Vince and the others watched helplessly as the two groups bickered. "Those four are from the Survey Corps, and that man across from them is Geoffrey, the head of the Ministry of Defense in Northern Spiritual Town," Vince whispered.

"The Survey Corps split up just like us. The deputy captain they mentioned was guarding the North Gate with Geoffrey, but now he's missing."

Both groups were battered, yet their argument raged on. Seeing Geoffrey's unyielding stance, another man in his thirties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, interjected. "Ingrid, don't worry. Maybe the deputy captain was injured and is recovering, or maybe he was chased out of the city. He'll be back soon."

Ingrid's expression softened slightly. Axel had noticed the Force fluctuations earlier—several Survey Corps members were Level 4 Awakeners, two rivaling Phoenix in raw power.

"Thank you all for your support. Without you, we wouldn't have held out," Ingrid, clearly the core of the group, said, stepping forward to greet Vince.

"It's alright. We've also been sent on a mission from our superiors. Everyone's injured. Let my team heal you first."

"A healing Awakener? That's incredible." Ingrid and her team gratefully accepted Axel's treatment. Geoffrey, still a bit irritable, waved them off, insisting his injuries were minor.

Then a soldier came running back. "Sir! We found this five kilometers into the forest."

He held up a pair of pitch-black combat boots. The stench of blood was strong, and a severed foot was still inside.

Ingrid and her companions froze. Their eyes went red with alarm.

"This… this is the deputy captain's D-class Original Instrument!" They trembled as they took the boots. Ingrid broke down, sobbing.

Only a severed foot remained, suggesting he had been devoured by a mutant beast. "Connor…"

Geoffrey, who had been furious moments before, now frowned. Even for the chaos of a mutant siege, the quiet death of a deputy captain was shocking. How could the Survey Corps lose one of their own so silently?

"What's this guy's rank?" Vince asked.

Ingrid didn't answer. Instead, she shot Geoffrey a suspicious glare.

"Geoffrey, you told him to stay put, so why was he in the woods? Why would a Level 4, upper-grade Psychic Awakener leave the city to fight? And now he's dead there?" Ingrid's voice was calm but edged with incredulity. Something about the situation was genuinely bizarre.

A Level 4 Psychic Awakener didn't need to engage in close combat, let alone leave the city gates. And the direction of the woods suspiciously mirrored the path Geoffrey had taken chasing that Level 5 mutant beast.

Geoffrey's face flushed red with anger. "How should I know? You think I killed your men? Are you out of your mind?!"

The man with gold-rimmed glasses beside Ingrid stepped forward, his tone icy. "Geoffrey, we just want an explanation. You're all assigned to the East Gate. Why get so defensive?"

The tension in the air thickened. The Obsidian team felt it too—a creeping anxiety.

"Everyone, don't act rashly," Vince said firmly. "Let's sort this out."

He understood Ingrid and her team. The Survey Corps was tightly knit, responsible for reconnaissance, mutant data gathering, and herd tracking outside the walls. Their loyalty to one another ran deep. But the mutant beasts had just retreated. If a fight broke out now, it could be disastrous.

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Rosaline and the others stayed quiet, analyzing the situation. Just then, someone approached Geoffrey and whispered into his ear.

"Geoffrey, what's he whispering about?" she asked coldly.

Geoffrey's face turned bright red. "Say it out loud! What are you afraid of?"

The man's expression darkened. "Commander… three of the energy cannons malfunctioned in the battle. It wasn't a mutant attack. It was… caused by someone."

"What?!" Geoffrey's face went pale. The primordial cannons were strategic assets. High-level Awakened like them were meant to eliminate the most powerful mutants, but large-scale battles with ordinary mutant hordes relied heavily on its area-of-effect firepower.

Now, a vice-captain of the Survey Corps had died, and the primordial cannons had been destroyed. Geoffrey could feel the others' eyes on him, scrutinizing every move.

