Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord

Chapter 361: Shit show

Swiftly, Kaelthorn looked at him, his eyes sharpening even more, and they seemed ready to drill into Vale. "You said?"

"Isolde has a debt she’s paying at the moment, and until she’s done paying it, I will do as I want with her."

Kaelthorn narrowed his eyes, flickering them at Isolde before turning back to Vale. "Isolde.....is one of my Master Knights. Are you, an Errant Knight, going to deny me? A Master Knight?"

Pensive energy gathered around him, his skin stretching as if it might burst at any moment. But Vale met his eyes flatly, readiness coiling in him like a spring.

Isolde broke the ice. She took a step forward and smiled tightly. "Kaelthorn, I no longer work for you. I’m an independent Master Knight, I’ve been that for a while. And I’m not currently on your pay contract."

"And he is?" he asked with an edge in his voice.

"Yes, he is," Isolde said with a little smile as if she was sharing a joke with herself. "I’m working for him."

"He’s an Errant Knight."

"Yes. He’s also Vale Athrimir."

Kaelthorn sneered, his eyes flashing. "You think this is Athrimir, that place blood above power? See where it got them? Only those that have power have the right to hold the highest position! He’s an Errant Knight!"

Isolde stopped frowning, opened her mouth, and then closed it. "Who I work for is none of your business."

The look on Kaelthorn’s face showed he considered it very much his business, but before he could say anything further, the gentlest and softest voice that Vale had heard in a long time cut in. "Now, now, Kaelthorn. Since there’s no contract binding you, then you can’t hold her against her will. And yes, she can work for who she wants."

Vale turned to look at the last Company Captain who hadn’t introduced herself. A woman who appeared to be in her thirties, but who could really say? Knights aged slowly.

"I am Morvane, Vale Athrimir. You might be a Lord, but you are also an Errant Knight. You should watch yourself, we don’t generally know our own strength."

The threat was so gentle and soft-spoken that it appeared as if she was just speaking about the weather.

Once again, Vale debated with himself whether he could really kill six Master Knights at once. But then again, there were more outside. And who knew how many were outside in the city?

He swallowed his fury and nodded curtly. "Thank you, Morvane."

Morvane smiled and nodded, then turned to Isolde, still continuing in her soft voice. "And you, are you looking to die?"

A flash of pressure cut across the room. It was mild and soft at first, but it carried an incredible weight. Like a feather that suddenly weighed tons. Isolde took a step back, her eyes widened, and she touched her neck as if she suddenly couldn’t feel something.

She grunted. "Ah..huh!"

Morvane smiled. "You can go with your new employer for now. But I’m sure Kaelthorn will want to see you later. Someone will show you out. I hope you enjoy your stay here, Vale Athrimir."

Kaelthorn said nothing, his face already becoming smooth and unreadable.

Vale watched them one last time and then turned away, walking toward the door. Isolde followed behind, strangely silent, her face devoid of any of her usual playfulness.

Someone was indeed waiting for them, an Errant Knight who led them deeper into the palace to a wing consisting of two rooms, a central room, and a bathroom.

"The Council has provided this as where you will stay during your visit. If you need anything, then can you please just ring that bell and you will be attended to."

Vale closed the door and looked at Isolde. "What happened to you?"

She gave him a bitter look. "Why is one Master Knight stronger than another? Are we not in the same rank?"

Vale did not answer. Everyone knew it all boiled down to the Order, then the aspect the Knight specialized in, and above all, natural talent. Well, some also had artifacts and their own special ways of boosting their powers. Especially the type of technique they used.

Even within a rank, Knights were not equal. Not even close.

Vale asked again. "What just happened?"

She gave a laugh that had no warmth. "What just happened? I nearly died! Morvane just showed me how easily it is to kill me!"

"That woman?"

"Yes. She’s one of the few Elemental Order Knights around, well one of those that are not Prime Order, Beastmasters. She’s an Air Elemental Knight and she uses a sword."

Vale’s eyes widened. "She just....did a projection of cutting your neck off?"

"Yes! All the Company Captains are monsters like that. They are strong!"

Vale was impressed because he had not even felt anything. What type of technique did she use?

’...can I get my sword to that level? I’ve fallen so behind in my sword training and only now rely on firepower...maybe I’ll pick it up one of these days...’

He shook his head and focused on the information at hand. "So....Isolde. How do you people manage to keep all this information from the outside for so long?"

She blinked. "What?"

Vale raised his hand and created a prison box that enclosed his whole wing, cutting it off from the rest of the palace. It would block any means of spying on them and, most importantly, it would block any sensing.

"Now then, let’s talk."

Isolde smiled, seemingly forgetting about the fact that she had nearly died. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I am going to interrogate you. Each lie will cost you a finger," Vale said.

"But I don’t really...."

"Misdirection. Anything you want to call it. You know what I mean. I will take a finger for each one. I hope you know how to grow new ones."

She stopped smiling. "What do you want?"

"Matsumoto. You said they are not strong, you said they are weak and need to lean on a Clan. You said the High Clans wanted them and Akatsuki. You said a lot of things that made it seem they are weak!"

Vale was getting really angry and frustrated. Already he had counted up to nineteen Master Knights in Matsumoto, twenty if he included Isolde. Did Athrimir and Akatsuki combined have that many Master Knights?

"I really don’t know what you are talking about. Matsumoto is weak, why else would they...."

Vale’s eyes shone red and his image flickered. His power went from Errant Knight to the top in a single moment. And when his image stabilized again, he calmly looked at the thumb in his hand.

On the other side, Isolde was still staring at her hand as if she couldn’t comprehend it. Then suddenly she shuddered and cried, flinching back and cowering.

Vale looked at her flatly as he threw the finger on the ground. The intensity in his eyes only rose. "Even that reaction is a lie.

"You are not taking this seriously, are you? I’ll rip out your wing next time."

This time the reaction was real, her wings flattened and fear shone in her eyes. "I....well. For some years now, up to two hundred years ago, Matsumoto began concealing their true strength. They used lots of resources to reinforce the rumors that people already knew about them. They started to seriously build their strength."

Vale’s eyes darkened. "And where do the massive resources to do this come from?"

"You should ask the Company Captains, I don’t know." She shook her head as she held her finger together.

Vale’s eyes narrowed. "But you have your guesses. Tell me."

"Well... I think it’s the Tachibana. Matsumoto already belongs to the Tachibana Clan."

"And the war of Akatsuki against Athrimir?"

"Tachibana wants the whole of Hinterlands. Either for themselves or as a gift to their new High Clan. But Athrimir has always been a thorn in their side because they have the largest number of Master Knights in the Hinterlands. But then they started declining, all their Master Knights looked for other masters or just disappeared."

"But Tachibana did not come directly for us...wait, they would have to pass through Akatsuki, and that place isn’t easily breached. So what, they made Akatsuki deal with us so they’ll take everything in one go? They want to use the pretense of Matsumoto joining Akatsuki, right?"

"Yes, yes. But things have changed now," she winced. "Matsumoto is preparing to attack Akatsuki head-on and push the Ito Clan out, getting the two territories as one."

Vale’s eyes widened. "What changed?"

"The war. Some weeks ago, the strange shield that has been covering the capital of Akatsuki fell for the first time, and the location was known to all. Akatsuki is now easy to fight!"

Vale stared at her for a while and then he smiled. "What a shit show."