Alien world

Chapter 1660, Section 293: The Cornerstone of Victory

This dates back to the time when Hellfire was on the right track, when the system was first established, and at that time the soldiers still strictly adhered to the only day off.

However, many of the soldiers, who were mostly refugees, had no families... With nowhere to go on their days off, they preferred to stay in the camp. With nothing to do, they trained as usual.

Soldiers with families or on leave couldn't stand it when they found out. The sounds of their comrades playing made them happy, while the sounds of their comrades training kept them tossing and turning at night.

As a result, soldiers with families were unwilling to go home on their days off. At most, they would go back in the morning to take a quick look, or even chat with their families across the high walls of the camp for a few minutes before running back to continue training.

All I can say is that... in just one year, 250 soldiers have gone from ordinary people to professionals, which is an extraordinary achievement anywhere, and must have been hard-won through sweat and toil.

The officers didn't understand the benefits of reducing training, but since other squads were no longer sneaking out to train in the middle of the night, they didn't feel the need to follow suit.

They were initially worried that reducing training would slow down progress, but after observing for a few days, several soldiers actually reached the threshold of becoming professionals.

Whether the mage tower's words made sense or whether it was about balancing work and rest, they couldn't figure it out. But anyway, the captain and centurion who had gotten up in the dead of night to let the soldiers secretly train in the dormitory couldn't sit still anymore. They demanded that everyone go to bed by 12 o'clock, and anyone who didn't go to bed wouldn't be allowed to sleep during the day... no, they wouldn't be allowed to train during the day either.

Frank's view on this was that breathing techniques were previously only in the hands of noble and knightly families. Even if commoners were lucky enough to obtain them, it would be difficult for them to train professionals, because the resources required for a warrior, even if not as extravagant as those for a mage, were still beyond the reach of commoners.

The food standards for Hellfire soldiers are certainly not low, but they are still not enough. Soldiers from civilian backgrounds are already malnourished from childhood, and the fact that they are pushing themselves to the limit actually hinders their promotion.

So he ordered the canteens to significantly increase the supply of eggs, milk, and meat—the first two being added by Annan himself. Since the military and political system had already been brought in, he decided to carry it through to the end, implementing the "meat, eggs, and milk" policy as well.

The slogan "A glass of milk a day keeps the man strong and free" spread from the city lord's mansion, supposedly uttered by Lord Annam himself.

As a result, milk became expensive in Liberty City, and all sorts of counterfeit and substandard milk appeared on the market. There were even despicable ratmen who came to sell inferior ratman milk.

Eggs and meat are acceptable to Hellfire soldiers, but making a group of tough warriors drink milk...

Frank didn't try to convince them with "This is Lord Annan's arrangement." Instead, he said, "I know an older cousin who's still drinking milk even though he's a teenager, but in terms of strength, all of you combined can't beat him."

"Is your older cousin a professional?"

"No, he's just an ordinary member of the family."

Because it was just a casual chat, the soldiers didn't believe it, so Frank brought in his older cousin—the blue dragon Serius.

What else is there to say?

So what if it's embarrassing? Everyone has to drink it anyway, and the milk with sugar added after boiling is surprisingly delicious—if you ignore the soldiers' fearless expressions as they drink it.

Fermi delegated full authority, allowing Frank to fully utilize his talents. After all, he had only been there a week and had already increased the number of Hellfire warriors by 30% compared to before; whatever he said was right.

Frank, who gained the unanimous approval of Hellfire, did something else: he awarded the title of best squad at the end of the month based on the soldiers' performance, aiming to enhance the soldiers' sense of collectivism, honor, and competition.

Only three best squads are selected each month, but Hellfire has fifty centurion squads.

If a squad is selected as the best squad for three consecutive months, all soldiers in that squad will be promoted one rank. If a squad is selected as the best squad for one consecutive year, it will be promoted to an elite squad.

If a squad achieves first place in the entire legion for a consecutive year, Frank will personally apply to Annan to grant the squad an exclusive title. Becoming the best squad once is already extremely difficult, let alone the next three months and a year... one can only say that the difficulty corresponds to the generous rewards.

The soldiers instantly turned as if they had been doused in dragon's blood, and then... that was it.

After all, the soldiers' training has already reached the limits of the rules and regulations, and no one wants to slow down their promotion because of too much training.

Since they couldn't compete, they had to find another way, such as obtaining valuable items like mountain essence and dragon blood from outside...

The Lordaeron lieutenant also noticed the problem. The system was good in itself, but applying it to Hellfire was somewhat superfluous.

They weren't trained under the supervision of officers, but rather their training was reduced under their supervision. The intrigue, backstabbing, and cunning schemes that unfolded during this time could have been made into a trilogy by the Burt brothers.

Frank's explanation was simple: these systems would be piloted by the Hellfire Legions first to accumulate valuable experience for future implementation in other Legions and new Legions.

The Lordaeron lieutenant said nothing more, and like Fermi, simply observed quietly.

But no one can deny that the new political commissar's three bold moves truly ignited the ambitions of the Hellfire soldiers.

Later, I went to see someone who was both unexpected and yet perfectly logical: Little Smo.

Seeing little Smo sitting on the terrace in rough linen clothes, Frank greeted him politely, "Teacher."

That's right, and that's why Hellfire chose Frank: he and Freeblade's Little Smo have a teacher-student relationship.

Based on this, there is absolutely no need to doubt Frank's faith and loyalty; on the contrary, one should worry whether his previous mediocrity was a facade... after all, the Free Blade group are all extremes.

"The Hellfire officers have been very cooperative with me, and my ideas have been implemented, but I disagree with..." This question has been troubling Frank for several days. "Why do you disagree with my spreading the Freeblade's ideology in the Legion?"

"What do you think?" Little Smo didn't answer, but asked in return.

"Are you worried that Hellfire can't accept the ideas of Freeblade? No, teacher's understanding shouldn't be so superficial... Could it be that Commander Fermi and you have some disagreements?"

"Disagreements? Maybe, but it doesn't matter."

"I can't figure it out... Please tell me, teacher."

“Soldiers only need to know why they fight,” said Little Small, as if he already knew Frank couldn’t guess. “Their loyalty shouldn’t be mixed with too many other things.”

Frank seemed to understand, but not quite.

"Do you know why nobles, despite possessing more resources, greater power, and higher status... are so vulnerable before the Blade of Freedom?"

"Because they are greedy?"

“No, because they’re smart.” Little Small shook his head. “They’re smart, so they think a lot. The more they think, the more afraid they are of dying. Fear of death leads to cowardice, and cowardice leads to a loss of courage, and courage is the cornerstone of victory.”

(End of this chapter)