Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 292 - 285: Army Training

Chapter 292: Chapter 285: Army Training

In the following days, the Advance Team temporarily settled down in Melia’s camp. The military officers who had traveled with them were diligent as they conducted restructuring and training of Melia’s soldiers, starting immediately the day after the initial welcome feast was over.

After organizing and tallying the numbers, Melia had a total of 3,700 soldiers. Including the recruited cavalry and logistical personnel, there were roughly around 10,000 people in total.

Melia was clear about the principle that provisions should be ready before the troops mobilize. Having learned related theories, she knew very well she could only expand her territory by attacking rebel-occupied areas. It was not possible for her to compete for territories with the kingdom’s army.

The pressure from logistics would not be significant during small-scale attacks. However, as soon as the territory expands, the logistics capabilities would become a test for further offensives.

The training of the logistics team was not part of the training plan of the officers sent from the headquarters. Their main responsibility was to train the combat troops. They were reorganized into battalions, each with about 500 people.

The main problem faced by the officers was how to train these troops into elite soldiers. The people recruited by Melia were mostly farmers, not only from Masya but also from the territories of Otland across the river.

For these people, to be able to shoot was already impressive. Given their level of education, it was impossible for them to serve in highly technical roles within the military.

Fortunately, Melia managed to recruit some scholars who were mainly descendants of Blaiqi merchants. Despite being heavily discriminated against by the Aud people, they were more educated than the rest. Therefore, the officers gathered these individuals and formed the Blaiqi Artillery Battalion.

During the actual training, the officers found that farmers from Masya were skilled climbers, given the Mountainous landscape of their homeland. They also had intimate knowledge of the terrain of Masya. As a result, the officers decisively separated the Masyan and Otland people. The Otland people formed an infantry battalion, while the people of Masya formed a mountain infantry battalion.

As for the cavalry, given only the princess’s personal guards possess Rune Armor, the newly recruited cavalry could only be temporarily formed into scout troops. They would be reformed into an armored cavalry battalion when more Rune Armor could be procured.

After several days of reorganization, more than 3,700 people were formed into seven battalions. Two were border infantry battalions, made up of Otland farmers. Two were mountain infantry battalions, made up with the Masya farmers. One was a Blaiqi Artillery Battalion, composed mainly of Blaiqi people, and the rest were two reserve battalions.

Regarding armaments, the battalions were similar, but naturally had slight differences. The mountain infantry battalion was often utilized as a mobile force due to their ability to easily navigate Masya’s mountainous terrain. They were equipped with many lightweight automatic firearms, to ensure both sustained firepower and troop mobility.

Border infantry battalions were not skilled in mountain warfare. They mainly carried heavy firearms for steady combat and planned forward progression.

For the cavalry battalion, some people were selected by Melia for precision sniper training. They were primarily equipped with sniper-type Mosinka-Nagant rifles, used to eliminate the enemy’s command structure and high-value targets.

Once the classifications were confirmed, the quartermasters started specialized training, with the aim of turning these farmers into professional soldiers.

Aside from training soldiers, the officers also taught these drill techniques to Melia’s officials. After all, they could only stay here for two months, and according to Earth military protocols, this was not even enough time for these farmers to finish their basic training period.

So when these officers left, the training was to be continued by Melia’s military officers, while the headquarters would continuously provide the necessary ammunition for training.

In addition to training soldiers, the officers also helped Melia to establish an army structure to avoid corruption and the emergence of private soldiers. After all, the weapons and ammunition brought by the Headquarters from Earth were like gold and silver in the eyes of some people. How could they not be tempted?

Therefore, following the officers’ suggestions, Melia enacted strict army management regulations. In Melia’s opinion, anyone who privately sells army weapons and ammunition, regardless of the severity of the act, will be shot, to nip potential issues in the bud.

The members of the Advance Team and the accompanying military officers were accommodated in detached villas. This was Melia’s hospitality. Servants were assigned to attend to them daily, which was a novel experience for those who grew up on Earth. Especially for Luo’er, he felt an emptiness in his heart since all his daily work was taken over by the servants, always feeling like something was missing.

During their time in the camp, Tangmo was careful with Melia. He conducted constant surveillance, ensuring Luo’er had no chance to meet Melia privately.

However, Melia was too busy with army construction to bother with Luo’er. The young girl in her teens was swamped and often worked late into the night. At one point, Luo’er even wanted to help her, but considering the jealous Tangmo, he dismissed the idea.

