God of Tricksters

Italy.

*Creak!*

A chess piece fell to the board after getting pushed by Theo. He was discussing their next moves with Rea, Felix, Ergene, and Akbar.

"That's how I'll be defeated." Theo shrugged after showing all the possibilities of his defeat.

Ergene was staring at Theo as if he was a weird guy. Normally, they would be thinking about their opponents' moves. However, Theo was different. He simply showed the way to defeat him so that they could come up with the enemies' move.

There would be many possibilities about the enemies' move, but Theo didn't really mind those possibilities. As long as the few key factors that led to his defeat were secured, he wouldn't be defeated.

"What do you think, Ergene?" Theo asked, noticing her gaze.

"There are too many ways to defeat you. Well, I don't know about it without you telling me. But it's clear that the enemies will take advantage of your weaknesses. So, what we need to do is to narrow down to a few things that will become the important factor."

"I'm going to Thersland then." Rea smirked. "I'll take care of the situation over there by myself."

"Are you sure?" Theo narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah. I know that our opponent is yourself and that person seems to be able to do anything he doesn't like as long as it can give him some advantages. Hence, I'll be the bait. They'll either change their focus to me or go straight to those people.

"If it's the latter, then they're ready to face the traps I'm going to set up for them. Although I'm not as good as you, after learning from you for a while, I can apply some of your tactics." Rea smirked. "Of course, the tactics are different from Ergene's frontal style. So, I think I'm the best person to go there."

As Rea said, the original Theo might even attempt to kidnap her. Rea's identity was a bit special. She was one of the Mythical Rank Experts in Theo's group, but she was also the daughter of the Sword Saint. If they could capture her, there was no need to grab Theo's friends anymore. Even the Sword Saint couldn't do anything to them.

Hence, she would become the perfect bait.

"Should I go with her?" Akbar asked. "My ability should be good to locate the targets. This way, we can create a net where I can track all of them and discern their targets perfectly."

"That might be a good idea since there's no way Theo will allow me to leave alone, especially with my identity. If it's the best information broker in the world accompanying me, the bait will look even more real. They'll be in a dilemma whether to chase after me or not." Rea nodded in agreement before looking at Theo as if expecting him to agree to this mission.

Felix, on the other hand, pointed at another place on the map. "How about this one?"

"The Fist Saint, huh." Ergene thought for a moment. "It's impossible to keep track of him. Even if you can do it, the moment he finds you, it'll be a disaster. It's best to let him do whatever he wants."

"But won't it be too dangerous to leave him be?" Felix asked. The Fist Saint was one of the biggest threats, so they had to keep him in check.

"If I and Rea go to Thersland as bait, then I think it's better to send someone here." Akbar pointed at Spain, where the Orel Group resided.

"Oh? You have a unique way of thinking, Akbar." Ergene widened her eyes in surprise, understanding Akbar's point of view. "We can offer the Orel Group to become an ally or a neutral party. Even if they reject us, we can still make them look bad in front of the Griffith Family. This way, the Griffith Family won't take them in anymore, resulting in the Griffith Family only having one ally, the Eilric Family.

"Then, how about sending one to the Eilric Family as well?" Ergene smirked. If they could cripple the Griffith Family, they would be lacking in manpower. This would be a perfect scenario.

However, Rea rejected the idea. "No. Doing it too much will have the opposite effect. Alea Eilric is broken-hearted right now. If we approach the Eilric Family, they'll use it as an excuse to force the relationship with Theo. And the result is obvious, the Eilric Family will become extremely hostile to us. There's even a chance that they'll be using Alea Eilric herself for the cause."

"That's true… As expected, human emotions are too complex to understand." Ergene snorted. "I guess we can only stop the Orel Group for now."

"Then, Felix and I will take care of the Orel Group?" Ergene asked.

"No. You are not suited to this mission, Ergene. Felix should go alone, but I'm worried about the hidden danger, considering Felix will be storming into their territory."

"Then, should Ruth come too?" Ergene narrowed her eyes.

"Don't we have the best person to deal with this?" Rea smirked, glancing at Theo. Obviously, Theo wouldn't be working on this mission. Rea was implying someone related to Theo but strong enough to handle the Orel Group in case the worst-case scenario happened.

"The rabbit? I mean, Ava?" Ergene sucked a cold breath upon the realization. Ava's strength indeed couldn't be underestimated and she was a King Class Monster, meaning she had a smart brain. As the rabbit that had accompanied Theo the whole time, Ava would be a perfect figure to make them fall into the trap.

"Though, the ultimate decision lies on…" Rea turned to Theo. The leader of this group was none other than Theo, so it was obvious that he had to make a decision.

Theo was smiling this whole time despite not saying anything. The reason he didn't open his mouth was to see his people's growth. Rea's way of thinking had been overwritten by his, making her a bit too shrewd. Ergene also had shown a great improvement even though her strategy was a direct one.

If he was the one leading the group this whole time, they wouldn't be able to grow. Just like how Ergene took over the command in the previous battle, he allowed them to discuss the strategy after his explanation.

And after they had presented their own ideas, they would look at him to listen to his decision.

Theo smiled at them and said, "Interesting growth. But it's not enough… Let's make this a blast, shall we?"