Chapter 217 - Chapter 217: Chapter 206 Marching Southwards (1/2)

Chapter 217: Chapter 206 Marching Southwards

“Are we parting ways here? So soon?”

Old Dog looked at Darren Fischer’s figure, a trace of disappointment in his eyes, and continued, “It’s been over a year, hasn’t it? Since the last of our group of eight joined, we’ve been working together for more than a year. Darren, wouldn’t it be nice if we could keep moving together?”

“Or maybe you could think it over, after all, the war is not yet over.”

Darren laughed heartily, shaking his head without any hesitation, and said loudly:

“I must return to the Fischer family now. However, not parting ways is not entirely impossible—if any of you don’t wish to continue staying in Rhea, you can come back to Cyart with me and become members of the Fischer family.”

“Actually, I too hope to continue working with you all.”

Darren believed in this group of people with whom he had shared life and death for a long time. He had already revealed his true identity to them, anyway—they were all Cyart people, so his identity posed no problem.

“…”

Old Dog and the others fell silent. They were Cyart people who had come together due to hatred of the Rhea People and held admiration for the “Iron Mask Man.”

But becoming a subordinate of the Fischer family was another matter entirely since swearing allegiance to a family meant having completely different goals and responsibilities than before.

“I’ll go back to the Fischer family with Darren.”

The only girl in the group slowly raised her hand. She had a black eye devoid of emotion and short gray hair, slightly pointed ears, was a pale-skinned half-elf, and carried a large black bow engraved with runes on her back.

That large black bow was a confiscated alchemy weapon capable of shooting arrows from a great distance, even killing enemies kilometers away.

Although she was only a high-level Beginning Extraordinary Exponent, she caused trouble for the Rhea People that was no less troublesome than that caused by a Transmutation Level powerful expert.

“Then I’ll go with Darren as well.”

Old Dog finally made his decision but frowned and said, “But Darren, let me be clear, I may not join the Fischer family. When the time comes, I will need to see what the situation in Fischer is like before I decide!”

He had once been an illegal superhuman who had killed, later captured by the Salvation Church and forced into service in the Cyart Royal Army to reduce his sentence, and then captured by the Rhea People, enduring torture in prison.

If it weren’t for Darren’s rescue, he, tormented to the extreme, would probably have died in that gloomy and grim prison.

Darren shook his head, saying with a grin:

“No problem, if the Fischer family isn’t attractive enough for you, then just think of it as giving me a ride.”

Only they wanted to follow Darren, while the rest intended to meet up with a nearby large force, so the small group planned to head south first toward a Cyart military camp.

The eight individuals gradually made their way toward a forest in the south, the half-elf girl following close behind Darren, always vigilant of her surroundings.

Her name was Elise, a mixed blood of Cyart and Rhea People with ancestry that also mingled with elves, which is why she was often called a “mutt.”

Because Elise was saved by Darren from the guillotine, she relied heavily on him and adored him as if he were her real older brother.

Tall trees grew densely, their leaves a lush green, like the color palette of nature, with sunlight filtering through the gaps, casting mottled shadows on the ground, giving the forest a mystical and tranquil ambiance.

Darren gazed at the continuous rolling mountains in the distance, shrouded in light mist.

“Heh.”

They crossed mountains and valleys, and after two days, their squad was getting closer to the town where the Cyart military was stationed.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Elise looked astonishment toward the distance, far off, a kilometer away. With the Bloodline power of a high-level magic beast, the eagle-headed beast, she possessed exceptionally strong vision and could distinctly see that there was an encamped army in the distance.

The shadow of an eagle emerged in her eyes as she scrutinized the details of the military camp more carefully.

The expanse of the camp came into view, tents uniformly arranged along broad roads, flags fluttering in the wind, proudly soaring above the center of the camp. The soldiers had stern faces; the nearby armory housed an array of neatly arranged weapons and equipment, gleaming with the cold light of metal.

“There’s a military camp a kilometer away!”

“That’s not a Cyart military camp, but a Rhea one!”

The half-elf girl immediately reported, Darren furrowed his brows, gazing toward the Rhea military camp hiding in the woods, too far to see clearly.