Iron felt satisfied as he watched his sergeant and corporals work like crazy dogs. It seemed like having a clear goal was the answer to increasing their determination.

However, he soon needed to deal with another troublesome problem right after this one.

After the massive attack of teh giant snow rabbits, no large-scale monster attacks happened anymore. However, there were still some occasional monsters that appeared to attack them. And each time these monsters appeared, the being that pricked Iron’s senses always appeared from afar.

At first, he thought that someone was watching him. However, after repeatedly sensing the gaze and the energy that this being emitted, he realized that it felt somehow familiar. It seemed like it was even warning him whenever monsters appeared. Iron was left in thought as he recalled the familiar energy that appeared without fail whenever danger approached him. After thinking long and hard, he finally realized why he felt the energy was familiar.

‘This is the same energy that I felt when Bapsae first appeared in front of me.’ 

The energy that always pricked his senses felt infinitely close to the energy from nature and the surroundings. It was quite similar to the energy that a spirit or a divine beast emitted. And since the energy was extremely close to nature, it could easily assimilate to the surroundings and hide itself from others. Perhaps this was the reason why Iron had mistaken the being for a high-leveled assassin before.

Anyway, thanks to that, Iron’s senses were honed further.

In order to detect its presence, Iron sharpened and raised his senses to the limits. This helped him further increase his grasp on his mana. Because of this, he was able to take a step closer to taking full control of his mana application. In other words, he was able to take a step closer to reaching the perfect 4th Stage. Iron felt that he was lucky enough to grab the foothold to the perfect 4th Stage while doing his mission as a Ghost. 

“The divine beast… is it really missing?” 

From what he could see, it seemed like the phoenix did not really disappear or die. It seemed like it was still here in the Winter Mountains.

Iron quickly spread out the map as he stared at the topography surrounding the 4th outpost. The 4th outpost was the place nearest to the area where the Phoenix was last seen.

He could investigate it further but once he tried to go further than the highest place, the 8th guard post, and went to the exact area where it was said to have disappeared, he would face a high possibility of being frozen to death. In fact, the chance of this was almost next to none since he could have possibly died already after meeting a high-leveled monster on the way there.

So, to prevent this risk, it was necessary for him to slowly expand the search area and build a forward base at that exact point. 

“We need to make it up until this point but…”

Iron wrote an X on top of an area that was located near the 8th guard post. He licked his lips as he stared at the place where he decided to create a forward base at.

Out of all the places where he could make a forward base, Iron marked the place nearest to the 3rd outpost. This outpost was the outpost under the direct jurisdiction of the opposite company. Sergeant Sean’s backer, Sergeant First Class Maldini, was also the vice outpost leader of this outpost. So, if he built a forward base in that area for no reason at all, there was a high possibility of a quarrel breaking out between the two outposts. Just one wrong move and there would be a fight between the 3rd and 4th outpost.

This was also the reason why Iron was hoping that the missions that he proposed would be created. He wanted to make the mission as an excuse to prevent a fight.

“If I push for it as a company mission then it will obviously look like I’m picking a fight. It seems like I have to try and push it under the platoon missions…”

Iron mumbled to himself as he stared at the terrain of the area that he had decided on for the forward base. In the end, he concluded that there was no other answer except to just push through with the missions.

He needed to show the company next to him some overwhelming results so they wouldn’t be able to refute him. Fortunately, there were plenty of monsters living near that area. If he dried up the monsters and their seeds in the vicinity then the company next to them would be difficult to handle.

“In the end, I still have to roll my soldiers a bit more…” 

Just in time, our work is almost over.

Iron rubbed his chin in thought as he looked at the work board. Based on the status written on the work board, it seemed like they would be finished in a week.

Since this was the special search unit, the level of the soldiers were all high. Their levels far exceeded the level of the ordinary soldiers in the Northeast, a level that was already far beyond the rest of the Empire. Besides, only the elites among the soldiers came here since they wanted to be promoted faster and be an executive. There were even soldiers with a slightly higher level than the soldiers in the frontlines who were specialized in combat. 

“That means that they’re talented, right?” 

