[A/N: Thank you for all the golden tickets! As a token of appreciation, I’ll be uploading 5 Chapters for you.]

Adrian held the finished bullet in his palm.

He finally had his perfect ammunition. The gunpowder testing had taken forever but willow charcoal easily gave the best explosive results.

The brass casings were flawless too since they never warped or jammed in the chamber.

For the actual projectile, he needed a bullet that wouldn’t shred his own barrel. It had to fly straight without breaking apart on impact.

The final alloy ended up being exactly 92 percent pure lead, 4 percent pure copper, and 4 percent pure tin.

The high lead content gave the bullet some serious stopping power. Mixing in the copper and tin just kept the metal from warping mid-flight.

With the bullets packed, his custom bolt action rifle was officially complete.

Adrian grinned. He finally had a reliable way to protect himself. He walked out of his underground room and headed up to the surface.

Instead of crashing in his bed, he walked around to the backyard to check on his new army.

The large dirt field was packed. The men were training exactly like they had been doing for the past few weeks. But unlike those early days, they did not get tired easily anymore.

They were still doing the exact same exercises. They completely drained all of their mana and then used the knight breathing techniques to recover.

This was where the significant difference came in. When a normal person used up all of their mana and rested, they simply recovered their energy slowly. Regular breathing was never meant to increase a person’s overall mana capacity.

The knight technique changed the rules of anatomy. The specific way they inhaled and exhaled helped them sense the ambient mana around them.

Sensing was extremely important for knights. Without sensing, they would never be able to control how much mana they output into their attacks.

Once their mana refilled, they moved on to the actual physical knight techniques. This was how they gradually and slowly increased their total mana levels. The breathing just helped them absorb it faster.

The main objective was to get them in peak physical shape so their bodies could handle the mana growth.

It was showing clear results. Every single man on that field was hardworking. For the past week, Adrian had watched them stay on the training ground until sunset. They only went back home once the sky was completely dark. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

They were still tired after a full day of work, but they were no longer collapsing in the dirt. They could actually walk home.

Claire always pushed them hard. She stood at the front of the formation and barked orders with a stern expression.

Aria was also out there. She worked extremely hard right alongside the grown men. But due to her small body, there was a huge limit to how much she could push herself.

Adrian had already told her to halt the actual knight training. He planned on giving her the hybrid manual in the future. He did not want to take the risk of having her learn a basic knight technique now, only for it to be incompatible with the hybrid one later.

Since he did not want to take that risk, he told her to just focus on physical exercise and stamina building. She listened to him and still put in maximum effort every single day.

Adrian stood by the edge of the field and watched the soldiers train on their own while Claire corrected a few stances. He realized something important.

The men already had the routine memorized by now and they barely even needed Claire to yell at them anymore.

Adrian watched them correct their own stances. He originally planned on hiring a huge mercenary squad to keep him safe on his upcoming supply run. He just wanted someone to take care of the security while he was on the road since the gun was more like a last option to save himself.

He had no intention of using it and spreading the knowledge of it’s existence to the others.

But seeing his own soldiers operating so smoothly gave him a better idea.

A translucent blue screen suddenly popped up in front of his face

[Ding! Story Quest Activated!]

[Quest: Daddy must take his girl on an unforgettable adventure.]

[Reward: 500 grams of Mithri]

Adrian read the words and nodded. If he was just going to hire mercenaries anyway, he might as well fulfill the quest requirements and bring Aria along.

He also thought about bringing Claire. He trusted her a lot now. She was extremely loyal and had been working tirelessly for his barony.

He decided it was time to give her a break. Training these beginner knights every single day was incredibly monotonous work.

"Claire, call a halt to the training for a moment," Adrian said.

Claire turned around and saluted. "Company, halt! Stand at ease!"

The men dropped their wooden swords and relaxed their postures. Aria immediately ran over to Adrian and hugged his leg.

"Papa, I did fifty squats today," Aria said, looking up at him with bright eyes. "My legs feel like jelly."

"You did great, sweetie." Adrian said, patting her head. "But I have some news. The two of you need to go pack your bags. We are leaving the territory in two or three days."

Aria gasped in excitement. "Where are we going, Papa? Are we going on an adventure?"

"Exactly," Adrian smiled. "We are going to travel for a bit and see the neighboring lands."

Claire frowned slightly. "Lord Adrian, what about the recruits? They still need supervision."

"They have the routine memorized," Adrian replied. "They know the breathing techniques and they know the physical forms. They can train themselves for a few weeks. You have worked hard enough, Claire. You are coming with us as my personal guard."

Claire looked surprised, but she nodded firmly. "Understood, my lord. I will inform the men and pack my equipment."

Adrian headed back to his mansion and went straight to his study. He had a few more things to do.