Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei's War Journey

Chapter 59 Recruit Training Camp

The sergeants herded the bewildered, yet slightly excited, recruits off the trucks like sheep, and lined them up in a crooked queue on the sandy ground of the training camp.

Lu Mingfei and Caesar mingled in the crowd, observing their surroundings discreetly.

The training camp covers a large area, but the facilities are rudimentary. In the distance are some rather dilapidated houses, and further away, training obstacles and shooting ranges can be vaguely seen.

"I am your platoon leader in the recruit training camp! Sergeant Major Herman!" A sergeant major with a long red beard stood in front of Lu Mingfei and his men and shouted loudly.

"Now everyone, put all your personal belongings except for a change of underwear on the floor in front of you! If I find any of you hiding anything, I'll make sure you regret it!"

The recruits looked at each other, this was not quite the scene they had imagined of becoming heroes after joining the army. But under the fierce gaze of the sergeant, they reluctantly began to take out their personal belongings and place them on the open ground at the front of the line.

Among them were photos of family members, amulets or tokens of love given by a partner, childhood toys or wooden figurines, hair oil, combs, mirrors, wallets, and some other small trinkets.

For these young people about to go to war, these were their last remaining, fragile connection to peaceful life, and now even that fragile connection has been taken away.

Lu Mingfei and Caesar exchanged a glance. After they crossed over, there was a backpack at their feet. They took out their underwear and then dumped the other odds and ends on the ground.

Sergeant Herman paced back and forth, examining the personal belongings of the new recruits on the ground.

"Hmph, a bunch of paupers and country bumpkins!" He spat contemptuously at the worthless things on the ground, then raised his voice.

"Listen! From this moment on, your bodies, your will, even your lives! Everything you have belongs to His Majesty the Emperor, to the Prussian Empire! Here, you need nothing superfluous, only to learn two things: obedience and killing! You will use your bullets and bayonets to pierce the enemy's chest!"

"Here, the price of cowardice and laziness is a whip, or even a bullet! Do you understand?!"

He walked to the front of the line, almost touching the face of a thin, pale recruit, and roared, "You! Tell me, what are you doing here?!"

The recruit trembled with fear and stammered, "For—for His Majesty the Emperor and the Empire!"

"Too quiet! I can't hear you!!" Herman roared.

"For His Majesty the Emperor and the Empire!!" the recruit roared with all his might, his face flushed red.

"That's more like it!" Sergeant Hermann nodded in satisfaction, then abruptly turned to the ranks.

"Everyone! Answer me! Why have you come here?!"

"For His Majesty the Emperor and the Empire!!!" The uneven but desperate shouts echoed through the training camp.

Lu Mingfei and Caesar hid in the crowd and lip-synced, but didn't shout out loud. They weren't talking about any so-called emperor or empire.

"Very good!" Sergeant Hermann's face revealed a cruel smile.

"Remember your words! Now, kick this garbage aside! It only makes you weak!"

The recruits hesitated for a moment, but under the threat of the officers' whips, they began to kick their cherished possessions into the dust beside them, while photos of their families were also trampled underfoot, covered in mud.

Lu Mingfei did as instructed without expression. In any case, these things were none of his business. He glanced at Caesar and found that the other man also had a calm expression, but deep in his icy blue eyes, there was a hint of disdain for such methods.

In Caesar's values, a warrior's courage and loyalty should not be obtained by destroying his own soft emotions, but should stem from a higher level of belief and honor.

"Now!" Sergeant Herman clapped his hands and pointed to an area on one side of the camp where weapons and equipment were piled up.

"See those rifles? Those are your wives! Your lovers! In the days to come, cherish them as you would your own lives! Hold them while eating, sleeping, and even when you go to the toilet! Because soon, they will be your only trustworthy companions on the battlefield, and the only things that can save your lives!"

"Get your gear! Then get over there and start physical training! Let me see if you bunch of trash are even fit to be real soldiers!"

Amidst a new wave of chaos and shouts, the recruits surged toward the equipment area. Lu Mingfei and Caesar, following the flow of people, each received a heavy Gew98 rifle, a heavy backpack weighing over 20 kilograms, about the same weight as a bag of rice, a military water bottle, a belt, and an entrenching tool.

The G98 felt cold to the touch, carrying the smell of gun oil and gunpowder. Lu Mingfei weighed it in his hand; it was heavier than he had expected.

Caesar's movements, on the other hand, were much more skillful. He quickly checked the bolt, breechblock, and sights, his movements as precise as if he were participating in a military parade, which made several new recruits next to him take a second look at him.

