⟐ CHAPTER 19
The sun just laid down the horizon just as we were about to reach our destination. Me and the people in my carriage were part of a long line of newly drafted recruits being sent to a place called Fort Lime Green, which was situated outside of the Kulvian Forest. There were a lot of differences between the faces of those I was with as the older men had grim expressions within them while the younger ones were excited. For me though I was on the boundary of both. I’m extremely worried about my little sister back home so much so that I can’t go a single hour without thinking about her at least once. How is she right now? Has she eaten dinner yet? My gut clenched from the thought, though it might just be from hunger as we haven’t been fed something other than water on the trip.
“Hey, we're here; see that giant wall there? That’s Fort Lime Green.”
“Finally, man, I'm starving.”
“There has to be food waiting for us there, right?”
“Hopefully.”
“F***ing hell.”
…
The rows of carriages grew noisy the moment they saw the high walls of their destination as the soon-to-be soldiers were conversing and telling stories about the place.
“Hey did you know there’s a rumor that the Commander that’s in charge there is an old [Grand Royal Guard] sent here to live out the rest of his days.”
“No way that’s true, those guys live in the capital in their mansions filled with women.”
“I’m not lying, it's said that this guy refused to retire even when he’s old and what’s even more surprising is that that guy is a single old man with no wife nor children.”
“Damn, what a sad life.”
“Well at least he’s rich.”
Then as the men were discussing about their possible commander a soldier on top of a horse interrupted them. This man intercepted them on a checkpoint and had begun to follow to protect them as they were being transferred to the fort. The man wore a steel mask with a pair of implanted goggles on it, and on his head a gray helmet that protects his ears and the back of his head as a little protrusion of about an inch grew from the very tip in front. He also wore a gray trench coat with a belt of nearly a fist size [Mana-Bullets] on top of it and just behind him, hanging on his back was a [Mana-Gun]. I’m not very well versed in [Mana-Guns], so I didn’t know much difference among them but I could imagine a wild boar beast getting killed with just a single shot from this one.
“Hey stop your guys yapping and straighten up your backs.”
No one rebelled against the authoritative voice of the soldier and everyone tried to straighten their backs. The soldier slowly shook his head in disappointment before moving on to the next carriage in front of them.
“This is going to be our life for god knows how long in the future.”
“F**k, and we don’t even know what we’re going to be fighting against.”
“I know right? If they want us to fight against something, at the very least tell us what it is.”
Though I didn’t voice it out I couldn’t help but agree more. What is it that we’re really going to be fighting? Is it really a war? But they said the Covenant of Peace hasn’t been broken. Then is it a civil war? We haven’t heard nor felt anything brewing within the empire so we were honestly confused and are looking for the answer to our question. But that’s going to be on hold for a little while longer as we have now reached the gate of the fort.
The moment we arrived the long line paused as the guards at the gate began to inspect the carriages and the officers leading the caravan.
“That’s quite the number; let’s see five hundred forty-six new recruits for this batch.”
“Yes, and that’s from four towns only, there’s a few more that’ll be arriving a little later.”
“We know… and done. You open up the gates.”
“Alright.”
And after that the gates were opened up and the long line began to go inside the stone walls of Fort Lime Green. From afar we could already hear the noise of men being shouted upon instructions by most likely going to be our trainers too. And after the carriages stopped at the parking spaces, each of our carriages were greeted by a different soldier.
“GROUP YOURSELVES INTO TEN AND FOLLOW ME!”
Me and the members of our carriage looked at each other in confusion before the soldier shouted back at us again.
“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR RECRUITS?! GET YOUR ASSES MOVING! TEN, NINE, EIGHT, FASTER!”
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His commanding shouts cleared our confused minds as we haphazardly grouped ourselves into ten though there were a few that weren't able to and they were taken in by a different guard.
“THOSE THAT FAILED TO FOLLOW ORDERS ARE GOING TO BE PUNISHED. REMEMBER THIS!”
And so the men that failed looked at everyone in confusion as they tried to reason towards the soldier but they were instead given a punch to the face.
“DO NOT SPEAK WHEN NOT SPOKEN TO, UNDERSTOOD?!”
What an awful thing did I get myself into? But I have to persevere for my sister, yes all for my sister. So I gritted my teeth as hard as I could and readied myself for the things to come.
…
After we were grouped we were then made to line up and follow the soldier as we were led towards one of the many other groups of line for a quick introduction as briefed by the soldier. In front of us was an empty wooden platform and as we waited for someone to go up there, things got a little noisy as the new recruits began to question the people beside them.
“Man I’m starving, when do you think we’re going to get any food here?”
“I don’t know but I sure hope it’s soon.”
“Yeah, if they're going to gather us here, at the very least feed us first.”
“Agreed.”
…
The noise grew and grew to the point that the other soldiers intervened and shouted at us to shut up as the debriefing officer was about to come. And just as they said after only about a minute or so the officer went up the platform and began his speech.
“GOOD EVENING RECRUITS!... THAT’S SUPPOSED TO BE THE PART WHERE YOU RESPOND WITH A “YES SIR,” BUT I’LL LET THIS GO JUST THIS ONE TIME. AGAIN, GOOD EVENING RECRUITS!”
Though hesitantly many replied in a normal tone of voice but it seems this soured the mood of the officer as his eyes looked upon us with disappointment.
