Chapter 31

The Alliance was a colossal entity, born from the unification of countless nations.

Among them, three great powers consistently ranked at the top: Astriel, responsible for the Western Front; Karafall, for the Eastern Front; and Diev, in the South.

Unlike the other two major powers, Diev, which didn't share a border with the White Hero, primarily contributed to the war by providing military supplies, weapons, and troops to the Central Front.

Thus, it wasn't uncommon to see soldiers or airships bearing Diev's flag on the front lines.

However, if the opponent was a member of Diev's royal family, the story became a little different.

"Ryan... Could that person really be the Empire's Archmage?"

Unable to fully accept the reality, Lirisa approached me, whispering softly.

Her suspicion about his identity was perfectly understandable.

Yet, Lupel had presented undeniable proof.

"Dark magic. That's more than enough as a means of proof."

"I guess so, right? But…"

Lirisa trailed off, turning her gaze.

I naturally followed her lead, looking far across the room at Lupel Diev, who occupied one corner.

Lupel was currently talking with a soldier from Unit 450, Latia, and Bijan, who had just regained consciousness.

From what I could gather, it seemed to be just casual chatter, but they seemed to get along well, as bursts of laughter erupted quite frequently.

When one thought of royalty, sternness or an imposing aura usually came to mind, didn’t it?

But such traits were hard to find in Lupel.

He simply had the tone of an old soul… like a neighborhood elder brother?

"...That's an Archmage?"

"Lirisa."

"Hup! I'm sorry!"

Lirisa, who had inadvertently let her true thoughts slip, quickly clapped a hand over her mouth.

However, as a field commander, I only silenced her to maintain discipline among my unit members, as my thoughts were not much different from hers.

I, too, felt like saying, "Is that royalty?"

In games and other media, an Archmage is typically recognized as a high-ranking wizard.

However, in D&K, an Archmage is treated more as a magician who uses a special bloodline and unique magic, with the majority possessing considerable magical skill.

So, what I meant was this: an ordinary Archmage wouldn't have been unable to deal with a mere Level 2 hero and asked for help.

On the contrary, the White Hero player would have urgently requested help from nearby players in the chat window, proclaiming that an Archmage was causing a massacre here.

"Field Commander!"

As I was deep in thought, someone tugged at my sleeve.

Only one person in our unit called me by the title of Field Commander.

I looked up, and sure enough, it was Byan, who was now spry and smiling brightly, apparently quite invigorated by the medicine's effects.

"The Archmage wants to speak with Ryan."

"...Right. The Archmage... does she?"

My heart told me I didn't want to get involved with an Archmage from another country.

Moreover, she wasn't officially entering the kingdom; she was an illegal immigrant, wasn't she?

It was clear that only troublesome things would arise.

Unfortunately, due to the aftermath of the battle, the surrounding magic was unstable, preventing contact with Selina on the airship.

The recovery of the wounded was also not complete.

In other words, there was plenty of time on our hands.

There was no excuse to refuse the Archmage's request.

I swallowed a sigh that involuntarily escaped and approached Ruppel.

"You called for me."

"Hmm... My benefactor seems uncomfortable with me. This saddens me."

"Because you're an illegal immigrant. I'm just the field commander of this unit... Contacting an Archmage from another country is beyond my authority. If possible, I'd like to hand you over to the commander awaiting on the airship as soon as possible."

"Haha! You leave me speechless by saying that. But don't put up such walls. I don't know what you're thinking, but I have no intention of causing any trouble."

'Talking to me already is causing trouble, though...'

Even if the other party seemed friendly, I didn't voice my true thoughts.

"More importantly, I have a question. Is that alright?"

"Please speak. I'm not sure if I'll be able to answer."

"I heard the kingdom immediately deployed a newly developed technology to the field without additional verification. Are you the ones involved? I'm referring to the growth system."

"..."

This is insane. This wasn't verified?

"Judging by your expression, you weren't aware."

"...I am involved with that new technology, yes. And no, I wasn't aware."

"Indeed. I understand that they couldn't help it given the urgent situation, but... it's inhumane. If side effects occur, come find the Empire. I will help you by any means necessary. After all, I am also an Archmage of the Empire."

"Thank you."

"In that sense, may I make a proposal? In fact, it's the reason I even came to the ruins as an illegal immigrant..."

Static!

Suddenly, static crackled through the communicator.

It seemed the unstable magic waves in the vicinity had returned to normal, establishing a connection with Selina on the airship.

"Would you mind waiting a moment? I'll call the commander."

It was also a good opportunity to avoid an awkward conversation with Lupel.

If I, a mere low-ranking soldier, were to speak with the Empire's Archmage and anything went wrong, I alone would lose my head.

Moreover, judging by the atmosphere, she seemed about to make a bothersome request, so it was best to make an excuse and escape, no matter how flimsy.

Confirming Ruppel. nod, I operated the communicator.

A few irritating static noises, and then Selina's awaited voice emerged.

"[...An! ...Because... Static... Immediately...!] "

"...What are you saying?"

It seemed the communication hadn't fully recovered.

The sound kept cutting out like missing teeth, so no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't understand Selina's words.

