Chapter 18: Chapter 18
The others arrived one after another shortly after. Karel got busy with his duties and no longer had time to chat, so Ron carried his wooden plate over to the southwestern edge of the training ground with Justin.
A group of prospective Knights was already doing morning exercises there, and what they were practicing appeared to be formations?
Sensing Ron’s confusion, Justin explained through a mouthful of half-chewed meat:
“They’re drilling battle formations. It’s a fundamental skill that every guard member must master. Lord has a saying: you can get by without knowing the Ice Breathing Technique, but you absolutely must know battle formations!”
“They actually rank battle formations above the Ice Breathing Technique?” Ron was genuinely surprised.
“Did your father never teach you this?” Justin looked at him with astonishment, but then seemed to realize something. He quickly swallowed the meat he was still chewing and said to Ron:
“Sorry, I didn’t consider that your father fell in battle five years ago. Even I only learned the reasons behind it within the last couple of years, when I was old enough to understand.”
“It’s fine. Could you tell me the reason?” Ron didn’t mind Justin’s unintentional oversight. Right now, he was far more interested in the reason the other boy had just mentioned.
This was very likely also the explanation for why the Sis Territory felt so incongruous to him.
“Of course.”
Rarely having met a peer who didn’t even know these basic facts, Justin immediately launched into an explanation. “There are evil spirits outside the territory. You know that, right?”
“I know that.”
“Actually, it’s not just evil spirits. Staying outside the territory for extended periods, even without encountering evil spirits or similar entities, will eventually drive you mad given enough time.”
“Why? Why does that happen?”
“I don’t know why either. I only know that order alone can counteract this trend toward chaos!” At this point, Justin turned his gaze toward the south, as though he could see the Aberrant Beasts surging ceaselessly from that direction.
“The evil spirits and Aberrant Beasts that the territory guard deals with are all sources of chaos. Non-Knights, without the protection of highly organized battle formations, will undergo instant aberration upon mere contact. Even for Knights, battle formations provide additional resistance against chaos.”
“So that’s how it is!” Ron murmured.
He should have realized sooner. What else besides an existential threat could turn a feudal lord of the classical era into a pioneering advocate of rule of law far ahead of his time?
And when it came to threats, what could be greater than the world itself breaking down?
No wonder the entire Sis Territory emphasized order in everything. This order harbored the very method for resisting chaos, the very foundation for surviving in this extremely dangerous world.
In a single instant, many things clicked into place for Ron.
He even wondered whether the 【Pollution Secret Patterns】 appearing on his Light Orb’s surface were a direct manifestation of this world’s chaotic attribute.
Unfortunately, his Light Orb true form couldn’t examine other people’s physical conditions. Otherwise, he would absolutely give the others a checkup to see whether they also carried contamination.
However, judging from the contamination he had observed on “Ron’s” body, which was continuously being generated at a negligible rate, the others most likely carried contamination as well!
And since Knights could venture outside the territory on their own, becoming a Knight likely increased one’s resistance to the world’s contamination.
In other words, as long as he turned his current vessel into a Knight, his Light Orb true form would gain an even more robust barrier.
His original six-month lifeline would be extended significantly!
This gave him yet another compelling reason to become a Knight as quickly as possible!
…
Suddenly, Ron thought of something and hurriedly asked Justin, “Have you studied battle formations at home?”
“I learned basic formations from my father, but that’s still a far cry from actual battle formations.”
Hearing this, Ron breathed a sigh of relief. If Justin had already learned battle formations, then Ron would be far behind in that regard.
As for formations, those weren’t a big deal. He had received basic formation training back home; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to integrate so quickly yesterday.
With that foundation, he probably wouldn’t fall too far behind the others when learning battle formations!
“By the way, Justin, do you know what training subjects we’ll have next?”
“Formation drill is definitely included. Even if you’ve learned it before, you still have to train. It’s not just about knowing it; what matters more is coordination with others, so that the momentum of order can be formed.”
“Mm, and what else? Will they teach the Ice Sword Art? When roughly?”
“Yes, the Ice Sword Art too! That should be taught today. Just as battle formations are important but the Ice Breathing Technique has to be inherited first, the Ice Sword Art allows us to grow stronger quickly. Order is critical, but growing stronger can’t be neglected either. After all, a battle formation made up of ordinary people might be able to ignore the chaotic aberration caused by Aberrant Beasts, but they still definitely wouldn’t be able to beat them.”
At the mention of the Ice Sword Art, Justin’s eyes also filled with eager anticipation. Just as Jason couldn’t teach Ron the Ice Sword Art, Justin’s father most likely couldn’t teach Justin either.
The current Ron now understood why Jason, despite already being a Knight, couldn’t bend the rules. These were territory regulations, and territory regulations embodied order.
As a Knight who had to do battle against the sources of chaos at any moment, Jason would naturally never willingly undermine the very momentum of order that provided him with additional protection.
It was like a soldier on the battlefield deliberately sabotaging his own bulletproof vest.
It was precisely because of such practical reasons that the rule of law in the Sis Territory had taken such deep root in people’s hearts. If the rule of law ceased, order would cease. And if order ceased, the contamination from the world itself might instantly swallow this territory whole.
Of course, that was the most extreme scenario. Perhaps it wouldn’t swallow them entirely, but it certainly wouldn’t be anything good.
At this thought, Ron’s initial unease about arriving in a strange new world gradually settled. As long as he kept the territory’s laws and regulations firmly in mind, he wouldn’t need to worry about anyone suddenly appearing to cause him trouble.
Because the very act of causing trouble was itself a breach of order, and in the Sis Territory, or perhaps even the entire Kingdom of Helios, order came first above all else.
Although Ron couldn’t yet determine for certain whether this order, born from external pressure, could endure and for how long, for the time being, he was extremely satisfied with the state of affairs.
…
After breakfast, Pierce, the territory’s Chief Instructor they had met yesterday, arrived at the training ground. Leading his squad of subordinate instructors, he rode in at a gallop from outside, clattering to a halt before the assembled recruits who had already formed up:
“Good morning, everyone.”
“Good morning, Instructor.” The group answered in unison.
“Good. Looks like you’ve all eaten your fill. Your task today is to learn the Ice Sword Art. You should all be well aware that if the Breathing Technique is the foundation of transcendence, then the corresponding training method is the indispensable road to transcendence. The Ice Sword Art is the training method that corresponds to the Ice Breathing Technique.”
With that, Pierce pointed at the weapon racks along the edge of the drill ground where everyone stood, and issued his command: “Everyone in the first row, step forward. Go to the weapon racks and distribute weapons to the comrades behind you.”