CHAPTER 34: MEETING A MASTER RANK SOLDIER.

The Aurelian military department.

This was the name Seraphina had offered to the baron as a label for the soldiers serving under his name and territory.

James favored the name; as such, he went with it. The rest of the soldiers didn’t seem to have an issue with it either.

Actually, it was more that no one wanted to be the first to oppose.

To them, the barony was just growing, its name already spreading through different territories in a week’s time.

If they were to stand out, considering the military department was still new, they could end up getting the title of being the first commander, which came with owning an estate or village under the barony.

It was a one-way ticket to success. No one wanted to risk being on the baron’s bad side.

Additionally, most already realized their standing and were there merely out of passion and responsibility. As for those with unique talents, they were more than ready to battle for the position of first commander.

’Quite hopeless if you ask me,’ Dorian muttered in his mind, standing at the forefront where he could see the gathering of soldiers training with one another. All 230 of them.

The field was large, so it was more than spacious enough to hold the number of soldiers present there. Each varied in size, from being tall and bulky to short and small. Most were not even capable of swinging a sword well.

Though that would change after Dorian appoints a powerful leader, and his title finally takes effect.

After watching for a while, with Maria flanking his side, he finally decided to alert them of his arrival.

Taking a deep breath, he let out his voice, echoing through the entire field...

"Soldiers of Aurelian!"

As the voice echoed, all soldiers turned their attention towards him, completely halting whatever they were doing.

Their peering eyes were now fixed on him, just as he wanted.

"Ahn? Is that the son of the barony?"

"Are you serious? This is the first time I am seeing him. I thought he was older."

"Right? He looks way younger than I expected. You mean this is the person single-handedly carrying the entire barony?"

"Are you guys sure that’s him? Wasn’t he supposed to be handsome?"

Their murmurs drifted in Dorian’s direction as if they were not trying to conceal it.

Maria gave him a quick glance. "Looks like you’re quite popular, my lord. That should make it easier to speak with them, right?"

"You think?" Dorian scanned the soldiers as they all surrounded him. "Hm..."

Taking another look at Dorian, she could tell he wasn’t the least bit impressed by the sights before him.

Soon, after all the soldiers had gathered to see the son of the baron, a single soldier stepped forward.

He was bald and wore black trousers with a white armless top. Strapped to the side of the waist were two giant short blades. His muscles were twice the size of Dorian’s and any other soldier beside him.

In fact, from where he stood, it felt as though his shadow was going to swallow Dorian up.

Finally, he spoke, one hand on his chest with his head slightly bowed.

"It’s an honor to finally meet you, Lord Dorian." With his voice deep and menacing, he said, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Jordan, a warrior from the village of Efor. I have come to serve and protect my homeland."

’Efor? Right, that’s the village south of here. I heard people from there are all warrior classes; no wonder he looks so strong.’

[You are currently using the skill Analysis.]

[Name: Jordan Stiventine.]

[Class: Warrior.]

[Rank: Master.]

[Current mood: Ambitious, excited, proud.]

’Master, eh? That explains the confidence; not many people can reach that rank. Then again, it is also a popular rank for warriors since Grandmaster is even harder to reach.’

Dorian smiled back at him, one hand on his waist. "Jordan. You look strong; should I take it as you’re the strongest here?"

"You were able to tell just from looking at me?"

"You can say that."

In truth, it was because, out of everyone, he was the only person to step forward to address Dorian, and no one objected either.

It meant they already respected him enough to speak for them.

"Yes, I am," Jordan grinned. "I have defeated every single person in this training ground. I intend to grab the position of first commander; failure is not an option."

Dorian looked at the other soldiers’ faces before responding; some were dejected and disappointed, which only served to confirm Jordan’s correctness, but the majority were proud, almost joyful.

Dorian’s smile grew even wider.

"Is that so? Well, I am glad to have such a powerful warrior serving under my father; however, what rank are you again?"

"Master rank, my lord, I am afraid it has been quite difficult for me to go any higher."

"I see." Dorian sighed loudly, "That is quite unfortunate. I was hoping you were higher."

A loud gasp rippled through the gathering.

"Y-you were?" Jordan’s brow twitched.

"Master rank isn’t all that impressive for a warrior, no?"

In terms of ranking, an Amateur-Adept often relies on their inhuman physical abilities; moving to Master rank, they are able to manipulate mana to further strengthen their fighting and so on. Grandmaster grants the user a unique skill depending on their mana.

As such, it was quite normal for people to look down on master-rank warriors; however, not to the point where anyone would call it unimpressive.

"M-my lord, I mean no disrespect when I say this." Jordan was so shocked that his face had turned purple. "But you speak as though you know someone stronger here; most soldiers here are Adept at best, and the few who are Masters are weaker than I am."

"Oh? But I do have someone stronger."

"Ahn?"

Dorian pointed at Maria with his thumb. "She is."

Jordan turned to Maria, who stared back at him with her usual stoic expression.

"My lord, she—she is a lady..."

Dorian hardened his gaze for his next words.

"This lady has a higher rank than you. A Lord Rank."