Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Lord Link's tone softened slightly, and he continued, "However, as long as you strictly obey orders, I can forge you into true warriors in a short time. Here, I also promise everyone that anyone who serves for a full year will have their military pay increased to forty copper coins!"
Forty copper coins! That's a direct doubling!
The crowd below immediately erupted, exclamations rising and falling, and even the usually composed Lina had a look of unbelievable surprise on her face.
According to what the Lord said, as long as they served for a full year, they would receive twelve silver coins per month.
For them, this was undoubtedly a huge sum, enough to bring about earth-shattering changes in their lives.
Lord Link looked at the excited crowd below, understanding in his heart that strict rules alone were far from enough; he also had to let them truly see the "sweetness" so as to ignite their fighting spirit and motivation.
"Not only that, our army will continue to expand. At that time, as long as you train hard and diligently, and bravely kill enemies on the battlefield, you will all have the opportunity to be promoted to higher positions and receive more generous military pay."
"But if anyone can't endure this hardship, wants to back out, wants to be a coward, you can leave now. Next, I will personally train you."
Lord Link's gaze was like a torch, slowly sweeping over each person's face, with an unquestionable authority in his eyes.
Faced with such a great temptation, naturally no one chose to turn and leave.
Lord Link saw this, nodded with satisfaction, and then shouted loudly, "Good! Everyone! Ten people per row, form ten columns, anyone extra stand at the end of the line!"
A group of people pushed and shoved, in a chaotic mess, taking a full five or six minutes to barely form a line.
Lord Link turned to Lina beside him and ordered, "You stand at the front of the line and participate in the training together."
Lina's eyes widened, and she pointed to herself in disbelief, exclaiming, "I have to participate in the training too?"
Lord Link responded decisively, "That's right! Not only do you have to participate in the training, but you also have to remember the entire process. In the future, you will train new Soldiers this way."
"Yes!"
Although Lina still had some surprise in her heart, she always obeyed Lord Link's orders without hesitation.
Although these more than one hundred people had already formed a queue, from a distance, it was still disorganized and far from neat.
However, Lord Link knew that everything needed to be done step by step, and one could not be too hasty.
His thoughts couldn't help but drift back to his student days during military training.
Although military training methods could not significantly improve army strength in a short time, they could effectively establish discipline and foster team cohesion.
Next, he just needed to gradually carry out the training according to the contents recorded in the friend of military and civilian dual-use talents... "It's two-thirty in the afternoon now. You will stand like this for two full hours! Those who stand well will get meat for dinner later; if you stand crookedly or can't hold on, not only will you not get meat, but I'll also punish you to stand for another half an hour! Do you all understand!"
Lord Link held a wooden stick and paced back and forth between the ranks, his gaze sharp, not missing any subtle movement.
As soon as everyone heard there was meat to eat, they immediately perked up, each standing ramrod straight, like javelins.
In Winterfell City, meat was a rare commodity. A bite of meat, the taste, was simply better than all the delicacies in the world.
In their hearts, it was just ordinary standing; what could be so difficult?
At this moment, they seemed to already see a steaming, fragrant bowl of meat in front of them, just waiting for them to feast.
However, reality was far more cruel than imagination.
In just over ten minutes, some people began to sway, their legs feeling as heavy as if filled with lead, and as if countless ants were crawling on them. That excruciating soreness and numbness could only be understood by those who had experienced it firsthand.
The wooden stick in Lord Link's hand occasionally fell, precisely tapping those whose postures were slightly off, correcting their movements one by one.
Soon, everyone's clothes were soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to their bodies, and when the cold wind blew, the chill went straight to their hearts.
Half an hour passed!
An hour passed!
Time slowly flowed by, and more than a dozen people in the ranks could no longer hold on, falling to the ground with a "thud."
Lord Link waved his hand, signaling them to rest aside.
"Time's up! Everyone, rest in place!"
Those who were still holding on in the queue, hearing Lord Link's words, felt as if all their strength had been drained, and they instantly collapsed to the ground, like puddles of mud, unable to even move.
Lord Link paced to the front of the crowd, his gaze sweeping over these tired yet somewhat stubborn faces.
"Alright, this is your first performance standing at attention. I explicitly tell you, from now on, whenever you assemble, you will stand like this today! Understand? You are warriors, warriors of Winterfell City! When you stand, you must stand with the prestige and spirit a warrior should have! Is that clear to everyone!"
"Understood..."
A few weak responses came from below.
Lord Link frowned, raised his voice, and shouted, "Is that all you've got? Do you still want dinner or not?!"
"Understood!"
This time, their roar was like thunder, clearly audible even outside the barracks.
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