BXBX NOVEL Chapter 156: Punishment
A loud and piercing whistle broke the peaceful silence and slumber of the students. Some even fell from their beds due to the fright and shock.
The noise continued as the one responsible for rudely waking them up banged on the metal doors repeatedly just to make sure that everybody woke up.
"Up, Cadets! Up! Everyone up! Get dressed and gather outside in a neat formation. I want all of you out there within 5 minutes. Tardiness will be punished heavily, don't say I didn't warn you."
After making a noise and saying his piece, the officer left the quarters to let the boys do their thing.
The majority of them groaned and whined. Since the light of the sun doesn't reach these parts, they can't tell what time it is unless they look at the clock. But even then, it feels like they just closed their eyes seconds ago and yet they're woken up already.
Cedric didn't have this problem though. Since he required less sustenance, which includes sleep, he's completely fine, unlike the rest. Also, he already saw that officer coming ahead of time since his field of senses was partially opened at all times here.
At the very moment that the officer opened the door and made a sound, Cedric was already wearing the military uniform he was given. He already had the pants on since last night so he only had to wear the shirt and the vest.
He took out the standard-issued knife and pistol, putting them in the compartments on his belt and securing the knapsack to his back, making sure that even reckless movements wouldn't shake it off.
Once he had everything on, he left the room and exited the building, not even waiting for the rest of his batchmates.
It only took him 3 minutes from start to finish. Before the 3rd minute was up, he was already standing in attention at the designated spot for cadets like him. He stared straight ahead and looked alert. He ignored the mildly obvious look of appreciation from the officer's eyes.
As he waited for the rest, he felt a little bit daring. He extended the range of his field of sense just a bit, being very careful to make it subtle so that what happened last time with the Captain wouldn't be repeated.
Cedric extended the field for a kilometer radius, and at the rooftop of the building behind him, he saw ten people whom he determined as Knight Captains, looking down at his position.
Nobody seemed to sense his probe, not even the same guy who caught him yesterday. However, it could also be that they could but decided to ignore it since he didn't have ill intentions anyway. Maybe he'll know the answer to that later.
Halfway through the 4th minute and the cadets aren't all here yet. All the female cadets were already here yet the boys are still incomplete. Cedric saw the officer looking at his watch impatiently. What he felt was obvious by his facial expressions.
Then the 5th-minute mark arrived, and the boys were still not complete. Cedric wasn't imagining it when the surroundings suddenly felt cold all of a sudden.
He sighed inwardly, looking at the face of the officer, it was clear that those who were late would have a hard time. The worst part is that, amongst those who are late, his teammates are included.
'I swear that if this implicates me, those two are gonna get it.' Cedric grumbled inwardly.
He had given them a warning yesterday, but it seems that the only thing that they remembered was the shame of being found out, not the actual value of his advice.
30 seconds later, the last of the late cadets finally arrived, completing all 200 of them. When they arrived at the silent field, they could already tell that they fucked up. They tried shrinking their presence, doing their best to become as small as possible to hopefully evade the punishment.
Unfortunately, that's not gonna happen. Even without seeing the officer's direct gaze at them, he could feel him staring at them. It's like these survival instincts were screaming at them to run but inwardly they know they couldn't because there's nowhere to go.
"It seems that some of you still don't understand your situation." The officer coldly uttered once all of them were present.
"You've been warned yesterday and five minutes ago. In this place, we have a general dislike of repeating ourselves because all of us are functional and intelligent people. Being told twice is just a waste of time. And in the army, time is a sacred resource that we put huge emphasis on."
His voice grated to the ears of the cadets, more so at those who were late.
"Very well, I shall use this as a teaching opportunity." The officer sneered. "All of you who are late, step forward now! Don't make me call you out because if I do, that means that your punishment will be doubled."
Some hesitated greatly, inwardly wanting to avoid punishment since they were only a few seconds late.
Those who are downright terrified or owning up to their fault already stepped forward, afraid of escalating their punishment even more.
With their initiative, the rest of the late arrivals also stepped forward to accept their punishment.
"Hmph!" The officer sneered at them. "You see that racing track over there?"
He was met with nods when he asked this.
"Good. You tardy folks will run laps around it. 20 laps would do. You're not allowed to stop in between."
When the cadets heard that, some were relieved and others felt nervous. The track was at least 20 kilometers in circumference, this punishment will undoubtedly exhaust them greatly. However, the officer wasn't done just yet.
He whistled a tune, and out of nowhere, 20 large hounds suddenly appeared. Each one looked feral and ready to tear their flesh apart. They're literally drooling at the sight of the young cadets.
"Go to the track, boys!" The officer snarled at the cadets who were late, causing them to scramble in fright.
Once all of them were in the starting position, the officer whistled again and each hound 'partnered' themselves with them. The cadets saw what was happening and felt an ominous premonition of what will happen next.
"The hounds are there to make sure that you will complete your punishment. They will chase you around and if you're slow and allow them to catch you, they will tear a piece of your flesh and eat it in front of your face."
All the cadets are now blanching in fear.
"Don't worry, we won't let you die. Someone will heal you right away instantly. It'll be like you never lost anything in the first place!" The officer cheerfully explained. "That said, it wouldn't make you numb. Additionally, since you're healed, that means that you can get hurt again"
"Since you didn't actually lose a pound of flesh, then the hounds can bite you again should they catch you. Oh and let me remind you, the saliva of the hounds causes the infected target to feel more pain. The only way to avoid that is through outpacing the hounds and completing your punishment right away."
With lips trembling in fear, the cadets who are about to face their punishment waited for the officer to tell them that he was only joking, only to realize that he meant every word that he said and that they truly fucked up.
"Let this be a lesson to you that while you're here in the army, our orders and laws are absolute." The officer coldly sneered at their frightened expressions.
He then whipped the ground and yelled: "RUN, YOU USELESS SACKS OF SHIT!"
ARF! ARF! ARF!
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
The frightened cadets ran with all their might, chased by the baying hounds drooling after them. One guy already stumbled in panic and fell to the ground.
To his horror, he was immediately pounced on by the hound, it tore a chunk of his arm, causing him to cry out in pain, made worse by the effect of the hound's saliva. Then, a green light bloomed from his injury, and before he could blink, the flesh he lost already regenerated.
But that didn't make the situation any better since the hound was still staring intently at him while still chewing at his flesh.
The cadet ignored the soul-piercing pain he felt and got up to run away. Even as he tunnel-visioned in his panic, he could still see the rest of his fellow punished cadets being chased and attacked by their respective hounds.
Those who were watching the punished cadets suffer from their tardiness gulped nervously. Even Cedric looked mildly disturbed by the sight. Meanwhile, the officer looked as if this was just another Tuesday for him.
He then talked to the unpunished batch and said:
"If any of you want to experience that, you know what to do. If you don't want to, you also know what to do. If I had to explain it to you again, that..." He pointed at the running cadets suffering from the relentless attacks of the hounds, "...will happen to you on the other side of this wall. Mark my words."