Xiaolie’s Wisdom Proven True

Edrick ended up with a Rococoli sleeping on his chest alongside the certainty that Yaling would be invited to his office a little bit more than usual in the following days.

‘Xiaode Mountain Sect is a fine place…’

He would definitely be coming back here for a variety of reasons, but for now, it was time for him to leave. This would conclude his friendly visits to the various sects vassal to his clan. He had successfully established good foundations for future cooperation with them, not just using his status as a young scion of the Elt clan, but with personalised business ventures and a show of good faith that he hoped had been enough for them to see that he didn’t operate on the same methods as the older generation or even his very own peers.

Anoteros headed back toward the territory of the Elt clan, where he would certainly be staying a while, plotting his future unfriendly visit to Journomanp as he built up his personal army, oversaw his current and future businesses, and certainly took care of some marital duties.

‘It shouldn’t be too long until Luxuli gives birth, as well… If the offspring turns out to be a Docilis Sucubus, then I’ll be able to safely present it to the clan as a new descendant of mine. If it turns out to be something unfit… Then, it’ll just have to join Deormann and Belu, alongside the offspring Muxing is currently carrying… That one will definitely be quite the powerhouse’

Anoteros could deal with bestial offspring quite easily. His beast lord bloodline naturally allowed him to suppress and make them submit to his will, not to mention that they were much weaker than him.

However, thinking about the strength some of his offspring could be born with, he wondered how he would be supposed to deal with rowdy descendants of his. With the sheer volume he was going to have, some were deemed to have divergent opinions, to dislike him, or to want to completely separate themselves from him and do their own thing.

Now, it was necessarily a big issue, but it was nonetheless something that would definitely come up eventually, and he knew that his wives would–In almost all cases–Be quite vehemently against the most straightforward solutions.

He drank water from his Hyotan, thinking deeply about the future when he suddenly heard the sharp and loud sound of something impacting his carriage. The scion’s journey came to a stop as he was brought out of his reveries.

“Huh… Just like Xiaolie said, dealing with the weaklings brought out a stronger one… I guess Journomanp really is just a land of the cliches she is familiar with from those stories she read”

Anoteros muttered to himself with not much interest. After he was targeted once by an assassination attempt by fools unfit to even lick his shoes, his Valdre and Valra naturally decided that it was best to be safe rather than sorry, and told him that if he needed to go somewhere, he would have to use a special carriage.

It didn’t need beasts of burden to pull it. This carriage was basically a huge, refined tool that worked thanks to energy crystals fuelling its movement, but it was also incredibly durable and was made entirely out of one-way glass that looked like regular materials from the outside, but was see-through from the inside.

This allowed Edrick to quickly spot the offender.

His senses focused on a single point, causing the attacker to drop his invisibility.

‘Well, looks like he can tell when my attention fell on him’

He had gotten impressively close, probably as close as his lesser invisibility could get him without Anoteros instantly sensing his presence… The man was clearly a professional, and judging by his attire, bird-like steel mask, and usage of a bow, he didn’t need to introduce himself. Edrick could guess that he was a stronger disciple from Heiying Sect.

To put things into perspective, instead of catching the arrow, the scion would have had to dodge that one for sure–Though he wouldn’t have struggled much to do so, even while deep in thought.

‘Did the other guys call themselves inner disciples? Then this one must be a core or true disciple… Probably the former. That was too puny a display for a true disciple, surely’

“Why don’t you give me a speech about who you are and why you’re here?”

Another useful feature of the carriage was allowing for the person inside to project their voice outside without having to open the doors or step outside.

The masked assassin clenched his fists.

“How dare you ask such a question, bastard?! I am here to avenge my junior disciples! Step outside and meet your doom at the hands of a core disciple of Heiying Sect!”

“How about no? How about you apologise on their behalf for trying to murder me? You don’t sound too twinkish, but as long as you keep the mask on, I’ll accept using your throat so that your sect may make amends with me”

“You…! You Leynlorndians truly are perverse, filthy creatures!”

“I remember Journomanpians offered as many Immunubils and Bloomins as I could possibly want if I were willing to betray my nation and help them… I’m afraid that we are all perverse, my friend–Anyway, move out of the road and go back home before you get yourself killed”

The assassin’s anger was palpable.

“Do you think yourself safe in that damned carriage?! It will be your coffin, Edrick Lucien Anoteros! I will not let you through. I’ll never let you through!”

Anoteros chuckled right as an odd whistle was heard in the area.

The sound was unexpected for the assassin, who prepared himself for a fight against some sort of reinforcement, but nothing happened–Even as he made oddly precise motions with his hand, nothing happened.

“Don’t bother. The allies you had waiting in ambush are dead. They’re all dead, my friend”

“H-How?! They were invisible, standing out in the open outside of what we determined to be outside of your natural range of perception, and I see that nothing happened at all! They haven’t become visible. If they had died, they would have become visible!”

“Yep, that’s what would have typically happened”

“Why are you agree-”

The core disciple’s words were cut short as he suddenly felt himself stabbed, slashed, struck, and seized in several spots at nearly the exact same time.

The stabs and slashes weren’t too strong, but they were precise, and they occurred without the target being able to react, allowing several of his tendons and articulations to be damaged.

The hits he suffered were similarly quite weak, but they were aimed at soft spots, and alongside the blade strikes, the concussive force felt more effective than normal.

He was also grabbed. The unseen attackers would have normally been easy for him to shake off and overpower, but his injuries and loss of balance rendered him unable to do anything… Not to mention that one of his attackers was actually more physically powerful than he was, even at his best.

The assassin ended up on the ground, right as Edrick casually stepped out of his carriage and sat on its front, where a guard could potentially sit if the carriage wasn’t used completely on its own.

“I’ll make sure you understand that it was a terrible idea to mess with me”

The tone was anything but friendly, but the smile the scion wore on his face was unsettlingly nice and warm.

The unseen attackers revealed themselves.

Underwood Elves, alongside the Underwood Blutgar.

Their invisibility was far superior to that of the assassins. They had snuck up on them all and stabbed them in the neck. Three elves per assassin, they stood no chance and were forced into invisibility even as they died, leaving only the one in the middle of the road alive.

He had made himself a target that Anoteros was more than happy to persecute.

The scion snapped his fingers, and his faithful followers listened attentively:

“Viot him”