The next few days, reports continued to arrive.

The Keepers moved faster than Lucien expected.

By then, he had confirmed one more unpleasant truth. The Keepers were at least Eternal-levels.

And across the five continents, the number of confirmed and suspected Keepers had already climbed into the thousands.

That number did not frighten Lucien.

It made him quiet.

There was a difference.

If thousands of Eternals had been hidden inside the world for so long, then the Thousand Races had never truly understood what lived among them.

..

The first open move happened in the Middle Continent.

Three factions that had refused to surrender their Origin Core fragments were attacked in the same afternoon.

They were not allies of Lootwell. They were not innocent either.

The Blood Iron Sect had used war captives as mining labor for years.

The Red Smoke Pavilion had sold poison under medicine labels.

The Mountain Fang Clan had a long habit of calling robbery "ancestral taxation."

None of them were good people. But that did not matter.

The way the fragments were taken was meant to be seen.

Hooded Eternals walked into each faction openly.

Their combined aura descended like a mountain pressing onto the spine of the sects.

Formation lights cracked.

Elders fell to their knees.

Disciples could not raise their heads.

The strongest practitioners in those factions could only watch as sealed chambers were opened and Origin Core fragments were taken from their vaults.

The hooded Eternals did not claim to be from Lootwell.

They did not need to.

They only acted with the kind of clean arrogance people associated with a force that believed no one could question it.

Then they left.

By the time the factions recovered enough to scream, the fragments were gone.

The Shadow Spies stationed in those factions sent reports immediately.

Lucien had not even finished reading the first shadow report when recorder reports arrived.

He opened them.

Then almost laughed.

Not because the matter was funny. But because the enemy had moved exactly as expected.

Messages had already begun spreading through public and private channels.

[I heard the Blood Iron Sect suffered from Lootwell’s Eternals.]

[Lootwell claims cooperation, but secretly steals fragments from those who refuse.]

[That is what they get for not surrendering their fragments.]

[Maybe those fragments were never theirs to keep.]

[If Lootwell wanted them, why pretend to ask politely before?]

Some messages accused Lootwell.

Some defended Lootwell too quickly.

Some pretended to be reasonable.

Those were the most poisonous.

They spoke as if they were on Lootwell’s side, but every sentence carried a hook.

[Perhaps Lootwell had no choice. Dangerous people should not hold dangerous relics.]

[Maybe this is harsh, but order requires sacrifice.]

[If private factions cannot be trusted, central control is understandable.]

Lucien read those lines and marked them.

Every sender. Every route. Every relay. Every false supporter.

Not one verified Lootwell citizen had joined the earliest wave.

All of it had come from enemy-linked accounts, borrowed identities, and hidden channels wearing public faces.

The slander moved too quickly to be spontaneous.

That speed was evidence.

Lucien placed the reports aside.

The enemy had stolen fragments and thrown mud at Lootwell in the same breath.

•••

More reports arrived from ordinary civilians soon after.

Their reactions were mixed.

Many defended Lootwell immediately.

The stolen fragments had belonged to hated factions. Some people from nearby towns openly said that if Lootwell had truly robbed the Blood Iron Sect, then perhaps the Blood Iron Sect should consider it accumulated karma.

Others were not so calm.

Fear spread among the powers that still held a fragment. They wondered whether Lootwell’s patience had finally ended. They wondered whether the future intercontinental array would become a reason to seize anything connected to leylines.

Some merchants were careful.

They did not accuse Lootwell, but they slowed negotiations.

There were also smart ones.

They noticed that the attacks were too dramatic, too public, and too convenient.

A few scholars pointed out that Lootwell had always preferred contracts, contribution systems, and administrative pressure. If Lootwell truly wanted the fragments, it had better methods than sending hooded Eternals to act like villains from a bad historical play.

That phrase spread for half a day.

Lucien liked that scholar.

He still did not respond.

Not yet.

Silence had worked once.

It could work again.

•••

Inside the Origin Core Shrine, Lucien watched the stolen fragments move.

That was the part the enemy did not know.

They thought stealing fragments from hostile factions would frighten others and stain Lootwell’s name.

