Chapter 390: The Biggest Concern

"We’re retreating!"

When people heard that command, they were confused.

Even the comments on the livestream were starting to bash Supervisor Jacob.

[What the hell is he saying?]

[Isn’t this event supposed to be a showcase of our power? Show the beasts that we’re not afraid of them?]

[I know, right? Why are we the first ones deciding to leave?]

They felt ashamed, thinking Supervisor Jacob was just a coward. There were plenty of people who were smiling behind the screen.

One instructor suddenly shouted, "We are not leaving! We are not cowards. Do you think it will be fine if we just leave like this?"

Another instructor stepped forth. "We are not afraid. Why are you deciding to leave?"

Two more people also voiced their concerns, but Mr. Green and a few others remained calm. Sure, they were confused, but they knew Supervisor Jacob wasn’t a coward.

The scars on his body had proven his bravery.

Supervisor Jacob’s expression turned dark, making them think that they had achieved their purpose. However, a hollow laugh suddenly escaped from his mouth.

"He... hehe... hehehehe... Hahahahahahaha!"

[Is he crazy?]

[He’s crazy and a coward.]

[This is a shame]

The people on the internet were panicking, but Supervisor Jacob suddenly shouted angrily. "Are you people fucking idiots?!"

"!!!" They were startled. Supervisor Jacob was actually bold enough to shout at them when he was in the wrong.

Supervisor Jacob continued, "Do you think retreating is the same as cowardice? No, you dumbass! We are not retreating to our countries. We are retreating to the city! Why are you even thinking of fighting those beasts in this place?

"We are not very familiar with the terrain. The students are not prepared for them, and we haven’t figured out their movements.

"Do you think we will produce a meaningful engagement? No, we’ll just be overrun! If you are going to die, then freaking die in a much smarter way.

"There is a reason why cities have walls and turrets! It’s called fortification for a reason! This is not Hollywood, which thinks that fighting in the open field is better because it looks cool.

"We’re retreating to the city so that we can utilize the turrets, the ditches, and other fortifications.

"What? I am a coward? If you fight here, you can take down a few beasts and die! If you fight in the city, you can kill tens of beasts and die. Which one is better?! Coward this and coward that. I don’t care. At least I’m not a fucking dumbass! Anyone who doesn’t comply shall get ready to see me in the martial court!"

Mr. Green was just smiling. Supervisor Jacob still got it even though he had retired for quite a long time.

The room was silent.

[!!!]

[I knew it! That was the right course of action. You guys are just dumb! You kids need to study a lot rather than commenting hateful things on the internet.]

The chat on the livestream had become conflicted. Some people admitted their mistakes, but some simply didn’t want to admit their mistakes because of their ego and anonymity.

After saying his piece, Supervisor Jacob asked, "Terran, what’s the situation over there? How long does the beast need to reach this place?"

"ETA is 12 minutes." They had been wasting their precious time, and now they only had twelve minutes left.

Supervisor Jacob clicked his tongue. They should have about 25 minutes, but he spent it arguing with Vanessa as well as shutting up these traitors.

He said, "I am calling it right now. Send a message to all the students. Gather at the rendezvous point!"

"They won’t have enough time. Some students are located quite far away."

"I know. Tell our allies to start retreating as well. I told Dermania to cancel the event because I hoped we could use the city and evacuate the citizens over there, but they refused.

"Anyway, we will need to buy some time for our students. There are twenty-five instructors. I need four Rank 6 instructors, including me, and fifteen Rank 5 instructors to hold the line until our students can retreat. We will buy them enough time until we can use the city as our fortress.

"Greenfell, you will be in charge of the student retreat. We will work with our ally to buy you as much time. Make sure they’re ready as soon as possible. We need the plane. Is it possible to get it?"

"We can probably meet it halfway. We need to run for approximately two hours to reach that city. With your command, the plane will be airborne right away, but judging from the terrain, it’s better to meet halfway." One instructor reported.

"That’s better than nothing. The evacuation will take time, but at least they will arrive fifteen to thirty minutes faster." Supervisor Jacob nodded in understanding. "All right. Everyone, let’s go! Evacuate the students first. We will make our stand and utilize the fortifications to defeat the beast wave. Understood?"

They nodded. Mr. Green immediately made his move as he pointed at Maya. "Maya, San, Hagen, Talia, and Elsa will go with me. We are going to protect the students."

This way, no one could say that Maya should be on the field, which would prevent her from protecting Auric.

"How is our ally right now?"

"We’ve just received a report, sir. They are doing exactly the same thing right now."

