Legacy of the Dark Sage

Oceanus's mind was a whirlwind, his thoughts grappling with the profound implications of Kyran's words.

Kyran did not say much, but Oceanus was able to draw a few relevant points from it to outline the situation.

One crucial detail that piqued Oceanus's interest was Kyran's mention of informants. It was clear that these informants were from the Blade Dancer Clan. How Kyran managed to plant those informants was a mystery, but Oceanus was certain that the events that led to the tragedy of the Tower of the Ancients held the key to this puzzle.

The second important point was Kyran's informants being unconscious. This somehow answered Oceanus's doubts about the Solis Clan's claims that all clan representatives, apart from the Dragon Clan and those who were on good terms with them, failed to return.

Oceanus surmised that the Solis Clan's claim was a strategic move, a ploy to exert pressure on the Dragon Clan and all those they were on good terms with. He hypothesized that some clan representatives from the Solis faction did return, albeit in dire conditions or comatose, a fact they conveniently omitted.

Kyran's informants were likely one of those representatives that returned, albeit had fallen into a coma. Oceanus guessed that their coma was spell-induced to prevent their clan leaders from interrogating them about what happened in the Tower of the Ancients.

The reason behind this was simple: Kyran intended for the mystery of what happened in the tower to die down before his informants regained consciousness. They could then pretend not to remember anything that happened.

Oceanus did not know Kyran that much, but at the very least, he believed the younger man would have considered his informants' clan leaders to have a way of waking them up. Since Kyran still went ahead with it, he was likely confident of the spell he used.

But something might have happened that involved The Emperor, which disrupted Kyran's plan. Kyran probably did not expect The Emperor to be involved so soon, and so he was now in a hurry to go to the Blade Dancer Clan to prevent The Emperor from successfully 'waking' the informants.

Fortunately, Oceanus's idea this time around was not as crazy as when he was trying to figure out Kyran's intentions for requesting the Blade Dancer Clan's information.

There were still a few things that did not make sense to Oceanus, but rather than coming up with a crazy idea, he decided to ask Kyran for answers. Besides, he was curious and a bit scared, to be honest, about that person's involvement in all of this. If that person was indeed involved, then the Solis Clan's ploy of putting pressure on the Dragon Clan might actually be true.

"How did you know that The Emperor plans on forcefully waking your informants?" Oceanus asked. As far as he was concerned, a spell-induced coma should have rendered the spell's target unconscious until certain conditions were fulfilled; only then would they regain consciousness.

Oceanus initially thought Kyran had plenty of informants in the Blade Dancer Clan and it so happened that a few of them were sent as representatives in the recent Tower of the Ancients hunt. But if that was the case, why would Kyran even need information about the Blade Dancer Clan?

If he had more than enough informants, why would he personally make a move to prevent those who were in a coma just to hide the truth of what happened in the tower? Considering these points, Oceanus was convinced that those unconscious representatives were the only informants Kyran had.

But if that was the case, how did Kyran know their situation if they were in a coma?

Kyran managed to understand the context behind Oceanus's question after guessing his thought process. Not wanting to waste too much time explaining all the details, he replied, "I can fill you in on the details later. I'm sorry, but we don't have much time. The Emperor will soon exhaust all his resources. And when that happens, he will contact your clan—."

"Even if that is the case, how sure are you that The Emperor will reach out to us? The Solis Clan has just announced a huge claim that all their representatives in the recent tower hunt did not return. Do you think they would want another clan that is not part of their faction to discover that there are actually a few that had returned?"

"He will not hesitate in reaching out to you because you are the Overlord Oceanus."

Oceanus stopped short as he heard Kyran's confident statement. He could not help but raise his brows in surprise because even the younger man's eyes showed how certain he was.

"Why did you say that?"

"Overlord Oceanus has always avoided conflict with others. He managed to remain neutral even after several thousands of years had passed."

"That will not be enough to—."

"It is enough. Because The Emperor will use this opportunity to devour the Ogen Clan as well."

"!"

"W-What are you saying?" Leif looked at Kyran in shock. Her eyes trembled in fear at the unexpected words he had just said.

"I'm sure The Emperor has always wanted to deal with all the neutral factions in the Higher Realm. But there hasn't been an opportunity to do so."

"We have the initiative here," Oceanus tried to argue. "They needed something from us. So how will he devour us?"

"You can only have the initiative if you have the strength to back it up."

Oceanus gritted his teeth in anger. However, he could not refute Kyran's statement because it was true.

The Emperor needed the Ogen Clan's help. However, Oceanus could not even take advantage of that opportunity because his clan was on the weaker side. If he so much as tried to exploit the situation, he would only end up sentencing his whole clan to death.

What Kyran said would likely happen as well. Since The Emperor did not want information about some of their representatives returning from the tower hunt, he would definitely put a noose around Oceanus's neck so he would not leak the information. Once that happened, it would only be a matter of time before his clan ended up getting devoured by The Emperor.

Oceanus sighed in exasperation and looked at Kyran with a bitter smile, "I suppose you have a plan to prevent that from happening."

"Yes, but time is essential. As I said, The Emperor will soon exhaust his resources. We have to move before that happens."

"Wait," Leif's complexion paled once more as she finally realized her role in all of this. She looked at Kyran in fear and asked cautiously, "Were you planning to stop The Emperor from reaching out to our clan for help all this time?"

"Yes."

"Y-You're not planning on using me as bait, are you?"

Oceanus seemed to have also realized something, and his face stiffened in anger and shock.

"Null, you—!"

"I did say that I will not put your clan in danger," Kyran stopped Oceanus from snapping by reminding him of what he said earlier. "That applies to Lady Leif as well. She will act as bait, but I will not put her in harm's way."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I only need her to..." Kyran gave a brief explanation of what he intended to do.

Although Kyran did not tell them the complete details, both father and daughter managed to calm down. Just as Kyran said, Leif would not be put in danger after completing her task.

Because Kyran would be the one facing The Emperor's forces.

Nevertheless, Oceanus was still worried. Kyran was still a stranger. Although he had taken a liking to him because of his innate magic and the potential it had, he could not entrust his daughter's safety with him just like that.

Of course, it was a different story if Kyran agreed to marry Leif. Since they would be looking forward to their marriage, Oceanus would be more at ease that Kyran would protect Leif. She was his fiancée, after all.

In the end, it was Leif who spoke first. She said, "If that's the only thing you want me to do, then I suppose it's fine. But you have to remember that this will only work if The Emperor does not personally come to see me."

"I know."

"Alright."

Oceanus looked at his daughter in silence. He did not notice it earlier, but after hearing the exchange between her and Kyran, he realized how much she had changed. Read exclusive chapters at mvl

It was not farfetched to say that Leif only cared about herself. She knew how to take advantage of others and not suffer a loss even after they realized anything was amiss. This was why it was quite rare for her to agree to be taken advantage of.

Kyran looked at Oceanus, "Do you still have anything to say?"

"Your clan..." Oceanus muttered. While he had yet to agree completely with Kyran's plans, he could not pass up on the chance for one of his greatest doubts to be cleared. "No... you already said you're not part of it, but... Ames... What is your relationship with her?"

"She's my grandmother."

"!"

Oceanus almost choked at how honest and even nonchalant Kyran had responded to his question.

"There's a few great something before the grandmother, but that is unimportant right now."

It is important!— was what Oceanus wanted to say but decided against saying it. Since they were pressed for time, and the Ogen Clan's future was at stake, depending on how fast Kyran and Leif got to the Blade Dancer Clan, he chose to keep that to himself.