Expedition begins
Six in the morning.
At the end of the two-hour morning exercise, Godwin came out of the bathroom and wiped his neat blonde hair with a towel. He just changed his clothes and used magic to evaporate the last bit of moisture when there was a sound at the door.
"Captain. Breakfast, breakfast—" Debbie held a small muffin in her mouth, holding two trays in her left and right hands at the same time, and squeezed the door with her feet.
The secrets kept are too shocking, let alone the lively and outgoing Debbie, the steady Godwin Lopez needs to find a living creature to talk to. The relatives of the two parties in Tumbleweed decided to help each other and take turns being a listener for each other's mental health—especially in the last two months of the expedition, Godwin Lopez completely broke the habit of eating breakfast alone.
Unlike in years past, the content of breakfast today changes daily—the butter cubes on the top of the muffins are slightly melted, the gravy is steaming, the half-cooked omelettes and bacon are fried just right and mixed in. Pear juice with ice cubes is sweet and refreshing.
"You said, there really won't be another team attacking Ollie and the others?" Debbie poked the broccoli in the thick soup with a fork worriedly. "They are indeed still the black badge of the mercenary guild, and no one will be their opponent, but... "
"In the current atmosphere, except for the sensitive Miss Savage, the members who kill the tumbleweed can gain a lot of popularity. However, there should be no one who will act before the decisive battle with the Demon King and foolishly reduce the surface forces."
"I'm afraid that they really take 'Tumbleweed to keep in touch with the abyss privately' seriously, and it's too early to shoot."
"...that's true," Godwin pointed out matter-of-factly, chewing on the bacon silently.
"… "
Debbie swallowed the broccoli on the fork in silence, choked for a long time before continuing: "If there is a conflict too early... Alas, since he has convinced you, why can't Oliver go to a few big people... "
"It's not a level of power at all. Even if hundreds of contracts are concluded, Oliver can break the contract at any time. Even I have conducted countless spell verifications with Adrian Cross before I am willing to be sure that he is not lying - this is still on the horizon. Under the premise of the investigation, the 'big guys' who were afraid of death were replaced, and they would not trust Cross at all from the beginning."
After drinking half a glass of juice, Godwin twitched the corners of his mouth: "I am Oliver's blood relative, and Horizon's investigation will not be accepted, you understand. If he chooses to make the facts public, the uncontrollable force alone will make the Expeditionary Force very uncomfortable. Happy to deal with him first."
"It's the first time I've participated in such a, um, I don't know how to describe the plan. If I knew it would be so difficult to meet Nemo, I should have gone back to Road Sign Town a few years ago."
Godwin took a gulp of pear juice and coughed.
"It's been two years, Captain, and you should almost get used to Nemo he's—"
"No, stop... I need more time to get used to it."
"Okay, okay. It seems we can only maintain the original plan." Debbie shook her head, her slightly raised hair swaying along with her movements. "Maybe our hostility is a little bit more hostile, and others will be more willing to wait and see a good show."
As it turns out, Miss Wright got an excellent hostile trigger before the meeting. So-
"Who is that young girl? Do you know him, Captain?" Debbie asked in a low voice, grabbing Godwin's cape.
"..." Godwin shook his head silently.
He knew that Godwin grimaced in resignation—Oliver must have tried his best to show his jerk, but he really hadn't thought of it this way.
As the leader of the tumbleweed, and without registering his assistants in advance, Oliver should have come to the meeting alone. However, when Horizon arrived at the door of the venue early and was about to enter on time, the figure of the head of the tumbleweed appeared at the end of the street—
The knight in black armor rides his equally pure black horse, and the face under the skeleton helmet is expressionless. There is no cape behind the legendary "Ash Knight", but a white ukulele.
I don't know if Oliver did it on purpose or not, but it was midsummer, but the air suddenly felt a little more chill.
That's not all.
The horse was followed by a beautiful and lovely girl. She did not sit on the horse obediently, but followed the dark horse with a fast walk. She looked in her mid-twenties, wearing a civilian-style dress, with two braids hanging down her chest, and her milk-white skin was sprinkled with playful freckles.
The girl's expression was ugly, and her face was drawn so long that anyone could see that she was reluctant.
She's clearly following Oliver Lopez, but...
"He didn't even allow her to mount, cold-blooded bastard," whispered a few steps away.
"That's not a member of the Tumbleweed at all. There's a woman in the Tumbleweed. Ann Savage doesn't look like that."
"I'm going to take this girl in." Oliver got off the horse, handed the boss's reluctant dark horse to the receptionist, and pointed to the braided girl not far behind.
