Chapter 1549 (2/2)

As they climbed up out of the remnants of the enormous ditch, Randidly glanced behind him and unleashed a pinch of Mana. Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil became his rapid response landscaping crew, large and thorny roots pushing dirt around to turn the apocalyptic battlefield into a normal pit of mud. He couldn’t help but notice that the ditch was a little deeper than it used to be; they had literally annihilated some of the ground during their fight.

But it would be usable, should the Overseers require it.

Randidly spared a small glance for Vualla as they continued forward. She’s truly strong… and she makes an interesting point. Deceiving the universe… overturning the laws with image… heh, maybe that’s the area I should pursue in regards to the Grim Chimera’s final Skill… It somehow manages to fool space and time...

While Randidly steadily began to brainstorm about his Grim Chimera image, the duo moved toward the training area. Exhausted grunts and the demanding shouts of the Overseers filled the air. Helen and Heiffal were busy leading a physical fitness exercise, but the presence of Randidly and Vualla almost immediately drew the attention of the recruits. They began sprinting forward despite their significant weights and suppressions against them, unwilling to attract Randidly’s attention by being the slowest performer. But what Randidly found the most shocking was that he basically had to do nothing to be an intimidating force in their eyes these days.

He had been almost instantly replaced in a manner that was somewhat insulting. Randidly could read the recruit’s emotions; the brightly smiling Vualla next to him injected them in an even more crippling fear than all of his aloof cruelty put together. To the recruits, the playful twinkle in her eyes appeared to be hellfire.

Vualla deliberately slowed their pace, so the two of them stopped right outside the ring in which the recruits were struggling. If anything, their deliberate pauses made the recruits throw themselves more frantically into the action of exercise. But through the press of bodies, Randidly caught sight of two individuals who were performing remarkably better than the others.

Their eyes were glazed with exhaustion, but they had been going at the frantic pace the entire time. Their shoulders shuddered with their heaving breaths as their bodies struggled to keep up with the physical demands placed on them. And as the other desperate recruits accelerated, so did they, a tiny bit. DiOrtho Vant and Raymund Ballast continued their idiotic training regimen so their issues with images could be adjusted.

According to the earlier schedule, they should be in Randidly’s Soulskill now. However, his own injuries had delayed the schedule somewhat. Looking at them now, it was clear that they were almost ready. Nether continued to linger in their bodies, preparing for a breakthrough.

Helen walked slowly over to where Vualla and Randidly were standing and offered them a short bow. Then she turned away from the recruits so they couldn’t see her expression and raised her hands to her cheeks. Her face eased with the soft edges of pure bliss. “Ah… truly, I admire your, mmmm dedication to the recruits training, Miss Vualla. Randidly here stopped by so regularly and possesses none of your flair for motivation.”

“Please, Miss Helen, I’m simply an observer,” Vualla’s smile grew even wider as she shared a malicious glance with Helen. Those sparks of hell flame shot between the two women. “Without your instruction, my assistance with motivation would be completely useless… heheh, it’s so rare to see such single-minded determination from recruits. You truly must have a gift…”

While the two women continued to chortle, Randidly said a silent prayer for the mental health of the recruits. But he was quickly distracted by a message from Lady Iellaya.

Military High Command finally unfucked itself. There will be a large scale mobilization of forces coming from every frontline to the Fifth Cohort, considering the recent activities of the Nether. In addition, a second wave of recruitment is going to happen, on a much more expedited time schedule.

I’ll be heading to the Fifth Cohort as soon as I send this message. Apparently the occurrences there are fairly disturbing.

Stay on the Fifth Cohort Rally Station as much as you can. The Commandants will protect you from threats, but don’t for a second believe that they are on your side. Something is going on at headquarters; it feels like someone cut a deal to the NLC after the corruption allegations. I bet someone paid a king’s ransom to keep those details from leaking. The report should come out soon, so we might be able to tell more then.

Stay sharp.

Randidly scanned the message a few extra times, gradually beginning to frown. He quickly sent back a response to Lady Iellaya to confirm that they would remain here for the full three months. She sent back an affirmation, but also added the extra warning of being careful of the Engraving Guild.

Randidly rubbed his forehead, which finally pulled Vualla’s attention away from the recruits. Her forehead creased. “Everything alright?”

“Right now, yeah.” Randidly sighed. “But… thinks are starting to get more complicated, aren’t they?”

Vualla nodded slowly. Then her eyes brightened. “Yea… maybe we should spar again?”