Chapter 301: Uncomfortable Companionship (2)

Chapter 301: Uncomfortable Companionship (2)

‘Oh, no.’

Rudger muttered to himself as he looked at Casey, who was staring at him in disbelief.

He heard the sound of a fight, so he moved quickly to join them since they weren’t far away, but he couldn’t believe it was Casey and Trina.

They were later spotted by Belaruna and Chris, who were walking out of the passage Rudger had cut and their faces brightened considerably at the thought of their new companions.

‘Oh well.’

Since they were already facing each other, they had no choice but to move together, even if it made things a little uncomfortable.

“So this is how we meet.”

Rudger was the first to speak, unable to stand still and watch.

Casey didn’t respond, just glared at Rudger. Instead, it was Trina who spoke up.

“Yes. I didn’t expect to see you here, Mr. Rudger Chelici.”

“The same goes for me, Trina Ryanhowl.”

“Wasn’t your group supposed to leave immediately after analyzing the World Tree?”

“We were going to, but we got stuck in the middle of nowhere, so we were forced to move inward.”

“I see, but that’s a good thing. No one got hurt, and we’re able to join up like this.”

Trina glared at Belaruna as she said that.

Rudger and Chris were one thing, but the elf woman was someone she didn’t recognize.

“Who is she?”

“This is Belaruna Petana, who is traveling with us this time. She is an expert on the World Tree.”

“Isn’t she an outsider? Besides, I thought Chris Benimore was supposed to be in charge of studying the World Tree.”

“It can’t hurt to have one more, and she’s an elf whose identity is vouched for by the First Princess, so you don’t have to worry.”

Rudger used the name of the First Princess to assure Trina just as he did with Chris.

Trina’s eyes narrowed at the words, and her forehead wrinkled.

‘Princess Eileen?’

Of all of them, Trina was the one who had the closest relationship with Princess Eileen. But even she, if asked if she knew the Princess perfectly, would have to say that she did not.

Eileen was a difficult person to get to know.

As Rudger had said, there was nothing strange about the sudden addition of an elf to the existing group given Eileen’s tendency to hide things and not reveal her plans even to her closest confidants.

Rudger’s words left no doubt.

‘Furthermore, given the stories I’ve heard within the command center, it seems that the First Princess has had a prior meeting with Mr. Rudger Chelici.’

Trina nodded her head, dismissing her doubts.

“Have you learned anything about the situation?”

In response to Trina’s question, Rudger said yes, and explained what he knew to Trina and Casey.

He told them about demonic power that was sealed within the World Tree, and that the warlocks were trying to harness it.

“I see. I wondered why the Liberation Army’s members turned into monsters like that, but it was demonic power.”

Casey, who had been listening silently until then, spoke up.

“I never thought demonic power could exist in a place like this, let alone be used by our enemies.”

“If you put it that way, it’s strange that there’s such a secret mega-facility underground in the capital, with the roots of a dead World Tree at its center.”

“That’s.......”

“It’s obviously real since it’s already happened but what we need to do is stop being surprised that it exists and start stopping the Liberation Army and the Warlocks as quickly as possible.”

In that sense, it was fortuitous that the scattered forces came together in one place.

As Rudger emphasized the importance of the situation, Casey nodded reluctantly.

There was still so much she wanted to tell him but for now, every minute counted. There was no time for personal matters.

‘Even if I told him now,’ she thought, ‘he’d just brush it off as usual. Well, I’ll ask him later, when this is all over.’

Of course, she knew that by then she wouldn’t have the courage again but if she didn’t make up her mind now, this uncomfortable knot would never be untied.

“Then let’s move quickly.”

With that, the group of five began to move at a brisk pace toward the center hollow.

Along the way, they were met by a second wave of chimeras but they were no match for Rudger and the others, now nearly double in strength.

With each swing of Trina’s two-handed sword, the creatures were cut to pieces, falling to the ground before the magic of Rudger, Chris, and Casey.

“Hehe.”

* * *

“Repairing the tracheal unit? Anyone available?”

“Send in the chimeras! Buy us some time!”

The Liberation Army members and the Warlocks panicked.

Their goal had been to buy time before their enemies got here in the first place.

From the way the First and Second test subjects were dying one after another, they knew their enemies were not ordinary.

If they were knights, they were masters and the wizards were at least at the fifth rank.

The enemies that actually came in were what could be called a one-man army since only a fool would think of confronting them head-on.

They tried to buy time by using the terrain to their advantage, but it didn’t work since Rudger destroyed a key piece of machinery.

“Damn it! Wasn’t the core device more than a hundred meters away in the thick rock? Even a Swordmaster couldn’t penetrate it!”

“This is bad, more than half of Seconds we sent in have died!”

“They’ve sped up, at this rate they’ll be here in ten minutes!”

The pale-skinned warlock shuddered in contemplation as he heard the horrific news one after another and glanced anxiously at his mentor, Andrei.

“What is it that has you so disturbed?”

“Well, Master, it is.......”

“Forget it. You can’t get angry in a situation like this, it means they’re strong.”

It wasn’t that Andrei wasn’t angry. Even now, he was suppressing his anger but the reason he didn’t panic or show his emotions was because it would be very illogical.

He knew that at times like this he had to be rational.

“What’s the status of Test Subject Third?”

“We’re still not completely finished with the coordination. We’re about to go through the final stage, but I don’t know if it will be successful.......”

“Let’s skip the last step and proceed as quickly as possible. Inject all the rest of the demon’s power into it.”

“Ha, but what will happen if we do that.......?”

At those words, Andrei glared at his apprentice with a vicious gaze. His eyes glowed with a furious fire, and the apprentice immediately clamped his mouth shut.

“Are those words coming out of your mouth under these circumstances?”

“That, that.......”

“That’s why you shouldn’t. At this rate, the enemy will reach us before you open your eyes and this whole thing will be for naught.”

So it was better to get Third up and running right away, even if something went wrong.

“Do you understand? We’re not in a position to waste time right now.”

“Well, even so, I need more time to wake up Third now!”

“Do it anyway. I’ll buy you some time.”

“What?”

Before the apprentice could ask anything, Andrei stood up and used his magic. An unbelievable amount of power erupted from his frail body and enveloped the area.

The warlocks and the Liberators froze in their tracks, terrified, and turned to look at Andrei.

“Don’t be stupid and do your jobs.”

Andrei flicked his gaze toward the passageway leading outside.

“I’ll deal with them.”

There was a loud bang and the barred door exploded, sending up a cloud of dust.

Two figures emerged from the dust. One was Veronica Deville, a white-uniformed knight with black ponytail. The other was the Imperial servant mage who had come with her.

Andrei looked at them, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

“Ho-ho. Unexpectedly, here are the first ones.”

“.......”

As Andrei looked at Veronica, she realized that he was the strongest enemy here.

She drew her sword with an icy gaze. The coldness of the blade’s tip made it clear that she was not using an ordinary Aura.

The Cold Steel Knights of the Empire were said to imbue their blades with the chill of the North.

“Interesting.”

The black robes around his body fluttered wildly as Andrei prepared his magic.

“Considering the guests have arrived, I should welcome you.”