Senu’s expression was subtle, but Enya felt she knew what he was thinking.

‘He’s thinking of his mother, Servia.’

During their journey, the group had the opportunity to talk about each other’s situations. Naturally, she learned about the conditions in the leper den.

The situation in the colony was dire.

Out of thirty-two, three were so severely ill they couldn’t move at all. Another six to seven people were unable to freely use their limbs. Originally, there had been sixty-eight people, but over the years, the number had halved.

Jahan, who had grown up in the colony from the age of five, had no choice but to stay there despite being cured because the colony was his entire world.

The same was true for Silanda.

Even though she became cured after sacrificing one arm that was decaying, she couldn’t leave the colony. Enya had seen Silanda, with her one remaining arm, applying medicine to Senu’s body several times. Even when Senu tried to avoid her, Silanda didn’t mind.

It was then that Enya was intently observing the people of the leprosy colony.

Whine—!

Somewhere, the sound of an animal was heard. The wolf that Jahan called ‘Spot’ had approached and was wagging its tail.

“It’s very likely he was ostracized within the pack.”

Senu’s assertion about the wolf came to mind, and Enya’s heart ached slightly. She reached out to pat the animal’s head but then withdrew her hand, reprimanding in a stern tone.

“No, you still need to find your own food.”

The wolf, as if understanding, nodded its head once and wagged its tail again. Watching the wolf, Enya unknowingly thought of her own situation inside Agilaea and smiled bitterly.

“Enya, look there. You can see the sky.”

Beside her, Jahan pointed upwards and murmured.

She followed his gaze.

Indeed, through the dense conifers where the sky seemed impossible to see, a patch of sky appeared. Jahan looked at the sky as if seeing it for the first time.

“There are storm clouds. Looks like it’s going to rain soon.”

Fiarca muttered.

Suddenly, the air around them felt damp. Enya, remembering about the group that had parted ways, like Ihita, Yaru, and Nihtan, asked,

“Do you think everyone has reached their destination safely?”

Fiarca confidently nodded.

“Those people won’t have any problems. But let’s keep moving quickly.”

She urged the group on as she eyed the storm clouds gathering overhead. Soon, a light rain began to fall. The group quickly crossed through the vast, rainy forest.

* * *

The hot desert wind whipped through Avisak’s sweat-soaked red hair. The edges of the Garganta salt flats were engulfed in sandstorms.

‘Gernan, that hopeless fool…’

Avisak, the former chief strategist now heading towards the tent of Gernan, the temporary head of the Allied Forces, was seething with anger.

‘How could that fool, who can’t even manage to receive daily reports properly, run anything effectively!’

After Tarhan, the previous head, had mysteriously disappeared, the allied forces had simply shifted to Gernan’s control.

Those who had followed merely for Tarhan’s name had long since departed, naturally reducing the Allied forces’s strength.

‘It’s clear he thinks driving Tarhan out was his victory! That idiot!’

And it wasn’t even as if he had personally ‘driven’ the man out.

As Avisak recalled that day, a chill suddenly ran down her spine.

That man had left on his own.

Whenever she thought of Tarhan, Avisak couldn’t help but shake off the chills that naturally accompanied the memory.

‘The split of the allied forces is only a matter of time.’

Avisak reminded herself why she was hastily making his way to Gernan’s tent. The attacks by desert creatures were ongoing, and the troops were growing weary. Just then, it had come to light that five scouts sent by Argon had been surrounded near the encampment.

The leader of the scouts was named Kasar.

Kasar.

Avisak swallowed dryly.

‘Kasar, surely the name of the Garganta warrior who once scarred Tarhan’s chest.’

The large scar across Tarhan’s chest was notorious. Anyone who had seen him even once couldn’t have missed that dreadful mark.

Gernan, having captured Kasar, Argon’s infamous warrior comparable to Tarhan, was brimming with arrogance. He behaved as if he had already clinched the victory of the war. He was indulging himself alone in his tent, much to the dismay of his soldiers.

However, Avisak found the current situation quite unsettling.

‘Kasar walked into capture, and instead of being interrogated, Gernan lounges around in his tent alone…’

She also felt an odd sensation about Servia.

‘Servia, that woman must have some scheme up her sleeve…’

Having only recently arrived from Aquilea, Servia exhibited a slightly different aura than before. Avisak, keen on judging people, noticed this change immediately.

‘It’s not like her to be so quiet. Something must have happened in Aquilea.’

Servia had just lost sight of her eldest son, Senu, an unimaginable weakness for her.

Avisak was unaware of this situation. She only knew that Servia had placed Enya in the leper den; she had no idea that this colony was centered around her son, Senu, and gathered other lepers.

Step, step.

As Avisak approached Gernan’s tent, strange moans began to reach her ears.

To be precise, it was the heavy breathing of a man and a woman.

“Gasp…! Gasp…! It’s not tightening. Squeeze your throat a bit more!”

