Chapter 157: Gut Root

    “By the way, in case you didn’t know, Scouts can detect magical transmissions within their suppression field. If you get caught within one, keep that in mind.”Discover new chapters at novelhall.com.”

    I hummed at Pollux’s informative warning. I didn’t know that, but I suppose it made sense.

    Currently, we were packing up to deploy. I was one of four people in my team. The other three were two knights and one warlock.

    We were given another briefing earlier. Nothing I hadn’t already heard in the prior plan review, but there were still a couple tidbits that I found interesting to know.

    For one, knights carrying their warlock friends and running away from enemies was a valid and well-used tactic. I thought I’d been somewhat original with it when I had Feiden and Vetsmon do it with me and Umara, but apparently not.

    Anyway, that was the plan if things went south.

    The four of us would take three bikes and stage ourselves on a small mountain. From there, we would attempt to find the encampment in the suspected valley. Once it was found, we’d continue on bikes until we got within a few miles, then trek the rest of the way on foot.

    We were traveling light since this operation wasn’t supposed to take any longer than a night to complete. If it did, we’d have bigger problems on our hands.

    The last things of note were the expendable magic items we were given. One of them was a repeater for my Aerial so I could contact base. Another was a signal flare, for if shit really hit the fan. The last item was a bit morbid, and something I recognized.

    The Overkill Pill.

    It was a little black pill with no notable features, but with particularly extreme effects. I remember it being sold for a billion coin at my very first auction.

    Eat it, and it would give you explosive power for however long you managed to live under its effects. It was an overglorified suicide pill.

    I wasn’t shocked to see it in circulation. If the Scourge got their hands on you, you would become one of their monsters. Thus, these pills were the best way to not only deal more damage to them, but ensure they couldn’t increase their numbers with somewhat intelligent humans. It was also a form of mercy for the victims.

    It had been around a year since these pills were sold. I felt odd knowing who they came from as I stashed one away.

    Not that I was concerned. For the duration of our recon, as long as I was doing my job properly, I had navigational control. That basically meant I had command over our squad. So long as I wasn’t obviously fucking things up, there’d be no reason for the others to take the reigns. And so long as I was in control, I’d be able to ensure that I didn’t get into trouble.

    I arrived at the gates with Pollux. The other members of my squad, as well as Brigg. Hristo, were there waiting.

    “All ready?”

    “Yes sir.”

    “Good.”

    He nodded. Right now, it was two hours before midnight. I had the map, my directions, and my bike.

    There was also Amary.

    She sat on the back of my bike, smiling at me as I walked over. The other two in the squad, a warlock and knight, were from Hristo’s command and had their own bikes.

    I let out an unnoticed sigh while smiling at Amary and straddling the bike in front of her. As I did, my hood unfurled over my head.

    Hristo spoke.

    “Hopefully no scouts will see you as you deploy, but keep your guard up. The last thing you need is an ambush. Just remember that everyone else isn’t far behind. Play it safe, stay hidden, and there should be no problems.”

    “Not too safe though!”

    There was a loud, chuckling voice that echoed from behind. We turned and saw the two Authority Tens, Miron and Alois.

    It was Alois that laughed.

    “We still need results! So don’t go shitting yourselves in fear just because you have to get a little close! It takes risk to get things done, as do all things in life! Aren’t I right, Briggs?”

    Alois shot a grin toward Hristo, causing him to shrink back a bit.

    “Of course, sir...”

    “Damn right! So get the hell out there and point us in the right direction! Those monsters are killing our precious ecosystem. It would be quite the shame to lose its fruits, understood?”

    “...”

    The four of us were silent. This guy was technically above me, but wasn’t my commanding officer, so I didn’t bother responding. Still, his Aura was positively bristling. It felt like a blade was poking into my neck, making it difficult to breathe even though I was keeping myself reigned in.

    His grin faded before his eyes fell on me.

