Chương 67: Chapter 66: Pride comes before a Fall

"Where is she?" asked Priam.

"I don't know. Anatole, Anne and two Generals have been missing for several hours."

"Gone to set their trap, right?"

"That's what we think. The last order I got from the two present Generals was to tell the snipers to force an attack." Priam watched his prisoner for a moment. He seemed to have made peace with his death, and was beginning to give him information on his own. Priam stood up slightly to allow Corentin to breathe.

"You're with me now. If you do anything, I'll kill you straight away. Between now and the end of this battle, you're going to help me destroy the Revenants. Okay?"

"Okay," replied the messenger in a clear voice. Either he's a good actor, or he's out for revenge and redemption.

"Swear on your Potential that you will follow my orders to the letter and do your best to destroy the Revenants." Corentin swore, and Priam relaxed slightly as he felt the Concepts' magic. He stood up and held out his hand. Corentin took it, and Priam helped him to his feet.

"Good. Any idea where Anatole is?"

"No. There are underground passages beneath the camp. Some Abominations have been specially created to dig the ground, but the entrances are hidden. Even though we're linked by a common cause and a desire to live, information is pretty partitioned. In case one of us decides to betray the cause, I suppose," Corentin sneered. Priam looked at him for a moment. The man in front of him was going to die, and he knew it. Yet he smiled. The pressure of death and the horrors he endured had made him unstable...

"Any idea how to find these underground passages?" Priam had no desire to prevent Anatole from provoking the Earl's Tribulation, but he didn't want Anatole or Anne to run away afterward. After all, it was unlikely that Revenant officers would stay close to an Earl's Tribulation. The collateral damage promised to be titanic. Corentin thought for a second before answering.

"There may be a way. There are two guest officers representing factions allied with ours. They've invested a lot of resources, weapons, and cores in this conflict. I suppose if they asked to see Anatole, the Generals would lead them..." Priam took only a moment to think. With every passing second, he risked being caught in the same trap as the Earl. I need information about their trap.

"Right. You're going to tell them that a Viscount is coming their way, so they need to evacuate. Then you leave and let them panic. They'll go straight to the Generals and ask them for a way out. Normally, one of them will warn Anatole, or he'll lead them to him. I'll just have to follow them." Priam noticed Corentin's grimace.

"Is there a problem?"

"Why not do as you did with me? Threaten to kill them and tell them to ask the Generals to take them to see Anatole?"

"Because they come from a real faction," Priam explained.

"The difference between them and you is that aliens who have been enslaving people for thousands of years don't want their recruits to betray them. They've undoubtedly signed a contract, taken an oath, or are hypnotized not to betray their faction. Even if they wanted to, they couldn't help me." Corentin nodded.

"These factions are deceitful." The System made you promise to kill your fellow man Corentin. It's this world that's deceitful...

"No time to lose. I'm watching you." Silvio Bianchi was biting his nails in his tent as he heard the howling in the distance. These were not the howls of men, but of animals. Thousands of animals were howling to their deaths as they fought the chimera of the Revenants. He'd seen the monsters those madmen had created. Those Abominations. The name suited them, and you'd have to be stupid to go near them. Anatole was insane, and Silvio wanted nothing to do with that kind of man.

Unfortunately, his boss didn't think so. He'd gambled that the Lame di Randuo could take advantage of a schism in humanity created by the Revenants. So Silvio had loaned them dozens of Baron cores, as well as a rare treasure. A Spiritual Sapphire. Silvio had been sent here to check that the Revenants were making good use of the Sapphire.

"Someone's coming," said Gloria. Silvio looked up for a second at the woman sharing his tent. He wasn't too fond of his temporary roommate. She was gorgeous but had firmly refused his advances. Silvio was honest enough to admit that this had hurt his pride. The tent flaps opened, and a messenger entered.

"Sir, Madam, I've come to warn you that the Abominations are overwhelmed. A Viscount has passed their surveillance and is heading this way. You should take cover," said the messenger before leaving the tent in a hurry.

"What? Wait!" Silvio leaped to his feet. He rushed to the tent entrance to look out, but the messenger had disappeared.

"He's fucking with us!" he exclaimed.

