122: Field combat assessment (4000 words)

Outside the Ironthorn Forest, the snorting of warhorses sounded one after another.

Over forty upright figures clad in armor sat steadily on horseback, exuding an aura that was both heavy and extremely oppressive.

Scanning from left to right, Lister showed a very satisfied expression.

Compared to the shabby state of having fewer than ten knights before coming to the territory, he had now completely upgraded his arsenal.

Although most were still Apprentice Knights, they all had the foundation to become Full Knights; no lord would ever complain about having too many.

Furthermore, the number of Full Knights he now possessed had reached nearly twenty.

It could be said that his force was absolutely outstanding among the barons of the entire Pedan Kingdom.

As for whether he could enter the top ten, he couldn't yet draw a conclusion. After all, his initial team was indeed not particularly remarkable... and compared to the scions of those great nobles, there was no comparison in terms of subsequent family funding.

He could only say that by relying on his divination ability, he had made up for a lot in this regard. As for who was stronger or weaker, he would only know after meeting them.

Of course, compared to his unlucky friend Kelvin, his situation was actually much better.

Everything is feared in comparison; once compared, too many problems will appear.

But what made him feel most fortunate was that his Apprentice Knights were all equipped with their own warhorses.

Because horses were not cheap, and warhorses were even more expensive, he did it to save some money.

Many of the Apprentice Knights' warhorses were excellent horses that he had Red and other knights capture from the Hengduan Mountains and the Mist Forest.

Although good horses were rare and hard to catch, in the vast Hengduan Mountains and the eerie, dangerous Mist Forest, there were enough for him to form a knight order.

Additionally, Red and the other knights had good luck and discovered a herd of horses within the Hengduan Mountains, which was why it went so smoothly.

Moreover, the extra mares captured have been handed over to Dode for taming and breeding. It was expected that the Ironthorn Territory would soon be self-sufficient.

As for the issue of armor, Lister could not solve it quickly. Even if he had the money to buy it, the surrounding territories did not have so many sets of knight armor for sale.

Therefore, the Apprentice Knights were currently equipped with ordinary armor. Knight armor would still need to be purchased later or forged by Gimel and other blacksmiths and craftsmen.

Today, Lister brought all the knights in the territory here to hold a practical combat exercise.

This was a training method decided upon after he and Red discussed it, and it would be conducted frequently in the future.

In his view, if they only trained normally, although there would be progress, they would lack the precious experience that only comes from fighting on a battlefield.

This kind of precious experience honed through practice could help knights better understand combat methods during life-and-death struggles and enhance their psychological endurance in advance.

If they waited until they were on the battlefield to begin honing their skills through war, it would be too late.

Among his knight subordinates, except for Red, the others had very little practical combat experience.

If not for the previous battles against the Black Dog Orcs and the beast tide, almost everyone would now just be 'fighting on paper.'

Therefore, in order to deal with the possibility of being summoned by the kingdom in the future, all knights of the Ironthorn Territory must have combat experience filled with blood.

This was the purpose of the practical combat exercise, and the other subjects of the exercise were the magical beasts and wild beasts that Lister had Red and the other knights capture from the Hengduan Mountains.

These magical beasts and wild beasts had all been released into the Ironthorn Forest, and Full Knights would be stationed at every direction.

At the same time, the blood of the Silver Wolf King was sprinkled on the outskirts of the Ironthorn Forest to deter them and prevent them from running out at will.

Of course, Apprentice Knights were not Full Knights after all, so for the sake of their safety...

The magical beasts released were all equivalent to Low-Tier Bronze magical beasts, with the highest being only Bronze Tier 3, and there was only one of those.

Looking at the spirited knights before him, Lister said loudly: "Today is the first field combat assessment for all knights of the Ironthorn Territory."

"Those participating in the assessment are all Full Knights up to Bronze Rank 2 and all Apprentice Knights. As for your combat targets, I presume Red has already told you, so I won't go into detail."

"The purpose of the field combat assessment is only one: for you to do your utmost to kill those magical beasts and wild beasts—the more, the better."

"The knights who kill the most and perform the best will be given generous rewards and even appointed to positions in the military camp."

"Once you begin the field combat assessment, you may form teams at will. Full Knights can have a maximum of two people per group, and Apprentice Knights can have a maximum of five per group."

"You must remember that this field combat assessment tests not only your individual abilities but also your teamwork."

