Odis nodded slightly in response to Hugh's loyalty: "Rise."
He paused and then asked, "I need to go back and make some preparations. I'll come find you this afternoon. What's your exact address?"
Odis needs to go back and create some extraordinary weapons to prepare for the upcoming battle.
Hugh replied, "South of the bridge, 26 Tutwa Street."
Odis stood up and said, "See you this afternoon."
Xiu also stood up and said, "See you this afternoon."
She also needed to go back and explain things to Fors, and try to persuade Fors to stay somewhere else temporarily.
After leaving 199 Herren Road, Odis returned to the herbalist shop, wrote down a list, and had Kenneth take £1,000 in cash and the list to 117 Queen Road, the Viscount Kelton's residence, to purchase a batch of high-quality spiritual materials.
After completing a batch of extraordinary weapons, Odis wrote another letter to the Backlund Mechanical Research Society, roughly describing his next actions, which was a way of reporting to the official extraordinary individuals.
Yesterday, when Odis returned from Verdu's house, he sat in the carriage and looked in the full-length mirror in the carriage, summarizing some of his experiences as a "wizard": Before a battle, one must be fully prepared!
If they were to fight head-on, Odis would have to expend a great deal of effort to defeat the "Enchanted Woman," and it is more likely that the "Enchanted Woman" would escape through the "Mirror World."
However, if you are well prepared and make accurate judgments, you can defeat your opponent relatively easily.
In contrast, the operation in the suburban castle last week ended up in such a mess because of a serious misjudgment.
Odis therefore took the preparations even more seriously than before and designed several new weapons.
After finishing all this, it was already past three in the afternoon. Odis slung his backpack containing weapons over his shoulder and took a carriage to Tutwa Street.
On the carriage, Odis put on a mask and a cloak, continuing to dress as the "leader".
Upon arriving at number 26, Odis did not rush inside, but first observed the surrounding environment.
This is a street that is not very wide. Most of the houses on both sides are single-story buildings, and almost none of them have a yard.
After Odis had a general view of the park in the distance and the street behind the house, she rang the doorbell.
Soon, Hugh, dressed in knight's attire, opened the door: "'Chief' sir."
Odis nodded and went inside. He then looked around at the layout of the rental house. Upon entering, there was a living room, kitchen, and dining room. Inside, there were three rooms: two bedrooms and a bathroom.
It's not very big, but it's decorated very warmly.
Fors also changed out of her usual long dress and into clothes that were more practical for movement and combat. She smiled and said, "Hello, 'Chief'."
She had heard from Hugh that the "Chief" was willing to help, and that Hugh had already sworn allegiance to the "Chief".
If Hugh were to swear allegiance to someone else, Fors would say she must have lost her mind, but based on Fors's observation, the "leader" is a rather special extraordinary being who can be trusted for now.
Odis nodded in response.
Then he said, "Let's discuss the next steps and plans."
So the three of them sat down at the dining table, with Odysseus on one side and Hugh and Fors on the other.
"According to the intelligence Hugh received, the enemy should be coming to us in the next day or two," Odis said. "Especially at night, we need to take turns on night watch and try to rest during our off-duty hours."
"Because we need to ensure we have enough energy and strength before the enemy arrives here."
Hugh and Fors nodded repeatedly, looking very professional.
"Another issue is tactics," Odis said. "I will draw the corresponding magic circles on the walls of the two bedrooms, and once the enemy arrives, we will immediately escape to the street behind."
"Then head west along the street, where there is a park, the best place to fight, where some of my powerful weapons can also come in handy."
"Of course, it would be even better if the enemy were intercepted by 'MI9' during the pursuit."
"Our initial relocation was quite important. Although MI9 had evacuated everyone on the surface, there must have been people lying in ambush around us in secret."
"According to convention, their approach is usually to wait for the enemy to attack us, and only when the enemy has revealed all their strength will they strike."
"If we lure the enemy elsewhere, their encirclement will be in danger of being broken, so there is a certain probability that they will launch an attack ahead of schedule."
