owlsbooks Chapter 357: Dog eat Dog?
Chapter 357: Dog eat Dog?
Isolde watched him wearily as he stood on a flat platform that raised him up. The platform was translucent and appeared in the form of a flat box, a wall shape.
Vale ignored her as he experimented with the platform. He only needed a steady stream of power into the platform and his mind to direct it.
But he soon realized a problem that he quickly solved. If he went too fast on the platform, then he would fall off, so he wrapped himself and the platform in an extra amount of essence, joining the two together.
He nodded to himself in satisfaction. "I’m ready. We can go now."
She didn’t say anything as she leaped into the air once more, leveling with him before she turned into a blue streak that blurred into the distance.
Vale didn’t waste a moment following her.
The journey was boring. But they covered a lot of ground quickly, blue and red streaks speeding high in the air. Vale used some of the time to reflect on his new powers.
Especially the totally new ones. Hellfire Mastery, Demonlord’s Command, Soul Corruption, and Infernal Gateways that were part of the Imprisonment.
Each of these powers, like the ones he was used to, had techniques that could be made. The Crimson Lantern had this technology and he had more or less absorbed it.
’....I need to train and get used to them.....’
He measured his own power. He’s somewhere at the strength of two Master Knights combined, strong Master Knights. ’...I should be able to handle two average Master Knights comfortably at the same time, but I can’t say the same thing for the powerhouses of the Master Knight rank. If those two Vampires had been looking to kill me outright, then the fight might not have gone easy for me....but, I can’t deny that I’m now incredibly strong....’
And the power would only grow with his core. What would happen when he actually reached the Master Knight rank? Vale shuddered happily at the thought.
’....I have been too passive, rocking on the boat and being carried by the events. Isn’t it time to take charge of things myself?....’
Vale turned to Isolde. The Butterfly lady had not gotten too far away from him. She had tried and then learned how far Vale could fly if he wanted to. He’s even far, far, far faster than his Commander’s Tower.
Vale made his platform bigger, expanding it into a big box with a small opening, and then he clapped, creating a sound like thunder rumbling to get her attention. He gestured into the box. "Get in!"
She scowled at him but eventually did as he commanded. "Now you can point the direction while I speak with you."
"What do you want?"
"I want to talk about the Matsumoto Clan."
She grunted. "What about it?"
"Any news you can give me."
She looked at him for a while and then her face lit up. "How about this? You tell me what your ultimate goal is and I’ll tell you how to get there."
Vale contemplated this. "Why don’t you tell me what you think my goal is?"
"Well....I think you were sent by one of the High Clans."
Eh?
Vale kept the surprise from his face. "Why do you think that?"
"Because you appeared out of nowhere! I was there, you know. Nobody was there and then you were! You were sent there and who else would be walking around with an artifact as powerful as the one you’re carrying?"
Following the logic, Vale found that it did make a certain amount of sense.
He didn’t let all of that show on his face as he instead nodded. "Hummmm, so about the information."
"You said you are going to Akatsuki. The place that’s now the main focus in all of Hinterland." She continued as if she did not hear him. "What can someone of....no, no, what can be the interest of the High Clans? They want as much power as they can hold on to and while the Hinterlands might not be much, if combined together, they can be made into a company army! It’s still part!"
"Or you can also be an assassin, sent strategically to kill a high-profile target to keep the Hinterland locked in war, removing them from the war of the High Clans!"
Vale couldn’t believe her imagination. The girl was truly filled with cunning and scheming.
She turned to him, her eyes shining. "So....which is it?"
Vale returned her look. "In either of the two scenarios, what kind of information can you give?"
"It’ll cost you."
"I’ll give you a price of my choosing later."
"And don’t say my life is the price!" she said quickly.
"Very well."
"Alright! I agree, I’ll help you in ways I can."
Vale did not believe her. And she must know he didn’t. Really. She’s likely trying to cooperate now in case any freebies later dropped or she got her hands on juicy information to use later.
All in all, the usual.
"Let’s look at the political situation of the Hinterlands. From my experience, I think Hinterlands will be split between two powers."
"Oh?"
"Yes. The Ito and the Akatsuki. Already they have split Athrimir between themselves and Akatsuki haven’t really made it hidden that it wanted to absorb Matsumoto for themselves."
"Now the Ito, they are dominant in the West, and with the new resources of Athrimir, they will swallow everything including the Ryujin Minor Clan. Ryujin, like Matsumoto, is a real Clan, small but far better than Matsumoto."
"And once these two forces swallow and absorb the two small Clans, then we have two Clans in Hinterlands. Athrimir has always been a sword and shield for the Hinterlands, checking and putting everyone in place, now they have fallen!"
Vale blinked. Interesting. Very interesting indeed. He pointed out a flaw. "Matsumoto won’t easily fall to Akatsuki."
She snorted. "And why not? Not every fight has to be fought with might."
"You still haven’t told me about Matsumoto."
"Right. Matsumoto is a very crucial state at the moment. You know that it’s governed by six Company Captains, right? It’s called the Company Council. Although they try not to show it, they all have their territories in the city and one way or another, everyone in Matsumoto belongs to one part of the six.
"Right now, the Council is not in agreement. They want to become a proper Clan!"
Vale raised his brows.
"Well, some of them want to while others oppose them."
"Interesting. I’m assuming that alone isn’t why they’re in disagreement?"
"No, no. Although the Akatsuki are poor, they’re still far richer than Matsumoto. Some are proposing to make Matsumoto a vassal Clan of the desert Clan! They want to be recognized as a Clan through Akatsuki."
Vale’s eyes flashed as he heard it but he kept everything from showing on his face. "Is that so? But not everyone is in agreement."
"Right. Some want us to remain as we are. All in all, the Council is split. Already, those in support have already sent men over to help with Athrimir, they loaned out their men to Akatsuki!"
"You should know that one of the things the Matsumoto Council forbade is for our people to involve themselves in wars between Clans. We can be hired to fight monsters and for guard duty, but not for wars involving Clans! But things are changing very fast!"
Vale digested all of this. "Then... tell me your personal opinion on this."
She shrugged. "I think we should just surrender to the Akatsuki. It’s the most logical and sensible thing. If you look at it, the Akatsuki are going to become more powerful with the resources from Athrimir. They’re going to come for Matsumoto, and it’s going to be very painful and costly. It’s better for us to surrender first. It will also give us a position to negotiate and work around things."
’...makes sense....’ Vale thought. "What about a third option? For you to attack the Akatsuki?"
Vale was already thinking about how he could use the situation in Matsumoto to his benefit. Yes, his own personal strength was now higher, but without an army, how could he fight the Akatsuki?
Isolde snorted. "Really, this is the best time to attack them as they’re distracted with the war with Athrimir. But the problem is, we don’t know where to attack! Nobody knows where their capital is!"
Vale frowned. "When last did you leave Matsumoto?"
She shrugged. "Two weeks ago."
"So you don’t have current news." Vale said flatly.
"Of course I don’t! I’m telling you what I knew weeks ago. But it doesn’t really matter, we’ll know more as soon as we get to Matsumoto. It’s not as if you have something to do in the war between two small Clans."
Vale opened his mouth and then he closed it with a frown. "Are you trying to get me to say something?"
She grinned. "Couldn’t help but try. Right! Fly there!"