“They were found by our contacts in Oudigar while attempting to book passage. We do not believe they intended to return home, despite vows to the contrary.”

  “Oh?” Lawrence said. “And what did they have to say for their failure, if they weren’t running?”

  “They were confronted by Meristan mages while on their journey. Corvin fell in the battle and they were left stranded in the wilderness. After more intensive questioning, we determined they are likely telling the truth.”

  “Very well, leave me the report.”

  The masked man in front of him bowed and did as directed, leaving him alone in the office the Emperor had designated at his disposal. It was adorable, almost. The magehunter captains all wore masks, fools too weak to realize it was pointless when they did nothing to veil their mana signatures. But they were useful fools, so he refrained from tearing their farce of an organization to pieces. Doing his own torture would be a waste of time.

  The report was unsurprising. Corvin was arrogant beyond belief, he had been selected for their program for his lack of conviction more than his mastery. It was easy to convince the man to join their cause, once the promise of power and notoriety was dangled in front of him.

  Not like the members of the Eternal Archive, now causing him so much trouble. Both had been kept for their combat prowess. Lawrence and the others figured spending so much time away from their sect over the years pointed to a weak loyalty, easily transferred. One of their few miscalculations. Somehow both Laurel and Martin had slipped by anyone who could contain them.

  Part of him suspected it was Marcia’s doing when she was losing faith in the cause, but it was impossible to say, and it didn’t matter anymore. The two warriors had gone about setting up a new branch of their sect in the Meristan capital. Dealing with it was not a priority, but if they were going to continue to interfere with his plans, then things would change. As it was, Corvin was a small loss. They would purge the survivors and chalk it up to a lesson learned. Those two could play at leading a sect all they wanted, their actions even helped his own goals, keeping the other continent under control and preventing a refugee crisis that would split focus. Once Lawrence had a World Capital under his control, it wouldn’t matter.

  Another of the magehunters was approaching, this one was promising. Lawrence might bother remembering their name soon. The woman had actually observed him and the others, and was adjusting her cultivation accordingly. That kind of diligence was worth noting.

  “Come in,” he said before she could knock on the door.

  Only taking a moment to adjust, she entered and saluted, another remnant of the magehunter organization he would be removing from those he deemed useful.

  “Sir, one of our teams has returned with their harvest. I have here the summary of their findings, as per Madam Faye.”

  Oh yes, this one was canny indeed. “I had not heard we received anything more. Faye is a busy woman.”

  “Of course, sir. It is on my own initiative that the report was generated for your office.”

  “Well done.” Some praise for the insects was usually enough to ensure loyalty, and that much was easily spared.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  It was disappointing that Faye had ‘forgotten’ to send him a list of what natural treasures had been brought in, but hardly unsurprising. Theirs was not a partnership of trust. She was a last minute replacement for the crafting expertise lost in Marcia. He knew it and so did the others. But it meant there was something worth subverting him for on this list. Water, air, earth, plants, and what was that? Wheat? There were wheat natural treasures now? He looked deeper, none of these were worth anything beyond their ability to anchor a Core.

  There. Faye must be getting even more paranoid if she was censoring her own notes. ‘A cloud-like formation, suspected mist aspect’. The chances that she didn’t recognize a Heaven’s Ghost when she saw it were slim. It was also an almost-universal cultivation aid. Even at their level, a cultivator could make use of it to strengthen their meridians, and prepare themselves for the formation of their own Cores. Of course, anyone wasting it in such a manner was a short-sighted fool, taking a shortcut that was easily matched with hard work and squandering a resource wars had been fought over.

  The walk to Faye’s domain was a long one; the woman had insisted she be given a workshop free from the lead that spiderwebbed throughout the city. Conveniently out of his deepest influence as well. Transparent, but some concessions were necessary. He picked his way through the streets, stalking past horrible smelling industry and less offensive but still far too crowded markets. Everything here conspired to give the rational man a headache. Truly, if most people were as willing as he was to suffer for their goals, his ascendancy wouldn’t have been so easy. But rare was the man who would accept a sliver of hardship when an alternative presented itself.

  The Emperor certainly wasn’t. The man had a crude kind of intelligence, enough to bend the local cultivators to his will while suppressing them with his own power. But his vision was narrow. Emperor Nalankar wanted to conquer. When Lawrence offered him the means to do so, he was given all the favor and funding he needed.

  His musings were cut short when he arrived at the magehunter compound. Little used before Faye appropriated the building, it now bustled with what passed for initiates these days. On reflex he scanned their cultivation as he made his way inside. None were foolish enough to challenge him for the offense, or demand he identify himself.

  A few anomalies almost had him slowing down. Those were the ones who flinched when he scanned them, or showed some signs of actual intentional cultivation of their meridians. Lawrence pursed his lips but chose to leave it for later. If Faye wanted to spend her time building up supporters he would let her. She wasn’t a hard woman to wrangle for someone who knew where to press.

  “Faye, I hear congratulations are in order for our most recent harvesting team.” He pushed through the doors without knocking, as though he had been invited.

  A raised eyebrow from the scripting expert was the only reaction. “Indeed, quite the haul. Enough for the next two locations on our list if my calculations are correct.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes,” she said with a saccharine smile. “Lucky these didn’t run into any resistance from the tiny kingdoms up in the mountains. Not like poor Corvin. I did tell you he was going to be a problem.”

  Lawrence accepted the barb with a smile. “He was not the most patient of men, but he served his purpose centuries ago. That he won’t see our ascendancy is ….unfortunate, but not something to be concerned with.”

  “Oh? What about the Eternal Archive, are they something to be concerned with?”

  He flicked his fingers to the side and leaned against the wide worktable that dominated half of the room. “Hardly. Children playing at being in charge. They’ll fall in line or be ground to dust beneath our feet when they realize they can’t win. I’m not concerned.” There was a smattering of jade boxes across the table, in the process of being sorted. He picked up the closest and tapped the enchantment to look inside. “Anything interesting in this batch?”

  Watching a trap close was always a delight. The twitch of Faye’s cheek muscle, and slight flexing of her hands was all that gave her frustration away. Mortals wouldn’t notice at all. But he did, and he reveled in it. Now she would need to confess to finding the Heaven’s Ghost or be caught in the lie.

  “Most are barely worth the time it would take to absorb them. Except this one.” She pushed the box towards him. “I’ve never seen one in person so it’s hard to be sure, but I believe it to be a Heaven’s Ghost.”

  Lawrence whistled in appreciation, not needing to fake the emotion for such a boon. “How lucky for us,” he murmured. “They never form in the same place twice. Whoever found this deserves a reward. Send them over and I’ll give them some personal lessons.”

  That got him an actual frown. “Very well,” she said.

  Poor form to poach another’s promising students, but it would serve as a reminder. Faye could do whatever she wanted with the chaff, but the best would be carefully skimmed for true advancement.

  “Will you absorb it yourself?”

  Of course, the curiosity of a crafter was hard to suppress. “Don’t worry. I have plans for this little gem that are far more useful than that.”

  Judging the moment dramatic enough, he walked back out, tossing the container with the Ghost up and down as he walked out. It was almost too easy. Even his allies fell into the traps that had so long held them back. Bickering and hiding resources to get an edge up over their rivals, losing sight of the big picture. When they had a World Capital to command, none would stand in their way. Every resource, every treasure, everything they wanted would be theirs for the taking. They would advance at their leisure, and then the cosmos itself would bow to their will when they moved beyond. It was all going according to plan.