165 Chapter 86: Before The Battle 3 Part 1

After having kept watch on the third faction and their rival Aural group Heise for a fair amount of time, Angela Holystone and Baise have a good enough idea of what they are planning to do next.

To be honest, they aren't even trying to keep their plans a secret as they have been openly arming themselves with weapons and defence mechanisms to use against supernaturals, especially Psychics.

Considering what's going on with the state of the war currently, it is obvious that preparing to go to battle with Psychics means they are going to Kesley.

So, their pursuers are not missing the opportunity to get ready to leave either.

That all said and done, the problem remains what it was before.

Angela and Baise are doing nothing but keeping an eye on them. Keeping a close eye on them in fact, but they aren't doing anything past that.

They aren't going in for the kill because there's a high possibility they would fail. In which case, they would have to come up with strategies to beat them, and that is a task quite hard to do when your opponent has enough diversity to have two Psychics, really capable Aurals, a brilliant Spirit-user, an anomaly of a supernatural, and someone with two legendary eyes and a conniving big brain.

As such, Angela has decided to stick close and watch them for longer and go in only when they get a good chance. Her mistake is in not realizing that the Phoenix has sent in other Hellfires after her very target and that if she delays too much, her prey might be stolen.

However, as much of a possibility as that is, it is also a possibility that while targeting Abgere, they will involuntarily open a path where she and Baise can sneak in for the kill. After all, the Phoenix told her to 'kill Abgere', not necessarily 'defeat him'. That means even if she steals someone else's kill, it still counts. And to be fair, with the Phoenix's personality in mind, doing that might just be a better way to impress him.

Still, all that happening depends heavily on chance, and Angela isn't even aware of the most important part of the problem.

So, things are not in her favour.

Still, as the third faction and the Aural group Heise leaves for Kesley, she and Baise prepare to do so as well.

One way or another, things will come to a conflict, and what exactly will happen there can only be speculated or fantasized before, the only real answer will come when the conflict actually begins.

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Ethan: "So, how much longer until we are there?"

Sneha: "I am not sure but it certainly wouldn't take long provided you keep your mouth shut."

Answering in an irritated voice, the Aural keeps walking ahead of all of us, leading the way as none of us know it.

Thus, we are doing as much preparation as we can instead of just using the fastest method that we can use, and so this method we are using now happens to be through an underground tunnel through to a place 100 kilometres away from Kesley.

This place we will end up at after exiting the tunnel is basically a shrine that Heise used to be in, a place where they have 'weapons' stored that may help us in the upcoming endeavours. There, we will also be able to take a faster transportation method like cars or the like to get to Kesley.

It is the most effective method of getting to Kesley. That said though, it is certainly not the safest.

Because of their aversion to sunlight, the Vampires have been making bases underground for a long time. This tunnel we are in right now is a path that they created that would lead to many of these bases. In other words, this tunnel is their territory, and we are trespassing.

Hence, Mr Eyes of Truth has had to keep using his eyes continuously so he can detect any traps set by Vampires for intruders like us.

Ethan: "Seriously, why does this tunnel have to be so damn long?"

Thus, his impatience has reared its head in front of us.

Sneha: "Actually, most of the times Aurals use this place, they just use their abilities to speedrun through it. But, since we have on our side a human incompetent enough that he can't even do that, we can't do that."

She says, only partially sarcastically.

Ethan: "I see. So, when you Aurals use this route generally, you just run straight into and through any traps like a bunch of bulls chasing a guy that angered them while blowing steam off their noses. Interesting."

Of course, when it comes to sarcasm, our Aural friend has much to learn before she can compete with this guy.

Sona: "I don't mean to be a bother but Sneha, we really could use a serious answer to the question he has been asking for the past hour."

True enough. We have been in this place for so long that it feels like we haven't seen the light of the sun in days.

So, I too am starting to wonder how much longer will it take?

Sneha: "Hang on for a little while longer. It won't take more than half an hour for us to be there if we continue at our current pace."

Hmm. That's good to know.

It means that in some hours from now, we will be in Kesley.

We will be confronting the Phoenix.

I have no idea what is in store for us there, and I have no idea how everyone around me is feeling about this.

I know Ethan has a fair bit of excitement welling up within him and I know Sona's caution has grown a lot ever since confronting the Phoenix became our objective. But, that's all I know.

I have noticed a few things though.

I have noticed that Abgere and Gabriel have been keeping quiet for a long time. Well, they were never very talkative, not with us anyway, but now it seems that both of them have become mute or something.

Aside from that, I have also noticed that Sneha and Abgere have been glancing at Gabriel from time-to-time. Those glances have been filled to a certain degree with suspicion but not severe enough that I should confront them about it right now.

As for the members of Heise, those who are tasked with keeping important supplies, medical professionals and the non-combatants like Trisha safe seem to be less nervous compared to those who are walking alongside us, as they know more than anyone else that a battle with the world's second most powerful man is a possibility.

All in all, the third faction and its allies seem to be … tense.

It's like we know something big is going to happen.

The anxiety of that something big happening is enveloping all of us. I realize that not sharing our anxieties is a dangerous path to take, especially right now. And, I think everyone knows that. Still, I don't think any of us will be taking any other path.

And so, we continue marching on with dangerous worries and unyielding weakness in our hearts.

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