'Hehe. He will never know what hit him.'
Demonmir smiled wickedly.
His bloodlust permeated the surroundings as he envisioned killing Eren, casting a suffocating aura around him. He disregarded the suffering Rankers who knelt around him and ascended the raised platform in the next moment.
"I extend my gratitude to all the Rankers who have gathered here to support my cause," Demonmir began, addressing the assembled crowd below.
"Tomorrow, we will confront a vile evil man who has shown insufficient loyalty to the Last Blood Bastion despite the numerous opportunities we have provided," he declared in a commanding tone, captivating his audience.
"Tomorrow, we shall strike first and rid ourselves of Eren and his damned city..." Demonmir was in the midst of stirring up the crowd against Eren, but his speech abruptly halted as he vanished from the raised platform as if he had been transformed into a ghost.
Confusion rippled through the Rankers in the crowd as they exchanged perplexed glances. Their collective gaze turned to Ariella Lowin, seeking answers, but even she appeared taken aback and bewildered by Demonmir's sudden disappearance.
'Hm? That's… strange. Where has he gone off to now?' Ariella looked around, unsure of what to do with the crowd anymore.
***
Several miles away from Grim Pillar Town.
Nestled within an unnamed forest surrounded by stretches of barren land.
This region, long considered desolate and unproductive, had been miraculously turned into a lush forest thanks to the work of mages and earth-element array masters. These experts had been commissioned by the City of White Raven to convert this once-barren land into one of the most fertile territories within the kingdom of Edinburgh.
Under the half-moonlit midnight sky, embraced by chilly winds, this nameless forest was playing host to both unfamiliar and familiar guests.
Two distinct groups had converged within its depths. One faction comprised Rankers dispatched by Edinburgh's central administration, while the other was composed of Rankers from the City of White Raven.
"Halt! We… we have been surrounded."
Captain Langdon, who led the team sent by the central administration, spoke with a grim undertone as he sensed the encroaching presence of adversaries from all directions.
***
Johar had been entrusted with the mission to address the City of White Raven's defiance, an insubordination that had drawn the ire of Edinburgh's authorities. However, that was only the front. An excuse.
Langdon harbored deeper motives; he was a subordinate of Demonmir and had seized upon Eren's disobedience as a pretext for launching a preemptive assault against the City of White Raven.
Langdon, a Master Ranker on the brink of achieving Grandmaster status, was bolstered by several other Master and Expert Rankers within his group. He had handpicked these formidable individuals hastily from Edinburgh's central administration.
Recognizing that obliterating an entire city with his force was an insurmountable task, Langdon wasn't willing to throw his life away merely to inconvenience Eren. Instead, he had a backup team trailing his initial group.
Drawing upon Demonmir's connections, Langdon had assembled a second team consisting of Rankers who had no strong affiliations with the Edinburgh kingdom. In essence, it was a motley crew of cultists and rogue Rankers. With the help of a few of Demonmir's loyal subordinates, he had directed this backup team toward the City of White Raven.
Langdon's plan was straightforward. First, he aimed to create widespread chaos within the City of White Raven, leveraging the central administration's presence as a deterrent against the city's native Rankers. Then, he intended to besmirch Eren's reputation and that of his city, branding him a traitor.
He would then incite the city's populace to rebel against the city's law and order, prompting them to plunder and vandalize in the name of vengeance against the alleged traitors Eren had referred to as his subordinates. Civil unrest would ensue, and Langdon wouldn't need to singlehandedly raze the city; the citizens would do it themselves in their greed and fury.
Langdon held unwavering confidence that the Ranker tasked with safeguarding the City of White Raven would prove powerless against his actions, primarily due to his influential position within Edinburgh's central administration. Taking action against him would be tantamount to a self-declaration of treachery.
Even if they did take any steps against him, he could readily employ the same tactics as he had with Eren: issuing warrants against them for their "failure to cooperate with the legal inquiry."
Of course, Langdon had been instructed to act this way by Demonmir. Ottoman had set up an entire stage for Langdon to act. He merely needed to follow the script arranged by Demonmir.
If possible, Demomir also wanted Langdon to target and attack Levine de Montmorency if he could, who was staying within Eren's city. But Langdon was instructed that slaying Levine was merely a bonus task that he did not necessarily have to stick with at the cost of ruining the other set of plans.
Furthermore, the backup team, orchestrated by Langdon, was precisely that - a contingency plan. It boasted the presence of two Grandmaster Rankers, individuals whose formidable abilities could ensure the safety of Langdon and his primary team should events escalate dramatically.
One of the Grandmaster Rankers within the backup team was Heram, a direct subordinate of Demonmir. There was also Mael who was present alongside Heram. Mael was the same man who wanted to target and kill Eren for acting brazenly in front of Demonmir.
Langdon could subsequently shift blame onto the administration of the City of White Raven, painting them as the aggressors in an unwarranted attack while his team was merely on a fact-finding mission directed by the central administration. Essentially, Langdon's ability to shape the narrative was contingent on his capacity to inflict significant damage upon the City of White Raven, tarnishing its reputation that was carefully cultivated over the past decade.
Langdon was keenly aware that the City of White Raven lacked a Sage Rank protector. The best they could manage were Grandmaster Ranked entities. These Grandmaster Rankers in his backup team possessed the formidable firepower necessary for Langdon to execute Demonmir's mission effectively.
Or so he believed.
