The Conspiracy of the Elites

Chapter 273: an agonizing wait

After taking a few strange maneuvers here and there, King finally found himself outside the cave again. Getting outside, the rare aura of a sun peeking through the veils of the stormy clouds poked at his skin.

Opening his hands to welcome the penetrative sunlight, he inclined his head back to look at the empty space behind him.

Though it ended very fast and Clark accepted easily, he still couldnt believe that his Master was now the mentor of the revered chosen one.

His Master may be outrageously strong, but he was still a human with feelings. And not just any human with feelings, his master was one of a kind.

He was quite sure that his Master was very excited after Clark said yes, but he probably reined himself in to act the part as a Sensei.

Sensei my foot! He spat exaggeratedly.

Acting all cold and mysterious was just his Masters strategy to woe Clark. Put aside his strength, then what you will get is a carefree, funny, and bored old man.

He was extremely grateful to him for saving his life when he was young of course, but now their relationship was more like unconventional friends rather than a teacher and disciple relationship.

To him, his Master is his only family member in this world so he had a deep attachment to the old man.

He didnt exactly know why, but his subconscious told him that his Master will reveal his more jovial side when Clark finally passed through his sublimation stage successfully.

But for now, he was Sensei and he would act like one.

Thinking of all the suffering that he went through when he was also a training student, he shook his head and laughed nostalgically.

What a bumpy ride!

Well, I have an order to obey, no distractions now. King, go! Go!

Increasing his pace, he started moving swiftly across the boundless range of white rocks and snow.

Just like he did for Clark, he also placed a detection device on Diana when he directed them to their soldiers who survived.

He was receiving feedback on their general direction. He just had to follow the signal and he would find them soon.

This was also the reason why he was able to talk to Clark so carefreely. If all Clarks friends died, he wouldnt have had the courage to speak to the Spartan soldier so freely after he woke up.

The past month has been the hardest for Diana, Anna, and the group of 8 survivor soldiers. It was a month filled with events, worry, and an agonizing wait for good news.

Through Joshs help, after they defeated the Mocan squad, they finally continued on their way in search of the nearest shelter.

There was a lot of injured in their midst, which effectively reduced their overall combat strength by a significant margin, even dragging them down a bit due to the need to take care of the injured.

Their journey to the nearest shelter could not be said to be the safest either. During the journey, they encountered occasional attacks from lone exobeasts, the most dangerous being from a beast horde.

A band of Snow Leopards ambushed and attacked them, showing the incredible intelligence of these exobeasts to them once again.

The battle was a bitter one where Joshs injuries were further aggravated, but this foreign friend refused to abandon them, accompanying them to battle to the end.

In the end, they were able to escape without any casualties but the group's overall strength dropped again because of the aggravated injuries of the injured soldiers.

They were now anxious, a little worried about their chances, but Josh and Diana took the helm again to calm the others down.

Just a few hours after the beast horde encounter, they spotted another soldier squad of the Mocan republic, alarming them.

Because they spotted them first, they were able to avoid and evade this squad after employing a series of clever maneuvers.

Feeling tense all over after this encounter, they forcibly increased their movement speed despite the dangerous possibilities that were prone to follow.

Luck seemed to favor them this time. After the lucky encounter with the Mocan squad, they only encountered foolish lone exobeast attacks before they finally located the nearest shelter.

As soon as they got themselves registered into the large shelter, they immediately admitted Josh and all the injured soldiers to the shelter's medical care center.

After doing this, they finally got themselves a nice place to rest their heads after the eventful journey that they went through to get here.

They were not wrong, getting to a shelter was the best choice.

As soon as the injured soldiers were admitted and tangible mountain credits were paid, the doctors of the shelter went to work on the soldiers immediately.

In just 5 days later, Josh became the first soldier who was healed completely despite originally sustaining the most severe injuries.

His 3rd rank high-grade soldier physique was not just a decoration, a lot of strength and fresh cells were packed under his skin to aid recovery from injuries.

Just 2 days after he recovered, the other soldiers finally started recovering also. After they all recovered, they finally got back to their peak strength but they still didnt leave yet, their leaders situation was still unknown to them.

An agonizing wait started.

To their surprise, just a day after they started waiting, Sergeant Dickson located them to the shelter where they took refuge.