Hugh and Fors could only nod. The more they listened, the more they felt that the "leader's" plan was far-sighted. It was not about fighting the enemy head-on, but about using all available resources to resolve this crisis.
Odston paused for a moment and then asked Hugh, "You seem to have been promoted?"
"Yes." Hugh didn't hide anything: "I've just been promoted to 'sheriff'."
Odis nodded: "The other side doesn't know about your promotion. When we get to the park and launch our counterattack, we must take advantage of this and quickly kill one or two of their members to have a deterrent effect."
"Hugh and I will take the initiative, and this lady..."
He asked, knowing the answer already, "May I ask your name, and what path did you take to become an extraordinary being?"
"Fors," Fors, who had long brown hair, replied, "I am an apprentice."
Odis pretended to think for a moment before asking, "How's your marksmanship?"
Fors smiled wryly, "It's just at the level of knowing how to fire a gun."
Odis took out an exquisite metal crossbow from his bag: "Don't come with us. After you escape to the back street, use your 'open door' ability to hide in a house, and then look for an opportunity to shoot a sneak arrow."
"Maintain a safe distance; you only need to keep the enemy occupied."
Fors took the crossbow: "But, but I don't know how to use a crossbow either."
"This crossbow has the ability to aim on its own," Odis said. "Even someone who has never used a crossbow before can hit the target."
Fors nodded: "Okay."
Xiu breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want Fors to take the risk with her, but no matter how she tried to persuade her, Fors refused to leave alone.
Fortunately, the "leader" gave her a relatively safe mission, which made Hugh feel a little more at ease.
Odis then took out two silver axes and said to Hugh, "These are new weapons I just acquired, called 'Thunderstorm Bombs.' If you infuse the handles with spiritual energy and throw them immediately, they will create a lightning zone with a diameter of about four or five meters."
"Enemies in the lightning zone will be paralyzed for a period of time, but this state will only last for two to three seconds at most. It should be noted that the paralysis effect of 'Mid-Sequence' Beyonders will only last for one or two seconds."
This is a new weapon designed by Odis, combined with the original "Ice Bomb" to deal with the "Arsonist".
Then he took out a white revolver: "Once the opponent is paralyzed, immediately use this pistol to attack. The bullets inside can attack the enemy's spirit. As long as you hit the opponent, the 'low-sequence' extraordinary will lose their fighting ability."
This is why Odis sold the revolver he had previously seized from the fighting arena for a low price, because he had a similar but even better weapon.
As she spoke, Odis took out a box of bullets and two blue axes, and pushed them to Hugh: "You should have seen me use the blue axes before, so I don't need to explain them again."
Hugh didn't stand on ceremony; she put away her weapon and said, "Thank you."
Fors asked curiously, "'Chief,' why are these weapons shaped like axes?"
Odis explained simply, "This provides enough space to arrange some extraordinary designs."
"Oh." Fors nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
Odis stood up and said, "If you don't have anything to pack, I'll go to the bedroom and draw a magic circle."
Hugh stood up and said, "We've already discussed it. Tonight, Fors and I will share a room, and you can stay in my room."
Odis did not refuse: "Okay."
So Odis went to his bedroom, drew the magic circle, and then sat down to rest in Hugh's room.
Around 7 p.m., Fors prepared dinner and invited the "leader" to dine at the restaurant.
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
Odis came to the table, removed her mask, and politely thanked Fors for providing dinner.
Since they would be living together for a day or two, Odis couldn't wear the mask the whole time; at least she had to take it off when eating.
So when he agreed to help Hugh through his current predicament, he was already mentally prepared to reveal his true identity.
Fors looked at the "leader's" face and smiled, "This is what we should do."
She thought to herself: Fair-skinned and clean-cut, not bad looking at all. Even if he really has some other intentions towards Hugh, I can rest assured that no matter what happens between them, Hugh won't suffer any losses.
Hugh thought to himself: He's so young. I thought that a "leader" with so much experience and so many channels should be a middle-aged man, but he looks about my age, maybe even a year or two younger.
