Chapter 1041, Good Treatment Draws People In

Translator: Silavin

 

Yan Hua had gathered a large group of people together and begun preparations for the soldier selection.

 

With the rainy season over, everyone seemed to be in high spirits.

 

The young men had been arranged into rows, two to three hundred of them in total, all assembled in the plaza in front of the Yong’an Building.

 

The plaza in front of the Yong’an Building was an important venue. The Totem Awakening Ceremony, address gatherings, and all manner of other collective activities were held here.

 

“Do you know why you have been called here?” Yan Hua asked. She had the bearing of a seasoned female officer. With her hands clasped behind her back, her well-made linen clothes drawing admiring glances.

 

“Yes!” The young men answered in unison.

 

“You should all have seen the soldiers from the previous selection by now. Do you envy them?” Yan Hua asked.

 

“Yes!” The young men answered without hesitation.

 

Of course they envied them. Those soldiers ate and drank well every single day. Even though the training was gruelling, earning a life like that in return was well worth it.

 

The uniforms those soldiers wore were impressive too, purpose-made military dress that looked undeniably sharp. No young man could resist the pull of a sharp uniform, especially the kind that made its wearer look strong and formidable.

 

“So do you want to become soldiers?” Yan Hua asked.

 

“We want to become soldiers! We want to become soldiers!” The young men answered without the slightest hesitation.

 

“The Flame Dragon Tribe’s second soldier selection has begun. Perhaps some of you will be among that second group.” Yan Hua kept her hands clasped behind her back. “But before that, we need to see whether you have what it takes. So you know what to do, yes?”

 

The standards from the previous selection had been made known to the entire Tribe. The reason for doing so was to give those who wanted to become soldiers but had not yet met the standard something to work toward every day.

 

“We know!” the young men answered once again.

 

Every face among them was bright with excitement, as though the next moment might see them already enlisted.

 

“Then let us begin.” Yan Hua clapped her hands.

 

The young men fell into groups of their own accord and began running laps around the plaza.

 

The first stage of the soldier selection was the lap run. Every person had to complete fifty consecutive laps.

 

On average, each lap was roughly one hundred metres, meaning fifty laps came to fifty thousand metres in total. This was no small undertaking.

 

For a Totem Warrior, naturally, it was trivially easy, no different from drinking a glass of water.

 

But for an ordinary person, it was a genuine test of stamina. Those with poorer physical conditioning might give out after just a few laps.

 

*Step step step…*

 

The young men began running one after another around the plaza, each maintaining roughly the same pace.

 

There were requirements in place for this. Running too slowly was not acceptable, while there was a restriction in running fast.

 

What could not happen was falling. Anyone who fell would be immediately eliminated, and the reason was straightforward. Beyond selecting those with strong physical conditioning, the aim was also to identify those in good physical coordination.

 

It would not do for a person’s coordination to break down the moment they picked up speed, sending them tumbling to the ground. In the course of executing a mission, an error like that could prove to be fatal.

 

While the young men were running their laps, Sha Lan came down from the Yong’an Building. She stretched contentedly and asked, “How are they looking? Are there any promising candidates this time?”

 

Sha Lan recalled just how grim the last soldier selection had been. Roughly two thirds of the candidates had failed, and many of those had not made it past the very first round of the screening.

 

“We’ve only just started, so it’s hard to say. They all seem full of energy though, and this isn’t the first time either, so things should be somewhat better than last time.”

 

Yan Hua brushed back her long black hair. In any case, she was not holding out especially high hopes.

 

“It does look that way. They seem to be doing quite well.” Sha Lan said, nodding thoughtfully.

 

“What did the Shaman say? Why are you in such good spirits today?” Yan Hua asked.

 

“Because we get to go to the Hunting Ground!” Sha Lan beamed, showing a gleam of white teeth.

 

Yan Hua dug a finger in her ear, staring in disbelief. “Are you for real? Did the Shaman really say that?”

 

“Of course. Otherwise I wouldn’t be this happy.” Sha Lan paced back and forth with barely contained delight.

 

“Great! When can we set off?” Yan Hua asked, impatient to get going.

 

“Most likely in the next few days. We just need to get ourselves ready and hand off our duties,” Sha Lan said, blinking her blue eyes. She had already thought of who to pass her work on to, and was all the more eager to head to the Hunting Ground.

 

“It might take me a little time. The soldier selection has only just got underway, and apart from that I have no other pressing duties.” Yan Hua said, turning it over thoughtfully.

 

“No rush. We still need to pick our teammates. We’re setting out with a mission this time,” Sha Lan said.

 

“What mission has the Shaman arranged? Is it going to be exciting?” Yan Hua could already feel her blood starting to race.

 

Sha Lan put on an air of mystery, tapping her chin with one finger, pretending she could not quite recall.

 

Yan Hua immediately reached over and started tickling her in the ribs, laughing as she did. “Don’t give me that. Everyone knows your memory is the best out of anyone. Stop leaving me hanging here.”

 

“All right, all right, spare me! I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you.” Sha Lan laughed so hard tears came to her eyes.

 

Yan Hua kept at it for a good while before finally withdrawing her hand, then asked with anticipation, “So what missions has the Shaman given us?”

 

“The Shaman wants us to find flying Ferocious Beasts and wild animals that could help us transport stuff. We can also bring back some smaller animals that could be raised in captivity while we are at it…”

 

Sha Lan recounted what Su Bai had said with near perfect accuracy.

 

“Okay! With Ah Hen around, there is nothing to worry about,” Yan Hua thought immediately of the Peak Eagle.

 

That creature had been growing larger with every passing month. By now it could carry two people at once, and its wingspan had stretched to nearly ten metres.

 

“Right. We’ll just take a small group. Too many would hinder us instead.” Sha Lan gave her cat tail a flick. “How about you and me, Ai’er, Yue, and Bai Si?”

 

“I think that works. Though we need to check whether they have any other duties first, and we should ask Ye Jiu as well.” Yan Hua said.

 

There was no getting around it. All three of them were part of the same team, and it was Ye Jiu who managed them.

 

“Don’t worry. I know how to handle it. I’ll go off first.” Sha Lan turned and walked off as she finished speaking.

 

“Let me know if anything comes up,” Yan Hua called after her with a wave.

 

“I know.” Sha Lan gave a nod and kept walking.