Chapter 182 Undercover

Leonard's squad started moving towards Zoren after around two hours of rest for themselves and the horses.

They had been traveling for just over three hours when the sun started rise, peaking over the horizon with its warm yellow light.

"I've never seen the sun rise before." William said.

"Most people wake up when the sun's light filters into their homes so I'd say most people haven't seen it. It's my first time as well." The healer added.

"Ive only seen it a handful of times, usually when I've stayed awake most of the night like we've all just done." Leonard said, joining the conversation.

The three of them were still riding in the back of the carriage together. The three of them were the most rested out of anyone in the squad at the moment.

Being in the carriage meant they didn't to control a horse or provide any sort of input during travel, the three of them dozed off a couple of times over the last few hours and got a decent amount of rest thanks to that.

Usually the soldiers would have complained about them being allowed more rest than the others but this was different than it used to be.

Abilities have become an immensely important part of combat and as such their users are seen as the most important members of a squad.

Healers are given special treatment because they can take what would usually be a mortal wound and turn into a light scratch.

Someone like Leonard is seen as the powerhouse of the squad, without them combat is much more difficult and more of the squad would get injured or even die.

Because of their value nobody is willing to point out the unfair treatment, most don't even view it as unfair anymore.

When the Royal Army was formed and the militaries soldiers were placed in sqauds with the Infernai, there was a divide between them.

The soldiers believed that the strength of abilities was exaggerated and that the Infernai didn't deserve respect.

This was especially true when an Infernai with a higher rank was involved. Some soldiers worked for years to obtain a promotion from Private to Officer but were forced to listen to a 16 year old Lieutenant.

They viewed the Infernai as a joke and didn't respect their rankings or power. Their opinions were quickly altered when the Infernai were seen fighting in battles and healing the injured.

Their power was instantly recognized by those who had seen it in person. Unfortunately, there are still many soldiers who believe the stories about Infernai are exaggerated, leading to people treating them like Captain Yarm did Leonard.

'It's frustrating having to constantly prove ourselves to the soldiers but it will improve over time...'  Leonard thought while looking at Captain Yarm.

Leonard looked from person to person, making eye contact with several members of the squad. Each time they would break eye contact immediately and tense up while looking at the ground.

~Sigh~ "They're still scared of me." Leonard said.

"It's getting better though. After the massacre they wouldn't even ride next to the carriage, if all they're doing is avoiding eye contact then I'd say it's an improvement." The healer said.

"They have no reason to feel this way, they should know I'm on their side so why...?" Leonard furrowed his eyebrows.

"Captain, they saw you rip apart several cultists with your bare hands. Not only did you do something that wasn't humanly possible a few months ago, you did it in the most gruesome ways possible.

You pulled out their spins and ripped them half. If something like that doesn't scare people then they're braver than most." The healer said with a shrug.

Leonards modd didn't improve, in fact, it seemed to worsen. His head dropped and his shoulders started to sag a bit, he started to look 'deflated'.

The healer noticed this and quickly added to his explanation." I'm not saying they're scared of you exactly, it's more like they're scared of what they saw.

Whenever they look at you they remember that day and it makes them uncomfortable thinking about it. They just need time to get over it, don't worry too much about it."

Leonard's mood didn't seem to change much but he looked at the healer and nodded with a forced smile.

***

"I'm glad you were finally able to join us, Colonel." General Trune said with a seemingly motionless mouth behind his bushy beard.

"I would have been here sooner if I wasn't so busy in Drom. Looking after all the refugees is no small task." Clay replied.

"We are aware." General Lewis said in an agitated tone.

"We're all grateful that someone as talented as you is able to look after Drom in these times. Please, take a seat so we can get started." Supreme Commander Colt said while gesturing to a seat.

There was one large round table in the middle of the room. The others present at this meeting were Generals Trune and Lewis, Commander Anders and the Supreme Commander, Jeziah Colt.

"General Wesley and Rune are both absent..." Clay said, noticing the underwhelming number of Infernum leadership present at the meeting.

"They are both on a mission in Zoren but there are some complications regarding said mission..." Commander Anders said. He then proceeded to explain everything they knew about Zoren and its recapture this evening.

"Now that you've been brought up to speed on the situation in Zoren, we can get to the main topic of the meeting."  The Supreme Commander said.

"I thought we were just going to share information today and make reports, did something happen?" Clay asked.

"Yes. Our efforts to send undercover agents into the cult to gather information has finally paid off. Maintaining contact with our agents is impossible, so we couldn't be sure if they had been discovered or not.

I was told that one of those agents would be returning today with important information. They were told to come here and join the meeting and are waiting outside right now, let's see what they have to say." The Supreme Commander said as he waved to the soldiers standing guard, gesturing for them to bring this person in.

The guards left for a few minutes and then returned with a woman beside them. She was wearing an Infernai uniform and was someone easily recognized by the others.

"Nila?" Clay asked with a shocked tone.

"Colonel Zogarth, please take a seat. We're all keen to hear what you've learned during your time undercover." The Supreme Commander said, gesturing to the seat at the opposite end of the table from himself.

The table, although round, was more of an oval shape. The Supreme Commander was sitting at the head of the table, meaning Nila was seated at the foot of the table.

"For the past two months I've been hiding myself within the cult, pretending to be one of their members so I could gather information.

I didn't know where any of their bases were so my only way into their ranks was to kill one of their low ranked members while they attacked a village and to put on their uniform.

Most of the time I've been on this mission I was just trying to get placed somewhere useful, last week I was finally taken to one of their bases." Nila began explaining.

" Excellent, if we know the location of one of their bases then we can deal a heavy blow to them." General Lewis said enthusiastically.

" I'm sorry but that's no possible. In the last week they've moved bases twice already, I'm afraid they wouldn't be there once we arrived.

Regardless, the reason I returned now instead of waiting longer and collecting more information is because of what I overheard.

Trent Zemor is one of the leading Imperiums in the cult and is close to their leader. Another person who seems to hold power within the cult is a man named John, who was once at the academy but was turned and joined them.

He's an Imperium but not like the others, his skin is red and he has three eyes, among other differences.

The two of them were speaking in private and I was eavesdropping. They were being very vague with their words but they mentioned their plans to target the cities.

Zoren is currently under their control but the other two cities are going to be attacked sometime in the next day or two. They didn't say a specific day.

They're planning on using all their forces for these attacks, performing an all out battle that would either end in their victory or destruction." Nila explained at length.

"It seems they don't want to drag this war on any longer." Commander Anders said.

"It doesn't make any sense, surely they know we have triple their numbers." General Trune said.

"Do we? At any given time, Trent Zemor can take a town full of people and turn them into beasts on par with Uncommon tier monsters."  Clay said.

"That must be why the cult has suddenly started capturing people instead of killing them... They're going to turn all of them and use them to attack us." General Lewis said, a look of realization on her face.

"Then, once we've exhausted ourselves fighting the beasts, they will swoop in and finish the job..." The Supreme Commander said, his concerned tone matching the mood of the others in the room.

"We need to bring all our people back to the cities, every soldier and Infernai. We need every person available to defend, it's the only way we stand a chance." Clay said with a tone of certainty.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Messengers were sent out immediately to recall all troops. The Royal Army leaders began to strategize the battles to come, going well into the night as they did.