уАКRelease That SuccubusуАЛ


 Chapter 1 1 Nebula System

    ?Advancement in technology and artificial intelligence brought about a revolution amongst the several onlinemunities of gamers that had started to recede into the background. Games like Fortitude, Valor, Gungnir, and Neb took the world by the storm and the percentage of the yers among the poption saw a steady increment. The glorious period recorded in the annals of history dawned upon the world and the generation of professional gamers that emerged as a result came to be known as legends among the gamingmunity.

    Monstrously talented but young gamers took the fight to the older generation and came out as the victors, andid their im to the throne. At the heart of these talented elites, stood a mysterious figure shrouded in darkness. Nobody knew who he was or where he came from but the fact that he was the undisputed king when it came to Neb the most popr and the most widely yed video game in history, helped him gain poprity amongst the masses.

    But as his poprity reached its peak, the undisputed king of Neb suddenly disappeared from the forums, and the game alike. Nobody knew where he went or what became of him as no one had any way of finding out who he truly was.

    The news kept running for a while. Some channels stated that the king had retired to a normal life which led to them being cursed and abhorred by a torrent of gamers through live interviews and condemnation posts on various forums. Some stories suggested that the king was a shut in who might have died in his room unknown to everyone else and it was up to them to save him. Obviously these individuals were all fanatics who had lost all sense of reason since nothing of the sort had happened to the person in question.

    Rumors kept sprouting like an unending storm but like all storms, this one too subsided. The spections turned into conspiracy theories but the reclusive king didn''te forward to exin the situation that haunted the world of professional gamers.

    Oblivious to it all, the undisputed king of Neb, Zachy perched on top of a towering tree amongst a sea of skyscraping trees that looked close enough to resemble pine trees but the shape of the leaves suggested that they were either a close breed of the same or some kind of mutation due to the nature of the environment.

    Lush green forest with tinge of yellowish at the tips suggested the time of the year to be the start of winter season. The golden rays of sunlight sneaking in through the crevices in the green canopy of the forest suggested that sun was out and about and was directly behind Zach.

    Zach was dressed in camouge and was covered in tree branches and mud as if to merge into nature. No one looking directly at him could guess that the clump of tree branches high on top of the tree was actually a human with a deadly weapon in his grasp. ck armory hidden amongst his camouge attempt and only the tip of the long barreled gun managed to poke out of his fa?ade. He looked like someone from the Special Forces trained in long rangebat and extremely familiar with hot weapons betrayed only by the fact that he looked too young to be a part of such an elite group.

    Lying perfectly still, Zach looked like he was waiting for someone or something as his eyes darted in all directions from time to time taking in all the surrounding elements in a single nce. Scanning the area like a radar, he kept an eye on the tiniest of details in order to grasp even a hint of movement.

    He had been doing the same thing for at least a few hours but there wasn''t a trace of irritation or boredom on his face. Hidden behind his stoic exterior expression was an iprehensible but excited glint, a smile that touched the edge of his lips but kept shying away every single time before it formedpletely. This made it seem like his lips were twitching slightly but that was not the case. In fact he had been trying to tone down his excitement.

    Zach was one of the few people who had received an opportunity to live his dream unlike countless humans on earth who longed and dreamed but were never able to aplish anything in reality.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    It had been two weeks since Zach had found himself in this godforsaken forest that seemed more otherworldly the more he looked at it. Thest thing he remembered was that he had been in his room watching videos of new yers of Neb to reminisce the old days.

    Everything after that was aplete nk that he couldn''t tear through no matter how much he tried to remember. It was like peering into a dense smoky darkness that brought him nothing but a headache.

    The next thing he knew, he woke up in a ditch with towering trees around him, his head ringing with blinding pain and an uneasy feeling in his body.

    The hands that he saw were not the same hands that he remembered. The calluses on the tip of his left hand fingers had disappeared and it seemed as if he had lost some weight as well.

    He tried to get used to the changes in his body that made him feel ufortable. Since there was no pain anywhere in his body whoever had been responsible for his current situation at least had the conscience to put him down gently.

    Still, that didn''t mean that he was entirelyfortable with this whole situation. He was unsure about how he got here. There seemed to be some kind of gap in his memory that he was unable to ess no matter how hard he tried.

    "What kind of hellish situation is this? I am supposed to be in my room. How in the world did I get here?" Zach wondered irritated with the situation that he had found himself in.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Was I abducted?" Zach hoped that his spection wasn''t true.

    To be abducted only to be thrown into a forest without any description, this was stuff out of the movies. What followed that was usually some kind of survival game or horror shows that he wasn''t willing to follow.

    [бн]

    Before he could make sense of the situation he heard a voice that made him look all around in panic, eyeballs darting with tremendous speed in order to catch a hold of the voice that had addressed him only to utter nonsense that did nothing but scare the shit out of him.

    Zach wondered if he had imagined it since he couldn''t make out anything in the vicinity that could have been the source. There was only the forest all around him, no signs of any living creature, or technology. He even made sure to scour the skies for any kind of drones but there were none in sight.

    "I must have imagined it given the whole situation. It is bound to take a toll on the mind." Zach reassured himself that what he had heard was only his imagination and nothing else.

    [бнsystem has been activated sessfully.]

    The voice sounded again and this time, it was so eerily close that Zach dived behind a tree in order to hide himself.

    "Where the hell is it? Are they monitoring me?" Zach became flustered thinking about his imaginary captors.

    He had to look for the source of the sound in order to determine whether that was actually the case.

    Thankfully, the voice didn''t go silent this time. It continued to speak things that he wasn''t entirely familiar with but one word managed to catch his attention through the whole monologue.

    "Neb"

    "What did I just hear?"

    For once Zach was able to focus without freaking out. Maybe it was because he had heard something that he was familiar with in this forest which calmed his panicking mind somewhat. Whatever the reason, the voice had managed to grab his attention in all his sanity.

    [Congrattions, you have been granted the Neb system.]

    While he searched around for a trace of the source, Zach found something shing towards the corner of his vision. It felt surreal as the more he looked, the more it felt that the thing was floating in mid air and didn''t seem to be quite corporeal.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 2 2 Abilities

    ?Zach moved his hand and tried to swat it away but his hands passed through it as if it was some kind of hologram. He had half expected it but that didn''t make it eptable. It felt like a notification of sorts which bothered him.

    "How the hell do I get this thing out of my face?" Zach waved his hand in irritation but couldn''t get rid of it.

    As he began thinking about the notification itself, something shed right in his face and managed to scare him out of his wits.

    Zach flinched in surprise as he fell back on his ass. The screen however remained in front of his face as before as if forcing him to look at it.

    [Congrattions, you have been granted the Neb System.]

    "Neb System? What is that?" Zach wondered if it was the same Neb that he was familiar with.

    "Did they put some kind of optical lens in my eyes? Otherwise there is no way a hologram like that can be real." Zach felt used his finger to touch his eyes gently in order to find out if something had been imnted there.

    To his astonishment there was nothing on his face or on his eyes that could exin the current situation. There was no pain in his eyes that might have suggested a surgical imnt either.

    There was no option other than to believe that what he was seeing was real.

    Zach had no option but to figure out what the message meant so he looked at the screen earnestly in order to figure out the secret behind it.

    Several notification sounds emerged as soon as he touched the screen and various messages clouded his vision one after the other like those error messages that didn''t stop sounding in his infectedputer and covered up the whole screen.

    [Your body is being adjusted for the new world. You might experience slight headache as your body is reverted back to its peak.]

    "Well, that exins the headache. Waitбн.WHAT?" Zach had an expression of horror on his face. He had read something about a new world just now.

    He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and read that message once again as if to make sure if what he had read the first time was truly there and not some kind of hallucination. He seemed to have seen something about another world.

    [Your body has been adjusted to the most optimal state.]

    [Your state has been updated from Delirious to Shocked.]

    Zach was dumbfounded, unable to utter a single word. If what he was seeing was all true then he had grossly underestimated the scale of what might have happened to him.

    Zach tried to remain calm as he took a long breath and exhaled slowly.

    In all seriousness he willed for the messages bombarding the screen to disappear and to his surprise he really was able to do so.

    As soon as the messages vanished, he found that there was an icon at the left corner of his vision that stayed afloat no matter where he looked. Below the image was his name in bold. It was the same interface that he had been used to. He had seen this screen one too many times when he used to y Neb.

    Only back then, the image used to be of his avatar instead of his own.

    Below his name there was a blinking word ''Status'' that made him feel curious.

    He willed for the status to be disyed and the screen followed hismand like earlier. Zach felt that he was beginning to understand this whole gimmick slowly.

    [Name: Zach]

    [Species: Human]

    [Age: 15 years]

    [Affiliation: None]

    [Abilities]

    [Neb Star: You can use all the weapons from the previous game ''Neb''. To elevate the degree of ess, meet the required conditions.]

    [Raging Blood: Your blood hides an ancient power. It has the ability to let any woman that consumes it burst out with enormous power for a short duration. This ability is applicable to all the women of this world. Currently your blood is in a dormant state that has lowered the overall effect but if necessary conditions are met the oue will be even more pronounced.]

    [Casanova: You can charm anyone from the opposite gender rtively easily. Your seed is a powerful elixir for any woman in this world. Look for trustworthy native women to increase your influence and spread your seed.]<novelnext></novelnext>

    [Skills]

    [Weapon Arsenal (Sealed): You can use a wide range of weapons that existed in the world of Neb proficiently. More conditions need to be satisfied to unlock additional weapons.]

    [First Seal: Unlocked]

    [Second Seal: Locked]

    [Third Seal: Locked]

    [бн]

    [бн]

    [Currently Avable Weapons]

    [B-97 Infra red Vision Binocrs]

    [G-17 Pistol]

    [KAR-98 Hunting Rifle]

    [Energy Absorption: You are able to absorb the special energy found only in the bodies of women in this world. You are going to need a lot of it if you intend to unlock your sealed potential.]

    [бн]

    Zach looked at his status window and carefully read all the details and was able to glean a lot of information.

    As his species had been mentioned to be human, it could only mean that there were other kinds of sentient species in this world and humans were only a part of the whole poption.

    His age had been reset to 15 years which matched with the ufortable feeling he had after waking up. Of course his hands hadn''t developed those calluses while he was only 15 years old.

    He skipped over the Affiliation part since it was still nk. He wondered if there were some factions in this world that he could join. But that was a thing that he would have to worry aboutter.

    He took a look at his abilities and his jaw dropped to the ground in surprise. But soon a creepy smile crept up on his face that was full of excitement.

    ''Neb Star'', this ability allowed him to ess all the weapons from the world of Neb in this world. Zach could only imagine how great of a boon that was since he knew what a terrifying power those weapons could give him.

    Taking a look at his weapon arsenal, he surmised that he had ess to the weapons that were standard issue for junior soldiers in the game. Other than weapons he had a small dagger and some defensive gear like camouge and Ker for personal protection.

    Other than Neb Star, there were two additional abilities that he had.

    When he first read the ability name ''Raging Blood'', he had thought that it must be some kind of Berserker skill but when he read the skill description he was slightly disappointed since it wasn''t an active skill but a support ability that was only useful if the one consuming his blood was a woman. Still, it could be of use in the future.

    The next ability took him by surprise from the get go. ''Casanova'', was another support ability that needed him to literally spread his semen to women to upgrade their abilities. This was so useless that Zach found himself cursing out loud.

    "Is this bloody system trying to set me up? What kind of flowery hell is this? Is it mocking me by giving this shitty ability to the always-single professional gamer like me?"

    What truly sent him into despair wasn''t the useless Raging Blood or the even more useless Casanova but thest skill in his status window.

    [Energy Absorption: You are able to absorb the special energy found only in the bodies of women in this world. You are going to need a lot of it if you intend to unlock your sealed potential.]

    From the look of it, women were absolutely crucial to his survival and in order to grow stronger. The skill description clearly stated that he needed a lot of energy in the bodies of women of this world in order to unlock his sealed potential. In other words his potential was his sealed abilities and his weapons. The current gear wasn''t enough for whatever the system had in store for him.

    Ever since he hade to this world, his nerves had been taut as he was on guard against anything that could have harmed him. Zach closed the status window and finally found himself a moment of respite.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 3 3 Encounter

    ?After he had taken some rest in the shade of a herculean tree, he found himself full of energy and vigor.

    [Your state has been updated from Shocked to Normal.]

    The system too judged him to have returned to his normal state in this period of time.

    Since he had found various simrities with the world of Neb in this world, he wanted to gather information in order topare it with the version that he was familiar with.

    Zach took out the dagger that he had been provided with as a junior soldier and started to climb the tree that he had been sleeping under. It was difficult at first but the more he climbed the easier it became.

    He forced himself to never look down with the increasing distance from the ground so as to not lose concentration. It took him some time but he was finally out of the humongous canopy of the forest. All around him was a sea of green and yellow spread around as far as he could see.

    But in the sky, he was able to witness something that made him smile and at the same time reassured him.

    There were currently 12 satellites inary orbit on the that he was currently on. Previously, he had been unable to see them all since his vision couldn''t go past the forest canopy. As such he had missed this detail in his initial survey of the ce.

    The 12 satellites were in line with the world of Neb and made him feel extremelyfortable, as if he hade to a familiar ce that he had missed for a long time.

    The knowledge that this world was simr to Neb gave him immense relief and filled him with curiosity. He wanted to explore it without any further dy.

    As such he started to move around the forest with precise and calcted movements. He looked for a long vine and tied it to some of the tree trunks in order to leave a mark. It was far too easy to lose the sense of direction in a ce like this giant forest. He didn''t want to climb a tree every time he lost direction.

    Zach moved at a slow pace but never once lost direction. He ventured deeper and deeper as he began toe to terms with this new life that was like a dreame true.

    Initially Zach had nned to hunt as a means to train himself and get used to the weapons that he had in his arsenal but that turned out to be a very difficult task since no matter how far he walked, there was nary a living creature in sight.

    Therefore, he had to settle for some static targets. He picked up a jagged stone from the ground and etched the target onto the bark of a huge tree. He followed the same process and did the same to the trees in the vicinity.

    Taking out his guns, he took a look at them to see if they were the same as he remembered. He was nning to rehearse his fighting abilities as if he were his avatar from the game.

    He picked up a pistol and shot at one of the static targets. To his surprise, the bullet hit bulls-eye even though he had never actually held a weapon in real life.

    "That must be one of the effects of either the ability Neb Star or the skill Weapon Arsenal. Lucky, I don''t actually have to train to be a marksman in order to utilize my weapons."

    A barely suppressed grin and an excited chuckleter, Zach was excitedly shooting the various targets he had set up earlier. He would break into a roll and shoot. Sometimes he would jump using the tree barks as a foothold and would still manage to hit the mark.

    At first his connecting movements were fidgety and awkward but soon he was able to repeat the same movements that he remembered from the game. All of it made it more exciting for him as he rediscovered the joy that he had only felt when he had started ying Neb for the first time.

    Despite the fact that he was already familiar with the whole world and its dynamics, there were still certain aspects that he wasn''t entirely sure about. The Neb that he had been familiar with didn''t deal with different races. Therefore Zach didn''t take any chances and kept on working on his techniques all the while trying to stay hidden in the forest.<novelnext></novelnext>

    At the same time he practiced his wilderness survival skills and tried to use the natural environment for camouging. Zach maintained the same routine for the next week as he got used to this new world and adjusted his mindset to the new normal.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Currently, Zach was trying out the camouging equipment that he had received from the system. He was perched atop a tree and was keeping an eye on the surroundings scanning for any movement.

    It had been more than a week since he had arrived in this new world. But he had nevere across a living being that he couldmunicate with. He had been hoping to see someone but dreaded it at the same time.

    Not knowing the social and cultural dynamics of the local inhabitants could be a severe handicap. Zach wanted to do some digging before taking the initiative to approach someone. So, he had been putting it off and had stayed in the dense forestry where not even animals traversed.

    As it turned out, he had been practicing his camouging skills when he heard some loud explosions in the surroundings.

    "What the hell was that? From the sound of it, the origin of the sound isn''t very far from here." Zach was startled since this was the first time that he had heard any sound as loud as this in the silence of the forest; other than the sounds of his own guns that is.

    The echoes of the explosions rang out one after the other with dampening amplitude so it was hard to determine how many explosions there were exactly.

    Without wasting a second, Zach had taken the appropriate actions and had hidden himself in the trees in his camouged state.

    "I should check it out. It might give me a chance to learn more about the situation in this world. After all there was no way that the explosion just now was natural." Zach thought curiously.

    Based on his decisive personality, Zach didn''t linger around in anticipation but started closing in on the source stealthily. He had been using the trees to traverse the distance so as to remain hidden and to give himself a way out in case the situation turned out to be something that he couldn''t handle on his own.

    Hidden in the canopy of the trees covered in tree branches and mud, Zach finally witnessed what he had set out to find.

    He could make out a group of tall and burly men in the distance ganging up on what looked to be a short statured but petite and beautiful woman. Unable to hold back his curiosity, Zach decided to get close in order to monitor the situation and figure out his next course of action.

    The woman had an uncanny beauty that was almost ethereal and could not be described in words. From his viewpoint, Zach could only see her back but even that was enough for him to grasp what a world toppling beauty that woman was.

    Her luscious dark hair spread out over her shoulders and reached her lower back. She wasn''t very tall but her high ponytail and her long legs gave the illusion of a tall and curvaceous woman. The strange thing that he had difficulty epting was that the woman had two dark horns that looked like that of a little demon and there was a strange protrusion near her lower back that looked to be some kind of a thin ck tail.

    She was definitely not of human origin, especially considering the feral manner in which she red at her enemies. It was bestial at the very least. But even that looked charming to Zach who was witnessing everything from a distance.

    "I have to take a closer look. The beauty looks like she might need some help." Zach thought to himself as he flushed out a Bluetooth and a lens from his backpack.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 4 4 Succubus

    ?Of course all this equipment was the courtesy of the Neb System.

    Zach zoomed in on the scene to witness the way these people fought each other.

    The horned girl was by no means a damsel in distress. She was somehow controlling a huge amount of fire as it spun around her like a fiery tornado. Embers of fire shot out and struck her assants from time to time but they were prepared as well.

    The assants had some means to keep the fire at bay as they raised their hands and redirected the mes behind them.

    No matter how powerful the horned woman might have been, it appeared that she was no match for the group surrounding her.

    Zach could already see the oue of this skirmish but he wasn''t ready to take action yet. He needed to study the enemies more. He had to understand the way they fought and whether his weapons would be effective against them since they were even able to defend against fire.

    The girl gritted her teeth and growled at the men in frustration and anger but they didn''t take it seriously and onlyughed it off as if they had long been tired of such a routine for a long time.

    The leader of the men, who looked to be the most guttural out of the lot, had a scraggly beard that looked disheveled and dirty. But just his tall and burly frame was enough to deter any monster.

    Zach''s intuition was screaming that the leader was dangerous.

    "That giant looks dangerous. I need to do something before he takes action."

    Just as Zach was about to move, the leader that had been right in front of him, vanished into thin air as if he had never been there in the first ce.

    "Where the hell did he go? Is this some kind of teleportation ability? It could be enhanced agility as well. Let''s wait a bit more." Zach had already witnessed thatmon sense was no longer applicable in this world. He had to think out of the box.

    He calmed himself down and pondered on the various possible permutations for such an action on the part of the enemy leader.

    And that was when everything clicked into ce. He activated the analysis lens'' built-in infra red vision and took a look at the scene.

    As he had expected, the invisible figure of the vanished giant was rushing towards the woman with a brisk pace from the exact position that he had vanished before.

    The woman on the other hand, unaware of her impending doom, was still focused on the little goons following after their boss.

    Zach felt that either the woman was too tired to notice what was happening or she was just that dumb. Either way, he couldn''t stay hidden much longer.

    Before Zach could make a move, the enemy leader had already made contact with the fragile looking woman. He bashed his shoulder into the woman with quite a momentum causing her to fall on her bottom.

    The woman looked quite surprised since she had been unable to understand what had hit her. The foolish woman had yet to notice that the enemy leader had been missing until then.

    The fire that she had been maintaining around herself had extinguished since she had lost concentration. She tried to cast the fire shield once again but only a few embers ignited before even they were snuffed out.

    The woman was in fact too tired to cast a single spell. She had been fighting on her own against the whole gang of unruly bastards by herself for a considerable amount of time. She could barely lift a finger to defend herself let alone using her fire element that was quite draining on her.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zach could see a mass of red moving towards the fallen woman. The mass of red was obviously the enemy leader who was closing in to finish the job.

    There was nothing that Zach could do to stop the inevitable. The leader made a quick work of her and the woman was defeated before she could even figure out who was responsible for her undoing.

    "Boss, what should we do with her? She looks like the kind that would fetch a good price on the market. If she is a virgin she might be worth a fortune as well." One of the bastards had a lewd look on his face as he asked his boss about what to do about the woman in their hands.

    The boss on the other hand looked at him as if he was some kind of idiot who hadn''t seen enough of the world.

    "You idiot, look at her. Does she look like she would be a virgin? Where in the world have you seen a subus that was a virgin? She is used goods at best."

    Even though the leader had a condescending look on his face as he addressed his subordinate, a perverted smile spread over his face as soon as he took in the rare physical features of the woman.

    No matter whether she was a human or a subus, her figure was definitely unforgettable.

    "Why don''t we enjoy her first before selling her off in the market?" The leader let out a gutturalugh before looking at his subordinates as if waiting for them topliment him for his cunning and quick thinking.

    Another subordinate that had anky and thin frame but a pockmarked faceughed the loudest after his boss. There was always someone like that in such a group that was only around because of their cunning and smooth tongue. These people always knew what to say in any situation to please the boss.

    This one was no different either. As soon as he knew what the boss wanted, he started pping his tongue like a loyal dog that he was.

    "As expected of our boss; you are definitely the brightest of all of us. Why didn''t we think of that?" The subordinate ttered without any shame while the rest of hispatriots side eyed him like he was dog poop at the side of the road.

    On the other hand, their boss found it quite pleasing to his ears. The words uttered by thenky one satisfied the vanity of the boss as he pushed out his chest by a few inches and his back straightened a bit more as he tried to walk more gracefully.

    "Hmphбнyou useless lot have learnt nothing despite having followed me for so long. You need to squeeze out every little benefit without affecting the price of the product before selling it on the market. It''s like wasting every bit of the animal carcass other than the meat just because it doesn''t sell for much. You need to squeeze out every penny before selling the meat." The boss lectured his subordinates like an experienced professional in the field who was trying to look after his subordinates.

    The boss gave a slight pause after having lectured them for a good quarter of an hour. He looked at them for affirmation and to see the looks of worship in their eyes but found only nk looks instead. As if his words had been too much for them.

    "Maybe it was too much for their little brains. I should keep it down to their level next time." The boss figured that his subordinates had been unable to keep up with his level of intellect.

    In reality, the subordinates who had been through this torture numerous times knew that the boss would go on like this for a long time if they gave him even the slightest hint that they found his lecture helpful. Even thenky one didn''t speak out this time despite being fully aware of what the boss wanted from them.

    The boss let out a grunt as he looked at all of them one by one in disgust and disappointment but then thought that he needed to give them a carrot as well.

    "She might be a subus but she is a hot one. Since you all have worked hard, I might consider letting you all have a turn once I am done with her."

    As expected, the subordinates started ttering him at once. The boss finally gave a nod of approval.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 5 5 Save

    ?While the assants were having this discussion, Zach was in a dilemma of his own.

    The reason was that there was another system prompt on the screen in front of him.

    [A sudden quest has been triggered.]

    [Damsel in Distress]

    [Quest Description:  You have witnessed a strange girl being attacked by a group of vers who intend to sell her in the ve market eventually. Being a kind hearted soul full of justice, you cannot let such an incident go unnoticed.]

    [Quest Clear Conditions: Either save the girl and escape from the vers sessfully or eliminate the verspletely.]

    [Time Limit: The ruthless vers intend to ravage the strange girl before selling her to the ve market. Save her before she falls victim to the vers or the quest will be considered to be a failure.]

    [Quest Rewards: Unknown]

    [Quest Difficulty: Negligible]

    [*You are more than qualified to clear this quest. Your current equipment can decimate the vers without any difficulty.]

    The Neb System was telling him that the difficulty of the quest was negligible because the items he owned currently were enough for him to win against the vers but there was a catch that he noticed as soon as he read thest line.

    The sess of the quest was dependent on how proficient he was at using the weapons avable to him instead of the avability of weapons. Even though the difficulty of the quest was negligible, he had to be vignt since he barely knew anything about this world. Thankfully, he had managed to get some information on his enemies beforehand, or things might have be difficult even for him.

    Zach didn''t loiter around once he decided onpleting the quest. The enemy boss was busy trying to quash the little resistance that the girl posed in her weakened state while trying to rip apart her clothes.

    Zach jumped out of his hiding ce and rushed towards the group.

    The enemy boss had already seen himing for he stopped hisscivious actions and focused his attention on Zach who now stood exactly opposite to him with a mischievous grin covering his face.

    "You better hand her over to me if you want to get out of here on your own two feet." Zach demanded with an outstretched hand.

    "What did you just say to me, you rotten brat?" The boss felt that his pride had been trampled by the weak looking kid who had appeared out of nowhere.

    "I said ''Hand her over to me. I want her.''" Zach reiterated his words but this time they somehow sounded even more annoying to the enemy leader.

    Fuming with anger, the enemy boss felt like spitting out a mouthful of mes at Zach who had ruined his moment but managed to hold himself back. He still needed to figure out where the kid was getting his confidence from before taking any action.

    A kid who was still wet behind the ears had dared to step up to him. Either, the kid was some big shot with a huge background and had a powerful protector hidden around them, or the kid was the biggest idiot that he had evere across.

    "Who are you?" The boss sounded mad as he red at Zach with the most menacing look he could have mustered.

    "Why would I want to tell you that? I have no intention of associating with someone like you." Zach replied with a disgruntled look on his face.

    "How many did you bring?" The boss asked nonchntly as if he didn''t care about the answer at all. But on the inside, he was hungrily waiting his answer.

    "What?" Zach didn''t understand what the leader meant.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I said, ''How many people did you bring to confront me?" The leader asked in a heavier tone obviously displeased that a kid had belittled him in front of his subordinates.

    "I didn''t bring anyone. I came alone. Is that a problem?" Zach decided to be truthful, obviously not wanting to drag out the situation any further.

    "No, it''s not a problem at all. It''s just that where do you get the balls to act like this in front of us when you are all alone? Kid, take my advice and don''t piss me off any further. I don''t mind killing a kid or two if it hinders my business." The leader was back to talking in his authoritative tone once he had figured out that Zach was all alone without any one to support him.

    "I am trying not to kill anyone so don''t take my forbearance for granted and stop running your mouth." Zach was apprehensive about killing people even if they didn''t deserve to live.

    In this foreign world, forgetting who he was and where he came from was quite a realistic possibility. Power and authority could do that to people and skew their mentality in ways that they couldn''t evenprehend.

    Zach didn''t want to forget the human values that were still a big part of him. Even if it was a different world, a life was still a life. He wanted to keep on respecting the value of life as much as possible.

    The leader''s face turned bloody red edging towards purple as he tried to control the raging blood rushing to his head. He had never felt this humiliated ever before in his life. He had been belittled by a snot nosed brat in front of his subordinates and had even threatened him to his face.

    This kind of affront couldn''t go unpunished or his tyrannical image that he had established with a lot of effort would get shattered into oblivion.

    "How dare a little brat like you threaten me? I must let you experience the consequences of your little bastardly actions. Take this lesson to heart and be a good kid in your next life and make sure to not poke your nose in others'' business in the future." The leader finally growled like a beast and pounced on Zach with eyes that screamed bloody murder.

    In the very next moment, the leader was surprised beyond belief. The brat turned out to be very nimble and crafty, avoiding every single jab and kick with surprising uracy and swiftness. It was like he could anticipate his every move prior to his attack.

    His burly body was also one of the reasons that Zach found it surprisingly easy to evade his attacks. Smallest movements of the leader allowed Zach to determine his next action with ease. Given therge mass of the leader''s body, the movements became more prominent for Zach to decipher.

    Zach used the gaps between his techniques to throw in a move or two staggering the leader in the midst of his move and caused him to back away.

    The leader had figured out by then that his closebat techniques were of no use in his fight against the scrawny brat. This hurt his pride even further but he hade too far to let go. He wasn''t willing to make peace with Zach even if he ended up losing everything.

    The leader backed away from Zach intending on increasing the distance between them to cast his magic skills.

    Zach, who had long since seen through what the leader was nning, rushed in at the same time.

    The leader began chanting his magic spell after creating some distance between himself and Zach, only to be interrupted by Zach''s kick in the midst of it.

    Zach''s kick failed to connect but it served its purpose. It sessfully disturbed his opponent from casting his magic skill.

    The leader disregarded everything and hid using his invisibility skill, fully intent on murdering Zach no matter what.

    Zach had been waiting for this moment throughout his fight. Since he had little knowledge about the magic proficiency of the leader, he hadn''t intended on letting him cast magic but the invisibility skill was something he had already seen enough of.

    The ability allowed him to bend light around his body, allowing him to stay invisible to human eyes. But the wavelength of the infra red rays was differentpared to visible light. The analysis lenses on Zach were therefore capable of seeing his figure urately rendering the leader''s skill ineffective.

    But the leader waspletely unaware that Zach could already see him.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 6 6 Unexpected Malevolence

    ?The belief was further strengthened as Zach actedpletely baffled by his vanished enemy. Zach looked around like a bewildered fool further inviting the leader to attack him.

    The leader circled around him intending to nk him with a beautifully engraved dagger in his hand.

    Zach spun around in a circle and finally stealthily took out his pistol and firmly grasped it in his hand with his finger on the trigger, ready to shoot at a moment''s notice.

    As soon as the leader took action, Zach turned towards him with the pistol in his hand and shot him straight in the chest without blinking an eye.

    "I told you, I didn''t want to kill you but you just wouldn''t listen." Zach let out a sigh as he looked down at the smoking gun in his hands.

    The leader gurgled blood as his lungs filled with blood. The excessive bleeding made him feel anemic and the ruptured lung caused him to choke on his own blood.

    Zach didn''t let him suffer for long and shot once more to end his suffering. This time, he aimed for the head and gave him a swift death.

    The body of their leadery motionless in front of them before the subordinates could even notice how the kid had managed to take down their leader.

    All they heard was a loud explosive sound and their leader fell to the ground drowning in his blood, convulsing. Another loud sound and the convulsions stopped altogether.

    Some of the subordinates panicked and ran, afraid for their lives. The smoking tube in the hands of the kid brought the subordinates immense fear. Thenky one that enjoyed ttering the boss was among those runners.

    "I guess the loyal dog wasn''t so loyal after all. Turned tail and ran the moment the boss died." Zach muttered to himself as he made a mental note to himself to avoid such honey tongued serpents in the future.

    But some of the more foolish yet loyal ones stayed to fight Zach.

    Zach didn''t care either way. Those who attacked him were shot to death in a heartbeat.

    Zach targeted their vitals in a swift but decisive manner. Even though he hadn''t wanted to kill people, that didn''t mean that he would show mercy to those who came at him with the intention to kill him. He wasn''t foolish enough to do that.

    Zach stared at his work and then at the remaining ones who had witnessed the whole thing and were too scared or shocked to flee or fight.

    He let them make their decision as he locked his eyes with them hoping that they would take the hint.

    It wasn''t long before they did. They ran as if being chased by a demon from hell, with eyes full of panic and their bowels loose from the stress of being red at by those cold demonic eyes.

    Zach watched them leave for some time before letting his guard down and taking a look at the woman who was still sprawled all over the floor unable to get up.

    Zach took a close look at her for the first time. Earlier he had only been able to look at her from the back and after that he had been too busy keeping an eye on the enemy leader.

    The girl was definitely breathtaking. Her figure alone was enough to register her amongst the greatest beauties that he had ever had the fortune ofying his eyes on. Her perfectly oval face and thin nose gave an impression of charming innocence. While her watery eyes only added a seductive charm to her countenance.

    Zach gave her a reassuring smile and tried to approach her in order to help her up.

    But the girl was too out of her mind to tell if he was a friend or an enemy. She crawled backwards with her hands while dragging her legs with each push. Her eyes betrayed the terror hidden behind her charming appearance.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zach looked into those fear stricken eyes and was baffled to find that she was afraid of him. The way the girl was desperately trying to get away from him, hurt in him in ways that he couldn''t even fathom. It was as if he was some kind of monster trying to devour her whole.

    Zach put on the kindest expression he could have mustered and tried to approach her again, only to receive the same treatment from her as earlier.

    "That''s some incredible trust issues she''s got." Zach mumbled under his breath not wanting her to hear him grumbling.

    He couldn''t understand why she was so scared of him. He had saved her from the vers and hadn''t shown any intention of harming her. He had even gone out of his away to appear kind and generous. Yet the girl didn''t find him trustworthy at all.

    "She must still be in shock. There can be no other reason." Zach finally pushed all the responsibility on to the vers and tried to approach her once again.

    The girl tried to back away once again but the effort that she had put in to move caused her to pass out, finally allowing Zach to reach her.

    Zach didn''t dy and took out his first aid equipment as he began treating her wounds. She only had some shallow wounds on her body since the vers would have had trouble selling injured merchandise.

    Zach began to treat her wounds as efficiently and speedily as possible. He didn''t want to be anywhere near her when she regained her consciousness. Zach was worried that she might get startled and burn him to a crisp without even giving him a chance to exin himself.

    The reason she had fainted wasn''t because she had been injured but because she had been too tired to stay awake.

    Zach deduced that she must have been pursued by those bastards for quite a while before she was cornered.

    Zach didn''t touch her too much fearing that he might get med for something improperter on. He decided to treat the wounds that were visible to him and were of grave nature. The ones on the sensitive areas remained untouched.

    "There would be time for thister on once she starts to trust me or she can treat it herself. None of them seem to be very serious anyway." Zach thought before moving his eyes away from her chest that was undting heavily with every breath.

    When the girl woke up, her throbbing injuries had already begun to heal. Some of them had already scabbed while the rest were in the process of the same. Even the bruises and the swelling around the bruised areas had gone down.

    She was pleasantly surprised at first but then her eyes fell on Zach who was lounging around nearby while keeping an eye on her and her expression turned sour in an instant.

    She was unwilling to believe that Zach had any good intentions towards her. She had seen too many humans like him to believe anything good about him. She had already seen their penchant for treachery and the daggers hidden behind their cunning words.

    "Don''t pretend to be a good one. I hate hypocrites like you the most. I would actually prefer if you actually showed your real face no matter how evil it is, instead of the kind and benevolent fa?ade you keep up in front of me. If you have the guts to do evil, why bother pretending to be a saint?" The girl had looked like a sweet angel while she had been asleep but as soon as she opened her mouth, she spat poison straight on Zach''s face. She didn''t even try to hold herself back as if Zach wasn''t worth even that much.

    Zach had already expected such an outburst but even he couldn''t haveprehended the extent of it. Not dying any further, Zach looked at her and spoke out in a cool and calm voice that was devoid of any aggression or anger. It was as if her earlier words hadn''t affected him at all.

    "Since you look like you have healed already, you are free to leave. No one''s stopping you since you seem to hate it here so much."

    "HaбнI knew you wouldn''t let me goбнwait WHAT?" The girl couldn''t believe her ears as she heard Zach''s words.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 7 7 Luna

    ?"Are you really not going to stop me if I try to leave? How can I believe such rubbish? You could have at least made your lies more believable." The girl continued with a slightly low and raspy voice as if afraid of making a fool out of herself by asking it out loud.

    "Of course what I said still holds true. You can leave whenever you want. I will not stop you no matter what you choose to do. I am not and will not try to restrict your freedom in any manner should you choose not to leave. Nor will I stop you from leaving right this moment. You are free to do whatever you want." Zach still appeared nonchnt as he rambled on about his non-interest in the girl.

    Something in his voice made her want to believe him but then she remembered how humans had been fooling them into very and her expression hardened once again.

    "I told you to stop acting but you are still trying to fool me. Hmph, I won''t fall for your tricks. Save them for someone more gullible." The girl was acting haughty for someone who had been on the receiving end since the moment they had met.

    He had not only saved her from the vers but had also healed her wounds. But despite all that, she was not willing to give him even the benefit of doubt.

    The girl didn''t look like it with her delicate features and all but she was quite stubborn in reality.

    Even though Zach had told her to leave if she liked, the girl was still apprehensive about leaving in his presence. She felt that she would be stabbed in the back once she actually trusted the human and tried to leave.

    "Humans and their wicked games; how devilish." The girl muttered under her breath as she sat down some distance from Zach who had been keeping an eye on her movements from the corner of his eyes.

    The girl waited until she finally caught Zach sleeping peacefully under the shade of a heaven touching tree. There was a tranquil half smile on his face as if he was having a happy dream.

    "I wish it turns into a nightmare that haunts him from sleeping in the future." The girl cursed in her heart when she caught him smiling even in his sleep. Here she was trying her best to survive while the bastard was enjoying an evening nap under the setting sun.

    She only gave it a momentary thought beforeing back to the task at hand. She had been nning to escape the grasp of the human as soon as he lowered his guard down.

    This was the perfect opportunity for her. Her captor was slumbering as she made her way across the tree that he had been sleeping under and carefully snuck past him.

    She turned back to look at his face to find even the smallest movement that might have been out of ce but luckily the human hadn''t noticed anything at all. He was still asleep.

    "This is my only chance of escaping his hands. I need to make it count." The girl thought as she swiftly made her way across the forest.

    She didn''t travel very far before she turned her head back to take a look at what Zach had been doing. She wanted to confirm whether the words that he had uttered back then were the truth or not.

    To her surprise, Zach hadn''t moved an inch from his position after she had snuck out.

    "It is because he had been asleep and her n had been perfect." She kept telling herself so, not wanting to believe in a human.

    Her steps that had previously been swift and wless began staggering. She unconsciously looked back again and again almost hoping that the human woulde after her to stop her but no such thing took ce.

    The human was still in the same ce.

    Her feet finally came to a halt as she made a hundred and eighty degrees turn on her feet and resumed the same pace back to the starting point.

    Even though she wasn''t sure if her decision was the correct one, her steps didn''t falter even once. She had never trusted humans before but this time she wanted to believe in Zach.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She snuck past the sleeping Zach once again andid down on her previous spot as if she had never left.

    Just when she thought that she had made it back safely, Zach opened one of his eyes and stared at the girl in amusement.

    The girl turned around as if feeling the mocking stare that was burning a hole through her back and it was then that she became ustomed to shame and utter humiliation.

    One look at his snickering face and the girl knew that Zach had never been asleep. He had watched her little attempt to escape. Had he wanted to stop her, she wouldn''t have been able to take a single step away from this ce.

    The girl tried to hide her growing embarrassment as she put on a cold expression that refused to reveal the slightest hint of shame but the growing red on her cheeks gave her away.

    Zach held in his growingughter as he didn''t want her to have a bad impression of him. She was the first person in this world that he had truly made contact with. She was a potential source of precious information and Zach was reluctant to part with her.

    As he looked at her seriously, her cold exterior couldn''t hold at all. She was surprisingly fragile and easily embarrassed.

    "I couldn''t go any further because of my injuries. My injuries red up as I tried to leave. I would only be captured by someone else again if I left in my current condition. So, I am thinking of sticking around until I recover to the extent that I am able to travel alone without any danger to myself. Don''t think for a moment that it is because I trust you." The girl looked exceptionally cute as she tried to exin her actions with improvised lies that had no frame or logic.

    Zach had been the one to treat her in the first ce so he knew that the wounds on her body must have healed already. As for rest, she had already taken plenty with Zach guarding her from the side. He had even purposefully acted to be asleep so as to give her a chance to leave without feeling the stress of being caught again.

    Even though he had seen through her lies already, Zach was sensible enough to not call her out on those lies.

    Zach nodded along with her exnation as if it made perfect sense and had a serious expression on his face throughout. Even the girl was fooled into thinking that she had sessfully turned everything around and had saved her face in front of the human.

    "Since we are going to be travelling for a while together, it is only prudent that we introduce ourselves. We can''t keep referring to each other with confusing words like Hey or you there." The girl was finally back to her stubborn self. Maybe she had already gotten over her earlier embarrassment thanks to Zach''s assists.

    Zach nodded in response as if her logic was perfectly astute.

    "I am Luna. As you can see I am a subus." Luna looked at Zach expectantly with her beautiful eyes.

    "I am Zach, a human which you are already aware of." Zach also reciprocated in the same fashion thinking that this was the format of introduction in this world.

    Luna nodded then tilted her head to the side as if thinking about something that she couldn''t understand. Zach also became curious since this was the first time that he had seen Luna look so unsure of herself.

    "What is it? What are you thinking about with that expression on your face?" Zach finally asked her breaking her out her reverie.

    "What expression?" Luna was caught unawares so she tried to retort back.

    "The expression that says you are solving rocket science all by your lonesome." Zach teased her mischievously knowing full well that Luna will not be able to understand his meaning.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 8 8 Appetite

    ?"What do you mean by that? What is this rocket science you are speaking about? Is it some kind of spell chant?" Luna asked, her curiosity had clearly been piqued.

    Zach only shrugged and didn''t answer her question which frustrated her.

    "I can''t understand why a human like you would try to save a subus like me from your own kin. You even went as far as to murder your own kin to save me. Why?" Luna finally asked the question that had been haunting her all this while. This was also the reason why she wasn''t able to trust Zach until now. She wanted to know his reasons for saving her.

    She felt that there was some ulterior motive behind Zach''s actions. Her distrust stemmed from this single doubt and her initial impression of humans only aggravated her belief further into strongly rejecting Zach''s kindness no matter how sincere he appeared to be.

    "I have been cut off from society for a long time now. I have lived most of my life in the mountains with my master. I have never interacted with the outside world in my whole life so I am unaware of even the mostmon customs and beliefs. Everything is brand new to me. It''s the reason I came out here in the forest to escape the crowd of humans who make me ufortable. Otherwise did you think I enjoy roaming around the forest like a beggar?" Zach made out a believable story that would exin his ignorance about the world and its inhabitants.

    Luna looked like she had bought his story very easily. Therefore, she began to exin to him why she had been unable to understand his thought process. She felt like Zach needed to learn about the world that he was stepping into.

    "The reason I was unable to believe that you had acted to save me was because Subi are a race that are specially hated by humans."

    "Why is that? Is that due to some kind of racial discrimination? Zach asked in astonishment since he had been thinking that countless humans would love to know a subus given the chance. The reason being, subi could be incredibly charming and seductive. The greatest example was right in front of her. Luna was one of the most beautiful women that he had evere across and she might not even be among the top tier among subi.

    "It''s because among those of my race some of the more radical ones choose to live more freely and give in to their insatiable hunger. Their uncontained hunger eventually became the cause for the deaths of arge number of men who became consumed by their lust and gave all of their vitality to the subi in order to indulge in carnal pleasure. I can''t say that humans are wrong in their prejudice since my kind did cause their deaths but the way humans use the same scale to judge all subi is unfair to say the very least." Luna exined everything calmly but the way she had clenched her fists at her sides revealed the frustration she had been trying to hide.

    Of course, Zach noticed this as well since he had been observing her keenly as she revealed tidbits regarding what was consideredmon sense in this world.

    Luna on the other hand cautiously looked at Zach fearing he might have changed his mind after hearing everything from her; after all he was a human as well.

    To her surprise, Zach didn''t even look at her differently. He was busy taking out something from his backpack as if that was the most natural thing to do.

    Gathering up some courage she asked him again since he hadn''t answered her before.

    "Why did you save me? Even if you did not know about the enmity between my race and yours, no one helps another person while expecting nothing in return. You must also be expecting to get something from me, right?" Luna wished for the voice inside her head to be wrong about the human. She wanted to believe that he was different but her instincts were warning her not to believe in anything the human told her.

    "Do I need a reason to save someone in trouble?" Zach understood that the racial conflict had ingrained certain beliefs among both the races so he approached the situation more delicately. He knew that the situation might backfire if he tried to be straight forward about it. Luna had experienced far too much to take his words at their face value.

    "Of course you need a reason. No one in these parts is exactly selfless especially to someone you know nothing about." Luna retorted intent on prying the answers out of him.

    "Well, if I had to think of one, then it has to be ''guilt''." Zach looked her in the eyes seriously as he had managed to fish out a piece of beef jerky after scouring his backpack.

    "Guilt?" Luna tilted her head cutely to the side in confusion. She didn''t understand what Zach was trying to get at.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Yes, guilt. To be honest, it didn''t take me much effort to save you. And I knew that, before I leaped in to defend you. Had the enemies been stronger, I might have left without even blinking and without feeling any remorse. For survival would have been a good enough excuse to satisfy my conscience. But because I knew how easy it was, if I hadn''t bothered saving you, I might have regretted it in the future." Zach made it sound as if he hadn''t done it with the intention of saving her in order to not let Luna feel burdened by it.

    Zach noticed her facial expressions soften slightly and let out a sigh of relief. She had at least believed his words to some extent.

    Zach chewed on beef jerky as he reached into his backpack and pulled out another one before offering it to Luna who was still paralyzed deciding whether to trust him or not.

    "Want one? It tastes quite good. You must be hungry after all that." Zach offered with his outstretched hand.

    Luna was still stuck inside her mind thinking god knows what, but she still took the time to shake her head to deny his offer.

    "Why don''t you have some? I have plenty in my backpack." Zach pointed to his backpack that weighed quite a bit and tried to get her to eat a little.

    "I really can''t eat that even if I try to. It will taste all nd and horrible, not to mention that it might give me a stomach acheter." Luna finally came down to the realm of the living and answered only to refuse his offer.

    "You can''t eat meat then. Are you a vegetarian?" Zach prodded a bit more.

    "No, I am not. We subi follow a different kind of diet." Luna staggered her words as she tried to exin her reasons.

    "What do you eat then? Maybe I have some in my backpack. I have a lot of stuff hidden there." Zach felt that something was wrong with her expression.

    "I am a subus and our race can only feed on semen. Our stomach is unable to digest any other kind of food. Thatбнwould taste like my own filth, not that I know what that tastes likeбнmy filth I mean." Luna exined in a flustered manner with an expression of disgust as she pointed towards the jerky that Zach was currently chewing with her index finger.

    Unconsciously Zach imagined the picture that she had painted with her words and his expression darkened.

    "And there goes my appetite." Zach cursed under his breath as he pulled out the jerky from his mouth and stealthily threw it into the bushes behind him. The action remained unnoticed by Luna though. She was busy trying to hide her face that was turning a reddish hue.

    Zach finally understood why it had taken him so much effort to pry out the secret of her diet. She was definitely embarrassed to say it out loud.

    Zach understood her predicament perfectly and he wanted to help her recover from her injuries as well. Not to mention that his semen might prove to be quite nutritious for Luna since one of his abilities enabled him to upgrade the strength of any woman from this world through his semen.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 9 9 In The Distance

    ?Zach thought of that ability and the skill window popped open on the transparent screen.

    [Casanova: You can charm anyone from the opposite gender rtively easily. Your seed is a powerful elixir for any woman in this world. Look for trustworthy native women to increase your influence and spread your seed.]

    But he didn''t know how to bring up the subject without sounding like a pervert. Such a request was not normal from any point of view.

    Both Luna and Zach had met each other only a little while ago and offering his semen to her like a meeting gift seemed a lot more perverted even in the confines of his own mind. He could only imagine the horror of having to say it out loud.

    After Zach thought it through, he decided not to go ahead with his phnthropic idea as he could not carelessly reveal the secrets of his body to just anyone.

    If the subus girl decided to betray him some day in the future, Zach might have a horde of subi chasing after him to suck him dry of his elixir.

    As if Luna had seen through his mental struggles, she fidgeted with her fingers in aical manner as she shook her head with surprising vigor.

    "I know what you are thinking but please drop that line of thought. I consider you my savior no matter what your intention in helping me might have been. And I would not for the life of me dare to cause harm to you even in my dreams. If I sucked out your semen, it would drain your vitality and strength and might even render you weak and vulnerable for a period of time." Luna had a pleading look on her face. Her voice trembled slightly as she exined the consequences of the thoughts going through Zach''s head.

    Zach couldn''t do anything but nod his head inpliance after hearing Luna''s exnation even though he suspected that the norm might not apply to him because of his inherent ability.

    Zach decided to shelf this idea until he had figured out more about his ability and its limitations.

    Since the constant mention of his semen had made the two feel slightly ufortable in their own way, both Zach and Luna faced away from each other and decided to take some rest. While Luna was still recovering from her injuries, Zach hadn''t slept a wink since he had been keeping watch fearing the retaliation of the men who had attacked Luna earlier.

    A night of peaceful slumber followed their hectic day but themotion continued the next morning as if it had been waiting for its cue the whole time.

    It was the proximity warning rm of the system that woke Zach up from his deep sleep. The sound was loud enough to wake the dead but Zach turned his head to see that he was the only one who was awake. Luna was still asleep oblivious to the situation as if she was unable to hear the irritating sound.

    Zach rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he contemted the situation with a clear mind this time. Of course, Luna had been unable to hear the rm. She didn''t have the Neb system after all.

    He didn''t waste any time and shook her awake by jolting her arm.

    "Heyбнwake upбнyou need to wake up right now." Zach didn''t bother being polite and jerked her awake when he saw her drooling expression.

    He put a hand over her mouth and used his other hand to put a finger on his lips, indicating her to remain silent.

    Thankfully, Luna didn''t take too long toe to terms with the situation and nodded in understanding as she pushed his hand away from her mouth.

    Luna''s face was hidden behind her terribly disheveled hair. Her bed hair was even worse than a tangled ball of thread. But surprisingly it only made her look more endearing as it added a wild tinge to her charm.

    Luna tied up her disheveled hair in a hurry as neatly as she could, given the situation and then looked at Zach for an exnation with a stern gaze.

    The satellites in the sky of Neb were used for the purpose of monitoring the entire in thaty beneath them. This world was no different.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Every action and every incident was being monitored by the satellites in the sky. There were no dead angles or blind spots for these satellites. Therefore, the system had warned Zach about the approaching danger beforehand. There were dozens of people approaching their location with a fast pace as if deliberately looking for them.

    "I heard some footsteps in the distance. There are peopleing towards us." Zach pointed in the direction where the enemy wasing from and his voice turned into a barely discernible whisper which could not attract the attention of the enemy in any way.

    Luna nodded with the same stern look and began preparing herself mentally for an uing battle albeit a little nervously.

    Zach focused on the warning rm that the system had raised and a holographic map appeared in front of him. His own position was marked with a blue arrow while there was a blue dot around him. He figured that the blue dot was probably Luna.

    That was only natural since the system hadn''t counted her as a threat since he had received the quest to save her from the system.

    Other than that, there were dozens of red dots in the surrounding area. One of those approaching had a weird energy signature that seemed oddly familiar yet Zach couldn''t quite put a finger on what it could be.

    Not waiting any longer to take a look at their surprise visitors who were most probably antagonistic towards them, Zach and Luna made a run for it. In her injured state, Luna was of no help to Zach. Rather she was a burden that he would have to carry if conflict broke out.

    Since they already knew the direction that the enemies wereing from, Zach nudged her towards the opposite direction while simultaneously grabbing his backpack with his other hand.

    Zach slung his backpack on to his shoulder and tied it around his belly before breaking into a run alongside the beautiful subus like a runaway couple, if only the circumstances had been more romantic.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The parade of enemies intruded upon the area where Zach and Luna had been just a few minutes ago as they began to look for more clues to continue their pursuit of the two.

    One of the men sat down on his toes as he touched the soil where a few drops of glistening red stained the ground. He brought his fingers close to his nose and smelled them to confirm his theory.

    "It is indeed blood. Looks like at least one of them is injured. They couldn''t have gone far." The young looking tracker stood back up as he looked for any more clues that could indicate the direction that the two had taken but before he could a heavy voice reverberated from the front.

    "No need to look for more clues. Follow me, I know where they went."

    The young man had no choice to obey because the heavy voice belonged to the person with the most authority among the group. He was not only the leader but also the strongest person in the group being a dignified mage of the E rank.

    Although it hadn''t been long since he had be a qualified mage, Braxton could already be considered a powerhouse amongst these areas. Even the lowliest of mages was still someone far above the normal humans in terms of power and individual capability.

    However the biggest reason that the young man had obediently listened to the leader was because the party was currently looking for the person who had killed Braxton''s brother and had also escaped with the subus that his brother had been chasing for some time.

    The young man was unsure whether Braxton had been looking for the culprit in order to get revenge for his brother or to im the subus for himself. Maybe it was both. But he had to admit that Braxton was their best chance at locating their target since the tracker had been unable to find any tracks that could have pointed towards the direction towards which their targets were headed. The enemy seemed to be skilled in hiding their traces as well.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 10 10 Chasing

    ?Braxton was a mage with a rare wood attribute. He was proficient in casting wood magic and a forest with such dense and towering trees was a heaven for any wood magic practitioner. This was his home turf.

    The men gave Braxton a weird look.

    "Does he really know the direction or is he just bluffing with that puffed up chest in order to show off?" One of the men couldn''t exactly put his trust in Braxton and voiced out his opinion as if talking to himself.

    "Shushбнwhat are you saying? Don''t you know he is a wood element mage? He can use the forest itself to track them with even more uracy than us." The young tracker finally decided to reveal the information that he had collected about Braxton in order to shut up the others.

    "Who knows what the agitated mage might do if he heard any of them running their mouth?" The young tracker thought silently as he doubled after Braxton.

    It wasn''t long before the group had to acknowledge the skill of the mage. The trackers soon picked up the lost trail of their enemies.

    Braxton on the other hand was sweating slightly because he had expended some of his mana trying to locate their target. He handed over the task of guiding them to the young tracker once again.

    The young tracker passed by Braxton apprehensively as he led the group forward while carefully following after the trail.

    *BOOM*

    The deafening sound hade from behind him. The tracker looked back and found a swirl of smoke and dust with a small crater in the ground and immediately halted his steps despite his natural instinct yelling at him to run away.

    One of the group members had been blown away by in the explosion and panic could be seen on the faces of everyone else.

    "It''s a trap. I should have known that the enemy so skilled at removing their traces couldn''t have left such an obvious trail behind them." Braxton ground his teeth in anger as he viciously cursed this unknown enemy.

    The group members panicked as soon as they heard the word ''Trap''. They felt their hearts being constricted under the unknown deadly threat that could pop out of anywhere.

    "Who knows how many more traps the enemy has installed on this path?" said one of the men while looking at the rest of the group in fear hoping that the rest of them would agree to run away with him.

    Some of them had the same expressions as him but the remaining ones were looking towards Braxton for some reason.

    Unlike what had happened, Braxton was a very cautious individual. If it hadn''t been for his heavy mana consumption earlier which made him feel delirious, he would have seen such a traping a long way back. s! It was toote now.

    "Everyone calm down. Don''t move and stay wherever you are. I will take care of the traps first." Braxton calmed down the rising emotion of the group and began using his wood element to scour the ground for more simr traps.

    The explosive traps that Zach had set up on his way while escaping were not very effective since they were triggered by application of pressure and not by proximity. But Zach had nted those traps so ingeniously that as long as his enemies followed after him, they were bound to trigger them sooner orter.

    Braxton spread out his mana along the path that they were going to take and the forest responded to his call. In exchange for some mana, the grass around the trees began to move and soon located the disc like explosives that Zach had nted along the path. There were several of them which made Braxton feel a little apprehensive.

    "The enemy has done a thorough job. He didn''t leave any leeway and was determined to get us out of the way if possible without making any contact. They are definitely a ruthless group." Braxton thought as he reminded himself that caution along the path was absolutely necessary.

    Soon grass covered the ces where Zach had installed the traps.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I have located all the traps. Everyone move towards me while avoiding the grassy patches. If you step on any grassy patch than you will be triggering an explosive trap, so be very careful as you move with steady steps." Braxton instructed the group severely in order to not have any more casualties because of known danger.

    When every one of his team members was safely behind him, Braxtonmanded the grass to push in on the ground with enough force so as to trigger the explosive traps.

    There were loud explosive sounds in session as if some huge fireworks festival was taking ce in the middle of the forest.

    Although Braxton managed to deactivate all the traps, his mana consumption was significant considering he had to make use of the forest like this again. But he didn''t let it show outwardly to his group, whether out of pride or out of caution was unknown,

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Zach was keeping an ear out for the sound of the explosions in order to determine the distance that he had managed to gain on his pursuers. He was delighted upon the sound of the first explosion since he knew that the enemy would proceed with caution after having witnessed the consequences of triggering a trap.

    But he was subsequently dumbfounded when he heard the series of explosions without any time difference in between. This was definitely not within his expectations. Someone who was able to find and deactivate all the explosive traps simultaneously was not any normal existence. Zach was sure of that and raised his caution up a notch.

    "So they have managed to deactivate my traps. They have some skill, I guess. Damn this weak gear. If only I had the me Gloves, all of them would be crawling beneath my feet by now." Zachined out loud due to which Luna looked at him with curiosity. She had been curious about the traps that Zach was setting along the way but had never asked him about it.

    When the explosion sounded in the distance, it was only then she knew what those weak looking traps were capable of.

    Zach was beginning to worry as his enemy turned out to be more skilled than he had anticipated. They had trackers who were able to follow him despite the fact that Zach had been cautiously clearing all his tracks while moving forward. Moreover, they had someone who was capable of identifying and deactivating his traps that he had carefully hidden in the ground and out of sight.

    Zach took out the map and looked at the red blips moving speedily towards them. It seemed that the enemy had thrown caution to the wind in order to get a hold of them.

    "We should start moving. At this rate, it won''t be long before they catch up to us." Zach said with a serious expression on his face.

    Luna on the other hand mustered up some courage and refused to go with Zach.

    "You can go ahead by yourself. It is because of me that those people are chasing us. They won''t stoping unless they find me. This way at least you will be able to escape them."

    Zach sighed heavily as he stared at Luna who looked like a scared child who was trying to look brave by clenching his teeth and balling up its hands.

    "Let me worry about that. You don''t have to think about such things. Also, who can say that I am not their target? Since I have killed their men through my traps, I may have be a target as well." Zach said in a nonchnt manner as if he didn''t care if he was a target or not.

    Luna on the other hand refused to agree to his point view. Her stubbornness was really something.

    "But if you want to escape on your own, I know you can do so without any difficulty. You are only in their range because you have to carry a useless burden like me with you. If you leave me behind, you wouldn''t have to worry about people chasing after you."

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 11 11 Encirclement

    ?"The cruelest thing one can do to someone is to crush their hope after giving it to them. If I leave you here, I would be doing the same thing. The moment I decided to save you back there, I was prepared to ensure your safety till the end. I don''t particrly do things half heartedly. So I will see this to the end. Whether you want to be saved or not, I will save you no matter what. After that you are free to do as you please with yourself."

    Zach spoke his mind in order to not make her feel like she was a burden to him.

    Luna had been through a lot but no one had cared about her in such a manner before. She was so touched that her tears were threatening to fall but she held in her emotions. She clutched her chest with her left hand in order to calm her beating heart that was making her feel such overwhelming sentiments.

    Zach closed the map and got up from the crouching position. He looked at Luna who was still sitting in the same position as if in a trance. She was clutching her chest as if she was feeling unwell. Zach figure that the girl must have been really afraid that he would leave her behind.

    "Luna, let''s go. We need to get a move on right now." Zach''s voice stressed how critical it was that they move.

    Luna had some trouble getting up but it was not to the extent that she would need his help to stand up straight. Sitting down for so long had stopped the blood flow in her legs. Once she started walking again, the feeling in her legs returned.

    Zach had seen thest position of their pursuers and had taken the exactly opposite direction.

    What he had seen on the map had given him quite the scare. The red dots on the map were trying to surround the blue dots from all directions as if to cut all their paths of escape.

    That would have been especially bad for them in this situation. Zach couldn''t afford a direct confrontation at the moment.

    Fortunately he was able to see their movements on the map and could easily sneak out of the encirclement from the tiny gaps. That''s why he always urged Luna to move faster when it came to a critical situation.

    Luna on the other hand did not understand what the man was doing. Zach would suddenly change direction without warning and would urge her to move faster. She had long since lost her direction and was unaware of where they were headed. She felt as if they had been running around in circles for a long time.

    But the fact that their pursuers had yet to even catch a sight of them, Zach surely knew what he was doing. Therefore she followed after him without question no matter how nonsensical his actions might have looked to her.

    Zach was growing more worried with time. Their enemies were growing smarter every time he escaped their encirclement. It was as if they could see his movements just like he could locate them at all times.

    The encirclement this time had been a huge one. There were even gaps between enemies as they slowly closed in on him. No matter where he decided to breakthrough from, Zach was bound to run into at least one or two of them.

    Even a cornered rat attacks fiercely, let alone Zach who had no other option left to him. So, he began preparing himself mentally just in case he had to fight his enemies while trying to protect Luna as well.

    The only reason that he had been dreading direct confrontation was that the enemy number was too high. He was bound to suffer even if he managed to take them down and there was no guarantee that he would survive the encounter considering the uncertainty of the whole situation.

    As soon as one of the enemies currently engaged in surrounding them witnessed the two moving at a breakneck speed, he shouted to gather all the attention of his teammates.

    Zach instead of slowing down only increased his speed and rushed towards the shouting enemy. He had to get past the encirclement if he wanted to have a chance at survival.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He took Luna''s hand in his left hand and used his right hand to hold the G17 pistol that was fully loaded with ammunition. Holding the gun in his hand, Zach felt a strange confidence that made him feel slightly more optimistic about the whole situation. The feeling of having the death of his enemies at just a finger squeeze away gave him a sense of security like no other.

    Luna on other hand followed him around like a lifeless doll since she was too stupefied to understand what Zach was trying to pull by rushing towards the enemy instead of running in the opposite direction.

    As soon as Zach came within fifty meters of the enemy who had been trying to raise rm, he brought his gun in front of him and aimed at the enemy while running.

    There was the sound of a single gunshot that resounded even in the distance and a stream of dark ruby blood flowed down the forehead of the enemy in front of Zach. Unfortunately, the enemy had been alerted already. Before Zach could break past the encirclement, there shouts came from either side behind him as people began to chase after him and Luna with the passion of a raged bull.

    In order to avoid being attacked from the back, Zach had no choice but to stop and eliminate the enemies in order to lose their pursuit. He pulled Luna behind him as he pointed the gun towards the enemies in the distance. The gun in his hand was no longer the G17 pistol but the only rifle in his possession.

    There were four enemies in total in his field of vision which had been perfected by ying Neb the whole time. Zach took aim and without any mercy shot with his absolute shooting prowess. Before the enemies could even understand what the thing in his hand was, bloody holes appeared at different ces on their bodies. One had been shot in the head while others had their limbs or vital organs punctured causing them a severe injury at the least that immobilized them at least if not crippled.

    The wave that arrivedter saw what happened to theirrades whenever Zach pointed the long tube in their direction and they figured that the tube was some sort of weapon that fired invisible arrows.

    Without taking any risk, the new ones hid behind huge tree trunks and took out their bows and arrows in order to fight a long range battle where risk of death was considerably lower.

    From time to time, one of them would poke their heads out and fire an arrow using their outstretched bows. Zach had to take cover before these arrowsnded on him.

    Breaking into a run, he pushed Luna behind the trunk of an especially wide tree that was enough to hold both of them behind it.

    In his mind, he had already memorized the locations of the enemies and where each of them had been hiding. Though things had gone out of hand, and the hiding enemies had the ability to give him some trouble; it was nothing that he couldn''t handle with a slight effort on his part.

    "Stay here until Ie back. Don''t poke your head out until I tell you to." Zach told her in a serious manner as he didn''t want her to fight in her injured condition.

    Luna nodded in eptance as she watched Zach slip away from behind the tree carrying that strange shing tube in his hand that produced explosive sounds repeatedly.

    "Zach aimed at the ones brave enough to attack him from behind the cover one after the other. As soon as he saw one, he shot with surprising uracy. His marksmanship was as remarkable as the most professionally trainedbat soldiers.

    Never letting of any opportunity, Zach shot down as many as he could before slipping back into cover behind another tree by rolling on the ground to avoid the iing arrows.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 12 12 Disadvantage

    ?Before long, the attackers lost their courage and became too frightened to even poke their heads out of cover. They had seen some of their people getting a hole in their heads as soon as they tried to peek at the enemy. No one wanted to suffer the same kind of death that didn''t even allow them enough time to recognize how they died.

    Since, the enemies weren''t giving him any chances, Zach figured that it was time to make a run. Before enemy reinforcements came in, he had to distance himself from the enemy as much as possible. His and Luna''s survival depended on it.

    Luna waited for Zach in the exact same ce that he had left her. Although the injuries had left her weak, Luna still wasn''t made of ss. Her heart burned with fury at those who wanted to enve her and were currently trying to harm the one person who had tried to help her. She wanted to burn these humans to ashes if only she was in her peal condition.

    "We need to move, can you hold on for a bit longer? We need to be fast if we want to put some distance between us before they catch on to what we are doing." Zach asked Luna in a low voice that suggested that he wanted to get out of here in a low key manner without alerting anyone else.

    Luna clenched her fists and put on a determined expression on her face. She looked Zach in the eyes with confidence and nodded her head vigorously.

    "That''s good. We are going to make a run for it. If someonees in our way, shower them with firepower and break through no matter what." Zach had to exin the situation and his intentions clearly to Luna who seemed a little na?ve to him.

    Zach grabbed her hand and dashed out of their hiding ce towards the location where he had killed one of the attackers earlier. The gap looked very appealing to someone like him who had already memorized the positions of the enemies.

    Running at the fastest speed that he could muster while dragging Luna behind him, Zach cautiously observed everything in his field of vision in order to react to any enemy that tried to pull a surprise attack. Zach preferred to be ready for any event. He hated it when things began to get out of his control and he took enemy surprises as his own failure to anticipate the attack.

    It didn''t take him long to breach the perimeter that the attackers had previously set up. But something at the back of his mind caused him to go into full alert. Not a single enemy had attacked him from the back as he had expected. Either the enemies were terrified past the point of no return or there was something else brewing around him.

    Zach was doubtful but he continued to run without looking back since the path ahead seemed to be clear. Luna tried to steady her heavy breath as she tried to follow in his footsteps as best as she could.

    Zach of course knew how difficult it was for the subus to move so much in her condition since he had treated her injuries in the first ce but he couldn''t allow her tog behind him even a little, not when he wasn''t sure about the current situation.

    "Stay alert, something doesn''t feel right. Don''t put your guard down just because we escaped past the encirclement." Zach increased his speed slightly forcing Luna to catch up to him.

    Luna who had a relieved expression on her face was forcefully pulled out of her fantasies. She couldn''t help but feel that Zach was being overly cautious but she had no choice but to follow after him.

    "LOOK OUT!!" Zach shouted as soon as he saw the slightest movement in his field of view.

    A momentter, a barrage of arrows came at the escaping duo from different directions. Zach pulled on Luna and took cover behind another giant tree before taking aim with his rifle.

    The earlier arrows had already revealed the locations of the enemies to Zach as he aimed his rifle in the direction of one of the archers before moving out of cover. As expected the corner of his elbow was visible from behind the tree where the archer was hiding.

    Zach didn''t waste a single moment and fired his rifle. The bullet tore through the arm bone as a piercing shriek echoed in the forest. Had he been closer, Zach would have been able to hear the sound of the bones crunching like a cracker.

    Zach carefully aimed the rifle and waited for someone to make the mistake of leaving cover but not a single one did.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zach called out to Luna and started running towards the injured attacker''s location. Based on his earlier assessment, he had been surrounded from all the directions except the direction that he hade from and the direction in which the fallen archerid.

    The gap between the injured archer and the adjacent attacker was wide enough for the two of them to escape before being attacked. Moreover, the trees would help them block most of the attacks, giving them a chance to escape undetected.

    When they were close enough to the fallen archer, Zach warned Luna to be careful. Luna readied her mes to counter attack as soon as they moved past his hiding ce.

    Zach''s rifle was already aiming at the location where he had shot the archer previously. He moved towards the position while aiming while keeping Luna behind him just in case someone popped out to attack them.

    It wasn''t long before the panting silhouette of the injured archer with outstretched arms appeared in his scope; Zach pulled the trigger with barely any timepse in between. But even that wasn''t fast enough to stop the archer from releasing thest of his arrows towards Zach. The injured archer had been aiming the bow with a notched arrow in their direction quite simr to what Zach himself had done.

    The bullet from Zach''s rifle had hit the target first which twisted the aim somewhat and the arrow swooshed past Zach harmlessly.

    "AAaahhh" Zach heard the loud scream that hade from behind him and for a moment he froze. He had failed to keep Luna safe during the confrontation.

    A yellowish red me was dancing around her hands but it wascklusterpared to the one she had been using while fighting the attackers before.

    His eyes went from the me dancing around her hands to the arrow that was currently lodged inside her right thigh. Panic stricken he rushed towards the girl in a single leap.

    He dragged her behind a nearby tree for cover in order to take a look at her wound that was slowly oozing blood. She had been weak to begin with and the blood loss was causing her vision to swim.

    ? Zach broke off the arrow from the part that was visible outside her thigh instead of trying to pull it out from the root. Pulling out the arrow would have caused her to bleed out before they even managed to escape past the encirclement of the enemies.

    "Hold it in for a while longer. I am going to carry you out of here. Just try to bear with it for a little bit more. We will be out of here soon." Zach tried to console the girl as much as he could after seeing the tears forming at the edge of her eyes from the pain that she was going through.

    "Hearing the soothing tone and the worry hidden in his voice helped Luna calm down a little. Even though the pierced portion of her thigh was throbbing painfully; she felt better knowing that Zach wouldn''t leave her behind to escape alone.

    With her cooperation, Zach managed to carry her on his back and using a rope in his backpack, he tied her carefully to himself. The close physical contact forced the two heavy but soft lumps pressing against his back to bend out of shape. Zach didn''t even have time to feel Luna''s huge assets that were about to burst out of her tight clothes.

    He was too upied trying to read the system message in bold red that was blocking his view of the front to be wondering about the size and current shape of Luna''s bust pressed against his back.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 13 13 Earth Bear

    ?Previously Zach had been receiving various system messages but he had dismissed them without reading because of the situation that he had been in. But the message written in red seemed to be something important, too important to be ignored.

    [Weight has exceeded past the limit.]

    [uracy has slightly decreased.]

    [Movement Speed has been reduced by 20%]

    Zach let out a loud a grunt in anger as he read the penalty that he had received for carrying Luna. Slightest decrease in uracy meant that he couldn''t believe in his marksmanshippletely.

    Zach didn''t bother too much about the decreased movement speed since that was obvious as he was carrying Luna.

    Zach carried Luna and ran like a maniac. He couldn''t be as cautious as before. After all, he didn''t have the same reaction time and the same uracy as before. Carrying Luna with him had bound his hands somewhat.

    Breaking past the encirclement, Zach didn''t bother slowing down. Because he wasn''t na?ve enough to assume that this was the end. The enemy had surely already set up a new encirclement while he was busy trying to carry Luna.

    [Your status has been updated from Normal ? Exhausted.]

    As expected, there was another volley of arrows waiting for him in the never ending forest.

    Zach tried to dodge as best as he could by taking into ount the trajectory of theunched arrows. He fired back with his rifle but his aim was slightly off due to the extra burden on his back and his ragged breathing.

    Even though he dodged the iing arrows as best as he could, there were still some that escaped his vision. While trying to save Luna from the iing attacks, Zach too received some minor injuries.

