After hearing the conversation between his sovereigns on the day before, he had also found out that she had been in a slightly trance-like stare, and that had led to her not speaking much at all, even though Percy had been continuously chattering as he was wont to speak a lot when he was nervous.
Sighing, he decided that he would definitely have to make it up to them, but first, he had a few things to take care of.
"System, was the Basilisk right? Will it be very tiring for me to continue to maintain the Artefact to block us from that eye in the sky?"
He asked this while looking at that creature, or whatever it was, which was visible only to him at the moment, and when he got the answer, it made him grimace and curse the Church.
[Affirmative. Although the system is the one maintaining the Artefact, host"s Mageroot is continuously in use, which is not safe as host"s present condition is still critical due to the damage suffered during the recent encounter. No other methods exist to s.h.i.+eld the continent from the scanning mechanism that has been deployed by host"s enemy. It has also been found that the ent.i.ty is capable of other methods of scanning, as certain probes have been made. These methods might enable the ent.i.ty to find out the general power level of the continent, among other things.]
d.a.m.n them!
He had been hoping that he might not need to take risks this close to the war, but it looked like he had no option but to go along with the Basilisk"s plan - that eye had to die, and it had to die soon.
Walking to the throne, Daneel sat down and began to prepare a list of priorities that he would have to keep in mind continuously.
First and foremost, he had to prepare for the fight that would soon come. He didn"t trust the Basilisk - it was possible that he might be endangered, so his intention was to make sure that nothing would be able to surprise him even if he was going to be on enemy ground.
Secondly, the preparations for the war had to go on in full swing. The hints of a plan that might just allow him to take the advantage against the Church had already occurred to him, but he still had to develop it, and for that, he needed to have a long conversation with the system.
For these preparations, he would also have to dig out and use each and every trump card that he had obtained over all these years. These included the vault of the G.o.dbeasts which had helped him well before, and even the Emperor, who would soon be healed and might even be able to help them with his wisdom and power. There was even the Grand Inheritance which he had to study, as unlike what everyone had been thinking, he hadn"t used it, at all, to win against the Church. If the legends about it were true, then it might just be the most devastating weapon in his a.r.s.enal, and with the entire continent now firmly under his command, it was time to find out the whether the Emperor"s deduction that anyone who was capable of uniting Angaria would be able to wield it without harming themselves was true.
Finally, he had to create contingency plans. From all the data he had received the day before regarding the unlocks, he knew that he now had the means to create backup plans that might stake everything but allow them to clinch the victory, in case it got to that point. So, without being foolish by hoping that the best-case scenario would play out, Daneel would have to consider all the worst-case scenarios, too, and he had to create plans for them in case they came to be.
There was a lot to do, but planning was something that he had always enjoyed, so with a small smile, he sat down and began.
…
In the Order, the Overseer had always had a room which had seldom been used by the one who had occupied the post for thousands of years as he had practically been like a machine, rather than a person who might need a place for themselves when they were not carrying out their official duties.
It was one of the most s.p.a.cious and special rooms in the entire headquarters, filled with display items that ranged from Peak Hero level trinkets that had been made in the age of the Empire to miniature bodies of G.o.dbeasts that people had even forgotten as they had been killed by the Order, secretly, before the Empire had come into existence.
There was no bed in the room, as the previous Overseer had not needed one, and the Head had not gone ahead with any modifications, as he had felt that this might not be the right time.
At the moment, there was an obelisk in the center of the room with which the Head was conversing, and a moment later, a few individuals appeared beside him.
They were Kellor, Percy, Faxul, Aran, Ca.s.sandra, Luther, Robert, Elanev, and… Perfect.
Seeing that they had arrived, the Head stopped what he was doing and said, "Welcome. You said you wanted to speak to me? Unlike the previous time, a lot of restrictions were placed on this clause by many Heroes, so its taking time to sort through them all… What can I do for you?"
He knew that the people in front of him were now some of the most important individuals in the entire continent, but just as he had expected, they didn"t show any arrogance.
To answer him, the oldest among them stepped forward.
After sharing a look with all of those he had come with, he spoke in a calm voice.
"Head, please meet Perfect, a member of the Order. As you know, his family…are all traitors. But, curiously, they managed to avoid the fake call from the Church which led to the fight between the forces of the Church and our King. He is busy right now, so we have decided that together, all of us will be taking care of this situation in a way that will benefit Angaria. We already have a plan, but we need something for you, so we are here. Shall we begin?"