Chapter 196: Positive Things

Caerleon City.

The day had just started to become brighter, and the warm rays of the sun illuminated the trees, the leaves, and their skin. The air was still cold, and hints of the morning dew dripped down from the leaves onto the grass. It was quite a beautiful morning, perfect for a jog. In fact, jogging used to be Tristan's habit, influenced by his 4 years of 'extra study'.

In the last two months, he had to run around places to survive and take care of things, but now that he has time to settle down in this town, he thought it was a good opportunity to restart his habit.

"It's a fresh morning, don't you agree?" Tristan said.

"Yes… yes… I agree… But, please tell me what kind of exercise is this… and why must I come along with you?!" A disgruntled voice answered.

"Well, this exercise will be good for you… It's a good opportunity for you to lose some of that extra weight!" Tristan answered and laughed.

Uriel, the fat elf, glared at him in irritation.

"As you don't seem to know, I will tell you just this once, alright? I was born this way, this is a result of a bad mix between elven and human genes."

"Whoa, I am sorry…" Tristan scratched the back of his head. "But, no need to worry! Even if you don't get thinner, this exercise will at least make you healthier!"

Meanwhile, oblivious to their conversation, many eyes stared at them in confusion. They were wondering what their new Mayor was doing, and why he was jogging around the town along with a few of his assistants."

While Tristan did enjoy his morning exercise, he also used this chance to see what the citizens were doing now that everything has more or less returned to normal.

Three days had passed since the city battled against the barbarians, and now, the people had started to return back to their usual daily activities.

From the direction of the gates, he also saw more visitors coming in. Overall, the citizens were mostly back to their usual self, and the happy atmosphere permeated the town.

The little positive things would help him relax, and at least for a moment, they help distract him from the fact that both his sister and wife's fate is unknown.

"Uriel! Is there any news about Serene at all?" Tristan asked, not even slightly out of breath from the running.

"No, no… but… don't worry too much! No normal being could hurt her… and those who can… would know who she is, and…they wouldn't dare to hurt her." Uriel answered.

Hearing the answer did give Tristan a small measure of comfort.

They stopped by at the town guards' headquarters to check what was going on inside.

Right as he entered the building, he saw two hundred guards currently training, with Gazef performing the proper movements in front of them.

Each guard carried a wooden sword and shield; They are the standard weapon for the guards of this town.

Tristan decided to take a short break and check on their training.

"This is the basics of combat, and all Arcadian town guards should know."

Swords and shields are their main weapons, while spears and bows are secondary.

Tristan Remembered how weak these town guards were in the battle being crushed by the barbarian 

"Is this the standard strength of the Arcadian troop?"

Apparently, the town guard was normal militia with basic training, most real fighting forces of Arcadian are the knights

Tristan remembered how the cavalry soldiers who came to their rescue at the end of the chaotic plains' battle looked. Then, he also remembered how Barry wished to be a knight.

Uriel explains that The knights are the elite troops controlled directly from the capital under direct commands of the king himself. Only being sent at the most dire of needs.

Tristan wonders if the sudden attack of a thousand barbarians could be considered a dire need. 

Although the barbarian attacks were started by himself, Tristan found himself becoming enraged with this kind of allocation. Power aside, shouldn't border towns such as Caerleon have the best kind of protection, considering their location?

Uriel explained that from the huge Arcadian continent, the barbarians are not the only threats. The northern city also has its problems facing the dark elves and orcs who were always lurking, looking for a chance to attack.

Either way, Tristan had promised himself to not be dependent on that bastard king. The first step for that is gathering his own strength.

He walked towards Gazef and told him the new townguards should not learn all three skills. They have to be specialized. He decided to split the new guards into the sword and shield unit, archery unit, and spear unit.

People always say 'jack of all trades, master of none. This is a true statement, especially for beginners, it is better to master one form of fighting. That way, they could be stronger, and different units could be employed to take care of different situations.

Gazef nodded after hearing Tristan's instructions and started to prepare.

When Tristan was walking back towards the town hall, he heard the sound of footsteps from behind him. He glanced back and saw a guard running towards him at full speed.

He turned around and asked. "What is it?"

"My lord," The guard gave him a quick bow. "We have a visitor."

The guard's shoulder looked tense, and he stood like a ramrod was inserted through his spine, causing Tristan to wonder what it is about the visitor that made this guard so tense. A few minutes later, his questions were answered, as he saw a group of elves wearing yellow tunic and silver armor walking towards them. From a quick glance alone, there were 50 of them.

This group of 50 elves once more reminded him of his wife when she first came to pick him up at the Vanyar kingdom

As for these people, they are elves from Forlond Kingdom, one of the four elven kingdoms that reside in the Evergreen Forest. Tristan did meet some of them on the day of his wedding.

The elf who led them looked very old, and he wore a robe that was much more luxurious than the others. Uriel seemed to know him, and the fat elf quickly gave his respects.

"Elder Giulis, welcome to Caerleon."

The wrinkled elf ignored Uriel and stared at Tristan and said.

"We came here to bring news regarding Princess Serene of Vanyar."

Right as he heard the elder, Tristan stared at him. The words caught his full attention.