Kayal smiled inwardly at his own situation and asked with an elegant and indifferent smile.
The Knights of the Round Table had brought their assignments, of course, but their worries went far beyond that—they had seen how strict Kayal could be, and it would be too embarrassing if they didn't pass.
Kayal looked down at the parchments they had submitted, and as if drawing lots, he casually picked up a scroll and opened it.
The thirty-six people below all swallowed in unison, and the synchronized sound amplified the action's volume.
Kayal smiled slightly, opened the parchment, and began to read: "Swordsman... only simple leather armor and a short sword, capable of maintaining public order within the territory. Hmm, a very good idea, looking at the problem not from a war perspective, but from a political and civilian perspective... The advantage is that it only requires simple training and meager pay to provide many armed forces and employment opportunities, and it can also serve as an outlet for retired soldiers..."
Kayal's gaze swept over the crowd, finally resting on the young, shy Knight Captain, Sebarton_Or.
"Seba, tell me, why did you think of this type of soldier?" Kayal asked, gently tapping the podium with his finger.
The shy young man stood up, his face slightly flushed. Under everyone's gaze, this son of a merchant showed no trace of a merchant's vulgarity or shrewdness. He said with a slight blush: "I often traveled to Rome with my father, and in Rome, I saw light infantry used as order-keeping troops. Often, when a unit's discipline collapsed, it caused the people of a city to suffer, and even the lord, governor, and emperor couldn't suppress them. Once they grouped together, their combat power was also extremely formidable; if one didn't resort to drastic measures and deploy heavy infantry, they couldn't be subdued at all."
The young man swallowed, as if organizing his words: "And I thought that if there was an 'army' that wasn't very strong in combat, was trained, but could suppress rioters, yet couldn't defeat a regular army, this situation would be much better. That's why I came up with the Swordsman." Sebarton nodded.
Kayal nodded slightly. This Swordsman could be controlled by the government, and simple training would make the expenses cheaper, let alone the pay. If there was a rebellion, a team of Knights could easily suppress it... Rather than saying this unit was like later-era police, it was more like urban management.
Kayal smiled faintly, nodded, and motioned for him to sit down. Sebarton immediately let out a huge sigh of relief, his entire back covered in cold sweat, but now he was relaxed and ready to watch others struggle.
Kayal put down his parchment and casually picked up another one.
"Spear-Shield Soldier." Kayal looked at the meticulous handwriting and the drawn illustration on the scroll. He subconsciously looked up at Bedivere, and instantly everyone's gaze turned to Bedivere.
Kayal did not praise the handwriting or the difficulty of Bedivere writing with her left hand; he knew that would be the greatest disrespect to her. Kayal nodded slightly: "Spear-Shield Soldier, equipped with light armor in key areas and a round shield..." This time, Kayal was smarter; instead of pointing it out, he asked back: "Bedivere, why did you think of this type of soldier?"
Bedivere stood up, her other empty sleeve looking very conspicuous: "Because I thoroughly studied the casualties of the Romans' infantry, and I found that, apart from javelin throwers, light infantry, which is the most mobile infantry besides cavalry, suffered the highest casualties."
"Especially casualties from archers, javelins, and long-range attacks." Bedivere nodded and continued: "So I thought of adding shields to reduce the casualties of light infantry, and the value of light infantry itself is only slightly less than heavy infantry, so I think it's necessary to train them."
Kayal nodded slightly. So-called warfare is not about extremism; a national situation like Camelot, where there are an excessive number of cavalry but very few infantry, is very problematic and has huge weaknesses. If Camelot's front lines are continuously stretched, causing supply lines to be cut off, then after three days, the warhorses will turn their heavy armor into iron coffins and be overwhelmed.
And the light cavalry of Scotland would be even easier to deal with. Whether it's using heavy infantry to directly crush the enemy, using city walls for defense, or using terrain for annihilation, the choices are much more diverse.
However, a single heavy infantry force would lead to extremely poor mobility, being led by the nose by the enemy... Light infantry has strong overall capabilities, but in other words, all its capabilities are quite weak. They can't compare to javelin throwers in mid-range attacks, archers in long-range attacks, great shield bearers in defense, heavy infantry in attack, light cavalry in speed, or heavy cavalry in charge... Except for exceptionally good commanders, such as Joan of Arc and Kayal, other commanders do not like this type of soldier.
But Bedivere was able to come up with a way to add shields to resist long-range attacks. This way, light infantry with round shields would become a type of soldier with a slight defensive bias but still retaining their own characteristics.
Kayal nodded slightly, effectively letting her off the hook, and then opened the next parchment... Grand Duke Andre's answer was the Claymore warrior, who pursued extreme strength. It seemed the Claymore girls had given him inspiration. Warriors wielding a Claymore in one hand and wearing extremely thick armor, like the Mo Dao warriors of the Tang Dynasty, could split a charging warhorse with a single strike. This was a type of soldier that maximized strength.
Of course, this type of soldier not only required great strength but also strict physical fitness, and could only be used as elite troops.
Gawain's answer was divine archers with perfect aim, paired with incredibly light armored warhorses. Kayal knew this type of soldier had a title in the Mongolian language, called 'Jebe'... Gareth felt that concentrating more, larger, and faster arrows was the ultimate way—a strong bow unit... Gareth felt that reconnaissance cavalry gathering intelligence would be more accurate than Kayal's Intelligence Division—scouts... Reinhardt felt that if the great shield unit assembled by the King of Scotland had anti-impact capabilities, it would be better... Laulan_Miles felt... Xivil_Side felt... It seemed these guys all had their own set of war principles in their hearts. Kayal was truly enlightened by what he saw...