Chapter 414: Buffer 2
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"We Kovitan are lacking the supply of different kinds of gemstones and the same for our food stock. The disasters have been much worse recently and the Black Field, which the Black Prince is about to bridge us to, has the resources that we urgently require. The Dragon Field’s overall geographical structure is similar to of a basin. The inner region is a plains area with all sorts of crops and minerals. As their defense was good enough, they didn’t suffer a lot during the chaos. However, they are sorely lacking in powerful individuals and the only form four totem user is the Black Prince himself, and it’s not enough to protect the entire Dragon Field."
"I heard that the Black Prince is extremely gifted…" Garen butted in.
"It takes time to convert potential to actual strength. No matter how gifted you are, you’re still weak if you do not have strength." Yawei shook his head as he said. "Hence, no matter if it’s His Majesty or the Black Prince, we have to view them in high regards. If this two were to collaborate together, it would be beneficial to everyone."
"So the reason why so many powerful individuals have returned isn’t because of the trust ceremony but of the alliance between Kovitan and Dragon Field." Marquis Yawei summarised.
"I understand now. It felt weird that we would require so much security just to hold a trust ceremony. The main objective is to let the Black Prince witness our strength." Garen nodded.
"I’m glad you understand. To be frank Garen, you have already reached the upper class of form four so you’ll definitely have a notable influence in the Kingdom. I don’t need to tell you this but soon a lot of people will try and get closer to you. As an ally and a person who has been in your shoes, I suggest it’s best for you to befriend someone who can help you out. You don’t have to keep interacting with those inferior to you as it won’t be beneficial to you and you may even trap yourself with overconfidence." Marquis Yawei said.
As the leader of the Purple Team and a form four totem user, it was obvious that he was befriending Garen and planned to get closer to him.
"Thank you for your reminder. I have this in mind as well but unfortunately, I don’t know anyone." Garen shrugged his shoulders.
"That’s simple." Yawei smiled. "I have a friend from the Headquarter who is going to visit Kovitan and we decided to gather with a few friends of mine. We’re all of the same level and we talk to each other quite a lot."
"Someone from the Headquarter?" Garen squinted his eyes.
"Yea. The Headquarter’s structure is different from the Administration’s. Their main objective is to coordinate the relationship between each country’s Administration and most of the people inside are promoted from their respective country’s Administration. This good friend of mine was the General Director of the Kovitan’s Administration. Oh right, he is currently on the verge of becoming a form five and has been preparing himself for quite some time."
Garen was slightly stunned as he was currently at a loss of understanding about the Existing Mode of form five totems. His Nine-Headed Hydra was considered the pinnacle within the Animal series. He didn’t know what had been used for form five totems as its core as even the Nine Head Dragon was no match to their totem’s potential.
God Cloud’s comment towards the Nine-Head Dragon was that it had reached its limit. Garen couldn’t grasp the Existing Mode of the core totem at that level.
"Then… May I have the luxury of attending this gathering?" Garen asked directly.
"That’s naturally a yes. My friends have not been in good terms for a long time. They were from the same Academy and God Cloud was very arrogant and didn’t consider anyone superior to him there. Every one of us is very happy that you are able put him at a disadvantage. It is also because of this that this circle of friends has been wanting to talk to you directly. Do you think I would invite you if it’s only me with this intention? Marquis Yawei started laughing loudly.
"It is an honor." Garen smiled back with hope brimming in his eyes.
"To be frank, there are only ten or so form five users in the whole Eastern Continent including the Elder Parliament. It is too difficult to achieve that level…" Marquis Yawei sighed. "I encountered lots of hardships to reach the peak of form four and has been stagnating here for sixty years. It’s been sixty years and I’m still at this level."
He started to recall his memories as his voice slowed down.
"My daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter have all grown up. Just a few days ago, I attended my daughter’s funeral… It’s funny, isn’t it? She was just a commoner who lived for eighty plus years and she went to the other world earlier than me…"
Garen could feel the sadness in his tone.
It’s rare for them to be able to talk to each other this easily, hence it took Garen about an hour or so before he left the meeting room.
They had decided the time and place for the gathering and Garen had obtained a lot of intel that he couldn’t obtain through Yawei.
As he got out of the room, he saw the members of Red Team had been waiting for him, as if they were waiting for something.
Garen smiled and took out the white gemstone from his pocket.
"White color!!" Kitten was the first one to shout but immediately covered her mouth. She almost jumped in joy as she hugged Fox who was standing beside her.
