With the alliances made, the shifting of power in the Lowlands was changing. It was the first time that Mezal could feel it.
"So this is Molding...?" He couldn't help but smile. The Favor of Fate was changing.
The rewards that Mezal received caused him to level up in his Fate challenger. The mysterious power was enhancing his ability to sense it. At that time, he could sense that the Fate of those Viscounts in front of him was changing. The Fate of some was changing for the better, while others for the worst.
"So my offer will cause a few to fall into deep strife, eh? It seems my sons and the Coven will be busy saving these Viscounts." Mezal was growing excited. He had been living his life guessing and plotting. He even kept to himself and wouldn't tell his family members what the plans were. But now, it was clear. It was as if he was standing in front of a great chessboard, and all the people before him were pawns and pieces in his goal to turn the Steele family into a powerful force.
"It seems that our destiny does not lie in the Lowlands." Mezal softly muttered amidst the clamoring crowd who wanted to secure a slot for the Force Paladin training.
Ordeus watched from afar and was starting to grow wary of Mezal.
"If you don't want him, give him to me." Drake approached the side.
"You really think that he's telling the truth about everything?"
"You chose to believe him when he was an ally, but now that his power has grown to a point where you can't control him, you accuse him of betrayal?"
"..." Ordeus couldn't answer.
"He is telling the truth. I know because the Eldrich approached me." Drake moved along.
Ordeus was startled at wanted to call out but saw that Drake was headed towards Mezal.
"Was that... why he talked to him...?" Ordeus pondered.
"Regardless... Mezal's importance just keeps on rising by the minute. If Kattarax wants to grow stronger, they must favor the Steele family if they are alive!" Ordeus decided.
As Mezal continued to wield the will of the Lowlands, Kyros had already reached the town. He had separated the Coven and made them move.
Myas waited in the dark cave.
"What was that?" She cried.
"Don't worry. There's no one who knows of this Path. With what's been going on, no orcs would venture this far, much less use this secret route." Gregory assured.
"But the sound!"
"Child, you heard nothing. You're just tired." One of the slaves assured.
"He's right." Gregory added.
"I'm a vampire, so my senses are much stronger. If there was an orc or a beast nearby, I'd be able to smell it. Ever since Lord Kyros defeated that large orc, my ability to detect blood has gotten stronger." Gregory smiled.
"That's true. The vampire town I served in could not be raided or stolen since the vampires could sense them. They, of course, pretended not to be vampires to draw more bandits and thieves. It was their way of feeding themselves." The old woman chuckled.
"But your master is rather strong. To think that they could kill that beast." The old woman praised.
"You've seen nothing yet. The Steele family will be a major power in the Lowlands. I assure you."
"And we will be servants to this family. How exciting!" The old woman smiled.
It was then that Gregory received a message.
"Gregory, we've scouted the area and confirmed that there are no orcs nearby. Go with the team and get some food from the abandoned town nearby." Kyros ordered.
"Everyone. I'll be going. I'll get us some food to eat. It seems we have more missions in Airom Logat." Gregory explained as he dashed heroically outside the cave.
"See you later." Gregory gave a gallant wave and rushed outside.
Hours passed, and the night approached. The bright moon illuminated the mountain to the delight of the orcs. The light would be their ally against the darkness.
The news that Grugnyr delivered had already reached the major towns in the region, and everyone was warned. The smaller villages evacuated the area to move to other villages.
The Coven had already taken food from the empty villages, and anything of value was also taken. Then, after getting what they needed, the Coven brought all the food back to the slaves.
Kyros stood out on the outskirts of a well-defended town. The sweat in his back kept dripping as he ran for hours to get here.
The orc town was busier than the human town in Airom Logat. More guards surrounded the area, and even the orc villagers took arms and had weapons nearby.
"So what are we going to do? You're going to have your Coven attack the outpost tomorrow morning, but you will deal with the night?"
"Yup. I need to make the name of Cracky Batcheeks resound in this region. After we attack this place, we make it look like Cracky Batcheeks is the source of the Blood Calamity. It has to be a huge commotion. So I plan on killing and drinking in this town until level up."
"So this is why you asked Grugnyr which town you could level."
