The Achievement Junkie 258 Zurden Up In Flames

"Take a seat, all of you. We've got some important matters to discuss, so pay attention." In front of the last official and the remaining captains, General Toms showed no sign of weakness. He comfortably sat behind his desk and continued, "First off, some bad news. Assistant Loire has been killed."

"What?"

"How could this happen?"

"Really?!"

"Quiet!" Assistant Dirk stood at the general's side, focusing on maintaining order so the general wouldn't need to force overwork himself while he was still recovering.

Once the lower-ranked officers shut their mouths, General Toms moved along as if nothing had happened. "Due to the vacancy of his position, I've already asked for two more assistants to be assigned to me, one veteran of the position and one who has been newly promoted. They should arrive hear my early morning tomorrow. So, do you all understand what that means?"

The unconfident men all lowered their heads, waiting for the general.

"When the new assistants arrive, we'll move out immediately. Also, be aware that we will be meeting up with a second army before making a move at the border."

Somewhat shocked, the men looked up to the general's stoic face, startled at how casual the man treated international warfare.

"From now on I want our security tripled. We've been found and assaulted far too easily, and that can't be allowed again." Finally, General Toms showed some kind of emotion, disappointment. A single glance from Toms chilled the men before him to the marrow of their bones. "We can't afford to make another mistake like this again. How are the efforts to find the pestros who caused this?"

One man stepped forward as he gulped down some of his nervousness. "Sir, all entries and exits to the city have been closed off. Not even members of the local noble family have been allowed to leave."

"Good, let's keep it that way until we leave," Toms nodded, letting his smug expression fade back into an unemotional gaze and relieving some of the pressure from the men. "Now, are there any questions?"

"No, sir," replied the men in unison.

"Then you're all dismissed."

As the men gladly left the general's tent, Dirk started to pace and share his thoughts, "General, are you sure they won't attack again tonight?"

With a soft smile on his face, Toms replied, "I'm certain. After their attack on the camp in the mountains, rather then launch a second attack they set traps and moved on elsewhere. That being the case, I think we're up against a small team of professionals and not any regular military spies."

"However, that also means that there's most likely not enough members of this team to take our forces head-on. Considering their ability to flee the camp and quickly locate our reinforcements, I must give them some degree of credit for keeping me on my toes. Also, I'd personally like to thank the man who gave me such a trophy of a war scar. But that might not happen, sadly."

"What do you mean?" asked Dirk.

"Time, Dirk. Time is what these people are after," General Toms reasoned. "I assume that the moment our secret army was found, they reported us to their higher-ups and made the first strike against the camp. And them stealing our resources was not only a way to show us but to speed up their own efforts to raise an army to rival ours. But do you want to know what the worst of all this is?"

Dirk remained quiet so Toms shook his head and sighed, "This team has discovered our partnership with Sandros."

Now wide-eyed at the realization, Dirk spoke up, "General, doesn't that mean--"

"That Limneer will be held accountable for breaking the war pact? Yes, that's what will happen, so long as we fail to strike. And since I now understand that this team's goal is to buy time and not cripple our forces, I won't give them another second." A cold grin spread across Toms's face as he snickered, "Are they in place?"

"Yes, they've already been placed and are ready at a moment's notice."

"Good. Then we'll see just how committed these people are to keeping us away from Trodar."

"But General, if they can't even get out of the city, then they'll--"

"They'll escape the city, Dirk. There's no doubt about that," stated Toms. "If I wanted to keep them here, it would be nigh impossible. I'm not sure how, but they had the means to keep someone invisible even while attacking. I've only ever seen something like that from items and abilities over lv. 50."

"You don't think that Trodar would send a high-leveled expert since we've already broken the war pact, do you?" Dirk tried his best to put two and two together.

"No, impossible. If they tried that, then Prachten and Iscantor wouldn't let them slide. Also, if they had a true expert among that small band that attacked us, why would they run away without at least killing me?" General Toms's cold smile faded as he reached back and felt the sore wound on his back. "My guess is that these people are some of Trodar's best below lv. 40, possibly people we've never seen before or even people that they've hired from afar. So, if they attack again, I'd rather lose a quarter of the army then let them runaway a third time."

"General! General!" Urgent shouts from outside the tent brought their conversation to a halt.

"Enter."

A captain rushed inside, one of the few who had recently left the general's tent just minutes ago. "General, I've come to report about the city's security. Sir, we're under attack!"

"What?" General Toms forced himself up with a groan. "Who is it and which part of the city?"

"Sir… We don't know who it is but it's happening everywhere," stated the captain, trying his best to remain calm in front of the general.

"Everywhere?"

"Just come outside sir and you'll see what I mean." The captain didn't even wait for a reply as he held up the tent flap for the general and the assistant.

Curious General Toms walked outside, followed by Assitant Dirk. Once out there, they both quickly grasped the situation.

"Those pestros… They'd go this far?" Toms mumbled to himself as he realized what he was now up against.

Just beyond the walls of the manor stood the city walls, now completely engulfed in white flames that Toms and Dirk had recently become familiar with. And all the soldiers within the camp were scrambling to gather some means to put out the fire.

"Take down the tents immediately!" shouted Toms at the top of his voice so all the camp could hear him. "After that, all soldiers are to gather in the city square and wait for further orders!"

Hearing the echoing orders, the recently recruited soldiers of the make-shift army calmed down quite a bit. With such simple orders, how could they not understand them and be eager to get far away from those intimidating white flames?

"Dirk."

"Yes, General?"

"Go and inspect the flame. I want a report on it immediately!"

"Yes, General." Without looking back, Assistant Dirk took off with great speed hopping over the manor wall and rushing toward the nearby flames.

"And you, Captain, tell the city security to back away from the flames and refocus their efforts on a different portion of the wall."

"But, sir, that won't work," replied the captain.

Toms frowned and glared at the captain for talking back to him. "What do you mean?"

"S-sir, the entire city is surrounded. We can't just…"

No longer caring about the captain or his words, General Toms immediately ran up to the nearest wall and climbed to the top to gain a better view.

It was terrifying. The entirety of Zurden's city walls was coated in those deadly white flames, making Toms question whether he had misjudged the true aim of the team working for Trodar.

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