It was a new army of cadets marching on rugged mountain paths, with more than 100 men on horseback and others on foot.

Two flags fluttered at the front of the procession, a black flag with a white night owl representing the Duchy of Valstad, and the other flag depicted a saber in a booklet, with the words "New Army Training Camp" embroidered with gold thread underneath.

The contingent consisted of more than 500 people, and Simon Gallieni, president of the Valstad National Military Academy, wore the rank of lieutenant colonel and personally served as the commander of the new army's training battalion, while the other officer positions were filled by his selected outstanding students, and the soldiers under his command were all recruits who had not fought in battle.

Despite their lack of experience, the young man's desire for the military boosted their morale, and everyone was eager to prove their bravery in the action.

The energetic recruits, who have put on their regular uniforms and wear their ranks on their shoulders, are excited about everything that the army has to offer, after all, in this day and age, nothing attracts young people more than ornate uniforms and glorious military exploits.

The young officers also received the corresponding ranks, but only for this operation, they have not yet been recognized, they are still in the cadet officer ranking, and they still need to be trained in blood and fire.

The Duke's daughter, Princess Salantos Midnet, followed closely behind Lieutenant Colonel Simon, looking like a heroic warrior.

She rode a well-proportioned black horse, wore a cylindrical bearskin hat decorated with peacock tail feathers, wore the red cavalry coat of a hussar officer, and two rows of gold hard rope buckles stacked parallel like ribs, and wore the rank of major with blue trim and silver knots without gold beans on her shoulders.

This princess won the highest honor of being the first in the school in terms of overall results, so she rightfully assumed the position of deputy battalion commander. Because of her superb riding skills and her invincibility in the college's polo game, Lieutenant Colonel Simon made her the commander of the cavalry, responsible for commanding the battalion's only cavalry company.

Dali Einfurt was also a protégé of Dean Simon, having attained the rank of captain, whose epaulettes were characterized by red trim and two silver beans, and he wore a plain black lieutenant's uniform with a three-cornered hat decorated with the night owl insignia.

The training battalion of the new army, which has more than 500 men, has five combat companies, namely a hussar company, a grenadier company, a light infantry company, and two private companies.

Lieutenant Colonel Simon placed the light infantry company under the command of Captain Dalí, a company of more than 100 men composed of relatively thin and agile soldiers, who were trained to adapt to loose formations, were good at guerrilla harassment of the enemy, and were very afraid of close-range salvos and white-knuckle combat, which required the officers commanding the light infantry to be flexible and creative.

Instead of riding a horse, Dalí walked on foot with his soldiers, greeting his men and even giving up his horse to a soldier with a worn foot to ride, and chatting with them about their hometowns.

The recruits of the Light Infantry Company were very close to the approachable captain, and Simon, sensing the relaxed and cheerful atmosphere of the Light Infantry Company, held an impromptu meeting with the officers during a break in the battalion, praised Dali's management methods by name, and asked several other lieutenants to follow suit.

The princess smiled at him, and Dali was a little embarrassed in the face of the praise, he felt that he was just doing his duty and doing his own thing.

After several days of marching, the Recruits arrived in a small town in the valley where they were headed, and the town and several nearby villages were being attacked by rebels and bandits, and the mission of the Recruits was to defend the civilians of the Principality and find and exterminate the bandits hiding in the mountains.

Dalí knew the reason for this phenomenon, and the war between the Duchy of Valstad and the noble alliance produced many deserters, and these deserters knew that if they returned to their hometown, they would definitely not end well, so they were afraid to do so, and simply started killing people on the spot.

These deserters, in collusion with the local ruffians, lived in hidden places in mountain streams, ransacked nearby towns and villages, and did many inhumane things.

As the temptation of profit increased, they became more and more numerous, more and more organized, and better equipped, so that the local police and gendarmes were completely unable to fight them, and were even pursued and killed by these bandits, which had grown stronger.

Lord Lord East Midknight spoke at the meeting himself, and he angrily banged on the table, vowing to eradicate the rampant bandits that roamed the valley without mercy and to put them to death.

