When Lux opened his eyes, he found himself inside a tent with Diablo, Ishtar, and Asmodeus standing beside him.
After acknowledging his Named Creature's greetings, the Half-Elf shifted his gaze to three other people inside the room, who were wearing military uniforms.
Judging from their looks, Lux assumed that one of the two older Military Officers was the one calling the shots in the defense against General Phobus' offensive in the Marshlands.
Aside from them, there was also a young man, whom Lux believed to be in his late teens, and serving as one of the assistants of the older military officers in front of him.
'Two Rankers and one Initiate,' Lux thought. 'It seems that the distribution of power between the high-ranking combatants of both sides are almost equal.'
While the Half-Elf was observing the three people in front of him, the three people were also appraising him.
It was Diablo who broke the silence and introduced the three Military Officers to his Master.
"Master, let me introduce to you General Fahad Durnham," Diablo said as he made a gesture to introduce the middle-aged man with blonde hair and blue eyes who stood in the middle of the three people standing in front of him. "He is the highest commanding officer in this camp, and is the one responsible for keeping the Ammarian Army at bay."
Lux smiled before giving the General a brief nod in greeting.
"I am awed by your tactics on the battlefield, General Durnham," Lux stated. "Because of you, the soldiers in the Ammarian Camp are always feeling anxious, fearing that their commanding officer, General Phobus, might order them to hang themselves due to his frustration for the successive losses he's had over the past few days."
The corner of General Fahad's lips rose ever slightly after hearing that his opponent was having a bad time as of late.
"Likewise, Sir Lux. I am also awed by the accomplishment you made for the defense of our Kingdom many months ago," General Fahad said. "Great General Watson and Great General Sherlock had nothing but praise for you. Because of this, I was quite interested in meeting you face to face and, after seeing you in the flesh, I find that you are younger than I expected. Please, just call me Fahad, or General Fahad."
The young man beside General Fahad was surprised after hearing his words. He didn't expect one of the most fearsome Generals of the Yelan Kingdom to treat the Half-Elf in a courteous manner, making him feel a little jealous.
Because of this, he stared at Lux as if he was seeing his Rival for the first time, which the Half-Elf completely missed because his attention was focused on the General in front of him.
"The circumstances back then were quite dire, General Fahad," Lux replied. "I only managed to turn the tide by sacrificing the bodies of those who have died in battle, leaving nothing behind to give them even a proper burial."
The corpses that were detonated using his skill, Corpse Explosion [EX], would explode similar to a grenade, dealing Necrotic Damage, as well as sending their body parts flying like shrapnel, injuring and potentially killing those around them.
"I'm sure that our brave men and women who died back then would have been more than happy to have their bodies used for a greater cause," General Fahad stated. "The soldiers of the Yelan Kingdom are prepared to die in battle, so do not think that their sacrifices were in vain. In fact, what you had done saved countless lives. Meeting you here today is truly a great honor."
Lux was quite impressed by how eloquent General Fahad was. The middle-aged man was a true example of those that were expert in the way of the blade, as well as in the way of words, using both of them to their advantage on the battlefield.
"As much as I'd like to have a proper chat with you General, I can't stay for long," Lux said. "I only snuck out of the Ammarian Camp and if they realize that I am gone, they might find trouble for me later on."
General Fahad nodded in understanding.
"Before we start our talk, I want to introduce my right-hand man, Sir Benjamin Olsen," General Fahad said as he patted the shoulder of the man standing on his right.
"Pleasure to meet you, Sir, Olsen."
"Benjamin is fine. We're all friends here."
Lux and Benjamin exchanged courteous greetings before General Fahad rested his hand on the shoulder of the teenager boy by his side, who had features similar to him.
The only difference was the color of the young man's eyes which were green, instead of blue.
"This is my second son, Leo." General Fahad smiled. "He's here serving as my aide in addition to getting some field training."
Leo took a step forward and reached out his right hand towards Lux for a handshake.
Naturally, the Half-Elf accepted the gesture and shook the young man's hand twice before letting go.
'How childish,' Lux mused as he felt the slight pain in his hand after being squeezed by the Initiate in front of him.
Clearly, Leo's strength stat was higher than his, allowing the latter to have more gripping power.
Leo's mood became a bit better as he looked at the Half-Elf with a smug look on his face.
For a brief moment, Lux was tempted to summon his Jade Golem, Orion, and have the latter smack the blonde-boy silly for trying to crush his hand.
However, this thought lasted for only a brief moment because something else happened.
Eiko, who saw what Leo did to her Papa, glared at the blondie with annoyance before summoning a blast mine.
If not for the fact that Diablo had reacted quickly and snatched the bomb from Eiko's hand, things might have escalated quickly, and a misunderstanding might have occurred.
"Eiko, calm down," Lux said through telepathy as he tried to pacify the baby Slime who summoned another blast mine that she was planning to throw at Leo. "I'm not hurt, okay?"
"Mumumumu!" Eiko replied through telepathy, which showed how annoyed she was after seeing someone hurt her Papa.
In the end, Lux was able to pacify the baby Slime, but Eiko continued to glare at Leo, which the latter ignored completely.
General Fahad gave an awkward chuckle as he tried to salvage the situation. He saw what his son did to Lux, but it was too late for him to stop it.
Also, seeing how Lux reacted, he understood that the Half-Elf didn't want to make a big deal of it, so he decided to set this matter aside for the time being and chastise his son after his meeting with their guest had ended.
"Let's get down to business, Sir Lux," General Fahad said as he took out a box from his storage ring.
He then placed it on top of the table and opened it.
Inside the box was a purple gem, which was the size of an adult fist.
General Fahad chanted in a language that Lux wasn't familiar with and the purple gem glowed faintly.
A moment later, a projection appeared in front of the Half-Elf, showing two familiar faces, who looked at him with amused expressions on their faces.
"Long time no see, Lux," Watson said with a smile. "We've read your letter and found it quite interesting."
"Indeed," Sherlock commented from the side. "So, have you decided to kill the two of us in return for fame and glory? If so, you're selling your services dirt cheap, my boy."
Sherlock smirked at the Half-Elf who also had a smile on his face.
Lux's mission was to kill Watson and Sherlock.
Depending on the outcome of their negotiation, he might have to fight against his two acquaintances in order to clear his mission.
