Chapter 38: Early Warning.

Even the girl’s ages and size were similar. It was as if Tessa had picked the same kind of small, pitiful, and easily subdued creature to use against them.

Alexander frowned in confusion, partly because he didn’t recognize the girl before him. He also didn’t know what Tessa was doing.

Fortunately, Tessa cleared up his confusion very quickly.

She said, "These three will be your personal servants. They will follow you everywhere you go."

"You are to protect them, not eat them," she said, glaring at Alexander and the other two.

"If they die, it will be an indication that you’re losing control. You will be immediately captured and quarantined for observation."

"And god forbid we actually catch you killing and eating them. If you’re caught, you will be in a lot of trouble."

Alexander immediately raised his hand; he had an objective he wanted to voice.

"What is it?" Tessa asked with a frown.

"Can we not be burdened by a liability?" Alexander asked.

"The short answer is a resounding no," she said, shaking her head.

"The long answer is that I didn’t want any servant around you for fear that they would make you lose control. But Lord Bane was of the opinion that I shouldn’t assume the worst of you."

"Lord Bane said that he didn’t want discrimination against you just because of what you’re capable of and that you should be allowed to enjoy as many perks as other Apostles as possible."

"Plus, the girls will serve as an early warning system. If they die, we will know that you’re about to lose control or have already lost control."

"So yes, you have to be burdened by this liability and more," she said, her tone brooking no disagreement.

Then she pointed at the other servants and said, "Aside from these girls, you get to pick two more. They will run errands for you in the headquarters here."

Afterward, she didn’t wait for their opinion or choice. She directly picked more servants from the lineup and assigned them to the three newest Small Bosses. Then she left the service center with them in tow, not bothering to ask for their opinion about her choice of servants.

Their next destination was the training center. The training center was a large open field with lots of training equipment and fighting arenas set up.

This time, an Apostle was waiting for them there, not a Drone. When they arrived, they saw many Squires training with different weapons, from spears to bows. Some of them were also sparring.

Apostles served as trainers and gave pointers here and there. One of the Apostles stepped forward to receive them.

Tessa pointed at the red-skinned Small Boss as she said, "This is Lancelot. He is in charge of weapons training."

"You will report to him first thing at 7 a.m. every day for the next four weeks. After four weeks, the new flesh titans will be ready. At that time, you will compete to determine the quality and quantity of Squires you will have as Apostles."

"The top three in the competition will get rewards such as armor or high-quality food. So prepare well."

As previous miners, I doubt you stand a chance against the new flesh titans. But who knows," she said, suppressing a laugh.

"Anyway, that’s the end of your orientation. You’re now true members of the Meat Brute Order. You are to report to your superior every day unless you have been given explicit permission not to."

She patted her chest and waved her fist as she said, "I am your commanding officer. If you don’t report to me every day, I will wish you were dead when I catch you."

"In the meantime, you’re allowed to leave the headquarters and walk around. Enjoy your rest now because after the competition that will be held in four weeks, you will start taking missions whether you like it or not."

With that, she turned around and left, leaving three bewildered Small Bosses, one unbewildered Lancelot, and nine Drones who had accepted their fate.

Lancelot was a red Apostle. That is, he was an Iron Titan.

He smiled at them and said, "You must have gone through a lot today, so you should go and get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow morning."

After speaking, Lancelot turned away and returned to teaching a Squire how to use a spear.

"So we can do anything?" Robert asked in disbelief.

"That’s what Big Boss Tessa, the love of my life, said," Barnabas replied with a somewhat infatuated expression.

He even turned around to watch Tessa leave. He smiled as he watched her, like he was looking at the greatest thing in the world.

Just then, someone beside him swung their fist. The fist connected with Barnabas, sending him flying.

The punch had shattered his jaw, causing his mouth to bleed profusely. But squirming tentacles quickly stopped the bleeding.

When Barnabas finally got a good look at the person who sucker-punched him, he saw Alex smiling at him. Alex was also shaking his dislocated fingers and setting them back into position.

Barnabas fell on his buttocks with a furious expression on his face. The look of infatuation he had earlier had been replaced by one of anger and disbelief.

"You dare to hit me?" he asked, angry and shocked at the same time.

He pointed his trembling fingers at Alexander as he said, "You pipsqueak of all people actually dare to hit me?"

Alexander’s smile fell when he heard those words. His eyes stopped teasing Barnabas and took on a murderous hue.

He was clearly angry. But instead of attacking Barnabas, he looked around.

He saw everyone on the training field stop what they were doing and look at him. Lancelot and the other two Small Bosses were also looking and chatting.

One of the Small Bosses even smiled and pointed at them. The whole atmosphere felt like everyone was watching a show.

After watching and waiting, he said, "No one has come to stop me."

Then he smiled again and said, "No one cried foul either. So I suppose that there should be no problem beating you."