Is this really a Game?!

Chapter 903 Echoes of Unity: Pursuit of Shadows

?A couple of days passed, and the once-battleground between Elais and Irason now saw the transformative effects of a newfound peace. The news of the kings putting aside their differences had spread like wildfire, and the citizens and nobles were adjusting to the abrupt shift in their reality.

In the capital cities of both kingdoms, banners of unity adorned the streets. There were still remnants of skepticism among the people, especially those who had lost loved ones in the prolonged conflict. However, the kings addressed their subjects, laying bare the truth about Avargan's manipulation and the need for solidarity to bring him to justice.

The citizens, yearning for peace, began to rebuild the bridges of trust that had been burned over decades of hostility. Markets flourished as merchants from both kingdoms set up stalls side by side, exchanging goods and stories. Families who had once lived in fear of the other side now met in the streets, sharing smiles and forging connections.

Of course, it was not all who shared such sediment.

After all, the war had been long and many had died during it.

Some citizens were not happy about the peace, they held strong hatred toward the other kingdom as they had lost people to them and some unrest had appeared.

Some people protested on the streets, not afraid to let their voices be heard and their opinions be shared with others.

Still, those people were the minority, and for now, both kings and their ministers decided to take the soft approach, trying their best to placate them and explain things via the many officers scattered around the two kingdoms.

They spread the news of what happened, not hiding the details at all.

They wished to do one thing, to make sure that the citizens knew that the long war and the many soldiers who had died fighting did not die because of the other kingdom as they had been tricked and manipulated as well.

They wanted them to know that it was because of Avargan, that he was the one who didn't care for their lives, that he had caused the war to happen because of his selfish reasons, because of his ambition, his desire to be the king.

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Slowly but surely, the citizens were being placated, their anger slowly diminishing. The ones that made the least trouble were the nobles, however.

Plenty of them had lost much during the long war, and plenty had risen to power during it, but there was one thing that almost all of them had in common, the desire for peace.

Peace was what they needed to consolidate their power and improve their families. During the war, many of their children died, many promising talents were taken from them, and even some long-serving retainers lost their lives.

The nobles wished for peace so that they could finally start stabilizing their own influence and power so that they could once again live as nobles, not as officers in the army as most of them were.

The Nobles and diplomats worked tirelessly to formalize the newfound peace. Treaties were drafted, boundaries were redrawn, and collaborative efforts were initiated to address the consequences of the war. The healing process had begun, but scars still lingered, and rebuilding a fractured society would take time.

In the midst of this tentative peace, the search for Avargan continued. Combined forces from Elais and Irason scoured the lands, following leads and investigating any reports of suspicious activities. The royal guards, once on opposing sides, now fought side by side with a shared purpose – to bring the puppet master to justice.

Reign, Aragos, Adrian, Nayle, and their teams played crucial roles in the manhunt. Their unique abilities and experiences made them invaluable assets, as they navigated through treacherous terrains and confronted challenges that Avargan had strategically left in his wake.

The bond between the two kingdoms grew stronger each day as they pursued a common goal. Joint military operations, intelligence sharing, and coordinated efforts marked a new era of collaboration. The once bitter rivals were now comrades, driven by a shared determination to uncover the truth and right the wrongs that had plagued their lands.

In the meantime, Avargan, aware of the growing threat closing in on him, continued to elude capture. His cunning and strategic mind kept him one step ahead of the pursuers. He left cryptic clues and traps, leading the combined forces on a complex trail that tested their resilience and teamwork.

The citizens, still reeling from the revelations about Avargan, followed the manhunt with bated breath. News couriers delivered updates to the farthest corners of the kingdoms, detailing the progress and setbacks in the pursuit of justice. The people, once divided, now shared a common hope – that the puppet master would face the consequences of his actions.

Days passed and the search never stopped, the combined forces discovered Avargan's hidden strongholds, each more fortified and magically concealed than the last. The puppet master seemed to revel in the cat-and-mouse game, leaving messages taunting his pursuers, challenging them to reach him.

Reign, Aragos, Adrian, Nayle, and their teams encountered numerous obstacles, pushing their skills to the limit. Avargan's traps were not just physical; he had woven intricate magical defenses that tested the abilities of even the most skilled individuals. It was something they expected from Avargan, after all, the man shown that he was a master schemer and manipulator, such traps were nothing unexpected when coming from him.

As the pursuit intensified, whispers of Avargan's past echoed through the kingdoms. Tales of his rise to power, his ambitions, and his hidden machinations came to light. It was revealed that Avargan had always harbored a desire for the throne, believing it to be his destiny.

The way he had used the 'Ulbvar' to forcibly make children, killing tens of women for his twisted ideas and goals, and his manipulation of events to fulfill his delusional vision of kingship made all the citizens go red from anger and wish for nothing but the worst for him.

While the pursuit continued, Reign found himself plagued by questions about his own identity and the mysterious force that seemed to guide him during the battle with Avargan.

Avargan had told him that he, as well as all Nephilims, were without fate.

But Raziel had told him differently, he had told him how the system and the world itself could have favorites that it would help. He had told him that much, and also touched upon fate, destiny, and similar topics, which made Reign know that such things exist, and from what he was told, he wasn't without any fate or destiny, and yet, Avargan claimed it to be so.

The third party that had seemingly interfered during his battle against Avargan and helped him out did not show itself at all.

If somebody helped them fend off Avargan and had pretty much made sure his plans were not going to work, why would that person hide themselves when it was obvious that they were very powerful as well?

Did it have anything to do with fate, was the person who helped Reign out worried about something, so they were still hiding their identity, not willing to show themselves in order to not endanger their own life?

There were many questions that Reign had, but unfortunately, he could not get the answers to them, not right now.

After a week of searching for Avargan and his children, after finding tens of hidden bases that Avargan had across both kingdoms, the search parties had slowed down, some taking a break from the entire thing.

It seemed impossible to find Avargan, after all, the man had seemingly taken everything to account when creating his grand plan and had hidden himself well.

The one issue that Reign and the others had, however, was that their challenge was not finished.

They had done what was asked of them, they had brought the two kingdoms together, and brokered a peace treaty, and yet, the challenge was not yet finished as an additional objective had appeared.

A simple one, but one that was incredibly difficult.

[ Bring the perpetrator to justice. ]

They had to find Avargan and bring him to justice, but that was incredibly difficult to do.

They had no idea where to find him, and it was clear to them that following the same trails that they had followed previously would bring them nowhere. Avargan himself had left plenty of traces, and they knew that those traces were not real, they were merely placed there to slow them down, to bring them to other places, places that Avargan didn't care about.

If they wanted to truly capture him, they had to ignore all such clues, all of the leads and traces that were easily found, and try to find their own clues, but the question was how, how would they do that?

They started by once again going to the bases and hideouts they had already been to and tried to find something, anything that could help them in their quest. Finding Avargan would be incredibly difficult, but not impossible, they knew that since the system had given them the task.