Chapter 63: Brainwashing
Translator: chuchutrain Editor: celllll
Ling Tian excitedly bounced out of his grandmother’s room, his mind still reeling in admiration regarding his grandmother’s eloquence. This sort of standard was miles above his own!
The only matter which Old Madam Ling did not interfere was the problem of the Violent Wind Gang. After all the Ling Family was a behemoth, and it did not look good for them to deal with such a petty gang. Thus, Old Madam Ling left it entirely to Ling Tian and disallowed him to make a personal appearance.
This sort of decision made Ling Tian downcast. He originally thought that he would not require effort on his part to take care of the Violent Wind Gang. However, all could wait till the Blood Iron Warriors arrived. Ling Tian would put them through a bit of training, before deploying them. One of their objectives would be the taking over of the Violent Wind Gang.
The fourth day. Ling Tian was all smiles as he stood at his doorstep, gazing at the neat and orderly three rows of 36 Blood Iron Warriors.
He had long ago given the order that no one was to even intrude half a step into his courtyard today!
All the Warriors were uniformly well-built, carrying an aura of coldness. Standing there, once could as though feel like they were facing an onslaught in a snow covered forest. All of them were expressionless, with the pupils of their eyes not even moving. Only Feng Mo who was standing at the front revealed a helpless expression, with the corners of his mouth curled up in a bitter smile.
The Blood Iron Warriors did not put that elegant young noble standing in front of them in their eyes at all. All of them had already heard from Feng Mo’s mouth how it was this child’s mischief that had gotten all of them here right now. As soldiers, what they looked forward most was the blood-soaked battlefields, where they could prove themselves. Even recalling such scenes caused their blood to boil with excitement. However, just because of this little fellow, all of them came to this paradise of a place. This caused them to be at a loss and resent Ling Tian for this orders.
"From everyone’s eyes, I can see that you do not appreciate your current situation, and resent me for calling you over, cutting off your futures. That’s right, you coming here was my idea." Sweeping his gaze through all of them once, Ling Tian then began with this statement.
His bluntness achieved the result he wanted. Upon hearing that it was Ling Tian’s idea that got them removed from the military records, all the Blood Iron Warriors simultaneously emitted chilling rays from their eyes as they stared at him.
Ling Tian remained unmoved, quietly standing at the same spot ignoring their cold stares. Behind him stood both Ling Jian and Ling Chen. Ling Jian remained impassive like a statue, but Ling Chen was a little unable to take the stares of the Blood Iron Warriors and turned a little pale.
Ling Tian slowly took a step forward. In the eyes of the Blood Iron Warriors, it suddenly felt as though a towering mountain was pressing down upon them, as though it could blot out the skies and earth. All of them could not help but subconsciously shift backwards, and some even took a step back in response. All the warriors took in a breath of cold air at this situation.
Even a great general would choose to blend into the aura under such a circumstance and not try to fight back forcefully. The 36 of them were elite warriors; how could the killing intent exuded by them be endured by a normal person? However, this little guy in front of them actually used his own aura to overpower all 36 of theirs. For that short moment, everyone felt stifled under that pressure.
Everyone could only stare on in shock! This little kid was akin to a monster! Unknowingly, the Blood Iron Warriors begun to retract their thoughts of disdain.
Ling Tian nodded his head in satisfaction, before saying, "Everyone here is unhappy, this I am aware. However, did you think that the military camp is a place where you can easily earn merits? Let me ask you all, how long have you been in the military?"
The crowd looked at each other. Finally, a stocky and tall youth opened his mouth to speak, "This little one entered the army at age 14, now am 21, I’ve been inside the military for a whole 7 years."
Ling Tian grunted in acknowledgement, then continued: "Position?"
That youth lowered his head in embarrassment, saying, "I was originally a section leader, now a guard for the Marshal."
With a sneer, Ling Tian said, "With your qualifications, to rise to the position of general, or deputy general, how long more will you need?"
The Youth’s face flushed with indignation, shouting, "This little one isn’t born with a silver spoon, if I want to rise to general, I’m afraid I will never live to see it!"
Hearing so, Ling Tian nodded in understanding, "Since you can’t reach the position of general, then what can you do by staying in the army? What will be your ending?"
The youth was sluggish in his reply, "I don’t know."
With a snort, Ling Tian said, "If you don’t, then let me tell you. At 21, you can at most stay for another 24 years in the army! Although you cannot rise to the position of general, once there is a war, you need to go out to the battlefield to fight! You tell me, how many times can you maintain this sort of killing lifestyle?"
The youth was stunned silent. After all, no one was a god, so how could they know if they would end up perishing in the next battle? He took a deep breath, before puffing up his chest and saying, "Death is nothing!"
"HAHAHAHA…." Ling Tian let out a bout of crazed laughter. "In this life without a chance of promotion, you sure face death quite happily!"
Ignoring him, he turned to the others, "What about you? Your duration in the army?"
After a precedent, all of them started to speak.
"Six years."
"This little one has been inside for eleven years."
"This little one, nine years."
...
Ling Tian suddenly raised his hands and stopped the deluge of voices. He asked, "Who are you enlisting for? Who are you fighting so hard for?!"
For whom do you enlist! For whom do you go to war?!!!
These two questions were just like two immensely huge cudgels, hammering heavily upon the hearts of all present. For a moment, nobody could come out with an answer.
After a long while, one of the Blood Iron Warriors, stammered, "This little one entered the army to fill his stomach. The army also provides pay… and can be used to help my family… this…"
This reason was simply and yet amusing. Yet when he spoke, most if not all of them nodded in acknowledgement, empathising with him.
Ling Tian laughed in his heart, indeed he did not guess wrongly. This age was far from the time where the soldiers would undergo brainwashing to make them loyal. Thus he said, "Are all of you the same?"
The remaining crowd nodded their heads, looking at each other.
Ling Tian now coldly smile, "Based on what you’re saying, I can conclude that your enlistment was for your own survival and to allow your family to lead better lives. Is that right?"
The crowd could hear the sneering and disdain in his words, but how could they disagree? everyone present could only solemnly nod their heads.
"Useless! No resolve!" This sentence of Ling Tian ignited the fury of all present!