Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 117 - 113: Princess Melia

Chapter 117: Chapter 113: Princess Melia

"No worry," Princess Melia revealed a warm smile, speaking lightly, "You are adventurers from our neighboring country, it is normal not to recognize me."

"Forgive my boldness, but I am wondering why would the Princess be here in this wilderness and moreover, assailed by the rebels?" asked Luo’er with his head down.

"What would you like to know?" Before Melia could answer, the knight captain vigilantly spoke first.

"Knight Captain," Melia interrupted the knight captain’s speech, quietly examined Luo’er and then responded slowly, "On my father’s orders I went to our neighboring country Odelanqi seeking reinforcements. We were ambushed here by the rebels on the way back."

"I see, I am surprised that the Princess is so concerned about her country." Luo’er complimented appropriately.

"And what about you, adventurers? You are adventurers from our neighboring country, why would you show up within Masya’s territory?" Princess Melia began to question.

"We heard that Masya has been in civil unrest for a long time, so we thought of coming over to see if there are any good opportunities. We didn’t expect to happen upon the ambush on the Princess. Coincidentally, that’s how we met the Princess," Luo’er answered.

Melia didn’t speak, she gazed at Luo’er with her profound and charming eyes. Then she gave a subtle smile and said, "In that case, you saved us, so we should rightfully reward you."

"It’s our honor!" Luo’er bowed slightly, making eye contact with her without fear. He knew that evading her gaze would only make this clever princess suspicious.

"However, we are currently in the wilderness, and there isn’t anything valuable with me. What if you accompany us to Galan? I will tell my father about the situation and ask him to reward you, how does that sound?" Princess Melia suggested.

"This would be ideal, but does the Princess truly trust us unknown adventurers?" Luo’er revealed a smile as well, realizing the situation was half-settled.

Princess Melia apparently had faith in their capabilities. Ostensibly, she wanted them to join the caravan and enter the palace to receive an award. But in fact, she intended to use them as guards, escorting her safely to Galan.

Melia watched him quietly; whenever she remained silent, she was always elegant, with a faint smile on her face. Then she lifted her skirt, walking forward oblivious of the muddy road. The Knight Captain was shocked.

"Princess, what are you trying to do? Don’t approach this man!" the Knight Captain pleaded anxiously, just short of physically stopping her.

"I believe Mr. Luo’er will not cause us trouble, right?" Princess Melia smiled at Luo’er. "If you wanted to attack, you could have done it when you chased away the rebels."

"Of course, we have no intention of offending the princess." Luo’er replied with a nod.

They definitely wouldn’t dare to attack, they aren’t even capable of doing such a thing. The rebels might have inferior weaponry, but they had an advantage in numbers. If they had been better prepared and Luo’er had not launched a surprise attack, they would not have scattered so easily.

Seeing that the rebels didn’t even dare to attack the caravan, it would be challenging for Luo’er and his companions. Melia, while smart, was not as familiar with Earth’s weapons as they were. That’s why Luo’er managed to find an opportunity for her to owe him a favor.

The rebels scattered at the first signs of conflict, clearly showing a lack of strategic planning. They just happened to ambush the caravan, which means they had no backup. Once they exhausted their bullets, they could only watch helplessly as the caravan left. When that happened - Melia, being the sharp individual she is, would have definitely noticed their strategy.

"Mr. Luo’er, we have demonstrated our sincerity. Shouldn’t you be a little more forthcoming," Melia walked to the forefront of the convoy, less than twenty meters from Luo’er. At this distance, Luo’er could easily shoot her before the knights or mages could react.

"The princess is truly bold and discerning, I admire that. However, my companions must remain vigilant against potential rebels. So they cannot show up immediately. Why don’t you organize your team and when it is time to leave, my companions will naturally follow," Luo’er spoke truly. Baiyue and Hu Daoke needed to be on guard against potential rebel attacks. If they rallied their team and the rebels ambushed them at that moment, they would be encircled again and might fall right there.

"So you mean that Mr. Luo’er is willing to accompany us to Galan?" Melia asked, smiling.

"Of course. Since it is a request from the princess, how could we refuse," Luo’er replied with a matching smile.

"Very well, we will await your and your companions’ arrival," Melia said. She scanned the surroundings and then returned to the caravan. With the knight’s assistance, she climbed onto the carriage.

Seeing that Princess Melia had boarded the carriage, Luo’er addressed the lead knight less cordially, "Your Princess has already instructed us to accompany you to Galan. Why do you still raise your shields at me?"

