Twenty days had passed since Basil was declared a criminal. His whereabouts were still unknown but the list of the names of the people who went with him was already broadcast…and yes, Anthony's name was also on the list.
The news shocked not only the Braxtein Kingdom but also the neighbouring Kingdoms. They hadn't been sure if there was something deeper to the issue before but they became sure as soon as they heard it.
Since their King and their Queen sided with Basil, suspicion and doubt filled their heart as they thought about Aldrich. They had heard of his brilliance and his well-known ambition, so they believed there was a high possibility that it was all his scheme.
They weren't very far from the truth but they still would never get the truth for the time being.
Aldrich, of course, noticed the ripple in the people's trust. He, however, did not worry about it since he had prepared himself for this kind of situation.
He had announced his decree about what happened to those who went against him and kept feeding the citizens propaganda about Basil's "atrocity" every day. Those who doubted him would eventually believe and those who stood against him would perish.
The new but still unofficial King had decided to go down the tyrant path and no one could stop him; not even Eldridge Wein, the old Royal Counsellor. He believed everything was under his control and he wasn't completely wrong to think that way…at least, that was the case for Braxtein's internal.
"How we should proceed in this matter, Your Majesty?"
"Hm…this is rather embarrassing to say this but the one who sticks us all together is actually that lad. Without him, I am afraid anything discussed that day will be annulled."
"I…see."
In the palace of one of Braxtein's neighbouring Kingdoms, Frachtenhein, Alphonse the King and the best Knight at his disposal, Cyane were discussing whether they should help the Elf or turn a blind eye.
At this point, it was already clear that the Alliance Army, Henosis had been disbanded. None of them contacted each other ever since Basil became a world-known criminal, so the 27th Obelisk would be left alone until the Outbreak occurred.
As the closest Kingdom to the 27th Obelisk, no matter how unlikely it was for them to suffer from the Outbreak, Alphonse was reminded of Basil's words that sounded like a warning to him: "Have you ever heard of controlled Outbreak?"
Alphonse didn't know for sure what kind of conflict Basil had with the Church but he was sure everyone would get the backlash from the conflict. Given how brilliant Basil was and how terrifying his talent was, he was afraid that something like that would happen.
"Controlled Outbreak, huh…? I wonder if he said that to tell us to stay out of the matter if something like this happened," Alphonse muttered.
"No matter how cautious Basil is, I believe this was not within his prediction, Your Majesty…. It was just too sudden," Cyane reasoned. "But if that is the case, we only have two choices: stand on the side or come to his side."
"You know…I sent six people to follow him after the Summit Meeting. All of them were our best Assassins; out of thirty missions I sent them to, they had succeeded all of them," Alphonse recounted. "Only two of them returned."
Cyane hadn't heard any of this, so he was surprised upon hearing the story. He said nothing and keenly listened to it, allowing Alphonse to tell him what happened unhindered.
"Had you seen their faces upon returning, you would wonder what kind of nightmare they had seen to look so aghast. They didn't even apologize to me for failing their mission as they gave me the four boxes they carried on their backs."
"…guess what, Cyane? When I opened them, I found four heads with 'Avaunt!' carved on each of their eyes. There was only one word…but it managed to make my spine chill."
Unlike other people, Alphonse, who used Magic to see, had to picture the world in his mind. He had a very strong memory since the picture stayed longer within his mind; because of that, too, he would not easily forget an appalling image.
What Basil had given that day shook his entire existence. It had been a long time since the last time he had felt a real threat.
"The scariest part wasn't the presents, though. You know, when I asked who took them down, the Assassins answered it was another group of Assassins. That lad has people with a fearsome prowess behind his back and we don't know how many of them."
"In other words, Your Majesty…?"
"Let us help the Elf. I heard that they had entered the Obelisk since yesterday."
Cyane widened his eyes in bewilderment. He didn't know it was the case and he believed no one also knew about it.
"How…did I not know?"
Alphonse chuckled deeply as he looked at the bemused Cyane. "This old man still has his wits, you know?"
The Frachtenhein Kingdom had made its decision. They would help the Elf under the pretext of honouring the Summit Meeting, meanwhile, in truth, they were figuring out the real reason behind Basil's "fall" and how far he would go.
On the other side of the world, the Grittenhein Kingdom also made the same decision. Manfred, the King, however, didn't have any intention to join Basil when he found the truth; he didn't want to play in someone's game and suffered losses because of it.
