Walking back to the office of Kasto, Lucas saw Asta return from the shop.
Seeing Lucas being a bit down, Asta wondered how good the discussion went. From their small interaction in Kasto's office, they knew that having the fanatics on their side would prove extremely useful. "Did everything go well?"
"Worst case nothing happens. Realistically, I think they'll join our efforts."
"Good enough. Here are the things you'll be needing. Like I said, you need four things to reach the next Rank. You already have the most annoying part behind you, the body strengthening. I don't know how you did it, but the other parts are relatively easy."
"Higher quality mana to improve the core, a mental sphere upgrade and the powers of a Rank 3 to break through to the next Rank."
"Correct, I'll give you a steady supply of crystals so don't worry about the mana part. The issue is the mental sphere upgrade. I also still need that, and while it can be exchanged here, it's quite expensive."
"And you can't repay your debt by giving me your points?"
"Sadly, that would be quite impossible since even with our total combined, we would need another few thousand," to hear that, Lucas instantly realized why they priced it so ludicrously.
"Hah! To put the price so high."
"It's marketing frankly, they never expect anyone to buy it, but by having it in their assortment of products, they seem grander than they are," they spoke as they made their way to the office of the commander.
The tactic provided by the commander to rope in potential mercenaries worked quite well, but the moment they realized that whatever they could buy would be almost impossible, they started to lose a lot of motivation. Still, mercenaries were hired arms for a reason. They mostly worked in groups, and with enough time, they could finance some of the more powerful items available.
But for a duo like Lucas and Asta who made extreme progress on the path of magic, they didn't want to take their time. They needed it now, and would stoop to any level to get it earlier.
"Well, marketing or not, we brought Malek with us for a reason. While we're at it, we should plunder it empty."
"Then we'll need to fight a lot more," Asta said as he thought of more tactics to employ during a fight. The encounter they had back at that outpost put them in a dire situation. But it was only through such a battle that both Asta and Lucas learned a ton. A lot more compared to just studying.
"I'm quite aware of that," Lucas smiled as he strolled into the office of Kasto.
He wasn't even bothered by their unrequested presence. They always did what they wanted, but the results spoke for themselves. Kasto could rebuke them, but if doing so made them less motivated to fight, it would've been a waste.
"Seeing you came in here with a smile, I assume you have a question or plan?", Kasto and Cal had given up on trying to control these devils. Cal had his doubts, and Kasto as well, but he was able to put them to rest, believing in their genius.
"Not exactly, we're still working it out, but would you have a map of all the outposts, camps or fortresses of the enemy army?"
"I do have that, but I can't just share such precious intel with a few mercenaries, can I?"
Asta rolled his eyes, "Let me guess, you want us to fork over some of our points. How many do you want?"
"All of them-No! I want all of your points and the next mission won't result in any points."
Asta frowned at the blatant misuse of power. "Intelligence is priced based on its usefulness and it's availability. We can easily get a map from a local city that displays all the big cities and strongholds in the area. Your map might have a few smaller camps, but just using the existing infrastructure and roads, we can easily pinpoint the places ourselves."
"Your next two mission won't yield you any points," Kasto said with a serious face, staring deep into the eyes of Asta, who's face scrunched up as he clicked his tongue. It was immediately clear to both of them that negotiating was a waste of time.
Lucas found it quite annoying, but knew that if he tried to intervene, it would probably only worsen their deal. Asta wanted to try one final push, but seeing the determination carved into Kasto's face, he dropped it.
"Fine, we'll give you all of our points and the next two missions won't yield any points. In return, give us the map and show us all the missions."
"Deal," Kasto nodded as he opened a drawer from his desk, taking out a large scroll, he handed it over. "You can consult Cal for any of the missions. Now, if you could please leave my office? I still have work to do."
"Sure," Lucas said as he grabbed the scroll and moved out with Asta.
"Are you certain this is going to work out in our favor?"
"They have a Rank 3 with them Cal. Or something similar, otherwise they wouldn't take such a risk. I don't know who or what it is, but that doesn't even matter. What do you think those power hungry men need?"
Having it spelled out so clearly, it was only obvious. "The tools to reach the next Rank?"
"Exactly, with that Rank 3, they have everything they need. Or that was what I thought. The moment they were looking to gain even more points to get better rewards, everything made sense."
"What do you mean? Are they after the Silver Pearl?", a small pearl that had the capabilities of expanding the Mental Sphere. A prized possession for most, and extremely hard to get in the first place.
"Yes, they never cared for the war or even whose side they were on. All their actions so far show that they aren't going along the path made for them."
Hearing such a cryptic sentence, Cal didn't know what to make of it. In the end, they were mercenaries working for them, work brought in points, which could be exchanged in prizes. What were they doing that made Kasto so wary of them? "What do you mean?"
