Chapter 225: Setting Up

Point-of-View: Shiro Blanc

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"Oh, so we're attacking the Rustlands now?" I inquired expectantly. 

"What? No! Don't you remember what I said about main courses and foreplay!?" She responded with a frown. 

"Nope, I must have blocked it out. So, then what are we doing now?" I asked with a sigh. 

"Yes, I am curious as well...what is our next move?" Added Hacte curiously. 

"We're going to set some chaos up! I've been keeping an eye on some groups of bandits, runaways from Platinberg and Silvland...well, mostly Silvland, since the Vampires have taken measures to prevent anyone from leaving Platinberg, though a few have managed to slip through the cracks. Anyway, we're gonna use these bandits to cause some chaos around the Rustlands!" She declared with a grin. 

"That sounds...like it's going to be tedious work," I groaned, before adding, "I'd rather be directly involved instead of staying behind the scenes."

"Oh, come on, don't be like that...I mean, you're not wrong, but it's going to be worth the effort! Trust me, I've been doing this for centuries!" She remarked confidently. 

"What is the point of this anyway?" Inquired Hacte skeptically. 

"Well...don't you think it'd be better if we really shake up the Rustlands before we attack them?" She responded with a smirk. 

"I suppose..."

Man, what a pushover, I can't believe she convinced him that easily...no wonder he's such a fucking kissass. 

"Whatever, I'll humor you and see how things go for now. Hey, do you think you'd be able to share the viewings of your Observation Magic with me?" I requested with a sigh, giving in. 

"Hm? Oh, I should be able to, actually."

And just like that it was decided...

For the next three days, we teleported all over the place as Belia formed agreements with several groups of bandits by...paying them. She used a form of telepathic magic to link her mind to mine, and then using her advanced knowledge of magic, used my Alchemic Magic to turn a bunch of rocks into gold. She ended up uniting all those groups of bandits, and then gave them instructions to follow. 

Over the next couple of weeks or so, she used her Observation Magic to inform them of when travelers or merchants were about to pass through the routes she had them stationed at, she also gave them a barrier spell that would intercept anyone using a teleportation spell...so in other words, she had given them all the tools they needed to stage perfect ambushes.

She had them stationed along the route between the Rustlands and the Goldlands, and the route between the Rustlands and Bronztan. Those two routes were extremely important to the Rustlands, so they definitely couldn't ignore what was going on. And then, finally, on the 27th of January, the Rustlands responded. 

Erhtaph Ragiu held a meeting with several S-Ranked Adventurers and some others, regarding the merchants that had gone missing on the two routes in question. Belia made it so that Hacte and I could see what she was seeing using her Observation Magic...it was almost like there was a hidden camera in the meeting room, what a useful magic technique... 

But more importantly, the Rustlands' Adventurers would be making their move soon, with no idea as to what they're in for. Belia had laid several traps, she'd had some Demons possess a couple of the bandits, drastically increasing their power...oh, and she made sure that the Demons failed to take over their minds, to really convince them that we're on their side, even though they're just disposable pawns. 

On another note, the Demons were really loyal to Belia, I don't know how she did it, but she had convinced them that she was the one who had created every single monster in the world...I mean, that was true, but still, I can't believe that she was able to convince them so easily. Oh, and speaking of loyalty... 

"H-how dare they...those...those damned traitors!" Snapped Hacte, seething with rage. 

Rion Xester, Azeria Folix and Rex Archer...since Tirayze Valaque and the Rustlands had been enemies, Hacte was less than pleased by the fact that the other surviving Retribution Tier members had joined his beloved master's enemies. 

"That's really not important right now...I'm more interested in the fact that Kuro is in a coma, talk about a bonus," I remarked with a smirk. 

"Hm? I already knew about that," Said Belia with a shrug. 

Huh? 

"You what? When!? And why didn't you tell me!?" 

"I found out after you suggested spying on his friends to see if they were around him, and sure enough...oh, and I didn't tell you because, well, you didn't ask."

Grr, I just might kill her one of these days... 

"Woah, easy, I can feel your bloodlust! Sheesh, talk about a short fuse."

She can sense bloodlust? 

"You know, I've been meaning to ask about this for a while, but...the way you talk, it's very...how to put this..."

