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Today the cadets were following the same routine, running, then doing exercises till evening then having and early dinner and sleeping. Add had also revised and set their daily schedules which followed the clock, making the cadets wake up even earlier. For this, he had given another clock to the cadets, as now there were two barracks. By now most of the ex-guard cadets were familiar with the clock and could decently follow the schedule. The new recruits were also being taught by them, and they too were catching up fast. Once they remembered the symbols and the position of the arms of the clock, it would be very easy to recognize the time, and adjust their pace as required. Add was in no rush and allowed them to gradually adapt to this method of time keeping which was revolutionary for this world. The schedule for the cadets went on as follows:

 

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4:30 a.m. :  First Call : The cadets would wake up to perform their personal morning tasks and conduct hygiene.

 

5:00 a.m. :  Breakfast was served.

 

5:30 a.m. :         Physical Training : the cadets would assemble in the designated area, perform morning physical training (running and exercises).

 

6:30 a.m. :  Training : The day's scheduled training exercises would begin.

 

12:00 p.m. :          Lunch.       

 

12:30 p.m. :          Training : The cadets would continue the day's scheduled training exercises.

 

5:00 p.m. :  Dinner.

 

5:30 p.m. :   Instructor’s  class. During this time the instructor would teach the cadets the theoretical aspects of their training, and if required any individual lessons for particular cadets would be addressed.

 

8:00 p.m. :  Personal time. Time for recruits to engage in personal activities, such as writing letters, laundry, showering, relaxation, or sleep. Cadets could also catch up on their duties during this time, such as barracks cleaning or other jobs.

9:00 p.m.  :   Lights-out. Everyone was to be asleep by this time.

 

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Of course, he did not expect them to follow the schedule up to the last letter on the first day, but he would ensure that they gradually adapted and became punctual, like all soldiers were supposed to. He had decided to continue with just the physical exercises all day for a few more days, to get the cadets in shape. Once the current month ended, he would start his three month long course of actual training. The cadets who were already feeling hopeless with daily exercise and running had the real hell waiting for them, this could not even be called an appetizer for the main dish that was yet to come.

 

After training the cadets for 4 days straight, Add again went to the hilly forests. This time he took three horse drawn  carts with him, each pulled by two horses. Accompanying him were 10 cadets, of which 5 were the ex-guards and 5 were new recruits. The rest were left to train as usual under Kent who had been observing the daily training every day. He assured that he now knew the various exercises which Add taught the cadets, and would not let anyone slack off. Leaving the cadets under his watch, Add went off towards a certain part of the forests. He had not been here before, but he had Edward, whom he pulled away from training, act has his guide, again. This area was more open than the rest of the forest, with occasional large patches of grass forming meadows within the tree line. This was not where goblins usually showed up, and in fact, Add was not after goblins today. This was a favourite place of a certain monster called the [Maned Boar]. He had seen one on the first day in the forest.

 

A [Maned Boar] was a large hog around half the size of a African rhinoceros. It was covered in thick greyish brown manes and hence the name. It also had two one meter long curved tusks which could pierce easily through ordinary armour. These boars had poor eyesight, but their sense of hearing was good and their sense of smell was even better. They usually lived in herds of 10- 30 individuals and were very aggressive in nature towards any intruders. [Maned Boars] were mainly herbivores, but they would even eat meat if opportunities arose, though they were not known to actively hunt prey. They were a bit difficult to handle as their thick fur and skin made their defence very high. But today Add had set his sights on them. The reason was simple. He wanted meat. Not for himself, but for feeding the cadets. The thing was, last night he had been going through the expenses which were added after he decided to recruit more people.

