The Scrap Tamer - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Leaving For The Military.

The days blurred into each other and before Reid realized it, the day to leave for the military had arrived.

His father had offered him the chance to be trained again by the family instructors and cancel his-then pending departure for the military but he refused.

Him, the twins and Alex, together with Elizabeth were supposed to report to the Nexus today where they would meet and set off with the other recruits.

Speaking of Elizabeth, she had apparently been punished by commander Gareth for disobeying his orders to not get directly involved after she was told to, but it was nothing more than a pat on the wrist.

Without her and Reid’s interference, maybe Malrath’s summoning would have caused an even greater amount destruction and lives lost.

The higher ups in the government, as usual, were the first to paint themselves as heroes. They claimed to have dispatched Gareth and his team as soon as they could, which was far from the case.

Over the few days since Malrath’s summoning, while some celebrated their survival and ‘hard work’ of the higher ups, others mourned the death of their families.

Commander Gareth’s subordinates were buried with the highest honors, a platinum honor crest. A crest given only to heroes of the world.

The old commander refused to weep, though the grief was unmistakable in his eyes. To him, mourning aloud was a disservice to the soldiers who had laid down their lives to defend the city—a sacrifice that deserved honor, not sorrow.

Reid and the rest reached the Nexus quiet early and they found commander Gareth and his secretary waiting outside the Nexus for them.

“Good morning Sir” Elizabeth formally greeted and gave him a salute. Her posture was perfect and the usual glint of familiarity was absent in her eyes.

There were others around so right now, she was just one of his subordinates, not granddaughter.

“At ease” Commander Gareth replied.

Although there was a faint glimmer of pride in his eyes, he didn’t let it linger, as it disappeared as soon as it came.

“It seems you’re the first ones here” He said as he looked at the quartet behind his granddaughter.

They were dressed in the uniform issued to them when they joined. It was a tactical outfit with black long sleeves shirt with a camo patterned pant.

They also wore black combat boots with it and by preference alone, Reid wore black fingerless gloves.

Compared to Elizabeth’s black jacket that contained red epaulets on the shoulders, and her sleek black pants and boots, the four looked completely plain.

But that was to be expected, they weren’t ranked high enough yet to rock that type of swag.

“Do any of you have second thoughts about joining the military?” Gareth asked his tone softened a bit but the look in his eyes was one of total seriousness.

With their hands behind the backs and in sync, the replied “Sir no Sir”.

This made Gareth nod and turn back to his granddaughter.

“You have been prohibited for leave the base without completing the proper procedures” He Informed her “the next time this happens, you’ll be stripped of your rank and forged beasts, am I clear”.

“Understood commander” she softly said “it won’t happen again”.

The threat might seem harsh but even Elizabeth knew that her decision leaving her teammates in the middle of a beast siege to go do her own thing was a wrong one.

A decision that might have cost the lives of her teammates if there hadn’t been another strong person present to step in.

“Good, the others should be here anytime soon and you’ll depart together.” He said and then folded his hand behind his back, waiting for the others to arrive.

Not long after the rest of recruits dresses in the same combat costume as the quartet, arrived, as they were led by another military personnel. He was surprised to see that there was four recruits here already but he didn’t comment on it.

He just saluted commander Gareth and with a few exchange of words, he walked into the building, leaving the recruits standing outside.

They murmured to each other, drowning out what Commander Gareth’s secretary was trying to say so commander Gareth had to intervene.

With a flare of his aura, all the recruits fell to their knees, the pressure increasing on their shoulders forcing them to stay down.

Even Reid, with his recent rank upgrade, was on his knees. The pressure didn’t feel as suffocating as it did for the weaker recruits but that didn’t mean he had it any easier either.

The only ones standing were Elizabeth, commander Gareth’s secretary and of course commander Gareth himself. His eyes scanned the faces of the kneeling recruits and sighed.

