"I should start at the start of the story. The personal order was released around a week ago. But more important is the background of this. Apparently, Washuu Tsuneyoshi ordered several elders of the clan to go to an excavation site in China that was newly founded; they are mobilizing for their huge amount of mercenaries and various contracted killers."
Hearing this, Lucien paled very quickly.
He was already suspecting the reason why Washuu Clan was searching for some ruins in China. They probably found the Ancestral site of the Shi Xue Clan and some heritage there.
Like Aeon House, even Shi Xue Clan had their own heritage and techniques they taught to their descendants; now, it was probably found by Washuu Clan, and they wanted to obtain it for their purposes.
For Lucien, this was critical information. Not only for him but even for the entire Aeon House. Now he could officially request support, but he knew it was meaningless.
He would need to leave in the shortest amount of time, and it would be troublesome to coordinate with reinforcements then.
"Continue, Arima-san. This matter is more serious than we have previously thought."
Arima nodded his head, corrected his glasses, and continued talking.
"They already left, two days before, from what I have managed to find out. Their entire force is composed of around two hundred to three hundred people. The core force is, of course, the clan's elders and some clan members. Inner force is created by members of Vasuki; I must apologize that I don't know the exact number of agents sent there. And outer force, even though they are weakest in individual combat, they are most numerous among are mercenaries they hired. But they would hire more in China, probably some local ghoul gangs would join them after some bribery, or they would force them."
Summarized Arima their numbers. Lucien wasn't very worried about a high number of low-leveled ghouls because he could just slaughter them like ants.
He was instead worried about agents of Vasuki and elders of the Washuu Clan; they were real problems to deal with.
"The numbers won't be problems. Ghoul mercenaries are usually around B-Rate or A-Rated; to me, they won't be any threat as I could slaughter them with kagune daggers and telekinesis in a short time. But the Elders are a totally different matter. Do you know at least how strong they are approximate?"
Lucien questioned Arima, as only the Elders of the Washuu Clan were the problem; the other ones were just resources for blood essences.
"I can't say, but I can guarantee they won't be weak. Even by my standards."
Arima answered him grimly, signifying that they were not weak even by his standards; just hearing that sounds rather bad.
"Can I ask you, Lucien-san, what could they find there?"
Asked Arima with a curious voice., it must be told he was curious about what Washuu Clan found there.
What forced Washuu Tsuneyoshi to mobilize several elders and tens of strong agents of Vasuki to send them all to some ruins in China?
He himself couldn't answer, he could only guess, but he was aware that Lucien would probably know the answer.
"As you may know, Aeon House has several legacies or techniques meant for their descendants. The same goes for the Noble House of the East, Shi Xue Clan. Washuu Clan probably found the Ancestral Site of the Shi Xue Clan, where they stored their legacies during that event. So they are trying to excavate the ruins and obtain those things there."
Explained Lucien. If Washuu Clan manages to obtain something which would enhance its strength even more, it would have terrible results for everyone else. Arima was a smart and intelligent person who knew the consequences of this thing.
"Will you go there?"
Lucien, hearing this question, faintly smiled.
He knew that he didn't have a choice. He must go there and stop Washuu Clan from obtaining the legacy; he only hoped he could return before the start of the 11th Ward Battle as he wanted to participate in the Cochlea Raid.
"I don't have a choice, you know. My family sent me here to destroy the Washuu Clan, so this is the perfect opportunity. The only problem is that everything is just too rushed, and I won't have enough time to prepare properly for this so-called expedition."
Laughed Lucien as he finished this sentence. Yes, even if he didn't want to go there, he must. It was his duty. But he was eager to see China and more eager to spill some blood. The killing was an extremely addictive activity. For ghouls even more, as it was a sport in some way.
"Good; I hope you can succeed."
Lucien nodded his head and took out a small vial, which was filled with red liquid. He gave it to Arima, who took it from his hands, not understanding what to do with the vial.
"Drink it; it would give you more time and heal your eye."
Said Lucien.
That liquid was, in reality, his blood.
For ordinary ghouls, the blood of Noble Ghoul had a miraculous effect, and for half-humans, even more. Arima was already losing sight, so it would help him heal it and stop the aging process for some time; even though Arima didn't want, he nodded his head and agreed to drink the liquid.
He drank it, and nothing happened.
"It would take effect after some time, piece by piece. Don't wait for miraculous healing."
Chuckled Lucien as he said that even though his blood could help, it doesn't have instant-regenerative properties.
"When will you be leaving?"
"Day after tomorrow. I need to leave as soon as possible to finish my mission fastest. But I need to finish some things before I can go to China. I need to prepare some things, and so."
Arima nodded, and then both of them shook hands and went to their own business to do. He ventured into the tunnels a little and killed a few ghouls just for fun because he was bored and he needed to release some steam.
Lucien watched his disappearing figure a little before walking away.
Unfortunately, there weren't any strong ghouls, only B-Rated weaklings, so the harvest wasn't much.
After one hour of hunting for ghouls, he decided it was time for him to return to his estate to prepare for the expedition.