Chapter 1831: Chapter 1831 Early Investment
The others were all ferocious and merciless. But then, they wouldn’t be in the dungeon if they weren’t naturally harsh and violent.
Ye Liuyun divided them into two teams, provided them with weapons they were comfortable with, and had them fight one another in pairs, leaving only one alive in each pair.
The survivor could have all their crimes exonerated and join his team.
Hence, to survive, they did not hesitate and started slaughtering without much thought. In no time, only half of them were left.
The whole ordeal was an eye-opener for the tens of thousands of Praetorian presents. It was their first time witnessing such a bloody recruiting procedure.
However, what happened next would surprise them even more.
Ye Liuyun equipped each of them with a suit of third-grade armour and weaponry, an Interspatial Ring, a hundred pellets of third-grade Elixirs, countless slices of flesh, and five million Spirit Crystals...
This collection of equipment sparked envy among the watching Praetorians. Even when Xiao Yunfang went to the border battleground, she only had this much.
"A third-grade set of equipment!"
"Five million spirit crystals!"
The praetorians could not help but exclaim in disbelief.
Those convicts, who had been awaiting their executions and bore no hope for the future, began to change their perception of Ye Liuyun.
Ye Liuyun not only rescued their lives, but he absolved them of their crimes and offered them the opportunity to be reborn. Although his method of recruiting unit members was somewhat weird, it was exactly what they wanted.
Then Ye Liuyun proclaimed loudly to all the gathered Preatorains, "This is my standard for picking soldiers. Those who believe their strength is inadequate, who are timid and terrified of death, should not join my team. Those who are not greedy should not join either. Because I will lead you to slaughter and loot, committing all manner of atrocities. Yet, I will present you with an abundance of resources that you cannot even count!"
At this point, the soldiers below were shouting and cheering. Ye Liuyun’s words seemed to leave a significant emotional impact on them.
Even without Ye Liuyun mentioning it, they knew that most of their resources came through plundering. Their meagre military pay wouldn’t be enough for their cultivation practices.
"Our troop’s name will hence be called ’Dark Legion’. It’s either kill or be killed!" Ye Liuyun exclaimed full of spirit.
A cheer erupted from the crowd below. The soldiers were encouraged by Ye Liuyun’s imposing persona.
Ye Liuyun waved his hand, silencing the audience, before continuing, "However, my training and expectations will give you a taste of what hell is like. Without the sufferings of hell, you will not be unable to create fear of death in your opponents!"
Ye Liuyun delivered a motivational pep talk before battle, and every word sparked a chorus of fervour among the soldiers.
Then, he said, "There will be casualties during training, and I will kill! Consider that carefully before you decide. And now, those willing to join my team, please stand to my left!"
As his voice faded, numerous soldiers dashed to Ye Liuyun’s left.
Masses of soldiers continued to flood over.
Both He Linfeng and Xiao Yunfang were dumbfounded.
In just half an hour, the number of soldiers for his team had surpassed two thousand.
At this moment, Ye Liuyun waved his sword, the Demon Slayer, to carve a deep trench in the middle of the camp, separating the signed-up soldiers from the ones rushing over.
The soldiers who were about to join him stepped back in shock.
"There’s no need for you to come anymore. You hesitated too long! I do not need soldiers who are so indecisive!"
Although unwillingly, the rest of them had to return to their previous formation.
The trench Ye Liuyun dug showed his true immense strength. Ye Liuyun cut the ground apart with his tremendous sword intention, combined with the power of heaven and earth, advance energy and Flame Force.
Ye Liuyun then announced to his soldiers, "We will train for several days continuously, eliminating until only 3,000 of you remain. Then we will proceed to real battle, facing those bandits. I will provide you with the same resources and equipment as them.
However, before the elimination process end, you will not be given the resources and there might be casualties during the training. You can still leave now if you regret your decision. But once you begin the training, you can’t quit."
Despite his warning, none of the five thousand candidates showed their intention to leave.
"Alright then. We shall now arrange our formation."
Ye Liuyun let He Lingfeng disbanded the other candidates, leaving only his on the scene.
Then he personally began arranging the ranks and roles of the chosen candidates, including allocating Lei Ming to the team.
He tasked Xiao Yunfang with organising the soldiers’ tents and the squad flag. The squad’s flag was simply drawn with a skull with two swords duelling beneath it.
All affairs regarding acquiring supplies from the army were delegated to Xiao Yunfang.
However, as they were about to set things up, the sky darkened and rain began to pour.
But Ye Liuyun, stood with his soldiers in the rain until he had arranged all 5,000 of them into ranks.
He took numerous aspects into account when assigning their ranks, including realm and weaponry. He didn’t let the soldiers choose their ranks at whim.
The men stood unmovingly, enduring the wet and cold of the rain with their eyes squinting from the heavy pour.
A soldier suddenly proposed, "Commander, should we take a rest and resume training after the rain stops?"
"B*llshit!" Ye Liuyun retorted instantly, "Will the war wait till the rain stops before killing? Don’t you believe this gloomy, rainy weather is ideal for bandits to murder and cover their tracks?
"Hahaha!" Ye Liuyun’s explanation had spoken out most of the soldier’s thinking.
After arranging the formation, he telepathically conveyed his message to them. "Every one of you should stand still like a zombie. Do not move a muscle, and don’t use your genuine energy to dry off the rain. Soak in the rain until I return. Whoever moves will leave the team!"
All soldiers instantly stood straight without moving, allowing the rain to pelt their faces.
This was true even for Lei Ming and a few other women. They knew Ye Liuyun was training soldiers and was looking to minimize the number. If they even slightly disobeyed Ye Liuyun’s orders, they would be driven out of the team.
After Ye Liuyun walked away, he let out a clone to record the soldier’s performance using his Divine Sense.
He then rushed to Mystique Mart with Xiao Yunfang to look for Liao Zhishi and ordered 3500 sets of third-rank armours, a variety of weapons, third-rank Elixirs, beast meat, and various other resources.
Then, they hurried back to his new troop with Xiao Yunfang.
"You’re pulling out so many resources at once, aren’t you losing a lot?" Xiao Yunfang asked Ye Liuyun.
"Lose? Do you think I would engage in losing deals? Don’t worry, this is just an investment. I’ll earn back double or more!" Ye Liuyun replied with a smile.
When the two returned to the army, his soldiers were still standing motionlessly in the rain.
Ye Liuyun immediately retracted his clone and then stood in front of the military formation and yelled: "Stay still. Only those I point out can leave the formation."
Then he strolled into the lineup, randomly pointing out, "You, you, and you. You too.."