"With their powers, do you think we would be the only ones to accept them as mercenaries? Hell, the other commanders would probably just fake a noble status for them, just to employ them. They only came to this place because they would have more power here."
Hearing that, Cal couldn't help but think about what happened in the first place. As a lost commoner, they wouldn't be easily accepted by the other commanders, but if they showed even a fraction of their power, they would be brought in without question.
"That can't be. There was no way of knowing that both Asta and Lucas would be here."
"That's where you're wrong. Asta has shown me time and time again his information network is a lot larger than anything I've seen. I don't know how that freak does it, but he knows way more than he's allowed. That combined with the fact that he knew exactly when to step in to help Lucas only shows the extent of his network. They are just using us."
Cal agreed with that statement, Asta had indeed displayed a level of information gathering even they, the Royal Army, couldn't compare to. He was wondering what kind of ritual sacrifice the man had done to gain such powers, but pushed it aside as an obvious remark formed in his mind.
"Well, sir, I don't mean to be rude, but aren't we also just using them?"
An awkward silence appeared as Cal tried to avoid Kasto's eyes. "Well... we're the ones giving them a place to live as well as a form of immunity, it only makes sense that they help us out," Kasto coughed a bit, attempting to remove the awkwardness of the situation.
"Just don't underestimate them Cal. Both Lucas and Asta are monsters in human form. It won't be long before their names are carved into the annals of history."
"Hahaha, you speak so grand of them. But they are both still Rank 2, and even if they get everything they need, it'll take a long time to reach the next Rank. And that's just Rank 3, they are nowhere near close to your power, let alone the top of the army."
Cal tried to relativize Kasto's opinion, but the man himself was quite certain of his ideas. He still remembered when Lucas was Rank 1, fighting against opponents way more powerful than him. In the end, it was clear who stood at the top, no, Kasto didn't listen to Cal's opinion, throwing it in the thrash. He had to be careful about these two, no doubt about it.
Walking towards one of the bedrooms of the mansion, Lucas and Asta started to form their plans. Displaying the map on one of the tables, they looked at the intel that was recorded on the map. It had basic details of forces stationed at certain places, but it could be quite wrong since anybody rarely stayed in a single place.
"Looking at this, I would suggest we start with Avengrad and move up to Sterilgrad, taking the small outposts with us," Lucas said as he stared at the map.
Asta had given it one look before turning away, preferring to look outside the window. "We should stay away from our first outpost though, I think that's too close. Considering the enemy's movements, they'll send in a powerful squad to render the outpost to shreds. They'll stay around there, probably visiting neighboring camps to check the security and for our presence."
Lucas remembered the so-called outpost that was reduced to blood and ash. "Isn't it already destroyed? But I get your point. Then how about we surprise them, and move up to the east?"
Frigus bordered the Holy Kingdom to the west, with the ocean lining its northern edge.
If you drew Frigus as an ellipse and cut the bottom most part, that was where Kasto held command and tried to appease The Holy Kingdom. The lands of the youngest princess weren't grand, only around 10% of the total country. The remainder of the ellipse could be divided in two equal halves split vertically.
The entire western and northwestern parts of the border were where the Prince reigned. Since he had an ambition of conquest, his lands were perfectly placed to try to take land from The Holy Kingdom, although the commander in charge hadn't made any progress yet, that would surely come.
Seeing things laid out, Asta thought about what would happen if they attacked from the east. Considering they fought in the south, moving upwards through a neutral part of Frigus and attacking from the east wasn't the hardest to accomplish. It wasn't as if the entire country was engulfed in war, only the border was... or at least for now it was.
Thinking it through, Asta nodded to himself, "Yes, if you send the fanatics of that cult to the western castles, they'll have their attention drawn there. I have some help as well that I can employ in case we need it.
If we then quickly conquered a few outposts or camps, we will have made plenty of progress before we would be pushed back. But we will have to work downwards, not upwards. We can't be moving into their sphere of influence as we attract more attention, we should start east and move downwards to reach this place again."
Asta explained a simple reasoning and Lucas nodded in response.
"The thing I'm still bothered with is the fact that our missions are reduced in points."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Asta grinned deeply as he pulled out two slips of paper. "These are two missions I completed in the past but never cashed in."
Lucas happily laughed, "I knew I could count on you. So, we go to the east and work our way down?"
"That seems like the best course of action. Of course, a lot will depend on how good we'll be able to control Malek. I don't like the fact that he's so impulsive."
"Leave that to me. I'm in the same camp as him. I understand how he thinks. All I'm afraid of is him figuring it out," Lucas joined Asta near the window as they stared out to the sky.
"Chances are low with everyone dead. Only we can give it away."
"The man doesn't think rationally anymore, the moment he awakened, his emotions were put first. I don't think it matters that only we know. He can create evidence in his mind if it's necessary to justify his emotions."
