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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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Chapter 9 - Hurdles in Military Life (4)
"But..."
"Oh? You don't wanna do it? Is that it?"
"It's not that..."
"Then what? If you had a problem, you should've joined the army earlier or applied to be a non-commissioned officer!"
"Ugh... If you tell me what you want, I’ll make it.”
Hunty looked like he was about to cry, but Clyden just waved a hand dismissively.
"Something about the size of my forearm! And it has to be operable with one hand, easy to draw and fire!"
"That’s a toy! At that size, there's no way it’ll have decent range or killing power!"
"Ugh, why are you talking so much? If I say make it, just make it.”
"...Fine, I'll do it."
Hunty barely managed to reply, looking visibly troubled by Clyden's absurd request.
Clyden ignored Hunty and started rolling around on his cot.
Still standing there in a daze, unsure how to proceed, Hunty was soon approached by Eres.
"Don't overthink it—just slap something together that looks like it works."
Encouraged by those words, Hunty got to work.
Within a day, he managed to create something that could only be described as a toy crossbow.
He brought it back to Clyden.
"I made it so it can be attached and detached with one hand, but to ensure mobility, I had to reduce the size of the bow. And I made the trigger into a ring shape so that it can be fired by pulling the finger.”
"Oh-ho! I knew I had an eye for talent! Nice work, man!"
Clyden eagerly grabbed the rough, makeshift crossbow, attaching and detaching it from his hand with excitement.
Clyden dashed outside to an open training ground where he had set up a target.
"Ha-ha-ha! Witness the might of Clyden, the master marksman!"
He loudly declared as he loaded an arrow and aimed at the target.
Just then, Hunty hesitantly approached as if he wanted to say something.
But before he could get a word out, Clyden loosed the bolt.
Thud!
The arrow soared through the air... and landed in the dirt without even reaching the target.
"......"
"......"
"Ahem. Looks like aiming with one hand is trickier than I thought."
Clyden quickly reloaded and fired again.
Thud!
Once more, the arrow veered wildly off course.
"Hmm. Guess I'll have to get closer since aiming isn’t easy at this distance."
Clyden cleared his throat, then walked about halfway to the target before stopping.
"Ahem! Now, behold! The unmatched precision of Clyden, the legendary sharpshooter!"
He carefully aimed and fired once again.
With a thwack, the arrow shot forward.
It did head toward the target, just not into it.
The arrow simply smacked against it and dropped to the ground.
Clyden stared silently at the target for a moment before turning to Hunty.
"Hey."
"Yes, Private Hunty!"
"Go get it."
"Yes, sir!"
"Why aren’t you running?!"
At Clyden’s sharp command, Hunty scrambled to retrieve the arrow.
He quickly brought it back and handed it over.
Clyden took the arrow, held it by the shaft, and lightly tapped Hunty on the helmet with the arrowhead.
"You messing with me?"
"N-no, sir!"
As the arrow’s tip made a tink-tink sound against his helmet, Hunti stiffened.
"Nah, I’m pretty damn sure you are messing with me. Didn’t I tell you to make a crossbow?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Right. I distinctly remember ordering you to make a crossbow, correct?"
"Yes, sir!"
"But you! I told you to make a crossbow, not a flying whip!”
"I didn’t mean to, sir!"
"Well, this is useful too. Pretty useful, now that I think about it."
Clyden smirked and twirled the arrow in his hand.
"If you don’t like someone, you don’t even need to walk up to them. Just whip them from a distance! It’ll be good business if you sell it to teachers at school! Just fire one of these bad boys right from the table! That’s what you were thinking, right? That’s what this is? A prototype? Huh? Am I beta-testing it for you?"
"N-no, sir!"
"Tsk. Alright, I’m giving you one more chance. Make a proper one."
"Uh… that is…"
"What?"
"Technically… this crossbow can shoot with enough power to pierce the target but only within ten paces. Any further, and the bolts go all over the place."
"So, you can’t do it?"
"No, sir! I can… but I need better materials."
"What kind of materials? Just use what we’ve got."
"For better range, I need more tension in the bowstring. That means I need a string made from tightly twisted tendons."
"Then use that."
"Well… it’s expensive. Regular animal tendons aren’t enough. Since this crossbow is so compact, I’d need troll tendons to get proper range."
"…How much?"
