CHAPTER 1028: BLOOD-STAINED STONES (1).

While the conversation in the hall was taking place, another much quiet discussion was unfolding in the same hall.

With a little play of sorcery, Hunter was able to facilitate the mental communication between those he wanted to. Although it did consume a lot of mana, it was the best bet if they wanted to keep things as secretive and confidential as possible.

The conversation was unfolding between himself, Cain, and Hunter.

"There is a traitor in our midst."

Hearing Hunter’s thoughts made Cain narrow his eyes unwittingly.

Steve grunted,

"I thought as much. Then it is as I suspected. Rushing into a battle will only be to our detriment."

"A traitor, huh..."

As they spoke out, their thoughts were also being conveyed to one another. A rather spiffy evolved perk of Hunter’s ability.

Steve thought,

"It isn’t really hard to imagine. We do not necessarily have the best precautions against something like that."

"What makes you think there is a traitor?" Cain asked.

"Timing."

It was Hunter who answered.

"We was sum up a lot to coincidence, but I’m this case, I don’t think it is."

"And so with that in mind..." Steve thought.

"We need to work out way through this with a lie or two."

Cain raised a brow,

"What exactly do you plan to do?"

Steve chuckled internally,

"We tell them... that their Matriarch is still alive and in our custody."

Cain’s expression fell.

"That..."

"As much as I hate the roundabout nature of making use of such tactics, I do believe this is not a bad way to play out cards." Hunter’s thoughts were as gruff as his words.

He turned to Cain,

"What do you think?*

’Guys... There is just one big problem here. The Matriach, is in fact not dead and in our custody.’

Although he wanted to think that out loud, he didn’t.

The Matriach had not been killed that day.

In fact, there was a chance she was currently in the room as they spoke.

However, she was not in the physical plane. Instead, she was being held captive by Evangeline in the {Shadow World} for some reason.

He had even gotten to meet the captured Blood Moon Matriach himself.

In exchange for telling him her secret, Evangeline had made him swear secrecy.

When he had asked her what she intended to do, she had given him a single, chilling answer.

’Only the heavens know why she would want to ’cultivate’ her for the power of a Celestial. But in any case...’

Cain thought about it and concluded that he would let things play out as it was.

’The best was to decieve your enemies, is to decieve your allies first.’

"I think that has the makings of a splendid idea. But, the lies and manipulation, are to what end?"

"Well, a battle is unavoidable at this point. However, to minimize losses as much as possible while still achieving our goal of crushing the Blood Moon Sect, a few things must be in order." Hunter thought.

Steve unwittingly let out an audible cackle

"The first one is we need proof that the Matriach isn’t dead. From there on out, we can proceed further by laying out our demands. As long as they do not want to receive pieces of their beloved leader one by one, they will have to agree to them. However!"

Cain could already see the bigger picture,

"There are bound to be a decent cut of those within the Blood Moon Sect that prefer the current status quo. Hell, there are some that are definitely rejoicing the Matriach’s potential death."

"Bingo! And this, the seeds of discord are sown. Those with their own interests in mind will certainly push back against our demands, regardless of if they believe the Matriach is still alive or not. With a few pulls and twists of our own, I can assure you that it will escalate into a full-blown civil war. And when the time comes, we can swoop in to reap the rewards!"

Cain trembled,

"It would be rather impressive if we could pull that off. There’s only one problem though."

"Hm? What could that be?"

"What if none of them want their Matriarch back?"

Steve’s eyes narrowed.

Hunter grimaced, "That is certainly a possibility. But, the chances are rather slim. To the best of my knowledge, the Matriarch is a symbol of the Celestial of the Blood Moon’s press and authority."

Cain nodded, "Indeed. But, even if the current Matriach dies, any one of the twelve Elders can take her place so long as they get the approval of the goddess of the Blood Moon."

Steve’s expression changed and his eyes narrowed,

"I see... That would certainly make this far more complicated than we initially deduced."

Cain shook his head,

"Of course, all I just said is speculation. You are right, Steve. Over all, the chances are wildly in our favor. I believe we can go with that. However, should things fail to come through, then we will have to implement... alternative measures."

Steve grinned viciously,

"My, my... Dear leader, I like that look on your face."

"What look?"

Hunter sighed and shook his head,

"You have a very wicked looking grin on your face right now."

Cain quickly caught himself. Clearing his throat, he averted his eyes,

"Do I now..."

He paused for a moment then continued,

"In any case, the best possible outcome is there being as little deaths as possible on both sides. Not only that, but we need to really make them believe we intend to strike back at full force. That will certainly force them to act the way we want."

Cain hummed to himself.

The mental link between the three was broken.

Steve cleared his throat, and with a loud, exaggerated voice, he spoke so there was no mistaking his words.

"The Blood Matriarch is in fact not dead. We have her hidden in containment somewhere that is not Valestorm."

He folded his arms behind his back,

"If the Blood Sect fools don’t want their precious leader chopped to pieces, they certainly won’t go against us!"