"What are the most important jobs of a soldier?" Thyra asked as she stood in front of the 109 soldiers that she had recruited.
Ninety-seven passed the second trial, and out of 17 failed students, 12 signed the contract with Thyra.
All of them were gathered in the field outside the eastern barracks. The eight instructors and the knight who would train Thyra stood behind her. Even the two adventurers Hure had recruited were also present.
It was only Jullia who was absent. Before leaving, Thyra had seen her sleeping with a silly yet satisfied smile. After using her for the entire night, Thyra didn't want to wake her up in the morning.
"To fight for the king."
"Win the war."
"Protect the kingdom."
A few of the loudmouths answered.
Thyra shook her head, saying, "That is what a noble would say to oil up the king. Are you a noble?"
"Huh!"
Those who answered were a little surprised. They responded because they wanted to impress Thyra. Never did they expect that Thyra would say the truth out loud.
"A soldier has two main jobs: one to survive and one to kill. Survive to fight another day, and kill so that you won't be killed. If you can do that, you can win the war, defeat your enemies, and protect the kingdom."
Those are some simple words. Although they didn't think about it this way, they felt what Thyra said was true.
"You will learn how to fight, survive, and fight together in the next few months. Before that…" Thyra didn't complete the sentence and looked towards the soldiers and signalled them.
After the unhesitant display of violence, whether it was the soldiers or the instructor, none of them dared to go against Thyra's words.
The soldiers soon returned with a line of cuffed men bound by the rope at the waist. Thyra didn't need to repeat her order as another group of soldiers created a big circle.
One of the soldiers came forward and untied the rope from the first captives. At the point of the weapon, he was escorted into the circle created by the soldiers.
"And now you will learn how to kill." Thyra chose three people from the twelve who had contracted with her.
They were visibly afraid but couldn't disobey Thyra's order. They entered the circle with wooden weapons in their hands.
The other curious recruits quickly gathered around the circle.
"You need to kill the captives inside the circle." Thyra's words brought a wave of silence.
"What?" It was the same loudmouth who had answered first, "You wanted us to kill a human?"
Thyra smirked, saying, "The one inside is a death row convict. He was a bandit group member who had killed, raped, and pillaged villages along the northern road to the capital. He has been apprehended and is waiting to be killed. Now you have been selected to be his executioner."
Then Thyra walked towards the man, asking, "What are you trying to do after joining my army? Eat and sleep?"
"But…"
Thyra shook her head and walked back to the podium. "Remember I said about three qualities that I need in my soldiers. Patience, determination and obedience. This is the third trial. All those who would fail this test would return home."
Her words had pushed them a little. The thought of spending the winter in their hometown was probably the scariest thing that could have happened to them. Most had come here not to spend their winter on an empty stomach.
That was especially true for those who had failed the second trial and signed a contract with Thyra.
There was even a girl in the first three that Thyra had chosen, and she was the first to move. Grabbing her weapon tighter, she entered the circle.
She didn't know how to use a sword. However, a wooden sword was still a piece of wood, as she used it like she was trying to beat her dog.
Although the hands of the criminal were still tied, he could still run. He had heard everything, so naturally, he wasn't standing there to die.
"Ahhhhhh…" The girl raised the wand high in the air and ran behind him.
Thyra looked at the other two and pointed at the sandglass, saying, "If you couldn't kill him within time, you would still fail."
The other two ran into the circle with their weapons as soon as she said that. With the extra number, they were quickly able to surround him. However, they underestimated the burning urge to survive. The man headbutted the recruits and tried to escape out of the circle of the soldier.
Alas! The soldier had no intention of letting him go. He kicked the captive in the chest, making the captive fall to the ground, and he became an easy target.
Soon the air was filled with the scream and the stench of blood. This would have been over easily if they had used a real weapon. However, wooden weapons didn't just make it difficult; they made it a gruesome site.
His head was split open, one of his eyeballs had turned entirely red, and he was bleeding all over his body. Yet, he was still alive, screaming and cursing at the top of his lungs.
All the sand in the sandglass had already fallen by the time he died. But there was a suffocating silence in the air. A few recruits outside the circle couldn't take it and vomited everything out of their stomachs. Even a few trained soldiers had to look away.
But it affected the assaulter the most. The girl stood there, holding the bloody piece of wood in her bloody hand. She was so driven by the urge to survive that she didn't feel the pain in her bleeding hand.
The other two were like walking puppets. They knew what they had done, and the guilt was so overwhelming they couldn't express it in emotions.
They came out of the circle and sat far away from others. Their empty eyes were so horrifying that others didn't dare come to show their sympathy.
The instructors and the knight coach were aware of what Thyra had done last night. Compared to that, it was nothing. Still, such an action shocked them.
The only ones who remained unaffected were Thyra and the pair of adventurers.
Thyra spoke again, "Don't worry. You will get used to it soon enough." As she signalled, a couple of soldiers cleared the area. All that remained were a few dark spots formed because of the blood mixed with the dirt.
Thyra chose the next group and sent the prisoner in. Although they were hesitant and wanted to resist, they couldn't due to the effect of the magic contract. They soon attacked the prisoners.
This is also why she chose the twelve who signed a contract with her to go first. As they couldn't disobey her, they did as they had been told.
Even if the onlookers are hesitant at first, after seeing it four times, a few will just take it for granted.
Humans are herd animals. They would always follow the rules that they thought were normal. Still, there were five who had decided not to do it. As a result, the number of recruited soldiers was reduced to 104.