, there are rewards for soldiers who pass~”
Suddenly, a clear and youthful woman’s voice came from behind Yuno, and the soldiers’ attention focused on that.
“Hohoho, we, His Majesty Yuno’s maids, have prepared a special meal. Those who pass His Majesty’s standards can eat the special meal, and those who failed can eat moderately grilled meat and bread. Of course, those who fail will not have that either. Still, if you starve, you will have to eat the special meal. It’s going to get harder, so I’ll give you the Jjambap you usually eat~”
The special meal prepared with the skill of the spirit masters Kurimu, Miruku, and Mari was prepared as a meal that Yuno usually ate.
Then, Isabella floated the image of the prepared meal in the air so that all the soldiers could see it, and when Marie used the spirit of the wind to scatter scents to the soldiers, the soldiers admired it in fascination.
The soldiers’ senses of sight and smell reacted violently to the luxurious meal and scent eaten by the royal family, and saliva began to flow from their mouths.
“Damn it!! If I fall from here, I’ll never dream of eating a meal like that in my life.”
“I’d rather starve than eat trashy Jjambap! Everyone, let’s cheer up and try that special food!”
“How delicious can a dish prepared by such a pretty maid be?… Now… Wait? Elf?”
At some point, a soldier saw Kurimu and Miruku’s ears, and the news spread throughout the army.
“Eh… You can eat the food made by the elf!!”
“That also looks incredibly delicious!!”
“I run no matter what! I run even if I die!”
As he saw the soldiers’ motivation overflowing, the smile on Yuno’s face could not be erased.
‘Good… Very good… After all, there’s nothing like a good meal to boost the morale of soldiers… But I wonder how many of you will be able to eat special food… Tsk tsk tsk’
“Have you all seen the rewards I prepared?”
“Yes! That’s right!!”
“Good. I’ll see how much of the meal those beautiful elf girls made for you! Let’s start!!”
With Yuno’s command, the soldiers rushed out. And Yuno also took off his top and started running to keep pace with the lead of the soldiers.
The front-runners, who had been adjusting their pace to some extent because they did not know what Yuno’s standard would be, gradually increased their pace when Yuno started to pounce next to them.
“What are you doing? Can you only achieve this speed?”
“Hohoho, these people who said they were pretty confident after receiving training, is this all they can do? I guess I’ll have to take off all the things hanging from the bottom!!”
In addition, the magicians and spirits Isabella and Marie joined in their sportswear and ran with Yuno, provoking them, so the soldiers gritted their teeth and started running towards them.
“Damn it!!! Ahhhhh!!”
“Why are the princesses who are said to be wizards and spiritists running so fast!!”
‘Giggles. I don’t have the stamina I gained from working out and being dragged around by Yuno every morning since I was little.’
‘I forced myself to exercise because I didn’t want to be separated from my brother, but it’s a good thing because it allows me to last longer when having sex with my brother. Hehe’
Isabella and Marie, who had been guided by Yuno’s physical training every morning for over seven years, had a running speed and stamina that soldiers could not dare to approach.
In the end, after about 7 km, about a third of the way, the soldiers at the back of the procession began to be overtaken by Yuno and the front-runners.
“Fall!!”
“Okay, if you’re left behind, please move to the side!!”
On the heads of those who had fallen behind, the number of distances they had covered so far turned red, and in desperation, they took a step towards the weapons they had taken off and began to slowly walk across the plain with their weapons on.
“Come on! I’m going to speed up now! Run faster!!”
As Yuno increased his speed slightly, more and more people fell behind.
In the end, Yuno ran 20 km that day at a speed of 1 and a half hours. Although he ran more than twice as slowly as he normally runs, many soldiers fell behind, and Yuno only passed those who came in 10 minutes longer than him, so only about 1,000 people were able to eat the special meal prepared by Yuno.
“Everyone! Thank you for your hard work! Those who passed will have a blue light on their heads, so they can enjoy the special meal!”
“Thank you! Your Highness!!”
“For those who failed, don’t be too disappointed! If you work hard tomorrow, you too will be able to eat the special meal! But we have prepared meat and bread, so the meal will be better than usual.”
Although it was less than Yuno’s standard of 1 hour and 40 minutes, the soldiers who completed the race without falling behind sighed as they looked at their shiny yellow hair.
It was definitely much better than the barracks food, which was similar to the dog food they usually ate, so they were able to eat with some satisfaction, but they couldn’t hide their envious faces as they looked at the successful applicants who were receiving special meals from the beautiful elf maid next to them.
But they were a hundred times better than the stragglers.
“Aaaaah!! I thought I was going to die!!”
“Damn… 20 km fully armed… Gasp”
The stragglers who returned to the barracks, smelling of sweat and without being able to disarm themselves, ate their usual military service food and looked at the successful candidates with venomous eyes, burning with determination that they would never be left behind again.
And Juno, who planned this, was looking at those soldiers along with Viscount Leverkin and other nobles under Prinz.
“Your Majesty. Does this have any meaning? If we continue to provide such high-quality food to so many soldiers, the budget…”
“Huh~ Brother, this is a task you have entrusted to me, so don’t be fooled. And if the budget is tight, wouldn’t it be okay to lower the standard of meals eaten by nobles to that of soldiers?”
“B… But how can our nobles eat the meals that the soldiers eat…”
“Wow. That’s noisy. What’s different about people’s mouths? They’re asking if you eat what the soldiers eat, and you’ll die!”
“Well… That’s not true…”
“It’s those soldiers who are sacrificing their lives to fight for you and my brother!! How can you talk about correcting the justice of the empire when you can’t even feed those soldiers delicious food!!”
“!!!”
“And this is quite edible… Aren’t my sister and Marie also edible?”
Juno brought the military service meal that the stragglers were eating and started eating with Isabella and Marie as if the nobles were watching, and the nobles looked at Juno with blank faces.
“Hmm, it’s been a while since I ran and ate it, so it’s delicious?”
“If you’re hungry, everything tastes good.”
At Isabella and Marie’s reaction, Juno looked at Viscount Leverkin and the nobles with an expression as if he had seen them.
Match!!
“True! That will do!”
When Yuno suddenly stopped eating and slapped his palm, Viscount Leverkin asked as if he didn’t understand.
“Yes? What do you mean?”
“You guys can run together starting tomorrow! Then you’ll get hungry too, so you’ll eat anything delicious, and then your food budget will go down, right?”
“Um… Your Highness! We are doing our original work…”
“Hey!! It takes hours to run! This is a military order issued by the Commander-in-Chief! Starting tomorrow, we will be running here from 3 PM, so everyone except nobles who have work to go outside will come here and do physical training with the soldiers!! “
According to imperial law, the faces of the nobles turned blue because they had nothing to say even if they were beheaded if they refused military orders.
In the end, from the next day, the nobles had to start running with the soldiers, and the soldiers ran faster with even more venom, thinking that they would cause trouble by letting down the high-ranking people who were usually against them.
In this way, the soldiers under Yuno quickly became stronger.
Yuno gradually increased the speed of running, and later on, he made the soldiers run while equipped with weapons, so the number of people who passed did not increase significantly, but on the last day of training a month later, none of the 20,000 soldiers failed.
*Isabella Running Uniform
