Chapter 11: What It Means to Be a Great Commander
At night, around the dense clusters of tents, bonfires built from wood and large stones illuminated the surrounding area.
Near Su Xiao's tent, over a hundred large cauldrons were filled with water, the boiling liquid churning within.
Soldiers stood or sat among the tents, their stomachs growling with hunger. Tonight, there was no meal. It was already dark, yet their great commander had forbidden the lighting of fires for cooking. As for heading into the nearby Anji City to settle dinner, that was out of the question. They had just retreated from the front lines, their pockets emptier than their faces—this wasn't a metaphor, it was fact.
The soldiers reeked of a foul stench, a mix of blood and sweat fermented over several days. If not for the Gray Soul within their bodies, over 95% of them would have already died from infected wounds.
The soldiers were filthy, starving, and their wounds throbbed with pain. This began to stir agitation among them. Within half an hour, several had already started brawling—a serious crime in the military.
Inside the central tent, Su Xiao shook a test tube in his hand. When the solution turned dark green, he poured the liquid into a metal barrel half a meter in diameter.
The potion was diluted, shifting from dark green to emerald green, and would need one more dilution.
"Kaisa, find a few soldiers and have them continue diluting these potions."
"No problem."
Kaisa cleared his throat and called over a few soldiers from outside the tent. Kaisa also understood alchemy, but he was only a half-baked practitioner. Directing soldiers to dilute potions was well within his ability.
Before long, the boiling water in the over a hundred cauldrons outside the tent turned a light green. Under the arrangements of Kaisa, Oss, and two adjutants, the soldiers lined up in rows, waiting before each cauldron.
What followed was simple. Each soldier received a large bowl of light green potion. After drinking it, their direct superiors took out lists and divided the soldiers into two large queues. One queue consisted of those whose families had already received gold coins, while the other was made up of single men.
A bewildering event then occurred for the many bachelors: their officers actually had them line up to collect gold coins, each receiving between 20 to 30 coins.
In the other queue, soldiers received simple documents listing their family members' names and the amount of pay they had received. This left the soldiers both stunned and overjoyed, their murmurs unceasing.
Two hours later, the soldiers' irritable mood had been calmed, but they were even hungrier—hungry enough to eat an entire cow. What amazed them was that their wounds, which had been numb and constantly painful, now felt nothing. Instead, a cooling sensation spread through them. The comfort in their bodies only made their stomachs growl louder, and they swallowed hard.
Wave after wave of gold coins were distributed, leaving Su Xiao with just over 30,000 gold coins. At the front lines, how many gold coins one had at the start didn't matter. As long as they could capture "Segona City," they wouldn't be short of gold later.
With this monetary offensive, the soldiers began to look at Su Xiao differently. They weren't stupid—they already knew that the somewhat unpleasant green soup was a highly effective potion.
Several large wooden crates were placed before the soldiers. Su Xiao had now donned a black cloak, sewn from the hide of a transcendent creature. The outer fur was soft, effectively warding off the desert night's cold.
Su Xiao stepped onto the stacked crates, climbed to the highest one, and slowly kicked it over.
Clatter~
Gold coins spilled down the crate, gleaming enticingly in the firelight.
"One gold shield each, my gift to you. Anyone who takes more will be executed without mercy."
The soldiers all looked up slightly at Su Xiao. He surveyed the crowd below—twenty thousand soldiers stretched out in a vast sea. This feeling of being revered by thousands, of having them hold their breath to listen to his every word, made Su Xiao understand why so many were addicted to power.
"Assemble at dawn. Anyone who fails to report will be treated as a deserter. Tonight, you may go anywhere you wish."
"Roar!!"
Cheers erupted in waves, every soldier beaming with smiles.
"Commander! Commander! Commander!"
The soldiers' cheers and shouts merged into one, their right fists clenched and raised repeatedly. No wonder they were so excited—one gold coin each meant they could eat, drink, and enjoy themselves to their hearts' content in nearby Anji City. After filling their stomachs, what they wanted most was a communal bath. Normally, that was a luxury, but not anymore.
Amid the cheers, Su Xiao stepped down from the crates and returned to his tent. The night wind stirred the bonfires, and the cries of "Commander" continued for several minutes before dying down. The soldiers gathered in groups of three or five, smiling as they headed toward Anji City.
