Volume 1 Chapter 17.2: The Price of Growth

- The Price of Growth

The adjutant stood up and introduced, saying, "This is Su. Persephone has ordered for him to join the current training camp."

"Persephone? What is that crazy woman doing? Tell her that this session of training is already full. If he definitely has to enter, then wait for next year!" If those that were familiar with the captain heard this, they would all be shocked, because the captain always only had a certain way of calling women: chicks.

"You have to take note that this is an order, captain!" The adjutant's attitude was extremely unyielding.

The captain laughed maliciously and suddenly reached out and moved the adjutant closer. Next to his ears, he suppressed his voice and said, "Tell that bitch that her order doesn't match regulations, so I refuse!"

The adjutant was also tall and robust, but compared to the captain, he seemed as frail as a bamboo pole. Moreover, for some reason, once he entered the captain's hands, the adjutant immediately lost all strength, and his hand powerlessly fell to his body's side. His face was already a bit pale, but he persevered and said in a loud voice, "The general said that this time, she is extremely serious and that there is no margin for discussion. If you don't follow her order, then tonight, she will go to your house and break every bottle of alcohol you have!"

The captain stared blankly for a moment, and then he released a roar! The adjutant only felt as if a heavyweight bomb had been detonated by his ear, leaving his vision blurred and his mind a bit dizzy. His body lightly fluttered backwards before falling onto the sofa he was originally sitting on.

Curtis turned around and looked at Su. He laughed and revealed his shining white teeth. "You are Su? Your luck doesn't seem to be bad. Everyone knows that I hate two things the most. The first is anything that is excessively pretty, and the second is my daily schedule being messed up. You seem to fit both of these perfectly, so your luck truly is excellent! In the following days, I will make your days extremely pleasant!"

Su stood there silently as he faced the captain's knife like eyes, his line of sight not wavering in the slightest. When the captain saw his green eye and the Barrett behind his back, his face slightly eased up.

Since Curtis already admitted Su, then the adjutant wasn't willing to remain there a second longer. He hurriedly left these barracks that was occupied by a demon. Even though Curtis was a first lieutenant, he had never heard of an officer that was willing to provoke Curtis. The captain's temperament was something that nearly everyone knew about, and Su seemed to have ticked off all of the taboos. It seemed like this training camp was going to be especially bustling.

As such, when the adjutant returned, his mood became extremely good. All of the fury he had built up along the way was completely vanquished.

Before the sky had even brightened the second day, the ear-piercing alarm sounded through the barracks. Before the alarm had ended, the simple and crude barracks doors were pushed open. Several dozen individuals sprinted quickly towards the drill ground and formed a disordered and messy group.

Curtis was like a steel pole as he stood at the center of the drill ground. His arms were behind his back, and a rubber rod continuously jumped up and down from his palm.

In ten minutes, everyone had already stood in front of him. Including Su, this session of training had 32 cadets, 5 of which were female. This was different from normal military training in that the captain did not conduct any formation training, allowing them to stand as they wished. As such, the cadets all inadvertently formed small groups.

Su was naturally alone. There were four other females who were like Su, standing by themselves. The largest group had 9 people, with a rather robust looking male in his thirties standing in the middle who seemed to be the leader. His beard was trimmed in an extremely organized manner, making it quite clear that this individual was rather fond of his beard.

When everyone was present, the captain remained silent for a whole five minutes. Within those five minutes, the barracks were quiet. No one moved about, and no one said anything. It was almost as if no one here made a second action apart from standing straight.

"Good! It seems like you are all smart and haven't taken my warning as empty air." The captain finally spoke. The rubber rod in his hand pointed at Su and said, "Meanwhile, you, you are even smarter than them! You were not aware of my warning at all, yet you didn't break my rules."

Su immediately felt as if the eyes that were focused on him increased a bit in hostility.

"I gave you all 15 seconds, yet the weakest-looking one of you all stood in front of me in ten seconds! I only have one thing to say, you motherfuckers!" The captain continued to admonish his subordinates as he swept his terrifying gaze over the 32 cadets. "It seems like all of you really have balls. I will give you all a single opportunity: during this training camp, there will only be a single one of you that will be recognized as a formal dragonrider!"

