The next day, Leo stood inside of the training field, before him stood the baron's 50 guards who stood any old how and were having conversations while pointing at him with mocking expressions
This honestly confused him, did they forget that he was a Bronze Knight? Did they forget that they had lost to young girls?
Glancing to Hilda was who standing beside him " are they idiots? " asked Leo
Though he was speaking to Hilda, his voice was anything but soft, not to mention that everyone here had strong senses
Hearing his words, the guards looked at him angrily, some of them placing their arms on their swords as if they would attack him the next second
" what? " asked Leo as if he found their reactions strange " am I wrong? "
" of course you're wrong, what could a pleb like you understand about how noble our existences are. You think you're something because you're a bronze knight, that was achieved with nothing but good luck " said a guard with a scoff as he spit on the ground
" you're so noble you lost to a bunch of prepubescent girls " replied Leo sarcastically as he pointed to the girls who were completing their morning training
" which of those girls couldn't replace you trash and do a much better job or did you forget that you couldn't beat any of them " said Leo as he pointed at Jason who was standing in the crowd who looked back at him angrily
" what, did you want a rematch? That could be arranged, Hilda got get Rebecca, these fine gentlemen seem to want a rematch " said Leo taking in their angry expressions
" anyone who wants a rematch step forward, here's your opportunity to prove yourself "
Hearing his words all the guards looked at each other, their expressions turning uglier but no one took a step forward. They were disdainful of Leo and his group but they couldn't deny their strengths
Some of them had strength no better than Jason so didn't think they could do better. Those that did simply had no intention of embarrassing themselves if they couldn't beat the girls so they stayed quiet
Seeing this Leo's expression grew even more sarcastic
" what no takers? That's disappointing "
" after this, I may recommend that the Lord gets rid of you and trains a group a girls, they might actually do something worth a damn " said Leo as he turned to Hilda ignoring the guards reactions
" I think that's a good idea, I'll help you relay the message " said Hilda calmly but her words chilled the hearts of the guards
They didn't take Leo's words seriously, but Hilda had that kind of power so they fell silent
After getting everything out of his system, Leo's expression returned to calm as he looked at the guards in front of him
" quite frankly, I don't give a flying fuck what any of you think about me or how I do things " said Leo, glancing at each of the guards before he continued
" you're here to train as ordered by our lord, I'm here to train you as requested by my lord. Keep your complaints to yourself, matter of fact, tell them to your mothers as they might actually listen "
" the faster you understand what I said, the better. You're to do nothing besides what i tell you for the next 5 months, got it? " asked Leo only to be met with silence
Seeing this, Leo drew his sword and slashed out, letting out a ki slash which flew right over the guards heads as they tried to duck out of the way
The ki slash flew for several feet before disapating
" when I ask you something, you reply Yes Sir. Got it? not going to explain myself again " said Leo his expression growing colder as he looked at the frightened guards who stood back up tremblingly
" yes....sir "
" I didn't hear you " said Leo as he raised his sword once again
" YES SIR "
Seeing this, Leo nodded his head as he pointed towards the track.
" 1 lap is 1 km, your goal for today is 20 laps. If you don't finish, you don't eat. Go now "
After his words fell, the guards made their way unto the track and ran as if they were being chased
" they're gone, you can stop pretending now " said Hilda as she pushed Leo causing him to stumble and lose his balance only for her to grab him
" it worked didn't it " replied Leo, his face pale as sweat dripped down his cheek
" it did, I honestly didn't think you had it in you " replied Hilda as she helped him stand so the guards didn't notice
" they're grown men, I can't use the same tactics that I used for Rebecca and the others. There fear will eventually wear off and they'll be back to their arrogant selves " said Leo as he tried to refill his ki seed
" I'll probably have to suppress them multiple times in the next 5 months. They may fear my strength for the time being but to them I'll always be a " pleb " " explained Leo
Hearing his words, Hilda fell silent as she turned her attention to the guards who were running at full speed, doing their own thing then glanced at Rebecca and the others who paced themselves and ran as a group
" you have your work cut out for you " said Hilda as she shuck her head " have you considered how you'll train them? "
" simple really. Long distance running in the morning, followed by Archery training, followed by coordination training, then their day will finish with sword training " replied Leo
" no weight lifting or calisthenics? " asked Hilda, finding it strange that he didn't mention anything regarding muscles only to receive a blank stare which made her embarrassed as she understood what he meant
" I'm going to the village later " said Leo, changing the subject
" what for? " Asked Hilda in confusion as Leo hadn't been to the village in months as there was no need
" I'm tired of eating potatoes and fish. If I have to eat another potato, I'll probably kill myself " said Leo jokingly, he had taught Hilda several ways of preparing them but he had gotten sick of eating the same thing every single day
" I'm going to sell a few tons of fish and buy different seeds and see if I can get a few livestock " explained Leo
" I can understand why you want the seeds but what about livestock? " asked Hilda, not following his train of thought
" we can't upgrade fish because we can't control where they go or who catches them. So I want to purchase my own livestock to see if I can upgrade them which would improve the quality of meat and such we get from them "
" you intend to practice those skills " asked Hilda as she looked at Leo seriously, who nodded his head to her question
" in 5 months the first stage of this competition ends, we've already been dragged into it so instead of counting on stuff like armor or weapons, I'd rather strengthen our bodies and we need more blood food to do that " explained Leo as he thought of the bone refining and skin refining skills
He intended to focus of them in the next couple months especially when he thought back to the barons words yesterday
***
" I've made decent progress with the skills, I'll be able to complete them in a few days " said Leo as he sat down and looked at the Baron across from him who was focused on the papers in his hand
" that's nice " replied the Baron perfunctory not bothering to raise his head. Seeing his reaction Leo fell silent
An hour later, the Baron placed down the papers and let out a deep breath as he raised his head, freezing as he found Leo sitting in front of him
" you're still here " exclaimed the Baron, only to cough and change the subject when he saw Leo's strange gaze
" your maid said you had an urgent matter " said Leo, not bothering to care about the Barons words and asked about what was bothering him
Hearing his words, the Baron fell silent for a few seconds before he spoke.
" My father separated this competition into three parts. The first part is to see who was able to develop their territory the best in 1 year. The criteria is based on the money made and by the strength of the territories guards " explained the Baron as he looked at Leo before throwing him a paper
Leo looked at the paper and found that it recorded the amount of money made in the territory for the year so far. 150 gold gunar. Not knowing what he meant, he looked at the Baron for an explanation
Seeing his inquiry the Baron spoke " my older brothers territory can make 1000 gold gunar a month "
Hearing his words, Leo suddenly understood why he looked so stressed
" even if my oldest brother doesn't make as much, he can still manage 100 gold gunar a month. So I have little chance of winnin g that part of the competition "
" as for the second part, you've seen the state of my guards. My oldest brother's guards consist of 300 people. 80 of which are Bronze Knights, the remainder are high level Apprentice Knights. My older brother has 100 people in his guard, 10 of which are Bronze Knights, 90 Apprentice Knights"
" I have 50 guards, 1 Bronze Knight, 49 Apprentice Knights " said the Baron calmly but Leo could hear the tremor in his words
" based on what I just said, how do you think I can improve my chances at winning this competition and not getting eliminated in the first round "
Hearing his words, Leo fell silent, not knowing how to answer him