"Damn! These fellas really went above and beyond to pick good places to operate in," Revan remarked whilst heading in the direction of the trail emitted by Tharon's kidnapper.
Behind him were Charlie, Vekas, and Augustus; their expressions were grim as they got ready to wreak havoc upon the rebels.
"Kid, we've been walking for quite a while. You sure they're here?" Augustus asked.
"Yup. Best believe it," the black-haired man replied before taking a bite out of the burrito the chef had recently given him.
(Father!)
Charlie stiffened. He heard his son's voice in his mind through [Thought Discussion]. His eyes narrowed as he continued walking, not letting the others know that he was being contacted.
(What is it, Marcus?)
(Where the hell are you? Are you still slacking off in that circus?)
(I'm not slacking off. I am simply enjoying my time with my subjects. You should learn how to do that if you are going to be a good ruler in the future.)
(We don't have time to slack off. Plus, you've been gone for more than an hour. Staying there is not wise in the slightest.)
(I know what I have to do, Marcus. I don't need you to educate me.)
With that, he closed off the connection before his son could respond. His brows furrowed, knowing full well that Marcus wouldn't sit idly, but until he raided the hideout, he knew that this operation needed to be top secret.
(Your majesty, you seemed troubled.) Charlie turned to Vekas, who had just spoken to him through [Thought Discussion].
(It's Marcus. He—)
"Hah?! Couldn't they have thought of a better disguise? It's almost like they wanted us to find this place!" Revan's voice boomed throughout the desolate part of the capital city.
All that faced them was a small shed. Its roof was barely above them, and the way it was assembled made it look like it could collapse at any moment. The area was also compact and not suitable for more than one person. It could be considered anything but a hideout.
"Sir Revan, are you sure this is the place?" Vekas asked, his eyes narrowed.
"Yeah. The hideout's hidden underneath that excuse of a shed," Revan replied, a scowl on his face as he stared at the shed with pure disgust.
"Underground, huh? But why would they choose a disguise like that for this building? Wouldn't they have a bigger, better building here for this?" Charlie asked as he eyed the building.
"They would... or maybe that's exactly what they wanted us to think, so that we would dismiss this place as a potential hideout spot," Augustus muttered under his breath, his words piquing the attention of the rest.
Reverse psychology? These guys are clever...
As Charlie and Vekas pondered over the chef's hypothesis, Revan flicked his wrist, prompting the entire shed, as well as the ground below it, to completely collapse. The shockwave shook the land, startling the three onlookers.
That move... Vekas remembered it vividly. It was the same attack he had used to wipe out the army of Broshasa.
By simply flicking his wrist, he launched air molecules that were etched with the ambient Vyr to completely dismember the shed. Since the speed of those molecules was nearly that of light, and due to being amplified by Vyr, they were potent enough to bring the shed and the ground below it to total ruins.
While Vekas pursed his lips, a sweatdrop rolling down his cheek, the other two couldn't help but widen their eyes in shock; their jaws dropped as they couldn't comprehend what just happened.
"... The hell? How did you do that, kid?"
"Hmm?" Revan turned to face them. "Oh, that was easy."
He then turned back to where the shed once was, now spotting a staircase embedded deep underground. Donning a smirk on his face, he marched forward and began to descend the stairs.
The other three glanced at each other, unsure of what to do, before collectively deciding to follow him down. There was no light to guide them, yet they didn't have a problem seeing in the dark.
This was thanks to [Magic Perception], which allowed them to use the Vyr around them to sense their surroundings. The range of this technique depends on how strong the user is, which is why Vekas could see the stairway more clearly than both Augustus and Charlie.
"Say... Augustus, was it?" The king turned his gaze towards the chef. "Why did you decide to spy on these rebels?"
The chef sighed before glancing at him. "They tried convincing me to turn on the kingdom, so I pretended to agree. It's been a few years since then."
"A few years? You were able to keep yourself a secret for that long?"
"Yup. Also, when your general got jumped by the rebels, I helped him hide from everyone so that he wouldn't be discovered," he added, widening Charlie's eyes.
"Indeed, your majesty. I don't plan on revealing myself to the public till then," Vekas affirmed, his eyes narrowed.
"What? Why not?"
"The rebels believe he's dead 'cause of me," Augustus revealed, making Charlie turn to him sharply, "and since we don't want the truth to spill out, we decided that he would remain hidden from society."
Charlie pursed his lips. The rebels fully intended to kill Vekas just to threaten him and his family. Keeping his survival a secret would be the best course of action, and he planned on helping with that any way he could.
"I see... alright, you can continue with the plan as you wish." Saying that, he turned to Revan, who continued walking ahead of them.
"Sir Revan, I know that you were involved in this as well, so why did you let me find out about it?" The king asked. It didn't make sense to reveal this to him when it's meant to be kept secret from the whole of Aethelgard.
"So that you could help us with spreading the narrative that Vekas was killed, obviously. Why else would I reveal such confidential information to you?" Revan remarked, his hands resting behind the back of his head.
Help... of course. He was the king, so the whole nation would obviously believe him. And since this is Aethelgard, making them believe this narrative would be easier due to how most of the residents here are loyal to the kingdom.
