"...Sir Ron, why are you here?" Matthew, who was watching the soldiers training, saw a familiar figure walking towards him in the distance and shouted at the top of his lungs.
At the Beiguan Army Fort recruit training ground, Ron, who had just arrived at Matthew's residence and found no one, heard from the soldiers that Matthew was being ordered to conduct recruit training, so he came here.
Hence Ron was wearing finely crafted tan leather armor, large cowhide boots, and a cowhide belt around his waist, decorated with pockets specially sewn for him by his wife Ollie. He was carrying a knight's dagger and walked towards Matthew with an air of dignity.
Less than thirty steps away from Matthew, Ron suddenly shouted: "Look at the sword!"
With a "swish" sound, the sharp blade was unsheathed, and then he took three steps and two steps at a time, and rushed towards Matthew. Ron raised the dagger above his head with both hands, and the mud scraped up by the cowhide boots under his feet was scattered behind him...
Matthew was also an aggressive guy, so naturally he was not to be outdone. Then he skillfully drew out the dagger he was wearing and threw the scabbard aside. He also held the sword with both hands, pointing down, and faced the enemy sideways. The left foot is in front, the right foot is behind, the body is slightly bent, and the person is glaring forward.
In the blink of an eye, Ron had rushed forward. Under the dual blessing of huge inertia and manpower, the dagger slashed diagonally towards the glaring Matthew...
Matthew, who was agile, quickly took two steps back to avoid his opponent's sharp edge. The dagger immediately struck into the soft soil, leaving a deep gash.
Ron bent down, turned his head to look at Matthew on the side, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and gave two evil laughs. He immediately raised his sword and swung it towards Matthew with his backhand.
～
Matthew did not evade this time, and quickly raised his sword to block, pressing Ron's sword firmly underneath. Although he is not as tall and strong as Ron, but he is good at training on weekdays, Matthew has a strong body and a lot of strength.
Ron's right leg was slightly bent, his left leg pressed against the hollow behind him, and he concentrated all his strength on his hands. In this way, the two of them faced off for about a glass of water, refusing to give in to each other.
After a moment, Ron roared with strength and pushed away the dagger that was pressing on it. Matthew's dagger was pushed away by the sudden force, and he took several steps back, almost staggering and falling to the ground. Seeing the situation, Ron slashed left and right, going up and down, forcing Matthew to retreat.
The new recruits who were training aside were attracted by the fight between the two, and they came closer to watch the exciting battle between the two legion veterans...
"...Hey, who do you think will win among these two officers?" In the crowd, a thin guy with a dirty face said to his companions.
"I think the officer who fights with Commander Matthew is more likely to win..." A fat man replied.
"I also feel that this man seems to be the personal bodyguard next to the Earl, and his combat skills are definitely not comparable to those of ordinary officers. Look," the guys watching the fun around him looked at the hand of the person who was speaking, "that bodyguard has deadly moves, and every sword is directed at Commander Matthew's vitals~"
While the few people were talking, the two people fighting on the field had already fought for dozens of rounds. Ron was competing in the open space under the scorching sun. Ron, who had not trained with the legionnaires for a long time, was soaked through his armor, and big beads of sweat kept falling from his forehead to his neck.
Just as Ron was wiping away his sweat, Matthew seized the opportunity and rushed toward his opponent with his sword. In the blink of an eye, the blade was close to Ron's right arm holding the sword. Suddenly, Ron nimbly dodged Matthew's sword, then threw away his dagger, walked around behind Matthew and hugged him tightly.
Seeing this, Matthew also dropped the dagger in his hand and began to struggle desperately.
Immediately, Ron yelled and used all his strength to throw Matthew, who was a head shorter than himself, to the ground. Before Matthew could react, he was pinned down by Ron, unable to move, like a subdued wild boar...
"Okay! Okay! Okay!"
At this time, the recruits surrounding him shouted and cheered for Ron, admiring the officer's bravery.
Ron stood up and stretched out his hand to pull up Matthew who was lying on the ground. The two looked at each other and smiled.
"Sir Ron, I didn't expect your skills to be so good! I thought you had neglected your training by following the adults all day~"
Ron laughed twice and said, "Boy, not only have your sword skills improved a lot recently, but your strength has also become stronger. You must have worked hard~" Then he touched Matthew's head, becoming more and more satisfied with this guy.
"Sir Ron, please wait for me~"
Matthew picked up the dagger on the ground, inserted it into the scabbard, ran to the group of new recruits who were still watching the excitement and yelled twice. Those guys went back to the field to continue training.
………
"Matthew, aren't you a military judge? Why did you get together with that group of new recruits."
