Chapter 555 Take The Bai (2/2)

”Lize, you are aware of Royal Highness Lydia's strength. Indeed, the Battle Angel Army basically won't intervene with human battles and this is one of the Archangel's considerations. After all, the ruler isn't a human. If she uses non-human subordinates to interfere with human affairs, it will surely raise an uproar among the civilians. But even so, Royal Highness Lydia has the loyal forces of the King's Party, namely the Northern Army, Eastern Plain, Court Mage Association, and the Senia Family, taking the lead. But, have you seen any of them at this point? Is it possible that Royal Highness Lydia is so worthless that she couldn't mobilize any troops? Could it be that the Munn Kingdom has fallen so low that we have to rely on mercenaries to fight?”

”I…” Lize was speechless.

”Frankly speaking, if Royal Highness Lydia only wishes to repress the rebellion, the entire Reformist Party would be hanged and whirling in the wind in the forest behind Golden City by now. But this is meaningless because the other civilians will continue to be intoxicated in worshipping their so-called thoughts of freedom and independence. If things reach that stage, perhaps Golden City would hang a group of people in their back forest every year.”

”But Big Sister has also done something similar in the past…”

”The past and now are different,” Rhode shook his head. ”Back then, Royal Highness Lydia had just succeeded the throne and she didn't have the reputation to convince the people. On the contrary, the Reformist Party had been conspiring for a long time and they took actions while the iron was hot. On one hand, it was to establish their prestige within the King's Party in the shortest time possible and on the other hand, it was to delay and suppress the Southern group of idiots. But it is different now. Royal Highness Lydia has stabled her strong position and grasped the Munn Kingdom firmly in her hands, so she can set her mind at ease and carefully act in accordance to the enemies, rather than slash out her swords. The Thistle Wreath Forest's fall is actually within General Garcia and my expectations.”

It was apparent from Lydia's dillydallying of not dispatching military troops that she had intended to lure the enemies into penetrating deeply into the Flourishing Blossom, Thistle Wreath, Cloud Summit, where one of the three Fortresses had to be sacrificed. Since Gaya had been sent by Lydia to the Cloud Summit Fortress, it meant that this place wouldn't be abandoned. Rhode had read from the letter that Marlene had headed into the Flourishing Blossom so the chances of there being abandoned were basically zero. Lastly, the Thistle Wreath Fortress—its terrain wasn't suitable for defense and furthermore, there was only a city, Calentes, behind it. That place was in the wilderness with minimal population, specialties, and wealth. It could be said that it was the most likely to be abandoned.

It seemed that the situation had been developing according to Royal Highness Lydia's plans. Rhode knew that his identity was nothing more than a lowly Baron and mercenary, and the Munn Kingdom hadn't reached the desperate stage where everyone would be dragged into a role in battles. Therefore, he was only responsible for some early stage projects. However, this proved as a great opportunity for Rhode. He wasn't furious that he had been left out from the huge battle at all. Instead, he was delighted and pleased. His less than 200 mercenaries would be useless in a battle of the thousands and the situations in battle were so everchanging that all his men might even be sacrificed for nothing. He would prefer to lead his team of Elites to complete missions like what a player did best. After all, this was the way players cleared the game.

”I guess you're aware that the King's Party's strength is much stronger than the Reformist Party's. The Reformist Party launched their attacks to conquer as much land as possible in Paphield because they would then seek help from the Country of Light Parliament when the King's Party retaliated. By then, they would pick up this cheap deal of territory in Paphield, with the prerequisite that the King's Party would respect the decision of the Light Parliament.”

But, in fact, the King's Party wouldn't.

The Light Parliament had understood this point ever since Lydia witnessed how Mini Bubble Gum had defeated the Mist Sword Saint. However, the Light Parliament didn't inform the Reformist Party because, from their standpoint, the Reformist Party's actions would only weaken the Munn Kingdom's strength no matter whether they succeeded or not. If they didn't manage Lydia well enough, it might bring a hidden danger that wouldn't be eradicated for a long time. The Light Parliament only needed to put in some harsh words and they could simply watch in safety.

Therefore, the Light Parliament's best deal was to continue pretending. However, they could never be as invested as before when it came to applying pressure on the King's Party because they had understood the consequences of getting involved.

”Have you seen people catch monkeys before, Lize?”

”Catch monkeys?” Lize shook her head in surprise.

Rhode nodded and continued. ”I've seen some people catching a monkey. They used a heavy clay pot with an opening the size of a monkey's hand and place delicious fruits in it. The monkey naturally inserts its hand for it and it couldn't pull out of it… Then, the hunter goes up to it and grabs it.”

”Why can't it take its hand out of the opening? Mr Rhode? If it could put its hand in, it should be able to take it out, isn't it?”

”The reason is simple. It put its empty hand in and grabbed a fruit when it tried to retrieve it. Even in the face of danger, the monkey still wasn't willing to let go of the fruit. In the end, it couldn't escape the trap and was caught by the hunter…” Rhode narrowed his eyes. ”And now, the monkey has put its hand in the opening and all we need to do is to be devoted audiences to see how the hunter captures the monkey. Soon, the hunter will be attacking the monkey, but the monkey will not let go of its hand even after it sees the rope on the hunter's hand. Instead, the monkey will be foolishly hoping for someone to step up and get it out of danger before the hunter captures it.”

”…”

Lize lowered her head in silence. Rhode had given a clear explanation and she naturally understood what he meant. After a brief moment, the young lady let out a sigh and said. ”Mr. Rhode, what should we do next?”

”Our mission is almost done. We shall see the situation over at Royal Highness Lydia's side. I think that Cloud Summit Fortress won't be in any danger and we should focus on our own mission soon… I guess the reinforcements will arrive at the Cloud Summit Fortress in a few days and we will be free from anything by then. Lize, have a good rest during this period of time and afterward, we will head to the Frozen Lake in Cranmore to complete our next 5 Stars mission.”

Frankly speaking, although Rhode had gained political and reputational respect after coming to the Paphield defensive line, this actually was a miserable result for a player. The enemies here were low-leveled and Rhode gained merely a pathetic 20000 EXP. Even before he got to accumulate more EXP, the 'Sulfur River' in Grosso had wiped it all out. Then, in Fiat, he received a special 'Fiery Rose' mission and failed to complete it due to the circumstances. Although Lydia's mission had been completed, his system missions had failed and he felt dispirited. Since there was nothing much going on with him in the upcoming battle, he intended to use this opportunity to strengthen his Guild's strength.

Both of them spoke as they walked and they arrived at the mercenary campsite. As they were about to step into the campsite, an unfamiliar voice berated. ”Let me go, you despicable Northerners! I will fight to the death with all of you!”