Everyone began entering Hayley's tent, one by one they all managed to fit inside. They all surrounded Hayley, it looked as though they were about to bully her. If anyone was to enter the tent at that moment it would be awkward.
Hayley, on the other hand, was a bit shocked by the abrupt appearance of everyone, however, she quickly calmed her nerves and looked at everyone.
"What do you want?" She asked, with a curious tone. This was the first she was put in this situation, although it was foreign to her she knew what needed to be done.
"We want to go to the Adelaide Hills," Alfredo said as he stepped forward.
Hayley scanned Alfredo up and down and didn't find anything suspicious about him, "And why should I allow that?"
"Because we want to see our family," Chloe said.
"Alright, then wait, you should be able to see your family soon enough," Hayley said.
"Wait, do you think everyone can just wait. From my last call with my husband, he told me about how he was saving people, helping your soldiers. But tell me, doesn't that mean that he's at the forefront of dying?" Chloe asked with an angry tone, she wanted to see him soon just to calm her nerves and until then she'll keep worrying.
Hayley was a bit shaken by what Chloe said, she stood up and walked towards the group, only leaving a small space between them.
"All you can do is wait since the next time we leave the base is in a couple of weeks," Hayley clarified as she crossed her arms.
"Why don't we just allow us to go ourselves?" Jack questioned.
"We can't allow that, we are the military that's supposed to protect everyone," Hayley said while straightening her back, it seems as though she thought it might take a little while to convince the family to wait.
"Why don't we prove that we can protect ourselves?" Lachlan asked.
Hayley was surprised at Lachlan's boldness, it seemed even he wanted to risk his life just to see his father, even though he could just wait a couple of weeks.
"Alright, I'll take you to my superior, if you can convince him that everything should be alright only then can you leave," Hayley said while brushing past them and through the door.
Everyone followed suit, not wanting to lag behind her at all.
After following her for a few minutes they came across a large tent, much larger than any of the ones that they passed along the way.
Walking inside they noticed a few people on computers there, at the end of that room was another tent door, most likely to the commanding officer.
Walking through that door they noticed a man sitting down in front of a computer. He looked fairly old, maybe in his 60s. He had grey-white hair, black eyes and just looked like he's been through a lot. He had a few scars on his face, and some on his hands, no one was sure about the rest of the body since it couldn't be seen.
"Report!" He shouted.
"Yes sir, these individuals would like to leave the base and travel to the Adelaide Hills. They wish to see family that is up there," Chloe explained quickly and clearly.
The man stood up, his size surprised the group, he looked to be 7 feet tall.
Lachlan analysed him and felt confident.
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Name: Jaylen Aldridge (Human)
Age: 62 (Elder)
Soul Contracts: 4/5
Compatibility: Dogs (Perfect), Wolfs (Moderate)
STR: 13, AGI: 11, VIT: 10
INT: 19, PER: 13, WIL: 13
Weakness: Foul Smells, Injured Tendons & Back
Strengths: Sensitive Nose, Strong Bite, Strong Hands, Ice Control (Semi-Awakened).
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Well, to be more accurate he felt confident about beating him. He knew Dylan wouldn't stand a chance against him, this guy had four tamed beasts. But for Lachlan, he could tell his beasts were much stronger.
Even though Jaylen has four tamed beasts, he didn't have any bonus stats, meaning that all four of his beasts were low level. That's another thing Lachlan noticed, once the beasts bonus stats went above 20 he got 1 bonus stats in the same attribute.
However, what caught his attention wasn't the number of tamed beasts he had, but rather one of his strengths, Ice Control (level 1). This meant that one of his beasts had the ability of ice control. Although Lachlan was a bit conflicted by this strength. Sure it was strong, but they were in Australia, it's barely practical here let alone if he were to travel into central Australia. Not to mention it's low-level control, even though Lachlan wasn't too sure about the strengths of elemental control.
