Falling Apart

Wien brought Nel into Jekain's territory in the Forest of Menos. When they reached the resting place in the territory, Jekain and his three subordinates were still at the Central Tree and had yet to return. Only one Initial Pseudo-Adjuchas had been left there to receive Wien.

Yisrute, who had possessed the strongest perception, was dead. For the time being, no one remained in the entire Forest of Menos who could find Wien in the forest.

Even if there were other Hollows with powerful perception abilities besides Yisrute, none could immediately take over his position completely.

Ability was one thing; trust was another. In these dangerous times, Gatemont could not immediately let another Hollow take Yisrute's place. He was already pressed for time trying to identify the killer, so how could he instantly promote someone?

Several hours or so later, Jekain finally returned with his subordinates.

"My king, I'm back." Upon seeing Wien, Jekain immediately dropped to one knee. The three subordinates behind him exchanged glances and signaled to one another before kneeling as well, along with the Pseudo-Adjuchas who had stayed behind.

By now, they had realized that this Hollow from outside was an old acquaintance of their lord, and even someone of their lord's own leader level.

If the four of them had still harbored some resentment before Wien revealed his true strength, they quickly cast it to the winds after he dealt with Yisrute at astonishing speed.

Now, the three Hollows before them were the leader they had already acknowledged, their leader's leader, and their leader's leader's companion.

All three were clearly stronger than they were. If a fight really broke out, the four subordinate Hollows would have no way to escape. Besides, they were loyal to Jekain, so there was no question of rebellion.

"Mm. How did it go?" Seeing the attitude of Jekain and his subordinates, Wien smiled in satisfaction. In any case, the territory of one of the Thirty-Six Lords was now firmly in hand.

"Gatemont flew into a rage, but he couldn't find the killer. There wasn't a trace of residual Spiritual Pressure in the Central Tree," Jekain said respectfully. "My king, I truly don't know how you managed it."

"I just used simple assassination methods and a disguise to hide my traces." Wien found a nearby stump and sat down. "My ability is well suited to assassination. Unless he has another Hollow with exceptional perception under him, he'll probably need some time to find me."

"For the time being, Gatemont probably won't be able to keep track of Spiritual Pressure movements throughout the Forest of Menos so quickly. That's good news for us." The corners of Jekain's mouth rose beneath his mask.

"My king, what should we do next?"

"Consolidate the strength we have, nurture more Pseudo-Adjuchas Menos Grande, and gradually begin chipping away at the core strength here," Wien said unhurriedly.

"Step up patrols within the territory. Once things have been stable for a while, start expanding into the neighboring territories on either side and seize their resources. If there's a conflict with a Pseudo-Adjuchas, avoid fighting if possible. Fall back, and kill them once they've entered our territory."

"Yes, my king." Jekain nodded and accepted his orders. "Also, my king, I believe we can use this time to increase the mobilization and cultivation of Gillian-level Hollows. While we target the Pseudo-Adjuchas in other territories, we can also send our own forces over and pick them off one by one."

"Mm, that works. Oh, and first compile the abilities of each lord for me. After that, we'll start with the lords who are unwilling to join us and aren't all that loyal to the great lord."

"You intend to kill with a borrowed blade... Yes, I understand. I'll compile the information for you right away." With that, Jekain withdrew with his subordinates.

"Lord Wien, are we going to take over this forest?" Once the Hollows had dispersed, Nel walked over to Wien and asked.

"Yeah. This is the first step toward our revenge." Wien's eyes narrowed slightly beneath his mask, and a faint trace of Spiritual Pressure escaped him involuntarily.

"Taking over this forest will inevitably mean a reshuffle. The Hollows who are swept aside will become our prey, while those loyal to us will be the strength we need for our revenge later. Three years at most. We'll bring the entire Forest of Menos under our control within three years and prepare for our revenge."

"Mm!" Nel nodded excitedly. Although she knew such actions would inevitably cause bloodshed, her personality had begun to change somewhat because of Wien after she advanced to Adjuchas. This was simply how Hollows grew stronger among themselves.

"Come on. We need to build a temporary base here first, along with some basic infrastructure. We also need to plan routes for the Gillians coming into the territory so they don't snatch our own resources. There's still plenty to do."

"Hee-hee, yes, my lord~"

Just as Wien had said, integrating the Forest of Menos meant more than bringing the Pseudo-Adjuchas together. More importantly, its resources also needed to be thoroughly organized.

Every Gillian entered the Forest of Menos at a different location. Without guidance, it was difficult to bring them together and produce new Pseudo-Adjuchas. Or, like Jekain back then, one might have already entered the advancement stage without anyone knowing.

That would make it difficult for Wien to properly control the Pseudo-Adjuchas resources in his territory. Rather than let that happen, he would organize the base so that most Gillians could follow the guidance to designated areas and continue devouring each other to advance.

That way, Wien could communicate with the conscious Menos Grande while they were still Gillians, making them easier to control after they advanced to Pseudo-Adjuchas.

The construction itself simply involved having the existing Pseudo-Adjuchas cut down large trees and excavate and fill in mountainous terrain within the territory. They would block off unnecessary routes, making it easier for the Gillians to gather.

They would then create some open areas within the territory to make it easier for the Gillians to devour each other and advance.

