Chapter 161 - Creation Of A Monster. R-18
Fidwud Family Home...
San Fidwud had just completed the walk of shame which could not be avoided when his shoulder was doused in blood and the number of cultivators he had taken to Hal's mansion had reduced drastically.
Why...
Why did things have to be so complicated?
Why could things not just go his way?
Why was he always suffering a loss?
When he walked through the front gate of his home and beheld the carnage and gore that covered the courtyard, his eyes went red.
So many of his men had died and as far as he could see, he could not see the bodies of anyone that could be the assailants or more accurately, that could be the Emissaries.
From what he could see, they did not distinguish between the fighters, servants or guards. Anyone with cultivation at the Cosmic Pearl realm was attacked.
Evian who had taken a pill to heal his wound went ahead of San and questioned those who had witnessed the massacre and also found out that the rest of them had only survived by banding together in a large group.
They gave him the letter that had been delivered by the emissaries, which despite knowing how much it would hurt San, Evian took him.
It was much better to get this over with.
"My lord" Evian said and thrust the letter in San's direction.
San glanced at the letter, took a deep breath and received it from Evian's hands.
He was about to open it when a messenger arrived at the Fidwud Family home. The messenger bowed deeply but when he spoke, there was a hint of snideness,
"Lord Fidwud, You have been summoned to a hearing"
"A hearing?" San asked and blinked.
The messenger nodded,
"In light of recent events and the loss of so much manpower with nothing to show for it, the other Plebeian family heads are disappointed and want a hearing to decide how to... proceed"
San's eyes narrowed,
"Haha... Haha... Haha... Hahahaha" He laughed loudly and discretely released the pressure of his cultivation base.
The messenger looked confused,
"What is fun..." He began to say when...
*Whoosh*
*Thud*
... San swung his hand and even without an armament, he beheaded the messenger. Granted the messenger was barely at the Early stage of the Cosmic Pearl realm.
San's eyes were bloodshot as he snarled,
"A hearing? Okay then, we'll see"
He turned away and walked into his home with Evian staring at his back and wondering how events would progress now and if Hal and the other Family heads had not just created a monster in San Fidwud.
...
Meanwhile...
Hal was at the indoor pool with Melinda, Marla and Amelia. The ladies had all taken off their clothes the moment they arrived.
After which they set about to taking off Hal's clothes as well, although it might have been more accurate to say they tore it up.
They could not be blamed, of course, the clothes were damaged already. Soon Hal's perfect body was on display for them as he left them at the edge to sink into the pool.
At this point, the wounds he had were all healed, the ladies went in with him and soon got to cleaning every part of his body.
It was actually Marla and Amelia who cleaned his body, Melinda only cleaned his bloodied chest and laid her head on it.
"What do you think Swanson is here to talk about?" She asked.
"Beats me" Hal shrugged.
There could be many things Swanson was here for and they ranged from advising him to asking about his stand in the coming civil war.
Even though the latter one should have been obvious.
"Ohhh" Hal moaned and looked down to see that Amelia had taken his tool into her mouth underwater.
With her cultivation base, staying underwater was not that difficult but she was bound to not be able to stay that long due to the eventual gag reflex of her fellatio.
Melinda acted oblivious to what was going on as she said,
"It's a shame you need to meet him now. We could have celebrated this victory" She sighed in such a destitute way that Hal chuckled and pulled her face towards his for a kiss.
Soon he felt another tongue on his cock and since he was occupied with sucking off Melinda's face, he relied on Astral sense to see the full and beautiful picture of Marla kneeling beside Amelia and double-teaming his cock.
The attack continued until eventually, Hal knowing a full session was not for the moment as he had a visitor, stood up and grabbed Amelia.
The Horst lady wound her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist as Hal grabbed her buttocks and lowered her on his angry and ever-ready cock.
"Ohhh" Amelia moaned as it once again sunk into her pussy. Instinctively she clung tightly to it. So hard that Hal groaned and lifted her to slam her back down.
*Pah* *Pah* *Pah*
{Erogenous Touch} touch was on completely and every part of Hal's body was pleasure-inducing which was something Marla and Melinda soon noticed when they touched him.
Even then, Amelia got the most of it as Hal's hefty cock sawed back and forth in her pussy and lighting up her insides. That she found this enjoyable was an understatement.
*Smack* *Smack* *Smack*
"Oh yes, oh yessss" It did not take long for the Horst lady to scream out her content for the whole mansion to hear. A scream that Hal, being as shameless as he was, did not cancel out with an Array.
Amelia squeezed even tighter as she spasmed, moaned and groaned from orgasmic joy. So deep was her content that her hands became weak and Hal put her into the water in a seating position so her head was still above water.
Marla practically jumped him and her session went on in full swing.
*Pah* *Pah* *Pah*
First Hal settled for the standing position but soon put her down at the edge of the pool. As soon as he did so, Marla assumed the on-all-fours position and Hal pounded into her hard from behind.
*Smack* *Smack* *Smack*
Was the sound his pelvis made as it smacked into her pliant ass continuously. He leaned forward and grabbed her boobs while he sucked at her neck.
"Ahhhhnnnn" Marla moaned in a loud voice.
Hal with hands still on her breasts pinched her nipples and that was all it took for the Dark haired lady to gyrate her hips and squirt juices at his abdomen as she came.
Hal groaned as well and released his voluminous seed into her ever craving pussy.
Once he laid her in the pool as well, he turned to Melinda who shook her head,
"Not right now. Pleasurable as it would be, you are in a hurry. I'd prefer it if you took your time." She said with a smile.
Hal chuckled as he waddled in the pool water on his back so that his semi-flaccid cock was on display,
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I am" Melinda said and at that time, Hal was beside her and his fingers were teasing her rock hard nipples. She was clearly aroused and Hal knew it wouldn't take him longer than a few seconds to get her to cave.
He lowered his head to her large and ample breast and licked it. His hands were below the two and he jiggled them smiling as the two mounds always returned to their perfect shape.
He pinched and pulled her nipple and even though her lower body was under-water, Hal could still differentiate the viscous liquid that was her juices.
As he pulled at her nipples, he nibbled at her ear and Melinda moaned, feeling herself getting ever closer to grabbing his cock and shoving it into her pussy herself.
It was then one of Hal's hands left her breast and traveled lower to her clit which he pointed and caused Melinda's leg to clamp up from Pleasure as she struggled to not begin to squirm.
"What a tease" She made to scoff but it was watered down by how breathless her voice was.
"Stating the obvious changes nothing, My dear" Hal smiled.
"By the way, Amelia wants me to fuck Emily" He added with a chuckle.
Melinda's eyes that had been closed opened up,
"Really?"
"Yes" Hal smiled and stopped teasing her to fully wash away the juices on his body.
Melinda nodded,
"That's interesting."
"What is?" Hal asked as he stood up and exited the pool to dry off his body.
Melinda grinned,
"You're stalling"
"What makes you say that?" Hal asked "I might just be taking it slow. Careful you might say"
Melinda tried to ignore the itch in her nether regions as she placed her elbow on the pool edge and supported her face on her fist,
"Careful about what?"
Hal sighed,
"There's something about Emily that I just can't put my finger on. It doesn't really worry me but it is also not something I can just overlook. She will be mine, of course, that is certain. When it will happen is what I'm still indecisive about" He said and smiled at Melinda.
He knew Emily was not from Salmon city even if he did not yet know why she was here. Sometimes he wondered if Melinda might know who she was but if she did, she would have told him.
And besides Melinda is from the Duchy that Salmon City falls under, while Emily could very well be from another Duchy entirely.
With a Duchy having the landmass of Four Continents on earth put together, it could be assumed that they knew nothing of each other.
Melinda nodded at his reasoning,
"Don't take too long though" she said with a grin.
Hal who had just put on another set of clothing from his inventory smiled with narrowed eyes,
"Is it just me or do you look more eager than me?"
Melinda shrugged and declined to comment but when Hal pulled open the door to leave the bath, she called out to him...
"Hurry up and come back to take care of this"
...obviously referring to her arousal.
...
Hal entered into the lounge and the look on Eugene's face was one of mild shock. As though he were looking at a different person having heard the loud moans Hal refused to quell.
Hal did not see what the big fuss was about, he had so many women around him, it should have been assumed that he was a philander.
Or maybe, Eugene was just surprised Hal did not have any courtesy for a visitor and if that was it, it did not show on his face past the mild shock.
Hal had no interest in discussing his sex life which he felt could end up being the topic if he did not seize the initiative,
"So, Eugene. What is it you wish to speak to me about?"
In reply, Eugene stretched forth an important-looking letter with a seal on it.
"What is this?" Hal asked.
Eugene sighed and when he spoke it was in a tone that marked the end of an era,
"Hal, I'm leaving"
Chapter 162 - It's A Win-Win.
Hal looked down at the important-looking letter on the table that separated him and Eugene. On the seal, he could make out an 'AP' insignia.
When Eugene said he was leaving, Hal had to admit that it took him by surprise, however,
"I'm guessing you are not just here to tell me you're leaving without even explaining why you were here in the first place" He said but judging from Eugene's expression, the older man was only here for the former.
Hal had to admit that he was upset.
If Eugene could take the time to come then he had better yet open his mouth and speak up right now.
He was about to show his frustration when Eugene sighed,
"It's a long story..." He said and Hal waited for him to begin and so Eugene told his tale.
He was also from this Duchy, also called the Silva Duchy in respect to the family that held the tile and while he had not said anything or shown any indications, he knew who Melinda was and he also knew of the Danes. Melinda's light gold eyes were not as disturbing to him as they were to others.
