Chapter 60: Discovery
Discovery
"All in favor of waiting to investigate instead of attacking, raise your hands." When the Captain said that, 12 people raised their hands. And he nodded.
"All in favor of immediately attacking the Ravine and exterminating the demonic beasts quickly. Raise your hands." This time, only about 9 people raised their hands, and the people who still pushed for investigation looked smug. However, the captain wasn’t finished.
"All in favor of following Xander’s suggestion, doing the extermination while also including reconnaissance into the operation. Raise your hands." This time, a vast majority of the people in the room raised their hands. This included Xander, Sparrow, and Aubrey.
There was no need to count any votes. The results were clear
The captain nodded, gave Xander a small nod, then he stood and slammed his hand on the table, his entire demeanor going completely serious.
"Effective immediately, all available squad leaders are to gather their teammates and prepare. Today, the Ravine will fall." When he said that, a series of cheers ran through the room.
Aubrey, however, didn’t make a sound. Her gaze was still aimed downwards, so no one could tell what she was thinking. Heck, most didn’t even notice her.
But she noticed many things.
And in her perception, among the possible suspects she noted, two caught her attention.
She’d switched to infrared at that moment, observing their body heat, and she observed that their temperatures rose dramatically. Not just how one’s body heat spiked due to excess emotion. It was almost like something was threatening to explode but was barely kept at bay. Very unnatural.
She also noticed when using her normal ’vision’ that there were a few people from both of the original camps who made eye contact with these two people who were outwardly sweating profusely, and they all did something strange.
They blinked at one another briefly.
That in itself wasn’t strange. She noticed it all happening at once, and she immediately realized that they were communicating with each other while blinking, and the two individuals among the higher-ups that had their body temperatures spike unnaturally seemed to be the focal point of all of this.
On top of that, She’d been reading their body language the whole time. The way they shifted whenever Xander made a particular point. How their grips would tighten when things stopped moving in a certain direction. Or how their jaws clenched when the Captain announced the immediate commencement of the operation.
So many subtle signs that no one would notice, let alone attribute to anything beyond the stress of the situation. But Aubrey had seen all of it, seen when it happened, and seen the consequent developments. As such, she was certain.
’Found you.’ Her expression did not change even as everyone came together to make a more detailed plans.
Meanwhile, Xander didn’t immediately ask for details from her, trusting that she was verifying whatever information she discovered to be completely sure of her target. As for Xander, he took the opportunity to capitalize on the effect he had so as to increase his influence. How? He joined the planning directly, and after the performance he put up, no one objected to his presence, even though a few were disgruntled by it.
Xander didn’t attempt to take over the operation or anything like that. Instead, like before, he asked for information in regards to their forces before making meaningful contributions wherever he could, and in just an hour or so, several decent plans had been presented and modified to suit the situation.
Xander had to admit, he was quite impressed by their efficiency. While he contributed some, the people there displayed that they were veterans in a true sense. Coming up with meaningful ideas that helped the overall situation. And despite some being unhappy with how things turned out, they didn’t behave like children and refuse to contribute, but rather did the opposite.
If Xander was being honest, after the constant discoveries of treachery and such, his opinion of Landor and its forces in general had been slowly dwindling. But the scene before him changed that.
Soon, though, the planning came to an end. And as everyone was now made aware that they were on a bit of a timer, things started moving fast. So much so that they were instructed to be ready in an hour, as that is when they would be setting out.
As the various squad leaders were getting ready to step out and carry out their preparations, Xander got stopped by Sparrow.
He and Aubrey had a mental conversation briefly before the girl walked out, and he turned to the older woman he aimed her chin towards the entrance where the Captain was waiting with folded arms.
As soon as they reached him, he quickly cast an isolation barrier around them. He didn’t immediately say anything as he gave Xander a deep look, then he spoke.
"How old are you, kid?" Hearing this, Xander just shrugged.
"I’m 17, sir." The Captain nodded slowly, glanced at Sparrow, then sighed.
"I’m not sure if Avoma decided to step up their game in recent years, but if all newbies are like you then the military scene is about to become a lot more interesting." He chuckled, then his expression hardened.
"Sparrow told me about your conversation yesterday." At that, Sparrow shifted slightly but kept quiet. Xander just nodded, not bothering to hide anything, and the captain took a deep breath.
"Look. I won’t try to stop you from doing what you’re doing. You’ve proven yourself more than capable at this point. However, I’m telling you. Be careful." His voice was grim, and Xander’s expression also turned solemn, indicating that he was taking every word seriously.
