Chapter 474: Countdown Begins (2/2)

Zieg sorted out his clothes and swept a glance at the tense crowd. As the start of the meeting approached, there were more people apart from the 25 parliament members gathering in Mithril Hall. According to the parliament regulations, every time the Soraka Mountain Parliament decided to make major changes that would involve the interests of other parties, the representatives of various forces in Soraka Mountain would be invited for the hearing. Due to the regulations that troops weren't allowed to reside there, the various forces would send out only their representatives. The same went for Zieg too; he wasn't representing the Country of Light, but was representing the Alanic Foundation. The Country of Light had another person as a representative.

Hmph.

Zieg twitched his brows and squinted at a bald, elderly man before him. The elderly man was dressed in formal attire and wiped his forehead with a handkerchief nervously.

Useless trash.

Zieg knew why the elderly man was so nervous. Although he was the representative for the Country of Light, he lacked the true qualities of one. Many people, including this elderly man, had heard of the decision that Soraka Mountain Parliament made and this wasn't good news for Zieg. A diplomatic envoy that was unobtrusive during times of peace had to bear immense attention in this time of war now. However, this elderly man had no intentions of stepping onto the stage since people would push the blame of 'disadvantageous communications' onto him.

This was the reason why Zieg looked down on him. To Zieg, those who couldn't foresee the future were as good as dogs. The difference between humans and dogs were that humans could raise their heads and look towards the horizon while a dog could only lay on the ground and observe the things before their eyes.

He's merely a parliament-fed dog who only cares about his current position and future.

Zieg smiled slightly at this thought.

At this moment, the bustling conversation ceased to a halt and the entire Mithril Hall fell into silence. Zieg felt a cold sensation penetrate his first-rate coat and into his body effortlessly.

He turned around and narrowed his eyes.

A tall knight clad in black, steel armor from head to toe strode into Mithril Hall as two crimson flames of life in his eyes flickered. Beside the knight was an elegant, young man in pitch-black attire. The satin on his lapel was glaring and his cuffs and collar were covered with fretwork edgings. He had a full head of brown combed to the back neatly while his hands were wrapped in silky, white gloves. The man waved gracefully towards everyone and revealed a pale, yet charming smile—and a pair of canine teeth between his sickly white lips.

Vampire.

Zieg turned away before lowering his head and sucking in a deep breath to calm his nerves. Apart from the missing Chairman, the other concern that Zieg had was the Country of Darkness. Although logically speaking, this plan was beneficial for the Country of Darkness, Zieg couldn't figure out what their people were thinking. Furthermore, Zieg had heard of the cunningness of these Vampires—their fascinating charm, inspiring voices, and sharp senses allowed them to perceive all hidden lies and hostilities.

Zieg sent two scouts to gather intelligence about the situation in the Country of Darkness. However, he dropped the idea after they were delivered back to him dead. Fortunately, those two men weren't aware of Zieg's identity at all. If not, Zieg wouldn't be sitting here.

The two undead figures passed Zieg and arrived before the Country of Light representative. They greeted with a friendly, yet hypocritical smile and the elderly man stood up hurriedly to bow in return.

Worthless trash.

Zieg cursed secretly at the elderly man as soon as he witnessed his hesitance and fear towards the Vampires. Even though this mission was led by the Alanic Foundation and the Country of Light Parliament was somewhat involved, Zieg didn't disclose the whole plan to the elderly man. He didn't trust that dotard and it seemed that his decision was right. Perhaps the damned undead creatures would have read his thoughts inside-out if Zieg told him everything.

But the trouble wasn't limited to that only.

After greeting the Country of Light's Parliament's representative, the Vampires escorted the Undead Knight to their position on the other side. Although the undead creatures could get along with living creatures peacefully, this didn't mean that they were on good terms with each other. After all, the undead aura on them was similar to venomous gases, where it was harmful to the living creatures.

At this moment, bugle-horns sounded.

