Chapter 56: Strengths of the Commanders

Retas Pov

I sighed as Hiesno walked up to my cell.

"You again?" I said.

"Seems you've grown tired of me," he said, a hint of laughter in his otherwise calm voice.

I leaned my head back against my pillow. "Well, guess it could be worse."

"You mean Zane?"

I recalled how he had threatened me. "Yeah."

"Don't worry, he won't be visiting you any time soon."

My gray eyes shifted over to him. "Did something happened to him?"

"I don't mean it in that way. Zane is fine. Arisa simply had him take a break from his job. Although, he still gets a few tasks, such as today."

I hummed. "That so?" My eyes went to the door. Arisa, Kaeii, Sarudei, and Zane walked in, accompanied by three others. One of the three strangers bore a resemblance to Arisa, while another looked like a more peppy Zane.

Hiesno turned to look at them. "Sis." He gasped as soon as he saw the lady resembling Arisa.

Arisa smiled. "Met the other me. Her name is Varia."

Varia waved. "Hello, I'm a Captain from Retra."

My eyes widened. "Did she just say Retra?"

She glanced at me. "Now, Retas of Titanos, how about you explain what your people are really after. Why are you conquering multiple universes? I asked your fellow commander, Zepheria the same thing. But I want to hear your own answer."

Zepheria? Did she fight him?

"How do you know Commander Zolstien?" I asked.

"We had the misfortune of fighting him," the third stranger said, crossing his arms. "That guy was very strong. I assume you're at the same level?"

I smiled. "One could say that I'm stronger."

Kaeii grinned. "That so? Guess that means that I could take on this Zepheria Zolstein guy."

I sighed. "I didn't go all out against you, you know."

He blinked. "You didn't?"

"Of course I didn't. If I had, you would've suspected of me being a Titanos." I crossed my arms and snickered. "Although, that doesn't make your win over me any less commendable."

Kaeii smiled.

Zane sighed. "You know a lot of Commanders besides just Yusan, right? Tell us their weaknesses and strengths."

I sighed. "While I know a lot, I don't know all of their weaknesses. Yusan is one whose weakness I don't know. But I can tell you their strengths. Commander Yusan is great at using ki. When I fought him, I injured him gravely, but with ki, he managed to undo the damage I had done to him."

Varia hummed. "So, this Yusan guy is one of the ones who can rapid heal using ki."

Arisa glanced at her. "Did you use ki to heal your wounds too? I didn't feel it being used while I was tending you and Vyran."

"No. We have something called nanobots which can heal our bodies."

I smiled. Interesting. Maybe I could learn something from Retra from this trio of strangers.

"Interesting," I remarked. "Nanobots, huh? Sounds like advanced technology."

Varia nodded. "It is. But it's not infallible. Severe injuries can still be fatal. And overusing them can lead to complications."

That sobered the mood. Even with all their advanced technology, they still faced the same dangers and limitations as we did.

"Still, it's fascinating," Sarudei chimed in. "I'd love to learn more about your technology and how it works."

Varia smiled at her. "I'd be happy to share what I know, as long as it's not classified."

Sarudei grinned. "Deal."

Arisa turned back to me, her gaze serious. "Retas, we need all the information we can get. You're our best source right now."

I sighed, leaning back against the wall. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Everything," she replied, her gaze unwavering. "Every detail about the commanders, their tactics, their strengths, and weaknesses. We need to be prepared."

I had to admire her determination. "I am no Rat. You think I will betray Titanos? I am happy telling you about Yusan since he betrayed us. But not about the others."

"Can't you tell us Commander Zolstein's strength?" Varia asked.

The Zepheria and Zane look-alike nodded.

I nodded. "Fine. Not that you will gain much from it. Zepheria's strength is his eyes. And I don't just mean good vision, which he does have. He has great observational skills.

"He has the ability to perceive things beyond the normal human capacity," I continued, careful to choose my words wisely. "His eyes can see through illusions, detect invisibility, and even predict movements to some extent."

