temporary squad leaders

"Name?"

"Jake."

"Age?"

"25."

"Where are you from

" hermit village."

The responsible registrar recorded Jake's basic information in a small booklet. Finally, he handed Jake a wooden sign with the words written on one side: "Third Brigade, Second Platoon, Fourth Squad." On the other side was Jake's name.

Hanging the wooden sign around his waist and carrying the blackstone longsword, Jake quickly found his unit.

"New here? Stand over there." In front of the Third Brigade, there stood a middle-aged man dressed in armor. Seeing Jake approaching with the sign, he said, his eyes scanning Jake's equipment.

Jake nodded, found his squad, and stood among them. The people around him looked at his equipment with envy.

By noon, all members of the Third Brigade had assembled. A brigade consisted of five platoons, each platoon had five squads, and each squad had ten people. Jake's brigade had 250 people.

"I'm Eli, your brigade leader. From now on, you are members of the Imperial Skylark Camp's Third Brigade until the end of your military service." The middle-aged man who had spoken to Jake earlier stood in front of the crowd and announced loudly. He paused for a moment and his tone suddenly became serious. "Or until you die on the battlefield!"

The crowd became restless, and many people were whispering about this, feeling a sense of panic and anxiety.

"Of course! You don't have to worry too much!" Eli continued, "Rookies like you won't be sent to the battlefield. Sending rookies like you to the battlefield will only embarrass the court and make enemies and other countries laugh at us. So, rookies, consider yourselves lucky that you don't have to go to the most dangerous places."

Eli's words relieved the tension, as who would want to go to the battlefield? Even Jake didn't want to. Although this was a game world for him, getting injured still hurt, and death, although he hadn't experienced it, wouldn't be a pleasant memory, for sure.

"Starting today, you will undergo a week of training. After a week, you will receive missions, mainly involving transporting supplies and wounded soldiers," Eli said.

Although Jake and others didn't have to go to the battlefield, necessary training was still needed. Otherwise, they wouldn't have any discipline, and even simple tasks like transporting supplies might not be accomplished smoothly.

"Now, I will appoint temporary squad leaders for each squad. The official appointments will be made after the training is over, based on your performance," Eli said.

His words caused another commotion among the crowd. Because the five platoon leaders were veterans brought in by Eli, they had already been appointed from the beginning. The ones who needed temporary appointments were only the 25 squad leaders.

Although it was only temporary, who wouldn't want to be an officer? The closer one was to the frontline, the greater the danger. Being an officer would undoubtedly be safer than being an ordinary soldier, and they would also have some power, making them more comfortable.

Jake was indifferent to this. It was just a temporary position, and it was only a small squad leader role. He didn't really care. What he wanted now was to complete these three months of military service and return to the village to continue being a farmer, woodworker, and miner.

As each squad leader was appointed, Jake noticed that Eli appointed the physically strong individuals in each squad. Considering they didn't know each person's background, appointing based on physical strength was not a bad approach. Physically strong people would at least appear stronger than those who were lean and weak.

In Jake's squad, he wasn't the strongest. Although his physique was also impressive, there was someone in the team who was even stronger than him. Jake noticed the muscular arms of that person, reminiscent of Glen, and the calluses on his hands suggested that he might have been a blacksmith or at least worked with iron.

"Fourth Squad." Eli quickly came to the front of Jake's squad and looked at Jake and the others. Then, unexpectedly, he pointed at Jake. "You'll be the squad leader."

"Me?" Jake was surprised.

"I object!" The burly man raised his hand.

"I object too! In other squads, the strongest ones become the squad leaders. Why is it different here?" Jake thought to himself. He could understand the burly man's thoughts.

"You object?" Eli's eyes narrowed slightly, and he exuded a dangerous aura. "Do you know where you are? This is the military camp! Your current identity is a soldier! A miscellaneous soldier is still a soldier! Soldiers should obey orders, not raise objections! When I make a decision, I'm not here to negotiate with you! Understood?!"

"Understood!" The burly man said loudly, "But I still object! Even if I'm punished, I have to say it, I object!"

"You object? Then you'll have to endure the consequences!" Eli said. "If you have the ability, show me your excellent performance during the training period. If you perform better than him by the end of the training, then the squad leader position will be yours. However..."

"However, until then, he's your squad leader. Understood?" Eli said.

"Understood!" The burly man replied. After that, he provocatively looked at Jake and said in a much softer voice, as if afraid Eli might hear, "I'm going to be the squad leader."

"If you're capable, come and take it," Jake said calmly, but his words were full of confidence.

Originally, Jake didn't care much about being the squad leader. Whether he got it or not didn't matter. However, the burly man's repeated provocations ignited Jake's competitiveness.

You want the title of squad leader? Fine, if you have the ability, come and snatch it. Let's see who is truly qualified to be the squad leader!

"Don't think highly of yourself just because you have nice equipment. In my eyes, you're just a decorative pillow. I can knock you down with one punch!" The burly man said disdainfully.

"Is that so?" Jake didn't confirm or deny it. "Let's talk about it after you become the squad leader. Right now, I'm your squad leader. If you show disrespect, it's a violation of military discipline, and you should know the consequences."

"Hmph!" The burly man snorted discontentedly and didn't dare say anything more.