A lot of disgruntled eyes glared at the person sitting in front of them.

Immersing herself in the report, Alisha paid no mind to the people around her.

Before the fight occurred, she summoned every evolved, captain, and deputy commander to her tent.

After they arrived, she ignored them and went about her work as if they didn't exist.

A few minutes later, reports started arriving about a fight happening at the gate. The evolved got ready to join the fight, but the commander forbid them from doing so.

A lot of protests ensued, but Alisha disregarded them, going back to her work. Their words fell on deaf ears.

The soldiers arriving with pleas of help were all turned away.

The people gathered in the tent gave up on trying to convince her and stood still while glaring at her.

Even after the battle ended, she didn't show any indication of dismissing them.

"Let's go."

A burly captain moved towards the entrance, disregarding Alisha.

"The commander hasn't given you permission to leave," Nora reminded him.

"Really?" he sneered. "She doesn't seem to have the intention of doing anything, so I was excusing myself."

After the burly guy voiced his thoughts, it opened the flood gates. Everyone started shouting.

"Why did you call us here?"

"Did you know that a battle was about to happen?"

"How can you consider the soldier's lives as disposable?"

Their words were rude, but they no longer cared. The commander's actions in the past month had been drastic. They had long since been discontent with her, and her actions during the attack were the final straw.

"ENOUGH," Nora shouted, drowning out everyone's voices. "You are part of the army, so act like it."

A lot of them snorted, but she ignored them. "Let's discuss the reason for summoning you here."

Scanning a report, she started reading its contents. "I am going to tell you about the battle's aftermath. The fight was against a single mutated corrupted."

"How did you get that?"

"Wait, so you knew a fight was gonna break out?"

Nora ignored the questions.

"19 soldiers passed away, with another 32 carrying varying degrees of injuries. 5 of 32 are in critical condition, 10 of them can no longer fight, the remaining are only carrying minor injuries and can continue in the army after paying a visit to the healers."

Everyone started shouting, this time out of shock and outrage.

"A single corrupted put 34 soldiers out of commission?"

Mitch strode towards the commander with righteous anger written all over his face. "I cannot condone your actions!

"You have taken it too far."

Seeing her being unresponsive, he slammed his hands on the table. "You can't keep ignoring everyone!"

A deafening silence filled the tent as if someone cast a hush spell over the entire region.

The only sound came from a small paperweight that fell off the table and was clattering on the ground.

Though they weren't privy to any details, everyone knew the army's main objective wasn't the villager's safety. It was a cover to hide something.

Back home, a lot of factions were making big moves with the camp feeling some of the ripples.

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One of them could be seen in the form of Mitch's movement.

They started wondering if their actions put them in his camp. It was a bad idea to take sides without understanding what was happening.

They waited for Alisha's reactions with bated breath.

When the paperweight came to a stop, Alisha put down her report and regarded Mitch. In the past month, a lot of people stirred up trouble. They equated her inaction to inability. It was time for them to learn how wrong they were.

Since Mitch volunteered, he would serve as an example.

Even with Alisha gazing at him, Mitch didn't back down and kept their gazes locked.

"How many ordinary soldiers does it take to kill a recently evolved person?" Alisha asked.

Mitch expected some kind of retaliation, but her sudden question confused him.

"It depends on a lot of factors."

"What if he doesn't have any enchanted weapons and only has a single mist spell?"

"If they are well prepared, six of them should be enough," he said. He knew where the conversation was going.

"Do you know how many soldiers surrounded the corrupted?"

He didn't answer, opting to stay silent.

"Eighty-nine."

Everyone in the tent gasped. If what she said was true, the soldier's performance was deplorable. If news of the fight spreads, their enemies will take it as a sign of a weakening theocracy. The northern tribes will invade, adding more chaos to the turbulent situation.

"And we still had so many casualties. Why?"

Mitch aggressively pointed his finger at her. "It's because of you! You trapped us here, leaving them defenseless!"

Though none of them voiced their thoughts, everyone knew Mitch's excuse was flimsy. It was a miracle Alisha didn't blame them for their incompetence.

