As the bustling preparations for Michael and Gaya's wedding filled the air, Michael sought solace within his forge located deep within the heart of the demon's grave. Here, amidst the flickering glow of molten metal, he dedicated his craftsmanship to fashioning something truly special for his beloved. The distant rumble of the relocated mountain, containing his cherished herbal garden, still echoed in his ears as he focused on his work.
Vedora, the three-headed hydra, coiled upon a nearby table, its heads observing Michael's every move with unwavering attention. Ayag, the white-headed head of the hydra, emanated an aura of raw energy, occasionally punctuating the air with colorful expletives. Sarba, the silver-headed middle head, possessed a gentle and meek disposition, rarely displaying anger. And Cain, the black-headed head, exuded an air of silent cunning and unmatched intellect.
As Michael stoked the fires of the forge, the searing heat bringing beads of sweat to his brow, Vedora's multiple heads swayed in unison, their eyes fixated on the intricate dance of flames.
Ayag's voice dripped with a mixture of skepticism and frustration as she addressed Michael, her tone laced with disbelief.
"So, it's finally fuckin' happening, huh? The Guardian Guild's gonna be wiped out. But why the hell did you give 'em two days? Wouldn't it be more efficient to catch 'em off guard and attack without warning?"
Michael, his focus undeterred, carefully lifted a cauldron brimming with shimmering golden liquid, its warmth radiating through the air. With a calm demeanor, he replied to Ayag's questioning, his voice steady yet tinged with an underlying intention. "I want to give those who wanna leave the guild a chance."
Ayag's brows furrowed in suspicion, her eyes narrowing with a newfound sense of curiosity. "Why the hell do I get the feelin' that you've got somethin' else up your sleeve?" she pressed, her voice laced with skepticism.
Cain, ever observant and quick to interject, spoke up in place of Michael, his tone carrying a hint of intrigue. "There's another force at play here, Ayag."
Michael paused his work momentarily, a knowing smile gracing his lips as he acknowledged Ayag's bewildered expression. "You caught on, huh?" he remarked, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.
Ayag, still grappling to comprehend the depth of the situation, blurted out her question, her voice laden with confusion. "What other force are you talkin' about?" she inquired, her tone revealing her utter cluelessness.
Michael's voice cut through the air, his words steeped in gravitas as he unraveled a truth that left Ayag stunned. "Nightmare's death didn't happen by chance. It was orchestrated, someone pulling the strings behind the scenes. They wanted to pin the blame on Noah and Norvin."
Ayag growled in disbelief, his voice laced with surprise and a touch of anger. "What the fuck do you mean they put the blame on Norvin? Our fuckin' spies in Winston Manor said Norvin claimed he stabbed Nightmare in a fit of rage!"
Michael, his hammer striking the cooled golden liquid with precision, maintained his focus as he clarified the truth.
"Noah and Norvin both have this idiotic rule against killing. They believe in it wholeheartedly, even if it puts 'em at a disadvantage. Noah wouldn't have taken Nightmare's life, especially not after we saved his father. He'd try to incapacitate Nightmare, use his power to lock his cultivation, and end the fight without killin' him."
"So, you're sayin' someone else killed Nightmare and put the blame on Norvin? But here's the fuckin' thing that doesn't make sense—why the hell would Norvin take the blame, knowin' that claimin' he killed Nightmare would piss us off enough to wipe out their whole fuckin' kingdom?"
Michael's work paused momentarily, his eyes meeting Ayag's as he conveyed his understanding. "Norvin betted on the fact that I can't kill Noah without the god-killing arrows. He thought if he placed Noah in Nagaland, we wouldn't attack 'cause it's Gaya's homeland. But he didn't anticipate that Gaya would prioritize avengin' Nightmare over her kingdom. The same force behind Nightmare's death manipulated Norvin into leavin' Noah's side. Otherwise, he wouldn't have done it."
The rhythm of Michael's hammer resumed, the metallic clang reverberating through the forge as he continued his work. The process of forging a special gift for Gaya unfolded alongside their conversation, each strike of the hammer adding to the creation of a symbol of their love.
