93 Quite Bold (1/2)
”Ah!” The youth was surprised. He had been so infatuated this whole time that he didn't even bother to check and notice that Ines had no indication of being part of the <Sovereign Nation>. The only thing that gave it away was her asking about Luna. Anybody who has lived in any part of the Nation wouldn't have needed to ask about their leader. This didn't trigger any alarms, however, since, for him, she was harmless. But still, he had to ask.
”How come you're not part of our Nation yet? They should have required you to join, no?”
”About this...” Ines thought up a quick excuse. ”I'm a special case, you see. I have a special ability that I can't really show you, but it's something that your leaders saw high value in. I told them that I will join if I see that they treat their people fairly. They're a bit busy with the defense at the moment so they told me I have a week to go around and see before I decide.”
”Oh, so you're an important person!” Due to his infatuation, Josh was already quite biased towards Ines. The lovestruck youth believed her instantly.
”I guess you could say that,” Ines was relieved on the inside as she smiled.
”Wow! I never thought I'd become friends with a VIP!” He replied, as his admiration only grew more, yet at the same time, someone so important, he felt as if his chances of being with her became slimmer.
If only he knew, that he had none, to begin with.
”Just keep it a secret, okay? Now, before I make my decision, I wish to know more about your leader,” She asked as she patted on the spot next to her, signaling that Josh should come over and sit beside her. The young man obliged.
As he sat beside her, he started right away, ”Well, where do I start? In terms of fairness, Lord Luna is fair to everyone. He's not like those corrupt officials that would steal from the people. In fact, he is quite generous. Did you know that he could have been way more powerful? And yet, since it was for the betterment of the Nation, he gave away even the inheritance from the Star Goddess to Lord Bonifacio. All because he knew that it would bolster our overall defenses. He gave away free housing to everyone. Even rare drops. He has never held back as long as it was for the good of everyone.”
”I see, he is indeed generous. But, as with any person in power, they will be afraid to lose it. Are you certain that he's not doing anything to hold you all back in order to secure his spot?” Ines continued to inquire.
”Absolutely not! As a matter of fact, my previous leader who resided up North did that. Yet, Lord Luna came in an set an example of how keeping your people weak, just to hold on to an illusion of power will inevitably lead to a Nation's doom. This is why he provides us with the equipment we need and why he trains us well. Even regular citizens are required to train up to a certain minimum level. He relies only on his own strength, that's why he's confident of keeping everyone strong. Even then, Lord Luna's strength is still unfathomable. No one has really seen him use his full strength.”
The two continued to converse as Ines began to have a deeper understanding of this Nation's so-called leader. Eventually, she found out that Luna had been ahead since the very beginning and never got complacent. This was why the <Sovereign Nation>, through the earlier announcements had been recognized as the top Nation. She found out about Sura and Maxene's origin as well.
Thus, she deemed the Luna to be the perfect candidate for her plan. The problem now, was how was she supposed to convince him? In order for her to even have any chance at it, she would have to risk her life first.
But to be able to live in this paradise called Earth? To her, it was worth it. After all, due to the current situation she was in along with her special circumstances, she was probably the only one capable of pulling this plan off.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Back in the Western front, things were looking good for the <Sovereign Nation>'s soldiers.
There were indeed some people who got intimidated by the enemy before them. Luckily, they had strong-willed individuals in their squads as well, who helped mitigate the early shock they received. The strong ones would act as the vanguard as the weaker ones would acclimate themselves to being on the battlefield.
Although there was a handful that took long to adapt, most of the soldiers quickly composed themselves and joined in on the fight. Due to these people, injuries were to be expected. Thankfully, this was minimized by the backline support they received from the Mages and their elementals.
Fighting in a battlefield against such an imposing army was a lot different from going out on hunts to grind levels or fighting from atop the walls. They would meet these newer, much stronger enemies than what they were used to, fully knowing that these new foes were very much capable of killing them if they were careless. It was like when you were playing an MMORPG and you went from killing monsters twenty levels below you to fighting a huge army of monsters at the same level as you.
”It seems our soldiers need some encouragement,” Sura suggested as she looked towards Luna.
”Indeed,” he replied as he unsheathed his pair of modified Itak Tagalogs. These were the same pair that he carried since the new world started. However, they were now upgraded to their full potential, along with the Gunblade modification. These weapons were deadly either in a ranged fight or in a melee.
Pointing both Itak Tagalogs forward, Luna charged two shots fully. This was another option he had unlocked after the enhancement level reached +9.
The ability to charge a much more powerful shot. He could either charge an explosive shot or one with a high piercing capability. The current shot he was charging was the former. A ball of atmospheric energy formed in front of each barrel.
”Time to try out this new trick,” Luna thought as he slowly infused his Fire Anito which had recently reached the 4th stage thanks to the EXP Agimat that helped him with his breakthrough.
”Infuse!” He willed the Fire Anito to fuse perfectly with the atmospheric energy.
Maxene, Sura, and even Elder Aran were surprised. After all, despite his level being higher than the majority of the people here, the Elder was never one of the frontliners during the war in his world. He had never held an upgraded weapon before recently as there was never much of a need to. He especially had never wielded a Gunblade before, or any type of gun for that matter.
A couple seconds after Luna infused both energies, they flew forward at lightning speed.
*FWOOM!*
...
BOOM!
Both energy balls hit the Void army's backline, leaving a crater and charred body parts scattered all over the place.
”What a devastating skill. Too bad it consumes quite a bit of Mana. It is a higher level skill, after all. Your understanding of your Anito has improved quite significantly, Lord Luna. Congratulations!” Elder Aran commented.
”Thank you, Elder. Now, let's lead by example,” Luna replied.