11. First Operation
Whoosh—
The Intel Squadron arrived at the entrance of the neighbouring domain.
"Hihihihi, it's quite smart of them to surround themselves with such tall and buttress trees," Vampika giggled lightly.
Uriel halted.
"Can you please shut the fuck up!" She exhaled. "You don't want to alert them... I can feel the presence of two elves, most likely archers."
Vampika looked at her with a dreadful gaze.
"You! Self-serving bitch!" She took a deep breath. "I muffled my voice earlier, am hella sure you are well aware. You just chose to irritate me, attention seeker much?"
"Can both stop!" Hina said softly, her angelic voice barely making an echo. "We aren't here to compete for who's the best type of scum amongst the both of you. And don't worry about getting caught—I cloaked us immediately when we arrived."
"Mmmhmm," Uriel began to doze off.
"Hihihihi, she wasn't even listening," Vampika exclaimed slightly.
They began to move deeper into the forest, Uriel lying on some kind of light green fluffy cloud, Vampika seated atop a medium-sized ball of blood, and Hina floating with a faint golden glow around her.
"Stop!" Uriel stated calmly. "We don't want to get too close."
A high-rise wooden palace stood at the center of the forest, along with multiple treehouses—most likely surveillance points—about three km away from the wooden house.
"That palace must be where the summoner lives," Hina exclaimed.
"Hihihihi, I wonder why they have so many surveillance points?" Vampika asked.
"The summoner most likely summoned a lot of elves or elven creatures, and the elves are known for their vigilant and strategic nature," Hina answered calmly.
Thud thud thud thud
A 20-feet-tall structure of massive size came into view, the spirit energy around it wild and untamed, capturing their attention instantly.
"One notable threat has been identified," Uriel said lacklusterly.
"Hihihihi, a freakin' four-armed mountain giant... I wonder how its blood will taste!" Vampika giggled.
"Hmmm... It's no small fry," Hina stated, staring straight at the giant.
Thud thud
It walked toward their direction as if it sensed something unfamiliar.
Its head descended from above, lowering to stare directly at them.
Szzzzz...
It exhaled, expelling air from its nose strong enough to shake the buttress trees.
They remained unshaken, unmoved, and unfazed. Their expressions were calm as expected of gods of their standing. Even if they were to fight, they would not only defeat it but obliterate the entire domain.
The giant's head rose with a heavy grrrk… bones grinding like moving stone.
As though it sensed nothing.
As though what it felt before was nothing but a mere hunch.
It began to walk away toward the palace.
"Impressive. Its battle instincts are indeed well trained. Vampika, are you done counting the elves?" Hina asked.
"Hihihihi, 12 high elves, 16 dark elves, and 30 elven archers. Their heartbeats are incredibly loud; I thought they were meant to be stealthy. I sense two unknown energy signatures. They seem to be elven, but they are most likely elementals or elven beasts. Wait..."
She paused.
"I sense something of an eerie nature beneath the palace. Uriel, can you get a closer look?"
Uriel stood up from her dream cloud, seating cross-legged on it. Her back was straight, shoulders relaxed, and her hands rested lightly on her knees. Her head remained still, eyes closed, and her breathing slowed. Her light blue ponytailed hair fluttered as her spirit energy became visible.
The environment went quiet.
She opened her eyes abruptly, widening them.
"Scum!" she exclaimed. "It's a birth ritual!"
She stretched both arms out to Vampika and Hina.
"See it for yourselves."
They held onto her arms.
Whoosh—
Hina flicked her hands.
"Astral projection... the most difficult sensory technique to learn. Ninety-eight percent of gods are unable to perform it, including myself... Yet she does it like it's nothing. As expected of the Dream Goddess of the Starry Night," she thought.
Drip! Drip!
A red, bloody muck dropped onto the floor from a massive accumulation of an unknown substance.
"From its size, it looks like it has been fed more than fifteen souls..." Vampika exclaimed with a disturbed expression.
"A Ravter Abomination... What kind of summoner has the knowledge to create such a thing...?"
"The Nuxeons," Uriel paused. "It reeks of them... We should destroy it before it's born."
"Hihihihi, I too would like to destroy it. These things are a hassle to handle when they are born... but can't we? We are the intel squadron, remember?" Vampika stated.
"Vampika is right... Our job is to observe and report back. As much as it icks me, it's not in our jurisdiction," Hina added.
Creak...
The door to the underground room opened.
Two figures walked toward the mass.
A middle-aged man with glasses.
And a female with long brown hair wearing a bone mask crafted from a mystical beast's skull, clad in a maroon cloak with dim golden hems.
"Don't worry, they can't see us," Uriel said softly.
"It is almost ready," the man said. "Just tell him to calm down."
"You have been saying that for more than a week now," she paused. "You have just today to birth it. If not, you will be the next sacrifice."
"Why is he so eager for this thing to be born?" the man asked.
"Watch your mouth. This thing before you will change the tides of this war," she exhaled. "Let me tell a secret... He plans to use it on your neighbouring domain."
"The domain with the summoner that turned the horizon into magma?" he exclaimed. "But isn't it covered by that dark stormy mist?"
"He has a plan... The summoner there is most likely one of the top five on the leaderboard, so he wants to eliminate them before they become an actual threat to the plan," she replied calmly.
"So he plans to take out his opposition..." he stated. "He is as cruel as they come, hahaha."
He paused.
"What about 'blank'? The last time I checked the leaderboard, he was just a few points away from Berry. Nobody knows a thing about him. He's currently the most mysterious, the one we should be most cautious about."
"The development on that topic is strictly confidential, and I'm afraid I can't indulge with the details. But I do agree with you—he is far too dangerous to be left alone. As for ranks three and four, we have gathered little info on them. But it's not enough to launch an attack yet."
"I'll begin to make preparations for the attack. But when do we commence?" he asked skeptically.
"In 24 hours' time," she answered.
"It's a bit sudden," he paused. "But no matter. I have been bolstering my forces lately, so it won't be a problem," he stated calmly.
"Good," she bowed courteously. "May the 'Great One' refine you, brother."
He bowed.
"May the 'Great One' refine you, sister."
She disappeared into dark smoke.
After that, the man left the room.
"Holy shit," Hina exclaimed. "Pardon me," she scoffed.
"Hihihihi, this is getting serious," Vampika giggled.
"We need to inform Revet-sama," Uriel stated.
Whoosh—