In the face of the Duke's anger, the Lord Chancellor wisely issued a special decree declaring that the deserters and bandits were sentenced to death, completely removing the legal obstacles to the suppression of the bandits.

Simon found that this was a good opportunity to train his students, and he took the initiative to take over this tricky task of suppressing bandits, so this new army training camp was born.

In order not to disturb the civilians in the town, the battalion commander Simon ordered the whole army to camp on a high ground outside the town, and the princess sent twenty hussars as scouts to search the mountains for the location of the bandits.

On the first night of camping, Dalí lay in his improvised tent, his cloak was his marching bed, and his military uniform was his quilt, and he wrote a short letter by the faint candlelight:

"To my dear sister Janen Winstead

I have arrived at my destination safely, and rest assured that our army is in full force and will completely destroy those evildoers. When I officially obtain the status of an officer, the ownership of the apartment will always belong to us, and then my pension will make us live comfortably, look forward to it! The future will be very bright! Remember to take care of yourself.

- Love your brother Dali Einfurt

Written in Nanshan Town, September 1, 1702"

After handing over the letter to the town's post office, Dalí did not return to his tent to rest, he had too many things on his mind: revenge, love, honor, duty, blue blood, and the uneasy wild princess ......, and the changes of the past two years or so had made it difficult for him to sleep, and he needed a secluded place, a place with beautiful scenery where he could enjoy a moment of peace.

Dali walked to the wharf on the shore of the lake outside the town, where the fishermen had already reeled in their nets, and sat alone on a log support, laboriously taking off his heavy cowhide boots and sweat-smelling stockings, and submerging his tired feet in the water, and throwing the pebbles in his hands into the distance, ripples on the calm surface of the lake in the moonlight.

"Something?" Lieutenant Colonel Simon walked up to him, he was a little shaky, he was full of alcohol, he also took off his boots and relaxed.

Dali nodded slightly: "Yes, Lord Simon, I have experienced more things in the past two years than others have in their lifetimes, and I am obviously on the right track, but I am still a little confused inexplicably." ”

Simon pulled out his pipe and lit the tobacco leaves with a flintlock gun he carried with him:

"You are a strong young man, face all this, don't try to run away and take back everything that is rightfully yours."

"My lord, I'm not sure if I'm good enough to be a good soldier, you know, I've always been a nerd, cowardly and slow, and my poor training results confirm this, and I've been thinking that if I die, my brother William will definitely do better than me."

Lieutenant Colonel Simon took a deep puff of his cigarette holder and exhaled white smoke:

"Don't be presumptuous, young man, I see your leadership talents, I have a special feeling that you will be able to achieve far more than I can in the future."

"You are a well-known military strategist in the whole continent of Eurasias, I have read all your writings, I can't ......"

Lieutenant Colonel Simon interrupted him:

"Dalí, this is not to comfort you, I am telling the truth, I myself have never had such an amazing memory and creativity as you when I was young, I can't imagine it...... What a hero you will become, and you will show a talent far greater than I myself and any of my students. ”

"Could it be...... And that includes her? ”

"She?"

"Your Majesty, Princess."

"Oh yes, I dare say, you will be a greater strategist than Her Majesty the Princess, but ......"

Simon looked at the lake and sighed, and said:

"But you can never be a leader and warrior like her, she is the chosen one, far more powerful and agile than ordinary people...... the Emperor bloodline of House Midknight, the divine line, the blue blood, her mother......

Yes! Damn, sorry...... I must have drunk too much, how can I talk nonsense! In short, she is our princess Her Majesty, and we, as vassals, must protect her, Dali, and I can't say more. ”

Dali cautiously said, "I understand, my lord, I won't ask any more. ”

Simon Gallieni was half-awake from his wine, put on his boots, and walked in the direction of the barracks, when suddenly he turned his head and said:

"In the future battles, you will see the abilities of Her Majesty the Princess."

With that, he smoked his pipe and walked away quickly.

Only the suspicious Dali was left sitting by the lake,

The breeze swept through the surrounding reeds, rustling with the chirping of insects,

What a quiet night.