Chapter 721 The Cogitation Formation
For the past few days, the Head had been having a very uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.
It was almost as if there were something right on the corner of his eyes, in those dark areas which eluded even those most gifted in their vision, that almost no one could see unless even if they frantically tried turned around. It irritated him to no end, but no matter how much he tried to find out what it was, he just couldn't identify it.
Hence, he was in an overall irritable mood, so when he was called upon by four of the Heroes who were some of the biggest troublemakers in the High Council, he couldn't help but put on a grim expression and ask, "What brings you here?"
This was the place where one of his clones would always be present, as it would be maintaining the formations present all over the continent. Right now, it was even his main body. When people came to visit him here, he would have no option but to talk to them, and because they were Heroes, he couldn't exactly turn them away rudely. He had to listen to what they had to say, even though he wasn't very thrilled about it.
"How have you been, Head? I only ask because none of us can even comprehend the kind of duties you have on your shoulders…"
These words were accompanied by the sound of jaw bones clacking against each other, and of course, it was from the guy who was practically the blight of the continent who shouldn't have become a Hero in the first place.
Only, their numbers had been low at that time, and he had been the best candidate. To this day, the Head regretted choosing him, because it was as if destruction and death followed him wherever he went, and all the things he had done really did not justify him holding the position of one who should be present to protect the continent in case of a threat.
Seeing his stoic answer which was just to press his lips together, it almost seemed as if the guy raised his eyebrows, but because his face was only a skull with no skin, no one could detect if this was the case.
In a tone that was laced with humble respect, he continued to say, "The only reason I come here is that I have been thinking long and hard about how I can contribute to the continent. The rest have all done one thing or the other to prove that they're worthy of becoming Heroes, but the other day, I realized that I had done nothing of the sort. I decided that this was the right time, and I'm happy to announce that I succeeded. In fact, I'm so proud of what I've done that I daresay that it eclipses the achievements of most other Heroes."
The Head frowned as he heard this. It was true that among the Heroes who had all come to their realm only by him using the Willstone to grant them their power, there was a sort of initiation ceremony where they would endeavor to do something for the good of the continent. This was both to set their mind on something as soon as they broke through, and to maintain a healthy competitive spirit among them.
Typically, this would involve looking through ancient formations, and trying to adapt them to the modern day Energy level of the continent. The main trouble with most of those formations was either that they were too complex to be replicated, or that they needed too much Energy, and the task to change both of these parameters wasn't very easy.
Yet, what Heroes had was an abundance of free time, and many would set themselves on the task and even spend decades in seclusion before finally succeeding.
Each of there achievements would be recorded grandly in the secret place where the High Council gathered on the occasions where there were official meetings, and they were a matter of pride for those who had managed to do something that was better than their contemporaries, or their friends.
Actually looking forward to finding out just what this macabre guy could have done, the Head asked, "So… Say it. What have you managed to do?"
After a pause, which almost seemed as if it was being given for dramatic purposes, the skull opened its jaw and said, "A formation which will result in many more Warriors breaking through to become champions! In fact, I'm pretty confident that it will even aid in the training of us Heroes, so that we can get even better insights into our own path. Yes, you guessed right. It is… The Cogitation formation."
The Head had already gotten up as soon as he heard that description, as there was only one legendary formation which could fit the criteria.
A Cogitation formation.
The name was not very grand, but it was highly apt.
For all Champions and Heroes, the most important thing was always to look within themselves and find insights that they could use to form strong resonances, and create stronger attacks utilizing the resonance that they had already used to break through.
In attempts such as these, the main failures would always be because of stray thoughts that were prone to appear even in the minds of Heroes while they were absorbed in something very important.
This would result in the focus and line of thought being lost, and the end result turning out to be something that could have been so much greater.
To combat this, the Cogitation formation had been created by the Emperor, himself.
It was said that he had actually been inspired by a formation that was present in the legends of that time, but whatever the case was, his formation was an instant hit, and it attracted people from all over the continent to join his force, so they could utilize the formation grow stronger.
This was one of the many schemes that the man had used to make his own force strong enough so that he could establish an Empire, and it was actually one of the most successful.
The thing was that this formation was even recorded in the information they had from the age of the Empire, but it was so complex and required so much energy that even though many, many Heroes had tried to adapt it for the present age, none of them had succeeded, and some of them had even died.
Formations were dangerous things, and just a little change could change one that was supposed to give birth into one that would bring swift death.
At this time… the Head had to admit that there was no better formation that could aid them.
Swiftly walking forward, he caught the guy's shoulders and asked, "Is it true? Have you really succeeded?" While looking into those eye sockets that seemed to have endless depths.
As if having expected this, the skull chuckled softly and said, "I think so, Head. However, I require someone to test it. I would have done it myself, but I fear for my weak life, and the life of my work, which only I can understand and fix in case I fail. That is the reason behind me coming here - I wish to request your help in assessing whether the formation is successful. We all know that you are the safest option, because it is you who boast the strongest body, regardless of whether one is speaking about Mages or Fighters."
Leaving his shoulders, the Head sunk into deep thought.
Indeed, what he said was right. The Artefact left behind by the Emperor which enabled him to take oaths from Heroes also allowed one to have the ability to weather through almost anything and survive. It had almost been as if the Emperor had been thinking about what difficulties they might face when he had created it, and the Head had long wished that he could talk to the man, and find out the reasons behind many of the things that he had done.
