Heavy Work, Earnings

More than 10 minutes before Lionel's medallion heated up before deciding to join the battle. Second City, central building, in one of the second-in-command's bedrooms as he stood beside a desk and weakly supported himself with his right-handed fingertips.

Zi Ye was still wearing a gaunt appearance. His hair had self-drained itself and had almost become 1 millimeter long. As he read a book, he was also meditating. His eyes glowed an ephemeral light glow at times, which boosted the Power Energy restoration into his body. Just as he contemplated whether to use Inferior grade Powerful Stones to try cultivating and meditating, the door opened, and his eyes were shocked open! He closed the book with one hand and looked at the intruder with trembling rage!

Flap... "What are you doing here? You are not supposed to be here!" Zi Ye asked, then became uneasy as he faced Heian Ciemnosc, slowly entering his bedroom like a leopard. Heian Ciemnosc moved his legs and thighs forward with a certain rhythm. When he came to a 3-meter distance from Zi Ye, he stopped and tilted his head to the left with his chin aiming at his shoulder and his eyes looking at a corner.

“You know. When I first encountered you three - you, Cio, and Lionel. “Heian Ciemnosc turned his face to the front and gazed directly between Zi Ye’s eyebrows before lowering his eyes and smiling. He lowered his head before continuing. “I just thought you were annoying, but still held suspicious. Who knew you would be like this. Isn’t it tragic? I do nothing, you do things to me, and then you three take the suffering? I find it amusing.”

Ste- step. Rustle, thud-clank. Heian Ciemnosc took a step forward, and Zi Ye instinctively took one back. He almost tripped over and bashed some things on the desk to the floor. Heian Ciemnosc slowly twisted his neck and tilted his head to the right. His left eye cheekbone faced Zi Ye directly as his pale red lips moved. “You’ve been in the 8th stage a good while. If I were to fight you, I’d get beaten to a pulp and can barely defend myself with extreme means. As for escaping, ooh, I’m not sure.”

Zi Ye was startled at Heian Ciemnosc mentioning his cultivation base to himself! How could a person he has known since a little more than a month ago learn about that? Heian Ciemnosc didn’t have permission to check a second-in-command’s background. But when Zi Ye heard Heian Ciemnosc’s following words, he relaxed a little but still felt a bit strange and remained uneasy.

“Heheheh,” Heian Ciemnosc chuckled and quickly swayed his head left and right as he looked down at his fingers, playing with each other. Zi Ye lowered his gaze, and the moment he did, he saw Heian Ciemnosc’s fingers flick against each other until his right thumb slowly slid from his left-handed index fingernail lower end to the top. But as the thumb left the nail, it continued with a dark color, opaque and consuming all light and everything in existence. It was as long as half a pinky finger and was thin, slightly curving sideways from below and its length barely curving.

“!” Zi Ye’s eyes widened and shrunk. Heian Ciemnosc looked up, and his right hand suddenly had the same dark claws at the end of his fingernails.

Swish … … … … Heian Ciemnosc swung his right hand backwards, his palm visible to Zi Ye’s eyes as he seemed to see something black coming out of it right before Heian Ciemnosc pointed with it behind himself to his right. Before Zi Ye could frown his eyes completely, a thing appeared like a tentacle, 4 inches thick, flamboyantly erupted from Heian Ciemnosc’s palm hidden to his eyes before Heian Ciemnosc swung his arm back to face Zi Ye!

A terrible noise accompanied Heian Ciemnosc’s sounds of waving his right arm, his dark cloak swishing through the air. But it was silent as if nonexistent… tenebrous. Zi Ye had no time to react. His body wanted to move, but he barely had any Power Energy left! He could only jolt to the right and take a step to the side before his mouth was directly impaled by the Vocón Link. His teeth shattered, and his pair of lips became 2 pairs.

“AHMM!!” Zi Ye immediately felt petrifying, to-die-for torment in his body. His Spirit Sense and Dantian quivered. And with every motion, he felt it increasingly more. Zi Ye thought his head was splitting open from the astronomical pain he was suffering when his eyes returned to gaze at the figure before him. Heian Ciemnosc was standing in the same place but was now looking straight ahead at the taller Zi Ye. As his pale red lips opened again, a dark ‘world’ seemingly expanded from his back.

