### Chapter 369: Suspect
Yuliya and Dazzy were walking together, chatting it up. Even Dazzy sensed something was off.
“Why are so many people dying at night? They should be closely monitored,” she complained. “And the Soldier Leader was definitely acting weird this morning.”
Porta chimed in thoughtfully, “Maybe the battle was so tough yesterday that too many people tried to sneak off at night and ended up getting sliced. I spotted some bodies that had obvious sword wounds.”
“Seriously? Who would dare to run away in front of so many soldiers?”
“I got up last night to take a leak and happened to glance around. Those soldiers needed their beauty sleep too, and when it comes to shifts, they were pretty lax,” Porta explained.
“That can’t be good! Are we even going to have enough manpower left? The number of deaths at night is nearly catching up to our losses in battle.”
“Who knows what they’re thinking or how they’re organizing it.”
Yuliya stared ahead, her expression shrouded beneath her mask, deep in thought.
“Let’s not worry about others; we just need to watch our own backs. With our skills, we’ll be just fine,” Brook interrupted the discussion with confidence.
Daytime battles were still grueling, with a horde of Silver Level monsters out to get them, and even more Bronze Level monsters throwing their weight around.
The Soldier Leader had only given the adventurers a simplistic arrangement of teams and tactics.
Adventurers up front, soldiers providing backup.
Some folks were confused by the arrangement but didn’t get a chance to voice their thoughts.
They finished cleaning one spot and promptly moved to the next.
A few adventurers asked for a break, but their pleas were ignored.
Many began to curse loudly.
“Seriously, are we not even considered human anymore? We risk our lives for this and can’t even get a little extra care?”
“I participated four years ago, and it didn’t have to be this rushed!”
“This is seriously a one-way ticket to doom!”
The Soldier Leader frowned, his icy demeanor demanding attention. “What’s this? Got a problem with my arrangements?”
“Last time? Last time you ever encountered people trying to run off at night?”
“Anyone who wants to d*e, just say the word; I can make it happen right now.”
After that little outburst, all went silent.
But it was an awkward silence, one that was definitely temporary.
The so-called adventurers were known for taking risks, and when cornered, they were bound to take a gamble.
Today’s battle was exceptionally intense, and the pace of the fighting had noticeably quickened.
The result? A hefty amount of casualties.
Right before calling it a night, another tally revealed close to a hundred deaths, some who were just too wounded to even be kept around anymore.
Not to mention, there were still about forty to fifty people who were clearly affected but not yet out of commission.
If things went as expected, tomorrow would likely see them bite the dust.
The atmosphere in the entire camp was as tense as a bowstring.
Many cast glances at the soldiers, unsure of what to think.
Once the tally was done, everyone was prepping for a break.
But before resting, the Soldier Leader called everyone back for an important announcement.
Once everyone was lined up again, the Soldier Leader scanned the crowd, clearly sensing the unusual emotions floating around.
With a sigh, he said, “I know you all must be really unhappy with me. Think I’m joking around with your lives today. But I have a very important reason for doing this.”
Many scoffed at the Soldier Leader’s words, clearly seeing it as a feeble excuse.
But he remained stoic as he dropped a bombshell: “We’ve discovered that there’s a traitor among the adventurers.”
At that, everyone gasped.
What? A traitor?
“What are you talking about?”
“Please clarify!”
The Soldier Leader raised a hand for silence.
“This is something I noticed last night. Many people died, but I can confirm that none of our soldiers laid a hand on anyone. In fact, I didn’t see anyone leaving the camp. And yet, so many still ended up dead with obvious sword wounds.”
“The soldiers assigned to this mission are my regulars, so I ruled them out as suspects. That leaves us to dig through the adventurers. After all, night-time deaths aren’t just a one-time occurrence; they happen almost every night, although the initial wounds were disguised well.”
“That’s why I changed the pace during the day—to flush out the hidden traitor. We can d*e, but we must d*e for the mission. We cannot tolerate being sabotaged by a traitor for who-knows-what reasons!”
“And unfortunately, we still haven’t found them yet. That’s my failure, and tomorrow I’ll make it up by being in the front line.”
When the Soldier Leader finished speaking, many initially wanted to argue, but as he continued, particularly by the end of his statement, most were too deflated to protest anymore and reluctantly accepted his words.
What followed was a wave of fear and suspicion. Who could the traitor be?
Who would fit the bill as a traitor?
Suddenly, a bunch of them turned to look at the most mysterious person in their midst.
She was cloaked in black and wore a mask.
Gradually, more and more eyes shifted her way.
“Wait! Why are you all staring at Riya?” Dazzy blurted out, jumping into the fray.
The other three frowned in agreement.
Yuliya, however, showed no visible reaction.
Someone remarked, “It’s a reasonable suspicion. Doesn’t she look like a traitor?”
“Exactly! Who dresses like that unless they have something to hide? A black cloak and a mask that she never takes off?”
“And she barely lifted a finger during the day. If she’s the traitor, it makes sense the Soldier Leader couldn’t figure it out.”
“No, no, no!” Dazzy quickly interjected, stepping protectively in front of Yuliya, shaking her head. “Riya has been with us the whole time! How could she do anything?! Plus, her strength isn’t even that impressive!”
“Ha! How would you know? It’s totally possible you’re all being fooled,” someone countered.
“You!” Dazzy gritted her teeth.
Yuliya remained silent, glancing briefly at the Soldier Leader.
His expression was solemn, revealing nothing.
Yuliya propped her chin up, pondering a moment before giving a soft chuckle, “So that’s it. It’s almost like they’re shifting all the blame away from themselves. Things just got interesting.”
“Riya, what are you talking about?” Dazzy asked, turning with concern.
“Nothing much.”
Yuliya shook her head, stepping forward. “Looks like many of you are suspecting me. Such suspicion is reasonable; anyone can be suspected. I need to find a way to prove my innocence.”
“But it’s not just about taking off my mask. No matter what I look like, I can’t clear the doubts. So I guess I’ll have to resort to the simplest method. I’ll just stay up here in this tree tonight, and I’d appreciate it if all you adventurers could take turns watching me. Sound good?”
“Or do you all want to just k*ll me directly? That wouldn’t be great. The Soldier Leader did say we have to d*e for the mission.”
The Soldier Leader, expressionless, nodded. “You’re just a suspect; we can’t k*ll you outright. Fine, we’ll do it your way. Shouldn’t be too much trouble.”
