"Hahaha! Adolf, you old beast!" Rudolf exclaimed, breaking the tense atmosphere that choked up everyone's senses. Their forearms met between them as they performed an odd handshake gesture. Adolf grinned hunching his back as he bent to exchange the greeting with Rudolf. The soldiers surrounding them just looked on with slacked jaws. The stare-down between the two Lord class experts was so intense that they thought a brawl would break out between them; No one expected this to be a usual greeting ritual between them.
Eren just shook his head as he stood to the side. Oh course, he knew how these two normally behaved. There were basically just overgrown bullies, pressuring the weaker soldiers and newly selected villagers as a show of their might. The other soldiers soon also arrived at this conclusion; they could only shake their heads in response.
From within the city, the various Master and Grandmaster class citizens used various methods to monitor the situation outside the city. When they saw two Imperial High Generals having a standout, the first thought they came up with was some internal friction between the upper echelons of the Imperial Army, but all their speculations came to an end the moment they saw the two Generals embracing each other like long lost brothers. Just looking at the size difference between then two, many people just shook their heads and carried on with their normal routine. Very soon, the sounds of various merchants calling out their prices and buyers trying to haggle for wares filled the air again.
The High Generals turned their attention back to the soldiers that were standing awkwardly to the side. "At ease, men!" Adolf waved his hand. Rudolf stood to his side, watching him take control over the troops. Although they were both High Generals, Adolf's position on the hierarchical table was higher than his. Adolf was a late-stage Lord class expert while he was an early stage Lord class expert. Although they were basically in the same class, they difference in power was qualitative with every minor breakthrough. In an all out confrontation, Rudolf would almost surely lose.
Hearing the domineering voice of one of the High Generals that they hardly came in contact with, the soldiers couldn't help but feel gratified. First they got the opportunity to travel with Rudolf, and then they were welcomed by the top High General of the Imperial Army. One had to know that the High Generals were very high up on the ladder of power! Coming into contact with one, not to mention two of them was a privilege.
Soldiers mingled with each other, sharing the story of the ambush on their caravan with their comrades who didn't go on the Selection trip with them. Several mages that were skilled with projection magic played out scenes from their clash with the Lord class expert that had stayed back to deal with them.
The newly recruited villagers were brought up to meet the two High Generals up close. Compared to the soldiers, the villagers were in a very tight situation. The distinct and aura that rolled off the two generals pressured the ordinary villagers. Rudolf elbowed Adolf, hinting at his oppressive aura. Adolf was deliberately pressuring the villagers, letting them know that the two people before them were no ordinary Imperial soldiers.
Adolf's eyes scanned over them as he and Rudolf spoke through a mental link.
'Which one do you suspect is carrying the Inheritance?' Adolf asked.
'The young boy in the Earth class. He's broken through at such a young age. The most his village has is around fifteen to twenty Earth class hunters. Most of them are middle aged adult with the occasional young 'genius'. It doesn't take much thought to figure out why he stands out.'
Adolf's eyes stopped on a mop of black hair. His bright red eyes fixed on the magical energy fluctuations that flowed off the boy. Surely, the waves of magical energy around him were active than most people here, except the other Earth class villagers.
"Earth class, to the left. Mortal class, to the right." Rudolf's voice sounded over the plain. The soldiers that were absently chatting started paying attention when they heard this. Normally, the commander of the Selection caravan would take the newly exposed recruits into the training camp where he would introduce them formally. This time, the commander, Eren, was basically just a figurehead and had to make way for two High Generals. The soldiers smelt something fishy.
Eighty percent of those who were in the Earth class among the new recruits were hunters. The remaining twenty percent were split between alchemists and some small time healers.
Alchemists mostly specialized in potion and drug making. Although they sounded harmless, looking down upon an alchemist was a very big mistake. An alchemist almost always had a wide array of poisons and stimulants on them all the time. Most alchemists walked down the path of Arcane.
The healers were mostly those who had unlocked a potential for passive healing magic. At such a tender stage, they had no complex arts and mostly just utilized the stray magical energy lingering in the air to speed up the regeneration process of the human body. As simple as that might sound, the number of healers found on an annual basis was frighteningly low.
The only oddball among the group was Kai. Even Reinhard looked him with an odd quirked brow. A 'what the hell' expression was clearly painted on his face.
The High Generals regarded the two groups for a moment.
"Eren, please do the usual." Adolf spoke before turning to walk back into the city with the group of soldiers he came out with.