20 A Strategic Meeting
Currently, the father and daughter duo was arguing. A stand-off to allow her to fight when the dungeon break happens.
"But, Papa, I'm plenty strong!" Kara argued for the nth time already, but it seems she wasn't seeing any progress. Surprisingly, Thomas was enduring the pleading of his cute daughter.
"And I have already said that I'm not allowing it! Even your mother doesn't allow you; this isn't a time for kids to meddle in," his voice adamant and raised as well.
It slightly surprised even Kara when her Papa raised his voice but pushed on. Laura, who was everything unfold, decided to butt into the argument. "Kara, why must you be so adamant about fighting? It will be dangerous," responded sternly.
It didn't even take time for Kara to come up with a reason, "Because I'm confident of not getting hit, and even bring positive results!" Indeed, what she said was true.
*Flaf~*
She even brought out her 2-sets of wings to remind them why she's so confident. But before they could say anything else, Kara spoke first. "And I can also teleport anywhere I have been to, anytime!" her statement raised eyebrows from both parents.
Kara noticed this and kept attacking, like they say, strike while the iron is hot! She proceeded to teleport somewhere far, instantly disappearing from their sight.
Meanwhile, Kara went to Hawaii, a place where they have gone on vacations many times already. She took pictures of selfies across various locations; within a minute, she went back.
When she came back, she boastingly showed pictures of her short-lived vacation. "See? You don't have to worry so much about me, Mama, Papa. I can instantly teleport to safety. Do you understand now?"
Kara wanted to show her abilities to escape danger; she's happy that they are worried for her, but this is the only event that she cannot miss!
The prestige of gaining a National-Rank title is something important to all Hunters. If a country were to choose between its President or a National-Rank Hunter, the Hunter would win.
Laura and Thomas ended up having a brief discussion over the matter. The conclusion being Kara is limited to ranged attacks only. Kara, who heard this, bombarded them with kisses.
Aela, sitting on the couch, joined in on the kisses as well. She didn't need to know the reason. Kisses are kisses, the joys of being young and innocent.
She planned to bombard Kamish from afar since the start, so being limited to ranged attacks was something she readily agreed to.
But before the fight could happen, there'll be a strategic meeting that will take place with all the recruited Hunters.
[Strategy Meeting]
Around nearly a hundred S-Rank Hunters have gathered and answered the call of America, all happy with their instant pay of millions in taxpayer money.
Most notable Hunters here had that certain aura around them, America's Thomas Andre and Christopher Reed, China's Liu Zhigang, India's Siddharth Bachchan, Korea's Go Gun-Hee, and finally Brazil's Jonas.
[AN: Yep, Go Gun-Hee is here! I added him too]
Kara, carried by Thomas, was mentally talking with Aerys is perched on Thomas' other shoulder. [Aerys, do you feel what you felt from my Papa, here too?] she's asking whether he can feel the Rulers from the other Hunters.
[Master, indeed I do. I don't mean offense, but the strongest of them all is that oldest looking human,] pointing at a burly buff man with Asian features, Go Gun-Hee.
Hearing Aerys comment, Kara nodded. 'He had an array of titles in the manhwa, S-Rank Among S-Ranks, The Sky Above The Skies, and Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light... for the Monarchs, at least.'
Kara even thought of striking a deal with the one inside of Go Gun-Hee, since the Rulers are helping humanity; might as well snag some benefits.
But she soon focused on her Papa. "Papa, I'm already big now, can't you put me down?" well, she wasn't complaining, really. More like curious.
Thomas, who had just recently sat down in his assigned seat, responded, "You and Aela will always be my little princesses; I might even still carry the both of you when you are already adults. Hahaha," he laughed at the thought of that.
"Papa, how will I marry if you keep carrying me around?" teasing her Papa about the mention of boys; he's always been protective around them. A bit too vigilant, but the girls see no problem with it.
A tick mark formed on Thomas's head, 'A boy, marrying my daughters!? They'd have to punch through me first!' he thought incredulously. Kara giggled at the sight of her Papa getting annoyed by the thought.
*Bonk!*
"Ow~! Papa, can't take a joke!", it seems Thomas was able to see through the question, "Maybe it's best for you and Aela don't go to school," he said, which made Kara laugh.
However, the meeting soon started before the father and daughter duo could clown each other once again. Hunters who saw the two could only wonder what a child is doing in this sort of meeting.
"Good day, Hunters. I'm Director David Brennon of the Federal Bureau of Hunters and am here to discuss today how we plan to strategize against whatever beast comes out of that gate," the stocky middle-aged man with light brown hair said.
Upon hearing someone speak, everyone immediately settled down and started listening. Kara, observing this, impressed and expected these S-Rankers to be arrogant.
'I guess they are S-Ranks for a reason too, I guess,' she thought and listened in on the discussion.
The discussion was mainly about the placing of Hunters and where their base of operation will be. However, when Kara saw the placings is when she decided to intervene.
The placings, in her opinion, were too near to the gate. Plus, the gate was on the bridge, and if that bridge collapses the Hunters will, without a doubt, fall into the frigid waters of San Francisco.
She, all of a sudden, raised her hand, which caught everyone's attention. Director Brennon, seeing the hand of Kara up, hopes it's related to what they are discussing.
Even when Kara invented the potion, people still underestimated her because of her stature as a child. Well, to those that have not met her, at least.
"Miss. White, please speak if it's related to the topic," he said in a flat tone; you would think it would give her more respect. 'Another reason to get that National-Rank title,' she added.
"I hope no one interrupts me, or I will blast your heads onto the wall." What an opening intro from a child is what everyone thought. No one would expect those words to come out from a 12-year-old child; Thomas, hearing this, was proudly smiling.
