Chapter 139: Play and general Embody

In the bushes not so far away were also people. These watchful eyes indicated the presence of Sarey, who led Allan through the woods. It was faster since she knew them very well.

“What is happening for you to suddenly stop? Is something wrong?” Allan asked, not knowing anything beyond this bush. The talk or the presence of the Dias's group was too far from his to notice.

“Quiet Allan,” Sarey whispered. “I don't know either. There are soldiers in some unknown uniform in front of the main door. They are wearing armor and many swords… A little bit too much of them, if I say so myself. Should we go investigate what is going on or we talk to them? I think it has something to do with my father.” She speculated hoping to uncover if something strange was going on.

Allan, on the other hand, thought little of it. “If that's so, let's wait for some time. I don't think this can lead to anything good.” He said since he assumed that the worst it could happen was the beating or whatnot. If this group has some business here with Zigmund or whatnot, it was more likely to be so. Allan still remembered the cases of Zigmund's talk about the Tricloud visitors, but he wasn't obvious to any of it. If this is some sort of bad news, Zigmund would surely not stand any hostile movements in his house or outside of it.

It was a guess, but the one that was not far from the truth.

“Alright, those are your words, but here is a kicker, Allan. I recognize that group from the time in our restaurant. There is that big fella who ate a portion of the Widegator, and also that lady knight and others, too.” Sarey added and also noticed the awkward-looking Rengiward. As for the rest, there was no way she wouldn't remember the two big guys, and a lady dressed as a knight from a short distance of a few dozen of meters. Although she was unfamiliar with chubby Rengiward, she did recognize him here, unlike his hiding self in the Shady restaurant.

“So what? They could be assassins, or soldiers looking for trouble. Or spies from the Timeless Kingdom? I don't want to have anything to do with that, and nothing will change, even with our involvement.” He reasoned.

“I guess.” Sarey looked towards her home and figured a little bit of waiting wouldn't hurt. “Let's wait then.”

To the lack of suspense, Sarey wasn't able to see, nor hear, the moment when Zigmund grabbed Dias inside. For now, they could only see a group of 4 people before the main entrance, waiting for something or someone. Well, that was until Roseanne decided on something, prompting the group to split.

Inside the home, and in Zigmund's office. As the discussion between Dias and Zigmund reached a tense point, Dias was thinking as if he had never did.

This man before him was an existence of the past Tricloud Alliance or something along those lines. Dias wasn't too keen on figuring out what kind of a deal this was, and he had no way to reason with him since he looked firm on his beliefs.

“What it will be, boy?” Zigmund once again asked.

“I…”

Bang!

The door to the office was shot open and Roseanne was glancing inside, where she finally saw Dias and the man from before. Standing Dias and indifferent-looking Zigmund who was seated on a chair were before her eyes.

“Another guest? I thought they would not come in, considering the situation.” Zigmund stated.

“Dias! What is going on?” Roseanne's gaze was upon her leader, and also at Zigmund. She feared the worse, or something bad would happen, so she barged into this home.

“C-capture?” Dias muttered in an uncertain tone.

Before he knew it, a slapping palm came face to face with his own cheek.

Zigmund's forceful slap led him to fly through the open door right into Roseanne, who was surprised by the sudden attack. She had no time to react, but retracting her spear, and putting her hand forwards was all she managed.

Dias smacked her, and they both flew into the hall, stopping in the kitchen where they met their stop.

“Are you alright, Dias?” Roseanna asked as they landed. She was at the better end of the coin, while Dias was kind of stunned by the previous attack and the lack of his defenses.

“Huh? What… Ugh.” He shook his head. “Why did you go inside?”

“I don't know! What is wrong with this situation, anyway? I don't like this one bit, Dias.” She barked at him back.

“Uhm… I won't argue about it. This target is a rather unyielding man, so I guess we will have to use force to make him more reasonable.” Dias muttered and got up from Roseanne, who was his nice landing position.

Soon enough, Zigmund walked from his office to the kitchen with calm steps and his arms across his chest.

“What do we have here? I think I could shove you back where you came from without any troubles. That's what you and I deserve if I am honest with myself, or do you want to force this more? I am sure you can take many more hits, and this was a simple slap to your face.” ZIgmund said, and all things considered, Dias took the blow rather well.

Dias didn't like his tone one bit, so he drew a sword from his waist and looked at Zigmund with calm eyes.

“Will you surrender? I don't want things to get messy.” He said, pointing his sword forwards.

“Will you fly away willingly? I doubt that, and I don't wanna leave either. Guess what will it be then?” Zigmund replied in a dismissive manner.

“Stop with this Dias!” Roseanne suddenly shouted from the back, grabbing Dia's shoulder.

“Why and what for? This is still a mission, Rose…” he turned to confront her face.

“That uniform, I have seen it before!” Roseanne's focused eyes pointed forward, leading to Zigmund's attire. “It is from the old section of the Tricloud Alliance, but one which ceased to exist almost 200 years ago,” Roseanne said.

