Chapter 203

Darius had partially expected this, so he didn't bother arguing. He simply walked over to the command tent with Gunner in tow. He could see various people entering and exiting the tent quickly, carrying orders to and fro. 

The atmosphere was bustling and rushed, with an invisible pressure palpable, unlike the last time he had come here. Darius had an inkling of why this was the case, but he doubted the information from the frontlines could have reached here already unless he had been out for weeks. 

They probably only had a bad premonition or suspicion based on Darius' own condition, so that was why Overseer Garm likely wanted to meet him, for a quick debriefing on what the hell happened. 

Darius entered the tent with Gunner, only to see the Overseer seated with his deputies as they discussed many things in hushed tones. Once they all saw Darius enter, their faces changed greatly, especially Garm's. 

"All non-command personnel, vacate the Overseer's tent and stay out until the current meeting is finished!" Garm roared with seriousness. 

All the aides who had been rushing in and out, as well as those standing by the side, paled and quickly left, leaving only Garm, his three deputies as well as Darius and Gunner. 

Garm folded his arms before his face solemnly and stared at Darius with a burning intensity. "Baron Stone, I'm happy to see your condition has improved. Our last communique with your camp told us that they were moving out en masse to take down the mission target and had great confidence to do so without being specific." 

"It's already been 3 days since then without any further contact. You're the only one to have returned, so could you please let us know what happened during the siege of the necropolis?" 

Darius nodded. "It is crucial that I relay everything that has happened. Time should be of the essence. Please inform the Andrato Kingdom immediately after, so they can quickly deal with the aftermath and prepare for what's coming next." 

For some reason, Darius' words chilled the hearts of the four military men, as they quickly understood that they were about to hear something very, very horrible. 

"As you likely know by now, the Royal Seneschal had chosen to retire from his position as chairman of the camp. I'd succeeded him thanks to my ability to solve many of the issues the camp had been unable to. I started implementing them over a period that lasted 9 days and on the 24th of April, we moved out to assault the Bone Dragon." 

"The source of our confidence was due to the presence of two Pureblooded Vampires who had been subservient to me. With some provisions from me, they successfully slew the Bone Dragon." 

"Our party then decided to rest a bit before heading towards the target's necropolis. It was around this point that we encountered a series of impossible events that ultimately led to the worst possible outcome." 

Darius then made up the rest of the events to make it seem like he had been outside with the rest all along as they had been slaughtered, with only the presence of his two vampires giving them a chance. 

However, according to Darius, the Stonekeeper's trump card had allowed the undead to call down the very master of the Plains of Death to stage a devastating reversal. His two undead got hijacked, only able to barely knock him away from the battlefield. 

As for his terrible state upon entry to the camp, Darius noted that Garm himself had seen how wretched he had been, and informed him about the undead horde who had tried to stop him. 

As for the others…

Darius didn't need to spell out the rest. The four men here had already gone as pale as sheets, shivering and shuddering as they quickly understood the implications as well as the possible future of their kingdom. 

Garm himself was utterly ashen with disbelief. He continually asked Darius if his story was true, and Darius patiently confirmed each time that yes, it was. 

Darius gazed at him with pity. Unlike himself who had no real attachments to Andrato as an outsider, Garm had been born and raised in this kingdom. All his family and friends lived there, and he had spent so much of his life dedicated to its service. 

Now that it was facing collapse, very few people in the world could truly understand what he was going through at this moment. 

However, that was it. That was as far as Darius cared about this entire matter, despite being the lynchpin of the whole disaster. 

To him, he had given Garm the Red Enchant to secure not only safe passage, but also his life in the situation that he returned to this outpost half-dead, which had actually happened. 

Garm had chosen not to end him, instead granting him premium treatment despite it being the best choice. Garm was in control over this entire outpost. If he wanted someone dead from injuries, that person would undoubtedly die. 

Even if there was backlash due to carelessness, the Superiority Faction would shield him. It was in recognition of this that Darius had taken steps to avoid such a useless death scenario. 

Now, the bill had been paid. He and Garm were now mere acquaintances... and once he left this tent, Garm would just be another stranger in his eyes. 

As such, he only stayed in there for a little longer before leaving with Gunner. Darius checked his forehead as well as Gunner's, pleased to see that the horrible spatial sealing rune had disappeared. 

As such, he entered a random empty tent and took out a House Portal Scroll. He was about to activate when he remembered he had given his suite to Emily and Fashina. 

It would be awkward if they suddenly appeared in the room while the two ladies were 'working' with other clients. As such, Darius put away the House Portal Scroll and decided to use their blink leap technique. 

After all, the distance from Listo to Baratuo was 240 kilometers. That wasn't small at all, and travel by carriage would just waste crucial time. 

The duo quickly exited the Baratuo outpost and began their rapid movement. For Darius, the ability to blink once again made him feel much better. 

Of course, he could try and transmute a Journeyman blink spell, but he would rather sit down and Analyze all his changes once he had completed all his tasks. 

It took the duo only 30 minutes to cross the distance, reaching the outskirts of Listo.