Chapter 162: The Intel Exchange
Chapter 162: Chapter 162: The Intel Exchange
Chapter 162: The Intel Exchange
The Lord Commander’s private quarters at the top of the central Vanguard tower smelled of heavy amber alcohol and expensive cigar smoke.
It was a stark contrast to the blood and shattered concrete of the plaza below. The Eclipse Hunters had finally allowed themselves a moment to breathe.
The adrenaline of fighting a Level 200 anomaly and a mutated bone beast was fading, leaving behind a deep, aching exhaustion in their bones.
Reina sat on a velvet sofa, quietly applying medical bandages to the frostburns on her arms.
Bram leaned against the reinforced steel wall, his massive frame taking up a quarter of the room as he closed his eyes.
Aegon stood near the doorway, meticulously wiping the dark, corrupted blood from the blade of his spear.
Draven Mordis stood by the floor-to-ceiling glass window. He looked out over Bastion Six.
Plumes of black smoke rose from the outer walls where the monster army had breached, but the city was quiet. The Vanguard Knights were working through the night to clear the rubble.
Gunther Stillbane sat heavily in his massive leather chair behind a mahogany desk.
The Lord Commander looked exhausted. His dark skin was still pale from the microscopic cellular surgery Draven had performed, and his chest ached with every breath.
He poured himself a glass of amber liquid, his metal gauntlets clinking against the crystal. He took a long, slow drink.
Gunther set the glass down. He looked directly at the masked boy standing by the window.
"Alright," Gunther said, his deep voice losing the playful swagger for a moment.
"I owe y’all! It is hard for me to believe that I needed to get help from you guys! it was my oversight! But y’all should be awarded for killing a Level 200 Elder and saving our asses!"
Gunther leaned forward, resting his heavy elbows on the desk.
"But I am not stupid. You guys are kids from the Bastion 7 Academy! I have read reports as well! But y’all are too damn powerful for normal kids! Tell me, who’re you all working for?"
Draven turned away from the window. He looked at the giant Earth Mage. It was better to show him instead of trying too hard to prove with the words.
Draven did not give him a verbal answer.
[System Skill Activated: Astral Server]
Draven pulled Gunther’s consciousness directly out of his physical body.
Gunther blinked. The smell of alcohol and cigar smoke instantly vanished. The mahogany desk and the reinforced steel walls dissolved into absolute nothingness.
Gunther was no longer sitting in his office. He was sitting on a massive chair made of pure, glowing starlight. He looked around in sheer shock.
He was floating in the middle of an infinite, pitch-black cosmic void filled with swirling violet nebulae and distant, burning galaxies.
’WHAT?! Where am I ?!’
Directly in front of him sat a massive, shadowy entity. The figure was colossal, formed entirely out of shifting constellations and dark matter. The gravitational pressure radiating from the entity was terrifying. It was the Void God.
Before Gunther could even process the cosmic being, a flash of golden light illuminated the void to his right.
A second starry chair materialized. A man with sharp, aristocratic features and brilliant blonde hair appeared, sitting perfectly straight.
He wore the immaculate, high-collared uniform of Bastion Seven. It was Lord Commander Helion Goldmane.
Gunther stared at his fellow Lord Commander. He looked at the infinite cosmic void, then looked back at Helion. The sheer absurdity of the situation forcibly brought the Hood Energy right back out of him.
Gunther let out a loud, booming laugh that echoed across the stars.
"Man, Helion, you could have warned me your boss was a literal galaxy," Gunther grinned, shaking his head.
"This VIP room is crazy. Y’all really holding meetings in outer space?"
Helion Goldmane slowly turned his head. His expression was completely blank. He exuded the aura of a man who was entirely unbothered by the universe. He looked at Gunther’s battered armor and messy, sweat-soaked hair.
"Act like your hairline, Gunther," Helion stated, his voice a calm, chillingly smooth wave of absolute authority.
"Back up."
Gunther did not flinch at the disrespect. He just laughed louder, rubbing the top of his head with a massive metal gauntlet.
"Man, whenever you speak it makes me appreciate your silence even more," Gunther fired back, flashing a bright, arrogant grin.
"Good to see you too."
CLAP.
A single, deafening sound shattered the banter.
