After hearing the guard's response, Envy felt both frustrated and angry. The Encantada family was the most powerful mage family in South America, and she had called in many favors to secure this appointment with the family head. Yet, at the scheduled time, the head of the Encantada family was not present.
She wasn't sure if the guard's claim was true or if this was some sort of ruse. But when a mage said they weren't at their residence, it was nearly impossible to track them. There were countless places and secret magical realms they could retreat to.
"Let's just hope this isn't a ploy from the Encantada family," Envy muttered once she was far from the estate. Turning to her butler, she said, "Wilkins, let's return to the VTOL for now. We'll rest there and then decide our next move."
"Yes, Mi'lady," the butler replied with a respectful bow before following closely behind her.
As they walked, Wilkins' eyes suddenly sharpened, glancing toward the Encantada estate. Without anyone noticing, he discreetly released several micro spy drones from his sleeve, trailing after his mistress.
—
After Envy and Wilkins disappeared from the vicinity of the Encantada estate, inside a hidden meeting room, a white-haired woman in her thirties watched the footage on a security camera. She observed Envy and her butler vanish from the screen and wore a deeply conflicted expression.
Letting out a sigh, she turned toward the two unexpected guests who had arrived an hour before Envy's scheduled appointment. This woman was Silva Encantada, the head of the Encantada family.
One of her guests was none other than the sole Grand Councilor of the Hightower, Golden Scale, while the other was a man dressed in black robes and a mask, uninterested in revealing his identity. Discover exclusive tales on m,v l'e-novelhall.net
"Now I've offended Lady Envy," Silva muttered, "but the final seat on the Grand Council of the Hightower and the Bone of the Puma God are mine." She paused, then continued. "You had better hope what you're offering next is worth more than making me cancel my appointment with Lady Envy. If something goes wrong, I can forget about any chance of survival."
"I assure you," Golden Scale began, "the benefits you'll gain from cooperating with us will be far greater than anything a faction that hasn't even formally been established can offer. As you know, the Hightower has a much longer history than Daniel Emberweave's faction. Our foundations are far sturdier."
"But isn't Daniel Emberweave stronger than you?" Silva countered. "His magical technology and artifacts are beyond your reach. What proof do you have that siding with you will give me more than siding with him?"
"The fact that the Hightower was founded by Merlin himself," Golden Scale responded smoothly, "and we still have access to his trump cards. That's why we remain standing even after we exiled the world's most powerful witch."
"Exiled?" Silva scoffed. "You betrayed her—the only one who met Merlin in person while he was alive, and the strongest witch, no less. What makes you think you can contend with Daniel Emberweave after losing half your influence in the Curtained World?"
This time, the man in the black robe spoke, not Golden Scale. "The Hightower's power is consolidated in Europe, where we have a firm grip. Daniel Emberweave's faction, on the other hand, is newly founded. Their capabilities aren't well understood yet, and many powers will soon vie for control, eager to grab a piece of the pie for themselves.
"Moreover," the robed man continued, "Daniel Emberweave's faction will soon face challenges from many ambitious individuals. While they may suppress individual families and mages, when multiple groups gather, all competing for control over the Curtained World, even if Daniel's faction proves the strongest, the resources and time they'll expend to emerge victorious will be substantial."
"Shut up, heretic! The real Grand Paladin Christopher and Father Richard are dead! You're just homunculi using their corpses to infiltrate our holy land!" one of the paladins shouted.
At that signal, the surrounding paladins drew their weapons, preparing to engage.
"Get the f*ck out of my sight. This is your last warning," Christopher growled, his tone cold as he drew his blessed blade from beneath his trench coat.
Seeing this, Richard immediately pulled out his gun—a modified weapon designed to fire anti-shield bullets, capable of piercing both faith-based and magical shields.
"Kill the heretics!" one of the paladins shouted, triggering a pre-prepared magic formation. The spell immediately targeted Christopher's faith power, making it difficult for him to draw on it and significantly weakening him.
"This... This is a weakening curse! You've all conspired with the Hightower?!" Christopher roared as he began to defend himself.
Richard activated his personal shield generator and quickly fired at one of the paladins charging toward him.
Bang! Bang!
Several shots rang out. The paladin used his blessed blade to deflect the bullets, flashes of metal clashing in the air as he staggered. Richard quickly fired more shots, killing the paladin.
As soon as one fell, another took his place. A paladin armed with a gun fired at Richard, but his personal shield generator blocked the bullets with ease. Richard used the moment to reload, but as a non-combat priest, his movements were slow.
Just then, a blade struck his shield, cracking it as it began to overload.
Slash!
Even in his weakened state, Christopher decapitated the paladin attacking Richard with his blessed blade and immediately engaged the others surrounding them.
"May this blade deliver you from torment, may it cleanse your blackened soul! AMEN!!" Christopher prayed, a bloodthirsty smirk on his face as he decapitated the surrounding paladins in a flash of his blade.
"Give up, heretic! And we'll ask His Eminence to pardon your crimes!" shouted the same paladin, who seemed to be the leader. He stayed at a distance, unwilling to engage after witnessing Christopher's fierce resistance.
Seeing this, Christopher immediately hurled several of his blessed blades toward the paladin, but they were blocked by the Halberd of a man wearing full plate armor.