"A small piece of troll tendon costs over 200 Mega—and to make a bowstring, I’d need at least 3,000 Mega…"
"Tch. Forget it. We’ll just play around with this thing. Good effort. Go back to your post."
"…Yes, sir. Understood."
At the mention of additional costs, Clyden immediately lost interest and decided to just play around with the crossbow as it was.
Hunty sighed in relief and said to Clyden, who was about to head back into the barracks.
"Oh! And one more thing, sir."
"What?"
"If you use crossbow bolts instead of longbow arrows, your range will improve a bit."
"You little, why the hell are you telling me this just now?!"
Clyden grabbed Hunty again and berated him for another ten minutes before letting.
Hunty muttered, "I was trying to tell you earlier..."
Meanwhile, Clyden returned to the barracks, twirling an arrow like a switch as he idly mused.
"Maybe I should try making baby bolts or something? I’ve read about them, but I have no clue how to make them..."
As he grumbled to himself, he suddenly noticed Eres’s expression had stiffened.
"What's with that face? You look like you just shit your pants."
"…How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"Baby bolts are classified as an ultra-secret weapon, restricted to a select few in the Imperial Special Forces."
"Oh? So baby bolts are actually real, huh?"
"Platoon leader! That information is top secret! If Intelligence finds out you know about this, they won’t let you off the hook!"
Clyden clicked his tongue.
“By the way, what on earth did this guy come across? Someone from the military? No! It might not be one or two people.”
"What do you mean by that?"
Eres asked, confused by Clyden’s sudden muttering.
Clyden simply shook his head.
"Doesn't matter. Wait a second. If this is so classified, how the hell do you know about it?"
At that, Eres looked visibly flustered, something Clyden had rarely seen from him.
Squinting in suspicion, Clyden eyed him carefully.
"Wait a minute... Is this guy some hidden character? Some tragic backstory or secret identity? Nah, no way…"
But Clyden's hunch was spot on.
Clyden’s daily routine hadn’t changed much.
The only difference was that he now had a new way to pass the time, lazily messing around with his crossbow.
Lying on his cot, he absentmindedly fired bolts at the opposite wall, reloaded, and fired again.
This continued until he eventually ran out of bolts.
With an annoyed groan, he turned to Eres.
"Hey, go fetch Hunty."
"Understood."
He came in shortly after.
Hunty entered the room, his face filled with apprehension.
"S-Sir! You called for me?"
He was already dreading whatever ridiculous task Clyden might assign him next.
Clyden held up the crossbow.
"This is annoying."
"…Excuse me?"
"Pulling the bowstring. It’s annoying."
"…Sir, that's how bows work. You have to pull the string to shoot."
"Yeah, but it’s still annoying. Make it so it reloads automatically."
At those words, Hunty's face twisted in despair as he protested.
"That’s impossible! I’m not some master crossbow craftsman! And an auto-reloading crossbow? That’s ridiculous!"
"Oh, come on. It’s not impossible. Just make one. Or do you not want to?"
"This isn’t about wanting to or not!"
As Clyden and Hunty bickered back and forth, the door suddenly burst open, and Rex stumbled in, panting.
"Platoon leader!"
"Now what? Why are you making a fuss?"
"It’s an emergency!"
"What kind of emergency?"
"Duke Azelus is on his way here!"
"And who the hell is that supposed to be?"
The room went dead silent.
Everyone turned to Clyden with dumbfounded expressions.
"You’re joking… You really don’t know who Duke Azelus is?"
"The Lord of the South, the Shield of the South, the head of the Iron House, the legendary general who single-handedly repelled the massive orc invasion with just the Southern Army, the Empire’s very own Swordmaster, and you’re asking who he is?!"
"Ugh, why would I care about some crusty old dude? If he were a beautiful lady, maybe I’d be interested."
The others were too stunned to even respond.
"Platoon leader… I think you’re the only person in existence who talks about Duke Azelus like that."
"Alright, but why’s he coming here? Even if he is, shouldn’t he be using the main gate where all the nobles come and go? "
"A messenger just arrived that he’s passing through here so prepare to welcome him…”
"Why would he bother coming this way instead of using the damn noble’s gate?"
"I… wouldn’t know, sir. But he’ll be here soon, so we need to get ready."
"Ugh, damn it! What’s his rank?"