Anyway,
Eugene was part of the Swanson family that had ties within the Astral palace and despite how rare the ability was, so many in his family had always been able to discover it.
In fact, past this city, there were families and Clans that have built their foundations atop this rare ability.
Unlike his Brothers and certain other relatives, When Eugene's Astral sense was discovered, it was not at a particularly high rank and as a family built on the ability, he was far from being anything special so he was doomed to live as an ordinary cultivator.
According to Swanson, this was an insult in a family such as theirs. After all, in this world, too many could cultivate, even commoners could, so they found it... Common. Astral sense made them special and having a high-ranked one right from discovery made them special among specials.
That he was to be an ordinary cultivator was his family's way of telling him, they would not spend any resources to bolster his Astral sense and it would remain the way it was.
But Swanson did not approve of this fate and so he went to the only place he could ever have hope of becoming a Rune-Master, he went to the Astral Palace.
As it has been stated already, the Swanson family had ties to the Astral palace, however, they were far from being the governing party. In the eyes of those at the top Echelon of this great sect, the Swanson family were subordinates.
That said, without his family's backing, Sixteen-year-old Eugene had no sure way into the sect and he was always turned back at the gate. So he resorted to large and loud demonstrations at the Palace gates.
With the size of the large sect, his words being merely at the Cosmic Pearl realm could never go past the entrance which in itself was large so there was no certainty that Eugene would get the attention he needed.
When his family got wind of his actions, they all but disowned him, saying he was an embarrassment and a disgrace to the family. At that moment, even though he was still a Swanson, he had rights no higher than that of a servant.
And even then, Eugene never gave up or stopped seeing them as family. He spent months attempting to attract attention and eventually, the guards finally stopped taking pity on him and tagged him as a nuisance.
He returned home dejected and finally ready to accept to become an Ordinary cultivator when someone came for him in the Swanson home.
Not just anybody either, it was an Elder in the Astral Palace who told Eugene he could feel his potential and would be interested to see him flourish.
At first, Eugene saw it as a dream, one that once he woke up, the spell of joy would be broken but no such thing happened and his new life began.
The Elder grilled and trained him hard and in a hundred years, he was a Rank 2 Runemaster. The methods of training and refining Astral sense were quite lacking seeing as Astral Sense refining arts were referred to as a legend.
Advancing one Rank in a hundred years was quite impressive, most disciples did not manage it in twice as much time. At least this was the explanation Eugene had been given while being patted on his back for a job well done.
Back at the Swanson home, Eugene was apportioned due honors for becoming an Elder's direct disciple although they did show skepticism at his slow and steady progress. Apparently, they expected more from him as an Elder's disciple.
All the same, he was let in on the family plans and everything he was told, Eugene related back to the Elder as long as he was asked... and he always was.
This was someone he was indebted to and he could never dream of withholding anything from them.
Years passed and Eugene became a Rank 3 Rune Master, with his progress looking as though it had stagnated, also he discovered that the discussions his family was having were involving him all the more.
And was targeting the Elders.
His family was plotting a coup!
This became a dilemma for Eugene.
Was he to stick with Family? The same one that had once come close to banishing him.
Or
Should he report the incident to the Elder who has rescued him and allowed him to gain that recognition from his family?
The choice should have been easy, but Eugene had never been the type to turn against family, so he kept quiet.
Eventually, the plans grew in scale and the execution of it came closer at which point Eugene could no longer hold his piece and told it all to the Elder.
He kowtowed and hit his head on the ground numerous times as he pleaded for forgiveness at having kept it all to himself to this extent.
Especially to a benefactor.
When he quieted down from his rants, the Elder laughed and said the words that began Eugene's despair;
"I knew I could count on you"
The Elder then told him that the Swanson Family had been under suspicion for years and despite their stupidity and lack of vigilance, they still managed to keep it all in their little circle.
When the Elder had heard of a nuisance at the gate and discovered Eugene's last name, he had informed his colleagues that this was the way in.
Simply lending a hand was enough to guarantee Eugene's loyalty and also enough to allow his family of fools to let him into the inner circle where every information he got would be relayed back to his benefactor.
Their whole mindset had been that they needed all the help they could get and having Eugene close to the Elder was a guarantee for success.
So it became a choice between family and benefactor.
Of course on occasion, Eugene had given the information he knew about the Elders to his family but the Elder boasted that he had never been worried.
Emphasizing how stupid Eugene was for not even realizing that he was not making as much progress as he should have with his Astral sense.
And how stupid he was for believing the words of an old fox like himself.
That day, Eugene confessed, was the worst day in his entire life.
His family was completely destroyed. The battle was brutal and even though they took many down, every last one of the Swanson family died.
Everyone except Eugene.
The problem for Eugene was that he felt, even as his family was killed, that he had been right to report them, but the guilt remained strong as well.
Their death was his fault and so were the deaths of many others...
And then, as though to add insult to injury, he was recognized for the role he played and the very same Elder that laughed in his face was the same one that apportioned his honor and made him an Elder (a junior Elder but an Elder all the same) in the Astral palace.
The Elder spoke in his ear,
"Come on Eugene, smile for the Public. You became an Elder and I got rid of a thorn, it's a win-win"
The Elder wound his arm around Swanson's shoulder and laughed proudly like a Master to his disciple but Eugene knew better,
He had been a pawn of Astral Palace politics and,
small as his family had been, they were a faction that had now been erased thanks to him.
At that point, he was hailed as a hero by many and dissed as a traitor by few.
The memories were too haunting and so (In Eugene's own words) he took the coward's way out and came to reside in Salmon City where he employed Orn to be his manager.
His original plan had been to live out the remainder of his days in this city but even that now seemed a fool's dream.
Hal narrowed his eyes,
"And you wanted me to join Astral Palace. Despite all your experiences. That's cold. And here I thought we were friends" Hal said in a falsely dejected tone of voice,
While Grimoire made retching noises.
Eugene looked sheepish,
"Technically, I was only thinking that when you were my apprentice and also, while I was chewed up by the system, I've had time to reflect. That I was a victim, does not mean you will be"
While he had not been allowed access to those resources before, Eugene now knew just what those resources were and had Hal still being his apprentice, he would have been able to use them, as an Elder of the sect.
"Okay, then. Eugene..." Hal said and tapped the letter on the table,
"Why exactly are you going back? Or more accurately, what's in the letter"
Chapter 163 - What Do YOU Want?
Eugene's eyes darted to the letter and he took a deep breath,
"It's a summon, albeit a very polite one. I cannot ignore it. Apparently, as a junior Elder, I have stayed out of the Palace enough and I must now return"
Hal could hear the melancholy in those words. Eugene seemed to have realized something through this letter; Although he had been honored for playing a part in ridding the Sect of traitors, it did not change the fact that he was still a member of that family.
Once all was done and the Swansons were dead, the Elder had cut off all ties to Eugene, leaving him completely alone in a sea of sharks that was the Astral palace.
Leaving the Palace had given him peace and kept him out of the politics he disdained but now that this letter was here, he had no choice but to return or he would be labeled a traitor.
The sadness in Swanson's eyes was deep and his sorrow seemed endless, he looked away from the letter and cleared his throat when...
*SLAP!"
...Hal slapped him.
The sound was resounding and so many in the city heard it. Hal had not only used his Cultivation base but also packed the might of his physique behind it. Leaving an imprint on Eugene's face.
"Snap out of it" Hal said as he sat back comfortably on the sofa.
Eugene's eyes were widened and it was clear that he was confused,
Why was Hal slapping him?
The look on the older man's face warped into one of anger as he turned towards Hal who was rubbing his hand,
"Damn, your skin is tough. That slap probably hurt me more than it hurts you" He said with a shameless shake of his head.
"That's Horseshit. What the hell do you think you're doing?" Eugene exploded and leaped to his feet.
If Hal we threatened by his stance, nothing showed in his expression. Guards that had been outside suddenly stormed into the mansion.
"Get out!" Hal said and they all dashed out immediately.
He wanted privacy.
Meanwhile, Eugene was still fuming and Hal leaned back on the sofa while placing the tip of his hands together to peer at Eugene above them,
"You seem upset"
Eugene blinked,
"Why won't I be? You slapped me!"
Hal nodded,
"I don't deny it. But it was for your good. You needed some sense knocked into you"
Eugene was seething,
"What?"
"You heard me. Someone died in the Swanson family that you really care about right? And I don't mean your brothers and cousins, I mean someone you really did care about" Hal said in a considerate voice.
Eugene's arms went slack and his face became destitute.
'Oh, it looks like I guessed right' Hal thought.
"It wasn't just one. It was everyone that was not my brother, father or cousins. It was the maids, the servants... The guards. They sympathized with me and were more like my family than my real family."
Eugene slumped back into the chair, his hands covering his face.
"When I told everything to the Elder, I failed to give them much thought. I failed to give them a heads up. I simply assumed they would be let go. Set free. Maybe made to work for other families but at least they would be alive.
The battle had already started and many of them had died. Long before the true culprits even fell to the sword. For those that were still alive, I told them to surrender. All in the hope that they would survive. But it did not matter whether they surrendered or not, they all..."
Eugene choked but Hal could guess the rest.
Hal sighed,
"You know, I didn't slap you to remind you of your pain. I did it so you would suck it up and move on. So you were dealt a bad hand. So you were used, Big deal. Compared to others, you got the best end of the stick.
I don't particularly agree with you running away and neither do I disagree with it. You did what felt right to you and that, I commend.
