Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 644 The Strange Recruitment Order

The new recruits from Wangshan County had just arrived at the royal capital's military camp and hadn't even had time to reorganize and assign dormitories when they saw a group of young officers, also dressed in dark black uniforms but with silver-gray embroidered lines around their collars and cuffs, hurrying toward them with a stack of documents in their hands.

“They’re a bunch of foxes from the General Staff…” The second lieutenant in charge of the team snorted, seemingly displeased with these young officers, most of whom were from middle-class or aristocratic backgrounds in the city. He yelled at the recruits, “Shut up, all of you! Don’t embarrass the Western Theater Command!”

He quickly stepped forward, saluted, and asked in a deep voice, "Are you officers here to inspect the deployment of new recruits?"

The leading officer shook his head, not intending to explain further. He pulled out a document from under his arm and said coldly, "What does the deployment of new recruits have to do with us? This is an order from the Ministry of National Defense, responsible for the selection of special personnel..."

"Special recruit selection?" the second lieutenant muttered under his breath, a blank look on his face. "The recruits have only gone through less than two months of basic training, and haven't even had their official qualification assessments yet..."

"Don't think too much about it. You just need to obey orders and cooperate fully."

Seeing the other party's tough attitude and the fact that his rank and position were several levels higher, the second lieutenant didn't dare to ask any more questions and silently stepped aside and shut his mouth.

Recruiting special soldiers is not uncommon, but they have always been selected from spellcasters and bloodline warriors with special identities. The only one that can be open to ordinary people is probably the bloodline conversion ritual that every soldier in the Northern Territory desires, but the conditions are extremely strict.

Why are they suddenly choosing from a bunch of greenhorns? It just doesn't make sense.

The staff officer, ignoring what everyone was thinking, grabbed a brass alchemical megaphone and began his recruitment presentation—

"Listen up, all soldiers! This special recruitment is based on voluntary participation. Once you pass three rounds of assessments, you will not be allowed to withdraw. Furthermore, the entire assessment process must be kept strictly confidential!"

He cleared his throat and continued, "The soldiers who pass the test will be sent to the front line of the Ice Sea to carry out combat missions in the most densely populated and dangerous battlefields. Therefore, the Ministry of National Defense does not intend to carry out mandatory recruitment. If anyone is unwilling to participate... you can follow your lieutenant now and settle down in the recruit dormitory."

For these grassroots soldiers from ordinary backgrounds, the military's treatment was far superior to that of working in factories or farming. Whether they joined the defense force or the Northern Army, as long as they successfully passed the basic training and became regular soldiers, their future was basically secured. All their food, clothing, and daily necessities were covered by the national government, and they could even save their military pay without spending a penny. Most impressively, the medical benefits enjoyed by soldiers could even extend to their families, and their offspring could enjoy priority in school enrollment.

Aside from the possibility of heroic sacrifice on the battlefield, it can almost be called the most dream job for men in the country!
Besides, so what if they never return? Not only will there be people to collect their bodies and properly bury them in the martyrs' cemeteries throughout the kingdom, but the government will also provide a generous pension that will allow their families and descendants to live a comfortable life. Their names and resumes will be engraved on monuments, and on special holidays and celebrations... even His Majesty the Emperor will come to pay his respects and lead the people in silent mourning with white frost flowers in their hands.

This is an unparalleled glory that most ordinary people can only dream of in their lifetime!
Therefore, young soldiers like Baler and Seker became excited and turned to look at the Grizzly Fortress recruits who were on good terms with them.

The latter hesitated for a moment, then smiled wryly at his two comrades, saying, "I would much rather be selected for the Royal Capital Defense Force than go to the Ice Sea front... Don't laugh at me, my wife was already pregnant when I enlisted."

Barre and Sek exchanged a glance, nodded with understanding, and said, "We've decided to sign up!"

……

After the noisy registration process, the recruits who voluntarily withdrew were led away from the parade ground, while Baler, Seik, and others were called by name in turn. They wrote their crooked signatures in the registration book and then lined up neatly to follow the staff officer to an inconspicuous courtyard in a corner of the military camp.

The royal military camp was already quite large, surrounded by barbed wire and wooden fences, making it impossible for outsiders to enter or leave at will... But the courtyard they were in now had an additional nearly two-meter-high cement wall, and there were no buildings around that allowed them to look down and spy on the area, making it seem very mysterious.

Nearly half of the more than 500 recruits signed up, a proportion that pleased the officer in charge. "Next, we will begin the first round of assessments. Everyone, line up in order and enter the room when your names are called. There will be someone inside to guide you… You must remain silent throughout the entire process, understand?"

"Understood!" Everyone responded in unison.

When it was Bale and Seik's turn to go in, they were surprised to find that what was happening in the room was just a very simple physical examination... The soldiers were required to take off their outer clothes and stand next to a ruler wearing only shorts and vests. Several staff members were busy measuring their height, weight, vision, and arm span.

"Soldier Barr, height 178 cm, weight... wingspan... qualified!"

"Soldier Saike, height 177 cm, weight... qualified!"

"Soldier Jon, height 169 cm, weight... not up to standard!"

"Soldier Karim, height 183 cm, weight... not up to standard!"

Snapped--

The officer in charge of registration stamped a red mark forcefully on his page of the information form.

Saik then realized that being too tall or too short would result in failing the assessment, and the same applied to weight and wingspan... These officers in charge of the assessment seemed to be selecting members of the royal guard, repeatedly screening them according to a set standard.

When the two men came out of the room carrying their uniforms and boots, they found that more than half of their comrades who were still standing in the courtyard were gone. The recruits who had been deemed unqualified had already left in an orderly fashion on the alchemy wheel.

In just the first round of assessment, nearly half of the applicants were eliminated... leaving only about one hundred people.

The leading staff officer seemed to have anticipated this, and his expression wasn't too bad. He quickly ordered the soldiers to get dressed again and come to a row of enclosed buildings against the wall in the courtyard. These buildings looked smaller than the washrooms in the camp, and apart from the tightly closed doors, they didn't even have windows. They were clearly built separately for testing purposes.

“Each soldier participating in the second round of assessment needs to enter a room alone and endure it for at least five minutes. If they cannot endure it, they can pull the lever in the room to open the door and leave, but this is also considered as voluntarily giving up.”

"There's not a bloodline warrior standing in every room, is there?" Sek whispered cautiously into Bale's ear. "Otherwise, what could be so unbearable in such a closed room?"

Sure enough, less than half a minute after the first batch of recruits went in, a series of shrill screams came from behind the heavy door, but there was no further fighting, which immediately made the faces of the others waiting outside solemn.

"Not being beaten by bloodline warriors? Or is there a spellcaster inside freezing and roasting them?"

Upon hearing this, the others turned even paler.

(End of this chapter)