The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'-Chapter 520 - Five Is A Number Worth Confirming
A simmering in anger Yecine found what he was searching for in the same stinking warehouse that he had first ignored in favor of ’better odds’. Ironically enough, the probability would have been more on his side here... as both of the alleged cultists had turned out to be in an all day meeting away from home and work when he showed up to confront them. All at the very docks he ended up slinking toward.
Unable to locate where they had gone at the time, thanks to the uncooperative servants and employees, he had been forced to calmly retreat before the threat of officials from the Void Defense Society. They had also been operating in the area in search of clues and hopefully arrests to be made that would lead to the location of Teovar and the reincarnated individual of the prophecy.
Unfortunately for Ryder, one of the members of the group... there were no official laws on record about obstruction of their Guild activity, leastwise when the involved members were all from different organizations. But the continental council of Guilds was very much considering putting together a panel to try and form them. Not just thanks to Anper’s movements this half year, but he was the heavy bladed straw on their tired camel’s back.
The Saltfire incident, the unveiling of lots of administrative corruption while searching through Teovar’s known contacts, and Sevra’s assertions from her elder’s memories combined with the journals about ’purification’ incidents made it clear that a system of unambiguous punishment for these sort of things was necessary. For now, the groups were simply worried about turning everything into a persecution or inquisition against others.
Others who were mere political enemies or rival organizations - and not actually committing tangible crimes against society itself. The fact that the black suited swordsman was basically doing *just that very thing* every time he walked up to someone and accused them of cult connection made them see how easily the wrong rules and words could be mishandled.
And Ryder especially hated that a person he loathed was having *any* sort of success with that method - no matter the specific Astralism needed to make it work. Ruining his operation in this region and also getting away before he could detain him didn’t make the longsword wielder any happier. His letter being drafted to the man’s daughter, emancipated though she may be, was riddled with fiery complaints.
If the Yecine father knew he was causing annoyance to Qatrand gil Yecine here today, he probably would be working even harder than he was. In his eyes, she deserved every bit of it for being naive enough to accept looking after her half-siblings. Anper had not told his wife his suspicions or why he wanted things to happen a certain way, only planted seeds in conversation that led to sending them to the Warden Patrician.
He also had not explicitly informed his two sons to be on the lookout for secrets - or the missing realmshard that his family had paid quite a bit for. But he knew that they would discover things just by being there in that territory. That when everything was over with and they returned to the Yecine estate... information would flow.
The man trusted that he would be able to learn the whereabouts of Elua er Goltbred out of his two *filial* children. Intentionally or not. Just like he expected he would find cultists and did. Five of them, this time - the first full cell of Ouras participants he’d found. Which clearly felt like a trap to even Anper.
He waited for the first time one of them was alone, walking out on a pier to bend over a crate of what looked like legitimate cargo... but was probably smuggled goods. Digging into the people after dealing with them always proved that, if they could get one over on people or organizations while furthering their own goals, they would be doing so.
This one was middle-aged, unremarkable outfit, and with the hands of someone who worked for a living doing labor despite having cultivation potential. The dark clothed swordsman approached him openly with loud footsteps, unhurried and obvious on the wooden planks to the worker who stood back up and turned his way. Anper stopped just outside of his own striking distance - hand resting as casually as one could behind their shoulder and on a blade hilt.
"Can I help you?"
"Maybe. I’ve been hearing interesting things about old texts on spiritual cultivation methods being brought through this harbor."
"I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about. We just move fruit up and down the coast."
One of the merchants he’d been set to intimidate did indeed have a business doing that. The other one however, was very much a book dealer. Which did not surprise the Yecine all so much, as it would be the fourth person in a position that gave them the most access to obtain artifacts or texts that he would have confirmed as one of their number.
"Strange. I was certain this could be an Ouras operation. I was hoping to provide my own aid to the Promised."
Considering he could be up against multiple opponents... the member of the Yecine family - clear to anyone who knew continental rumor at all - thought he could try to change his tactic up just slightly. Directly lying was not his forte, made clear by the tiniest flicker in the other man’s spirit. Not quite ’fear’ of being found out, not quite ’anger’ at the attempt at being tricked. Yet, it was something like a pinprick of *consideration* to kill the person talking to them.
One that faded when he realized he didn’t have to do that on his own.
"I don’t know who these Ouras are. But I think you should leave. These docks aren’t really for visitors. Owners don’t want people to slip and-"
Spiritual sense shrieked out while watching the man’s hand. It hadn’t even moved toward the thick metal bar meant as a lever for prying crates open. But Anper knew he was under attack. Heavy blade left its sheath as the dark haired man fell in a twist, intentionally backwards. The horizontal slash in mid-air caught a second man he had not even noticed the presence of until right then.
The body of the enemy crumpled but wasn’t torn.... a feeling of striking an Armor Physique that the experienced cultivator knew from training duels with some of his own elders. The rondel dagger that had been in that attacker’s hand clattered right to the wood in front of Anper’s face. Coated in something that made the aggressive defender’s instincts scream even louder.
’Negavigor. Physical energy poison. Cultists.’
The Primalist didn’t think twice before picking up the taboo weapon and slinging it, with no spin, into the thoracic cavity of the one his sword had struck. The other cultivator who would have tried to stab him in the spinal column if he was any slower. A whistle and thunk right next to his extended hand happened only a blink of time later, as an arrow hit the dock wrapped in cloth soaked in oil and lit ablaze before shooting it. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Once might be happenstance, but twice was enough to realize he was right. He’d waltzed stubbornly into a trap.
