Chapter 237 - Confounding Variable

Familia Hotel.

Roughly half an hour had passed since Darius and his team had arrived at the hotel. They were currently in the banquet hall, waiting for the others to arrive there.

Out of the four teams, only three teams managed to survive, and out of the three teams, only two teams had already gathered in the hall. Iliana's team was still in the way as they also brought civilians with them.

Darius looked around the hall, the people inside it, and the staffs preparing for the food. The room was eerily quiet despite the activity, amplifying the solemnity of the already solemn mood.

While the staffs didn't look like they understood what was happening, they could deduce something bad must have happened. On the other hand, the students wore a stiff expression on their face.

Every member of Team 1 was recounting their encounter with one of Team 3's members to their fellow students, and none of them were amused upon hearing that. Mages were cowardly—they naturally didn't want to suffer the same fate.

The solemnity of the situation was further amplified the moment they heard that Team 3 was demolished because they had been caught up in a clash between Magic Beasts and Demons.

They were afraid there was a greater reason for that to happen, like the appearance of a High Class Demon of Lucilla's caliber. They were appalled merely at the thought that something like that could actually have happened.

After all, how else could a group of Paladins be demolished? Unless that person was a lunatic, no one would dare touch a single member of the Church.

"Just what is currently happening to our Kingdom?" Darius clenched the map in his hand tightly. The map was the result of his team's investigation, but now it felt worthless in his hand. "Will we be able to pull through it?"

The fate of Raneil Barony was already decided: it would suffer the same fate as Ruttenhale Barony. With how things had developed, it wouldn't be long until the King declared the abandonment of Raneil Barony.

The Kingdom could afford temporarily losing a Barony to the Monsters, but they would never be willing to give up a County.

Compared to Woster County, Raneil Barony was nothing but a small, underdeveloped area. It would be the dumbest decision a King could make in Braxtein Kingdom's history, if Anthony decided to throw Woster County away.

Raneil Barony was indeed close to Fortescher County, the outermost defense of the Kingdom, but it was apparent by how things were going, there weren't enough Demons to conquer the County.

Although there were some group of Demons that were heading towards the Three Sacred Grounds, which were essentially the most vital part of Fortescher County, the King had sent many incredibly competent people to face them. They were already enough to defend the County.

Of course, none of the information related to the Three Sacred Grounds were broadcasted, but the point stands: abandoning Raneil Barony to defend Woster County was a wise decision.

"Iliana, where are—"

Bam!

Just as Darius mused about how much longer it would take Iliana to arrive at the hotel, someone suddenly slammed the door open. He immediately whipped his head around to look at the person—people entering the room.

"The civilians slowed us down."

Iliana, with Basil on her side and Jocelyn in her hand, had arrived with the rest of her team. Other than Basil and her, everyone in her team looked tired; it was apparent that they just had a long day.

Letting Basil and the others had their seat, Iliana walked towards Darius before sitting beside him. No words were exchanged between them as they both understood pleasantries were unneeded in the current situation.

"Now that all of us are gathered here, I am going to talk about a few things before taking you with me to Ruttenhale Barony."

Murmurs of worry and slight dissatisfaction were immediately heard from the students, but none of them questioned Darius for the things he said. The minority of the students, who had expected something like this to happen, even decided to remain quiet all the time.

"Firstly, I am going to announce about our fallen fellows."

While the other teams were already aware of Team 3's demolition, Team 4, who arrived there late, immediately looked around in confusion. It didn't take them long, however, to realize that Team 3 was absent.

Knowing full well what kind of information would be delivered, Jocelyn, Alexandra, and Robert merely shook their head. They felt it was unfortunate that such a brilliant young man like Eugene died before reaching his full potential.

Different than the three students however, Cray, Whitney, and Iliana were frozen in their spot as they furtively glanced at Basil. They were horrified with the possibility alone, but many things suddenly made sense, much to their utter bafflement.

Being a good friend they were however, they were quick to conceal their shock, and focused their attention on Darius once again.

