Warlord – Chapter 73
The monster retreated back when Aaron's troops intervened to the battle.
Zero was aware that not every plan has to succeed in a smooth manner. However it seemed to him that Aaron's troops had a capable deputy as the troops joined the battle at the critical time. First of all, it seems the man wasn't afraid that Aaron would be angry with because of taking the initiative to intervene. Secondly, the man took the opportunity to intervene before the battle escalated.
It was Karen the tracking expert of the team who ordered the team to intervene and help Aaron. He didn't belong to Parker family but his father was a loyal member of the Parker Conglomerate. In short his loyalty to Aaron was beyond doubt.
Karen was an exceptional tracking expert. His third-order hunter ability was useful in detecting the smell of danger.
Karen left the camp after Aaron separated from them. Karen found out that the monsters that were hidden in the ruins seemed to be attracted to something. At the same time, Karen found smell of blood floating in the air. There was something that was mixed to the smell of blood that not just tempted the monster but made them crazy.
The smell unconsciously excited the monsters. It was hidden within the odor of blood well too. It would be very hard to detect the specific smell unless a veteran hunter was involved. This specific smell was enough to stimulate the appetite of the mutated creatures of this era.
Actually, many different types of creatures were attracted and stimulated by the smell of different creatures. However, Karen had never seen a smell that could stimulate the appetite of all the creatures. At least Karen didn't have knowledge of such a drug if it has been created by some organization.
Karen was worried about Aaron. He had found traces of butcher, shadow killers and other fierce monsters. Moreover, there were signs of more powerful creatures in the depth of the ruins. It's just their rank were higher and they had higher wisdom in comparison to these monsters. In short, those monsters had self-restraint over their desires up to some point so they were staying in the dark as silent observers.
It was not surprising that high level creatures to have the wisdom on the same level as humans. Karen had heard from his father that in the northwest of the continent, which hadn't been conquered by humans, there were beasts that could transform even into human form. Moreover, their wisdom was no less than a human.
Karen was decisive as he led the team to the battlefield. Moreover he even brought Leah just in case. Zero's plan to bait the tiger form the mountain failed because of Karen's move.
…
Zero entered a machine processing plant and found a secluded place. There were lots of metal equipment piled in the factory which made Lala go crazy. Zero was looking at Lala who swallowed the metals. Lala's scent which was mixed into his blood was the reason why all the monsters were attracted to the location of the battle. He was aware that even human blood alone couldn't attract so many monsters together.
Zero wanted to attract low-level ordinary monsters and didn't want to be mixed up with creatures such as shadow killers. However after repeated test Zero learned that all of those creatures were attracted to Lala's scent. He understood that all of them wanted to eat Lala.
From the Ben's notes Zero learned that mutant creatures preyed on their own kind in some cases. Usually they would act so to either mutate, evolve or because of hunger where they had no choice but to hunt on their own. However, mutant creatures usually avoid preying upon other creatures because different gene fragments could collapse their own dna structures.
Zero knew that all these monsters wanted something from Lala. He had to re-examine the cub. In most cases, only because of one possibility monsters eat other monsters. That was to mutate and evolve!
Zero shook his head as he looked at the toothless Lala who chewed and swallowed the scrap iron. It was like this small monster had a bottomless belly. He thought that Lala was some kind of monster which could be used to evolve other monsters. He could get a good price if he sold it to other organizations or companies.
Lala suddenly shuddered as malicious thoughts passed in Zero's mind.
Aaron was full of anger.
Karen had appeared with the team on the right time. The machine guns were used to clear out the monsters that tried to kill Aaron. The rich smell of gunpowder made the other monsters that were nearby to back away. Aaron was successfully rescued back but he was angry because of embarrassment. Karen was also surprised at Aaron's source of anger. According to Karen Zero could be regarded as a good soldier but far from strong.
It was no wonder that Aaron was angry because a guy with second-order abilities at best made Aaron suffer such a big loss. However, Karen thought that Aaron didn't have to confront Zero. He knew that Aaron's task would be completed as long as he took the girl back to the Dark Council. There would be other Crimson Knights that would deal with Zero if he still insisted on rescuing the girl.
Karen proposed to leave early in the morning but Aaron growled back.
Aaron had a very simple reason to his thinking. If he let go of Zero then his and Parker family's face would be lost. Aaron would always think about the glory of his family as the successor and Karen had no way to change Aaron's mind.
However, Karen disagreed with Aaron about the amount of time they wasted on Zero. That's why Karen came up with an idea.
“Let's use the girl as a hostage and force the guy out. What do you think?” Aaron frowned at Karen's proposal. It was true that the method was direct and useful. Aaron knew that Zero would come out because of the importance of the girl to him.
Karen understood that the dignity, pride and the glory of their family were the things which made Aaron unable to choose the best and most direct solution. It was because of that why Karen pointed out that Aaron had to win in the shortest amount of time or the Parker family would lose their face for once and all. Aaron eventually adopted Karen's recommendation.