Chapter 119: That Is Fucking Incredible

Every pore on Sable’s body seemed to close at once under Joren’s gaze.

Somehow, this was worse than watching a mountain get cut in half.

The embarrassment went all the way down to his soul.

"Ahem."

Manester cleared his throat.

A warm smile immediately spread across his face as he stepped over to Sable.

"This gentleman is Inspector Sable, sent here personally from Highcrest City."

He paused just long enough to make it hurt.

"A Rank Five expert."

The corner of Sable’s mouth twitched.

Calling him a Rank Five expert in front of a seventeen year old Rank Five monster was already humiliating enough.

And Manester knew exactly what he was doing.

Before Sable could swallow that one, Kyo joined in.

He casually threw an arm around Sable’s shoulders and pulled him close with enough force to make his neck stiffen.

"That is right."

Kyo beamed at Joren.

"You have no idea, Joren. Inspector Sable was beside himself out there."

"The moment he heard you were staying behind alone to face three beast kings, he could barely sit still."

Kyo gave Sable a heavy pat on the back.

Thump.

Then another.

"He kept saying a talent like you was too valuable to lose."

"A young hero like that could not be allowed to die out here."

"And when we saw all that commotion just now, he charged straight in without a second thought."

"Said that even if it cost him his life, he was going to drag you out of those beast kings’ jaws himself."

Kyo’s smile widened.

"That kind of concern for young talent is truly moving. Would you not agree, Manester?"

Manester nodded solemnly.

"Absolutely."

"Inspector Sable’s noble character leaves me deeply impressed."

The two of them worked together so naturally that it was almost beautiful.

Every sentence landed across Sable’s face like another slap.

Concern?

He had spent the entire ride calling Joren an idiot.

All those accusations had come from his own mouth.

Now these two old bastards were chewing them up word by word and feeding them back to him in front of Joren himself.

Vicious.

Absolutely fucking vicious.

Sable stood there stiffly while color moved across his face from red to green and back again.

He had survived decades in official circles. His skin was not thin.

It was not thick enough for this.

For a moment, the broken ground beneath him looked inviting.

If a crack opened right now, he would crawl into it without hesitation and seal the entrance behind himself.

The three thousand soldiers nearby remained silent, but their eyes had begun to look strange.

They had not heard what happened in the vehicle.

They did not need to.

Manester and Kyo were laying it on far too thick, while the Highcrest City inspector looked like he had not relieved himself in a week.

Anyone with a functioning brain could tell there was a story here.

Under thousands of eyes, Sable felt like someone had stripped him naked and shoved him beneath a spotlight.

He did not even want to meet Joren’s gaze.

Unfortunately, Joren was still looking at him.

After hearing the introduction, he did not laugh.

He did not sneer.

He did not look pleased with himself.

His head lowered slightly for a second.

Highcrest City.

Inspector.

Put those two together with everything Joren had done recently and the purpose of this visit became obvious.

He had come to investigate him.

That was fine.

In this world, strength spoke louder than paperwork.

Merit was armor of its own.

Joren had enough of both now.

Forget a single inspector.

Even if the ruler of Highcrest City came personally, Joren had no reason to be afraid.

He looked up again and gave Sable a polite smile.

"So you are the inspector."

"You came all this way and even worried about my safety. I appreciate it."

He gestured toward the ruins around them.

"Fortunately, everything here is already handled."

"I did not disappoint you."

"The beast kings are dead too."

"So there is no need to trouble you with a rescue anymore."

Nothing in his tone could be faulted.

He had even given Sable a way out.

At the same time, every word quietly pushed all that supposed concern right back into Sable’s hands.

What hurt most was how little weight Joren seemed to give the matter.

No anger.

No effort to humiliate him.

Almost as though a giant had noticed an ant once bared its teeth and simply did not care.

That indifference burned worse than mockery.

Sable felt something lodge in his chest.

He wanted to cough it up.

Could not.

Wanted to explode.

Could not do that either.

He had to smile.

"Heh... hehe..."

His facial muscles struggled into something that looked more painful than crying.

"Frontier Marshal, you are too polite."

"I was only... checking on the situation."

"I truly did not expect someone so young to possess such... such astonishing ability."

"This Fallen Zone has troubled the Aurelian Dominion for years. For you to reclaim it like this is..."

Sable searched desperately for something dignified to say.

Something polished.

Something worthy of a senior official from Highcrest City.

His mind offered him nothing.

After several painful seconds, the only thing that came out was:

"That is fucking incredible."

Silence.

The moment the words left his mouth, Sable wanted to slap himself.

Fucking incredible?

That was what he had come up with?

In front of Joren, whatever dignity the Highcrest City inspector had left scattered across the ground.

Manester and Kyo looked at each other.

Both immediately lowered their heads.

Their shoulders shook violently.

"Dax."

Joren called out.

Dax, who had still been caught up in the emotion of the moment, snapped upright at once.

He saluted so sharply that the motion could not have been cleaner.

"Here!"

His voice cracked across the ruins like thunder.

Joren pointed toward the mountains of Voidbeast corpses.

"Tell everyone to stop standing around getting emotional."

His tone remained completely even.

"Get back to work."

"Anything Rank Three or above, strip every useful Material you can."

"Yes!"

Dax somehow shouted even louder.

"All units, listen up!"

"Start clearing the battlefield!"

"Yes, sir!"

Three thousand soldiers instantly transformed into the most enthusiastic cleanup crew imaginable.

Soon, the ground beneath the abandoned television tower filled with the clatter of cutting tools, metal striking bone, and soldiers calling to one another as they tore valuable Materials from the piles of dead Voidbeasts.

The entire place became busy again.