Chapter Seventeen: On Track

"You are warriors! You are the strength of the kingdom! Behind you stands your homeland—your family and friends..." Mo Fangyuan’s frustration with these new recruits was palpable.

They were all human, so why was Aria so obedient, so capable, so fearless in slaying monsters, while these others couldn’t even manage to stand in two straight lines, let alone fight? As for slaying monsters? They would likely just serve themselves up as fodder.

"You are the worst group I’ve ever led!"

Covering his face with a hand, Mo Fangyuan was forced to go back to the basics, teaching these eleven newcomers, step by step, how to stand properly, how to form lines, how to respond to commands...

And so, a week passed.

"I… don’t have it easy..." With an air of deep weariness, Mo Fangyuan gazed at his ever-shifting recruits.

Thanks to his tireless training, the group finally showed a glimmer of progress. Their true abilities aside, at least their outward bearing was passable. Compared to a week ago, the change was remarkable—their very demeanor was transformed. Where before they looked haggard and exuded a spirit of flight, now their eyes were resolute, their movements sharp and forceful. At a glance, they were unrecognizable from their former selves, their appearance wholly renewed.

Of course, much of this was Mo Fangyuan’s own wishful thinking.

Still, having trained them for a week, Mo Fangyuan was satisfied and decided it was time to start the next phase. Surely, this was what they had been waiting for.

"Don’t get too excited. Soon enough, the time will come..."

The setting sun cast its golden rays over Mo Fangyuan’s unremarkable face. The next training ground for the recruits would be the fields at night, where they would face real monsters.

"After so much practice, it’s time to make a contribution to the kingdom."

In the span of just a week, the influx of immigrants had melded seamlessly with the kingdom’s original residents, bringing harmony and joy. The increased workforce eased pressure on every trade, and the output of wood, grain, and stone rose with more hands to labor. Confidence ran high among the people of the Block Kingdom, and the nation flourished.

Yet new problems and crises emerged.

Metal was being consumed in ever greater quantities, and the mine within the kingdom was nearly exhausted. Reclaiming the lost underground mining lands had become an urgent priority. The growing population meant more monsters appearing within the kingdom’s borders, a threat that, if not addressed, would bring endless trouble. Housing, resource allocation, and a host of new challenges now confronted Mo Fangyuan.

If not managed well, these issues would become stumbling blocks or insurmountable obstacles to the Block Kingdom’s future.

"How can just two hundred people be so troublesome..." Mo Fangyuan wailed.

"If only I had a stunning, brilliant, supremely competent minister—a beauty who could advise on state affairs and uphold the core values of the realm!"

With this thought, he glanced at Aria and sighed.

"Too young! Not fierce enough!"

Aria was one of the most formidable fighters among the kingdom’s warriors, and quick to learn. Thus, Mo Fangyuan had made her captain of the Field Guard, in charge of the eleven field soldiers.

Hearing Mo Fangyuan speak of her, Aria blushed, a little ashamed.

"Clearly I’m not fierce enough. If I were, I could slay more monsters!" She didn’t know exactly what Mo Fangyuan meant by "fierce," but she resolved to become the fiercest she could be.

"I think I need an assistant..." Mo Fangyuan had no idea what was going on in Aria’s mind. He was just worried that soon he would truly be "brilliant"—in the sense of losing his wits.

"Ah, this is tough!"

Shaking off these odd thoughts, Mo Fangyuan turned back to the Field Guard and called out, "Today marks a new beginning for you. After all this training, this is your chance—your opportunity to contribute to the kingdom..."

With his spirited speech, the young members of the Field Guard were fired up, eager to rush into battle against the monsters.

"Groups of three, move in threes. The two extra will stay with me… Don’t be reckless—stay within the torch-lit areas as much as possible..."

Through their efforts, torches now covered about forty percent of the fields. In this world, torches were unlike those in games—they didn’t burn forever once set. Here, a torch would last about five hours unless affected by special circumstances, and then extinguish. But unlike the real world, there was no need to refill fuel—one only needed to strike it with flint to relight it. Relighting a single torch was easy, but with so many, it became a chore.

Mo Fangyuan’s formation of the Field Guard was partly in response to this very issue. One of their tasks was to relight torches that had gone out.

"The Block Kingdom is still poor and can’t produce redstone lamps or mine glowstone for permanent light sources, so we’ll have to make do with torches for now."

"Um… Your Majesty, why do we move in groups of three? Wouldn’t larger groups be safer?" Aria approached Mo Fangyuan, her voice soft and uncertain.

"Monsters lack intelligence but are numerous. Larger groups might be safer, but would also cause greater losses to the fields. Small teams can better protect the crops from monster attacks, and even if danger arises, teammates can cooperate and escape..."

Mo Fangyuan planned to cultivate Aria into a military leader—a general or commander—and so he taught her everything, holding nothing back.

After all, who wouldn’t want a beautiful general?

In all honesty, Mo Fangyuan found the idea quite pleasing.

"That’s a good question," he said, "but for now, focus on eating well, resting, and learning your trade. That’s what matters most."

He reached out and tousled the cowlick atop Aria’s head, feeling his mood lighten. He wondered what might happen if he pulled it off.

A chorus of zombie howls echoed from the horizon, signaling the coming of darkness.

"Begin!"

At Mo Fangyuan’s command, the Field Guard split into their groups, dispersing throughout the fields. From afar, they looked like fragile, powerless droplets of water.

Yet Mo Fangyuan believed that one day, they would become rivers and seas—the backbone of resistance against the monsters. By then, they would no longer be known as the Field Guard, but by a new name...

"The first one..."

This evening, Mo Fangyuan did not, as he once did, rush eagerly into the monsters’ midst for the hunt.

"Experience orbs are good, but nothing compares to the people."

He understood the kingdom still suffered a labor shortage; losing even one worker was a loss he could not bear.

So, for now, he gave up monster hunting to protect these rookies, whose combat awareness was still woefully inadequate. He expected such days would last several weeks, until the recruits matured enough for him to resume his own pursuits.

"So you’d better hurry up—every moment I spend here is time lost from hunting monsters..."

Time slipped by as he guided the Field Guard.

"Gather all members!"

The sky was tinged with red; dawn was near.

After a night spent “cultivating immortality,” Mo Fangyuan decided to finish the day’s battle by wiping out a medium-sized monster horde.

"Understood!"

After a night of fighting, Aria too was visibly exhausted.

Before long, the eleven members of the Field Guard stood in two neat rows before Mo Fangyuan. Fatigue was written on their faces, but their bearing was utterly changed—they had seen blood, slain monsters.

At last, they were true warriors.