Claude honestly recounted how he clashed with the veterans. The only part he didn't tell was how he broke both of the round-faced corporal's wrists.
Claude's explanation was that he was queuing up and when it was his turn to get his food, Enke rushed over and grabbed him by the collar.
He instinctively resisted and didn't want to be pulled out of the line.
However, he was holding his lunchbox in his right hand and only used his left hand to pry Enke's hands apart. As a result, all three hands got tangled together.
He didn't have as much strength as Enke, so he was pulled out of the line.
Because he was dragged out by Enke, he staggered and lost his balance, causing his body to fall to the ground in front of him.
He didn't think that his action would cause Enke's wrists to be fractured. He was shocked at the time.
At that moment, Jom, who provoked him first, rushed over and grabbed him by the head and started beating him up, saying that he was the culprit behind Enke's injuries.
Due to the other party's indiscriminate accusations and the fact that he took a few heavy blows, he lost his mind and threw his lunchbox away to fight with Jom.
When he knocked Sergeant Jem to the ground, the soldiers who were on good terms with Sergeant Jem came over and started beating him up.
However, he was completely dazed by their beating and could only rely on his instincts to fight back. In the end, he really forgot what he did before he fainted and couldn't remember anything at all.
The military judge who came to investigate the fight in the canteen, First Lieutenant Billiclan Hessler, sat in front of the bed with a solemn expression. He silently recorded Claude's account of the fight in his notebook. He didn't ask or remind Claude. He just wrote silently.
When Claude felt that he had nothing more to say, he closed his notebook and looked at him coldly. "Your account isn't too far off from what the soldiers who witnessed the fight said.
As the top student in the physical course who graduated from middle school, your fighting skills and skills are indeed outstanding. However, don't you think it's a little too cruel to be so ruthless to your comrades? "
Claude smiled bitterly. He knew that he would be suspected for using too much force. "I was just defending myself instinctively, Birrick …"
"Call me Lieutenant Sideri," the judge interrupted.
This world was also particular about how people addressed each other. Generally speaking, they would call each other by their first names, followed by Mr., Ms., Madam, Miss, Miss, or their titles to show that they had a close relationship.
On the other hand, referring to each other by their surname would bring about a sense of distance and alienation, indicating that they were not close or familiar with each other, or that they had a business-like attitude.
Just like how Claude referred to the military judge as Lieutenant Billiclan, putting his name in front of his rank meant that they were comrades.
Since the judge asked Claude to call him by his surname, it meant that he didn't view Claude as a comrade but a target of investigation.
"Alright, Lieutenant Sideri, I'm sorry that I got into a conflict with the veterans on the first day I entered the camp and got injured because of it.
But that wasn't my intention. If you've seen my file, you should know that I'm also an excellent hunter. I've killed pythons, giant crocodiles, wolves, leopards, wild boars, and many other prey.
I'm not saying this to show off. I just want to say that whether or not my attacks are cruel and vicious is not something I can control. It's all an instinctive reaction caused by the experience I gained in the process of hunting.
You should be able to understand that when facing a ferocious beast, your attacks determine your life and death.
So, when I was attacked, my instinctive counterattack was to subdue the other party as quickly as possible to prevent myself from getting hurt.
As for whether or not the other party would be injured, to be honest, I was already in a daze and didn't think about it at all. "
The military judge was silent for a moment before saying, "Perhaps you can consider giving in. They are all veterans and sergeants. As a recruit, you should respect them and obey their wishes."
"I don't understand, Lieutenant Sideri," Claude retorted.
Claude retorted, "When I reported for duty, Lieutenant Gilp, who received me, told me, 'Claude, from today onwards, you're a soldier of Bluefeather.
Corporal Groh, who sent me to the tent, also told me that I could use my temporary identity card to eat and bathe in the mess hall and bathhouse.
But when I was queuing up to get my food, the veterans told me that I wasn't a soldier of Bluefeather and that I couldn't eat there.
Could it be that the veterans are the ones who decide whether or not you're a soldier of Bluefeather?
Lieutenant Gilp's words don't count? "
The military judge was a little embarrassed by Claude's question. Naturally, he wouldn't admit that Gilp's words didn't count.
From a certain perspective, he felt that Claude was a troublemaker even though he didn't make any major mistakes in the fight.
Yet, he got into a conflict with the veterans on his first day in the camp. Even though both parties were admitted to the infirmary, Claude was still an unstable factor in the eyes of the military judge.
"That's not what I meant. I just think that you should give in a little and listen to the veterans' wishes. That way, you can avoid a conflict," the military judge said after some thought.
"As a soldier of Bluefeather, why should I give in?"
Claude retorted, "It was my first day in the army. I didn't even have lunch because I was in a hurry to report for duty.
When I reached the mess hall, the two hundred or so soldiers in front of me didn't have any objections to my arrival. They thought that I was one of them.
