Chapter 421: Calm Before The First Storm II

Chapter 421: Calm Before The First Storm II



Despite their confusion and the questions burning on their tongues, dying to be asked, no one interrupted.

They were eager to learn of the details, but they respected the unspoken rule: when their bossman commanded, they followed.

And his command before Aquila had entered was to listen, so that was what they did.

"A few of my men had grievances with both sides, so they disguised themselves and got involved in a few skirmishes, killing a few in the hope of exacerbating the situation. Nothing changed. Besides that, the operation proceeded without any significant complications. Oh, and there were a few that seemed to belong to Alex's platoon, perhaps leftovers that didn't meet you that day, and they were the fiercest of the lot, it almost seemed that they were the only ones taking their fight seriously."

He paused, gauging the room's reaction, and more particularly, the one he had this deal with.

Emir, who was looking at an enraged Kiera, turned to Aquila and then nodded slowly, his expression unreadable, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes-something that Aquila couldn't quite place.

Taking this as a sign of approval mixed with doubt, he pressed on:

"Trust me. I'm sure they fell for our trap, I dealt with the leader directly, giving him Alex's head. They were just too busy preparing for tomorrow's attack. As for the Liberation Army, we leaked the time of our meeting, I'm sure they sent a few to spy on us, so they know that a leader of theirs was killed by Templar."

Emir leaned forward slightly, his gaze locking onto Aquila.

"I'm fine believing the Liberation Army was tricked, but Templar... You're confident they bought the story?"

"Yes. From what I've heard and gathered, Templar is eager to be the dominant force of the big three. They don't want to outright end their competition, as that would result in major losses for both sides, as well as allowing the big eight and UEF an upper hand, which would result in their end. So instead, they want a major advantage over the other factions. With that lady's death as the spark, they'll begin their conquest, they do not need to suspect otherwise."

Silence hung in the room for a moment, broken only by the faint hum of the ventilation system.

Then, with an almost imperceptible shift, Emir's demeanor changed.

The coldness in his eyes deepened, and the faintest hint of a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Was he a man?"

Aquila frowned, the sudden shift in his tone unsettling him.

"Templar's? Yes. Their leader was a man."

Emir darkly chuckled.

"Unfortunately, my friend... things have taken an unexpected turn."

"...What do you mean?"

His smirk widened, though it held no warmth.

"Templar knows."

Aquila's heart skipped a beat.

"Knows what, exactly?"

"They know that I was the one who killed Alex."

The Eagle felt blood drain from his face.

"That's... impossible. How could they-?"

Emir interrupted, his voice sharp:

"Do you know about the Praying Lady?"

"I..."

The man was stumped, utterly confused.

He thought that he was doing his job well, but all of a sudden everything was flipped on its head.

"She's the true leader of Templar. You only met a fake... And judging by how their skirmishes have barely any impact, only the Liberation Army believes our lie, Templar is using them to trick us."

"...But how?"

But they knew that Emir wasn't one to be outmaneuvered so easily.

He would ensure that, if this was war, it would be on his terms. And anyone who stood in his

way, Templar or otherwise, would be crushed underfoot.

Their trust in him outweighed whatever doubt Aquila's report had brought.

Emir's eyes moved away from the window, scanning the room to make sure he had their full

attention.

"Now..."

His voice regained its calm and soft tone.

"Let's discuss the First Major Disaster. As you've heard, we've got more work to do."

The room remained quiet, giving him all the time to speak.

"The way it was 'written,' was as if many of Templar and a few leaders of the Liberation Army

just appeared out of nowhere. No details, no explanation of how they managed to infiltrate a secure location like that. It was almost like they teleported straight into the ruin, ignoring all defenses as if they didn't exist with some sort of enhanced teleporter."

"But we know better than to accept such a shallow explanation. There's always more beneath

the surface."

Emir leaned back slightly, his eyes narrowing in thought.

"The one who orchestrated this attack, the 'Praying Lady' knew exactly when the students

would be at their most vulnerable. She knew where to strike and when to strike, and that knowledge didn't come from thin air. Someone on the inside had to be feeding them

information."

He paused for a moment, giving everyone time to process his words.

...There was a mole in the Academy.

And that wasn't all.

Somehow, that mole managed to bypass the binding contract and slip past the test

undetected.

Trust was a fragile thing, it only exited when that paper was drawn... but now? They realized

that it was possible to step around it, bypass it.

The threat of betrayal loomed so close to home.

Emir, the one who should've been the most shocked of all, treated this as a normal thing.

Not because of his natural immunity to technological binding contracts, but because he knew

how that mole did what he did.

"It wasn't Judas, he wouldn't move so early. I'm sure it's someone else, but we'll come back

to that later," he said, signaling a temporary end to their train of thought.

"For now, we focus on know... the beginning of our operation..."

He smiled and they immediately understood.

The calm before the first storm had just ended.

"Operation Metro."