Chapter 718: Sometimes, holding back is harder than letting go
We marched at dawn.
Sounded rather cool, not gonna lie. Natha gathered the shapeshifters and some of the agents who used to guard me in the past. I sent a message to Amarein, and a squadron of familiar druids and drows secretly came to the island--you know, the ones guarding Shwa after that midnight attack.
The elves, unfortunately, were too far from our position to be arriving before dawn. But it was okay; they said they’d still march toward the city to secure it afterward--after all, we still needed more people to stabilize the city after kicking out all the authority.
While waiting for their...good gesture--which never came--our agents investigated the whole city. Not only for the palace’s floor plan and the city landscape but also for the authorities, the key figures, and the wealthy. We had to know if there were people useful enough to be spared from the purge.
Well, I said ’purge’ but actually, all we were going to do was kick them out.
"Don’t kill any of them," Natha told the troops behind him as we stopped in front of the other end of the tunnel. We had detected a lot of people inside the building above us, so it was most likely the palace. "Incapacitate anyone who resists and tie them. Gather them around the Grand Hall," he paused for a few seconds before adding. "Be gentler with the children."
Oh, look at our father.
Since we were in a narrow space, everyone simply nodded with serious gazes. Before I raised my hand to unlock the door, Natha spoke to me. "Once the door opens, let the shapeshifters enter first to assess the situation."
"Okay," I nodded. I wanted to say that he was such a worrywart--which was rather weird because he knew and admitted that I was stronger--but this was not the time and place to argue about petty things. "I’ll start."
Just like before, the stone ’door’ vibrated slightly before collapsing, showing an almost empty room. There were a few sacks and boxes filled with junk, and aside from the wall with a wooden door on our left, the other three--including where we were coming from--were made of stone. Perhaps they thought it was just a corner warehouse made from leftover space.
"Go," Natha ordered swiftly. Fog, shadow, and small creatures rushed past me, starting their surveillance.