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Astaroth leaned back into his throne, getting comfortable, and sent a message to Phoenix in the private chat.

\'Did you know about these "Exercises"?\'

Phoenix replied almost immediately, almost as if expecting his question.

\'Yes. We discussed it in a meeting a bit before you came back here. But we haven\'t had time to discuss it together yet. We still had to choose which one to send, and I didn\'t want to pick without you.\'

Astaroth felt disgruntled at the reminder of how hectic things had been since the patch had hit. They barely had time to sit and talk about important things.

But he washed away the stray thoughts and focused on Alena, who was already speaking.

"The Inter-Alliance Military Exercises are a tournament-style drill, held by the alliance every year, to keep their troops in war-ready condition. They started a few decades ago, and have been a continental event ever since.

"The alliance picks one vassal kingdom or force under them, and one of their regiments, to send to the tournament, as well as a few more kingdoms invited by officials, to set up a tournament between the armies, with prizes for the winners.

"To be invited is a great honour, and usually means great turnover for the invited kingdoms or forces, both from the alliance\'s invitees and the random ones. It breeds trust in those kingdoms and allows them to expand their military might and economic empires.

"I heard from Leon that we received an invitation four years ago, but he turned it down since we were too busy with the corruption in our lands. It was a shame to turn down such an honour, but it was understandable then.

"But since we are now part of the alliance, we do not need an invitation! We are, by default, allowed in the exercises!"

Astaroth looked at her excitement peak and almost laughed. It was a treat to watch such a stern woman suddenly act like a child at the prospect of going to the candy store.

"This is why, I would like to request you send the Sentinels as first pick, my king! Allowing us to go first would be the greatest of honours, and would also increase my regiment\'s morale tremendously!"

Seeing as she was done talking, Astaroth leaned forward.

"Tell me, Commander Alena. Why should I send your regiment instead of the Royal Guards or the Griffon Scouts? What makes you believe you are the best suited to represent Stellar Woodlands? Convince me and the spot is yours. Sell it to me."

Alena\'s eyes narrowed as a grin reached her lips.

"Yes, my king!"

She pulled out a small orb and tossed it before her. As the orb whirred to life, it began hovering in place, and an image appeared above it.

\'A projector?\' Astaroth realized.

The images the little magic gadget started showing were that of his troops training, both in the courtyard and skies above the forests of the kingdom. Astaroth was quite satisfied with what he saw, but he knew this was only an appetizer.

"This, my king, is footage of the Royal Guards and Griffon Scouts during their daily drills. Their performances are stellar, in their respective duties. But what you need for the exercises is not a regiment that only functions in one capacity.

"The alliance is large, and the kingdoms have long since established their military ways. The regiments they will send will be versatile beyond belief, and ready for anything thrown at them. Especially so for the kingdom of Themiscus.

"They have won the exercises many times before, and have the most established military culture. Being the oldest standing kingdom on both kingdoms has its boons, after all."

Astaroth listened to her words while watching the footage of both regiments. He agreed their drills were extremely one-directional and lacked the flexibility needed for a wide-scale tournament.

But he failed to see how her Sentinels would do any better. To his knowledge, they were the eyes of the kingdom and their first line of defence.

Not a troop ready to march on other armies.

"Tell me, Alena. What makes you think your Sentinels will fare any better?" he asked her, his eyes narrowing on her.

Alena smirked in response and pulled out another orb. Throwing it into the air, she recalled the first one.

As the images sprung to life, the contents were in stark contrast.

Images of Sentinels, training in various environments, fighting enemies above, as well as below. Image of Sentinels fighting as much in a range capacity, as in the thick of melee.

Astaroth watched as the footage showed them taking on large mobs, other troops, enormous monsters, as well as Leon himself, and always picking an adequate tactic for the situation.

He even saw images of the Sentinels fighting both the Royal Guards and the Griffon Scouts, and coming out on top. This particular footage, piqued his curiosity.

"How did you get the other regiments to agree to fight against yours, commander? I doubt they would willingly get into a fight if they think they would lose."

Alena grinned like a shark.

"My king. These orbs are recording devices that the mages from the mage\'s guild have installed in the training facility on the sixth floor. They record our training sessions, so we can study where we make mistakes and work on them."

Astaroth nodded his head. This was not a bad idea in itself.

"Ok. But I still don\'t see how you made the other regiments fight you…"

Alena shook her head.

"I didn\'t, sir. Since the facility records our training, it also means it can duplicate our fights and learn from our combat exercises."

Astaroth\'s eyes widened.

"You got the mages to make a simulation for you?!"

Alena nodded her head with pride.

"Correct. We asked the mage\'s guild to make a simulation, based on both troops\' training footage, so we could have mock battles against them. And we came out triumphant in every scenario. We also had them make us fight multiple different combat scenarios, even fighting a mock battle against Leon himself."

Astaroth could see why she was so confident in her claim that they were best suited for this. He watched the different footage flash before his eyes and grinned widely.

"Then let me ask you this. How confident would you be in taking me in a mock battle? Using the same method, of course, so no one gets hurt," he asked, grinning at her with a sharkish grin.