Kays Translations

Chapter 41: Midnight Assembly 

After the initial standing-at-attention drills, they went through several more rounds. Unlike the first round—where Lord Owen had promised individual rewards for meeting the standard—later rounds had a new rule: only if the entire group passed would everyone receive a piece of jerky.

Each time, there were always a few who couldn’t hold on or failed the check, and the jerky that was almost within reach would just slip away.

At first, Kadir thought Lord Owen was messing with them, believing it was impossible for the whole group to meet the standard.

But with every round, their performance visibly improved, clearly showing everyone was striving for that bite of jerky. If they kept at it, maybe one day they really could all pass. There was still hope.

At lunchtime, the knights would bring large buckets of wheat porridge and a tray full of sliced meat jerky from the castle.

To be honest, Kadir had expected the jerky to be a thin sliver—but to his surprise, it was quite thick, roughly the size of a clenched fist. It felt like a huge win.

To eat lunch, they had to line up properly. Those who earned rewards stood in one line; everyone else in three others.

Anyone who tried to cause trouble would be dragged out by the knights and forced to watch everyone else eat first before being allowed to eat themselves.

Sure enough, some fools thought they could sneak into the reward line, but they were politely “invited out” by the knights’ swords and made to squat beside the queue.

Kadir spotted a tall guy who used to bully him, now squatting off to the side. He felt extremely satisfied.

Also worth praising was the generous amount of lunch. Kadir had never had such a full bowl of wheat porridge before. After finishing it, he patted his belly—he actually felt full, even let out a burp.

Then came the final reward—he slowly chewed on the jerky he had saved for last, savouring every bite, filled with happiness.

Thinking back, Kadir smacked his lips. He could almost still taste the salty, meaty flavour.

They had plenty of time for a nap after lunch, which was nice.

In the afternoon, under the guidance of the one-eyed instructor, the militia team practiced all kinds of strange drills—marching in step, turning, and more.

After all that, Kadir finally understood what Lord Owen was aiming for:

One word—“Uniformity.”

Every exercise, every movement—everything had to be neat, synchronized, and uniform. Once they grasped that idea, everyone started taking training even more seriously. If they impressed the lord, there might be another round of jerky coming.

Next up, Lord Owen had them run laps around Bianshu Town.

They had to finish before sunset. Spirits were high—if the whole group passed, everyone got jerky, and they were allowed to help each other along the way.

That gave everyone confidence that they could pull it off.

Although they ultimately failed the challenge, it greatly strengthened the team’s cohesion—there was no doubt about that. Every single person reached the finish line. Not one was left behind.

Because of that, Lord Owen still handed out half a piece of jerky to each person during dinner, calling it a reward for teamwork.

After dinner came the dreaded cultural training session.

Looking back on the day, tiring as it was, it hadn’t been too bad, Kadir thought.

Just then, someone shouted outside the tent:

“Lights out! Everyone put out your fires and go to sleep!”

“I’ll get it, guys.”

The teammate nearest the oil lamp volunteered to blow it out…

The teammate nearest the oil lamp took the job of blowing it out.

“Thanks, man.” 

Kadir responded.

“Wait a sec!”

Beside him, Blue hurriedly put away his twig, sat up, took off his outer clothes, and burrowed into his bedroll.

“All good now.”

Once the lamp’s flame was extinguished, the tent was left with only the dim red glow from the pile of heated magic stones in the center. The faint light didn’t hinder anyone’s sleep.

That was it for today. Hopefully tomorrow would bring more meat jerky.

With that pleasant thought in mind, Kadir closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, only that it was still the dead of night outside. By then, almost everyone in the camp had fallen into deep sleep.

Suddenly, a loud banging on a gong echoed outside the tent, accompanied by a shout:

“Assembly! Everyone assemble!”

The crisp, sharp sound jolted many people awake. Some even forgot they were now part of the militia and grumbled and cursed, yelling about how they were supposed to sleep.

But they quickly remembered what the one-eyed instructor had said about the assembly gong. They immediately rolled out of bed, got dressed, put on their shoes, and rushed outside to form ranks.

Only a few people had been sleeping too deeply—Kadir included. He was fast asleep, until Blue shook him awake.

“Hey! Buddy, wake up! It’s assembly time!”

“What?” 

Kadir opened his bleary eyes, still groggy. 

“Isn’t it still night? We’re not supposed to assemble until morning.”

Before he could finish the thought, the gong sounded again—a second round.

Crap! It was the assembly gong!

Startled, Kadir scrambled out of his bedroll, threw on his clothes and shoes, and ran outside with Blue.

As soon as they stepped out, a cold gust of wind hit them, and Kadir shivered from head to toe. It was freezing.

In a clearing outside the camp, dozens of torches and several large bonfires illuminated the area.

That was the designated assembly spot the one-eyed instructor had mentioned. A number of people were already lined up.

“Come on, let’s get over there.” 

Blue urged.

“Yeah.”

The two jogged over and joined the line where they had stood during previous drills.

Standing in formation, Kadir looked ahead. Oh boy—not only was the one-eyed instructor there, and the training knights, but Lord Owen himself was present.

Was something serious going on? Kadir wondered.

After a while, everyone finally dragged themselves into formation.

The knights confirmed the full headcount and reported back to the instructor and Lord Owen.

From a distance, Kadir saw Lord Owen shake his head in clear disappointment.

Uh-oh… this was probably a surprise drill, and everyone had done terribly. Punishment was coming.

“You were too slow!”

Viscount Jarvis glared coldly at the gathered militia.

“At that speed, if the undead attacked in the middle of the night, they’d have breached the walls long before you even got dressed and picked up your weapons!”

After scolding them, he announced their punishment:

“Everyone! Standing drill—now! Until I say stop! And if anyone moves, the whole group gets extra time!”

Ugh, not the standing posture again! Kadir cried internally.

Plenty of others felt the same, and groans rippled through the formation.

“Silence! Who told you to make noise?! Time extended for everyone!”

Viscount Jarvis showed no mercy, and the whole group instantly shut their mouths.

“If you don’t want to be punished, then move faster next time! These surprise assemblies will happen at random from now on. If you keep being slow and scattered, I’ll double the standing time next time!”

“Begin standing drill! Everyone, listen for commands! Stand at ease! Attention!”

He used the exact command words from the training manual, which he had already mastered.

That night ended up being the longest standing drill of Kadir’s life.
He swore to himself—he never wanted to experience that again. His legs had gone completely numb.

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