NOVEL NEXT 110. Devil's Advocate
Cadwell's body rested in silence. His eyes were closed and the warmth was slowly fading. Tucker took one last glance at him. He felt no remorse or regret in his choice. Only a flicker of pity lingered in his eyes. But that was all. The fortress city was on the brink of defeat, and sentiment had no place in what was coming. They had to shift the tides before they drowned, and as time went on, they were slowly losing.
Beyond the castle walls, the sun was setting beneath the horizon, painting the war-torn landscape in a golden glow that seemed to stretch for an eternity. Then came another roar of cannons. The ground trembled, and somewhere in the distance, another building crumbled into ruin.
"Where is the Commander?" Tucker asked.
"He's still locked in battle with the Empire's general," Brian replied with a grim look. "We don't know how the battle is going, but he's been inside that domain for a while now."
"If it's the Commander versus the General, who do you think will win?" Luka worriedly asked. "Surely the Commander, right?"
"Let's pray that's the case… but still, something has been bothering me since our conversation with Advisor Cadwell." Tucker stepped out of the cell with Luka and Brian following closely behind. "He said they were going to advance… why?"
"It's hard to say, Captain Welford," Brian replied. "It's never easy to understand the Empire's movements."
"You know, we could try what we did back at the academy," Luka said. "A game of devil's advocate."
Brian raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "What's that?"
"It's an old game we used to play with John, a fellow watchman we lost in the war." Tucker gestured to the men of the Thirty-First to follow him. "The concept is that one of us would argue opinions of the opposite side even though we don't agree with them."
"Does it work?" Brian asked.
"Sometimes," Tucker said with a shrug. "Luka, do you believe they'll advance?"
"I do, so that makes you the devil's advocate," Luka replied as they moved through the stone corridors. "To start off, if they took Stafford, then logically it would make sense for them to fortify it since a strong defense buys time. Secures their position and lets the enemy exhaust themselves."
"But defense alone doesn't win wars. You can hold walls for decades, but eventually the enemy will break through," Tucker countered. "If the bastion falls… then attacking now would carry on the momentum and keep us on the ropes."
"Yes, but for how long?" Luka visualized a map of the Everheart Kingdom in his head. All along the southern border were the bastions, then their Dwarven neighbours to the east. "The deeper they push, the more fragile their supply lines become. Every step forward exposes them to greater dangers, and if they overreach, they risk drawing the dwarves into the conflict. And we all know how deep that grudge runs."
"That's true, but what if they didn't have to worry about the dwarves?" Tucker focused on the path before him. "Right now, we know they sealed their holds by the decree of their king."
"I get what you're saying, but the Empire has to consider the chances of the dwarves reopening their holds," Luka replied with a frown. "It would be naïve to believe that the dwarven realms would just do nothing. They might be reclusive, but they're not blind."
"We're on the same page with that, but what if it's a race against time? What if this is another factor in why they would want to advance?"
Luka furrowed his brows. "Then that means… they would have had a hand in what's happening in the dwarven realms."
Tucker met his gaze while looking over his shoulder. "It's a possibility."
The entire corridor fell silent. None of the foot soldiers dared to voice their opinions, but the idea lingered in their minds. If the Empire's move were that calculated, if they had bought time by forcing the dwarves to seal their holds… then suddenly it didn't seem so far-fetched. And that notion scared them. Yet the one who was most troubled by this news was none other than Brian himself.
"How far would they go, then?" Brian asked quietly. "Would they aim to take over our capital?"
"That would be insane." Luka shook his head. "There are far too many cities between the bastions and the capital. The manpower needed to maintain order would cripple their fighting potential."
"Only if they plan to hold those cities," Tucker refuted in a grave tone. "Let's say they advance without occupying those cities. Bypass the entire process by burning the cities to the ground, breaking the roads, and leaving nothing behind?"
He let the question hang in the air.
"Then," he continued in a low voice. "Does it seem more realistic? More feasible?"
Luka bit his lip in contemplation. "It would, but if they did that… if they burned everything down in their path. The innocent civilians… then they would be nothing more than monsters. No nation would want ties with them after that. They'd lose all their allies."
"They would become monsters so that their children wouldn't have to." Tucker closed his eyes for a moment and stopped walking, recalling the history of their Order and the sins they buried. "With time, no one would remember it. Hell, even the future generations might remember it differently."
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
"Because the victors are the ones who write history," Brian said with a heavy heart.
"Correct." Tucker continued down the hall. The ruined city with smoke rising from the far corners came into sight. "If they did march to our capital without rest, then we wouldn't be able to stop them. Morale would plummet, and their offensive momentum would shatter ours."
"The more we talk about the possibility of their offense… the more realistic it seems," Brian commented. "Is there any other objective they could go after besides our capital?"
"Not that I can think of," said Tucker.
"Um…"
The hesitant voice came from behind, and soon they all turned their heads and stared at Liam, who held up his hand.
"Uh… I don't mean to interrupt, sir," Liam said. "But if I may… what if they don't aim for the capital? What if their goal is to isolate the bastions?"
Tucker examined Liam with a sharp, questioning gaze. He had heard excellent praise from Eric about Liam's insight into various situations. And the idea of the Empire rushing to the coastline to cut them off was far-fetched but not impossible.
"The Empire could isolate the bastions by blocking the supply routes and reinforcements from the other parts of the Kingdom, but we still have the teleportation devices," Luka pointed out. "It would be a useless tactic and give us an opportunity to attack the point that's weakest."
