Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 1225: Holographic Woman

At an Outpost overseen by the Ravencroft family, stationed far away from civilization, various Soldiers could be seen walking around with smiles on their faces, each person talking either about a mission they had just completed or one they were about to undertake. Those who weren’t discussing either of these topics talked about the ongoing minor war between their Empire and the Velkarin Empire.

At this moment, a woman could be seen walking down the street with a calm expression on her face. Beside her walked another woman, and the two discussed various subjects, ranging from how manipulative, deceitful, and dishonest men were to more random topics that had little to do with their earlier conversation.

As the woman walked, she suddenly paused in her steps. Her friend noticed the sudden stop and asked.

”What’s wrong?”

Her tone was slightly curious as she arched an eyebrow.

The woman remained silent for a moment before replying with a light smile on her face.

”Nothing, it’s just my period. I’ll be back.”

The woman stated as she waved at her friend and turned in the direction of their residence.

Her friend watched her walk away for a moment before shaking her head and turning around, continuing the journey alone as their discussion was abruptly cut short.

The woman arrived at her own room, and the moment she shut the door behind her, her expression immediately twisted into anything but a pleasant one. She raised her hand, and her space ring flashed as a crystal ball appeared in her palm. The crystal ball shone with a dim black light, signalling that the other party wanted to communicate with her.

Channeling her Astra Energy into the crystal ball, the figure of another woman appeared like a hologram, floating just above its surface.

”It’s time. Begin everything and execute it to perfection, and I shall keep my end of the bargain.”

The holographic woman spoke without exchanging any form of greeting, immediately getting straight to the point.

The woman from the Ravencroft Family Outpost frowned in confusion. She wondered why the plans were suddenly being moved ahead, as this wasn’t the timeline she had been given.

”Why the rush? Everything was supposed to begin around two months from now. Besides, I haven’t finished putting everything in order since there was still enough time, and I wasn’t in a rush because I didn’t want to get caught.”

The Outpost’s female Soldier explained, her tone conveying confusion, hidden guilt, and anger.

The holographic woman stared down at her for a moment, and one could almost sense the condescension in her gaze despite the fact that it was merely a projection.

”I don’t have to answer any of your questions, Zarethornian.”

The holographic woman stated calmly, although her eyes conveyed anything but calmness. After a moment, she simply continued.

”Plans are being pushed ahead. While I understand that you haven’t finished putting everything in place, the rest like you will make up for it... after all, you don’t think you’re the only card we have within your Outpost, do you?”

She asked calmly.

The Outpost Soldier’s eyes widened for a moment. She had thought she was the only one, yet there seemed to be others like her. She couldn’t help but wonder how many there were. Two? Five? Ten?

”Just do the best you can and erupt it all in exactly five minutes. If you’re even a second late... well, I don’t need to tell you what happens.”

The holographic woman stated before cutting off the connection and vanishing from the crystal ball, leaving the Outpost Soldier alone in her room.

The woman remained silent for a moment before immediately beginning to cry, tears falling from her eyes as she couldn’t help but question how things had come to this. She was a General-ranked Soldier who had spent years building her career, fighting for her Empire in various minor skirmishes against other Empires and during Monster Invasions.

Aside from the Commander and Vice Commander, nobody outranked her, yet she was being forced to betray her Empire, an Empire and Outpost she had served for almost a decade.

But she had to do it.

The Velkarin Empire had paid various Mercenaries from her Zarethorne Empire to kidnap her son, who, by the way, was still only five years old. Yes, she could have reported the matter to her Commander and Vice Commander, but she couldn’t take the risk. After all, once the Velkarin Empire found out that she had ratted them out, they would immediately kill her son, the only family she had left on this damned planet.

Anyone who wasn’t a mother wouldn’t understand her choices.

”Hang on a bit, Jeremiah. Mummy is coming.”

She murmured under her breath as she rose to her feet. She wiped away her tears, her demeanour as a General-ranked Soldier returning as she regained her composure. Dressed in her brown uniform, she stepped out and headed towards a location where other Soldiers were stationed.

As she moved, the memories of her son hardened her resolve. Various Soldiers saluted her as she walked past them, but she ignored all of them. She had only five minutes, and she had to make them count by visiting strategic locations and positions within the Outpost.

And as a General-ranked Soldier with four stars on her left chest, she was allowed access to almost everywhere without needing clearance.

There was no way the Velkarin Empire would scout Cadets to serve as their inside men. That would simply be a waste of time and money.

At the same time, across various Frontiers and Outposts, numerous Soldiers moved ahead of schedule, each forced to betray their Empire and station for one reason or another, ranging from kidnapped parents to kidnapped lovers or children.

The Velkarin Empire never killed any of them or touched any of the kidnapped individuals. After all, leverage was the entire point of this operation. They gave quotas to these spies to complete, and if they failed to meet them, well... they would receive a body part of their loved ones. Perhaps the left eye?

The five-minute countdown had already begun.

Although it might seem like five minutes was plenty of time, in actuality, it wasn’t when it came to an operation on this scale.

How many people could Damian Wargrave pass the information to within five minutes? Even if he managed to get the message across the entire Empire, would the Zarethorne Empire still discover their plans within those same five minutes? Even if they did, would they be able to react perfectly within that timeframe?

It was simply impossible unless someone could manipulate time on a grand scale... which, alas, wasn’t possible, as even those who could manipulate time couldn’t achieve such feats.

It didn’t matter which Frontier or Outpost it was, whether it was one associated with the Emperor himself and the Imperial Family, one belonging to the Wargraves, or one connected to any of the other three Ducal families. They all had spies hidden within them who were now on the move.

There were smaller Frontiers, those that didn’t particularly have anyone powerful stationed there, but they had no one moving against them because the Velkarin Empire had deemed them unworthy of the effort. After all, why waste time on Soldiers who wouldn’t affect the general strength of the Zarethorne Empire?

In this moment... being weak and useless seemed to have saved their lives, because otherwise, they too would have been caught up in the countdown.