400 champions. That was the incredible force which protected the family who were the true rulers, and they were the reason why each and every team in the past which had tried directly infiltrating the headquarters had had such a hard time.
Even if there were 30 Peak Champions in the team that was participating, they would be very hard-pressed to go up against such a large army who were also skilled in tactics that used their powers together.
Yet… With Daneel's meddling in the chaos that was present all over the continent, this large force had been reduced to barely 10 Champions.
There should have been 40, but 30 had gone out due to Daneel's 'tip' to tackle the large force which was apparently targeting the family.
Add to this the fact that Daneel and the others had a perfect camouflage which they had ensured would work by sending fake messages back from the broadcasting station… It was child's play for them to use the moment where relief could be seen on those present that backup had arrived to attack and knock them out using another display of Aran's Mindhunter technique.
What came next was the killing of over 50 people, who all kept threatening Daneel and the rest that their background was something which could not be estimated, and that they would definitely regret if they went ahead with this. Of course, this turned to begging soon, and it showed just how comfortable they had all gotten in their lives.
They all turned a blind eye, both because they knew that these were all just simulations and because they had also found out about the sick things that all of these people were supposed to have done.
It was then that another loud gong sounded, which was akin to the one that always indicated the start of fights in the arena.
Just like in the war simulation, the scene froze, and all of them felt themselves being pulled back to somewhere.
They all woke up in a room, and the first thing that greeted Daneel and the sovereigns was a mob of angry Champions who were all shouting various things.
"You cheater!"
"You did everything on purpose! We could have won together!"
"You made us look like fools!"
"Damn you! If I don't fight you today, I'll change my name!"
This Champions had all just gotten up, and they had directly started to shout these things before proceeding to surround Daneel and his group.
Yet, before they could respond, everyone present found themselves teleported to a different location, and as they saw the scene around them, they could only freeze where they stood.
Hundreds of people were sitting around them in a place that looked like an arena, and the only difference was that there were multiple display trinkets which were currently showing the frozen scene of the island of Creylia.
Applause started to be heard, and although not everyone was clapping, those who were had ecstatic smiles on their faces as they even cheered and shouted things like "Bravo!" And "well done!".
Seeing all this, the Champions had been about to attack the team members who had given them this victory had no idea what they were supposed to do. Should they continue and show their displeasure, which would display their pettiness? Or should they just let it go and show that they were magnanimous?
Their thoughts were also influenced by the fact that most of the auras that they could feel from those in the stands were at the Hero level, which meant that this was a very elite group of individuals. Would there even be another moment in their lives where they would be able to get this kind of applause, and this kind of a chance to strike a positive impression?
This realization finally made all the Champions stop what they were doing and turned around before putting on smiles that were attempting to be genuine, but a voice was suddenly heard which echoed throughout the area, stopping them in their tracks and making them get expressions filled with disbelief on their faces.
"Well done. For the first time in the past millennium, you have achieved the highest level of completion in this type of 5-star mission. For this, your names will be written down on the Board of Achievers, and you deserve to be congratulated for also taking part in creating an excellent demonstration of intellect that will be used to motivate others. You deserve your rewards. Remember that the Order always encourages those with talent, and the more you show, the more we will help you. As a token to demonstrate this, the highest performers in this mission will also be granted the right to choose another Five-star mission. This is usually a reward meant for even higher tier missions, but in this case, it is well warranted. May you continue to grow stronger so that you can serve Angaria to your fullest."
The-the highest completion!?
As soon as this was heard, the minds of the Champions and especially the Underlord went blank, and of course, the first emotion they got was one of happiness, as it meant that they would actually be able to obtain two rewards.
Yet… That soon turned into despair, as they remembered the bet.
In the last moment, that guy had thrown in the phrase that it would be for all the rewards obtained by six people, and at the time, they hadn't paid much attention to it because of the fact that no one had been able to achieve the same in centuries.
Yet, now… They reached the horrible conclusion that this guy had known exactly what would happen, which had made him do so.
They all turned to see him smiling graciously, and even after they were teleported back to the room, he continued to do so.
Daneel turned around to these gazes, to which he simply smiled and said, "I'll be waiting for the transfer of the rewards. It was excellent working with you. I really wouldn't have been able to do it without you! If you hadn't been there to distract those 30 Champions, everything would have been much harder… Anyway, this was fun, but we're needed elsewhere. Until next time! Farewell!"
