"Speak. Why are you calling?", Griffith looked at the surprisingly familiar name on the phone and still chose to answer, asking calmly.
On the other end of the call, Dexter: ["..."]
He hadn't even spoken yet and was already choked off by his own dad.
'Is this really my dad?'
Oh.
It is.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been beaten so miserably when he went home for the holidays.
Dexter closed his eyes for a moment, forcing himself to forget that brutal training. Even now, just thinking about it made his body ache.
["...The beast tide, is everything okay?"], He opened his mouth and still asked the question weighing on his heart.
How was his dad?
Definitely not dead.
But he must have been injured to some extent.
Besides, every time after a beast tide, the Fourth Legion had to undergo restructuring. It was always a blow to them, and the entire legion would be trapped in a period of grief—not too long, but not too short either.
As someone who grew up in the Fourth Legion, Dexter understood this better than anyone.
The rumors online about the beast tide causing a 10% casualty rate among soldiers were not exaggerated in the slightest.
If they were lucky and faced a small beast tide, they could control the number at around 5%. But if it was a large-scale beast tide… 10% was just the average.
Before calling, Dexter had already seen the overwhelming news reports about the Fourth Legion's battle against the beast tide—zero casualties.
At that moment, his mind was full of question marks.
('No way?')
('Is this number real?')
('Zero?')
('Are they joking?')
Dexter couldn't believe it, but he desperately hoped it was true.
He was tired of experiencing the pain and sorrow of seeing familiar uncles, older brothers, and comrades die after every beast tide.
What was even more frustrating was that after enduring that pain, they had to wipe their tears and continue training, preparing for the next possible beast tide.
Dexter left the Fourth Legion, traveling across the country to Star City, a place just as dangerous, because he wanted to escape that suffocating pain of constantly losing people he knew.
But Dexter soon realized he had been too naive.
Meeting new people and forming new bonds, this cycle kept repeating itself.
Until he saw the reports about the Fourth Legion this time, a faint hope arose in his heart, though he didn't know how to describe it.
So, he hesitantly called his dad, trying to get firsthand information.
Griffith raised an eyebrow, 'Since when is this brat so sentimental?'
'Oh.'
'He always have been.'
'Alright then.'
"Relax, your old man is fine. Your uncles, brothers, and everyone else are also fine."
"This time…", Griffith paused for a few s before deciding to tell Dexter the truth, "There really were no casualties."
The newly evolved Golden-Eyed Lion King performed spectacularly in battle against the beast tide.
Even more surprising was the evolution of Silver Fang Leopard, which previously seemed mediocre. Professor Asher named its new form "Phantom Leopard." In this battle, it turned out to be unexpectedly effective.
In one-on-one combat, Phantom Leopard's power didn't stand out much.
But when faced with a large number of beasts, its [Lock-On] innate skill became invaluable.
[[Lock-On]: Can mark between 10 and 20 beasts of the same level as Phantom Leopard at once. The damage taken will be shared (evolvable)]
At first, Griffith didn't fully grasp the power of this ability.
And then…
When Phantom Leopard marked 20 beasts at once and eliminated the weakest one, the other 19 were instantly blasted apart, their flesh torn, their lives snuffed out.
That was when they finally realized how overpowered this skill was.
The marked creatures suffered identical damage.
If one died, the others followed.
Unfortunately, they only discovered the skill's usefulness during the battle. Plus, the new evolution path had only been recently developed, so there were very few Beast Masters with Phantom Leopard.
At most, they could form a small squad of fewer than 100 members.
But even so, they played a significant and crucial role in resisting the beast tide.
Dexter: "!"
'Good heavens!'
Who wouldn't exclaim "Good heavens" after hearing that?
["Are you sure it's okay to tell me this?"], Dexter's breathing grew heavier. Then, he remembered, 'Wait a minute, doesn't the Fourth Legion have confidentiality rules?'
'How can they just casually reveal this information?'
