Iron Powder and Spellcasters

  Chapter 494 Rebuilding the Country (9)

   The "preparation meeting" obviously does not intend to give the subjects time to prepare in advance.

  Because there was only one day between the issuance of the exam notice and the exam.

   On the day of the exam, Houdert got up early in the morning, went to the river to take a quick bath, then returned to the tent to shave carefully, and finally changed into clean clothes.

   After all this is done, the sky is already bright.

  Holder yawned, and walked towards the gate of the barracks slowly.

  Arrived at the gate of the barracks, Holder was not in a hurry to go out, but stood in front of the bulletin board and pretended to look at it for a while.

   It wasn't until Doug patted him on the shoulder from behind that Holder came back to his senses.

  Doug brought Holder a piece of coarse bread with bacon and sauce sandwiched between them. While eating, the two of them checked the military badge at the gate post and made entry and exit registration before leaving the camp.

  There are two roads outside the gate of the barracks.

  The road on the left leads to Maple Leaf Fort, which Holder often walks recently.

  Because the Tiefeng County Army is doing its best to repair Maple Leaf Fort under the auspices of the Mason Tribune, everyone has to go to work except for the sick and wounded who cannot move.

  The road on the right leads to Maplestone City, and Holder rarely walks it.

  The only few times I went to the city were to pick up and deliver things at your home, and they always went and returned quickly.

  Höder has not yet had the opportunity to take a good look at the "big city" that is prosperous, bustling, and full of gold caves.

  But today, Houderba must not be able to go to the left.

  But there is no way, the examination room is not in Maple Leaf Castle, Houdel can only look at each other with his friend, and walk towards Maple Stone City in the morning light.

  The barracks of the Tiefeng Army and Fengshi City are very close.

   Before the bread was finished, Holder and his friends had already walked from the path to the main road. On the main road, the gate of Fengshi City is right in front of you.

  The flow of people on the main road suddenly became dense.

  A farmer carrying a vegetable basket, a butcher leading an animal, a water worker driving a wagon... all kinds of figures walked on the road, so many people seemed to be holding a sacrament parade.

  Although there is no difference in the clothes he is wearing, Holder can still distinguish civilians from soldiers in the flow of people entering the city at a glance:

  Because the former came to the city to earn a living, although he carried his hands on his shoulders and was sweating profusely, he walked with wind under his feet and full of energy;

  Although the shoulders and hands of the latter are empty, their steps are muddy and extremely heavy, because they are going to undergo "tests".

  Holder soon saw some familiar faces in the crowd, all of whom were reserve officers from other companies.

  Everyone greeted each other briefly, and continued on their way in silence.

  However, on this short road leading to Maplestone City, some new faces joined the crowd.

  Different from the civilians who entered the city and the soldiers such as Holder, the clothes on the new faces are cleaner, and the fabrics of the clothes are also better.

   What they wore were not the straw sandals and soft-soled leather sandals uniformly distributed by the Iron Peak Army—the latter Houdel was reluctant to wear at ordinary times—but genuine boots.

  Holder won't be jealous that he is inferior just to dressing.

  What caught Holder's eyes was the cocky, relaxed expressions of the new faces.

   "Look." Holder whispered to his friend, "What is the origin of the boots?"

  Doug picked up the last crumbs in his palm: "A commissioned officer of the friendly army."

   "They also take the test?" Holder was surprised.

   "Test." Doug replied succinctly: "That's what the announcement said."

   "We take the exam because we want to go to your school." Holder frowned unconsciously: "They also take the exam, so can they also go to your school?"

   "It should be so."

  Holder was speechless for a while, and spat angrily: "Why?"

   "Do you still want to eat?" Doug asked his friend.

  Holder lost his appetite at all, so he handed the half piece of bread to his friend directly.

  Doug also cleaned up the remaining bread of his friend, and then said calmly: "Maybe they are also wondering why you and I can go to your school."

  Holder wanted to refute but had nothing to say, so he simply turned his head away, didn’t even look at those rich kids in boots, and just hurried on his way.

  But sometimes, the more you don’t want to see something, the more you move towards it.

   To enter Fengshi City, you need to pass a checkpoint at the city gate.

  The scene in front of the checkpoint is literally "thousands of troops crossing the single-plank bridge", so everyone has to line up.

   So are Holder and Doug.

   The wait is so frustrating that it can take a hundred years to move a single step in the queue.

  Holder sighed and watched the flow of people ahead, and at this juncture, a burst of laughter floated into his ears from behind.

   Turning his head, Holder was surprised to find that the rich men in boots were not far behind him, talking and laughing, as if they were going on an outing.