The room fell silent as they absorbed the information. Zane was the first to break the silence. "That sounds... formidable."

"It is," I confirmed. "And that's not all. He's also an expert hand-to-hand combatant and a skilled strategist. He wouldn't be a commander otherwise."

Varia frowned in thought. "That, I am aware of. I fought him and lost. Granted, he resorted to using his mecha to catch me off guard."

I smiled. That sounded like my friend alright.

Varia's brother sighed. "Seems you weren't kidding when you said that it wouldn't help us."

"If there was something, I wouldn't have said a thing. Commander Yusan is the only one I have beef with. I am still loyal to Titanos at the end of the day."

Sarudei frowned. "So, what you said before about being against them was all a lie?"

I nodded. "It didn't help me get me out of this cell, so I might as well confess."

"You really are shameless."

I turned away. "Can you tell what my strengths are?"

"Your strengths?" Sarudei echoed, her gaze thoughtful. "Well, you're a skilled fighter, that much is clear. You managed to hold your own against Kaeii, even without going all out."

"Agreed," Zane chimed in, his tone begrudging. "And you're good at manipulation. You had us believing that you were on our side, even though you're still loyal to Titanos."

I couldn't help but smirk at that. "Well, I'll take that as a compliment."

Arisa crossed her arms over her chest, her expression stern. "It's not a compliment, Retas. It's a warning. We won't be fooled by your lies again. If you want to help, then help. But don't play games with us."

Her words stung, but I knew she was right. I had played my hand and lost. Now, all I could do was cooperate and hope for the best.

"Alright," I said, meeting her gaze. "I understand. No more games."

"Good," Arisa said. "Now, let's get back to the matter at hand. We need all the information we can get about Titanos and their commanders."

I sighed. "No matter how much you insist, I won't betray my people. So drop it."

Zane gritted his teeth. "Just talk already!"

"Calm down, Zane!" Kaeii said, pulling him away.

I sat up. "Well, unless you people give me info about your own forces."

Arisa gritted her teeth. "You think we would do so?"

"No, yet you expect me to do just that to my forces."

Zane scoffed. "You really are s villain!"

"Think of me as you will. A villain, a hero, it doesn't matter. What matter is getting my mission done. That is now taking down Yusan."

Arisa took a deep breath. "Right, that is our unifying factor."

"Yes," I agreed, my gaze steady. "That's the one thing we can all agree on. Yusan is a threat to both of us."

"And after we defeat Yusan?" Sarudei asked. "What then? You'll turn on us?"

I shrugged. "Who knows? I don't plan that far ahead."

Hiesno scoffed. "I honestly doubt that."

He was partially right. I had come up with multiple plans, but had yet to settle on one.

Arisa sighed, rubbing her temples. "This isn't getting us anywhere. We need a plan, and we need it now."

Zane crossed his arms over his chest. "I say we use Retas as bait. Let him lead us to Yusan and we'll take him down together."

I raised an eyebrow. "You want to use me as bait? That's a bit risky, don't you think?"

"Risky, but effective," Zane replied, his gaze hard. "We can't afford to waste any more time. We need to strike now, while we still have the element of surprise."

"Zane's right," Arisa agreed, her gaze meeting mine. "We need to act fast. Yusan won't be expecting an attack from us, not so soon. We have a chance to take him down, and we need to take it."

I had to admit, their plan had merit. It was risky, yes, but it could work. And if it meant taking down Yusan, I was willing to risk it.

"Alright," I said, meeting their gazes. "I'll do it. I'll lead you to Yusan."

Arisa nodded. "Good. We'll need to prepare. Gather our forces, make a plan. This won't be easy, but if we work together, we can do this."

"We're with you, Arisa," Kaeii said, his gaze determined.

Sarudei nodded, her expression serious. "We can do this. We have to."

As I watched them, a strange sense of camaraderie washed over me. One I hadn't felt since my capture. But for now, we had a war to prepare for. And I, for one, was not planning on losing.