1823 Chaos The days passed by quickly and Lexus eventually got his answer. "News? What's the report say?" To the side, Eddy perked up as Destiny unfurled a document. They had all been somewhat anxious. If this had just been about the Rain family, it was no big deal. But it was clear to them that there were some large existences moving in the shadows, existences that they would definitely have to deal with to pave out the path for their future. Destiny quickly scanned the news and her gaze narrowed. "According to this there are literally dozens of locations. The team thought that they might be decoys to throw us off the scent. All of the locations seem to be very well hidden. Some are restaurants, some are convenience stations, there are also a few brothels and entertainment centers. It's hard to tell without an even more thorough investigation which of them are real and which aren't." This was troublesome. They had already wasted three days on this, if they wasted any more time, there would be nothing left to find. They had done an excellent job of suppressing the information until now, but it could only last for so long. "No, we can't wait any longer. I'll contact the Patriarch, but get moving on my orders now. Build up enough teams to attack all of them at once. Also make sure that each team has at least a few elite Seventh Dimensional existences, we can't afford to send in a team that is too weak and potentially suffer a loss because of it. We'll go all out." Destiny and Eddy both nodded, agreeing with the sentiment. The operation began almost immediately. They had already prepared for this potential outcome, so the teams were already mostly formulated, all they were lacking were the Seventh Dimensional existences, and that approval would come from Rychard himself. Until now, Rychard had been hiding how many such powerhouses he had, but now he sat at a bit of a crossroads. When Lexus contacted him with the information, he took a moment to pause. The fact that these lines of communication existed at all seemed to confirm that the Rain family was, indeed, in cahoots with the Chaotic Water Sector. But he had already informed the Chaotic Water Sector days ago of their attacks, so if they were aware of this potential breach, they should have been ready to deal with it quickly. Due to this reason, Rychard was less worried about the time aspect than Lexus and the others were because he knew the full scope of the story. But it was also precisely due to this that Rychard had to okay the attack regardless. If he hesitated for some reason, he would alert the Chaotic Water Sector to the issue at hand. Graros would definitely raise an eyebrow if he knew Rychard had such information and chose not to act on it, and he might realize that Rychard had some information about this matter. In order to keep the status quo, Rychard had to attack, only then could he keep Graros guessing about whether or not he was aware or not. But there was another reason as well... Rychard needed to confirm whether or not Aleck was speaking nonsense. There was a potential world where Graros had connections with the Rain Galaxy, but had no connection with the Cloud Race. As Rychard saw things now, it was still far more likely that Aleck had betrayed them and was using Graros' potential secrets as leverage for himself. Rychard had secrets, he hadn't been forthright with how many Seventh Dimensional experts he had and many other things. There wasn't anything inherently wrong with them keeping secrets from one another, and a connection between the Rain and Chaotic Water Sector families was potentially benign. Rychard maintained a level head. There was absolutely no reason to fall out with Graros over this matter. The way he saw it, things could go one of a few ways. First, they attacked and found nothing because Graros had smartly moved his things away already. This was what Rychard most expected to happen. Second, they attacked and found some traces that led them to a different trail away from the Chaotic Water Sector. This was potentially likely to happen as well, though it might be troublesome for Graros to set something like that up in a small time. Third, and the smallest likelihood, he would attack and find that Aleck hadn't been lying at all and there were some connections to the Cloud Race indeed. Ultimately, Rychard didn't expect to find anything substantial, although he would leave no stone unturned as he performed a nice play for Graros. As things stood now, Graros was far better as an ally than an enemy, even if he had some secrets. If he chose to backstab Rychard in the future, well... Rychard wasn't the young man of the past. His scheming nature had matured and his ability to see the chess board was far clearer than most. He would be ready when that time came. For now, Graros, the Rain Galaxy, even Leonel and the Ascension Empire... They were all useful pawns. The operation proceeded and war broke out across the Ascension Empire. The Viola family swooped down like vipers, extending their claws and unleashing swift and decisive strikes. 4 Across these dozens of locations, the Viola family found countless powerhouses, many of which wiped out large numbers of their elites before they were finally taken down. In the end, Rychard's most likely outcome didn't come to fruition. Rather than finding nothing, they found all out battle. Rychard calmly accepted this outcome. It seemed that Graros had managed to set up the second option, even being willing to give up so many Seventh Dimensional existences to succeed. Could it be that Graros foundations were far deeper than he knew? Rychard immediately commanded that the investigation begin. He wanted to see what backstories Graros had concocted for these men and women. What Rychard didn't know was that across the universe, an old man with a balding head and furiously blowing mustache had shattered the windows to his office again. Cross Elder Avan stood completely furious. "ASCENSION EMPIRE!" His roar billowed across the Empire. Rychard had no idea that the bases he had just destroyed weren't from the Chaotic Water Sector at all, Graros had long since commanded his men to retreat and hide. Those many stations he had destroyed, every single last one of them, was a hidden branch of Shield Cross Stars, locations that Leonel had gotten by deciphering the Force Art hidden within the phone left behind in the convenience station. Small leaks even in a dam spanning countless kilometers could lead to floods. By now, the small leaks were too numerous to account for, because very soon, the straw that broke the camel's back was about to descend. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦 "Cross Elder Avan, there's something wrong. The reports we've received back don't tie back to the Ascension Empire at all. In fact, these signatures..." Cross Elder Avan's rage calmed, his gaze becoming a piercing cold. "Cloud Race?" he questioned. Chaos was about to break loose and the young man who caused it was reclining in his chair, still snoring away.