Nova quickly moved to where the soldiers sent from the capital were, stopping in front of them with other soldiers from that post and the soldiers temporarily waiting there for new orders.
When they met the five newly arrived Meges, they all took official positions to greet these highest-ranking men in the organization.
"Commanders, welcome to the royal army headquarters in Millfall," Nova said on behalf of everyone there after stepping forward.
Looking at the blue-haired woman who had obviously advanced recently, the man sent to handle this situation wasn't that surprised by her level.
It was expected that the person chosen to take temporary charge would be someone powerful and not far from a major breakthrough like the one Nova had just experienced.
He got right to the point. "Captain Bain, congratulations on becoming a magician. We'll sort out your situation soon, and you'll know your new orders. But for now, let's deal with the local problems.
What can you tell me about the situation in Millfall? What is the relationship between the soldiers of the different battalions and the situation with the local powers?
There were currently soldiers from four different battalions in Millfall, previously commanded by the four men Vicente had killed.
Nova replied. "The situation with the soldiers is going well. We've had some debates, of course, since we're from different groups, and some soldiers don't like taking orders from someone of the same rank as them. But nothing unusual or unacceptable has happened.
The military hierarchy of the royal army was extremely strict, and disobedience was frowned upon in that force. But differences of opinion and pride existed even within the army, and debates were not necessarily crimes.
As long as they stayed within certain limits, differences between soldiers weren't taken too seriously.
That was especially true in situations like Nova's.
Until recently, she had been a soldier of the same rank as many of her comrades, but she was temporarily in command. It was only natural that there would be some friction within the group over her orders and visions.
Since she wasn't a Commander yet, none of the five newcomers saw a problem.
She continued. "As for the local nobles, they're also behaving within the rules and what we've come to expect. None of them have shown any strange behavior since last month, either with the fall of our Commander or the Symons family.
The town has been fairly quiet lately, with only one major problem, which was after the auction a few days ago when the Symons family fell. There were a lot of Mages in town that night, and we couldn't do much but wait for the situation to resolve itself."
In theory, Nova and the men under his command should have acted and stopped the conflict that night. But none of these newcomers would blame her for doing nothing.
What could she and her party have done? The only result of fighting that night would have been deaths among the soldiers, which would have meant losses for the kingdom.
One of the men from the capital group asked. "So there's no clue that your group found about the incidents with our soldiers and then the one with the Symons family?"
"We have no concrete evidence. On the auction day, many people acted, and some wore more or less similar camouflage. The bodies of the victims were also disposed of. As for the four Commanders, we have no idea how they died.
Only the death of Commander Christopher Hogan seems less mysterious. But even he hasn't left us any significant clues."
The strongest of the new arrivals asked her as she made her way to the post commander's office. "Do you have any strange feelings about all this, Captain? Speak freely. From now on, we won't officially consider what you tell us."
False accusations could have serious consequences. That's why Nova couldn't speak her mind without taking risks.
But an unofficial conversation between soldiers might give her room to say some of her suspicions that couldn't be used in the Martial Court.
She smiled and said. "Commander Derek, I can't prove anything I'm about to say, but based on my experience, I'm certain that Cesar Mazzanti is involved to some degree in at least one of these two incidents. Investigating and interviewing him could be quite revealing, in my opinion."
"Cesar Mazzanti?" These people were hearing that name for the first time.
She explained. "Officially, he's a local mercenary. But in the shadows, he's actually the leader of the local criminal underworld. He currently controls virtually all underworld operations in Millfall, from prostitution, bookmaking, loans, and parallel resource trading. In short, he operates on several fronts.
He's quite young and hasn't been in power very long. A few months ago, two major factions controlled the local underworld. But then, he came to Millfall, grew up, and dominated those two forces, destroying one and taking power from the other.
Today, he can be considered the most influential man in the city."
"Oh? And even though he's connected to so many problems, you haven't found any evidence against him?" A Low-level Mage from that group of newcomers asked in a strange tone.
Nova looked at him and said. "He is very cautious, and his skill is rather ridiculous. He dealt with his enemies without leaving any evidence or witnesses against him. At the same time, he expanded his business by acting within the law..." She paused at this part, inwardly laughing because as ridiculous as it was, it was true.
Strangely enough, Cesar had never acted directly against innocent people. He mostly acted against other bandits, only defending himself or fighting back.
But he almost always acted within the laws of the kingdom, following the limit on the number of people in his force, acting as if he were an organization of mercenary groups, without criminally exploiting those with whom they were involved.
The family's main service was protection, for which they charged low costs and provided excellent services.
As for the services inherited from the Defiant Tyranny and the Scarlet Syndicate, most were not forbidden by the kingdom, although they were socially frowned upon.
"To say he's a clean criminal is not wrong. But don't let his banner fool you. He is a cruel person, capable of killing without blinking an eye. I can't prove he's guilty, but my instincts tell me he's involved in most of Millfall's recent problems." She finished.
These soldiers knew that instincts were sometimes very good to follow, so they took what she had in mind seriously.
Derek ordered. "All right, let's keep an eye on this Cesar Mazzanti and his group. Where is he right now? What level is he at?"
Nova didn't know because she had just come out of seclusion.
So another soldier who had accompanied her and the Mages to the commander's office of this post answered in her place. "He left town a few days ago after becoming a Mage. We think he left to hunt for his next pentagram."
Nova was surprised to hear this, not expecting Cesar to leave before her.
"That's a problem... If we can't talk to him, it will be difficult to follow Captain Bain's instincts." A mid-level mage said.
Since there was no evidence against him, they would have to talk to him personally. But there wasn't much they could do if he wasn't in town!
Derek said. "For now, we'll investigate everything we can locally before we go after this person and his group. But let's keep the Captain's suspicions in mind."
"Okay!"