  Höder turned his head and blocked his ears in annoyance. But the more he didn't want to hear it, the more piercing the chatter of those people was, which made him angry.

  Finally, Holder's patience reached its limit.

  He had a plan, turned around and walked a few steps, patted the shoulder of another reserve officer behind him, and took the initiative to say hello.

  The reserve officer called by Holder was named Claude Lee, who was recommended by Battalion Commander Samukin to become a reserve officer.

  Claude is younger than Houder, but he is a few months earlier than Houder in terms of "military age". Although he knew Holder, he was just a nodding acquaintance, so he couldn't say how familiar he was.

  So, facing Holder's sudden enthusiasm, Claude didn't know why.

  He subconsciously replied hello, then continued to stare down at the toe of the shoe, obviously not wanting to talk much.

  Holder was not going to let the other party go just like that. He held Claude's arm intimately, and deliberately chatted loudly about the "Second Battalion Commander" who was about to become the "Second Regiment Commander".

  Behind him, commissioned officers from other counties were startled by Holder's loud voice, and their laughter stopped abruptly.

  Claude responded politely at first, but soon felt tired, and finally smiled wryly, begging for mercy: "Monkey, I really don't have the heart to chat with you now... Go find someone else."

   "Not thinking?" Holder asked knowingly, "Why not?"

   "Don't play dumb for me." Claude couldn't laugh or cry: "Don't you kid also go to the exam?"

  Holder spat disdainfully: "What are you afraid of for a small exam? It's really useless!"

Claude knocked off the monkey's hand, and said angrily, "Stop bragging with me here and pretending to be big! I heard that whoever fails in the exam will blow up the matter of going to the military academy! Look at you, didn't you do it on purpose? Have you showered, shaved, and changed into new clothes?"

   "Who said I took a bath and shave on purpose?" Houder denied it, and then grabbed Claude's arm with a playful smile: "I bathe and shave every day! If you don't believe me, you can hear it!"

  Claude laughed and scolded: "Get out of here!"

   "I'd like to ask you," Holder saw that all the commissioned officers behind him were pricking up their ears to eavesdrop, so he raised his voice by three points: "Who told you that if you don't pass the exam, you won't be able to go to school?"

  Claude hesitated: "Anyway, they all said that..."

   "Fart!" Holder yelled, and the civilians around him took a few steps back in fright: "How could the blood wolf not let us go to the military academy because we didn't pass the exam? Don't you think so, Doug?"

  Doug replied unhurriedly: "The announcement only said that there will be an exam, and it didn't say what will happen if you pass the exam or fail the exam."

   "That's right!" Holder clapped his hands, put his arms around Claude's shoulders, and said in a rough voice deliberately: "I ask you, who runs the military academy?"

   "Mr. Montagne." Claude replied immediately.

   "Yes, it was done by the blood wolf." Holder looked around provocatively, and finally stared at Claude: "Let me ask you again, who are we?"

   Claude was stunned, not knowing how to answer for a moment.

Before Claude could respond, Holder slapped his chest with pride: "We are the soldiers of the blood wolf! We are the wolf cubs who were killed with one knife and one gun in the sea of ​​corpses! Who did the blood wolf treat badly? We? You! Just put your mind at ease!"

Hearing the monkey's words, Claude's expression was a little gloomy. He lowered his head and picked his fingers, and said awkwardly: "You...you always walk around your Excellency, of course you are not afraid. I...I have been working under the command of Battalion Commander Samukin , in charge of ships, supplies, and captives. I have never fought a big battle with you, nor have I spoken to you. You don’t even know who I am..."

Holder suddenly felt a little ashamed, and he hurriedly comforted Claude: "Then you are a hundred times better than some trash who have no skills, have never fought, and rely on a few bad money to buy officials! Ten thousand Times! If they can all go to Blood Wolf’s military academy, I don’t believe you can’t.”

   As he spoke, Holder deliberately glanced at the "boot boys" behind him.

  The commissioned officers finally figured out who the skinny monkey-like guy in front of them was after, and most of them looked unhappy.

   At this moment, a hearty voice came from the front.

   "Monkey! I heard it was you from a long distance!" A saber veteran walked from the checkpoint in front with a big smile: "Running out again and embarrassing the first battalion?"

  The saber veteran has bright eyes and a tall, thin body. Although he is a veteran, he is actually only in his early twenties, which is a very good age. Just walking, my left leg is a little lame.

  Seeing the veteran approaching, not only Holder, but even Claude stood at attention and saluted: "Sergeant Ish, why are you here?"

