Chapter 85

|3rd POV|

Ozpin taps on the table in frustration. The past month has been a stressful one for him and his faction. The reason? One of the Relics is gone, and he doesn't know who took it or how they took it from Atlas.

A Maiden can only access the vault, or at least it should be. However, someone managed to access the vault and take the Creation Relic.

However, that is not the only problem he is currently having. With Atlas on the ground, they need to defend against the Grimm that stay on the land, and not only the flying Grimm. However, it would be easier if they had the energy to power all their weapons.

Sadly, without the relic, they cannot power their city, as the relic is the one that powers their city before it gets stolen.

At least, the people in the city do not die from the initial landing. Sadly, the Grimm break that, and there are hundreds of people dead from the wave of negative energy that the people who panic from the fall of their city produce.

General Ironwood and his people manage to repel the wave of Grimm, but they lose considerable soldiers in the fight. Because of this, he cannot send some of his people to Vale to help in securing the upcoming Vytal Festival.

It is another headache for him because the Council demanded that he think of filling the hole without offering any support. They do not want to give him more budget so he can create another solution for their security problem.

Sadly, all they say is that it is his responsibility as the Headmaster of Beacon Academy.

With a sigh, he leans over his chair and looks out of the window. He wonders if he can retire from this job and life. He is tired. He is so very tired and wants it all to end. However, he cannot rest before he takes care of Salem.

He snaps from his thoughts when he sees a crow enter his office, and the crow changes into a middle-aged man. This man has graying black, spiky hair, faded red eyes, and slight stubble along his jawline.

This man is Qrow Branwen, one of the inner circle of his faction.

"Ozpin, I have some news."

"Please tell me it is good news. I have received a lot of bad news lately. Getting a new one will be great."

Qrow gives him a small, awkward smile and says.

"Ah. Then you will be disappointed. It is not bad news, but not good news either."

Ozpin releases a sigh and leans forward.

"Right. Tell me the news."

Qrow takes out his scroll and shows him a picture of a small settlement in the middle of a forest.

"What am I looking at? A frontier village?"

"At first, I also thought that this was a frontier village. However, look at this."

Qrow shows him another photo. This time, Ozpin sees the people in the village release all kinds of fire from their hands. However, before he can ask Qrow something, the dusty crow shows him a video.

It is a video of people creating a wall around their village. His eyes look through them and their equipment. When he is done, he knows one thing.

"They are not people who want to make a village. It is more like a military base."

"Yes. That is why it is not good news, but not bad news. A military base near Mountain Glenn will help us secure the Southern Part of Vale. However, we don't know what kind of people they are. Vale does not have any military and only relies on us, which means it is not the people the council created to secure the South."

Ozpin releases a sigh and says.

"That leaves us asking them directly. We will depart tomorrow morning and ask them about their presence in that area."

"Sure. That means I have time to get wasted."

"No. We will depart early in the morning."

"Oh, come on! I hate waking up early!"

Ozpin only smiles a little at Qrow complaining about waking up early. At least there is something that is going his way.

==|||==

It is early in the morning when Ozpin, Glynda, and Qrow depart from Beacon Academy to the unnamed settlement just south of Vale. It does not take them long to arrive near the settlement, and they decide to hail the settlement.

"This is Beacon-001, requesting landing."

They wait for a few seconds before the other side answers them.

"Beacon-001, you are clear to land on runway A-1. You should be able to see the light from your location."

The pilot they bring moves the Bullhead to land on the empty runway prepared for them. After a few minutes, Ozpin and his companion leave the bullhead, and they can see people greeting them.

"Welcome to our little settlement, gentlemen. However, you need to take shelter immediately."

Ozpin frowns at his words and says.

"And may I ask the reason why?"

He tightens the grip on his weapon, ready to unleash a barrage of attacks if these men decide to attack them.

Seeing Ozpin and the others' reaction, the leader of the group immediately says.

"Ah, we are not attacking you. However, we are about to fight a horde of Grimm soon."

"What? We do not encounter any Grimm when we are coming here."

The man shakes his head and says.

"It will take a long time to explain, and we need to return to the wall. If you want to see, come with us. However, we will not be responsible for any injury or even death to you or your companions."

Ozpin looks at the others and decides to follow the man to the wall of the city. However, instead of explaining the situation, the man stayed there and looked into the distance. When Ozpin is about to say something, a pulse of energy washes over the entire town, and he shudders at the foul energy that washes over him.

"What was that?!"

He roars in shock because what he feels is like the feeling he gets from the Grimm Pool. It is a pure, unfiltered Negative Energy, the source of all Grimm. He looks at the man next to him and roars.

"What was that!? What have you done!?"

The man looks at Ozpin and says.

"That was Grimm Lure. It sends a pulse of Negative Energy into the air that will be detected by the Grimm."

Ozpin looks at the man in horror and says,

"Why?! Why are you doing this!? Do you know what kind of danger you invite here?!"

"We know. We are here to train, and our Lord is the one making this plan. He is the one making that device."

"Is he crazy?! You are here to be slaughtered by the Grimm! Your so-called Lord is sending you guys to be killed!"

Ozpin roars in anger and prepares to use a little bit of his magic to secure an escape route for them.

"Hah! Our lord will not do that to us. You don't need to worry. We are more than capable of killing them all. In fact, our lord is watching over us."

Ozpin is about to scream once again, but before he can do that, he sees a massive Silver Sword appear in the sky. The sword shines with power, and he can see the people who stay in this town release a silver aura around their bodies.

"See? Our lord is watching over us; it is our time to prove that his gift is not wasted. To battle!"

Ozpin knows that he should take his people away from this madness, but his curiosity demands he stay. He looks at the others, and they have the same kind of thinking as he does.

They will stay and watch this madness.