"Dean, but that is against the rules." Even though he was shocked by the situation, Charles regained his composure and questioned calmly.
Cumulative merits were the sum of all merit points a cadet gained in the three years.
There were Nine officer ranks.
The higher the cumulative merits, the better your direct enlistment.
For geniuses like Charles, they'd directly skip the bottom ranks and start from the middle.
Even then, their rate of promotion would be high.
In the dark, they had the connections, talent and strength.
On the bright side, they had the cumulative merits—the justification that they deserved to be treated better than other new officers.
Cancelling cumulative merit points was just absurd and unheard of.
So not just Charles, everyone in the room was baffled by Evander's remarks.
Evander raised an eyebrow and glanced at the faction heads.
Even though his blue eyes didn't show a hint of emotion, his mere glance weighed on them like a mountain.
Even William, the second strongest, could barely catch his breath under the suffocating gaze.
Finally, Evander turned his gaze back to the rather pale Charles.
Despite his state, Charles was able to look at Evander in the eye.
'A bright seed. A pity he's too arrogant. I don't need to tolerate him any longer.' Evander thought and decided.
He said as if stating a matter of fact. "Charles Xander, it is I who set the rules. If it is against the rules, I will change them to suit it."
Pa!
Even though the hall was silent, Charles felt like he was slapped.
W-Was he being openly derided?
He…the heir of the Xander family, one of the, if not the greatest genius of humanity.
'How dare you?'
Charles clenched the armrest of his chair and controlled himself from yelling.
He was confident enough in his strength, but not conceited enough to pick a fight with one of the level 9s closest to Sovereign level.
'Evander Albert, I will remember today's humiliation.' Charles gazed at Evander with a neutral gaze and burnt this scene into his memory.
Right then, he noticed the two figures behind Evander.
Sarah and…him?
Sporting short black hair and a lean but muscular physique, he walked in with a calm disposition.
Despite having the lowest aura in the room, he seemed to be the most relaxed. Even Sarah was nervous looking at her father.
But he…he merely maintained a nonchalant smile.
'Just what are you—' Charles crossed eyes with those black eyes, and was stunned.
He saw no inferiority. No fear. No anxiety.
Only deep confidence.
It was almost as if even if everything here went wrong, he'd be fine.
What irked Charles the most was that the gaze those eyes held at him. It was like he was an object.
Under Charles gaze, Sarah and the young man sat walked towards the Military faction's section.
The seating in the waiting room was divided into five sections.
Military faction. Xander faction. Adventurers faction. Trade Union Faction. Finally, the minor factions.
The greenwood chairs formed a semi circle around a rostrum.
Sarah and him sat in the most most prominent seats of the Military Faction.
'Sarah is the head of the faction. But he—what is he?' As Charles wondered, Evander walked ot the rostrum.
He looked at them with a deadpan expression and said. "I have an important news for you all."
"As you know already, Astor Clan was destroyed." Evander said it lightly, but even he knew he was shocked when it happened.
The Clan of a Level 9 Awakener was no joke. There didn't exist many for a planet.
Yet it was wiped out under a single week. Most of the damage was done in a single night.
What's more…
"Ganbald Clan and Martin Clan were also destroyed." After adding, he glanced at Charles.
Charles's expression didn't change in the slightest. He knew what Evander was hinting at.
The ones in the room were knowledgeable enough to catch it.
All the three clans were the vassals of Xanders!
On the bright side, Xanders were called the Guardian Family of Earth. On paper, they owned only so much.
But in the dark, they controlled the most powerful families of Earth. Their expertise stretches to medicine, minerals and officialdom.
So if Astor Clan was linked to Abyssals, then Xanders…
"There is no evidence pointing anything towards the Xander family. Don't disrespect a Sovereign's roots." Evander cut off their thoughts.
But he didn't say there was no evidence not pointing Xanders.
In other words, Xanders were a suspect.
'Hmph! Petty tricks. Do you think you can weaken my family with these words? My father can kill the dozens of you.' Charles scoffed.
Evander ignored Charles' increasingly cold gaze and took a deep breath. "There's something we didn't tell. In Astor Clan, we found the corpse of Ruslana, the Abyss Princess."
"Hiss!"
The meeting hall wet silent as even the most experienced cadets sucked in cold breath.
Even Charles's brows knitted together.
"The autopsy reports indicate she and her confidates were enjoying an extravagant feast before their death. The cuisine is all local to Earth" Evander's words hit their chests like a hammer, every cadet felt like they were knocked out of breath.
