Greenwood City’s Military Department, Conference Room
As soon as Claude received the Truth-seeking Rod, he immediately called forth for a meeting
His position as a mere captain and not even a Vice-general would not be enough to call the executives but he has his background
Claude never shied away from using the privileges he has from his birth origin since he mostly use them for what he thinks is the greater good
Aside from that, he also informed them that the meeting would be for the sake of exposing the Clay Dolls
Since Claude confidently said that he can distinguish the real people from the Clay Dolls, the executives wouldn’t even complain about the sudden meeting
They can only hope that Claude was telling the truth. The mental pressure of the Clay Doll Master’s appearance was too great
These executives are worrying that their loved ones and family members were replaced by Clay Dolls without them knowing it
“Captain Claude, is what you said true?” General Bone Sage asks, clearly, he was also anxious and that is for a reason
He is the General of the Greenwood City. If the city falls, his reputation and power would also fall
If the city rises then his reputation and power would also rise
It’s like he was the King of the City and his reputation and influence depends on the city’s state
It was understandable that he would be anxious
“I obtained a treasure, General and there’s a high chance that it could help us identify the Clay Dolls” Claude replied in affirmation
Although the Truth-seeking Rod deactivated the disguising spell of Dominant Sky, the Clay Doll master’s magic is still on a different level
“May we see what the treasure is?” Bone Sage said and Claude hesitated a bit, his expression looking conflicted but he still took out the item that Rezen gave to him
Claude waved his hand and a bamboo stick appeared causing the executive to blink their eyes repeatedly
That’s the treasure that Claude was talking about? Is he messing with them?
What could a normal bamboo stick do? What would he even do with that, hit them with the stick?
The way that the executives were looking at him made Claude uncomfortable. This was the first time that he had received such a look as if he was some sort of alien
The first parts of his life weren’t exactly smooth sailing but his appearance always made it so that people always look at him favorably. Add that to the fact that his actions in public have always been decent made it so that he never received such looks before
Out of embarrassment, Claude hurriedly used the bamboo stick to hit the executive seating next to him at the round table
“Hey!” That executive complained. Claude’s hit wasn’t painful but who would like it if someone suddenly hit you with a bamboo stick in the middle of a serious meeting
That executive is either not a Clay Doll or the Truth-seeking Rod’s ability is not enough. Claude can only hope that it was the former
Claude continued, hitting one executive after another to the point that they started complaining together
“Captain!”
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Have you lost your mind?!”
Claude ignored their words until he hit one of the oldest executives in the conference room
At first, he was delighted as ‘something’ finally happened after he hit a person with the bamboo but it wasn’t what he had expected
Instead of turning into a Clay Doll, that executive… that executive… he was ‘exposed’
He was actually using an illusion spell to make it look like he wasn’t bald!
“Ohh, so the Thunderous Mage is actually bald”
“I knew something was off with his hair!”
“To think that he insulted me in the past for my early signs of balding”
The executive’s attention was momentarily focused on another matter after the exposure of Thunderous Mage’s baldness
“Y-you!!”
That executive’s face turned red from anger. The way he was acting made people feel as if he would suffer from a heart attack any time from now because of his swelling emotions
“S-sorry…” Claude apologizes. He didn’t expect that he would actually expose a person’s baldness
This situation was the most embarrassing moment that Claude ever had and he guiltily moved on to the next executive
Before Thunderous Mage can explode from anger, the executive next to him actually changes in appearance
At first, she looks like someone that Rezen would call a ‘MILF’. She looks like a middle-aged woman but her body was curvaceous and sexy
Even her face although has the sign of old age is still beautiful
However, as soon as the Truth-seeking Rod made contact with her body, her MIL– beautiful appearance instantly changes
Her human skin vanished and was turned into some sort of an earthy grey substance
“A Clay Doll!” All the executives cried out and they hurriedly seize her before she can do anything
The people inside the conference room are still executives. They are at least above average in terms of skills and they know what to do in situations like this
“How…” that’s the question in everyone’s mind
The Clay Doll Master is someone people are afraid of because of his magic. His Clay Dolls can skillfully impersonate anyone
The Clay Dolls can even use the magic of the person that they impersonated. And only if they are gravely injured to the point that they are on the brink of death would their real appearance be revealed
The combination of those things made it so that even mages at the 6th fusion rank would find it hard to distinguish the real from fake
“Noooo!!! I have feelings for her!” One of the executives cried out in pain. He was literally in tears and that is for the reason
The Clay Dolls have such abilities all because the people that they impersonated are sacrificed
That female executive is most likely to be dead now
“It works” Claude thought in his mind before looking at the General
“General, the item in my hand can distinguish who the Clay Dolls and who is not. With this, we can launch our raid on the Twighlight Beast” Claude said, itching to save the people that should be saved
“Captain, I understand you and the City is once again indebted to you but we still cannot give what you want. The Military is infiltrated this deep, even one or more of our executives have been replaced by fakes. We have to determine the exact number of our people that have been replaced” The General said and Claude immediately made a move
He held the bamboo in his hand as he charged at the General
“Captain!”
“Captain Claude!”
“Stop!”
The other executives tried to stop Claude but they failed to do so. In the end, Claude managed to hit the General that didn’t dodge the Truth-seeking Rod
“I’m not a Clay Doll. I’m just thinking of the bigger picture which I know you do too” Bone Sage said calmly and Claude sighed before retreating
He knew what the General was considering. If there are many mages that should be protecting the city that has been replaced with Clay Dolls that means that the city’s defense has been weakened severely
Their overall power has diminished and fighting a formidable enemy in that state is unfavorable
In the end, Claude has no choice but to give up on having the military raid the Twighlight Beast for the second time
“Young Master, you did what you could do” Dominant Sky said after Claude went out of the Conference Room
“What I could do is not enough. Rezen gave us the Twighlight Beast’s location and the item to deal with the Clay Doll Master but we can’t even save his and our people” Claude replied, his tone very bitter
Just because he would choose to save a hundred people even if that means he would sacrifice one life doesn’t mean that his heart doesn’t ache for that one life
This is not the first time that Claude made a decision like this but every time he did so, it would always feel like a stab in his heart
“Young Master…”
“Miss Dominant Sky, I can’t just stand by and do nothing”
“I know but we can’t raid them, Young Master”
Claude took a deep breath before speaking again
“Even if we can’t raid them, I at least need to save Shadow Dog and Rezen’s subordinates”
“Young Master, you can’t do that!”
“I can and I will! That’s the least thing I could do”
“It’s too dangerous!”
“Then please help me”
“Even with my help, it’s too dangerous”
“I know but we still have to do it”
“Young Master, no!”
“We will not do it without a plan”
With that Claude walked with a certain location in his mind
It was none other than Rezen’s farm. He knew to himself that going without a plan is stupid but if he has Rezen’s help he might still succeed in the rescue operation
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