Apocalypse: becoming the hidden Ruler[English]

How could Geoffrey openly challenge his version of events? But in his heart… he simply couldn’t believe him.

“That’s enough,” Zephyr said coldly. “Three days.” He turned, cloak snapping in the wind. “If no powerful reinforcements arrive within three days, gather all elite forces. Break out. Abandon the city.”

“This is an order.”

Geoffrey remained kneeling atop the wall long after Zephyr descended.

The wind howled. Snow swallowed his silhouette. Gradually, he seemed to merge with Northern Spiritual Town itself—silent, resolute, and waiting for judgment.

.....

Meanwhile—

After breaching the blockade, the City of Sin Legion convened for a post-battle debrief.

“It has been confirmed,” one of the scouts reported, “no remaining mutated beasts are posing immediate threats. Those that fled during the breakthrough scattered in all directions. In the short term, they shouldn’t regroup.”

Valentino was in exceptionally high spirits. After the earlier losses, he had thrown everything into preparation for this assault. His forces mobilized aggressively, securing the best battlefield positions with minimal casualties—and harvesting the largest share of beast materials.

In the City of Sin, rewards from external battles were distributed strictly according to merit—a rule established back when Morris ruled. The system remained. Valentino, naturally, was smug as hell.

“Idiot.”

“Poor bastard.” Several commanders sneered inwardly at his self-satisfaction.

“Saka,” Quinlan said, frowning, “this mutated beast blockade wasn’t that impressive.”

“If two commanders joined forces, we could have held that line easily.”

“What exactly are you implying?” Penny shot back immediately.

“I understand him,” Adler said flatly. “From the City of Sin to here, the danger level in the wilderness hasn’t justified abandoning the city entirely.”

Saka smiled faintly. “What? Disappointed?”

“Not at all,” Isos said lazily, leaning back and tapping his fingers against the table. “But the situation outside seems… quite different from what you and your friends with the hounds described.”

Unlike the others, he didn’t bother being subtle. He was accusing Saka outright of exaggerating the crisis to force the evacuation.

“Saka, surely you’re not joking?” Isos continued lightly. “Everyone saw that Level Seven mutated beast.”

“Indeed,” Saka replied calmly. “Everyone did.”

“I only evaluated the danger as immense and offered what I believed was the best path forward for the future of the City of Sin. The decision was yours.”

Isos nodded slowly. “Yes. We all saw the Level Seven beast.”

“But after we left the city… it disappeared.”

“Up until now, even after breaching the blockade, we haven’t encountered a single Level Seven mutated beast.” He smiled. “You don’t think that’s strange?”

Saka raised an eyebrow. “Strange? What are you suggesting?”

“Who knows?” Isos shrugged. “Human awakening techniques are countless. Some allow transformation into mutated beasts. Others… can influence or even control them.”

Silence fell.

“Are you deliberately picking a fight?” Penny slammed her palm onto the table. Her Force erupted without restraint.

Among all the Awakened in the City of Sin, in terms of pure Force strength, she ranked second only to Saka. Unfortunately for her—

The one person “above” her happened to be present.

“Penny,” Caroline said softly, giving her a single glance.

That was enough. Penny’s heart skipped. Her aura faltered instantly.

“Darling, don’t be angry,” Saka said gently, patting Penny’s shoulder. “I understand how you feel.”

Caroline frowned. “Saka. This is not your private tent.”

“I have no interest in watching you two put on a performance.”

“You are the legion commander now. Conduct yourself accordingly.”

“Is that so?” Saka shrugged lightly. “If you truly believe this decision was unnecessary, you’re free to reorganize your forces and return to the City of Sin.”

He spread his hands casually. “Since it’s apparently not dangerous outside—and with the cleanup we’ve done along the way—it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“Who knows? Whoever gets back first takes the biggest slice of the pie. Territory gets reshuffled.”

Valentino nearly shot to his feet when he heard that. But he forced himself to sit back down, smoothing his expression. “Leaving is easy,” he said coolly. “But what about the cost of the march back?”

“We’ve burned through a mountain of rations.”

“I poured a shitload of Primogems into Star Guide!”

One after another, the commanders began listing their “contributions,” each louder than the last.

“You all seem pretty confident you can just walk away.” A lazy, amused voice cut through the noise.

Axel stepped into the tent. He swept his gaze across the commanders, then hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “If anyone here thinks they can leave right now, I’ll personally guarantee losses get repaid tenfold.”

Silence. The men who had been ready to jump ship froze. It wasn’t that Axel had persuaded them. It was that they didn’t trust him.

Over the past few days, they’d become increasingly certain that Yehuda was the real mastermind behind the Vicious Hound Hunters. He was too calm, too calculating. Always smiling. Never revealing his full strength. Unfathomable.

“Yehuda,” Valentino said sharply, seizing the moment, “what exactly are you implying? Are the Vicious Hounds planning to turn on us?”

The other commanders stood as well, subtle pressure filling the tent.

Only one Vicious Hound member was present. Why should they be afraid?

“What am I implying?” Axel tilted his head slightly, still smiling under the combined pressure. “Nothing complicated. I said you can try leaving. I didn’t say I’d stop you.”

That only made them more uneasy. At that moment, several figures rushed into the tent. “Commander!”

“What’s going on?”

The commanders’ expressions changed immediately. These were their trusted intelligence men—they wouldn’t barge in without reason.

The subordinates hurried to their respective leaders and whispered urgently. One by one—

The commanders’ faces drained of color. Then they all turned toward Axel.

“Yehuda!” Quinlan barked. “You did this, didn’t you?!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Axel replied calmly, narrowing his eyes.

“Stop pretending!” Quinlan’s composure cracked under pressure. “That Level Seven mutated beast appeared out of nowhere. Then you conveniently pushed the evacuation.”

“Now we want to return, and the route back is sealed by a mutated beast horde several times larger than before!”

“How the hell is that a coincidence?”

Their scouts had just reported that the breach they’d torn open had already been resealed. Not only that—the beasts blocking the way were greater in both number and quality than before.

This wasn’t something they’d anticipated. And it was unacceptable.

“Yeah,” Adler added coldly. “Even if this wasn’t your deliberate setup, you pushed for the breakout. You bear responsibility.”

Valentino nodded sharply. “You can’t just wash your hands of this.”

Axel and Saka exchanged a look. Amusement. Irritation.

When things were going well, these people scrambled to maximize their profits. Now that the situation had turned dangerous, they were scrambling just as quickly to shift blame. Typical City of Sin.

“You can eat whatever you want,” Axel said lazily, leaning against a tent pillar. “But you can’t just say whatever the hell you want.”

“If there’s a problem, we solve it together. Funny though—when things were profitable, you all seemed ready to kick us aside.” He straightened slightly. “I’ll say this clearly: this situation is an accident.”

“I don’t enjoy having my path blocked by mutated beasts. And I especially don’t enjoy being accused of attracting them.” The smile remained on his lips. But his voice had turned cold.

As a member of the Whisper Syndicate, accusations like that carried weight. He had once transformed into a Level Seven mutated beast—the Blackwing Dragon. But that had nothing to do with this.

Being labeled like that was damn near being called a traitor to humanity. He wouldn’t swallow that quietly.

“Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?” Quinlan stepped forward, jabbing a finger straight at Axel’s face. “You spies trying to sabotage the City of Sin—maybe we should drag you down and interrogate you properly.”

“Commander Quinlan,” Axel said softly, “I don’t like being pointed at.”

Quinlan stepped even closer. “I’m pointing at you. What are you going to do about—”