CHAPTER 1613: DANGEROUS VOLUNTEER

Rex used about fifty percent of his raw power on that earlier punch.

It was about the strength he was going to exhibit during the mission, at least until he located the traitor.

He wasn’t quite sure how strong a normal Knight was, but fifty percent should be enough.

Earlier, the confrontation with Gallick wasn’t planned, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Ethan was fretting over how Rex earned the respect of the legion, and also the other knights—with the confrontation, he tackled both problems at once. Not only did he gain one knight on his side and also the soldiers’ respect, but he also made an impression on the other knights.

Some of them were watching from afar earlier.

Rex could already feel the effect when he entered the room where the knights gathered one last time for a final briefing and also attendance check. Other than Gallick, the other knights seemed to look at him more neutrally.

Of course, that doesn’t magically make them favor him since he’s still a pariah.

But they were less hostile, and that’s all Rex needed.

Other than him, Gallick, and Rick, there are seven more knights in total.

It wasn’t as much as Rex was told.

Some knights couldn’t make it, and there were only a few replacements that were ready to depart.

Rex made eye contact with Rick and nodded in acknowledgment.

From the looks of things, Rick was also the leader of the knights as he was standing at the center, near the table where a map was spread. Several markings dotted the map, each pinned with white, blue, or red flags that indicated different points of interest or strategy.

Once he gave a simple nod to the other knights, he stood on the side.

Not too far away from the others, but also not too close.

Rex thought he was the last one to enter, but it seemed like they were still waiting for the others.

In the silence of the moment, Rex made sure to scan all of the knights present.

As expected, Gallick was one of the strongest, and three other comparable knights had power near or even above that of Gallick. First is Clive, who has hollow green eyes that made Rex recall the eyes of the Undead.

He has an S-grade Lifeless Aura for his Soul Artifact and the Necro Faith Echo as his main Echo.

Based on the System, his main Echo was tied to dark sacrifices.

Next is Rick, the strongest, possessing a surprisingly weak A-grade Mute Flakes Soul Artifact, and he has the Terrible Ash Echo. It was an Echo that allowed him to control ash, which is a strong Echo for both offensive and defensive.

Despite having the weakest Soul Artifact in the room, he’s still the strongest.

His hard work and luck are probably how he achieved his power and also became a royal guard.

Last one was Haxel, who seemed to be the youngest.

He looked harmless and seemed to be an approachable person from the light smile on his face.

According to his stats, he was a Master Immortal Spirit 4, wielding an S-grade Soul Artifact known as the Iron of Mercy. It was likely a double-edged long sword, a big one at that, given the empty sheath on his back.

Along with that, he bore the Berserker of Skartold Echo.

A Unique Echo from the 100 Long-Lost Catacombs? And he’s only a Knight?

Rex’s brows dipped into a frown.

It was rare for him to find someone with such a low status to possess a Unique Echo of that caliber.

All of the knights have a Unique Echo.

Gallick’s Lion Echo is from the 300 Coffins of the Drowned.

Rick’s Terrible Ash Echo is also from the same origin.

And the other weaker knights also have a Unique Echo from the 500 Fundamental Niches at least.

But Haxel has an Echo of a higher origin than the others, which was surprising.

Even April, the daughter of a Marquess Family, didn’t possess an Echo as powerful as his—at least not before she acquired the Midnight Echo Rex gave to her, which came from the 100 Long Lost Catacombs, a gift from the System.

So, someone like Haxel should clearly rank above a Knight regardless of his power rank.

It would be more suitable for him to be a Baron.

Noticing that Rex was looking at him, Haxel smiled and waved at him.

Rex returned the smile before quickly averting his gaze, unaware he had been staring at Haxel in a daze.

Soon enough, two more knights came before the meeting started.

Rick explained exactly what their mission was to make sure everyone was on the same page.

Currently, the new Voidal Monarch, which was nicknamed the White Mask, has settled on a Pliantra Region near the Sea Bridge. It has been occupying that place for more than one day, and has begun claiming the area around it as its domain.

Voidal Pawns and Knights that it created were already swarming the nearby area.

And now, the Voidal Monarch has begun a process called the Monarchy Conquest.

As soon as a Voidal Monarch is born, it instinctively seeks to claim a domain for its own.

Oftentimes, it did that by forging one into existence.

It was the reason why the process was called the Monarchy Conquest.

In the first stage of the Monarchy Conquest, the Voidal Monarch would need to be stationary and suck as much voidal energy from the Black Rift as possible. Once enough voidal energy was absorbed, the Black Rift would acknowledge it—and bestow power that it could use to transform the surroundings by creating a Rift Seed.

Such a process took time, but not that long.

"Our latest intel estimates we have about two to three days before the White Mask gathers enough voidal energy to complete the Rift Seed. And it settled yesterday. Empress Morgana doesn’t want to take any chances—so we move today." He pointed at the only white flag marker on the map, then dragged his index finger across its surface to the solitary red flag. "Our mission is to take control of the Pawns and Knights along the way until we reach the Burrowing Valley."

