Michael raised an eyebrow when he heard the ’cute junior’ comment.
’I am certain that she isn’t talking about me, meaning...’ His gaze subconsciously lowered towards Ava.
He couldn’t help but chuckle. Everyone until now had regarded Ava as the Daredevil, so for someone to call her a cute junior was rather unexpected.
Ava let out a sigh of relief. "Lady Victoria, you had me worried. When Sir Bryce said that he couldn’t contact you, I feared the worst."
"My communication device got destroyed in the battle against the Elite alien." Victoria said casually.
"WHAT?!" Ava’s eyes became wide as saucers. "Elite?! Why is such a powerful alien here, and why did you fight it?"
Victoria shrugged. "Why it is here I don’t know. As for why I fought it... If I, a general, run from it, what about my troops that are significantly inferior to me? What kind of message would I send if I let them take on such a monster on their own?"
’This explains the system quest.’ Michael sighed. ’It’s no wonder it has a hard difficulty.’
"Even so, an Elite monster should be fought only when victory is certain!" Ava exclaimed, going towards Victoria and examining her condition.
Seeing that aside from a few scratches on her suit, she was unharmed caused her to calm down somewhat.
"If I may ask, where is the rest of your squad, Lady Victoria?" Michael feared the worst. If an Elite alien was involved, then he wouldn’t be surprised if all of her squad had perished.
"I don’t have one. I came to get rid of the portal alone. It was supposed to be a quick job, but once I sealed it, I encountered an Elite alien. Until I defeat it, I can’t leave. Otherwise, it would cause a hefty toll on our troops."
’No wonder why Bryce was so worried. She had been alone this entire time.’
Victoria was about to continue her cultivation until she noticed the giant sword resting on Michael’s back.
"Isn’t that the soul weapon of Jack the Butcher? Don’t tell me you made it submit." To say that she was shocked would be an understatement. She, who was regarded as one of the strongest generals, had failed to make the weapon budge. Now this same weapon was being carried casually by a cadet!
"Actually, Michael is quite special!" Ava’s eyes beamed. She didn’t waste time retelling all the feats he had managed to accomplish in such a short amount of time.
Once Ava was done, Victoria suddenly stood up. Revealing her 170-centimeter height.
"Cadet Michael, you have my utmost gratitude and respect for saving my cute junior’s life at the risk of your own safety. I give you my word that once we go back to the base, I will reward you with anything you want."
Instantly Michael’s sword shouted in his head full of laughter. ’Brat, this is your chance! At this moment you have to say, ’Reward me with your body.’ I tell you there is absolutely no way that it would backfire on you! HAHAHAHAHA!’
Ignoring the sword’s perverted comments, Michael smiled warmly before speaking. "I didn’t save her for a reward. I just couldn’t bear to see my captain being hurt."
Ava looked the other way, trying to hide her slightly rosy face.
"Hmn..." Victoria naturally noticed the reaction of her junior. But she decided to act as if she didn’t see a thing.
"Even so, you will be rewarded for your behavior. Once I regain my stamina, I shall get rid of the Elite tier alien. You can cultivate here until I am done."
"Absolutely not!" Ava immediately protested, gripping Victoria’s hand.
"There is no way I will let you fight an Elite alien by yourself!" She was so flustered that she didn’t even bother to use any title.
"If you come, the Cadet will be alone. Are you sure that this is what you want?" She countered.
"With all respect, I believe I will be quite useful when it comes to fighting an Elite alien. I am much faster than any normal cadet." Michael had received a quest to save Victoria. That meant if things were to continue in that direction, she would perish fighting the Elite tier alien, and he wasn’t going to allow that.
By the small frown on her face, it was clear that Victoria would rather fight the alien on her own.
’It seems I won’t be able to get these two off my back.’ She sighed.
"You may come if you insist. But keep in mind the Elite alien would require all of my attention. In other words, I can’t guard your safety."
"That is fine." Ava nodded her head like a puppy.
"If something happens I am confident I could escape with my life." Michael smiled warmly.
The trio spent half an hour meditating. The majority of their mental fatigue was gone by then, and the little that still lingered wasn’t going to slow them down.
"The alien is in the center of the geyser. Be warned that it’s able to utilize the nearby ice to a high degree."
’Fighting an Elite monster in its own domain. How lovely that sounds.’ Michael thought sarcastically.
"I tried to connect to the base, but here there is no signal. We really are on our own." Ava mumbled in displeasure.
"This is your last chance to turn back." Victoria warned.
Seeing that neither Ava nor Michael showed even the slightest hint of fear, Victoria smiled slightly, continuing forward.
The surroundings cooled down even more as they got closer.
’Ohhh, I feel it! This is going to be a big one!’ The sword said in excitement.
"It’s here." Victoria said a second later, going low.
Michael and Ava crouched as well, unwilling to alert the foe of their presence.
A few seconds later they reached the center of the geyser. It was 100 meters wide in diameter with ice covering the walls and the floor entirely. The whole area looked similar to a boss arena with a powerful monster at the center.
’Running on this surface would prove troublesome.’ Michael analyzed, eyes settling over the Elite tier alien.