So... does that mean Revan did actively search for Vekas, contrary to what Charlie thought?
"One more thing," Augustus began, his voice grim, "the spies you implanted among the rebels are all discovered and killed. Hence, I am the only source of info from whom you can learn more about them."
"Charlie froze, his steps halting. Killed? His men, whom he had personally ordered to keep tabs on the forces planning against him... were all eliminated?
Suddenly, he grabbed Augustus by his shirt and pinned him to the wall. "What do you mean by that?! How is this possible?!"
"Whoa! Calm down!"
"The forces I sent were the best spies we have. One of them was even close to evolving into a Silent Harmoner. There is no way they were discovered and killed so easily!"
"They were only killed the day after Princess Sofamy was attacked. The head of the whole rebellion suddenly called everyone to the main base of operations before killing off all your spies. There was no explanation, no reasoning, nothing. Now let me go!"
With a growl, he freed Augustus from his grip. "Damn it! My men are no more... how did that head figure out?"
"Did you see the head's face?" Vekas asked.
"No. They barely even show themselves. All they did was kill the spies, call them traitors, and then vanish. People barely even see them. They're a silent mystery no one knows of," the chef replied.
"What about their main base? You must know where that is, right?"
"Afraid not, your majesty. Once you reach the outskirts of the Saint Districts, they knock you unconscious for the rest of the journey. Resisting it means treason, so I let them do it." Upon hearing this, both Charlie and Vekas clicked their tongue in response.
"Damn it! Still no leads to this mess!"
"Will you all shut up? At the rate of how loud you guys are, the rebels will surely find out we're here." They all turned to Revan, who looked at them with narrowed eyes.
Having said that, he further descended the stairs, not sparing them another glance. Lowering their heads, they continued their descent, eager to know what came next.
"Your majesty, I am sorry for the loss of our comrades," Vekas bellowed, knowing full well how upset Charlie was.
It was one of the main reasons for his loyalty to Aethelgard. Over the past 500 years, he hasn't seen a single king who didn't care about his men. That's how precious the kings of this kingdom were, and sure enough, Charlie was no different.
He was a man willing even to sacrifice his kingdom and authority, so long as his people remained joyful. Despite not approving of his initial plan of letting Aethelgard fall, he acknowledged that the king only wanted the best for his people.
Had it been any other kingdom, Vekas wouldn't have seen such compassion anywhere. It's what made Aethelgard special, which is why the general wasn't ready for it to fall. Not yet.
Meanwhile, Charlie merely gulped, not responding to Vekas's condolences. He couldn't. All that occupied his mind was his people. The fact that they were killed so casually was mind-blowing. And he was only finding this out after a week.
The spies were meant to report to the king once per month. It was to make sure that suspicion didn't fall on them. And yet, they were discovered. They were killed. It was unthinkable.
It wasn't just sad; it was absurd. What could've possibly led the leader to discover their true identities? No matter how much he pondered over it, he couldn't find an answer.
Just then, they reached the bottom, where a large door greeted them. It was made of rusted wood with symbols carved onto it.
Before they could go any further, Revan lunged at Augustus, striking his abdomen, which sent him crashing into the wall.
"Gah!" He groaned before losing consciousness, alarming both Charlie and Vekas.
"Sir Revan, what are you doing?!"
"He's bleeding out!"
"Relax, he won't die. I merely knocked him out so that any potential survivors wouldn't know how he was a spy." Revan remarked, his hands resting in his pockets as he marched forward.
His actions made sense. It further proved to the other two just how clever he really was. Just who is he? A question both of them asked but couldn't find the answer to.
Raising his leg, Revan delivered a front kick to the door, breaking it from its hinges and sending it flying. Entering the now-doorless room, the three spotted an assembled group of about 20 men, all draped with a black cloak that hid their faces. Underneath the hood, they were wearing black masks that covered their eyes.
"Welcome, General Vekas. I had been expecting you, though I didn't expect you to grace us with the king as well," one of the black-cloaked men greeted. His lips were curled into a sly smirk.
He bowed like a butler. "It's an honour to have you here, King Charlie. I hope you enjoy your last moments here with us."
It was a clear mockery. We've been set up! They seemed to have anticipated Vekas's arrival and had prepared accordingly, and Charlie's presence only seemed to further excite them.
"Where is Tharon?" Charlie asked, his voice booming with restrained rage.
"Hahaha! Don't worry~. Minister Tharon is safe here with us." As Charlie followed where the man gestured, he turned to his left, finding the minister chained, his mouth taped as he whimpered, his eyes wide and glistening with fear.
"Tch!" You bastards!" With that, the king unleashed his oathweight, stiffening everyone in its vicinity, including the man who spoke to him as well as Vekas.
Donning a toothy grin on his lips, the man unleashed his own oathweight. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Satim, one of the executives specially assigned by the grandmaster of our rebellion. I shall be your opponent, King Charlie."
The rest of them also readied themselves, their weapons in hand. Vekas and Charlie also proceeded to summon their swords, followed by Satim revealing two daggers, each in one hand.
Only Revan stood unfazed, his hands in his pockets, as he observed the battle with an amused smile.