691. Rolling Out

691. Rolling Out

The time limit was less than 10 days.

Frost, however, wanted to finish things in five or less. Giving the Impuritas more than a week to prepare after the arrival of the Ark of the Covenant was far too dangerous. Countermeasures against the Iron Stars and Black Moons were already set up in the north, and there was no telling if they were already aware of their presence.

The sooner they claimed the Towers, the sooner Frost could move into position. There were only three perquisites that needed to be completed.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Firstly, were the Major Arcana Towers. The Impuritas would take hold of each of the five Towers. Unfortunately, there were only four Exalted with her. After much deliberation, they decided that the Tear Retrievers would oversee the 5th Tower, which was located in the Capital City, Frontier.

Secondly, the location of the Hearts of the City. Once they fell, then the majority of the Impuritas presence in the Bellum Empire would disappear in an instant. This didn’t consider potential Complex Hearts littered across the Empire. Those would have to be dealt with afterwards. Memory Bistros were guaranteed to be present.

They all expected the Towers to be immediately contested after the fall of the Hearts of the City. Complex Hearts, and powerful Impuritas would be all that’ll remain.

And lastly, Frost sought to annihilate the Red Baron.

All information was to be funneled straight to her. Even the most miniscule observation needed to be reported. They still did not know what the Impuritas were after, but D-13 did at least have one lead.

“A musician.” Frost repeated her claim.

Cer and Frost departed from the mines first. They stepped into a forlorn night lit only by the moon, stars, and the subtle glow of the pale Nexus. Past the tall trees that riddled the mountain like needles, and beyond the scrapyard of pillars and scaffolding laid the Bellum Empire.

Dark silhouettes of triangle-roofed cities and the distant Towers were painted against the faint blue light of the moon. It was larger than usual. In the next few days, it will enter its closest orbit with this world.

Peregian Night was the last stroke of midnight on their clock. Frost fiddled with her watch. A tertiary clock ran in parallel with the main that counted Universal Time, and the second for Relative Time. The third clock was used solely as a stopwatch. She synchronized her time with the estimated amount, kindly calculated by a busy Jury and Nav.

The hands became redder with each 24 hours it turned back in time. The closer it counted down, the bluer it would then become.

“Musician. So a Maestro of Flesh.” Cer didn’t need to stand on her toes to see what Frost was fiddling with. She set her own watch exactly as Frost’s as she stood beneath the moonlight, wearing her white-buttoned shirt to fit in slightly better. “Or just any unwashed musician. Did you catch where she heard that from?”

“The Scarlet Logic personnel who tried to capture her. D-13 has no reason to lie. Plus, my feathers rustled, and she had good intentions.”

“Good intentions are what brought this place to hell in the first place.” Cer remarked. “It’s drab, huh? Not a single light in the Bellum Empire outside of the Towers and –”

She shifted her gaze onto the great city that sat behind them.

“– The Capital. Frontier. Get a good look at it Frost. Not ever day you get to see a Capital that large. That’s at least a population of a few hundred thousand. Can’t have either of us fight in there or we’ll be treading on another sea of blood.”

A similar, enormous tower rose from the center of the Capital. It was the royal palace, and it possessed an eerie similarity to Paradise’ royal palace. Its architecture was split between brutalism and gothic, somehow becoming larger as it rose at an astounding 200 meters.

Surrounding it were the contours of a traditional palace one would find in a fairytale. Clearly, that central Tower was designed to be the last thing standing in the Bellum Empire if all went to hell.

A single orb of light sat atop all Towers like a pupilless eye, watching everything behind that the moonlight touched.

They were like giant, gothic lanterns. Light polluted the skies directly above, so that only the brightest stars could shine in their reign. It reminded Frost of the Lesser Luminaire that granted the Maestros of Flesh immortality.

In fact, it could very well be a ‘Major Luminaire’. After all, the Lesser Luminaire had the term ‘Staging’ used in its stats. If this place was their staging grounds, then it was only appropriate for them to exist here.

Frost didn’t care about the Capital, or how its lights braved the night like a fleeting candle in a dark storm. What mattered was how large the Bellum Empire was. One, two? Four days? It would take 5 or 6 at most to reach the furthest Tower.

“They guaranteed it wouldn’t be a problem.” Frost spoke to herself. “All that’s left is us. Our target is in the north side of the Empire, since that’s where Gerina believes the Red Baron is hiding. Since he’s after women, we could start by looking into trafficking routes, merchants, and any underground routes we’re aware of.”

“I got two on my mind.” Cer said, staring into the air.

She had a map of the Bellum Empire opened in the System.

“There’s a town right after Smuggler’s Pass that’s ripe for all kinds of activity. The city westward is another good starting point. Between you and me? That city smack in the middle?”

Frost pulled up her map and focused on the city Cer mentioned.

“I’m willing to bet that city has all sorts of avenues. But that little town to the east is bound to have much more in store for us, since it’ll be an offloading center. The city might just be an accumulation or major distribution point. I’ve done my rounds on Grandis. Going on that rampage opened my eyes up to all kinds of fucked up tunnels and auction houses. Cages, boats, barrels stuffed with families. Some poor rat mistaken for preserved meat and left to pickle for years. I’m the one that’s going to know how Grandis’ underground works.”

Cer then lightly punched Frost in the stomach, and with a toothy grin, she said:

“Whaddaya say we split up to save some time?”

It was risky leaving Cer to her own devices. But that was the old Cer. Her current track record exceeded her sisters. Not a single death occurred under her protection during the Wonderland incident. Furthermore, she was the only Moon that could beat Elysia at her own game.

Cer was 40 years old despite her age.

Frost couldn’t keep treating her like a child.

Not when Cer was rapidly catching up.

“Alright. Just don’t kill the Red Baron if you find him.”

“Heh. He’ll wish I did. I’m not gonna brag or anything, but you’ll have trouble dealing with the city since you won’t know where to start.” Cer bragged with her chin raised proudly. “The town will be way more obvious. Leave the big places to me. If we find nothing, then we can head up further north.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Frost patted her head, right before she scooped Cer into her arms.

“H-Hold on – W-Woah!? Frost!?”

“Would you prefer if you were on my back?”

“On second thought – Nah, this is good. I’m gonna take Jury’s place in no time, huh?”

Frost was nearly twice as fast as Cer. For this reason, she needed to be one to run. She couldn’t afford any wasted time, so this was their only option. Unless Cer preferred to be dragged along the ground with steel strings, or in the air like a fluffy kite?

She imagined Cer preferring either, so she kept her mouth shut and took several steps backwards from the ledge.

With the city now asleep, she leapt from the stone ledge. A kilometer plummet awaited them. Jumping from such extreme heights was nothing to them. As the wind roared and their apparel fluttered behind them like wings, Frost remembered a time when this would’ve been in the realm of insanity.