Carl and the other two had heard of the fairy tale of The King and His Sword, but they had always treated it as a myth.
But now, all of a sudden, the dean talked about the warriors of War Spirit and specifically mentioned The King and His Sword. The three of them were so smart that they immediately grasped the key to this matter.
"Could it be that King Caesar is a War Spirit warrior?" The three of them asked in unison.
The dean nodded with a smile, drummed his fingers on the wooden table in front of him and said slowly, "Let's start with the catastrophe in the story... The so-called catastrophe refers to an alien tribe—the Zergs, which have nothing to do with those little bugs we see in our daily life..."
At this point, the dean slowly rolled up the sleeve on his right hand and the sight that greeted them, made them take a deep breath.
They had never imagined that under the dean's loose robe, his arm was marked with spreading circles of scars which looked rather frightful!
The worst-looking scar looked like as if it had made by something sharp, which had pierced through one side of the arm to the other side...
The dean chuckled and then pulled back his sleeves. His purpose was not to frighten the three of them, but to make them aware that the Zergs were not some little meek animals.
Without needing the dean to say anything more, Carl and the others also understood that these scars were caused by the so-called Zergs!
"At that time, the Zergs invaded the whole Lorran planet. Almost ninety percent of human beings on the planet were slaughtered."
"Fortunately, we were blessed and given a way out at that time... Perhaps due to the influence of the Zergs, the human genes changed and some people could summon their second soul—War Spirit."
Carl and the other two gaped in wonder, deeply engrossed in the dean's story.
Looking at the appearances of the three children, the dean smiled gently and continued to talk.
"Back then, King Caesar was the first person to awaken his spirit to fight. The current empire was established by the first batch of spirit warriors who aroused their spirits to lead the remaining humans..."
At this point, the dean's eyes flickered slightly. He was recalling the scene of the big battle back then.
While Arthur and Sofia were still trying to understand these stories in silence, Carl had already asked excitedly, "Mister Dean, so thirty years ago, did you also follow King Caesar to fight against the Zergs? Then you must be..."
The dean chuckled and shook his head.
"I'm not that lucky to be a warrior of War Spirit. But every man would have fought to the end for the survival of the human race as I did..."
Carl lowered his head in slight disappointment, while Arthur suddenly said,
"I already roughly understand the importance of the War Spirit warriors to the Empire. Then what's the reason why the three of us are going to take the qualification test tomorrow... And the most important thing I want to know is that if the three of us do not qualify to be the warriors of War Spirit, what will happen?"
The dean nodded approvingly. Carl was brave and responsible, Arthur was sharp and careful and Sofia was smart and bold. He had watched the three of them grow up and they were his favorite children.
"According to the law of the Gamma Empire, any young man who has reached the age of 18 will have to take the qualification test of the War Spirit of the local government. Those who qualify will automatically attain citizenship of the Gamma Empire immediately."
"Citizenship? Does it mean one can live in the capital or become an officer by having this citizenship?" Sofia said in surprise.
Although they lived in an orphanage, they had met the citizens because they occasionally needed to do business with the residents of Rum Town.
Superiority and power were things that Carl and the others had never been able to attain before. Now, as long as they could pass the qualification test, they could easily become citizens. They felt excited immediately!
The dean nodded with a smile, as an answer to Sofia's question.
"Well, about the citizenship, when you pass the qualification test, you will naturally learn more about it."
After a pause, the dean continued to explain, "If you don't pass the qualification test, you have to join the army of the empire. After three years of military service, you can return to the town and be civilians of the empire."
"Then... What if we don't pass the qualification test and refuse to serve in the military?" Arthur caught the crucial point and looked toward the dean's horribly scarred arm.
Carl, who was excited and Sofia, who was silent, also looked over, along with Arthur.
If they could not become a warrior of War Spirit, they would become an ordinary soldier, just like the dean. Although it would only be three years, it did not seem that it would be a safe journey...
The dean was silent for a while and said in an earnest voice, "According to the laws of the empire, anyone who refuses to serve in the military will be hunted down by the warriors of the empire. There is no time limit until the target dies."
Carl and the other two took a deep breath at the same time. Being hunted down by warriors for an ordinary person was already unfortunate, but it was even worse to be hunted forever. To put it bluntly, as long as one refused to serve the military, he would only end up dead.
After taking a look at the time, the dean slowly stood up from his seat and walked over to the three of them. In an amiable voice, he said, "It's getting late. All of you should get some rest. Tomorrow, Silas will bring you to Rum Town."
After hearing this, the three of them nodded and began to walk out of the door.
"Carl!" When the three of them were about to go out, the dean suddenly called out.
Carl looked back in confusion. The dean nodded at him and said, "No matter what happens, don't take it to heart. Believe in yourself!"
Carl raised his eyebrows, not knowing what the dean meant, but still nodded and walked out with the other two.
"Carl, if you have a War Spirit, what do you want your War Spirit to be?" On the way back to their room, Sofia asked excitedly.
Carl glanced at Arthur, who was silent and said, "Hmm." But he did not know what kind of War Spirit he wanted to have after thinking for a long time...
At this moment, several fireflies flew past the window as the starlight brought a hint of summer air to the whole courtyard.
