Changes

A month later, the Blade Army's Expansion, watched by countless people, was about to begin.

Yet one piece of news that emerged from it caught everyone by surprise, and Jie Ning and the others gathered once more to discuss it.

"What?" Mosang looked at Kala with a bitter expression. "We have to fight those newcomers?"

"You can surrender once you step onto the stage, but you have to take the field," Kala added.

"Still, I wouldn't advise you to do that. I heard the Army Lord himself will be watching this competition in person. If current Blade Army members surrender outright, that would really be..."

"Although every 'Soldier' in the Blade Army has to fight three 'Recruits'."

"Brother Beile told me to tell you not to worry," Kala said, guessing. "Brother Beile has probably already spoken to the judges for us."

"So there shouldn't be any need to worry about everyone's safety."

"Damn it, but why are you the only one among us who doesn't have to take part in this competition?" Mosang asked Kala enviously.

"Because this is an opportunity for you 'Soldiers,'" Kala said, a hint of smugness at the corner of her mouth. "As long as you can defeat three people, you can be promoted to 'Captain.'"

"And I'm already a Captain." Kala spoke proudly. "It's such a pity that I can't participate."

As she spoke, Kala raised a brow at Korur. "Let me tell you another piece of news that hasn't been made public yet. Korur, the reward you'd been longing for will be available from now on."

"Though I still don't know exactly how many Ink Stones it'll be. But one thing is certain: the higher the position, the higher the reward."

Is this changing from the original mercenary system into an actual military? Jie Ning guessed at the hidden meaning behind this change.

Korur did not care much about the reward Kala had mentioned. He had merely been joking before.

He only looked at Kala strangely. "You really don't need to take part in the competition?"

"I remember hearing that Captains like you need to compete too."

"The winners can also be promoted."

"Your information is only partly right," Kala corrected him.

"Not just partly. Half of the Captains can be promoted."

"So I only need to compete against one person. After all these years, everyone in the Blade Army is basically acquainted." Kala showed no pressure at all about fighting an acquaintance.

"Half?" Mosang was startled. He knew that the rank above Captain was a Hundred Guards like Brother Beile.

"Then won't you be on the same level as Brother Beile and the others afterward?"

"Won't Brother Beile and the others have objections?"

Kala explained, "Once we're promoted, the original Hundred Guards positions will naturally be shifted as well. The Blade Army is going to undergo a major restructuring this time."

"The Blade Army originally only had a little over ten thousand people. With a few hundred of us serving as Captains and Brother Beile and the others serving as Hundred Guards, they only needed to manage us Captains."

"But now, hundreds of thousands of Recruits are being added all at once. The old structure is no longer suitable."

"First, the number of Captains will be increased. That's the method we discussed at the beginning—selecting some people to become Captains. There will probably be more than ten thousand of them."

"In principle, I reckon the Blade Army hopes the original 'veterans' can become Captains, but Hell is, after all, a world of the strong."

"'Recruits' will have the same opportunity. As long as they defeat one 'veteran,' then defeat two challengers, they can become Captains as well."

"Once there are more Captains, Brother Beile and the other strong experts can't have their time wasted managing them all. So us 'old Captains' will be promoted to Hundred Guards to manage those Captains."

"Then the Army Lord will add the position of Sergeant between Deputy General and Hundred Guards."

"Brother Beile and the others will all be promoted to Sergeants. They'll still only need to manage people like us; only the title of our positions will change a little."

"They weren't managing us in the first place," Mosang complained.

"No, things will be different from now on." Kala warned Mosang, "The positions may no longer be mere titles like before. I heard that direct chains of command will be established between different positions."

"For example, if you're Soldiers, you'll each have a fixed Captain. That Captain will in turn belong under a Hundred Guards, and so on."

"And you'll only need to obey your own Captain's orders. Other Captains will have no authority to command you."

"Of course, if it's a powerful expert like Brother Beile, even if he isn't your direct superior, you'd best obey him anyway." Finally, Kala reminded them, "At the end of the day, Hell belongs to the strong."

At that moment, Korur suddenly recalled the "reward" Kaer had mentioned earlier. "I see. No wonder they're handing out rewards. This really is becoming an army."

Everyone present understood as well. The Blade Army of the future would likely be completely different from the one before.

Mosang's face twisted bitterly. "It's becoming an army."

"Surely there won't be large-scale wars in the future, right? We've already reached the Supreme Plane—do we still have to fight?" Mosang recalled the helpless feeling of being swept along on the battlefield when he had been weak, and his expression turned ugly.

Korur and Dinar's expressions darkened as well. They too remembered some unpleasant memories.

