Chapter 312: Gratitude. (1/2)

Haley had drawn a copy of the pattern that Ozul had shown before, and as he made his way towards the Ashin family's manor, they began to generate as many copies as they could under strict supervision from Raven and Blaze.

As Ozul had ordered, he didn't want any alterations  in the pattern while copying, so even with hundreds of people at work, it took them a while to get enough copies.

The main problem was that not every member of the Three-Eyed Strangers had taken strict secrecy oaths. Some of the oaths for outer members had a few loopholes, and as such these people couldn't be trusted with the task, as per Ozul's order.

As a result, the number of people who could be assigned to this 'simple' task was significantly reduced.

Nonetheless, the organization's normal operations were completely turned upside down. Those who hadn't taken the secrecy oaths were all inquisitive, but getting any information was difficult because all those charged with the work risked their lives if they ventured to say anything to anyone.

.. .

Ozul reached the manor and except for in their estate, he didn't notice a single human in visible sight. Even the manor felt a little empty.

Outside the manor, quite a few people had gathered. Raymond and Alver were both in the middle of the crowd.

Unsurprisingly to him, his presence went unnoticed even as he arrived near them.

A couple of minutes later, he heard a voice, ”Nephew?”

Alver's voice attracted the attention of others including Raymond who beamed with a smile, ”Nephew! Haha! You are as quiet as ever.”

”What is all this?”

”Ah, this? Well, I just thought that it might be the time to really move out. Everything else is already shifted from these lands now. It wouldn't do any good staying here any longer,” Alver explained, ”...Oh! You might have not seen this before! Everything's almost done, just wait a few moments.”

Ozul didn't get why Alver had that excited and mysterious smile on his face. He could only guess that maybe he was excited to show him something new.

Just as he had said, it only took a few more minutes before their men had finished making sure that everything was in place.

”Do you want to do the honors, Nephew? You just have to pour enough Mana in this crystal,” Raymond pointed towards the white marble pedestal that had a giant red crystal fixed on top.

”I will pass.”

”Haha. It's fine. Let me show you. Come closer, stand in this circle.”

The circle Raymond pointed towards was drawn on the ground below. He and Alver were standing within that circle along with a few other old men. Alver's female guard also stood beside him.

He went inside the circle, not suspicious of their motives as he could feel their emotions.

As he did so, Raymond put his hand on the colorless crystal and began pouring his Mana into it.

”Anyone below Rank-9 would never be able to activate this formation,” remarked a few old men who were also witnessing this for the first time.

The crystal grew brighter by the second and Ozul noticed the never-ending row of symbols drawn on the ground around the whole manor also began to light up one by one. By this time, he already knew what they were about to do, so he observed the process very carefully.

Despite it being the daytime with no clouds, the light emanating from the symbols and the crystal grew to a blinding intensity.

Although he could not see it, he felt it when all the symbols around the manor had lit up.

Right then, the ground started to shake, mimicking the effects of an earthquake. Despite that, everyone remained calm as they continued to observe the crystal on the pedestal.

*Zzzkh!*

The sound blasted, making everyone take a step back.

But that single moment of distraction was all it took and those standing in the circle along with the whole manor was shifted to a place outside the Desolate Border, hundreds of miles away.

The sudden change in the scenery brought a few surprised gasps from everyone except Ozul, Raymond, and Alver. The latter two smirked in unison as the formation had worked without any trouble.

The crystal under Raymond's palm was cracked and it was almost a wonder how that pedestal remained standing, judging from its appearance.

All the symbols drawn on the ground had smoke rising from them; it was apparent that the formation wasn't useful anymore.

Ozul stepped out from the circle and noticed quite a few people outside the manor as well.

Noticing his prying gaze at the people outside the circle, Raymond spoke, ”The formation had to be set up on both sites. These men were already here.”

Ozul neither nodded and nor made it seem like he heard his voice as he made his way towards them as the other men scattered away to make sure everything was successfully transported.

”Ghaha! I almost forgot, you never visit us if it's not anything important. So...? What's the matter? Do we need to head inside?”