With these words, Daneel and the rest disappeared, and even after that, the Underlord and his teammates could only stand there and continue to stare.
What they had experienced… Would definitely be something that they would remember till the time of their death, and each and every time, they would ask themselves why they hadn't chosen this moment to shift teams after seeing the capabilities of the one who really did deserve the name 'Overlord' more than their leader.
As for Jake, himself, he got a wry smile on his face, as he realized that his original instincts and caution had been right. He had known then, itself what kind of a man he had been dealing with, but being foolish, he had still gone ahead and acted with the ego which he now recognized to be present in him even though he had always thought that he was much better off in this aspect when compared to others like him.
It started to spread like wildfire. No one knew who began to talk about it, but the news that a newbie had actually taken on a 4-star mission, and then a 5-star one and had succeeded in both of them became the most talked about topic in the entire Order. The Underlord and his team found themselves being assaulted by questions from all sides, and having learned their lesson, they gave proper answers instead of trying to twist the story in any way.
All of this started to happen right after the mission ended, barely within five minutes of Daneel and the rest waking up in that room. So, many people expected to find these now-famous newbies near the obelisks above them where they must be busy picking all of their rewards, but strangely, they were absent.
The reason behind this… Was that Daneel and the rest had immediately left the Order. The only reason that they had even gone on that mission so suddenly was that they had had to return due to the threat to Skrr, and because there had been that short of a time to decide whether they should do it or not.
The rewards would always be present for them to pick later, so there was no hurry. They could be patient, and it would also allow them to avoid those who might want to pry into this matter and contact them for whatever reason they might have.
After everyone reached the Palace again, Daneel told them to have some rest while he went on to take care of some matters.
Right before leaving, he also said that they should think back to what had happened during their incident in that cave and decide whether anything about what had happened then should be talked about, which led to all of those present except Faxul blushing, as they knew that he was talking about them.
With that, Daneel reached a place far, far away from Lanthanor before stopping and thinking of the man who had already sent a few messages which he had received right after coming back to his body from the mission.
Three months had not passed in the real world, as the simulation also had the property of making it feel as if a lot of time had passed, while a much smaller period passed in reality. It had been 10 days, and in all that time, Daneel had received four separate messages from the man.
The first had been quite polite, asking whether Daneel was free for a meeting.
The second was slightly tenser, with the same information, but given in a more curt manner.
The third said that the Head had come to Lanthanor, but had found that Daneel was away.
The fourth… said that he was considering whether he should use the Big Dour's resources to look for Daneel, as he might be in danger.
Daneel had chuckled as he received all these, and in the next second, that same man appeared.
He had been expecting that this would happen when he flew out without using any spell to cover his presence, and on seeing him, the Head exclaimed, "Finally! Where have you been?!"
Daneel chuckled, following which the Head quickly raised his hand and shook it before saying, "Never mind, don't answer that. Do ignore the messages that I sent. I think this must be the first time in a century that I showed that much impatience. What I wanted to talk to you about was-"
"The fact that you are now my junior disciple brother?"
Daneel said this teasingly, which made the Head sigh and say, "Yes. Oh, I forgot to bow to show my respect. I apologize if-"
Hearing this, Daneel instantly raised his hand to make the man stop speaking.
He had expected that something like this might happen, and had already prepared what he would say.
"Stop. I'm not the kind to take advantage of a position with someone who has only acted with honor in all the time I have known him. I feel lucky that we have somehow become disciple brothers, and even though that man said that you are the junior, I will always consider you my senior. So please - do not even think of saying or doing things like those."
There was a short silence after Daneel said these words, following which a broad smile appeared on the Head's face.
He straightened his back which had almost drooped because he had really been about to bow to Daneel, and in a proud tone, he said, "I see that for once, my eyes did not see wrong. There are many who, if they were in your position, would have abused this relationship as much as they could. I heard someone say that if you wish to see a man's true character, then you should give him power. From the way they behave, it becomes clear whether they deserve it or not. In your case… Let's just say that Lanthanor is a lucky Kingdom. And you're wrong…although we do need to speak about that, I was contacting you for a different reason."
Raising his eyebrows and smiling in response, Daneel asked, "Oh? What is it, then?".
The answer made him do a double-take, and wonder whether he had heard correctly.
"Ashahell has asked for an audience with you, and he said that he will finally crack and talk about the Church if he is granted one. Come with me."