Unsealing Emptiness

However, she didn’t feel threatened since she knew that Ozul never showed any interest in love life. He was just too busy with other important stuff such as... sleeping.

Even if that was the case and Raven didn’t feel threatened, it didn’t mean that she was okay with the situation. Unconsciously, she stepped closer to Ozul, intending to reassure herself that everything was fine.

*Cough*

Only when Venessa had managed to bring Clara out of her fantasies did Clive faked a cough to get everyone’s attention.

“We are here to discuss the details of the mission! From this point onwards, if someone doesn’t want to take part in it, you are free to leave.” Clive spread his hands, gesturing for them to leave if they aren’t obedient.

“Since the introductions are done. I will now explain the route that we will be taking. We are right here now.” Clive said while putting up a marker on the map that was laid on the table.

.....

“Following the shorter path, we will enter the Old Whispering Woods after a couple of days traveling north.” Clive traced his finger from their location to the dark green area connected to the forest that they were in right now.

Some of the mercenaries couldn’t help but tense up when they heard the words ‘Old Whispering Woods.’ They couldn’t be blamed for that because since they were young, all of them had heard stories about the forest.

Unlike their childhood memories, those stories were all but pleasant.

“I know what all of you may be thinking. However, I assure you. The rumors about that forest are just that-baseless rumors. The Royal Family has had many people venture in and come out unscathed; it would be child’s play considering our forces.”- Clive declared confidently.

Though his words sounded convincing, some men still had questions. A man wearing a sleeveless jacket stood up and voiced out his thoughts;

“Since we need to escort the lady to the Neutral Lands safely, why are we even taking this path? Why go through this death road when there are other safer routes?”

Other men around the table also wanted the answer to this question.

“The reason is simple. The lady here needs to reach her home in 6 months. And even the shortest safe route would take us at least a year before we arrive there.” Clive answered while shaking his head as if he didn’t like the situation either.

The man sat back down, and after there were no more queries, Clive continued;

“According to the information that we have collected, it will take us around 4 to 5 weeks before we have successfully crossed through the Old Whispering Woods.

And before any of you ask any questions, you will need to follow the instructions given to you, and I guarantee you that no harm will fall on any of you. Keep in mind; the premise is that you must follow all instructions given to you.”

These confident words from Clive brought a sense of relief to the men present in the meeting.

“I will explain the route after the Old Whispering Woods only when we reach that point. For now, all you men need to know is that completing this task would bring you rich rewards. After all, the Royal Family does not lack any resources.”

As Clive finished his sentences, the mercenaries all had their anticipation in their eyes. They completely forgot how many dangers awaited them ahead.

All of the mercenaries present here were talented individuals, and the only reason that they were stuck at their level was because of the lack of resources. So they couldn’t help but drool over the rewards.

“So, the so-called meeting for discussing the details was just this?” Ozul spat, glaring at Clive. He was annoyed with the situation. Though he didn’t like to start meaningless fights, he didn’t care about that anymore.

‘Idiots! Isn’t it obvious that he has been manipulating them?!’- Ozul gave a mocking look to the people who had gathered here.

He was annoyed because they had disturbed his sleep just for this show. The details that they had discussed just now was something that everyone knew at this point.

If they were passing through this forest, it was apparent that they would go through the Old Whispering Woods. After that, Clive left the real details and instead just ‘reassured’ the mercenaries.

Ozul was okay with not knowing the details since it wasn’t hard for him to predict the route they would take after knowing the whole situation. His anger was because they had disturbed his sleep just for this trivial brainwashing.

Hearing his words, other mercenaries were astounded. Even in their wildest dreams, they didn’t think that someone like Ozul, who had no mana, would dare to disrespect the leader of the Silver Knights.

“Watch your words, brat!”- One of the mercenaries instantly stood up from his seat and pointed at Ozul.

“Che! Look at this kid acting all high and mighty only because of your family background.”

. . .

One by one, others also followed the example of the 1st man and started pointing at Ozul. Their reason for acting up was not just to bootlick Clive; they also had the anger from jealousy built up inside them.

So when they found a chance, they couldn’t help but release their pent up resentment.

Orsella looked at the situation, worried at how the events would play out. Despite her worries, she didn’t try to step up for Ozul since she didn’t have a reason to do so.

Clara also didn’t worry too much. She had witnessed Ozul’s power first hand. Without even looking at his enemy, he had killed a Rank-7 Mage like a fly. In her view, these men were just fools playing with fire.

On the other hand, there were only a handful of people like Barry, who had not said anything yet.

Despite not joining the others, Barry was enjoying the show. He also wanted Ozul to suffer after seeing how Clara was looking at him.

In just a few moments, the whole meeting had turned into a lot of men pointing their fingers at Ozul, who didn’t even bat an eye.

When Blaze looked at the situation, he couldn’t help but take a few steps forward. However, before he could even say anything, Ozul waved his hand.

“Let them bark. They’re not the ones who bite anyway.”- Ozul’s words caused another wave of curses to be thrown at him.

“Kid, you better watch your tone! Even if you are a little rich, show off at your home. Being mercenaries isn’t a joke.” It was at this time when Brud, who was the vice leader of the Wind Eagles, spoke up.

Brud then turned towards Clive, “What is this kid even doing here? Wasn’t the lowest requirement to join was being at least Rank-4 Mage or Rank-6 Fighter? I say we don’t need a pretty face with no use whatsoever.”

When the others heard him, they all expressed their agreement. It seemed that nobody liked the idea of working with someone who got here only because of the money of his parents.

“Hahaha. What a bunch of halfwits!”- Blaze couldn’t help but laugh at this point. He was genuinely laughing!

“Though I may not be the smartest of the bunch, I can certainly bet on my head that there ain’t anyone here who has the balls to force Young Master to do something against his wishes.” Blaze spat, eyebrows raised as he provokingly looked straight in their eyes.

After staring at them for a couple of seconds, Blaze went back to standing behind Ozul.

Ozul turned his head and looked at Blaze, “Well, at least you had a good laugh.”

“Hehehe.” Blaze scratched the back of his head. He was embarrassed because, in the spur of the moment, he had said too much. He was supposed to remain calm and deal with everything quietly.

Raven was also surprised to see this side of Blaze. It appeared that he particularly didn’t like it when the crowd tried to gang up on Ozul.

The men stood rooted on the ground, not knowing what they were supposed to do now. It wasn’t in their hand to kick someone out of here, so they all looked towards the only one who could.