Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

"Yes, Lord Garos."

Kev Larson was ready to receive his orders for the entire Blood Punisher Force.

Garos wasn't surprised by the Blood Punisher Force's lack of presence on the battlefield despite being present. This was one of the protocols of the Blood Punisher Force– to prevent public exposure as much as possible. The Sage looked at Kev Larson kneeling in front of him and gave a separate command to him.

"Sansara Sage's creations may seem logic-defying but they also have their limitations. Space element runes will also have limitations. Find them.

Understood?"

King's Hand decided to counteract the Last Blood Bastion. He realized how devastating Edgar's space element runes could be if not countered.

These runes were based on Sansara Sage's concepts. So it would be very difficult to stop their executions. After all, Edinburgh did not have a prominent array master after Sansara Sage left. So it would have to seek external help.

Things would get worse in the war for Edinburgh if the Last Blood Bastion shared their revolutionary invention with Layos. Strategic army deployment and other aspects of war would mean nothing if enemies had a surefire way of escaping from a tough spot.

The half-bloods and elven forces of Layos could kill Edinburgh rankers in large numbers while preserving their own numbers. Before his arrest, Gregory also decided to prioritize the acquisition of these runes. But by the time he did, the Last Blood Bastion had retreated.

Gregory still had Reva Rain. He could use her to contact Demonmir and the Last Blood Bastion, asking them for the space element runes in exchange for resources and cooperation against Edinburgh.

Gregory had decided to abandon the infiltrators if he had, to ensure this under-the-table cooperation with the Last Blood Bastion. Unfortunately for him, Garos apprehended him before he could run.

Garos wanted to grill Gregory for information on infiltrators and sleeper cell rankers still active in Edinburgh. He also needed to contact the Anfang Alliance because the problems related to the Last Blood Bastion were not limited to Edinburgh.

Garos gave a few more commands to his Sage subordinates which the battlefield audience was not privy to know about. The King's Hand disappeared after a while, taking his hostage with him.

The elf infiltrators lost all forms of protection when Sage Gregory was "kidnapped". At this point, their fates were sealed and they knew they couldn't escape the battlefield alive.

Eren, on the other hand, didn't care about the elven infiltrators or escaped half-bloods. He breathed relief for a different reason.

'Hot damn. That was a close one.' Eren wiped the sweat off his forehead that wasn't really there.

'I guess I need to thank Sage Gregory for his heroic act of taking the heat in my stead.

Thanks a ton, Sage Gregory. You were the most impressive Sage infiltrator I ever saw. May you rest in peace.'

Eren said to himself sincerely. He felt relieved after offering Gregory a short & sweet eulogy. But just then, he heard Alephee's chuckle in his head.

The homunculus had almost recovered at this point. The blood pool she had manifested in the middle of her pendent abode had disappeared. She sat next to a study table and seemed busy rewriting the worn-out pages of the grimoire.

Alephee used these pages to counter Nira Nightshade's array. She needed to fix the grimoire pages to stock up on lost Trump cards. She wrote more runes in her grimoire as she spoke.

'Hehehe. I don't think Gregory will die, Eren. His safety is ensured as long as Layos plays ball with Edinburgh's demands.

I think Layos would agree with wartime diplomacy too. Grandmaster rankers released in exchange for a Sage are still worth it.'

Eren pondered a bit and found Alephee's words logical. He scratched his chin before coming up with a different set of words dedicated to his accidental scapegoat.

'You are right. Then... how 'bout this?

May Sage Gregory find his "happy place" while suffering torture. I guess that's the best I can do for him.'

Eren shirked his responsibilities from Gregory's situation after giving him his "best wishes." Alephee couldn't help but chuckle a bit more.

It could be said that Eren no longer qualified as "always unlucky". His luck had a tendency to shine at the darkest of hours.

***

Alephee also found it intriguing that Garos promoted the creation of a spirit beast in just three centuries. She guessed that Garos had used tons of resources and knowledge about the past era at his disposal to achieve what he did.

The land of Anfang had become fertile ground for spirit beast creation and cultivation. That's because it was practically isolated from the rest of the cosmos, thanks to the continent-encompassing array. The array barrier acted as an incubator for the Way of the Elements, preventing them from dispersing into the infinite void.

This was the reason why otherworld denizens still tried to sneak into Anfang even after the creation of the continent-encompassing array. This world was an ideal environment for spirit beasts and God Sparks.

After another thousand years or so, spirit beasts would have naturally appeared in the land of Anfang. Garos only sped up the process with his external influence.

Fertile soil alone wouldn't help the farmer. One needs to plant a seed to grow a sapling. Garos made an effort to use the opportunity given to him. He chose the city of New Beginnings to undertake the project of cultivating spirit beasts.

Garos chose a bustling city instead of an isolated region. This is because he knew that activities by huge masses of rankers were needed to support the creation and growth of the spirit beast. The collective consciousness of the world played a huge part in the process.

After all, only the living possessed the spiritual force. The worlds that were constantly growing in the number of denizens were capable of birthing spirit beasts. The dying worlds could not do so.

It could be said that Anfang was finally on the rebound after God Vulcan's great destruction. And its hurt consciousness was recovering relatively quickly.