“It’s a curious thing. You Light people always coherently disdain the Darkness. You never noticed I’ve been playing with your shadow for the past 2 hours. I even wanted to limit test how much until I was discovered. But nothing, ah.” Heian Ciemnosc’s voice was as calm as ever, not changing in the slightest, even under Zi Ye’s tragic and pained eyes.

“That’s fine. I wasn’t going to face you after breaking through. It was tempting… but I couldn’t lose this chance. It would be too greedy of me. That doesn’t suit me,” Heian Ciemnosc said. All Zi Ye could see was the world suddenly turning darker, but slowly. And he didn’t know if it was a mistaken image from his already delusional eyes. But Zi Ye seemed to witness Heian Ciemnosc’s eyes turning wholly pitch-black the more the dark ‘world’ expanded from his back. At the last moments… he could discern, without even knowing his skin was shrinking, Zi Ye heard Heian Ciemnosc’s voice as his final thought.

“Spirit Formation realm 8th stage, it’s enough to become my ticket to the 6th stage. No need to keep fattening you up.”

. . .

After the third City came under the army’s rule, 3 days passed.

On this day, at the third City, Heian Ciemnosc and his team had been resting for a few days. After the battle was over, a transporting ship returned to leave a garrison in each City. On its way back, Heian Ciemnosc boarded it and met up with his team at the third City. He had broken through to the Ashes Soul realm 6th stage, astounding his team members before helping the weaker 3 break into the Spirit Formation realm via cultivating together.

It didn’t take Oleg and Victor long. But Aleksander had to consume several thousand Inferior grade Powerful Stones to reach the peak of the Crabstynian realm 10th stage. With his foundation solidifying after such a battle, he was more than capable of breaking through without damaging his foundation. Afterwards, with the Orangebreeding-based incense, Heian Ciemnosc aided Aleksander into the Spirit Formation realm. Later on, Aleksander would have to remain at this stage for at least what’s worth a few years to consolidate his foundation, which was around 2 months at war.

The third City wasn’t well defended, at least not like the Watery Land Sub Division, which Heian Ciemnosc’s information spoke about it being the only one with potent defensive arsenal, array formations, and defenses. Of course, the army’s sub-commanders, second-in-command, and commander understood these could be moved after the Academy had consecutively won against them.

Nevertheless, when Heian Ciemnosc met Lionel, he was as dismissive and oppressive as before but silent. Zi Ye’s death wasn’t spoken by the sub-commanders, and the troops were even mocked about it. They didn’t want to start something with their commander out of respect for the Academy and each other. But they were glad to celebrate that second-in-command’s ‘assassination’ while they were in battle.

The enemy was powerful. Who knew they could take advantage of the second City that had just been reconquered with its barrier low and assassinate a strong leader of their army? It was tragic, but it was all right. As for Cari, he was seen as an okay second-in-command. He was a good leader in battle and even more as a warrior. But to the current troopers, he was just in the probation period. After all, those second-in-command was taken as humble and a role model before Cio’s death. And after Zi Ye’s death, the image of such in their hearts had been tarnished.

On the other hand, after the CO Team’s team leader returned, the commander gave the order to promote his status in the army. Now, Heian Ciemnosc could have under him 3 other teams of his choosing. The troops cheered, and Heian Ciemnosc took the reconciliation medal silently. He didn’t stop working for the Academy and the army, however. Even though he was given such benefits, he immediately placed innovations and presented them to the army’s higher-ups.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

For example, Heian Ciemnosc had a bold idea of having the cannon teams’ fire focused on one sole spot. But unlike before, it was similar to what the second City’s enemy cannon teams had done. The transporting ships’ machine guns needed to be tweaked along their systems. Heian Ciemnosc wanted the army to gain the advantage when such tremendous concentrated firepower was optimal.

