First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 75

Chapter 75: Recruitment

Lian Sheng playing on Sanyao had already scared quite a few people just by being anonymous. What were they doing? Rushing to disconnect?

Lian Sheng fell silent.

The other party was still waiting for her response. Growing impatient, they urged, "What do you think? We don't know the specific map yet, but we'll assign you a suitable position."

Lian Sheng said, "I agree with your viewpoint."

Hearing this, the other person couldn't contain their excitement: "Then..."

Lian Sheng continued, "I mean, the viewpoint about me being a top player."

The person: "..."

Lian Sheng: "Aren't you going to ask who I am? You're willing to cooperate just like that?"

"Who you are isn't important—we don't interfere with such matters. I believe our interests align, and we can cooperate well." The person spoke with utmost sincerity. "If you don't believe me, you can check Sanyao's official site and our military academy's page. The competition starts next Saturday."

Considering that the Great General might be a newcomer, they added, "We've also explained the relevant rules. If you have any questions, you can take a look."

The Piaoqi Great General gave them an indescribable look, then formed a team.

The person applied to join but wasn't approved. Instead, a message flashed across the world channel:

[World] Piaoqi Great General: Calling all heroes to join a 5,000 vs. 5,000 large-scale battlefield. Those who wish to participate, join the team now. Spread the word—registration closes in one hour.

The person who had come to recruit her froze upon seeing the message, then turned and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Recruiting," the Piaoqi Great General said. "We're short on people."

The person grew frantic: "We're not short on people! Our school has enough! We just wanted to ask if you'd join! Just you alone!"

The Piaoqi Great General ignored them and sent another message.

The person circled around her, watching her actions and feeling like they were about to faint. They hadn't intended for things to escalate like this and feared losing control. Moving closer, they repeated, "Seriously, stop recruiting. We won't accept them. Random people pulled from the internet are unreliable—we don't know their skill level, background, anything! Most importantly, they usually can't compare to professional military academy students. Why recruit them?"

The Piaoqi Great General said, "Not necessarily. Haven't you heard that true masters hide among the masses?"

The person retorted, "Half of Sanyao's high-score zone is filled with our military academy students. What 'hiding among the masses'? This is our territory!"

The Great General watched them panic without responding, as if deliberately slow. Only when they started stomping in frustration did she mischievously say, "I'm recruiting for myself."

"Huh?!" The person spread their hands. "That's hard to arrange. You need to file a report, find a guarantor, get evaluations from professional professors, and secure venue monitoring. Even students from our academy rarely get approval."

The Great General said, "That's not a problem." After all, it wasn't her concern.

The person wiped their forehead, seemingly on the verge of a breakdown: "Wouldn't it be easier to just join us? We've already prepared everything."

The Great General shrugged: "But I want to be the commander-in-chief."

The person: "..."

Lian Sheng couldn't reveal the truth to them yet—otherwise, she might end up recruiting spies. She waved a hand dismissively: "You may leave now."

The person gave her a strange look, thinking she was a bit unhinged and impossible to reason with. Since persuasion wasn't working, they decided to report back first.

An hour later, the Great General's team had nearly 10,000 members.

Her recent fame on Sanyao was too great. Hearing she was organizing a large-scale battle, crowds rushed to join, eager to see how her teamwork skills measured up beyond her individual combat prowess.

Many had heard of her but never had the chance to face her due to arena restrictions. Now was their opportunity to gauge her strength.

Sanyao wasn't short on military academy graduates and professionals. Lian Sheng checked their points and found quite a few high-scoring players mixed in.

She announced a meeting spot, asking those available to gather first.

The Great General sat cross-legged on the ground, waiting. As more people arrived, discussions broke out.

"Damn, I see some big names here."

"Isn't that Big Bear, the arena sweeper?"

"So many legendary players—aren't they usually in Zone One?"

"No wonder it's the Great General. Just a few shouts and so many people show up."

