Lester, like Beth, was a member of the organization who had been stationed in Rhine City.
“I’ll be leaving as well. As for whether or not I’ll return in the future, I’ll let my future self decide that,” Lester said easily.
After the theft of a Mana Crystal Cannon, he naturally wouldn’t dare to stay. Lying low was the normal response, even if his identity had remained hidden up to now.
“Then let’s get ready,” Beth said, then glanced at Amelia and Eileen. “You two have also helped this time. If you need any assistance with your tasks in the north, you can tell us.”
“No problem,” Amelia nodded with an innocent, harmless smile.
The group of six thus headed toward the North City Gate.
==========
Sunshine Whisper Restaurant.
Woodrow ate his bread slowly, but as he ate, he began to sense something was wrong.
What is this?
He used his fork to pry apart the remaining bread and discovered a slip of paper hidden beneath it. His brows furrowed.
Finding something like this in his food instantly ruined his mood.
But it seemed there were some words on it?
Woodrow took out the slip and looked at it. His frown deepened instantly, his gaze fluctuating violently.
Without hesitation, Woodrow pocketed the note and charged directly into the back kitchen, wanting to find the person who had left him this message.
But when he reached the kitchen, he found it empty.
After leaving the kitchen, Woodrow was about to continue searching the upper floor of the restaurant, when the sound of urgent footsteps came from outside.
“Lord Commander!”
“Lord Norris!”
Woodrow Norris halted his steps, recognizing the voices of his subordinates. He immediately walked to the front of the restaurant.
“What is it?” Woodrow asked in a deep voice.
“Lord Norris, chaos has erupted in the south city. Many of our men have been killed by soldiers from the Bargas Kingdom and the Beren Kingdom. The situation is already hard to control,” an armored soldier said hastily.
“Wasn’t this matter handed over to Cliff and the others to handle?”
Woodrow had known about the skirmishes between the soldiers of the three kingdoms in the south city for some time. It had been going on all night.
But neither he nor the commanders of the other two kingdoms had gone to handle it personally, instead delegating the matter to the Vice Commanders. They had assumed the issue could be suppressed.
But now it seemed that wasn’t the case?
“Lord Cliff and the others have gotten involved in the fighting as well,” a subordinate said worriedly.
“Commander Kimi and Commander Lenn are looking for you, Lord Norris. They want to go with you to the south city to deal with this,” another subordinate added.
Kimi was the commander of the Bargas Kingdom, and Lenn was the commander of the Beren Kingdom.
The proposal for them to go together to handle the matter sounded rather normal on the surface. In the past, Woodrow might have agreed without a second thought. After all, large-scale mutual slaughter between the three kingdoms was a very bad situation that would anger the higher-ups of the kingdoms and bring severe punishment upon them, the commanders.
But now…
Thinking about the note he had just received, Woodrow grew thoughtful.
“Go back and tell Kimi and Lenn that I’ve already left for the south city to handle things.”
Leaving that single sentence behind, Woodrow headed south.
Once he was out of sight, Woodrow immediately doubled back and concealed himself in the shadows.
==========
Near the edge of a building in the north city, a green flowerbed circled around its perimeter.
Behind the flowerbed, Amelia and the others were lying low, watching the situation at the North City Gate from afar.
Beneath the wide city wall, a building built against it looked solid and heavy. Soldiers could be seen going in and out from time to time.
“The commanders of the three kingdoms are usually stationed over there. The warehouse storing the Mana Crystal Cannons is also there. Now, all we have to do is wait for the three commanders to leave. We can then seize the opportunity to strike. Those left behind on guard won’t be a match for us,” Beth said in a low voice.
“If we get the Mana Crystal Cannon and turn it over to the organization, we’ll definitely receive a great fortune. What are you all planning to do with that wealth?” Brandon, sporting a red mohawk, asked with keen interest.
“Wealth, huh? I’m not exactly short on that. It’s hard to think of anything I want,” Lester shook his head.
“Lester, you’re actually rich?” Charles, with his short blonde hair, asked in surprise.
“I once ran a fairly successful merchant guild. Later, I didn’t want to continue, so I sold it. The money I got from that has been quite enough.” Lester recalled an event from over a decade ago, a smile appearing on his face.
When Eileen heard Lester say this, her expression became somewhat unnatural.
Amelia quickly took hold of Eileen’s hand.
Eileen looked over, meeting Amelia’s gaze, which told her to relax.
She also saw Amelia silently say something to her. Unfortunately, she couldn’t decipher the words from the movement of Amelia’s lips, but she knew it was something meant to comfort her.
“Look, Kimi and Lenn are coming out.” At that moment, sharp-eyed Brandon spoke up.
Everyone quickly looked ahead.
When they saw the commanders Kimi and Lenn hurry away, Beth frowned slightly. “Why only two? Why didn’t Woodrow go out with them? He couldn’t possibly be staying back to guard the place, could he?”
“Logically speaking, the three kingdoms are on guard against each other. They shouldn’t let just one commander stay behind,” Lester said, also puzzled by what he saw.
“Maybe Woodrow wasn’t there from the beginning and left earlier?” Charles pushed his glasses up and made another judgment.
“Whatever the case, now that things have reached this stage, we still have to move,” Beth narrowed her eyes and said. “But we should be a little cautious against surprises. If a commander does come back, Lester, you’ll delay him while I take the chance to secure the Mana Crystal Cannon.”
“I’ll be the one to delay him?” Lester pondered.
“Yes, you’ll do the stalling. Because even if we attack together, we might not be able to defeat a commander in a short time. Instead, we’d just be held up. So you pin him down. Once I get the Mana Crystal Cannon, any problem will cease to be a problem.” Beth’s line of thinking was very clear.
“I understand. No problem,” Lester agreed.
Hearing this, Amelia and Eileen couldn’t help but exchange a glance.
In the plan Amelia had devised, Beth, who was better suited to stalling someone, should have been the one to delay them, while Lester should have been the one to go for the cannon. She had never expected the result to be reversed.
Amelia felt she had miscalculated somewhat. Her mind raced as she pondered the possibilities this change introduced.
