The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 211: Schemes behind schemes (1)

Chapter 211: Schemes behind schemes (1)

Screech!

A Heartless shrieked as it tore another Heartless into pieces. Three more Heartless stood around it, shrieking at it.

They lurched and fought against the one in the middle but they were destined to fail. After all, four Fiends were far from enough to take down a Disaster.

The smaller and better-proportioned body of the Disaster enabled it to move and attack with better fluency and accuracy compared to the gangly figures of the Fiends.

Also, the Disaster’s talon surpassed the Fiend’s in sharpness and sturdiness by a great margin. This was evident from the resulting injuries on the Fiends after each clash.

The battle didn’t take a long time to conclude. The Disaster cut and tore through its opponent’s body easily.

But even after killing all the Fiends, it didn’t stop. It tore the flesh apart and chewed on it. It also slurped on the black liquid oozing from the corpses around it.

Screech!

Only after it felt satiated, did it shriek and disappear in the darkness.

’Cannabalistic behavior. Like I thought. They lost their inhibitions.’

Hex stood on the roof of a building not far from the place where the battle occurred. His experience against Heartless helped him to remain concealed from the sharp senses of the Disaster.

After noticing Briella and her actions inside the SS2 camp, he had an inkling about their plan. After all, he already experienced a scheme like this during their assault on Grindeston.

’That Refined Knight, Elron, should be around here too. He pulled something like this during the mission. All those people lost their lives as part of their experiments.’

The memory of seeing his friends and acquaintances die in front of his eyes while he looked helplessly emerged from the chasms of his mind. He shut his eyes in reflex and quickly calmed his breathing.

’Someday I will make these people pay for that.’

After resting through the day, he used the night to inspect the side of the district where, according to the map of SS2, the Disasters roamed around.

The battle he witnessed was the third for the night. The Heartless weren’t cannibalistic nor did they cut their own into bits and pieces.

But they lost their inhibitions and acted in a frenzied manner. Hex saw such behavior during all three battles, convincing him that Elron manipulated the creatures.

’Assuming they planned all this so they can enter the Temple what do they intend to achieve with it? And how?’

So far, Hex gathered that Briella and Elron infiltrated the Starsworn and they tinkered with the sentience of the creatures close to the gate. He assumed they wished to storm the gate but lacked the evidence to support it.

What he wished to discover was their how and why. Hex already formed a plan on how he could enter without the plans of the Dawnbringers but if he could fuse it and use it against them, it would help him a lot. Not to mention, it would satiate his desire for revenge against these two.

’Do they hope to create chaos so they can slip inside undetected? But if I stood on the other side of the gate, seeing a horde of creatures attack the gate, I would keep them closed and keep the others on the other side.

Or are they sure the people on the other side will shelter them, allowing them to enter unchecked?

Or are they planning another ritual, using these creatures as material?’

After contemplating all the information he possessed, Hex came up with three possible reasons behind the Dawnbringer’s plan. But he couldn’t decide which path they would take and how he could profit from it.

’And there is still the unknown. My mind connects them to the Temple district but are they here for something else? What if their objective is just on the opposite side? Perhaps something left in some noble’s house or even the corpse of the Frost Dragon?’

Hex moved through the night as he racked his brains trying to come up with possibilities and counter plans. After some time, he reached the spot where the goods were expected to arrive.

After all, Hex’s primary goal was entering the Temple district. He wouldn’t lose his objective out of his eyes just to exact his revenge on those two. If he could do both it would be excellent. If not, he would prioritize entering the Temple district above his revenge.

The reason behind his drive to complete his task rested primarily on the competition and his desire to retain the deeds of the town and the title. But as he proceeded with the task, he started to see traces of something foul happening inside the Temple, especially since noting that humans were transported regularly under the cover of goods.

He wished to learn about the royal’s objective and check what impact it may have on the average human. Plus, the fact they were after the so-called candidates for the Fated One, which included Althea and him, disturbed him.

If their cause was just, they wouldn’t need to rely on kidnapping and force to get the job done. Also, the need for secrecy would disappear.

...

’Is this it?’

Hex observed the location noted as the place where the goods would be received. He stood on the roof of a building further away. Using his enhanced senses, he saw the line of guards concealed around the place. They hid in bushes and buildings close to the location.

But the location itself confused Hex a little bit. There was nothing there. The location was an open field with some bushes and trees at the edge of it.

’Wait. What is that?’

Concealed by the high grass stood a broken wall. It looked like a low wall. At least, at first glance. But the more Hex looked at it, the less it looked like a wall and the more like something he remembered seeing in the town and the castle.

’Is that a well?’

Hex doubted his eyes but no matter how he looked at it, it looked like the place where they fetched their waters from in the town.

’But how are they going to pull people out of there? And how do these people get there?’

Suddenly, Hex’s eyes opened wide. He remembered what he learned from the elders in the slums.

’The water of a well doesn’t appear out of nowhere. It is connected to some underground source.’

...

"Here is the map with all the creatures."

Briella stretched her body lazily with a content expression on her face. Elron took the map, glancing at it quickly.

"Life here seems to do you well. Is he that good in bed?" Elron asked teasingly.

"Maybe," Briella winked cutely. "But so are the others," she laughed happily. "All these men have so much pent-up energy, they just give their all. I am sure each of them can fill those vials of yours to the brim with their ’stuff’."

"Hmph," Elron snorted. "As if I will allow those dirty humans to touch my precious vials and flasks."

The very thought of such a thing occurring offended him more than anything else. He held all his tools very dear. Someone even breathing at them was akin to defiling his pristine sets.

Briella chuckled but wisely didn’t continue that line of conversation. She knew the man before him could lose his shit when it came to his tools.

"But why does the Lord wish to stop the royals? Based on what He told us, the success of the royals will be advantageous to us."

"I don’t know nor care," Elron shrugged nonchalantly. "Going against the royals has been fun so far, so I will continue. If it becomes boring, I will abandon the mission and leave."

"You weirdo," Briella tsk-ed but she knew she would do the same. She joined the Dawnbringers to enjoy life unbound by rules and proprietary. Like a free bird in the sky, flying and living as her heart willed it.

...

A group of people stumbled across the fields. Their haggard looks spoke volumes of the hardships they faced in just a few days.

They looked listless and dehydrated as they pushed themselves forward. Only the girl at the front looked strong and determined with each step she took.

Woosh.

Suddenly, they sensed the wind blowing at them. In the next instance, a stern-looking man appeared. His appearance filled the group with energy. They stood upright and performed their salute.

"At ease," the Commander waved at them, turning his gaze to the person in front. "And?"

"We succeeded. We found the dried-up basin. The pipe leading inside the Temple district is still there. But we didn’t scout far ahead."

"Excellent. We can start the next phase of the mission."

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