Avisak burst the door open in a fury.

“Iick…!”

Inside, a woman who had been burying her head between Gernan’s thighs hurriedly lifted her head. Another woman, fumbling Gernan’s chest, also quickly covered her exposed breasts and scrambled away from him.

Avisak recognized these women as Servia’s maids. Gernan had dragged his own mother’s attendants into his tent.

“What’s this? You burst into the leader’s tent unannounced…this is outrageous!”

Gernan hastily adjusted his pants while shouting.

“Are you out of your mind right now?”

Avisak didn’t back down either.

“You claim you’re going to interrogate those guys by amputating them, yet here you are fooling around! What exactly are you trying to accomplish?”

“Shut it! I don’t take orders from you! It was Tarhan, that bastard, who appointed you as the strategist, not me!”

Avisak gritted her teeth as the women, hastily adjusting their clothing, scurried out of the tent.

Gernan poured himself a drink from a bottle nearby and sneered.

“You took sides with that crippled woman when I was beaten like a dog in the court by that Tarhan.”

Hearing this, Avisak felt like a vein in her head might burst. Who knew what excuse Gernan would use this time to harass the Perugia troops?

“You’re insane, it was clearly your fault back then! And you, you attacked without my permission, letting that bastard Tarhan escape!”

“Who could have predicted you’d try to seduce him in that tent, naked.”

As Gernan smirked as he scanned her body up and down, Avisak felt a chill down his spine as he glared at him.

“Anyway, the Allied forces now operate under my name. If you do the same as you did to him, I might consider reducing the role of the Perugia troops in this operation…”

His leering eyes roved over her body.

Avisak didn’t even scoff.

‘Has he not heard about the deserters? Or is he too foolish to care?’

Since Tarhan’s disappearance, the rate of desertion has drastically increased. The division of the allied forces was already underway.

‘Incompetent fool…’

Avisak looked down on the grinning Gernan.

“So what about those Argon scouts?”

“Of course, I’ve captured them nicely. They must be scared out of their wits. There’s no escaping from the middle of the allied forces. Even Kasar isn’t much of a catch!”

Avisak felt her patience reaching its limit.

“Do you realize who Kasar is? A warrior from Garganta who once led the Zeferuna cavalry. Born in that hellish desert hole, he’s known as ‘the warrior who captured the desert moon.'”

Capturing the desert moon was an expression for dominating the desert region.

Avisak thought.

‘It’s impossible for someone like that to be captured so easily without some trick up his sleeve.’

They needed to understand the ecology of Argon.

After the disappearance of the daughter of the desert, Argon had completely fallen into ruin, forgetting the glory of the old kingdom and becoming a corrupt tribe that indulged in raiding.

People from Argon were notorious for engaging in mercenary activities, prostitution, and all sorts of dirty work. If the great plains were a raw form of barbarism, Argon symbolized cruel barbarism. The desert became a lawless land after the kingdom collapsed.

Kasar, a former mercenary, was a warrior who claimed the desert moon.

‘I heard it was him who cut that wound on Tarhan’s chest…’

The mercenaries of Garganta were known throughout the continent for being rough and ruthless. At the same time, Kasar was regarded as a warrior capable of rivaling Tarhan.

‘And you’re telling me he turned scout in these troubled times? Directly involved?’

Avisak suspected it might be a trap. Gernan just stared stupidly at her, and a sigh escaped her.

Then, a voice was heard.

“We’ve already intensified patrols around the area. It doesn’t seem like something the noble princess of Perugia needs to worry about.”

Servia appeared, arms crossed and responded coldly.

As their gazes locked in a clash, Servia made the first move.

“I plan to personally attend the interrogation tomorrow. Detailed discussions will be held at the military conference tent once the commanding officers return from patrol at dawn.”

Servia added.

“Try to be a bit patient, ‘former’ strategist.”

Former strategist.

That word made Avisak feel something snap in her head.

‘Things are running smoothly. This old woman has completely seized power, isn’t she? Just wielding the army behind Gernan’s back…’

Glaring at Servia, Avisak turned sharply and walked away. She knew discontent was brewing within the allied forces.

The forces discontented with Gernan had joined forces, turning the coalition into a disorganized mess. Avisak vowed to use this fact to crush Servia thoroughly in the upcoming meeting, and she moved with determination.

‘I can just do the direct interrogation myself.’

She was eager to see the face of this man named Kasar herself.

Avisak headed directly to the place where the prisoners were kept. It was the same location where the few remaining followers who still followed Tarhan’s cause and resisted following Gernan, as well as members from the Nervan forest, were imprisoned.

‘D*mned fools, all of them…’

As she fumed, Avisak spotted a familiar figure.

Two large men were loitering around.

‘With that size… They must be high-ranking warriors from Aquilea.’

Eventually, Avisak’s expression darkened, and she quickly hid herself after recognizing Rigata and Nihitan.

__