This time, Zieg knew who had arrived without turning around. But he turned around regardless to face the figure who was as though shrouded in bright radiance entirely. Her flawless wings spread apart gracefully and the white-golden robe wrapped around her slender stature with colorful Ioun Stones revolving around her. Her fair, dewy face came with a touch of delicateness. She shut her eyes as her blonde hair fluttered in the wind. Almost everyone took a step back innately in fear that they would blaspheme the memories in their minds.

She's here. The Supervisor.

The various forces came together at Soraka Mountain. Apart from the Country of Darkness and Country of Light, which received the most attention, the Supervisor from the Munn Kingdom and the Guardian from the Country of Trial were also big figures.

In terms of national strength, the Country of Darkness and Country of Light were the most powerful countries on this continent. However, in Soraka Mountain, the most respected person was the Supervisor from the Munn Kingdom. The Guardian from the Country of Trial came in second while the Country of Darkness was placed third due to the living creatures' fears towards the undead creatures. In the last place was the Country of Light. Their reckless behaviors on this land didn't give the aborigines any good impressions.

The Munn Kingdom's Supervisor wouldn't be responsible for any specific matters. Before arriving at Soraka Mountain, Zieg had specially investigated this. The position of the Supervisor existed ever since both countries signed the treaty. However, nobody knew what the Supervisor's responsibilities were. According to Zieg's investigations, it seemed to be an idle position with no particular purpose. The Supervisor had never interfered or influenced the opinions of Soraka Mountain. Moreover, sometimes the Supervisor wouldn't even be present during meetings, as though they didn't exist.

However, Zieg couldn't understand why this idle position would be so highly respected in this region. The locals that Zieg hired weren't shy to hide their admiration whenever they talked about the Supervisor and they didn't indicate any reasons for this. The only conclusion that Zieg could think of was that, compared to the mightiness of the Country of Darkness and the bullying from the Country of Light, the Munn Kingdom had been friendlier and provided support to Soraka Mountain much more often.

For no particular reason, Zieg began to fluster a little. He remembered this emotion clearly. This also happened was when he first took over his family affairs to prove his worth. At that time, he was only a youngster and the important task scared him witless. Although he had always remained calm on the outside, his heart had been pounding hard when he submitted the report to his Father to put an end to the mission. That was the first and last time that Zieg felt such emotions.

However, this emotion came back to him.

Vampires, the Supervisor, and the Parliament. Zieg pressed against his chair subconsciously and he felt restless. This was the first time that he felt that Soraka Mountain shouldn't have such a tradition. Now, all the various forces had gathered in this place. Apart from them, there were also the Dwarves (To the humans of Soraka Mountain, the Dwarves definitely couldn't participate in this meeting). There was even a representative for the Elves... What was going to happen next? Besides, why hadn't those men that Zieg sent out earlier on to encircle the Chairman's group reported back?

Zieg clenched his fist and this was the first time he felt that things were getting out of his control.

Perhaps, this mission wouldn't be as successful as he imagined?

The bright sun shone on the corona and the shadow shifted gradually.

Just half an hour left before the start of the meeting.

Apart from the two heroic sculptures towering on both sides of the dark corridor as though explaining the chaotic past of this land, there was no one else.

Bam... A flat slate started sinking and several figures climbed out of the dark hole.

Thank goodness. This worked.

Although the strategy worked out perfectly as he recalled from the game, this place was, after all, real. With the Necromancer turning into a Lich as an example, Rhode harbored some suspicion. However, Rhode heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of this familiar place. If the underground was a dungeon, the Giant Megadrile would have been the BOSS. Now that Viktor was handling the BOSS, there shouldn't be other problems.

Anne peeked her head out of the hole before laying the Chairman down from her shoulder. She gritted her teeth and stretched her arm. Although the Chairman wasn't heavy, he was still heavier than her steel shield. Moreover, the shield had an almost equal weight distribution and it was easier for her to locate the center of gravity.

"This is... the Heroes Hall?" The Chairman stared with widened eyes and astonishment. As a person born in Soraka Mountain, he clearly knew where this place was. The Heroes Hall was a space that preserved the sculptures and records of all the heroes of Soraka Mountain. Almost everyone had come to admire the heroes here. However, they would never have thought that there would be such a secret passageway.