Su Xiao had only done a few things. First, he provided family compensation. To make soldiers fight desperately, they needed at least to have no worries about their families. Their dependents had to be settled.
Second, he treated the soldiers' wounds. This was the most effective way to win hearts. Physical pain directly affected every soldier, and removing that pain left the strongest impression.
Third, he kept the soldiers hungry until 9 p.m., then gave each one gold coin to go into Anji City for meat and drink, followed by a communal bath. After that, if any young lads felt lonely, they could find some wild ducks to vent their frustrations. Soldiers put their lives on the line, and such things were understandable. They still had several days of marching ahead.
Over twenty thousand soldiers flooded into Anji City, putting immense strain on its restaurants, bathhouses, and other establishments. The local merchants were both pained and delighted—there were simply too many soldiers, but these soldiers were genuinely wealthy.
With hundreds of thousands of gold coins spent, Su Xiao hadn't made every soldier utterly loyal, but he had made them willing to fight for him. After all, that was their duty.
Anji City quickly grew lively. No soldier dared to cause trouble. Earlier, 36 soldiers had grabbed a few extra gold coins from the ground and were summarily executed by Su Xiao's order.
Giving benefits alone wasn't enough. The soldiers needed to fear and respect him—respect first, fear second. Soldiers were like wolves. Handled well, they would cooperate, using their fangs to tear out enemies' throats. But a wolf, if not properly restrained, would bite back when it no longer found you fearsome.
Su Xiao didn't enter Anji City. He stayed in the great commander's tent. Outside, two adjutants stood guard on either side. As adjutants of a defeated army, they didn't know how to speak eloquently. They simply stood outside, guarding their commander, the Great Commander Kukulin Bai Ye.
Inside the tent, Su Xiao sat cross-legged on a small bed. The reason he had promised to capture "Segona City" within seven days was, of course, his trump cards. Apollo was one, and the other was the [War Lord] title.
[War Lord]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise
Quality: ★★★
Category: Title
Title Effect 1: When commanding a war, grants a group buff based on the number of allies.
Note: When allied soldiers exceed 100, gain March Speed +10%, Morale +5 points. This effect has no time limit and activates after war begins.
Note: When allied soldiers exceed 500, gain Strength, Agility, and Stamina +1, Morale +10 points.
Note: When allied soldiers exceed 1,000, gain Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Intelligence +2, Morale +20 points.
Note: When allied soldiers exceed 10,000, gain all True Attributes +2 (excluding Luck), March Speed +20%, Morale +50 points. If Morale exceeds 70 points, allied soldiers will fight fearlessly until their numbers drop below 15%, at which point retreat may occur.
Note: Maximum Morale is 100 points. If it exceeds the cap, the "Overwhelming Momentum" effect triggers, locking Morale at 100 points for one hour.
Current Morale: 37 points (War not commanded, morale buff not triggered).
Rating: Special item, no rating.
Description: Soldiers, trample them!
Price: Cannot be sold.
The [War Lord] title was perfect for the current situation. Before reaching the border between the Flame Sand Kingdom and the Peru Kingdom, Su Xiao planned to upgrade the [War Lord] title once.
[You have activated the title refinement authority. Please select the main title.]
A disc covered in magma-like patterns appeared before Su Xiao. After selecting the [War Lord] title, it embedded itself at the center of the disc.
[Please select secondary titles. After this refinement, all selected secondary titles will be consumed.]
Su Xiao selected the recently acquired [Bloody Glory] two-star title, followed by the [Skilled Warrior] two-star title, and the [Uphold Justice] one-star title.
Two slots remained. Su Xiao selected the three-star title [Team Slayer]. The last slot was left empty. He couldn't achieve perfection in everything, and obtaining these titles was already the limit for now. Besides, [War Lord] could still be refined twice more.
[Selection complete. 50 Soul Coins required to initiate title refinement. If insufficient, Paradise Coins or Soul Crystals may be used.]
Su Xiao still had 687 Soul Coins. He activated the title refinement. With a few crisp sounds, four titles embedded themselves in the slots around the disc.
Hum~
The disc turned blazing red, the magma patterns becoming more vivid. A trace of blood-colored electric light emerged.
The refinement process was slow. Su Xiao waited nearly half an hour before the magma patterns on the disc cooled.
[Title refinement complete.]
[War Lord has been upgraded to a ★★★★-rank title.]