Before the tension could escalate further, Vince instinctively glanced at Axel—but he found him casually walking along the city wall near the cannon, as if nothing had happened.

"Axel," Vince called.

Axel paused, then slowly approached. "Captain?"

"What do you make of this?" Vince asked.

Axel stroked his chin thoughtfully, drawing every eye. After a long pause, he finally said, "Something fishy is going on."

Puff! Geoffrey and Ingrid both twitched in disbelief.

Vince met Axel's calm gaze and nodded. "Alright. Here's what we know: Connor's death was most likely caused by an unknown, powerful mutant in the wilderness. We cannot simply assume Mr. Geoffrey is at fault."

"Colleagues from the Survey Corps, please stay calm. The city remains secure—that is the most important thing."

"And it's not just the East Gate. The energy cannons at the West and North Gates, which Rosaline and I are guarding, have also been destroyed."

Axel scanned the group's reactions. Predictably, they mirrored their shock at the East Gate's cannon loss. Geoffrey, meanwhile, visibly relaxed.

"Mr. Vince, you understand. Then let's investigate the site of Connor's death. That will quickly clear me of any suspicion."

Geoffrey exhaled in relief when he saw Vince's judgment.

"No," Rosaline interjected firmly. "Mr. Geoffrey, while we do not suspect you, we still require your cooperation—and that of Ingrid and the rest of the Survey Corps. Seal the city gates. No one leaves Northern Spiritual Town for now."

The announcement drew frowns from Geoffrey, Ingrid, and the others.

"Ms. Rosaline, you think we killed one of our own?" Ingrid asked, her voice sharp with indignation.

"I said no one is being targeted. Please cooperate," Rosaline replied, her tone unwavering and commanding.

"Yes. Axel and I will inspect the battlefield ourselves," Vince added.

Everyone else nodded in reluctant agreement. With Team Obsidian holding the upper hand, they had little choice but to comply.

.....

Soon, everyone had pulled back from the city walls, leaving Axel and Vince to step into the wilderness beyond the east gate.

The acrid smell of burning lingered in the air, and piles of mutant corpses lay scattered across the snow. Axel didn't forget to grab a few crystals along the way—seven or eight Level 3 mutant beast crystals, a modest gain.

They arrived at the same patch of forest as before. Aside from the scattered Original Instruments and traces of blood, there were no bodies in sight. Presumably, they'd been devoured by the mutants.

"Alright, Axel," Vince said, pausing as he studied him. "Tell me what you think."

Axel dropped his casual demeanor, closing his eyes for a long moment before speaking deliberately. "He wasn't killed by the mutants. But he didn't die here either."

Vince's pupils narrowed. "Then where?"

Axel pointed toward the ruined energy cannons along the city wall. "There."

Even surrounded by snow and ice, Vince—already physically resistant as a Level 5 Awakener—felt a chill creep down his spine at Axel's words.

Axel recalled the information he had just extracted when he collected the crystal on the wall.

"Connor. Level 4, Top-Grade Awakener, Survey Corps. Date of Death: February 3, 2061. As a member of the Survey Corps, he once dreamed of glorious battles against mutant beasts. Instead, he stumbled upon a shocking secret… and was killed by our own people."

Knowing Axel's abilities were similar to the Undead Guide, Vince pressed on. "Who killed him?"

Axel shook his head slowly. "I can't see clearly. I only know it was one of our own, and they silenced him afterward."

Vince frowned. "Silenced?"

"Perhaps he saw exactly who destroyed the primordial cannon," Axel replied. His words resonated, but Vince knew better than to jump to conclusions too quickly. Misjudgment here could be fatal.

"I'm trying to figure out who's truly on our side. The Survey Corps counts, as do the Awakened still fighting in the city. That's a wide range," Axel continued, looking a little overwhelmed. His enhanced perception allowed him to glean more about the deceased, but it wasn't enough to provide direct answers.

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