Chapter 195 Training 1

In the barracks of the Empire's capital, Nero was taking his time to move to the cantine. 

"Phew, finally some fresh air.", after having to work in such an enclosed environment, he was glad to know there was a delicious meal waiting for him.

Opening the door he expected to see rows of soldiers sitting on little stools that provided minimal comfort. Luckily the food was still pretty good, for now.

Contrary to his beliefs, there were but a few men eating at their own pace sitting far apart from one another. Taking a plate, he should have to stand in line before getting served something. Perhaps he was lucky that he was immediately given his meal. 

"Hey, mind if I sit here?", Nero asked one of the soldiers that was eating alone. Having an entire table to yourself looked cool until you felt the crushing lonelyness from it. 

"No, go ahead."

"I'm Nero by the way."

"Rob.", the man answered between a few forkfulls, clearly prioritizing his meal before Nero. 

'Sheesh, what's on his mind?'

"Hey, do you know why there's barely anyone left?", the man looked up from his plate and stared Nero in the eyes as if he was asking the most ridiculous thing ever. 

Swallowing the barely chewed food in his mouth, he responded quickly, "Did you not hear the bell? It's already been quite some time since then. We're already in the late second half of the cycle, it won't be long before they'll shut the damn thing off."

'Hoh, so he hates the cycle system? Or he just got back from some mission and has trouble adjusting?'

"I see, thanks, I was so engrosed in my training that I didn't even hear the bells.", Nero said with a hint of pride. Not only was he telling the truth about being so invested in his training, he also received a special assignment from someone, making him more excited than usual. 

Rob looked at him and the people in the cantine, all had the same dark circles under their eyes. "I see, so you're one of us."

"Huh?", his confusion audible, Rob pointed to the other men sitting apart from each other.

"We were all given a special assignment from him, I'm sure you know what I mean. Part of that was that we also had to limit contact with others.", the man said in a hushed tone. They were specifically ordered not to talk about it, yet here he was, clearly breaking that rule so openly.

Hearing that he wasn't the only one with this assignment, he felt a bit downtrodden, he wasn't as special anymore.

Planting his buttocks on the almost too small stool, he started his meal with some discomtempt. Nero wasn't one to hide his emotions, clearly displaying them on his face. Rob, seeing that the man in front of him had almost the same expression as himself, he felt a hint of connection.

"Huh, you also think it's rubbish?"

"What?"

"This so called training? Making us work longer and shifting our schedules to avoid the other soldiers? What are we even doing?"

'So he still has the decorum to hide what the training is about? Still, how strange to complain about that. We get paid plenty and just have to follow the orders given to us. Even on the front, we simply had to follow instructions, if you don't like it, resign.'

Of course, Nero didn't say a word of that, even if his emotion did bleed into his face. Luckily he was already in a pretty annoyed mood, so nothing drastically changed.

"I don't think it's rubbish. I believe he has a plan. Why else would he go to such lengths?"

When Nero thought about it, it would make no sense to put in so many measures to give them useless training. 

"Pff, think what you will.", Rob started to focus on his meal again, clearly not bothering to entertain Nero for even a second longer. Looking down at his plate, it was filled with a healthy balance of meat and vegetables. 

'It won't be long before we'll get served the same muck at the front lines if this don't change quickly.'

Nero had his own concerns about the war with the barbarians and the new Emperor. Luckily, it wasn't up to him to figure it all out. 

Holding back a sigh, he hoped things would move along real soon.

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Far away from the capital a hundreds of tents were placed down in a forest. Not a single tree was cut down, and with their tents in hues of dark green and black, they fit right into the environment created by the ominous forest. 

One of the tents was a lot bigger then the others, it was used to hosue two special members of the group. One was the Royal Advisor and Starborn, the other was unknown. Many speculated it was some kind of female companion to spend the night with, or that was what the advisor insinuated. 

Inside the tent, Lucas was watching over some maps, thinking on how to proceed next. The figure next to him, clad in dark clothing and a large hood watched his movements intently.

