Chapter 15: Confrontation P.1

Zelphyr and Gazef were talking about the events of the raid. As an official of the Kingdom, Gazef had to get as much information as possible.

"Thank you for your co-operation Sir Zelphyr"

Zelphyr waved his hand in dismissal, in truth, he had just given Gazef the basic details. He had no intent in helping out the Re-Estize Kingdom with the Slane Theocracy. Currently, Zelphyr was ill-equipped to make an enemy out of a country that has access to items from previous players. After all, if they have the 'Downfall of Castle and Country', it is highly possible that they are in possession of some sort of final trump card that he did not have knowledge of.

As they returned to the village center, Zelphyr noticed one of Gazefs subordinates frantically running towards them. A minute afterwards, Gazef seemed to notice the strange state of his subordinate causing him to frown.

"Captain!"

The man shouted as he arrived in front of the two. The shout attracted the attention of the many working villagers around them.

"Keep your voice down. What is it?"

Gazef questioned with a stern voice. He did not appreciate his subordinate creating a scene in front of already distressed citizens.

"Sorry Sir! Captain... we are surrounded, Magic Casters have encircled the village. There are a lot of them"

The messengers voice quietened as a grave expression sat upon his face.

Similarly, Gazefs expression sunk as he mulled over the messengers words.

"It seems they have caught you, Sir Stronoff"

Gazef turned to look at Zelphyr who just continued to stare out onto the horizon.

"It seems so, especially if they are not after you. Now then... how do we tackle this..."

Turning to silent contemplation, Gazef thought about his current situation as well as the best way to tackle it with the least amount of losses.

Meanwhile, Zelphyr was contemplating the best way to use this situation. Truthfully, Zelphyr wanted to grab hold of Nigun and his band of Magic Casters. This was not for his knowledge on the world or its dynamic, instead, it was so he could find out the secret of the spell that has been cast on them to conceal information.

While there are a few spells in his current possession that could do something similar, Zelphyr would not be able to completely silence anyone he used them on. Therefore, he wanted to see if this spell used a different form of magic to produce the results it gave off. Should that be the case, it allowed for him to move with bolder movements than before.

"I can deal with this situation, you should defend the village"

Zelphyr suggested to Gazef. He already knew the answer, however he took a small chance in hopes that it paid off.

"Unfortunately, I cannot do such a thing. As the Warrior Caption of the Re-Estize Kingdom, I cannot stand by as dangerous people cause harm to this countries citizens"

Gazef replied as he shook his head. It was clear that he had a strong sense of duty to his country and its people. After all, it should be clear to him just from the feeling Zelphyr gave off, that he was the weaker one. Of course due to the disparity in their strength and the fact that Zelphyr is making a conscious effort to hide it, Gazef could not feel much of his aura.

While he could completely conceal his aura with an accessory, it was actually weirder for a combatant to not have an aura especially since magical accessories are usually only owned by those of importance.

"I see, may the fortunes of war smile upon you Sir Gazef"

Gazef looked towards Zelphyr with a conflicted expression, it was clear he wanted to ask something.

"Actually, Sir Zelphyr, I would lik-"

Zelphyr held out his hand, signalling Gazef to hold his tongue. He knew exactly what words were about to leave his mouth.

"Sir Gazef, I would like you to not finish that sentence. For everyones sake"

His tone was cold as he spoke to Gazef, a complete contrast to the welcoming tone he used when speaking earlier. Although he had positive feelings for Gazef and his honourable attitude, there was no advantage with getting involved with the Re-Estize kingdom just yet. Of course there were a few interesting treasures and people within it, but getting into contact with them is a delicate process.

Feeling the rejection in Zelphyrs tone, Gazef looked down at the floor but nodding his head.

"I will protect the village in your stead, go into battle knowing they're safe"

Gazefs sullen expression softened slightly after hearing Zelphyrs words.

"Thank you, Sir Zelphyr"

With a bow of his head, Gazef left Zelphyr, allowing Albedo to come over.

"Albedo"

Zelphyr spoke without looking towards her. His eyes remained focused on the encirclement.

"Tell Shalltear to prepare to open a gate on me when we contact her next. Get three Hanzos to come over and help us carry the test subjects"

Albedo nodded her head before walking towards a shaded area by some trees.

Originally, Zelphyr intended to change Momongas approach to the situation since he no longer needed to test the strength of the enemies. Nevertheless, after some more deliberation, he realised how effective Momongas plan was. It allowed for him to show his involvement without actually exposing his true abilities. This was perfect for his goal, with the addition of Zelphyr actually being able to feel the difference in strength first hand.

Reaching into his item box, Zelphyr retrieved a small ring with a purple gem on top. This was a 'Ring of Solitude', it was an item Zelphyr had created and infused a lot of data into, resulting in it reaching the Legendary Class. It's abilities were fairly simple but extremely useful, it possessed the ability to block all forms of clairvoyance and long-distance observation as long as the spell was the same level or below it. Additionally, it signaled to Zelphyr when he was being subjected to any such observations. The second ability worked regardless of the tier of spell, well as long as the opposite party was not using a World Level Item.

