Summoning a large serpent upon which to travel, he commanded the red-eyed woman, Elisa, to follow his lead and hop atop it. They set off towards the east, drawing a conspicuous picture as they soared above the desolate, war-torn countryside in the clear skies of the early afternoon.
What had just happened with Elisa had likely happened with Sersa’s former master, and possibly other officials that held high positions within the sect. If they began to hook up on a regular basis then there was a strong chance that he would subconsciously grow partial to her.
Above all else, I need to make sure I stay master of myself. Suppressing the rising sense of shame that came with the sudden clarity within his mind, he infused a large amount of energy into his mount and pushed its speed to the limits. He’d intended to rest for the next few days, but that had been before he’d had his own weakness thrown into his face like a bad dish from an angry diner.
Several hours and over five hundred kilometres later, Jason gazed down at a massive encampment from over five kilometres above the ground, his body encircled by a fresh supply of fresh, warm air that was no thinner than that which was being breathed by those below.
“You’re going to answer some questions now.”
Staring at him in silent analysis, Elisa gave a single, slow nod.
“Is this the main spot where the disciples that invaded Hauss are gathering, or are there others?”
“There’re two more, both larger than this one.”
There were about twenty-five thousand people in the city-sized camp, which told Jason that there were likely around a hundred thousand disciples still alive within Hauss. While this was only about a tenth of the disciples that had taken part in the Acquisition of Hauss, they were far more powerful than the sect’s average disciples.
“Are there any other great elders in Hauss?”
“Two.”
Two? But Sersa said that Great Elder Marcus fled the sect after things went wrong with his mission in Thebes. Two other great elders were supposed to have died there too, so wouldn’t that mean that there’re only seven left? Minus Elisa, that means there should be six.
“How strong are they?”
“The seventh level of Genesis, both of them.”
Struck by a sudden wariness, he said, “Are any of them here?”
She nodded. “The fifth elder. The third should be fighting Hauss’s champions on the eastern front.”
Jason pinched his chin in thought. The kingdom had many powerful fighters at the Genesis stage, but these individuals had remained at the sides of those that they served all throughout the conflict regardless of the massive loss of life that had taken place within their fragmented kingdom.
“Has the fifth elder contacted you since we got here?”
Another nod, this one slower than the previous one.
Showing the whites of his teeth, he let out a low laugh that was laced with anticipation. “Tell him to meet you in the abandoned town that we passed on the way here. The one about fifteen kilo—the one about three leagues back. Tell him it’s urgent, that the outcome of the entire war depends on him meeting you in secrecy as soon as possible.” When she fixed him with a level stare, he infused his voice with power and said, “Do it, now. And don’t tip him off about anything.”
After a few moments of silence, she let out a quiet sigh and said, “It’s done. He said he will be there in four hours”
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“Four hours? I told you to tell him as soon as possible.”
She shrugged in a carelessly helpless way. “Him and I aren’t on good terms.”
“I’m shocked.” No matter, this gave him just enough time to prepare a better welcome for the man in question.
Turning the serpent around and directing it back the way that they’d come from, Jason removed the subconscious barrier of energy that he’d covered his body with and embraced the heavy wind resistance. Finger-length hair flailing around in a wild dance, he took a sobering breath of the thin, cold air and then gave his shoulders a series of confident rolls. Here and now, he would both reaffirm his strength of will to himself while simultaneously adding another priceless chess piece to his side of the board.
Grasping one of his long-distance sound transference talismans, he told Sersa to rush to the town in question and filled her in on what he was planning.
Should I bring the others?
No, just you should be enough.
Don’t be foolish. This is a great elder we’re talking about, it makes no sense to not take extra precautions when dealing with someone like this.
Bring Brud then. He’s been getting away with doing nothing lately, so we might as well put him to work.
Sersa snickered in response, the subtle amusement to her tone revealing it as an affirmation.
The town of Boswerth had been home to twenty thousand people before the sect’s forces had poured in from the mountains that surrounded the kingdom, though now it sat abandoned and in ruin. Large swathes of infrastructure had been burnt to the ground, with not a single building in sight showing signs of having escaped the conflict unscathed, with splintered shutters hanging from fractured window frames with countless doors hanging from warped hinges. Large sections of the cobbled streets had been smashed into rubble, with many street lamps overturned and a sizeable number of murderous blotches that had faded significantly since the blood that had made them had been spilled in those spots.
Sersa and Brud arrived two hours later, having sprinted across the countryside in order to move faster than the summoned serpents that they normally would have ridden.
“Do we really have to fight the fifth elder?” said Brud, his face pale as he stared at Jason with a pleading look. “He’s one of the strongest people in the sect. He can use the spear technique that you’re always using.”
“Is that so?” he said, casting Elisa a sideways glance. “Well, it’s a good thing that I can use it too.”
“Do I even need to be here, though?” Brud looked even shorter than usual with his shoulders slumped over in dejection, his black eyes not leaving the fractured stones beneath his feet. “He can kill me with one punch.”
Jason clapped him on the shoulder harder than was necessary. “Then make sure to buy us at least one punch’s worth of time.”
Brud didn’t return his stare, instead sighing to himself in a typical display of self-pity. “Will I at least get an equal share of people to cultivate this time?”
“It depends on how much effort you put in.” Jason took his time designing a particularly useful arrayment diagram that his entire impromptu plan hinged on. After several minutes of carefully tracing characters, patterns and symbols into the air with his spiritual energy, he nodded toward an obscure, heavily-shaded alleyway that branched off from the deserted street where they were currently standing. “Sersa, Brud, you two go hide at the entrace of that alley. I’m about to use an arrayment that’ll hide your presence from anybody in the Genesis stage, but it’ll only work within a radius of about five paces, and it’ll stop working if you walk out of its boundary.”
“Does it mask sound?” asked Sersa, curiosity in her hazel eyes.
“It masks everything. It’s just not really practical because the arrayment has to be locked to one spot, so you can’t use it while you’re moving let alone fighting.”
Elisa made to say something but immediately began to choke, her body reacting to Jason’s earlier command as soon as she attempted to speak out without his permission.
Seeing that she clearly had a question, he gave a curt nod and said, “You can speak. What?”
A bit of anger slipping into her gaze, the elder collected herself after a few moments of irritation. “What will you have me do? Seeing as how you’re so powerful and in control, you surely won’t need to hide behind me in the upcoming fight?”
“Finally lost your cool, huh? No, we’re about to jump him together.”
“It won’t be as easy as you think.”
“Good thing I have you here to do the lion’s share, eh?” When she glared at him, he said, “You’re dreaming if you think you’re going to get some sort of special treatment.”
She didn’t say anything in response, instead wiping at her lips with a thumb in the same suggestive manner that she had done after the bizarre and unexpected development from earlier. Staring at him intensely, she merely shifted her weight from one leg to the other and crossed her arms with a knowing look.
Adding emphasis to his voice, he said, “That won’t change, no matter what you try.”
Sersa’s gaze darted between the two of them in a subtle manner before she let out a disapproving snicker and strode off toward the alleyway, muttering to herself about his occasional foolishness in a way that didn’t escape his ears.