 

Among them a major share was the food. Now he trained the cadets with no corners cut, but he also was not going to cut corners on the food they got. He had Martha hire two more cooks and 4 helpers to cook the meals of the cadets. He had also specified the meals, the breakfast was milk and bread, lunch was vegetable soup and bread with fruits if possible, and the dinner was some dish of meat or eggs and bread. All of this added together, amounted a lot. He knew that the finances were low, so after thinking for a while, he chose to hunt some monsters that could be eaten, and the [Maned Boars] were the easiest target. They were quite slow, and their meat was said to be quite palatable. Also their skin and fur sold for decent prices, so it was killing two birds with a stone. Not many people hunted these boars however, since they lived in groups and were very dangerous. But to Add who had the option of modern weaponry, these walking piles of meat, bones and fat which could weigh over half a ton, were easy pickings.

 

“Cadets, attention! Form line!”

 

After he dismounted from the cart, he made the cadets line up and explained the purpose of this trip. The cadets were surprised that he wanted to hunt [Maned Boars], but then again, this strange lord of theirs was beyond logic, they thought inside. Add reminded them not to follow him and watch over the horses. They had swords and spears with them and wore the light chainmail armour, to defend against any possible attacks from monsters. He also gave them a whistle, which was to be blown in case of an emergency. After ensuring that they had properly understood, he made his way across the forest. When hunting large prey, sniping was the best option, as it allowed the hunter to kill without being seen and discovered. The target wouldn’t know how they died, and the killer would have done their job without anyone having any idea. About 15 minutes after he left the cadets, he reached near one of the meadows.

 

He slowly moved closer and near the edge of the field, climbed up a tree and found a proper spot which overlooked the meadow. Taking a general sitting position for sniping more effectively, he used the crossed ankle position as it was a favourite of snipers in the sitting variations. Both legs are out in front of the shooter, with the supporting side ankle placed on top of the firing side. This last bit is important, as it raises the front knee a bit and provides a better platform for the support elbow. The crossed ankle position puts more of the body weight lower to the ground and helps compensate for recoil and wind. This position was one most useful and versatile of all positions, in sniping. It offers the best combination of versatility, steadiness, and quickness of the lot. With mastery of this position along with a proper weapon, one could accurately  shoot targets at maximal ranges.

 

Add adjusted his AX338 sniper rifle, and attached a magazine of 10 rounds, which cost 50 CP, quite costly for bullets, but the price was understandable for the power of the round. He glued his eyes to the scope and adjusted the magnification. After that, he was able to observe almost all of the meadow. The meadow was covered in wild grasses with some shrubs here and there. After looking for a while, he could see a group of [Maned Boar] grazing about digging for roots and tubers. From his position, he estimated that the [Maned Boar] group was little over 500 metres away. After observing for a while, he selected a large boar, which was happily munching on grass. Without any delays went for the kill.

 

*Click – Clack*

 

The bullet was chambered but the boar was still oblivious. The crosshair on the scope, quickly found itself onto its large head.

 

*Pshh*

 

Following the muffled sound from the suppressor, the bullet left the muzzle. The bullet crossed the distance in less than a second, and the unsuspecting boar suddenly felt a little pain in its head and then all went dark for it. The powerful .338 Lapua Magnum rounds, were strong enough to punch through sheets of steel, the head of the boar, although very sturdy, by comparison was softer. The round easily penetrated its brain and ended its life. As the eyes of the now dead boar lost their glow, its heavy body stood still for a while, and then with a thud, feel onto one side, never to stand again. The other [Maned Boars] were startled, unable to understand why one of them had suddenly fallen. They were unable to sense any threats around them, and  a few boars began moving towards the dead boar trying to figure out what had happened to it. Unknown to them however, this made the work of a certain person much easier.

 

[Ding! You have killed a [Maned Boar]  × 1! You received 500 CP]

 

Without wasting any time he loaded the next round and again fired. One boar was not enough to meet his goals. The wind was currently still which gave him a good opportunity as his smell would not reach the boars easily. They who relied heavily on their sense of smell were helpless now, and all they could hear was a faint sound of the bullet being fired.

