Chapter 259: Shifting Blame

“Xeila? Dark Moon? How are you even here?” Wu Qingsong asked, stunned.

Setting aside Nina and Ram’s excitement at their reunion, Wu Qingsong was glad to see Xeila. But seeing Dark Moon made him feel a bit awkward. He’d left Red Moon and the Black Pearl’s crew on Gale Island. Everyone knew Red Moon had been held as a hostage back then, but seeing Xeila here, safe and sound, while Red Moon had essentially been confined, did feel somewhat unfair.

Luckily, Dark Moon didn’t seem to bring up anything about Red Moon, so he probably already knew what happened from Ram.

After a quick introduction to Nina, Dark Moon finally turned to answer Wu Qingsong’s question.

“We headed over as soon as we found out that Sentalus was deploying troops. But they kept the whole operation under wraps too well, and their blockade of the Tecks Mountain Range was so thorough that we didn’t find a way to get any messages inside.”

At this point, the details didn’t matter much anymore. Nina wasn’t about to verify whether they’d tried to get a word in, but she immediately thanked them for their effort.

“We had originally planned to head to Esola to find you, Lord Tagraedi, and figure out what to do next,” Dark Moon continued. “But when we found out that the Black Pearl hadn’t docked in any port, we started worrying about you all. We’ve been in the Phoenix, Benaris, and Umber areas trying to get information, hoping we might be able to help the Silver Moon. Luckily, we ran into Miss Ram at the port in Benaris and learned that you were safe. By the way, congratulations on the victory!”

Nina offered a faint, wry smile. 

After all, close to twelve thousand soldiers had been wiped out here, and though the Silver Moon Wolf Clan had managed to survive, they had lost many of their people—mostly civilians. From an outsider’s perspective, with typical measures of success, this could indeed be seen as a “brilliant victory.”

But those who had died were the tribe’s most loyal members. Many of them had followed the Silver Moon Wolf Clan into hiding right after the fall of the kingdom and couldn’t simply be replaced by ordinary civilians.

Wu Qingsong didn’t feel much like celebrating either. Maybe he was just being suspicious, or maybe it was just his bias against Dark Moon, but upon hearing those words, he couldn’t help but think, ‘Here we go, this guy’s looking to swoop in and take the credit.’

“So, what are your thoughts on the current situation?” Dark Moon asked, wasting no time getting to the point.

“We haven’t figured it out yet,” Wu Qingsong replied immediately. “Do you have any suggestions?”

“That’s actually why we rushed over here,” Ram said, cutting in.

Wu Qingsong glanced at her, nodding slightly to show he understood. If Ram was willing to bring them along, she must have thought it was a decent idea.

“Let’s hear it then,” he said.

Dark Moon quickly reached into his pack and pulled out a drawing. It was a portrait of a scrawny, male half-elf. His ears looked almost fully elven, but the heavy canine features on his face made him quite memorable.

“This man’s name is Marcus,” Dark Moon explained. “He’s pretty well-known around the eastern Batiz Desert.”

“I know him,” Nina said. “He’s a broker who finds magical artifacts for Marquis Mesthebes. Lots of people recognize him.”

“That’s right.” Dark Moon nodded. “He’s actually Mesthebes’s illegitimate son and also the one responsible for tracking down Batiz relics on the marquis’s behalf.”

“Mesthebes’ territory is located on the eastern side of the desert. Ever since the previous generation, the Mesthebes family has been obsessed with acquiring artifacts from the Batiz Kingdom, but only the high-quality ones. Some people say this is just a business tactic, that they’re creating hype around Batiz artifacts to attract treasure hunters and related personnel into their territory. In doing so, they’ve managed to turn an otherwise desolate oasis into a commercial hub. Many also believe that they secretly sell Batiz Kingdom artifacts themselves, and that they’re even the source of a lot of those so-called treasure maps.”

Wu Qingsong wasn’t exactly sure where this was going, but he trusted Ram’s judgment, so he listened patiently for what came next.

“The real story isn’t what matters to us. What matters is that if anyone in the elven community were suspected of studying Batizian magic and passing it down, the first name to come up would definitely be the Mesthebes family.” Dark Moon smiled. “And more importantly, while Mesthebes isn’t part of the conservative faction, he’s still a close ally of Grand Duke Yagata, possibly one of his most reliable allies.”

“You’re suggesting we pin this whole thing on them?” Wu Qingsong immediately caught on to his plan. “Can we really pull that off?”

“Of course it’s possible!” Dark Moon replied. “Ms. Ram’s talents are perfect for this kind of thing. With the right plan and careful execution, Lord Tagraedi, we can absolutely make this work.”

“We need to create the illusion that the entire Silver Moon Clan and the undead are retreating toward Mesthebes. The simplest way to do that is by making sure people see Marcus among the undead,” Ram added. “He’s well-known enough that even if he’s hiding his identity, it won’t be hard to figure out. If we act quickly and make it convincing before people catch on, we could pull this off.”

“Do you really think the elves will buy it?” Wu Qingsong was skeptical. “Can’t the Mesthebes family easily prove it wasn’t them?”

“It’s not about whether they can prove their innocence; it’s about whether Sentalus is willing to believe that Yagata is behind this,” Dark Moon explained. “Lord Tagraedi, Princess Nina, how would the Mesthebes family go about proving themselves? Would they let Sentalus march into their territory for an inspection? Do they really have nothing to hide? Elven pride wouldn’t allow that kind of thing, even if Mesthebes wanted it. And the Yagata forces behind them certainly wouldn’t allow the Sentalus to step into their territory.”

“This is insane,” Wu Qingsong said.

“Lord Tagraedi, do you have a better plan?” Dark Moon asked. “Sure, this plan has its flaws, maybe even a lot of them. But what does it matter to you? I’m certain shifting the blame onto the Yagata people benefits us all. Even if it doesn’t work, it’ll at least buy the Silvermoon Clan more time to hide. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Wu Qingsong glanced over at Nina. She was clearly on board with the idea, and Ram seemed convinced as well.

“Alright then.” 

He finally nodded, admitting that while it seemed pretty far-fetched, it was still a chance worth taking.

“I’ll be joining you for this,” Dark Moon said confidently. “First, let’s figure out the exact route we’ll take for the operation.”