   "I was sent to watch the door because I was afraid that you would cause trouble." The veteran replied with a smile.

  He gave Holder a warning look: "Monkey, did you yell 'that' again just now? Be careful not to be heard by Your Excellency, and I will punish you to move stones in Maple Leaf Castle."

  Holder was greatly embarrassed, and immediately made a movement of "sewing his mouth up", and then lightly slapped himself.

  Other reserve officers who were queuing up saw the veterans, they also walked out of the crowd one after another, stepped forward to salute and say hello: "Sergeant Ish!"

  The veterans returned gifts one by one meticulously.

  …

   Sergeant [Ish Sweetwater] is a very special figure in the Iron Peak Army.

  In terms of seniority, his military age is as old as Tamas and Bart Shiring;

  But the latter has now been promoted to battalion commander and acting regiment commander, while Ish Sweetwater is still a sergeant.

  People say it's all because Sergeant Ish was wounded on the eve of the Blood Mud Battle, missed the Blood Mud Battle, missed the Battle of Shovel Harbor, and missed the Battle of River Valley Village...

  In short, Sergeant Ish was unlucky and lucky to miss the big and small battles from the "Battle of Blood Mud" to the "Battle of Artemis" on the hospital bed, and did not return to the construction until the siege of Maple Leaf Fort.

  So his rank is still sergeant.

  But no one in the army of Tiefeng County dared to look down on this little sergeant because of this, and everyone respected him.

  …

  As the reserve officers of the Tiefeng County Army gathered more and more beside Sergeant Ish, the ordinary people who had been trying their best to stay away from Holder and Claude just now consciously retreated further.

   There is a large "no-civilian area" in front of the checkpoint.

  Gazes mixed with fear, curiosity, envy, and disgust were cast from all directions in the west towards the soldiers of the Tiefeng Army in the middle of the "no civilian area".

  Ish from Ganshui Town noticed this sensitively, and immediately said to Houder and others: "Stop queuing up, you go directly to the checkpoint."

   "Is it possible?" Holder was pleasantly surprised.

   "Don't delay the exam." Ish didn't explain much, but just reminded: "But pay attention to your appearance, don't embarrass your Excellency."

  Ish directly ordered: "Everyone, listen to my password—one-way column."

  Holder and other reserve officers quickly stood up reflexively.

   "Don't line up, either." Ish looked at the commissioned officers behind him kindly: "Let's go together."

  The commissioned officers hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded gratefully to the sergeants of the Iron Peak Army, and walked out of the crowd.

   "Everyone is ready!" Ish gave the command resonantly: "Start—go."

  The reserve officers of the Tiefeng County Army who lined up neatly passed the checkpoint like a long dragon.

  The commissioned officers, who walked a little messily, followed in groups of three or four.

  As if being inspected, Holder walked very seriously; when he noticed that the "boys in boots" behind him couldn't even stand in line, his chest puffed even harder.

   It's just that the queue of the Tiefeng County Army didn't last long. Due to the lack of a clear commander, the column dispersed as soon as it entered the city, and became a chaotic group again.

  Höder tried his best to urge everyone to continue to form, but no one listened to him at all.

  Everyone is like a "hillies" entering the city for the first time—of course, a considerable number of reserve officers are indeed stepping into Maple Stone City for the first time—look here and there, and they feel novelty when they see everything.

Coupled with Houder's disturbance in front of the checkpoint, the dark clouds lingering in everyone's minds were quickly dispelled by the freshness, and the reserve officers quickly recovered the lively and active nature of young people. Strictly speaking, among them Many of them were originally just children.

   On the contrary, the commissioned officers behaved quite calmly, walking on the street as if they had returned home.

   Witnessing such an "unbelievable" performance by his comrades-in-arms, Holder couldn't help but sigh.

"What on earth do you think, why do you let us go to the city like herding sheep, and don't send anyone to take care of it." Holder complained: "Why don't you just take the test in the barracks? Why do you have to go to the city to take the test?" ?”

   "You're right." Doug thought thoughtfully: "Why didn't you take the test in the camp, why didn't you send a team leader?"

   "Didn't you just repeat what I said?" Holder asked angrily.

  Doug smiled generously.

   Fortunately, even if you enter the city like a flock of ducks, everyone doesn’t have to worry about getting lost, because there are military police on duty at every intersection to guide everyone.

  A large group of young reserve officers were chatting and laughing, and went to the examination room all the way.

   Until they really stood outside the examination room.

   Said the laughter died away.

  Because standing in front of them is the Cathedral of Maplestone City.

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  (end of this chapter)