Neuman suddenly remembered that some days ago the wolves and the rats attacked them together, which caused significant casualties.
They had been monitoring the situation. Then why did that happen? And it was not that a few of them attacked there were around hundreds of them. No one even alerted them.
Looking at the nobles, their faces adorned with smiles, no one was talking about the incident.
The commander entered the meeting hall shortly after. As he stepped inside, everyone stood up in respect. He acknowledged them with a nod before taking his seat at the center.
"We will now officially start the meeting," said the commander as he looked at the stacks of paper in front of him.
He picked up a paper and said, "First, we will discuss the soldiers who performed outstandingly in battle."
"Out of thousands of the soldiers, there were ten that now became magic users during the battle and some of them even died in the battle in the underground passage." He then discussed the soldiers' performance and said special treatment will be given to them when they return to the kingdom.
No one spoke in between, after that, he continued to talk about the different posts and works and any person with outstanding achievements, but there were only one or two who were mentioned.
After that his face suddenly became solemn and he looked at the nobles who introduced themselves when they entered. "Mr. Elmsworth, do you have anything to say regarding the attacks by the wolf packs five days ago?" When the people sitting there heard this, their attention turned to Elmsworth and the group.
A few moments ago, Elmsworth was smiling, but when he was mentioned, his smile stiffened, and he said a little embarrassedly, "I don't have anything to say regarding this. It was my fault, as the soldiers I put for the scouting and alerting us weren't able to do their job properly and I deeply regret it."
When others heard this, they squinted their eyes and looked at him. Captain Elara suddenly stood up in anger and said, "Is it that the scouts didn't do their job properly or were you having fun in your tent while you were supposed to constantly keep watch on the surroundings? Answer truthfully."
After Elara finished speaking, Elmsworth stood up and said in a rightful tone, "Mrs. Elara, you're wrong. What do you mean by 'having fun'? We were resting, as we had to constantly keep guard on the forest".
Elara's expression darkened. She smacked the table, her voice filled with contempt. "Do you think we are unaware that the soldiers from your household fled to save themselves instead of fighting, while others risked their lives for this cause?"
When Elmsworth heard this, he just smiled and shook his head.
"Mrs. Elara, you got it wrong, it was just a retreat as we had to make proper strategies to counter them."
The commander suddenly raised his voice and said, "Enough, you two. The kingdom will review the report and decide the outcome regarding this matter."
Both fell silent and took their seats, their tense expressions revealing that the dispute was far from over.
The commander then resumed his discussion regarding the battle, shifting towards the topic of the battle in the underground passage. He listed the participants of the battles and only mentioned Noble and their children—Neuman included. Upon hearing their names, others quickly recognized the names and briefly glanced at them.
There was a girl who was glancing towards Neuman, she was the girl who provided healing potion when Neuman sustained the head injury.
She was surprised to see that Neuman participated in the underground battle, which had a high death rate.
Approximately five hundred soldiers entered the underground passage for battle, but only half of them returned alive.
Those who fought against the rats in the underground passage earned more merits than those stationed in the forest. As those who were stationed in the forest, there was not much to do other than alerting when they spotted any beast.
None had any problem with that and with that the meeting came to an end. As everyone started to return back to their posts, the commander stopped Neuman and told him to wait outside for him while he took care of some matters with the captains.
After the commander came out of the hall, he put his hand on Neuman's shoulder and started to walk with him.
As they were walking back to the camp, the commander said with emotion, "After we return to Thalorwyn, you will have enough money to enter the academy."
"It is much better to study in the academy than to go around in meaningless battles. At least you will have a chance of becoming a magic caster after entering the academy."
"And here it's only living at the edge. Who knows when we will get attacked by the beasts?"
Neuman looked at the commander silently, he had many things in his mind but couldn't say them to him.
What is the use of entering the academy? I can simply learn magic spells and element manipulation with soul points.
But he couldn't say such things to him. He didn't even know where he would live in the kingdom. Does he have a family in the kingdom? If he does, then why does he have to go on such a mission? Is his family poor?
He didn't know if he could ask the commander about this. As a matter of fact, Neuman couldn't ask anything so he had to keep all the questions to himself, he will slowly uncover the answers himself.
But first he had to increase his level, he was only 5 levels away from unlocking one of the fragments. After that he would figure out what to do.
As for how he could level up, it was difficult because there was no such place as the underground tunnel where so many beasts resided. While he could find beasts in the forest, they were rather scattered, and he would have to spend a lot of time there hunting them.
Neuman still didn't have much of a view of the outside world. He doesn't know how strong he is now, can he survive outside alone? He knew that the people he was currently with may be quite ordinary. As for whether he could find a place like this, he has to wait.
"Maybe after you become a Magic Caster, your family will talk to you again," said the commander in a heavy tone.
Neuman nodded, keeping his head low, but when he heard this, he was surprised, it was even better if it was like this. If his family ignored him for not being a magic caster, he has no reason to think about this, and he can focus on leveling up.
After this conversation was finished, he went back to his tent and thought on this matter more. There were many things he didn't understand and would have a hard time understanding. He could enter the academy to gain much deeper knowledge of the world, which would benefit him; however, he needed to spend money for admission and would not be able to increase his level in the kingdom due to the lack of beasts in the vicinity.
He needed to find another way to deepen his knowledge, but first, he had to return to Thalorwyn. The group would rest in the city ruins for one more day before making their way back to the kingdom.