Seeing enough people had gathered, the Great General stood and raised a hand for silence. Addressing the team, she said, "Hello everyone, I'm the Piaoqi Great General. To farm points, I've decided to organize a 5,000 vs. 5,000 large-scale battle, but I'm short on people and need your help."

"Here's the thing—I'm actually a student from the Allied Military Academy. Since organizing a battle involves many complicated discussions, including tactical analysis later, I'd prefer to communicate in person." The Great General continued, "I'll be visiting the Allied Military Academy soon. So now, if anyone is from the First Military Academy or the Allied Military Academy, or has connections there, raise your hand."

A sea of hands shot up, voices clamoring:

"Me! Great General, pick me! I'm young and strong—trust me!"

"I'm from the Allied Military Academy! Our juniors and seniors have been organizing large battles recently. Great General, are you a freshman? I haven't heard of you!"

"Me! I'm a First Military Academy student!"

"My brother's in the First Military Academy! Does that count?"

"I believe in distant relatives—I must have a distant relative in the First Military Academy!"

"Can I count if I live near the Allied Military Academy?"

The Great General: "Anyone else?"

One person raised their hand: "If I get to meet you in person, I can try my best."

The crowd echoed: "Me too!"

The Great General pulled up the team list and smiled at them. Then, following the order of their earlier responses, she began kicking them out one by one.

Everyone was stunned, standing frozen, unsure what they'd done wrong.

The Great General looked at them and clapped her hands. "Don't misunderstand. I just don't like fighting against relatives—it's awkward."

The crowd: "..."

Yeah, right!

Meanwhile, the Allied Military Academy students were equally baffled by the news.

"She said she's a student from our academy? But we've never heard of her."

"Could she be lying?"

"What's the point of lying about this?"

"Maybe she's a freshman?"

"Even freshmen would stand out. Her combat style is too unique."

"Wait, how many female students do we even have?"

"Not necessarily female—could be a guy pretending."

"Good point."

Someone concluded, "Simple. If she's organizing a battle, just watch the school office for recent competition applications."

Everyone was curious about the Great General's identity. Allied Military Academy students were suddenly bombarded with questions from all sides.

The Great General reopened the list and began further selections.

If they needed 5,000 people, they'd have to prepare at least 5,500. Since these Sanyao players weren't military students, last-minute dropouts were a real possibility.

Alliance University's recruitment had been handed to Zhou Shirui—no idea how that was progressing. Better to have too many than too few.

The Piaoqi Great General announced, "First, the match will likely be next Saturday. If there are changes, I'll notify everyone. If you can't make it, leave the team now."

A few more people trickled out.

Lian Sheng added some familiar faces to the team, placing them at the bottom.

In large battles, individual skill mattered less than teamwork. Mutual suspicion was the deadliest flaw.

Large battles were great for farming points, but military students rarely got the chance, let alone casual players. Such a time-consuming event without decent rewards wouldn't be worth it.

Sure enough, someone soon asked, "Great General, you're not the commander, are you? Can you even command?"

The Great General had only been active in Sanyao through solo combat. No one had seen her command before—not even in arena battles, let alone large-scale warfare.

The Piaoqi Great General declared, "Second. Anyone who doubts my abilities can leave now. On the battlefield, slacking or disobeying orders won't be tolerated. Understand?"

Distrust between soldiers and commanders could destroy their cohesion. In a virtual setting, she couldn't guarantee anything.

Next, Lian Sheng picked out high-scoring players as potential members for an elite squad.

However, they didn't have many players above 50,000 points. Forming a full team would be tough. Top players had their own circles.

Lian Sheng thought for a moment, then searched the list and sent a private message.

Piaoqi Great General: "Are you from the First Military Academy or the Allied Military Academy?"

"Why are you asking?" Jiang Feng Yuhuo snapped. "Neither!"

Piaoqi Great General: "Want to join a large battle?"

Jiang Feng Yuhuo: "No!"

The Great General tempted: "Come on~"

Jiang Feng Yuhuo raged: "Am I insane? Are you?!"

"Oh? Don't want to redeem yourself?" The Piaoqi Great General said. "After the battle, I'll open arena matches and invite you first. Otherwise, how long will you have to wait in queue?"

