B2 Ch 101 - A Dangerous Ambition

Jester had been working surprisingly hard that night. He had to carefully manage the strategy and timing between directing those idiot, brutal demons, who were already difficult enough to control, and repeatedly disappearing from Zorvaya’s side whenever he needed to create trouble somewhere else in the region.

It was honestly far more troublesome than he had expected. Fortunately, he had Fang, whose exceptional mobility allowed him to cover large distances quickly, while Shade’s shadows concealed his movements and made those sudden changes of location far more seamless. Without the two of them, maintaining several different disturbances across the region at once would have been nearly impossible.

What made his strategy of turning everyone against each other and spreading chaos so effective, however, was actually the players themselves.

They had a habit of publishing practically everything they did on the internet.

Livestreams, raid preparations, party recruitment, battle reports, even casual discussions about where they planned to go next. They made their own positions ridiculously easy to track. Some streams even openly displayed their levels, party composition, number of support players, and other information that Jester would normally have needed scouts to discover.

It was almost unfair. If only they knew that the enemy currently taking advantage of all that information was another player.

Not that there was any realistic way for them to figure that out.

Aside from that, Jester had previously asked Elora to arrange backup after realizing the situation here was becoming larger than what he had originally expected to handle alone. Even with Authority Bound and Mind Link, proper two-way communication was still rather awkward, but he was gradually getting used to working around its limitations.

As for exactly who had been sent to support him, Jester did not know for sure. Still, judging from the series of system notifications that had begun appearing before him, he could at least make a few guesses.

[Authority Bound: Pearl has successfully taken control of a knight serving under Princess Rania. Pearl is currently influencing the movement of Princess Rania’s forces toward a location favorable for an ambush. Bond Strength with Pearl has increased to 55%.]

[Bond Strength with Pearl has surpassed 50%. Damage Link is now available. A portion of damage received by one bonded party may now be transferred through the Authority Bound connection.]

Okay. So Pearl was doing what Pearl usually did.

Since Jester could now establish a Mind Link with her as well, he had occasionally sent simple instructions whenever necessary. Guide them toward this location. Keep them away from that route. Make them feel safe enough to continue advancing, but uncertain enough that they would hesitate to change direction once something went wrong.

And, surprisingly, Pearl had yet to fail a single task he had given her.

Now there was only one question he was genuinely curious about. Who was the unlucky bastard serving as her vessel this time?

[Authority Bound: Mira has killed more than twenty human players within a short period of time. Mira finds great enjoyment in stalking unsuspecting targets and cutting their throats before they can react. The darkness has provided an ideal hunting ground, allowing Mira to fight in the manner she enjoys most. Bond Strength with Mira has increased to 62%.]

[Bond Strength with Mira has surpassed 60%. Skill Sharing Link is now available. Selected skills belonging to Mira may now be accessed through Authority Bound.]

Jester let out a long sigh as yet another notification appeared before him.

“Igrio had even sent Mira?”

Not that he doubted her ability, but seriously, Mira? Was anyone actually supervising that bunny beastkin? Surely they had not simply released her into the area and allowed her to run around slaughtering people on her own.

It was not that Jester was afraid of what might happen to her. Mira was frighteningly capable when she wanted to be. The problem was that Mira would not stop killing unless someone specifically told her to stop.

Oh, right. Jester almost forgot that he could use Mind Link with the ridiculously cute bunny beastkin now.

“Mira, Mira, listen to me, okay? Don’t do anything reckless. Never fight more than two players at once, and if you’re ever cornered, run immediately. Don’t even think about staying there just because you think you can kill them.”

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[Mind Link failed.]

[Target is currently in Blood Frenzy. Mental communication cannot be established until the target leaves this state.]

Jester sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“If something happens to Mira, I’m smacking Igrio on the head.”

Another notification appeared before he could complain any further.

[Authority Bound: Karisse has finally been given another opportunity to serve the master she deeply respects. Returning to the battlefield and wielding her blades in the service has greatly improved her mood. Bond Strength with Karisse has increased to 41%.]

“Karisse too,” Jester muttered.

Karisse was capable, disciplined, and considerably more controlled than Mira. She should know when to advance and when a fight was becoming too dangerous to continue.

Still, Karisse did not possess the same natural escape abilities as the others. Michel could transform into practically anything, while Sliora could disguise herself and slip away without anyone realizing who she was.

