Chapter 1002 A Leader's Presence, Direct Contact

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"Lieutenant Niflheim, I request a private conversation at a more fitting time so that we may further explore the importance of priorities," Menerva said calmly.

"Is it really necessary?" Niflheim replied with a weak smile.

"It is necessary," Menerva responded firmly without pause.

At the moment, the members of the 9th Division were gathered at the rear of the 2nd Unit. The atmosphere was still somewhat tense after having just narrowly escaped with their lives from the Pzenium forces, so everyone remained on edge.

Though something just happened to help somewhat ease the tense atmosphere. Not long ago, Lieutenant Skatal, who was saved from Menkar by Niflheim, came over to check on him and the 9th Division as well as give his thanks.

The moment after Lieutenant Skatal took his leave is when Menerva made her comment. Of course, Niflheim had already expected as much.

Menerva made it clear that she was against him moving away from the 9th Division under such circumstances; however, he still proceeded to do so and ultimately confronted Menkar.

Niflheim's actions to keep Menkar under control and stop his rampage undoubtedly saved many lives of those from the 2nd Unit. But, regardless of the end result, Niflheim understood that his decision was a bit reckless.

Fortunately, no one from the 9th Division had been lost. That being said, even if he could go back and repeat things, Niflheim felt that he would have made the same exact choice.

That's because a certain thought crossed Niflheim's mind at that moment, "What would that man do?"

The person he was thinking about was, of course, Izroth.

Niflheim had no doubt that Izroth would have been the first to confront Menkar and ensure that they suffered as few losses as possible.

Needless to say, Niflheim was well aware of the gap that existed between him and Izroth, which is also why he knew the recklessness of his actions. Nevertheless, Niflheim did not regret his decision.

As for Menerva, she was not necessarily upset at Niflheim's actions. In fact, a part of her was reminded of Izroth when Niflheim unhesitantly went forward to stop Menkar's rampage. She also understood the importance of keeping their forces as plentiful as possible.

But, ultimately, Menerva's highest priority was with ensuring the safety and survival of the 9th Division members that Izroth had entrusted to her. Everything else after that was secondary.

"I'm glad to see you all are still in one piece." Izroth's voice sounded as he approached the 9th Division along with Ranazera by his side.

He then continued, "I hope you all managed to learn a few things from this experience."

"It's the Captain...!" Hollow Crane exclaimed.

"Alright! The Captain's returned!" Champion said excitedly.

"Welcome back, Captain!" Astral Knight greeted.

One after the other the members of the 9th Division happily welcomed Izroth.

The moment those of the 9th Division saw Izroth, the tense atmosphere had completely evaporated and was no longer anywhere to be found.

"What's with these guys? Just a second ago, they were all on edge. Is this the effect of his presence on those who serve under his command? Even so... Isn't this a bit too much for a Captain of the General Support Unit?" Ranazera contemplated as she inwardly sighed.

Of course, by now, Ranazera knew that Izroth was not your average GSU Captain.

"Having this kind of moralizing effect on those under your command... Well, I suppose, at the very least, his heart is not filled with malice." Ranazera thought to herself as she silently observed.

"Welcome back, Captain," Niflheim said with a large grin as he walked up to Izroth.

"We have been awaiting your return. It is pleasing to see that you are unharmed." Menerva commented as she, too, approached Izroth.

Izroth gave a small nod and stated, "There were a few unexpected things that occurred on my journey. I'll make sure to get you two up to speed a little later. But, first-"

"I should properly greet our guest," Izroth said as his gaze shifted to the person who walked up behind Niflheim and Menerva.

"I was beginning to think Palace Master Izroth had already forgotten about my existence." A familiar voice sounded.

"Rest assured; my memory is not so poor that your existence would slip my mind, Phantom Queen." Izroth state in a carefree manner.

Morrighan stepped forward and said, "We have much to discuss."

Earlier, not long after he and Ranazera reached the south end of the Nightfall Glades, Izroth heard a raven's cry and saw a strange-looking bird circling directly above them.

He immediately recognized that bird, along with the unique mana signature it contained. It was the same magic raven used by the Phantom Queen to scout ahead in the first and second stages of the crusade.

Then, moments later while following the trail of battle that would eventually lead them to the battlefield, along the way, Morrighan suddenly appeared before Izroth.

Since he was unable to locate the Phantom Queen with his Energy Vision Sense beforehand yet was able to detect her with it when she arrived in front of him, Izroth believed that she was not nearby. Or, at the very least, she was more than one kilometer away.

Izroth knew that the Phantom Queen could use long-range teleportation magic as she witnessed it firsthand sometime after they left the crusade. However, to shift her position more than one kilometer in an instant—even an S-ranked skill teleportation skill could not compare.

According to Morrighan, she had been attempting to get in contact with Izroth to discuss a potential exchange for a portion of the Blood of the Immortal Hydra; however, it was to no avail.

Though it was not too surprising. The first time the Phantom Queen visited the Mystical Realm Palace to deliver the ancient scrolls containing information about the possible applications of the Blood of the Immortal Hydra, Izroth was nowhere to be found.

At the time, she left the scrolls to Opal, the NPC in charge of the Mystical Realm Palace, after having waited for some time and not seeing any signs of Izroth.

Morrighan also tried to send a private message and a friend request, but both failed to go through. At that point, a part of her regretted not just adding Izroth as a friend after the crusade ended. However, she could not help it. Sending a friend request after making such a bet and misunderstanding Izroth's temperament—the Phantom Queen was not so thick-skinned.

As for why she could not message Izroth, he had long since restricted his private messages so that only those on his friend list could contact him.

Additionally, after he unlocked the event leaderboards, an endless stream of friend requests started to pour in; therefore, he had no choice but to restrict that as well.

Naturally, this limited Morrighan's options, and she was left with no choice but to locate Izroth through a more direct approach.

That being said, it was not as though Izroth had time for a casual conversation. Therefore, he said they could have a proper discussion once things concluded in the Nightfall Glades.

Taking Izroth's words to heart, not long after that, Morrighan arrived at the battlefield and wreaked havoc on the east side of the Pzenium forces to push things along. Eventually, she set her sights on Menkar, who seemed to be the one in charge of the Pzenium forces and helped deal with him.

Morrighan's presence on the east side of the battlefield was why Izroth did not concern himself with it.

"It looks like our discussion will have to wait just a little longer," Izroth commented.

"By all means, Captain Izroth, don't mind me and continue. I've already waited for quite some time to receive your report. What's a few more moments of time?" Aurie's said as she arrived at the rear where the 9th Division was positioned.

Although her outer demeanor appeared at ease and relaxed, Izroth could feel Aurie's gaze that was saying, "Don't you owe me a few explanations?"

Izroth could not blame Aurie. So much had happened within such a short span of time. Not to mention, he did technically deceive her with the original Golden Bridge Strategy. Even if it was necessary, Izroth understood that he owed the Commander a reasonable explanation.

Still, Izroth was glad that Aurie trusted him enough to take the contents of the message he delivered through the scrolls seriously. Otherwise, things may not have gone so smoothly.

"I was just about to pay a visit to the Commander. Should we go somewhere a bit more private to talk things through?" Izroth said with a carefree smile.