” Recruits” He called out and then stepped forward to give a short speech. “Today, you stand at the threshold of transformation.”

He paused and gradually lessened the pressure on them and they could finally stand straight before he continued.

“You have shown determination, discipline and potential to take your first steps to becoming defenders of humanity” his eyes scanned their faces again “But do not assume the road ahead will be easy.”

“Humanity stands against primals, savage beasts that know no mercy, no hesitation, and no fear. They will not wait for you to be ready, nor will they give you second chances. Out there, the only thing that stands between them and the annihilation of everything we hold dear is you.”

“Every choice you make, every skill you hone, will decide the fate of not just your own life, but the lives of countless others.” Gareth continued. He could see the different reactions the recruits had to his speech but he knew it was necessary.

He straightened his posture as he concluded. “Your journey begins now. Whether you rise or fall will depend entirely on the choices you make in the days ahead. Make them wisely.”

As if on cue, three heavily armored black buses drove out of the Nexus’ underground parking lot. They came to a halt and from each, a military personnel walked out and stood by the door.

The buses were armored so much that Reid doubted if any primal that’s ranked below gold could put a single scratch on it.

“Dismissed!” Commander Gareth said and walked into the building while being followed by his secretary.

The recruits lined up and entered the buses one after the other. The three buses was enough to fit all the recruits and some empty seats remaining.

Elizabeth preferred flying so she summoned her dragon and took of to the skies, while Reid and the trio entered different buses.

Reid found himself a seat by the window and just as he sat down, someone else sat next to him. Not that he minded but he was curious about who it was until he looked.

Seeing the person surprised him since this was the last place he expected to see her… Well he says that a lot, especially when it comes to her.

Sitting by his left was the green haired girl he had met during the hunt and also his childhood ‘friend’.

“Lisa?” The surprise was evident in his voice.

One had to remember that she was part of one of the great families, the Blackwood family. Children of the great families were never allowed to join the military since they considered it as empowering the military.

You see, some of the great families and the military didn’t see eye to eye. In public, they all posed as protectors of the world but behind the scenes, they fought for control over the world.

So none of the great families, not even Reid’s, would send their young prodigies to the military, except.

“It’s nice to see you again Reid” Lisa replied as if she already expected Reid’s presence here. Her tone lacked the previous childishness she displayed during their meet at the hunt.

“What are you doing here?” He went straight to the point.

“Same as you, volunteering for the military” she replied with a smile.

“You and I both know your family would never allow you to do that, so why are you really here?” He asked again.

“Well they can’t deny either if they don’t know” she said with a proud smirk.

“Let me get this straight, you chose to run away from the place where you’ll be provided with the best instructors, just to join the military?!” Reid asked in shock, but thinking back at it, he’s basically doing the same, not the runaway part though.

“I know, I know. My decision was stupid but I realized that even with the best instructors, I wasn’t improving” Lisa explained “so I chose to join the military after the hunt, where I realized that I’ll be able to improve with actual battle experience. Not one in a controlled environment.”

Reid nodded at her explanation. Although they had experience of fighting primals from a young age, they were never above a certain level. But with the military, he knew the ranks of primals would be unpredictable and that’ll help their growth.

“Besides, you said we’d meet up before you left but you’re just leaving like that” she said making Reid pause his thoughts.

He remembered saying something like that but with everything that happened the past few days, it completely slipped his mind. Besides, he was also unconscious for two days .

“Sorry about that,” Reid admitted, leaning back against his seat. “Things got a bit hectic on my end. I didn’t mean to skip out on what I said.”

“I see,” she replied quietly and also leaned in her seat. Even she had heard of him being unconscious somehow so she didn’t press him.

With a roar, the engine of the buses started and they started moving, heading out of the city and into the wildlands.

Reid looked at the passing buildings of the city through the glass of the bus and he could see the destruction caused by the fight with Malrath.

“I am going to get even stronger” He clenched his fist in determination.