"Alright then, if you want out then you have to convince me you're strong enough," Jaylen said confidently, the room's temperature dropped a bit before he walked out, everyone followed including Hayley, she wanted to see the strength of her commander.
They walked for a while before finally coming across an open area, but what shocked the group was that there were already people fighting here, or to be more accurate, training. They were sparring against each other, getting their beasts to spar against each other.
Seeing that their commander was there everyone was quick to recall their beasts. They all stood straight with their arms to their sides facing Jaylen.
"Everyone clear the fields!" He shouted.
All the soldiers scattered off the fields before lining up to one side, waiting for any orders.
"Well, follow me," Jaylen said as he walked towards the centre of the field.
Dylan and Lachlan quickly followed behind him.
The soldiers on the side were a bit confused as to why two kids were following their commander but decided not to say anything.
Once they reached the centre of the field Jaylen scanned through the crowd of soldiers and pointed at one, "You! Come here!"
The soldiers were a bit shocked by his commander's sudden demands and made haste to do it. He quickly jogged over to Jaylen's side and stood straight, waiting for any other orders. The soldier was bold, roughly 6'4 tall and had a bulky physique.
But aside from his good physique, there wasn't anything else good about him. He had patchy facial hair which is why he always attempted to keep it freshly shaven. That, in turn, made him have a bit of a baby face.
"You will fight these two boys, do not hold back, show them your full strength and make them realise the error in their choices".
"Yes, sir!" Although he didn't know why his commander would order him to fight two kids, judging from his tone it seemed he would have to use his full strength.
While that was happening Lachlan scanned him.
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Name: Jake Smith (Human)
Age: 32 (Adult)
Soul Contracts: 2/5
Compatibility: Reptiles (Perfect)
STR: 18, AGI: 10, VIT: 9
INT: 12, PER: 16, WIL: 19
Weakness: Damaged Hand, Twisted Ankle
Strengths: Night Vision, Strong Bite, Strong Poison, Flexible Body.
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Seeing the soldiers stats, Lachlan determined this soldier was one of the stronger ones amongst the group. He did scan the others on the field and noticed a few soldiers that had moderate to low compatibility.
'Suppose not everyone can have it good' Lachlan thought.
The soldier turned from his superior and looked towards Dylan and Lachlan, "Come 1 and 2!"
A bright light emitted from both arms, Lachlan determined that's where his tattoos are. Lachlan was thinking of another thing but wasn't sure how to try it out. If the body part with the tattoo is removed, is the beast still tamed and will the tattoo move to somewhere else on the body.
Two snakes stood before them, one of entirely green, and roughly 3 metres long. The other one looked like the log, brown with bark-like skin, it was much larger, maybe 10 metres long.
Lachlan scanned them and was reassured of their victory. Of course, Lachlan felt like he should let Dylan take care of this as it would be fair. Two snakes against two snakes, it's a fair fight.
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Name: 1 (Leaf Snake)
Age: Adult
Attribute: Earth/Water/Wood
Grade: Normal
Innate Talent: 4th Grade
Level: 1
STR: 43(+5), AGI: 42(+1), VIT: 29
INT: 24, PER: 31, WIL: 34
Weakness: Losing its fangs, Damage to spine
Strengths: Fast Speeds, Strong Poison, Flexible Body.
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Name: 2 (Tree Anaconda)
Age: Adult
Attribute: Wood
Grade: Normal
Innate Talent: 5th Grade
Level: 2
STR: 52(+5), AGI: 31(+5), VIT: 44
INT: 28, PER: 38, WIL: 41
Weakness: Damage to spine, Damage to the top of the head
Strengths: Fast Speeds, Low Poison, Tough Skin.
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Lachlan found it a bit amusing that this soldier decided to name his beasts 1 and 2, most likely wanted things quick to say, decreasing the time needed to summon. But what Lachlan really wondered was how the beasts thought about it.
He knows Catastrophe would hate him if he called him that, since it seems he has a large ego.