After an intense and thrilling competition, only fifty people remained! As for the rest, they could only serve as substitutes.
After all, there weren't that many Speed Stingers, so they could only be substitutes.
Moreover, this would make them cherish their hard-won status even more. Although their dragons couldn't fly, their tasks were extremely arduous.
Among those who passed, the number of new recruits surprisingly reached fifteen, which truly astonished Hiccup!
He had thought that very few of these new recruits would pass, but now it seemed his training methods were still very effective, allowing these new recruits to compete with and even surpass the veteran Dragon Riders.
Following the previous agreement, Hiccup allowed the veteran Dragon Riders who passed the competition to acquire an additional dragon, which was a Speed Stinger.
As for the new recruits, they could only each have one Speed Stinger, and none of them had a dragon that could fly!
It was clear that some of the new recruits looked a bit dejected because their dragons couldn't fly, which made them feel sad.
After all, for a Viking, soaring in the sky was definitely the most exhilarating activity…
Hiccup looked at the newly formed team members in front of him and said, "You are the pride of Second Island! From today onwards, you are officially Dragon Knights, members of the Fourth Squad, the Shadow Hunter Squad!"
"This is your exclusive badge!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Hiccup personally presented them with their badges, then walked over to Herbert, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Well done!"
Herbert held the gold-edged badge, symbolizing his captaincy, and immediately clenched his right fist to his chest, bowing respectfully and saying, "Thank you, Lord Emissary! I will certainly not disappoint Lord Emissary's expectations!"
Then, Hiccup looked at the other soldiers and said with a serious expression, "You are also members of my Dragon Knight Legion! And your tasks are even more arduous and dangerous!"
"If anyone is afraid now, you can withdraw, and I will not blame you! If you withdraw after joining the Shadow Hunter Squad, I can only treat you as a deserter!"
"Clink~"
Hiccup placed an hourglass on the table, looked at the soldiers in front of him, and said, "When the sand inside runs out, that will be your last chance!"
Some new recruits were indeed hesitant, as their dragons couldn't fly, which made them feel very conflicted.
As time passed, many soldiers wanted to withdraw, but then they thought of the great effort they had put in to secure this spot. They simply couldn't bear to withdraw.
The moment the sand ran out of the hourglass, Hiccup said with great satisfaction, "Very good, you truly did not disappoint me!"
Then, Hiccup continued, "Everyone, open your eyes and watch carefully!"
As he finished speaking, Hiccup blew a whistle at the Rapid Spiked Dragon King, and the Rapid Spiked Dragon King immediately led all the Speed Stingers, transforming into a streak of green light, instantly disappearing before everyone's eyes.
Because their speed was simply too fast, they appeared as nothing more than an afterimage in their eyes.
The track that had taken them half a day to run, these Speed Stingers completed in just one hour, especially excelling over the sea…
At this point, the members of the Shadow Hunter Squad finally received some psychological comfort.
Subsequently, Hiccup said to the Dragon Riders, "Bring two prisoners!"
Under everyone's gaze, two lively prisoners were instantly pierced by the tail stinger of a Speed Stinger.
"Ugh~"
The two prisoners immediately remained in their original posture, their bodies becoming as stiff as stone.
Hiccup looked at the members of the Shadow Hunter Squad and said, "Everyone listen up! You must tame these Speed Stingers within three days!"
"Otherwise, you will still be eliminated!"
When they saw the incredible attacking power of the Speed Stinger, everyone's hearts were greatly stirred.
Afterward, the other new recruits were all assigned dragons. They truly became Dragon Knights.
It was a pity that as soon as the members of the Shadow Hunter Squad received their dragons, they had to watch their dragons return to their caves to sleep.
After all, it was daytime now, so they couldn't train even if they wanted to.
It wasn't until night fell that Hiccup led Herbert and his Shadow Hunter Squad members to conduct a different kind of training.
After all, this team was responsible for assassination and sabotage, not for direct frontal assaults.
Therefore, he had to teach them some assassination techniques and also help them understand the Speed Stingers better.
Hiccup mounted the Rapid Spiked Dragon King, looked at the members of the Shadow Hunter Squad in front of him, and said, "Everyone, listen up! Today you must adapt to the speed of the Speed Stinger!"
"Secondly, you must adapt to hanging upside down and running sideways, and not fall off the dragon's back!"
Hiccup personally handed the daily training content to Herbert, who would then train the members of the Shadow Hunter Squad at night.
Herbert saluted Hiccup and said, "Mission accomplished!"
A few more days passed, and the Dragon Riders began to envy the members of the Shadow Hunter Squad who could sleep in during the day and only train with them in the afternoon.
Moreover, their training content was simpler than theirs, and their equipment was even better…
There was no other way; after all, these members of the Shadow Hunter Squad had earned their spots through immense hardship, so Hiccup would naturally equip them with the best gear.
The blizzard was diminishing day by day, and the temperature was gradually rising.
Hiccup muttered to himself while drawing design blueprints, "It seems the day of the expedition is not far off!"
After an entire winter of training, the Dragon Knight Legion became more standardized, their conduct more regulated, and they increasingly resembled an elite regular army.
However, one thing also gave Hiccup a headache.
That was Ya Ya's immense size. She was now four times the size of a Night Fury, ate a lot, and needed a lot of space, but these were minor issues.
The most crucial thing was that as Ya Ya grew, she seemed to become increasingly lazy.
There was no other way; Hiccup always rode his Night Fury for travel, and Ya Ya's enormous size meant high consumption. If she were trained normally, she would get hungry even faster.
Hiccup couldn't help but think, "It seems that while the food situation isn't short now, Ya Ya will eventually eat it all!"
"Besides, there are tens of thousands of dragons waiting for me to feed! This all requires a massive amount of food!"
There are currently two solutions: either expand the breeding industry to the point where dragons can eat without restraint, or have an endless supply of fish!
The second method is to use technology to produce dragon feed! Just like making dog food in his previous life, mixing various nutritionally balanced foods to give them a feeling of fullness while maintaining normal nutritional balance…