Time flies; a month has passed since that night's hundred-person team battle.
Over the course of the month, eleven more hundred-man combat exercises were held. Except for Yun Zhe's two units, all the other knightly units fell to Arthas. Arthas's hundred-man unit grew increasingly formidable with each battle, and in the final engagements, the enemy couldn't even last half an hour – a near-total rout. However, the other armies didn't come away empty-handed either. Through these dozen or so exercises, they learned from each other, making significant progress in combat skills and command coordination. The newly recruited refugee troops also gained battlefield experience, greatly aiding their rapid improvement in combat effectiveness and battlefield adaptation.
Another benefit of this confrontation is that the comparison and reference between the 100-man teams further promotes the competitive spirit in the troops, and the competition among them also improves the morale of the soldiers.
Meanwhile, tender shoots about a foot long finally sprouted on the land of the refugees. The corn, on which much hope had been placed, grew vigorously, while soybeans, peanuts, and even cabbage showed good growth. This finally allowed the butler Locke, who had been sighing about the family's meager income, to breathe a sigh of relief, and his gaze towards Yun Zhe softened.
Meanwhile, Yun Zhe's training finally yielded significant results. His two hundred-man squads had expanded to sixty men each. Both squads were now comparable to the army of Yun Zhe's previous life in terms of drill and housekeeping. As for individual combat capabilities, the strength training was finally showing results. Although they hadn't engaged in combat with other soldiers, Yun Zhe had no doubt that his soldiers' physical abilities were inferior to those of soldiers in other hundred-man squads.
The combined military formation that Yun Zhe had conceived that night was finally finalized. Each formation consisted of twenty soldiers, including four spearmen, four crossbowmen, four soldiers carrying only large shields, and the remaining eight soldiers carrying small shields and longswords.
The formation was simple: large shields blocked the way at the front, followed by two rows of soldiers with smaller shields. Spearmen and crossbowmen surrounded the center, providing ranged attacks—their primary means of attack. The remaining soldiers were mainly responsible for ensuring the safety of these eight men and eliminating any approaching enemies.
Yun Zhe specially acquired more than a dozen crossbows, so that the archers had both bows and crossbows, maximizing their lethality and kill radius, whether they were shooting horizontally with crossbows at close range or launching projectiles with bows at long range.
However, like the strength of the soldiers, this strange formation has yet to be tested in combat and actual battle.
Fortunately, the training during this period has raised the execution capabilities of Yunzhe soldiers to a level that is beyond their time. Yunzhe's training focus has also shifted from tactical and technical guidance to more abstract concepts such as military ideology and battlefield awareness.
On this day at the end of July, a huge piece of news came: Jialai City had begun to recruit ranger mercenaries with high rewards.
The news came from several passing wandering knights.
There's not much unclaimed land or significant commercial activity near Pas City, so few rangers and mercenaries come here. However, in recent days, there have been a steady stream of rangers and mercenaries heading towards Garai from the east. Initially, no one paid much attention, until today when a ranger met an acquaintance named Lorraine, and everyone learned of the Garai lord's new movements.
"Looks like your methods have pushed my brother to his limit," Andrew said to Yun Zhe, starting with this sentence.
Yun Zhe didn't seem to care. "You've suddenly gained several thousand more people, and you seem like you're going to stay for a long time. Who wouldn't be worried?"
“But… Sind…” Andrew hesitated, unsure how to begin.
"How many troops do we have?" Yun Zhe suddenly asked.
Andrew was taken aback. He had intended to advise Yun Zhe on how not to push his younger brother too far, lest he become desperate and act rashly. He hadn't expected Yun Zhe to immediately ask about the size of the army—was this a prelude to war?
But then Andrew thought again, realizing that this would completely contradict the plan that Dongwu and Yunzhe had initially discussed. With that thought, Andrew said with relief, "We have about fourteen hundred-man teams now. Judging from the current situation, we should be able to organize another three to five hundred-man teams by October without any problem."
"Fourteen hundred-man squads are enough. Having too many is pointless; it'll only cause problems when it comes to downsizing," Yun Zhe said sincerely. "The capital has about ten hundred-man squads, and we have fourteen here. The Ars family can only muster ten more at most. What about the Terra family? How much strength do you think they have?"
“The Tra family has about ten members, and I don’t think he’ll expand his army,” Andrew replied after a moment’s thought.
"Let's say ten. If we take them down one by one, we actually have a good chance. Right now, we just need to prepare more supplies and wait for them to make mistakes."
Andrew paused, realizing this didn't seem to mention his brother. "What about my brother...?"
“Lord Andrew, you haven’t thought this through. The stronger we become, the more obedient your brother will be. After all, he’s an opportunist, and he’ll definitely side with the strong.”
Andrew's eyes narrowed slightly; he truly hadn't expected this. He had been considering his relationship with his brother based on the past, not the present. Now it seemed the balance of power between them had fundamentally changed.
"Everyone is very realistic. When you start to become stronger, they all want to kill you. But once you really become strong, they will depend on you and try to please you. To put it bluntly, that's the kind of relationship you have with your brother."
Andrew nodded slightly. The words were harsh, but miraculously, he listened without getting angry. Even he found this somewhat strange.
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