Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Hansen stared at JJ with cruel intent.

The Sage from Edinburgh's side didn't like being reminded that the Sage rank didn't make him invincible. The latter had also landed in front of him a moment ago in his human form. JJ was clean and unharmed as if he had never left his place.

This was the shortest Sage showdown the young rankers had seen in their lives. Nobody doubted Edgar could kill Hansen easily if they continued.

Gregory smiled as he observed the battlefield with glee on his face. This was the kind of background he expected when showing himself. He had decided to employ a group of rankers against Eren to care for him while he fought with Anfang's other forces.

Eren had become an eyesore for Layos forces anyway. Many high-ranking entities considered attacking Eren. The few royal scions among the infiltrators were looking for revenge against the butcher.

JJ's attack on Hansen brought about a tipping point on the battlefield. Gregory was about to ride the wave and move against Edinburgh's high-ranking entities.

Hansen had visible stress on his face when he felt Gregory was about to add oil to the fire. He looked around before yelling his heart out.

"YOU KNOW WHAT? NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO SHOW YOURSELF, YOU BASTARDS!"

Edgar and Gregory both looked at each other when Hansen screamed. They felt relief and tension after realizing Hansen was forced to call out the reserve forces.

Edgar and Gregory felt relief because they wouldn't have to worry about hidden attacks when Hansen's colleagues showed themselves. And since the reserve forces consisted of Sages, Edgar, and Gregory both knew they had to up their game and use their Trump cards. After all, no Sage would dare underestimate another Sage.

Three more Sage-ranked mana signatures appeared on the battlefield. Gregory and Edgar were halted from acting when three Sages were seen standing behind Hansen.

These Sages were from Edinburgh's side who finally revealed themselves. They were the same ones who kept tabs on the battlefield from the shadows.

The first Sage was Marcus Moretti.

He looked like a young ranker in his late 20s by mortals' standards. He had shoulder-length dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. With an attractive face and tall stature, he looked like he was bathed in the moonlight even though it was broad daylight.

The second Sage was Ursula Moretti.

She had long ivory black hair, black eyes, a small nose, and cherry-red lips. She had smooth and supple skin that harnessed sunlight.

Contrary to Marcus who looked cold and callous, Ursula looked warm and welcoming. Even their mana signatures were vastly different. One could say that they walked on opposing ranking paths with respect to each other.

Marus and Ursula were husband and wife. They looked like two sides of the same coin who had come together despite their differences.

The third Sage was also a woman. Her name was Osha Daman.

Osha had silky off-golden hair and rosy skin. She had mesmerizing blue eyes and luscious lips. Her figure was graceful and seductive. Unlike Marcus and Ursula who wore armor, Osha wore a simple blue dress, which accentuated her feminine features aptly.

The three Sages stood motionless behind the injured Hansen. They were obviously unhappy with Hansen for getting overwhelmed by Edgar so easily. Still, they knew this wasn't the time or place to criticize him.

Marcus stepped forward and placed his hands on Hansen's back. In the next moment, the white flames, which were still burning Hansen's flesh, were doused in the moonlight. Hansen felt a cooling sensation grip his body and soul, providing relief.

It seemed that Marcus' moonlight element countered Edgar's white flames.

"Hansen, focus on that bastard Gregory. I know it would be too much for you to kill him. So take Osha with you. She could help you make him retreat.

Osha has barely stabilized her Sage rank breakthrough. So we can't expect more from her."

Marcus looked at Edgar intently before speaking up.

"This Edgar is also a traitor to Edinburgh. Let me and my wife handle him."

Marcus' voice was deep and commanding as he told Hansen what to do. And the proud Hansen didn't raise any objections to Marus' commands.

Hansen also realized that Marcus had decided to fight alongside his wife against Edgar. Meaning the Sage ranker assumed he couldn't take care of Edgar on his own. Or that it wouldn't be ideal too.

Marcus didn't want to complicate things now that he was forced to appear on the battlefield. Edinburgh itself didn't want another force entering the fray now that it had revealed its remaining Sages currently available in the capital city.

By this time, the young generation of rankers, half-bloods, and infiltrators was busy in three-way conflicts. Edinburgh rankers faced a two-pronged attack from half-bloods and elf infiltrators.

***

Edgar's force was a pride of lion half-bloods.

Their bloodlines were diluted and still approaching atavism. As a result, they could not completely transform and reach blood genesis. Despite this, their bloodline transformation made them half human and half beast. Some had their faces turned into lions while others had beastly limbs and torsos.

The half-bloods fought with rankers and even infiltrators. With their elevated body stats and intent-based magic consciously or subconsciously helping them, these half-bloods couldn't be stopped or countered by normal means.

Edinburgh rankers still had a numerical advantage. The various buffing arrays also helped them mitigate enemy casualties. However, Edinburgh's young rankers would be at a disadvantage in the future if the trend didn't change.

The young generation from all three sides dreaded the fact that so many Sages would fight against each other. The battle between the two Sages traumatized some people. If six Sages fought with each other at this point, there was a chance half of the young rankers would get eliminated just by facing the shockwaves of the Sage-ranked attacks.

Still, none of them tried to talk to the Sages from their side. There was a chance their rationality would backfire on them.

The butcher battled with a young and beautiful half-blood from House Lowin. Just as Edgar ordered her, she tested Eren's battle skills instead of taking things seriously.

Eren wasn't paying much attention to the young half-blood anyway. He focused on the Sage showdown. He saw that Marucs and Ursula met Edgar in the air while Hansen and Osha focused on Gregory.

When all the Sages flew off to the skies to start another round of battle, Eren decided this was the right time to initiate his plan. He kicked the beautiful half-blood into her guts and set her flying away from him. He then contacted someone through the Sansara World 2.0 mechanism.

In the next moment, he lay flat on the ground with various elemental spells engaged to protect him from any potential harm. He also passed a simple message to his team via voice communication before Maya did what he asked her to do.

'Duck. Don't ask for anything. Lay flat on the ground. NOW!'

By this time, the Sansara World had started sending threatening mana pulses. The witnesses to these threatening mana pulses opened their eyes wide in shock and dread when they realized what was about to happen.

Even the Sages turned pale after realizing what had happened. They all looked at each other with various emotions painted on their faces and came to a silent agreement without delay.

The Sages surrounded the Sansara World in seconds. They raised their hands and used their powers to hold off the waves of destruction put in motion by the Sage artifact's implosion.

Boom!

Witnesses heard a suppressed noise when the Sansara World was detonated. The threatening mana pulses released from the detonation made most rankers cough in blood. Soon all of the young rankers who were fighting on the ground stopped their fights in unison and lay flat on the ground.