Chapter 297: Wait and See (1/2)
Chapter 297: Wait and See
“Here our ideas diverge,” Lan Jue announced. “You’ve done it right – the well-disciplined do not break. But don’t forget what the Clairvoyant told us; we will face a cataclysm, one that’ll threaten all of humanity. It’s something not even the Iron Army will be able to handle on its own. You’ve forged a powerful unit, but it isn’t absolute. What if it isn’t enough to repel the invaders? I feel that the Iron Army’s prestige and training would do better if disseminated to a wider audience. The more soldiers you turn in to warriors the better, not just sitting on our haunches.”
Lan Qing’s brows knit tight. “You don’t understand the military. One hundred poorly managed units can’t stand up to one crack team. When you join the An Lun forces, you’re walking a path only the greatest soldiers have walked. When you serve here, you do so with the best of the best. My men, are all supersoldiers. If humanity should encounter a terrible war for survival, you can bet the Iron Army will lead the charge.”
Lan Jue, upon listening to his brother, was struck with how little he understood about this world. His brother was called the god of wisdom for a reason. “Maybe you’re right. But I’ll prove that these kids I’ve brought are the best of the best.”
Lan Qing replied, his voice low and indifferent. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Lan Jue replied with a nod. He opened the car door once they’d arrived and stepped out.
Lan Qing didn’t step out of the car, but followed his little brother his eyes as Lan Jue returned to the barracks. What the demon drillmaster didn’t see was Lan Qing sitting alone in the dark car, with the faintest ghost of a smile on his lips. There was something else there, too, hidden within the grin. Relief.
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BEEEEP! The ear-piercing screech of an alarm broke the silence. The exhausted students were very rudely torn from their slumber.
A cold voice broadcast over the announcement system. “You’ve got five minutes to get ready, and five minutes for breakfast. Gather at the door when you’re finished.”
Their brains still sluggish with the fog of sleep, the students began to mill about and prepare. But as they did they noticed that the voice didn’t belong to their normal tormentor.
Luckily the previous month of training had prepared them for this sort of life. Many were somewhat surprised to discover that they were fresh and ready to go after last night’s recovery. They felt ready to take on whatever An Lun had for them.
On the bedside tables there had been placed MREs for breakfast, arranged at some point while they slept. To them this was bed side service!
Ten minutes later, the students were waiting in orderly rows at the door to the barracks.
Lan Jue in his golden mask, and Xiuxiu, Mika, Wang Hongyuan and Tan Lingyun in silver, stood facing them.
Gao Lei, in the same uniform he’d worn yesterday, lead the small contingent to the training field.
There was surprise written in the eyes of the battalion commander of the First Independent Mecha Combat Regimen. Obviously he didn’t expect these young pilots to be ready in such a short time. But more importantly, they all seemed ready and raring to go, as opposed to how they looked yesterday. T was like they were entirely different people.
“Drillmaster Lei Feng.” Gao Lei addressed Lan Jue. “For the next month, my brothers and I will be leading your group in training, but we are only responsible for executing the program. We will not stop to make sure your charges can keep up. How much they can handle, is up to them.”
“Fine.” Lan Jue’s response was as tepid as his brother’s.
Gao Lei turned away, and looked at the students with a distinct light of scorn in his eyes. He shouted at them in a booming, commanding voice. “Atteeeeention! Left- face! Get to running, maggots!” He was off like a shot, with his small coterie of soldiers close behind.
Lan Jue followed with his assistants and students in tow.
As they left the barracks area, Gao Lei picked up speed. The base had been under constant development for the last ten years, so it was vast and well paved. Everything fell under a protective shielding that kept An Lun’s toxic atmosphere at bay while they worked.
There was a tradition among the Iron Army soldiers, that unless you were on official business or there was an urgent matter, you got to where you were going only by virtue of your own two legs. It strengthened both one’s body and one’s will.
And so, their training had started the minute they stepped out of the barracks.
Gao Lei continued to increase the pace. The decorated soldiers on his heels kept up without any trouble. Stamina, after all, was one of the pillars of strength for An Lun soldiers.