Kelly and Jessica still had to move that evening, so after dividing the spoils and purchasing the Hurricane Axe for the discounted price of 480 pounds, Hobart left at once.
The reason Hobart had brought it up after the battle rather than before was to avoid Kelly and Jessica mistaking it for an advance demand for benefits.
Of course, he knew that sometimes, even if he had no such intention, once everyone else believed he did, no explanation would help.
In the carriage back to Blanca Street, Hobart went over that evening's operation again. Only after confirming there had been no oversights and no one was following him did he finally relax.
Then he began reflecting on the battle. During the fight, Hobart had realized that he had made quite a few mistakes in his first battle as a Sequence 6.
Now that the battle was over, Hobart habitually reviewed it.
First, he realized that his first mistake had been using the Stone of Loss of Control a second time.
This one-use Mystical Item had produced an unexpected effect the first time he used it, and crucially, it had also completed the process of Bribe along the way.
But the second time, the opponent had been on guard, making it difficult to achieve the desired effect. Worse, it might have caused him to lose the tactical initiative.
The second mistake was that Hobart realized he had been somewhat overconfident that night. He should have used Order Wood at the very start of the battle to create an environment favorable to his abilities.
Recently, Hobart had not taken part in any particularly intense Extraordinary Battles, while his own strength had improved substantially. That had left him somewhat complacent.
If Hobart had not possessed enough Mystical Items, that evening's outcome would certainly