"Tch, that's the problem with elemental users. They can't help but be emotional."
"I never mentioned anything about elements," Lucas was taken aback for a moment since the comment came out of nowhere.
"An emotional aura means it has a higher connection to elements, they are closely tied together. That's why it's so easy to distinguish the rubbish from the mages so easily."
"You do realize I'm the same as Malek, right?", Lucas was a bit surprised by the sudden change in Asta's attitude.
"Not at all. Lucas, you might not realize it, but you are far much different than other elemental mages. I analyzed your aura when you first used it, and when Malek was pressuring us, I also checked his aura out."
Lucas turned his head in a swift motion, the balls to analyze Malek when he was just reawakened could've resulted in a disastrous ending for both of them. Feeling the eyes pierce his skin, Asta heaved his shoulders a bit, "What did you expect, I was preparing to fight him."
"You seriously think we would've stood a chance?"
"What? We had a plan for taking on a Rank 3, didn't we? Either way, like I was saying, the aura of Malek felt like his emotions were raw, yet pure. It felt like he had lost control, and all that was left was chaos. But when you put your aura over me, I saw a certain beauty in the chaos. It was only after seeing Malek's that I truly realized it. You are no normal elemental mage."
Lucas felt intrigued by what Asta was saying, to him, his aura was closely tied to his personal rune. A rune that embodied his fears, sadness, anger and most of all desire for power to change fate. It was a strange rune that was created by both halves of Lucas, each pouring their personality into it.
"While extremely emotional and chaotic in nature, there was a guiding hand behind it. I could feel that you wanted others to feel the same pain you did, but you were still in control of your own mind, though perhaps only temporary. It feels like there is a certain beauty in that madness. I can't fully explain it yet, but that's just because I haven't gotten enough experimental samples frankly."
Nodding in response, Lucas stared at his own rune inside his dome. Forcing his raw emotions, desires and power into it, he unlocked his aura together with it. The rune was a mix of carefully cut lines and seemingly random ones to represent the beauty and ugliness of The Scarlet Moon.
"Well, as long as you're willing to keep working together."
"Lucas, while it might not seem like it, I see you as a friend, and I would love nothing more than continuing our partnership."
Lucas laughed out loud. He thought Asta thought differently, but the clear-cut brazenness of that statement made any doubts vanish. "You're right, I feel the same. Now, Asta, how about we set up our plan. We've only created a rough draft, time to start to actually plan this whole thing out. Can I count on your information gathering?"
"Always," Asta mouth turned into a devilish grin as both Lucas and Asta started to work together for real this time. What followed was an arduous discussion and debate to see what the best possible course of actions were and enough room to flexibly adapt to anything that might occur. Enough escape routes, no points were left unchecked as they went through it all.
After they were finished they grinned at each other as they envisioned a future more than welcome.
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In the headquarters of Rylo, the advisor was handed a heavy task of informing the commander that both squadron 24 and 27 were obliterated. While the man himself wasn't that impressed by the results, he knew his boss would be furious.
'They were stronger than I expected. To get rid of everyone shows exactly that. Strange.'
The man organized his papers into a fine report before heading for the main hall where Rylo resided most of the time. On his way, he walked past paintings that told the story of this castle's past. Each one more exaggerated than the last.
Stopping in his tracks, he focussed on the second-to-last painting closest to the end of the hallway, the beginning of history. A group of people are seen fighting against a massive dragon, with the next painting showing their victory. The secretary scoffed.
Opening the doors he moved to the main hall. There, he found Rylo looking over a bunch of war plans with a new water bottle next to him. Since going to war with the Holy Kingdom was suicide, all his efforts were devoted to pushing back the armies of the other royal candidates. This way, he still provided results without actually fighting against the Holy Kingdom.
Of course, it wasn't as if he had a lot of choice. The ragtag groups of fanatics that crossed the borders had to be taken out, preferably nonlethal. So they would be able to return them to the Holy Kingdom, hoping not to upset them too much.
What Rylo was doing wasn't waging war, it was keeping his superior satisfied, pleasing the monster that was The Holy Kingdom, and regulating his internal affairs. He was put in the worst spot in the war. His achievements amounted to nothing, and the man was well aware of this.
'Things need to change. I need to get those pencil pushers to change the Prince's mind. There has to be something we can do.'
While absolutely loyal to the Prince, he was thrown into the mud, fighting with an opponent destined to obliterate him. Having the experience, he knew that taking over The Holy Kingdom was a fool's errand.
'At this point in the war, we need to solidify our border, and subsequently crack down on the troublemakers. Then we can start to look for room for negotiations.'
As Rylo was making his plans and realizing what kind of predicament he was in, a knock was heard on the main doors. "Come in," normally the secretary was the one who vetted the visitors and tried to keep people from interfering with his business, but this time it was the man himself that came to visit.
