Wanderer's team of about ten rookies was led by the barbarian officer to a distant valley,

each carrying a load equivalent to their own body weight, and the officer himself was no exception.

Although the officer was a bit of a taciturn person.The rookies also discovered his good side; he hardly ever scolded anyone.

In fact, he barely spoke at all and paid no attention to the occasional mischief of the rookies.

"Put your things aside," the barbarian officer stood on a flat patch of ground after entering the valley and called everyone over,

"Line up here."

The rookies immediately dropped their loads and stood at attention, ready to hear the officer's first speech.

The proud expressions on their faces suggested they believed their standing postures were as sacred,

and mighty as the statues at the entrance to a magical palace.

The barbarian officer's gaze swept from left to right, passing over the bodies of the rookies.

He was very calm, and such a calm barbarian was a rare sight: "First, let's get acquainted.

In terms of address, you are to call me Captain Anemia."

"Yes, Captain Anemia!" Having been through basic training, the rookies knew exactly how to respond to their officer.

"I have few rules, essentially just one," Captain Anemia nodded at the rookies,

"Hear and obey, that's my only demand, and it's the tradition of this squad."

"Yes, Captain Anemia!" the rookies responded, their voices now seasoned with the discipline of basic training.

"Our squad is named Edelweiss, and the Edelweiss Squad has a history of over five hundred years.

The origin of the name Edelweiss is lost to time, and frankly, that's not important to me, nor should it be to you.

What you need to know is that the Edelweiss Squad has always been a group with a strong fighting spirit and distinguished achievements."

Captain Anemia continued, "Courage, passion, and unity are the traditions of the Edelweiss Squad,

and without experiencing the trials of life and death, it's hard for you to truly understand this."

So, before you can inherit these spirits, all you need to do is follow my orders."

"Yes, sir!"

"You must recognize that you are just ordinary soldiers, who would otherwise be mixed in with those miscellaneous troops, charging into battle.

Burying your special talents,and eventually dying in obscurity under the enemy's arrows and flying stones in some war.

In that case, the so-called training you have received before would have been enough."

Captain Anemia looked at the excited rookies and mercilessly struck them with his words:

"But as a member of the Edelweiss Squad, this is far from enough.

I have dug you out of the quagmire to make you shine. You must train, train, and train again to meet my expectations."

"Yes, sir!"

"Here, before you become real members, you have no rights, no benefits, you have nothing."

"Yes, sir!" The voices of the rookies had already quieted down significantly.

"State your nicknames and special skills," Captain Anemia nodded at the tall recruit at the head of the line: "You first."

"Nickname Baham!" the tall rookie responded loudly, "Specialty is two-handed war hammers, and I'm strong!"

"Keep the two-handed war hammers, but you'll use ones specially made by the Fighter Corps,"

Captain Anemia said, "Also practice with a battle blade and shield, and increase your endurance training."

"Yes, sir!" Baham replied, his thick lips flapping, a trait characteristic of swamp dwellers.

"Additionally, your lower lip is too conspicuous; if you don't want to get hit by an arrow,

keep it folded inside your mouth and bite down on it," the officer said matter-of-factly, then called out, "Next."

"Nickname Blazing Paradise!" a rookie forced a robust voice from his throat: "Specialties are spears and battle blades!"

"Keep the spear, switch to dual-wielding battle blades," Captain Anemia said, arms folded:

"The nickname Blazing Paradise is too long, just go by Blazing."

Blazing Paradise wanted to argue, but remembering the officer's rules and his methods of rendering people unconscious,

he swallowed his retort.

"Nickname Wanderer! Specialties are one-handed longswords and longbows!"

"Retain them, and focus on increasing your speed."

"Nickname, my nickname is Fallen," the werewolf said, blushing: "Specialties are vigilance and speed."

"Practice one-handed longswords with daggers, and achieve at least a proficient level."

Captain Anemia glanced at the werewolf: "Also, work on stopping the blushing."

"Ah..." Fallen, embarrassed, lowered his head, but a guy next to him laughed unrestrainedly.

Captain Anemia took a few steps forward, staring at the chuckling rookie.

"Nickname Cleber," the grinning rookie, sensing trouble, tried to bluff his way through: "Specialty is magic and..."

"Love to laugh?" Captain Anemia flicked a small stone out of the dirt with his toe and kicked it to Cleber's feet:

"Pick this up and put it in your mouth."

Cleber swallowed hard, but he lacked the audacity to defy the officer as the mountain dwarves often did;

left with no alternative, he reluctantly picked up the stone and, gritting his teeth, put it into his own mouth.

Seeing the astonished looks from everyone, a wry smile appeared on his face again.

"Still laughing?" Captain Anemia kicked a larger stone towards Cleber this time:

"That means it's not enough, put another one in."

Cleber's eyes widened, he tried to control his laughter, his facial muscles twitching as he placed another stone into his mouth...

These were stones from the dirt, not the delicious bread from the dining table.

Captain Anemia wore a peculiar expression, regarding Cleber with a cold gaze, and with his toe, he picked up another stone,

even larger than Cleber's mouth, ready to have him put it in, waiting for the next smile to appear.

Cleber nearly burst into tears, his facial expressions growing increasingly dramatic.

"Hehe, hahahaha!"

It was the mountain dwarf who couldn't hold back any longer, laughing uncontrollably in the lineup, holding his stomach and stamping his feet.

Captain Anemia didn't get angry; he simply said indifferently, "Horny Beast, come here."

"I know!" Horny Beast nonchalantly stepped out of the lineup, "It's just holding stones, I can do it myself."

As he spoke, he reached out to pick up the stone under Captain Anemia's foot, but Captain Anemia stopped him.

"Not that one," Captain Anemia called Cleber over to his side again: "Spit out the stones from your mouth."

Cleber obediently spat out the stones, carefully holding them in his hands.

"Didn't you say you'd do it yourself?" Captain Anemia snorted: "These are the ones."

After confirming that the officer wasn't joking, the mountain dwarf's eyes immediately reddened, and he roared, throwing a punch at Anemia...

Of course, we should have expected what happened next; he's always the most unfortunate one.

However, during this period of unconsciousness, his mouth had two more stones, covered in mud, sand, and someone else's saliva.