Soulbound: Dual Cultivation

Chapter 385: Calm before the storm

Lucas straightened fully and gestured toward the scout with a calm flick of his fingers. "Clean yourself up," he said, his eyes sweeping over the dirt, the dirty sleeve, the signs of struggle that would raise too many questions if left as they were. "You are not returning to them as a captive who escaped. You are returning as a scout who completed his duty."

The young man hesitated only briefly before nodding, wiping at his face and smearing away the tracks of tears with the back of his sleeve, his movements clumsy but urgent. Lucas watched him closely, already calculating how the enemy’s officers would read the smallest detail of posture and expression, already adjusting the lie until it fit so well it would pass unquestioned.

"When they ask you for reports," Lucas continued, his voice steady and precise, "you will say you observed a Squad of twelve moving ahead of the main force. You will say they are disciplined, cautious, and led by a commander who is wounded but still active."

The scout looked up sharply. "They know your name," he said, a tremor slipping into his voice despite his effort to remain composed.

Lucas’s scarred lips curved faintly, not quite a smile and not quite bitterness. "Then you will not praise me," he replied. "You will downplay me. You will say I am strong but strained, that I am relying too much on others, and that my injuries have slowed my judgment."

Bartho crossed his arms, his jaw tightening as he listened. "You are handing them pieces of the truth," he said bluntly, unable to hold back any longer. "That is dangerous, Commander. Too dangerous."

Lucas turned his head slightly, meeting Bartho’s gaze without hostility, though there was steel beneath the calm. "Lies built entirely from fiction crumble under pressure," he said. "Lies anchored to truth endure scrutiny."

He turned back to the scout. "You will tell them our total force numbers around seven thousand," Lucas said evenly, watching the young man’s reaction. "Not more and not less. Let them think they have measured us accurately."

Jennifer inhaled sharply, her brows knitting together as unease flickered across her face. "Seven thousand is not a small number," she said carefully. "If they prepare for it properly, we could be walking into something terrible."

Lucas did not answer her immediately, his gaze distant as his thoughts unfolded several moves ahead, picturing enemy generals poring over maps, arguing logistics, reallocating troops, and overcommitting where they believed certainty existed. "They already believe we are coming," he said at last. "What they do not know is where we will strike, how fast we will move, and what we are willing to sacrifice to win."

The scout swallowed, nodding slowly as the instructions settled into his mind. "And when they send me again," he asked, "to scout further or confirm what I told them."

Lucas stepped closer, lowering his voice until it was meant for the scout alone. "You will return to me," he said. "Each time they tighten the leash, I will give you another length of it, another piece of information to feed them, enough to keep their trust and never enough to give them clarity."

The young man’s hands trembled slightly as he clenched them into fists, fear and determination warring within him. "If they discover me," he said quietly, "they will not stop at my family."

Lucas held his gaze, his own expression unyielding. "Then we make sure they never discover you," he replied. "And if they try, I will burn my way through their camp to reach them."

Bartho looked away with a sharp exhale, clearly unconvinced but unwilling to argue further, while Jennifer studied Lucas with a mixture of worry and reluctant admiration, realizing that he was not gambling blindly but deliberately placing pressure where the enemy least expected it.

Lucas looked at him intently and asked him his name. "Patrick." He answered.

Lucas took a final step back and gestured toward the open land ahead. "Go," he said. "Walk calmly. Do not rush. A man who hurries looks guilty even when he is innocent."

Patrick nodded deeply, committing every word to memory before turning and disappearing into the distance, his back straightening with each step as he reclaimed the role forced upon him.

As Lucas watched him go, a quiet thought settled in his mind, cold and resolute.If the enemy believed they controlled loyalty through fear, then they had already lost, because fear could bend men, but it could never own the truth once someone dared to weaponize it.

Lucas lifted his hand and let it fall in a sharp, controlled motion, the signal crisp and unmistakable. The squad responded immediately, tightening formation as their horses began to move forward at a steady, purposeful pace.

"We advance from here," Lucas said, his voice calm but carrying easily across the group. "No rushing and no gaps. Eyes open and minds sharper than your blades."

Bartho glanced ahead at the empty stretch of land and then back at Lucas. "You really think they will send more scouts this soon," he asked, his tone skeptical but alert.

"They would be foolish not to," Lucas replied, adjusting the silver mask over his scarred face, the metal cool against damaged skin. "And they are not foolish. They are desperate, which is far more dangerous."

The ice belle floated slightly above her mount, her presence light yet oppressive in a way that made the air feel cleaner and colder at once. She turned her gaze outward, eyes narrowing as pale light shimmered faintly around her pupils. "There will be more," she said softly, her voice carrying certainty rather than speculation. "They are already nervous. Nervous creatures watch more closely."

Lucas nodded without looking at her. "Stay alert for any movement that feels wrong," he told her. "Not just hostile intent. Fear leaves a different mark on the air."

She tilted her head slightly, a faint smile tugging at her lips despite the seriousness of the moment. "You worry too much," she said. "But I will watch everything."

As they rode, Lucas felt the instability within himself with every breath, the lingering heat and darkness still coiled deep in his meridians, resisting purification like a living thing. He ignored it, pushing the sensation aside, knowing that hesitation now would cost lives later.

Jennifer leaned closer to him, her voice low. "You are thinking too far ahead again," she said gently. "Your body is not ready for another crisis."

Lucas exhaled slowly. "War does not wait for recovery," he replied. "If I slow down, others will bleed for it."

The ice belle glanced back at him, her expression unreadable, though concern flickered briefly across her face. "You are not alone anymore," she said. "Try to remember that before you decide to carry everything by yourself."

Lucas did not answer immediately, his eyes fixed on the horizon. After a moment, he spoke quietly. "That is exactly why I cannot afford to fall."

Ahead of them, the land stretched wide and quiet, deceptively calm, while behind them the weight of the army loomed like a sleeping giant, Lucas knew this calm would not last.