Malin shared his desire to select a sharpshooter team, which was immediately recommended by the National Church. The Assistant Priest recommended several young people to Malin, whom he accepted before opening a transport channel directly to his workshop and selecting ten high-precision bolt-action rifles to bring back to Copenhagen.
Sudel and Rhodes were already present, and those promising young men naturally exhibited a certain hostility towards them.
Malin handed each of them a gun and twenty bullets, then signaled them to start shooting at the farthest target, three hundred yards away. The first ten shots were for getting a feel, and the score was calculated from the last ten shots.
Malin found a chair to sit down, and the Assistant Priest immediately came over, "Mr. Malin, those two commoners, are they your recruits?"
"Yes, I encountered them on my way back to Copenhagen. They could hit an animal more than a hundred yards away in a blizzard. I believe they could become very fine sharpshooters and seem worthy of training."
Talent varies from person to person, Malin felt that amongst these young men, the one named Sudel had very strong sniper talent – calm, patient, yet very brave. Most importantly, his shot in the storm was fired without hesitation, which proved he had far greater confidence than his cousin.
He was adept with his muzzleloader, embodying the oneness of shooter and rifle that sharpshooters speak of.
After ten minutes, the competition among the ten young men concluded. Sudel ranked highest, scoring one hundred and six with ten shots.
"Sudel, are you interested in serving in my army?" Malin was intent on recruiting him, and at the same time, sending a message to the military and the Church of the Northern Kingdom.
As expected, a man from the military who was reading a newspaper immediately turned his head towards them, while the Church’s Assistant Priest was still examining Sudel’s target.
Sudel smiled at Malin, "I am acting as the town head of Waldin Town, sir."
"Is that so? Well then, at least while I’m in the Northern Kingdom assisting you against the forces of Chaos, you’ll be a member of my operational team," said Malin with a smile.
Sudel’s reply was within Malin’s expectations. The young man respected his father greatly and had taken the townspeople to safety when his father handed over the role of acting town head. Confronted with Malin’s pursuit during the blizzard, Sudel had led his team of town militias to fight desperately, proving his character was as precious as gold. Therefore, Malin did not wish to let him wastefully lose his life in the upcoming brutal battles.
Seeing Sudel hesitate, Malin glanced at Rhodes, "Rhodes, if your cousin agrees to serve me during this period, I’ll make you his assistant. Your sharpshooter team, I believe, will be my trump card."
Malin’s words ultimately prompted Sudel to decide. He knelt on one knee in front of Malin with his rifle, "My cousin and I would be honored to serve you, Mr. Malin."
"That’s great. I’ll have my workshop prepare your equipment as soon as possible," Malin helped the young man up, then signaled to his foolish cousin to get up as well, "For the rest of you, I will start a class this afternoon. I will take you to the southern region... Mr. Assistant Priest, I still need one person to form three-man teams." Malin turned to the Assistant Priest, who was still fixated on the grouping bullet holes in the target.
The Assistant Priest, who had just realized the situation, spoke, "No problem, I will select someone for you right away."
He ran out, and shortly brought back a young man to the shooting range, "Halsan, Halsan Chandler, a very outstanding young man with a Night Watcher background, a master marksman of two hundred yards."
"No problem," Malin nodded and asked the nine young men to form into three groups on their own—it was better to let them sort it out themselves than for Malin to intervene. They would group according to their relationships within the Church.
Soon, three teams took shape, and Malin noticed the young man named Halsan, dressed in a black robe like two others, gathering together.
See, birds of a feather flock together. Having them sort themselves out mitigated the risk of discord during battles.
Malin nodded and asked Sudel to hand his rifle to Halsan, "I’ll outfit you with a new one, the latest model."
Sudel’s eyes lit up, and he immediately handed over his rifle, which Halsan took without fuss, skillfully working the bolt.
So Malin threw him a bag with twenty bullets, "Give it a try."
"Thank you." Halsan walked to the shooting range with the bullets.
Malin then took Sudel and Rhodes with him to bid farewell to the Assistant Priest, who graciously said goodbye, grateful for the new type of firearm (Firearm).
A middle-aged man from the military approached, speaking privately with Malin and emphasizing the importance of Sudel, "Sudel Walden’s father served in Sydney’s military when he was young. After retiring, he brought his wife back. He was our corps’ shooting instructor and had this child shortly before retiring... Please don’t let him be lost in a meaningless battle."
"I intend to do the same. I also believe that having him with me can effectively prevent him from being wasted in unnecessary battles by your military," Malin said, sharing the sentiment. Shaking hands with the military man, Malin then left with the two young men.