Chapter 1314: Things to Ponder Over

    ?

    "Well, we''ve definitely gotten far more than we bargained for."

    Just as the sun started to peek out of the horizon, Hal and the others were finally able to leave the Grand Marshal''s quarters, their expressions a mix of both relief and excitement.

    "It sucks that we only have 3 opportunities to obtain the military''s support," said Harold in response to Hal''s words, prompting the others to nod in agreement. "Honestly thought their support was unconditional or something."

    "With how vague their wording was, it was inevitable for anyone to think that way," replied Vera, letting out a faint sigh as she thought about how she''d make full use of those limited opportunities.

    "In a way, the fact that they limited it makes a lot of sense, though," said Nerissa, causing the others to look at her as she explained a bit more about her train of thought.

    "Think about it for a bit. If the military did give us unconditional support instead of what they actually gave us, it would be child''s play for us to abuse it to no end."

    "I get the train of thought," said Valyr as he nodded in understanding. "In short, us abusing it would increase the chances of our side losing the war, right?"

    "It would definitely take a lot of time and effort to do that, but that''s pretty much the case." Nerissa nodded, effectively ending the current topic of their conversation.

    Deciding to go over the rewards a bit more after that, the five moved onto the other rewards they got from Lucian as they headed to the center of the military base.

    "There''s not really much need to talk about the unconditional increase in rank," said Hal. "However, the same can''t be said for the other reward the Grand Marshal gave us."

    "Us being called special enlistments?" asked Valyr, to which Hal nodded back in response. Seeing his friend nod at his question, the young man scratched the back of his head for a bit. "Didn''t he already explain what it entailed? Wouldn''t becoming a special enlistment mean we''d have access to things on the other path even though we''re still mercenaries?"

    "He did say that." Harold nodded in agreement. "But have you ever thought about how far that access could go?"

    "Is it only some parts of the other path? Half of it? Most of it?"@@@@

    "I honestly couldn''t care less." Valyr shrugged in response to the question.

    Yet, contrary to his expectations, the military officers at the entrance allowed him to leave the base freely, with them even going so far as to thank him and the others for their effort in shifting the tides of war to humanity''s favor.

    Forcing himself to smile and thank everyone for the well wishes in response to that, the young man immediately let out a wide sigh of relief the moment he activated his movement skill, feeling as if that situation just now was the most nerve-wracking situation he''d ever been in.

    Taking a look at the remaining time he had before [Soul Shift] deactivated on its own, Valyr went ahead and activated a few buffs in his arsenal to boost the azure dragon''s flight speed even further, allowing him to head back to Algerie Kingdom in half the time he usually did. As he arrived back at the Blacksmith Guild, the young man was not surprised to see that Julian had come to meet up with him after hearing he came back from the military base.

    Not wanting to deal with the man for the meantime, Valyr made great use of [Traceless] and made his way past Julian to get to one of the vacant private workshops.

    Whoosh!

    Finding it slightly amusing that the man was searching the entire guild for his whereabouts, the young man pushed all of the unnecessary thoughts he had to the side for the meantime as he took out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet.

    Then, making use of the agreement he negotiated with the Imperial Production Guild, he went ahead and ordered a few sets of materials as he activated [Ephemeral Limbs of the First

    Blacksmith].

    Familiarizing himself once more with the sensation of having multiple limbs at his beck and call, the young man did not wait that long for all of the materials he requested to arrive at the

    private workshop.

    ...Alongside a certain Julian that tagged along the delivery.

    However, just like before, Valyr went ahead and treated the man as if he were invisible for the

    meantime.

    ''Time to get to work.''

    "[Zen: First Lotus Step]."