CH675 Partnership And Irony

***

Alex nodded with a faint smile.

"As you should."

Much to the surprise of Dalton, Lady Rosa, and even the BattleBane Guild Master.

"What? Were you expecting me to give you some grand speech about letting go of vengeance and choosing forgiveness?" Alex said with a dry smile.

"Sorry, you have met the wrong person. If what happened to you had happened to me, I would not stop at merely killing the Archbishop—I would burn Juror’s entire Temple to the ground."

As he spoke, his eyes glowed with a crazed crimson light.

Eleanore gave him a subtle nudge with her elbow.

Alex’s Calm Madness state quickly settled, and his eyes returned to their usual ruby-red hue.

"As I am sure you have already realised—since we are having this conversation, and since you have been so forthcoming—I am not from this Heaven. And because of that, much like you, I stand on the opposite side of this Heaven’s deities. In that sense, we are natural comrades.

"As such, my party will cure your people of their affliction—your own condition included. In exchange, your BattleBane Mercenary Guild will enter into a formal partnership with my Fortuna Mercenary Group for a period of ten years.

"During those ten years, you will not pursue your personal vendetta against that Archbishop of Juror."

"Master, you cannot—"

Dalton and Lady Rosa immediately tried to object, but Alex continued without pause, cutting them off before they could properly speak.

"I have the unfortunate honour of being destined to stand against every deity in this Heaven. During these ten years, you will not simply be helping me and my people establish a foundation against them—you will also be helping yourselves build the strength needed to one day stand against Juror.

"From everything you have told me, Juror is very likely the strongest deity currently standing in Verdantis. If that is the case, then you will need every possible advantage you can gather.

"Let us support one another... so that we may each achieve our own vengeance." Alex pitched calmly.

(Flashback End)

---

Alex gazed out of the carriage window as it carried him away from the Banshee Estate and back towards the tailor’s shop, his thoughts drifting over the chain of events that had led to the BattleBanes entering into a secret partnership with Fortuna.

The very next day after their meeting with the BattleBane Guild Master, he and Eleanore began treating the guild members afflicted by the curse.

Through pill alchemy, Alex and Eleanore were able to produce large batches of restorative solutions by refining multiple sets of ingredients into concentrated pills, which were then dissolved into liquid mana to form potent healing concoctions.

At the same time, Alex—working with OmniRune—modified and enhanced the formation Eleanore required, enabling it to treat multiple patients simultaneously. This came at the cost of increased energy consumption and reduced efficiency, but the trade-off was necessary given the scale of treatment required.

Although Alex incorporated a self-sustaining energy-gathering function into the formation, it was insufficient to meet the total demand. As a result, the BattleBanes rapidly depleted their reserves of berserk stones and berserk beast cores.

Even so, none of them complained. Compared to the possibility of being freed from their curse, the cost was negligible.

By the end of the process, the majority of the BattleBane members had been successfully cured. However, that cure came with a consequence—they lost the divinity of the Twilight Adjudicators.

In exchange, their internal energy—Combat Energy—underwent a form of purification, transforming into something qualitatively superior. Though it could no longer be called ordinary Combat Energy, its new nature was far more refined and potent.

As for the BattleBane Guild Master, his condition was far more complicated. While he could outwardly move and present himself as a Combat Saint, the truth was that he remained far from fully healed. It would require at least a full month of continuous treatment—either from Eleanore directly or through the healing formation—before the deeper injuries and lingering sequelae within him were completely resolved.

Even so, his current state was more than sufficient to serve as a powerful deterrent—a card already used to bluff Lady Wintermere and the Drumvale consortium backing her.

Following the treatments, the BattleBanes all but revered Alex and Eleanore. Had the two chosen to establish a religion of their own, the entire guild would have likely sworn themselves as its most devout followers without hesitation.

Even the BattleBane Guild Master went so far as to offer control of the organisation to Alex—insisting upon it with surprising firmness.

When Alex questioned such a drastic decision, the older man had simply replied,

"You are the second person in my life whom my instincts tell me will change the world. And that feeling... is even stronger than the one I had for the Cyrindale heir."

For a man who had willingly endured one of the cruellest punishments a clergyman could suffer based purely on instinctual feeling, it was impossible to predict just how far he would go when that feeling grew even stronger.

Even so, Alex persuaded him to remain in command of the BattleBanes, convincing him that it was not yet time for Fortuna to make such a drastic move as openly merging with—or absorbing—a well-known guild like BattleBane.

Much like the partnership secured with the Black Scar Syndicate—and in some respects, perhaps even more significantly—the alliance with the BattleBane Mercenary Guild was a tremendous boost to Fortuna’s campaign within Verdantis.

The BattleBanes added not only far greater manpower to Alex’s growing forces, but also reach and access.

As deeply established forces within the Wildlands, the places they could enter, influence, and investigate were far beyond what Fortuna could currently manage alone.

This quietly elevated Alex’s standing within the world, increasing—even if only slightly—his still modest qualifications to stand among the true major players moving in the shadows of Verdantis.

As proof of this, the small Fortune-Suppressing Dragon had grown.

If one looked closely enough—perhaps with the aid of a magnifying glass—one could faintly see that its scales had become denser, sharper, and more vivid than before.

It was only a small step, but it was still a step in the right direction.

Yet, even more valuable than the manpower and reach gained from BattleBane, from a certain perspective, the greatest gain might have been the hidden history Alex had learned from the BattleBane Guild Master.

As the carriage passed along one of the city’s major streets, Alex watched the ordinary bustle of life outside. Merchants argued over goods while individuals haggled over price—all of them utterly oblivious to the dark currents moving far above their heads.

Alex could not help but feel uneasy.

’To think that the traitors of the Era of Sorcery have been gone for more than half a millennium. There is something deeply ironic about the fact that they did not even outlast the phantoms left behind by the true heroes of this plane—despite their betrayal being driven by the desire to rule this world for longer.

’The very people who died protecting the plane left behind a legacy far more enduring than those who betrayed it for the sole purpose of making themselves eternal.’

Alex could only shake his head.

***