Just as I was about to line up for my meal, these old soldiers came through the main entrance and asked me to leave. Of course, I refused such an unreasonable request. What right did they have to say that I wasn't a soldier of the Blue Feather Legion? I only retorted a few sentences, and they beat me up.
Even though I'm injured and lying in the infirmary, I don't think I did anything wrong. I don't regret the so-called severe consequences I caused. I believe that the veterans deserved their injuries. "
Without saying another word, the military judge stood up without a word. He put the notebook in his hand back into the briefcase, picked up the briefcase, and walked toward the door.
But just as he was about to open the door, Claude called out to him. "Lieutenant Sideri, I have a question. Why would the veterans target new recruits like us?
My comrades who were camping in the tent arrived a few days earlier, so they could only go to the cafeteria to get some leftovers to fill their stomachs. If they went there early, they would be chased out by the veterans … "
The military judge stood at the door without saying a word. After a while, he opened the door and left.
The middle-aged pharmacist, who was fiddling with the medicine tubes, turned around with a grin. "I can answer this question, kid."
"You do?"
"Of course." The herbalist nodded. "Do you know how many people there are in Bluefeather?"
"About thirty thousand.
When I came here, the soldiers at the foot of the mountain told me that this isn't Bluefeather's main camp. It's to the west of Gonigada. There are about thirty thousand people there. "
The herbalist didn't think that Claude, who had only been in the camp for a day, would know that. "You're right. But did you know that Bluefeather will be expanding at the end of the year?"
He really didn't know about that. Claude shook his head obediently.
The herbalist said smugly, "Bluefeather's expansion this time will require more than twenty thousand new recruits in order to reach full strength.
In other words, there will be more than two thousand sergeants and sergeants who will be promoted to sergeants and sergeants.
The corps had long since decided that staff sergeants would be promoted to sergeants and sergeants, so the remaining eight hundred or so vacancies would be filled by sergeants and corporals who had performed well. The sergeants' training would be targeted at those veterans.
However, they didn't expect that after the training plan was approved by the ministry of the army, there would be countless people who wanted to participate in the training.
The army was also put in a difficult position because many of them were important figures that the army could not refuse and had to befriend. After weighing the pros and cons, the army finally decided to split the training into two groups. The first group would be the veterans selected from the army, and they would become sergeants after the training ended.
The other group would be you, the recommended recruits who would be promoted to sergeants after the training.
Due to the addition of new recruits, the number of veterans who were supposed to participate in the training had to be halved to make room for you.
So, the veterans were tested again and half of them were eliminated.
The veterans who made things difficult for you are among those who were eliminated, so they're very dissatisfied and are using the opportunity to cause trouble for you.
It's not that the corps doesn't know about that, but in order to appease the eliminated veterans, they pretended not to see it so that the veterans can vent their frustrations in front of the new recruits who arrived early.
At the same time, it's also a show of strength to the new recruits, telling them not to use their family's power to show off in the camp.
Actually, everyone knows that there won't be any big trouble. But I didn't think that a hothead like you would send six veterans to the infirmary on your first day in the army.
If things get out of hand, it won't be easy to clean up the mess. The higher-ups are hopping mad. "
Claude didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the sight of the middle-aged herbalist recounting the whole story with a gloating expression.
Uncle, why are you so happy? It's as if you're happy to see the higher-ups in such a difficult situation.
Claude finally understood why the cold-faced but slightly biased judge treated him with such an attitude. If the canteen fight wasn't handled well, the new recruits and the eliminated veterans would be pitted against each other.
And he had already made it clear that he wasn't going to admit his mistake. That put the corps in a difficult spot. It was all because the veterans couldn't even win against one of them and were injured so badly.
At that moment, the door was pushed open and the medic called Bale came in with a big basket.
He came to Claude's bed and took out a big bowl of oatmeal from the basket.
Seeing Claude's suspicious gaze, Bale said anxiously, "Bro, I swear I washed my hands before going to the canteen. Don't worry.
Look, I even asked the head of the kitchen to add an egg to your oatmeal. Smell it and see if it smells good. "
There was indeed the smell of an egg, but Claude didn't understand why the head of the kitchen would be so kind as to add an egg to it.
"Be honest, bro."
Bale moved closer to Claude's ear and whispered, "Actually, many people in the camp are happy that you injured Jim and the others. The head of the kitchen is the same.
Because they had all been bullied by these old soldiers, who had entered the camp one or two years earlier than us, they had always put on airs in front of us, yelling at us to do this and that for them, beating us up if we didn't get what we wanted, so many people bore a grudge against them in their hearts.
This time, you sent them to the infirmary and many of them were really happy.
Take the boss of this kitchen for example. When I mentioned to him that you had woken up and were fine, he was very happy to break an egg into your porridge.
In the past, when Jim and the others were patrolling at night, they would often come to the kitchen to ask for food and drink in the name of making supper. If they didn't give them, they would beat them up. So, when they saw you beat them up, they were really happy. "