"Hmm, if I'm correct, a cycle should've passed since Carian declared the nobles unfit to manage their properties in the Emperor's name. Which means that they are most likely going to march towards the capital next. We can finally get in action."

The figure nodded, but didn't say a word. This was obviously Thurin in disguise. In order to keep his existance here a secret, Lucas had done his best to keep the information from spreading. 

During his experiments he chose 1000 men that seemed loyal to the throne and gave them special missions with the promise of good rewards. In return they had to be completely silent about it. He arranged it so their contact with the outside world was at a minimum.

Before leaving, he made sure that he walked a lot around the red light district. Even if he didn't interact with their services, just his presence was enough for rumours to spread. 

Still, it wasn't as if he could stop the leak of information, it was bound to happen. That's why he made sure to reinforce the tents with magic and keep a second shield active on Thurin. It required a bit of mana, but being Rank 2, it was a lot easier to deal with it. 

"Lord Starborn, you called for me?", a soldier walked into the tent, kneeling when he saw his superior, the hooded figure stepped away from the table and sat on the bed. 

"Ah, yes, Nero, right? I've read reports about you and I have to say that I was impressed by your dedication to the Empire. Not only did you fight on the front lines and survive, I even happened to see a notice of yours that you wanted to go back. You truly are the perfect soldier."

Lucas was all flattery and compliments when it came to his subordinates. They were about to sacrifice their life for something bigger then themselves which was something Lucas simply couldn't understand. 

"Oh, thank you, Lord Starborn, but I'm merely performing my duty as a loyal subject to the Emperor. I'm nobody special."

"And humble as well? Hahaha, you truly are unique.", Lucas patted him on the back and helped him up. Nero couldn't help but blush a little, letting out a light cough, he asked why he was asked to come.

"Excuse me, Lord Starborn, you wanted my assistance?"

"Yes, that's correct, can you show me the fruits of your labor?", Lucas said as he watched his core intently.

Nero closed his eyes for a moment before a basic looking spear appeared. Inspecting it from close up there was litteraly nothing of note, which is why many of the people in the camp currently thought nothing special of it. 

They spend hours upon hours perfecting the image of the spear and it's looks. It took a lot of effort to get all the details correct, so while it helped that it looked normal, the density of the weapon was off. 

The Starborn inspected the spear from up close and his appreciation of his work was clearly visible. 

"Wow, you have achieved it perfectly, this is outstanding."

Nero was certain that there was something special about the spear even if he himself couldn't say so. 

"Could you give me your spear for a second?"

"Huh?", Nero wasn't as smart as the Scholars, but he knew from experience that you couldn't just hand over a weapon between soldiers. Even if they had the perfect image in their head, it just wouldn't work. 

Still, he was a soldier that followed his orders, presenting the spear towards Lucas, he picked it up with one hand. 

"Hmm, the composition seems correct, then let's move on.", seeing that Lucas had no problems handling his own weapon, he was flabbergasted. What was even more strange was that Lucas started to draw little signs on the tip of the spear. 

All the little signs together formed a little cirlce with some lines going through it. It didn't make much sense to Nero, but the satisfied look on Lucas's face said enough.

"This is perfect, would you mind making a few more?", Lucas said as he put the spear in an open barrel. Seeing all the empty barrels inside the tent, he started to speculate.

Seeing his stare, Lucas cleared it up. "I need to fill all these barrels, but don't worry, I'm not expecting you to create all of them. There should be a few more reliable soldiers with tight lips. Would you know any perhaps?"

Nero hid a smile as he started to think about who would be eligible. They talked for a bit longer, giving Lucas the time to explain how he kept the spears intact. Some time passed, and right when he only had enough energy left to create a single spear did Lucas stop him.

"I have to say that I'm glad to have someone like you on our side. And even if it pains me, I would like to ask you for a favor."

'A favor? He's basically the general in this place. I know we went here for training purposes as fellow soldiers, but he should be more confident. Not like I can refuse.'

