Divine Beast Ascension

576 Dead Defector

Kuldar didn’t shed a single tear. Though it was the least desired outcome, it was still one of the outcomes that Kuldar had anticipated.

So, Kuldar would save those potential tears for another moment, a time when he could weep and cry all by himself.

“Fulkar, bring me his corpse.”

“Of course, Father,” Fulkar sighed. He stored his weapons and lifted his brother’s husk, carefully carrying the body so it would receive no further harm. “Here.”

Kuldar removed Walder’s rings and handed one to Fulkar. It bore the family crest while also doubling as a void accessory. “Fulkar Libarn, you are henceforth heir to the Libarn line and will inherit the family businesses along with all responsibilities placed upon the family. The day you become a perennial cultivator and stabilize your essence, you will become the Libarn Patriarch.”

Dropping to one knee, Fulkar bowed. “Thank you, Father! And… I’m sorry this is how it ended.”

Kuldar held his son’s lifeless body. Seeing the expression of shock and horror, Kuldar closed the dead, thirty-year-old boy’s eyes. “I would rather it be your blade and not hired mercenaries hunting him down

“... But check that ring for me. Show me what shouldn’t be there. I beg to the late, great creator that my senses were wrong.”

Baffled by his father’s words, Fulkar inspected the family ring. Instantly, Fulkar’s jaw dropped. “This?! I should’ve killed him years ago!”

.....

A pile of letters and scrolls appeared in Fulkar’s hands, breached wax seals and all. Hurman and Patriarch Forell both stepped forward to get a good look. While Kuldar’s heart sank to depths that he thought didn’t exist, Hurman and Tranton were inundated in fury and bloodlust.

“He was the smuggler?!” Tranton shouted in question.

“We won’t know until we read those letters,” Hurman interjected, doing a much better job at keeping his rage on a leash. “Kuldar, can you please read those letters aloud, or have Fulkar do it?”

Nodding, Kuldar silently locked eyes with Fulkar.

Fulkar understood the cue and started reading through the first letter atop the pile. He didn’t read every word, but he would skim through it until he found the most important details, reciting them for the entire room to hear as surprising evidence.

“This one’s from the Boulder Territory to the north. It says, ‘On this night, lead a party into the Taltin Mountains. We’ll replace one of your men with one of ours… Payment will come after entry to the city and before we part ways…'” The moment Fulkar finished reading what he wanted, he handed the letter to Territory Leader Tranton and moved on to the next one.

Looking over a scroll, Fulkar took in a quick breath, reading, “‘Get us into Forell Institute and you’ll be rewarded greatly after the unseating of the weak Forell Family…’ And it’s from the Olerron Family, the clan that–”

“Assassinated my brother! Walder is the reason my brother was killed before he could even fight back, in the middle of the institute halls!” Tranton yelled, taking the scroll from Fulkar with a furious grip. If he didn’t see that scroll as necessary evidence, Tranton would’ve destroyed it in a fit of rage.

While Tranton and Fulkar were focusing on the harm that had already been committed against the territory, Hurman grabbed a different scroll halfway into the pile. “... Fulkar, why would your brother keep this incriminating evidence?”

“I think he kept them as a trail to sell out those he conspired with. That’s my guess, at least. Walder was notoriously bad at managing any business, after all. And half of these come from people we didn’t know were involved in upsetting or challenging the territory,” Fulkar reasoned. “I even see a letter or two from rival businesses, which is likely where our leak in supply chains has been coming from.”

Hurman lifted the scroll in his hand and turned around for the task force to see as well. “Vero, Lambier, I have your first assignment. I need it done immediately.”

The entire task force stood up with leering eyes landing on the scroll’s attached wax seal.

Tranton, Fulkar, and even Kuldar were quickly enraptured by that unexpected seal. And they knew exactly where this was going, especially Kuldar.

