The Legendary Junkmaster

"Alright, maggots! Listen up!" Captain Hyde roared as he stared at his platoon of cadets standing to attention in front of him. "It seems that some of you have become aware of a special guest joining us today."

Captain Hyde made a deliberate point of staring directly at Adam, who he suspected to have been the one who spread the information. However, Adam gave nothing away as he kept his expression poker straight as if what the Captain had said did not interest him at all. Captain Hyde snorted when he saw that he failed to elicit a reaction from Adam and turned to scan the crowd once again.

"This individual has already succeeded in becoming a Seed set to replace one of the five pillars." Captain Hyde paused for dramatic effect to let that piece of information sink in. "So, does that not mean that you are more likely to be noticed if you perform well in comparison to this individual? Hell, you might even be able to snatch their place from them."

Captain Hyde could see the competitive looks in the cadets' eyes as they fantasised about becoming a Seed and receiving personal guidance and training from an established Pillar. Who among them would not be tempted by such a thing?

"As we discussed on the first day, two of the current Pillars will be retiring in a few more years. So the top two of this cadet class will most likely become their Seeds. However, you now have the opportunity to steal this position for yourselves at any point throughout your training without having to rely on your end of training results."

Captain Hyde decided to ignore those who broke protocol and began to eagerly nod their heads to his words. 'Brainless, the lot of them.' Captain Hyde snorted as he scanned the platoon one more time. 'Since they're already a Seed, they can't be anything simple. Never mind the fact that they managed to grab Sentinel's attention who's notorious for never training anyone.'

"All right, with that said, I hope you all came prepared for a beating today! To properly welcome our guest, I've rearranged our schedule to hold group close quarter combat training today! Move out!" 

A few groans followed that announcement before the platoon turned on the spot and marched alongside their Captain. Their destination was a modified area of the city ruins on one side of the bridge that Bridgend was built on. 

Adam and Dani were side by side as they marched at the front of the platoon. The two shared an excited glance with each other as they turned the corner into the training area. Standing in front of them with his back facing the incoming platoon was a giant of a man with slicked-back grey hair.

Naturally, the cadets were confused by this man's presence here. He looked a little too old to be considered as a Seed to them. The Captain suddenly accelerated his own march to overtake his platoon. 

"Platoon! Halt!" Captain Hyde roared as he came to a stop just a few steps behind the solitary figure. 

"Platoon! Salute!" Captain Hyde roared at the top of his lungs as he saluted the man. 

By this point, the cadets behind them were utterly confused. Was the man some sort of bigshot officer?

"Lord Commander Sentinel! It's a pleasure to see you, sir! I had no idea that you would be joining us this fine morning!" Captain Hyde respectfully greeted Sentinel in front of his platoon.

However, the cadets went slack-jawed when they heard their Captain basically introduce the mysterious figure. Quite a few of them even had to gulp as their mouth became dry while others became excited.

Every one amongst them had attended the seminars. They knew the military's structure inside and out by now. So, every one of them knew that the title of Lord Commander belonged to the number one Pillar! His authority was second only to the Lord's!

Adam grinned when he realised that the information that he had gained was entirely correct. He had only shared with Dani the part of the rumour that said it was the Lord Commander's apprentice who was joining them.

He had done this so that they could come up with a plan to either befriend or topple the Seed from his position. The only problem was that there was no information on Sentinel's or his Seed's Power available to them. So they could only run through mental simulations of what they should do if they had to face the Seed in combat.

Adam and Dani shared a sly grin with each other at this turn of events. Since it would be a group battle, they would undoubtedly team up with each other, which was one of the most hoped for situations. Sentinel's presence, though, was the icing on the cake!

If they could impress the Lord Commander, then receiving those Seed slots should not be a problem at all! However, there was one issue. Where the hell was the Seed?

At that point, Sentinel turned to look at Captain Hyde, and the cadets got their first glimpse of his cybernetic eye as he scanned them. They felt as though they were completely naked in front of that gaze!

"Good morning, Captain," Sentinel replied with a rather gruff voice as though he were unimpressed. "I just thought I'd accompany my apprentice today to see how he performs."

"I'm sure he'll meet your expectations, sir. If I may ask, where is he? As you know, we have a busy schedule, sir. So I'd like to begin today's training as soon as possible." Captain Hyde was a bit nervous as he questioned Sentinel. However, he felt as though it were his duty to do so.

"He's arriving now." Sentinel let out a soft smirk as he caught sight of the Infinity running down the road from behind the cadets.

Captain Hyde inevitably gasped when he saw the Infinity's silhouette. His reaction made the cadets feel panicked and curious at the same time. However, nobody dared to break formation or turn to take a look behind them.