Chapter 180 Messenger

With most of the soldiers all healed up, they started to prepare to leave. Lucas wondered what they would do with the camp, since it did look quite impressive, but apparently it was an already established fort during one of the war campaigns. Now it was used as temporary housing. 

Getting all the horses and carts ready, Carian and his colleague in the white toga left the fort to take a look at the road ahead. His colleague had a constant frown on his face, yet didn't say a word, clearly waiting for Carian to bring it up.

"What is it? Do you feel inferior because Starborn Lucas healed everyone?"

"I don't need your sympathy, Carian, you should focus more on your lessons, it's clear the young master hasn't grown in the slightest."

"Cities aren't built in a day, Galen, patience is needed to temper a sword."

"You say that, but as far as I'm aware, you haven't even been in contact with him for the last couple of days. You've grown obsessed with that Starborn."

"I've already told you that you don't have to worry about him anymore. He has a clear mind and isn't motivated by any carnal desires. He's on our side."

'Your side you mean.', Galen didn't say that out loud though as it would only sour their relationship. As the physician working for the young master, it was his duty to heal everyone, yet all his aid was nothing in comparison to what Lucas did. It ruined his mood, to say the least. 

"Someone's coming.", Carian said as he saw a horse galloping in the distance. The man looked out of breath, yet he donned the armor of an imperial guard, meaning the Emperor must've sent him. 

"A messenger?", Galen came to the same conclusion as Carian and awaited his arrival.

"Scholar Carian! Scholar Galen! I bring important news!", the man almost fell of his stead as he hurriedly dismounted. 

"What is it for you to be in such a hurry? Have the southern barbarians started moving?", they were on the southern end of their Empire, far from the front line, but if the barbarians made a large offensive, then they could get caught up in the attack.

"No, the... the Emperor has passed.", complete silence followed that revelation. Galen had his mouth open but no words came out, Carian on the other hand stared at the soldier as he had frozen in place. The soldier started to breathe heavily as he hurried his way here as fast as his horse allowed him.

"This.. this can't be true, is this a strategy from the Senate to draw the barbarians inland before surrounding them?", Carian knew that the Emperor was a great strategist, and he used many techniques not seen before. Using his own death as a front wasn't something most people would think of. Only the Emperor was flexible enough in his thinking to use it. 

"No, this is classified news that only the top brass know of. For now, the news has been contained, I have been sent here to inform you to stay here until the chaos in the palace has settled down."

Carian stepped aside for a moment. He looked at some place far in the distance. The light from the Stars always made them capable of seeing things from afar. There was no day and night, just an everlasting evening. 

'The Emperor can't die, no weapon or poison is strong enough to take down a Tier 3. Even in the old legends, there wasn't anything...'

Carian didn't want to admit it, but there were some Tier 3's that didn't die from old age. 

'Either a Starborn did it, but those are so rare and we already have Starborn Lucas. The other alternative is that the barbarians have raised a Shaman powerful enough to take down a Tier 3 in his prime. Dammit! I don't have enough information.'

"Soldier, what do you know about his passing? Were there any people involved? Where did it happen exactly?"

"Scholar Carian, I'm afraid I don't know anything else. The body is being kept in the palace."

'So he didn't die fighting? He died in his home? The ultimate general who slaughtered thousands of barbarians with his bare hands without faltering in the slightest suddenly died?'

Carian questioned the man further, if there was sudden damage to a nearby building, perhaps some clues could be found. Yet the soldier could only disappoint Carian further with each question, he didn't have any information, only the bare basics with the added tip that they should stay away. Then something in his mind clicked. 

"Who told you to tell us to not go to the capital?"

"Sir Alexander asked me to hurry to you."

"Alexander?", the man was known for being frivolous and a playboy, he had plenty of female slaves that he played with on a daily basis. Still, he had a fortune behind him, an army and plenty of land to support his position. 

'Why would he send help?', Carian started to think things through, even Galen felt uncomfortable with this information. 'What do we do next?', staring at the soldier, Carian knew that if he brought them into the camp it would raise a lot of questions. They were just about to leave, yet according to the messenger they had to stay. 

"What's wrong?", a familiar voice appeared from behind them.

"A..a...a Starborn?!", the soldier panicked as he quickly drew his beautifully decorated sword. Comparable to a Rank 1 artifact in the upper world, Lucas wasn't impressed. 

