Supreme Magus

”Clearly the attack on the watchtowers was a diversion. The warg wanted to get rid of the sentinels before opening the doors and sneak inside the city undetected. ” Lith pondered.

”My thought exactly. We have traitors in our midst. ” Said the Baroness.

”Yes, but you are lucky, your Ladyship. ”

”Winter has barely started and my city is cornered by enemies from outside and within. How dare you call me lucky? ” She was this close to punching the Ranger in the nose.

”Idiots are the best kind of enemies one can ask for. ” Lith replied before examining the bodies on the stretchers. Some had been killed by a bite on the neck, others by claws.

Each attack had been executed with deadly precision and followed by a sloppy attempt at covering the wounds with fire or air magic.

”Does this look like the work of a warg to you? ” Asked the Baroness.

”Yes, but it doesn ’t make sense. First magic can easily kill and so do blades. Using their bodies to kill was really stupid of them unless they didn ’t expect me to foil their plan. More importantly, how can something like this go unnoticed? ”

Lith cleared a slab before taking out the warg ’s corpse from his pocket dimension. Baroness Enja nodded as a disgusted expression appeared on her face.

”It shouldn ’t, yet it did. The west gate remained closed the whole time, yet the people guarding it had been slaughtered. No matter how absurd it sounds, it must be an inside job. ”

”Agreed, but something tall, dark, and hairy like a warg can ’t hide in plain sight. ” Lith replied as he cut open the creature ’s chest with an air blade. Even though he couldn ’t share the information Kamila had provided him, he could still find evidence of mutation on his own.

The army ’s bestiary was completed with the creatures ’ anatomy, allowing Lith to perform a necropsy. Unfortunately, the body ’s poor condition due to the extensive wounds sustained at the moment of death gave him a single clue.

’The internal organs appear to be slightly shifted from where they are supposed to be, leaving extra space near the creature ’s mana core. Yet I can ’t tell if it ’s because of a mutation or just because it resembled more a jigsaw than a carcass. ’ He thought.

’Solus, do you think warg could have infiltrated the city by shapeshifting? ’

’It ’s almost impossible. ’ She replied. ’Not even all Evolved Monsters learn how to shapeshift, like Kalla or Phillard. Even if warg could do it, in a city like Maekosh the slightest blunder would blow their cover.

’Those people are far from welcoming and the creatures who attacked the guards are clearly dumb. Maybe the army can offer us some insight. ’

Lith used his army communicator to give a full report to his handler. He stressed out the creature ’s ability to speak, fly, and its temporary invulnerability. Then he explained the city ’s current predicament.

”Your situation is abnormal. ” Kamila said.

”Both the warg warrior resilience and death cannot be explained with their innate ability. Even a large pack can only share part of the wounds one of its members sustains and not as fast as you described.

”I ’ll consult the archives and get back at you as soon as possible. ”

”What if it ’s a new species entirely? A Ranger alone could not be enough! Send reinforcements immediately. ” The Baroness ordered.

”The army can ’t act based on a local ruler ’s worries. ” Kamila ’s voice turned stone cold. ”You ’ve been allowed to listen to the report only because as the city lord you must be aware of what ’s happening to organize your citizens ’ safety. Over and out. ”

It was the second time in a single day that someone hung up on her. The Baroness was livid.

”I need to speak with the merchants who sighted the warg in the first place. Where can I find them? ” Lith had no time to coddle her feelings.

”In jail, of course. ” The Baroness ’ eyes had no trace of humanity. Her hands gripped the metal slab like she wanted to tear it apart.

”Aside from you, they are the only outsiders in the whole city. It was already suspicious they spotted the warg without a single casualty, but when the gatekeepers died, I had to lock them up. They are the main suspects. ”

Lith was flabbergasted by her words.

’That ’s idiotic. The merchants had no reason to warn the city about the attack, nor humans can bargain with monsters. They have nothing to gain if the city falls. ’ Lith was worried enough to place his hand on the Baroness ’ shoulder and use Invigoration while pretending to reason with her.

”You did the right thing for the wrong reason. At least in jail they are safe from angry mobs and when the next attack happens, because it will, you ’ll be forced to admit their innocence. You guards would never turn their back to outsiders. ”

Invigoration came up with nothing, and prejudice was something even light magic was powerless against.

Lith recovered the warg corpse and left the morgue for the prison below the city ’s courthouse. The flight wasn ’t long, yet it allowed Lith to remind himself why he didn ’t like Maekosh.

He liked order. Lutia was a small village, but each home had its space and individuality.

Belius seemed like a Lego city, all blocks and squares. Its architects had sacrificed beauty in favor of efficiency, something that Lith had learned to love when he lived at the academy.

Othre ’s outer circle could seem chaotic at first, but there was a method to it. Maekosh, instead, looked like different successive builders had worked on it and for some reason, all of them had quit halfway through the job.

The same city block could host stone buildings and wooden shacks. Some had a lot of space between them while others were stacked onto each other. Merchant shops were so close to abandoned houses that sometimes suppliers would bring the merchandise there thinking they were warehouses.

Maekosh was a poor city, which had gone through development and recession multiple times over the years. Brewing trade was the spark of its success, while its inhabitants were that of its failure.

Their fear of outsiders made them reject any potential investor and no merchant liked to renegotiate their deals whenever a brewer had a bad day. When business went well, they were forced to hire people from outside of the city and temporary houses would pop up like mushrooms.

These foreigners were paid less and had to work more hours than the ”real ” citizens. Inevitably the outsiders became irate at their treatment and quit, making their unwavering employers not reach their quotas.

Anyone who moved to Maekosh hoped for a better life. Slave jobs were available anywhere and finding one in a much friendlier environment was easy as pie.

After Lith reached the prison, he shook the merchants ’ hands one by one before opening the doors of their cells. Invigoration cleared them too from his suspects ’ list. They had weak mana cores and bodies.

Shapeshift could alter someone ’s physical form, but their strength couldn ’t be hidden. The group was composed of men and women of different ages. Each merchant traveled with their apprentices who served them as handymen.

At first, they couldn ’t wait to be released, but after hearing from Lith what the townspeople were going to blame them for, they were happy to remain behind bars.