"Mixed brigade? A Wizard in charge of enhancing ten Heroic Spirits?"
Elte looked at the orders from the command headquarters, feeling that the higher-ups had gone mad.
Although his legion was severely incomplete, and he was merely the Legion Commander of the Wizard Army, with information not as informed as the command headquarters, he could confirm that no legion in this world was any better than his.
Before entering this world, his legion, excluding clans and slaves, numbered around ten thousand. But after entering this world and starting the war, his legion never returned to that number.
The personnel replenishment from above was never enough; this was the normal state of the battlefield. All Wizards participating in the war accepted this fact.
But these were all reasons to abandon the Wizard Army.
The Wizard Army had evolved over tens of thousands of years since the pioneering period as a warfare strategy. Although the Truth Council continuously modified the structure of the Wizard Army, adding a large number of clans and slaves as auxiliary units.
The core of the Wizard Army was never changed by the Truth Council.
But now, the command headquarters actually ordered him to break up the army and serve as auxiliary units to some Heroic Spirit Army.
What kind of Great Wizard did the higher-ups send over? Even the Staff Department couldn’t dissuade them.
"No, this is too absurd. I have to find out what exactly is going on."
Holding the order in his hand, Elte turned and walked out of the barracks.
He needed to find out whether he had offended some Staff Officer at the command headquarters, and therefore was deliberately targeted. Otherwise, how could such a ridiculous order be executed?
But just as he stepped out of the barracks, his Communication Crystal Ball started vibrating. He looked at it and saw that the request was from his old friend Lael.
Both of them were old Wizards who had joined the war at its inception, and after all these years of war, as long as they weren’t killed, they basically rose to the position of Legion Commander.
Upon connecting, before Elte could speak, Lael’s incredulous voice came through the Crystal Ball.
"Elte, did you receive the order? The higher-ups want to dismantle my army!"
The voice of his old friend plunged Elte into silence, indicating that this wasn’t some petty move triggered by a personal grudge; the higher-ups genuinely intended to dismantle their fragmented legions.
"I received it, Lael," Elte replied calmly. "The higher-ups want to split up the army and serve as auxiliary units to some Heroic Spirit Army."
"Elte, this is fucking absurd! If it was reorganizing the army, I could still understand. But to actually disband it!"
Lael’s voice was astonishingly loud, forcing Elte to hold the Crystal Ball farther away.
"Alright, Lael, lower your voice. Go find out whose army is also being split up. I’ll visit a friend in the Staff Department to ask what exactly is the nature of this dismantling. I hope it’s not the cancellation of the identification code."
After finishing his sentence, Elte ended the communication, his eyes filled with worry.
As an old Wizard born from the Wizard Civilization over a few hundred years ago, it would be truly disheartening to be rendered idle just because of a word from the higher-ups.
Lowering his head, Elte found a communication number in the Crystal Ball. After connecting, an elderly voice emerged from the Crystal Ball.
"I knew you would come to ask me, Elte. Legions like yours are not few."
"I know," Elte replied calmly.
"But I want to know, what does this restructuring mean."
"What does it mean?" The voice on the other end paused slightly, then replied with a suddenly enlightened tone, "You mean the identification code issue, right?"
"Your identification code still exists, and the structure also remains. The current splitting is merely the commander’s experiment to verify if his idea is correct."
"You mean... an experiment?"
As an old Wizard, Elte keenly sensed the implication of this statement.
"Yes, the commander believes that his Heroic Spirit Army, with the aid of witchcraft, will exhibit quite impressive combat power. This combat power may even rival the Wizard Army."
"He’s simply mad... Didn’t you try to dissuade him?"
"We did, but this commander is not the kind of person who emerged from a laboratory, like the last one. If you didn’t know his resume, he would seem like a seasoned old commander."
Elte raised an eyebrow, sensing a hint of strange emotion in that comment.
"You were convinced by him?"
"...Yes, I was convinced. His data seems flawless, and his idea is quite... ’advanced.’
We don’t know if this is the fantasy of a madman, but I don’t think it is."
"Do you have anything else to ask?"
"No, thank you, Abel. If I manage to return alive, I’ll definitely invite you to the Pearl Deep Sea World."
"Hahaha, I’ve recorded you, don’t you dare back out then."
"I won’t back out, for sure."