However, that wasn't important now. The issue of the Cogitation formation was something that just couldn't be put to the side, and he knew that just as the guy was saying, he was the best option.
So… He said, "Alright. I'll do it. In my place, the Chief will be the one looking over the continent. I'll also carry my communication trinket with me, so that you can contact me if there are any emergencies."
Taking out a communication trinket from his pocket, the man said, "I already thought of that, Head. As you know, the Cogitation formation is designed to block all communication from the outside, so I made this special one which will pass still work and allow you to speak and receive messages. Please do test whether it's working, first."
Nodding, the Head took the trinket without putting too much thought into it. That was how Cogitation formations worked, and after testing it and seeing everything was all right, he said, "Let's go."
Soon, he was standing in that large graveyard with hundreds of graves that he knew were all filled with real dead bodies that were rotting as they spoke.
In this place, a small building had popped up, and as they walked towards it, the Head could feel the strong fluctuations of elementary particles in the area.
Indeed, this guy had always had a talent in formations, but he couldn't have thought that he would have been able to actually pull off something like this.
The closer they reached, the more he studied the formations which stymied him, which was unsurprising as his forte had always been in direct combat.
The door was built like as if the building was a vault- it was a round, metallic one, and as it opened, the Head saw that it was quite heavy.
After it opened, the guy said, "This is it, Head. Please go inside and check the trinket once again, too. Please understand that for proper testing of the formation, I need you to stay inside for a day. If anything goes wrong, please directly exit, but if it doesn't, I ask that you remain and continue to train. This will allow me to assess the working of the formation accurately, and it will also help me to perfect it so that I can gift it to my sect which was harmed quite a bit during that recent attack of that dastardly Church."
He seemed to shake with anger as he said that last part, and on hearing it, Rayen, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but want to shake his head on seeing the act.
Nodding, the Head directly entered, and after testing the trinket inside and seeing that it was working, he said, "If you succeed, it will be momentous. I pray for the sake of the continent that you do. The more Champions we can train before the Church arrives, the more of the continent we will be able to preserve. I can guarantee right away that if this formation leads to that, you will be remembered for many, many generations for having been the one to save the lives of possibly millions of Angarians. Proceed."
Saying so and seeing as the guy swelled up with pride and nodded, he promptly sat down and began to meditate, and after the door completely closed, he once again checked the trinket to contact the Chief who assured him that he would definitely keep a steady eye on the continent. This wasn't the first time he was taking over for him temporarily, as he would have to rest occasionally, too.
At the same moment, the formation activated, and the Head suddenly found himself with a calm and clear mind.
Excitement coursing through him, he began to meditate on his path, while outside, the man with the skull as his head said, "It's done. That trinket won't work anymore, but he doesn't know that. I need to stay here, and the three of you know what you need to do. Just make sure that those Heroes who will most probably act to stop the Mad Doctor stay with you, while unaware of everything happening outside. As for the Chief… I'm using the Church to take care of him. This isn't a betrayal, of course. I just happened to leak the news that the Head isn't in his post right now, and that guy from the Church will definitely come to take his revenge. The stage is set, gentlemen! Now to relish in our revenge, by watching that puny king get minced into pieces."
…
It came like a storm, in the sense that there was only absolute silence before it.
Except for the Hero who had been notified that the Mad Doctor might be waking up soon, there was no one else in the Sect of Hedon who was privy to the information that the man could be waking up soon.
Seeing the unmoving body, that was almost completely reformed, twitch, the Hero walked forward, but he couldn't have expected what would happen next.
The dull sound of an explosion was heard from somewhere in the headquarters of the sect, and in that moment, the Mad Doctor's eyes sprung open, red with fury, and he disappeared as if he somehow knew that that was what he should do.
That explosion had been synced perfectly with his disappearance, because it happened so fast that the Hero couldn't respond.
In the next second, a loud ringing sound was heard all over the sect, and the entire area…went into lockdown.
This was a precaution that had been placed so that any invaders would have no option but to stay back if they dared to infiltrate the sect, and so, because the formations had been built to trap Heroes, too, the Hero who had been watching over everything was stuck inside.
As was the protocol, he sent a message to the Head, and started a thorough search of the sect.
Meanwhile, the Mad Doctor, who had just woken up, was shocked to find that his power had increased. From a Peak Eminent Champion, he had broken through and become an Exalted Champion, and he felt stronger than he ever had in his life.
The moment he had woken up, he had gotten a message saying that this is a favor being done for him, as everyone wanted his target dead.
The King of Lanthanor.
The disciple of the bastard who had killed his sons.
Well, that was all well and good. He didn't care what that kid had done to bring this upon him, but today, he was going to die a very painful death. He had also been told that no one would stop him, and that made him smile.
This was a smile filled with madness: it stretched to the corner of his mouth, and even extended past that point, making cuts appear in his skin, as he just felt that it should be wider.
The blood dripped onto the formation around the Sect of Hedon which was below him, and letting out a laugh, he breathed in deeply to allow himself to relish the incredible feeling that came whenever he was about to set off to take sweet, sweet revenge.
With that, he started flying rapidly through the air, and his target location was clear in his mind, even though all around that was only madness.
The Kingdom of Lanthanor, where his prey awaited, served up to him on a silver platter.