Chaos' Heir

Chapter 1038: Contingency



"Stop," A gentle, melodious voice suddenly resounded from the trunk, making Colonel Norrett jump back.

Colonel Norrett instinctively wore a battle stance, but the tree no longer spoke. Only its odd vitality remained, which the previous word didn't affect.

The Colonel couldn't help but consider whether he was hearing things. After all, the experiments in the underground labs were far from orthodox, so side effects were to be expected.

However, Colonel Norrett had seen his fair share of strange things during his career and had never heard of a talking tree. Sure, Khan's organization was home to many unheard-of and odd events, but that still sounded too much.

Moreover, Colonel Norrett knew those woods and had never seen anything similar during his previous strolls. Something must have changed, so he didn't believe he was ill just yet.

The tree seemed to sense the Colonel's unconvinced stance and spoke again. "Colonel Mark Norrett, I must ask you to pretend you didn't see any of this."

The Colonel's eyes widened when the tree spoke his name but became serious the following second. Something was definitely up there, and his political brain immediately got to work to provide plausible answers.

Khan had fixed his political situation just to ruin it again. His family, the nobles, and other allies couldn't be happy about his decision to leave humankind and return as a Thilku Lord.

The quadrant and planet as a whole were also in quite the unrest. Many factions had formed while Khan was away, and his dramatic return had probably added fuel to most of those causes, prompting some to take action.

The general unrest was the perfect opportunity for Khan's enemies to plant spies or worse on Baoway. Admittedly, many already resided on the planet. Still, the recent development might have forced some factions to take things one step further, and Colonel Norrett had probably stumbled on one of them.

Knowing what Colonel Norrett knew about the political world, things couldn't simply end there. Unless the talking tree belonged to Khan, repercussions would hit the Colonel before he could leave the woods. After all, only dead men told no tales.

Colonel Norrett only had to decide how to behave. Running away and warning Khan or anyone with some authority could work, but the tree felt stronger than him. The sole fact that he couldn't understand its real nature said as much, making an eventual escape unrealistic.

'Attack,' Colonel Norrett thought, 'Take it by surprise, escape.'

Colonel Norrett did his best to hide his intentions, but nothing worked against the tree. A sweet sigh escaped from the trunk, and a vertical, bright white line appeared on its surface. An ethereal gap opened in its fabric, and a barefooted figure walked out of it.

The Colonel mostly saw white before his eyes gradually grew used to that blinding radiance, allowing him to spot the figure inside and its details. A beautiful woman with long white hair that reached her ankles, white eyes, and alabaster skin had stepped out of the tree, leaving no trace of her passage on the trunk behind her.

The woman looked like the purest being in the universe, and the vitality she radiated enthralled Colonel Norrett. He felt drawn to her aura, but noticing the single, bigger stars on the shoulders of her paler military uniform snapped him back to reality. At once, the Colonel realized he was standing before an evolved warrior.

That wasn't the Colonel's first time witnessing an evolved warrior, but it had never happened under such complicated conditions. Colonel Norrett knew for a fact Khan had no evolved soldiers on his payroll, so the woman had to belong to other parties while he served him.

"My apologies for startling you, Colonel," The woman announced, her graceful bow surpassed only by her melodious voice. "I'm Miss Christen, soldier of the Nognes family. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Colonel Norrett's brain connected multiple dots, obtaining various answers. His initial guess had turned out to be correct. The other factions had really pushed things further due to the general unrest, but he also noticed other details.

The Colonel had attempted to evolve, so he researched the topic. His rank had also given him access to classified information. Colonel Norrett lacked Khan's heightened senses but knew about the Life Mineral and its effects, and Miss Christen perfectly matched them.

'I didn't know the Global Army had loaned the Life Mineral to the Nognes family,' Colonel Norrett realized. 'Corruption sure is rampant.'

While the Global Army and the nobles belonged to the same species, they were different entities. The nobles ultimately controlled humankind, but the Global Army always did its best to match that overwhelming superiority.

Loaning the Life Mineral to the nobles was akin to increasing their power and widening that gap. Something also told Colonel Norrett that the Global Army didn't get appropriate compensation. The negotiation had probably happened between individuals with a lot of influence and high rank to seize personal benefits.

Of course, those thoughts didn't help the Colonel at all now. It would have been different if the evolved soldier came from a different party, but he had no qualms about the Nognes family's internal matters. At least, he shouldn't.

"The pleasure is mine," Colonel Norrett decided to reply, avoiding pleasantries to remain focused on the enthralling but dangerous woman.@@novelbin@@

"You are correct in thinking that Prince Khan is unaware of my presence on Baoway," Miss Christen revealed, addressing the issue. "However, I must ask you to ignore this meeting and avoid reporting it since it concerns the Nognes family's internal businesses."

"So," Colonel Norrett exclaimed, "Can I just leave? Forgive me for not believing that."

"Of course," Miss Christen replied, "Not. Yet, this encounter doesn't need to turn ugly. I must ask you to let me escort you off the planet."

"Just like that?" Colonel Norrett questioned.

"Prince Khan's political situation is complicated now," Miss Christen explained. "He would believe you left due to disagreements with his actions. Also, this is the only way of preserving your life."

Colonel Norrett almost cursed, but his face remained stern. He was no idiot, especially when it came to politics. He knew Miss Christen had spoken nothing but the truth, but his options weren't that limited yet.

"Allow me to add, Colonel," Miss Christen continued. "My presence on Baoway carries no ill will. I'm merely here to report back to the Nognes family."

"What if the Nognes family gives different orders?" Colonel Norrett asked.

"I'm also here as a contingency," Miss Christen replied, not hiding anything.

Colonel Norrett felt no surprise at the revelation. Clearly, the Nognes family was considering whether to activate Miss Christen against Khan and his organization.

"That little shit has a talent for causing problems," Colonel Norrett sighed.

"Colonel, let me assure you," Miss Christen added, noticing that opening. "Your safety will be paramount, and the Nognes family can meet any request and price for the right services." "My apologies, Miss Christen," Colonel Norrett said, shaking his head. "I'm quite the loyal soldier, and Prince Khan's ideals happen to align with mine."

"I take you won't be leaving willingly," Miss Christen concluded, her melodious voice hiding

a trace of displeasure.

"You are correct," Colonel Norrett confirmed, mana suddenly leaking out of his body, highlighting yellow patches on his exposed skin. "Also, this is a good chance to check where I stand against someone who relied on the aided metamorphosis."