In mech battles, too many factors decided victory. No one liked admitting they were permanently outmatched—especially not someone like Jiang Feng Yuhuo, who had already made a name for himself. Given the chance, they always sought revenge.

After a long pause, the other side didn't respond. Then, an application popped up in the Great General's team.

The Great General happily accepted and called out, "By the way, recruit some more people for me, will you? I'll only open arena matches if we win~"

Jiang Feng Yuhuo exploded: "Dammit! Stop talking like that!"

With so many people to manage, it was already 7 p.m. by the time Lian Sheng finished organizing them.

Zhang Ce and the others, lacking Lian Sheng's contact info, had to post the announcement and rules directly on the website. That evening, Alliance University's site displayed a new message:

"To the teams representing the First Military Academy and the Allied Military Academy: We hereby announce that our data analyst is Sanyao's Hundred Meter Flying Dagger. Prepare accordingly."

The students erupted in disbelief. Would Hundred Meter Flying Dagger really participate in a student competition? No one had heard of this before—was it a fake?

After logging off Sanyao, Lian Sheng received Zhou Shirui's notification about this. Hundred Meter Flying Dagger... Lu Mingyuan spoke highly of him—he must be impressive.

Zhou Shirui invited her to meet the next morning to discuss further plans. They agreed to meet at the pavilion near the Third Teaching Building.

Zhou Shirui wasted no time. Sitting beside her, he pulled out his optical computer and reported the current situation.

This included the number of Alliance University applicants and their skill levels. In just one night, he'd even compiled their specialties and past records for her reference.

"Military academy competitions don't have a central organizer—everything is randomly assigned by the system. But this is a self-arranged match outside the school network, so both sides must negotiate." Zhou Shirui said, "Once we get approval, we must secure map selection rights. Since they challenged you, insist on this and don't back down."

Lian Sheng nodded.

Zhou Shirui: "Send me the info of the people you recruited online. I'll organize and rank them."

The vice-commander... had it harder than her.

After outlining everything, Zhou Shirui added, "But be careful with Hundred Meter Flying Dagger."

"Oh?" Lian Sheng asked. "What do you think of him?"

Zhou Shirui said, "He's very skilled."

Lian Sheng: "Compared to you?"

"Technically, he's better than me." Zhou Shirui accepted this fact calmly, showing no particular emotion as he put away his optical computer. "Data analysis relies on technical skill."

Lian Sheng tapped her cup thoughtfully. "If it were me..."

Zhou Shirui looked surprised: "You can do data analysis too?"

Lian Sheng: "No, I mean, if it were me, I'd never admit someone commands better than me. Everyone is either already my subordinate or will be in the future."

Zhou Shirui: "..."

Lian Sheng had noticed before—Zhou Shirui lacked passion for battles. He just dutifully completed his data analysis work. During the Red vs. White battle, even when Jiang Jiake's poor decisions led to defeat, he remained unfazed.

Though a participant, he acted like an outsider.

He might have fulfilled his responsibilities, but he wasn't passionate. Did warfare need passion? Lian Sheng believed it absolutely did. The morale of lower ranks depended on their superiors' energy. They needed to stay calm but never indifferent.

If he were her soldier, she'd have beaten some sense into him.

Lian Sheng asked, "Do you like competitions?"

"Of course." Zhou Shirui smiled. "I'm curious what it's like to be Senior's data analyst."

Lian Sheng: "May I ask why you became a data analyst?"

Zhou Shirui paused.

"As a data analyst, guiding your commander to victory is incredibly rewarding."

"If the commander is the army's guiding light, the vice-commander is its eyes—the ones who see the path to victory."

"I want everyone to see that glorious future."

Lian Sheng asked, "Who told you that?"

Zhou Shirui said, "Hundred Meter Flying Dagger."

Lian Sheng nodded: "Ah, my future subordinate."

"He's not your subordinate yet." Zhou Shirui said, "He's my brother."

... Lian Sheng exclaimed, "Oh—!"

---

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