Chapter 2282: Bronze mask (1)

The things the boss made were all good.

The Red Female Guard's present was the future of the other battalions.

These two principles were firmly believed by Cloud Peak's soldiers, even its high-level members.

Since the seemingly unremarkable bronze masks met both criteria above, they were definitely worth fighting for!

If they were evenly distributed, there would be nothing to say—everyone would be happy. After all, they were brothers who had been through life and death together over the years; the number of times they had saved each other's lives might be more than one could count on both hands.

When good things were shared, nothing would happen; there would be no conflict. Even if distribution was sometimes uneven, no one cared too much, because it was certainly not due to any ill intent—it was simply how the situation was, and compensation would come later.

Cloud Peak might not be able to achieve absolute fairness, but it could guarantee reasonable fairness.

But now it was different. Le Dayuan said that all fifty thousand bronze masks would go to a single battalion—that was a big problem.

This was not just about distribution; to some extent, it involved recognition of a battalion's combat strength.

After a long period of development, the vast majority of battalions had now reached a scale of at least one hundred thousand personnel. Main combat battalions were larger, while other battalions were smaller. Single-arm battalions had more personnel, while special battalions had fewer.

For example, Little Tiger's all-cavalry unit had now exceeded two hundred thousand in size—counting one person and one mount as one unit. For example, Cloud Peak's air force had exceeded three hundred thousand, including one hundred thousand air knights and over two hundred thousand other flying war beasts. For example, Li Daqian's War Beast Department had even more—excluding reserves, just the current active forces numbered over five hundred thousand.

Among the regular battalions, Mo Ye's battalion ranked first in size with eighteen thousand seven hundred personnel, while Guangyao's battalion had sixteen thousand five hundred. As for special departments, such as Park Xiuying's Medical Department, it had only about fifty thousand personnel, and the Pharmacy Department, headed by Tang Guo, had just over forty thousand.

As numbers increased, each unit's strength also changed. If special forces were excluded from comparison, the combat strength gap among the other battalions was actually narrowing.

When recruiting new members, established battalions—like those of Mo Ye, Liang Chuyin, and Xia Lei—naturally held great appeal. But at the same time, it meant it was harder to stand out within them. And status often corresponded to benefits and evolution speed, so many capable and ambitious people preferred to join the "newer" battalions or the relatively weaker ones—such as the earlier-established Young Master Yun Battalion, Lu Yi Battalion, Ah Yang Battalion, and the dozen or so new armies led by outstanding individuals selected from Ah Yang's brothers and the Youth Army.

Talent mobility was a normal phenomenon. Moreover, Xia Lei also placed great emphasis on balance among the battalions, so the strength gap among the more than thirty battalions was now smaller than before.

Healthy competition was something that Xia Lei and many of Cloud Peak's core members were happy to see, and it was also an important way to maintain Cloud Peak's cohesion.

But healthy competition was still competition, and with this deliberate fostering and Cloud Peak's massive development, that competition was intensifying.

Battalions like Little Tiger's, Park Xiuying's, and Li Daqian's—which were either specialized or exceptionally powerful—might not feel as urgent, but for other battalions, fifty thousand pieces of equipment that even the Red Female Guard valued could be a factor capable of overturning their overall strength, widening the gap between battalions.

Indeed, these items might be manufactured again in the future, and every battalion would eventually have them. But one must not forget that a war that could affect Cloud Peak's entire destiny was imminent. Whoever had these masks first might gain the greatest merits. Even if that battalion suffered heavy losses from being assigned the main assault mission, the compensation they received would be unmatched by any other battalion.

Also, Le Dayuan had said that this technology was sent down from above by Boss Ye. So would the first ones to get it be able to adapt to things beyond Earth sooner? The existence of the Slave Race, the approaching pickup days, and the allure of the myriad races of the universe all made Cloud Peak's battalion commanders realize that the true journey was to the stars and seas—as described in various novels and articles.

These masks seemed to be the key to opening that door.

So after Le Dayuan announced that all these masks would go to a single battalion, after a brief moment of silence, fierce competition immediately broke out.

Every commander elaborated on their battalion's advantages, making promises and tactical proposals to Le Dayuan and Xia Lei—even saying things like "I'll offer my head if I fail." Little Tiger, Li Daqian, Mo Ye, Liang Chuyin, and other battalion commanders and leaders were too embarrassed to compete aggressively, but the others had no such qualms.

Later, everyone felt that just talking about their own strengths was not enough, so they started pointing out the weaknesses and disadvantages of other battalions. Once someone started, it spiraled out of control and turned into a full-blown criticism session. Only then did everyone realize that these battle brothers, who usually called each other brothers and had life-and-death bonds, had actually studied them and their battalions so thoroughly!

These guys had ulterior motives!

So the argument grew even fiercer, and they even started challenging each other to fights, with stakes being placed!

Ah Lang and the Glory Army's Third Army commander watched in cold horror, thinking: Are these people going to come to blows?

There were several nine-star evolvers here, and piles of eight-star evolvers. If they started fighting, should they run or try to mediate?

Xia Lei did not stop them. Instead, she laughed heartlessly on the side, occasionally exchanging comments with Guangyao about who would have the advantage if certain people fought and what the odds were, acting like a carefree big sister.

Guangyao wore a bitter smile and said, "Sis, how do you expect me to answer that? Whoever I pick, I'll offend someone. Besides, I want those masks too—can you not exclude me like this? It's not fair to me."

And Xia Lei laughed even louder.

Finally, Le Dayuan clapped his hands and said, "Alright, everyone settle down. I haven't even said what these masks can do, and you're already fighting over them—do you have to be so impulsive?"

"Yes!"

Many answered in unison, making Le Dayuan roll his eyes.

"Let me tell you about their abilities. After you hear them, you'll know that not every battalion is suited to carry them."

Everyone immediately fell silent. They were especially eager to hear just how powerful the thing they had been arguing about was.

"The Star-Eye Clan that Zhongming belongs to is a race focused on surprise attacks and assassination skills. They are assassins who walk in darkness and raiders who fly out from the shadows, so each of them wears a mask."

"Depending on individual strength, the standard masks are divided into three grades: bronze, silver, and gold. Right now, Zhongming is the controller of a bronze battalion."

Many people already knew this, but many did not, and there was an uproar after hearing it.

Cloud Peak's leader, Cloud Peak's god—had gone up there only to control the weakest battalion of a small race? Cloud Peak had been invincible for too long, so after their initial shock, many felt discontent and resentment.