Chapter 267: Military Training
While listening to the specialist’s reports, Jason observed the massive facility specifically constructed to train the reptilian natives.
Over 500 lizardmen were currently undergoing professional military conditioning within its walls.
For them, this was paradise! It offered the most comfortable living conditions, abundant food, and recreational facilities they had never even imagined. In a small courtyard nearby, several lizardmen were jumping around playing a modified version of basketball, while others enthusiastically swatted at a table tennis ball!
They were clicking and hissing happily. The exercise equipment had been custom-scaled by the Senior Scientists to fit their smaller frames.
For the reptilian natives, who had spent their entire evolutionary history on the brink of starvation, these recreational activities were an irresistible luxury. It was an experience beyond their wildest dreams.
This was a true paradise! The Kingdom of the Gods!
However, this place was also a grueling crucible. The luxuries weren’t free; they had to learn... and keep learning!
They had to meet the Federation’s strict standards, or face immediate expulsion! This meant constantly engaging their primitive brains and fighting against their deeply ingrained feral instincts, which was an agonizing process.
Lizardmen often found themselves rolling on the floor, overwhelmed by the mental strain, this was the first time they truly grasped the concept of "psychological stress." Critical thinking was a painful new experience for them...
At the same time, they were subjected to intense physical and disciplinary conditioning.
The physical drills were a breeze; the lizardmen naturally possessed a higher physical baseline than humans. But the discipline? It was pure torture! No random shrieking, no whispering, no erratic head movements! No doing this, no doing that, they just had to stand perfectly still. The slightest twitch resulted in immediate punishment.
It was easily their most hated drill...
Jason continued his inspection. The facility felt exactly like a massive military boot camp. The atmosphere was incredibly tense.
On the training grounds opposite them, over a hundred lizardmen were lined up in custom-fitted uniforms, running in formation. It wasn’t a chaotic, feral sprint, but a synchronized march, requiring a rhythmic "one, two, one" cadence.
After nearly two months of rigorous training, the recruits were finally taking shape. While they still had flaws, they were no longer a disorganized, scattered mob.
The specialist smiled, pointing at the marching lizardmen. "We divided the five hundred recruits into five companies, implementing a ranking system to foster competition. We’ve also enforced strict, military-style management..."
"In the beginning, they were completely feral. They couldn’t even run in a straight line. Sometimes, they would just drop on all fours and howl mid-sprint, completely giving in to their wild instincts..."
"But after this conditioning period, they’re starting to look like a proper unit."
Jason smiled and nodded, fairly satisfied with the disciplined recruits. After all, it had only been a short time.
"It seems the ’carrot and stick’ approach is working perfectly. We can’t afford to be overly lenient with them; after all, they are a completely different species," Jason noted.
"Exactly. Not only do they undergo military drills, but they also take foundational academic courses. Their baseline intelligence is sufficient, so their progress is acceptable. In another month or two, they’ll be ready to graduate and deploy."
The specialist handed Jason a digital progress report.
Reviewing the data, Jason saw that the 500 lizardmen were studying foundational subjects: Basic English, elementary mathematics, and simple equipment operation. Aside from the language courses, the curriculum was essentially elementary school level.
Naturally, the Federation chose Basic English as the primary medium of instruction because of its relatively simple, adaptable structure, making it the easiest for the natives’ primitive minds to grasp. Mastering Basic English took the lizardmen roughly two to three months. In contrast, teaching them the complex syntax of Advanced Federation Standard would have taken two to three years, which was far too slow.
Subconsciously, the lizardmen began viewing the Advanced Federation Standard as the "exclusive divine language" of the Gods.
A few clever natives would secretly memorize complex Federation phrases just to show off to their peers, treating the words as the ultimate status symbol.
The instructors ignored this behavior as long as it didn’t disrupt the core curriculum. Outside the classroom, the recruits had plenty of free time, and as long as they didn’t cause trouble, their extracurricular activities were left alone.
Overall, their academic progress was decent. Compared to the brutal disciplinary drills, sitting in a classroom was a breeze. This proved the natives had considerable cognitive potential.
To reinforce the conditioning and prevent the lizardmen from slacking off, the Federation utilized both material rewards and intense ideological propaganda!
During their preliminary sociological studies, the Senior Scientists had discovered the natives possessed an incredibly strong sense of tribal solidarity! This was a psychological lever waiting to be pulled.
The harsh reality of their subterranean world, filled with terrifying apex predators and fierce competition for geothermal heat forced them to unite to survive. This forged a unique, deeply communal culture. Tribes that failed to unite were wiped out eons ago!
In other words, these lizardmen possessed a fierce loyalty to their villages; they were exceptionally united. Despite their internal hierarchies and squabbles, the village was their entire world. Even while enjoying the luxuries of the human training camp, they never forgot their homes.
They desperately wanted to make their villages stronger. After experiencing the comforts of the camp, many lizardmen began to miss their families... or rather, they wanted to share these divine comforts with their kin!
This communal worldview was a massive strategic asset for the Federation, and they fully exploited it.
"You are not just learning for yourselves! You are not just running for yourselves! You are doing this for your entire village!" an instructor roared in fluent English at the front of the lecture hall.
The massive class of lizardmen instantly snapped to attention, standing rigidly whether they fully grasped the speech or not.
"You represent your people! If you wash out, your entire village loses the Gods’ favor! You sit here in comfort, while your fathers and mothers starve in the dark! Think of the hunters who died fighting the black swarms... Do you really want to go back to that pathetic existence?!"
Fear gripped the recruits. They were terrified that if they underperformed, the "Messengers of the Gods" would cast them out. In fact, several disobedient natives had already been expelled and sent back to the dark.
A few of the sharper lizardmen wore expressions of deep, solemn realization.
Yes, if we fail now, our entire village will be abandoned by the Gods! That is absolutely unacceptable!
Driven by that terrifying thought, their exhaustion and lethargy vanished instantly.
