Annie, glancing at Gottfried and seeing his nod, said calmly.

- This meeting has several very important goals. To begin with, let's start with what Gottfried and I have been checking recently.

Grim raised an eyebrow questioningly, waiting to hear. Sig, in turn, frowned a little and asked in confusion.

- If it's so important that you didn't even entrust it to me, then I'd like to hear it. And shouldn't we call the person in charge of the support group here.

Smiling through his beard, Gottfried said apologetically.

- I'm sorry, Sig, we really couldn't do it any other way. With a sigh and a quick glance at Annie, he continued. - Haa, as for the vice commander of the support squad, he, like everyone else, is under suspicion.

Surprised, Sig narrowed his eyes.

- Suspicion?

Gottfried nodded and looked at Annie. This caused the other two to look at her as well. Seeing that everyone's attention had gathered on her, Annie began to speak in a calm tone.

- The day after the assassination attempt on the prince, Gottfried and I decided to find out exactly what happened. – Having said this, a trace of guilt flashed in Annie's eyes, which someone did not notice. - During the attack, Ernes heard the attacker say "so they did not lie and there really is no guardian." Do you have to understand what this means?

When Grim and Sig heard the phrase, understanding appeared in their eyes. After thinking about it a little, Grim folded his hands and said thoughtfully.

- Of course, so you've been checking on us all this time– - smiling, he looked at Annie with interest. – Well, is there a traitor among us?

After looking back, Annie coldly replied.

- No, although the probability that one of the captains is a traitor is almost zero. After a pause, Annie lifted the corners of her lips, emphasizing a few words. - We checked all the places you visited anyway and after searching them we found no traces.

Greem's smiling face twitched and he looked away.

"Tc, I was lucky, apparently Annie was following me. If Gottfried had found this place following me, it wouldn't have ended well."

Sig looked at Annie questioningly.

- Okay, what are we going to do next? My people have harmed some of the top of the empire. Also, the people of Grima have already got rid of the most suspicious and oppositional nobles and influential citizens.

Gottfried, who had previously been silent, coughed and said.

- The most important thing is to get rid of the spy in the eternal guard.

Grim leaned back in his chair and muttered.

- You can interrogate everyone with the help of the rashu item.

Annie shook her head, drawing the attention of everyone in the room and said.

- We have nothing to do unnecessarily. Interrogating everyone would take too long, and they would surely have thought of a way to avoid this kind of detection. I've already sent tasks to every member of the Eternal Guard. So we just need to activate the soul trail and observe their movements. After the actions of the intelligence group, the empire must curtail the assassination plan. But they will certainly want to keep a spy in the eternal guard. To do this, they must somehow keep in touch with him.

Grim nodded understanding.

- So that's what you were planning. You want to catch him handing the item to Rush. But how can you be sure that they will do it?

Instead of Annie, a slightly surprised Sig answered the question.

- A few days ago, spies reported that the Empire sent a thing to Rush called "soul connection".

Nodding, Annie continued to explain.

- Yes. The item is due to arrive in Verne today. This item is connected and, in order to activate its work, two users must put a part of their soul into it. And as you have already understood, this is possible only if the warrior meets personally with the conspirator.

After listening to Annie to the end, Gottfried said, smiling.

- Well, since everything is clear now, let's activate the soul trace. And we will discuss the following objectives of the meeting.

After saying the last part, he looked at Annie.

- OK.

Having said that, Annie and everyone else put their hand on the edge of the table, pointing Rush at it. The card on the table began to beckon, approaching Vern. Soon a detailed map of the city was shown on the map. There were red dots on the map in some places. Most of them were in the center of the city, where the castle was located. Few others were scattered around the city.

- As for the second purpose of the meeting. Ernes asked me to start training his rush, and I tested his soul for maturity. Hearing Annie's words, everyone looked at her in anticipation and surprise. - After checking, it turned out that Ernes' soul had already fully matured and he was even able to influence the subject of rush a little.

Shock appeared on the faces of all the captains and Gottfried could not stand it anymore.

- Unbelievable. If you want us to allow you to start training, then I will fully support you. The boy needs to take his mind off his problems. Moreover, talent needs to be nurtured.

The other two also nodded, confirming Gottfried's fame. This surprised Annie a little, but without letting the surprise show on her face, she calmly said.

- Well, since you agree, I will start his training. It takes three commanders to maintain the soul trace. Can you figure it out without me? I need to get my gear ready.

Gottfried, still smiling, said.

- Don't worry, we'll take care of the rest.

- If so, good luck with your capture.

Annie got up from her chair and walked slowly out of the hall.

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In one of the many fumigated narrow streets of Verne, a man in a black coat was standing. His head was covered by a hood, through which only a thin, tightly compressed mouth could be seen.

"Is he delayed is something wrong?"

Less than a second later, a man in black clothes jumped down from one of the roofs, his face completely covered by a mask. After landing and examining the man in the coat, he said apologetically.

- I'm sorry I'm late. I received a patrol assignment, and I couldn't leave just like that, otherwise they might suspect me.

"It's nothing to worry about, but we'd better hurry. The supervisor told you to lay low. We'll keep communication with you to a minimum, but if you need anything, I'll be the contact. - Reaching into his bosom, he took out a box. – To reduce the chances of your disclosure, we will keep in touch with the object in this box, it is very important. To activate it, you will need a small part of your soul, it will hurt a little.

The masked man nodded understandingly and said calmly.

- Don't worry, serving in the eternal guard, I have already been vaccinated against mental pain. But remember you promised me…

Without letting him finish, a cold voice was heard all over the alley.

- What did they promise you?