"In future battlefields where you may fight against alien races, relying solely on individual bravery in combat is absolutely undesirable."

"Because every race has its strong individuals, but talents who can lead their own army to victory while keeping most of their comrades alive are very few."

"During your assessment, if you encounter danger, you can fire the Cloud-Piercing Arrow distributed to each of you. Upon hearing it, Red and the others will support you immediately."

"But support takes time. How you ensure you can hold out during that period is your own problem."

"Therefore, there is a risk of death involved. Before the assessment begins, you may choose not to participate, and I will not blame you."

"However, in the future, the allocation of training resources will not favor you. After all, the Ironthorn Territory and I need the bravest knights, not cowards."

At this point, Lister's eyes sharpened, and he said in a majestic tone: "Now, does anyone want to withdraw?"

"No!"

"No!!"

"No!!!"

Hearing the firm shouts of the crowd, Lister nodded with satisfaction.

This wasn't actually him forcing them; it was simply how the world worked. If you were just an ordinary person, it would be fine.

But since you've become a knight, you must have a heart that charges forward. Otherwise, sooner or later, you will die because of your own cowardice.

After all, the Pedan Kingdom could not remain stable forever. Other human nations and alien races, especially the Orc Race, had always been closely watching the Pedan Kingdom with predatory eyes.

This could be seen from the several divinations from before and this morning, which was why Lister chose to do this.

Of course, speaking so seriously to the participating knights just now was also to stimulate the fighting spirit in their hearts.

Lister couldn't actually let them die at will. These were knights he had painstakingly selected; losing even one would make his heart ache.

So, he had secretly used his newly learned Wizardry to tamper with the spirits of those magical beasts.

This could restrict their movements at critical moments, ensuring the survival of the knights.

With his command, dozens of knights dismounted in unison and swarmed into the depths of the Ironthorn Forest.

As for why he didn't have them fight on horseback, first, warhorses were indeed scarce and couldn't afford to be wasted.

Second, the Ironthorn Forest wasn't that large. If they fought on horseback, they could probably run back and forth several times in a single day.

Of course, doing this also added some difficulty for the knights, which was ultimately a good thing.

Once the backs of the assessed knights disappeared, Lister sat leisurely in a small pavilion that had been prepared nearby and began to taste milk desserts... On the other side, after rushing into the Ironthorn Forest, the speed of all the assessed knights slowed down in unison.

They had heard Lister's words very clearly just now. This practical assessment was not only an assessment of individual ability but also of teamwork.

Moreover, most of them were Apprentice Knights. Facing wild beasts one-on-one was fine, but it was hard to say when encountering those magical beasts.

Therefore, everyone began to quickly find partners to team up with. Before long, everyone had finished forming teams.

Looking at his teammate Aier Sidi, Anthony Coke, an Apprentice Knight who was not very old, couldn't help but feel excited.

Originally, he was prepared to form a five-person group with those Apprentice Knights, but unexpectedly, Aier suddenly approached him and took the initiative to suggest teaming up.

While excited, he naturally had no reason to refuse. After all, Aier had already advanced to a Full Knight, and his combat strength was very high.

The surrounding Apprentice Knights also couldn't help but show looks of envy.

However, this wasn't the only such case. Sinclair, Marjorie, and Rodrigo also did the same.

As for the remaining four Bronze Rank 1 Full Knights, they teamed up with each other, and their overall strength appeared even greater.

Aier, who paid no attention to this, took Anthony and hurried toward the inner part of the Ironthorn Forest.

Soon, a wild beast appeared before them. Before Anthony could speak, Aier rushed forward and finished it off with a single sword strike.

He was so fast that the wild beast had no time to react, and Anthony was not much slower.

Wiping the blood from the blade onto the wild beast, Aier said calmly, "Let's go, we continue."

Anthony, somewhat stunned, looked at Aier's back and hurriedly followed.

With the influx of many knights, the atmosphere inside the Ironthorn Forest gradually began to turn murderous.

The smell of blood wafting from the dead wild beasts made the magical beasts, which had developed intelligence and were lurking in the hidden areas of the Ironthorn Forest, very restless.

Without any hesitation, they began to move one after another.

"Haha, this is great! I really love this feeling of killing wild beasts so freely."

In the eastern region of the Ironthorn Forest, a well-proportioned and lean young knight pulled out a longsword that had just pierced a wild beast.

