"I will!" The boldest Lopeck raised his hand, "Instructor, can I release the guy I have to kill and then chase and kill him from behind?"
"Yes, you can. If you can kill more than ten people, you'll be a squad leader!" Instructor Wood waved his hand, and several cavalrymen cut the ropes binding ten criminals. He shouted at the criminals, "Run, if you can get out of the manor, you'll be spared!"
The ten released guys, hearing this, immediately scrambled away, wishing they had four legs to run faster.
Lopeck roared and chased after them with a broadsword.
"Pighead, wait for me if you can't do it!" A slim shadow shot out, knocking Lopeck over and catching up with the fugitives like lightning. His long dagger flickered, slicing the fugitives' throats, making them collapse one by one. The slim figure casually slid back and asked with a grin, "Instructor, am I a squad leader now?"
"Jesse, you qualify," Instructor Wood grunted.
"Can I choose my team members?" The slim man smiled, "If so, I'd like to choose Rody, Stanley, Lopeck..."
"Sorry, I'll also be a squad leader. I don't think a squad leader can choose another squad leader as a team member!" Rody stepped forward, calmly producing his silver dagger and lightly stabbing each of the ten criminals in the heart before slowly returning. Seeing everyone's surprised looks, Rody smiled and said, "Actually, killing is easy. You just need to think of them as a piece of meat, like the steak you cut usually, not as a living person, and then you won’t feel anything."
"Well said!" Instructor Wood clapped his hands, "The first thing to think about when killing is how to kill the opponent the fastest. As for the bullshit of sin and fear, you can think about it later! On the battlefield, if you don’t kill, others will kill you! Do you think orcs and demons will shake hands and chat with you? They will chop off your head and hang it on their waist as a trophy, throw your body into a pot to cook. Don’t you know that orc soldiers always come without food, and their food is the corpses of human soldiers? If you don't kill, the enemy will kill you, and you'll be eaten by orcs!"
"Damn..." Hearing this, everyone felt their scalps tingle, each drawing a cold breath, even the iron-willed Rody felt a bit sickened.
"Kill these trash. If you can't even kill those tied up, don’t talk to me about going to the battlefield, just go home and suckle!" Instructor Wood roared at everyone.
Images of themselves being chopped and thrown into a pot to cook by orcs flashed through everyone’s minds. Their faces twisted in fear.
Someone took the lead, rushing at the criminals, and everyone followed, shouting as they went.
Hundreds of people swung their weapons, awkwardly killing their targets, then vomited crazily, some even crying. However, Instructor Wood felt comforted inside. Passing this test made them warriors. Although they were still a bit weak now, they were young and would grow quickly. The hardest first step was done; the rest would be easier.
In this test, more outstanding individuals emerged.
Among the three hundred elite, more than ten became distinguished squad leaders. Even those who couldn't kill ten targets but showed potential stood out.
"Rest for half a day, and we'll start formal training in the afternoon!" Instructor Wood seemed very satisfied with everyone's performance today and granted a half-day break.
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"Instructor, I have a question." Someone raised their hand to ask, "Aren't we cavalry? Why don't we train in horsemanship? We haven't even seen a horse yet!" Instructor Wood glared at the person, coldly humming, "Recruit, are you questioning my training methods? Let me tell you why we haven't trained in horsemanship: it's simple, we don't need it!"
"Do you want to know why?" Instructor Wood bellowed, "In the Land of Evil, there are no vast plains, only mountains, cliffs, forests, swamps, streams, and countless magical beasts. Tell me, would riding horses be effective in battle there?"
"Then why do other camps train in cavalry charges?" Stanley, even more confused, asked foolishly.
"How other cavalry camps train is none of my concern, but in the Iron Blood Cavalry Camp, there is no course on training for cavalry group charges! If you want to practice cavalry charges, then apply for a transfer! Here, we only teach you how to survive in the Land of Evil, not how to ride horses! Such simple things, you should have learned already; we won’t repeat them. Also, if you think riding horses is prestigious, don't train here. We only teach you how to survive by any means necessary! When you fight orc soldiers or demons, do you think a cavalry charge will work? A tall orc can easily flip someone off a horse. A heavily armored cavalryman falling in battle is as good as announcing his death!" Instructor Wood said gravely, "To kill a strong orc soldier, ordinary soldiers need the cooperation of twenty or more, even the most elite soldiers need three to five working in harmony!"
"Are orc soldiers that powerful?" Jesse furrowed his brow upon hearing this.
