51. The Ninth Sin

Nathanial stared at the letter before him with a complicated expression. He pushed it down into his pocket, leaving it as a problem for another day.

It had been hours since he had met with the other members of the army. The bell tolled in the distance, signalling that afternoon had arrived in the quiet gothic city of Stafford.

Unlike the other members of his patrol group, who were sightseeing their new base of operations, Nathanial was in his private quarters that were assigned to companion-at-arms. A small room that had little to offer besides an oak desk, a chair, and a simple bed with white linen sheets.

Perhaps it was because Nathanial had been on the battlefield for so long, but the wooden walls and door that surrounded him in the barracks felt far too foreign.

There weren’t any screams or the rumble of horns.

No orders roared through the mud and rain. Only silence remained, and after days of fighting, the silence felt unnatural.

Yet he couldn’t complain, since it was much better than sleeping in a damp tent.

A tired sigh escaped him as he lay on the soft bed. After they had arrived, the commanders allowed the men to explore the city before assigning them to their respective roles. By now, Nathanial had changed into a fresh set of clothes with a white linen shirt and beige trousers.

A staple set provided to the soldiers of the bastion.

Even though the commanders didn’t explicitly say it, the defenders had already conscripted many survivors from the Sixth and Seventh Armies to join their ranks. Besides Nathanial, the group’s other patrolmen received the same clothing, which could be considered part of their uniform.

He just wasn’t sure which commander would be the one to lead the defense of the bastion. Whether it was Commander Cronia, the courageous man who tore through the Empire’s encirclement to save the lives of the Sixth, or Commander Valentin, the unyielding man who refused to give a single inch of ground to the eight-star general, where a single swing of his blade would split the earth itself.

Regardless of who it was, Nathanial knew that the upcoming battle would be here at the bastion of their great nation.

The only question left was whether they had what it takes to overcome their future predicament.

Nathanial covered his eyes with his forearm to block out the sunlight that crept through the window. He wanted to sleep with all his heart, but the dread of his thoughts refused to let him.

The craters they discovered on the way to the bastion kept appearing in his mind. Nothing in his mind could have made uniform holes that large in the terrain for miles on end. Yet somehow, they had appeared as if scouting the borders for any signs of life.

The possibility of the Empire creating artificial soldiers followed.

Pieces of a puzzle appeared before him. Distinct pieces that were part of a picture he couldn’t see, and that sheer fact alone, irritated him beyond belief.

Nathanial preferred, in nearly all situations, to have a clear idea of what awaited him. That was how he functioned.

But this war threw everything into disarray, and he had only gotten so far by adapting to the situation. If possible, he wished for life to be simple. However, that was never the case.

And it felt like God himself was giving him challenges far too great to bear.

Nathanial shut his eyes, wishing to drift off into a slumber. Yet a faint hum entered his ears.

He raised his forearm, desperately trying to block the warm sun that broke through the darkness cradling his room, and soon frowned. Before him was the messenger in all its glory. A golden screen reminding him that there was still work to be done.

“I don’t suppose you’ll let me have a moment of rest, will you?”

The golden screen loomed closer.

[ Would you believe me if I said I was simply checking up on your condition? ]

Nathanial slightly smirked. “That’s not usually how you would phrase it. I thought you would say something along the lines of examining.”

[ Perhaps. However, there is a beauty in variety. ]

“I find your reasoning unappealing. Whenever you appear, there’s always some sort of underlying motive.”

[ How rude. As a messenger of the system, I have an obligation to check on your wellbeing occasionally despite your belief. ]

Nathanial blankly stared at the golden screen and didn’t utter a word. A series of dots appeared on the surface, then a message.

[ You are correct. I also came bringing news and topics for discussion. One that would benefit you greatly. ]

He stared at the messenger.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The screen shimmered with a soft amber glow.

After a while of debating the notion, Nathanial conceded. “Alright, what is it you wish to tell me?”

[ It is within reason to believe that the Avalon Empire has found a way to artificially create aura users. ]

“Does that mean you agree with my suspicions?”

[ That would be the case. I wager it is close to eighty to ninety percent certainty that the Avalon Empire has found a method to raise the average fighting capabilities of their soldiers. ]

Nathanial felt his heart tighten and slowly clenched his fists.

“What can we do to get an advantage over them?”

The system’s screen froze.

[ Hm. I believe that may be the first time where you genuinely included me as part of your team. ]

Nathanial raised a brow. “Should I not?”

The system’s glow deepened.

[ I suppose it isn’t necessarily a problem. But to answer your question, I am not sure what would need to be done. A method to create aura users efficiently while preserving life is unknown. ]

He sat upright with one leg hanging off the side of his bed and the other tucked under. The Empire was known to be a warring nation. A nation that could have gathered slaves and forced them through some sort of inhumane training.

But training slaves to be aura users was counterintuitive because if they grew strong enough, then they would break free from their oppressors.

However, there was a caveat to the entire situation.

“Would the Empire really care about the loss of life?”

[ No. Logically, they wouldn’t as long as the results are within reason. ]

“Then that means there are two factors the Avalon Empire needs to deliver those results. One is manpower, and the other is an isolated environment to control the aura users’ growth.”

[ Manpower is solved by slaves, and the Empire’s lands are vast. Investing in a facility to create artificial aura users through suffering would sufficiently increase their odds of winning this war. ]

“Through suffering?”

[ That would be the logical conclusion for how they are producing aura users that are weaker than the standard. ]