863 New Captain

When they first got the energy mine mission, it was only a B-rank mission with a reward of 8,000 Holy Coins. Now, due to the appearance of the Sword Saint, it was upgraded to an A-rank mission, and the reward had been directly increased to 100,000 Holy Coins! The 5,000 Holy Coins fine was not even a small fraction of this! Also, the rewards went far beyond that.

He was awarded 50,000 military merit points directly. In times of war, military merit points were even more useful than Holy Coins. There were many special war resources that required military merit points to be exchanged for them. If one only had Holy Coins, one wouldn't be able to purchase them. This was to prevent the resale of war items and to prevent people from destroying the resource markets and reaping monetary profits from war. There was a kind of high-end soul tool for sale in the commissariat which was available in complete sets. They were designed and made by Great Masters and were dubbed the Mizobudapi Holy Battle Suits by the Holy Disciples. They were not only better than ordinary high-end soul tools in terms of grade; they were also a symbol of honor. If one didn't achieve sufficient battle records or made enough contributions in the Holy Battle, one would not be able to buy this equipment even if one had loads of money.

If one had sufficient military achievements and Holy Coins, one would even be able to purchase a military aircraft.

At the same time, Wang Zhong's individual ranking in the Dimension Hostel directly jumped from Dimensional Pioneer to Dimensional Predator. It was the first time someone had managed to advance to the next level with only a single mission. At the same time, the Wanderlust Team was also upgraded to a level-four exploration team. The credibility of the team to the Holy City Army's command side had also advanced to a scary level, and this equipped them with considerable authority to decide on the missions they wished to partake. From a team that could not even get a single mission, they became a team that could select any mission they deemed fit, and all other competitors, other than the top-10 exploration teams, would have to step aside.

Another thing was that the higher-ups had also granted the Wanderlust Team the right to recruit new members… This was a special privilege, probably given because there were too few members in the team. Many exploration teams had actually lost many men after returning from missions. Although the extent of their losses was not large enough to threaten their team's foundation, many missions that could originally have been handled on their own had to be shared with other teams due to lack of manpower.

Under such circumstances, most of the exploration teams wanted to recruit more people from the Holy City to build up their team's strength once again. However, the higher-ups didn't allow them to do so. Although the transportation array was now open, it was mostly used to transport resources and Holy City troops. There was no extra channel to supplement these teams with new recruits, yet this special privilege was now given to the Wanderlust Team, reflecting that they were prioritized above other teams.

With the various rewards and the recovery of Grai and the others, the Wanderlust Team seemed to have set aside their past troubles, seemingly glowing with health.

Including Scarlet, there were only eight members in their team. Wang Zhong and Scarlet had no need for new equipment; thus, the mission rewards were added to the team's fund. With that, everyone changed their equipment from head to toe.

Small Eyes still favored her 'Murphy's Handgun' which she had always used, so she did not change her weapon. However, she got herself a set of 'Swift Wings' and a set of gray armor, along with a pair of boots. In addition to having the weight of a feather and excellent protection, the 'Swift Wings' was equipped with a series of several complex speed runic arrays, which could increase the wearer's movement speed. For long-range soldiers, this was definitely something they longed for day and night.

Feng also replaced her elemental crystal ball for her job as a wards master. In addition to better ward energy flow, it also had a hidden soul seal that could be activated instantly and used repeatedly after charging. Wide-range instant wards might not have high attack power, but it would be extremely difficult to quickly break through. During times of battle, the wards masters would then have sufficient time to put up more wards.

They mainly spent the money on these two most important things: offense and defense. Of course, the others also bought whatever they had longed to get. Even Napier bought a Soul Dagger that he had taken an eye to long ago. Oscar also stocked up on a lot of life-saving items, like medicine, crystals, etc. He had to ensure that every team member would survive the missions they accepted. With the money they had, there were a variety of good things to choose from. After everything, they had already spent around 50,000 Holy Coins and almost all of the 50,000 military merit points.

Looking at everyone's excitement, fighting spirits, and hopeful expressions, Oscar felt extremely relieved.

He was the founder of the Wanderlust Team, and he had once gathered a lot of like-minded friends to join him. Everyone was happy and supported each other, and there was no presence of petty schemes in the team, unlike those big exploration teams. He once thought that this was the ideal team, but now, how many of those like-minded friends were still alive?

It was not that the team couldn't make it in terms of combat power. The problem was him; he was an incompetent leader. Countless mistakes in decision-making had killed too many friends and the team's future, including this time. Ever since they joined the Holy Battle, the Wanderlust Team had never achieved any form of success under his leadership. Additionally, after returning from the swamp, he was powerless when the team had to face various pressures and responsibilities. Even when his teammate was killed by others, he could only stand by and do nothing.

Several times when he witnessed Sharmie's desperate look and the other team members being depressed over their plight, he wanted to look for Hale and settle things under his own name, but he knew that it would be impossible for him to succeed even if he gave his life for it. Not to mention that the other party had many people defending him, even if it was just Hale alone, he was unlikely to succeed in killing him. The worst thing was that it would bring about very bad consequences. How could the Wanderlust Team survive the aftermath without him?

There was truly nothing Oscar could do at that time. At this moment, he was really tired, but not because he had suffered a greater blow this time as compared to the times when he lost his friends, it was because he had finally reached his limit.

It wasn't until Wang Zhong returned and handled the difficulties and troubles of the Wanderlust Team that Oscar felt the burden on his shoulders disappear. He was truly very happy these days and was even sleeping exceptionally well.

"I have a proposal," said Oscar as he held up his glass in everyone's presence. "I've elected Wang Zhong to be the new captain."

Everyone was enjoying themselves. Recently, things had been going really well for them. Just by admiring their new equipment was enough for them to celebrate for a long time. At this moment, when they heard Oscar's words, they grew silent.

At first, Wang Zhong was also a little stunned, but he suddenly laughed and said, "You haven't drunk much. How did you get drunk so fast?"

"I'm not kidding." Oscar exhaled deeply. The decision was not made on impulse. He had considered it repeatedly over the past two days, including the reactions of the other team members. Now that he finally got it off his chest, he felt extremely relieved.

"It's true that I founded the Wanderlust Team, but I founded it just to let everyone escape the power struggle and team politics in those big exploration teams. Due to my incompetence as a leader, we made many unnecessary detours in the name of individuality and lost a lot of friends. Many at times I could do nothing but watch my old friends leave us."

"I don't want to see those things happen anymore. The Wanderlust Team needs a stronger leader, and that person is you. Your ability, vision, judgment, and decision-making are unparalleled. More importantly, everyone trusts you, and we are willing to put our lives in your hands!" exclaimed Oscar.

Wang Zhong was truly stunned. He didn't expect Oscar to be serious, and the thought of becoming a captain never crossed his mind before.