By Zephyria In fact, Hugo’s thoughts were quite different from Rainer’s speculation. However, when the gloomy mood of the 1st Battalion members changed at once after hearing Rainer’s words, Hugo quietly closed his mouth for them, and for another reason.
A few hours ago. When Hugo first discovered the scorched traces in the ground, he was very relieved, thinking that it was the trace left by Leonardo’s magic, just like Rainer. However, he immediately felt a strange sense of incongruity after running his hand over the trace.
Hugo had been paying close attention to Leonardo’s control instability problem until recently, so he used to examine every trace left behind by his magic in detail. The impression that Hugo had always felt about those traces was that they were destructive, very sharp, and smooth at the same time.
In the case of the red ray that Leonardo often used, the range was not wide, but it could condense ultra-high temperature in a short time, so it was more appropriate to say that it annihilated the object in place rather than melted it. It literally disappeared without a trace.
The object penetrated by the ray had a cylindrical hole, leaving only scorch marks on the edges, and the surroundings were frighteningly clean. So, the melted traces he saw in the tunnel were quite different in style from what he had left behind.
Of course, it was just a different style, but it was undeniable that the traces left behind were also traces of using powerful fire magic. In the first place, it would not be possible to melt the rock with mediocre magic.
In addition, Leonardo at the time of the fall had not only almost exhausted his magic power but was also in a very urgent situation, so it was unreasonable to conclude that it was not him just because of the difference in traces. It was also reasonable to think that it was his trace in the circumstances.
However, the part that Hugo found unsettling was different.
When he dug under the collapsed pile of stones at the entrance to another peak, there was a footprint that he wouldn’t have noticed at first glance.
Rainer seemed to think it was Leonardo’s footprint, but it was larger than Hugo knew his footprint to be, and it was clearly different from the sole mark of the shoes he was wearing now.
The problem was that the footprint was blurred as if it had been deliberately erased, and there were traces of dragging something next to it.
The front toe and heel of the Council’s combat boots for combat have slightly protruding parts in a toothed shape, and the reason for this is to leave traces by dragging the protruding parts of the boots on the ground in a situation where they are in danger or being dragged unconscious.
And that trace was left along with the blurred footprint that Hugo found. It seemed that he had tried to erase it by rubbing it with his foot, but it was left with a part cut off because he didn’t have enough time to hide it completely.
In other words, if that footprint was not Leonardo’s, then Kenneth was being dragged away unconscious by someone else, and since the trace of his boots being dragged was not visible from the beginning but was found only in that area, it seemed that someone who was taking Kenneth had put him down on the floor for a while to block the road using magic.
The reason why he had to put him down when he had two hands was because he couldn’t use both hands, and if so, there was a high possibility that Leonardo was in the other hand.
In other words, it was true that Kenneth and Leonardo went that way, but they may have been moved by someone else, and both of them may be unconscious.
Hugo, who had been quietly lost in thought, pulled his mind back out and returned to the meeting site where the story about the underground space and the missing people was unfolding.
As he was silently observing the situation, he suddenly felt a gaze towards him and turned his head, and he saw Squad Leader 8 looking at him with anxious eyes.
Hugo, who met her eyes, rubbed his forehead for a moment. Since she was intelligent and had good judgment, she seemed to have noticed the strange signs in the superior’s expression early on.
Hugo blamed himself for not being able to control his expression, turned his head back to the front to relieve her anxiety, and opened his mouth.
“It is certain that the two are still alive.”
At the words of the Commander, who had been silent all along, the commanders stopped talking and focused on him.
“And the direction we need to move forward has become clearer.”
Hugo picked up a model horse placed at the end of the table and placed it on the map.
“Molton Battalion Commander. You and all of the 9th Battalion will go straight south as it is and join the pursuit team chasing Dermokas. Go and recover the bodies of the members and find the missing Squad Leader 4 to find out what their purpose is.”
At his long-awaited order, flames sparked in Rainer’s eyes.
“Yes, I understand.”
As a cool answer was heard, Hugo immediately shifted his gaze to Dellua and asked.
“Rivera Battalion Commander. Is the main force of the 6th Battalion currently led by Diaz Vice Commander?”
“Yes, that’s right. They are currently waiting in the plains and near Peak 63 in the western area.”