"Right. I don't want to hurt his feelings. He is going to be an important figure in the soon-to-rise orc kingdom that we will support."
"But wouldn't a massacre of this level draw the attention of the Greater Gods or the Fallen?"
"Exactly. I feel that destiny will not take me for granted and will send Fallen and God's to our midst. So instead of waiting for Fate or Destiny to send Saints or Gods towards us, I'll be leaving a fake trail to keep them distracted."
"But this place is too close to the Temple!"
"The trail won't just end here. Cracky Batcheeks will appear on many places. After we finish everything here at the Temple, I will go back and settle my upgrades and level-ups. But after that, I plan to go on a trip. With my family now capable of Fate Challenger, me being with them will stunt their growth. If I am with them, they won't face any problems. They have Fate Challenger as well. The more of that in one area, the easier it will be to overcome Fate. They have to go through immense hardships without me."
"Bruh. This is like the classic cliche in most novels where the main character goes on a long trip and returns just in time to save the family which is on the brink of trouble."
"My family is not that weak that requires me to save them. And besides, if they do face something more than they can handle, I can teleport directly to the Temple."
"But Destiny's curse! If you're gone, your father and mother might..."
"I am luring Destiny to make his move, Calaminus. That's my plan. I'll discuss this with my family once we get back. They have to overcome Destiny on their own. They are all going to be together soon. And in the Temple, I'll tell them all about their future."
"You're becoming as cruel as Fate."
"It's for our own good. Now, what's the best way to attack this town? How do I leave the mark of Cracky Batcheeks?" Kyros spied on the entire orc town and counted the number of orcs.
"You should fight naked."
"What the fragment?!"
"I mean, you ARE the Naked Offender!"
"I am not fighting naked!"
"Why not? If things get a little dicey, you could equip the Cloak of Shadow and the Vermillion armor by marking it."
"No way!"
"But how will you be known as the Naked Offender if you won't fight naked?"
"I'll shout it, declare it and announce it at every kill!"
"Really? That won't work. If Batman were to appear and deliver his line, 'I'm Batman,' but he's wearing a red iron costume, people won't remember him as Batman but call him Iron Man. And that's a very confusing hero. The clothes make the name, Kyros! In this case, having no clothes makes you the Naked Offender."
"No way am I fighting naked!"
"But you have to admit there is logic in my words."
"There is nothing but perversion and insanity in your words! If I want to be known as the Naked Offender, I can strip my enemies after killing them!"
"Now that's ridiculous. You'd be known as Cracky Batcheeks the Disrober!" Calaminus insisted.
"Shut up! I don't have to listen to you!"
Kyros finally ran towards the town and activated his Dark Cloak.
Kyros brought out the stats of his Dark Core.
---
Nephilim Dark Core
Hello Darkness, my old friend.
Through the awakening of several Fallen inheritances and the powers of Mysterion, the Primordial Darkness is birthed in this Nephilim Core.
Magic Points- 30 (Increases at every level increase of Kyros)
May recover mana by absorbing dark or death energy.
---
Kyros smiled and loved his new weapon. The darkness that covered him flowed to his dark cloak.
[Synch Dark Cloak and Bloodied Sword with Nephilim Dark Core?]
A prompt appeared.
Kyros selected yes.
At the front of the orc town, archers and orc magi stood and watched.
Their expressions were all serious. The appearance of the orc that survived the vampire calamity brought in a repulsive head of an outrageous monster. Its form, and the dark powers leaking from it caused the town to panic. Request were made to send more orcs to the region to guard against this Blood Calamity.
"You think it will attack this town?" An orc asked his captain.
The level twenty-three orc wielding a large bone blade nodded.
"Vampires like that orc are given to their mad thirst. Our plans of evacuating will force these vampires to attack towns. And this is the town where a lot of blood is gathered. Those creatures will emerge here."
"I see. Captain, how strong is this vampire?"
"We don't know. But no matter how strong they are, we are prepared, and we are more!"
At that moment, a strange void, as if a black rock was floating towards them. The moon was bright that night and caused all of the orcs to see it.
A dark being coated in darkness with long horns and wings stepped out of the void as the black energy dispersed.
"You dare... resist?" Kyros laughed.
The sourc𝗲 of this content is fre(e)webnovel