Epilogue: Traitor!

I throw the papers of mission report onto the floor. I crash back into my chair and rub my face abrasively. This is ridiculous. I have spent so many years of my life trying to fight New Haven. And it doesn’t seem to lead us anywhere.

Lord Wrazen had assigned my division to stifle New Haven’s operation many years ago. Knowing that New Haven’s plan is to recruit as many Marked Ones from the Outside World to form the bulk of their army, I mobilized many squads to intercept New Haven’s extraction mission whenever we received such intelligence. However, no matter how many Marked Ones we captured, it doesn’t seem to slow them down a bit.

Lord Wrazen has been very impatient with our progress lately. He thought that I should take a more aggressive approach in handling New Haven, that I should strike them at their heart instead of hurting them at the surface. He said, as long as New Haven is not totally annihilated, our City will never be safe.

Perhaps it is the time I raise the intensity of our attacks against New Haven. I’m growing tired of throwing Marked Ones into the prison. Eventually one day, our City will run out of resources to feed them in the prison.

I’m growing tired of executing New Haven operatives whom we captured. The more we executed them, it only serves to further strengthen New Haven’s resolve instead of breaking them.

I’m going to strike at their heart—I want to find a way to get to New Haven and fight them there. Then I’m going to cut off their head—I’m going to take down their leader Shadowman once and for all.

All I need to find is just one portal that can lead us to New Haven. I just need New Haven to slip up once in their operations. Then I’ll claim my legacy as the Swordmaster Commander who successfully destroys New Haven for good.

But New Haven has been very cautious when it comes to covering their tracks. Every portal they use to bring the Marked Ones from the Outside World to New Haven opens in different spots of our City, making them extremely difficult to track.

We have successfully captured several operatives from New Haven. Each time we interrogated them, none of them knew where the next portal would open. They only said that Shadowman is the one that decides.

Knowing New Haven has a few ‘ears’ among the government ministers, I often execute their operatives in the public to lure New Haven to send men to rescue their operatives. However, New Haven seems to have a mutual understanding with their operatives—that if these operatives are captured, they are truly on their own, and no help will be on its way.

Maleek is one of my top apprentices. I trained him to be a good swordfighter and also to be a ruthless strategist when it comes to achieving our mission objectives. I’m deeply saddened that I’ve lost one of my top men. And in the midst of all these, someone as incompetent as Gideon got to walk away from this mission with Lord Wrazen’s attention and the last laugh.

I know executing their latest captured operative Kiera is just another routine. I highly doubt that New Haven will send anybody to intervene. Deep down inside of me, I’m hoping that Maleek might still be alive and perhaps is truly held captive by New Haven since we failed to find him in the mansion. Assuming that is the case and New Haven agrees to a prisoner exchange, that is all the window of opportunity I need.

But judging from previous experiences, New Haven would not rescue their captured operatives from being executed. So I can give up hope on using Kiera as the leverage to lure New Haven out.

Lord Wrazen said a war is going to break out in our City soon. Hezekiah has never sent a large army to fight us as he is too caught up with conquering the remaining cities in the Outside World. So far we have received minor troubles from the Undead Patrols that occasionally find their way into our City. But they are nothing we cannot handle.

Once Hezekiah has conquered the remaining free cities, he will turn his eyes to our City as his final prize. Lord Wrazen is confident that our Swordmaster military is strong enough to defend the City when the time comes.

But there is one thing that worries Lord Wrazen—New Haven will attempt to take that opportunity to attack us from within the City. They have been plotting to take over the City from us for so many years. We cannot afford to fight two fronts at the same time.

Lately, New Haven has been aggressively rescuing Marked Ones from the Outside World to form the bulk of their military strength. Given enough time, they will be able to amass a sizable army to match the Swordmasters. The longer we delay in destroying New Haven, the stronger they will become over time.

How are we supposed to fight an enemy who doesn’t even give an opening to attack them? I know I would probably get sleepless nights figuring out a solution to this.

I need to figure out the best strategy to take down New Haven without dragging the entire City into a civil war.

A Swordmaster knocks on my office door. “Commander, somebody left a note for you at the reception desk.”

I ask, “Who is it from?”

The Swordmaster hands me the note. “Nobody saw the sender, Commander.” He then leaves my office.

I open the note and read it. “Commander Jackal, the way to New Haven will be open soon. Prepare your army and be ready to take them down. But watch those around you, there is a traitor on your side helping New Haven.”

At the end of the note, it is signed with ‘Your spy’.

I’ve found the answer I needed.

To be continued...

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