Cross-Country Endurance March

Perhaps it was the magic of good fortune brought by good food, but in the afternoon's strategy quiz, more than fifty people actually passed, with over thirty scoring 70 and more than twenty scoring above 80. Looking at the report card handed to him by the General Staff, Sordil was overjoyed, instantly forgetting all the unpleasantness of the morning.

General Sordil was in a good mood, so the bonfire party he hosted that evening was quite grand. And since all the individual competitions were over, the relationships between everyone were much closer than the day before. Perhaps because the inter-brigade competition would begin tomorrow, scenes even appeared in the camp where different groups were toasting each other, putting their arms around each other's shoulders, and playfully teasing each other. Of course, Sordil's area was off-limits, and no one dared to rush in and join in the fun. Our young master Sordil was thus able to enjoy a delicious meal, hoping for good luck tomorrow.

The wonderful time passed quickly, and a new, unknown day quietly arrived.

Having learned from the first day's experience, this time not a single soldier lay 'dead' in the center of the camp. Instead, under the leadership of their respective officers, they regrouped into square formations, awaiting the start of the competition. Just as dawn Mengmeng, Sordil, sporting dark circles under his eyes, stood on the high platform, inspecting his troops. Looking at his achievements over the past month, Sordil was very happy—well... okay! He still had the lingering grumpiness of being dragged out of bed by Anna.

Having already mastered the task, Kurelle walked automatically to the edge of the platform without Sordil's instruction and began to perform his duties.

"The fourth activity of the martial arts competition, the cross-country training, is now officially beginning!"

"The rules are as follows: All members of the Western Border Army will participate in the competition in brigade units, forming seventeen teams. Each team, led by its Brigade Commander, will proceed to the starting point and prepare for departure. In addition, each participant must carry a 60-kilogram load for the entire journey towards the destination, and may not remove the load midway; otherwise, it will be considered a foul. Violators will result in their brigade being disqualified from the competition and will be punished by being responsible for cleaning the entire army camp for three months."

"The marching route for this competition is roughly as follows: Participating teams will depart from the east gate of the main camp, proceed to the Third Wetland, where they will be certified at the first checkpoint. They will then turn towards the second checkpoint— Ferrer Highlands —and continue to the midpoint, Taredis Mountain. All teams must obtain certification from the General Staff at the Taredis Mountain before returning to the main camp. The first team to return to the main camp will be the champion, receiving a banner and a prize of 10 million J. The last team to return will be punished along with the teams that violated the rules."

"Did you all understand?"

"Understood!"

Hearing the thunderous response from below, Kurelle nodded in satisfaction, then turned to look at Sordil. Sordil nodded back to Kurelle, indicating that the competition could begin. Kurelle turned back to the soldiers below and shouted loudly, "The competition officially begins! You have thirty minutes to find your positions and put on your weights. After thirty minutes, any team that fails to meet the competition requirements and cannot start will be punished for violation!"

After the order was given, the various "tofu blocks" gathered below the stage began to converge towards the east gate, and within minutes the stage was completely empty.

Daying East Gate

"Brothers, did you all hear what Division Commander Kurelle just said? Even if we don't get first place in this competition, we can't break the rules or come in last place!"

"Brigade Commander, don't worry! The brothers don't want to clean toilets or wipe tables for others, so this time we'll definitely give it our all to avoid being last!"

"Yes, Brigade Commander, you can rest assured!"

The Brigade Commander, who had already donned the heavy gear, turned around, nodded to his brothers with satisfaction, and then went over to help those who hadn't yet donned the gear, to prevent them from 'dying before they even got started'.

"Brothers, we are the Reconnaissance Brigade, the fastest unit in the entire army. If we lose to others in our core competency this time, it will be a disgrace! So, even if we can't ride horses this time, we should still be faster than other units. This competition must be ours!"

"Oh! First place must be ours!"

After boosting morale, Elkley, who had already returned to his unit, stood in the ranks of the Reconnaissance Brigade and, together with all the soldiers, issued their declaration of victory.

Upon hearing the Reconnaissance Brigade's slogan, the Guard Brigade standing on their side "fought back".

"Guys, did you all hear that? The Reconnaissance Brigade is acting crazy! They actually dared to say that first place is theirs, can you agree to that?"

"Cannot!"

"Alright! For the dignity and honor of our Guard Brigade, and for the trust of our leader, let us defeat all our opponents and be the first team to return to camp!"

"Oh!"

Roars erupted from the Guard Brigade's ranks, infecting one participating brigade after another.

Spurred by the Reconnaissance Brigade and the Guard Brigade, the prevailing sentiment among the four standing divisions—"as long as we don't come in last place and don't break the rules, it's fine"—gradually faded away, replaced by slogans like "Strive for first place" and "We can't lose to the support brigade." Of course, with radical members, there were also those who were passively coping.

At this moment, the Brigade Commander and members of the medical, communications, and logistics brigades all silently took a step back and stood quietly to the side, afraid of being discovered.

"Beep beep"

A loud bugle call rang out, silencing all the shouts in front of the gate and relieving the 'The Three Underdogs' from their predicament. Immediately afterward, a rough shout came from the air.

"Cross-country training, countdown to departure: 5!"

"4"

"3"

"2"

"1"

"GO!"

After the order was given, the Guard Brigade sped off like an arrow. The Reconnaissance Brigade followed closely behind, and the various brigades under the four regular combat divisions also followed suit. Only the 'The Three Underdogs' lagged slowly behind the ranks, leisurely chasing after the troops ahead.

"Boss, who do you think will win this competition?"

Looking at the long line on the ground, Kurelle, who was in the wind-blown boat, asked curiously.

Before Sordil could answer, another Division Commander on the windboat immediately interjected, "Of course it's the Guard Brigade!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than another Division Commander chimed in, "Exactly! Those old brothers in the Guard Brigade, when they were fighting bandits with us, they ran all over the mountains and valleys, their stamina has been built up long ago, how could they possibly lose this competition? Old Two, are you out of your mind? How could you ask such an ignorant question!"

Kurelle wanted to speak up and explain, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that it was indeed true, so he had no choice but to shut his mouth and silently admit that he had 'slept too hard'.

Just as everyone reached a conclusion, Sordil, standing at the bow of the ship, shook his head and said something that left everyone puzzled.

"Judging from the current situation, that's certainly the case! However, the final result of the match may exceed all your expectations, who knows!"