“War Academy? Is that the academy in the Egret Block?” asked Garen while looking at the Level Two individual.
He had a kind and sincere face, slightly tanned skin, and looked very serious. However, a look of concealed dishonesty was faintly seeping out of his narrow eyes.
“Reporting, sir! My name is Alexander!”
“Regardless of what you were called previously, you will be given new serial numbers and code names now. Choose the name of an animal to be used with your allocated number. Come up with the names on your own,” Garen raised his wristwatch and pressed it gently. A rustling noise could be heard as the serial numbers of the fifteen members and himself were distributed quickly.
Seconds later, the serial numbers were determined and transmitted to them respectively.
His animal prefix was “lion” and his group was known as the lion’s pride while Garen was called Lion No. 1. Meanwhile, the other members arranged themselves according to their power rankings until No. 16.
While looking at the row of soldiers who were standing in front of him, Garen was not completely sure how to arrange them as he had never actually been enlisted in the military before. However, he only needed to achieve his aim and the priority of this task was to complete the patrol and hunt down the enemy that would probably appear. The territory had already been confirmed and this entire area, as well as its surroundings, was their responsibility now.
“Listen up, in busy areas and places where there are endless streams of people, you are not authorized to collide with others carelessly at high speeds in order to avoid accidentally injuring the masses. All of you have Magnetic Cords, so cast them outwards when you encounter the enemy and lock them down while waiting for support. Do all you can to avoid injuring civilians!” Garen followed the first criteria and began assigning the tasks. Although the people before him were aware of this already, he was still obligated to emphasize certain things once again. In the event that an innocent bystander was hurt, he would still be partially responsible even if the damage was not caused by his own actions, but by one of his subordinate members.
The rules comprised of not injuring the common people, not destroying buildings carelessly, and not leaving the patrol grounds without permission. They would also need to report before leaving the group. He was prepared to move the group at any moment when the alarms at various positions sounded.
More than ten minutes had passed before every single rule had been listed out.
“Everyone, assign yourselves to your fixed territories now and report to me immediately if you encounter any situations!”
Garen passed the maps which had been marked with the specific areas to each of his fifteen group members. Other than himself who would be patrolling from place to place, the others would guard a fixed area within a certain range. They would report and communicate with each other after a fixed duration of time to indicate that there were no problems.
On the drill grounds, once the fifteen Mechs were assigned to specific territories, they rose into the sky and dispersed, flying in all four directions.
Garen stood on the drill grounds and single-handedly pulled out a broadsword that he had prepared earlier before waving it around casually.
“Although it’s not that smooth, it was still made with pretty good materials.”
This was his first task. If he completed it successfully, his collaborations with the military would gradually increase in the future. He would even be able to get a job and wages in the military much earlier without even having to graduate. This was also one of the main ways for the military to win over the students of Blackboard Academy.
Although the military and the Academy had a relationship of subordination, the military had actually been under the command of a different ringleader all along. This ringleader represented a large group of Elites that had previously left a specific faction of the academy. Even though their high-end powers were no match for the Academy, their numbers exceeded the Academy’s greatly. Therefore, the military had high hopes for these exceptional individuals.
“The students who practiced the Crouched Eagle Talon would probably be influenced by certain Training Methods, causing them to become belligerent and aggressive. This would be in line with the military’s style. Therefore, both sides would be able to work well with each other. If this task was given to another organization other than Eagle’s Nest, the other groups would not necessarily be able to obtain a patrolling task like this.”
When Garen’s mind finally comprehended everything, he sheathed his broadsword and glanced at his communication device and noticed that his group members had almost arrived at their respective patrolling spots.
He only needed to wait for his team members to report their situations at any time. After that, they would change their patrol areas slightly after a certain period of time.
After resting on the drill grounds for more than ten minutes, Garen piloted his Mech and soared into the sky. He flew towards the area where the first member, No. 2 was currently patrolling.
He passed over a street where there were bustling crowds. He could occasionally see white spider-shaped super-miniature Mech policemen. These human-controlled miniature Mechs were entrusted to solve issues pertaining to public security. Each of these white spiders was more than three meters tall and were Mechs that constantly patrolled at the sides of the streets while moving slowly.
There were two sidewalks closer to the center that were filled with clusters of office workers and vegetable vendors. Elementary and junior high school students on their way to class could occasionally be seen mixed in the crowd. Closer to the middle where the center of the road was located were streams of different types of vehicles. There were little push carts, electric motorcycles, and most of all, bicycles, followed by the scooters that were mostly used by the working class.
The cacophony of beeping and honking noises of car horns filled his ears and students squealed and joked loudly while electric bicycle bells chimed, motorcycle engines roared and vendors argued loudly. The noises mixed with one another and formed a picture of the daily life on this entire street.
Students would occasionally cast gazes of admiration at the Mechs that flew past them. Meanwhile, deep looks that indicated a strong sense of security could be seen in the eyes of the people that were walking down the street whenever they saw a Patrol Mech by the road.
The Black Mech that Garen was piloting flew in front of a building on the right side of the street slowly. His silenced engine would not make awful noises as long as he was not using the highest power output.
Blue flames shot out of the back of the black human-shaped Mech as it moved forward along the street slowly.
