Chapter 138 Meeting Of The Four Leaders

Sir Xavier saluted before he continued his report.

"My squad and I were sent out to assist on SW point 4. We ran into some goblins and dealt with them. We found a couple of black veined goblins and handled most of them. They ran away and we pursued them. We ran into a trap and Rose was injured, forcing us to flee. I managed to pick off some of the goblins and two black veined goblins before I had to allow Tristan and Kory to clear a path for us to retreat back towards the base. That's when my group came across the Academy students." Sir Xavier finished his explanation.

"You came across a total of how many black veined goblins?" Forest Head Captain Sylv asked.

"Across eight, Head Captain."

"Eight? That means there are probably more black veined goblins than the hobgoblins we keep getting reports on." Commander Reeves spoke. "And did you come across any of these hobgoblins, Sir Xavier?"

"We got ambushed by one hobgoblin. The hobgoblin and black veined goblins were hard to deal with at the same time. It was the reason why Rose got injured and we were forced to flee, Commander." Sir Xavier explained. The Commander nodded.

"We're glad you're all safe, Sir Xavier. We can't lose our A-ranker and his B and C-rankers now, can we?" Director Fulgrum smiled. Lee Seng found himself staring at Sir Xavier.

'That's why he's so strong. He's an A-rank.' Lee Seng's eyes sparkled. Sir Xavier turned and nodded at the students.

"I'm sorry I kept my rank a secret. It's common to hide your true strength as much as possible, young ones. Remember that if you wish to join the Adventurer's Association and put yourself amongst the guilds in the city." Sir Xavier explained.

"Students asking what someone's rank is?" Chief Hong inquired. "They have much to learn about hiding your cards."

"That they do." Head Captain Sylv nodded. "But, is that all, Sir Xavier? Is there anything else you'd like to share?"

"I will allow the young ones to report everything else." Sir Xavier smiled. Head Captain Sylv nodded and turned her attention to Lee Seng and the others.

"I guess this means we should formally introduce ourselves. If you haven't caught on with our names, the man to my right is Director Fulgrum. He's one of four Directors at the Adventurer's Association and head of the Fulgrum Guild." Head Captain Sylv began to explain. "I am the Head Captain of this particular forest building. My name is Cher Sylv, but you may address me as Head Captain or Head Captain Sylv. To my left is the strapping Chief Edward Hong, apart of the police force at Capitol City."

"Good to meet you all." Chief Hong nodded.

"And next to Chief Hong is military Commander Matthew J. Reeves." Head Captain Sylv finished. Commander Reeves gave the group cold looks. Lee Seng felt like the Commander was especially not fond of him. He already had a suspicious feeling about it.

"Nice to meet the Academy's students. I hear you are transfer students and this is a part of your grade as well as the transfer heaven event or whatever it's called." Commander Reeves grumbled.

"It's Transfer Hell Weekend, Commander." Police Chief Hong corrected. "The transfer students are being given a chance to prove themselves and the prestigious Number Academy. They should be refined and up-and-coming warriors, no?"

"Mmm, that they should, Chief." Director Fulgrum bellowed out. "I have great faith in the Numbers Academy. They have given us the greatest tacticians and skilled people to ever grace the city."

"Mmm, they have also given us some problematic individuals." Commander Reeves grumbled. He stared straight at Lee Seng and shook his head. "I don't understand why the Creator's son is even here. Shouldn't his daddy be protecting his only son? We all know it's hogwash that he got in with his own power." Lee Seng tightened his jaw and started to count in his head.

'This will go away. There will always be people high or low who doubt my strength. I am only a month or so into my power journey as well.' Lee Seng reminded himself.

"Whether or not if that's true, we should listen to the report, yes?" Head Captain Sylv shifted the subject. "Please explain to everyone here what happened with your group and your leader, Number 9."

Lee Seng looked at the others.

"Who's gonna speak?" Lee Seng asked. Ritsuka tapped at Lee Seng and motioned for him to speak. Jason motioned and Felicia gave him a thumbs up.

"Anyday now, students." Commander Reeves impatiently grumbled. Lee Seng sighed and took a step forward. His tail swayed upwards and hung high behind him. He cleared his throat and nodded at everyone.

"Academy Team 3B was briefed on what was happening. Leader Akali, er, Number 9 chose SW point 4 as the point we were going to help with. We managed to make it three-fourths of the way before we met a squadron of goblins with two black veined ones amongst them." Lee Seng started to brief. "We managed to handle the regular goblins well, but the two black veined goblins were a bit different. They were more resistant and had more strength.

"They acted like regular goblins, but could somewhat use the black liquid coursing through their veins that caused their eyes to turn red."

"Black liquid. This black liquid could be manipulated by the goblins. One of them triggered some sort of... stressed response and the black liquid overtook it. It grabbed a hold out of me and started to drain me."

"It drained you?" Director Fulgrum asked surprised. Lee Seng nodded.

"Like my own strength was disappearing. Luckily, Leader Number 9 killed the other black veined goblin and handled the other one with ease. After that, we wandered closer to the point when..." Lee Seng trailed off. The group all lowered their heads.

"When what?" Police Chief Hong asked, calmly. Lee seng lifted his head and gulped.

"An empowered hobgoblin crushed and impaled many adventurers in the nearby distance. It threw one of the dead adventurers into a tree. That's when Number 9 told us to flee and go back to base to report what we had seen." Lee Seng continued.

"A hobgoblin showed up and you immediately had to leave? Why do we have Academy students here then? They can't even handle a black veined goblin, so how are they gonna handle a red-eyed hobgoblin?" Commander Reeves complained. It was apparent to the students that Commander Reeves really didn't like their presence. It was more apparent that he had a bone to pick with Lee Seng.

"We allowed them to come aid us because they are capable of doing that." Police Chief Hong spoke. "Do we doubt the Numbers Academy of their wishes? They have proven time and time again that their students are capable. Even if they lack the experience--"

"Even if they lack the experience, they can still make the wrong choice and get killed. They'll only be in the way!" Commander Reeves shouted. He pointed his crooked finger straight at Lee Seng and waved it at him. "The Creator has lost his mind in sending his only son into death! He was powerless for three years and just now got his powers! Are we not gonna deny that?!?"

"Though it is true, he only got his powers a month ago, he did rank quite high in his stats." Head Captain Sylv responded. She turned to look at Commander Reeves. "I know that because I've read each and everyone of those students that are on the battlefield with us today. They are all capable. If you want more proof, Lee Seng placed Fifth in the Solo field test and did quite well in his duo matches."

"They're just staged! He has connections to everyone in that damn place. His daddy runs it all!" Commander Reeves shouted. Lee Seng could feel his blood boiling and tightened his fist harder. Jason sighed and took a step forward.

"Breathe," Jason whispered. Lee Seng took a deep breath and nodded. He could feel his face knotting and turning into an angry face. He took another breath and started counting over again.

"The students aren't stupid enough to know what they should and shouldn't do." Police Chief Hong added. He glanced and noticed Lee Seng's tail waving around. Jason and the others were quietly listening while keeping an eye on their ally. Hong could tell Lee Seng was deliberately being picked on by Commander Reeves.

"So you want me to just allow students to die? The one student we shouldn't have on this field is him and you all know it." Commander Reeves wagged his finger. Lee Seng rubbed his nose and unbunched his fist. He took another step forward and with that, the four leaders turned to look at the frustrated young man.

"Don't do that." Jason told Lee Seng. "Drop it now or you'll prove a point." Lee Seng sighed and released the Dark Matter pressure. He took a step back and took a deep breath. The anger ate inside of him and wanted to be let out. He continued to take his calming breathes before continuing.