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nThe soldiers didn’t want to show it, but they subconsciously became wary of their officer.

nEverything pointed to the fact that he was a traitor.

nShang could have kept the suspicious information a secret and could have passed it along to the relevant authorities.

nYet, he had unveiled all the suspicious information without censoring it.

nHe was essentially publicly accusing the officer of being a traitor without saying it directly.

nThe soldiers became very nervous.

nIf their officer were truly a traitor…

nThen, would he just kill all of them to silence them?!

n“They were smart,” the officer said.

nShang and the soldiers only looked at him.

n“Remember, no plan is complete without a backup plan for when the primary plan backfires,” the officer explained. “By sending nine people, their primary plan evidently was to wake the True Path Stage beast.”

n“But if they fail, their backup plan was to get rid of me,” the officer said.

nThe officer gestured to the corpses.-.

n“They are most likely criminals on death row,” he said. “Duke Mithril has a policy that criminals can gain freedom as long as they accomplish a deadly mission. The criminals have to take a poison to which only Duke Mithril’s soldiers have an antidote.”

n“If they flee, they die. If they fail, they die. They can only survive by completing the mission.”

n“You told me that they threw the Firebombs into the lake without concern for their life,” the officer said.

nShang nodded.

n“This means near-certain death for them. Normal soldiers don’t just throw their lives away like that. Only someone with no way out would consider doing something like this.”

n“Criminals are not part of Duke Mithril’s main force,” the officer explained. “The fact that they sent criminals means that they, to a certain extent, have expected this mission to fail.”

nShang didn’t say anything.

nThe officer gritted his teeth. “Nevertheless, their plan succeeded to some degree. I will surely be investigated by the higher-ups after today, no matter what I do or say.”

nSHING!

nThe officer summoned a Communication Crystal. “Might as well do it myself.”

nThe soldiers looked at the officer in discomfort.

nShang’s expression wasn’t visible due to his mask.

nHowever, Shang’s suspicions had lessened a bit. He still suspected the officer of being a traitor, but he wasn’t certain anymore.

nThis was why he had unveiled all the information.

nBecause, what if this was just an elaborate ploy?

nIf Shang reported everything to the relevant authorities, it might be possible that a biased investigation would take place. It would have been possible that an innocent Late General Stage warrior would be sentenced to death.

nThat was why Shang had unveiled everything. He wanted to give the officer a chance to defend himself.

nThe soldiers listened as the officer reported everything, leaving no information out.

nAnd then, they heard the officer’s superior blowing up in anger, but not at the thing everyone was expecting.

n“You idiot!” the superior shouted through the Communication Crystal. “You found a tunnel and didn’t report it?! You put us all at risk!”

nAfter a thorough tongue-lashing, the superior demanded an explanation.

nThe officer only gritted his teeth.

n“I thought defending a tunnel with access to only my resources would reflect well on my career.”

nThe superior exploded once again, berating the officer for his stupidity.

nIt was thoroughly humiliating.

n“You will be put under investigation!” the superior shouted through the Communication Crystal.

nThen, there was a pause.

n“However, since you took the initiative to come forward, I’ll give you one week to get everything in order for your replacement. I want you to report to me in one week, in person!”

n“For now, you will wait near the tunnel until the Circle arrives!”

nAnd then, the superior hung up.

nThe officer only looked helplessly to the side.

nWhen the soldiers heard that a Circle would arrive, they took a deep breath. Only now did they truly realize how far out of their depth this task had been.

nAfter listening to everything, Shang’s suspicions lowered by a lot. He still had some doubts, but he wouldn’t accuse the officer anymore.

nIt seemed like it was the right decision to give the officer a chance to defend himself.

nNo one was in the mood to talk, so everyone waited in silence.

nLuckily, they didn’t have to wait for long.

nOnly 20 minutes later, the new guards of the tunnel arrived.

nThere were five people in luxurious robes, each colored differently.

nShang looked over and felt Mana swirl around the new arrivals.

nWhat was a Circle?

nA Circle was a team consisting of five True Mages, which generally had one Water Mage, one Earth or Metal Mage, and three Mages with an offensive Affinity.

nIt was a well-balanced and adaptable team.

nFive True Mages.

nA tunnel was worth stationing five True Mages near it.

nJust earlier, only five Early General Stage warriors had defended it.

nA force of five True Mages was a power that far outclassed all the warriors stationed in the battlefield.

nThis was not something the officer or even his superior could compare themselves with.

nThe five True Mages checked the surroundings and the lake.

nThen, they checked the corpses for any evidence they could use against Duke Mithril.

nOf course, they didn’t find anything.

n“You may leave,” one of them said to the soldiers without even looking at them.

n“Yes, sir!” the officer said with a respectful salute.

nThe other soldiers also saluted, including Shang this time.

nAfter that, everyone walked back to the outpost in silence.

nThe situation still hung over their heads.

nThe soldiers still felt some lingering terror from barely avoiding death.

nIf Zero hadn’t been there, they would have died.

nAbout 30 minutes later, everyone got back to the outpost.

nAs soon as they arrived, everyone went back to their teams while the officer entered one of the buildings without saying anything.

nWhen Shang came back, One was already waiting for him.

n“I need to know what happened,” One said.

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