Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 162 - 158: New Clue

Chapter 162: Chapter 158: New Clue

"Of course," Melia nodded, then stated confidently, "Because I was the one who handled the purchase of this batch of cannons."

Wang Xu didn’t respond, his face looked rather grim. Luo’er glanced at him, then lightly nudged him. Wang Xu then came back to his senses, and with an apologetic look, he said, "Apologies, Your Highness, for my indiscretion in your presence. I have some matters to attend to, please forgive my abrupt departure."

"It’s okay," Melia replied with a smile, generously stating, "Having Luo’er to see me off is enough."

"Luo’er, escort the princess," Wang Xu commanded."

Luo’er looked at Wang Xu, then at Melia. A triumphant look crossed her face. He sighed lightly out of helplessness, then replied, "Understood!"

With a few instructions, Wang Xu hurried off. Evidently, Melia’s intelligence was highly significant to him, to the point that he couldn’t afford a second’s delay here.

The trip back was carried out by Luo’er. It was supposed to be both him and Cheng Ziang seeing her off, but that jerk escaped with the excuse of a stomach ailment, leaving him to follow Melia back to her temporary residence awkwardly alone.

Melia was driving the carriage forward, with Luo’er accompanying her on the side. The gold previously on the carriage had already been left in the villa at the station. For Melia, that gold was her door-knocking brick; naturally, she wouldn’t ask for it back.

But those at the command headquarters didn’t act modest either, after all, they had accepted the money. They were to provide Melia with a ton of weapons and equipment for her army in support of her plan. This expenditure was much greater than the value of those gold coins.

Neither spoke during the journey, creating an awkward atmosphere. Luo’er felt that it was all because of Cheng Ziang. His regular interaction with Melia had been presented as if he intended to betray Tangmo and Baiyue and elope with Melia, which made him now treat seeing Melia like seeing a plague, too late to avoid it, let alone deal with it.

"Luo’er," Melia called him back to reality as he zoned out.

"Huh?" Luo’er gave a somewhat bewildered reply.

"You don’t seem willing to talk to me today, right?" Melia, without looking at him, asked while gazing into the distance.

"Um, I..." Luo’er scratched his head awkwardly, asking, "What should we talk about?"

"We’ll be partners from now on." Melia revealed a beautiful smile as she spoke.

"Naturally." Luo’er replied absentmindedly.

"Will we still frequently meet in the future?" Melia turned her head, tilted it, and asked him with a smiling face.

"I suppose so," Luo’er avoided her gaze, and chuckled awkwardly, "We’re all underlings here. A single order from the top has us running around. There might not be too many opportunities to meet."

"So, will you come and visit me if you happen to stop by Masya?" Melia hung her head down, and proceeded to inquire.

"That depends on the mission, if it requires us to pass through your area, then I would naturally come and see you."

"So, it’s only if it’s a coincidence that you’ll come to see me?" Melia asked with a laugh.

"If headquarters requires us to cooperate with you, then I definitely will come to find you," Luo’er scratched his head as he replied.

"So if there’s no mission, then you won’t come to see me anymore." Melia said somewhat disheartened.

"Uh..." Luo’er understood her mind, where it was wandering to. Seeing her slightly melancholic look, he shook his head, sighed, and then said, "Why bother with all this fuss."

"That’s okay," Melia raised her head, a forced smile appearing on her face, "As long as you still remember me, as a friend."

Ambiguity had somehow crept into their relationship. Originally, they were people from two different worlds, but some inexplicable factor had bound them together.

Although Luo’er had clearly indicated that he didn’t like people like Melia, and had even opposed her when she offered herself to him voluntarily. But from some point, Melia started hiding her scheming nature in front of him, revealing her true self instead.

If that was her cunning little trick, then Luo’er admitted he was indeed caught off guard. What made Melia different from the other girls he had met was her intelligence. Having her by his side, whether carrying out missions or just hanging out would be much more comfortable.

However, Luo’er also knew that even if he thought so, Melia might not necessarily reciprocate. She longed for the icy throne, not a man’s warm chest. For her, power was always more important than affection, which was why Luo’er didn’t fancy her.

"Did you know," Melia suddenly said, "When you sent back your reply, I was once thinking that I should burn the intelligence originally meant for you guys."

"In the end, you still mailed it to us," Luo’er didn’t know what to say. He pursed his lips before replying, "Why are you telling me all this?"

