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The next day, a recruitment notice was published around various mercenary organisations. Ghosts were interested in expanding their forces and were looking for suitable personnel for the job.

However, the job wasn\'t limited to combat class. People from all backgrounds and classes were encouraged to send their resumes to ONI.

After all, Ashton owned the intelligence org; at the time, they were the only ones with enough staffing to take care of the recruitment.

Obviously, ONI would only sort the weed out from the rest. The final recruitment would happen when Ashton returned to Kernel Tower.

The recruitment notice sent waves through the Tower. Hundreds of applications were received as soon as the notification went live. Not only did the small-time crews apply for the job, even big names from Gold Water sent their resumes in hopes of getting selected.

From warriors to accountants, Ghosts were willing to recruit anyone as long as they were decent at their job.

The response was also strong because no recruitment limit was mentioned in the notification. This meant the Ghost could hire anywhere from one to a thousand people!

Albeit, only some people who applied were interested in becoming a Ghost. Most wanted to enjoy the fame and benefits of being associated with them.

Otiga was already aware of such greedy bastards; that\'s why the recruitment wasn\'t a one-step process but involved a series of tests, including a morality test. Which was weird, considering they were hiring mercenaries.

As the Head of ONI, it was her job to ensure only deserving candidates reached the final round, which was sparring with present Ghost members. Only those who proved their mantle against the current members could join them.

However, mercenaries weren\'t the only ones interested in Ashton. After the news of the undead attack reached the Giholo homeworld, they immediately dispatched over a hundred cruisers headed for Earth.

Their living god had been threatened again, and they would not sit quietly this time. The spacefarers had recognised Earth as a sister planet, which meant the Earth had been officially recognised as a second home for the Giholos.

It should deter hostile outworlders from recklessly attacking the planet in the future. If someone still dared to eye them, they\'d have to face the full might of the Giholos.

Something similar happened with opportunistic merchants and financial organisations. Thanks to Otiga\'s excellent diplomatic relations and story-telling skills, everyone wanted to invest in Earth early to cement their relationship with Reaper.

[Damn, your feats are getting more impressive with each passing moment!]

Ashton only smiled while reading Otiga\'s report. If everything went according to plan, Earth would be included in the galactic trade route within two to three years.

The only thing remaining was to deal with the planet dwellers. Vampires had already given their approval to Ashton\'s plans. The werewolves, well, none of them would question him either way. As for the undead, the opinions of the dead don\'t matter to him either way.

"At the pace, we are moving, taking down the Xyrans doesn\'t seem impossible anymore," Ashton remarked, closing the report and heading outside.

While strolling around the city, he couldn\'t help but remember the state Livan had been in a few years ago. Broken buildings, malnourished residents, poverty, constant invasions... there were problems all around them.

But now, Livan was the city ushering Earth into its next evolutionary stage. It had become a beacon of hope and progress.

In a way, Ashton viewed the city as himself. After all, just like Livan, he had grown from a scrawny kid to a somewhat presentable man with a few accomplishments.

[You fucker, stop behaving like an old man! I\'m the oldie here!]

\'You just had to open your mouth, didn\'t you?\'

[Where are you headed either way?]

\'The Arena.\'

The arena was precisely what one would think. A colosseum designed for entertainment had finally found a good use. While recruiting proper mercs into the faction would take time, the recruitment for earthlings had already begun.

Humans, werewolves, vampires, and Giholos, whoever wished to become a Ghost was welcome to participate. They were put through a series of tests, and Ashton\'s lieutenants tested only those who didn\'t quit till the end.

Today was the final test day for the first batch of recruits. Though Ricochet wanted to participate as one of his lieutenants, Ashton instructed him and other metahumans to take a break.

Although they didn\'t react to the news of their homeworld, Occuna, being destroyed, they couldn\'t hide their grief from Ashton\'s observant eyes.

There was a saying, \'A mercenary was always prepared to give up their life\', but things were not so easy regarding their family and friends.

Ashton knew it first-hand after what happened with his father. His entire life, he thought he had made peace with the fact of his parents\' deaths. But in reality, he hadn\'t. One could say it was the reason for his apathy towards the Occunians.

Still, when Ashton arrived at the arena, some metahumans were waiting to ask for his permission to test the recruits.

"Drop the act, go home and rest. I\'ll call you when I need you." Ashton reminded the Occunians as they left, smiling wanly.

"Never thought I would get to see the human side of you after all these years," Mera remarked.

"I\'m surprised myself," Ashton coldly replied, "After all, you tried your best to make me inhumane like yourself."

The resentment in Ashton\'s voice was evident. It seemed Ashton wouldn\'t forgive Mera because fate wanted them to work together.

Mera also knew she didn\'t deserve forgiveness after everything she had done. However, she hoped that someday things would be different.

"Vimur has shortlisted a few humans based on their combat capabilities," Mera said, pushing a list into Ashton\'s hand, "He wants you to check if you want to alter it before preparing them for the next round."

"Alright," Ashton replied, walking away, but Mera called for him.

"Wait up," Mera sighed in defeat, "That healer of yours, Laihud, he mentioned wanting to discuss something regarding Avalina\'s state."

Ashton nodded and left without a word, heading towards the hospital. Mera could only gaze at his fading silhouette, hoping she could somehow change the past.