Then let the witch offer her loyalty

He was very satisfied with the result.

Just then, Li Lei's gaze fell on a blond, blue-eyed student in the third row.

He gave a mocking laugh: "Oh? When did the Administration start hiring foreigners?"

Alexander was initially quite nervous, but upon hearing this, a nameless rage surged within him.

He clenched his teeth, his pale face turning red at a visible speed, and finally he couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "Report, Instructor, I'm not a foreigner!"

This shout immediately made the atmosphere even more oppressive.

Chen Moxin couldn't help but frown.

Bush, Gomen.

Are you stupid?

They've already said it so many times—I'm in charge here, I can do whatever I want.

They even made an example of someone to scare others.

At this point, you either see through it but don't say anything, or you play dumb.

If you haven't figured it out, then just admit defeat honestly.

Even if he calls you an idiot, just reply with "Oh yeah, yeah, I am an idiot," and that's it.

If you insist on arguing back, aren't you just asking for trouble?

Li Lei was just joking casually; he knew how rigorous the background checks were for the witch hunter selection process.

How could a foreigner be brought in to hold such a top-secret, core position in the country?

Although the guy in front of me has blond hair and blue eyes, the fact that he's standing here means he must be from a very good family.

To Li Lei's surprise, even after he had already intimidated his students, there were still troublemakers who dared to talk back.

His dark face clearly darkened, looking so sinister it seemed as if it were about to drip water.

His facial muscles twitched incessantly, his voice filled with rage: "Number 8, are you talking back to me?"

Alexander stood ramrod straight and said loudly, "Reporting to the instructor, I'm not talking back; I'm trying to correct your mistake."

"I am not a foreigner. I grew up in the Rose Empire. I am a proud citizen of the Empire!"

Li Lei strode forward, grabbed Alexander by the collar, dragged him in front of him, and roared, "What did I just say? I'm the one who calls the shots here! I said you're a foreigner, so you're a foreigner!"

“I’m not!” Alexander’s emotions became even more agitated than before. He looked directly into Li Lei’s eyes, his face filled with righteous indignation. “You can call me whatever you want, call me a pig, call me a dog, but you can’t call me a foreigner!”

"This land holds my deepest love, and my motherland is my eternal pride!"

"You can insult my character, but you cannot insult my faith in my country!"

Even if you eliminate me today, I will still loudly proclaim to you—I am not a foreigner! The Rose Empire is my homeland! Long live the motherland! May the empire endure forever!!!

"We guard our motherland with hearts as loyal as steel, we brave the turbulent waves of the world and forge a bright and clear future!"

Finally, Alexander surprisingly began to sing the national anthem of the Rose Empire.

At that moment, all the trainees were dumbfounded, staring blankly at Alexander.

Chen Moxin, who was standing next to her, suddenly started singing the national anthem as well.

"Brothers and sisters bound by blood, side by side on the thorny path, thousands of families watching over each other, the sparks igniting the rising sun!"

Then came Lei Lie.

"Glory, glory, engraved on the flag, the mountains and rivers bear witness to its long history, and the rose will forever bloom!"

Then there were the other students around him.

"Our vows are in our hearts, our ideals are in the distance, our glory will last for a thousand generations, and our resounding voice will echo throughout heaven and earth!"

The song gradually spread, and everyone was infected by Alexander's passion, joining in the singing one after another.

Alexander was moved to tears when he saw so many people singing with him. He sang more and more passionately and loudly until he was almost screaming at the top of his lungs.

Li Lei was completely numb.

What the hell is this?!

Having taught over a dozen classes, this is the first time I've seen anything like this!

However, he didn't dare to utter a sound to stop him at this moment.

why?

nonsense!

You think you can just stop people from singing the national anthem?!

And so, Li Lei could only stare helplessly as everyone finished singing.

After Alexander finished singing, he stood up straight, brows furrowed, and asked, "Instructor, you won't call me a foreigner now, will you?"

Li Lei was only a beat slow to react before Alexander was ready to sing again.

Before the other person could speak, Li Lei quickly shouted, "Number 8, 200 push-ups! Now! Immediately!"

"Yes!" Alexander answered loudly and began doing push-ups.

Li Lei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and continued walking among the ranks, saying with a stern face: "As you all can see, although student number 8 looks different from us, he has a pure heart."

"Witch hunters are a profession that walks in the shadows, and the responsibilities they bear are far heavier than imagined. This means that they must have a stronger will than ordinary people, as well as unwavering loyalty to their country."

“In this regard, student number 8’s performance is highly commendable.”

"However, you should know that loving your country should be demonstrated through actions, not just by shouting slogans, and it should never be used as a reason to talk back to your instructors!"

He turned around and pointed at Alexander, who was doing push-ups, and shouted sternly, "Squad 7, 20 points deducted for collective behavior!"

Chapter 57 Devil Training

Although Alexander's defiant behavior angered Li Lei, his anger was actually mixed with admiration.

The hunter training camp is closed, but the instructors inside are not.

Thanks to their wider access to information, their understanding of the outside world is far more profound than that of the average person.

Li Lei is well aware that in this era, cultural aggression and cognitive warfare are spreading rapidly.

War is happening all the time, but it is no longer limited to military confrontation. It has evolved into new forms of warfare through education, social media and other channels.

Countries like the "Azure Federation" often export their culture to the Rose Empire through movies, music, and other means, hoping to subtly influence the perceptions of the empire's people.

