Chapter 413: Plans
The sun was shining merrily behind Vale, pouring through the open window like a waterfall of golden brilliance. Vale was looking through some of the documents in front of him with a mild frown when someone cleared their throat.
Vale finally raised his head, looking at Tiber, taking note of the way he dressed. Tiber wore fitted black and red clothes, and the jacket he wore on top was a bit flared.
It was a combination of both military and what could be considered a noble way of dressing. Vale also caught the fact that there was a deliberate lack of a crest adorning it.
He also carried the artifact wrapped in a cloth on his back.
"You look surprisingly not tired," Vale grumbled, rubbing his own eyes wearily.
Tiber smiled. "In this regard, my powers give me a bit of an advantage. But you don't look as tired as you were some two months ago, My Lord."
Vale brightened at that, and he gestured for Tiber to sit. "The officials are finally taking the burden off me, so now I don't have to stress as much as before. Come, Tiber. You're here to tell me something?"
Tiber sat, nodding. "Yes. I want to talk about the Lord's Council meeting that'll be taking place in a few days."
Vale raised his brows. "You have some concerns?"
"Yes," Tiber said bluntly. "I think the Tachibana Clan might be planning something. The intelligence we gathered indicated that they already received Oskar and learned about the probing of the High Clans, and yet nobody has reached out to us."
"You think they are biding their time for this meeting?"
"Yes. Through the Gem Organization and our own intelligence, we know the heirs had meetings both openly and secretly. What else could they be waiting for? We openly talked about the Lord's Council months ago. It's the perfect time for them to show their strength or attack!"
Vale nodded. "This makes sense. But I also think that the Ito Clan might raise its head and show its fangs with this."
Tiber hesitated. "My Lord, do you really intend to call all the Flagbearers and Chiefs to this city? This will leave Coastal Fortward unguarded except for the 1st Army. It would be foolish of them if they did not send a Master Knight over to cause chaos, especially now that your ambition to continue your expansion is well known!"
Vale smiled. "Tiber, I have a plan for that. Did you send what I told you to send to Coastal Fortward?"
Tiber blinked. "The small vials of blood from me, you, and Slya? I did, but what's the importance of that?"
Vale smiled even more. "And did you buy what I asked you to buy from Tachibana?"
"A portable formation that can temporarily boost power? I did, but I don't see how that will help. Those types of formations are best used as backup formations to main formations, not for personal use."
"Don't worry, Tiber. I will personally handle the Ito Clan if they cross over. It'd be foolish if they did not send their Master Knights into my land, but won't it be foolish if I don't take advantage of that too? Right, how about the communication issue?"
Tiber's eyes darkened. "My Lord, you spent so much money to build those communication towers in all the territories to connect the city all the way to Coastal Fortward!
"Of course it'll help with notifications about attacks, but how would that help when we won't be able to even try to get there on time to respond?
"We're rich, but with all the projects going on, we've drawn so much from the coffers. I'm afraid the Master of Coin will be coming to complain soon."
Vale nodded. "Don't worry, with the Rift, we won't fall to the last penny soon. But still, we still don't know how to deal with Tachibana and their potential disruption of the Lord's Council. What do you think we should do?"
Tiber took a deep breath. "We should proceed as we have always wanted to do. Watch and wait. We won't let the Tachibana step on us, and at the same time, we won't be too aggressive. We simply can't be aggressive as long as they still have the Quasi Grandmaster.
"The two paths we have before us, Lord Vale, are to either let a High Clan sponsor us, or for you to get to Master Knight. Even with all of this, we must absolutely absorb the strength of the Ito Clan!"
Vale nodded. "True. So we'll still fall back on the previous plans, the High Clans or my own advancement. But yes, I'm going after the Ito Clan either way. I've already sent orders to all the Flagbearers to get themselves strong. They will rotate the Rifts and ruins among each other. In no more than six months, we'll go after the Ito Clan."
Tiber nodded, but his brows were still furrowed. "That will give us enough time to prepare. The Enchanters Association in all three cities is now unified, and it has received your orders. It has started producing enchanted weapons, formations, and redesigning ships."
Vale narrowed his eyes. "But you are still worried about something."
Tiber took a deep breath. "Well, I think the reason that we have not been getting any support from any High Clans might be because they are watching, and mostly because someone might have already been supporting the Ito Clan."
"Eh?"
Vale blinked. "This... could be true. It'd also make sense. The High Clans did not want to see the Hinterlands unified. In fact, this is solely the work of Akakawa! The others might not be inclined to support us because I've already made my intentions of unifying the Hinterlands obvious.
"Yes. It would make more sense if they even did that to split the Hinterlands into three powers and chaos."
Then Vale's eyes suddenly lit up. "Wait, the Ito Clan also became prosperous during the time my father lost the support of the High Clans. That was when they found their own Rifts!"
Vale felt a chill. "Oh, Tiber. Do we even know how accurate the Ito Clan's strength is?"