Chapter 86: Still Feeling Wronged?
If Joren had called them useless or dead weight, they might have felt better.
This kind of forced praise was worse.
It felt like a public execution.
"Frontier Marshal..."
Kaia could not take any more. She stood with her face burning.
"Please stop."
"We did nothing today."
"All we did was run errands."
The soldiers around her nodded.
Every one of them looked ashamed.
They were grown men with pride. Spending an entire day accomplishing nothing hurt worse than taking a blade to the chest.
Joren stared at them for a moment.
Then it clicked.
Oh.
They felt guilty because they had not contributed and therefore did not deserve the rewards.
That made sense.
Antares Command had always distributed compensation according to contribution. Kill more, earn more.
Today, Joren had taken every kill.
They would earn nothing, despite wearing themselves out running all over the Fallen Zone.
That was hardly fair.
These people had helped him earn tens of thousands of Bloodstars.
He could not let honest workers lose out.
Joren rubbed his chin. A faintly amused smile appeared.
"Who said you did nothing?"
"In my view, finding the enemy matters more than killing it."
He raised his wrist and activated the tactical watch.
A holographic screen appeared in the air.
It displayed the internal Military Merit settlement system of Antares Command.
"Kaia, what is that look for?"
Joren glanced at her.
"You think scouting is beneath you?"
"Fine. Let me ask you something."
"At ten twenty three this morning, at the abandoned chemical plant to the southeast, who first discovered the hidden Rank Three Venom Lizard?"
Kaia paused.
"My squad."
"Exactly."
Joren’s fingers moved quickly across the display.
"An early stage Rank Three Venom Lizard carries a standard bounty of five hundred Military Merit."
"I may have killed it, but without your warning, I could not have done it so easily."
"So the five hundred goes to your squad."
Beep.
The sound rang clearly through the quiet camp.
Kaia’s watch vibrated.
She looked down.
[Account credited: 500 Military Merit]
[Note: Venom Lizard kill]
He actually sent it.
Before anyone could react, Joren continued at a rapid pace.
As a Rank Three Psionic Master, his mind held information like an enormous computer.
Every detail from the day remained perfectly clear.
Every coordinate.
Every time.
Every species of Voidbeast.
"At ten thirty, Dax and Team Seven discovered twelve Rank Two Carrion Hounds in the underground parking structure near the commercial street."
"They were only Rank Two, but their numbers made them dangerous."
"Fifty each."
"Six hundred total."
"Transfer."
Beep.
Dax had been crouching nearby, drawing circles in the dirt.
His wrist vibrated.
When he saw the balance, his hand began to shake.
On past missions, his squad could fight for their lives and still earn only a few dozen points per person after equipment repairs and medical costs.
Now they had earned the full bounty just by spotting the targets?
"At eleven oh five, Jazz of Kaia’s squad encountered a peak Rank Three Vajra Ape."
"Peak Rank Three bounty, nine hundred Military Merit."
"Transfer."
Beep.
Jazz shot to his feet, eyes wide.
Eight hundred points?
Just like that?
All he had needed to do was show his face in front of the beast?
The camp became silent.
Only the repeated beeps of incoming payments remained, sweeter than music.
Joren’s memory bordered on absurd.
"Team Thirteen discovered a mutated rat pack. Five hundred points."
"Team Twenty Five found invisible bats. Seven hundred points."
"Transfer."
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Joren distributed merit without mercy.
Even if a squad had reported a single Rank One Voidbeast hiding in the most remote corner of the ruins, he paid the full standard kill reward.
Military Merit?
What was that to him?
A number.
Nothing more.
The Beast Tide and the suppression of the House Hurst rebellion had already pushed his total reward beyond one million.
The only real use he had for Military Merit was purchasing cultivation methods.
As for equipment, Joren had already checked.
S Class was the highest standard issue grade available.
Anything beyond that required refinement and custom enhancement.
So to someone with a system like his, ordinary currency had only one real purpose.
Winning people over.
What he cared about was Bloodstars.
Warm, useful Bloodstars that could make him stronger.
Within ten minutes, nearly every soldier’s watch had chimed several times.
The heavy mood vanished.
So did the frustration and self doubt.
In its place came something close to feverish excitement.
And the stunned realization that an entirely new world had just opened before them.
"Holy shit. He really paid the full amount?"
"I pointed once and got two hundred points?"
"We used to trade our lives for money."
"Now we are getting paid for looking?"
"The Frontier Marshal did not bring us here to scout."
"He brought us here to pick up money!"
The way the soldiers looked at Joren changed.
He was no longer merely their commander.
He looked more like the father who had personally raised them.
All the earlier complaints about combat experience and the dignity of an Awakened Warrior disappeared.
Dignity?
Could they eat it?
"Well?"
Joren sent the final payment, flexed his hand, and smiled at them.
"Still feeling wronged?"
"No!"
Three thousand voices answered as one.
The roar trembled with emotion.
At this point, the mood inside the abandoned stadium had gone beyond excitement.
They looked like wolves starved for three days and dropped onto a mountain of meat.
Joren stared at the green light in their eyes and leaned back slightly.
That was a little frightening.
Honestly.
It was already one in the morning.
The harvest had been satisfying, but Joren was not some heartless commander who worked his subordinates to death.
Everyone had spent the entire day running through the ruins.
Their emotions had also risen and fallen hard enough to make anyone exhausted.
As a thoughtful leader, Joren decided it was time to show a gentler side.
"Well..."
He arranged his face into a warm expression.
"Today was a great success."
"We cleared the surrounding Voidbeasts and earned a fortune."
"You have all worked hard. Your bodies and minds have reached their limits."
"So I am ordering everyone to rest."
"Recover your strength, and tomorrow morning we can..."
He stopped.
Every soldier was staring at him.
Was that anger in their eyes?
The anger of men whose source of income had just been cut off.
The anger of gamblers about to recover their losses, only to be dragged away from the table.
"What?"
Joren looked around, confused.
"I am ordering you to rest."
"With pay."
"No Military Merit deducted."
Alar threw his food container onto the ground and rose.
His back went rigid. Righteousness filled his face.
"What kind of order is that?"
"Rest?"
"How can we rest at a time like this?"
Joren blinked.
"What?"
Alar pointed toward the black ruins beyond the camp as though his heart were breaking.
"Frontier Marshal, look at that darkness!"
"How many innocent Voidbeasts..."
He coughed.
"How many vicious Voidbeasts are still hiding out there?"
"Every second they remain alive, Norcrest remains in danger!"
"Every extra minute we sleep means another minute of risk!"
"As a soldier of Antares Command, my heart bleeds when I think of all those Voidbeasts still waiting to be eliminated!"
"How could I possibly sleep?"