Chapter 173 Chapter 173: The Unexpected Encounter
This chapter might seem a bit confusing, but it will become clearer with the next two chapters.
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"Thank you for your diligence. If you're tired, you're welcome to rest in my carriage."
"No, no, Lord Charl, your kindness to us is as heavy as a mountain. Now is our time to repay. Until you are completely safe, we cannot afford any slack."
"You... sigh! You really don't have to do this. As Relic Users, you all have bright futures ahead, no need to hang your hopes on me. If we encounter an insurmountable enemy, forget about me and save yourselves."
Charl faked a helpless sigh, and as expected, his words only stoked the loyalty of the six guards outside the carriage.
"If Lord Charl is gone, what purpose do we have left?"
"Whoever dares abandon Lord Charl, I will be the first to slay them!" Trace the roots of this material to n0v★lbin
"And Lord Charl, please don't say such things again!"
"Exactly, besides, with the six of us here, there is no enemy we cannot face!"
Listening to the devotion of his guards, Charl's anxiety gradually eased. Indeed, with the Empress likely preoccupied with the curse on the non-human races, and barring her intervention, the combined might of six Relic Users could handle almost any threat, even General Long himself.
Just as Charl was comforting himself with these thoughts, his carriage came to a sudden jarring halt, nearly throwing him from his seat.
"What the—"
"What's happening!?"
As Charl steadied himself and hastily pulled back the curtain to look outside, he saw a solitary figure blocking their path ahead. The individual's attire was distinctly non-Dragon Nation in style.
A magnetic, melancholic male voice echoed, originating from the black-clad figure.
The mysterious man scanned Charl and his entourage, but his gaze lingered the longest on the beleaguered beast of burden.
On the other side, Charl, hearing this voice, suddenly tensed up, as if he had made a realization. He stared intently at the figure, as a vague memory began to surface in his mind.
'That... that was a high-ranking member of the Old Alliance, on par with my former superior, Bal. A top-tier "Forgotten One," if I remembered correctly, the man's name should be...'
"Hero... Lord Hero!?" Charl called out tentatively from the carriage.
"Oh? You recognize me?" Hero shifted his gaze from the beast.
Charl's initial fear quickly turned into ecstatic relief. He hadn't expected the Old Alliance to not only not abandon him but even send another high-ranking member to retrieve him!
In his escape plans, Charl had never considered the Forest Alliance, one of the five major powers, because as a member of the Old Alliance, he knew that entry into that enigmatic Forest Alliance required becoming a "Forgotten One," a status he hadn't attained.
To outsiders, gaining entry into the Forest Alliance seemed impossible. Unlike Sin City, it was almost entirely isolated, rarely interacting with the outside world and certainly not welcoming outsiders. Many who sought the Forest Alliance ended up lost in the Illusionary Forest, wandering in circles.
But now...
'Could it be that my efforts were finally acknowledged, not only sparing me from pursuit but also rewarding me? Was Lord Hero here to take me to the Forest Alliance, to the legendary headquarters of the Old Alliance, the Underground Sanctuary?'
However, Hero's response to the visibly elated Charl, who had just jumped from the carriage, was a shake of the head.
"I think you've misunderstood something."
"Misunderstood?"
"Simply put, I'm here to send you off," Hero said, spreading his white-gloved hands.
After a moment, perhaps to clarify for Charl's sake, he added, "You're part of a trade I'm about to make."
"More precisely, you're just a bonus."