During a rare respite, Luo’er, Cheng Ziang and Hu Daoke visited the training field. As Luo’er was not under Tangmo’s surveillance, he finally felt a hint of relaxation.

The training field was vast and perfect for training. It used to be a farmland before Melia requisitioned it for the camp and the training ground. As for whether Melia provided appropriate compensation, Luo’er did not know.

The training ground seemed large, but it was slightly overcrowded with more than 3,000 troops squeezed in. These soldiers carried out their training under the guidance of their instructors.

Some of the troops were also undergoing shooting training, as requested by Melia. She hoped to get her soldiers accustomed to their weapons sooner rather than later because she urgently wanted her limited number of troops to become battle-ready as quickly as possible.

The soldiers underwent strict formation training following Earth military methods. This was primarily to instill collective consciousness into these men, which was an important step in transforming the mob into a military unit.

""How long have we been stuck here?" Luo’er asked, stifling a yawn.

"Five days!" Cheng Ziang replied.

"Damn, we haven’t moved for five days. Isn’t headquarters going to blow their lids off?" Hu Daoke blurted out.

"There’s nothing we can do. After all, we wouldn’t know how to proceed if Melia doesn’t speak up." Cheng Ziang shrugged and added.

"Melia said we have to wait for the Marsyan army to arrive before we can move with them." Luo’er explained.

"Can’t we just move on our own?" Cheng Ziang couldn’t help but ask.

"Hmm, maybe I should ask again, see if I can gather any intelligence." Luo’er hesitated, then suggested.

"Go ask already. I don’t want to stay in this dump forever. It’s almost Autumn Equinox Month and it’s still so cold." Cheng Ziang complained.

"This place doesn’t have a higher latitude than Galan or Holy Heart City, does it? It isn’t that cold, is it?" Luo’er responded.

"Please, this is a continental climate and you can’t compare it to Galan or Holy Heart City." Cheng Ziang rolled his eyes and said.

"Boss, is Melia not speaking up because she wants to keep you?" Hu Daoke couldn’t resist inquiring.

"Obviously," Cheng Ziang sneered," Though she’s been too busy these past few days to have time to build a relationship with Luo’er."

"Keep it down, don’t let Moumou hear you." Luo’er looked around nervously and frowned.

What scared him the most was this pugnacious little woman, who needs considerable appeasement even with a hint of jealousy. It baffled Luo’er how he had suddenly become Tangmo’s boyfriend.

"Hey, there’s a fight over there!" Hu Daoke said, pointing at a crowd not far away with a look of interest.

Following his gesture, they noticed a crowd huddling around, vaguely spotting a military officer arguing with a knight of the royal guards.

"Oh no, there’s a conflict. Let’s go and check it out." Luo’er waved his hand and signaled everyone to jog over.

They elbow their way into the crowd and found themselves at the epicenter of the fight between the military officer and the knight. The officer, not fluent in Tasta, had to use a translator to express himself and seemed very agitated, his face flushed with emotion.

On the other hand, the knight, a Marsyan, had a heavy accent when speaking Tasta. When he spoke quickly, even the translator had trouble understanding him.

"What’s going on?" Luo’er stepped forward, intervening in the argument.

"Luo’er, glad you’re here," The officer brightened upon seeing Luo’er and pulled him by the arm, saying excitedly, "you can be our judge."

"Calm down, everyone. Let’s talk this out." Luo’er consoled both parties in their native tongues.

"Look here, these soldiers are practically illiterate, unable to remember even the simplest Arabic numbers from one to ten, how are they supposed to train? So, I thought I could teach them some literacy. But this guy here, he rudely destroyed the arrangement I made, saying that these lowly peasants had no right to learn, that it’s against the law. I don’t even know how to describe it, they desire capable soldiers, yet insist on keeping them ignorant, it’s not that easy to have advantages without incurring costs!" The officer, arms around Luo’er’s shoulder, angrily pointed at the knight and shouted.

Luo’er looked at the knight with a haughty expression and remarked seriously, "Sir Knight, the princess left the troops with them for training, it’s not your place to interfere, isn’t that going a bit too far?"

"Mind your manners when you speak, you filthy half-elf, who allowed you to talk to me like this?" The knight looked down upon him despisingly and arrogantly.

"What did you just call our boss?! Are you asking for a death wish?!" Hu Daoke immediately grew furious upon hearing the knight’s disparaging remarks and resorted to cursing at the knight.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.