Chapter 17- Found the Bugs

The sky was a brilliant shade of amber and crimson, blended in an iridescent cerulean hue as the gloating pyramids cascaded their shadows upon the earth. 

Far into the distance was the sandy plain, riddled by tales of wars and death as dead bodies of humans and untold creatures filled the lands. 

Amongst many other things was a hill, where a small army, or what was left of it, gathered to discuss the fate that awaited them. 

Time was no longer on their side, and sadly, they had run out of weapons for each of their use. 

The Commander had contemplated hard on his next decision, as it determined the life his soldiers would experience but a curve ball had been thrown into the mix. 

With sweat and dried-up blood, Paxton had walked out in front of the group, an iron rod and a slab of Solitude Rock. 

The Commander turned towards him with the Captains, their gazes stern. 

Paxton froze in his action, his gaze scanning their expressions when he noticed the smirk on Captain Rendo's expression. 

'Oh….did they do something while I was gone?' 

The Commander walked up to him and grabbed him by his collar. "Where did you get that rod?" He asked. 

Paxton raised a brow but remained silent as he replied. "From my tent, sir". 

They made use of rods to hold their tent, but that wasn't what the Commander was going to do. 

"We located a foreign object in your tent while you were gone, Sergeant Paxton". 

A chatter spread through the soldiers gathered as they glanced at each other in surprise. 

"Foreign object?" Paxton asked with a raised brow as the Captain approached him. 

"We found a communication device with proof that you have been communicating with the enemy for the past three months". 

The gasps that spread through the army caused a stir of wonder in Paxton. Of course, this was within his expectations, but he couldn't help but wonder who set him up. 

"I was set up, Commander. I would never communicate with the enemy" 

"It's hard to prove innocent when the evidence says otherwise," Captain Rendo said with a smirk as he glanced at the Commander and the boy. 

"Commander, I say we execute him now and be done with it". 

The Commander grunted slightly and turned towards the Captain, before turning towards Paxton. 

"Was this why you asked for tracking powder?" The Commander asked with a sigh as he dropped the boy on the ground. 

His sudden statement caused a stir among the people gathered, the Captain included. 

 Captain Rendo widened his eyes slightly at his statement. "...Tracking powder?" He asked. 

Paxton chuckled slightly. "I assumed the perpetrator would try to set me up if they found out I was too close to getting information on them". 

He explained. 

"Lieutenant Ri was also sent after me, Commander". He saluted in front of the Commander, while the others watched in silence. 

Captain Rendo's brows twitched in surprise. "Li–Lieutenant Ri?" 

Lieutenant Ri was a soldier directly under him, and perhaps one of his closest confidants but Paxton wasn't done. 

"I confirmed it as well, Commander. The Fork Waterway had a Storm Queen there, and the lieutenant was a bug". 

The Commander widened his eyes in surprise, but it remained short-lived as the soldiers gathered began a stir, surprise etched in their expressions. 

"Let's start by tracking who set you up, then…" he glanced at the objects that Paxton held. "...we do what you wish to do". 

With a nod, they both walked away, including some of the Captains, with Captain Rendo lingering behind. 

His expression had turned dark since a while ago as the soldiers, some of them at least, went their way to watch without being dismissed. 

'....Things are taking a wrong turn….I need to let the King know'. He thought, glancing up at the people gathered before quickly scurrying off with his iron-making belief walking stick. 

As he did so, the others left for Paxton's tent, where a member of the Army's weapons department held an ink. 

They had walked into the tent, their gazes scanning the room. 

It was like any other, small and self-contained, with clothing for the bed and a small lamp at the front. At the corner of the tent, though, was a pile of tied-up letters. 

'The Commander had not even touched It?' Paxton wondered as the soldier prepared the ink. 

The Commander and four of his Captains had gathered, as well as other important figures and some other members of the army, outside the tent. 

Their curiosity was palpable, but more than that, they wanted answers. 

With the Commander's command, the soldier poured out the dye on the spot where they had applied the dye and in a matter of seconds, the invisible dye turned dark red, spreading to the other places where the dye was applied and reaching outside the tent. 

The soldiers observed it for a moment before the Commander walked after it with Paxton and his Captains. 

They trailed it down to another tent, a long distance away from Paxton's, and a member of the weapons department. 

The Commander didn't need to think twice to know who this soldier was. With a slight grunt, he walked away from the group, heading back to the gathering where his other soldiers waited. 

"Come with me, Paxton". He commanded and the boy, with the slab of Solitude Rock and iron rod, quickly walked over to the Commander. 

"I'm guessing you killed the Storm Queen?" He asked with a slight frown on his face. 

Paxton remained silent for a while but nodded and replied. "Yes, Sir. I didn't have a choice and used all the explosives you gave me". 

"Not at all. I am glad I didn't lose a good soldier, that is all. You will be rewarded for this". He said as he picked up a nearby shotgun. 

"Yes, Commander…but there are more bugs". He replied. 

"bugs? So that was what they used….instead of replacing our members like we thought…they used bugs to infiltrate our ranks….that is a drastic move by the King". 

"He simply made use of his resources, it should have been put into consideration before setting out for the war". 

The Commander remained silent for a moment, and they continued their way to the gathering, where the soldiers gathered stared in surprise. 

Soon, others began to join them, their concern palpable as they stared at the weapon on the Commander's hands. 

"Where is Sergeant Rudin". He asked. 

A tense silence suffused before the man walked out of the group of soldiers with slight hesitance. His gaze flickered between Captain Rendo and Commander Johnfry. 

"He–Here I am, Commander". He replied, when the Commander suede my turned towards him, aimed the shotgun at his figure and pulled the trigger within a second.

An eruption of sound occurred and the man's body jerked as its head was blown into pieces, black blood oozing out of his body. 

The sudden gunshot caused a startle within the Army, as the people gathered stopped back in shock. 

"A bug!" 

"Rodin was a bug!"

It wasn't difficult for chaos to begin soon after, but Paxton walked out in front of the group and suddenly slammed the iron rod against the slab, causing a piercing, high-pitched echo to explode into the air. 

The Commander raised a brow in surprise, not because of the sudden echo that spread through his camp, but because of the reactions. 

The number of his soldiers that fell to their knees, as they cried out in agony and pain from the sensation was concerning.

He glanced behind, his eyes widening in shock. 

"....Captain Rendo?" He muttered as he turned to Paxton. 

He continued to slam the rod against the slab, causing the sound to be absorbed, amplified and erupted out as a high-pitched sound. Each amplified the sound of the latter, causing a continuous stream of imploding sounds, high enough to cause severe ear damage to sensitive ears. 

Of course, that included him.