The atmosphere at dinner was very harmonious. Fors even asked the "leader" who his family members were and what his main job was, giving off an air of "I'm very comfortable entrusting my daughter to you."
Hugh noticed that Fors's question was getting a little strange, so he quickly changed the subject: "What kind of enemies will we be facing?"
"I deduce that it is a spy organization of the Republic of Intis or the Empire of Fusak." Odis swallowed the bread in his mouth and said, "The royal families and former royal families of these two countries have the potion formula for the 'Hunter' pathway."
"And the 7th sequence of the 'Hunter' pathway is called 'Pyromaniac'."
Hugh immediately said, "The previous Sequence 7 that could manipulate flames."
Odis nodded. It was precisely because the other party could manipulate fire that he had invented some new weapons, and he only brought two "fire bombs".
Fors asked, "Why do they have to retaliate against Hugh? Hugh only... only provided some intelligence to MI9."
"As far as I know, the man named Bruce that MI9 was investigating was an informant for the Punishers," Odis said, holding a fork.
"Judging from some of the things that happened later, Bruce obtained a very important piece of intelligence and sold it to foreign spies through Edgar's man whom Hugh had investigated."
"At this point, MI9 discovered that Bruce knew the secret, so they killed Bruce. But they then found out that Bruce had already sold the information."
"But we haven't been able to find out who bought the intelligence, so we issued a mission to find the person who contacted Bruce."
"The foreign intelligence organization realized that the intelligence was too important, and that the Kingdom of Rune, or rather 'MI9,' would definitely continue to investigate, so they killed Edgar to silence him."
"And Hugh happened to witness them killing people to cover their tracks."
Hugh and Fors knew what happened next: the "leader" covered Hugh's way to MI9 and he received their protection.
Starting today, MI9 has betrayed its promise and is using Xiu as bait.
Because that intelligence was so important, Hugh inadvertently stepped into this vortex, which is why he found himself in danger.
Fors pressed on, "What important intelligence did Bruce obtain?"
"I don't know," Odis said. "And I don't want to know."
He guessed that it was some intelligence about King George III. This intelligence might not seem very important on the surface, but if a high-ranking extraordinary person from an enemy country analyzed it, they could, to some extent, figure out George III's purpose.
In any case, this was a very serious leak for the Loen royal family. Odis, who had a "God's-eye view," even speculated that it might be related to the disappearance of the homeless man and the mausoleum secretly built by George III.
However, for your own safety and the safety of others, it's best not to voice such speculations.
Hugh and Fors realized there was something fishy going on, so they didn't ask any further questions.
After dinner, Fors was the first to take the night shift.
Odis said, "To ensure we can react immediately, everyone continue to wear clothes that allow for easy movement, and don't close the doors."
Hugh and Fors both nodded in agreement. It wasn't very convenient for them to change clothes since there was a man in the house all of a sudden.
The three took turns resting, and they did not encounter any enemy attacks that night.
The next morning at breakfast, Odis reminded Hugh and Fors not to let their guard down during the day and to continue taking turns resting.
So by noon, they had fully recovered to their best condition.
After lunch, as the three sat around the table drinking tea, Fors remarked, "This is the first time I've encountered a situation like this. I never imagined that an extraordinary battle could be so agonizing."
She really wants to go out and shout: "If you're going to fight, then fight already! If you don't, you'll delay my deadline for submitting my manuscript!"
Odis, wearing a mask, laughed and said, "The battle of the extraordinary is first and foremost a struggle of wills. They must be going through some hardship before they embark on their mission in a foreign land. It's hard to say whether they will live or die."
"So as long as we maintain a good state of mind, we can gain a psychological advantage."
Hugh and Fors lacked experience in this kind of teamwork and could only nod like chickens pecking at rice.
The three of them spent the entire afternoon chatting.
Fors never expected the "leader" to be so knowledgeable, from astronomy and geography to science fiction and medicine, there was nothing he didn't know.
Hugh thought the "leader" lacked the authority he displayed at the gathering and was quite humorous.
When night fell again, the battle began.