The end of every year is the day when the Imperial War College recruits new students. Although this year it is held a few days later than last year, it is still not cancelled. As for the gate of the Imperial Third Army, which is the selection point for Norma City Academy, there has been a queue of people since before dawn, and it is still overcrowded now at almost noon. After all, no matter whether they are commoners, nobles, or anyone else, as long as the heirs in the family meet the conditions, they will not miss it, and they cannot miss this opportunity.
As one of the three major empires on the mainland, the Kaya Empire did not rely solely on population and money, but more on absolute force. Relying on the blood of generations of kings and warriors, it took three hundred years to step by step from a very ordinary small principality to establish itself as one of the three major empires.
The nobles basically require that their children must enter the War College, the best school in the empire, not only for honor and face, but also for the knowledge and conditions that the college cannot provide their children with. Unless the child has a congenital physical problem, or unfortunately has a physical condition during the selection period, any noble child who is eliminated or escapes will definitely become a shame and be laughed at by others.
The common people also value this opportunity very much. Although there is only a glimmer of hope, they still hope that their children will try it. After all, if you are accidentally selected and can graduate successfully, you will basically have enough food and clothing. After all, the academy does not require any expenses from the family, which saves the family a mouthful of food. After successful graduation, they will become official members of the Imperial Legion instead of soldiers who are forced to serve. The monthly military salary can make a civilian The family is slightly richer. If you are lucky and the ancestral tomb explodes, you may be able to establish a military career and obtain a position in the legion, or even obtain a title. Although this hope is extremely slim, after all, it has happened before, so this has become the biggest hope in the hearts of civilians.
Needless to say, the rest of the merchants, although the lives of merchants are much better than that of civilians, except for a small number of merchants and merchants backed by nobles, the remaining merchants, in the eyes of many nobles, their status is even lower than that of ordinary people. Commoners, and even a few nobles, would think that merchants were blood suckers of the empire. Therefore, businessmen are also trying their best to stuff their children into the academy, hoping that their children will have good harvests in it. It is best to remove the name of ordinary businessmen from themselves and become a member of the nobility. Unfortunately, the college's recruitment is very strict, and there is no possibility of financial accommodation.
In the selection hall that had been prepared long ago in the Third Legion, Lant looked anxiously at the batches of children in front of him who had been selected by the academy instructors from the imperial capital, and looked towards the door from time to time. Cody has not come back since last night. He has sent his servants and personal guards to search for him since the morning. He has gone to many places where Cody often hangs out, but he has not seen Cody's shadow. Not only Cody, but also the children of his three old friends. If he hadn't known that Cody was hanging out with three other children, Lant would definitely believe that Cody would run away. After all, this kid has always been resistant to entering the War College, and he just gave him ten gold coins yesterday, which was enough for him to spend a lot of money. Come back after a long meal.
Rand regretted thinking about it now. Why did he give him ten gold coins as a reward? The pocket money his wife gave him every month was only fifteen. After a few months of frugality, it was only enough for him to pay for his wife. Friends went to Ironland once.
"Lant, isn't Cody here yet?" A middle-aged man with a beard and armor came in from the door and said to Lant anxiously.
Lant smiled bitterly at him and shook his head. If he hadn't been unable to get away as the selected superintendent, he would have been sitting here worrying. He would have ridden his mount around Norma City.
"Carrus, haven't you found Keda either?"
The middle-aged man named Kalus shook his head, "My butler just came here and said that he has basically turned the entire city upside down, but he still hasn't found Keda."
"Where are these damn guys hiding? Carruth, are you sure Keda is willing to go to the War College? I even suspect that Cody has already deserted in advance."
"You can rest assured that Keda is definitely willing to enter the academy. He has been preparing for it since he was very young. Not only Keda, but also the other two little guys, they will not miss this opportunity. opportunity.”
Lant's face turned even darker and he wondered for a long time. The only exception was his own children. They were both brothers from the same military camp. How could there be such a big gap between the children born. But fortunately, Cody is the only one who doesn't want to. As long as he is with the other three children, he will definitely participate, even if he doesn't want to.
He relaxed a little, and turned to look at the tutors who were giving tests to the children, or at the old man next to the tutor who looked older and had his white hair hidden in a cloak. I can't figure out the reason. This old man doesn't look weak, but it has nothing to do with being strong. How could he work with the instructors to select students? Even instructors who teach theoretical knowledge shouldn't be so thin.