"Soldier! Sheath your weapon! This is a respected Starborn, show your loyalty!", Carian tried to defuse the situation, yet the man seemed determined to attack. Only after Galen put his hand on the sword did the man calm down. He might not like the Starborn for damaging his pride, but unnecessary bloodshed was to be avoided.

"My... my apologies sir Starborn, I was surprised."

"It's fine, going by Carian's face I guess you have some important information?", Lucas could tell something was wrong by the mood, even if the man tried to attack him, they already looked nervous before he joined them. 

The soldier looked at Lucas before glancing at Carian, he couldn't just share extremely important intel with anyone. Then again, not agreeing could result in his death. Starborn are bringers of destruction, as a soldier, he knew more than stories about how terrible they could be. 

"It's fine, he's with us.", Carian assured the man. After Lucas learned what happened, he looked at the Stars above for a moment. 

"I hope you're not going to agree to this request?", Lucas said with enough sarcasm in his voice to make it seem like the most obvious choice. Carian knew that Lucas was talented in this kind of field, Galen on the other hand, never even spoke to him.

"Are you saying we should ignore a decree from a high standing aristocrat! Who do you think you are to make such a decision?"

Galen himself wasn't really happy with staying here, he was more angry that Lucas was taking control of the situation. If there was anybody that could make such decisions, it was himself, Carian or the young master, nobody else. 

'Hmm, how much authority should we display?'

'What do you want to achieve?'

'Advisor status would be nice.'

'Then be an arrogant asshole, show him what we're worth.'

'Really? I was thinking more of a helpful assistant first.'

'Hey, we're a Starborn remember? If we act like the stories, people will fear us and stay away, if you're suddenly friendly, we'll become a tourist attraction. Tell me which is easier to assassinate? We're like a God to these people, play the part.'

'Even if we can't actually provide answers?'

'Look at him, out of breath and out of shape, you think this is someone worthy of being a messenger?'

'Fine, I'll try arrogant asshole first, luckily I have a great example right next to me.'

'Hey! What are you trying to say?' 

Lucas walked up to the messenger and looked him deep in the eyes. 

"How do we know he's not a spy working for Alexander? How can we trust someone that came from nowhere with a message so extreme nobody would believe it. What if staying here meant walking into someone's trap? For all we know, the real messenger was killed and this is just a replacement.", Lucas moved in circles around the soldier as he leaked a tiny bit of his aura. 

It wasn't strong enough to leave a lasting impression, but it most certainly unlocked the fear and despair in his heart. Lucas found that having people Ranks below him would get affected by his aura if they were exposed to it for periods of time. 

By regulating the amount, he could make the soldier feel nervous and fearful without pressuring them too much. The soldier felt attacked by Lucas's false accusations.

"You?! I'm a soldier from the Imperial Palace, a guard that has been with his majesty for a long time!", he screamed out, perhaps Lucas couldn't control his aura perfectly, it looked like his response was a little too emotional. Not that Lucas cared in the slightest, he was already confident in his accusation.

"Yet you're here on Alexanders orders and sweating like a pig. To me, it just looks like you're afraid of being found out.", the man was furious, but couldn't direct his anger towards Lucas of course, he might lose his head if he dared to. Without retaliating, he could only plead with the people who did trust him.

"Scholar Galen, Scholar Carian, he's just telling lies, I have nothing to do with Alexander!", the soldier looked for a place of safety, if he had the two scholars on his side, all accusation would fall in the water.

"Oh, trying to convince others that you're innocent instead of disproving my suspicions. If you have nothing to do with him, then tell me why Alexander specifically sought you out to help us out? Did you trip over your own lies?", Lucas stepped close to the soldier to release a bit more of his aura. 

"Screw you!", the soldier quickly reached for his weapon before Lucas placed his hand in front of his face. A red wind blade appeared out of his hand, decapitating him in an instant. His body stood strong for a couple of seconds before falling down. 

"Just because I only have a single arm doesn't mean I'm weak.", Lucas was calm, everything went as he planned it. He wasn't going to stay here anyway. The first thing he wanted to do was reach the capital and visit the Great Library that Carian spoke of during his lessons. If there was a single place where he could learn something, it would be there. 

If the messenger just now was capable of convincing either scholar then he might've had to stay here. In order to avoid that, he simply fabricated a scenario that suited him the best. This time however, he was lucky. He didn't have concrete proof, but he believed his aura could make people lose their rational thinking, turning them into reactionaries. 

"What did you do?! He was an imperial guardsman, killing one means going against the entire Empire!", Galen was in shock seeing the bloody stump creating a pool of blood underneath it. 