It was relatively simple. When the machine guns opened fire, their ammunition would have a tracker-like system on them. They would flash and glow with a powerful blue color. Thus, wherever those bullets landed or the machine guns aimed. The cannons’ shells would move exactly to those points. It could work either as a system that connected with the transporting ships’ cannons to fire at once or consecutively. That would, of course, need ample cooperation between the piloting and the cannon teams.

That became presently the most agreeable reorganization the sub-commanders and Lionel had, with no further words or questioning, only that Heian Ciemnosc would have to work on it alone and that the merit would be equally spread through the commander and him. The cannons’ distance couldn’t be enhanced, though. This wasn’t a failed Kingdom, and the laws were many times more powerful and formidable than in the Blackotia Kingdom.

A cannon atop an armored vehicle from then, and there would be a rifle from the citizen’s staff. Their firepower and range would be even less… Heian Ciemnosc had to admit the Wrath Nihility Academy’s enemy had it figured out. These cannons were powerful enough, even if not that impactful. They could be mass-produced, and their shells weren’t too costly to fabricate. If Heian Ciemnosc wanted to upgrade them, he could, but the costs were too snobbish.

It was much better to secure the troopers’ survival capabilities and arm them to the teeth if possible. But Heian Ciemnosc didn’t have to worry about this last concern. When the Academy’s reinforcements arrived, before an immense coalition cheer from the three Cities, they brought an insurmountable amount of resources, from ores to half-flora; they were all here! Of course, the half a million troops also arrived, but instead of 500,000, there were 430,000.

They arrived on the second day since the operation’s success. Heian Ciemnosc was immediately called by Lionel, as were the other sub-commanders, into the meeting room the day after. Today, they were situated around the table with a couple dozen more Spirit Rebirth realm sub-commanders at the peak of the First Step. They were looking at everyone in the room, originally from the army since the start of the war, with admiration. Even Heian Ciemnosc was glared at favorably.

At this point, a few drinks had been served. It was hot, but it didn’t bother that it was naturally hot outside. It was a drink similar to coffee but with an ordinary yet fleeting taste that stuck to one’s mouth and allowed one to relish with its pure scent. Everyone was slowly drinking from it. The room was mostly silent, but there was the occasional chatter here and there before it concluded.

Swoosh, step. Step. Finally, the party-maker came into the room with Cari behind him. He stared at everyone, slightly taken aback, before nodding and walking to an extreme of the bulky, rectangular table.

Pat, pat. Placing his hands on the table, the panel below not activating any commands, Lionel gazed first at his old sub-commanders before looking at the new. Giving Heian Ciemnosc a fleeting glance as he was seemingly indifferent and looking into the void, Lionel stood with his back straight and began with a commanding tone. “Everyone, I’m glad to see you still here and to welcome you.”

After speaking to the old and new sub-commanders, he looked at the panel as it automatically opened an interface showing data. “Let me refresh the new sub-commanders with the army. Don’t mind it. In the last battle, 11,000 troops were recovered, and their remains were sent to the Academy a day after, leaving us with 139,000 soldier units. Since the beginning of the war and before arriving at this Endless Desert Division, we hadn’t lost one person except for the scouting groups, who were responsible for my army’s safety.”

“This scouting group’s leader is also the reason for one of the Academy’s best innovations for the war effort and the reason our army could hold up after almost suffering a defeat. Let me introduce you to team leader Heian Ciemnosc. He’s just a team leader in charge of another 3 teams besides his own.” Lionel presented everyone to Heian Ciemnosc and returned to the panel. They looked at Heian Ciemnosc with knowing eyes, intrigued. Then, everyone looked down and followed Lionel’s briefing.

“After checking our arsenal, there are far too few cannons. It was even so before the reinforcements’ arrival. After they arrived, our numbers increased to 570,000, but that is still not a robust digit for going against an entire Sub Division. Which is our objective after preparing. We also lost a sub-commander in the last battle. I’ve personally asked the Academy for their bidding farewell to be recorded. It will arrive in a few weeks.”