"I mean… with all due respect, Vice-Captain," Liam continued. "If the Empire has made all these arrangements, from sealing the dwarven realms, planting traitors in our ranks, then isn't it also possible that they've tampered with the teleportation platforms?"
"They could, but there are countless technicians managing those platforms," said Tucker.
"Technicians that were approved by the advisors…" Liam said in a voice trailing off into a whisper.
His final words trailed into silence. All three men froze and glanced at each other. Tucker's expression darkened as his eyes met Liam's. Even Luka felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. None of them knew the exact inner workings of the bastion's personnel system. But if even one advisor had been responsible for overseeing the technicians, then a new, far more dangerous possibility had just come to light.
"How certain are you of this?" Tucker asked while walking down the halls, turning towards the direction of the teleportation platforms.
"I'm pretty certain. I mean, the other guys in the militia were talking about it for a while because some new technician stole their promotion," Liam replied, quickening his pace to keep up.
"And how recent was this?" Luka hastily asked.
"I don't know the exact dates… but it was before you guys arrived," Liam answered.
"Shit!" Luka cursed under his breath as Tucker and Brian broke out into a sprint.
None of them had thought about how deeply the rot might've spread within the bastion. Tucker couldn't help but bitterly grit his teeth. Every word that came out of Liam's mouth clicked into place like a puzzle finally snapping together. This entire time, a question bothered him.
How did the Aegis Bastion fall?
It didn't make sense for the Empire to take over the fortress city in a single day. Tucker had believed that the only reason the bastion fell was because of the Empire's war machines, but what if that wasn't the truth? What if the bastion had been compromised from the inside?
Tucker's heart hammered in his chest. A simultaneous attack that would cripple the entire garrison in one move. That was the reason their comrades fell so fast. That was the reason why hardly any of the bastion's soldiers escaped.
They dashed through the winding stone corridors, boots thundering against the floor. Soldiers rallied behind them in numbers beyond their imagination. Men from all four platoons that had been trapped in the outer walls entered their ranks. They didn't know where the captains were going, but the fact that their weapons were drawn was enough of a reason for them to fall into line. After everything they had been through, trusting Captain Welford and Morgan with their lives felt like second nature.
Tucker glanced over his shoulder and saw the growing mass of troops. He shouted, "We're going to secure the teleportation platform! Try to detain the technicians, but if they resist… kill them."
"Sir, yes sir!" The men roared in unison.
Luka ran beside Tucker with eyes filled with concern. "But are we sure the traitors would act now?"
"Now would be the perfect time," Brian answered, unsheathing his sword as it gleamed beneath the magic lanterns. "The advisors were scheduled for execution. While everyone's attention is drawn to that, the technicians would have free rein."
"There's no telling what they would do." Tucker clenched his weapon. He stared at the grand metal doors that had been sealed. The final obstacle in their way to the teleportation area. With a clear voice, he said, "Luka, bring down the doors."
"You got it."
Luka summoned his spirit essence and weaved the threads carefully into a tight circle. A glyph formed in the center with the shape of a "B" along with two dashes through the center. With a crack of force, a boulder emerged from the center, hurtling forward before slamming into the doors with a bone-shaking impact. The hinges shrieked as the metal doors blasted inward, flying several meters into the chamber before crashing to the ground.
The boulder rolled for several breaths, crushing the poor unfortunate foes beneath its weight. Then crumbled into dust. Inside the chamber was a heavy silence. Not a single person moved. The technicians stood still, eyes wide in shock. Tools clattered to the floor, and a heavy metallic tang hung in the air.
Tucker stepped forward, scanning the carnage. They were thirty meters away from the teleportation platform was. Dozens of bodies were sprawled across the broken marble floors. The technicians with orange aprons over their bloodstained white uniforms were either dead or critically injured. They weren't combat personnel but desperately tried to stop the intruders from breaking the teleportation device. Some had fallen at their stations, others in mid-stride. Yet none of them dared to run away, they charged at the enemies knowing that they would die. All to buy time for the other soldiers of the bastion to send help.
The only technicians who were alive and well were those circling around the platform with a red bandana tied to their right arms. Each one carried a bricklike object in their hands and was in the process of strapping it to the pillars supporting the teleportation device.
"They're trying to blow up the platform!"
A voice entered Tucker's ears. His eyes darted to the injured man slumped against the far wall. Blood was seeping from his side, and in an instant, every eye turned to the figures lingering around the platform.
"Ah, fuck!" the saboteur cursed. "Blow the charges!"
Tucker's spirit essence came to life, swirling around him like a rising storm. In the blink of an eye, he conjured a wind-forged bow and took aim, drawing an emerald arrow made of aura. Time seemed to slow as he examined each of the men on the platform. In a few seconds, a single man carrying a metallic container came into sight. One hand held onto the object, and the other rested on the lever. Tucker's eyes widened at the sight of the blast machine, and in an instant he released the bowstring.
The arrow tore through the air, spinning with a slight rotation as a faint green shimmer emerged. A few enemy soldiers caught sight of it and rushed to intercept it, but those who noticed were far too slow. The man with the detonator slammed the lever down. A metallic click echoed right before the spark flared to life, hissing along the cord as it snaked towards the pillars.
The Everheart soldiers charged in desperation, releasing a powerful battle cry as their boots hammered against the bloodstained floors. But before they could get any closer—the chamber exploded with a blinding light, drowning everything out as the noise faded into nothing.