281 268: A Plague of Phantoms: Covert Machinations VI

"I SAID ON GROUND!" Rubis exclaimed.

I was a bit away from where the ambush was so the fact that I could hear Rubis so clearly was a testament to how loud a Ogarai could be. I looked over my shoulder and saw Hideyoshi and the Japanese defense force soldiers were right behind me.

"That's Rubis! One of Chase's Evo's underlings!" I called out to them.

"Sounds like he's fighting!" Sargent Yameada reported.

"Probably! Let's hurry!" Hideyoshi exclaimed and started casting a utility spell sigil. A blue orb formed in his hand and he crushed it, releasing a wave of blue energy that passed through him, all of the JDF soldiers, and me. Increasing our running speed.

The path we were running down was lined with white weeping willow trees on either side and twisted into bends. As we came around one bend I came to the scene of the ambush, there were bodies of American soldiers all over the road and into the forest. Rubis was standing in front of Louie, Angie who was holding a frightened and crying KC in a defensive stance. Cobalti was standing over two injured soldiers, holding them down despite their struggling. I couldn't see Iris anywhere but I knew that her being discovered was not part of the plan. She was probably nearby, watching.

"Let go! Ya oversized fucker!" One of the 'captured' soldiers exclaimed. That soldier I believe was Reagan, a sargent under Chase's brother. The one next to him had to be Anders.

"YOU KILLED MY MEN! I'LL GET YOU BACK FOR THIS!" Anders yelled. The JDF soldiers all looked at the carnage around them while Hideyoshi walked around Cobalti and his captives to reach Rubis and the Gents.

"Are all of you okay?" Hideyoshi asked the Gents. Louie nodded while trying to help his wife calm down KC.

"Yes, Cobalti and Rubis defended us." Louis commented.

"Chase sent us to get a cart that had Exotic, Normal, and Jiggles in it. For a demonstration. They broke out and went berserk when the soldiers ambushed us and went to track them down." Angie said. Sargent Yameada snapped out of it on hearing that and rushed over to Louie and Angie.

"There are feral evos loose on the island?!" The Sargent exclaimed. I quickly rushed over and answered for them.

"Not feral! Jiggles is Boss Kingston's personal evo and for two evos that are with him are under his complete control. They are all trained to the strictest standards and follow set protocols. They'll eliminate threats to Sho'lajah Artifact Company staff and then report to the highest ranking staff member." I explained.

"Who would that be?" Sargent Yameada asked, looking at me despite the question. Louie and I both looked to Angie, who was still trying to calm down a very fussy KC.

"Her." I said while pointing.

"My wife." Louie said at the same time as me.

While I was a member of the security team for Sho'laja Artifact Company, I didn't really have much power. In the internal power dynamic of the company, I was just barely above most of the evos. Angie, despite being a secretary, was near the top of the company's power pyramid. Right under Jane and Iris who were under Chase but equal to Jade and Nate. Surprising Louie was below his wife and he seemed fine with that.

"Boss Angie!" Jiggles voice boomed through the forest, startling the JDF soldiers. The ground shook like a earthquake but I knew that it was really Jiggles, Normal, and Exotic, rushing back to give a report.

"BOSSSSSS ANNNNNNGGGGIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!" Jiggles bellowed causing everyone to cover their ears, save The Ogarai and KC. KC stopped crying hearing Jiggles voice and started trying to get out of his mother's arms, reaching towards the direction it came from.

"JIGGY! JIGGY!" KC exclaimed.

Jiggles suddenly burst from the tree on the right of the trail and skidded to a stop near Louie, Angie, and KC. Normal and Exotic were right behind him and stopped just short like Jiggles. They both had corpses of American soldiers in their arms which made the JDF soldiers jumpy.

"Jiggles! Weren't you just told off for your screaming?" Angie exclaimed and walked over to Jiggles. KC all but jumped out of his mother's arms and latched onto Jiggles arm.

"JIGGY!" KC exclaimed and chuckled. Jiggles held his arms out and smiled at the young splicer.

"Lil' Boss! You're safe! All bad guys gone!" Jiggles responded then tossed KC into the air and caught him. KC started laughing joyously, the sound lightening the mood considerably. Jiggles held KC and turned to face Angie. "Boss Angie, we've eliminated the attackers."

"Thank you Jiggles, now don't throw KC up to high." Angie replied. Sargent Yameada watched the exchange and narrowed her eyes at the family.

"You are all pretty relaxed despite having just been attacked." Sargent Yameada commented then looked around at the carnage around us.

"We're kind of used to stuff like this happening. A lot of people have tried to kill Chase and us recently." Louie said with a sigh.

"It's why we came along with Chase, he felt it would be safer for us if we were with the group instead of back in Andromeda city alone." Angie said. Sargent Yameada looked at the carnage around us and looked concerned.