With the communication ended, Elte took a pipe from his pocket, lit it, and then took a deep breath. As the stimulant entered his alveoli and then circulated to his brain along with his bloodstream, his thoughts became increasingly rapid.
"Experiment...what bad luck."
Although Elte was deeply worried about this new mixed brigade, he knew that since the structure and designation still existed, this decision was certain and couldn’t be retracted.
Retaining the designation and structure means this is merely a temporary wartime organizational adjustment, similar in operation to reorganizing a legion.
If this world war ends and he’s still alive as the Legion Commander, he can rebuild the legion. Members from the old legion could also join the new legion as essential parts.
Therefore, even if they report this to the Military Department, they would not have any grounds.
Elte’s Crystal Ball vibrated again. When he glanced at it, the communication request came from Lael, who was inquiring about the change in the Brigade.
The communication connected.
"Elte, there are over forty brigades just like ours. Basically, any brigade with fewer than five thousand received the notification."
"Hmm." Elte responded calmly, "I know, the staff said the designation and structure are retained. It’s a temporary wartime organizational adjustment."
"A temporary organizational adjustment? But this..."
"Hang in there, Lael." Elte interrupted, "We are soldiers, and a soldier’s duty is to obey orders. If the orders from above are reasonable and lawful, all we have to do is comply.
Do you think that the Military Court’s review won’t apply to you?"
Elte’s warning silenced Lael, and after a while, Lael’s voice was filled with frustration.
"I understand. Old friend, shall we go see those Heroic Spirits?"
Elte tapped his pipe lightly and said softly, "Of course, they’ll be our future comrades in battle."
"How are the Legion Commanders reacting?"
Standing before the map, Richard asked Abel seemingly unintentionally.
The Mixed Brigade is an unprecedented attempt. In previous legion restructuring, Wizards were undeniably the main force. But now, Wizards have become auxiliary units, which many Wizards might find unacceptable.
Abel slightly bowed his head: "Some do not understand, but they are qualified soldiers, and they will comply."
Richard smiled: "The battlefield indeed isn’t a good place for experiments, and misunderstanding is normal. Have you brought the witchcraft requested from above?"
Abel paused for a moment and replied, "It’s already here, but Commander, isn’t your action against the rules?"
Since the start of the war, the Wizard’s war merit system has rapidly developed. After hundreds of years of development, the war merit system evolved from merely trading materials and some knowledge to being able to exchange practically anything if you have enough war merit.
Richard’s abundance of war merit goes without saying. He picked a few very useful spells from the war merit exchange list and planned to directly promote them within the Mixed Species Army.
"If directly disseminated, it is indeed against the rules." Richard said with confidence, "But how much effort do you think it would take for me to create something new from that knowledge?"
As a Five Rings Great Wizard, Richard’s knowledge in Elemental Witchcraft might be slightly inferior compared to the Great Wizards of the Shape-shifting School, but creating a derivative witchcraft is still quite easy.
Hearing his Commander’s unabashed statement, Abel momentarily didn’t know how to respond.
A Great Wizard willing to improve witchcraft and promote it freely among the army, even if the Judicial Department’s Wizards came, they’d have to acknowledge his noble spirit.
In the past, Abel had seen Great Wizards who cared for lower-level Wizards. Yet, Abel sensed that the attention of those Great Wizards was still lofty.
They were concerned with the overall group of lower-level Wizards rather than the specific individuals representing them.
In other words, they could care for lower-level Wizards while treating them as expendables.
These are necessary sacrifices.
Abel didn’t view this as wrong; the battlefield is ruthless, and the trolley problem has never been a dilemma for a Battlefield Commander.
If he were in that position, he’d do the same.
But Richard felt different to him.
Richard seemed very utilitarian, as he could calmly describe the deaths of hundreds of thousands due to failure as necessary sacrifices during their discussions.
Yet Richard also discussed, after overcoming the Staff Department, how to help more Wizards survive post-failure.
Richard didn’t care about lower-level Wizards as a whole, but he cared about each individual.
"Hey, Abel, what are you daydreaming about?"
Abel snapped back to reality and lowered his head apologetically to Richard.
"Sorry, sir, I got a bit distracted. Your Magic Model is coming soon. I need to arrange specifics for the mixed brigade now."
Richard nodded in agreement.
"Go ahead, if it gets too tiring, meditate for a while once you finish; the Command Center can run without you."
Abel smiled lightly and responded softly, "Yes, Commander."