Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 396 Methods of Managing a Team

Upon hearing this question, Avina Colpes visibly hesitated. Roger realized something and, using "Secret Protection" and "Dark Annihilation," once again blocked the occult connection between the courtyard and the outside world, which finally allowed Avina to speak again.

"He is in West Baron."

After a long while, Avina finally uttered these words.

Where is Siberian?

Roger pressed on with more questions.

"On the southern slope of Star Plateau, there is also a facility of the 'Rose School'."

Roger relaxed slightly after hearing Avina's words.

Because the southern slope of the Star Plateau and the ancient forest of East Bailang are located diagonally opposite each other, separated by thousands of kilometers, and the "God's Abomination" itself is not an extraordinary type that is good at fast travel, it is unable to return in time.

In fact, even if the "divine wrath" Sear had actually come, Roger would not have been afraid.

This doesn't mean he can defeat Sear in a head-on confrontation, but rather that this trip to the Southern Continent is related to Fabti's rebirth, which is crucial for Roger and Adam. Therefore, Adam will definitely try to create various coincidences to delay the "divine abomination" Sear.

Roger even suspected that Searle had been sent away by Adam, but in any case, as long as Roger didn't encounter Searle directly, there wouldn't be any problems on his side.

"What did you just say was inside the bunker where Herbert Harris is?"

Although Roger currently knows from his "premonition" that what he is looking for is at the location of Herbert, after the previous incident with the "Mother Tree of Desire" sculpture, Roger realizes that this Great Old One seems to have the ability to interfere with his "premonition," so he also needs to interrogate Avina a little more.

"There is..."

Avina's face contorted once more, as if being disturbed by some force.

"Alright, that's enough."

Roger spoke sternly, stopping Avina from continuing her story.

He realized from Avina's reaction that the answer to this question was dangerous, but on the other hand, it also confirmed Roger's guess—that there was something closely connected to the "Mother Tree of Desire" and the "Abyss" in that bunker.

This is exactly Roger's goal, because the actions of the Church of the Eternal Sun in Trier have now entered a heated phase, and his actions here are actually complementary and mutually reinforcing with those of the Church of the Eternal Sun. Any major progress on one side can help the other.

After confirming the exact location of the fortification and some details about the internal forces with Avina, he then pulled her back into his body once more.

Once back inside the three-story building, Lindsay had already directed his tactical squad to clean up the site.

They reaped a great harvest on this trip—not only did they obtain a large number of extraordinary properties, but they also found some cash and precious metals. Lindsay voluntarily handed over the portion that should belong to Roger to him, and then distributed the remaining resources equally, leaving himself with very little.

"You're really good to your men, aren't you?"

Roger looked at the tactical team on the scene and whispered to Lindsay.

"After all, everyone is risking their lives to work for me. If I cut back on their rewards, it would be very unpopular."

Lindsay took a sip of the drink she carried with her and said:
"Actually, I learned this from you. Aren't you very kind to me?"
“In a sense, I have already received enough from you, so I am happy to share more benefits with the brothers.”

"That's true."

Roger nodded, and then he said:
"But there's one thing you've overlooked."

Upon hearing this, Lindsay looked at Roger:

Please enlighten me.

Roger nodded slightly, and then spoke again:

“A long, long time ago, some families kept a type of thug called ‘death warriors.’ These thugs would die for their families when necessary, without any hesitation. Do you know why?”

"Because these families give a lot?"

Lindsay tentatively asked.

"Do not."

Roger shook his head:

"Indeed, those families give a lot, so much that they can live a life of luxury forever, but besides that, they have other ways to keep these people in check."

Roger also took a sip of his drink and continued:

"Either these people had already received great favors from these families, or they were strongly driven by some shared values, or their families needed to be taken care of by their masters after their deaths—of course, this is also a kind of hostage in another sense."

"In this way, although there may be some exceptions among these suicide soldiers, their general direction is predictable - that is, to serve their master and even die when necessary."

"What I need to make clear is that I am not advocating that you use your subordinates as tools and control them with despicable means. Rather, I am saying that you need to consciously establish a new value connection with them beyond the relationship of interests. This value connection can transcend the superficial gains and losses. Otherwise, your subordinates will gather because of interests and eventually scatter because of interests. In that case, they will not be called an army, but bandits."

"Of course, your team doesn't have that problem right now; they are all loyal warriors—after all, their actions in the 'Forsaken Land' prove that."

"But ultimately, it may be because your management style meets one or two of the criteria I just mentioned."

"For example, the generous treatment you give to those who died in battle, the care you give to their families... or something less concrete, like the bond between comrades-in-arms, but isn't that also driven by shared values?"
"Regardless of the outcome, the result is that people's hearts have been successfully united. You have overcome the initial barriers and developed a genuine friendship, which is very precious."

