Genesis Code: The Genetic Awakening
Chapter 161: Splitting Up

Chapter 161: Splitting Up

Under the careful gaze of Caleb, the village head made his way to the garrison. Soon, he was facing the first line of soldiers who checked his identity before letting him through.

With familiar steps, the head made his way towards the commander’s tent, bypassing the many soldiers patrolling or resting.

His presence caught the attention of a few. However, with his cloak down, he was easily recognised and ignored. Reaching the commanding tent, the guard soldiers let him pass after another round of checks.

"Good evening, Commander Harrison." The village head bowed once he entered the command tent. "I have a report."

Sitting behind a desk was a middle-aged man with a dead serious expression. From what the village head could tell, the man was busy signing off a few documents.

The commander had a well-built frame in his military attire, black short hair and brown eyes. He had a moustache under his nose, giving him a mature look in addition to his aged face.

Slightly behind the commander was his administrative assistant, a beautiful blonde woman with hair tied behind her back. In her arms were documents she carried for the commander to sign.

"I’m listening..." Commander Harrison replied, passing the document in his hand to his assistant. He took a momentary glance at the village head before lowering his head to read the next document placed on his desk.

"We had a visitor this afternoon." The village head said, momentarily making the commander pause his quill. "He’s still in the village under close monitoring."

"And you’re telling me why?" The commander looked at the village head with a blank expression.

"Yo-you said I needed to report every incident in the village to you." The village head swallowed hard, afraid to have stepped out of line.

For a moment, the commander didn’t reply. He sat back in his chair, clasped his hands under his chin, and just stared at the village head. The commander closed his eyes as a sigh of resignation escaped his lips.

"What have you learnt from this stranger?"

"That’s it, Lord Commander." The village head felt his heart calm when the commander gave him the clear to explain himself. "He claims he is in need of money since he’s been on the move. But I find it strange for that person to wander all the way here.

"The recent conflict is no secret, and anyone else would stay clear of this region." The commander furrowed his brows as the village head’s words made sense.

"Since he was given an inn in the village, he has remained indoors, making no attempts to even show any interest in why the village is so unwelcoming."

Up in the sky, Caleb couldn’t help but raise his brows in shock. He had to admit, the village head was smart. In his attempt to not raise suspicion by minding his business, it rather raised the most questions about his identity.

"Interesting..." Commander Harrison nodded as he thought about the situation. "And you say he hasn’t stepped out since he went inside that inn?"

"Yes, Lord Commander." The village head nodded. "He hasn’t even stepped down to the tavern below to get any drinks or meals. It raises a lot of questions for someone in need of money for sustenance."

The commander glanced at his assistant, who nodded in understanding. This woman made her way out of the tent, casting a side glance at the village head before walking out.

"Is there anything else I should know?" The commander leaned forward and asked, receiving a head shake in reply. "You’ve done well, Peter. You can return now..."

"Yes, Lord Commander." The village head bowed and walked out of the command tent. Without delay, he made his way back to the village.

Meanwhile, the commander’s assistant who stepped out earlier went to find one of the squads to pass the commander’s orders. "Who’s the sergeant in charge?"

Caleb observed everything play out calmly. Once the sergeant and his squad received the orders, they went to get some horses. Soon, the squad were on their horses, riding towards the village in haste.

The soldiers rode past the village head without so much as sparing him a glance. And at the rate they rode their horses, they would be in the village within 2 to 3 minutes.

’How do I play this...?’ Caleb pondered as he flew above the soldiers. ’I can allow myself to be captured to see how far this goes. But I also have to return to the capital to hand over the journal and give a report to the king.’

The more time he wasted, the less the king had to implement his plans. Who knew what those hooded guys had planned after he revealed his ability to shrug off their mana suppression artefacts?

Caleb’s expression lit up as an idea came to him. ’What was I even thinking?’ Without hesitation, he took off in the direction of Jess and Crusher, quickly arriving at their marked location.

There was no law preventing them from splitting up, and as long as Jess and Crusher moved discreetly, they could go to the Crownlands to hand over the journal.

"Jess, Crusher," Caleb called them out as soon as he landed. A few meters ahead were Jess and Crusher were sitting around a small campfire. They sat close to the boulder with the cavern entrance, enjoying a game they had caught for the evening.

"What’s up?" Jess and Crusher rushed to their feet the moment they spotted Caleb. "Are you in a rush or something? Did something happen?"

"There’s no time to explain." Caleb swiftly took out the journal and passed it to Jess. "I need you two to return this to His Majesty in the Crownlands, he’ll know what to do. Something has come up, and I can’t go with you now."

Before the last of his words came to an end, he was already a few inches off the ground, about to take off once more. However, before he could fly away, Jess grabbed his hand.

"Be careful out there, okay?" The look in her eyes revealed her worry for Caleb. The gesture brought a smile to his face. He looked in the village’s direction and realised he could spare a couple more seconds.

Landing back on the ground, he closed in on Jess and pulled her closer, the gesture making the tigerkin look away awkwardly. "I’ll be fine, alright? There’s no need to worry." He said, placing a kiss on the catwoman’s lips.

"Mm," Jess nodded as she clung to Caleb tightly, taking a deep breath of his scent before letting him go. She looked into his eyes and said, "Come back soon, okay?"

Caleb nodded as he backed away. He glanced at the tigerkin, exchanged a nod and then disappeared the next second. Silence returned soon after, leaving the crackling flames as the only source of noise around.

"Let’s get out of here..."