Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: The Sole Survivor
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Kalligo had the waiting room door closed first. He approached the fallen Riang and checked his breathing. The external wounds were severe, but his breaths weren't ragged.
"To wander the Holy City in this state."
Kalligo said as he supported Riang's neck. His other subordinates stripped off Riang's clothes and disinfected the wounds.
"Once we passed the checkpoint, there weren't even people on the streets. It made me wonder if this really was the Holy City. Ah, who sold out the castle?"
"Why is everyone under me so hopelessly bad at comedy? All talk and no substance."
Riang cracked weak jokes even as he winced from the pain. Wondering why they all ended up with such deficient personalities.
Kalligo clicked his tongue, then felt the sharp glares from his subordinates.
"What?"
"Who do you think we learned it from? You know who."
One subordinate chided him. Kalligo started to retort but gave up. It was logic he couldn't refute. How could he deny the facts?
They kept up small talk to ease Riang's tension while examining his wounds. They were blood-soaked, but none threatened his life.
Soon, a healer from the Administrative Bureau arrived. After inspecting the wounds, he quickly gave his assessment.
"No immediate concerns. The disinfection is clean. We'll just stitch the open wounds, give him medicine, and monitor his condition."
"Just in case, let's request a prayer from the Central Cathedral. Nothing as intense as healing magic."
"Understood. I'll make the contact. But it might take some time. As you know, the cathedral priests are all tied up with the nobles right now."
"Just tell Illegro I requested it personally."
"Will do."
Kalligo didn't fully trust the Central Cathedral's prayers, but Riang was the sole survivor. They had to do everything possible to prepare for the worst.
"And the antidote?"
"We administered it right after, just in case. Since he made it back alive, it should be fine."
Riang answered. There were still potential risks, but at least they could breathe easier now.
"Welcome back is over. Everyone back to your posts. We've got mountains of work."
He ordered his subordinates, then gave Deong a look.
They moved Riang to the break room inside the waiting room. Only Deong, Ron, and Dabans were allowed inside.
"Riang. Report."
Kalligo said. Riang, who had been lying down, tried to sit up. Deong helped from the side.
"We were ambushed on the way back."
"Location?"
"Western Holy City, near Mulle Pass."
He received a detailed report of what had happened that day.
"Armored knights showing up with horses means our travel route leaked for sure."
Deong offered his opinion.
"Who set the route?"
Kalligo recalled the members of the operation team.
"Allroad drew up the overall plan. It was flawless, so we all agreed."
"That figures."
Allroad was a leader with vision. He had the wisdom to see ahead.
"You scattered and evacuated, right?"
"Yes. We tried to recover the carriage, but lost the horses in the first attack."
"They were after the mage, so that makes sense. What about the other team members' survival?"
"No idea."
Riang said, looking toward the break room door.
"Does that mean I'm the only one who made it back?"
"For now."
Riang clenched his fist.
"I'm sorry."
"Save the apologies until the job's done. First, we need to weed out the rat."
Kalligo crossed his arms.
It left a bitter taste. He'd anticipated an incident someday, but not like this, not at this time.
"I never thought my incompetence would show itself like this."
"Why are you incompetent, Captain?"
Deong said.
"I picked you all. This group was built entirely by my discretion. And now one of them turned their back. They judged Gilliud's hand was better than following me. It's a blow to the pride."
Kalligo pulled up a chair. He placed it in front of Riang, who was clearing his throat, and sat down.
"Riang. You know the situation's a bit dicey."
"I'll accept any punishment. We failed the mission."
"Punishment? I'm just sorry I have to grill a subordinate who came back after suffering like this."
Kalligo looked into Riang's eyes as he spoke.
"Tell me yourself. Who do you think betrayed us on this op?"
"I don't know."
"Don't overthink it. I'm asking because you're the only one who saw the scene. How were the team members acting? No one suspicious? The fact that knights hit us knowing the exact route means there's a traitor in the operation team. Even I didn't know your travel path. I just ordered you to head to the Holy City."
Riang shut his mouth. His eyes flicked upward slightly. As if recalling that moment.
"Setting aside personal feelings and thinking back to the scene, the most suspicious is Allroad."
"That makes sense. You said he proposed the route."
"We were scouting a rest spot an hour before the ambush. Allroad found a place with clear sightlines and even ground. It seemed fine at the time. The op was in its final stages, no apparent dangers. But looking back, it feels like he chose it to make it easy for the knights to surround us."
"So Allroad set the route, and Allroad picked the rest spot on the day of the ambush."
"Yes. As you know, Allroad has great leadership. Everyone followed him."