'I don't know the depth of ability of the Slane Theocracys Thousand Eyes. I might as well be as prepared as possible'

After his preparations were done, Albedo had finished her conversation and returned to his side.

"Lord Zelphyr, everything is ready. They are awaiting your call"

Zelphyr nodded and smiled towards Albedo.

"Thank you Albedo, I am happy to have such an amazing subordinate"

Albedo returned the smile, her cheeks seemed to lack it's usual heated blush, however her eyes were filled with a strong warmth.

"I am nothing compared to you My Lord, I am always ready to offer my everything to you"

Speaking towards the end of her sentence, Albedo blushed slightly as she imagined the implications of it.

"Yes, I will make sure to take you up on your offer"

Saying that, Zelphyr started walking towards Gazef who was organising his men.

Meanwhile, Albedo remained frozen, her armour shaking slightly and heavy breaths seeping through her full cover helmet.

"Huff... Lord Zelphyr! He said it! huff..."

Albedo wrapped her arms around her body as she tried to contain her excitement and not jump at her Lord right now. Luckily, she was out of sight of the villager, otherwise Carne Village would not have lasted the night.

A few minutes passed and Albedo finally calmed down. Her breathing had stabilised and her demeanour was much calmer.

'I need to change clothes...'

Albedo muttered as she checked the state of her armour. Thankfully, she had the armour on, because the state beneath it was not something she wanted to show anyone, especially her Lord.

Gazef had finally finished organising his troops. The expressions of the horsemen were not hopeful, however a deep conviction burned within their eyes as they listened to their Captain speak.

"Last but not least, keep running and survive!"

The soldiers all shouted in synchronisation. The sheer amount of adrenaline in the air pushed them further, preparing them for the death trap they were about to experience.

Zelphyr walked up to Gazef and patted his shoulder lightly.

"Good luck"

With those words, Gazef signalled the charge, causing his entire force to move at once. The ground trembled as the horses sped off into the distance.

The village chief came over with a grave expression.

"Do you think the Captains plan will work Sir Zelphyr?"

Zelphyr looked at the retreating figures of Gazef and his warrior band as a sigh escaped from his lips.

"Let's all go to the storehouse. Get everyone in the village to evacuate there, our party will defend you there"

The Village Chief wanted to suggest running away, alas he knew it was a futile endeavour if Zelphyr and Albedo did not accompany them. After all, most villagers were not even strong enough to fight a goblin. Therefore, following Zelphyrs suggestion, the Village Chief rounded up the villagers and brought all of their first aid supplies they had scavenged over to the warehouse.

Due to the decreased population, the villagers had enough space to each sit down and relax. The tense atmosphere seemed to completely bypass Zelphyr as he looked around.

While his eyes were looking at the villagers, his vision was observing Gazefs movements.

He had placed a cash item that allowed for him to switch places with the target as well as follow their movements all the time they were within a certain radius of the user.

Watching the familiar scene, Zelphyr was suddenly dragged out of his observations by someone speaking to him.

Surprisingly, it wasn't the village chief, instead it was a certain teenage girl. Her beautiful brown eyes stared up at Zelphyr, waiting for a response.

"Um Mister! I wanted to say thank you for saving our family"

The girl bowed her head with great vigor.

"Don't worry about it, as long as you're safe, that is all that matters"

Inside, Zelphyr cringed slightly at how naturally such a cheesy line came out.

In response to his words, the teenage girl blushed. Unfortunately, a certain demonic aura started to ooze out of a black armoured female who was watching from the side. Clear intent to kill started to form, causing Zelphyr to clear his throat.

As if it was his imagination, the dangerous aura vanished with Albedo standing still.

"Mister, may I know the name of the one who saved me?"

Zelphyr nodded at her courage, after all, even the Village Chief was slightly wary and fearful of Zelphyrs presence.

"Of course, my name is Zelphyr, may I know yours?"

The girl bowed her head slightly.

"My name is Enri Emmot, Sir Zelphyr"

Zelphyr nodded his head. Secretly taking an item out of his item box, Zelphyr handed it over to Enri. His face contained a serious expression as he stared Enri in the eyes. Despite knowing Zelphyr was about to talk about something serious, Enri couldn't help blushing slightly as she felt Zelphyrs stare.

"Take this. In the future, this will be necessary and will protect everything you love whilst I am absent. Use it only when you feel it is necessary, after all, once you sound this horn, you cannot go back"

He may have exaggerated slightly with his wording, however the point was portrayed effectively to Enri. She received the 'Horn of the Goblin General' as though it was a holy object, grasping hold of it tightly and hugging it to her chest.

"Oh right... Enri, I would like you Villagers to help me. Please prepare all of your first aid available and be ready to treat some pretty serious wounds please."

Enri tilted her head in confusion but nodded after seeing Zelphyr nod, she left without question.

Following this, Zelphyr turned to Albedo and spoke.

"It's time"

Immediately, Zelphyr and Albedo flashed out of existence, whilst moments later, a mountain of beaten bodies replaced them with a severely injured man stood in a battle stance.

"Before you ask, you're in the Village Warehouse. Lord Zelphyr has put a barrier up"

Enri spoke to the pale faced Gazef. Her tone was light but did not contain much respect for her countries Warrior Captain.