I'm not a lord

Chapter 322 Titles and Ranks in the Military

In the military camp outside Windermere, shouts of anger and cheers rose and fell.

In the circular arena at the very center of the military camp, a 2v2 team competition is underway.

In the North, group combat is actually more common than individual combat, and corresponding rules have developed for different numbers of participants.

This includes factors such as whether or not horses are used, the size of the venue, and the types of weapons used.

This kind of multi-person competition is more in line with the real situation on the battlefield.

In a 2v2 duel, the two sides will often fight separately first, and then engage in a fair two-on-one duel after one side has determined the winner.

Therefore, these contests often end very quickly; as long as one side has a weakness, the outcome is usually decided within five minutes.

In the circular arena, a fully armed knight used a bladeless axe to cleave his opponent to the ground, then roared as he raised his axe, announcing the end of the duel.

Outside the arena, soldiers gathered in several circles to watch the battle, applauding and cheering, eagerly anticipating the start of the next competition.

Young blood is boiling, and high morale is surging.

The bearded knight, Chavisa, found Hans putting on his armor in the preparation area and asked loudly, "Hans, the next round of the duel is about to begin. Did you draw the upper or lower bracket?"

With the help of his attendants, Hans put on his chainmail and helmet, and replied, "I am number fifteen in the lower half."

"Hey, great! I'm in the upper bracket. You better not get eliminated. We'll see you in the final battle then!" Cha Weixia said, then turned and went to his preparation area to get ready.

The two did not team up to compete, but instead each chose a highly skilled attendant as their partner.

This was naturally due to the rules of the tournament established by Lynn, which stipulated that no matter what the team's performance was, the squires other than the captain could only serve as cavalry apprentices after joining the army.

The pace of this military competition was quite fast, with hundreds of contestants divided into ten groups to compete simultaneously, and the final winner of each group would be determined within two days.

The winning team in each group would not only receive a large reward, but its captain could even be promoted to officer. Therefore, most of the impoverished nobles from the royal territory participated in this martial arts tournament.

"This is the list of the top eight from the first two groups. I watched their qualifying matches, and their martial arts skills are all quite good. They should have no problem serving as team leaders."

When the new round of competition began, Hugh, the second brother, climbed onto the temporary platform on the north side of the arena and handed Lynn a freshly compiled list.

“I just watched a few of the matches, and they were quite good. These nobles from the royal territories are all excellent cavalry talents.” Lynn took the list, glanced at it, and then asked with a smile, “By the way, would you be interested in playing a couple of matches next?”

"Me? Brother, what kind of referee participates in a fight?"

After watching the duel for a while, Hugh got itchy to join in, but as the current commander of the cavalry legion and an honorary baron, it would be a bit like bullying others by getting involved in the duel.

Lynn replied, "These nobles will soon be incorporated into your cavalry regiment. This is your chance to establish your authority. These young lads are obviously arrogant. You should subdue them as soon as possible."

“Then I’ll do as you say, brother.” Hugo accepted the task without hesitation.

Lynn's words were indeed reasonable. The North was known for its martial spirit, and Hugh was a complete stranger to these impoverished nobles, yet he was about to become their legion commander.

The fastest and most efficient way to make these unruly nobles submit is to subdue them.

Hugh had survived countless battles alongside Lynn, making him the most skilled among the brothers. In the past two years, he had also participated in numerous bloody wars, so his martial arts skills were naturally unmatched by these young nobles.

Just to be on the safe side, Lynn also checked the contestants' attributes using the panel to ensure that no one's combat strength could match Hugh's.

Just as the fierce battle raged in the arena, Victor climbed up the high platform and whispered in Lynn's ear:
"My lord, Reiner in the south has suddenly slowed down his march. His troops left on the east bank of the White River have recently begun to cross the river and attack the White River Territory. However, the offensive is not fierce and has been repelled by General Andrei, who is left to defend the White River Territory."

Lynn pondered for a moment and chuckled, "Leiner is trying to draw my attention to White River Territory. We don't need to worry about him. We'll stay here in Winder City for now. We'll cross the river whenever he launches a full-scale attack on Perch City."

Whether Vasa or Reiner are in a hurry or not, Lynn is not in a hurry at all.

The main forces of the two southern invading armies are not stationed on his territory, so why is he in such a hurry?