"No... The mist doesn't respond anymore," Gloria murmured. Silvio turned to his pale comrade. Gloria was a Baroness and controlled part of the Moon's ubiquitous mist. If her power was ineffective...

"Shit. We gotta go."

"Where?! There are thousands of animals surrounding the camp," Gloria replied, her face contorted with fear. How could she have killed a Baron?

"Calm down. Anatole and his henchmen are preparing a trap thanks to the Sapphire. I have a method of spotting it in case of theft, and it's currently underground. Anatole is crazy, but he values his life. If we can get to him, we'll be safe." Gloria nodded weakly and moved closer to Silvio. He smiled, sensing the Baroness's fear. If she sees me as a savior, maybe...

"Let's go," he said, opening the tent aperture and beckoning Gloria through. Maybe the whole thing wasn't so bad after all... Lvl Up: [Focus] lvl 21 PERC +1 VIVA +1 DEXT +1 Priam sighed at his failure. He had tried to listen in on the conversation between the two guests by translating the disturbances running through his mist. When he spoke, the man's voice was deeper than the woman's, translating into a different frequency. Priam was able to tell who was speaking by observing the mist vibrations.

Unfortunately, even with a brief connection to his Potential, he hadn't been able to translate the disturbance in his mist - the sound - into information. It would have been useful for eavesdropping on conversations. I'll have to create a technique for that... Fortunately, his main plan was working. Priam was currently following the movements of the two outside officers as they made their way to the command post. Once inside, Priam forced himself to meditate.

If they could get through the underground, so much the better. If not, Priam would attack head-on. While the guests were demanding to be taken to Anatole, Priam spotted Corentin. The young man had picked up several grenades and was approaching one of the Abominations guarding the camp. Moments later, the young Viscount closed his eyes and felt a sudden emptiness in his mist. One of the Revenants was dead. Corentin had accepted the System's offer without imagining the consequences.

Today, he had found the courage to refuse to sink any further into horror. Two minutes later, the two officers emerged from the tent, accompanied by another woman. Priam concentrated as he watched them head for a makeshift hangar. They went inside, and Priam's consciousness followed. Suddenly, some of the mist in the hangar began to penetrate the floor. They've opened a hatch! Priam waited a moment for the hatch to close, then straddled the mist, appearing outside the hangar.

He opened the door and came face to face with two soldiers.

"What..." Without giving them time to say a word, Priam's spear quickly found their brains. Priam picked up the corpses and entered the almost empty hangar. He noticed a large trapdoor on the floor and a few tarpaulins to cover it. He camouflaged the bodies with the tarps and opened the heavy trapdoor. A black well appeared, along with a rope ladder. Priam jumped. His Perception quickly became accustomed to the darkness, and Priam slowed his fall a dozen meters by activating [Kinetic Control].

The skill made him wince. He'd built up an incredible energy charge while training with Sphinx, and together, they'd discovered a limit to how much energy he could absorb. Priam wasn't sure how much power he had at his disposal, but he knew this ultimate attack would be cataclysmic. For the opponent, and for my meridians... Looking around, Priam found only a dark, horizontal tunnel, about three meters in diameter. A glimmer of light shone in the distance, and Priam cautiously moved forward.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The open trapdoor at the entrance to the tunnel provided little light. Fifty meters in, his perception was no longer strong enough to pierce the darkness. Priam had no torch, and the only light-generating objects he carried were grenades. With his Constitution, he wasn't risking much by throwing them away, but this kind of explosive wasn't known for being silent.

Am I really thinking of using fragmentation grenades to produce light? The apocalypse changes a man... Priam stopped walking. Far ahead, the torchlight began to fade. The tunnel must have turned. What made Priam hesitate was Anatole's madness and the slowness of the trio ahead of him. The two officers and General Revenant certainly had exceptional physical attributes. One of them was even a Baroness. Yet they hadn't run. Priam feared the tunnel might be booby-trapped.

Sighing, Priam decided to drown the tunnel in mist. He could have used his kinetic charges to levitate to the end of the tunnel. The problem was that this kind of clever new use risked increasing the level of [Kinetic Control]. This increase would be accompanied by four points of Meta Focus, propelling Priam to one hundred and two points in this attribute. It would be his twelfth attribute above one hundred and would trigger a fifth Tribulation. Damn. I really need to start my Tribulations soon!