"Do you know why I didn’t burn the intelligence?" Instead of answering his question, Melia continued with a new one.

Luo’er looked at her, hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Why?"

"I want to collaborate with people from Earth, and you could serve as a bridge," Melia said, lowering her head to look into the distance, and continued, "Of course, this is only one of the reasons."

Luo’er was about to say something, but he held back because he already had a rough idea of what Melia was going to say next.

"There is another reason, and that’s I don’t want you to think less of me," Melia announced, raising her head to stare at him earnestly, "I don’t want to deceive you, I don’t want you to feel that I am a cunning and untrustworthy woman."

Luo’er was surprised, struggling for words in front of Melia’s candid confession. He was slow to react.

"There’s something else," Melia started, wrapping her arms around her body and lowering her head to confess shyly, "You’ve seen my..."

"Enough," Luo’er could no longer hold back, he cleared his throat, and said seriously, "Your Majesty, your quarters are just a few hundred meters away, let’s part ways here."

Having said that, he led the horse, preparing to turn and leave.

"Are you leaving," Melia turned to watch his retreating figure and spoke with some sadness, "We might not see each other again after this goodbye."

Luo’er had to carry on with his dangerous missions representing the headquarters, while Melia needed to carry out her plan of raising an army to overthrow her father and brother’s rule. They never walked the same path, and just as she said, they might indeed never meet again.

"Take care, Melia." Luo’er took a deep breath before turning back to say to her.

"You too." Melia looked at him, her face forced into a smile. But her eyes blinked rapidly, likely because any cessation would have unleashed a torrent of tears.

"May your military fortunes prosper!" Luo’er pronounced.

"May the holy and loving light of God bless you." Melia returned his blessings.

Then, both turned away without looking back, never sparing another glance for the other.

Back in the mansion, Luo’er’s gloomy mood was worsened by Cheng Ziang’s gloating face.

"You don’t seem very cheerful?" Cheng Ziang approached him, deliberately teasing.

Luo’er spared him an annoyed glance, ignoring him, falling into deep silence.

"Let’s look on the bright side, at least you’ve done right by Moumou," Cheng Ziang comforted him.

"Why are you guys always messing with relationships, nothing’s going on between me and Moumou, but you already make it sound like we’re married." Luo’er sighed and looked at him.

"We have a long journey ahead and are just trying to find some enjoyment to pass the time. Besides, everyone in the team is fond of you because of your temperament." Cheng Ziang replied with a wink and a smirk. He never showed this rich set of facial expressions unless he was around Luo’er.

"Such a nemesis." Luo’er glared at him, eventually deciding to stay quiet.

"Hey, did you hear about the situation that Melia mentioned today?" Once he was done teasing Luo’er, Cheng Ziang straightened his face and asked seriously.

"I did, those cannons were made by the High-peak people." Luo’er responded solemnly.

"What do you know about the High-peak people?" Cheng Ziang queried.

"High-peak Dwarves, one of the three major dwarf species in Otherworld. Their kingdom, Ronisca, is located at the northeastern corner of the continent. The High-peak people worship the sky, they are the only race on the mainland with anti-gravity engines, all airboats on the mainland are made by them." Luo’er explained effortlessly, as these were knowledge from textbooks.

"Upon hearing Melia’s words, Wang Xu seem to have turned pale, you reckon they..." Cheng Ziang asked hesitantly.

Luo’er nodded and continued, "I know a little, apparently our headquarters have been cooperating with the High-peak people for a long time. The High-peak people have received a lot of advanced technology from our headquarters as well as the Russian headquarters for their military equipment upgrades research and development."

"By the looks of it, it feels like the headquarters might have gone a bit overboard." Cheng Ziang commented with a frown, referring to the cannon situation.

"The United Nations’ question remains unanswered," Luo’er shook his head, "if the Americans find out that we helped the High-peak people produce cannons and sold them to Masya, I suspect they might impose a military blockade on Ulysses City."

"I sense that our headquarters might not have known that the High-peak people sold the cannons to Masya. I wonder if their next move is to send us over to Ronisca?" Cheng Ziang speculated.

Though it was already spring, Ronisca located at the northeastern corner was still enveloped in ice. Just the thought of them trudging through the snow again for their mission sent shivers down both their spines.

More importantly, Luo’er was hoping that their next mission would take them south. This would allow him to manoeuvre closer to the Wood Elf Kingdom, Ilanadale, and seek out his mother’s whereabouts.