Which is why I ask you now; What do you want to do?"
Eugene's hands went to the letter but Hal slapped it away,
"No. Not what the letter wants you to do. What YOU want to do" Hal said with a slight shake of his head.
Eugene rubbed the spot on his hand Hal had slapped while trying his best to ignore the sting on his cheek.
"I want to achieve my lifelong dream. I want to be a powerful Runemaster." Swanson said in a Hollow voice.
Hal nodded,
"If that's what you want, then fight for it. Return to the Astral Palace. Make use of the Astral Refining Art I gave to you and refine your Astral sense. Gather followers and allies. Do whatever it is you need to survive."
Eugene looked up at him with wide eyes but Hal was not done.
"Scheme if you have to and Eugene, kill if you have to. Let go of your principles because not only will they get you nowhere, they are also why you fell into that's Elder's trap."
Eugene stuttered,
"K-k-kill? Let go of my principles?"
Hal's eyes were cold and there was no hint of a smile on his face,
"Yes. For someone who has nothing and wants everything, that is the only way. What I am trying to do right now, you can call it corruption but I consider it your Salvation and your only hope of achieving your dreams.
You need to learn to adapt and if you don't, Eugene, I'll kill you myself"
At this point, Hal's eyes went completely Dark, (Sclera and all) and just looking into it alone, caused Eugene to shiver with fear.
Even then, he spoke,
"W-What are you say... No, who are you?" He asked in a shivering voice.
Hal grinned in a cruel manner,
"I'm Hal who you've always known and If I want, I can make you just how I want. A simple contract is all it would take, but I don't see the point." With that Hal's eyes went back to normal and Eugene let go of the breath he did not know he had been holding.
Yes, Hal was the same.
He, Eugene had just never known who he truly was.
Hal sighed and crossed his legs to peer at Eugene with his deep blue eyes,
"If you decide not to let go of your principles, you will still return to the Astral Palace and you will still be screwed over. Think about what I have said. I was not kidding. I will kill you"
Eugene could not help himself,
"For what?!' He exclaimed.
"For being a Dumbass. If I don't kill you, someone else eventually will. I will consider myself a failure as a friend if I let that happen" Hal said.
"So why not protect me?" Eugene could not help but ask.
"Too stressful. Killing you would be easier." Hal said and the cruel smile was back.
"You're a Devil!" Eugene said, obviously referring to Hal's words and actions because as strange as the eye change was, he could not have guessed what Hal's bloodline was.
Also, most of what Hal said when his eyes made the change, were either gibberish to Swanson or simply confusing.
Eugene stood to his feet and cleared his throat,
"I just thought you should know. I will be gone very soon. It could be today, it could be tomorrow but it won't go past three days"
He walked away towards the end of the lounge where the Door was still open, since he came here, he had been slapped, insulted and threatened and yet he could not help but feel Hal had really been doing it for his own good.
"Goodbye Hal..." Was the last thing he said before he exited the Mansion.
Hal watched him leave and shook his head lightly,
'Are you really planning to kill him?' Grimoire asked.
'Who knows? I might just mark him. Or contract him.' Hal said.
'Why haven't you yet?' Grimoire asked.
'Why haven't I what?' Hal decided to play dumb.
'Why haven't you contracted him?' Grimoire clarified and Hal sighed as he walked towards the bath.
'I felt like I've been taking the easy way out, when I want people to act the way I want, I contract them. I never really put in the work.
I want to see just how persuasive I can be. I want to see if my words and intimidation are enough to change someone like Eugene who is so set in his ways' Hal said.
'And if he changes and turns on you?' Grimoire said.
'That's a definite possibility but I have to say I'm disappointed you don't know the answer to that already'
Hal said and Grimoire sighed,
'I do'
Hal pushed open the door to the bath and found that Melinda was the only one left, Marla and Amelia must have gone to their rooms. It was a big Mansion after all and there were more than enough rooms for all the ladies.
"Took you long enough" Melinda pouted as her dark and long hair floated behind her in the water.
Hal was naked in a second and waddling in to wound his arm around her waist,
"Sorry I kept you waiting.
I'll make it up to you"
Chapter 164 - A Familiar Contract.
Payne Estate...
Gregory's study...
Just like many others in the city, Gregory knew of all that happened in the city on that day and while he had always suspected, NAY, being convinced of Hal's guilt, he was still surprised the Plebeian alliance would attack him.
Even worse, he won!
"It would seem, you really have something I want" Gregory said and a smile stretched over his face.
In less than a week, there was going to be an important event in the city, or more accurately, a very public event which has been made so by Marlon Edgar.
He was getting remarried to his wife.
Gregory did not know why they would pick such a precarious time to get hitched but he wished to have carried out his wishes by then.
"Burt" he called and the butler walked into the study barely a second later.
"Yes, Master" Burt bowed.
"I want a message delivered to my son" Gregory said as he pulled out a piece of parchment and after dipping his pen into ink, he began to write.
The letter was short and once he was done with it, having scribbled so fast Burt could not make anything out, he passed it on to the butter who looked puzzled as he left the study to have the message delivered.
However, before the letter even left the Estate, he was already relating all he could to his Master.
Laying emphasis on how confused he was that Gregory seemed to be taking a diplomatic approach. Hal, who was busy at the time terminated the connection the moment Burt was done.
Burt could feel it in the air, there was a storm brewing in the Payne Family. A story that had nothing to do with the war with the other families. This was purely within the family.
A familial affair if you will.
...
Meanwhile...
At the Mansion...
Hal had completely tired Melinda out and as much as he would have loved to hold her to sleep, there was something else he needed to do that was quite important.
Since the Time warped Chamber was usually occupied and he wanted privacy for what he was about to do next, Hal took another room.
Once he was in there, he opened the portal to the forest habitat and out of it slithered the Beautiful undulating green body of Sassy, the Toxic Viper.
When Sassy was out, she made to coil around Hal's arm as she usually did but Hal thrust his hand forward to stop her,
"Stay" he said and even though it was clear from her slit eyes that she was confused, Sassy did stay in place. Only occasionally flicking out her tongue.
Then he took a deep breath and thought about how to continue. How to heal her and enable her to form her pearl.
He had already searched through Grimoire's contents and while he could heal her, everyone one of those means were out of his range at the moment.
And he also lacked the resources which were not really abundant on this continent anyway since all things relating to Demon Beasts are shunned. Also, a method that would work to heal a human's pearl was bound not to work for Sassy.
Not that he could use that method either.
So he decided to circumvent the need for resources by drafting a different kind of contract.
A type he had never made to date.
A contract whose terms went as follows;
In exchange for Attendance servitude, he would share his Pearl with Sassy. In doing so, he would take away her necessity to cultivate and turn her into a cultivation base backup.
He had searched within the inheritance left in his bloodline and knew it was not only possible, but it was also something he could only do once. At least until Sassy died and left the attendant position free.
To a Devil or Demonic servant, this was the greatest honor that could be bestowed.
The Honor to become A Familiar.
Finding out about it in his bloodline, Hal had seen just how much experts fought to become Familiars of mighty Demon and Devil lords who would hold battle royals to select the most capable.
Once made into a Familiar, the Devil or Demon shares his cultivation realm with said familiar. The connection between the two would go further than a simple Master-servant relationship but even then, cultivation is the only thing that is shared.
And hence other attributes such as comprehension and plethora of battle skills are also looked into as well as purity of Bloodline.
After all, a Familiar is a Devil or Demon's most trusted and mediocrity was very frowned upon.
To become a familiar was to grant their master all they had in body and soul and would hence be bound until the death of that Familiar.
Unlike normal Devil contracts where the contracted are set free upon the death of the contracting Devil, a Familiar contract is binding even after death and in most cases, the familiar dies as well from what many refer to as heartache.
Normally Hal wouldn't care. For all the fuss around Familiar contracts, it was still servitude. Now, if it were possible to have more than one familiar in which case, one could possibly have a whole army of them, that would have been nice.
He sighed and began drafting the contract.
The energy it released was of such a different kind. Unlike his usual Devil servant contracts which were usually intimidating, the Familiar contract was mild and ensnaring.
The kind of feeling that made the contracted feel special.
'Oy, you are making a Familiar?' Tiberius' voice suddenly sounded from out of his soul world.
'Yes. Yes, I am" Hal replied without stopping.
'For a viper?' The fiend sounded incredulous.
'It would seem so, yes' Hal replied.
'You do know that choosing a familiar is a big deal right? You are supposed to select the most capable. You are picking the first one you see' Tiberius cautioned.
Hal sighed. Even though he did not stop, he understood what Tiberius was talking about. He just did not give a crap.
Maybe this was not very advantageous for him but it was what felt right at the moment.
'What makes you so sure that she's not the most capable?' Hal asked.
'Well, for one thing, she's just a sensing beast. A creature whose existence is inconsequential in the grand scheme of things' Tiberius grunted.
'So what? I'm a Cosmic Armament Realm cultivator and even on this continent alone, I'm considered inconsequential and I am sure the strongest in this world would still not hold a candle to you.
As such, aren't your standards a little too high?
By your logic, I should only look for the most powerful to fill my forces and I on the other hand believe in building them up into becoming the most powerful.
Sassy will share my Cultivation, that is all. For all others, including her Bloodline, she has time to grow. Also, she has me."
Tiberius grunted but said nothing.
'Well, I think it's great' Myra said.
Hal smiled,
'Care to share how you chose your Familiars?' Hal asked and the two went suddenly quiet.
