Chapter 1108: Gathering Information

Sunny was mostly interested in the details of what each of the two feuding clans had prepared for Antarctica... but those plans were tightly guarded by those who had been entrusted with them.

He suspected that learning the specifics of their strategy would become easier when the main forces of Valor and Song arrived in Antarctica - the more people involved in something, the harder it was to keep things secret. However, for now, only a handful of emissaries were here, all busy with rather transparent preparatory work.

That did not mean that he had failed to learn anything of use, of course.

Knowing the enemy's next move was immensely valuable, but knowing the enemy themselves was much more important. By observing his four marks, Sunny was slowly becoming familiar with how they acted, felt, and even thought.

When Beastmaster was standing on the city wall, observing a horde of Nightmare Creatures assaulting it with an eerily serene expression on her exquisitely beautiful face, Sunny's shadow was there, watching.

When Whispering Blade stopped to look at the mundane soldiers, a hint of detached pity finding its way into his calm eyes, Sunny's shadow was there, watching.VIsit n0(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

When Morgan practiced her swordsmanship, moving with grace and speed that would make the most famed warriors feel heavy in their hearts, Sunny's shadow was there, watching.

And when the bleak, unassuming Ascended Bast spent hours doing nothing, sitting like a corpse in a dark room, his shadow was there as well.

Of course, the small nuances of their personalities were not everything that Sunny learned. He gained a much better understanding of their abilities, as well.

Beastmaster was, indeed, a frightening being. Her powers lay in mesmerism and manipulation. From what he could tell, simply looking her in the eyes could be a death sentence. She could make her enemies defenseless by luring them into a state of deep trance, or bedevil them with insidious illusions. And, above all else, she could completely dominate someone's mind, making them an eternal thrall.

Whispering Blade was just as fearsome. Even though his powers were not as fiendish, they were just as deadly. His quintessential Ability was to make all weapons he wielded invisible - and his Saint Transformation was to be unseen, as well. Since Saint Madoc was not nearly as mysterious and secretive as his counterpart from the Song clan, it was widely known that when he fought, it was as though the world itself was slicing the bodies of his enemies apart.

There was no escape.

Morgan, on the other hand, had a rather strange Aspect. If Whispering Blade possessed an Ability that made the sword he wielded deadlier, then Morgan... was the blade itself. The feeling of sharpness she emanated was not a coincidence.

The Princess of War did not need any weapons, because her body was the absolute weapon. She could cut through armored alloy and the flesh of even the most powerful Nightmare Creatures with her hands, and rend their bodies with her feet. It was both strange and terrifying, as though she was not a human, but a living sword.

Apparently, the King of Swords had prepared a few more tools to trap and destroy his eldest child. However, both Whispering Blade and Morgan were hesitant to use them yet.

They were unnerved by Bast's inaction, too.

...Just like that, a few days passed. Sunny had been gathering information like a spider sitting in the middle of a vast web. He had not made any earth-shattering discoveries in that short time, but it was a good start. In truth, he was more concentrated on finding safe ways to get closer to his marks, for now, than on actually stealing their secrets.

Once he truly learned how to slither through their defenses, the secrets would be revealed as a result.

On the fourth day... it was time to say his goodbyes to Jet. Both Song and Valor were leaving the siege capitals to travel to the respective port fortresses and meet the arriving reinforcements.

After that, they would proceed to other cities, and the clandestine war would start in earnest.

Sunny was leaving with the emissaries of Valor, and Jet was leaving with the emissaries of Song. Chances were, they would not meet face-to-face for a long time.

He would have been worried if it was anyone else, but there was little doubt that Soul Reaper would be able to keep herself alive. He had already warned her to steer clear of the man who called himself Bast, just to be safe.

Really, the person Sunny had to worry about... was himself.

'I'll survive, too.'

But that was the thing... simply surviving was not enough. It had not been for a long time.

And that was what could get him killed.

With a sigh, Sunny called back the shadows that had been watching the emissaries of Song, and went to find Nephis.

It was time for the two of them to travel side by side once again.