Chapter 285: Traitorous Bastard

Uhtred squinted, his eyes honing in on the two figures in the distant castle. One was clearly Stormcaller — though compared to the Global Summit where Uhtred had seen him for the first time, he looked visibly different now.

The aura about him was... weird, chaotic. Even from the distant wall where Uhtred stood, he could see the guy fidgeting on the spot like he’d been doped with some sort of substance.

Still, though, Uhtred’s attention didn’t linger much on him. Isolde, Hassan, and the other factions could handle Stormcaller. He, on the other hand... his full attention was locked on the figure standing beside Stormcaller.

Just as he could make out their figures from the distant wall, he knew the second figure could see him just as clearly.

The Ancient Variant.

A curious smile was on his face as he carefully studied Uhtred’s expression from the castle balcony.

Hmm? His perception is decent. Is he one of those Prime Sapiens? Uhtred mused. If he is, then he’s just saved me a lot of trouble trying to find one...

The Ancient Variant in the distance didn’t particularly look like an Ancient Variant, to be honest. He didn’t look like a modern human either.

He just looks... ambiguous? Uhtred analyzed.

The Ancient Variant possessed features that hinted at Neanderthal physical traits, Homo erectus traits, and even Heidelbergensis and modern human physical traits...

Yet none of those were prominent enough for Uhtred to be totally sure he was a mix of all of them. Instead, he looked like an entirely separate, ambiguous entity.

He might as well be some other ancient strain, not like I know all the possible ancient variants of humans to have ever existed, Uhtred lampooned. But then again, didn’t Krijn mention something about there being only three Ancient Variant strains to survive their ancient war?

The moment Uhtred recalled that detail, the more confident he became that the Ancient Variant he was staring at was most certainly a Prime Sapien.

Of course, Krijn could simply have lied about there being only three surviving Ancient Variant strains, but Uhtred thought that unlikely.

By his side, the rest of the factions finally crossed the trap array and landed on the wall, quickly assessing the situation.

Golden Eagle Vance’s eyes narrowed after taking in the scene.

"So Stormcaller has turned?" he scoffed. "Why am I not surprised?"

He looked at Uhtred, his tone serious and professional. "I take it you want to leave him up to us while you handle that Ancient Variant, right?"

"’Us?’" Hassan Al-Malik scoffed, cutting in. "The only ’us’ here is Isolde and I. You guys just sit back and watch while we take care of this traitorous bastard."

"Unfortunately, Hassan Al-Malik, I simply cannot do that," Golden Eagle Vance rebutted. "We may have our differences, but on this matter, I must insist. On the list of things I utterly detest... traitorous bastards are right at the very top."

"General Vance is right," Uhtred suddenly said, drawing the attention of the two who were starting to grow heated. "Stormcaller has crossed a line no human ascender should cross. For that, there need to be consequences... consequences that would send a clear message to any other ascender harboring even the slightest thought of joining the other side..."

He paused.

"And for that, we need to crush him... thoroughly and utterly. Enough that it instills a deep fear in the hearts of every ascender who hears of this battle," he said, his voice cold. "Every faction present needs to participate in this. We all need to show a clear stance of zero mercy for traitors against humanity."

He turned and looked at Hassan Al-Malik and Golden Eagle Vance.

Hassan still looked slightly dissatisfied, but he nodded, understanding the bigger picture.

Golden Eagle Vance, on the other hand, understood the bigger picture very clearly — in fact, he hadn’t even needed Uhtred to spell it out. That had been his precise reasoning for pressing to join the attack himself. His only gripe with what Uhtred had said was that his tone had sounded like he was giving him an order.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and he stared at Uhtred for a second longer than necessary.

Uhtred held his gaze, unflinching, until Vance finally looked away, saying nothing else. The General instead turned to the last two forces present: The Free Ascenders’ Guild and the Inagawa-Kai.

Wordlessly, their people also nodded, showing that they were on board.

"Now our numbers are way more than enough to crush Stormcaller," Isolde said, stepping forward and closer to Uhtred as he stared at the two figures in the distance. "But why do I still feel weirdly in danger?"

She wasn’t the only one who had felt it, either. Uhtred remained in place, observing the duo in the distance for that exact reason. The other faction leaders and powerhouses also felt the same oppressive foreboding too.

Even Hassan Al-Malik and Golden Eagle Vance, who had both been arguing on who should attack Stormcaller, could very clearly sense this — everyone here was a top ascender in their own right, after all.

"First was the wall of lightning surrounding his territory, then the row of his goons defending this fortress," Uhtred said. "Now they’re just standing there waiting... Yeah, something is definitely wrong."

"They’ve prepared a trap for us," Uhtred continued. "In fact, judging by how confidently they’re standing in the open, they are eager to show it off... which is why I’m not rushing in blindly just yet."

"I say we surround the fortress first," Golden Eagle Vance suggested, scanning the vast perimeter of the stronghold. "We secure the area, and then we’ll see who can play the waiting game better."

"They’ll have to make the first move," one of the Free Ascenders’ Guild’s ascenders added with a nod. "But our numbers aren’t enough for that, no?"

His words were met with a weird silence from everyone. Those words had sounded so natural and innocent, but there was a hidden meaning behind them.