Ch.169169. Golden Mane Squadron Commander Leila

The pit where the three people fell was a deep cavern. It was so deep that even Leila, who boasted the best eyesight among the Golden Mane, couldn’t see the bottom when she looked down. Only after channeling mana to enhance her vision did the bottom finally become visible.

‘Damn it! We’re going to die at this rate!’

‘This is ridiculously deep!’

Johnson and Roel, who were heavier than Leila, fell faster and shouted through the telepathic communication channel. They seemed surprisingly calm for people in free fall.

‘Shut up and tear your scrolls.’

Leila glared at the noisy pair before taking out a magic scroll from her pocket and tearing it.

The torn scroll activated with a faint light, which soon seeped into Leila’s body as the magic manifested.

Seeing this, Johnson and Roel followed suit and tore their own scrolls.

The three, who had been plummeting rapidly, gradually slowed their descent thanks to the levitation magic scrolls until they began to float down gently.

Though the duration was relatively short, these magic scrolls were much cheaper compared to flight magic scrolls, and above all, their quick activation made them popular items among rangers.

Naturally, levitation magic scrolls were among the items that Golden Mane rangers were required to carry at all times.

Due to the nature of ranger operations, which often involved infiltrating enemy territory or dealing with unexpected situations during reconnaissance, carrying various magic scrolls was standard practice.

Among these, levitation magic scrolls had the highest frequency of use, which was why they were designated as mandatory items.

After landing softly on the cavern floor, Leila reached for a light stone in her tactical bag.

However, she hesitated before taking it out, contemplating whether using a light stone was the right choice when infiltrating.

Conventionally speaking, it would be better not to use it. Concealing movement sounds, physical form, and presence was fundamental to infiltration.

Although they called it an investigation, the situation was essentially no different from infiltration, so not using a light stone would be the correct choice.

However, whoever had placed a barrier to hide this place would surely have prepared for potential intruders. A detection spell might have been triggered without them even noticing.

In that case, using a light stone to remove the vision-impairing darkness might be the better judgment.

After much deliberation, Leila ultimately decided not to take anything out of her tactical bag.

Even if whoever was hiding this place had noticed their intrusion, there was no need to risk exposing their position.

‘Let’s move like this.’

‘Aren’t you going to use the light stone?’

‘There’s no need to expose our position unnecessarily.’

‘Understood.’

Johnson and Roel also refrained from taking out light stones and positioned themselves in a triangular formation.

They enhanced their vision by channeling mana. Though they couldn’t see as clearly as they would with light, their training allowed them to move forward without difficulty.

‘I never thought something like this would exist beneath the Academy.’

Leila nodded at Joel’s words. She had been thinking the same thing.

Who could have known about such a vast cavern beneath the Academy?

Come to think of it, even if the barrier had been opened from the inside, it didn’t make sense for hundreds of giant golems to appear without any warning signs.

It was practically impossible for the Empire not to notice so many giant golems heading toward the Academy.

According to eyewitness accounts, the giant golem unit appeared suddenly. They emerged outside the barrier without any warning signs and launched their attack before the defense system could even activate.

Leila found this point most suspicious.

Giant golems are enormous. Even untrained civilians with functioning eyes could easily spot moving giant golems.

Realistically, there was no way to move hundreds of giant golems while evading the eyes of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau spread throughout the continent. The sudden appearance actually seemed more credible.

Perhaps the secret lies here…

Leila thought that far and then focused on scanning her surroundings.

Given the limited visibility, she sharpened her hearing, touch, and the sixth sense that transcended them all.

The three maintained their triangular formation and moved very slowly. It took twice as long as usual to cover just a few dozen meters. This was to minimize noise and suppress their presence.

After walking for about five minutes, they spotted a light in the distance through the pitch-black space. Leila signaled to Johnson and Roel with her eyes, indicating they should prepare for any contingency.

‘What is this?’

Johnson’s bewildered thought echoed in her head. Initially, they thought it was just a light illuminating the surroundings, but upon entering, they realized it was something else.

It was a place permeated with an indescribable energy. If forced to put it into words, it could be described as a place flowing with mystical energy.

‘Is that… an altar?’

‘It seems so.’

They saw an altar made of pure white stone atop a two-story high staircase. Even at a glance, its smooth surface indicated advanced stonemasonry techniques.

Leila, Johnson, and Roel cautiously climbed the stairs, prepared for any potential traps. As expected, the altar was crafted with exceptional skill.

‘Don’t let your guard down, just in case.’

Leila reminded them of the danger once more before slowly examining the altar. In the center of the altar was a solitary hand-shaped sculpture, as if meant for offerings.

What’s this…?

