36. A Brief On Theories

The droplets of water fell from above and sent ripples through the tiny puddle near Nathanial. It shouldn’t have been possible. Artificially creating aura users went against belief, and not everyone’s soul was on the same wavelength.

Their potential would reach limits far lower than standard aura users, but purely from a numbers perspective, their overall fighting strength would increase several-fold.

But what if the Empire didn’t care?

If out of a thousand lives, they could produce ten knights, then the tradeoff would have been worth it since those who failed to reach new heights had their own purpose. They could serve as more reliable fodder. However, Nathanial still couldn’t make sense of the situation.

Against the Everheart Kingdom, which was known to have stronger aura users, a single question remained.

Why would the Empire purposely plan such a dangerous operation?

The lives they would have to sacrifice needed to be justified, especially against the Fifth Army. They needed a number that made strategic sense, assuming they had another seven-star aura user to match the commander of that army.

Even then, Nathanial had never seen or heard of two seven-star aura users battling throughout his life because the aftermath would have been catastrophic.

He held onto his helm and stared at the cobblestone walls and patches of grass growing in the building’s ground. Some took root through the gaps of the rotting planks, while most spilled in through the holes in the walls. The entire room gave a serene atmosphere, yet Nathanial’s body felt cold.

His gaze drifted from the survivors to Chris. “I’m going to ask you a few questions, and I need you to answer them truthfully.”

Chris narrowed his eyes in confusion before giving a slight nod. “I suppose I could try, but it’s not like I’m the most experienced in these matters. If anything, we should bring in the leader of the watchmen.”

Nathanial couldn’t help but agree and waved over at Luka, who seemed to be aware of the situation. The watchman took a single step forward, but before Nathanial and Chris could even register it, he was already by their side.

“You need something?” asked Luka.

A dry lump caught Nathanial’s throat. His throat felt like sandpaper, and a heaviness pressed down on his shoulders. He swallowed hard, trying to clear the unease. “Are you confident that the Fifth Army truly got decimated?”

Luka placed his hands on his hips and sighed. He just stared at the floor with his head moving in a slow sway. “Honestly, I don’t have a clue. John believed that the Fifth Army had to have fallen within a single night. The only way for that to happen was if the Empire wiped them off the face of Arcadia.”

“But does it even make sense for a seven-star aura user to fall without so much as a fight?” asked Nathanial. “I mean, we’ve—” He stopped himself mid-sentence and stared at Luka.

Sadness flickered in his eyes, and soon Luka gestured for him to continue, knowing what Nathanial would say next.

“After… seeing what happened with John and the others against the six-star knight, we’ve felt it for ourselves. The flares of aura and tremors that escaped from their battle. If something of that scale happened between two seven-star knights. Then I doubt we wouldn’t have noticed it.”

“Unless,” Chris chimed in, and held up a finger. “Unless the commander was assassinated. Then, in that case, it would have been a one-sided slaughter.”

“But the odds of that happening are unlikely. They have their own personal guards, and a force would need to break through rows of aura knights,” Luka countered. “That and those who master aura naturally have their bodies reinforced with the power, so at a certain point, normal attacks and poisons don’t work.”

“Could they have deflected?” Nathanial asked.

“Doubt it. John ruled that out because of the knight houses stationed in that army.” Luka tapped his foot on the ground and crossed his arms. “I don’t remember the names, but they were families with a long history and high prestige. Each one produced five-star aura users in their generations, strictly following the Sword Master’s oath.”

“Let’s rule out treason,” Nathanial said. “Then how could the Fifth Army have fallen? There needs to be a logical reason why the Empire executed its plan at that exact moment.”

Chris scratched the back of his head. “I can’t fathom it at all. It’s not like they could have bombarded the army to smithereens with spells and cannons. The barrier artifacts and mages maintaining it wouldn’t let that happen, and we’ve seen it firsthand.”

“Do we even know if the Seventh Army actually ran?” Nathanial asked. “I don’t know much about Commander Cronia at all.”

“He’s unconventional,” Luka pointed out. “But rumors are that he has a keen intuition, so if I had to guess, they would already be in the dwarven lands right now to avoid the Empire’s encirclement. Besides, he values his men, so it is unlikely that he would abandon them and escape himself unless his hand was forced.”

Chris clicked his tongue in frustration. “This is a nightmare… that means it’s just us and the Sixth Army stuck in the encirclement. What do we do now with our throats in the jaw of the Empire?”

“It’s funny. One moment we think we’re in the clear, and the next we realize how awful the situation has become.” Luka softly chuckled.

Chris joined in. “I can’t help but agree. It’s hard to think that a few days ago we were confident that the Empire wouldn’t push us back. Now we’re in this predicament.”

“If I had known better, then I would have trained before the war started,” Nathanial added.

“You didn’t train at all before?” Chris asked.

“Just the bare minimum, because there wasn’t a need to. That and I didn’t want the family succession to get dirty,” Nathanial answered. “All I wanted to do was tend to the paperwork and help my brother manage the territory.”

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Chris stared in amazement. “That’s better than me. I just wanted to pursue music, but was forced to pick up a sword by my father’s command. A common tale in noble houses.”

“I guess my house really is an outlier after all. My father was always supportive of our wishes.”

“And yet he sent you here instead of your brother. I’m sure you have some resentment toward him for that.”

Nathanial faintly smiled, recalling his father’s broken composure. He then shook his head, completely unable to fathom how bad things would have gotten if his brother had gone into his place.

“I volunteered to go. I didn’t want my brothers to die in the war. The oldest is far stronger than I, but that also means he would enter more grueling battles. And the youngest, well… he’s sheltered from the world and dull.”

“Damn…” Chris sighed in disbelief. “You’re something else, honestly. What about you, Luka?”

Luka quietly sat down before the two, with one leg flat on the ground and the other with the knee up. He rested one arm on it and leaned back with the other to support his posture. “I did nothing grand before joining the Order. If we’re opening up about what each of us wanted, then the only thing I can say is that I wanted a big house in the countryside. A place to call my own. Other than that, my only other reason for staying in the Order was to protect one of my dimwitted friends.”

“Are you referring to the watchman who stayed behind?” Chris asked.

“No, anyone but him, to be honest.” Luka stared off into the distance with a bittersweet smile. “John was… an idiot, but he was my idiot, and he stayed true to his word of protecting me. I can’t be anything but grateful for what he’s done.”

“Then the other person you’re talking about… who is he?” Nathanial asked.

“Probably the biggest goddamn idiot I know. He’s arrogant and contradicts himself, but if there’s one thing I will give him credit for… It’s that he always stands for what he believes in, no matter how bad the odds are.” Luka softly chuckled. “Dare I say, he’s one of my closest friends, but Tucker is part of the reason our generation of watchmen is referred to as the bad batch of the group.”