In the barracks of the Military Law Corps of Beiguan Army Fort, Ron asked while looking at the swords, crossbows and other weapons leaning against the wall.
"It's like this. There is a shortage of manpower for recruit training, so the higher-ups transferred me there. As you know," Matthew handed Ron a glass of cold beer, "I am also a restless person. It is much better to train new recruits than to stay in the camp all day long." Matthew touched the remaining juice on the stubble that had sprouted on his chin, and continued: "At least there, I can still enjoy being an officer."
Then the two of them laughed. Watching Matthew gradually grow from a small child to a low-ranking officer with some qualifications in the legion, Ron felt happy for him from the bottom of his heart. In his eyes, Matthew was like a brother to him.
"By the way, Sir Ron, you didn't come to Beiguan Army Castle to compete with me, right?"
Ron put down his wine glass, pretending to be profound, and said: "I was ordered by the master to come to the legion to handle an important matter~" He looked like a high-ranking officer.
Matthew saw this and came over quickly, wanting to inquire. This restless guy always thinks about when he will go out to fight again, and then he can continue to be promoted based on his military merit.
"Hey, Brother Ron, can you tell me something." Matthew changed his serious expression on the training ground and got close to Ron.
"Really want to know?"
Ron glared at Matthew, then asked him to come closer, and stretched out a hand to block the right side of Matthew's face. "My master is going to take people to the south of the valley to conduct a thorough survey. I have been specifically asked to come and select the accompanying men from the legion."
Matthew was very excited when he heard this. After staying in the valley for half a year, he felt bored and immediately asked Ron to take him with him.
「嘿嘿嘿，罗恩大哥，你看我待在军中都半年了，上次山谷南边发生战事也没我的份儿。你看这次，是不是～」
看着马修极度想跟着一起南下山谷，罗恩也没有再捉弄这个家伙。
"My master has specifically told me that since you went with him to explore the south of the valley last time, I asked you to go with me this time. That's why I'm here."
"Really?" Matthew couldn't hide his excitement.
"Okay, okay, in addition to you, I also want to select ten soldiers with hunter backgrounds as bodyguards in the army. You clean up first, and then come with me to find Chief Angus. I have something to inform him."
"Needless to say, has the Lord sent you to deliver the order again?"
Angus walked straight to the table and poured a large glass of beer for Ron himself.
"Thank you, Sir Angus!" Ron quickly thanked him after taking the glass. "Sir Angus, it's like this..." Ron told Angus everything Art told him.
"...What, my lord is going to the southern valley to survey again. Can't we just leave these small things to the people in civil affairs? Why did he lead people there himself." Angus was also a little puzzled by Art's decision.
"Sir Angus, it's not like you don't understand the master's temper. No one can stop what he has decided. And even the wife didn't show displeasure this time, so the master will not care about other people's opinions."
After Angus heard this, he thought about it and realized that it was really difficult to change the things decided by his master, so he didn't say anything more.
"Okay, then you go back and tell the Lord that I and other officers are here to train new recruits in the legion, so he doesn't have to worry about it. But remember, as the Lord's personal bodyguard, you must protect his safety. Now the weather is hot, the valley is inaccessible, and wild beasts are rampant, but don't make any trouble~" Angus said to Ron with a serious face.
"Sir Angus, don't worry. In addition to me, there are Matthew and other soldiers to protect you."
Angus touched the thick beard on his chin, thought for a moment, and then said: "Let's go to the crossbow captain Smith and ask him to help you select the ten best soldiers to be your escort this time. In addition, I will ask Spencer to select a few baggage soldiers and a few high-quality mules and horses from the baggage team to help you transport the grain, grass, baggage and other materials you need. This trip is a long way, with high mountains and dense forests, so you must be fully prepared."
Ron nodded repeatedly, grateful for Angus's careful arrangements...
After gathering the people, except for Matthew and Ron, they returned to the valley together. The rest of the people will rush to the wooden castle in a few days with the baggage team who have prepared food, grass, baggage, mules and horses to return to the castle.
Along the way, Ron chatted with the military judge who was several years younger than him and got along very well.
Ron learned from Matthew that Matthew's father had recently come to Beiguan Army Fort to look for him whenever he had the opportunity. As soon as he opened his mouth, he urged Matthew to quickly find a wife, have a child, and settle down early, which made Matthew upset. This was also the reason why he couldn't stay in the military fort. That's good. Art called him to the wooden castle with a transfer order. In a few days, he went south to the valley to conduct surveys. He no longer had to listen to his father's nagging.
Along the way, the two of them sometimes raced horses and sometimes competed in archery with bows and arrows. From time to time, they would stop by the stream to drink with their horses, as if they were brothers.
It was not until evening that the two arrived at the valley.