Chapter 139: Shadows of Defeat
"That damn Montar."
Inside his dorm, Leopard paced back and forth, his expression growing darker with every step. Eight days had passed since they returned from the mine, yet Montar hadn’t sent him a single useful report.
"Eight whole days..."
"And that bastard still hasn’t given me anything about Cher or Silas."
He had never liked the idea of relying on Montar, but he hadn’t been left with another choice.
Ever since their return, Leopard had tried every method he could think of to recruit new followers, only to fail every time. Rachel’s influence had grown stronger by the day, and none of the G-Enhancers wanted anything to do with him anymore.
To them, he was yesterday’s loser, while Rachel was the future.
That was why he had been forced to contact Montar and rely on the fake agreement they had reached before leaving the mine.
"I knew he never intended to honour it."
Leopard wasn’t naïve enough to believe Montar had suddenly become trustworthy. If anything, the man had probably enjoyed watching him lower himself enough to ask for help. Even so, Montar wasn’t foolish. He understood Leopard would eventually fight back and try to reclaim his lost spot, which meant the safest choice was to play both sides.
Yet eight days had passed without a single meaningful message. That silence unsettled Leopard more than any bad news could have.
"It seems I don’t have a choice anymore..."
Just as he steeled himself to make a risky decision, his wristwatch beeped.
A message had just appeared from Montar.
"Finally..."
He opened it at once, only to frown. He thought he would find lots of useful information, but most of it was meaningless.
It listed Silas’ team’s routine in exhausting detail since classes started five days ago. It described how they attended classes every morning, trained in the afternoon, and returned to their dorms every evening. It was nothing more than the schedule of ordinary academy students.
Only one sentence stood out.
"They acted strangely three days ago..."
Leopard reread that part of the report several times.
"They seemed unusually excited... except for Silas."
He slowly sat down, his fingers tapping against the armrest as he considered the implication.
"What could excite all of them except Silas?"
"Or..."
"Is he faking not being excited like others?"
The answer came almost instantly.
"So..."
"They’ve already ingested the dragon blood."
His heart tightened.
He had known Silas’ team possessed the dragon blood, but he had always assumed there would still be time to steal it before they used it.
Now that possibility had vanished.
"They’ve already taken it."
Leopard leaned against the sofa and closed his eyes.
"They’re going to become stronger..."
"Far stronger than the rest of us could hope to become within a year or two."
"And that idiot still believes she can defeat them alone."
The moment Rachel crossed his mind, his anger flared again.
If he had retained even a fraction of his former influence, none of this would have happened.
"Still..."
"They can’t have consumed all of it."
His thoughts drifted back to the secret meeting he had attended before leaving the mine.
That conversation had revealed far more than he had expected. It had exposed the true value of the dragon blood and, more importantly, offered him another way to obtain it from Silas’ team.
The only problem was that the method came with an enormous risk.
"I’ll need help."
He slowly rose to his feet and slipped a hand into his pocket, his fingers wrapping around a cold object hidden inside. After a long moment, he let out a quiet sigh and withdrew his hand.
"But I’ll try Cameron’s way first."
"Perhaps he’ll agree."
Once he made his decision, Leopard wasted no time. He left his dorm and headed toward the section reserved for the higher-year students.
Even so, he knew convincing Cameron without revealing his true objective would be nearly impossible.
Cameron wasn’t the sort of man who offered favours for free, not even if helping meant getting revenge on his former fiancée.
’But if I tell him about the dragon blood...’
’He’ll want it for himself.’
Leopard slowed for a brief moment before continuing forward.
’He might even kill me to keep the secret buried.’
Even so, Cameron remained the safer choice. Compared to the alternative, he was the lesser danger.
***
"I already told you."
"It’s impossible."
"The clan elders are furious with you, and they have no intention of helping during the upcoming mission."
Rachel stood silently before the projection of her father, whose expression was colder than she had ever seen. His anger was obvious, born not only from her failure but also from the tight position she had forced both herself and him into.
A few days ago, Rachel had gone to him asking for help, only to leave even more humiliated than before. Now, all that humiliation had turned into rage, and he poured every bit of it onto her.
"I hate to say it."
