Nexus Station, one hour earlier.
Within the main hall that was placed in the center of the space station, a few figures were seen congregating in front of a translucent widescreen showing a certain area of the infamous Wasteland.
“Principal, it has been confirmed. Those three envoys have entered the Orc Lair and seen the Orc Project.”
“Ugh!! Those ungrateful envoys!!” the Principal cursed hearing the news. “I have welcomed and hosted them in such a way, but this is their way of repaying my generosity! They really are asking for trouble!!”
A man wearing a military uniform reported. “Principal, we have jammed the signal around the area, making sure that no information is sent outside except ours. However, we still need to decide how to deal with them.”
“Good!” The Principal then looked towards one person who arguably knew what to do with the current situation the most.
“What do you think, Otto? You have been with them for the past two days. What do you think we should do to them?”
The Minister of Science first gave his respect to the Principal before saying, “During my observations, these envoys are not just strong and capable. They are also passionate and idealistic. They are not easy to deal with.”
Hearing such words, the magus that stood next to the Principal, Garnet, the proclaimed leader of the Nexus faction’s circle of 10 magus said.
“Even so, we should at least stop them before they know more. We should ask Jorah and Conleth for this. The two of them should be able to reach the Orc Lair in half an hour.”
The Principal didn’t even hesitate when he heard the advice. “Do it.”
It was at this moment that another officer entered the hall and reported something to the Principal.
“Principal, the envoys who are being held in the detention room insist on speaking to you.”
This news did nothing but further, irritate the Principal as he instantly decided to refuse the request. In fact, he was about to order to tighten security and ignore all the requests of the two envoys when Otto stopped him, advising him to hear the two’s words first.
“Principle, we actually might be able to probe and see how much they can be reasoned with.”
From his facial expression, the Principal was clearly annoyed by the idea. But nevertheless, he followed the minister’s advice.
A few minutes later, the figure of Julian could be seen entering the main hall. Just as he was about to walk past the huge door, he was stopped by two soldiers who proceeded to inspect him.
“Clear. There’s nothing, no weapon or even a storage ring.” Staring at the Roman, the soldier said, “You may enter the hall now.”
As if nothing was amiss, Julian walked to the center of the hall in a confident gait. The moment his footsteps stopped, his body slightly bent forward as he bowed in the Principal’s direction before finally starting to speak.
“Principal, please explain why you dared to detain an envoy of the Magus Alliance, without providing any explanations at that.” A wronged look on his face, the Roman continued, “I don’t think I did anything wrong. So what’s the reason?”
With a smile that was the complete opposite of how he was feeling right now, the Principal said, “Envoy, please understand that apart from the alliances, every faction has its own rules. And for this matter, we cannot explain.”
Nodding his head, Julian smiled understandingly. “If that’s the case, then let me ask a more specific question.” His expression was still nonchalant, but his tone turned serious as he said “Tell me what you are planning. Why did you breed a massive number of orcs?”
The instant Julian’s words were registered in his brain, the smile seen on the Principal’s face vanished as if it had never appeared. There was silence for a while, as the Headmaster didn’t say anything and Julian waited for the other party’s response.
“…It’s truly unfortunate that you know about this.”
With a single look from the Principal, the guards within the hall quickly took action. They surrounded Julian from all directions, held both of his hands together, and chained him.
What surprised the Principal and the others was the fact that Julian didn’t even try to resist any of this. Instead of him being restrained by the Nexus faction, it looked as though it was the Roman who took the initiative to let himself be chained up.
After his arms were locked by the metal chains, Julian looked at the Principal and calmly asked, “Does this mean that you are betraying the alliance? Are you cooperating with the elves?”
It was apparent that the Principal became even more annoyed when he saw the look on Julian’s face.
“We’re just doing everything that needs to be done in order to survive.”
An officer interrupted the conversation between the Principal and Julian at this point, as he had brought the latest news.
“They have returned to the surface, Principal. Jorah and Conleth have spotted them and are currently approaching their location.”
When he heard that, as if an idea popped into his mind, the Principal nodded and said, “Is that so? Well, then let the esteemed envoy see his friends.”
A large visual screen appeared once again, showing the moving images of two magus approaching three people seen standing in the middle of the Wasteland. At this moment, the officer spoke.
“Your order, Principal?”
“Tell them to stop those three from investigating any further. Kill them if necessary.”
The Principal had a wicked smile on his face as he said, “I’d rather be investigated for missing envoys than for our secret to be discovered.”
Not long after the Principal passed down his orders, he and everyone in the hall was dumbfounded to see how their two magus were badly beaten by two Rank 9 acolytes. And if that wasn’t disastrous enough, their supposedly more powerful magus seemed to be interrogated instead.
“Urrgghh! Dispatch the drone! Prepare the Star Blaster!”
Julian couldn’t help but become slightly anxious hearing such words. He quickly calmed himself down as he needed to watch and take note of the Nexus faction’s capability. But soon enough, his anxiety disappeared when he saw his friends had successfully escaped.
“We can’t detect them! They have a space magic user, they could literally be anywhere!”
The Principal cursed vehemently watching the failures he suffered. He turned furious, losing all trace of the friendliness he had always shown before.
Seeing such a reaction, Julian calmly said, “You won’t be able to catch them.”
Seemingly unaffected by the provocation, the Principal scoffed as he said, “Hah! At least we still have you two, I will have you help me catch them!”
Still calm, Julian said, “Are you sure you have two of us?”
While the Principal was still unsure what the captured envoy’s words meant, a siren suddenly sounded in the air, followed by a hasty officer reporting that the other captive had broken out of the confinement.
“HUH!? FOOLS!!! All of you are fools!!” the Principal vented his anger towards the unlucky officer. Turning to the two magus he ordered “You two go and catch him!”
On the other side of the space station, Thrax could be seen wreaking havoc by swinging his spear freely. All the mechanical soldiers who tried and stood in his path were destroyed by the gleaming weapon in his hand.
“Hahaha!! Come catch me if you can!!”