Chapter 55

Rick assisted Ajax greatly in the camp, ultimately buying time for everyone, and the battle was intense.

*TN: From now on I'll be referring to her by her original name of Erica, I realized this shit is going to start getting confusing if we keep calling her Rick, I'm becoming what I hated most, but I did so just because our MC had thought she was a guy due to her name, so it made sense to shorten her name from Erica to Rick in a manner that would be self-explanatory to our MC confusing her for a man due to her name.*

However, Ajax didn't expect Erica, the leader of the Four Tribes, to be so young.

"Yeah, well, I had made a promise to help Lazoole Society," Erica said as she extended her hand and shook Ajax's outstretched hand politely. Before Ajax could speak, Lily also got out of her mech, her face was covered with blood. As she was making her way down from her kneeling mech, she fainted and fell about a meter to the ground.

Ajax looked over at her, his face was one of a worried but proud father. She had been pushing herself to the limit since before their fight to escape the camp. The extended period of time she had spent piloting her mech combined with the intense fighting she had participated in had drained her both mentally and physically.

If she hadn't stubbornly persevered, she would have been forcefully disconnected from the mech over an hour ago.

"Is this....is this a child?" Erica frowned and bent over to pick Lily up. She was wondering how the Lazoole Society had an extra Rakshasa-Level mech, but she was even more surprised by who was piloting it. Ajax hurried over and felt for Lily's pulse and felt relieved when he found it relatively stable.

"She's got to be exhausted. She'll feel better after a night's sleep." Ajax took Lily from Erica's arms and placed her on the seat of the off-road vehicle next to him. Being able to fight in a Rakshasa-Level mech for such a long time was more than enough to demonstrate Lily's terrifying potential, enough to make Ajax feel a little envious.

"Ajax, what do we do now..." Monkey approached Ajax with a wry smile. This was the question that was plaguing everyone's minds. Bomen was dead, the camp was destroyed, the business district was lost, and only the uninhabitable mining area remained under their control.

Yesterday, they had over 1,500 operators, more than 2,000 logistics personnel, and about 40 mechs. Today they stand with fewer than 700 operators, 300 logistics personnel, and only a dozen mechs left. If the Hell's League attacked one more time, they wouldn't stand a chance and would probably be massacred without a place to hide.

The sight of the corpses reminded them of the horrors they bore witness to in the residential area. A female logistics worker sobbed as she held a child in her arms. Emotions can be contagious and soon enough, more people started to shed tears, including the male operators in the combat team.

Feeling the gaze of hundreds on him, Ajax began to tear off the bandages and gauze that had been adorning his body for many days and said, "You all heard what I said just now, Bomen is dead, he sacrificed himself for us. He entrusted the Lazoole Society to me which some who were connected to our comms channel were able to hear. He entrusted you to me. And if any of you want to grab your shit and quit, then you're free do to so now. I won't stop you."

"However, if you choose to stay, then that means you trust me. That means that you'll have to obey my commands in the future. I do not take kindly to betrayal and refusal to obey orders, so I will kill you no matter what your reasons are." Ajax spoke his words in an impassive tone, creating a wave of silence over the vast rest area of the mine fell completely silent.

And though his words were vicious, no one chose to leave. Some stayed out of admiration, others out of fear that Ajax would turn around and shoot them if they left, and others because they had no place to go. They had no other shelter except here, and now the entire border seemed to be under the control of the Hell's League.

Ajax had already torn off all the bandages and gauze on his body. He glanced at everyone's expressions and began to tear off the gauze that was on his face again, "Bomen said that in the beginning, when he first established the Lazoole Society, he would never give up on anyone as long as no one gave up on him... Bomen, I will elevate what you have entrusted to me, it will be unrecognizable to what you had made, and our strength will be multiplied now that I have taken over. But I will add one more thing: I, Ajax, unlike you, will avenge any wrongs, blood debts must be paid with blood, and I will not hesitate to kill those who need to be killed!"

After shouting the last word, Ajax removed the last piece of bandage on his face. It revealed a relatively handsome white man with a scar coming down his forehead to his nose, another on his left cheek, and another on his right cheek. These were all the result of the beating he had received from Charles and the men who tried to kill him.