Hurman read aloud:

“Walder Libarn,

“We appreciate your acts as a middleman, sponsor, and aid for the usurping of Forell Territory. Upon the installation of a new territory leader, your request for aid in seizing control of the Libarn Family will be supported in full.

“But we will not leave your father crippled, as you asked. He will be removed along with the other potential heirs. Just as you described the need to remove future threats, there’s a need to remove present threats, which your father is.

“Reply will be necessary within a moon at the latest. Delay any further and we’ll leak your many inquiries and pleas for support to your father, Kuldar Libarn.

“And if any currently active plans are foiled during this time, you’ll be held accountable in the same manner.

“For the prosperity of Prodson,

“Iison Resser, Territory Advisor

Already, Fulkar and Tranton were fishing out the other scrolls from Prodson from the pile.

Hurman looked back at Kuldar, stating, “This is dated two suns back. There was enough time for Walder to reply. Kuldar, I’m sorry but we can’t let your son have a funeral.”

“... I understand,” Kuldar replied, swallowing his personal feelings along with all the respect he wanted to keep for his deceased son. “If word gets out that Walder has passed, then finding and removing those connected with him will be much more difficult a task.”

With that detail settled, Hurman looked at Tranton next. “We still have a few days until we’re supposed to breach the Prodson border. Only after the Iron Army attacks and sweeps its first city are we to make a move on Prodson City.

“In the meantime, me and my men will be cleaning up the mess left in Forell City. In the name of Iron, I need your complete cooperation.”

Containing his frustrations and rising regrets, Tranton dropped to one knee and bowed to Hurman. “We are vassals to Iron. You have our complete cooperation, Envoy Hurman. We will follow your orders and follow the desires of Iron Territory.”

“Good… Now, Vero, I don’t care if you’re only an elder. You’re the first on the job,” Hurman stated, giving his full attention to the task force. “As representatives of Iron, we’re cleaning up Forell City so that it won’t be left with a single old stain by the time the expansion of Iron Territory is complete.

“I will be playing the part of judge. The task force and those cooperating with us will play the part of investigators. And you, Vero, are the executioner. Understood?”

Nodding, Oli smiled at the thought of testing his abilities so soon. “Very much so. Give me a name and their profiles. I’ll have them dead before dawn.”

“Luckily, the first target has already been taken out,” Hurman commented, not needing to look at the corpse for everyone to follow along. “Fulkar, read through these letters with your father. It’s time for that cleansing we talked about, only it will have to be far more thorough than you expected. We need all co-conspirators captured for intel and leads, and any hints you find regarding potential threats lingering in the city will be needed with urgency.

“Tranton, in the public eye, I want none of our actions leaked,” continued Herman. “Vero will be collecting every target taken out, so a string of disappearances or cases of kidnapping will get reported. It’s your job to keep the public calm and silence the matter as best you can until we’ve removed every threat you’ve allowed to creep into your territory capital.”

“Yes, sir!” Tranton saluted, accepting that degrading fact on the chin. It was far easier to swallow now that he knew the assailants had a defector so deep inside the territory, after all.

“Also,” Hurman ordered, “I’ll need every report you have on each attack or provocation you’ve faced within the last two years. If we’re going to uproot the weeds of the territory, we’re going to rip and burn them all at once.”

“Then I know where to start…” Kuldar sighed, defeated. “If Walder wasn’t smart enough to vary his means of smuggling, then that means he would’ve escorted a foreign power into the city just two days ago when he returned from a training trip to the Taltin Mountains. I don’t have a name for the possible intruder, but we have the list of people who joined Walder on his training ‘vacation’.”

Nodding, Hurman ordered, “Fulkar, gather the record of all trips Walder made in the last year or more if you can. Then, bring everyone servant listed in the records to the residence mess hall. That shouldn’t be too suspicious, considering they don’t know of Walder’s passing.”

Fulkar hastily bowed and rushed to the door. “My brother’s lucky he’s dead. I would be wringing him for everything he knows if he had but a single breath left.”