The God of Jesters
Chapter 453 - 7.17.2 The tunnel of death.

Chapter 453: 7.17.2 The tunnel of death.

"It would seem a big nest was exposed after a team tried to blow it up thinking it’s just one of the many small ones... well you can guess the rest." Hemant’s report was simple and on point, and this was enough to tell Amir what the target of the Radiant Knights actually was.

"Do you wish to take part in their raid?" Hemant asked after giving his report. To which Amir denied. "I don’t wish to be close to them in any manner or form." There was no need to get close to them as it would only create some unsavory rumors of the kind he was not that interested in.

And besides, there was that weird fellow. "Just keep an eye on them and tell me the result of their operation."

Amir was in a good mood at the moment, or at least a good enough mood in such a depressing environment where the cries of injured soldiers filled the air.

’At least we are luckier than those on the frontline. But not for long.’ Amir knew that this war was starting and no one could tell what would happen at the end.

But if what he understood from the little power he had seen Yethel capable of wielding, then it truly was the start of something much worse than one can imagine.

’Ho, I shouldn’t think too hard about this stuff.’

The daytime was the time for rest as the activity of ghouls would go down due to the sunlight, so many mortal soldiers used it as a chance to take a rest and sleep to their heart’s content, which included even his own team.

’They can really sleep.’

"I will be going on a walk, you take a rest."

"Sir...’

"I won’t go outside the camp. So remain here."

Bringing Hemant would only be troublesome for what Amir intends to do. Troublesome even.

Not to mention, if the Master as well as his servant were to disappear together, some people might notice things.

But if only the master disappeared for a bit, no one would bother asking questions as the servant would usually not leave his master’s side for long. Specifically for the members of the Imperial Family, who are known to bring their whole group wherever they go.

"Prince Amir, I wish to enter the barracks."

The camp he was in was just a few clicks away from the barracks, so with his superhuman speed, it didn’t take for him to reach it in just a few minutes.

As for entering it, that would be an issue for others, even for an Imperial like him.

That is, if not for the secret entrance that was on the side of the hill a bit of a distance away from the real barracks.

"Please touch the stone, the door will open on its own." A sound came from the empty hill that didn’t seem to hold any life. But Amir was well aware of the amount of danger he was surrounded with.

One wrong move and even a Royal like him would be taken down instantly.

So he just did as was asked of him putting his hand on a rock that seemed inconspicuous from the rest, but with a hint of shock on Amir’s palm, the rock divided and showed a path filled with countless soldiers that were aiming their weapons at him.

"You may enter." Came the command.

"Stop with formalities, Commander, I am here to bring Prince Amir to the General." Came the voice of a young woman exuding heavy radiation from her body.

’A Master rank mage.’

Though it was hard to know from what school she belonged to, Amir instinctively felt that if both of them fought, it would be hard to tell who would be the winner of their bout.

’Interesting.’

He followed her without a word, nor was she in the mood for small talk.

The war was upon them and everyone was busy with their work.

So Amir coming here disturbed some of her duties, which she didn’t appreciate as much.

’These Imperials don’t know the correct timing.’

"Ruiya, thank you for receiving Prince Amir, you can leave for now." Inside his room General Vera spoke, pushing the girl away before she could make any introductions.

It was easy to see that even he had little time to give away.

"Well, I have opened the door, you can go and have a talk... also if possible, can you ask Grand General to send an Archmage Iron Bolt? We need someone like him to take out those missiles."

"I will try to speak to him about it."

"Thank you, Prince Amir, i will be on my way... also the door will only open from the inside, so don’t worry about anyone barging in." With those words, General Vera left.

’Hah...’ The more responsibility over one’s shoulder, the less rest time one would have during the war. General Vera currently handles the security and protection of the mortal soldiers as well as the city of Durum.

Which still got struck with missiles from what he heard.

As for the Frontline? There were currently Three Generals active and directly fighting against the Generals of Yethel.

Going down the hatch which was beside General Vera’s seat and his own little electric fans he created for the general. He found a small tower in the room with a phone hung on it.

"Grandfather, we need to talk." With those words, the tower lit up, before calming down.

"Hmm, I had expected you to take a bit longer before contacting me."

"This is not about the war Grandfather... it’s about something else."

".. Speak, what is it this time?"

"The servant I kept around might have been his pawn... I might have played into his hands."

"... What?"

*****

"General Vance, isn’t it said that the ghouls don’t come out at day?" On the side, Farhad asked after seeing a confusing scene in front of him.

"Obviously the ghouls are nocturnal creatures and fear the sun for obvious reasons," Vance spoke, looking toward the Dusk Knights fighting this foul beast on their own. "But those are the most basic kind of ghouls... just like among the Knights, there is a strict hierarchy among ghouls and variants who are born due to uncontrollable mutations that these vile creatures suffer from."

"Most among them die though... I had seen a few trying to evolve in front of my eyes during my youth, but none of them succeeded besides growing an extra limb.

"Then there are beasts like this, some who are lucky enough to grow scabs all over their skin, causing it to turn thicker and darker. Just enough to ignore the purification effect of the sun."

"Why do you think the group that found it was annihilated? If not for the flair, this place would still have remained a mystery to us."

As Farhad listened to such an explanation, his eyes shined with an odd delight that he hid soon after. ’Ho, this is good.’

... Why is this a good thing?

Shaking his head and getting rid of the contradictory thoughts that rose up in his head. Farhad walked to the Dusk Knights who were cleaning up their sword after the battle. "These bastards are still alive... for some reason." One of the Dusk knights spoke, finding these monsters a bit annoying.

But such curses were not for long as the first rays of sunlight fell on these exposed innards of the ghouls and burned them to ashes.

This was obviously a spell of Priest Boman, who found this whole situation a bit messy. "Don’t hold back, we need to end them before they learn we have found the entrance to their hive," he warned his Knights, who were still treating this whole fight as a joke a while ago.

This can be seen from the very fact that they never used the flames of Purification on these ghouls from start to finish.

"This is going to take too long, we are not on a stealth mission. Rushing ahead like a madman should work... if anyone is in danger, I will act." Vance spoke from the side with a hint of arrogance, which was understandable as he was the only one among the group who held a grandmaster’s level of strength.

"There is no need to rush, we only have one chance, just one chance to act. If we go in ignorantly all we can do is get lost... So slow and steady, but dispatching the foes should be done instantly." Boman spoke before turning to Vance. "As for Grandmaster Vance, it would be perfect if you don’t act... we don’t want to scare away any strong fish before we can take them out."

After a bit of contemplation, Vance nodded.

Even the act of saving people would expose his strength in a smaller area if he were to suppress it as much as he could.

But that is enough to inform the ghouls that someone strong has entered their nest.

"But if things go bad, I won’t care about holding back..."

"That is natural."

On the other side, Farhad looked at the ashes of the ghouls before turning to look at the broken ground that seemed to look like a giant slant tunnel going deep into the deepest reaches of the earth.

’Hmm.’

This was ominous, this almost reminded him of all the tales of Taboo he had heard as a child.

"Father Boman, can you predict the estimate? How many ghouls might be present in the Cave Tunnel?" Farhad asked, curious after seeing such a large hole in the ground.

"Around ten thousand at all, though the quality ones will be no more than a hundred, so you don’t have to worry."