Niel arrived at the battle ground a few days earlier. He went into the field tents and reported to General Hugo, the man in charge of this battle.

“Hmm, you must be Niel? I’ve been hearing about you. A man who was reborn. However, I don’t care about your titles, down here you are merely another soldier, and won’t receive any special treatment.”

“I understand, General Hugo”

“Good, I’ll start you off as the leader of troop 3. Do not let down my expectations”

“Yessir”

Niel left the tent and headed to the where troop 3 was located. This was a small group of men, around 30, who were veterans on the battlefield. The second they heard word that these young man was going to be the new leader, they were instantly displeased. To let a brat who hasn’t even seen a single bloody scene, lead them, it was as if they were being looked down upon.

“Kid, what exactly makes you think you can lead us. I refuse to be led by a weakling who hasn’t even fought a single real battle in his life”

The other soldiers instantly agreed with this man’s statement. Niel looked at this burly soldier and knew who he was. He was given information about all the soldiers he was about to lead so that he could better control them. This man was known as Alfan, and lead the troops before Niel arrived.

“Soldier Alfan, I can understand your feelings. Naturally a weakling shouldn’t be your leader, and hence I’m willing to face anyone here who has the guts”

“Guts. You think were afraid of a kid like you? I’ll go first to teach a lesson”

A soldier stepped out and faced Niel. He drew his weapon before lunging at Niel. Niel easily blocked this attack, however he didn’t strike back. He wanted to give this soldier ample opportunities so that he’d have no complaints when he lost. Niel was easily blocking all his strikes without even moving from his original position. The soldier was building up a sweat and eventually he was incapable of fighting anymore.

“Anyone else?”

Niel looked at Alfan when he said this. The easiest way to round up these soldiers was to beat their leader, and Niel didn’t want to waste anytime. Alfan came up and looked down towards Niel, different from regular soldiers, he wielded a war axe instead of a sword. Alfan was a giant of a man, being nearly twice as tall as Niel. Once he started swinging his axe, the earth seemed to shake. Niel easily ricocheted this blow despite its overwhelming power. Niel wanted to end this fight in a single move, that was the best way to get his strength across. He flashed his spear forward and pulled back before anyone really knew what happened. Suddenly, a drop of blood fell from Alfan’s throat, hitting the ground below.

The soldiers who were gathered around were shocked. To think their strongest warrior was taken down in a single stab. However they had no complaints. The only thing respected on the battlefield was strength, and Niel who was overflowing with it was naturally welcomed.

“Ki- I mean leader Niel, I underestimated you. I apologize.”

“No worries. Strength is all that matters in a place like this, and a soldier should expect it from their leader.”

After the fight, the group got along greatly. The soldiers realized that Niel wasn’t like other children his age. He was humble despite the fact that he had come from such a noble background, this made the soldiers feel closer to him, and like he wasn’t an outsider. Before they could keep going however, a trumpet sounded that echoed across the entire campsite.

“What's that sound?”

“You are new here leader Niel, so you may not know. That’s the war trumpet, it means another battle is about to begin”

“You know more about this soldier Alfan, so you should lead for the time being. I’ll watch from the background”

“Yes leader Niel!”

The troop headed forward in a march. They soon arrived at the battle field and noticed the two armies were already at battle. One side was disciplined and the other side was like a group of savages, but despite this the two sides seemed about equal in strength.

“Leader Niel, those are the northern barbarians. They have poor discipline however the region they are from is extremely chaotic, meaning only the strongest can survive. Each of these northern barbarians have the power of 2 regular soldiers, making them the ultimate warriors. Their chieftain is said to be a legendary man who has strength on par with King Budo.”

“So they are extremely strong?”

“Yes leader”

“Good. It’s no fun if they die to easily”