Chapter 1083 (2/2)

*****

In the aftermath of the bombardment, Lady Iellaya scowled down at the casualty report given to her by Abiodun. It had not been a good day. So much so that even she felt the subtle tugs of wariness. “Why would the Nether even do this? It doesn’t make any fucking sense.”

On the one hand, Iellaya was rather pleased that their position had once more been under heavy fire from the Nether. The more evidence she could provide to parties back in the Nexus that Lord Miln was a fool, the better. But her camp being the one on the receiving end of the bombardment set her plans back quite a bit.

It was hard to earn merits when her forces were limping toward the fight. Or when half of her forces were working on repairing the grounds rather than recuperating after missions into the Great Rift.

Especially because that idiot Commander Terith actually succeeded in giving the Nether Gatekeeper a mortal wound. Iellaya gritted her teeth. Lord Miln doesn’t need any excuse for the losses today; to the Tier 3 citizens, what do the lives of non-citizens matter compared to the damage done to a Nether Gatekeeper.

Yet even that was only a portion of her frustration because Lady Iellaya was also pulling her feathers out as she tried to understand what the Nether had been thinking by launching such a disastrous attack. A bombardment like this hadn’t happened for almost a thousand years!

And for good reason. After the grand formation to create stars was activated, all of that ambient Nether this bombardment had injected into the area would be sucked away and fed into the soldiers across the battlefront. It probably wouldn’t be much when it was divvied up among so many people, but if it pushed everyone up about one-tenth of a star without any danger involved, it would certainly be a boon to their forces.

Some veterans might need to be retired as they reached near to five stars, but that was barely a factor. A vast majority of the individuals on the battlefield were fresh; that was just the hard truth about how deadly the Great Rift was. Most of the people receiving this benefit weren’t even one star. And reaching that first star would boost the soldier’s survivability by as much as 10% for the rest of their career as a soldier. This attack could be considered a long term boon for Aether.

Lady Iellaya flexed her hand and the piece of parchment was reduced to dust. Thirty-nine suffered serious wounds, with another hundred wounded… almost one-tenth of my total number, reduced to nothing in a single day…!

While Iellaya continued to grit her teeth and make calculations regarding what she could do to keep the group ready for an opportunity to prove her worth on the frontline, Abiodun slowly lifted his head to look at her. His gaze was solemn, but it easily drew her gaze as the light in his eyes faded independently of each other.

Iellaya spared him a glance. They were alone in her tent, so the fact that he was meeting her gaze without saying anything meant that something was bothering him. Something that Iellaya wasn’t currently addressing. “Speak.”

Abiodun hummed in his thoughtful way as a show of respect before he began. “Mmmm… it is about that variant image. The Ghosthound.”

A sharp spike of annoyance slipped through her ribs and prodded at Iellaya’s heart. After all the fucking work I did to free him… all for nothing. “So he died.”

“To the contrary, he continues to live with remarkable zeal. Quite aggressively so.” Abiodun shook his head slowly. “No, I bring it up because he significantly contributed to the defense of the base. It is only due to his image weakening the bombardment that casualties among the images are so light.”

Pressing her lips into a line, Iellaya considered Abiodun. She wished she still had the piece of parchment to wave in his face. “This can be considered light? We barely have fifty images. More than half of them are now seriously wounded. It is difficult to be thankful for such an accomplishment.”

Abiodun lowered his head without saying anything. If anything, it only served to aggravate Iellaya further. She huffed out a breath and forced herself to calm down. It was with half-open eyes that she considered Abiodun’s statement. He was correct, of course, and she was letting her emotions get the better of her. When what she really needed to do was follow the slow and methodical lines of Abiodun’s thoughts. What was she missing?

No, he hadn’t brought it up because he thought it was an accomplishment that the Ghosthound should be rewarded for, Iellaya decided. Then her eyes brightened in realization.

He brought it up so I would be aware of the image’s growth. So his image continues to rapidly grow, eh? Then the likelihood of him being a Ritualist is even higher. But there is still the problem of liberating his body from Lord Miln…

...which brings us right back to the problem of unseating that ass as the Supreme Commander of our forces…

“Can you get any information from the subordinates we provided him? About how much he has truly grown?” Iellaya tapped her chin. Before she put any more actual resources behind this, it was better to understand what she was gambling on with the Ghosthound. After all, Lord Miln had already stonewalled her. To push it further meant working around him.

Of course, half of the reason that I want to free him is just to wipe the smug look off Lord Miln’s face.

Abiodun hesitated. Iellaya’s expression twisted into a scowl. “You cannot?”

“...it is not that I cannot, it is that they will be forever broken by the collection of the information,” Abiodun said slowly. “There are recourses, but they would reveal our hand. If I might suggest an alternative…?”

Lady Iellaya rolled her eyes. This time she could see his idea. “When you pretend like I don’t know every flow of your thoughts, I’m almost insulted, my Abiodun. Yes, I don’t have any work for Zagnal. Perhaps it is time for him to reunite with the Ghosthound. He can serve as a partner. And now if you will excuse me…”

Iellaya stood. The obsidian feathers along her back and arms flexed. “I must go visit Commander Terith. He owes me a favor.”