After that initial breakthrough, the curse hanging over the anxious recruits seemed to lift, allowing the next wave of volunteers to survive their baptism at the cost of shaving a few years off their lifespan.
Sure, there were always the hard-luck cases who bit the dust now and then, but the success rate had crawled back into alignment with the whispers: a touch over 60%. The true average across all regiments clocked in closer to 65%, leading the overseeing officer to deduce that his latest batch of recruits left something to be desired. The hope was that their battlefield prowess would prove less underwhelming.
In case you're wondering why the success rate leaned more towards 65% instead of a coin flip, chalk it up to the quality of the men. They weren't all conscripts dragged from the fields.
