It seemed like the more drilling the feral soldiers went through, the longer they could last without rebelling.
Every morning, they had to be reminded who their leader was to remain calm and obedient. Then training of mind and body would follow.
Roland had taken upon the responsibility of sixty feral soldiers, while Jax took upon the rest, one hundred and forty ferals. They had created a telephatic bond with them, resulting in small symbols of their connection appearing on their arms.
"How is it going?" Lucian joined Roland for a morning run.
"Good," Roland wiped the sweat off his forehead, his shirt wet with it.
A group of feral soldiers were running ahead of him, their steps becoming more and more in sync.
They wore rags for clothing. Lucian had yet to get matching outfits for their soldiers, so looking like bandits would do for now.
The rest of Glory's staff members were also awake, some preparing breakfast while others were cleaning the camp for departure in a few hours.
The Southern lands were vast and open, which allowed them to see the horizon and the rising sun.
"I believe they can last up to ten days before we start noticing any changes in their behavior," Roland continued.
"Ten days," Lucian repeated, catching up with him, "Too short. Separate them into groups of five, I'll fight each group in a one-on-five spar. Let's see how far we can push them."
"You sure, Boss?" Roland looked at him, "You've been looking tired lately. Don't push yourself too hard."
Lucian chuckled, "You and your men should start sparring them as well. You can't stay markless forever."
"What if we can't tame our beasts? The southern business depends on us," Roland voiced his concern. He had been thinking about advancing his mark for a while, but the risks were too big.
All the Southern Vices except Jax had the same thought in their minds. They were important to the organization, and losing them would be a great blow.
"You'll be fine," Lucian waved away their concerns, pointing at the feral soldiers, "Tell your beasts that if they don't want to end up like these guys, they'll cooperate with you. They are too weak against me."
At least up to two marked. Lucian would have to advance to gold rank, or even higher to advance his feral soldiers' ranks. Then the loyalty training would have to begin anew.
It meant that every time he advanced his soldier's rank, he had to retrain the newly unlocked beast.
The process would be a painful one, and for the Gold Mine's needs, they didn't need to be more than one to two marked hunters.
"Alright!" Roland shouted, his voice carrying through the air. "Five of you! Get over here!"
Five soldiers he pointed at stopped running and walked over to him, standing at attention, their eyes fixed on Lucian.
Roland explained to them that Lucian was going to test their strength, and that they had to do their best.
Lucian could see the frustration in Roland's eyes.
Rolan didn't mind that he had to talk to them as if he was talking to children. He was used to dealing with not the smartest people.
What he desired was for the feral soldiers to look up to him too and respect him as a second in command. The only way to do that was through force and his leadership abilities.
Jax yawned, stretching his arms above his head, the hundred and so soldiers behind him, following his every move. They seemed to be more disciplined, and less feral at the face of a one marked hunter.
Roland gave Jax a glare, "Are you trying to make fun of me?"
Jax rolled his eyes, "Of course not. You're a role model, sir," he said sarcastically, his eyes moving to the feral men behind him, and then back to Roland's group, "You're a good example of what not to do. Sir."
Anger rose in Roland's expression, his nostrils flaring, the jealousy of the younger man's achievements was getting to him.
Jax was tackling the second beast already, which was obvious with the way his attitude was changing. Before, he was easily provoked and short tempered, now he was doing the provoking and taunting.
It helped him satisfy the beast's needs, while also improving his control.
"..." Rolan scowled at Jax, his beast demanding he give the younger man a piece of his mind. He held himself back though, or he would end up regretting his actions later on.
Fishbone and Leaf on the other hand, barely confronted their beasts at all, maybe once a month at most.
Goblin was a different story. Tattoos with facial expressions and symbols were a cursed thing. Nobody succeeded in controlling them, calling them demonic beasts, not the normal ones.
His tattoo would change expressions randomly, from happiness, to anger, to sadness, and then back to normal.
They boy still worked hard in getting stronger, but it was obvious he was having a harder time than anyone else.
"Master," the five feral soldiers surrounded Lucian, bringing his attention to them.
They slowed down their pace, moving to the side and away from the group.
None of Lucian's men received military training, but he did some spying on the royal army after the ambush incident with the Rocheforts to learn some basic techniques.
Rolan passed on his intention through the telepathy link, making the feral soldiers attack Lucian.
Lucian was forced to use his full speed and strength to dodge their attacks.
There were one hundred and ninety five left, which meant at least an hour of intense exercise, or so he thought.
Jax and Roland did not go easy on him, making turns with each other and coming up with new formations and attacks that were harder to counter.
Everyone turned their spar into a spectacle, watching Lucian's stamina and power running out.
The feral's soldiers' punches and kicks were heavy, and Lucian was forced to block instead of dodging them. The sand beneath his feet would sink, making it harder to stand his ground.
Twenty, thirty, fourty…
Lucian made a time out sign with his hand, catching his breath. His entire body was sore, his legs felt like lead, his chest hurt with every breath he took, and he had to wipe the sweat off his forehead.
He couldn't fall to the ground to rest, or the feral's respect for him would diminish, and their loyalty would waver, so he stayed standing, enduring his aching muscles.
Rolan and Jax also took this chance to catch their breath from the telephatic strain of ordering the feral soldiers around.
"Take a short break," Lucian ordered them as if it wasn't him who needed it the most but his two Vices, his breathing still a bit labored, "And then resume."
"..." Jax's brows twitched as the feral soldiers smirked at him, their expressions saying, 'Master is not a weakling like you, he's taking a break to let you rest.'
He could only swallow his retort or his hard work of making them worship their boss would be for nothing.
"I think... I just advanced a mark," Roland muttered under his breath, his eyes wide in shock, "What...? How?"