Round 6: Reunion

When Sayers woke up the next day, he felt his head throbbing as if it might burst. Despite his confidence in his drinking ability, he never imagined he would drink himself unconscious the previous day. That red-robed mage was truly formidable. Wait… where was he?
It was a small room, but equipped with everything needed. Though not luxurious, it was very clean and tidy—definitely not a room suitable for a lower-ranking mage.
Sayers got up and pulled back the curtains. A few rays of dawn light streamed in through the large floor-to-ceiling windows. It was still early, so he might still make it back to his base to report to his superior. He glanced back at Hunter, who was still lying on the bed snoring. It seemed unlikely that this guy knew more about the previous day than he did.
Suddenly, the door made a noise. Sayers went to open it and froze momentarily before straightening up. The pale silver patterns embroidered on the sleeve of the white-robed mage outside indicated that it was an intermediate mage working at the command center.
“Wake your companion and get dressed. Commander Moriel has invited you to breakfast!” The white-robed mage delivered the order expressionlessly before leaving without looking back.
Commander Moriel… I seem to have heard of her… But two other words echoed in Sayers’ mind: breakfast!
This was the most upscale hotel in town. Clearly, Commander Moriel had reserved it entirely, as aside from high-ranking white-robed mages coming in and out occasionally, no outsiders were allowed in.
Sayers and Hunter sat nervously at either end of the long table. Despite the delicious food before them, they couldn’t muster any appetite. At one end of the table sat Commander Moriel, who had recently taken over from Commander Dagulas. It was hard for anyone to feel hungry in such a situation.
Moriel silently took a couple of sips of soup before looking up at the two lower-ranking mages. “Not to your taste?”
“How could that be! The breakfast is absolutely splendid!” Sayers hurriedly defended them. Hunter, trembling, lowered his head to drink the soup made from unknown ingredients, making soft sputtering sounds.
Moriel continued eating her breakfast, while the two lower-ranking mages felt their hearts pounding wildly.
“I’m truly sorry! Um, I didn’t expect Commander Moriel to go to a place like that. I offended you last night—please forgive us!” Sayers explained, his voice trembling, though he himself didn’t quite understand why he was saying this.
“I sometimes go to taverns to drink. I used to go more often, well, a long time ago…” Moriel raised her head. She seemed accustomed to keeping her emotions hidden at all times and in any place, so no one could read her feelings from her expressionless face—much like the somewhat neurotic Dagulas. “You don’t need to be so nervous. I just don’t want my opponents to have their clothes stripped off because they can’t afford the drinks.”
“I see. Um, it’s a great honor to have breakfast with the commander!” Sayers finally calmed down. “Right, Hunter?”

“Ugh, ugh!” Hunter continued to struggle with the soup in front of him.
Morrill pushed aside her utensils; she had barely eaten anything.
“I know you’re returning to the city this time to attend the hearing regarding the corrupted elves. The order came straight from the Supreme Council, but I’m still very interested in hearing about what happened back then…”
“Of course…” Sayer’s mind raced. He had assumed Commander Morrill was returning for the same hearing, but it seemed not to be the case. “It was extremely chaotic. I really can’t remember much, but the enemy was definitely not an Night Elf—I’ve been on the front lines before, and Night Elves are nothing like that!”
“Then what did they look like?” Morrill crossed her arms, her index fingers lightly tapping together, looking intrigued. This seemed to encourage Sayer, who grew increasingly impatient.
“Well, they were completely different from Night Elves, yet somewhat similar. They were incredibly agile and stealthy, just like Night Elves, but their attack methods were entirely different. It’s hard to imagine Night Elves charging in to fight Silver Armored Warriors head-on. But believe it or not, I saw a guy use arms that looked like those of a beast to pierce through a Silver Armored Warrior—along with his armor! It was terrifying. Such strength, capable of tearing a person and their armor in half, definitely couldn’t belong to a Night Elf…”
“But it could be an elf druid in beast form, right…”
“No, it’s different from druids transforming into animals in nature to attack. They’re not creatures of this world. They appear and attack us like demons. Oh, you mentioned corrupted elves earlier—yes, elves turned into demons. I think that’s the only explanation!”
Morrill fell silent, seemingly lost in thought, and the atmosphere at the table became awkward.
Sayer had also stopped eating. Besides the severe headache, he really couldn’t figure out what this high-ranking commander of the empire was thinking. Could she be holding him accountable for not fighting harder and fleeing instead…?
“But their… leader… was clearly even more different…” Hunter hadn’t noticed the change in atmosphere at the table. The conversation between Morrill and Sayer had gradually calmed his nervousness, and the delicious food was indeed tempting. Now, while lamenting the huge difference in treatment between mere soldiers and commanders, he kept stuffing food into his mouth and vaguely expressed his views.
“What did you say?” Morrill’s tone didn’t change much, but it was clear she said those words while hissing through her teeth. Hunter and Sayer turned to look at the commander simultaneously. The robed mage sat in the morning light streaming through the window, her expression one of mild amiability—as if the chilling words spoken just now had been said by someone else.

