Chapter 181 - Li Ling Is Telepathically Communicating Again

The soldier seemed to chuckle as he heard this, "Captain... Even though we were ordered to follow your commands by Laura, I still consider you as my commander." 

Leyah pursed her lips as she heard this. 

"If I thought you weren't competent enough to be our commander, even Laura wouldn't have been able to make me follow you like this." 

"..." 

"I trust you," The soldier added as he continued to fight off the ribix that tried to attack Leyah. 

The other two soldiers also nodded as they spoke up, "We trust you with our lives. It is an honor to have you trust us with yours." 

Leyah sighed as she looked down at her leg once again. 

Damn it... 

She felt a little touched and at the same time, she also felt a little pathetic. She was supposed to be the one protecting them. She was supposed to be their commander. The selfless leader who protects them and this world. Someone strong and competent. 

She was supposed to lead them to victory. She was supposed to complete the sweet promises she made to them. She promised them that this world could be saved and she needed to prove that those weren't just empty words. She was supposed to be strong!

A leader is never supposed to fall in a battle. Even if their last few breaths were being spent on the battlefield, they were still supposed to fight. They were supposed to lead their army to victory not have their army protect them. 

A leader who hides behind his/her soldiers was nothing more than a coward who orders people to fight for a selfish cause. 

Leyah couldn't help but be a bit annoyed at herself as she realized that she was also being forced to become one of those cowards. 

She looked at the soldier and with a dire expression plastered on her face, she spoke up, "If you truly respect me as your captain, you must never refuse the next order I give." 

The soldier turned his face and side glanced at her as he replied, "If it's something stupid, I won't follow it." 

"..." Leyah took a sharp breath in as she repeated once again, "If you truly respect me as your commander, you'll follow it." 

The soldier seemed to be tongue-tied as he heard this. He continued to fight off all the ribix and it seemed as if he was planning on ignoring her. 

Leyah was about to say something more but she was immediately stopped by the soldier who finally found the time to respond to her, "Captain... I respect you." 

Leyah was silent for a minute as she heard this. 

"Zather..." She muttered his name. 

Zather, the one and only soldier who was considered to be close to Leyah. He was supposed to be the second in command. The only people that could order him around were either Laura or Leyah. 

He was also the same white-suited soldier who had found Captain Burn and Captain Liv escaping from the confinement center. 

Leyah trusted him and it seemed that he trusted her as well. 

He had never said anything touching to her. He was a man who was always serious. For him to truly say something emotional was like a rare occasion that one would only be able to experience once in their life if they were lucky enough. 

When Leyah heard his honest reply, she felt touched. She felt as if she was right in trusting this man. 

She almost felt a tear roll down her eyes as she thought about what her next command was going to be. She couldn't help but feel that she was a bit cruel to him. If she were in his shoes, she would also be heartbroken and disappointed to see her captain give such an order. 

"I, Leyah, the captain of the second rebellion would like to hand over my position to Zather." 

"..." Zather paused as he heard this. His muscles seemed to tense up as he forgot what was happening for a second when he heard this. 

"Zather, from now onwards, you are the leader... Not me," Leyah added as she looked at him. 

Zather scoffed as he asked, "Have you lost it?!" 

Leyah chuckled softly at this response, "No, I'm not crazy yet." 

"I'm not taking it!!" 

"If you respect me, you will." 

"..." 

Leyah smiled warmly as she raised her gun and held it up to her head, "If you don't agree willingly, I'll have to force you." 

Zather immediately looked at the soldier standing beside him and gestured for him to take over for some time as he made his way to Leyah. 

He tried to grab Leyah's hand but Leyah moved away as she put some pressure on the trigger, "I'm not kidding." 

Zather took off his helmet and threw it down on the floor as he glared at her, "Captain! Don't do this!" 

Leyah pursed her lips as she looked down, refusing to listen to him. 

"Zather, you'll make a great captain-" 

"Shut up!" Zather snapped as he grabbed the gun and pushed it up. 

The tears that were starting to form in Leyah's eyes finally poured down as she looked up at him with a pitiful expression.

"I can't hold you back!" She yelled at his face. 

Zather was silent as he simply stayed in that same position, glaring down at her. 

"The freedom we dreamt of! The war that we aimed to win! I can't stand here and hold you back from all that!" 

Zather scoffed as he rolled his eyes, "And you think killing yourself is a better idea?" 

Leyah immediately shook her head as she responded, "No... I don't want to do this. I want to fight for it too... But I don't want our resources to be wasted on protecting me when they can be used to win this war. I don't want to be a hindrance." 

"You're a coward!" Zather shouted and it stunned Leyah. 

The tears paused as she looked at him with disbelief apparent on her face, "Huh...?" 

"You're a coward who can't handle what she started!" 

Leyah gulped as she heard the man accusing her. 

Zather pushed her hand down rudely as he added, "Fine, then! If my leader is a coward like you, I would naturally not want to protect you." 

Leyah looked down as she tried to hide her disappointment in herself. 

"Go! Run away!" Zather sounded angry as he ordered. 

Leyah gulped as she took a minute to react. She lifted her feet and took a few steps, bumping against his shoulder on purpose as she left. She was limping and at first glance it made people think that she was vulnerable and could die at any moment now, but this was the leader of the rebellion so she would naturally not be that pathetic. 

With a gun in hand, although she was absent-minded, she still managed to kill all the ribix that tried to attack her. 

Zather glared at her as she walked away from him but said nothing more. 

After a minute, he cried out, "Abandon defense! Strengthen attacks! Groups of two! Immediately! Support each other! Focus on the left side!" 

Laura who had somehow noticed Leyah walking away couldn't help but be a little confused as she  shouted, "Where are you running off too?!" 

Leyah said nothing as a response and simply ignored the girl. 

Laura was annoyed and even more confused as she looked at Leyah. Her eyes trailed towards Zather who was acting like his usual self and at the same time, there was this aura around him that made it look as if he was disappointed and angry at something... Or rather, someone. 

Laura was curious to know what had happened, but with just a single glance, she was sure that for some reason, Leyah and Zather were mad at each other and they decided to separate ways, but the reason was still unknown to her and the situation wasn't exactly optimal to ask them what conflict they had. 

With no response, Laura also decided to mind her own business as she turned and continued to fight the ribix. 

At this moment, Li Ling and Zhihao looked at each other and nodded in unison as if they were telepathically communicating once again. 

Li Ling took out a rope from his inventory and threw one side of it over to Zhihao. 

Zhihao immediately grabbed it and tied it to his back while Li Ling tied the other end of the rope to one of the buildings. 

The rope was pretty long and hence they didn't have to worry about them running out of it. 

When Li Ling was finished tying it, he looked at Zhihao and gave the signal, "Now!" 

Zhihao smirked as he took out an explosive gun from his inventory and aimed it at the spider ribix. 

The shot did nothing much to the creature, however, it surely managed to catch its attention. 

The eight eyes of the spider ribix turned towards Zhihao in curiosity and annoyance. 

Zhihao simply waved his hand as if trying to say a simple 'hello'. 

The creature lifted its heavy feet and moved towards Zhihao who immediately flew to its side. He shot at the creature once again and forced it to turn again.