The thick Battle Qi energy attached to the blade clearly indicated that he was a Full Knight, and at this moment, his expression was filled with the pleasure of slaughter.

Seeing this, the knight next to him shifted his steps to the side and said with a look of slight disgust, "Vegetius, can't you be a bit more elegant? Do you have to get wild beast blood splattered all over you?"

"So what!" Vegetius showed an expression of complete indifference and then teased, "I say, Bertrand, why do you, a knight, care about such things? Are you afraid of blood?"

"What am I afraid of? I just think you pay too little attention to elegance during battle."

Bertrand curled his lip and said, "As a knight, one should be able to fight elegantly while winning. That is the way of the knight I pursue."

"Haha, then I might be the exact opposite. I pursue the knight's way of slaughter. As long as I can take down the opponent, I don't care about elegance or not. Besides, blood-stained armor looks more domineering, doesn't it?"

Vegetius laughed loudly, clearly very enthusiastic about the way of the knight he pursued.

Hearing this, Bertrand shook his head helplessly, too lazy to say more.

At this moment, a terrifying roar sounded. The two immediately looked in the same direction, their expressions becoming solemn.

In the next second, a huge wild boar appeared before them. Its sharp tusks were fifty centimeters long, and the thick special energy exuding from its body clearly indicated its status as a magical beast.

After a moment's hesitation, Vegetius said, "It seems to be a Tusked Boar magical beast."

"That's right, it's that." Bertrand, who had more knowledge in this area, spoke with a certain tone.

"Can you tell how strong it is?"

Hearing Vegetius's question, Bertrand shook his head and said, "Without fighting, it's hard for me to be certain."

"If you can't be certain, then don't be. Let's just go for it."

Vegetius showed a bloodthirsty smile, clearly impatient to strike.

"Then let's have an elegant battle."

As Bertrand's voice fell, the two suddenly rushed from their original spots, attacking the Tusked Boar from the left and right sides.

Seeing the two people actively rushing to kill it, the Tusked Boar snorted angrily. Its hind hooves kept rubbing the ground as it also launched a charge toward them.

Just as it was about to hit them, the two twisted their bodies and sidestepped the tusks thrusting at them.

At the same time, the longswords in their hands slashed across both sides of the Tusked Boar's body, and the sound of spraying blood immediately rang out.

Feeling the pain, the Tusked Boar let out a shrill wail.

Fortunately, the wounds were not deep, so it only lost a bit of blood.

At this moment, its hatred for humans grew even deeper. It was already very unhappy about being captured from its comfortable 'home' and brought here.

Now it had even been injured by humans. If it couldn't take down these two today, where would its boar face go?

In the next moment, it stomped hard on the ground, and a strong sense of vibration, like an earthquake, reached the feet of Bertrand and the other.

For a moment, their figures shook violently. Just as they were about to fall, they hurriedly used their swords to prop themselves up on the ground.

At that very moment, the Tusked Boar, like a steel chariot, charged at them again. Its speed was faster than before, and its power was much stronger.

Moreover, while it charged and trampled the ground, the vibration didn't dissipate at all; instead, it became increasingly intense.

Bertrand, who reacted the fastest, quickly gave up running and rolled to the side.

Seeing Vegetius still in place, he hurriedly shouted a reminder: "Vegetius, get out of the way!"

But Vegetius didn't listen to him. Instead, amidst the violent shaking, he gripped his longsword again and held it horizontally in front of him.

Within a breath, accompanied by a 'thud', Vegetius's body was knocked flying backward.

But in the instant his body was suspended in the air, he swung his longsword with all his might and accurately pierced one of the Tusked Boar's eyes.

Pain caused the Tusked Boar to stop its charge and howl loudly. Vegetius's shout rang out at the same time.

"Bertrand, strike now!"

Pausing for only a split second, Bertrand slashed at the Tusked Boar's side with his sword, all his Battle Qi energy gathering on the blade.

Puchi!

Accompanied by a flash of cold light, the Tusked Boar's huge body was sliced open by the longsword, creating a massive wound.

A large amount of blood immediately gushed out. Seeing this, Bertrand quickly dodged to the side, fearing that blood would splatter on him.

Its body trembled a few times, and the Tusked Boar fell heavily to the ground, its breath completely gone.

"Cough, cough... Bertrand, you really do have to care about elegance no matter when."