Protagonist?Antagonist? I Reject Both

Chapter 156 156:Leon And Irina

In the dimly lit chamber, a man sat with an air of authority, surrounded by horde of small goblins

Shadows danced across his face as he perused the documents, his expression veiled in darkness.

"As expected…He isn't an ordinary guy."

"Lord, it wasn't our fault.They were assisted by other troops."The messenger goblins answered with beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

The news regarding the result of the battle passed swiftly and would reach him in a few moments due to the messenger goblin units but the result was something….

As he read through the reports and heard the goblins narration , a faint smirk played at the corners of his lips, betraying his amused amusement at the incompetence displayed by his troops

With each page turned, his amusement seemed to grow, evident in the subtle glint in his eyes and the slight quirk of his eyebrow.

Despite the gravity of the situation, he couldn't help but find humor in the unfolding events. His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest of his chair, a silent rhythm of amusement punctuating the silence of the chamber.

At times, he even chuckled softly to himself, a sound that echoed faintly in the darkness. It was a chilling contrast to the seriousness of the reports before him, a reminder of his unwavering confidence in his own abilities and the folly of those who dared to oppose him.

"What do you have to say about this?"He snapped his head to the left and extended his hand.

On his left shoulder sat a miniature bird.With a chuckle he caressed the bird that squeaked and jumped towards the goblin.

In an instant, the bird's form began to warp and twist, its body elongating and contorting into a monstrous shape. Feathers turned to scales, wings expanded into leathery membranes, and its beak stretched into a gaping maw filled with razor-sharp teeth.

The transformation was swift and terrifying, leaving the goblin momentarily stunned as he watched the creature before him.

"AAAH!"Letting out a fearful squeal, the goblins jumped back.

With a deafening screech, the monstrous bird lunged forward, its massive jaws snapping shut around a nearby goblin servant.

The goblins screams echoed through the chamber as the creature devoured him whole, leaving nothing but a pool of blood in its wake

[Your pet Haizel had consumed a Level 4 goblin and gained 400 experience.]

The bird then reverberated back to normal and jumped back to his shoulder.

He ignored the notification and pondered carefully.

With a final glance at the last report, Avelin leaned back in his chair, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.

Though the night raid may have failed, it only served to reaffirm that his target wasn't ordinary.

"Humans have always triumphed and survived so I didn't expect it to be easy."

Tapping the armrest, he pondered.

"Then let's just keep up the haressing tactic and wipe out the easier ones and lessen their numbers before the final battle.Meanwhile, I should prepare gold to buy more troops."

....

Mac observed the battlefield turned around only to see the corpse become hollow and dry as if someone had squeezed life out of this guy.

"I swear I didn't do this."

Mac lips twitched seeing Leon expression.Pointing at the corpse, he opened his lips with a skeptical look.

Leon denied any involvement, but Mac wasn't convinced.

"Are you sure about that?" Mac questioned skeptically, pointing at the corpse.

"No, it really wasn't me!" Leon insisted, but Mac remained suspicious

"Really!"Leon shouted, waving his head but it didn't look like Mac was buying that.

"You sure didn't use that weird ghostly power did you?"

Leon shook his head resolutely, making Mac sigh.

"AAHH!Whatever!"Mac just shrugged his shoulders and left.

Shaking his head to easen his heart,he waved his hand to command to collect strong souls.

At that time another notification popped up.

[You have managed to avert the fate of your troops getting annihilated and defeated Avelin force much to his surprise.You have gained 250 counter attack points.]

Leon's eyes almost popped out of his socket seeing the counter attack points.It was huge as if his presence had saved everyone.

Before he could ponder over it, a loud yell shook everything.

"WOWWWWW!LEON!"

Letting out a maddening shriek, a group of trio rushed forward.

"You are the MVP of the battle again," Sander shouted, hitting Leon's chest.

"You were phenomenal," Vikram shouted, and then the trio glanced around at the Looner corpse that was slowly getting dragged by others.

"You made sure to squeeze that bastard dry, huh?What did you do?Can you teach me"Sander whisphere with mischievous glint only to be kicked by Leon.

Vikram observed the bizarre scene before them and turned to Leon, his eyebrows raised in suspicion.

"You sure you didn't pull a trick on this poor fellow?"

Meanwhile, Sander couldn't resist adding fuel to the fire. "Hey, maybe Leon's got some secret life-draining powers he's been hiding from us!"

Vikram chuckled. "Yeah, next thing you know, he'll be draining our energy during training sessions!"

Leon shot them a mock glare. "You guys watch too many fantasy movies."

But Ian wasn't about to let the opportunity slip by. "So, Leon, when are you going to reveal your true identity as the Master of Soul Sucking?"

Leon rolled his eyes. "Believe what you want, but I'm telling the truth.I don't have such power."

The group erupted into laughter, and even Leon couldn't help but crack a smile. "Alright, alright, you got me. I've been secretly training in the art of life draining but I won't teach you."

As they continued bantering, the tension of the battle faded away, replaced by the harmony of friendship and laughter.

"Leon, you aren't a Grandmaster, are you?

There is no way a Grandmaster is so strong. Are you playing a pig-eating tiger, huh?"Ian asked with a grin.

To his question, Leon didn't answer and just kept on smiling.His level wasn't hidden by a profound technique.

It was just a low level cover up and anyone at Martial Lord or above can see through that.

The three of them muttered nonchalantly pouring repeated questions but all of them stopped getting no reaction from Leon who at some had just became a statue with a solemn darkened expression.

Meanwhile, Leon's heart stopped beating for a moment and his breathing halted as he managed to take a closer look at the figure approaching him with small steps.

As Leon rolled the corner of his eye, he froze at the sight of the figure whom he assumed to be his mother standing there with her eyes widening in fright.

After meeting Gwen, he made sure to remember the faces of his family members in case he met them somewhere, however , despite that he had never expected that.

At that moment, unbeknownst to him, a flood of conflicting emotions surged through him ,surprise, disbelief, and a twinge of guilt. Despite their strained relationship, seeing her brought back memories of home and a longing for reconciliation.

Yet, beneath it all, there was a knot of uncertainty, and he was unsure of how to navigate this unexpected encounter.

"LEON!LEON!"

"Hey, what the fuck happened to you?"With scream Sander shook Leon waking him up from his thoughts.