Chapter 287: Lance’s True Talent

Chapter 287: Chapter 287: Lance’s True Talent

Viters’s original plan was to wait until the leaders of the three guilds finished assigning raid tasks, then find Lance to discuss the Iron Guard trial.

After all, he knew full well.

This Iron Guard trial was definitely not something an Ordinary Adventurer could participate in.

They had to carefully select 10 of the strongest elites from over ten thousand Professionals—those most likely to take on a Lord solo—to ensure all ten Iron Guard nodes could be successfully neutralized.

And Lance, whose Power was unfathomable, was not only guaranteed a spot...

More importantly, he held the coordinates for a full half of the Lords.

It was the absolute top priority for discussion after they finished organizing the group raids.

Viters believed Lance was a smart man who should have known the proper time and place for such discussions.

Lance’s rash interruption struck him as tactless.

However...

When Viters turned to look at the other two captains, his heart skipped a beat.

Julius was one thing.

After all, Lance was nominally a member of the Silver Hand. Viters could understand why Julius would be protective and look at him with an expression of support.

But when Viters looked at Felix, he was purely baffled.

Because...

The moment Lance spoke up, interrupting the meeting, the Golden Lion Cross Captain had naturally straightened his posture, leaned forward slightly, and begun listening with rapt attention.

He seemed to be taking Lance’s words very seriously.

’Is there something more to this Lance that I don’t know about?’

Viters’s flicker of annoyance dissipated.

He too adopted a posture of attentive listening.

Lance observed the changes in the three men’s expressions.

Seeing no objections, he cleared his throat and began to speak.

"My apologies for interrupting your discussion."

"Your discussion has been excellent. But if I may ask..."

"How exactly do you plan to consolidate and manage the camp’s remaining food supplies?"

"How will you register the several thousand unaffiliated individuals and assign them tasks?"

"And during the recruitment process, what contingency plans and suppression tactics do we have for Adventurers who try to incite riots or hoard resources?"

"Where are your concrete plans for these foundational issues—the very ones that will ensure the frontline raid can even begin?"

Lance laid out all these problems, each one hitting a critical point.

The meeting room fell silent.

Lance was surprised to find...

...that when faced with these basic logistical questions, all three captains were rendered speechless.

However, while Viters and Julius were silent because they were pondering Lance’s questions, Felix’s mind was filled with nothing but admiration.

Once a person developed a bias, they could twist anything to fit it.

’As expected of Emperor Clovis’s bloodline!’

’This ability to see the bigger picture, to plan and coordinate everything from logistics and security to the morale of the people...’

’Isn’t this the very essence of the King’s Way, the quality a true ruler of a Kingdom must possess!’

The more Felix looked at Lance now, the more he felt the man was radiating the brilliant light of the King’s Way.

Looking at the three men’s strange silence,

Lance suddenly thought of an absurd possibility.

"Wait..."

He asked tentatively, "Then in the past, when your large teams were on long-term missions in the Underground City, who was responsible for logistics, supply management, and other administrative tasks?"

Felix answered his question frankly.

"In the Material Realm, all our administrative affairs—logistical support, personnel evaluations, mission settlements, and so on—are handled by dedicated support teams stationed in safe cities far behind the front lines."

"As for people like us..."

Felix pointed to himself and the other two captains. "We lead the vanguard raid teams, who specialize in high-intensity combat on the very front lines."

Hearing this, Lance was utterly speechless.

He’d always assumed that as the highest leader of a team, a captain’s duties would be all-encompassing. They should at least know a thing or two about management.

But he had never imagined that in this world, the functional specialization within Guilds could be so extreme!

In other words...

...the members of the three top Guilds trapped in this Underground City were all a bunch of tactically brilliant meatheads!

There wasn’t a single person specializing in the brain work of logistics among them!

’It’s over...’

Lance slapped a hand to his forehead.

’Letting this group manage a survival crisis for over ten thousand people? They’ll probably all starve to death from infighting first.’

Just as Lance was feeling that the future of conquering the Summer Crown was looking bleak...

Felix suddenly stood up, looking directly at Lance with an expectant gaze.

"We may be completely inexperienced when it comes to coordination."

"But why don’t you give it a try, Mr. Lance? You must have a Talent for it."

Hearing Felix’s words,

Julius, who was sitting to one side, immediately wondered if Felix was trying to use this as an opportunity to recruit Lance.

So he immediately spoke up.

"I agree with Felix’s proposal."

"Lance, since you pointed out the problems, I’m sure you have the ability to solve them."

