Inside a tent located somewhere in the Land of Unity stood three individuals.
The atmosphere within the tent was heavy, and one person, in particular, had a darkened expression on their face. That person was none other than Advisor Palmer from the Resource Management Division.
“How dare that brat look down on Advisor Palmer and our Resource Management Division! He is too arrogant!” Tonne scoffed.
“That’s right. Since when did a mere Captain from the General Support Unit gain the courage to ignore the face of our Resource Manage Division? I’m afraid if you don’t handle this matter properly, others will think our war branch is easy to bully.” Everett commented.
“I agree! We have to act immediately! We’ll put every restriction in place until they come begging for mercy and-” Tonne was speaking before being abruptly cut off my Palmer.
“Quiet!” Palmer shouted.
Tonne swiftly bit his tongue and swallowed his words.
In the Resource Management Division, one of the most important things was forming connections. And, since Palmer was one of the most influential Advisors, the last thing Tonne wanted was to get on his bad side.
“We will take no actions. At least, not for the time being.” Palmer stated.
An expression of disbelief soon found its way onto Tonne and Everett’s faces.
That Palmer, who was well known for being vicious and ruthless when it came to crushing his competition, was choosing not to take immediate action? Naturally, they were left utterly speechless!
“With the upcoming assault on the Night Lord’s Crypt, we can’t afford any unnecessary distractions. As long as this raid is a success and we perform our roles flawlessly, there is a high chance I will be promoted to Senior Advisor. Right now, that is our main primary goal, understand?” Palmer said as his cold gaze swept over the two present.
Tonne and Everett remained silent; however, it was clear that neither of them planned to oppose Palmer’s decision.
“Once I become a Senior Advisor, dealing with a nobody Captain from the General Support Unit will be as simple as saying the word. Besides, after I submit my report to headquarters, even if I don’t lift a finger, they will not allow the humiliation done to our Resource Management Division to go unpunished.” Palmer stated with a grin.
“Your foresight is truly inspiring, Advisor Palmer. The Senior Advisor position is as good as yours.” Tonne chimed in.
“Hmph, do I need you to tell me that?” Palmer sneered.
“No, s-sir I…” Tonne became flustered as he could not finish a proper sentence.
A vicious look flashed through Palmer’s eyes as he thought back to the humiliation he suffered during the representative meeting.
Although he just mentioned not having to lift a finger, how could he let things end like that without consequence?
“Just you wait. Once this raid is over, we’ll see how long you can keep your arrogance. I’ll carve into every fiber of your being the heavy price of raising your hand against me.” Palmer thought to himself as he burned Izroth’s face into his mind.
…
Meanwhile…
‘The coordinates should be around here.’
After his talk with Solomon, Izroth left the command tent. Then, not even after taking two steps outside, he received a message from Niflheim.
The message contained coordinates to a gathering point for the recruited members of the 9th Division.
The coordinates led to a location just outside the range of the area being developed in the Land of Unity.
The landscape was a lightly forested area with rocky terrain and several natural rock formations.
There were not a lot of people who ventured this far out, which made it an ideal spot to meet up.
Izroth heard the sound of movement and voices coming from the other side of the natural rock formation in front of him.
The rock formation was roughly twenty meters tall; however, instead of going around it, Izroth dashed right toward it.
Woosh! Tap!
As Izroth approached the rock formation, he lifted his foot and made contact with it before performing a quick series of steps. He used his Wall Walking skill to rapidly scale the rock formation. And, in the blink of an eye, Izroth reached the top.
Izroth walked over to the edge of the rock formation and looked down on the other side.
There, a group of approximately sixty people was gathered.
Standing at the front of that group were a man and a woman—both of which Izroth instantly recognized.
‘Oh? It’s still a bit far off from 150, but they gathered more people than I anticipated. Well then, I suppose I should make a good first impression.’
…
At the same time, near the bottom of the rock formation…
“Our Division’s Captain will be here soon, so I would like to give a friendly reminder to everyone present. The Captain is a straightforward person. So long as you don’t betray his trust, then you have nothing to worry about. However… Should you choose to go against that trust, you will not enjoy the outcome.” Niflheim announced as he swept his gaze across the crowd.
He then continued, “I will now hand it off to our Division’s 2nd Lieutenant.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant Niflheim.” A distant yet calm and stable voice sounded from next to Niflheim.
The woman had perfectly neat purple hair that stopped right at her shoulders, eyes the color of honey topaz, and an indifferent facial expression. She wore purple and golden leather-type equipment with a beautiful longbow on her back that was almost twice her size.
This young woman was a brilliant strategist that Izroth decided to personally bring under his wing not that long ago, Menerva.
Most of those gathered by Niflheim and Menerva were players who waited too long to pick a war branch for the event.
As a result, they were automatically assigned to the most lacking war branch, which was, of course, the General Support Unit.
There were also a few unlucky people who were displaced after the messy insignia situation that occurred in the Demilitarization Belt.
Some even intentionally used that situation to join the General Support Unit for fear of missing out on the upcoming raid. After all, there was no guarantee their unit would be assigned to it. And, it was not as if they could request a temporary leave to join an official war event that their unit was not a part of.
But, the main reason most of the players accepted Niflheim and Menerva’s request was due to one thing—their rank. Or, more importantly, the rank of the person they were working for.
The majority of those present had less than 100 contribution points total and had not managed to climb past the lower to mid Soldier ranks.
This was not necessarily due to their lack of skills but rather because of how difficult it was to earn contribution points as a member of the General Support Unit.
Unlike the other war branches, the General Support Unit did not give out direct-type war objectives, which was the main source of acquiring contribution points. Therefore, they were left to find their own requests. Of course, this was much easier said than done.
That’s why they were curious as to how two players managed to reach the rank of Lieutenant in the General Support Unit. Even more impressively, apparently, there was another player who obtained the rank of Captain! How could they turn down such an invitation?
“I am sufficiently aware that the majority of those of you present did not join the General Support Unit by choice. However, you can only accept the circumstance as it is and endeavor to make the most of an unpropitious situation.” Menerva stated.
“When is this Captain of yours going to show themselves?” One of the players spoke up abruptly.
The one who spoke was a young man with a rough appearance and a scar that ran across the center of his face. He had short brown hair and a pair of energetic gray eyes.
He wore heavy plated armor, and on his back was a large sword that resembled a claymore, except it was much wider than average.
This player went by the name Champion.
Menerva shifted her gaze to Champion and said, “Worry not. Your desires are about to be fulfilled. After all—the test is about to commence.”
The moment those words left Menerva’s mouth, out of nowhere, an unbearable pressure descended on all those present.
This pressure caused ten players to immediately faint and more than half to succumb and fall to their knees.
As for the rest, they were struggling just to remain standing!
Champion was one of the players who managed to stay standing; however, the effect that the pressure was having on him was as clear as day.
Bang!
Champion removed his sword from his bang and stabbed it into the ground to help support himself.
“Good. I was worried that most of you would pass out, but it seems there are some decent ones among you.” A nonchalant voice sounded from where Niflheim and Menerva stood.
However, to those present, it was their first time hearing this voice.
While most could not even spare the energy to lift their head and see its owner, there were a few who were able to do so. And, among those few was Champion.
Champion struggled to see that person’s face; however, he could only raise his head enough to see a faint carefree smile on that person’s face.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am the General Support Unit’s 9th Division Captain of the 1st Unit, Izroth. It is a pleasure to meet all of you.” Izroth stated with a carefree smile as his Soul Pressure descended on the group of players.
