The garrison of the Seventh Auxiliary woke up to a brutal sunrise, nothing like the pretty pictures you see in fancy paintings. It signaled the start of a whole new ball game for the soldiers. Aetherion changed things up, ditching the spiritual stuff for hardcore physical training and tactics. The guys were wiped, used to chilling and thinking about mana flow, but now they were running until they coughed up a lung, doing push-ups till their muscles screamed, and marching in sync until the ground shook.
Commander Rexus, all fired up, made sure everyone stuck to the new schedule. The training field became a real pressure cooker. While other units did elegant magic, the Seventh learned old-school Iron Will Conditioning: running with heavy packs in the blazing sun, digging trenches super fast, and practicing hand-to-hand combat with no magic allowed. Aetherion himself was the toughest teacher, silently walking around, fixing a bad shield position or a weak punch with a tiny move that showed exactly what was wrong.
He taught by doing. One soldier, Gorok, a big blacksmith who got busted down in rank for talking back, made fun of a drill about dodging hits instead of using a shield spell. Aetherion walked up to Gorok, gave him a shot to land a punch, and when the guy swung, Aetherion just moved a bit, letting the fist fly by his ear. Then, he disarmed Gorok and pinned him before he could even blink. The whole thing took like two seconds.
Magic fails when the enemy is too fast or too close, Aetherion said calmly, standing over Gorok. Being weak, physically, fails right away. You'll trust your eyes, your reflexes, and the ground before you trust a spell. That got the message across better than any speech. The troops started to get that Aetherion's lack of magic wasn't a weakness; it was why his way worked. They weren't just training; they were relearning how to survive. The Seventh changed fast, not because they wanted glory, but because they could see they were getting better and Aetherion kept pushing them. Their movements, once slow and all over the place, started to click. Their attitude, even if they were still cynical, got tougher. The disgraced soldiers found something in their shared struggle, realizing that every ache and blister meant they were being turned into something strong and useful.
Aetherion also cared about supplies and real-world tactics. While the fancy palace troops prepped for big magic battles, Aetherion trained the Seventh to stay alive and manage their stuff. He made them live on almost nothing during long training runs in the rough hills around the garrison, teaching them to find food and save everything. He showed them how to build stuff in the field, making sure everyone could build a strong, hidden defense in under an hour something the magic legions couldn't do.
This practical teaching caught the eye of Lord Valerius, an old general who kind of supported Aetherion's idea. He showed up one afternoon without saying anything, watching from some trees as the troops built a bunch of spike pits and foxholes with crazy focus. He noticed how serious Commander Rexus was, how the soldiers didn't complain, and how the whole group moved together like a machine without using magic.
Valerius expected to see a mess or, at best, a so-so try at training. Instead, he saw a totally different kind of army one that didn't depend on magic, but on being tough and real. The old general, tired of all the magic talk at court, felt excited for the first time in ages. He realized Aetherion wasn't just training soldiers; he was going against the Empire's magic craze, proving that being a good soldier was more than just casting spells. He knew then that the Emperor hadn't just dumped a useless prince with a useless army; he'd accidentally started something big. Lord Valerius finally showed himself, walking into the training yard with a stride that still had his rank behind it, but also showed he was interested. The Seventh froze for a second, a slip that Aetherion fixed with a quick look. Valerius, ignoring the Prince's stare, talked to the worn-out soldiers. He expected respect and maybe some magic tricks, but Aetherion just gave a short, professional report on how the unit was doing.
Your Highness, Valerius said, his voice deep and rough. I've seen the training. It's... different. Really effective, but different. You take away their magic and make them trust their muscles and sweat. What happens when the Shadow Empire throws a full-on magic attack a storm of dark energy that your training can't stop?
The question hung there, the same doubt everyone at the Imperial Court had. It was the big test, where being physical was supposed to lose to magic. Aetherion looked right at the General, his face blank. He didn't try to sound fancy; he gave a real answer based on what he knew.
We don't stop the storm, General, Aetherion said clearly. We dodge it. The Shadow Empire's dark magic is strong, but it takes time to get ready. We practice getting away fast and hiding well. When they're charging their spells, my men will be underground, hiding, or out of range. While the magic legions are trading spells, the Seventh will be moving around the enemy, hitting their supply guys and engineers the ones who keep their magic going. He walked over to a map drawn in the dirt, pointing out the routes he was teaching them to use. My strength is their weakness: they can't see me with their magic defenses, and I'm using the forgotten rules of war.
Valerius looked at the map, at the twisting routes and the focus on important targets. It was a plan that showed he was confident in being physical and didn't care about showing off with magic. The old General breathed out slowly, a small smile showing at the corners of his eyes. You're not trying to win a fight, Prince Aetherion. You're trying to win the war by hitting the enemy where it hurts, not just by fighting them head-on. Valerius bowed deeply, a sign of respect that meant more than any order. The Emperor gave you a challenge, Your Highness. I think you've already started answering it. May your Iron Will guide the forgotten. With the General's support, Aetherion knew he'd cleared a major step. He'd not only kept his command but had also gained a strong ally who finally saw the real plan behind the Scorned Prince. His army was ready to prove itself.