The Oracle Paths

'I need to get the fuck out of here right now!'

Obviously, Jake wasn't going to give him the chance. Firmly grabbing him by the shoulder, his thumb and forefinger pressed mercilessly into his collarbone, the prince squealed out an unintended groan of pain before shutting up right after being scowled at.

"Bring me before Duke Gole and the other leaders, shall we?"

The prince swallowed hard but nodded obediently. No shit?! If he refused, he better get ready to lose his pretty head.

" F-follow me." He stuttered with a constipated smile that was close to a grimace.

Jake's fingers were still pinching his collarbone and the pain was so great that he was starting to tear up. His image of a refined and mysterious prince had been ruined in an instant. What a disgrace!

Aisling's beautiful crimson eyes widened slightly when she saw Prince Edric's drastic change of attitude, whom she had known for a long time. He was even one of her most fervent suitors and she no longer counted the number of bouquets of flowers he had sent her. The royal bastard was making a commendable effort to act all cool and unfazed, but inside he was definitely bawling his eyes out.

'Damn it! Why on earth did I go and greet them in person... I should have sent one of my guards instead...' The Prince blubbered to himself as he breathed an involuntary sigh of relief when Jake withdrew his fingers from his collarbone.

As one of the most influential humans in Laudarkvik, and the unacknowledged son of the Ret'Asi Emperor, he wasn't weak at all. But next to Jake, he was like a gnat trying to swat a tyrannosaurus, it was as futile as it was laughable.

Even so, the young man demonstrated his resourcefulness by instantly readjusting his attitude and his sense of priorities. He wasn't 100% sure yet, but in his heart he was already convinced that Duke Gole was in for a rough time. As a result, his loyalty shifted unhesitatingly and he began to blather on without reservation as if Jake were already his new boss. Before he even started spilling the beans, Jake had already isolated them under a sound barrier.

"In the meeting room is Duke Gole and his only two remaining griffin knights, Usadra with also two bodyguards, Louis Nosferati, the replacement for the late Cazimir Nosferati, as well as Remus Dracul." The Prince first divulged the identity of the men they were about to meet, which was no secret to anyone, before continuing in a whisper,

"Louis is unimportant, he is only here to observe, and his power falls short of that of his late father. On the other hand, you must beware of Remus and Usadra. Remus has always been a cruel and violent Vampire, but he places the law above all else. At least, that used to be true. Over the past several years, his behavior has changed radically, and he is said to be involved in many shady deals involving Demons and Undeads, including human trafficking and even Vampires from his own clan. The number of Vampires from the Dracul clan that have mysteriously disappeared over the past decade is in the hundreds and many of his recent choices have severely depleted his clan's coffers."

Stealing a glance at Aisling, he then added in a low voice,

"According to my contacts, he was also involved in the capture of Aisling and the other Mutants, but I don't know if that's true..."

The group remained expressionless as the young prince tried to gauge their reaction, but inwardly Jake couldn't help but chuckle. Remus Dracul was there too? Wasn't that his new slave, Jen the Mimic? It was going to be a lot of fun...

Seeing that the two Mutants were still unmoved, Prince Edric felt a bit awkward and so he started prattling on again to get past the embarrassment.

"Usadra used to co-lead the Dark Races together with Fodnyr, but since Fodnyr's death he has been given total authority over his faction. He is a Night Elf like Rifalen, but his lineage is pure. These elves are all born assassins and are known to be promiscuous, thievish and greedy. I don't know if the rumors are true, but if they are, Usadra is the perfect specimen..."

" What about his strength?" Jake interrupted him bluntly. He could get that information from an Oracle Scan, but these high-level natives would surely notice.

The Prince was momentarily taken aback, but after a brief pause he gathered his thoughts and answered honestly,

"According to the latest rumors, his last breakthrough was last year and he is a lvl 82 Grandmaster Shadow Assassin. When he accepts a killing contract, no target ever escapes. He is said to have killed several thousand aristocrats and other influential people over the past few centuries, including several princes and S-rank adventurers. Had he not suggested the plundering of the Mutant HQ treasury to Duke Gole to support the war effort, this plan would never have taken place. He even actively participated in the operation..."

"I confirm." Rifalen, who had been silent until now, suddenly began to rant with rage. "Although I was willing to open the vault to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, I had originally intended to let them stew for a few days in the hope that Aisling would return. Even if I failed, Usadra's and the coalition army's presence in the Mutant District would have served as a deterrent against the Demons and all those hyenas wanting to devour us to death. As you can imagine, it didn't work. Usadra found the secret passage to the vault in the blink of an eye and managed to foil all security mechanisms, including picking the supposedly tamper-proof lock on the vault door. As the only thing left to clear was the optical scanner and given that he could easily get my eye from my corpse, I had no choice but to open the door..."

Just by looking at his face, which was purple with anger, one could tell that he kept a bitter memory of it.

"Hmm... He is on the same level as Aisling so." Jake commented indifferently.

"Hmmph, don't compare me to that sneaky pipsqueak who only knows how to backstab." The pretty Dhampir Demon snorted complacently when he compared her to that nasty elf, " In one-on-one fair and square, I'm sure I could kill him in less than ten breaths."

"Sure..." Jake rolled his eyes, inviting the prince to carry on with his presentation.

"... Well, there's still the Duke Gole. He lost his company of griffin knights at the council battle, but it's no fluke that he's survived until now. He's not the commander of the Emperor's Imperial Guard for nothing. From reliable sources, he is level 86. His Soul Class is not known, but like all griffin-knights he knows how to wield a bow, a spear and a sword and fights best when riding his griffin, which has been accompanying him since his youth. Dismounted, I'm not sure how good he is, but he must not be that strong or he wouldn't have been so badly injured during the council battle."

The end of Prince Edric's account coincided with their arrival in front of a large ancient wooden door that was none other than their destination. A heavy silence suddenly fell over the group.

Wordlessly, Jake's right index finger claw began to glow red, then in a flash he carved all sorts of injunctions over his chest. His aura flared up dramatically in an instant, but after a few low-key Aether Spells, his presence vanished completely.

Jake then patted the Prince's shoulder to signal him to wait outside, then after removing the sound barrier, he took a deep breath and then...

BANG!

Jake disappeared from his position, reappearing in the room behind the door, just above a shifty-looking Night Elf, relaxed in his seat with his feet crossed on the table in a posture reeking of arrogance. His body spun, his leg following suit. Then a powerful hammer kick mercilessly struck the top of the elf's skull, smashing his head down against his outstretched legs on the table.

The sheer violence of the impact of Usadra's forehead hitting his knees crushed both his forehead and his knees into dozens of broken pieces, the joint of his outstretched legs suddenly forming a V in the wrong angle.

"AARRRRRRGGHH !!!!"

The harrowing howl of pain that escaped the "Grandmaster Shadow Assassin's" mouth alerted the other leaders in the room, including Jake's companions across the door. As Usadra's shattered head was gradually being reconstituted through digitalization, Jake grabbed him by the neck like a chicken, then with a twist of his wrist snapped his head completely off.

Dismissing Usadra's agonizing body with a casual kick, Jake calmly sat down on the seat that had just been freed, crossing his legs on the table in the same pose as the Night Elf earlier.

"You don't know me yet, but I'm Jake Wilderth, the Mutants' new leader." Jake introduced himself with a toothy grin revealing his long translucent fangs. "I was told you owe me money."