?439 You Want War? You’ll Get One!
"Let's hope he hasn't arrived yet." Yarsha Zahara said in a hurry and rushed into her mansion, spreading her Prana through her surroundings to get a feel for the number of Natures present in the bodies of everyone.
"Everyone, gather around!" She shouted and watched her children take a seat at the front while the servants filed into a few rows towards the rear. She unleashed her Prana through them one after another and failed to detect anyone with more than one Nature.
Her kids were at the Spirit Stage and didn't have a Nature. Upon seeing the results, Yarsha Zahara frowned, "There are no signs."
"Maybe it's not too late," Wittral said as he went around the mansion and unleashed Subtle Terrain Domination to dominate his surroundings. As he walked around, he approached the study room, commenting, "That's a lot of defensive arrangements for one room."
"I made it to prevent anyone from entering it." Yarsha Zahara said, clearly proud of her creation, "There are multiple barriers in it. The initial ones will simply act as a wall while the deeper ones will unleash a powerful shockwave capable of rupturing the intruder. So, it's both safe for my naughty kids and secure against external threats."
"I see that you've applied the same on the walls too. But," Wittral frowned upon noticing a point of oddity and rushed into the nearby room, "Follow me."
"There's a trace here." He pointed at a spot on the ground and stared at Yarsha Zahara in fluster.
"I can't detect anything amiss here." Yarsha Zahara shook her head.
"On a macro-scale, it looks like nothing is amiss. But in the micro-scale, there's an unnatural distribution of minerals in this spot." Wittral touched the location and spoke, "The uneven distribution is in the shape of a slit. Something had parted open the ground here and closed perfectly. Only an Empyrean Snapper can spot the changes."
"It's a high-level exhibition of the Nature of Drifting Tunnel." Wittral frowned in shock, "This is on a level superior to if Drifting Tunnel was a Gold Grade Nature."
He stared at Yarsha Zahara solemnly, pale with nervousness, "Loot has been here. And judging by the stress-strain indentations in the ground, he has left around an hour ago."
"Are you…sure you're not making a mistake?" Yarsha Zahara said before gasping in shock to see a tunnel open up. It wasn't a tunnel created using the Nature of Drifting Tunnel but Subtle Terrain Domination.
Wittral simply used the residue present in the location, making the tunnel open up naturally to see where it led into, speaking upon observation, "You didn't leave any defensive mechanisms on the floor. That's a classic oversight."
"Tch!" Yarsha Zahara bit her lips as she followed Wittral into the tunnel and walked out from the floor in her study, experiencing faint fields of gravity that made the movements easier on the body, unlike a traditional arch-shaped tunnel.
"He's already been here…" She understood once she picked up her Glove Slip and observed it, detecting signs of usage. Even though Virala erased all traces of himself from it, the Glove Slip hadn't been perfected yet. Hence, there were minuscule signs of wear and tear in it, which she was able to notice as the creator.
She then grabbed the Information Slips and checked their contents, 'Even though the information is the exact same, the walls are more robust than what I had created, as a result of the other party using too much Prana to perform the action.'
As she had only fused a single piece of Sumatra Gold in her Human Avatar, she didn't have much Prana to use. Hence, she used it sparingly in a technique she had created. As a result, the traces she would leave in an Information Slip were evident to her.
But the ones made by Virala were robust and pretty much resembled the Information Slips used commonly in the market. To anyone else, Virala's actions were perfect. But as she herself made purposeful mistakes to conserve Prana, Yarsha Zahara was able to conclude upon failing to see the imperfections anymore, 'He absorbed the information and made a copy in these Information Slips.'
Thud!
She collapsed to the floor for a moment, feeling her legs go weak in response upon observing the differences in all the Information Slips, "He has accessed everything here, everything!"
"It's not the worst-case scenario yet." Wittral propped her up and said, "Your children are fine. Wasn't that your biggest worry?"
"Yes…that's true." Yarsha Zahara quickly calmed down as she exited the study and observed her children stare at her with their gazes of curiosity, "Yes, as long as they are safe, nothing has been lost."
"But still, that bastard needs to pay for infiltrating my home." Yarsha Zahara growled as she stared at Wittral, "I need your help in generating the necessary resources."
Her stare was cold as she held a Comet in the shape of a bark, causing her fingertips to shine softly, having activated her Human Avatar, "I'm filling this estate with Comets."
"Hear! Hear! Orders from His Majesty, the Emperor!" A loud voice resounded from the entrance of the estate as a royal messenger shouted while holding a large scroll, "As of today, the Varahan Mansion will be sealed off indefinitely. Unless the owner pleads their case with the Emperor, the decision remains final."
"What now?" Yarsha Zahara became angry in response to the loud shouts. Accompanying Wittral, she approached the gates and stared at the royal messenger, "What's the issue?"
"Hear! Hear! Orders from His Majesty, the Emperor!" The messenger ignored her question and continued to shout aloud, relaying the entire message three times. Only after a large crowd had gathered did he stare at Yarsha Zahara, "If you wish to plead your case, ask your husband to see His Majesty, the Emperor."
"Are you deaf?" Yarsha Zahara cursed in anger, "I asked what's the issue? Tell me the answer, dammit!"
"Hear! Hear! Seal the Gates!" The messenger shouted as immediately, hundreds of Spirit Weapons in the shape of rods flew through the sky and slammed before the gates, forming a row to seal it up. Each rod spanned a length of forty metres and was lodged halfway into the ground.
The rods surrounded the Varahan Mansion and began to emanate a strange fluctuation into the estate. Sensing the fluctuation, Wittral flicked a rock towards the wall of the estate and noticed it become charred in response, 'It's a mysterious ability capable of instantly charring Iron Grade Pranic Beasts. I can easily take control over these rods, but it's for the best I don't reveal my identity here.'
"Then, Madam Yarsha, I'll take my leave." Wittral bowed towards her, "I'll try to contact the Boar King…"
"Hear! Hear!" The messenger didn't budge from his spot as he stared down at Wittral, "The Varahan Mansion has been sealed."
"No one within can leave it."
"Sir messenger, I'm merely a guest here." Wittral argued, getting angry upon being ignored, "I need to return to my shop."
'I can't get trapped here.' Veins popped on his forehead as Wittral was on the verge of murdering the heck out of everyone at the scene, 'I don't like spending a day away from Amita. Fuck these pieces of shit!'
"You…" Wittral stared at the messenger, his eyes spewing venom, "You better have a concrete reason. Otherwise…"
"Calm down, Wittral." Yarsha Zahara patted him on the shoulder and stared outside, whispering, "Do you hear their discussions? What are they talking about? Listen and tell me. That'll give us a better idea, since they seem to know something we don't."
Wittral spread his senses outside through Subtle Terrain Domination and could hear the hushed discussions, muttering in shock, "They are saying the Boar King stole the Brimgan Empire's property."
'Fucking Loot.' Yarsha Zahara grew angry the more she heard the discussions from Wittral, 'You dare make a mockery of my husband?'
"You want war? You'll get one!" Her mood became twisted.