Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 643 The New Recruits

The train rumbled to a stop in front of the platform at Central Station, its massive metal engine spewing out a thick plume of white steam.

The soldiers lined up in long rows, and under the loud shouts of their officers, they led their packs and disembarked from the train in an orderly manner, standing in formation on the platform... but their heads were uncontrollably looking around, their eyes wide open as they tried to take in the bustling cityscape of the northern capital.

This is a new recruit team transferred back to Xinghuo City from Wangshan County on the western front. Most of them are setting foot on this magical land known as the heart of the kingdom for the first time, and it is hard not to be completely attracted by everything new around them.

Baler and Saik, rootless people from Fengyuan City, were also among the arriving recruits. They gripped the straps of their backpacks tightly and peered out excitedly... The central station of the capital was larger than they had imagined, and the outer city wall under construction in the distance was even more towering and majestic, stretching as far as the eye could see.

On their way here, they heard a second lieutenant veteran, who was from Crow Town but had already bought a house and settled down in the capital, say that the capital used to only have an inner city wall. It was only because of the astonishing influx of people in recent years that the Ministry of State, with His Majesty's approval, commissioned the Ministry of Construction to begin expanding the city's borders and formally include more land within the city wall's protection range.

The temporary resettlement area, which used to be densely populated, was just a makeshift shack made of clay bricks and wooden beams. Now, it has all been demolished and rebuilt into neat and beautiful cement and stone houses. Moreover, it is expanded again every six months. Nobody knows how many new immigrants this area can actually accommodate.

Because there were too many new recruits, the military could not temporarily allocate enough vehicles to transport them. So, under the command of the officers' whistles, the men lined up in two neat columns and walked out of the station in unison toward the royal army camp located north of the outer city.

"This time, besides the new recruits' special training, the reason we were transferred from the west to the north must be to send us to the front lines further north to fight those alien monsters, right?" Sek whispered to Baler beside him.

A new recruit from Grizzly Fortress walking ahead of the two turned around and taunted, "Dream on. With our combat strength, how could we possibly have a chance to go head-to-head with the Lizardmen? I reckon that besides the regular training, we'll have to rotate through the garrison regiment... doing easy jobs like operating farm machinery and digging irrigation ditches every day."

Although after being conscripted, they only underwent a little over a month of basic training in Wangshan County, and were then temporarily assigned to Rilke, the capital of the Kingdom of Arid, to serve as logistics personnel responsible for cleaning up the battlefield... In any case, these people were professional soldiers who had seen blood and faced the cruelty of the battlefield. Although their combat experience was far inferior to that of the veterans, they still couldn't help but feel hopeful and eager for the future.

Sek pouted in disappointment and turned to look at the silent Baler. "They're not really going to make us farm, are they? If that happens... we don't know when we'll be able to avenge our innocent people who died."

Baler sighed, knowing that this matter remained a knot in Sek's heart. The near annihilation of the Silver Moon tribe under the attack of the Demon Lizardmen could not extinguish the surviving tribesmen's desire for revenge in a short time.

"What's the rush? There will always be a time to fight them on the battlefield. If we don't seize every opportunity to improve our strength now, wouldn't we lose face and our lives when we finally face them in battle?"

The second lieutenant, who was in charge of leading their squad, came up from behind and overheard the new recruits' conversation. He burst out laughing, interrupting their exchange.

Sek's eyes lit up, and he leaned close to the lieutenant, cautiously asking, "Sir, what exactly will we be doing with our special training this time we're being transferred back to the capital? Target practice... or live-fire exercises?"

The veteran glared at him irritably and scolded, "Have you forgotten the confidentiality clauses in the military code again? Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask, just obey orders!" Seeing that his attitude wasn't particularly stern, Baler quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Sir, I heard that salaries increase after you become a full-fledged soldier, so... this isn't exactly something that needs to be kept secret, is it?"

The lieutenant chuckled and patiently explained, "Of course. After you become a full-fledged recruit, your salary will almost double, and all the benefits will follow. Outstanding recruits can even stay in the capital and be selected for the elite combat team... It won't be long before you save enough for a down payment on a house and be eligible to buy your own property in the capital."

The surrounding recruits immediately became interested and asked in unison with urgent tone, "What makes someone outstanding? How can one be selected for the elite combat team?"

The lieutenant gave a strange laugh and said slowly with a wicked sense of humor, "Not only will we be tested on our performance in target shooting and cross-country running with loads, but we also need to pass our academic exams. At the very least, we need to be able to write marching logs and battle reports independently. After all, His Majesty once said that every soldier needs to be trained to the standards of a reserve officer. A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but groan softly... Compared to the drill training in the Wangshan County recruit camp, the literacy classes held every night were their real nightmare.

The learning path, starting completely from scratch, was simply too much for these soldiers, whose ancestors had been poor for generations.

……

The relaxed, leisurely march made the recruit camp, which had no missions to perform, less imposing and unapproachable. When they passed an outer city square, some college boys in dark red uniforms even surrounded them, waving stacks of newspapers and enthusiastically trying to sell them to them.

"Sir, would you like a copy of this week's newspaper? It's only half a gold coin. It contains the latest battle report from the Kingdom's Western War Zone, detailing the glorious feat of the valiant Northern Army in conquering the neighboring country of Arid in a single day!"

The new currency denomination, the Half Gold Dollar, was only recently introduced in the capital... It abandoned the form of printed paper money and was made using a special metal die-casting process.

But for new recruits with a monthly salary of only sixty gold coins, it was still a painful expense... Moreover, most of them barely passed the literacy test, and there were still some obstacles to reading fluently. They felt a headache just looking at the dense small print on the newspaper.

"No...no need. We are heading to the military camp. Please do not disrupt the marching order."

After the students dispersed, Baler leaned close to the lieutenant's ear and said with a somewhat ashamed expression, "Those...those boys from the capital, did they all pass the literacy course like us? I think they seem to be able to read and write fluently."

The lieutenant glared at everyone with exasperation and muttered, "Of course, my son is also studying in the junior class at the National Academy. These teenagers are far more educated than you. Once they graduate... most of them will be snapped up by various administrative departments and technical factories in the capital. They won't have to worry about finding jobs!"

(End of this chapter)