195 Chapter 195

The others didn't take long selecting an item each that they would take from the bunker, this was of course exclusive to the major names present.

This did come across as unfair to some who followed in hopes of getting something but what could they say? Argue with Lady Rose and the aristocrats?

Since even the likes of Jin and Jagu didn't get anything not anyone dared voice their complaints out loud, they could only grumble as they received the order that they would be leaving.

Before doing so, Lady Rose not only undid the opening runes she placed on the entrance but added her own for surety. The entire time Aron had kept his presence to a minimum, not speaking or adding to the events that were taking place which gave the illusion that he was just following along to some.

….

Some time after they began traveling back towards Aethel some commotion arose. It was nothing big but considering the expedition was relatively quiet event it did catch the attention of many.

Cause of said commotion was a member from the supporting group who was rushing in their direction. The one to receive him was Henry who walked further upfront while Aron chose to walk at the far back. Since they were now backtracking what was initially the front now became the far back and Aron chose to stay there for convenience.

When Henry confronted the hurried member from the supporting group he learned of some important information that he also rushed to reveal to Lady Rose and the others, causing for a brief stop to occur as they gathered to talk for a moment.

"Is there a problem?" Esmeralda asked with clear worry in her voice, the last thing she wanted was for a repeat of the events of the Newman Highlands.

"I'm not sure whether to call it a problem or not… here's the situation, Claudia's support group stumbled upon a lone Veldra seemingly making his way towards Aethel judging from the direction he was going. He tried fleeing after spotting our group but they captured him easily surprisingly." Henry explained in summary bringing everyone up to speed with what was happening.

All in all it couldn't really be considered a big issue, the worrying thought about it however was that maybe the Veldra were aware of their presence in the tunnels and this sent spies, this could mean perhaps even ambushes were set so Henry felt that everyone should at least not take this lightly.

"Have they tried interrogating him?" Esmeralda suggested and Henry immediately nodded in response. "Yes but he is very stubborn and refuses answer, he could be stalling for reinforcements for all we know." Henry added.

"Take me to him." Aron suddenly proposed causing the gazes to shift towards him. "Sure" Henry however had no reason to refuse and so he obliged and took him to the scout that brought him the news.

….

A short while later Aron was taken to where they were holding the Veldra captive, Henry and the others chose to follow as well to see what it was he was planning to do.

Said Veldra wasn't being kept anywhere secure considering the tunnels didn't have much that could meet those requirements. Instead they used a basic bounding technique and forced him to stay seated on the dirt ground.

"Let me go! You have no idea what's going on!"

"You damn hairless lonks!"

"Release me!"

The Veldra yelled hysterically and upon first glance gave the impression of being insane. His messy hair, tattered clothes and twitchy eyes only added to this.

He was like a rabid dog being forcibly held down, squirming and barking nonstop. Even from afar, Aron could smell the potent scent of fear he emanated.

"Then tell us what's going on." Aron slowly arrived on the scene bringing relief to the support group members who began worrying they couldn't hold him much longer.

The Veldra however only glared at Aron and spit on the ground in response. Aron said no words to this and just approached the Veldra, closing the already small distance between them before.

Pah!

Without warning and in a flash, Aron raised his leg and landed a vicious kick on the Veldra's face causing him to hit the he was leaning against with incredible force.

Confusion, pain, drowsiness, this could sum up what the Veldra felt in that moment as he barley had anytime to react. One moment he was throwing insults and the next blood was dripping from his broken nose and injured mouth.

The Veldra looked up at Aron and clearly felt his life was in danger. He opted to speak but before he could another landed on his face before he could react once again, causing him to slam into the dirt ground hard.

The onlookers just watched quietly and didn't comment, this continued for a bit longer until the Veldra was absolutely terrified to the point one could even see him trembling.

He didn't even utter a word, previously each time he tried to do so resulted in another kick so he just balled up and trembled helplessly, hoping this torment would stop.

'Like I thought, he isn't a combatant.' Aron before ceasing his attacks.

Any common man and even some combatants would react similarly to how the Veldra did when first met with vicious stimulation for the first time. In reality very few could keep their will strong when faced with a hopeless situation.

"Speak, what did you mean by what's going on?" Aron asked in an impatient manner, this worried the Veldra that he would once again get assaulted if he didn't answer.

The bloody man slowly raised his head and gulped before replying. "T-the Veldra are planning to attack Aethel… I fled to warn them of this madness so that our kind don't perish in vain…" he explained simply before going silent.

"And how do they plan on doing that?" Aron asked because it was common knowledge the Veldra were lacking in mages, launching an attack with only augmenters would prove to be nothing but suicide.

"G-golems, we have numerous golems prepared over the years that can cover for our lack of attack power." The trembling Veldra revealed, brining clarity to Aron.

Provided the material they used to make said golem had good resistance then they could indeed stand a chance of at least keeping the Aethelians busy. He doubted however they'd be a threat considering golems had many exploitable weaknesses.

From the battle language the Veldra was giving off it was unlikely he was liking, with this being the case Aron had lost interest in him and turned to look at the others. "Well there you have it. What next?" Aron asked with indifference.

He himself had already come to the conclusion that death was the easiest way forward but he let the choice fall onto the hands of the others, giving them a sense of false importance like their opinions and suggestions carried weight with him.

Surprisingly enough they subconsciously began to believe this as he had been doing this for since the very beginning of the journey, it was only natural they feel like he indeed found their thoughts on matters useful. Claudia who had experienced this beforehand had even less reason to question him, thinking he was open to this but in reality it was only the case if his overall plan remained unaffected.

"We have to get rid of him… if we let him go he could either the Veldra or Aethelians about us. But if we end him here the Veldra will attack and both sides will suffer losses, Ettenheim can later capitalize on this and sweep both sides." Anastasia frowned and quickly suggested what she felt was the best approach to take.

After hearing her reasons for thinking so it was hard to argue, Henry even immediately agreed with her. "That's true, we can send word via messaging scroll and ask that Ettenheim forces retreat for now, depending on the size of the attack the Aethelians may be forced to recall their forces." He added and received the collective nods of people present.

With the decision reached of the fate of his life, the Veldra couldn't help but look at every one of them with wide eyes while trembling uncontrollably. He wanted to flee but his body ached all over, right now it was more astounding that he hadn't already passed out.

His bruised and swollen bloody face began to shed tears. "Please I have-"

Bam!

Before he could even plead he was met with another kick from Aron, although this time he hit with the intent to kill.

The result was his skull being cracked in upon having contact with Aron's boot. His body flew to the wall and hit it with tremendous force but at that point he had already been dead.

Nove l B(in).C OM

For most present they found this scene to be quite vicious, others didn't particularly care. The one collective thought most now had was that Aron was someone they wouldn't want to fight.

"Let's burn the body and move on fast." Henry broke the silence and passed this orders bringing the many members out of their short daze.

"It's best we reach the ruin in Aethel before conflict arises." Aron began to walk away with Evanora in toll, leaving these words for Henry and the others.

…

Meanwhile the war had reached a pause because of Sayiva's dominance. She had forced most of Ettenheim's forces to retreat and none to come forward anymore.

It was beginning to look like Aethel would turn the tables and eventually make landfall if they continued with his pace for a few more days.

Rumors of the Aethelians approach on the continent worried a great many people especially since the pillars and emperor still hadn't commented on the matter.

Did they have a plan? Were they surrending? What of Galos and Lachester's stances?

A great deal of questions were passed around but no solid answers were gotten, only speculations could be made.

The one thing every power was unaware of, was that of the third component emerging and shifting the tides of the war…