Chapter 10: Chapter 10 Traitor
"I knew the goddess wouldn’t forsake us. Thank you for saving my son." The king spoke, and Aiden bowed his head and finally sat down.
The new commander in the room spoke first; he still had specks of dirt on some part of his clothes, and even more on his sword, which was currently in its sheath.
"The enemies have been successfully defeated... But the damage to the kingdom is too great to ignore; the Head Church was destroyed by a huge explosion, and every priest inside was killed as a result, along with civilians around the complex.
"The only survivor is Priest Adrian, who was sent to the wall by the Head Priest to retrieve something, I was told... Your Holiness, can you confirm the story?" The knight asked as he bowed and turned to Aiden.
Aiden had no idea he was the one being referred to since he didn’t know the name belonging to this body, but the moment the knight mentioned Your Holiness, Aiden turned to meet his gaze.
He didn’t know if he should go with the commander’s answer or not. If he did and it was discovered that the previous owner of the body went for different reasons, he would look suspicious, but on the other hand, if he didn’t, he would make the knights liars.
Aiden nodded his head in confirmation as everyone around the table had turned towards him.
"So, have you discovered the source? How did the enemy attack the Head Church, which was several miles away from the city walls?" The king asked, his face twisted in anger.
This was what Aiden also wanted to know; he died in battle close to the wall, but he had no idea how an entire kingdom would lose all of its priests, including the Head Priest, in a single sweep.
"We have discovered the source of the attacks. Five months ago, Elaris opened its borders for refugees who were displaced after the Draken Empire invaded the Free Nation of Sylvara."
"We remember, what do the refugees have to do with the attacks?" One of the nobles asked.
"Among the refugees were beastkins and humans alike, but evidence suggests some of the beastkins were the ones responsible for the attack on the Head Church..."
"What did you say? The refugees planned an attack on the kingdom that saved them?"
"Some knights who survived due to being far away from the church during the initial blast said some of the refugees charged in mindlessly, showing no fear or hesitation, and after they successfully breached the church, they moved like puppets before their bodies exploded. It’s safe to assume most of the priests would have used barrier spells, so the explosion was strong enough to break through or disrupt barrier spells" The Commander spoke.
"They exploded? And it broke through divine barriers?" The king exclaimed.
"What do you mean? They couldn’t have been rigged with any type of magic; the mages, along with a priest, checked for irregularities before any of the refugees were allowed inside the city. How is it possible?" The Other commander asked.
"I have no idea, it’s simply what the knights told me, and I believe they were telling the truth, because as soon as the church exploded, the city gates were attacked at the same time"
"The gate was breached with tons of long-range spells, and since there were no priests to offer protection, some of the knights died in the process"
"How did the enemy know the Priests would be having a ceremony at that time, and how did the Draken Empire cross the Red pass to attack our nation? And how did an assassin get the Prince at the same time?" The king asked.
"We still don’t know that. We’ve sent scouts, so we’ll get more information soon." The commander bowed his head and sat down.
"So the refugees were rigged with explosive magic and then mind-controlled, isn’t that too far-fetched? Also, is it even possible for that to be done without getting up close, and isn’t it impossible to bypass the barrier around the kingdom?" One of the nobles spoke.
"Even with all that, the prince getting attacked at the same time, I don’t think it’s a coincidence, it’s all connected, the chain of events is too perfect," Another noble added.
The king looked at the faces of all the nobles before speaking, "If the refugees responsible for this were able to get in without being checked, then we have a traitor in our midst"
"That would explain how they knew exactly where to look and what to do, also the assassin knew exactly how to find the prince and almost succeeded..." The king spoke, his eyes still scanning the table like he was looking for someone to slip up.
[Are you thinking what I’m thinking?]
’The commander right?’
[I saw his eyes, he seemed angry that you healed the prince, and he was the one who brought up how the refugees were checked... Since he’s a commander, it’s easy for him to have a mage accomplice]
’All of this is still theory for now, and I’m not going to be the one investigating; I’ll just stay out of his way for now’
[Smart choice, you have better things to do with your time, like finding a way to bang the Queen]
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