Chapter 32: Motivation es from parison

  "Why do they get to sit at a separate table and even have fresh grilled meat?"

  "They won!"

  "Why do they have braraining uniforms?"

  "They won!"

  "Why do they get Old John's guidance? We o improve our skills too!"

  "They won!"

  "..."

  One response silehe pints of hty soldiers. Though they were dissatisfied, a loss was still a loss.

  Every soldier redoubled their efforts during training, determio improve.

  Aeam, having received privileges, also felt the pressure to keep their newly won status.

  They trained just as hard, not wanting to lose their newly elevated "privileges" and pride.

  "By ensuring a certain level of fairness, using simple parisons motivate most soldiers and improve trainis, thus enhang bat effectiveness."

  Matthew thhly discussed this with Ange, sharing all of his experience. Ralph, standing nearby, felt both pleased and resigned.

  Ange, gradually uanding more, nodded with determination and fidence. She saluted Matthew auro the training grounds to drill the soldiers even harder.

  "If we want to ensure effective training, we need plenty of meat. Also, some magical creature meat will be required to replenish their energy."

  Ralph calcuted the costs, seemingly discussing the current difficulties but subtly reminding Matthew:

  "Raising these professional soldiers requires siderable resources. With the current ditions in Bay Vilge, supp both Matthew and the soldiers’ ption isn’t sustainable."

  Did Matthew uand?

  Of course, he did!

  However, he wouldn’t tell Ralph that training more capable subordinates would signifitly reduce the time Matthew o grow stronger.

  "No problem, we’ll buy from the vilgers. Everyone here is too poor, and ohey have mohey’ll be able to pay taxes."

  Seeing that the lord uood the underlying meaning, Ralph nodded silently and then sought out Old Vilge Chief Field, who was supervising the vilgers’ stru work.

  "Everyone should have had enough to eat this afternoon! Work harder and live up to the lord’s rewards!"

  "Carpenters, hurry up and process the delivered wood! The tools are ready, so work faster!"

  "Don’t just dump the excavated dirt! We’ll o fill it bato the wooden walls ter..."

  "And you zy boy, don’t sck off, or I’ll e over there and give you a whipping..."

  Ralph, walking along, was surprised to see how diligently the vilgers of Bay Vilge were w. He could tell they were genuinely giving it their all.

  Ralph’s past experieaught him that even though the heril Empire wasn’t as exploitative of the oners as other kingdoms, peasants rarely had good feelings toward nobles.

  Even when nobles summoned peasants to work, paying more than this, they could never extract this level of effort.

  Ralph still didn’t quite uand the differeween w for themselves and w for the lord.

  Although the vilgers of Bay Vilge were not well-educated, they clearly uood that building new wooden walls meant they would be safer aer protected.

  "It looks like the digging is ahead of schedule, by about four days. Everyone seems quite motivated."

  Vilge Chief Field, unsure of Ralph’s iions, spoke with a slightly deferential tone as he tested the waters:

  "It is an honor to work for the lord. Everyone will do their best to meet your expectations..."

  Ralph gave him a knowing smile and shook his head, reassuring him:

  "Whatever the lord promises, he will deliver. pleting the task with quality will only make him happier, and he will i more resources and pns."

  He paused for a moment before patting Field on the shoulder:

  "Currently, the number of soldiers is too low. The lord intends to increase the t to 200."

  "Except for those too old or weak, all professionals must enlist. Ordinary soldiers receive 20 silver s a month, and each level a professional gains adds another 10 silver s."

  "Other people will be selected based on the average test scores for soldiers. Those who meet the requirements join; those who don’t will have to keep trying."

  Upon hearing this, Field’s eyes fshed with but also a great deal of excitement.

  This was Matthew’s most crucial move to gain full trol of Bay Vilge—it en and aboveboard.

  Ralph’s approach was to probe and inform Field ahead of time, giving him a way to iate aerms.

  Any s or demands could be discussed openly.

  Once everything was decided, Field would have to fully support it.

  Field uood the situation well. sidering Matthew’s background and abilities, the fact that he was willing to discuss matters so amicably was beyond what Field expected of most lords. He readily nodded and patted his chest in reassurance:

  "That’s wonderful! On behalf of the vilge, I thank the lord! We’ve been worried about having o grow..."

  Ralph, satisfied with Field’s cooperative attitude, hesitated before revealing another part of Matthew’s pn:

  "There’s one more thing: any older or experienced professionals willing to share their trainihods ahe lord train more professionals will also be given work and paid the same as soldiers—without having to fight."

  Even though Field had mentally prepared himself, Matthew’s grand vision still stunned him. His mind raced with various thoughts:

  "Is the lord truly pnning to stay here and develop the pce?"

  "Training more professionals? That requires a huge iment of resources!"

  "Could this be part of some magical experiment the lord is preparing?"

  "No, that’s not it... Is the lord simply doing this for our be?"

  "That ’t be! The lord must be preparing to cultivate more professionals..."

  "But even if I object, others will agree. The lord’s money is too tempting—no one will resist..."

  "..."

  Gathering his plex thoughts, Field nodded in agreement. Ralph, pleased with his uanding, smiled and instructed:

  "Persuade the others. Let me know hoeople are willing, and tell me what you need."

  "However, keep in mind that while the lord is kind and generous, he has no tolerance for failure or wasted efforts!"

  Without waiting for Field’s response, Ralph turned a.

  He had to calcute how much it would cost to support an increasing number of professional soldiers each day and month.

  The sun began to set.

  The crimson evening sky shifted into various shapes—some resembling horses, others like snakes—before blending into a sea of red uhe gentle breeze.

  Across the wildnds, kobolds barked as they scurried past, disappearing into the distance, leaving only the sound of their calls.

  Leon, standing on guard, exhaled in relief. As night approached, the dangers outside the vilge multiplied.

  Although he didn’t fear battle, he still preferred that the vilgers didn’t fanecessary danger.

  Old John strode over with several dejected-looking soldiers in tow. As their deputy, he scolded them while they marched:

  "You messed up on your first day of training, so you’re punished with extra guard duty! I’ll send someoo relieve you ter tonight."

  "e o’s head back for dihe old steward made some cod—I’ve heard the fish here is a local delicacy, really delicious..."

  Old John’s attitude toward Leon was different. This wasn’t just due to Ralph’s instrus; Leon’s ho and kind nature made him quite likable.

  Especially since Leon’s training progress had been excellent under John’s guidance, showing steady progress every day.

  Johimated that ihan six months, Leon would likely bee a Level 2 warrior.

  Leon was the kind of talent that, with just one look, made you realize his potential shouldn’t be wasted.

  The other soldiers, filled with envy, tiheir guard duty while sneaking in some extra training.