Kala shook her head. "Everyone should prepare for the worst."

"But don't worry too much. You should know that there may very well be an Overgod standing behind the Blade Army now."

Having an Overgod is even more worrying, Jie Ning sighed inwardly.

"Some new High-Gods will also join the Blade Army this time."

"They'll be directly assigned the positions of Sergeant, or even Deputy General."

"At that time, with the Blade Army's strength, I imagine no one would dare provoke it." Kala comforted them.

A dark cloud settled over everyone's hearts. They all knew that since something like this had happened, there had to be reasons they didn't know about.

The urgency in Jie Ning's heart grew heavier and heavier.

Time. What I need most right now is time.

If I were given just a few hundred more years, I'd have a much better chance of surviving.

"Here is some information I collected on a few 'recruits,' along with some of their Combat Projections. If you run into them, be careful," Kala warned as he took out several dossiers and crystal balls. "If you encounter a powerful opponent, just concede."

"Once I become one of the Hundred Guards, I can transfer you under my command again. It doesn't matter if you can't become Captains."

Though grateful, Jie Ning instinctively felt that something was off. "Where did all this information come from?"

"Blade City has been packed with people lately. Naturally, some people are using that to do business."

"Information on Popular Contestants is a major seller."

"But aside from these people, you should also be careful of the other contestants."

"If there's no information on them, perhaps it's because no one has lived to see them fight." Kala made a small joke.

Would Blade City really allow people to resell contestant information like this, or is Blade City selling it itself? A small doubt remained in Jie Ning's mind.

Still, like everyone else, Jie Ning was deeply grateful for Kala's goodwill. Gathering this information alone must have cost quite a bit, not to mention that there were Combat Projections among it.

Moved as he was, Mosang still felt as though he had been singled out.

"Kala, who are you telling to concede?" Mosang shouted.

Everyone smiled knowingly. Among those present, Mosang and Dinar had the greatest weaknesses.

Dinar had become a god too recently; his insights had yet to be fully converted into actual strength. Mosang, meanwhile, simply wasn't good at attacking.

Korur, on the other hand, had also become a god not long ago, but because he cultivated the Destruction Rule, several years of battle had already brought him considerable progress.

Ignoring the two men's bickering, Jie Ning picked up one of the dossiers Kala had taken out and began reading it. "Why does this person look so familiar?"

Hearing Jie Ning's voice and seeing the smile appear on his face, Mosang, who had just been shouting, was instantly overcome with curiosity.

"Who is it?"

"Daisy Lin, a Fire-element Mid-level God. Rumor has it that she once escaped from the hands of a High-God."

"This dossier is actually on top." Korur also glanced at the dossier in Jie Ning's hands, then smiled at Kala.

Kala said solemnly, "She's a strong fighter too. Naturally, I collected her information while I was gathering the rest. And since I said I was going to pursue her, I naturally have to know both myself and my enemy."

Finding nothing unusual in Kala's expression, everyone immediately lost interest in teasing him.

They each picked up other dossiers to read, and only then did Kala secretly let out a sigh of relief.

There was nothing special about the dossier, but her Combat Projection was somewhat different...

Without changing his expression, Kala put away Daisy Lin's Combat Projection. Unbeknownst to him, everyone present had seen it. They exchanged glances in silent understanding.

"Jie Ning, this person is a lot like you. He also uses Earth Element in battle. Kala has a Combat Projection of him too—let's take a look."

Mosang held up a dossier and directly activated the Combat Projection in his hand.

Jie Ning watched the Combat Projection closely and commented, "This person is indeed no simple opponent."

"His Puppets may not be as agile as my 'Doppelgangers,' but their power is still quite good." An expert watched for the subtleties. Seeing strange ripples appear across the surface of the man's Puppets whenever they were attacked, Jie Ning already understood several aspects of his methods. "This man's 'Puppets' mainly use the two mysteries of Earth Element and Earth Pulse."

"He fused mysteries?" Mosang stared warily at the man's dossier.

Though they did not know the importance of Mystery Fusion, they all knew that fusing mysteries brought an enormous increase in strength. The others' gazes also grew more cautious.

"Probably not. Everyone just needs to be a little careful," Jie Ning added. "He should merely be using two mysteries together in a rudimentary way."

"Judging from appearances alone, his methods are still very superficial. They don't involve Mystery Fusion and are more like a simple combination."

"However, Mosang and Dinar, the two of you need to be careful if you encounter him. From his fighting style, his defenses will be very strong."

"He'll also be quite effective at restraining the two of you."

Mosang and Dinar nodded with grave expressions.