Chapter 240 May the Holy Father bless you all and make you invincible like the Holy Lord!
The gray-yellow clouds were even darker than the day before, but a glimmer of pale sunlight appeared at noon.

In the misty Nanze Lake, Qiumu Island looks like a leaf floating on the water.

Looking down from the sky over the west side of Qiumu Island, the military camp square looked like a huge chessboard, with the black masses of recruits neatly arranged in square formations.

At the edge of the drill ground, a team of new recruits finally arrived, panting and arranged in a 5X10 horizontal formation, filling the last square on the chessboard.

The dense phalanx was in good order, and in the gaps between the grid-like arrays, military judges and veteran captains holding piety-infused sticks walked back and forth, checking their standing postures.

The assessment had just ended, but they still had to ignore their fatigue and force themselves to stand.

Even though the weather was so cold, beads of sweat were still flowing on the soldiers' foreheads, gleaming with light.

At the edge of the square, the third batch of recruits who had just entered the camp stood blankly by the fence, staring at the neat formation.

In the distance stood the high mountains, and the air was filled with the smell of earth, sweat, and metal.

With the quick whistle, the square, which was originally quite noisy, suddenly stopped all sound.

"Stand at attention!" the veteran captains shouted.

The warhorse's hooves tapped the ground, making a rhythmic clattering sound. Horn was riding on the horse, followed by Jeanna, Jeshka, Hakuto and other officers and generals.

Sitting on horseback, his eyes swept over the soldiers one by one.

Every soldier Horn glanced at involuntarily straightened his chest and tensed his muscles.

When they first entered the camp, most of them were skinny soldiers, the kind that even a tiger would find painful to eat.

They are still skinny, but there is some flesh on their torsos and cheeks.

During this period, the recruits' meals consisted of almost unlimited potato roots, rice porridge, eggs, and salted fish as refined grains.

These carbohydrates and proteins are transformed into endurance, lung capacity and arm strength through training such as standing at attention, running and holding rifles.

But Horn's requirements for these three physical fitness assessment items are not high. First, three days of adaptation, seven days of training, and then gradually increase the intensity.

After all, the refugees were too weak and the weather was so cold that two or three of them died suddenly from running or catching a cold during training.

Therefore, during queue training, they practice for a while and then rest for a while. After practicing for an hour, they may have to rest for five to ten minutes.

The physical condition of refugees cannot be compared with that of modern people, and the external conditions make it difficult for them to perform simple tasks.

Horn was thankful that they folded their quilts and didn't throw their clothes around.

"Have you completed all the assessments?"

"I completed everything yesterday and this morning. There are six events in total: standing, discipline, marching, holding the rifle, 50-meter sprint, and -kilometer running."

"What's the average level?" Horn waved at the soldiers with a smile and asked Jessica behind him.

“Of the first batch of 2000 recruits, 1030 passed.

Among the 955 people who failed, 12 were rated as poor. I suggested that they withdraw as they were not suitable for military service.

There are 56 people who were rated as below average. I suggest that they follow the second batch of recruits to undergo retraining.

There are 674 people who are rated as above average. They can join the formed legion and train slowly in the future.

Another 213 people were slowed down or unable to attend due to illness, and 15 people died from various reasons.”

Only half of these two thousand people actually reached the passing level, but considering that many of them were beggars twenty days ago, it was considered pretty good.

"Have the outstanding soldiers from each team been selected?"

Horn had said that he would give a 10-dinar bonus to the top 90% of soldiers, and naturally he had to fulfill his promise.

However, considering that there are 2000 people in the first battalion, 5 people are selected from each team, and 40 people are selected from 200 teams. "Everyone has been selected, and the list has been compiled." Hakuto handed the list to Horn.

Horn glanced down and returned the message: "Select five people from each team who have clean backgrounds, upright personalities, and the highest discipline scores, and give them to Das."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Their physical fitness level should have reached the minimum requirement for the breathing method, right?"

"The outstanding recruits have definitely reached the target, but as for the rest..." A hesitant look appeared on Jeshka's face.

Hakuto added bluntly, "It's hard to say."

Horn couldn't help but groan.

The reason why he was able to practice breathing techniques right from the start was because he seamlessly connected to the monster meat.

But these people were not so lucky. After twenty days of training, they failed to even reach the minimum requirements, let alone the breathing method.

Walking from the first square to the last square, Horn inspected all 40 squares before returning to the center of the square.

Horn glanced at the soldiers in the square, feeling confused.

When he first set out from the Gulag, he had only about 300 soldiers with him. Up to now, there are 2000 new recruits here alone.

At that time, he felt that it was simply a combination of beggar gangs and fighting villagers.

But now, it finally looks a bit like an early modern army.

In fact, Horn had thought about turning them into the army in history.

After analyzing the situation, Horn found that he could not provide them with the conditions for that army, either materially or spiritually.

After repeated iterations of trying to find the next best option, Horn finally chose a musket-and-spear infantry corps from the Thirty Years' War.

The duties of the military chaplain are actually the quartermaster and psychologist, and he is also responsible for part of the work of conveying Horn's will downwards.

Advanced is only relative. Such an army is enough to defeat the imperial army whose organization is still in the late Middle Ages.

"Warriors of the Savior Corps, today is December 12th. All assessments have ended today."

In the silent square, only Horn's voice resounded through the sky.

"Look to your left. Those are the new recruits watching the ceremony. Further away are your relatives and friends."

"You can eat enough and train every day because the believers have to eat the worst rice porridge and wild vegetable soup."

“And in places far and far away, other believers who are also children of the Holy Father are being cruelly abused.”

"From today to January 1, I will give you three days off. In addition to allowing you to reunite with your family, I will also allow you to go back and take a look around and think about the situation."

"What have our believers done for you? What have you done for our believers?"

"On January 1, when you return to the barracks, our officers will take you to the corresponding regiments."

"At that time, you will be ordained as combat monks and learn how to truly hold a spear and how to kill the enemy."

"You have seen our enemies, the demons entrenched in castles and churches. We all know how powerful they are."

"But we refuse to give in. We want to overthrow them from their false idols and thrones. That is why we are gathered here."

"May the Holy Father bless you all, and make you invincible like the Holy Lord!"

(End of this chapter)