Damien had been gone for almost 4 months now.
About a decade or so had passed since the day 100 years passed in the main palace.
During that time, not a single person skimped on their training.
Their reasons varied, but there was a surprising number of people who worked hard for Damien's validation.
Disregarding Hestia who looked up to Damien, Dominic and Yiren who respected him, and Darius who practically treated him like a god, the soldiers themselves had Damien in their minds as they trained for multiple reasons.
For those who were chosen during the recruitment, it was a sense of reverence.
Those like Hershel originally believed they were worth nothing. They didn't think they had a chance to join the army when they came, but the chance was presented to them regardless.
Taken into the main palace, they were immediately put under an environment of harsh training without extraneous thought,
It was difficult, but nobody complained.