Hearing this, Gallick crossed his arms and frowned.

He looked at the red flag and then at the white flag, clearly concerned.

"That’s about 100 miles apart..."

"Yes, the White Mask made a vicious detour from it."

"How many bubbles are there? There should be at least thirty. We don’t have the numbers at all."

Rick knew this very well.

It was going to be a hard mission, but there’s no choice.

"Seventy-seven bubbles, to be exact," Rick corrected, catching the knights off guard. "Since we are at the edge of the continent, that number isn’t as bad as it sounds. At the center, we would be looking at hundreds. But I know there’s no way we can protect all of them. I spoke with the Empress1and she adjusted the route to minimize contact. Now, we only need to worry about forty-nine."

Rick looked at the map again, where there were exactly forty-nine blue flag markers.

Even though it’s good that Rick managed to lessen their burden, it was still a lot of bubbles.

Not to mention, in a mission like this, there are a lot of unaccounted variables.

It would go smoothly, especially considering many small bubbles were sharing an Obelisk of Life with another or even more. So, one mistake would cost them multiple bubbles, which would be equivalent to tens of thousands of casualties.

Rick then continued.

He pointed at the bigger blue flag marker.

"Empress Morgana has already identified the ten high-priority bubbles we must defend at all costs. Each legion would split into two armies to be divided among those ten bubbles, each under the command of a designated knight." He explained. "The remaining forces will secure key strategic points, led by their respective captains."

All of the knights approached the table and remembered the high-priority bubbles.

Rex also did the same, scanning the map with the System along with the markers.

Now, with the System, he could summon the holographic map at will.

Once all the knights got to take a look at the map, memorizing the bigger markers, Rick continued.

"Now we need two legions to shadow the Voidal Monarch and the nobles along the route to make sure no Voidal Pawns or Knights are left behind," He said, sweeping his gaze across the room. "We’ll need knights who can match their pace. I can’t be the one since I have my own direction. So, who’s willing to volunteer?"

Silence.

Rick looked at each one of the knights and saw that none of them were willing.

All of them looked at each other, hoping that two of them would volunteer without a problem.

On the side, Rex observed the situation.

He wasn’t surprised that none of the knights wanted to take on that role.

Shadowing the Voidal Monarch and the nobles would place their legion at far greater risk than the others. It meant marching straight into the storm, enduring relentless clashes with Voidal Pawns and Knights, and possibly facing a direct assault from the Voidal Prince... or the Monarch itself. The price would be high. So would the casualties.

It’s extremely dangerous. There’s a chance their legion could be wiped out.

Due to those reasons, the knights are reluctant to volunteer.

Unlike Rex, who has a supplied legion, the other knight brought their own legion.

Hard for them to allow their legion to go through such a terrible mission.

"I’ll volunteer."

All eyes shifted toward the lone figure raising his hand—Knight Haxel.

Haxel stepped forward firmly.

"My legion and I are up to the task, so allow me to be one of the volunteers." He said.

"I’ll note your bravery, Sir Haxel." Rick nodded firmly.

Rex, on the other hand, was troubled by the situation.

Even though he couldn’t say for sure, he was suspicious of Haxel the most due to his abnormally strong Echo, the way he carried himself, and also the fact that he participated in a dangerous mission without as much as a long contemplation.

Although Rex did it unconsciously, he was paying attention to Haxel the most.

And even before he stepped forward, he seemed to have already made his decision to volunteer.

Shadowing the Voidal Monarch is the most dangerous assignment, but also the most critical. If I were the traitor, that position would hand me the perfect chance to sabotage Empress Morgana’s plans from within. Damn it... this is a gamble.

Rex needed to make a decision.

If he volunteered and Haxel wasn’t the traitor, he’d end up in a tight spot.

But if he held back and Haxel was the traitor, he’d risk failing the entire mission.

Both outcomes have their own risk and rewards, and he needed to quickly make up his mind.

Eventually, Rex gritted his teeth and raised his hand.

"I’ll volunteer too."

Noticing that another knight was about to volunteer, he decided to volunteer.

At least if I volunteered and Haxel turns out not to be the traitor, I still have a chance since I’m going to be passing through all of the knights. As opposed to being stationed in one of the high-priority bubbles, this is a lot better.

Seeing this, Rick smiled inwardly.

"Okay. Sir Rex and Sir Haxel would be the ones shadowing the Voidal Monarch. Dismissed."

Just like that, the meeting ended.

Rex remained on his spot, uncertain whether he had made the right decision or not.

All of the other knights walked out of the room, with some tapping Rex’s shoulders in acknowledgment of his sacrifice, including Rick, who showed his approval with a nod. Eventually, the entire room was empty.

Once he snapped out of his daze, Rex headed for the door.

"Sir Rex."

He stopped mid-track when he heard someone calling him.

As he glanced over his shoulder, his eyes fixated on another knight who stayed behind.

Sir Haxel.

Haxel stepped forward and smiled a little, "I believe you and I need to talk."