As sparks flew and metal took shape, the weight of the revelations settled upon them all. Emotions churned within them, a mix of anger, confusion, and determination. The path to justice was laid bare before them, and they vowed to unravel the truth behind Nightmare's death and protect those who had been wrongly accused.
"Think about it. How could Saber lose the trail of a mere human? Someone must've helped Hammond disappear," Michael stated calmly, his voice tinged with a hint of intrigue.
Ayag's anger flared as she responded, her voice laced with frustration. "So when the fuck did you come to this conclusion? Before or after Gaya launched a fuckin' full-scale attack on her homeland, killin' Castien and crippin' her sister?"
Michael's expression remained composed as he answered, a subtle smirk playing on his lips. "Long before that, Ayag. Whoever the hell they are, they know damn well they can't face me directly. That's why they choose to work from the shadows. But they seem to have forgotten that I control the god of darkness, the very essence of shadows. Let them think they have the upper hand. Let them think they stand a chance. After all, it'd be boring without some opposition in this game of schemes," Michael declared, a wry smile curling on his lips.
Snatching the metal piece from the forge, Michael plunged it into cold water, steam hissing and dissipating into the air. The calmness in his voice belied the gravity of his words. "Every time I'm in a battle, they send more and more people to die by my hands, even though they know they can't match my power. If I'm right, they're planning some fucked up shit with the souls of the people we kill,"
The mention of souls made Vedora's minds race, their thoughts instantly conjuring images of an army of glowing souls under the night sky, poised to take down the dark army they had worked tirelessly to build. Yet, upon witnessing the calm smile on Michael's face, a sense of reassurance washed over them.
"Okay, hold the fuck up. What the hell makes you think they're buildin' an army of souls? Is that what you're implyin'?" Ayag furrowed her brow, her frustration was evident.
"They were harvesting demon bodies in the demon's grave and fucking undead from the nether realm. And the only explanation for why no powerful cultivator interjected every time I fought an army is 'cause they let me kill all those people," Michael explained, his tone matter-of-fact.
Ayag interjected, her skepticism apparent. "We can't fuckin' rule out the fact that Xanali is as dumb as a sack of shit."
Michael chuckled, a brief respite from the seriousness of the conversation. "True, but it wasn't Xanali who ruled Nagaland. It was Salesi, her mother. And Salesi was nowhere to be found when we attacked Nagaland. According to Gaya and the intel we got from our minions, Salesi is not stupid."
Sarba's curiosity was piqued as he posed a question. "If she's such a genius, then why the hell did Nagaland decline under her rule?"
Michael's response was laden with contemplation. "What if that was her intention all along?" he pondered aloud, his question hanging in the air.
Frustration and confusion etched on Sarba's face as he absorbed Michael's words.
"I don't have any proof to support my theory, but I've reached a point where I don't need concrete evidence. Once Aria's assassins find Salesi, I'll get the goddamn answers straight from her," Michael declared coldly, his eyes gleaming with determination as he retrieved the metal piece from the oil.
"So let's say they are indeed building an army of souls, and I don't even know how the hell that shit works. What the fuck are you gonna do about it, huh? Are you gonna stop killin' anything that stands in your way and turn to goddamn democracy?" Ayag sneered, her sarcasm dripping from every word.
Michael, focused on his forging, responded calmly, his words punctuated by the rhythmic clanging of the hammer. "They're not building an army for themselves, Ayag. They're building an army for me. They just don't know about it," He continued his work, the metal piece slowly taking shape beneath his skilled hands.
Michael harbored two intertwined plans in his relentless pursuit of the truth. The first plan revolved around unearthing the complete extent of his suspicion: the existence of an army of souls being constructed by his adversaries. Once he confirmed the presence of such an ethereal force, his second plan would seamlessly come into play, ingeniously utilizing the powers bestowed upon him by the system to claim the army of souls as his own.
However, caution was paramount. Michael understood the delicate balance between maintaining secrecy and his enemies' perception of his suspicions. If they were to suspect his awareness of their sinister machinations, they would swiftly pivot to an alternate strategy. Thus, feigning ignorance became an integral aspect of his design. By appearing oblivious to their hidden agenda, his enemies would continue to dispatch armies, unknowingly presenting him with the opportunity to accrue experience points and, in turn, the coveted badass points through their defeat.