'Maybe some other time' Myra eventually said before Hal could no longer sense her energy in his Soul world.
Hal narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. There were too many things those two were hiding. But oh well, all in due time.
He completed the contract but did not hold it out for Sassy to sign, instead, his skin turned scarlet and was only marred by red lines as he infiltrated Sassy with his Devil energy so as to initiate {Mind Meld}.
While the ability was mostly designed for intercourse, Hal just needed it to connect their minds so he could converse with her directly.
The serpent did not even squirm or act difficult, merely allowing the infiltration.
At that point, despite his eyes being open, Hal was no longer conscious as his consciousness had passed into Sassy's.
In there, it was beautiful and colorful, even though Green was the most predominant of the colors.
"Is that you?" Sounded a timid voice emanating throughout the consciousness, a definitely female voice, a voice that was definitely Sassy's.
"Yes" was all Hal said.
"Hmmm. Can I have more blood?" The voice asked again. Still timid but a little bolder.
"Maybe later, I'm here to talk to you about something else..." Hal said and explained everything concerning the Familiar contract.
He wanted to hear her input.
"It's the only way you can help me?" She asked.
"Yes. It's the only way for now. I could get the resources needed for other means in the future but I cannot guarantee that I will get it before you reach the end of your lifespan" Hal said.
He knew he could definitely try and most likely succeed in finding it but since at the early stages of cultivation, Demon beast lifespan is a little inconsistent and mostly short, he did not want to give false hope.
The reason for the inconsistency was because, as wild beasts, they all usually had different lifespans and once they become Demon beasts, this becomes a factor.
Sassy seemed to think for a while before she asked,
"If I sign that contract, can I have more Blood?"
Hal chuckled at her one-track mind before nodding,
"Sure, but I don't think you will need it all that much as a familiar"
He retreated to the outside to see the serpent cause herself to bleed and then splatter the contract with it.
The contract then seemed to duplicate, with one copy rolling up and disappearing into Hal's right palm.
The other copy sunk into Sassy's body and right at the top of her head where her Cosmic pearl should form, the contract imitated it and formed an immaculate Pearl that was the same size as Hal's.
Which meant the advantages of the Primordial Cosmic Art (Bigger pearls than normal) would also be shared.
Once the Pearl was completely formed, Sassy proceeded to the Natured Beast realm which was equivalent to Hal's Early stage of the Cosmic Armament realm and her size suddenly enlarged...
*Bang!!*
...and broke free of the Room she and Hal were in.
Chapter 165 - Gregory Wants Peace.
The sound was quite explosive and quickly alerted the guards who rushed upon the scene for fear of another ambush. Melinda had only just woke up and was about to begin refining Hal's essence when the bang sounded.
She quickly left her bed and put on what could only be described as a nightgown to go to the scene of the sound.
When she arrived there, she saw a gigantic, larger-than-life serpent with gleaming green scales and a head that already broke past the ceiling of the room into another unoccupied room on top.
Now that the space had been broken through, the serpent had room to move her head and gaze down below while Hal was simply standing by the side and admiring Sassy's magnificence.
There was no need to mince words, she was a spectacle. Even Melinda agreed. She was quite sure that a larger size was not the only improvement Sassy had seen and the -so-far- unseen ones were bound to be more deadly.
The guards, upon seeing the cause of the bang were quick to retreat but even they were in awe.
*Hisssssssssssss*
Sassy let out a particularly long hiss and started to release her toxic gas but she was also condensing them into a point.
Hal could see she was easily getting carried away, it was normal for her to be eager but he felt this was hardly the time or the place.
'Sassy. Not right now' he cautioned telepathically.
'Fine' she said with a telepathic sigh.
In serpent age, Sassy had been equivalent to Marla's age but while she was still at the Sensing beast realm, she was not equivalent in intelligence even though she had been more intelligent than her cultivation permitted.
Now that she was at the Early stage of the Natured Beast realm, she possessed near-human intelligence and could quite successfully curb her instinctual urges.
"Impressive" Melinda said.
Hal nodded,
"Yes, she is" He said before giving Melinda a summary of what he had done to Sassy as the Viper shrunk back to her normal size.
Hal stretched his hand to her and she nicked him with her fangs and began to suck his blood. Melinda's eyes widened as she watched this display between Master and Familiar.
Hal on the other hand noticed something as Sassy ingested his blood and its energy illuminated her from the inside out, her bloodline was getting stronger... No, scratch that, it was not just growing stronger, it was evolving.
Now that Sassy was his familiar, she shared his cultivation base but she did not share his Bloodline and Hal was already beginning to realize that he could not bestow her with his Bloodline through the Familiar contract.
He could now understand why the Devil and Demon lords he had only just learned about would hold battle royals to choose the best.
It was because they understood that the lower the purity of bloodline, the lower the starting point for the Familiar and thus it becomes an uphill battle to greatness.
This would only serve as a hindrance for the Master of said familiar as Bloodline purity was everything among Devils and Demons.
As Sassy sucked his blood, Hal could sense the evolution but could not sense its end.
He was so lost in thought that he did not even caution Sassy or ask her to stop. Unconsciously, he was actually a little over-eager and expectant that the Evolution be complete right there and then.
However, Sassy stopped on her own and Hal could feel that there was a limit she could take. She let out the equivalent of a yawn and when Hal opened the portal, she slithered through it quickly, in a hurry to take a nap.
Melinda walked towards Hal and he smiled towards her,
"It seems I woke you" he said.
"No you didn't, I was already awake" She said with a shake of her head and pulled a very willing Hal with her as she walked back to her room.
Hal chuckled mildly but in his mind, he was thinking of the possibilities of his Bloodline evolving Blood energy.
What if he went into the forest and made use of his Bloodline to evolve all wild beasts and Demon Beasts. He could create a whole new squad of dangerous subordinates.
Since the Haron Continent was bound to kill them all should they attempt advancement to the Aurora Beast realm, then why not become their hero and save them.
That way, even without the Devil mark, he could guarantee their allegiance.
His head was quickly getting filled with such thoughts as a cruel smile stretched on his face as he dreamed of how the conflict between the two continents could prove beneficial to him.
'Hold it right there, Dreamer' Grimoire suddenly cautioned.
'What?' Hal was indignant.
'Do you think, I had no idea your blood could facilitate evolution? Because if you do, then you are very wrong' Grimoire said.
Hal was a little confused,
'If you did then...' He began but Grimoire interrupted,
'Why did I not tell you? Simple, I knew you would get carried away. One beast's evolution is quite possible but attempting multiple could dry you up or at least take a long time to render the plan moot' Grimoire said.
'If that is so, then you must have a way around it. After all, no artifact could possibly know more than you' Hal said, throwing a few compliments in the mix.
'Of course, I do and your compliments don't move me' Grimoire said.
'Really? Cause I could have sworn you caught your breath' Hal teased, he had of course heard no such thing.
'Shut up. Anyway, the only way you can possibly do it is with the use of Blood replenishing pills.'
'Okay great. Do you have some and if you do, how much is it?' Hal asked, his enthusiasm was very evident.
Grimoire made the sound of someone clearing their throat and said smugly,
'Oh yes I do and it's 100 Blue gems per pill'
Hal blinked, that Grimoire had ready-made pills was not very surprising, after all, it contained ready-made arrays as well, the surprising part was its prize but with his wealth, Hal knew he could still afford it.
'Fine, I'll buy it then' he said.
'Umm, you can't buy it with its equivalent worth in gold, it has to be in blue gems' Grimoire said a little sheepishly.
'What?!' Hal exclaimed
'Them's the rules.'
'Is it the same for all items that are worth Blue gems?' Hal asked.
'No, it's not. It's only pertaining to a category and this just happens to fall into that category.' Grimoire informed him
'That's convenient' Hal scoffed with an eye roll.
'However, the recipe to make the pills, as well as its ingredients, can be bought with Gold' Grimoire added.
Even though that should have been good news, Hal's inability to refine pills ruined it.
Or it did before he remembered that there was an alchemist in the city, one who he could still seek an audience with. Suppose the Alchemist did not hold a grudge against him for ignoring them then,
All was not completely lost.
At this point, Melinda was at the side of the bed and pushed him onto it so that she could straddle him and nip at his neck.
Hal grabbed the nightgown-like dress she wore and tore it up to begin another round of lovemaking...
...
It was hours later before they stopped. They both sat cross-legged beside each other and refined the essence from their session as well as essence from past sessions.
Hal refined what he had gotten from Marla and Amelia as well but was still not any closer to the Mid-stage of the Cosmic Armament Realm.
Melinda on the other hand advanced to the late stage which would have happened already during their two-day (on the outside) orgy but was denied because of the increase in difficulty the further she went in cultivation.
It was with a deep sense of satisfaction that she lay back down on the bed. Hal followed her example and laid down as well.
He was tracing her areola while occasionally pinching her pink nipple when he spoke up,
"Gregory wants to make peace"
Melinda whose eyes had been closed contentedly suddenly opened them,
"Really?" She asked with surprise heavy on her tone of voice.
Hal nodded,
"Burt already told me while I was with Sassy but the letter arrived while we were having sex. The guard, with my permission, opened the letter and read its contents to me.
It's mostly false apologies but ultimately, he wants us to sit down and finally 'Hash' things out." Hal said with a mocking chuckle.
"We are going to go right?" Melinda said and turned on her side.
Hal grabbed one of her perfect breasts and squeezed lightly,
"Of course I am. It is high time we put this matter to bed. But there's something we need to do first before honoring his invitation or more accurately, something I would like you to do" Hal said with a smile.
