The Traitor Strikes

"Sir, the initial communications check is complete."

There was worry in Adjutant Mailun's voice. "We've lost contact with six scouting teams, including the one with the master of the armory. We tried three times, but none of them responded."

Sir Taize's face was grave as he marked the areas where contact had been lost on the makeshift map on the stand.

A scouting party had been the first to discover the bad news.

They had noticed something wrong during their scheduled contact with the nearby teams, then spotted black smoke rising as they surveyed the area from higher ground. They found the bodies of their allies, burned so black by flames that there was no telling how they had died or how many enemies there had been.

They reported the news, and the experienced Sir Taize immediately realized something was wrong. He ordered his adjutant to send out a signal and conduct a broad roll call of the scouting teams across the island.

Six groups of elves were missing.

Bodies had been found from two of the groups, but all had been burned, making it impossible to learn anything about the clashes from them. They did not know how many enemies there were or what methods they had used.

As for the other four groups, not even their bodies could be found.

Sir Taize's expression was exceedingly grim as he studied the map of the area.

After finding sacred artifact fragments one after another, he had thought a golden apple had fallen into his lap. But opportunity came with risk, and the trouble they faced this time was thornier than he had imagined.

"Calm down, calm down."

He muttered to himself.

His good upbringing and exceptional military training allowed him to quickly regain his composure rather than be ruled by anxiety and anger. "Mr. Mailun, send someone back to the Wings of Wayne to report this to the captain and ask him to speed up the repairs to the ship."

Taize stood before the map, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "At least our efforts haven't been entirely in vain... The enemy used fire to destroy the bodies and erase the evidence, and the four missing groups were most likely captured by them. The Goth People must have discovered something on the island. If so, this will be easy to handle."

He took out a ruler and a quill and marked one point each in the east, west, and south of the island. Then he said to his adjutant, "Of the hundred sailors the master brought, keep ten here and divide the rest into three teams. Send them to these three points and order them to occupy the high ground, build lookout towers, and keep a close watch on the surrounding waters. If any ships try to leave or approach, they are to raise the alarm immediately."

"Order all scouting teams to withdraw at once and return to the command post for further instructions."

The adjutant was startled. "Withdraw?"

"Yes, withdraw," Sir Taize said decisively. "The enemy is hidden while we are exposed. They can wipe out a scouting party quickly without leaving any trace. They're quite troublesome. And have you noticed?"

He pointed to the map. "Six teams were wiped out. Two were found, and all their bodies had been burned. As for the other four missing teams, look at their positions on the map. Do you see a pattern?"

Adjutant Mailun studied it for a long time before saying sheepishly, "My abilities are limited..."

Sir Taize said mildly, "Mr. Mailun, you should make time to take an elective course in mathematics. I believe that as the times change and the art of war advances, the art of mathematics will find much wider use."

"If I'm not mistaken, the enemy used extremely clever mathematical calculations to select their targets. Every scouting team contacts nearby friendly forces at regular intervals to ensure its safety. The enemy picked out the weakest links in that safety mechanism, reducing the chances of their targets being discovered missing to a minimum..."

Adjutant Mailun looked at the map for a few moments and said in sudden understanding, "I see... But why don't the other two teams follow the same pattern? And why destroy the bodies and erase the evidence..."

"I don't know. At least, I haven't figured it out yet. They may be trying to mislead us, or they may want us to waste our energy... That's why I ordered our people to withdraw first."

Sir Taize said, "My mentor told me that there is always a reason behind things you can't understand. You must think them through slowly and carefully, especially when you have the advantage. You must never act rashly. So I think, since the Goth People are playing this kind of trick, I must not let them have their way."

He looked toward the distant Wings of Wayne. "Our advantage is our warship, and the Goth People's disadvantage is their warship. Our warship far outperforms theirs. I don't know what they're plotting. All I know is that no matter how ingenious their schemes or hidden cards are, without a ship, they can forget about leaving this place."

"So I don't mind waiting a little longer. Once the Wings of Wayne can set sail again, our warship need only patrol this archipelago to find the ship the Goth People have hidden."

"And once we find their hidden ship, the Wings of Wayne can easily smash their little toy. Once their ship sinks, all their schemes and discoveries will be useless. With no way left to retreat, we can deal with them at our leisure in the Holy Seal Archipelago, slowly find them, and kill them one by one."

With that, the elf gave a cruel sneer.

"Trying to match elves in patience... These humans are far too naive."