Even though he didn't know the exact evolution path and conditions for Phantom Leopard…
"Hmph," Griffith chuckled, "Yeah, theoretically, I shouldn't be telling outsiders. But you're not an outsider."
"Remember to come home for the holidays and sign the military confidentiality agreement."
Dexter: ["…"]
'Damn.'
'Is this really my dad?'
'My real dad?'
'He actually tricked me into going back like this?'
Dexter was speechless.
More importantly, he realized—he had walked straight into his dad's trap.
On the other end of the call, Griffith chuckled, "Good that you understand."
"The evolution routes of Silver Fang Leopard and the Little Lion Beast are classified. But if someone wants to know and they're strong enough, you can try recruiting them."
["…Be a decent human, Dad,"] Dexter rolled his eyes.
["By the way, given this, don't you think the payment you guys offered Professor Asher was a bit unfair?"]
["Has he brought it up yet?"]
["Shouldn't you be proactive instead of waiting for him to ask?"]
Silence.
Griffith and Dominic both fell silent.
Dexter had hit the most troublesome issue right on the mark—yeah, their previous compensation wasn't enough.
But if they increased it…
["Feeling the pinch?"], Dexter stabbed where it hurt with pinpoint accuracy.
["Hmph, I know exactly what you guys are thinking. A bunch of old foxes, trying to brush him off."]
["If that doesn't work, you'll just act grateful and talk about righteousness to create emotional leverage."]
["Right?"]
When Dexter said that first sentence, Griffith quietly put his phone on speaker and locked eyes with Dominic, who had just been spouting nonsense.
Dominic: "…"
A seasoned old fox like Dominic actually felt a bit awkward hearing this from a kid.
'Ahem!'
Dominic: "Are you sure you and your son didn't plan this together to set me up?"
Griffith rolled his eyes.
Meanwhile, Dexter continued, ["Stop with the empty words. Be practical."]
["Practical."]
["Understand?"]
["If you can't get a first-class merit, at least get a third-class one."]
["If that's not possible, give him Bloodline Enhancement Serums. Professor Asher has multiple pet beasts, and he'll have more in the future—he'll definitely need them."]
Dominic: *Grumbling*
Listen!
Every single thing this kid mentioned wasn't something they could casually hand out.
Even though Dominic didn't say a word, Dexter seemed to read his mind perfectly.
He landed the final blow.
["Those things are valuable, sure. But they're still not worth as much as the lives of the Fourth Legion's soldiers, are they?"]
Dominic: "…"
Dominic shut up completely.
Although Dominic didn't say a single word, Dexter on the other end of the phone seemed to have precisely guessed what Dominic was thinking and delivered a finishing blow.
"Alright, alright, got it. Don't worry, we won't shortchange Professor Asher," Seeing Dominic completely give up resisting, Griffith smiled and spoke to his son on the other end of the phone, who had just helped him out.
"Don't forget to help us find more good recruits in Jade Dragon."
As soon as he finished speaking, the call was cut off from the other end—clearly, Dexter had no intention of chatting any longer.
Griffith chuckled lightly and put his phone away.
"So? Have you decided what extra reward... ah, I mean, what gift to give Professor Asher?"
"Fine, fine, I'll do as you all say," Dominic waved his hand, his face carrying a few traces of helplessness, "With things already said to this extent, what else can I say?"
If he kept being stingy, it would be disrespectful to the Fourth Legion, to the brothers who survived this beast tide, and to the brothers who would survive future beast tides.
No matter how stingy Dominic was, he wasn't someone who couldn't tell priorities, alright.
The real battle had made everyone in the Fourth Legion realize just what kind of grand gift Asher had given them.
Not only could it enhance the Fourth Legion's competitiveness in recruitment, but it could also improve their survival rate.
No amount of gratitude toward Asher would be excessive.
This was only right.
Upon receiving another twenty vials of bloodline enhancement serum from the Fourth Legion, Asher: "?"
