[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-city-of-desire-kingdom-building":3,"chapter-city-of-desire-kingdom-building-city-of-desire-kingdom-building-chapter-523":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","City of Desire [Kingdom Building]",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1846643,2449,"Chapter 525: Elite","city-of-desire-kingdom-building-chapter-523",523,"\u003Cp>Karsa\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Faster! Even toddlers could run faster than you lot!\" shouted drill instructor Merxin as the sun rose behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His shouts and insults affected us the first day, but after that, we barely listened anymore. We all focused on running, which was the easiest part of the training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There are sandbags on our backs and metal plates attached to our limbs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I am dead tired. Every part of me is screaming to stop, even if just for a minute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn't, if I stopped, it would all be over. I will not be able to get back up and run. I experienced it once, and I don't want to experience that pain again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The consequences of that are worse than what I am experiencing right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hun!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, the person in front of me fell, and I avoided him by inches and continued running.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I first joined the army, it was rare to see a person falling after training, but here, it is common. I have learned to avoid them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This training is much harder than the army training. It was like a breeze compared to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the training of the seventeenth battalion. The elite battalion of Lt. Colonel Uram.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had been nearly twelve weeks since it began, and thousands of tried. More were trying every day, but most of them would give up after the end of the day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Four days ago, nearly everyone who attempted had given up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The recruitment is still active. Anyone from the army could try, including their recruits, as long as they fit the physical requirements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The most important is the age limit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For humans, it is twenty-seven, orcs thirty, and for half-elves, thirty-five. Elves and giant bloods, it is forty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I have seen thousands struggle before giving up in an hour. Still, many others are trying. Arriving from Greltheaven, including a large number of orcs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was one of the few forest orcs in the company. Most of the orcs, with me, are from the island.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn't matter to them what the color of his skin was. What matters is strength and ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is respect for the name \"Elite.\" I have seen how the orcs from the island talk about the elite armies. Just the mention of an elite group lights up in their eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There are additional allures of higher pay, better equipment, and the chance for faster level-ups.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had been eleven days since it had started.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I am part of the first batch. Every day, a new batch would join and most would give up. They then would be assimilated into another batch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter what one's batch is, they will need to survive this training for thirty-two weeks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only those who stayed by the end with adequate performance would get recruited into the elite battalion, and that would be probationary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The recruitment training time is long. It's made even longer by the training hours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They train us for sixteen hours every day. It isn't just endurance and fighting. There are also lectures and other stuff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thing is, this is the first course of training. There are five phases, the first course being the easiest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The bastard craizan, he wants to kill us!\" cursed the orc beside me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Craizan', the insult for Lt. Colonel. He is not insulting but cursing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bakre is the best in the batch; we both joined the army at the same time and were part of the company. I was surprised he stayed in the company.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He is from the biggest and most powerful orc tribe and also the scion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaman Trik is his grandfather.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He curses but moves without stopping while others fall down. Seeing him moving, I pushed myself hard. Crushing any thoughts that want me to stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I have to succeed. I have sacrificed everything. My life, family, friends, everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I cannot let it all go in vain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, I pushed myself as the sun went up and lit up the whole sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pheeeew!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, the whistle of salvation rang, and immediately, we all began to fall like sacks of grain with all life sucked out of us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that same moment, I felt the lock on my skills disappearing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There are locks on our skills. In the same way, the weights everyone carries are different. How much weight one would carry depends on your class weight and attributes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, no one could cheat with good class and greater attributes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pushed through the thoughts and began taking deep breaths. I only have a few minutes to recover before I have to get up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wish I had rest or recovery skills. It would have made things much easier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Get up, you maggots!\" shouted the drill sergeant and all of us got up immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We didn't want to get whipped; it was painful, and because of the skill, the pain didn't go away for hours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I got up and walked to the barracks, where I quickly showered and changed into a new uniform before walking into the cafeteria.