The stench of rotting roots and filthy waste filled the air. The cold morning breeze did nothing to alleviate the smell. If anything, it caused the odour to permeate the tunics underneath their scale mails.

They stood at attention, preparing to be attacked at any time. Before them is a massive black pit in the ground. They stared at it, not daring to let their eyes stray, as though it is the gaping maw of a dangerous beast.

Someone suddenly pointed, “Smoke… I see smoke!”

“Quiet. Draw your weapons,” one of the ten captains reminded, and the lot drew their swords.

Their commander, Tommy is walking around scouting for all the tunnelled hovels of the Stone Biters. Each time one was found he would set alight dry leaves and branches. To prevent these rodents from scattering away through the different exits, Tommy has to act fast. At least before the smock reaches in and alerts their prey. Fortunately, with his Soul Perception, it is a matter of minutes to finish the task.

When he returned to the only path he left for the Stone Biters to escape, he still had time to address his men for the coming battle.

“Stand firm. They will be confused, fearful, and savage. If one of you falls back, the rats will take every inch of space you gave. Your weakness makes them bolder, step by step until they can eat you alive. Your cowardice will make those around you pay the price.

Only if you move as one you may survive!”

Like a drowning man grasping at the reeds, they hang on to his every word. Whatever he says now burns into their minds as the only thing that could save them.

Before they could think harder into things, a pestilence of mangy rats scurried out of the massive pit chased by the smock that Tommy set upon them.

“FOCUS!” an angry roar from their commander snapped their senses back to reality.

They held their swords firmly like their lives depended on it, and arguably it does.

Spittle, lumps of dirt and filth, and all sorts of bugs sprayed about as the rodents charged at the soldiers.

These rats, blinded and disarrayed by the black smoke may be mindlessly fleeing for their lives, but they remained bloodthirsty and pounced at the warriors.

*Duang*

A low resounding sound of metal against fangs announced the beginning of their clash.

After an initial flinch at the unexpected force of their foes, the men stood their grounds and swung their weapons like a well-oiled machine.

The rats, untrained, fearful, squeaked loudly. Their giant front teeth gnashed and ripped at anything they could bite.

“Clockwise!” Tommy commanded.

Before the first rat could gain a firm hold of a cultivator with its teeth, the group spun right with swords out.

Like a serrating saw, the rats lost their limbs and heads as the blades flew past.

The colony broke apart, fleeing at all directions away from the warriors and their ruined nest.

If they fled, they will bring about a plague upon the other creatures and illness may spread to innocent hunters.

“I am the harbinger of the thunderous night!”

A soft incantation like the whisper of the winds silenced the raucous battle.

Suddenly, a white shadow flashed across their eyes. Everyone stood still at that moment, men or rats.

Inscribed into their sight is a solitary fist that could shatter all that crosses its path.

The teeth that could bite through mountains, cracked and crumbled. Skulls broke and blood flew.

In the end, only a lone figure stood unmoving before the thousand.

The soldiers only had one thought. If that fist was aimed at them, all of them will be crushed. There is no avoidance nor chance of luck for them to face such destruction.

Blood dripping from both knuckles, their commander looked at them and gave them a single nod.

They received his recognition for their first real battle ever.

Bewildered, the soldiers looked at the grounds in front of them, scattered with the remains of these diseased creatures.

Their leader needed only one blow to eradicate them. Just how strong is he?

Then, their thoughts reeled back that they had won their first fight. These rats were fleeing from them!

And, most importantly, none were wounded.

The formation they were in had worked miraculously. Especially during the initial clash. The impact that would have sent them flying in the past were dispersed away like sugar dropped in water.

The flurry of bites that came afterwards were just as easily negated by them marching to their right.

That is absolutely ridiculous, but it truly happened, through their eyes, with their own hands.

And, this is the first time their commander accepted them…

These men, large like bears, wanted to sit and cry a little. Like boys earning their first praise from their fathers.

Tommy did not chid them for their reaction. He too experienced something similar after surviving his first deadly encounter.

They quickly reorganised. Cleaning away the filth on their equipment from fighting the Stone Biters.

The housekeeper sent to monitor them felt his understanding of this world had been overturned.

This is the lad they wanted to test?

Such a powerful warrior needed to prove his mettle?

Foolish! The king and princess are in no position to question the ability of such a great figure.

Cold sweat poured down his face as he thought further about it. They slighted him. Their tests are a mockery.

For now, the Snowdrifts still requires Avalon’s aid, but one day in the future, their kingdom will pay for this rudeness.

“L… Lord Skyrtur,” the housekeeper came over respectfully, “the princess is still young. She does not know better and inconvenienced you. Your lordship is far above the likes of her understanding. This old man begs for your leniency for her wilful manners.”

