Chapter 1415: Going On Offence
They all gathered in a room in the Tempest Spire. The room was infinitely large and wreathed with dark storms at the edges. This was the second-to-topmost floor of the Tempest Spire.
Northern knew it had about twenty floors, which was twice what the Tower of Trammel had. He had not explored all twenty, though. And it would be unfitting to say he didn’t have all the time... the one thing Northern had found himself having recently was time.
All he needed to do was create one more clone.
But exploring the tower floors was not on the list of his priorities, and speaking of lists of priorities, he was here for one.
In the hall stood a large table with miniature forms of landscapes and structures. With Ilitis’ knowledge, Northern had put this place together. It contained a map of the entire Central Plains but focused more on the northern edge of the continent where the Empire nestled... and its surrounding landscape.
Staring down at the detailed map, which seemed to have been crafted from shadows and black sand, were Annette, Vida, and Revant.
Initially, this mission was meant only for Annette and was to be led by Revant. Even Northern had no idea why Vida was here too.
He wasn’t complaining, though. This was a dangerous mission, which was why he wanted to keep as many people away from it as possible. If, knowing that, anyone still wanted to embark on it, who was he to stop them?
’More people means more chances of success.’
"We’re finally doing this, huh?"
Annette said, looking down at the map.
Northern glanced at her and lingered for a moment.
"It has to be done... we can’t wait for them to come knocking on our door."
She raised a brow.
"And this has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you’re an imperial prince?"
Northern did not respond immediately. He sighed after a moment.
"This is regardless of me being an Imperial Prince. I stood and fought for my life long before becoming anything. The power I gained from fighting with my teeth is what defines me today. The family and friends I have are the ones I owe loyalty, trust... and security. And if that security is threatened..."
Northern looked at his fist and smirked at Annette.
"With all the power in my hands, who am I not to strike them down?"
His brows furrowed.
"I was impassive in the beginning, not wanting to do anything but survive and return home, removing myself from the world as long as I was okay. But recently I’ve learned that the world will never be okay, and as long as it isn’t, the safety of my people will continue to be threatened. It is simply the nature of this world. Its purpose is to fulfill the will of another."
He shrugged.
"If that’s the case, then I have to steal this world from them... this is just the beginning of that."
Annette was silent for a moment, a shadow falling across her face. Then she finally met Northern’s gaze.
"You’re speaking of the Origins and Tyrants... and the Underworld, right?"
Northern gave her a weighted look and nodded.
"This is not the beginning. Whatever horrors we’ll be bracing for in Reinhard are merely preparation for what we will do to preserve the world we have grown to love."
He let that marinate in the air for a moment.
"So, this is necessary."
Annette shrugged, and folded her arms.
"Fair then."
She stared down at the table again.
"So what are we doing here?"
Northern leaned on the table and spoke.
"I’m not the best at war strategizing. Granted, I’m not of the opinion that I even need to be strategic about anything. I could simply break the walls of the Empire and bring ruin to them."
He hesitated.
"But there are certain reasons why I won’t do that."
His azure eyes glistened.
"I want the lives lost in this battle to be as few as possible. I’m not aiming to destroy the Empire and show overwhelming strength by bringing them ruin. I’d rather do that by showing them there’s nothing they can do."
He scoffed at himself.
"While that is wishful thinking, there’s a Transcendent sitting on the throne of the Empire. That’s about two ranks above me. While I want to be confident in my ability to take on a Transcendent, I know absolutely nothing about them."
He fell silent, thinking back to the strange will that governed Nyssira’s life like a law, keeping her from speaking of certain things.
If that was how far a Transcendent’s ability could reach, then they were a level of existence he could not afford to treat carelessly.
And that was somewhat what the soul ranks were about: from Drifter to Nomad, and then to Master. Master was the first major checkpoint after Drifter — one that filled you with enough power to make a terrible difference. After Master came Sage... and after Sage was Paragon.
After Paragon was Transcendent.
These checkpoints made one’s soul strength leap across great and unimaginable bounds.
That was why Northern knew he had to be wary of Reimgard’s Emperor. His birth father.
"So... you want us to... infiltrate the Empire?"
Annette said in an uncertain tone. These days there was just no way to know what Northern was thinking. Even if she did, there were too many of him around to know what every single one of them was thinking.
Northern shook his head.
"No, that’s a waste of time. I want you to tear down their wall."
Annette’s head reared back.
"What? A full-frontal assault?"
Northern looked at her, his stunning blue eyes even.
"Yes."
Annette’s eyes scrunched with confusion.
"I thought you just spoke about minimal damage? The best way to go about this would be to infiltrate them, discover their points of strength — facilities most importantly — and destroy them. That’s the right strategy to go with."
Northern gave Annette a dubious look.
"What amount of damage could we incur from attacking the gates? Besides, if you manage your firepower well, I seriously don’t think we’d cause that much damage."
Annette opened her mouth to speak, only for the words to freeze. She turned and looked at Revant, who stood over the table with his arms folded and his expression rigid with intense seriousness.
She pointed her thumb back at him, giving Northern a look and trying to whisper.
"You want minimal damage, and the best thing you can come up with is him? Him??!!"
Northern looked at Revant and turned back to Annette with an offended frown.
"What are you talking about? Revant is not a bloodthirsty monster. He’s very capable of holding back."