Donna hardly cared if her doll body was destroyed since she had plenty of replacements, and Vanessa could vanish into a swarm of bats whenever things became dangerous. Shade could simply blend into the shadows and disappear from sight. Even Mira, reckless as she was, possessed incredible speed, allowing her to move in short bursts so quickly that it almost resembled teleportation.

Once surrounded, Karisse had far fewer ways to immediately break away from a fight.

That was exactly why Jester had always considered bringing maids without natural escape skills into situations like this unnecessarily risky.

Then again, perhaps he was worrying too much. If he kept protecting them from every dangerous situation simply because something might happen, when exactly was he supposed to trust them to handle themselves?

Then another notification appeared.

[Authority Bound: Vanessa has been assigned to oversee the ongoing attacks and provide support for her new master. Having rarely been entrusted with a task of this scale, Vanessa is determined to ensure that the operation proceeds smoothly and that none of her allies are left behind. Bond Strength with Vanessa has increased to 57%.]

At least the final notification helped ease some of the concern weighing on Jester’s mind. So Igrio had sent Vanessa to oversee the others after all.

That meant Vanessa, Mira, Pearl, and Karisse were currently operating somewhere across the region. With Vanessa keeping an eye on the situation, Jester could worry a little less about Mira running wild or Karisse getting herself trapped somewhere without a way out.

Necroton should not have any problems either. Eight members of the Vesperion Guild were still there, and if another large-scale attack occurred, they would handle it. Eight of them were already comparable to the combined strength of two, perhaps even three, top guilds. That was more than enough power to defend the city against most threats.

Besides, Lucia, Elora, and several others were still there as well. At least Igrio had not thrown everyone into this mess without thinking.

Still wearing his demonic form, Jester stood within the darkness at the edge of a high cliff, overlooking the vast stretch of land below. The night was strangely quiet from up there, almost peaceful, despite everything he knew was unfolding across the region.

At that moment, footsteps approached from behind.

Someone moved through the darkness until they stopped beside him. Jester did not need to turn his head to know who it was.

“That pathetic cunning of yours,” the Demon Commander said. “Where did you learn it? You don’t strike me as a demon born from some filthy hole with nothing but violence inside his skull.”

A thin smile appeared on Jester’s face as he finally glanced to his left. The Demon Commander stood there.

“Does it matter?” Jester replied. “As long as what I do serves your purpose, I doubt the origin of my methods should concern you.”

The Demon Commander stared at him for a moment before stepping closer. Far closer than necessary.

Her body pressed lightly against his side as one hand settled on his shoulder. Then she leaned toward him, bringing her face close enough that barely any distance remained between them.

Jester could feel her breath against his skin.

“Then tell me what you want,” she said coldly. “You have worked harder than I expected tonight. Surely you did not do all of this merely for my praise.”

Her fingers slowly tightened against his shoulder.

“Gold? Authority? A higher place among my forces?”

She leaned just a little closer, her eyes fixed directly on his.

“Or were you hoping I would reward you with something more... personal?”

Jester simply held the demon’s gaze. One hand settled around Zorvaya’s waist, while his other hand rose to her face, his fingers resting lightly against her cheek.

“We can celebrate when all of this is over,” he said. “When their resistance has collapsed, when victory is ours, and when I have taken enough power that no one can question what we accomplished here. Until then, I have no interest in celebrating something we have yet to win.”

Zorvaya studied him closely before leaning nearer, her voice dropping into a whisper.

“Then why do I see something greater in your eyes? You look at victory as though even that will not satisfy you.” Her eyes narrowed. “You are not thinking of betraying Her Majesty, Queen Belial, are you?”

Jester’s expression barely changed.

“Betrayal is such a simple word.”

His thumb moved slowly across her cheek.

“I serve Her Majesty because our paths lead in the same direction. If that remains true, then there is nothing for you to worry about.”

For a moment, Zorvaya said nothing.

“And if one day they do not?”

Jester gave her a faint smile.

“Then I suppose we will discover which path was worth following.”

[An unfamiliar desire has begun to stir within Zorvaya. As a Demon Commander who has always understood her place beneath those of higher rank, she finds this growing dissatisfaction difficult to explain.]

[The authority she once considered sufficient now feels strangely small. For the first time, Zorvaya has begun to wonder why she should remain content with the position she was given, and how much further she could rise if she simply reached for more.]

[Zorvaya’s latent ambition has begun to develop into Greed.]

[If sufficient trust is established, Zorvaya will become eligible for Authority Bound.]