Melinda narrowed her eyes,
"You are going alone?" She asked.
"Yes, I am" Hal nodded.
With his cultivation and Bloodline, Hal no longer feared Gregory and was quite sure beyond all doubt that he could beat him, but that was not enough...
Melinda was about to argue when Hal placed a finger on her lips,
"I'll be fine. What I need from you is more important. I don't just want to beat Gregory, I want to fulfill my promise.
I want to completely decimate him and the Payne Family."
Chapter 166 - Operation: Gatecrasher.
Bale Family Home...
San Fidwud finally arrived at the location of his hearing where the Plebeian leaders would try him for his poor planning that had cost them quite a lot the day before yesterday.
The day after his failure and the attack on the Fidwud Family Home, San had done a lot of reflecting and come up with a conclusion and a new philosophy.
As he alighted from his carriage and walked through the front gates while completely disregarding all those who stood there, no one could tell what was on his mind.
His expression seemed perfectly natural and could even be interpreted as acceptance of a situation he could not change.
In the meeting hall that had been selected, all the other Plebeian heads sat behind an inverted U-shaped Desk at the head of which, Bale sat with Tod by his side.
San walked into the hall and was quick to notice Bale smirk in his direction. Towards this, San had no response and simply sat in a chair that was in the middle of the inverted U.
The position made San seem more like a criminal on trial than anything else.
Evian who walked behind him was visibly upset by this sort of treatment but San once again was simply impassive and since he arrived, had not said a single word.
Bale felt comfortable with his silence as this made it seem as though San could feel the end of his designated leadership close at hand.
"San Fidwud. I believe you know why you are here" Bale said with an arch of his brow.
San looked quizzical,
"No, I don't. Why don't you enlighten me?" He said and Bale sneered at his denial,
"Really? You send so many Plebeian men to their death because of your incompetence and you are still so shameless as to act dumb?" Tod said.
The words were quite scathing but San's expression remained the same as he regarded Tod with his pearl black eyes,
"Sent so many Plebeian men to their deaths? Have you already forgotten that it was with my plan that we were able to deal the Great families such a huge blow?" He asked with a calm voice.
*Bam"
Bale hit the table with his palm,
"Compared to the lives your plans cost, your successes value next to nothing" he said.
The Plebeian heads agreed with him and San could tell that they had already decided on what to do so there was no need to let this go on for too long,
"Okay then, what now?" He asked.
Bale interlocked his hands and leaned forward,
"It's pretty simple actually. You surrender your role of designated leader to someone -anyone- more deserving" He said with his sneer becoming even more pronounced.
San narrowed his eyes,
"What about THAT plan?" He asked and it was clear from the expressions of the other Plebeian heads that they knew what he was talking about.
Tod cleared his throat,
"No one denies that that plan has merit but someone else will see to its implementation. All you need to do now is let your leadership role go" He said with a smirk.
San took a deep breath.
Not only were they trying to take away his power, they wanted to do so while keeping his brains or more accurately, his plans.
San gave a sneer of his own,
"No" he said.
Bale looked confused,
"What?" He asked.
San shrugged,
"I said, No, I won't give it up"
Tod sat forward,
"You do know that this is a formality, don't you? We don't really have to ask you to let go of a position that was never truly yours in the first place. It was never permanent. It was just to establish hierarchy.
Not to mention that you killed our messenger and are also guilty of gross disrespect"
San nodded at Tod's words as the man had made some valid points and was actually in line with San's new conviction.
"I know that the position was never permanent. Which is why I believe we should make it permanent. Until the end of the war when the Plebeians stand on top, I shall be the Plebeian leader"
Murmurs and conversations quickly broke out as many wondered if they had heard wrong.
"What nonsense are you speaking?" Asked one of the other Plebeian heads.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Asked another.
They could understand what San was saying and knew he was not saying he would vacate the position once the war was won, on the contrary, it was clear to them that he planned to continue lording over them.
San's eyes flashed,
"Do you wish to challenge me?" He was facing the Bale-Tod duo when he said this but the Plebeian heads knew he was talking to them all.
"And what if we are? Don't tell me you expect to win against all of us" Bale said and released the pressure of his Peak stage Cosmic Armament Realm cultivation base.
Tod did the same.
While not all of the twenty or so Plebeian leaders were at the Peak stage of the Cosmic Armament realm, with the majority of them at the Late-stage and the rest at the Mid-stage, San could not possibly win against them all.
Unless...
San's altered his position in the chair into a lounging one as a terrifying pressure extended from his form and bore down on all of them.
A Cosmic Phenomenon began to form around the Fidwud Family head who grinned from the joy of oppressing his fellow Plebeians.
At this point, Bale and Tod who were struggling and failing to resist the pressure bit their tongue in regret. They had been too forward, this Bastard,
This bastard was now at the Early Stage of the Cosmic Phenomenon Realm!
However, even if he could sense their regret, which he could, San did not care and sent a Cosmic attack to the two.
Except that it was not just a Cosmic attack, it was one that was infused with a Cosmic Phenomenon, which guaranteed that even letting out their Cultivation base in its entirety to repel the Cosmic attack, it would be of no consequence...
*Boom!*
...The attack hit into them and sent the two smacking into the building wall, so hard that they became encased in it.
The only reason they were still breathing was that the Cosmic attack had only been for impact and had not been to seek their lives.
And all this San had done with a wave of his hand.
Terrifying!
So this was the gap between the Cosmic Armament Realm and the Cosmic Phenomenon Realm.
The Plebeian heads could not help but a shiver when San's eyes gained them.
"Any more challenges? I will accept your challenge" San said in a forthright voice that caused the Plebeian heads to grit their teeth,
What a Bastard!
How could they still possibly challenge him now?
Seeing as none of them said a word and Bale and Tod were now unconscious (Damn weaklings), San sighed,
"I will take your silence as trust in my capabilities and I shall do my best to lead you right. Now I can finally take back the reins and initiate my plan;
Operation: Gatecrasher.
We have less than a week. I will summon you all soon. I hope you converge at Fidwud Family home then" San said as he stood from his chair and walked away from the hall.
As he did, his cruel smile faded and his face twisted into one of unbridled rage as he withdrew an envelope from his robes.
It was the envelope the Malevolent One had delivered to his home through his emissaries and once San opened the envelope, the letter had been projected just like at the Confluence.
The message had mostly been to gloat about the successful attack on the Fidwud family and to insult San for not being at home when the Emissaries came knocking by.
Also, the Malevolent One confessed to killing the Holgers or more accurately, bragged about it.
San was not quite sure he could believe that the Malevolent One was guilty of this as he was still convinced Hal Payne was guilty.
Except if Hal Payne and the Malevolent one were one and the same.
San shook his head as he sat in the carriage and it trudged back to the Fidwud Family home,
"That's not possible. That Malevolent bastard is just trying to mess with my mind"
Up until the moment, San still did not make the connection between Hal and the mysterious Malevolent One.
That said, he now felt that if he wanted to get to the Malevolent One, it would be through Hal who was most likely serving the mysterious figure.
Of course, this was a stretch but it was also the only lead San had at the moment.
...
In the afternoon of that same day...
Payne Estate...
Hal had just alighted a carriage at the front gate where the guards stood. When they saw him, they made no move to stop him and did not display any clear animosity.
However, Hal could still see their frown which was understandable considering the fact that the last time he was here, he came with Melinda who beat a lot of them up.
Not to mention that Hal himself had killed Rad Payne, their young Master on that day as well.
Hal could understand that, while they had been ordered not to show any hostility towards him, the guards could still not help it if the very sight on him infuriated them.
However, in regards to this, Hal could not care less.
At the end of today, who knew if any of them would be alive anyway.
At the top of the stairs leading to the entrance of the main building, the same stairs Hal had once punched Rad into, Gregory stood with his arms wide and a benign smile on his face,
"Welcome home, Son" He said in a seemingly proud voice.
Hal sneered in his mind,
'What a load of Crap!'
Chapter 167 - Why?!
While Hal cringed in his mind at Gregory's stupid attempt at false familiarity, he smiled at this father of his and ascended the stairs to stand before him.
"Father" he said with a false grin a well and spread his arms as though to give Gregory a hug.
The Payne Patriarch smirked in return as he chuckled at Hal's gullibility, after all, why else would he come here alone with no backup if he did not believe Gregory was truly all about making peace.
He spread his arms to receive the hug when Hal simply pushed him aside and walked into the Estate main building.
Leaving Gregory hanging.
'Alright then' Gregory thought and forced a smile as he followed after Hal who now seemed to be exploring the Estate Halls.
With his arms still spread, he twirled in the building as though he were reminiscing his time there.
Something Gregory knew was impossible.
Another explanation for what Hal was doing was that he was getting a feel of what would one day soon be his.
If that was so, then Gregory felt justified to call him a dreaming idiot.
"So, you called me here to make peace so I reckon you prepared refreshments." Hal said and at that time, Burt came around the corner.
He bowed first to Gregory and then gave a short curt bow to Hal. Just as would be expected of someone playing along with Gregory's scheme when they both did not agree with it and hated Hal to the bones.
"All is ready" he said and Gregory clapped his hands with a smile.
"That's good. Come on Son, right this way" he said and led the way to a cozy dining center that was intimately for the two of them.
Hal followed behind him with his ever-present false smile that put Gregory at ease, because, unlike Gregory, Hal's smile was flawless and looked perfectly genuine.
