Mad God Chapter 189

Published at 13th of December 2022 07:20:50 AM

Ren was sitting in the cultivation room but instead of meditating she was just watching the image of the Cosmos. There were multiple things going through her mind and they were mostly the words of Kai.

“Master.” Ariana's voice rang out in her mind. “Kitten is here.”

“Oh?” She smiled, standing up and stretching. “Took her long enough! Okay, I'm coming.”

Arriving at the second floor, Kitten was looking like she had not slept for years. Her hair was disheveled and her face was sunk in as she was holding onto a bottle of milk. She was gulping it down like a wretched human being, just rescued from wandering the desert for who knows how long. 

“You look horrible! What happened to you?” Ren laughed, seeing her for the first time in a year.

“Do you know how hard it was to get into contact with my Master?” She groaned, wiping the milk down from her lips.

“No, I don't. But you are going to tell me, I guess?” Ren said as she sat down in front of her.

“You do know that my Master has a binding on his mind, no?” Kitten asked while Ren just nodded.

“I am aware. Mostly. Placed on him by Rudrick, yes?”

“Yeah.” Kitten sighed, continuing. “I was only a cat when it happened so I don't know much. Only what he told me while raising me. Rudrick has kept him on a leash with it and could monitor his movements. Tell if he is lying to him or not. He could even torture him if he wanted to.”

“It was him who accepted it in the first place.” Ariana cut in, clearly not touched by the story.

“True. He was filled with rage towards his brother when he was chased out of the Empire so he went to find Rudrick…” Kitten nodded. “He told me that too. It was supposed to be a gift for his services but it turned out to be a curse.”

“Serves him right.” Ariana scoffed, crossing her arms before her chest, watching Kitten with a deadpan expression.

“Easy there.” Ren chuckled, looking at her disciple with one eye. “Everyone can make mistakes! So? Why are you telling me this?”

“Because Master, since that day, regretted what he did and by the nature of his affinity he was working on subverting Rudrick's control on his mind. Although he can't do anything about it if he is at a close proximity to Rudrick, he can now resist its influence and its bindings if he is far away. That is why I am yet to be known by anyone else and the fact that he is my Master. Luckily Rudrick can't read minds without destroying the individual and as long as Master is useful for him, he won't do so.” Kitten said while taking another bottle of milk, gulping it down hungrily. “What I am trying to tell you, he was ordered back by Rudrick and I couldn't contact him for a long time! Finally he managed to get far enough of a distance to be free to contact me back! He is at the edge of the forest, on the Kingdom's side, waiting for you!”

“Good.” Ren nodded with a small smile. “I'll go meet with him. Anything else?”

“No.” She shook her head, clearly a bit afraid of Ren. She could not tell why but her basic instincts picked up on Ren's newfound strength. 

“Ariana, take care of her. She clearly needs a bath because she reeks.” Ren said, standing up, fixing her clothes as she was already wearing her sect's uniform.

“Sure thing, Master!” Ariana giggled, already looking at Kitten who just blinked her enlarged eyes as her brain finally registered their words.

“I'm fine, I don't need a bath, I'll clean myself! Nyaaaauh!” She screamed out but black tentacles already grabbed onto her as she was dragged away by Ariana.

After Ren left she was quickly flashing through the sky without a sound, closing in on the southern border of Thunder Valley. It did not take long for her to pick up on Sentios's aura. Landing next to him, the brother of Dermitos jumped from the surprise, gasping for air. He did not even perceive her arrival, not to mention the speed she flashed forward to stand before him. Looking at the smiling face of the young looking girl, sent chills down his spine. It was the same smile he first saw when they met at the Capital all those years ago. Yet this time… instead of a provocative grin of a teenage girl he only could see the devil laughing at him. 

“Yo.” Ren spoke up, making him flinch and recollecting himself, trying to figure out what was the weirdness that he was feeling, coming directly from Ren. He thought about a lot of possibilities but none traveled along the way that she may have reached the same level as Zelig was at.

“You've… grown.” Sentios said as he licked his dried up lips.

“Nope. I did not.” Ren sighed with a depressed look in her eyes. “I've completely given up on my growth for more than a decade by now! I already resigned myself to only dreaming of having such a sexy body as Isha… hauh… Don't even bring it up, please, it is depressing!” She groaned, tapping her flat chest and buttocks. “I was lucky enough that LeiLei is a pervert.”

“Khm… So… you wanted to meet me? It is good because I wanted to do the same.” Sentios spoke up once again, trying to recollect himself.

“Hm? Then please, go on!” She crossed her arms with a smile, waiting for Sentios to continue.

“It is about Rudrick. He is attempting to break through to the third stage of Harmony.”

“Oh really?” Ren said as she gulped back a chuckle. “So he thinks he gained some understanding by our fight and is ready to take the last step?”

“He has already recovered for the most part.” Sentios explained hurriedly, seeing that Ren did not take it seriously. “Now he is focusing on raising his strength and soon he is going to try and reach the same level as Zelig! If he succeeds-”

“He won't.” Ren shook her head, not letting him finish. “Reaching the third is not about raising the strength of one's vessel.” She explained calmly and a sliver of her aura washed over Sentios, stunning him completely. “It is about understanding yourself and being at peace with it.”

“You…” He gawked, trying to speak up.

