Chapter - 22
"It was clever?" Leo threw his arms in the air.
"Wasn't it, Sergeant Kaelen?" Leo stood in front of Captain Valerius, his gaze fixed on Sergeant Kaelen.
The laughs and scorns from before had already died down completely.
Kaelen was standing at the back, almost hidden behind two younger soldiers. He was an old veteran, broad shoulders, stiff posture, and grey hair. But Leo's eyes stayed on the ugly, jagged scar running across his right cheek, from his ear to his jawline. This was what Brenda mentioned when she told him about Kaelen.
Meanwhile, Leo had already activated the Amulet of Keen Observation, and it was giving him a faint pulse.
[Heart rate spike detected. Adrenaline surge. Nervousness. Fear.]
Leo smirked faintly, 'Got you, Mr Snake.'
On the balcony, Aliana who was early looking at the guards intently was not curiously looking at the drama unfold. This nobody gave an unexpected performance wherever he went.
Meanwhile, Leo had already walked past Captain Valerius, taking slow, leisurely steps towards Kaelen.
"Now where was I?" Leo spoke casually, "Ah, yes. The man who gave away the Lady's route. The man who sold out his own fellow soldiers for a few gold coins and maybe a cheap whore."
Kaelen's face twitched, and sweat rolled down his temples. Even the guards around him felt there was something wrong with their Sergeant.
Captain Valerius frowned, "Enough games, boy," he growled. "If you have got something to say, spit it out. Don't go around spinning a web."
Leo looked over his shoulder and shrugged, "Oh, I am not spinning a web for no reason, Captain," he said smoothly, "I am trying to catch someone."
"One of your men, maybe. A man with a scar. Right cheek, a badge of honour for some, a constant reminder of how cheap their life is for others."
Hearing Leo mention the scar, the soldiers turned their gaze towards Kaelen's face. They all know about the heroics behind that scar. It happened when the Blackfang bandits attacked the town in the dead of the night. Kaelen and other soldiers counting no more than 20 fought against the 40 or so Blackfang bandits.
It was a stuff of the legends in the town, and Kaelen was the hero who saved them all. He even got slashed across his face while saving a woman from being dragged away by the bandits. But he lept fighting.
Leo noticed. He smiled faintly, "Ah. There it is. The scar."
Kaelen's voice came out tight, "You better watch your tongue, boy."
Leo tilted his head, feigning fear "I will… I will. I am so sorry, Sergeant. But your hand… Why is it shaking Sergeant?"
Leo smirked another slow step toward him. Compared to the game, this feeling, this rush of being in constant combat, not just physical, but the one where you are on the edge of just losing it was just too exhilarating.
"Tell me something, Sergeant, how much gold does betrayal go for these days? Enough to settle your debts and warm your bed with a few cheap whores?"
Kaelen's jaw clenched, "Boy! Don't you dare test my patience. I will fucking chop your head off."
"Will you?" Leo raised an eyebrow, "Funny thing is, Brena told me that you used to talk a lot about being underpaid. About how the Captain didn't appreciate a seasoned soldier like you. Blah Blah Blah…"
Kaelen quickly turned his gaze towards Valerius, trying to explain, "He's lying! I never said…"
But Leo cut him off, "Then why does your heart sound like a drum? Why are you sweating like a pig? You are nervous, Sergeant."
Kaelen took a step forward, his face twisting, "Why are you targeting me, boy? Who put you up to this?"
Leo chuckled softly, "Why would I pick a fight with you? Never... You would probably stab me in the back the moment I turn around. Seems to be your style."
And that line pinched everyone. Even Valerius looked unsettled now, his eyes narrowing on his sergeant.
"Kaelen," the Captain asked, gritting his teeth, "You got something to say?"
"Captain, believe me. This boy…" Kaelen looked at Captain Valerius with pleading eyes, "He has no proof. He is just sprouting nonsense. You have known me for so many years. You have to believe me. I would never do anything to disgrace the City Patrol."
But before Captain Valerius could soften up, Leo spoke up again, not giving him the chance.
"The sexy prisoner of yours even told me that you guys would meet outside the city walls. You know those midnight rendezvous."
"She said it was at the old mill."
"You know the place, just a few miles past the western gate."
