After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

Iron Mountains

At this time, Hugo was standing cross-armed in front of a group of hundreds of guards of different appearances, currently doing their morning drills.

These were the guards assigned to the barracks, while the rest were guarding the territory, the battlements, or clearing outside.

Like in Alterra, they were divided into different teams to ensure that the place was guarded well while ensuring the sentinels themselves did not grow stagnant.

Some of the drills were generalized, while some would depend on their specializations.

For example, there were ones who preferred to use fists, so their drills were more in the line of continuous push-ups, squats, lunges, and so on.

The swordsmen—regardless of whether they had awakened the profession—were doing specially designed sword drills.

They focused on precision and controlled aggression, while ensuring that the guards could move fluidly. ”It’s all about forming muscle memory that can be used in the heat of battle.”

Things happened fast in battles, and in high-level ones, it was literally faster than the blink of an eye. In those cases where the brain could not react fast enough, they’d have to depend on the body.

There were drills like the basic strike drill, parry and riposte, and even footwork drills.

Of course, he also took into consideration the different fighting styles of different people.

Being swordsmen didn’t mean they had the same techniques. Some preferred to use more aggressive attacks, while some preferred to use the enemies’ force against them. There were also those who relied on brute force, and there were those who depended on their agility and footwork.

The drills for spears and halberds, on the other hand, trained precise control, timing, and coordination. They also thought of ways to maximize their weapons, all while covering for the weaknesses.

Shieldsmen had a lot of weight lifting that would allow them to use their shields quickly and on time. They were also taught how to detect incoming threats faster than others, to block them on time. And, if possible, they were also taught techniques to help counterattack, despite them using shields.

Other than these, there were also team drills where people would rotate teams, making sure they could work with others.

These were standard drills used in all three territories, and the only difference was the level and harshness of the exercises.

Interestingly, the number of guards past level 13 was proportionally a lot more than others.

Alterra had been sending groups of new guards hired from the Center. Alterra itself could homegrow people past level 10, but that was not the case for villages.

It so happened that the majority hires from the Town Center were past level 12, and most were sent to Iron Mountains and some to Limestone Valley.

The lowest level ones were level 12, and the strongest was level 15, which were already proper powerhouses at village level. Alterra would retain most of the hires past this level.

That said, the hires at the Town level really were different, and it solidified the satellites as high powerhouses at the village level, like how Alterra had been.

Of course, they had to maintain this, too, and Lady Althea had mentioned that once a certain number was reached, she’d stop sending fighters over. This was only natural, especially since every one of their hires renewed their contracts every month.

The past few months, Hugo had also dedicated himself to teaching their guard team on top of trying to level up himself.

However, he was admittedly left behind a bit because the monsters in Iron Mountains had become weak to him, and he knew he’d have to request a transfer soon.

He definitely couldn’t stay here forever. He’d grow stagnant if he did.

That said, it was also why he had been training his men even harsher so they could excel even when he was no longer there.

At some point, his aether letter heated up, calling him to the Center for a meeting.

When he got there, there was Rowan, Silvia, Reno, Shannon, and there were also some new faces, at least in the Iron Mountains, like Hubert.

He recognized Hubert as one of the first batch of guards Alterra had. He remembered him because, like him, he admired Miss Althea, but, unlike him, was quite vocal about it.

”I came with the new batch of aborigine hires,” he said. ”There should be around 9 of us; they’re just settling in before they report to the barracks. I’ll take them later.”

Hugo nodded and then looked at Rowan, who then explained to him the reason for this meeting.

”We have received new directives.”

”Your request for transfer will still be honored, but we’ll delay for a few months. After all, you’re about to pass the level cap, and you’d be more useful elsewhere.

”However, for now, we are asked to determine... which territories to attack.”

This made him flinch. ”Pardon?”

It was Silvia who explained things to him. ”Alterra had requested both satellites to take turns in attacking villages.

”However, since we’re not warring to plunder—only to make sure no Town can attack Alterra—they ask us to make a list of territories ideal to attack, ideally those who will be threats to Terran territories, especially the associated villages.

”These would either be enemies that had once attacked us or those who had wanted to take over.”

Hugo realized something and flinched. Because he was not in Alterra, there were plenty of things he was not privy to. However, among the supervisory positions and above, he did know that there were scouting teams sent all over the region.

Putting two and two together, he gained a deeper idea of what this was about.

More importantly, this would ensure Alterra could never be attacked as long as they didn’t delay anything. Considering how coordinated all the associated territories were, this was extremely possible.

They even had synced clocks somehow. Since they couldn’t contact each other in real time, this was essential for coordinated attacks that would leave no gap for enemies to use to attack Alterra instead.

He nodded. ”We will do our jobs well.”

This would be their way to protect their home, and it was an honor.