"Orc soldiers are merely stronger than humans. Compared to the soldiers of the demon and god races, they are just mere bulls!" Instructor Wood snorted, "If you 300 people encounter demon soldiers, even if many of you are five-star great swordsmen, I believe that just fifty demon soldiers could defeat you utterly!"
"Then aren't we going to the battlefield just to die?" Stanley exclaimed in shock.
"We can use tactics. Humanity can make up for its inherent weaknesses with wisdom and strategy!" Rody, seeing everyone's ashen faces, quickly comforted them.
"Exactly, the greatest strength of humanity is not fighting spirit or magic, but wisdom!" Wood nodded, "Orc soldiers have simple minds and only know how to charge blindly. Although they are physically imposing, human warriors can use various strategies to defeat them. Demons are similar to humans in intelligence but are arrogant and contemptuous, and their internal strife and mutual hatred don't match human unity or our spirit of sacrifice. That's why we can resist them!"
"We also have the support of the gods behind us. They are the bane of demons!" someone optimistically added.
"On the battlefield, the most trustworthy person is yourself. Next, it’s your comrades-in-arms! Beyond that, there is no one else you can trust! To survive in the Land of Evil, you can only rely on yourselves!" Instructor Wood left these words behind for everyone to ponder and strode away.
Training at the manor was a hundred times tougher than in the Iron Blood Cavalry Camp, with people often fainting from exhaustion.
However, Instructor Wood, now different from before, didn't expel those who fell behind. After the murder test, he seemed to have acknowledged everyone as members of the Iron Blood Cavalry Camp.
“Crap, this earthworm soup is really not fit for human consumption!” Stanley cursed loudly.
“I think it's okay, I drank three big bowls.” The only one who could say this was the bold Lopeck. He burped contentedly, causing Stanley to feel nauseous, which made him vomit immediately.
“Look, everyone, I caught a huge demon lizard!” Someone in the forest caught a small lizard, even smaller than a gecko, but everyone was so hungry that they salivated at the sight. Since the start of the hunger training five days ago, no one had eaten anything, not even bread crumbs or the toughest, all-muscle beef jerky, which had become the most desired delicacies.
“I’m so envious. I'll offer a silver coin, no, two!” Jesse made an offer.
“I wouldn’t sell it for ten!” The guy immediately stuffed the small lizard into his mouth, fearing it would be snatched away by the others.
“Now I understand what’s more important in this world than money! It's food... Damn, just mentioning food makes my stomach hurt so badly. My belly is even drier than my purse!” Stanley’s words made everyone burst into laughter. Far away, they saw Rody returning. Stanley quickly went up to him, flattering, “Hero of Felick, you’re back? Worked hard, haven’t you? Do you need water? How is it? We didn't get lost, right?”
“Calling me an ancestor won’t help, my apples are long gone,” Rody laughed.
“You should’ve said so earlier, you wasted so much of my saliva!” Stanley was utterly disappointed. If it were anyone else, they might have cursed out loud, but he didn’t dare to do that with Rody.
“I just found a huge demon lizard on the road…” Before Rody could finish, everyone burst into laughter. Rody, puzzled, asked, “What’s the matter? I was about to invite you all to feast. Do you want to continue practicing your starvation skills?” Stanley slapped Rody on the shoulder, saying, “How much for your demon lizard? A gold coin? Ah no, keep that gigantic gecko for yourself! We’ll save that gold coin!”
“I can’t eat it all myself. That demon lizard weighs at least two hundred kilograms, maybe not enough to stuff three hundred people to death, but enough to satisfy three hundred hungry ghosts!” Rody said this, and everyone was both shocked and delighted. Stanley immediately hoisted Rody onto his shoulder, fawning, “Hero of Felick, please accept our cheers!”
“Not a bad idea, but I think it would be more appropriate for everyone to do this after killing the demon lizard!” Rody smiled slightly, “Because that demon lizard is a third-tier fire elemental beast, and it seems it hasn’t eaten for several days either!”
“Damn…” Everyone broke into a sweat, but their hunger quickly overcame their fear, their morale skyrocketing, “It’s just a third-tier fire elemental beast!”
“Right, right, think about it, there's also the magic crystal income!”
“I’m the best at skinning; leave the beast to me, I guarantee not even the bones will be wasted!”
“Everyone, come here, I’ll cast ‘Fire Resistance Magic’ on you. Wait a moment, don’t push, let me remember how that damn magic incantation goes!”