"Demon Relief Squad Captain…" The gloomy middle-aged man stared at her face for a while. Clara wasn't afraid of him as she stared back.
Despite the aura the gloomy middle-aged man was excluding, Clara didn't bother to release hers as if trying to pick a fight with him.
In the end, the gloomy middle-aged man closed his eyes as if he had lost the motivation to fight.
Meanwhile, Shale glanced at Noel, who was standing behind Clara. Noel's existence was more important than Clara's for him. After all, he managed to pique his interest but dared to reject his invitation.
Whether it was a grudge or something else, it didn't change the fact that Shale was interested in him, especially with the fact that Noel could become a Spirit Master within a short time.
'Interesting.' Shale thought while putting away his aura. Just for his sake, he wouldn't act childish since the aura might affect Noel.
Septa was confused, but he didn't realize Shale was focused on Noel. Septa thought Shale was scared of Clara or just respected her, so he followed suit. After all, there was no need for the people of the Demon Banner Army to fight among themselves.
Since all of them had stopped, it would be childish if he kept releasing his Spiritual Energy. So, he retracted everything. It seemed the one with the heaviest Spiritual Energy was the Stone Lord since half of the pressure was gone as soon as he retracted his energy.
Although it would be good to have a talk with them, Noel still acted as Iadre. Iadre didn't know any of them except for Shale, so he tried to check the people who came with them.
It turned out they were the only ones that came with two attendants. Shale came with a woman in her thirties. Even though her appearance looked gentle, there was no telling whether it was her real self or not since she came from the Demon Extermination Squad.
As for the one accompanying Septa, he was the Vice Captain of the Demon Beholder Squad. He had seen him on a mission back then, so he immediately shifted his focus to the other two.
The Plant Lord brought a young man. His face and the atmosphere around him were the exact opposite of the Plant Lord. However, he might not be the brightest since Noel could see a few blue and black spots on his arms. They didn't seem to be bruises, so it might be related to whatever he was dealing with.
Meanwhile, the Stone Lord was accompanied by a middle-aged woman. Her age seemed to be similar to Clara, but there was a badge with a stone symbol imprinted on it. The badge signified her identity as the Stone Lord's disciple. Unlike the Demon Banner Army, both elders brought their disciples since their second-in-command had to take care of the matters while they were away.
Clara nodded her head, politely greeting them.
"Thank you for your consideration. And thank you for gathering here today. Since we might have an argument again if we talk too much, let me give you a brief explanation about what I'm planning to do before the exploration then."
Clara paused for a moment as if trying to see whether there was an objection or not. Since no one raised their hand, Clara began her explanation. "Before the exploration, I'm planning to do three things."
"First, I'm going to erect a small fort here. It's fine if we use the woods, we just want to form a basic fort to make defending an easier task."
"Second, we will leave the scouting to Septa's squad since it's your specialty. We will provide the supply as well as everything you need. Even if your equipment breaks, we have someone who can repair it."
"Third, due to the unknown possibility, we are going to assume the worst. So, we'll be more careful than anyone else, including the fact that we're going to carefully examine each room and protect everything we can find from the mysterious facility. Is there any objection?"
The first one to raise an objection was the Plant Lord. He asked, "If you're going to protect everything we got, there is a chance that you might smuggle something out. What are you gonna do about it?"
"You can complain to the commander himself. At your rank, he will surely consider your words carefully. But don't forget that my squad will not be holding back if someone plans to steal something and frame us." Clara narrowed her eyes, not scared of the threat from the Plant Lord.
Even the Plant Lord could only frown. Clara's reputation was good and her strength could back it up. So, pushing her into the corner for something so simple would just make it look like he hated her for no reason.
"In that case, will we split the loot after the expedition?" The Stone Lord asked.
"Yes. I believe all of us have read the contract of our cooperation. The one who found the facility was our Demon Banner Army and we mobilized a lot of our troops. So, the split would be 7 to 3. The split can be discussed after the expedition is completed."
The Stone Lord nodded as if he was satisfied with the answer. He came only for the loot after all.
"How about the fort? Isn't it hard to build?" Septa asked.
"I'm sure you've heard a lot of reports regarding the expedition. Since we're considering the worst possibility, we are going to make a basic fortification to make this place a bit safer. Though, we have made some parts on the way, so it won't take more than a week to build a simple fort. I might need a bit more manpower from all of you."
"During that time, Septa will lead his group to scout the area to make sure everything is safe. And try to figure out if there are any monsters inside."
Everyone thought for a moment and nodded their heads, agreeing to her suggestion.
