Chapter 8: The Terrifying Pearson

"Hello, everyone!" Roland greeted the three roommates in the dormitory once again with warmth. After all, they would be living together for quite some time! Roland wanted to build good relationships with them.

 "Hehe, you're quite polite, kid! Since that's the case, I'll share a little insider information with you, something I just heard." As they conversed, Marin suddenly stood up beside them, speaking mysteriously to Roland and the others.

 "What information? Tell us, tell us! Marin, your father is also a soldier, did he pass along some message?" Upon Marin's rise, Jobs and the others immediately joined him, knowing that Marin's father was a soldier, assuming that Marin had received some message from him.

 "Jobs, you're quite sharp, huh? Let me tell you! I heard from my father that our drill instructor is Pearson." Marin sighed.

 Roland noticed a hint of fear on Marin's face after mentioning that name, giving him a foreboding feeling. It seemed that Instructor Pearson might be a truly terrifying figure.

 "Who is Pearson? Is he formidable?" Upon hearing Marin's words, Jobs asked nonchalantly.

 "Of course, Old Pearson was a legendary figure in the French army. He was a hero in the Anglo-French wars, commanding the Anjou cavalry regiment to defeat the English army several times. He was hailed as the Sword of Anjou. However, after the war ended, he had to retire due to severe injuries. Then the government assigned him to be an instructor at this military academy."

 "This guy is very strict, and his training is extremely rigorous. It's rumored that his student pass rate is only forty percent. The rest are all expelled by him. Ah! What kind of karma did I suffer to be assigned under him?"

 Marin's emotions grew more intense as he spoke. By the end, his face had completely darkened, evidently considering it a huge disaster to serve under Instructor Pearson.

 "What? No way! This old Pearson is so cruel? That's it, with my condition, I definitely won't make it. If I'm kicked out of the academy by him, I'll have no face to show anyone!" Jobs was almost in tears at the thought. Among them, his physical condition was the worst, evident from the fat around his belly.

 "Ah! Just leave it to fate!" John stepped forward, patting Jobs and Marin's shoulders comfortingly.

 Then the three of them huddled together, comforting each other, and for a moment, the entire dormitory was filled with a somber atmosphere.

 Unfortunately, no matter how much Jobs and the others resisted, time would not stop. In the blink of an eye, it was time for the opening ceremony.

 And Roland and the others also saw Instructor Pearson, the legendary figure, for the first time.

 As a military instructor, he stood at the forefront of the entire formation, his upright military posture commanding respect. The only discordance was his left sleeve, empty because it was said that it was blown off by an English cannon when he was leading a charge, forcing him to leave his beloved army and become an instructor here.

 Because he maintained a good military discipline, he was very strict with his students, almost to the point of being harsh, although his students were all just kids.

 But in his eyes, there was no distinction between adults and children, only soldiers and non-soldiers. So he always used military standards to regulate his students. This resulted in almost every student not wanting to be assigned to his class. But unfortunately, Roland and his friends happened to fall into his hands this time.

 Students from other classes looked on with glee, eager to see Roland and the others suffer under Old Pearson's brutal training.

 But Roland didn't mind. He always believed that the strictest instructors would produce the best soldiers. And according to Marin, this veteran named Pearson had rich combat experience, which was exactly what Roland wanted. Only by following such a person could he learn what he wanted.

 "At ease, everyone! I'm glad you've chosen to join the Brienne Military Academy. This means that in the near future, you will become qualified soldiers and participate in defending France. You are heroes, and the homeland will not forget your contributions. But that's still a ways off. What you need to do now is study hard and pass the assessments. Here, I wish you all..."

 At the school's opening ceremony, the principal delivered an enthusiastic speech, calling on these enthusiastic young people to study hard and fight for France in the future. His speech was so infectious that it stirred up all the students in the military academy.

 But with the end of the principal's speech, it also meant that Roland and the others had officially become part of the military academy, marking the beginning of their arduous academy life.

 The academy's schedule was very tight. After the opening ceremony, Roland and the others began to immerse themselves in intense study. According to the academy's teaching plan, each student would study here for four years. In addition to receiving military training and physical conditioning, they would also study various ordinary subjects, including mathematics, chemistry, history, geography, and so on.

 Of course, this was no difficulty for Roland. He had already studied all this knowledge in his previous life. Moreover, this was knowledge from two hundred years ago, far less difficult than in later years.

 The first few weeks at the academy were not too strict, mostly learning knowledge along with some basic training, to give the students an adaptation process, as changing from students to soldiers was not an easy transition.

 "Ah! Finally, class is over. It's really exhausting!" In the classroom, as the bell rang to end class, the students in the classroom collapsed on their desks, evidently feeling overwhelmed by the course load of the past few days.

 "Roland, do you understand what the teacher just taught? I noticed you didn't even take notes, and when the teacher asked you questions, you answered them all. How did you do that?" Jobs ran up to Roland and asked, his brain not very good at learning, so he couldn't understand anything the teacher had taught just now.

 But Jobs, though not good at learning, was surprisingly sharp in other aspects. He noticed Roland's unusual behavior during class.

 That was, Roland never took notes in class. Initially, Jobs thought Roland was like himself, unable to understand anything! But when the teacher called on Roland, he answered every question accurately, which amazed Jobs. He wondered if Roland had some secret method of learning, so he approached Roland after class, trying to figure out something. If Roland did have a secret, then Jobs could ease his own burden in the future.

 "What's the trick? It's just that I know everything the teacher taught." Hearing Jobs' inquiry, Roland shrugged casually.

 "What? Roland, are you kidding? These are such difficult concepts, and you know them all? I get a headache just looking at them." Jobs exaggerated, not believing Roland's words at all. He thought Roland was either boasting or simply didn't want to tell him the truth.

 "It's true, I'm not lying. I've studied all these things before." Seeing Jobs' disbelief, Roland explained further. He really wasn't lying; he had indeed studied all this knowledge, but not here, rather in the future.