The captain handed him a report.
The king scanned it.
His eyes narrowed.
Then narrowed further.
Kai noticed.
"What is it?"
Akshay didn't answer immediately.
Instead he looked back toward the burning structures.
One by one.
Counting.
Thinking.
Analyzing.
Finally he spoke.
"Warehouse."
Another building.
"Supply depot."
Another.
"Guard station."
Another.
"Food storage."
Kai frowned.
None of those sounded random.
The targets all shared something in common.
Infrastructure.
Resources.
Logistics.
Things that kept a city functioning.
Not things chosen by monsters.
Things chosen by people.
The realization sent a chill through him.
Andre apparently reached the same conclusion.
---
"That's not a monster attack."
"No."
Akshay folded the report.
"It's sabotage."
The surrounding guards fell silent.
Nobody wanted to say the next part.
Akshay said it anyway.
"Someone inside the city helped them."
A heavy silence followed.
One that nobody wanted to break.
Because once spoken aloud, the possibility became real.
A traitor.
---
Somewhere in Yggdrasil.
Someone with access.
Someone with knowledge.
Someone close enough to strike repeatedly.
A whistle suddenly echoed from a nearby rooftop.