 

*Click – Clack*

 

Shoot

 

*Click – Clack*

 

Shoot

.

.

.

.

.

 

[Ding! You have Killed [Maned Boar] x 5! You have received 2500 CP]

 

In a few minutes he had killed 6 boars, all the while not exposing himself. When the second boar  died, the others had sensed that something was terribly wrong and began running away in any direction they could find, unfortunately for them, Add had a lot of experience in sniping, the first boar he had killed was on the farthest side of the meadow opposite to him. Thus when it died, the boars assumed that they were being attacked from there, and ran towards Add’s direction, giving him more time to shoot. After he had killed 10 boars, the remaining had fled into the trees and shrubbery, and Add also had no interest in chasing them.

 

He already had enough of a catch, and killing more would just be wasting as he could not carry so many of them them back. after waiting for a few minutes and confirming that no boars returned, he kept away the AX338 and left his spot to venture into the meadow. After checking his kills, he left the area in a sprint to call the cadets and brought them along with him to the meadow. The trees were sparse in this region, making it possible for the carts to slowly make their way through. No other monsters had come to feast on the boars while he was away, however they had to hurry as the smell of blood was sure to attract them soon. The ten people were wide eyed and shocked at seeing the ten [Maned Boars] that lay dead before them. Edward could not help but ask :

 

“Young master….did you..you kill all of these?”, to which the reply he got was : “No, they just fell and died”.

 

Edward chose to shut up. The cadets were shocked, unable to understand just how the Young Master had killed so many boars by himself, and without any apparent wounds on their bodies. Their shock was short lived as Add berated them and they quickly began loading the all the boar carcases, two on to each cart and then left the area. On the way, the cadets had to walk back as the horses were barley pulling the heavy loads. No one spoke much, and silently walked on. Add had purposely shown some of his ability to these cadets, he knew that word would spread about this, and that’s what he wanted. In this world only the strong were respected.

 

He had to establish his strength, or the cadets would not take him seriously. If they began respecting him, that was good. If they feared him, that was even better. He needed an orderly army that could obey orders, and have discipline. If they didn’t, he would just beat it into them. After the group returned to Rigel, the passing people were shocked at the scene of so many [Maned Boars] being carried into town, but seeing that it was the lord who was bringing them in, they quickly made way. Back at the Weismann estate, he had the cooks and some helpers to dismantle the boars. Martha was very surprised, not unlike the other people at the Estate. The young master was giving them surprise after surprise recently.

 

Almost all parts of the [Maned Boar] could be used. The tusks of the boars were sold off easily as they were used by many pharmacist to concoct medicines. The skin was processed into leather. Its fat was used both as lamp fuel and for cooking while the meat was eaten. The thick fur after cleaning and some processing could be used to make winter clothes like scarfs, hats etc. Only a few parts of its body were discarded, including the intestines, the hooves, the bones, teeth and blood. The servants stored the meat and fat, while the remaining things would be sold off. With this hunt, he had  obtained over 2 tons of solid meat and 500 kilograms of fat which was quite a lot. This would ensure that the cadets were well fed, and add some extra income to the finances as well. The [Maned Boars] were also very common, and there were thousands of them near Rigel alone, so they would provide  a steady source of income when ever needed.

 

There were also many other monsters which could be hunted for food in the hills. For example there were large flightless birds called [Horiks]. These were E ranked monsters which were around twice the size of an ostrich. They were bulky and slow plant eaters, covered in a thick coat dull green feathers which allowed them to blend in with their surroundings. They were no easy pickings however, thanks to their sharp beaks and pike like toes, which were enough to rip through a human with no resistance. The feathers were also unusually tough, and coupled with their thick skin made it difficult to hurt them. Still these birds were mostly harmless, and didn’t attack others unless they got too close to them. Usually living in loosely held groups, they chewed on their plant diet in peace. Their meat was said to be very nutritious and their eggs were also in demand, but the latter was very hard o obtain since mother [Horiks] defended their eggs fiercely. After killing a dozen of these birds, Add found that their flesh tasted very delicious indeed, much better than your everyday chicken.