    An arrow managed to graze his cheek and another hurt his left hand which he had been using to support his rifle.

    [Your status has been updated from Exhausted ? Injured.]

    [Movement speed has reduced slightly.]

    Zach put his rifle away and kept on running as he switched to his pistol. Since the range of his pistol wasn''t high enough, Zach only used it for cover fire as he located the gap in the encirclement.

    Lady luck had finally smiled down on him after giving him so many handicaps earlier. There was quite a huge gap in the encirclement this time, probably because he had killed off quite a few of the enemy attackers in the previous skirmishes. This allowed him to move past the encirclement rtively easily as he continued to avoid the ranged attacks.

    Zach ran past the various encirclements as he began to umte more and more wounds in order to protect Luna but he didn''t stop even once. Stopping at this juncture was nothing less than suicide.

    Luna''s heart fell into turmoil as she watched the back of the human who was trying to save her from other humans by putting his life on the line. She wanted to tell him to leave her behind and escape but for some reason she felt that the human would never leave her behind even if she told him to.

    As Zach continued to run past the various encirclements, a bad feeling reared its head in the back of his mind as it tried to grab all his attention. Zach ignored it but soon felt as if he wasn''t escaping but he was being allowed to escape every time he rushed through the gap.

    From the earlier skirmishes, he was sure that enemy leader was a cunning one who wouldn''t allow him to escape unscathed from his encirclement.

    It wasn''t long before he figured out that he was being herded in the direction that the enemy wanted. The gap in the encirclement was alwaysrge enough to allow his escape. Even a no name leader would have managed to patch the gap by now.

    "They are not trying to kill us at all. They are trying to lead us to that direction." Zach announced his deduction out loud so as to gain Luna''s attention. He needed her valuable input in order to truly determine what trick the enemies were trying to pull.

    Luna was startled by her voice but then she figured out what he wanted to know about.<novelnext></novelnext>

    At first she couldn''t remember where she was but when she looked around carefully while taking in her surroundings, a look of absolute horror came over her face.

    "THAT''sбнthat''s the territory of the Earth Bear, a D-rank beast that is incredibly strong and sturdy. They are definitely trying to kill us by pushing us in that direction." Luna stumbled upon her words as she exined the scheme of the enemies.

    Zach nodded in understanding and finally understood how he had managed to escape even while carrying Luna so easily. If he wasn''t wrong, then the enemy leader was trying to save his men since he had already suffered a loss at his hands in the earlier skirmishes.

    "As expected, the enemy is quite cunning. He is trying to kill using a borrowed hand while keeping his losses from hurting him any further." A cruel glint shed across Zach''s eyes as he increased his speed with thest burst of his strength and dashed into the territory of the Earth Bear.

    Zach hoped and prayed vigorously for the bear to ignore him as he scuttled past its territory.

    But his heart fell as he saw the frighteninglyrge and nightmarish brown figure standing on its hind legs as if weing him with open armsбнand mouth.

    "There''s definitely no one listening to my prayers in this world as well." Zach sighed heavily as he thought to himself.

    The Earth bear had already seen himing from far off and looked as if it had been waiting eagerly for its next meal.

    The outstretched ws and the gaping maw of the beast was a stern reminder of the cruel end waiting for the two of them if they didn''t make a run for it.

    Luna suppressed a scream as if still trying not to attract the attention of the Earth Bear.

    Zach on the other hand wasn''t prepared to die in this manner. He aimed his pistol at the bear as he tried to calm down his heavy breathing. The distance was so close that Zach didn''t even have to worry about the shot missing; after all, the huge body of the bear was the only thing he could see in front of him. Even the huge tree trunk was hidden behind its body volume.

    Running like his life depended on it, which it really did; Zach pulled the trigger continuously firing his pistol towards the bear in an attempt to dy it from chasing after him.

    However, Zach''s thinking was too primitive. He had been thinking that the bear would be extremely slow since it had arge body, toorge for it to be agile enough to chase after him once Zach got ahead of it.

    s, the bear turned out to be even faster than him. Swinging its ws madly, it ran after Zach and Luna with madness in its eyes and in a single leap covered the distance that Zach had barely managed to create earlier.

    Zach could hear the sound of its breathing as it chased after him. Luna was so terrified that she would inadvertently scream every time the bear closed in on them. Her hands on the other hand tightened their hold on Zach''s neck which was bearing the brunt of her anxiety and fear.

    Zach almost gagged from the force of her hands strangling his neck. He tapped her arm that was wrapped around his neck hurriedly in order to save his neck from breaking.

    Luna finally muttered something in an inaudible tone and the force on his neck vanished.

    "It''s catching up to usбнhurry and get us out of here." Luna screamed from behind him as she barely managed to rein her fear in to tell him of the dire situation that they were in.

    "Tell me once it is really, really close." Zach shouted hurriedly and instructed Luna to be his hindsight.

    "It''sing closerбнcloserбнcloserбнit''s close enough to reach us. Do somethingбнHURRY." Luna shouted at Zach with fear and frustration of not being able to do something herself.

    Zach heard her signal and changed his direction slightly as he headed straight towards an especially sturdy tree in the vicinity. The bear gave a maddening chase as it followed after them.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 14 14 Solution

    ?When Zach reached closer to the tree, he abruptly changed direction and turned ny degrees towards the right and dashed off only to hear the sound of a thundering explosion behind him. Splintered wood showered him from the back and struck both him and Luna but Zach paid it no heed.

    The Earth Bear had collided into the tree as it had been unable to stop its chase after Zach made an abrupt turn. The giant and sturdy tree was crushed to splinters with the momentum of the Earth Bear that was a D-rank beast.

    Zach didn''t stop to even check the result of his ingenious strategy and continued to run as if death itself was chasing after him.

    Zach was constantly looking for a ce to escape the pursuit of the giant bear. His eyes darted about searching for something in his field of vision that could provide him with even a semnce of safety.

    "Someone finally decided to take pity on me." Zach let out a sigh of relief as he found a small crevice at the edge of his vision. It was small enough for him and Luna to pass through but it was definitely not something that the Earth Bear could enter nor could it break down the entire hill to force us out of the hole.

    But to think that something so good had fallen in hisp as soon as he asked for it, Zach refused to believe it.

    As he had expected, it really wasn''t going to be easy. The Earth Bear that had fallen behind was already catching up to them with bloodthirsty eyes and its speed was even faster than before.

    Zach''s mind was on the crevice as that was the only possible method to save himself and Luna from ending their miserable existence as a snack for the bear or not.

    "Just a bit moreбнalmost thereбн" Zach told himself as he didn''t want to give up midway by losing his spirit.

    The bear on the other hand had lost all sense of reason as it tried to bite them out of the air with his powerful jaws. It followed after them closely and opened his mouth to take a bite out of them like some rabid dog.

    Pulling out some strength that even he didn''t know existed; Zach used thest burst to gain a momentary advantage.

    Entering the crevice, Zach''s legs were about to give up but he forcefully pulled himself and Luna into the hollow space beyond the crevice that would be perfectly out of the reach of the Earth Bear.

    The Earth Bear on the other hand faced the repeat of the earlier incident where he had ended up crashing into the tree. But in this case, it crashed into solid stone that was as durable as it could be. Even the bear with its D rank strength was unable to take a chunk out of it.

    It kept mming into it in an attempt to get into the crevice but the opening was too small for a bear of its stature to move into it. When entry failed, the bear managed to push his front paw into the crevice with the intention to drag out the hiding humans from the hole.

    Zach could finally rx after seeing the scene of the Earth Bear uselessly crashing against the entryway of the cavern that he was currently in.

    The cavern was not toorge but it was spacious enough to house the two of themfortably. Its walls were made of solid stone that was stronger than it looked.

    The interior was dark and the only source of light in the cave was the entrance which was blocked by the Earth Bear from time to time as it crashed against solid stone in order to get to them.

    Zach unwound the rope that he had used to tie Luna to himself and slowly let her down to the ground. Her thigh was still injured so Zach tried to be extra careful not to let her go through too much pain in the process.

    "We can take a rest here since the bear can''t get in here. After you recover, we can then think of a way out of hereбнokay?" Zach felt concerned about Luna who looked as if she had lost a lot of blood and was waning in and out of consciousness.

    Luna nodded in understanding as she tried to stay conscious for as long as possible.

    Zach opened his backpack and took out the emergency first aid kit from it. He had to pull out the shaft of the arrow that was still stuck inside her thigh before her wound got infected.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I am going to cut the arrow out of your thigh." Zach looked at Luna with concern as if asking her permission to touch her.

    "Do it." Luna nodded in understanding. She didn''t want to be a burden to Zach any longer. He had alreadye close to dying so many times while trying to drag her with him through the forest.

    "It''s going to hurt terribly. Close your eyes and clench your teeth tightly and try not to move." Zach used a soothing voice almost like a doctor trying to calm down his patient before surgery.

    He pulled out the arrow by making a slight incision on the thigh. Thankfully, the arrow had missed the veins and was easily pulled out. But what surprised him was that throughout the process Luna hadn''t screamed or moved even once.

    "She is a tough girl. I can only imagine what she had to go through that made her this strong." Zach thought with pity as he closed the wound and put a bandage on it before proceeding to treat the rest of her slight injuries that she had received during the chase by the bear.

    "All right, it''s done. You can take a rest now."

    Luna was still delirious but it wasn''t to the extent of passing out. She only looked a little sleepy to be exact and that could be cured with a little rest.

    Zach treated his own wounds andy down in order to rest for a while. It wasn''t as if there was something else to do in that cavern.

    The only exit of the cavern was being blocked by a terrifying bear and there was supposedly a group of people out there somewhere waiting to collect their corpses after the rampage of the Earth Bear. They were the ones who were responsible for the current situation and Zach intended to make them pay for his near death experience.

    As Zach had expected, Braxton had stopped his men a considerable distance away from the territory of the Earth Bear. His expression was grave as the situation had unfolded in the most unexpected manner. The enemy had been exceptionally powerful and had used mysterious means to kill several of his men while trying to escape.

    Braxton had no choice but to engineer the scheme that followed. He could only use the Earth Bear to kill Zach and Luna as he did not want to suffer more losses.

    "Let''s get their bodies after the Earth Bear has mutted them to his heart''s content. Once the Earth Bear goes berserk, it won''t calm down for a while. We will wait until it has calmed down before making our move." Braxton instructed his men as they began setting up camp right outside the territory of the Earth Bear.

    Inside the cave, Luna woke up after some time. Zach was already awake by then and was busy tinkering with his guns while he waited for Luna to wake up.

    "How long was I asleep for?" Luna asked him groggily.

    "It wasn''t that long. You can sleep for a bit more if you want." Zach replied without looking up.

    "It isn''t sleep that I need. I almost passed out earlier because I am hungry." Luna was slightly embarrassed as she told him the true reason behind her current condition.

    "Not only can I recover faster, but I will also be able to fight with my entire strength once I have eaten my fill." Luna looked at Zach with a gaze that was a mixture of innocence and embarrassment.

    Zach unconsciously reached out inside her backpack to get some jerky when he heard that she was hungry. But halfway through, he remembered that she didn''t eat anything other thanбн

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 15 15 The Fiery Succubus

    ?"Wait a minuteбнshe cannot eat anything other than semen." Zach felt a little weirded out by the way Luna was looking at him as if he was some kind of a tasty snack. Even her drool was slightly visible from where he was sitting.

    [You have found a worthy candidate to receive your seed.]

    [Powerful me element has been detected. The me element can be extracted by having sex with the woman who is the owner of that element.]

    [You have found one of the hidden conditions for unlocking more powerful weapons.]

    [Condition: Have sex with a woman embodying powerful me attribute in her body. Embrace the me inside her to awaken your dormant me deep within your bones.]

    [A sudden quest "The Fiery Subus" has been generated.]

    [Quest Description: You have chanced upon a subus who has a powerful me element hidden inside her body. She is full of dormant potential and has the ability to advance her strength using your ability. Have sex with her and satisfy her desirepletely in order to draw out and absorb the precious fire element from her body while she is in her weakened state temporarily.]

    [Quest Clear Condition: Manage to have sex with the subus at least once and absorb the fire element from her body.]

    [Quest Clear Reward: Unlock the next tier of weapons bearing the fire attribute. The weapons will be avable in your arsenal from the moment they are unlocked.]

    [Quest Failure Penalty: --]

    His face heated up as he read the system messages that kept popping in front of him ever since Luna started to look at him with eyes that were clouded by hunger and something else.

    Zach made up his mind a secondter since he remembered the possibility of unlocking the fire attribute weapon ''me Gloves''.

    Zach had finally glimpsed his way out of this ce. He was confident that with the help of the me Gloves, he could easily defeat the enemies who had pushed him into this situation where he was unable to even raise his face out of the sheer embarrassment.

    "Let me suck out your semen. I need to replenish my strength if we want to escape from this ce. Otherwise I will keep being a burden on you." Luna finally asked Zach in between heavy breaths while she tried to control herself from pouncing on him.

    Zach was unable to answer following the straightforward manner in which she had asked him.

    Luna felt that Zach wasn''t willing. Quite contrary to that, Zach was very willing. Especially after the system messages suggesting that he have sex with Luna to unlock new weapons. Zach was naturally tempted but he couldn''t be as straightforward as Luna.

    Fortunately, Luna was quite persistent. Thinking that Zach was against her suggestion, she tried to convince him with logic.

    "We both know that even you can''t take that bear outside with those mysterious weapons of yours. Earlier they didn''t even have the slightest effect on it. You might not know but that Earth Bear is a D rank monster. Even if I was in my strongest state, I would barely be able to create an opportunity for us to escape."

    Zach tried to gauge the actual strength of the bear after hearing her words but to Luna it felt as if her words were getting through to him. So, she kept talking with some hope in her eyes.

    "If it weren''t for this situation, I would have died before doing something that might hurt you. But I am being forced by the current situation because the alternative is to let you die the most miserable death along with me. I won''t have that on my conscience especially when you are currently in this situation because of me." Luna was determined to save him no matter what.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zach had nothing to say in such a situation. He was already feeling awkward considering the fact that it hadn''t been very long since he came to know Luna. Despite the ufortable feeling, Zach forced himself to go through with it in order to unlock the me gloves.

    "Fine let''s get it over with then." Zach tried to be cool about it but the weird manner in which his face was twitching and his awkward voice that sounded overly shrill gave away his the true state of his mind.

    Zach was feeling absolutely nervous and terribly awkward at the same time if that was even possible.

    Luna was extremely overjoyed by his agreement and immediately sat on her feet in front of him without dy. Her ruby eyes looked at him expectantly while blushing slightly like a newlywed wife about to experience her first time.

    She carefully grabbed his legs for support as her leg was still injured and she was having trouble sitting down properly.

    Zach looked at her anticipating gaze and thest of his mental barriers gave way. He unzipped his pants and pulled down his underwear to reveal the already bulging cock.

    Zach felt his body heating up like a furnace as he witnessed the fascinated expression on Luna''s face. The subus seemed to be satisfied with his assets and that stroked his male ego as he watched her admire his member fully with uncharacteristic patience.

    Luna on the other hand was looking at his dick as if it was a feast with her drool leaking from the side of her mouth.

    It had been a while since she had fed properly which had left her weak and unable to even fight against the vers earlier. Therefore this reaction was quite normal.

    Luna pounced on his dick with the ferocity of a tigress. She grabbed his shaft in her hand as she measured the thickness and the strength contained in the burning rod. She gently stroked it with expert skill as she looked him in the eyes with a seductive yet innocent charm that had been missing in their earliermunications.

    Zach was mesmerized with the way she looked now, a demoness capable of overthrowing the kingdom of men with a single seductive look. Zach got lost in her charm as his hand inadvertently caressed the top of her head gently as she serviced him with a hungry look that made her appear pitiful.

    Zach pulled his hand back with a jerk as his mind became lucid for a moment. He shook his head as if to clear all distractions but to his astonishment, the only things he could think about were the intense pleasure of Luna''s fetio and a slight unease that she might have seen him pulling his hand back earlier. He was afraid that she might have felt hurt.

    "She isn''t a subus for nothing I guess." Zach thought to himself before his mind went nk from the sudden pleasure that attacked him out of nowhere.

    His eyes almost rolled back ass her softness enveloped his dick and something stroked the tip of his cock with such skill that a groan filled with pleasure escaped his lips inadvertently. His legs almost buckled and he barely stopped himself from falling down on his ass.

    Looking down at the source of the addictive pleasure, he found Luna sucking on his dick with a slutty expression on her face. She grabbed his legs for support as her mouth moved back and forth on his cock and she made lewd noises as his cock gagged her but even that didn''t stop her from caressing his thing like it was the most delicious snack in the world.

    Zach let go of all hesitation as he dived head first into the ocean of pleasure. His hands moved to the back of Luna''s head as if urging her to speed up.

    Luna felt his desire and reciprocated by moving faster along the length of his shaft. It wasn''t long before she felt the huge dick throbbing in her mouth and knew that Zach was about to spray his load. She used her tongue as she sucked on the magnificent rod that was about to feed her and used both of her hands to rub his dick in between her blowjob.

    The smell of his dick intoxicated her like the finest wine as she sucked on it until the dams crumbled. His hands cupping the back of her head forcefully pulled her in and the very next second, her mouth was filled up with the creamy and sticky vor of vitality and desire.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 16 16 Her Charm

    ?Zach sprayed out his load endlessly like a gushing spring but Luna was experienced enough to not let it flow out of her mouth. She couldn''t waste the precious semen of her savior; after all. She swallowed with some difficulty and ingested every bit of his semen.

    She was breathing heavily and looked like she had barely escaped drowning in his excessive load of cum but only the seductive moans between her ragged breaths and the satisfied smile on her face portrayed the reality of her feelings.

    Luna opened her mouth wide like a yawning cat to show him how she hadn''t wasted a single drop of his precious seed and looked at him expectantly as if waiting to be praised.

    "How do you expect me to hold back after seeing you act like that?"

    Zach thought as he barely held himself back from jumping at her right there and then.

    Initially Zach tried to control his runaway urges but the unexpected pleasure from that single blowjob was simply too good for him to forget so easily. He didn''t want it to end as soon as was evident from his little soldier that refused toy low. It was standing at attention even after being drained once.

    His thinking that had never had a problem taking the big picture into ount became clouded with some kind of fog that prevented him from judging the situation clearly.

    On top of that the system messages kept shing in his mind like the reminders from the devil as they kept urging him to have sex with Luna who looked way too seductive and almost inviting with that charming expression stered over her face.

    His eyes kept darting to her lips as she smacked them with her tongue trying to retrieve any stray remnants of his seed into their rightful ce. Zach couldn''t hold himself back after seeing such a sight. He wouldn''t be a man if he could.

    Luna wasn''t faring any better either. She who didn''t want to devour the vitality of her savior was looking at his dick with a strange glint in her eyes. The heavenly aftertaste on the tip of her tongue, the slightly sticky feeling in her mouth and the dangerously throbbing dick in her vision were awakening something in her on an instinctual level. A desire that was far more primitive and far wilder than what she had ever felt before reared its head like a monster announcing its awakening with a terrifying roar. She knew that this wasn''t hunger but purely indulgence and her longing for sex.

    She could finally feel why those few of her race went so far as to antagonize the entire human race to satisfy their wild carnal desires. She could even begin to understand why those humans kept returning to those of her tribe even while being fully aware of the consequences of such an action.

    As Zach approached her again with heavy steps, she became unable to move as she anticipated what was about to conspire next. He grabbed her head and pulled her in towards his throbbing dick once again. It didn''t take long for her barely functioning mind to copse in its entirety following that. She found herself imagining what sex with Zach would feel like. Despite not wanting to take advantage of his tolerance, she kept looking at him as if asking for something more from him.

    Her eyes gradually fell out of focus as the desire for sex took over her cognitive function. Her whole body tingled with unknown sensations and her skin became overly sensitive to his touch. Strange images kept popping inside her head as her body grew hotter with every breath she took.

    She jumped his dick with more fervor as she licked every part of it with her slimy tongue. At the same time, she started twisting weirdly as if she was feeling ufortable in her clothes.

    Zach didn''t let her continue and grabbed her arm and pulled her up to standing position.

    Luna stared at him aggressively as if he had taken something vital from her without asking her. Zach on the contrary smiled as he saw how fierce and angry she was acting to be since he knew how she usually was.

    Luna was already half out of her mind as she asked for his body openly by stretching her arms wide as if asking to be embraced.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zach didn''t disappoint her and pulled her closer as his tongue sought hers amidst the battle of their bodies. The two twined their bodies around each other as if they wanted to merge within each other.

    Zach must have exchanged a few liters of saliva amidst the sloppy kisses that she pestered him with. Zach didn''t mind and reciprocated and at the same time felt that the subus was literally going to eat him alive if he wasn''t careful.

    Her sex drive was so strong that even the desire that he had felt earlier was nothing in front of her. She was practically manic about his cock and couldn''t look away from it for even a minute.

    Zach had to take off her clothes amidst the kisses since she wasn''t willing to let go of him for single second. She acted as if she was glued to his body and clung on to him no matter how hard he tried to separate from her.

    As he took off her shanty clothing, the glistening white skin underneath captivated all of his attention especially her thighs that looked so soft and tender that he grew afraid that he might hurt her with the slightest application of force.

    Therefore, he handled her like the most precious work of art he had everid his eyes on. The perfect bodily figure that had grown more apparent after the shedding of her clothes made him want to worship her as a piece of art with every fiber of his being. He was sure that there couldn''t exist in all the universes out there, a real woman who was as perfect and as full of charm as Luna.

    Her body trembled as she hungrily sucked on his tongue with her mischievous honey vored lips. Her hands scoured his back in a chaotic manner as if trying to learn about every nook and cranny of his body.

    Zach reciprocated in turn and finally rested his hands on the now free and unfettered treasures on her chest. He gripped the softness that he had only imagined so far in his hands and molded them into various shapes to draw out the excited and lewd moans from her mouth.

    Luna couldn''t think properly, her mind had already lost all function and whatever little reason remained was focused on not forgetting the pleasure that she was currently feeling. She had already handed herself to the human who was the reason behind the euphoria that her body was feeling.

    Zach pinched her nipple between the index finger and the thumb eliciting a scream from her mouth as if he had caught her unaware. It was possible that even Luna had not known how sensitive her breasts were. The electrifying touch had made her jump in pleasure. She looked at Zach with clouded eyes as if she sought nothing but the same feeling over and over again.

    Luna looked like she was clearly begging for more and would start crying if he didn''t fulfill her vulgar demands.

    Zach gave her what she wanted and plunged his head into her cleavage as he bit and sucked on her nipples with considerable strength. But what Luna felt wasn''t pain from his barbaric bites, but infinite pleasure that caused her body to tremble and her mind to go numb.

    Unable to control herself, Luna rubbed her legs against each other as her arms tightened their around Zach''s body as if she didn''t want to let go of him. Zach yed with her body like it was an instrument that he was well versed in.

    One of his hands slid downwards from her breasts as if in slow motion and streaked across her slim belly that was devoid of any fat before reaching her precious flower.

    When his fingers touched her flower bud, the resultant shock was not in any way less than an earthquake that travelled the entire length of her body shaking her very soul. It was as if a fountain had sprung a leak somewhere as her lower body waspletely drenched in a matter of seconds.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 17 17 Give It To Me

    ?Zach was dumbfounded as he felt that this subus was a little strange. How could she have such low tolerance when it came to such acts?

    Zach didn''t let her take a breather as his fingers found their way inside exploring and touching every wall and every fold with care and attention.

    Her body twitched in response and her legs grew weaker by the second but Zach carefully held her slowly liquefying body in his arms to not let her fall.

    Luna felt what it must feel like to be in heaven for the first time in her life. Despite being a subus, this was the first time she had felt this kind of extreme hunger in her life. It was as if Zach secreted some kind of pheromones that she was unable to resist and could her sense of judgment and rationality like a ss covered by mist.

    Luna could barely hold herself back. She couldn''t wait anymore because it felt as if her loins would incinerate her if she did.

    Zach on the other hand was busy exploring her insides as he nibbled on her breasts like a baby with a monstrous hunger.

    She brought her lips close to his ears as her head rested on top of his shoulder and her hot breath stroked the side of his neck like the whisper of the devil himself.

    "Hahбнhahбнhahбн~aaAAh" Luna couldn''t let out a peep even though she wanted to tell him to stop ying with her.

    "Hah,,,give itбн" Luna finally managed to let out a barely audible squeak that reached Zach albeit with some difficulty even though her lips were practically touching his ears.

    Zach who was busy ying with her body couldn''t hear her properly but he could tell that she had said something just then.

    "What?" Zach asked with a voice that was both teasing and yful.

    "I can''tбнI can''t waбнwait." Luna barely let out a whisper in between her seductive moans.

    "What?" Zach couldn''t understand what she was getting at.

    "Tooбнhot. Give itбнto meбнNOW!" Luna used her perfect teeth to bite into his shoulder as if aggrieved that Zach had kept her waiting for so long.

    To Zach it felt like the yful bite of a cat that he had once had in the previous world. There was no pain at all. Her words from before were spinning inside his head and were close to taking away all his reason.

    Zach put both of his hands on her slim waist and lifted her up and as if in a tacit understanding Luna wound her legs around his waist tightly.

    Zachid her down on the ground andid down on top of her. Her misty eyes looked too inviting for him to back down at this moment.

    Zach moved his waist and pushed his dick forward, easily piercing her womanhood.

    A loud cry escaped Luna''s mouth as the huge dick continued to pull her apart from the insides as it plunged deeper inside her.

    She felt her insides breaking apart as each and every cell of her body rejoiced in pleasure and jubtion.

    Luna wrapped her smooth and polished legs around his waist and pulled him in with all the strength she had and urged him to go deeper, far deeper than anyone had ever traversed.

    Zach reciprocated and turned into an unrelenting explorer who broke into the deepest parts of her without caution. His shaft became a sharp spear that pierced her over and over again as Zach continued to thrust it into her without mercy.

    No matter how fast Zach rammed into her or how deep he ventured inside her, Luna kept asking for more.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zach felt as if he had stuck himself into a quagmire that he couldn''t get out from. Luna was a wild beast when it came to sex. For the first time he felt that he might have underestimated the sexual desire of a subus.

    Giving into his instinct, Zach forgot himself in the softness of Luna''s body and her aphrodisiac smell. Only after a few hours of vigorous pounding did Lunae back to her senses. Shey on top of Zach''s chest, panting and tired from all the hard work.

    Zach was rubbing her back with his right hand as his left hand was calmly resting on her bubbly butt. He caressed her body gently in his embrace and the tenderness of his touch did not stay hidden from Luna who had a smile on her face.

    Although they had already been at it for more than two hours, there was not a hint of satisfaction on their faces. The limitation of stamina had bound them to rest for a bit otherwise the burning lust within the two was still hotter than moltenva.

    "I want more." Luna whispered into his ears with a creeping blush on her face. Now that the two of them had already crossed the line, Luna wasn''t holding back any longer and was enjoying the pleasures of sex.

    As she seductively blew her breath in his ears and bit his earlobe with her pearly white teeth, her hand snaked down towards his little brother that was on its way to the top once again.

    Zach had never expected how terrifying her appetite was. She had practically sucked him dry in thest few hours and was still raring to go after only a little break.

    The way she grabbed his dick without a warning after every minute or two, Zach could only conclude that she was either a nymphomaniac who was addicted to his dick or she just liked making a fool out of him by seeing his surprised look.

    His concerns might have been true since Luna really hadn''t let go of any opportunity to grab a hold of his dick and every single time she hadn''t failed to sh him a satisfied but teasing grin.

    It wasn''t as if Zach was an herbivore either. Even though Luna loved it more than he did and had more stamina, Zach didn''t let go of a single opportunity to indulge himself.

    He was just as guilty as Luna was. He had never once tried to reject her advances. He could feel how men in this world couldn''t'' stay away from subi even though they knew what their end would be.

    Since Zach had been doing all the work, Luna pushed Zach on to the ground to which he generously acquiesced.

    "It''s my turn now." Luna''s musical voice sounded extremely seductive as she gazed at him from where she was sitting on his waist.

    Zach held her waist and let her do what she wanted. He was a little tired but his sparkling eyes showed how excited he was even after being exhausted to that extent.

    Luna used her hand to position his spear before sitting on it with afortable moan. Her voice was the measure of how blissful she felt at that moment.

    Her hips moved in conjunction with her heavy breathing and her jiggling treasures shook chaotically with each movement. No man could have taken their eyes off of such a sight, let alone Zach who had no experience in the field. The sight of Luna bouncing on her bubbly ass while shaking her mounds vigorously with a lewd expression was far too enticing. Under the stimtion of such a sight, it wasn''t long before Zach felt theing of his spring.

    He brought back the initiative by pushing Luna to the ground and thrust his dick inside her with all the strength contained in his hips...or at least what remained of it after Luna had drained him.

    Forgetting about the group of enemies who were waiting for their demise outside and the Earth Bear lounging close by, Zach and Luna engaged in wild animalistic sex. It was as if two beasts in heat were mating with each other not caring about anything else in the world.

    Zach felt his legs grow a little weak as he grabbed her legs and pulled her towards him before spurting his milky dew inside her womanhood.

    Luna felt something hot flowing deep inside her as the path that the liquid traversed became searing hot like moltenva had been injected inside her womb.

    Her womb was filled to the brim with the foreign invasion of the searing liquid. Despite the heat that it brought in her, she felt as if she had received something that her soul had been craving for centuries.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 18 18 New Weapons

    ?She cried out in pain as she saw something emerge on her abdomen. Her eyesight grew blurry as her vision narrowed into a tunnel.

    Not long after, her eyespletely rolled back in their sockets and Luna passed outpletely but not before witnessing the truth of the pattern that had emerged on her abdomen.

    At first she was shocked beyond her senses as if her mind was unable toprehend what had happened.

    It was a red me pattern that was of the same color as that of a brilliantly burning me in all its glory. The me pattern lit up the surroundings with its appearance and gave her body an unnaturally beautiful glow before vanishing into oblivion. It could not be confirmed whether the me pattern had truly vanished or not since this kind of incident while notpletely unheard of, was definitely very rare to encounter.

    Zach somehow managed toe out victorious in the battle of lust and that too against a subus. Zach had quite a feat under his belt now that he had managed to fuck a subus to exhaustion, a race that was considered to be at the pinnacle of libido.

    As if the system had been waiting for Luna to pass out, several system notifications rang out in session and messages clogged up Zach''s vision.

    [You were sessful in establishing sexual rtions with a subus who was full of potential and fire. Using her weakened condition you managed to bring out the fire element hidden inside her body and have sessfully absorbed it.]

    [Quest clear conditions for "The Fiery Subus" have been achieved sessfully.]

    [Calcting your rewardбн]

    [You have sessfully unlocked next tier of advanced weaponry. Seal on the summoning of some advanced weapons has been lifted.]

    [The weapons will always be avable in the Weapons Arsenal and can be obtained whenever required.]

    This was what Zach had been waiting for. He finally had ess to advanced weaponry since what he already had was just basic gear avable to all the yers. On the other hand, Zach was feeling unarmed based on the fact that he had been the top yer of the game and had never had to resort to using such basic weaponry even in the direst of moments except his beginner days.

    Zach prayed with all his heart, knowing that there was no god out there with enough time to listen to his pathetic requests. He truly hoped to find what he had been anticipating or the loss of his virginity would have been for nothing.

    Still he didn''t rush. He had to wait until he cleared the notification screen to ensure that he didn''t miss anything important.

    As if to prove what he had been thinking, the system notification rang once again.

    [Calcting your rewardбн]

    "There''s more?" Zach thought to himself with surprise. He had not expected that even after the weapons had been unlocked, the system would keep on calcting more rewards.

    He opened the quest screen and checked the quest rewards for "The Fiery Subus" and found nothing wrong. The reward for the quest was the unlocking of weapons and nothing else.

    As Zach was anticipating the next reward with his mouth wide open in excitement, a new notification rang out.

    [Hidden condition for an additional reward has been met.]

    [You have managed to sessfully charm the Fiery Subus.]

    [Favorability with ''Luna'' has increased tremendously. Luna has unconditional trust in you and will treat you differently based on the amount of favorability umted.]

    All the built up excitement went down the drain as soon as Zach saw the reward. Favorability with Luna had increased as a reward.

    "This is far from enough." When Zach had seen the message that some hidden condition had been met, he had felt as if he was in heaven. But the reward had thrown him down into the deepest hell with endless torture and suffering.

    This was probably the worst kind of reward for Zach in his current situation. While Zach had needed some life saving ability, fighting skill or some hidden weapon to fight off his enemies, he had received the least lucrative of the results.

    Not only would Luna begin to rely on him more because of the reward, Zach might even have to keep her safe despite the harm to himself in order to keep her favorability towards him from decreasing. The reason was that gaining favorability was easierpared to losing it and losing favorability often came with penalties.

    Zach couldn''t afford one at the moment.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Considering that Luna was the only source of information in this new world that he had found until now. Zach had been in between a rock and a hard ce. On one hand, he couldn''t let go of Luna while on the other hand, he couldn''t go as far as to harm his own interests to protect her.

    Through the shitty reward, the system had at least made that choice easier for him. At least for now, he couldn''t abandon Luna and had to protect her.

    After clearing all the notifications, Zach couldn''t help himself and took a peek inside his weapon arsenal. The avable options among the countless weapons were clearly highlighted and their names were written in bold for ease.

    Zach went through the list as his eyes scanned it for the weapons he was wishing for in his heart. His bodynguage spoke legends of his nervousness. His feet were in constant motion at the spot like some kind of vibrator. Sweat covered his forehead which made his skin sparkle like diamonds in the presence of scanty sunlighting from the cracks in the cave ceiling. His clenched and unclenched his hands from time to time in order to calm his emotions that were in turmoil.

    Fortunately, the nerve wracking condition of Zach didn''tst for very long. An excited yell escaped his lips as soon as he found what he had been looking for.

    "YES!...YES!...YESSS!" Zach punched some imaginary enemies in the air as he screamed in excitement.

    Luna who was still unconscious after their bout was unaware of what was happening around her. Even if she was conscious, it would have been hard for her toprehend Zach''s excitement since she didn''t know the existence of Neb System.

    The corner of his mouth turned upwards and soon the smile turned into a fully fledged grin. He was satisfied with the reward after all. The system rewards for the quest was quite generous after all. He had not only found the "me Gloves" in his arsenal but had also found another item that left him breathless.

    [me Gloves]

    [Physical Damage: 750]    [Magic Damage: 2000]

    [Durability: 100/100]

    [Weapon Description: A pair of ming gloves crafted by a genius cksmith using advanced techniques of magic forging aided by an A rank fire mage. The gloves despite being made of leather provided an unusually high defense and defense pration ability.]

    [Weapon Skills]

    [Firestorm]

    [Effect: The gloves have been imbued with fire magic of the highest quality and each attack has a 20% chance of setting the target on fire. The chance increases by 1% with each sessful critical hit up to a total of 50%]

    [Infernal Origin]

    [Effect: The mes around the gloves will never harm the user and will increase resistance against fire magic by 10%.]

    The weapon me Gloves was the most appropriate weapon for Zach at the current stage. Not only was it the most brilliant weapon amongst the low level weapons in his arsenal, the damage dealing capability was significantly high because with Zach''s expertise critical hits were a piece of cake.

    Zach could not contain his enthusiasm as he found the same skills attached to the weapons as he was used to in his previous world. Without lingering any longer, Zach dismissed the weapon details and focused on the other equipment that had managed to catch his eye among the newly unlocked ones.

    [Artificial Skeleton Armor (Low-Level)]

    [Physical Defense: 1000]  [Magic Defense: 450]

    [Durability: 100/100]

    [Description: The armor was forged by an experienced cksmith who wanted to give low level warriors enough defenses to fight higher level beings using easily avable materials. Despite being forged from the bones of low level defense oriented beasts, the forging technique of the cksmith has brought about the hidden strength of the armor. Uncharacteristically high physical and magic defense allow the user to take 3 blows from an opponent one rank higher than the user without losing durability.]

    ...бн.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 19 19 Critical Hit

    ?[Description: The armor was forged by an experienced cksmith who wanted to give low level warriors enough defenses to fight higher level beings using easily avable materials. Despite being forged from the bones of low level defense oriented beasts, the forging technique of the cksmith has brought about the hidden strength of the armor. Uncharacteristically high physical and magic defense allow the user to take 3 blows from an opponent one rank higher than the user without losing durability.]

    [Weapon Skills]

    [Imprable Wall]

    [Effect: The user has 60% increased physical defense in exchange for 30% increase in magic damage received for the duration of 6 seconds.]

    [Cool down time: 2 minutes]

    [Anti-Magic Shield]

    [Effect: The user will have 60% increased magic defense in exchange for 30% increase in physical damage received for the duration of 6 seconds that the skill remains active.]

    [Cool down time: 2 minutes]

    [Death Incarnate]

    [Effect: The unnatural skeleton like appearance of the armor induces fear in the enemies. Upon activation of the skill all those who can see the armor fall into a state of fear and will be unable to move for 3 seconds. The effect will vanish if the user takes damage during the duration of the status effect or the armor vanishes from the line of sight of the opponent.]

    [Cool down Time: 10 minutes]

    This was one of the low level armors that Zach had loved to use when he had been low level in the world of Neb. Now that he had gotten his hands on two of his favorite items, Zach was nning to unleash himself onto his enemies. He was going to give them the same kind of despair that he had felt while fleeing for his life along with Luna previously.

    But first things first, he had to take care of the Earth Bear who was still sitting guard outside the cave as if Zach had been its mortal enemy in his past life.

    Zach had no enmity with the beast but the way the bear had almost pushed him and Luna to their deaths, Zach could not forget so easily.

    Zach gave the sleeping Luna ast nce. From the up and down movement of her chest as she breathed, Zach could tell that she was still in deep sleep. Without disturbing her, he gathered his things that had been strewn around the cave during their tussle and put them all in the backpack before heading out of the cave with sneaky but determined steps.

    Sunlight assaulted his eyes as he took his first step out of the cave. In the previous chase by the bear, Zach had failed to notice that the canopy of the skyscraping trees was missing in this particr area and in its ce was a lone hill that rose into the sky some distance away. The crevice that he and Luna had rushed into was only the beginning of the inclining ground towards the hill.

    The bear who had been pretending to be asleep with one eye open, saw that the human hade out of the hole in the ground and roared as its body arched like that of a cat about to pounce on its target.

    Zach didn''t wait any longer and equipped both the Fire Gloves and the Artificial Skeleton Armor (Low Level) before rushing towards the bear with the ferocity of the savages in the ancient times.

    A guttural roar escaped his lips as heunched an offensive on the Earth Bear even before the bear could use his raised ws to attack.

    The gloves on his hands let out a crimson glow as the area around his hands burst into fire before making contact with the golden brown fur of the giant bear.

    Fear shed in its intelligent eyes as the smelling of burning fur permeated the air. Beasts were inherently afraid of fire and this bear as it turned out wasn''t any different.

    Luck was with Zach as the effect of Firestorm skill attached to the gloves activated on his first hit even though the activation rate of the skill was only one in five hits.

    The golden brown fur turned sooty ck as fire creeped all over its skin. It gave out an angered roar as it went berserk with its eyes turning red with bloodlust.

    Zach ignored it he attempted to dodge its berserk attacks. Thankfully the bear wasn''t as agile as he had imagined. In fact the earth bear specialized in defense and vitality. It was an enemy that was hard to take down but not a difficult enemy to defeat.

    Zach didn''t stay in his position for long as the bear was attacking indiscriminately. Zach had to be very careful while attacking in order to remain unscathed. This was imperative since Zach had more enemies to deal with after the bear. And for that he had to be in his optimal condition.

    The bear didn''t get an opportunity to attack Zach as he never stayed in front of the bear after the attack. Instead of staying in the attack range of the bear where he could receive some damage, Zach preferred to attack from the back. Although such attacks couldn''t be critical hits since the back clearly wasn''t the weak point of the bear, Zach could avoid all iing attacks whileunching punches of his own.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Slowly but surely, the Bear began to be exhausted by his relentless attacks. The attack pattern of the bear didn''t change at all but its movements became increasingly chaotic and random. Zach put some distance between himself and the bear just to be careful.

    But by doing that, he also gave the Earth Bear some respite.

    The Bear let out a pained roar as it charged towards the human that had been the reason for all its pain.

    As if Zach had been waiting for that to happen, he activated one of the skills attached to his armor.

    "Death Incarnate"

    Zach broke into a run in the direction of the charging bear as he knew that the bear would soon fall into the fear state under the effect of the skill.

    The pupils of the bear dted as it saw the bony armor of the human and fear of the predator took over all its senses. It paused in its steps, unable to move even in an inch. In its eyes the human grewrger andrger until it was right in front of its eyes.

    Zach made sure that the eye contact never broke as the bear remained in the paralyzed state as he punched the bear in its eyes.

    mes burst out of his gloves and prated the delicate defenses of its eyes.

    [Critical Hit]

    The effect of Firestorm allowed Zach to increase the chances of burning the enemy with mes after each sessful critical hit. Therefore, Zach didn''t stop with a single punch and broke into a flurry of fists as the bear used its arms to try to swat him away.

    [Critical Hit]

    [Critical Hit]

    [Critical Hit]

    [Critical Hit]

    бн

    Unfortunately, it had already lost its vision from the previous attack. The mes were wreaking havoc in its eye sockets as Zach continued to pummel its face without stopping.

    Fire raged on the skin of the Earth Bear as it writhed in agony. A part of its precious fur burned with every activation of the skill attached to the gloves. With the increase in the number of the critical hits dealt, the burning effect came more and more frequently.

    The bear swung its ws in front of its face to shoo away the human that was burning him with fire. Its mouth at the same time reached forward and tried to bite the enemy that kept attacking its face. However the loss of vision was too much of a handicap for it to ovee. And Zach who always managed to anticipate its movements in time, dodged perfectly every time.

    As the bear reached the end of its rope, its movements became too difficult to predict, so Zach activated the defensive ability of his armor as he continued to rain down infernal hell onto the gigantic beast.

    "Imprable Wall"

    The physical defense increased immediately. And a protective shield enveloped Zach which was strong enough to minimize the damage from its haphazard attacks.

    When the bear fell, there wasn''t a single part of its fur that was still intact. All of it had been burned away by Firestorm.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 20 20 Pick?

    ?The Earth bear had never imagined that the human who had been running from it to save himself woulde out to reap its life in such a cruel manner.

    Zach was breathing heavily since he had been too focused during the battle with the bear. Even though he had the ability toe out victorious, the bear had been considerably stronger and any one of its attacks could have proved to be fatal for Zach.

    As such it was a hard earned victory that Zach could be proud of.

    After taking a moment to rest, Zach took out a dagger from his waist and gutted the corpse of the bear.

    He had no intention of mutting the corpse of a beast for no reason. The reason for searching the corpse was to take out the core inside its body. Considering the fact that the beast had been a D rank monster, its core could turn out to be quite precious.

    Zach didn''t hesitate and plunged his hands into the body of the bear by making an incision on its chest. At the ce where its heart should have been, there was a crystalline stone that was spherical in shape and felt quite hard to the touch.

    Zach grabbed it with his hand and pulled it out of the corpse. The core waspletely transparent like it was made of ss. The only blemish on its otherwise perfect appearance was the trail of blood that flowed down from it as it was still covered in the blood of the Earth Bear.

    ---

    Braxton had been relishing in the praise of his subordinates as he had sessfully managed to drive the two troublesome targets into the territory of the D rank monster Earth Bear. Not only had he managed to eliminate any further losses of his group but he had also effectively taken care of the targets who were by no means weak.

    *ROAR!!*

    A huge roar resounded in the forest as the group of Braxton and his fellows were huddled around as they discussed how long it would take for the bear to eliminate the two targets. They still had to take out the bodies of Zach and Luna after the bear had mauled them nicely.

    The roar unlike their expectations sounded pained instead of being frightening. But since the distance between them and the source of the sound was considerablyrge, the group took it as the indication that the Bear had finally made contact with the about to be ''corpses''.

    In fact the roar that they had heard was the final bitter cry of the beast that had lost all hope of survival and could see its end in front of it. It was the roar of a beast that was unwilling to ept how its end hade.

    The Earth Bear had been strong in its own right but its cruel fate had let it meet a monster among the weak and puny humans. Blinded by arrogance, it hade to believe that it was the predator when in reality it was the pitiful prey about to be ughtered.

    "Theysted longer than we had expected. We should wait a while to let the Bear move away from the location before entering to retrieve the corpses." Braxton mumbled under his breath as he began to chalk out the n of retrieval.

    When he felt that sufficient time had passed and no further roars of the bear could be heard, Braxton ordered his men to follow after him as he carefully made his way into the territory of the bear.

    He couldn''t afford to be careless because a single mistake could be the death of him and his group. The monster was by no means an easy opponent even for him.

    By using the wooden element, scouting was extremely easy and safe, therefore Braxton and his group very easily made their way towards the cave where Luna and Zach had previously found their safe haven. The trail was very obvious especially the marks left behind by the Earth Bear were very prominent.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Braxton kept an eye out for any fresh signs of the Earth Bear so he could avoid encountering the beast before reaching the corpses.

    Compared to the time it took Zach to reach the cave, Braxton and his men took their sweet time and carefully approached their targets while keeping an eye out for the hulking figure.

    When they reached the clearing in the middle of the forest, the scene that they encountered was not at all the one they had in mind. Instead of the two human and subus corpses, the D rank Earth Beary sprawled on the ground. The blood had gathered around its corpse in the shape of a small pool and beside the pool sat a young man ying with its core as if it was some kind of toy.

    The smile on the face of the young man was far from innocent and bordered on the verge of insanity. The men whoid their eyes on it felt goose bumps crawl across their skins as terror reced the excitement in their beaming faces.

    Zach who had a dagger in one hand and the newly extracted crystal core in the other hand truly looked like a psychopath. The blood sshes on his clothes painted an especially gruesome picture, so much so that the men were full of pity as they looked at thepletely gutted bear.

    Braxton had been the first one on the scene but the shock had left him speechless. The fear he experienced was so great that he couldn''t even feel his legs as he willed them to run. The words he tried to utter turned out to be hoarse whispers that even he couldn''t hear properly, let alone his men.

    He felt death looming over his head as he saw Zach casually ying with his dagger with one hand while he appreciated the crystal core wondering how valuable the core in his hand might be.

    Zach had long since noticed the group that had arrived. In fact he had been waiting for them after taking care of the Earth Bear. He was sure that the group of hyenas woulde to confirm his death at the very least. The only thing he had not expected was that the leader woulde himself.

    Zach had been nning to torture the one who came to confirm his death in order to get the whereabouts of the leader who had pushed him into this trap. But the leader hade running to his death on his own.

    "So, you were the one behind all this. I have to say, you put me in a really bad situation with your cunning." Zach pointed his dagger at the man who was clearly the leader of the group as the other men kept on looking at him from time to time as if asking him what to do next.

    Braxton panicked when Zach pointed his dagger at him even though there was no way Zach could have hurt him from that distance. His heart throbbed with increasing intensity and strength, as the seed of fear managed to burrow into his heart.

    "I have been hoping to return the favor ever since I took care of this beast there. You are next on my list. I will give you three seconds to prepare yourself." Zach could see the fear in the unfocused eyes of the leader who looked to be a mage judging from his attire. Flowing robe with a hood at the back and a wooden staff that was almost equal to his height, how could he be anything other than a mage.

    Zach''s words were thest straw that broke the camel''s back. With his spirit brokenpletely, Braxton lost half the fight right there and then.

    Zach peacefully put his crystal core in his back pack and slowly but casually walked in the direction of the group while spinning the dagger in his hand using his dexterous fingers.

    To Braxton though, he looked nothing less than the spawn of the devil himself. Summoning all his courage and whatever was still left of his authority, he ordered his men to attack.

    "What are you all looking at? I didn''t bring you all here so you can hide behind me. Go and bring me his corpse. NOW!" Braxton shouted with all his strength even though his own legs were trembling in fright.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 21 21 Then Flee

    ?The men looked at each other before rushing towards Zach while roaring loudly as if in an attempt to extract some courage from within their souls. Another possible reason for such an action could have been to avoid thinking about the consequences of such an action.

    Despite having thought of all the various ways in which they might end up dying, they fearlessly attacked the monster in front of them; a monster who was capable of single handedly mutting a defense type D rank beast like the Earth Bear to death. Even all of them together weren''t possibly capable of pulling off such a feat let alone individually.

    One of the men who was slightly timid inparison to hispatriots looked back towards their leader for reassurance but what he saw left him utterly stupefied.

    Their leader Braxton, who was theirst hope, was nowhere to be seen.

    Upon a closer look, the timid man saw an extremely elusive silhouette sneaking away in the opposite direction without making a sound. He sneered as he watched Braxton the mighty E rank mage running off into the distance after having sent his men to their certain deaths in an attempt to stop the enemy from chasing after him. His steps came to an absolute halt in the middle of the charge as if his feet had gotten stuck in quicksand while the rest of the men continued rushing towards the demon like enemy who had a menacing look on his face; one that was akin to that of a wild and feral beast that had somehow managed to free itself from its eternal chains.

    The rest of the men though didn''t know that thest bastion of support that they had been relying on in their minds had already escaped from the scene leaving them all to fend for themselves.

    Zach watched the leader run away with a nk look on his face as if it was of no consequence. Although, he hadn''t expected the enemy leader to fight him to death, he had thought that the enemy would have some backbone at the very least. Such cowardice was a surprise to him considering that the cunning of the enemy mage had previously pushed him very close to death. So Zach had put him slightly higher on the danger scale.

    In a matter of seconds, he was surrounded from all sides by Braxton''s men, some of whom even wore mage battle gear while the others seemed to be melee fighters.

    The mages stood at a distance as they prepared to chant magic spells of different kinds while the melee fighters closed in on him from all sides while trying to buy time for the mages to cast their spells.

    To prevent them from pulling off their simplistic scheme, Zach pulled out an ancient looking revolver from the weapon holster at his side and fired two rounds towards the mages at the back one by one calmly.

    Being F rank mages, the defensive capabilities of the mages had already been very minimal and on top of that they were in the middle of chanting attack skills as the bullets from the revolver found their way into their bodies draining all the life from within their eyes turning thempletely soulless.

    The melee fighters who had exercised caution after seeing the weird weapon in Zach''s hands didn''t even get the chance to attack and distract him before the bodies of the mages that they were trying to protect behind them fell with a dull thud. Dumbfounded, they turned their heads back only to witness the lifeless bodies of their colleagues with whom they had spent quite some time with.

    The mages who had been about toplete the chanting for their attack skills immediately stopped channeling them and began working on their defensive skills. Soon transparent colored barriers surrounded each of the mages as they tried to save their skin instead of allowing their opponent to pick them off one by one.

    To Zach, the F rank mages were no challenge at all. He could kill them in the blink of an eye if he wanted to but he didn''t want to kill all of them if possible. His feud was primarily with the leader of the group since the rest of them looked like hired goons at best and those seemed to be of the lowest caliber as well.

    As long as they didn''t obstruct his path, Zach was willing to let them go. He put the revolver in the holster as he equipped his me Gloves before rushing in to meet the melee fighters.

    Fire and destruction rained down along with the flurry of his agile punches as the enemy group found themselves under heavy artillery fire.

    [Critical Hit]

    [Critical Hit]

    [Critical Hit]<novelnext></novelnext>

    бн

    Unable to dodge, they desperately looked towards the mages who cast several shields and buffs to help them withstand the merciless onught of the young man as he smashed their pride with ease.

    Zach only demonstrated his strength in closebat just to keep the enemy from obstructing his path and from antagonizing him again. This was the only way in his mind that could possible reduce the body count of the assants.

    If they still didn''t heed the advice hidden inside his attacks, Zach had no intention of sparing a single one of the mindless fools. He was nning to wipe them all out if they still obstructed his path.

    Of course Zach didn''t tell them this openly. He was waiting for them to notice this on their own since he believed that even salvation shouldn''t be dished out freely or people start to take it for granted too.

    The enemy group was terrified of Zach''s strength to the extent that all of them began to treat him like a demon from hell that was hell bent on killing them. The thought of surrender didn''t even emerge in their minds until the timid one who hadn''t attacked Zach came running in between Zach and the rest of the group.

    "STOPбнthe one you are fighting for has already escaped using us all as scapegoats. Why do we have to die for such a person? Let Braxton fend for himself and take a step back since we don''t have any feud with this brother in the first ce." The timid one finally managed to put a stop to the pointless struggle of the remaining group members. He had stopped the tide of the battle by cing himself directly in the line of danger; after all, no one out of them truly wanted to fight for Braxton, their cruel employer who had left them to die and had been the first one to escape with danger in sight.

    Zach unconsciously admired that kind of foolish attitudepared to that of their leader''s cowardice.

    "This brotherбнwe don''t have any hatred between us. Whatever we did to you, you have inflicted many times more back on us. Even though you have the right to take revenge, the target of your vengeance has already escaped. We won''t get in your way any longer. Let''s take a step back each and forget everything that happened since there weren''t any irreversible losses on your end." The timid man tried to negotiate the terms of the surrender.

    "Do you really think that this is enough to make me forget how close I came to death because of your petty schemes?" Zach countered with a cruel smirk on his face.

    The timid man faltered a bit at his words but gritted his teeth and continued with his reasoning.

    "If you wanted to kill us, you would have done it already. Why bother wasting time with us small fries when Braxton is on the run this very instant? You might not be able to find him if you dy any longer."

    Zachughed at his solid logic as a menacing expression reced his good natured smile.

    "Count yourselves lucky today since I need to hurry after that rat of a leader you call Braxton. If any of you appear in front of me again, none of you will surviveбнthat much I can guarantee."

    Hope emerged on the faces of all his assants after hearing his words but the very next words out of Zach''s mouth scared their souls out of their bodies.

    "All of youбнSCRAM. I don''t want to see any one of you here in five seconds. Those still in my line of sightбнwill die."

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 22 22 Let You Go?

    ?Every single one of the assants ran like the wind without a care in the world.

    "Oneбнtwoбнthreeбн"

    Within five seconds, not a single one of them was in sight. Some hid themselves in the dense foliage and almost drowned in mud while trying to hide while the others used earth magic to hide under a mound of earth.

    Zach nodded to himself and rushed off into the direction that Braxton had escaped towards. The reason he had dyed his pursuit so much was that he could have easily pursued Braxton if he had wanted to by using the satellite map any time.

    The solitary red blip on the map was still blinking as it provided urate whereabouts of the enemy leader at all times. Zach kept the map open as he rushed off following the same discement vector.

    Zach chose a roundabout way to intercept Braxton who was considerably slowerpared to him. He easily crossed Braxton and moved ahead in the same direction that Braxton had been heading towards.

    Waiting on top of a tree, hidden from in sight, Zach kept a lookout for Braxton who could being towards the ambush site any minute now ording to the satellite map.

    Zach closed off the map and tried to listen to the sound of the footsteps. It didn''t even take him fifteen seconds to spot a lone figure heading towards the ambush site while panting heavily.

    Zach tightened the grip of his me Gloves and pounced on Braxton who was about to reach the spot directly underneath the tree that Zach had been perched upon.

    Braxton was already very sensitive in the forest and that coupled with his paranoia that he was still being chased, he managed to sense the hidden dangering at him from above. Braxton rolled to the side with surprising agility as he cast his signature wood magic to control some tree branches and used them to discourage any further assault attempts.

    Unknown to him, his precious wood magic was nothing more than a scarecrow to Zach who was wielding me Gloves armed with enough physical attack power to break the wood into splinters and enough magic attack to burn the wood to ashes in a matter of seconds.

    Zach''s punch missed andnded on the ground which caved in slightly forming a small depression in the otherwise in earth.

    Zach wasn''t discouraged because his ambush had failed. On the other hand he had a smile on his face because he had already seen the surprise on Braxton''s face earlier.

    Even if he hadn''t caused any physical damage, Zach had definitely managed to shake the mental state of the enemy which could be the key difference between victory and defeat especially when it came to mages who relied on their mental faculty and their mana to cast spells.

    "Yбнyouбнyouбн" Braxton tried to form some coherent words but he was too overwhelmed by the fear of his opponent.

    "Are you a broken record? Can you speak anything other than that?" Zach sneered as heughed inwardly at the condition of his enemy.

    "YOUбнstop okayбнtell me what you want?" Braxton was still flustered but his words had started toe back to him slowly.

    "Oohбнyou make it sound like I am some evil robber while you are the innocent victim. Let me tell you what I want then."

    Braxton nodded hoping to solve the matter by losing a treasure or two if he could save his life.

    "What is it? What will it take for you to put all this behind us?" Braxton regained some of his confidence thinking that Zach was just like those money hungry useless idiots whom he had left behind to stop Zach froming after him. After all, he was confident in handling people like them with rtive ease.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Everything you have on youбнthat is of course after I kill you. Just like you intended to do to me, fair, isn''t it?"

    Braxton couldn''t bring himself to utter a single word as he tried to rein in the fury that threatened to burst out of him. His face gained a purplish red tint as if all the blood in his body had rushed there.

    The anger Braxton was feeling was too hard to contain. He wanted to shout and yell at the cruel fate that had left him at the mercy of his enemy despite being a peerless E rank mage who should have been respected and held in awe by all whoid their eyes on him.

    Never in his wildest imaginations had Braxton considered that he might have to face such a critical situation or that he would have to beg and strike a deal to in order to survive.

    Seeing an enemy so powerful and cruel, an enemy that could not be bought with treasure or wealth or anything that Braxton had to offer except his life, the fear of death gripped his heart chaining leaving him no option but to use thest of his trump cards.

    "I admit that you are powerful and have the ability to win against me in a fight. BUT I will advise you to stay calm lest you do something you might regret." Braxton yed hisst card while creating just enough mystery to bring the battle of wits to a halt for a few minutes.

    Zach carefully evaluated his words and fell into contemtion regarding his next course of action. Of course he wasn''t thinking whether to attack Braxton or not, rather he was trying to choose all the different ways in which he could make the pig named Braxton squeal in the most painful ways possible.

    "Hmmбнlet''s seeбнwhat shall I do with you? Shoot you in the face? No, that would be too fast a death. You deserve some special treatment for pissing me off." Zach thought as he kept listening to the bullshit that Braxton had been spouting.

    "Just my background is enough to bring someone like you to his knees. Don''t be hasty and listen to me and you just might get some benefits from the power backing me up." Braxton''s tone grew confident as he pushed out his chest and talked with a smug look on his handsome face.

    The corner of Zach''s lips twitched in annoyance as he heard Braxton brag about his background like a five year old. As if your background had something to do with your personal power. Smug little bitches like Braxton annoyed Zach to no limit and his expression slowly changed into disgust.

    "Pummel you to death with me Gloves as the mes burn that smug expression of your face? I feel that I should give you some special treatment" Zach''s methods grew more savage as Braxton kept talking.

    Braxton was incredibly fortunate since he was unable to hear Zach''s thoughts or he might havemitted suicide to escape the fate of falling into Zach''s hands.

    "If you dare to hurt me, you will never escape the pursuit of those behind me. You will have to live in fear of being hunted down every momentбнIFбнyou manage to survive somehow while hiding in some abandoned corner of this world." Braxton felt that his words were working since Zach hadn''t spoken a single word and was lost in contemtion. To Braxton this waspletely normal; after all, who in their right mind would want to live the life of a runaway when they could get benefits in return?

    Finally Zach had had enough of the squealing pig as he decided to make it squeal for thest time.

    "Not that I had any intention of letting you go to begin with, who is to say that you wouldn''t get me killed after I let you go? Haven''t you proved yourself to be a treacherous little bastard already?" Zach sneered as he held the dagger in his hands in a reverse grip as if intending to cut Braxton to pieces with it the very next instant.

    Braxton wanted to defend himself as if he was some virtuous saint whose integrity had been doubted but even he had themon sense to shut his mouth. Zach had already seen him abandoning and using his subordinates only to escape behind their backs. Someone with even a shred of gratitude wouldn''t be able to do something as heartless as that.

    If a beast of that proportion offered to give Zach a reward in exchange for letting it live, let alone Zach whose intelligence was fully developed, not even a kid would be fooled by such tant dishonesty.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 23 23 Background

    ?"Even you have a limit to how shameless you can be. I thought that you would keep insulting my intelligence for a little while longer." Zach smirked in contempt as he rushed towards Braxton.

    Braxton panicked as he fell on his ass and retreated while crawling on all fours like a lizard with twisted limbs. He barely urged all the wood type mana in his body to form a shield in front of him to avoid the life threatening attack aimed at him.

    Braxton saw death a little less than a foot in front of his face. His body hair stood on edge and fear surged through his bones softening them as if they were nothing but jelly. His body froze in its ce as it trembled under the death re of the soul reaper whose ck dagger was currently stabbing towards his neck.

    The wooden branches and roots of the giant trees helped him out in thest instant as they kept the tip of the ck dagger from piercing his skin a little less than 6 inches away from his neck.

    Braxton barely managed to keep his piss from leaking out. Maybe a little bit did slip past his control but in his desperate attempt to flee from Zach, he barely noticed such a thing.

    "Tskбн" Zach felt it was a pity that he hadn''t been able to get Braxton under control right away. Although he hadn''t nned to kill him in a single attack, the fact that Braxton had managed to repel his attack in such a condition was a surprise to Zach who had thought that Braxton had lost all his will to fight. Survival instinct of living creatures could be a scary thing as it could bring out all the potential of that living being in moments of crisis.

    The fact that Braxton had yet to fall could be attributed to his survival instinct. He was like a cockroach that could suffer a nuclear attack and still escape unscathed.

    His wood type mana, while not very destructive, was probably the best for crowd control as its flexibility and range of control was higherpared to other elemental mana. Not to mention that its defensive capability could be boosted further in an environment like this forest where Braxton could keep on casting magic at the expense of a minimum amount of mana.

    The trees and their roots became deadly weapons and the sturdiest of shields under the slightest control of his wood attribute mana. Tens of branches targeted Zach with their jagged edges, roots shot out of the ground with enough force to puncture several feet of the soil under their feet. All of them were targeting Zach who was dodging and jumping in order to avoid being turned into a sieve.

    Faced with no other choice, Zach brought out the me Gloves and started to blow every single one of the tree branches to splinters and set fire to the forest around them bit by bit whenever Firestorm activated as a result of his fierce punches.

    Braxton tried to escape but was being forced to expend his precious mana in order to defend against the monstrous power that his enemy wielded. The mes that spread out every time Zach punched the slithering roots singed Braxton''s skin and his hair.

    Zach''s me attacks were the natural predator of the wood element wielded by Braxton. The battle was practically pre decided. Wood couldn''t possibly win against the fire that was capable of burning entire forests to ashes let alone some trees under the control of Braxton.

    Zach didn''t take long as he burned through thest of Braxton''s wooden defenses. His me that had been kept at bay by the trees finally got so close to Braxton that he could feel his skin melting from the close proximity to the source of the high temperature.

    "Waaaaaбн" A shrill scream resounded in the forest as if a pig was on its death throes.

    "WAITбнWAITбнyou bastardбнI said wait." Braxton tried to back away as he growled at Zach to let him talk but Zach just pushed on as if he had not heard anything at all.

    "Y..YOUбн you will certainly die a horrible death if you kill me hereбнhahaha. They will definitely chase you to the end of the world." Braxtonughed weirdly as if he had given himself over to his cruel fate but not before threatening Zach once again. Braxton was hoping to intimidate Zach but only ended up pissing him off more.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "As long as I get rid of you here, no one will know at all. There will be no more threats and definitely no chasing me to the end of the world. So be obedientбнand DIE!!" Zachunched a barrage of ming fists as his words drowned Braxton into endless despair.

    "Arggh!!!" A guttural roar pierced the silence of the forest as Braxton mobilized every little grain of mana in his body to save his life. A greenyer of mana surrounded his body as the most terrifying burns on his body slowly healed and some small wounds vanished altogether like they hadn''t been on his body in the first ce.

    As Braxton''s body slowly healed, the forest around ten meters of him lost all its vitality and fell dead. Braxton could use the vitality of the wood based life-forms who were once his ancestors. At the same time, a new wooden shieldposed of twisting and turning tree branches and roots enveloped Braxton like a cocoon envelops the caterpir before its ascent as a butterfly.

    Zach tried to break the defenses with me Gloves but to his surprise this wooden defense was considerably harder to break through than the previous defenses erected by Braxton. A hint of caution appeared in Zach''s eyes which drove him to attack ferociously and consume the durability of the shield faster.

    The wood that had previously burned as easily as kindling, refused to burn at this moment. The skill "Firestorm" attached to the me Gloves triggered several times but there was no effect at all.

    There was a creeping sense of unease that was constantly disturbing him as if there was something wrong but Zach couldn''t quite put a finger on it. His attacks increased in intensity and cracks started to appear on the turtle like shell that hid the body of his enemy.

    By the time the wooden cocoon crumbled into pieces, there was nothing inside of it. Braxton was nowhere to be seen as if he had vanished into thin air.

    Zach hadn''t moved his eyes away from the wooden cocoon even for a minute since its conception but even then Zach had not solved the mystery of how Braxton managed to escape from him.

    Activating his satellite map, Zach scanned the area for any kind of enemies. The red dot that had previously always been there seemed to have vanished without any trail. The more Zach tried to find out Braxton''s location, the more puzzled he became as there was no clue that could reveal the whereabouts of the enemy.

    Unable to think of anything else, Zach decided to return to the cave that he and Luna had previously hidden themselves in, while they tried to escape the pursuit of the Earth Bear. He had left Luna alone in that ce without any safeguard and he was slowly beginning to worry about her safety. Now that even Braxton had run away from his grasp, there was no guarantee that Braxton wouldn''t go after Luna who was defenseless at the moment.

    Taking the shortest route, Zach reached the cave with agility surprised even him.

    "Looks like there were some additional benefits to absorbing whatever energy I got from Luna." Zach thought to himself as he tried to measure his hidden growth. His body had be sturdier, his footsteps more firm and his senses even sharper than they had been before. No matter what,pared to his past self, the Zach of today was countless times ahead in terms of overallbat capability.

    Even after running such a long distance, Zach was barely out of breath even though he had covered the distance with the maximum speed that he could have mustered. Taking a long and deep breath, he normalized his breathing rhythm and entered the cave with some caution. In order to not get caught by surprise, Zach had to remain open to the different possibilities awaiting him inside the cave.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 24 24 Master

    ?The sound of his footsteps echoed inside the cave and as if in response, there was a flustered and hurried movement.

    Zach steadied himself and surveyed the inside of the cave with eyes that were still not used to the darkness that the cave was shrouded in.

    Zach found nothing out of ce near the entrance so thest bit of caution struggling inside him disappeared without a trace. The frown on his forehead and his raised eyebrows eased back to their usual appearance and a flood of relief spread throughout his body rxing every pore and every cell of his body when he saw Luna standing towards the end of the cave as if waiting to wee him in.

    In fact, Luna had heard his footsteps when he came in and had recognized him from his scent. Therefore she had hurriedly adjusted her condition to look even slightly more presentable so she could wee him back.

    Of course Zach didn''t know and couldn''t see that. He still hadn''t gotten used to the darkness of the cave whenpared to Luna who could see everything clearly. Her eyes had already adjusted to the darkness like some nocturnal animal while Zach fumbled his way in based on pure instinct and his memory of the shape of the cave as he blinked with some force as if trying to jump start his vision.

    Holding the back of her left hand with her right hand, Luna stood respectfully like a graceful receptionist at the entrance of some high end five star hotel. She waited until Zach was right in front of her before respectfully getting down to her knees as if it was the most natural thing to do in this situation.

    Zach had noticed her silhouette in the darkness and had therefore approached her with his hands in front of him since he still hadn''t gotten rid of the temporary blindness.

    As his vision returned to him, the first thing that entered his sight was the kneeling figure of Luna. She prostrated in front of him like a cult worshipper with a serene expression.

    "What the hell?" Zach wondered if she had been recruited into some cult that had managed to brainwash her in the small amount of time he had been away from her.

    Unaware of his inner thoughts, Luna continued to disy her affection towards him by using both her hands to grab his ankles as if they were the most precious things in the world to her. Rubbing her hands against his feet gently, she beamed at him with the most serene expression on her face. Her innocence made Zach want to pounce on her immediately even though he wanted to figure out the reason why she was acting like this suddenly.

    "When I left, she was still very normalбнwell normal for a subus. But why is she acting like a nymphomaniac with a foot fetish as soon as I came back. Did something happen while I was away?" Zach imagined countless scenarios that could have taken ce in his absence but none of them could exin what he was experiencing.

    "Did something happen while I was away?" Zach asked Luna who was reveling in her foot fetish.

    "Nothing happened, Master." Luna replied in a heartbeat as if she had been waiting for him to ask her that question.

    "Then why are you acting like this all of a sudden?" Zach asked her helplessly.

    "Our rtionship is different now. I should do at least this much to earn Master''s love." replied Luna with an angelic smile as if it was the most natural thing to do. She even failed to notice the odd look that came over Zach''s face as she uttered the word ''Master''.

    "Master?...hmmбнMASTER??" screamed Zach inside his head. Previously he had been feeling that something was wrong with the whole situation but he had subconsciously ignored the fact that Luna had called him ''Master''.<novelnext></novelnext>

    But when his focus shifted away from his feet and the subus worshipping them, he finally figured out ground zero.

    Countless thoughts ran through Zach''s head as he tried to make sense of the mind boggling situation. So many questions that he couldn''t find any answers for.

    "Why is she calling me ''Master'' out of nowhere? Maybe it''s because we had sex? She did start calling me that right after she woke up though." thought Zach as he tried to trace the origin of this sudden change in her treatment of him.

    "It may be another one of her fetishes? She looks like she is having fun massaging my feet. No respectable and normal woman would do something like this. Either there is something wrong with her head or it is a side effect of me absorbing the energy that was hidden inside of her. There is also the fact that I have that annoying ability named ''Casanova'' that passively increases my charm towards other women." contemted Zach with a deepening frown that almost merged his two eyebrows into one huge arc over his eyes.

    "There is another factor that I have absolutely no knowledge aboutбнher race. She is not a human. I keepparing her to a normal and mentally stable human woman but she is a subus. I know that subi have to feed on semen but that does not require them to go all the way with the source. Something may have changed once we decided to go all the way. As far as I know, subi are a lustful race. They maintain deadly carnal rtions with human males but none of them act the least bit devoted to their partners. Not to mention that they are the dominant ones in the rtionship unlike Luna who is practically giving herself away to me." Zach wanted to rip his brain out in frustration as he pondered on the many intricacies of the problem he was facing. Even though all he had to do was ask Luna the reason for her behavior, he had been procrastinating, fearing that she might get hurt by his questioning words.

    Therefore he softened his words and asked her in the most gentle voice he could have mustered, "Luna, why do you keep calling me that? Is something wrong?"

    Luna looked confused as she tilted her head towards one side; as if asking what he meant by that question. But the smile on her face never wavered as if it had been soldered on it permanently. It might have looked cute in other settings, but in this situation Zach found it creepier than a centipede crawling over his naked body slowly

    "I meanбнyou keep calling me ''Master'' ever since you woke up. Is there any specific reason for that? DбнDon''t get me wrongбнI just feel that the change is too sudden and without any exnation. You know I have been in the mountains and barely know a thing. So if this is something that ismon knowledge and I am blowing it out of proportionбнjust educate meбнok?" urged Zach seriously.

    Nodding obediently Luna sat up on her knees and looked up at him before answering his questions one by one.

