Chapter 111: Are you interested in knowing what Lady Jessica Cross has been doing for the past ten years?

"What do you think you’re doing?" the blonde woman asked flatly.

Reiner gnashed his teeth. "What the hell is your problem, Yelena? Why do you keep letting this bastard have his way? Huh?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. You let him shove you aside back at the stronghold, spoke up for him after I argued we didn’t need him, and now you’re protecting him after he wasted our rations?! Tell me, Yelena, have you been pretending all this while? Do you know this bastard, and are you planning to take us out when we get to our destination?" Reiner roared.

’Ah, I see how it is now. He’s jealous. That’s where the hostility is coming from,’ Kaelen mused to himself and shifted his gaze to the other mercenaries, whose eyes had all fallen on the blonde woman.

Reiner made a valid point, and it was obvious they were all getting suspicious of her. But the same went for Kaelen, who didn’t understand the woman’s motive.

"I understand it now." Kaelen’s words immediately drew their attention as he stood on his feet. "I might not act like it, but I’ve been listening to your conversations, observing your reactions, and did a little research on you guys before I decided to take on this mission. And it’s painfully obvious now... you guys aren’t travelling to Stronghold 4, are you?" Kaelen asked sharply.

Kaelen’s train of thought was simple. From the looks of the supplies brought along with them, the journey ahead wasn’t going to be a short trip, but the Grand Canyon was now only half a day away.

They only needed Kaelen to guide them to the Grand Canyon. Beyond that, they could decide to dispose of him, as they no longer had a use for him, and Kaelen was certain it would be happening sooner rather than later into the trip.

So if he didn’t call them out now, he’d have to end up killing all of them when they attacked him, and there was no guarantee he could get one to expose their plan if interrogated.

This was Kaelen taking a different approach to ensure he figured out their plan. Then, from there onwards, if anything were to happen, Kaelen would at least have a hint about making the journey there himself.

"I told you to stand down, Reiner." The Commander spoke up first. "Kael, what nonsense are you spouting? Are you trying to take our minds off the fact that you ate our rations?"

"The rations, huh? I still don’t think you need that many to make a journey to Stronghold 4. Also, if you were truly transporting Lindsey back to Stronghold 4, I see no reason why you’d risk your lives and sacrifice so many men just to make the trip happen. I also wonder where you got that sword from. Though I don’t know much about weapons inside the stronghold, I did watch the battle in the capital three months ago and don’t remember any of the Emperor’s men using such a refined blade against a national threat, but here you are, swinging one around to catch a supposed fly."

"W-What are you talking about, Kael?" Lindsey asked as soon as she realized what the commotion was about. "Don’t you want a better life in Stronghold 4?"

"Better life, my foot. You said if you couldn’t get me my resident permit, your father should be able to do so. That could only mean he’s an influential figurehead inside the stronghold, but I doubt anyone like that would let his daughter risk her life by road just to return when you could either wait till things cool off or use a damn military-grade private jet that would take less than a day.

"You’ve all proven yourselves to be untrustworthy and highly unprofessional, so I’m backing off now while I can. Y’all can find your way to your Grand Canyon and hope for the best. But I’m outta here." Kaelen said and turned around to leave before he paused and turned back.

"And don’t even think of sneak-attacking me, because I can make sure none of you makes it out of this forest with my Talent."

"Your Talent?" the Commander asked. "I thought you said you had no idea what your abilities were?"

"I lied. Did you ever think about how I was able to hunt so easily? And have you noticed that so far on the journey, we haven’t encountered any beasts yet?"

Everyone’s eyes immediately widened in surprise.

"I know the location of every single beast within the range of my ability and have the power to attract or repel them based on their mental fortitude. In simpler terms, I’ve been clearing the path for us since we entered the forest, but I also have the ability to attract every single nearby beast in this forest. So if you think you can cut me down faster than I could swarm this forest and create a beast wave, then by all means, be my guest." Kaelen said and began walking away as a faint smile played on his lips.

The made-up ability totally made sense to the mercenaries because he was a great Hunter, and the fact that they hadn’t experienced any beast attacks in the past few hours was incredibly strange.

Instead of getting suspicious, they’d rather choose to believe his distorted truth and would think twice before trying to dispose of him.

3... 2... 1.

"Wait." The Commander suddenly called out, and Kaelen paused without turning.

"Since we both lied to each other, let’s call it even and make a partnership," the Commander suggested.

"Let’s hear it." Kaelen said without budging from the spot. "If I like the idea, then maybe we can work something out."

The Commander was silent for a moment before he finally spoke. "We’re on an expedition to ruins that we believe have survived since long before the first record of mankind on Earth, meaning there’s likely to be ancient, powerful artifacts to be scavenged, and with you on our team, we’ll make it there with minimal risk of casualties."

Kaelen scoffed disdainfully. "Ruins that survived long before mankind? You think I’m stupid or what?"

"That’s the truth." Yelena suddenly spoke up. "We know this because someone discovered its existence over a decade ago, but the discoverer disappeared after making contact with it and was never heard from again. Until recently, we discovered Stronghold 3 forces had uncovered a lead to the disappearance of the discoverer and have tracked her down to the ruins as we speak."

This made Kaelen turn to face the blonde woman. "Are you saying... the discoverer is still alive, by any chance?"

"Her name’s Lady Jessica Cross," the Commander picked up. "First Lady of the Governor of the non-existent Stronghold 2. She’s not just alive but seems to have become part of a lost civilization we have reasons to believe resides in those ruins."

"So tell me, Kael," Yelena spoke up once more, looking him straight in the eyes. "Are you interested in knowing what Lady Jessica Cross has been doing for the past ten years?"