The little table in the intimate dining Hall was laden with sumptuous meals and delicacies. The meat of Demon beasts that were good for the body of a cultivator were also very abundant.
Hal sat at the chair and without waiting for Gregory to say anything, he made sure the food was clean of poison with his Astral sense and then he dug in.
While Hal's eating habits were quite refined, the fact that he did more wait for the man of the house, his father no less, was an act of disrespect.
Even then, Gregory forced himself to keep smiling,
"Well, dig in, My Son. All this was prepared just for you. Hahaha" he laughed boisterously and pulled a few dishes to himself.
Hal acted as though he had not heard him.
A few minutes passed in silence that was only broken by the occasional clinking of cutlery against plate and then Gregory broke the quiet,
"So listen, Son. A lot has happened in the last few months. A lot of it my fault and quite a few of it were your faults too" he said.
Hal said nothing and continued to munch down delicacies.
Gregory waited for a while but continued when he noticed Hal was not going to say anything,
"There has been too much Bloodshed in this family..." He said but Hal interrupted.
"There's only been one death" he corrected.
"Well, yes. But your Brother still counts as too much" Gregory said with an edge in his voice as he referred to Rad.
Hal chuckled,
"No, I don't think so. As far as bloodshed goes, I don't think Rad was important enough to count"
Gregory became indignant,
"He was your brother!" He exclaimed.
Hal smirked,
"Are you sure?" He asked.
Gregory narrowed his eyes and took a deep calming breath,
"Hal, I'm trying to let bygones be bygones" he said.
'Damn, he's so bad at lying, I could kill myself' Hal cringed.
"If that means I have to act like I did not enjoy killing that idiot, then I don't want bygones to be bygones" He told Gregory.
Gregory shook his head as he attempted to adopt the poise of a respectable elder,
"You are too focused on the past. You ignore that killing Rad is why you now have Lillian gunning for your life.
I want to mend fences but all I can see in your eyes is the desire to tear down everything I've built. I don't know how resourceful you are now but I'm sure very, does not cover it.
Even then, tearing down all my hard work is but a pipe dream. Why not come back home and let us work on leaving the past in the past and focusing on the future?"
Hal whistled in his mind,
'Okay, I take it back. This dude is good'
'I'll say. It's almost as though he's painting an image with his words' Grimoire agreed.
Gregory continued,
"Also, I can finally tell you about your mother and you can also see that she's the one that's really guilty of tearing this family apart"
Hal chuckled at Gregory's attempt to make someone else the scapegoat and make himself clean in the process,
"Wow, Greggy. You've really touched me with your words" Hal said with a sigh.
Gregory smiled but Hal was not done,
"But I don't want to hear anything right now. Also, I think it would be a shame for you to stretch a hand of friendship to me without having all the facts." Hal stood from his seat,
"Come on, there is something you need to see"
Gregory looked confused but stood to his feet as Hal walked out of the Main building to approach a carriage driven by Castor and was waiting for him in front of the gate.
"Hop in" he said.
Gregory looked skeptical and chanced a glance at Burt who was still following behind him.
Hal sighed,
"Of course, Burt can come"
Even after saying that, Gregory was still cautious.
"I can't believe you are this scared. Do you want us to make peace or not?" Hal said with impatience.
"I'm not scared of anything" Gregory said with confidence and boarded the carriage. He was still very confident in the fact that at the very least, Hal knew nothing about his true intentions.
Once all three were inside, the Carriage trudged along at a steady pace that was not too slow or too fast. Soon they were getting well past the high-end city locations and heading to the slums.
Then they were past the slums and leading towards a location most would scoff at and was known to be mostly uninhabited. Not even by the dregs of society.
But Gregory recognized this location and when the carriage began to ride up a steady slope and heading to a vantage point, there was no longer any doubt.
Quickly, he spread his senses out of the carriage and it confirmed it.
They were heading to the location where his true elites were training.
Then the carriage stopped and Hal alighted first. When Burt and Gregory came out of the carriage as well, they found that they were encased in an opaque Dome of Royal blue Astral energy.
They soon realized that the Dome not only blocked them from seeing Outside of it they could also not hear outside of it either. Gregory spread his senses and realized it also could not go past the Dome.
"What is the meaning of this?" He demanded.
Hal waved his hand up and down as though to placate him,
"Relax. I spent a lot of time on this. The least you could do is let me have my big reveal.
So you said we should let the past remain the past and focus on the future but I'm sorry, I cannot do that, 'Father'.
I made a promise to... myself and I cannot and will not break it."
Gregory suddenly had a bad feeling. This location along with this Dome that did not let him know what was happening...
"What promise?" He asked in a careful voice.
Hal smiled cruelly,
"See for yourself" he said and...
*Snap*
...with a snap of his fingers, the Dome became transparent.
Gregory sped to the boundary of the Dome and pressed his hands against it to look down at the valley where his elites were.
Other than two ladies who he could make out as Melinda (now golden-eyed) and the traitor maid Rita, everyone else he could make out in the crowd were his men.
So why...
Why...
Why were they killing each other?!!!
...
Let's back up to when Hal left the Mansion for Payne Estate and Rita and Melinda watched him leave. The latter did so with a pout.
Rita looked down at the map in her hands which Hal had given to them both so that they could find out where the Elites were and prepare things ahead.
"Let's go" Rita said and the two left for the location.
Once they arrived, they had to admit that Gregory could not have picked a better spot and he was a brilliant man to move his best men to this location.
All the men were training dedicatedly. Not just in cultivation but they were also honing their skills in hand-to-hand combat. With those at the Cosmic Armament Realm training with their Armaments.
With their incredible security, they caught Melinda and Rita quickly and led them into the hideout. As the two had not resisted, they had not been bound.
Not to mention, they were both great beauties.
Melinda and Rita were not worried as they had not really tried that hard to sneak in.
This was good enough.
"What are you doing here?" Asked one of them who seemed to be the leader and released his pressure to show he was at the Mid-stage of the Cosmic Armament Realm.
Melinda smiled sweetly,
"We bring news"
The leader looked confused,
"What news? Who are you?"
Rita smiled widely,
"Consider us two ladies with your best interest at heart, also,
You have traitors mixed in with your squad"
Chapter 168 - Traitors In The Midst. Part 1
The look on the leader's face was one of confusion and he could not be blamed. After all, what else was he supposed to do when two ladies practically walk into the camp/hideout he was overseeing and declare that there were traitors in his midst.
Luckily, the decision on what to do was taken from his hands by one of the guards standing by the ladies' sides,
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
The guard grabbed Melinda's arm and shook it slightly. Her light gold eyes flashed and she sneered lightly,
"Bill, calm yourself" said the other guard and Bill let go of Melinda's arm.
Even as he did so, the look Melinda gave him was still one that would have chilled him to the bones... had he seen it.
The guard that had cautioned Bill, took a deep breath and cocked his head in Rita's direction. His inquiry was clear and the lady continued with her ever-present smile,
"As I said, right in your midst, men are waiting for a signal to strike"
The leader's tongue could now loosen and many of the Elites of the Payne Family were already gathering themselves to watch the new arrivals.
Not just because of their news of traitors but mostly because they were a couple of lookers.
"What signal?" The leader asked slowly.
The guard named Bill looked shocked,
"You are actually entertaining this nonsense talk. You are actually going to let them sow discord among us.
Everyone here has been handpicked by Burt who is Lord Gregory's most trusted. To suspect them would be an insult to the patriarch" He said in a tone of outrage.
The leader turned to Bill,
"You think I don't know that? If these two are here and could even risk coming to our midst to attempt this, then I have no choice but to accept that there might be truth in their words.
No matter the insult..." He said and turned back towards the two ladies,
"... So I ask again. What is the signal"
This time, however, it was Melinda who answered and while she said it with a smile, it was with such a cold one that the two guards could not help but take a step back,
"The signal is us. The moment we arrived... That was the signal." She said and despite not infusing her voice with Cosmic Energy, all those that had gathered could hear her words quite clearly.
Some of them even shivered unconsciously at the coldness of those words.
And then, there was... Silence...
From the eyes of all those present, there was a desire for those words to not be true. Even though some had only just arrived at the hideout to be trained as part of the elites, no one wanted to doubt the other.
The reason was because the level of trust they had for one another had nothing to do with the duration of time they spent together. A small percentage of those that fill the Payne Elite forces were Paynes who did so for the greatness of their family.
Others were those that may not have born the Payne name but had been part of the family forces for generations.
Their agenda to make the Payne Family the greatest was only one of the things that bonded them. The main bonding agent was the trust Gregory Payne had in them by being chosen by his most trusted, Burt.
If there really was someone who had deceived Burt and was a traitor then it did not matter how long he had been with the squad because he could simply have deceived them too!
The leader's eyes narrowed. He was a Payne and had it not been for the great trust Gregory had in Burt, he might have as well become the second in command and be in the Butler's position. Albeit not as a butler.
While he was someone who regulated the training and kept everyone in line, it was far from being the position he truly wished for and the news that there were traitors in their midst... made sense to him.
In fact, he was willing to bet that Burt had something to do with the traitors making it so deep into the squad, and as such when the unrest began to swell among those that were gathered, the 'Leader' did nothing but watched.
"I..i...i...it can't be true, right?" Said one of the men and he chanced a glance at his neighbor whose eyes widened when he noticed the look and flared up,
"Are you accusing me of being a traitor?" He asked.
The other man nearly cowered, not out of fear, it would seem, but out of shame that he might have just unknowingly accused an innocent person.