"Hmm, you better not be plotting anything. If I find any ill intentions towards the Princess, we will not let you go," the lead knight huffed, motioning for the knights to break their defensive formation. They dispersed and began to clean up the aftermath of the skirmish and remove the rocks that were blocking the road.

Luo’er finally breathed a sigh of relief. Princess Melia, being of high status, emitted an aura of nobility that, along with her sharp intellect, always made Luo’er feel tense when engaging in conversation with her.

He wasn’t fond of dealing with clever individuals, as it was exhausting to continuously outsmart each other. Given the option, he preferred dealing with straightforward people like the lead knight. Even though they were stubborn, handling them did not require much mental effort.

After clearing the rocks blocking the road, the knights began searching for the horses that had scattered during the fight, only finding a few. Additionally, several horses had been killed during the battle. The whole convoy was left with only a few remaining horses, which were needed to pull the carts. This basically meant that the knights had to walk.

Once they were ready, Luo’er signaled to the other team members to join Ziang and bring him over. Soon after, Ziang arrived at Luo’er’s side, leading the others.

The lead knight originally wanted to commandeer the team’s horses, but was immediately refused by Luo’er. Thus, the entire party of knights was forced to travel on foot, with only the lead knight on horseback, leaving him in a foul mood towards Luo’er and his team for the rest of the journey.

After introducing the team members to the princess, the knights tidied up the bodies of the rebels and confiscated their weapons. Just as Luo’er predicted, the rebels were indeed equipped with machine guns designed for suppression.

It was a Soviet-made DP28 light machine gun from World War II, standard issue, loaded with a 47-round pan magazine and fired 7.62X54mmR bullets at a theoretical rate of 600 rounds per minute. Although it still couldn’t penetrate the heavy shields wielded by the knights, its impressive rate of fire was enough to strike fear into the battle-hardened knights.

The rebels seemed to constantly be short on ammunition, so during the surprise attack on the convoy, the rebel machine gunner didn’t fire many shots. By the time the weapon was confiscated, it had only fired about one and a half magazines in this battle, which was not enough to serve its purpose of suppression.

Seeing these confiscated Earth weapons, the lead knight’s face darkened. These weapons from Earth had empowered lowly commoners to dare to attack the convoy and caused several casualties among his ranks, which made him particularly disgusted with these Earth weapons.

"Mr. Luo’er, are you familiar with these weapons?" Princess Melia stepped out of the carriage, looked at the weapons, and turned to Luo’er to ask in a meaningful tone.

"I do know some things about them," Luo’er replied, knowing what she was getting at, "We once stayed in the city of Yazhi for some time and learned about these weapons while purchasing them from Blaiqi merchants."

He then glanced at the knight party and looked back at the weapons, suggesting, "Forgive my forthrightness, Your Highness, but I believe the knights should all be equipped with these weapons. Regardless of the circumstances, we may not be as lucky if we encounter another rebel attack. Rather than merely defending, it would be better to counterattack and destroy the rebels."

"Are you suggesting that we use these treacherous weapons to mount a cowardly ambush? That would hardly constitute a proper battle!" Before Princess Melia could respond, the lead knight contradicted Luo’er indignantly.

"Sir Knight, if this is considered an ambush, then what constitutes a fair fight?" Luo’er looked at the lead knight, unable to resist a mocking smile.

"Of course, it’s a face-to-face combat on the battlefield!" The lead knight glared at him, and declared aloud.

"Then I am sorry to disappoint you, Sir Knight, because as far as I know, by your standards, all Otherworld weapons are used for ambushes," Luo’er replied calmly.

"So all Otherworlders are nothing but cowardly weaklings!" The lead knight concluded.

Luo’er sighed deeply. He looked at Princess Melia and noticed that she was trying to hold back her amusement, but she did not intervene. He continued, "There are many books from the Otherworld available in the city of Yazhi. If you pass by, Sir Knight, you might want to take a look. This tactic is the most common individual combat strategy in the Otherworld. As for the so-called direct combat you are referring to, it was abandoned by the armies of the Otherworld centuries ago."

"If the military tactics of the Otherworld are so advanced, then why did they lose to the Allied Army in the Prophetic War a few decades ago?" The lead knight asked defiantly, posing a question that even Luo’er could not answer.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t answer, but Luo’er knew that once he did, the clever Princess Melia would certainly suspect something. How could an adventurer from Odelanqi have such a clear understanding of Earth’s military capabilities? Luo’er was not going to expose himself just to refute the Lead Knight.

"Of course, it’s because the Allied Army was blessed by the God of Light, which enabled them to defeat the Otherworld army," Luo’er casually linked it to their supreme god, who definitely would not explain to them how the Otherworld Allied Army defeated the Earth forces.