Chapter 205: The Harbor

Leon was carried to the square on a chair. Although he wanted to stand, after several attempts, his back simply wouldn’t allow it. He had to sit down and direct the crowd to queue up for selection.

Ancestar looked at the crowd warmly, organizing them into queues for selection. His selection method was unique: for any able-bodied young man of suitable age, he would use his Compassion Heart Force to sense them.

Knightly Heart Force possessed an extremely strong power to discern will. When his Compassion Heart Force entered the other person’s body, he could sense their emotions and discern their will.

He was looking for people who were honest, physically strong, bright-eyed, and obedient. Therefore, all those who were cunning, troublemakers, knowledgeable, overly bold, or overly timid were rejected.

This was different from selecting a Knight. A Knight required virtue, a shining character, and an identification with and execution of a creed.

Soldiers were different. Soldiers needed obedience and spirit. The more honest and simple a person was, the easier it was for them to become a good soldier.

He selected a total of 200 musketeers and 30 artillerymen, exactly matching the number of firearms Ace had given him: 200 muskets and 10 horse-drawn cannons.

In the military camp area north of the city, the autumn sun was still scorching. 230 new recruits, wearing standard uniforms, stood in formation. Sweat rolled down their faces, dripping onto the ground.

“Stomach in! Chest out! Head up! Buttocks tight! Eyes forward! Shoulders back! No whispering!”

Ancestar roared sternly. He inspected every recruit, meeting their gaze, even deliberately shaking them. Any change in movement would be met with a beating from Xavier, who was waiting nearby with a stick.

Ancestar believed he had grasped the essence of Lord Ace’s drill manual. Lord Ace believed that the primary purpose of military training was to cultivate obedience and collective honor, achieving uniformity and command as fluid as moving one’s own arm.

He agreed with this. A group of good soldiers must obey commands in battle and advance and retreat properly. Mastering the use of muskets only took a few months; the greater part was training the soldiers’ obedience.

Ten men formed a squad with a squad leader; fifty men formed a platoon with a platoon leader; the artillery platoon had thirty men. Two hundred and thirty men formed a company with a company commander. Ancestar was the first company commander.

Recruit Carlo was bruised and battered all over. He was a barbarian warrior, originally named Dokam. When Ace initiated the custom reform movement, he was the first to change his name to the Common Language name, Carlo.

He gritted his teeth and persisted, daring not to move again. The military discipline in training was extremely strict; a slight carelessness resulted in a beating with a stick, which he didn’t want to experience again.

Moreover, if he was punished one more time, he could forget about eating meat for dinner. The sun was gradually setting in the west. Ancestar looked at the recruits, beaten black and blue one by one, and a smile appeared on his lips. About fourteen soldiers wouldn’t be eating meat for dinner. That was about enough.

“Hold on for another hour! Dinner is being prepared. Tonight, there will be not only white bread and lettuce soup but also roasted pork chops! Soldiers who don’t get meat must also persist. If you are punished again, your meat for tomorrow will also be gone!”

Hearing Ancestar’s words, the sound of swallowing saliva resonated in the silent camp. Eating meat at every meal was almost like a dream for most soldiers.

Carlo looked straight ahead. He had been standing all day. He had used up his ten chances to get beaten today. If he got beaten one more time, he would lose the chance to eat roasted meat!

But his muscles were stiff, his body was somewhat uncontrollable, and the sticky sweat made him feel uncomfortable all over. If only he could jump into the River of Luminous Light for a bath.

Although his eyes seemed to look straight ahead, his mind had drifted. Roasted meat appeared constantly before his eyes, saliva secreted, and his stomach rumbled.

Plop! A soldier beside him suddenly sat down, gasping for breath. Like dominoes falling, several others followed suit and sat down. The sky was already gray. Had an hour passed?

Just as he was thinking, Xavier dragged the few people who sat down aside. No stick beating this time—their roasted meat for dinner was gone!

Fortunately, fortunately, I didn’t move. The sticky sweat on his body and his aching muscles were reminding him that he was nearing his limit.

Just as Ancestar clapped his hands to announce the end of today’s training, Carlo’s vision went black, and he fainted on the ground.

“The intensity seems a bit high. I’ll adjust the training intensity tomorrow. Two-thirds of the men won’t get roasted meat. That’s a bit too many,” Ancestar muttered.

While Ancestar was training the new recruits, Daina led a group of Wizard Apprentices to a natural harbor not far from the estuary of the River of Luminous Light. She had received orders from Ace to build a harbor and shipyard here.

Donna’s father, Borg, also came with the apprentices. Before becoming a merchant, he had spent a long time in the docks and shipyards of Cimali Port, working as a sailor and a shipbuilding apprentice. He was the only person in the entire territory who understood harbors, shipyards, and shipbuilding relatively well.

At the South Gate of Nightlight City, Betty was leading a group of apprentices, using Mud-to-Stone to create large, flat bricks suitable for paving roads.

“Everyone work harder! As long as we pave the stone avenue from the South Gate of Nightlight City to the future harbor, we can get 100 Social Practice Points! With points, we can advance, exchange for Spell Models, and exchange for knowledge!”

The apprentices used the Lesser Spell Mud-to-Stone somewhat mechanically. Caruso felt like vomiting. He chose Betty’s side because he wanted to change spells. He thought he would be using Fire Element spells for blacksmithing, but he ended up making stone bricks again!

Caruso said to Polina beside him: “Polina, I swear, after I get these points, I will never use Lesser Mud-to-Stone or Lesser Stone-to-Mud again!”

Polina cheerfully used Lesser Mud-to-Stone to convert mud bricks into solid stone bricks while saying to Caruso:

“I’m afraid you won’t be able to do that. There is no easier way to earn Social Practice Points than Mud-to-Stone. Moreover, our territory will inevitably see an influx of more people in the next few years, which means more construction!

Just as Lord Torch-Bearer said, Magic is the primary productive force, and Mud-to-Stone is the primary productive force of construction!”

Caruso pouted, the scar on his face twitching slightly. He did not deny it; Polina was right. Although life now was peaceful and good, it was different from what he wanted.

“There will definitely be more opportunities to hunt Monsters in the future. I want to fight Monsters, fight Divine Descendants. A true gladiator will not be a bricklayer forever!”

Caruso used a Spell Hand to nimbly lay the stone bricks and said to Polina.

“You Wizards always have so many violent thoughts. Is peace not good?” Polina replied somewhat dissatisfiedly.

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