Upon closer inspection, she noticed what appeared to be movement traces near the base of the hand sculpture. More precisely, there were marks where dust had been pushed aside, suggesting it had been moved relatively recently.

‘Hmm. This looks like some kind of mechanical trigger, doesn’t it?’

‘Or it could be a trigger for activating a magic circle.’

Roel and Johnson, who had approached, commented while examining the sculpture. Leila thought both opinions were plausible. Either way, it was likely some mechanism that activated something.

‘Let’s leave this alone for now and spread out to investigate. We don’t have much time, so hurry.’

Since they couldn’t predict what would happen if they moved it, they decided to continue exploring the surroundings first. After all, they had come here to uncover the traitor’s identity, not to investigate a hand sculpture.

After descending from the altar, they split in three directions to gather clues. Shortly after, they found an area set up like a study, with a desk, chair, and bookshelves.

‘What kind of person creates a study in a cavern like this?’

‘With that barrier in place, they probably thought no one would enter.’

‘That’s enough chatter. We need to check the materials quickly if we want to return before dawn.’

Leila picked up a very old book lying on the desk. Noticing a bookmark, she carefully turned the pages and began reading the written words.

– This is a journal chronicling my life.

What she had opened was not a book but a handwritten journal. Curious about who would use such a grandiose expression as “chronicling my life,” Leila speed-read the beginning and widened her eyes in surprise.

This journal appeared to be written by Conquest King Terodamas himself. While verifying its authenticity would be a historian’s job, Leila thought this might genuinely be his journal.

Beyond the detailed content, the journal bore Terodamas’s ring seal at both the beginning and end—a seal that supposedly disappeared with his death. Ring seals were magically processed, making them virtually impossible to forge.

This meant that either someone who had obtained Terodamas’s ring had imitated him, or this was truly a journal written by Terodamas himself.

‘Historians would faint if they saw this.’

‘Captain, put that down for now and look at this.’

Roel handed over a stack of papers filled with dense writing. As Leila speed-read the contents, she slightly furrowed her brow.

‘Damn it. So there was an insider after all.’

The contents confirmed their suspicions. It outlined a plan to attack the Academy.

The document detailed the motives for execution and predicted the ripple effects whether the plan succeeded or failed, confirming that there was indeed a traitor within the Academy.

Although they couldn’t identify who wrote it, it was only a matter of time before handwriting analysis would reveal the author.

‘Let’s take this and go back. Then we can visit this place again later.’

‘Understood. Now, let’s figure out how to get out of here…’

“Oh, for crying out loud!”

– Slash!

Johnson, who had been speaking through telepathic communication until now, grimaced and pushed Leila aside. A flash of light appeared where Leila had been standing, and a severed arm flew through the air.

What’s happening all of a sudden?

Leila was confused by the sudden turn of events but quickly composed herself, lowering her body and glancing sideways at Johnson. He was struggling to stop the bleeding from his severed right arm.

“Well, well. I never dreamed I’d have visitors finding my secret place.”

Leila gritted her teeth as she saw an elderly man who had appeared as suddenly as if a light had been switched on.

Horizon exuded confidence, as if declaring they had no way to escape.

Seeing this, Johnson broke into a smile despite sweating profusely. There was only one thing to do in this situation.

“Roel. Take the captain and escape.”

“Johnson, you idiot, what are you saying?”

“Captain, you know it’s impossible for all three of us to escape, don’t you? Quickly take the documents and go back.”

“What kind of captain abandons their comrade!”

Leila shouted at Johnson in frustration, but Roel was already grabbing her arm and pulling her away.

“There’s no time. We need to go now.”

“Roel, what are you saying too…”

Leila was about to shout at Roel as well but closed her mouth when she saw him biting his lip so hard that blood trickled down his chin.

She had to understand the feelings of Johnson and Roel, who were the closest among the Golden Mane squad leaders.

“Make sure you succeed in the mission. Pour some expensive liquor on my grave later.”

“…Alright.”

Leila trembled with the helplessness of having to abandon her comrade and flee.

But now she had to make a decision as the vice-captain of the Golden Mane.

Leila and Roel took one last look at Johnson before turning around and fleeing.

Horizon, who had been watching the entire scene, clapped his hands.

“What a splendid melodrama. But that’s what made it worth watching. I should pay an admission fee for such a beautiful performance.”

“Go to hell.”

Johnson raised the middle finger of his trembling left hand.

Horizon realized that the man before him was deliberately provoking him to buy time for his comrades to escape.

Despite knowing it was futile. That was both admirable and intriguing.

“Don’t worry about your comrades. I’ll send them to join you soon.”

“I may have lost an arm, but I’m still a squad leader of the Golden Mane. So you better prepare yourself. I’m going to kill you.”

Johnson charged at Horizon, praying that Leila and Roel would escape safely.