Chapter 58: The  Veteran Captain Retires  

Chapter 58: The Veteran Captain Retires 

Year 0003, I-III Month: The Imperium

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The Surviving Members

By now, the Corvus guards who had escaped the hellish encounter had arrived at Kirka Village, battered and wounded; their once well-polished armor now resembled mere scraps hanging by threads. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across their haggard faces as they stumbled through the village gates.

To Rommel's surprise, the expected contingent that was late to arrive had been diminished to only the Veteran Guards Captain and a few recruits, along with a handful of old veterans. The smell of defeat hung heavy in the air as they approached.

He had not expected them to look so grievously wounded upon arrival, and worse still, they had lost all of their cargo—human slaves that were meant to be sold to a high-stakes buyer. The implications of this failure sent a cold wave of dread through Rommel's spine.

Rommel was at first furious, pacing the confines of his quarters, until the full reality dawned on him: how would he report this to his superiors at Corvus headquarters? They had no slaves to deliver, and now their guards were reduced to a mere 15 out of the 150 that were sent to escort their valuable cargo.

To the villagers of Kirka, the Corvus guards were reputable men who needed help—protectors of trade routes and keepers of order. What they did not know was that these men deserved their fate more than anything. But since ignorance is bliss, they all helped them at the behest of their acting lord, Rommel, who now bore an ugly scar across his face, all thanks to Jonathan's surprise attack during their last encounter. The wound had healed poorly, leaving a jagged line from cheekbone to chin that twisted his expressions into perpetual contempt.

Inside the fortified manor that served as the outpost's headquarters, Rommel confronted the weary captain.

"So tell me again, Captain Sandeval, what in the blazes happened?" Rommel's voice echoed off the stone walls as he circled the captain like a predator. "How do you expect me to report this catastrophe to the higher-ups? I heard you were already retiring soon, and you were the best of both worlds: a normal-looking captain for the reputable Zargos Mercantile and a veteran escort in the underworld." His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "Please, humor me. My brain seems to be missing a few connections. Ever since that bastard dared to wound me, I have been surrounded by incompetent fools!"

Captain Sandeval stood unmoving, barely keeping himself awake from the bone-deep exhaustion that weighed upon him. Rommel's words reached him as if through water, distorted and distant. The captain's once-proud posture was now bent, his weathered face a map of new scars and old regrets.

He mustered enough strength to answer the outpost manager, another prick in this disgusting world he had served for too long.

"We were suddenly ambushed by the inhabitants of the great forest," Sandeval began, his voice steady despite his fatigue. "We were taken by surprise, unable to react in time. I tried, with all my experience, to rally our forces, but we were merely toys to those massive Grimfangs."

His eyes grew distant as he recounted the horror. "Any force we attempted to muster was nothing in their face—trampled to nothingness. While we tried to defend the cages, those wolves pushed them down, destroying their locks, and in that span of time, the slaves began running one by one deeper into the forest."

Sandeval paused, a tremor passing through his body at the memory. "I only glimpsed it at the corner of my vision, but those slaves were also being tossed around and ripped apart just like us. When I noticed that some of the wolf pack had split up to chase the slaves, that was when I decided to order the retreat; standing our ground was meaningless."

He continued with flat resignation, "The beasts that towed the massive cages were also killed. So we ran here to this outpost to hurriedly report our misfortune. That is all of it. I won't try to brush it off like nothing happened, but at that moment, I believed that my order for the retreat was the right thing to do." With a defiant look at Rommel, he concluded, "Say what you will to the higher-ups, but I'm done with this life."

Rommel listened to everything the captain said, mentally calculating how to twist these words when reporting to headquarters. His fingers absently traced the scar on his face, a habit he had developed since the wound had healed.

"Then so be it," Rommel said, his voice cold. "I hope the higher-ups would be as understanding as I am, because I assure you, every word you have said, I will pass along to them." His lips curled into a cruel smile. "Your retirement? You can kiss it goodbye. The blame will fall squarely upon you; they won't have to pay you your pension. To be honest, it would have been better if you had died; they wouldn't have had to waste resources just to hunt you down."

He leaned in close, his breath hot on Sandeval's face. "For I know they will pursue you to the ends of the world for this extreme failure."

Sandeval was unfazed by the threats. For many days during their journey back, he had contemplated why he was tasked to lead this group. They must have expected something like this to happen—perhaps not as catastrophic, but a failure nonetheless. And if he had succeeded against all odds? He would have met with an unfortunate "accident" anyway.

He was certain this assignment had been a death sentence for him. After all these years, he now understood why that old and retiring captain who had led them into the very same forest years ago had been chosen to command. Taking out a retiree to save some hefty money was truly an underworld tactic that only the heads would conceive.

After they had used men like him for many years, they would eliminate them to avoid paying retirement benefits. In the end, he had also come to that same juncture; he was now the next in line to die.

So he spoke his thoughts to Rommel about the matter, a newfound clarity in his voice.

"I hope they come in droves; at least I would go down with a bang!" And with that, he left the study hall where they currently were, abandoning every man who had survived with him to their own fates.

As he walked through the village, his mind raced. Where to now? It was a question he could not yet answer: how could he bide his remaining time and enjoy his rather short retirement?

Then a thought dawned on him: should he also take the chance to venture deep into the forest, just like the slaves had done? At least there, he might find freedom like they had sought.

He realized he was also another form of slave who couldn't leave of his own accord, but now that chance presented itself, he would seize it and follow the path those slaves he had escorted had taken.

This must be what they had thought when they ran deeper into the forest floor—the desperate hope for freedom, regardless of the dangers. He now understood their choice with perfect clarity. As the sun set behind the treeline of the distant forest, Captain Sandeval made his decision. Tonight, he would disappear.