Chapter 23: A New Plot is Hatched (1/2)
A few days had passed without any major occurrence. Berengar had found himself getting dreadfully bored as his work schedule appeared to have come to a halt. Due to the trustworthy and competent people he had placed in implementing his innovations, he had recently acquired an asinine amount of free time. If Adela were still within the confines of his family's territory, then he would currently be enjoying her company. Unfortunately, she would not return to Kufstein for a few weeks. As such, Berengar recently found himself training in the art of swordsmanship with his personal retainer Eckhard. The two men were currently sparring with a pair of wooden arming swords. In which Eckhard was thoroughly beating the young lord who had never picked up a sword until a few days ago.
Swordsmanship was an art that took many years to master, and unlike the flintlock musket required a great deal of physical strength, stamina, and finesse to become adequate. Despite its age coming to an end, Berengar still felt it a necessity to learn how to properly wield a sword. After all, as an officer leading the army that he was creating it was only proper for him to wield a sword and pistol. Though the more he trained in the sword, the more he realized he would probably break the tradition from his old world and just use a musket.
At the moment Berengar found himself parrying the oncoming wooden sword currently wielded by Eckhard before unleashing a counterattack of his own. However, just when he was about to land his strike, Eckhard dodged in the nick of time and followed up with a thrust of his own pointing the blade directly at Berengar's neck. Seeing that all was lost Berengar fully surrendered to his instructor
”I yield.”
With that said The middle-aged man retracted his sword with a smile on his face and placed it back with the others.
”You're a quick learner, and you have the potential to become a competent swordsman. It's just a shame that its era will be coming to an end so soon.”
Berengar placed his sword alongside Eckhard's as he sighed heavily in response to the Knight's words.
”The true shame is that I was incapable of training with the sword until now.”
The middle-aged knight nodded in agreement to Berengar's statement; he had become aware of the difficulties Berengar faced throughout his years, particularly about his health. It was a miracle that he overcame such an illness and became the man he is today. This transformation of body and mind is just another part of Berengar's character, which inspired Eckhard to do his best every day.
After placing away the swords and stripping out of the training gear they currently equipped, the two men walked together back to the fields, which were being used as a training ground for the militia. The men who comprised the militia's ranks had come a long way in a short amount of time, but their training was still incomplete. It would take close to 90 days in total for the militia to be competent enough to act as a proper force; after all these men were learning how to use firearms for the first time in their lives.
Currently, the unit was split up into four infantry companies with 80 men in each. There was also an Artillery battery trained alongside the infantry, though it was not a full-sized battery. At this point, the battery had three 12 pounder cannons and roughly 40 personnel. It was approximately 1/3 the size of a proper artillery battery. Nevertheless, the numbers of the militia grew with each passing day, and a fourth gun was on the way. What he desired at a bare minimum was a small infantry battalion of 400 soldiers and a full-sized artillery battery. So at the very least, 520 men in his militia and 8 cannons. This was something that was actually quite feasible with his current progress. After all, these were not professional soldiers who would have to give up their day jobs.
The quota Berengar had set himself for a bare-bones battalion would soon be met, the most difficult part was the manufacture of the cannons; those would take time. Still, it was not as if the war would break out overnight. Though the King was in poor health, he was not in critical condition at the moment. Despite the fact that he could potentially croak at any moment, the likelihood of the old man dying before Berengar had reached his militia goals was slim.
After overseeing the training of the militia with Eckhard for the afternoon, Berengar returned to the Castle where unbeknownst to him, he found himself being stalked in the shadows. As he passed through the winding corridor of the castle, his pursuer finally revealed herself from the darkness. It was none other than Linde who had a worried expression on her face as she embraced Berengar from behind.
Not expecting such a thing to occur, Berengar instinctively struggled out of the grasp before realizing who had attacked him. Afterward, he calmed down and accepted her tight embrace. Linde whispered in his ear so low that only they could hear the words.
”Your brother is going to make another attempt on your life soon.”
Immediately Berengar's expression sank; it was a good thing he had properly trained this girl; here he was walking around carelessly expecting himself to be safe from Lambert's schemes, and yet the boy had already plotted his death. He was immediately intrigued by the information she provided him.
”How does he plan to do it?”