chsdbacks Chapter 155: Watch Your Back
Chapter 155: Watch Your Back
Chapter 155: Watch Your BackWhen Duke Coldmere returned to his castle, the first thing he did was ask about his wife and children. Once he was assured of their safety, he didn’t even bother to see them and headed straight for his study.
"My Lord, you have to see this..."
One of his shadow knights met him on the way, his ominous words making the Duke’s heart skip a beat. With hurried steps, he entered the study, noticing everything was still intact.
But that was of little concern.
The Duke swiftly approached the false wall and performed a sequence of hand gestures, pressing different parts of it. A second later, the wall slid open—only for the Duke’s expression to turn grim.
"Shit..."
The doors to the hidden chamber were wide open, clear evidence of a break-in. Without hesitation, he rushed inside and headed straight for the central table.
"It’s gone..."
The colour drained from his face when he saw the journal wasn’t where it was supposed to be. He brushed the documents aside, but it was nowhere to be found.
Next, he turned to the shelves, frantically
"Spread out and watch your backs," Axel ordered, and his men nodded, disappearing deeper into the mist. Left alone, Axel began exploring the fog slowly, his steps confident and purposeful.
"You’re only making things worse, Jess!" The Commander yelled, his eyes darting around through his protective ward. "The more you resist, the more complicated things become for you. You might lose your freedoms forever!"
No response came, though that didn’t surprise the Commander. Still, he continued appealing to the catwoman. "We both know the nobles won’t rest until your partner is captured—or worse."
While Axel himself didn’t want to see Caleb put down, things could get really bad, really fast. The nobility didn’t take too well to their authority being challenged.
Axel turned his head to the left when he heard the sound of a twig being stepped on. Furrowing his brows cautiously, he approached—only to ’see’ one of his men.
"The tigerkin is nowhere to be found, Commander," The knight reported with a sigh. "What do we do...?" It’s been a few minutes and still no signs of Jess or Crusher — almost as if they just disappeared.
BOOM...!
"Ah...!"
A loud explosion—like something heavy landing in their midst—blew the knights and mist away, leaving a large crater several tens of meters in radius.
Trees were uprooted, and dust and debris flew everywhere. But that was of little consequence with the night still around.
"What the hell...?" Axel muttered as he lowered his left hand, which he had used to shield his face. He stood defensively, squinting in the direction of the explosion.
Out of the dust and darkness, Caleb walked out of the crater and approached the Commander, his body flaring with an overwhelming amount of mana.
Gulp.
Axel couldn’t help but swallow hard. His guess was right—those men had failed to stop Caleb. The Commander straightened his posture as Caleb came to a stop a few meters away.
"Caleb..." Axel muttered. He had no intention of fighting, and neither did his men. They weren’t conceited enough to think they could stop Caleb.
"Commander..." Caleb replied, the mana around his body dying down. His eyes, however, were still flaring wildly like flames. "I don’t know if you’re aware of your master’s actions, but you should watch your back."
"..."
Axel had no response to that, staring at Caleb with a hardened expression. A second passed, and a flash of light appeared beside Caleb, revealing the presence of Jess and Crusher.
"Ready?" Caleb turned to Jess and Crusher.
"Yeah..." the catwoman replied, her gaze lingering on the Commander. "Thank you for not throwing me into a dungeon when you could have..."
"Wait!" The trio turned around, ready to leave, when the Commander stopped them. "What’s really going on...?"
"You should ask the Duke," Caleb replied over his shoulder. "Things might be getting worse from this point on." He grabbed the tigerkin and disappeared with Jess, leaving the Commander and his men deep in thought.