"See that, Andy? That's a real warrior, that's the best candidate for the militia."
A few seconds later, [ Ginseng Rooster ] stood up, covering his left cheek.
That punch was quite heavy; there seemed to be something wrong with his jaw, and his two molars were a bit loose, but none of that mattered.
Seeing that [ Second-Class Biscuit ] had signed its name on the contract, [ Ginseng Rooster ] showed a satisfied expression.
He turned to the militia members awaiting assessment and said loudly:
"You all saw that, right? If you don't even have the strength to fight, don't join the militia. Otherwise, you'll just be sending yourself to your death."
Having witnessed their captain being hit twice, yet still eliminating the person who hadn't hit hard enough, everyone nodded in agreement.
They initially thought this person was manipulating things behind the scenes to deliberately eliminate people he didn't get along with, but now it seems there's some truth to it.
So the brutal second selection continued. It wasn't necessarily about joining the militia, but even just being able to punch this guy would feel pretty good...
Although [ Ginseng Rooster ] would love to form a militia composed entirely of players, this is clearly unlikely.
The number of players who infiltrated Black Pine City was not very large to begin with, and not everyone wanted to join the militia; some had their own agendas.
So by the end of the day, he had only recruited twenty players.
In contrast, there are a total of sixty local NPCs who are slightly more robust in build, making the ratio of the two groups one to three.
Moreover, it seems that the gap in numbers will continue to widen, as this is only the first day of selection.
The number of local militia will only increase, while the number of players without large-scale infiltration operations will eventually have a limit.
Although we are outnumbered, it's not a big problem.
[ Ginseng Rooster ] knew the importance of blind obedience. After all the personnel were finalized, he planned to conduct an internal assessment, turning all the players into squad leaders and platoon leaders.
This is tantamount to indirectly gaining command over these civilians; if a fight breaks out, making them run away and not get in the way is also part of the order.
Priest Andy also finished his day's work, and he always felt that this commoner who was his partner had a special quality about him.
He seemed to know nothing of fear of power, as if he lived in a world where life and death were never arbitrarily decided.
Is [ Ginseng Rooster ] really a local commoner?
He didn't know, and he didn't really want to know.
Five days later, in the Tree Worship Church Theocracy, Fitz Province, Laurel Town.
Since taking over the town, the demon Duma has moved his command center from the Fir City Church.
The cathedral has been transformed into a dual-boss Dungeon with a rotating system, and it feels a bit out of place for him to occupy one area for his work.
He was currently in the study of the former bishop of Laurel Town. Although it was only average in Duma's eyes, it was considered luxurious in terms of the living standards of the Tree Worship Church.
Now that all the important documents have been moved out, the room is filled again with combat-related files, and the study is showing signs of evolving into an office.
Duma was quite satisfied with the arrangement and quickly threw himself into his work, also arranging for all his colleagues to be in the church.
Setting up a command post at the front line would allow him to command the various units more effectively and quickly. As High Tier of the demon race, Duma himself was not afraid of any form of decapitation strike, and even had some expectations for it.
"Knock knock knock."
The wooden door creaked rhythmically, Duma looked up from a pile of documents:
"Come in."
A young Soul Returner and pushed open the wooden door, then stood upright opposite Duma with piercing eyes and a straight back.
No matter how many times I watch it, it's always a pleasure to look at...
With a sigh in his heart, Duma raised two eyes to look at the Soul Returner in front of him, while his other two eyes remained fixed on the defense map in front of him:
"Speak, what is it?"
"Reporting to the Legion Commander, latest military intelligence: Green Wheat Town on the west side fell last night. The Holy Crusaders inside is putting up a stubborn resistance, insisting on engaging our forces in street fighting... The cleanup operation was completed half an hour ago, and a total of Holy Crusaders were captured..."
Duma nodded expressionlessly, as if he were an old man reading a newspaper.
This was largely within his expectations.
A week ago, the mysterious archbishop issued the order to tighten the defenses, but unfortunately, all five Messenger sent to Green Wheat Town to deliver the message were successfully intercepted by the scattered Soul Returner, causing the town to completely lose contact with the outside world.
Meanwhile, Black Pine City seems to have abandoned the town, showing no intention of sending any reinforcements.
Now that the last isolated island has fallen, the Soul Returner Legion can finally focus all their efforts on Black Pine City.
"Okay, I understand."
Duma nodded and said to the Soul Returner before him:
"Please summon Deputy Commander Duolin, thank you."
The Soul Returner nodded, turned and quickly left, soon bringing the young deputy leader of the Tree Worship Church here.
The two sat down at the table, Duma spoke first:
" Green Wheat Town has been captured; now only Black Pine City remains. How are your previous plans progressing?"
Duolin shifted his somewhat tired body. While working with the experimental load device had helped him grow faster, it also caused some side effects, such as soreness.
He organized his thoughts and said confidently:
"The first batch of Soul Returner has been recruited, totaling two hundred people, and they are ready to depart at any time."
Duma nodded:
"Okay, then let's do it as soon as possible."
Having said that, he turned his gaze back to the map of the northern part of the Theocracy in front of him.
The Fitz Province has already been stained the same color as the Aduolin Province, Duma's attention has turned to the two provinces located to the west and south of the Second Holy See.
As for Black Pine City... it seems to be no longer within his consideration.
After leaving the study, Duolin went straight to an open space outside Laurel Town, where it was now filled with two hundred Soldier Bee feeding.
As long as it's not a snowy winter day, these guys can eat anywhere there are green plants, and they're not picky eaters at all.
Looking at this group of insects, as free as a herd of nomads, Duolin found the herdsman he was looking for—no, the Soul Returner.
"[ Autumn Light and Osmanthus Shadows ]."
Hearing someone call her name, the pilot [ Autumn Light and Osmanthus Shadows ], who had now become Soldier Bee keeper, raised her head from the Swarm:
"What is it, Deputy Commander Duolin?"
" Duma has approved the operation. Summon those Soul Returner selected earlier using your unique methods."
"Okay!"
[ Autumn Light and Osmanthus Shadows ] looked at Duolin excitedly and shouted in a language he couldn't understand:
" First Air Transport, prepare for deployment!"