Starting from the Planetary Governor

"Your new blood... they've been trained well. I almost thought they were all veterans,"

Georgette said to Matins.

After the capture of the surface portion of the storage center, while the troops were clearing the building interior of the remaining resistance, the operation's highest commander and advisor lady finally had some time together to have a casual chat.

Matins felt both proud and a bit embarrassed by Georgette's compliment.

"Indeed, they did perform commendably. These new recruits were trained and cultivated by the Lord Governor himself. With the training methods of the Phoenix... we couldn't have achieved such results so quickly. However, they don't deserve your 'veteran' praise yet—they still have too many immature aspects."

"Exactly," Georgette conceded, "which is why I said 'almost.' They do indeed have areas where they are lacking, such as not being ruthless enough when striking, a lack of flexibility in adhering to doctrines, and they don't know how to protect themselves better on the battlefield..."

She listed quite a few shortcomings, and Matins nodded again and again in agreement.

Indeed, all of it was true.

Not being ruthless enough indicated they had not seen enough bloodshed, were not sufficiently hardened, and did not know how to use the horrific conditions of the battlefield to deliver a stronger psychological blow to the surviving enemies; not having been beaten severely, they were unaware that even those enemies who had surrendered could potentially pull out a weapon and shoot from behind.

Their adaptability was insufficient because they had too little experience and were reluctant to deviate from the mental inertia instilled during training, and also because they lacked the ability to quickly think of better solutions and make more targeted judgments combining the uniqueness of each battle.

In terms of not knowing how to protect themselves, it was evident that they were not proficient enough in using their own power armor—clearly, the Lord Governor's training did not cover this aspect, and half a year of exclusive training for interstellar warriors was not enough to make all the skills become instinctive to use at will.

Additionally, when making operational decisions, they were not accurate enough in assessing risks. Being reckless was not the problem, being recklessly ignorant was.

But...

"But even with these issues..." Georgette continued, "they are merely nitpicks, the kind that you could point out by demanding the standards of a truly battle-hardened veteran. But in reality? I've seen several battle groups where even fresh recruits who have been official interstellar warriors for several years exhibit similar issues.

And if they could truly eradicate all these faults, your battle group wouldn't just consist of new blood, or merely official warriors, but rather a group of veteran elites."

At that point, Georgette smiled at Matins and went on, "Truthfully, a year and a half ago, when I first saw you on Rage Owl Star, my heart sank. Although I hoped that you, my old comrades-in-arms, could stand up again, reason told me that given your dire state at the time, extinction was the inevitable outcome.

What I didn't expect was that, in the span of a year and a half, there really would be signs of revival among you, and I am truly happy for you."

At this point, Matins felt a twinge of nervousness.

On the one hand, an old friend's well-wishes are, of course, a happy affair. But he dreaded Georgette suddenly asking about the origins of their genetic seeds.

Yet, he quickly realized that Georgette likely had no such questions.

Though the two had never had a detailed exchange about the situation of the Phoenix Battle Group, Georgette was unaware that the battle group's gene bank had been entirely lost. Now, seeing the eight new bloods of the battle group, she naturally assumed that the Phoenix Battle Group's accumulated genetic seed bank had been effective, and would not suspect the Governor's involvement.

No one would think in that direction because it was an unrealistic notion.

Even if Georgette had suspicions, it would be about why the success rate of the new blood trained by the Lord Governor was so high.

But these inquiries were ones Matins would not bring up intentionally, much less provide answers to.

If the misunderstanding that the battle group's seed bank still existed continued, that would be to their benefit.
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Indeed, Matins no longer dwelled on this issue himself. As long as the genetic seeds were pure and definitely from the Phoenix, that was enough. He was not inclined to delve deeper, let alone expose the matter.

He, Priest Rizzo, and two other veterans had resolved to bury this secret deep in their hearts.

...

Matins and Georgette were free to have their casual conversation now because they were waiting for their subordinates to find further clues.

This storage center's surface part was clearly not the headquarters of the Primordial Wrath Owl Sect itself.

According to intelligence, their headquarters were underground.

These cult members were fiercely defending this place, which likely proved that this was the essential route to their headquarters.

It was just that they hadn't located the entrance yet.

The Battle Nuns and Demon Hunters were all engaged in this task.

And the first to yield results was the Demon Hunter Squad.

A lady interrupted their casual conversation to report.

Matins remembered her.

This was Miliya Derong, one of the squad leaders within the Demon Hunter Squad. Matins also knew that she had made significant contributions to the alliance's counter-insurgency operations recently.