"Sir, you just have to give the word, tell us what we should do!" Monkey spoke up.

Ajax touched the scars on his face and slowly sat down on the ground, "I know you're still grieving... we all lost someone. I lost my men... I lost my friends... I lost the only man in my life who I had come to consider family," Ajax said as he clenched his right hand. "For those who died... they have...they have left us behind with an important and imminent task. Don't cry for them, for their deaths, their sacrifice, and the destruction of the Hell's League will become the foundation of what we will become."

"Our name will strike fear into the hearts of our enemies. We will be known across the entire planet, No! Across the galaxy. We will be merciless to those who cross us, to those that deserve death and anyone associated with them!"

The more he spoke, the more the scowl on his face grew, the anger he had trapped within was slowly seeping out. He remembered Bomen's words, hoping that one day there would only be the Lazoole Society on the border. That one day, the need to fight every day for will come to an end.

The last time he and Bomen had spoken to each other face to face, he had seen something in his eyes. Regret. Ajax would make sure to complete Bomen's unfinished business.

"Ajax, we're with you..."

"A new leader..."

"A new mission..."

"A new beginning..."

More and more operators agreed. There was no doubt about Ajax's strength; he was more than capable of becoming their leader, and although he was young and seemed immature, Ajax's way of doing things was far from it. Combined with the scars that adorned his face he was, in some ways, even more ruthless than Bomen.

From his words and threats, following such a person was very dangerous, but as long as they followed him, that danger was only posed to others. Of course, there were still some operators who were hesitant, but the majority ruled, and they dared not speak out as the support for their new leader grew around him.

"Alright!" Ajax thought for a moment before speaking, he needed to know Hell's League's mobilization information. "I need sixty operators, in groups of three, to go out in off-road vehicles, covertly monitor all the arterial roads, and report any movement of Hell's League to me through their Vox." 

"In addition, all logistics personnel should withdraw into the mine, and the rest of the fighters, aside from patrols and sentries, should also go in." He had a premonition that the Hell's League would send over jets to scout their actions, and the mine was a good hiding place, providing cover from bombs and making it seem as if their forces were smaller than they really were.

"Don't worry about anything else, just give me some time, I'll make sure to fulfill my promise. Alright then, everyone, get moving." Ajax waved his hand, his voice eerily calm, as if discussing inconsequential matters.

Under Ajax's encouragement and orders, the operators momentarily set aside their grief and quickly dispersed and got busy. Some went out to investigate, some carried away the corpses on the ground, and some moved the vehicles around to hidden areas, soon leaving the surrounding area empty.

"So tell me, how did you end up becoming the leader of the Four Tribes?" Ajax's gaze fell on Erica.

"Just like how you took over the Lazoole Society." Erica said as she threw a mint into her mouth, crossing her arms as she leaned against an off-road vehicle. "During the last large-scale siege of the Hell's League, the previous leader suddenly gave me a promotion before dying. But obviously, I don't have the ability to manage them as well as you."

"Who is he to you?" Ajax became interested as Erica's experience seemed similar to his.

"He was...my father..." Erica said with a heavy sigh.

Ajax was at a loss for words and felt like a dick for asking. "Sorry, didn't mean to poke at a healing wound."

"It's alright."

"Bomen is dead now, the agreement you two had come to no longer holds any value. What are your plans now?" Ajax asked.

"What do you plan to do? Do you plan to kick me and the remainder of my forces out?" Erica replied, knowing Ajax had something to say.

"No, honestly speaking, I hope you'll stay," Ajax said, not wasting words.

Erica was amongst the best in the entire border, plus, she seemed like a good person.

"I'll stay, but on one condition," Erica stated.

"Please, speak your mind."

"I will be the one to kill Bach with my one fucking hands," Erica declared, her eyes brimming with hatred.

"Yeah, you can kill him, you have my blessing to do so," Ajax chuckled. "I'll make sure to skin Alex alive if I get the chance," Ajax's response sent shivers down Erica's back. Although she too held hatred for the enemy, she wasn't planning to be as brutal as Ajax.