Pioneer Wizard's Notebook

Mara returned home and dejectedly curled up by the fireplace to rest.

The next morning, the familiar sounds of arguing woke her up. In her drowsy state, she heard her father and mother shouting at each other.

Looking up, it was exactly as expected.

The two of them argued again over trivial matters at home.

This time it was a wooden spoon that my mother lost when she came home last night.

After getting up, the father searched high and low but couldn't find his beloved spoon. So, his face turned red and he slapped his mother hard across the face, shouting insults.

Having inherited her mother's shrewish and domineering nature as a woman from the North, she responded after a moment of confusion by scratching two bloody marks on her father's arm with her fingernails.

The two started fighting, hurling all sorts of vulgar and abusive insults at each other.

Looking at this terrible family environment, Mara bit her lip, her anger rising, and she couldn't help but yell at the two of them:

"Stop arguing! Look at the pathetic state you're in!"

Mara immediately regretted what she had said, covered her head, and curled up in the blankets.

Her father constantly complained because she was a girl, and her mother even accused her of stealing the son who should have been hers.

When the two of them were in a bad mood, they would often beat her to vent their anger.

If I yell at them like that now, I'll definitely get a severe beating.

Mara habitually covered her face. As long as her face wasn't injured, at least outsiders wouldn't be able to tell and wouldn't laugh at her for it.

Surprisingly, the pain did not come for a long time.

Mara poked her head out and saw that her father was just glaring at her, muttering a couple of swear words before sitting down on his own.

Her mother smiled and patted her head to comfort her.

With her questions in mind, Mara arrived at the manor and began her work for the day.

For some reason, she felt that the people around her were acting strangely today.

The militia men, who were always in a hurry, greeted her as they passed by; the women, who used to shout and curse incessantly, softened their attitude when they saw her and smiled.

Especially the old maid on the estate who distributed rye porridge.

In the past, this old maid was sharp-tongued and mean. She would always cut back on some of the food for the young girls who had no brothers to support them, but the adults would not care.

Even after the manor steward died, it remained the same, but when it came to himself, he received a large bowl full.

The changes around her made her feel a little uncomfortable. During her break, Mara gathered with her companions and, after hearing their envious words, finally understood.

It was just that dance last night, nothing more.

Mara sat there in a daze, recalling the face so close to hers that night, burying her head in her arms, feeling even more distressed.

She regretted it.

......

Sunflower Manor, training ground.

"The key is to hold the sword with both hands, generate power from the feet to drive the whole body, and then unleash this spinning slash."

Linde brandished his knight's sword, demonstrating and explaining the key points of the Windmill Slash.

William, who was learning from the side, was focused and, with the teacher's unreserved instruction, he quickly grasped the combat technique that was an advancement from the Spinning Slash.

This is why William's expression became even more guilty.

As a knight, he knew the value of combat skills and would not easily pass them on, even to his own son.

The master selflessly imparted his combat skills to him, yet he still cannot give a clear answer.

"Don't worry about these little things."

Linde waved his hand, looked at the militia training on the other side, and talked about today's focus.

"I intend to formally establish an army and train these temporarily recruited militiamen into professional soldiers."

As Linde spoke, he took out several samples that had just been produced in the weapons workshop he had recently set up.

An arrow assembled with wolf fangs and a wolf bone dagger—these are the weapons of the soon-to-be-formed archer battalion.

Wolf Fang is the sharpest weapon of the wolf-type Ice Demon, and arrowheads forged from it have extremely strong armor-piercing capabilities.

Unfortunately, the militia used short hunting bows that were about 1.2 meters long, which were flexible but lacked power.

If a longbow longer than 1.5 meters were used, paired with wolf-tooth arrows, it would be enough to shoot through the Icefield Demon directly without the aid of the solar wind.

Now that the archers' accuracy has improved, they can use wolf-tooth arrows to pierce the Ice Demon's eyes and other vital points, causing fatal injuries.

The wolf bone dagger is a melee weapon, designed to prevent being unable to fight back when attacked at close range.

In addition to the archer battalion, Linde also plans to form a shield guard battalion, and initial prototypes of weapons and equipment have been produced.

A set of tough wolfskin armor, a large round shield covered with wolfskin, and an elm spear with a wolf bone tip.

These weapons will then be mass-produced in weapons workshops where residents work.

The addition of two battalions of troops, each capable of arming eighty men, significantly boosted the manor's military strength.

Linde continued, "In addition to the archer battalion and the shield guard battalion, I also plan to select ten boys under the age of sixteen as knight squires, and I need you to teach them combat skills and breathing techniques."

Recalling the selfless instruction he received from Windmill Slash before, William had no objections this time.

He bowed his head and accepted the order, saying, "Please rest assured that you will entrust them to me. I will train them into the most elite knights."

"Very good. Summon the militia. The construction of the army will begin today."

A deep horn sounded.

The two soldiers, Philip and Judd, excitedly gathered the militia together.

Their efforts were recognized by the lord.

Starting today, each of us will become a battalion commander in the army, and we know that we have finally made it in the ranks.

Under the watchful eyes of the militia, Lind announced the military arrangements from now on.

"From this day forward, Sir William will serve as the commander of the Sunflower Army, responsible for military and security duties in the territory."

"The Archer Battalion has a total of fifty men, with Philip as its commander, and the Shield Guard Battalion has a total of twenty men, with Judd as its commander."

If it were the old Sunflower Manor, the militiamen would have complained, because becoming a soldier was equivalent to working as a laborer for the lord for free, and often there was even danger to their lives.

But everything is different now.

They will not only receive plenty of food, but will also soon get brand new equipment.

The militiamen rubbed their hands together in anticipation at the thought of those powerful Ice Demons becoming their weapons.

Meanwhile, Brod, who hadn't heard his name called out to the militia, started to panic.

"Oh no, is the commander going to kick me out of the army because I'm too short?! No way! I just promised Lina last night that I would become a big shot in the army!"

He recalled the banquet yesterday, when Lina, the girl he liked, pressed her chest against his for the first time.

The admiring look on his charming face when praising his bravery on the battlefield.

Brod felt even more uneasy, like an ant on a hot pan, restless and anxious.

"Stop arguing, just wait for instructions."

Mark, who was standing nearby, told him to be quiet.

Mark didn't hear his own name called either.

But besides the two of them, there were eight others, all of whom were young boys from the town, which made Mark realize that the lord had other plans for them.

As expected, the official soon read out their names.

"A squire?"

Broad stood there stunned, then his whole body began to tremble with excitement.

Even Mark, who is usually calm, showed a look of surprise.