Chapter 311 Adapt And Overcome (End)
Familia Hotel, Raneil Barony.
"I wish I could be there. I would never forget what I saw if I had been there."
"Indeed. Seeing Basil wipe the floor with that High Grade Monster must have been amazing."
"Going to the battlefield just to witness one historical moment is not worth it ... I have never been to war, but from the many Subjugations I have gone to, I can say that facing those Monsters is unpleasant."
"It's easier to kill them than another human though?"
"It is... But seeing them munching on the person from the same unit whom you are close with has always been heart rending ... If you are not ready to see your close friend die in the next hour, you should never go to the battlefield."
"... Wow. Dad, you have just successfully ruined our lunch."
While Iliana and the others were still fighting against Goap in BA-32, Basil and his family were having a meal together. The Knights of Hauler and Ione also joined them—eating together as if a one big family.
Basil, for most of the time, merely nodded his head and listened to the story of his sisters about what they had managed to accomplish for the time he was gone. He rarely participated in the conversation, but he was immersed in it.
... At least, that was how it looked from the outside.
Basil was actually thinking deeply about what he should do to prevent Charles from executing his troublesome plan. He didn't know how long Charles had been keeping a close tie to the Demons, but Charles had managed to make a deal with Goap.
In return for aiding Goap to summon the Seven Princes, Goap would give Charles one of his precious Artefacts. Basil didn't what the Artefact was, but he was sure it was the one that could accelerate Charles' Circle Carving process.
Supposed that Charles had managed to help Goap summon the Seven Princes, the Artefact he was given wasn't that impressive considering what he had managed to do. Still, giving him such an Artefact would not result in any good.
Charles, after all, was already a genius; after getting the Artefact, Basil was sure he was going to disappear to accumulate power. When he returned, he would have enough power to instill fear in the mind of the world's habitants.
"I was just talking about how ugly the battlefield is," Danzel harrumphed. "There are some memorable things about it, but seeing you talk about it like it is a good place to come to makes me want to tell you the harsh truth."
"Well... We didn't actually wish we could go to the battlefield, Mr. Danzel," Julia said. "Heck, I even hate the fact that my mother has to be there. But... You know, it would be awesome if we could see Senior's fight directly."
"I am sure I can learn many things from it," Clarissa remarked. "Dad's teaching is good, but I am sure seeing Basil's fight will be more... Enlightening."
Danzel nodded his head in agreement at Clarissa's word, then turned his gaze to Basil along with the others. Basil hadn't spilt anything about his victory in Woster County, so they were still eager to hear about it.
"If you are that curious about how I fought, you will be able to see the recording in three days. You will not be able to see it clearly because of the intensity of Mana back then, but you'll still be able to make out what happened."
"How did you know it was recorded?" Ione, slightly surprising Basil, asked in wonder. "It must be hard to detect the activation of a Visual Orb in that kind of situation, and I am sure whoever recorded it was secretive enough about it."
"It has always been the case since the past." Basil took a sip of his tea. "There will be those idiots who are daring enough to record a Mage without asking for permission and sell it to those who are interested—the Kingdom."
"Ugh... I can already tell politics must be involved in this," Sylvia groaned. "Why are Mages so obsessed with figuring each other out?"
"Information is power," Shirley answered. "I believe the reason why the recording of Brother's fight will only be released on the next three days is because the Kingdom is too busy analysing his power."
Shirley turned her head to Basil for confirmation, and Basil easily nodded his head. His sisters had grown; they were still curious like before but all of them could already figure most things out by themselves.
Clack.
After putting his teacup down, Basil softly said, "I think it is about time I end my visit. Unfortunately, I still have many things to do."
"That is unfortunate." Clarissa sighed in disappointment. "I haven't asked you to teach me some of your Techniques."
"I'll be able to teach all of you about many things when the Outbreak ends." Basil looked at Shirley and Clarissa before taking out his Head Commander badge. "I am tied with a responsibility, so my presence is needed."
"Oh my! You have become a Legion Commander?!" Julia exclaimed in excitement. "No, you are a Head Commander!"
"What does being a Head Commander mean?" Clarissa asked in confusion.
"It means, Brother is leading all of the Legion Commanders who are stationed in the same battlefield as him," Shirley answered in astonishment. "In other words, Brother's authority over the Royal Army is second only to the King."