"Good afternoon Commander, hope you've been doing well."
"You know all too much how I despise pleasantries. Besides, if you don't know how I'm doing, what does that say about your performance?", Rylo didn't look like he was joking as his fierce eyes and serious tone indicated.
"Just because you despise it, doesn't mean you can forget about them. You know how much the inner circle of the Prince adores it. I'm just trying to keep you in form. And yes, things aren't looking good, and I'm not here to bring good news."
Rylo didn't fear the worst, because if that was the case, The Holy Kingdom would've already breached and decimated this place. Instead, he grabbed his newly acquired water bottle and taking a big chug.
"Did the 5th fail their mission?", he had given them a very important task that would certainly give them a lot of trouble should they fail.
"Not exactly, those details aren't available yet. What I came to say is that the expedition of the 24th and 27th failed. None were able to escape."
"WHAT?!", Rylo gripped his water bottle tight in rage, but the secretary didn't feel intimidated in the slightest.
"Yes, their loss is somewhat unexpected, but-"
"I don't care about their loss, their dump disguised as a village is worthless! I don't understand how they ever got to that squadron if they're defeated by two measly mages!", to Rylo all that mattered was the fact that high ranking squadrons were so easily taken care off. It would tarnish his own reputation if it was spread to other commanders.
"Indeed, Varlic is a great captain, I also found it strange for them to be defeated so easily. I believe that the rumors that a Rank 3 lived there are true."
"He was retired!", Rylo was aware of every front and camp in his own territory, and knew that there was nothing of danger there.
"Well," the secretary walked towards Rylo, despite his angry disposition, he didn't hesitate in handing him some papers. "This might be conjecture on my part, and if you allow me to speak freely for a moment. I believe they were able to reawaken that mage."
Quickly looking through the papers, the graphs and complex data summarized underneath confused Rylo a bit. He needed concise words, not numbers. "Why do you say so?"
"The mana quality that was found at the outpost was not something a Rank 2 can achieve. That, and the fact that everything was burned down, I believe they achieved something extraordinary."
"That doesn't make any sense," Rylo refused to acknowledge the facts that were presented to him, to the annoyance of the secretary, who hid his emotions quite well.
"Not exactly. The man rumored to live in that village is The Demon Archer, a man of some renown during his peak. His aura was emotionally charged, leaving him vulnerable to decay when those emotions dulled. It was a matter of time before he cooled off and lost his powers."
Walking around the room, the secretary walked near a chalkboard to draw everything in detail. "His core once held the mana of a Rank 3, but due to the breakdown of his aura, his core also shut down. Without aura, he's no mage, but his aura also didn't have a strong foundation. It wasn't built on a central truth or concept, but something fickle, an emotion."
Rylo nodded in response, he found those who hurried to power through emotion foolish, since it was impossible to maintain that emotion over hundreds of years.
"So how did he reawaken?"
"A weak foundation makes it easier to replace, although it's certainly not easy. He lived for some time in that village, and it was burned down during the last campaign. I believe the loss of his new family caused him to feel a strong emotion again, making him reawaken."
"So he has a new aura?"
"I don't know if the aura has changed, but I certainly believe that it was charged back up."
"How ridiculous! Are you saying that those emotional wrecks can gain their power back because of some random person's death?"
"While not that random, they might've done something to them, like torture to make him angry."
"Why would they do that?"
The secretary lifted his shoulders, "I don't know who or even why the village was destroyed, nor do I know what events passed during that destruction. All we know is that a retired mage reawakened and fought back. This is just conjecture on my part, but I believe I'm correct."
"So you're just fabricating a story that sounds entertaining enough to sound reasonable? You might not know this, but reawakening a retired mage also requires that mage to consistently keep his source of emotion powered. You can't replace a foundation."
The secretary needed a moment to let his mind run some calculations. "If replacing isn't possible, then could they have reignited the embers? Or perhaps the ash?"
"Yes, once you retire, there's no way back. This surge in power is only temporary, so they'll make the most of it. Place extra security near every single outpost. They'll come appear again real soon."
"Yes sir," the secretary nodded before leaving the room to make preparations.
Seeing his secretary leave, Rylo looked back down at his plans and realized he would have to change a bunch of stuff due to that group's interference. Reaching for his water bottle, he grabbed some air. Trying again, he had no luck. Turning away from his plans, he couldn't find it right away, making him forget about it, conjuring up some water in his mouth instead and focussing on the strategies ahead.
The secretary was walking down the same corridor again. Taking a look at his hand, the water bottle he gifted the commander was with him. There were some slight dents in the metal, but not nearly enough for it to break.
'Hmm, good. This is his limit. Alright Demon Archer. I hope you'll be as useful as you appear to be.'
He flashed a big grin before entering his personal room.