The mess was pretty big. People who were in towns or villages not far from that place must have noticed the sound of the explosions and all sorts of things going on.
Coupled with the arrival of helicopters and a few cars and trucks. That further clarifies that something big has happened in that place.
"Block any reporters trying to come into the facility. Create a perimeter within a ten-kilometer radius," General Lennard gave an order to the few men who were standing in front of him with stiffly strapped bodies.
"Yes sir!"
They all answered in unison then immediately went to carry out his order.
General Lennard took a deep breath. He held his cold sweaty forehead.
"What the fuck is going on?"
Suddenly this morning, he received a distress signal from Thomas when the sun had not even fully risen.
Fortunately, General Lennard was a man who was used to getting up in the morning. So the call didn't bother him.
The General's heart immediately seemed to jump out when he heard the news. He immediately rushed to gather all his officers at the military headquarters.
After that, he immediately sent a team to raid the secret facility.
General Lennard stared out the window. He still hadn't seen any reporters storming the military base. It means information about what happened in East Westmere hasn't spread yet.
If the news got out, then they would get a very big problem.
The secret about the facility being located in a very remote place would make the public suspicious.
They will think that the government is doing something covert and dangerous and then some strange conspiracy theories will emerge.
Conspiracy theories will provoke many curious people to find out the truth. And the problem only gets more complicated the more people are involved.
"How should I take care of this?"
General Lennard couldn't reach the President because he was out of the country on business. So he could only contact his subordinate and did not know when this news would reach the President.
He didn't know what was going on. But from the last communication he heard from Thomas before his voice cut off, some intruders had invaded the facility and they were able to use Magic.
Because of that, they could easily escape all the security systems of the facility.
"Magic?"
Could it be the Elves who had come for revenge? But how come? It was all too weird to happen.
But if not the Elves, then who else could use Magic and do all that?
General Lennard knew there was no point wondering alone now. So he decided to go as well to visit the facility.
'Wait.' General Lennard suddenly remembered something that made him frown. 'Did those three people have anything to do with all this?'
General Lennard was thinking about Erend, Billy, and Adrien. The three people most likely to have connections with the Elves.
They had even lived in the world of the Elves. They were also the ones who resolved the problem of the war with the Elves.
General Lennard didn't know what kind of relationship they had with the Elves. That made him suspicious.
However, the General's suspicions were pushed back by the fact that the three men had come to the military headquarters and carried out their work as usual. So, his suspicions about them were unfounded.
*knock!* *knock!* *knock!*
A loud knock on the door snapped General Lennard out of his thoughts. He ordered whoever was outside to come in.
It turned out that the one who knocked was Major Tania Lennard, his daughter.
"You got anything new?" asked the General.
"Yes, sir. I have received reports that several cars and helicopters from the TV station have moved towards the location of the facility," Major Lennard replied.
"Damnit!" the General cursed and walked straight to the door. "Come on. We have to get out there and stop them before they spread this mess."
~~~
The sun was already rising as the SUV pulled away from the location of the secret facility. They can still see the sound of helicopters and vans with TV station signs passing by.
They are journalists who chase news like beasts who smell bloody prey.
They will immediately gather at the scene of the incident in droves like a unit, even though they are actually from different sides.
For now, those who were inside the car were happy that it wasn't their problem. That is a problem the government has to solve.
They knew that they had created a huge problem that shook the country.
General Lennard is clearly under immense stress right now about how to get hold of journalists not to spread this issue to the public.
Aurdis and Saeldir sat in the back seats. They were both exhausted and closed their eyes. Their faces were white as sick people.
Beside them was Adrien who was also closing his eyes. Trying to shake off the tiredness he had suffered from the fight earlier.
Adrien felt even more tired because he used his will to be able to cast Magic.
On the other hand, Billy was staring out the window at the trees moving swiftly past them.
His eyes were about to close but before they could completely close, they snapped open again.
"You can sleep," said Erend who was driving. Among them, he is the only one who still can drive a car.
"I can't sleep. Every time I want to close, images of special forces suddenly descending from helicopters, or barricades suddenly appear before my eyes," Billy answered.
"You don't need to worry. We are far enough from that place," Erend said.
Erend did immediately drive fast when they were already on the highway.
The effects of the Magic Potion they poured on this car only lasted fifteen minutes, so Erend had to make good use of that time to get them as far away from the facility's territory as possible.
Especially now that the day is getting bright. So their presence will be easier to see.
"We will enter Mensfield soon. We can hide there," Erend said in a calm tone.
"Is that so?" Billy turned to Erend and saw him nod.
"Oh..." Billy then leaned his head on the chair. Finally, now a feeling of relief appeared on his face.
"You can sleep if you want," Erend said.
Billy turned to him. "How about you? You don't feel tired?"
Erend shook his head. "No. I feel perfectly fine."
"And yet you are having the largest fight of all of us," Billy said.
Erend snorted. He wanted to say that the fight he had with Steve wasn't a tough fight. However, Erend felt that during his fight with Steve, he was haunted by feelings of anxiety.
The power of that cursed tree was unfathomable. He even got trapped in the dimension where the tree was.
Fortunately, he has the power of a Dragon. That way he can deal heavy damage to the tree in a short time to force it to open another portal to return.
He even had to change into his Dragon form to be able to deal damage to that tree.
Even so, the tree was not destroyed. Only a few pieces of it fell.
If it was Aurdis or Saeldir trapped there, they probably wouldn't have survived.
"Yeah, it's a tough fight. But I'm fine," Erend said.
~~~