"The situation's worse than we thought. Our caravan was ambushed an we've lost various crucial equipment." Rudolf explained to High General Adolf. A glowing individual was standing in front of Rudolf. This individual was composed entirely of condensed magical energy. Using complex magical techniques, certain Mages were able to conduct long distance communication instantly. Despite how amazing and convenient this seemed, in actual practice, it was extremely inefficient. Such methods were only used when there was no other choice, or if time was of the essence. It constantly drained large amounts of Mana and was only able to be properly practiced by Mages that specialized in such obscure areas. It was also exceedingly difficult to find or train Mages that did focus on such areas.
Adolf nodded slightly, "So that means the Inheritor is most likely within this region. And if the Inheritor has chosen to remain hidden, we will have to perform a deep search." His eyes flashed.
Rudolf waved down his idea, stroking his beard lightly as he replied, "No need. I believe I have him already." A smile spread over Rudolf's features as he recalled the high speed magical arrows that disrupted the Titan foe's concentration in the earlier battle. A similar smile spread over Adolf's face.
"A mere Lord class Martial Artist managing to capture a Pseudo-Godhood class Mage? Ha! Don't make me laugh!" He couldn't believe Rudolf had actually done such a completely absurd thing. The sheer impossibility of it made his eyes twitch.
"Humph! I don't need to explain myself to you." Rudolf angrily turned away, prompting the Mage to cut off the flow of magical energy. The figure of High General Adolf froze, before slowly fading away in a few short moments. At this moment, Eren walked over, bringing Kai to Rudolf for questioning. Rudolf only glanced at Kai before walking into a tent that had been set up earlier for him. Eren and Kai followed behind silently.
"Sit." Rudolf's voice ha a cold edge to it, sending a cold shiver down Kai's spine. Kai sat on the rug opposite Rudolf while Eren remained standing behind him.
"I have a few questions I want to ask you. I only require one thing- sincerity... I want no lies, only the truth." Rudolf went straight to the point, using his hand to support his head as he fixed Kai with a flat stare. Kai nodded meekly, choosing not to speak.
"Who are you?"
.......
"Wood Magic: Grand Ark!" A Master class Mage called out for the fifth time that hour. Sweat glistened on his brow as his breath came out in short puffs.
"Good job, Allen!" His colleagues commented, laughing at his red faced glare.
Several wooden ships floated over the clearing in the forest. These were Flying Arks, generated from a wood type spell. Usually, the only Mages that used this spell was those that operated the Imperial Army's transport lines. Very few Mages took their time to learn and practice the spell to perfection as t was rarely used in battles, unless it was a siege.
Each of these ships could carry up to forty people at a time. Several more would be needed to transport the entire caravan, but they still had some time to spare.
Kai looked around at the busy people. Ever since last night, he had been stuck as Eren's shadow, forced to follow the commander around. The said commander was currently engaged in a conversation with one of his subordinates. Occasionally, the soldier would cast an odd glance in Kai's direction.
Kai could still remember his discussion with High General Rudolf, as though it was branded in his mind.
-
"Who are you?" The general had asked.
"Just an ordinary country boy." Although Kai's heart wanted to leap out of his throat, he managed to calm himself down somewhat.
Rudolf just shook his head slightly before carrying on with his questions.
"How are you an Earth class in the midst of Mortals? I wonder how you did it, especially with no training." He pressed further, wanting to dig into the bag of mysteries that was Kai.
"Back in my hometown, I always trained with my dad. He's a hunter. He's been Earth class for a long time now. He guided me through it all, helping me to break through."
"Mhm..." Rudolf only nodded. He then called Eren over.
"You've been in charge of the Selection these few years, has there been any Earth class hunter who didn't partake in the Selection?"
"Yes," Eren nodded dutifully, " There have been several cases of hunters wanting to stay back to assist the town as hunters, but there have only been very few cases of Earth class hunters wanting to stay back. Perhaps his father is one of such. I wouldn't know unless we investigate properly."
"Fine. Send some Sky class soldiers back to the town. I want the name and class of every hunter that has decided to stay back, and their reasons too. As for you," Rudolf's head turned to face Kai, "You can follow Eren around either until we reach our destination, or until news gets back from the soldiers."
And that was how Kai was assigned as commander Eren's new shadow.