It was nearly midnight, the sky was filled with colours ranging from black to navy blue as the beautiful moon graced the planet with its presence. The sky, clearer than ever before made it possible to count the countless craters on its surface.
Under the beautiful light, a boy stood alone. Even the beauty of nature couldn't calm the storm raging in his head. For it was a storm that could end up swallowing everyone and everything in his sights.
Even the peace that came with the night sky wasn't enough to cover the looming shadow of the war. For a war was to come, whether they liked it or not.
While lost in his thoughts, Ashton could feel something wasn't right. According to the instructions he had given Peter, he should have already informed him whether the Morgan's accepted his proposal or not. However, it had been quite some time and Ashton hadn't heard shit from him.
As far as he knew there could have possibly been only two reasons why Peter didn't contact him afterwards. Either he had betrayed him and changed sides once again or he could have been killed.
"After the things I did to him, it's unlikely that fucker would have had the guts to betray me," Ashton mumbled as he observed everyone working there, "However, I have no idea how the Morgans treat the people who turned their backs on them. It is possible Peter was killed before he even got to say a word."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtNevertheless, it didn't matter whether Peter was successful in his mission or not. For Ashton had an ace up his sleeve to take care of anyone who dared to unnecessarily provoke him. Although it was only a half baked plan, it was better than having no strategy at all.
He had the ability to call forth Wraith Wolves to his aide using his authority over the dungeon they occupied. But the ability was only half-developed as it required his genes to be at level 30.
If he was to summon them now, he would lose his control over them as soon as they stepped out of the dungeon. Which would mean they'll do more harm than good to him.
However, that wasn't the only downside either. If he was to follow the plan, there was a high chance his identity would get exposed as all of his genes would require him to be active for a moment while he summoned the wolves.
Also, considering that he needed to get to level 30 as soon as possible, taking precautions would only slow him down. It was something he couldn't have done as long as people were around him.
He needed to eat a lot of flesh and drink a lot of blood if he wanted to get to level 30 for all his genes before the impending war breaks out. If he failed to do so, then there was no chance he would win against Mera and the rest of the nobility without someone's help. Someone like Jonathan or Alucard.
But there was a problem. He couldn't simply up and leave to kill monsters or... people, for that matter. It would look as if he angered the Morgans and then ran away by himself, leaving his residents to fend for themselves. Not only would it make him look bad, but it would also make the others think less of him.
One could say that he was the glue holding Livan together and if he left for a long time, all hell might break loose. Nonetheless, just like the saying went, when one door closes, another one opens up, Ashton too had one door that he could use.
"Leaving already?" Virgil asked Ashton, "In the dead of the night, the night creatures you might encounter would be stronger than they have ever been. Not to mention, the-"
"I know, Virgil. That's the reason why I am leaving tonight. The creatures you saw in those mines are the ones who would save us when the war breaks out." Ashton replied softly, "Has everything been prepared?"
"You think?" Virgil smirked before offering a cigarette to his lord, but he declined, "You sure you want to go alone? Sheera and the soldiers are enough to take care of things here. I can accompany you. If it comes to worse, you can use me as a meat shield!"
"I'd rather not. I don't want Fae to chop my hands or worse, cast a curse on me."
At the mention of Fae, Virgil began coughing vigorously. It seemed Ashton had touched a subject Virgil wasn't expecting him to.
"Dude... how did you-"
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"You're really going to ask me that?" Ashton smiled before patting Virgil's back, "It's clear as day something is going on between the two of you. You can mask your emotions very well, but she, well let's just say she's as terrible at acting as I am in making intelligent decisions."
"Huh, I guess we got busted. We wanted to wait till everything stabilised before announcing our decision to get married. Tsk, if anyone else was to find out-"
"Wait, you think only I know about it?"
"... oh god. Everyone knows about it already?"
Ashton nodded while smiling seeing the man panic like a five-year-old who couldn't find his mother in a crowded place.
"Don't worry. Once the war is over, I'm sure everyone would be overjoyed to have an occasion to celebrate. Also, while I'm gone, tell Baiter to finish that underground bunker we are building. It's crucial to have it developed as soon as possible."
"Will do."
With everything set and done, it was time for him to disappear for a couple of days. The people there have been already fed a lie that Ashton was going back to the capital to get more resources and help. Since they were running out of food, no one batted an eye at Ashton's sudden disappearance.
'To be honest, that's not even a lie. I am leaving the city to get food for myself and as for help, if everything goes according to plan I should be enough.'