T4 Blue-Eyes White Dragon-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Battleship · 1 ship
T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser · 30 ships
T4 Paladin-class Heavy Interstellar Missile-Escort · 50 ships
……
Zhao Chen swept his eyes over it — this was the Owl Dragon Legion he'd built up over this past year.
Don't look down on those mere 7,000-odd interstellar warships; every last one of them was a T3-grade interstellar warship!
"There's one more thing about our Owl Dragon Legion — Chitong put forward a suggestion earlier. She holds that the Owl Dragon Legion's single-legion structure has grown too unwieldy now, and suggests reorganizing it into a multi-legion structure." Lilith relayed a word of what Chitong had said.
"I'd thought of that a while back; I'd meant to carry out the reorganization next year anyhow. When the time comes, we'll set up three to start. Namely the Owl Dragon First Legion, the Owl Dragon Second Legion, and the Owl Dragon Third Legion. Each legion-fleet's establishment to run somewhere around 3,000 interstellar warships. At present we've 7,000, which can't fill the establishment of three legion-fleets; so first we bring the First Legion up to full strength, split the rest evenly between the Second and Third Legions, and simply assign the warships built and put into service later on to those two legion-fleets. For the particulars, have Chitong and the few other commanders who handle legion military affairs settle it, and then let me have a look." Zhao Chen laid out his thinking.
Lilith at once set it all down.
"So who do you feel should take charge of each of these three legion-fleets?" Lilith now tossed out a question.
Zhao Chen knit his brows slightly.
Since it was to be split into three legions, three legion commanders were naturally needed.
Otherwise there'd be no point in the reorganization at all.
"The Owl Dragon First Legion, with Charlotte as commander; while Charlotte is away this stretch, I and Chitong will manage it in her stead for the time being, and Aili will serve as fleet secretary-officer. The Owl Dragon Second Legion, with Chitong as commander, Zhao Wan'er as deputy commander, and Bessie as fleet secretary-officer. The Owl Dragon Third Legion…"
On this third choice, Zhao Chen hesitated for a good while.
It wasn't that there was no candidate — rather that the fitting candidates were too many, and for the moment he couldn't decide who suited best.
"The Third Legion's commander to be Shen Bing for the time being; and Baixue, Su Lan, Xue Xiaoxiao, and Medusa as deputy commanders, with Marcie as fleet secretary-officer. They serve only provisionally; should it turn out later that they don't suit, we'll adjust again," Zhao Chen said.
The reason he chose Shen Bing was that, among the remaining candidates, she suited best: to begin with she'd been a top student of the North Star Starship Military Academy, and she'd been through several campaigns at Zhao Chen's side.
Add to that her fine showing in the second battle of the Sacred-War Duel.
In both theoretical knowledge and battlefield experience she was richly furnished.
She was, for now, the most fitting candidate.
As for why the Third Legion had so many deputy commanders — that, of course, was to temper these people.
Baixue, Su Lan, and Xue Xiaoxiao were each a touch lopsided in their strengths, but their keen judgment of the battlefield was still very strong; Zhao Chen hoped to cultivate them a little, that they might hold important posts in the future.
As for Medusa.
Zhao Chen had, on hand, a report on Medusa's time at the Goddess Academy.
Medusa, by grades exceedingly fine, had broken the great majority of the Goddess Academy's recruit records.
And in the earlier Sacred-War Duel she'd served as captain of a T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser, with a most excellent showing.
As for ability, Medusa was even a cut above Shen Bing.
The one thing she perhaps lacked was time in service with the Owl Dragon Legion.
So Zhao Chen's arrangement was, on the one hand, to let Shen Bing and the rest learn a thing or two from Medusa; and on the other, to test Medusa a step further, and see whether she could truly meld into the Owl Dragon Legion.
"This truly is the most fitting arrangement." Lilith nodded.
She looked at Zhao Chen and said, a touch playfully: "Then it seems that from now on we can't call you Commander any longer. We'll have to call you Commander-in-Chief!"
Commanding three legion-fleets, the appellation "Commander" was indeed no longer quite fitting.
It would get muddled with the commanders of the three legion-fleets.
"Commander-in-Chief it is, then — whatever's convenient; it's only an appellation anyhow," Zhao Chen said carelessly.
Having gone through the Owl Dragon Legion's present state.
Naturally it came round to the segment of envisioning the coming year's development plans.
Lilith laid several reports before Zhao Chen: "These are the notions for future development I've gathered over the past half-month from the higher-ups of the Owl Dragon Legion's various departments."
Zhao Chen opened these electronic reports one by one.
There were all manner of them.
There was even one sent over by Charlotte.
On the military side were, naturally, the suggestions of Chitong, Zhao Wan'er, Shen Bing, and the rest.
On the military-industrial side were Annie, Nana, Sis Niu, and the others.
Besides those were the suggestions of Li Yaqi, who ran the Northern Goose Group, and Red Rose of the Rose-Red-Dragon Mining Group, and more.
A full dozen-odd of them.
Zhao Chen browsed through them; on the whole they were all rather good, all putting forward down-to-earth suggestions from each one's own station.
As for Annie's report among them, Zhao Chen gave it but a glance before tossing it aside.
For Annie's was the thinnest in content; the main thing written in it was, of course, how many interstellar warships could be produced in the coming year — and as for that capacity… one glance told you this little minx Annie was slacking off on purpose.
Ask why?
Why could Zhao Chen tell.
Because in the write-up Nana had done beside hers, the capacity and build-plans she promised ran a full 60% higher than Annie's outright.
She'd even written at the end that, should the Commander have any urgent need, there was yet room to improve the build-plan further.
Look at that!
What is a gap.
This is a gap.
Annie surpassed Nana in talent alone; in work zeal it was Nana who took the crown.
What is an outstanding employee — this is an outstanding employee!
At this very moment Annie gave an all-over shiver, and, for no reason she could name, felt a chill rise up in her heart.
She thought: seems I've caught a bit of a cold lately… then… tonight it's hot-pot to set me right!
"I'll look these reports over first; I'll revise things a bit presently, and then you have another look and see if there's anything to add," Zhao Chen said.
"Yes." Lilith stood obligingly to one side and waited.
Zhao Chen wore the look of a man leafing through papers — but in truth he was, at that moment, browsing the System interface.
This was the last day of the month, and the annual task, too, had come to the time it ought to be completed.
That five-star task requirement was still one T4-grade interstellar warship short.
Over these dozen-odd days, Zhao Chen's System points had climbed no small amount.
Enough to redeem that interstellar warship Zhao Chen had settled on long since.
And since he was to lock in the coming year's development plans, how could a new interstellar warship be left out!
Spend 1,880,000 System points and 100 task points to redeem the commodity "T4 Tyrant-class Heavy Interstellar Missile-Battlecruiser" technical blueprint?
Confirm!
Congratulations — obtained the "T4 Tyrant-class Heavy Interstellar Missile-Battlecruiser" technical blueprint
Before — System points: 1,990,000
Before — task points: 740
Spent — System points: 1,880,000
Spent — task points: 100
After — System points: 110,000
After — task points: 640
Just as Zhao Chen happily took delivery of this interstellar heavy cruiser.
A golden frame surfaced before Zhao Chen's eyes.
Congratulations — annual task complete
Annual task completion: 25 stars
Annual task reward calculating……