Chapter 637 Warlord
Back in the temporary command center, Karl stared silently at the map on the table while his adjutant, Lochlan Xenakis, stood beside him.
As a veteran who had been working alongside him since joining the army, Lochlan was one of Karl’s most trusted aides and often assisted in planning the Eastern Army’s missions.
“Commander, Blood Squad’s latest update is that they’ve infiltrated the edge of Norham district. They should be able to reach Wildefield tomorrow, where Mrs. Hamilton is being held captive,” Lochlan reported as he marked out the Wildefield area on the map. “Once they’ve rescued Mrs. Hamilton, Blood Squad will sail south of the Lerner River and meet up with our informants near Redlington. After that, they’ll return to Horbah by land. By our estimate, the journey will take at least five days.”
Upon hearing his subordinate’s analysis, Karl shook his head. “Five days is the duration of the journey, but once Wildefield is under attack, I have no doubt the Medved Army will take immediate action. When that happens, there will be roadblocks everywhere.”
With that, Karl leaned back into his chair wearily.
It was the second time his wife and child had fallen into the enemy’s hands, and on both occasions, he had told the enemies that he didn’t care whether his family lived or died.
However, as a husband and father, how could he not care?
Karl knew that if he wanted to save his family, he’d have to waylay the Medved Army along River Onxy. As long as Aidan was focused on the situation at the river, they’d have a better chance of ensuring his wife’s and child’s safety.
After all, people would inevitably die once a battle began.
“Lochlan, we’ve had to deploy ten members from the Blood Squad to rescue two people. On top of that, we’d also need to keep creating conflicts with the Medved Army to buy our squad more time. I can only imagine how many lives will be lost when the battle breaks out.”
“Commander, our Eastern Army will never give up on any of our comrades,” Lochlan replied solemnly.
“But they aren’t soldiers!” Karl retorted.
“We’re talking about your wife and child. We can’t ditch them.”
“Why not?” Karl snapped, his eyes turning red. “Tell me, Lochlan, if the wife and kids of a junior officer or soldier get caught, will we send out an army to rescue them?”
Lochlan sighed and shook his head. “Commander, you can’t make such an assumption. There’s no way the Medved Army will kidnap a junior officer’s family.”
Karl merely cast a conflicted gaze on his subordinate.
After pouring Karl a cup of tea, Lochlan added, “Commander, it’s only a matter of time before war breaks out between the Medved Army and us, and there are plenty of reasons that can trigger it. It could be the capture of an informant, a military drill gone wrong, or even a snowflake that accidentally fell into River Onxy. That’s just how precarious the situation is.”
“But I don’t want my wife and child to be the reason for this war,” Karl muttered as he tightened his grip on his chair. “If it does happen, the soldiers who die on the battlefield won’t die fighting for the country. They’d have died because of me!”
“We’re your soldiers, Commander. It has always been our duty to fight for you.”
Upon hearing Lochlan’s words, Karl froze. “Fight for me…”
As simple as those words were, he couldn’t help but feel himself getting choked up.
Ah, yes. From the moment I turned my back on Asura’s Office, the Eastern Army solely belongs to me. The fact that these soldiers are still with me is more than enough to prove they’re loyal to me.
“D-Does that make me a warlord?” Karl stammered as he turned to Lochlan with a look of anguish.
He had been in the army for seven years, and for five years before he followed Jonathan, he had already combed the Doveston region to wipe out the local forces. He hated ruthless warlords and their oppressive rule with a vengeance.
To his horror, however, he had unknowingly turned into his worst nightmare.
“How can I possibly be a warlord?” Karl exclaimed, standing up and toppling his chair over.
As the loud, crisp sound rang out, the reverberation sent a shiver down his spine.
Oh, to think I used to be the Eastern Army’s Prince of Diyouli. Alas, that title I was so proud of is long gone. Back in Asura’s Office, I was duly appointed and authorized to carry out my job, but now that I’ve left, I’m back to being just Karl Hamilton. That also means my soldiers have become my private army. Even though my end goal is to bring down Chanaea’s respectable families for the good of the people, all I’ve done is turn myself into a warlord.
Upon seeing how lost and devastated Karl was, Lochlan hurriedly lifted the chair and sat him back down.
“Commander, this position is yours! Whether you’re the Prince of Diyouli or not, we’ll always be your soldiers, and you’ll always be our leader!”
The more Lochlan held Karl down, the more the latter struggled. Karl’s cultivation level might have reached the God Realm stage, but he couldn’t care less about using his spiritual energy in such an emotional situation.
As a result, Lochlan, who was only in the advanced phase of the Superior Realm, managed to hold him down.
Karl continued to struggle with all his might, but in the end, it became more of a way for him to vent his anger than to get up.
Ten minutes later, he finally slumped into his chair, exhausted.
Lochlan, on the other hand, quickly straightened his clothes and brought the cup of tea to Karl.
“Have some tea, Commander.”
With his right hand still shaking slightly, Karl downed the tea and turned to his subordinate.
“Lochlan, set up our defense and get into Level 1 battle formation.”
“Got it!”
Meanwhile, at the Grand Hotel, Jonathan had imbued his spiritual sense into the Heaven Sword as the Ancient Sacred Dragon Technique whirred within him.
To ensure he had the highest level of privacy, he even enveloped himself in a transparent hard shell formed entirely out of spiritual energy.
As it turned out, that was one of the uses of a Grandmaster Realm force field.
The force field could contain one’s spiritual energy waves, thus making sure that one’s aura couldn’t be easily detected.
Of course, such a concealment tactic had its limits, too. If someone else’s force field converged with it, there was no doubt the jig would be up.
Thankfully, Jonathan had Lady Luck on his side.
Zebedee, who was staying in the room next door, had also expanded his force field to mask Team Oracle’s aura. However, the force field was only as big as the room and never once overlapped with Jonathan’s.
Just like that, both parties spent the rest of the day in peace until Zebedee and his team left at night.
When a sudden knock on the door rang out, Jonathan’s eyes flew open, a glint flashing across them.
He had been preparing himself for that moment.
That was also why many elites preferred to look at people with half-opened eyes. It wasn’t that they were sleepy, but rather, they were conserving and focusing their energy.
As soon as he felt the spiritual energy in his body, Jonathan shook his head.
There was no doubt that his Ancient Sacred Dragon Technique was unique and powerful, which was why he had been able to progress so quickly.
However, it was only when he entered Summerbank Abyss that he realized the benefits of a cultivation haven.
Summerbank Abyss had a thick outer layer of fog acting as a spirit shield to block off all external spiritual sense and energy. At the same time, that shield also prevented any of its internal spiritual energy from leaking out, which was at least a hundred times stronger compared to the outside world’s.
Most importantly, Summerbank Abyss was chock-full of spiritual fruit. If he could continue his cultivation there, Jonathan was sure he’d be able to reach God Realm in less than six months. By then, his goal of becoming a Divine cultivator would also be within reach.
That’s it. One of these days, I’ll have to make a trip back to Summerbank Abyss for my cultivation.
With that thought in mind, Jonathan waved his hand and let Geoffrey into the room.
What he didn’t know, however, was that at the same time, a disheveled man was running frantically for his life in Summerbank Abyss while biting down on a green fruit.
That man was none other than Ryan Leiter.
