"I am Niflheim, one of the 10-Man Squad Leaders under the War Brigade's 7th Division. I was trapped in a cave during the battle and only just recently returned to camp with a friend's help. I've come to acquire a new insignia." Niflheim explained. He expected this kind of reaction after learning of what happened to the War Brigade's insignia.
One of the guards frowned and said, "Trapped in a cave? You claim to be a 10-Man Squad Leader, but where is your squad? Were they not with you when you were trapped in this cave? Where are they now?"
"This… I've afraid we've lost contact with each other." Niflheim furrowed his brows. He never anticipated that the challenge would go on for a full thirty hours; therefore, he had no idea where his squad was at the moment.
Niflheim's squad was made up of eight Soldier ranked NPCs and two players; however, both players were shown as offline and did not respond to his messages. For all he knew, the rest of his squad could have been within this camp or already eliminated from the event.
"We can't just take you at your word. Anyone not present during the time of the insignia change will have to be held in the confinement area until we can fully verify their identity—no exceptions." The guard stated.
"Confinement area? How long will it take?" Niflheim questioned with a frown.
"At least three days, maybe a week. However, you should understand that we are not asking you but telling you. Comply, and no harm will come to you if you are who you claim to be." The 10-Man Squad Leader guard asserted.
A week?! It may not be that long for casual players, but if he was out of the event for a week, Niflheim knew that it would be nearly impossible to catch up with other top players. As for reaching the top 100 rankings and taking a place on the event leaderboards—this would be a distant dream!
"I can vouch for him." A voice sounded from the side as the guard's squad leader turned to look for its source.
"Do you think just anyone can-" The guard spoke but was promptly interrupted.
"Anyone? No. But, as a Captain, I assume my words hold some authority. Or, can it be that a rank is nothing more than decoration in your eyes?" Izroth said as he revealed his GSU Captain's insignia!
The guards were startled by the appearance of a Captain's insignia. Even though he was only a member of the GSU, as Soldier ranked individuals, a Captain was not someone they could afford to offend!
"Captain…! Forgive us for not noticing your presence earlier, sir!" The guards' squad leader straightened up and gave a proper salute to Izroth as his squad members soon followed his actions.
When some of the nearby players overheard the conversation and saw the commotion at the entrance, their attention was drawn in. However, they found it difficult to believe what they were hearing.
"Hey, isn't that a player? How can he be a Captain?"
"He must be trolling. Captain? Forget it. I've been grinding nonstop since the event started, and I haven't even made it past 5-Man Squad Leader. How can someone already be a Captain?"
"Yeah, it's impossible. He'll probably lose contribution points being caught lying about his rank."
"But… Isn't that NPC treating him a bit too polite for him to be faking?"
"Now that you mention it, they did call him sir when he showed his insignia… Is he really a Captain? I wonder what top guild he belongs to… Ah, if only I were a bit closer, I could take a look at his name."
"We are in a hurry. I will take personal responsibility for his presence inside the camp—this should be enough, right?" Izroth stated with a natural aura of authority around him.
"I…" The guard seemed as if he wanted to say something but was hesitant to do so.
"Can it be that my word is not good enough for you, Squad Leader?" Izroth asked with a distant gaze.
"No, sir. It's just that… Well—it's not that I don't trust the Captain's word; however, we've been ordered to make no exceptions to this rule. I am sure the Captain is aware of the recent assassination plots by those devious Tempest scoundrels. It's not that we don't want to let him in, but that we really can't. I hope you can understand our dilemma and not make things too difficult for us, Captain." The squad leader responded.
"Oh? An order? And if I order you to stand aside, will you disobey?" Izroth inquired calmly.
"This… I cannot disobey the order of my direct superior officers. But, I am unable to disregard your orders as well, Captain. If you don't mind waiting here for a bit, I can send one of my guards to summon our Divison's Captain so that they can-"
"What's going on here? Who is stirring up trouble at our camp's entrance?" A voice sounded from the near distance that attracted the attention of everyone at the camp's entrance.
