Runes, what are they?
They are they are words of power that imbue magical abilities on objects and in some cases individuals.
The old Maximilian has never for once practiced this ability like he was ashamed of it.
The current Maximilian after studying was elated, the rune language of this world was non other than English language.
But even as he understood the language, he couldn't just start inscribing on weapons.
There were steps that needed to be followed,
First was to be able to maintain a steady output of magic during the process and the other was following logic and material compatibility.
For instance if one inscribed a fire rune on a piece of paper it would be counterproductive.
He also discovered that soon enough as he grows in magic power, he would be able to just cast runes on an object without using ink.
Max knew that rune magic had endless possibilities in its application, one only needed to have an equally boundless imagination.
So the first thing he was going to do was to build his way up with technology from his previous life and then maybe in-between when struck with inspiration he could create marvels that both worlds had never dreamed of seeing.
....
The sun was already nearing the middle of the sky and Max found himself in a field, standing before him were about one hundred and twenty two men who had volunteered to be in the town militia.
" Welcome volunteers and I thank you greatly for your future endeavors in protecting this territory from those who would harm us. "
" Training begins tomorrow morning and as soldiers in my territory you will follow orders.
Anyone found wanting or belligerent during this first three months of training would be kicked out of the militia after the three months of training, crimes like deserting or any other criminal activities would be punished by death or hard labor.
You have been chosen to maintain order in this territory, therefore you should embody order, civilization and power.
Together we will bring peace, order and security to any place we find ourselves."
That evening one hundred and twenty two people left the field, the next morning one hundred and ten people came back.
Twelve people had decided not to join.
Max had convinced Sir Kyle and four other knights to help him perform basic training for the recruits.
Instruments like the pull up bar and several other obstacle courses were hastily constructed to aid with the basic training.
While the basic training was going on Max needed to create a standard gear for his army.
First he designed a banner, which was a black flag with a red scorpion emblem on the top right corner.
The red scorpion which was now the symbol of his house and as such all insignia and stamps would carry it .
For their uniforms, the towns cloth makers were in full overdrive as they were given designs for a new uniform.
The whole uniform was black trousers, black long sleeved and short sleeve shirts embroidered with the red scorpion on the chest and the upper sleeves of the shirt .
The soldiers name and batch number would also be embroidered on the uniform.
Their armour was just a simple blackened steel cuirass to be worn over their uniforms.
They would also be provided leather boots, leather trench coats to protect against cold and a steel skull cap to protect against head injuries.
As for weaponry, it would be long before Max produced a well working firearm but for now he needed something to keep their contact with hostile forces to a minimum while still being lethal.
He opted for the recurve crossbow, it was light and easy to maintain and although it took time to reload it would serve as a baseline for the introduction of firearms.
For their second weapon Max was considering either a sword or a spear but there were many pros and cons with both weapons, the spear while having great reach would turn useless once the reach is bypasses and the sword, no matter which type while being a phenomenal weapon turns into nothing but scrap metal in untrained hands.
Kendo, was the word that came into Max head, the katana was much more maneuverable than traditional knights swords but it only worked well against unarmored targets.
He was caught between two wonderful weapons, the short spear and the katana.
The short spear which was more lighter and workable than regular spears could only reach full potential if combined with a shield.
It then dawned on him that he could enchant the katana to bypass its limits against armoured targets.
Between that moment and the end of their training Max would have figured a runic enchantment that would make Katana use optimal.
Then there was the issue of money, if everything goes as planned the cost of arming a soldier would cost two gold coins that is two hundred and twenty gold total and coupled with feeding and instructors expenses, it would be costing at least one thousand gold coins to maintain the army yearly and with the amount of projects he was planning to embark on he would need to find or create a new source of income soon or else in two years he will be broke.
This was one of the things on his mind but first he had to make sure that security was up and running,
Because what use would it be that has avenues of making money when someone could just snatch it up because of his lack of defense.
Max planned on living in peace but that didn't mean he was going to get complacent to leave an avenue for attack, he needed to project strength at all times.