Chapter 971: A Fair Warning, Similar Paths
...
Meanwhile, several kilometers off the Land of Unity/Malentansium border...
The allied forces led by Amaharpe marched onward toward the Night Lord's Crypt.
In order to maintain the element of surprise, a great number of skilled magic casters were utilized to deploy large-scale AOE stealth magic. Additionally, members of the War Intelligence Division carefully erased all traces of the presence of the allied forces as they marched through Malentansium.
At the moment, Niflheim, Menerva, and the rest of Izroth's 9th Division took up their position at the rear of the allied forces alongside Commander Aurie's 2nd Unit.
So far, they had been traveling nonstop into the depths of Malentansium, and the atmosphere was intense.
For many of the 9th Division members, as well as the majority of the players participating in the raid on the Night Lord's Crypt, it was their first time experiencing such an overwhelming display of military might. This naturally left many individuals feeling nervous and anxious about what lay ahead.
"Lieutenant Niflheim, a word?" A voice sounded from behind Niflheim.
This voice belonged to one of the 9th Division members, Bellum.
Niflheim revolved around as he faced Bellum with a meaningful gaze and replied, "Sure. Shall we head somewhere a little more private?"
Bellum nodded in response.
Niflheim looked over at Menerva, who was next to him, and said, "I'm leaving things here to you for a while. Is that fine?"
"A simple task. I will oversee the 9th Division." Menerva answered.
Niflheim gave a small nod before he returned his focus to Bellum.
"Lead the way." Nilfheim said as he gestured.
...
A few moments later, Niflheim and Bellum had separated several meters away from their group and to a more isolated area of the allied forces' formation at the rear.
Though the two did not stray too far and made sure to stay within the confines of the large-scale stealth magic.
Once they were far away enough, Bellum was the first to speak and asked, "Why didn't you tell him? I doubt you did it out of pure consideration for me. After all, the last time I checked, the two of us were never that close. Right, Captain Niflheim?"
"It took you long enough. I was beginning to think you wouldn't bother bringing it up. But, knowing your personality, that's impossible, isn't it? Vice guild-leader, Bellum." Niflheim narrowed his eyes.
"Ex-vice guild-leader." Bellum retorted.
"Ex-captain." Niflheim followed up.
"..."
"..."
A brief silence filled the atmosphere before Bellum broke it with a small sigh and said, "It would seem that we both have met with an unfortunate set of circumstances."
"Well, it's certainly regretful..." Niflheim commented with a heavy sigh as he thought back to the events that took place at the Great Sea Palace raid.
He then continued, "However, I wouldn't necessarily say it's unfortunate."
"For you to say that your assessment of our Captain must be quite high."
"If not for him, I'd just be wandering around without much to consider. So, I'm rather grateful." Niflheim spoke in a tone filled with gratitude.
"I suppose your situation wasn't too far off from my own. But, judging from your words just now, it seems when one door closed for you, another one opened. You are rather fortunate, Xiang Enlai."
"Oh? This isn't like you at all. The Lin Daiyu I know isn't so sentimental." Niflheim said with a light smile.
"Well, let's consider today a special occasion. It's not often you meet a fellow kindred spirit."
"I never thought I'd hear those words come from your mouth of all people. I got to say, you've changed. For the better, of course."
"I appreciate your words; however, we both know that people never change. They merely become more of their true selves."
"I used to think that way as well. But I've found myself changing that outlook as of late. Perhaps, it's not entirely impossible for people to change." Niflheim commented solemnly.
He paused briefly as if he were lost in his thoughts before he continued, "You wanted to know why I didn't tell him your identity? The truth of the matter is I did try to tell him. But, our Captain isn't someone who pries into the affairs of others. To him, as long as you have not done anything unforgivable, your past and background do not matter. All that matters is that you do not misplace the trust he placed in you. So long as you do not cross that line, our Captain and the 9th Division will always accept you."
After Niflheim finished speaking, Bellum appeared to go into a state of deep thought. Every so often, a troubled look would flash through her eyes as if she were contemplating a matter of great importance.
Once a few breaths of time passed, Bellum closed her eyes before she reopened them with a gaze of clarity.
"There is something that you and our Captain must know. It concerns my former guild, Broken Exile." Bellum stated in a serious tone.
Niflheim's brows rose when Bellum mentioned the name Broken Exile.
"Oh? Hasn't it been a while since you've left?" Niflheim asked.
As she mentioned, Bellum was the former vice guild leader of Broken Exile, one of the top ten guilds in RML that was said to be the only one capable of rivaling Cross Haven.
However, from what he knew, Bellum departed from Broken Exile even before he left Blue Oasis.
"I may no longer be the vice guild leader, but I still have contacts inside the guild. I'm sure it's the same with you and Blue Oasis, is it not?" Bellum replied.
Niflheim had a troubled expression on his face when Bellum brought up Blue Oasis. Of course, what she said was true. He did have some contacts left in Blue Oasis who he could seek information from; however, Niflheim did not have the face to reach out to them. Therefore, in terms of information, he was severely lacking when compared to Bellum.
"I see. So you really don't know." Bellum said as she could not hide her surprise.
"Know what?"
"Well, considering our Captain's relationship with Sleeping Gardenia, it's possible he already knows, but... Not that long ago, a meeting between the guild leaders from each top guild and a few other notable people was held in the Mirror World."
"They used the Spiritual Gathering Mirror?"
Niflheim was taken aback by the disclosure. The Spiritual Gathering Mirror was a B-ranked magic item that could only be contained by completing a certain quest in RML. It was not easy to come by, and the price for using it was not cheap. Therefore, unless it were an emergency, most people would much rather use RML's internal communication features.
Needless to say, top guilds possessed the resources to use the Spiritual Gathering Mirror as they pleased; however, for all the guild leaders to attend—this is the part that shocked Niflheim.
"For everyone to gather in the Mirror World, was it Ewan? No... If it's coming from you, then it's probably that man." Niflheim said with furrowed brows.
Bellum nodded, "That's right. The one who called the meeting is the current guild leader of Broken Exile, Dragon."
Niflheim frowned and said, "If Dragon was the one who called the meeting, I can roughly guess his purpose. How much time do we have?"
"Until the event comes to an end. That's when they'll make their move."
"I see..." Niflheim released a heavy sigh.
Whether or not Izroth was aware of what was going on, Niflheim did not know for sure. After all, if Izroth did know something, then it was not told to him. Whatever the case, he had to ensure Izroth was not left in the dark about this matter.
"Why did you decide to tell us this now?" Niflheim asked curiously.
There were plenty of opportunities for Bellum to come forth with this information. But, she chose now of all times to do so. The timing felt rather strange to Niflheim, with Izroth being absent from the 9th Division.
"At first, I wasn't sure. The rumors I've heard regarding our Captain are abnormal, to say the least. That's why I wanted to see it with my own eyes."
"And?"
"While I haven't known our Captain long, I think I understand why you chose the path you did, Lieutenant Niflheim. Our Captain... He is different from those I've known that were in a similar position as him. I just thought it would be unfair to see a man like that receive the short end of the stick—that's all."