The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Every weapon needs to be tested in actual combat, and flamethrowers are no exception.

Isa breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the monsters howl in agony under the experimental flamethrower.

Although she had already tested it before and found that the flames from the magic flamethrower were indeed effective against these monsters, Isa still felt a strange sense of satisfaction when she saw these burning monsters again.

Even though the monsters' entire bodies were engulfed in flames and their mouths were howling hoarsely, they were still able to move and charged toward the flamethrower squad with their last bit of strength.

But Isa was prepared. Another squad with muskets quickly reacted, using their guns to suppress the monsters. In the end, the monsters could only be burned alive amidst their screams.

This was just an experimental flamethrower, used to test whether it could effectively damage monsters. The one Flora had was clearly not an experimental model, but one specifically built to burn the big guy in the center of the battlefield.

Isa looked at Noam, who resembled a small mountain on the battlefield, and then led the experimental team back to their position.

"Teacher Isa!"

Several soldiers, fresh from the battlefield and still smelling of gunpowder, excitedly greeted Isa.

Isa stopped in her tracks, stunned for a moment. It had been a long time since anyone had addressed her that way.

Looking at these young soldiers, Isa, who considered herself to have a good memory, did not recognize them at first glance.

"Don't the teacher remember us? No wonder."

The soldiers took off their hats and saluted Isha.

"We were among the first soldiers to hear your lectures when we were working in the gray-collar and white-collar industries."

At this point, Isa began to recall that when she was working in the gray-collar class, in addition to teaching students at the school, she also gave basic education and ideological courses to the soldiers, although most of the soldiers were drowsy listening to her.

"I remembered."

Isa smiled and nodded in return, jokingly saying, "Back then, you guys slept through my classes quite a bit."

Several soldiers scratched their heads sheepishly. The gray-collar workers had strict requirements for the educational level of non-commissioned officers, and if they did not meet the requirements, it would be difficult for them to get promoted.

Judging from their uniforms, these soldiers are clearly veterans, but it's obvious they're not doing very well now. It's clear that these soldiers haven't studied properly since Isha left.

The soldier in the lead hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward under urging from his comrades behind him and asked, "Teacher Isa, could you give us another lesson? The kind of lesson you give to the clerks? We'll definitely listen carefully this time!"

Isa was a little puzzled. She carefully observed the soldiers' equipment and confirmed that they had just come back from the battlefield. So she asked, "Didn't you just come back from the battlefield? Rest is more important. Only by resting well can we fight against the next wave. The governor also said that the counterattack is coming soon. We can't afford not to rest properly."

But the leading soldier's eyes were firm, and he bowed and said, "Teacher, please, this is really important to us."

Isa thought these soldiers had finally made something of themselves and wanted to get promoted after the battle, so she insisted, "Rest well. Now that you're rested, surviving on the battlefield is the most important thing. After this war is over, I'll go back to my old job and continue my studies."

After finishing her speech, Isa prepared to leave, as there were still many matters to handle back home, including submitting a performance report on the experimental flamethrower.

However, one of the soldiers blocked their way and said, "Teacher Isa, we also want to be clerks, but we're not good with words and really don't know what a clerk is supposed to do, so please teach us, teacher!"

Isa was somewhat surprised to hear this. There are many strict requirements for becoming a clerk in the army. It's not something you can just get by based on seniority. How could these soldiers who doze off in class become clerks?

In an instant, Isa realized something and asked, "Where is your original clerk?"

"Sacrificed."

The soldiers' responses were quite flat, as if they were talking about something mundane.

"The governor had ordered long ago that the scribes were not allowed to lead the charge, but the battlefield situation changes rapidly. Our previous scribe sacrificed himself to cover our retreat."

The leading soldier added.

"Many scribes from other teams also perished, so the governor ordered us to become scribes and be distributed among other teams. So, Ms. Isa, could you give us some extra lessons? We will really pay attention this time."

The clerks' casualty rate was too high, and even though Linde had issued many orders, it was difficult to control them.

The cold wind and snow lashed at Isha's face. War was so cruel that Isha, caught in its midst, forgot how devastating it was.

Isa really wanted to ask how many of the soldiers she had trained were still alive, but seeing the soldiers' hesitant looks, she didn't have the courage to continue. Instead, she turned to ask, "What do you think of your former clerk?"

Upon hearing this question, the young soldiers couldn't help but smile, their faces red from the cold. The leading soldier grinned and said, "Very good. Although the clerk is usually a bit strict, he is very good to us. Before, when we were short of warm clothing, the clerk even pulled the supply officer over and scolded him."

Another soldier added, "But the clerk can be terrifying when he yells at people, thankfully it wasn't us that time."

The soldiers started chatting about the previous clerk, but eventually they all fell silent.

Seeing this, Isa encouraged them, "You see, don't you know exactly what a clerk should do? I believe you can become excellent clerks even without attending classes. Now go and get some rest."

Hearing Isha's encouragement, the soldiers finally felt relieved and said in unison, "Thank you, teacher!"

Then they all scattered and ran away.

But Isa fell into melancholy. How many of these people would be left after this counterattack ended?

Upon arriving at the rear plaza, Isa handed Lind a report on the flamethrower's effectiveness.

Meanwhile, the magic train nearby was still unloading cargo. Combined with the resources accumulated previously, the amount of holy water and weapons within the position was now terrifyingly abundant.

Linde has always been quite restrained in his use of holy water. Apart from giving each person two bottles of holy water, Linde only uses holy water for defense when the demons begin their frantic advance.

This wasn't actually Linde's decision, but rather a plan discussed by the staff and higher-ups. They even calculated together how much holy water would be needed to wipe out all the demon monsters in one go.

Now, the holy water that has been accumulating is finally ready to be used on the battlefield.

Isa sometimes wondered if the holy water that was brought in would be directly thrown into the battlefield, which would cause fewer casualties. But if that were the case, the war would probably be dragged on indefinitely, and even more people would die if it were drawn into a war of attrition.

Isa didn't know if she had the courage and determination to make this decision, but at this moment she was somewhat relieved that she wasn't the one who had to bear this kind of pressure.

After her sigh, Isa reaffirmed her resolve: this war must end, no matter what.