Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Sebastian was snapped back into reality when he heard the voice. He turned around to see a young Slughorn standing an arm's length away from him.

This was a young man in his early 20s. He had light brown hair and light gray eyes. He wore simple adventurer clothes and had a spatial bag attached to his waist belt just like Sebastian.

Silas Slughorn was a prominent Slughorn scion. He accompanied Sebastian Slughorn on this journey to learn from him. One could say that Silas was House Slughorn's next big project after Project Sienna failed to live up to its promise.

Silas broke into the Expert rank at a young age. But since his skills in potioneering were lacking, he could not garner as much attention as Sienna did when she was in her prime.

Sienna was a history. And many of House Slughorn's scions contested prominent positions within the clan. Silas was considered the cream of the crop among them.

Sebastian looked behind Silas to see what he was talking about.

'Hm? House Riverine? I don't think Roth Riverine has business with us. What could it be about?'

Sebastian thought as he watched the giant ship with House Rivernine's insignia on its sails gain on them. He narrowed his eyes at the ship before passing his decision to Silas.

"Let them come. I want to see what Roth's side wants to discuss. Hehe. Let's hope it also intends to switch sides in the upcoming war."

Sebastian hadn't seen Roth Riverine in years. And he was not present during the battle between Edinburgh, Layos, and half-bloods occurred. However, he had kept himself updated regarding the latest news inside Edinburgh.

Sebastian knew Ken Riverine had died inside the Sansara World. He hoped Roth would blame Edinburgh for Ken's death. All so that he could convince him to join the kingdom of Layos as well.

What Sebastian didn't know was that House Riverine was not aboard the ship approaching Brewmaster's Bounty. And the rankers aboard House Riverine's ship did not have good intentions toward Sebastian Slughorn.

***

A bunch of large and small ships sailed together while maintaining a safe distance from Bremaster's Bounty. It looked like these ships were securing a perimeter with the way they sailed. Brewmaster's Bounty would soon be placed inside this perimeter if the trend continued.

Freya was among the ships tasked with securing a perimeter around Bremaster's Bounty. Eren was onboard the ship, standing on the back deck to see the trail left behind by Freya on the waters of River Lithe.

Sylphie remained silent behind Eren. She and the others aboard Freya prepared for any potential battle. That is if the main strike team fails to eliminate the targets completely and some escaped targets come their way.

Slyphie was about to inform Eren that another ship was approaching Freya rapidly from behind. But she chose to remain quiet when Eren looked at the approaching ship with curious eyes.

This small and nimble ship had come from port Erbaia's direction and was sailing straight towards Brewmaster's Bounty. Eren could guess that it was likely the rapid response team sent to assist House Slughorn in its potential conflict against the "raiders."

Aqua Wall

Aqua Blades

Eren raised his hands and cast his spells without care. And all of a sudden the waters of River Lithe around Freya started churning. Soon the masses of water separated from the river and took definite shapes.

The rapid response ship was about to pass Freya when it was faced with giant water walls laced with threatening Aqua Blades. The blades were coated in red and purple lightning arcs that increased their damage potential.

"Ugh! Who is this arrogant prick?"

Someone from the rapid response ship yelled in Eren's direction. It stopped advancing towards Brewmaster's Bounty and approached Freya.

"Who are you? And why are you stopping me from approaching Bremaster's Bounty?" a young girl asked Eren in a voice laced with clear displeasure, annoyance, and anger. She was Rhea Bloodweaver, Sorin's subordinate.

Rhea had off-gray colored hair and blue eyes. She possessed graceful curves that were accentuated by her body-hugging light armor. She carried a long sword behind her back and looked ready for any conflict against the raiders.

Rhea didn't have a good impression of Eren as soon as she saw him looking at her nonchalantly. He looked like a typical hooligan to her who was high in his status as an Expert ranker. It was as if it was not him who cast those threatening spells directed at her ship.

"Don't tell me… are you one of the raiders?" Rhea asked– more to herself than Eren.

Eren chuckled when he heard Rhea's words. He pondered a bit before answering her.

"Raiders are those who want to raid something, Miss. I don't think anyone wants to raid Bremaster's Bounty. At least I am not interested in anything related to House Slughorn. I'd rather see all its cargo offered to River Lithe as a tribute."

Eren could see Rhea was in no mood to chat with him. It was clear that she was preparing for a battle with raiders. She lost the last time she fought with them. She not only lost to the raiders but also had to run away from them.

Rhea looked at the potential conflict surrounding Bremaster's Bounty as a way to get back to the damn raiders. And she intended to make full use of the opportunity now that she had broken into the Expert rank recently.

"I don't want to waste my time quarreling or fighting with you. We both are Expert rankers and should give each other the respect we deserve. Why don't you…"

Eren shook his head and interrupted Rhea before she could finish her sentence.

"You still don't get it, do you? Miss…."

"Rhea Bloodweaver. Captain of Port Erbaia's rapid response team. Master Sorin Windrider's subordinate."

Rhea gave a standard introduction to anyone she met in the waters of River Lithe. Eren nodded at her before continuing.

"Nice to meet you, Expert Rhea. You should wait here. I am sure Master Sorin will soon tell you not to approach Bremaster's Bounty."

Rhea was perplexed by Eren's words. Her team members, who stood behind her, also looked at each other. Rhea took a while to reach a grim conclusion.

"Do you mean… Master Sorin has sanctioned this hit on Bremaster's Bounty?" Rhea asked with her eyes wide open and a voice laced with surprise.

Eren chuckled and raised his hand. He pointed his finger at the sky before responding.

"Keke. No. Someone much higher up the food chain."