An uproar broke out, and everyone's faces immediately changed greatly. This information had left them so shocked that it even exceeded their fear towards the captain. Those that were familiar with each other immediately began to discuss in a low voice. Each time Curtis held a training camp, the number of dragonriders that emerged would be different. No one knew what criteria the elimination rate was based on, but there was one thing they all knew, and that was that the lower the number, the higher the rank one would possess upon leaving this camp. If there was only going to be a single dragonrider, then that meant that the dragonrider would immediately be a second lieutenant after leaving the camp.

However, at the same time, there would only be one opportunity. The way the cadets of the training camp looked at each other was already starting to become a bit different.

The captain suddenly raised his voice. "Right now, who will tell me what the number one creed of the Black Dragonriders is?"

Silence.

Su obviously wouldn't know what the creed of the Black Dragonriders was. Everyone else seemed like they all knew, but no one was willing to be the first to reply. Being the first to do so would attract everyone else's attention, and in this training camp where there would only be a single dragonrider, drawing attention right away was definitely not something good.

Curtis didn't seem to be in a rush either and patiently waited. The longer he waited, the more sinister the smile on the corner of his lips became.

Finally, the leader of the nine cadets spat on the ground and said, "The number one creed of the Black Dragonriders is power!"

"Son of a bitch, you're right! I believe you're called Cook." The captain roared. He took large steps over to the neat and tidy man with the trimmed beard and suddenly smashed a fist towards the other party's lower abdomen! This fist made the man that was as robust as a wall immediately bend over and fall helplessly onto the ground.

The other eight individuals' expressions changed, and only a single person walked forward. However, after seeing that no one else stepped forward, that person shrunk back as well.

The captain stepped on Cook's face and heavily pressed down a few times. Cook released cries of pain. The hard rubber soles of the military books crushed his face and tore off quite a bit of the beard he was proud of.

"Power, only power can decide everything! As long as you have enough power, you sons of bitches can do whatever you want! Like me right now, I can step on your face as much as I want, and I can pull the beard that you are so proud of." The captain laughed sinisterly.

He suddenly reached out his hand and pulled over the individual that had temporarily stepped out but then shrunk back. As soon as that person's eyes and the captain's met, his entire body began to shake and he cried out strangely. His two hands became surrounded by scorching flames as they pressed towards the captain's chest!

"Son of a bitch, not bad! You actually knew that I was going to break your four limbs! Unfortunately, there are many fellows here with potential, and it won't matter as much if you aren't here. If you didn't back off just now, I would have only given you a beating and wouldn't have broken any bones. After three to five days of pain, it wouldn't have mattered. However, now, it's different!" As the the captain spoke, he flung the other party onto the ground, and only a muffled tong sound could be heard before the male's body smashed open a pit on the ground. His breath was stifled in his chest and he almost fainted. The flames in his hands quickly lost control and instead burned his own body, instantly waking him up from the half unconscious state he was in after being struck. He continuously released a heart wrenching miserable shriek. However, he couldn't even put out the flames around himself, because Curtis had already trampled apart his elbows and knees. He could only powerless roll around on the ground.

The more the flames burned, the greater they flourished, and soon after, his arms and body were scorched.

Under the pig squealing sounds, the captain coldly said, "Towards my orders, you can refuse in two methods. The first is to challenge me. Whoever can knock me down will become the chosen dragonrider this time! Of course, if you fail the challenge, then this is the result. The other is to accept my punishment. Relax, I definitely wouldn't injure you bones or organs, but it still won't feel good! Also, as a complimentary gift for this training session, you all have witnessed what happens when those that play with the Magic Domain abilities lose control. Abilities are abilities, and abilities that cannot be controlled are not abilities. Abilities aren't used for you all to pretend to look strong, even though magic truly is strong."

Pah! A clump of spittle landed on the body of the male on the ground. This small lump of spittle strangely caused all of the raging flames on his body to immediately extinguish.

"All of you, remember. Here, my orders are everything and must be carried out! No matter what my order is, even if it's like..." The captain walked over to a female cadet whose figure wasn't bad and grabbed her jacket. His hands separated, and he immediately tore apart the extremely durable uniform into two pieces. Her upper body was immediately laid bare, her large chest immediately swaying after being freed. The eyes of almost every male here immediately shone.

"Remove your pants and raise your ass. I am going to fuck you right here!" The captain ordered.