The bold, insulting statement spread silence in the meeting hall. Only the second team leader felt the urge to say something, but Khan's words made him think and shut up.
Cegnore's underground world was no secret. Even the Global Army knew about it. However, mapping it was no easy feat. The planet had caves and arrays of underground rivers, making the whole environment hard to explore.
The brittle ground and the unknown dangers added issues to the idea of mapping the planet's underground world. The Thilku would easily fall into traps or struggle to advance at a decent pace. They would be in enemy territory with no sight of an actual goal.
Khan knew those problems very well, but his statement remained flawless nonetheless. His continuous calls had probably emptied the surface of monsters, leaving only the underground world as a possible target for a safe expansion.
The team leaders and Onp couldn't help but seriously consider the idea. They had limited options, and all of them were dangerous. Yet, their army currently had one asset capable of easing some of their worries.
It didn't take long before the team leaders broke their stern inspection of the holograms and began to throw occasional glances at Khan. Their thoughts were obvious even without checking their mana, and Khan had connected the dots even before suggesting the idea.
The underground world was dangerous, but the Empire had a shaman on their side. Khan's presence could prevent traps, natural issues, and more. He was the perfect asset during a blind exploration, and his battle prowess would protect eventual teams accompanying him.
By using Khan, the Thilku would also stay true to their restrictions on technology while securing their position on the planet. Still, ignoring Khan's species and organization wasn't as easy as it sounded.
The issue had nothing to do with xenophobia, biases, or pride. Giving Khan such a role would give him immense power over the mission. He would become the leader and sole enabler of the offensive, which was akin to putting the Global Army in charge.
The idea would often involve long discussions among trusted peers, but the Thilku were different. The team leaders knew they had no authority there, so they eventually looked at Onp, waiting for his decision.
As for Onp, he had been the only one completely focused on Khan since the suggestion. He inspected every corner of his face, but only confidence filled his vision. Khan didn't need to wear a façade when the intensity of his feelings hid his thoughts.
The inspection continued until Onp felt to understand the reason behind the suggestion. He saw the deeply personal meaning fused with that confidence. Something was up, but alternatives didn't exist.
"[Come with me]," Onp eventually ordered, and some groans resounded in the room. A few Thilku lowered their faces and crossed their arms in annoyance while others shot warning glares at Khan.
Khan felt the urge to reply to each glare. Still, his curiosity took over when Onp activated a function on the interactive desk, revealing a circular drawer in the wall behind him.
The new spot had a rune with a simple meaning at its center, but complicated security measures enveloped it. Khan could recognize its function, but the many lines around the symbol told him he couldn't activate it.
Onp didn't waste time. He approached the rune and spent a few seconds tracing its lines. The secret drawer expanded further, moving part of the wall until a tall rectangular door became visible.
Khan's curiosity became unbearable, so he crossed the room without bothering to ask for further permission. Even the team leaders' glares couldn't distract him from that new passage, and Onp opened the door once he was behind him.
A relatively narrow corridor illuminated by a faint red halo opened, and Onp dived right into it without adding anything. Khan followed closely behind, and the door behind them closed in the meantime.
The corridor wasn't too long and expanded near its end. By the time another metal door appeared, the area had become large enough to hold four Thilku, creating a small square of some sort.
Khan was too curious to speak. His eyes followed Onp's movements, watching him activate the rune on the new door. The passage soon opened, revealing a circular platform that reminded Khan of machines he had already seen.
Onp stepped forward, so Khan imitated him. The two reached the platform's center, and its doors closed. Red lights promptly shot out the rune on the ceiling, scanning Khan and Onp, and the floor began to descend once the inspection was over.
As Khan had expected, the platform was an elevator, but its destination still surprised him. His senses couldn't pierce metal, but the scent of appealing energy began to echo past the lift's surfaces, making him approach the wall to touch it.
Those odd sensations became clearer when Khan placed his palm on the cold metal. He could somewhat understand where he was going, but the machine didn't give him the time to question Onp since the platform suddenly stopped descending.
Natural mana blew inside the elevator once its doors opened. A cold breeze joined it, and the sound of running water invaded Khan's ears. The call grew louder than ever, pushing Khan outside the machine without requesting permission.
Slightly slippery rocks ended up under Khan's shoes. He found himself in a cave many levels below the Thilku building, and red light illuminated it, showing many details otherwise invisible.
The place was big and humid. A vast rocky hall expanded from the platform's cylindrical channel, with four glowing rectangular items attached to its visible top, where the metal met the ceiling.
Four street lamp-like machines stood on the hall's edges, holding chest-sized spheres at their top. A few rocky passages also stretched near them, expanding in areas the red illumination couldn't reach. Those items were probably scanners, but something else soon captured the entirety of Khan's attention.
A small river flowed in the left part of the underground hall, crossing it from side to side and disappearing behind rocky walls. Its clear water shone under the red illumination, but Khan only focused on its scent. His mana core told him that the call was louder there.
Onp remained silent the whole time. His confidence intensified ever since Khan touched the elevator's wall, and that feeling turned into certainty when he saw him approaching the river. The Thilku had studied the area thoroughly, but Khan was reaching the same conclusions in a matter of seconds.
Khan jumped on the river's edge before crouching down. He stared at the clear water, trying to spot clues with his superior vision. He also stretched his right arm, leaning forward until his fingers touched the cold liquid.
The call grew clearer as soon as Khan immersed his fingers. His core learned something on an instinctive level, making Khan turn toward his right. His eyes fell on the small opening in the rocky wall where the river disappeared, and his thoughts swirled to draw conclusions.
"[That's why the trench is in that direction]," Khan announced. He could have kept those thoughts to himself, but the Thilku with him could add answers his senses didn't reach yet.
Onp was still inside the elevator for security measures. He had gotten his tablet hours ago, so exposing himself to Cegnore's air was dangerous. Yet, that risk felt worth it after hearing Khan's statement.
The trench's location wasn't random, and the Thilku didn't only study the monsters' patterns to decide it. Their scanners had picked up the same clues as Khan when they reached that underground area. The infection was stronger near the river's source, marking one of the homes of the mutated beings.
Khan began to glare at the rocky wall. That surface was nothing compared to his element. He could destroy it with a single spell, but the symphony told him what would happen afterward.
The underground area was stabler than the surface, but Cegnore remained fragile. Digging with spells was too dangerous. Khan was certain the entire hall would crumble on itself if he tried.
Khan leaned even more forward to immerse his face in the water. The river was slightly deep, but his focus was on the passage to his right. It was big enough to fit a few grown men, but the risk of drowning was huge.
Khan temporarily gave up, retreating to sit on the rocky floor. He rubbed his hair while cold drops ran down his face. He had a target now, but his senses alone couldn't bring him to it.
"[We mapped part of the river's path]," Onp suddenly revealed, recognizing Khan's conflict.
Khan suddenly turned, fixing his intense eyes on the elevator. Onp was partially hidden from his position, but both understood that they were listening to each other.
"[We also have found another entry point]," Onp continued. "[The excavators have been here for a while, too. The Empire is ready for an underground attack]."
"[What were you waiting for]?" Khan wondered, even if he partially knew the answer. The Empire had to clear the surface first. An expansion underground would have been too dangerous otherwise.
"[Apparently]," Onp scoffed, "[You]."
