Chapter 93 Learning about the Troop

Van went down to the training field, where he made up with Luna to do some light exercises and begin learning form one of blood weaving. Which honestly wasn’t that hard for him since he had been practicing many different methods of sensing things for a long time. Which for some reason earned a bit of a pout from Luna who he didn’t know had some problems learning it her first time.

The second form was actually a bit more difficult to wrap his head around. But he quickly figured out a trick that helped him understand what he had to do and soon was able to read not so much the body, but the inner aura of a person to help predict their moves. Earning another pout from Luna, who was somewhat mollified when he taught her that trick.

So for most of his first few hours this morning, he had learned the first two forms of blood weaving. In a way, he kind of hated himself for learning so quickly since it really seemed to have given a blow to Luna’s confidence. But in the end, he really couldn’t blame himself for learning so quickly, after all, his mind was awakened which helped him learn things and he had been practicing the basics since he was a little kid, and Luna just started by comparison.

It still didn’t change the fact that Luna clearly had far more talent than Van did when it came to practicing martial arts or training. Something he made sure to tell Luna to make her feel better.

After that, they left for Lunch and the two parted ways. Luna going back to training and Van going to check up on his goblin troop. He had much to learn still and figured he would spend the day trying to get to know the people under his command better.

Joining up with them, he watched silently as Isa and Kella yelled and helped the goblins and hobgoblins properly do push-ups, sit-ups, laps, and more to work and train the bodies of his soon to be soldiers.

After a while, Van walked up to Kella and asked her if there was anything he could do to help.

“Honestly… nothing,” she said, looking away from the group of goblins. “At the moment they need to train their bodies, then we may get around to giving them weapons. Only after that may we start teaching them formations and tactics. But that could be months away.”

“If I were you, I would instead use this opportunity and time to start studying up on war, tactics, strategy, logistics, and more, so you have a better idea of what to do. I will help you as well and we can set up a few war games to play together.” she then handed Van a piece of paper with names on it.

“These are a few books I want you to read. They will help introduce you to what you have to do and know to properly handle a small army and how to lead it, feed it, move it and properly enforce discipline and command. When you are done reading those, I have a few more. When you have learned as many theories as you can and we have properly trained the girls, then we can start testing out movements and tactics with you at the helm. Any questions?” Kella asked.

Van shook his head, as he accepted the paper. Impressed by how on top of things Kella was. Then something came to mind. “Actually, where are those harpies? I want to ask them a few questions.”

“They're over there,” Kella said, pointing off a little to the side. “I had them start training by carrying heavy weights and flapping in place to help train their wings and carrying capacity, this also helps train their endurance so they can fly for longer periods of time.”

“Thanks,” Van said and made his way to the small group of harpies.

Walking over he asked if he could take them away from their training for a bit to ask them a few questions. They gladly agreed, putting down their weights with great relief and looking at him as some sort of savior.

“So…” he awkwardly began, unsure of what to do now he was here. “Do any of you have a name?”

They all shook their heads, the raven harpy, who seemed to be the most voluptuous girl of the group speaking up. “Sorry master, none of us have any names… unless of course… you are going to give us one?” she asked, slightly hopeful and remembering what happened yesterday.

“Sorry, no…” Van said and watched their expressions deflate. “Anyway…” he said, feeling a bit bad and trying to change the subject. “What exactly do you girls do? I know you seem to be a mage of some sort, but what about the other two?”

“Us?” one of them asked, pointing to herself.

Van nodded.

“Well… we are… kind of just generic harpies I guess,” she admitted, though didn’t seem very happy about having to do so. “But we can learn new things!” now as if trying to sell herself, perhaps worried that Van wouldn’t be happy about such news. “We were given an all-around training before coming here. So if you need us to become anything at all, we will learn it and give it our best!” she said.

“Hmm… I see…” Van said in thought, realizing that this was just another thing he was tasked to deal with. “And what exactly can you learn or do?” he asked, trying to get an idea for their future potential.

