Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

With the first excursion to the Haron Continent through Hal's private transportation network being done and dusted and the timeline of the trip ascertained to have been fairly instantaneous, the rest of the day was spent with further excursions.

Hal of course made it clear beforehand that wherever he took the Devils to and whatever they were stupid enough to attempt would be at their own risk and he will not interfere.

When he took the chosen representatives to the Silva Duchy, he made it well known that any attack and any subsequent consequences that befell them would be borne by them alone and this rule was even further emphasized when he took them to Imperial city.

The representatives were less proud and dumb than Phaedra and they knew better... They all actually moved about the places Hal took them to and did quick reconnaissance as they had been directed to do.

With every visit they made and with every investigation that was made, thorough investigations, they were progressively more believing of Hal's means and back in the Devil tribe, strategies were being drawn up.

Hal had made it clear from the start that while he did not particularly give a damn about how they wished to strategically break down the Haron Continent, he did want to be involved in their planning and in their choice of places to attack.

"Silva Duchy, I want it attacked. Or more accurately, I want the Duchy palace attacked" Hal said in the meeting hall the next day.

The day before had been spent traveling to all the Duchys Hal had access to and today, he was finally sitting with the members of the Devil Chieftess' court with the Chieftess being in attendance of course.

All those present for the meeting were seated around the long table with Elenor seated at the head commanding the proceedings. Hal had his hands interlocked on the table and leaned as he made his demand.

Gregor was sneering at him while marveling at his audacity to actually dare to dictate where they attacked.

Phaedra was making a point not to look at him.

There were a few fellows who were barely at the Semi-Transcendent realm and considering the very weakest of those who were actually in the Devil Chieftess' court were one-star Transcendent experts, it was fair to say that those Semi-Transcendent fellows weren't members of the court...

... And they were not.

They were representatives of the Tribe's Elders who especially considered themselves much too competent to be explicitly present at the meeting and would rather spend the rest of their lifespans attempting to break through their bottlenecks.

The fellows who were representatives of the absent Elders had recording mirrors in hand to trap the proceedings so that they could all be replayed to the elders at their various moments of convenience.

Elenor did not like the setup...

The system had been in place long before she became the chief and she found that the Elders were specially allowed to do as they pleased but she did understand the necessity of the matter.

The Elders were their greatest trump cards in more ways than one.

"Why the Silva Duchy?" Eleanor asked.

Hal shrugged,

"I need their forces weakened..." he said with a small smile.

It was known to all members of the court that this engagement with this fellow called Prince was for mutual benefits and while he had never expressly said what it was that he wanted, they had all made the accurate guess that it was a takeover.

Phaedra had wasted no time telling them about Sapphire city and since it was situated in the Silva Duchy, it easily tied in with his insisting that they attack the Silva Duchy.

He was using them, that was a fact... However, they were hoping to use him as well and were trying so that it would not end in a win-win situation but rather end in a one-sided win for the Devil Tribe.

Hal was positioned at the long table in a way that he was not too close to the head to be considered of high status and not too close to the end to be easily disregarded... His seating was balanced.

Hal did not care about the sitting arrangements though as it actually made it easier for him to roam his eyes about the various members of the court who could be very easily corrupted and used for his benefits.

Now that he was seen as an ally (sort of), the various Devil women of the court were much more clear in showing their attractions.

The battle tension was now replaced with sexual tension and while they tried their best to pay attention to the meeting in session, they always found enough time to roam their eyes all over his face.

The most evident display of his sexually charged presence was the woman who leaned in to take a long whiff of his delicious scent.

Hal, being the gentleman that he was, always entertained their various looks with winks here and there... Winks that had already moistened thighs.

"Very well, we will attack the Silva Duchy and we will also attack the Imperial city... Simultaneously" Elenor said and immediately, no one in the court was too invested in Hal's insistence on the attack on the Silva Duchy.

"Really?" asked a gruff-voiced man who had been quite vocal in the meeting.

Elenor nodded,

"Really. We have been given a gift. To bypass the normal conducts of war in which we announce our intentions and give our opponent time to prepare.

We have been given a gift with which we no longer need to fight on neutral ground but can rather take the battle to the stronghold of our enemy.

What better way to shake the Haron Continent than to attack the very center of their government.

This is not an all-out war... It is not time for that yet as we know basically nothing about the enemy with is true about them and their knowledge of us... This could be how we find out."

It would be very foolish and unrealistic for them to believe they could start a war immediately and control the narrative all through.

There were too many unknowns... Most notable of which was where this Prince(Hal) fellow's intentions truly lay.

He controlled this private channel and was still a stranger who could not truly be trusted...

Anyway, both continents had launched attacks on each other for so long and yet had no clear idea what the other was truly capable of.

One thing the Haron Continent surely had that the Dystopian continent lacked was their division of government.

The Dystopian continent runs very well as it is but other than the four clearly divided segments, there is not really any more structure in their government... Just clans and families and smaller tribes all controlling their territories and claiming territories.

Anyway, the organized structure of the Haron Continent gave the Devil Chieftess a clear map to bring about their destruction.

Systemic crippling of the forces of each of the structures.

Elenor gave a rousing speech on further plans and as it always did, it roused the fighting spirit of the court and inflamed their ambitions, and then she revealed that the council was demanding to know what was going on.

Apparently, the messenger had revealed enough through a communication talisman to arouse the curiosity of the council.

It would not be long now before they sent envoys and demanded to be a part of proceedings that very clearly 'involved the whole of Dystopia'.

Elenor had nothing against the involvement of the council... The more the merrier... However, she did believe that she and her Tribe deserved to have full control of the Sapphirine Prince's private transportation network.

It was after all her Tribe who had so far taken risks to ascertain that the network was trustworthy...

"... You will have to continue without me for now..." Elenor said in regards to strategizing and planning that quickly became the new topic and then turned her attention to Hal,

"Come with me," she said and crooked her fingers at him.

There was something undoubtedly direct about how she crooked her fingers and called to him that there was no way it could be mistaken as being directed at someone else.

Hal stood from his chair and caught the eye of more than a few of those in the hall before he walked after the Devil Chieftess who was already out of the meeting Hal.

He caught up with her quickly enough and marveled at the aura she exuded...

It was not just about power but was also thick wickedness... An aura thick with killing intent born of the many horrors she had taken part in.

It seemed to go past her having fought in a war... Hal had met others who had fought in wars and they always managed to seem normal enough... Elenor's killing aura was on a much different level.

As for her Aura as a cultivator, that seemed the type that was eager to burst out of the 'confinement' of the massive building she was in.

Her strength wanted to be let loose.

"You're younger than my children" Elenor began as she walked.

She had reduced her pace.

"How do you...?" Hal began but Elenor interrupted,

"I have insight into the Ordinance of Death and I touched you. I saw just how much life force you have left. I saw how much longer you naturally have to live and saw how long you have lived.

To normal average folk, you are but a youth, and to me, *chuckles* you are a newborn..."