Chapter 471: Brewing Riot [Part 3]
The room went dead silent immediately after Annette spoke.
She leaned back in her chair and unapologetically added,
"I'm not sorry that I sound cocky. It is just the naked truth. I understand that you guys wish to proceed with our best interest at heart, but you see, we really do not care about all of that."
The Commander stared blankly at her for a moment; it was incredibly difficult to tell what he was thinking, whether he was pissed off by her tone of speech or he simply found it amusing.
Either way, a ghostly smile was stuck on his face.
Gilbert also added after Annette,
"What Annette is saying is true. She was a Master in the Central Plains. In fact, she had hit a wall, with the growing dangers of rifts, and the recent one had just taken her eyes. She was very skeptical of going back into rifts, which was why I invited her to be a temporary instructor at the public academy.
"Frankly speaking, Annette was formidable already, a force of strength to reckon with. Then we entered the dark continent."
He paused to breathe before continuing, "Seated before you right now, Annette is a Sage. And more than being a Sage, the amount of fortitude that this disaster has built in us is what makes us first the strongest set of drifters that will exist in this era."
The Commander glanced at Gilbert, surprised. He wanted to talk but suppressed it, diving first into his thoughts.
Suddenly, a voice rose from the officers with furious intensity.
"How insolent of you to lie before the commander in such a manner!"
"A lie?" Gilbert inquired rhetorically. He chuckled dismissively and said, "No sir. While I may be sorry for our tone and manner of speech, this isn't a lie."
The Commander placed his hands on the table, locking his fingers. He turned his head to Gilbert and finally spoke.
"It is no news that once one advances to become a Master, proceeding forward becomes incredibly hard. First of all, one needed to challenge rifts for a definite and much quicker soul advancement. And it is no news that getting a rift is hard.
"The appearance rate of rifts has slowed; no common person can just decide to enter the already available ones or even the ones that manage to appear. Government and kingdoms claim all territories, making it difficult for drifters of mundane status to enter."
He looked at them seriously as he continued.
"Let's even say one does get access to a rift, and eventually becomes a Savant. The journey becomes much harder. It's estimated if a Master is challenging between tier one and tier three rifts every day, it'll take two years for them to become a Savant."
He went silent for a couple of beats, intensely looking at Gilbert, Annette, and the others.
"And now, you claim that this lady has achieved that in just the space of thirteen months? I'm sorry, you present quite a difficult argument to believe. It makes no sense."
Annette nodded, "If I was in your shoes, I'd say the same thing. I only just became a Sage recently, after all." She smirked.
"We are not asking that you believe us. We are saying for your good not to underestimate us," Gilbert contributed.
Annette moved her eyes to Shin, who was seated towards the end; she spent almost a second before adding,
"Most especially the white-haired kid... he's a vicious monster."
Once again, Shin found himself in a pool of confusing questions, not even sure what to expect or what his son could have become.
The Commander observed both spokespersons in the room, nodded peacefully, and said, "Alright. I will keep in mind your warning."
He opened a couple of filed papers in front of him as he started the subject of discussion as to why they are gathered here.
"We compiled the brief testimonies received by you all, and they have demanded that you guys should be sent secretly to the base."
After bringing out the paper, he looked at all of them, saying,
"I am not even supposed to be having this conversation with all of you. All I was supposed to do was probably put you all in an automated chariot that looks to be a cargo transporter and deliver you all to the government. And Davon knows what the heck they will do or demand from you lot.
"But you all have gone through your fair share of suffering. I don't know, I can't even imagine what it would have been like, which is why I don't think I should be involving myself anyway in this. The government is sounding shady, and I don't want to be an agent of hate to any of you."
Gilbert looked at the commander and commented, "You are a good man."
He let out a chuckle, "Please, please do not overestimate me." He looked towards Shin, "I'm only doing this for my friend whom I owe my life."
"Seven months ago, you came to the border to be a protector again. You said you needed no pay, you needed no official sanction, you just want to be here when your son returns from the Dark continent. You fought furiously to protect every protector here. Shin, you were our own protector.
"Although I know about your selfless and crude attempt to sail away on the surface of the ocean with rescue boats, which would have caused your death, which was why I put heavy security on them. But I wasn't blind to your suffering. I don't know what happened to your family; I have never seen you this broken. Damn, you were the highlight of this border back in the days, a clown that made our lives here less difficult with his jokes."
Shin chuckled awkwardly.
"I would rather die than transport your son to those distrustful flatfoots."
The Commander then glanced around at everyone.
"And if I'll be doing Shin this favor, that means I'll be doing all of you the same favor."
He sighed before continuing.
"We have very limited ways to help you, and we advise that you all do not travel together. We will report to the government that you all overpowered the entire base and fled."
"Wouldn't that cause problems for you?" Gilbert asked in concern.
"You need not worry about that. Something phenomenal has happened; your return will break the continent. The government knows this too, which is why they are trying to secure you guys. We will be the least they can afford to worry about.
"Besides, I have a feeling the use of us protectors is nearing an end."
He looked at his officers, "Does anyone have an objection to what I just said?"
They all shook their heads, composed with stark respect for their commander.
"Shin?" he called.
Shin immediately got up, still surprised and touched by all the Commander had said. He saluted with all his heart and bowed deeply, his voice quaking as he said:
"Thank you, sir! Thank you very much, sir! I am indebted to you."
The Commander smiled in satisfaction, leaning back in his chair as he replied, "Don't be indebted to us, Shin. This is everyone of us collectively paying our debts to you. So take your son and fix your family."