Because the scene of the heavenly soldiers exterminating the bandits was too shocking and brutal, all the rescued wild people offered no resistance to going to a certain territory.
All the rescued wild people boarded a horse-drawn carriage, preparing to head to Graythorn Territory, while two armored soldiers were responsible for protecting these individuals. The other soldiers were escorting the captured mountain bandits down another road back to the city.
One of the soldiers in charge of protecting the group was the one referred to as the secretary by Lauri. On the way, this secretary continued to tell everyone about the various regulations of Graythorn Territory, and informed them that from now on, all of them would be subjects of Graythorn Territory. Their debts would be wiped clean, and they would be protected under the laws of Graythorn Territory.
In fact, the wild people were somewhat resentful about suddenly becoming subjects of a territory, as most of them had become wild people to escape exploitation by the lord. Even if the secretary described Graythorn Territory as godlike, where even the lord had to obey the laws he set, who would believe that? Laws could be changed at the whim of the lord, right? Although the secretary spoke earnestly, most people still felt that the earlier attack on the bandits was merely a case of “black eating black.” Only due to the pressure from another soldier nearby, who had a fierce face, and their trust in the secretary did no one think of escaping.
Darsi’s focus was not on the upcoming Gray Territory but rather on shifting positions in the carriage, proactively moving closer to the soldier with a fierce face.
While the secretary was still explaining the policies of Graythorn Territory, Darsi asked the ferocious-looking soldier, “Is your army still recruiting?”
The soldier glanced at Darsi and then replied, “Bruno.”
Darsi was taken aback for a moment, then quickly realized the soldier was introducing himself and immediately responded, “I am Darsi.”
Bruno nodded and began to answer Darsi’s question: “Yes, there is recruitment, but the lord believes we should prefer quality over quantity. We only recruit those with a clean background and no history of wrongdoing. Additionally, there are many regulations in our army, and many people in the first batch of recruits resigned because they couldn’t adapt.”
Darsi understood but seemed to not fully grasp it.
Isn’t it enough for a soldier to just be able to fight? And can soldiers even resign? In Darsi’s impression, soldiers were merely bandits with noble backgrounds. Bandits might be fierce in their looting, but soldiers could be even more ruthless—after all, bandits only seek quick gains, while soldiers would exploit with precision.
Noticing Darsi’s confused expression, Bruno pulled out a small booklet from his pocket and started pointing at the title printed in it with his thick, dark fingers, saying, “If you can accept these words, you can come try.”
“I can’t read; I don’t know how to.”
Darsi shook his head.
Bruno’s expression showed no change; still looking fierce, he pointed at the first word in the title and read it word by word: “Three major disciplines, eight points of attention.”
Then, Bruno opened the booklet and began to read the contents inside.
It seemed that Bruno had just started learning to read because he paused between words, but since he had already read the booklet many times, he could recite it completely, so he became smoother as he progressed further.
Darsi stared in amazement at the contents of the booklet. Could someone who does these things really be called a holy knight?
This level of virtue could be considered a standard for becoming a legendary gospel knight.
Following that, Bruno began to introduce the benefits and treatment for soldiers, making Darsi drool. As one of the smartest people in the village, Darsi realized how ridiculous the benefits were. No wonder the standards for character were so high; with such benefits, asking for strict standards was downright outrageous.
Darsi calculated that if he saved carefully, he could completely support his sister by becoming a soldier, and perhaps even afford to treat her illness.
As for the daily training content that Bruno mentioned, although it sounded tough, Darsi saw it as no problem. No matter how hard it got, he wouldn’t have to hunt anymore, he would have a stable income, and he could achieve military merit, until he heard Bruno say, with pauses, “You also need to learn to read.”
This left Darsi stunned. Being a soldier required literacy?
Bruno continued, “It’s not mandatory, but at least you need to understand commands; those who can’t read won’t be able to get promoted.”
Actually, Bruno’s statements were not the real issue; the true problem was the prejudices in people’s hearts. In this era, being a soldier was never a good choice, as it meant the possibility of dying in battle at any time, the risk of never returning home. There was no concept of honorable discharge in this time; one either died in battle or was abandoned by the army when they could no longer fight.
Not to mention that ordinary soldiers were not professionals and had no essential difference from bandits or refugees, living a life with no guarantee of survival.
After hesitating for a moment, Darsi finally said, “I want to be a soldier!”
This was an opportunity, a chance to rise above the rest. Darsi sharply sensed the extravagant equipment of these soldiers, realizing that the lord definitely valued this batch of soldiers, and that their casualty rate must be very low, which could mean being a soldier was, paradoxically, safer.
“No.”
Bruno glanced at Darsi, saying, “You’re too young. The lord has stipulated that you must be at least sixteen years old to enlist.”
“I am already sixteen; I just happen to be a bit shorter.”
After speaking, Darsi also showed off the muscles he had built from years of hunting.
Bruno inspected Darsi’s body and still said, “Even if you’re really sixteen, new arrivals in Graythorn Territory won’t be able to enlist. You need to accumulate enough work points to qualify.”
Darsi looked at the secretary who was still announcing the policies and pondered, then suddenly seemed to think of something and asked Bruno, “Why does your lord want us wild people to become subjects?”
Bruno really knew the answer because Lind emphasized before each mission what they were fighting for.
“To increase the population of the territory. The lord said that the current population is still far from enough and has sent us to persuade the wild people in the mountains to come down.”
“Then why not just issue a bounty to capture wild people?”
Darsi realized immediately after speaking that he had asked a foolish question. How could a lord who could write such regulations and disciplines possibly use that method to expand the population? Issuing a bounty would indeed be much simpler, but 90% of the people might use the most straightforward and brutal means to capture people, just like those mountain bandits before.
Bruno simply replied, “The lord said it was for training the troops.”
“I know many wild villages. I can lead the lord to find them. If I can persuade them all to join Graythorn Territory, can I earn work points?”
Looking at the excited Darsi, Bruno still wore a fierce expression and nodded, saying, “Of course you can.”