They did not know Lucien could feel the Origin Core fragments through the merged one.

Each stolen fragment left a thread in his perception.

The enemy had gathered the fragments for him. They had taken scattered pieces and carried them toward more important locations.

Lucien almost wanted to thank them.

Almost.

He would not clear the accusation yet.

Let the thieves run.

Let the slanderers speak.

Let the hidden handlers believe the mud was spreading.

The longer they moved, the clearer their routes became.

The more fragments they stole, the more their collection points would reveal themselves.

If they were foolish enough to gather too many fragments in one place, Lucien could take them back in one strike.

So he let them continue.

...

More factions lost fragments over the next two days.

Not all were evil, but most were questionable enough that public sympathy remained divided.

That was part of the enemy’s calculation.

They targeted people the public did not fully trust, so the accusation against Lootwell became harder to reject cleanly.

If the victims had been beloved, people would have defended them.

If the victims were hated, people argued about whether the theft was wrong or deserved.

Confusion was the enemy’s shield.

Lucien understood that.

He still waited.

•••

Then the forged announcements began.

The enemy grew bolder.

Or more desperate.

False notices appeared across several channels.

[Lootwell demands all private Origin Core fragments be surrendered.]

[Refusal to cooperate will result in blacklisting.]

[Leyline land will be seized for the greater good.]

[Only those who worship Grace may use the new array.]

Lucien looked at the messages.

Then calmly labeled their senders as trolls.

The recorders adopted the term.

Some of them seemed far too satisfied by it.

The forged messages attacked trust directly.

They wanted fragment holders to hide.

They wanted local factions to resist inspection.

They wanted outsiders to believe Lootwell was no longer a partner but a coming ruler.

Then...

Another message spread with careful wording.

[Lootwell’s leyline survey is only the first step. After they map the ley lines, they will control your land, teleport troops into your territory, and dominate your continent.]

The phrase moved quickly.

•••

Then the Keepers made their public move.

It was a political strike.

Several old powers appeared across the continents.

They spoke with the weight of age.

Their words spread through disciples, faction notices, and public channels.

[Lootwell is reckless. Young powers should not touch ancient ley lines.]

That sentence did what the forged announcements could not.

It made some people hesitate.

Public trust in Lootwell was still strong.

But seniority had weight.

Many ordinary people did not understand ley lines. They did not understand spatial pressure points. They did not understand why ancient elders would suddenly care.

They only knew that powerful old figures were warning them.

Some began to wonder.

Some wanted caution.

Some wanted profit.

Some wanted to see which side would offer better terms.

Some simply waited.

Because by now, many people had learned one thing about Lootwell.

Lootwell’s silence was rarely empty.

Those who knew Lucien waited more carefully.

They knew this was not simple.

He had let the rumor spread.

He had let the enemies move.

He had let the accusations grow.

That meant he was not cornered.

He was counting.

•••

Lucien stood before the five-continent map.

The stolen fragments moved across it like sparks carried by thieves who did not know their hands were glowing.

Enemy-linked messages spread like black ink.

Old Keepers stepped into public sight and tried to weigh the world down with age.

Behind them, the hidden array pulsed.

Lucien watched everything.

He did not look angry.

That made the recorder standing nearby lower his breathing instinctively. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Angry leaders shouted.

Lucien organized.

He had enough now to understand the enemy’s delay strategy.

Steal fragments. Frame Lootwell. Forge announcements. Turn leyline inspection into fear of invasion. Use ancient authority to make caution look like wisdom.

Not bad. Not brilliant either.

The mistake was simple.

Every lie had a route.

Every stolen fragment had a direction.

Every forged announcement had a source.

Every public warning had a timing.

And every Keeper who stepped forward became easier to mark.

Lucien finally gave a small smile.

"Continue recording."

The recorder bowed and withdrew.

Lucien remained before the map.

He still did not clear the accusations.

Not yet.

The enemy had thrown mud.

Lucien wanted to see every hand that had touched it before he washed it away.

Outside, the world waited for Lootwell’s answer.

Inside the Origin Core Shrine, Lucien watched the stolen fragments gather.

His smile faded slightly.