Closing his eyes, he directed his consciousness eighty meters ahead and straddled the mist. He appeared eighty meters further on, floating in the air. Quickly, he straddled the fog again and found himself just beyond the bend, at the entrance to a large natural cavern. In front of him, a dozen Abominations were busy watching a trio pass between them. Without missing a beat, Priam looked up and spotted a large stalactite. He teleported to it and clung on, wrapping himself in mist.

Lvl Up: [Stealth] lvl 15 AGI +1 Priam observed the cavern. It must have existed before the Revenants' arrival and was certainly why Anatole had chosen to set up camp here. In the center of the cavern was a small pond. Observing it, Priam felt [Mirror of the Soul] react. A fragment of Concept had been scattered there. From the tremor of his Talent, the fragment was pure. Very pure.

The Moon must be teeming with these kinds of treasure-filled caverns, and Priam thought back to his questions, the rewards of his Achievements. Perhaps he could pick up a grid map and ask where the best place to get treasure would be. Later... Knee-high in the water, a man and a woman watched a precious stone - a sapphire? - levitating a meter above the water. Priam instantly recognized the woman as Anne. The man's back was to the water, but Priam felt his stomach knot. He was pretty sure it was Anatole.

Priam's fingers were itching. It would only take him a second to pick up his spear and pierce the man responsible for all this butchery. Priam stood still and watched as the trio he'd been following stopped at the bank. Two other Revenants were already there, observing the pond.

"Your Abominations are getting swamped," said the man in a thick Italian accent.

"It doesn't matter," replied Anatole.

"Your men up there are dying too."

"It. Doesn't. Matter." The Revenant's icy tone sent shivers down Priam's spine. The Master of the Cult turned, and Priam gazed into his face for the first time. The man was handsome, tall and of multiple origins. His clothes were plain enough, and Priam understood that the Grand Master of the Revenants attached no importance to his cult or his men. He sought absolute power and knew that the fear or admiration of his fellow men were merely tools.

In fact, his eyes seemed pensive; Anatole wasn't focussed on his interlocutor. But what stood out for Priam was his aura. He exuded a terrifying sense of corruption. The Depths... Priam squinted at the urn in his right hand. The object looked harmless, but Priam held his breath as he looked at it. It was not an object a man should possess. Anatole turned to the new arrivals.

"The ritual is about to begin. The Earl will unleash his Tribulation, and then I will attack him. Our pact obliges me to advise you to leave," says Anatole, pointing to another tunnel.

"And the sapphire?" asks the Italian. Anatole shrugged.

"The ritual will allow me to manipulate the Earl for a while. One or two seconds, in my opinion. All the components of the ritual will certainly be consumed. If there's anything left of the sapphire or this puddle at the end, feel free to help yourself. Now be quiet." Anatole turned and snapped his fingers. Anne placed her hands on the sapphire and began to chant. Lvl Up: [Stealth] lvl 16 AGI +1 Lvl Up: [Climbing] lvl 12 AGI +1 Priam began to think furiously.

By manipulating the Earl, Anatole intended to accept the Tribulation in advance. Anne knew how to control minds and had already used her gift against Priam. But against an Earl, that wouldn't be enough. That was why Anatole had allied himself with the Italian's faction. He needed the sapphire - and the Concepts-infused pond - to increase the power of his ritual. But even so, Priam couldn't imagine the lion bowing easily... Priam began to wait. A question was burning his lips.

How did Anatole intend to finish off the Earl alone? Anatole quickly forgot about the two idiots behind him and faced Anne. Or at least the thing that used to be Anne. The manipulator had quickly realized that the ritual would destroy her consciousness. After all, even depleting part of the Concept fragment from the pond and using the full power of the Spiritual Sapphire might not be enough to overcome the Earl's will. Fortunately, the Urn had the answer to his problem.

By sacrificing Abominations, he could use some of their spiritual energy to strengthen the ritual. After all, the Depths were naturally adept at manipulating spirits. Anne had no desire to be in contact with the Depths, which Anatole could understand perfectly well. Yet he had left her no choice. The Revenant now chanting was but an empty shell, a shadow of the manipulator she had once been. Anatole focused on the ritual.