    "First of all, I call you ''Master'' because you ARE my master. In our entire lives my subus race strives ardently to look for the one person who qualifies to be our master. There can only be one master for each of us. As long as we meet our fated master we are able to break away from the curse of lust that we are born with. We follow the one person who can break our curse and call him master and remain eternally devoted to that person."

    Luna took a break from divulging all that information and took a long breath before she dove into the treasure trove of information once again.

    "Once we manage to find our master, there can be no man other than him. We belong to our master and so do our heart, our body, our loyalty andбн our very existence. Most of the subi spend their entire lives looking for their fated masters but end up dying disappointed. Some also try to avoid meeting their masters in hopes of retaining their freedom. Most of them are the fallen ones though, who have dived too deep into their carnal desires and are unwilling to settle for one master."

    This bombshell pulverized Zach who had never expected the truth to be so different from his imagination. Luna was not at all affected in any way. She was in fact quite in possession of her mental faculties even though she seemed insane to Zach due to the different racial ideologies.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 25 25 New Daily Quest

    ?"How can this happen without me knowing about it? Does each subus choose her own master or is there some other requirement that you haven''t told me about?" Zach asked in panic as his facial features twitched in helplessness.

    "You remember the pattern that appeared on my abdomen when we slept together? That pattern is the proof of my awakening and the bond that ties me to you. We call it ''awakening''. In this life, I can only follow after you. There will only be Master and no one else for me. You see, due to the awakening I can never have sex with anyone other than you ''Master''. No other man will ever be able to touch me again from this moment onwards even if it is against my intentions; even if I have to die of hunger in case you choose not to ept me." Luna looked at Zach with a gaze filled with love and adoration even though her life was practically in his hands. Her eyes reflected her trust and affection and Zach wondered if he could ever find humans capable of such pure and unconditional love.

    "Shouldn''t you hate me for that? I took away your freedom, your future, all the possibilities and the turns your life could have taken. Now you are forced to look at me with those eyes, forced to call me ''Master''." prodded Zach in order to uncover her true thoughts behind the loving girl pretense. He could not ept that she was willing to call him Master when any respectable individual would disdain to do so.

    "Why would I hate you? I can''t stop loving you enough ''Master''. Do you even know how hard it is for a subus to find her fated master? It is rarer than you think. Most of us burn through our entire lives waiting for such an encounter. And the freedom you are talking about is nothing less than a prison to me; every second of it is a hellish torture that I have escaped from, all thanks to you. I call you ''Master'' not because I am being forced by the bond between us or out of some obligation but of my own free will. The affection I have for ''Master'' is real and not fabricated based on some orthodox beliefs. So please don''t reject me." asked Luna gently; her voice full of the same affection and her eyes disying the same level of trust that Zach had noticed earlier.

    [A quest has been added to the list of Daily Quests avable. The information can be essed in the quest screen.]

    Zach was distracted by the sudden system notification that blocked his vision. To Luna it appeared as if Zach had gotten lost in thought. She prayed inwardly that Zach would ept her and the way her nails were digging into her palm showed how much she was panicking.

    Zach tried to close the notification in order to view itter but the window refused to go away as if the system had hung up from all the information that it had been processing.

    But then Zach figure out that the system wanted him to open the quest screen so he gave in andplied to its demands.

    The new Daily Quest highlighted by the system was emboldened in the quest list. Zach clicked on it in order to view the quest description.

    [New Daily Quest]

    [Feed That Subus]

    [Quest Description: By achieving maximum affinity with ''Luna'', you have be the exclusive master of the Fiery Subus. No other man will be able to touch her except you. Since the subus has given herself to you, it is only right that you feed her appropriately for her loyalty to you. Moreover, the leftover potential inside of her will benefit you as well. Harness the power left inside her and absorb more of it through sex. The energy will not only help you increase your power but will also replenish your semen so you can repeat the quest again without suffering any of the consequences of engaging in carnal activities with a subus.]

    [Quest Clear Conditions: Have sex with Luna and absorb the leftover energy inside her.]

    [Quest Time Limit: This quest can be repeated and will remain avable in the Daily Quest screen. However, the rewards for the quest can only be imed every 24 hours.]

    [Quest Rewards: Affinity with Luna will increase slightly. If the affinity is already at maximum, chances of receiving a hidden reward increase with eachpletion of the quest.]

    [ept Daily Quest:  Y/N]

    Zach remained in a daze for a long time; every second of which was a torture for Luna who was waiting for him to reply to her earlier request. She only wanted him to keep her by his side but Zach''s lost look devastated her heart from the inside.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Unaware of the storm raging inside Luna, Zach carefully re-read the contents of the daily quest to make sure that he had seen it right.

    "So the useless hidden reward of the system wasn''t useless after all. I was wondering why the hidden reward for the quest was so lousy. It turned out that maximum affinity with Luna was the pre-requisite for this awakening that she keeps talking about." the puzzle pieces all fell in ce and Zach figured out all the answers to his questions.

    Zach was having difficulty adapting to the new reality that Luna had be his ve; a sex ve at that with no ability to reject his advances.

    Even if it was an isekai, Zach''s moralpass was still calibrated to the standards of his previous world. He was ufortable with the fact that he had unknowingly and unwillingly enved Luna and had restricted her will which was nothing if not inhumane and evil.

    With a helpless look on his face, Zach peered down at the kneeling Luna who had a pleading look on her face. Zach couldn''t help but pity her and at the same time cursed himself for not picking her up sooner thinking her knees might be hurting.

    Luna watched him get down on his knees in front of her and her eyes met his deep ones. She got flustered as she tried to stop him but his eyes forced her to stay at her ce as if ordering her to stay put.

    "I don''t know how this happened but I can''t help but feel guilty about this oue. Your beliefs are very different from what I have considered normal my whole life. Even if I want to befortable with this change, it will be very difficult for me to ept it."

    Luna felt as if all her hopes hade crashing down on top of her crushing her underneath their weight. A giant foot seemed to be pressing her chest as she was having difficulty breathing as if oxygen in the air refused to heed her desperate calls. Her blood ran in reverse breaking her from the inside out on a cellr level. Her reality had copsed in on itself with the words that came out of Zach''s mouth.

    She prayed with all her heart to any god who might be out there. "Please don''t let him throw me aside. Pleaseбнpleaseбнpleaseбн"

    Zach watched the color drain from her face and he immediately followed up with his words to calm her oozing insecurity.

    "It''s not what you are thinking. I am not going to abandon you." Zach coaxed her while his hand caressed her hair gently.

    "I am the reason that this has happened to you. So, I will take responsibility for you. I promise you, I will not force you to do things that you don''t want to do. So don''t be afraid, all right? I will take care of you from here on out."

    "Hmm" Luna barely produced a sound that he could hear. She was too overwhelmed by emotions and needed some time to calm down. But the force with which she nodded conveyed her happiness to Zach who finally felt some relief.

    Zach pulled her in towards him andid her against his chest. Luna found sce in his powerful embrace and barely stopped herself from crying. She somehow managed to keep herself from wailing loudly but couldn''t stop the tears from escaping past the corner of her eyes. The glistening tears left a trail on her beautiful and seductive face and their journey ended on his chest.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 26 26 Useful

    ?Fortunately for her, Zach didn''t notice her tears as her face wasn''t visible from his point of view. He kept patting her back lightly as if to reassure her of his presence so she could calm down.

    Zach kept her in his embrace until her shoulders stopped shaking and she became capable of voicing her thoughts once again. Such a huge change could take some getting used to. Therefore, Zach let her take her time until she was ready to let go of him.

    Luna was so out of it that she couldn''t tell up from down. But not because she was depressed; it was rather the kind of excitement that would not let you sleep at night. Her excitement was through the roof and as if in response her body kept shaking in anticipation of the life waiting for her.

    Like a newly married wife, she was thinking of the new life she was heading towards with a human no less. Just a few days ago, if someone had told her that she was going to spend the rest of her life with a human; listening to his every whim and working hard to please him, she would probably have burnt that person to a crisp but not anymore though.

    Zach hade into her life when she had needed help the most. He had not only helped her out of her trouble but had not even asked for anything in return. Being one of those greedy humans, it was a miracle that Zach was so different.

    "How can my luck be so good? I won''t ask for anything else in my whole life, now that I have a master who is so good to me." She raised her eyes towards the sky with a tearful smile as ifmunicating with the god that might be listening somewhere out there.

    Even greater a miracle was that Zach had ended up bing her fated master but despite having such a great hold over her; Zach still treated her with care and gentleness as if she was made of ss and would break upon the slightest application of force.

    After she had calmed down somewhat; she unwillingly separated from Zach and looked at his knees worriedly. After all, he had been holding her close while kneeling on the ground in the same position for a long time.

    She hurriedly asked him to get up as she tried to stand up herself. She used her hand to clear the dust from his clothes as she gently held his arm and offered him her support.

    The way Zach treated her had touched the inner most sanctum of her heart. Luna was so moved that she was subconsciously preparing herself mentally to sacrifice herself for the human in front of her if there arose such a need in the future.

    "Don''t worry; I can stand up by myself. You can act like you did previouslyбнbefore all this happened." Zach told Luna as he saw her worrying about every little thing.

    "Why don''t we go outside for a walk now that the Earth Bear has been taken care of? You deserve some open air after being cooped up in here for so long." suggested Zach in a carefree manner.

    Luna was shocked to hear that the Earth Bear had been taken care of.

    "What do you mean that the Earth Bear has been taken care of? Who did it?" Luna was curious as to who was powerful enough to beat the D rank strength type beast like Earth Bear.

    "Isn''t he standing right in front of you?" chimed Zach with an enigmatic smile on his face.

    She at first felt incredulous hearing that Zach had managed to beat the Earth Bear. Doubts like, "If he had been able to do so, why didn''t he take care of it earlier when we were on the run from it?" emerged in her mind but she shrugged them off as quickly as they arose.

    In the end, Luna didn''t say anything and believed her master wholeheartedly. Even if Zach had told her the most obvious of all the lies, she would have probably still believed him. Her faith in Zach was absolute at this point.

    She appeared to be excited and nodded her head to show her approval of the idea.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She held on to his arm as they headed out of the murky darkness of the cave and into the kingdom of light.

    Luna felt a little light headed and her eyes shut instinctively in the excess light as they gradually tuned to the new environment. Thankfully, she had been holding on to Zach''s arm so they didn''t have to stop until the temporary blindness left her.

    Zach didn''t notice any change either and took her to the clearing in between the forest and sat her down on a particrly clean spot.

    "Wait here for a bit. I will be back soon." instructed Zach before running off into the forest.

    Gathering some dry wood for a small bonfire, he returned and began to roast some of the meat of the Earth Bear. Unknowingly Zach had put in quite a bit of effort in fighting off Braxton and the Earth Bear which had left him tired and hungry. He needed to eat something in order to appease that built up hunger.

    Luna tried to help him cook but Zach turned down her help the very next second. He felt that it was wrong to let her help in cooking a meal that she couldn''t even enjoy.

    While roasting the meat on the stick, Zach told Luna about what had happened earlier; about how he beat the Earth Bear, about how he extracted its core and how he chased after Braxton for half the length of the forest only to lose him inside that wooden cocoon mysteriously.

    "Do you have any idea how Braxton managed to escape in such a situation without even alerting my senses?" asked Zach as he rotated the meat on top of the fire pit to cook it more evenly.

    Luna analyzed all the information that Zach had given her and managed to figure out the possible reason behind Braxton''s disappearance.

    "From what you have told me I can only surmise that he was a wood element mage with strength ranging between E rank and D rank. Given the situation, there is only a single method that could have allowed him to escape. Unless that man can use spatial magic as well, he should have had a teleportation scroll on him that allowed him to slip away unnoticed by you.  "

    Zach was surprised that she came with the solution without wasting any time at all. Once again he felt the difficulties of not being a native. He had to ask every little bit of information and had to risk being treated like an idiot for each such question if turned to be a basicmon sense in this world.

    "Are the teleportation scrolls verymon?" asked Zach while showing his eagerness to learn. He wasn''t shy of asking dumb questions from Luna since she was his own person now and also knew his situation.

    "Noбнnot at all. In fact, the anything remotely associated with spatial magic is considered to be a high end product. Especially the teleportation scrolls which are life saving items have a considerably high demand. The prices vary depending upon the range of the teleportation scroll. For example, a scroll capable of long range transmission beyond 100km is exponentially expensivepared to short range ones that are only capable of moving a target within the range of 100 meters. No matter how expensive the scroll may be, it doesn''t change the fact that it is a single use item and would be unusable after the first use." Luna exined everything in detail as she watched him cutting a portion of the roasted meat. The juices from the meat dripped down below into the fire and produced sizzling sound in defiance before being consumed by the raging fire.

    "They seem useful. Maybe I should gather up some money and buy some as well." Said Zach nonchntly as he bit into the chunk of juicy meat he had cut for himself.

    Luna looked at him earnestly as if to confirm if he was joking or not. When she saw that he had in fact been serious, she let out a long sigh as if she had been suddenly burdened by the weight of the world and proceeded to educate her numbskull master.

    <quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

 Chapter 27 27 Loyalty

    ?"Master, it is not easy to buy a teleportation scroll at all especially for people like us as they are very hard toe by. The reason is that these scrolls are untradeable items that can''t be bought by normal families. Such items can only be seen in some big auction houses or ck markets and even then they usually end up in the hands of big and powerful families."

    His hopes of buying some teleportation scrolls for himself got crushed in an instant and his face revealed his disappointment clearly.

    "Looks like that mage wasn''t all talk. To have something like a teleportation scroll as a life saving item, he must have some powerful backing. No wonder he was such a show-off."

    Zach had to acknowledge Braxton''s background that he had mocked before. He had been thinking that Braxton was some little minion of some powerful force; after all, even dogs of powerful families pretended to be noble in front of normal folk in their delusions of grandeur.

    "I have something to tell you as well."

    Luna tried to change the topic when she sensed the gloomy atmosphere surrounding Zach.

    "What is it?" Zach asked her while hungrily chewing his meat.

    "I got stronger." chimed Luna excitedly.

    "You did?"

    "After we did ''that''бнI meanбнafter the awakening, my power suddenly shot up without stopping. I was so surprised because the boost wasn''t insignificant at all. I jumped straight from E rank to D rank."

    "Is the difference between the two big?" asked Zach so he could get a grasp of the power levels of this world. This information was crucial since his survival depended on it. He had to understand the power rank to determine when to fight and when to run.

    "Of course the difference is big. Even though I am an E rank mage, I could not be sure of taking on that D rank Earth Bear even if I was at my peak. Even if by some miracle, I could fight it off, it would have been because of the difference in intelligence."

    Zach nodded as he burnt the information into his memory and urged her to continue.

    "Even the wounds on my body all healed while I was asleep. My physical body feels strongerpared to before. My body is full of energy even though I was close to passing out from hunger before. I wonder if it is the result of the awakening or something else I did."

    Luna ranted on about her newfound power as she found Zach smiling at her eyes full of pride and appreciation.

    "I can reveal the answer to that mystery at least. I might not know about anything else in this world but I have an understanding as to why that happened since it has something to do with my ability." said Zach mysteriously.

    Luna urged him with his eyes waiting for him to reveal the mystery of her new found strength. Her big and beautiful eyes sucked all his strength and mystique and forced him to confess the truth to her.

    "You see, I have an annoying ability that makes my semen a kind of elixir to women who copte with me or partake in my semen like you did earlier. It can enhance and upgrade the abilities and strength of those women." Zach tried to downy his ability with his words and casual tone but Luna could barely close her mouth in astonishment.

    "That is SO amazing. Wouldn''t I be even stronger if I did it with you more then?" Luna looked genuinely excited as she waved her two little fists in front of her chest.

    But before she could jump around in excitement, her facial expressions froze and her excitement vanished as if it had never been there in the first ce. The only thing left on her now pale face was shock at what she had just said to her master.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As if she had just noticed the kind of words that had escaped her mouth, her hands shot out to cover her mouth which had widened to its extremities in surprise, and the embarrassment that followed after it.

    A blood red blush crept over her face. She tried to hide her embarrassment behind her hands but the blush managed to escape the confines of her hands and crept down to her neck and revealed her deepest feelings to the world.

    Fortunately, only Zach was there to witness the whole scene or there could have been a crowd of people who would have been victimized by her charm.

    Zach acted as if he had not seen anything but the slight twitching of his lips indicated how hard he had been trying to hold back hisugh.

    By this point Zach hadpletely dropped his guard in front of Luna. She had already be his ve and called him master obediently without any malice or anger towards him for forcing her into such a situation.

    Anyone in her situation would have been angry or at the very least bitter for being subjected to such an injustice, but she had been nothing but obedient and affectionate towards him.

    Her eyes didn''t betray the slightest of malicious intent towards him and Zach had noticed it too. Her sincerity and her honesty were not hidden from him.

    Therefore, despite finding the situation a bit beyond belief, Zach felt that he could trust Luna with his deepest secrets. Based on how devoted she was, she would rather die than reveal any of his secrets to outsiders.

    However, Zach was not na?ve enough to believe that the same condition would persist in the future. After pondering over it, he hade to a conclusion that even if Luna wanted to betray him, she couldn''t. Her survival itself depended on Zach so her loyalty to him was basically guaranteed until she found an alternate means of survival.

    On the other hand Luna was overwhelmed with joy because Zach had trusted her enough to tell her such a secret. If his ability were to be somehow revealed to the public, she could only imagine the consequences of such an action. Just her race alone would kill to get their hands on Zach let alone the others. The fact that Zach had entrusted her with this information made her want to jump around in jubtion.

    At the same time she made a solemn vow in her heart; to live up to the trust ced in her by Zach and to be faithful to him till the end of her life.

    Her resolve to take all of his secrets to her grave was strong enough that she was willing to do that even at the expense of her life.

    For the time following that, Luna was lost in thought. Her eyes remained fixed at a point in space exactly in front of her and didn''t waver but her expressions changed from time to time. Excitement, shock, joy and resolution all flickered on her face at one point or the other. It was as if she was debating something with herself on the inside.

    Since she appeared to be deep in thought, Zach didn''t disturb her and let her be alone for a while.

    The rest of his meal was eaten inplete silence. The only sound around them was the crackling of the firewood and the sound of his chewing.

    Once he was done with his meal, Zach put some sand into the fire pit and covered itpletely to cut off the oxygen supply to the fire in order to put it out.

    "I would love nothing more than to sit here and rest for a while but I have been feeling kind of uneasy since that mage escaped. There is a chance that he might bringpany to get revenge. I want to be on the move before that happens. What about you? Will you be okay?" Zach was worried about her injuries from before. He was determined to carry her on his back if he had to just to leave this feeling of unease behind.

    "As I told you earlier, all my wounds have healedpletely after my power increased to D rank. I will do what you say, Master." Luna was still as obedient as ever and went to the cave to gather her things.

    Soon the both of them were standing at the entrance of the cave along with all their packed belongings ready to go on another journey.

 Chapter 28 28 Encounter

    ?But before they began their journey, Zach gave Luna a thorough look over. He ran his eyes all over her body from top to the bottom causing her to convulse in nervousness.

    Zach thought something before he checked his arsenal and pulled out an oversized hooded robe that had once been the part of his camouge equipment. The robe was slightly tattered at the edges but was still well kept. Its dull grey color made sure that it didn''t attract any attention from the masses.

    "Haaaahбнwear this over your clothes. Make sure to cover yourselfpletely." instructed Zach with a helpless look on his face.

    Luna stared at him inquisitively with her big eyes as her inquiring gaze alternated between the cloak and Zach.

    Zach felt ufortable under her questioning gaze but urged her to do as he said with a somewhat stern and serious expression as he exined his reasons.

    "You are too pretty and that might attract unwanted attention towards us. Let''s be low key until we can be sure that there is no more danger to us."

    Luna was secretly happy in her heart as she heard his reason; after all, there was no woman in the world who didn''t like hearingpliments from her beloved.

    She put down her things and used the cloak to cover herselfpletely. The robe was so oversized that it hid her figurepletely. The hood covered her facial figures. Even her vision was partially blocked due to it.

    Zach looked her over once again and found it to his satisfaction. There was no way anyone would think that under the dull grey tattered robe hid a femme fatale capable of bringing down nations with her charm.

    With the blue sky and the trees as theirpanions, the two set out with no particr destination in mind. Zach was nning to roam around the forest until he stumbled upon or triggered a system quest that would provide her the new direction to work towards.

    The two of them stayed on their feet for most part for the first few days as Zach wanted to put in some distance from theirst known location just in case they had some pursuers. Other than to eat and rest a few hours a day, they stayed on the move at a consistent but slow pace.

    Zach stayed cautious throughout and carefully erased any trails that they might have left behind so that even if someone tried to track them, it now became impossible for them to follow after Zach and Luna.

    Unlike what Zach had expected, Luna proved to be quite low maintenance and persevered through the long walks withoutint.

    At first he thought that she was forcefully holding on but after careful observation he came to the conclusion that she really was fine. She had high stamina and endurance which meant she didn''t slow him down at all. She kept following him at his pace and didn''t'' once y the girl card to rest except for when they came across a water source and she wanted to wash herself.

    The reason for his shock was that Zach had forgotten she was a D rank mage which was a significant achievement for someone her age in this world. On top of that her race granted her an additional advantage in terms of physical attributespared to humans as their bodies were slightly more durable.

    Another reason for Zach''s surprise was that he had been judging Luna based on when she had been weakened to the point of passing out or when she had been injured. This was the first time he was travelling with Luna in her peak form.

    Zach didn''t just waste his time either. He trained his new weapon, the me Gloves on a daily basis in between their long walks. During the rest time, Zach practiced his weapon control on static dummies made from tree trunks and did mental simtion of differentbat situations while walking.

    After watching him diligently training every day, Luna began imitating him as well. She trained her fire control till the point of exhaustion before sleeping at night and every time her bright crimson mes dyed the night sky a reddish hue.

    No matter how many times Zach witnessed Luna training her me control; he couldn''t stop himself from admiring the scene of the fire goddess dancing in the night sky while surrounded by raging crimson mes on all sides.

    The opportunity that Zach had been waiting for came sooner than he had expected.

    He heard a ping sound which could only have been from the system. He was a little disappointed that it wasn''t a quest but the alert that he had set in case strangers came in the vicinity.

    Zach pulled out the navigational map of the region in order to determine the urate location of potential threats.  The map showed a cluster of signals gathered around a red signal.

    Instead of taking the opposite direction, Zach decided to approach the dots marked on the map. Luna as usual didn''t state her opinion and just followed after him with a smile on her face as if it was the most joyous thing to do.

    From afar, Zach noticed signs of battle all around him but didn''t pay them any heed as he moved in the direction of the location markers on the map, with Luna trailing behind him.

    Not long after, they heard explosive noise in the distance like fireworks exploding in the distance. This confirmed his observation that there really was a battle ongoing.<novelnext></novelnext>

    When Zach felt that they were close enough to the ground zero of the battle, he asked Luna to hide herself behind the tree trunk as he climbed to the top of the tree for a wider field of view.  He perched on a thick branch and scanned the vicinity for any hidden enemy that wanted to take advantage of the situation to be the oriole.

    After being sure that there was no one lying in wait, Zach rxed as he witnessed the fight with indifferent eyes.

    The battle seemed to be between a group of humans and a fierce beast that wasparatively smaller than the Earth Bear that he had faced earlier.

    But based on the overall strengthparison, there wasn''t much difference between the two. While the Earth Bear had been a strength based beast, this one had a battle style that was more oriented towards agility rather than strength. That coupled with its frequent ranged attacks, the beast was quite a dangerous one.

    "That''s undoubtedly a Dark Steel Hedgehog which is a D rank monster. It seems that we entered its territory without permission. The beast is considered to be exceptionally strong even among the top of D rank ones." Luna''s voice reached his ears as if she was right in front of him.

    The group of huntersprised of no more than 10 individuals but none of them was strong enough to even get close to the enemy.

    Each of them was proficient in wielding their weapons which meant that they had experience butcked the strength to finish off the beast. Even though there were two to three mages in the group, their magic was not strong enough to prate the defenses of the hedgehog at their best.

    Zach surmised that the mages were either F rank mages or beginner E rank mages with rtively low magic power. Even if these people attacked all day, they wouldn''t be able to get rid of the beast.

    Zach was wondering whether to help the group of humans or not since he didn''t know the opposite party at all.

    ? "Master, are you thinking of helping those humans?" Luna asked him worriedly.

    "I am thinking about whether to do it or not."

    "It''s a D rank beast specializing in the wood element. Its spikes are made of wood but the strength behind the ranged attacks can even bepared to C rank beasts due to how hard these spikes are. Its body has high defense due to these spikes so it is better to handle the beast from afar and avoid any close quarterbat if possible. Its weakness is fire element of the same level as it is a wood element beast." Luna told him everything she knew about the beast in detail since she thought that Zach needed to know everything before he made his decision to step out to help the humans or not.

    [A sudden quest "Thorny Beast" has been generated.]

    [Quest Description: During your travels you havee across a wood element beast that is terrorizing a bunch of humans who are unable to suppress it with their meager strength. Being a dutiful human who still cannot let go of moral values, you cannot stand by and watch a massacre. Step into the battle and use your might to take down the beast using the fire element that has awakened deep inside of you.]

    [Quest Clear Conditions: Hunt the D rank Dark Wood Hedgehog using fire element.]

    [Quest Time Limit: Before a member of the human group dies from the attacks of the beast.]

    [Quest Failure Penalty: ---]

    Zach read the familiar notification messages with relish as he had been waiting for the system to take the initiative. He read through the quest description and surmised that he had to use the fire element to take down the beast.

    As of now, the only fire element weapon in his arsenal was the me Gloves. Even though he might suffer from the impact against the thorns of the hedgehog, Zach had to do it to clear the quest dished out by the system.

    Luna watched him take out some gloves out of nowhere. She could tell that the gloves contained a lot of fire.

    Just when Zach was about to rush out and punch the Dark Wood Hedgehog to smithereens with his me Gloves; Luna lunged towards the rolling ball of thorns with an agility that far surpassed him leaving him gawking in surprise as his movements came to a halt.

    "I can''t let Master get hurt." was the leading thought behind Luna''s initiative. She had seen Zach taking out the me Gloves in order to fight the Dark Wood Hedgehog and knew that Zach couldn''t kill the beast unscathed even if he did manage to kill it.

    Therefore, she felt that her abilities were more suited to bringing down the beastpared to Zach.

    Like his good little woman, she didn''t tell him off fearing that it might hurt his pride and took the lead in engaging the beast by boosting her agility using the explosive power of her me. It acted like the after burner of the jets in the other world and propelled her in the direction of the beast at a speed that easily allowed her to break past Zach at his best. The air pressure from her propulsion broke his stride and forced him toe to halt as his lower jaw hit the ground in shock at this surprising turn of events.

 Chapter 29 29 Crush

    ?He had expected Luna to be a typical mage with weak agility and defense but high magic attack power and mana. But from what he had just witnesses, he had severely underestimated Luna by judging her abilities based on the norm. After all, even the Neb System had imed that she was someone who had high potential and could be beneficial to his growth.

    Not only was she surprisingly nimble, herbat skills felt like that of an expert and her magic augmented her excellent skills perfectly. Each movement of her body, even the slightest twitch of her toe had a reason behind it that made her all the more fatal towards her enemies.

    She looked more like abat mage or a battle mage rather than a typical mage as her mes burst out in all directions around her making her look like a ming goddess.

    The ball of mes that engulfed her formed a sphere of absolute death five meters around her and acted as both her defense and offense at the same time.

    Zach watched with his mouth wide open in shock as Luna raised her hand slowly in front of her. The ball of mes surrounding her followed her action and rose up like a geyser of me emerging out of the ground. It engulfed the Dark Wood Hedgehog like a huge vertical tower of me trapping it from all sides in a prison that had no escape route.

    Luna had a serious look on her face that felt slightly pained as if a lot of her power was being drained at once but it wasn''t something she couldn''t handle.

    The Dark Wood Hedgehog struggled within the ming prison as it felt the danger to its life. Out of its beastly instinct, it shot out several of its thorns towards its assant that whistled through the air like high velocity darts.

    Luna had already taken this kind of attack in ount before she formed the ming prison around the beast. She had already known all the basic traits and abilities of the beast so she had taken the necessary precautions in advance and had blocked the vision of the beast in preparation. The beast was only capable ofunching blind attacks thanks to her prudence and even those attacks were nullified by the ming barrier that surrounded it. So, she wasn''t concerned about such an attack reaching her and put all her strength into maintaining her attack rhythm.

    The temperature of the me walls was so high that the thorns burned to ashes before even reaching them which made all of its ranged attackspletely useless.

    Zach couldn''t see a single thing beyond the wall of mes but he was sure that Luna was fully capable of handling the beast from the tactical approach she had taken to confront it.

    Zach had a feeling that there would be no need for him to intervene and began to observe the battle and all the intricacies in order to analyze Luna''s battle style.

    Understanding of each others'' abilities was the basic requirement for the cooperation between an attack team. Since Zach and Luna had already be inseparable due to the bond that existed between the two, he needed to incorporate her abilities into their future battles for an optimum result based on their cooperation. For that he had to understand her habits, her thought pattern, her true abilities that he had yet to witness it seemed, and her limitations or weaknesses.

    The foundation of a basic cooperative battle tactic rested on the ability of the tactician to cover the weakness of a team member using the strength of the other. Zach needed to know her limitations before he could assist her in battle. Therefore, he didn''t intervene at all and let her y to her hearts content.

    The mes obstructed his vision and he was barely able to make out what was happening using his other five senses. He noticed the slightest changes in wind pressure and direction to determine the rise and fall in the temperature of the mes surrounding the beast. He heard its roars to estimate the extent of damage dealt by Luna and deduced that the battle was about to end if there were no unexpected turn of events.

    Unlike Zach, Luna could see everything as if she was standing within the fire prison with the Dark Wood Hedgehog. She was using her mes as the extension of her senses to locate the beast within the me boundary.

    Any third party would have thought that it was an easy win since Luna didn''t show any difort in order to not rm her master. But only she knew how draining it was to maintain the me prison strong enough to block the Hedgehog and the entire range of its attacks from reaching the rest of them. Therefore, she had to end it before she ran out of fuel.

    Pouring in arge amount of mana, Luna conjured a me pir that rose with her as the centre and arched in the direction of the me walls that enclosed the beast.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Death of the beast came in from above in the form of a ming serpent that was sorge that its tail was barely visible.

    Like aet from outer space, the ming trail ended at the beast and burned it to oblivion without giving it a chance to try and escape.

    Luna let out a long sigh and breathed heavily as she waved her hand horizontally away from her as if pushing something invisible away from herself.

    The tide of mes receded at hermand and scattered into thin air revealing an area of five meters around the fallen beast that was scorched ck and utterly devoid of life. Any life before the me had touched the ground had been burnt to oblivion with not a single trace left behind.

    Amidst the scorched region, a shiny orby unmoving utterly unaffected by the me that had ruined everything beside it. It was the core of the D rank beast that had been wreaking havoc amongst the group of hunters earlier.

    Zach noticed the crystalline core tinged with a greenish hue unlike the one from the Earth Bear which was transparent with a very slight yellowish touch. He didn''t have to retrieve it since Luna reacted faster than him.

    She picked up the loot and brought it to him with a smile on her face as if this was the most enjoyable thing in the world for her.

    "You can keep it if you want. You killed the beast after all." Zach didn''t want her to feel wronged even though he wanted to keep the core for further experimentation or to manage his expenses in the future.

    Luna nodded in response to indicate that she had understood everything he was trying to convey to her. But still didn''t take back her outstretched hand that was offering up the core to the most important person in her life.

    For the first time in his life, Zach felt that something hade so easily to him. if only there were more girls like Luna, Zach could indulge himself to the fullest and bezy.

    The idea of making full use of his ability [Casanova], felt realistic for the first time ever since he discovered his abilities. A harem of beautiful but deadly women who would fight for him and alongside him against all his destined opponents; he could only imagine how easier his life would be with an army like that. Not to mention he could be infinitely stronger through those women as well.

    He shook his head in order to shake away the thoughts that were clouding his clear mind and took the core from her pale white palm before putting it away inside his backpack.

    Only after they were done, did they notice the group of hunters who were staring at the two of them with awe and shock evident on their faces.

    Even though Zach had numerous fans and he had been a celebrity in the previous world, he couldn''t figure out how to act in front of them. On the other hand, Luna took it in a stride because the only person she cared about had been proud of her. She had seen it in his eyes earlier when she gave him the core. The others didn''t matter to her at all so she was waiting for Zach to address the situation.

    The hunters were too afraid to approach the two of them who were mighty beings in their eyes.

 Chapter 30 30 Blood Magic?

    ?At first they had been thinking that Zach was a good for nothing tag-along of the mighty woman but their perception got destroyed when the fierce master in their eyes acted like a lost littlemb around Zach after defeating the Dark Wood Hedgehog.

    It was only then that they came to know that Zach was the true leader of the cohort and the strongest amongst the duo.

    The fear and trepidation they felt towards Zach at that moment, exceeded the awe that they had felt towards Luna''s might as she burned the Dark Wood Hedgehog to crisp.

    "We need to do something or it will be toote." sighed one of the hunters who looked as thin as a stick and appeared to be quite nimble. He held a needle like rapier in his hands and appeared to be a swordsman focused on piercing and stabbing attacks based on his superior flexibility and dexterity.

    "What if they attack us too?" replied another hunter who had a thin moustache and balding head and was holding back his pain as he wiped the blood from his forehead to keep it from entering his eyes and affecting his vision. There was a hint of worry on his creased forehead and his eyes spoke volumes of his caution and wariness towards Zach and Luna even though the two of them had just saved all their lives.

    "Then what do you suggest we doбнhuh? You want to run then? Are you confident of escaping from someone like that?" the thin man pointed towards Zach and Luna as he argued with the balding man in a slightly dissatisfied tone.

    "You twoбнstop it right now. Master doesn''t have long. Think of something." interjected another hunter who had been hidden behind the two of them tending to the injured.

    The two of them stopped abruptly like their souls had been sucked out of their bodies. Their faces paled as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight as they turned towards the third man with a jerk.

    The third man didn''t bother with the two of them and by-passed them to look at Zach and Luna. He bowed towards them slightly out of respect as his mouth opened and closed as he struggled with what to say.

    "Thank you for saving us. Your strength is extremely terrifying even though you look so young. All of us had so much trouble fighting against that beast and yet you took it down by yourself. Your me control is worthy of admiration, youngdy."

    Since Luna had been wearing the hooded robe, only her face was visible to the hunters and no one was able to figure out that Luna was in fact a subus. They thought that she was a young humandy since she was with Zach and showered her with praise and thanks.

    Luna only nodded slightly in response since she didn''t have a good feeling regarding humans other than her master.

    Zach on the other hand wasn''t as cautious as Luna and walked in the direction of the injured slowly so as to not arouse the suspicion of the already wary hunters. He wanted to see if he could help somehow.

    The older man who had thanked Luna just then, didn''t try to stop Zach. In fact he had been hoping for this when he approached the two of them.

    After witnessing their strength, the man was sure that Zach and Luna must have some sort of life saving methods in between them which might help the injured on his team.

    As Zach grew closer to the party, the hunters tensed like a cat that had sensed danger. They surrounded him with their weapons raised but Zach didn''t care about it.

    At the same time he signaled Luna to stay calm in order to prevent her from roasting all the hunters for such a transgression.

    The old man had noticed the subtle signal that Zach had passed on to Luna and responded in kind by ordering all his team to put away their weapons.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Our youngdy is dying slowly. Earlier in the fight, she tried to protect one of her men and got severely injured in the process." said the old man as he tried to match his pace with Zach briskly and exined the situation to Zach while wondering if his hopes of saving the youngdy woulde true or not.

    "I don''t see any wounds. Was it an internal injury?" asked Zach curiously as he noticed the situation of the girl. Her skin was smooth with not a single sign of any injury. Other than torn clothing near her left thigh, there wasn''t a single thing out of ce physically.

    Zach wondered if she was suffering from some kind of poison since her skin looked extremely pale nearing to the point of being transparent. He looked towards her hunters one by one in order to find the answer to his questions.

    "Her thigh had been pierced by the projectile of the beast which had put her out ofmission for the rest of the battle. After putting in a lot of effort, her wound could be closed using healing magic but therge amount of blood lost during the process could not be recovered. But we don''t know what to do." Surprisingly, the one to answer Zach was one of the girl''s servants and not the hunters.

    Zach finally managed to put all the puzzle pieces in their right ce. The girl was anemic from all the blood loss which wasn''t such a severe condition given the right tools. The girl was quite fortunate to have run into him since only he had the right tools for her condition in his arsenal.

    The Neb system had given him full ess to advanced medical equipment and his general knowledge regarding the field was already high. Life saving skills like CPR and emergency first aid wasmonly taught in schools in his previous world.

    Ironically, he had never had to use those skills in that world. And only aftering to this world did he find the first opportunity to use it.

    "Don''t worry too much. This is a simple condition that I can heal easily. Rest assured that she won''t die." His words brought the soulless hunters back from the brink of despair as their eyes fluttered with gratitude and respect.

    "BUTбн"

    Zach had never seen a scenario where a single word caused the downfall of a dozen men but he came very close to witnessing one after he uttered that ''BUT''. The hunters had almost lost their souls after hearing that word.

    "BUTбнI will need to take blood from someone amongst you in order to heal her."

    Before they could fall further into despair, Zachpleted his sentence and life returned to the hunters'' eyes like theing of spring.

    "Is he a blood mage?" asked one of the servants to the other with wariness and caution clouding her judgment.

    "He did ask for our blood. Can we trust him? Isn''t that like throwing our master into the mouth of the wolf by our own volition?" replied the other with a look of horror on her face. She was obviously terrified after hearing the mention of the blood.

    Blood magic was a branch of ck magic which was forbidden magic. ck magic was considered to be a taboo amongst the normal popce and was hated and feared in general. That was why the servants had such adverse reactions based on his demand for blood.

    "It seems like he is going to transfer our vitality to the youngdy through our blood. I have heard that blood mages can remain young forever through this method. I don''t know how it works but at this moment it seems to be our only solution." The one to speak this time was the thin man who had shown hostility to Zach at the beginning.

    "That seems to be the case. If he can save our master, I am willing to transfer all my remaining life to her so she can continue to live." thought one of the hunters who had been staying at the back of the group until that moment with a grief stricken look that made him look gaunt and unhealthy. He was too ashamed to look at his master due to his guilt for being a burden to his master. The youngdy had gotten injured while trying to shield him from an attack that was meant for him.

 Chapter 31 31 Sacrifice

    ?The hunter, who had previously looked like he hade straight out of a horror movie, finally glimpsed hope through Zach''s words and was now willing to do anything to make things as they should be. He should have been the one lying on the ground and not the girl. He was determined to make it so by giving her his life.

    But of course, his thoughts remained with himself. He didn''t want to say anything that would undermine the sacrifice of their master, especially when she was in such a critical condition.

    The servants on the other hand had only murmured amongst each other and the sound of their discussion had been so low that it never reached Zach. Therefore, he was entirely oblivious to the whole situation as he continued to take out items from the med kit that he had retrieved from his arsenal.

    Zach used a needle to prick the finger of the girl whoy unconscious unaware of what was happening to her. He pressed her finger with his index finger and his thumb. The ruby red blood trickled down on to a ss b that he had prepared beforehand.

    Using the pipette he drew several drops of different chemicals and mixed them with the blood droplets. After careful analysis of the result, he was able to figure out the blood group of theatose girl. Her blood type was O which was quitemon. Thankfully, she didn''t have some rare blood type or it would have been a real ordeal to find a match for her.

    "Even though the blood in our bodies looks the same, it is not entirely so. Different people have different types of blood. In order to save yourdy, we need to find someone with exactly the same blood as her. The men shoulde forward one by one and I will test your blood to see if matches that of yourdy." exined Zach as simply as he could since he needed all of them to cooperate without making a fuss or interrupting him in between.

    Most of them were thinking that they needed to transfer their own life to the girl in order to save her which could be considered to bemon knowledge amongst those who knew how blood magic worked even remotely. Despite their resolve, all of them felt afraid toe forward. They felt likembs being taken for ughter and no matter how courageous they were, their resolve cracked under the pressure.

    Zach saw them breaking down so he tried to breathe some courage and hope into them in order to set their minds at ease.

    "Don''t worry; this will not hurt any of you. All I need from you is three to four drops to test yourpatibility with the youngdy."

    No one was going to believe a blood mage even if they proimed to be the saint of salvation. Zach looked towards them one by one hoping that at least one of them would take the initiative.

    The old man was the first toe forward as he offered Zach his hand. Zach didn''t stand on ceremony and after opening his closed fist with a gentle nudge directly pricked his middle finger with a new needle. Following right after him was the young man who had been saved by the girl. He kept asking if his blood was a match or not and Zach had to repeatedly ask him to calm down and wait.

    He called on the other hunters one by one and then repeated the same process with each one of them. The servants next to the girl were thest to be tested amongst her entourage. Both of them looked terrified as Zach pierced their fingers but after they went through with it, every muscle in their body rxed and caused them to lose their bnce as if the burden of carrying the sky had suddenly been lifted from their shoulders.

    After analysis, he came to the conclusion that not a single one of them turned out to have the same blood type as the girl.

    "How can you be so lucky and unlucky at the same time?" Zach looked towards the unconscious girl as he thought to himself. Even though he had not found a single match amongst her entourage, Zach could be the donor since his blood type was O as well.

    He refrained from testing Luna because she was an unknown to him at the moment. He needed to have a greater understanding of this world before he could even think of pulling off something like using subus blood for transfusion in humans.

    "Not a single one out of you is a perfect match for your youngdy." Zach announced the result only to see the crestfallen faces of the group. This time, he had learned his lesson and didn''t dy the rest of the announcement.

    "Butбнyou are in luck since I happen to have the same type of blood as this youngdy." The hunters who had forgotten how to breathe finally took in arge amount of air to replenish the thirsty cells of their body with oxygen.

    Even as he made the announcement, his hands didn''t stop as hepleted the basic requirements for the blood transfusion to the girl.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zach pierced her arm with a cann and pulled out the needle. After attaching an IV bag with the cann in her arm, he called forth one of the hunters and asked him to keep it elevated as he inserted another cann in his own arm.

    The hunters watched in awe as they witnessed the greatest self sacrifice they had ever witnessed. The man was willing to give a portion of his own life to save the life of their youngdy even though he was a blood mage who were considered to be cruel, savage andcking in overall moral capacity.

    Luna cursed all five generations of the hunters and the girl as she tried to drive out thoughts simr to what was going on in the minds of the hunters. But she barely held herself back.

    She had vowed that she would support her master in everything he did without question. Moreover, she believed in the capability of her master and therefore decided to stay put in order to witness his brilliance with her own eyes.

    As soon as Zach was about to start the transfusion, a familiar *ding* sound stopped his hand.

    [Your blood can awaken the sleeping potential in the target.]

    [The current state of the target is too weak and cannot handle the stimtion of your blood. You can dilute your blood to weaken the effect or there is a 58% chance that the body of the target may explode due to sudden influx of power.]

    Zach wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead as he reced the empty blood bag with one filled with artificial sma and reinitiated the transfusion from his end.

    The blood from his vessels entered the bag of sma and then the diluted blood-sma mixture entered the girl''s bloodstream to decrease the danger to her life posed by his potent blood.

    Zachy down beside theatose girl and kept an eye on the whole process in case the blood dosage became too high. He reced the sma bags from time to time until he started feeling light headed from the blood loss.

    Theplexion of the girl soon improved from the pale yellow to healthy reddish color. Only then did Zach remove the cann from his arm and wiped the blood with a piece of cotton.

    "She will be alright soon. Her injuries have already healed so she should be able to wake up any time now." Zach started packing up the medical equipment since he already done what he could. Now all they could do was wait until she woke up on her own.

    Luna supported Zach as his legs weakened and he wobbled slightly when trying to get up.

    The hunters all looked at Zach with pity as if he was some terminally ill patient with a few days left to live. They believed that he was some kind of saint who hadn''t even refrained from paying with his life to save theirdy.

    Zach ignored them as he finally came to understand their ignorant thoughts.

    "Did you really have to go this far for a stranger?" Luna said to him as she let him lean on her shoulder while they walked towards a tree with an especially wide trunk.

 Chapter 32 32 Humility

    ?"I didn''t do anything beyond my means if that''s what you are worried about. Besides, this much is nothing to me. It barely took any effort on my part." replied Zach as he sensed the dissatisfaction in her voice.

    "You gave her your life blood and you are telling me that it was no effort. I sure hope you never put in effort in this lifetime or you might just anger me to death." said Luna as she scrunched up her nose in annoyance at her master''s inability to care for himself.

    "Why did you do it this time? Is it because of guilt again?"

    "Hmm. Believe me or not, it really was no effort at all. I will recover the lost blood in a matter of a few days but the girl will be able to live thanks to that and there won''t be a need for me to feel guilty about not saving her." Zach tried to exin himself so that Luna could get out of this primitive thinking that blood was equivalent to life.

    Luna sat him down near the trunk of the tree so he could rest for a while as she sat down beside him to keep an eye on the hunters.

    However the staring contest between Luna and the hunters didn''tst long as theatose girl woke up after some time and stood up like nothing had happened to her at all.

    Neither Zach nor Luna bothered about her much. Zach only looked at the girl once to make sure that she was alright but closed his eyes afterwards to rest as he leaned back on the tree trunk for support.

    The girl on the other hand was surrounded by the hunters from all sides as they cried and wailed in happiness at the return of their master from the jaws of death. Her servants hugged each other as they cried with genuine tears at the safe return of the girl.

    The girl was dumbfounded at the emotional disy of touching sentiments. She quizzically looked at her group as if to seek answers.

    The old man took the initiative to fill her in on what had happened after she had fallen unconscious. He told her everything from the moment that they had failed to hunt the Dark Wood Hedgehog to the moment when Zach saved her by sacrificing his own blood.

    As the old man told her the story, the girl stole some looks in the direction of the young man from time to time. She held tremendous curiosity towards the man who had saved her life by risking his own.

    Her savior surprisingly didn''t look much older than herself as he sat under the mighty tree with a hooded figure patiently waiting beside him.

    "Why would he risk his life to save a stranger?" The girl thought to herself.

    "Not that I amining but it really isn''t normal no matter how I look at it. Does he want something from me? Maybe he recognized me and decided to do it for some kind of reward." The girl ran countless simtions in her head in order to figure out the possible reasons behind Zach''s actions.

    "No matter the reason, that person did save me at the expense of shortening his own life. I should show my gratitude." The girl was surprisingly well mannered.

    She signaled the hunters to make way as she headed in the direction of Zach and Luna. The hunters followed after her obediently like ducklings walking in the footsteps of their mother.

    Hearing her footsteps that were light as a feather, Zach opened his eyes. Luna too focused her attention on the girl who was heading towards them with her entourage trailing behind her. Their happiness was barely hidden from Zach as the blissful faces of the hunters told the story of their heightened sentiments.

    "She must be a good master." Zach thought as he evaluated the girl who was walking towards him with the grace of the nobility despite wearing clothing that was torn at one or two ces.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "My name is Diana. I heard from my people that you risked your life to save me." The girl stopped in front of Zach and introduced herself in a prim and proper manner.

    "I wouldn''t call it risking my life. Don''t think about it too much." Zach didn''t feel the need to exaggerate his part in saving her life because he wasn''t expecting anything from her.

    "Please don''t be modest. They told me you couldn''t even stand up properly after you finished healing me and had to be supported by thisdy here." Diana pointed towards the hunters as she revealed the source of her knowledge.

    The hunters all fell to their knees and bowed their heads in front of him.

    Up until this moment, all of them had varying opinions regarding Zach. Some were afraid of him because he was a dark mage in their eyes while others thought he had some hidden agenda for approaching them.

    The hunters finally set aside all their apprehensions after the awakening of theirdy. They were no longer conscious of what Zach might have been hiding.

    All of them thanked him from the bottom of their hearts since no matter what his initial intentions were; Zach had helped their master get well by sacrificing his life force. This kind of favor was too heavy for their meager shoulders and offering their sincere gratitude was the least they could do.

    Even the servants who had been reserved around him previously began to sing his praises and that of Luna who had heroically killed off the Dark Wood Hedgehog.

    "I told you guys already. You don''t need to be like this. I didn''t have to give up anything and there will be no damage to my health or my body as a consequence of saving her." Zach emphasized this point so as to get rid of the ufortable feeling welling up within him. Receiving praise for something he hadn''t done, felt surprisingly shameful and he wanted to clear up the misunderstandings if possible otherwise he felt that it would be increasingly difficult to lift his head in front of these people.

    Luna on the other hand felt that it was only natural that these people understood how great her master was.

    Her chest puffed a bit after each eulogy the hunters sang about Zach. It was as if the hunters had been praising her instead of Zach.

    "Don''t be modest. Humility beyond a certain limit feels precocious and I don''t think you are that kind of person. Please ept my sincere thanks for saving my life." Diana said her part after the continuous ranting of her followers had died down.

    At the same time she felt that Zach was a tad different from what she had heard about the dark magicians.

    The breakers of taboo in her imagination were cruel, selfish and hungry for power and wealth. But Zach had broken all the stereotypes. He had not only sacrificed a portion of his life to save hers, he hadn''t even asked for anything in return.

    She would have felt more normal if Zach had tried to manipte or extort her followers after she had fallen into theatose state. But such a powerful dark mage who could control, manipte and transfer life force at his whim, turned out to be theplete opposite of what she could have expected from a dark mage. Far from trying to make a profit, Zach had even tried to downy his own role in healing her.

    "Trying to get my point across to these aborigines is so freaking hard. No matter how much I try to exin, they can''t seem to understand it. They are willing to believe bullsh*t dark magic but won''t listen to my simple logical reasoning." Zach thought in his head as he listened to the ravings of the leader of these madmen.

    "I can''t help but admire you. You pursue the path of a dark mage without straying from the path of humanity. You are a rarity that hasn''t been heard of; a true pioneer of your path. Your path will be the guiding light for those who are stuck in the darkness. Please ept my gratitude not only for saving me today but also for the countless souls who will be saved in the future because of you."

 Chapter 33 33 Elizabeth

    ?Zach felt that these people had reached too far in their imagination regarding his power and intentions. It was to the point that Zach had already lost his opportunity to rify all the misunderstandings.

    "It''s like trying to break a brick wall with my head. Only my head will hurt in the end but the wall will remain steadfast." Zach sighed deeply as he gave in to his fate and epted his new identity.

    Thus, the stigma of being a dark mage became on his persona.

    Luna didn''t say anything either since even she wasn''t sure whether her master was a dark magic practitioner or not.

    Luna only knew that Zach had powerful abilities which could boost women to achieve their full potential and at the same time strengthened his prowess. Whether it was a branch of ck magic or not she had yet to figure out.

    "Let me properly show my gratitude to you both for saving me and my followers. I want to host you at my family home if you allow me. A warm bath and a softfortable bed are waiting for you if you agree to leave this forest with me." Diana offered sincerely.

    "Does she want to use me to leave this forest safely? Was that her true purpose for acting so grateful towards me? If that''s true, she is far too cunning for her age." thought Zach as he stood up with the help of Luna who pulled on her hood nervously.

    The thought of afortable bed and a chance to clean herself brought sparkle in Luna''s eyes. She stared at him with her puppy eyes that shined with hope and glittered with excitement at Diana''s proposal.

    Even though a voice at the back of his head told Zach that he was being used by Diana as a bodyguard for hire, Zach didn''t believe it because her eyes had been too sincere.

    In his opinion, there wasn''t much difference whether he left with them or on his own since he had been looking for a way out of the forest himself.

    Going in thepany of the hunters would at least provide him with a chance to learn more about this new world along the way. Only a fool would reject such an offer after hearing the mention of a soft bed and afortable bath after having crossed the entire forest on foot.

    "Then don''t mind if we take you up on that offer. We have stayed here for far too long anyway." Zach readily showed his agreement to her offer and bowed slightly as thanks for her gesture of hospitality.

    Diana was overjoyed after she was epted. She rushed her followers to prepare a meal using the tender flesh of the Dark Wood Hedgehog obtained after removing its steel like wooden skin.

    After finishing their dinner with relish, Diana looked towards Zach as if asking his opinion regarding departure.

    Upon receiving a positive look from Zach, the procession of hunters led by Diana, Zach and Luna marched towards the exit of the giant forest.

    Any man would have felt blissful walking between a pair of beauties, Zach was no different. His mind wandered from time to time but Zach didn''t stray too far away and didn''t give it too much thought. He had more important things to focus on than the girls.

    "Can I ask where you live?" asked Zach as if he was making small talk with apparentck of interest.

    "I am from Elizabeth." Diana didn''t find it odd at all that Zach had questioned her about their destination. On the contrary she had been anticipating this question. All dark mages would normally make several dozen enemies wherever they went. So there were bound to be ces that were a no-go for them because of the concentration of those enemies and their reputation that might have preceded their arrival.

    Zach, no matter how benevolent, was still a dark mage. And Diana was worried that she might cause him harm by bringing him into a city full of enemies waiting to pounce on him.

    Oblivious to her mental calctions, Zach tried to guess what Elizabeth could be but he was unfamiliar with the ways of this world. Elizabeth could be the name of the town, city or the state where she lived but he couldn''t be sure since he was not a native of this world and was unfamiliar with even the norm.<novelnext></novelnext>

    When Diana saw the nk look on his face as she mentioned the name of the city she lived in, her heavy heart settled down.

    "He doesn''t know where it is."

    She could be sure that Zach had never been to her city which reduced the chances of him running into trouble while he stayed at her house.

    "Elizabeth is a city in the state of Mesore. The state isn''t very far from here but Elizabeth is still some distance away from the periphery of Mesore. If we take some time for rest every night, it should take us about a day and a half to enter into the boundary of the state of Mesore and another 2 days till we reach Elizabeth."

    Diana turned her head to look at Zach who was thinking about his long sojourn through the forest after his arrival in this world. He wondered why he never managed to reach the edge of the forest despite walking for so long when the endy so close. He had wasted more than two weeks when the edge of the forest could have been in his sight on the very first day.

    "Either my sense of direction is distorted or I had the misfortune ofnding at the other end of the forest and on top of that the basic ''follow the sun'' rule of the wilderness survival misfired. Instead of taking me to the exit, it took me further into the depth of the forest." Zachmented as he made a mental chart of his current location, all the ces he had been to before and their current destination.

    "Maybe he hasn''t heard of Elizabeth city before?" thought Diana as she witnessed him straining his mind.

    "You might not have heard about Elizabeth city before because it isn''t a major city; just one of the small ones in the Mesore state."

    Zach dipped his head at different intervals to indicate his understanding as she began exining the geography of her hometown.

    Luna was a silentpanion throughout the journey. She listened intently to the conversation between Zach and Diana but didn''tment on anything. She needed knowledge of the human settlements as well so she could be of more use to her master.

    Zach on the other hand was always conversing with Diana or her followers whenever there was an opportunity to do so. He prodded the servants for information when they came to serve him and Luna their meals every single time.

    Although the servants had been trained well and were usually tight lipped about the situation of their master, they slipped up sometimes as well.

    Thanks to such slip ups on the part of the hunters and the servants, Zach found out some basic information regarding Diana and her family.

    It turned out that the Mesore state which held Elizabeth city was in fact one of the many states of the Hina Empire. And Diana was the eldest daughter of the Luther family which was one of the numerous families based in Elizabeth city.  From her graceful demeanor, Zach deduced that the family must at least be well off if not filthy rich and powerful because only the elite ss families from his previous world were brought up to be like Diana; strong, independent, graceful and intelligent.

    Another piece of notable information was that it was normal for the kids who came of age in such families to set out into the world for adventures. This was supposed to be Diana''s first adventure which should have been smooth sailing but it had gone horribly wrong when they encountered the Dark Wood Hedgehog.

    Originally the group had set out to hunt an E rank or F rank monster but the E rank Silver Crescent Monkey that they had been chasing, sessfully fled their pursuit but not before it seeded in luring them into the territory of the hedgehog.

    During the journey, Zach continued to stay cautious. The only person he truly trusted in the whole group was Luna.

    After her racial status was revealed to the group, the goodwill the group previously held towards her became tainted with not-so-well hidden anger and resentment.

 Chapter 34 34 Dark Mage

    ?Since they still feared the wrath of the dark mage Zach, they began keeping their distance from Luna whom they had been tirelessly thanking for saving their lives up until a few moments ago.

    Zach ignored these changes as he engaged in conversations with the group as before. The only difference was when they had to sleep. Zach and Luna took turns sleeping so one could always keep watch.

    Diana insisted that no one would dare to harm the two but Zach didn''t take her words at their face value despite how sincere she might have been.

    On the third day, after they entered the periphery of the state of Mesore, Zach found an anomaly in his surroundings. He instinctually brought out his gun from the holster and cocked it using his left hand while keeping the muzzle towards the ground.

    Luna saw him take action and knew that something was wrong. She bared her teeth in order to show some deterrence as her me sprang up out of nowhere and began to surround her very being.

    "What is it?" asked Luna without looking at Zach. She continued to scour the area for anything out of ce or any abnormality that she had missed but Zach had caught on.

    Instead of answering the subus, Zach looked towards one of the trees in the vicinity and called out in a loud voice.

    "Is there any point in staying hidden when you have been found out already? Stop ying hide and seek so we can help you with whatever it is that you want."

    From the time they had teamed up with Diana, Zach had been feeling extremely ufortable in his heart. It was as if someone was following him like those stalkers who chased after celebrities.

    But after two days, he finally caught a glimpse of the shadowy figure that tried to stay hidden as it followed the group at a leisurely pace while keeping its distance from them. He didn''t bother making a fuss earlier because the other party didn''t seem to have any bad intentions towards them.

    Zach tried to ignore it but very soon the sneaky gaze felt like two piercingsers that were about to melt through his back.

    At that moment, Zach decided to get rid of the shadowy figure so he could get some peace of mind.

    "Bettere out now or call over some people to take you out of here once I am done taking action. The choice is yours." Zach openly threatened as he began to advance while aiming towards the person hidden behind the tree. Luna stood beside him and advanced every step with him.

    In the heightened emotional state, Zach failed to notice the helpless expression that came over the faces of the group, especially Diana. Luna believed Zach one hundred percent so she didn''t even register what the other humans thought.

    "Please stop. It isn''t what you think." She had difficulty getting her words but the bitterness in her voice was only hidden from Zach and Luna who hadn''t known the girl for very long. The rest of the group seemed especially sympathetic to her as they looked at her with pity.

    Time stopped for Zach as he heard her words. It seemed that he was the only one who hadn''t known of the existence of this stalker as everyone else in the group wasn''t too surprised at Diana''s words.

    "Is it someone from your group?" Zach asked. Anyone could have heard the apprehension in his voice.

    "No, but it is rted to me." sighed Diana as she thought of different ways to exin her situation.

    In the end, she decided to go with the simplest and the most concise exnation she could find.

    "I have been promised to the eldest son of the Sosis family through a mutual understanding between our families. The person you just noticed is from that Sosis family. Basically he is a spy sent by my fiancиж''s family and his only job is to keep an eye on me at all times and report on my daily activities. Of course, they are usually not so tant about it. Since I havee out this time for adventure, they can legitimately do it with the excuse of saving my life in the event of any ident."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What kind of hidden protector lets you get hurt to the point of beingatose and anemic?" Zach wanted to ask her but didn''t give words to his thoughts and just stared at Diana as he tried to say something; anything to ease the tense atmosphere but his mouth felt as if it had been waxed shut.

    Zach put his weapon back in the holster and calmed his tense muscles. The me surrounding Luna vanished at the same time as she pulled down her hood again and assumed her position one step behind him once again.

    Without another nce at the shadowy figure, Zach turned towards Diana who looked like she had eaten something bitter. The small changes in her expression and the sadness hidden in her eyes revealed even more sensitive information to Zach.

    Zach felt that the engagement between Diana and the eldest son of the Sosis family must have been finalized without her consent. Either that or she had willingly be the sacrificial goat for her family. It was already obvious that one family had the upper hand and was inplete control of the other.

    What he didn''t understand was the reason why Diana didn''t offer any resistance despite her clear resentment towards the engagement.

    Since Diana was putting up with such nonsensical and invasive behavior of her inws, Zach didn''t deem it fit to offer his ignorant opinion in this regard until he became sure of her position. It was her personal matter anyway and his interference could be seen as inappropriate.

    Silence prevailed throughout the rest of the journey. Diana didn''t say anything either as the only remaining sound in their vicinity was the whistling of wind that made their clothes flutter like leaves dancing chaotically in a storm after different intervals.

    After specially powerful gusts, Zach used his fingers tob his hair ruffled by the wind in order to avoid looking like a Neanderthal without any quality while Luna pulled her hood so far down that even her face became barely visible.

    The winds died down after Elizabeth city came into sight. The thick castle-like walls of the city reminded Zach of the medieval Europe and the sturdy infrastructure developed during those times.

    Zach received weird looks from people who were working outside the city as they pointed towards him energetically with their fingers. The looks on their faces made him feel self conscious and he tried to avoid them through any means possible.

    Zach wondered if the reason for their adverse attitude towards him was his dressing. He was in fact dressed very differentlypared to the people of the city and the hunters apanying him. All the hunters were either wearingbat gear or the same clothes as the ones in the city while he had be the ugly duckling by default who was wearing clothes from another world.

    In the wilderness it hadn''t mattered much but here in the city it did. They tortured Zach with their condescending looks until he was saved by the arrival of the carriage that Diana had been expecting since the city came into view.

    Based on how they had reacted to his appearance, Zach felt that the people of the city had a very specific sense of dressing that didn''t allow for any deviation from the norm. Aesthetic sense and clothing had differed from region to region even in his previous world. Therefore, he assumed that the adherence to the cultural and traditional practices must be very high among the people of this city particrly because of the strong and developed culture.

    Before long, two sturdy individuals sitting in the front seat of a brilliantly decorated horse carriage pulled on the reins of the twin horses as the carriage came to a halt.

    The two men got down from the carriage and bowed towards Diana who waved her arm hurriedly to keep them from getting into formalities before getting into the carriage.

    She invited both Zach and Luna to sit inside the carriage with her.

    It was a spacious carriage which could easily hold four peoplefortably with a side by side seating capacity of two. Zach and Luna sat on one side while Diana and one of her servants took the other.

    Their journey resumed once the servant gently knocked on the carriage door and pulled on the curtains partially to avoid the sun from hindering their vision.

 Chapter 35 35 Luther

    ?Zach assumed that the knock was a signal to the carriage drivers to move.

    He felt extremely rxed as if he was some tourist visiting medieval Europe as he looked outside the carriage. The entire infrastructure of the city looked extremely sturdy as it had been built using stones that were heavier than steel.

    Zach felt as if he had traveled to the past in his previous world and was witnessing the defining moments of the history he had read about before.

    He had read somewhere that paved roads were the first indication of a well developed infrastructure. A city without awork of roads that could connect it with other cities or towns was basically a ghost city. No one would want to stay in such a ce.

    In Elizabeth city, the roads were not only paved and solid, but were also wide enough to allow the passage of two carriages side by side with ease.

    The people looked busy in their jobs and hardly did Zach find someone idle and wasting time. Unlike his world, the homeless and the beggars were almost non-existent which pointed towards a stable economic system.

    Zach was busy admiring the intricate things about the city as the carriage came to a halt with a jerk that almost threw him from his seat. The others were basically unaffected like they had been used to it for a long time.

    Zach hid his embarrassment that caused his face to flush. Thankfully, no one noticed it and Zach could keep a bit of self-respect.

    "We are here." Diana stated with excitement in her voice. She had almost died on her first adventure so she was obviously excited to be back home after receiving such a scare. But since she had brought guests with her, she didn''t want to seem discourteous by leaving them on their own.

    Zach and Luna followed after Diana and got off the carriage one by one.

    Right in front of the carriage was avish courtyard that could only be owned by the highly privileged and notable members of the society in his previous world. The intricate design carved into the stone used to make the walls and the ambiance created by the superimposition of the various carefully selected decorations onto it was aesthetically pleasing even to Zach who was from a different world.

    Luna wasn''t as interested as Zach in the dижcor and construction but even she was somewhat wowed by the artistic picture that the whole courtyard painted for a first impression.

    What surprised Zach even more was that he had already heard from the group about the status of the Luther family in the Elizabeth city. At best they could be called a small to middle grade family among the true giants calling forth wind and rain in the city. The Luther family was not even close to the top and the conditions of their living were already so superb.

    A group of servants came out into the courtyard and lined up on both sides to receive their youngdy.

    Diana beamed at them as she asked them to hurry.

    "Don''t make our guests wait out here in the courtyard."

    Obviously the servants hadn''t been informed beforehand of the arrival of Zach and Luna. They only greeted them once Diana revealed their status as her guests.

    The servants rushed to carry in their stuff but Zach denied their advances by raising his hand with his palm facing towards the servants.

    Luna did the same since they weren''tfortable handing over their only belongings to someone who was not yet a fully trusted ally. Just like Diana''s group wasn''t fullyfortable with Luna being a subus, he wasn''tfortable with trusting thempletely either.

    Before the hunting party could take their leave, Zach asked Diana to make sure that none of the party members revealed the secret of Luna being a subus until they left the city so they could avoid unnecessary trouble.

    Diana reassured him that such a thing wouldn''t happen since she had already conveyed those instructions to her party members beforehand.<novelnext></novelnext>

    After disbanding her party before the courtyard, Diana rushed towards the living space obviously excited to see her family. Zach didn''t try to stop her as it would have been too cruel to do so to a girl so young and who had been through so much on her first journey away from home.

    Satisfied with her reassurance, Zach trotted after the servants who led them inside with a pace that wasn''t too fast which would cause difort to the guests or too slow which would make their patience run out. They had obviously been trained very well.

    Crossing over the main porch, they were led into the main living space by the servants. Posh furniture, that would have put even the most famous furniture designers of his previous world to shame, adorned the center of the living room. Two adjacent staircases, that were wide enough to run a carriage through each, led to the first floor of the mansion where they turned at right angles and became diametrically opposite to each other.

    A giant rug was ced between the set of couches in the center of the living room which made the room look extremely spacious; even more than it already was.

    Finest patchwork littered the ground at different intervals forming a giant patchwork in coboration with the marble floor of the highest quality.

    The servants led them to the center of the room before all of them but one retreated to the edges of the room where they stood as if waiting for something.

    The servant who was still in front of them bowed courteously and pointed towards the seating area as she said, "Honorable guests, please make yourselffortable. Our master will be with you soon."

    Zach and Lunaplied and sat down as their eyes traveled across the room trying to take in theplete sight at once.

    Even though the servants should have found their actions hrious, none of them dared to show even a hint of a smile; even the corner of their mouths stayed static as if they weren''t capable of such an action.

    They didn''t have to wait very long before the sound of something rolling across the marble floor was heard. Zach looked towards the two giant doors towards his left in anticipation.

    The doors were opened by two doormen and Diana came in while pushing a man in a wheelchair. The person had the same dark hair and almost the same facial features as that of Diana. It was evident in the first nce that the man was rted to Diana somehow. He looked too young to be her father so he was likely to be her older brother.

    The next thing Zach noticed was that the previously cheerful expression of Diana had been reced with a sullen look that made her fairplexion look pale and bitter.

    The young man in the wheelchair came ufortably close to Zach as he held his hand in between his both hands as a gesture of gratitude that came from the bottom of his heart. His expressions clearly revealed the extent of his gratitude.

    "Hello, I am Bruce, Diana''s older brother and your host for as long as you want to stay with our family. My little sister told me how you saved her life by risking your own. I don''t know how I can thank you but let me tell you that for as long as you are here, feel free to ask me for anything. Everything I have will be at your disposal should you wish for it."

    Zach flinched at such an over the top way of being thanked but didn''t reject it outright.

    Bruce calmed down after a minute and retreated a few steps back.

    "Sorry for that. I got overwhelmed by my emotions."

    Bruce bent his upper body towards both Luna and Zach in turn; as much as his crippled body allowed him to at the very least.

    "Please don''t trouble yourself over it. It wasn''t any trouble and since we happened to be passing by, we would have felt bad had something happened to your sister or her group." Zach replied with a gracious smile on his face while Luna nodded to show that she felt the same way.

    Bruce looked extremely satisfied with their answer but the smile on his face was only directed at Zach.

 Chapter 36 36 Jealous

    ?Unlike how he treated Zach, Bruce wasn''t overly thankful towards Luna. He only thanked her while greeting them in the beginning, but refused to show any kind of interest in her existence. Neither did he try to acknowledge her existence nor did he deliberately iste her from the friendly conversation that followed.

    Zach noticed the slight detail and became sure that Bruce had received the news either from Diana herself or from one of her party members. But he didn''t me Diana for it since being the head of the family Bruce should have known about it. The secret would havee out anyway as long as Zach decided to stay with the Luther family.

    Diana was embarrassed when she saw her brother ignoring Luna purposely. She had been the first to notice how peculiar her brother was acting towards Luna.

    She sheepishly looked towards Zach in an attempt to figure out if he had noticed it too.

    To her shame, Zach had figured it out too. He was a smart one after all.

    Even though Zach didn''t look like he med her for this betrayal of trust, she wanted to look for a ce to bury her face. She barely faced him and offered an embarrassed and apologetic smile on top of her already sullen expression.

    "Please you have just finished a long journey and you must be tired out. They will take you to your room where you can rest for a while until dinner is ready." Bruce pointed towards the servant girls as he ordered them to help Zach and Luna.

    "Then we would like to gratefully ept your proposal. The smell of dirt and blood hasn''t left me for some time. I would love to take a long bath at the moment so please excuse us both." Zach too talked in a slightly formal tone as he replied on behalf of Luna as well.

    Zach bowed slightly as was the custom in this world to show his appreciation for Bruce who was hosting him and Luna and then turned to the servants who were still stuck close to the edge of the room like they were decorations.

    When they noticed Zach looking at them, one of them who was especially endowed in certain areas came forward and pointed towards the huge double doors which were guarded by sturdy looking armed guards on both sides.

    Zach didn''t understand why there was a need for guards to be positioned inside one''s home.

    "How cautious and paranoid do you have to be to let them stand guard even inside your living room? What is the use of being rich if you are going to live like that?"

    Thinking such thoughts, Zach followed after the big bosomed servant with Luna in tow.

    They passed by the double doors and entered a well lit corridor that was full of antique looking decorations. ssmps and candbras were ced at various intervals.

    "There goes my hope of rxing while watching TV. It doesn''t look like this ce has electricity. Even such a rich family is still using candles and spiritmps. I wonder what the poor do in this world. Do they just note out of their homes at night? Or do they just use the moonlight for all purposes. It seems tough...living like that."

    Zach was a modern youth who had lived his life behind screens. Whether that of his gamingputer or of television, he was addicted to it. There was never any middle ground for the things he liked or disliked. He was an extremist who took each like or dislike to the very limits. This was what rxation had meant to him in the past.

    At the same time, he wondered what was worth getting addicted to in this world.

    As soon as this thought appeared in his mind, he unconsciously turned towards the seductive subus silently following in his footsteps as she gazed at him with eyes full of adoration and love.

    Thankfully, he had Luna with him who was not only his only link with this world and itsmon sense but turned out to be a far betterpanion than he could have ever hoped for.

    The servant took several abrupt turns as she continued to lead them towards their room which was supposedly located at the other end of thebyrinth likework of corridors that stretched across the lengths of the residence which was surprisingly huge considering the fact that the entrance had never looked so humongous.

