Chapter 93

There must be something inside Artorius' room. Some secret file he's been keeping from me, or a project that is yet to be finished.

He's a man of many missions and goals. He has to have something.

I rummaged through his drawer and tried to find something. But all I found were statistics from Wilkins.

Where does he keep his drawings?

I checked the other side, hoping that's where he keeps his secrets. Luckily, I found them.

All the drawings he's done for the second part of the transport project. It's here.

Eight sketches of different sizes of ships. The smallest one he calls Schooner while the biggest is called Man o' war.

The Schooner looks to be simple. Similar in length to longboats but there are multiple sails and masts. The sails can be turned for better mobility as well.

Meanwhile, the Man o' war has an outrageous design. There are multiple layers with hatches on the sides. Each hatch would have a soldier behind it, a mage. They will be our main weapon.

Though the longer I looked at these, the more complexity rose. Small details that I missed at first glance were necessary for the long run.

There's no way someone like me can help him with this.

I felt disheartened seeing that I am of no help to Artorius, at least in this instance. This is only possible when he's here. Without him, this project won't work.

Feeling regretful, I put away the sketches and try to figure out what else to do.

Just then, I noticed a letter that was once under the pile. It went under my observation at first sight but now that I've seen it, I have become curious.

I took it and looked at it while squatting down on the ground. It had a red seal and the royal family's stamp.

As far as I knew, we haven't received any letter from Amadeus in the past two months. After his birthday, we haven't received anything.

I opened the letter, disregarding Artorius' permission. The letter was kept in pristine condition. Not a single scratch or wear on it.

My blood ran cold when I took the letter out. The handwriting on the letter was not Amadeus'. It was someone who died. Someone who shouldn't be writing anymore.

Alaric wrote this letter. This must've been the last letter he wrote to Artorius. But what did he write?

I read the letter thoroughly. Going through each word slowly, hoping to notice any cryptic message if there was any. But this letter was not cryptic, it was a straightforward letter.

It talked about repaying a debt to Artorius. Since Artorius broke Warrior's Ballad during his fight with Zenith, he has not used a personal sword. I urged him to make one but he said later.

His reason was that he was too busy. But he just wanted to wait for the perfect time.

But the perfect time would've been before he entered the cave. Going into the cave with a personal sword would've worked better than an ordinary steel sword.

As I sat on the floor, pondering Artorius' complex mind, the door to the room opened. I freaked out and quickly stood up from the ground.

"Sir Felix-" A dark-haired servant walked in and called for me.

"Yes? What?" I asked in a panic.

"Here's a report from the construction company. It doesn't look good," He says while putting them on the table.

I placed the envelope and letter on the empty desk and took a look at the reports.

The report was about sewage. Due to the increase in population, Artorius had made up a new sewage system. Instead of having individual sewage run through the buildings, there will be one single sewage system where all of the waste would be dropped into the river nearby.

But it seems that they overshot the budget. He had given them a budget after asking them. They agreed but were overshot.

What would Artorius do in this situation?

There was another problem with this too. Perhaps he didn't notice at first but the river is one of the major lifelines of this city. If we contaminate it with waste, it would be impossible to supply water to the city.

"Wait here, I'm writing a notice to them," I told the servant as he waited for an answer.

I took a seat on his armchair and took out a piece of paper. If I am to fill his spot while he's away, I should take some action.

The notice would be to stop construction at once. Since Artorius is away and there is a major flaw in the system, we should stop and wait for him to return.

"Give this to them," I told the servant. "Stop the construction at once,"

"Pardon!?" The servant exclaimed. "But the construction is nearly finished!"

"Do as I say," I stood up and gave him a stern look. "If this project finishes, the lifeline of this city is at risk,"

He froze in his place while holding the letter in his hand. "A-as you say," The servant said before swiftly leaving the room.

So this is what Artorius has to deal with daily.

LEO'S POV

Freezing temperatures, low visibility A terrible snowstorm. The reasons we never dared to explore these mountains.

Each soldier was given clothing for this weather but I doubt it's enough. We are freezing trying to get close to the mountains.

Though it was summer, the mountains are always snow-capped with terrible weather. A non-stop snowstorm that seemed to have no end had begun.

Many died trying to explore. They must be lost somewhere on these grounds.

We set up camp next to a river that was once running with cold water. To the west was the mountain, and to the east was the river. But that same river was now frozen.

A terrible snowstorm set just as we finished building the camp. All the soldiers were inside their tents, trying to escape the cold.

I sat in my tent as well, hoping this snowstorm would pass soon. Even with all the layers of clothing I wore, it would prove difficult to stay warm.

My tent had better accommodation too. A nice bed to sleep on with a heavy blanket. The soldiers? They barely have anything like this.

If this snowstorm continues into the night, we might freeze to death.

I felt a sneeze coming up as I shivered in my bed. Soon, I let out a loud sneeze that was muffled by the sound of the wind.

My tent was barely tied to the ground. It shook and wobbled as if it would fly away any moment, along with me.

"Damn it…" I muttered, shivering inside my blanket. Curled up on my bed and sat up. "What kind of situation are we in…"

My ears were freezing up and my nose became runny. It wouldn't be long till I would fall into hypothermia if this continues.

I sniffled and coughed as I tried to calm myself down. The air that I breathe out instantly froze. It felt like I was breathing in the snow instead of air.

