Chapter 7: The Future King Of Soldiers

Words : 2191 Updated : Sep 24th, 2025

At dawn the next day, the parade ground rang with a rousing army song. "Unity means strength..." "Unity means strength..." In the barracks, the new recruits dragged themselves out of bed, yawning and stretching like their joints were rusted. "Reveille's sounded. Move, hustle!" Daniel was the first on his feet. He yanked on his clothes, quick and clean. By then, everyone in First Squad was already using him as their model. Whatever Daniel did, they copied. They dressed like seasoned pros and bolted for the stairs the moment their boots were on. Before lights out the previous night, Daniel had already laid it out for them. In the army, you did everything fast. Hear the whistle or the marching song, you snapped to attention. Only speed kept you out of trouble. The other squads' punishment the night before still made them shiver; two full hours of shouting until their throats were raw. It was brutal. Daniel had warned them that was the mild version. There would be grueling physical training later. Vincent was so spooked that he hardly slept. To avoid getting chewed out, they reached a consensus: follow Daniel. Adriel might have bristled at Daniel, but he had no interest in pain or punishment. He kept quiet and chose to trust Daniel's word. By the time Pablo came downstairs, Daniel and his squad were already lined up. Pablo was over the moon, as if fate were handing him a promotion. It felt like the universe had sent these recruits just to make him look good. A minute later, the other squads finally trudged in and formed up. Oscar strode past First Squad and gave a curt nod. "Not bad. Quick response." Then he faced the rest, voice turning hard. "Take a page from First Squad. You're all new, but look at them, then look at yourselves." "Especially you squad leaders. Your recruits may not know better, but you do. Compare yourselves to First Squad's leader. See the difference?" The squad leaders' faces darkened. Since yesterday, they'd heard so much praise for First Squad that it grated. One glance back at their own recruits, and their blood pressure spiked. Under the squad leaders' murderous glares, the recruits gulped hard. We're toast. Here we go again. Pablo stood tall and radiant, looking over the ranks behind him. Oscar raised his voice. "I'm going to go over the daily schedule for the training company. Listen up." "Wake-up time: summer 0540, winter 0600. Half an hour of morning exercises-physical training, drill, or other practice. Each squad arranges this on its own." "After morning exercises, twenty minutes to put your quarters in order. That includes personal space, personal hygiene, and general cleanliness of the barracks area." "Breakfast at 0700. Half an hour later, morning training begins. Lunch is 1130 to 1200." "Dinner 1700 to 1730. If there's extra practice at night, you go by the whistle." "One more thing: from 1900 to 1930, you'll watch the evening news. Lights out is at 2130." The recruits' faces fell in unison. It looked and felt like a prison schedule. Daniel exhaled, helpless. His old man just had to ship him off here to suffer. What was wrong with eating, drinking, and having fun out in the world? "First morning drill!" Oscar bellowed. "Two laps around the parade ground. After that, squad leaders take your men back to sort out their quarters. Everyone, right face!" Heels clicked. The formations pivoted and broke into a run. Two laps went by fast. Squad leaders marched their recruits back to the barracks to learn how to keep their space squared away. The night before, following First Squad's lead, they had already taught the new recruits how to fold their blankets. But the punishment had run late, and lights went out before anyone had time to practice. After a night's sleep, most of it had slipped their minds. The morning turned into a tangle of hands and feet. Some squads were as noisy as a street market, voices colliding in a chaos of orders and complaints. "You are as dumb as rocks!" "I showed you last night. How do you still not get it?" "Look at First Squad, then look at our squad. You're the worst batch of recruits I've ever had!" The recruits bowed their heads under the barrage, cheeks burning with frustration. Yesterday, the squad leaders had seemed like kind friends. Now the kindness had vanished, replaced by snarling demons. They switched up on them in a heartbeat. Meanwhile, First Squad had already set to work. Daniel sprinted to his bunk and started folding. "Move, move, move. Get those blankets folded. We still have to clean the area. Make it quick. Don't fall behind the other squads." "Got it!" They raced against the clock. Using Daniel's method, they squared their blankets into crisp blocks in no time. Vincent, thick as a brick, lagged behind. Daniel simply stepped in and folded for him, swift and precise. As expected, a prompt chimed in his head. "Barracks skills +1!" Damn it, in the rush, he had forgotten the system again. Once the blankets were squared away and everyone had washed up, Daniel said, "Come with me. Let's clean." They charged to First Squad's assigned cleaning zone, grabbed tools, and started scrubbing, mopping, and dusting. While he mopped, Vincent gave Daniel a sheepish grin. "Bro, good thing I've got you. Otherwise my blanket would look like a sack, and I'd be getting chewed out for sure." Daniel's mouth twitched. He hadn't done it for Vincent; he'd done it to avoid punishment. He smiled anyway. "You need more practice. Don't hold the team back. After training, I'll coach you." "Yes!" Vincent gazed at him as if he were a celebrity. "I'll do whatever you say." Adriel curled his lip. "Vincent, you're hopeless. Can't even fold a blanket. Come to me later. I'll teach you better than some people." Daniel rolled his eyes. You learned it from me and still have the nerve to brag. "All done!" "I'm done too. The floor's so clean it shines!" "My side's finished!" They polished off their assigned area fast. Grinning ear to ear, Pablo trotted off to report to Oscar. The moment Pablo stepped out, Daniel called the others together. "Listen up. Keeping your quarters tight is just one piece. To be a proper soldier, you need to nail a few things. First, barracks skills. You've seen what that means." "Second, standing at attention and marching in formation. Your movements need to be crisp and uniform." "Third, obey orders. As for the rest, do it well enough to pass. No need to chase perfection." "You stick to what I'm telling you, and I promise you'll make it to your regular units without a hitch." A recruit raised his hand. "Daniel, how do you know all this?" Vincent puffed up with pride. "My bro is smart. He's a genius!" "Tch." Adriel rolled his eyes. Daniel chuckled. "Someone in my family served, so I know a bit more than average." Adriel's voice turned sly. "Figures. No wonder you know so much. Must be nice having connections." Daniel didn't bother picking a fight. "Whatever I do, you do. Keep pace with me." "Fine. As long as we don't get punished, we'll follow you." Heads nodded around him. Whether they said it or not, they'd started to see Daniel as First Squad's top dog. Adriel's jaw tightened. He loathed these city boys who acted like they were born to be in charge. But what could he do? Daniel knew his stuff. Just then, a shrill whistle split the air. Breakfast time. First Squad racked the tools and dashed out with Daniel. This time, the other squad leaders also wised up and hustled their recruits out to assemble as soon as the whistle sounded. Passing First Squad's barracks room, they stopped dead. "Damn, it's only the second day and those blankets already have crisp corners." "Hell, if you hadn't told me, I'd have thought this was a veteran's barracks room." No surprise, First Squad still formed up faster than any other squad. The second squad leader shot Pablo a look full of envy. "No wonder you're First Squad's leader. An experienced soldier is on another level. Your promotion is a lock, huh?" Pablo preened. "Don't exaggerate. Watch and learn; do that and you'll get there. Hahaha." At the back, Adriel sneered to himself. "Shameless. Daniel taught them all that. What does it have to do with you?" Pablo glanced at Daniel standing at the head of the column, his back straight as a broom handle, and smiled. "That kid's the real deal. With the right training, he'll be a King of Soldiers."

Chapter 7: The Future King Of Soldiers

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