Among the new generation of young people in the Rose Empire, there is a widespread tendency to admire foreign things and fawn over foreigners. Many people feel that their motherland is not good enough and that the moon is rounder in foreign countries.

Li Lei has a great liking for passionate traditional patriots like Alexander.

Of course, while I may have feelings for him, I still have responsibilities to bear and cannot lose my dignity.

Therefore, he both praised Alexander and penalized the 7th Squad by deducting points.

Li Lei walked past Alexander, who was engrossed in doing push-ups, and looked at the tall, muscular man with bronze skin next to him.

Li Lei chuckled briefly: "Heh, someone this big, is his brain all muscle?"

Lei Lie smiled happily after hearing this: "Thank you, Instructor. My dad often praises me like that too."

"You..." Li Lei choked.

Are you sure your dad is praising you?

Li Lei said with a stern face, "Proud of your muscular physique? Then train harder. 200 push-ups, do them!"

"Yes." Lei Lie immediately lay down and started doing push-ups.

Li Lei turned to the other trainees and said sternly, "For the next six weeks, you will undergo high-intensity physical training around the clock."

"Some people might ask, why would a witch hunter, who relies on psychic powers to fight, need to train in physical abilities?"

"The reason is simple: psionic energy is not omnipotent. Even a powerful witch will encounter situations that psionic energy cannot handle."

"At that time, whether it's a chase, an escape, or hand-to-hand combat, every bit of physical strength you've accumulated could be your second life."

"So, you need to be mentally prepared. For the next six weeks, I will ruthlessly exploit you. You will experience unbearable pain, so much pain that you'll regret coming here! So much pain that..."

As Li Lei was speaking, he suddenly heard a "whoosh" behind him.

He turned around and saw that Lei Lie had already stood up and was looking at him with those honest eyes.

Li Lei was taken aback: "You're done?"

"Mmm." Lei Lie nodded honestly.

Li Lei took out his pocket watch, glanced at it, frowned, and said, "No, you finished 200 push-ups in just over a minute?"

"Mmm." Lei Lie continued to nod.

Li Lei found it hard to believe; the speed was simply too fast.

Even more outrageous is that Lei Lie didn't even breathe heavily, as if he had just taken a sip of water.

This makes one wonder if he secretly omitted some quantities, or if his posture was not standard and he used some tricks.

Li Lei walked up to Lei Lie and pointed to the ground: "200 push-ups, keep going, I'll watch you do them right here."

"Okay." Lei Lie bent down on the ground again.

Under Li Lei's watchful gaze, Lei Lie moved up and down like a spring, not only at an incredibly fast speed, but also by lowering his body straight down with each bend of his arm, keeping his shoulder and elbow at the same level, with such perfect posture that there was no fault to be found.

Halfway through, Lei Lie felt Li Lei's gaze, looked up and gave him a simple, honest smile.

"Instructor, I can do it with one hand, but it will be a bit slower."

After speaking, Lei Lie put one hand behind his back and finished the remaining 100 push-ups with one hand.

After he finished, he stood up steadily, looking at Li Lei without changing his expression or skipping a beat.

"Instructor, I'm done."

Li Lei's facial muscles twitched, feeling like he was losing face.

He had just told everyone that the next six weeks would be a high-intensity, grueling physical training session that would be so painful that they would regret coming here.

As a result, this idiot performed a difficult one-handed push-up in front of everyone, and he didn't even pant when he finished.

Isn't this a complete slap in the face?

Li Lei said menacingly, "Big dummy, you're pretty strong, aren't you?"

Lei Lie chuckled sheepishly, "Yeah, my dad always praises me—that's all the strength you have left."

Li Lei pointed to the distant back mountain and shouted sternly, "See that mountain? Run around it until you're exhausted!"

"Yes." Lei Lie obediently left the queue and ran towards the back mountain.

After getting rid of Lei Lie, Li Lei came to Chen Moxin.

Before he could speak, Chen Moxin had already silently lay down on the ground and started doing push-ups.

Li Lei's lips twitched.

You're quite self-aware.

He snorted coldly, ignored Chen Moxin, and continued to torment the others.

At 1:00 PM sharp, today's training began.

First, a simple 5-kilometer cross-country run with a 15-kilogram load as a warm-up.

Then the high-intensity interval training began, with everyone taking turns doing sprints, push-ups, and pull-ups. It was clearly very cold in the middle of winter, but the trainees were quickly soaked in sweat.

Next, in obstacle course training, trainees were required to cross a mud pit blocked by barbed wire and climb high walls. During this time, other instructors would randomly fire guns at the ground around them to test their courage.

Some trainees are injured during training, but they are not allowed to stop. They must endure the pain of their wounds and continue training until they can be bandaged during a break.

The training lasted until 22 p.m., and no one was even allowed to eat in between. These trainees, who were originally in good spirits, were exhausted after being tormented all day and were somewhat listless.

Those trainees who came from special training programs were fine; they had received military training since childhood and had experienced similar physical training, so they adapted quickly.

But for recruited students like Chen Moxin and Alexander, today was undoubtedly a painful day. Their physical strength was severely exhausted, their bodies were covered in sweat and dirt, and their vision was blurred by fatigue and the pain from their wounds. They had long since reached their limit.

After training, the two were so exhausted that they didn't even have the energy to eat. When they got back to their dorm room, they collapsed as soon as their heads hit the pillow and fell into a deep sleep.

At 5:30 a.m. the next morning, before dawn, the wake-up call rang from outside.