Page 51 of Dark Shaman: Love Found (The Children Of The Gods #99)

NAVUH

N avuh pulled up the casualty reports. They were significant but not catastrophic.

Most of his warriors were already recovering.

The enhanced soldiers had been focused on reaching him, not on eliminating his forces permanently.

Their greed and arrogance had been their downfall in more ways than one.

"My lord," Vakon said, "the mansion above has sustained some damage. I'm calling for the engineer to inspect the structural integrity."

He nodded. "Make it a priority. We need to know if we can allow the staff and the ladies to come up from the basement."

The collapse of the tunnel with the rebels must have done the most damage, but it was worth it, even if the entire mansion collapsed on top of it.

On the monitors, he could see his forces moving across the island, mopping up the remaining resistance.

Some of the enhanced ones surrendered, but the other warriors didn't trust them and surrounded them with overwhelming numbers just to be on the safe side.

Some still fought viciously, taking down multiple opponents before being subdued.

"I want the captured enhanced soldiers in solitary confinement," Navuh said.

"Yes, my lord," Vakon said, already relaying the orders.

"And I want an inventory of the assets," Navuh continued. "Every enhanced soldier, everyone who cooperated with them, and everyone who remained loyal. Dead and alive. But the most important are the enhanced ones."

"What about Dr. Zhao's laboratory?" Tharon asked. "Do you want it destroyed, my lord?"

Of course, Tharon would think that. He was loyal, but his intelligence was average, and he didn't have a vision. All he could see was the destruction the enhanced ones had caused. He didn't see the immense potential.

"Secure everything," Navuh said. "I want every file, every sample, every piece of equipment catalogued and locked down. We'll need it all for Zhao's replacement."

Tharon's eyes widened, and he looked like he was about to say something, but he wisely decided not to.

"Yes, sir. It will be done."

The war room had taken on a different energy now. No longer the tension of a siege, but the bustle of victory being consolidated. His generals displayed renewed confidence, issuing orders, coordinating the cleanup, and restoring order.

"My lord," a new voice came through the communication system. "This is Torres from the Southern Division. We've captured twelve enhanced soldiers. They're surrendering, but they're demanding to speak with their leader."

Navuh activated the response channel. "Inform them that they are in no position to make demands. Their leader is enjoying his new permanent residence beneath approximately fifty tons of concrete. If they wish to join him, that can be arranged."

There was a pause, then: "Understood, my lord."

The audacity of their demands was almost comical, and if he didn't need them for testing, he would have ordered them beheaded on the spot.

"My lord." Hakum returned from inspecting the sealing of the bunker side of the tunnel. "It's done. The crew poured liquid concrete into every gap and welded steel plates over the entrance. Nothing's getting in or out of that tomb."

"Good." Navuh pulled up the architectural plans of the mansion.

He needed a new tunnel to the bunker in a different location, but with similar safeguards.

If anyone rebelled again, they would know that the tunnel could be collapsed on top of them, so they would most likely come up with a different strategy.

Perhaps he shouldn't rush building before consulting Losham.

The guy was brilliant and had proven his loyalty .

It was a shame that he wasn't Navuh's blood son.

Hell, Losham was more intelligent and more loyal than Navuh's two traitorous real sons, who had chosen to abandon him.

At least they had been smart enough not to try to topple him.

He would have been forced to kill them, and that would have cost him Areana.

A good mother would always put her children first, even before her truelove mate.

Fates knew that there were enough bad mothers out there who not only were willing to sacrifice their children but prided themselves on it.

It was true that his father's teaching contributed to that sort of twisted thinking, but the fact that so many humans embraced it only reinforced Navuh's profound contempt for humanity.

An hour later, Hakum approached him with a report. "Forty-two bodies of enhanced soldiers were retrieved, and thirty-nine enhanced soldiers are in custody. Including the eight entombed in the tunnel that's eighty-nine, which leaves eight unaccounted for."

"I want every inch of this island searched," Navuh ordered. "No one rests until it is done."

Another hour passed before Hakum reported again. "They found seven bodies of enhanced soldiers at the eastern pier. They were hiding in a storage building and apparently killed themselves rather than get captured."

That left one enhanced soldier still at large.

"I want that last one found," Navuh commanded.

The hours that followed were tedious .

The captured enhanced soldiers were processed, separated, and locked in separate cages until a proper holding facility was built for them.

The regular soldiers who had surrendered were interrogated, their punishment and eventual reintegration planned.

In the meantime, they were restricted to their quarters.

"My lord," Hakum said. "The final enhanced soldier has been found."

"Where?"

"He was hiding in the ruins of Dr. Zhao's laboratory. They managed to break through the wall with a lot of explosives, and this one was inside. He's alive but catatonic. The suspicion is that he injected himself with something from the lab."

Navuh couldn't care less about the fate of that traitor. He was much more concerned with the state the lab was in.

"Did any of the equipment get damaged?"

"The damage to the lab was minor, my lord. Nothing irreplaceable was lost."

"Good." Navuh let out a breath.

All ninety-seven enhanced soldiers were accounted for. The rebellion that had threatened to topple his empire had been crushed in less than a day.

His victory was complete.

He would need to find Zhao's replacement, implement new procedures to prevent future rebellions, and repair the damage to his facilities and his reputation.

Fires still burned in places, bodies still littered some areas, but order was being restored.

His order.

The enhanced ones had thought themselves gods. They had learned, as all who dared to challenge him eventually did, that there was only room for one master on this island.