Monarch of Evernight - Chapter 1185

Chapter 1185: Chapter 1185: Work and Cultivation

Chapter 1185: Work and Cultivation

Everything in Southern Blue was normal in the period that Qianye had gone to join the void-continent war . The various workshops maintained their usual work rhythm, and some even expanded . The airship equipment produced from this system could be sold anywhere even if the Empire didn’t buy them up . Moreover, they could sell as many as they could produce .

Having moved out in full force, those of Dark Flame that remained were members tasked with ensuring smooth logistics . They weren’t idle during this period, either . They had been allocating supplies production, as well as procuring various equipment . A number of warehouses were now stacked full of equipment and components . Two facilities dedicated to manufacturing footsoldier gear were also nearing completion .

The new research department was newly formed, but they had already seen breakthroughs in certain topics and would start producing results soon . Moreover, they were launching over a hundred projects at the same time . This research department didn't just pop out of nowhere; its backbone staff were transferred over from Ningyuan Heavy Industries .

Song Zining had moved almost the entirety of his business to the neutral lands and placed the highest priority on the operations here . Research was no exception . After arriving here, the research center’s projects increased sharply, mainly on how to adapt Imperial weaponry to the environment in the neutral lands .

The various continents of the Evernight world possessed different geography, weather, and origin power environments . Harsh places like the neutral lands could be found everywhere . Hence, adaptability was an extremely important sector for both military and airship armaments .

At this point, an attendant entered and placed a new stack of documents on Qianye’s desk . “The statistics of the families of the fallen have been organized, please take a look . ”

Qianye opened the document and looked through it carefully .

Dark Flame had lost forty thousand mercenaries this time, most of them external mercenaries they had recruited later on . Information regarding their residences and families hadn’t been documented yet, but the families of the old dark flame members alone reached four hundred thousand .

Dark Flame possessed its own base as well as the foundations of the merged Ningyuan Heavy Industries . Their stability was much greater than the other mercenary corps, so most of their soldiers were able to support more family members . Among their families, there were almost thirty thousand boys and girls who were above ten years old, and over half of them possessed origin power .

At this ratio, their cultivation standards were even higher than on the Qin continent . This was brought about by the special environment of the neutral lands . Of course, these benefits also came with their own downsides . Such rapid growth brought about by survival instincts made for unstable foundations . That was why no one from the neutral lands had ever achieved the heavenly monarch realm . Their so-called geniuses would usually exhaust their potential at the divine champion realm and make no more progress .

These boys and girls with origin power cultivation would make for qualified soldiers if they were given weapons . They could even become low-ranking officers . There was a qualitative difference between soldiers who could fire origin bullets and those who could only use gunpowder weapons .

After discounting the old, there were close to fifty thousand women in their prime age . When required, they were also a qualified fighting force .

The Empire’s standard compensation was ten times the yearly salary . This meant that no matter how much a soldier could earn per year, the Empire would pay ten times that amount . The Imperial army’s pay was already fairly generous, so the compensation couldn’t be considered low .

Dark Flame had contributed greatly to the battle of Whitetown and fought an extremely bitter battle . Hence, the Empire decided to pay compensation based on their standard salary . Even a third of that amount was double that of mercenary-standards in the neutral lands .

Dark Flame had received around four million gold coins in compensation . Two-thirds of that was just short of three million . This was a massive sum of money for Dark Flame, enough to buy two cruisers or enough equipment to outfit three complete army divisions .

Dark Flame had less than two thousand combat personnel left, so recruitment was imperative . Qianye wasn’t too worried about manpower, though, because the surviving veterans had grown much stronger . With them as the backbone, it would be easy to build up a new squad very soon .

Song Zining had brought an entire group of instructors when Dark Flame was preparing for the fight around the Great Maelstrom door, and these people were still in the corps . Add to that the ample equipment in-store, they would be able to quickly set up three divisions . Although these units might not be completely up to Imperial standards, a quick fighting force could still be produced .

How to reform Dark Flame was a test for Qianye .

Qianye whipped out some pen and paper . He then started drawing draft after draft, but he wasn’t satisfied with any of the plans . There was still no conclusion until the moon was high up in the sky .

Finally, he threw down his pen and arrived before the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the sleeping Southern Blue . This kind of job used to be Song Zining’s duty, but there was no telling when he would be back . Qianye, on the other hand, couldn’t keep relying on him for everything .

Watching the city under the night sky—especially the large, empty headquarters—Qianye gradually calmed down and began thinking about how to set out with the plan .

At first, Dark Flame in the neutral lands was put together merely to defend Southern Blue . Song Zining arrived later on and began expanding its forces to support Qianye’s dream of reaching the Sacred Mountain .

That was how Dark Flame’s objective went from defense to expansion and expeditions . After some thought and integrating the experience from the Battle of Whitetown, Qianye felt that he needed a unit that could coordinate with him .

