Chapter 166: Learning
Chapter 166: Learning
"As the commander said, I am David. I will tag along with you. I'll grab my tool real quick and immediately head out. While I'm not as strong as a summoner, I promise I will not be a burden."
Listening to David's way of speaking made Selena realize how other summoners had treated the common people. David looked like he was detached from them, keeping the conversation minimum and getting ready for the summoner's anger.
However, Selena first glanced at Nathan as if asking for help. While she had some knowledge and experience in dealing with politics, she didn't know what to say to raise their morale.
Nathan smiled before saying, "Thank you for accepting us. We will be protecting you during the investigation, so you don't have to worry about anything. However, if it's not too much to ask, do you mind if we can ask a couple of questions?
"We won't bother you too much, but we are also aware of our inability to scout. I just hope that you can teach us a thing or two."
Nathan remained polite and praised David. And to make him feel at ease, he proposed an exchange where both sides won.
David looked surprised before nodding his head. "Alright. If you don't mind me teaching you a few things, don't hesitate to ask me any questions. It'll only take a couple of minutes, so can you wait at the south entrance?" this-chapter-is-NovelFire
"Of course." Nathan nodded.
David immediately rushed back, realizing that the summoners this time were different.
On the other hand, Selena sighed. "I really can't handle it better than you."
"Don't worry. You have done a great job until now. Just like me learning from you, you are also learning from me." Nathan waved his hand.
Selena nodded before asking, "But why would the commander actually hire us? Considering the enemy is a mature class, shouldn't they search for a high ranking summoner? At least in their second year."
"Everything is as simple as cost efficiency. Instead of letting the summoners take down the mature class alien, they are finding the students to find that alien while they kill it. They use the rest of the money to compensate the people who have fallen on the battlefield."
Selena looked down for a moment. "But won't it be dangerous for the students? After all, this is the mature class alien we're talking about."
"Yes and no. First of all, if he is only seeking a first-year student, that means he wants them to be quite capable. That's why he is sending the request to the Frexia Academy instead of any other academies. He even sends one of his officers to help ensure the success of the mission."
"I see. That means we are only escorts."
"Yep. That's why this is the perfect time to ask him to teach us about scouting. If we can do it ourselves, we can solve similar problems in the future."
As David said, it didn't take him too long to grab his bag. He immediately led them into the forest, where they were fighting the aliens.
Nathan couldn't help but ask, "What is the situation in this place? It doesn't seem like it's peaceful."
"Yeah. The aliens are actually running rampant recently. We are unsure about it, but we have lost more people compared to usual," David explained. "Most of the time, the southern camp will take care of most of the aliens while the people here are training by killing a few aliens at a time."
"Is it only because of the aliens? No other reasons like natural disasters or terrain?" Selena asked.
"Nope. The forest is quite wet, so it doesn't burn easily. If you look at these trees…" David pointed up. The trees were thick and tall, so it was clear that the aliens wouldn't have an easy time destroying them.
"Is this type of terrain good to fight the aliens?" Nathan asked.
"Yes and no. We can use the thick forest to fool them, but the aliens have sharper senses than us."
"What if we just scout the area from the sky?"
"First of all, it is too thick. You can barely see anything from the air. Additionally, there are flying aliens around here."
"There is? I guess if a summoner wishes to go to the front line, the first thing they need to know is whether there is a flying alien," Nathan jokingly said.
"Agreed. But if you have a superior familiar, there is no need to worry about those flying beasts. I have seen a lot of proto-class and juvenile class aliens that can fly, but I haven't seen a mature class one. Although I'm not a summoner, I should be able to kill a proto-class alien by myself with swordsmanship alone."
"Is that so? That's cool." Nathan nodded in agreement. It was probably because of this reason they were able to stop the invasion. Despite the summoners being the main force, the soldiers still took care of the rest.
"Take a look at this." David pointed at the foot trail on the ground. The trail looked like a chicken's leg, so David said, "This is a trail that can give you a lot of information, such as the direction and time. Looking at this trail here, it is clear that the alien is moving to the south around four to six days ago.
"After that, we look at the trees. Some aliens might not create a mess, but a lot of them are like wild beasts. They usually leave behind a trace on the trees…" David suddenly fell silent.
Nathan and Selena looked serious. As he said those words, they realized something was amiss.
There were a lot of trails around here, but to their surprise, the trees were undamaged.
Suddenly, David stepped forward with his hand on the sword handle.
As if sensing the same thing, both Nathan and Selena summoned their respective familiars.
Anubis and Fenrir appeared on Nathan's side, while Sasha and Yin Zhen were chosen by Selena. Because of what David said about flying aliens, both of them summoned familiars mainly for close combat.
David squinted his eyes, seeing the shadows that were approaching. "Aliens. A lot of them."