Anne's skill, boosted by the ritual and her Potential, created a sublime rune at the heart of the sapphire. Anatole delicately placed a Kanaz'h pearl on the sapphire, which melted into the gem to fortify it. The rune's construction approached its climax as Anne's Potential drained away. Anatole closed his eyes and took over. [Deep Connection]. With one hand on the Urn and the other on the sapphire, he connected with his Abominations and used their deformed minds as spiritual armor.

The next instant, he opened his eyes, seeing through one of his creations. The Viscount-rank chimera was currently on the battlefield, devouring its enemies while confronting a colossal rhinoceros. Anatole looked away from the charging rhinoceros and up at the Earl. He stood regally at the center of the fray. No trace of blood marred his coat, and an invisible tornado swirled around him. This automatic defense was enough to cut through any approaching Baron-ranked Abominations.

Behind him, Anatole could feel his human troops fleeing. The battle had only been going on for a few minutes, but it would take a dozen Revenants to defeat a single wild animal. Without the Abominations to slow their charge, the camp would already have been reduced to rubble. The Viscount Abomination was brutally thrown to the ground by the rhinoceros' charge, and Anatole lost contact. The Viscount's horn must have penetrated the Abomination's protective cage.

Cursing, he connected with a second Abomination and quickly stood back. He turned his gaze back to the Earl and manipulated his aether to link with the Earl's mind. A Domain stopped his aether, and the lion came to a halt. Anatole concentrated on his urn and sacrificed a dozen Abominations to create a surge of aether. For an instant, the Domain folded, and Anatole sensed the Earl's spirit. [Deep Connection]. Anatole connected the Earl to the Spiritual Sapphire and gave the order to Anne.

The rune glowed, and the ritual was activated. The battle was a butchery. A hundred animals had died in the early stages, falling into the Revenants' booby-trapped trenches, which had annoyed the Earl. These were stupid losses that could have been avoided. If he hadn't been present and the Revenants had had more time to dig out defenses, the battle's outcome might have been different. But there he was. An island of calm amidst the storm, the Earl advanced slowly, pushing back the enemy lines.

A few Abominations had tried to stop him but to no avail. His tornado had also repelled several explosives, but nothing dangerous. He almost wanted to yawn. Of course, he wouldn't do that in front of his subjects - or he would cover the movement by miming a roar. Perhaps he'd reacted too quickly? The little man had frightened him by mentioning the Spring, but the Earl saw nothing dangerous here. Suddenly, his Domain tipped him off. An enemy?

As the Earl tried to locate the intruder, a wave of intense pollution appeared before him. His Domain bent, and he felt a spirit connect with his own. Mentally roaring, he used his Domain to crush the consciousness of the insect that dared to defile his sacred spirit. The insect faded, but another took its place. Then another. Suddenly, the lion felt himself being watched. A hundred deformed consciousnesses stared back at him. What the...? One of these consciousnesses shone brightly, attracting his attention.

The lion detected that it was underground and attacked. A meter of rock, dust and earth flew with each stroke of his paws. A second later, he had already dug a five-meter hole. At that moment, the consciousnesses disappeared as if blown by the wind. All that remained of them were auras, which merged into an arrow that flew toward him. Passing through his domain and up through the link between them, the arrow struck his mind. The Earl froze, his consciousness paralyzed.

A foreign spirit took over his body and consciousness. The proud lion trembled with anger and drove the intruder away. But it was too late. Tribulation summoned.

Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / MEN 10 / META 0) PHYSICAL: Strength 148 Constitution 258 Agility 164 (+3) Vitality 284 Perception 297 (+1) MENTAL: Vivacity 176 (+1) Dexterity 193 (+1) Memory 50 Willpower 274 Charisma 150 META: Meta-affinity 141 Meta-focus 98 Meta-endurance 90 Meta-perception 32 Meta-chance 114 Potential: 1081 (+5) Tier 0 [He Who Eludes Death] charge OFF. Reloaded in 6 hours 27 min 14s [Tribulation]: Tribulations are coming.

Time: 10 hours 47 minutes 8 seconds.