"Passing off information. Taking payment in gold coins."
"And that was not all. You two would engage in some naughty stuff as well. Huh… Naughty Boy." Leo gave the Sergeant a lecherous smile.
Kaelen's lip twisted in anger, "That's a lie! Damn lie!"
"The old mill?" Kaelen barked, "That bitch made sure we always met in public. The Broken Keg Tavern is where she insisted we meet. And I never touched that filthy thing. I would be out of my mind to even think about it."
"I NEVER FUCKING TOUCHED HER!"
Kaelen finally snapped. The words were out of his mouth before he could even realise it. And just like that, the training ground went silent.
Every guard looked at their sergeant in shock. Even Valerius looked at his most trusted men with eyes wide open.
Up on the balcony, Lady Aliana leaned forward on the railing as she watched the scene unfold, and her lips curled up in an intrigued smile.
Leo stood perfectly still, not breaking the moment. He let Kaelen process his own words. And it took a few seconds for Kaelen to calm down, and when he did, blood drained from his face.
"Captain… I did not mean it… He… He forced those words in my mouth." Kaelen pointed at Leo.
Captain Valerius's eyes narrowed as he stared at his Sergeant, "You bastard… Do you understand what you have done?"
"You never thought about your family?"
"How would they…"
But Leo could hardly care about their touching moment, if he let them have it, would he still be able to call himself the top gamer?
This Valerius dude, wasn't he so cocky yesterday? Even today he did not put him in his eyes. Now look at him, look so torn down.
"Captain, from where I come, this is called confession."
"This should confirm that your prisoner didn't lie."
"She just mentioned the wrong meeting spot," Leo turned towards Kaelen and winked, "Or maybe I remembered it wrong." He smiled sheepishly.
"And we have so many witnesses. I hope you won't silence that poor girl to save your buddy here."
In that moment, Kaelen finally lost his reasoning. He had just admitted publicly of conspiring with the Blackfang bandits. It was a moment of no return.
He was doomed, and all because of this guy who appeared out of nowhere and ruined all his plans.
His panic boiled over into rage.
"You bastard!" he roared, drawing his sword in one sharp motion. "I'll kill you for this!"
The sudden attack stunned everyone, even Valerius did not move. Was it because he was surprised or he wished for Kaelen to pull out this thorn from his life was debatable.
Even Aliana, who was enjoying Leo's performance so far, gasped.
Kaelen was a veteran soldier, honed by constant skirmishes and wars over the years. But right now he was consumed by anger. He lost his reasoning, and so he charged Leo with just his raw power, fueled by revenge.
His blade flashed in the sunlight, aiming for Leo's neck. He wanted to end this in one swing, and then take his time chopping leo into pieces.
But Leo's Predator's Instincts was working on full throttle. Just when Kaelen even thought about it, it was already tingling, sending signals to Leo.
Leo was ready before Kaelen even moved. And just as Kaelen swung his sword at his neck, he waited for the right moment when Kalene had transferred all his weight forward to move.
When Kaelen's sword was about a foot or so away from his neck, his knees bent as he crouched, ducking the incoming sword. The sword missed his hair by a good 3-4 inches. Leo was not trying to play it cool, barely dodging incoming attacks by a hair's width.
He was a gamer and a realist. He knew he was still not at that level where he could play with his opponents.
And everything happened just the way Leo predicted. The anger fueled Kaelen stumbled forward and Leo spun on his heels, letting the momentum of Kaelen carry him forward.
And the moment Kaelen stumbled past Leo Leo stood straight and kicked Kaelen at the back of his knee with all his strength.
"Aaahh!" Kaelen cried out, collapsing forward, and the sword dropped from his hands.
Leo quickly kicked away the sword, and in the same motion pressed his dagger to Kaelen's throat. The sergeant froze and his eyes grew wide.
A thin red line appeared across his neck and a drop of blood slid along the edge of the blade before dropping on the ground. The sergeant did not dare make a move..
The whole thing was over in five seconds.
Leo stood behind the traitor with a smirk on his face.
Just then a System notification chimed in Leo's head.
[Progress made in quest: The Serpent in the Keep.
Objective Updated: Identify Kaelen's co-conspirator(s).]
"Someone else wants to try?"
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