“IT SEEMS LIKE I’M NOT TALKING TO CIVILIZED PEOPLE THEN I’M GOING TO TREAT YOU THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED. NOW EVERYBODY THREE HUNDRED PUSHUPS ALL THAT FAILS TO DO SO WILL NOT RECEIVE THEIR DINNER, UNDERSTOOD?!”
Everyone was perplexed and understandably angry at this revelation, and I’m not going to lie. I too am one of them. But the moment we began to sound our cries of anger, the officer’s eyes darkened and he pulled out a [Mana-Handgun] and fired at us. Almost everybody instantly dropped down to the ground and to the some that tried to run away were pushed back and tackled back into the lines.
“IT SEEMS MY AIM GOT RUINED BY YOUR NOISES ASSES, BUT I PROMISE YOU THE NEXT ONE WILL BE PROPERLY AIMED, NOW BEGIN! ONE, TWO, THREE…”
And so we exercised till we literally dropped in the middle of the night while starving, many of us were so tired that they just passed out and had to be carried to the infirmary while the others were instructed to their tents. Though thankfully with my body I didn’t suffer much but it was still quite a workout. And as I lay down on my bed that was nothing more than a piece of cloth on top of a wooden plank, I began to pray for the gods about my sister back in town.
Please let her be safe as always, and please help me cure her faster. Those were the prayers I pray everyday, it’s not that they answer my prayers but I will continue to hope and pray even if it’s miniscule just for any chance to cure my sister. And with that I closed my eyes to prepare for tomorrow.
…
Waking after a loud bell, officers went up inside our tents and very roughly took us out of bed. My tent mates could only groan and curse as their body still aches and starving from last night. After that we saw two carts just outside our tents filled with brown clothes and metal helmets and beside them was a soldier and an officer.
“EVERYBODY LINE UP! TAKE ONE AND WEAR IT! MOVE IT!”
With tired and annoyed faces, we couldn't do much of anything but do as told, so we lined up and took one of each. I took one and, though the uniforms were a bit too big, I didn't say anything, but it seems someone after me complained.
“Um, Sir, mine's a little too big.”
The officer looked in annoyance at the boy and asked.
“You, what's your name?”
“K-kelven Meiers, Sir.”
“Well then, Mr. Meiers, I didn't quite hear what you just said. Could you repeat it to me?”
“I-it's nothing, Sir.”
“No-no, I insist. Tell me.”
“I-I'm sorry, Sir, it's nothing.”
The officer stared at the man before ordering a soldier to take him somewhere. The soldier nodded at another soldier, and they both slowly approached the man and grabbed him by the arms, dragging him. Though the man didn't just let this happen as he thrashed and kept asking questions, but he was no match for the two soldiers and was soon gone from the tent.
“I'll see you all lined up and tidy in three minutes. Let's go.”
He said as they moved outside the tent, and so everybody quickly wore and fixed their uniforms and helmets, as we all lined up perfectly without a noise. After seeing us properly standing without moving an inch, the officer ordered us to follow a man towards somewhere with a lot of people, and there even from afar we could smell it. Food. We were so starved that we kept spitting to not drool on ourselves.
And after a long line, we finally got ourselves food.
The food was still warm as it came straight from a still-being-cooked pot, but the taste couldn't be said the same. It was bland and there were barely anything in it. We all complained, though silently, as to not get punished and just bit our teeth and ate it all because it's the only thing we have.
After eating for about fifteen minutes, we were then instructed to line up again and go towards a platform for a speech as yesterday we skipped ours because we weren't following the officer. But now we know better than to not follow the officers. A few minutes passed, and soon we saw someone go up the platform, and this one was someone different from the last.
“GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. WAS THE BREAKFAST GOOD? WE'RE LOW ON SUPPLIES RIGHT NOW, SO PARDON US IF IT'S A LITTLE BLAND.”
And from the front, we saw an officer give a signal to respond.
““SIR YES SIR!””
Though it was scuffed and not really coordinated, it seems that the officer on the platform smiled and nodded at us.
“MY NAME IS LIEUTENANT COLONEL MARKS HIDE. BATTALION LEADER OF THE 3RD INFANTRY BATTALION UNDER THE LIME GREEN BRIGADE LEAD BY COLONEL GALVAIN FRODD WHO IS ALSO THE COMMANDER OF THIS FORT. NOW YOU MIGHT BE WONDERING WHY YOU WERE RECRUITED. IT'S SIMPLE, A LARGE AMOUNT OF FOREIGN ENEMIES NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS HAS POPPED UP ALL OVER THE EMPIRE, AND IT IS OUR TASK TO CLEAN THEM UP FAST AND GO BACK HOME. BUT BEFORE YOU ALL BECOME USEFUL YOU NEED TO BE TRAINED FIRST SO NOT TO BRING YOU BACK IN A CASKET UNDERSTAND?”
““SIR YES SIR!””
“GOOD. THEN LASTLY YOU WILL GO UNDER INTENSE TRAINING FOR TWO WEEKS BEFORE YOU ARE READY TO BE DEPLOYED. MAY THE GODS BLESS US ALL. THAT IS ALL.”
After that, the Lieutenant Colonel walked down the platform, and an officer signaled us to clap, and so we did. A few rounds of clapping and now another officer went up.
“EVERYBODY LINE UP INTO TO WE'RE GOING TO START A LITTLE WARM UP JOG.”
And so the hellish two weeks of our life has begun.