Published: February 12, 2025
Pao Bai and the other high-ranking officials had left, and the excitement from the major assessment in the Bronze Camp was still buzzing. The entire Shoulder Camp, while not exactly filled with laughter and joy, was nonetheless vibrant. After all, within ten people, someone would receive a piece of equipment. Those who received it were beaming with joy, while those who didn’t were filled with envy and motivation, creating a remarkably harmonious scene.
After Ye Zhongming returned to his room, the ten thousand-person commanders and several mid-level leaders came to find him. The King of Cloud Summit understood that this was a display of loyalty.
Today’s assessment basically confirmed Ye Zhongming’s position within the Bronze Camp.
Once everyone was seated and engaged in casual conversation, the underlying meaning of their words was clear to all. Ye Zhongming merely nodded in agreement, smiling and chatting, without making any formal declarations.
Finally, Zhong Hongke stood up and looked at Ye Zhongming earnestly, saying, “Lord Ling, when you first arrived, although we didn’t have any overt thoughts of opposition like Kalan Ka, we didn’t really accept you.”
The other thousand-person commanders, except for Jie Kui, shared this sentiment.
“A newcomer, a fuleira with no more than two thousand, with the same strength as an ordinary soldier—how could such a person be our superior?”
Zhong Hongke spoke directly, without any reservations.
“But later, we found that the clan's decision was correct. You brought not only the title of the top newcomer, but also your real abilities. In these two months, the atmosphere in the entire Bronze Camp has changed dramatically, even when we didn’t fully cooperate. Being able to achieve this, we all admire you. It’s a unique quality that we, even the entire Star-Eye Clan, lack.”
As Zhong Hongke spoke, a complex expression appeared on his face. He was not young and had deep feelings for the Star-Eye Clan.
“The longer we are with you, the more we see your capabilities. We gradually come to respect and accept you. Today, we publicly state that from now on, we recognize you as the leader of the Bronze Camp, the one we support and vow to protect with our lives!”
After speaking, Zhong Hongke solemnly saluted Ye Zhongming with the military salute of the Star-Eye Clan. The others followed suit, repeating Zhong Hongke’s words.
“Then we will fight side by side in the future.” Ye Zhongming returned the salute, knowing that from this moment on, the Bronze Camp had entered his era.
Once everything was out in the open, the atmosphere became relaxed, and the barriers between them faded away. Being part of the same battle team naturally brought them closer together.
“I’ve drawn quite a few people from you, and now each thousand-person team has vacancies. Along with the eliminated hundred-person teams, there’s probably a gap of over a thousand, right? I have an idea: we should not fill those gaps for now, at least until we find suitable candidates.”
Ye Zhongming had someone pour water for the mid-level leaders before continuing.
“Aren’t we supposed to recruit a hundred new people?” Zhi Chaka was puzzled.
“I want to form the Eleventh Thousand-Person Team.” Ye Zhongming spoke decisively.
The other thousand-person commanders exchanged glances.
Zhong Hongke cleared his throat and said softly, “Lord Ling, this… seems to go against the rules.”
The Bronze, Silver, and Gold Camps are all structured with ten thousand-person teams, each team consisting of a thousand people, plus some logistics and medical personnel, totaling just over one thousand one hundred.
The Gold Camp's situation is somewhat special because it mainly consists of soldiers transferred from the Silver Camp. Additionally, aside from the exceptionally talented who enter the clan leader's guard squad, this camp is the endpoint for the Star-Eye Clan warriors. Logically, their numbers should be the highest.
Unfortunately, because they are strong, they are also the best candidates for various missions, which leads to a high casualty rate. Therefore, as of now, although the Gold Camp also has ten thousand-person teams, they are not fully staffed; each team has only a few hundred people, and the entire Star-Eye Clan, which should be the mainstay force, has less than ten thousand golden warriors.