As for the other two Kingdoms, Baillocke and Vallienda, due to their close relationship with the Church, chose to hunt Basil to the best they could. They decided to forsake the alliance that was invisibly crumbling to pieces and show their loyalty to the Church.
Of course, they also already knew Basil's identity and the truth behind the conflict. With fanaticism, they came for him, uncaring of how much effort they would spend or how dangerous it might be.
….
Clank!
A fist clashed with a sword, launching the wielder away as he couldn't stand the impact. Said wielder did some manoeuvre while he was in the air but immediately fell as soon as his feet touched the ground.
"Kahak! …. Keuh…what kind of power is that? Isn't it cheating that you are still that strong after two millennia of eating inedible food?"
"You should not underestimate this old man, lad. My hands are tougher than steel!"
"Yeah…I can see that."
In one of the rooms of the Dungeon where Basil and his supporters hid, Xander, Cray and the rest of the youths had just finished their training. While everyone had been sprawled on the ground, Cray, as the least sane one still stood even with his shattered knees.
In terms of talent and potential, Xiu Li outmatched him but, in terms of tenacity or battle prowess, none of his peers, except for Basil and Iliana, could match him. It reminded Xander of his younger days, so he had fun training all of the youths.
"Back then in the Age of Chaos, youths like you were treasures. We took care of them well and released them into the battlefield as soon as we deemed them ready…. It was a big mistake. Without a real-life experience, no matter how strong they were, they ended up—"
"Old man, if you want to discourage us, don't," Cray interjected. "We have gone through so much shit in our lives that we have embraced the fact that death follows our steps closely."
The way Cray said amused Xander so much that he couldn't help laughing light-heartedly. "Ku-Ha-Ha! As expected of the Lord's friends. None of you seems right in the head—just like us at that time!"
"Oi! We are not insane like you," Cray retorted.
Grinning excitedly, Xander said, "I am just going to say this; our journey will be decorated with blood. You will laugh in the face of extreme agony and cry when something good happens. Death is your friend but shall you live, you shall prosper!"
It wasn't Cray and the others' first time hearing Xander say those words. They had heard the words so many times that they no longer had the rushing adrenaline that they used to get whenever they heard the words.
The good thing about it was that they no longer had any doubt in their hearts about where they stood or fear of dying. They didn't only get stronger physically under Xander's tutelage but also mentally.
They had previously believed the world was complicated and Xander had shown them why it was not. He told them life was short and boring; you could only live and die, which was why some spice was needed.
Life-threatening situations and battles were a good spice, so when you died you knew that you had had fun…. To summarize what Xander had done to them, he had turned them into battle maniacs, which were essentially what all of the Pacifer's servants were.
Boom!
"Blimey! What in the bloody hell was that!?"
"Earthquake? Earthquake!?"
"Oh my…. He has finally done it!"
They felt a powerful Mana blast from another part of the Dungeon. It was so strong that it shook the entire structure of the Dungeon, which was saying something because of how sturdy it was.
The youths who had been enjoying their rest time on the ground while listening to Cray's conversation with Xander immediately stood up. The ground and the wall were still rumbling, so they were afraid that the Dungeon would crumble.
"You seem to know something from the way you reacted, old man," Cray remarked as he looked at Xander.
"Ah, of course, I know. It is that," Xander answered vaguely.
In response to the question, Xander merely laughed deeply. The rumble stopped a few seconds after; as soon as it did, a figure that was dressed entirely in black appeared in the corner of the room like a shadow taking a physical state.
"Legatus Xander, you got a call from our Master," the figure said softly. Turning to Cray and the others, he said, "Our Master has something to announce, so you should come too."
As the message was delivered, just like how he appeared, the figure disappeared. His shadow devoured his entire existence before retreating into the bigger shadow.
Without saying much, the people immediately got out of the room and headed to the hall where they had to gather. Their hearts beat in excitement; they were sure the day had finally come.
The gate of the hall was widely opened, allowing them to feel the overwhelming but calm Mana Pressure coming from it. As soon as they stepped into the room, they were immediately captivated by Basil.
He was standing on the east side of the hall, right in front of the people. Seven Magic Circles glowed brightly behind him; with the overbearing aura he had, the people immediately dubbed him as the God of War.
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