There was a stretch of motley people and cars below. Instantly, the Black Mech which was wielding two knives in its hands appeared within Garen’s field of vision. On the custom heavy landing platform at the side of the street, Alexander, who was also known as member No. 2, was placed in a large, chaotic area where the foot traffic was highest because he was a professional whose strength was only second to Garen.
When he saw Garen approaching, Alexander made a deep bow. He straightened the palm of his right hand and placed it sideways against his left shoulder in a brief yet energetic manner.
“Sir!”
“Yes, always guard the Mechs with your full attention. You can relax slightly. Don’t be too anxious because our unit is set to guard this place for an entire day,” Garen reminded him.
“Understood,” Alexander smiled. “Sir, someone came over and gave me some bribes earlier but I don’t know…”
“Bribes?” Garen was shocked but reacted immediately. They were merely the patrol team and the Spider Mechs of the garrison would be here to solve problems that were out of their domain. However, they were nominally at a higher level than the garrison. Therefore, it would be really easy for them to find the instigator who was trying to create trouble for the garrison.
“Did someone from the garrison send it over?”
“They’re local thugs. Unlike us who come here occasionally, they’re always here…” giggled Alexander. “There’s a pretty good massage parlor below. Sir, if you don’t want to…” this fellow began to laugh excessively.
“This…”
“I heard that their pretty boys are not bad…”
Garen’s emotions were slightly aroused at first. He could have gotten a massage and soaked in a warm bath to relax his body for a while. However, the last sentence made him feel cold aversion the moment he heard it.
“You go on your own, I’m going to continue patrolling. Just make sure not to be too presumptuous.”
The probability of them encountering terrorists within the district was extremely low. Individuals who were allowed to accept tasks within the district would not only be physically strong but would also come from pretty good backgrounds. After all, patrolling the busy areas was a lucrative job. Garen did not want to offend these people.
He controlled the Mech and left the busy area. There was a large clear river in front of him that resembled a winding ribbon. White steamboats of various sizes sailing across the glittering surface of the river.
In the morning sunlight, Garen piloted his Mech slowly and flew towards a heavy landing platform by the river before docking there. When he looked over at the opposite side of the river, the Blackboard Region’s symbolic suspended Garden Trade City stood upright on the other side.
The buildings throughout the entire trade city resembled sharp pencils that protruded out of the ground. They were more than a thousand meters tall and fully white. Neons signs and billboards of various colors filled the area while publicity airships flew around and circled the area while scattering advertisements occasionally.
Compared to the liveliness by the river, the trade city was much noisier. It seemed as if an exciting ceremony was being held there as the sound of music and singing would drift over at times.
Garen looked over from afar and saw the crowds who stood shoulder-to-shoulder like a pile of black sesame seeds. He could only see the tops of their dark heads.
Faint morning sunlight cascaded on the surface of the water, appearing like a river of sparkling diamonds.
Garen decided to stop temporarily. He sat cross-legged on the heavy circular spot and rested quietly. Once he had turned the Mech off and pushed the engine button, everything fell into a state of peacefulness.
After all, he was still waiting for Celine’s intelligence reports. The other members would probably be unwilling for him to close in on them while the patrolled the area anyway. Therefore, as long as there were no issues in this area, everything would be fine.
He reached his hand outwards and pressed a button near the lower front part.
Whoosh…
A soft noise could be heard before the Mech’s cockpit raised itself outwards and upwards slowly like an egg with a half-opened shell. Garen, who sat in the driver’s seat, was soon exposed.
He removed his helmet and got up from his seat in the cockpit immediately. He controlled one of the Mech’s arms and lowered it to the ground before walking down that arm and standing at the side of the platform. The pleasantly cool breeze by the river blew at him as he breathed in the fresh air.
The sound of moving cars from the street, conversations of the pedestrians, and noisy chatter of the elementary and junior high schoolers could be vaguely heard behind him.
Garen combed his hand through his hair. Unknowingly, his hair had almost reached his shoulders while the sleek black locks had begun to shine as well. The radiation of the Hellfrost Peacock Technique gave it a faint bluish tint.
He lifted both of his hands and observed his white and blue skin. It had become almost transparent and completely smooth as all of his previous scars and blemishes had disappeared completely.
“Beautification is definitely one of the Living Secret Technique’s best uses,” Garen could not help but laugh at himself while unzipping his piloting uniform. Once the tight black clothes were slightly loosened, his shirt collar became a straight collar that touched both sides of his neck. His strong muscles and contours were soon exposed.
After he had switched bodies and practiced the Hellfrost Peacock Technique, Nonosiva’s previously slender and skinny body was completely gone. It was replaced by a strong and muscular physique instead. He had gained the perfect upside-down-triangle-shaped muscles on his upper body while his arms were taut and strong. He stood on the side of the heavy platform and draped his black clothes over his body.
Perhaps Garen’s soul was another reason why there was a faint glimmer in his eyes despite his seemingly normal external appearance. Even through his hair, his piercing gaze gave him an astute aura.
The corners of Nonosiva’s mouth had already been pointing downwards previously. It gave him a threatening air that made others think that he could flare up at any moment, making it even more difficult for people to approach him throughout his life. People who were the slightest bit weaker than him would not even dare to meet his eye when they stood in front of him.
His imposing physique, cold expression and somewhat glimmering and piercing eyes were features that made him seem like a suppressed volcano that could erupt any moment. However, Garen himself did not even possess those traits…
Nonetheless, these signs caused him to appear as his current state, which also happened to be extremely fierce.