'HAHA, that's my little girl! I surely hope Laura doesn't hear this, or I'll get an ear full from her,' he thought. Laura has always tried teaching the girls to be a little more reserved. However, Thomas' boisterous attitude is making it hard to teach that.
Kara resumed after her words, "The placings are illogical. I know the Golden Gate Bridge is sturdy, but-!" and of course, someone cocky just had to interrupt.
"Little Lady, I think you sh-BEAM!" as the Hunter spoke, a magic circle appeared right beside his head and shot a concentrated mana beam at him.
The golden beam hit him square in the side of his head; the beam eventually carried him and cemented him onto the wall. Everything happened within a second; perks of nigh-brain processing powers.
Everyone was frankly shocked, only a handful of Hunters can proudly say that they can react properly. Before she spoke once again, she flared her magical energy at everyone present within the room.
Her magical energy was so potent that you could almost smell the mana, and it felt like bathing in a tub of Coke.
When Hunters get exposed to the high potency of mana, it feels like prickling the skin; This is what they are experiencing right now.
"Don't dare to undermine my words; I may be young, but I'm confident in my strength to back my words," she said and scanned the room while at it.
"And you, you better adjust your manner of speaking, don't forget the reason why this many Hunters gathered." her words, aura, and eyes focused towards Brennon.
One of the main reasons as to why Hunters gathered was due to Kara's sponsored potions, Hunters felt "safer" with it.
Kara was getting tired of these adults' way of treating her, constantly being underestimated. Does she have to kill them to show she's serious?
Brennon, standing on the podium, had blots of sweat rolling off his head. He didn't respond, but nodded instead. 'I better watch myself; I keep forgetting that these are S-Rank Hunters we're dealing with,' reflecting on his actions.
"Anyway, you adults can resume your talks. Blame your arrogance for not getting information, Hmph!" she harrumphed and took out a tablet to play on.
Yep, and the childish side has appeared. Though, no one decided to comment on it since they were the ones who were too arrogant to listen.
In Kara's mind, she could care less about how many people died. She may have killed no one yet, but somehow the thought of killing would be like breathing. Well, she only cares for her Papa, but she's 100% sure that nothing can harm him.
The meeting continued with the planned placings and groups, but due to Kara's earlier words, they were starting to doubt the plan. Even Director Brennon could feel their doubts, but he could only swallow it in.
When the tension reached an all-time high, Go Gun-Hee tried something. Undoubtedly, with age comes wisdom and experience. He instead walked to Kara and talked to her maturely.
From his observation, Kara wanted adult treatment in serious times. "Miss. White, I think your earlier comment was sound. Care to share it once again?" he said respectfully.
Kara, hearing this, repaid the treatment. "Very well. As I said, the placings are illogical. Whoever thought of this idea should quit their job, have any of you thought why the gate is this big in the first place?"
Once again, Director Brennon felt a twitch in his mouth since he was the one who came up with the plan. However, everyone started thinking of the gate's massive size, too.
"Tsk, seriously? None of you ever thought of correlating the magical beasts' size to the gate? Bunch of muscle heads.
Anyway, the initial dumb plan was placing you guys at the bridge, correct? So, what happens when the bridge collapses due to the fight?
I'm pretty sure the beast can still stand on the water due to its size, but how about the Hunters? All of you would end up swimming back to shower, defenseless."
Kara didn't speak any further, but allowed them to absorb what she had said. Slowly but surely, Hunters began nodding at her reasoning.
"Even if the monster is shorter than predicted, then it's okay. However, I confidently know what's going to appear," Kara said, and paused. Hunters who heard this got surprised.
"The beast behind the gate would be one massive and a hundred small dragons. Of course, even without knowing what's inside, the placings are still stupid." her words made everyone gasp.
It is textbook knowledge that Dragons are one of the strongest monsters to face. Their scales, ability to fly, dragon breath, physical prowess, and roars make them dangerous to fight.
They tend to appear as Dungeon bosses in Rank-A Gates, so to have a hundred of them appear as minions for an even bigger one is scary.
"H-HEY! I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS!"
"T-This is suicide! An S-Rank Dragon!?"
Several Hunters yelled; their intention to back out is very eminent. Kara, of course, expected this. Humans are like that, after all.
"Aqueles que saem dessa porta, seu país não receberá assistência se um portão S-Rank aparecer dentro de seu território," A Hunter said in his native tongue.
"Hunter Jonas said that the ones who step out of that door, their country won't receive assistance if an S-Rank Gate were to appear within your territory," Jonas' interpreter said; those words splashed cold water on the leaving Hunter's heads.
Notably, the one who spoke was Brazil's Jonas. He may be young, but he has pride and doesn't plan to back out. The ones who were planning to leave were the young and dumb.
Veteran Hunters knew the consequence of backing out of such contracts, a contract signed under American soil at that. Your credit and country's image drops since they, as S-Ranks, represent the nation and their guild.
A country without help from other countries has the chance of being wiped out, and yes, this has already happened. Gates have run amok in provincial cities within the Philippines from the map because of gates.
So far, there are only a few countries that have got destroyed. They are War-torn countries and North Korea. Eventually, those countries became open-hunting grounds, as what Hunters like to call it.
Anyway, the meeting ended by deciding to lure the dragons onto one of the connecting sides of the bridge. Military vehicles are stationed within the city as the last line of defense.
'I would sat God bless us all, but he's dead. Ruler's bless us all then? Oh right, they sent the gates here... Oh, well'
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(CHEERS!)
AN: Next chapter is the fight!
