One led Shang to an isolated place at the side of the hill and asked him about what had happened.
Shang told everything to One without keeping any secrets. He told him the same stuff he told the officer.
"Honestly, the signal flare you gave me might have saved my life," Shang said. "I didn't need our superior to win the battle, but if the enemy had more time, the other four would have died. With them dead, everyone would have focused on me."
"I might have still won, but I wouldn't have been in any position to block the Firebombs, which would result in the True Path Stage beast going on a rampage."
Shang was telling the truth. If the enemy thought that they had far more time, they wouldn't have thrown the Firebombs this early.
One had actually saved Shang's life to some degree.
"I'm paying you good money," One said with a voice that told Shang that he thought this issue was irrelevant. "But there is something more important."
"Which is?" Shang asked.
"Don't you think it's strange?" One asked.
"What?"
"Imagine you are responsible for over a hundred warriors, and one person that's responsible for 30 of those warriors might very likely be a traitor."
"Would you let him continue assuming control over these 30 warriors for a week?" One asked.
Shang remained silent for a bit.
"No, I wouldn't."
"That's the thing," One said. "It's too strange. If one of my commanders were accused of being a traitor, I would immediately send someone to apprehend them. Additionally, we arrived here in a single day from the Storm Eagle Zone. Do you honestly think that there isn't a second Late General Stage warrior in the town near us that can assume control?"
"Why did the officer get a full week of full power over this area?"
"It doesn't make any sense."
Shang frowned as he looked down, but his face was hidden behind his mask.
One was making sense.
Shang knew a lot, and he wasn't stupid, but he wasn't very experienced when it came to leading others.
Shang wasn't a born leader, and he wasn't interested in leading others. He thought leading others to be a pain in the ass. It required a lot of work and dedication, which could be used to further his own power instead.
Because of that, Shang hadn't noticed this peculiarity.
In his mind, the officer's initiative to report himself to his superior was a good sign that he wasn't a traitor. After all, why would a traitor reveal himself to his superior when the only witnesses were in an isolated location and were far weaker than him?
The officer could have killed the five of them without many issues. After killing them, he would have simply reported that the enemies had killed them.
Of course, this would also be suspicious, but it was still better than telling his superior about all the suspicious information.
For a second, Shang considered the possibility that the officer hadn't contacted his actual superior, but that possibility was quickly thrown out of the wind.
A Circle had arrived. If that superior didn't have a certain status in Duke Whirlwind's lands, the Circle wouldn't have arrived.
This meant that the superior was actually the superior.
Which left only one possibility.
The superior of the officer was also a traitor.
Shang looked at the outpost with narrowed eyes.
'The superior might have given the officer one week to do as much damage as possible. There is a high likelihood that he will gather all the traitors in the camp and kill all the loyal soldiers before fleeing to the Volcano Wyrm Zone.'
'Additionally, we have gathered a great number of valuable materials over the last couple of weeks. In the end, we would have lost around 30 General Stage warriors while the enemy gained Hundreds of thousands of gold in materials.'
'On top of that, the superior might not have informed the appropriate channels regarding the officer's confession. With every witness dead, the superior could act all oblivious, saying that he had no idea that the officer had been a traitor.'
'A traitorous Commander Stage warrior? I guess Duke Whirlwind was right to worry.'
'But for now, everything is only conjecture. Sure, it makes a lot of sense, but there is no proof. If I report it like this, the officer will be taken down, but the superior will most likely get away.'
'Even more, the superior will be warned, and he will stay low.'
Shang looked over at One.
"What's your plan?" he asked.
"If we meet the enemy on their terms, we are dead," One explained. "The enemy won't show their head today or tomorrow since all the soldiers are still on high alert due to the battle, but they will most likely get active in about five or six days. That's when everyone will be in their most relaxed state."
"If the officer separates us, we will all die one by one. He is two levels above us, and he can kill every soldier with a single attack."
"If we allow him to take the initiative, we're dead meat," One explained.
"You still haven't told me what your plan is," Shang said with some annoyance.
"Don't you get it?" One said with some frustration. "We have to gather a strong force and kill the officer before he can kill us!"
Shang remained silent for several seconds as he looked at One.
"This isn't an easy decision," Shang said slowly.
"What are you talking about? How is this not an easy decision?!" One asked with annoyance.
"Everything's conjecture, and the officer has already been reported to his superior. It might actually be possible that his superior trusts that the allegations are false."
"If I were to attempt to take the officer's life, I would be tried as a traitor. On top of that, if he actually manages to contact someone before his death, I might not even manage to reach the Volcano Wyrm Zone."
"There is no proof right now. If I kill him, I will be going against my primary mission," Shang explained. "When you hired me, I told you that I would follow your orders as long as they don't conflict with the primary mission."
"So, I can't help you with this, sorry," Shang said.
Shang couldn't see One's expression beneath his mask.
A couple of seconds of silence passed.
Just when Shang wanted to walk back to the outpost, One said something.
"How much?"
Shang looked at One.
"Usually, I have a triple-quintuple policy," he explained. "If you pay me triple the reward for the abandoned mission, I will tell my previous client and cancel the contract. If you pay me quintuple, I will keep it a secret that I'm not working for them anymore."
"But this time, I'm fine with double, and I will keep it a secret. But the plan has to be rock solid. I am here for money, but I also don't want to throw my life away."
One remained silent as he walked back and forth, thinking.
"Are you that desperate for money?" One asked with some disgust in his voice.
"No," Shang said. "However, I'm confident that I can survive the clash. Even if I can't win, I can survive. As I've said back when I introduced myself, I don't want to get involved in politics. I don't care if Duke Whirlwind's side or Duke Mithril's side wins. I'm only here to do the job I'm paid for."
"The only two reasons why you get a discount is because I would earn my money faster and that I dislike the officer. Otherwise, you would have to pay the standard rates."
"Also, you technically might have saved my life. That also counts as something."
"So, what will it be? Payment or not?"
"Of course, if you don't pay, I'm forced to report you to the officer. After all, you just solicited another soldier for murder on their superior," Shang said evenly.
Shang couldn't see One's expression, but his tensed body was a great indication of how he felt right now.
One was probably infuriated right now.
"Here I am, trying to save your life, and you blackmail me," One said with disgust.
"You're trying to save someone that doesn't need saving by showing that you are a primary target for that person's mission. What did you expect?" Shang answered with a bored tone. "I'm only doing my job."
"Fine!" One shouted. "I will give you half now, and half after the deed is done!"
"I accept," Shang said.