The Pseudo-Adjuchas in the territory could also take the opportunity to devour Gillians and increase their strength faster.

The heart of Wien's territory, meanwhile, needed to be turned into a proper stronghold.

They would take advantage of the terrain to build a base suited to both attack and defense, one that had to be better than the large tree base in the central area.

As it happened, one of Jekain's Pseudo-Adjuchas subordinates had an ability related to rock. Using the trees of the Forest of Menos and his ability, they could build a decent fortress stronghold.

And so, this Pseudo-Adjuchas with the Rock Ability became the territory's Construction Hollow and began building a stronghold for Wien and the others.

Meanwhile, Yisrute's death had pushed Gatemont, the great lord here, to the brink of going berserk. Everyone he saw now looked like the killer, leaving the entire upper echelon on edge and filled with distrust toward one another.

That gave Wien an excellent opportunity.

After Jekain delivered information on the various lords and most of the Pseudo-Adjuchas to Wien, Wien began approaching those Pseudo-Adjuchas who had doubts about the great lord. Naturally, Jekain was the one who appeared before them.

During these encounters, Jekain also indirectly probed each lord's feelings toward Gatemont. He made note of those who could be recruited as allies, while those unwilling to join were placed on a must-kill list.

Because of their estrangement from Gatemont, the Hollow beasts under those lords had relatively little contact with him. With the help of Jekain's ability, Wien and Nel could kill them easily. Wien would then quickly clean up and disguise the scene, ultimately pinning the blame on lords close to Gatemont.

From both directions, Wien began assassinating both the Pseudo-Adjuchas unwilling to join him and those close to Gatemont.

This caused the entire lord level of the Forest of Menos to grow suspicious of one another. Wien and the others also took advantage of the opening to recruit forces of their own.

Likewise, after seeing the danger and opportunity, the other lords began doing the same, causing Gatemont's standing as their leader to gradually decline.

And just like that, time flew by.

In only a year, the strength of the Core Faction led by Gatemont had diminished greatly. The lords who had risen against him also began gearing up and testing one another with attacks, attempting to establish their own power and standing.

Yet Wien, the spark that had set all this off, had remained hidden in the shadows and gone undiscovered from beginning to end.

It was not that Wien had truly concealed himself so well. Rather, every Pseudo-Adjuchas who had seen him had either submitted or already become his rations.

Time passed quickly. In just one year, the thirty-odd lords who had originally submitted to the great lord Gatemont, along with the Pseudo-Adjuchas under each of them, had fallen apart because of Wien's provocation.

Over the year, the Thirty-Six Lords had formed alliances or swallowed one another up, dividing into four different factions. Together with Gatemont's core forces, five factions coexisted in the Central Forest. Civil war was also about to erupt.

After more than a year of consolidation, Wien had fully integrated into this forest.

During this time, Wien had also gained twelve Pseudo-Adjuchas under his command, including Nel and Jekain. In name, however, Wien's small group was still within Gatemont's jurisdiction.

At present, the other factions each had groups of thirty or forty Pseudo-Adjuchas. If Wien chose to break away on his own, he would quickly become everyone's target.

Besides the Pseudo-Adjuchas who had advanced within his territory, Wien had also gained the allegiance of the lords of the territories to his left and right. That gave him a little more hope of ruling the Central Forest.

"My king, Gatemont has ordered the Reform Faction exterminated. The lords of the Reform Faction have invited us again, and their attitude has gradually grown more forceful. Should we join them?"

The Four Great Factions stood in opposition to one another. Small groups like Wien's, caught within Gatemont's sphere of influence, could hardly avoid being courted or provoked by the various factions, or even attacked. But none of that was a major concern for Wien. After more than a year of development, he had long since gained the strength to protect himself. Although he could not confront the major factions head-on, when it came to guerrilla warfare, Wien had never lost to anyone.

"It's not time yet." Wien lounged lazily on the throne inside the stronghold. Beside him, Nel was stretching on a soft grass mat, looking as though she had just woken up.

"The Reform Faction is like an arrow on the string. They have no choice but to act, and the extermination campaign is inevitable. If we join them now, we'll only be pushed into opposition to Gatemont."

"But half a month ago, the newly appointed perception-type Hollow under Gatemont detected your Spiritual Pressure. He already suspects us."

"That's only made Gatemont more suspicious. Even now, he hasn't found enough evidence to prove that I'm the one who killed Yisrute, has he?" Wien was not flustered in the slightest.

"On the surface, I'm a subordinate you recruited. Given the current situation, we're only a wavering piece on the board. As long as Gatemont doesn't target us, we'll have a chance to reap the benefits while others fight.

"Pass down the order: all Pseudo-Adjuchas are to go on alert throughout the territory, and all conscious Gillians under our command are to assist with the defense. Use the designated garrison areas within the territory as the core. At the slightest sign of trouble, raise the alarm immediately. For the time being, avoid contact with outside lords as much as possible.

"As for the Reform Faction members who come to pressure us into joining, if there are a lot of them, we'll refuse first, then notify the other factions and seek support under the pretext of joining them. We'll shut our doors and stay inside. If the other side is too forceful or there are only a few of them, we'll simply kill the chicken to warn the monkeys. As for Gatemont's suspicions, we just need to find someone to put on a show."

"Yes!"