The current Qianye was an unstoppable force for ordinary opponents . In a similar fashion, ordinary squads weren’t good enough to coordinate with him . At the very least, he needed a unit on the level of Red Scorpion, people who could keep up with his rhythm .

Going forward, the Evernight Council’s Black Sun sword-bearers were the final version of this elite unit .

After some contemplation, Qianye gave up on the idea of distributing equipment equally among three divisions . Finally, he decided to recruit fifty thousand people and outfit them according to the neutral lands’ first-rate standards . Even then, the cost of outfitting fifty thousand men was only equal to a single Imperial main-army division . With the remaining money, Qianye planned to purchase supplies according to Red Scorpion standards and arm a group of elites to the teeth .

According to that standard, a budget sufficient to equip two main-army divisions would only be able to equip two thousand men . However, these two thousand men would be far more useful than two divisions .

Only such a squad could keep up with Qianye .

After reaching a decision, everything else moved along much faster . Qianye didn’t sleep that night as he mapped out a complete plan .

Qianye pressed the bell on his desk and summoned the manager Song Zining had left behind . This manager was in charge of purchasing equipment from the Empire . His face twitched briefly when he saw Qianye’s plan, but he carefully hid his emotions and withdrew .

Qianye’s purchase plan wasn’t easy to fulfill as there were quite a few strictly-limited military supplies . But since Qianye had suggested the need, he—as a subordinate—had to find a way to make it happen . Song Zining was now in the Empire, so they could use his connections for things that were too difficult .

The next few days saw Dark Flame recruiting for new soldiers once more .

News always traveled fast here . In just a couple of days, the results of the void-continent war had spread across the neutral lands . The dark races in every area became much more subdued, while the human powers took this opportunity to expand .

The mercenaries, especially those independent ones, saw this as an opportunity . Utilizing different channels, they all swarmed toward the Eastern Sea and Southern Blue, waiting for the recruitment .

A mercenary corps like Dark Flame that could join wars, and even play an integral role in it, had long since exceeded the scope of traditional mercenary corps . Many people felt that they shouldn’t be described merely as a mercenary corps . In factional wars, the role of mercenaries had always been to serve as cannon fodder, to fill in the gaps, and to perform the most dangerous missions .

The human race’s victory on the void continent and Dark Flame’s bitter fight at Whitetown caused the mercenary corps’ fame to explode . They were slowly gaining fame as the number one major mercenary corps in the neutral lands . At the same time, Dark Flame’s stability and good pay left most small mercenary groups in the dust, so much so that even those highly skilled independent mercenaries were moved .

After hearing about the corps’ losses at Whitetown, the mercenaries smelled an opportunity instead of feeling afraid . Everyone was planning to try their luck in finding a place in Dark Flame .

Over the course of a few days, Qianye reorganized the surviving champions from the war, forming five regular divisions and one fledgling elite unit with them as the backbone . Then, he began the first round of recruitments from among the families of the deceased .

The recruitment was met with unprecedented success . Most boys and girls with origin power cultivation, as well as ladies of age, were all willing to join . This provided Qianye with thirty thousand qualified troops . Compared to the mercenaries who had come to apply for a position, the fighting power of these women and children were rather limited . However, their backgrounds were clean, and their advantage in loyalty was incomparable .

As for the unending stream of mercenaries who had come to apply, they were divided and assigned into various units after a strict screening process . After a round of drill training, they would become barely usable .

A complete training period would require one month at the very least, and it would take even longer for the equipment from the Empire to arrive . Although Dark Flame already had an established process for training and organization, important issues still required Qianye’s attention . He soon realized that simply approving documents was taking him entire days unknowingly .

Things couldn't keep going this way, or he wouldn’t even have a guaranteed time for cultivation . Zhang Boqian’s notes on the Profound Combatant Formula were still in Andruil’s Space . The art was even more profound now, and Qianye needed time to slowly comprehend it . But first, he needed to make sure that he had the necessary time to cultivate .

On the other hand, his blood energy was still in an imbalanced state compared to his origin power cultivation . That was still the case even though Zhang Boqian had used a peerless ability to bring him down to the glorious marquis realm .

Delegation of authority was the best way to do this . The members Song Zining had left behind were trustworthy, and they could solve most minor problems on their own .

This matter was easy to say, but Qianye was met with a different headache when the time actually came . The system had been more or less perfected since Song Zining was here . There were clear rules detailing the matters each rank could make decisions about .

But that only applied to daily workflow . Currently, Qianye was expanding, and the issues that had come before him were important cases with lasting effects . This was especially true for Dark Flame’s core fighting strength and development . They weren’t things ordinary subordinates could decide on . If he were to give people free reign on such important things, the entire Dark Flame would surely go out of control .

After several days of sorting out policies, procedures, and rules, Qianye found that there really was nothing that could be changed . Only at this point did he realize how extraordinary Song Zining really was . This seventh young master was buried behind stacks of documents every day, so it was truly a wonder how he managed to cultivate so quickly .

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