Miracle Card Shop: All My Cards Can Be Actualize

Chapter 566: Sign of Chaos

After hearing the guard's response, Envy felt both frustrated and angry. The Encantada family was the most powerful mage family in South America, and she had called in many favors to secure this appointment with the family head. Yet, at the scheduled time, the head of the Encantada family was not present.

She wasn't sure if the guard's claim was true or if this was some sort of ruse. But when a mage said they weren't at their residence, it was nearly impossible to track them. There were countless places and secret magical realms they could retreat to.

"Let's just hope this isn't a ploy from the Encantada family," Envy muttered once she was far from the estate. Turning to her butler, she said, "Wilkins, let's return to the VTOL for now. We'll rest there and then decide our next move."

"Yes, Mi'lady," the butler replied with a respectful bow before following closely behind her.

As they walked, Wilkins' eyes suddenly sharpened, glancing toward the Encantada estate. Without anyone noticing, he discreetly released several micro spy drones from his sleeve, trailing after his mistress.

—

After Envy and Wilkins disappeared from the vicinity of the Encantada estate, inside a hidden meeting room, a white-haired woman in her thirties watched the footage on a security camera. She observed Envy and her butler vanish from the screen and wore a deeply conflicted expression.

Letting out a sigh, she turned toward the two unexpected guests who had arrived an hour before Envy's scheduled appointment. This woman was Silva Encantada, the head of the Encantada family.

One of her guests was none other than the sole Grand Councilor of the Hightower, Golden Scale, while the other was a man dressed in black robes and a mask, uninterested in revealing his identity. Discover exclusive tales on m,v l'e-NovelBin.net

"Now I've offended Lady Envy," Silva muttered, "but the final seat on the Grand Council of the Hightower and the Bone of the Puma God are mine." She paused, then continued. "You had better hope what you're offering next is worth more than making me cancel my appointment with Lady Envy. If something goes wrong, I can forget about any chance of survival."

"I assure you," Golden Scale began, "the benefits you'll gain from cooperating with us will be far greater than anything a faction that hasn't even formally been established can offer. As you know, the Hightower has a much longer history than Daniel Emberweave's faction. Our foundations are far sturdier."

"But isn't Daniel Emberweave stronger than you?" Silva countered. "His magical technology and artifacts are beyond your reach. What proof do you have that siding with you will give me more than siding with him?"

"The fact that the Hightower was founded by Merlin himself," Golden Scale responded smoothly, "and we still have access to his trump cards. That's why we remain standing even after we exiled the world's most powerful witch."

"Exiled?" Silva scoffed. "You betrayed her—the only one who met Merlin in person while he was alive, and the strongest witch, no less. What makes you think you can contend with Daniel Emberweave after losing half your influence in the Curtained World?"

This time, the man in the black robe spoke, not Golden Scale. "The Hightower's power is consolidated in Europe, where we have a firm grip. Daniel Emberweave's faction, on the other hand, is newly founded. Their capabilities aren't well understood yet, and many powers will soon vie for control, eager to grab a piece of the pie for themselves.

"Moreover," the robed man continued, "Daniel Emberweave's faction will soon face challenges from many ambitious individuals. While they may suppress individual families and mages, when multiple groups gather, all competing for control over the Curtained World, even if Daniel's faction proves the strongest, the resources and time they'll expend to emerge victorious will be substantial."

"Oh? That's intriguing. What do you know?" Silva asked, her interest piqued, her eyes fixed on the robed man.

"To control something, a ruler must eliminate all opposition and any power vying for dominance. In the case of the Curtained World, many forces are trying to carve out their own spheres of influence, which directly contradicts the goal of Daniel Emberweave. He seeks to control the Curtained World, free from the influence of the Hightower.

But others are also vying for the same benefit, there will be chaos… the great chaos that follows."

"Is that so? Will things really play out as you say? You know Emberweave is far stronger than those rabble. What makes you think they'll put up much of a fight?" asked the white-haired woman.