He was about to apologize when he shook his head and held his ground,
"Well, I know I'm not a traitor. How should I know that you are not one?" He said and his neighbor's outrage visibly grew,
"I can say the same thing about you!" He yelled and quickly pointed at his neighbor to those that had begun to speculate their argument and then addressed them,
"He is a traitor. Let's hold him and I am sure we will get him to list the names of the others" he said and took his accusation a step further by grabbing the other man's hand.
In irritation, the one that was now being accused, let out his Peak stage Cosmic Pearl realm cultivation as he wrestled his hand out of the grip of his accuser.
In the process of doing so, a blast of his pressure pushed the accuser back and forced him to fall to the ground.
Angry at the insult of being pushed to the ground, he let out the pressure of his Cultivation base as well and it was revealed that they were both in the same realm.
One of the guards who had been securing Rita and Melinda quickly rushed to their middle,
"That's enough. Is just a few words really enough to turn you against each other because if that is so, I will kill you both right now" This guard said.
It was obvious from how many of those present differed to this guard that he was someone of status at the hideout, however, the two who were about to start a feud looked at him with annoyance,
"You'll kill us? Well, that settles things. If this is how you now wish to quell disagreements, then maybe... you're the traitor"
The guard was taken aback,
"What?" He said with wide eyes and was about to refute when the other party of the developing feud spoke up as well,
"That makes sense. The traitors will obviously be those of power at the hideout. Those that can have a heavy impact on the events of the hideout.
These men of status are those that should be looked into" he said and relaxed his stance.
Those who heard his accusation looked confused,
The men of status were mostly those with the Payne name.
Was this young man really insinuating that the Paynes were betraying their own family?
While they pondered on this and the unrest continued to grow, someone else that had been quiet so far, spoke up, his speech directed to the quiet leader,
"I concur with that observation. Look at that man. He's supposed to be in charge but he had been quiet ever since it practically started"
No one bothered to really search for who had spoken (as it was mostly his voice that was heard), instead, they saw merit in his words and converged on the Man-in-charge.
Seeing their hostility as they began to surround him, the 'Leader' could not help himself and let out a blast of Cosmic Energy in the form of a Cosmic attack.
It was not deadly, but it did its job of repelling the mob but it was when that happened that things took a turn for the worst.
"Get back!" The leader said, "Let's not get carried..."
"Ahhh... Someone is dead!" A yell interrupted the leader and when attention was directed to the noise, there really was someone dead.
His neck was broken!
Quickly, many turned to their neighbors as similar yells sounded from somewhere else in the mob.
Some that had been in their camp, cultivating or taking a break to have a meal were flooding out due to the commotion.
And others who decided to check up on those they knew on a personal basis, either found them dead or found bodies in their camp with they themselves missing.
In the situation of the latter, once they found the missing individual whose hands would usually be stained with blood, a conflict would break out with both sides convinced of the other's guilt.
Due to the fact that it was after the 'Leader's Cosmic attack repellent that bodies were found, some soon became convinced that, those men of status might actually be the culprits and so they attempted to exit the limits of the hideouts.
Alas, at that moment, an Array Dome suddenly blocked any exit and when all eyes directed to the leader who was looking up to observe the Dome that seemingly appeared from out of nowhere, they found a Rune scroll in front of him.
"He's locking us in so that he and the men of status can kill us. This is what those ladies were here to warn us about" said one of those that were denied exit.
"I didn't do this" the leader was quick to deny but no one was listening.
"You are surely too proud if you really believe you can defeat us all just because you're at the Cosmic Armament Realm" said another and just like that, he and many others let out their Cosmic Pearl Realm cultivation base and attacked.
Meanwhile, While they attacked the 'leader' as a group, the others who could no longer exit the hideout grounds and were finding more dead bodies felt desperate and began to attack their neighbors.
The urge and desire to survive drove them all and the whole hideout, trapped by a transparent Array Dome descended into chaos.
Meanwhile, the first two to engage each other in conflict moved towards Melinda and Rita, where they were still being watched by guards who seemed intent on staying away from the sudden turmoil...
Chapter 169 - Traitors In The Midst. Part 2.
The guards that secured Melinda and Rita were trying their very best to stay away from the conflict but it was easier said than done.
With the Array boundary blocking their path, there was only so much they could do. And yet...
...all through that time, Melinda and Rita's expressions remained perfectly natural, in fact, they seemed to be enjoying themselves.
But why won't they?
They instigated this after all.
That said, the guards wondered how they could have started all this.
All they did was say there were traitors in their midst and while that might have been true, it was far from being enough to cause all this chaos, unless...
...unless they had been completely truthful from the start and their arrival had really been the signal.
If so, then the traitors were obvious, it had to be the first two to engage in an altercation because their argument was what started the domino effect.
Now that they thought about it, the argument timing was way too convenient.
It was while they were having these thoughts that the two subjects of their skepticism showed up and made a beeline to where they stood with the instigators.
As one, the guards relaxed their stance of protecting the ladies and instead stood firmer to stop the two who were obviously the culprit, and then...
*Slash* *Thud*
*Stab* *Whump*
First, there was the sound of a swinging blade that was quickly followed with the thud of a decapitated head and after that was the sound of a sword going through the body of another and was quickly followed by the sound of the falling body.
Quickly the other guards leaped away from the sound before turning to see the two ladies holding their cosmic Armaments in a loose manner by their sides.
The situation soon posed a dilemma to the guards. From behind, the two who they now believed to be traitors were moving ever closer while the ladies were looking quite dangerous as well.
However, they soon decided which of the two sides were of more importance.
It was the ladies.
Clearly, both were at the Cosmic Armament Realm as opposed to the two men who had showcased already that they were at the Cosmic Pearl realm, albeit the peak stage.
The guards summoned their Cosmic Armaments and let out their Early-stage Cosmic Armament Realm cultivation while blasting cosmic attacks at the two men behind.
As the two were weaker than they were, the guards merely sent a Cosmic attack and focused their attention on Melinda and Rita who smiled and flicked their Armaments at them in challenge.
The moment the guards dashed forward to attack however, two of them found fists protruding from the front of their chests.
Granted they died soon after.
As their bodies became limp, it was clear to the guards who turned to observe, that something was being absorbed from their bodies and once it was absorbed completely, the fists retracted and their bodies fell...
...to reveal the faces of the culprits who turned out to be the arguing men. But this time, their eyes were Blood red and incredibly fiendish.
"What the hell?"
One of them was quick to exclaim but the Blood Knights did not seem particularly interested in introducing themselves as they moved forward very swiftly to attack more guards.
Melinda and Rita quite easily took care of any guards they could not get to or had not gotten to.
The Blood essence of all those killed became nourishment for the Blood Knights.
Of course, these two were not the only Knights in the mob and many others blended with the rioting mob while absorbing the essence of anyone who died in the conflict.
The easy way to pinpoint the Knights was to look for those who, regardless of their expression (which can be very misleading) were not really fighting for survival and were merely content with killing those who got too close.
*BOOOOOMMM!!!!*
The sound was sudden and with it came the heavy repelling of so many Payne forces away from the 'Leader' and with their repelling came the complete unleashing of his Mid-stage Cosmic Armament Realm Cultivation base.
A level of strength he had been very happy and proud to achieve as it finally put him on par with Burt and maybe get him the position of Gregory's right-hand man.
In fact, that was merely going to be the starting point as his final aim was to become patriarch.
The moment he was free of those that had assaulted him, the 'Leader' zeroed in on Melinda and immediately ran forward to attack her.
At that time, the guard (who we shall call mediator) who had tried to quell the first conflict that had been planned between the two Blood Knights also broke free and dashed towards Rita.
Things were already out of hand, so maybe killing these two ladies who were the instigators could finally bring order. At the very least, it might cause people to calm down long enough for him to finally get some words in.
He had just passed by Melinda and the 'Leader' when the former let out the pressure of her Late-stage Cosmic Armament Realm cultivation base and forced the latter to his knees.
The 'Leader' attempted to lift himself but it was all in vain.
Melinda hardly spared him a glance as she swung her sword and cut off his head.
It was that easy.
The shock Mediator experience from witnessing such a domineering and effortless execution caused him to pause... at least until Rita stabbed at him and he quickly parried.
Despite the two of them sharing the same realm (Mid-stage Cosmic Armament Realm), Rita still dominated their battle and very soon, his corpse joined that of the 'Leader' and many others.
Once both the 'Leader' and the Mediator were dead, Melinda and Rita simply stood by once again and watched the events unfold.
The Blood Knights returned to the mix and more Men of status fell to their brutal attacks but it all mostly went unnoticed as everyone in the hideout still continued to strike everyone and everything that moves.
"It looks... Beautiful" Melinda said and it was clear that she was not just saying that.
The way the men went out of their way to kill one another was something she really appreciated.
Rita turned a fraction in her direction and while she might not have used the same words, she did admit that it was quite a sight.
It was this view, with Melinda and Rita being mere bystanders and the Payne forces fighting and killing one another, that Gregory Payne saw from atop the hill that he, Hal and Burt stood.
His hands were shaking and soon it was his entire body that shivered as he saw many more of his Payne Kinsmen (The Men of status) and his Elites kill more of each other.
He turned away from the scene and faced Hal who was grinning widely.
Gregory shed all of the benevolent looks he once held and reverted to his look of pure anger.
"Now there is the Gregory Payne I know and hate. Where have you been all this while 'Father'?"
Hal said with a cackle that despite being Malevolent still made him look handsome.
Gregory was fuming,
"What have you done, you son of a witch?"
