After separating the skilled labour, Lawrence got about to organize three essential wings of service. The first was the Owl Guard, which would defend the town against external intruders. The second was the Internal Security Department, which Lawrence took to name after its’ real-life counterpart in Singapore. The Internal Security Department was responsible for policing the streets, rooting out spies and investigative work. Lastly, the Civil Defence was responsible for putting out any potential fires, clearing fire hazards and in rescue work.

The Owl Guard numbered 600 strong, with all their equipment crafted by Lawrence personally, though Lawrence had to really thank the bulk crafting ability of his interface. Though he would go through the motions of crafting one item, in actual fact, in the menu, he was crafting about 50 at once.

The Owl Guard was further broken down into 3 sections. The Owl Shields, the Owl Bowmen and the Owl Cataphracts.

The Owl Shields numbered 200 strong, dressed in heavy armour, their steel helmet though with a restrictive view that resembled a slit, gave them complete protection from any lesser weapon. Their steel chest plate and leggings also offered complete protection while their tower shield which was usually bigger than the person themselves made them almost impenetrable from the front. They were given a long sword, similar in length to what Lawrence used. Lastly, they were issued with up to three javelins, allowing them to engage the enemy in a light skirmish before charging in for the kill.

Next, the soldiers would also be trained in the use of long pikes.

Unknown to them, Lawrence had also bestowed the buffs of a Guardian onto the armour and weapons, which had the skills, Featherfeet, allowing them to move as though the armour was light or even non-existent, Iron Heart, where the soldiers’ courage is bolstered whenever they see an ally within their vicinity as well as Fortify Strength, which allowed the soldiers to be stronger while wearing this armour.

As for the Owl Bowmen, Lawrence opted to issue all of them an item called Repeating Crossbows or in the realm of reality may have been called a Chu Ko Nu. The repeating crossbow was said to have been invented by the genius tactician, Zhuge Liang in the Three Kingdoms era. One would be able to fire ten bolts before needing to reload it.

For the bowmen, Lawrence issued all of them leather armour with a bronze plate underneath, which was still tough, though less so than steel. Each Bowman had a backpack that allowed them to carry ammunition. They also wore a medium helmet that allowed them to have a clear line of sight and offered them decent protection.

The bows of the soldiers were enchanted with the magic, True Flight, where the weather will no longer play a factor in the trajectory of the arrow.

Lastly, the Owl Cavalry were horses that Lawrence took a hand in breeding, being trained to be covered entirely in scale armour along with the rider. The rider was issued a spear as well as a sidearm, which Lawrence chose as a mace.

The Persian Cataphracts were considered some of the most fearsome soldiers that the Romans had ever encountered, with their thick armour and thunderous charge capable of shattering some of the most elite Roman legions and Roman arrows were rarely able to penetrate their armour.

The Owl Cavalry received the blessings of the Horse Gods from Lawrence, where their steeds will never tire even under the extreme burden.

Lawrence then appointed two former captains from Boulesky who had become deserters because they had to flee to find food for their families.

One of them was a large and muscular man with an extremely fair complexion, his hair dark brown and eyes lime green, his right hand seemed to have been extremely badly scalded while the other was a tall but skinny man, one of his eyes blind.

Their names were Longines and Kraft.

“Longines, I have presented the arms and armour to your men. Are you confident that you will be able to train them well?” Lawrence asked and Longines laughed, his tone completely different from his seemingly strict demeanour.

“Sire, if you asked these men to stand in a battle, I think the enemy may run just looking at them. I have seen no finer arms and armour in my life and it will be an honour for me to be part of the Owl Guard.” Longines said, placing his arm over his chest and bowing.

“I have a plan here, for the formation of the soldiers, for your perusal please,” Lawrence said, unrolling a scroll of parchment.

This was Lawrence’s understanding of the Testudo and Pike Square formation. He had read some books in the library of Black Bay Village which was a miserable existence by the way, but it had books on some of the famed battles.

It seemed as if this world still lacked a tacit understanding of formations aside from the standard ones. He had never read anything about tortoises, cranes or even items such as the eight trigrams.

The testudo formation or literally, the turtle formation, proved itself impervious to arrows and can be used to approach a position while under heavy missile fire.

The pike square formation, on the other hand, was a formation or tactic developed by the Swiss Confederacy for use by its men.

Facing the overwhelming force that was the Burgundian Compagnie d'ordonnance that consisted of knights, dismounted men-at-arms and a variety of ranged units, which had defeated the French, the Swiss answer was the Pike Square formation.

While on the move, the pike would be carried vertically. However, the troops were drilled to be able to point their pikes in any direction while stationary, with the men in the front of the formation kneeling to allow the men in the centre or back to point their pikes over their heads.

While stationary, the staff of each pike could be butted against the ground, giving it resistance against attack. Squares could be joined together to form a battle line. If surrounded, pikes could still be pointed in all directions. A well-drilled square could change direction very quickly, making it difficult to outmanoeuvre on horseback.

He had hoped that with this armament and proper training that he had bestowed upon the Owl Guards, would allow even a smaller force to be able to challenge a force with numerical superiority.

As Longines and Kraft examined the parchment, Kraft gave a small smile.

“I see that it has its practicality.” Kraft simply said, his fingers tracing the rough ideas that Lawrence had sketched down from his understanding of history.

“As for food, pay and lodgings of the soldiers, they will all be taken care of. I wish for the both of you to assist me in turning the soldiers of Tears into the most elite units ever.” Lawrence said and the two of them bowed deeply.

Longines Kempf and Kraft Evian would later go down in history as the two generals that helped cement the fame of the Owl Guards, the term used to group all the services of the Owl Shields, the Owl Bowmen and the Owl Cataphracts.

The former was nicknamed Longines the Bold while the latter was Kraft the Cunning.