Chapter 450: A Temporary Truce
“Is this really fine?” Prince Alaric asked as he looked at the Lamassu that would take Arslan near the border of the Zelan Dynasty.
“No,” William replied as he stood with his arms crossed over his chest. “But, having him behind enemy lines is better than having him fight by our side. The damage he can cause using his ability, when used at the right moment, could tilt the balance of the war in our favor.”
Prince Alaric sighed as he reluctantly nodded his head. They were currently at the Fortress where James had taken command before he turned into a crystal statue.
The two Guardians of the Silvermoon Continent didn’t pursue them, which made Jekyll and William breathe a sigh of relief in their hearts. There was no way that both of them could fight against the two guardians, especially since William’s Heroic Avatar was no longer available.
“What do we do now?” Prince Alaric looked at William with a serious expression. “Do we even have any chances of winning?”
“We have no chance of winning against the Elves with our current forces,” William replied. “Those two Guardians alone would make it very difficult. One of them is a Myriad Beast, the other a Pseudo Demigod.
“We can count ourselves lucky that their teleportation gate was destroyed. However, they will build one again, and this time, they will ensure its completion. The most we did was buy ourselves a month or two. If we can’t find anything to match the power of those two Guardian Beasts then winning is just a dream outside our reach.”
The two leaders of the young generation stood in silence as they stared in the direction of the Zelan Dynasty. They had done their best, but even their best wasn’t enough in the face of absolute strength.
While the two boys were pondering on their next move, Celine walked towards William and placed her hand on his shoulder.
“Will, we need to talk,” Celine said.
“Understood, Master.” William nodded. “Let’s talk more after we’ve returned to Lont, Prince Alaric. Please, tell everyone that we leave in two hours.”
Prince Alaric nodded in acknowledgement. He gave Celine a glance before turning around to leave.
Celine waved her hand and a small dome of Dark Magic shielded William and her from the outside world. What they were going to talk about was highly confidential and she didn’t want others to overhear their conversation.
“Will, I am a member of Deus,” Celine said as she looked at William with a serious expression.
William nodded. “I know, Master.”
“You do?” Celine raised an eyebrow. “Did you tell him, Oliver?”
A black mist came out of William’s shadow and materialized into a Parrot Monkey. Oliver looked at his Mistress and nodded his head.
“I apologize for stepping beyond my bounds, Mistress,” Oliver said. “I have no excuse for what I did.”
Celine stared at her loyal retainer before shifting her gaze back to her one and only Disciple.
“What are your thoughts about it?” Celine asked, her eyes never left William’s as if she was trying to see his true emotions in the depths of his clear, green eyes.
“It was a shocking revelation,” William replied without batting an eye. “But, I am sure that Master has a good reason for doing what you did.”
William paused before asking the question that had been nagging in his mind. Although Oliver had already said it, he wanted his Master to say it using her own words.
“Master, did you take part in the creation of the Continental Spell?”
“No.”
“Understood.”
William felt that a burden had been dislodged from his shoulder. Now that he confirmed that Celine really had no part in the creation of the spell that turned his family into crystal statues, he was able to put his mind at ease.
“The reason why I wanted to talk to you is not only because I wanted to tell you that I am a member of Deus, but to tell you something that might aid us in this battle with the Elves. Oliver has already told you that some members of The Organization attacked Lont in order to capture Matthew and Eve to be used against the two of us, right?”
William nodded.
“I know the character of the Branch Leader of Deus here in the Southern Continent,” Celine stated. “He is not someone who would do something stupid like antagonize me and make me his enemy. Conner is too smart for that. I believe that what happened was an arbitrary action of that person named Floyd.”
“Floyd?” William asked. “What role does he play in the organization?”
Celine smiled. She had a feeling that William would pay Floyd a visit and beat the crap out of him for trying to take his family members hostage. However, she knew that this would not be a good idea if she looked at their current circumstances.
“After we interrogated his men, we found out that he is a Scholar who is currently working on the project that I had done research on in the past,” Celine explained. “The Super Soldier Project. This was an experiment where people are subjected into a specially controlled environment, where they would be exposed to artificial Miasma.
“This would corrupt and transform their bodies to surpass its limits, turning them into mutant creatures that are very hard to kill.” Celine crossed her arms over her chest. “Floyd took over my research papers and put them into action. Based on the letter that he had sent me, His experimental subjects are now in the final phase of their mutation.”
When William heard the words Super Soldier Project and Artificial Miasma, his expression became grim. Now that the final pieces of the puzzle had fallen in place, he knew the identity of the person whom the Trollhounds wanted to kill the most.
However, what worried William was that according to Celine’s choice of words, Floyd had managed to solve the flaws of Celine’s research. That could only mean one thing…
‘Mass Production of Super Soldiers that have powerful bodies and a regeneration that is on the same level as the Titanic Green-Scaled Trollhound.’ William shuddered at the mere thought of going against these killing machines.
The Trollhounds in his herd were extremely tenacious and powerful. Not only that, they were very hard to kill. Only an acid that was strong enough to melt Adamantium could kill them completely. Simply put, they are nearly immortal creatures in the battlefield. Their only downside was that their hunger levels were higher compared to ordinary beasts.
Fortunately, William had the Goblin Crypt before, and now, he had the Dungeon of Atlantis. The Trollhounds could eat their fill with Syokois, and Nagas, who could be hunted on the floors that they had cleared.
“Yes,” Celine replied. “Right now, The Organization has an army that can rampage on the battlefield without fearing for their lives. They are the perfect vanguards against their enemies. So, if we make The Organization your enemy at this point in time, it would only lead to mutual destruction.”
William already understood what Celine was hinting at. Although he didn’t want to admit it, this was not the time to have a head-on confrontation with Deus. He already had a headache with the current lineup of the Elven Army. Facing both of them at the same time would be suicidal.
“A temporary truce?” William asked.
Celine nodded. “I believe that this is the best course of action for now. If you like, I can send Oliver to Conner right now, so he can inquire why Conner wanted to talk to you. Depending on his answer, we can plan whether we will cooperate with them or not.”
William pondered for a bit before nodding his head. A temporary truce was fine. He needed to choose the lesser evil between Deus and the Elves, and right now, the threat of the Elves was higher compared to Conner’s Organization.
“Very well, Master,” William said. “Let’s meet this Conner first.”
William already knew who Conner was because a little Wren had followed him to the Hidden Valley where the Undying Lands had been located. Even so, what he knew about the Leader of Deus was only second hand information.
Only by meeting him face to face would William be able to discern Conner’s character and whether he was a person he could cooperate with. At least, until the threat of the Foreign Invaders was no longer an issue.