Early the next day, Silas roused the three of them from their sleep. He kept urging them to wash up quickly so they could leave."Silas, it's just an aptitude test. Why are you in such a rush?" Carl complained as he rubbed his bleary eyes unhappily.Silas chuckled. Then he shook his head and kept pressing them to be quick."This aptitude test is a big annual event for people from all towns! Do you think that only young people will be going to the test spot?"Carl pursed his lips but did not utter a word. He trailed behind Silas. Aside, Arthur and Sofia looked at the upset Carl and smiled.The smell of alcohol still lingered in the morning air. Carl and the others, walking in the streets of Rum Town, discovered something different today."Sofia, usually, shops on this street should be open, right?" Arthur swept his eyes across the buildings on both sides and asked with some uncertainty.Sofia n
"Next, Carl, Arthur, Sofia, Glew and Harry, come in!""It's your turn!" Silas nodded at them, motioning them to enter according to the instructions of the staff."Carl! Whatever happens, believe in yourself!" Unexpectedly, just as Carl was about to walk into the room, Silas suddenly reminded him loudly, just like what the dean had done.Carl looked back at him, rubbing his head in a daze. Both Silas and the dean had especially reminded him that, but he really could not figure out the reason.The others had already entered, but Carl was still at the door. "What are you doing?! Come in!" The soldiers in the room urged him impatiently.Carl curled his lips in disdain, but did not protest. All the soldiers here looked fierce, so he could only say in his heart, "A wise man submits to circumstances." Then he went to stand beside Arthur and Sofia."Carl, the people's arms in this room are embroidered with a shiel
When he put down the pen, Carl seemed to have lost all his strength. The soldiers beside him pushed him away and drove him out of the area.The crowd of onlookers would point fingers at those who failed the aptitude test, either sympathetically or sneeringly. But overall, they felt it was a pity.After all, Rum Town was a small town. A few more War Spirit warriors would be of great help to its residents.Those who failed the test sneered scathingly at Carl."Humph, I knew that the guy from the orphanage would not have the aptitude of War Spirit!""Sure thing. That guy always wants to push himself forward and stand out from the others. But now, he still ended up as a common soldier and has to report for duty in the army like us!""But three orphans went in, right? Is he the only one who failed?""Really? I heard that only those who passed the test could stay in that room and those who failed it
Carl watched them from the window for a long time. Finally, the noisy crowd outside began to move into the courtyard. It seemed that they were done congratulating Arthur and Sofia.Looking back at the clock at the head of the bed, Carl said in his heart, "It's time for dinner..."Sure enough, after a while, Vivian knocked on the door and called him, "Brother Carl, the dean asked us to go down for dinner. To celebrate Brother Arthur and Sister Sofia's success today, the chef has made a lot of delicious food for us!"...Carl pulled himself together and opened the door with a smile. Looking at the adorable Vivian, he could not help reaching out to rub her hair and she responded with a lovely smile.They went downstairs, laughing and chasing each other all the way, but Carl suddenly stopped before the dining room.Carl stood outside the lively dining room and felt a sudden inexpressible loneliness. Vivian bou
As soon as Carl got into the back garden, he was immediately shocked at the change in the surroundings and cried out in his heart, "What happened? Is this our back garden?" He looked around, trying to find any familiar landmark."Oh, my god, these people must have too much free time..." Carl could not help exclaiming in astonishment. The previous garbage hill had been turned into neatly organized garbage cubes, which were then stacked into endless orderly garbage walls."No! These people could not have come here merely to help us tidy up the back garden!" Among the walls, Carl recognized some old junk that had been buried at the bottom of the garbage hill.The garbage hill had been scavenged through. No one would do this even if he wanted to sort out the rubbish.Carl continued to explore. Sure enough, some of the rubbish that was familiar to him were placed outside, in orderly rows."What's this?" Carl looked at the i
"This is a War Spirit warrior......" Carl looked at the War Spirit warrior before him with eyes that shone. It was obvious that he did not have any weapons in his hands and waist earlier!But at this moment, with a flash of silver light, two peculiar-shaped pistols appeared in his hands. It was so magical that it was hard for anyone to fathom this exceptional skill, except for the warriors of the War Spirit!At the moment when Carl was still in a daze, the warrior had taken aim at the extraordinary bug with his two guns, as it struggled in the same spot."Silly boy, why haven't you left yet?" When he was about to pull the trigger, the War Spirit warrior suddenly hesitated. Looking back, he found that Carl was still standing in the same place, so he immediately roared.Unexpectedly, when he turned around and wanted to shoot again, there was a sudden clicking sound. With a huge tug, the extraordinary bug managed to pull out its sharp
The War Spirit warrior nodded and then said in a soft voice, "If we follow your plan, it should not be a problem for us to restrict its movements......"Roar!Before they could talk further, the six-legged bug had already rushed up to them again."Let's go!" The warrior asked Carl to climb on his back. He held the weapon tightly in his hands and started to run.As a War Spirit warrior who mainly focused on long-range shooting, his movements were very light and fast.Although his movements slowed down a little due to Carl's weight, he was still able to run quite fast."Boy, when we get to the key spot, let me know immediately!""Sure!" Carl replied loudly. Suddenly, a strong wind blew from behind him. Carl turned his head and saw that the terrifying face of the six-legged bug was looming before him.Without needing Carl to shout out a warning, the War Spirit warrior could smell the
After the warrior ceased his attack, Carl removed his hands from his ears."The more powerful the two guns were, the more violent the noise was...... " Carl glanced at the silver guns in the warrior's hands and murmured in his heart.As if he had noticed Carl's gaze, the warrior grinned. With a flash of silver light, the two guns suddenly disappeared from his hands."Boy, although your unexpected appearance today has caused a minor hitch in my battle...... It did not turn out too badly by the looks of the result."After killing the six-legged bug, the War Spirit warrior felt relaxed and came toward Carl with a smile.He also knew very well that if Carl had not shown up at this garbage station tonight, the outcome of the battle between him and the six-legged bug was hard to tell.Instead of blaming Carl, the War Spirit warrior looked at him, feeling pleased.Carl grinned. After this life-and-de