Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation Today was a good day for Shi Huade. He would be seventeen in half a year, and he had finally obtained Laurist's permission to awaken his Combat Aura.
In fact, Shi Huade had been eager to awaken his Combat Aura two years ago. He wanted to be like his senior brother, Redi, and follow his teacher's instructions. However, Laurist stopped his impulse after inspecting his body. He had experienced the chaos of war when he was young, and he and his sister had to starve after their home was destroyed. It took him two years before his father, Boddfinger, found him. That was why his body was not in good condition.
Laurist thought that he did not need to awaken his Combat Aura so early. He needed to solidify his foundation first so that he could go further on the path of Combat Aura training and become a Gold-tier Knight like his father. Shi Huade admired Laurist a lot, and he followed the training and rest schedule that Laurist had set for him strictly. He only awakened his Combat Aura after two years.
Following behind Redi, Shihuard entered Laurist's study room and bowed respectfully to Laurist behind the desk: "Teacher …"
Laurist, who was calculating something, looked up and smiled when he saw Shi Huade. He was very satisfied with his second disciple. Smart, studious, hardworking, and down-to-earth. He had brought his young sister through the hardships of surviving in the ruined Imperial Capital, and he was much more mature than his peers.
Time passed quickly. Four years ago, he was still in Dawn Academy. He was forced by the headmaster to go to the ring and slap the faces of other Silver instructors. He was then used by that old fox to challenge all the Silver Swordsmen and Silver Mercenaries in Moronte City to expand the reputation of Dawn Academy. Under such circumstances, he fought with Boddfinger and defeated him. Then, on the night when El gave him a carriage and he accepted Redi as his servant, he saw the downtrodden Boddfinger and his two children camping in the garden.
He went to talk to Boddfinger, but two Gold-tier Swordsmen came looking for trouble. With Boddfinger's help, he killed the two Gold-tier Swordsmen, but Boddfinger was gravely injured. He brought Boddfinger and his two children, Shi Huade and Alisa, back home and stayed there for half a year. He even accepted Shi Huade as his disciple. Now, the child who liked to read quietly had finally grown up, just like Redi who wanted to learn the sword from his master.
"Shiwald, why isn't your naughty sister Alisa here today?" Loriste smiled warmly.
"Teacher, have you forgotten? Eliza and the Zino brothers followed Miss Tracy to the Blade Edge Mountain Range to choose a site, "Schwald replied.
Laurist slapped his forehead. He had been so busy that he had forgotten.
For two years Miss Tracey had been thinking about the college Lollister had promised to build in her mother's name. Thus, Laurist found a job for her. He used his name to gather the underage children of the family's knights. There were about a dozen boys and girls around the age of ten, and they were handed over to Miss Tracey. She was in charge of educating them and letting them receive elementary education.
Among the children, the eleven year old Alisa was the eldest. She led the Zino brothers to dominate the family. The Zino brothers were the twin brothers of the Golden Knight Zino Freya. The two of them loved to bully others with their sister Alisa.
Miss Tracey loved Alisa the most among the children. She wanted to raise Alisa to be her other self, just like how her adoptive mother, Lady Nicole, raised her to be a follower of the God of Knowledge and a female scholar. Unfortunately, Miss Tresti's painstaking efforts were all in vain in front of the lively Eliza.
Even Laurist did not expect Alisa's idol to be Miss Bai Sha. Alisa had once seen Miss Bai Sha riding a horse with a few female soldiers through the central road of Monolith Castle. That heroic image of her riding a horse had entered the little girl's dreams, and the next day, she swore that she would become a female Knight in the future.
The little girl had been at odds with her father recently. The reason was simple. Two years ago, Earl Spencer's widowed daughter had become Boddfinger's maid. Now that she was pregnant, Boddfinger naturally cared more about his pregnant maid and neglected his precious daughter. Feeling forgotten by her father, the little girl ran away from home. She ran to Miss Tracey's house, which was less than a hundred meters away from her own house, determined never to return home again.
Laurist was in a good mood after defeating the Wave of Magical Beasts at the beginning of the year. He told Miss Tracey that she could choose a site to build the college. Thus, in June, Miss Tracey brought her students to the Blade Peak Mountain Range, preparing to find a beautiful place to build the college.
However, this trip took a long time. Laurist had already defeated the second prince's army of a hundred thousand northern nobles, and wiped out all the northern nobles outside of the four families' alliance. On the other hand, Miss Tresti was still touring the Blade Edge Mountains with her students. According to the messenger, they had only explored half of the area and would be delayed for another two months.
