Reborn as a Mechanist with a God-Tier System-Chapter 304: Ambition [1]
For a long time, Leon squatted in front of the graves as together, the 3 of them gave their dead comrades a moment of silence.
After about 3 minutes, Colonel Garfield finally broke the silence.
He forced a smile as he looked at Leon. "You really are an ambitious man. I always thought I was ambitious, but listening to what you said a while ago and remembering your past exploits, I can’t help but feel inferior". He laughed.
"As an E Rank Ascended, I don’t think I would even have the courage to stand in front of a C Rank Ascended without shaking, and yet..."
"...yet you found a way to trap a C Rank Ascended as a mere E Rank".
He smiled. "Do you know how much guts that takes?"
"I can literally bet on my life that no E Rank Ascended now and in history can ever do what you did".
"And now, you’re talking of killing General Murphy like he’s just any other Ascended on the streets. And this is despite the fact that you saw him fight 131 years ago and know just how overpowered he is".
"This is a C Rank Ascended!"
He sighed and looked at the horizon. "Over the past 131 years, I’ve hated him, I’ve cursed at him, but I’ve never actually thought of killing him".
He sighed again. "Afterall, I fought against him too then".
"If it was any other person that said he would kill Murphy, I would scoff and accuse him of being naïve and ignorant, but when it’s you, it doesn’t sound that outrageous anymore and it’s crazy honestly".
"I mean... that’s a C Rank Reality Sculptor!"
He chuckled. "Leon, man, you truly have balls of steel".
He continued. "I know you must be thinking, after becoming the ’Glitch’, why didn’t Ren try to fight Murphy to kill him and avenge our comrades?"
He shook his head. "Unlike us, he’s not free. He has the weight of responsibility of a whole territory and faction on his shoulders, millions of lives rely on him to survive".
"He’s all that we have, but the Omnicore Federation have 3 like him. If he leaves, all out territories will be open for counterattack by the Federation Army and their other C Rank Ascended".
"I don’t envy him," Garfield laughed. "Since becoming C Rank 131 years ago, he’s never really had the opportunity to enjoy a good fight to go all out and use all his abilities because we’re too weak to push him, and because he has no intentions of fighting other C Rank Ascended so as to hide his main abilities".
He sighed. "Being a leader is not easy".
"I know". Leon finally stood up as he also looked at the horizon.
"I know exactly what position he’s in, that is why I said I’ll kill Murphy myself," he grinned. "Sooner or later, he’ll die to my blade".
Garfield looked at Ren Nora slightly, then he turned his gaze back to Leon. "You should know about the suppression of emerging C Rank Ascended right?"
Leon nodded. "Of course, but that is not going to stop me".
Leon shook his head. "It may be effective for now, but I don’t believe that the current approach to stopping a Neon Beast Tide disaster is sustainable".
"If the emergence of powerful Ascended truly leads to corresponding powerful Neon Beasts emerging, then suppressing the number of C Rank Ascended in the world isn’t the ultimate solution. To me, that’s just cowardice and it won’t solve the problem from the roots".
"That’s like trimming grass and expecting it to just die off. Their growth will be stunted, but they don’t die. And one day, a big rain will fall and that catalyst will push the grass to grow faster than expectations, becoming untamed".
"Deliberately suppressing the emergence of C Rank Ascended is a cowardly and power-hoarding decision that’s crippling the potential of our planet".
"The only way to stop Neon Beast disasters is to become strong enough and develop effective strategies to eradicate them completely or suppress them indefinitely".
"If we become stronger than the Neon Beasts, there would be no disaster in the first place".
"I mean, what if the world suddenly reaches a tipping point someday or pushed by a catalyst, a Category 5 Neon Beast tide suddenly occurs? Take it like the grass and rain analogy that I made".
"Who will fight it then?"
"Who will save the world?"
"No one!"
"We’ll all die simply because the cowardice of our predecessors have crippled our potential so much that there’s no B Rank Ascended in the world to step up and protect us when it matters".
"Hiding from the problem won’t solve it, only facing it directly can".
Garfield looked at Leon with a flabbergasted look on his face, then he laughed. "This is what I mean when I say you have balls of steel".
"You’re totally fearless and unhinged in your thinking and I’m all for it!" He grinned. "So you intend to attempt the C Rank Trial in the future?"
"Of course," Leon nodded resolutely. "You should too".
Garfield looked at his body, then he shook his head. "Nah. I’m old and frail now. Let’s forget about the Trial itself, I don’t even think I can deal with the commotion that attempting a C Rank Trial will bring".
"That’s exactly why you need to do it," Leon looked at him. "When I attempt the C Rank Trial, the entire world will be forced into a civil war whether we like it or not and the Freegrid Collective will be involved".
"We can’t hide from it, we can only face it directly".
"Just imagine if we’re both attempting the C Rank Trial at the same time in different locations. It’ll divide the attention of our enemies and confuse them".
"And if we succeed," his eyes gleamed. "The Freegrid Collective will have 3 C Rank Ascended, becoming the 2nd strongest faction in the world. We may even become stronger than the Federation then!"
"And by then, we’ll be equipped to face the repercussions whatever it is".
"Besides," he looked at Garfield. "If you become C Rank, you’ll regain your vitality simply from the transformation in your biology".
"You’ll be like a larvae who finally emerged from its cocoon".
Leon grinned as he looked into the distance. "And I don’t think there’s been any Pulse Brawler who became a C Rank in the world, just imagine yourself as the first C Rank Pulse Brawler in history".
"Imagine what you’ll be able to do!"
Hearing Leon’s ambitiously crazy and bombastic words, Garfield turned to look at Ren Nora with a stunned look on his face and seeing the General’s silence, he laughed.
"Oh my days, the world is about to become a lot more exciting with you back!" He grinned. "Count me in!"
"Even if I die, what a glorious end to a life it’s going to be".
He looked at Leon again and asked. "What do you intend to do next?"
"I intend to align myself better with my Class Specialization and prepare for the C Rank Ascended Trial. I already set my sights on a high-profile assassination target," he looked at Garfield. "I intend to kill Bill Zefyr for it".
Garfield raised his eyebrows with a grin. "Ambition upon ambition, what a guy!"
He looked at the horizon in deep thought, then he said. "Bill Zefyr is the richest man in the world, killing him is not going to be easy".
"To assassinate him, you’re going to need a team".
"I intend to create one soon".
Garfield nodded. "You’re going to need allies too..."
He looked at Leon. "And fortunately for you, I know just the man who’s crazy enough to aid you in your quest to assassinate Bill Zefyr and who is not afraid of making enemies of the Omnicore Federation".
"His name is Lieutenant Colonel Umar Farouq".
...
[Special Appreciation to r03n, Adamantis, Robert_Luckau, Yametekudastop, and Shadesworn for the Golden Tickets, thanks for the support!]
