Chương 180: Chapter 177 - A Grave Offense

Tellus POV"Are these reports true?" I asked my lieutenants as I reread the report for the third time. All fifteen had gathered, along with my four bodyguards, who also served as senior lieutenants in my personal unit. Including me, there were twenty commanding officers present. Yet the reports before us had left everyone speechless.

"Why was no action taken to counter this? There has been this much activity from Frosthallow south of Fort Dunvale, yet Avalon has done nothing. We are simply allowing them to prepare for an invasion. Almost every village has reported barbarian sightings, along with rumors of some of the most prominent mercenaries traveling to this region. What are we doing here?" I was frustrated by the inaction. This level of incompetence could severely damage House Petrae's reputation.

We were the wall, the house responsible for defending the north and expanding Avalon's borders since the kingdom's founding.

"Sir, no one believed the reports," one of the lieutenants replied.

"Even for a Tier-4, crossing the border and remaining in enemy territory for this long without being discovered would not be easy. If not for Captain Darrow's report, we might not have uncovered these activities until the invasion had already begun."

"What about the mercenaries? How did Intelligence fail to discover their movements? What is the Intelligence Department doing?" Once I had finished cleaning up this mess, I would make sure none of these incompetent fools remained in the Royal Army, even if it angered the houses supporting them.

"No one knows," Caeso said.

"I met with Cassian before leaving Stonegate to discuss the intelligence failure, and even he was surprisingly ill-informed. Either this plan has been in motion for a long time, or someone high within the Royal Army is helping conceal the information.

"Even the mercenary presence was only confirmed after Captain Darrow's report. His squad also captured several mercenaries. They were not from any well-known company, but reading their minds provided us with most of what we now know." Caeso was the water mage and healer of my personal unit, as well as one of the people I trusted most.

"Cassian is losing his edge." I shook my head, then looked at my lieutenants.

"Take today to plan our next course of action. Also, summon all your units. Velkar Town is the best place for us to establish our camp, and I want every one of them here. Speak with the supply division and make sure the town has enough food to support us for at least one year. You are dismissed." The lieutenants left the meeting, while the members of my personal unit remained behind. Before I could begin speaking with them, one of my aides entered the office and bowed.

"My lord, Sergeant Edward has entered the estate. Should I dismiss him or ask him to wait?"

"Let him wait. I want to meet him today," I said.

"Isn't this the sergeant whose squad captured the mercenaries? Is that why you are so eager to meet him?" Caeso asked.

"Partly. One of his squad members was the one who informed us about the barbarian invader's elemental affinity. Moreover, he is Tullius's disciple."

"Tullius? That bastard is still alive?" Caeso grinned from ear to ear.

"I would like to meet the boy and test his medical knowledge." He was clearly eager to meet his old friend's disciple.

"Yeah, the last heir of House Cicero has finally taken a disciple." I shook my head. Tullius was already old and nearing the end of his life. I would have preferred it if he had died quietly instead of introducing a new variable into northern Avalon's nobility. Worse was Tullius's report that the boy was researching mana cores. I could only hope his work was nothing like the research carried out by those lunatics from House Cicero. I turned my attention back to the report.

A few minutes passed in silence before Caeso interrupted me again.

"Then why are we still sitting here?"

"I am compiling a report to submit to the higher-ups. I think we may need someone of commander rank for this mission," I said, making sure no one outside the room could hear me.

"Commander rank?" Caeso's eyes widened.

"You are expecting a Tier-5?" I nodded solemnly.

"The lieutenants were right about one thing. Remaining in enemy territory for this long without being discovered would not be easy for a Tier-4." Before any of us could continue the discussion, Torquatus, one of my fire mages who had been sitting quietly, frowned and looked toward the western wall. That caught my attention. Torquatus possessed skills that allowed him to sense activity beyond mana barriers, making it almost impossible for anyone to spy on my personal unit.

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"Tellus, does your nephew know Edward is practically a noble now?" Torquatus asked.

"I don't think so. We have kept that hidden—""Then you should hurry. He is about to kill the last disciple of House Cicero." I immediately removed the mana barrier surrounding the room. The moment it disappeared, I sensed the dense mana of [Stoneheart Avatar]. Before I could even rise from my chair, Caeso was already rushing toward the door. I hurried after him. If Julius killed Edward after I had personally invited him here, no one would dismiss it as a sparring accident.

House Petrae's reputation would suffer, and I could lose far more than my standing among the northern nobility. Edward's POV As Julius made another series of hand gestures, a new spear began forming beside him. At the same time, I heard several people shouting his name and ordering him to stop. I could also sense footsteps rushing toward us. Ignoring them, I concentrated mana around my hand, preparing to defend myself. But before either Julius or I could act, an avalanche of earth mana swept over us.

The newly formed spear and the one impaling my shoulder instantly crumbled into dust. A moment later, a massive silver hand appeared, seized Julius, and hurled him away from me. I forced myself to my feet and activated my healing skills, focusing them on the hole in my shoulder as I looked toward the people approaching us. My squad was the closest. They had momentarily frozen after being exposed to such overwhelmingly dense earth mana, but they quickly recovered and resumed running toward me.

