"You think that the attack was just a decoy by the criminal?" Cohnal asked as those three were dashing toward the nearest secret passageway on their horses.

"It is hard to say," Melisee replied. "If it was a decoy it wasn't an effective one since only a small group would be sent to investigate it… in any case, I don't know what to think. I thought they wanted to steal some horses, but the footprints of a single one are heading toward that direction."

When the group reached the nearest passageway, they found a group of four lookouts sleeping. That would be funny if it weren't crazy… What kind of spell could make people fall asleep so profoundly?

"Hurry! We should leave them alone, the criminal must not be too far away," Cohnal said.

"I don't think that is a good idea to follow someone able to invade the base that easily," Nyana said.

"You don't get it… we can't let an enemy that knows one of the secret passageways alive," Cohnal said. "It is already bad enough that they have a decent base in their territory, but if they somehow manage to take this one… the North will be as good as theirs."

"Don't you think that all this is strange?" Melisse asked. "If that guy found this place, they should have attacked with many more allies, even if the sleep spell might put his allies to sleep, they just needed to stay away a little bit."

  Cohnal nodded. That indeed was very weird… attacking a mansion like that, attacking the stables to steal a single horse… the actions seemed too random. Even in the darkness of the night, those three kept chasing the enemy. However, they were forced to give up since their horses were tired. Fortunately, some soldiers with fresh horses appeared to take their places.

"I guess we can leave this job to them," Cohnal said.

"... Let's return to the base and help recover the horses, I want to check something," Melisse said.

  Cohnal and Nyana didn't notice why Melisse wanted that immediately. Still, they soon realized something… what if the horse that had been stolen was Moody?

"You don't think…" Cohnal hesitated.

"Don't assume anything, let's just check the stables," Melisse said.

Since the horses were absolutely necessary to travel around, everyone available helped in recovering them. Despite that, they only finished around midnight. Just as expected, only one horde was missing. Nyana almost celebrated that discovery, but before she could do it, she noticed that Cohnal and Melisse looked more serious than before.

"What is wrong?" Nyana asked.

"First of all, let's not spread this information," Cohnal said. "Assuming that the Captain returned to take his horse… why would he return furtively?"

"If he is alive, he should have returned to us," Melisse said.

"Maybe he was wounded, and…"Nyana said.

"Is he wounded now?" Cohnal asked. "Remember, the Captain can heal wounds like no other in our unit. He had six months to recover, even without magic, he should be fine by now."

"Yes, not to mention, if we consider his magic skills, it wouldn't be weird that he managed to invade the mansion," Melisse added. "However, why did he do that?"

"Come to think of it… he seemed a bit weird six months ago, like he could see something that no one else could," Cohnal frowned. "Although he was just recalling some bad memories, but…"

  Nyana recalled that time… she thought that Zaos was just a bit stressed since he was young and had already commanded so many people. In any case, those three soon connected the weird changes in the followers of the demon god's behavior with Zaos disappearance. But they didn't want to believe that he did that of his own volition. Still, considering that no soldier lost their lives for an entire week…

"Nyana, you know the Captain for longest," Cohnal said. "Can you imagine any reason he would abandon the army like this?"

"Hmm… I can't imagine anything," Nyana replied after thinking for a while. "He didn't abandon when his mother died and he loved her more than anything, so…"

  Cohnal and Melisse couldn't imagine any explanation either. While Zaos wasn't like other Captains by a long shot, he worked hard to make the Bloody knights a force to be recognized on the battlefield. He even used his own money to help the members, so it was crazy to think that he would throw all that away. Regardless, they had to give their report about the investigation to the Commander, they did so, but they didn't mention the possibility of Zaos being involved.

"I see… thanks for your hard work," Ruvyn said.

"Commander, do you have any idea why the lord of the region would get in the way of the investigation?" Cohnal asked.

"Well… you know how some nobles are, that guy was probably hiding some toys his wife uses on him in bed," Ruvyn said and then laughed.

  That excuse didn't make any sense, considering how angry the lord was. He certainly looked more enraged than someone who lost half of his home and a few sex toys. Commander Ruvyn was hiding something. Cohnal and Melisse could tell that they didn't work as mercenaries for more than one decade without learning a few tricks.

  Once they left the commander's office, those three decided to have another meeting in their room. After thinking for a while, they couldn't help but notice that they were acting the same way Zaos acted six months ago.

"I guess the Captain back then, discovered something troublesome about the whole mission," Cohnal said.

"Do you think he decided to let everyone think that he is dead because he wants to do something regarding that alone?" Nyana asked.

"Maybe… Can you imagine something that the Captain would want to do alone and without our help?" Cohnal asked.

"Rebelling against the kingdom…" Melisse said.

  The other two felt shivers when they heard that. It seemed a bit too insane… not to mention, there is only so much a single person can do. However, all those three knew that Zaos could pull it off if he decided to do it.