Chapter 1068: A Previous Word
Rising Sun-this was the title given to the most outstanding member of each war branch's younger generation. In other words, they were unrivaled talents among their peers.
There was only a single Rising Sun for each war branch in every generation. That is, except the General Support Unit.
For the past few generations, no individual within the General Support Unit has been worthy of the title of the Rising Sun. In fact, the last person in the General Support Unit to receive such a high honor was the current head.
In order to become a Rising Sun, one required more than just strength. They required great feats, achievements well beyond those of their peers, and, of course, a certain level of fame. Earning the Protector of Amaharpe title, coming in first place during the second team's selection at the Sky Palace, defeating Zarolas in Aurie's Dream Domain, destroying a skounae outpost city while helping to secure the Land of Unity through those actions, infiltrating Tempest and capturing the sixth princess, and now stopping the Night Lord Zarolas' resurrection.
These were not even all his feats, and yet, as far as Solomon was concerned, with those achievements alone, Izroth more than met all the requirements to become a new Rising Sun! "By the time the sun rises again, there will be few in the seven kingdoms who have not heard of the name Izroth." Solomon thought to himself with a slight grin full of expectations on his face.
"Those who come after are destined to surpass..." Solomon said quietly to himself.
"The timing of your arrival alongside the disappearance of Night Lord Zarolas' aura and the collapse of the entrance into the Night Lord's Crypt-it is all too much to be a coincidence. Lieutenant Niflheim, hold onto that fragment well. Let it serve as a reminder of what Captain Izroth and the 9th Division have accomplished on this day." Solomon stated.
He then turned his attention to Lances and continued, "Commander Lances, I am sure you and the 5th Unit also played a crucial role in aiding Captain Izroth and the 9th Division within the Night Lord's Crypt. Rest assured, the efforts all of you have put forth will not go unnoticed."
"Where is Captain Izroth?" Aurie asked the moment Solomon stopped speaking.
"I was just getting around to that, Commander. But, first, we have a more pressing matter to address. It will not be long until nightfall. Since we have accomplished our objective, we should not risk engaging the Immortal Umbra Horde any longer than we have to. Send the signal to our allied forces-we have succeeded. Then, immediately proceed with the preparations to fall back behind the Malentansium kingdom borders." Solomon commanded. "...Yes, General," Aurie said as she gave a proper salute before moving to carry out her duties. Given what they went through together in the Dream Domain, the incident with Dolos Jestal, the Netherly Swathe, and other things, Aurie had already considered Izroth to be one of her people. Even if he was not a part of the 1st Legion or the 2nd Unit under her command, Aurie was not the type to look the other way when a comrade was in danger.
Of course, Aurie also knew the kind of person General Solomon was. He still had to take the whole picture into account and could not forget his duties; however, there was no way he would abandon a young talent of Amaharpe without attempting anything.
Niflheim set the shard of the Night Lord's coffin back into his inventory as he released an inward sigh of relief. But, there was still a look of concern on his face. In the end, he had no idea what happened to Izroth. It still showed Izroth online on his friendslist; however, his name was grayed out. This meant that he was in a place where it was currently impossible to communicate.
After Izroth went into that rift at the heart of the Night Lord's Crypt, the 9th Division, led by Niflheim and Menerva, as well as Lances and the 5th Unit, searched for a way out of the Night Lord's Crypt.
Upon doing so, they found a pathway hidden behind an advanced-level magic formation. With a bit of effort, they successfully cracked the magic formation and discovered that the pathway led to another one-way portal.
Almost right after they found the portal, Halls and Guan Yu reappeared without Izroth. Although it was a pain convincing the two to leave the Night Lord's Crypt, ultimately, everyone escaped through the portal. That is when they arrived above the collapsed underground staircase and met with the soldiers of the 1st Legion.
...
--
...
'It seems that a lot happened in my absence.'
After Niflheim explained all the events that unfolded after he entered the Night Lord's Crypt, Izroth was in deep contemplation.
Once Niflheim finished his explanation and Izroth confirmed the state of the 9th Division, the voice chat was terminated.
At the moment, Izroth was traveling at a high speed through the Malentansium kingdom and had yet to run into any trouble. However, this was not too surprising.
Izroth was wearing the Moonlit Concealing Mantle he received from the guild leader of Sacred Beasts, Meng Jiang. This special item allowed the user to blend into their natural surroundings and made it increasingly difficult for those more than ten meters away from their position to detect their presence.
In the hands of someone like Izroth, who had a monstrous sense of perception, purposely avoiding others was as easy as breathing.
'At my current speed, it will take me at least half a day to reach the Amaharpe border and another six hours to reach the last place I sensed Empyrean and Selene. By the time I finish my investigation, Void Turning should be off cooldown. I can use that to reach Danaharpe.'
"If I'm not mistaken, they went missing somewhere around the Kifa Karsts. From what I know, the terrain there is difficult to transverse for players. But, for those like Empyrean and Selene who are capable of flight, it should not prove too challenging. There's no guarantee that's where they ran into trouble, but... I suppose it's a start."
Izroth made arrangements and sent someone closer to Kifa Karsts to search for clues ahead of him. After all, Kifa Karsts was not a small place by any means and covered hundreds of kilometers. Even with the detection range of his Energy Vision Sense, Izroth knew that it would not be easy to search that large of an area.
Of course, Izroth did not expect the person he sent to search the entirety of the Kifa Karsts. He instructed them to concentrate their efforts around the area where he last sensed Empyrean
and Selene.
'Speaking of the Kifa Karsts, there was also that message...'
Izroth set his gaze on one of the messages he received during his time in The Void. It was one
that, according to the time stamp, arrived just yesterday.
Player Haishe has sent you a message, "Greetings, Palace Master Izroth. I'm sure you haven't forgotten about our previous arrangements. We will be attempting the Trial Dungeon
I mentioned tomorrow at 6:00 PM sharp. The coordinates are..." Haishe-the newly risen leader of Fatal Touch. A while back, Izroth set a bounty on members of the Headhunter Syndicate and a special bounty on their guild leader, Vault. Haishe was the person who eliminated Vault and claimed the reward Izroth set. However, instead of wanting the 10,000 gold coins, Haishe simply wanted to speak to Izroth and make a request. That request was, of course, the Trial Dungeon.
Haishe, probably like many others by now, deduced Izroth's identity as the Pill Emperor and requested his assistance to clear the Trial Dungeon.
Of course, Izroth did not entirely trust Haishe nor his reasoning given his poor impression of Fatal Touch. But, Izroth needed to confirm whether or not Fatal Touch had any connections with the shadahi or if their previous leader, Silent Steps, was acting alone.
Not to mention, Izroth was indeed interested in attempting a Trial Dungeon. After all, it would be his first time participating in one.
'I am a man of my word. Since the timing lines up correctly and the coordinates are in the Kifa Karsts, I'll see what he's up to with my own eyes. If it turns out that he and Fatal Touch have connections with the shadahi, then I'll erase them myself.'
Izroth planned on keeping his word; however, if he suspected Haishe and Fatal Touch of being in league with the shadahi, when the Trial Dungeon ended, he would no longer be
bound by his word.
Swoosh! Zeeeut! BANG!
Out of nowhere, a silver streak of light rushed toward Izroth.
Izroth reacted quickly and avoided the silver streak with quickened steps; however, the impact of the silver streak left a sizable hole on the earth where he'd just stood moments ago. 'Oh? Someone managed to get this close and find my exact location?'