This war with the Southerners was merely a pretext and means for Lynn to achieve his multiple objectives.

This opportunity allows him to gather most of the 'idle people' in his territory under his command.

This allows for the selection of soldiers and also reduces security risks in the territory.

Whether they were surrendered court cavalry or impoverished nobles fleeing from the royal domain, these young and strong men were undoubtedly destabilizing factors in society.

Lynn gathered them together through the noble cause of 'expelling the invaders from the South,' selected the elite from among them through a contest, and finally tempered this new army through real war—a truly multifaceted approach.

The following afternoon, the ten groups finally determined the ultimate winner.

Lynn stepped down from the platform, presented the winners with genuine Northern Golden Shields, and announced on the spot that they would be promoted to platoon leaders of the cavalry regiment.

Those who perform well in the competition but are not the winners are directly promoted to squad leaders and receive bonuses based on their performance.

This immediately sparked a deafening roar of cheers from the soldiers below the stage.

Throughout history, giving money has been one of the best ways to bring commanders and soldiers closer together.

Few people can resist the temptation of money, especially since most of these impoverished nobles are in dire need of cash.

Furthermore, awarding official positions based on the results of the competition is in line with the customs of the North, and an open and fair competition will win the hearts and minds of the soldiers below the stage.

The newly promoted generals all wore expressions of delight. Lynn's style of doing things was exactly to their liking. He was not only fair but also generous. Following such a lord, they were sure to get a share of the spoils.

Their only minor regret is probably that they couldn't be granted actual territory.

After the cheers from the audience subsided slightly, Lynn turned to the ten winners on the stage and said:

"The man beside me is Hugh, the commander of the cavalry corps. He is the commander you must obey. He will also be participating in the competition. If any of you want to experience the strength of the corps commander, then step forward."

As soon as Lynn finished speaking, two winners stepped forward, one of whom was a handsome young knight named Hans.

"Very good, it's you guys. Get a good night's sleep tonight, the official competition starts tomorrow morning!"

Lynn's words instantly ignited the entire military camp. The newly enlisted impoverished nobles were completely taken aback that their legion commander would personally intervene. In fact, Hugh's name was quite renowned in White River Territory. His cavalry legion had achieved numerous victories, and he himself had earned the title of First Knight of White River Territory, as certified by the drunkards.

Some impoverished nobles who had fled here clearly did not accept the title and were harboring resentment.

The competition officially began the following morning.

Hugh selected an apprentice with mediocre martial arts skills from the army to form a team. In the arena, they won two rounds cleanly and decisively, defeating the two group champions in succession.

“My Lord Baron, I have lost. From this day forward, I am fully willing to pledge my allegiance to you and become your sword and shield.” The defeated Hans picked up the bladeless sword from the ground and knelt on one knee to show his loyalty.

Hughes didn't reach out to help him up; instead, he shook his head and said, "You just need to obey my orders and commands. The person you should truly be loyal to is not me, but the Earl. Also, in the army, we don't use titles, we only use ranks. In the future, you will have to call me Legion Commander."

These impoverished nobles had long been ingrained in the feudal system of the Crown Territory, and many of them still believed that they had become Hugh's vassals and only needed to pledge allegiance to him.

Hans raised his head, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes, but he still decided to obey orders. He then turned around and knelt on one knee in front of Lynn, who was watching from the high platform.

After the martial arts tournament came to a close, Lynn officially began to reorganize the army.

The original cavalry legion of one thousand men quickly expanded to three thousand men, including one thousand five hundred regular cavalrymen and an equal number of cavalry apprentices.

These apprentices were all reserve cavalrymen who took on the role of mentors to regular cavalrymen on a one-to-one basis. In wartime, they could also undertake tasks such as reconnaissance, battlefield cleanup, and pursuit of remaining enemy forces.

The 1,500 regular cavalrymen were divided into three 500-cavalry battalions according to their composition and origin.

The first battalion consisted of Lynn's old guard from White River Territory; the second battalion was composed of surrendered cavalry from the Marshland Territory; and the third battalion came from impoverished nobles from Crown Territory.

The second son, Hugo, served as the legion commander and concurrently as the commander of the third battalion.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to reorganize the cavalry, Lynn also eliminated the old and weak, selected the elite, and reassigned the weaker soldiers to cavalry apprenticeships or infantry legions.

