The moment I arrived at the capital — teleporting nearby and then flying several miles rather than teleporting directly to make sure I stayed unnoticed — I understood why Helga asked me to hurry up. The city was surrounded by a large army, all carrying the personal flags of the second Prince, while the capital sported the flags of the third Prince.
No sign of the crown prince and the fourth prince.
Interesting, I thought even as I mixed into the surrounding army, curious about the exact situation.
A few questions were enough for me to get a general sense of what was going on. Apparently, the crown prince attacked the estate of the fourth prince, triggering a fight that cost the life of the fourth prince. There was some gossip about a lost artifact with no further explanation.
More interestingly, before the crown prince could even return to the capital, he mysteriously disappeared, with the second and third princes blaming each other for assassinating him.
I had a better idea about his fate … especially since I could detect several Eternal agents moving around in the army, all disguised as ordinary soldiers and servants, though nowhere near as hidden as they believed themselves to be.
There were too many of them to actually be about the capital … and their role didn’t justify them. Giving me a better idea.
The Eternals — at least the group that was using Mariel as an experiment — finally realized the crown prince lost her. I wondered if they killed him.
I hoped not. I preferred to take revenge directly.
A twenty-minute walk around the military camp was enough for me to notice almost thirty Eternal agents, even the weakest above level forty, with decent stats.
It was fascinating just how little I felt threatened by them.
Of course, that was not the only change. Such an opportunity was a chance for the nobles to throw their support behind the winner. The number of the flags showed that the most believed it would be the second prince that would be victorious despite the fact that the third Prince held the capital.
Ultimately, however, I ignored most political nonsense. I didn’t care much about who would be the Emperor. Why would I, when I could easily destroy them if they really pushed me.
No, I cared about exactly what the Eternals were doing, and just how many agents they had in the city itself. I needed to sneak in.
I could have easily teleported, but it was almost certain there was a stronger mage that could catch the fluctuations. Teleporting was not exactly subtle, especially since the capital activated its magical protections.
Luckily, I didn’t need to wait for long. There had been a sudden magical attack from the army to the city, followed by a regiment attacking to the walls. It was more of a threat than something that could actually work, but it was enough for me to mix with them … then, change into the colors of the defending army.
Things were much easier with my improved stats.
The capital was a mess. People looked shocked, angry, and hungry. And, while I pitied them, I couldn’t do anything.
Not with the number of Eternal agents I could count, their numbers increasing as I got closer to my blacksmith. Not exactly good news, especially since the increase was too significant to be coincidental.
Once I arrived, I found a dozen of them surrounding the blacksmith, along with a regiment from the royal army. The wards were activated.
More importantly, from such a close range, I could finally feel a presence, one that was familiar despite all the differences, reminding me of flames, forges … and chains.
Oeyne was here.
I used one of the secret entrances I prepared to sneak inside, soon arriving at the garden. Not too far away from me, there was a group of higher-ranking apprentices I talked was speaking. “Enough of this nonsense. I beg your leave to depart from our usual agenda and for once, think clearly. We have an opportunity here. Let’s use it.”
There were fifteen of them. Some of them nodded at the declaration. A few muttered things under their breath. The speaker ignored them, clearly treating this as an opportunity.
“What, support the second prince. After he betrayed our master. No, we need to take down the wards and join the third prince. With all the weapons we have in storage, they have a chance to change the tides of war. We will be heroes, and not betray our master.”
“Why do we care about a dead man,” the speaker responded, clearly comfortable before crowds. Yet, I would have ignored it if it wasn’t for one thing.
He was another Eternal agent, his soul space making it clear, making me wonder exactly what his plan was. Not the siege, certainly.
Probably Oeyne’s presence.
Well, it was in vain to hope that Oeyne could actually sneak in without being noticed. She was hardly the subtlest person imaginable. I had been hoping that she was someone else with her that could guide her somewhat, but that turned out to be not the case.
At least, it wasn’t as bad as it could be. I would have been far more afraid before my latest trip … but now, not only do I have the necessary stats to be confident in escaping, but also the Twilight Spark to generate darkness mana as necessary — at least its hiding function.
However, I still walked around, them, disguised as an ordinary servant, keeping an eye on their discussion. Just because I could escape didn’t mean I wanted a chase. I rather disappear easily. Or at least, understand what was going on.
So, I watched as he continued to unroll his speech, talking about the direness of their situation and how it was important to allow the second prince to the capital. However, as he spoke, I could see exactly where he was looking.
Inside the main building, where Oeyne was.
Their plan wasn’t particularly complicated. They were either aware of Oeyne from the beginning, or noticed her once she started moving toward the capital. However, rather than capturing her, they followed, hoping clearly that she would lead them to Mariel.
And, since no one tried to contact her, they started acting in a way that hoped to force our hand without revealing their presence.
A good plan. Too bad they relied on a bunch of wildly inaccurate assumptions.
I cast a detection spell, targeting Oeyne’s surroundings. The first thing I noticed was several detection wards around her, ready to catch any kind of magical communication to alert her minders, but they missed one thing.
They linked their spells to the main ward. It would have been a good idea if they could decipher the tricks buried in it … but with their reliance on the skills, there was no chance for them to understand even a fraction of the structure I had developed together with Helga.
Just like that, their web of detection fell into my hands, giving me all the information I needed while depriving of them the same.
While the spy continued to give his speech, I examined Oeyne. She was healthy and moving. She was currently in one of the private forges, crafting an exquisite dagger, far better than anything she could earlier, magic and metal shaping under her will.
She was utterly relaxed, clearly unaware that she had four Eternal assassins ready to intervene, and a team of twenty not too far away.
Clearly, after losing Mariel due to their desire to maintain deniability, they were determined not to repeat that mistake.
I almost pitied them. Their numbers might have represented a challenge before. But right now, on my home turf.
The speech went on, but I left it behind and moved forward, easily keeping myself hidden both from the curious eyes, and their magical detection methods. Soon, I was in the same room as Oeyne, the sight of her dusky skin covered with sweat as her hammer danced rapidly.
I wanted to hug her immediately, but before, there were things that needed to be done.
First, I created a new ward for the room, one that would not only block any curious magical detection spells, but also fake the result to show Oeyne was still alone and forging. I didn’t want to be interrupted.
Second, I cast a diagnosis spell on her, checking her soul space. Just like I expected, her System was gone, replaced by a new Divine Spark, one that could easily be defined as Forging. She was in the process of bonding with it, but she was still somewhere between the demigod and goddess stages.
Still, her status was stable, there was no danger … and our privacy was assured.
A perfect reunion.
{Strength: 115 Charisma: 115
Precision: 115 Perception: 115
Agility: 115 Manipulation: 122
Speed: 115 Intelligence: 151
Endurance: 168 Wisdom: 122}
{Purified Divine Spark: 1.147,577}
{ADDITIONAL SPARKS
Twilight - Chosen 30
Nature - Chosen 10
Knowledge - Chosen 10}
{MINIONS
GODDESSES
Elven Goddess
Goddess of Knowledge
Twilight Archangel}