"It seems he was wrong." Sargent Yameada said. Louie shook his head and crossed his arms.

"Not really, there are a lot less bodies than usual." Louie said. Sargent Yameada's eyes widened in shock then she took a step back.

"There is a usual!" Sargent Yameada exclaimed.

The sound of hurrying footsteps coming up the path suddenly snatched everyone's attention. I frowned and looked over Louie and Angie. They looked surprised as well.

[Astrid, Alberto, are you two close?] I called to them using the manacite communication rings.

[No! We just reached the entrance to the forest path!] Astrid replied.

[We have a few soldiers from France and England with us as well.] Alberto replied.

[But neither of you are near the ambush site? Right?] I asked them both.

[No.] Astrid replied.

"SHIT! MORE ENEMIES INCOMING!" I bellowed then drew my mana-lock from my side holster.

As soon as I got the words out of my mouth a squad of seven American soldiers rushed around the bend with weapons at low ready. Our large group the Americans all skidded to a stop and raised their weapons, the one in the front firing a few shots at Hideyoshi and few JDF Soldiers. The shots were wide.

Jiggles immediately dashed forward, propelled by jets of flames spewing from his feet. He grabbed the soldier in the front by his head and whirled around, using his forward momentum along with that soldier's body the bulldoze through the rest of his squad before skidding to a stop and throwing the unfortunate soldier in the air.

"TAKE IT DOWN!" A American soldier yelled as he scrambled to his feet only to have a icicle spear shoot through his chest. The icicle was fired from Sargent Yameada's offensive spell sigil.

"TAKE THEM OUT! WORK WITH SHO'LAJAH ARTIFACT COMPANY!" Sargent Yameada ordered. The men under her command jumped into action and started casting offensive spell sigils to attack the American, while Jiggles spun on his heel and punched the soldier that he sent flying with a burning fist. His fist exploded on impact and sent blood and guts flying.

Flames and lightning bolts flew as freely as the bullets from the American's guns but in a matter of moments the Americans were all dead, either killed by splicer's spell or bludgeoned to death by Jiggles. There was a look of surprise on all of the soldiers that were killed by the splicers, they'd all turned their backs on JDF soldiers and focused on Jiggles like they didn't expect to be attacked at all.

In the end they were all dispatched with no casualties on our end, Cobalti and Rubis kept a hold on Reagan and Anders. Not that they would run away, according to Iris they were in on the plan. A few moments later Alberto and Astrid arrived with the soldiers from the French and English armies. I didn't have to do anything in the end and sat and watched from the back with Louie, Angie, KC, and the evos while Astrid commanded the narrative with a story that she worked out ahead of time with Jane.

[Chad!] Iris voice in my head suddenly startled me but I quickly recovered.

[Yes?] I replied.

[We're moving onto stage three. I'm heading back to the Sadamas Center, remembertto escort Reagan and Anders to the center. The entire plan hinges on a public spectacle!] Iris reminded me.

[I will ma'am! The Boss's plan will succeed!]

Chase

"Okay! Now that unpleasantness us dealt with let's get back to the presentation!" I exclaimed, reaching back to pet the Lunar Liger Shark I stopped from killing that Spaniard.

"Ummm…Master Kingston…are you going to save representative Salavas?" A French major asked, pointing to the Spaniard floating in the undersea lake.

I glanced over at the man, he was barely conscious and floating on his back on the water surface. His body jerked and spammed slightly from the residual electricity coursing through his body. The salt content in the water of the biome made it easy for things to float in the water, plus he was still under the effect of the spell that allowed him to breathe and speak underwater. Even if he rolled over he would be fine.

"He'll be fine, he can consider this a lesson. Don't fuck with a shaped evo!" I said coldly then turned and strode deeper into cavern. I snapped my fingers, channeling mana into then and releasing it in waves. "Alright everyone! Stop being shy and come where they can see you!"

My words became laden with an order thanks to my mana. It wasn't much mana, definitely low volume enough for the Lunar Liger Sharks to be able to resist it but they all listened anyway.

The remaining eight Lunar Ligers all emerging from their hiding places in the shadows and walking towards me. The all stopped about five yards away from me and the group I was escorting and sat down in a semi-circle. The one that behind me moved and stood at the end of the semi-circle and let out a loud growl that the others all joined in and the combined growl echoed in the cave. I quickly shook my finger in my ear to clear the ringing then turned to address the group.

"My auctions for evos are different from any other company's here. I will not sell a evo to the highest bidder, I will only sell a evo to a person that has the ability to create a bond with one of the evos. Be that one of the royals, the military representatives, or even a grunt soldier that was brought as part of any particular country's security team." I explained making sure to pause and look everyone in the eyes before I finished. "The price for these and every evo I have brought with my company is five billion, each or something or similar worth."

