Chapter 23: What day is it? (ive been working too much D:)

Upper Fire Month, 7th Day, 600 AGG

"Ready to go?" the Captain of the Black Scripture looked over the team he had carefully selected by hand. The Cardinals did not give him permission to fully mobilize the Black Scripture, but that was to be expected. Their duties were many, and their numbers limited.

If he could, he would have just brought himself and the Extra Seat. Unfortunately, problems were rarely solved so simply; if they chose to send out Antilene, the Theocracy would surely be targeted by certain Dragon Lords.

'Not as if we'll need her for this mission,' or at least he hoped so. Even still, the operatives he had selected would already be considered overkill for hunting down someone who was merely in the Realm of Heroes.

The Fourth Seat for her expertise in divine magic, something that would surely come in use considering the former Ninth Seat's affiliation with the death cult Zurrernorn.

The Fifth Seat for dealing with potential hordes of undead and other enemies that might come at them in large numbers in addition to serving as potential bait for their quarry. Furthermore, a certain number of his summons were excellent trackers.

The Eight Seat for serving as a general damage-soaker. With him at the forefront, the Captain could rest easy knowing that the less sturdy of their companions would be safe from harm.

He looked at the pair of diviners from the Clearwater Scripture. For a mission like this, it was better to bring fewer people instead of many that would only drag them down once they came across dangerous situations. The diviners were an exception since he had not been granted permission to bring Thousand Leagues Astrologer with him.

Then of course, there was also himself. With this, they would go out and bring back—alive or dead—the traitor along with killing anyone she may had spilled Theocracy secrets to.

Frankly speaking, he felt like it was too late to keep any confidential information from leaking. If the two masterminds behind the fall of E-Rantel had superiors they reported to, then they already had plenty of time to report back to them. And if they had no superiors, then their fellow disciples in Zurrernorn.

He could feel the beginnings of a pounding headache forming. This had the potential to be an unprecedented disaster for the Theocracy. In the worst case scenario, a number of True Dragon Lords would find out about certain sensitive secrets and lay waste to the Theocracy.

"We're not bringing the Sunlight Scripture with us?" the Fourth Seat curiously asked. "They're weak, but they still would've been strong enough to serve as a diversion if we needed it."

"Their combat doctrine requires them to operate in larger numbers than this task permits," the Captain shook his head. "Besides, they've been recently put on disciplinary probation for acting without orders."

"So we're just bringing six people?" the blonde divine caster looked flabbergasted. "To hunt down some people who crawled to the center of the continent?"

"Yes."

"Okay, don't get me wrong when I say this, but that's insane," she ran a hand down her face with a groan. "You're strong, Captain, but this team is a little too small for running around in the center of the continent."

"You've already complained about this," Cedran, the Eighth Seat, set his mouth into a frown. "If the Cardinals believe that this much is enough, then it's enough."

"Well, excuuuse me for not wanting to die because—"

"Enough," Quaiesse, the Fifth Seat, snapped. "Numbers will be covered by me, so cease the complaints and double-check your supplies."

"Geez," Divine Chant raised her hands up. "What's gotten into you, Quintia?"

The summoner didn't bother answering, instead choosing to silently inspect the items placed into his multiple Bags of Holding. The usual calmness the man exuded was wearing thin, the Captain could tell.

"It's not too late to drop out," he put a hand on Quaiesse's shoulder. "We can always borrow suitable items from the Sanctum."

"Do not insult me, Captain," Quaiesse shoved the hand off his shoulder. "As the traitor comes from my bloodline, it is my responsibility to cull her. This is my duty."

"Okay," and what else could he say to that? The Captain felt supremely useless. What good was strength if it couldn't be used to comfort one's friends? "How about you two, Etillien, Clairesse?"

"We're ready, sir," the two diviners from the Clearwater Scripture bowed deeply in a show of deference. It appeared as if they were barely holding themselves back from trembling in excitement before the legendary Black Scripture. "Potions, scrolls, magic items, provisions, camping supplies—all of them have been accounted for."

"Great," he took in the sight of his five teammates, filled with a sudden sense of pride. They were the ones that guarded humanity from its darkest nightmares. They were the ones who defeated unspeakably powerful foes that all others could not. They were the Six Scriptures. "We'll be teleported by the Miko Princess of Water to the general location of where the Clearwater Scripture believe the traitor might be. After that, it'll be up to us to track them down. Be prepared for anything."

"Yes, Captain!" the five shouted in affirmation. The First Seat of the Black Scripture nodded in approval.

There was a rabid dog to put down.

"Since E-Rantel is now under our jurisdiction," Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix leaned against his arm and looked at the map spread out over the table. "We should consolidate our gains before marching forward. It seems like the undead incident that occurred was equally fortunate and unfortunate for our goals."

