Xiao Ran's words might have contained a slight bit of exaggeration, but there was not a single falsehood in them. Other than Hayate, who had only just joined, the Delta Squad members—including Arad—were only at this level. Among the combat forces of the entire Legion Territory, they could truly only be considered middle-tier.
Ordinary pilots, Elite Pilots, captain pilots, Ace Pilots—D, C, B, A. They were somewhat stronger than standard C-class pilots, but their overall strength was weaker than that of normal B-class pilots, roughly falling between B- and C+. In every respect, they had yet to reach captain level, so Xiao Ran had not been lying at all.
After all, there were now far too many B-class pilots throughout the Fleet Territory, and even A-Class Pilots numbered in great quantity. At present, the members of the Steel Dragon Squad above Gaius were practically all A-Class Pilots, with even the weakest being B+. Any two of them could easily crush the entire Delta Squad.
If this squad had not belonged to the protagonist's group, and if that fellow Hayate had not already been clearly identified as the protagonist in Xiao Ran's eyes, Xiao Ran would never have made such arrangements for the Delta Squad. Aside from Gaius itself, the only people Xiao Ran truly valued were the Valkyrie team and Ernest, who had already demonstrated his abilities before him—a qualified captain and commander. Thus, arranging special training for the Delta Squad had merely been incidental, an extra measure. As for how far they could grow, Xiao Ran truly did not care much.
Still, Xiao Ran had thought about it a few times. If Hayate was the protagonist, then who would be his wings? A protagonist without wings was definitely not a real protagonist. At least one of those wings could