    The servant finally stopped at the door of a particr room and opened the door before stepping aside slightly to make way for Zach to enter.

    "This is your room sir. There is an attached bathroom avable. A maid will be here to take care of heating your bath water and to help you in the bath if you like."

    The servant bowed as she muttered some details that Zach had not expected to hear. Although he wasn''t used to such treatment, he wasn''t averse to living the life of the rich for a short duration.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zach nodded and entered the room with a rxed gait. Luna tried to follow him but the clear voice of the servant rang out to stop her in her footsteps.

    "We have prepared a separate room for thedy. If you would please follow me, I can take you to your room."

    "There will be no need for that. I don''t need another room. I can stay here." Luna insisted. Her face was hidden behind the hood or the servant might have seen the wrath bubbling underneath the hood.

    "How dare this wench try to separate me from master? And what does she mean by him needing a maid to attend to him in bath? Aren''t I here?" Luna was by no means a jealous woman. She knew her position and epted it. She didn''t mind Zach having multiple women. Rather she would be happy if such a thing could help Zach.

    But what the servant had just tried to do was separate her from him which was where Luna drew the line. Her proud personality that had been lost underneath her new identity finally reared its head once her priorities were threatened.

    "Let her be. It''s not like it is her fault. She must have been ordered by someone else." As if Zach could sense her feelings, he ordered her to stop being difficult with the servant girl.

    Zach turned towards girl who led them here.

    "We won''t be using the other room. Thank you for bringing us here. As for the maid, tell her to stay put. We can heat our own bath water."

    Zach hurriedly gave instructions to the servant and pulled Luna into the room behind him by grabbing her arm.

    Zach stood in the doorway as he watched the servant girl bow her head and take her leave by taking a few steps back first.

    "Inform us once the dinner is ready but before that do not disturb us."

    Zach closed the door after delivering thest set of instructions to the servant who paused in ce to listen to the details of his orders before continuing on her way.

    "Why did you act like that?" Zach had a slightly admonishing tone as he reprimanded Luna for acting like that. He didn''t want her to be misunderstood by the people that they might live with for a while if situation permitted.

    "She tried to take me to a separate room. What am I supposed to do there?"

    "RestбнTake a warm bathбнisn''t that why we are here?" Zach replied.

    "Then what if I get hungry? Should I eat shit for food with those humans?" Luna retorted slightly angry with her master for taking the side of the human servant against her.

    Zach was dumbstruck by what she said. He had truly not been thinking clearly.

    Luna couldn''t eat with the humans at all. She needed him to eat; she needed him to survive and Zach had tried to send her away. Of course she would act like her tail had been stepped on. Her anger was truly justified.

    At the same time a smile formed at the corner of his lips.

    He pulled down the hood hiding her onyx horns and her seductively innocent face and pulled her into his embrace.

    Holding her tiny waist, he scoured the entire length of her backside with his hand. His face reached the side of her head as his lips kissed her earlobe.

    "My darling subus, you do know that I would be eating the same shit as those humans, right?"

 Chapter 37 37 Dinner

    ?Her face turnedpletely red as she understood the implications of her earlier words on her master. She wanted to hide in shame and anger at herself for losing control so easily. At the same time, the blush creeping on her face was from being in such close proximity to her master. And he had even taken the initiative to get close to him.

    "This must be what being in heaven must feel like." Luna thought as she buried her burning face in Zach''s shoulder to hide from his prodding gaze.

    "You not only barged into my room but also forced me by proxy to reject the services of the maid who would have warmed my bath water. So, tell me something." His voice was so low and seductive that juices flowed down her precious part as she listened to him.

    "Hmmm~" Luna could barely squeeze out a low moan that brought out his beastly instincts.

    "Who is going to prepare my bath now?" Zach asked in the same tone as he yed with her earlobe, squeezed it with his lips, tickled it with his tongue and yed with it by blowing air into her ear.

    "I willбнmaster."

    As ifpletely hypnotized by him, Luna''s barely audible voice came as she bit her lips seductively to keep herself conscious.

    "Good girl." Zach pulled her slightly away from him before sealing her lips with his own.

    "And who is going to help me take a bath?" Zach asked her once again. Her cute reactions made him want to tease her more.

    Luna could barely tell up from down. She had been so surprised when Zach had suddenly embraced her so tightly and had demanded that she draw his bath. But the kiss had directly pulled the soul out of her body. She felt as if she was dreaming and there couldn''t exist such a life for a subus like her especially someone who had a human for her master.

    She was so lost that she didn''t register his voice at all.

    "Should I call for the maid then? I am sure that she would still be willing to wash my back for me."

    THAT brought her out of her thoughts instantly like a cat that had her tail stepped on.

    "NO, I WILL. I will do it." Her voice was louder than it should have beenбнprobably because she was startled.

    Zach tapped his ears a few times to check if he still retained his hearing ability and if her scream hadn''t torn out his eardrum.

    Of course it was just a pretense to tease her further but her terrified look made him stop. He was only ying around and didn''t want Luna to me herself.

    "I am just joking. Nothing happened. I am fine." Zach smiled at her before he pulled her in his embrace once again. This felt oddly satisfying; even more than sex,

    He craned his head back from her and kissed her once again, bringing her out of her paradise.

    "About that bath though, I was serious. Go draw me one. Use your fire to heat the water just right. Don''t scald me just to take out your anger." Zach let go of her waist and she hurriedly moved in the direction of what looked like the bathroom door.

    "I know. There are better ways to do that." Luna threw those words at him before she crossed the threshold of the bathroom door leaving Zach to wonder what she meant by those words. No matter how he thought, there seemed to be an ominous feeling hidden underneath those words.

    Luna heated the bath using her me and checked it by dipping her arm in the bath water. When it was sufficiently warm, she took back her me and called for Zach.

    "Maaaster, your bath is ready. You cane in now."

    Zach had been walking around the room in an attempt to study all the things that adorned the expensive looking room. He heard her voice and put down the spherical object in his hand on the nightstand before moving in the direction of the bathroom.

    When he entered though, he found himself paralyzed as if every breath in his body had frozen over. Steam was rising from the heated bath and through that mist he was able to clearly see the beautiful figure with two onyx horns and a pointed tail jutting behind her back standing at the edge of the bathroom near the wall as she tried to imitate the servants from the living room of this mansion.

    "She really is trying to make up for it. But why am I feeling so ufortable instead?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zach wondered as he took off his clothes and went into the bath.

    He cleansed himself of the grime and dustpletely thanks to the service of the beauty who had followed him into the bath and had busily washed the inessible areas on his back for him.

    Luna was the first to leave the bath as she went to fetch a towel to dry Zach''s body.

    When Zach got out, she was already standing with the towel in hand while water dripped down her own as it streaked past the length of her body before falling onto the wet floor of the bathroom.

    Zach tried to take the towel from her hands but she refused and dried him off as gently as she could; as if she was trying to wipe a baby and not an adult human.

    Zach enjoyed her service as he tried to rein in the monster running wild inside him. It was then that he understood what she had meant earlier about there being better ways to let out her anger.

    THIS was how she was taking out her anger since she couldn''t bring herself to harm him.

    бн

    With a careful knock at the door to their room, the voice that belonged to the busty servant called them both for dinner.

    "Ok wait outside for a bit."

    There was no response from the other side of the door but Zach knew that the servant girl had heard him and was probably waiting beside the door to escort them to the dining room.

    Zach opened up the wardrobe that had been arranged for him before his arrival. He pulled out a clean outfit that was suitable to be worn for a dinner event.

    The outfit was as per the aesthetics of the people of this region so that he wouldn''t receive the same kind of looks as before.

    Luna dressed up in simr clothes but the hood that she wore this time hid the entirety of her mour. The hood hid her hornspletely and revealed her face up to her eyebrows. The sight of her almond shaped face wrapped underneath the hood was so cute that it could arouse desire even in impotent men and those who swung the other way.

    Zach unconsciously caressed her little head with his hand and asked, "Ready?"

    "Hmm" Luna nodded in response to his question.

    Zach opened the door and as expected he was greeted by the busty servant at the entrance bowing till her waist as she revealed the deep crevice between the mountains.

    Zach averted his eyes from the bottomless depth of the crevice and asked her to lead the way with a swaying motion of his hand.

    The dinner had been served by the time they escaped thebyrinth of the corridors and reached the dining room which was adjacent to the living room that they had been previously in. The designer who built this ce was definitely thoughtful enough since he had made the dining room adjacent to the reception room.

    The dining table was surprisingly long with more than twenty chairs on either side. Zach felt that the Luther family must be in the habit of throwing dinner parties since there was no way a family as small as them needed this long a table for their daily use unless there were people other than Bruce and Diana among the Luther family that he had yet to meet.

    Bruce took the seat at the head of the table and to his right sat Diana, the girl he saved with a blood transfusion in the forest. Both of them looked at Zach and Luna as if they had been waiting for them.

    Zach went to the seat exactly opposite to Diana.

    "Sorry for making you wait. In our defense, our room was quite far away from here. It took some time to reach hereбнHehe"

 Chapter 38 38 Menace

    ?Zach apologized and lightened the atmosphere at the same time before pulling out the chair.

    Luna waited for Zach to sit down before she sat down on the seat adjacent to his. Even though Zach never treated her as below him but Luna never tried to act equal to him. Instead she voluntarily stayed a step behind him as if trying not to forget her own position.

    Since she didn''t need to eat, she only kept putting food on Zach''s te as she urged him to eat well.

    Zach didn''t feel ufortable at all under her care. She had been doing this even when they had been wandering in the forest.

    While Luna didn''t need to eat, she could at least apany him during his meals. Zach too appreciated her presence since eating alone was depressing even for him who had lived most of his life previous life behind a screen in his room.

    Diana looked at the two in front of her with a weird gaze as if she couldn''t understand the dynamic between the two.

    Even though she could not understand the rtionship between the two, she could at least make an educated guess based on the harmonious atmosphere between the two as if they were in a world of their own despite not engaging in conversation with each other even once during the entire meal.

    On the other hand Zach talked with Bruce from time to time in an attempt to glean some information about the Hina Empire because it was what Zach currentlycked. He needed information about the human power structure to see where he could fit in this world.

    The dinnersted for an hour and then some. Bruce and Diana had long since finished their food while Luna didn''t eat to begin with. She only busily piled up food on Zach''s te.

    No one asked her to eat anything since they already knew she followed a specific diet n.

    Zach on the other hand ate to his heart''s content long after every one was done.

    Luna waited until he was done and then tried to wipe his mouth with a napkin but Zach didn''t let her.

    He didn''t know the Luther family that well and acting in such a way risked him looking pretentious in the eyes of the host.

    Zach took the napkin from her hands and wiped his mouth roughly before crumpling it into a ball and cing it on the table.

    The dinner concluded once Zach was done.

    "I am a bit tired from the journey, so please excuse me for not being able to entertain you a bit longer. I hope you won''t take it to heart."

    Zach nodded as he smiled at her politely.

    Before Zach could excuse himself from the table as well to go and rest, Bruce stopped him from leaving.

    "Don''t leave yet. If you don''t mind, I would like to talk to you for a minute alone; in my study. I hope you won''t deny me this much."

    Zach couldn''t leave after Bruce had pulled out such a card. It would make him look ungrateful if he didn''tply with such a simple demand. It once again made him feel that Bruce wasn''t as simple as he looked. Every single action of his was carefully calcted and timed so as to achieve the maximum desirable effect.

    "Of course, I don''t mind. Let''s go then." Zach indicated for him to lead the way.

    Luna tried to follow after him as if she had ignored everything Bruce had said to Zach.

    "Why don''t you wait for me here?" Zach wanted to honor hismitment with Bruce.

    Luna looked like she wanted to protest against his order but relented to it in the end. She looked deadpan as she watched Zach follow Bruce towards the first floor.

    The servant from before was pushing Bruce''s wheelchair as she led the way.

    When they entered the study room, Bruce shooed the servant away with a gesture of his hand and asked Zach to close the door.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zachplied and sat on the couch in the middle of the room surrounded by countless bookshelves. Bruce was sitting in his wheelchair exactly on the opposite side of the couch. A table made of ss with a wooden support underneath it was the only thing that separated Zach and Bruce.

    "I have called you here to ask you something." Bruce initiated the conversation.

    Zach wondered what could have made Bruce so curious as to call him alone in the study.

    "Are you truly a human?" Bruce asked with an expression that dictated how serious he was at the moment. If not for his expression, Zach would have burst outughing at such a question, thinking "Is that even a question? Are your eyes just for show or something?"

    Instead he answered with an equally somber expression.

    "Of course I am human. Can''t you tell?"

    "Then why the FUCK are you taking along that FUCKING subus with you? Her race is the enemy of us humans and you dare to adopt one as a partner.

    At the beginning of his rant, Bruce had appeared to be angry at Zach for fraternizing with the enemy which Zach could barely understand based on the racial feud in this world. Even Luna had reacted towards him in the same way and he had onlytere to understand the reasoning behind the war through her own mouth.

    Zach felt slightly disheartened at such an outburst but he didn''t say anything in retaliation. He was trying to be understanding since changing the mindset developed based on the customs and traditions of the region was usually very difficult. He had no intention to change Bruce''s opinion regarding him and Luna because it was bound to be a pain in his ass.

    But towards the end of his rant, Bruce''s voice lowered to a barely audible growl as a threatening element mixed into his overflowing anger.

    "I must say your path ahead may get trulyplicated should the news about your little subus was to leak out. After all, such a taboo being broken isn''t a small thing around these parts."

    "Hahahaha~" Zachughed out loud contrary to Bruce''s expectations.

    "I don''t think that is going to happen." Zach said to Bruce with a handsome smirk on his face.

    "Ohh~бнWhat makes you so sure?" Bruce asked curiously his previous anger nowhere to be found.

    "Cause we wouldn''t be having this discussion in hereбнif that was going to happen."

    Bruce nodded as he understood the logic behind Zach''s confident expression.

    Zach had also understood what Bruce wanted to aplish by bringing him to the study alone.

    "He wants to control me. By holding my secret as leverage, he wants to threaten me."

    "Aren''t you the smart one?" Bruce appreciated with a sarcastic tone.

    "He intends to use me for some purpose that he hasn''t revealed yet. He is just testing the waters." Countless thoughts ran through Zach''s head as he tried to think of a reason why Bruce would need Zach''s help. While Zach had nothing to his name, Bruce was the head of Luther family. Even if it wasn''t thergest family of the city, it was still considerably higher than ny nine percent of the poption of Elizabeth city.

    Once again, Zach cursed hisck of information as he wracked his mind to no avail.

    "I have to leave." Zach came to the conclusion in his heart since he was left with no other option if he didn''t want to be threatened with this secret at every turn.

    "I will be honest with you Mr. Bruce. I didn''t expect that it was going to be this kind of meaningless conversation or I would have never epted your request for this meeting." Zach looked as if he was trying to suppress the rage that was bubbling inside him.

    "Although, my beliefs are not as rigid as yours or those of your Empire, I have never done anything that I might regret in the future. And I will continue to do so despite what happened today because I won''t be haunted by my conscience that way. Had it not been for this conscience of mine that you seek to control, pieces of your sister would have been lying strewn about in that forest since her death meant nothing to me at all. I am warning you. Don''t make me change my mind because it isn''t difficult for me to return your sister to the same condition I found her in."

 Chapter 39 39 Unexpected Request

    ?Zach let out all his frustrations and returned his threats with some threats of his own. Since Bruce was willing to threaten him with Luna''s secret, it was only fair that Bruce''s sister be brought into the line of fire.

    "I assume you won''t want such a fate for your sister and I don''t like to be threatened, let''s take the peaceful road out. I will leave with mypanion in the morning since it is dark outside and I want to take a rest before leaving. And I couldn''t care less even if you reveal mypanion''s secret to the whole Hina Empire. She has me to protect her but I wonder if you can find enough helpers by then to save your sister." With thest threat Zach got up from the couch and headed towards the door.

    Bruce panicked and furiously rolled his wheelchair to block Zach''s path out. Thanks to his quick reaction, Zach found himself face to face with Bruce again; one in wheelchair and the other on his feet as he looked downwards to make eye contact with the other.

    "Wбнwait a moment please" Bruce''s tone had softened to the point of begging. There was a pleading look on his face this time and not that haughty and arrogant one that he had used to threaten Zach just a minute ago.

    As Zach ignored him and tried to move past the wheelchair in his path, Bruce did something that Zach had not expected at all.

    He plopped down to the ground as he let go of his wheelchair and with a thud his knees struck the ground.

    Bruce was on his knees in front of Zach as he pleaded with him while looking pitiful.

    "What''s with these people? How do their brains even work? First it was that stupid girl and now this idiot brother of hers. What makes him think I will listen to him after what he did earlier?" Zach thought as confusion eroded his mind. He couldn''t understand how shameless one had to be to change the spots on their skin without blinking.

    "What kind of dog shit behavior pattern was this?" A moment ago, Bruce was threatening him and now he was on his knees in front of him.

    "Forgive me for my behavior earlier. I know that you might not believe considering how I behaved earlier. But I only did that to make sure that you were the kind of person I hoped you to be." Bruce didn''t stumble on his words this time and the tone of his voice was perfectly steady as if what Zach had seen earlier was a joke or a kind of deception.

    "And what kind of person is that?" Zach asked as he sneered at Bruce''s obvious attempt to change the oue of their confrontation since he had suffered a loss.

    "When I heard about you from my men and from my sister, I thought that you were someone who was after our family''s riches considering that you went so far as to damage your own vitality to save Diana. But when I met you, I was truly amazed. Not only did you not ask for anything in return but you even tried to trivialize your own achievements. Such a humble attitude and such humility cannot be cultivated by those who are greedy for material things. It was only then that I had the suspicion that the information I received regarding you being a great person might not be false at all."

    Zach listened to him patiently as Bruce kept spouting his bullshit. He was waiting for Bruce to get to the point and exin his reasons for threatening him with the secret of his onlypanion in this world.

    "To be honest, the real reason I judged you to be heroic wasn''t because you saved my sister or my people but because of yourpanion. If you weren''t truly kind you would never have tried to keep a subus by your side considering the feud between our races." Bruce breathed deeply and tried to keep a straight face but his emotions kept showing despite his attempts to hide them. He looked like he was euphoric with excitement.

    "How are you so sure that I haven''t just enved her and am using her as I like based on my personal preference?" Zach couldn''t understand why Bruce was so excited because the logic behind his inference was weak at best.

    "Exactly, you are right. I wasn''t sure about that before but from the interactions of you two at the dinner table, I had inkling about the truth. Subi are very prideful and are almost never as subservient to anyone else, especially a human. But the way yourpanion took care of you wasn''t forced at all and didn''t look like a pretense. Anyone could have seen the adoration in her eyes. Even after witnessing all that I couldn''t be a hundred percent sure about you; but I am now." Bruce''s eyes sparkled as he said thest sentence.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Understanding dawned on Zach instantly as he understood why Bruce had to go so far as to antagonize him. It was so he could bring out Zach''s true intentions and his true personality.

    "You took quite a risk. If your hopes had turned out to be false and I wasn''t like what you heard; you would have had a torturous future ahead of you because of this y of yours." Zach wanted to know why the leader of the prestigious Luther family had gone so far just to understand Zach''s character.

    "That just goes to show how desperate I am." Bruce let out a heavy sigh as if trying to ease the burdens on his meager shoulders.

    "I am sorry for how I behaved earlier and the threats I made. I want you to know that I had no intention of harming you in the slightest even if you ended up killing me for the affront. I just wanted to do everything I could to save my sister Diana." Bruce could barely stop from roaring out his anguish because of the helplessness he felt due to his condition.

    Zach didn''t know what to do in such a situation. Bruce had acted too irrationally and had created such a mess between the two.

    Zach felt that there could have been other ways to go about the situation but then again he couldn''t understand the anguish of a cripple who was trying to save his sister despite his handicapped state. He couldn''t how much distrust one cripple could harbor towards the world due to the various betrayals he suffered through.

    Finally, Zach started to feel bad for the head of the prestigious family. He bent down, crossed his arms through Bruce''s underarms and lifted him up with some difficulty. Despite how Bruce looked, he was quite tall; so tall that even Zach had difficulty getting him up.

    When Bruce was fully settled in his wheelchair once again, he looked at Zach with gratitude because he had not only understood Bruce''s intentions but had also forgiven him for his earlier actions.

    "Thank you for understanding my position. You are certainly different. No one else in your position would have been so kind."

    Zach felt slightly ufortable with his words and wanted to refute his words subconsciously but Bruce had not said anything wrong or exaggerated.

    "I don''t need that. Just tell my why?" Zach was serious because he wanted to know why the head of the Luther family was so desperate.

    Bruce exhaled loudly as his eyes wavered as if recalling something painful.

    Zach waited for him as countless emotions came and went from his face but he didn''t interrupt Bruce.

    Bruce began to narrate his story with a solemn look that hid bitterness and sadness behind it.

    "There was a time when Luther family; our family was arge force in Elizabeth city. It wouldn''t be wrong to say that it was the most glorious period of our family. The time when our father was still alive, there wasn''t a single power in this city that had the guts to mess with us. Even nobles steered clear of our way when I swaggered out into the city with my entourage in tow. But as all things are fated, the end to that prosperous period came with the death of our father. Our father was strong; strong enough to give a tough time to any of the strongest mages of the empire but he couldn''t defeat the disease that slowly weakened and took his life."

 Chapter 40 40 Past Events

    ?Bruce took a pause at this time as he tried to swallow the hidden bitterness. He gulped it down as he moistened his throat with his saliva to continue narrating his story to the end.

    "You can probably tell that I wasn''t always a cripple. I wasn''t born a cripple. When I was Diana''s age, I was also a dandy who used my father''s authority and power to y around the city without any care for the consequences. But that all changed when the umbre covering our heads fell and the rain of hail fell on our heads. The hounds waiting outside our house finally broke down our door and attacked."

    Zach was slightly shocked since he had already expected such a story otherwise he might have thrown his eyes out in surprise. He had never expected that Luther family used to be at such heights.

    Now even he was curious about how Bruce came to be in his current state and he began to listen to him even more attentively.

    "I was trained by my father to eventually be the head of the family after his passing. Even among those of my age in other prominent families I had enough talent to stand out even without my family standing. My father made sure of it. But that made the other families wary of my existence as well. Those who had stayed under the shadow of my father dreaded me who was going to take over the Luther family after him. Therefore, as soon as my father departed for the next world, I was framed by the alliance of some of the families. They said that I had raped the daughter of one of those family heads. In ''retaliation'', they cut off my feet and showed me favor by not killing me in ''respect'' for myte father."

    Bruce winced as he remembered the pain that he had gone through after he became a cripple. It had taken him a long time toe to terms with his new reality. The strength he had cultivated through his father''s guidance had be useless the moment he lost his footing and the means to stand up on his own.

    Zach let Bruce take his time since he knew it was difficult for the family head to narrate the whole story in one go without suffering even a little bit. The narration was bound to make him recall some bad events.

    "With my fighting strength now useless, the Luther family became a paper tiger. We had some strength on the surface but all the prominent families of the city already knew that Luther family could be taken down by anyone. If not for something that is most unfortunate and fortunate at the same time, the Luther family might have ceased to exist by now."

    Zach had his interest piqued. He didn''t know about the fighting strength of Bruce, but he was sure that Bruce had a talent for story-telling. He knew when to pause and how to keep his audience on the edge of their seat at all times.

    "You must have heard from Diana about her fiancижe, right?" Bruce asked.

    "Yes she mentioned something about him during our journey." Zach nodded.

    "I see. Did she tell you who he was?"

    "She didn''t tell me in detail but she said something about the eldest son of some prominent family." Zach told him what Diana had told him about her so called fiancижe.

    "Raisman Sosis is the eldest son of the Sosis family. At the time when our family fell from its position, he already had his eyes set on my sister. She was already beautiful at the time and had somehow caught Raisman''s eye."

    Zach knew where the story was headed now. He remembered how he had felt the difference between the statuses of the two families; how Diana had acquiesced to the intrusive behavior of her fiancижe without a protest and the disgust that had momentarily shed on her face once he questioned her about the shadow that kept following them.

    "Raisman gave us ast chance. He threatened us to marry Diana to him in return for his family''s protection from other families and the continued survival of Luther family in Elizabeth city. Otherwise he threatened to raze our family to the groundpletely."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "As expectedбн" Zach thought in his heart. The actions of the lecherous people were the same no matter what kind of world it was. There had been no shortage of such people in his previous world as well. Therefore, he had been sure that Bruce and Diana had a story like that too.

    "That still doesn''t exin why Diana had ventured out into the forest. I don''t think that even with the current condition of your family, you need her to do such a dangerous thing." Zach asked with uncertainty in his words.

    "Of course we don''t. She insisted on doing this despite me reprimanding her. She can be pretty stubborn when she decides on something. If I had stopped her, she would have sneaked out on her own which would have endangered her life even more." Bruce sighed helplessly.

    "Even though she had taken the initiative to ept the proposal sent by Raisman Sosis, I can imagine how repulsed she truly feels towards that lecher. That must be why she took the risk to go to the forest to retrieve the soul crystal of beasts in an attempt to increase her own fighting strength. Thankfully you stopped the unthinkable from happening and for that I can''t thank you enough. I have already lost everything and I couldn''t bear to lose myst living rtive as well." Genuine and sincere gratitude was visible on his face as Bruce looked at Zach earnestly.

    Zach nodded in understanding but didn''t ept his thanks since he had already done so many times before.

    "Let''se to the main point of this discussion. What do you want from me so badly that you are willing to share your story and your weakness with me? I doubt it is because you werecking a friend to listen to your story."

    "You are right. I do need something from you, something that only you can do because there is no one else that I can trustpletely; not even among my own forces." Bruce paused and fiddled with his fingers before continuing with his request.

    "I want you to save my sister from the inevitable fate awaiting her at the end of this road. She doesn''t want to go through with this marriage but the current condition of our family has forced her to take that step. The greatest indication of her true feelings is the fact that she was willing to go to that forest that is infested with monstrous beasts and risked her life just so she could get stronger. She did all that to break free of the chains that bound her; to grow strong enough to protect the family on her own instead of relying on others who were in fact wolves biding their time to bite our backs. I am willing to let our family be forgotten if that means she can have a good life. But my sisterбнshe is too stubborn and won''t listen to me. Therefore, you are my only hope." Bruce once again tried to fall to his knees as he tried to lift himself off the wheelchair.

    Zach, who anticipated his actions, forcefully held his shoulders and pushed him back down into the wheelchair. He couldn''t let such a sincere man lower himself once again in front of him.

    Bruce''s shoulders drooped and shook with every breath as if he was holding something great inside his body, a storm deadly enough to destroy the whole city responsible for the suffering of his sister.

    "You know what?" Bruce asked.

    "What?" Zach reciprocated.

    "I began to resent myself when I saw how my sister tried to save our family by sacrificing myself. I kept telling myself that it was because of my damn legs that I was unable to protect her and I being handicapped was the reason that my sister had ended up taking the fall for the family. But the truth is that I didn''t try hard enough to stop her. I should have forcefully sent her away before the situation devolved to such a degree."

    Bruce seemed genuinely haunted by the past as he narrated his regrets for not taking care of his sister well enough.

 Chapter 41 41 Similar Effect

    ?"Somewhere in my mind, I must have been prepared for such a sacrifice already. I just hid behind my crippled state and sought the easy way out which doomed my sister to a fate beyond cruel. That Raisman bastard isn''t just lecherous; he is a fiend who can put even beasts to shame. So many women have died at his hands after being tortured to death. I just want to prevent my sister from following suit."

    Silence took over the study room every time Bruce stopped talking.

    Zach didn''t say anything at all. He let Bruce empty his heart out but paid attention to every single detail.

    "Please help me save my sister. That''s what I want to ask of you. I am willing to do anything in my power to pay you back. I am even willing to hand over my soul to you even though it might not be worth very much."

    *ding*

    [You have sessfully triggered a quest by fulfilling the required conditions.]

    [A Cripple''s Despair]

    [Quest Description: The Luther family of Elizabeth city has fallen from grace and is currently under the threat of extermination at the hands of Sosis family and the other vultures of the Elizabeth city. The crippled head of the Luther family ''Bruce'' is unable to do anything to prevent the destruction of his family at the hands of those who wish them harm. The sister of the family head has therefore taken it upon herself to save the family by marrying one of their enemies. The head of Luther family is in despair for not being able to save his sister and has therefore requested your assistance in order to save his sister from the despair awaiting her. ept his request and help Bruce till the end.]

    [Quest Clear Condition: Save Bruce''s sister as per his request and keep the Luther family from being destroyed.]

    [Quest Clear Rewards: бн]

    [Quest Failure Penalty: бн]

    [ept Quest: Y/N]

    Zach didn''t even think before epting the quest with all his heart. After the heartfelt story narrated by Bruce, Zach didn''t have the heart to reject his request.

    Moreover, the triggering of the quest only increased his motivation towards his decision. Quests meant more rewards and more weapons that could potentially increase Zach''s strength in this world.

    ["A Cripple''s Despair" has been added to the quest window. The information can be seen on the quest window if required.]

    *ding*

    [A quest item has been added to the arsenal. It can be retrieved from the arsenal when needed.]

    Zach was excited as he had done nothing at all to get an item as a reward just for epting Bruce''s request. Without waiting any further, Zach willed open his weapons arsenal.

    As usual the new addition to the arsenal was emboldened so the item was easy to distinguish.

    As soon as Zach read the name of the newly received item, the excitement that he had barely been able to contain, vanished without a trace; as if it had never been there in the first ce. His face froze and a hint of disappointment appeared on his previously excited face.

    The item was called, ''Advanced Limb-Assist Shell''. Although it was an item that was only avable towards theter stages of the game Neb, it had limited use. Only once a yer lost their limb in action could they use such an item to maintain their mobility.

    Of course the only reason Zach had received such an item early on despite his low level was because it was the requirement of the quest. He needed to help Bruce get back on his feet so that he could get out of the abyss of despair and move on with his life.

    The advanced limb-assist shell was capable of not only recing the missing limbpletely but could also enhance the mobility of the individual greatly. Zach knew about the detail because he remembered that the usage of such an item was usually apanied by a movement speed buff and a slight increase in attack strength, attack speed and defense.

    Zach checked the item information just to be sure that the item was exactly as what he remembered. Although he had already seen that the items from Neb were replicated in their entirety but this time Zach felt that there was a chance of getting something extra ordinary since this was a quest item.

    [Advanced Limb-Assisted Shell]<novelnext></novelnext>

    [Physical Damage: +200]     [Magic Damage: 0]

    [Durability: 100/100]

    [Weapon Description: An item created using the advanced concepts of magic and engineering. A highly flexible and tensile metal has been used in the creation of this item as it involves the interlinking of countless intricate pieces that allows it to assume different shape based on the requirement of the wielder. It can be used to rece any missing limb of the body. Not only can the functionality of the limb be replicated but the strength, defense and speed can also be increased slightly.]

    [Weapon Skills]

    [Touch of Wind]

    [Effect: If this item is used to rece a missing foot or leg, the movement speed increases by 50% permanently. If the item is used to rece a hand or arm, the attack speed increases by 50% and retains the buff until the durability of the item falls below 50% of the total durability.]

    [Metal Skin]

    [Effect: The metal limb increases the defense of the wielder slightly. Low power attacks can be directly stopped using the metal limb without causing any damage to the durability.]

    [Polymorph]

    [Effect: The magic engineering wonder allows the item to take the shape of any missing limb instantly.]

    Zach found that the buff given by this quest item was so nonsensical that he had never seen something like that before in Neb before. The movement speed and attack speed buff of almost 50% was so high that Zach almost felt jealous of Bruce for being able to use this item.

    Being able to be the top gamer in Neb, Zach wasn''t dumb. He knew that the effect of the item were so nonsensical because the system had rewarded him with such an item only because it was supposed to be given to Bruce and wasn''t for his own use.

    Zach couldn''t use it because he wasn''t missing a limb. Therefore, system had arranged the item for Bruce to help him with the quest.

    Once Zach had understood the effects of the item in their entirety, he proceeded to gain favor of Bruce by offering him a way to move on his own once again.

    With an excited smile, Zach turned towards Bruce who had been staring at him earnestly as he waited for Zach''s reply.

    "Why do you need my help? Why can''t you save her yourself?"

    Bruce couldn''t believe what Zach had asked him. He hadn''t expected Zach to be someone who took pleasure in kicking those who were already down especially a cripple like him. He felt betrayed as he had already ced all his trust in Zach.

    Bruce felt anger welling up inside of his chest and just as he was about to burst out Zach said something that something that grabbed all his attention and made him forget his earlier anger.

    "What if I can make it so that you can protect your sister with your own hands? What would you do?"

    Bruce was dumbfounded when he heard Zach''s question. Of course Bruce knew that his condition was not permanent since he wasn''t born a cripple and had his legs cut offter which could be healed with the help of an S rank healer any of whom were capable of regenerating severed limbs with ease. The only problem was that the services of such individuals were so expensive that all his family''s wealth was not enough to make him stand again.

    "If such a thing was possible, I would never have waited for someone like you toe along. I would have already taken care of it all on my own." Bruce showed how he felt while clenching his teeth thinking whether such a possibility existed at all.

    "I can help you get normal again. Although I can''t help you regenerate your feet, the effect won''t be any less than that."  Zach reassured Bruce whose doubt was constantly rising.

    Bruce had not expected that Zach could heal his injury at all. He believed that Zach was a dark mage and there hadn''t been a dark mage in history that was capable of regenerating limbs which could only be carried out through healing magic or holy magic which had simr effect.

 Chapter 42 42 Breakfast

    ?Dark magic and holy magic were practically opposite in terms of attributes due to which it was impossible for anyone to be proficient in the use of the two at the same time, even if the person in question was Zach who was a genius with huge potential in Bruce''s eyes.

    "Don''t joke around. There is no way you can do such a thing. Even S rank healers can barely help me in my current condition and you can''t be a healer." Bruce chided Zach for giving him false hope.

    But Zach wasn''t willing to back down. He took out a mechanical box that looked the size of a Rubik''s cube.

    Zach threw it towards Bruce''s legs. Bruce thought that Zach had tried to throw it to him and therefore tried to catch it but missed since his earlier out of wheelchair action had drained his strength.

    The box didn''t strike his legs as Bruce had expected. The pain from the collision never came and instead there was the sound of mechanical whirring as if countless gears were turning at the same time.

    Bruce felt something attach to the bottom of his leg stumps. He looked down and witnessed that the mechanical box that Zach had threw towards him was busy changing its shape as the countless pieces of metal stretched and reattached around his legs.

    The new mechanical feet that attached themselves to the end of the stumps soon became as if they were the part of Bruce''s body. The new feet even connected themselves to the various nerve endings of the leg so that there was no difference between Bruce''s original feet and the new ones except that the new ones looked more exotic, costly and strongerpared to his original ones.

    He could feel strength welling up inside his legs whose functions he had lost a long while ago.

    It had been a long time that Bruce had experience the feeling of receiving a response from his own feet. He had tried to feel his non-existent feet ever since he had lost them in hopes of some miracle but the awaited miracle only came after the arrival of Zach.

    "It really is as he said. Despite not being as good as regenerating a new limb, this much is enough for me to protect my sister from all the threats in the city."

    Tears finally leaked from the eyes of the man who had steeled his will ever since he became a cripple. There weren''t many things that could faze him but the return of his legs was an event worth shedding tears for.

    Bruce wailed and sobbed with a smile on his face. He couldn''t stop himself from falling on the ground but this time he didn''t fall on his knees like a sack of vegetables but his fall was controlled by his powerful mechanical feet which were firmly nted on the ground.

    "I can''t imagine how to thank you for what you have done for me. Thank you for giving me a chance to save my sister with my own hands. I was already half dead since there was almost no use of my continued existence. You not only saved my sister''s life but also gave me a new lease on life. There won''t be a greater benefactor of our family in the future. I am sure of it." Bruce''s head almost touched the ground as he kowtowed towards his savior.

    Zach couldn''t bear to see Bruce on his knees once again. He rushed to pick Bruce off the ground. As he tried to help Bruce stand up straight, he shook his head and sat back down in his wheelchair that had been his prison for the past few years.

    Zach was confused. He had expected that Bruce would set fire to his wheelchair right there and then considering how much he hated his crippled condition. But Bruce did nothing of the sort as he chose to sit in that wheelchair once again.

    "Why? Aren''t you sick of it already?" Zach asked.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I don''t want my enemies to be wary of me in any way. If they find out that I have recovered my ability to move freely, they might change their strategy or think of striking in some other way. I want them to think of me as the same useless pawn that they could move and sacrifice at their whim so that when I finally strike, they wouldn''t see meing at all."

    Even though Bruce was somewhat confident in taking care of those who were responsible for his condition, he wasn''t'' going to let go of the chance that Zach had created for him.

    "Have you figured out who is pulling the strings from behind the other families to cause the current state of the Luther family?" Zach asked curiously.

    "Who else? It''s the Sosis family. They used to be below us in the hierarchy of Elizabeth city. Since they couldn''t bear being below our family, they led other families to revolt against our authority after our father passed away. They also instigated my framing and were the most outspoken amongst the forces responsible for crippling me. It''s good that I can exact my vengeance on my own now thanks to you. I have been holding back for far too long. It''s time to show my wrath. But I will wait for that opportune moment before destroying the Sosis family in one fell swoop. Now that I am back to my peak fighting condition, I will make sure to pay them back with interest no matter what." vowed Bruce while clenching his fists tightly.

    бн

    Zach slept especially peacefully in the embrace of the softness of bed that he had came across after the endless wandering in the forest where he had to sleep on the makeshift bedding made from the fur of the Earth Bear. It wasfortable enoughpared to the times he had to sleep on the ground directly, it wasn''t asfortable as the bed in his room in the Luther family mansion.

    Zach had fallen asleep as soon as his tired body touched the bed.

    The next morning he woke up to strange slurping sounds. He felt unusually aroused. At first Zach thought that it was only morning wood but when he rubbed sleep from his eyes using the back of his hands, he saw the seductress sucking on his hardened pole.

    Zach thought that he was having a wet dream for the first time in a while but the sensation of something soft wriggling against his little brother was too real to ignore.

    Luna had a smile on her face as her eyes almost curved into a half moon with happiness as she rolled her tongue around the tip of Zach''s little brother from time to time. She swallowed the entirety of his shaft deep inside her throat which almost made her gag due to its humongous size. She produced gurgling sounds as the shaft went deeper into her throat but being an experienced subus Luna took it all in stride without a change in her expression, as if she barely felt it. Luna didn''t give him a chance to breathe before she wrapped her hands around his little brother and stroked it as she gave it a saliva coated oral massage.

    Zach didn''t have to do anything as he enjoyed her service with a smile on his face. His expression soon became slightly strained as he came to close to spilling his seed into her mouth due to the softness surrounding his dick.

    No being able to hold back, Zach shot his semen and painted the walls of her mouth white with his seed. Like a good little subus, Luna didn''t waste a single drop of it and swallowed it all before showing her empty mouth to Zach dictating her obedience and affection towards him.

    "Thanks for the breakfast master. I enjoyed it a lot." Luna chimed excitedly.

    Zach felt slightly guilty for not feeding herst night. Even though he had stuffed himself at the dinner table, he hadn''t asked Luna whether she was feeling hungry. Maybe she was so hungry that she couldn''t help but eat without waiting for him to wake up.

    "What are you doing so early in the morningбнhuh?" Zach asked with a smile as he gently caressed her hair as shey on his chest with her heavy mounds pressed against his as they expanded and contracted heavily with each breath.

 Chapter 43 43 Childlike

    ?"Master, are you angry?" Luna asked without looking up from his chest as if she was too ashamed to face him.

    "No, I am not." Zach replied nonchntly.

    Luna felt better and finally exhaled the breath that she had been holding in fear that Zach might be angry with her for doing such a thing. She raised her head and looked at Zach was looking at her tenderly.

    When their eyes met, Zach asked her, "Were you hungry?"

    "Hmm" nodded Luna vigorously as she tried to justify her actions.

    "Don''t hold back and eat once you need to eat, all right? Otherwise I will feel bad for starving my only partner." Zach encouraged her to tell him whenever she was feeling hungry. The least he could do for her unending loyalty to him was feed her after all.

    "Then I am going to wake you up in this way every single day. This is going to be our morning routine so I can have my breakfast in time too." Luna''s bell likeughter was contagious as even Zach couldn''t keep himself from smiling as he felt that he had brought home a hungry little devil.

    Zach pulled her close to his face and enclosed her in a bear hug by wrapping his arms around her tiny waist. Kissing her fiercely on the mouth, Zach yed with her tongue for a while before letting her go so she could breathe a little.

    Luna felt bliss enter from every pore of her body. Her master treated her so well that she didn''t want to leave his embrace ever. This was the kind of life that she had always dreamed of living but had she not met Zach, she could never have found simr happiness.

    She was living her life as a subus fully. She could eat her fill on a daily basis without having to hurt another person. Moreover, she could fulfill her sexual desires and cravings with the person she loved most in the world. Her master not only fed her but also loved her in the gentlest manner possible.

    Zach ate his breakfast in his room. The luxurious breakfast under Luna''s supervision made one thing clear to him; that it wasn''t for nothing that the Luther family had once been called an elite family of the Elizabeth city.

    Luna proved to be a more faithful and devoted servant than he could have ever expected. She barely left his side as she tried to observe and understand his eating habits as a human.

    Since the beginning of their arrival at Luther family''s estate, Luna had been taking care of almost everything regarding Zach. She observed and put to memory the sort of food Zach liked to consume and put all his meals through strict scrutiny to ensure only the things he preferred reached his meal table.

    For a human like Zach, the dishes on the table and the quantity were both too much to eat in one sitting.

    The breakfast was sovish that Zach''s jaw almost hit the ground when he saw the table arranged by Luna for him. The dishes piled up on top of it and were practically spilling from the sides of the table. If not for the ingenious arrangement of the dishes that manipted the centre of the gravity of the tes towards the centre of the table, the whole arrangement would have dropped off the table a long time ago.

    "Is this the life of the rich? What kind of pathetic life have I been living so far?" Zach thought in his heart as he noticed how meticulous Luna could be when she wanted to. The arrangement and the thoughtfulness of the person who set the table were evident from the care with which each dish had been selected. There wasn''t a single thing Zach didn''t like among the table full of cuisines.

    Zach didn''t want to disappoint Luna''s expectant look but his appetite was nothingpared to the plethora of dishes waiting for him to partake in them.

    He did his best to take a bit of everything that Luna continued to put in his te as she nudged him to try one after the other. Zach could do nothing butply with her request since she had put in so much effort after getting up early in the morning.

    Even though Zach ate until his belly felt bloated and the level of undigested food in his body started to rise in defiance until it eventually clogged the food intakepletely. Zach felt the urge to vomit consistently but he forcefully held everything in because he knew how sensitive Luna could be when it came to his well being. She would probably have med herself for causing him harm.

    Even after Zach had suffered through such an ordeal, Luna still looked slightly unhappy since there were dishes on the table that Zach had refused to touch even briefly.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Meanwhile Zach''s mind that wasn''t busy sending signals of pain throughout his belly and his esophagus was preupied with thoughts of finding a way to deal with the Sosis family that was one of the overlords in the Elizabeth city.

    Given the circumstances, Zach was sure he needed to fullyprehend the customs of family engagements if he wanted to find a way out before the Sosis family decided to make their move.

    For that reason, Zack needed to talk to Bruce so they could hold a nning session toe up with a strategy that was viable enough to deal with the Sosis family in one fell swoop.

    With that thought clouding his logic circuits, Zach jerked up to his feet and walked towards the door inrge strides.

    Leaving his room in a hurry, Zach rushed towards the end of the mansion that Bruce had taken for his residence. But when he came out into the hallway whilepletely lost in thought; he suddenly remembered thebyrinthinework of corridors that connected the entire mansion.

    There was no way he could remember every single pathway when he had only gone through them once. Had it not been for the servant who hade to fetch them yesterday, Zach and Luna would have still been looking for the dining room.

    "I am such an idiot. How could I forget such an important thing?" Zach wanted to p himself in the face for what he had almost jumped into.

    "Those maidsбнI need to look for them if I want to find my way in this ce. How troublesomeбн" Zach reached a conclusion in his mind.

    His luck could have taken another wrong turn but thankfully he wasn''t cursed by the goddess of luck as it had seemed earlier. He soon found a maid who was busy dusting the candbras fixed into the walls of the corridors at various intervals.

    Zach asked her to guide him to Bruce''s room. She became his guide and led him through the elusive pathways.

    His mind was still concentrated with the thoughts about the Sosis family as he mindlessly followed after the maid with the intention to discuss these budding thoughts with Bruce.

    As they turned into the corridor that passed through Bruce''s room they were suddenly jumped by Diana who intercepted them midway.

    Zach was slightly shocked but he didn''t show it on his face and acted as cool as possible to hide the shame of how his heart had almost jumped into his throat at her ambush.

    Diana''s gaze was somewhat different from what he was used to. It was cowering like it had lost the confidence and the grace that was characteristic with Diana. The usual Diana was a bold and confident woman and Zach had never seen her lower her eyes in front of anyone; not even her brother.

    This unusual gesture increased the childlike aura of innocence around her which was usually pushed into the shadow by her confident gait and her overbearing familial status.

    Zach noticed unexpected gloominess on her face which should have departed after she made it back to her room following the life threatening situations that she had been in.

    "May I have a moment of your time?" Diana asked very politely.

    Her lowered voice like that of a siren whenbined with her unmatched beauty could havepelled anyone to pay attention to her. Zach wasn''t an exception either. Despite being exposed to Luna''s unadulterated charm on a daily basis, he was still brought of his thoughts by the musical voice that asked his permission before mesmerizing him.

 Chapter 44 44 Healer?

    ?"Sure" replied Zach in his usual cool outlook.

    Diana started walking in front of Zach after she dismissed the maid who had previously been his guide essentially taking over her role. The transition of the position didn''t take much time as Zach started following in Diana''s footsteps as if the change had never happened in the first ce and he had always been following after Diana after leaving his room.

    Diana didn''t care whether Zach was a stranger or not; she led him to her bedroom as if it didn''t matter at all.

    Zach looked around as soon as he reached the threshold of her bedroom; it was his first time in a girl''s bedroom after all both in his previous world and in this new world. He was naturally curious.

    Diana let him look around as she waited for him near the only door of the room. She softly closed it after Zach came in and turned around to face Zach who was busy scanning the room.

    When Zach turned back around to face Diana afterpleting a survey of the room, he was shocked to find Diana kneeling in front of him.

    Startled by the suddenness of it, Zack couldn''t process the change.

    Diana looked towards Zach like an innocent child and pleaded with him in her sweet voice that was shaking like a solitary leaf on a stormy night.

    "I know that it is shameless of me to keep asking favors from you when all you have done is help me and I have not been able to do anything for you in return. But allow me to be shameless for the veryst time because there is no one else whom I can ask toe to my assistance."

    Zach could feel her sincerity from her words but that didn''t mean he was willing to be a tool for just anyone. He wasn''t going to help her just because she looked pitiful. But before making his judgment, Zach felt that it was only right that he hear her outpletely so he urged her to talk.

    "Please heal my brother''s feet; I beg you. I know that it is close to impossible but you have already created a miracle by pulling me back from the depths of hell and I have a firm belief that even if there is a single person out there who can help my brother then it has to be you." Her eyes shined like a gxy full of stars as the image of the savior that she had imagined in her dreams and that of Zach superimposed in real time.

    "You know whatбнmy big brother has already suffered a lot. After our father left us, he lost his legs because of the uprising of the families. He was supposed to be the heir to the mighty Luther family, the overlords of Elizabeth city who could walk sideways in the city without a care for the world. But instead he became the head of the mediocre Luther family that had fallen so low that its mere existence was due to the mercy of the new rulers. I still remember how it tore my heart seeing my brother try tofort me even when he was in such a pitiful condition. I have tried to help my brother on my own but I couldn''t find a solution to help him stand once again; except you that is. Pleaseбнhelp my brother if you can. I am willing to do anything in returnбнABSOLUTELY anything."

    Zack found this request a bit rude considering all that he had done for her. She was still not satisfied which made Zach feel as if he was being used. He would have refused her without even hearing her story had the way she requested it not moved Zach''s heart.

    Zach felt touched by the sincerity of the two siblings. Humans were inherently selfish and even family didn''t mean much to most of them. Yet these two who only had a family name to hold on to, were still capable of looking out for each other and not just for their own self.

    Zach remembered how Bruce had also pleaded with him to save his sister andpared it with how Diana was begging him now to help Bruce. Both of them seemed so simr in their approach. It was as if each of them was willing to do anything to help the other. Zach could be sure of their sincerity, love and care for each other just from that.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "How do you expect me to help Bruce? I am not a healer." Zach yed along as he wanted to hear her say it out loud.

    "You have done a lot for us which is why I can only put my trust in you. I have seen how gentle and caring you heart is which makes me want to believe that even if you don''t have a way to heal him now, you will surely try to find one in the future so you can fulfill my request. Don''t get me wrongбнI am not trying to dump my burden on top of you. My brother is my responsibility and I am willing to do anything for my brother. If you really can''t do it, I will just agree to my marriage to Raisman Sosis with my brother''s health as the condition. I am sure that the Sosis family has the means to invite a healer capable of regenerating limbs."

    A tear rolled down her cheek and her voice stammered near the end but the sincerity and the confidence in her eyes never wavered for the smallest instant.

    Zach was impressed. She made Zach feel small even though she was the one begging on her knees instead of him. Her sheer determination and will to sacrifice herself for her brother was saintly at the very least and made Zach feel guilty for doubting her sincerity.

    Zach wanted to reassure Diana by telling her about Bruce''s advanced and functioning new feet but he remembered the promise he had made to Bruce previously.

    Although the secret was supposed to be only temporary; Zack was nothing if not a man of his words. He did not tell Diana about the resolution of Bruce''s disability and agreed to her plea without making a lot of fuss.

    "Alrightбнalright I will help you. There is no need to think so much about sacrificing yourself. A girl like you is too young and beautiful to even be thinking about such unlucky things." joked Zach as he tried to make Dianaugh.

    Diana bursts into tears of joy. The shine in her eyes came back and her shoulders stopped drooping as if a heavy burden had been removed from her shoulders. The biggest burden that had weighed down on her chest had just vanished with a few words from Zach. She knew that since Zach had promised her to heal his brother, it was only a matter of time before he did.

    With renewed vigor she bowed her head as she kneeled even more properly as she continued pleading with Zach like an acolyte of a cult.

    "Since you have agreed, I have one more thing to ask of you." Diana''s head was so low that Zach couldn''t see her face at all otherwise he would have noticed her overflowing excitement.

    Zach felt that things were getting out of hand. The girl was taking him for granted considering the fact that this was already the third time she was asking him for a favor.

    "How thick is her face? She keeps asking me for favors without blinking an eye. Maybe I should draw a line this time or I will end up bing an errand boy for this household." Zach thought as he witnessed how shameless Diana could be.

    "Please let me follow you. I want you to be my master." asked Diana with the same confident voice associated to her personality but for some reason her face was burning and she couldn''t dare to lift her face up to face Zach.

    Zack was stunned by this sudden turn of events. Just when he thought that the girl was going to ask him for another shameless favor, it turned out to be such a thing. Zach wondered why the girl was being so adamant about it.

 Chapter 45 45 Your Master?

    ?"Why do you want me to be your master? Does it have to be me? There should be many who are more suitable than me in this city alone. So why bother with me?" asked Zach as he tried to figure out her reasons for approaching him. He was fully aware of his own value and knew that there was no way a figure like Diana would want to follow after him without a valid reason.

    "Is she interested in ck magic? Is that why she is asking me to be her teacher?" thought Zach as the whole Luther family had somehowe to believe the misconception that Zach was a powerful dark mage.

    His line of thought was broken into pieces by the very first words she uttered to him in response to his earlier question.

    "FirstбнI don''t want to marry Raisman and secondlyбнI am eager to be stronger; stronger than all of Sosis family, stronger than they can ever hope to be so I can protect what is important to me."

    Zach nodded like those old masters in the movies from his previous world as he pretended to know the ways of the world. He lightly nodded his head in response to her escting voice which gave the impression that he clearly understood all her predicaments.

    "But is that all?" Zach had been feeling that Diana was acting weird as she refused to look at him and kept her head lowered. He felt as if there was something that Diana was not being honest about.

    "Ummбнmy power suddenly increased from E rank to D rank even though I didn''t absorb the soul crystal I got from the Dark Wood Hedgehog. At first I was shocked but then I couldn''t believe how easy it had been. It was like I woke up one day and suddenly found myself full of strength capable of smashing any E rank mage into the ground without any effort. And then it clicked in mindбн" Diana acquiesced to his on point probing and revealed that she had suddenly upgraded to D rank without doing anything in particr.

    "WHATбнWHAT CLICKED?" Zach wanted to shout out the frustration that he was feeling because of the cliffhanger at which she had stopped midsentence.

    "Your bloodбн It should be the secret behind my newfound strengthбнMaster." Diana paused before saying thest word but when she said itбнit was with a boiling resolve.

    ? A serious expression appeared on Zach''s face as he felt that he had anticipated the answer too much. In reality the reason had been too simple and it should have been the first thing that should havee to his mind.

    It was then that he figured out something about Dianaбн she was a beauty with brains. She wasn''t as helpless as she seemed sometimes. She had figured out the trick with his blood without any outside help or hint. Even Luna hadn''t been able to figure it out despite having slept with him.

    "Then what about your family? I heard that they spared your family only because you agreed to marry the heir to the Sosis family. If you are going to follow me, then are you going to let your family suffer at their hands? What about your brother then?" Zach asked with a snake like cunning smile that wasn''t like a smile at all.

    "If you decided to let me follow you, will you still let me go to another man?" Diana asked rhetorically because she already knew the answer to that. She had already seen how he took care of Luna despite her position being lower than his own.

    Zach let out a sigh as if she had convinced him with her somewhat maniptive logic. But even more effective than that had been the fact that Zach didn''t want to let some bastard like Raisman take advantage of a nice girl like her. Moreover, he had already decided to help Bruce with breaking off her engagement.

    "Fine, consider it as if your tenacity has won. I will help you break your engagement with that lecherous bastard but we need to look for a way that won''t result in the deration of war between the families or it might even backfire on us. Your brother might have to bear the brunt of it for you in that case."

    Zack reassured her that she wouldn''t have to marry that bastard but for that to work he wanted to discuss a way forward with Bruce who was going to be as much involved in the aftermath as him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As soon as they came out into the corridor in order to go talk to Bruce about their way forward, they heard a voice in the vicinity that seemed to be calling for Zach.

    Who else could it have been but Luna?  She was already on the lookout for Zach as she felt that it had been quite some time since he left their room. She got worried and decided toe out to look for him.

    Zach wondered how she had managed to locate him in the maze of corridors when he couldn''t make the slightest sense of the super structure.

    With all three of them together, they decided to call on Bruce together so that everyone could understand their role in this situation.

    Bruce was surprised to see all three of them together. Since it was such an unlikely event, Bruce felt that something could have gone wrong. His heart nearly gave out as he felt his lungs being stomped by a thousand elephants. His heartbeat grew faster than a piston engine and the sound of it could be heard by anyone in the room.

    "Is everything alright?" asked Bruce, his voice filled with genuine concern.

    "It''s time to break off her engagement with that lecher." Zack responded with utmost confidence in his voice.

    Bruce understood their determination with just a single nce. Their bodynguage perfectly mirrored his observation.

    Since he had already made Zach promise him regarding the annulment of the engagement, he had been looking forward to discussing the details with Zach. But before he could take the initiative in his hands, Zach hade looking for him with Diana in tow in order to discuss the very same thing.

    Bruce nodded and offered seats to all of them. There was room enough for three to sit at the small table in his room. Since he was already sitting in his wheelchair, the three of them each took a seat. Luna hade as an observer of sorts since she wasn''t a direct part of anything regarding the Luther family. She had her fate entangled with the Luther family because of her association with her master who had promised to help out the brother and sister duo.

    "As eager as I am to get my sister out of this abominable engagement, we can''t be too upfront about it. We need to have a reasonable excuse or a logical reason to do such a thing." Bruce initiated the conversation since all of them were reluctant to begin probably because they were not veryfortable with each other as it was their first time being together as a group.

    "Exactly what we were thinkingбнwe need to take the morally high ground now since we already signed the contract in in sight of the public. There are surely a lot of witnesses to that so we can''t be too deliberate about it."  Diana agreed with her brother''s point of view as Zach had previously been of the same opinion.

    Luna was basically a silent observer as she nodded along with everything that Zach said and observed the reactions of the other two. She red at them when they didn''t agree with Zach''s suggestions and listened attentively when he spoke. Other than that she didn''t care even if the Luther family went up in mes.

    Bruce felt that they needed to wait a bit for a solution to emerge on its own. He felt that there moment woulde soon if the Sosis family tried to be more forceful with them. Diana on the other hand didn''t want to be associated with that lecher for a second more so she pushed for a more aggressive approach.

    Discussion went on and finally Zack came up with an idea that not only addressed the problem but also had the potential to save their family''s name.

 Chapter 46 46 Raisman

    ?"We should tell everyone that Diana is already be mine due to some unforeseen ident. Of course, the information has to be leaked stealthily through unidentified sources without any credibility. Information brokers should be the way to go instead of using the family''s resources. That way, you don''t have to be worried about public outrage since your family had nothing to do with it. After all, who can me bad luck? The Sosis family won''t be able to go ahead with the marriage as the bride has already been tainted by me." Zack suggested in an unwavering voice that was full of confidence.

    Diana couldn''t help but blush at the thought of what Zach had suggested. Even though she only had to pretend about being his woman, there was something about it that made her want to jump about in jubtion like a happy child who received candy out of nowhere.

    Luna didn''t share in her excitement at all. She mumbled something under her breath about there being some nasty bitch who kept creating trouble for her master but didn''t voice her words out loud as she couldn''t oppose Zach''s words even if they displeased her.

    Bruce waspletely shell shocked by Zach''s valiant suggestion. What Zach had suggested was bound to bring the greatest amount of trouble to him but he hadn''t hesitated to say such a thing. Bruce had to admire his courage.

    But despite his admiration, Bruce couldn''t let Zach go ahead with such a dangerous strategy. He knew what kind of a disaster thebination of taboos like a dark mage and a subus living among humans could ensue in Elizabeth city.

    "Please think again, it could potentially put a full stop to any future you might have had in this city." Bruce''s voice was filled with concern for Zach. The moral standards of the public and the racial feud that was passed down through the bloodlines in Elizabeth city were bound to make Zach and Luna the public enemy number one the moment they decided to follow the strategy that Zach had suggested.

    "What option do we have then? Can the Luther Family handle the pressure should we decide not to go through with my n?" Zach retorted even though he knew that Bruce wouldn''t be able to answer his question truthfully.

    Taking Bruce''s and Diana''s silence as the answer to his questions, Zach continued rying his line of thought.

    "I have already made some enemies in the past and although they managed to push me towards the edge in some situations, I still prevailed in the end and eventually it was me who came out on top. I don''t n to bow my head to anyone in the near future at the very least. So you don''t need to worry about me facing any trouble. I am prepared for it and I don''t mind making any more enemies either." Zach insisted on his n.

    He knew that even Bruce knew that Zach was right about it being the only feasible solution to their problem. They had already looked at every single possibility with all possible angles and Zack''s idea was the only true solution that involved the least amount of trouble and outside pressure for the Luther family.

    бн

    On the other side Sosis family castle stood tall in the heart of a lush and bountiful garden that spread outwards in a maze like structure. Someone could easily get lost in the garden without guidance if it was their first time.

    The castle was built centuries ago and had been passed down from generation to generation of the Sosis family that had been one of the first families to inhabit the Elizabeth city. Although they had never advanced in their family standing despite being one of the first to step in it, their status had never been low.

    The castle being one of the earliest to be established in the city was considered to be a symbol of Sosis family''s wealth and power and was known throughout thend for its grandeur and beauty.

    After the fall of the Luther family, some families'' fame had skyrocketed. Sosis family was also among the upstarts who had benefited from the absence of the lion to take control of the forest.

    Now the family had grown to be well-respected in the city and their castle was considered to be a ce of refuge for those in need. In the castle with the sky high spires, it was rumored that the hungry received rations, sick received medicine, those in need of assistance received help and those without shelter received a ce to stay if they asked with sincerity.

    However, not all the rumors were as fabricated as that.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Dark rumors about the castle and the Sosis family were in abundance as well. Some whispered that those who epted their help was never seen in society again but since none of the seekers had any family, no one could confirm the rumor. Simrly, some heard the sound of screamsing from the heart of the estate regrly.

    Despite these rumors, the Sosis family remained powerful since those who relied on rumors weren''t powerful enough to go against the authority that Sosis family had barely managed to consolidate after centuries of struggle and careful strategic nning.

    The castle was built deep in the heart of the humongous garden, surrounded by towering trees that blocked out most of the sunlight. This created a dark and eerie atmosphere inside the castle, as theck of direct sunlight made it difficult to see.

    Despite the efforts of the servants to keep the castle well-lit, the thick forest canopy made it impossible for much light to prate the interior. Shadows seemed to lurk in every corner, and the sounds of the forest echoed through the halls, creating a sense of unease for those who lived within the castle''s walls.

    Despite the poor visibility, the Sosis family seemed determined to make their castle a ce of grandeur and luxury. The finest craftsmanship had been used to decorate the interior of the castle using expensive materials while taking care of even the most intricate details in order to create a sense of opulence.

    However, the absence of direct sunlight had no other alternative and made it difficult for anyone to appreciate the castle''s beauty. The heavy shadows cast in the light of the candles adorning the walls of the hallways added to the castle''s dark atmosphere, making it look like a ce filled with mystery and intrigue.

    Raisman sat in the dimly lit room, surrounded by shelves filled with ancient tomes and scrolls. He was absorbed in the pages of an old book, its thick cover made of worn leather, engraved with an intricate brown pattern.

    A maid entered his room holding a feathered broom that she had probably been using for dusting the furniture inside the castle. A small shriek threatened to escape her mouth but she forcefully held her mouth knowing full well the kind of devil the first son of the Sosis family was.

    Had she known that Raisman could be in the study, she would never have stepped into the room before thinking a thousand times. As soon as she noticed the tall man sitting on the couch in the centre of the study, fear gripped her innards as it threatened to halt her breath.

    She prayed to the heavens hoping that Raisman wouldn''t pay attention to her; a lowly maid in the castle. She hoped that she had not caught his attention since Raisman had still to look up at her straight.

    But when she noticed the tiniest hint of smile that was yfully winking at her from the corner of his lips, it shattered all her fantastical dreams and brought her back to reality.

    There was no escape for her now that she had caught his eye. And because of that she could no longer run away from him no matter how hard she tried.

    She had seen countless before her struggling to get away from the devil but there had been none whatsoever; none at all who ever managed to escape his clutches.

    Raisman put his feet on the table like an ill mannered gangster. He put the book that he had been reading on the couch beside him and gave his full attention to the maid who stood cowering at the door to the study.

    "Come on over and clean this table first." with a devilish grin on his face, Raisman instructed the maid in a casual manner.

 Chapter 47 47 Atrocity

    ?The maid went deathly pale but had no choice toply with the orders of the lecherous heir of the Sosis family. Hands shaking with fear and trepidation, the maid came over and tried to clean the table from the side opposite to the one that was adjacent to the couch. She wanted to keep as much distance as possible from the lecher.

    "Finish cleaning this side first." Raisman instructed still in the same casual tone of manner that implied no interest whatsoever. But the maids knew otherwise.

    She faltered at first but then came over to his side and bent down a little bit to clean the table as fast as possible.

    With all her willpower, she kept her focus at the table instead of being afraid for the attack that might or might note.

    But as was the nature''s rule, good things never came and the disasters came in groups. When she least expected it her tied up hair were yanked back with enough force to pull them outpletely. Thankfully she had always had strong hair or her scalp might have been ripped off.

    She screamed and thrashed her hands as the pain started to consume her senses. Even though she knew that the torture had begun, there was no way to minimize the pain.

    Raisman pulled her into hisp by pulling her hair uncaring about her painful wails. The expression on his face was rxed like it was the norm for him.

    The maid felt as if she had fallen into an abyss from where crawling out was impossible. She knew what was about to transpire but was powerless to stop it from happening.

    Before she could truly make up her mind, Raisman grabbed onto her breast with one hand while his second hand pulled on her hair as he yanked back her head and thrust his tongue into her mouth. She closed her teeth in defiance as she blocked his tongue from entering her mouth but Raisman remained unperturbed as the force on her breast kept increasing. The soft mound of flesh in his hand was twisted into various shapes like she worked on the dough in kitchen.

    Hatred took over her instincts as she did the only thing she could in such a situation. She hated him with all her guts as he took advantage of his position as the heir of the Sosis family and had his way with her.

    As she twisted and screamed in hisp from his torturous touch, her mouth opened and the tongue that had been banging on the door guarded by her teeth was invaded by the foreign tongue that sought her demise.

    Raisman didn''t have any intention to stop as his fingers yed with her stiff and perky nipples with one hand and his other hand snaked its way towards her womanhood with practiced uracy.

    The maid couldn''t resist him for long and was soon exhausted as if she had lost all energy and any life that she had in her. Her eyes looked on into the distance lifelessly as tears leaked from her eyes while Raisman continued to ravage her.

    Raisman didn''t seem satisfied with such a lifeless response to his advances as he became angry; angrier than she had ever seen him. Fear was a powerful motivator and there was no one more fear inducing than Raisman in the Sosis family; at least for the maids who were always the target of his overflowing lust and perverted fantasies.

    Raisman pushed the maid towards the table and the maid unable to gain her bnce in time, struck the table in full force as shey sprawled on it with the wind knocked out of her.

    Raisman was right behind her as her hair were yanked back once again; this time with so much force that she felt her neck about to break.

    "Do you think you can escape? You are mine ''Diana''. No one can take you from meбн" Raisman was fantasizing again as he imagined that the maid was Diana whom he had been lusting after for so long.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The maid felt his burning breath on the back of her neck and felt disgusted but her fear didn''t let her show it to him. She knew that she had to act docile if she wanted to live through it; she knew it instinctively.

    Looking at the table she heard the rustling of clothes as Raisman pulled of his clothes after tearing off hers.  Her clothesy in tatters at her feet as her assets hung free and clung to the table. She didn''t dare to move as she waited for Raisman to do whatever he intended to do with her.

    "You are mineбнfrom the moment I first saw you I knew that I must have you. I will make sure you keep crawling under my crotch for the rest of your life." Raisman threatened.

    The maid knew that the young master was fantasizing again. All his words weren''t directed at her but at the new girl that had caught his attention; the youngdy of the Luther family.

    Raisman freed his hard member from his pants and pushed it into her womanhood without the slightest hesitation. The maid squirmed as a result but Raisman spanked the defiance out of her.

    The red marks on her perky bottom and the bruises on her lower back were fear inducing to say the very least. Like a piston in an elerating internalbustion engine, he began ramming her insides with increasing velocity and force. Her screams erupted as he ravaged her with every ounce of his strength.

    He imagined the face Diana would make when he first had his way with her. He wanted to see her defiant attitude crumble in front of him as he made her his possession. She had always been very arrogant with the support of her father and her powerful brother but now that one had died and other had turned into a cripple, he couldn''t wait to see how she would have to beg him for his help on her knees like a good little bitch.

    As the force of the thrusts increased and the pleasure took over his mind, his knees began to grow weaker and he leaned forward and put his chin on her shoulder as he breathed in her scent. He pictured how Diana would smell like as he yed with her perky tits.

    Unable to hold back her pain due to the iron grip on her breasts, the maid yelped as she threw back her head bringing Raisman out of his fantasy.

    Jerked back to reality by the sudden pained yelp of the poor maid, Raisman roared in anger as the fog in his mind cleared and he saw the face of the maid he had been pounding relentlessly.

    His anger took over as he pushed the maid onto the table once again and pulled out his leather belt from the pants he had been wearing. In his wrath Raisman whipped the poor maid who was already close to peeing herself and left several deep gashes on her back. He thrashed her relentlessly until she stopped squirming and began to shed silent tears of helplessness.

    Unaware of someone entering the study behind him, Raisman kept whipping the girl with his belt until it split into two pieces and fell towards the opposite corners of the study. Throwing the short end of the belt that was still in his hand, Raisman cursed under his breath as he red at the bare back of the maid that was slowly turning purple and was bleeding in various ces. With onest kick on her back, Raisman told her to scram.

    The maid ran like her life depended on it. She felt that her soul hade back from the reaches of hell and if she stayed even a second longer, her life could be in danger or she might even get trapped with the evil monster that had ravaged her earlier.

    As she ran, she found the master of the household standing at the entrance to the study as if he had been waiting for Raisman to finish his round before entering.

    The maid cursed the master of the household with hatred in her eyes because she knew that he wasn''t going to do anything about the injustice she suffered at the hands of his son. She had already seen it happen to her sisters and was sure that she was going to suffer the same fate if she decided to pursue justice as well.

 Chapter 48 48 Frederick

    ?Frederick entered the room following the departure of the wailing maid and looked at the disheveled state of his son. His clothes were strewn about the study while he sat in his underwear on the couch. Frederick scrunched up his face slightly but didn''t say anything. He knew better than to provoke his son when he was in such a mood.

    Raisman on the other hand waspletely unaware that his father had partly witnessed his earlier actions and pretended to look pitiful like it hadn''t been the maid who was raped by him but him who had been victimized. It wasn''t very difficult for him considering the condition he was in.

    He already looked partly mad with his nakedness on disy, his hair in disarray and the bloodthirst oozing out of him. No one could have understood why he acted the way he did in front of his father but the possibility of it all being an act to gain his father''s sympathy was probably true considering the kind of ruthless and cruel person he was in reality.

    "Father you have to help me teach them a lessonбнyou just have to." pleaded Raisman with his father as tears threatened to fall from his eyes.

    His father understood his tactics but didn''t mention a single thing about it to his son and let him say whatever he wanted to. He felt that sometimes it was necessary to listen to the kids and give them what they wanted if the parents wanted to let them continue on their path without struggle.

    Therefore, Frederick didn''t ask him anything about the maid who had been beaten quite badly. He simply didn''t care.

    Frederick had always been a practical man who was indifferent to most of the things in life. But when it came to his son, Frederick had never listened to anyone. He had pampered him needlessly and had never truly tried to straighten him out which made him into the twisted monstrosity that even he was sometimes afraid of.

    Instead Frederick showed genuine about the injustice his son had suffered. He tried to make sense of his words but was unable to do so. He didn''t understand just who had earned his son''s ire during his absence.

    "Who are you talking about?" Frederick asked, his eyes filled to the brim with concern and devotion towards his son.

    His attitude further fueled the indignation Raisman felt towards the Luther family and the woman he wanted to marry.

    "Who else can it be? I am talking about that Luther family. Someone has already tainted my bride to be. How can a respectable man endure a humiliation like that? You have to get justice for me." Raisman wailed in front of his father as he told him about the rumors regarding Diana that had reached him through their men.

    "That bitch dares? Who gave that cripple the balls to mess with us knowing that their family is one step away fromplete destruction without our support?" Frederick roared in indignation at the news that Raisman had just delivered to him.

