Chapter 5: Discovery of a Lord

It almost took an entire week for Eugene to become accustomed to daily routines and the life of a lord. Along the way, fragments and snippets of his lost memories began to come back to him, creating an increasingly defined picture of his current life.

His kingdom was in Aldo's domain, the westernmost known kingdom in the world. To its east existed an assortment of human kingdoms, strongest of which was the Eshadian Empire. That harsh mountainous terrain was inhabited by myriad dwarf clans, and beyond them were the expansive plains upon which were scattered orc tribes. Elites known for unearthly grace and beauty inhabited lush rain forests.

What amazed Eugene was the ominous shape of an overbearing religious body—the Church. It had borne so many different names in ages gone by, yet was now simply known as the Church. Its ubiquity reached across nearly all human states, and its followers even numbered among its ranks creatures other than human. The cleric who awakened him belonged to this creed. Even from his current memories, its evil history was not consequential, yet in his interactions with few of its adherents, he had been cautious. Its territory ruled directly by the Holy See was hardly larger than a principality, yet its clout was capable of stirring the political scene like the wind.

"Is this a cliché?" he complained to himself, weary of those familiar elements in his new existence.

Adding to uniqueness of his situation was the possibility of magic. Most citizens, even nobles, never saw a mage in their lives and relegated magic to fantasy, yet Eugene's butler, Philip, attested to the fact that he was saved by one at an early age when bandits struck him. He waved his left arm while chanting words and fired a fireball out of his staff which immediately paralyzed the bandit, said Philip.

Given that magical beings in the form of elves, dwarves, and orcs existed in this world, magic was not an impossibility. Eugene was inclined towards believing what Philip saw was perhaps an expertly done trick.

In his initial weekend following his awakening, Eugene was anticipating the long-awaited military parade.

The soldiers fell into ranks in three lines at his command, marching in review in front of the little square under the gaze of the knights.

"Those my men?" Eugene inquired, his tone doing little to hide his surprise.

The soldiers, whose mismatched gear was the one thing in common among them, had one similarity: simple cloth armor embroidered with the symbol of the Lionsheart clan. They were loosely created in ranks at the outset, but they quickly fell apart when they began marching. When they arrived in Eugene, they were disorganized and showed little in terms of any sort of formation.

"Gentlemen, we have to raise the standards of our army's quality!" Eugene called out to the knights to address the issue.

The knights gazed at one another unsure of what to say. Bryce moved forward, clearing his throat. "Well, Earl, it's rather complicated. Our part of the country is remote, and because our nobles have not been applying pressure, our mindset when it comes to weapons has become relaxed. In point of fact, never in my life have I expected pirates to venture so far inshore."

"Bitter lesson, certainly!" Eugene grumbled, looking toward the heavens as if seeking answers. "The final defeat was expensive at last!"

The knights shifted uncomfortably and in their minds still lingered the memory of the demise of the aged earl, leaving an impression in their hearts.

Thus, instead of dismissing Mello's words, I have taken it upon myself to train and oversee next-in-line recruits myself, Eugene said.

"Yes, Lord Earl!" Even his knights were doubtful about Eugene's abilities in warfare, yet they didn't have room to fit in their criticism following the embarrassing episode at the parade.

The course of one week saw another conscription campaign bring in 315 new recruits. Eugene decided to reorganize the army according to a system similar to Earth's military organization, and he submitted his reorganization plan to the knights.

It would consist of five organizational levels: regiment, battalion, company, platoon, and squad, and each of its squads would consist of ten men. Every level would possess its own commanders, with one regiment commanding three battalions, one battalion commanding three companies, and so forth. He created a rank system patterned after his former existence: two ranks of privates, one rank of non-commissioned ranks (corporal, sergeant), and three ranks of lieutenants (second lieutenant, lieutenant, captain), culminating in three ranks of senior ranks (major, lieutenant colonel, colonel). He created an unambiguous progression for chain of command in case of loss or casualty so succession in crisis would be seamless.

The knights were perplexed by the complex titles and ranks. Some suggested streamlining the system into four basic ranks: private, non-commissioned officer, lieutenant, and field officer, but Eugene would not budge. "Even our little-sized army must have its foundation laid for future growth," he argued. "It would be easier to mobilize when the occasion demands it."

"What an oversight!" Eugene exclaimed to himself, resisting the temptation to comment upon yet more senior ranks such as division, army, and marshal.

He was hesitant to commit to a larger force due to the size of his current forces. A whole regiment would take over a thousand men, an inordinate number for a backwater earldom. If word leaked out that he was planning to raise an army in tens of thousands, chances were it would draw unwanted notice, and its potential to be a threat to existing powers' dominance would be resented.

And for the proposal to assign one cookhouse unit to each company, the knights were hesitant to accept. But Eugene spoke so strongly of its significance in remaining ready to fight that they acceded grudgingly to his enthusiasm.

Lastly, Eugene recommended regularising the army by granting indemnity to soldiers' families for services, which was met with universal acceptance by the knights. Philip was outraged, however, at the expense. Hiring the soldiers would be costly enough in its own right, now Eugene was asking for uniforms for all of them—two each, at least. Eugene would not budge in spite of Philip's protests, citing the importance of wearing a uniform in instilling unity and discipline. This reorganization, as better known to scholars and tacticians of the time, was an innovation in deviating at all from the crude manner of organizing armies into fundamental elements. Eugene's new organizational terms—company, battalion, and regiment—coupled with the rank system of soldiers he used, gave shape to an overall scheme for the army. Crucially, the system introduced that command would not disintegrate at the loss of its commander, creating security and fighting capacity continuity. The historians would come to recognize this period as when modernization in the armed forces began, as Eugene's impact had far-reaching consequences for the future of the military.