Affinity:Chaos

The Qilin Empire descended into chaos after the capture of Grey and his friends. With the news already spreading in the other empires, it didn't take long before the Qilin Empire was bombarded. 

The forces of the Qilin Empire have not only been pushed back into their territory but they have been forced to run with their tails between their legs. The Stellar Continent finally made the betrayal that everyone was expecting. 

It was common knowledge that the unification of both empires was because the Stellar Empire couldn't afford to see the Qilin Empire wiped out. But in any case, they wouldn't mind joining forces with the other three empires to wipe it out. At least in that way, they would get a share in their territory. 

This was all on the premise that none of them got their hands on Grey and his friends. Now that one of the empires had them, the others couldn't sit still. It was just like the time the Blue Wind Empire caught Instructor Blake and Delia. Even when everyone knew they hadn't been able to capture Grey or his friends, they couldn't take the risk of letting them complete their objective. 

Inside the Qilin Empire castle. 

"Father, I've gotten wind that the Blue Wind Empire are in cohort with those people," Jason rushed into the main hall. 

It had been a day since he brought Grey and his friends over, and since they couldn't contain the news, they had to deal with the repercussions that came with holding onto the four friends. What made them incensed was that they still hadn't been able to do the tests. Grey was still seriously hurt, lying in the bed. 

Whoever the assassin was, they still hadn't been captured, which meant even the life of the Emperor and his family were in danger. Almost every single Sage Plane Elementalist in the castle had been called out, trying to find this elusive assassin.

"The Blue Wind Empire? That must be why they let Blake and Delia escape," The Emperor said. 

"Yes, they used some strange technique to track them, finding the targets. Given the reactions of Blake and the others when we got there, they seem to be the ones who caused a huge ruckus to attract our attention when they realized they couldn't defeat their opponents," Jason replied thoughtfully. 

"Do you think we have been tricked?" The Emperor asked. 

"I can't be sure, but these people aren't people we should take lightly," Jason replied. 

He particularly felt Grey and his friends were a bunch of cunning people. Grey was too calm for someone who was captured, he didn't seem scared, as if everything was under his control. 

His greatest doubt however was that Grey wouldn't actively cooperate with the Blue Wind Empire since they also wanted to kill them. 

"Father, I think it's best we kill them now. Even if they didn't consume the Great Earth Essence Liquid, it wouldn't change anything since their potential is too much. Grey especially went from being a normal person to being in the Mid stages of the Overlord Plane in less than five years, that's a scary fact. His battle prowess is even more terrifying since he could defeat someone at the Peak of the Overlord Plane," Jason suggested. 

Keeping Grey and his friends alive was a risky game that might come back to hurt them, so it was best they killed them off as soon as possible. If they did the test, they would still kill them. So there was no use in keeping them alive. 

"You're right. They have no use alive, they'll be executed tomorrow in front of everyone, to send a message to those who oppose us, and also to show the other empires that we don't have them anymore," The Emperor declared. 

Jason nodded before walking out of the hall. 

….

In the room Grey and his friends were staying. 

"Grey, what's the plan now? It's been a day and the forces of the other empires haven't gotten here yet," Alice asked. 

"You don't expect them to appear so quickly do you?" Grey looked at his friend with a composed expression. 

"No, but staying here will be dangerous. The Crowned Prince wouldn't want to keep us alive for long," Klaus said his thoughts. 

He had heard of Jason from Instructor Blake while they were traveling and had heard about his cautious nature. Cunning people tend to be extremely cautious since they don't want anyone to plan against them. 

"That's expected, but with Void causing chaos in the castle, and the pressure from the other empires, it wouldn't be that easy. If my guess is right, they will keep us for a day or two at most. I can complete the array if we get two days, but if they decide to take us out by tomorrow, it'll be a little difficult. Then we'll have to rely on old man Gerald," Grey told them his plan. 

He had already started preparing the array, but he couldn't rush it since this place was under heavy scrutiny from the Sage Plane Elementalists in the castle. 

During the past day, he had planned with old man Gerald, making sure he informed the other empires of what was happening inside the castle. 

This made the empires move out quickly, causing heavy casualties on the side of the Qilin Empire camp. The Lenz organization was trusted throughout the continent for their information, so finding out from them about the events in the castle meant that the news was at least seventy percent true. 

Void on the other hand had already started his exploits in the castle, slowly combing through the castle in search of the royal treasury. 

Over the course of the previous night, a few important items that weren't in the treasury had gone missing. Some of the Overlord Plane experts in the castle were disappearing mysteriously. 

The only reason it hadn't attracted much attention was that the Emperor sent most of them out to help out on the battlefield, but it was only a matter of time before they would find out about the strange situation in the castle.