Hunter even instinctively glanced around before forcing down the food in his mouth. “I mean, the one who led those, um, demonized elves…”
“Tell me more?” Moriel leaned back in her chair, clearly enjoying the topic.
“Because at that time, Sayer was pulling me outside the camp, and things were really chaotic…” Hunter didn’t notice Sayer giving him frequent eye signals and continued on his own. “I didn’t see clearly. I even thought it was just an illusion. Though it was just a quick glance, I’m sure such creatures shouldn’t exist in the Main Material World. At least not in Agus or the Sleeping Forest…”
“I didn’t see that strange thing you’re talking about… What exactly was it?” Sayer suddenly interjected.
“Because you were pulling me outside the camp the whole time, and when that meteor struck the Constructed Tower, I kept looking back…” Sayer tapped his head. Idiot. I should’ve not interrupted him. “The moment the meteor hit the Constructed Tower, I felt like something flew past overhead with a whoosh. By the time I turned around, there was a person standing on the half-destroyed barrier. I could see them clearly in the light from the camp—uh, a very tall person, looking terrifying, with a metallic sheen on their body. And those wings spread out—really, they looked exactly like a demon!”
Moriel remained silent, as if waiting for Henry to say more, while Sayer started eating. Maybe, as Hunter said, whatever fate awaited them, it would be that fate—so what!
“What happened after that?” Moriel finally broke the silence.
“After that, I fell. After Sayer helped me up, I looked again, but that figure was gone. By then, the Constructed Tower had completely collapsed.”
“Hmm, good. I understand the general situation…” Moriel stood up, seemingly about to leave. “You can finish your breakfast in peace, but don’t be late reporting to your direct superior. We might meet again in Vatan City.”
The two lower-level mages immediately stood up to see her off.
“I really didn’t expect Commander Moriel to be such an approachable person. It’s an honor to have talked to you!” Flattery required a serious expression and sincere tone—Sayer knew this well. “And regarding this conversation, we’ll try not to reveal anything to anyone!”
Moriel, walking toward the dining hall door, stopped. She glanced at Sayer first, then turned to Hunter. “You said you saw a meteor. Was it a Meteor Burst spell?”
“Well, I’m not sure. It seemed similar, but it could also have been a cannonball fired by some kind of cannon… I’m sorry!”
Moriel nodded and left the dining hall. The two lower-level mages stood upright until the commander had been gone for a long time before sitting back down at the table.
“Why do you need to promise not to reveal this conversation, Sayer?” Hunter asked, burping after drinking milk—clearly he was full.

“War never takes place only on the front lines against enemies…” Sayers narrowed his eyes, looking scheming. “By the way, you idiot—if you keep talking about escaping during the hearing, I’ll twist off your head!”
Entering Vatan City through its east-facing main gate, a wide road known as the “Glory Avenue” led straight to the palace entrance. Divided by this grand road that embodied royal splendor, the entire city of Vatan was split into northern and southern parts. Unlike the crowded and chaotic southern lower district, the northern area was filled with majestic office buildings, elegant sky gardens, extravagantly luxurious noble residences, and a royal theater where music and dance performed—among all these well-arranged and massive structures, the most eye-catching were the towers in the Mage District. Heading north past the large library, which was not much smaller than the royal theater, and up the shaded stairs, the structures nestled against the mountains were the seat of the Agus Mage Council’s Supreme Council—the Seven Sins Towers. From a distance, the seven towering towers in Vatan City resembled seven swords pointing straight into the sky. Standing beneath them, one could better appreciate just how incredibly tall they were. The towers were said to be called the Seven Sins Towers because the great Agus mages who built them sealed the seven sins of the world beneath them. Of course, some now claim the towers symbolize that the Agus mages committed all seven sins, but regardless, as Agus’s most famous and prominent symbol, the Seven Sins Towers were undeniable to everyone.
The top of the hillside had been leveled to create a square of moderate size—moderate in size because it was actually quite large enough to play polo on, but not huge because, compared to the seven towers surrounding it, the square seemed almost like a small courtyard. Tall trees lined the perimeter of the square, standing like magnificent canopies, but there was something strangely odd about them—they were planted too neatly, with almost identical thicknesses and heights, and even their branching patterns seemed almost uniform, as if these trees were not natural creations but meticulously arranged decorations. Directly across from the square stood the shortest but also thickest tower. Even so, its height far exceeded that of Vatan City’s walls. Its octagonal shape covered almost an entire side of the square, and its snow-white exterior made it appear more like a wall than a tower. A white marble staircase with 143 steps extended from the edge of the square—truly magnificent in scale. At the top of the stairs was a tower door that seemed somewhat disproportionate to such a huge tower. In fact, no matter how large the door, it would still appear small compared to this tower. Even as the meeting hall and headquarters of the Supreme Council, the tower still seemed a bit too large.