In fact, Roger followed the same principle in managing his fleet. He was always willing to empathize with his subordinates and put their interests first, which earned him a group of loyal followers he could rely on.

The three most typical examples are Lindsay, Zeus, and Dionysius.

Roger helped Dionysius rescue his kidnapped brother from Phossac and helped Zeus regain dignity and honor. Lindsay did the same—Roger helped him avenge his blood feud with the "Cult of Witches" and retrieve Miranda's relics.

In addition, many sailors admired Roger's personal abilities and charisma, or the Star Fleet's way of doing things... Of course, many others served the Star Fleet because of its better treatment.

In any case, Roger could initially use benefits to hire outstanding talents and then gradually build deeper connections with them, but he would never entrust the most important matters to those who were united around him purely for short-term interests.

Only those who had connections with Roger beyond personal gain were people he could truly trust. Most of the men he led when he entered the "Forsaken Land" possessed this quality, which was a major source of his confidence.

Lindsay thought for a moment after hearing this, then nodded:
"You're right."

He then added:
“I had some experience in team management before, but it was more of a fragmented experience than something as concrete as what you’ve described.”

Roger nodded slightly:

"The reason I'm telling you this is to remind you to establish a clearer and more humane management philosophy... This relates to your future on the 'Hunter' path."

"Your team is now quite large, but it's still too small compared to a real legion... If you want to lead a larger team, you need a more comprehensive management system."

"For example, the 'Hunter' pathway Sequence 3 promotion ceremony requires the promoted individual to lead their own team to defeat a powerful enemy force in a war, and the stronger the enemy force, the better the effect of the ceremony."

"To achieve this, you need to have a thorough understanding of the abilities and personalities of each team member, make the right decisions, and ensure that everyone plays to their fullest potential, that the right people are in the right positions, and that everyone does their job to the best of their ability. Only in this way can the full potential of your troops be realized and only then can you hope to defeat an enemy that is many times stronger than you."

"Therefore, what I just mentioned is only one aspect. There are many other important aspects as well... such as how to discover talent, how to identify people, how to balance the contradictions and conflicts between different factions under your command, as well as reward and punishment systems, the construction of a unified army corps ideology, etc. These are all things you need to think about further."

Lindsay listened carefully, took a deep breath, and then nodded:

"I understand, Captain. I will think about it carefully."

"Keep it up, bro."

Roger smiled and patted Lindsay on the shoulder, then he said:

"Let's tell everyone to get ready for dinner."

……

After dinner, Lindsay arranged for Diego to create a rotation schedule for everyone, while Roger went back to the rose garden inside the "Original Core" to help Rosanne with the cooking. Then the siblings sat down together and started drinking the rum Roger had brought and eating grilled Sunia shrimp.

"Brother, you're really using me like a housekeeper."

Luo Shan had cooked two large meals in a row, and now she felt sore back and aching waist. While eating and drinking, she complained about Roger.

"Thanks a lot."

Roger smiled and ruffled Rosanne's hair, then told her about his day.

Luo Shan listened attentively, and then spoke with great longing:
"Brother, I also want to become an extraordinary one."

"Huh? You?" "Yes, I prefer the 'assassin' route."

"why?"

"Because the 'Assassin' pathway is cool, and it makes me beautiful."

After saying that, Rosanne sniffed. She had always been a little anxious about her freckles.

Roger chuckled after hearing this, and after a long pause, he finally spoke:

“Silly child, in the outside world, girls who become ‘assassins’ through extraordinary means don’t live long.”

"why?"

Luo Shan countered with a question.

"Because Sequence 0 of the 'Assassin' pathway is a madwoman, she does not allow the existence of purely female assassins. In the 'Witch Cult,' men must also become women after they have given birth... Of course, the women who are with him were also men before."

Roger shrugged.

"Hey."

Rosanne immediately showed a look of disgust. After thinking for a moment, she asked again:

"What about the 'pharmacist' pathway? It can not only cure diseases and save lives, but also make you more beautiful at higher sequences."

Then she tentatively asked:

"After all, as you said, Lady Lilith is a woman, and a remnant of the old order. Surely she wouldn't kill an Extraordinary being who is one of her own?"

"Well... Lilith isn't as turbulent, but this route is still very dangerous."

Roger shook his head:

"Because the one above Lilith is an evil god, those extraordinary individuals who follow the 'Pharmacist' pathway are also prone to suffering."

"Good heavens, are there no normal gods in your bizarre world? Or are those methods that make you beautiful inherently prone to causing insanity?"

Roger laughed out loud at Rosanne's teasing:

"There are still normal gods, although not many..."

"Also, little sister, don't worry too much about your appearance. In my opinion, you're already very beautiful."

"Actually, there are many other good paths, such as the 'apprentice' path controlled by the Abraham family, and the 'sleepless' path controlled by the Church of the Goddess of Night."

