Chapter 654 A Meeting 1
In the Sect of Hedon, a man was walking down a path with a feral expression on his face, as if he was ready to pounce on anyone who even looked at him wrong.
He was walking right in the middle, and typically, he would have been cursed at by those more powerful than him.
However, instead of that happening, even the Champions on the path decided to move to the side as they wanted nothing to do with the 'Mad Dog of the Mad Doctor'.
It had all started with the Mad Doctor going into a coma. For a few days after that, everything had been fine. But then, strange things started happening, and they all surrounded this man.
On one day, a Warrior was found strung up on a street with all his limbs cut off and the words "I do not think that the Mad Doctor deserved what he got" on his chest. He wasn't breathing, but the agony with which he died was apparent in the expression that still lingered on his face.
A week after that, a casual scouting expedition had resulted in one of the team members massacring all the others because they all had expressed that they wished that the Mad Doctor had been killed instead of being put in a coma.
And two weeks after that, over 20 beds in the Medical Bay got filled with Warriors who fought with this guy and lost because he used all kinds of underhanded methods for victory. Low blows, biting, scratching, conjuring farts to distract enemies- he used all of these, and many more, all because this group had been hoping that it would be a long, long time until the Mad Doctor woke up.
In all this, the most surprising thing was that the Sect did nothing to stop him, or even reprimand him for his actions. True, the Sect of Hedon was known for the freedom it granted to its disciples so that they could do whatever they wished, but it was just a bit too much.
Hence, even the Champions had come to the conclusion that it was possible that this guy had support from someone in a high position. It was probably best not to mess with him, as that would mean that that figure might descend to attack them.
On the path, a small gaggle of three people were discussing something after carefully looking around and making sure that they were alone.
However, as if he had some sort of targeting mechanism that allowed him to detect anyone talking about that individual, this man sped to them and raised one of the group up with his collar.
Looking into his eyes, he snarled, "What did you say about my father?"
Fear appeared on the faces of all three Warriors, and the other two even looked like they wanted to bolt instead of staying here.
The one who had been raised up hastily said, "Nothing, nothing! I am in charge of maintaining the formations in the top-security medical ward, and I was just telling them that the Mad Doctor was moaning something last night! I heard the Hero from the other sect who came to heal him say that he is recovering quickly, and that he might be back on his feet in a month or two if everything went well!"
If anyone were keeping a close watch on the man's eyes, they might have noticed the panic that flashed across them for the briefest of moments before disappearing and being replaced by joy.
Laughing, the man said, "Good! Then, two months later, I will come with a few bottles of wine from the Black Raven Kingdom to celebrate with you! But if it doesn't happen…"
Seeing the laughter, the man hoisted up in the air had just been about to breathe a sigh of relief, but this statement immediately made him tense up again and say, "That wasn't all! The Hero also said that if something adverse happens to him before then, then the time of awakening might be delayed, too! In fact, even the probability of him definitely waking up was only positive, and not definitive!"
"Oh? Then you wanted to raise my hopes and then dash them, with the wish that I, loyal Mad Dog of the Mad Doctor, will have my heart broken into a thousand pieces and die? I'll kill you first!"
"No, sir! Please! Oh, look at the time! I'm delaying your training, sir! It isn't worth skipping training just to kill little old me! Please accept these Ker Gems as an apology!"
Quickly, the man remembered what the talk around the sect was.
Apparently, this Mad Dog was also mad about training, so no matter time it was, this excuse could work depending on his mood.
Hastily taking out a pouch from a hidden pocket, the man watched with bated breath as the man snatched it and checked to see how many gems there were.
"Humph. Don't let me hear you talking about that topic again. And take good care of my father! In his absence, I will be setting everyone right! Get out of here!"
Hearing this, the three scrambled away even though they had been standing right in front of their own quarters.
Continuing onwards to his room, the man closed the door behind him and walked forward to stand in front of a mirror.
Seeing himself, he…began laughing, uproariously, while remembering the expressions of those three, and how they had run away.
Taking a little bit of time to revel in the moment, Percy finally settled into a sofa and counted the Ker Gems before dropping the laughter and recalling the information about his father that he already knew.
In 2 months, it was possible that he might wake up because of the work of a Hero from a different sect.
Well, he would handle that when the time came.
For now…he would be the 'Loyal Dog'.
Chuckling again as he recalled this title, Percy threw the pouch into a pile in the corner of the room which was already as high as the room.
This was fun, and profitable!
Lying back down again, Percy couldn't help but think back to when this had all started.
Right after that fight between the previous sect master and his father, Percy had been ecstatic, but the revelation after that that the sect master was probably in cahoots with the Church had shocked everyone.
