"Ah-choo!" Inside the Empire's garrison in Cronie City.
After parting ways with Major Jett, John had been assigned by Dormammu to follow Major Kode in taking stock of the 1,000 Mage Soldiers newly incorporated into the 1st Battalion. Yet for no apparent reason, he suddenly sneezed.
He immediately felt somewhat puzzled.
But sensing Major Kode's concerned gaze beside him, he awkwardly rubbed his nose and apologized somewhat sheepishly.
"Sorry for the trouble, Major Kode. Maybe I forgot to close the window when I slept last night and caught a chill. By the way, has the 1st Battalion's headcount been completed?"
"It has. There are currently 880 newly incorporated Mage Soldiers. Including the 120 Mage Soldiers you previously commanded, that makes exactly 1,000. The Logistics Department personnel and supply allocations have also been arranged."
"I've placed the combat records of the outstanding Mage Soldiers, as well as the personal information of the other five officers in the 1st Battalion, at the back. You can review them all and see whether they are suitable."
Major Kode reviewed the documents in his hand once more and, only after confirming there were no errors, handed them to John.
Just as John had expected, among these thousand Mage Soldiers—
Only 32 could truly be called Elite Mage Soldiers, and all of them held positions of varying rank.
Apart from John, the battalion commander and unit commander, the 1st Battalion currently had one captain, four lieutenants, fifteen second lieutenants, and forty-five warrant officers.
To strengthen the unit's combat capability, most of the Mage Soldiers and officers newly incorporated into the 1st Battalion had been transferred in with their original squad structures intact. As a result, the Mage Soldier companies and squads varied in size, though each squad averaged around twenty men.
The commanders of the five