Chapter 847: Knights of the Moon
"Southeast?"
The general puckered his brows. He spread the map open and scanned.
"If it's in the Southeast, that is indeed the Bloody Field. But..."
Kaplan lifted his head and gazed at Rhode sternly.
"... I have to warn you, Mr. Rhode. The Bloody Field is the most unstable place in the enchanted field. In fact, we've faced ambushes from the devils in there. Unless necessary, we almost never dispatch any patrols to investigate that place because there may be thousands of devils lurking in there!"
The general paused, but to his disappointment, Rhode wasn't affected by his warning at all. The young man continued to scan the map as though memorizing the path. Lesa stood beside him with her staff in hand, not wavered by him either. On the other side, the glinting eagerness in Anne's eyes proved everything... It seemed like she couldn't wait to get into a battle with the devils.
Who exactly are these people...
The general rolled his eyes helplessly.
Although he knew that the people around this young man weren't ordinary beings, they were still two young girls who hadn't even reached 16 years old... Their reactions after hearing about the demons were just too strange.
Is it ignorance or the pride of the strong?
The general couldn't judge, but he had to say what was necessary.
"Mr. Rhode, there are countless gathering spots for the devils in the Bloody Field. No matter how powerful the three of you are, you can't possibly take them all down. Besides, don't forget that this is the underground. If..."
Kaplan was right about that. With Rhode's current strength, it was too tough to eliminate thousands of devils. Not only that, but even if they possessed a powerful weapon, they had to consider the fact that they were in the underground. No matter how spacious the area was, there would be a solid layer of soil above them. If Rhode were to activate any powerful weapon, he might risk blasting the entire ceiling, causing it to crumble over them.
"Don't worry, General Kaplan."
Rhode took his advice since it was out of his goodwill. He knew that the enchanted field in that area had sealed the space. In other words, the leak in the Bloody Field was entirely a spatial leak, which meant that if he were unlucky, perhaps he wouldn't see any devils the moment he stepped in. But in the blink of an eye as though a magic performance, hundreds of devils would show up in a flash. That would be disastrous and no one could rescue them. It wasn't surprising that General Kaplan said he basically didn't send any patrols to that place. If it were Rhode, he also wouldn't be willing to do that unless absolutely necessary.
"How can one catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's lair? I'm willing to give it a shot. Besides, honestly, I won't be heading into the Bloody Field just like this. I also have my troops with me."
"How can one catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's lair?"
The general was astonished. But he quickly shifted his attention to the other sentence.
"Your troops? Sorry for being rude, but Mr. Rhode, I thought that you've only brought two young ladies with you..."
"You will get to see it when the time comes, General Kaplan."
Rhode didn't clarify the situation and Kaplan knew that it would be rude of him to pester. Since the young man said that he had his ways, it wouldn't be nice to keep asking. As a militant, it was necessary to not be hesitant, which was why Kaplan made a firm decision.
"All right, I will dispatch a patrol team to bring you to the place closest to the Bloody Field. The path leading to the place isn't complicated and I will prepare a map for you. But I hope that you'll return as quickly as possible if you meet any devils along the way. No matter what, there is a high wall here to obstruct them here and the devils have an upper hand in the underground. So, when do you intend to move out?"
"The earlier, the better."
Rhode thought that he could show some affection to Celestina for a while, but he didn't expect that this demon young lady was too proud, so he gave up on this thought.
"All right. I thought of organizing a welcome banquet for you, but since you've said so... Hmm. Our 15th patrol is about to depart for their patrol. Just follow them."
Kaplan was a straightforward man. Since the young man had stated his intention, he didn't need to try and keep him back like the nobles. Besides, the timing was also perfect. He had just defeated a few waves of devils and new devils wouldn't be showing up any time soon. It would be best that they headed off now.
"Sure."
Rhode nodded in satisfaction.
However, not everyone agreed.
"... Sir, are we really heading into the Bloody Field?"
Standing by the fortress' steel entrance, the 15th patrol team captain asked Kaplan worriedly. Although soldiers had to absolutely obey their superiors, it seemed like there was a completely new set of rules in the underground. However, he couldn't be blamed because no matter what, the Bloody Field was the most dangerous place to patrol...
"Yes."
General Kaplan nodded to the fully-armored soldier.
"Your mission is to escort the three of them to the entrance. They will then enter the Bloody Field themselves. Got it?"
"Yes, Sir. But... just the three of them?"
The patrol captain swept a dubious glance to the trio. Rhode, who was wearing noble attire, and Lesa, who seemed extremely weak, didn't seem to be fit for battles. On the contrary, the young lady carrying a heavy shield effortlessly seemed more reliable.
Kaplan didn't answer. In fact, he was curious as to who would be Rhode's troops. Of course, he was also aware from the reports that this young man held mysterious skills and was able to summon creatures. Besides, he had indeed summoned a shiny bird. But he shouldn't be treating those things as 'troops', right?
"Lesa."
Of course, Rhode knew what was going on in their heads, but he couldn't care less. The strength of the Astral Temple would be shown to them sooner or later. Besides, this opportunity might turn out to be a great threat—the most important winning factor in modern warfare was intelligence. No matter if it was intelligence regarding his enemies or him purposely revealing his strength, it was all the same.
"Yes, Sir Overlord."
Lesa immediately understood what he meant. Shortly after, she took a few steps forward, which caught everyone's attention. Lesa ignored their gazes and raised her staff.
"Coordinates—Confirmed—Teleport."
Suddenly, dozens of light columns descended from above and shone on the ground. General Kaplan widened his eyes in shock—because at the next moment, fully-armored soldiers emerged and stood within the light columns!
What's that?
General Kaplan was baffled as he sensed the powerful strength from the mysterious newcomers who had transcended into the Legendary Stage.Oh my goodness. A team of nearly a hundred legendary soldiers and what is with this mysterious teleportation spell?
General Kaplan was aware that some powerful Mages were capable of teleportation for a number of people, but it was impossible to do so with this many! What surprised him more was that these soldiers weren't humans, but were Elves instead!
When did the Munn Kingdom get into contact with the Country of Law's Elves?
This was the first thought that came into his mind. Most people would think of the Country of Law whenever they saw the Elf Warriors. It was baffling that Rhode, who was an overlord and also Lydia's Honorary Knight, would have a powerful team of them. It would still be believable if they were Battle Angels or ordinary Elves. After all, the former could be approved by Lydia while the latter could be explained that Rhode loved to collect Elves in his army. After all, in the Munn Kingdom, Elves received much better treatment than in the Country of Light. But, how did he actually obtain almost a hundred Elves in the Legendary Stage?
Just how powerful is he?
At this moment, Kaplan finally realized that this young man might be much stronger than he had imagined.