Surprised by this sudden turn of attitude, Tommy looked at the man from the corner of his eyes.

The housekeeper sweltered under his gaze.

Tommy may not be a good negotiator, but he learned one thing from his missus. Kindness is not a virtue well-received.

As the leader of an army, to meet an insult with kindness is seen as weakness instead. Even if he paid it no mind, he must meet the act with fair reciprocation.

“It is a fair trade off,” Tommy replied coldly.

His hidden meaning is that there is no relationship between them to consider, everything is but a fair exchange. In the future, there will be more trades, however, do not expect the Snowdrifts to do them any favours out of friendship.

The housekeeper understood.

But not much in this world is permanent. He will do everything necessary to convince his majesty to reconsider.

The soldiers continued towards the Winter Drakes’ nest, and along the winding paths they routed many more monster nests.

Each time, they will be sent to fight the beasts in formation, and only when the creatures flee will their commander interfere.

They realised one thing. No matter how many enemies, or how powerful they are, Tommy only needed a single fist strike to clear them out.

Of course, most of these monsters are not strong enough to require a second attack with his shortened Secret Art, while the stronger ones will also die when he recites the full incantation.

The housekeeper followed them without a word as they detoured to the different nests. Perhaps the princess and the king would not expect them to continue their training using real battles. The test had no rules restricting Tommy from doing so, and it is unfeasible to include such regulations for it is impossible for them to avoid monsters on their way.

However, the housekeeper only recognised Tommy abilities as a leader. Even an old courtier like him knows that making use of every advantage possible is the trademark of a good general for there is no deceit in war.

Those who lead their men to seek glory or blindly carry out instructions from their superiors are the most terrible of their sort. These are good traits for a soldier, not a leader.

As the soldiers were dragged to the monster nests, they practiced their formation in combat. It was only then that they understood why Tommy wanted them to be able to stay in position regardless of the changes they met on the battlefield.

All the grumblings they had about him dispersed like the mist when they realised his trainings, however harsh it was, is saving their lives.

Of course, this knowledge did nothing to relieve their phobia for maggots.

It is through the battles that the warriors got to know just how powerful their battle array is. Tommy revealed to them that this is the famed Snowdrifts’ Bagua Formation.

Their two weeks training was to ensure they could carry out the stratagem during battle without fail. Even when the monsters pounced on them or struck from unexpected corners, no one fell out of the formation.

As they fought, Tommy started teaching them how to fully operate the Bagua array together. They would scatter and regroup on command, close the gap and become a phalanx, or rotate on the spot and disperse a stampede.

As long as everyone fought together, their strength multiplied without end, and things that could kill half of them would be easily endured by the combined power of them all.

In a sense, the Bagua array truly shines on the battlefield, especially when every soldier is frightful of death, this formation that becomes their shield gives them the confidence to charge forward.

The housekeeper who witnessed the changes on these men only felt astonishment towards the one who did this. The quivering blade had become steady. An air of sharpness enrobes his soldiers. Under Tommy’s leadership, their blood roared with battle, and their eyes are filled with fire and steel.

He could hardly believe that these were the same drunkards he left at the Snowdrifts’ battalion square half a moon ago.

When the men reached, they are all filled with confidence. Not only with themselves, but also their leader who managed to make them achieve these seemingly impossible deeds in battle.

Tommy rallied the soldiers. He looked at them, their utterly straight poise and firm gait, and nodded at them with recognition.

“You lot are now graduated from being maggots. From now on, you will fight and die as proud warriors.

“Today, you will take on your final test. In this battle, I am disallowed to provide any aid while you hunt down the drakes.”

The soldiers gripped their weapons nervously.

Unlike the other creatures they fought before, these are drakes! Great beasts with draconic bloodline. Their physical power is far beyond most other creatures, and naturally inclined to the elements.

In a place this far north, ice and snow cover nearly everything the eye could see, and the Winter Drakes are the lords that command the frozen elements.

For the past two days when they marched to the drake’s nest, they met no other creature, because no beasts are foolhardy enough to venture near.

Sensing their unsettled spirits, Tommy’s expressions softened for the first time.

“It is good to feel fear when you face a deadly battle. When you lose sense of that, you no longer avert death.”

The very first friends he lost were the bravest. They were mere boys and girls when they rushed in front of their friends to shield them from the Orc War Chief and its captains.

Their deaths were noble, but if it was possible to rewind, Tommy would have preferred that feared dying a little more.

He had inherited the thought from Kairos, because ultimately, those children believed in their captain and made the sacrifice to keep him safe.

Now that Tommy has become a leader himself, he fully understood this burden his younger sworn brother bore.

He looked at the one thousand soldiers standing at attention before him. They are all older than him, with the youngest being two years his senior, yet they looked to him with complete faith.

