The Territory's Guard Captain

Chapter 5 The Territory's Guard Captain

After Alphonse took his leave, Madame Mary looked at Mia and sighed inwardly.

Although Mia was her guardian knight, she treated Mia like a daughter. Now that Alphonse's marriage to Miss Namonica had fallen through, she thought it would be best if Mia could become her beloved son's partner.

Unfortunately, her son lacked the talent to cultivate martial arts and magic, and was also quite unambitious. A genius swordsman like Mia would certainly not be willing to accept him.

She wasn't the type to take advantage of kindness, and she couldn't let Mia down.

It's already quite generous of Miaken to agree to assist Alphonse.

However, judging from what I saw today, my son seems to have matured a lot, has become more manly, and can take on responsibilities.

During the days after her husband passed away, her son felt as if the sky had fallen and was terrified.

He could only hope that the gods would protect his son and that he could preserve the family business that his father had worked so hard to build through his military exploits.

Mrs. Mary prayed silently in her heart; this was all she could do now.

On the day of the duel.

Alphonse got up early and took a longsword off the wall.

This sword is not a precious sword, nor does it have any fancy decorations. It is just a simple hard leather sheath that covers the blade made of fine iron.

But it was a birthday gift from his deceased father, Baron Tartarus, to his predecessor.

Baron Tartarus, a former soldier, naturally wanted to pass on the swordsmanship he had learned in the army to his son. However, Alphonse did not have the talent for it and did not enjoy wielding a sword. He gave up after a few days of learning.

Unlike the longswords of the Central Plains martial arts world, its blade is slightly wider and not as thin.

It is rigid enough, but it lacks the resilience unique to longswords from the Central Plains, which do not easily break even when bent.

It's not bad for chopping.

Before even leaving the castle, they saw Mia coming towards them.

Seeing Alphonse carrying a longsword, Mia's face immediately turned cold. "You still want to fight Keberie?"

Alphonse didn't intend to tell her his intentions, and casually replied, "Even if I'm going to admit defeat, I should at least make an appearance. I can't go empty-handed."

Hearing Alphonse say this, Mia's expression improved, and she followed Alphonse out the door.

The autumn sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly; it was a sunny day.

It feels quite nice to have the sun shining on you.

The time for this honor duel was chosen by Keberi, but the venue was chosen by the predecessor, at the training ground of the Cold Wind Army camp.

It was a leveled piece of land, enclosed by a simple wooden fence, about the size of a football field, with a wooden platform for officers to stand on and give speeches. It was spacious enough for training troops.

Cold Wind Territory now has only a little over 150 soldiers left, who occupy only one side for training.

Alphonse glanced at it and saw two types of soldiers: spearmen and swordsmen.

The spearmen were practicing thrusting, while the swordsmen and shieldmen had an extra move: they would block with their half-person-high wooden shields and then slash out with their swords.

However, their energy and spirit were truly worrying; they were mechanically repeating the same actions as if they were just going through the motions.

Even their slogans weren't very loud.

If, in my previous life during the time of the Ten Directions Holy Sect, the followers were trained to have this kind of spirit, they would have been dragged out and whipped long ago.

Aside from weapons, the soldiers' equipment consisted only of hard leather armor and a leather helmet. The front and back pieces of the leather armor were connected by ropes, only protecting the upper body.

As far as I can remember, these were veterans who had retired from the battlefield with their adoptive father and were given special treatment after becoming Tartarus's private army.

I guess he's been living a comfortable life for two years and has become too relaxed about everything.

It's also possible that the baron's death caused unrest and led to this situation.

Why not just get a long spear and let the people from this other world experience the spear techniques of the Central Plains martial arts world?

Alphonse gave up the idea after only a brief moment of thought.

Spearmen in this other world are all unlucky; it's common knowledge that spearmen have E-rank luck. Besides, the spears I saw were too crudely made—just a wooden shaft with a spearhead, not even a red tassel. They had no imposing presence at all.

The true energy I possess now is too weak to be channeled into the entire gun. This wooden pole probably can't withstand a single blow from Keberi, who possesses first-level battle qi.

Two middle-aged men walked over quickly.

Alphonse searched his memory and immediately recalled the two people's information.

The short-haired, square-faced, and burly man is Captain Simon.

Although his face was rugged, his beard was shaved quite clean, but his complexion was very pale, and one of his arms was slinged in front of his chest with a white cloth.

He was seriously injured when he accompanied his father to fight the giant-toothed demon wolf, and he is now performing his duties while injured.

The other one was slender, with a mustache and his hair neatly combed back – that was Thompson.

Although his face was a little pale, he still managed a smile.

Upon approaching, the two men simultaneously stood at attention, stamped their feet, and placed their left hands behind their backs. Thompson performed the full knightly salute, raising his right fist to his chest and pausing. Simon, on the other hand, was unable to do so because his right hand was broken and he couldn't raise it.

Thompson interjected, "My lord, should we gather the soldiers together and give them a pep talk?"

Simon also spoke at the same time, but only called out "Young Master".

The original owner wasn't very familiar with either of the two guard captains. It seemed that Thompson was more adept at handling things; even before Alphonse had inherited the title, he had already started addressing him as "Lord."

However, knowing that he harbors ulterior motives, my impression of him won't be very good.

This is not the time to make trouble.

Mia never bowed to him.

"You guys just continue training, don't worry about me." Alphonse waved his hand, rejecting Thompson's suggestion.

"Alright." Thompson still had a big smile on his face. "We'll all be cheering you on as soon as you show your might, Lord."

The words were kind, but they were barbed. Anyone could tell that Alphonse didn't have the talent to cultivate battle qi, so how could he possibly defeat Keberi, who was already a first-tier swordsman?

Alphonse was already furious. He had just thought this guy would be good at handling things, but now he was smiling while hiding his daggers, making no attempt to hide it.

But that's not enough to get under his thumb. We can't let Mia beat him up over something like this.

Besides, Mia only agreed to be her mother's bodyguard, not to obey her every command. She might not actually take action as instructed.

It's still a matter of insufficient strength; otherwise, they would have slapped him across the face long ago. They should have waited a little longer.

Alphonse watched Thompson's departing figure, silently complaining to himself.

As for the reason for dealing with him? In his previous life, as the leader of the Ten Directions Holy Sect, he was arrogant and unrestrained. He would not only beat people, but also kill people as if it were nothing. He did not need to pay any attention to rules.

Simon, however, did not leave. After a moment's hesitation, he advised, "Young master, you should concede in the duel later. Even if the Tartarus family's reputation is damaged, it's better than you getting hurt."

(End of this chapter)