Awakened: SSS Ranked Soul king

And as if predicting the future, after going deep into the forest that morning, Victoria asked a rather glaring and bold question.

"Oh yeah, old man Wilson, I've been meaning to ask: Why is a level 9 slayer out here hunting beasts? Is it like a hobby or something?" Victoria's words were sharp and direct, cutting into his veins and sending shock through him.

She could see his power level? He knew this was a bad idea!

Guilliman was one thing; the kid was talented and perceptive. However, he was from a lowly background and knew nothing about the myriad ways of the nobles that allowed them to hide their power. His power, in particular, was extremely potent and directly linked to his aspect. But Victoria had seen through it.

He wasn't surprised, though; she came from a mysterious, roving noble family. Her family was one of the few families in the shelter that even the Aaron family knew nothing of—their capabilities and aspects were a blur.

Her seeing through him was not so surprising, taking all into account.

"Haha, young miss, you like to joke. I wish I were a level 9 slayer—that's so close to red; maybe if I were, I'd be able to protect the clan from external threats."

The old man, of course, immediately denied it, even though he knew the gig was up. His words, however, contained both admittance and, to a large extent, a threat.

"If I were that strong, I would be able to protect the clan from external threats."

In this case, he was clearly speaking of Victoria and her cohort. He didn't suspect them of anything apart from being nosy and minding other people's business.

"Hehe, I was just being curious, old man. No need to get defensive," Victoria laughed loudly as she tried to tone down the already tense atmosphere.

She wasn't looking for a fight this close to the siege.

"You guys wait here; let me scout for a suitable beast," the old man said after a few minutes, and, as usual, he departed from the group to perform his rituals.

But when he came back, the look on his face had gone from dark to morbid as he exited the woods.

Someone had tampered with his ritual grounds, causing a few of the beasts he had lured here to run amuck.

This was bad—if one of those big guys entered the camp, things would quickly turn on their head. He had to track it down now.

"Change of plans, I just received news to vacate the area. You two should go back to camp; I'll call you back when things have stabilized," the old man said calmly to the two.

He didn't 100% trust them; for all he knew, they might have been the ones who caused this whole mess. Besides, he couldn't ask them to risk their lives so easily.

So he decided to send them away.

In the following days, the old man Wilson simply disappeared. He never showed up again for hunting.

They didn't know whether his hands were tied up with a lot of work or if he just didn't trust them anymore; one thing they did know was that the siege had somehow been moved forward.

-cling

-cling

-cling

A few days later,

Right outside their tent, Victoria, Barthold, Guilliman, and Jemie could be seen exchanging blows in a purely defensive formation, each trying to limit as much damage to the other as possible.

They were warming up for the siege that would be taking place 4 hours from now.

The information had suddenly come three days ago—a day after Jemie and the rest drew the ire of one of the waning beasts.

Apparently, the beast had found its way to the Nu camp and decimated a few dozen slayers. It was horrific, but also served as a sign that just one of these beasts could change the tide of battle.

Surprisingly, it brought the three clans closer together in terms of confidence in breaking the siege. Naturally, there was still the fear of the waning beasts going out of control, so they brought the siege forward.

The quicker they pitted the fog against the beasts, the better for them.

"That's good enough; we just need to maintain this long enough for Guilliman and Morgan to get through," Victoria said, pulling back her sword as she looked at the team.

Thanks to Jemie's encounter with the waning moon beasts, they knew what to expect and that it was best to stay as far away from them as possible.

Especially since this particular night was a full moon—stopping to face one of them instead of fleeing was like a death wish. Sadly, apart from the Aaron family, no one else knew this… aside from maybe the other two families.

Victoria predicted a lot of deaths, but her first priority was her cohort. If the opportunity arose—and only then—would she help the other slayers.

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"Let's go one on one; I'm not yet used to this thing," Guilliman said, holding in his hand a sword-length claymore.

This weapon was a mythic weapon and, in fact, belonged to Victoria. She had obtained it while fighting in the main strike force, and it had improved her power severalfold.

"Don't worry, I won't use its ability; I just want to create a balance," Guilliman said.

Actually, he wouldn't be using the weapon throughout—it was Victoria's echo, after all. Instead, as part of the plan, they would exchange the echo at some point in time to fight monsters.

After which, he would have to return it. But just that brief period of time was enough for him to thoroughly understand the weapon in his hand.

If not, he might just end up hurting one of his teammates or even himself.

"Sure, let's make it quick," Victoria sighed. She wished they had more time; these things were just too rushed—and they still didn't know what part the valors or Nu had to play in this siege.

It was like walking into a battle blind—she didn't like it one bit.