NOVEL WEB Chapter 166: 145, she is a fool.
Lin Da's gaze swept over the crowd.
Standing at the very front, closest to him, were the leaders of three Steel Level Adventure Groups.
Leading them was Abner, the chief of the White Dove Adventure Group, known as "Mind's Eye."
This was a swordsman with blue, long hair tied into a ponytail, who always kept their eyes closed.
Abner's Sword Intent was like a huge Sword Mountain, with wild Battle Qi raging atop it, like a fierce wind, seemingly tearing into shreds anyone who even slightly approached.
This was not something that Abner did on purpose, but rather a 'momentum' built from years of training.
Without using any force, a strong individual could just with a glance cause an ordinary adventurer to be scared out of their wits.
This was 'momentum.'
The high-level Battle Qi and Magic Power, infused in every drop of blood of the adventurer, brought pressure with every gesture.
There were several other Star-ranked adventurers present, but they paled in comparison to Abner.
Lin Da could only roughly guess Abner's level: at least 37.
He silently thought that to deal with the creatures deep in the Breeze River Beach, one must rely on top-tier adventurers like Abner.
Looking towards the back, Lin Da saw many familiar faces.
Isa of Ice Flower, Valiant Robert, Sword Light Adventure Team…
A girl with short red hair was also among the crowd.
The girl wore a white eyepatch and carried a greatsword taller than herself on her back at a slant.
When Lin Da swept his gaze over to count the numbers, the girl seemed to take it personally and snorted coldly.
By her side, Isa whispered, "I know you two have your differences, but now is the time to put them aside. Let's all work together."
"Mhm," the girl responded.
The girl was Lia.
Lia felt that Lin Da on the stage was insufferably arrogant, even daring to command so many people more powerful than he was without showing the proper respect of a lower-level adventurer.
Plainly put, his emotional intelligence was too low!
Had someone else been speaking, Lia might have listened seriously, but the person above was all too familiar to her, a former teammate.
And she, as the captain, had to listen from below,
The awkwardness made Lia tap her foot nonstop, feeling annoyed and unable to listen attentively.
However, this strategy meeting wasn't held for her. As Lin Da's view swept by and saw her fiery red hair, his main thought was 'Rock Level Team count +1'.
On the stage, Lin Da held a long rod, tapping the light screen with a serious face:
"Immediately issue a notice from the Guild: adventurers above level 10 are to assemble outside the city, to be allocated and commanded by the officers of the Imperial Knights. Those below level 10, stand by within the city."
"Additionally, send messengers to seek aid from South Rock City and Red Heart City."
"And the most crucial point—distribute recording rings to ensure that every adventurer who kills a Murderous Crab gets the corresponding reward after the battle, preventing anyone from taking advantage during the chaos by collecting corpses of Magical Creatures."
Without the recording rings, there would definitely be a lot of adventurers with dishonorable intentions.
"Dispatch all sensor ladybugs to oversee the battlefield from above, monitoring the Monster Tide's movement!"
Each directive was issued in an organized and unflustered manner.
Lin Da, facing the crisis, didn't show a trace of panic in the face of the Monster Tide, giving the impression of a veteran who had experienced countless Monster Tides.
Mayor Adel stood by Lin Da's side, feeling incredibly ashamed upon hearing this, as he felt completely superfluous.
White Dove City had been at peace for many years, and the city hall had long lost the mindset of preparing for danger in times of safety.
The Adventurer's Guild's Investigation Department, even more so, existed in name only.
Adel secretly decided that after surviving this crisis, he would definitely reorganize with great effort, and all the officials would have to reflect on their lazy and perfunctory behavior!
Many captains of the Rock-level Squads were nodding to themselves as well, seeing the merit in each of Lin Da's commands, which were extremely useful and well-thought-out.
Although the Phoenix Tail Flower was an Apprentice Squad, and its captain was only Level 16, the power it demonstrated during this crisis was no less than that of a Steel Level Adventure Group.
When Isa looked up at Lin Da on the stage, a faint look of admiration appeared on her face. She had realized long before, when Lin Da was just an ordinary Healer, that he would never be a common adventurer.
The only regret was that it was the lucky Lia who had picked Lin Da up and recruited him into her team.
At this moment, however, Lia's feelings were the complete opposite of Isa's.
The more others praised Lin Da, the more uncomfortable Lia felt.
'Commanding, I can do that too.'
She thought resentfully, utterly failing to see the uniqueness of these commands and believed that it would be better to gather the Rock-level Squads and charge directly at the Breeze River Beach.
"—Excuse me for being blunt."
"I believe Mr. Abner would be more suitable as the overall commander."
A gloomy man with green curly hair, tall and thin with a hooked nose, raised his gaunt right hand.
The Specter Adventure Group's Hulus?
This sudden statement by the gloomy man brought a silence to the war room.
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Some were surprised, while others understood something and showed thoughtfulness on their faces.
Abner, named by Hulus, opened his eyes slightly.
"I am not good at command."
Abner's voice was calm as water, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
Jite became angry, bristling with killing intent as he said, "Hulus, are you asking for trouble?"
"No, I just think, given that Abner is also a Glorious Adventurer and is highly prestigious, why should we let a kid who has just started out, and hasn't even hit Level 20, command everyone?"
Hulus sneered, his green curls like venomous snakes exuding a sinister vibe as he spread his skeletal hands and said:
"Anyway, I am not convinced. Perhaps there are some who feel the same as I do?"
The crowd was silent.
Some people's eyes flickered as they whispered among themselves.
Hulus, cloaked in black with a steel skeleton badge on his chest, emitted a bizarre magic aura that made people uneasy, even causing a slight dizziness when one directly looked at him.
With his remarks, the hall was enveloped by an indescribable atmosphere.
Lia mumbled in confusion, "What's going on, isn't Hulus supporting Abner, so why does Abner look unhappy?"
"...Miss Lia, did you ever attend school?" Isa's face twitched, and she suddenly understood why Lin Da had left the Snow Goose.
The captain of a team might not be the smartest person, but at the very least, shouldn't be a fool!
"A bit," Lia frowned. "But adventurers don't need to go to school, being able to fight is enough."
Isa sighed inwardly, looking at the eyepatch-wearing short-haired girl with some sympathy.
Taking pity on her for being so foolish, Isa explained:
"That Hulus is the leader of the 'Specter Adventure Group,' a powerful Star-ranked adventurer. Hulus and his teammates specialize in Dark Magic Power and Battle Qi, you know that, right?"
"I know."
"The Specter Adventure Group was forced out of the core resource area in the fifteenth layer of the Great Mystery Continent by Abner, you know that too, right?"
"I know, yeah."