“Amazing…” Hunter, now dressed in a new robe, walked back and forth on the shiny floor, his face slightly flushed with excitement. In fact, he had been in high spirits since entering the mage district, like a child in a zoo—his previous depressed state from narrowly escaping death was completely gone. “What a remarkable masterpiece… Look, there aren’t even any pillars in such a large hall! And that thing that brought us up—was it a floating disc? I’ve never seen one before! If these things could bepopularizedd in Agus… Just imagine, skyscrapers reaching the clouds—how many poor people could live there! Sayers, right? Hey, Sayers?”
Sayers opened his sleepy eyes.
“Hm?” Then he waved his hand impatiently, tilting his neck on the sofa in an attempt to find a more comfortable position. “Stop daydreaming, kid! It’s not your first time seeing the Seven Towers. Why are you still like this? Think instead about how to report to the elders in the Council later…”
“You’re a mage too, aren’t you? Don’t you admire such grandeur—”
Hunter suddenly fell silent because a mage in white robes, who had appeared somewhere in the hall at some point, was staring at them expressionlessly, as if he’d found two beggars urinating against the wall of the Seven Sins Tower.
“Um… um…” Henry pulled at his collar, trying to force a friendly smile, but even without looking in a mirror, he knew it wasn’t successful.
“You, and that one who’s sleeping, come with me.”
Inside the circular conference hall, magical light shone down from the ceiling, illuminating the space brightly without being glaring. Scattered across the six or seven tiers of tiered seating were only a few dozen mages in white robes, clearly divided into small groups. The semi-floating podium at the front, where the meeting table sat, was fully occupied—although there were only seven chairs in total. In the middle was Singer; no one could remember how long he had been in that position. The other six chairs had seen different people sit there, some were vacant, and one seemed to have been empty for decades, maybe even centuries. A new occupant had taken it five years ago, but Singer never moved, as if he had been sitting there since the existence of Agus, Vatan, and the Council. Now, his entire face seemed hidden behind his long white eyebrows and beard, his eyes slightly closed, as if he was listening carefully to the report from the speaker’s podium in the center of the circular hall—but he didn’t seem much different from being asleep.

“According to the testimonies of mages and combatants at all levels, this mysterious creature with both steel construct and demon characteristics has appeared no less than thirteen times in various battles and fronts over at least half a month ago. It is clear that its targets are solely our Agus army and mages, not the Night Elves in the forest. The demonized elves that appeared around the same time are likely also related to this mysterious creature. Therefore, our council believes that the Night Elves obtained some extremely strange construct creature from somewhere and used it in battles against us…” A mage at the podium read from his script word for word, still sweating profusely and looking extremely strained.

Singh’s eyebrows twitched involuntarily.

“That’s absurd! Agus’ army of constructs would be defeated by a construct controlled by the Night Elves!” The mage on the far right of the seven highest council mages spoke in a thunderous voice. He was a mage with not a single hair on his face, not even eyebrows or eyelashes. He was also the youngest among the council mages, having held this position for less than six years. “We need more information; we can’t draw conclusions too soon!”

“But we don’t have that much time. Besides, a single construct can’t possibly make a significant impact on the overall war situation! We should restore our previous battle lines as soon as possible. The war has already imposed a heavy burden on Agus—we must end it swiftly!” A mage with a goatee on the far left spoke up.

“Whatever the enemy is, just eliminate them,” said the bearded old man next to him in a very straightforward manner.

“According to the latest reports, he has shot down several of the most advanced construct aircraft. We must not underestimate their combat strength!” The bald man shook his bulbous head, seemingly arguing against the bearded old man.

“The Night Elves have no reason to possess such advanced construct technology. Perhaps we should consider whether there are Night Elf spies in Agus. The consequences of technology leakage are quite serious!” The only female mage, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and appearing kind like an old peasant woman, proposed a new perspective.

“The Night Elves aren’t smart enough to use spies. Besides, they disdain such methods, and they’re not good at them. Moreover, even we haven’t managed to develop construct warriors with such high autonomy, let alone…” A mage with a head that looked more monstrous than human spoke in a long-winded and tedious manner, just like his strange forehead.

“Whatever the enemy is, just eliminate them,” the bearded mage repeated in a concise and forceful tone, essentially repeating his previous statement.

A low but distinct murmur arose in the conference hall as the council mages around exchanged opinions and views. The hearing seemed to enter a phase of free discussion.