Chapter 369: Mobilization

Baka lowered his head, showing everyone the fresh, gruesome scar on his scalp. "I don’t know when it started, but a group of assassins targeted me. They’ve been attacking me day and night along the way! While I was sleeping, eating, even drinking water or relieving myself! They followed me like a relentless nightmare. It wasn’t until I entered your territory that I could finally get a couple of nights of peaceful sleep—Gods, if I had been any slower, I wouldn’t have made it out alive! Look at this scar! This is what they gave me. The scimitar nearly split my head open!"

Baka sighed, trembling. "It’s not that I’m afraid of dying. I’ve seen plenty of dead men, and I’ve killed my fair share—but I have to complete the mission Mr. Daniel gave me! Ever since my maternal grandmother passed away when I was five, few people have been as good to me as he has—especially not after knowing about the mountain of crimes I’ve committed!"

"I had to survive! I had to live to get this information to you! I—"

The sturdy man’s vision went black as he finally let out a breath of relief, and he fell backward onto the floor.

"He’s exhausted. His body is severely overdrawn. Rose City is much farther than Carolina, after all," Yelena said regretfully after stepping forward to examine him. "But his soul hasn’t left his body. If you want to save him, it’s entirely possible."

"However, given that he’s a murderer and an Ogre, perhaps this isn’t such a bad end for him..."

"We need him. Not until we find Uncle Daniel and the others," Ron said, tossing a potion to the Shadow Spirit. He glanced at Aive, who was standing beside him. "He can’t die yet. But he can’t rest, either."

"We need his help."

"As you wish." Yelena slipped her arms under Baka’s armpits, dragged him to the side, and after pouring the potion down his throat, began to intervene with magic.

During all this, Aive didn’t say a word. She just watched Baka quietly before shifting her gaze to Ron.

’Making a scene and pleading are pointless.’ The Half-Elf understood this. ’It would only disrupt his train of thought.’

’He won’t abandon my parents.’ Aive was certain of it. ’All I need to do is provide him with any clues he needs and give it my all. Any emotional outbursts beyond that would be useless, only holding him back.’

"Do Uncle Daniel and your mother have any bitter enemies?" Ron asked, looking at Aive. She had already packed her bags and was ready to leave at a moment’s notice, but before that, there were things they had to clarify. It might be too late by the time they reached Rose City.

’If everything is as Baka said, then those fiends can extend their claws and teeth beyond Delusional Land. Given our defensive forces here, we can’t even be sure if they’ve already infiltrated the territory. We have to be prepared before we face these attacks.’

"That depends on your definition of ’bitter enemies’," Aive said after a moment of thought. "They have plenty of political enemies and business competitors, but I don’t think any of them have the ability to do something like this to my parents. There aren’t many people in Rose City who can threaten them, and even fewer who could take them away without a sound."

"What about the Elves, then? The remnants of the Hailan Empire?"

Aive furrowed her brow. "Retaliate against an old veteran with no significant rank?"

"Unlikely..." Ron sighed. He had tried to consider other possibilities, but they all fell short. "Then it must be related to Pergrande’s reason for coming here. She just warned us about the Molten Iron Barrier’s move against Rose City, and then Baka shows up? That’s definitely not a coincidence."

"But why? Sred, the butler, works for the spice merchant Hendrix. Even if they were going to make a move, shouldn’t they have kidnapped the merchant?"

"And then use Constance to pressure us. That would achieve the same effect."

"Maybe they thought the adoptive father wasn’t important enough," Aive huffed lightly. "Or maybe..."

"Or maybe they were in on it together from the start," Ron said. "Remember that room in his house that no one was allowed to enter? Delaford tried to sneak in once."

Ron thought back on the merchant’s every move, but couldn’t find any valuable clues. ’The butler, on the other hand, seems incredibly suspicious in hindsight.’

"Besides that, the most suspicious part of this whole thing is him," Ron said, pointing a finger at the still-unconscious Baka. "He’s just a slightly stronger-than-average man. If these were truly bitter enemies, it would’ve been easy for them to prevent his escape. But he managed to run all the way here. This was clearly deliberate."

"Their target is likely us, not your parents. If that’s the case, your uncle and aunt won’t be in any real danger until we show ourselves. In other words, we have plenty of time to prepare."

Ron looked up at Aive. "Aive, go get the rest of the team. And get Constance and Carlos, too. Their help will also be crucial."

"Also, this operation will be in the city. We’ll need some other people who are familiar with the city’s rules..." Ron turned around and, just as he expected, the Tiffling Spy emerged silently from the shadows, looking at his employer and friend with a serious expression.

"Are you sure you want us to make a move?" Quest asked. "They probably won’t refuse, but everyone has their own work to do, after all."

"No work is more important than this," Ron interrupted him. "The population of the territory has doubled or tripled. Manpower in every trade isn’t so tight anymore. We can spare a few of you."

"I’m not going to give you some cliché about ’training an army for a thousand days to use it for one moment.’ Just tell them this: anyone willing to participate in this operation will be exempt from next year’s taxes!"

"Then that won’t be a problem," Quest said, cracking a silent grin. "Rest assured, Lord Ron, you’ll have your reinforcements soon. You won’t have to worry about them. They’ll provide help when you need it most."

"I have no doubt about that." After sending Aive, Quest, and the others off, Ron walked over to Yelena. "How is he?"

"He’s stable, but still asleep." The Shadow Spirit nodded, pushing herself up with her hands on her knees. "Let me guess, you’re not going to ask me to ’pull some strings’ too, are you?"

"Allow me to remind you, as a Contractor: the less you deal with devils, the better. Is it really worth going to such lengths for two mortals?"

"Their target is you. You’re walking right into a pit of fire."

"It’s worth it," Ron answered without a hint of hesitation. "I can’t let my friends get into trouble because of me. If they want to have a go at me, then let them come."

"We went to war with that Dark Weaver because of you, too, remember?"