"Go for it. The Silver Hand will fully cooperate with your command."

Meanwhile, Viters suddenly felt that Felix had a point. The young man was able to raise such detailed questions; he had to have some Talent for coordination.

’Maybe he can make up for our shortcomings!’

He himself had no concept of such things; he was much more adept at fighting and killing.

The military philosophy was always to leave specialized tasks to the specialists. It was best for everyone to stick to their own roles.

Lance was an individually ranked Adventurer, so his interests didn’t conflict with Viters’s. If he showed favoritism toward the Silver Hand, Viters figured Felix would join him in opposing it.

With that thought, he also voiced his agreement.

Seeing the other two agree, Felix continued to wait for Lance’s reply with an expectant gaze.

’How many years has it been since our Valentine Clan charged into battle for the Red Dragon?’

Looking at the three men staring at him,

Lance was silent.

He hadn’t expected the three of them to trust him so much.

Truth be told, he hated dealing with troublesome things.

He wanted absolutely nothing to do with this kind of thankless coordination work.

But...

He thought of Nieve, Bazzer, Lilia, and the old Chef and his son...

If the camp really collapsed due to poor management, those people would definitely not survive.

’Forget it.’

Lance sighed internally.

When he raised his head again,

the helplessness in his eyes had faded, replaced by a confidence that radiated complete control.

"Thank you all for your trust."

"Then let me handle the arrangements."

Hearing this, Felix felt a sudden wave of excitement, as if the great wheel of history had begun to turn.

But he didn’t let it show.

’I must record today’s events when I get back,’ he thought.

Lance looked at the three men before him. His confidence was no bluff.

A mere ten thousand people.

To these Otherworldly People, who had never been through the crucible of modern society, that might seem like an astronomical number.

But for Lance?

In his past life, in the years between his college graduation and his accidental trip to this world, he had been a senior event producer. He’d spent years on the ground at major live events, tormented by a parade of god-tier clients and unforeseen disasters!

Large-scale outdoor music festivals with tens of thousands of attendees, massive comic conventions, city-wide marathons.

He’d been the lead on-site producer for all of them, handling the massive personnel coordination and security management they required.

Handling personnel allocation in a closed camp like this? This was his home turf, professionally speaking!

"First."

Lance stood up and swiped his hand forcefully across the table, his entire demeanor changing as he took command.

With the shift in his mindset, his [Dragon Phase] began to subtly take effect.

"According to what you said, between last night and this morning, nearly a third of the unaffiliated teams in the camp have already gathered near the encampments of your three Grand Guilds."

"These are the smart ones, the first to grasp the situation. They know they need to seek protection to make it out of here alive."

"This is our base of support."

"With this compliant group, we can proceed with more forceful measures."

Lance began deploying his strategy with crystal clarity.

"Step one: Martial law over all supplies!"

"Immediately dispatch personnel to gather up all Professionals with life skills in the camp."

"Confiscate all surplus grain and meat being hoarded by the merchants."

"Turn it all over to the Spiritual Chefs to be processed into high-energy rations."

"Furthermore, we will make a grand announcement to the entire camp about the existence of ’High-Energy Compressed Spiritual Cuisine’! Let everyone know that we have the means to solve the famine."

"But we must establish an ironclad rule: Starting today, those who do not work, do not eat!"

"Additionally, we will immediately establish a central infirmary for the wounded and a rapid equipment repair station in the safe zone."

"Step two: Immediate personnel reorganization."

"Break up the unaffiliated Adventurers and forcibly reorganize them into several battalions of a hundred men each."

"Tell them that only those who venture out to clear the outer areas and kill monsters will earn the points needed to receive their rations."

"We will channel all that idle manpower—a potential source of riots—into a labor force dedicated to making progress toward the Summer Crown."

As Lance laid out his plans with methodical precision, the negotiation bonus from his [Dragon Phase] continuously amplified the charisma of his words.

In the eyes of Julius, Viters, and Felix, Lance seemed to be radiating an irresistible, commanding presence.

Under the influence of this strange charisma and persuasive power, the three of them subconsciously and naturally slipped into the roles of subordinates and executors without even noticing anything was amiss.

"I’m entrusting the heavy responsibility of maintaining stability and coordinating production to the Silver Hand."

Lance turned his head to look at Julius.

"This basic infrastructure must be completed within three days. Can you do it?"

Feeling the sudden authority radiating from Lance, Julius’s expression turned solemn as he nodded firmly.

"I guarantee it will be done!"