Chapter 316: Begin!

Chapter 316: Begin!

"Captain, you don't need it?"

"No. Do not focus your attention on me; I require neither blessings nor replenishment."

"Captain, I have undergone professional training. For me, blessing four people instead of five makes little practical difference."

"No, I am not being polite, nor am I attempting to ease your burden. My own reservoir of spiritual power is more than sufficient to handle this selection. I truly do not need it. Furthermore, let me reiterate: when it comes to the deployment of squad combat missions, I am not in the habit of speaking in pleasantries or evasions."

"I understand, Captain."

"One final declaration regarding my duties and allocation. First and foremost, as captain, you must unconditionally obey my commands whenever I am capable of clearly communicating them.

Secondly,

Ventura, I can endure a heavier burden than you.

Bart, I can fight better than you.

Aisley, if your soul power falters, the moment I appear by your side, please lower your defenses immediately. Permit my soul power to intervene, so that I may help you establish a soul bridge to summon the aid of those mutated beasts.

Mars, once you have arrayed your formation, open its core region to me. I can orchestrate the array alongside you.

As for Blanche, my apologies. For the time being, I am not yet proficient in healing and blessing spells of the intermediate tier or higher.

However, I can employ low-tier healing and blessing spells. In moments of necessity, I shall assist Blanche in supporting you all. The only difference is that I may have to compensate for a lack of quality with sheer quantity.

In short, if a problem arises in any area and support is needed, I will choose the right moment to intervene. When I step into the sector you are responsible for, please trust in my ability. Simultaneously, focus entirely on performing your own duties well, without distraction.

Very well. Do any of you feel there is anything that needs to be added?"

The group fell silent for a moment, left somewhat dazed by Karen's deployment of his own functions.

Soon enough, they shook their heads one after another, indicating they had nothing further to add.

The emotions of Ventura, Aisley, and Bart had already been

The image display showed Cullen delivering a speech to his team members, though it was visual only, stripped of all sound, for the distance was too immense, and the transmission of the projection relied entirely upon the "eyes" of Ogurev.

Arranging for audio would not have been difficult, yet it would have required embedding a separate magic circle here, which would disrupt the flow of the fortress selection ground's own array and introduce unnecessary complications.

Yet through the mere visuals, one could readily discern that the words of this young captain had struck a visibly inspiring chord among his subordinates.

"Heh."

At the sight of this screen, Crede could not help but chuckle.

Gleriven asked, "Did you see a reflection of your own youth, My Lord?"

"Mm, a bit. What is this young man's name?"

A registry notebook flew out from Gleriven's pocket, and a quill flipped it open to begin an automated search, quickly securing the answer and coming to rest upon that very page, which featured a sketch of Cullen that looked almost indistinguishable from a photograph.

"According to the roster records, this young man is named Cullen. Cullen Silva."

"Cullen?" Crede mused slightly. "That name sounds somewhat familiar."

At that moment, a bishop seated in the second row stood up, leaned closer, and whispered, "My Lord, you once praised him back on Dark Moon Island."

This bishop had been one of the members of the Dark Moon Island negotiation delegation, and he remembered the scene that night, when the Cardinal Archbishop had suddenly halted his steps and mentioned a young man named "Cullen" to everyone.

"Ah, I remember now."

In truth, Bishop Crede possessed an excellent memory, an exceptionally good one at that, and the only reason Cullen’s name had blurred in his mind was that he simply never considered it a name he needed to remember.

Back then, he had merely found it quite amusing because this cleric named "Cullen" had disciplined a gatekeeper's junior according to the Regulations of Order, forcing the gatekeeper to leave midway through their chat to personally handle such childish nonsense.

However, even an unintentional remark from a leader at the absolute summit would trigger countless associations among those below; most importantly, the subordinates simply did not dare to ask, much less gamble on, whether the leader was hinting at something or merely jesting.

Bishop Wolfrun had originally intended to throw a small tantrum and deliberately omit Cullen's name to see which grand figure would come to plead the case, but upon hearing Crede's words, Bishop Wolfrun not only proactively added Cullen's name but also leaked the test questions.

Gleriven tore out that sheet of paper regarding Cullen and delivered it before Crede.

This was the first time Crede had seriously examined Cullen's recorded profile.

"A God's Servant?"

Gleriven smiled and said, "Perhaps he is just a bit lazy; this phenomenon is not rare."

Bishop Crede spoke, "There must be order and rules."

Beside him, Moswate spoke up, "I will convey this to the relevant departments and have them launch a rectification campaign targeting this phenomenon."

Gleriven echoed, "Indeed, this will ensure our Church can discern the internal distribution of strength and development to the greatest extent, and it should be pushed forward across all parishes."

"Mm." Crede nodded. "His resume is quite simple."

"Yes, somewhat too simple, which means he might be a true genius."

"A true genius, heh. There was once a story circulating within the Temple of Order: once, a genius in his youth directly defied a Temple Elder, provoking that elder so fiercely that he nearly raised his hand several times, yet in the end, he withdrew it."

"I have heard that story as well," Moswate said.

"With this story in mind, let us see how this young man named Cullen will actually perform. Are there any other squads worthy of attention?"

"Yes, there are these two squads as well, Squad 1 and Squad 7..."

Gleriven began to introduce them to Crede in great detail.

When Crede slightly closed his eyes, Gleriven knew the Cardinal Archbishop’s interest had waned, and so she held her tongue.