"Have you ever used a gun before?" Lu Mingfei asked in a low voice.

"I'm a master gunman. I've basically used every gun in the world. I even have a gun museum at home, which houses all the guns in the world," Caesar said confidently, without any hint of pride or boasting, only a sense of entitlement.

Lu Mingfei's eye twitched. Whose son is this, with a gun museum at home, so arrogant?

"Now, everyone line up! Start running! You can't stop until I say stop!" Sergeant Hermann shouted, waving his whip.

Upon hearing Sergeant Hermann's words, the recruits, in their haphazard formation, began to run on the rough, sandy ground of the training field.

Sergeant Hermann and several other officers rode alongside, supervising from the sidelines. Their whips cracked in the air, and anyone who slowed down or simply didn't look right would immediately receive a lash.

The heavy footsteps and labored breathing blended together. It was afternoon, the sun was high in the sky, and sweat quickly soaked through their rough military uniforms, running into their eyes and causing a stinging sensation.

Lu Mingfei adjusted his breathing, trying not to exhaust his strength too quickly. Although his body had been strengthened once, who knew how long he would have to run with this backpack weighing more than 20 kilograms? Every bit of energy he could save was a bonus.

He glanced at Caesar ahead, who, though also covered in sweat, maintained a steady pace, rhythmic breathing, and an unyielding stance while holding his rifle. Among the group of crooked recruits, Caesar stood out like a crane among chickens, and unknowingly found himself at the forefront, becoming the leader of the group.

Lu Mingfei was quite impressed with this rich young man; it seemed the man was more than just a smooth talker, possessing real ability.

Soon, some new recruits became exhausted and began to fall behind. Whenever this happened, the sergeants would come up behind the lagging soldiers and wave their whips.

Snapped!Snapped!

The sound of whips piercing the air and the dull thud of flesh being struck rang out one after another, accompanied by the soldiers' suppressed cries of pain and the officers' rough curses.

"Didn't you eat?! Useless trash! Run! If you can't even run this short distance, how are you going to put bullets into the enemy's head?!"

The whips lashed the recruits’ backs and thighs without hesitation. Fearing the whips, they struggled to their feet and continued to charge forward.

But as time went on, more and more people were exhausted, and the ranks became sparse. Even with whips, the new recruits could no longer run.

Gradually, only Lu Mingfei and Caesar remained running in the square.

Lu Mingfei gritted his teeth, his lungs and throat burning with pain, his legs feeling like they were strapped with sandbags. He had been running for hours, but the officers still hadn't called for a stop. He dared not stop rashly, or he would inevitably be whipped.

The main problem is that the guy next to me named Caesar hasn't stopped yet. Is that guy an animal? How can he run so fast?

Caesar glanced at Lu Mingfei beside him in surprise. He hadn't expected anyone to stay by his side all this time. He was an A-level mixed-blood, and had received professional training since childhood. How could this Eastern boy named Lu Mingfei compare to him?

"Interesting—no wonder he's been through something like this before—he's really something else—" Looking at Lu Mingfei, Caesar's eyes ignited with fighting spirit. He didn't want to lose to his opponent, and then he actually started to accelerate again.

Seeing Caesar accelerate, Lu Mingfei almost spat out a mouthful of blood. This guy was a real beast. Helpless, he could only speed up to keep up with Caesar's pace.

Of course, he wasn't doing this to compete with Caesar; he wasn't that bored. He was doing it so as not to fall too far behind, or he might get whipped.

Caesar watched as Lu Mingfei continued to accelerate, and Lu Mingfei could only follow suit, the two running as if in a competition.

After an unknown amount of time, the sun began to set, casting long shadows on the training field. Lu Mingfei and Caesar were still running, but their steps were unusually difficult.

Caesar couldn't understand why the Eastern boy named Lu Mingfei next to him was still running, even though his A-level hybrid physique was almost giving out.

Lu Mingfei's consciousness was already somewhat blurred at this point. He felt as if he was experiencing the feeling of carrying Nuonuo in the blizzard again. He couldn't think about anything and could only mechanically take steps.

Just when Caesar felt he was about to run out of steam, Sergeant Hermann, who was riding his horse in the distance, finally spoke.

"stop!"

Upon hearing this sound, Caesar and Lu Mingfei simultaneously collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

Lu Mingfei felt like his lungs were about to explode. He didn't even have the strength to lift a finger, and all he wanted to do was lie there like that.

Caesar was in no better condition. He lay flat on the ground, his chest heaving violently. His golden hair was stuck to his forehead with sweat and dirt, and his icy blue eyes had lost their usual sharpness, leaving only extreme exhaustion and disbelief.