“Well…” the harpy gave it some thought. “We can be scouts or provide air support by firing bows or bolts from the air. We can also be used as a distraction or a screen to help your army and be used to flank your opponents in unpredictable ways. And just because we have wings, doesn’t mean we can’t fight hand to hand. We are pretty quick, so we can charge in and fly out pretty fast. And take the high ground easily for obvious reasons. And a few other things I guess, though that might depend on you.”

Van actually appreciated that response, it did in fact help him get a better idea of what he could do with these harpies. “And you?” he asked, turning to the raven harpy. “What can you do?”

“I provide some magical support. I know a few healing spells and buffs, more importantly, I can transfer some of my mana to the other harpies for their use,” she said.

“Why would you need to transfer your mana to the other harpies?” Van asked curiously.

“Well… we can fly under our own strength, but normally we use some light wind magic to help. We aren't exactly like birds, after all, so using magic to compensate is a must. It happens so naturally for us, we don’t always know we are doing it. So if you want us, your air force, to stay airborne for more than just a few hours, you need someone like me who practiced increasing their mana pool to help replenish their own.” she said helpfully, and somewhat proudly, as if she took great pride in being able to help her fellow harpies fly.

“Huh, that is useful…” Van thought as it fixed a logistical problem with the harpies he wasn’t even aware of.

“You all are just regular harpies, right? No greater harpy amongst you three?” he asked, trying to gauge their power.

The three harpies shook their heads, now feeling a little sad that they were unable to meet his expectations.

“Don’t worry about it too much, just asking,” Van said, not meaning to make them sad, then changing the subject. “Do we have any harpy eggs we can grow? And how do harpies reproduce? Is it similar to goblins?” then berated himself mentally since he realized being compared to a goblin must be quite rude.

“Were you talking to the sergeant?” the raven harpy asked. “Then I can understand some of the confusion. But I suppose in a way it isn’t wrong… we reproduce with hard eggs, but imagine it taking a bit longer than a goblin, not to mention we have our own methods of cultivating our eggs,” she said.

Van felt glad he dodged a metaphorical bullet there, but then another question popped into his head, and it would let go no matter how much he tried to ignore it. “And um…” he began trying to figure out the best way to ask this. “Are you… like other birds… down there…” his eyes not looking at them anymore.

A brief look of confusion passed through their faces before realization dawned on them and their faces went a little red. “Umm… no… we are like any other women, we don’t…” and she let it hang there, unsure of how to finish it until Van did it for her.

“Right, right,” Van said, nodding as if getting the message.

“Final question,” he looked back up at them. “How can we get more eggs to produce more harpies?” he asked.

“Oh! Er… well… you either buy them or…” she slowly looked down towards Van’s crotch.

Van sighed and nodded, getting the message. Honestly, he didn’t know what he should have been expecting by asking such an obvious question.

“Thank you girls, you have been a wonderful help in answering my questions. I leave you to your training, have a good day.” Van said

“Oh! It was our pleasure! If you have any more questions to ask, please don’t hesitate, we would be glad to answer them.” the harpies said.

With that, Van gave one last nod and left them, going back to the goblins where he could ask Isa some questions he should have asked yesterday, and more importantly, ask her about that tattoo on her thigh.

Making his way back, he called over Isa from her training of the goblins, Kella swiftly taking over to help shoulder the burden.

“Yes, master? How can I help you?” Isa asked as she walked over.

“Hey Isa, I just wanted to ask a few personal questions if you don’t mind.”

“Sure, I'm always willing to help you with whatever you need,” she said proudly.

“Thanks. I was thinking… you have come a long way haven’t you? I mean you're a hobgoblin, you have proper armor, you're a sergeant, and you seem to have a magic tattoo. I asked around this morning and found out that you have accomplished more than someone who is twice your age. Do you mind telling me how?”

Isa blushed a little and looked away a bit as if gathering her thoughts on how to best answer. “Well… I… guess it kind of worked out like that.”

“What do you mean?” Van asked, now even more curious.

Isa looked a little lost as if she didn’t know how to properly convey what she wanted to say. “Well… how do I say this…” she mumbled, confused.

“Just say it, don’t worry about how it sounds, I will understand.” Van said, trying to be helpful.”

