Chapter 47: Chapter 47: The Warring Snitch

Chapter 47: The Warring Snitch

High above the inner rings of Bastion Seven, Patriarch Vance Hennessey stood in his massive office. The walls were lined with ancient weapons and tactical maps.

He stared at a holographic projection resting on his mahogany desk. It displayed a high-resolution image of a severed finger and a jagged ransom note.

The Patriarch did not scream. He did not smash his expensive furniture.

He was a veteran of the wildland wars. He looked at the horrifying image with the cold calculation of a seasoned general.

"Neville is not weak," Vance stated quietly to the man standing behind him.

"My son possesses the Holy Aura. He has the highest grade of defensive magic in this entire city. A group of sewer rats could not just kidnap him without leaving a trace of a struggle."

His chief lieutenant bowed his head.

"What are your orders, Patriarch? The Vanguard Knights are entirely useless. Shall we deploy our trackers?"

"If the Cult of the Eternal Eclipse took him without a fight, it means they used an Elite or a Grandmaster," Vance reasoned. He narrowed his sharp eyes.

"They think they hold the ultimate leverage over my House. We will let them believe exactly that."

Vance turned away from the hologram and faced the sprawling city below his window.

"Send a public broadcast on all encrypted channels," Vance ordered.

"Tell the Church that we accept their terms. Tell them we are gathering the fifty million credits and await their coordinates."

The lieutenant looked confused.

"Sir? You are going to pay them?"

"It is a facade," Vance said. A deeply murderous intent leaked from his rigid posture.

"We will feed them a false sense of security. While they are busy counting their imaginary gold, you will mobilize the absolute entirety of our shadow guard. Equip them with the highest grade of holy weapons."

"But, sir. They might harm Young Master Neville in the process. It is a plan full of loopholes. I do not mean to be disrespectful, but it will put great risk on Young Master Neville’s life. I ask you to rethink." he pleaded for the sake of a dead boy.

"You do not understand lieutenant. That boy is precious to me. He is loved by everyone in the city too. But someone today had put their hands on the Hennessey Family. We have to make a statement. We need to tell them that we do not bend to random goons on the streets. We will declare a full war on them and make sure to raze them to the grounds."

He got up and looked at the lieutenant with a serious gaze.

"We will fight them in the streets, we will fight them in the sewers, we will fight them in the wildlands. We will show our wrath. We will show the whole world what happens when you bare your fangs at the Hennessey family."

The lieutenant’s eyes widened in sudden realization. He slammed his fist against his chest in a quick salute.

"We are not going to negotiate," Vance declared coldly.

"We are going to find their local branch, and we are going to burn it to the ground. We will rip the Church of the Eternal Eclipse out of this city by its roots."

---

Later that evening, Draven sat alone on his bed in the dormitories.

The Academy was still paralyzed by the lockdown.

Aegon was currently holding a meeting with the Vanguard squad leaders, stepping up exactly as Draven had instructed. Everything was moving according to the grand design.

Draven raised his hand. He accessed his status screen.

A bright blue notification panel popped up, followed by several golden alerts.

[System Alert: Quest Completed!]

[Quest: Pruning the Rotten Branch]

[Target Neville Hennesy successfully eliminated.]

[Distributing Rewards...]

[Received: 50,000 System Points]

[Received: Mythic Title - Bearer of the Fate]

[Received: Unique Relic - Protagonist’s Halo]

Draven dismissed the standard notifications. He had already equipped the Halo earlier in the cafeteria.

But right as he was about to close the interface, a hidden panel violently flashed on the screen. It was glowing with a strange purple hue.

[Hidden Achievement Unlocked!]

[Condition Met: Successfully instigated a massive conflict between two major planetary factions.]

[Reward: Hidden Title - The Warring Snitch]

[Bonus Reward: 1,000 System Points]

Draven stared at the purple text. His dark eyes flickered with genuine surprise.

"The Warring Snitch," Draven muttered. He read the condition again.

"It’s not really something to be proud of. Getting called a Snitch."

He leaned back against his pillows. His highly analytical mind began to dissect this new piece of information.

"From what I can understand from these events, the system rewards me whenever I perform a deed that will affect the World. I have just created a conflict between the two major factions which played a major role in saving and destroying the World in the Novel."

A calculated smile spread across Draven’s face.

He finally understood the true mechanics of his Epic Sign-In System.

"The Sign-Ins are just a way to make me stronger by giving me items that will help and boost my growth. It wants to make me strong. Strong enough to stand against the upcoming threats. I know what will happen in the future. My mind is my biggest Arsenal."

Whenever he made a move that actively shifted the balance of the entire world, the System paid him. The larger the ripple effect, the greater the reward.

’I do not need to fight every battle with my own hands,’ Draven realized.

’This world has many people who deserved to be hailed as Heroes, but were left behind because they were neglected by fate or could not grow properly as they were eliminated early by the Church and the other rival forces.’

The original plot of this world was a straight line of tragedies caused by Neville’s stupidity. But now, Draven held the steering wheel.

He could manipulate the major players from the shadows. He could feed them false information. He could set traps and let his enemies destroy each other.

The Hennessey Clan was about to march into the slums to annihilate the Cult.

The Cult was panicking and bleeding resources. The Evil God had lost his primary vessel.

Draven closed the System interface. The room plunged back into darkness.

It was no longer just a battle for survival.

It was a grand psychological game, and Draven was the only player who could see the entire board.