When this thought flashed through Iron’s head, he quickly sifted through the documents and looked through the soldiers’ personal information one by one. From what he had gathered, the level of the soldiers in the 4th outpost was a bit higher than what he had expected. 

But it was neither Corporal Charles or Sergeant Sean that he paid attention to. 

“Johnson…” 

He was someone that he did not expect especially since he was a bit transparent compared to the other soldiers of the 4th outpost.

Iron recalled that it was also Johnson who had seen the divine beast a couple of times. He said that the figure was blurry but him being able to see the figure of the divine beast was more than enough evidence for Iron to assume that Johnson had the talent for either the divine beasts or the spirits.

Grasping the characteristics of the spirits and the divine beasts were extremely difficult in the first place so no one would easily assume this. If it weren’t for the incident where he saw the blurry figure of the divine beast, Iron would never associate his talent with them. In other words, Johnson was extremely lucky that Iron was the one who arrived in the 4th outpost. 

‘Our platoon will be the strongest in 1~2 years as long as someone has the talent for spirits.’ 

The talent of his vice outpost leader was slightly lower compared to the other outposts but that was something that Iron, the outpost leader, could easily cover. Besides, the level of his soldiers was higher compared to the other outposts. Even Sergeant Sean, who was slated to be an executive, and Corporal Charles were not that bad in terms of talent. And with Johnson’s addition, IRon was sure that they would be able to become the strongest among all of the outposts in the special search unit.

‘If that’s the case, then we will have the strongest voice.’ 

It was important that he was strong since he was the leader of the outpost but it was also important that his entire platoon was strong. If all of them were strong, then the overall level of their platoon would increase.

And in this place, the stronger the overall strength of the platoon, the stronger their speaking rights became. They could even claim priority in receiving supplies if they were the strongest. After all, no one would dare argue with them since they were the strongest. And if they were the strongest, they could preoccupy the most advantageous position during missions.

Iron couldn’t help but think about the date when they would carry out the platoon mission. Perhaps it was because the soldiers were working faster than when they started that they ended up having a total of 15 days of free time before the missions started.

“I have to train them for a bit.” 

Iron’s smile was tainted with a bit of evil when he thought about training his men. 

After planning the soldiers’ training, Iron also made plans to train himself. He wanted to make the perfect 4th Stage completely his own once he stepped foot on that level. 

And the day after he finished his plans, Iron announced to the soldiers who were still working diligently. 

“Everyone’s tired after working like this, right?” 

“No, sir!” 

Sergeant Sean replied in a loud voice. Even the other soldiers responded with firm and determined expressions on their faces. 

“As you all know, platoon missions will be given to us soon.” 

The faces of the corporals and the sergeant hardened when they heard Iron’s words. They wondered if he was finally deciding who worked the hardest and who would be left out from the missions.

“I don’t know who spread the rumors but the one who worked the hardest among the sergeant and the corporals will be on guard duty. But they weren’t working all on their own, right? Of course, I also have to pick a private and a private first class who will go on guard duty too.” 

Hearing Iron’s words, the eyes of the privates and the private first classes started to tremble. Iron smiled wickedly when he saw this happen.

“So, I want you to make a list of your own. Those who will be written on the list will focus here and finish all of the work that’s left. The rest will be excluded from the work until the mission begins.”

The soldiers’ eyes widened when they heard Iron’s words.

“If you want to get excluded from the work, write your name on the paper and tell me now.” 

Iron handed the list after leaving those words. Seeing the list, the soldiers began to struggle. They were deeply contemplating on whether they should choose comfort in the present or comfort in the future. 

Iron watched them struggle with a wicked smile on his face. 

‘Is this how a fisherman feels?’

He only said that they would be excluded from working, he never told them that they would be resting. He couldn’t help but smile as he walked back inside and waited for their decision.

Seeing that he gave them a break to comfortably discuss their choices, the soldiers began to intensely discuss their choices. 

The first ones that came out were the sergeant and corporals. Sean said that it would be better for him to continue working since it was obvious that he would be dragged and dumped if he went on missions together with them after taking that rest. The corporals on the other hand chose to take the offered break since they were in a much better situation than the sergeant. 

