NOVEL NEXT Chapter 156: Tarish’s mission
The dwarves watched as Atlan carried body after body into safety. Even though the temperature inside was getting hotter and hotter by the minute, he didn't stop and searched for survivors anywhere he could.
"Damn the protocol!" one of the soldiers said. He put on his heat-resistant suit and walked inside the Masamune district one more time in search of survivors. He was inspired watching Atlan walk through the fire without any complaints.
"Can I borrow your suits?" Even the dwarves couldn't sit still and were tempted to walk into the scorching heat wave. Even though their bodies were wrapped up in bandages, they considered themselves healthy enough to traverse through the Masamune district.
They didn't walk as far inside as Atlan. They only pulled the burned corpses to safety, thinking that they could still be saved.
Atlan finally walked back into safety after a few more trips.
He looked back and saw no signs of life anywhere he searched. Everyone was either dead or saved.
Just in time, he heard a few horses' hooves striking asphalt out in the distance. The crowd voluntarily moved away as the Saviors finally arrived with their colorful mounts. They stopped at the barricade and walked slowly towards the boundary between the symptom and the unaffected land.
Their green battle suits commanded respect and admiration from the crowd. Their murmurs turned into silence as they watched the professionals do their job.
Atlan looked at the epaulets on their shoulders. 6th stage Student realm.
I guessed right. If my SSS class Physique couldn't take the heat, that means that the Canzers causing it are stronger than I estimated.
There were about seven of them, and Atlan noticed that three of them had big shields on their backs.
Three tanks?
The leader of the 6th stage Saviors was a woman with straight red hair tied up in double buns. She was a tank, judging by the big fiery shield on her back.
"Can I get your attention, please? My name is Tarish, I am a 6th-stage Student. My team and I will make sure that the Masamune district will return to the safe and cool place it's always been. Do not worry."
Her words echoed to the soldiers and dwarves with barely any hope in their eyes. Her confident voice gave them confidence in her ability.
"While the soldiers are installing the Remedium portal, I will ask a few questions to those who witnessed the Symptom with their own hands."
A truck rolled in behind them with new soldiers carrying disjointed metal parts on their shoulders. They quickly walked in line and installed the portal right at the edge of the infected Masamune District.
Slowly, a circular construct made out of metal was being built block by block.
Meanwhile, Tarish, the leader of the 6th stage Saviors took out a stone tablet from her toolbelt. Atlan recognized it as a Canzer Report. It contained all the details Vanguards needed to defeat the Canzers causing the Symptom.
She inspected it one last time before looking up and searching for any survivors to talk to.
She immediately looked for the soldier in charge of the scene but was shocked to see him unconscious on one of the stretchers to the side.
It looks like the lights have been punched out of his eyes. I can't believe someone stood up to that strict guy. He would have made up any excuse to use his baton.
With no one else to talk to, Tarish put her attention to the surviving dwarves.
"Hello? Can I talk to you?"
But no matter how much she tried to get their attention, the dwarves never looked away from one particular person in the crowd.
They all looked at this person with admiration and fealty in their eyes. It's as if they owed him their lives.
She looked to the side and saw a youth in a strange black battle suit. He was surrounded by dwarves who clasped his hands while thanking him to no end.
Someone actually earned the respect of these dwarves?
They were infamous for being stubborn and hard-headed. If you offended them in some way, groveling in their shoes wouldn't be enough to earn their respect.
But now, they were surrounding a human as if he was their savior.
Who is he?
Just as she thought that, her eyes glinted in recognition.
But before she could walk up to him, one of her teammates approached the black battle-suited youth.
"Excuse me, I don't know who you are, but you cannot poach our mission. You should go back to HeadQuarters and make sure that you find your own mission. Our team is already filled up!"
Tarish put herself in between the two before things got too heated.
"Leader?"
"Are you Atlan?"
The moment her teammates heard his name, they immediately recognized it. How could they not? It was practically the only topic circulating news articles.
"No way! The Star Porter?"
"What's he doing here?"
"There were rumors that he's allowed to have a black battle suit, but I didn't think it was true!"
Atlan replied, "Yes."
But even if he didn't, they already recognized his face and his battle suit.
"But even if you are the Star Porter, you can't steal our mission. Our names are registered in the HeadQuarters."
"I think it's best if you leave now. HeadQuarters doesn't like it when there are unauthorized Saviors in an ongoing mission."
The other 6th stage Saviors in Tarish's team weren't all that welcoming towards Atlan. It couldn't be helped. There were protocols in place for these kinds of things and they didn't want to get punished because of him.
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Tarish was the only one who had a smile on her face.
"The Reputable Star Porter…" Tarish muttered. "What are you doing here?"
The dwarves answered that for him.
"My skin would have blackened and turned to char if he hadn't found me stuck under my anvil!"
"He's an honorary dwarf! We recognize him as one of our own."
The dwarves couldn't stop defending Atlan from the Saviors.
"Hmph! You guys dare flaunt yourselves as Saviors when we have our Savior right here! Did you brave the heat wave and save dozens of dwarves from certain doom? No? Then, stop talking!"