 

As much as he wanted to hunt game, there was just no way of storing so much meat. He had already filled the estate’s food storage with meat and a lot of the excess it had to be sold off. There were no refrigerators in this age, and the meat could not be stopped for long using the primitive methods. There was so much meat, that even the servants and guards were given a sizeable amount to take home, which for them was nothing short of a blessing. Monster meat though delicious, was very hard to come by, and even when it did, it was very costly so regular populace could only give up on it. Being given this delicacy for free now, made them very happy. But perhaps the happiest were the cadets who got the bulk of the meat in their daily meals, and this gave them the much needed mental and physical strength to carry on with the training. Add estimated that hunting a few days a month was enough to obtain enough resources for the cadets so he focused on another matter, that is the goblins.

 

He had long since been making plans to explore the forest where the goblins were active. He was worried that given their numbers, there was a threat of a severe infestation and it could not be left unchecked. It was best if there was no such threat, but if there was then his mind had many ways to deal with the goblins. The simplest method was to throw a barrage of bombs on their hordes and blow them all up. He had access to some powerful time bombs in the system shop, and with the CP he currently had that could surely kill dozens of goblins and if placed in proper positions, killing hundreds in one go was not a problem. But this although being simple and effective, was wasteful, in the sense that it could scare the goblins and make them scatter which made precious CP lost. So he had to figure out something which would allow him to maximize his gains. For this, he had made a plan, but first there was the need to obtain intelligence on the goblins.

 

He purchased a small surveillance drone for 1000 CP. The drone he chose was a remote controlled quad-copter which was white in colour. Quad copters can lift more loads than airplane or helicopter drones, and they give more stability compared to other types of drones. There were a few key factors to keep in mind when buying a drone. The Camera, The Range, The Flight Time, Stability and ease of operation and maintenance. Considering all these factors, he chose the drone. Its model name was ‘DX Phantom-5’. It had a maximum cruising altitude of 1000 metres, with a horizontal range of 2000 metres. It had a overall size of 2 feet across with the wingspan of 2.5 feet. It weighed a little over 4 kilograms, and had a maximum speed of 60 Kmph (in still wind). The battery on this thing was also a good Lithium polymer 8S with a capacity of 150 Volts and 10,000 mAh, which could carry it for maximum of 1 hour depending on the usage. Coming to the most important feature was the camera which was a 25 MP 4K UHD video camera which was capable of live feed, and also had infrared vision. It was attached under the drone with a lot of room for rotation in three dimensions that made its field of view quite large. The controller had a separate battery and a built in screen to display the video which was sent back by the drone through hyper speed WI-FI signals. The drone and controller could be recharged by a standard solar charger.

                                         

All this made the drone a very good choice for spying. It was silent and its small size was hard to spot at height, making it very stealthy. He purchased a solar charger for charging the batteries of the drone and its controller. There were also many more advanced drones, but they were very costly, and he did not have enough CP to invest in the advanced drones. With the drone in his inventory, he left to look for the goblins. To make a proper plan, he had to know the location of their groups, their numbers and their types. Information was the key to winning any battle. Once again dressed in the camouflaged clothes he arrived at the forest alone, and began his search for goblin trails. This time using the drone.

 

But now he found that it was even harder to find any goblins, which was also expected, given the battle which had happened a few days ago. The goblins either were all wiped out by him, or they were being extra careful now, and Add was more inclined to believe the latter. The drone travelled deeper into the forest, flying just under the canopy line and changing directions here and there. The drone had a digital compass which helped maintain a set direction of travel. He himself had also bought a compass from the system to keep track of direction, and thankfully for him the compass worked just fine on Iseria, pointing north as it should. Though the drone did not spot any goblins, many other monsters were captured in its camera.

