Because of Kalpas defection, the true devout believers, or those who stubbornly clung to the democratic council, would no longer be present here.
Everyone knew that Ryan ascent to power was full of tricks. How could those selfish bigshots hand over power? But one thing was very real:
Ryan earned his position through fighting.
The council mobilized heavy troops but couldn't stop him, so what was there to say? It was just survival of the fittest. Besides, those council members weren't dead, they just went from having decision-making power to participation power.
"Good, everyone looks very capable."
Ryan nodded in satisfaction. He wasn't deliberately showing off; that glance was just to observe warriors he hadn't interacted with, like Joshua, Zheng, and Ludicyna.
They were also watching him, some nodding slightly, others with scrutinizing gazes, but none showed any resistance.
They're on the right track. Looks like I don't need to let Aponia out, which saves a lot of trouble.
Ryan pursed his lips. Of course, he wasn't just holding a meeting. Aponia was here, and if anyone dared to cause trouble, he would have a good talk with them later.
But as long as there was no resistance, the Discipline had side effects and could cause unexpected things, especially making good intentions go awry.
Silence, prolonged silence. Ryan didn't rush onto the podium with passionate appeals. He merely scrutinized everyone with a cold gaze, over and over again, appearing like a machine.
He wasn't wearing glasses today, which made him seem less intellectual and more aggressive.
'Why isn't Ryan speaking? Is he nervous too?' Elysia tilted her head slightly, seeing Hua serious expression beside her, and stopped herself from jumping up and waving.
'Such powerful aura, it makes my muscles tense. Elysia battle plan is completely unfeasible, and Aponia was right last night, he is first and foremost the Director-General, and only then my senior brother.' Hua felt a bit strange. Elysia had given her many suggestions, but facing Ryan gaze, she threw them all out of her mind. She was still very afraid of this senior brother.
'Hmph, this guy is using psychological warfare to scare people, right?' Mobius became a bit more serious. She had already noticed the white-haired girl in the front row swallowing several times and quietly unbuttoning her collar.
'Just a look can create fear, and the smell of fear is truly delightful.' Vil-V licked her lips, finding it very interesting.
Ryan was usually gentle and carefree, but when he became truly serious, he was indeed terrifying.
The lives of the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, and Eighth Herrschers, supplemented by thousands of Honkai Beast corpses—this mountain of corpses and sea of blood was enough to make souls tremble and instincts panic. Only someone like Kalpas would feel excited.
When that casualness and laziness were shed, the sense of oppression was like a mountain, reminding people that he had fought his way through Fire Moth, sitting in that position like a demon king.
Then and there, precisely as now.
Even though those present had transformed from members of the Fire Moth council into MANTIS, fundamentally nothing had changed. Ryan still possessed the power to crush all enemies, and those who could pose a threat to him were all friends.
"Ladies and gentlemen."
In this terrifying silence, Ryan finally spoke. As a doctor of psychology, he naturally knew that appropriate silence was far more effective than moving an iron throne onto the stage and having Kevin and others line up behind him.
"Some of us are friends, some have work together, and some are meeting for the first time. If you understand the value of this conference room, you should understand why I chose to gather you here."
No one answered. Ryan didn't need them to answer. He just snapped his fingers.
"That's right, Fire Moth has entered a new era. The council is no longer suited for this war. Those high-ranking, behind-the-scenes figures have been completely replaced by you. The fate of humanity, the continuation of civilization, will be entirely in the hands of warriors!"
His words were resounding, even rebellious, but they were met with applause.
Elysia and the other "extras" were naturally enthusiastic, and even Joshua and Coleman applauded. They had all participated in secret operations, more or less, in the past, doing things against their will in the name of "orders."
But they couldn't fight against Fire Moth as a whole. No matter how much they disliked it, they could only endure. Ryan single-handed charge had indeed helped them.
"Warriors are the cornerstone of humanity's continued civilization, just as Ms. Eden and I are doing. We want to transform MANTIS from monsters into heroes, becoming Trailblazerss and banners for ordinary people!"
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
The applause grew even more fervent. This was exactly what they wanted, because everyone present had more or less some sequelae from the super-transformation surgery and were used to pretending.
Why should they be despised for saving people, and cursed as monsters for doing good deeds?!
Do you know the mortality rate of super-transformation surgery? Do you know that you enjoy life hiding in the city while we fight in the seas and jungles?
We are the strong. A single finger can kill a hundred ordinary people. Let alone enjoying special privileges, at least we should be respected, right?
That resentment vented with the applause. This benefit was tangible, more attractive than high office and generous salaries. Fighting Honkai was a struggle for life, especially now that there was still room for choice.
Thump!