    “I hear you’re the brains of this mission, golden eyes. Are you a noble?”

    “... No sir.”

    “Bullshit, where else would you get a Crown for eyes like that? And you’re a summoner? You must have a rich daddy. I sure as shit wouldn’t waste money on a summoner like you.”

    “...”

    I just stayed silent. This guy was a fucking prick.

    For a second I glanced at Hristo, but he just had his head down, his eyes filled with apology and sympathy.

    I softly clicked my tongue while Alois laughed some more.

    “Heh, well, whatever. Just get your job done and I won’t have any issues. Now go on, fetch me their location.”

    “... Yes sir.”

    “What was that?”

    Alois put his hand to his ear, a simple motion that made my anger flare. The retarded smile that bloomed on his face only fueled it further.

    With a thought though, I extinguished my anger entirely and stood from my bike, giving a sharp salute.

    “Yes sir!”

    “Heh, this guy gets it. Now hurry up and get out of here! Those monsters can’t be killed soon enough!”

    “Sir!”

    I gave one last response before turning my bike on, the others following suit. Then, Hristo spoke.

    “Deploy.”

    With his word, we all drove off, my bike heading the path out of there.

    I could hear Alois laughing, so I drove a bit faster, lest it cause me to commit some form of treason.

    When we were far enough, I slowed down while speaking through the aerials of the other squad members.

    “Take lead, one of you.”

    With my word, another bike rolled ahead and started leading. I knew the map but not the terrain, so I preferred to let someone else who knew these lands navigate.

    Amary hugged me a bit tighter from behind, her head moving over my shoulder so she could speak into my ear. The winds distorted her voice, but not nearly enough to drown it.

    “Are you okay?”

    “I’m fine.”

    “... Don’t let people like that get to you. Idiots like those get drunk on their power and then goad people into stepping out of bounds. Piss someone like him off enough and he’d probably just rip your arm off.”

    “...”

    My eyes remained forward. What she said was nothing new.

    I suppose there always had to be that one guy. And it changed nothing. It was just another motivator to get stronger, and until I did, I needed to just suck it up and not piss anyone off.

    Three royals sat around a table, though that was only in my immediate field of view. If I had to guess based on where they were looking around and the size of the table, there were at least five others, probably more.

    One of the Royals caught my eye though. It had pale white skin, black veins, and pure black eyes. I made a mental note of that one before bringing up my Aerial and turning it on.

    I broke radio silence.

    “Liaison to Treehouse, come in.”

    “... I hear you, Liaison. This is Briggs.”

    Hristo’s voice came back, making me sigh in relief. Still, I kept my eye on the surroundings.

    The voice that came next though made my blood pressure spike.

    “Summoner! The fuck took you so long?! Have you no sense of urgency?!”

    “No, Brigadier sir. We were delay-”

    “I don’t fucking care! Give me a goddamned report so we can get this shit going!”

    “...”

    I went silent, taking a few breaths before giving the report.

    “The Scourge encampment is on the southern edge of the valley. A quick count puts their numbers at approximately 300. That includes around 10 Royals, most of which are currently conversing inside of a large tent near the center of the camp. Besides that, there is one active scout patrol, as well as nearly 30 scouts within the camp. There are also bears, some monkey-looking things, spiked wolves, and a large flesh tree sitting in the center of the camp.”

    “... Copy Liaison. Give me a description of the flesh tree.”

    “About 40 feet tall, no leaves, writhing branches, and it''s excreting some kind of yellowish fluid.”

    “That’s a Gut Root... Noted.”

    Hristo’s voice dropped a bit, making me worried.

    “Can you describe the Royals?”

    “The first one that sticks out is one that looks like a man. He’s got black veins across his face and pure black eyes. Otherwise, looks like a normal armored knight.”

    “... Shit.”

    My heart dropped when he said that.

    “Briggs?”

    “... Liaison, that’s not a Royal. That’s a Corrupted. He likely used to be one of our own soldiers. How deformed is his face?”