The man in the black robe chuckled. "Please don't misunderstand. In the end, Daniel Emberweave will win and claim absolute authority. But his weakness lies in his unwillingness to set harsh examples for those who defy him. He even spares some of his enemies, which emboldens them. They know that if they make concessions, they stand a good chance of surviving the consequences.

Besides, we never counted on those rabble. We merely want them to cause enough trouble to buy us time... time to prepare for the ultimate reckoning," the man in the black robe explained.

Hearing this, the Encantada Matriarch narrowed her eyes. The 'ultimate reckoning' must be the moment they plan to strike against Daniel Emberweave. And perhaps, with this, they stand a real chance of defeating him.

"Are you perhaps… pushing for the Curtained World Civil War?" Asked the matriarch.

The man in the black robe didn't answer… but she knew that the great mage civil war that might be more bloody than the last civil war was about to happen.

— Meanwhile - Vatican —

As the towering stone walls of Vatican City came into view, a sense of solemnity and reverence filled the air. The soft echo of footsteps on the cobblestone streets seemed to hush the city, where centuries of faith and power had converged.

Father Richard, who had just arrived from New Atlantis, walked along the cobblestones beside his bodyguard, Grand Paladin Christopher Ward, assigned to him by the Pope.

Having completed his mission in New Atlantis, he returned with several cargo loads of holy armaments and had come back to the Vatican to continue his work as an ambassador.

At that moment, the sound of footsteps on the cobblestones slowly faded, replaced by the hurried steps of a large crowd.

Both Richard and Christopher looked around and noticed a large group of people surrounding them from a distance—numbering in the hundreds. Among them were mages and numerous unfamiliar paladins that Christopher didn't recognize.

Sensing the impending danger, both men felt an ominous presence—this was clearly a trap. "By order of the Grand Paladin, get out of my way or face the consequences!" Christopher commanded coldly. He hadn't yet drawn his weapon, not wanting to kill his brothers in faith, especially within the Vatican.

"Shut up, heretic! The real Grand Paladin Christopher and Father Richard are dead! You're just homunculi using their corpses to infiltrate our holy land!" one of the paladins shouted.

At that signal, the surrounding paladins drew their weapons, preparing to engage.

"Get the f*ck out of my sight. This is your last warning," Christopher growled, his tone cold as he drew his blessed blade from beneath his trench coat.

Seeing this, Richard immediately pulled out his gun—a modified weapon designed to fire anti-shield bullets, capable of piercing both faith-based and magical shields.

"Kill the heretics!" one of the paladins shouted, triggering a pre-prepared magic formation. The spell immediately targeted Christopher's faith power, making it difficult for him to draw on it and significantly weakening him.

"This... This is a weakening curse! You've all conspired with the Hightower?!" Christopher roared as he began to defend himself.

Richard activated his personal shield generator and quickly fired at one of the paladins charging toward him.

Bang! Bang!

Several shots rang out. The paladin used his blessed blade to deflect the bullets, flashes of metal clashing in the air as he staggered. Richard quickly fired more shots, killing the paladin.

As soon as one fell, another took his place. A paladin armed with a gun fired at Richard, but his personal shield generator blocked the bullets with ease. Richard used the moment to reload, but as a non-combat priest, his movements were slow.

Just then, a blade struck his shield, cracking it as it began to overload.

Slash!

Even in his weakened state, Christopher decapitated the paladin attacking Richard with his blessed blade and immediately engaged the others surrounding them.

"May this blade deliver you from torment, may it cleanse your blackened soul! AMEN!!" Christopher prayed, a bloodthirsty smirk on his face as he decapitated the surrounding paladins in a flash of his blade.

"Give up, heretic! And we'll ask His Eminence to pardon your crimes!" shouted the same paladin, who seemed to be the leader. He stayed at a distance, unwilling to engage after witnessing Christopher's fierce resistance.

Seeing this, Christopher immediately hurled several of his blessed blades toward the paladin, but they were blocked by the Halberd of a man wearing full plate armor.