Rivers of the Night

Chapter 258 258: Game Board

General Pennel stood with a frown. These changes were entirely out of his expectations.

One sweeping change after another was continuously throwing their plans into upheaval, and the only silver lining seemed to be that the Thistles were confused as well. If it was the case that they had come prepared, then the Nightingale Empire might truly be finished.

He looked up, his face solemn.

This Tribulation… it brought back memories that made him shudder from head to toe, and yet it was tens of times—no, hundreds of times—more powerful than his own back then.

The gap was so wide that the General began to wonder if it was even smart for them to be here. If whatever it was survived their Tribulation, even as a newly minted Gold Mancer…

Would they stand a chance?

Given the region they were in, it had to be a beast. And not just any beast, but probably one above Manaborn…

A Runebound Beast?

General Pennel shuddered again, his grip on his weapon tightening considerably. Only this seemed to calm him down somewhat.

He was a veteran of many battles; fear alone wouldn't dictate his actions. But those reflections of his own past Tribulation still danced within his mind.

…

"Are you alright?" Sigil asked Malaya softly. "I'm sorry about this."

Malaya had her head lowered, but she still hurriedly shook it. She didn't speak any words, but her default, people-pleaser state seemed to still be in full swing.

Sigil gave her a glance and then shook his head.

"What's this, Sigil? Making a move on this girl?" a deep, rumbling voice came from the back. It seemed that they were all looking for a distraction from the oppressive Tribulation in the distance.

Surgen was quite burly compared to the other Thistles. While Lani was more tall and willowy like Sigil, Surgen looked as though he had stuffed an ancient tree trunk in his gut.

When he walked around, the earth seemed to shake a bit—though it certainly didn't help that he was balancing an axe half the size of his body on his shoulder right now.

Sigil gave him a glance. "This is someone's wife. Show some respect."

Malaya shrank away when Surgen appeared, her heart trembling. Deep inside, she had already come to feel that there was nothing good that could happen today. Even looking at that Tribulation in the distance, she felt that it was familiar for some reason, and that only made the sinking feeling in her gut even worse.

"Hohoho. Even if you had a little taste, would he even know? Would she dare to say anything? I've heard that boy is a little psychotic, going around, pissing everybody off. But he's been a good distraction for us, at least. You should reward him by giving his wife a good time."

Sigil's face was entirely deadpan, a cool indifference exuding from his eyes. Slight hues of brown and gold rippled in his hair as the weather around them got worse, and this sort of look would have normally been enough to threaten countless into obedience.

But Surgen only grinned back at him.

"If you won't, then maybe I should. I didn't think that you were such a sniveling coward. You really think you're going to buy that rat's loyalty like this? He only looks out for himself."

They were the most insightful words Surgen had spoken until now, and it seemed to remind Sigil that there wasn't any of the three of them that was incompetent.

His gaze shifted from the burly Surgen to Lani, who leaned on a tree in the not-too-far-off distance. The young man seemed to only be casually paying attention to the clash going on here, while his gaze was far more focused on the Tribulation Clouds.

But Sigil could tell that things weren't so simple.

It was odd, though. His father was the one leading this mission, while their fathers weren't here. What were they hoping to accomplish by this? Did they just want to take whatever chance they could to suppress him?

Sigil nodded inwardly. It made enough sense. This mission had the highest concentration of Thistle talents gathered in one place in a very long time. In the background, his father had probably pulled quite a large number of strings to make certain that his uncles couldn't come.

As for why Dean Thistle didn't interfere, it was because if Sigil had to rely on his father to deal with this situation, then he would never gain the respect of this generation of Thistle talents.

Sigil didn't have to stand up straighter when he realized this. He was already ramrod from the very start. However, his gaze did become sharper.

"Do you see that Tribulation in the distance?" Sigil asked coldly.

Surgen sneered. "Trying to change the subject?"

"I'm trying to point out how you're a fool. Obsessed with taking women when there's an example of what you'll have to face very soon right there. You can't control what's in your pants, and you don't know how to prioritize what's important."

Sigil flipped a palm, and a black whip adorned in crimson thorns appeared. It slapped against the ground, causing all the trees in the surrounding twenty meters to tremble and writhe.

"If you'd like to fight, though, I will happily oblige. Don't think of touching a hair on her head while I'm right here. I'd sooner cut your head off and deliver it to your father, since he won't be here to see your untimely demise."

Surgen's sneer deepened into a dark grin, veins on his thick hands pulsing as his grip around his battle axe tightened. The roots beneath his feet began to tremble as well.

…

From a distance, standing on a tree's canopy high above, Dean Thistle watched this in silence and then nodded to himself. Sigil had performed well enough.

The Dean turned away and back toward the Tribulation Clouds, the bad feeling in his heart churning. He had never regretted sending Burne away more.

Unfortunately, the Dean hadn't realized just how long he had been trapped within Theron's plans… or else maybe he wouldn't have been so opposed to bringing Malaya at all.

But ironically enough, the fact they thought they could threaten him with her was already evidence that even the Thistle Ancestor was on Theron's game board.