Today is the annual task submission day.
Compared to his peers, Lin Suo is undoubtedly the best performing one, especially with the Chimera Legion he started to cultivate since the end of Padolon, numbering tens of thousands. Although the majority are still juveniles, there are still over a thousand usable beasts.
For a Level Three planet, this is an overwhelming power.
Of course, the resistance of the natives is never a concern for those in charge of pioneering; they are just irritants.
The real reason Lin Suo is leading.
Lies in the quantity and technology of his subordinates.
Invention and creation are as simple to him as eating and drinking; after all, it’s just a fusion of skills, and with his various ideas, many things are developed very smoothly.
Like the recently developed anti-gravity transport vehicles.
They not only ignore terrain but also have a space container, able to carry over a hundred tons of raw ore at once; ten such vehicles could transport a thousand tons.
This means that in no time, the resources on [Jigerde-001] will be exhausted by him.
Except for the largest copper and iron reserves...
Maybe it’s time to consider the next plan.
Lin Suo pondered this as he led a few Beastman Deputies on the way out of the city to welcome the arrival of the Truth Council’s transport ship.
The World Tree Magic Ring makes adapting to the environment very easy.
The vicinity of Iron Hoof Mountain City has been turned into a verdant paradise by Lin Suo, with large swaths of farmland cultivated.
Planting synthetic rice, wheat, corn, potatoes, and other staple crops, as well as a small plot for spices and seasonings.
Underground, new spaces are being excavated, part of Lin Suo’s preparation for later plans.
A burst of refrigerant leaks out.
As the transport ship’s hatch lowers, a staircase extends downwards, and several officer-looking individuals descend from the starship.
The War Academy’s uniforms were modeled after those of the Red Empire.
Only theirs are blue.
The Truth Council’s are black.
Wizards have a special fondness for the profound color black.
"Rhein Lin, Upper Class Soldier from the Pioneer Army, first year of task submission?"
The leading officer is not very strong, almost the same level as Lin Suo.
Also just an Upper Grade Wizard.
After Lin Suo handed over the documents and his identity was verified through a tedious process,
The officer spoke with envy.
"I really envy you nobles from the Mother Star, doing nothing and starting off with noble status."
Lin Suo held back his response.
He wanted to say, the price he paid, you cannot imagine.
Looking back now, its value seems negligible, but understand that the cost and opportunities at different stages of a person’s life can never be equated.
For example, as a weakling, one Lower Grade witchcraft spell was enough to make him ecstatic, as it was a step onto a higher social ladder.
While powerful, one Upper Grade witchcraft spell is just so-so.
Therefore, the meaning of sacrifice is not in the amount of value but in the stage of life the gains are made...
Glancing at the badges signifying military rank on the officer’s shoulder, this guy is actually a Lieutenant.
Combining his earlier words, it’s clear he’s not a noble.
So it must be Military Merit earned with his own hands, from the years of battles with the Star Sky Demon in the early days, where many lower-ranking officers emerged, and he was one of them.
"Hello, Lieutenant Ban Jiu, may I ask your name?"
"Lieutenant Ban Jiu, please follow me."
The lieutenant nods, accompanied by an Auditor, an Inspection Officer, and a Personal Guard.
Following Lin Suo’s lead into Iron Hoof Mountain City, their path is met with admiration.
"As expected of a noble family, such adept methods, unlike us hyenas who clawed our way from the bottom, even given a pioneering task, it would take over a decade to build such a large city."
The three companions continuously agreed.
"Yes, the original Beastmen happen to be one of the easier species to enslave in the universe, unlike the savage Beastmen of the Mother Star, who are all uncivilized brutes."
Lin Suo felt a bit helpless. He caught the underlying meaning, but he didn’t respond since he himself came from a humble background, only that he managed things quite well and had benefactors.
The savage Beastmen of Padolon...
Are actually ancient Beastmen, Lin Suo has only seen Half-Beasts with minor animalistic characteristics.
But the true savage Beastmen typically have distinct subclasses, such as Tiger Men, Lion Men, Werewolf, Elephant Men, etc.
These are the truly difficult to enslave.
And the original Beastmen, which Lin Suo is currently enslaving, aside from a protruded lower jaw and two upward-growing canines, have no significant animalistic traits.
They are classified as Beastman Clan.
Simply because they look ugly, more beast than human, strictly speaking, actually more human-like than the Tasu people...
"Gentlemen, let’s head to the warehouse. These Beastman slaves will handle the transportation of resources to the starship; the first batch of thirty thousand slaves is ready at the plaza ahead."
Lieutenant Ban Jiu responded.
Touching his empty sleeve cuff somewhat annoyedly but chose not to erupt.
But the subsequent conversations all hint at their differences with Lin Suo, a different faction.
[Just pinch your nose and accept it?]
It’s not the first time he’s been exploited. Better not to make trouble than to stir it.
As long as it’s not too greedy, Lin Suo considers himself very open-minded.
After all, many who exploited him in the past,
He has not settled the score, because consent was given upfront; he was willing to pay more in exchange for the resources he needed.
Simply being extorted this way is a first.