“So don't worry. Even if he reaches it, I'd still step on his head the next time we meet. Anyway, I wanted to meet you because of one simple thing. You can get me information about the Ironclaws' bases, no?”

“Not all…” He gulped, trying to stand still as the speed of Ren's advancement was unheard of throughout history. “A few yes, the ones that were managed by Rudrick. He also hides from Zelig now so he is extra careful.”

“So the senile old man of Heaven's Gate did not know about his plans?”

“No.” Sentios shook his head. “It was supposed to be way later to use them in the first place! They were not fully ready. Ironclaw was supposed to be the army of Rudrick. Takaya, the king of the Enjin Kingdom and Neiro, the one who established it in the first place, were his accomplices.”

“To kill Zelig?”

“Yes.” He said, after thinking a little. “But they were supposed to wait until either the two others rose to the 2nd stage of Harmony too or Rudrick to the 3rd. That way they could challenge Zelig and take over the whole Kingdom. The whole Kingdom of Ten! It should've been made into one entity with Rudrick as the True King and Takaya and Neiro as ministers under him. But… Aerthus appeared, your Sect got established and the Elroth's started to trade with you. All this threw multiple wrenches into the whole machinery, especially as Zelig reappeared soon after.” Sentios explained, shaking his head. “Centuries of planning almost went down the drain.”

“I see… so they choose a different approach then.” Ren nodded.

“Yes, but being unable to egg the Empire and Kingdom into a big conflict they instead now try to reach the poor and the clueless. Using the masses as a weapon and shield at the same time. They are instigating rebellions and assassinations everywhere, they are spreading chaos and war wherever they set up camp.” He sighed loudly. “There are always people who are not content with their fate and blame others for their failures. I don't even know how many people joined up already. Or how many sleeper agents Rudrick has, as he had time to plant brainwashed people everywhere that he has yet to activate.”

“I see… well they are annoying that is for sure! Matters not! I am coming to clean up the place!” She stretched, moaning softly. “I'll start in the Empire. I'll visit every camp they have and root them up, leaving nothing behind.”

“They have allies with a lot of minor nobles and influence in a lot of wealthy merchant businesses… not to mention the ton of bandit groups they use for their needs. They were originally slavers so they also use a ton of civilians as fodder, equipped with explosive collars.”

“I see. I'll try saving those who I can or grant them a painless death. I can't promise it of course.” Ren answered with a calm voice.

“You mean…? You are going to kill everyone?” Sentios asked, hearing her words.

“Those who are part of Ironclaw, yes.” Ren nodded with such clear determination that it shook his body. “I don't care if they are nobles, bandits, villagers or just opportunistic mercenaries. They are Rudrick's force and I intend to wipe Ironclaw off from the face of this realm, never to resurface again. Those who surrender will be punished but spared, those who are enslaved will be freed. The rest? Nutrition for the soil under our feet, so we can have a great harvest come next autumn.” 

“That would mean a lot of dead people…” He whispered but seeing Ren's unwavering eyes, he knew she was not joking.

“Less than an actual war between empires.” She said, “So, tell me, what do you know about this Takaya and Neiro guy?”

“I only know that both of them are supposedly at the first stage of Harmony. Takaya is for sure, but Neiro… I don't know. I always felt like he was hiding his cards. I never once trusted him. For now, Takaya is still acting as a hidden blade, waiting for an opportunity to backstab Zelig and the rest of the Naulins. The only thing they never expected was Heaven's Gate being established on their territory. It is a great hurdle for them. Neiro… he is gone.”

“Gone?”

“Went underground. Only Rudrick knows where he is and how to contact him, but what I could gather is, he is probably in the Empire somewhere, coordinating their moves.”

“Hm… good. Then I'll draw him out first! If nothing else, I'll flood all of their little hidey-holes until he sticks his head out so I can whack it.”

“I don't know what kind of forces he is leading. I only know those that have Rudrick's hand in them.” He handed over a thick stack of paper. “These are the bases I have knowledge of inside the Empire and the Kingdom. But be cautious, I am sure Rudrick knows I am leaking info to you. There must be traps placed, just for you.”

“He uses you, I am sure of it.” Ren nodded. “The only 'problem' is, he does not know me well enough!” She grinned, taking a look at the information he presented. “Any trap he designed for me is going to fail.” 

“If you showcase your strength he is going to hide away.” Sentios warned her, watching the giggling, little girl before him.

“Don't you worry! I won't use excessive strength. I'll keep it a secret for his big surprise party~” She winked mischievously at him and threw a coin towards Sentios. It looked completely normal and he felt nothing out of the ordinary when touching it.

“This is…?” He looked at it, flipping it around his fingers but feeling nothing weird coming off of it.

“A lucky charm. If Rudrick decides you are no longer useful and tries to wipe your mind, this is going to be a big help for you~”

“...” Hearing her words, his heart skipped a beat so he took another look. But he could not feel anything worthy coming from the coin. He did not know if what she was saying was real or she was playing with him. Either way he still opened his mouth to speak. “Thank you.”

“No problem. I'll send Kitten back to you. She can act as an intermediary between us. Oh… yeah… do you know where he is now?” Ren asked after already flying upwards but stopping in mid-air.

“He changes places frequently.” He shook his head. “I only know where he is exactly before he summons me.”

“Too bad. I could've killed him quickly…” She sighed quietly before flying away, leaving only one sentence behind. “Oh well, let's leave the juiciest bite for last then!”

Chapter end