"Come, Shi Huard, give me your hand. I'll take your pulse." Laurist said.
Shi Huard placed his hand on the desk. Taking a pulse was no stranger to him. His teacher used this method to check his body's condition.
"Not bad, your body is in good condition. Shi Huard, for the next three months, you will train your fighting aura in the morning, and come to my side in the afternoon as my attendant. Three months later, after you have stabilized your combat aura, you will have to undergo a difficult test. You will have to undergo training like your senior, Redi, to spin in circles in order to gain the ability to see in motion. You must be prepared. "Laurist was very satisfied. Shi Huade's body was very healthy, and his foundation was very solid.
"Teacher, I've been prepared for a long time." Shi Huard said with a face full of determination.
"Alright, it's just the three of us here today. Don't be so restrained, we still have a long way to go. If there's anything you don't understand, Redi will tell you, or you can ask me. In front of others, just call me lord like everyone else. In private, we will address each other as teacher and student, "Laurist said.
"Teacher, I've always had a question. It's about some of the family's strategic decisions. I don't understand why teacher would do this. Can I ask this question? "Shi Huard did not stand on ceremony.
"It's alright, ask away." Laurist smiled.
"Teacher, the Norton Family's military strength is already comparable to a kingdom's military strength. After our family's caravan set foot in the north, we easily defeated the Duke of the North. At that time, teacher had already been conferred a title by the Andinac royal family, and was now an enemy of the Iberian Kingdom. We could legitimately occupy the entire north. But why did teacher give up on this method and insist on returning to the family's territory, causing the north to be taken over by the second prince and this battle? I've always been unable to understand teacher's intentions … "
Shi Huard's eyes stared straight at Laurist. He really hoped that Laurist would answer his question.
Laurist laughed. This was the first time someone had doubted his decisions in terms of strategy, and it was even his own disciple. He nodded with gratification, "Shi Huard, let me ask you a question. When a traveler returns home after a long and arduous journey, what is his most pressing wish?"
"It should be that he can't wait to return home …" Shi Huard replied after thinking for a while.
"Yes, he won't think about going to the tavern for a drink, nor will he think about chatting with his friends, nor will he think about taking over the house of his neighbor who has a grudge against him. He only wants to return home early, take a bath, and enjoy the joy of being apart from his family for a long time. When everything settles down, he will want to go to the tavern for a drink and brag about his travels to his friends, or find trouble with his neighbor who has a grudge against him …
From a certain standpoint, our northbound caravan was like a traveler who had experienced a long and arduous journey for a year. Along the way, we had experienced countless hardships, bitter battles, and bloody battles. With great difficulty, we had managed to slaughter our way back to the Northlands. Do you know what supported everyone to get to that point? Do you still remember how we encouraged everyone in the convoy to the north? "
Shi Huard said hesitantly, "The slogan of the convoy to the north is to return to the family's territory, to get their own fields and houses, and to live a peaceful life …"
"You're right. Most of the people in the convoy have never been to the North, but according to our propaganda, they already see their family's territory as a paradise in their hearts. That's why everyone insisted on returning to the North. They hated the Archduke of the North who invaded our family's territory so much, and their morale was high. Naturally, they easily defeated his troops."
"Come and take a look, Shi Huard. This is a map of the north. What do you think?" Loriste stood up and walked to the map of the north hanging on the wall.
"The north is very big, teacher," Shi Huard said.
"Yes, the north is very big. Let's see, if we do as you said and occupy the Duke's territory, what will happen? " Loriste pointed to the area around the Duke's territory. "These nobles will adopt two methods. One is to flatter us, and the other is to resist us. Either way, our family will be entangled with them. The family's armed forces will be forced to disperse. Not only will we have to defend Hendrik's chain bridge, we will also have to constantly divide and eliminate the lords who have ill intentions towards our family. We will lose control of the situation … "
"Just like this …" Loriste opened his palm. "We turned our fists into fingers to fight against the enemy's fists. Not only will this bring harm to ourselves, it will also cause us to lose the most important thing, which is the people's hearts and morale. Because we did not fulfill our promise, the civilians and soldiers who followed us will be thrown into the flames of war …
That is why I gave up on the idea of occupying the Duke's territory and brought everyone back to the family's territory. In these three years, we developed the Plentiful Plains and eliminated the wave of magical beasts. We fulfilled our promise and gave them land and houses, giving them a stable and peaceful life. That is why, even if the second prince brought a hundred thousand soldiers, we were still able to win in one battle. "
"But teacher, we've won a great victory this time, but you still don't have any thoughts of taking over the entire Northern Lands. On the contrary, you've allied with those three families and given them a lot of benefits, but we haven't gotten anything at all. I think that your decision is very unwise." Shihuard said.
