MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 659: White-haired Major

”I think we are forgetting something?” a soldier suddenly spoke, shifting the mood of the gathering and effortlessly changing the topic that had been at hand. His voice, though calm, carried a ripple of unease that immediately drew the attention of those around him.

”What exactly are we forgetting?” another soldier asked, curiosity sparking in his tone as their eyes turned toward the soldier.

The first soldier hesitated briefly before finally voicing the thought that had been gnawing at him. ”Since the Major-ranked soldier now possesses such terrifying power... doesn’t that mean he is going to be the new Supreme Monarch?”

At those words, a silence descended like a heavy curtain, and in the span of a heartbeat, the realization struck them all. It clicked in their minds like the sound of a lock falling into place.

Supreme Monarchs were legendary beings, said to be capable of destroying planets and even extinguishing stars with nothing more than a single fist.

And they had just witnessed, with their very own eyes, a Major-ranked soldier display such power. Did this not signify that a new Supreme Monarch had been born before their very eyes?

Their breaths hitched in their throats, caught between awe and disbelief. Faces that were moments ago calm and unbothered now bore expressions etched with shock, reverence, and faint fear.

Had they truly just witnessed the rise of a Supreme Monarch? Were they, ordinary soldiers, sitting within the same aircraft as a budding existence destined to stand at the pinnacle of all military power?

The more they thought about it, the more undeniable the truth became, and with it came a dangerous idea: the notion of approaching this Major-ranked soldier.

After all, fate had placed them here, on the same vessel, sharing the same air. If they missed this chance now, would they ever have such an opportunity again? By the next time his name reached their ears, he might already have ascended to the rank of Supreme Monarch, existing far beyond their reach.

The closest any of them had ever come to witnessing such greatness was through the Soulpen Sovereign, guardian of the Tower of Knowledge across all military bases. But even then, no one had ever glimpsed his true body.

The sovereign was a being of myth and abstraction, one who managed the floors of the Tower through mere soul clones. The thought of interacting directly with a real, living, breathing figure who might soon ascend to that same echelon made their hearts race.

”How come we didn’t think of this sooner?” one soldier muttered under his breath, berating himself for the delay in realization.

But he wasn’t alone in his oversight. None of them, not even Anthony himself, nor Dale with his obsession for shortcuts and influential connections, nor any member of their squad, had considered this fact.

In the heat of battle, adrenaline drowning their minds, and later under the relaxing shade of a parasol, they had simply overlooked it.

”Meeting him now doesn’t sound like courting death anymore, does it?” the soldier who had first raised the topic continued, this time with a confident smile tugging at his lips. ”After all, the benefits outweigh the risks.”

They all knew well that a Supreme Monarch did not simply exist in isolation. Each was entrusted with dominion over a new military base, their power so vast it demanded its own territory.

Soldiers who gained their favor would be among the first allowed to transfer to such bases, which were often established on entirely different planets. To live and serve directly under a Supreme Monarch was the ultimate opportunity.

Military Base Alpha-10.

The name alone struck awe. A future installation that would soon recruit fresh blood, pulling not only from their home world, the Blue Planet, but also from other military bases scattered across the stars.

If they managed to establish a connection with this white-haired Major-ranked soldier before he formally became a Supreme Monarch, then even as mere Master Sergeant-ranked soldiers, they stood to gain immeasurably. A single thread of favor could pull them upward in ways decades of hard work might never achieve.

The more they thought about it, the broader their smiles grew. Yes, this was the right decision. To seek him out now, while he was still approachable, was to invest in their own future.

”But... do we even know where he is? This aircraft is colossal. It can fit millions of us,” one of the gathered soldiers pointed out, snapping them back to practicality.

”I didn’t even know the military had something like this,” another admitted with awe. ”It feels like the Warlords foresaw we would need it and prepared it beforehand.”

”We can’t let the size of an aircraft stop us from reaping benefits,” another declared. ”We’ll use whatever skills and abilities we have, X-ray vision, perception techniques, anything. And if that fails, we’ll find another way. No matter what it takes, we cannot waste this chance.”

One by one, the group rose to their feet, determination gleaming in their eyes. Though the risk of their decision loomed heavily in the back of their minds, the lure of unimaginable benefits was far too intoxicating to ignore.

The door slid open with a metallic hiss, and twelve figures stepped into the wide hallways, each heart pounding with anticipation. They began their search immediately. After all, as the old saying went, the earliest bird catches the fattest worm.

But unbeknownst to them, they were far from the only ones with such thoughts. Dozens, then hundreds of soldiers, scattered across the massive aircraft, had already reached the same conclusion.

The revelation spread like wildfire, and soon soldiers from every corner were on the move, each driven by the intoxicating prospect of establishing a relationship with the man who could soon be Supreme Monarch.

The Last Stand, a military aircraft meant to be a sanctuary of silence and rest after the horrors of war, was suddenly filled with chaos. Doors flew open, boots echoed against metallic floors, and thousands of soldiers abandoned their quarters.

Each searched feverishly for the white-haired Major-ranked soldier’s room.

Among them, not all harbored noble intentions.

A number of male and female soldiers had other plans entirely. To them, the path to ascension was not through merit or valor, but through charm, seduction, and beauty. If they could become the lover of this Supreme Monarch, was that not the most direct shortcut to power, privilege, and immortality in the military’s hierarchy?

They would no longer need to risk their lives on missions. Military points and resources would flow to them like rivers to the sea. Every door would open with a word, every opportunity would fall into their hands.

And so, some had already changed into revealing uniforms, deliberately chosen to showcase their figures. They adjusted their stances into alluring postures, smiles painted with calculated temptation. To them, this was the battlefield, and their weapon was their body.

But even in this feverish pursuit, one truth remained unshakable: they would first need to find him.

And though they did not yet know it, their efforts would all be wasted, for the Major-ranked soldier they sought, Anthony, was already bound in loyalty and affection to another woman... and never a man.

But the soldiers were not the only ones to recognize what Anthony’s rise could mean.

In a secluded chamber within the Last Stand, two towering figures sat in quiet discussion, Warlord Raelith and Warlord Brontagar, as they too had reached the same conclusion.

Anthony was no longer merely a soldier.

He was a seed destined for supremacy, a force the military could not ignore. And so, the two Warlords, with all their influence and foresight, began to plan, not how to chase or flatter him like the others, but how to formally invite him into their circle, to speak with him, and perhaps, to bind his destiny more closely with theirs.

The aircraft, filled with chaos, was unknowingly holding its breath, for within its vast corridors stirred the whispers of a future Supreme Monarch.