Crede’s fingertips tapped gently against the armrest of his chair as he said, "I have noticed a problem."

Both Moswate and Gleriven picked up their notebooks, ready to take notes.

"The barriers and distances between our various systems are somewhat too vast; perhaps this ensures their respective professionalism and reliability, but to some extent, it causes an imbalance in mutual connectivity, particularly among the youth.

Each system, and each department within it, has long developed and passed down its legacy within its own small circle, and over time, various problems are bound to emerge.

When the former Great High Priest, Lord Lasma, was in office, he emphatically pointed out that the hereditary familial nature of succession within departmental systems would not only cause stagnation in departmental quality but also weaken the direct leadership of the Holy See.

Great High Priest Norton also emphatically mentioned the problem of organizational familialization within the Church at the last roundtable meeting and issued an important directive: if this phenomenon persists, it will weaken the positive development of our Church.

Therefore, I propose that this kind of selection conducted jointly by all parishes need not be rigid in form and can be held once every year, allowing young people of eligible age to become familiar with and understand one another through this method, while also granting them a second chance at a choice.

I saw just now that the positions of young people in this age bracket are either alternates or interns, not yet officially integrated into any department, so they ought to be given another opportunity to choose, should they not?"

"I understand your meaning, and I will convey it," Moswate said. "Once the organizational regulations for next year's event are drafted, they will be presented to your desk."

Gleriven spoke up, "Organizing the next event will certainly have to wait until next year, but granting the youth an opportunity to choose again does not need to wait; it can be pushed forward right after this selection."

Moswate echoed, "This is an excellent proposal."

Crede looked at the two of them and smiled, saying, "You are not the heads of those departments, so you don't have to offend anyone, which is why you speak so lightly."

Both Moswate and Gleriven flashed smiles, for that was indeed the reality; reassigning the heirs meticulously groomed by the local forces of these various systems and departments would inevitably face immense resistance, making it an entirely thankless task.

Gleriven spoke up, "Perhaps we can change our angle of approach; there is a place that can accommodate them yet dissolve depending on the circumstances, which both sides might find easier to accept as a compromise."

Moswate said, "I think I know which place you mean."

Crede spoke, "Then call for Verden to come to my office tomorrow."

Verden Elrod—the Supreme Whip-Wielder of the Whiplash of Order system.

...

All squads had finished their formation, and the final six individuals automatically comprised a team.

Philomena was right inside that last team.

They were the final group to receive their squad number, which was "20".

As they walked through the center, they received the gaze of all the squad members on both sides.

Cullen lowered his head, choosing not to look over; he was the one who had excluded Philomena from his squad, but he had no interest in gloating or engaging in any mockery or provocation, for there was no point in it.

Punk stood on the highest platform at the very front, looked down at all the squads before him, and spoke, "I reiterate once more, do not force yourselves to hold out. Staying alive is more important than anything else."

With that,

Punk raised his hand,

And shouted:

"The final selection begins!"

The array masters began to chant, and a series of echoing sounds resonated from within that massive statue of Ogurev.

Immediately following this, Cullen discovered that the floor tiles beneath his squad's designated area began to expand continuously outward, and the distance between the squads was steadily driven apart, ceasing only when the area reached the size of half a football field.

A black radiance emerged at the boundaries, forming a dividing barrier to prevent the squads from interfering with one another.

"Begin!"

Ventura immediately moved to the outermost perimeter, and since they could not temporarily distinguish between "front" and "rear," he began to walk along the outer edge, while Bart followed his footsteps, walking along Ventura's inner ring.

Further inside was Blanche, who had also begun her stride; in the early stages, the array masters and summoners would not face issues with buffing range, so her primary task now was to ensure she could immediately bestow blessings upon the two men on the outermost defensive line.

Mars began to arrange the magic circle.

Cullen appeared by his side and asked, "What array do you plan to deploy?"

This was something that could not have been decided beforehand, as the size of the grounds had been unknown until now.

Mars replied, "The Kendos Triple Defensive Array."

"I memorized it. Share some materials with me, and I'll help you set it up."

The First and Seventh Squads immediately fell into a frenzy of activity, keeping pace with the Third Squad right from the start.

At that moment, a pitch-black vortex manifested in the air above each squad's designated grounds. From within the swirling rifts echoed the savage roars of beasts and the heavy clatter of iron cages; the dark vortices seemed to connect directly to the fortress dungeons.

Punck's voice resonated across every squad's sector:

"The target for the first round of trials: the Void Phantasm Beast, Maika. They will enter the grounds in ten minutes. Everyone, prepare yourselves."

Maika was a species of phantasm beast bred within the void. 'Maika' was not a singular name, but the moniker of an entire race, for they paled in comparison to the Phantasm Beast Compacini. Only an entity of that caliber possessed the right to a unique, exclusive name.

Ventura moved swiftly to a position diagonally beneath the black vortex. Behind him, spaced out at set intervals, stood Bart and Blanch.

Karen turned to Mars and said, "I don't think the targets of the first round can breach our outer perimeter. Keep your mind at ease and continue setting up the array."

"Yes, Captain!"

Karen then immediately barked an order to Aisly:

"Aisly, summon the weakest, most useless phantom of a demonic beast you have right now. Have it fly into the vortex to die, and while you're at it, help us scout out what kind of trial targets will be deployed next.

Same old rule—we steal the answers first!"

——

Nothing more tonight, my sleep schedule has collapsed. Going to bed first, will wake up and write. Hugs to everyone!