Loriste laughed heartily and rubbed Shi Huard's hair into a bird's nest. "How dare you speak of a teacher like this?"
"It's still the same thing. The north is too big. Look, it takes five days to go from Monolith Castle to Gildusk City at top speed, and seven days to get to Hendrik's chain bridge. Even if we occupy the north, it will take a long time just to send news. And those three families have always had a good relationship with us. It is easy to turn friends into enemies, but our losses will be great. Our family's armed forces are indeed very elite, but pointless sacrifices are a waste. Even if we occupy the entire Duke's territory, will we have the energy to develop the Black Bog?
The family's way out and the north's future do not lie on those two iron chain bridges. If the enemy blockades the other side, the entire north will be sealed off, and we will no longer be able to communicate with the outside world. By allying with those three families, we'll throw the package to them and let them defend the two iron chain bridges. Through them, our family will obtain supplies and food from the outside world, and let them sell the snow salt and other goods produced by our family.
The most important reason I care about the family's territory is that only our family's territory has the only outlet to the sea in the north. Once we build a fleet, we will be able to reach the entire coastal area of Galinthea. That will be the time for our family to truly soar and develop. One day, the entire north will be filled with our family's Furious Bear flag. "
"But teacher, didn't those three families form an alliance with us? What if they don't agree? "Shi Huard asked.
"They will agree. When our family's strength is enough to suppress them, they will be eager to leave our side and the north as soon as possible. Perhaps we can even help them obtain the family's territory they want. Schwartz, your ability to think strategically is commendable, but your current way of thinking is the same as those so-called strategists and military strategists who are participating in the World Domination game. It's all one wave, and that's not desirable. "Laurist said.
"Teacher, what is One Wave Rush?" Shi Huard asked.
Laurist became talkative. "War is not just a matter of military considerations. It concerns many other aspects, and many seemingly unimportant details often affect the final outcome of a war. A true war is actually a contest of strength between two countries and two families. Apart from those so-called ingenious schemes, the one who obtains victory is usually the one who is the most prepared.
It's a pity that the current Galinthea doesn't have any true military experts who realize this. They still vigorously promote those outstanding strategic deployments. It's like two people playing chess. The chess pieces are all laid out in the open, and only after the battle will one side obtain a pyrrhic victory. They won't have the strength to deal with the next enemy.
The One Wave Rush I'm talking about is like the second prince. He spent three years in the north, and after much effort, he finally built the kingdom's first army. Together with the nobles in the north, he managed to gather an army of a hundred thousand. If he didn't find trouble with our Norton family, then where do you think he would point his army at? "
Shi Huard thought for a moment, then pointed at the Madras Duchy.
"That's right, it should be the Madras Duchy. Our second prince has always been a vengeful person. Of course, the one he hates the most right now is our family. If he didn't find trouble with us, his army of a hundred thousand would pounce on the Madras Duchy, and the Madras Duchy would naturally be prepared. Thus, they would engage in an intense battle, and the war would end with both sides suffering heavy losses. Both sides would be exhausted, and no one would be able to persevere. They could only accept mediation, sign a peace treaty for a few years, and return home to lick their wounds, reorganize their armaments, and fight again in a few years. This is what I mean by One Wave Rush.
"If one side has an endless supply of reinforcements, no matter how many casualties there are, would the other side still be able to persevere? The result is obvious. Apart from defeat, there is no other ending. But now, look at the kingdoms and duchies that split from the former empire. They are all the same. They all reorganize their armaments, fight a big battle, gain some advantages, or suffer some losses, and then sign a peace treaty before fighting again a few years later. These are all One Wave Rush performances. Apart from making their lives more and more difficult, there is no other benefit, "Laurist said with deep emotion.
"Teacher, I understand what you mean. War is not a game of chess. It requires a powerful force as a guarantee. Just like how the better our family's territory is developed, the stronger our family's armaments will be, and the more victories we will obtain. Isn't that right? That's why you insist on developing your family's territory, unlike other lords who occupy as much territory as possible … "Shi Huard seemed to understand.
"That's right, that's the logic. Shi Huard, you will become an outstanding commander in the future. "Laurist laughed.
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