In turn…suspicion had begun to fall on him, as it was possible that he might have schemed, too, to result in the downfall of the Mad Doctor.
Each and every Champion was an integral part of the Big 4, and that was even more the case with the Mad Doctor, who had been an Exalted Champion.
So, the crackdown had been pretty severe, with each and every person related to the incident being thoroughly evaluated.
Percy had been the one to smuggle that locator trinket into the hidden location where his brothers had been training, and many Champions knew of his hatred toward his father, even though not many knew the reason behind it.
Hence, they had even started the process to get the permission to take him away and torture him, in order to find out whether he was in with the Church, too.
It was a remote possibility, but the Hero of the Sect had been livid because he had been reprimanded by the Head, and he had wanted results. And in torture…anyone would spit out anything in order to just escape from the pain.
That…was when that first incident had rocked the sect, and from then, each incident made it clear that the son of the Mad Doctor had turned a new leaf, probably after seeing his father in that state.
Indeed, Percy had visited him, and seeing him with that gaping hole where the middle section of his body used to be, he had almost broken down with pain and anger.
Of course…that was all an act, and a part of his plan.
Inwardly, he had been laughing to himself, as it had felt so good to see the man who had killed so many people important to him in that state.
So, in the end…with the brand of the 'Loyal Dog', he had saved himself.
Wondering how his master was doing, Percy was just about to train, when he heard a knock on his door.
Puzzled as to who could be brave enough to come bother him, he checked the surveillance formation present around every house to see that it was someone who had newly joined the sect.
Huh? Why would some nameless disciple come to see him? True, he looked like he was shaking in his boots, but why was he even here?
Deciding to find out, Percy put that menacing expression back on his face and opened the door, which made that Sect Member yelp, "Sir, I was sent by the administrative wing to check on the room!"
Oh, it was this. After that breach of the central wing by his master, the sect had implemented this new procedure of scanning all the rooms of sect members with special trinkets that could check whether there were any foreign trinkets or individuals that shouldn't be present.
Letting him in and closing the door, Percy walked to sit back down as it would take a minute, but he suddenly felt danger and turned around.
It was already too late. A trinket shaped like a tiny arrow whistled through the air and hit his hand, burrowing inside as if it was alive and making him fall to the floor while screaming with pain.
He could feel it moving through his body, up his bloodstream, until it finally stopped at Mageroot.
"Resist, and that thing will detonate and blow up your Mageroot and brain. Even the medical techniques of the Mainland won't be able to defend you, then."
As the pain finally started to fade, Percy heard this calm voice, and as he opened his eyes, he saw that his room had already been surrounded by formations whose complexity dazzled him.
They were definitely at the Hero level, and they seemed even more sophisticated than the ones he had seen in the sect.
The man who had entered transformed into someone familiar, and after thinking for a bit, Percy realized that this was the same person who had been defeated by the Head.
That meant…that he was being targeted by the Church? What the f*ck could they want with him?
As he got the answer, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"This is just a precaution. I'm here to help you, but I can't have you tattling that I've infiltrated the sect to anyone. This is also a very unique trinket: it will only detonate if you speak about anything related to me, and otherwise, it will remain hidden. Anyway, I have heard about your loyalty to your father. For a few reasons, I want to…speed up his recovery, and then set him on the enemy whom he will definitely target the moment he wakes up. I need you…to help me with that. Your father will even become stronger than he was! Isn't it a win-win? What do you say?"
…
Meanwhile, Daneel had just decided to travel to that house in the middle of nowhere to check on the pyramid scheme himself.
Right now, because he couldn't move actively, he had realized that it might be best to manipulate these other organizations to accomplish what he wished.
However, just before he set off, he received another message from Arafell, and this one surprised him.
"Meet me outside your Kingdom, in front of the east gate."
After pausing for a few seconds, Daneel immediately discarded the possibility of him going with his original body.
Knowing that she would be sending a clone, too, he conjured one himself and sent it to the place written down.
There, right outside the wall, he saw the Queen floating in the air, looking at the night sky.
She was invisible to the guards manning the wall, and as his clone moved toward her, it turned invisible, too.
As he reached the spot beside her, he saw that she was as stunning as the first time he had seen her.
However, when she spoke, he couldn't help but stare as if he couldn't believe what was going on.
"King Daneel. I called you here because I wanted to say something before we engage in this…'war'. I wanted you to bend the knee, once. But now, I have realized that you are right. You really are worth much more than I thought you to be. So, here is one final offer from me. Join me, and as equals, we can take down the Big 4 and unite Angaria to face the Church."