Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 2178: Mixed Reactions

Mayor’s manor.

All the experts currently in the city gathered in a very short time. As they arrived in the large open square, many naturally began asking one another about the reason for the sudden summons. With neither the Mayor nor Elder Varis yet present, they could only wait, the low buzz of speculation spreading through the growing crowd.

It took only a few minutes for the Mayor to appear. When he stepped into view, more than two hundred Sovereigns already filled the square. The weight of so many powerful auras pressed against the open space, and the scattered conversations died away almost at once.

Elder Varis stood beside the Mayor. The Mayor moved to a clear position at the front and addressed the assembly in a firm, serious voice.

"I know you are all wondering why you have been summoned in such haste." He let his gaze move across the many faces before him. "We will be attacking the Gnomes’ camp tonight. We have concrete information that will allow us to wipe them out."

For a long moment not a single person spoke. It was not that they had nothing to say. The declaration itself had simply left them too stunned to respond. For more than a year they had been locked in a grinding defense, barely holding the city and a handful of key towns. Now the Mayor was telling them they could destroy the enemy camp outright. As much as many of them wanted to believe it, the months of losses made the claim difficult to accept.

Elder Varis and the Mayor had not expected immediate acceptance. They waited calmly while the crowd struggled to process the words.

Among the four experts who had gone out to summon the others, three stepped forward and spoke in clear voices, confirming that the Mayor was telling the truth and that reliable information on how to eliminate the Gnome camp had indeed been obtained.

Even with those confirmations, doubt still ran through large parts of the gathering. Some experts exchanged skeptical glances. Others frowned deeply or shook their heads in quiet disbelief. A few simply stared at the Mayor as if trying to decide whether the pressure of the war had finally pushed him into a reckless decision.

Elder Varis did not attempt to persuade them further. As the General in command, he had no need to. He spoke in a flat, authoritative tone.

"We will attack the Gnomes in a few hours. Stay here and prepare."

Unlike the Mayor, who sometimes needed to raise morale, Elder Varis simply issued the order. Under military discipline the experts had no real choice but to obey, at least for now.

Many still wanted to demand the exact nature of the information, yet Elder Varis made it clear that they did not need to know the details. All they were required to understand was that victory was certain.

Confusion and unease rippled through the square. A number of experts briefly considered slipping away, but every one of them knew that leaving now would be treated as abandonment of duty, an offense punishable by death. Unless they were certain they could disappear without being noticed, the risk was too great.

Once the Mayor and Elder Varis left the courtyard, the restrained tension broke into low, restless discussion.

"They’re only sending us to our deaths," a Ninth-stage Sovereign muttered loudly enough for those nearby to hear.

"The Mayor would not endanger his own family," a Sovereign close by replied. "There must be real information behind this."

"Of course you would defend him. Didn’t he marry your sister?"

"That has nothing to do with it. If he truly meant to throw lives away, do you think he would include his wife’s brother among the dead?"

"And what if he finds a way to protect you while the rest of us are left to die?"

The man was still speaking when a sharp, dangerous aura locked onto him. He turned and found another Ninth-stage Sovereign staring at him with open anger. This second expert was one of the few who had been present in the manor when Grey arrived. Hearing someone claim that the Mayor intended to send them all to their deaths made his blood rise. The vow of silence prevented him from revealing the truth, and the restriction only deepened his frustration.

The first man met the glare with an arrogant expression. "What? Do you think I am like the rest of you, willing to accept orders without a single question?"

He turned slightly so that more of the surrounding experts could hear him. "We have barely managed to keep the Gnomes out of this city and a few important towns. Now, without warning, the Mayor and the General claim they have vital information that will give us certain victory. What kind of information could possibly turn a force that has dominated us for over a year into an easy target?"

"I know the Mayor wants what is best for the city," he continued, "but I will not put my life on the line when I am not even told what that information is."

The Ninth-stage Sovereign who knew about Grey kept his voice tightly controlled. "Ask yourself one question. Would the Mayor throw away his own life? He and the General have fought for this city for months. They have sacrificed more than most of us know. If you truly believe he would deliberately send us to our deaths, then you should not be standing here at all."

"So the Mayor will have an excuse to execute me if I refuse?" the first man shot back.

"I will vouch for your right to speak," the second replied coldly. "But if we succeed in wiping out the Gnomes, you will leave this city and never return."

The argument drew a circle of listeners, yet it was only one voice among many. Across the rest of the square the reactions remained mixed and restless. Small groups spoke in low tones. Some experts stared at the ground with clenched jaws, clearly weighing the risks. Others showed reluctant acceptance, deciding that the Mayor and Elder Varis had never been reckless with their lives before. A few younger Sovereigns tried to sound hopeful, though the uncertainty in their voices betrayed them. Dark mutters about suicide missions mixed with quieter remarks that the leadership must know something they could not yet reveal.

The overall mood in the courtyard stayed divided. A clear majority remained wary, the same core doubts as the outspoken Ninth-stage Sovereign, even if they chose not to voice them so openly. A smaller portion placed their trust in the Mayor and Elder Varis and prepared themselves to follow the order without further protest.