The flogging Dusa endured was not only heart-wrenching but also made the guards understand the true meaning of the saying “law enforcement is as immovable as mountains.”
This was precisely why Monte insisted that Rocky punish Dusa.
Because through this flogging, not only would the Guard Corps hold no grudges against Dusa and Monte, since the whip had already been cracked, but they would also develop a sense of fear, a fear that stemmed not from any person, but from military law itself!
This was the most critical matter; once military law and military might were established, it would be infinitely beneficial for the entire Guard Corps.
At the same time, Rocky’s actions were also observed by the people of Backhill Village and in no time had reached Lin Feng’s ears.
Upon learning of this on the high wall, Lin Feng was first stunned, then smiled and nodded.
“Commander, this Rocky is really ruthless, showing no mercy at all,” someone said.
“Yes, he’s too cruel,” another agreed.
The residents of Backhill Village were well aware of Dusa’s situation, as they all had been present the day before, so when they learnt that Rocky had dealt with the matter so promptly and had punished Dusa so severely, they all sighed.
“This Commander Rocky does have some guts; it seems we underestimated this Mercenary Group before,” commented someone.
After nodding with a smile, Lin Feng also spoke.
As the leader of his own unit, Lin Feng naturally understood why Rocky had dealt with Dusa’s situation so swiftly, and although it wasn’t of much concern to him, Lin Feng was, after all, collaborating with Rocky to combat the demons. Calling them allies was by no means inappropriate.
In such a scenario, if Rocky could manage his own unit well, it would be advantageous and harmless for Lin Feng.
“Ensure that the village’s doctor takes good care of the wounded from the Thunderhawk Mercenary Group; they should not be neglected,” he commanded.
After giving the instruction, Lin Feng put the matter aside and turned his gaze towards the exterior of the high wall.
Although he appeared no different than usual, he was very tense inside, perhaps even more so than Rocky.
With years of experience combating demons, Lin Feng had detected that there was something different about the demons attacking Backhill Village this time, with the greatest difference being in their numbers.
The demons attacking Backhill Village this time were too numerous!
This statement might seem a bit off, as, upon careful consideration, the demons attacking Backhill Village totaled only eleven and had attacked over the span of two days, which didn’t seem excessive.
In reality, it was the opposite, given that the mining in Backhill Village would continue for an entire month. During this time, more demons would be continually attracted, and their numbers would gradually increase. This meant that within this month, the number of demons attacking Backhill Village would consistently rise.
This was precisely why Lin Feng was worried. If the second wave of demons amounted to eight, then what about the third? How many would appear in the third wave, and would it exceed ten? As for the fourth and fifth waves, how many demons would there be?
One must know that demons were not only individually powerful but also numerous in number. The appearance of a swarm of demons would inevitably lead to a disaster.
So while the initial two waves of demonic assaults had been repelled, this did nothing to alleviate Lin Feng’s concerns. After all, the number of demons in the previous two encounters had been below ten, which was still manageable. But when their numbers reached double digits, the battle would move to another level entirely.
This was what worried Lin Feng and the cause of his nervousness.
He had encountered a similar situation six months earlier. Back then, Backhill Village was much stronger than it was now, but it nevertheless fell to the greatly numbered demons. Whether they were his soldiers or the villagers of Backhill, there had been heavy casualties. Therefore, Lin Feng truly did not wish for a repeat of the scenes from six months ago.
“Everyone, stay sharp!”
With these thoughts in his mind, he couldn’t help but shout at everyone on the wall, leaving them bewildered.
Meanwhile, after carrying out the flogging and assigning Monte to take care of Dusa, Rocky summoned Liliya, Sandro, Robin, and the other squad leaders to his tent.
Although they had won the battle the day before, it also exposed many issues, such as the Guard Corps falling into disarray at a critical moment. If it weren’t for Rocky’s decisive action, the outcome might have been completely different.
The blame for this incident was ultimately placed on Dusa, but that was just on the surface. The real issue lay within the Guard Corps itself. If their discipline had been stronger, if the guards’ mental fortitude had been higher, perhaps the chaos that ensued would not have occurred.
It was normal for there to be problems during the Guard Corps’ first actual combat, but this was no excuse to ignore the issues. Thus, while the other guards were resting, Rocky had called the squad leaders to his tent to hold a meeting, or rather a post-battle summary, to discuss the lessons learned.
But as everyone sat down in the tent and before Rocky had a chance to speak, Liliya couldn’t hold back any longer.