“2-200years?” Dias was shocked by the sudden revelation, and also by his inability to recognize it. It was obscure to know the uniforms, and since it had no Tricloud symbols, he didn't know why Roseanne said what she said. Yet, he trusted her. She shouldn't be wrong, right?

“You!? Where did you get this relic of a past.” Dias barked at Zigmund in more than a questionable way.

“Nowhere, really. It is mine, so let's end with these wordy efforts. Will you leave already? I don't have the mood for the situation of the Tricloud all that much.” Zigmund said and folded his arms open towards his hips. His hand was close to the unsheathed blade, which was his precious weapon.

“I don't trust you. Unless…”

“Are you an Immortal?” Roseanne asked before Dias finished his sentence.

“Huh? I believe you are running into quite some conclusions, young lady. What does having a uniform have to do with being immortal or not?” Zigmund overturned her ridicule, but his smirk didn't make Roseanne any better.

“Why do you have it then?” Dias asked.

“Because I like it, brats.”

“You!” Dias almost charged at him but was stopped by Roseanne's tight grip instead.

“Calm this down, shall we? Our reasonings are getting a hold of ourselves.” She argued.

“Girl, I think it is beyond normal to fly the intruders away if they want to capture me for their weird reasons. Kidnapping is a bad thing, you know? Isn't it common sense? Where do you think you are even standing?” Zigmund talked back in his own way, although, he was kind of playing with them since this whole situation was making him angry. Not towards these two, but towards the others, who may be alive or not. What Zigmund understood from this quick discussion with Dias, wasn't something that this group could change.

“Then we will leave,” Roseanne added, gripping, and looking firmly at Dias's face.

“No! This mission is not going to be a failure. This isn't how I do things!” Dias said resolutely, pushing Roseanne away to try his luck with his upcoming decision. Pressing his arms with two blades forward, he jumped a dozen or so meters in a single moment to strike the foe.

It was questionable why he would attack with sharp blades that could end Zigmund's life. It went without saying that reasons ceased to exist in Dias and his weird state of mind.

“Alright. Alright. I can see your reason. I am willing to listen further but from somewhere else.” Zigmund suddenly added, but Dias was right about to attack him from a meter away.

Dias pushed himself and aimed for the left shoulder. “Surrender!” He shouted.

“Come on, man. Why are you even a direct subordinate of a general when you are like this? How laughable.” Zigmund said in a mocking manner, pulled his palm up, and grabbed the blade's edge before it hit him. Twisting his lower body in this process, Zigmund made a strange motion with his upper body to shoot Dias out of the room. With this movement, he generated enough power over his shoulder to shove him back into his office. All he ever did was grab the sword and nothing else.

“Oh boy. How eager. How about you, girl? You want to attack too?” Zigmund turned around to see Roseanne, who was hesitant to strike. She could see the shattered edge of that sword within this man's palm. Although she didn't feel the danger from this man, it didn't seem like he would be too nice to her. Roseanne definitely didn't want to be involved in anything that was life-threatening. From his word, it was clear to her that he had no intention to kill but to hurt for sure.

“N-no. If it's just a discussion, I suppose my leader will be more than willing to listen no. He may be stupid and harsh now, but that's…” Roseanne hesitated. “He will listen, alright? I swear.”

“I don't question your words, but it is still a good start. Excellent. Wait with the remaining pair of those bears outside. I don't want to listen, or make this place bad.” Zigmund said as he was backing to his office.

By this point, Roseanne had cold sweat all over her back. She deployed the brothers to wait at the hidden corners, which she was sure would go unnoticed. It was a clear solution for them to assault the target if it was required. It was fortunate that they were unable to even start, but Roseanne wasn't that comfortable when others saw through her plot.

“A-alright. I won't make things difficult with you.” She reluctantly picked up her spear and let go of this messy situation. She noted to the brothers that the first contact was over and their boss will take it next. They will wait outside, where Rengiward was alone.

Inside the office, Dias was picking himself up from the messy landing on the wall, which caused some cracks in the wall and floor. It wasn't a very kind attack, and his body hurt more from this than that slap from before.

“Uhhh… What is it… My sword?” Dias couldn't get up but noticed his shattered sword.

“I think it is about time.”

He heard Zigmund's voice from his left. He was once again sitting in his favorite position beside the table.

“Take a seat in front of me so we will have a second round of wordy efforts.” He pointed for Dias to sit in a chair he placed before his.

Dias picked himself up with some difficulty and went along with it. He gave up trying to force something out of himself, or this man's patience. It wouldn't end well for him, and that was something he recognized now. Dias knew his overall level of power was more than enough to spar with a general for a few moves to a few minutes of spars.

Being beaten up with a single exchange was rather tough on him, but he also didn't know the power of the foe he was facing.

“What is happening?” Dias asked.

Zigmund pointed to the candle he used to destroy the letter. Surrounding it was shimmering lights, as well as dust which was forming into what appeared to be a face. Then a full-blown head appeared and after that, an upper body of an older man with a thick mustache and hair of unknown color. It was much more vivid, and this projection was as if the real deal was before them.

“G-general Embody?” Dias exclaimed and noticed the man's features. It was his boss, and a person he was serving with his life.