Apparently, the Sergeant tracked them through a series of guesses, experience, and his familiarity with them.

When Dickson met them, though he was still alive and kicking, he was bloodily injured.

Seeing this, a lot of imaginations went through their mind but they knew what was paramount. They didnt ask about Clark, they quickly welcomed him and got him admitted into the shelters medical care center.

As Dickson recuperated in the hospital, this was when he was finally able to reconvene properly with his fiance.

Anna hugged him tightly with tears of joy and relief flowing down her eyes after they finally got a much-needed alone time together. They had a lot to say to each other, but they just decided to melt in each others arms.

After spending a sizeable amount of time with his fiance, Dickson finally called for Diana and Josh.

When all 3 of them were before him, he finally told them the circumstances and what happened before he escaped.

He was sure that he saw Diana bite her lips fiercely with the intent of lashing out at him after hearing the story, but in the end, she held herself back.

Though no one lashed out at him, this did not make him feel better, it only made him feel more guilty and down.

Im sorry, Diana.

Its ok, Clark made his choice. Diana stood up and turned to face the wall, only her back was exposed to the others now.

Then what should we do? Josh finally asked the important question.

I dont know about you guys, but Im waiting. Diana gave her opinion and left the hospital room before anyone could object.

What could the others do? Nothing. They all decided to wait also while hoping for the best, going back was definitely not an option as that would be just sending themselves to an early grave.

Unlike the others, Dickson saw exactly what happened in the end.

He only survived by the skin of his teeth, so how could Clark who he left behind survive? He tried to be optimistic, but his rational thinking could not just agree with the thought process at all.

So it started, the month-long agonizing wait.

After one month finally passed, they now felt really hopeless and discouraged. Diana hardly spoke to others, just locking herself in to cry her eyes out.

Her boyfriend died a month ago, now her boyfriends friend. What type of a world is this? Was this a sign from the world that her stay here was overdue? Should she join them to find eternal rest?

As these illogical thoughts kept on sprouting in her mind, to her shock, the king of demolition came to the shelter the next day.

Unlike usual, King disguised himself a bit to not draw unnecessary attention but the guards of the shelter still recognized him.

They respected his decision though. They did their best to make sure nobody recognized him before letting him in.

He didnt take any detours; he went straight to the apartment where the Spartan and Daland soldiers recuperated.

Not in the mood to waste time, he called for a gathering of all the soldiers.

The Major is alive? Diana had disbelief and joy written all over her face.

King took a deep breath. Yes, Clark is alive?

Then where is he? Why is he not with you? We already overstayed our time here, its time to go back.

Hes alive, but his current condition is a little special.

Dickson narrowed his eyes. What do you mean by special?

King sighed; he decided to take the more convincing route.

You know what happened to the research base after you escaped right? He directed a glance at Dickson.

Yes. Dickson shifted uncomfortably on his chair.

It would have been impossible for Clark to survive such a collapse. I saved him, but not after using a lot of valuable stuff to keep his life safe.

He was in a coma before, but he woke up just a day ago.

He was the one who pleaded with me to look for you guys. He wanted you all to know that he is still alive and kicking, and he also wanted me to congratulate you guys that the main mission target is secured.

Though King was not the most perceptive, he still detected a change in the soldiers, like a great burden was just lifted off their shoulders.

Though he is now awake, he is in no condition to face the outside world for now. His injuries are serious, he needs to recuperate in a special device that I made.

When will he be strong enough to move again? Diana asked- her face now with a relieved expression.

I dont know, it depends on his recovery speed. Perhaps a month, months, or even a year.

Diana narrowed her eyes. Then we want to see him.

You cant, I told you that he is in no condition to face the outside world, visiting him will only bring unwanted complications.

How do I know that what youre saying is the truth?

King didnt answer, he just inclined his head to look at Dickson.

Dickson sighed. I believe him, I believe hes saying the truth.

Diana kept quiet for a second before nodding. So, what message did he have for us?

He said that when the time is right, you all will meet again. But for now, he said that you guys should go back home and spread the good news of your success to the higher-ups.

That was all the soldiers needed to know, they knew how to fill in the other details themselves.

That same day, they left the shelter for home.

[Home, sweet home. Home is the best.]