He was momentarily stunned before he remembered that he had been planning to find a way to get another ten vials from the Fourth Legion, just to make up a set of thirty-six.
But unexpectedly...
Before he even mentioned it, the Fourth Legion had delivered them on their own—and even gave him ten more than he originally wanted.
"This is...", Asher looked at Miles, who had brought the serums, his gaze uncertain.
'What does this mean?'
Miles gave Asher a big smile.
"This is our Fourth Legion's gift to you, Professor Asher. You deserve it—please accept it," Thinking that Asher was about to refuse or was too polite to take it, Miles had even prepared a whole speech to persuade him.
Unexpectedly, the moment Asher heard that, he calmly nodded and took the serums without hesitation.
Miles: "..."
'Ahem!', He clenched his fist and brought it to his lips to cover his surprise.
"Didn't you say this is a gift for me?", Asher smiled calmly at Miles, "Then I'll just accept it openly. Pushing it back and forth is pointless."
The Fourth Legion had given it willingly.
And he truly wanted it.
It was that simple.
Miles thought for a moment: 'Huh, that actually makes sense?'
Nothing awkward about it.
After coughing twice more, Miles's expression returned to normal. Still, deep down, he felt like he had gained a more realistic understanding of Asher.
"You're absolutely right. Accepting it straightforwardly is the best," Miles chuckled, "These twenty vials of serum are our Fourth Legion's token of gratitude to you. We've also applied for a Third-Class Merit Medal for you."
Asher: "?"
'Huh? Huh? Huh?'
"Wasn't there also a Second-Class Merit last time?"
Miles nodded, "Actually, we wanted to apply for a First-Class Merit for you..."
But just as Dexter had mentioned over the phone, that was almost impossible.
This wasn't just about whether the Fourth Legion was willing to give up a quota—it was about the fact that such military honors were incredibly hard to earn, even within the army itself.
The fact that they had managed to secure an additional Third-Class Merit for Asher was already due to the long-term impact of his contributions, only then was it finally approved.
Asher could feel the weight of the Fourth Legion's gratitude toward him.
"This was something we agreed on from the start. There's no need to be so formal," Only now did Asher remember to say a few polite words.
Miles glanced at the case Asher was already holding in his hand, his gaze carrying a hint of amusement.
Alright then.
His understanding of Professor Asher had just leveled up again.
"Then I won't disturb you any longer, Professor Asher," Miles checked the time. He had only come to deliver the serums, after all—there was still a mountain of work waiting for him, not to mention Griffith, who was currently stuck at a desk doing paperwork in his place.
Miles actually wanted to push more work onto Dominic.
But he was worried that if there was too much, Dominic might just quit on the spot.
It was better to give Dominic a little break, so they could drag him back to continue later—that was the way to do it.
After sending Miles off, Asher sat down, curiously examining the forty-six vials of bloodline enhancement serum he now possessed.
Opening the case, he saw long, slender test tubes neatly arranged in rows.
The color of the serum inside was, without a doubt, the most beautiful he had ever seen.
A rich purple, with a low saturation that didn't feel gaudy at all. Instead, it carried an indescribable sense of elegance.
Picking up one of the test tubes—
Under the light, under the sunlight, when he gently turned the tube, he could almost see tiny, star-like glimmers flowing through the deep, mysterious purple liquid, like a miniature galaxy.
Asher turned to look at Little Raven, Cat-Worm, Little White Snake, and Little Jellyfish, shaking the test tube slightly, "What do you think?"
"Anyone want to take a sip?"
'Should I randomly grab one of the little ones to test the effects of the serum?'
Little Raven, Cat-Worm, and Little White Snake all instinctively took a step back for some reason.
They hadn't moved at all, yet suddenly, Little Jellyfish was left standing at the front. It tilted its head.
"Gulu?"
'What just happened?'
Little Jellyfish: *Confused*
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