"Anything, Lord Starborn."

Lucas smiled hearing that, he was a great soldier. "When we rest, I'll ask a few people to keep watch for any monsters."

"So you want me on night duty?"

"Not exactly. You see, this tent contains a lot of very important documents that I need in order to report to the Emperor. Besides that, there are also a lot of maps and the like, which are expensive. So I would like you to guard the entrance to the tent."

"But..", Nero cut himself off, not wanting to speak back to Lucas.

'You're the most powerful out of everyone here. How could anyone dare to sneak in? Or perhaps...! Yes! The Starborn don't sleep, he probably wants to scout the area for monsters and handle it himself. He wouldnt' have mentioned it otherwise!'

Nero gained a glint of appreciation and admiration in his eyes. "Of course, your Lordship, I shall make certain nobody enters, I'll put my life on the line."

"Now, now, nothing drastic will happen. Or that's what I think at least. Just keep an eye out.", Lucas was al smiles as he guided Nero towards the exit, waiting for the next person to visit him.

'Huh, what's this feeling?', there was something in his heart that really liked what just happened. Someone far above his stature was speaking positively about him, which should already be a pleasent feeling, but it wasn't that. 

'Does he trust me that much? Am I being relied on?', his heart beat a tad faster then usual, giving him the energy to openly smile towards all the other soldiers. 

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Venturing out into the woods, Lucas spread his willpower far and wide. He could see quite far, but still didn't find any trace of the army marching towards the capital nor any possible assassin. Still, he only caught them before because they showed themselves, they could be right behind him and he wouldn't know. 

He grumbled for a moment before focussing on the issue at hand.

'Worst case scenario they know about our position and are walking around us.', he was expacting an army to march towards the capital. Considering the marching speed of a large group, Lucas calculated that if they started their campaign when they received the response from Carian they would arrive not far from here in quite a few hours.

'Best case scenario they walk right into our trap.'

'Pff, like that's ever gonna happen. They're nobles, not fools, most likely they have a bunch of scouts relaying our every movement. Shit, for all we know there's that Rank 2 assassin that's right on our ass but is waiting for an opening.'

'I know, you still haven't finished a spell to detect that kind of stealth, right?'

'Nah, I don't have much to work with, and stop changing the subject, the best way to avoid that dude is to hide in the camp. They might be weak, but they can serve as meat shields.'

'Stop it. Plus, think about it, can't you imagine if everything works out? I'll even give you control during it.'

'Hmph!'

'Thanks.'

Lucas spent most of the resting period walking around the creepy woods hunching every now and then. Time passed quickly and by the time he was planning on returning almost all of his energy was gone. 

'Huh, this was more expensive then I had thought.'

'You didn't include the cost of the activation rune in your calculations, you dumbass. You're batshit insane for using up so much mana as well! Argh, if we get attacked by that asshole you're going to regret it.' 

'I see, well, we'll have time to recuperate. The assassin fled the moment they revealed themself, I think they might be focussed purely on stealth, like Eleven. He shouldn't be hard to handle.'

'Ya think? Just do whatever, I'll keep a watch. Oh, you should check on that little dude of yours as well.'

'Great suggestion! See, we can help one another.'

'Ha Ha, very funny, just give me control when it gets fun.'

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Nero had been fulfilling his duty as best he could, making sure nobody got close to the entrance. A lot of time had passed, Nero couldn't tell, but at least a third of a cycle must've passed. Yet he still stood there, eyes wide open. 

Seemingly out of nowhere, Lord Starborn appeared between two tents a bit further ahead. 

'I didn't even notice him leaving!'

"You've done a brilliant job, Nero. Please try to get some rest in, I'll give you some extra time off."

'He looks tired, almost disheveled? His pants are also dirty. He must've been working hard to protect us! I can't give in here!'

Saluting, "That won't be necessary Lord Starborn. This is my duty given by you, I don't need the rest."