    "My spy told me about a dark mage who has recentlye to stay at the Luther family''s mansion at the invitation of that bitch. That dark mage now not only lives in their mansion but has also taken over my fiancижe by force. The rumors I have heard im that he has alreadyid his hands on Diana even though I have yet to touch a single hair on her head." Raisman continued with his tantrum as his father''s expression grew more and more furious and the look in his eyes towards his son more and more filled with pity.

    "I don''t know who has given them the guts to ruin our family''s name but rest assured that I will get you justice. If that bitch has truly spread her legs for that mage, I will let her be your maid and serve you for a lifetime. You should take your revenge then. As for that abominable dark mage, I have something in mind. You don''t need to worry about him because he won''t need to breathe after today." An evil glint shone in his eyes which could not stay hidden from Raisman as both the father and the son were cut from the same cloth.

    Frederick didn''t wait any longer as the situation had already gotten out of hand in his absence. He was sure that the Luther family had found some kind of support in the form of that Dark mage; otherwise the docile cripple who was heading the Luther family would never have let something like this happen.

    "That dark mage needs to goбнor I might have to get rid of the Luther family entirely. We can''t have them going against us again." Frederick thought as he exited the study with hurried steps.<novelnext></novelnext>

    When he was out into the hallway, he took several turns and came to the hallway bearing his personal bed chambers. Instead of stopping in the middle of the hallway where his room was, Frederick went towards the supposed dead end at the end of the hallway.

    He blew out the candles on his way and muttered some words that triggered some sort of mechanism around him. The wall that signified the dead end rotated on its own and a passage for one opened at one side of the wall.

    Frederick went into the opening and the wall returned to its original position as if the passage through the wall had never been there in the first ce.

    Behind the wall, everything was covered in darkness. There wasn''t a shred of light except that single spiritmp that Frederick had swiped on his way to the hidden passage.

    There was a corona of light in the five meter area surrounding him. Several prisons lined both sides of the hallway that Frederick hade to. Only some of the prison cells were upied by lifeless looking corpsesбнthe pitiful remainders of what were supposedly human once.

    The dark shadows in this ce rushed towards the only source of light as if intending to devour it.

    Frederick seemed used to it as he neither took a look at the prison cells nor cared about the heavy and amalgamated darkness in the ce. His destination seemed to be at the end of the hallway where a rtively huge wooden door stood guard.

    The hinges of the wooden door creaked as if they hadn''t served their purpose for a long time. Frederick pushed one of the doors open and entered into an even darker space where a stone tabley at the centre with half a corpse lying on top of it with its innards spilling out from the sides of the table.

    Not caring about the gory mess, Frederick turned towards one side of the room that was barely lit up with reddish light and found what he was looking for.

    A hooded figure with a slightly hunched back stood in the shadows with the edge of the hood covering his entire face. Though it wouldn''t have made any difference even if the figure had left his face uncovered; considering the deep darkness that had seeped into the very walls of this ce.

    "You are back. I thought it would take you a while toe back here this time." the raspy voice of the hooded figure asked Frederick who stood facing the hooded figure like he was an old acquaintance.

    "I thought so as well but a new situation has arisen in my absence that needs me to make use of your ability. Rumor is that the Luther family is hiding a Dark mage who might be a thorn in my side. I need you to take care of him for me." Frederick got straight to the point since he had made deals with the hooded figure in the past and knew his temperament.

    "Is that so? A dark mageбнhmmбнI don''t care who it is that is bothering you so much but if it truly is a dark mage as you have suggested then it is going to cost youбнa lot." It seemed that the hooded figure was hiding a ball of greed within him as well.

    Frederick had predicted such a situation and obviously being a conniving individual he had alreadye prepared. He fumbled through his robes and brought out a leather bag that was tied off at the top and threw it towards the hooded figure.

 Chapter 49 49 Deal

    ?From how heavy the bag felt, the amount that Frederick had thrown casually was by no means a small sum.

    "Satisfied? It should be more than enough to hire a dark mage of your caliber even if the enemy is another dark mage. I threw in a little extra as well." Frederick said with a smug expression as if he was confident that the hooded dark mage would not reject his offer.

    "I assume the extra is for keeping my mouth shut regarding this matter?"

    "It is easier to talk to smart people. I have kept you around and have even given you this ce for your experiments just because you are smart. So don''t disappoint me. Come back as soon as you are done with the task." Frederick instructed as the hooded figure nodded in response to his employer.

    Without waiting any longer, the hooded vanished in the flood of darkness and the only blood colored illumination in the area died along with his departure.

    All Frederick could do now was wait. He followed the same passage to move out of the dark cer. The spiritmp in his hand turned on as soon as he left the area enclosed by the huge wooden doors. With the light as his guide, he moved through the long line of prison cells and used the same hidden passage toe back to the hallway.

    He looked around the hallway to see if there were any prying eyes. Although the servants in his house were forbidden to loiter around his bed chambers without permission, Frederick was a cautious man by nature. He couldn''t help it.

    After he had thoroughly scoured the area for any possible intrusion, Frederick went into his room before he began pacing back and forth as he waited for the news that would direct the further course of action that the Sosis family would take against the Luther family that had grown defiant in his absence.

    As he sat on the edge of his bed, he thought about his previous actions once again to make sure that he had made the right choices.

    Frederick was not only cautious but also cunning as a fox. He wasn''t one to suffer a loss. As he thought back on his decision, he felt that it was only right that he had sent a dark mage to take care of the other. Had he decided to take care of the situation on his own in the fit of emotions, he might have ended up with an irreversible injury.

    Even though Frederick was confident in his strength, he couldn''t be sure that he could havee out entirely unscathed after a battle with a dark mage.

    From what he knew about dark mages from the meager knowledge he had regarding them, their skills and magical abilities were truly too diverse and bizarre. There was no way of knowing all the trump cards of a dark mage.

    Even the one that Frederick had employed to take care of Zach was an enigma. Other than his weird fetish of ying with human corpses, Frederick had no clue regarding his true trump cards.

    Since Frederick could not be sure about the abilities that Zach possessed, he felt that it was safer to send a dark mage to deal with him. Otherwise, Frederick might have suffered irreversible losses at the hands of Zach who chose to throw everything at him during his death throes.

    With a satisfied grin he got into his bed and waited for the good news that he was bound to receive very soon.

    бн<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zachid on his king size bed with his hands resting under his head. The soft pillow that was stuffed with soft furry feathers fully enveloped his head up to his ears. He had been nning to take some rest after the headache inducing discussions he had with Bruce and Diana that hadsted till afternoon. After dinner his head felt like it would burst from the inside out but thankfully it was still holding out.

    As soon as hey down to get some shut-eye, his mind kept hovering back to the strategic meeting he had with Bruce and Diana in the presence of Luna. He couldn''t stop thinking about it because this was the first time Zach had willingly walked towards danger ever since he came to this world. He had willingly endangered his own life as he put himself in between the Luther and Sosis families in order to ensure the safety of the former from thetter.

    He felt that even if the Sosis family didn''t strike at them openly due to the existing marriage contract between the two families, there was nothing holding them back from using a third party to let out their frustration at not being able to do anything. Therefore, he was wary of the unknown enemies who would surelye when the news reached the ears of the Sosis family. He felt that some of them might already be lurking around him waiting for a single chance to im his life.

    He was pulled out of his deep thoughts by a light nibble on his shoulder that didn''t hurt but was enough to catch his attention. During the time that he had spent in his mental world, Luna had climbed into his bed. At first she had waited for him to notice her approach but when she felt that waiting was of no use, Luna felt slightly annoyed by his indifference towards her.

    Full of indignation towards him for ignoring her, Luna bit his shoulder to break his unending stream of thoughts and as it turned out, she was sessful.

    Zach looked at Luna who was stuck to his shoulder like a leech sucking out his blood endlessly. He could not help but find her cute as he patted her head between her two dark onyx horns that seemed to be capable of absorbing all light around them.

    "What did I do to earn the ire of my darling?" Zach asked in a yful manner despite being fully aware of what he had done to receive such treatment from Luna who was always so obedient to him. She was definitely mad because he had ignored her.

    Zach knew her tipping point. All her love was directed towards him so she had a one track mind when it came to him. When something prevented her from being with Zach or if Zach ignored her, Luna would always boil with anger every single time.

    Luna melted before his sweet nothings. She couldn''t stay mad at him no matter how much she tried. Her desire had grown toorge to be controlled. Even Zavier had a hard time reining her in nowadays when she was in heat.

    "Are you hungry again?" Zach asked in a voice that was so low, it could even be called a whisper.

    Her ears tingled due to Zach''s breath as he whispered seductively in her ears. Her whole body was sensitive to the point that even his breath was enough to send pangs of lust throughout her body. It was alreadyte but Zach knew that he needed to satisfy her if he wanted to sleep.

    "How can you have the energy to do this every chance you get? Even though it feels good, we should do it in moderation or it might affect you health." Zach chided her as Luna had already broken away from his shoulder and was now busy licking every part of his body that she had ess to in their current position.

    Zach didn''t deny her aggressive approach; rather he couldn''t stop her. First of all he didn''t want to starve her since she was a subus and had to rely on him to eat. And secondly, it wasn''t as if he didn''t enjoy having sex with her.

    As soon as Zach reciprocated her desire slightly, her aggression increased by leaps and bounds. She was like a druggie who had seen a glimpse of her fix after a long time in rehabilitation.

    Pulling down Zach''s pants with a force that was enough to tear through his clothes, Luna pulled out his dick and grasped it in her hand. As she looked at it lovingly, she gently stroked the tip with her finger. She made eye contact with Zach who looked like he was enjoying her service.

 Chapter 50 50 Intruder

    ?Encouraged by the zed look in his eyes, Luna used her tongue to lick it all over before taking it in all at once. She choked on it but refused to pull it out until it reached the deepest part of her throat.

    Zach felt absolute heaven as he put his hand at the back of her head unconsciously encouraging her further. Zach tried to make her let go of his dick but apparently his passive ability [Casanova] was probably quite a powerful ability and the effect it had on women couldn''t be underestimated at all. It was as if Luna was addicted to his shaft and couldn''t let it go even when Zach asked her to.

    After the preparations for her dinner were over, Luna pulled out his dick from her mouth as she coughed a few times. The drool dripping from her mouth as she looked at his lubricated hard dick was a clear indication of how far gone she was.

    As the frustration and desire in her lower lips grew stronger, she began to rub her legs together in heat. She pulled herself up and sat on top of Zach who was sprawled onto the bed with his legs weakened after the session in her mouth.

    As her body twitched in anticipation, her waist writhed with every breath and every touch of her lover. Her hands found the shaft directly beneath her ass as she guided it into her womanhood that was leaking her love juice all over Zach and the bed.

    As she bounced on top of him, her glorious mounds jerked violently with every thrust. Her meager lingerie was unable to control the jiggling flesh as they escaped its confines.

    Seeing such a scene ying out on top, no man could have stayed still. Zach wasn''t a saint either; not to mention that the owner of those jugs was his own woman. He grabbed her bouncing tits and twisted them like y as he molded them into various shapes. He loved hearing her moan seductively as he pinched the pink cherries on top of her flower buds.

    Luna lost track of how many times she hade. She had basically showered Zach with her love juice that kept spraying from time to time. The bed sheets werepletely drenched from their romp but Luna couldn''t keep her hips from moving in response to her rising desire.

    Her moans kept getting louder and louder and Zach was sure that her voice must be able to reach the end of the hallway easily. He could only hope that the mansion walls were thick enough to provide sufficient sound proofing or he might have to hide his face in the morning.

    Zach''s mind had turned into a gooey mess and he was least bothered about anyone hearing them at the moment. The warmth that was enveloping was the only thing on his mind at the moment.

    Suddenly a sound alerted all his senses and brought him out of his indulgence. Of course there was no sound other than the familiar *ding* sound of the system notification that could have such an effect on him.

    The notification window was shing red like the anti collision beacon of an aircraft begging for attention.

    [Enemy Alert]

    [Hostile intent detected in the vicinity]

    Zach got distracted by the notification and his focus shifted from the jiggling mounds frantically bouncing on top of him. He willed the system to show him the map.

    As always the enemies were depicted by a red dot but the concentration of the green dots surprised him. Last time there had only been one dot that represented Luna but this time there were several of them. The system not only judged Bruce and Diana as his allies but also their subordinates; that is all the members of the Luther family were judged to be his own people.

    "That''s a surprising number." Zach thought in his heart as his gaze followed the movements of the red dot that was moving at a slow speed towards the mansion.

    The enemy was definitely being cautious considering the speed that he was moving at. Zach analyzed the movements of this new enemy before reaching a conclusion.

    Either the enemy was too weak and because of that he had to act cautiously lest he encounter someone he wasn''t capable of handling or the enemy was the worst kind of enemy Zach knew; the kind that killed even a mosquito with a nuclear bomb. These enemies were not only strong but also never underestimated their enemies no matter how weak the enemy was.

    [Would you like to sh with the intruder?]<novelnext></novelnext>

    [Y/N]

    Zach failed to understand why the system was asking him such a pointless question even though there couldn''t be more than one answer to this question considering the fact that the enemy most probably wanted to take him down.

    Zach clicked the "Y" option without wasting any time and the system zoomed in on the map.

    The system had brought about the exact map of the surroundings down to the street level. Thanks to that, Zach was able to deduce the possible route that the enemy would take to the Luther family mansion.

    Since the enemy was still some distance away, Zach stopped bothering about it. The map turned into a mini-map and upied the right bottom corner of his vision.

    "What''s wrong? Did something happen?" Luna felt aggrieved as Zach had stopped paying attention to her just when she had been on the verge of climaxing again. Her disappointment was evident from her grave voice that had lost her previously high pitch.

    Still she tried to hide her sentiments as she worriedly asked Zach about what was bothering him.

    Inwardly she wanted to know what was so important to Zach that he had gotten lost in thought about it even while he was having sex with her.

    Maybe it was the problem with all women in every single universe. Zach had given her enough attention but she couldn''t help but be insecure about her position in his heart. She couldn''t help but fear that Zach was thinking about some other woman while he was doing this and that with her.

    Luna knew that she was wrong in doing so. She should not have be greedy knowing that Zach was her master and she could not have him for herself. But it wasn''t something she could control.

    Zach shook his head in response to Luna''s questions. He didn''t think that the small trouble heading their way was important enough for him to warn or rm Luna. Therefore, he just pretended as if nothing happened at all.

    Luna''s expression fell as if she had been thrown into the deepest pit of hell from the highest heaven all of a sudden. Her brows furrowed together and her nose wrinkled in annoyance at the fact that Zach was hiding something from her. Even though he was her master, Zach had never hidden anything from her before. She couldn''t help but be afraid that she had lost his trust.

    Unaware of the clutter jamming her brain, Zach rode into the cave of heavenly bliss that kept inviting his soldier again and again. The soft sensation surrounding his member forced him to moan unconsciously.

    A soft smile appeared on Luna''s face as she heard his excited groan. She momentarily forgot about the incident earlier and worked even harder to make Zach feel good.

    The red blip on the right bottom corner of his vision kept blinking in an out of existence as the distance between the location of the blip and the Luther mansion kept on decreasing at a steady pace. Zach was too busy enjoying his session with Luna to pay attention to it though.

    He didn''t know why but when he delved into the carnal bliss after the previous interruption of the system, it felt even better than before. The pleasure had multiplied due to some unknown reason.

    Even though the mini-map was practically in the way of his vision, Zach did not bother looking at it one bit. Not because of the sexбнit was definitely not because of the sexбнbut because of his confidence in the defenses of the castle.

    Zach''s daily sessions with Luna had been intense and grueling, but he never refused whenever she wanted to eat. And Luna was always hungry. She had be a glutton ever since they came to the Luther family''s mansion. Her desires continued to get out of hand and the more heplied with her requests, the harder it became to satisfy her hunger.

 Chapter 51 51 Defence

    ?Still she was the key to unlocking his potential and the sessions were more than enjoyable for him. Therefore, he didn''t reject her advances and strived to reach his own limits. Luna was an excellent partner for that since her hunger never diminished.

    Subtle changes urred in his physique after each session and being one of the involved parties, even Luna barely noticed the extent of these changes.

    Zach''s muscles grew stronger and more defined. Although he didn''t gain any bulk like those wrestlers in the previous world, or those body builders who worked out for hours on a daily basis, his muscles became more prominent and his body more toned and chiseled like a piece of art with perfect bodily proportions.

    His physical changes were not only limited to the appearance. His overall strength took a huge boost as he became more flexible and more agile than he had ever been before.

    With each victory he achieved against Luna, new notification messages kept on popping up on a daily basis and each of them brought a smile to Zach''s face.

    The phenomenon had increased recently especially after he epted the system quest that asked him to help Bruce. It was the only quest that was still active in the quest window other than the daily quest that was avable every day and required him to feed Luna.

    The changes were not only limited to Zach. With the consumption of arge amount of food, Luna''s strength broke past its barriers once again as well. Her strength that had previously advanced to D rank in the forest before finally broke past the barrier that kept her from the next level and entered into the range of C rank. Even though Zach didn''t know how strong a C rank mage of Luna''s caliber could be, he knew that it was enough to awe anyone even in Elizabeth city.

    As he keptpleting the daily quest regrly, Zach kept on unlocking new weapons in his Weapon Arsenal asionally. He had no control over the weapon that would be unlocked and the time when it would be unlocked as the reward forpleting the daily quests. The weapons unlocked werepletely random; or at least he hadn''t found any pattern to them.

    Most of them werepletely useless weapons that were so ancient that Zach didn''t even want to keep them in his inventory like:

    [Prehistoric Club]

    [Physical Attack: 30]    [Magic Attack: 1]

    [Durability: 20/100]

    [Weapon Description: A long lost weapon from the prehistoric era used by the earliest inhabitants of this world to fight against the monstrous terrors roaming the world. It is made from a sturdy material simr to monster bones but the weapon is crude as the earliest inhabitantscked in knowledge and forging techniques. Due to how long it has been the condition of the weapon has deteriorated beyond repair. Caution should be exerted while wielding it so as to not lose a relic of the past.]

    [Weapon Skills]

    [Barbarian Strength]

    [Skill Description: Strength of the wielder will be increased by one rank when the wielder is full of wrath or negative emotions that evoke hatred or wrath.]

    бн

    The weapon looked weak but the effect of the skill was anything but weak. Zach thought so too. But his rotten luck wouldn''t let him have a weapon as strong as this.

    Zach was already strong and with a passive increase in his strength by a whole rank due to [Barbarian Strength], it became impossible for Zach to wield it without destroying it.

    [Prehistoric Club] was a single use item. The low durability and the attached skill of the weapon meant that it would break into splinters the moment Zach decided to swing it with the slightest force behind it.

    Therefore, despite being a decent weapon, the [Prehistoric Club] waspletely useless in Zach''s hands.

    Most of the weapons unlocked in his arsenal during this period were defective like the [Prehistoric Club].<novelnext></novelnext>

    But some of them turned out to be quite useful. Zach couldn''t help but smile like the devil whenever he thought about those weapons and the ns he had for them.

    These weapons were high-tech, cutting-edge devices that incorporated thetest advancements in hot weapons stream. One of these weapons employed an automated targeting system that used thermal sensors to gather data about the surroundings within the effective range.

    The sensors were integrated into the range of the weapon and constantly scanned the area for any potential threats.

    This system then processed the data gathered by the thermal sensors in real-time and marked the locations of enemy targets.

    The automated weapons then used this information to adjust the aim and eliminate the targets effectively. The use of thermal sensors further enhanced the capability of the weapons to detect enemies like the bandit leader Zach had previously encountered who had been able to camouge himself.

    Low-light conditions, poor visibility, invisible enemies meant nothing to the automated defense system that Zach had installed at the perimeter of the Luther family mansion which increased its practical effectiveness in a variety ofbat scenarios ensuring perfect defense even in the most challenging of circumstances.

    With this kind of defensive weapon in hand, Zach became more confident thinking that he would be able to outmaneuver and outsmart his enemies without them knowing what or who hit them.

    Zach took security measures to protect Luther family''s mansion. To do so, he spread numerous automated weapons all over the perimeter of the mansion. The weapons were meant to provide a first line of defense against any potential threats, and they were programmed to operate independently, allowing Zach to focus on other important tasks such as getting stronger by engaging in enjoyable activities.

    The weapons were all ced in strategic locations, such as the corners of the property, near entry points, and along the perimeter walls, ensuring that every inch of the house was covered and protected. He wasn''t a pro-gamer for nothing in the previous world as he easily detected the points that were vulnerable to attacks or enemy infiltration.

    The weapons were designed to be highly efficient and fast, allowing them to quickly detect and neutralize any threat before it could get close to the house.

    In addition to providing physical protection, the automated weapons also served as an effective deterrent, as anyone approaching the house would be met with a wall of firepower in case they came without permission.

    With the rumors that the Luther family had spread in the city in a ndestine manner through third parties, Zach was expecting a storm of retaliation from the eldest of the Sosis family.

    From the things he had heard about Raisman, Zach felt that the Sosis family wouldn''t send anything less than an army to take care of the Luther family.

    Zach didn''t care whether Raisman sent an assassin or an entire army since the number hardly mattered with the amount of preparations he had made.

    The automatic weapons surrounding the perimeter of the Luther family mansion were more than capable of handling even the army of Sosis family which was the very reason that Zach could remain nonchnt and ignore the rm which was ring in his face.

    Zach pressed down on his instincts as they tried to make him more cautious towards the approaching enemy. Thinking about the security arrangements he had made for the mansion, he happily returned to his carnal indulgence with his more than willing ve and waited for the system to notify him about the capture of the fly in the flytrap he had set up.

    Unaware that his approach had already been detected by his target, a mysterious figure who was dressed in ck robes that covered his entire body continued to close in towards Zach.

    He had a gaunt and weathered appearance, with deep lines etched into his skin and a look of intense concentration in his eyes. Surprisingly the person under the hood was quite old or at least he looked old. You could never tell with dark mages whether they were truly old or if it was the result of some dark practices.

    Despite how old the hooded figure looked, he moved with a stealth and grace that belied his years.

    He was approaching Luther family''s mansion with a sense of purpose, his eyes fixed on the building as he used his powerful hypnotic magic to sneak up on it undetected.

    None of the informants or the sentries in the city was able to notice his presence.

 Chapter 52 52 Headshot

    ?Same was the case with the guards patrolling outside the mansion.

    The potent hypnotic effect of his magic clouded their senses and the old man was able to skitter past them quite easily without any resistance whatsoever.

    The old man''s hypnotic magic was a formidable tool, one that allowed him to control the minds of others and bend them to his will. He had honed this skill over many years, mastering the art of manipting others to achieve his own ends.

    Several powerful mages had ended up bing his puppets with lifeless eyes and most of them had eventually ended up in his dungeon that he used for experimentation to further his research in dark arts.

    Therefore he was confident that no matter how tight the security at the mansion could be, he would be able to achieve his objective with ease.

    From the amount of magic power he was using just to stay undetected, the old man seemed quite determined.

    Approaching the house, the old man used his magic to put the guards patrolling the perimeter into a trance, disabling their cognitive ability which allowed him to get closer to the house undetected.

    Little did he know that the security of the Luther family mansion wasn''t dependent on living beings thanks to the sufficient preparations made by Zach in anticipation of the forting battles.

    The old man was curious about his target. He was curious to know the kind of taboos his counterpart had broken to gain his dark magic. Dark magic was different from normal magic as it involved practices that had strayed from the normal path of magic. The level of deviation dictated the strength and the type of ability that each dark mage would be able to gain.

    The old man though slightly cautious of his target waspletely sure about defeating his counterpart. From the way his target was still trying to live among the normal society, the old man judged that either the dark mage was very weak or he was still a newly awakened dark mage who didn''t know how prejudiced the society was towards the dark mage.

    He had seen countless new ones turning over to the dark side after having failed to be acknowledged by the society. These rejected and scarred mages eventually went on to be the cruelest of their kind.

    The old man wanted to know what category did Zach belong to amongst these two.

    Having crossed the perimeter easily, the old man rushed towards the entrance of the mansion that was all green and adorned with countless flowers unknown about the fact that just past the garden was the fence that was mounted with certain tube shaped weapons that were going to be the reason of his demise.

    "What is that?" the old man thought to himself as his curiosity was piqued by the long ck tube shaped objects that were lined along the fence.

    The old man approached the fence, his eyes fixed on the long ck tube shaped objects. He was intrigued by their appearance and wanted to get a closer look.

    As a dark mage, his curiosity was not limited by the moral or ethical restrictions that held back other mages in the world. Instead, he was free to pursue his curiosity with abandon, just like the other mad scientists who made up the dark magemunity.

    He carefully looked at one of the guns from some distance, examining its intricate details with his experienced eyes. He noted the sleek and polished surface, and the artistic designs that had been etched into the metal. He could tell that a great deal of skill and care had gone into the creation of these decorations.

    He was amazed by the level of sophistication that had gone into the design. He felt a thrill of excitement as he realized that these objects were not mere decorations, but something unknown crafted by an experienced artisan.

    He made a mental note to take one of the guns back with him to hisboratory in order to study the techniques and materials used in their creation, hoping to recreate them for himself.

    But first he had toplete the job that the Sosis family head had tasked him with otherwise he wouldn''t even have aboratory to go back to.

    He carefully searched for any hidden arrays or some oozing mana from the cylindrical objects adorning the fence but failed to find any signs that indicated that the objects could be harmful.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Carefully scanning the surroundings for any traps, the old dark mage headed in the direction of the entrance to the mansion which was coincidentally in the same direction as the automatic gun mounted on the fence.

    "Maybe I should take one with me now. Who knows if I would have the chance to get out the same way afterpleting the job?" the old man thought as he advanced slowly towards the gun in front of him with a confident stride thinking that nothing in the mansion could harm a mage as powerful as him.

    Just as he entered the range of the mounted guns, all the guns around the perimeter suddenly changed direction and pointed their muzzle towards the only heat signature in the danger zone.

    "WHAT?? What the hell is this?" The old man was shocked at the sudden attention from the object of his focus. A sudden feeling of danger assaulted his body and all his senses went on full alert like soldiers who had been thrown into war all of a sudden.

    He couldn''t understand how the metallic decorations adorning the walls had suddenly moved. Thinking that he had been found out by his enemies somehow, the old man turned around and tried to escape. He wanted toplete the job given to him by the Sosis family but not if he had to fight all the forces of the Luther family to do that.

    He was truly confident in taking on the enemy dark mage since he considered himself to be quite an aplished dark mage. He had polished his skills through extensive experimentation on living humans and their psyche in order to get better at his hypnotizing magic.

    But hisbat skill wasn''t meant for a group fight. If the Luther family guards got involved, he wouldn''t even know how he died. Therefore, the old man felt that it was better to retreat first instead of heading off into the unknown.

    Unfortunately, the thought had only just taken root in his head when an explosive sound rang out.

    His lowered body that had already taken the position to escape with an explosive burst of speed stiffened at the sound as if the explosive sound had paralyzed him and all his senses.

    Not a single sound escaped his mouth but the life slowly drained from the eyes of the old man. Thest thing he saw was his vision being stained red and after that only darkness.

    His stiffened and now lifeless body fell to the ground following the sound. Red blood leaked from his forehead as the bullet had entered from the back of his head and had exited from his forehead taking with it a chunk of his brain matter.

    The old man had died instantly from therge caliber bullet being used by the automated mounted machine guns. The blood flowing out of the bullet hole seeped into his eyes that were still wide open in surprise.

    Even the dark mage who had seen everything this world had to offer could never have imagined that his end would be because of something he had no knowledge of and something so nonsensical that the worldly knowledge of this world based on magic wasn''t enough to define it.

    After all probably no one other than Zach was capable of understanding the true potential of human mind and the technological wonders it could bring to life. He felt that the technological limitation of the world was due to the presence of magic in the world. he felt that that magic was the reason that this world was still stuck in the medieval age instead of progressing further since further technological advancement could only ur in a world that was devoid of magic andcking in more possibilities.

    бн

    [1 heat source detected within range.]

    бн

    [Target confirmed to be hostile. Initiating countermeasures]

    бн

    Zach was fully focused on his precious subus who was writhing under him as he pounded her mercilessly. His tongue that was entwined with hers was attracting so much of her saliva that both their lips and a part of their faces were covered in it.

 Chapter 53 53 Superconducting Lightning Rod

    ?She was gripping the bed sheets with all her strength as pure pleasure assaulted her. The throbbing deep inside her womb was so addicting that Luna lost herself in the abyss like pleasure. She was like a budding drug addict who had awakened to the sweet pleasure only recently and was unable to control herself.

    Zach selfishly thrust his member inside her and messed up her insides without care. Despite that Luna only felt euphoric joy instead of the pain. She liked this side of her master who was selfish in bed. Previously he had been too concerned about her to do her like that. But it was only today that she found another thing about herself. She absolutely loved it when Zach acted selfishly like this.

    Luna''s moans increased in tandem with the increase in the thrusting force of his hips. Her body twitched uncontrobly every time he rammed into her and reached deep inside. Her voice unconsciously became more seductive as she began to feel it more and more which spurred Zach''s desire even more.

    *ding* *ding*

    [Target Neutralized]

    [No hostile element detectedбнswitching to standby mode.]

    As if on cue, Zach splurged his load inside Luna''s womanhood and painted her insides in his color.

    Exhausted from the session and overwhelmed by his huge load, Luna''s eyes rolled back and her tongue hung outside her mouth. Her body kept suffering from fits of twitching that made her body spasm like she had overdosed on her favorite drug.

    Zach pushed himself up from on top of Luna and dragged himself to the side. Hey sprawled on the bed as he looked towards the ceiling of the room that seemed to be made of solid stone and looked sturdy enough to fight off enemy ballistae easily. He felt so rxed that he didn''t even pay attention to the several notifications that were blocking his vision.

    Closing his eyes, Zavier simply breathed in and out as he took a moment of respite after having exerted himself so much.

    Luna on the other hand couldn''t take it easy at all. She was feeling so sensitive that even the slightest twitch of her body sent her into the throes of passion that caused her to moan loudly and uncontrobly. Unable to bear the constant bouts of pleasure that kept assaulting her body even after Zach had left her alone caused her to finally pass out or she just might have cum herself to death.

    бн

    Zach waspletely in picture as the intruder was easily dealt with by the guns mounted on the perimeter.

    He had already been confident that no one could get past his defense system and the system hadn''t disappointed him in the least.

    The mages in this world were so far behind in technology that catching them off guard wasn''t a problem at all. Zach was sure that had the intruder known about the danger posed by the guns, the possibility of sessfully taking down the mage would have been close to zero. It was only the element of surprise that had brought him such an easy win.

    After giving it some thought, he forgot about the intruder that had already been taken care of. Instead he took a look at the rewards he had received after his session with Luna this time. He wasn''t too surprised since it had be the norm after their sessions grew more regr.

    His ability [Casanova] was truly a boon as he could not only draw out the energy from Luna in order to unlock his own potential but he could also increase the number of weapons avable in his arsenal by raising the umted energy to break the seals ced on his arsenal that limited the amount of weapons avable to him.

    [You have sessfully absorbed a small amount of special energy from your partner ''Luna'']

    [New weaponry has been unlocked and can be essed through the Weapons Arsenal.]

    Zach went through the several notifications that had been blocking his vision after he finished copting with Luna. He had been pushing it off until after he took some rest to calm himself down but the annoying notifications shing in his vision made him feel ufortable even after he closed his eyes. He felt as if the notifications were still hanging in front of him and were only hidden by the darkness.

    With no choice left, he had to clear the clutter before taking his well deserved rest. After going through the notifications, he proceeded to the Weapons Arsenal in order to take a look at the new equipment that was now avable to him. Some of the weapons were so ordinary and had so embarrassing names that he didn''t even bother to check their details and specs. Out of all the rubbish that he had managed to unlock from today''s sessions, only one struck out.

    [Congrattions! AST 559k rifle has been unlocked.]<novelnext></novelnext>

    [Congrattions! Defensive Underwear has been unlocked.]

    [Congrattions! Color Changing Mask has been unlocked.]

    [бн]

    [Congrattions! Superconducting Lightning Rod has been unlocked.]

    "Eh~"

    "Superconducting Lightning Rodбнfinally I received something good. And here I was almost starting to doubt my luck with all the rubbish I have been receiving."

    The system had always been a great help to Zach in polishing his exceptional skills and abilities by providing him with the vast array of weapons and military equipment that made him so terrifying to the aborigines. But this time, however, the system likely went above and beyond by adding an especially great item to Zach''s arsenal: a superconducting lightning rod.

    This was another item that Zach had been very familiar with during his early gaming days. Any item that had an elemental attack was considered to be quite good in those times. In those times, Zach felt as if he had reached the sky once he managed to get his hands on weapons like the ming Gloves and the Superconducting Lightning Rod.

    If the ming Gloves were a weapon that employed the me element to cause destructive damage to the enemies, then this revolutionary new weapon represented a major technological breakthrough that allowed Zach to control lightning during thunderstorms with a low degree of electrocution probability.

    Apparently the superconducting lightning rod worked by utilizing the principles of superconductivity, a phenomenon where certain materials exhibited zero electrical resistance and strong diamaic properties.

    The Superconducting Lightning Rod was designed to harness the electrical energy in the lightning and direct it towards the target in a controlled manner, giving Zach the ability to influence the direction and intensity of lightning strikes during a thunderstorm.

    Looking at the name of the weapon, Zach remembered his first encounter with the weapon in his previous world. How he had been skeptical of the superconducting lightning rod at first, unsure of how it would perform in the field.

    However, after he hade to understand its true capabilities during his first encounter with a thunderstorm, he had been left inplete awe of the weapon''s capabilities.

    When bolts of lightning had lit up the sky, Zach remembered holding the rod aloft towards the sky. He reminisced how with a single flick of his wrist his avatar had suddenly be able to direct the lightning towards his intended target. The precision and control he then had over the lightning had been nothing short of remarkable with the help of the Superconducting Lightning Rod.

    The superconducting lightning rod had then quickly be Zach''s go-to weapon during thunderstorms when he had to dish out especially destructive attacks which had given him a decisive advantage over his enemies.

    He had gained the ability to direct lightning strikes towards his targets, leaving them stunned and disorientated, giving him the upper hand inbat. The rod had also proved to be quite useful for smelling out traps as Zach could use it to probe for any electrical devices or systems that his enemies could have been using at any time.

    Zach couldn''t control himself and immediatelyunched into the details of the weapon in order to determine whether it was the same weapon as he remembered even though he was ny nine percent sure that there would be no changepared to what he remembered.

    ? [Superconducting Lightning Rod]

    [Physical Attack: 500]  [Magic Attack: 3600]

    [Durability: 100/100]

    [Weapon Description: A weapon forged using thetest techniques of cksmithing. Even though it appears to be a simple rod, the condensedyers of metal ovepping each other through excellent forging skills increase the weight of the rod by several times the normal weight of the same volume of conducting metal.

 Chapter 54 54 BreakfastтАж

    ?[Weapon Description: A weapon forged using thetest techniques of cksmithing. Even though it appears to be a simple rod, the condensedyers of metal ovepping each other through excellent forging skills increase the weight of the rod by several times the normal weight of the same volume of conducting metal.

    The rod is not only heavy to lift but is also a deadly physical blunt weapon in the absence of thunderstorms that does not lose to most hammers. Due to the diamaic properties of the forged metal, the rod is capable of directing and umting lightning during severe thunderstorms.

    The wielder of this weapon cannot use the rod to generate lightning but can control it to a certain extent through it. Although the weapon is highly destructive, there is always a slight possibility that the absorbed lightning might go berserk and harm the wielder. The user should handle this weapon with care.]

    [Weapon Skills]

    [Thunder Bearer]

    [Skill Description: The weapon can attract, absorb and trap arge amount of lightning energy in the maic fields created by the different folds of the diamaic metal used for forging the rod. The user is able to control lightning element to a certain extent and the effect is especially enhanced during thunderstorms. The skill is especially destructive once it is fully charged and the lightning energy within it is released all at once.]

    [Pulse Detector]

    [Skill Description: The minimal lightning energy that is imbued in the rod reacts to electrical equipment, traps or surveince equipment being used by the enemy. It can easily render the surveince equipment useless. The traps can be detected and the electrical equipment can be short circuited by using the energy stored within it.]

    Zach was over the moon thinking that he had received a blessing from the system. He had thanked all his forefathers when he had received the me gloves for the first time. But the lightning rod that he had received this time without any effort turned out to be even better than the me gloves.

    Just looking at the stats, the magic damage of the lightning rod was more than three times greater than the me gloves he had been using.

    Even the physical damage was greater than the me gloves if magic damage of the me gloves wasn''t considered.

    "With this, I will also be able to control lightning in stormy situations."

    Zach stayed awake for the most part of the night even though he was exhausted from his session with Luna earlier. The excitement of having found such a strong weapon didn''t let him sleep and he kept staring at the ceiling of the room with his eyes wide open.

    He didn''t even notice when he drifted into sleep in the softness of his bed with Luna''s arm sprawled across his chest in a not so graceful manner.

    -----------

    Zach felt something moving over his body which made his hair stand on end but then he calmed down thinking he wasn''t in the forest anymore. He was in the safety of the mansion and didn''t need to be so careful.

    It was then that a wave of pleasure assaulted him from the electric touch that awakened his monster that had been sleeping previously.

    His little brother was slowly raising its head with pride and Zach could feel it in his sleep. Thinking that it was only morning wood, he ignored it and moved his head to the side in order to avoid the sunlight that was directly falling on his face.

    Before he could go back to sleep once again, he felt something soft engulfing his little brother that forced him awake even though he wanted to sleep some more after his sleepless night.

    Opening one of his eyes, he saw the quilt covering his lower body was lifted in the shape of a huge tent. Zach raised one of his eyebrows in confusion.

    He lifted a part of the quilt, curious to see what was causing the quilt to bend out of shape like that.

    The first thing he saw was cascading ck hair covering his erect shaft like a steep hill hidden behind a high waterfall.

    "What are you doing so early in the morning?" Zach asked the bobbing figure that was busily licking his shaft with her hair dancing in the same rhythm as the vertical motion of her head.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Breakfastбн" Luna replied in between gasps. She sounded like someone who was talking with her mouth full of food.

    Zach felt that her voice was considerably excited. He couldn''t understand what could have made her feel so excited so early in the morning.

    Luna didn''t give him another nce and continued to lick and roll her tongue around his lower head with an infatuated look. She looked like she was enjoying the most delicious dish in the world that even the most acimed gourmets wouldn''t be able to get their hands on even if they wanted to.

    Zach closed his eyes slowly and patted her bobbing head tenderly as he enjoyed her love and care that she was showering his little brother with. The bouts of pleasure that erupted caused him to moan now and then but for the most part he felt as if he had reached nirvana.

    Luna seemed to be quite hungry because she didn''t tease him like usual and simply milked him dry. Zach spurt his load into her throat as he pulled her head towards his shaft forcing his member to ess he deepest parts of her throat.

    As his milk painted the insides of her throat white, Zach looked at her with a gaze filled with love and affection.

    Luna gulped and looked as if she was reluctant to part with his shaft that was unwilling to stand down in her presence.

    "Eat more if you aren''t full." Zach had felt her hesitation and her reluctance to leave his member. Therefore he encouraged her slightly so as to let her feel morefortable with eating more if she needed it.

    As if her deepest prayers had been heard, a blush crept over her face and her neck and her excitement shot through the roof.

    "Mm~"

    It wasn''t until she took another load of his creamy milk that she was finally satisfied.

    What Zach didn''t know was that he was going to regret agreeing to her increasing desires in the future.

    Luna was a subus with a master whom she was infatuated with. She had no other source other than Zach to satisfy her cravings for food and sexual activities; therefore, his seed was nothing less than an aphrodisiac that could always render her craving for more.

    At the pace that her desires were increasing in magnitude, it would not be long before she would not be any different from those druggies from his previous world who could do anything just to get a momentary fix of their addiction.

    By letting Luna indulge so much, Zach was giving way to her gluttony that would only increase with time but Zach didn''t bother with it at the moment. He let her eat as much as she wanted before falling back to sleep for a little while until it was time for breakfast.

    It wasn''t long before the maid gently knocked on the door to their room twice.

    "Lord Zach, Master has invited you for breakfast." The maid who hade to inform him for breakfast spoke from behind the closed door.

    "Wait outside for a bit." Luna replied as she gently shook Zach awake and told him of the invitation of the host.

    Zach grumbled inwardly but felt that it would be too rude if he didn''t respond in kind to his host.

    He got up from his bed and asked Luna to heat up the water for his bath as he chose the clothes to wear from the closet.

    "Master~, your bath is ready." Luna''s melodious voice called to him like the seductive voices of the sirens that were famous for pulling down sailors into the depths of the ocean through their melodious voices.

    After putting on some decent clothes that he had already chosen from amongst the ones he had received with the room, Zach opened the room to his door and found the maid standing outside the door in a graceful manner. He noticed her positioning. She was neither standing too close to the door so as to not surprise the guest nor was she standing too far away for the guest to miss her.

 Chapter 55 55 Stubborn Practice

    ?Zach admired her professionalism in his mind as he felt that this kind of treatment was hard to receive even in those five star hotels in the previous world.

    "You all don''t need to stand outside my door every single time to guide me to the dining room. I have learnt the way there as well. I am not exactly new here anymore." Zach said to the maid who had been waiting for him for quite some time. He felt bad that she had to wait on him every time he had to go to the dining room for the meal.

    "Lord does not need to worry. We don''t mind since it is our job. Also, the master sent me specifically because the breakfast is not in the dining room today." The maid replied in a matter of fact tone that wasn''t the least bit affected by what Zach had said to her earlier.

    "That''s good. Lead the way to your master then." Zach asked the maid as he pointed towards the direction of the dining room that he was familiar with.

    To his surprise, the maid truly didn''t bring him to the dining room and instead took him to the garden that was close to the entrance of the mansion. This garden was a small part of the garden like forest that surrounded the mansion.

    Arge table had been set up amongst a clearing surrounded by beautiful flowers that were oozing sweet and mesmerizing scent.

    Bruce was sitting on the head chair with various dished with their mouths covered spread across the entire table.

    Zach felt that it was shameful of him to keep the host waiting for him on the breakfast table.

    The breakfast was asvish as always. There was nothingcking in the overall arrangement and the ambiance especially added to the joy of eating good breakfast.

    Zach had just finished his breakfast and was ready to start his day when he suddenly caught a glimpse of Diana at a distance. She was practicing her magic and he couldn''t help but observe her. Although he knew nothing about magic, he could tell that Diana was not a naturally gifted magician. Her movements were awkward and she struggled to cast even the simplest spells.

    He noticed that her forehead was furrowed in concentration. Despite her efforts, the magic spells kept fizzling out before they could fully manifest. Every time she tried to cast a spell, she would take a deep breath and try again. But no matter how many times she tried, the spells would either failpletely or produce weak and inconsistent results.

    ? Zach could see the frustration in Diana''s eyes as she continued to practice, and he could tell that she was putting in a lot of effort to improve. She kept practicing, even when it seemed like she was getting nowhere.

    Zach could tell that Diana was determined to get better, but she still had a long way to go before she could master the art of magic.

    Zach sighed and wondered why Diana didn''t choose to do something that she was capable of doing. Even though Luther family had fallen from grace, it wasn''t like they were dirt poor. She could afford to live afortable life without having to do anything. He wondered why a girl like her had to go through such an ordeal.

    Bruce noticed what Zach was thinking from the look of pity that he was directing towards Diana unconsciously. He was all too familiar with this look since a lot of people looked at him that way after he lost his ability to stand.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Although, Bruce hated it when someone pitied him, buting from Zach he didn''t feel irritated at all because Zach was a man who was actually willing to bet his future in order to help them out. His care was genuinepared to those who only wanted to make themselves believe that humanity still existed within monsters like them.

    "She''s been like that ever since she was a child." Bruce let out a heavy sigh as he said while approaching Zach who was busy looking at her sister with a gaze full of pity.

    "I am sure the current state of your family had a part to y in her turning out like this." Zach didn''t believe that a privileged child would opt to do something like this without talent. Therefore, he didn''t believe that this was a personality trait. To him it looked like Diana was trying to break free from her cage by hitting the walls of her cage time and time again hoping for a dent to appear someday.

    "It''s not what you are thinking; at least not entirely. I am sure that some part of it is to be med on our family''s current condition. But Dianaбнshe has been like that for as long as I can rememberбнstubborn as a dog''s tail." Bruce exined with a slightly pained look as if he could not bear the disappointment that was evident on Diana''s face every time she failed to conjure the spell properly.

    "I seeбнso it''s more like a personality trait rather than a way to escape." Zach nodded in understanding as he tried to empathize with Diana a little.

    "Diana thinks that she can do what any man can. She thinks that she can be better than or at least just as good as men at their jobs if she tried." Brucemented like he already believed she couldn''t'' do it.

    Zach on the other hand didn''t think so. He came from a world where feminism was already on the peak and women weren''t any lesser than men. They fought for equal rights and did the same jobs as men in order to earn money. Therefore, Zach at least didn''t believe that Diana''s efforts were totally futile. He just thought that she was putting in all that effort in the wrong direction.

    "Everyone has a different set of talents and capabilities since birth. Some have the talent to be warriors and mages while others can only be merchants, shopkeepers, stable owners, innkeepers etc. Even men have that division. So why is she trying to do something that not even all the men in the world can do. So what''s the reason for such stubbornness andpetitiveness when even men can''t be mages just because they want to? I don''t think she has anything left to prove after what she did to save her followers. Ny percent of men I have encountered in this world didn''t have the guts to do something like that despite being physically superior and better mages than her." Zach told Bruce hoping that he might encourage his sister and hopefully change her mind regarding her fixation on being a mage.

    "You might be right about that. But I think her thinking stems from the way our father treated me and her. Although she was the apple of our father''s eyes and he spoiled her a lot; he never involved her in the n affairs. He wanted to let her y and do what she liked and taught me who was his heir everything he knew. Diana pouted a lot with her cheeks puffed up like a hamster whenever we sat down to discuss n affairs and she was excluded from the meeting." Bruce revealed his doubts regarding the root cause of her being such a training maniac.

    Zach nodded in understanding as if all the puzzle pieces had finally been put in ce and the full picture had appeared in his vision.

    "Ah~бнso she has daddy issues. No wonder she is being so stubborn about it." Zach finally reached the root cause in his mind and understood her driving force.

    She wanted to be acknowledged and her father had failed to do that. Instead he further diminished her confidence in herself by keeping her out of n affairs which made her feel inferior to her brother unconsciously and she tried to be stubborn in her mana training. She never got to try anything else like children her age should in order to determine what they wanted to do. Instead she began thinking of herself as a failure and worked harder than everyone else just so she could raise her head in front of others who were morepetent than her.

    Suddenly Diana who had been practicing her magic messed up. While gathering her mana excessively, she failed to control a major chunk of it which resulted in the spell being unstable.

 Chapter 56 56 Impart

    ?The unstable mana erupted with the full force of a mini explosion and threw her off her feet as she fell backwards on her ass.

    Zach rushed in her direction to stop her from falling as soon as he heard the sound of her spell going out of control. s he was too far away to be able to prevent her fall.

    As if by an unconscious reaction, Zach bent down in order to lift her up or at least support her as she tried to get back on her feet. But the girl ignored his outstretched hand and got up on her own.

    Zach felt weird since he had no other intentions other than to help her but he swiftly pulled his hand back and looked around him to notice anyone who might have witnessed this sight.

    "She isn''t one of those toxic feminists who look down on men right?" Zach thought but dismissed the thought considering that she had asked for his help on their return from the forest and when she wanted him to save her brother.

    He felt that she was just being stubborn about her own training and wanted to do it her way without any helping hand. Zach knew many individuals who liked to learn things on their own and couldn''t understand when someone showed it to them. Maybe she was a mutated version of that breed of humans.

    "Since I am not good at magic myself, I should teach her something else. I have already taken her under my wing and I can''t have her stumbling around blind like this. I can strengthen her magic probably like I did with Luna. AAahh...just the thought of it makes me weak in the legs. Just Luna is already enough. She squeezes me dry practically on a daily basis. I can''t handle another one. The idea of a harem army of my dreams is too impractical as long as Luna''s excessive libido doesn''t disappear. My semen just isn''t enough to strengthen them both at the same time." Zach pondered in his mind the best method to strengthen Diana in order to let her gain confidence in herself. He needed to show her that being mage wasn''t the only path on the way to bing strong.

    Zach''s countenance changed to serious as he called for Diana and asked him something.

    "I just saw you trying very hard but I am wondering whether to admire you or to call you a fool. That''s why answer question of mine to help me make that judgment."

    Diana was bewildered at first but she had already taken him as her master so she felt no need to feel wary or hesitant when Zach asked her something. So she just nodded in acknowledgement. She desperately wanted Zach to acknowledge her and that was why she had been practicing so hard after her strength increased from taking his blood.

    "What is it that you truly desire? Is it to be a powerful mage who is better than the average men? Or do you want to get strong; stronger than every man or woman." asked Zach curiously as his bore into her looking for the answer in her expression.

    "I want to be strong so I can protect the people I want to protect." Diana replied as she stared into his eyes by reflex. She didn''t even think about the answer and that was how Zach knew that this was her true desire that hade straight from her heart.

    "So you are a fool then. Dianaбнblindly working hard isn''t going to get you anywhere. Every human is built different. Some are physically strong and some aren''t. Some have a talent for magic but most don''t.

    Diana''s face turned so red that it was practically a tomato by that point. She had never thought that her new master would think of her as a fool. She wondered where she had gone wrong.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She wanted to hide her face somewhere like those birds that stuck their faces into the ground to avoid predators but his powerful gaze wouldn''t let her look anywhere else.

    "And I am talking about humans in general. Man or woman doesn''t matter much. Men have the same weaknesses as you do. There are strong men and there are weak men just as there are strong women and weak women. Then why do you fail to see that the strong men are strong because they capitalized on their strengths while the weak men are weak because they failed to find their own strengths." continued Zach with the same serious expression on his face.

    Zach was serious as he exined all this to her because there was personal experience involved in his sermon. He had known many girls who were stronger than males even though they were very prejudiced in themunity. Of course the only thing he had experience were games, so the so called strong females were actually experienced gamers. He was applying his gaming knowledge to give this sermon which surprisingly fit the situation entirely.

    As if a light bulb had lit up inside her head, several ideas sprang to life in her mind. Diana thought back on her actions and felt ashamed about her choices. Now that she was reconsidering her decisions objectively, she could feel that she had never bothered to think about what she wanted for herself. She always jumped into the next pit without thinking about anything and in the end she had found herself stuck.

    "Byparing yourself with strong men, you essentially forgot to create and follow your own path. You need to try different things in order to find out you strengths. Think about it a bitбнif you wanted to be strong then magic isn''t the only way you know. There are other paths that are suitable for women. Just choose what you are good at and be the best in what you do. Why are you so fixated on magic that you ignored the countless possibilities to improve yourself?" Zach breathed heavily as this might have been the longest sermon he had ever given to someone other than himself.

    Zach felt that he had been too harsh on her as the girl looked like she was about to cry any minute now. He needed to take care of the situation fast. He was terrified of tears since he didn''t know how to stop them once women started to cry.

    "I intend to teach you one of those methods that will allow you to beat enemies who are physically stronger than you and are better than you in terms of magical talent. You can kill them by the droves if you want to with this method." Zach exined his intentions of teaching her how to use firearms. He felt that this was the easiest method since even Zach had been able to take care of mages using them even though he had no magical weapons at the time.

    But he needed to evaluate how efficient she was in handling firearms and whether she could be trained to be a battlepanion. He severely needed someone to watch his back during battles. Knowing Luna, Zach was sure that she would jump in the path of the bullets meant for him. This was not what Zach wanted. Diana on the other hand was very rational and would be the perfect person to head into battle with.

    Bruce wanted to interfere instinctively because he knew that Zach was a dark mage. He didn''t want her to follow the same path. But then his rationality took over and he held himself back thinking:

    "My sister has already decided to follow him and he has even agreed to help us escape our predicament, the least I can do is trust him that he won''t let my sistere to harm."

    As expected Diana didn''t take very long before she nodded like an obedient child trying to hold back her tears from falling.

    Zach found it cute but didn''t point it out to her because he was afraid of the flood that might follow.

    It wasn''t that Diana didn''t have doubts regarding what he was going to teach her. Since he was a dark mage, she felt that he might be trying to teach her dark magic as well. Even though she was thinking along the same lines as her brother, she didn''t have the slightest hesitation. Other than being surprised that a dark mage was willing to divulge his secrets, she didn''t feel any repulsion at all. She already considered Zach to be her master so she didn''t feel that there was anything wrong with learning from him.

 Chapter 57 57 A Seasoned Teacher

    ?"Are you going to teach me your dark magic?" Curiosity took the better of her as she finally couldn''t stop herself from asking.

    Zach already knew that it was a lost cause trying to exin that he wasn''t a dark mage. He just shook his head in resignation and asked her to follow him knowing that he if he started to exin science and technology to her, she would brand that as dark magic as well. After all; humans had a history of branding and criticizing the unknown by giving them names like taboos, witchcraft, devil''s work, demonic arts and dark magic not only in this new world but also in his previous world that was countless times more advanced than this world and where magic did not exist at all.

    Reaching a clearing with a wider dimensions, Zach set up a target at the trunk of an especially wide tree trunk like he had done the first time he practiced with real guns when he came to the new world.

    Diana didn''t know what Zach was trying to do but she didn''t ask anything knowing that her master would exin it to her when needed.

    When Zach was finished setting everything up, he came back to her side and reached into his Weapons Arsenal to pull out a handgun that was a good fit for beginners. He had to choose between the Ruger Mark IV and Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Compact as both of them were quite popr weapons used for beginner training. In the end he chose Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Compact because of its ergonomic grip that offered a better grip of the weapon for people who were not used to the recoil of the handgun.

    Zach felt that he needed to aim for the least surprise since Diana was someone who had never even seen a hot weapon before.

    Taking a deep breath, he showed her the handgun that he had taken out of his arsenal.

    Diana wasn''t too surprised since she already thought of him as a man who was far more capable than her wildest imaginations.

    She tried to figure out what it was but failed to understand a single thing about its function. She had never seen anything like this before.

    Zach didn''t interrupt her train of thought for a while and let her exhaust her ideas first.

    When she gave him a totally nk look, Zavier took it as his cue.

    "Do you know what this is?" asked Zach even though he already knew the answer to that question.

    "This is called a pistol, which is a type of weapon that you hold in your hand. Think of it as a bow as it fires projectiles that are deadlier and far more urate than your regr archery in a straight line." Zach exined the basic operation of the gun in terms that she would be able to understand.

    "Its operation is not asplicated as magic spells. You just need to understand the major parts that this gun is made up of. Do you see this bulging portion over here?" Zach tried to exin the parts of the gun with as little difficulty as possible.

    Diana looked closely and found a small node at the middle of the long stick like end that Zach was using to hold on to the weapon. She nodded in response to his question.

    "If you press on it, the magazine is going to pop out from the bottom. The magazine holds the bullets that are the projectiles that this gun willunch at the enemy." Zach pressed on the button and brought his hand under the magazine to pull it out after its release.

    He told her to hold on to the magazine that was loaded with bullets as he took safety precaution to clear any bullet that might have been in the chamber.

    Taking a hold of the magazine from her again, Zach used his thumb to take out one of the bullets in order to show it to her.

    He held the bullet in between his thumb and index finger and showed it to Diana.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "This is called a bullet that is just like the arrows. The pointed end will prate the defense of your target and will be the true killing tool." Zach twirled the bullet in between his fingers in order to pique her curiosity as much as possible,

    Zach put the bullet in the magazine at the top of the slit once again and put the magazine back into the gun. He used his index finger and the thumb to pull back the slide in order to load the weapon before he handed it to Diana.

    Diana was mesmerized at the magical actions of Zach. She couldn''t understand what he was telling her as it was all going over her head. She only understood that this was some kind of magical weapon that was a ranged weapon that was even better than a bow and arrow.

    "Here take it. You wouldn''t know how it truly works until you try to use it." Zach offered the weapon in his hand to Diana who took it with an excited expression.

    She hastily pointed the muzzle of the weapon towards Zach in her excitement as she wanted to ask some question about its operation but Zach practically jumped out of the path like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

    "DON''T point the weapon towards someone you don''t want to kill." Zach reprimanded her but didn''t take it too far considering it was her first time.

    He grabbed a hold of the muzzle and pointed it towards the target he had set up earlier. He then held her shoulders and turned her body towards the target and got behind her.

    Diana was feeling hypersensitive as his constant touch was causing her heart to flutter as if a thousand butterflies were flying around in her stomach. Her face turnedpletely red with embarrassment at the pink thoughts that were going through her head even though Zach was trying to teach her sincerely.

    Zach corrected her posture which inevitably involved physical contact with various parts of her body. She tried her best not to flinch but the tingling sensations that the touch left in her body could hardly be suppressed.

    She bit her lip in order to clear her mind in order to follow the instructions being disseminated by Zach who looked like an experienced teacher.

    "You need to grab the gun with a strong grip so your aim is correct. Point the gun towards your intended target and strengthen your grip so as to not surprise yourself. Look through the sight at the top to aim, slip this safety pin downwards and squeeze the trigger gently until you see the sh and hear the boom. Try not to flinch or close your eyes as you shoot. Simple enough right?"

    Zach grabbed the both of her hands from behind as he taught her how to fire using her own hands so as to help her out. Sometimes practical demonstration was better than studying theories for weeks especially in this world where education was only secondary and practical battle tactics and mana maniption skills were considered basic knowledge for warriors and mages.

    Even though Zach wasn''t entirely oblivious to her beauty and her aroused look, he didn''t show it outwardly and acted like those old men from the movies who were entirely focused on teaching their disciples with all their hearts.

    Slowly pulling back his hands from hers, he took a fleeting look at her posture once again and gave a satisfied nod after the quick appraisal.

    "Give it a try. Disturb the safety catch, take a proper aim at your target and squeeze the trigger." Zach instructed like a seasoned teacher.

    Repeating those instructions in her head, Diana repeated the same actions without fail.

    "Kyaaa~" The first time she pulled the trigger, the resultant sh and the explosive sound made her scream like a little girl not to mention the recoil of the gun that almost made her grip on the gun falter. Had it not been for Zach who had already told her to grip the weapon strongly, the gun might have smacked her in the face.

    Disappointment was evident on her face as she looked at the target on the tree that was still wless. She even looked at the smoking barrel of the gun to make sure that the arrow had left the muzzle.

 Chapter 58 58 The Wildest Imaginations

    ?Of course the bullet had missed the target as a result.

    "I''m sorryбн"

    She remembered how Zach had already told her not to flinch and to keep her eyes open but she had failed to do so. She looked towards Zach to see if he was angry with her for such low performance but instead she found him smiling as if he had already expected the same result.

    "You don''t need to be sorry. I have seen worse first tries than this. I have seen people throw away the weapon in surprise after their first try. Your mistake is nothing in front of what I have seen before. I never expected you to get it right on your first try either; after all you have never seen this kind of weapon before. Even I was surprised the first time I used this weapon even when I knew how it worked. You will get used to the sound and the recoil of the weapon upon firing in no time if you practice properly. Just don''t lose heart." exined Zach in between smiles in order to encourage Diana some more.

    Zach had purposely not demonstrated the firing process to Diana so that she could find out everything about the weapon on her own which was always a better learning experience than if the instructorid it all bare in front of the student.

    "Master could have warned me about the sound beforehand. I wouldn''t have been so surprised then. He definitely did it on purpose." Diana puffed up her cheeks as she looked at Zach who wasughing at her discretely.

    She turned towards the target once again and corrected her posture just like her master had taught her. Determined to hit the target this time, she took a deep breath in order to calm down her racing breath. She kept her previous experience in her mind and squeezed the trigger as gently as possible as if afraid of truly firing the weapon in her hand.

    *BANG*

    An instantter than the sh of the muzzle, the explosive sound of the firing of the bullet reappeared but this time her eyshes didn''t'' even flinch and kept the shutter to her eyes open as if glued in ce.

    Small splinters of the trunk shot out of the tree bark as the bullet lodged itself in the centre of the target marked by Zach.

    "Whoa! I can''t believe it. That''s a bulls-eye." Zach gasped in surprise as he had not expected her to be this good as she got over the first surprise of her recoil and explosive sound.

    Diana shed a smile that was like the blossoming spring and made her look angelic. She was incredibly excited that the bullet had hit the mark unaware how unreasonable it was to be able to be hit the target perfectly on your second try.

    Again Zach felt that it was good that he didn''t teach her based on the stereotypical approach of the previous world.

    "Maybe its beginners luck?" Zach thought to himself as he indicated for her to continue shooting in order to assess her skill level.

    To test whether it was beginner''s luck or not, Zach needed more data. He carefully looked at her firing posture and the way she squeezed the trigger with a professional eye and found that it was perfectбнjust the way he had taught her.

    "She is a natural genius." Zach couldn''t help but mutter under his breath. Without even looking at the target he was sure that it was going to be another bulls-eye.

    As expected the bullet hit the same mark as the previous bullet and increased the depth of the gorge created by the previous bullet.

    "Keep going and empty that magazine." Zach instructed so he could gauge her uracy level.

    "Mmm~" She nodded and then continued to fire at the target one after the other.

    "I really can''t believe how good she is. She is practically at the same level as I am even though she doesn''t have the experience and knowledge of its operations as I have. It was definitely the right decision to teach her this way. Whatever impression she has in mind and no matter what method she is using to control the recoil, she is carrying out her task perfectly. Even I can''t do any better than her."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zach couldn''t help but be excited at her future prospects. Considering that she had be a member of his party, the future tacticalbination of the two was bound to be nothing but deadly. With her as cover, Zach could rush into any battlefield with confidence ande out victorious. Even mages could be caught off guard if he worked together with her.

    A smile crept up on his face that anyone would have found perverted had they seen it in person. Thankfully, there was no one around other than Bruce and Diana and both of them were focused on the target so no one witnessed the scene.

    "How was it? I did good right?" Diana fired off the remaining shots with near perfect uracy and turned towards Zach who was lost in thought to ask about her performance.

    Even though the bullets had hit the mark and she was sure of it, she wanted to hear his opinion regarding her performance since she already considered him her master and was hungry for his approval.

    Zach didn''t answer her question at all. He was so happy on finding the perfect partner who could apany her in this world that he unconsciously grabbed her from her waist and lifted her into the air in his excitement. He didn''t even notice the blush that creeped on to her face and spread down her neck as he twirled her round and round.

    Only once he looked up at her face did he catch sight of the cherry red color of her blushing face which cause his excitement to boil down and he finally put her down.

    The atmosphere turned slightly awkward and the two simultaneously looked away from each other as if there was something interesting at the opposite end of their vision.

    ----------------

    Frederick waited for the news that he had been expecting inside his room but unlike usual, the mage had yet to report back to him.

    This wasn''t the first time that Frederick had employed the services of the dark mage. Despite being a wicked and cunning one, the dark mage had never shown any dy in getting his tasks done. He had always proved to be effective which was the reason that Frederick had offered to shelter his experimentation in return for his exclusive service.

    Of course he had to pay him every time as well. But that payment was just chump change for a family the size of Sosis family in the Elizabeth city.

    "Why is it taking so long?" Frederick could not help but be restless as he began pacing around his room in anticipation of the news that was probably on the way.

    Little did he know that his trusted mercenary was lying dead near the fence of the Luther family''s mansion without being able to take a single step inside the Luther family residence, let alone assassinating Zach.

    His whole night was spent in wait as he told himself various reasons for the dark mage not reporting back to him.

    It wasn''t until morning that he finally came to believe that the worst case scenario might have taken ce. Frederick activated his spies inside the Sosis family in order to retrieve the information about the assassination attempt.

    The result was even worse than he had expected. The dark mage he had sent wasn''t even able to enter the mansion and was found dead the next morning. Since no one knew he was, the Luther family had set fire to his body and had thrown his remains along with the trash.

    It was only then that he got over the fact that the dark mage had died before he could even attempt to assassinate the opposing dark mage. The ying field wasn''t even to begin with. The dark mage supporting the Luther family turned out to be better than his wildest imaginations.

    The reason he attributed the death of the ck mage to Zach was because Frederick had kept a keen eye on the Luther family ever since the death of the previous leader. He knew that the Luther family did not have the potential to neutralize the threats on the level of the dark mage he had sent. And the only change in the Luther family that had urred was the appearance of the new dark mage.

 Chapter 59 59 Tentative

    ?Putting the two and two together, Frederick easily deduced the reason for this failure that was practically a p on his face. His schemes had been renderedpletely useless by the opposing faction he had always considered to be beneath him. It was not only a challenge to his power but also the showcase of the new strength of the Luther family which rang the warning bells of danger inside his head.

    The new ck mage was aplete unknown for the Sosis family and Frederick couldn''t have anticipated how strong he was based on spection and the rumors that had spread in the city.

    Thisck of information had destroyed one of the pawns he had carefully nurtured so Frederick wasn''t in a good mood. Clenching his fists, Frederick tried to control all the anger that was threatening to burst out.

    "This is getting out of hand. I need to find out about this dark mage before I suffer further losses at his hands." Fredrick thought as he worked upon his further n of action.

    At first Fredrick thought of mobilizing more spies to get more information but then rejected that thought. Even the experienced assassin like the dark mage had died without knowing the cause; the spies that Frederick sent were bound to suffer an even worse fate.

    As such the only course of action left for the head of the Sosis family was to go and see for himself the qualification and the abilities of this dark mage of the Luther family.

    As he finalized the n in his head, he bellowed loudly and called for a servant who was permanently stationed at the end of the hallway from his room.

    The servant who was a trusted man of the family head, rushed in the direction of his room upon hearing the shout of his master. He adjusted his clothes and dusted them slightly with his gloved hands as he knocked at the door three times politely.

    "GET IN HERE!" bellowed Fredrick as he stared at the door through which the servant entered his room a momentter.

    Picking up a nk page, Frederick sat at the couch at one end of the room. He dipped the feathered pen in the ink and began writing something on the piece of parchment that was gilded at the edges and was intricately decorated with golden dust.

    "бнDue to certain rumors spreading around the city, reputation of the Sosis family is constantly being tarnished. We are sincerely disappointed at the silence of the Luther family regarding this incident.

    In this regard we intend to visit the Luther family in order to discuss the way forward considering the rtionship between the two families. We hope that the rtionship between the two families would continue to remain the sameбнbut that will depend on the sincerity of your family.

    Expect us at your family mansion the day before the darkest night. We would also like to make acquaintance with the guests staying at your family. We owe him thanks for saving the life of our future daughter-inw after allбн"

    When Frederick was finished with the letter, he put it inside an equally gilded envelope that practically screamed of how well off the Sosis family was. He heated the wax over a candle and dipped some of it over the top of the envelope in order to seal itpletely.

    Picking up a seal that was shaped like the king piece of chess, he pressed it on top of the molten wax. This was the personal seal of the head of the Sosis family and was an affirmation of the identity of the sender of the letter.

    The servant received the letter with both hands and waited for the head of the family to speak.

    "Deliver it to that crippled head of the Luther family immediately." ordered Frederick in a tone that was as grave as a judge passing his decree regarding the life or death of an individual.

    The servant bowed his head in a respectful manner as he receded out of the room without turning his back towards the head of the Sosis family. It seemed that either the Sosis family servants were quite well trained or this particr servant knew how to keep his master happy.

    It wasn''t long before the messenger of the Sosis family reached the gates of the Luther family. The guards stopped the courier from entering the mansion.

    "I demand an audience with the head of the Luther family on behalf of Frederick Sosis, the head of the Sosis family." The courier arrogantly demanded to meet Bruce despite his low standing. He seemed to be the type who liked to use the power of his boss to feel important.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Wait here; I will inform the head about this." One of the guards cowered when the courier informed him of the letter from the head of the Sosis family.

    Even the guard at the entrance knew that the current condition of the Luther family was quite deplorable as they needed to depend on the Sosis family for their survival. Therefore, he couldn''t just dismiss the courier.

    The courier kept standing at the entrance to the mansion with an impatient expression as if he was losing gold every second that he wasted without seeing Bruce.

    "There''s a courier waiting outside demanding to see you and he ims that he has a letter for you from the head of the Sosis family. He is currently standing at the door. I am here to receive the family head''s instructions."

    Bruce, who had been seated on his wheelchair as he was engrossed in a book, looked up and stared at the guard with serenity.

    Zach had already discussed the infiltration attempt made by the Sosis family the previous day with Bruce and had warned him of the probable retaliation of the Sosis family.

    Bruce had also been prepared since he knew how vengeful the Sosis family head could be when he suffered a loss even once.

    Bruce looked towards Zach as if to confirm the next step that they had already agreed on.

    Zach nodded in approval as if asking Bruce to go ahead with the n.

    "Tell him it is up to him to leave the letter or his life. Whatever suits him is fine with our family. Tell him that this is not the Sosis family where even dogs like him can run wild whenever they want." Bruce replied with a powerful gaze. The guard understood that this was an order and not just some threat. The family head was asking him to take care of the messenger should he refuse toply with these instructions.

    The guard puffed up his chest with pride and saluted with all his might. In all the time he had served the new family head after the death of the previous one, this was the moment that he would remember for the rest of his life. Because this was the first time that the family head had decided to fight head on against the Sosis family that had been pressing down on them for so long.

    All the frustration that the guards had been hiding inside them could finally find an outlet now that the head had taken on the Sosis family.

    As soon as the guard left, Bruce turned towards Zach and his forehead creased in worry. He couldn''t help but think that they had been hasty in their attempt to thwart the dominion of the Sosis family over them.

    "I wonder if it was the right decision." Bruce asked Zach as he pondered upon his earlier instructions to the guard.

    "Don''t worry; you had to take this step sooner orter. It is better this way since it was bound to happen sooner orter. Had we dyed it any longer, you would have lost the initiative and that would havee back to bite you in the ass in the near future." replied Zach with a cunning smirk adorning his face.

    Bruce didn''t say anything else as he waited for the guard to bring him the letter sent by the head of the Sosis family to him.

    Outside the mansion, the courier was shouting insults at the guards as he acted like an arrogant noble addressing the peasants who had dared to block his path.

    Seeing the guard who had went inside to seek the approval of the family head return, the courier began to shout even louder as if the guards deserved death for stopping him at the gate of the mansion. He tried to saunter his way into the mansion but the sound of swords being drawn brought him back to the world of the living.

 Chapter 60 60 Gain The Initiative

    ?With a sudden ''Shiiiing~'', the tip of the sword came within centimeters of piercing his neck. The guards had grown tired of his constant arrogance and reliance on the power of the Sosis family.

    Without hesitation, they drew their swords and pointed them towards the courier, ready to strike if necessary. The courier''s bravado quickly faded in the face of their determination, realizing he had underestimated the guards'' loyalty and dedication to their own family.

    It became clear that the current Luther family would not be intimidated or swayed by the Sosis family''s influence, and that the courier would need to approach this situation with a more diplomatic approach in order to achieve his goal.

    The courier''sposure faltered in that moment, as he struggled toprehend how the supposedly weaker Luther family could dare to defy a message from the mighty Sosis family. He now faced the unrelenting determination of the guards, who were resolute in their defense of their family''s honor.

    As it turned out, Frederick had not specifically ordered the courier to deliver the message directly to Bruce, but rather to the Luther family as a whole.

    It was the courier''s own sense of superiority and inted ego that had led him to behave arrogantly towards the guards, underestimating their loyalty to their own family and the extent of their power.

    The courier realized toote that he had made a grave mistake and would need to approach the situation with greater care and respect.

