Chapter 1520 (2/2)

But honestly, based on their improvement speed, maybe its best to leave that issue to the side for now...

The tidbit that Lay’mel said had been revealed by Drill Sergeant Pellmon left Randidly staring blankly ahead for several seconds after he heard it. Randidly Ghosthound was a two-horned goat who masqueraded as a six-horned goat after killing his father and grandfather and wearing their scalps to the point that they had become a rotting part of him.

Each salacious rumor that Lay’mel Tuuellethe revealed seemed to be a physical blow that landed on the shoulders of the guard who served as their guide. The lizardman kept his gaze to the ground as they continued forward. Randidly almost felt bad for this individual, who might head back to his home tonight and wonder whether his presence during this thoughtless honesty from the elf-man would draw the ire of the fearsome Ghosthound simply because of proximity. Perhaps he would assume the Ghosthound would hunt him down and kill him for even witnessing this.

But there was little Randidly could do. The benefits of his reputation still outweighed the detriments; Randidly said a silent prayer that this random guard knew a good therapist who could help talk him through his persecution-complex.

Of course, they ended up heading to the largest grouping of individuals beneath the surface; it seemed that the Head Drill Sergeant would be the keynote event at the underground battlefield that had been raging on for longest. They followed a tunnel down into the depths of the Rally Station, the sounds of battle echoing up from below.

Randidly might have been able to figure this out on his own, but he didn’t regret the slight delay; hearing these things from Lay’mel was useful. Probably.

Randidly drew in a breath and focused on the battle going on below him; god, he missed genuinely fighting. The rumbles he could feel through the stones beneath his feet set his heart pounding. And Randidly could sense that they were almost there. Although the recruits fighting didn’t notice that their Head Drill Sergeant was about to arrive, Randidly could feel several strong individuals within the enormous training cavern fixated on him as he approached.

Although he was keeping his image relatively under wraps, there were at least six people that were able to detect him anyway. One was the Superintendent, but the rest were strangers. Randidly barred his teeth. Good. Looks like everyone worth knowing is already here. Let’s make an impression.

“You don’t need to be nervous,” Lay’mel said, interrupting Randidly’s thought process. Then he slapped himself on the chest. “Worry not! With me as your companion, you will certainly be able to establish yourself amongst the Drill Sergeants! Ah, but where are my manners! What is your name, again? As I’m sure you’ve noticed, I am Lay’mel Tuuellethe.”

The guard in front of them flinched. But Randidly just smiled. They had reached the end of the tunnel. There was only the doorway and the fighting beyond the threshold. He reached out and put his hands up against the metal door as he looked over his shoulder at Lay’mel. “I know who you are, Lay’mel. I’m Randidly Ghosthound. Thank you for the information.”

For several seconds, Randidly held Lay’mel’s gaze. He peered through his eyes to see the gradual realization that hit the elf-man. Because honestly, Randidly was curious about what he would find within Lay’mel. The man’s timing and obliviousness in the past two encounters was suspicious.

After Randidly’s words traveled through Lay’mel’s ears, reached his brain, and he slowly digested that information in the context of the conversation they had been having on the walk down here, Lay’mel’s reaction didn’t disappoint. Behind the initial blank shock, there was a wave of emotions that didn’t quite fit with his displayed persona: envy, fear, and genuine hatred.

Aha. I thought you had the tang of the Swacc Family about you… Randidly turned away and pressed open the doors. Instantly, he blasted his image outward and filled the air around the other Drill Sergeants with a stifling weight that was subtly backed by Nether; there were too many forces conspiring around him to be passive any longer. It was time that he begin lashing out and establishing himself.

Fighting against the other powerful individuals was the most tempting option, but Randidly was able to restrain that impulse. Instead, he would let his recruits speak for him for now. Hopefully, they would be able to put up a good showing for him, despite the fact that they were outnumbered five to one. At least then Randidly would have the chance to try and figure out exactly how many groups were making trouble for him.

After pushing open the door, Randidly’s gaze slid sideways. There was a tremor from the surrounding images, but they controlled themselves and allowed Randidly to be dominant for the moment. As the largest of the four underground skirmishes, there were above sixty Drill Sergeant’s present. They came as frost giants, metallic praying mantises, strangely colored humanoids, and a tiger with four wings. For now, Randidly ignored them all. His gaze looked onto Superintendent Xeruth and he made a beeline for the official.

As he moved toward the pale man, the Superintendent twitched visibly, as though suppressing the desire to look over. Chuckling, Randidly strolled forward and didn’t bother to call his attention over to him. They were on an upper platform and the Superintendent was ostensibly looking over the side and overseeing the skirmish happening below.

Randidly arrived next to the Superintendent, aware of every eye on him. He kept radiating pressure with his images but didn’t manifest anything more than his base physicalizations. Then he waited for a few minutes. Only when the skirmish had a clear victor did Randidly show a slow smile toward the Superintendent. “I trust you won’t mind if my skirmish is next.”

“That is fine,” The Superintendent responded woodenly. Signals were released and soon the two groups were summoned to the lower area. Two hundred individuals faced off against a thousand. And the comparison between them was almost laughable. Randidly’s group was clearly exhausted, with many of them still breathing heavily as they waited for the skirmish to be commenced. In addition, they wore torn and mismatched armor, which was a stark contrast to the impeccable and uniform thousand red suits of armor that Randidly’s recruits faced.

An unaffiliated Drill Sergeant raised a bugle and sounded the start of the match.

By the end of the fight, Randidly could only release a frustrated groan. “Is that… really it?”