"Forgive my impertinence, but I believe it would be in the Empire's best interests to immediately march upon E-Pespel, Your Majesty," General Ray of the Eighth Legion pointed at the city on the map. "The countryside offers little resistance, and we can easily avoid the Great Forest of Tob by taking this path."

"Our supply train hasn't been properly set up yet," General Carvain of the Second Legion and the one who had up until now been in charge of the annual war against the Re-Estize Kingdom disagreed. "And transporting so many supplies through Katze over an extended period of time… I can't say that it's wise."

"Of course," Ray easily agreed. "But our supply train doesn't need to be perfectly established."

"You want to requisition resources from the surrounding territories and people," Jircniv easily figured out General Ray's proposal. "Since the undead have mostly been cleared out from E-Rantel, we could begin sending envoys to surrounding towns and cities. It's good that the damage to the city wasn't as widespread as we had first believed."

"As expected of Your Majesty," General Ray lowered his head in respect. "Just give the word, and my men can conquer the heart of the Kingdom by the end of next year."

"We won't do that," Jircniv shook his head. "How can we expect an abiding populace if we raid and pillage their lands? They'll already see us as invaders; we should avoid having them see us as barbaric, uncivilized invaders as well."

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, the Kingdom is in such a state that there may not be anything worth ruling over if we take too long."

"Yeah, isn't there that criminal group running the whole place to the ground?" Baziwood Peshmel, who had been content to watch the meeting from the side, spoke up. "Bet the king would be happy if we cleaned up that problem for him. Maybe he'd even give up his crown on the spot!"

"This isn't a place for fanciful daydreams, Sir Peshmel," Ray frowned. "Eight Fingers has multiple people in their employ who wouldn't be out of place as Adamantite-ranked Adventurers. Rooting them out before the Empire has solidified its hold on the Kingdom would be adding needless difficulty to this war."

"There's no need to worry about the criminal scum," Jircniv cut in. "Eight Fingers won't be a problem."

"Your Majesty already has a plan for them?" Carvain sounded awestruck. Even Ray looked suitably impressed. "Truly, Your Majesty never ceases to amaze us."

"A contact in the Kingdom," Jircniv dismissively waved his hand. Thinking about that inscrutable woman was too unpleasant. "With all that said, focus on rebuilding E-Rantel and spreading the Empire's rule to the surrounding region. The supply lines will indeed be a problem, so we'll be forced to slow our advance; although, this is still much faster than our original projections. Any questions?"

"No, Your Majesty," the two generals bowed their heads. "By your leave."

Jircniv nodded, and the two men left the room, leaving behind only the Emperor and his Imperial Knight.

"You really have a plan for those scumbags?" Baziwood crookedly smiled and raised an eyebrow. He had an energy that the other three Imperial Knights lacked. "Not that I don't think you do, but getting rid of people like that is tough. They just scurry away and hide when the going gets tough."

"You would know, wouldn't you?" Jircniv smiled back and took a sip of water. "If only more of them ended up even a fraction like you, then perhaps Re-Estize wouldn't be in the situation they are now."

"Ha!" Baziwood barked out a laugh. "You praise me too highly. I'm just a guy who only knows how to hit stuff harder than other guys. Though I'm not too sure if I beat out that up-and-coming newbie in the Arena…"

Jircniv smirked in amusement. "Worried about Unglaus? If it comes to simply hitting things, you're more than his equal."

"Be a damn shame if I wasn't," Baziwood stroked his beard. "Y'know, this whole mess could've been sorted out a lot faster if Fluder didn't go and run off after cleaning up E-Rantel."

"Ah," Jircniv tiredly sighed. "You know how gramps gets when he sees some new magical theory. More importantly, now that our obligations to the old hag have been cancelled, we can spare more resources towards establishing a greater foothold in the Katze Plains."

"The Azerlisias too difficult? There's some dwarves still living there, right?"

"I'd rather stay away from Frost Dragons for the time being," Jircniv dryly replied. "No, undead are more cost-effective to deal with."

"Well," Baziwood frowned in thought. "Couldn't hurt to ask that lady that popped up in the Draconic Kingdom. Wings or something, I don't know."

"I'm loathe to owe that hag anything," Jircniv scowled. "I don't know how she managed to align herself with something so monstrously strong; her kingdom is impoverished and has nothing to offer. Perhaps we could try poaching the Lady of Wings from the Draconic Kingdom."

"Guess you better hurry before someone else beats you to the punch then. Speaking of which, I'm surprised Leinas hasn't run over there already."