It was through this process of skillful manipulation that Michael would steadily accumulate his store of badass points. In the intricate dance between light and darkness, Michael's strategic mind worked tirelessly, envisioning a future where the army of souls stood as a testament to his indomitable will. With careful precision, he calculated each step, knowing that the revelation of the truth would pave the path for him to harness the power within the souls and forge his own indomitable army.
Though the system had temporarily gone offline, and he couldn't earn experience points for his kills, Michael knew he still amassed a fuckin' ton of badass points. After the war in Nagaland, he had a staggering twenty million badass points just waiting to be utilized. He was confident that once the system came back online, he could turn whatever this unknown enemy was doin' in the shadows against them, using the powers granted by the system.
As the conversation shifted to the topic of spies, Ayag raised a proposition that made Michael pause.
"Now that Noah is gone and we're on the verge of destroyin' the Guardian Guild, we should hang Noah's fuckin' spies among our ranks and make an example out of them," Ayag suggested, her tone laced with vindictiveness.
Michael shook his head, his expression contemplative.
"No. They are far more valuable to me, alive than dead. I've instructed Trista to place these spies in a special unit and feed them false information. This unknown enemy of mine will eventually seek out these spies and attempt to use them. And when that happens, these spies will unknowingly lead me straight to them," Michael explained, his eyes gleaming with a cunning resolve.
Michael was acutely aware of the inevitable infiltration of his army by hostile spies. With force comprising nearly two thousand soldiers, it was an insurmountable task to monitor each individual closely. The unsettling truth was that any of them could be swayed to betray him with the right incentives, and he had seen firsthand how easily loyalty could be compromised.
To safeguard against potential dangers posed by these spies, Michael understood the importance of keeping crucial plans close to his chest. It was unnecessary for the lower-ranking soldiers to be privy to the intricacies of his strategies. By withholding such vital information, he effectively limited the amount of actionable intelligence available to his enemies.
This approach aimed to minimize the risk of leaks within his own ranks, preventing vital details from falling into the wrong hands. With a deliberate and calculated approach, Michael aimed to provide his adversaries with a paltry amount of useful information, leaving them grasping at shadows and uncertain of his true intentions.
However, Michael recognized that the presence of hostile spies within his army wasn't entirely a disadvantage. In fact, he saw it as an opportunity to turn the tables on his enemies. Once he successfully identified these spies, he could carefully trace their activities to uncover their superiors and the broader network they were reporting to. This chain of information would lead him to the heart of the enemy's operations and reveal the larger threat they posed.
As Michael delved deeper into this game of deception and intrigue, a sense of exhilaration coursed through his veins. The thrill of outmaneuvering his adversaries, using their own spies against them, was a source of satisfaction. With each step, he gained a strategic advantage, unraveling their plots and turning their schemes to his advantage. It was a thrilling pursuit that fueled his determination to protect his army and ensure their ultimate victory.
With the plan firmly established, every element began to align as they readied themselves to outsmart their foes. In the intricate interplay between brightness and obscurity, Michael maintained a constant advantage, his sharp intellect tirelessly at work to expose the facts and conquer his enigmatic adversary, reducing them to defeat.
When Michael set aside the hammer, his mind brimmed with a myriad of plans, ranging from Plan A to Plan Z. His confidence soared beyond a mere hundred percent, surpassing even two hundred percent, as he envisioned emerging victorious against whoever dared plot in the shadows. Being the Dark Lord, he understood that adversaries would shy away from direct confrontation, fully aware that facing him head-on would only result in their demise. Hence, schemes became their sole recourse, their slim chance of challenging his reign.
"In the grand game of schemes, my enemies may revel in their initial victories, thinking they have me cornered. But little do they know, I thrive amidst the chaos they create. Schemes may be their feeble attempt to bring me down, but I am the master of shadows, the orchestrator of their downfall. For every scheme they devise, I have ten strategies waiting in the darkness. And in the end, when the dust settles, it is I who emerges, triumphant and untouchable. The schemes may dance and deceive, but I, the Dark Lord, always have the final move,"
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