In the heart of Blackshore, stood a black fortress made of ancient stone, stained with soot and time.
It once served as a proud lighthouse guiding warships and merchant vessels, but now it had become a domain of corruption.
The fortress, known as the Black Spire, was where the rulers of Blackshore operated from.
No king or emperor held dominion here. Instead, the city was ruled by a loose council of the most powerful crime lords, pirate captains, and cutthroats.
Of course, the truth—as mentioned before—was that the city was truly ruled by the Umbra Thieves.
Currently, inside the main chamber of the Black Spire, the three leaders of the Umbra Thieves had gathered.
They were sitting at a vast, circular table that dominated the center of the chamber, their expressions extremely grave.
One of the three people was a clean-shaven old man with a head full of thick white hair and a scar running diagonally across his face, making him appear deeply intimidating.
It was none other than Alvertos' father and Brigham Flynn's old friend—and now his mortal enemy—Lord Kissinger!
He looked at his fellow comrades, both old men, and couldn't help but speak in a solemn tone, "I've received word that the armed forces of Ravenfell—two hundred Magi strong—have left the city."
A bald old man wearing an eye patch over his right eye, spat in anger, "Those damned bastards! How were they able to determine our location? I was under the impression that our anti-divination arrangement would prevent even a Rank 4 - Mana Core Magus from divining our whereabouts!"
Kissinger looked at his comrade, Rank 3 Magus - Barnabas Booth, and answered, "First, we cannot be certain if the Ravenfell forces have truly found out our location.
"It would appear that they have been quite tight-lipped about their operations lately. My spies haven't been able to gather any conclusive clues."
He paused for a moment before continuing, "And second, even the route that they are taking has been diligently concealed from outsiders. It would seem that the Councilors of Ravenfell suspect someone from the top brass to be leaking information outside."
At that moment, the third leader of the thieves' guild, Rank 3 Magus - Wendell Cross, spoke, "But we are certain about two things - three Rank 3 Magi have departed from Ravenfell, and they are traveling north!"
Silence descended within the chamber as all three leaders of the guild had their expressions continue to darken, thinking about their next move.
Although only three Magi had been dispatched from Ravenfell, matching their number of Rank 3 Magi.
However, the destruction resulting from the clash between so many Mana Vortex Magi would completely decimate Blackshore—a city that they ruled and called home.
"Fuck!" Barnabas Booth, the one-eyed Magus, slammed the table with his fist and roared at the top of his lungs, "How did things come to this?!"
He turned his head and gazed at Kissinger with his one bloodshot eye, "Kissinger, this is all your fault! Who told you to go after one of the Councilors of Ravenfell in the first place?! If you hadn't then we wouldn't have been in this situation right now!"
Kissinger turned to look at Barnabas, radiating immense fury, "Is this the time to be pointing fingers? If I recall correctly, all of us had agreed on the assassination of Brigham Flynn!"
Wendell Cross, a man with long white hair, interjected, "This is not the time for infighting." He paused for a moment before solemnly asking, "Do we have any word from the Cult?"
Hearing about the Cult of Bones, Barnabas Booth couldn't help but sneer, "That damn cult! Working with us when it's convenient, and abandoning us when things go south. Is this what an alliance means to them?! Damn it all, even us thieves have honor!"
Both Kissinger and Wendell didn't refute the man. They knew that what he said was the truth.
The Cult of Bones had treated them like expendables. Despite knowing this, the Umbra Thieves couldn't do a thing about it because the Cult had deeper roots and was far stronger than thier guild.
Some of the guild's spies in Europa even claimed that the Cult had secretly conquered the entire continent and that thier cult leader was a Magus with no rivals in this world.
Hearing such rumors, how could the three leaders of the Umbra Thieves dare show their grievances to the Cult?
Despite whether the rumors surrounding the leader of the Cult of Bones having no rivals in this world were true or not, the leaders of the Umbra Thieves knew for sure that the Cult had several Rank 4 - Mana Core Magi as its members!
Kissinger's expression turned solemn, "Regardless of the outcome of the battle, we must activate our contingency plan. For now, it is better for us to assume that Ravenfell knows our location."
Barnabas and Wendell looked at him deeply before reluctantly nodding.
Suddenly, the gates to the main chamber were opened and Kissinger's right-hand man, a Magi working under him rushed inside with a panicked expression on his face.
Seeing this, Kissinger was furious. "I thought I had forbidden anyone from entering the chamber. Dillon, if you don't have a good reason, then I will sever your head right now."
Dillon's back was drenched in a cold sweat, however, he still gathered the courage to speak. "My Lord, this is extremely important! You must hear me out—"
"Stop wasting my time," Kissinger coldly said as he coated his hand with mana, ready to sever his aid's head any moment now.
Realizing this, Dillon hurriedly blurted out, "Several people from the Cult of Bones have arrived, my lord! They seek an audience with you all!"
The mana around Kissinger's hand immediately vanished, and he asked with a slightly stunned expression, "The… Cult of Bones, you say?"
Wendell's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but laugh boisterously, "So they're still here, after all! Hahahaha!"
He looked at Dillon and asked, "Boy, how many of them are here?"
Dilon looked at the man and nervously spoke, "My Lord, they… there are four of them! And…"
He paused for a moment before adding with complicated emotions, his eyes a mixture of excitement and dread.
"All four of them are Rank 3 - Mana Vortex Magi!"