"The ongoing war there is probably an excellent deterrent," Jircniv sighed at the reminder of the Imperial Knight's flimsy loyalty. He was certain that Leinas Rockbruise would immediately leave for the Draconic Kingdom in hopes of a cure the moment the war against the Beastman Country was concluded. "A state visit is probably due for sometime in the future…"

Draudillon Oriculus, Jircniv thought with a grimace. A grown woman walking around as a little girl was too disturbing, no matter the reasons. A ruler represented their people, after all, so what did that say about the Draconic Kingdom? That they were a bunch of degenerates?

The two of them… their philosophies on ruling were simply far too different. Besides, it was difficult to respect someone who seemed dead-set on making everyone pity them.

Ah, well. At least the Lady of Wings seemed benevolent in her actions. It would be a disaster for humanity if she was anything else. He was surprised that Fluder had chosen to obsess over whatever he discovered in E-Rantel instead of chasing after the new shaker in the region.

'Gramps,' Jircniv swirled the water around in his glass, watching as it distorted the view behind it. 'Just what the hell are you doing?'

"You still want to deal with the whole Eight Fingers shit?" a twinge of annoyance ran through Evileye. "We need to find some way to deal with Fluder—"

"Look," Lakyus ran a hand through her hair. "I get that he's trying to do something shady, but like you said, there's not a lot we can do about it at the moment." She gestured around their temporary safehouse. "But here? There's people we can help here and now."

"Fluder is a monster that can cast magic up to the Sixth-Tier," Evileye argued. "If he ever becomes an undead… I don't even want to imagine the kind of shit he's going to get up to."

"Then we'll take him down when we get the chance," Lakyus put a reassuring hand on Evileye's shoulder. "After we get rid of Eight Fingers. I promise."

"It'll be too late by then," Evileye acridly grumbled. "I'm not sure if I could even beat him at that point."

"Y'know we could always ask people for help, right?" Gagaran said from her seat on a crate. "It's a big problem, so I don't think people are just gonna ignore it."

"Can ask—"

"—The Draconic Kingdom."

"Right," Evileye snorted in disbelief. "Ask the Draconic Kingdom to save some demihumans. Great idea. I can see that going over really well."

"If we tell the Lady of Wings that it's to prevent more disasters in the future, then I don't think the chances are as bad as you think, " Lakyus unrolled a tattered map on a dusty table. "Let's save that for later though; we've got another production facility to hit."

"Where?" Gagaran got up with a grunt. "I swear, if we run into another explosive rune…"

"That's what you get for running on ahead, dumbass," Evileye's red eyes glared at Gagaran. The spellcaster had forgone her mask among her comrades after accidentally revealing her nature as a vampire. "Leave the trap-finding to me and the twins."

"Yeah," Lakyus cracked a smile and took out another stack of diagrams, schedules, and other miscellaneous notes. "Anyways, Renner found a spot just a couple of kilometers from here. We'll go with our standard procedure here—Tina and Tia sneak in, take out any guards they need to, plant spellbombs in their warehouses, and then the rest of us will burn down the Laira fields while dealing with stragglers. Everybody got that?"

"Could be more difficult if they've upped their security," Tina raised her hand. "Backup would be nice."

Tia silently nodded her head in agreement.

"They haven't changed all that much even though we've hit them a couple of times already," Gagaran scowled. "Don't think they'll start now."

"That's true," Lakyus pointed at one of the schedule documents. "Shifts haven't changed much ever since we started our raids. The most Eight Fingers has done over time was to increase the number of guards and traps. I think our… thoroughness has been paying off."

"Insurance—"

"—Would be nice, evil boss."

"Think you could modify a noisemaker, Evileye?" Lakyus looked to the team's spellcaster. "I could use Kilineiram, but that might be too recognizable."

"No," Evileye looked visibly annoyed. "You should've asked an artificer beforehand. I could teleport in first and start burning stuff down first, but we didn't take the weather into account. If you get caught in undiluted Laira fumes… even for you all, it might be bad."

"What about one of those alchemical firebombs?" Gagaran suggested. "Fire that nasty will definitely make a damn good distraction."

"That would also definitely alert all the staff there and give them time to hide or move materials around," Lakyus shot down the idea. "Plus, we need to save those for the warehouses. How about Evileye uses 『Invisibility』to tag along with the twins and provide backline support?"

"Fine," Evileye bore an unhappy expression on her childlike face. "Just don't blame me if I can't bail you guys out because I used up all my mana."

"We'll be fine," Lakyus smiled reassuringly. "Renner hasn't led us wrong yet."

"Things have been going way too smoothly," Evileye mumbled. "Something's going to happen, and it's going to happen soon."

"Cheer up, Shorty!" Gagaran slapped the vampire's back. "Bunch of thugs aren't gonna pull a fast one on Blue Roses!"

"Better be careful anyways," Tia muttered. "I've—"

"—We've got a bad feeling about this," Tina inspected her equipment.

"We'll deal with that when we get there," Lakyus responded with grim determination. "Pack up and get ready. It's going to be a long night."