Chapter 555 - Take The Bait
Lize’s expression paled as soon as she heard the news. The thing that she feared the most had eventually happened. She looked at Rhode and Garcia worriedly and attempted to seek their assistance. However, the next scene left her stunned.
Rhode and Garcia appeared unfazed. Garcia smiled at Rhode and gestured to the soldier. “Alright, I got it. You can back down now.”
“Yes, Sir.” The orderly left swiftly.
Garcia strolled to his table and lifted a bottle of red wine. He shook it slightly at Rhode. “Mr. Rhode, shall we?”
“Sorry, I’m not interested in being alone with a man. Besides, Mr. Garcia, since we’ve driven off the enemies, how about we have a celebration feast tonight? Everyone has put in hard work and it will be a great time for them to unwind, right?”
“Yes, that’s a great idea. I will get my men to prepare immediately. Please join us tonight, especially Miss Lize.” Garcia turned to Lize with a gracious smile. “You’ve led the mercenaries and secured our defensive line. At the same time, you’ve also held hundreds of enemies captive. This is a great achievement. Please join our celebration feast with your mercenaries. I will get my chefs to prepare their best dishes to treat everyone’s palettes.”
“Ah. It’s nothing. General Garcia, this is my duty… No!” Lize nodded instinctively before coming to her senses abruptly. She looked helplessly at Garcia and Rhode. “General Garcia, Mr. Rhode, the Thistle Wreath Fortress has fallen into the enemies’ hands and they have penetrated Paphield. Aren’t we supposed to do something?”
“…” Garcia and Rhode exchanged glances with each other.
Garcia spread his hands out and gazed at Rhode with a dissatisfied look while Rhode shrugged as though the matter had nothing to do with him. “What has this got to do with us? Lize, our mission has been accomplished. Alright, don’t worry so much and get some rest. I’m sure you must be tired. Just relax and join the feast tonight.”
“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!”