CHAPTER 1027: CHAPTER 1025: SEND THE WEAKEST TO COMPETE

In the outer battlefield, a year has passed in the blink of an eye. Perhaps due to the impact the Flying Tigers Squad had on the forces of Universe 37 and Universe 38, they were so intimidated that there were almost no military actions within this year.

Not only them but even several neighboring civilizations that once attempted to invade Universe Seven became restrained, and Universe Seven enjoyed a yearlong peace and stability.

"How is Menglong’s IPX-001 legion doing?" As the person in charge of the outer battlefield, Luo Ze was very concerned about Zhang Menglong’s troops.

The adjutant under Luo Ze showed a rather exasperated smile, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.

"What’s wrong?" Luo Ze felt a bit worried when he saw the expression on the adjutant’s face, "He didn’t mess up again, did he?"

"Not exactly," the adjutant said, "But it seems he’s treating this battlefield like a game, General, I have to ask, was it truly a wise decision to entrust him with a legion?"

"What exactly did he do?"

"He spent 100,000 stars to establish a space jump point near our base, directly connecting to that planet of his called Earth. He stays at the base during the day and goes home at night. He doesn’t spend more than eight cosmic hours a day on the outer battlefield, and every five cosmic days, he takes two cosmic days off. Even his subordinate commanders are the same!"

"Commanders?" Luo Ze was puzzled.

"Zhang Menglong brought 666 people to the battlefield, and each of these 666 people commands a division, equivalent to a battle formation in our terms."

"Doesn’t he know the battlefield rules here?"

"I’ve already sent people to remind him," the adjutant said with a bitter smile, "but he insists on a nine-to-five schedule, eight hours a day, with weekends off. That’s the standard working hours in their civilization, and overtime is out of the question, impossible in this lifetime."

"Also, he claims that you gave him this authority, and if anyone disagrees, they can come to you."

"This rascal." Luo Ze showed a helpless smile. Although he was quite dissatisfied with Zhang Menglong’s behavior, he really couldn’t do anything about it.

He was clearly at the peak of authority in the outer battlefield, and yet he didn’t dare to manage one of his own legion commanders.

"And what about his soldiers? Is he training them?"

"Yes," the adjutant said, "Apart from the first day when Zhang Menglong gathered all the soldiers for a speech, he distributed them into 666 divisions for his subordinates to train, while he himself... can hardly be described as anything but idle."

"Do you know their training methods?"

"No," the adjutant said, "their training is almost completely closed off and not open to outsiders. Oh, by the way, in the first half year, the legion commander even led his commanders to attack several hundred enemy civilization base cities around us without authorization."

"What’s he doing?" Luo Ze asked in confusion.

"Grabbing resources, what else!" The adjutant couldn’t help but be speechless, "When the legion commander first took over, he applied to our headquarters for a batch of materials to build training equipment. However, the types and amounts of things he requested were vast, and as you know, this outer battlefield is inherently resource-poor. We barely have enough for our own development, let alone spare resources for him."

"So he went to grab them?"

"Yes!" The adjutant nodded, "He said since the higher-ups couldn’t provide it, he would figure it out himself. Then he alone looted hundreds of base cities empty, and I even heard something."

"What did you hear?"

"When the legion commander launched a surprise attack on the base city of Universe 78, their legion commander personally stepped in."

"Looks like Zhang Menglong managed to escape from him," Luo Ze said. Otherwise, he might not be able to see him now.

"He didn’t escape at all," the adjutant said, "I heard that when they returned, they weren’t in a sorry state. On the contrary, they were immaculate and even glowing, and I even investigated a bit, and the 29th Legion of the opposed Universe 78, directly withdrew entirely!"

"The entire legion withdrew?" Luo Ze suddenly thought of a very bold idea, "This guy didn’t happen to take out their legion commander, did he?"

Under normal circumstances, if a legion-level battle formation withdraws, it must have been something significant.

"Hard to say," the adjutant said, "but after that, the legion commander never went out again. He probably has collected the supplies he needed abundantly."

"Really underestimated him," Luo Ze muttered to himself. His ancestor was impressive; this Zhang Menglong is even more impressive. Although he cannot comprehend how a Level Six Life Form could take down a Level Eight Life Form, if it’s something he pulled off, he isn’t too doubtful.

"It’s time to see what he’s really made of!" Luo Ze said with a smile, "Arrange for a legion competition in three cosmic days."

"Three cosmic days? Isn’t that too short?" the adjutant said worriedly.

Whenever there are new recruits, all the legions of Universe Seven organize a competition where each legion sends three representatives to compete. On one hand, it’s to verify their training results, and on the other hand, it’s to encourage internal competition and enhance the overall combat effectiveness of Universe Seven.

Legion commanders usually train their troops intensively for such face-saving events, selecting the top three, and might even personally teach them some skills.

But typically, such competitions occur after ten cosmic years post enlistment, as even such a span feels like a brief moment in the long cosmic timeline, and realistically, their skill levels barely improve during this time.

"For others, this time frame may be short, but for Zhang Menglong, it might not be," Luo Ze said with a profound smile, "If nothing goes wrong, we should be able to witness a very exciting competition!"

...

As soon as the news of the competition was disseminated, all the legions became busy. Since there had been virtually no combat tasks for nearly a year, every unit dedicated most of their energy to training the new recruits, and commanders had immense confidence in their soldiers.

Fierce selections were underway within various legions, as the top three contenders in this competition, although gaining just a title and some insignificant prize money, were crucial for the face-conscious commanders; they valued this rivalry heavily.

Some even took the time to personally teach the participants, because capturing a good rank would significantly elevate their legion’s status within the entire army in the future.

...

In the command room of the IPX-001 Legion, Zhang Menglong gathered with all the students from the Super God Academy.

He casually set down the competition notice, "There’s a legion competition. Just pick some people to go."

"Dean, what’s the point of this!"

"Exactly, no money, no rewards, just some lousy honor, who’s gonna go?"

"Our SRIO-012 division is so engrossed in training right now. I reckon if we asked them, they wouldn’t even want to go, for fear of falling behind others if they miss a day."

"Then what do we do? Everyone’s going, we can’t just not show up, can we? This is an opportunity to showcase our IPX-001 Legion," Zhang Menglong said, frowning, thinking it could earn them a few prestige points.

"How about this!" Zhang Menglong suggested, "Take out the weakest in your units and let them fight it out. Whoever is the least capable goes to compete. Let everyone rely on merit, no complaints!"