As Liam thought of this, he felt a stare. Glancing at its source, he met the eyes of the Drakkhan that was lowest in the priority order: Twelve. His confusion grew.

‘Wasn’t he supposed to have died before allowing the others to die? I thought they all followed the priority order to the best of their abilities.’

The Drakkhan smiled in response to Liam’s confused expression. With a nod, he turned away. Liam nodded back, still questioning what had just happened. One continued to elaborate on their plan, talking about escape routes, Cinzolia’s geography, and alternate plans. Finally, unable to hold back anymore, Liam raised his hand. The Captain’s voice immediately froze as everyone in the room turned to the youth. It was a testament to how much weight his words now carried within the squad. Taking notice of this, Liam opened his mouth.

“How are we supposed to enter Cinzolia undetected? An assassination wouldn’t even make sense if we can’t do that.”

Before One could answer, a rumbling voice echoed. It was aged and deep. It was also a voice that Liam was hearing for the first time.

“I’ll take care of that.”

Liam looked to his right, meeting the gaze of the Drakkhan who had spoken once more. His pupils dilated. It had been Twelve.

One could hear a pin drop within the room. It was as if the rest of the squad had been suppressed out of nowhere. Of course, Liam noticed this. It became clear that there was more to Twelve than it seemed.

“As such, there’s no need to worry. I’ll be sure to avenge the deaths of Seven, Nine, Eleven, and Four. I’d be very thankful for your help.”

Twelve continued to speak, before smiling at Liam. Even though the Drakkhan had already gone silent, it was as if his words still lingered. This frozen atmosphere continued for almost five seconds before One belatedly took back control of the situation with a grin.

“As you heard, Twelve will take care of it. Focus on sticking to the plan. It was something we decided on among ourselves, but you’re free to give us your input as well. I will now explain it to you.”

One waved his hand. The table in the middle of the room flashed, before a hologram appeared above it, floating. It was a miniature version of the Fortress. One pointed to one of its corners.

“We’ll enter through here,” he said, shifting his gaze to a rather large building a few hundreds of kilometers away, still inside the Fortress, “Our goal is this place. This is where a particularly strong Elite Captain is. He’s more powerful than I am, but we should be able to kill him quickly if we all group together. We’ll follow this route, get in, kill him as quickly as possible, and leave through the same place we entered from.”

Liam narrowed his eyes, deciding to voice his thoughts.

“How are we supposed to kill a powerful Captain without immediately causing a commotion and revealing our position? Everything within hundreds of kilometers is going to get razed to the ground.”

One shook his head.

“You’ve been inside Cinzolia, so you should be aware. The material that composes it is much sturdier than it seems. That much destruction simply won’t happen. Our greatest concern would be the leaking of our Auras, which would point out our position, but as we said, Twelve will take care of it.”

With a blink, Liam remembered how the floor had merely been cracked at the collision between two Captains, just as he’d recovered from using Singularity. It was true that without serious intent to do so, Cinzolia’s structures wouldn’t be destroyed. If Twelve could truly hide their Aura from being detected, then the plan was worth a shot.

“Very well. I only have one more question, then.”

“Ask away.”

“Why isn’t Twelve the Captain?”

The atmosphere in the room froze. Liam’s expression was calm, while One blinked in surprise. It seemed like he had never expected that the youth would ask him about that so plainly. Then, the Drakkhan sighed.

“…Politics, mostly. Do not misunderstand. I had no intention of stealing away his position. Instead, I wished to create an Elite Squad of my own, instead of taking over an existing one. However, my family didn’t give me much choice. It was also because of their influence that Twelve became the last in the priority order. He used to be One.”

Ah, so that was what it was. Liam leaned back in his chair with a knowing look. The Drakkhan Empire was, after all, an empire. It likely had noble families and factions, even in the Convergence. Given the militaristic nature of every action taken by the Empire because of the circumstances themselves, it wasn’t surprising that a noble family would want one of their offspring to become an Elite Squad Captain to gain XP and experience, as well as an influential position within the army.

One looked at Twelve with a hopeless look in his eyes.

“As always, I’m sorry, my friend.”

Twelve waved his hand dismissively.

“No matter. You’ve never done anything bad for my Squad. The deaths of my four soldiers weren’t your fault. Instead, it was mine. Even though I’m stronger than you, I couldn’t protect them.”

The aged Drakkhan sounded slightly defeated. It was only natural. He had failed to protect the companions he had led for an unknown amount of years, even before One became the Captain. Liam guessed that the lizardman was in mourning. One gave Twelve a sad smile before turning to Liam and hardening his expression.

“So? What do you think?”

The youth looked at One with complex emotions. If it was before they arrived in Zancorix, One would have never taken his opinion into account. Now, things were different. Not only had they grown closer, but Liam’s power had soared massively. He was worthy of the respect he received, as the third Captain-class being in the Squad.

“Simple plans are often the best ones. I have nothing to say. Let’s do it. When do we depart?”

“As soon as you completely recover. We’ll need your strength.”

“Shall we go, then?”

Liam stood up from his seat as surprised gazes were shot toward him. One spoke carefully.

“…Already?”

“Yes.”

The Captain remained silent while Twelve laughed in a low voice. The other members exchanged some glances, communicating silently.

“…Very well. Then, we leave immediately.”

Decisively, One did not question Liam’s words, deciding to simply trust the man’s judgement. Twelve stood up as well. Liam observed him in a completely new light, mentally slapping himself for not having noticed earlier. The Drakkhan’s body brimmed with power, while his Aura was carefully controlled, but still possessed a certain intensity to it. Looking at him now, it was obvious that he was stronger than One.

‘I really should have paid more attention to my squad members.’

Vowing not to repeat this kind of mistake, Liam followed the squad outside. They left their ship, walked through the hallways, and soon stepped out of the base, walking on the sandy ground of Zancorix. His surroundings felt strangely empty, while the horizon was no longer filled with hundreds of millions of troops in an Aura storm. The peaceful scenery seemed odd after such a long time of constant battle. Liam knew it was merely the calm before the storm. Soon, either the Drakkhan would resume their attack, or the Kingdom’s soldiers would start an offensive, seeking to gain the upper hand. The real battle started now. Both armies would suffer from a massive amount of casualties.

Liam looked up at the sky. Dyed in two colors, it constantly rumbled and shifted, being the only source of sound in the otherwise peaceful desert.

‘They’ve been at it for days straight, huh.’

It wasn’t surprising, given their level of power, but it was still no easy feat to keep fighting at peak performance for that long. It was different from training. Every move, every decision, needed to be the correct one. At their level, a single mistake would lead to immediate death. Both warriors were in a battle of attrition during which they needed to keep making the correct choice, over and over, tens of times a second. Not only would it be physically exhausting, but mentally as well.

As Liam’s thoughts bounced around in his head, a milky white Aura covered his body. He looked back, noticing Twelve’s figure walking toward him. The Drakkhan nodded at him with a smile and continued to walk until he stood beside One. By now, every member of the Squad was covered in the same white Aura. One’s voice echoed.

“Our mission starts now. Everyone, prepare yourselves.”

Liam flexed his legs. Every muscle in his body roared with power. The other members also lowered their centers of gravity, ready to shoot forward at their top speed. Their destination was the entrance.

“Let’s go!”

Nine figures flew through the desert with a sonic boom, all wrapped in white. Strangely, not a single drop of Aura leaked out. The moonlight was dim.