Chapter 504: Respect
(Planet Juxta, The Military Base)
The transport pod hissed open with a hydraulic exhale, as Leo stepped out onto the tarmac, his boots barely hitting the ground before a green blur launched toward him like a living missile.
*THUMP*
“LORD FATHER!!” Dumpy wailed, clinging to Leo’s face with all four limbs, his bloated cheeks already puffed and leaking thick tears. “THE STINKY MAN BULLIED ME A LOT IN YOUR ABSENCE, LORD FATHER! PLEASE NEVER LEAVE ME ALONE WITH HIM AGAIN!”
Leo stumbled back a step, caught off guard as the squishy frog sobbed directly into his cheekbone, his slippery skin making it impossible to pry him off right away.
“Alright, alright, calm down, you walking bucket of slime,” Leo said with a chuckle, finally managing to peel Dumpy off and settle him on his shoulder. “You look fine to me.”
“He hit me every day…” Dumpy grumbled, sniffing. “He trained me until my legs gave out. He even called me a mongrel… many times.”
“Really, is that so?” Leo replied, his tone amused as he placed a hand over his face and began to shift.
Within moments, his posture, hair, and even the scar above his right eyebrow morphed seamlessly as [Shapeshift] activated, replacing Leo with a perfect imitation of Commander Charles, voice and all.
“Well then, frog,” Leo said, now wearing Charles’s signature deadpan stare and drawl, “maybe if you planted your damn feet better, you wouldn’t be crying right now.”
Dumpy froze.
His bulbous eyes widened as he stared up at the figure now looming beside him—then immediately flung himself off Leo’s shoulder with a panicked leap.
*FLUMP*
“You pathetic mongrel!” Dumpy hissed, backing up while pointing an accusatory finger. “You dare trick me with the visage of my Lord Father?! What sorcery is this?!”
Leo laughed, dropping the illusion as he dusted off his shoulder. “Dumpy, it’s me. Can’t you tell?”
The frog narrowed his eyes, staring with the intensity of a betrayed disciple. After a long beat, he answered in full sincerity—
“No.”
Leo smirked.
That one word was all the proof he needed.
He’d mastered [Shapeshift] perfectly.
——————-
The private cabin that Charles used as his field office was dimly lit, its soundproof walls reinforced with layers of mana-sealing alloys, making it one of the few secure locations on the Juxta Military Base where words could not be overheard or recorded.
Inside, four figures sat around a polished metal table: Leo at the center, Dumpy curled at his feet like a loyal gremlin, while Charles and Viper faced each other in absolute silence.
The air was thick with tension.
Charles leaned back in his chair, arms folded, eyes locked onto the masked man across from him with a predator’s stare.
“Boy,” Charles began, breaking the silence at last, “why did you have to take this bum under you? I was quite looking forward to hunting a serpent.”
His voice was dry, but the edge in it was unmistakable. Though Leo hadn’t said a word about Viper’s identity, Charles had pieced it together in under fifteen seconds.
A Monarch who had mastered aura didn’t need words to find the truth— and Leo knew that regardless of how he tried to manipulate the story, none of his petty tricks would ever work on Charles.
“I had some considerations of my own,” Leo replied calmly, not even attempting a lie.
*Sigh*
Charles exhaled long and slow through his nose, then stood up with a grunt before extending a hand across the table.
“Well, since you’re on our side now… let’s try and get along, Guildmaster.”
There was a pause—brief, tense—before Viper finally reached out and took the offered hand.
His grip was firm.
His eyes, though hidden behind his white mask, held a quiet gleam of pride.
Because ever since he’d sworn loyalty to Leo as a slave and began following him around as his guard, this was the first time someone inside the Cult had offered him respect.
Everyone else who knew the truth simply saw him as a monster to be used. A pawn to be tolerated. A threat to be watched.
But Charles was different.
Charles saw him as the Monarch that he was underneath all that contractual jargon that currently bound him.
And that respect mattered more to him than he ever admitted out loud.
“So,” Charles said, turning back toward Leo as he sat down, “you’re saying they’re deploying you to Planet Koral in just ten days?”
Leo gave a tired nod.
Charles didn’t hide the displeasure on his face. “That’s too damn soon. You’re too green to be designing invasion strategies, let alone executing them. This isn’t some textbook exercise, boy. It takes real military experience. Real judgment. And ten days isn’t even enough time to brief you properly, let alone train you for it.”
Leo nodded again, this time slower, as his brows tightened.
He knew Charles was right.
Planning an actual planetary infiltration was a hell of a lot more complicated than just fighting strong opponents. It was logistics, coordination, strategy, terrain, morale… things his blades could never solve on their own.
And yet, that was exactly the burden being placed on him.
“Well,” Charles muttered with a shake of his head, “no point complaining about what those idiots in the elders council do. What matters is making sure you don’t die out there.”
He stood up once again, dusting off his cloak with a practiced motion before gesturing toward the exit door behind him.
“Come on. I’ve got ten days of invasion doctrine to drill into your skull, and that’s barely enough time to cover the surface.”
As Leo rose to follow, Charles turned to Dupravel and gave a respectful nod.
“Apologies, Guildmaster Dupravel, agh Viper… but you can’t be within earshot of what I’m about to discuss with Leo. Sensitive military protocols and all that. Please, feel free to explore the Juxta base while we’re occupied.”
Dupravel returned the nod without protest, silently rising as well.
He naturally understood.
Being a guildmaster himself, he knew exactly how there were some secrets that you couldn’t share with even your most trusted aides.