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‘That’s what makes me think they were traitors,’ said Garovel. ‘That fight wasn’t about trying to eliminate all opposition. If it was, then Karkash definitely would have stayed to continue fighting us. But he didn’t. And given his advantageous position at the time, the only way that decision makes sense is if he had already achieved his goal. Or, I suppose, if he received new orders that instructed him to leave, but I didn’t see any evidence of that.’

“But still... I mean... not that I’m complaining, but... it was kinda sloppy to leave without killing us, too, wasn’t it? Somehow, I doubt he was just being merciful...”

‘Actually, leaving was tactically the wisest decision.’

“H-how do you mean?” said Hector.

‘There was no guarantee that he would’ve been able to win against you. Continuing the fight meant running the risk of allowing you to achieve emergence as well--or otherwise turning the tide of battle back in your favor. So unless the objective was specifically to kill us, then fighting you was an unnecessary risk. Karkash understood that. Or his reaper did.’

“Hmm...”

‘Clearly, they don’t have the same bloodlust as some of our previous enemies. Which might sound like a good thing, but in a way, it’s worse, because it means they’ll make more intelligent decisions. They’re less likely to go on random killing sprees, but at the same time, they’ll be smarter when it comes to real strategy. Against us, that is.’

“Ugh... but I guess that’s... kinda good. I’d prefer that to the other way around, at least.”

Colt sensed the opportunity to interject. “We should probably leave now.”

Hector looked at him. “Oh! What about the civilians? Is there anyone who still needs help?”

‘They’re receiving it,’ said Bohwanox. ‘We saw an entourage of emergency vehicles arriving from the north of town. Sescoria sent lots of people.’

Garovel flew up a few meters to look over the town. ‘Ah. I see flashing lights all over the place.’