"Good! What about the other three countries?"

"We still haven’t received any word from them. However, there seems to be some chatter that Dermania is going to cancel the event and signal a retreat."

"Too late." Supervisor Jacob clicked his tongue. "Get ready!"

As the report said, the UK was also preparing a retreat. That wasn’t because their head instructor demanded the same thing. Rather, the one in charge of this operation was none other than one of the most respected members of their society, Merlin.

Christina had been smiling since everything went smoothly. "What an eloquent guy. Well, we’re staying true to our ally. Head Instructor, I will return the command to you. Cooperate with Esfrata and make sure all our students are safe, ya?"

"Aye, Ma’am. Are you leaving again, Ma’am? Shouldn’t you take control of the command until the situation is resolved?"

"I’m sorry, but I have to go somewhere else. There’s another place that needs me right now." Christina shook her head.

"Understood, Lady Merlin. I will do my best to protect the students."

"Good."

...

The students were confused by the situation. They never thought that they would receive this order.

"Retreat!"

They could see the rendezvous point on the map, so they had no choice but to go there.

"It looks like they are really coming." Katarina sighed. "I don’t know how many people are going to die this time."

"It can’t be helped. This is a war against beasts. We just have to do our best so that we don’t end up as one of them." Vera shook her head helplessly. She too didn’t wish to see people die, but she knew her wish was impossible. The only thing they could do was to minimize the casualties.

Ellia said, "Well, let’s retreat right now. We have plenty of time, so it’s better to meet with Timothy and talk about how we should proceed. The instructors should be there as well."

Auric was the only one who remained silent, as though he was worried about something.

He had a few things to worry about. The first thing that came to his mind was actually his mother.

Gloria claimed that his mother came here to help her. Was that really the reason? Why would his mother reveal her power to him and come to this place? It was definitely not for her.

After all, they could recruit Gloria so easily because Dermania chose to abandon her. If not, they would need more time to get her.

So, his mother must know something else. There must be another reason for his mother to come here.

He was just worried that something might happen to his mother. Of course, his mother was strong. The fact that she could bring Gloria away and even alter her face showed her strength. His father wouldn’t allow his mother to die too.

So, there might be something else going on. He just wasn’t aware of it.

The second thing he had to worry about was the timing. The situation had turned much worse than he expected, so the organization might have used something to do that.

In other words, he should worry about what the organization had in store for him.

"Auric?" Katarina noticed the change in his expression. He usually showed a calm or just gentle demeanor. He didn’t show any worry because he didn’t want people to get confused.

This was one of the rare times when Auric didn’t even realize he had shown his worry on his face.

"Ah?!" Auric snapped back to reality. "Right. Let’s retreat!"

Katarina frowned, not knowing what Auric was worried about.

Auric didn’t say anything else. He just moved to the rendezvous point. Occasionally, they encountered other teams. They didn’t bother to fight with them. Instead, they told them to retreat because the beasts were coming.

Those students wouldn’t believe it right away, so he simply asked them to consult their instructors about it.

Of course, anyone from Esfrata or the UK would join their group since they had the direct order. The alliance ended up getting revealed this way, but either way, it still worked. The alliance’s original purpose was to increase their chance of survival, after all.

As expected, Mr. Green and other instructors, including the ones from the UK, had been waiting for him. Some groups had reached this point faster than them, including Timothy.

"Auric! Thank God!" Mr. Green felt relieved. His first priority was Auric because of his talent. He expected Auric to become a prominent figure equal to or better than Joker, so he needed to stay alive until that time.

"Mr. Green! Are you the one in charge?" Auric asked, noticing that Mr. Green was the only Rank 6 among the instructors, aside from the one from the UK.

"Yeah. Jacob wants me to protect the students, so I need you to follow my instructions. I know you are clever, but I need to treat this as if we’re going to war or experiencing a beast wave. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Auric nodded without hesitation. "However, I do have one worry that you may want to know."

"What’s wrong? Do you hear anything else? Maybe from the chief adjudicator?" Mr. Green asked. Arnie was even cooperating with Auric, so he knew Auric’s insight was extraordinary. Even if he wasn’t going to accept his suggestion, he was at least going to listen to what Auric had to say.

To his surprise, it was actually much more dangerous than he originally thought.

"If they’re going to utilize these beasts, I’m afraid they might be pouring poison somewhere to coat the claws of those beasts with poison. Back when the beast wave occurred in Thunderer City, they utilized the same strategy and killed so many students. After all, one strike was all it took to seal their powers."

*Thud—!*