Everyone was stunned by this sudden shout, looking at each other as the classroom fell silent.
The red-haired female instructor slowly walked down from the podium, the sound of her military boots hitting the floor echoing in everyone’s hearts.
She paced while speaking in a cold tone.
“As members of the Military Command Department, you must clearly understand the strengths, weaknesses, connections, and coordination of every unit in your forces.”
“You need to know how many miles infantry can walk in a day. How long heavy cavalry can charge. Where the endurance limit of a mage is, and how many times a priest can use Divine Arts in a day. You must know the speed of a logistics unit and how much it will slow down the army.”
“You also need to know where to camp on a marching route, where is suitable for an ambush, and where a defense line can be built… Then, you must prepare every plan report according to the strictest standards.”
Wendy listened to her words and secretly curled his lip.
‘She gets a sparkle in her eyes whenever she talks about this, but people who talk about war on paper often have no real skill. They immediately panic in actual combat.’
Unknown to him, the red-haired instructor had walked over to the Prince’s side.
Her sharp eyes fixed on his dismissive expression, and she stopped.
“What? Do you have a different opinion?”
Wendy snapped out of it and quickly forced a standard social smile.
“Ha, Commander, your insight is profound. I have no different opinion at all.”
The instructor sized him up from head to toe, her gaze as if she wanted to strip him bare, before finally letting out a cold snort.
“A man who came here just to look good and thinks only of how to pick up women… it’s disgusting.”
Wendy felt a surge of anger, but the smile remained on his face.
He was a smart man and saw no need to clash with his teacher.
Even if he wanted to deal with this arrogant woman, he had to wait until after she gave him the credits for this course.
If she was in a bad mood and gave him a fifty-nine, he would have nowhere to cry.
Thinking of this, the Prince swallowed his anger and kept his mouth shut.
The instructor continued.
“Therefore, I require all of you to attend every course in the Combat Department and Tactics Department of the Military Branch. You will crawl through the mud with them, and not only that — you must do better than them!”
“Only then can you truly understand the limits of every unit and master the truly valuable things that cannot be seen on a map! If they run cross-country with a fifty-pound pack, you will carry seventy pounds! If they bathe once every ten days, you will go twenty! If they eat black bread, you will chew on coarse buns!”
Wendy finally couldn’t take it anymore.
‘Is she insane?’
He came to the Military Branch to learn how to turn his wisdom into actual power, to understand the military system of this world, and to accumulate power faster.
He didn’t come here for a triathlon!
‘What is the core of a commander? The brain! It is the wisdom of strategy, the sharpness to perceive the battlefield, and the art of deploying troops!’
‘Physical fitness is important, but it’s just the foundation. Raising it to such a freakish level is putting the cart before the horse. Instead of rolling in the mud, wouldn’t it be better to study more battle cases and familiarize oneself with maps?’
‘This woman is simply another Zhao Kuo.’
The more Wendy thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed.
He gritted his teeth and stood up.
“Teacher, this… isn’t very appropriate, is it?”
The instructor turned around sharply, her gaze like a knife pinning him in place.
After a moment, she forced a smile that looked worse than crying, even appearing somewhat sinister.
“It’s all right, student. Although I am the teacher, we can be friends. You can call me by my name, Tracy.”
“Yes, Teacher Tracy.” Wendy also smiled.
“You know that most of us students don’t have grand ambitions. It’s unlikely we’ll lead thousands of troops in the future. We just want to get a peerage, look after our own plot of land, and live without worry. To put it bluntly, we’re here for a diploma. There’s no need to be so serious, right?”
The other students in the classroom felt Wendy’s words spoke to their hearts.
Although no one dared to voice their agreement, many secretly gave him a thumbs up.
“Nonsense!”
Tracy barked, her voice harsh with anger.
“What absolute rubbish! As a commander, if you don’t understand the actual situation of the front-line soldiers, how can you make the right judgment? This attitude is irresponsible toward the lives of the countless soldiers who will be placed in your hands! You should be sent to a military court!”
Wendy had suppressed his temper for a long time, and now he couldn’t hold back.
He let out a cold laugh.
“Teacher Tracy, I admit it’s necessary to understand the situation, and there’s nothing wrong with experiencing it personally.”
“But don’t forget, on the battlefield, things change in the blink of an eye.”
“No matter how excellent a commander is, he is only a man, not an omnipotent god. Just doing his own duty is enough to make his head spin. Where would he have the energy for these flashy, empty gestures?”
Tracy looked at him mockingly as if she had heard a ridiculous joke.
“Things change in the blink of an eye? Well said. Unfortunately, strategy is too vast a concept and involves too many factors for us to compete right here. Otherwise, I would definitely make a self-righteous guy like you concede defeat.”
Wendy paused and subconsciously asked, “Is there not even wargaming?”
Tracy was also taken aback.
“Wargaming? What is that?”
Those words caused a bright light to flash through Wendy’s mind.
He had found it.
He found the thing that could make him famous in this academy, and even in the military system of the entire continent.
Seeing Wendy fall silent, Tracy thought she had hit his sore spot, and the sneer on her lips deepened.
“Don’t try to change the subject with strange words. How much do you actually know about war? If you can’t say something convincing today, you’re definitely failing this course. Conversely, if you speak well, I’ll let you pass right now, and you won’t have to attend this class ever again. How about that?”
She walked to Wendy and waited.
Seeing his continued silence, the smile on her face grew more sinister.
“Very well, it seems you know your limits. But I must tell you, you have already failed this course.”
She turned to walk back to the podium.
Failing?
Wendy raised an eyebrow.
Amid the sympathetic and gloating gazes of the other students, he didn’t appear nervous at all.
Instead, he gave a mysterious smile.
“Pardon my bluntness! In my opinion, you — and not just you, but most of the high-ranking commanders on the continent today — simply don’t understand what war is!”
The classroom fell into a deathly silence.
Tracy turned around sharply, laughing from extreme anger.
“I don’t understand war? Many high-ranking commanders don’t understand war? Are you saying that in this world, only you understand it?”
Wendy sighed inwardly.
‘I just wanted to be a quiet, handsome guy and build my career. Why is it so hard?’
However, he knew that if he didn’t suppress this woman today, his grade for this course was doomed.
The Prince met Tracy’s fiery gaze and spoke one word at a time.
“Yes. You don’t understand. If you really did, then please tell me accurately right now —”
“What is war?”
Tracy laughed aloud, as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world.
“What is war? Isn’t that simple? War is…”
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