"Sorry, Mr. Lopez. No civilians allowed here—"
Oliver stopped talking, just looked at each other silently. The young man who received the reception did not know what to think, and his face gradually turned pale as he watched.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Mr. Lopez. I'm talking too much, and of course you can bring in your love, er, close friend."
The face of the head of the tumbleweed was slightly twisted, and the girl rolled her eyes. The receptionist simply didn't say more, and shivered to get out of the way.
Debbie rolled up her sleeves and followed aggressively, and Godwin had to tighten his cloak and enter the door with her.
"This is the trick you've been playing, huh?" The girl's tone was cold.
"more or less."
"It seems to work," the girl said in an even and casual tone. "But don't get me wrong, Oliver Ramon. I don't want you to think about Nemo Wright, just because..."
"I know, it has nothing to do with Nemo. We are just using each other and getting what we want. This is not a relationship of any kind."
"It seems that we agree." The braided girl played with the delicate pendant on her chest. The sturdy metal pendant kept flickering, and the orange-red sapphire on the pendant reflected warm spots in the sunlight. "By the way, this chain is really good, and I have to thank you."
"Just a little sincerity, it suits your look better than a worn leather cord."
"Calm down, Debbie." Godwin grabbed the back collar of the Horizon First Mage. Debbie was moving her fingers, snapping her knuckles. "Think about your elder brother's identity, Oliver he won't..."
"Sr. Patrick taught us, 'Always maintain a certain level of skepticism, especially with good-looking young men.'"
Debbie spoke earnestly, pushing Godwin's hand away firmly.
"Anyway, Nemo is my big brother. Right now he's not here, and I have to help him figure out—"
Before the words were finished, Debbie strode towards Oliver. Godwin received an exhortation that he might not need in his life, and his hand stopped awkwardly in the air.
"He's not here right now," listen to this, as if Mr. Wright was just off to the next town for a few days. Godwin wiped his face and gave a wry smile.
"Mr. Lopez."
Debbie is now a lot longer, and can pat Oliver on the shoulder relatively naturally. She glanced at the other participants who were trying to watch the excitement, her face tightened, and her tone was rather unpleasant.
"Long time no see." She said nonsense word by word, "Is this the new member of Tumbleweed?"
"Oh, Miss Wright." Before Oliver could answer, the girl laughed first. "You should know the truth. You are still thinking about 'brother', this reaction is a bit interesting-"
"No, wait." Oliver clearly noticed something. "I don't think she meant that, Debbie, she..."
Debbie turned the short and delicate staff in her hand, raised her eyebrows, and released a little murderous aura.
"This is Della, you should have heard of her... He, forget it, whatever."
Oliver rubbed his temples.
"I don't care if it's Della or Sarah, even if Nemo and you are separated... Wait, Della? Is that the Della I think?"
"I don't like people calling me Della." The braided girl said lightly.
In a blind spot that others couldn't see, she raised her head slightly, and one eye suddenly turned a weird blood red.
Debbie coughed awkwardly. He took two steps forward and gave Oliver a whisper.
"Sorry, Ollie. Your previous conversation was a bit… I'll treat you to a drink when the meeting is over," she said.
"No, it doesn't matter, after all, there are so many ears listening, and we also have intentional elements."
"… I'm sorry, you continue." The female mage of Horizon raised her voice and stepped back with a blank expression, returning to Godwin. "Let's go, Captain."
Godwin, who was very close, noticed the breath of the abyss magic, and his eyes swept over the braided girl. He frowned in the direction of the two, and finally no longer had to pretend to be hostile.
The murmurs around him intensified.
"I have to say, I have a feeling of being despised. When she heard the name, she didn't even ask a few more questions." After the two of the horizon left, Della Laineen shrugged and muttered in a low voice.
"After all, the sages of the abyss are famous."
"Speaking of which, Debbie Wright would actually be worried about such a thing. She obviously put Mr. Wright first over you, who was born as a human - that little girl really regarded the Pillar of the World as her brother, what she thought. Absolutely fun."
"Don't hit her head, Della Laineen. I'll say it beforehand, Nemo cherishes her very much." Oliver's tone was a little more warning.
"Well, I'll be patient," the demon replied softly.
At noon, the meeting began.
However, during the entire expedition meeting, the infamous Oliver Lopez said only two words.
"Since I have to come forward, I only have two things to say. First, this girl will go with the tumbleweed to the abyss."
His voice was cold and determined, full of impatience, leaving no room for rebuttal.
"...Second, tumbleweeds don't obey anyone."