"As the Supreme Commander of the Southern Army, he holds the rank of General."
"A four-star, huh? Hell, I’m not even worth a single star."
Clyden dragged himself outside, grumbling the whole way.
Word had already spread like wildfire, and a massive crowd had gathered around the gates to catch a glimpse of Azelus.
“Damn, this is why I hate heroes. Once they move, only the people below suffer.”
"Sir! People can hear you!"
"Yeah? Let ‘em!"
Clyden began organizing his men to maintain order and control the swelling crowd.
As they worked, Eres quietly approached and spoke in a low voice.
"Sir, there’s something I need to tell you."
"Hm? Shouldn’t you be in the command post?"
"…Duke Azelus is probably coming here because of me."
Clyden gave him a skeptical look.
"Did you eat something weird? Why the hell would a four-star general be looking for you?"
Eres Exhale slowly before speaking.
"My full name is Eres Hugh Iron."
"The hell?!"
Beside them, Rex nearly had a heart attack.
"Iron! As Duke Iron?!"
Clyden blinked.
"Wait… Duke Azelus has the same last name."
Eres nodded.
"He’s my half-brother."
Rex gasped dramatically.
"A direct descendant of the Iron House?! Holy shit!"
Rex and the surrounding squad members murmured among themselves while eyeing Eres.
"A direct descendant? That makes him nobility among nobles, doesn’t it?"
"If he’s from the duke’s family, even two ranks down, he’s at least a count, right? Holy shit! He’s count-level nobility?!"
"Wait… that means he outranks the platoon leader."
"So then… what happens to the platoon leader?"
"We’ve been making him do grunt work and chewing him out all this time. Are we screwed?"
Hearing their whispers, Clyden scowled.
“This brat, is this the duke’s brother? Why did you join as a guard?”
"…It was my choice."
"Like hell it was! You’re talking nonsense. Anyway, is that guy coming here because of you?”
"Yes."
"Heh, so I’ve been raising a pampered young master all along, huh?"
"Please stop calling me that!"
"Oho? Are you getting mad? What, you got connections to back you up now?"
"That’s not what I meant!"
"Oh-ho! So what, you gonna hit me? Go ahead! Try it! Let’s see how scary a noble brat can be!”
"……."
Even with Eres’ true lineage revealed, Clyden continued to tease him mercilessly.
A sudden eruption of cheers swept through the crowd.
The noise surged as people pushed closer to the gate.
"Whoa, whoa! Shit! Hey! Everyone, get your asses out here and hold the crowd back!"
At Clyden’s order, the platoon members tried their best to stop the people who were trying to approach the gate.
"Platoon Leader! Duke Azelus is here! Shouldn’t we go greet him?"
"Hell, what good’s looking at a four-star general gonna do me? Hey, Eres!"
"Corporal Eres, reporting!"
"If he came for you, you go meet him."
"What? But—"
"Shut it! Just hear him out and tell him to piss off as fast as possible!"
The squad gasped at Clyden’s crass tone, and the gathered onlookers murmured in hushed disbelief.
"As expected of the Mad Dog of the South Gate. The guy fears nothing."
"He's beyond reckless. What the hell gives him that confidence?"
Ignoring the murmurs, Clyden turned his gaze toward the approaching group.
Leading the procession was a man astride a pristine white horse, his presence commanding as he dismounted upon spotting Eres.
As the two began talking, Clyden’s eyes drifted to the figures flanking Azelus.
Two stunning women who stood out even in the highborn company.
"Oi, Rex. Who are those two?"
"Huh? Ah, that would be Lady Lydis Hugh Iron, known as the Flower of the South, and Alicia von Marinus, Baroness and widely regarded as the Empire’s greatest female knight."
"Goddamn, he’s got it all. Two beauties hanging off him. Lucky bastard."
Rex nearly choked on his own breath and frantically tried to silence Clyden.
"Platoon Leader! Are you insane?! You can’t just say that!"
"What? Relax. It’s not like they can hear me from this far away."
"You don’t get it! Swordmasters aren’t like normal people! They can hear a needle drop from a mile away!"
Whether Rex was right or not, Azelus’s gaze had definitely shifted toward Clyden, a strange expression on his face.
Arms crossed, Clyden smirked and jutted his chin up.
"Heh! Well, guess what? I’m not normal either!"
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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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