Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Eren's killing of Jason was worth the effort.

Arthur Renar's attention was diverted as the Duke of Edinburgh launched a fierce campaign against Layos and the Last Blood Bastion. The reason behind the Duke's rage was simple: he found out that Ivor Osan, known as Osan Woods' Butcher, had killed Jason, the son of Arthur Renar. And Layos was held responsible for nurturing Ivor.

Arthur connected the dots and concluded that Layos had strong backing for the notorious Butcher. It was known that Layos had tried to establish connections with him but failed to pinpoint Ivor's location. However, an information leak in Layos confirmed that Jason was on the list of participants the royal scions were supposed to kill for their rite of passage.

This revelation solidified Arthur's theory that Osan Woods' Butcher worked closely with Layos. But Layos denied all of Arthur's claims. It did not want to be associated with the notorious killer. At least not openly.

Arthur did not stop blaming Layos. He also found out through the Seer array that a half-blood helped Ivor kill Jason. So he was determined to launch a campaign against them as well.

Arthur worked closely with Garvin and Cybill Karr to investigate the whole plot behind his son's murder. They discovered enough to help the Duke take concrete actions. He first cleaned his house of all the potential spies he had had for years. The Duke then restructured his private army, hired fresh blood, and gave it a mission– search and destroy sleeper cells and half-bloods.

However, Arthur's quest for vengeance was cut short when the Sansara World was blown to smithereens. There was nothing Garvin or Cybill could do when the crime scene had been destroyed.

Yet, the information they gathered was enough to set the Duke's plans in motion. With his re-structured private army, the Duke was determined to hunt down and eliminate any threats to his kingdom.

Edinburgh was already at war with Layos. So the royal court allowed Arthur to do whatever he wanted with his army and resources. It also allowed him to tap into the royal reserves, enabling him to strike Edinburgh's enemies with an iron fist.

Arthur, the Duke of Edinburgh, was always a man of action. And now, with his son's murder driving him to the brink of vengeance, he was more determined than ever to see justice served.

To that end, he deployed a special unit of his army on the borders, ready to clash with Layos' forces at every opportunity. With Arthur's vast resources at their disposal, this unit was a deadly force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

But Layos and the Last Blood Bastion were not taking Arthur's hardline stance lying down. They resented being associated with Ivor Osan, also known as Osan Woods' Butcher. They claimed that Arthur's accusations were driven by his thirst for revenge.

To counter Arthur's tactics, Layos put Isen Osan on the frontlines, backed by Saisha Goren's army battalion. As the two kingdoms' armies mobilized on the borders, clashes erupted at various locations, setting the entire border ablaze with the flames of war.

Yet, amidst battle chaos, the Anfang Alliance sought to regulate both sides' actions. While they couldn't prevent the war, they assigned a code of conduct for the warring factions to follow. Violations of the code would be prosecuted by the Alliance itself, raising the stakes for both kingdoms and making war crimes a very real concern.

***

Meanwhile, aboard the Freya, a nimble ship built to glide over the turbulent waters of the River Lithe, its owner used it for fishing. Despite the strong river current, the ship remained motionless, offering a clear view of Edin's city line in the distance.

Eren sat on the deck's railing, holding a fishing rod in his right hand. A bucket filled with small fish sat behind him– a bunch of Blood Fire sardines he had caught so far. To his left, a bait box floated above the railing.

The Butcher relished the peace that the act of fishing provided him, taking leisurely puffs of his Sativa Stick with his left hand. While he wouldn't mind catching some fish, the act of fishing mattered most to him.

However, Eren had to pair his leisure activity with a more pressing objective. On the boat with him was a charming girl with light blue hair and a pretty face. She reported Arthur Renar's movements to him.

Nysa Nael spoke in a serious tone, twisting her long blue hair with her finger. She gazed at Eren with a mysterious gleam in her eyes.

"So yeah… that's how Arthur's deployment will go."

Everything went as Eren had predicted. After the Edinnica battle, Hansen approached Nysa and offered her a chance to work as one of Arthur's royal guards. This was in exchange for all the resources she received as the supposed inheritor of Sansara Sage's legacy.

Nysa made it easy for herself, Hansen, and Arthur Renar. Regardless of how self-absorbed Duke Arthur was, working for him was a significant opportunity for a Ranker like Nysa. She knew she had to participate in the war in some capacity, and working for Arthur came with its own advantages.

Post her confirmation, Nysa was introduced to Arthur's Royal Guard immediately. So she knew more about Arthur's actions than the public.

As Eren continued his leisurely fishing, he listened intently to everything Nysa had to say about Arthur. He encouraged her to continue with his intermittent nods.

Nysa didn't like that Eren wasn't looking at her. She scrunched her nose in dissatisfaction before speaking further.

"I can choose between the force working within Edinburgh's borders or the force stationed on the frontlines. I will have to decide when our commencement ceremony ends.

Either way, I'll be part of Arthur's special unit. Thanks to my graduation from Royal Renar, I skipped several steps to climb the hierarchical ladder with the Royal Guards."

"Now you tell me, what should I do?"

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AN: Shandil conveyed Layos' intentions of hiring Osan Woods' Butcher to Eren in chapter 960. Jason's inclusion on the hit list, issued to Layos' royal scions, was confirmed by Meeshah and her team in chapter 1035.