Chapter 377: 377 Mission Assignment

"Do you understand the situation?"

Glancing at Leon and Emma's clasped hands, the red-haired director tapped the intelligence board at her side twice with her knuckles after he let go.

"According to information from Watchtower Palace, the Black Cult of Ban will deploy over seven hundred followers, establishing a total of thirty-five outposts starting tomorrow."

"On the fifth day, when the Abyss of Fallen Souls reaches the 'convergence point' with the kingdom, all thirty-five outposts will simultaneously perform rituals to provide coordinates for the Ban King, allowing it to drag the Abyss of Fallen Souls into reality."

"Our mission is to eliminate all thirty-five outposts before then—minimum thirty-three. If fewer than two remain, the Ban King cannot fully enter reality."

After stating the mission objective, the red-haired director tapped the intelligence board again, then pointed at the dozen or so maps pinned to it, her expression grave:

"The red crosses on these maps mark outposts pre-identified by headquarters using Watchtower Palace's intel—covering twelve counties of the kingdom, two inter-county mountain ranges, and the eastern seas."

"I've just requested reinforcements: nine outposts in Merino County, Wales County, and Barro County will be handled by the Lion Branch."

"Six outposts in the eastern seas and the Hespito Volcanic Cluster will be taken over by the Aquarius Branch. We only need to handle the remaining twenty. I'll assign them now."

Twenty outposts…

Leon glanced at the other eight people in the meeting room and did a quick calculation.

Three times seven is twenty-one—if the director stays behind to guard the capital, each of us—including myself—will have to cover roughly three outposts.

But since I'm the only Level Three Cleaner here, and everyone else is Level Two or even Level One, I'll probably get one fewer, or maybe just one.

"Emma, you take the seven outposts in Lyen County and Coast County. If time runs short, be ruthless."

"Understood."

Huh? That's already seven gone?

Under Leon's surprised gaze, the map with the most red crosses was plucked off by a strand of red hair and placed on Emma's desk; Emma nodded without surprise, frowning as she studied the marked times and locations.

"Next, Tom—four outposts in Snowpeak Range. Be careful with the noise; the snow hasn't melted yet—don't trigger an avalanche!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll try!"

"Not 'try.' You must."

After glaring warningly at the lazy Tom, the red-haired director continued assigning tasks:

"Piony, you go to Pav County and Belay County…"

"Amine, take this map of Belay County… and watch your noise—no reckless drug use this time…"

"Harry, these are yours…"

"Spike, and you—call in the garrison if you're overwhelmed, but file a report afterward…"

Wait… didn't that just cover them all?

When the last two maps were pinned together and handed to the burly colleague across from him, Leon stood up, bewildered:

"Director, what about me? ***?"

"You stay behind to guard the palace."

"…."

Seeing Leon's expression of disbelief, the red-haired director pointed toward Wang Gong and said calmly:

"The Ban King has a grudge against the royal ancestors. We can't rule out he'll target royal members during this window. We must be vigilant."

"Your status is unique—you can enter Wang Gong without issue, and you're familiar with the Princess and Prince. You're perfect for this. If I'm tied up by unforeseen circumstances, you protect the royal family. If anything goes wrong, request backup from headquarters."

Unforeseen circumstances?

Though the red-haired director didn't spell it out, Leon understood at once after meeting her gaze—he knew she was worried about the female reporter from the Twin Branch.

Since stealing the director's wallet, the reporter named Nicole had vanished. She was a genuine Level One Cleaner, and possessed the Sheep's Tail ability to mask her aura—she couldn't be ignored.

So protecting the royal family was likely a cover. The director's real reason for assigning Leon to Wang Gong was to position him closer to the royal family's Tongwen Stone Tablet—so if anything went wrong on her end, he could immediately use the royal channel to contact headquarters.

"Understood."

Nodding with silent comprehension, Leon sat down, satisfied with his assignment. The red-haired director clapped her hands sharply and concluded:

"If there's nothing else to add, move out now!"

"Also, since two other branches are involved, we can't be sure how far they'll go or whether they'll make mistakes. So for our twenty outposts—take them all, without exception."

…

The next night, Wang Gong.

Prince Joshua, exhausted from a full day of meeting six or seven delegations, had just fallen asleep when a knock came at his chamber door.

"Tap. Tap-tap."

"…."

The freckled prince slept deeply, but after waiting, the knocking grew louder and more urgent, jolting him awake.

"Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!"???

Who the hell dares knock on my door like this? Want to die?!

Furious at being woken, Prince Joshua scrambled out of his plush bed and yanked open the chamber door.

"Damn it, I'm going to—wait, it's you?"

Seeing the visitor's face, Joshua's expression paled. He snapped his mouth shut, instinctively stepping back—but realizing he looked weak, he forced himself forward half a step and barked:

"Who let you in?! Get out! Get out!"

"Move aside, please."

Glancing dismissively at the blustering Joshua, Leon sidestepped him, entered the room with pillow and blanket in hand, and placed the pillow against a nearby armrest.

"Don't you understand?"

Ignored, Joshua's eyes darkened. He lunged forward, raising his foot to kick both the sofa and the man on it—but after Leon narrowed his eyes at him, he lowered his foot, cheeks twitching as he snarled:

"Get out! This is my room! Don't push your luck! I'll—"

"I'm here to protect you."

Leon cut him off with a yawn, looking utterly drained as he lay down on the sofa and announced half-heartedly:

"Something's happened. Your family might be in danger. Headquarters assigned me to protect royal members."

"But I'm only one person—I can't guard everyone. So I figured: during the day, I'll protect your father, mother, and sister. At night, when I'm tired, I'll come here to guard you. That's fair, right?"

"Hmm… if you've got no objections, that's settled. I'm going to sleep now."