"What? We are to keep them here without any support?" The commander who supervised the battlefield in the east shouted in disbelief. "Do you know how many monsters we are fighting right now? There are a number of unique monsters as well. We will suffer a lot of casualties at this rate."
"We know about it. But the headquarters have given the order. We have to hold this area for as long as we can." The subordinate who reported it to him didn't know how to face his angry superior.
The commander gritted his teeth and slammed the table. "Do they not know that we only have fifteen thousand people while the enemies are about twice our numbers?"
Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do, considering Theo and the military headquarters had reached an agreement.
They had to concentrate their strength in the north and leave the rest to the hidden group that Theo had hidden this whole time.
The commander was frustrated as he came out of the room and looked at the battlefield directly. The battlefield was held not far away from the city. He could easily look at the battlefield from the tallest building they had used for the control room and observation room.
The commander could see the numerous monsters pushing the army back. Although most of the monsters consisted of those in Hero rank or lower, the enemies had a lot of unique monsters that were said to be stronger than ordinary Mythical Rank Experts.
Even if they had more Supreme Rank Experts, they would certainly lose sooner or later without any support or reinforcement.
When the commander looked at the battle situation, he was convinced that he had to make his move.
"It seems that I have to go as well. There is no way I'm going to let my subordinates fight to their death while I'm sitting in the safe spot." The commander gritted his teeth. He had gotten used to deploying his people for missions, but having to watch them directly was truly hard.
However, the commander wouldn't have his time to shine. After all, there was a long black line in the corner of his eyes.
"Hmm? What's that?" The commander was startled and immediately returned to the room to grab a binocular to check what was going on.
And he was shocked by what he had just found. "They are… humans?"
"Attack!" The old man, who was said to be the 30th in the world, shouted out loud. His body was brimming with energy and his face was filled with fighting intent. Everything excluded from his body was the opposite of his aged appearance.
The old man pulled his stick, aiming at the monsters in front of them. Before using his ability, he glanced at the other two, asking, "Are you two ready?"
The two Transcendent Level Experts behind him glanced at each other, smiling. They couldn't help but remember the time when Theo gave them options to choose from.
Back then, Theo had told them to gather all the people to start the immigration process.
But before they started, Theo declared out loud. "I'm going to tell you this beforehand. If you enter the base, there will be a huge commotion and even chaos that might cause the base to become unstable. And if you stay out here, there will be a chance that the monsters will come to attack you. That's why I would rather mobilize you to hunt those monsters instead.
"To put it simply, I'm giving you two options and I'm not going to sugarcoat my words. Choose. If you stay here, I'm going to deploy you. If you enter the base, you might end up fighting the chaos as well and help suppress it."
That declaration startled everyone. They all followed Theo because they could live with many people in a safe place. But they never thought Theo would make them fight.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm following you because I'm tired of all this shit."
"Don't fuck around with me."
Even though they were veterans and elites that had stayed in a harsh environment for so long, not everyone wanted to follow Theo no matter how grateful they were.
Theo understood it completely and didn't even bother to reply to them. He only asked, "Choose. Those are the only two options."
The people were angered. Some of them didn't want to die when hope was right in front of their eyes. But some actually prepared themselves for something like this, thinking this was the only way to repay Theo. After this battle, they wouldn't owe Theo anything.
The Transcendent Level old man stepped forward and asked, "I am ready to fight for you to repay you for giving me this hope. However, I would like to ask a question. Do you plan to kill us?"
"No." Theo shook his head without hesitation. "Inside the base, there will be the Mafia Queen, one of the strongest people in the world to assist you. All you have to do is cooperate with her and everything shall be fine.
"Outside the base, there will be a lot of monsters, some strong ones. However, I can guarantee that there won't be any King Class Monsters. If you are injured and can't continue fighting, you are free to retire there and get a safe place in the base. But if you can still fight, I hope all of you can continue.
"You will even find Transcendent Level Experts there. You just have to fuse yourself with the army to sweep the entire battlefield and continue."
The old man closed his eyes for a moment. "Despite a lot of rejection we have right now, I am ready to lay down my life. This battle is very important to humanity. So, I'm going to do it. As for the others, I think it's better to give some rewards…"
"I know." Theo nodded in agreement. "Those who choose to enter the base will be considered as separated from me. So, you don't need to think of anything related to me after that.
"As for those who are fighting alongside me, I'm going to integrate all of you near my place. I'm planning to build an academy and other things like a hospital. I have a very good doctor who can regenerate a limb out of nothing, you see. And even in the academy, I'll be teaching there from time to time. That's the only thing I can promise you right now. So, please make your choice. I'm going to respect your decision."
When everyone heard the reward, they began to hesitate. Although they were sick of fighting, it didn't change the fact that the world would become even harsher. If they don't get stronger personally, they might end up with a lot of problems in the future. Meanwhile, if they followed Theo, they might get a lot of benefits that would secure their lives in the future.
Theo had told them that his healer could regenerate a limb. In other words, as long as they didn't die, they should be able to continue living like normal. Whether they would retire or not would be their choice later.
That was why a lot of people became silent after hearing this. This was an opportunity they could get once in a lifetime.
And for the old Transcendent Level Expert, he only smiled as if he had decided to fight for him without expecting any benefit.
