TBATE-PRODIGY

Chapter 87

"What? But the Retainers and Scythes have Vritra blood! They already broke the treaty!" Blaine retorted.

"No. Although they have the blood of the Vritra in their veins, they're not Asura. They're also an exception to the treaty." Lord Aldir explained.

"So the Scythes, they're free to join the war then?" Alduin asked shakily.

"Correct." Lord Aldir nodded.

The room fell silent as we processed this information. I thought about these Scythes and how they're supposed to be incredibly powerful. If Alacrya did send them, how could we even hope to defeat them if we can't even kill a retainer?

"Virion. Virion!" I looked up to see everyone looking at me. "Virion the scroll," Buhnd said as he pointed next to me.

I followed his gaze and saw the communication scroll next to me glowing. I hurriedly picked up the scroll and opened it. I watched as an image of Helen appeared.

"Captain Shard. Do you have a report for me?" I asked.

"Yes, Commander, and I'm afraid it's not good," Helen said as she looked down, and I could feel my stomach drop.

'What happened? Is Tessia ok? Did she lose a large number of soldiers?'

I took a breath, as I needed to stay calm.

"Tell me what happened," I said as calmly as I could muster.

"Commander, we were able to find the dungeon boss and defeated it with minimal casualties. However, once the boss was defeated, a Retainer appeared." Helen said.

I could see Alduin and Merial's faces pale. My grip on the scroll tightened in nervousness, and I did my best to keep my composure.

"Continue," I said, pushing down the lump in my throat.

"We engaged the Retainer, but we couldn't defeat it. They wielded some type of decay magic that blocked our attacks. With Caera's insight, we were able to counter her attacks successfully. However, we still lost fifteen soldiers. We were able to escape thanks to Tessia Eralith. She unleashed her beast will and caught the Retainer unawares, giving us the opportunity to escape. We are now on our way to the wall for resupply." Helen reported.

Pride swelled within me, hearing how Tessia protected her group.

"Very good. Get to the wall, resupply, and regroup. Provide General Elion with the casualty list." I ordered.

Helen nodded. She stared at me for a second before she gave a soft smile. "Tessia is fine. She's currently with her friends." Helen said as she could probably see I was worried about her. I could also see Merial and Alduin sigh in relief.

I gave a soft smile and a nod. "Thank you, Helen," I said. Helen gave one last nod as the communication ended.

We all sat there silently for a few seconds before I heard Buhnd speak.

"Well fuck. Now what?" Buhnd sighed as he sat back in his chair.

"You heard them; they're fine. They will get more supplies and head back out there." Blaine shrugged.

"That's not what he meant," Alduin said as he looked worried.

"What?" Blaine said, confused.

"Did you seriously not hear anything she just said? A Retainer attacked them." Pricilla said irritatedly.

"So? We've had multiple reports of Retainers," Blaine said with a raised brow.

"Not in the Beast Glades," I said, rubbing my temples.