Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

'Oh yeah, the report.'

Fiona smacked her head after she realized that she had almost forgotten about her purpose for coming here after she saw the food. She coughed and looked at Sirius before speaking up.

"Lord Sirius, it seems our diligent work is starting to pay off. My sources tell me the war between the kingdom of Edinburgh and the kingdom of Layos is almost imminent."

Sirius observed Fiona keenly and chuckled when he saw her reaching for the plates. He snorted his nose before commenting.

"Hmph. Fiona, my dear, no need to act like someone you are not. I have seen you eat dirt in your childhood. Why are you acting all fancy now? Have at it, kiddo."

Fiona bit her tongue when she heard her Clan Head criticize her for acting polite. She flashed another grin at him before taking the roasted leg piece straight from the basket.

"You were saying?"

Sirius seemed to have dark spots under his eyes when he watched Fiona getting busy with her eating. He then blamed himself for offering her food.

Fiona smacked the back of her head with her hand before continuing as she ate.

"Aaah! Forgive me, Lord Sirius. Where was I? Oh yes.

My sources tell me the kingdom of Layos has contacted the Asikha empire and has struck a deal. Better trade deal in exchange for the empire not getting involved in a war campaign against Edinburgh.

The kingdom of Layos is also approaching other kingdoms, big and small, that surround the kingdom of Edinburgh and asking for a contribution from them in the war campaign. From the looks of it, things are progressing well for Layos."

Sirius nodded after hearing Fiona's report from outside the Last Bastion. Half-blood clans would only keep a few of their members active outside the subspace at any given time. Additionally, the mode of communication was always isolated.

While on their respective missions, the half-bloods outside the subspace would keep their identities hidden. They would keep the communication channel open mostly within themselves. But to make news reach inside the subspace, they'd have to send one of their members inside the subspace again.

The Last Blood Bastion had many points of entrances and exits throughout the Anfang continent that could be used to dispatch half-blood squads efficiently.

"That's good to hear, Fiona. But things will only get better for us half-bloods when the entire Anfang continent is engulfed by flames of war. Not just the kingdom of Edinburgh or its neighbors.

That being said, it is always welcome news for us when a war breaks out. Our missions can be carried out in kingdoms undergoing war, and we can eliminate the important officials and people of status in those kingdoms. The blame would always be placed on the opposing forces. Hahaha.

This is the right time for us to get active in the Edinburgh kingdom once again. And in the continent of Anfang outside this subspace as a whole as well."

Sirius cackled after he said what he had to say. But then he pondered a bit before adding something else.

"Hmm. Fiona, I don't think it's our efforts that have borne fruit. I think it's the Osan Woods Butcher fiasco that keeps getting uglier. It's a gift that keeps on giving for Edinburgh royalty."

Burp!

Sirius stopped eating when he burped loudly. His hunger was satiated after eating plenty of food. He got up from his seat and walked towards the only balcony the hall had, which also served as its light course.

This balcony also sported a giant clock over it from the outside of the fort. And the view it provided was that of the region in the city-state that was under the clan Fenris.

Fiona got up from her seat. But she wasn't done with her food. So she picked the basket that had roasted the leg pieces of the ranked beast and followed her Lord into the balcony.

"Heh! It doesn't matter who caused the war to break out. What matters is the fact that it is going to break out. The Ancients will play an active role in the war. As a clan, Fenris shouldn't be left behind.

We need more half-bloods. More the merrier.

How is the search and rescue operation coming along? Carry it more thoroughly in Edinburgh. We want to get half-bloods in our fold before the war breaks out. There should be enough time."

Fiona observed the change of voice and demeanor in Sirius' voice and knew that he wasn't fooling around anymore. So she gulped her bite, took the basket in her storage, and wiped her mouth with the back of her right hand before replying.

"Lord Sirius, we have managed to find 45 half-bloods within the last 6 months from Edinburgh kingdom alone. But it is more difficult to carry out these tasks when Edinburgh's Blood Punisher Force is active."

Sirius had expressions of controlled wrath on his face when he heard the term Blood Punisher Force from Fiana. "How many this time?" He asked while controlling his emotions.

Fiona shared the same sentiment with her lord. She clenched her fist while responding.

"23. They killed 23 confirmed half-bloods before we could rescue them safely. They had been getting a lot more effective with their search techniques as well. They are starting to pick on the dormant mutagen hidden in unaware half-bloods'."

Fiona said and dropped her head in front of her lord. Sirius was feeling the same calm evening breeze over his body as he looked ahead. He replied to Fiana without looking back.

"It's not your fault alone, Fiana. We all share the burden each time a half-blood gets killed by the establishments of Anfang just for being a half-blood. We are made to hide like rats, cover identities like cowards, or stay unaware of our heritage for the rest of our lives.

Heh! The half-bloods clan will soon start taking action against these bastards who think of us as nothing but mere cockroaches to be stepped on. We will take back the glory we had from the bygone era.

There's a change of era coming for the whole of Anfang."

Sirius said these words silently. Those words were more for himself than for his audience. But Fiana's mind was stirred after hearing her clan head's determination once again. She bowed to him and started to leave.

Fiona stopped in her tracks when she remembered something. She turned back and asked Sirius.

"My lord, concerning the special bloodline of the clan Adolphus that you had said we had to rescue. Unfortunately, the Force got to the family first before we could rescue them. The couple was among the 23 half-blood casualties."

He had unpleasant expressions on his face as he gripped the ledge of the balcony hard with both his hands. The limestone platform cracked a bit when he did that.

"And?" He asked, guessing there was something else Fiana wanted to say.

"The Force thought they were done with the family and left the place. But we used our own methods to find out that the couple had a girl child that wasn't part of the causality. We dug some more and found a name.

Agatha Adolphus.

We have a reason to believe that she may have survived. Should I prioritize her search and rescue before moving to our other missions?"

Sirius smiled when he heard Fiona's question.

"By all means." He replied simply.