The Scrap Tamer - Chapter 198
Chapter 198: A Speculation
Reid and the others silently looked at the frozen hologram of the man bowing.
There was a frown on Elizabeth’s face as she looked at the man, before turning to commander Ajax, waiting for him to explain and he did.
“This transmission was received a few hours after the rifts in the skies closed,” Ajax said, “which means that whatever they’re facing must’ve come from the rifts.”
Null stood up straight and walk closer, much to the annoyance of Commander Voss. He looked at the old man’s face on the hologram before he turned to Reid and said, “it might possibly be one of my brothers.”
He was the only one here who seemed to have knowledge on them, even if just a bit.
“…”
Reid didn’t know how to answer that, on one hand, it might be possible that another of Malrath’s brothers got curious about the rifts and walked through, just like Null had.
That would be terrifying to think about since, even a shard of any of the children of Chaos was way above platinum rank.
“Officer Fletcher,” Ajax called out, seeing Reid’s expression, “do you have any information that would prove useful to this mission.”
Reid thought about it for a while, Voss was here, which meant whatever he said now would make its way to the cult.
But then again, the cult already knew he had a system, what bigger secret was there to withhold from them?
Besides, the cult knew about Malrath so the chances of them knowing about chaos and its seven children was high, so he saw no reason to hide that much, at least not the part everyone already suspected.
He walked forward a bit before saying, “I don’t know the specifics, but Null is suggesting that maybe a primal related to Malrath might be the being they’re referring to.”
Everyone in the briefing room knew of Malrath, whether they were personally in the city or heard about him in the news, they all knew that he was a disaster in of itself.
So a primal of similar power would definitely be a problem.
“Are you sure of this?” The question was directed at Null instead of Reid.
“Not quite,” Null shook his head, “but there might be a chance that one of my brothers also stepped through the rifts just as I did and if that’s the case, then your world is in a lot more danger than you think.”
“I see,” Commander Ajax nodded, “then I’ll have to contact the higher ups again.”
With that, he tapped on the table and the hologram of the old man changed to that of a man in high ranking military uniform.
“Commander Ajax,” the man said as he turned towards the commander, “I see you’re briefing the officers on the upcoming mission.”
“General,” Ajax greeted in a serious tone. “Before we proceed with deployment, I would like to formally request that the higher ups send additional higher-ranking reinforcements.”
“And why is that, commander?” The man asked with a raised brow.
“We have reasons to believe that a primal on Malrath’s level might be involved in this mission,” Ajax explained.
“And what proof do you have of this?” The man asked with a frown on his face.
“We have no concrete evidence,” Ajax admitted, “but—”
“Then there’s no need to disperse more than we already have,” the commander said, “as said before commander Ajax, with all the happenings right now, we can’t afford to leave ourselves vulnerable by sending our high ranks to that continent.”
Ajax exhaled slowly trying to calm himself down, “sir, I am requesting reinforcement based on the worst-case scenario. If a primal on the level of Malrath is present—”
“That is not confirmed,” the commander cut in, “we cannot redirect high-tier assets across the world for a rumor.
“Besides,” the man said, tone growing firmer, “you already have multiple Platinum-ranked individuals being deployed.”
“And most of the others are gold ranked tamers, reinforcements, even in the worst case scenario, are unnecessary.” The commander completed.
“Then I’d like to request more experienced soldiers be assigned to this mission,” Ajax said again.
“Commander Ajax,” he said, in a tone that left no room for argument, “the decision stands. You will proceed with the task force you have. Platinum rank is more than adequate.”
Ajax frowned, these bastards were forgetting that one of the kids being sent on this mission is the son of the only Mythic rank tamer in the world and they had been shaking in their boots when she paid a visit to the base.
“Understood,” he swallowed his words and tapped on the holographic table again and the man disappeared.
The silence in the room was heavy, to say the least.
‘Evo?’ Reid mentally called out, ‘is it possible for you to confirm Null’s thoughts.’
[No,] she responded, [I can only scan and cross reference with the information I have to determine what he’s capable of.]
‘I see,’ he nodded before turning to Null and asking, “which of your brothers do you think stepped through?”
Null tapped his chin thoughtfully, “hard to say. My brothers are… quite expressive. If it was Malrath, he’d have announced his presence by now.”
“I see,” Reid nodded in response.
Most of the other officers in the room were confused, Null has claimed multiple times to be related to Malrath and Neither Commander Ajax, nor Owen’s team seemed surprised.
Voss, on the other hand, took this as a valuable info for the cult. He knew the master will definitely be pleased to learn this.
Commander Ajax noticed his suspicious expression but didn’t draw attention to it just yet.
“As you’ve just heard, regardless of who the threat is,” Ajax said, shifting the briefing back on track, “the mission remains the same. Your objective is simple, investigate the anomaly, assist the inhabitants, and if possible, take down the primal.”
“And if it is one of his brothers?” Elizabeth gestured to Null, who was now standing by her side.
“I can assure her safety,” Null said referring to Elizabeth, “but not the rest, though Reid should also be able to hold his own.”
“If you encounter a being above a level you can handle, then do not engage,” Ajax said, ignoring Null’s words, “report to base and I’ll ensure backup is sent.”
He then continued. “You’re dismissed. Gather what you need and meet at the docks for departure.”
“Yes sir,” with that, they departed.