Chapter 157 - Meeting His Savior!

Mike and the others moved from their spot, and they appeared right behind the newbies. Mike tapped one of them on the shoulder and whispered into their ears.

"We will take it from here", he said as he blocked the strike that was coming towards them. The newbies were relieved that the elites were here, and that they would be saved. 

The moment Mike laid his eyes on them, he saw how powerful they were. He thought that the strongest amongst them had followed them, but it seemed to him like one of them got separated from the group.

And that one person was the one who was giving trouble to almost thirty of the others. Mike clicked his tongue in annoyance as he jumped back.

The man felt the strength behind Mike's block, and he decided that Mike was his opponent. The others were killed by the few he had brought the instant they arrived, and he was the only one left.

"Seems like you are strong", said Mike as he exchanged blows with the Beastmen. The Beastmen had a smirk across his face as he was fighting him.

He jumped back and looked Mike in the eye. He licked his lips and snapped his fingers, and the moment he did that, something happened.

His flat chest was now busted. He had a mask on his face, and he removed it. His hair which was flowing was now tied into a ponytail.

"You are a woman?", asked Mike as he saw the changes that she made to her body. The moment he saw the face, he remembered who she was.

"No way! You are her! The one who saved me before!", he said. The woman had a smile on her face, and Mike went on one knee.

"I looked all over the place for you. I could never express how thankful I am for you saving my life that day. If not for you, I would not have been able to meet back with my family that day", he said.

The moment everyone saw that he was kneeling to someone, they began to kneel. They didn't know why but seeing their leader kneel made them acknowledge the person's strength. 

"Kid, it seems like you have grown in strength from the last time I met you. My name is Aileen, and nice to meet you once again kid", she said.

"My name is Mike Limestone", he replied with his head down and didn't dare to look up at her. He was not afraid of the person, but it was his way of showing respect to her.

Aileen chuckled as she saw the way he behaved. She expected something like a fight, but she never expected him to remember her face. 

"And you are the only person who has seen my face", she thought as she was chuckling. She had a hand over her mouth, and Mike was wondering what kind of family she had come from.

"All of you, rise", she said and everyone stood up. Mike followed the order, but he didn't dare to look at her face and kept looking at the floor. 

Aileen placed her fingers on his chin and lifted his face. The way she looked into his eyes was mesmerizing, and he felt like she was staring at his soul.

Mike moved a step back and looked at the woman, and placed his dagger back inside. The both of them began to walk side by side.

"He has become much more handsome than the last time I saw him. Although I did call him kid, I never got to ask how old he was", she thought as she was glancing at him sneakily.

The others that were following behind caught the vibe that was going on between them, and one of them chuckled. 

"Wait until Miss Nora hears of this. She is so protective of her older brother", he thought as he saw them walking.

"I am sorry about injuring your men. I did not know that they were your men", she said in an apologetic tone. Mike wanted to say it was alright, but he was sure that would damage his reputation as the leader.

"What were you doing amongst the people that were heading towards our city?", he asked. Aileen had a look of confusion on her face.

"Your city? We were heading towards a place where we smelled a group of Beastmen. We didn't know it was a settlement", she said. She was not the leader amongst them, but she was sure to not harm people who were living peacefully.

"Something is going on, and I think your City might be caught up in the middle of it. I do not have the manpower to give you, but I do have the strength that I can contribute to your cause", she said as she looked at him expectantly.

Mike began to ponder upon her words. He was trying to understand the underlying meaning behind the words, and he also remembered the place she was from. 

"You mean that the place you are from is facing some sort of crisis, and you are not able to differentiate friend from foe?", he asked as he looked at her. She nodded her head, as she did not expect him to catch on to what she said.

Mike was now rubbing his hands together, and he was deep in thought. Every one of the squad was silent as they knew that anything they did would irritate him, and Aileen followed the same.

She did not know why they were silent, but she understood the depth of the matter that she had handed over to him. She was expecting a good answer, but she was also ready to accept if she is excluded.

"I did attempt to kill his men, after all", she thought as she looked at his face. She was slowly being attracted towards him, and there was only one reason she was out here in the wild today.

"I did come to see you, and that I have", she smiled. After what seemed like an eternity to her, Mike turned his head in her direction and smiled.

"Alright everyone, listen up. We have a situation in our hands. We are the sole line of defense for our City, and thus we need to be prepared for anything. And it seems like this person has information regarding the upcoming attacks that might happen."

"We will be needing her help, and thus I am going to spare her from the punishment. Does anyone have any objection? If you do, feel free to let me know", he said.

Right after he finished, the people who were injured and some of the newbies raised their hands. Mike pointed towards one of them and told them to speak.

"I understand as to why you are doing this, but we would like to know one thing. Will she be allowed to go scot-free, and never receive punishment? Or will it be delayed until the situation in our hands has been dealt with?", he asked.

He was one of the elites, and he knew Mike's temper quite well. And thus, he rephrased his voice of rejection into a suggestion, subtly hinting at his displeasure in the situation.

"The punishment will indeed be carried out after the situation has been dealt with, and I will be the one to personally issue the punishment. If the contributions during this temporary partnership help us, I will be holding a vote to decide what kind of punishment will be given. Any more objections", he asked.

The man who voiced it out nodded his head sideways, meaning that he was satisfied with Mike's answer. He sat back down and closed his eyes as he was tired from the wounds that he had received.

Mike turned to look at her, and Aileen had a smile on her face. He even saw a tear was rolling down her cheek.

"Thank you", she said as she bowed to him. Mike placed his hands on her shoulders and stopped her from bowing. He motioned for her to speak in front of everyone.

"My name is Aileen. I will be joining you to help you on this mission. Although I am not strong amongst my peers, I am one amongst the top five from my hometown", she said.

Everyone began to turn their heads and look at each other. They were shocked to know that she was in the top five, and began to wonder what would happen if the top person showed up in front of them.

She placed a hand on her heart and began to take an oath.

"I, Aileen Hopkins, swear that I will abide by any rules that are set for me, and protect to the best of my ability", she said in a loud voice. Mike smiled as he looked at her.

"Now, begin to explain how many groups we can expect, and how will they attack", he asked as he sat down behind her, allowing her to take command and let everyone know of the situation they were in.

She began to elaborate on what was going on.