Reborn as the Genius Son of the Richest Family

Chapter 1013: Unfettered by propriety

”Are these....”

”I call them faux Nascent Spirit cultivators,” Michael explained. ”I haven’t found a way to make them fully go into the next realm though, which is a shame...”

Katarina was disappointed at Michael’s disappointment. How could he be upset with the fact that his clones reached the top of the Body Formation realm?! They were even supposed to be Maugnetics!

She was finally starting to understand the true strength of Michael and his company. As it turned out, he was perfectly estimating their own ability to siege an entire Stronghold.

With those clones and drones, no wonder they were able to siege this place without giving the Ersatz any time to react. Even if they had attacked up front, the rats wouldn’t have even known what they were dealing with. They would just cluelessly look up at the skies, wondering what those metal creatures were before they would get massacred.

And now, they were about to do just that to another Stronghold.

”BU TO TO! We shall come back with news of victory!” Narito excitedly bowed.

”RAH TA TA! It is time to test our mettle, Shadow Orcs. Show us you are worthy of your new gifts!” Sasuki shouted to the rest of his compatriots.

”Do not worry, Lord Michael. I shall make sure that there are no mishaps in this expedition. My siblings here have been far too lax when I was gone.”

Sheina said that with a smile. But somehow, that smile sent shivers to everyone around her. Michael too, which made him thankful that he didn’t have to go with them this time.

”Then, let us depart,” Sheina said to the Orcs.

And with her words, a large shadow appeared underneath their feet, allowing them to descend into the darkness.

Just like that, they were on their way to the second Stronghold.

...

...

...

Michael, with his eyes closed, nodded in satisfaction. ”They’ve just reached the Stronghold. They’re preparing the invasion.”

Thanks to his Mini Drones, he could easily check the progress of their mission.

And from what he could see, it seems that the Ersatz truly had no idea what was going on. As far as they knew, their Platinum leader, the woman with the ribbons, was still at this Stronghold and was about to retrieve the Key.

So, they were waiting leisurely in their quarters, not even knowing that the Stronghold right next to them was already toppled down.

”I don’t know how I’m going to report this to the Consortium,” Katarina said, massaging her forehead.

She was confident that they’d believe her lie of invading one Stronghold by herself. But two on the same day? She wasn’t that reckless.

Thankfully though, she had the added excuse of finding the Grandmaster. They knew she would do anything to pay the blood of that vendetta, and perhaps these two Strongholds were just in the way of her revenge.

”I’ll send the report in later. They’ll take care of everything here,” she said. ”I’m sure they’ll forego any questions they have for me if I just present them with a fully intact Stronghold.”

One of the main problems the Consortium had when invading a Stronghold was the destruction of evidence and important paperwork.

When they invaded, the Ersatz were quick to destroy anything that would allow the Consortium to know about their current plans.

Before they could even step foot into the Stronghold, those paperworks were already burned away.

But thankfully, Michael’s invasion was a special one.

Somehow, they were able to infiltrate the Stronghold without fully alerting their forces.

They didn’t have any time to destroy their precious plans. They were already dead by the time they realized they were invaded.

”I’ll go and see if there’s any juicy information—”

Just as she was about to walk into the castle, the doors suddenly opened.

Yuna walked out into the open quarters, with papers in her hands and her brows furrowed.

Katarina stopped in her tracks. ”Miss Yuna?” she asked, shocked.

Michael turned to her. ”You know Yuna?”

”I know her, but she doesn’t know me. How are you acquainted with the granddaughter of Xere?”

Before Michael could answer her, Yuna finally raised her head and looked at Michael.

”They’re copying Sanctums...,” she muttered.

Yuna then walked over to Michael, showing him the paperwork in her hands.

It was a letter, from an unspecified source talking to another unspecified receiver.

{Greetings ____}

{I would like to request an Artifice Arbiter in the upcoming Lunar Celebrations in New Sparta. The Grandmaster wants this festival to go well for our organization. I trust that you will be able to provide us with Arbiters that don’t have the lineage of that cursed Montgomerys.}

As Michael read its contents, Yuna herself finally put the pieces of the puzzle together.

”I knew that Arbiter was strange.”

That final Archery game was strange from the beginning. Their Arbiter was not someone she or Claudia recognized.

Her intuition told her that he didn’t have the look of a Montgomery. But since he was able to create a Sanctum, she dismissed her suspicions as nothing more than imagination.

But according to this letter, her worries were correct!

The Ersatz and their Artifice-filled Maugnetics, were somehow able to copy the unique powers of an Arbiter. They were able to create a Sanctum!

This was a terrifying revelation with almost catastrophic consequences for the Montgomerys.

The reason why only the Montgomerys were allowed to create a Sanctum was because their lineage was bound by a heavenly contract to uphold a completely neutral justice system.

They were the judges of the world, keeping the balance in a world where Maugnetics could change the very fabric of reality itself. They were the countering force.

But if the Ersatz were able to create their own Sanctums... their own justice system, they would no longer need to abide by the rules of society. They’d be able to do whatever they wanted without consequences.

”This must be stopped!” Yuna said.

Katarina took a deep breath. ”This is already a problem that we are aware of, Miss Yuna. We are already working on it as we speak.”