But as time passed, the communication quality improved, and now I started to hear quite a few sentences.

"Selina. The magic wave is still unstable. If it's not urgent, please try calling back later."

"[...Airship... One soldier... No, it seems... Immediately...!] "

Just as we couldn't understand Selina's words, it seemed Selina couldn't understand us either, even when we conveyed the gist briefly.

Even after I told her to try communicating later, she kept repeating the same words.

As the communication quality improved, I could discern an unmistakable urgency in her voice.

Perhaps something had gone wrong outside the ruins.

'Could another player have intervened?'

The possibility was high.

Stage 1-3 was a lucrative area in the early game, frequently used by beginner players.

I used my Eye that Seeks Truth to check the chat window.

And then I doubted my eyes.

Breaking news! Guys! Odin's airship appeared in Stage 1-3!

Whoa, crap.

That's insane.

The airship is miniature, though.

Why is Odin in Stage 1... No, that's not important.

I have to go see it right now! Turn the bow!

A chill ran down my spine, and my heart sank.

My mind went blank for a moment, unable to believe the incredible information.

Then, Selina's clearest voice yet reached my ears.

"[Ryan! A miniature air... of Odin appeared in the sky! Odin's airship approached the ruins... I stopped it, but a soldier jumped from the airship... and entered the ruins. They seemed unharmed from 10 meters above without magical support, so I suspect they're a hero. Run away immediately!]"

"...Shit."

An expletive involuntarily escaped my lips.

Everyone who had been listening intently to Selina's voice from the communicator fell silent.

The name Odin carried that much weight.

They were undeniably, universally acknowledged as the White Hero's strongest combat force.

The devils of the battlefield.

To the Alliance soldiers, the name Odin was nothing short of an unnaturally high-casualty natural disaster.

However, its meaning was different for me.

'Lacia…’

My goal was to survive in this world.

To do that, being the commander of Odin, the White Hero's strongest unit, was far more advantageous than rolling around as a low-ranking Alliance soldier.

Of course, whether they would even recognize me as their commander was the initial problem.

I desperately wanted to know if they were benevolent, hostile, or indifferent towards me.

But having learned that Odin was acting outside my command, I had no choice but to be extremely cautious.

Not now.

I needed to accumulate more strength, enough to ensure my safety even in the worst-case scenario, before contacting Odin.

That was the only way to reduce the risk.

"Odin, huh..."

Lupel murmured, stroking his chin.

I wondered if he had a brilliant plan to overcome the current situation.

"This will be our tomb."

"..."

As expected, he was useless.

I looked at the faces of the others, one by one.

Each and every one of them showed profound fear at the mere mention of Odin's name.

Biyan, at least, gripped her weapon tightly, burning with fighting spirit, but she couldn't stop her hands from trembling subtly.

Lirisa was on the verge of tears, and the Unit 450 soldier had his eyes tightly closed, apparently having fainted.

"...Everyone, calm down."

First, I calmed down the overly frightened members.

Of course, a single word wouldn't completely calm them, but it was better than leaving them unattended.

"There's no need to worry too much just because our opponent is Odin."

"As expected, Field Commander! You have a brilliant plan to defeat Odin's hero!"

"Huh? No. I don't."

"..."

What on earth were they expecting from me?

Biyan, who had been clenching her fists and her eyes shining, became dejected like a scolded puppy.

Unfortunately, I had no secret plan to defeat Odin's hero right now.

Of course, not all of Odin's heroes were monsters like Leisia.

Odin was, after all, a single unit.

There were seasoned veterans, but also fresh recruits.

And a hero driving a miniature airship was likely a recruit.

Of course, even a recruit from Odin was still Odin.

Given Odin's characteristic of rapidly training new recruits using vast wealth and spoils stored in their warehouse, even if all of Unit 917 attacked now, they wouldn't stand a chance.

But my words about not needing to worry weren't just empty talk.

"We've already achieved our objective.There's no need to engage with Odin's hero. Moreover, this is the Duesrolf area. If we use the forced transfer phenomenon, we can escape from here without encountering the enemy."

At that, everyone finally felt relieved.

Seeing their reactions, I felt a sense of pride as an Odin player, yet also a pang of regret as a low-ranking Alliance soldier.

My emotions were mixed.

"Ah, over there..."

Lirisa, who was standing by the window, spotted something and spoke.

Beyond the window, all that stretched out was the desolate, gray landscape of the ruins.

As I shifted my gaze to where Lirisa's finger pointed, I saw a figure slowly descending the stairs leading to the ground.

The distance was too great to confirm details, but it was a young man, estimated to be around 180 centimeters tall.

He stood before the gate.

I planned to lead the group out of the ruins as soon as he passed through the gate.

But then...

Clap!

The man suddenly clapped his hands together, and a red wave erupted from them, spreading throughout the entire ruins.

Naturally, we were also within the range of that red wave.

You have been discovered by someone's 'Detection'.

The Eye that Seeks Truth kindly explained the current situation.

I raised my head.

Far away.

The man, who had been staring at the gate, was now looking directly in our direction and smiling.