He actually managed to compete to this extent with a seemingly ordinary Eastern boy in terms of pure physical strength.

This is unbelievable!

On the training ground, apart from the two men's terrifyingly heavy breathing, there was only deathly silence. The other recruits had already collapsed in the distance, staring dumbfounded at the two monsters. Even the non-commissioned officers on horseback showed undisguised astonishment on their faces.

"Look at you! With your character, do you even deserve to take up arms and fight for His Majesty the Emperor? Do you even deserve to be Prussian soldiers?!" Sergeant Hermann, however, remained expressionless as he rode slowly up to the recruits and spoke.

"Let me tell you, today's run is just an appetizer! The real training starts tomorrow! If you can't even handle this, I suggest you find a rope and hang yourselves as soon as possible, so you don't embarrass yourselves on the front lines and waste the Empire's food and ammunition!"

Sergeant Herman's words were like a bucket of ice water poured over the heads of the new recruits, completely extinguishing their initial enthusiasm for joining the army.

"Dismissed. You can go to your barracks and get some rest for the night. Remember to go to bed early. Formal training begins tomorrow. If you can't get up when we assemble tomorrow, I'll make you regret ever being born." With that, Sergeant Herman led the other officers away from the parade ground.

However, before leaving, he couldn't help but glance at Lu Mingfei and Caesar a few more times.

The recruits only began to relax after seeing all the officers leave, while some of them started complaining.

"My God—I—I thought I was going to die—"

"That whip really lashed out hard—"

"Damn it, this isn't the army I imagined at all!"

"My back hurts so much!"

"I want to go home—"

Some recruits even began to sob. The excitement of sacrificing themselves for the empire that they had felt at the recruitment office that morning had long since vanished under the relentless whipping and extreme physical exertion.

Lu Mingfei and Caesar remained lying on the ground, greedily breathing in the air. They could hear the complaints around them, but neither of them had the strength to respond.

After a while, Lu Mingfei felt the suffocating feeling of lack of oxygen subside slightly. He struggled to turn over and lie on his back, looking at the sky that was gradually being dyed by twilight.

There are no skyscrapers or neon lights here, only a few early-rising stars and the dim gas lights emanating from the distant barracks.

"Hey—can you still move?" he asked Caesar beside him in a hoarse voice.

Caesar did not answer immediately. He closed his eyes, his chest still heaving noticeably. After a few more seconds, he slowly exhaled and turned over.

"I won't die." His voice was also hoarse, but it still had a calm and collected feel to it.

"However, it's been a long time since I've been pushed to this extent."

Lu Mingfei twitched the corners of his mouth, which could be considered a smile. He supported himself on the ground and tried to sit up. His muscles immediately protested with soreness, but he still gritted his teeth and stood up.

He looked around and saw most of the new recruits helping each other slowly make their way to the barracks not far away.

"Let's go, let's find a bed and rest quickly, who knows what tomorrow will bring."

Caesar sat up as well, his eyes revealing appreciation as he looked at Lu Mingfei: "You're not bad. I, Caesar Gattuso, approve of you."

This is probably the highest praise that this proud successor of Gattuso could give.

However, when Lu Mingfei heard this, he curled his lips and felt that this rich young master was quite ill.

However, the two still helped each other walk towards the barracks, after all, they came from the same place.

Along the way, many people cast complicated glances at them, after all, their performance just now was just too captivating.

The barracks were more crowded and rudimentary than I had imagined. The beds were bunk beds made of wood, with blankets laid out on them, but the blankets were really not presentable. They looked like they hadn't been washed for a while and had a strange smell.

Lu Mingfei and Caesar randomly chose two beds that were close together. However, Caesar, the young master, had obviously never stayed in such a simple place before. His brows were furrowed, and he was very resistant to the blankets on the bed that hadn't been washed in who knows how long. He found it hard to imagine how there could be such dirty blankets in the world.

Lu Mingfei didn't care about that. After putting away his gun and backpack, he collapsed onto the bed. No matter how bad the environment was, it wasn't as bad as the Andes Mountains. It was good enough to have a place to sleep.

He was so tired that he fell asleep the moment he lay down on the bed, snoring softly.

Caesar originally wanted to throw the blanket away, but seeing Lu Mingfei lying on the bed asleep without hesitation, a feeling of unwillingness to admit defeat resurfaced in his heart.

If Lu Mingfei can sleep, why can't he?

He gritted his teeth and lay down, falling asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

He was so tired; he felt this was the most tiring day of his life.