Chapter 281: Elimination
The heavy air inside the makeshift command warehouse smelled of drying ink, sweat, and crushing exhaustion.
The Captain stood over the splintered map table. He did not hold a weapon. He held a thick piece of jagged charcoal. Three soot-stained guild clerks flanked him, their eyes bloodshot from staring at the flickering lantern light for hours.
They were executing a brutal, methodical cross-check.
The household guard, now fiercely loyal to the masked boy who had grown an indestructible fortress around them, marched through the heavy wooden doors. They delivered the physical detention reports from every block. Varn, the massive canal foreman, stood by the entrance, ensuring the flow of runners remained orderly.
The Captain compared the living bodies against Lord Commander Vell's meticulous rationing ledgers.