"Five Billion!" One of the military representatives yelled. He was closer to the back of the group so I couldn't see him clearly. "You can buy a entire company's worth of evos for that price!"

"And I can wipe out an entire company's worth of evos in an instant!" The lunar liger shark that bitch slapped the Spaniard, exclaimed proudly. This made a couple of the representatives take a step back.

"The price is justified. With techno-splicing companies you pay a bulk price for a predetermined amount of evos. You're paying for quantity of evos as well as time and resources saved. It's not secret that techno-splicing's one redeeming quality is that it allows for the bulk creation of evos without magic. What's more tier three evos can be created much easier. However those evos are often weaker than their spliced cousins." I said then smirked. "Shaped evos are another beast entirely. Intelligent, powerful, possessing their own mana, as well the ability to heal from wounds that would be fatal to other living creatures. Hell with enchanted items they can even cast spells! Their power and potential increases even further when paired with a compatible splicer. As their bond deepens so does their power until finally it bursts forth in the miraculous phenomenon I call Transcended Evolution! A new form, more power and a deeper understanding and bond!"

As I spoke I saw many of the representatives and royals before me eye's widen. I saw the glittering of understand shine behind their eyes as the picture I was painting finally came together. I was offering national treasure grade evos that had the potential to become even stronger than that.

This was the marketing strategy that Jane, Angie, Madilyn came up with. Make shaped evos sound too good to be true. With my reputation and the reputation of my personal evos becoming more infamous among splicing circles it made it easier to believe that I could create something so grandiose sounding but it also made it easier for the jealous and lesser talented to want to disprove it. The linchpin of their strategy was for me to ham it up and lean into the attributes of the shaped evos that sound absurd. The more I hype up my shaping, the Lunar Liger Sharks and the Mer-as-folk, the bigger the reaction when people realize I wasn't exaggerating.

This realization combined with drama that we were planning to unleash today would be the first nail in the coffin for Justice Technologies. What was to follow in the coming days would be the rest.

"Master Kingston, let me see if I understand what you are saying…" A woman near the back of the group said. I recognized her from last night, she was a Admiral in the English Navy. Admiral Francesca Tymel. "…as these Lunar Liger Sharks are now they are stronger than any evo currently in my country's navy. They are able to use mana, cast spells through enchanted items, and are intelligent. Meaning they can act independently without the constant control of the splicer. What's more if they develop a strong bond they can evolve into a stronger form that is capable of more. Is that correct?"

"Yes!" I replied with a smiled. Major Francesca chuckled softly and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh Master Kingston. It's just all of that sounds like…like it's too good to be true." Major Francesca said. I nodded in agreement.

"You're right, it does. And besides nothing but a couple of minor interruptions, I've done nothing to prove my claims. I've shown no proof of evolution, proof of their strength, or proof of my Shaping techniques superiority. I'm basically asking you to trust me blindly." I admitted.

I saw the faces of everyone drop into frowns and they turned to look at each other, confused by my words. I smirked and walked over to the center of the semi-circle of Lunar Liger Sharks.

"So I'll just have to prove it to all of you. At tonight's combat simulation my Lunar Liger Sharks will be victorious and what's more the splicers that will be commanding them are ten and five years old!" I proclaimed.

"WHAT!" Everyone exclaimed.

I opened my mouth to say something else when the loud pinging noise of the gateways communication systems suddenly rang throughout the cave, letting me know someone was trying to get through to my ring. Jane's voice filled the air a second later.

"Chase! I know you're doing your presentation but I need you to come back outside, NOW!" Jane exclaimed in a genuinely concerned tone. I frowned, for the military representatives and royals sakes.

"What's wrong?" I demanded.

"The seven hells have broken loose! A squad of American soldiers tried to attack, Louie, Angie, and KC!" Jane replied.

"WHAAAT?!" I bellowed. I was trying my hardest to not overreact to the news.

"They're fine! They were returning from the King's glaive with Jiggles, Normal, Exotic, Cobalti, and Rubis so they were protected but…it was a massacre. You know how Jiggles is about protecting your people." Jane said then paused groaned. "It's a mess out here! JDF, French, And English forces are involved and at the scene so it's a political disaster! Astrid, Alberto, and Chad are with the Gents right now!"

"I'm heading back now! Have Sin and Damon guard Jade! I want you and Iris with me, Tell Fours, Empress, and Bone-lasher: Safeties off!" I bellowed then quickly headed towards the lake's edge and looked to the group I had been addressing a moment ago. "Sorry everyone, presentation is over! I need to go and get some answers and if I don't like those answers a couple of my countrymen are going to die! I'm going ahead Haws! Show everyone the way back!"

"I got them! Get going! Make sure my Godson is safe!" Haws exclaimed. I nodded and then dove into the water; channeling torrent attribute mana throughout my body to surround it with a whirlpool to speed through the water.

'So far so good…now onto phase four!' I thought.