Behind them were two other people. One was Tellus Petrae. I did not recognize the other man, who had blue hair and one finger pointed toward Julius. The silver hand had caught Julius again and was now holding him firmly in its grip. Julius struggled violently while glaring at the blue-haired man, his entire face turning red with fury. He looked ready to explode. I was certain he would have been screaming insults if the silver liquid had not also covered his mouth.

Before the two men could reach me, a stream of silver liquid separated from the hand and floated toward my wound. I immediately coated the injury with a layer of mana, preventing the foreign substance from entering my body. I knew the silver liquid belonged to a Tier-4. If the man truly wanted to force his way through my defenses, there was little I could do to stop him. Still, I was not allowing foreign mana anywhere near my body without a fight, especially when it belonged to someone associated with House Petrae.

Thankfully, the silver liquid only pressed against my mana barrier a few times before withdrawing. The blue-haired man smiled and stepped forward as if to speak, but Captain Tellus interrupted him.

"Sergeant Edward, I apologize for this oversight. Allow my subordinate, Senior Lieutenant Caeso, to heal you. I am sure you have heard of him. He is a Tier-4 healer and even supported Fort Dunvale after the grand beast tide."

"Thank you, Captain, but I am capable of healing myself," I replied bluntly. Both men raised their eyebrows, but I was long past caring what anyone associated with House Petrae thought of me. I might have made a mistake by accepting the duel. I had certainly made another by continuing once I realized Julius genuinely intended to kill me. However, that did not excuse what happened afterward. I had already lost the duel and was in no condition to continue fighting, yet Julius had prepared another attack.

That was no longer part of a spar. It was a blatant attempt to kill a sergeant of the Royal Army. While I was furious with both Julius and myself, part of me was also relieved. Julius was not a member of the Royal Army. His only official affiliation was with House Petrae. Considering his actions, I had every right to file a formal complaint against the entire house. More importantly, Captain Tellus had personally invited me here.

With the right wording, I could present this as an assassination attempt by House Petrae against a sergeant of the Royal Army. It might not seriously affect a house as powerful as House Petrae, but it would at least force them to punish Julius.

"Sergeant—" Captain Tellus began.

"Let him be. I can see Tullius truly did take him as a disciple," Caeso said, grinning at me. He examined me for another moment before turning to Captain Tellus.

"He should be fine by tomorrow." Captain Tellus nodded.

"Sergeant Edward, I know you are currently on leave, and this is likely not how you expected to spend it. However, I have several important questions that cannot wait. Therefore, I am ordering you to report here again tomorrow, once your injuries have healed." I frowned but nodded. If he had merely asked me to return, I would have argued with him. But now that a captain had given me a direct order, it was my duty to obey. I turned to leave, with my squad following behind me.

Once we were a few paces away, Barry whispered, "Do you want me to take him out?" I smiled, assuming he was joking. But when I turned toward him, I saw that he was completely serious.

"A brat like him will probably visit a pleasure house after being humiliated today," Barry continued.

"Varric and I could easily take him out there." Varric nodded in agreement. I shook my head, only to break into a cough and spit out a mouthful of blood.

"No. I don't want him to die like that," I replied.

"It would be more satisfying to kill him myself." Tellus POV I watched Edward and his squad leave, then frowned and turned to Caeso.

"What do you think?" Caeso shook his head.

"House Petrae is about to suffer the worst blow to its reputation in a century, especially regarding its standing within the Royal Army. You should be grateful Tullius has not yet explained what it truly means to be his disciple. Otherwise, the Count would spend the next year enduring attacks from old nobles over his failure to control his own house." I clenched my fist. First, the Intelligence Department had failed us, and now this. It was almost as though someone had cursed House Petrae.

I looked toward my nephew, the person responsible for this mess. Unsurprisingly, there was nothing but anger in his eyes. He had not yet realized the severity of his mistake, even after forcing me, the leader of House Petrae's third generation, to apologize on his behalf. It did not matter whether Edward was a noble. Even if he had not been a member of the Royal Army and was merely a commoner I had personally invited, attacking him with the intent to kill would still have been a grave offense.

"Caeso, release him," I said. The moment Caeso withdrew the silver liquid restraining him, Julius shouted, "Uncle! You are disgracing the Petrae name for the sake of a commoner. Have you lost your mind? Or—" Before he could continue his foolish babbling, I waved my hand. A stone struck him across the head, knocking him unconscious.

"Send him to Stonegate today," I ordered.

"Inform Grandfather that Julius has shown no improvement since his last punishment. Give him a complete report of this incident and tell him that I no longer consider Julius capable of acting independently, much less leading the next generation of House Petrae." With that, I turned and made my way back toward my temporary office. The powerhouses of Frosthallow were already making moves within Avalon's borders, and here I was, forced to watch over a child who could not even control his temper.