Across the field, the horsemen stood still, the archers rushing forward as the infantry parted into two, before reforming and raising all of their shields. The testudo has taken shape, shielding not just the infantry but the archers as well.

“Enemy archers are reloading, what do you do, men of the Owl Guard!” Longines barked as Kraft took notes quietly.

The squad leaders barked commands at their own men and the testudo immediately opened up as the cavalry charged forward, their spears pointing down. The testudo then immediately transformed itself into a shield wall as the archers loosed their arrows.

“Amazing discipline!” Kaisenberg said in amazement as another blast of the trumpet seemed to signal the end of the drill.

“Yet, they are too few.” Lord Black sighed but Jacob shook his head.

“This is more than enough to defend the entirety of the Black Bay region. Lawrence has no ideals or ideas beyond that.”

That’s what you say now, Lord Black thought to himself. At this point, a man in the field applauded, stepping forward. At this point, everyone in the training ground stood at attention.

“Very well done, all of you. I have absolute confidence in all of you that you can protect the dignity of the soon-to-be City of Black Bay. Many of you have fled across seas, mountains and fields, robbed of your homes and livelihoods, but I hope that we will be able to find you one within Tears, itself.” The man said, his plated armour gleaming off sunlight, his voice loud and clear though it carries itself with a degree of authority.

“Milord, that man there, he is Lawrence Carstein.” Kaisenberg nudged his horse forward and whispered to Edward Black’s ear.

At this point, Jacob dismounted and announced loudly, “Let us welcome Lord Edward Black, Ruler of the Black Dominion, Head of the House Black!”

Lawrence’s head snapped to Jacob, his eyes drifting to the lord atop his black mount.

Hmm… Level 3 huh. Noble chestplate and other noble armour. In fact, Lawrence thought that he looked sickly. He probably lowered his constitution scores…

His entourage had some of the familiar customers from The Guardian's Bakery as well as Kaisenberg himself.

“Good morning, Lord Black,” Lawrence said simply, over the din which was soldiers walking around and chatting during their break.

Edward Black dismounted, putting on his most polite smile.

“Good morning, Lawrence. Please just call me Edward.” He extended his hand Lawrence responded in kind, shaking the man’s hand.

“Can we talk, in private?” Edward Black said earnestly, Lawrence throwing Jacob a glance at the plump man gave him the thumbs up.

Actually, unknown to the visitors, the entire thing has been a farce.

Roland had purposely tied down Johannes in the town centre so he would not be able to make a much clearer assessment of the assets of Tears and Black Bay Village.

Jacob was then tasked to bring the lord and his knights through the routes that will showcase their wealth. Lord Black, Kaisenberg and the others, though they may have a rough idea of how valuable something is, will not be able to do it as well as Johannes, an experienced tax collector.

Next, the show of military strength was to give Lord Black a thin red line. Push us too far at the negotiating table and you may get way less or way more than you bargained for.

“Thank you for your enormous contribution to the people. No one has ever, in such a short time, done so much.” Lord Black said, his voice full of warmth and it sounded as if it was trembling.

Lawrence smiled awkwardly as Lord Black began to rave about how many merchants were not fit to hold even his shoes and that surely the Guardians must be a magnificent order and as Lawrence’s attention was wavering, Jacob stepped forward.

“Milord, I think it best we continue the discussion in the comfort of the Honourable Carstein’s lodging.”

Lawrence’s face twitched, why was his house the best place? It is, after all, his home.

Kaisenberg dismounted, bowing a little towards Lawrence who waved his hand, silently hoping that such formalities are dispensed with.

“Milord, were you satisfied with today’s drill?” a voice spoke, slightly out of Lord Black’s earshot.

Lawrence turned his head slightly, noticing the soft-spoken Kraft standing there, his eyes squinting under the daylight. Apparently, Lawrence found out that though Kraft was an able mace user, he often stayed behind guarding essential chokepoints or supply lines, in which he was extremely skilled at. In fact, Longines straight out called him a tactician.

“Very, however, make sure the men are proficient in using spears as well, in fact, in spare time, the men should practice fighting in the forests, in the mock cities. I want you to expose them to all forms of fighting. The men of the Owl Guards should be capable of fighting in the hills, the mountains, the snow and in the cities. Any man who dares to claim Tears as their own should know the price they have to pay.” Lawrence replied and Kraft bowed a little, before walking away.

The reason Lawrence came to their large-scale drills was so that he could activate his ability, “Accelerated Growth” so that the soldiers and commanders could level up faster. Right now, the average levels of the soldiers were 10, already better than the bandits but weaker than your average knight.

However, one must take note that knights were far and few in between, so by and large, the Owl Guards, which was well rounded, extremely well armed and well led, which already put them on par with the more elite units that existed.

Of course, everyone except Lawrence knew how well defended this city was. In Lawrence’s head filled with fantasy novels and exaggerated medieval stories, he half expected an army of rampaging nomads to come forward and tear the city into pieces.