Since she talked with Arthur, Rose never stopped feeling weird, as if she was not herself anymore or as if she was fully exposed to someone's stare, it was an extremely disgusting and uncomfortable feeling, however, she didn't dare to push out whatever was lurking inside of her.

Since that was the case, she could only try to bear with it until it's done. She also wasn't courageous enough to go to the clan master and spit out the truth about Arthur. Although she was too loyal to her clan, anyone's life is more important than loyalty, nothing could ever change that.

....

At the central hall inside the mud tower, Tarathiel and two other gargoyles sat around a table with serious expressions and ugly faces.

"The losses this time are pretty big."

The tall gargoyle who had an aura no less threatening than Tarathiel and Ehrendil spoke with a concerned tone. He was the second brother and was away when Ti Eru came.

"Sixteen mines and one residential area! All gone!"

'bang!'

Ehrendil banged his fist angrily on the table, although they cause a lot of suffering to the Pigolo Tribe, they didn't expect Ti Eru to be this mad and retort with a full frontal attack from all sides, it wasn't his style.

Pigolos believe in strength and were never people with resort to underhanded means which is why the gargoyles were bold enough to attack, however, the reality was cruel and their losses far outweighed their wins.

"This is nothing, once we can fully wake up the Earth Spirit, those snakes and ugly cockroaches will meet their end!"

Tarathiel was the calmest amongst the five, he tapped his finger in a rhythmic manner on the table as he gazed huge earth knight with reverence. For them, users of the Earth Attribute and living underground, such spirit is akin to their god, or ancestor, their respect for it was incomparable but Tarathiel was a bit different, although he revered it, he also had thoughts of trying to control it. At first, he thought it was impossible as it was a spirit, but after seeing how old and injured it was, his hopes were once again ignited.

"What do we do? Do we fight back? Ti Eru's forces don't seem to be falling back or retreating, that guy had gone crazy!"

The tall gargoyle spoke with a bit of fear, he remembered the large number of Pigolos who invaded their land and fought in literally a savage manner, killing as many gargoyles as they could before falling down, it wasn't a horror to behold.

"Nothing, since they want destruction then let them have it, we should focus more on awakening the Spirit."

Ehrendil nodded in confirmation and left the hall with the tall gargoyle after discussing for few more minutes.

Once he made sure that no one was there, Tarathiel knelt respectfully in front of the Earth knight and said

"Great one, what are your orders."

He had malicious thought and wanted to control the spirit but for now, it wasn't possible so he laid low and kept a very deep secret with him.

"Mmmmm"

A deep fearful voice came out of the earth knight, it brought with it immense pressure and a sense of oppression. It seemed to be pondering as Tarathiel knelt in front of it. After an unknown amount of time passed, the deep voice rang inside the hall once again.

"Just keep providing me with those stones, once I fully regain my powers then those insects will meet their end.. especially that one! Hmpf hmpf!"

After it said that, the aura lessened until it vanished, leaving Tarathiel soaking with sweat. Unknown to the gargoyle, the earth was not referring to Ti Eru in his last sentence but about Arthur, who tried to forcefully take over its body, causing more harm than good.

.....

In the blink of an eye, three days passed without nothing major happening in the central territory of the gargoyles. Ti Eru continued his crazy attack and became even more relentless, he was hellbent on decimating them. Even Ehrendil started to worry and met up with Tarathiel a few times but the latter only told him to lay low and wait patiently.

Rose didn't do anything particular, she just meditated to recuperate and ordered some of her subordinates. She was General and her position was only second to the three brothers. Although she lost an arm, her prowess was not to be underestimated.

Arthur didn't act either, he wasn't going to foolishly sneak around their base as the time was not ripe, he was not interested in their fight with the pigolos neither was he going to cause trouble, he just needed to find a safe way to control that night.

The silent slumber of Arthur finally halted as he started detecting the spatial fluctuation from Rose's room by the fourth day. It became even more intense which caused him to feel it although he is inside Rose's body (No dirty thoughts please).

"It's time to act."

Being suddenly interrupted from her meditation, Rose was annoyed but instantly realized that it was Arthur's voice. She hesitated for a second before uttering

"Didn't you say I just need to stay silent about you?"

"Just shut up and do as I say."

Arthur's tone was clearly like a master ordering a servant, which enraged Rose but she didn't protest, she clenched her fist and remained silent.

"That's more like it, now go North until I tell you to stop."

Begrudgingly, Rose could only leaver her room and head North into this vast underground area. Each step allowed Arthur to feel how strong the spatial fluctuation were. Merely twenty minutes later, Arthur signaled her to stop and said

"What is there above us?"

"It should be the Ancestral Hall."

"Is that where that Earth Knight was?"

"Earth Knight? we have no such thing."

Confused by what she heard, Rose tilted her head and pondered before replying that, she was surprisingly cooperative right now, however, perhaps it was due to being used to being used like this and adding that to total helplessness.

Just as she was going to ask what does he want to do, a small whirlpool appeared in front of her and a dark shadow jumped up and disappeared into the nearby roof in a matter of one second.

"Wait here, I'll come back."