    The guard who had gone inside to seek permission from the family head spoke in a loud and assertive tone, leaving no room for ambiguity. "Leave the letter with us and we will make sure it reaches the head of our family," he announced.

    The courier, however, was determined to save face for himself and his prestigious Sosis family, and tried to put up a tough front. He could not bear the thought of being humiliated by the lowly guards of the Luther family.

    Despite the growing tension, he refused to back down and hand over the letter without a fight.

    As the tension escted and the guard of the Luther family grew more aggressive, the courier could no longer hold on to his fantasies of grandeur and power.

    Fearful for his safety, he quickly handed over the letter meant for Bruce and retreated from the scene.

    Bruce wasted no time in examining the contents of the letter, and read it out loud for Zach to hear as well.

    After Zach had taken in Diana, he had already be the greatest stakeholder in this situation following Bruce and Diana. The three of them poured over the letter, weighing the implications of its contents and strategizing their next move.

    Bruce felt that he had the right to know what the Sosis family was nning on doing to him and the Luther family. He couldn''t afford to be caught off guard in this situation. Moreover, Bruce knew that Zach''s input would be invaluable in determining the way forward.

    Ever since he had spread the rumors regarding Diana and Zach in the city, Bruce had burnt all his bridges and had no one else he could rely on.

    "What do you think?" Bruce folded the letter once again and threw it on the table as he sought Zach''s opinion regarding the condemnation letter that Frederick had sent him.

    "It''s exactly as I expected. The assassination attempt that failed yesterday was made by the Sosis family it seems." Zach smiled as if he had found something interesting out of nowhere.

    "What do you mean? How can you be sure about that?" asked Bruce slightly unsure as to how Zach came to such a conclusion.

    "Can''t you see? He could not be more obvious about it. The condemnation letter arrived the very next day after the assassination attempt failed. The head of the Sosis family is acting like a child who had his toy broken by the neighborhood kid. His over inted ego has gotten hurt. And now he wants to retaliate using the power difference between the two families."

    Bruce finally understood the reason behind the sudden outburst of the Sosis family head even though the man had kept his calm despite the rumors floating around the city about the future daughter inw of the Sosis family.

    "If that old man intends to visit us, should we prepare something for him?" Bruce asked as he began to ponder about the intentions of the nefarious old man ining over to his home. If it was basic threats, he could have directly threatened him in the letter. But since he had not done so, there was a possibility that Frederick had something else in mind.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As soon as that thought appeared in his mind, Bruce looked at Zach and as if everything clicked into ce, Bruce figured out the possible reason for the sudden interest of the Sosis family head.

    "No need to prepare anything at all. He won''t being over." Zach replied with a confident smile as he looked out the window in the direction of the Sosis family residence.

    "How can you say that? If he wasn''ting over, why would he send us this letter? Are you implying that this is some sort of diversionary tactic or an attempt to deceive us?" Bruce simultaneously asked a lot of questions that were born out of his concerns regarding the implications of such an action.

    "Think about it a bit. If we let hime over and weed him after receiving this kind of letter, won''t we appear to be too passive and weak in front of the masses? The weak are always in the wrong and the initiative of the Sosis family will emphasize exactly thatбнour weakness."

    "I am assuming that you have something else nned then?" Bruce asked hopefully, his eyes shining like stars.

    "Of course I do. We are going to make it so that the Sosis family head has no need or reason toe over here." Zach smirked with a smug expression that was a clear indication of his arrogance and undying confidence.

    "Don''t tell me that you want to get rid of that old man. Although, that old man is very old, he is still one of the most powerful mages in the entire city. It won''t be as easy as it looks on the surface." Bruce spoke of his own reservations regarding Zach''s ns.

    "Don''t worry I won''t. I am not delusional. Even thought that family deserves it, I won''t take such drastic measures if I don''t have to. We need to maintain the weak image of your family in front of the other families just so we can have an element of surprise should we decide to take action against someone in future. For now though, I am only nning to snatch the initiative from the Sosis family. I will visit him before he cane to visit us in the mansion." Zach revealed his intention to visit the Sosis family head in front of Bruce which left him dumbfounded.

    Bruce was caught off guard as Zach''s intentions surprised him a little. He had not expected that Zach would opt for such a solution to this problem. It had to be known that dark mages usually avoided such confrontations like they were the gue.

    Usually they were beings with paranoid brains and severe maniacal tendencies that caused them to act impulsively and irrationally. Maybe it was the result of staying away from society for a long time but Zach was different.

    Zach wasn''t impulsive at all. He calcted each move with precision and followed his ns to the end meticulously. His analysis of the situation was on point and even the solution that he had charted out was the best course of action for the Luther family considering the fact that the most probable reason for Frederick''s visit was him.

    "I won''t stop you if you have already thought this far out. But try to negotiate if possible to get my sister out of this forced engagement." Bruce acquiesced to Zach''s ns and gave his blessing to him.

    "I will try to do that as long as they don''t provoke me." Zach got up from his seat as he rose up from his seat overlooking the window and walked out of the room.

    Returning to the room, Zach found Luna who was lounging around in bed even though it was already noon.

    Feeling sorry that he might have overdone itst night, Zach approached the sleeping demon andy down beside her and hugged her close.

    It was not long before the two of them awakened with a refreshed countenance.

    "Get ready, we need to go somewhere." Zach pushed away the cover covering both of them as he awakened feeling like a corpseing back to life.

    Luna didn''t ask the when and why as her master''s order was nothing less than god''s decree for her. She pushed the cover away using her legs as if she was unwilling to part with her bed but had no choice.

    In the evening, Zach took Luna with him as he called on the Sosis family head exactly one day ahead of the day that Frederick had nned on visiting the Luther family ording to the letter received by Bruce.

    It was the first time that Zach had seen the Sosis family mansion even from afar and that surprised him a little but he didn''t let that show on his face otherwise he would have looked like a country bumpkin who had never seen anything good in his life.

    Since, he was representing the Luther family at the moment; he had to rein in his impulse to show his surprise at the grand scale that these families built their homes.

 Chapter 61 61 Real Intention

    ?Luna showed no interest in the human families as she wore a lifeless expression while following her master through the maze-like garden to reach the center of the estate where the Sosis family''s main residence stood. Along the way, she observed the ornate architecture and meticulously maintained gardens, but disyed no emotion.

    Upon arriving at the mansion, two guards greeted them and asked Zach and Luna to wait outside while they informed Frederick, the head of the household, about their unexpected visit. Zach nodded in understanding, recognizing the importance of showing respect to the family despite his unannounced arrival.

    As they waited outside, Zach took the opportunity to observe the sprawling estate, admiring the intricate details of the mansion''s exterior and the carefully tended gardens. He wondered what kind of people lived in such opulence.

    After a few minutes, one of the guards returned and said, "Master has called for you. Follow me." Zach noticed ack of respect in the guard''s tone, but chose to keep it to himself as he followed the guard to meet the man behind his recent assassination attempt.

    Frederick was caught off guard by the unexpected arrival of the dark mage he had longed to meet since the old man he had sent to assassinate him was taken care of. The sudden visit left him feeling both annoyed and surprised иC annoyed because it gave him little time to prepare suitable arrangements and surprised because the head of the Luther family had allowed the dark mage to meet with Frederick alone.

    "Either the cripple is confident that I would not be able to win over the dark mage or this dark mage hase here without even consulting the Luther family head. Or maybe, this dark mage has already taken over that weak family and is now holding the reins. Let''s note to a conclusion without any evidence. I''ll soon find out the truth anyway."

    Despite his reservations, Frederick chose to reserve judgment until he had more evidence.

    He was confident that he would soon uncover the truth behind the dark mage''s visit and his connections with the Luther family. In the meantime, he prepared himself to meet with the powerful mage and discover what he wanted.

    "Father, I need your help to get justice for myself," Raisman pleaded with urgency in his voice. He couldn''t bear the thought of losing Diana, whom he had worked so hard to acquire.

    Frederick looked at his son with a mix of frustration and understanding. He knew that Raisman''s impatience could lead to rash decisions, which could ultimately hurt him in the long run.

    "Patience is key, my son. You must learn to wait for the right moment and strike when the time is right. You''re a hunter, and like any good hunter, you mustn''t scare off your prey with your impatience," Frederick advised his son, trying to calm him down with a stern yet gentle approach.

    Raisman took a deep breath and listened to his father''s words. He knew that his father was right, and that rushing things could ruin everything he had worked so hard to achieve. He felt a sense of calm wash over him as he realized that he needed to be patient and wait for the right opportunity to get the justice he deserved.

    As the guard led Zach and Luna into the study, Frederick stood up from his seat with a sly smile. He had been caught off guard by their unexpected arrival and was slightly annoyed with Zach for ruining his ns, but he managed to conceal his displeasure and weed them with a gracious demeanor.

    "Ah, what a pleasant surprise," Frederick said smoothly, hiding his frustration behind a veneer of charm. "I had intended to visit the Luther family head tomorrow, but it seems fate has brought us together sooner. I''m delighted to finally meet you both."

    He gestured towards the empty couch with a sweeping motion of his hand, inviting them to take a seat. Zachplied, settling into the soft cushions with an air of calm confidence. Luna followed suit, positioning herself to Zach''s right and facing the chair where Raisman had been sitting before his departure.

    Frederick watched them closely as they made themselvesfortable, studying their expressions and bodynguage for any clues about their intentions. Despite his irritation with Zach, he knew better than to show his hand too soon. He would bide his time and wait for the right moment to strike.

    When Frederick greeted Raisman, his son didn''t even bother to stand up. It was clear to everyone in the room that hecked the political acumen of his father, and his petnt and immature behavior only served to highlight his foolishness. Zach was taken aback by Raisman''s childishness; he had expected the young man to be more mature andposed.

    Despite his initial shock, Zach quickly realized that Raisman was inconsequential. He posed no real threat, and Zach saw him as nothing more than a minor annoyance. After all, Raisman was no match for his cunning and wily father, who was likely already nning his next move.

    Zach knew he had to be careful around the elder Sosis; he was as dangerous as a snake, with a quick mind and a silver tongue.

    As the meeting continued, Zach kept his guard up, wary of any traps or pitfalls that Frederick mighty in his path. He knew that he had to stay sharp if he wanted to outmaneuver the devious mastermind ande out on top.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zach responded to Frederick''s greeting with a smile that mirrored the elder Sosis '' own.

    "I heard you sent a letter to Bruce about you wanting to visit. I felt that it was better for us to meet before you came to visit him. There were some things that I felt we should talk about before that so I had toe over today." he exined.

    Frederick''s lips twitched slightly as he observed Zach''s smile. It was eerily simr to his own, and he couldn''t help but wonder if the young man was trying to manipte him. He quickly pushed the thought aside and gestured for the servants to bring out some tea.

    Raisman sat in silence, watching Zach and Frederick interact without uttering a word. He couldn''t stand the thought of interacting with Zach, let alone sitting in the same room as him. He seethed with anger as he thought about how Zach had dared to touch "his" Diana. In his mind''s eye, he imagined ripping Zach''s guts out and watching him bleed.

    But of course he could only imagine such things at the moment.

    Zach''s mind was elsewhere as he followed the guard towards the study. He had already aplished what he had set out to do in person at the Sosis family''s residence. Despite the polite conversation with Frederick and the ufortable silence from Raisman, Zach had already achieved his objective.

    As they walked, Zach discreetly reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of small, mechanical dragonflies. He had created these devices as a main project, he had ingeniously taken out of his Weapons Arsenal without anyone noticing at all.

    This was one of the items that Zach had received as a reward for constant absorption of the energy from Luna''s body. Since he previously had no use for it, the dragonflies had been gathering dust in his Arsenal.

    With a flick of his wrist, Zach released the dragonflies into the air. They were equipped with advanced sensors and cameras, designed to infiltrate and gather information undetected. As they flew towards their targets, Zach couldn''t help but feel a sense of satisfaction. This was just the beginning of his n to dismantle the Sosis family''s power and im his rightful ce as the head of the Luther family.

    [Mechanical Dragonfly]

    [Weapon Description: Mainly designed for espionage, the Mechanical Dragonfly looks like a normal dragonfly but made with fine and advanced technology. It is a drone that is fully capable of infiltrating hostile locations and its nano processors and micro memory chips enable it to process and store arge amount of data. Can be especially lethal inrge scale warfare where information about the deployment of forces and war ns are the key to victory.]

    [Physical Attack: 0] [Magic Attack: 0]

    [Durability: 100/100]

    [Weapon Skills]

    [Automatic Drone]

    [Skill Description: The Dragonfly will continue to monitor everything within an area of 30 meters on its own and does not require any careful feeding of information once deployed. It acts as an autonomous body and feeds data to the wielder regrly until it runs out of energy.]

    [Target]

    [Skill Description: The wielder can designate a target for the drone to spy on. The drone will keep on following the target until called back by the wielder or it runs out of power.]

 Chapter 62 62 Dispute

    ?[Skill Description: The Dragonfly will continue to monitor everything within an area of 30 meters on its own and does not require any careful feeding of information once deployed. It acts as an autonomous body and feeds data to the wielder regrly until it runs out of energy.]

    [Target]

    [Skill Description: The wielder can designate a target for the drone to spy on. The drone will keep on following the target until called back by the wielder or it runs out of power.]

    Zach knew that his arsenal of Mechanical Dragonflies could be a crucial tool in his efforts to gather intelligence on the powerful Sosis family. To ensure that he had eyes and ears on the ground at all times, he strategically deployed all of the dragonflies by designating specific targets for each one. Sometimes, he chose trees or heavy stones as targets, confident that these objects would not be disturbed or moved by anyone. However, he avoided selecting people as targets, as this could have jeopardized his operation if someone decided to remove or destroy the dragonfly out of annoyance or suspicion.

    Through thiswork of Mechanical Dragonflies, Zach had created a reliable information channel that provided him with critical firsthand information about the movements and activities of the Sosis family. This information was crucial for Zach if he wanted to go against the Sosis family, who were a behemoth in the Elizabeth family.

    By knowing the Sosis family''s ns and movements in advance, Zach could stay one step ahead and protect himself from potential threats. He knew that he couldn''t always rely on his automatic weapons to keep him safe, especially when he wasn''t inside the mansion. With his Mechanical Dragonflies providing him with an early warning system, Zach felt much more confident and prepared to take on the powerful and dangerous Sosis family.

    Moreover, Zach understood that despite the advanced technology he had installed in the Luther family mansion, it wasn''t foolproof. In a world where magic existed, there was always a possibility that an unusually talented magician could bypass the security system. Recognizing this vulnerability, Zach knew he couldn''t rely solely on the technology to keep his family safe. He needed to be in control of every aspect of their security, from start to finish. The only solution to achieving this level of control was information. Timely, urate information would allow him to stay one step ahead of any move made by the Sosis family, who were known for their powerful magical abilities. With this information, Zach could act quickly to protect his family and maintain their safety.

    "I am sure that you must already know by now, but it is onlymon courtesy that I introduce myself," said Frederick Sosis, his toneced with a hint of malice. "My name is Frederick Sosis, and I am the head of the Sosis family in Elizabeth city. And this is my son Raisman Sosis; the one the daughter of the Luther family is engaged to." Raisman lounged on the couch with a stoic expression, but his feral eyes betrayed a deep sense of bloodlust as he stared at Zach. It was clear that the Sosis family didn''t take kindly to uninvited guests.

    "What should I call the unexpected guests?" Frederick asked with a sly smile, subtly insulting Zach for his unannounced visit.

    Zach remainedposed and unfazed by Frederick''s demeanor. "I am sure that you already know me as well, but if I must say...then you can call me Zach," he replied, with a hint of amusement in his voice. Zach knew that he was a stranger in this world, but that didn''t bother him. He had no ties to this world, and nothing to tether him down or threaten him with. He was a man with a mission, and he wouldn''t let anyone get in his way.

    Frederick''s eyes flickered to the hooded figure standing next to Zach. He knew that Zach was the dark mage he had been eager to meet, but he wasn''t sure about the identity of hispanion. He studied the figure intently, trying to glean any information from his memory, but came up empty-handed.

    Zach could sense Frederick''s curiosity, but he had no intention of revealing anything about Luna. She was a crucial ally in his mission, and he couldn''t risk his enemies discovering anything about her. "Luna is with me," he said simply, not offering any further exnation. Zach was a man of few words, and he knew that the less he revealed, the better.

    With his main purpose of meeting the scion and head of the Sosis family fulfilled, Zach didn''t want to waste any more time beating around the bush. He knew that the Sosis family was notorious for their insidious ys, and he preferred a more direct approach to dealing with them.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Now that the introductions are out of the way," Zach said, fixing his gaze on Frederick, "let mee out and exin directly why I came to visit you out of nowhere." He took a deep breath before continuing. "It was to inform you about my rtionship with Diana, the princess of the Luther family. We''ve been seeing each other for some time now, and I felt it was only right that you should know, especially since I heard that you wereing to visit the Luther family tomorrow."

    Zach maintained a serious expression, but his calm demeanor belied the tension that hung in the air. He knew that his revtion would not sit well with the Sosis family, who had always been keen on maintaining their power and influence through strategic alliances and calcted moves.

    The same could not be said about the Sosis family. Frederick, the head of the family, felt like he had been pped in the face in the confines of his own home. He had always prided himself on his ability to stay ahead of his rivals, but this unexpected turn of events had caught him off guard. His mind raced as he tried to make sense of the situation and figure out his next move.

    Frederick''s face contorted in rage, his hands balling into fists as he struggled to control his emotions. He couldn''t believe what he was hearing. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" he bellowed, his voice echoing through the room.

    Zach, on the other hand, remained calm andposed, as if he had anticipated this outburst. He had always seen it all before and knew how to handle such situations. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes locked on Frederick''s, and spoke in a measured tone.

    "What I mean to say," he said, his voice devoid of any emotion, "is that you should not bothering to the Luther family if the agenda of your visit is your son''s outdated engagement with Diana."

    There was a palpable silence in the room, broken only by the sound of Frederick''s heavy breathing. He red at Zach, his eyes zing with fury and frustration, but he refused tosh out in anger. This was his pride as an older family head. He knew better than to let his emotions get the best of him, especially in the presence of a rival.

    Frederick knew that he needed more information about Zach before he could take any action against him. He had heard rumors about Zach''s formidable powers and his connections with some of the most influential families in the city. Frederick had his ownwork of spies, but he needed to gather more intel before he could decide how to deal with this new threat.

    Moreover, he still hadn''t given up on recruiting Zach as the recement to his previous dark mage. He knew that Zach''s abilities could be a valuable asset to his family''s operations, and he was willing to overlook their current rivalry if it meant gaining an advantage over his enemies.

    Raisman, however, was a different story. He had always been impulsive and hot-headed, especially when it came to Diana. His obsession with her had clouded his judgment, and he couldn''t hold back his fury any longer.

    "YOU MOTHERF*CKER!!" he screamed, his face contorted with rage. He stood up from the couch, his fists clenched as he prepared tounch himself at Zach. He wanted to let him know that the line for Diana''s suitors began with Raisman himself. There was no way he was going to let someone else take what he saw as rightfully his.

 Chapter 63 63 The Povocation

    ?Frederick knew that his son''s rash actions could ruin everything that he had worked so hard for. He quickly grabbed Raisman''s arm and pulled him back onto the couch before he could attack Zach. He knew that eliminating all possibilities of cooperation with Zach at this moment would be a grave mistake. He needed to keep his options open and wait for the right opportunity to strike.

    "No matter what, you should know that YOU are the one at fault here. The engagement had already been agreed upon by the families before you came here." Frederick highlighted the crux of the whole situation as he didn''t like how Zach pushed the importance of the engagement to the bottom.

    "I never said that I didn''t do any wrong. I just stated a fact that whatever the agreement between the two families might have been in the past, there is no need to continue with it since Diana is already my woman. Neither can you control a woman in love nor can you forcefully continue a rtionship that does not mean anything. You wouldn''t want to destroy two lives including your own son''s right? What would the people think about you separating two loving souls just to satisfy your ego and false pride? I wonder if the benevolence of the Sosis family will still be famous after that. After all who would be willing to ask for help from such cruel people?"

    "I hope you can see that I''m not trying to be disrespectful, but rather, I''m hoping to find a way for everyone to move forward without hurting anyone," he said.

    Zach''s demeanor resembled that of the debaters he used to watch on news channels in his previous world. He presented himself as a professional and confident speaker, carefully choosing his words as he exined his perspective to Frederick. Even though Frederick was angry, he remained calm and listened to Zach''s argument.

    As Zach spoke, Frederick couldn''t help but feel a sense of anger rising within him. He couldn''t believe the audacity of this dark mage,ing into his home and speaking to him in such a way. His facial expressions changed momentarily, and he began to look cruel and menacing.

    What Zach was really implying was a direct threat to the Sosis family''s public image that Frederick had worked hard to create. He realized that if Zach were to follow through with his ns, it would have disastrous consequences for the family''s reputation. This realization only fueled his anger further, and he struggled to keep his emotions in check as he listened to Zach''s words.

    "That is just sophistry at best. The prestige of my Sosis family can''t be ruined for nothing. It was that shameless girl who despite being engaged to my son, went and got herself a lover. Why should my son suffer a loss for her infidelity? She should pay for her wrongdoings and so should you. How dare you threaten my family when you are the ones at fault?" Frederick felt that he had sessfully taken control of the conversation, putting the me squarely on Zach and Diana. He was proud of his ability to shift the conversation in his favor and defend his family''s honor.

    Zach, however, remained calm and collected, almost as if he had been anticipating this response. He gave a wry smile and rubbed his hands together, showing a slight excitement as if he was ready to present his counter-argument.

    "That''s interesting. My man here says otherwise. He thinks that this situation is entirely the fault of your stupid son over here. If he hadn''t coveted something that didn''t belong to him in the first ce, we wouldn''t be here. My friend is barely holding himself back from burning everything to a crisp. I would advise you to not provoke her if possible." Zach smirked in a provoking manner in order to heat up the situation as if he intended for some conflict to ur.

    As Zach spoke, Frederick''s expression turned even darker, he stared at Luna whom he had previously ignored. He might have acted differently had he known that she was a powerful fire mage before.

    Frederick gritted his teeth as he tried to control his fury. He could feel his anger boiling up inside him, and if his eyes could shootsers, Zach would have been in serious trouble.

    "So you wanted to y this game from the beginning. I wonder how strong yourpanion is for you to be that confident."

    He realized that Zach had been ying a game from the beginning, and he wondered just how strong hispanion was for him to be so confident.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Raisman was seething with rage, his mind clouded by the thought of getting revenge on Zach for daring toy his hands on Diana, who was supposed to be his. He didn''t understand what Zach and Frederick were discussing, nor did he care. All he wanted was to dismember Zach where he stood, and he red at him with a deadly gaze.

    He couldn''t believe the audacity of this dark mage, who had the nerve to threaten his family''s reputation and insult his father in his own house. Raisman felt a strong sense of entitlement over Diana, as if she was nothing but a possession that he had the right to im.

    Raisman''s eyes flicked between Zach and his father, hoping that Frederick would take action against him.

    Frederick looked towards one of the servants and raised his hand. The servant, a tall man with dark hair and a serious expression, came forward and bowed his head respectfully. Frederick whispered something in his ear, his voice low and urgent, and the servant nodded before slipping away to carry out his master''s orders.

    Zach, a young man with sharp features and piercing eyes, didn''t bother listening in on the exchange even though he could have. He was well aware of the power structure, having been briefed on the family''s internal dynamics by Bruce. Bruce had exined the intricate web of alliances, rivalries, and shifting loyalties that defined the Sosis n, in the hopes that Zach would understand the gravity of the situation before he was in too deep with the Sosis family, the Luther family''s bitter rivals.

    Luna regarded the humans with disdain, seeing them as little more than insignificant creatures that were beneath her notice. Her primary loyalty was to her master, and she followed his orders without question. However, she couldn''t help feeling a flicker of annoyance when one of the humans showed hostility towards him. It took all her self-control not tosh out at the offender and incinerate him on the spot. Luna prided herself on her obedience and discipline, but sometimes it was hard to suppress her natural instincts.

    After a few moments, the servant returned to his position, and a tall, imposing man entered the study. His steps were deliberate and confident, like the flow of a river that knew exactly where it was going. Zach eyed him warily, wondering how strong and skilled he might be. He cast a quick nce at Luna, who sat calmly at his side, and raised his eyebrows slightly in silent query.

    Luna understood Zach''s unspoken question and gave him a nod of reassurance. She was a highly trained mage, skilled in a variety of magical techniques and always ready to defend herself and her employer. She had faced opponents much stronger than this man before and emerged victorious. With her at his side, Zach felt confident that they could handle anything that mighte their way.

    Zach breathed a quiet sigh of relief and turned his attention back to the man who had just entered the room. It was time to get down to business.

    Zach couldn''t help but feel a small sense of relief.

    He knew that Luna was a skilled mage, but he also knew that there were always risks involved in their line of work. He was d that he had taken the time to assess the situation carefully before allowing Luna to engage in a potentially dangerous battle. He didn''t want her to get hurt because of a momentarypse of judgment or ack of information on his part.

    And he knew that if Luna were to face someone who was too powerful for her, it could lead to an undesirable situation. He had already made up his mind that he would forfeit the match if such a situation arose. He wasn''t going to risk Luna''s safety, no matter what.

 Chapter 64 64 Just Fight

    ?"Since you brought a fire mage to show your power, I have called on apetent water mage to duke it out with yourpanion. Let us see what you are so proud of to challenge me in my own home."

    Zach had already expected Frederick to fall into his trap due to his inted ego. This was exactly the kind of attitude that he hade to expect from the elite families in this city. They were all so concerned with maintaining their power and status that they often underestimated their opponents. It was amon trope in the dramas that he and Luna enjoyed watching together and he was pleased to see it had worked.

    Zach felt like a protagonist of a novel as he too was sure that Frederick would suffer due to this decision today. It might even be hard for him to show his face in public due to how swollen it would be by then.

    He had been anticipating this moment for weeks and had nned everything meticulously. He had trained his subordinate, Luna, for this very match, knowing that Frederick''s ego would not let him back down from the challenge.

    Frederick, a seasoned mage, felt confident in his strategy. He had called upon his mostpetent water mage, who was also his subordinate, to assist him in the uing battle. He knew that in a battle between fire and water mages of the same rank, the water mage would have the upper hand due to the elemental suppression effect.

    The elemental suppression effect refers to the fact that certain elemental magics have a greater effect on others. In this case, water magic is particrly effective against fire magic. If two mages of the same rank and physical capabilities were to engage in battle, the water mage would be able to suppress the fire mage, making it difficult for thetter to effectively cast spells.

    This effect is significant enough that many mages are reluctant to reveal their elemental affinities to others. Revealing one''s elemental affinity could give an opponent a significant advantage in battle. Thus, many mages keep their elemental affinities hidden from prying eyes.

    Zach on the other hand had openly revealed his subordinate''s element in front of his enemies. Frederick could not help but find that foolish.

    This was a risky move, as it gave his opponents valuable information about his team''s strengths and weaknesses.

    However, Frederick had his own strategy in ce. He had purposely not revealed the full strength of his own subordinate, wanting to imply that the strength of his family was deep and powerful. Just a random subordinate of his would be able to easily defeat Zach''s trusted subordinate.

    Frederick''s true target was not just to win this particr battle, but to recruit Zach to his cause through a show of power. He believed that by defeating Zach''s team, he could demonstrate his own strength and convince Zach to join him. By not revealing the full extent of his own team''s abilities, Frederick hoped to give the impression that his family was even more powerful than it appeared on the surface.

    Zach, pretending to consider the suggestion, eventually epted Frederick''s proposal for a duel between their subordinates. The underlying bet of the duel was the topic of discussion, with both parties agreeing that the loser would have to back off regarding their pursuit of Diana.

    The stakes were high for both sides. If Zach''s team lost, he would have to give up Diana. If Frederick''s team lost, the Sosis family would be forced to break off their engagement with Diana, as they couldn''t afford to mess with Zach, who had be the new backer of the Luther family.

    Frederick''s water mage was renowned throughout Elizabeth city for his impable defense and the significant restraint effect he had on his enemies. As a D-rank mage, his power was capable of not only restraining but also weakening his enemies. His ability to weaken his opponents made him a formidable opponent in battle, and his impable defense allowed him to withstand attacks from even the strongest of foes.

    Zach and Frederick exchanged nods before standing up from their respective seats and making their way outside. They were apanied by several servants, who walked in a line alongside the walls of the hallways, and several guards who had been standing by inside the study.

    As they made their way outside, Frederick and Zach walked side by side, with Luna and Raisman following closely behind them. The guards formed a protective ring around them.

    The tension between the two groups was palpable, with both sides preparing themselves for the uing duel. Despite this, the group moved forward with purpose, eager to settle the matter once and for all. As they stepped out into the open air, the sound of birds chirping in the distance provided a stark contrast to the looming battle that was about to take ce.

    "You seem to be very confident even though my subordinate is a water mage." Frederick asked without looking at Zach who had somehow started to act as his equal.

    "Why shouldn''t I be? My friend is strong." Zach replied nonchntly as if this didn''t affect him in any way.

    "Each strength has a weakness and water seems to be the antithesis of fire. Shouldn''t you be worried?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I don''t think so. I believe in absolute power; the power to st through any weakness with sheer strength, the type of strength that has no w for my enemies to exploit." Zach''s unshakable resolve to win was evident from the way he talked and that seemed to annoy Frederick a lot as he didn''t ask any further questions.

    Despite the tension between the two, the group continued on their way, eager to see the oue of the uing duel.

    The group had stepped outside into the vast garden surrounding the Sosis family mansion, where they found themselves in a quiet clearing.

    Zach stood next to Frederick, observing the scene, while Luna faced off against the water mage some distance away.

    A guard, dressed in full armor, stood between them, ready to officiate the fight. He cleared his throat and loudly dered, "Begin!"

    Luna and the water mage sprang into action, wasting no time. They charged towards each other, their eyes locked in fierce determination. They both knew that the first strike would give them the upper hand and allow them to dictate the pace of the battle.

    The sound of spells being cast filled the air, creating a dazzling disy of light and color.

    Controlling the pace of the battle was crucial for mages, as they not only needed to attack and defend but also had to manage their remaining mana. The mage who controlled the battle''s pace could influence the enemy to expend more mana and gain an advantage. For example, a mage might feign weakness and lure the enemy into overusing their mana, leaving them vulnerable to a counterattack.

    As she faced her foes, mes surrounded her figure, creating a fiery cocoon that burned the air around her. Her lithe figure moved with agility as sheunched attacks, her control over the fire precise and powerful. Even Zach, who had watched her train every day since their first encounter, was impressed by her uracy and finesse. It was as if the mes themselves were an extension of her will, responding to her everymand with deadly force.

    The water mage, in contrast, had a different approach tobat. He conjured transparent water bubbles around both of his hands, suggesting he was a closebat mage who used elemental attacks alongside his physical strength. His movements were fluid and graceful, as if he was one with the water that surrounded him.

    Luna waved her hand, and a ming sword appeared in her grasp. It was a two-handed long sword with an impressive reach. She held the sword firmly and shed it horizontally twice, unleashing tworge arcs of mes that spread out toward the water mage.

    The water mage brought both of his hands in front of him and concentrated the water element to conjure a shield that could ward off the mes. The shield shimmered with a bluish glow as it stopped the mes in their tracks. A hissing sound echoed as the water suppressed the fire, and a stream of mist rose from the point where the two elements met.

    As the mist enveloped both fighters, they disappeared from sight, hidden from the spectators who were eagerly waiting for a direct confrontation. But despite the veil of mist, Luna continued to dash forward with her sword in hand, a small smile creeping onto her face as she anticipated the water mage''s next move.

    The color of her sword changed from fiery golden red to bluish as the temperature of her mes increased further. This had happened when she managed to train her me control past a certain limit after having be a C rank mage.

    "Arrghhh~"

    Both Luna and the water mage shed in the centre as more and more mist began to be produced because of their constant collisions.

    Since no one could witness the fight due to the smoke hindering their vision, Frederick couldn''t notice the fact that his subordinate was busy cursing him at that moment. The reason was that his master had pitted him against a mage that was a rank above him in strength.

    As the mist thickened, Frederick couldn''t see the oue of the battle and wondered if his subordinate would emerge victorious or if he had made a costly mistake.

 Chapter 65 65 Defeat

    ?To onlookers, it appeared that the two mages were evenly matched, but the reality was that the water mage waspletely on the defensive. He owed his survival to the fact that his water magic was constantly weakening the momentum of Luna''s fiery attacks. If not for this, Luna''s first strike would have been hisst.

    With each swing of Luna''s blue sword, the water bubbles surrounding the mage''s body grew smaller and more unstable, threatening to burst at any moment. Despite this, the water mage persisted, using more and more of his mana reserves to keep himself alive.

    But Luna was relentless. Her anger at Sosis family, who had dared to attack her master, fueled her determination to defeat the water mage. She swung her sword with precision and power, her attacks draining the water mage''s mana reserves and leaving him increasingly vulnerable to her mes.

    Luna seethed with annoyings at Raisman''s attempt to attack her master. Though she couldn''t take her anger out on Raisman directly, she unleashed her fury on the water mage, who was nothing more than ackey of her master''s enemies. She swung her sword with reckless abandon, depleting the water mage''s mana reserves with every strike.

    Despite being a rank weaker than Luna, the water mage did his best to defend himself. But it was a losing battle. Luna''s attacks were too powerful, and he couldn''t keep up with her relentless assault. Finally, after just ten seconds of fighting, the water bubble surrounding his body burst with a loud explosion.

    The resulting mist filled the air, obscuring the battlefield from view. Luna emerged from the mist, panting heavily but victorious. She lowered her sword, her eyes fixed on Raisman and his cohorts.

    The water mage flew backwards like a kite with its string cut loose and hit a tree and left a deep gorge in the sturdy tree trunk. The front of his body looked badly burnt while his arms were charred ck since he had used them to block the brunt of the explosion.

    Luna on the other hand didn''t even have a scratch as she walked back towards her master. The sword in her hand vanished as if on cue.

    Frederick was shocked to see Zach''spanion walking out of the mistpletely fine with not a hair out of ce. A chill spread throughout his body starting from his spine that left his whole body tingling.

    Zach found Frederick''s current expression extremely funny. He felt that if Frederick had been one of those cartoon characters from his previous world, his jaw would have definitely struck the ground by then.

    Zach looked at Frederick with a smile that was clearly not a smile but a naked threat; a show of his power.

    Frederick gulped and it seemed as if he managed to calcte several things in that very moment. He didn''t even need to look at his subordinate to know that he was in a miserable condition. The only reason he was still alive was because the enemy didn''t intend to kill him in the first ce. This kind of elemental control had reached the realm where one didn''t need to worry about the weakness of the elements at all. Moreover, he was sure that the fire mage was definitely stronger not just in terms of control but also in terms of magic level and experience.

    Zach gave the victorious Luna a heartfelt smile that indicated his appreciation for how splendidly she had performed. She had not only defeated her enemy without suffering an injury but had also done it in the shortest possible time which was quite a blow to the Sosis family.

    ? Zach felt that this much was enough. He had managed prove his point to Frederick and there was no point in continuing to be aggressive against an enemy that had already lost to him. It would only make him look petty.

    "Since this is settled, I would ask you not to pressurize the Luther family based on the previous engagement between your son and Diana. I will however not im to be entirely free of fault in this situation since Diana did in fact have a prior engagement to your son and I fell in love with her despite knowing about it. My actions may seem immoral in the eyes of the society or the high families of this city, but they aren''t so in my eyes.

    I pursue the things that I want and I obtain them no matter the cost. However as an apology for my actions that may have caused harm to your family reputation, I would send a gift to your Sosis family in two days as a means of reparation between the two families. Hopefully you will forget whбн"

    "Aaaarrghhhh~"

    Zach''s monologue was interrupted by a bestial roar that erupted out of Raisman''s mouth as he thought of Diana in the arms of this dark mage. He was not content with just letting Diana go. Even if he had to kill Zach to get her, Raisman was willing to do so.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Thinking that both Zach and hispanion were magicians, Raisman thought about calling on the most powerful swordsman under the Sosis family in order to take care of them. After all in terms of close quarterbat, there was not a single mage that could guarantee a win going up against a swordsman.

    No matter where it was, bnce existed in nature. While mages received a great boost in their mana control due to the constant practice of their magic, their physical bodies tended to be very fragilepared to warriors of equivalent strength.

    The warriors on the other hand trained their physical bodies to near perfection but on the other hand did not have the opportunity to orcked the talent to train their mana to an eptable level.

    The powerful swordsman that Raisman was thinking of calling was one such trump card that the Sosis family had to deal with troublesome mages who were unbeatable at the same level or had troublesome magical talents.

    "Father, we don''t need to hear this bullsh*t. Are you going to let them go just because of one match that wasn''t even fair to begin with?" Raisman looked at his father in disbelief as he had never expected his father to give in to the dark mage so easily.

    Frederick looked at Raisman as if he was looking at a fool who was unfamiliar with how the world truly worked.

    "Maybe I have pampered him so much that he has lost sight of the big picture. He is too focused on a tiny little thing when there is a possibility of something greater through coboration." Frederick thought to himself with a slight regret.

    Before Raisman could do something irreparable, Frederick held his arm in order to keep him in check.

    Raisman tried to put in some force but he was still a powerless kid in front of his father who was strong beyond his imaginations.

    "Father let''s have another match between that mage and one of our subordinates. This is not fair. The fire mage was definitely a rank higher than our participant. Let''s have his participant fight our swordsman who will act like a mage. Wouldn''t it be wonderful to let them have a taste of their own medicine?" Raisman whispered in his father''s ear in a voice that was too low for either the fire mage or Zach to hear.

    Frederick on the other hand acted as if he was facing continuous disappointment from his son. He shook his head at his son in order to forbid him from making useless moves that might deteriorate their rtionship with Zach even further than it already was.

    "I respect your courage in being able to pursue your love without caring about the societal norms; not all the men your age would be able to do such a thing even when facing simr odds. Even though our meeting might not have taken ce with the best of intentions, I would be extremely happy to make your acquaintance as a friend rather than a potential enemy. After all, one doesn''t meet people with potential like you on a daily basis." Frederick said with a cheerful smile this time that seemed to be saying, "Let''s forget about the past and make a new start towards a happy and fulfilled life."

    Frederick thought that he was acting sincere enough but Zach could only think of those child traffickers who acted like the friendly neighbors before kidnapping the innocent kids who got caught unaware. He didn''t buy a single word that came out of Frederick''s mouth because he was sure that the moment that Frederick thought that he could take on Zach on his own, that would be the day that Zach would end up with a knife in his back.

    Frederick noticed Zach as he got lost in thought thinking about the offer that Frederick had made him for a friendship that might turn out to be more beneficial to both the parties. Therefore, he decided to sweeten the pot a little.

    "My family''s power and influence and your strength as a dark mage, we can easily be the sole rulers of this city if we join hands; you in the shadows and me in the light. I can even help you stay out of trouble with the little influence I still have in this city so that you can go around ces normally without being wary of any attack."

    "I am not a dark mage. I have been repeatedly stressing this point but not one person seems interested in what I try to tell them."

 Chapter 66 66 Sanctimonious

    ?"I am not a dark mage. I have been repeatedly stressing this point but not one person seems interested in what I try to tell them."

    Zach was frustrated that even the Sosis family people thought that Zach was a dark mage which was not a good thing. He didn''t want to be misunderstood by the people even though he had yet to do anything that was taboo in this society.

    "Of course; we know you are not a dark mage. You are a guest of the Luther family and that''s all we know about you." There was an understanding smile stered on Frederick''s face. If Zach wasn''t mistaken, he even noticed a wink from the older mage.

    Zach had a severe urge to bury his palm in his face as he looked at the way Frederick was acting in front of him. Of course Zach knew what the old man was implying through his actions, "Your secret ispletely safe with us. We won''t tell anyone that you are a powerful dark mage. *Wink*"

    "NOбнI am really telling you the truth that I am not a dark mage. That thing about me being a dark mage is only a rumor. I only make use of higher concepts like science and nothing else." Zach tried again once even though he knew that logic had no ce in this isekai. He wanted to try to clear his own image at least once more before giving up on it which was thest resort in all kinds of situations.

    "Of course we know. We totally understand. That is definitely a higher concept of magic." Frederick put a finger on his lips as if telling him that his lips werepletely shut. He felt that Zach was only trying to keep it under wraps because he was worried about public opinion regarding his true identity.

    Frederick felt that this was perfectly natural because no dark mage would want groves of angry mages hunting them.

    *Sigh*

    "No you don''t. YOU DON''T UNDERSTAND!!" Zach wanted to shout out loud but he didn''t because he knew that he would only receive a bullsh*t reply in response to his logic. No matter what he did, the aborigines were always unwilling to listen to him as if they couldn''t even begin to understand how he wasn''t a dark mage.

    The finger on Frederick''s lips irritated Zach in ways that even he couldn''t understand. Zach wanted to rip that smug expression as well as that "understanding" finger off his face as ruthlessly as possible but his hands were bound too.

    Despite being a logical being, he had to put up with this bullsh*t because he didn''t want the rtions between the Luther family and the Sosis family to deteriorate just yet. He needed to wait until he could take that risk without any repercussions.

    While Zach was nurturing and growing such murderous thoughts in his heart, Frederick was very pleased with how he had handled the situation. He thought of himself as an expert and diplomatic politician. The way he understood how Zach didn''t want to be called a dark mage was instant to say the very least. He had immediatelyplied with Zach''s preference and had denied all such rumors regarding him being a dark mage as soon as Zach implied that he wanted to keep a low profile.

    Even though Zach hadn''t said it out loud, Frederick being an expert diplomat grasped the hidden meaning between the lines.

    Little did he know that Zach was cursing that very diplomacy and talent in politics at that moment.

    Only the fanatics and the psychotic people had the ability to twist truths beyond the normal range without even meaning to. Zach wondered to what category this Sosis family head belonged to but he was sure that Frederick had such an ability.

    Zach didn''t want to stay in that ce any longer. He was tired of exining himself and didn''t want to sound like a broken tape recorder.

    Zach bowed slightly to Frederick and without even ncing at Raisman, who was openly revealing his bloodlust and murderous intentions, he said, "Thank you for your hospitality today and I apologize once again for intruding your home without prior permission to visit."

    Luna neither bowed her head nor said anything to anyone since in her opinion the only one worthy of her bowing her head was her master Zach.

    She didn''t show any reaction when Zach turned around to leave and swiftly followed in the footsteps of Zach before hurrying forward to walk along side him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    One of the servants showed them the way out since the maze like garden that encroached on the Sosis family mansion could make even the household members forget the path that led to the exit.

    As soon as the two of them left the vision of the Sosis family father and son, Raisman couldn''t wait any longer and pulled his hand free from the grip of his father with a force that was enough to dislodge the arm of anyone normal from its socket.

    There was fury in his eyes. He looked like a demon who escaped his confinement in darkness after hundreds of years only to find the things that were dearest to him had been taken away by someone weaker. And all that fury was directed towards his own father who had stopped him from twisting the neck of that thief.

    "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" shouted Raisman, hisint evident from the tone of his voice. Before this he had been sure that his father would support him no matter what he wanted but today his father had rejected the most earnest wish he had ever had in his life. Instead he had buttered up some random mage and had even ignored him entirely during the discussion.

    "Why did I do what?"

    Frederick on the other hand waspletely calm as if he hadn''t done anything to earn that ire from his son.

    "Why didn''t you let me continue the match? Had you supported me, we would have won with the help of that swordsman and I would not have lost Diana like this. Are you so old now that you have to bow your head and offer up your things to everyone whoes to your door?" Raisman grunted as if in disgust at the thing that used to be his father.

    Frederick didn''t mind anything that his son said to him; after all, he knew that this was not the way he usually did things and Raisman knew that as well.

    "Raisman, we can''t deal with this one like we did with the ones from the other families especially now that he has joined hands with Luther family. We don''t know anything about him or his backing. No dark mage acts as openly as this person because they are usually shunned by others. But this one has the confidence to march into our home unannounced and challenge my authority which means that he has some kind of support that enables him to do that. It can''t be the Luther family since they are relying on his help as well."

    "It''s only the Luther familyбнwhy do we need to be afraid of that fallen family? So what if he has joined hands with the Luther family. No one likes to support a falling ship. We just need to target the Luther family until he leaves them of his own ord." Raisman retorted as he found a w in the logic behind his father''s argument.

    Frederick was surprised as he heard Raisman''s logic. He had not expected that Raisman was still capable of that kind of discussion after his earlier eruption.

    "The truth is that we can''t touch the Luther family either. It''s not because I particrly feel any threat from that cripple or his forces but because ''that'' person is protecting the Luther family. To be honest, I can''t determine the level of strength he has. His face was perfectly expressionless and showed only the emotions that he wanted to show. Each and every action felt perfectly calcted as if it was a practiced performance instead. I couldn''t find a single w in his demeanor or his words. I felt like I was talking to a seasoned diplomat and or the trained heir of an elite family even though I knew he was only a dark mage from who knows where."

    "It could all be just that and nothing else too. Maybe he is a fraud and totally weak like that cripple and you are just ying into his hands." Raisman smirked as he felt that he had found a w in all those assumptions of his father.

    "Then tell me somethingбн" Frederick asked as he folded his hands in front of his chest as if challenging Raisman.

    Raisman wasn''t willing to back out either and returned the look Frederick was giving him as if saying, "Bring it on". He needed to convince his father to attack that hateful bast*rd in any way possible so as to get Diana back.

    "Would an S rank mage be willing to follow me without question if I wasn''t the head of the Sosis family?" Frederick raised his eyebrows as he asked the question which made Raisman feel as if his father was taunting him.

    "That is out of the question. Even if you are the head of Sosis family, why would someone that strong be willing to follow you? You don''t have anything to offer to such a powerful person." Raisman answered as if on instinct but felt as if the answer to the question felt to be too easy.

 Chapter 67 67 Scruple

    ?He had expected a philosophical question or something harder to answer after seeing the way Frederick had been acting.

    "EXACTLY~" Frederick chimed as a huge smile covered half his face.

    It was then that Raisman felt that he had fallen into a trap woven by his father.

    "You seeбнthe female fire mage that he brought with him was at least a C rank mage. Given that she beat our man, who was a D rank mage, within ten seconds without a single scratch, she might even be closer to jumping into the B rank. So consider thisбнif his subordinate is either a high C rank mage or a B rank mage in the early reaches, what would be the rank of that dark mage then? Can it be lower than his subordinate?" Frederick exined the reason why he hadn''t tried to antagonize Zach.

    "Noбнhe is probably a B rank mage." Raisman responded without thinking. He understood the Frederick''s line of thoughtpletely since he had been the one to endorse the same earlier when he replied to Frederick''s question.

    "Yes, the same rank as me." Frederick replied as a helpless sigh escaped his mouth. He ignored Raisman as he took onest nce at the ce where Zach and Luna had vanished before turning back towards his mansion. With slow and steady steps he headed back towards his room where he could contemte on today''s encounter with some peace of mind.

    Raisman didn''t seem satisfied as he too turned back and followed after his father from a few steps back. He couldn''t help but notice the proud back of his father was slightly bent after the encounter today.

    Frederick being the strongest mage of the Sosis family was only a B rank mage whose strength probablyy between the lower or middle reaches of the rank.

    Despite being sure of his decisions, Frederick could not help but think back on all the choices he had made today. He needed to think about the alternatives if he wanted to improve. He needed to calcte the opportunity cost for all the alternatives that he had skipped on and for that he needed to approximate the strength of his opponents.

    He assumed Luna to be close to bing a B rank mage so there was no way she could have willingly be his subordinate if Zach wasn''t already considerably stronger than her. And that ced Zach''s strength in the middle to higher reaches of the B rank at the very least or even higher than that.

    Frederick calcted his chances of sess in a duel between him and Frederick and found that the odds of him winning the duel were verycking. Theck of information regarding Zach, the terrible flexibility and unorthodox means of the dark magic and his unknown true strength made Zach a truly terrifying opponent for Frederick. Zach was not only cunning and devious but he was also an enigma that Frederick couldn''t exin without careful research.

    Not to mention the heavy psychological pressure of such a fight could lead to Frederick''s demise easily. He could almost see it happening when he imagined fighting that dark mage in his mind.

    Frederick fantasized a little more and even assumed that he won the duel and ended up in a position where he could easily get rid of Zach. Even then he didn''t dare to take the life of the greatest irregrity he had ever encountered in his tenure as the head of the Sosis family.

    The reason was that he couldn''t be more wary of the forces behind Zach. The forces that could give rise to a dark mage as terrifying as Zach were bound to be extremely powerful, the kind that he couldn''t afford to offend even by staking the entire power of his Sosis family. He couldn''t handle the revenge of such forces after getting rid of Zach. He might even have to live a life on the run in case the ones behind Zach decided on targeting him.

    "I can''t even target the Luther family any longer since they are under that man''s protection and the forces behind him. The Luther family of today cannot bepared to the one we were easily able to suppress. I need to have further reassurance before I can even think ofying hands on them again. Why won''t that cripple let me rest at ease?" Frederick almost ripped his scalp in frustration but he had to keep up appearances in front of his household especially after that defeat.

    Frederick stopped in his steps as he turned around steadily and came face to face with his son Raisman who had been following after him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Listen to me carefully, no matter what kind of impulses you are having at the moment, CONTAIN THEM. We cannot interfere with the Luther family until we have resolved that man. Don''t think about that BITCH if you can''t control yourself. We can''t afford to earn that man''s ire in our current situation." Frederick snapped at his son. He couldn''t control the irritation as if an infernal w kept scratching his heart on the inside.

    And then in an extremely low voice that only he and Raisman were able to hear, he said, "Admit defeat for now. We can''t give more opportunities to those vultures that are waiting to prey upon our flesh. We would be doing exactly that if a conflict between the Sosis family and the Luther family was to arise. All those vultures circling around us in the Elizabeth city would swoop in and take what we have in our hands already. DON''T give them a single point of entry."

    "BUTбн" Before Raisman could register his disapproval of his father''s actions, he was cut off by Frederick mid-sentence.

    Raisman still wanted to protest because this wasn''t his father''s modus operandi. He was definitely not one to take it lying down. He felt that the meeting with that man changes something within his father. He had lost his confidence and his cunning. Raisman would have easily agreed had someone suggested mental or psychological maniption as the probable cause at that moment. But deep down, Raisman knew that the reason his father was acting this way was fear.

    "I know you can''t swallow such disgrace; after all, you are MY son. My blood runs through your veins. So I will promise you something in exchange." Frederick''s brows narrowed and then stiffened in ce as his eyes turned into that of a snake about to attack its prey. His whole aura took a one eighty degrees turn; from prey to a predator.

    Raisman felt the presence of his father; his true self under all the gloomy and weak fa?ade.

    "I promise that I will find a way to get rid of that bastard and the wet and crippled dog he is sheltering. Once that happens, that lowlife bitch will be yours to y with but this time she won''t being to this house as your wife but as your bitch. You can y with her as you like then." Frederick seemed to be oozing dark miasma as he portrayed the future he was nning to his son.

    A smile broke apart the gloom and depression that had been clouding Raisman''s face. Life returned to his eyes as he nodded vigorously in response to the n that his father had carefully charted out.

    Raisman couldn''t help but be excited about stealing Diana from Zach. Thinking back, he wasn''t as excited even when his engagement with Diana had been finalized. The pleasure of stealing her from someone as strong as Zach and treating her like a bitch turned him on even more.

    "Raisman, you are like an open book. I could tell that the man was able to read you without even looking at you. You need to keep your emotions in check. Only show your true emotions to yourself and no one else or someone will use them against you. Even though you aren''t kind by nature, you are too predictable. You need to learn to be more insidious and cunning if you want topete with the heirs of the other families when you take the reins after me." Frederick felt he needed to advise his son regarding his weakness especially after he saw his performance in front of Zach today. He had a feeling that Raisman''s personality had the potential to be the chains that might drag down Sosis family in the future.

    бн

    Somewhere in Elizabeth city along the path that led from the Sosis family estate to the Luther family mansion, a tall and muscr man with dark ck hair and a smile on his face was travelling along with a hooded figure that was slightly shorter in height. Everything about thispanion was hidden beneath the oversized cloak except for the sparks of me that appeared in the hands of the hooded figure from time to time.

    Sometimes the color of the mes was crimson red like the blood and sometimes it was blue like the light of some stars. And sometimes the me would alternate between the two as if a multicolored me was flickering in the dawning grey dusk.

    Of course the tall man with a toned body was Zach while the excessively hidden figure who was constantly ying around with the mes was Luna who had just defeated the subordinate water mage of the Sosis family head and was now heading home towards Luther family mansion along with Zach.

    "Did you see me take care of him so easily? I still can''t forget the shock on that animal''s face that kept ogling me throughout. Hehehe~" Herughter brightened the dreary atmosphere of the night and her voice was soothing like the wind chimes in Zach''s ears.

 Chapter 68 68 Brief Tranquility

    ?He lovingly gazed at her and couldn''t help but caress her head with affection. As if it was a seasoned impulse that he had been holding back for centuries, he couldn''t stop his hand once he began.

    Luna liked this more than any praise he could have showered with. Physical disys of affection were the best in her eyes.

    "Mmmh~" Only when a satisfied moan escaped her mouth did he pull his hand back and focused on the road again. Had he not done that, he might have jumped Luna right there for releasing such a seductive voice in the open.

    "I keep forgetting she is a subus underneath that heavy cloak. She can ooze seduction with her gaze alone." Zach thought as he concentrated on the path ahead.

    Luna looked a little dissatisfied with the short duration and longingly looked at his hand that was now resting by his side.

    But it didn''t take long for her to forget her dissatisfaction since the object of her affection was walking along side her. She once again went on the offensive in the efforts to get what she wanted.

    "Did I do good? I did good right? You know I did." Luna looked like a rapper throwing her words at Zach with the speed of sound.

    Zach felt a little odd at the sudden aggression from Luna but he knew what she wanted in reality. It had been quite a while since they had been together. He was even familiar with the intention behind the slightest twitch of her finger let alone such an obvious attempt to garner his affection.

    He found it to be extremely cute.

    Even though they had been together countless times during this tenure, she still felt like she was the only one getting a reward while Zach worked like a ve to offer her that reward.

    That ''reward'' was obviously sex, food as well in Luna''s case.

    "Yes Yes my Luna did a wonderful job. You looked very cool when you defeated him." Zach finally relented and stopped teasing her.

    "AND~" Luna became exceptionally excited at the praise she received from her master but this wasn''t exactly what she was looking for. She had a pitiful expression on her face like a wife who had been neglected by her husband for a long time.

    Zach felt her desperation and let out a long sigh. While holding his chin, Zach looked into the distance as if thinking heavily about a serious subject.

    "I feel like I should give you a reward for your hard work."

    "HmбнHmбнMaster definitely should." Luna vigorously nodded her head as if he had just arrived at the topic that she had been hinting at for so long.

    In her innocent mind, she couldn''t even imagine that her master already knew of her intention from the first instant; although that innocence was only reserved for her master. For the others, Luna was exceptionally devious and crafty. She didn''t trust any other human or anyone else for that matter. But somehow she turned into a mushy and innocent girl when it came to Zach.

    "Hmm~бнLet''s see. Should I give you a weapon? You don''t have a weapon right?" Even though Zach had decided not to tease her any longer, he couldn''t hold himself back once he saw her expectant look.

    Luna''s face darkened at the mention of the weapon as a reward. Though a weapon wasn''t bad considering Zach''s weapons were unique, she wanted something elseбнsomething that could satisfy her hunger.

    Zach was surprised to see the darkness on her face that came out of nowhere. He felt a little afraid of her when she was like this. He had seen many dramas and knew what happened to men when their women went over to the dark side.

    He could imagine her cutting his member off as he slept. She was definitely capable of doing that if he hadn''t be her master. But even if she couldn''t do that, there were several ways she coulde up with to torture him if she wanted to. He still remembered what she had done when he asked her to heat up his bath water in ce of the maid at the Luther family mansion.

    "Don''t give me that look. Of course I know what you want. I will definitely feed you well tonight when we get home." Zach had to throw his weapon to the ground because he didn''t want his innocent Luna to turn into a vengeful woman.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The dark look on her face vanished into oblivion as if it hadn''t been there at all. She was back to her jovial self as soon as she heard the announcement of her desired reward. The satisfied smile on her face was definitely better than the devouring darkness that Zach had witnessed earlier.

    Witnessing the changing moods of the woman, Zach couldn''t help but think back on what he had heard about women in his previous world.

    "Women are definitely terrifying creatures."

    -----------------

    A few days passed in which Zach kept waiting for any kind of movement from the father and son duo of the Sosis family but unlike what he had expected, even Raisman was able to keep his instincts in check. Both of them had yet to plot anything against him.

    As for how he knew, it was obviously the benefit of the mechanical dragonflies that he had released in the Sosis family estate. Each and every area of that family was constantly being monitored.

    Diana had been improving her knowledge about the guns on a daily basis. She soaked in all the knowledge he provided her like a sponge and utilized it in her training. Due to that, she had be proficient in weapon stripping, rapid and burst firing from various positions. Zach was even working on teaching her the ways of the sniper rifle.

    A sniper was definitely the best kind of support there was and Zach felt that it would make his life so much easier if he had someone for back up all the time when he proceeded into tense situations like the one he had encountered when he had to go to the Sosis family mansion all alone and without any support.

    Although nothing had happened to him or Luna, he couldn''t always be sure that something unexpected won''t threaten their lives in unknown hostile environments. And going without any support in such situations was no different from a suicide.

    Diana was following a strict training regimen that had been designed by Zach especially for her. He had included the same training exercises that he had used to train himself in the new world.

    At first the servants were very wary of the constant explosive sounds that had be a norm in the Luther family, but slowly they began to ept it as well like those in his previous world who were born and lived their entire lives in warzones where weapons and firing sounds were a constantpany.

    It especially helped, when both Bruce and Zach exined to them that they would be fine if they never came in front of the tube like thing that their youngdy was using, they would be fine.

    Although, the servants and the guards became especially wary around Diana whenever she was carrying around guns, they stopped being paranoid about their youngdy training to be a dark mage at the very least. From time to time, some of the weak hearted servants jumped out of Diana''s way like the gue was about to take them but other than that there were no adverse effects of Diana learning to wield guns from Zach.

    Majority of Zach''s day was spent training Diana in order to make her field ready as soon as possible since the Sosis family was expected to retaliate any day after their loss. He wanted her to be ready to take on enemies by then so that the burden of the forces would be lesser on his and Luna''s shoulders.

    Even though he was paying attention to Diana''s growth, Zach didn''t neglect his favorite subus. He trained her even harder at night and in the early morning during her meal times.

    Luna was getting "upgraded" in real time. Not only was she getting stronger, she was also learning to control her increasing strength better in her free time when Zach was teaching Diana.

    As a pleasant side effect to feeding her on a daily basis, Zach kept receiving various rewards from the system forpleting the repeatable daily quest. No matter how busy he was, he never forgot to im the rewards forpleting the daily request. It always felt like looking for gold amongst a pile of garbage to him.

    The weapons avable in his Weapons Arsenal were mostly garbage but from time to time there appeared a weapon or a utility technology that made himugh out loud in excitement with his hand covering a part of his face like a certain mad scientist who pretended to be evil and made outwardly and destructive discoveries.

    Thanks to the constant progress and the increasing strength of the Luther family overall, Bruce''s bodynguage had changedtely. All the servants and the guards of the Luther family had noticed the change in the tone of his voice and the way he handled the daily affairs of the family with unending vigor.

    Compared to his robotic and lifeless self from the past, this Bruce was a wee sight for all those who had seen him ailing and wailing after the passing of his father.

 Chapter 69 69 Newcome Tamer

    ?But what the Luther family, including Diana, did not know was that the reason behind the new cheerful look of their master wasn''t the increasing strength or influence of the family in the city affairs but the restoration of his ability to walk again through Zach''s help.

    If not for Bruce''s wish to keep it a secret, this kind of news would have been enough for a city wide celebration in the name of the Luther family but s this wasn''t the time for that. First Bruce needed revenge for his current condition and the deteriorating state of the Luther family. His sister was working towards that goal in her way as she constantly trained to be stronger. Bruce too needed to put in his part of the effort to save his home and his sister.

    Bruce began making friends since the social standing of the Luther family had increased somewhat after the news of the Sosis family''s loss at the hands of Luther family was leaked by some trustworthy sources.

    Families that previously avoided them like the gue suddenly began to invite him over for luncheons and balls that he had to attend as a goodwill gesture after all he was going to need the support of some of these families if he wanted to regain the lost repute of his family.

    Several families raised their doubts about the dark mage that was supporting the Luther family from the shadows but Bruce always exined that Luther family had done no such thing and the rumors were only whispers of the unsatisfied and the jealous who wanted to drag the name of the Luther family through the mud.

    Even though Bruce himself didn''t believe such a lie, he practically sold his story to everyone he encountered in the city. He told them that Zach was a normal mage whom his sister had fallen for and Zach was only trying to help her out by helping her family.

    During such meetings, Bruce even hinted at there being some unknown force behind Zach that he was unwilling to dispense the information about which left the mouths of these vultures hanging dry with anticipation.

    бн

    It wasn''t long before the Sosis family finally showed their true colors. It had taken so long that even Zach had started to doubt whether they had any intention of retaliation or not. But a tiger could hardly change its spots.

    A visitor arrived at the Sosis family estate who was received by the Sosis family head himself. Frederick led him towards the back room in order to keep the conversationpletely private.

    He had already instructed all the servants to be away for the entire duration of this conversation. Frederick didn''t think that he was being paranoid as he didn''t want the news about this conversation to leak to the Luther family no matter what.

    He knew that there was always a chance that Zach might have nted some spy in his household. Therefore, he was taking every single precaution.

    Once Frederick waspletely sure that the environment was perfectly under control and there was no chance of information leakage did he begin to openly discuss the matter with the old man who was his friend.

    "I know it''s been a long time but the way you are acting is scaring me. Is that man really worth all this effort? Are you sure he is that strong?" asked his old friend whom Frederick had especially invited to help him out of his predicament named Zach.

    "I don''t know about his true strength but it should be in the B rank. What I am truly afraid of is the force that is capable of nurturing a good seed like him. As you know B rank mage at such an age is truly a terrifying thing. Being the head of the family, it is impossible for me to remain in ce after taking care of him. Therefore I thought of you. Since you are practically a nomad, you wouldn''t be affected at all. Even if the force behind him wanted to look for you, they wouldn''t be able to. You are perfect for this assassination job."

    Frederick exined his reasons for calling his friend over to take care of Zach with a cunning look.

    "So, how do you want me to do it? Should I just go and challenge him to a duel or should I take care of him in the darkness? Which do you prefer?" asked the old man whose skills seemed to be quite versatile.

    "No no, don''t try to challenge him out in the open. My reputation in the city is already falling rapidly and if it was heard that I used outside help to take care of the rising Luther family, the vultures would swoop in towards my family as well. There should be minimal interaction between that mage and you and there shouldn''t be any mention of my family even by mistake. That will wash my hands off of the entire thing."

    "As you wish, I can stay hidden and still use my spiritual animals to take care of that dark mage from the distance. That should keep both you and me safe from the revenge of the force supporting him." The old man looked quite smug as he showed off his capability to his long time friend.

    For as long as Frederick could remember, this friend of his had been the same way, a show off and a smug bastard but an effective and powerful one nheless. He was after all a B rank Tamer.

    Tamers were already quite scarce in the world considering the fact that they used exotic pets and spirit animals to fight. All their magical abilities were rted to empowering their beasts to fight opponents.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Although they themselves were usually very weak, their spirit animals were a totally different story. A single Tamer was usually capable of taking down a group all on his own provided that he had sufficiently strong spirit animals in his possession.

    This also meant that a Tamer had the potential to have the strength of multiple mages of the same rank.

    Some lucky bastards who were able to tame a spirit animal above their rank allowed them to jump ranks to fight mages who were a rank above their own.

    It was a unique specialty of the Tamers; you couldn''t judge them by the cover. They could have overwhelming strength despite being ssified into the same ranks as the mages.

    "Do you still have that beast with you?" Frederick asked after hesitating quite a bit. It felt as if he wasn''t determined enough to hear the answer to that question.

    "If not then how do you think I became a B rank Tamer then? Hahahahaбн"ughed the old man as if Frederick had asked a dumb question.

    "What rank is it now?" Frederick asked excitedly.

    "Still one rank above me."

    The old manughed with a smug look on his face that seemed to be saying, "You can tter me all you want."

    Frederick could rest assured now that he had heard his friend''s answer. Since he had an A rank spirit beast in his possession, even if Zach was a B rank of the high reaches, the old man could take care of him without any doubt. At least that was what was going through the head of Frederick when he asked for the details from his friend.

    "Do as discussed and you will be paid generously enough. I can assure you that you will not need to worry about wealth in this lifetime if you do this one job right." Frederickughed excitedly as he looped in his friend in his schemes even further. He was like a roadside vendor trying to make his sale look more attractive by announcing the benefits of his product.

    "It will be done just as we have discussed. In fact, I don''t want to wait. Let''s do it this evening. I need to goplete another job before I return." The old man acted as if the job was nothing to him and he was doing a favor to Frederick just by epting this kind of job even though they both knew he was in it for the money.

    Frederick was satisfied with the conclusion of this deal but what he didn''t expect at all was that the target of their assassination attempt had heard every single detail that they had discussed from the strength of the assassin to the time that they had agreed upon for the assassination thanks to the many mechanical dragonflies that he could still operate.

    бн

    Luther Family Mansion

    Zach was focused on a holographic screen as he monitored the discussion between the guest and the head of the Sosis family. As soon as he had all the information he closed the screen and looked at Bruce who was sitting alongside him as they tried toe up with countermeasures.

    If it had been an assassin like the previous one, Zach might not have bothered about him at all since he still had the automatic weapons acting as the defensive measures. But the opponent this time was a Tamer who was capable of using spirit animals to fight from a distance.

    This meant that there was a high chance that the automatic weapons might not be able to target the spirit beasts. Zach had no knowledge about the physiology of these spirit beasts and wondered whether they even had a thermal signature for the automatic weapons to target or not.

    Since they couldn''t take the risk of spirit beasts crossing over the defensive boundary, it was decided that a preemptive strike was necessary.

 Chapter 70 70 A Clean Kill

    ?Since they couldn''t take the risk of spirit beasts crossing over the defensive boundary, it was decided that a preemptive strike was necessary. They needed to take care of the threat before it could get close enough to pose danger to them.

    "We can''t take the risk with this man. This old man looks quite experienced. I know your men are capable but there is a slim chance that their ambush might fail." Zach argued as he discussed countermeasures with Bruce.

    Bruce was of the opinion that they should arrange a heavy ambush along the path from the Sosis family to the Luther family. But the bone of contention between the two was that Bruce wanted to use his own men for the ambush while Zach felt that it might create furtherplications if they failed to take care of the old man in one go.

    "We can always send more men to create a bigger ambush so he has no chance to run away." Bruce was adamant as he didn''t want Zach to do everything by himself.

    "First of all, there will be avoidable losses in that scenario. And secondly, the mansion will be unguarded which might attract unwanted attention from those watching your family." Zach''s logic was perfect and his words crisp enough to shut an experienced family head like Bruce up.

    "If the ambush failed we won''t have a chance like this again. That old man would get cautious about us as well. Since, we don''t have much time. I will go myself. I will take care of him on my own." Zach seemed like a judge announcing the final verdict as he determined their further course of action with his words.

    Bruce had no choice but to listen to him and let him go on his own because that was the most optimal solution.

    Zach hurriedly put on a hood just like the one that Luna had to wear to hide her identity but this one was the part of the mountain camouge.

    Zach used the system screen to constantly monitor the Sosis family estate, especially the room where the nning for his assassination was being carried out by the Sosis family head and the old man who was his friend and the assassin for hire.

    He had to hurry and find a perfect ambush point thaty on the path between the Sosis family and the Luther family. Since the old man had nned to assassinate Zach in the evening, Zach had an inkling as to what path the old man was going to take towards the Luther family.

    Therefore, he chose a particrly high and steep mountain along that path that provided him with high range of visibility so that he could see his targeting from a distance, and an advantage for attacking from a higher vantage point.

    Zach''s camouging skills that he had carefully and tirelessly perfected were finally put to use.

    Zach had mastered the basic steps of camouging. In fact that was the very first thing he practiced in order to escape any problem that he would have been unable to handle at the time of his arrival.

    Without stumbling like a newbie, Zach surveyed the area that he had chosen and assessed the natural colors and the textures that made up the surrounding areas of the hill.

    He studied all the shrubbery and the scanty vegetation, the countless rocks that protruded from the body of the hill and soilposition that made up the body of the hill.

    Next, Zach gathered the materials he needed for camouging such as branches, leaves and the grasses that matched the colors and textures of the surroundings that he had previously assessed. Then he found an especially muddy location towards the back of the hill and covered himself in it so that it would be easier for him to blend in with the surroundings.

    Carefully arranging everything, he began to cover his whole body with the materials he had gathered. After he was done with the body, he used the same technique to cover his helmet, his rifle and the rest of his gear. The only thing he left untainted was the scope of his rifle that was dirt free so that he could keep an eye on the path.

    Zach chose an especially ndestine location that gave him the perfect view of the path that the old man was going to take. With slow and unhurried movements, Zach crouched and then eased into the location. He was following all the rules of camouging as he made slow and careful movements while lying in prone position so as to not give away his position to any prying eye that might be waiting for him to blunder.

    Zach pulled out the tripod stand and used it to stabilize the sniper he had been carrying with him. As soon as he nted the tripod into the soil, he became able to move quite freely since he didn''t have to carry all the weight of the rifle.

    Using the scope he moved the ambush site into the center of the reticle. He pulled out another item from the Weapons Arsenal that looked like a binocr but with a vision slot for a single eye. It was a range finder that could be used to determine the distance to the target.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zach turned a dial on top of the scope and adjusted for the elevation and the distance from the ambush site. Observing the movement of the trees below him Zach estimated the wind speed and direction and applied the necessary corrections by calcting the exact windage through a wind meter which was a handheld instrument like a camcorder. If he had the option, Zach would have wanted a sniper with an onboard ballisticsputer which was the most advanced sniper rifle avable in the Neb system but theck of energy was still keeping it locked for him. With the slightest horizontal movement of the dial towards the right side, Zach was ready to ambush the assassin who was already on his way.

    Based on the distance between the two family mansions, Zach was estimating that the old man should be in his sights in at most half an hour, twenty minutes if the old man was more impatient than he looked.

    Pulling out a digital timer, he set it for 25 minutes and ced it towards his right so that he could keep track of time without disturbing his position.

    Zach was so silent and unmoving that he looked no different from the surroundings. He had blended in perfectly. Not even a chameleon could have been as perfect as him in the camouging department. Looking through the scope, he was waiting for his target with the utmost patience.

    It wasn''t long before a system rm showed him the arrival of a hostile element headed his way. Zach didn''t even have to look at the map of the system to determine the source of that hostility. It was definitely the old man who wasing over to assassinate him.

    The old man was walking briskly but without attracting any attention. He looked like any normal old man you would meet on your way to the convenience store. There was no sense of danger from the old man even though he was right in front of Zach, though at a considerable distance.

    As soon as the target entered his field of vision through the rifle scope, Zach repeated his wind calction and adjusted the dial for windage before bringing the old man into the centre of the crosshairs through the scope.

