Soverick shrugged and went to seat on his throne. He placed his foot on Strung and addressed the auditorium.
“Is there any other person here that does not agree with me being your leader?” He asked as he relaxed on his throne.
No one said anything. You could hear a pin drop in the silence. They weren’t silent because of fear. They wanted to hear the fool that will disagree clearly. So people held their breath and looked around.
“That’s good. You have all seen what I can do and what happens to my enemies. If you follow me, I will lead you to do the same with our enemies. We will break them. They will not stand against us. We will walk over their corpses. We will bathe in their blood. We will be unstoppable. We will be victorious.” His voice continued to rise as he spoke.
Then he raised his bloodied spear into the air and shouted, “For Victory.”
And the hall echoed with him. “For Victory.”
Some Origin gods were gawking. Their mouth hung open in shock. What Soverick did was shocking on its own. What the son of legend said was the most shocking of all. Because if that prophecy is right, then Soverick will be the child of the plane. He will become a legendary figure of the plane.
Some people turned to the representatives of the Ghastorix family who were similarly shocked while the Origin gods turned to Guntu. Guntu in question was staring at the son of legends with naked jealousy written all over his face. ‘I wish I had that eye. Then I’ll be able to see stories before they happen and I’ll be able to trick people better.’
The son of legend spoke again. “This child has come under the protection of the realm council of the Virut plane.”
It was a simple statement with heavy meaning. Everyone here understood the heavy meaning behind that statement. No one misunderstood a thing.
“I want to know everything there is to know about that boy.” The son of legends said to Guntu.
“Sure.” Guntu agreed and sent Soverick’s records over. He was still staring at the son of legends with jealousy but his target chose to ignore the weird looks.
Meanwhile Somewhere in the crowd of people in the watching pavilion.
“Wow, just wow,” Kayla said after seeing the show that Soverick put on. “You think you know someone. Then this happens and blows your mind.”
She had lived with Soverick since he was a few months old. He was just a smart-mouth brat back then. To see him crush his peers like he was an adult bullying children brought back memories of the times Soverick used to say that he is unique and that he shouldn’t be compared to others. It turns out that he was right. He wasn’t just spouting nonsense.
“So this is what it takes to break all the records in the academy, they even chased him out without an award ceremony.” She shook her head.
“Did you see what he did?” Mihila that had been quiet finally spoke.
“Yes, he showed his strength and became the leader,” Kayla answered.
“How did he show his strength?” Mihila asked.
“By fighting,” Kayla answered quickly. The answer was obvious.
Mihila shook her head. “Do you think Soverick can fight all the almost 1 million youths here?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“No matter how strong he is, he will tire and be overwhelmed.”
“So what did he do to become a leader?”
“He showed his strength.”
“How did he show his strength?” Mihila asked again.
This time Kayla couldn’t answer. The obvious answer wasn’t the right answer.
Mihila answered. “He divided and scattered his opponents. He first scared them with a show of strength. Most of the youths were defeated by it and didn’t want to disagree with him when he proclaimed himself leader then. But some were still willing to fight him even in the face of such odds. He showed this set of people what will happen if they fight him and lose. They chose to step back then.”
“He had successfully whittled down the 1 million opponents to just 100. Then he broke all those one hundred in one fell swoop in another show of strength. Those 100 would have been able to rile up people against him in other situations. But they can’t now and never will any other person like them because Soverick has broken the morale of his enemies even before the fight. Plus they like him. If you would follow a leader, then there must be something you admire about the leader. You must also agree with the leader’s objective. These people admire Soverick’s strength and they agree with his objective of victory in battle.”
Mihila turned away from her screen to look at Kayla. “There is more than one way to fight. A fight involves the mind as well as the body. Do you see why I said the best you can get in a fight with him is a draw?”
Kayla nodded.
“Let’s get back to your training. Soverick doesn’t need us.
Back To Soverick.
Soverick whipped the unruly teens into an army. He had been part of an army in his past life. It was how he almost died and was almost possessed. He also gained a lot of military memories from the demon Lord’s soul that wanted to possess him. So he had a lot of knowledge and experience with how an army worked.
Thank Mother High Heaven for it too, because the adults didn’t help out. They were willing to see the youths fumble about for a while but it didn’t happen. Soverick had an iron grip on these people.
He instilled discipline into them and beat them into shape with drills and military exercises. For 6 months the youths suffered his relentless harsh training. They were used to working alone but that changed. They learned to follow orders and to work well with others to achieve a greater goal.
They accepted his training because they believe in this greater goal. They have heard of wars and have memories of battles in their bloodline. But those are in the past. They have had peace for a long time. Those memories thrill them everytime it comes unbidden to them, it is another thing to participate in wars for the good of the plane. So they are looking forward to it.
A lot of things have been achieved in the past leaving the new generation almost nothing to do. Now the opportunity has arrived for them to have a hand in changing the plane, in liberating the plane and making origin energy flow. If they achieve it, they too will become part of the memories that future generations will see.
Soverick didn’t have to try too much to shape them to his will. They took to whatever he taught them easily. They practices for days in a row with nothing more than occasional complaints, but they didn’t stop. He even taught them a song to sing as they matched in formation. They were singing that song now.
To battle, we go.
For one thing, we seek.
We fear nothing.
We fear no one.
Only victory will do.
Bloody bodies of foes.
Rivers of blood will flow.
The earth will gorge on it.
But we trample on it.
Only victory will do.
Till our bodies break.
And our backs give out.
Till our souls wear down.
And our will gives up.
Only victory will do.
Even through stormy seas
Even through sundered skies
Even on our last breaths
Even on our last legs.
Only victory will do.
Soverick and his generals watched the matching soldiers. He made adjustments to them through his commanders.
“Squad T9B. Execute the Defin Manuvere. Squad T8B5. Hold back and support Squad T8A4.” He said into his communicator.
He had broken the army into squads using a tiered system. The structure went from tier 1 to 9, from smallest to largest. Squad T9B is the second tier 9 squad with a hundred thousand soldiers. The Defin Manuvere is a delicate procedure that involved a blitz attack and a false retreat to lure the enemies in, only to surround and cut them off. Squad T8B5 is a tier 8 squad and is the fifth one belonging to the second tier 9 squad. Squad T8A4 is another tier 8 squad and is the fourth one belonging to the first tier 9 squad.
These maneuvers are difficult to perform with their large number but they aren’t normal soldiers. They have been training with communicators in their ears directing them in order to familiarise them with the movements and also transmit orders to them. Soverick will send orders to the necessary squadron commander through the code name of their squad and the commanders will make sure to execute it.
His generals watched him work while they maintained their silence. They were selected by Soverick to take over his duties in case he is unavailable. Anything can happen in the divine dungeon. He could be separated from the army. So the army must be able to stand without him. These selected 10 have been around him, learning his habits and his methods. They know that Soverick likes to work in silence that’s why no one was talking at all.
“Seems good enough. We will attack the dungeon tomorrow.”
They could talk now that Soverick had addressed them.
One of them stepped forward. “With all due respect, are you sure that we should go with your strategy? Must you enter the dungeon first?”
Soverick continued to look at the marching army while he answers the general that stood behind him.
“Yes, I must.”
“Can’t we find another strategy?”
“There’s no other strategy that can allow us to have a foothold in the dungeon.”
“But if you die, the entire army will fall apart.”
“Then I won’t die. Do you not have faith in me?”
“No sir. I have the utmost faith in you.” The general hurriedly shook their head.
Soverick didn’t care if he was sincere or not. He only cared about one thing. Obedience.
“Then follow my orders.” He said to the generals.
“Yes sir.” The generals saluted.