Chapter 344: Flirt (Bonus)
Sylas returned to the Amazonian Wilds on the same day. His target this time was different. He needed a method to bring Brant's family back, and that obviously entailed transportation and a plan of action.
The best plan was to take them out separately. He would deal with Brant's wife and child, along with Olivia, while Brant would leave via his own method.
First, he went to catch more Blue Cyclone Horses. This was more difficult this time because there were no leaders left after he conquered their head. So, they had become more scattered and had broken into several factions.
But it was an easy enough affair. It took Sylas about three hours after scouting the general area they frequented to catch three more.
He unfortunately had to spend more Coins to gather the coins he needed to store them easily, but this much was fine enough. If he could have had a device capable of storing people instead, it would have been even easier. At that point, he could just take them and leave on his own. But unfortunately, the storage devices only worked for Mounts for reasons he was uncertain of.
Sylas then bought a carriage that was meant to be used by merchants. But it would be good enough for his purposes. Then, before the day was even halfway through, he made the return journey to Love City.
He waited for Brant to be on duty again and then was escorted into the city without issue.
The two looked toward one another, and Sylas just handed Brant a spatial pouch that held his Mount.
"Leave whenever you get an opening. Leave the rest to me."
Brant hesitated. He wanted to be there to help, but he knew that he would only slow Sylas down.
Taking a breath, he nodded.
...
Sylas entered the city without any issues. The problem he faced now was Olivia.
Brant hadn't been able to take her out because her situation was a bit special. In fact, her situation was the same as Brant's family's, which was why both things had to be handled by Sylas.
The government was observing Brant in secret. Obviously, he had been put on a watchlist of sorts. Although he came prepared with his reasons, the government wasn't stupid enough to take everything he said at face value. As a result, his family had been put under some covert monitoring.
The good news was that it still wasn't yet to the point that it was excessive. It was mostly a precautionary measure, which was why Brant noticed that he was being monitored at all. Otherwise, if they had placed their higher-level agents, Brant might not have realized there was something wrong until it was far too late.
The bad news was that any such movement would definitely be reacted to at the first instance.
Brant wasn't of high enough military rank to be given the true keys to anything, which was why he was willing to follow Sylas in the first place. But he still knew enough that the government wouldn't allow him to go so easily. After all, he was one of the few who knew the Trial was coming ahead of time.
By now, Olivia's problem was obvious.
The reason Brant knew where she was happened to be for the same exact reason. She was being heavily monitored.
Not long after the Trial concluded, she was found out.
All those who entered the Trial were seen as threats to the government and would be treated as such. Olivia wasn't powerful enough to be on the same threat level as Sylas, but she still had a handler.
This whole ordeal made Sylas realize that the government was slowly becoming more organized. They had been caught off guard by the sudden conclusion of the Trial ahead of time, but some time soon, within half a year by this pace, they would regain their hold over the reins.
--
Sylas drove through the city. Love City luckily didn't have any active portals nearby, at least not yet, so this wasn't an issue.
There were a few outside of city limits, though, which was why Sylas couldn't just drive all the way back to York City. But this still made things far easier.
He pulled up to a house and took a step out.
"Miss Collin. I'm here to pick you and your daughter up."
Miss Collin was a woman no less burly than her husband. It was clearly not just a matter of fat. She had strong shoulders and a barrel-shaped waist. Sylas immediately pegged her as a powerlifter the moment he saw her, and given her size, she was certainly not bad.
Behind her leg, a chubby little three-year-old boy stood. His mother's leg was so thick that Sylas almost didn't notice him.
Miss Collin shook her head. "I've told my husband many times that I don't need such protection."
Sylas didn't respond, maintaining his stoicism. Miss Collin, however, didn't have a poor reaction to this. Instead, she found it only natural. She was married to a military man, so she knew what military men were like.
Sylas escorted them to the black SUV and then began to drive.
Things were going smoothly... for now.
...
"Target is on the move. Nothing out of the ordinary, it just seems that the Major is taking extra precautions after the last excursion."
"Understood."
Two unknown voices slipped into the shadows, and they began a series of trade-offs. The city was too sparsely populated now; even an amateur would be able to notice that they were being followed by call. As such, the government had separated the city into bubbles and gave certain Aether-users jurisdiction over them. That way, high-profile targets would always have an eye on them from somewhere.
This chain of trade-offs followed Sylas and the mother-son duo all the way across the large city until Sylas left them at a small amusement park.
"Seems Major Collin has gone a bit senile. He actually hired such an unprofessional handler. He's gone off to flirt with girls."