Then, the next ones to discuss were the privates and the private first classes. 

They had been tasked to do a lot of missions before. However, there was no law that stated that the outpost leader would not do that this time. And considering their outpost leader, it was safe to say that this mission season would be their hardest mission season ever. After all, he had already done a lot of weird things over the course of his stay here. 

Because of this, most of the soldiers chose to remain working and finish everything here. Especially the soldiers who had poor skills, all of them chose to continue to work. At the very least, they wouldn’t be able to be dragged around during the mission if they continued working here.

So in the end, the soldiers that were confident in their own skills and those who have had experience doing missions all chose to take a rest. Their list was finalized after this.

‘What a relief.’ 

Iron smiled deep inside when he confirmed that Johnson was not on the list. After all, he was the talent that he had his eyes on. Then, he turned to look at the soldiers.

“Then, let’s start from today. Those on the list should focus on their work. The rest, return to the outpost.”

“Uwoooooo!” 

The soldiers cheered loudly as they hurriedly packed their things. Meanwhile, the soldiers who chose to continue working had distorted faces as they looked at them in envy. They felt extremely jealous right now. Even Sergeant Sean looked at them in envy, however he couldn’t voice any words of complaint at all.

“I’ll leave the work here to the vice outpost leader.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

Iron made sure to leave the vice outpost leader so Sergeant Sean wouldn’t pick on the kids. Then, he returned to the outpost with the rest of the soldiers to fulfill and perform his duties. 

“You’ve had a hard time so you can rest for today. Everyone, except for those who need to go on patrol, can rest comfortably.” 

“Thank you, sir!” 

Charles answered Iron as the representative of the soldiers present.

Not long after, cheers rang loudly in the dormitory as they enjoyed their sweet free time. However, their freedom was much shorter than what they had expected.

One day.

That was the time it took for their fierce belief, which was having a long and relaxing rest before the mission began, to fall apart. 

“Everyone knows that the mission season is just right around the corner. However, I’m extremely disappointed that you’re lacking in terms of skills even before our mission started.” 

Anxiety sprouted in their hearts as they listened to the outpost leader’s words after being asked to gather early morning the next day. 

Iron’s smile as he looked at the anxious and uneasy soldiers was brutal. 

“So, as your outpost leader, I thought that I should turn everyone into a man that is worthy of taking that mission.” 

“Ah…” 

He could hear someone sighing deeply. However, Iron ignored it and pretended that he couldn’t hear as he continued his words.

“I, as your outpost leader, will be your head trainer. Atten… tion! I will wholeheartedly guide you and turn you into a soldier worthy of the special search unit. As your outpost leader, I worked hard to make a training schedule for all of you yesterday.”

Shwak!

Iron spread open a paper and fixed it on a board so that all of the soldiers could see.

Looking at the paper, the soldiers had to rub their eyes thinking that they had seen things wrongly. After all, the paper that contained their training schedule was packed tightly with letters from the top to the bottom. However, no matter how hard they rubbed their eyes, Iron’s training schedule for them remained the same. 

Seeing that his soldiers were trying to deny the reality in front of them, Iron quickly opened his mouth to deliver the killing blow.

“I have planned training schedules for you from the morning, the afternoon, until the night. It will also be tiring for me to train you, the soldiers, from morning to night. However, I can’t just turn a blind eye to the path of the strong. I can’t just leave you be just so I can accommodate myself and live in comfort.”

Hearing Iron’s words, the soldiers almost blurted out ‘Can’t you just do that?’. However, the words couldn’t come out of their throats. 

“You guys don’t need to thank me for doing this. It’s always a pleasure to have a strong military force.”

All of the soldiers present wanted to punch Iron’s shameless face but they endured it with all their might. 

Seeing the soldiers’ expression, Iron’s smile turned evil. 

“Training starts today. Go and come back here fully armed.”

***

Notes

[Forward Base] Forward Operating Base (FOB) – a secured forward operational level military position. Often a military base. It is used as a support to strategic goals and tactical objectives.