In about a minute of the mysterious flow, the transaction of the technique to get information across vast distances was finalized. It was clear that Dias didn't know about that paper or what that was, but it wasn't meant for him. Instead, it was discovered by Zigmund, who knew about them.

Although it was nothing like the three lion-headed emblems he owned. That one was much better and could even travel beyond the world toward the distant universe.

“Good day to you folks. Especially to you, Zigmund Troutman. I hope you have been good as well, Dias.” A deep and powerful voice talked from the mouth of this dusty man.

Zigmund indifferently looked at the front of this man's face. “I am not called Troutman any longer, but that is no longer important for anyone in the position of the current Alliance.”

“Oh? Is that so? I guess we haven't been informed of that, but that isn't important. Of course, we are busy, but we still hold a lot of information for the specific causes. Be it from ages before forming this alliance itself or not. Your importance is still important in some of the people in the current Alliance, and even beyond that.”

Zigmund sighed, figuring he can't go against this person in his loved physical manner, unlike with Dias. “I guess that's a normal thing to consider, but I like to get to the point. What is this so-called mission about, so-called general Embody?” Zigmund asked straight to the point.

“We want to re-establish our relationship with you.” Embody stated with a calm face and even calmer words.

“Our… I take it as an agreement or an order by the three schools?”

“I would rather not say.”

“Oh? There is so much sincerity. I don't think I would survive a speck of openness, nor any words of wisdom.” Zigmund exaggerated his words. “Do you even know, general Embody, what went on around me at that time?”

“I do know the little of the historical value you provided to the Alliance. Yes, I do.”

“Then I see no reason to agree with any requests or anything. I am no longer under any obligation, nor something of that sort.”

“I thought you would say so. If that is the case, what if I make you an offer that couldn't be refused?”

“Is this a treat or a sweet talk what they know so well? I am not falling for that unless I heard the sincere words.” Zigmund said.

A sharp exchange of words went between the stern-looking Zigmund and Embody, who was made of dust from the letter.

Both held their words back afterward, for one reason to another.

“For the start of our reason, and with all considerations, the current situation of the Tricloud is grim. Not including the state of affairs in the three schools, the Tricloud Alliance is in no good position. We can't do it differently, other than to go against our words and provide you with plentiful compensation.”

“You are mistaken in this sense, general. I served the Tricloud and got out because I was willingly pulled out for certain reasons and decisions. What is there to add? That I would be forced back? Taking the past back to the present is no such easy task, especially for me.”

“What is there for you to need? I read the paragraphs about what you did or the stories about a man you were at that time. While it's true that I was not alive at that time, the results are obvious to the naked eye.”

“Naked eyes my ass. Getting back to one's words is one thing I hate the most. I could have even slaughtered these kids who were sent as a form of warning. It would be more than normal in such a situation that pisses me off more than you think, general!” Zigmund said, and his last words sounded quite angry and furious.

“You are right. Unfortunately, there will be no apologies for Dias and the rest. All things considered, they made the mission works for the current stake at hand. In all honesty, I didn't even though you would be willing to discuss things with me, so count me surprised.”

“Hoh? You sound like a shitty boss. That brings some great memories back, even though you sound way more sincere than the ones in the past.” Zigmund told and decided to listen some more. “What is the hidden meaning and play of your words, then? As I see it, it is unreasonable to demand me back after so many years. Even with all the shit that was caused by the Tricloud Alliance or schools who were so full of themselves at that time.”

“Well…” Embody sighed. “I am actually unsure about the full history that you speak about. Tricloud Alliance is now managed as a singular organization with very little influence from the tree school. That I guarantee.”

“What you don't guarantee?” Zigmund asked.

“Safety of our people and peace.”

“Our. Such a righteous term. I still won't agree.”

“I know. I as well as others, would like to invite you to our headquarters to talk some more. Eye to eye so we can reach a proper conclusion. That is the last plan I had since I figured out your refusal.”

“I refuse to meet your stupid real eyes. Meet me here for all I care about.” Zigmund barked back, folding his arms around his chest.

Embody paused for a moment. He probably did not expect the straight refusal, but the follow-up was even more surprising.

“Alright then. I shall meet you.”

“Not so fast man!” Zigmund said in a hurry. “Let's get to the major things that you left out, by your willingness or not.”

“What is it?” Embody replied, unbothered by his words.

“I am sure you don't expect to get me back like this? What about the price you mentioned once?” Zigmund said, raising his brows upon having his interest piqued.

“Heheh… I like this back-and-forth honesty. As for the payments or the benefits, the rewards will be included, of course. The further talk can include the 1st Treasury of Clouds if it will go well.”

“1st? How bad is the situation?” Zigmund frowned.

“Information is prohibited to leak to the outside. As you would guess, the underlying problem isn't Timeless… The information, especially the ones I know for certain aren't something I take lightly.”

“Alright.” Zigmund nodded at last. “At least something does not change in a matter of time. Good. I agree with the meeting where you will provide me with a better explanation. I can't give a crap about talking with you like this.”