Mohan stared fiercely at Madha, "You could have detained him, dragged him to the barracks or the Liner Camp. Instead, you beat him like this. Do you think the investigation team is sothing you can trample on?"
The air thickened, tense enough to shatter at the slightest spark.
"I’m sorry. It’s my fault for not stopping Madha right away." Gara cut in quickly.
He wouldn’t let Madha’s career as a guard be put at risk or worse, see him thrown into prison. "I’ve already healed Loka. What’s left are just external injuries. He should be fine."
All eyes went to Loka’s pitiful form, wrapped in herbal paste and cloth.
"Fine?!" Narin snapped. "I could barely apply dicine to him! With wounds like these, it’ll take over a month before he fully recovers!"
She was struggling to treat him. It had been a long ti since she last dealt with injuries like this. It was only back when she was still rank-D.
Narin’s words carried more weight than those of a rank-E Liner. As a rank-C Liner, she sounded far more credible, and Mohan’s eyes narrowed on Gara at once.
Kian, however, only raised a brow, clearly not sharing Mohan’s view. But he kept silent.
"Mohan, Kian, this is all Gara’s fault! You both need to seize him!" Narin cried, quick to take advantage of the mont.
Madha instantly stepped forward, blocking Gara, his stance making it clear, ’If you want him, you’ll have to get through first.’
"You two are coming with to town. I’m not letting this matter slide," Mohan declared, his gaze fixed on Madha and Gara.
"Gara has nothing to do with this," Madha shot back, his deep voice brooking no compromise.
"You want to drag along but not Loka?" Gara raised a brow.
Mohan’s teeth clenched. "Can’t you see his condition? You ganged up on him! He’s the victim here!"
"Ganged up on him? Since when did the story change?" Gara finally snapped. He had kept his head down, trying not to escalate things, but he couldn’t let Mohan spout nonsense any longer.
"Stop hiding the truth. How could a rank-C Liner with defense and detection type Talent lose to a rank-D defense-type Liner? You must have overwheld him together." Mohan jabbed a finger at Gara. "Or maybe you lured him into a trap, knowing Loka is too dim-witted to resist."
Gara’s mind reeled. What, was a defender not allowed to have strong offense? Against pure strength, rank ant nothing!
"Co with , unless you want to end up like Loka," Mohan threatened.
But neither Gara nor Madha moved. Gara could have gone along—Captain Tristan would see him cleared—but he didn’t want this county’s investigation team twisting things with their absurd theories.
And it was a good thing he stayed cautious. Mohan wasn’t planning to take them to the guard barracks at all, but to the Liner Affairs Office instead. He knew about Gara’s ties to Captain Tristan.
At least in Liner Affairs Office, he had an influential uncle in the county’s branch—an uncle connected to many nobles in the county—Mohan believed he could have Gara and Madha restrained.
When the two still refused to budge, Mohan pulled a tal bat from his sash. He tossed it into the air, and with a twist of his will, the bat split in two, each half hurtling toward Gara and Madha.
Madha reacted instantly, shielding Gara. At the sa ti, Gara raised his hand in a swift slashing motion. Twin water slash burst from his palm, slicing through the air.
Slash!Clang!
The tal halves shattered mid-flight, losing all montum before clattering uselessly to the ground.
Everyone froze. It wasn’t Madha, the rank-D Liner, who had stopped Mohan’s attack. It was Gara, a re rank-E.
"So strong..." Kian muttered, unable to contain his surprise.
Mohan was just as stunned. He hadn’t gone all-out, true, but he was certain his attack could have crippled them. How had Gara cut it down so easily with his Talent? And since when could his water change to water slash?
With a sharp motion, Mohan recalled the split tal, reforming it into a single bat in his grasp.
Before he could strike again, footsteps echoed from the clinic’s front. Monts later, guards appeared, led by Emir, the town guard’s vice-captain of Falopo Town.
"Vice-captain! Those two attacked mbers of the investigation team!" Narin shrieked, pointing at Gara and Madha, seizing the chance.
She had seen Gara cut through Mohan’s tal bat herself. If the guards hadn’t arrived, restraining him would have been difficult for them.
Mohan’s expression tightened. The vice-captain’s arrival wasn’t a good news for them.
Even though Narin had already explained the sequence of events—her version of it, at least—Emir didn’t seem interested. His eyes shifted toward Gara.
Gara calmly retold the entire incident, up to the point before Emir’s arrival.
Narin sneered, convinced Gara was insane. There was no way the vice-captain would believe him!
But Emir’s next words nearly made her faint.
"Arrest that criminal!" He pointed at Loka, then turned to Mohan. "You’re coming too."
Mohan clenched his fists. If Falopo’s town guard had been just an ordinary force, not even its captain could treat him like this. But fate had placed a Cakra in charge.
Emir walked over to Gara and Madha, his tone softening. "One of you needs to co to town to file a report."
"I’ll go, Vice-captain," Madha answered quickly. Emir gave a nod of approval.
The guards moved fast, hauling away the still-unconscious Loka. Mohan and Madha followed, while Kian and Gara trailed them as far as the barracks.
Narin was left alone in the clinic, staring in bewildernt. What had just happened? None of it felt real.
Why were Loka and Mohan the ones taken away? Why had the vice-captain treated Madha and Gara with respect?
No answers ca.
Word of the incident spread quickly among the Liners. By the ti Kian returned, he had already inford the others that he would temporarily take over leadership.
anwhile, Gara tried to resu his duties as a Liner. He still provided a hundred liters of water for the camp each day, but...
...
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