Carian on the other hand felt that what Lucas was talking about could in theory be real. Still, he couldn't just let this slide either. "Starborn Lucas, please explain why you acted so hastily."

"I wasn't expecting to be interrogated, but I'll do you a favor. Like I already said, why would a high-ranking aristocrat want to help Thurin? For all we know the Emperor is still alive and well and this was all part of a larger plan. And even if we assume what he said was correct. Without the Emperor, there's a void that needs to be filled. Now, who would be eligible for filling that void?"

"Only the highest members of the aristocracy and the heirs of the Emperor.", Carian promptly answered. 

"The Emperor doesn't have any heirs though.", Galen interjected, it was a well known fact that the current Emperor lost all his children due to disease and war. To Lucas, this was all new information, he was glad he wasn't facing them directly, or his mask might've slipped. 

'So that little kid isn't an heir? Shit.'

'Then I wrongly interpreted Carian? How can that be? I was so confident?'

'Hahahaha, you make a single mistake, and now you're panicking? Carian still has to uphold his side, so he still has a trick up his sleeve.'

'And he can't do that without a potential heir. A bastard child?'

Lucas stood up and confronted Carian, looking him straight in the eyes, Lucas was hinting to reveal what he knew. 

"He doesn't have any official heirs, no, but there's still someone that can take up the throne."

Galen frowned as he stared at Carian, he was still upset by the corpse in front of him. As a healer, killing an innocent man, or any man for that matter, shouldn't happen. To see how bloodthirsty the Starborn really was, the man was convinced Lucas was a threat to society, not that he could stop him of course. 

As Lucas was inspecting the corpse, he noticed something strange. He didn't know if it was worth bringing up. He already used his willpower to check out the man, but inspecting it from close up made a certain detail stand out.

"Carian, is there a certain sign that the imperial guardsmen are meant to have?"

"No, nothing of the sort, they're all well-trained men that have undergone plenty of battles to earn that position."

"Not only that, but each imperial guard has been gifted a special necklace containing a small piece of a Fallen Star. If they perish in battle, the energy in the necklace will bring his soul back to the sea of Stars above.", Galen added. 

"Then I hope you know what this is.", Lucas pulled off the chest plate and tore the shirt apart. A small black tattoo was visible at the center of his chest. A black elongated eye with a single line above and below it was etched into his skin. 

"Hmm, if he's marked that means he's a slave. But as far as I know, slaves can't request such a position.", Carian said as he tried to figure out where the symbol came from. 

"That's correct, slaves aren't allowed, commoners are if they showed their service. I'm not the best when it comes to recognizing these symbols, but this mark isn't from one of the three branches in our kingdom. Perhaps it's from a smaller business?"

"I recognize this symbol. Sadly, I can't tell you what it means, I once saw it in a tome some time ago. I'll look it up when we get back."

"He doesn't look that well-trained either, you said they underwent combat? I'm afraid this one's only combat experience is with his stomach." , Lucas said as he poked the somewhat big stomach that must've been hidden behind the armor. 

"Huh, I guess him being out of breath was also a sign that something was up. An actual Imperial Guard would've been completely fine.", Galen interjected, he was angry that Lucas was so authoritative, but his skills were the real deal. He figured out something was wrong with the messenger from minimal clues. 'Is this what Carian meant?' 

"Hmm, I didn't like him the moment I saw him.", Lucas said as he stood back up. 

"So you knew this was a trap?", Carian was curious where Lucas learned such skills, but this wasn't the time for questioning him about his past.

"Not immediately, but with the way things look, I do believe the Emperor is dead. For now, Alexander is taking advantage of the situation, but we can't say he's the cause of death."

"Why not, if he's taking such a big step as to lie and impersonate someone from high standing, then isn't he the prime suspect?", Galen said, trying to leave an impression on the Starborn.

"I can't say anything concrete yet, after all, Alexander could simply be acting out of his own desires. For all we know, someone took advantage of his personality. We need more intel, a lot of it."

"Then let's go to the capital, I'll make sure that the strongest men ride with Thurin.", Carian decided while Galen nodded. He might not like Lucas being better than him, but realizing the situation he was in, there was no point in staying here. 

"I'll work as a scout, my willpower should be the strongest here."

"Willpower?", Carian said with a tone of curiosity. The fact that the dead body lying next to him left no impression on him also said something about what Carian had been through since Galen was still glancing at the decapitated head. It was then that Lucas realized something strange.

'They don't have a Mental Sphere, do they?'