Chapter 138: Leadership Style

Rod was momentarily stunned. He looked in the direction from where the voice came. There, a female mage around seventeen or eighteen years old and a warrior of similar age stepped forward to speak. On the other side, a man standing beside Kiro also got up.

Looking at these three people, Rod smiled bitterly inwardly. It made sense—after all, he was a stranger who suddenly appeared and became their leader, so it was natural that others wouldn’t accept him easily.

“Do you have any objections?” The three of them clearly expected such a reaction and were well-prepared. To be honest, deciding to make Knightrod the leader was a last-minute decision they had made after considering various factors. Just experience alone was enough to justify his position. This could be clearly seen from his battle with Viski—avoiding direct confrontation, knowing when not to engage, and using the strongest moves to decide the outcome in the shortest time. Without sufficient experience, it would be difficult to make such decisions in such dangerous situations.

“We think Viski is more suitable. In terms of strength, Viski is greater than Knightrod. As for teamwork, Viski has known us for a long time and understands us well, while Knightrod knows us at all! So we believe Viski is the best choice!” The woman said firmly shortly after Sinrich finished speaking.

“I have no objections!” Unexpectedly, no one expected Viski himself to be the first to speak. He stepped forward, spoke calmly, then turned to Rod with a complex expression and said, “Leader!”

Everyone was astonished by this. They knew Viski all too well—he was a fiercely competitive person who would never admit defeat. Yet here he was, willing to bow his head and acknowledge Knightrod as their leader.

“Viski…” The female mage called out anxiously.

“There’s no need to say more. Starting today, Knightrod is our leader. Anyone who goes against his orders will be the first person I, Viski, won’t spare!” He gestured for the female mage to be quiet, then spoke in a cold tone, scanning the crowd with a chilling gaze before speaking firmly.

“Well, since Viski has no objections, I think there’s no need for further discussion. Viski knows better than anyone about Knightrod; cooperation won’t be an issue. I’m sure he’ll be able to integrate into your team quickly. That’s the decision then. As for the teams for the second-tier competition, the main team will be led by Kiro, with the rest of the members being… reserve members…” After listing them all, the teams for this competition were finalized.

No one objected to this decision, which showed Kiro’s status and influence among the students in this academy.

“Alright, Rod and Kiro, you’re in charge of this competition. I hope you’ll achieve satisfactory results. Now go ahead and start working with your respective teams to coordinate tactics. There are less than twenty days left, so you need to optimize your tactics as much as possible!” With everything settled, he let out a sigh of relief. Looking at Rod and Kiro, who carried so much expectation, Kiro sighed honestly.

Nodding without saying more, they led their teams away. From then on, they would dive into intense training. The academy also made great efforts by closing two training fields and providing these competing teams with better places to train.

Under Viski’s guidance, the group quickly arrived at their training field—a large, circular area, empty except for them. “I’m honored to be entrusted with this important role as a member of this team. I’m still new and don’t know much about many things. I hope everyone can give me guidance in the days to come. Of course, the top priority is training. Now, let’s introduce ourselves! Let’s get to know each other better by explaining our current strength levels, the martial arts or magic we’re skilled in, and our preferred combat styles!”

After leading everyone to the center of the field and forming a line, Rod smiled at them. At that moment, the feeling of being a leader reminded him of the first guild he had established in the game. Every time he led his teammates on missions, he stood at the front giving orders—just like this. He couldn’t help but feel a bit nostalgic.

Looking at Knightrod, everyone’s gaze carried a hint of complexity. At that moment, it was clear that he exuded an aura from within—indeed, the aura of a leader. It seemed such situations were nothing new to him.

Although reluctant, under the pressure from the dean and West, the group had no choice but to comply and start introducing themselves. After those introductions, Rod gained a rough understanding of them.

The five members of the main team were all males. The mage was a high-level mage named Kenny, specializing in water magic. As for the warriors, there was no doubt about it—Wiski was the best among them. The female mage who had opposed him was also a high-level mage, skilled in earth magic, which surprised Rod greatly. It seemed Saint Light Academy truly hid many talented individuals; there were so many strong ones among the first-year students.

In the time that followed, under Rod’s leadership, everyone began to study tactics for this major competition. Thanks to his natural leadership skills, Rod gradually made everyone accept him, and they unknowingly integrated into the team. As they delved deeper into discussions and research, Rod’s knowledge and abilities continually amazed and astonished them.

Leveraging his past experience leading teams in games, Rod quickly devised several different combat strategies. The content and methods of these strategies left everyone stunned. They seemed simple on the surface but turned out to be highly complex upon closer examination. More importantly, just from his explanations, everyone understood the intricacies and power of these strategies—far surpassing what they had come up with before. To put it precisely, they were light-years ahead of their own ideas.

Now, everyone had to reconsider this unfamiliar captain. They finally understood why the dean and the others had made such a decision. Even the female mage who had initially opposed him and another male warrior, John, now had to admit Rod’s superior thinking and abilities.

The most complex case was undoubtedly Wiski. Rod’s strength shocked him, and his abilities left him in awe. Unconsciously, he had gone from initial skepticism to complete acceptance, without any lingering doubts. Rod’s charisma had completely won over his once-cold heart.

“Well, from now on we’ll divide into groups to train against each other and refine these combat strategies. You have one day to study and discuss them. The group assignments won’t be based on regular players or substitutes—they’ll be drawn randomly!” After all the discussions were done, Rod began giving orders.

To everyone’s surprise, usually during training, players were divided into groups of regulars and substitutes. But now it was different? The others looked at Rod with puzzled expressions.

“But if that’s the case, it will be impossible to achieve optimal coordination. Only by training separately can regulars and substitutes reach the best level of coordination!” Finally, Kenny asked, still skeptical.

“Competitions aren’t training—anything can happen. Do you think substitutes don’t need to coordinate with the main team? Naive. Do you even know what battle is? Especially this time—it’s a life-or-death struggle where anything can happen, and injuries are common. What if I or someone else gets injured? Can you all step in and integrate immediately?”

“Also, we’ll send different combat members depending on the opponents. You should understand this, especially the two magicians. If that’s the case, can you guarantee good coordination? A rigid combat team will only allow the enemy to study you thoroughly and find ways to defeat you. Do you like such a passive approach? What we need is flexibility—being able to devise different strategies for different matches and arrange various combat plans. This requires close cooperation from everyone; it’s not something a few people can handle.”

“I hope you think this through. Otherwise, I think it’s better not to participate in this competition—going will only bring shame!”

“The time is tight. Spend one day studying thoroughly, then start coordinated training tomorrow. Teams will be formed randomly—did you hear that?”

In response to Kenny’s doubts, Rod rebuked him coldly. Old-fashioned ideas must be abandoned. It was precisely because too many people held such outdated views that class systems spread endlessly, leading to hierarchical divisions and rigidity. His goal was to break these ideas and maximize everyone’s potential. Just like in games, different dungeons require different strategies, and different teams must be formed to face different bosses.

His words made the people present turn red with shame. Rod’s words were like a revelation, leaving them utterly embarrassed. Indeed, it was true as he said—it was only then that they realized how ridiculous their previous thoughts had been. Thinking about it made them break into cold sweats.
“Yes, we understand!” Everyone shouted loudly at once.
“Good. Then disperse. Gather here again at seven o’clock tomorrow morning. I don’t want to see anyone late!” Nodding, he was somewhat relieved by their willingness to accept his words—truly top-notch students! Watching them leave, Rod sighed in relief, though the burden on his shoulders grew heavier, and the pressure increased unnoticed. He needed to work harder. Since the dean had entrusted this task to him, failure was not an option—only success!