Supreme Magus

Captain Kortus and Friya while dining together.

”My suggestion is to send teams to perform Life Sensing Arrays tomorrow morning.
Undead can dig deep holes for themselves, but the living need air to breathe. ” She said.

”It ’s an excellent plan, Captain Ernas, but I ’m afraid we lack the necessary manpower to put it into action.
The Wardens can either scout the area or expand the caves and I ’m inclined to prioritize the latter. ” Kortus said with a gentle smile.

”I believe you ’re being overly cautious.
We have yet to find any trace of crystals, let alone enemies.
Delaying the exploration would just be a waste of time, especially if it turns out there are no crystal veins.

”Every day we spend here is a day when our troops can ’t help those really in need.
If and when we find the vein, I ’ll authorize your plan.
Until then, speed is of the essence. ”

”Yeah, too bad that by then it will be too late. ” Friya said.
”Once we find the crystals, there will be too many assets to defend and our forces will be spread too thin to be effective against a well-executed attack.

”I ’ll send my men on-site first thing in the morning.
They are no Wardens, but luckily, Life Sensing arrays are simple and such a huge group of life forces can be detected even by a half-baked spell. ”

Her words made Kortus ’s face turn into stone.

”I need to speak with you in private, Captain Ernas. ” He stood up, gesturing her to follow him.

”Whatever you might have to say, you can do it in front of my sister.
This is my last mission and we have the same rank.
You can ’t order me around and even if you report me, it will not change my situation one bit. ” Phloria ’s flat tone only made the man turn to a brighter shade of purple.

”Fine.
When I asked you if you had any suggestions, you said you had none.
Yet the next thing you did was to ignore protocol and go exploring on your own.
Now you come back with your crazy theories that your sister is eager to indulge.

”This way, if something happens, you ’ll take credit and I ’ll pass for an incompetent.
To make matters worse, if soldiers and mercenaries follow different orders, the teamwork will be disrupted and the trust in the chain of command will falter.

”You have all rights to be angry with the army, but that doesn ’t authorize you to undermine my authority nor compromise the mission.
You ’re not a Ranger like your friend, you ’re supposed to play ball. ” He managed to keep his voice cold but polite.

”You are incompetent, otherwise you would have thought about those issues yourself.
I didn ’t share my thoughts earlier because I ’m tired of others taking credit for my ideas, just like I refused to lead the mission because I usually get assigned to me undisciplined soldiers who ignore my orders and then blame me for their failures.

”I asked for Friya ’s guild because private contractors prioritize survival over dumb pride or political plays.
All the money on Mogar is pointless if they are too dead to spend it. ” Phloria said while looking at him straight in the eye.

”Bottom line, I ’m done ’playing ball ’.
The mission will succeed because I ’m here, but the number of casualties will depend on how badly you play your cards and it will affect your career.
This time, I won ’t be anyone ’s scapegoat. ”

Kortus froze in place as his future suddenly looked dark.
He had gladly accepted the mission, planning to use Phloria as a crutch.
If things went well, they would have shared the merits and maybe he would have made connections with the powerful Ernas household.

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