“Currently, I have chosen you,” Lionel gazed at the new sub-commanders with a commanding stare. “Considering your best experiences and the guts you have shown for the Academy in previous decades. Especially during the 10 year war. I have also decided to grant every sub-commander 30,000 soldier units.”

“!” - “!” - “!~” The sub-commanders were pleasantly surprised. Even the old sub-commanders felt their commander was frankly generous. It was really so. 30,000 was the maximum number a sub-commander below a second-in-command could take under his name and wing. A second-in-command’s portion of a commander’s army can only be ⅓ at most, and someone above a commander, in case there is any, can have an entire army created for a Region. Of course, these were just the land forces.

“Thank you, commander.” - “We are very honored, but these are just words. We want to battle the enemy as soon as possible!”

“Very well,” Lionel nodded and addressed their words. “If you want to fight sooner than later, you must ensure these following affairs are taken care of with excellence!”

Lionel suddenly became stern, but, at last, he glanced at Heian Ciemnosc’s face and used an oppressive tone. “Team leader Heian Ciemnosc has barely gained command over other teams, but he will have to wait until he can use it. In fact, this team leader is a Genius Craftsperson. To say the least, he will be the main source of the army’s technological progression. Send your people’s Craftspeopleto him so he may instruct and guide them…”

Heian Ciemnosc looked back at Lionel, who wasn’t using his cultivation base directly to pressure him. Their eyes locked, and no one was giving the other some slack. Heian Ciemnosc clearly understood the increase of unit soldiers in each sub-commander’s group. This way, even if Lionel had to promote Heian Ciemnosc twice for each Sub Division they went to, he wouldn’t be able to become a sub-commander himself.

After all, the competition would be just too large.

“Heian Ciemnosc,” Lionel suddenly called to him. Heian Ciemnosc made a stance and responded, “Yes, commander?”

“From now on, you can utilize the resources the army granted us. They will be at your disposal. When in preparation time, you will be the army’s treasury secretary, but you’ll have others in treasury management for you. You are now allowed, ordered by my words and effective immediately, to create Mortal weapons within a scope of 1 to 10 million Inferior Powerful Stones. Understood?!”

“Understood.” Although Lionel barked at him at the end, Heian Ciemnosc didn’t show worry as he held gold coins in the middle of an alley on a dark, sinister night. He responded with ease, and the other sub-commanders looked at him with praise… Besides being able to create Mortal weapons of all possible diversity, he would gain tons of money!

“Mn,” Lionel nodded before returning his eyes to the other sub-commanders. “Now, there are 10 transporting ships in the army. We’ll have each one carry with 2 sub-commanders. Both sub-commanders will be in charge of their respective vessel, do well, and don’t waste the Academy’s riches! These machine guns are all the ones you always longingly look for in the Universal Conveyance market! They are to destroy the enemy, not to be polished and given maintenance!”

“I want every sub-commander to get your new Mortal weapons. You will also pay for armor that will help you greatly according to your characteristics and the environment. The Endless Deser Division is a major trading point for the Academy and the Blackotia Kingdom. Even the Far East Region implores for products here.”

“Hahaha.” - “That’s right~.” - “Of course, how could that be forgotten?” The sub-commanders reacted to Lionel’s words and reminders. He grinned at them but then returned to a stern face and continued. “No leaning money during the war. I will imprison and send back whoever dares ignore these words. It is either for cultivation, healing, or exchange at the allocated sections of the Cities. For now, after the meeting, you will go to your respective Cities and stay there and clean up nearby enemy settlements.”

“If you want your preferred troops to gain better equipment overall, they must get it themselves, one way or another!” With that, Lionel finished the cordialities and began the meeting’s long and arduous process. But it was just needed, as the first time the army reorganized with all of its sub-commanders, second-in-command, scouting group leader, and commander. Many things had to be cleared up, and the underlings had to get to know their boss’s attitude and nature.

Everything progressed well. Heian Ciemnosc looked with slightly narrowed eyes. His heart thumped for more, just like theirs… But he wasn’t forgetting the pain of collaterals in the war.

…