 

The truly dangerous monsters lived in the depths of the forests, on the hills and in the valleys, and that’s why weak monsters like the goblins, could make their territory here and proliferate. After hours of looking, he finally found what he was looking for. A group of goblins at last, however this was not a group of normal goblins. These creatures were a different breed of goblins. At the height of a normal human, also E rank monsters, these were Hobgoblins. Though they were the same rank as normal goblins, these were a larger, stronger, smarter and more menacing breed of goblins and were also better organized. And they were known for their brutal nature and good fighting abilities. Different from regular goblins, they were quite muscular, and each one of them was wielding a weapon. Some had rusty long swords, others had spears and axes. Looking at their menacing appearances and weapons, Add frowned;

 

(Since when did hobgoblins get such weapons ? As far as I know, goblins cannot make weapon, so they must be stolen ? Even if they are rusty and dilapidated, they are real weapons, if more of these creatures have weapons, then it’s no laughing matter…)

 

The group consisted of 8 hobgoblins, and all of them seemed vigilant and alert. The drone began following the Hobgoblins from a distance so as not to be discovered. After following them for half an hour, he confirmed that they were moving in one single direction. The drone increased its speed and overtook them, searching for any clues as to where they might be heading. Along the way, the drone was able to spot a lot of goblins moving around in the area. The drone also found traces of many abandoned goblin camps which had been vacated recently. Add who was following the drone so as not to let it go beyond the control range, began flying it back, while carefully avoiding any goblin group, as he didn’t want to alert them. The drone was flying low because of the trees, and if the goblins saw it and somehow hit it, with say stones or arrows,  it would be a waste of his CP.

 

Recalling the drone to him, he changed his position, so as to get closer to the area where he had seen the majority of the goblins. After moving in another kilometre inside the forest, he once again released the drone. It kept looking around the area where it had last been, but other than the scattered groups of goblins and a few hobgoblins, nothing else of interest could be seen. And then, when the battery on the drone was almost drained and he was thinking of stopping the search, it finally arrived over a large clearing in the forest. Add hovered the drone half a kilometre high, and zoomed in to observe. The camera feed showed, what appeared to be a village of Goblins.

 

There were various groups of goblins, some were moving about, some wee building crude shacks out of branches and leaves and some were circling around the clearing, possibly watching out for any intruders. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the swarm of the critters moving about. There were goblins of all sizes here, from the small common one to the armed Hobgoblins an occasionally the kind known as Goblin Champions appeared as well. Add estimated that their number was well over 500 and  including the many groups which were moving about, in the forest, there should be near about a thousand goblins. It seemed they were gathering their forces and preparing for something, something big. However he could not spot any goblin that looked like a leader amongst them. This was troubling, as having an unknown factor was always a threat.

 

After observing for a while, the drone had to be recalled as the battery was critically low. After the drone returned to him, he linked it to the solar charger and put it on a branch which was being bathed in sunlight. He also found a concealed spot atop the same tree, and temporarily stayed there. Here he began finalising the plan of action. As per his observation, he was up against a very sizeable force of goblins, and he had to stay cautious when dealing with them. So he decided to apply the most simple tactic used when fighting a force stronger than you. Divide and Conquer. To implement this, he needed the help of some serious firepower as well. For this he purchased 200 sticks of remotely detonated Dynamite for 400 CP. Each stick was 20 cm long and weighed 250 grams. Next he bought 100 SKN-50 Land mines for a total of 2500 CP. Lastly he also purchased 40 hand grenades. There were of four types, High Explosive (HE), Fragmentation (Frag), Smoke and Flash grenades and he bought 10 of each amounting a total of 800 CP. This would be his main arsenal to deal with the bulk of the goblins, while the guns would be used to deal with the survivors. Keeping in mind the large size of the goblin horde, he decided not to depend more on the AK-47 and take something more powerful.

 

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