LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 183: The Reveal
Trying to stay quiet and unseen, we hid in the back of the auditorium. I used my Shadow Touch ability to wrap the shadows around us and make us invisible. We could still see through the shadows. People outside just couldn't see us.
We watched as people filed past us and took seats in the auditorium. Once the seats were mostly full, someone walked up to the podium.
"Is this thing on? Hello, my name is Gemma and I'm here to present the military strategy for the elemental sect in the upcoming battle against these so called 'Weepers'," she said.
She looked like a normal human other than the fact that she had red hair. Which is technically a human hair color, but this was beyond normal red. It looked dyed but I assumed it was just something to do with her element.
"So, as you may or may not know, we have been acquiring diamonds, corundum, and topaz across the US. This is all for the frontal assault. We plan to put our strongest fighters, the diamonds in the front, with corundum next and topaz after that," she said.
"The hope is that will be enough to whittle down most of their forces, and then everyone else will clean up if the gems don't cut it. Any questions?"
I stood up. "Yeah. Have you considered that your strategy sucks?" I said.
"Where is that voice coming from? I don't see anyone over there," Gemma said.
Oh right. The shadow invisibility. I turned it off for me but kept it on Hope, in case she still wanted to stay out of sight. "Can you see me now?"
"Yes. I can see you're not wearing a bracelet, which would mean you're not an elemental. What does a human passing monster think he knows about our strategy that we don't?" She said.
"Well, for one, you're basically creating a genocide of your diamond, corundum, and topaz elementals. You're throwing all of them at the enemy, expecting they'll take them out. What if they don't? What if they all die? Why is that an acceptable sacrifice to you?" I said.
"Seniority," she said. "They are incredibly strong, but they are also some of the newest types of elementals that have spawned of our kind, so they go first."
"That kind of military strategy only makes sense, if getting older means you lose vitality and strength over time. That doesn't work with elementals who only get stronger over time. By the logic of strength, the oldest elementals should go first," I said.
"That makes sense when you say it like that, but the oldest elementals are the ones that run the sect. The people in charge get to set the rules, and they've ruled that the gems are the strongest among us, so they should go first," she said.
"Just because your leaders say something, doesn't make it true. What about fire and lightning elementals? They should be able to provide long range support without endangering themselves. What about air elementals? They could strike from above," I said.
"What about stone elementals? They could throw massive boulders to provide artillery fire. There are so many more strategies that could be implemented to make your army stronger. Those were just off the top of my head. I'm sure with more time, even better strategies could be devised."
"But you're prioritizing the hierarchy over reducing casualties. With your strategy, far more elementals will die than with the few ideas I just came up with. The thing that bothers me the most though, is that you have no idea what you'll be facing."
"I gave every sect the opportunity to hear first hand from me, the only person who has faced the weepers in battle, what they're capable of, and no one took the opportunity to listen. All of you came for the free hand out of power, but not for the vital intel I can provide."
"What are you talking about? Who are you?" She said.
"I'm Dylan Sanguis. The person who fought the first weepers and won," I said.
There was loud murmuring from the crowd. I took that as a sign of interest, and walked up onto the stage and up to the podium. "May I?" I asked Gemma.
"Fine," she said. She stepped down from the podium and I stepped up.
"How many of you want to hear what I have to say about the weepers? Raise your hands," I said.
Very few people raised their hands. It was maybe 5 or 6 and there were hundreds of people in the room.
"What if I were to tell you that I foiled your plan to hoard gemstones stolen from vaults all across the US?" I said.
There were more loud murmurings from the crowd. With my incredible eyesight, I could see that most of them were confused and unaware of the jewel heists.
"Or did the military branch and upper leadership not tell you that?" I said. "Since this seems to be your first time hearing about it, I will inform you. The military branch has been stealing diamonds, corundum, and topaz from banks in major cities across the US. They hoarded them into a massive cavern and were planning to use them in the battle."
"It shouldn't sound all that farfetched, since you heard how they were planning to use diamond, corundum, and topaz elementals on the frontlines. They would have to power them up somehow. So why not do it with stolen gems? Or can the elemental sect afford to buy the gems legitimately? I think not."
Gemma was turning bright red, and I don't mean her face was flushed with blood. I mean she was literally turning a deep red color. Her skin and body changed form into rubies.
She walked up to me and grabbed me by the throat. She lifted me up and said, "You weren't lying. I just had someone check and the gems are gone. Where do you have them?"
"They're in a pocket dimension that only I have access to. If you kill me, you'll never get them back. Not that you could kill me if you tried," I said.
"We need those gems back! Now hand them over or I'll make you wish you were dead," she said.
"Sorry, no can do. I promised to return them to their rightful owners. Most of them anyway," I said.
"We'll see if this changes your mind," Gemma said. She changed her other hand to a spike and tried to stab me through the stomach with it.
The spike stopped an inch from my flesh. I had put up a small spiraling blood shield in front of the spike that knocked her hand out of the way. Then I kneed her in the chin, making her drop me as she was knocked back and off balance.
I leaned into the microphone and said, "Did you hear that folks? Evidence of the crime for you to hear and see. Now she's going to try to beat the gems out of me or silence me. We'll see if she succeeds."
I stepped away from the podium and got into a fighting stance. I spread my feet apart, bent my knees, and put my palms facing out and forwards.
Ruby rushed at me, presumably in an attempt to tackle me to the ground, but she didn't get that far. I released an energy wave when she was about a meter in front of me. It blasted her back and into the air.
She hit a wall and went right through it to the outside. Man, was that ability useful. I couldn't imagine my life without it and I'd only just got it.
I went up to the podium again, and said, "You can get a hold of me by either just thinking about calling Dylan and the number will come to you, or you can contact Harold, and he'll set up a meeting. That is if you want to work together to take down this enemy, rather than stand divided."
Hope ran up to the podium and said, "We gotta go. My dad said the entire elemental military is mobilizing. You're strong but you're not strong enough to fight thousands of elementals at once. At least, not yet."
"You're right. Let's get out of here," I said.
We ran down the aisle and back through the front doors of the auditorium.