"You're finally here."
In front of Ryo stood a grizzled old man with a tall and lean stature having a similar fit as Lord Third. Hearing those words with such a voice sent chills down Ryo's spine.
Slightly flustered Ryo replied, "Y-yes."
'Who is he? He looks similar to the Third but different... his father or uncle maybe? He seems to be someone like his brother though...'
Before Ryo could gather his thoughts the man in front of his spoke.
"I'd love to ask what you were doing but we don't have time right now, you better win this war son or else as promised you will be eliminated."
'Eliminated? Ah, he just called me 'son' so he's my- I mean Lord Third's father aside from that what promise is he talking about? Should I dig deeper? Do I need to though? I should focus on the mission, I'll think about what he said later.'
As Ryo found his resolve he began to hear multiple footsteps coming from behind, the steps seemed to sound impatient and hopeless.
"Ah, Successor of Kainex, You're finally here! We greet Lord Lux!"
A group of multiple men, some who were old and some who seemed young and the same age as Ryo appeared in front of him and began to bow.
'Lux, that's his name. Lord Third's name. It feels so weird being called that. So weird. This entire thing is weird, do I have to tell them to raise their heads?'
Ryo spoke in a stoic voice, "You may rise, can you debrief me on the situation?"
The entire group lifted their heads and one of them stepped forward with an impatient stride.
"Let me get straight to the point my lord, we have confirmed that almost ninety thousand soldiers are approaching out camp."
'Ninety thousand? That's a lot.'
Ryo pressed further, "Right, can you confirm the number of soldiers we have?"
"Almost around sixty nine thousand soldiers."
'Right, so the tales about this battle were true. He did manage to win while also being outnumbered. That doesn't matter for me though, he won that with his power or rather the power of Kainex lineage. Gravity Manipu- Agh. I need to stop getting carried away. They outnumber us completely, twenty one thousand more soldiers, too much advant- unless...'
"The ranks of the enemy soldiers? Tell me ours too."
"Right, the enemies are being led by 3, Grade 1 Commanders. While we only have you who would be on the same level as them. And of course Head of Kainex too...to be honest he could probably defeat all of the alone, however because of the bet he won't be fighting." The strategist in front of him spoke with a slight hint of hostility.
'Except that I'm not, my powers are locked. Also he mentioned the bet again, what is that? And why does it exist? It's hard enough as is and now I can't use a heavy hitter either. I already checked before coming in here I can't use the powers of Kainex either. What to do... Wait, Even if they are Grade 1 Commanders it doesn't mean that they are at the peak of this stage. We might be able to considering- No, it'll only increase our chances by a small, non-existant margin. Still I should take it into consideration.'
Ryo spoke after thinking it through, "Hmm, how much area do you think they can destroy?"
However unlike the previous few times, this time they did not answer him instead they began telling their own decision, what they thought was the best option, "I apologize for being rude but we should retreat so that information doesn't matter."
'So they're set on not fighting. I wouldn't either, however I have to, in order to pass this test.'
Ryo pushed further with a cold voice, "Answer the question."
The expressions on the faces of the strategists had changed, they now expressed their anger openly towards Ryo.
'Seriously? Now they're expressing their anger openly like this too? If this wasn't a test I would have certainly entertained the thought of killing them instead.'
"Answer him."
The Head of Kainex who had been standing there quietly observing the situation now spoke up in a threatening voice demanding the group to answer Ryo. The strategists swallowed their enmity and began to debrief Ryo on the situation again.
"T- Together they can destroy an entire sector from the readings we have gotten..."
'Sectors... Oh no. I really wish I could run right now.'
Letting out a painful sigh Ryo asked a question once again, "I see, how many High Grade Tier 3 soldiers do we have?"
"Only around 20 as for the enemies they only have 10 High Grade Tier 1 soldiers from the readings we've seen."
'Hmm, it really is a hopeless situation just like it was described in history. Also they said 'readings' There might be more, in-fact it's completely possible for them to hide some of them. Shit.'
"Are those 20 soldiers in good condition. Oh and also do they have Mid Grade Tier 1 soldiers?"
"Ah yes they're in their peak condition! As for Mid Grade Tier 1 soldier neither side seem to be bringing them."
'I see, so no mid grade soldiers have been bought out by both sides. Only according to 'readings' however.'
Ryo hung his head before looking back at the group once again and questioning them further,
"The escape route you were talking about, can you describe the route?"
As soon as Ryo finished asking his next question the faces of the strategists in front of him brightened.
"Yes! We'll be moving through the Sector 6 tunnel not only will it cloak our power signals it's entrance pathway can immediately be destroyed with a single command!"
"Do we know how much time it will take for them to reach here?"
"Approximately 2 days, we have enough time to escape by then."
'That's weird, I thought they managed to get readings for their level of power why would they they go around being uncloaked is there something wrong? Ah could it be that they're planning to face us head on? Does that mean they know our numbers? But what if it's a trap? There's too many possibilities, I need to narrow it down.'
Sighing once again Ryo spoke still maintaining his stoic voice, "I'll decide by tonight, for now go back everyone."
"Understood! We hope you will make a wise decision."
At an instant the entire room was now empty with only Ryo and Lux's father being there.
"Can you help me?" Ryo asked, he didn't expect a yes, however didn't expect the answer which awaited him either.
"Do you have a death wish? Are you finally giving up now?"
'Ah, I forgot of course he mentioned some promise. Do I have to find out about this promise to progress?'
"It's not like that I just need you to show me around this place there are some things I need to check."
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