One month later, beneath a crystal-blue sky with the sun hanging high.
Amid Emparo's stunned expression, Glyn casually drew the bowstring to its fullest.
The longbow in Glyn's hands was a specially made weapon with a draw weight of around 200 pounds.
Whoosh! The arrow he released tore through the air with a scalp-tingling sound that shook the heart.
Lena's eyes widened in shock. Her expression froze instantly, her small mouth opening into a large "O" as she stood there like a wooden statue.
–
Throughout this month, Glyn set aside time every day to practice archery.
His original body had already possessed excellent archery skills, and after transmigration, his physical condition had been steadily improving in every respect. Glyn felt that the day he would transform into an over-the-horizon master archer was drawing ever closer.
The 200-pound longbow had been custom-made by craftsmen at his order. By Glyn's estimation, with this special longbow, the effective lethal range was about 300 meters.
Beyond 300 meters, the arrow's penetrating power would begin to drop off sharply.
After shooting the arrow, the deep-seated worry Glyn held about dragons eased considerably.
He knew all too well how terrifying a dragon's flames could become in the later stages. Glyn had no intention of seeing the soldiers he had painstakingly trained reduced to ashes by a few blasts of dragonfire.
Glyn had carefully studied the Crabb family genealogy and confirmed that there was no trace of Targaryen dragon blood in their lineage—meaning they could not tame dragons.
Since he could not become a dragonrider, Glyn could only choose to become a dragonslayer.
As a rational man, Glyn would certainly try to avoid direct confrontation between his legion and dragons. But when avoidance was no longer possible, aside from the cumbersome anti-dragon ballistae, Glyn himself would be the most dangerous dragon hunter of all.
He could tolerate the existence of dragons—but the moment they threatened him, he was ready to destroy them.
Preparation began now.
The carpenters would continue making bows with even greater draw weights. As long as Glyn could wield them flexibly on his own, the greater the power, the more satisfied he would be.
–
Clap, clap, clap!
Oooh!
Those around them applauded and cheered for their lord's archery.
Glyn instructed the carpenter, "Make one more with roughly the same power—and… wrap it up as elegantly as possible."
In the future, the longbow Glyn would use publicly would be the 200-pound version. Any bows exceeding 200 pounds would not be displayed and would be practiced in secret.
The standard Crabb longbow's appearance was far too plain. When Glyn went to King's Landing, he intended to take a bow with him.
Glyn planned to carefully embellish the longbow he personally used, without affecting its normal function, so that it would look more refined and exquisite.
Every item Glyn used represented the honor of the Crabb family. In a world that places great importance on noble appearances, accommodating such expectations made things much easier.
Glyn was preparing to contend for supremacy. He needed to avoid unnecessary face slapping and could not afford to waste his energy on trivial matters.
–
Lena hopped about excitedly. "My lord, my lord! You're gifted with incredible strength!"
"And wow—following your training methods, the sisters' strength has increased by a lot. Drawing the bow keeps getting easier! I'm the only one who hasn't made much progress!" (TL/N: She has Ancient ADHD)
"Lena, you need a little more patience. You're still young—don't rush. Besides, you're a commander now. Your voice carries far; that's something others don't have, and it's very helpful when commanding soldiers."
Though small in stature, Lena truly had the loudest voice in the Thorn Corps. In a world where battles were often fought by shouting commands, this was a huge advantage for a commander.
"Yes, my lord! Just watch me—I'll work hard. United We Stand!"
Glyn smiled and nodded. "I'm watching. United We Stand."
Emparo's voice rang out from nearby. "Lena, formation training!"
After Lena left, Emparo happened to walk up to Glyn.
"Lord Glyn, shall we arrange a place for you to rest?"
Glyn shook his head. "No need. I'll be leaving in a moment."
As he spoke, Glyn reached out and lightly patted Emparo's left upper arm. "You're doing very well. You've always been dedicated. Training soldiers means repeating dull routines day after day—you have to get used to the monotony. Only by holding on can they survive in greater numbers on the battlefield."
"I've always kept that in mind, Lord Glyn. As you have said before, the more sweat is shed in training, the less blood will be spilled in war."
After the previous battle, the Thorn Corps had made a name for itself. On top of its original force, it quickly recruited another 180 spear-women from the territory, and later absorbed 200 more spear-women from among the captured mountain clans. The Thorn Corps now totaled 500 soldiers.
As commander of the corps, Emparo knew that the lord was preparing to reclaim the Crabb family's former lands and that another war was approaching. As a result, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to the Thorn Corps' training.
–
After the war, Glyn immediately established a male-dominated unit equipped with standardized longbows. Its full name was the Crabb Longbow Corps, commonly referred to as the Longbow Corps.
Glyn selected several men from the Crabb clansmen to serve as officers. After the first round of recruitment, the corps numbered just over 100 soldiers.
In the future, the Crabb Longbow Corps would become the unit with the broadest participation. As the armory produced more and more longbows, a second occupation for most people in the territory would be that of longbowman, serving as reserve soldiers for the Crabb Longbow Corps.
For example, under the Crabb lord's new laws, every resident of the territory was required to spend one day out of every ten training as a longbowman. Glyn had set detailed regulations for training content and standards. Absentees, disobedient individuals, or those who failed to meet requirements would all face corresponding punishments.
Glyn also planned to hold territory-wide archery competitions every three months, divided into different skill tiers, with generous rewards to stimulate enthusiasm for longbow training.
–
After completing the recruitment for the Crabb Longbow Corps, Glyn established another unit equipped with standardized three-meter spears: the Crabb Spear Corps, or simply the Spear Corps.
The Crabb clansmen were loyal and dependable, experienced veterans in combat. Glyn treated them as reserve officers.
The commander of the Crabb Spear Corps was likewise personally chosen by Glyn from among the clansmen. After a period of recruitment and equipment replenishment, the corps numbered around 200 soldiers.
The Crabb territory lacked warhorses and could not yet form a cavalry unit. The Spear Corps was established to protect the longbowmen in field battles with dense formations, especially against cavalry charges.
Aside from cavalry, the Crabb territory now possessed a reasonably complete range of troop types. With daily training and strict discipline, the overall combat strength of the Crabb forces continued to grow steadily.
(End of Chapter)
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