"Team 3—Eugene, Elaine Spring, Rose Summer, Johnson Brew, Peyton, and Bremerton Verney—was caught up in an unexpected clash between Magic Beasts and Monsters. This is as much as we heard about from Rose Summer, the last member to die."

Iliana, Cray, and Whitney heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing the cause of the people's death. Being caught up in a clash between Magic Beasts and Demons wasn't something that could be planned after all.

'But, wait... Basil—didn't he control...!'

The moment they recalled what Basil had done before entering Raneil Barony however, their suspicion on Basil returned and was even amplified. If there was someone who could herd a horde of Magic Beasts, he was the person.

At this point, it would be denying the obvious if they refused to believe Basil was the person behind the "accident." Still, none of them turned their head at Basil to avoid the others' suspicion.

On the other side, Basil was well aware of the people's gaze, but he didn't mind their gaze in the slightest. He knew they had an inkling that he was the man behind Team 3's demolition.

Aside from the fact that none of them had a solid proof, other than an inkling, he had a strong alibi to defend himself. Therefore, even though he confessed to them that he was the culprit, he would still remain innocent in front of the Court.

Basil had expected something like this would happen; his grudge with Eugene was pretty much a common knowledge to the people who had spent some time with him. It wasn't a surprise for them to deduce that he had a hand in the matter.

Still, he didn't make any precaution about it because he knew he only had to prove himself was innocent in front of the Court, not in front of them. Besides, he was sure none of them would be willing to sell him out.

"It is also informed that the group of Paladins also fell along with Team 3. Team 1 has ransacked the scene, but none of the bodies were found. It is assumed that all of them had been eaten by either the Monsters or the Magic Beasts."

While the other people hummed uncomfortably while thinking about the gruesome event, Iliana, Whitney, and Cray contemplated about how Basil faced 10 Paladins on his own. Either way, all of them were astonished by the situation.

"Now that the fall of our fellows has been announced, I am going to address the next topic—the fall of Ruttenhale Barony and the order we received from our Magic Institute."

"Before that," Iliana interrupted Darius, "how about the students who have been stationed there since the very beginning? I heard they were merely helping the civilians, but judging from the situation, they must've also been forced to fight in the war."

"You don't have to worry about them." Darius nodded his head. "So far, there have only been 9 students fell in Ruttenhale Barony, and none of them is from Rehearsal Class. Annabeth gave me this information, so it is accurate."

Iliana, who was about to question the reliability of the information, nodded her head in understanding, then motioned Darius to continue his explanation.

"Ruttenhale Barony fell due to the addition of the new Monster Army, but there are some rumours circulating around that it was also partly due to internal discord ... Either way, our Magic Institute has ordered us to defend Woster County and protect our juniors."

As soon as Darius stopped speaking, Robert immediately raised his hand. "President, may I know what does 'protect our juniors' mean?"

"Due to the magnitude of the situation, the Top 200 are not the only students obligated to aid the Kingdom; every able student is instructed to also help the Kingdom face the Outbreak. Only Second Circle Mages and below are exempted from this."

"That means..."

"Yes, we are going to fight alongside our juniors and some of the weaker seniors."

A deafening silence engulfed the hall as the people inside looked at each other. As a part of the Top 200, they were well aware of their worth, and they immediately understood the reason behind the other students' deployment.

"I know what you are thinking, but you have the option to run." Darius' eyes turned colder in each every word as he pinned them with his gaze. "Don't sacrifice any of your fellow student."

No one said a thing—they didn't confirm they understood his instruction or deny it. They merely looked at him nervously as they understood what his eyes conveyed.

'I would kill you, if I found out you did what I told you not to.'

That way, the meeting ended. It was scheduled they would have to leave in an hour, so some of the students decided to enjoy the delicacies the hotel's staffs had prepared for them before the time came.

"I bet you have something to talk about with me. Let us move to a more quiet place."

As for Basil, he was leading Iliana, Cray, and Whitney to the Guest Room so they could have the "talk."