Chapter 236: Seven Stars

With many complaints, the 17 trainees worked on their papers, and none of them were able to finish before the time ran out. That was of course, part of the test. Sage made sure that there were more than a few time wasting questions on the test and even if they were skipped only the fastest would be able to finish the rest. The questions past the first quarter of the test weren’t really important, it was more of a psychological test to see how they handled the test they couldn’t complete even though they were ordered to finish it. Would the stress make them answer faster or with less completeness? Would they start skipping the more difficult questions to save time?

The questions in the first part of the test were the important ones and were crafted to both learn more about the personalities of the trainees and also to gauge their levels of intellect, tactical ability, and commitment. The test was made to point out people with possible talents in command and subterfuge. Sage, previously, would never have been able to come up with such a sophisticated test. The idea of it would be possible, but the actual execution would need the help of an expert. Thankfully, he had that help. It came in the form of the manual he received from Peak Master Zhen. ‘How to be a Little Birdy’, or so it was named in the copy he received. He was pretty sure it came from somewhere else with a different name, or was perhaps just a collection or collation of many other sources.

In short it was a manual for training spies. It came in two parts, ‘How to be a Little Birdy’ was actually a children’s book with large colorful illustrations. The second part, ‘Beauty of Birds’, seemed like little more than a huge book filled with poems, sonnets, songs, and essays about birds. The first part was a decoder for the information hidden within the second part. There was a single bamboo strip with the knowledge of how to decode the information that immediately destroyed itself after Sage learned the method. It had quite a bit of interesting information about how to properly choose operatives. In the spy game, choosing and training spies were the most difficult parts of the job.

Most spies weren’t undercover agents with fake identities, living two lives and trying not to be discovered. They were mostly just normal people that collected information and sent it along to another agent. While a highly placed spy could uncover far more secretive and important information, they were also in a far more dangerous position. A network of normal people passing along all the rumors they hear could oftentimes work just as effectively with a bit of deduction. Tracking the differences in the rumors along with their dates and locations they were spread could lead to a point of origin or even indicate the spread of misinformation.

In order to build large information networks of normal people, it required a method to properly pick out good agents without them realizing they were being tested. They’d also need to be trained quickly and covertly. How to be a Little Birdy was very focused on these aspects. It had quite a few tricks and questions to use in a written test like he was using now on these Trainees. The other important testing methods were detailed observation, and creating a crisis. Written tests were the quickest to perform so he was using that method for now. The observation method was very time consuming, and basically consisted of finding a person in a suitable profession or position and spying on them for a long period of time. Eventually, you would learn their habits, their hobbies or talents and also learn whether or not they were working for someone else already.

The most intense, and accurate, testing method was creating a crisis. If you couldn’t administer a test without raising suspicion and didn’t have the time for long term observation this was the only other option besides threats. Using a threat of violence, kidnapping, blackmail, or other dark options could work in a pinch, but they did not make for good agents. Instead, by creating a crisis you manufacture a similar terrible situations and then observe the possible agent’s reaction. The problem was that things might go terribly wrong in the process and even if they didn’t it nevertheless forced a person into crisis and if they ever found out you were behind the activity it would breed a double agent.

For example, tipping off a gang of kidnappers that the prospective agent had a hidden fortune. The prospect’s family member might get kidnapped for ransom, or the prospect themselves might be taken and tortured for the location of their money. Either situation would provide some insight into their character and further tampering by the spymaster could make the test more or less extreme. It can also quite easily go wrong and end up with the prospective agent or their family dead or disfigured. Creating a crisis was very much a high risk testing method, and quite cruel.

The testing time was up and Sage collected the tests. He said nothing about their inability to finish on time and instead just dismissed them away to join the other seven who hadn’t passed the second test. It was another opportunity to watch their response. Sage spied on them with his Twin Soul, letting them stew for another two hours. The Hoplites stood guard and kept them all from leaving or speaking for the duration. After two hours of waiting around he finally dismissed them all and told them to return in the morning for duty.