"These people we call the higher-ups, they may seem incompetent at times, but that’s only because of their pride. In truth, all of them are cunning and spiteful. Your actions today may have been the right choice, but some won’t care about that. So expect a target on your back and be aware of your surroundings at all times." When he said that, he removed the barrier, gave Xander one last look, then walked away.
Sparrow lingered, looking like she might say something, then she sighed and shook her head.
"Stay safe." That’s all she said before also walking away.
Xander was quiet for a moment, then he took a breath and walked towards his tent to wait for Aubrey.
***
When Aubrey left the meeting spot, she didn’t return to the tent.
Instead, Mary—who had been on standby—quietly came to land on her shoulder, and subtly, she made them both invisible.
As for where Aubrey was going, well...
She was following one of her targets.
’Did things go well?’ Mary asked calmly.
’Yeah. Xander can be very convincing when he wants to be.’ Aubrey replied with a small smile. Mary just nodded, like she’d expected such a result. Then the two fell into silence.
Aubrey’s target, an unassuming squad leader with raven black hair and recessed eyes, calmly weaved through the hustle and bustle of the base, which had gotten even worse due to the upcoming operation.
However, she noticed that, every so often, he would observe his surroundings. He masked it as simply glancing at someone who passed him, but he would then quickly look around, as though watching for if someone followed him.
Soon enough, he reached the edge of the base and stepped out. Which was strange. After all, a battle was coming, so why would he be leaving the base now?
Either way, he continued on his way, his posture relaxed and calm. No one questioned the presence of a soldier walking through Landor. After all, they were everywhere.
Not long after, he arrived at one of Landor’s taverns.
He greeted the bartender and went upstairs to a room. He looked left and right, then he knocked on the door 5 times. 1 heavy knock, 2 light knocks, 1 heavy, 1 light.
A moment later, the door opened into a dark room, and the squad leader didn’t rush in or quickly close the door. All of his actions were natural and calm.
As soon as he entered, though, a barrier of isolation covered the room, and a gruff voice came in from one side, and following it was the smell of sulphur.
"Were you followed?" The squad leader immediately bowed before shaking his head.
"No, your Excellency. No one suspected a thing." He answered with a tone filled with reverence, awe, and fear.
"Good. You were the last one to arrive. Rise." A second voice came, also followed by the same smell, but the tone was different.
The squad leader straightened and looked around. He briefly glanced around and his fellow soldiers, then at the two people at the head of the room.
They were the two higher-ups. However, there was now a jarring change in both of them.
Their bodies mostly remained the same. But on their heads, a single red horn jutted out sharply, with red veins spreading out and touching one of their eyes, causing their irises to become blood red and the whites turning black.
They spoke in unison, voices overlapping to make a single, sinister tone.
"We do not have much time. But our task is clear. Make the destruction of the Ravine fail and prevent our true goal from coming to light." The voices... voice? Paused, then added.
"Also, eliminate that boy during the operation. Quietly if possible. He is a problem." There was a moment of silence, then someone spike, their voice careful and filled with fear.
"... You Excellency, how should we accomplish the first task?" Hearing this, both of the ’individuals’ smiled sinisterly.
"Very simple." They held up their hands, and in them, several red beads could be seen, each one glowing with an ominous light.
"Simply feed any of these to any demonic beast in that ravine, preferably when nearing the area with the corpses of the beast leaders. Everything will resolve itself from there." Suddenly, one of ’them’ paused.
Then his body flickered and appeared in the corner of the room, and made a grabbing motion. However, his hand went through air, touching nothing. The room fell silent as he looked at his hand, a brief look of confusion on his face, then he shook his head.
"Discussion adjourned. Return to your posts." With that, the door was opened, and the members went out. Not at once. Each one waited for two or three minutes before the next person went out.
Only after the room was empty did ’they’ return to normal. The horns went back into ’their’ skulls with a disturbing sound, and the red veins receded while their eyes returned to normal. They looked at each other, nodded, then left the room.
Nearly ten minutes later, Aubrey, who had stepped out with the third person, let out a breath of relief.
’That had been far too close.’ She grimaced.
’My apologies. Demons are similar to Elemental Spirits in that they are very sensitive to Mana. I had falsely assumed that it wouldn’t be that significant due to them inhabiting the bodies of others. Evidently, I was wrong.’ Mary replied, sounding apologetic.
’... It’s fine. But... inhabit? Not disguise?’ Aubrey shook her head before asking curiously.
’I advise that we get to Xander and your team first and show them the recording. I will relay the relevant information.’ Mary suggested.
’... Alright.’ Aubrey just nodded and quickened her pace.
