(Prince Bei Ji Xiong POV)
Of course we had some unexpected encounters…
The first was that I never accounted for the fact that my sister might have been at least able to control her Quarks to a proficient enough degree.
The second was the poisoned tea being discovered even before these main branch members drank them.
Now I am stuck with these Templars in front of me, my sister trapped in the room with them and all my guards dead.
When the poison had failed, I already knew the ruse was up. I had at least expected the Wendigoes to take down one of them, but it seems even that was too much to hope for.
I was already resigned to my death.
Well, the death of this doppelganger body at least. You didn't think I would voluntarily stick myself into such a precarious situation without some kind of backup plan did you? I did not come so far just to fail.
In fact, when I told them they were too late, I was not bluffing. Earlier on, we found out that my tracking talisman has indeed not gone to waste.
My followers that had been tracking Master Lin using said talisman had found him entering what appears to be a ruin of some sort.
They had confirmed that there was presence of the main branch's Dark Sect members within the area, suggesting the ruins to be a base of theirs.
I'm sure that some valuable information was at least stored there, perhaps even the place of summoning itself. Even if it wasn't and Master Lin knew about the talisman and was leading my scouts on a wild goose chase, he will just be one of the few we are tracking anyway.
Thus it was just a matter of time before we found the place.
The only unfortunate thing from the current situation is that my sister and that inventor girl would most probably be killed by these Templars. But it was a sacrifice I was willing to make in order for my plan to proceed.
If only she had obediently let my followers take her away, I might have been able to save her.
The Lindulf girl though… Her invention would have definitely ushered in a new era for us, especially for the non-Practitioners. But I dare not say what will happen to her now that she is also in the hands of the main branch.
If she is still alive after this and held against her will, I will definitely try to rescue her to make her produce those as weapons for us.
It was a blessing to learn that those Templars had mistakenly killed those people stationed at Death Pass town. I bet they thought those were my followers trying to reinforce the mountain tunnels to delay the Dong's invasion when in actual fact they were trying to speed it up by helping them dig.
This should delay the invasion by at least a day or two, which would cause a misalignment in their schedule of summoning Lilith.
If she doesn't get the blood she needs, they will need to sacrifice more people on their side which would diminish their power or risk having Lilith go berserk on them.
Either way, we would be ready with the blood to send her back from whence she came.
I adjusted my grip on my blade, not that I expect to even win here.
"Ara, ara? How sad, little prince," The brown haired fox youkai sneered at me. Typical of the main branch members to look down on everyone else that is beneath their rank. "It seems like your little time is up~"
That's right, that's what I want you to think.
I shifted my weight slightly, "Perhaps, but you guys will never succeed in your plans. I didn't even need to do much in the end, since you already delayed the Dong's invasion yourselves! You guys will just be fodder for Lilith because there isn't enough sacrifices!"
"Kukuku~ You speak as though you know her very intimately hmmm?" The girl wearing the qipao giggled.
I smirked at her, "This is why I say you guys have no idea what you're getting into. The higher ups never told you about her did they? Just promised you that she will grant you all power… But did they say what the price was? Do you even think there will be five hundred thousand casualties in a single battle between Bei Yang and the Dongs? You guys will be sacrificed to fill up the missing numbers!"
They started glancing at each other, clearly they did not know about that little bit of info I just gave.
Good, this will plant some doubts in their minds and they may be inclined to dig out the truth themselves. As long as that little doubt exist, they will begin to question their actions which will slow down or even impede their progress.
If I keep this up, I might even be able to convince them to abandon the main branch!
"Have you never realised how they kept the records of Lilith secret? It's because they know all of you will turn against them the moment you know! Would you be willing to throw your lives away to give those bastards power?!"
"So you say… But how do you even know all this?" The white haired fox youkai asked, her eyes narrowing.
"Do you not know who led the excavation of the ruins that resulted in the discovery of her prophecy in the first place? You didn't think I would at least know what we dug up?"
Yes, it was because of that I managed to find the truth for myself. The higher ups were quick to cover up any information about it and I was kept under close watch for quite a long time. I had seen the stone tablet with the runes by chance and it was fortunate no one knew I could read them.
I had to keep up my act of ignorance until they were convinced or I might have been purged then.
"Think about it! Those bastards never cared about you in the first place! You are all just sacrificial pawns! And even if you guys were exempted from the sacrifice, Lilith would desolate this entire continent! Even with your powers, you would only live to serve her as her dogs! Is that what you want?!"
I could see it now, they were wavering. I just need a little bit more push!
"That Master Lin of yours, he never cared about you either! He will toss all of you aside just to gain more power for himself! How else do you think he got so strong? He is nothing but a gutless, self-centered, power-hungry--"
I stopped myself when I felt the sudden shift in atmosphere.
It felt like an incredible weight was pushing down against me, almost forcing me to my knees and making it almost impossible to breathe.
"Sisters… Brother… I think we have heard enough…" The golden haired one declared, gathering lightning in her hands.
Their swordswoman drew her blade, "Indeed…"
"Ufufufu… Such a silly little boy…" The brown fox chuckled mirthlessly.
What?
Why?
Was it something I said? Why did they suddenly turn so hostile?
Even the little girl of the group turned up her nose at me, "Man… Bad… Cwush… Bwalls…"
I shivered.
There is nothing I can do then… I will cut my losses here, make a 'final stand', then proceed on with the rest of the plan.
I just hope I can bring my consciousness out of this doppelganger before I feel too much pain.
I roared and charged.
