Gratitude

Post-traumatic stress disorder is something every soldier experiences when they step onto the battlefield for the first time.

Those who can laugh and joke after killing for the first time are, in the end, nothing more than tropes fabricated in novels for cheap thrills.

To give the most direct example, ancient armies would always pillage, burn, and loot during a siege.

Many people believe this is due to a general's inaction, but in truth, the soldiers have simply lost their minds to bloodlust. At such a moment, if a general dared to order them to stop, the soldiers would dare to turn their blades on their own commander.

This is why ancient armies that could strictly enforce discipline without disturbing the common people were extremely rare, and they were always elite forces.

Their strength lay not only in their combat effectiveness, but also in their psychological resilience.

It is only because people have lived in a peaceful environment for too long that they think killing a human is as simple as slaughtering a pig.

Back then, when he saw people online claiming that their nation's soldiers didn't suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, how should he describe his feelings?

It was probably the same feeling a veteran of the war of resistance had when watching those ridiculous, over-the-top war dramas.

Tina's hand slapped against the cage, drawing the attention of all the reserves on the drill grounds.

She opened the iron cages, using her magic power to lift all the bound people out and throw them in front of the reserves.

The reserves instinctively looked down at the people at their feet. On their faces were numbness, terror, and pleading.

“These are all death row convicts sent from all over the Grand Duchy of Callis,” Tina said, her eyes sweeping over the pale-faced reserves, her words cold and ruthless. “And your training task today is...”

“...to kill them.”

...

On the drill grounds, the scent of blood still lingered. One by one, the reserves, their hands stained with blood, cowered in the corners.

This time, even the trio led by Letitia, who had always been overbearing in the Sword Prison, were pale-faced and trembling uncontrollably. They wanted to wrap their arms around themselves, but the moment they felt the warmth of the blood on their hands, they froze mid-motion.

In a corner of the drill grounds, Tyr looked at the shivering Sevira, unsure of how to comfort her for a moment.

Although some of his comrades-in-arms in his past life had also suffered from PTSD, there had been professional medical institutions back then, and he hadn't needed to do anything himself.

Tyr was actually quite curious about how the instructors of the Sword Prison would soothe the reserves.

After all, the reserves here were still just children, and their psychological resilience was far inferior to that of adults.

Moreover, the purpose of the Sword Prison was to cultivate the future family head, not a madman who only possessed brute strength. They would absolutely not sit by and watch all the reserves develop psychological issues.

“Training is over. You may return. You do not need to cultivate for the next three days. The family will arrange for professional therapists to stabilize your psychological condition.”

The afternoon training session quickly passed in silence. After Tina told them to disperse, she turned and left the drill grounds.

Tyr nodded to himself. Therapists... she was probably referring to White Mages. Having doctors who could use magic treat them would probably be even more effective than modern doctors, right?

“Sevira, want to play cards?”

Tyr knew very well that the best way to alleviate this kind of fear was to distract her.

“Play cards?”

Sevira looked up, her face filled with confusion.

“It's a little game. After you go back and bathe, bring Mia along to my room. I'll teach you a relaxing little game.”

Mia was the name of Sevira's exclusive maid.

“Okay, sure.”

Sevira took a deep breath, stood up from the ground, and followed Tyr out of the drill grounds.

“Sister!”

Just as the two were about to walk out of the drill grounds, a sudden cry of alarm came from behind them.

Tyr turned his head and saw Silas collapsed on the ground, with Letitia riding on top of him, holding an iron sword and about to stab him.

Seeing this, Tyr spun around, channeled his magic power into his legs, and burst forward at a much faster speed. In the blink of an eye, he reached the two and kicked Letitia away.

“Hold her down!”

Tyr barked. Silas, scrambling up from the ground, hurriedly rushed forward to pin Letitia down.

Atop a nearby building, Tina watched this scene and let the magic power surging within her dissipate.

Today's training was too intense, so she naturally wouldn't just walk away and leave them be.

In fact, until the White Mages began their treatment tomorrow, Tina would keep a close eye on the reserves' mental states at all times, stepping in to prevent any tragedies if necessary.

Just as she was about to intervene when Letitia went mad, she saw Tyr rushing over.

Seeing Tyr pinning Letitia down alongside Silas, a flash of admiration showed in Tina's eyes. She had observed the reactions of all the reserves after they killed those death row convicts, and Tyr's state was by far the best.

Not only was he unaffected, but he also had the mental capacity to comfort Sevira.

Of course, even though Tyr's mental state seemed fine, he still needed to be checked by a White Mage.

After all, some people showed absolutely no abnormalities on the surface, only to suddenly snap at a certain moment, causing irreversible damage.

Therefore, whether there was truly nothing wrong with Tyr's mental state still had to be verified by a White Mage's examination before she could rest easy.

On the drill grounds, Letitia was pinned to the ground by the combined efforts of Silas and Tyr. Her struggles grew weaker, and her screaming stopped as she gradually quieted down.

After a moment, Letitia calmed down completely, staring blankly as she lay on the ground.

Seeing that Letitia had recovered, Tyr let go and stood up.

Seeing that Silas was still pinning Letitia down, Tyr nudged him with his foot.

“Alright, let her go.”

“What did you even do? Make sure you don't do anything like that again for the next few days.”

Hearing Tyr's words, Silas recalled what had happened. When Instructor Tina told them to disperse, he had seen Letitia staring blankly, so he went over and tapped her shoulder, wanting to call her to leave together.

Who would have thought that before his hand could even touch her shoulder, Letitia suddenly dodged away, twisted her body, lunged straight at him, and grabbed a nearby iron sword to stab him.

“I understand.”

Seeing Silas's pensive look, Tyr shrugged and turned to walk out of the drill grounds.

“Thank you.”

Watching Tyr's departing back, Silas let go of Letitia and called out his thanks loudly.

This gratitude was completely genuine. He had never expected that in such a critical moment, Tyr, who had always been at odds with him, would step in to help.

Tyr didn't look back, only waving his hand in the air.

“Let's go.”

Tyr returned to Sevira's side and waved his hand in front of her dazed eyes.

“Oh, right.”

Sevira nodded and followed Tyr out of the drill grounds.