Chương 137: Chapter 134 - The Mana Compass

Sergeant Cole dropped the patrol private and now turned completely toward me, his chaotic mana and anger now focused. The worst thing was, it was focused on me. I gulped nervously. Somehow, I was more scared now than I had been facing the barbarian.

"Edward, explain," Sergeant Cole said, walking toward me, stopping only when he was a few inches away. He towered over me as if one wrong word from me and I would be in the same situation as the patrol private.

"No, not here," I said, backing away a few steps, I turned around and made my way farther from everyone while taking deep breaths. The sergeant's pressure had almost made me forget what I wanted to talk to him about. Once we were far away from everyone, I spoke before the sergeant could say anything.

"First thing, I said those words only to grab your attention. I do not think anyone from your squad is involved," I said.

"That I know. We just arrived here. It is almost impossible for them to collude with barbarians." he said, almost sounding frustrated and angry at the same time.

"Sergeant, please let me explain how and what I found, then we decide." Taking a few more deep breaths, I started to explain.

"When we were on the way, I noticed foreign mana on you and Blake's armors. Initially, I thought nothing of it. It is not uncommon if you got those repaired recently. I am assuming you visited the armory." I looked at the sergeant, who nodded.

"But then, when I was facing the Tier-3 barbarian, I sensed the same mana on his pouch. So during the fight, my main focus was on getting that pouch."

"I was able to cut it off from the barbarian's waist. When I opened it, it contained a box with a hair-like thing which is always pointing at the patrol squad. Later, I confirmed that while you and Blake have only a small amount of foreign mana, the patrol squad is like a beacon of that same mana. As we know, the patrol squad was not aware of us following them, so..."

"Only people who knew about our mission were higher-ups of Fort Dunvale," the sergeant said, completing my sentence.

"Yeah," it almost escaped, sounding like relief. I was afraid, even after knowing I was right. I am just a small sergeant of a death squad, without any connections. To accuse lieutenant- and captain-level people could almost get me killed.

"Also, the mana was hidden. The only reason I was able to sense the mana was because I am a Tier-1 Rune Apprentice, making me sensitive to mana that is not native to the equipment itself. Also, Sergeant—" looking at the sergeant's eyes, "I do not think any patrol squad member would know all patrol assignments," pointing out his bias that was stopping him from thinking straight. Two Tier-3 barbarians were waiting to ambush, yet his first thought was that someone from the patrol had leaked information.

"Huh," the sergeant looked at me. He thought for a minute, then asked, "Then tell me this: why did he not inform his squad of the ambush? You saw him duck first. The first thing every soldier is taught is to shout when encountering an ambush... he might be the one involved with the barbarians, but from my standpoint, he was happy with his squad dying." I was stumped. I did not have any answer to the sergeant's question, yet after observing their squad for half a day, I had a feeling it was not that simple.

"I am not sure, sir, but it feels like it is more of a team bonding issue. Let me ask this," I took a pause, then continued, "what would you do if another lieutenant or sergeant accused one of your squadmates?" I asked. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"I would defend them. I trust my squad, and without evidence, I would not let anything happen to them," he replied.

"Yet when you grabbed him, none of them moved, not even an inch. In my previous squad, half of them would duck out of arrows and laugh after the ambush was successful," I said. The older members of my squad have changed; now they would inform us, maybe just to enjoy a good fight.

"Maybe we should just ask him," I continued. He nodded.

"Maybe we should." Then he somehow stood a little straighter than he already was.

"Nothing to worry about. We got the proof we needed. With the mana compass, we can match their mana with every soldier present in the fort. I will pass this mana compass to the Captain; he can conduct an investigation in the fort himself."

"Sergeant are you sure it is not the captain?" That was the one thing I was most scared about. After all, Sergeant Cole told me only the captain and he knew about this. This is why I first mentioned the vanguard squad, because if I had said captain without any proof, I would be dead. Also, I was not sure why the captain would sabotage his own men. Listening to my question, a chuckle escaped from the sergeant.

"Yeah," he nodded with confidence.

"Why?" I asked. Why was the sergeant removing the captain as a suspect? Even if there was a 1% chance of the captain being a traitor, I would not even know how to proceed from here.

"It is almost impossible to bribe the captain, and if he wanted to, he could have gotten away with this without getting the vanguard involved," he said, then looked at me and smiled.

"When a vanguard squad gets wiped, the capital gets involved. At least he would lose his post; at worst, he could lose his noble status." Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Have you checked the mana of everyone present here?"

"Yes, everyone. None of the soldiers present here have mana similar to that in the compass," I informed.

"Let's go then." Sergeant Cole turned toward the patrol squad. Before walking, he added, "Great job, Sergeant, once again," patting my shoulder.

"It looks like I almost let my bias allow me to make a huge mistake," he continued, looking in the direction of young private he had almost choked. Making our way to the squads, the first thing Sergeant Cole did was address the private.

"Private, can you tell me why you did not warn your squad of the ambush?" The poor private started fidgeting where he stood. Even after we had walked away, the vanguard squad had not let their guard down. They had surrounded the patrol squad and focused on the half-barbarian private, making him already nervous. He looked around, then his eyes finally settled on the sergeant of his squad.

"You don't have to worry about anything. This is just a question. As Sergeant Edward pointed out, you are not a suspect. In fact, he has cleared everyone present here." I nodded to the private, confirming the sergeant's statement. The private took a deep breath.

"I was ordered by the sergeant and lieutenant not to make any loud noise on patrol. Soldiers like me are not allowed on patrol. I do not know why I was assigned to patrol, but before being assigned, those were my orders." Listening to his words, Sergeant Cole and I looked at each other and just shook our heads. We knew half-barbarians were treated differently; we did not know it was to the extent that it would compromise the safety of their squads.

"I will report to the captain about the mission," the sergeant said. Then, looking at everyone, he continued, "We are to leave as soon as we can. Sergeant Edward has some evidence that could be useful. He has declared everyone here innocent. And Sergeant Edward, keep an eye on our road back. See if you can find any more clues on how information about the path was given." I nodded.

"Yes, sir. I will take my leave. My squad needs healing." While the patrol and vanguard squads also started making their way to my squad with me, they also had minor injuries, but I would not treat anyone before checking my squad. I was already running low on mana. I was not wasting any of it if it was not required. I approached my squad and almost laughed out loud looking at them. They took my words of not conserving herb paste literally. Both Kael and Barry were covered in it.

Kael had large wounds on his chest, thighs, and arms, while Barry's arm and shoulder were covered in cuts. But with the amount of herb used, it should reduce my mana expenditure. Activating my [Triage Ward], [Mana Manipulation], and [Vital Restoration], sending the healing effects of herbs into their bodies, taking the bandage out of Varric's hand, I started properly tying them up. Once I was done with the treatment, I sat on the side and started removing stone fragments from my legs and back.

I also checked on the other soldiers while we waited. After one hour, and recovering some of our mana, we stood up, ready to make our way back to Fort Dunvale.