A fire would be nice in this tent.

Even though Artorius was not in a better situation than me, I still envied him. At least he didn't have to deal with freezing to death. All he had to worry about was wolves and insects. Meanwhile, I had to lead a group of sixty up a freezing mountain to look for a cave.

My teeth chattered faster every minute. With every passing minute, I felt colder and sleepy. If this continued, I might fall asleep or faint.

"Lord Miyuki… Keep mercy…" I whispered, hoping the Goddess would keep mercy.

It seemed my begging worked. The weather slowly began to calm down. The howling of the wind began to lessen as the tent began to shake less. The temperature rose drastically in just a few minutes.

Though it was still freezing, it was nothing compared to the snowstorm that just went by. We are lucky to even be alive right now.

I got out of my blanket and sniffled as my nose continued to be runny. Shaking and shivering as I walked to exit the tent.

I peek my head out to look around. The snowstorm was finished, and only a cold breeze blew by. There were about ten tents around, eleven including mine. Soldiers had to share tents and accommodations because of cost efficiency.

We were given everything except good quality tents. The tents weren't bad to say, but they could've been much more suited for cold weather.

More than a foot of snow had built up on the ground due to the storm. I stepped outside and my foot sank inside.

It would be difficult to walk around the camp now.

The large campfire we built in the middle of the camp was under the snow. If we wanted food, we would have to start clearing the camp first.

"Soldiers! Step out of your tents!" I shouted out. "Work will begin once again!"

All the tents opened up and six soldiers stepped outside from each tent. They all stepped into the snow and were shocked.

"Bring out your shovels," I said while walking through the snow. "We're clearing this snow then building the campfire once again,"

"Yes sir!" The soldiers exclaimed.

They all went back inside to grab their shovels. Each soldier was given tools that they had to keep with them. If they lost the weapon, a penalty would be placed. If they broke it in combat, there would be no penalty but they would have to go the rest of the mission without it, even if it was a sword.

"General, it seems that we would have to stay here for the night," One of the soldiers came up to me.

"Yes, I know," I replied. "That's why I'm settling in for tonight,"

"But we cannot stay here long," He furrowed his eyebrows. "We were only given emergency ration for these kinds of situations. It will only last today,"

"Send out two men to scout the area,"

"Pardon?" He asked.

"The two will find a path up. They will figure out if there is a cave nearby,"

"As you say, general," The soldier said before stomping through the snow.

All the soldiers began to dig out the foot of snow under them. It wasn't much but it was enough to hinder our mobility. It would also not allow us to start a campfire. Without a fire in this situation, we are better off dead.

We would have to split the work with each other. The two soldiers would have to find a cave. If not, we might be doomed before our mission starts.

The worst part is, we are the best team. These men are the best who were handpicked by me and Zenith. Since Zenith would only be away for guarding duty, he will have to work with the less capable men.

That is not to say they were bad. Each soldier here was great. But these soldiers are exceptional. If we lose one, that would be a hit to our reputation. These are the best soldiers in Group Alpha.

Artorius might punish me too if we lose a man but do not complete this mission.

ZENITH'S POV

"A D-devil…" One of the soldiers muttered.

We were supposed to retrieve the dead bodies of the lost soldiers. But we wandered too far down. We were on the fourth floor, the same floor Artorius was supposed to be in.

We walked into the tunnel, not knowing that this was where he left his mark.

A cavern full of dead insects, rotting away and reeking of rotten meat and intestines.

The soldiers were horrified at the sight. Thousands of them lay dead, some burnt. They were killed so brutally, no one other than a devil could do such a clearing of the cave.

But the devil who did this was Artorius.

"Turn back," I ordered the soldiers. "There are no dead bodies here. Take the dead bodies we found before,"

"Yes sir!" The soldiers exclaimed.

I turned around from the gruesome sight and walked away, slightly agitated by his abilities.

When I came here, we went to the lower floor once. With a full team. We struggled to keep up with these and had to turn back. But Artorius came in alone with his bond. He cleared the entire place all alone.

But this made sense. He has a dragon as a bond. This must be the dragon's doing.

Even still, it's scary. No one dared to go head to head against a dragon, even me. Artorius is a capable man but a dragon is beyond mere mortal capabilities.

I couldn't keep up and I was a prodigy at age ten. Artorius was a prodigy later in his years. But, this is beyond my capabilities. This is beyond any mortal capability.

The soldiers began to pick up the fallen and wrap them in white cloth. They picked up the soldiers and slowly began carrying them away from the battlefield.

I didn't bat an eye at the fallen soldiers. There were better things for me to do than to pay respect to the weaker ones.

They were to be returned to their family. But I doubt most would recognize them. Most of the bodies are disfigured and dismembered.

I felt no mercy for them. They were royal guards, the group I was once part of. But they kicked me out for no reason now.

"General, the second floor is cleared," One of the soldiers approaches me and tells me.

"Send the bodies to the capital," I replied. "Take it to the barracks and let the soldiers figure out who they are,"

"A-are you sure, sir?" The soldier stuttered.

"Yes, is that an issue?"

"Well, if we take carts full of dead bodies through the capital. It might be a shocking sight,"

"How else do you expect to take the bodies?" I asked.

"Well…"

"Load the bodies into carts and take them,"

"Yes sir," The soldier bowed and left in a hurry.