Isa paused for a moment and after a minute or two, finally seemed to have gotten around to figuring out what she wanted to say. “Well… I suppose it starts with me being… a little different from the other goblins… unlike my sisters, I… guess… I had a... dream…?” she said as if even she was confused or unsure of what she meant.

“I wasn’t like my other sisters who used their points on booze and men.” she began until she realized Van probably didn’t know what she was talking about. “Oh! Points are what we are paid with which we can use to exchange for goods and services,” she explained.

“Anyway… unlike most… I used most of my free time to train and used my points to buy proper materials for my evolution. While others were having sex with men and sucking cock, I was saving my points and trying to get as many more as possible. Using it to buy armor and to body awaken myself and more. And…” she seemed to lose her train of thought. “You must understand, I didn’t have sex because I didn’t want to. Gods know how badly I wanted it, but…” she said as if trying to explain herself and losing track again, as if not having sex like the other girls was somehow wrong.

Van nodded along and tried to get the story back on track. “But you had a dream?”

“Well… not exactly a dream…” she said, now talking once more. “More of a feeling? A desire? When your father started asking for volunteers, I was the first to sign up, nervous as I was. I guess… I wanted… adventure?” she said as if she herself wasn’t one hundred percent sure of it. “I wanted to explore, but at the same time I didn’t want to go alone.” She then looked him in the eyes. “You were my best chance of getting out of here and finally living the stories I was told by my great grandmother before she passed away. Or at least the goblin who took me under her wing…” she said, thinking back, but feeling like it didn’t much matter.

“I lived my life in hope that one day… I would be able to go out and… I… I don’t know… I just wanted my life to mean something a little more… so I trained and used every little point saved up to get where I am today. It must be weird, to so badly want to see the world, and be absolutely terrified of it at the same time. It must be that goblin curse of ours, we're too afraid to go somewhere alone…sorry, this must not be what you wanted to hear.” She said, unsure and uncertain of what she even said herself.

Van shook his head strongly. “On the contrary. This was exactly what I wanted to hear.” Van said, glad that she was able to share her story with him. “In fact… how would you like it if you were to train with me and my wife? Learn some proper martial arts.”

Isa gasped. “Really!? But I don’t have enough points?” she said, confused and hopeful at the same time.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve been thinking of turning all these goblins into hobgoblins anyway. Using whatever resources I can get my hands on. No offense but goblins don’t seem that useful on their own.” he said

Isa shrugged, she couldn’t deny that.

“Also I want them to become strong and for that, I need a strong leader for them. I was thinking about how I could make you stronger, and let me tell you, It’s not just by teaching you martial arts. I’ve been planning to test out many things on what I can do to make you stronger, from potions to enchanted gear and a few magical tattoos. I promise you, by my side you not only will be able to see the world, but leave something behind that would be truly glorious.” he said, trying to hype up Isa and make her happy, to some great success.

Isa seemed to truly have been touched by what Van said, her heart beating like crazy. Her long-suppressed lust bubbling up and it became a battle just to push it down. “Thank you master…” she said emotionally. “I am honored to have someone like you rule me,” she said in such a manner that sent a weird shiver down Van’s spine.

At that moment, Van couldn’t help but look at Isa and see her as very vulnerable right now. Her large eyes, normally fierce and full of will, now upturned at him with a burning desire and passion. He gave a light cough and pretended not to see it and instead changed the subject to something else. “Umm... thank you…anyway… There are a few more questions I want to ask you and some help as well. Such as asking you how you cultivate the eggs and how soon we can get them to hatch. I want them to join in on the training as soon as possible. Then there is the matter of the tattoo you have on your thigh. I want to take a closer look at it if you don’t mind, and if you don’t mind me testing some other tattoos and runes on you?”

“Of course master,” Isa said happily, especially about the part where he was going to take a look at her thigh. “We placed all the eggs with us in the barracks next to your room.”

“Oh, okay… let's get to it then, please tell Kella you will be away for a while, then we’ll get on our way.”

Isa nodded and did so, after that was done, the two left to the now barracks room next to Van’s bedroom.