Hal blinked,
"Are you retarded or something? It should be clear to you what I've done" he said with a disappointed shake of his head and Gregory clenched his fists but Hal was not done and continued,
"Your men have been instigated to fight and kill one another because they have been told there is a traitor in their midst. Which is true"
Gregory snarled,
"That's impossible. Everyone is either a Payne Kinsman or someone handpicked by me or by... Burt"
As Gregory said the name of his butler, something seemed to dawn on him and he looked to his right-hand man with wide eyes,
"Ah-ha, it seems you've finally realized something. Took you long enough..." Hal was saying when Gregory's loud yell interrupted him,
"Burt! You're the traitor?" He asked in disbelief.
Burt said nothing but looked to the ground.
Gregory began to regret at that moment that he had not enlisted a Payne Kinsman to be his right-hand man, they were bound to be more trustworthy!
If only he had known that it would have made no difference and his situation would very likely still be the same.
*Clap*
Hal clapped his hands once as he said,
"Enough chitchat. The longer this goes on, the more Payne Elites die and the best way for you to quell the unrest would be to kill me which would free you from this Dome.
And then, you can attack the Dome that is trapping and causing your men to be so desperate as to kill each other. In fact, just them seeing you might go a long way"
Hal said in a thoughtful tone of voice like he really only wanted to help.
Gregory looked to the traitor Burt and the carriage driver Castor who was still on the carriage and was most likely an expert,
"It's going to be three on one" he growled.
Hal shook his head and the Dome shrunk to only contain the two of them, leaving the other two on the outside,
"No, it's going to be one on one. A fight to the Death.
Let's finally settle things.
Also, I feel it would be quite fitting..." He said.
Gregory looked confused,
"Fitting?" He asked.
Hal nodded,
"Yes Fitting. You once told Rad to fight me to the death just because you did not want to consider my return to the Payne Family and as you can't possibly forget, Rad died.
It's only fitting that you fight me to the death to atone for that, Don't you agree?"
Chapter 170 - Richochet!
It was quite an understatement to say that Hal's words dug up old wounds and they were far from being memories Gregory wanted to remember.
However, looking closely at his situation and how much thought Hal had put into trapping him and making it so his only means of escape was a fight to the death, he had to admit,
Yes, it truly was fitting.
He was far from being overconfident.
From what he had heard of San and Hal's battle (which was not that much) while Hal had been able to hold out against the much stronger man, it was only due to his implementation of Runes.
Then again, the little he had heard had been fed to him by Burt who had 'gone out to source for information', and could all have been lies to make him lower his guard.
All the same, Gregory knew, he needed to be careful of Hal's prowess as a Rune Master so as not to fall victim to the same strategy of using multiple Binding minding Runes to hold him in place, that Melinda had once used against him.
Gregory stretched his right hand and summoned his purple Broadsword Cosmic Armament. He was laser-focused and no longer interested in engaging Hal in any talk.
The Dome they were in, being transparent, the battle between the two would have the audience of Burt and Castor right on the outside and Melinda and Rita looking upon it from the valley.
The ladies could see it all clearly, of course, thanks to their incredible eyesight.
Hal summoned his straight and serrated edged Cosmic Armament and with the appearance of the Royal blue sword came the complete unleashing of Hal's Early-stage Cosmic Armament Realm Cultivation.
And just like that...
... It began.
...
Horst Manor
Amelia had finally returned home and she had not returned alone. She came along with Marla who Hal agreed some time away from him would do some good.
Much to Marla's annoyance.
She could still remember when he had said it:
"Can I come too?" She had asked him.
"No, you can't. Melinda and Rita will take care of it. There's no need for you to be part" Hal had replied.
She pouted with dissatisfaction,
"But I won't be in any danger. Melinda and Rita will take care of me" she had insisted.
Hal turned to her and said with a light smile,
"While that might be true, I see no reason why you should be there. Amelia is returning to Horst Manor today so why don't you go with her? Build up your newfound friendship"
Amelia had looked surprised when he mentioned her name, it would seem as though she had no idea she would be returning home on that day.
When she opened her mouth to speak, she ended up closing it again.
Hal was right and much as she would have loved to stay at the mansion, going back home seemed the right thing to do.
And so here they were, in the relaxation hut at Horst Manor, entertaining themselves with a game of chess while Hal finally took care of his father.
They were both quite annoyed at being left out, but the strategic game was still quite interesting and engaging to them.
"So... Have you spoken to your father?" Marla asked tentatively.
She had been there when Amelia had attempted to speak to Ford but was told he was quite busy.
Since then, Amelia had gone to try and speak to him again and each time was turned away. Her mother, Emily, was also deep in cultivation retreat.
"You know I haven't" Amelia said with a sigh as she made a bold move with her Knight.
Marla sighed as well. She had to admit that she was starting to believe Ford was avoiding Amelia and while she could not really understand why Ford would do so, there was still the possibility that he really was busy.
She decided to table the discussion for now as Amelia's bold move paid off and she captured one of Marla's rooks.
Looking at the pieces on the board, Marla was obviously losing but she did not mind. She was only starting to learn the strategic pastime.
Marla cast a furtive glance at Amelia,
"So, I heard you want Hal to..." She started to say but stopped when Amelia suddenly glanced up at her.
"Yea I do" Amelia said with a smile "Do you find that strange?'
"Yes, undoubtedly. But that hardly means anything to me because I find it nice" Marla said with a smile.
Amelia chuckled and then stared off into the distance,
"I wonder how it's going" she said with a deep sigh that made her seem as though she were worrying.
Marla on the other hand was not overly concerned,
"Oh, he'll be fine" she said.
"You sound very confident of that" Amelia said.
"Of course I am. Hal can do anything" She said with a grin.
...
Meanwhile...
*Bang!*
Hal and Gregory were separated by the force of the collision of their attacks.
From the get-go, Gregory unleashed what could be argued to be his strongest attack; Third grade Skill: Raptor strike.
It was an attack whose effects Hal was able to negate successfully with his Beetle shell skill and retaliate with a Cosmic attack which Gregory in turn had been able to cancel out with ease.
While it might have looked as though they were at a stalemate, Gregory actually had the upper hand.
But all that changed when Hal moved in close and engaged in close combat.
Since the fight with San, Hal knew for certain, what he should look out for when fighting those of the older generations, which was their pool of experience.
However, this time around, Hal had no interest in putting himself on the back foot.
While he had no intention of relying too much on his Bloodline, that did not in any way mean he was not going to use some of his Bloodline abilities to tweak things in his favor.
And he would have been a fool if he planned to do anything otherwise because if there was something Gregory had shown by using a Third-grade skill from the very start, it was that he was going after Hal's life.
Which was understandable since this was a Deathmatch.
Or at least, it was a Deathmatch for Gregory.
Hal had no intentions of killing the Payne Patriarch.
Injuring him terribly was very much on the table just as beating him to an inch of death, but he felt it would be a little redundant to simply kill him.
From how Gregory had reacted to Rad's death as well as how much speaking of it still hurt him (despite how much he sometimes strived to hide it), Hal knew Gregory was always going through Emotional turmoils.
Anyway,
The moment they crossed blades, Gregory tried to not only use the complete might of his Cultivation base to strike Hal down but also made use of the disparity in the weight of their weapons.
While Cosmic Armaments were constructs of cosmic energy, that did not mean they all weighed the same or had the same characteristics.
On the contrary, it was because of how different they could be that all Cultivating experts choose to form Armaments that suited them.
Gregory bore down on Hal and was succeeding in pushing the younger man down when Hal's eyes went from blue to complete nightmarish Black (Sclera and all) while releasing small bursts of fog.
Looking into those eyes alone caused Gregory to shiver unconsciously but he refused to back down and only strove to apply more pressure.
Alas,
Hal's body began to emit dark fogs as well and with their appearance, his physique was boosted so much that he was able to stand his ground in the face of Gregory's Peak stage Cosmic Armament Realm strength.
Once he was no longer being forced back, Hal lifted one of his legs off the ground...
*Bam!*
...and kicked Gregory in the stomach to send the Payne Patriarch smacking into the Done boundary.
The Dome tried to force him forward and it would have succeeded because of the repulsing force that acted on Gregory's body upon contact but the older man resisted the force... and the decision had caused his internal organs to fall into disarray.
He held back a Blood sput because the only reason he had resisted the repulsing force was because he knew that once he was down on the ground, Hal would have the opportunity to seize the upper hand.
Which could have disastrous life-losing consequences during a fight to the death.
Even so, Hal still slashed at him with his Sword from a distance and used it as a medium to send a Cosmic attack to his prone form.
Easily he dodged the full brunt of the attack by moving away just in time but he had forgotten to account for the repulse factor of the Array Dome which apparently had the same effect on Cosmic attacks.
*Bang!*
Was the sound the cosmic attack made with Gregory's body as it struck him in the back from the ricochet.
Gregory groaned as he put great effort into staying upright. He could not help but thank his lucky stars that the Cosmic Attack's effects had been lessened from its contact with the Dome,
Because if that attack had been fully charged and hit in at such point-blank range, standing upright to defend himself would be but a pipe-dream.
Hal could tell what Gregory was thinking and it only made him chuckle to himself,
"Oh Greggy, you haven't seen anything yet"
He said and slashed his sword again to send another Cosmic attack directly at Gregory who quickly surrounded himself with cosmic Energy before he realized Hal was not targeting him, but the Dome instead!
The attack hit the Dome and by the time Gregory realized the ploy, the attack already ricocheted and was too late to avoid.
*BANG!!!*