Timeless Assassin

(Meanwhile, back at the Skyshard Mansion)

Leo watched the chaotic feed with a nonchalant smile plastered across his lips, as he enjoyed the chaos as if watching a movie.

*Fizzzz*

*Booom*

As the firecrackers went off in the distance, and Elena and Alia panicked at the sudden surprise attack on Veyr, Leo only laughed unworried, as he elbowed his father on the side.

"This…. This is why I chose not to be Dragon," he said, as he watched the guards around the Twelfth Elder drop like flies, looking completely clueless on where the attacks were coming from.

"What's the matter? These idiots don't know any sensory detection spells? Jeez, they teach [Absolute Vision] in the first year at Rodova.

This is exactly why–" Leo commented, as he felt thoroughly disappointed in Cult security, which clearly did not know high tiered perception spells necessary to do their jobs.

*Slash*

*Thud*

"Oooo—" Leo said, his face scrunching in disgust, as he saw four more guards lose their lives at once, leaving Veyr nearly defenceless now.

"The killer is good… whoever it is, their skills are the real deal…." He said, as Dupravel finally dropped into frame, his Black Serpent robes fluttering silently in the air.

"Well… well…. Well….. I'll be damned!" Leo said, as he looked at Dupravel, the Monarch looking as menacing as ever.

"Mom, that's my old boss…. I told you I was in the Black Serpents yeah? That's the guildmaster!" Leo said, pointing excitedly towards Dupravel, as Elena absentmindedly nodded.

"Is he very strong? Will he kill the new Dragon?" Alia asked at this moment, as Leo shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Yeah…. Veyr is fucked." He said, as he felt pity for his cousin who had to face this monster.

However, just as he dismissed Veyr's death as a foregone conclusion, it was Amanda who reminded him of the consequences of Veyr's death, should it actually come to pass.

"Leo, if Veyr dies you become the next Dragon.

That means, it would be you up on that Chariot during the next parade…." Amanda reminded, as it was at that moment that Leo realized what was at stake here.

"Oh hell no! Oh no, no, nonono, nono" Leo mumbled as he clutched his hair in panic.

"Go Veyr! Run! Fucking save your life somehow!" He cheered, as from that moment onwards, he too began to watch the TV with bitten lips.

Uptil now, he watched the Chaos unfold with complete nonchalance, forgetting that this would be his fate next, should Veyr actually die in battle.

However, thankfully, such an outcome did not come to pass.

Veyr managed to hold his own until reinforcements arrived, and in the end Dupravel was forced to retreat.

"He's safe! He managed to fend off a Monarch!" Elena said once the smoke cleared, as Leo blinked in confusion.

On one hand, it could not be refuted that Veyr managed to hold his own against Dupravel, however, on the other, it did not seem like he was fighting at Monarch strength.

"Interesting….." Leo mused, as when he compared the speed and power behind Dupravel's movements to those of Charles…. In his head, the movement speeds did not add up, as he felt like something was amiss about this whole episode.

—----------

(Meanwhile Mauriss)

Mauriss watched the entire episode unfold from his home planet on a small crystal ball, as he felt extremely amused when he saw Dupravel curse him right before he fled.

"Hahahaha!"

He chuckled out loud, as it were moments like these that made eternal life worth living for him, as he derived a sadistic pleasure from deceiving gullible mortals.

"It will take twenty days for his strength to return to peak Monarch Tier, not twenty seconds.

Let's see if he can survive until then, or if Soron sniffs him out in between," Mauriss muttered, as he cut off the crystal orb feed and closed his eyes with a satisfied smile.

Everything had proceeded exactly how he calculated.

The Dragon had been attacked publicly, and Dupravel had escaped with his life intact which was going to trigger two major events within the Cult.

Firstly, a massive manhunt for Dupravel was sure to be launched, with every commoner searching for the Black Serpents Monarch like a rabid dog looking for something to bite on.

However, with Dupravel being the skilled assassin that he is, this manhunt was sure to pile up bodies in the tens of thousands, with the Cult eventually being forced to either mobilize Charles, or Soron to take him out, since they were the only two warriors within the Cult capable of making it happen.

In this case, if Charles was pulled away from the front lines, the Universal Army could then destroy Juxta that very day, pouring as much manpower as needed to make it happen.

And if he was not, and Soron moved himself, then they could gather information on how worse his injuries had gotten over the centuries and whether or not he had an origin metal blade in his possession or not.

Either way… it was going to be a massive win for them.

Secondly, in the weeks following the aftermath of Dupravel's death, the pressure on the Elders Council to declare war and seek retaliation for this attack was sure to grow.

Here, Mauriss predicted that the Elders desperate to appease their voters would take half-baked steps to satisfy public anger at once and try launching a massive counteroffensive against the righteous faction.

"Those fools will probably push back and try occupying fresh territories within the righteous faction" Mauriss muttered, as he could see it playing out as clear as day.

The Cult armies invading righteous planets, and the decades long ceasefire finally ending.

"I'll let them win too…. Let a couple planets fall rather quickly…." Mauriss muttered, as an evil grin spread across his face.

He wanted the Cult's threat to appear larger than it really was, as it would then force the gods of the six great clans to once again return to the negotiating table with the Universal Government, and be forced to hold a meeting regarding the Cult's rapid expansion and how to stop it at once.

"Mmm… we are in for some very interesting times ahead, HAHAHA—" Mauriss chuckled, as just thinking about the tumultuous future, he felt excited about all the entertainment unfolding after decades of lull.