While the young ones were expressing their amazement directly, the experienced ones could only widen their eyes in shock. They knew how hard it was to be admitted to Royal Army—let alone being a Head Commander.
Merely being a Peak Stage Green Core Knight didn't guarantee one a position in the Royal Army. One would be no different than a normal a soldier if one only amounted to that.
For Basil, reaching the Blue Core Stage might not be a big deal, however for the other people, reaching the Blue Core Stage equals to more than a decade of hardwork.
That was why for the Knights of Hauler and Danzel, Basil being appointed as a Head Commander was a great deal. Simply saying wow was not enough to express admiration and astonishment.
"Are you going to head to BA-32?" Thompson asked.
Basil nodded his head lightly. "I am, but before that, I have to clean this place first."
"When it ends, does that mean we can consider our task here is done?" Thompson looked at Basil carefully.
"Yes."
"Can we go together to BA-32 then? We haven't participated in the Outbreak yet—it doesn't sit quite right with us," Thompson stated, representing his party.
"... As long as you can keep up." Basil turned to Ione. "You can choose to stay here or come with me. I am fine with whatever your choice, but I will be less concerned if you are with me."
"I'll be going with you," Ione answered instantly.
At Basil's poor choice of words and Ione's instantaneous response, the people watching their interaction slightly frowned. They had erased any thought about Ione and Basil being a thing, but now it returned in full force.
In truth, Basil said that because he didn't to risk Charles being able to execute his plan. The key to the plan was, after all, Ione, a Pacifer, so he didn't want her to fall into Charles' hands once again.
Charles was really crafty; Basil didn't even think about using a Pacifer to summon the Seven Princes. He, despite knowing very little of them, could still arrive to the conclusion that a Pacifer could do that—it was scary.
Basil didn't know if Charles knew anything about the Fated Child (him), but judging from how casual Charles had reacted when he had revealed he was a Pacifer, he was inclined to believe Charles didn't know that the Pacifer could only give birth to females.
Still, the risk of Charles exposing his identity as a Pacifer still remained, so Basil felt a great need to finish Charles off. He couldn't afford to have the Church after his arse yet.
"Very well, let us settle the matter here quickly." Basil stood from his seat. "I have a feeling I should hurry."
"I... Never thought I would hear it from you of all people," Danzel remarked in surprise.
Shrugging lightly, Basil left the dining room afterwards. Ione was the first person to follow suit; she was the second person who had finished her meal after Basil.
Walking slightly behind him, Ione looked at Basil's back silently. Even if she couldn't detect any emotion from his soul, she could feel that Basil was worried.
She didn't know what he was worrying about: whether it was the thing that made him think hard or a sudden premonition he had gotten. Whichever it was, she hoped Basil would be able to figure a way out of his problem.
"Are you going to cancel your Spell, My Lord?"
"Yes, and I will activate another Rune to seal the entire Barony off."
Upon reaching outside, Basil spread his Mana Sense to cover as much area as it could so he could roughly count the Demons remaining there. At the same time, he was also slowly dispersing the purple mist.
With his hands extended, he split the purple mist apart, before scattering it through the entire Barony. The air was now cleaned off the purple mist, and, once again, the surrounding scene could be seen clearly.
"Hmm... There are quite many of them."
"It will take us a quite some time to eliminate them all."
As Basil had expected, he could immediately see many Middle Class Demons coming their way. Neither Basil nor Ione was worried about the Demons, but the fight would still be troublesome.
Whoosh!
Ten Shadows, the Assassins Basil had enslaved due to their request, suddenly appeared behind him, ready to help him and Ione. Basil didn't pay much attention to them, but he still nodded his head slightly to acknowledge their presence.
A few seconds after, the Knights of Hauler joined them, meanwhile Danzel, Clarissa, Shirley, and Julia watched them from behind the Barrier.
It took only ten steps for the Demons to reach Basil, but at that moment, his Transmission Talisman was activated. Quickly taking it out to hear the message, his eyes turned into a bottomless, cold abyss in the next second.
[Iliana... She's captured by that Monster, Goap.]
Basil had been ready to overcome the situation he had been in. Now that the situation had changed once again however, he was forced to quickly readapt before overcoming it.