Surely, by his words, they would leap towards death.

These unruly and recusant fellows had tremendous transformations after they realised the inhumane training that they suffered was all to keep them alive.

Tommy treated them as fellows and provided guidance sincerely. A difference they felt sorely compared to the superiors of the corrupted Logres.

There is a point when a man is no longer looked at by his peers as a mere person, but a symbol. An icon of their hearts.

Such a man had proven himself through his ideas and deeds that he ceases being of flesh and blood in the eyes of his followers and turned into a faith held sacred in their hearts.

Tommy could see that along with their transformation, the soldiers are also changing the way they think of him, and slowly setting him centrepiece in their mind.

The lad was rather shocked at how quickly they changed. He did not know that during the fall of Logres, these soldiers are mere numbers, statistics to be presented on a chart, by the royals back home.

Setting aside the corruption and selfishness of those who controlled the lives of the common soldiers, solely the happenstance during the fall of their capital alone was enough to dwindle all loyalty. The nobles, keen to save their own skin, neglected to call for a retreat. One must know that the capital has the most powerful barriers in all of Gaia and it could buy enough time for all to retreat into the countless catacombs beneath their streets.

In a way, the ancestors of the great Logres Kingdom had plenty of preparation, if only their descendants cared enough to use it.

Obviously, the soldiers here all had comrades who died for little or nothing and landed in today’s state. Furthermore, they were picked to participate in Tommy’s test with death as the most likely result. Yet, on seeing their young commander’s willingness to hone them into warriors, even a heart of stone started warming. Granted, at first that ‘warmth’ was out of anger over how harsh training were, but seeing the effectiveness on the battlefield, even that changed.

The next thing that won them over is his sheer strength. How utterly this lad crushes his foes. As warriors, they looked up to Tommy, that even the sharpest tongue amongst them had to admit feeling drawn by his might.

And, if they had yet to be converted, the next thing Tommy said was enough to win even the stubbornest fellow over.

“Your fear is proof that you still want to live. As long as I am your commander, I will do whatever is in my means that you may continue to feel that.

Today’s test is secondary, if I call for a retreat, you will obey without question and leave the rest to me. Understood?”

These soldiers, some old enough to be Tommy’s father, bit down on their teeth when they heard it.

The men full of shock had to withhold their tears but many eyes reddened this day. This is not a mere test for their commander, but the means for him to marry his love as first lady. That he would think of them as people and cherish their lives over his own future is something few leaders would do.

They are not mere numbers to him.

Their lives are not a proof to the princess to show he is a capable commander, because he would rather intervene than watch them perish.

“Yes sir!”

They could tell that he is not saying so to win them over, but truly saw them as people who would die because of his decisions.

Most, except for those who had yet to ponder, decided that after this, they want to follow him, even if it means leaving Avalon.

To the royals who may reject them. A middle finger to all. A spit and the dust off their sandals to bid farewell.

Of course, this is after they could secure their family to move to the Snowdrifts, but the two weeks they lived in the Snowdrifts’ encampment was enough assurance that it will not be an obstacle.

The housekeeper could tell that these men had decided to follow after this lad. More than any promotion trial, he had won them over with the charisma of a king.

Perhaps, he should suggest to his majesty to release their families with stipends.

Tommy did not tell his soldiers such things for no reason. Now that the men are confident that in the worst situations, their commander will intervene on their behalf, all of them felt the shadow of death passing away from them.

Instead, they are rearing to go. Having their fear removed, they realised that they are more than an even match against creatures like the Winter Drakes, as long as they remain in the Bagua formation.

Indeed, among all the defensive battle arrays, the Bagua can be considered one of the most outstanding. Unfortunately, because they had little time on their hands to learn the formation, they could only maintain the basic function of the array.

The soldiers had heard from Tommy that this array has in fact four variations. The basic defensive formation. The Yin-Yang formation that could absorb, congregate, and release impacts. The Bagua Shield formation that could protect all practitioners regardless of if they are in the right position. And, the fourth variation that only Kairos knows about.

Tommy said that the fourth variation had been left within the sachets that Kairos left for them. When the time is right, they will be able to use it.

The soldiers felt foolish that they had been panicking. Even if they only know the first and most basic of the Bagua variations, this is still something beyond the likes of Gaia.

They would not be surprised if this is an Immortal Stratagem.

The soldiers, less occupied with their fears, started preparing for the battle ahead. They loosened their swords from the sheath and stretched their bodies while awaiting their commander’s command to charge.

Standing before them, however, Tommy’s face turned bleaker as the moments passed.

A full ten minutes passed and yet no order came for them to attack.

Just as they were confused what is their commander thinking, the young lord turned and glared at the housekeeper.

“Are you certain this is a medium brood? Why am I detecting over three hundred drakes?”