Shadow Slave novel Chapter 828

Several days later, Sunny was sitting in the mess hall of the military bunker, consuming a generous portion of food without too much enthusiasm. A couple of other captains of the First Irregular Company, as well as Master Jet herself, ate with a bit more appetite.

Sunny did not look too good. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his whole presence was subdued and listless, a telling sign that someone was running low on essence.

At some point, Winter gave him a dubious look and asked:

"What's up with you? You look like you're about to topple over."

Sunny waved a hand dismissively.

"...It's nothing. I'm just tired because of all the stuff I have to do before we depart. Being an army officer is not a breeze, as it turns out. Who could have thought?"

The woman stared at him for a few moments, then grinned.

"Oh, right. I forgot that this is your first command posting. You have yet to discover the wonders of delegation!"

Master Randall shook his head.

"There are many things that can't be delegated. Plus, you have to know what your subordinates can handle to assign them tasks. I think that you are doing fine, kid."

Sunny wanted to retort that he was not a kid, but thought better of it after glancing at the grizzled veteran. Vandal was almost old enough to be his grandfather. If anyone had the right to regard him as a junior, it was Master Randall.

Winter shrugged.

"That's true. I am actually impressed by the cohort you've managed to form. It is unexpectedly well-rounded, although I am surprised by several of the choices you made."

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Why?"

She leaned back and looked at him. Well… Sunny assumed that she was looking at him. In truth, the laid-back beauty could have been staring at anything from behind her old-fashioned sunglasses.

"Don't get me wrong, each of us has tried to create a cohort that can remain effective in all kinds of situations. But we have our biases, nevertheless, so every cohort except yours tends to lean toward a certain specialization. Take Pride, for example. That slippery bastard recruited all the stealthy creeps from the roster."

Sunny stared at her without amusement.

"...You do know that I am a creep myself, right?"

Then, he froze for a moment.

"Wait, that didn't come out right! What I meant to say was that I specialize in stealth, as well."

Winter snorted.

"Really? You don't really look like a backstabber."

Sunny crossed his arms and looked at her with a smirk.

"Well, obviously. If I go around looking like a backstabber, people would be on guard against being stabbed in the back, wouldn't they? That just defeats the purpose."

Master Randall let out a gruff chuckle.

"He makes a good point."

Sunny nodded, then let out a heavy sigh.

"To tell you the truth, I did my fair share of backstabbing in the past, which really helped me survive. But mostly I tend to find myself in situations where I'm surrounded on all sides. Stealth is a powerful tool, but it can only get you so far. So… a well-rounded cohort is the best choice, in my opinion. Luckily, my Aspect is versatile enough to support all kinds of compositions."

He lingered for a bit, then asked with curiosity:

"What do other cohorts specialize in? I've been too busy to keep up with what you guys are doing."