"What's the matter?" Zhong Chen asked, looking puzzled by Shizue's words.
"Aren't all the first batch of intern children coming back soon? So, I plan to go observe them during the final stage of their internship!"
"To see if there are any problems with this kind of internship!"
Zhong Chen looked at the serious-faced Shizue, and couldn't help but inwardly grumble.
Are there any problems? There are big problems, alright. Those little rascals are practically becoming little devils.
They've stirred up trouble everywhere in the entire world, and what's worse, the Security Force members who went with them are egging them on, making things even more chaotic.
I heard that Fleet Admiral Sengoku's call even reached Kagaya Ubuyashiki's office.
"Ahem... there shouldn't be any problems... I hope..." Zhong Chen said, a bit lacking in confidence, thinking of all this.
"Alright, since you've said so, then I'll go see how they're doing their internships!"
"After all, they are still just children!" Shizue said, nodding calmly after hearing Zhong Chen's words.
"Uh... Shizue, is that all? If it's just this, there's no need to tell me, you could just go directly!"
Shizue looked at Zhong Chen, who had a 'you're no help' expression, and couldn't help but shake her head.
With an expression of exasperation, she said, "Of course it's not just this. Didn't one of the student intern ships go to the so-called New World for their internship!"
"But we haven't received their internship report yet. I thought, since you have nothing to do anyway, why don't you go check if something happened?"
Zhong Chen didn't show any worried expression after hearing this, but instead asked, "Isn't that guy with that ship? Nothing should happen!"
"I know. I'm just asking you to go urge them on, so they don't get too carried away playing outside!"
Hearing this, Zhong Chen finally understood Shizue's meaning. Wasn't she just trying to find something for him to do because she thought he was too idle?
"Alright, I'm bored anyway, so taking a stroll is fine! I'll leave these two little ones here. I'm off!" Zhong Chen said, shrugging indifferently as he looked at Chiharu and Yuri, who were sound asleep on the sofa.
"Mhm, I'll trouble Regent-sama then!" Saying this, she uncharacteristically showed a hint of playfulness.
When Zhong Chen saw this, his heart skipped a beat. He had never seen Shizue look so cute before.
"Cough... alright..." With that, he quickly walked out of the office. Shizue watched Zhong Chen, who seemed to be fleeing, with a bright smile on her face.
After leaving the office, Zhong Chen remembered Shuna's words and headed straight to the military camp.
"This time, the First Legion will be fully deployed. Once the fighting begins, we must annihilate all enemies as quickly as possible!"
"Yes!" Benimaru picked up the chess piece representing the First Legion and placed it on the map of the Monster Country Federation in the Pirate World.
The surrounding unit commanders all expressed their agreement.
"Yo, is there going to be a war? Who are you fighting?" As Zhong Chen walked into the war room, he saw this scene and then asked with a smile.
"Lord Chen!"
"Lord Chen, you're back!" Seeing Zhong Chen walk in, everyone present saluted.
"Alright, no need for so much formality. Benimaru, I heard you discussing a war?"
"Lord Chen, it's like this..." Benimaru meticulously explained Kagaya Ubuyashiki and others' analysis of the Pirate World to Zhong Chen.
Zhong Chen, after listening, stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"So, only the First Legion can be mobilized right now?"
"Yes, currently, other units have their own missions!" Hearing Benimaru's affirmative reply, Zhong Chen thought for a moment and then said directly, "Since that's the case, let's expand the army. Expand by three more legions!"
"Including the First Legion, four legions will be deployed this time!"
"Just one legion makes it seem like we don't have enough people. We need to have more people to bully the few. We'll scare them to death!" In fact, Zhong Chen had long planned to expand the army. After all, the Monster Country Federation's regular army currently only had fifty thousand soldiers.
Compared to the forces in the Pirate World, where battles often involve tens of thousands of people, their numbers seemed a bit too small.
Although one person could fight ten, or even a hundred, in terms of sheer presence, the side with fewer people simply lacked the momentum of the larger force.
According to Zhong Chen, from today onwards, he would call the shots in the Pirate World.
If anyone disagreed, they could gather their forces and compare whose subordinates were more numerous.
"Yes!" Subsequently, after a detailed discussion on the new legions' organization, the following list was produced:
Fourth Legion Commander: Riguru (transferred from First Legion)
Deputy: Gobuzo (transferred from City Wolf Rider Patrol)
Total Legion Size: Fifteen thousand people
Fifth Legion Commander: Gabil (had not appeared before!)
Deputy: None yet
Total Legion Size: Fifteen thousand people
Sixth Legion Commander: Ultima (Original Purple, currently also serving as Chief Inspector)
Deputy: Veron (Original Purple's direct demon subordinate)
Total Legion Size: Fifteen thousand people
Thus, with the addition of the original three legions, the Monster Country Federation's regular army reached a total of ninety thousand soldiers.
If special units like the Imperial Guard Corps were included, the total army size could exceed one hundred thousand.
On a side note, Gobuzo's position as Deputy of the City Wolf Rider Patrol was taken over by Gobuta, who had appeared previously.
Zhong Chen nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the list.
"Let's do it this way. I'll talk to Ultima; that girl has quite a temper!"
"Oh, right, since I'm here, I'll help you all improve your strength today!"
"As the Grand General of the entire army, having only S+ strength is indeed a bit meager." Hearing Zhong Chen say this, everyone present was immediately overjoyed, but they didn't say anything.
After all, they had a very accurate understanding of their own roles: their lives were dedicated to loyalty to Lord Chen and Rimuru.
No matter what level of strength they achieved, their loyalty would not change in the slightest.
As the souls in Zhong Chen's small banner decreased, the strength of everyone present all rose by one level.
"Alright, I'm leaving now; I still need to help others improve too!" Hearing Zhong Chen's words, everyone present respectfully saluted Zhong Chen with their right hands on their chests, saying:
"Your subordinates humbly bid farewell to Lord Chen!" Zhong Chen didn't reply, but merely waved his hand with his back to the crowd and left the military conference room.
Government Affairs Building · Chief Inspector's Office
"Hmph! Someone, go and arrest this fellow for me! How dare he cause trouble in our country!" As Ultima let out a delicate shout, a young butler in a steward's uniform walked in from outside the door.
The butler gently placed his right hand on his chest and said, "Yes, my master! Your subordinate will surely bring him to you intact!"
"Mhm, go!" Ultima said, nodding sternly. Just as Veron (the butler) was about to walk out, a teasing remark reached both their ears.
"Oh my, oh my! What a grand display of authority, Lord Ultima..."