Ryan slammed his fist on the podium, leaning forward like a fierce tiger: "Ladies and gentlemen, what unites us is a sense of mission. Therefore, our enemy is Honkai, and can only be Honkai. Let's forget the past unpleasantries. At least at this moment, Fire Moth will be warrior-centric. Our interests are Fire Moth interests, and Fire Moth interests are humanity's interests!"
"Yes, Director-General."
Everyone stood up in unison, most saluting at attention, which made Mei applaud inwardly upon hearing it.
Amazing. All those impassioned speeches were useless, and there was no need to do too many meaningless things.
First, awe the crowd with power and presence, then seek common interests and become the core representative of those interests, solving the problem of 'what to fight for.'
Yes, Ryan was creating gods, making MANTIS a higher existence among humans, instead of being dogs to Herrschers like Calis. This would certainly trigger discussions about the 'new and old humans,' but at this point, such debates were utterly irrelevant.
The fact was that ordinary people had limited roles; they were spectators and burdens in this war. Mei even thought that the definition of 'human' was inherently broad, and it wouldn't matter if civilization was passed down by MANTIS.
Extreme rationality brings no worries. Those who are slightly more emotional at least don't object. Everyone has had enough of being treated poorly, but they were constrained by human emotions.
They were once ordinary people. The strong should protect the weak, but this doesn't mean they should be both reviled and sacrifice themselves.
So Ryan wasn't creating gods; he needed a new way to rally others after the collapse of the Fire Moth old order, to transform MANTIS from monsters and anomalies into representatives of civilization, into heroes of humanity.
"With great power comes great responsibility. We are not fighting for others, but for ourselves." Ryan pointed to the Fire Moth emblem above his head, his voice heavy, "We fight for the civilization that birthed us, for our own lives."
He nodded slightly, considering his speech finished. He didn't raise his voice throughout, speaking more like a conversation, making everyone feel like "one of them."
Without needing a reminder, Mei decisively stepped forward, had her assistant open the large screen, which displayed today's topic—
The Thirteen Flame-Chasers.
"It's a rare opportunity for everyone to gather, so I will read out Headquarters Order Number One."
Mei used no embellishments. After a brief opening, she calmly, concisely, and efficiently delivered the orders. Every sentence was interconnected, making it understandable even for less educated warriors.
From meaning to organizational principles, and then to individual tasks and responsibilities, slide after slide of PPTs flashed by, finally getting to the main point, causing the group of people to straighten their backs.
The news of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers had already spread, but even Mobius didn't know how they were divided. After guessing for a long time, the answer was finally here.
The Thirteen Flame-Chasers
"First [Trailblazers] Team, Captain Ryan, Vice-Captain Sakura."
"Second [True Self] Team, Captain Elysia, Vice-Captain Himeko."
"Third [Discipline] Team, Captain Aponia, Vice-Captain Joshua."
"Fourth [Ice] Team, Captain Andevich, Vice-Captain Vinal."
"Fifth [Infinity] Team, Captain Mobius, Vice-Captain Vil-V."
"Sixth [Salvation] Team, Captain Kevin, Vice-Captain Kosma."
"Seventh [Annihilation] Team, Captain Kalpas, Vice-Captain Ludicyna."
"Eighth [Righteous] Team, Captain Zheng, Vice-Captain Coleman."
"Ninth [Scarlet] Team, Captain Rin, Vice-Captains Isabella and Anna."
"Tenth [Floating Life] Team, Captain Hua, Vice-Captain Freya."
"Eleventh [Symphony] Team, Captain Yun, Vice-Captain Destopia."
"The Twelfth [Gold] and Thirteenth [Divination] have separate appointments. Does anyone have any comments?"
After Mei finished speaking, these names were thought up by Elysia. Some represented her impression of someone, while others were her expectations for someone.
Some were happy, some were sad, but no one had any objections, because the division was scientific enough. At least Ryan couldn't find any fault with it.
Each team would be assigned ordinary MANTIS, some with more, some with fewer. For example, his first team had the fewest people but the strongest combat power, while the eleventh team had the most people, making up for the gap in combat power. The dual-leadership system fully considered the complementary personalities and abilities of each other.
If there was any fault to find, it was Coleman, with his perpetually stern face, who felt that his future would be difficult. Also, the white-haired little girl smiled and greeted Kalpas but was completely ignored, then filled with questions.
There was also a hidden factor: each team had "insiders" who could monitor actions.
Twelve was left for Eden, thirteen for Su, but looking back, it's all messed up now.
Ryan supported his head.
Not all thirteen Flame-Chasers were captains.
For example, Pardofelis and Griseo didn't even make the cut.
But how to put it? In terms of combat power, it would definitely double. Even the original [Salvation] Kevin couldn't face an entire team alone.
And for slackers like the cat and Griseo, if they could live comfortably in the Golden Courtyard, why drag them into an endless quagmire of war? Didn't I put in all this effort precisely to reduce sacrifices and open up a completely different path?