Chapter 170 - Lack of Ability

"You are lacking."

Oliver's voice felt cold and was soft enough to make it not seem like a threat. But, at the same time, his eyes were serious as he stared intensely at the general.

It was as if Oliver had been speaking the truth. As if it were the fact that the army could not fight off all the incoming threats.

"If what you say is true," the general swiveled his chair slightly to avoid Oliver's gaze, "What do you suppose we do about it?"

"A complete overhaul," Oliver answered.

His expression was still the same; Oliver knew what these people needed. However, it would only work if this man before him listened to what he had to say. To which, the general looked at Oliver with a confused yet intrigued expression.

"Those people have zero experience with what's out there," Oliver explained, "There are threats that you people haven't even seen before. Creatures go beyond common sense. They could easily shrug off bullets like they're nothing."

Oliver didn't dare sugarcoat any information as to what possible enemies humanity faced. But, nothing stopped Oliver from doing the exact opposite and exaggerate.

Despite Oliver's rather obvious scares, however, the general remained nonchalant.

"Offer me a solution, not some fairy tale bullshit."

Direct and to the point, the general needed something out of this conversation. The number of scares that Oliver spoke of wasn't going to provide anything useful. With that said, however, Oliver now knew that the general was willing to listen to what he had to offer.

"Your men don't stand a chance against anything magical unless you give them the ability to."

The roundabout mention of something magical piqued the general's interest. He wanted Oliver to elaborate, but Oliver thought otherwise.

That's because Oliver was referring to something rather obvious.

"Let's talk some other time," Oliver said as he turned to leave. It was unexpected, sure. But Oliver felt if the general didn't know what he was referring to, this would only be a waste of time.

"Wait," the general called out as he contemplated. "I hear what you're saying. But, as it stands, my hands are tied. The people from the northern blockade are hoarding all the resources that come our way. Orders are to give them anything we find out in the field. They say it's for the war effort."

Oliver stopped dead in his tracks as he heard the general's explanation. Whether he was lying or not has yet to be determined, but, on the off chance what he said was true, Oliver didn't like it.

"Tell me more," Oliver spoke coldly.

What followed was an insurmountable amount of information that had stumped Oliver. No matter what excuses the noble families could come up with, Oliver knew they were pushing it too damned far.

By the end of it, Oliver expressed his disdain towards this plan. In which case, Oliver and Jack soon left after all of it was over.

"Did you have to be so harsh on him?" Jack asked as they left the room. It was clear that Oliver's words were a bit over-the-top, even by his standards.

"Yes, I did."

The expression that Oliver carried seemed to have dropped significantly. The 'discussion' that they had just had wasn't anything that would make them happy.

"Did you even hear what that guy said?" Oliver continued, "They're hoarding all of the drops up north. Even though that guy didn't know what that means, I was hoping you did."

"Aren't they just trying to protect the city?" Jack answered, "Maybe there's something up there that we don't know. Something like a big threat that would overrun the city."

"Even then, they shouldn't be hoarding everything. Any threat could run past the other blockades if they aren't well protected enough. Resource allocation is one thing. But the fact that none of the higher-ups wanted the other soldiers to grow is beyond reason."

Based on what the general told them, there were orders that banned any attempt to leave through the blockade. It was even more strange the soldiers were also banned from doing so.

As they continued to talk about what had happened, the two started walking around the camp.

"You honestly think something's going down that these people don't know about?" Jack asked Oliver as they surveyed the area.

"Yeah."

"It's pretty funny, though."

"What is?"

"It's funny how you're suddenly so invested in trying to get to the bottom of this. Kinda thought you'd ignore all of this and just focus on finding your family."

Jack was right. Even though Oliver hadn't realized it, he certainly was getting riled up over a city he cared so little about. As soon as Jack had pointed it out though, Oliver made sure not to lose sight of his goals ever again.

"Even if I'm focused on getting what I want, you honestly think I can just leave these people to die?" Oliver said as he looked around.

"Honestly?" Jack scoffed, "I'm sure you won't bat an eye when these people die."

It's been almost a year since they met, and Jack was confident that he knew Oliver. Which, coincidentally, gave him every reason to believe that Oliver was a stone-cold killer.

However, instead of refuting what Jack had concluded, Oliver simply let out a sly smile in response. He then proceeded to walk forward casually.

"It's still bullshit, though," Oliver murmured underneath his breath. It wasn't loud, but it was quiet enough for Jack to hear.

"What? The fact that these people have barely any idea what's going on? Or is it because the nobles are planning something at the expense of other people's lives."

"Both," Oliver clicked his tongue as his eyes narrowed in disappointment, "They're using people's lives as sacrifices to get what they want. Even though we have no idea what that might be, it's still insane these people would fight a war without knowing the cause."

In other words, Oliver felt the need to point out that these people were scum.