    When everything was set, his finger unconsciously squeezed the trigger as gently as possible and the silenced gun fired with hammering recoil that was barely contained by the support of Zach''s shoulder.

    The spinning motion of the bullet as it was fired from the gun increased its pration power and it urately struck its intended target.

    The force of this bullet was so great that the bullet entered from one side of the old man''s head and exited from the other end near his neck area taking a major portion of his head along with it. His brain had practically been blown out.

    Despite giving the old man such a gruesome end, Zach still acted cautious in case there was someone else apanying the old man. He zoomed in on the dead old tamer with the help of the scope in order to confirm his death so there wouldn''t be any ambiguity regarding the fact in the future.

    Once the job was confirmed to beplete, Zach retrieved the sniper rifle back into his Weapons Arsenal and got rid of all the camouge material covering his camouge hood. He didn''t want to look like a walking monster as he walked back to the Luther mansion.

    бн

    Sosis Family Mansion

    Frederick was waiting for his friend to return from his mission. He was eagerly waiting for the results. The old man was one of the strongest persons he knew as he had the ability of an A rank mage with the help of his spirit beast who was already a rank above him in strength.

    Frederick was sure that even if Zach managed to run away from the old man, he would still be severely injured at the very least since he was familiar with the power of the old man.

    In Zach''s weakened state, it wouldn''t be difficult for Frederick to take control of the Luther family which would take away Zach''s reason to stay in the city.

    Frederick was even willing to concede the bitch that was the reason behind all this to Zach if it made him leave Elizabeth city and his family alone.

 Chapter 71 71 Different Father And Son

    But the news arrived way before his anticipated time.

    "It is too earlyбнway too early. Did something happen?" Frederick was panicking inside as this was too out of the norm. His friend was strong, but not strong to the point that he could take care of Zach in such a short time. This much time wasn''t even enough to break past the defenses of the Luther family mansion let alone for the assassination of a dark mage like Zach who would definitely not go down without a fight.

    With trembling lips, Frederick ordered the guard who was waiting outside to enter his bedchambers.

    "What is it? Did something happen?" Frederick''s voice trembled as he asked for the information brought to him by the guard.

    "Our spies found the Tamer dead on his way towards the Luther family. There was a hole in his head as if something had exploded inside his head and his brainy sttered around him at a considerable distance. Whatever struck him had the force of a magical ballistae behind it and had killed him at the spot. The scene indicated that the old man didn''t even know how he died. There was no sign of his spirit animals and no sign of any battle. Whatever happened, definitely took him unawares."

    The guard was a member of the small group of people who were allowed to enter his personal chambers. Therefore, the spies detailed by the family head to gather news regarding the assassination attempt had reported back to the guard so that he could report to Frederick in their stead.

    Frederick looked shell shocked as he listened to the report of his subordinate. In a trance, he raised his hand high as if looking for some sort of support but couldn''t find any.

    Unconsciously he sat down on his bedбнthough fell down on his bed would be more urate to describe what had happened.

    If only Raisman could have seen his father at that moment when he received the news, he would never have set out to do the foolish task that he had been nning on his own.

    Frederick looked as pale as a ghost. It felt as if all the blood in his body had been drained by someone and had left him as a pale bloodless husk of his previous self.

    "How can this be? That old man was someone closer to an A rank mage. Even if Zach is stronger than meбнjust how much stronger can he actually be at such a small age. How can he kill him without even giving him a chance to retaliate?"

    While Zach was heading back towards the Luther family mansion after cleaning himself up, Frederick''s paranoia was increasing by the second.

    "If Zach really was the cause of that old man''s death, then it can only mean that Zach managed to finish job in a single blow. That is the only reason the old man wouldn''t see an attack of that magnitudeing towards him. Or maybe Zach wasn''t behind the incident at allбнmaybe it was the force behind himбнAAaahhhбнmy worst fears areing true."

    Frederick''s paranoid mind was busy deducing its own conclusions regarding the incident and hade up with the only logical exnation for the unfortunate incident.

    Since he wasn''t willing to ept that Zach could have the strength to take care of an A rank mage efficiently, he had to pin the me on the unknown forces who truly had the power to pull off such a feat without leaving a single clue and without letting any news regarding the incident slip out. Otherwise he risked goingpletely insane.

    "If the forces behind him have started to move, then I can only try to escape from this city after all grass will grow on the mountains again given enough time. We will have our chance as well in the future." Frederick was thinking of leaving his family home for the time being until the situation calmed down or he gathered enough strength to counter Zach and the support behind him.

    In his paranoia, Frederick forgot the most important thing that he should have done; he forgot to rein in his son who was like a ticking time bomb in the current situation.

    Excessive pampering had turned Raisman into a monster of desire. He did what he wanted without fearing any consequences. In simpler terms, he was a beast who thought with his dick.

    Raisman was unable to forget Diana who had been the greatest object of his desire since the first time he hadid his eyes on her. He felt incredibly possessive towards her which was the reason that despite being engaged to her, he had kept a spy around her to keep an eye on her at all times.

    His obsession was so great that he lost his mind whenever he thought about Diana doing this and that with Zach. Just imagining Zach being close to HIS Diana, Raisman''s very soul burned with jealousy as he was taken over by possessive desire.<novelnext></novelnext>

    At first, Raisman thought that his father would be able to think of a countermeasure regarding that dark mage named Zach.

    But even Frederick lost Raisman''s respect when he turned into a spineless rat that could do nothing but hide after hearing the mere mention of the dark mage.

    In the end, after waiting for a few more days, Raisman did what he always intended to do in the first ce. He called for one of the swordsmen under themand of his father and ordered him to get Diana to him through force if he had to.

    The swordsman definitely couldn''t refuse the request of the young master of the Sosis family despite being under the directmand of the Sosis family head. He knew how much the head doted on his son even if he was exceptionally perverted and brutal.

    And the fact that this was one of the untold and unconventional methods that guaranteed a rapid promotion in the Sosis family.

    The swordsman wasn''t willing to turn down such a rare opportunity that hade knocking at his door out of nowhere.

    "Even if I can''t have her for myself, I need to have a taste of that deliciously seductive body. I want to ravage her and mark her with my seed before she goes to that bastard. If that bastard wants to fuck her, he needs to get in line because I was there first. HAHAHAHA~" Raismanughed viinously as he gave the go ahead for the implementation of his scheme.

    Of course Zach wouldn''t leave one of the greatest threats towards the Luther family unattended. Most of the surveince around the Sosis family estate was focused towards Frederick who was the most insidious and responsible for almost the schemes that had the potential of harming him or those close to him.

    It had to be known that he was the person mainly responsible for the current condition of Bruce who was reduced to a cripple after losing the protection of his father the previous head of the Sosis family.

    Other than Frederick, the greatest threat was obviously Raisman. But Zach hadn''t thought that Raisman had the balls to actually do something without informing his father. To him Raisman had felt to be a huge baby who was only using his father''s power and authority to take what he wanted.

    But obviously that wasn''t the case any longer even if it had been like that before. He had already lost the respect he had for his father and was willing to act on his own unlike before.

    Zach hadn''t felt a lot of threat from Raisman because he felt that Raisman was not capable of scheming based on how tantly he had showed his animosity towards Zach when he had visited the Sosis family. Characters like Raisman were the stupidest and mostly impulsive as far as Zach had seen.

    Therefore, he was sure that he wouldn''t have to do anything to get rid of Raisman since the man would give him a chance to act on his own.

    Through the mechanical dragonflies, Zach already knew of the ns being concocted by Raisman to kidnap Diana from her home. The man wasn''t exactly trying to keep it secret considering that the entire conversation between the employer and the employee for this job was being carried out before the servants of the household. He didn''t have the sense to hide his thoughts from the servants like his father had done while ordering the Tamer to assassinate Zach.

    Zach knew that Diana had the means to protect herself now that she always carried a gun with her after learning the way of shooting from Zach. She could be considered an expert already when it came to shooting but Zach was still worried about her. He wasn''t as immature as to think of them as invincible.

    Therefore, he nned to talk to Diana towards the end of their practice session of the day with the intention to warn her about the iing threat.

    "I need to talk to you after this practice session ends. Wait for me to finish all right?" Zach handed her a magazine for the Ruger semi-automatic rifle that she was busy practicing her shooting on today.

    Diana didn''t think it was very odd since Zach usually gave her a lecture on her shorings whenever she made a mistake after their practice session. She just nodded her head slightly with a slightly troubled expression as she didn''t know what she had done today to earn one of Zach''s lectures.

 Chapter 72 72 The Precaution

    As far as she knew, she was doing incredibly well in the shooting exercises that she hadpleted today.

    Pushing the negative thoughts out of her head, she concentrated on emptying her magazine with a flurry of single shots with rapid but stable squeezing of trigger.

    Once she was done, she put the safety of the gun on and turned towards Zach who looked like he had been waiting for her for quite some time and was considerably impatient.

    She walked towards Zach as she slung her weapon on her shoulder with the help of the sling as if it was a fancy purse that she was carrying around like those rich girls.

    Zach found it amusing considering most of the girls in his previous world were averse toing close to guns.

    "You wanted to talk to me?" Diana asked softly as she got close to him.

    "Yes I did. I wanted to both warn you about something and ask your permission about something." Zach replied with a serious expression on his face which caused a somber expression to appear on Diana''s face as well.

    "Raisman hasn''t given up on you as we expected. He was a littlete in acting towards you in retaliation which means that at least the Sosis family head is reluctant to act towards us. It is also clear that Raisman isn''t receiving the support of his father for his little operation."

    Diana was cursing herself for not running away as soon as Zach asked for a talk. She had already found how naggy and tedious Zach could be when he tried to be serious.

    "But that makes it more dangerous for you since that monster ising after you without any inhibitions this time. I wanted to warn you so that you can preferably stay within the walls for some time until your brother and I sort this out. We have increased your security detail as well so bear with it and do not lose them to run out of the estate just for the fun of it. Your brother has told me of your previous rebellious acts and various escapades so I wanted to talk you out of it this time because the threat is very real this time."

    Diana wanted to roll her eyes so bad but she refrained from doing so considering the fact that she had already epted him as her master.

    "The security that I already have hovering around me is already troublesome enough. They are always invading my personal space. I should have the right to be alone for some time if I want to. Why have you increased it even further? Do you think that they can actually keep me safe if someone like that bastard makes a move just because their number increased? You should know that the numbers are nothing in front of a powerful mage."

    Still she couldn''t help but argue about dragging her increased security everywhere. She wouldn''t mind much if her security was actually stronger than her. But they weren''t after she learned to use hot weapons proficiently. This was one of the major reasons why she didn''t want someone else to protect her.

    "Would you like me to protect you personally then?" Zach asked in annoyance at how childish she was acting in such a serious situation.

    "You have already seen how good I am with guns, right? I will be alright. Besides, I don''t intend to go out during this time. I need to do shooting practice with new weapons. So you don''t need to worry about me being ambushed by enemies. I don''t want you to see me as a liability forever that needs to be protected. I can''t show you how capable I am before you give me a chance to do so."

    Diana wavered and promised when she saw how annoyed Zach was at her tant disregard for the concern that the people closest to her showed towards her.

    Zach felt somewhat satisfied with thepromise but he wasn''t going to leave Diana unprotected even if she wanted.

    "Fine, we''ll do as you want. I won''t increase your security detail but you WILL take them with you if you go out. That is non-negotiable." Zach relented on the surface and agreed to her suggestion but he was way too paranoid regarding the safety of his people to rely on such a promise.

    Aftering back to his room, Zach sat on the couch and called out to Luna who was hurriedly taking off the hood she had been wearing for the most part of the day.

    "Come here" Zach motioned with his hand as he called her over.

    Luna, who had been waiting for this, practically jumped at the chance and rushed into hisp and rubbed her face against his chest as if it was the warmest ce in the world. Her little tail swayed from side to side in excitement.

    "I want you to do something for me." Zach said in a soft and indulging tone as he caressed her soft ck hair that fell to her lower back.

    "Mmmm~" With a satisfied expression on her face, Luna muttered her acknowledgment to his request. Luna couldn''t exactly deny any request from Zach no matter what it was. He was her beloved master after all.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Keep an eye on Diana. That bastard is trying to get her kidnapped to have his way with her." Zach''s disgust for Raisman was evident on his face as he asked Luna to do what he couldn''t without rming Diana.

    "How do you know what that animal is nning? Oh~ is it those things you left in that ce?" Luna felt doubtful but then a yful expression appeared in her eyes as she remembered what Zach had done when they went to the Sosis family mansion. She rubbed her face harder on his chest as her admiration for Zach continued to increase beyond the normal range.

    "Mmm~"

    Luna looked like she understood the seriousness of the situation as she had a grave expression on her face.

    If only Zach knew that she was only thinking about her food and how to get Zach to agree on feeding her again.

    Still Luna wasn''t someone who was capable of disappointing Zach so she was already nning to take on this task seriously. She was just momentarily lost in her hunger to care about anything else at all.

    "My sweet subus, don''t let her find out that you are protecting her. Stay in the shadows just like we did in that forest. Even though she is strong, her senses aren''t as developed because she was brought up here in a safe environment. So if you put in a little effort she won''t be able to find you."

    Zach instructed Luna as he patted her head gently knowing full well what she wanted from him.

    Unknowingly his spear got ready for battle again and a war ensued that devastated Luna until she was panting for breath as shey on his chest exhausted. Her body was so sensitive that even the slightest touch made her leak her juices.

    It didn''t take long for the both of them to drift to sleep considering how exhausted the two of them were.

    бн

    Diana was a stubborn girl. Maybe it was the inherent pride of being the daughter of such a great family or the confidence she gained from her newfound strength that Zach had introduced her to, but the girl was unwilling to listen to Zach even if he was her master who was only worried for her.

    Zach felt like hitting her on the head sometimes but knew he shouldn''t do it. The reason was that he didn''t want the girl to lose herself just because Zach had ended up bing her master. He wanted her to exercise her free will and do what she wanted.

    Zach didn''t need mindless puppets as his subordinates after all. So he let her be and trusted Luna whom he knew would be able to handle any opponent considering how much she had grown after feeding on his seed regrly.

    Other than her training Diana started to take part in the family politics that existed between the elite ss of the Elizabeth city. Previously she had been too concentrated on getting out of the engagement with Raisman Sosis to be able to do this but she had always wanted to help lighten her brother''s load.

    Zach admired that but he felt that she was acting unnecessarily even though he had told her to stay in the house until he solved the problem of the kidnappers who were waiting for a chance to abduct her.

    Thankfully, Diana was oblivious to the fact that Luna was spending more and more time with her which was quite odd considering how obsessed she was with Zach. Diana dismissed it as the camaraderie born from both of them being in the same situation.

    Both of them considered Zach as their master after all.

    When Luna was not together with Diana, she was watching her from a distance as Zach had instructed her to do so. Despite how much she wanted to be with Zach, she held herself back thinking about the reward that she would be able to receive from Zach once this mission reached its conclusion.

    Another reason for her seriousness regarding her mission was that Luna loved Zach too much to disobey him. Even if he asked her to burn the world, she would be willing to do it in a heartbeat.

    So whenever Diana left her home, she was always apanied by an unknown shadow that kept watching her from a distance.

 Chapter 73 73 Ambush

    So whenever Diana left her home, she was always apanied by an unknown shadow that kept watching her from a distance. Despite being quite proficient in losing trails after experiencing the controlling nature of her previous fiancижe, she never once found out that someone was following her.

    This was the case today as well. Diana was supposed to go out with a bunch of servants and a few guards to deliver the shipment meant for one of the allied families that Bruce had managed to build a connection with.

    Thanks to the increasing social and political influence of the Luther family due to a certain dark mage with a potentially powerful background, trade activities between the Luther family and the other families were like a well oiled machine that didn''t encounter any blockades or hurdles.

    It had be a routine for Diana ever since she took responsibility for these shipments by pestering her brother. Despite being aware of the threat, Bruce didn''t stop her and let her do what she wanted because he had already obtained ndestine approval of Zach who assured her that Diana would be safe.

    This was also another attempt at drawing out Raisman who had stayed hidden for so long without making a move. For an impatient bastard, he sure was taking his time which prompted Zach to act to draw him out.

    He was practically using Diana as bait to lure Raisman out of the shadows but Bruce didn''t think that it was any danger to his sister. He trusted Zach who had helped him even though Bruce had nothing to offer. He believed that Zach wouldn''t let his sister get hurt if he could help it.

    As soon as Diana left the safety of the automated defense system, Luna snuck after her as well. Of course, Diana was unaware of the whole scheme as she walked out fearlessly.

    бн

    Raisman Sosis had been patient regarding the target of his lust as she hadn''t given him any opportunity to get his hands on her. This had made his impatience grow out of control. Even though he was slightly cautious of the man who had made his father tremble in fear, his lust was a great motivator for him.

    The fact that he could cuckold the same man who reduced his father to his current condition helped in making his mind further. Just thinking of the expression on the face of the hateful man when he found his beloved bitch being ravaged brought a smile on Raisman''s face. His fantasies had grown too big to be contained by the cocoon of caution that Frederick had carefully built around his impulsive persona.

    Just when Raisman''s patience was about to run out, he received news about Diana''s whereabouts. She was supposed to leave that turtle shell of hers in order to make a delivery to the Arcane Family.

    Raisman had tried many times to lift her from the Luther family but the people he hired died every time they got closer to the perimeter of the Luther family mansion. As if there was someone who kept an eye on all movements around the mansion and was perfectly able to distinguish between friend and foe to keep any enemy from entering the mansion without permission.

    The only option left for him was to watch the house himself and wait for an opportunity. And that''s what he did.

    Fortunately, he found his chance earlier than he had expected.

    Raisman watched with lust filled eyes as Diana left her mansion surrounded by a small parade of servants on both sides and some guards who were acting as scouts for the whole group. There were several cats behind Diana that contained the shipment intended for the Arcane Family.

    "No I need to wait a bitбнjust a bit moreбнjust a bit moreбн" Raisman kept mumbling to himself as he repeated his will to himself in order to keep his fantasies and wild desires at bay. He just needed to control himself a bit more and it wouldn''t be long before that bitch would crawl under his crotch.

    Raisman stared at his men like a dangerous wild beast that was about to pounce on his target to tear him apart. He motioned with his head and the minions obeyed as if they already knew the intentions of their employer.

    Raisman tried to calm down his heavy breathing but failed spectacrly. He was too excited at the events that would follow. He had to prepare a torture worse than death for that damn bitch who refused his goodwill only to earn his ire.

    One way or another, she was fated to meet his cock. And now that she had blocked one path herself, Raisman was intent on making her suffer.

    Diana was far enough away from the Luther family mansion. Raisman''s men felt that the distance was enough for them toplete the job before the reinforcements from the Luther family could arrive at this ce. The guards that hade out with Diana this time were only the weakest of the lot and the group onlyprised of servants who were tasked with carrying and dragging the shipment along with them.

    Therefore, Raisman''s men felt that this was a simple job with no possibility of failure in sight.<novelnext></novelnext>

    If only they could know how wrong their thinking was and on how many levels.

    Just the shadow following Diana was enough to send them to the afterlife without them knowing what hit them.

    Of course Luna wouldn''t act unless the other party acted first. Her master had instructed her to wait and act only when Diana''s life was in danger. Despite how harmless and innocent Diana looked, she was carrying enough bullets to take care of the whole hostile group. And Luna knew how lethal Diana could be if she wanted to.

    Now that Luther family had gained enough reputation in Elizabeth city once again, it was natural for there to be enemies. Therefore, Zach wanted to use this incident to warn those hostile entities to lower their heads in front of the Luther family. And what could be a better way than to bring down one the heir of one of the most prestigious families of the city.

    He wanted to make an example out of Raisman Sosis who dared to eye what was his. If Diana failed his expectations, there was always Luna who was ready to provide backup to Diana if she needed it.

    As soon as the entourage led by Diana reached a secluded enough region, Raisman''s men appeared out of nowhere and surrounded the group forming a circle around them. Diana was surprised at first but then her mind calmed down an instantter.

    Even though the enemy thought of her as helpless as a chicken for ughter, she wasn''t the docile and weak girl she had been before. Hiding her fangs, she looked at her enemies with a calm andposed look that made them cringe slightly.

    Luna saw what was happening and felt that Diana didn''t look like she needed any help at the moment. She decided to wait a bit more until Diana was in danger and couldn''t defend herself any longer.

    It was then that a man with a huge long sword sheathed at his side came forward and said something to Diana.

    "Don''t make a fuss ande with us. There is no need to sentence all yourpanions to death just because of your stubbornness." The swordsman tried to convince Diana using a subtle threat but Diana wasn''t that weak minded as to be deterred by such a threat.

    She looked at the swordsman without a trace of fear and said, "Where is the pest that is ordering you to do this? Is he here too?"

    Diana wanted to draw out everyone involved. Since Zach had warned her about this, she was already prepared and just wanted to confirm that the perpetrator of this ambush was none other than Raisman. After all no one else in the city had the guts to do such a thing; not even his father.

    Luna was unable to hear anything from so far away. She couldn''t get close enough to listen to the conversation since she risked exposing herself. But the way Diana''s face twitched in annoyance at the swordsman''s words was enough for her to deduce that it wasn''t something pleasant.

    Just when she thought that a fight was about to ensue, she saw another man heading towards Diana from behind the ones responsible for cornering Diana and her party.

    It was obviously Raisman who had been waiting for the swordsman to take care of Diana''s entourage. But Diana''s words brought him out. He already felt that Diana was in the palm of his hands considering the only guards she had brought with herself were too weak to retaliate against the swordsman that was leading his team.

    "Ooohh~ it looks like you missed me too. Is that man of yours impotent? He can''t satisfy you that you came looking for me?" Raisman snarled at her as he came forward with smug and steady steps as if everything was within his control.

    "So the pest IS here." Diana cursed as she spat on the ground as if sheid eyes on some disgusting creature.

    Raisman grit his teeth as he vowed to make her regret every word she said. He looked towards the swordsman and said, "Bring her to meбнalive."

    The swordsman took out his sword from the sheath with his right hand as he held the sheath with his left. He corrected his posture like a true and seasoned sword master and took a deep breath to focus on the enemies in front of him.

 Chapter 74 74 Shoot

    Diana was unimpressed by the whole routine. She felt that there were too many useless movementspared to her gun which she could instantly pull and shoot as she disced the safety.

    She allowed the swordsman to disy his might and act out his routine.

    The swordsman on the other hand thought that the girl was frozen in ce and looked towards the guards who had already pulled out their swords and were vignt of him. He needed to get rid of the guards if he wanted to get to the girl.

    Upon finding a guard who immediately retreated to the back of the group, the swordsman cursed as he deduced who the guard was. It was a mage.

    The swordsman rushed towards the mage with his sword drawn as the other guards tried to stop him. With a loud nging sound, he pushed the guards backwards. The strength behind his shes was enough to force back the two guards simultaneously.

    The swordsman didn''t wait for the two guards with broken posture and reached the mage just as he was about to finish chanting some kind of spell and shed his sword horizontally.

    Fortunately, the armor being worn by the mage was durable enough to withstand the attack of the swordsman. The mage only received a shallow sh wound on his abdomen that would otherwise have cut him in half if not for the armor.

    Raisman had a smug look on his face as he witnessed how useless the enemy mage was in front of the swordsman of his family. He couldn''t help but curse his father once again for stopping him from challenging Zach that day. He was sure that he could have won easily had his father not stopped him from taking any action.

    Even though it was far from fatal the blood loss had rendered the mage delirious which kept him from casting his spells. The swordsman barely faced any trouble as he stabbed through the mage''s defenses in his next try. Blood oozed out of those injuries constantly but thanks to the healing magic cast by Diana, the mage''s life was saved.

    The swordsman didn''t stop but stabbed through the mages who had yet to take part in the battle. These ones were responsible for the personal safety of their youngdy and hadn''t taken any action against the swordsman yet. Thanks to their stoic attitude and poor situational awareness they lost their ability to fight before they could even take action.

    The swordsman on the other hand was like a typhoon that had struck the ranks of the Luther family group. He was like a whirlwind cutting down every single man that made up Diana''s forces. His close quarterbat was so powerful that the guards of the Luther family could barely react before being cut down by his katana like sword.

    Raisman had a cruel smile on his face as he saw the monstrosity that he had unleashed. He was already imagining his win and how he would rub it in the face of his cowardly father who had bowed down to Zach. He wanted to show him how a battle was fought from a lower vantage point.

    All his life Raisman had looked up to his father because he had never acted weak in front of anyone. But in front of Zach his father''s cunning methods had all failed one by one. Raisman was going to surpass his father by doing what he could not.

    He was sure of his win in this battle since the swordsman he had brought with him was invincible. Not a single mage was able to cast any spell in front of him.

    Looking at Diana who remained unperturbed as she cast healing spells here and there, Raisman had a perverted look on his face. He was already fantasizing all the things he was going to do to her once she was in his hands, which ording to him was already an inevitable fact.

    Raisman stared at Diana like a hungry wolf who wanted to devour every inch of her body. His lust was practically oozing out of his body and his gaze disgusted and sent shivers through Diana''s skin.

    Just as all women could instinctively feel such stares directed at their bodies, Diana could also feel a gaze prating her from her back as she focused on the battle between the swordsman and her guards.

    She had not interfered in the battle until now because she wanted to let her subordinates know how weak they were in front of any hostile source. That was the reason she hadn''t pulled out the gun that was still holstered at her side.

    She cast healing spells from time to time but didn''t go out of her way to save any one. The guards needed to know their weaknesses so the Luther family could progress as a whole. They couldn''t keep relying on others for survival after all Zach could not keep taking care of them forever.

    BUT the dirty gaze of the mongrel standing at her back, the animal who didn''t even bother to hide his lust was pushing her buttons one by one. Veins popped at the side of her forehead as an animalistic growl escaped her mouth.

    Raismanughed out loud at her desperate reaction as he chose amongst the countless ways he had nned to ravage her body. Just the thought of cuckolding that bastard Zach made his body shiver in anticipation. Not to mention that the girl in question was someone he had coveted for a long time.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Diana finally lost patience as she heard Raisman''sugh. Her hand went straight towards the holster at her side and pulled out the pistol that her master had given to her.

    Since it was already loaded, there was no dy as she disced the safety and pointed the gun straight towards the swordsman who was busy cutting down the guards who could barely even touch him.

    *Boom*

    The swordsman who had been fluttering about non-stop appeared to be suffering from some sort of paralysis as his body stopped mid motion following the explosive sound from the barrel of her pistol.

    Silence reigned all around as if someone had pressed the mute button for the whole world. What Diana had done was nothing less than a miracle even for those who had been used to magic in their world. Even magic wasn''t as effective as the gun that had managed to silence the swordsman wreaking havoc amidst their lines.

    Raisman didn''t even know what had happened until a loud thump was heard and the swordsman fell on the spot with a small hole at the side of his forehead. Blood flowed out of his head like juice from a burst watermelon.

    Raisman noticed the lifeless eyes and terror took over his body. He still couldn''t understand how his most powerful man could have died without making a sound.

    Without giving the ambushers a chance toe out of the shock of the death of the swordsman, Diana pulled the trigger several times as she aimed at the men encircling her group one by one.

    Not a single bullet missed its mark as a body fell with each firing sound.

    Luna, who had been hiding in the shadows, couldn''t help but cheer on Diana who killed her opponents expressionlessly like a seasoned killer.

    When Diana stopped firing, the encirclement carefully nned by Raisman was nowhere to be seen. Diana had single handedly taken care of it all with the help of the pistol.

    Raisman was out of his senses as he witnessed Diana using some tube like weapon to take care of his men. Every time that thing shed, his men fell as the bled from their heads.

    He couldn''t help but think about the way that the Tamer had died. It was definitely dark magic. That bastard Zach had taught Diana his ways.

    The same Diana who had been like an angel with healing magic was now killing men like chickens with coldness in her eyes.

    "I need to run" was the only thought in his mind as Raisman turned around to make off. A *Boom* rang out once again but this time it wasn''t the head that burst open but the knee. He felt something pierce his knee and then a soul shaking pain sent him rolling on the ground.

    How could Diana let the mongrel escape after all that he had done? He had not only terrorized her for so long but he had also worried her master all this time. Even though Diana had told Zach that she could take care of herself, she knew that Zach hadn''t stopped worrying about her from the way he looked during their daily practice.

    He treated her like she was a fragile being even though he hadn''t been like that before.

    This made Diana feel selfish as she rejected his offer for extra protection but she was adamant on not taking any more advantage of Zach than she already had. The man taught her how to use his personal weapons. She couldn''t even dare to imagine the worth of such advanced weaponry that even mages couldn''t react against.

    She was willing to do anything for Zach. So how could she let the bastard who had worried Zach escape so easily? She wanted to torture the soul out of him.

    Luna was getting more and more excited with the turn of events. She had thought that Diana was a soft girl but the way she took care of the enemies today made her respect this human somewhat. Luna had severe hatred for Raisman and seeing him lying on the ground trying to crawl away from Diana gave her immense satisfaction.

 Chapter 75 75 Punishment

    Diana took her time as she walked towards Raisman who was fear stricken as he tried to move away from Diana as he crawled with the help of his arms and the one functional leg to drag away the other.

    Tears fell from his eyes and the sound of some dying dog wailing were heard by all the Luther family servants as the heir of Sosis family howled from the pain in his injured knee.

    With her finger on the trigger, Diana walked as she boisterously showed off her pistol. Raisman looked at the gun in her hand from time to time and fear in his eyes turned into terror that seeped into his soul. He had never seen something as terrifying as that weapon. Not even magic could make him so terrified because there was some logic to it. But the gun was something unknown in this world and humans had a history of being terrified of the unknown no matter what it was.

    "Aaaarrrrgghhhh~"

    "Why don''t you try to escape again? I want to have some fun hunting you down." Diana''s voice was cold and devoid of any sentiment as she dared Raisman to try escaping again.

    As if he had stared right into the eyes of the gorgon, Raisman was paralyzed in ce. He didn''t want to die. He still had many things to do. There was no way he hade here prepared to die a dog''s death.

    His father''s warnings and his cautions yed in his mind as if on repeat but there was no use of it now. He had already done the unthinkable. There was no escape for him now that he had tried toy his hands on Diana and had failed miserably. Even if Diana let him go, there was no way that Zach would do the same.

    Raisman''s survival instinct kicked in as he cried like his life depended on it. His tears smeared his whole face and pitter-pattered on the ground with increasing frequency.

    "Pl...plea...se...let me g..." Raisman was stuttering so much that his words barely made any sense.

    Diana didn''t care at all. She knew the kind of monster Raisman was and the women he had ravaged like a beast. He had never taken pity on any of those women. Some of them had evenmitted suicide after being tortured by him for days on end.

    She had no pity for a monster like that. Still, she couldn''t do what she wished. She couldn''t kill him in cold blood.

    Raisman might have been a monster, but he was still the heir of a prestigious family of Elizabeth city. She knew that the Sosis family wouldn''t stay shut if Raisman died even though he was the one at fault.

    "Don''t act like a coward...even the girls whose lives you destroyed wouldn''t act like this. They were brave enough to take their own lives instead of suffering damage to their self respect. Maybe, I should give you that chance as well." Diana took a knife from one of the servants and threw it to Raisman.

    Raisman was so terrified that he didn''t even register the knife lying right beside his feet.

    "Take the chance that I am giving you. I don''t want to touch a disgusting thing like you. Fail to appreciate my kindness and you won''t like what I have nned for you." Diana threatened while waving her gun.

    She was sure that even if Raisman''s physical injury healed in the future, the mental trauma will remain to haunt him his entire life and that made her jubnt on the inside.

    "Sp...spare me...I can give you anything...any...thing you want." Raisman offered since he didn''t want to die. Fear was evident in his voice as he pleaded with Diana while he bawled his eyes out.

    "Tsk...this is the heir of the Sosis family who I was terrified of in the past...pathetic. You are worse than beasts. Killing you off will be letting you off too easy. I want you to suffer humiliation; something that won''t let you raise your head for the rest of your pathetic life."

    Diana didn''t expect any reply from the wailing Raisman as she picked up the knife that Raisman didn''t have the guts to hold. She held it in a reverse grip as she slowly approached Raisman who was trying to crawl away from the crowd with all his efforts.

    The past shed through Diana''s eyes as she remembered the fear she felt whenever she thought of her forced marriage. She remembered the horrific feeling that took over her soul and body whenever she thought of being chained to Raisman for the rest of her life.

    The fury she had been keeping bottled up all this time, finally burst out and the target of all that intense fury was Raisman.

    She sat down and stared him in the face as she began to unbuckle his pants with her free hand while a weird smile adorned her face.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Raisman had imagined such a scene countless times but there was not a single one of those fantasies where she took the initiative in such an obscene act. Raisman had always thought of her as a girl who was too pure and too cold tomit such an act.

    Even though he would have felt immense satisfaction and pleasure in the past at conquering such a girl and perverting her to such an extent, he couldn''t feel the slightest bit of pleasure when she was doing it now.

    His heart was thrumming like a piston engine operated at its full speed and his chest felt like it would explode from the overwork. But the overwhelming throbbing of his heart was not due to excitement at having his wish fulfilled but from the horror that came from the knife she was holding in her other hand.

    The unbuckling of his pants and the knife in her hand, coupled with that weird smile on her face...Raisman followed that line of thought and pure horror took over his mind and seeped deep into his very being to shake his soul.

    He remembered what she had said earlier as she told him to take his own life.

    "I want you to suffer humiliation; something that won''t let you raise your head for the rest of your pathetic life."

    Raisman finally experienced the consequences of not listening to the advice of his father. Despite the warning he had received, he still tried to fight against Zach and tried to harm his girl.

    Even the docile and obedient Diana had be a monster under the influence of that bastard Zach. Had he known of this development, he wouldn''t have dared to do something so foolish...but deep down even he knew that he probably would have done the same thing...Why?...because he was a fool who was too prideful and dependent on his family''s power.

    But it was no use crying over spilt milk since he couldn''t stop the hand holding the knife that was moving towards his limp dick that had shrunk in on itself like a shriveled turtle''s neck sensing danger.

    "Noooo...Pl...please...I will do whatever you want...plea...Aaaarrrgghhhhhhhh~" The sharp edge of the knife cut the stretched out turtles neck from its roots like a hot knife cutting through butter.

    Diana didn''t stop midway or hesitate as she carried out her vengeance knowing that even though she could not kill Raisman due to Frederick and his family''s influence, crippling his instrument was a justified punishment. Just like the Sosis family had crippled her brother by using this as pretense in the past, she could avenge her brother in a simr manner except that the reason for this punishment was real and not made up like it was the case with her brother.

    Diana felt like she was doing the women justice who had been harmed by Raisman. She felt like a savior who was ridding the world of an abomination walking amongst them in the body of a human. She really had saved the countless women who would have been harmed by Raisman Sosis who was a habitual molester; after all, he was the type of man who would fill any hole he could find.

    Throwing the disgusting worm in her hand to the ground, she spat on it and crushed it with her pointed shoes.

    "AAAaaahhhhh~ YOU FUCKING WHORE"

    Raisman kept rolling around on the ground in pain after having his dick cut off but the profanitiesing out of his mouth proimed his resentment against the one responsible for his current state.

    "Urrghhh~"

    "...FUCKING KILL YOU...I''ll...just you...wait...my fath..."

    Raisman had lost all reason after being castrated. Hepletely forgot that he had just been begging her to spare his life. He was openly threatening to kill her despite knowing that his life was still in her hands. Or maybe he stopped caring about his life as much after having bing an invalid.

    Luna who had been watching the whole incident felt exhrated at the punishment that Diana had decided on.

    In fact Luna didn''t want Diana or anyone from the Sosis family for that matter to cause trouble for her master because she didn''t want them to take advantage of her master''s goodness.

    Therefore, when she witnessed Diana thinking rationally even in the face of her hated enemy, her bias towards the siblings faded slightly. At the same time, her belief that Diana might turn out to be a good ally was strengthened slightly. Her mercilessness towards Raisman definitely earned her more good points in Luna''s eyes and even caused Luna to admire her.

 Chapter 76 76 The Eve

    Of course the reason for that admiration was that Diana could be of more help to her master if she had such a disposition.

    Keeping her personal thoughts to herself, Luna rushed back to the Luther family estate since she didn''t feel that she needed to protect Diana any longer. Diana was more than ready to face most of the troubles that she might encounter not to even mention that the only source of trouble had already been taken care of her.

    Not bothering to stay in the shadows, she ran like the wind with her oversized robe fluttering around her as she hurried home to receive her reward from her master.

    "Umu~ you are back already." Zach was holding the incredibly excited Luna in his arms. He knew that her excitement was not rted to Diana but to him. Staying away from her food source was incredibly difficult for her after all.

    "Mmm~Mmm~" Luna nodded twice in a hurried manner as if she had something to tell him desperately but she was waiting for him to ask.

    Zach couldn''t help but think that she looked incredibly cute when she acted like this. Of course, her cute face was only for him; the others only saw her cold and indifferent side that was filled with distrust that bordered on hate.

    "Why are you back so early? And where''s Diana?" Zach had a bad premonition in his heart regarding the answer that he might receive but he needed to know.

    "Ohh~ my excitement at seeing you made me forgetбнthat girl did something good." Luna said cutely as if she wanted to be pampered.

    "What did she do?" Zach was slightly amused but he wanted to get to the matter at hand. Diana''s safety came first after all.

    "She cut off that animal''s worm." Lunaughed with contempt directed towards Raisman as she remembered how pathetic he looked as he begged for his life.

    "She did WHAT?" Zach almost screamed because he knew the kind of trouble that would bring.

    Even though the statement Luna gave was quite vague, Zach had no trouble understanding what she meant. The reason was that the two of them had been together for a long time now and they had spent every second of it glued together.

    Luna knew that this question didn''t require an answer as Zach had already witnessed the bottled up anger Diana had for Raisman. They both knew that such an oue was already the result of sane thinking on the part of Diana.

    Had it been someone else like Luna, Raisman would have hung from some tree with his guts spilling out of his abdomen or better yet burnt to oblivion to keep every speck of his dirty existence would mar the world that they lived in.

    "Fuuuuh~" Zach exhaled deeply as he began setting up countermeasures. Since the deed was already done, there was no going back.

    He pulled away from Luna and began to stare into space as was usual whenever he concentrated at the system. Luna always found this odd but didn''t say anything. Living with him for so long, Luna already knew that Zach was doing something that was important to him and didn''t disturb him. She sat on the bed and kept on staring at him as if no one else could enter her sight.

    Zach on the other hand wasn''t as leisurely. He was busy organizing all the weapons in his Arsenal. He needed to prepare everything he could just to counter whatever storm that Frederick would brew when he came to know of his son''s condition.

    Even though Frederick was a cunning one who knew he couldn''t offend Zach, there were some things that went beyond reason and logicбнparental love was one such thing.

    Therefore, Zach busily prepared for the storm that was heading his way.

    бн

    Sosis family estate

    "WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Frederick bellowed at his guard in fury as if he was the person responsible for his son''s current state. He grabbed his cor and jerked him back and forth with enough force to shake his insides.

    Well that was the reason people avoided delivering bad news. The herald was always the first person to receive the brunt of all the disbelief, the wrath and the depression. What could a measly guard do in such a situation except for receiving whatever was dished out to him in those moments of heightened emotions?<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Young master tried to kidnap thedy of the Luther family and got castбнinjured in the process. The men apanying him all diedбнeven Bastion." The man almost repeated his mistake and barely managed to change his words.

    Frederick felt as if he had been struck by lightning from the seventh heaven inside his own house.

    "How caбнcan that be?" He let go of the guard''s cor since he knew that the guard wasn''t at fault. Even though the situation was so dire and unexpected, Frederick didn''t take long to get back to his senses.

    He donned his usually calm and arrogant look but this time he failed to hide the panic hidden underneath and the guard and all the servants noticed this change as well.

    "Did ''that'' dark mage do this?" Frederick felt that Zach was the only person capable of taking down Bastion who was the best swordsman in the Sosis family. But the answer left him in disbelief. It was as if the ground had been pulled from underneath him and he found himself falling down the abyss that had no bottom.

    "No it wasn''t. The youngdy from the Luther family did this by herself." The guard''s words destroyed all his sense of reason. He couldn''t understand how the girl that had been at his mercy along with her cripple brother could be so lethal.

    The description of the events was iprehensible to Frederick. He knew what the siblings were capable of on their own since he had been the reason behind their powerlessness.

    The only change since then had been the arrival of Zach who was out of range of prediction. Zach was an anomaly that Frederick had been unable to counter no matter how much he tried. He knew that he was at a disadvantage since he barely knew anything about Zach who would likely protect the culprit in his son''s incident.

    But hearing about his son''s condition and the possibility that the Sosis family might not produce an heir in his son''s generation broke his sanity. He had always doted on Raisman like he was the most precious thing in the world to him and that very son had been harmed by Diana. How could he stay calm in such a situation?

    All his cunning and his sneak attacks went out the window. The Luther family had crossed the line this time by harming his son. And Frederick was prepared to make them pay. He was going to drag them by the hair and make them answer for their crimes. Even if that dark mage wanted to protect them, he was willing to fight.

    Frederick was at the precipice of dering an all out war against the Luther family to make them answer for their crimes. By hook or by crook, he was determined to get revenge for his son who could no longer produce an heir for the Sosis family.

    бн

    Luther Family Mansion

    Bruce was the next to discover what had happened from the servants and the guards who reported back to him after the incident took ce.

    He was dumbstruck at what her usually docile and harmless sister had done. He couldn''t help but think that Zach had corrupted her with his training. She used to be a healer and Zach turned her into a cold blooded killer who didn''t even blink before taking the lives or castrating her enemies.

    Still he was a brother who loved his sister more than anything in the world. Knowing that he was responsible for at least a part of her outburst, Bruce couldn''t bring himself to chide her. If he had been strong enough to protect her, she would never have had to give herself over to Raisman just to save the family.

    Bruce wasn''t despicable enough to put the me on her this time. Therefore, he did the only thing he was capable of doing as the family head of the Luther family.

    He took responsibility and began preparing for war. The first thing he did was to thicken the defenses around the perimeter. Coupled with the automatic defense system installed by Zach, the Luther family mansion became impregnable as tens of eyes were detailed for surveince and security around the ce.

    Bruce could imagine what Frederick would be feeling at this moment. What Diana was to him was exactly how Frederick felt about Raisman. He would have braved through the walls of the Sosis family had it been Diana who got hurt. Therefore, Bruce was sure that Frederick would bring with him a rain of fire and blood in his wake even if he had to pay a heavy price for it.

    The guards had strict orders to remain vignt during this time. Even though everyone knew about the capability of the defenses, they couldn''t help but feel a bad premonition regarding the uing battle. They feared the wrath of the Sosis family head who was one of the most powerful mages in the city.

    Tension seeped into the walls of the Luther family estate as everyone waited for the retaliation that they knew wasing. But the more they waited the more they began to feel that something was wrong. The war that they had been anticipating never came.

 Chapter 77 77 Thunder Chasing

    There were not even the signs of protest from the Sosis family regarding such an action. No calls for justice and no slogans or remonstrations to condemn Luther family''s cruelty and heartless actions.

    Zach knew that Frederick could be as cunning as a snake but even he had never anticipated that Frederick could hold back for so long without taking any action. He had a feeling that either Frederick had no feelings regarding his bastard son and thought of him as disposable in front of the prestige of the n or there was something seriously disastrous brewing in the midst of this silence. Otherwise Frederick would havee knocking at their door at least once by now.

    Bruce had a lot of experience in battles between families since he had gone through a period of intense war while his father was on his deathbed. But that experience was proving to be useless as he couldn''t see through Frederick''s intentions at all.

    Usually Bruce was quite adept at understanding his opponents considering the fact that all he could do was strategizing due to his condition in the past. He had be quite proficient in predicting the actions of his enemies but Frederick seemed to be deviating from logic and reason the more he deliberated about it.

    "Maybe his priorities changed once his heir became incapable of continuing the family bloodline. Raisman can''t reproduce which means that it is entirely possible that Frederick deemed him useless and didn''t want to risk the whole family over a eunuch."

    Just when Bruce was approaching the limits of confusion and frustration, Zach told him something that both calmed him down and caused a chill to run down his spine at the same time.

    "Don''t rx. It''s not over yet." Zach''s voice left no room for daydreaming as he brought Bruce''s attention to the purplish ck clouds congregating over the Luther family mansion from far away.

    The sun was veiled behind the thick dark canopy that enveloped the bright sky above the Luther family. The scene was nothing less than an apocalyptic scenario that was quitemon in movies so Zach was wondering if this was the foreshadowing of the end.

    Zach knew that it was some kind of magic that Frederick was responsible for. How he knew that was obviously the Mechanical Dragonflies that he had been using for espionage on the Sosis family.

    He had seen Frederick operating some kind of matrix in his house that was hidden behind countless safety measures which was on the verge of being called paranoid.

    As soon as Frederick activated the matrix, a sudden feeling of weakness overwhelmed him and the force behind its activation pushed outwards and destroyed some of the mechanical dragonflies that were in its path. Zach confirmed it by checking his dragonflies and found that he was receiving static in ce of a few of them.

    A booming sound roared across the now dark purple colored sky as shes of lightning snakes could be found ying around in the sea of purple clouds. The thunder elevated the fear in the hearts of the Luther family guards especially Bruce who felt like the sky itself was about toe down on him.

    His face was pale with the horror of the situation that even he hadn''t anticipated. He could never have imagined that Frederick loved his son to such an extent.

    "Seems like you know something about these clouds; what is it?" Zach asked as he found familiarity and recognition in Bruce''s eyes instead of confusion.

    "This is bad; catastrophically bad. It''s Thunder Chasing." Bruce mumbled robotically upon being asked but his voice was drowned out by the sound of thunder booming across the sky.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Thunder WHAT?" Zach asked loudly trying to ovee the deafening booms being produced by the lightning shes that were increasing in intensity.

    "Thunder Chasing; it''s an S rank magic that solely belonged to the Sosis family. It is a forbidden magic that was left behind by the ancestors of the Sosis family to be used in times when the family was on the verge of destruction. Only the family head is able to activate this kind of magic. I never knew that his love for his son was so great." Bruce exined the kind of magic this Thunder Chasing was with a level of fear that caused his very soul to scream and his voice to quiver like a child suffering in the coldest weather.

    "I couldn''t care less about the name of the magic. Tell me what it does." Zach asked as he felt existential threat from the magic that was enveloping them. He needed to take precautions for self preservation before the magic wasplete.

    "Well, as the name suggests, the magic is said to produce countless thunder strikes that lock onto a target specified by the caster and strike it precisely no matter how much obstacles lie in between. It''s like a thunder with a soul of its own that seeks only destruction of the target and brings the wrath of the caster onto his enemies. The purple ck clouds that are assembling over our house can only mean that the whole estate has been designated as the target by Frederick." Bruce spoke of the horrors that the magic was capable of leaving in its wake.

    "I don''t understand something. It''s an S rank magic so how can Frederick cast it when he isn''t even an A rank mage?" Zach was incredulous as he believed in rules and logic. And logically speaking a B rank mage was not capable of producing this much power.

    "Of course you are right logically. But there are times when the strength of a mage can surpass the usual standard and achieve incredulous results. First is with the help of supporting artifacts that make the casting requirements a little easier but the mana used in this case still belongs to the caster. Therefore there is a limitation to which a mage can go beyond the limits of his strength. The second is with the help of a magic scroll of the simr rank which is as you know a consumable item. This can produce a huge amount of power since the magic doesn''te from the caster but the scroll itself and there is no risk to the caster usually. The third and the most dangerous of the kind is when a mage decides to sacrifice his own strength and potential to gain a momentary increase in mana and achieves a false magic rank that surpasses his own. In case of Frederick, he used both the first and the third method to achieve the strength to cast an S rank magic of this caliber." This was the moment that Zach found Bruce''s exceptional instructional talent. He was quite chatty when he exined something despite the fact that he was shivering in fear just a moment earlier.

    "Then that means Frederick is going to suffer some kind of bacsh after casting this magic?" Zach spoke in a questioning tone as if he wasn''t sure of what he was saying.

    Bruce nodded energetically as he began to calm down slightly when he saw how frighteningly calm Zach was and felt that Zach might be able to help them as well.

    "He is using the items left behind by the ancestors to forcefully increase his own mana capacity which will overload his body and damage it from the inside. Human body is designed to improve the mana capacity gradually by putting light strains on the body during excessive mana consumption but the use of those artifacts puts all thatbined strain needed to stretch the mana capacity in one go; thereby damaging the body and the future potential of the caster excessively. Think of it this way. If Frederick was previously a B rank mage, he will be downgraded to C rank or lower based on the degree of damage to his body. Moreover, he will never be able to get back to his original rank again due to his damaged body. And even if his body heals in the future, his broken mana channels will never return to their original state. In a severe enough condition, his body will leak mana endlessly like a gon with holes at the bottom and he will end up a cripple."

    Zach nodded as he smiled at the silver lining in the dark clouds. At least they wouldn''t have to worry about the Sosis family if they managed to survive this disaster somehow. After all, Frederick had prepared for the destruction of his family with his own hands.

    The hyenas waiting to profit from the war between the Luther family and the Sosis family would not fail to profit from the weakened Sosis family. Their demise became a fact the moment Frederick decided to sacrifice his own strength in order to get rid of the Luther family.

    While Zach''s head was spinning at its fastest speed to think of a possible solution to the predicament, everyone else was thinking along the same lines albeit a bit differently.

    For example, Luna was someone who wouldn''t give a damn even if the world was about to end the next moment. The reason was that there was no one else who was more important to her than her master and her beloved Zach. She couldn''t care less about the fate of the world if she could somehow save Zach from suffering any kind of harm. Of course her own life also didn''t hold any value in front of Zach''s. She was absolutely willing to sacrifice herself if it meant that Zach could survive the iing attack.

 Chapter 78 78 Solution

    This was the first time Luna saw a magic spell on this huge a scale. S rank magic was quite scary especially one that had the potential of damage as that of a natural catastrophe. She was feeling so nervous looking at the slowly umting dark clouds that she was unconsciously digging her nails into her arms.

    When she found out about the nature of the magic from Bruce, her bloodlust could not be controlled through normal means. If she could go to the past, she would have brutally murdered the bastard father and son so as to avoid this situation today. But unfortunately even magic was unable to bring back lost time and opportunities. She vowed to make the bastards bleed if they managed to survive but before that she needed to do something to save Zach.

    Luna, who couldn''t imagine a world without Zach now that she had fallen into the abyss of love, was willing to sacrifice her life to wield defensive magic capable of thwarting such arge scale spell in order to save Zach. But of course she would have to opt for the same method as that used by Frederick. She would have to burn out her own life force to cast a fiery barrier of that level that could defend against lightning element that had the most pration power amongst all kinds of elemental attacks.

    "Don''t worry master; I won''t let anything happen to you even if I have to burn my life to do so." Luna looked extremely determined as the fiery barrier that usually surrounded her in battle began to expand in scale. Sweat dripped from her entire body and drenched all her clothes as she held in the pain of her life force being stripped from her.

    Zach knew that Luna could be a lunatic when it came to him so he could more or less guess what she was doing from the pained expression on her face.

    Although tender emotions enveloped his being, his face became cold as ice as his prating gaze locked on to Luna with anger visible on his face.

    Luna panicked when she found Zach looking at her so intensely. She knew that he had found out what she was nning to do but she stubbornly tried to carry through with her n; at least Zach held her hand with enough force to cause her pain.

    "Stop whatever you are doing or I won''t care about you any longer." Zach threatened Luna while he fully disyed his anger.

    If there was something more terrifying to Luna than losing her life, then it was definitely this. She couldn''t live without Zach; literally. She would rather die.

    ? Therefore, when Zach threatened her like that she ruefully looked at Zach before cancelling the magic that was almost reaching full preparation.

    Seeing that she had retracted her magic, Zach patted her head and caressed her hair lovingly as he whispered, "Good girl." in her ear.

    Luna felt somewhat happy but she couldn''t hide the worry in her heart. She believed Zach but the magic spell was too scary; even for Zach. Unlike the others, she knew that Zach''s strength was not as exaggerated as to handle this kind of magic spell.

    Unlike Luna who was willing to burn the world for Zach, Diana couldn''t help but me herself. It was due to her that Zach had gotten involved in the business of the Luther family.

    She had not only doomed her family and her big brother but also Zach who had been kind enough to care about a strange and helpless girl in the forest despite not knowing her. And instead of returning the favor, Diana had shamelessly taken advantage of his kindness to solve her own problems. In the end he was now about to pay for the crimes that she hadmitted even though all he had done was help her.

    "This is entirely my fault." Diana muttered in a lifeless voice. She had been silent ever since she returned after castrating the heir of the Sosis family as if dreading the oue of her impulsive action.

    Bruce looked at his sister with aplicated expression as he imagined what kind of self me and regret she might be feeling at the moment. Despite wanting to, Bruce couldn''tfort her because this wasn''t the time to do so. He needed to think of some solution to the problem hanging above their heads like a thousand ton anvil about to tten them into meat patties.

    Zach on the other hand only called out to Diana in a firm tone that allowed no disobedience, "SNAP OUT OF IT; this is not the time."

    Diana looked at him with all the helplessness and regret evident on her face. She looked like she was about to cry but at the same time a weird kind of determination could be felt from her pitiful gaze.

    "Maybe if I apologize to the Sosis family and offer myself to themбн" She was unconsciously mumbling like a broken robot that had its processor shorted.

    "DianaбнDIANAбн" Zach called out to her but when she didn''t snap out of her daze he had to shout out loud in order to get her attention.

    "Do you really think that this will go away even if you give yourself over to themбнHUH?" Zach was getting angry at the way she was losing control of herself in this critical situation. He had trained her sufficiently but she was still far too green to handle a situation like this no matter how rebellious she might have been in the past.

    "BUT I have to try; I can''t let them all die because of something that I did." Diana retorted to Zach''s snubbing.

    She finally let go of her emotions and gave in to tears as she looked at all her innocent family members who were about to suffer the cruelest fate due to her impulsive actions. She wanted to try her best at least for them who always stayed loyal to her family and never left them despite their fallen status and weakened strength.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Before Zach could say anything further to convince her, *ding* sound rang out that took all his attention. He wondered if there was some hostile entity heading his way again.

    Zach could expect such a thing from Frederick since he was as cunning as a snake. He might have sent someone to finish the job in case Zach or the others escaped under the S rank magic.

    Zach smiled as he thought that Frederick could be quite thorough when he needed to be.

    [Approaching Thunderstorm detected]

    [Weather conditions match the requirements for the usage of the Superconducting Lightning Rod. User can employ the Superconducting Lightning Rod to control and manipte the lightning element.]

    A big smile broke all over Zach''s face that would be considered creepy in any other situation.

    The only reason he didn''t receive weird looks from others was because no one actually cared about his creepy smile in the midst of all that chaos.

    As the surroundings came back into focus, Zach witnessed Diana try to leave the mansion in an attempt to surrender herself to the enemy but Zach hurried after her and pulled her back by tugging on her elbow forcefully.

    "I told you to stop being stubborn already. Can you notplicate things any further?" Zach chided her on her childish thinking with a severe look as he helplessly looked towards Bruce for help.

    "Then do YOU have any other solution?" Diana was not willing to back down even if it was Zach in front of her. She felt that she owed her family members at least that much. She needed to take responsibility.

    "In fact I do have one." Zach replied with a smirk.

    These words gained him the undivided attention of the entire household. Even Bruce had not expected such an answer especially when Zach had previously been just as clueless as him about a countermeasure.

    "Huhбнyou do?" Diana asked as if she couldn''t believe what she heard. At the same time all the resistance that had been building up within her died out as if it hadn''t existed in the first ce.

    Zach only nodded before he climbed the mansion wall and jumped onto the highest roof of the mansion that was closest to the thunder clouds.

    Opening up the inventory, Zach brought out the Superconducting Lightning Rod that had been gathering dust in his Weapons Arsenal up until then. Had it not been for the system reminder and the notification regarding the weapon, Zach might have even forgotten about it entirely.

    This was the weapon that had the highest attack power among all his weapons but Zach had been unable to make use of it till now due tocking weather conditions for its usage.

    Thanks to Frederick, he had the chance to witness the destructive power of his strongest weapon.

    Zach once again confirmed the weapon skills by reading the weapon description. He couldn''t help but nce at the ridiculous magic attack of 3600 that was more than twice as destructive as the me Gloves that he loved so much.

    Looking over the skill description he sighed in relief as he felt that he had found a lifeline in this dire situation.

    [Weapon Skills]

    [Thunder Bearer]

    [Skill Description: The weapon can attract, absorb and trap arge amount of lightning energy in the maic fields created by the different folds of the diamaic metal used for forging the rod. The user is able to control lightning element to a certain extent and the effect is especially enhanced during thunderstorms. The skill is especially destructive once it is fully charged and the lightning energy within it is released all at once.]

 Chapter 79 79 The Lightning Rod

    [... The skill is especially destructive once it is fully charged and the lightning energy within it is released all at once.]

    Zach raised the Superconducting Lightning Rod above his head like a beacon and waited for the lightning in the clouds to respond to his will.

    Surprisingly, he didn''t have to wait for long as one of the thick lightning bolts fell straight from the dark clouds and fell towards his head with the speed of light. There was only a strong sh that made the hearts of those who were witnessing the whole spectacle almost jump out of their bodies.

    But as if it was purposefully avoiding Zach, the bolt of lightning stayed clear of him and changed direction to fall towards an empty clearing that was quite a distance away from the Luther family mansion where majority of the servants and guards were huddled up together.

    The guards and the servants covered their mouths in surprise as if they couldn''t believe what they were seeing. The lightning that fell from the sky towards Zach changed its direction midway.

    The Luther family looked at him in amazement as Zach manipted the thunder in the atmosphere to fall away from the Luther family mansion like some god of thunder like Zeus and Thor from the mythologies of his previous world.

    Bolt after Bolt of lightning fell but not a single one of them harmed Zach or even managed to touch him in the slightest. The Lightning Rod was definitely a seriously overpowered weapon that would have broken the bnce of the world had it not been for the fact that there was a restriction of only avable for use in the condition of thunderstorm.

    Frederick who had paid with his life and potential for this magic found himself in excruciating pain as he witnessed Zach ying with his attack like it was of no threat to him at all. His eyes popped out in surprise as he found that he had already lost control of the spell. The thunder that he should have been able to manipte easily was no longer under his control. It was as if the control column of the ne he had been flying was suddenly moving on its own. It was a really ufortable and scary feeling for him who believed that his family''s magic spell was invincible against enemies below S rank.

    With each wave of his hands, lightning struck as if Zach was leading an orchestra while standing on top of the roof of the Luther family mansion. The thunder struck at his cues and to those witnessing the scene, it looked as if Zach had bent the S rank magic to his will.

    Such a natural disaster was something that induced fear in the hearts of the people but Zach had tamed it. It was a natural reaction for the witnesses to treat Zach like a god when the evidence of it was right in front of them.

    The servants were the first to bend their knees as they knelt down to him and ardently prayed to him like he was their god and benefactor. In times, when even their god abandoned him, Zach had arisen like the god himself to save them. How could they not feel any devotion towards such a deity who hade in person to save them from their doom? They sat on their knees and touched their foreheads to the ground from time to time as they worshipped Zach who was busy throwing lightning bolts like Zeus from the myths.

    Zach was too focused on controlling the lightning to care about what the servants of the house were doing. Had he been aware, he would have definitely cursed them out loud. Previously they had misunderstood him and had made him a dark mage and now they had proimed him to be some kind of god responsible for their salvation when all of it had been done with the help of modern science and technology.

    Still, it was better to be treated as a god instead of the vermin of the world. Zach would have definitely weed the change.

    Luna was already a devotee of Zach. Even though she was his lover as well, there was no doubt in the fact that she was a fanatic when it came to Zach. She adored him to the extreme that she was no different from a cultist whose object of worship was her master. Just like he was saving these people from their doom today, she too had been saved by him once in the past. He had even gotten injured while trying to save her and not even once did he try to ditch her due to the difficulty of carrying her along with him.

    She remembered all that and her smile widened to the extremes as her eyes glittered like a thousand stars had appeared in the empty space inside them.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zach had some difficulty trying to arrest control of the lightning with the help of the Superconducting Lightning Rod in his hand but it wasn''t to the extent that he considered difficult. It didn''t take him long to urately direct the lightning bolts to carry out precision strikes at any location which was urate to a 3 meter radius around the target. He experimented on the clearing in the distance for some time and when he became proficient in the control of the weapon, he redirected it towards the source of the magic skill in the distance.

    Instead of striking its previously intended target; the Luther family, the bolts flew off into the distance before falling vertically down from the heavens like the titanic wrath of the thunder god straight on top of the location of the Sosis family estate where Frederick watched on in horror as his own weapon was used to attack his home.

    The glee he felt earlier at the inevitable destruction of the Luther family was nowhere to be seen on Frederick''s face. There was only uncontained panic and fear because if there was one person in the world who truly knew the horror of Thunder Chasing then it was him. He had after all seen his father unleash this magic on to a group of enemies in the past.

    Frederick still got goose bumps when he remembered the scorched ck residences of those enemies and the burnt ashes of all those who stood against the Sosis family. It was after all following that incident that he had assumedmand of the Sosis family in the ce of his father.

    Watching the same horror bounce off of his target to strike back at his own home was like eating his own shit. It felt like Zach was using his own dick to fuck him in the ass.

    The hyenas watching nearby witnessed a scene quite opposite to what they had been expecting. Instead of the Luther family, it was the Sosis family that was about to go up into mes.

    The loud noise of the thunder streaking across the sky to strike the centre of the Sosis family alerted the nearby families that previously had no interest in the incident. The reason was that Sosis family was a rare and fat piece of meat whenpared with Luther family that was barely bones after falling from grace in the Elizabeth city. There wasn''t much anticipation when the Luther family was about to be destroyed since there was nothing to be gained from them especially for the more prestigious families that were on par with the Sosis family.

    But now that the situation had changed, there were many more hyenas and vultures circling the Sosis family waiting for their turn to scrape together what they could from the situation.

    Unlike the previously gloomy mood, Luther family was currently in the midst of celebration. They had just escaped a cmity that could have been the end of the Luther family they knew. Their jubtion at being alive could not be measured at this time. They gathered around Zach and shouted crazily, their admiration, their devotion and their fanaticism evident to all who couldy their eyes on them at that moment.

    Some hugged each other in happiness while some women wailed as they sat on the ground unable to stop their legs from trembling and their tears from falling like an unending stream.

    In their excitement, they were unable to control their voices and each of them was practically shouting at the people close to them but none found it the least bit odd. They had all been through the same situation after all.

    Diana was still awestruck at the situation. She had been prepared to sacrifice herself to save her family members but not only did her master save her family; he also brought destruction to the ones who hoped for their doom. Unconsciously a wonderful smile came over her beautiful face as she looked at Zach who was still ying the music with lightning for chords.

    Bruce saw that the situation was under control and everyone was too focused on Zach to notice him. He cautiously rolled back his wheelchair and exited the Luther family mansion unbeknownst to anyone in the family. The urgency and the seriousness on his face was enough to show his determination as he ventured in the darkness created by the thunderclouds above him.

    Unlike his family, he couldn''t celebrate just yet. There was something that he had to doбнa forgotten wish that he had longed to fulfill ever since he became the head of the Luther familyбнever since he became a cripple unable to stand on his own two feet.

 Chapter 80 80 Miracles

    As soon as Bruce left the bounds of the Luther family, he stood up using the artificial limb that Zach had given him and ran towards the Sosis family estate with all the momentum he could muster. His bloodlust reflected in his eyes as he ran like a wild animal that had been chained for too long.

    On the other hand, panic ensued in the Sosis family as the servants who werecking in loyalty anyway due to the cruelty of the father and the son tried to run away from the wrath of the thunder god. They cursed the family head for attracting the ire of the god of destruction who took the form of Zach to rain down his punishment.

    Instead of staying in the drowning ship, most of the servants turned tail and ran. Of course not all of them were able to do so considering the scale of the cmity that descended on them from the heavens. There was no shelter that could save them from the heavenly wrath since it was an S ss magic that was capable of ruining cities at its best. A mansion of this level was no different from a thatched hut in front of a bulldozer.

    While the Sosis family ran for their lives, and sought any kind of shelter from the raining lightning bolts, Zach was being hailed as the new deity and the only object of worship in the Luther family. Of course, Luna was enjoying it all as she gazed fanatically and lovingly at her master who was like the incarnation of the heavenly gods as he brought destruction on a distant enemy.

    There were many casualties in the Sosis family mansion despite the fact that most of the servants had seeded in escaping the ce. Scorched and ck bodiesy strewn about like street garbage but not a single living soul cared. All of them were busy trying to survive even though the lightning had long since ceased to fall. The dark clouds in the distance that were raining lightning on to them had started to disperse too.

    Frederick on the other hand could not escape. The reason was that the target of the lightning had been him from the start. Had it not been for the fact that he was the caster of the Thunder Chasing spell and the wielder of the magic artifacts that supported it, the thunder would have long since mutted him to scorched bits.

    Despite the ensuing chaos, Frederick had been able to regain enough control to interfere enough to prevent the lightning bolts from falling straight on top of his head. Sometimes he managed while the other times it was always a close call. He even got injured in the process; severely injured. It was enough to prevent him from running away like the servants even though the duration of the spell had ended already.

    Frederick''s emotions were in turmoil as he looked at the current state of his mansion. He failed to understand how his own S rank magic had been returned back to him with the same strength. Even the control of his spell had been wrenched back from him while the spell was still active. This kind of thing was not possible while staying within the logical bounds of magic.

    After giving it a thought, Frederick felt deduced that there could only be two possible reasons for such an oue.

    The first being that Zach was stronger than he had let on and his strength had already reached the bounds of an S rank mage. But that kind of thing was absolutely absurd.

    The reason was that an S rank mage wouldn''t need to negotiate with a measly Sosis family to get what he wanted. He just needed to wave a finger and all the families would have fallen to their knees to help him get what he wanted just to earn his favor. Moreover, he didn''t feel that kind of danger from Zach. He was a high B rank mage or a low A rank mage at best in his opinion.

    That left only the second possibility; the forces behind Zach should have intervened to save him. The fact that this S rank magic was enough to harm him must have spurred them on to take action to save Zach.

    Frederick felt that the force behind Zach should have the capability to counter his ancestral spell using some high grade scroll or some counter magic of the same rank. This was the only feasible exnation. In the end, he and his son had messed with the wrong person despite knowing his strength and that had brought about the end of their family.

    Raisman just like his father was severely injured. The left half of his body was scorched ck and the skin on his face and neck looked pudgy and melted which partially disfigured his facial features starting from his left cheek to the edge of his chin and some part of his left ear. He looked horrible to say the least.

    Unable to walk on his feet due to the severity of his injuries, Raisman was crawling by pushing his body forwards like a worm in the direction of his father who was hisst hope in the apocalyptic weather.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Both of them werepletely unable to hold on by themselves but their desires for survival and the knowledge that both of them managed to ovee their ordeals allowed them to try to move forward without looking back at what they had lost through their greed and carelessness. This was especially true for Raisman who knew that he was responsible for all that had happened especially when he had ignored his father''s warnings and cautions to directly attack Diana who was Zach''s lover.

    Frederick didn''t me his son for the ruin of his family after all Raisman was spoiled beyond repair due to his own flexibility and pampering.

    Looking towards the sky that was now clear of the dark clouds and the dancing lightning streaks, a long sigh escaped his lips. All his will to fight was drained out of him along with that deep breath.

    Frederick finally admitted defeat at the hands of that unknown dark mage who hade to threaten him at his own home. Now that he had time to think, he felt that he should have backed out once he became conscious of the possible background of Zach.

    But there was no use crying over spilt milk. He had already taken his own decisions that couldn''t be changed and the destruction of his home and his power was the result of all those choices he made.

    Looking at the poor condition of his son, Frederick felt that there was only one option that was still open to him if he wanted to make aeback against those who had brought him ruin. He needed to make a run for it. In his current condition, he wouldn''t be able tost long. Even if Zach didn''t bother about them, the powerful families would never let him rest in peace knowing that his power was weakened.

    "You bastard, we need to leave here." Frederick his son''s shoulders and whispered in his ears as he lifted him up from the ground where he had been crawling due to his overwhelming injuries. He was afraid that the retaliation from Zach might be on its way. Therefore he needed to leave the city along with Raisman before that happened.

    Raisman tried to speak but due to some reason the only sound that came out of his mouth was a hoarse and throaty whisper that was not understandable. It seemed that hisrynx was affected by the lightning strikes and he was currently unable to talk properly. But from the way he was frantically nodding his head, it seemed that he wholeheartedly agreed with his father regarding the matter of escape.

    "We will get another chance to exact our vengeance only if we manage to survive. Focus on escaping with our lives and once we do, it won''t be long before we will take back what is ours." Frederick knew that his son was one the verge of giving in to death based on his injuries. He needed to give him some strong motivation in order to allow him to live. And what better motivation could there be than vengeance on those responsible for their current condition.

    The father and son support each other as they half run half walk towards the exit of the Sosis family estate. Each step that he took made him curse the moment he ordered to build that dastardly maze that increased the distance they had to travel.

    Before long the awaited exit was right in front of them. Just when the father and son duo were about to rest easy for having almost escaped the danger zone, someone rolled in from the other side that forced them toe to a halt. They felt as if their feet were stuck under two feet of solid concrete that wouldn''t let them take a single step forward.

    Bruce rolled his wheelchair inside the premises of the Sosis family residence only to find the half dead father and son duo right in front of him. Had he been a minutete, he might have missed out on his revenge for the rest of his life.

    Bruce could have entered on his wheelchair but he wanted to give them hope first. He wanted them to experience hope before crushing it altogether. Only then would his vengeance beplete. They had not only been the cause of continuous torment for his sister but had also been responsible for the plot that took away his ability to walk on his own two feet.

 Chapter 81 81 A Smile On His Face

    Frederick''s senses on the other hand were overclocking as his eyes kept darting in the direction behind Bruce''s back in order to determine who was apanying him.

    But to his pleasant surprise, no one came. Bruce seemed to bepletely alone. Frederick felt like thedy luck was on his side this time. He was sure that even in his deteriorated state, he would be able to handle a cripple like Bruce with his eyes closed.

    "What are you doing here all alone?" Frederick still wanted to make sure so he purposefully asked a leading question to goad Bruce into answering to his own detriment.

    "Don''t treat me like a kid please. Don''t you think a rival family head deserves at least that much?" Bruce sneered at his question and answered his question with a rhetorical question. He had been ying these political games for so long, it would have reflected bad on his part if he failed to understand such a simple trick yed by Frederick.

    "That''s fair. So let me talk straight then. My whole family was destroyed just like you intended. What more do you want? Why can''t you just leave us alone? Hasn''t he taken enough from us for what my son and I tried to do?" Frederick yelled like an olddy in the street with a defectiverynx.

    Bruce waspletely expressionless as he listened to the ravings of Frederick Sosis.

    At the same time, Bruce decided to rify his position. This was his fight and he didn''t want to rely on Zach for this. He pointed his finger alternately between himself and Frederick and said, "Don''t worry this has nothing to do with Zach. This ispletely between you two and me."

    Frederick wondered why he sounded so confident even though he hade over alone but he dismissed it as the arrogance of the winner; after all, Frederick didn''t dare to kill him now even if he could. He could not provoke Zach anymore than he already had before reaching safety.

    "What more do you want from us? We have already lost everything." Frederick tried to look pitiful in an attempt to garner Bruce''s sympathy.