After all, supporting cavalry is too expensive. Supporting these three thousand men is Lynn's current limit; he can't afford to support any more.

The reorganization of the infantry was not on such a large scale. Lynn simply organized the militia and serf conscripts from various autonomous cities into a separate legion with a strength of more than 2,500 men, and personally served as the commander of the legion.

Infantry combat relies heavily on formations, and tight formations depend on long-term, high-intensity training.

With war imminent, Lynn had no time to integrate this diverse and ragtag force, so he could only temporarily organize it into a provisional legion and appoint a battalion commander and a company commander.

After that, he spent another half week training these temporary officers, so that they could have a basic understanding of the various rules, flags and orders in the army, and not be completely clueless when they went to the battlefield.

During this period, Count Reiner on the south bank of the Jing River continued to march at a snail's pace of seven or eight kilometers per day.

However, he also took this opportunity to gather the troops that had been scattered around looting supplies, bringing his forces to over 10,000.

"My lord, twenty kilometers to the east is the city of Perch, where Earl Mirror Iron is stationed. The envoy we sent has not returned yet, and he has most likely been killed by him."

That evening, in the newly set-up military camp, a trusted general in charge of military intelligence brought Reiner bad news.

Previously, Leiner had sent envoys to try to make contact with Count Mirror Iron.

As long as the latter is willing to make way, Reiner is willing to leave a toll.

The fact that the envoy has not yet returned shows that Count Mirror Iron's determination to resist is quite firm.

Upon hearing this, Reiner looked down at the simple map he had just drawn, his face darkening instantly. He said in a deep voice:
"The location of Pikeperch City is too treacherous. The south gate of the city is less than 15 kilometers away from a horizontal mountain range. It is almost impossible to pass through this narrow passage safely, but if we go around by crossing the mountain range to the south, the risk will only be higher."

Previously, when Leiner passed through Perch City, he was only concerned with leading his army to plunder and did not conduct a detailed survey of the surrounding terrain.

Only after having to conduct a thorough investigation today did he suddenly realize the importance of this city.

Count Vasa of Mirror Iron must have also taken a liking to the terrain of Perch City, which is why he deliberately marched quickly to occupy the city and firmly blocked Leiner's retreat route.

"My lord, we must conquer the city of Perch." The young general who had advised Leiner also looked grave.

The other generals remained silent; having spent many years in the military, they could see through Vasa's sinister intentions at a glance.

Reiner looked up and asked loudly, "Where is Harvey now? With his army providing cover, we can definitely bypass Perch City safely!"

A general replied, "My lord, Earl Harvey has only been gone for less than half a week. He is still at least seventy or eighty kilometers away from the city of Pikes. At his marching speed, it may take him five to six days to rendezvous with our army."

"Too slow, too slow! Six days? After six days, he can only come to collect our corpses!" Reiner slammed his fist on the map, wishing it were Harvey's ugly face.

Reiner's anger stemmed from his inner fear; he only had a little over ten thousand men at his disposal, and it was impossible for him to take the city of Pikes, which was defended by four thousand men, by force.

If they ignore the city and force their way through, they will inevitably be harassed and attacked by Count Mirror Iron, resulting in casualties or even total annihilation.

If Harvey had arrived earlier, he could have used his superior numbers to intimidate Count Mirror Iron within the city, while Reiner could have led the main force safely through the narrow passage.

But Harvey's speed was simply too slow, which Reiner found unacceptable.

What terrified him even more was Lynn, who was watching him from the North Shore.

Although Winderville, where Lynn's army was located, was separated from Perch City by a vast river by tens of kilometers.

Winderville is located on the upper reaches of the Tranquil River, and it takes less than two days to reach Pike Perch City by sailing downstream.

Currently, Lynn firmly controls the Jinghe waterway with his powerful navy, and his troops can launch a surprise attack by boat at any time.

If Leiner launches a strong attack on Bass City, he will inevitably be surrounded by Lynn and Vasa from both sides.

Even if he waited for Harvey's reinforcements, he could not eliminate this risk.

The commanders of both enemy forces are quite cunning; they may be waiting for him to remain inactive.

With reinforcements failing to arrive, Reiner seemed to have reached a dead end.

(End of this chapter)