A few moments later, a young man with a noble appearance arrived on the back of a saber-toothed warbeast the size of a fully grown warhorse. The young man was extremely handsome and looked to be in his mid-twenties with neatly tied blonde hair, eyes the color of ice crystals, and he produced a calm aura of nobility. He wore a magnificent set of silver, blue, and golden armor with a blue cape on his back that possessed the emblem of a white tiger and a longsword encased in an almost ethereal sheath.
When this man approached on the back of his saber-toothed warbeast, the guards immediately lined up side by side as they fell to their knees and bowed down.
'Hm?'
For the guards to react in this manner, Izroth surmised that this person's identity was someone well beyond that of a Captain or any troop, for that matter. After all, not even a General's arrival could cause their soldiers to kneel to them in such a fashion.
"Prince Yan! We are honored!" The guards spoke in unison.
When the guards referred to him as Prince Yan, a frown quickly found its way onto the face of the one sat upon the saber-toothed warbeast.
"Stand. On the battlefield, I am not a prince—only Captain Yan of the 2nd Unit's 8th Division." The one called Yan stated indifferently as his gaze drifted over to Izroth.
'2nd Unit? So I was not mistaken.'
Izroth felt that he heard the name Yan somewhere before, and now he remembered. Back at the Unsanctioned Zone, Aurie mentioned this name over the communication talisman. At that time, Yan was tasked with assisting their Rosentarus allies, so Izroth had never met him on the battlefield. He knew of his name, but not of his person or character.
"Our apologies!" The guards replied as they quickly leapt to their feet and tried to collect their nerves.
"You are… Captain Izroth of the General Support Unit's newly created 9th Division, correct?" Yan said as his focus suddenly shifted to Izroth.
"I don't believe we've crossed paths before, Captain Yan," Izroth replied.
"You are quite popular, Captain. There is no one among the 2nd Unit who has not heard of your name. Leveling the Vostracane stronghold, thereby assisting with the Unsanctioned Zone's easy capture—this feat is not one achieved and then promptly disregarded. I also heard from the Commander that you were the last person to speak with our late Captain Gritt." Yan stated.
"I did not think I would become so popular among your unit. Captain Gritt—he was a great man."
"A great man indeed. It was an honor to serve in the same unit as him. I heard you turned down our Commander's offer to take over the 4th Division."
"My place is elsewhere."
"I see… A shame. When did you…" Yan casually conversed with Izroth as the guards looked on in amazement. Did this person not know who they were talking to? Even Generals would have to treat Prince Yan with the utmost respect! Yet, he dared to address him so carelessly?! To them, this guy was either really brave or incredibly stupid!
…
After conversing for a bit, Yan eventually figured out what the initial commotion was all about.
"This is a problem. However, it is one that can be easily resolved. After all, if it is someone you are willing to vouch for, Captain Izroth, then we cannot afford to have them remain idle in this time of danger." Yan reassured.
The guards seemed somewhat nervous at those words. Judging from their conversation, the prince was on good terms with the GSU Captain. They feared that he would use his influence as a prince to make them disobey direct orders!
"I came ahead, but the others should be approaching any moment now," Yan commented as he turned to face the direction he initially approached from.
Not too long after Yan spoke, a wave consisting of thousands of troops marched in an orderly fashion towards the campsite.
'So she came here after all.'
At the forefront of the troops were two individuals. One was someone Izroth had not met directly, but through his Soul Avatar, Empyrean. The Rosentarus Panther Battalion Commander, Baut.
As for the person next to Baut, Izroth recognized them immediately as the War Brigade's 2nd Unit Commander of the 1st Legion, Aurie!
It had been a little less than five days of in-game time since Izroth was last at the Unsanctioned Zone. Moving so fast to the Demilitarization Belt after just securing the Unsanctioned Zone spoke volumes to the current situation's direness.