"Then, brother, can I really become an extraordinary being?"

Luo Shan nodded, then suddenly asked very seriously.

Unexpectedly, this question stumped Roger.

Frankly, Roger didn't know the answer to this question, because the current Rosanne was essentially an intelligent life that Roger forcibly pulled out of the darkness after he was promoted to "Black Prophet" and with the help of the authority related to "Primal Core" and "Secret". She currently does not have the possibility of going to the real world.

However, from all angles, Roxanne is not much different from a living person—except that her etheric body is not quite complete. Roger examined her astral body, mental body, and spiritual body, and they are no different from ordinary people, at least within the "Primal Core".

"……I have no idea."

After thinking for a moment, Roger answered.

"Of course, I wouldn't want to take that risk if I could, because becoming an extraordinary person is a very dangerous thing, and who knows what will happen to you after you take the potion."

"After all, your existence is very different from that of a normal person. Who knows if you will disappear or go crazy and lose control after taking the potion? If that happens, I will really regret it."

After hearing Roger's words, Rosanne was somewhat disappointed, but she still obediently nodded:

"I know, brother."

She then added:
"In any case, you must be careful with your actions tomorrow."

"Do not worry."

Roger nodded slightly, reassuring his sister about her worries.

Afterwards, the brother and sister talked about some things from the past, and Roger temporarily left the "Original Core".

Before leaving, Roger tried to create some people he knew, but none of them had Rosanne's liveliness and intelligence. In the end, Roger could only reluctantly erase those soulless beings and return to reality once again.

At this moment, most of Lindsay's tactical squad members were already asleep, while a few stood guard at the door, smoking and chatting.

Seeing that there was nothing unusual, Roger lay down fully clothed next to Lindsay and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, Roger gave his men some marching rations, and after cleaning up the traces of the previous night, they set off again in the northwest.

According to Avina, the "Rose School" bunker is not far from our current location, about ten kilometers away, which is not a long distance for a team of extraordinary individuals.

After passing the facility where they had stayed the previous night, the road ahead was no longer fraught with as many traps and detection methods as before—the "Rose School" had clearly used Aviana and her men as early warning outposts, and Roger's guess was confirmed by Aviana herself.

This made things much simpler. Roger and his men only needed to advance stealthily in the predetermined direction and eliminate any occasional detection methods and the zombies and undead lurking in the dense forest.

While marching through the primeval forest is undoubtedly arduous and often involves encounters with snakes, insects, rodents, and the like, it has one significant advantage: most of the time there is no need to worry about water sources, as there is flowing water everywhere, and most of it is pure, non-toxic mountain spring water that can be drunk simply by boiling.

After replenishing their water supply for the third time, it was noon. Roger and his men crossed a hill and heard the sound of water in the distance.

The sound of the water was not as calm as the streams they had seen before; it seemed to be falling from a great height, hence the roar. Roger could hear it clearly even from a distance of about two kilometers.

"Fall?"

Lindsay listened for a while, then tentatively asked.

"Yes, a waterfall."

Roger nodded slightly:

"Everyone, prepare for battle. If nothing unexpected happens, we will encounter the enemy soon."

Upon hearing this, everyone was ready to fight and took out their weapons and sealed artifacts.

Roger once again impersonated Lindsay and entered the team channel. After briefly explaining his plan, he handed over command to Lindsay again.

The next second, Roger suddenly disappeared from everyone's sight, as if he had entered their blind spot.

Having entered a state of "psychological invisibility," Roger floated in the air using "anti-gravity" and flew towards the waterfall. In this way, he would not make any noise by stepping on dry branches and leaves, thus alerting the patrolling members of the "Rose School."

Roger soon encountered two "zombies," a man and a woman, on patrol, and the corpses they were controlling.

However, he did not kill them immediately. Instead, he quietly followed behind them, about two steps away, and listened to their conversation.

"Ramon, to be honest, I'm a little scared."

The female "zombie" spoke in a low voice:

"These past two days, people in the fortress have been in a state of panic. It is said that Lord Harris has gone mad, that he is possessed by some kind of demon... He has killed dozens of our own people."

"It is said that even Lady McKinley was seriously injured by him. If it weren't for the medicine left by Lord Karaman, she would probably be dead by now."

"Shhh."

The male "zombie" next to him, named Ramon, stopped his companion from continuing to talk about the demigods, while warily looking around at his surroundings.

His gaze swept over Roger before returning to the front, and after confirming that no one was around, Ramon said in a low voice:

"I heard that Lord Harris went mad because he encountered something terrible when he offered a high-sequence seal of the 'Criminal' pathway as a sacrifice to pray for a blessing from the idol."

"And based on what I've seen with my own eyes, his current state... is more like a puppet that has lost control than a human being."

(End of this chapter)