Chapter 242: 242. Finding Mole – 1

Aurelius sat in his study hearing reports from his trusted men, the commander of hounds called number 1 and his personal butler.

The figure of Andrea and Yue Qinglan sat on the couch at the other side of the room silently hearing the same reports. Their posture were too relaxed for the gravity of the situation.

The way they nonchalatly sat There indicated their senority and authority over Aurelius.

“Are you sure there is no one among these people involved with the cults?” Aurelius asked with a conflicted expression. His voice carried disbelief.

He had handed a list to number 1 a few days ago containing the names of almost all the ministers under him and commanders of the imperial army.

Yet the hounds had found no one involved with the cults after investigation. The sheer impossibility of it gnawed at him; either the enemy was far more careful than anticipated or something was being overlooked.

“Who are we missing?” Aurelius asked with tight brows, to which number 1 remained silent. The silence stretched with unspoken thoughts.

He wanted to suggest investigating the imperial family, but he did not dare to say it out loud, so he chose to stay quiet. The risk of even implying such suspicion was enough to end his life if misunderstood by the emperor.

Aurelius’s butler said, “Your majesty, you will have to decide the new date of attack soon; there is a lot of pressure on us since we didn’t inform everyone about the new date of attack.”

His tone was polite, but beneath it lay urgency. The machinery of war could not remain idle forever.

Aurelius’s brows tightened even further in annoyance, but he did not say anything and just sat back.

His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest of his chair, a subtle sign of his growing frustration. The two ladies on the couch just stayed quiet and did not add anything.

A few minutes later he murmured, “Attacking again without finding the mole is like inviting death.” He spoke before turning around and checking for records of other major people in the administration that could be investigated.

Kaboom!!

Suddenly an explosion sounded, and everyone in the room was alerted. The blast echoed violently through the castle, shaking the very foundations beneath their feet.

Andrea’s eyes widened a bit more than others as if she had heard it before. Recognition flashed across her face.

Immediately she stood up and walked outside. Her movements were swift and decisive, leaving no room for hesitation. Looking at her, so alerted, Yue decided to follow her. Aurelius and Hound number 1, along with the butler, also rushed to see what happened.

All of them came out of Aurelius’s chambers, located at the topmost spire of the castle, only to witness a huge black spaceship hovering in the sky several meters above them.

The sight was surreal an unnatural presence that did not belong to this world. Its massive structure blocked portions of the sky, casting a looming shadow over the castle.

Andrea’s widened eyes immediately recognized the object as the spacecraft in which the Golden Raven had arrived. A flicker of urgency crossed her expression.

She noticed how several soldiers were about to attack; she immediately shouted to stop, “Stop!!”

Her voice cut sharply through the chaos, commanding immediate attention.

Aurelius looked at her and repeated the same orders. While most of the archers managed to retract their bows, a single archer among them, by mistake under the shock of the massive metallic object, launched an arrow.

The arrow swished in the air before striking the metallic body of the spacecraft and turned to dust. It disintegrated instantly, as if the very concept of resistance had been rejected.

The hull of the spaceship opened up in the sky, and a figure jumped out of it.

A dark indigo blue cape fluttered in the sky; the man who had jumped did not float or even try to stop. He just fell under the force of gravity before landing in front of the archer with a thud. The impact sent fractures spider-webbing across the stone, dust rising into the air.

The one who had fired the arrow by mistake shivered as he saw a tall being with a face covered by a blue raven mask land in front of him.

The blue raven landed on the opposite tower where Aurelius and the rest were; he turned to look at that particular archer who had targeted him, and with an intentional look, he walked away.

That single glance was enough to drain the color from the archer’s face.

After a brief run-up, spiritual energy burst forth in his legs before he leaped from the edge of the tower and landed on the other side, where Aurelius was standing.

He came to stand in front of Andrea and Yue and nodded with acknowledgement. “I am Indigo, or you can also call me the Blue Raven. I am a humble servant of the Eternal Sovereign.”

His voice was calm and controlled, carrying an authority that did not need to be declared.

Suddenly the huge spaceship turned back into the biomechanical transformation orb and landed on his hands. The massive structure condensed rapidly, folding into itself with impossible precision.

Andrea, Yue, Aureliusn and the others who had been alerted in the whole palace looked at the other worldly transformation with shock apperant in their eyes.

As soon as the spaceship disappeared, Andrea came out of her stupor and nodded at the blue raven.

She welcomed him inside; the blue raven nodded and walked behind her and Yue. Meanwhile, Aurelius, along with his butler and number 1, looked at each other confused before following the three.

The situation had shifted too quickly, leaving little room to process.

As they entered inside, they saw Andrea pouring tea for him, and their expressions froze. Especially Aurelius, it was not like he didn’t know who the eternal sovereign was, but the most difficult fact to accept was that someone like Andrea was showing him such respect.

The quiet act spoke volumes far more than words.

The Blue Raven turned and looked at Aurelius. “I hope you are not sick, Lord Emperor,” he said.

The question felt odd to Aurelius; he could not decipher the intent behind the question.

“i am not” he replied in a confused tone.

The blue raven nodded before sipping tea from the cup offered to him. “Good, we will be attacking the cult in a few hours.”

His tone made it sound less like a suggestion and more like an inevitability.

“What??” Aurelius, Number 1, the butler, even Andrea and Yue looked at him with shock, stopping his moments mid-track. The blue raven tilted his head and looked at them.

Their reactions hung in the air, heavy with disbelief.

“oh i apologise!! if my indentity is not clear, i am just a humble servant of lord eternal sovreign”

Andrea shook her head. “No, we know that already. It’s just so shocking that you came here so abruptly and told us to get ready,” she said. Her tone remained composed, though the surprise was evident.

The blue raven looked at her intently before saying, “Miss Andrea, shock value matters a lot when it comes to operations like these.”

Aurelius heard him and replied, “Yes, that is why I wanted to attack last week, but your lord stopped me from doing that; otherwise, the shock value would have really been impactful.” There was a hint of frustration in his voice.

The blue raven turned around and walked towards Aurelius with short, patient strides. “The Clayman cult was already informed of your plan; the victims of shock would have been you by the end of that day, not them.”

Aurelius’s brow furrowed. “Your lord claimed that we have a mole, yet we cannot find any even after so many days of investigation. Are you really sure your lord was right about his claims??”

The blue raven looked at him with a sigh and shook his head. There was a faint disappointment in that gesture.

“Prepare for an attack in 4 hours.” The Blue Raven said as a final verdict. The words fell like a command carved in stone.

Before Aurelius could demand answers, he saw Andrea and Yue nodding at him. With a reluctant expression, he complied and looked at his butler.

Their agreement left him with little room to argue.

“Inform all the dukes and commanders that the operation will be carried out in 6 hours,” Aurelius said as he looked at both the butler and Number 1.

The decision settled heavily on him.

The butler nodded and immediately took his leave, while Aurelius kept instructing Number 1 regarding all the strategies and tactics they will use and some other extra orders.

A few minutes later, Aurelius completed his instructions and excused Number 1.

The commander turned to leave.

“Number 1,” suddenly before the commander of the hounds could leave, he heard his name being called out from behind.

Aurelius turned and looked at the blue raven calling out his commander.

A subtle tension returned instantly, number 1 looked at the blue raven but did not nod or kneel since the blue raven wasn’t his lord; he just stood facing the guest.

“keep an eye on …..”

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