Old Man and Red Umbrella were laughing happily.
Kid cracked a smile as well.
Garen handed the diamond-shaped gemstone to Fox. They then went into the Red Team’s room where there was a machine for them to enter the white gemstone’s information into the Red Team’s mission point’s folder.
The system would automatically divide the mission points based on the performance.
It was a highly advanced technology.
"Everyone will have a month long holiday and will continue to rest if there are no mission afterwards. So it’s basically free activity from here on." Garen smiled as he announced the arrangement.
"Team leader is the best!" Kitten shouted.
The others smiled happily as well.
"Kid, you can follow me if you have nowhere else to go," Garen said softly to Kid as he smiled at him.
"Sure." Kid was the diverse type in the Red Team and couldn’t be promoted as he wasn’t strong enough. However, he was definitely unique or else the previous captain wouldn’t have paid attention to him at all.
Garen knew that there were mysterious people within each of the groups.
Garen left Well’s Castle with Kid and both of them had a quick lunch in a restaurant that they’d picked without much consideration.
It was totally different from the Kingdom he’d visited previously. A lot of the citizens had opened up restaurants and they didn’t have to squeeze with each other when they were purchasing items. It looked like society was starting to get back on track.
Occasionally, guardians in white armor would patrol the streets and the amount of homeless people had been reduced drastically. Avic’s policies appeared to be rather effective.
Kid and Garen were on the streets. Instead of using a horse carriage, they cut through an alley and soon arrived at the Kingdom’s War Guild division.
The division was built at a corner of a crossroads and was a grey stone door built into part of a chain building.
There was a brass copper name plate outside with ‘Milvus Tide’ engraved on it.
Occasionally, people in black cloaks would enter and exit the place.
Garen put his mask on and entered the Milvus Tide together with Kid.
Inside, it was peaceful, the silence broken by only the sound of a violin, which was soft and gentle, giving off a soothing vibe.
The Milvus Tide was a very quiet bar.
The seats were organized in double sofas for each unit and each unit would have one double sofa. The units were then separated by an opaque glass wall, forming a small semi-open studio.
It was rather dim inside as the only light source was the yellow light from the candles by the walls.
People were walking into and exiting from each unit constantly.
There was a rectangular bar on the left side of the entrance. There was a bartender insider preparing a drink for a woman in a red shirt. His hands moved so fast that only the after shadows could be seen.
Garen entered together with the curious Kid and a man in black shirt immediately came up to him.
"Sir, have you made any reservation?"
"No. I’m here to find a forger," Garen said coldly. As he was about to show his emblem, his hand stopped moving as he realized that his emblem had been destroyed by God Cloud’s chain at the Snowy Peak.
"Kindly show me your guild’s emblem so that we can arrange a forger for you based on your rank." The bouncer requested respectfully.
"Erm… I have accidentally lost my emblem." Garen said hopelessly.
"You can use mine." suddenly Kid’s voice came from beside him and handed over a black emblem to the bouncer with his fragile, small hand. The black emblem had circles of tread patterns on it.
"Honored customer, please follow me." It seemed that the emblem’s rank wasn’t low at all.
Garen patted Kid’s head as he thanked him.
Two of them followed the bouncer deep into the bar and settled down on a unit with a silver textured black sofa.
"Please wait for a moment." The bouncer left together with the emblem. After a short while, a white-bearded old man came rushing in with a crutch.
"I am the forger in this guild. May I ask what kind of service are you looking for? Excluding the highest rank, every services are half off."
"I wish to upgrade my war chain." Garen pulled up his sleeves and showed the diamond-shaped marking on his biceps.
"War Chain?" The forger studied the marks on Garen’s hand. "What grade do you wish to upgrade to? With the restriction of your emblem, we can increase it by five grades for you here. Every grade will give you a Solidifying Tactic Space. You’ll have a total of eight Tactic Spaces once you reached grade five."
"What is the cost for each upgrade?" Garen asked softly.
"You’ll need twenty thousand gold rumbs for each upgrade. Furthermore, we also have a few Solidifying Tactics for our customers to choose from." The old man’s attitude was very humble due to the black emblem.
One gold rumb was equal to a thousand Iron Tank City currency. Twenty thousand gold rumbs meant that it would be equal to twenty million, which was the same price as the War Chain Garen bought.
However, if the War Chain were to be nurtured, it would be rather effective as it would form a solid and strong team.