The Void God slowly brought his massive, starlit hands together. The sheer force of the clap generated a localized sonic boom that violently shook the starry chairs.
"Silence," the Void God commanded.
His voice did not just enter their ears. It vibrated directly against their souls. The playful energy instantly drained from the cosmic void.
Helion sat up straighter. Gunther immediately dropped his smile, recognizing the absolute authority of the entity in front of him.
"Report," the Void God stated simply.
Gunther cleared his throat. He looked at the massive entity, shifting entirely into his role as a military general.
"Me? Alright! We held the block, but it cost us heavy," Gunther reported, his golden eyes narrowing.
"Cassian sold us out. He deactivated the southern shields and let the Cult’s vanguard march right through the front door. He used a localized spatial distortion artifact to mask the breach from our central scanners."
Helion frowned slightly, his sharp eyes focused on Gunther.
"The Fifth Elder?" Helion asked quietly.
"Tharzek Noctis," Gunther confirmed, spitting the name out like a curse.
"Level 200 anomaly. Just like us! He use the Edict of Entropy. His goal was a mass sacrifice. He wanted to use the souls of my Vanguard Knights to tear a hole in the spatial boundary and summon a King-Level beast directly into Bastion Six."
Helion’s stoic composure cracked for a fraction of a second. A King-Level beast spawning inside a populated city would mean millions of immediate casualties. It was an apocalyptic scenario.
"The Elder is dead," the Void God interjected, his heavy voice echoing across the nebulae.
"The beast was not summoned. But this was not an isolated incident. The High Pontiff of the Eternal Eclipse is accelerating his plans. Bastion Six was a testing ground for a coordinated global strike."
Gunther gripped the armrests of his starlit chair.
"My walls are broken," Gunther admitted, his voice tight with frustration.
"I have lost a third of my active Vanguard Knights tonight. If the Cult sends another wave next week, we will not be able to hold the line."
The Void God shifted his massive gaze toward Bastion Seven’s Commander.
"Helion," the Void God said.
"You will mobilize your logistical reserves immediately. Bastion Six and Bastion Seven are now secretly merged under the banner of the Embracing Hands. You will provide the necessary resources to rebuild his defenses."
Helion bowed his head respectfully.
"It will be done," Helion replied with absolute certainty.
"I will dispatch a fleet of heavy construction mechs and a vanguard battalion of earth mages to assist with the outer walls. The supply lines will be established under classified mercenary designations to avoid suspicion from the central government."
Gunther looked at Helion, genuine gratitude flashing in his golden eyes. He looked back up at the towering constellation of the Void God.
"I don’t care about the central government," Gunther stated, his voice ringing with fierce, unfiltered loyalty.
"I had already declared my support for Bastion 7. Never really liked those old fellows at all! If I am right, the embracing hands had information about this attack and y’all came to save us from this terrible nightmare! I thank you!"
The Void God joked and said, "I did not ask for your consent in this matter. Do you swear your fealty to me?"
"I do," he swore as he knelt.
The Void God looked down at the two Lord Commanders. The foundation of his secret empire was officially set in stone.
"Adjourned," the Void God declared.
---
The cosmic dimension violently shattered.
Gunther gasped, his chest heaving as his consciousness slammed violently back into his physical body. He gripped the edges of his mahogany desk. The smell of cigar smoke filled his lungs once more.
He slowly looked up.
Draven Mordis was still standing quietly by the glass window, watching the smoke rise from the city. The masked Captain had not moved a single inch.
Gunther stared at the teenager in the black jacket. The awe in Gunther’s eyes was impossible to hide. He finally understood the terrifying scale of the organization he had just joined.
Gunther stood up from his heavy leather chair. He walked over to a hidden biometric safe built seamlessly into the steel wall. He pressed his thumb against the glowing scanner. The heavy locks clicked open.
Gunther reached inside and pulled out a sleek, black data-drive covered in dried blood. It was the drive Aegon had pulled from Cassian’s mutated corpse.
Gunther walked over and tossed the drive onto the desk right in front of Draven.
"Cassian’s personal access codes," Gunther said quietly, his voice filled with absolute, solemn respect.
"His private vault is three floors down. It’s completely off the official Vanguard grid. Whatever my traitor brother was hoarding down there is all yours."