As Lin Suo was contemplating how much would be appropriate to give, the group arrived at the plaza where the slave handover takes place.
Sergeant Ban Jiu suddenly halted and snorted coldly.
"Luoluo, Level Three Private!"
Sergeant Ban Jiu pointed at the ragged Beastman slaves in the square, scarred with whip marks all over their bodies, and accused.
"These are the slaves you’ve prepared for the Truth Council?!"
"And look over there, at the slaves you’ve prepared for yourself!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Suo looked over.
He almost laughed because what Sergeant Ban Jiu was pointing at were his own Slave Capture Team, acting as guards at the moment, watching over the densely packed Beastman slaves on the square, their hands and feet all shackled with iron chains.
These Beastman slaves were all defiant and unruly.
There were old men and children among them.
The marks of whippings on their bodies were left from "re-education," but these thirty thousand were all stubborn, refusing to submit to the end.
Among them were also the lazy, the absent from work, those who stole food, and those who messed with other people’s wives.
A bunch of criminals.
All filled in by Lin Suo to meet the quota needed for the task.
There was no problem with this,
Sergeant Ban Jiu was the one picking a quarrel.
At this point, Lin Suo’s tone also cooled down.
"They are my Slave Capture Team, is there a problem?"
"Slave Capture Team? Heh heh."
"I don’t care, the slaves handed over to the Truth Council must be the strongest, otherwise... it’s a perfunctory and disrespectful act towards the higher-ups. I think these two by your side are quite good."
Lin Suo’s gaze turned increasingly icy as officers who had climbed from the bottom harbored an inexplicable hostility towards nobility.
Initially, he had quite appreciated this person.
An enemy’s words, it’s better to get rid of them sooner.
Patting the shoulders of the two Beastmen beside him, Lin Suo smiled with narrowed eyes.
Autain Stone Heart and Baron Bloodhoof were Beastman Chieftains who had recently broken through to Second Level Physique, elevated by Lin Suo to Deputy Officers, commanders of the Slave Capture Team.
Prepared for further training, they were also the cornerstone of the next step in the plan. There was no way he would easily let them go.
Lin Suo’s assertive attitude influenced the two savage Beastmen, who began to bare their yellowish fangs intimidatingly at the group.
Sergeant Ban Jiu’s eyes revealed a hint of surprise.
The tone almost carried a demon’s temptation.
"Luoluo, Level Three Private, do you intend to take action against us?"
"Of course... not possible!"
Lin Suo slapped the two deluded Beastmen awake and raised his wrist, pointing at the communication bracelet and said.
"You don’t think the deployment of the quantum network is just for show, do you? Being in cahoots is useless."
The task turnover target is determined by the data entered by Lin Suo.
There is a basic requirement from the top.
A fixed reward of one thousand Military Merits, the more data Lin Suo enters, the more Military Merits calculated.
Officers like Sergeant Ban Jiu, lower-ranking ones.
Their main function was actually to monitor Lin Suo’s side, so there would be no overreporting or deliberately exaggerating, leading to a much smaller actual number.
The two sides monitor each other.
This is the popular way of controlling people from above.
Having navigated the rules for years, Lin Suo wouldn’t act without understanding the rules upon arriving in a new place, right?
Only that Sergeant Ban Jiu had misjudged the person.
"Even if I can’t do anything about you, the fact that you intentionally handed over the old, weak, sick, and disabled remains an undeniable fact. Wait for your conviction."
Lin Suo didn’t care about this.
Everyone did this, and besides, the higher-ups also knew that such acts couldn’t be eradicated.
Moreover, what Lin Suo handed over were not dying or disabled.
The slippery individuals handed over slaves who often died by the hundreds before even reaching their destination, and upon officially becoming miners for the new planet, another few thousand would swiftly succumb to illness and die.
That was called excessive.
Not likely to be made an example of.
Sergeant Ban Jiu returned to the starship with a defeated look, without even dispatching guards.
Lin Suo didn’t bother with these and directed the Beastmen to move goods for an entire day and two nights, only then letting them rest after sending the slaves aboard the ship.
Goods were transported onto the ship.
To be safe, Lin Suo recorded the entire process, each iron ingot was logged.
From this point on, the responsibility fell on Sergeant Ban Jiu.
Any accident would be his fault, with Lin Suo bearing no relation.
The basic one thousand Military Merits were accumulated in the personal confidence file of the communication bracelet.
This could be spent like currency.
The value of one thousand Military Merits, comparable to an ordinary Third Ring witchcraft, allowed Lin Suo to rise from a Level Three Private rank to an Upper Class Soldier all at once.
Level Three, Level Two, Level One, Upper Class.
These are the four military ranks for soldiers.
This displays the generous rewards of the pioneering mission.
This time, Lin Suo submitted according to four times the requirement, apart from only having thirty thousand slaves, the copper and iron resources even reached six times the requirement.
Which means, after submitting the recording and the other side’s review passes, another four thousand Military Merits would be deposited into the account.
One leap in military rank.
From an Upper Class Soldier directly jumping to the non-commissioned officer rank.
Just one Sergeant away, and he would be able to advance to an Officer.