As expected, the mont Ryze finished speaking, Nate’s eyebrows lifted.
Though his mouth said "not interested," his body betrayed him—he leaned in closer to Ryze and muttered, "What do you an by ’a chance to perform’? Co on, tell . What’s this all about?"
Ryze didn’t even bother to turn his head. He rely cast Nate a glance from the corner of his eye and scoffed, "Typical."
Then he gestured for Nate to move closer. As Nate obliged, Ryze whispered the exact sa report that Link had delivered to him earlier—an intelligence bomb regarding General Adamu’s secret collusion with the Brain Swarm.
When he finished the retelling, Ryze concluded grimly:
"Soon, in the northern wastelands beyond the Northern Front, the moonfolk bastards will have ambushes set up at every turn.
And you, my dear general, will have no choice but to ride out in full armor."
"I know you’re strong—one of the best. But as the saying goes, ’Two fists can’t fend off four hands.’ Even if they can’t kill you, they’ll definitely be able to trap you for a while."
"And knowing how cautious they are, they’re bound to place moonfolk who specialize in trap talents at every crucial chokepoint. Just imagine..."
Ryze turned and stared directly into Nate’s eyes.
"What do you think will happen to the Northern Front by then?"
"Its internal defenses will be left thin. One general turns out to be a traitor, and the other, its strongest force—you—gets lured far from base and bogged down in an endless skirmish."
"There’ll be no one left to steady morale. And if those moonfolk bastards have a backup plan—say, a small detachnt to launch raids on other parts of the front—it won’t even take a full assault. Just small-scale harassnt will force soldiers to fan out, patrolling the periter day and night. That’s when everything falls apart."
At the end of Ryze’s analysis, Nate stood frozen, unable to calm the storm that was now raging inside him.
Initially, he had doubted the intelligence. After all, he’d known Adamu for years. They were peers—fellow generals. They’d even shared drinks and war stories. It seed impossible that the man would betray the very nation that raised him.
But Ryze’s reasoning... was far too precise to ignore. He had pinpointed every potential flaw in the structure of the Northern Front with chilling clarity.
It wasn’t just speculation.
If super-tier espers like them were drawn away—unable to oversee their troops—the Northern Front would spiral into chaos.
Nate began pacing furiously. His boots thudded against the floor like war drums, and finally, with a deep stomp, he cursed loudly:
"Bastard! That son of a bitch Adamu—he’s worse than scum! He’s a human, for god’s sake! And yet he’s willingly helping our mortal enemies, the moonfolk? Worse, he’s devised a trap this intricate—every step feeding into the next like so damn machine!"
He clenched his fists. "Has he forgotten everything the organization did for him? All the resources, the honor, the trust?!"
Ryze gave a bitter chuckle.
"Heh. People like him have no concept of honor. No sha. Everything they do is driven by one thing—profit. He’s no different than those backstabbers from decades ago."
Nate’s expression darkened instantly.
He slamd his fist into the desk, the wood groaning under the blow, and shot Ryze a fierce glare. "What are you trying to say?"
Ryze leaned back in his chair, completely calm.
"You know exactly what I an."
"Ever since our 7 sages killed the Ten Warlords of the moonfolk, their movents have changed. They’ve beco... strange."
"For the first ti, those bloodthirsty beasts showed signs of fear, of anxiety, even wariness. That hesitation gave us humans our first breath of peace after hundreds of years of constant warfare."
"But tell , Nate—do you really think they backed down because of fear?"
"I don’t think so. That defeat forced them to reassess. It sparked their evolution—not in strength, but in cunning."
"They didn’t retreat because they were afraid. No... they’re playing a longer ga. A much bigger ga."
The mont he finished, Nate raised his hand and activated his Infinite Void Domain, enveloping both himself and Ryze within it, effectively cutting Link out of the conversation.
Link, standing just outside the domain’s boundary, frowned slightly.
"Is he... testing ?" he thought. Not one to waste a chance, he began preparing to use his newly acquired Gaze of Truth to analyze the domain’s structure.
But before he could act, Nate’s domain faded just as abruptly as it had appeared.
When it vanished, both Ryze and Nate looked shaken—grave expressions etched across their faces.
Nate turned as if to leave. But just before opening the door, he paused and said to Ryze:
"I’ll deal with Adamu personally. And about what I told you inside the domain—I’m trusting you to keep it to yourself. Ryze... apart from my parents, you’re the person I trust most in this world."
Ryze sighed heavily. "Nate... you always do this. Always so extre. Aren’t you afraid this will be the last ti you walk out that door?"
Still not looking back, Nate raised a hand in farewell.
"As an esper of the human race," he said softly, "there’s only one place I can return to—the embrace of the goddess."
"If that’s everyone’s destination, then whether I arrive early or late makes no difference, does it?"
A cold wind blew through the open window, sweeping through the room.
In the corridor, the draft was stronger. It caught the edge of Nate’s dark brown cloak and whipped it about violently, producing a low, mournful flapping—like a battle flag waving in the wind... or an epitaph fluttering atop a lonely grave.
Just as he was about to step through the doorway, Link suddenly called out to him.
"General, can I ask—how exactly do you plan to handle Adamu?"
Nate paused, glanced back, and replied calmly:
"I’ll use his own tactics against him.
The old bastard spent all this ti laying traps to ensnare and throw the Northern Front into chaos. But now that I know his plan in advance... I can lay one of my own."
"I’ll let things unfold almost exactly as he envisioned—just enough to lull him into thinking everything’s going his way. And then, right at the end..."
"I’ll hit him with sothing big. Sothing he’ll never see coming."
Hearing this, Link couldn’t help but furrow his brows in thought.
Nate’s approach sounded reckless—but beneath the bravado was undeniable strategy.
Because Adamu’s entire plan hinged on one key factor: Nate’s absence from the Northern Front.
That was why he had assembled an elite squad of moonfolk trap experts in the northern wastelands—to pin Nate down and isolate him.
After all, no matter how informal or wild Nate might appear, he was a genuine Tier-9 esper—a force of nature on the battlefield.
And whoever had Tier-9 strength... controlled the tide of war.
The Brain Swarm, those lurking manipulators behind the scenes, had acted with such urgency because they were convinced no one would ever uncover their intricate, ticulously crafted plan.
But unfortunately for them, they had run into Link.
A man who, through countless deaths and tiline resets, had already uncovered every secret they tried so hard to bury.
And now... the endga was no longer in their hands.
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