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is filled with several lines to the meal counter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stepped behind one line and within a few seconds. It was my turn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The server looked at the number below my tag, and I felt his skill. As it turned off, he quickly filled my plate and gave it to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you,\" I said walking toward my usual table, with three friends sitting there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"James washed out,\" said Kiri. The human woman of my age. She is from the Panar. Had lived through the undead occupation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some of the things she had told me made me think about what made me shudder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It is a good thing he did; I was tired of his boasts,\" said Bargu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A forest orc like me. He is a pitiful guy. Most of his tribe had been killed by the monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He might be boastful, but he had great sweets,\" said Venson, the blond human young man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course you would. You were the only one he used to share with,\" replied Kiri.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>James' family owns sweet shops in Greltheaven. I didn't like him. He was boastful and had a habit of looking down on everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was also a speciesist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you all had been nice to him. Then, he might have shared them with you all too,\" he replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I would rather drink ten cups of this stuff than eat the sweets from him,\" I said picking up the glass with purple-green liquid from my tray and drinking it all in one gulp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is bad, but everyone needs to drink it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is supposed to help in dealing with wear and tear of the body caused by the training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We finished dinner in fifteen minutes before walking toward the classrooms. There are lectures, which many consider boring, but I like them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Grelthaven, I regretted I was not young enough to attend school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My younger brother is in school, and the things he would tell me about it would always make me jealous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, I entered classroom 12 with a large table in front of us. Today's class is about military history; they teach us the history of various militaries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is my second favorite class after strategy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We stood at attention as the stocky half-orc woman with a simple bun walked inside wearing a uniform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She is a Lt. Akis Vram.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At ease,\" she said before turning the board.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Today, we will learn about the inception of iron fangs,\" she said as she wrote the name of one of the most famous legions of the continent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She started, and I listened while taking notes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When it was over, we moved again toward the weapons training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I entered one of the training rings, and opposite me was a man nearly twice my age. He is a human in his mid-thirties with a bald head and a scar running down his neck to his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He is holding a practice saber while I have a practice sword in my hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Begin!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The order came, and I moved toward the man with the Quick Steps before swinging my sword with my newest skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heavy Strike!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man stopped it almost casually before swinging his saber at me fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I countered with my sword, activating Parry as they clashed, but it didn't work. The man countered the skill before swinging his saber at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pach!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was unable to dodge it, and he hit me hard across my shoulder with the back of the blade before attacking again without wasting a second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I countered immediately, but the saber had hit on the other shoulder and attacked again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, I was able to defend, but the next one hit me again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn't focus on the pain and only fought him with the ultimate goal of landing the hit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which is very hard. Near impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the most painful training. They made us fight, people, of Lv. 20 or closer to twenty, and those people are merciless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They did not hold back, and by the time sparring was over. I couldn't even sit without screaming in pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merciless this training might be, but it is effective. The whole training, not just this one component.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had observed that my stamina had increased while my combat style had become more refined. My skills have become more efficient than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is only a start.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don't want to get washed out. I want to stay and complete the training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I want to join the elite battalion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The weapons training lasted for two hours before the bell rang, and I sat down, with every part of my body screaming in pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I only got five minutes of rest before I went to take the ice bath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that, it was another class.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, formation training, field training, and obstacle course. All of them make the morning drill a breezy walk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After it was over, it was dinner time, and then an hour of study before sleeping at nine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I watched the lights go off and closed my eyes to sleep. I need to sleep fast to get as much rest as possible to repeat this hellish training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which is going to get worse as the days pass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Experience the journey before anyone else—support me by Subscribing to and enjoy 20 exclusive early chapters along with bonus content.\u003C\u002Fp>",1741,"2026-06-09T06:55:00.676Z",1,"novelbin.me","21292fe2674969760cb3066d1df372adf05d2e9103aa16b3cd36cc181439260e","city-of-desire-kingdom-building-chapter-524","city-of-desire-kingdom-building-chapter-522",917,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcity-of-desire-kingdom-building-cover.jpg"]