179 Leadership (I)

Aaron did not say a word or give Cain and the other instructions. There was no need for that. They were Vice-Captains and should be able to know what to do without the Captain telling them.

A soldier must know how to follow orders, and a commanding officer must know what to do in their absence.

Cain and the other Vice-Captains clasped their hands and bowed as Aaron vanished in the air before turning to their troops.

Cain focused on his battalion and saw there were a total of three hundred soldiers. Of course, giving orders to every one of them was inefficient, so he needed to select squad leaders.

The other Vice-Captains waited in silence as Cain carried on with his job. They had done that same task when they first became Vice-Captains and knew it was difficult.

Cain had the personal record of every soldier under his command. Still, even with his cognitive abilities, it would take a long time to analyze everything and decide which were the best for the positions of squad leaders.

Luckily, he had something at his disposal with even greater computational power than his own brain. Using the [A.I. Chip Module], he made it so the system would show him all the people that matched his requirements.

“When I say your name, walk forward!”

Cain uttered ten names, and those people walked orderly toward him.

.....

The Vice-Captains were surprised that Cain could come up with the squad leaders so fast. Some of them thought he might be rushing things, but when they saw the people he selected, they were indeed the best for the job.

All ten had great leadership skills, had proven their courage and wisdom on the battlefield, and developed personal relationships with most of their comrades, making it easier for them to harvest their strength.

However, when the Vice-Captains saw the last three soldiers that Cain named, a complicated expression appeared on their faces. That trio was impressive when it came to leadership skills, but there was one problem: they were too old.

Those last three soldiers were only Level 3 Wave Warriors and were around seventy years old. The lifespan of a Godslayer Human was 150 years old, so they were far from natural death or any cognitive detriment, but their age had already started to affect their strength.

The veterans were weak due to not improving their cultivation for so long, which induced atrophy in their meridians. That, plus their age, made them even weaker than a normal Level 1 Wave Warrior.

You needed strength to lead people into a battlefield since you were the one they would all follow. If you were too weak and could not fulfill that responsibility, or even worse, end up dying, it would leave your squad in a vulnerable position.

Cain knew all that and saw a perfect example of how age could affect someone’s battle power with Morgana. If he had to guess, the old woman was a Peak Wave Champion, but he killed her with a single strike.

Yet, Cain still chose the trio to become squad leaders. Their minds were perfect for the job, even if their bodies were not. Luckily, he had a way to fix the latter.

“I chose you to become squad leaders. Do you have any questions or something you would like to share with me?”

Seven of the squad leaders showed determination as they heard Cain’s words and were ready to take the task head-on. However, the three veterans look at each other before softly nodding and raising their hands.

Cain turned toward the trio and saw the oldest bowing before speaking.

“Vice-Captain Laurifer, I am First Lieutenant Michel. My brothers and I thank you for this honor, but we believe our abilities would be of greater use in other areas.”

Michel’s words were very crafty. He thanked Cain for selecting them and chose to give the excuse they could work better somewhere else so as not to embarrass this one for making a poor judgment call.

Cain smiled as he heard those words. The trio had obtained great merits during their lives in the military, which is why they were all First Lieutenants despite their weak cultivation.

If Michel and the other two sought to retire from active duty and obtain a desk job, it would be extremely easy with their record, but Cain could see that they wanted to remain on the battlefield as long as they could.

Cain did not say a word at first, instead taking three sets of objects from his space ring. Each set contained a Wave Virus, wave crystal, and Dragon Blood Grass.

The Wave Virus was one of his latest accomplishments, explicitly designed by Cain in case he found people like Michel. As for the Dragon Blood Grass, he no longer actively bought it, but there was plenty left in his space ring.

“These are Telomerase Regenerators. They are Grand Wave Viruses that revert, in some measure, the effects of aging in your bodies.

It will not increase your lifespan, but your constitution will return to the state where it found itself thirty years ago.”

Michel and the other two veterans gaze at the Wave Viruses in Cain’s hand as if it was a miracle. Regaining the strength of their middle-aged bodies would be incredible. And that was not all.

“It will also allow your body to heal all sorts of atrophy. If you use the Wave Virus with these two, your cultivation could obtain the full power of a Level 3 Wave Warrior.”

If before the trio was shocked, now they were in utter stupefaction. Regaining their youth and fixing the damage that time did to their meridians would be a dream come true.

Utter silence reigned among the soldiers as they heard Cain’s words, as the wonder was just too much.

“You are a Grand Genetic Coder!?”

One of the Vice-Captains could not help but shout as he saw the Wave Viruses in Cain’s hands and heard its effects. Only Grand Wave Viruses could induce permanent changes in someone, and only Grand Genetic Coders could make them.

Cain turned toward Benjamin, the Vice-Captain that shouted those words and nodded. His abilities were already at the peak of the Elementary Genetic Coders before going to Saharo City. They rose to the next level right after obtaining Morgana’s books describing her life experiences.

The three veterans, Michel, Samir, and John, stared at the sets in Cain’s hand with absolute longing. If they have it, they could spend the next decades in the military acting like true soldiers and leading people instead of barely fulfilling their duties due to the weakness of their bodies.

“The wave crystal is worth 10.000, the Dragon Blood Grass 20.000. As for the Telomerase Regenerator, even if I charge you the lowest price, it would still be 50.000. In the end, each set cost 80.000 Imperial Military Credits.”

Those words brought the trio back to reality, and they could only shake their heads. Even if they sold all they had, there was no way they could obtain the 240.000 Imperial Military Credits needed to buy the three sets.

Cain knew that the price would be too much for the trio. If he was honest, he had no problem giving it to them, but that would generate all sorts of issues, which is why he took the following path.

“I know you do not have the resources to buy these sets, but you can not expect me to give them to you for free. I usually spend around half a million military credits a month for my cultivation, so money is tight.

The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

However, since you are under my command, I can sell them to you on credit. Every Wave Beast killing during The Hunt translates into military credits, and you will transfer three-quarters of what you gain to me until your debt is paid.

Are you fine with this arrangement?”

Michel, Samir, and John showed large smiles as they heard that and immediately began nodding. With a youthful constitution and restored cultivation, the number of credits they could get would be much higher than in their current condition, so there were only gains by accepting Cains’ deal.

Cain smiled and handed the sets to the trio. He was sure they would give everything they had once they reached the battlefield.

The other Vice-Captains looked at Cain with respect and were impressed with how he handled the situation. Everything action he took was well thought out, including the fact he charged for the sets.

If Cain had just given the sets to the trio, that would have alienated the other soldiers since they would have wanted the same, and there was no way he could have given so much to the three hundred under his command.

After handling the squad leaders, Cain stared at the rest of the soldiers, and his eyes glowed with red light as he unleashed the full power of his Ego Wave.