"Oh, I know what you mean. And the explanation is simple, I've spent a lot of time using my Observation Magic, and I've been around for a long-time, so in order to keep the way I talk modern, I tend to regularly update the way I speak by adopting the speech patterns of people who I think speak with the most appealing speech patterns...my current speech pattern is adopted from Reincar-...oh, right, we're not supposed to talk about that anymore."

Huh, that explains the way she talks...I thought it seemed weird for someone who's been around for well over a thousand years to speak so...modernly. Is that a word? Whatever, doesn't matter.

"Well, anyway...if all goes according to plan, then the Rustlands' Adventurers should be wiped out, yeah?" I inquired. 

"Actually...not quite. In the chambers I created for the bandits, I cast a special barrier spell...it'll increase the possibility of anyone within it to awaken their True Anima. Should make things interesting, don't you think?" She said with an excited gleam in her eyes. 

...I really need to keep in mind that her primary objective isn't to achieve victory, it's to create chaos. 

"You know what...just do whatever you want." 

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Point-of-View: Misen Ragiu

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It was 28th of January, a day later, and I was currently in the route to the Goldlands, along with Rion, Azeria, Siela, Lusk and Kusu. We had left the Rustlands around 10 AM, and it was currently 6 PM in the evening. I'm tired and annoyed...I had been using my Lightning Sensory Field constantly for the entire day to search for any signs of life, but so far, nothing. 

Not even any monster attacks...though that was to be expected, I had heard from Fuo that Kuro had all the monsters along this route under his control. And since he's unconscious, they were all inactive and in hiding right now. That did make things a bit easier, I suppose, but I'd rather have not been a part of this at all...let alone leading it. 

What did I do to deserve this? At this point, after everything that's happened over the past couple of years, all I want is a peaceful, uneventful life. Is that too much to ask for? It's just been one thing after another lately, the infiltration, the Vampires, the whole mess with Kuro's imposter, though admittedly I wasn't dragged into that one too much, and now this. 

Well, hopefully this will be an easily accomplished mission, though I couldn't shake the notion that something was wrong, I had a bad feeling. Or maybe I'm just traumatized from all the recent disastrous incidents and have become paranoid. 

Either way, I couldn't wait to get this over with, so I hope we find something soon. Otherwise, we would have to travel all the way to the Goldlands, which would take around ten days, we were using two carts drawn by horses to keep moving, since we would miss a lot of areas if we used teleportation, and we're supposed to search the entire route to ensure that it's fully safe. 

"We should take a break now," I suggested, halting the cart I was riding, as Rion, who was steering the other one, halted as well.

"Whaaat? Why though, the horses seem good to keep going for a couple more hours at the very least, and it's not like any of us are tired, you know?" He protested with a raised eyebrow. 

"I'm tired!" I snapped irritably, "I've been using my Lightning Sensory Field nonstop for the entire damned day! Do you have any idea how much concentration that takes!?" 

"Oh, you're out of Mana? Didn't you bring any Mana Orbs?" Inquired Siela, chiming in. 

"Of course I did, and I'm not out of Mana, I'm just mentally exhausted!" I growled, wiping away a bead of sweat 

. 

My Mana and stamina were both fine, but keeping that technique active requires constant concentration, it takes a lot out of me the longer I use it. 

"You complain a lot, Instructor Ragiu, so it can be difficult to tell when your complaints are actually genuine," Remarked Lusk with a shake of his head. 

"Huh!? All my complaints are genuine, you brat!" I snapped, my eyebrow twitching in irritation. 

"But you complain about everything, instructor," Added Kusu in agreement. 

"Exactly, because everything that has been happening lately has been worth complaining about! And stop calling me instructor." 

"Come on, bro, let's keep going, you-," Began Rion. 

"No, I refuse! I'm done for the day, we've covered plenty of ground anyway!" 

"Are you...throwing a tantrum?" Inquired Azeria with a raised eyebrow. 

"Shut up."

It took a while, but I eventually got my way and we took a break. After all, the others couldn't go on effectively without my Lightning Sensory Field active, since none of them have any sensory techniques. In the worst case scenario, I'm going to have to do this consecutively for the next three to four weeks...I really hope we find something soon... 

... 

... 

But there was nothing. Three whole days passed, and nothing...this is awful, I've had enough already. How much longer do I have to keep doing this anyway? I already felt like I was mentally drained at this point, at this rate I'll be braindead by the end of this Quest, regardless of the result. And then it happened...in the early afternoon of the fifth day...we finally found something... 

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