It did not take long for the nine Soul Forging existences to get close to the force field, and they could see that even now, the magic tower was filled with Magi who were hiding.
But there was one person that was in the open. They could see him sitting beside the red cocoon which contained the most powerful warrior in the group of the Heavenly race they just fought, not too far away from the periphery of the force field.
He saw them as they were approaching the force field, but unlike what any other individual in his Rank will do in their presence, he just remained sitting beside the cocoon.
Zatiel's actions upset some of them and made them frown. They were used to individuals beneath Rank 4, always showing great respect and fear in their presence, doing everything in their power to avoid offending them.
Their feelings were even more intense as they focused on the red cocoon. The body of an unconscious Rank 4 Angelic Paragon had immense value, but Heinz has been very clear that the one handling it will be Zatiel.
When they first heard this, some of the Rank 4 Magi immediately expressed their complaints since leaving such an important asset in the hand of someone at Rank 2 was not logical.
Unfortunately for them, the cultivator made clear that he was not asking for their approval and that if any of them tried to get his hands on the Duke, he would take it as they were not obeying his orders.
Heinz's power was very clear in the mind of everyone. It was thanks to him severely harming those Angelic Paragons and Angels of Supremacy and leaving that killing energy inside their bodies that they were able to defeat them with such ease.
This display of strength made clear that he could equal all of them alone.
The moment they entered the force field, the nine Magi remained in the sky and immediately began to stabilize their condition. Their bodies and souls were not damaged, but their energy pools were dangerously low so they took the first chance they got to replenish them.
As they floated on the sky, some of them were looking at Zatiel on the ground with a prideful look, as if their current position was a statement of their status.
Zatiel noticed their behavior, but he couldn't care less. They would not dare to attack him, so he did not feel the need to show fake politeness.
As Rank 4 life form of the Aeternum Empire, they had a great status and killing someone at Rank 2 could not carry any negative consequences to them, much less in a different world, but there was no one among them that did not understand that the relationship between Heinz and Zatiel was not simple.
Heinz has already proved that he did not fear to kill a Rank 4 Magus from the empire, and none of them wanted to become the next Lun.
After an hour, two of the nine Rank 4 flew in the direction of Zatiel. They were Totto and Zitra and their actions made smiles appear on some of the Magi.
Although Totto was a special case with his cordial attitude, they knew that Zitra was extremely prideful, so they were sure that Zatiel's actions had offended her, and she would remind him of his place.
But, contrary to their wishes, the moment the duo reached Zatiel's side, he merely stood up, and then the three of them remained silent.
It took them a moment to understand that they were using their consciousness to communicate among themselves. This took the other seven by surprise, and they were curious about what type of information they were sharing.
Totto and Zitra had long ago started to see Zatiel as an equal, and his actions had only proved them right.
The two were giving a report of how the fight went and the amount of damage they were able to deliver to the Heavenly race.
Although they were more than satisfied with this outcome of this fight, they were doubtful of this plan, especially considering the current situation in the world.
"Although we were able to deal a heavy blow to the Heavenly race, they now have a clear understanding of our full power. Not to mention that Heinz has been expelled from this world and it will take him at least a month to be able to come back, and even then he will have severe injuries due to him fusing with his Law Avatar. Was this really the best path to follow?"
Zitra did not consider the plan flawed, especially since they were able to capture one of the enemy leaders, but from now on their advance on conquering this world will truly be slow.
"I share a similar opinion with her. Without Heinz, we will not be able to make direct attacks against the Heavenly race or advance in the constructions of the towers and we will lose the distraction that is the demonic horde very soon."
Totto knew that although Heinz had told everyone it was his plan, the true architect was Zatiel, and he was wondering about the wisdom in it.
The plan that Zatiel had created was based on deception and when he heard the question of the duo, he smiled. If your actions were able to deceive your own people, then your enemies will not be able to see through them.
Since they were an important part of it and he will need their help with the Duke, he chose to explain.
"Right now the Heavenly race knows about our power and that our most powerful warrior will not be able to help us for several months. They also know that they will be safe as long as they remain together and that we don't have the manpower to advance our invasion campaign for the time being."
The duo focused as they heard Zatiel's words. It was clear from his words that he knew of the plan's consequences.
But his next words shocked the duo and made them understand the true goal of this first battle.
"If you are able to manipulate how your opponent thinks, then influencing their actions and making them act as you wish is not very hard. They will act according to the information they think is right. But what if Heinz can return in a matter of days and we have a way to heal his wounds before the final battle between the demons and the Heavenly race happens?"
There was a smile on Zatiel's face as he spoke.
Zitra and Totto understood that the true goal of this battle was not to kill the members of the Heavenly race.
Their goal was to capture the Duke and then plant the seed of misinformation in the rest of the Heavenly race members that they will pass it to their leaders.
The duo knew that working on a plan with false information about your opponents was much worse than creating one with no information at all.
As they looked at the man in front of them, they could not help but feel admiration.
An immense speed of advancement in the Ranks, a Rank 3 Runemaster while being a Rank 2 life form, and having the ability to jump an entire Rank in battle power. Not to mention having created his own faction before being fifty and was a master in the art of war.
After having a moment to focus, Zitra looked at the cocoon and spoke.
"What are you going to do with him?"
"I have a way to search his memories safely, but I will need professor Totto's help," Zatiel spoke as he looked at the man.
Totto nodded immediately. He was more than happy to help Zatiel, especially since he has some questions that he hoped he could answer.
"Can you implant his wings on me?"
Zitra saw Martin's abilities in action, and she thought it will greatly increase her battle power if she was able to access them, but unfortunately, she did not obtain the answer she wanted.
"I can currently make Heavenly Polymorph fuse the wings of any Heavenly race members on someone's body without a problem up to Rank 3. To make it work in the wings of a Soul Forging existence, I will need to become an Origin Runemaster. There is also the fact that these wings do not work according to your laws."
Zatiel was speaking the truth since these types of wings were not of great help to him and he had no problem selling them.
Although Zitra was a little disappointed, she was not surprised. When someone reaches Rank 4, every part of their bodies starts to change, and to stop any adverse reaction from the wings of Martin, the rune will normally need to reach Rank 4 as well.
As for the part about the wings working with other types of laws, she knew that, but she hoped to be able to alter them
"There are wings of an Angelic Paragon that are related to light and shadows. If you are able to obtain them then I will implant them in you in the future."
Zatiel's words attracted the attention of not only Zitra but also Totto. It was not the fact about him knowing about another type of wings but the fact that he was stating he will become an Origin Runemaster.
That was clearly not some mere words, but absolute confidence in his abilities.
Zatiel did not give much importance to their reaction and spoke.
"Let's go. Searching his memories will not be easy and there are a great number of other things we must do as well."
