Chapter 679

"Why haven’t we made our move yet?"

Claire genuinely didn’t understand.

The second-in-command of Fel Scar Rift’s internal affairs forces had already defected. The commander responsible for the artillery had switched sides as well. If things went their way, there might not even be a battle.

All Evanson had to do was convince a few more people to join them, make their positions known, and force a confrontation with the current leadership. Fel Scar Rift could declare its rebellion on the spot.

The idea was perfectly reasonable from Claire’s perspective.

If this had been a human military, it might even have worked.

Unfortunately, the Burning Legion was nothing like a human army.

"Not yet."

Evanson shook his head.

"Haimengdasi may be an idiot, and he certainly isn’t popular, but you can’t deny that the pit lord is extremely powerful. Agatha still isn’t his equal. As for Gnos..." Evanson paused. "He’s smart, but when it comes to personal combat ability, he’s practically dead weight."

Claire nodded slowly.

She was beginning to understand.

Haimengdasi hadn’t become the lord of Fel Scar Rift because he had the most supporters. He held the position because he was overwhelmingly powerful enough to keep everyone else in line.

"But..."

A sly smile spread across Evanson’s face.

"While I may not be Haimengdasi’s equal, I already have a trump card that can deal with him."

"A trump card?"

Claire’s eyes shifted immediately toward the Eredar Twins.

She had personally witnessed the strength of these two demonesses. Without the Eye of Agamotto, even the Sorcerer Supreme would have trouble restraining them.

Obviously, they had to be Evanson’s trump card.

"Don’t look at us."

The Eredar Twins immediately waved their hands.

Lady Sacrolash sighed.

"We’re not participating in this campaign."

"You’re afraid?"

Claire naturally interpreted their refusal to fight as fear.

That realization only made her more uneasy.

If even these two powerful demons were unwilling to participate, then just how powerful was Haimengdasi?

Could Evanson really deal with him?

"Afraid? Yes. We are."

To Claire’s surprise, the Eredar Twins admitted it without hesitation.

"But we’re not afraid of Haimengdasi. That fool has some strength, but if the two of us worked together, killing him wouldn’t be particularly difficult."

"Then what are you afraid of?"

Claire was completely baffled.

If the twins were confident they could deal with Haimengdasi, why refuse to go?

Unless...

Unless they had been bluffing.

Grand Warlock Alythess scratched one of her horns, looking slightly embarrassed.

"We can defeat Haimengdasi. But if we actually showed up at Fel Scar Rift, I’m afraid we wouldn’t be fighting Haimengdasi anymore."

The twins had spoken in such a roundabout way that Claire only became more confused.

Fortunately, Evanson supplied the missing piece.

"Fallen Titan Sargeras founded the Burning Legion, so naturally he remains its ultimate master. But these days, much of the Legion’s affairs are actually handled by Kil’jaeden, the Deceiver."

He glanced toward the twins.

"He also happens to have been their direct superior."

"We’re traitors to the Legion now."

Sacrolash spread her hands helplessly.

Alythess added with a disgruntled expression, "Kil’jaeden is petty. Very petty. And he holds grudges."

"We used to be his trusted lieutenants," Sacrolash continued. "Then we betrayed him. So you can probably imagine how furious he is after having that trust thrown back in his face."

"Which means that no matter what happens at Fel Scar Rift, Kil’jaeden probably won’t bother himself with it," Evanson said. "But the moment word gets out that the Eredar Twins have appeared there..."

He smiled thinly.

"He might come personally."

"Even if he doesn’t..."

Sacrolash shrugged.

"We’d still have plenty of trouble. I heard Imonar the Soulhunter has already accepted the bounty on our heads. We’d rather not run into him."

"Imonar the Soulhunter? Who’s that?"

This time, Evanson was the one who looked puzzled.

He had never heard the demon’s name before. And judging by how seriously the twins wanted to avoid him, Imonar had to be dangerous.

"He’s the Burning Legion’s most infamous bounty hunter."

Alythess sighed.

"He has a perfect record. He’s never failed to collect a bounty. He’s powerful, vicious, and exceptionally underhanded. He specializes in traps and other devices that make it almost impossible to know when he’s coming."

"In that case, you two should probably sit this one out."

Claire finally understood.

The Eredar Twins showing up at Fel Scar Rift would be like lighting a flare in the middle of the Burning Legion and shouting, Come get us.

Even if Kil’jaeden didn’t come personally, the Legion would send someone dangerous enough to make up for it.

"Then what’s your trump card?" Claire asked.

"If the twins can’t fight, how exactly are you planning to deal with Haimengdasi?"

"That."

Sacrolash casually pointed behind them.

Claire turned.

There were two large nanmu wooden crates stacked together.

Nothing else.

Claire stared at them for several seconds.

What am I supposed to be looking at?

Beside her, Evanson happened to be drinking water.

He took one look at the crates.

Then he promptly spat it all over the floor.

What the hell?

You actually left those things sitting here?!

Even if they were certain they wouldn’t suddenly explode, weren’t they worried about radiation leakage?

Then again...

Right. They really aren’t afraid of radiation.

"What’s inside those?"

Claire examined the crates for a long moment without finding anything unusual.

"Inside is..."

Evanson hesitated.

"...something that can deal with Haimengdasi."

He still didn’t tell her what was actually inside.

Instead, he smoothly changed the subject.

"Even with that, I can’t guarantee it’ll kill Haimengdasi outright. But it will absolutely leave him severely wounded."

His expression turned serious.

"That means our real problem is keeping his loyal troops occupied long enough for us to finish him."

It was essentially the same principle as skipping several phases of a raid boss and dropping it straight into its execute range.

The boss itself became manageable.

The problem was everything that spawned around it.

The moment Haimengdasi went down, his elite troops would come pouring in. They had to either destroy those forces quickly or keep them pinned down.

Then Evanson could focus everything on the boss and finish the job.

"Haimengdasi has a personal army," Evanson explained. "It’s the primary combat force of Fel Scar Rift and the largest military formation stationed there. They’re extremely powerful."

"And more importantly, they’re fanatically loyal to Haimengdasi. As long as he remains standing, they won’t abandon the fight."

Claire finally understood.

So that’s why.

She had wondered why Evanson had spent so much time preparing such a massive advantage without actually making his move.

Haimengdasi wasn’t merely the strongest demon in Fel Scar Rift.

He also had the largest and most elite army under his direct command.

Evanson’s eyes suddenly gleamed with a distinctly sinister light.

"But..."

A smile tugged at his lips.

"I’ve already started dealing with them."