Chapter 99: New Recruit Selection

As the Void Hunter returned, Vostonia and the Cradle of the Sea, after five stellar months of preparation, initiated their first recruitment of new soldiers.

Teziwoke Hive City, Manufactorum A-008 of the Shangchao.

The bells of the Rini Class rang out; the workers, having finished a full Yekai Shift, quickly completed their remaining tasks, tidied their workstations, and departed along the yellow pedestrian lines.

One worker rolled up his sleeves, revealing a black tattoo on his arm; it was tattooed with the birthdays of his wife and children, a reminder to keep him from forgetting during his heavy labor.

He puffed out his chest and said proudly to the coworker beside him.

"My Per is participating in the selection for the Heaven-Ascending Ceremony today."

"Once he passes, he will be able to serve the Monarch."

"I truly envy you! My wife has only just become pregnant with our tenth."

The man with a Low Gothic tattoo on his neck suddenly slapped his own head.

"Right, when I was talking to my wife last night about the Heaven-Ascending Path selection, we chatted about which child to send."

Ever since the Monarch Ninglu announced his joining of the Imperium, the new orders he issued adjusted the policies for childbirth and conscription.

Every family with eleven children is granted the qualification for one age-appropriate child to participate in the selection for the Heaven-Ascending Path.

Those who pass become great Junluanzhanshi, while those who are eliminated join the Auxilia to fulfill their military service obligations.

"Old Kosuqierni, how did you choose?"

"Of course, I chose the most outstanding one; only then is there a possibility of successfully ascending to heaven, rather than coming back in disgrace."

Old Kosuqierni, with the tattoo on his arm, said smugly.

"I have already tested the little brats of the Kosuqierni family."

"What did you test them on?"

"Carrying Lasvolt barrels, long-distance running, frog jumps, laser gun shooting..."

He listed fifteen items in a row, then added.

"Among my children, there are eight who are 11 years old or younger."

"I ranked each item from one to eight; first place gets ten points, second place nine points..."

"In the end, whoever has the highest total score gets the selection quota."

The worker with the neck tattoo widened his eyes; he clapped his hands, drawing the attention of those around him.

"A good method; I never thought you could be this clever."

At the same moment, in Exemplar City, Thomas stood atop a high tower, gazing downward.

The Company Captain chose the factory district as the selection site for three reasons.

First, the Adeptus Mechanicus team was still on the way and had not yet finalized the construction plan for the Legion Monastery with Ninglu, and the expected construction period was over twenty years, making it unusable in the short term.

Furthermore, because the Primarch had built childcare facilities in several gathering areas of Exemplar City, there were assessment and resting grounds available for immediate use.

Workers could send their children to the childcare facilities for free during their work shifts, allowing them to focus on their work; with fewer worries, they would also be more willing to have children.

Ninglu guaranteed that the children would receive food and water there, as well as free, basic education.

Secondly, the factory area aligned with Vostonia's positioning as an Industrial World.

Finally, the Gene-Father mentioned the selection method used by the Candidate Bukayo Arshavin, and the Primarch required the inclusion of the item for finding objects within the factory.

This simple item would select children with outstanding perception from among the Candidates, a trait that was also the most fitting for the characteristics of the Eleventh Legion.

At the same time, this process would also test the Candidates' courage, intellect, and other aspects.

As Thomas pondered, the officers he had dispatched to be responsible for the selection in the surrounding childcare facilities had already begun speaking to the Candidates.

Eleven-year-old Per Koscielny had sharp, angular features and had been a precocious child since he was small.

He forced himself to calm down and tried hard to hear every word of the giant instructor clearly; he knew this would significantly increase his pass rate.

"For the next four months, you will accept a series of challenges; if you want to become a Junluanzhanshi, you must pass every test."

The Ninth Company officer looked at the three hundred children before him and said in a deep voice; he keenly sensed that most of the children felt nervous because of his words, with only a few remaining calm.

The Captain with short black hair secretly took note of a few of them and continued.

"The first test is an assessment of endurance and willpower; you will be scrutinized."

"Do not help other Candidates; this is a test of the individual."

"Strike the gong."

A Legion servant immediately struck the bronze gong in the training ground with the copper hammer in his hand.

While the boys were stunned, Per and a few other children took steps and walked onto the long, curved track on the perimeter of the field.

After the Legion's servitor modifications, the path was filled with obstacles: dirt slopes, deep pits, high walls, and water-filled channels.

While the other children sprinted, Per followed behind them at a steady pace, treating the other anxious Candidates like the Chemical Dogs kept by arbiters to scout the path.

A moment later, a seven or eight-year-old boy running in the lead stepped into a dirt pit that had been deliberately dug and disguised.

His left foot twisted, and he lost his balance, falling to the ground in a sorry state.

The pupils of Per's eyes shrank, and he immediately marked that area in his mind: Trap—dirt pit.

The children who had been stunned also reacted at this time; they ran onto the track one after another, stretching their legs to begin running.

Thirteen minutes after the assessment began, the first child finished the entire lap.

The neat clothes his parents had carefully prepared for him were covered in dust and mud; he looked at the giant's servant, panting for breath.

"Keep running until you hear the order to stop."

The boy gasped for air, wiped the sweat from his forehead fiercely, and stepped forward to continue running.

Per barely maintained his breathing rhythm and finished a lap at this time as well.

He thought silently in his heart: 【Endurance, willpower.

This is not a preset, fixed goal; the instructor wants to test our limits.

Can it be faked?】

Peier quickly dismissed the thought of cutting corners; he was not confident he could deceive the giant's eyes.

At the same moment, the assessment at the Cradle of the Sea had also begun.

The assessment grounds, built to suit the terrain, were located by the island's edge, and the children participating in the assessment ran across the beach.

On the Void Hunter, after inspecting all the transformation chambers, the Chief Apothecary walked to a partitioned area of the Milaojiapans, where twenty-two Candidates were each sitting on a metal stool, awaiting his arrival.

After receiving the Gene-Father's orders, Mikouer began to train apothecaries.

He selected twenty-three individuals from among the Candidates, arranged for them to undergo transformation simultaneously, and lectured them during the intervals of their transformation.

Even as the Chief Apothecary, he had to admit that Malena, this mortal "Physician," was doing an excellent job.

Since she joined, the number of Candidates suffering Death had dropped significantly.

Even though three of the twenty-two people before him had already failed, those who survived had not wasted their time training; they would become attendants to the apothecaries.

As the Chief Apothecary pondered, he stood before the group.

"Today you are to learn about the stomach; the Candidates are about to begin the large-scale implantation of pre-stomach, and nineteen of you will be the ones doing it."

(End of this chapter)