Lucas's eyes opened wide, his face carried a look of bewilderment. 'Yes! I knew I would impress him in this way.'

"Hahaha, you've truly exceeded my expectations, Nero. I'll make certain your efforts won't go unrewarded.", he patted his shoulder before entering his tent.

Nero looked up at the Stars visible between the branches. There was a smile on his face, but the corners of his mouth felt the need to droop down.

'I see, so he still thinks I'm just doing this for some kind of compensation.'

Nero felt a hint of sadness for being misunderstood, 'No, I shouldn't think in such a way. He just assumes that I'm like the other soldiers, only working for the paycheck at the end. It's simply because the others are too greedy that he thinks like that. Perhaps I should make an impression by requesting something other than money....'

'Then again, I don't really want anything specific, I just want this war to end.'

Before he knew it, the resting period was over and everyone had to start preparing themselves. All they had been told was that they were going to train in the woods, what that training entailed was left out of the communication.

Lord Starborn exited his camp and looked at all the men taking their time waking up. He had a look of disappointment on his face, Nero almost felt responsible for his fellow comrade's lack of diligence.

"Men, hurry up and prepare! Are you going to make Lord Starborn wait for you?!", Nero called for all of his comrades to hurry up. Seeing the disgruntled face of thee Starborn, many made some effortt to speed up, while others simply shrugged. 

Seeing the lackluster response, Nero apologized, "Excuse us, Lord Starborn. Some of us haven't been to the front and aren't used to it."

"You don't have to lower yourself to save the skin of others. We went here for training, I wasn't expecting them to be perfect. Altough I did hope they would have the basic discipline."

Nero felt a bid annoyed at his comrade in arms, but couldn't do much now that the Starborn had embraced the situation.

'The general back there wasn't so generous, even if we were freshly supplied troops.'

Once everyone had dressed themselves appropriately did the Starborn step forward. 

"I hope you've all rested well! Today is a big day for all of you. We'll be moving westwards for a bit. On the way there, Nero will pick a hundred of you that will be moving with me. The others will be given a different task. I trust Nero's judgement and insight, I don't want to hear any complaints! Also, take all of these barrels with us."

The Starborn didn't wait for any response as he started to walk forward, Nero right beside him. Seeing that Nero wasn't going to talk with the soldiers marching behind them, the Starborn looked at him with a curious look.

"I've already chosen the men, the first hundred that were prepared first. Most of my company and a seperate splatoon will be enough."

"I see, it's good to have someone like you by my side. When we get back to the capital I'll give you permission to use the temple for the Tier 2 trail."

"Oh! It's an honor to serve by your side, Lord Starborn."

After walking for a bit, they reached a pretty big open plane. 'Huh? Was there such an open area here?', Nero wasn't the best when it came to geography, but such a clearing should be well known.

Seeing that the Starborn stopped walking the group behind them also halted in their steps. The sound of iron colliding with iron came from the back, seems like some men didn't notice the sudden halt and walked into each other. 

Nero looked back with an annoyed look, but the Starborn wasn't even focussed on that. 

"It seems like the Stars have blessed us in ways I could've never comprehended. Men! Bring the barrels to the front!"

The Starborn turned sideways to face Nero, "Please bring the men you deem worthy to the front as well. I'll be needing their help real soon."

Nero went back as Lucas stayed in his place, staring at the end of the clearing he almost couldn't hold in his laugh.

'We're dealing with complete morons.'

'No doubt, at first I thought this was a ploy to lure us into a false sense of security, but no, they're just absolute morons.'

'I don't even know what to think of this. What kind of fools are these moronic nobles?'

'Hahaha, you said I was going to get control, right? I'll enjoy this.'

'Sure, but at least follow the script.'

'Pff, if I get bored you'll have control back.'

'Sigh, so you won't do anything according to our plan and leave the trouble for me to clean up?'

'... I didn't say that.'

Before Lucas could finish his argument, Nero came back with the barrels and his chosen soldiers.