Adjutant Mailun said with heartfelt admiration, "Your wisdom amazes me."

Sir Taize smiled reservedly.

But the commander was not nearly as composed as he appeared.

He was only the marine captain, not the person with the final say aboard the ship. Though his plan was sound, he still needed the captain and the master to agree to it.

"The captain should be easy enough to persuade. I hope the master has enough patience..."

And the Wings of Wayne had better be repaired quickly... he thought to himself.

Aboard the ship.

The master returned to the warship by boat, where his subordinates and students were waiting on deck. After a brief exchange of greetings, the magister hurried back to his cabin.

It was a luxurious room almost as large as the captain's quarters, glowing with magical light and filled with books and crystal ornaments. All manner of instruments were secured to the magical workbench. Even at sea, the master conducted safe Arcane experiments every day.

He could hardly wait to take out the "sacred artifact fragments."

To a spellcaster, these spiritual-grade items, imprinted with the paths of powerful experts, were even more enticing than peerless beauties. The feeling of peeking at and plundering another person's lifetime of cultivation and the path they had walked... was simply too exhilarating.

It surpassed every other pleasure.

It was just as a famous legendary mage had said in his classic remark at the Arcane Council: a grand magister had to be a virgin.

The remark had spread widely as a joke at mages' expense, yet spellcasters agreed with it wholeheartedly. After all, a person's energy was limited. To accomplish anything on the Arcane path, one had to cast aside the world's other tiresome temptations and attachments. For Master Laclais, loyalty to the empress and his country already consumed a great deal of his energy, to say nothing of a partner, power, and the like.

If he could, he hoped to live a peaceful life.

He wanted to be free to study whatever he wished, without disturbance or obstruction.

But that wish was destined to remain an unattainable luxury.

He had only been studying for a short while when he heard some bad news.

"What? Sir Taize wants to hold his position and wait for the Wings of Wayne to sink the Goth warship first?"

On hearing the news, Master Laclais immediately looked extremely displeased. "I disagree! The Goth People went to such lengths to ambush our soldiers. They must be trying to obstruct and delay our search. There is an enormous secret hidden in the Holy Seal Archipelago, and they must have found something!"

He looked at the captain and said gravely, "Please order him to begin sweeping and searching immediately and find the Goth People as soon as possible! We've only been on the island for a few hours, and we've already found so many precious sacred artifact fragments. The Goth People must have found even more than we have! They might even have found something more valuable!"

"What if they found the weapons those rebels left behind? It's not impossible that they've found something even more powerful... Every minute we delay now is an act of irresponsibility toward our country!"

The master's words were sharp and forceful.

The captain hesitated. He was also an experienced officer and approved of Sir Taize's cautious approach and reasoning. They were the proud Royal Navy, and their ships were their foundation. As long as they sank the enemy's warship, they would gain the initiative in full. The marine captain's tactical thinking suited him perfectly.

So he said softly, "I don't think a few hours will make a difference. Once the ship is repaired, we'll begin patrolling immediately. As Sir Taize said, as long as we find their ship, we've won."

Unable to settle the dispute with him, the master swept away.

After all, the captain was the person with the most authority and prestige aboard the ship.

Besides, this was the Holy Seal Archipelago. Master Laclais could not use any of his astonishing magical power, leaving him no better than a noob in a fight. Without the strength to back him up, he could not even raise his voice.

He was so angry that his pace quickened.

Suddenly, the weight lifted from his shoulder. The beautiful parrot had abruptly spread its wings and flown up.

Startled, the master turned to look.

The parrot was remarkably intelligent and well-behaved. It had not left his shoulder since coming aboard, and even while he was arguing with the captain, it had only sat there quietly. What was wrong now?

Forget it, forget it.

He watched the parrot fly higher, but he was too upset to pay the animal any mind. Besides, it had been a gift from Sir Taize, and the master's opinion of the marine captain had plummeted.

With a sullen face, he returned to his cabin and paid the parrot no further attention.

So he did not know that the beautiful parrot had not left the warship. Instead, it spread its wings and flew through a hatch into the ship, weaving through its complex interior.

As though it were returning to its own home.

It flew toward the Wings of Wayne's magical core chamber.

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PS1: First update... The second will come later.

PS2: Also, the era name Reiwa is a little strange... It doesn't roll off the tongue, and it looks even more baffling. They pieced this word together from the Man'yōshū; they might as well have found another one in the Chinese classics. Maybe it looks a little better from a Japanese perspective.