Level up is hard? I can Directly Purchase infinite Levels!-Chapter 57: The Alien Races’ Post-Battle Review—A Truth That Makes Them Tremble

Chapter 57: The Alien Races’ Post-Battle Review—A Truth That Makes Them Tremble

At this point, Garson suddenly stopped walking.

He turned to face Richard directly, his brows tightly furrowed.

"But you didn’t even really look at him."

Garson understood why Aaron and the battalion commanders felt uneasy.

In front of everyone, he had suppressed their emotions.

But now, he wanted to speak up for that child.

Richard stopped as well. After a long silence, he finally spoke slowly.

"I’m sorry. But the situation was urgent—both of us know what Arlis means to the human race!"

"I had to ensure her safety first... and in doing so, I neglected everything else. That was indeed my oversight."

"..."

"They are all the future of humanity,"

Garson’s brow tightened further.

"Yes, Arlis is a prodigy—she is a banner that carries humanity’s hopes."

"But Richard, please believe me: that child named Raine is just as qualified, just as capable of becoming one of those who will shoulder the future."

"Because he is more desperate than anyone—more willing to pay the price."

Garson paused, then continued.

"This war of survival has never been something that can be won by a single individual."

"What holds it up are countless ordinary soldiers like Raine—people willing to fight to the death."

Garson did not go on.

For someone at Richard’s level, all judgments were made in service of greater strategic objectives. That earlier neglect may well have been unintentional.

The patrol was, after all, a frontline defensive force. The support it received was limited—they relied on flesh and blood to hold the line.

As a weathered veteran himself, Garson had never expected special treatment. He only wanted Richard to know that such a soldier existed.

Everything Raine had given was worth remembering.

"Miss Arlis’s injuries can’t afford delay. You should depart with her as soon as possible,"

Garson reminded him.

"The gargoyle race and the Soul Devourer race may not dare to launch a direct assault on Iron Dragon Fortress, but if word spreads, the thunderclan’s top powerhouses will never let this go."

The thunderclan had both the confidence and the resolve.

To completely eliminate Arlis, they would not hesitate to pay any price—even to force an assault.

Richard nodded gravely.

"I’ll leave this place to you."

"Our lingering here may instead draw even more alien race powerhouses, which would be detrimental to Iron Dragon Fortress."

After that brief exchange, Richard did not delay any longer.

He quickly departed Iron Dragon Fortress with the unconscious Arlis and the young girl.

...

Crimson City.

The gargoyle powerhouses did not leave immediately.

They had already sent people into the depths of the mountains to investigate what had truly happened.

No matter the outcome, they needed firsthand intelligence before returning to their clan to report.

High Priest Sydell had likewise dispatched trusted subordinates to investigate.

By now, however, he had keenly perceived the enormous strategic vulnerability exposed in the mountain region.

The Bloodstained Mountains lay on Crimson City’s right flank.

Because of the complex terrain, no continuous wall had ever been built there.

In the past, only garrison forces were stationed to monitor the area, relying on several powerful Lord-rank alien beasts and their subordinate beast hordes to form a natural barrier.

If human patrols attempted to cross the mountains to strike Crimson City’s flank, they would first have to face the frenzied assaults of those alien beasts.

Now that several Lord-rank alien beasts had been slain and the beast hordes scattered, that barrier existed in name only.

If the patrols from Bloodhowl Highlands seized the opportunity to advance and take control of the mountains, Crimson City would face a direct threat.

"Quet,"

Sydell ordered,

"take five thousand elite troops immediately to the mountain region and establish a defensive line. At the same time, increase surveillance on all movements from Bloodhowl Highlands. The moment they send troops into the mountains, report at once." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

In secret, he had already arranged for a Grandmaster-rank powerhouse to go and take charge.

"Yes, High Priest!"

Quet acknowledged.

Just then—

Several Soul Devourer and gargoyle investigators returned at high speed, flying straight toward the Central Spire Hall.

Everyone’s attention was instantly drawn to them.

Sydell stood at the head of the great hall, his gaze fixed on the entrance.

Quet, Quin, and the others all halted and remained inside.

The gargoyle Grandmaster moved closer as well.

When the investigators entered the hall, their faces still bore traces of barely suppressed shock.

That alone surprised Sydell and the two Grandmasters.

One of the investigators spoke, his voice trembling.

"High Priest, my lords—the investigation is complete!"

"All the geniuses in the depths of the mountains were killed by that human soldier... Raine."

In an instant—

The hall fell into deathly silence.

Sydell’s grip on his staff tightened slightly.

The facial muscles of the other two Grandmasters twitched uncontrollably.

Quin, Quet, and the rest of the powerhouses all snapped their gazes onto the speaker, eyes wide open.

"Say that again,"

Sydell’s voice dropped even lower, hoarse and heavy.

The Soul Devourer investigator took a deep breath and repeated firmly,

"We found the Twin-Headed Lion that barely escaped, as well as several other surviving alien beasts. They all mentioned that human—Raine."

After the confirmation, the alien races in the hall seemed to turn into stone statues.

Every powerhouse’s expression froze at the peak of shock.

Only after a long while did they struggle to regain a shred of awareness.

Veins bulged on the back of Sydell’s hand as he gripped his staff, violent emotions flickering in his eyes.

He first shook his head instinctively, then fell into deep thought.

"Raine! How could a mere soldier possibly..."

Quin’s voice was thick with disbelief.

"He’s at most Elite rank!"

"Yes—he can temporarily raise himself to Expert rank through some forbidden technique. But what he faced were Expert-rank elites, Master-rank powerhouses, even Master-rank prodigies!"

"How could he possibly do this?!"

"I don’t believe it!"

Quin shook his head repeatedly.

Because that possibility completely defied common sense.

An Elite-rank human—no matter how many tricks he had—how could he kill the thunderclan prodigy Bruce, someone even Quin himself had to treat with caution?

Even a human prodigy would struggle to accomplish such a feat!

"Are you sure you didn’t hear wrong, or weren’t misled?"

The gargoyle Grandmaster couldn’t help but ask, his voice dry.

It wasn’t strange that Quin and the others were mentally breaking down—even he felt his scalp prickle upon hearing this.

The investigators all shook their heads, affirming the reliability of their sources.

"If... if this is true,"

the gargoyle Grandmaster’s mouth twitched as he looked toward Sydell,

"then this human named Raine is utterly terrifying—and I’m not just talking about the difference in ranks..."

He paused, forcing himself to analyze it.

"Leaving aside the enormous gap in cultivation levels, those royal-blooded and major-clan prodigies possess powerful inherited combat techniques, abilities, even arts passed down within their clans—things an ordinary human soldier couldn’t even imagine."

"They have top-tier bloodline talents, multiple life-saving trump cards, extraordinary equipment, and far more combat experience than any recruit..."

"Each of these gaps alone is a chasm that should be impossible to cross. And yet... that human crossed every single one of them?"

The more he analyzed it, the more unsettled the gargoyle Grandmaster became.

And the more he failed to understand how that human youth had achieved all of this.

What kind of monster was he?!

Uncontrollable shock surfaced in Sydell’s eyes as well.

Indeed—whatever methods or resources that human soldier possessed likely amounted to less than one percent of what those alien prodigies commanded.

When he thought of that, even someone as seasoned as Sydell felt his heart shake.

There was no need to mention Quin and the others.

When they finally came back to their senses, the horrifying reality struck them once more, sending chills crawling across their scalps.