Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary-Chapter 71 Award Ceremony (4)

’Is this real.’ Avery thought as Deputy Chief Ikla pinned the award he was receiving onto his coat.

An Alliance Cross of Heroism was the highest class of recognition anyone could receive for military achievements within the Dramid Alliance.

They went from bronze to platinum, making the Silver Cross Avery was receiving the third greatest award any mercenary could ever obtain.

This essentially was denoting him as a hero of the Alliance. Someone that had fought with their life on the line to save the general populace from terrible danger.

And while Avery may have done so, his intentions had never been particularly pure. He had just been searching for a big payday.

Still, there was no denying the results. Especially in the case of the energy lifeforms. If not for him both investigating the Prazan System and eliminating the queen, the situation could have gone out of control and turned into a great disaster.

The Yuson System might have been destroyed, and possibly many more before the Dramid Alliance could muster a force capable of taking down the energy lifeforms. That’s just how significant of a threat a queen, juvenile or not, was.

’Seven Million Krenin. Seven Million Krenin.’

The immense reward that came along with the award he was receiving continually went through Avery’s mind.

Of course, the large single monetary prize was only one part of the benefits the Silver Cross of Heroism brought with it.

He would also be receiving a yearly stipend of two hundred fifty thousand Krenin. That was enough to live a fairly luxurious life as long as one was not too extravagant with their spending.

Plus, there were several other perks. Such as preferential treatment and pay from the Alliance Police, plus access to Alliance Facilities. Including Warp Portals. Something an average citizen could never hope to use.

Of course, since he had just been essentially given the status of a hero, great things would be expected of him in the future.

"Avery, I’ve already pinned the badge." Deputy Chief Ikla whispered since Avery had been unresponsive for a little too long.

Realizing that he had frozen up in front of a crowd of onlookers, Avery snapped out of his stupor and gave Ikla a salute which was part of the etiquette of ceremonies like this.

He placed his balled right fist in front of his heart and then held his right elbow with his left hand.

This had been recognized as the official salute of the Alliance since it created a form closely resembling the official emblem of the Dramid Alliance.

After that, Avery returned to his seat and Deputy Chief Ikla gave a few closing remarks before calling an end to the ceremony.

With things having finished up, the higher-ranking officers were the first to leave.

Once they were gone, mercenaries and lower ranking officers started to trickle out, or started strike up conversations with each other.

"That was more excitement than I was expecting. I never thought I’d to get something like this." Avery said, fiddling with the ornate badge pinned to his coat.

"Well, how about we get out of here quickly and head over to the import shop as planned. If we stick around here much longer, you’re probably going to get held up." Kasandra said, pointing towards the crowd of people that seemed interested in approaching Avery.

None of them seemed to have worked up the nerve yet and were all waiting for someone else to be the first to gauge what sort of reaction to expect.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

Unfortunately, as Avery and Kasandra tried to make a hasty retreat, a single mercenary stood in their way.

He was a tall and muscular man with short dark brown hair and a few visible scars on his hands and face. Clearly, he had seen a fair amount of combat.

Avery swiftly recalled that he was one of the mercenaries to receive a mid-level award like Kaiden. Though his overall achievements probably fell a bit short of Kasandra’s brother’s.

It was also worth noting that he was one of the few that had been giving Avery less than friendly looks during the ceremony.

"What sort of scheme did you use to get your hands on phasic torpedoes? And what’d you do to survive the queen energy lifeform? That shouldn’t be possible. You must have tricked everyone else’s sensors somehow and tampered with your data." The man said accusingly.

He was obviously envious of Avery’s achievements and the accolades he had received. Convincing himself that the only way this newbie could have accomplished such feats was by employing some sort of shady scam.

Of course, had Avery actually done something of the sort, the Alliance Police never would have honored him in the first place. Let alone given him the Silver Cross of Heroism.

Next to Avery, Kasandra glowered at the uncouth mercenary and was about to tell him off. Except she was beaten to the punch by someone unexpected.

"I, nor him, have time for someone as insignificant as you. Leave, before I remove you."

Already on edge, the man whipped around ready to shout at whoever had interrupted him, but the words got caught in his throat.

Looming over him was Ezra. Being nearly two and a half meters tall and far bulkier than any human, the four star mercenary was more than intimating enough to silence the brash mercenary with only his presence.

Sweat trickled down his face, and his angry expression morphed into one of terror. The man that had accosted Avery slowly stepped away until he was out of arms reach. Then he turned around and ran away as fast as he could.

"Thanks for that. I was beginning to think that I would have to resort to violence to get rid of him. You saved me a lot of trouble there." Avery said, grateful that things had been easily resolved.

"An unskilled loser like him would hardly be a match for you. After all, my uncle spoke highly of you."