    “... I don’t see any outstanding deformities, sir.”

    “That’s not good... Understood Liaison. Continue describing the rest.”

    “I can only see two others directly, but okay...”

    I went on to describe the other two Royals. One had purple skin with red eyes and two jutting tusks coming out of its mouth. The other only had one green eye with dark green skin and large fleshy flaps on its neck, looking like a cyclops frog-fish thing.

    While I was describing them though, I was staring at the Corrupted.

    A prior human, corrupted by the Scourge and made one of them. The man seemed functional and coherent, capable of holding normal conversations, by the looks of it. I didn’t know much about the process of corruption, but if Hristo was asking specifically about his deformities and was concerned about him looking normal, then it couldn’t mean anything good.

    After a bit more explanation and detail, Hristo seemed to get everything he needed.

    “We’ve got at least two confirmed Authority Eights and likely at least two Authority Nines. Liaison, can you sense anything that might be stronger than that, such as an Authority Ten?”

    “No sir, there are no Tens. There’s one close to it, but not quite over that threshold.”

    “Hah! You think you can sense an Authority Ten’s Aura?! That’s a good fucking joke, Five! You’re fucking insane to think you can sense an Aura that powerful!!”

    “I guess I must be, sir. My apologies.”

    I mumbled back, rolling my eyes. Alois had the most obvious fucking aura I’d ever seen in an Authority Ten, so he was the last one who should be talking. Though I’d expect nothing less of someone who was so blatantly incapable of being self aware.

    I let out another sigh, waiting for Hristo to give me the all-clear.

    However, after a few minutes, there was nothing but silence.

    “... Treehouse? Liaison to Treehouse, come in.”

    “...”

    I heard nothing, so I instantly shut off my Aerial and looked back.

    Amary’s glistening eyes snapped up to mine.

    “We’re leaving.”

    “What?”

    “Now. Start moving.”

    I pushed her along, the two of us starting to slip back through the rocks.

    Wallace and Jen moved after us, Wallace muttering.

    “But we need to report-”

    “I already gave the report, and my connection was cut. There’s a scout troop nearby, so I’m leaving. If you want to stay and try reporting more, be my guest. I’ll see you back at base.”

    I continued moving after saying that, tuning his bullshit out. After I’d retreated some more though, I heard some movement in the distance.

    Claws on rock. That was my guess after hearing the distinct tapping. And it only took one glance back to see a few pairs of ears and spikes.

    They were coming, and I had a feeling they knew we were here. There was some more activity in the base too.

    Not good.

    I turned to Amary.

    “Hey. If I tell you, start running. And if you see me disappear, start running. Either way, we’re in hot shit right now, so get ready to book it.”

    “Got it.”

    She nodded, and I was glad she wasn’t questioning me. As for the other two, I was really close to not giving a damn about them, not that it would matter if things got worse.

    Still, I gave a cursory piece of advice.

    “Wallace, if we start running, grab Jen and run with us. Otherwise you’re free to turn around and buy us some time. Maybe Alois would commend you for your bravery.”

    “... Asshole.”

    He scoffed at me, making me roll my eyes. I didn’t care for idiots on my team and didn’t care whether he liked me or not. I didn’t need their help to survive.

    I was quick, not as quick as the knights, but I was still making good distance. Wallace went ahead of us a bit while Jen kept up with me and Amary.

    Unfortunately, that scout troop didn’t have to be stealthy, and they were gaining ground. They seemed to be spread out too, which meant I couldn’t sneak to the sides without taking on more risk.

    At some point, I started getting more anxious. I could feel them on my heels. The looming sense of danger rapidly grew upon me, smothering different routes of escape. They probably caught our scent or heard us... or both.

    It was time to throw them off our trail now, before it was too late.

    My Aura bloomed into the immediate vicinity, solidifying before turning to fog. Moments later, the fog disappeared.

    And I disappeared along with it.