Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 632: In the army Part 2

It took a while for the words that Mayhem just spoke to sink in, but once they did everyone arrived at the same conclusion. When Colonel Mayhem said 'everything is lost' she didn't mean the gear nor the rations, she meant hope.

It was already a bad thing that zeppelins failed to arrive when they were supposed to, but the army being unable to contact the headquarters was even worse.

Up until that moment Lister had thought the army refused to speak with him because of the ever present tension between the government and the military, but now he realized it wasn't that they didn't want to speak they just didn't know what to say.

"Then why don't you help us eradicate the cryptids within the city? It should make this place safer and maybe then we can join our efforts to investigate." As the city's governor it was his responsibility to keep citizens safe no matter the cost.

"That's short sighted. With no provisions, how long do you think it's going to take for people to start turning on each other? Maybe a few casualties here and there can alleviate the situation." Uriel said like he didn't just disregard the lives of thousands of citizens. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

"How can you even think of something like that!?" Medusa voiced out.

"What? It's the logical thing to do. hunters will fight cryptids and die, hence they'll consume less food and prevent a famine which in turn would prevent a riot. Those who survive will have become stronger which in turn would keep the city safe.

It's exactly the same the government has been doing." Uriel defended himself behind arguments that couldn't possibly be rebuked, but Medusa went even further.

"Hunters know the risk they're taking before heading outside cities. They're willing to put their lives at stake for profit. What you're proposing instead is to just let hunters die inside city walls where not even a couple days ago they thought they were safe. Not just that, the amount of civilian casualties would be huge." Medusa pointed out.

"It's not like we have much of a choice. People already think our wall was breached and as we speak there are thousands of hunters raking the city to find cryptids. It's too late to take a step back now." Lister said gritting his teeth the entire time.

"Our plan was to provide the Cryptid hunting Agency with the information about cryptids we've found so far and Luna's theories on how to easily defeat them. It was supposed to give hunters an edge over the lower level cryptids and allow us to hunt the most dangerous ones." Uriel explained glossing over the fact that the most dangerous ones were also the most profitable to hunt.

"If there was an easy way to defeating cryptids, don't you think I'll know about it?" Lister sneered.

"What they say is true. General Sword shared that information with a few of us and I've witnessed it many times.

Some cryptids are highly allergic to specific substances, some have weak spots within their bodies and some can only be killed after fulfilling certain conditions." Mayhem's disheveled appearance erased the pressure of her military rank, but it took Lister a glance at her eyes to know she wasn't lying and he turned to Uriel as though he betrayed him.

"So you actually killed a horror level cryptid. You've had this information the entire time and refused to share it. How many people have died just because you didn't share something as crucial as that in the fight against cryptids!?" Lister's voice was shaky, not out of dubiousness but of sheer anger.

When the megacity of Hollywood was entrusted to him they also placed a heavy burden that weighed heavy on his shoulders. The burden of knowing that not even the walls made a city safe, that creatures of the night lurked at every corner and the inability to speak about it to anyone without the proper rank.

Because of its location the city was among the safest in the continent and he turned it into money and influence by focusing on the hospitality business. People from all over the world visited the city looking for fun or meeting with business partners, but that didn't mean they didn't lose people to cryptids.

"Didn't you say it yourself? Information is more valuable than money.

It's only thanks to our field medic's research that we know about this and acquiring information about different cryptids has costed us sweat and blood, why should we share it with everyone just so they enjoy the perks from our sacrifice but not the cost?" Uriel decided not to say Luna's name and instead refer to her as a medic to make it sound less personal.

Like it wasn't just due to Luna's obsession with cryptids that they managed to learn about it.

"Yes, but..." Lister attempted to rebuke, but this time it was Medusa who silenced him.

"Orichalcum, dungeons, human cryptid hybrids, witches, the list goes on. The government has kept so many secrets from the population, even from us hunters!"

"Also, we already tried to disclose this information to the public, but few believed us. Those who did decided to just leave the city thinking they would be safer somewhere else. They'd rather live in the lie than stay and fight for their lives. And if that's not enough, then consider our interests are not aligned." Uriel shrugged.

"Are you saying you don't want to keep this city safe?" Lister asked with a gaping mouth.

"The fall of our city taught us a lesson. Nobody cares about others. The government isn't doing anything to help in the fight against cryptids because wiping them out would also leave us without the flux orbs we need to use the new technologies."

"That's where you're wrong," Lister sighed and took a pause to look everyone present but Medusa in the eye. "It's not that we're not doing anything. We can't. Private companies have their own agenda and it's not like in the old times. Companies used to focus on producing goods and selling them at a fair price, now they do the same but at the same time each of their employees is also a soldier.

To say each company has their own army wouldn't be an exaggeration and the only ones keeping the balance are the holy rank hunters. If we knew there was a way to easily kill cryptids we would have definitely joined efforts with the army!"

"It's not feasible. General Cassandra shared this information only with the colonels because when she tried it with foot soldiers it only got them killed. Just because we know how to kill them faster doesn't make it necessarily easier. You're forgetting that while cryptids may have weakposts, we humans can die easily.

It doesn't actually give us an edge over cryptids, it barely manages to balance things out." Mayhem pointed out and told Lister some of the experiences they've had.

Sharing the cryptids weaknesses only managed to embolden weak soldiers that couldn't put a real fight against them in the first place causing even more casualties than if they simply limited themselves to opening fire against them. In most cases firearms alone weren't enough to kill them, but it allowed hunters with combat able traits to finish them safely.

Each word Mayhem spoke made solidified in Lister the idea that sharing that information with the public would be a wrong move, but possessing that information could allow them to safely kill entity rank cryptids without so many losses.

Uriel retracted himself from the conversation as he tried to decide what was the most profitable and safest course of action. 'The city needs zepellins, the army wants answers and we need to find dungeons.

We can't just head outside without a clue as to what's going on or we would just be risking the Pegasus, we also can't investigate on our own because we would be assuming all the risks, but even if we were able to go outside we might not find a city to go back to.'

The problem wasn't that he couldn't help, it was that anything he did would have repercussions in the city. Making any decision would mean the loss of many lives, yet what troubled him the most was the fact that Lister and Mayhem were both new to their seats.

On one hand, Lister was way too young to have been in his position for long while on the other, just a few months the female colonel was only a private with a mischievous attitude and unruly behavior. The only reason why the army even bothered to keep her around was the promise that her rare trait could be of use in the future.

"That's it!" Uriel exclaimed turning all the heads on the room towards him.

"Lieutenant! I knew you would find a solution!" Mayhem's eyes sparkled with admiration as she saw Uriel take out a fountain pen and start scribbling something on a piece of paper.

"Colonel Mayhem, I'll offer you the same deal I did to the governor. Our services in exchange for proper compensation. This contract is only a safeguard to make sure none of us can exploit the other and to keep things fair." Uriel smiled as the weight of the lives, the buildings, the zeppelins and the world itself was lifted from his shoulders.