"Are you sure you want to do this now, Joseph?"

At that moment, Leonel wasn't the only one observing the situation. It was impossible that he would be.

To put matters into perspective, there were only eight other Forts of this kind on the whole of Earth. For it to be continuously assaulted by such a large army of Invalids, it was impossible for not only The Empire to be unaware, but for all the other hidden powers of Earth to be in the dark as well.

However, what was particularly interesting about this crew of observers was the fact that maybe had it not been for Leonel's actions, they wouldn't have been aware of these changes at all, at least not so soon.

The reason for this became obvious after remembering just who this Joseph was.

This was Joseph Warner, brother to Damian Warner and the very same man who led the first group of the Slayer Legion Leonel ever met.

Months ago, the three men – Joseph, Damian and Leonel – had come to an agreement to take down Royal Blue Fort. Such a large task would have come with unimaginable rewards.

In order to prepare for this, the two brothers had no choice but to bring Leonel in to get registered. Had they simply left such a large contributor to their mission as an unknown, they could very well be the subject of investigation. Such a thing would have been too suspicious and they could have become marked as traitors.

Only by following all the red tape could they benefit from this potential boon. But, they had never expected to meet Hacker Hutch and had been even more caught off guard by the fact Hacker Hutch actually all but kidnapped Leonel.

It had already been months since then without a single word from Leonel.

However, in order to be ready, they had continued to monitor the situation of the Fort. They managed to gather information on everything from the patrol units to the tactical units and even to the zone clearing units.

When they learned of the situation between Leonel and the Slayer Legion though, they came to accept the fact that they had wasted their time… Not only had they wasted it, but they had paid a dear price for it.

Both brothers had been demoted for their involvement in bringing Leonel to the Slayer Legion. Since their involvement was minimal, they only lost a single rank. However, it was still a devastating loss to them.

Joseph had been so close to being promoted to a true Commander from Vice Commander, yet now he wasn't even in line for promotion any longer.

It was practically an unspoken rule within the Slayer Legion. A demotion was almost always the end of someone's career.

Ironically, this made the fervor the two brothers had for conquering the Fort all the stronger. This would be the only chance they had to truly reclaim any semblance of a career they once had.

But, now that an opportunity had really presented itself, Damian began to hesitate. This content © 2024 .

Joseph clenched his jaw. "This is the only option we brothers have left. If we don't, we'll remain as middling captains for the rest of our life."

Damian sighed. "I heard that they promoted that Sela woman again. To think we originally wanted to use her as a cover for Leonel, now she's riding above our heads."

Joseph's gaze hardened. But, in the end, he didn't say the words he thought.

"Gather up catwoman and the others. When this Variant falls, we move."

"Shouldn't we tell Cap – Commander Sela?" Damian asked.

Joseph sneered. "What are the odds she'll be at headquarters where she's meant to be?"

Damian heard these words and didn't say anything more.

He was the one who brought Leonel to his brother back then. Though he knew his brother only blamed Leonel, Damian couldn't help but feel one part guilty.

Seeing Sela sit in a position he felt she didn't deserve ate Joseph's insides with a level of rage and jealousy he had never felt in his life before. Despite the fact she had taken the position that should have been his, she didn't even seem to treasure it. But, how could she?

When they met Sela, she was a fool who couldn't even see through Leonel's talent and instead chose to push him away. The only reason they promoted her was to continue breathing fire to the lie that they were enemies with Leonel and had taken him prisoner. This was all so that it would be easier to catch the Fort off guard with their assault…

Yet, she somehow managed to ride the momentum of that one chance to her current point. How could Joseph not be enraged?

But in the end… this all pointed back to one person. Though it couldn't be said that he was at the point of becoming irreconcilable enemies with Leonel, he likely wasn't very far.

…

The situation was quite an interesting one. Leonel had no idea that Joseph and Damian were eyeing the Fort, while the two had no idea that Leonel was already on the scene as well.

But… neither group was aware that there was yet another party watching this silently.

Captain Sela, or rather, Commander Sela now, observed Joseph and Damian from afar with a smile on her face. But, rather than being on the scene like the two groups, she was using a special treasure in order to do so.

Interestingly enough, Commander Sela wasn't aware of Leonel's appearance near the Fort either. However, it was unclear if she would react much even if she did know.

Despite watching the movements of both Damian and Joseph and also being aware of their goals, she made no attempts to stop them. In fact, she didn't even rise from her comfortable seating arrangements.

She reclined in a cushy chair, her meaty hands resting over her belly with a content smile on her face.

As for what her plans were, maybe only she was truly aware.