They could understand a normal human, a talentless human betraying their race for a better life.
But a level 9…why would they give up being a king of humans and wants to be Abyssal's dog?
Charles gritted his teeth and despised those dogs. 'Pathetic.'
"S-Sir?" A cadet raised her hand in hopes of raising a question.
Evander nodded.
"I-Is every human in the Astor Clan a traitor?" It was the vice head of Nial faction, one of the prime families.
Their influence on Earth was limited. So they had to settle being a minor faction. But on matters spanning the solar scale, they were important.
The reason they asked this was probably out of caution.
Nial family controlled Uranus. Since there was only Neptune between them and Pluto, they were having a lot of pressure.
What's more…it's rumored that some high awakeners in Uranus were found visiting Pluto.
Now only Abyssals resided in Pluto. Why they visited it was obvious.
But despite suspicions and even after evidence, Nial family was in a pinch.
If the whole family is exterminated, then the combat power of the planet would be affected.
But if they were spared, there could always be potential spies.
Evander smiled at her question, but his eyes didn't. An unparalleled bloodlust burst into the air.
It was almost as if he turned into a demon who only killed.
Varian was shocked at this side of his master.
"Remember, once they crossed the line, they can no longer be called humans." He emphasized the final phrase heavily.
Seeing the cadets were turning pale, he suppressed his bloodlust.
"There is an old saying—Different Races cannot be trusted. Once a human betrays, anyone and every one in their contact falls into suspicion. It's better to end them all than having a spy live among us.
Now that might sound cruel. But you all know why Pluto War was a failure." Evander's voice dropped.
The cadets shivered as they felt like needles prickled their skin.
"Traitors like these. They are responsible for the deaths of your loved ones." Evander said with red eyes.
Some cadets bowed their heads and took a deep breath. Others shook their heads. Only a few remained calm.
1 Billion people died in that war. 2 out of every 100 humans. 2% of population.
Since they were all top cadets, all the more chance that they knew someone serving there.
Their eyes also turned red as they muttered with hatred. "Traitors."
On the other hand, Sarah's face paled as she gripped Varian's hand. Beats of sweat rolled down her forehead and she muttered in a weak voice.
"M-mom, Brother."
She looked so vulnerable at the moment that he couldn't think she was the goddess Sarah.
Varian held her hand together and patted her back. 'Sarah, I hope you can grow out of this.'
He glanced at Evander who returned to a calm state and thought. 'Now I know why everyone is called here.'
"Yes. Your mission is about the traitors. Astor Clan remnants are still alive. They plan to escape to Demon Abyss through a remote planetoid named Rena. You have to intercept them." Evander informed and was about to continue on when his comm flashed red.
He heard the young man beside him, apparently named Dhruv, mutter. "Shit! Level 9 Abyssals are attacking the planetoid."
As if to respond to those words, Evander's figure vanished leaving the words "Shion will take over."
There was an awkward silence and Varian expected the crowd to break into discussions.
But the next moment, he felt a mental link forming in his mind. He understood immediately.
A Mind Awakener, presumably a Psychic was about to talk to them.
But unlike every other time, this time, he had a feeling that he could resist the voice in his head.
Even thought he couldn't suppress it, he was at least no longer without a means to fight back.
"Connection testing. 1, 2, 3. Do you hear me?" the calm and soothing voice sounded right in his mind.
He couldn't finds its source, much to his irritation. But Varian tried sensing it diligently.
"I'm on another continent right now, so there will be a few seconds delay. But I'll connect everyone in." The male voice said.
Varian heard several murmurs and looked around.
No one in the room was talking. Yet, he could hear their whispers.
It seemed like they were all connecting mentally to hear each other's mental messages.
Of course, their thoughts won't be heard.
All in all, it was a bizarre experience. One Varian didn't like for some reason.
"I'll pick on from where the Dean left.
If Abyssals realize we sent high awakeners to Rena, they would realize we know their plan and retaliate.
So we want to make as little noise as possible so as not to escalate this skirmish into a small scaled war.
There is no high awakener among the targets in the Astor Clan. Fortunately or unfortunately, the Shadow Guardians hunted them down.
Finish off the Astor Clan remnants and return. This is your responsibility as the top cadets." He explained and everyone heard a click.
[Faction Special Mission: Hunt down the Astor Clan remnants]