There was no way that the target could escape their grasp even if he turned out to be excessively powerful. They could take him down with numbers if they had to.


    ckbeard was a pirate and was least concerned with his people''s lives in the face of benefits. As long as the benefits outweighed the value of their lives, he was willing to spill their blood like water if he had to.


    "Don''t be too sure. That kid is a dark mage and a sufficiently powerful one at that. There are rumors that he is an S rank mage but I don''t think that''s the case. At most he is a high-level A rank mage, otherwise the man I sent to take care of the Windsor family would have died in his hands already. Still his tricks are numerous and you should be cautious while taking him down."


    Hogan was fearful of the methods of the dark mages. He still remembered the terror of that kid''s father. The man was a walking disaster and had so many tricks that no mage was able to hold him down when he went on a rampage. Therefore, instead of sending his own forces to bury Zach, he hade to ask ckbeard for help.


    "Don''t worry. He is not the first dark mage I will kill. I already know that they are unpredictable. But all the dark mages have one thing inmon…their corpses float up when I sink them in the sea."


    ckbeard was oozing with confidence. He didn''t even consider the notion that Zach might cause him to suffer any losses. The reason was that he had increased the strength of his pirate fleet only recently. He had hired several talents as his loyal subordinates. There were several mages of various ranks, most of which were in the B rank. Some of them even showed signs of breaking through to the A rank.


    Other than those mages, there were three A ss mages including himself. Each of those mages was able to raze a small town to the ground with their full power. Therefore, ckbeard didn''t even register the thought of losing to the small fry dark mage who was troubling the Hunter family with hisughable antics.


    With the recent upgrade of the overall strength of his group, ckbeard was even confident of standing his own against the forces of the royal family let alone a mere small fry.


    "Seeing as you are so confident, it makes me feel ashamed of not being able to take care of it on my own. Since I am troubling you, I will prepare a hearty gift for you onpletion of the job."


    Hogan mentioned the small gift but he was prepared to spend extravagantly in order to satisfy ckbeard''s requirement. Mobilizing a pirate fleet like this one required an enormous number of resources but this was a small sacrifice he had to make to keep his family name at the top. Moreover, the sugar business he would eventually take over would definitely yield him more profit in the long run.


    ckbeard''s mood grew even better after he heard Hogan''s promise. Instead of rifying what Hogan meant by a small gift, he left it at this so that he could demand whatever he wantedter on.


    "That will surely give me the motivation to get rid of the entire Smith family along with that dark mage who is troubling you."


    Hogan smiled ufortably as he understood the meaning behind ckbeard''s words and the omission thereof.


    Nelson who was unaware of the meaning of the conversation between the two leaders thought that ckbeard was a chum of his father and was doing everything at his father''s behest. His courage peaked and he squeaked in between their conversation with a lecherous look on his already shameless face.


    "I have a request for after you kill him. There is a woman beside him that I fancy. Uncle, can you give her to me after you take him down? Such a heavenly woman is a waste of god''s favor on humanity. A fairy like her should belong to someone who can appreciate her for her excellence."


    Hogan gave his son a nasty look but shook his head afterwards as if he was helpless as well. His son was cunning in all ways when it came to orchestrating schemes for his lecherous designs but was too na?ve when it came to the matters between families and the diplomatic talent needed to lead and make tough decisions.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    While Hogan cursed at his son''s inability, ckbeardughed loudly and hisughter rang out in the entire hall and attracted the attention of the other pirates as well.


    An equally lecherous expression appeared on ckbeard''s dark visage as he gave a knowing look to Hogan''s son.


    Nelson was on cloud nine thinking that his father''s friend was a like minded person who was going to gift him that woman beside Zach who had an hourss figure and that icy temperament he liked to break the most.


    …


    Marico had been growing increasingly worried these days. His days spent in the prison had done a number on his psyche as well. He was easily stressed out and the fact that Hunter family had not retaliated after suffering at the hands of the Windsor family made his nerves taut with anxiousness.


    He had strengthened the security around the perimeter of the Windsor family mansion and the several production factories. His daughters were both escorted by arge number of trained guards and mages at all times.


    Though ra tried to resist the guards after what had happened with Grace, she couldn''t overrule her father''s orders. On the other hand, Violet didn''t feel any different with the addition of a few guards. She was too busy dealing with the expansion of the sugar business that was booming and raking in profits like an avnche.


    The person Marico was worried about the most after his daughters was Zach. He had yed the most important role in foiling the Hunter family''s ns. As such, Marico was sure that Zach would be targeted by the Hunter family soon. He was too familiar with Hogan''s methods. The man was more twisted than a twister after all.


    Zach on the other hand didn''t take that threat very seriously. In his eyes the top families in the city were only so-so if they wanted to take him on with the items he had unlocked in his arsenal after coption with Christina. His power could no longer be quantified as he was perfectly capable of taking on full-fledged armies and legions of magicians based on the power of Smith family.


    Marico fumbled every time Zach replied, "I can handle it", in response to his cautionary words. It made him tongue tied seeing how confident Zach was in his strength. It had to be known that a retaliation from the Hunter family was enough to shake even Marico''s confidence despite the strength he wielded as one of the top family leaders in the city.


    Zach had grown weary of the constant words of caution and warnings from the Windsor family leader. Thetter considered the former a benefactor and was thoroughly concerned for his wellbeing. Unfortunately, Zach didn''t need Marico''s constant remainders.


    While Zach didn''t need Marico''s interference, he believed that Luke could use Marico''s influence during this time. Therefore, he nned to divert Marico''s attention away from him by using Luke as a meat shield.


    "Mr. Windsor, Luke was more helpful in foiling the Hunter family''s ns than I was. I merely acted at thest moment while he had been helping your family from the very beginning. I am afraid he needs your help now more than ever. You should bear in mind the debt you owe him and think of saving him somehow instead of cautioning me when I am perfectly capable of handling any trouble thates my way. I don''t think I will be able to use your goodwill even if I wanted to. The enemy this time isn''t that strong." said Zach in a solemn manner seeing Maricoing towards him while frowning his eyebrows into his nose.


    "I know that more than you do but Luke''s problem stems from the military regtion and not from civilws. I am merely a businessman with some influence in the economic circle of the city. I can''t force the military to release Luke even though I want to."