She glanced at him, her eyes narrowing into slits. If he wasn't willing to back down and admit his mistake, then so be it.

The surrounding soldiers shuddered. In the 6 months Alisha acted as the commander, it was the first time an expression crossed the commander's face.

Alisha used her mana to engulf Mitch's extended finger.

He screamed in pain. His finger took on an icy blue tinge, and he could no longer feel it.

"What did you do?" he screamed.

She didn't answer, but the effect was spreading to the rest of the body.

The surrounding soldiers jumped in surprise and gazed at Alisha in terror. Even though they knew that she was an ascendant, it was their first time seeing her power.

She continued as if Mitch hadn't interrupted her. "It's because they ran around like headless chickens, forgetting any training they had.

"When I first came here, a lot of you boasted about your ability to teach, but so far, I am disappointed."

The surrounding soldiers hung their heads down in shame.

When Mitch tried to interrupt, the corner of his mouth cracked, similar to glass when it was hit by something.

"I will give you one more month. Make sure the soldiers are up to standard, or you will face the consequences."

The soldiers glanced at the ice statue of the deputy commander and vowed to whip the soldiers into shape no matter the cost.

Before dismissing everyone, she released Mitch.

He fell to his knees and took deep shuddering breaths. Alisha could see the hatred in his eyes and the desire to throw an ultimatum before leaving. However, the warm blood flowing from the corner of his mouth made him decide against it. Unable to face the others, he stormed out of the tent.

"How many do you think will survive?" Nora asked after the tent was empty.

"I don't know. We can only hope for the best. I know you don't like this, but remember the objective comes first."

Nora sighed. "I know."

**********

The mist cleared after the corrupted died. No one cheered for Liam, who was standing over the corpse of the slain thrall.

They were still too shocked and horrified by the destruction it wrought. The lack of discipline and conduct made them shamefaced. Finally, cheering for a kid who solved the army's problem, especially someone they mocked moments before the battle, was too humiliating.

Liam calmly examined the thrall's corpse. There was something strange about its mutation. Rather than being natural, it appeared to be a forced mutation. He never saw something like that.

He did a cursory examination and failed to notice anything strange. Finding a clue required a more thorough investigation, but he smothered his curiosity. The army would examine the corpse, and he didn't think they'd appreciate any meddling.

He looked around and saw the soldiers clearing the bodies. A pair of soldiers appeared near him. "Thank you for your help. If not for you, the casualty list would have been much longer."

Liam graciously accepted their thanks. "No worries. I would have interfered earlier if not for the fear of being misunderstood."

"We have orders to transfer this body, and you will have to let go of your sword. Without explicit orders from the commander, you won't be allowed to carry any weapons." The soldiers were professional in their demeanor.

"Of course. I hope I am not in any trouble." Liam surrendered his sword to one of the soldiers.

"No worries. The commander gave orders not to detain you." The soldiers led a team and quickly carried away the body of the fallen thrall.

Liam turned back towards Pearl when his attention was drawn to the crowd. He noticed his friends walking towards him. As most of the soldiers were sad or scared, they were trying not to smile, but he still perceived their happiness.

Dunn had the typical black hair and black eyes of someone from the theocracy. He wasn't overly handsome, but the ever-present lopsided smile gave him a friendly and approachable vibe. Being 5'9, he was the shortest human in their group.

His other friend was gigantic. At 6'8 (207 cm), she was taller than most grown men. Her eyes were the same color as her namesake; Jade.

In northerner style, her white hair was bound into multiple braids. She had sharp facial features, which wasn't the characteristic of a typical beauty.

While she was beautiful, her muscular structure and height made it difficult to appreciate it.

Her most distinguishing feature was neither her height nor her looks, it was a strange wolf symbol etched on her forehead. The wolf had shackles around its legs, and its fangs were broken.

Liam never asked her the meaning of the symbol. She would explain it when she was ready.

He ran forwards and hugged them. Well, he hugged Dunn but refused to hug Jade.

Apart from the two, he did not notice his other friends. "The others?"