How to Live as a Swordmaster of the Enemy Nation

The First Deployment

Gregory and the cadets fully enjoyed the thrill of the festival and sent Magnus home.

Then, immediately, they headed to the Dawn Knight Order under the guidance of Walter for training.

A training field scorched by the blazing sunlight.

As soon as they arrived, they hastily dumped their luggage and began the training.

Walter shouted in his booming voice.

"You must build the basic stamina needed for battle!"

Although not much time had passed since training began, the cadets' faces were already full of fatigue and complaints.

No matter how they looked at it, today's training was nothing more or less than damned menial labor.

Carrying stones and logs. It would surely be helpful physically, but the cadets felt this training was pointless.

The knight commander stood before the cadets and swept his gaze over all of them at once. Soon, he spoke with a sneering tone.

"There are times when neither stamina nor tricks are of use in front of the enemy. Even if today's training seems pointless, one day it will help you."

Nonetheless, the cadets' expressions were half resigned. Their displeasure was written all over their faces.

When Brea voiced her complaint, Alessandro beside her let out a long sigh in agreement.

"What kind of training is this? We're just carrying stones and logs in a field."

"Exactly. We'd be better off with more swordsmanship training..."

"They call this preparing for war, but why make us do such useless things?"

The other cadets, exhausted, nodded with weary sighs.

Discontented voices continued to spill from their lips.

On one side, Adrian grumbled with his arms crossed, while on the other, Elisabeth brushed back her sweat-drenched hair, frowning. They were all thinking the same thing.

Yet among them, there was one person who trained quietly, without any complaints.

It was Gregory. Unlike the other cadets, he did not grumble. He lifted heavy stones and continued his work without even wiping his sweat.

Although his face did not lack traces of pain or fatigue, he kept his mouth shut and focused silently on his task.

His movements in carrying the stones were consistently smooth and efficient.

He never used more strength than needed and steadily completed his assigned tasks. Among the noisy cadets, his demeanor stood out.

Even as the other cadets grumbled and complained, Gregory remained unshaken.

Observing him, Adrian murmured,

"How can that guy stand it like that?"

Ernest, hearing this, sighed and replied,

"That's why he's better than us."

Ernest was closely watching Gregory's behavior. He was somewhat conscious of the fact that Gregory had far outperformed him in the recent knights' examination.

On the other hand, Gregory understood the meaning of this training better than anyone. He saw it not just as physical exercise, but as an opportunity to hone both his mind and body.

Even so, the cadets continued to grumble.

At that moment, Walter approached, breathing heavily, and spoke.

"You may all think this is tough, but there is another reason for this training."

The cadets looked puzzled at his words. Walter uncrossed his arms, slowly turned his head, and pointed to the back of the training ground.

There, piles of stones and logs had just been stacked.

"The stones and logs you've been carrying are not just for training—they're materials needed to expand your quarters."

The cadets' faces suddenly hardened.
Quarters? The cadets who had been complaining while carrying stones and logs instantly lost their energy.

The Dawn Knight Order currently had a total of twelve members, including the cadets. There were only two small rooms and one large room—barely enough. It wasn't possible to accommodate everyone.

Compared to other knight orders, this was a paltry number. The reason was that the Dawn Knight Order were those who fought at the front and could be the first to die. Even if new recruits joined, they would quickly die, so the numbers stayed low.

The cadets rolled their eyes as they began to grasp the situation.

What they had been doing wasn't just training—it was actual work to expand the knights' quarters.

"So that's why we were moving all those stones?"

Alessandro leaned back and spoke. His face was no longer filled only with complaints.

Rather, with a hint of resignation, he seemed to realize that their current task was genuinely necessary.

Elisabeth clicked her tongue and said,

"Still, I didn't expect they'd work us like laborers."

Walter smiled and said,

"This is how you prepare for war. You can't survive with stamina training alone. War is a series of preparations."

Gregory was still quietly moving the logs. It was as if he had understood the meaning of the training from the very beginning.

The reason he faithfully carried out the task was not simply to gain strength, but to accept the very life of a knight.

Gregory was the object of admiration among the cadets.

***

At last, the training-cum-menial-labor ended.

While the headquarters of other knight orders were built high, the base of the Dawn Knight Order was modest.

Since Dawn Knight Order fought at the front and often met their end, their numbers were always short, so they did not need much space for their base.

The size of the base and the newly built quarters were similar. At least it now more or less had the structure of proper lodgings.

The cadets then entered the Knights' base to greet their knight seniors.

They cautiously opened the shabby wooden door.

Creeeak—

The chilling noise, like fingernails scraping a chalkboard, echoed everywhere.

Inside, sparring was in full swing. In that small space, everyone was bickering as they fought.

One person, seemingly a knight, approached the group of cadets aggressively.

"Hey, who are you supposed to be? Brats."

The man who called them 'brats' was named Kylas Rindel—the deputy-commander of the order.

There were currently six members in the Dawn Knight Order, including Walter.

Suddenly, six new trainees had arrived, and so they mistakenly thought these were troublemakers from other orders coming to pick a fight.

The cadets moved inside the base and noisily scolded the knights.

"Hey, Leonyx, Amelia! Stop fighting and take care of the newbies first."

Leonyx and Amelia, however, did not stop.

"Can't you see I'm busy? I'm not taking a single step from here until I tear this bastard's mouth off."

"Who said I'd let you? I'll break your leg so you won't set a foot outside this place."

The sound of their swords clashing pierced the ears.

Gregory, observing the mana that was stronger than Ernest's but weaker than Hemingway's or Walter's, guessed. Those knights trading blows were about 5-star knights, and the formidable man kindly explaining things was around a 6-star knight.

In terms of skill and age, they were far superior to Gregory and the others.

Watching this, Kylas let out a deep sigh.

"Ugh... They're hopeless idiots, so just bear with it."

Contrary to his earlier aggressive manner, Kylas now treated them kindly and explained about the knight order, introducing its members.

He explained the duties and pride required of the Dawn Knight Order.

The introductions followed.
Walter and Kylas were the senior officers, and next were Leonyx Crown and Amelia Burgenfeld, who would fight at the slightest glance.

The other two were currently deployed somewhere, and it was unclear when they would return.

Gregory sank into deep thought.
These were people he had neither heard of nor met in his past life.

In his previous life, Gregory had joined the knights in his early twenties; this meant, aside from Walter, these others would die soon for some reason.

'So, when these people die, the elite vanguard I saw in the war in my previous life...'

At that moment, Walter entered.

Walter pushed his way through the new recruits and walked forward.

He had vaguely felt it during the knights' examination, but this man was definitely stronger than Hemingway.

Displaying powerful mana and a commanding aura, he separated Leonyx and Amelia.

"Tch, fine."

With clicks of their tongues, the two dropped their chaotic attitudes. Snap! They adopted disciplined stances and paid their respects.

The other cadets wondered what was happening, but Gregory quickly followed the senior knights in form. Only then did the cadets hesitantly copy Gregory's posture.

"What is this? The new recruits have proper discipline?"

Walter, glaring at the snickering Leonyx, pulled a letter out from his coat. Unfolding the paper, Walter spoke in a heavy voice.

"Listen, Dawn Knight Order."

Only then did the cadets realize the situation.

"There is suspicious activity among the monsters crowding the Forest of Annihilation. Before they mass and attack, launch a preemptive strike as soon as possible."

It was a mission.
Since their assignment to the order, their first true mission had been given.

"The deadline is three days from now."

Having finished reading, Walter grinned broadly.

"Hey, rookies, this is your first deployment."

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Finally, some action...
There are fewer knights than expected...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】