Then he left, leaving the uproar of leaders behind, ignoring the accusations that "you want her to die" and "extremely ridiculous".
To the extreme, he rudely pulled the girl with braids out, who seemed to want to stay. The braided girl looked at the one-eyed dwarf who was presiding over the meeting regretfully, and then looked at the direction represented by the horizon, and finally let herself be pulled out.
The young girl definitely wanted to be rescued, and the human representatives let their imaginations run wild and quickly perfected their version of the story.
The entire combat meeting continued for several days, but Oliver Lopez never showed up again.
And when the meeting was completely over, he saw Oliver in casual clothes with an apologetic face and a mocking abyss sage wearing a human body. Godwin has been able to basically maintain his inner peace.
after an hour.
"The meeting plan is like this." Debbie sipped the ice juice after dinner, and the head of Horizon dipped his fingers with the water on the outer wall of the glass, drawing water marks on the table of the restaurant. "Listen, I'll only say it once..."
"One time is enough," said the girl-like demon.
Godwin's hand stopped, his eyes narrowed, the hostility still not dissipated.
"You're still sitting here peacefully because Oliver himself vouched for you."
The head of Horizon lowered his voice: "Personally, I still care about your purpose - your body is in the abyss, and it stands to reason that you shouldn't do it like this."
"I have never been on a human expedition, how many intelligent races have come to today's meeting? I think about the elves of the Mormo forest, the one-eyed dwarves who will never miss an expedition, a few dragons, and even the top gatekeepers. More Interesting and worth the experience.”
Godwin tapped the table with his fingertips: "I'm afraid it's more than that."
"The rest are a little bit of personal issues, don't look like that, even if it's me, there will be personal issues." Now he's dressed as a boy who hides his eyes, and his braids are hidden in his hat. The abyss sage held the juice in both hands and responded while drinking.
"…then let's move on." Godwin shook his head and made a few strokes before the water stain dried.
"This is the beginning of meeting planning, Oliver, and the official beginning of your personal planning—"
…
Godwin's retelling was not wrong, and after just half a month, all the simple strokes were turned into reality.
The half-dried water marks indicated the army that turned into pieces, and the juice with a little color turned into an abyss.
The little out-of-the-way dining room and the filthy wooden tabletops were long gone, replaced by the dim lights of the return town, and the dark rocky cliffs.
An astonishing number of troops are gathering on a wide stone platform, waiting to set off to the rotten stone forest where the first large teleportation formation is sleeping. The powerhouses from all races are crowded together, as dense as flowing moss.
Watching the scene in front of him, Oliver grabbed the reins in his hands and pulled his dark horse "The Pope" back two steps.
The tumbleweeds were divided among the human ranks, with a few members glued to the tails of the army. The horizon is clustered in the first row, far apart. As the temporary leader of the human team, Godwin's voice has been amplified by magic, calm and firm, with a little soothing power—
"The expedition officially begins."
The leader of the first surface mercenary regiment, Godwin Lopez solemnly announced.
"In less than a month, you will face the most terrifying creature in the world. Thank you Mr. Carapan of the Mooney religion, and please keep in mind the valuable information he brought."
"The 19th-generation Demon Lord 'The Lord of Illusions' is the most powerful generation of Demon Lords so far. At present, we have only discovered one of its skills - imitating the breath of past Demon Lords. According to this inference, it may also be able to copy the previous Demon Lord's. Ability. The changes in the landscape at the bottom of the abyss have also been confirmed. You are all elites of human beings, please be vigilant at all times."
Then his voice went cold, and Oliver seemed to hear Godwin grinding his teeth.
"Finally, for some of you, I want to say... Put away the smiles on your faces, this is no child's play! No matter how powerful people are, they will die in small omissions, don't be too arrogant, don't stop watching."
Others sounded like name-calling sarcasm, but when the words reached his target's ears, the meaning changed completely.
"He's caring about us, so sweet." Jesse blew a kiss at the team leader.
"I'm afraid that's not caring, I think Mr. Lopez means 'please pay attention to the people around you, don't let them die because of negligence'." Adrian said very calmly.
"...and, Mr. Ramon, maybe you really need to cut the smile on your face."
The author has something to say:
Oliver: The expedition has begun, nervous! (The corners of the mouth rise wildly)
Debbie: Captain, can I approve family leave
Godwin: ... I don't want to be this leader. (stomach pills)
——
The nineteenth-generation Demon Lord "The Lord of Illusions" is the most powerful Demon Lord of all time. Now please look back, his fiancé is behind.