“The Central Branch 6th Battalion will return to the main force as soon as it dawns and join them, and conduct terrain surveys and nest searches while moving from the tunnels near Peak 63 and Peak 64 in the southeast direction. Immediately deal with any demon beasts that are found, but when a nest is found, notify me through a messenger and wait nearby for a while. If the messenger cannot keep up with the speed of me and the 1st Battalion and does not receive a reply for more than three hours, then follow the orders of Vice Commander Amos at the border headquarters.”
“Yes, I understand.”
After hearing Dellua’s answer, Hugo briefly instructed the commanders of the other battalions on the future direction. Then, he dismissed the battalions that had finished giving orders to rest for the next day.
After that, his gaze finally turned to where the 1st Battalion members were.
When the Commander’s gaze reached them, the gathered 1st Battalion members stood in line with nervous expressions. Squad Leader 8 was at the very front of them.
Hugo carefully examined their expressions, checked the watch on his wrist once, picked up the bulletproof vest next to him, put it on his body, and opened his mouth.
“The 1st Battalion, including myself, will now change its primary objective.”
Even the commanders of the other battalions, who had finished giving orders, turned their heads back to where the Commander and the 1st Battalion were at his solemn voice.
Hugo, who fastened the buckle across his chest, pulled the strap of the belt and firmly fixed it to fit his body, and then said, scanning the number of members with his eyes.
“From now on, our primary objective is to devote all our efforts to rescuing Leonardo Blaine and Kenneth Weaver.”
The number of heads he scanned with his eyes was two short, and now he had to go find them.
“We will take responsibility for not protecting our comrades, and we will never leave them exposed to the heat of the peninsula and the swamp of demon beasts. Finish all preparations within 5 minutes and depart immediately. Tonight will be long, so everyone should be prepared.”
“Yes, I understand!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the members scattered in an orderly manner with a powerful answer as if they had been waiting.
They immediately packed their bags and began to wear protective gear and equipment to start combat and search operations. Hugo, who was watching the scattered members, shifted his gaze to the arm protector that Flynn had prepared in advance to finish the remaining preparations as well.
And then, Squad Leader 8, who was still not moving and remained in front, caught his eye.
Unlike the busy squad members, she stopped in her place and was looking at Hugo. When one of Hugo’s eyebrows went up slightly at that, Squad Leader 8, who had been still, slowly opened her mouth.
“Commander.”
She had been speculating on the reason why the Commander’s expression had not been bright all along. And that speculation gave rise to several hypotheses, and then reached only one conclusion.
“By any chance, did you find the body of a person presumed to be an outsider under the cliff?”
She swallowed her saliva unconsciously even after asking the question. This was because she couldn’t think of anything else as the source of this ominousness.
Hugo stared at her silently, then turned his head towards the distant collapse site and said.
“No, there was no body or anything like that.”
At his firm answer, Squad Leader 8 closed her mouth and sighed silently.
Her expression hardened in an instant and her head was gradually lowered. The unpleasant situations she had been drawing in her head were replayed.
Hugo, who had been looking at the wasteland for a while, turned his gaze back and picked up the protector placed nearby.
He put on the protector on his right arm, which had been sutured earlier, and in the meantime, he opened his mouth again after seeing her hardened expression.
“Don’t worry. Just because the body wasn’t found doesn’t mean that he’s with those two.”
Squad Leader 8 looked up at him again at Hugo’s words.
“And even if he’s alive, he’ll be preoccupied with escaping.”
The dark clouds that had been hanging heavily in the sky slowly moved, and the hidden moon revealed its appearance. Thanks to that, the moonlight that came down to the ground illuminated the person in front of her.
Hugo, who had finished preparing by firmly fastening the protector on his right arm, faced the squad leader who was looking at him head-on. The moonlight was cast on his blue eyes, making them look sharper and colder than their original color.
Squad Leader 8 felt a suffocating sense of pressure from the man in front of her. It seemed that the coldness was not only due to the moonlight. His face looking down was clearly calm, but the atmosphere was filled with murderous intent. What was overflowing in the eyes she was looking at was clearly murderous intent.
At that time, Hugo’s stiff lips moved slowly and his low voice murmured as if vowing.
“But if he deviates from my expectations and harms the two of them.”
It was the first time in a long time that she had seen her superior angry.
“Then he will die by my hand.”