I'm Actually Not Overpowered!-Chapter 196 We Are Totally Spies! [Pt 1]

It was soon morning and the sun reminded everyone of this by sending its amber glow spreading across the lands.

The dey earth recieved its blessing, and the world became illuminated by the brilliance of the ball of light in the sky.

Of course, our campsite was no exception.

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"Good morning, everyone. I certainly hope you had a good night's rest."

As scheduled, my subordinates stood before me—each properly dressed for the task at hand.

The demons nodded, while the two girls gave positive responses like;

"Yes, I did."

"It was a satisfactory night."

I was pretty much used to the stuff treatment given by my demon subordinates, so I didn't take it to heart at all.

'Besides, considering the fact that we might have to eliminate their kind here, it's understandable.'

Demons were considered the big bad in this world, thus the enemies they would have to face as my underlings would be members of the same Race of the same race.

"Today, we'll be surveying the surroundings of the Elf Sanctuary's Forest, as well as the Elf Sanctuary itself."

Since I had already briefed all of them on the mission at hand, it was no secret that we wanted to achieve two major goals.

Firstly, liberating the Elves and ensuring they live the peaceful lives they had enjoyed for centuries.

Secondly, defeating the tyrant Elf Chief, as well as the person backing him. To do that, though, we needed information.

'I can't rely on Asa's outdated information. None of the Demons know much about this place, and even I don't have much information on this part.'

In the end, it was time for.some stealthy business.

"We are a total of six. We'll move in groups of twos, and each pair will be stationed a different spying route."

I planned on one group taking the left side of the forest, the second group using the right, while the third team would come through the middle.

I wanted to stay at the middle, so that meant I had to choose the group that would operate independently.

"Lucy and Hogun. You're team 1."

Lucy instantly raised an objection, but I had anticipated this move already. It wouldn't work on me again.

"I have placed you all as part of your respective teams because of a lot of factors to consider. It would be good for you all to remember." 𝐟𝓇ℯ𝒆we𝒃𝘯𝒐νe𝑙.co𝚖

Fortunately, that was enough to silence Lucy and whatever word she wanted to spit out. She slowly lowered her voice and nodded in acceptance.

'Is she pouting? That's cute...' It was probably my imagination, but I could have sworn that Lucy pouted.

"Heshu and Asa, you're Team 2."

Once I said this, two of my subordinates showed distasteful expressions. One's face was warped in surprise and disappointment, while the other was simply filled with disgust.

"U-understood..." Asa managed to speak, though obviously downcast.

Heshu seemed fine with the choice. The only person unaccounted for—the one who displayed repulsion to the list I just cooked up—was none other than Adu himself.

"Tch!"

I noticed him glaring at me, bur I ignored it. I didn't want to control his freedom of expression, though I sometimes wished I could.

"Adu is with me once the third team. After breakfast, we're heading out." I finally announced.

All in all, the group matchings seemed to add up well. I mean, half of us wasn't happy about it, but this was one of the benefits one received when he became recognized as a legendary Hero.

'Heshu will need Asa's expertise in navigating them forest. Hogun and Lucy are both warriors, so they'll properly make do. As for Adu and I...'

There was only one reason I chose such a snotty brat as my apprentice in this mission. And that was none other than his spatial manipulation.

'It it comes down to it, I'll just run away thanks to Adu.'

It was literally foolproof.

'As much as I'd like Lucy or Asa, they're better off on the other teams...'

Besides, Adu was very strong, so he could serve as my muscle. It would be a shame if I was the only one experiencing trouble in this expedition.

'This way, my group has quite a good chance of actually coming back with good Intel.'

"You will he wearing these. Here!" I threw five rings at my assembled subordinates.

Since they appeared form Inventory, it seemed like I summoned them, but I didn't.

"They're Magic Items that grant Invisibility and Noise Nullification on the user for a specified of time. Their effects only last five hours, though, so make sure you complete your tasks and return before time is up."

I got the rings from the Main Shop, and of course I saw the 'full version' that granted the effects indefinitely, but after comparing their prices, I picked these instead.

As expected, everyone was amazed by my resourcefulness.

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* 𝑓𝗿𝐞𝘦𝘄ｅ𝘣n𝘰𝘷eƖ.c𝘰𝗺

"Alright. Let's head out."

As stated the previous day, we traveled the remaining journey on foot. It didn't take us over an hour to get to the start of the barrier.

'Haa... haaa... I'm so tired.'

Rather than just working normally, the whole team picked up a quick pace—almost running at some point.

I suspected someone instigated the whole thing and turned it into a race, but without proof, what could I do?

Unlike everyone, I didn't have ridiculously high Stats. I felt so old while watching them all since it almost seemed like I couldn't keep up.

Fortunately, they misunderstood my inability to catch up to mean that I was patiently and slowly walking for a reason

Before I knew it, they had all slowed their pace

WHEW!

It was a good thing I didn't let my exhaustion show.

And now, we were right in front of our target destination—the start of the rough cluster of barren mountains. Upon closer observation, I spotted a glitch or two with the details, but it still held up as a good disguise for a coverup.

"So this is the barrier..." I smiled, feeling the strange and twisted manipulation of space.

"... Not bad."