"A deal with the Devil huh?"

"That's right" Darryl said.

"But they infiltrated our forces" Drew said and Darryl sighed,

"That is a matter of concern, while Hal Payne had no ill intentions, he still breached our security. I will have to be more thorough with my weeding process. But that is for me to worry about so let the matter rest" Darryl ordered and Drew reluctantly let it go.

Alex on the other hand was quite absent minded.

Was the gap between he and Hal that large that it was impossible for him to see a chance of victory?

Had he being too conceited?

Had he been so ready to compete with someone that was obviously not human?

No!

It was not over yet.

So what if he had an army, he, Alexander Edgar would have his own.

He would do whatever it took not to lose!

"Oh that's right" Darryl said and turned to Alex,

"Give me your tiles"

The abrupt stop brought Alex out of his thoughts,

"Huh?"

"Your tiles. The competition is not over" Darryl said and Alex's eye widened in disbelief,

"What? How can the competition continue despite all that has happened" Alex said in a tone of outrage.

The Edgar scions agreed as well. It made no sense that the competition still held credence after the attack against the Great Family Scions.

"Of course it continues. Just because a tragedy occurred does not mean we will not reward hard work" Darryl said in a forthright voice but it only angered Alex even more.

"None of all you just said makes any sense" Even though he said so he still reached into his pockets where he had stashed the Tiles when the attack had begun.

"You were supposed to display them at all times" Darryl said with a sigh.

Alex frowned "I was a little more preoccupied with keeping my life at the time"

He was not feeling particularly patient with his father at the moment. The fact that he would be judged by merely Twenty rune tiles when he believed he could get more if given the time, was infuriating to him,

But where the hell are those Tiles.

He searched a while longer before he eventually had to accept the reality that it had been stolen from him.

Why did he believe it was stolen when it could have just as easily fallen from him when he fell to the ground!

Well, he couldn't really explain it but he was not only sure it was stolen, he knew who the culprits were as well...

"Bastards!"

....

Meanwhile, The Blood Knights had just presented Hal with those same Twenty runes they had taken from Alex without him knowing.

It was Hal that had told Darryl to keep the Competition going despite the fact that there were no longer any Great Family Scions competing.

His logic for doing so was simple;

How was it any of his business that the young generation were powerless to protect themselves from the onslaught of shameless adults.

His and Marla's 'Hard work' needed to be rewarded.

The rest could go to hell!

"Awesome" Hal said as he took the Tiles from them,

"It seems my contract was not wasted on you"

Marla snorted,

"You speak as though this is the only reason they were contracted"

"Of course it is. I contracted them to steal and they are making me so proud" Hal said with the poise of a proud Elder and the Blood knights kowtowed in front of him,

"Thank you for the Praise!" They chorused while Marla tried to hold in her laughter.

The Eight that remained of the Plebeian assailant could not help but chuckle as well.

And this was a good thing.

At least they got to die with a smile.

For the moment the Blood Knights stood up, they killed them all and absorbed their essence.

Once they were done, Hal took a deep breath and announced that it was time he and Marla separated.

"What? You said we would go to the Southside together. You promised it would be a good experience for me" Marla was irate and she grabbed his arm with no intentions of letting it go.

Hal chuckled,

"We will go to the southside together but I have grown bored of combating with the Plebeians both young and old so I would rather not seek them out.

"However, the experience is still useful to you. There are still batches of Plebeian forces in this forest and one of them is on their way here"

As he said this, the Blood Knights began to look around and there was a tinge of red in their eyes but Hal just smiled,

"Good sense of awareness but, bored as I am, I need to take care of the coming batch on my own. While I am taking care of things here, Marla, I would like you to confront Leyton Fidwud and the other Plebeian scions. Jack will accompany you but I don't imagine he'll be of much help..."

"I'll be of help" Jack interrupted but shrunk back when he saw the glowers of the Blood Knights.

Hal on the other hand cast a skeptical look at him,

"Sure you will" he said in a tone that was heavy with sarcasm.

Jack gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. A fire could almost be seen burning in his eyes.

"I''ll show you" he said in a quiet voice and Hal nodded mentally.

'Efficient but harsh way of motivating him' Grimoire commented and Hal mind chuckled,

'Whenever did I endeavor to be 'nice''

'True'

He turned to the Blood Knights,

"As for you, take care of all other batches of Plebeian assailants. Once you are done, return to the estate and wait for me to reassign you. You can no longer return to Edgar Castle but the other families should be safe.

"It just so happens, Karmen is doing well at Krast Estate, she can get some of you in"

Since there was no communication between each batch of men, the Plebeian forces simply went around killing anyone that was not a Plebeian.

It was the reason a lot of Commoners had been killed despite having not been targets.

Marla tugged on his arm,

"You will take me along right?"

Hal smiled,

"Of course"

And then they were gone. The Blood Knights in one direction to seek out the other Plebeian forces and Marla and Jack in another direction Hal had pointed out to them and assured they would find Plebeian scions soon enough.

Once he was alone, Hal took a deep breath,

"It's almost time" he said in a quiet voice and almost immediately, someone could be seen running towards him.

But it was quickly clear that that person was alone, and it was none other than the future lord of Horst Manor, Frank Horst.

It was clear from his haggard appearance and panicked expression that he was in danger.

Hal's expression remained unchanged even as he saw Frank get ever closer. He had been expecting this since he scanned the Area with Astral sense.

Frank's expression however changed once he saw Hal, a quick survey of Hal's surroundings and at the corpses on the floor filled him with hope.

If Hal had done this, then it was a good thing that he was an ally.

"Hal, oh thank goodness you survived."

Frank said the moment he had caught up with Hal.

There were men after him and they were catching up fast. Even as he ran, they only got closer. They were bound to catch up before he left the forest.

He had been ready to give up but now he could stand his ground. Maybe Hal could protect him.

But what was with those indifferent eyes.

It was as though Hal was looking at a stranger.

"Yes I survived, no thanks to you" Hal said in a level voice and Frank recoiled.

"What?" He asked in disbelief.

"When the Plebeians attacked me and the Horst scions, where were you. You ran didn't you?" Hal said with his brow raised and then he smiled coldly and pointed away from himself,

"Then keep running"

Frank began to shiver.

How could he possibly run now?

Those chasing him were bound to be close now, even if he was not tired, they were bound to catch up soon.

"Hal, please don't joke around" Frank said in an urgent voice.

Hal sighed,

"What makes you so sure I can even help you? Why are you staying here to plead for my help instead of running?"

Frank looked down,

The reason should have been obvious enough, Hal was standing here and he was not injured at all. He was definitely in much better shape than Frank so he must have been successful in fending off the ambush.

The fact that he was standing here with confidence even after he was told that Plebeian assailants were on their way proved it beyond all reasonable doubts that Hal was his only hope.

Hal sighed,

"You don't have to answer but you do need to know one thing, even if I can help you, I won't"

Frank clenched his fist,

"You are in a relationship with my sister. Are you really going to let your brother-in-law die?"

Hal raised his eyebrow in mock surprise,

"You left the rest of your relatives alone and ran. Most of them were your cousins but you didn't think twice before leaving them for dead and you want to lecture me on protecting relations,

Haha, Don't make me laugh. You are no Brother-in-Law of mine and I assure you that even though I will console your sister should you die, I will not shed a single tear"