BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM C.1058: Not Alone (2)

<Is it possible? Is it really possible they've figured out it was us who stole the ship?>

Erik nodded. <Why not? Think about it. The stolen ship itself, the impossible route through the sea thaid territory. That is, without considering all the stuff we did in Frant, sabotage, base destroying, cargo stealing, horde channeling.>

He paused. <Besides, we have followed their main supply route. I didn't actually plan of us to do all the stuff we did, but for sure we attracted attention, and since we had to be fast to get the ship, it's not like we want to a dock that far from the end of the supply line. For months they have been in a stalemate, and then, all of a sudden, Frant starts gaining ground?.

<Yeah,> June said, <Who else would attempt something like that but you?>

<Exactly.>

June paused for a moment. <It's a logical deduction, Master. But are you certain about this? After all, they do not have proof.>

Erik shook his head. <No, I'm not, of course. But there's a simple way to find out: we need to enter that outpost. If they're expecting me, their defenses and protocols will be different from a standard frontier outpost. Some of them might also know something.>

The voices of the approaching patrol grew. Erik and June hid better.

"Just another day of pointless patrol," one soldier said, his boots squelching on the ground.

"Tell me about it. We've been out here for weeks, and for what? The war's going to hell no matter what we do."

"Come on, guys," another soldier said. "It can't be that bad, right? I mean, we're still holding the line, aren't we?"

The first soldier let out a bitter laugh. "Holding the line? Kid, have you been paying attention? We've lost three major outposts in the last month alone. Frant's pushing us back faster than we can dig new trenches."

"But... but what about the blackguards?" the young soldier asked. "Aren't they supposed to be unbeatable?"

One of them spat on the ground. "Unbeatable? Ha! Fat lot of good they've done us lately. Something's changed on Frant's side. I don't know what it is, but it isn't good, and even the blackguards fear it. It makes little sense though. Frant is winning with all the technological shit we got from Etrium, and yet, here we are. "

"You don't know how much I would pay to go on their shores and let them taste hell."

Erik observed the approaching patrol through the foliage. The veteran soldiers' faces showed clear signs of fatigue and weariness.

The remaining one, the younger soldier, instead moved his eyes from tree to tree. Even he was nervousness in the unfamiliar jungle. Thaids could be everywhere, after all.

"I heard a rumor," the young soldier said. "They say Frant's got some kind of super-soldier. A guy who can take out entire platoons single-handedly."

He was talking about Erik.

The older soldiers exchanged glances. "Don't go spreading that nonsense," the first one growled. "We've got enough to worry about without ghost stories."

"It's true, I swear! Words said the blackguards are waging war against Frant to find this guy, and that he can control Wyverns!"

The others grumbled. "Wyverns? Now I heard them all!"

As the patrol passed by their hiding spot, their voices faded.

Erik focused on the retreating soldiers. He reached out with his Instability brain crystal power, probing their thoughts.

Erik used his mind-reading power to look into the soldiers' thoughts. He found their emotions simple. They felt scared, frustrated, apprehensive, and hopeless. Erik could tell they were tired from fighting for so long.

Even though Erik couldn't control their thoughts, he could see a lot of information in their minds. He saw quick flashes of their past missions, which showed how hard their job was, and how bad the general situation for Hin was.

But that wasn't all. Among their memories, he saw soldiers joking with each other about their worries. He also saw the many orders they had been given.

But one thought, one directive, one memory stood out above all others. A mission, repeated in each soldier's mind like a mantra: Their target was human, and they had to find it.

The higher ups looked certain there were enemies here in Frant, based on what they told to these guys.

Erik frowned. The soldiers were indeed looking for a human, but they didn't know who exactly, at least the soldiers, and the higher ups didn't share this information. They only knew this person had somehow gotten past Hin's defenses and made it deep into their land. However, the soldiers were told the target was extremely dangerous. That was why they got armed that well, but there was no name, no face to put to this intruder.

Erik stopped reading their minds. He felt frustrated; he wasn't so stupid to think it wasn't him who they were searching for, albeit the possibility was there.

<Becker shouldn't have sent no one else here...> frёeωebɳovel.com

Erik thought about what he learned. <The soldiers are looking for a human intruder. They likely increased security. There are rumors about a 'super-soldier'.>

He was their target. There was no other alternative. Though Erik wanted to be sure, he wanted to know what Hin knew, and if the blackguards were doing something secret about it.

<Fuck...> The enemy being aware of him would make things harder. But it also showed that his actions were making a difference and, despite everything, he felt proud. After all, it was not common for one person to cause so many problems for an entire army.

Erik turned to June. <They're definitely searching for me,> he said. <The soldiers don't know who exactly. Just that it's a human who's infiltrated their territory.>

June nodded. <So they suspect, but they don't know for sure. That gives us an advantage, doesn't it?>

<It does,> Erik agreed. <But that is if they really do not know it is me, and I'm keen to think this isn't the case at all. Besides, it also means we need to be even more careful. They're on alert. Even if they don't know exactly what they're looking for, there will be many guards around. Maybe someone who can counter some of my powers.>