Chapter 864 - A Brutal Empire

Henry smiled bitterly when he saw the reaction from a few people from Baymard.

He, more than anyone else, knew how barbaric his empire's rulers were. 

Just because they have been doing it for so long doesn't mean that the citizens approve of it.

Some mothers woke up after labour to hear that their child was sent to be thrown into the wilderness.

No matter how evil or good one was, their child had a bond with them.

And they weren't even allowed to see that child from the moment they birthed it.

Some didn't even know what their children looked like.

Of course, even though there were councils around, some people still managed to cheat the law.

Some royals or nobles had successfully fought over some people in the council, which guaranteed their children's lives.

But peasants and poor people were different.

They had no connections or power, so the verdict sometimes made them annoyed and unwilling.

Who would like to have their baby thrown away?

In Henry's case, he was almost thrown away since his stepmothers wanted him dead.

Fortunately, his grandfather threatened the council, and that's why he came to be alive to this day.

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Back on the matter of the babies, those deemed healthy and beneficial to the empire, were sent back to their families immediately.

The girls were brought up ordinarily, but the boys were groomed for toughness.

So they were never bathed with water but strong rum instead.

This in itself was a bitter test that these babies had to go through.

And any baby that had convulsions and died would be taken as those who tried to pull a fast one on the council.

They managed to slip past the first test, but now with this test, weren't they caught?

Hmph.

So young, yet so deceitful!

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Again, the babies that passed this step were preconditioned to stay in extremely dark rooms, even in the daytime.

Why?

Because they wanted them to get used to darkness and loneliness.

If they were to cry or complain, those taking care of them ignored them until they learnt to bottle things up.

As a man, how can they be whiny?

They had to suck it up!

Of course, all this lasted till they were 7 years old, which was when they would go to the fourth test. 

Of course before this time, many had already begun working and earning a living, as children within this era worked the moment they could walk and speak correctly.

But their first 7 years belonged to them.

And now, their lives were owned by the empire.

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Anyway, at 7 years old, they began their fourth test by going to the council once more.

They would head on to the Parigon and register themselves there.

And that's where they start as Pages, the lowest knight rank.

Here, they would undergo an intensive 12-year long test that shaped them into fearless warriors and schooled them in survival tactics.

Of course, females had their own place where they would be taught how to strengthen their thighs in order to give birth to strong future warriors for the empire.

They also learned how to properly ride a horse, run and do simple exercises as well.

Everything was beneficial for strengthening their highs.

And back in the matter of boys, during their 12 years of training, those who are good enough will be dropped out and can resume duties as farmers and whatnot.

And after that, those who remained would be stuck as knights.

They either died during training or survived.

Previously, they could be sent back to their families after failing the rank up within the training fields.

Rather than their opponent killing them during training, they were expelled.

They were also forced to walk barefoot, even on the snow, because doing so would harden their feet, creating calluses so that they would be able to match for miles.

Even the early humans walked barefoot and survived, so why can't they?

And so they began their hellish training.

But after 4 years, there was no such thing as expelling them or keeping their lives.

The opponent that took them on during training had the right to kill them.

So now, everyone fought more seriously to survive.

What they learnt earlier on were things that the army wouldn't mind non-specialists knowing.

But now that there was no turning back, they were taught the serious stuff.

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From here on out, the weak were mercilessly brutalized and beaten randomly to keep them on their toes.

Teachers created tension by creating friction between them to stimulate their potential and find the strongest among them.

In short, the weak were treated with disdain.

And as for their body form, each child was given a very bright yellowish garment to wear all year round.

They were to wear nothing else when outside their homes.

They would wrap the cloth just like the Greeks did, which exposed their legs and one side of their upper back.

And why were they told to wear this garment?

Well, it was just to control their body weight and fat.

So if they were fat and didn't know how to fit into what they were given, then they had no choice but to exercise.

The garments given to each batch were the same length and width range that the army wanted, bringing about tremendous results.

The sizes were cut depending on the age range.

At the same time, after joining the Parigon, the boys would be underfed to encourage them to sneak out at night and hunt food for themselves or steal food.

And if they were caught, they were severely punished by being caught.

That's right!

They weren't punished for stealing but for getting caught.

So they would be whipped and beaten because they were sloppy enough to get caught.

Again, reducing the rations for food made the boys used to hunger.

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All in all, throughout their training, over 40% of people died.

And over 70% of babies died after birth.

One might think that the people were happy and should be used to it.

But that assumption was wrong.

Mother's silently prayed for their children to survive as almost every day, fed bodies were sent back to their homes.

Many prayed that their children would be amongst those who had dropped out earlier on during training.

But their children wouldn't make such apparent moves because those who don't fight with everything they had will be killed as well.

One should know that these trainees could only be allowed to live outside the Parigon (barracks) after the age of 27.

So they never got to see their family or even write to them until they got permission.

And even though some got married, they could only see their families once every 4 years.

They used that holiday period to procreate with their wives and ensure that they had an heir.

Of course, this was for the future knights.

Those who got expelled became regular farmers, servants, workers and whatnot.

They were no longer the concern is the entire and were free to do as they liked.

In other words, they were wastes in the empire's eyes.

And nobles who owned property were even freer than everyone else.

Undoubtedly, throughout history, the people had tried to stand up against these practices.

But the results remained unchanged, so they gave up.

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One might think that this was just one of the things that Deiferus enforced.

But once again, assuming that would be far from the truth.

They also believed that if a woman couldn't give birth after marriage, she was guilty of fooling the council when she was born and should be put to death.

For this, Landon just felt like they had to stop such rules and traditions.

That's right!

They had to dissolve the councils.