That was his bottom line. He didn't care about what intentions people would have. So long as it risked people's lives without them knowing, Oliver wouldn't tolerate it.

It was the same as using ignorant people to their advantage.

"Despite knowing all of this, what can we do about it? The soldiers are heavily known for their loyalty. It's mostly because of money, but still. These people wouldn't dare desert the army as I did."

"And you're insane for doing that," Oliver answered Jack in the most mocking way possible. "Why the hell did you leave in the first place, anyway?"

"I just felt like something was off," Jack answered as he inspected a nearby crate. Then, he turned back to Oliver and continued, "I mean, the higher-ups were being all shady back then. And, at the time, I knew I had to at least do something other than sitting at a barricade."

"Huh," Oliver let out a sound as he nodded.

"Anyway, we should probably find a place to sleep for tonight," Jack suggested.

It was nearing dusk and most of the soldiers were off-duty at this point. And, since they weren't really considered honorable guests here, Oliver and Jack had to find a place to stay for the night.

"Before that, though," Oliver didn't finish his sentence as he pointed at a nearby group of resting soldiers. They were none other than the ones that they had encountered earlier. And, among them, were a bunch of other soldiers that had gathered for their rations.

However, before Jack could ask what Oliver was planning, Oliver had already started to make his way towards the group.

"Hey," Oliver said as he approached the group. He put on a nice, friendly smile to make his appearance more welcoming.

"What the hell do you want?"

As Oliver approached, somebody came up from the side as well. The man that had called out was none other than the soldier that Oliver had humiliated before. It was the lieutenant.

"Nothing," Oliver said as his tone slightly became cold.

"If that's the case, then leave. You're spoiling my meal."

"Not a problem," Oliver complied, "I just came here to ask if anybody was willing to spar with me. But hey, turns out the soldiers of Ark City are nothing but pussies."

In hindsight, Oliver knew he could've been a lot more creative with his insults. But that didn't really matter so long as it did what Oliver had intended.

The crowd surrounding Oliver turned silent. They all stared at Oliver with angry faces as the childish insult scratched the soldiers' pride.

As the atmosphere turned slightly tense, Jack managed to catch up to Oliver. Unfortunately for him, though, the deed had already been done. The soldiers surrounded Oliver as they waited for an apology. All the while, Jack stayed behind the crowd and overlooked the situation.

The situation has turned for the worse, but Oliver was as calm as the ocean breeze.

"Man, I guess you guys are all talk, huh?" Oliver provoked further. "Why are you guys here again? Protect us from threats? How can you do something like that when you're all here sitting on your lazy asses."

Jack flinched as Oliver proceeded to speak badly of the Ark City soldiers. He wasn't there with Oliver in the middle, but he could feel the tension from where he was standing.

Insult after insult, the soldiers stared daggers at Oliver. It was clear that Oliver won't stop talking unless somebody actually stopped him. And, it didn't take very long for someone to do just that.

The lieutenant marched over to Oliver and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Which, looking at it from the outside, was a funny thing to watch because the lieutenant was much shorter than Oliver.

"You wanna go?" the lieutenant asked, angrily.

Oliver, in retaliation, raised a brow. "I suggest you find a much safer spot unless you want your base in shambles," Oliver said.

"Let's go."

Guiding Oliver to barren-looking grounds, the other soldiers surrounded the lieutenant and Oliver. They didn't dare miss out on their superior officer taking on a nobody whose bark is worse than his bite.

"Now," Oliver announced loud enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear, "In order to make this fight fair, give him a proper weapon. You know. A knife. Brass knuckles, perhaps? A gun, even."

Jack, who was watching from afar, shook his head as he knew Oliver was taking this too far.

As the standoff continued, members of the crowd started throwing random things at Oliver. From rocks to random items they could take hold of, the soldiers didn't like Oliver one bit.

However, none of the items these people have thrown ever hit Oliver. That was because he was able to avoid everything by shifting his body weight slightly to the side.

With Oliver calmly doing so, the lieutenant swallowed a mouthful of dry saliva. He hadn't thought things through as he was about to face off with an evolver much stronger than himself.

That being said, though, the lieutenant gave in to Oliver's suggestion as he ordered a nearby soldier to hand him a military-grade knife. Being a superior officer, the soldier followed his orders without fail and handed him the weapon.

Intimidatingly, the lieutenant brandished his knife towards Oliver, ready to strike him down. Despite the intimidating stance though, Oliver didn't seem to care as he stood perfectly still.

With that, the lieutenant struck first.

Dashing to where Oliver was standing, the lieutenant enacted how he was trained. With each wave of the knife, attempts at slashing Oliver were made.

Swing after swing, Oliver still stood at the same spot while simultaneously dodging every attack. It was an uncanny sight that nobody could believe.

As the lieutenant got tired after several more strikes, Oliver whispered in his ear with a menacing smile on his face.

"My turn."