The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 379: Chapter 374 — The Move

The Move was general knowledge across the continent. Beneath the planet’s surface were enormous concentrations of WorldPulse, flowing through underground channels known as WorldVeins. About every five years, a natural redistribution of this energy would occur, causing the terrain above to shift.

Several scholars and scientists had tried to unravel the mystery behind the Move, but all for naught. What caused it remained as much a mystery as the exact changes it brought about. However, they had managed to identify the areas most likely to be affected. The scholars called them hot spots, which were simply regions where the WorldPulse was particularly unstable and, as a result, more susceptible to these changes.

Unfortunately, to Zephyrion’s chagrin, the eastern border was also considered a hot spot.

During the Move, entire hills, rivers, forests, valleys, and even settlements could shift. As the barman had explained at length, sometimes, several Aerelith towns could end up in Ferran territory, and vice versa. Unfortunately, the Ferrans had gotten the short end of the stick during the latest one. Several towns, including his target, Mocktown, had shifted into Aerelith territory, complicating his mission considerably.

Zephyrion sat quietly at the bar for what felt like forever before finally letting out a sigh.

’Fuck...’

...

”T-this is the latest map, my lord. Drawn just a week ago by our finest cartographers. As you can see, this is the new boundary, and right here is Capetown.”

The village head spoke with a hint of nervousness as he gestured towards the map spread out before them. He was a portly yet muscular man, with a harsh, sun-darkened face and traces of grey already creeping into his beard. He had the look of a man who’d seen his fair share of battles but had clearly let himself go over the years.

He cast Zephyrion another glance, his expression caught somewhere between nervousness and excitement, before quickly returning his attention to the map.

”...also, my lord, you may already know this, but the Move happened about a year ago, and Capetown is now the last town before Aerelith territory.” He offered a somewhat awkward smile, then pointed towards several other locations on the map. ”We’ve managed to roughly identify where the other towns ended up, though most of it is based on reports. I’ve had them marked here, here, and... over here.”

’So he spoke to the barman...’

The fact that the man was bringing up other towns, something entirely irrelevant to their mission, only reinforced his suspicion.

It had taken a considerable time after Zephyrion revealed his identity before the town head emerged to greet them. He’d clearly been surprised to learn that they had sent the Lightning Prince, and judging by the reverent looks and current behavior, he must have made a few inquiries before coming to meet him.

This told Zephyrion a few things. Firstly, news of his breakthrough had already spread this far, and Capetown knew he was the youngest Mark Two herald in history.

And secondly, the man had a decent head on his shoulders. Judging by the determined glances he kept throwing his way, he was clearly trying to curry favor with him, something Zephyrion might just be able to use.

And truthfully, in this situation, he might need every bit of help he could get.

For one, from the map before him, Zephyrion could see that his target town had shifted beyond the Aerelith border bastion line.

Due to the lack of any physical boundary like a wall, it wasn’t unusual for Ferrans and Aereliths to wander into each other’s towns. In fact, some had even settled there permanently. But these were usually settlements so close to the border that it was difficult to distinguish where one empire ended and the other began.

A town farther inland, especially one located beyond their defensive bastions, was an entirely different matter. They wouldn’t allow just any Ferran to waltz in, especially one who happened to be an heir to one of the Ferran Empire’s great dynasties.

’Maybe in the past... but not now...’

One of the things he’d done as soon as he returned was catch up on the world’s politics. Unfortunately, relations between the Ferran Empire and Aerelith had soured considerably, especially after the latter entered a shocking alliance with the Tri-Alliance, led by the Pyrian Imperium.

By opening their skies to the alliance, they had effectively allowed the Pyrians to establish a presence along Ferran’s eastern border.

Even worse, the alliance had only aggravated the longstanding tensions brought about by the Move. With entire stretches of terrain constantly changing hands, there had naturally been a struggle for control between both empires, particularly over the towns and resources caught in these shifts.

This had led to numerous skirmishes over the decades, and tensions had only escalated since the alliance was formed.

Despite all of this, there was still every possibility that he could find the clues he was searching for at Mocktown, but one thing had become painfully clear.

It was not going to be easy.

”Enough with the geography lesson.” Possum scoffed, shooting the town head an irritated look. ”We didn’t come all this way to admire your map. Get to the point. What’s the problem?”

As a commoner and head of a town, the man was only a mark one Herald. Under Possum’s mark three pressure, he stiffened slightly, then cleared his throat and hurriedly spoke.

”The beasts attacking us are called Gravemaws, my lords. We’ve managed to narrow down their location to this valley right here.” He pointed at a spot east of the town, closer to the Aerelith border. ”We’ve never had any trouble with them before. In fact, this is the first time we’ve encountered them anywhere near the town.”

”Gravemaws?” Possum’s expression turned thoughtful. ”Then there’s bound to be a horde somewhere nearby.”

”That’s what we feared, my lords.” The town head nodded grimly. ”But so far, we’ve only been sighting them in ones and twos. We’ve sent men out to search for the horde several times, but they’ve found nothing. Meanwhile, the attacks are getting worse. Just a few days ago, three attacked at once, and we nearly lost the town. We still have soldiers keeping watch over the valley, my lords. We’d hoped to find their lair before you arrived, but... well, we haven’t had much luck.”