Hans scraped chalk marks across the drill yard in front of sixty volunteers, ordering the four ranks to hold until his signal.
Commander Hans stood on an upturned supply crate, holding a notched counting rod in his right hand.
"When the watch bell strikes three times, you have exactly thirty seconds to peel backward through the escape gaps!" Hans bellowed across the ranks.
"If any warrior remains outside the palisade threshold when the count hits zero, the portcullis drops without mercy!"
"That means you leave your pride behind and haul ass through the stakes!" a recruit shouted from the rear rank.
"Silence in the ranks!" Hans barked, his scarred face hardening as he swept his gaze across the assembled villagers.
"You do not run blindly like panicked sheep... you maintain shield overlap and step backward in synchronized unison!"
"Turning your back to a charging vanguard gets you speared from behind every single time!" he added, tapping the counting rod against his thigh.