Standing in front of the squad leaders with a solemn expression, she asked, “Do you think that the reason the previous battle went so poorly was all because of Dusa?”
“This…”
Perhaps because of the recent flogging, Liliya was in a bad mood, and her ominous expression looked particularly intimidating.
Faced with her dour countenance, the squad leaders in the tent looked at each other and then all lowered their heads, with none daring to answer.
Seeing no one respond, Liliya singled someone out: “Aga, you speak.”
The man named by her, Aga, was a middle-aged man, already thirty-five years old this year. Among the Guard Corps, he was the oldest and the most mature and steady. Hence, Liliya had appointed him as the leader of a small squad.
However, after being named by her, Aga looked at her and awkwardly grinned.
“Sandro, what do you think?”
Seeing that Aga didn’t open his mouth, Liliya turned her spearhead toward Sandro, but just like before, Sandro, whose name was called, also hung his head.
“Hmph, why aren’t any of you speaking!”
When no one opened their mouths, Liliya snorted coldly and then said, “That’s right, having a young girl take responsibility for you, you really don’t have much to say.”
Giving a cold look at the crowd, Liliya was ruthless, immediately rendering a whole bunch of grown men blushing intensely.
“You all should be well aware that the mess in the previous battle wasn’t Dusa’s fault, but because you didn’t do what you were supposed to!”
“Commander, we did our best… but when we saw both you and the instructor were taken down, the brothers really panicked at that moment…”
After being severely scolded by Liliya, a squad leader next to Sandro said with a sense of grievance.
His words were not wrong, because though the guards were in chaos, these squad leaders attending hadn’t descended into panic alongside them; they were all trying their best to control the situation.
“You dare to argue!”
As a result, the words of the squad leader directly inflamed Liliya. She glared with round eyes and said annoyedly, “When the people in your squad panic, isn’t that exactly when they need you! Otherwise, why would I appoint you as squad leaders!”
After this remark, no squad leader dared to retort, for Liliya was absolutely right—they indeed hadn’t managed the members of their squads well during that time.
So, the scene fell silent, until after quite some time had passed, Sandro, who had remained silent all along, suddenly stood up from his seat.
“Commander, it is indeed our dereliction of duty.”
Looking at Liliya, Sandro’s expression was resolute, and then he turned to Rocky: “City Lord, as squad leaders, we failed to fulfill our responsibilities. Please punish us as you see fit, City Lord!”
After finishing his speech, Sandro stood up straight before Rocky, and at the same time, the other squad leaders around him also stood up. They seemed to be waiting for Rocky’s reprimand just like him.
But how could Rocky continue to scold them? Liliya had already done all the scolding previously, so he then said, “Sit down, all of you.”
After Sandro and the others had resumed their seats, Rocky began to speak, “What Liliya just said wasn’t wrong. As squad leaders, you indeed didn’t organize your guards well, but there’s a reason for this.”
“However, remember, for any military unit, discipline is the most important thing. Without discipline, even the strongest forces are no more than a scattered mob. As leaders, it is your responsibility to ensure on the battlefield that your squad is not thrown into disarray.”
“You may not be able to do this now, but you can’t forever be unable to do so. If that’s the case, then I will have to find replacements. Understood?”
“Understood!”
“Good, now, let’s talk about your feelings. Facing demons for the first time, engaging in direct confrontation with demons for the first time, how do you all feel?”
After making a summary speech, Rocky began to let everyone share their feelings about confronting the demons. This was also one of the reasons he had gathered them—to collectively exchange and sum up experiences so that they could perform better in future battles.
Time passed like this for quite a while. When the squad leaders came out of Rocky’s tent, the sky had already turned dark; they had actually talked for an entire day inside the tent!
“Strange…”
Observing the dark sky, Sandro, who walked out of the tent, couldn’t help but frown, then turned to Aga beside him, “Big brother Aga, did you hear the bell?”
“The bell? I didn’t hear it…”
Aga shook his head, indicating he hadn’t heard the bell that signalled the attack of demons.
“It’s already dark?”
At that moment, Rocky and Liliya also exited the tent, and they too were stunned to discover the night had fallen. Then they looked at each other.
“The demons didn’t come today?”
Both reacted quickly. Seeing that it was dark, they knew that throughout the whole day, the demons hadn’t launched an attack. However, this didn’t bring them the slightest joy but instead made their expressions change.
“Let’s go have a look!”
After these words, Rocky rushed towards the high walls!
The demons not attacking for an entire day was too abnormal!