Several mentors, Lant, knew each other, but they didn't introduce or mention this old man when they first met and chatted, so it was hard for him to ask questions. However, the attitude of several people towards him can be said to be extremely respectful, including the current selection of students. Each student is allowed to pass in front of the old man first, and finally it is the turn of several instructors to test. I don't know what's the point of just walking by. Doing nothing is a complete waste of time.
After more than half an hour, the selection will come to an end temporarily. After all, even if the children and adults outside are not tired, the tutors still need to eat. While Lant was anxious and confused, a soldier trotted over from outside, hammered his chest with his right hand, and after Lant nodded, he came close and whispered a few words in his ear.
Rant's eyes lit up after hearing this, and then he breathed, "Bring them in immediately." After speaking, he turned to the instructors who had finished testing the last few children and were about to take a rest and said, "Guys, let's just hold on a little longer. , and the last four children, we’ll go have dinner when we’re done.”
The tallest instructor among them smiled and said: "It's Cody, Lant. You've been looking outside all morning. I also remember that I haven't seen Cody yet. Who are the other ones? There must be a bearded card among them." Ruth’s child, I just saw you two talking furtively.”
Now that there were only a few people left in the selection office, Lant no longer sat there seriously, stood up and stretched his numb muscles, and said: "It is indeed Cody and Carruth's child Keda, and there are other children. They are all the children of my Legion brothers. A few little guys ran away last night and did not come home all night. The people under my command almost searched all over Norma City but could not find them. You also know Cody’s temperament, so I will I was worried that he would mess up. But fortunately, the soldier just came to give me a message, saying that four guys are already at the gate of the legion. I asked people to bring them in. You just need to wait a little longer. "
The tall instructor Mulan smiled helplessly: "I don't know how your child's personality is completely different from yours. Cody's martial arts talent was very strong when he was a child, and his physical fitness was also great. In every aspect, he was born. Knight, it’s a pity that he is unwilling at all. Speaking of which, I haven’t seen Cody for a long time, so I don’t know if he can recognize me.”
Lant didn't want to talk about Cody's problem, but he was still very happy when he heard his old friend praise his son. He laughed and said: "I don't know if he can recognize you, but you probably can't recognize him. Last time It was four years ago that you met him. This kid is now very strong. He is only fourteen years old and is already only half a head shorter than me. I estimate that I will catch up with you in a few years. Say. His martial arts skills are even more impressive. Apart from the fact that he has never been on the battlefield, he is no longer inferior to the veterans. If he uses his fighting spirit again, as long as it is not a life and death fight, I estimate that not many veterans will be his opponents. You know yesterday I You'll know...you'll know when he comes." Lant quickly shut up and almost told his own scandal.
"Oh? This is beyond my expectation. I will test him carefully later." Mulan did not expect that Rant would have such a high opinion of Cody, and he planned to make it more difficult for this kid later. , to see if Rand is bragging.
Outside, the four Cody men followed closely behind the soldiers in front, feeling full of anxiety. Yesterday, we all thought that we would come early today to participate in the selection. Who knew that the brothers overestimated their drinking capacity and each drank a bottle of rum. In addition, I don’t know whether it was the eloquence of the two accompanying girls or the eloquence of the two accompanying girls. With that plump figure that made several people swallow their saliva, barrel after barrel of beer was served. I vaguely remember that the last time I looked outside, there seemed to be a touch of white in the eastern sky.
A few people just slept on the sofa in the tavern in a daze. If the waiter who left the cleaning room hadn't woke them up in the morning, they would have slept until dark. When I went out to check out, I was embarrassed to find that the money that several people brought was not enough, more than one gold coin. I clearly remembered that I had planned it before drinking, but I didn't know what exceeded the budget. Fortunately, the person in charge of the tavern knew Rosser and saw the embarrassment of several people. He generously said a discount and just waived a gold coin, otherwise he would really not be able to leave the tavern.
Although he doesn’t remember much about what happened in the second half of yesterday night, Cody can clearly remember that after drinking rum, several people shouted "For the glory of the knight" with their tongues open and their hands across their chests. Only then did Cody realize that he was the only outsider. The three brothers were eager to squeeze into the War College, and they had been preparing hard for today. Suddenly feeling bad, Cody could only drink silently while the three sang the knight's war hymn.
Especially in the back, the big man Keda hugged Cody and kept persuading him, and then criticized him for losing the spirit of chivalry, and then continued to persuasion. Fortunately, Keda was quickly sat aside with her arms around her neck by the winking waitress, so that Cody could not be drowned in saliva. But Cody's bad mood became even worse, so he had no choice but to drink to drown his sorrows.
He didn't know why he was drunk, but Cody determined that he was drunk because he was in a bad mood.
