Apocalypse Gachapon

Chapter 2019: Expanding

White Robe and the other high-ranking officials all left. The Bronze Camp, because the excitement from this major assessment had not yet faded, was nearly filled with joy and laughter. After all, one in ten people received a piece of equipment. Those who got it were beaming; those who didnʼt were full of envy and motivation. The scene was quite harmonious.

After Ye Zhongming returned to his room, the ten Thousand-person Leaders and a group of middle-level officers came to find him. The Cloud Peak King knew they had come to pledge their loyalty.

Todayʼs assessment basically established Ye Zhongmingʼs position within the Bronze Camp.

After everyone entered and sat down, they spoke casually, but their words carried a meaning understood by all. Ye Zhongming merely nodded in agreement, smiling and speaking, but did not make any declarations.

Finally, Zhong Hongke stood up, looked at Ye Zhongming seriously, and said: ”Order Leader, previously, when you arrived, although we didnʼt harbor thoughts of outright opposition like Ka Lanka, we did not acknowledge you.”

Apart from Jie Kui, the other Thousand-person Leaders were actually like this.

”A Novice, someone with Furelai not exceeding two thousand, with the same strength as an ordinary warrior—how could they be our superior officer?”

Zhong Hongke did not avoid anything, speaking bluntly.

”But later, we discovered that the clanʼs decision was correct. What you brought was not just the title of Novice First, but also your true capabilities. Over these two months, the entire Bronze Campʼs atmosphere changed, and this was while we werenʼt wholeheartedly cooperating. Having the ability to achieve this, we all admire it. This is a unique quality that we, even the entire Star-Eye Clan, lack.”

As Zhong Hongke spoke to this point, his expression was complex. He was not young and had deep feelings about the Star-Eye Clanʼs situation.
”The longer the time went on, the more we witnessed your abilities. We gradually became sincerely convinced. Today, we publicly declare: from now on, we pledge you as the leader of the Bronze Camp, the one we support and vow to protect unto death!”

After speaking, Zhong Hongke solemnly saluted Ye Zhongming with the Star-Eye Clanʼs military salute. The others behind him followed, repeating Zhong Hongkeʼs words together.

”Then from now on, we fight side by side,” Ye Zhongming returned the salute, knowing that from this moment, the Bronze Camp had entered his era.

After everything was laid out, the atmosphere relaxed. There were no longer barriers between them; being in the same team naturally brought closeness.

”I transferred quite a few people from your teams. Now each Thousand-person Team has vacancies. Plus the hundred people eliminated, the gap is roughly a little over a thousand, right? I have an idea: your vacancies will not be filled for now. At least without suitable candidates, let it remain like this first.”

Ye Zhongming had people bring water for these middle-level leaders, then spoke.

”Arenʼt we going to recruit a hundred new people?” Zhi Chaka didnʼt quite understand.

”I want to form an Eleventh Thousand-person Team,” Ye Zhongming declared emphatically.

The other Thousand-person Leaders all looked at each other in astonishment.

Zhong Hongke coughed lightly and said slowly: ”Order Leader, this... seems to not conform to regulations.”

The three major camps—Bronze, Silver, Gold—both the Bronze and Silver Camps had a standard organization of ten Thousand-person Teams, each with one thousand people, plus some logistics, medical officers, etc., totaling just over eleven hundred people.

The Gold Campʼs situation was a bit special because it mainly consisted of warriors promoted from the Silver Camp. Beyond that, except for the exceptionally outstanding who would enter the Clan Leaderʼs Guard, this was the endpoint for Star-Eye Clan warriors. In theory, their numbers should be the largest.

Unfortunately, their strength was great, so naturally, they were also the best candidates for executing various missions, and their casualty rate was high. So up to now, although the Gold Camp also had ten Thousand-person Teams, they were not at full strength. One Thousand-person Team had only a few hundred people. The entire Star-Eye Clan, whose Gold Mask warriors should be the mainstay force, numbered less than ten thousand.

Of course, above them was the Clan Leaderʼs Guard, which was the most elite existence, but its numbers were also not large.

This was a system the Star-Eye Clan had implemented for many years, never changed, and a method to ensure the combat power of the three major camps.

As for those unqualified to enter the three major camps, they could only enter some other institutions, responsible for ordinary tasks like maintaining security, etc.

Ye Zhongming shook his head. ”Rules sometimes need to be broken for change to occur. Sometimes, increasing the number of warriors is also a way to enhance strength.”

”Regarding the clan side, donʼt worry. I will personally go and explain. Taking advantage of this publicly issued conscription order, we wonʼt select one hundred people from the current pool, but two thousand to train. As they grow in the future and reach a certain standard, then you can select one thousand to fill the vacancies in your respective teams. The remaining one thousand will be the Bronze Campʼs Eleventh Thousand-person Team.”

Hearing Ye Zhongming say this, everyone knew this Order Leader was determined to do this and said nothing more.

Ye Zhongming thought for a moment, then suddenly said to Zhong Hongke: ”Your Furelai should exceed ten thousand now, right?”

Previously, Zhong Hongke was just a tiny bit short of ten thousand. After these days of cultivation, plus his performance in the major assessment, it proved he was a warrior with Furelai over ten thousand.

Zhong Hongke nodded, accepting the congratulations from the others.

”So, what are your plans for the future?”

Ye Zhongmingʼs meaning was obvious: he was asking if Zhong Hongke still wanted to stay in the Bronze Camp.

The current First Thousand-person Leader was qualified to enter the Silver Camp.

”If the Order Leader needs me, I will stay,” Zhong Hongke said without hesitation, directly indicating he temporarily didnʼt want to go to the Silver Camp.

Ye Zhongming smiled and nodded. ”I naturally need you. In that case, starting today, you will assume a Deputy Order Leader position.”

Originally, there were two Deputy Order Leader positions, but both had been vacant.

Zhong Hongke didnʼt expect this and was somewhat surprised. He thought he would become the Camp Training Instructor Ye Zhongming mentioned before.

”Regarding your successor, do you have any suggestions?”

With Zhong Hongke assuming the Deputy Order Leader position, he would be responsible for some affairs of the entire Bronze Camp and obviously could no longer serve as Thousand-person Leader.

Zhong Hongke quickly adapted to his new role. He thought for a moment and said, ”My deputy is actually quite good, just his personal strength is relatively weak.”

Ye Zhongming hummed in acknowledgment, then thought again and said, ”Alright then. Wu Qian, you will assume the position of Thousand-person Leader for the First Thousand-person Team, succeeding Zhong Hongke. As for the deputy of the First Thousand-person Team, transfer him to the newly formed Eleventh Thousand-person Team as its Thousand-person Leader. This way, both the First and Eleventh Thousand-person Teams will have no Deputy Thousand-person Leaders. You can all recommend outstanding Hundred-Person Leaders among your subordinates to me. After consideration, I will announce the appointments. The other vacant positions, you can all handle similarly.”

After quickly arranging the army expansion matters, Ye Zhongming stood up. ”Everyone, return for now. What you need to do next is, first, select the personnel to go to the Library Palace—five from each Thousand-person Team. Second, come here together tonight to study... the ʼUniversal Laws Principles.ʼ”

After speaking, he quickly left. He needed to go to the clan side to see what matter had caused the two clan leaders to leave in such a hurry earlier.