Chapter 1325: Tell Him He’s Dreaming

Chapter 1325: Tell Him He’s Dreaming

Morrelia was frustrated.

"Tribune, you need to relax a little, you look like you're going to bite someone's head off," her fellow Tribune, Joshen Aurelis noted.

She narrowed her eyes at the man, irritation bubbling just beneath the surface. Joshen wasn't someone that Morrelia was able to get along with. He was too stuffy, too... clean. Being in the Legion was a career of being ankle deep in blood and guts, so how was this guy always so spotless? It shouldn't have been possible!

"I just might," she growled.

Joshen sighed and put down the papers he was carrying. The two were the sole occupants of the officers' tent, which wasn't as unusual as it sounded, considering most of the camp was asleep. They were the only two who'd be inside at such an hour.

"You aren't still obsessing over your bizarre scheme?" he said.

"Bizarre?" Morrelia snapped. "What's bizarre is having an entire Legion of elite troops sitting on their hands in the fourth doing nothing. There are hotspots throughout the Dungeon that desperately need help, what are we achieving by staying here?"

"We are fulfilling our mission," Joshen said patiently, and perhaps, a little condescendingly.

"No, we aren't," she forced out through gritted teeth. "What is our mission, Joshen?"

"To isolate and kill the prospective Ancient."

"And how exactly have we gotten closer to achieving that objective today? Tell me, Joshen, what bold strides have you made?"

"You know as well as I do that pursuing the monster into the fifth stratum would be suicide. We are waiting for the Krath to do our work for us."

"So you admit we aren't doing anything."

"Someone has to be here to confirm that the mission has been achieved."

"And how are you going to do that? You think the Colony is just going to tell us?"

"As a matter of fact, there has. Lo' I bring you a miracle! The Consul has changed their mind," Chyron said.

"Are we redeploying?" Morrelia asked, heart in mouth.

If they were going to leave Anthony alone, that would at least save her troubled conscience. She hated this mission, even if it gave her a chance to be closer to the people she'd helped to save in Renewal. There were many, many places in the Dungeon where her Skills could be put to good use in the service of those who were unable to defend themselves in ways that didn't involve trying to kill old friends.

"Of course not," Chyron huffed, "they aren't going to bend that far. Our mission is still valid and important. Any monster who experiences the Call needs to be prevented from descending. That's been the case for over a thousand years, and it isn't going to change now."

The Commander eyed her two officers before she continued.

"No. It's been determined that we will need to be closer to the target in order to accurately record their death, or, in the unlikely event they make it through the fifth, be able to report their location to an interception team in the sixth."

Joshen frowned.

"So we are to give up trying to achieve the kill ourselves?"

That was not a turn of phrase that Morrelia liked hearing. Was Joshen really that focused on achieving this mission? What for? The glory? To increase his chances of promotion?

"For the time being, that is correct," Chyron affirmed. "We've been given permission to provide limited support to the ants as they attempt to progress into the fifth in order to justify our presence watching over the target. It's believed that this will further aggravate the Krath and cause them to target the ants even further, while allowing the Legion to achieve other objectives elsewhere in the fifth."

"Killing two birds with one stone," Morrelia said flatly.

Chyron grinned.

"We're nothing if not efficient."

"Doesn't this put us at tremendous risk?" Joshen asked, his tone flat.

"Of course it does," the Commander replied. "You're in the Legion. This is what we do."