Kelvin exhaled slightly, letting his words sink in. He could see the gears turning in Hope's head, the way his expression shifted as he processed the plan. Walker, on the other hand, still had his usual half-bored smirk, but his fingers twirled the dagger a little slower now—a sign that he was paying closer attention.
"No," Kelvin clarified. "We don't have to kill the centaur first. And honestly, we can't—not with just an explosion from a corrupted fiend's soul core. The centaur is already a sacred beast, which means its defenses are far beyond what a mere explosion could handle."
Hope gave a slow nod, considering the implications.
"So what's the plan then?" Walker asked lazily.
Kelvin smirked slightly before continuing.
"The centaur isn't alone. Like most high-tier Veil creatures, it has minions—corrupted fiends that linger in its territory. My plan is to lure those creatures out first, separate them from the centaur, and gather them together in one place."
He lifted his hand, conjuring the image of the soul cores again, though this time they were merely flickering lights that swirled around his palm.
"Once we get them clustered together, I'll trigger the soul cores I have and detonate them. That should be enough to eliminate most of the corrupted fiends outright. Any that survive will at least be wounded, making them easier to clean up."
Kelvin let the soul cores fade again, his golden eyes sharp with focus.
"After that, we shift our full attention to the centaur itself. Without its horde, it'll be alone, making it a more manageable fight."
Hope nodded, seeing the logic behind it. Without distractions, they could focus all their efforts on the real threat.
"And I'll be the spearhead of the attack," Kelvin added. "My armor is an Ascended armor of the 1st tier. That means I can take more hits than either of you, which makes me the best candidate to go head-to-head with the centaur."
Walker snorted. "So you tank while we poke at it from the sides? Sounds fair."
"More than that," Kelvin corrected. "You and Hope will be distractions. I'll keep its attention as much as possible, but there will be openings—moments where it's vulnerable. That's when you two will strike."
Hope remained quiet for a moment, digesting the strategy. It was simple in theory, but he knew how quickly plans could fall apart in battle. If something went wrong, if the centaur refused to separate from its horde, or if it was stronger than they expected, things could spiral into disaster fast.
Still, it wasn't like they had any other option.
After a moment, Hope asked, "You mentioned 1st tier. Does that mean weapons and armor have different tiers depending on the Veil creature they come from?"
Kelvin nodded, pleased that Hope was catching on.
"Exactly," he confirmed. "Everything in the Ashlands follows a hierarchy. Veil creatures aren't just randomly strong or weak—they have classifications. And when you defeat them, the essence they leave behind carries that classification as well."
Hope leaned in slightly, interested.
"Weapons, armor, artifacts… they all have different tiers, determined by the strength of the Veil creature they originate from. The lowest level is Dormant, followed by Awakened. Then comes Ascended, and after that, transcendent "
He tapped his chest plate lightly, the metallic surface gleaming faintly under the strange shifting light of the Ashlands.
"My armor is Ascended, meaning it came from a Veil creature of at least that level. The stronger the creature, the better the armor or weapon that can be crafted from it."
Hope absorbed the information carefully.
"So if we manage to kill the centaur…"
Kelvin smirked. "Then we'll have the chance to claim something even greater."
Walker chuckled darkly. "Now that's motivation."