"But..."
"Unless you manage to do something significant to that Avaron princess before the mission begins..."
"Then..."
"You’re on your own."
The projection vanished as soon as her father ended the call.
Rachel remained seated in her dorm for several long minutes, replaying his words over and over. Then she suddenly rose, grabbed a delicate statue carved from precious crystal, and hurled it across the room. It shattered against the opposite wall, scattering glittering fragments everywhere.
"What a bunch of useless old fools."
She spoke through clenched teeth, her face burning crimson with rage.
There was no one to witness the side of herself she always kept hidden. The composed and proud aloof princess had disappeared, leaving behind a desperate young woman crushed beneath the weight of her clan’s expectations.
"Did they forget this only happened because our pathetic special squad died at the Avarons’ hands?"
She raised her head and screamed, releasing the frustration she had bottled up for days.
Deep down, Rachel knew the truth. The real reason for their failure had never been the Avarons, nor her.
It was their clan’s special squad.
Had her clan’s special squad endured as long as Leopard’s had, the entire situation would have unfolded differently. Instead, others had failed, while she was the one forced to bear the consequences.
Now the elders refused to support her in the upcoming mission. They had abandoned her and abandoned her chance to get rid of Cher.
Exhausted, Rachel collapsed onto her bed and stared at the ceiling.
"If I can do something big over the next few days..."
"Then the clan will change its attitude toward me."
She understood the hidden meaning behind her father’s words, although she could also tell he didn’t believe she was capable of accomplishing anything within the academy’s walls.
The Frontier Academy was infamous for enforcing its rules without mercy. Anyone foolish enough to cross the line paid a hefty price.
Her father believed that alone would restrain her. Instead, it only ignited her fighting spirit.
"But..."
"What can I do?"
She slowly stood and entered the training room.
Activating her Curse Ability, she recalled the moment Silas had been trapped by it. Had Alfred not intervened, she would have killed Silas first, then Darius, before later dealing with Cher.
The memory lingered only briefly before her thoughts shifted toward the future.
"My biggest obstacle is the academy’s rules..."
The academy didn’t monitor every student’s every move, but it watched suspicious behaviour closely. Fortunately, Rachel had enough followers to carry out almost any plan.
Unfortunately, she had no idea what that plan should be.
"I need to humiliate her..."
"Killing her would be better... but it’s far too risky."
She wanted Cher dead.
She wanted to kill Silas with her own hands.
Yet even she understood that such thoughts had to remain fantasies. However many supporters she possessed, asking them, directly or indirectly, to violate the academy’s laws would only drive them away.
"So the next option is sabotaging something precious to them..."
She stopped channelling her ability, allowing herself to think.
"What do you treasure most, Cher... Silas...?"
The floating platform was the first thing that came to mind, but she immediately dismissed it. It belonged to the academy, and damaging something so valuable would bring consequences she couldn’t escape.
"Then... the shuttle."
A slow smile spread across her lips.
Without it, Silas and Cher would be forced to travel like ordinary students. Besides, it wasn’t that precious, compared to the floating platform at least.
"And what if I burned it while they were inside?"
The image alone sent a thrill through her body.
She imagined the shuttle engulfed in flames before exploding in midair, its wreckage crashing to the ground with Silas, Cher, and the rest of their team trapped inside.
For several moments, she had to suppress the excitement threatening to overwhelm her.
"If that fails though..."
Experience had taught her never to underestimate Silas. More than once, she had believed victory was certain, only to watch everything collapse.
She forced herself to consider another option.
"I could burn their dormitory..."
"Or even kill them inside."
If it came to murder, she would have to do it herself; sabotage, however, was another matter. For that, she could rely on her most trusted subordinates.
After all, many students envied Cher. Even more despised the Lisan Al-Gaias. Nearly everyone resented how Silas’ team had deceived them and stolen first place through trickery and cheap plays while the rest failed the mission.
"I’ll begin with the shuttle."
Leaving the training room, Rachel returned to her bedroom and immediately contacted several trusted students.
She gave each of them the same order.
"Bring me every academy law you can find, along with everything related to the shuttles, their designs, where they’re parked at night, and the crew’s daily routine."