"If he lured us to that spot, we'd have been sitting ducks. How skilled were the knights?"
Riang half-closed his eyes. Despair flashed across his face.
"We tried to fight back, but after the first clash, we made the call. Zero chance of survival if we engaged. Everyone thought the same, and we immediately agreed to scatter."
"Near Mulle Pass, there should've been woods nearby. I remember thick underbrush there."
Kalligo asked, recalling the terrain around Mulle Pass.
"As you said, Captain, there was a forest nearby, so we headed that way for escape. To avoid pursuit if we all went the same direction, the fast-footed Allroad and Delen broke toward the plains."
"I'd have made the same call."
From scattering to choosing escape routes, there were no poor decisions. And yet only one survivor.
The Inspectorate's physical abilities might lag behind Schola elites or other crack troops, but they weren't inferior to regular knights.
"Any distinguishing features on the attacking knights?"
"No insignias."
"What about their horses? You must've noted the breed."
"They looked like eastern imports. Narrow space between the eyes, thick legs, coarse tail hair."
Kalligo glanced at Ron. The quick-witted subordinate excused himself to investigate.
"Horses trained well enough for joint ops with armored knights don't come from just anywhere. We'll find something. Anything else?"
Riang pondered before speaking.
"Nothing distinctive."
"That figures. If they'd dropped any clues, we'd suspect them."
Riang grimaced. Pain from the leg wound, probably.
"But what's with the Holy City? Streets are a mess, the castle's destroyed."
"Gilliud's faithful had a field day. The kind of bloodshed that'll go down in history."
"It must've been gruesome. The Holy City reduced to this in a single attack."
"Thanks to that, we're suffering too."
Riang put force into his eyes.
"I'll help with the work. I won't touch classified stuff while under further questioning, so give me grunt work at least."
"Forget it. We're not so short-handed we need to assign jobs to the injured."
Kalligo patted Riang's shoulder.
"Rest up. Dabans, stay with him."
"Got it."
He left Riang to Dabans and exited the break room.
"Deong."
Deong, following behind, quietly answered, "Yes."
"Head to Kea. Lander should be there. Brief him on the situation. They've got preparations underway."
"Understood."
Deong left. Kalligo stared at the closed break room door.
The logic held no contradictions. It was an accurate report and fine handling. Just one tiny thing—utterly trivial—sparked doubt.
Why say it was a single attack?
Of course, it wasn't worth dwelling on seriously. It'd be weirder to think the castle-destroying explosions happened in sequence.
Still, it nagged because of Gilliud's prophecy.
If Lander hadn't guarded Sector 8, Charlotte's guardian would've been enraged. The castle wouldn't have just blown up—the whole Holy City might've collapsed.
One attack flipping the Holy City. That was the future Gilliud wanted.
"It might be nitpicking, but no choice now."
He muttered to himself while sipping cold coffee.
He couldn't miss a thing. Even Bureau Chief Aleng had gone over to Gilliud.
If he let his guard down with trusted subordinates, the Special Inspectorate would be next to vanish.
Kalligo thought of Lander. In a situation where even the Emperor was suspect, the only one he could truly trust was the Chief.
The Chief stood diametrically opposed to Gilliud. The man who'd derailed the future Gilliud foresaw.
Besides him, maybe Deong and Blind.
"Captain. How do we handle this?"
"Bring it."
Kalligo gestured, pausing his worries about Riang. News would come soon since he'd sent Deong.
* * *
Even the Special Inspectorate had to go through rigorous procedures to visit Kea. But the magic words "Lander" let him skip them all.
"Long time no see."
Deong shook hands with Lander.
"Looks like things wrapped up at the mansion."
"Yes. But there was an incident en route."
He informed Lander that they'd been ambushed during transport, with only one survivor.
"Not good."
"High chance one of the operation team betrayed us. Even the surviving member needs vetting."
"Kalligo must be getting anxious."
Lander turned. Deong followed him down the corridor. From underground to deeper underground.
They passed Kea's isolation cells full of dangerous specimens and reached the final room.
"What's this?"
"Kalligo sending you is proof he trusts you completely."
"Pressure. I prefer staying on the fringes."
"You'll learn a lot about this case."
"Sharing secrets means that much more danger. Hope the pay goes up too."
Lander smiled and opened the door. Two of Kea's researchers faced a man with an unfamiliar face.
Deong studied the man's face closely. He seemed vaguely familiar from the Administrative Bureau.
"He's from the Unstable Realm."
"Unstable Realm? What's that?"
"That's what we're about to find out."
The isolation room darkened instantly. One researcher looked at the man and said,
"Mr. Trunble. Tell us what you experienced."
(To be continued)