Cough. Rhode let out a cough to snap the Chairman out of his daze. The Chairman turned around and gazed at the young man in doubt. "Who exactly are you?"

The Chairman had been thinking of this question and he finally asked. After all, Rhode knew too much.

Without a doubt, the Chairman didn't know that there were these other secrets in Soraka Mountain.

Rhode didn't answer the Chairman. He knocked on his mask and swayed the pocket watch before the Chairman's face.

His intentions were clear-cut.

We have no time.

"..." The Chairman stared at the black mask on the young man's face as though he was trying to seek out any information. However, he let out a sigh and said, "Don't think that I'm unaware of your intentions, Young Man. I am more familiar with this place than you. I know who wishes to change, dominate, and destroy it. This is our land... yet, it doesn't belong to us entirely."

The Chairman lifted his head. "But we won't shiver in the corner and let them decide our fate."

The elderly man turned around and strode forward. His voice was filled with unprecedented dignity. "Follow me. I don't know how many of them are plotting against me. Maybe they will kill me instantly once they see me."

Rhode squinted his eyes before turning towards the three young ladies behind him. "We have completed the first step of our mission. Listen carefully; we will not know what's going to happen next. Just like the Chairman said, there are several forces here and we've touched on merely the first layer of all things. No matter if it's the Undead or the Country of Light Parliament, it will not be that simple."

Soraka Mountain was in a chaotic situation before. However, the problem was because Rhode wasn't in Soraka Mountain at that point in time. Soraka Mountain in that period of time was considered to be unfamiliar to Rhode and the clues that were obtained through historical pieces of evidence in the future were not necessarily useful here. In fact, if Rhode didn't come, the Chairman would most likely be killed and the plan for Soraka Mountain to align with the Country of Darkness would be approved. However, what was the initial motive in this? Just because the Country of Light bullied Soraka Mountain? Rhode didn't think that things were this simple. Using the power of the masses and complying with their way of thinking was righteous. However, this wasn't their original intentions. Sometimes, motivation and state of affairs were fundamentally unrelated.

"Lize, Marlene, do you two know about the purpose of the Supervisor?"

"?" Both the young ladies exchanged looks and shook their heads.

"I'm not sure, Rhode," Marlene said with puckered brows.

"Sister never told me anything about the Supervisor. Sorry, Mr. Rhode," Lize rested her hand against her chin.

The position of the Supervisor of the Munn Kingdom had always been a mystery to the players because after the official announcement of official ranks in the Munn Kingdom, the Supervisor was second only to the Duke. However, its specific role and responsibility weren't explained at all.

Rhode had once received a chance to gain this position. However, the war broke out and Soraka Mountain was annexed entirely by the Country of Darkness. As a result, the Supervisor position had lost its meaning.

Rhode pondered for a moment. "Marlene, Lize, and Anne. I want all of you to return to the path that we took. But don't leave the secret passageway for now and we shall keep in touch... I don't know why, but I have a bad hunch."

The atmosphere was chilly and a deep breath could leave one gasping for more air. Rhode wasn't sure if this was his misconception because he felt as though the entire Soraka Mountain was extraordinarily constrained.

Rhode knew that the return of the Chairman would definitely cause an uproar. However, this strange feeling far exceeded those in the usual, small-scale conflicts. He felt such emotions only when he faced powerful BOSSes in large-scale battles in the game.

"Get Viktor and his men to back off anytime. By the way, help him get rid of that worm," Rhode wasn't concerned about the Giant Megadrile because Viktor had similar capabilities to himself. In addition to Marlene, Lize, and Anne, it wouldn't stand a chance at all. As for the remaining Goblins, he would leave them for Joey's group to give them some EXP.

The Chairman arrived at the entrance of the Heroes Hall and turned around to gaze at Rhode. After instructing the trio about the weaknesses and threats of the Giant Megadrile, Rhode closed up the secret hole and arrived by the Chairman's side.

At this moment, the loud clock sounded.