Once they were gone, he graded the tests. Most of the questions were based on stuff he pulled out of tactical manuals. He had a couple tactics manuals from a library copied down and pulled questions from them. Not a commander himself, he could only compare things superficially to see if the trainees seemed knowledgeable. He didn’t know if they truly knew what they were talking about, but he mostly cared about the other questions. The questions from the spy manual that gave insight to the trainees personality, talents, and commitment. Using those answers, he could find out who would make great spies. The other answers could point out who might be good commanders. He would need both in the Jade Horde.

The next day, the twenty four trainees gathered. Sage led them out of town to a small valley and a Hoplite passed out contracts to the group.

“These are the terms of contract for joining the Jade Horde. When completing a job, each regular member gets one share of the reward, two instead goes to their family if they’re killed or maimed. There’s also one share assigned to the Jade Horde itself and one for the Hoplites. Read through the rest of the contract. It may sound harsh, but you should all know that you’re the first recruits for the Jade Horde and in the future you will have much room for advancement.”

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To highlight his point, Sage waved his arm and there was a loud noise in the distance. From over the ridge of the valley a forest of spear point poked up. The noise grew louder and the spears resolved into a huge troop of Hoplites. A full hundred armed with heavy shields and long spears, marching over the ridge and into the valley. They were a pretty impressive sight in a world of loose cultivators with little discipline and coordination. Neat rows moving in unison with matching equipment.

Even with the show they put on, three of the trainees were not happy with the terms of the final contract and left the valley. Sage paid them a few Spirit Stones to apologize for wasting their time with the testing and then led the remaining 21 in swearing oaths.

“I swear not to betray the goals of the Jade Horde, and not even death will allow me to betray its secrets.”

The final of the 21 trainees finished the oath and Sage put away the Oathstone. It was a simple enough oath, and was loosely worded in regards to their duties. If they ended up betraying the group they would suffer damage to their cultivation. On the other hand, the second half of the oath meant that they couldn’t spread secrets even after dying. An Oathstone could create some very powerful restrictions, which were mostly based upon the specific wording. As mercenaries they were all pretty experienced with Oathstones, since many employers would make them swear oaths before taking jobs.

Sage was pleased, those who left were among the lowest scoring trainees. Now that they’d all sworn an oath, Sage waved his hand and brought out a few racks of equipment for them. They all quickly suited up and formed into a line along with the Hoplites. Then Sage tossed out a Formation Plate that had a barrier to prevent eavesdropping.

“Now that you’ve all sworn your oaths, you’re allowed to know some secrets. The Jade Horde has been created to support the Emerald Hoplite Tribes.”

Sage added a pause here to allow them to digest the information. It wasn’t too difficult to guess as something like this, given how unusual they all looked.

“The Emerald Hoplites are a very forthright, thick-headed and resilient race. Most of the humans they met in the past took advantage or stole from them. I was the first one to gain their trust. As you all probably know, demi-humans are not treated very well throughout the Dou Kingdom. A Hoplite will stand strong and protect their comrades till death, so don’t betray their trust. They will shield you in battle, so you must shield them everywhere else. Don’t let them get taken advantage of in business, or social interactions.”

He made sure to emphasize their thick-headedness to tell the new members how stupid the Hoplites were. For insects they were pretty smart, but compared to a normal human they were quite slow. Sage pulled out a scroll and started to read names off of it. Seven of the new trainees stepped forward and he waved his hand to draw out a new rack of gear. The rack had seven helmets on it. The armor was made of dozens of layers of silk fabric cut to shape and glued together. It then hardened into a solid plate like a kevlar vest, except that it was even stronger due to the steel silk, and when worn body heat would soften the glue and provide a bit of flexibility and form fitting. They were all dyed a simple dark green, which made the emerald forearms, shins, and heads of the Hoplites stand out from the humans. Hoplites normally had black hair, and the normal human helmets had a helmet crest of brown hair. For these seven new helmets, the brown crest was replaced with white.

“Your performance in the testing was exemplary. As of this moment, you seven shall take up the post of the ‘Seven Stars’. The seven generals of the Jade Horde. Now, don’t let this promotion go to your heads. The position will belong to the seven most capable members of the Jade Horde. Don’t get complacent or someone will take your jobs.”

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