    "Not from where I am sitting, you haven''t." Bruce said as he looked at their legs and then his own.

    Before Frederick could understand the meaning behind the sentence, Bruce raised his voice and began to narrate all the things the two monsters in front of him had done. He didn''t want them to die without knowing the reason for their death.

    "Do you still remember how I became confined to this prison like wheelchair Frederick? If you don''t remember that, you should at least remember how your family attained its current prestige, the family you trampled upon to reach that position, and the people you murdered to attain all your wealth. Don''t think that all your actions over the years went unnoticed. I paid close attention to all of them for example the number of people who went missing from your estate and were then found in conditions that could only be called grotesque. I still wonder about the kind of experiments that were being carried out inside your house. Oh~ and there is also the number of maids that you have buried in this maze like garden who could not survive the torture of your bastard. I wonder if you have the face to deny those things even now." Bruce urged Frederick to answer him with a provoking motion of his chin before looking at Raisman who was trying to hide behind his father.

    "And youбнdid you think your father would be able to save you if you harmed my little sister? Not only did you torture her by threatening her with the well being of our family, you even tried to molest her when things didn''t go your way. And you expect me to turn a blind eye to this monster that has destroyed who knows how many lives. I wonder if there is even a ce in hell for devilish creatures like him." Thest few lines were once again directed towards Frederick who was grinding his teeth as he tried to control his anger.

    If words could have hurt him, Frederick would have been killed a hundred times over. He knew that the things Bruce were spewing were nothing more than hubris. Only the strong could use the weak in this world and Frederick was the stronger one amongst the two.

    A bad feeling took over his rationality as he saw the creepy confidence on Bruce''s face as he threw about usations. He looked like he was up to something.

    "Maybe he is buying time for that dark mage to arrive." This thought took over his mental faculty as Frederick became desperate. He felt that if this wasn''t the case then there was no reason to chatter on for so long. Therefore, Frederick wanted to ram his way through him if he had to.

    "You better reassess our positions and leave here. Even if I am injured, I am still more than enough to take care of a cripple like you. Don''t force my hand or you might as well consider this yourst day in this world." Frederick openly threatened Bruce since he was blocking the only path to their salvation.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Bruce heard his threat with a smile on his face. When Frederick was finished, Bruce burst into an uncontrobleughter as his whole body shook like it had been taken over by something else.

    The bad feeling in his gut intensified as Frederick went into shock as he stared at Bruce who was slowly standing up from his wheelchair without any support.

    Remembering the reason why they had turned him into a cripple, Frederick felt goose bumps on his skin in terror. His son wasn''t any different from him except the fact that he couldn''t produce any kind of soundбнnot even a scream from his dysfunctional throat.

    "HowбнHow can that be possible?" Frederick muttered unconsciously as he couldn''t believe that the cripple he had been threatening was standing on his feet once again.

    бн

    Not a single soul witnessed what transpired next at the edge of the Sosis family residence despite the number of eyes focused on the Sosis family.

    The only thing people remembered was the fire that burned the very existence and the root of the Sosis family to the ground. The same fire that burned for exactly three days and three nights and became a reminder for all the powerful families of Elizabeth cityбнa fiery reminder of the end of any individual or any family that tried to mess with the Luther family and the force supporting them from the darkбнthe Dark Mage Zach.

    бн

    Elizabeth Family Estate

    A woman bearing lithe and exaggerated bodily proportions was lounging around on a chair that looked no different from those posh mahogany chairs that looked antique but ssy at the same time. Because this world was close to the Victorian era from Zach''s past world, the standards of luxuries were the same as those of that era as well except that they were more pronounced due to the existence of magic.

    She was sitting with one leg crossed over the other uncaring that her thigh was partially visible from slit of her dress at the side. Also there was no need for her to be so conscious since there was no one else but her in the room that was too big for a single person. From the grace and confidence oozing out of her majestic bearing, one couldn''t be sure whether she would have cared even if there were someone else in the room with her.

    She looked like something was bothering her as she stared at the stacks of paper in front of her. She seemed to be analyzing something as her right eyebrow rose into an arch every time she delved too deep into thought. She was definitely struggling to get her work over with as soon as possible.

    No matter how one looked at her, she was perfect from all angles and for all whoid eyes on her human or otherwise. She had meat in all the right ces. Her bust and behind were especially endowed like she had been created with the sole purpose of seducing all the creatures of the world with their perfection. This woman had the ability to bring to light the most hidden desires of lust out of anyone. Her lengthy ck hair reached her lower back like a dense cascading waterfall of the softest silk and her dark eyes onlyplimented her overall seductive appearance and seemed to be able to draw anyone in like the sirens of the depths.

    If there was one human in the entire world who deserved to be called a subus than it was only her. Even the subi would not be able to reject such an obvious truth.

    This woman was none other than the eldest daughter of the Elizabeth family. The very one who was admired and cherished by countless men even from far off ces. Her charm was just that great that even men from far off had ended up tangled in her love unable to go back to where they belonged. But of course the woman had never returned the affection of a single one of them like an untouchable goddess that could only be admired from far away,

    However there was no denial that she was a femme fatale who could cause wars just by her appearance in the wilderness.

 Chapter 82 82 Elizabeth Family

    However there was no denial that she was a femme fatale who could cause wars just by her appearance in the wilderness.

    The fact was evident from the fact that just the amount of men who coveted her body could make up an entire city by themselves. And of course these admirers weren''t limited to men her age.

    The only reason she was yet untouched by those in power was her own family that wielded authority that was higher than any other family in the Elizabeth family as evident from the fact that the entire city was named after her family. The contribution of her family in the development and proliferation of the city infrastructure and economic stabilization was far too great to be ignored after all.

    Not to mention lust, people were even afraid to show their deep love openly towards her due to the fear and the difference in the status of her family and theirs.

    The Elizabeth family was too high in the power hierarchy to care about a small family like the Luther family that was rising from the ashes after having been destroyed once. The only reason that the Elizabeth family head had developed interest in their suddeneback was their survival of the S rank magic Thunder Chase which the Luther family had somehow used to their benefit and had ended up destroying their adversary instead.

    This kind of power was not something that even the Elizabeth family could ignore considering the degree of unknown and unpredictability in the matter.

    Christina had been following around her father these days as he conducted various family meetings to discuss priority of their rtions with the newly developing Luther family. Christina and Barry being exceptionally talented were especially called for by their father George to help him decide upon the final verdict regarding the Luther family.

    Unlike the other families, Elizabeth family didn''t rely on raw power and military strength like the Sosis family to reign over the weaker poption. Their specialty didn''t lie in the quality and power of mages in their employ. Rather, they were a more business oriented family that controlled the city through their absolute control of the economy and all the trade that took ce in and out of the city. The Elizabeth family had stakes in almost all the major businesses and had the capability to demolish the entire economy of Elizabeth city with just a few words. It wasn''t for nothing that they had such a great hold over the city politics despite not being as strong as the other families.

    In thispletely different world, the quality of life couldn''t bepared to the European Middle ages of Earth. The reason was that the focus of this civilizationy in military development and establishment of power and authority instead of improvement of the general life of the inhabitants.

    Human greed can never be satisfied no matter the era or the world. Therefore, conflicts and disagreements were inevitable. Only after an abundance of conflicts could plenty of resources be umted, which could then be used to improve the standard of life at the grassroots level.

    But Ordinary people like farmers and peasants who worked on daily wages could hardly think about the luxuries of life andfort when they could barely make ends meet. Such people could only dream of getting a life full offort and the only option avable to them was to learn magic. One out of every two families in this isekai dreamed of producing a mage capable enough to drag them out of poverty.

    Of course the drums beating in the distance are music to the ears. Only those who can hear them closely can distinguish whether it is music or just in noise that irritates.

    Even after bing a mage, there was no such guarantee that the person would be able to lead a good life. Some individuals despite seeding in bing a mage ended up on the streets anyway either because their magical talent was crap or their magic attribute was too useless to be noticed among the true elemental talents which were suited for battle.

    Therefore, such mages did not have the capability to survive by themselves. They needed to rely on the local tyrant families in order to get by despite being a mage themselves.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The ancestors of the Elizabeth families had realized that truth a long time ago unlike the not so bright poption that was currently suffering in Elizabeth city for not having the opportunity to shine. Those ancestors put all their energy into the development of their business activities and became merchants instead of a mage which was even then as prestigious a rank as it was now. Thanks to the trees they nted in the past, the current Elizabeth family was still able to enjoy the fruits of theirbor. Such a strong foundation even allowed them to pursue whatever goal they wanted to achieve without caring about the consequences.

    In this isekai, the trade was more focused towards the coastal cities where the ships had easy ess for trade activities. The major port hubs were the centers of trade andmerce. Yet Elizabeth city didn''t lose out to any coastal city despite not being a port city and despite not having any ess to the ind waterways.

    Elizabeth family, especially George the current family head of the Elizabeth family was a genius that came along once in a thousand years. Despite not being a powerful mage like the other family heads, his wits were sharp enough to be the most sessful business man in the city at a considerably young age; an age where the heirs of the other powerful families were still ying around with girls and swaggering and showing off in front of their friends.

    The recent developments of the city were all carried out in his tenure as the family head. He was also the major driving force behind the economic reforms that were implemented in the city in anticipation of the major changes of the magicmunity.

    Therefore, the elevation of the city''s economy to be one of the top ten economies of the country despitecking in geographical advantage could be attributed to the business genius of George who was behind every business reform in the city and was like the hand that controlled everything from the shadows like a true monarch.

    In his long career, George had never hesitated before making a decision. He trusted his gut instinct and yed all he wanted and usually the result turned out to be exceptionally in his favor. But that didn''t mean that George had it easy due to luck. Luck had no part in business, it was his cunning and farsightedness that brought him loads of wealth at every turn. He had never felt stumped in front of any fork in the road and chose one based on his instinct that he had refined in his business career after meeting several cunning individuals who were just like him butckingpared to him.

    But even that same George found his limitations today. He had a problem that he could not find a solution to no matter how hard he tried. He felt a sense of loss no matter what decision he made because the decision pertained to his children; mainly his eldest daughter Christina who was too talented for her age.

    Despite not being a magical strength oriented family, the Elizabeth family had seeded in producing an exceptional mage in Christina who managed to be an A rank mage before the age of 18. Such a talent was not only rare but also highly sought after all over the country; even in the capital. If it was only that, George might have made his decision very easily but the problem was that she was also the most talented person he had seen in business after himself. Herposed manner while negotiating and the cunning mind that didn''t fail to exploit every single opportunity to make profit was something George admired in her; something that his eldest son Barrycked inpared to his sister.

    As was the custom in this isekai, the heir of the family was supposed to be the eldest son of the family. It was his birth right and no one could take it from him.

    But George felt that it was too much of a waste to let a talent like Christina rot away just because she was bornter. He wasn''t able to choose between his children especially because the both of them were exceptional in their own right.

    Even though Christina was obviously the better choice, Barry wasn''t toocking either that he could be overlooked without a thought. It was just that in front of the dazzling light of Christina, Barry looked a little dim inparison. Among his peers he too was one of the brightest diamonds of Elizabeth city.

    Thankfully, George didn''t have to suffer from conflict and infighting in his family due to the problem of session. Unlike those royal families where session and inheritance was more dearpared to the lives of the family members and wars could be fought due to such trivialities, the Elizabeth family could avoid such instances due to the strong bond between the two siblings. Ever since the two were young, Christina and Barry got along with each other too well. Their understanding even exceeded the understanding each of them had with their parents. They shared secrets with each other that no one in the entire family was privy to. So, when George brought up the topic of session, both his children didn''t mind the other bing the next family head.

 Chapter 83 83 Diplomacy

    "We''re good either way" was what the two siblings portrayed with their actions as well as expressions. The inner turmoil that had been guing George for some time now finally settled somewhat after he received their answer. From the discussion he became sure of one thing at the very least that the family would not crumble based on his decision no matter what. Christina was fully prepared to support her brother if he took over the family and same was the case with Barry who was willing to support his talented sister in everything she did.

    But just when George felt that his troubles had eased somewhat, a new trouble popped up out of nowhere. The same Luther family he hadn''t cared about before had sprung up to eat the Sosis family suddenly.

    George felt like he needed to reconsider his rtionship management policy with the Luther family. This was a rising force and had a considerable potential that could be exploited if he yed his cards right. Therefore, he had called for another meeting with his children to talk about this matter.

    In the conference room that was located near the entrance of the Elizabeth family estate entrance, three individuals were seated onfortable couches that were sufficiently cushioned to make them look increasinglyfortable and posh.

    Of course, these three were the Elizabeth family head and his two children, Christina and Barry. The room was spacious enough to hold more than thirty individuals without any trouble. There were simr number of chairs around an exceptionally long table that was adorned with candbras ced at frequent intervals and expensive looking table runners that reached from one end to the other without any space in between.

    George was staring at Barry who busily gathered his thoughts as he tried toe up with the perfect answer that summarized his thoughts regarding the Luther family to his father.

    "If we look at it in detail, the changes in the Luther family only urred after they revealed their rtionship with the dark mage they were harboring. The family itself has been under suppression by the alliance of other families for a long time before that. This kind of performance is only possible if the Luther family was being supported by someone else from behind them. They couldn''t have taken on this kind of risk otherwise. Given the fact that the changes urred after the arrival of that dark mage, it can be assumed that the power supporting the Luther family is either that dark mage himself or another power supporting that dark mage named Zach." Barry tried to summarize his answer in as concise a manner as possible but he still felt like he had ranted on for a long while.

    No one disturbed him during his turn as was the custom in their family discussions. This kind of policy was quite efficient in preventing conflicts as it gave each and every one of them a chance to dish out their opinion.

    George nodded at his son''s opinion as he fully agreed with his words. Still he looked at his daughter next and indicated for her to give her opinion.

    "I don''t think it matters much to us whether the supporting power is that dark mage himself or some other force rted to him. In fact we don''t even need to bother whether the force supporting them is clean or dark in the eyes of the society. The only thing we should be interested in is the benefits this family has to offer us. As merchants, we need to think about profiting from an opportunity that is practically waiting for us to exploit it instead of being bound by the exaggerated moral values imposed on us by society." Christina looked bored as she gave her opinion but her words were razor sharp and to the point.

    "What do you think we should do? Would it be advantageous for us to establish trade rtions with this growing family or should we avoid it altogether considering the fact that the power behind them is unknown?" George carefully structured his question to get the answer he wanted out of his children. For him these kinds of situations were only case studies that could be used to better educate his children on how to survive in the cutthroat world of business.

    He had used the same approach to teach his children since they were young and now that both of them were capable enough on their own; they could now assist him in decision making that might affect their whole family and its reputation. But as a businessman, calcted risks were a norm.

    "Since we have our reputation to uphold we can''t mingle with that family at least openly even though the family is on the rise ever since that incident with the Sosis family''s destruction. Their poprity is on the rise and most of the lower end families are centering round that family. It might not be long before this family would be able to represent the interests of all those families. Therefore, instead of trying to suppress them or resist their increasing influence, it would be better to show our goodwill when they are still developing. That being said, we can''t do this openly considering that we need to uphold our moral image in front of the city poption. Supporting a dark mage openly wouldn''t leave a good impression of us on those extremist individuals scattered across the city. We can''t hurt our business image just to exploit one single opportunity. Therefore, it would be best to y on both sides; support the Luther family privately but shun them in front of the world." said Barry as he analyzed the situation from a pure business point of view. From his expression, it could be seen that he had no prejudice towards Zach being a dark mage. He was just concerned that the image of the family might be tarnished due to their open association with him and his allies.<novelnext></novelnext>

    George nodded at his borate understanding of the situation and couldn''t help but be pleased with his son''s performance inwardly.

    "He would have been a perfect choice for an heir had it not been for his sister who was born with monstrous talent that slightly overshadowed even his brilliance." George thought as he let out a long sigh that held all his frustration.

    George looked satisfied with his answer as he turned towards Christina and waited for her to answer the same question.

    Christina still had the same expression on her face but her words came out to be extremely concisepared to her brother who was unable to keep it short.

    "What big brother Barry suggested is the right course of action in this case. But we need to be clear about one thing that we are not the only ones thinking this. There must be scores of other families trying to establish a good rtionship with the Luther family. Instead of just dealing in secret, we need to openly reject Luther family on moral grounds. This will both put a pressure on the other families and give us a way out in case the Luther family suffers damage to their reputation during the course of our coboration. Moreover, the public will be confused in the quagmire and the leading business families of the city will try to suffuse the fire if they want to work with Luther family. This way if we can establish private dealings with the Luther family, we can hoard all the benefits and avoid losses of any kind. And even if there is a problemter on, Elizabeth family would not be affected and will only gain more momentum for being morally on higher groundpared to the other families."

    In fact her thinking was quite aligned with George. She was someone who was like-minded and George could clearly understand her thought process as if it was his own brain child.

    Since this wasn''t the first time that Christina had read his mind, George wasn''t too surprised. He had gotten used to his young daughter behaving like an experienced and old businessman when it came to such matters. She was as cunning as the most experienced people in this field despite being a mage that excelled not only amongst her peers but also among the older generation.

    George felt that the ns suggested by his children could be implemented right away since both of them had been thinking along the lines of minimizing the risk to the family. The n could be considered a safe bet if there ever was one.

    "Both of you are of the same opinion and I think that based on my years of experience this kind of approach is correct in the long run. As the leaders of our family, we need to think in a strategic perspective and direct the family towards the right path. Therefore, I want'' both of you to venture out and act upon your suggestions in a way that will benefit the family and will open up a path for new opportunities. You two will be responsible for this venture. I will not intervene unless you fail to handle the situation." George announced his intentions to his children.

    Christina who had been bored of the paperwork during this time felt excitement course through her body as she nodded in eptance.

    "We''ll do our best." Barry answered for the both of them.

    "Good. Christina, since you suggested openly rejecting Luther family then you will be responsible for resisting their progress in public. You will be responsible for handling our public image and social responsibility so you need to be extremely careful." George instructed Christina in a fatherly manner since he knew that she was fully capable of carrying out the task.

 Chapter 84 84 Express

    Christina smiled as she was slightly excited to y the viin and graciously epted her task.

    "Then Barry, you will be responsible for managing the private rtionship with the Luther family. Make sure to approach them with goodwill and put on a good show to garner their sincerity. Also try to get as much information as possible on the power backing them. In this situation, information can be as valuable as profit. If we manage to find out the force behind Luther family, it might open up new opportunities for business development. And if it turns out that their support is only that dark mage, make sure to establish a good rtionship with him. He must be very capable if he was able to hold his own against the Sosis family on his own."

    Barry vowed to carry out the task as perfectly as possible just like his sister usually did so his father could have more confidence in him as his heir.

    ----

    As his sister set out to be the viin in the story of the Luther family, Barry needed to do his part of the y as well. At first he wanted to use a straight forward approach to show his sincerity and goodwill towards the family. But then he shirked that thought considering the fact that they had maintained their neutrality up until the moment Luther family managed to gain an advantage. That method although effective had the potential to earn him a bad rapport with the target family. He woulde off as opportunistic which was something he needed to avoid in order to build a steady and peaceful business rtionship with Luther family.

    Therefore, he decided to y a sentimental scenario. Of course the target was someone who was the most vulnerable in his eyes; the head of the Luther family Bruce who was a cripple. He felt that this approach might be more effective on someone like that.

    So, while his sister was ying her part, Barry was missing from the action. Instead of visiting the Luther family, Barry went to the burial ce of the previous head of the Luther family. He was sure that the target of his ''sincerity'' would be there after oveing such a great upheaval.

    As he had expected, Bruce was there. And from the looks of it, he had been there for quite a while. He was kneeling in front of his father''s grave and was praying earnestly. And from the looks of it, it should have been a while since he came here to pay his respects. His clothes looked a little dirty. The ground around the grave had been cleaned as if only recently; as the other graves in the vicinity were still covered with dry leaves and dust. It looked like they hadn''t been visited by the rtives in a long time.

    Barry looked at Bruce who was still sitting in front of the headstone of his father''s grave unmoving like the dead themselves. If not for his shoulders that shook from time to time, Barry might have dered him dead from the distance. The silence epassing the surroundings and Bruce''s unmoving figure made him look like a new addition to the gruesomendscape.

    Since the situation looked to be ideally in his favor, Barry felt that he should act now to attain the maximum benefit.

    Acting on his thoughts, Barry hastily moved towards the grave of the previous head of the Luther family with slow steps so as to not startle the one sitting in front of the tombstone.

    Bruce was not of course as oblivious to the world as he appeared from the distance. As soon as he felt someone approaching from the distance, Bruce turned his head to look in his direction as if to state, "Don''t think about any funny business just because I am like this."

    Barry felt the threat from those cold eyes but he ignored it as the self protection instinct of someone who was reliving some of his most painful memories.

    He walked closer to Bruce who had yet to leave his kneeling position. The first thing he noticed was the tear stains hidden around the corner of his eyes. They were telling a long tale about the troubles of the man named Bruce who had to shoulder the burden of being a family head and of losing his legs at the same time.

    Bruce didn''t try to hide anything about his pitiful condition from Barry because he didn''t feel the need to do any such thing. The reason was that he didn''t feel any threat from Barry. He had already witnessed Zach''s capability from the previous incident and at least until he stayed with his family, there was no need for Bruce to walk on eggshells around those prominent families.

    Barry on the other hand had sympathies for this man who had suffered hardships, but like a proper businessman he was trying to not let his emotions get in the way of his profits. He hid his emotions perfectly behind a poker face and bowed slightly in front of the tombstone as if in respect.

    Bruce''s eyes softened a bit at this gesture of respect towards his deceased father. He no longer showed tant animosity towards Barry and looked like he was willing to listen to him at the very least.

    At the same time, recognition dawned on him regarding the identity of the man that had paid his respects to his father. He was none other than the heir of the Elizabeth family that was the wealthiest family in the city.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Bruce was surprised that a person of such a high status had been sent to him but then the very next instant he understood why that was. It was definitely because of Zach and the recent incident that resulted in the destruction of the Sosis family.

    It was only natural for the merchants to look for more business opportunities amidst chaos. That was the kind of people they were and Bruce fully understood their positions.

    At the same time, being one of the most influential families of the Elizabeth city they had to make a statement in order to express their opinion about the changes that took ce after the obliteration of the Sosis family.

    Barry brought out a bouquet of flowers out of nowhere. He had already prepared it beforehand in anticipation of this encounter in order to leave a good impression even though it couldn''t exactly be called sincere on his part. He had learnt that in business, he just had to show his sincerity and whether he was actually sincere or not did not matter at all. Therefore, this was all part of the y to show the goodwill of the Elizabeth family.

    Heid down the bouquet near the tombstone and bowed slightly before backing away. Once he was done the formal talks between the representative of the Elizabeth family and the head of the Luther family began. This conversation alone was going to decide the stance both families were going to have towards each other in the long run.

    Bruce got rid of his spilling sentiments and got back on his wheelchair albeit with some difficulty. Barry wasn''t a newbie who would try to help him. He understood the kind of feelings Bruce might have regarding the things he wascking in. Therefore, he waited until Bruce was done before beginning the discussion.

    "Thanks for the flowers even if you didn''t mean it and for waiting for me." Bruce said in a cid tone as he turned his wheelchair around to face the heir of the Elizabeth family.

    Barry waved both his hands in front of him as if saying, "Don''t mention it."

    "I suppose the heir of Elizabeth family wouldn''t juste here to pay respects to my father with flowers in hand. From what I know our families weren''t that close." Bruce initiated the conversation in an attempt to take control of the pace.

    "Even though you already seem to know who I am, let me introduce myself anyway. I am Barry; eldest son of the Elizabeth family head."

    Bruce didn''t seem very surprised as he had already recognized him so he remained silent and urged him to state his purpose with his silent gaze that seemed to be prodding Barry from top to bottom to find and any falsehood or malicious intent.

    "First of all, allow me to apologize to you." Barry truly sounded apologetic and regretful as he apologized with all the sincerity he could muster.

    "Why would you apologize to me?" Bruce was slightly confused as he couldn''t understand where this person wasing from. He didn''t believe that he had any previous interaction with this person before.

    Barry felt his objective wasplete once he saw the confused Bruce looking at him for answers. He was sessful in taking away the control of the situation. Being a sessful businessman, he knew how necessary control could be in this kind of discussions.

    "I believe the start of any business rtionship should be from the truth and therefore I want you to know that I and my family are extremely apologetic for not being able to help you when your family was in need. I must look like an opportunistic hyena to you right now." Barry borated.

    "I don''t think you need to apologize for that. As I said already, our families weren''t that close and I had no expectations from you in the first ce. So there is no disappointment and definitely no hatred in my heart towards you or your family. What transpired was because of the seed of hatred that had festered for too long and theck of impulse control on the part of the both families. I don''t think that the oue was too bad though."

 Chapter 85 85 Assurance

    "Also, thanks foring over to pay your respects to my father even if that wasn''t your true motive toe here." Bruce''s voice truly did not have any disgust or hatred as he conveyed his true feelings to Barry who was earnestly observing his reaction throughout.

    "Thankfully, he is not one of those stubborn ones." Barry thought in his heart as he observed Bruce who had no prejudice against his approach at least on the surface.

    "It seems like you have me figured out already. But still, some things need to be expressed clearly. Even if you understand our position, you should know that we are apologetic about not helping your family when you were in need." Barry was unwilling to budge from his position despite the fact that Bruce told him that it was no big deal. The reason was that Barry believed in wholehearted cooperation and this kind of thing could be the first crack in a business rtionship at ater stage.

    "Don''t make me repeat myself so many times; it''s tiring. The elders of our family had no rtionship with your family in the past so it is only natural for you to not care about us. Even I might have done the same thing in your position. There are some things that you learn after losing your legs. Being able to protect those close to you should be the utmost priority. If I were in your ce, I would never jeopardize my family to help you out." Bruce refused to ept his apology.

    Barry wanted to take control of the conversation once again but Bruce cut him short mid sentence.

    "We both know that apologizing to me is not your true agenda in following me. Tell me then; what do you truly want with me? Or rather, what does the Elizabeth family want with my family? Let''s get straight to the point without wasting time on what has already happened." Bruce asked with a hint of annoyance at being forced to repeat the same sentence for some time.

    "Fuuuh" Barry let out a deep breath as if the preparations that he had made were poured down the drain by Bruce who had already seen through him.

    "We of the Elizabeth family acknowledge the potential of the Luther family that is bound to increase in the future. We are hoping to establish cooperation between the two families before any other family takes the initiative from us. Although we don''t want to reveal our cooperation in front of the general public and we might even reject and oppose your family due to obvious reasons, we will still do our best topensate you in terms of the amount of business provided. This way you will be able to establish yourselves in the high society and we will be able to get a potential business coborator. It is a win win for both of our families. This is my true purpose in seeking you out like this." Barry stated his true intentions on behalf of the Elizabeth family. He had already observed Bruce and found him to be a cynical person who questioned everything in sight. There was no way he would have believed Barry if he kept hiding the truth. So he did what he could to make this cooperation a sess.

    Bruce smiled slightly but it was in no way a heartwarming smile that was full of warmth and understanding. Rather it was one that symbolized that he had perfectly understood the scheme being nned by the Elizabeth family.

    "Tskбнlooks like you and your family went to quite a bit of trouble to keep yourself clean from the mud balls that mighte your way when your association with my familyes to light." said Bruce with an incredulous expression which stated his doubt regarding Elizabeth family''s sincerity in their cooperation.

    "It is only a slight reassurance on our part. We can''t let our family name get ruined just because of poor decision making on our part." Barry replied in a calm manner as if Bruce finding out their true intentions wasn''t a big deal and was only a part of his web of schemes.

    "Don''t you think that is an understatement considering that you have eliminated any risk to your family by using this method? You came bearing the g of sincerity but the division of risk in your so called cooperation shows me how much sincerity your offer has." Bruce grunted as if in disgust at Barry''s earlier mention of sincerity.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Please don''t misunderstand. It is only that we are very cautious when ites to our family name. We won''t let the slightest bit of dirt besmirch our family name especially due to our ipetence. However, my earlier words stand true. I came bearing nothing but goodwill for the Luther family." Barry countered shamelessly. He was a businessman alright. His negotiation skills and the ability to hide his shameless acts behind sugar coated words were truly astounding.

    "Well, if your so called goodwill refers to putting all the risk of a business onto your business partner and paving a solid road out of the partnership before the agreement, then I am sorry we might have different views on the meaning of goodwill. The Luther family might be a rising family but we aren''t na?ve enough to fall for such ''sincerity''. If this cooperation is to seed, I will need a suitable form ofpensation since I am basically handling all risk of the cooperation. And I am sure you wouldn''t want your reputation spoiled in the event that this secret of ours leaks to the general public."

    Bruce''s light threat seemed to have worked as Barry nodded and didn''t refuse his ''request'' outright. It could only mean that Barry was willing to listen to this demand of his. From the beginning, Bruce hadn''t wanted to demand anything too grand from the Elizabeth family. The reason was that he knew his own worth more than anyone else. The Luther family wasn''t at a level where Elizabeth family would do anything to do business with them.

    Therefore he had to make a demand that would not take them much effort to fulfill and would also convey his point that the Luther family wasn''t na?ve enough to not notice their little maneuverings.

    Barry on the other hand was a little flustered. He hadn''t known the Luther family head to be this sharp. The things he had heard didn''t do this person justice. He was not only sharp minded and assertive but also had the foresight to look at the long term objective of the Elizabeth family.

    In fact, the information that Barry had wasn''t wrong at all. Because that had been the way that Bruce had been acting in front of the other families until the appearance of Zach. He had to prove himself to be no threat to them and had to lower his head just to keep his family and his sister safe. But now that his family had a helper like Zach, and he had regained his mobility, he could be a bit bolder in front of outsiders and could show his teeth that he had been hiding for so long.

    Barry knew that Bruce''s usations were true so he decided to wait and hear his demand before thinking about going forward or backing out of this deal.

    Knowing that Barry was waiting for him to make his demand, Bruce said, "I just need one thing from the Elizabeth family; the safety of my sister. I want you to keep my sister safe no matter what kind of situation arises in the future, even if the whole city is against her. Of course I don''t want you to take on the world for her. Just ensure her safety is all I am asking. After all from what I can see, you are quite proficient in conducting ndestine operations. This is something I will neverpromise upon. So if you can''t ensure this, there can be no deal between the two of us."

    Barry hadn''t expected the request to be something like this. He had half expected Bruce to secure some benefits for the Luther family in terms of trade benefits, rebates or finances to strengthen the growing Luther family. But instead the family head asked them to save his sister in any kind of situation in the future. Truthfully, Barry felt that this was not too difficult for them to do. As Bruce had implied, he didn''t ask the Elizabeth family specifically to keep her safe. Therefore, just like their business deal, this was something to be carried out from the shadows without revealing our identity. This was not difficult for Barry to agree to at all.

    "I agree to your demand on behalf of my family. We will not fail to keep your sister safe as long as she stays within the Elizabeth city. If the situation does not demand us to dirty our family name to save her, we will shelter her in the name of Elizabeth family. But if a dayes, when she is danger from the city itself and the public and we can no longer keep her safe without besmirching our family name, we will take responsibility to securely escort her to safety. That is the most what I can offer you in this regard." Barry stated his position clearly so that Bruce understood the things he wasn''t willing topromise on. He could have just agreed to it all in a straight forward manner but he was sure that Bruce wasn''t a sheep as he had thought of him until now. He was an injured lion who would strike if cornered.

 Chapter 86 86 Macrae Family

    Moreover, Barry wasn''t someone who did business in such a deceitful manner especially when his future business partner didn''t even demand anything too selfish or materialistic. He even slightly admired Bruce for protecting his sister so thoroughly.

    "That is more than enough. I will hold you to your words then. BUT rest assured that if you and your family turn back on your words or even if you fail to keep this promise to me, my Luther family will not hesitate to fight till thest man to wipe out your family in order to send you all to apany her. Take it as a threat or anyway you want. But this is my conviction; the resolve of a big brother who is willing to raze the world to the ground to protect his little sister." Bruce''s voice was uncharacteristically calm as he delivered his final threat to the representative of one of the most powerful families of Elizabeth city. But the threats made their way into the heart of Barry who had given his words to him already.

    Barry paused for a minute to reconsider whether he had made the correct decision. Only after he had reconsidered it twice did he nod in understanding of Bruce''s words. It was the moment when the deal for the business cooperation of the two families got finalized. Both Barry and Bruce got their desired oue so both parties were naturally satisfied.

    Since his purpose was already fulfilled, Barry was about to get up and take his leave when something that short circuited his brain happened right in front of him.

    The man who had been sitting on the wheelchair like a helpless cripple who could barely move around without help STOOD UP before him.

    "Whaaaaaaaaat?"

    Barry''s jaw struck the ground and no sound came out of his mouth even though it was wide open in surprise. The man he had been treating like a cripple had stood up on his own two legs.

    "BUT how can that be possible?" Barry thought to himself as he calcted the possible implications of this fact that had remained hidden from the world for who knows how long. If that was the case, Barry felt that he had truly underestimated the man in front of him. The man had the whole world fooled and yet no one knew about it at all.

    From what he knew about Bruce, his feet had definitely been cut off due to some rape incident concocted by the usurping families back then and no matter how great the Luther family had be, they weren''t at a level to get some S rank healer mage to regenerate Bruce''s limbs. Barry couldn''t understand how such a thing was possible.

    Barry stared at Bruce who was looking at him with a smile on his face. As soon as Barry''s gaze met his, Bruce winked triumphantly with an enigmatic smile covering half his face and left on his feet. Barry couldn''t take his eyes off of the fading figure that had walked off from in front of him. There was nothing wrong with his gait. It was as if his feet had been perfectly regenerated and there wasn''t a single defect left.

    Barry couldn''te out of his daze for a long while. He felt as if he had been yed by Bruce instead. This wasn''t a feeling that he was veryfortable with considering that he was already quite proficient in business negotiations. And this time was the first in a long while that he had failed to properly get a read on the opposite party. He couldn''t help but feel that Bruce was truly someone who had hidden himself too deep. Not only was his personal information botched but even his disability seemed to be a pretense. The fact that Bruce had revealed all of this after the negotiation was proof that he was sincere in keeping his end of the deal and a p in Barry''s face at the same time for not being able to figure it out until the end.

    Barry vowed to figure out his truth in the future. But for now, he needed to get this information out before more mistakes were made. His father and his sister needed to be given the news regarding this dramatic change of events as soon as possible so that they can amend the evaluation of the Luther family. After all, it wasn''t just the dark mage that needed to be kept an eye on in the Luther family but the family head as well.

    бн

    Even though Elizabeth city was named after the Elizabeth family in the past, it didn''t mean that they were the absolute top power in the city. It just meant that they were especially respected and privileged in the city for having been the greatest contributors towards the development of the city towards its current state.

    Elizabeth family had long since steered away from the war for power. They had established their roots in business and now held the economic lifeline of the city and by virtue of that they were able to keep their position afloat amongst the top powers of Elizabeth city.<novelnext></novelnext>

    However, whenever the top family in the Elizabeth city was discussed anywhere, the name of the Macrae family stayed at the absolute top like it had been glued there for a long time. Absolutely no one had been able to threaten their position in Elizabeth city due to the difference in power.

    However, the current leader of the Macrae family was especially notorious for making things go his way in any way possible. Calvin was a strong leader; there was absolutely no doubt about that. His strong grasp over leadership fundamentals, the way he treated his subordinates, his informationwork regarding the rivaling families and the socialwork he had received in inheritance from his father and thework he built up himself made him an inevitable force of nature for the other families. He was someone who never feared anyone from the bottom of his heart and moved forward with his schemes regardless of the consequences. He didn''t believe that sess could be achieved by doing the right things. Rather he believed in forging his way forward using any means necessary and made them into the right means.

    Despite having been at the top of the city for a long time, Calvin hadn''t grown prideful. He was still monitoring the emerging families with the help of his informationwork. To exploit any and all opportunities was his motto in life.

    And when he didn''t have any opportunities to exploit, he created those opportunities all in an attempt to expand his sphere of influence and create a myth of transcendence surrounding his family that no other family would dare to challenge in times toe.

    It hadn''t been very long when Calvin had received the news regarding a certain dark mage named Zach who hade out of nowhere and was helping the Luther family fight against the Sosis family. At first he hadn''t paid much attention to it since there were too many families involved in underhanded activities for him to bother about them.

    But today he received another piece of news that boggled him a bit. The fallen Luther family was not only able to make aeback by relying on this dark mage but had eventually exterminated the entire Sosis family from the face of the city. Even the estate of the Sosis family was left to burn to a crisp as if in a show of power to the whole city.

    But Calvin had very little interest in the dark mage himself or the Luther family that was just beginning to rise among the lower families. What made him pay attention to this information was the destruction of the Sosis family.

    He was one of the vultures who were eyeing the Sosis family fortune following their demise.

    Instead of making good rtions with Zach and the Luther family like the other elite families of the city, Calvin wanted the Sosis family fortune that was ownerless after the demise of Frederick and Raisman rather than the friendship of some unknown dark mage with no or unknown backing.

    The reason for this was mostly the elemental attribute that the Macrae family had inherited from birth; the light attribute.

    Normal elemental magic like wind, fire and water was easy toe about in the world but special attributes like light, shadow and holy magic was very rare.

    And with the light attribute came an inherent repulsion towards all the darkness which was the reason that Calvin didn''t want to associate with Zach who was a dark mage well versed in the opposite attribute. Calvin was sure that they wouldn''t be able to get along no matter what. Therefore, he didn''t care about befriending him and put his utmost effort to suppress the Luther family instead.

    Whether he wanted it or not, Calvin had made enemies with the Luther family as soon as he began to covet the timber business of the Sosis family. The forestry surrounding the Sosis family estate had long been the earning source of Sosis family. The timber produced by the forest was strongly suitable for making luxurious furniture and wooden art pieces which was quite in demand in the business market. But the fact that there was high demand but very low supply for the products made with this timber, helped market the products as luxuries which skyrocketed the rates for these products. The profit margin of the Sosis family was always on the rise due to that very reason.

 Chapter 87 87 Test Each Other

    Calvin wanted this high return business for himself. And the fact that Luther family was going to take over the business after the fall of the Sosis family was a hindrance to his wishes. He wanted to monopolize the whole business by taking over the forestry and the exclusive mining rights for the ce no matter what.

    Therefore, he didn''t n on bothering to y the good guy in front of the Luther family and had already considered them his enemies. Of course the fact that Zach was a dark mage also helped him make up his mind in choosing this method.

    After carefully thinking about the whole situation anding up with various alternatives to the situation, Calvin decided on his course of action. But he needed to discuss this with someone else; someone who was like-minded and would be able to give him the right advice as well.

    Thinking along those lines, Calvin called for an armed guard and whispered something to him. None other than himself and the courier was able to hear the message. As soon as Calvin finished talking, the guard moved a step back without showing his back to the leader of the family and then saluted by raising his fist to the chest before leaving in a hurry. He was going to carry out the task given to him by the leader.

    In fact, Calvin had arranged a secret rendezvous with George, the man he believed was venomous enough and was likely to understand him and his motives.

    As night turned deeper and the whistling sound of the wind flowing through the leaves grew more frequent and the Sosis family estate burned with crimson mes along with the corpse of their leader and the future heir, the leader of the most powerful family of Elizabeth city left the mansion as if on a night stroll. Of course no guard apanied him on his walk since he was more than capable of protecting himself. The title of the strongest family wasn''t in vain after all.

    When the rendezvous point came in his sight, Calvin saw the man he wanted to meet, waiting for him in an impatient manner. He was stomping the ground lightly from time to time and fidgeted with his hands as if to calm his senses.

    As soon as Georgeid his eyes on Calvin, the signs of his impatience subsided like they had never been there. Calvin smiled at this and didn''t point it out.

    "Did you get my message?" Calvin asked as he came to a halt in front of George who had been waiting for him eagerly.

    "I did. Aren''t I here?" George retorted with a slight frown as if he was displeased about being called in the middle of nowhere at this time of the night.

    "So, what do you think?" asked Calvin in anticipation of George''s point of view regarding the path he had chosen.

    "I don''t have any intention of getting involved with a dark mage especially one that I have no knowledge about. The Sosis family business isn''t that attractive to me that I will willingly take on the enmity of that dark mage."

    "I half expected that you were going to act like a spineless worm even when the opportunity presents itself in front of you. Despite all your cunning, you act too cautious which always works towards your own detriment." Calvin sneered at George who didn''t qualify as a worthy man as per his standards.

    "I just don''t find it as attractive as you do. But let me say that Macrae family should not be too greedy or it wouldn''t be long before the spears of the whole city would turn in the direction of your family." George wasn''t willing to back down either as he warned Calvin with a smirk on his face.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What do you mean by that?" Calvin''s tone grew threatening as he heard George''s caution.

    "The Macrae family is already hoarding all the iron ore resources of the city. If you take in the timber business from the Sosis family as well, the burden would be too huge for even a family of your caliber to handle. Don''t mind my words, but you aren''t exactly the Elizabeth family when ites to business matters. Both the businesses would deteriorate even if you manage to get your hands on the timber mining business. So why bother taking over a business that will only harm you?" George exined his reasons as to why Calvin should not take over the business of the Sosis family but the menacing look on Calvin''s face didn''t vanish.

    "That is not what I asked. What did you mean by your words earlier?" Light shed around Calvin and brightened the area around them like it was morning despite the fact that it was a moonless night.

    "What I meant was that the tallest tree faces the most brutal wind. Even though the Macrae family might be the strongest in terms of power, you aren''t exactly the best when ites to business matters. You will earn the ire of the business families if you break the unspoken rules regarding the inheritance of the spoils. Since the Luther family won the war against the Sosis family fair and square, all the things left behind by the Sosis family should rightfully belong to the Luther family; including the timber business that you intend to take over. By going against the rule, you will be setting a precedent for this matter which can potentially cause chaos in the businessmunity. Moreover, mage families like yours might begin to exercise their powers to take whatever they want from the families versed in the business. This action of yours would therefore be shunned by the entire businessmunity in general and they might even oust you to prevent it from happening."

    "THEY DARE?" Calvin shouted at George as if he couldn''t believe that mere wealthy families dared to condemn his actions when he represented the most powerful family in the city.

    "Who knows? I am simply telling you to think of all the options avable to you before making a decision. Don''t be in a hurry and sleep on it first." George calmed the burning anger of the leader of Macrae family as he feared for his own safety. Therefore, he chose a specifically softer tone and palette of words to appease the wrath of Calvin.

    Although Calvin was quite touchy when it came to his authority and power in the city, he wasn''t averse to the logic of things. He tried to see things from George''s perspective and found that the things he had said were quite logical. As the meeting couldn''t help him reach the final decision, Calvin called it off and headed back to his mansion in the darkness of the night.

    Just as no one saw Calvin leave his home earlier, no one was able to detect him as he came back.

    The things he discussed with George were circling around his head the entire time. Pacing back and forth in the lounge, Calvin considered the various implications of his actions on his own business as well as the power bnce of the city. Unlike how he acted in front of George, Calvin was now cool headed and calm as he thought of the possible alternatives to this situation butpared to the sharp minded folks like the Elizabeth family, he really was muscle brained inparison. He was prone to his impulses as he took action based on his instincts whenever he felt a threat from someone or when he liked something like a local tyrant.

    Thanks to his unwillingness to reason orpromise, he was unable toe to an urate conclusion that would solve all his problems and wouldn''t cause him to face heavy repercussions of his choice.

    Had it not been for his daughter Sarah who was also resting on the couch close by, Calvin might have truly remained stuck in the same situation.

    Sarah stood up from the couch as she slowly circled around it and stood in front of Calvin before saying, "You don''t have to worry about what George said. He is not exactly selfless either in his advice. You don''t really think he was worried about you or our family suffering a loss. It is the exact opposite of that. George is a greedy man; much more than he lets on in front of you or in front of anyone for that matter. That is his persona; a mask that he uses for deception while pretending to be the well wisher. He warned you so that his rtions with our family won''t bepromised and at the same time he told you that he won''t be trying his hands on what rightfully belongs to the Luther family. The reason behind that isn''t because he isn''t interested but that he doesn''t want to offend either us or the Luther family until he is sure where he stands to gain the most benefit. That''s why he stated his position so ambiguously so that he can figure out a loophole to grab his share from amongst the wreckage left behind by the Sosis family."

    Calvin was always dumbfounded at how clever his daughter was. She was able to discern the hidden intentions behind a conversation that she wasn''t even a part of. She looked like she had gotten a good grasp of the situation just from his words. He couldn''t help but feel proud that the things that even left him pondering for days were solved so easily by his daughter.

 Chapter 88 88 Conjecture

    Just as he was wondering how his daughter had turned out to be so clever, Sarah continued her analysis of the situation.

    "I think that the business families will be making their moves soon as well. The Sosis family businesses are too attractive for anyone in our circle whether they be the mage families or the business oriented families. As far as I know the Elizabeth family, they must be ahead of everyone else. If I am not wrong, they will try to lead the opposition against the Luther family." Sarah stopped and looked at her father who was pondering her words with a serious look on his face.

    "What makes you think that? The things they stand to gain from the coboration with the Luther family are far too big for them to oppose them." Calvin couldn''t understand the logic behind his daughter''s assumption.

    "Of course, you are right. They would not want to oppose the Luther family at all. But one thing I am sure of is that the Elizabeth family would neverpromise on their family reputation. As the pioneering family of this city, they don''t endure a single blemish on their reputation. Therefore, they would try to oppose that dark mage in front of the general public in order to keep up their image and the goodwill of the public. But at the same time, they will try to make contact with Luther family for an under the table deal that stands to benefit the both of them. This way they will have room to maneuver as much as they want and still have the option of retreat avable without taking any responsibility or any risk to their own situation." Sarah exined in detail as to how she came up with her assumption.

    Calvin couldn''t help but nod in eptance of his daughter''s brilliance that shone even brighter than his light attribute magic. She was definitely his pride and his joy. After the death of his wife when they were both young, Calvin had never even thought of starting another rtionship. The wound left behind by his wife''s absence could not be healed by the presence of another woman. Therefore, Calvin did the only thing he could. He concentrated all his efforts and all his love in bringing up his daughter who was the only sce for his sad, miserable and lonely life.

    Thankfully, his daughter was a prodigy not only in the field of magic but also in anything she put her mind to. She was an all epassing talent who was capable of reaching the top in anything she did.

    The more she grew up, the more her beauty began to flourish. She now had a lovely face with razor sharp facial features and a petite figure that attracted the attention of anyone whoid his eyes on her.

    As the number of men chasing after her began to increase, her interest in men slowly began to deteriorate as no man was capable of catching her attention because she was better than most men in everything she did. And those who truly had potential of surpassing her failed to satisfy her criterion for character and manliness.

    Therefore, she began to believe that there was no man who was worthy of her consideration and hence there were countless men who still dreamed about the princess of the number one family of the city but none that actually managed to receive more than a look from the beauty in question.

    "I think that you are right. As far as I know George, he is the most cunning snake to have ever existed on the face of this world. There is no way that he would stay so passive when there was a piece of such a delicious cake in front of him. The only reason for him to do such a thing is if he stands to gain even more from this turn of events." Calvin shared his point of view with his daughter after hearing her analysis. He cursed George in his heart for being such a vicious snake and thanked gods for his beautiful and smart daughter for lighting up the path for him at the same time.

    "Dad, do you still want to take over the timber business? Even though George had ulterior motives, what he said about the deterioration of our existing businesses upon inclusion of timber business is actually true. We might suffer from those consequences since we don''t have the capacity to handle it all at the same time." Sarah asked as if she already had the solution.

    She managed to arouse his curiosity as Calvin hurriedly asked, "You already know the answer to that. I do want that business but how do I do it without causing chaos in our backyard?"

    Sarah gave an enigmatic smile as she already expected her father''s answer. She didn''t know about anything else, but when it came to her father, she was confident in being right one hundred percent of the time. Therefore, she had already prepared a solution that would serve her father''s interests best.

    "Since George is aiming to get as much profit as possible without offending both the families, we just need to make an offer that he won''t be able to refuse."

    "Why would I give that snake anything? Wouldn''t that just help him reach his goals faster? We would be ying right into his hands in that case." Calvin was slightly outraged at the solution but he couldn''t exactly get mad at his daughter. Therefore, he looked like an old man who was grumbling at not being able to have his way in the household.

    Sarah knew her father was going to be dissatisfied with the solution so she had her arguments ready to appease him.

    "Then do you want to let go of this business opportunity?" Sarah smirked at her father knowing full well what the answer was going to be.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "OF COURSE NOT" Calvin yelled in frustration as he looked at his daughter for the answer.

    "Then listen to me. George is a necessary evil. If we let it be, he will most likely cooperate with the Luther family and would still be able to receive the benefits he wants. Being the head of a business family gives him that much privilege. If you aren''t ready to pay something in return, you can''t exactly win that timber business without suffering from the consequences."

    "Fine, tell me what you have in mind." Calvin at least opened himself to her suggestions regarding cooperation with the Elizabeth family.

    Sarah and Calvin had already arrived at the conclusion that George''s primary objective was to maximize profits without causing any offense to the concerned parties.

    Therefore, Sarah wanted to help George achieve that objective.

    "To do this we need to propose a strategic trade-off. It is going to be a strategic partnership between the two families; one with expertise in business and other with magic prowess. Basically, we will offer George 20% of our iron ore business in exchange for exclusive rights to the timber business. We will leverage the twenty percent of iron ore reserves to secure a steady supply of timber which has a yield of up to ten times the profit from the iron ore mining business. Through this partnership, we can not only involve him in our business and seek help in rounding out all the chaos in our business portfolio but we can also expand into the timber business without suffering from any of the managerial disadvantages of business expansion."

    "I cannot ept that." Calvin utterly disagreed with Sarah on this point. He feared that his daughter was acting too naively. The real world didn''t follow such principles. There was distrust, espionage, sabotage and predation at every turn. He couldn''t just give easy ess to his business on a silver tter to a snake like George. That would be like inviting a wolf into his own home.

    "Why is that?" Sarah asked as she yed along with her father. She knew that her point of view was too different for her father to ept easily. Therefore, she was revealing all the surprises in a step by step manner in order to convince her father using his own words.

    "Why don''t you just hand over our businesses to George for safekeeping? Wouldn''t that solve all our business problems since your father is too ipetent to handle it?" Calvin retorted sarcastically as he tried to highlight the problems with her suggestion.

    "Dad, tell me. If I do that, would George be willing to take over your business?" Sarah asked innocently as if she didn''t understand the sarcasm in his tone at all.

    "How would he dare? He would die before he dared to even think of such a thing."

    And that was when Calvin realized that he had been ying around his daughter''s little finger all this time. She wanted him to find the answer himself.

    "This little impбн" Calvin released the breath that he had been holding in and let out a sigh.

    "So that''s what you are leveraging this onбнyour dad''s prowess." Calvin realized the basis of Sarah''s nning. The basis of this unreasonable n was Calvin''s ability to rein in the greed of the Elizabeth family and make use of the partnership to take control of their own businesses.

    The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the n was practically wless as long as Calvin reigned supreme in terms of power in the Elizabeth city. As long as someone didn''t surpass him, the partnership with Elizabeth family would be a golden eggying chicken for times toe.

 Chapter 89 89 Fire Water

    Seeing the effect of her scheme, Sarah continued to pour oil on the rising embers.

    "If you propose such a deal, even George would feel tempted. Since he is a businessman, he wouldn''t be able to refuse a deal like this which came with practically no risk and high return.

    бн

    Luther family estate

    Bruce punched the table in front of him in anger with enough force to st through the table made of polished wood and ss. And this wasn''t the first time, he was doing this either. Ever since he hade back from visiting his father, he had been acting in the same way.

    In fact, after his little talk with Barry, Bruce had been too angry to stay with his father. He needed to get his emotions under control since he knew what was waiting for his family in the future. The fact that Elizabeth family was interested in the fortune that he was bound to receive, was only a premonition to what would being next. After all, Elizabeth family wasn''t the only influential family in the city. There were other vultures as well who would be waiting for their turn.

    Even though he hadn''t shown his anger in front of Barry, Bruce''s insides had been roiling with righteous indignation. He had won those things fair and square but he knew that this city wouldn''t let him take control of all of it.

    Therefore, he had returned right home after the meeting to think of a solution. And he had been in this wrathful stale ever since.

    Of course, had it been before Bruce met Zach; he would have just kept it all in without revealing his feelings. He previously needed to take into consideration the effect his outburst would have on the family and his sister. And another reason was that he knew that there was no one else who would be able to solve his problems so he had to rely on himself.

    But now he was free to shout out loud and scream about the injustice he had to suffer every single time just because his family standing was low. The reason was that there was at least one person who was able to face it all with him and was able to solve his problems if decided to intervene.

    "All our efforts went to the gutter. Those bastards won''t even leave soup for us after eating all the meat that was supposed to be ours." Bruce fumed as he let out his grievances to Zach who was patiently listening to him without uttering a single word which made Bruce want to vent out a little more.

    "Those bastards from the Macrae family and those snakes of the Elizabeth family stole all the loot we were supposed to take from the wreckage of Sosis family. It should have been given to us and yet those shameless bastards distributed everything among themselves as if we aren''t here."

    Bruce punched the table again and the hearts of the people in the room shook with the forceful impact.

    "Stop acting like that. Can''t you see that you are scaring everyone?" Zach finally couldn''t handle his impatience. He liked the previous Bruce who always acted calm despite having been in an even tougher position.

    To Zach, It looked like Bruce had be worse after he shed off the burden he had been carrying before.

    Bruce stopped as soon as he was scolded by Zach. He looked around him and saw the terrified expressions on the faces of his guards and the servants standing near the wall. They had been trying to make themselves invisible as their master rained his wrath on everything he could find.

    "I''m sorry. It''s just that I can''t swallow this injustice even though you risked your life for this result." Bruce seemed truly apologetic as he lowered his slightly and the tone of his voice became more solemn.

    "All of you please leave the hall."

    Zach addressed the servants in the hall and then looked at the guards who were standing beside the huge wooden door connecting to a hallway that led to the inner chambers of the mansion before saying, "And you twoбнplease close the door on your way out."

    After sending out all the people in the room, Zach finally turned towards who was fiddling with something on the table in his nervousness and bottled up anger.

    "What do you n to do about it then? Are you nning to scare your family into jumping ship?" Zach chided him in order to bring him back to the realm of logic and strategies. From his current outlook, Zach could infer the dandy Bruce from before the previous patriarch''s demise. He was definitely impulsive enough to be a rich young master who liked to act tough on the city streets.

    "What elseбнwe need to secure some other form ofpensation from the two families at the very least. We need them to at least give us some soup if they are going to snatch our steak from our very mouths." Bruce replied in an even tone. He seemed to have calmed down after the periodic scolding from Zach.

    When Zach heard his words, he couldn''t help but curse in his heart.

    "How can the head of a family think like a beggar?"

    "What is this child y? All of you are acting like children fighting over cheap candies. Those so called big families try to monopolize everything that they can get their hands on and you are satisfied with receiving bread crumbs after the things that should rightfully belong to you were stolen from you. This is extremely ridiculous. Just how narrow minded all of you have to be to reach such a situation?" Zach thought to himself as he ridiculed all the involved parties for ying war games when they should have been doing business.

    He felt that a businessman should know how to increase the size of the pie that he would receive instead of trying to hoard the pie himself.

    Even he knew that thetter would only result in unnecessary war and the former would be lead to a win-win situation for everyone involved.

    But the dumb pricks were unable to look holistically at the situation and ended up creating the current situation where no one was satisfied with the result.

    "Stop your useless worrying. I will think of a solution for you. Just stop darkening the colorful and joyful atmosphere of the house with your useless gloom and depression." Zach agreed to help Bruce since he couldn''t stay put after witnessing the attitude of the families involved.

    In his heart, Zach was thinking of developing the Luther family to the fullest of his capabilities. With his knowledge of the previous world and the countless possibilities provided by this new world, Zach was confident in raising the position of the Luther family in Elizabeth city in no time.

    But for that, he needed to take a look at the current situation of the family from a first person perspective.

    "Where do you deal with the official matters of the family? I need to take a look at your current assets and the details of the businesses under the Luther families. I need to know what your specialties are and what your trading policies are regarding those specialties." Zach listed all of the things he needed in order to understand the business structure of the Luther family in Elizabeth city.

    "All of it is in the study; everything you asked for is in there." Bruce replied with excitement in his eyes. Even though Zach was an outsider and shouldn''t be allowed to look at those secrets, they were long past that point. His sister already considered him her master and he had showed life saving grace to his family at more than one asion. This was the least amount of trust he could put in his savior.

    Zach didn''t wait for him and barged out by pushing the wooden doors albeit with some difficulty. He did have the urge to st through them using hot weapons but controlled his destructive urges since this was currently his house too.

    pидзсdив-и╛?ж═и║ж╔.зуиозо Bruce followed after him excitedly as he made his way towards the study.

    "Ok bring everything." Bruce called for a servant with red rimmed sses and asked her to present every piece of information that Zach had previously requested.

    Zach carefully read through the bundles of files that recorded each and every asset under the Luther family, the amount of capital that was currently stuck in the businesses and the liabilities umted over the period of time due to foolish investments. Next was the inventory of stocks for the various businesses that Luther family was running.

    Zach segregated the useful data from the garbage and a neat stockpile of files was created as result.

    "Please take the rest of the files away. I have no further need of them." said Zach as he turned towards the files he had separated for review.

    Bruce looked at the servant with the red rimmed sses who looked like a proper secretary from the medieval ages in her attire. Receiving the signal from Bruce, she did as Zach told her and cleaned up most of the space on the table.

    While reviewing the catalogue of Luther family assets, he found an abnormality. There seemed to be a strange substance listed amongst the indigenous resources of the Luther family. It wasbeled as ''fire water''.

    "What is this fire water? Is it some kind of magical mineral?" Zach asked curiously since the area containing the fire water was listed amongst the mining regions.

 Chapter 90 90 Oil

    "It is not something important. This is only a poor quality resource used as a burning material by the majority of the masses who are unable to use magic. But there is a problem in its usage that diminishes its value as a fuel source. The thick ck smoke it produces upon burning can mar any infrastructure and color it ck. Moreover, the unpleasant smell and poisonous substances emitted during the burning process lowers its value in the eyes of those who have sufficient buying power. Only those who cannot buy better products like firewood opt for this cheap and difficult to use fuel." Bruce gave a long exnation regarding the fire water as he felt that Zach must be a young master of some hidden force and he might not have seen such a thing before in his life.

    Zach felt oddly familiar with the characteristics of this fire water. He felt that he was on cusp of a huge discovery but couldn''t be sure. Therefore, he trusted his gut instinct and asked Bruce to show him the ce where they mined this fire water from.

    Bruce couldn''t understand why Zach wanted to visit such an unprofitable ce even though he had already exined the characteristics of the fire water to him and how useless it actually was in terms of the sales.

    Still, he couldn''t exactly say no to Zach after requesting his help.

    An hourter, Bruce and Zach got off of the carriage that they used to travel to the fire water mining region. Zach found that thend was strangely damp even though there was no greenery in the vicinity. But that was only natural considering the fact that thisnd had fire water which was inherently a destructive burning material that released harmful fumes on burning.

    The secretary like servant led the path and took them towards the mining area where the field manager would take over the tour of the facility.

    There wasn''t much manpower as this was an especially neglected produce that was not as profitable as the degree of investment required for its extraction.

    The secretary soon switched position with the person who was in charge of this instation.

    "This is the exact ce from where we extract the fire water. No matter how much we take out, thend seems to be able to produce more of it as it is practically inexhaustible. If only this was some other substance. Even a freshwater reservoir would have been better than this. The value of thend would have doubled if that had been the case."

    The man in charge of the fire water extraction nt seemed to be quite low on motivation.

    "Let me see. Bring me some of that fire water for inspection."

    Bruce indicated to the field manager to listen to Zach''s orders and the man rushed off into the distance beforeing back with a ss jar in hand.

    "Here, this is fire water. It is practically harmless in its liquid form except when you bring it into contact with any kind of fire."

    Zach dipped the tip of his index finger in the fire water in order to test it. He rubbed it using his thumb and index finger and couldn''t believe what he was seeing. The soapy feel was very familiar to him. Even the color reminded him of something from his previous world.

    "Take me to the ce where you are extracting this ''fire water''." Zach asked the field manager as he took the jar containing fire water from him in order to confirm whether his conjecture was actually true or not.

    The manager didn''t think much of it as the Luther family head himself hade to escort this person who looked as young as the youngdy of the Luther family. He assumed that Zach was some big shot who hade out into the world for learning.

    He led the entourage to the excavation point where several mages were gathered together.

    "Everyone on the count of threeбнoneбнtwoбнthreeбн"

    The mage who was leading them finished his count and all the mages gathered together used their mana to cast a spell simultaneously. But the effect wasn''t as exaggerated as their number.

    Even though there were a lot of mages there, not a single one of them was higher than F rank. That was the reason that so many of them had been employed for a single job.

    "Why are you using such a low end method for extraction? I think a single E rank or D rank mage should be able to handle the job alone. Why bother hiring so many useless mages?" Zach asked as he looked at the extraction process in real time which was by no means even the slightest bit efficient.

    It wasn''t the field manager who replied to his question but Bruce who already knew the reason behind this.

    "Fire water is not a profitable business to begin with. Hiring an E rank mage is more of a financial burden than hiring a hundred or so of such F rank mages. Therefore, in the longer run hiring a plethora of F rank mages can be better for a low profit business resource like fire water. In order to sustain our profit margin, we need to cut costs during the extraction process or it would just cause us to go into loss."

    Zach understood the concept behind it but if this fire water was what he thought it was, then this was sheer ignorance on the part of the Luther family and the people of this world who couldn''t even bring out it its true worth.

    There were tworge pipes that had been dug deep into the ground at the extraction point. The mages all summoned their wind element and pumped air into one of the pipes. As a result the pressure gradient forced the oil underground to rise up as a result which was then collected into a cylindrical container that the pipe was connected to.

    It didn''t take long for Zach to understand the mechanism and therefore, he didn''t ask about the excavation process from the field manager.

    Zach couldn''t help but feel that the manager looked relieved that Zach wasn''t asking any more questions.

    After checking the contents of the cylindrical container, Zach was more than sure about the true identity of this mineral resource the aborigines called fire water. Their ignorance truly knew no bounds as they had dubbed the most important resource from his previous world as useless and cheap.

    This thing they called ''fire water'' was in fact oil; raw oil that had yet to be undergo the fractional distition that could then yield various petroleum products that Zach knew from his previous world.

    Thinking of this discovery, Zach couldn''t help but remember those oil rich countries that ended up owning half the world based on these resources.

    "It seems that the luck of this Luther family hasn''t run out yet." Zach muttered to himself as he turned around to face Bruce who had been waiting for him to finish his survey before returning home.

    Even Bruce was caught off guard when Zach uttered his next words with a huge smile that covered half his face.

    "Bruce, Luther family just found a first ss ticket to wealth and power. Your family has the potential to leave behind even the greatest families of this city. Luther family''s rise will be too fast for the historians to record it. Mark my words."

    Bruce felt as if his tongue had stopped listening to him as no words came out of his mouth as if it had been sealed shut by some external force.

    If the words hade out of someone else''s mouth, Bruce might have dismissed them as ravings of some mad man. But these same words had been uttered by the miraculous Zach who had shown him miracles greater than the limits of his imagination.

    At that moment, Bruce became sure that his family was at the precipice of entering into an era of unimaginable prosperity that had never been seen before; not even during the time when his father used to be the head of the family.

    бн

    A yground somewhere in the middle of Luther family estate

    After a lot of discussion with Bruce, a discussion which seemed to have gone over Bruce''s headpletely, Zach asked Bruce to arrange for the excess servants of the household to gather at one ce. For discretion, the ce that had been chosen was this yground for the children of those servants.

    Scores of servants were jumbled up together even though the yground was wide enough for all of them to stay at afortable distance. The fact that they were all huddled up together only told the story of how nervous they were at being called together like this by the master of the household.

    "Tskбнhis earlier outburst seems to have made them all nervous." Zach thought as he looked at the changed Bruce with a small degree of annoyance.

    Zach raised his eyebrows as he tilted his head sideways slightly to signal Bruce to begin with what they had discussed earlier.

    Bruce understood the signal instantly and began to y the part he had been tasked with by Zach in his master n to bring glory to the Luther family.

    "Listen up everyone."

    Several of the servants began whispering among themselves as soon as Bruce attracted their attention in a loud tone.

    "Do you think Master wants to throw us out?" An elderly male who had served the Luther family almost his whole life voiced out his fears.

 Chapter 91 91 Apprentices

    "NahбнI think that he wants to take out his anger on us." This one was a young one with a loose mouth who ended up scaring the soul out of the poor servants.

    "I agreeбнwe all saw how angry he was yesterday." The servants found this to be the most probable option and soon all of them were following the same line of thought.

    "Or maybe he is angry because of us."

    "Quiet down and listen to what I have to say instead of whispering among yourselves." Bruce yelled in a loud tone as he scolded these people a bit for showing such an attitude in front of Zach.

    A hush spread over the crowd as everyone became attentive towards Bruce and not a single one of them dared to look elsewhere afterwards.

    Satisfied, Bruce continued with the announcement.

    "Out of all of the servants under my Luther family, you all who have gathered here will get a once in a lifetime offer to be the apprentice of our benefactor, Zach. Don''t be afraid. No one will force you to do it. If you don''t want to then you can continue doing what you have been doing for the Luther family. But those amongst you, who want to change your lives by receiving the tutge of Master Zach, get towards my right side. But be sure of your decision because once you decide on this matter, you won''t be allowed to change your mind."

    Bruce finished with the announcement and let the servants decide for themselves. He looked at Zach while wondering if this was the right move. Bruce was the master of the family after all. It would have been quite easy for Bruce to give some of these servants to Zach but Zach had insisted on this method instead.

    What Zach needed was people who were able to think for themselves instead of having their path plotted out by someone else. He needed people with imagination and the daring to question the world as he wanted to teach them the principles of science and its magic.

    Even after the announcement, there was no movement amongst the people and Bruce felt that whatever it was that Zach had been nning to do had failed spectacrly. He looked at Zach as if asking about what to do next.

    Thankfully Zach didn''t hang him out to dry and took over for him.

    "All of you can be my apprentices if you want but you have to choose it for yourselves. I want you all to choose whether to live a life without any progress and die without achieving anything at the end of it. Or you can offer your loyalty to me and learn principles of this world that not even the greatest of all the mages can ever hope to discover. What I need from you isn''t your capability; I can make all of you capable on my own. What I do require is yourplete and unreserved loyalty and your utmost discretion. So don''t be afraid and make a decision for your future."

    Unlike Bruce''s words, Zach''s monologue aroused a deep desire in all the people; a desire to do something greater and a desire to follow after the man who had created miracle after miracle in front of them.

    Some of the servants were moved by Zach''s words and moved towards Bruce''s right side. They had decided to put their trust in Zach who was promising them a better life for themselves and their families.

    Usually ves of humble origins like them never received a chance to improve their standing amongst the society no matter how much they toiled in their lives. But Zach was not only trying to help them escape the chains but was also going to teach them himself. They couldn''t think of a greater honor than this. Therefore, they chose to change their lives with their own hands by following after Zach with all their loyalty and sincerity.

    Most of those who decided to follow Zach were those who had witnessed his greatness with their own eyes as he saved the Luther family from their doom. The rest had either heard of his deeds or admired him for some other reason.

    Still there wasn''t as big a change as Zach had expected. Even though there were hundreds of servants in the ground, there were only a few dozen that agreed to learn from Zach. The rest were either indecisively whispering amongst themselves or werepletely indifferent to the offer. For such individuals, servility had seeped deep into their bones and had made them incapable of independent thought. They had long since epted their fates. Therefore, Zach felt that it was no use trying to motivate them.

    Bruce made the rest of the servants take their leave as he felt pity for these people who had failed to avail the opportunity of their lifetimes.

    "I assure you that you won''t forget this day for the rest of your lives." Zach said in a loud tone to those who had stayed behind and would be his loyal followers and apprentices in the future. These people would be the pioneers of science and technology in this world and Zach would be their teacher.

    The people who chose to stay behind and follow Zach were all swept by emotions as Zach took them all under his wing. They couldn''t get their heads around the fact that all of them had be Zach''s apprentices and would only have to answer to him in the future. They felt that ves like them did not deserve so much respect and attention from the master. Had it been anyone else, he might have just ordered them as he wished but Zach had given them a choice and freedom of thought. Just that was enough for the servants to swear their eternal allegiance to the benefactor who literally saved their lives in the past and was still trying to save them now.

    Before long, it was time to proceed towards the next step of Zach''s n.

    He ushered in his new students towards a room that had been established near the ground where Zach had called all the servants previously. There were desks and chairs lined in an orderly fashion from the front to the back. Of course, this was going to be the ssroom where Zach intended to teach the fundamentals to these students.

    Zach stood at the podium with his hands resting on the surface as he fiddled with his lecture notes. He waited for the students to fill in until the queue in front of him thinned out and eventually drizzled to a stop.

    Zach could feel genuine excitement from his first students. Although they were illiterate their passion to learn something new, especially from someone of a high caliber like Zach was practically bursting. Their eyes looked like those of a hungry beast that wanted to devour everything in its path.

    After the servants had all chosen a seat for themselves and settled down on to it, Zach finally began to deliver the lecture that he had nned for them. Since the servants were all illiterate and hardly anyone out of them was a learned person, Zach could only teach them through pictures that he had already arranged with the help of a talented artist who drew the whole process of fractional distition of crude oil on paper.

    With the help of such diagrams, Zach had created acking version of a PowerPoint presentation in a printed format that even the people of Stone Age could have understood if they wanted to. Zach used a big board with a tripod as a support below it to disy these slides one by one to the servants so that they could understand the distition process of the crude oil and each of the products that they could get from it in a sequential manner just like the modern world presentations that he remembered. Of course, this presentation required him to turn over pages like a book instead of clicking to change the slide.

    The servants couldn''t help but be shocked to learn about the advantages of each product that they were extracting from the fire water which they now learned was called crude oil.

    The more they learned, the more they began to understand the power of the divine knowledge they were receiving through Zach.

    And Zach made sure that they learned everything about each of the products distilled from crude oil so that they could easily identify it and could make use of it when required.

    The women seemed especially excited to learn of a product called petroleum jelly that could be used as a skincare product that could moisturize the skin and turn it softer just through its application.

    They could not wait to actually experience it for themselves, these divine miracles that Zach taught them about.

    Of course, Zach didn''t n on starting a new religion here. Therefore, he constantly reiterated to them that what he was teaching them was neither magic nor a divine revtion but the product of human mind and it was capable of through its application known as science.

    But Zach couldn''t actually control their thoughts that were limited by theirck of knowledge and illiteracy.

    For example, when an illiterate individual suddenlyes to learn the secrets of the world that even the most learned person couldn''t begin to understand, he would only interpret this secret as a part of some divine knowledge. The reason is that it is easier for him toprehend it that way because he has never been taught the power of knowledge before. He only understands that extremes of all the powers are in fact divinity.

 Chapter 92 92 Respected

    But when you deny that concrete concept, and show him the power of humans through science, the man can onlypromise with his sanity and turn that human into a god to keep him from going insane. His mind does not have the capacity to entertain this thought since his horizons had been constrained since birth. He cannot bring himself to believe that a human could be so capable without the use of magic.

    So Zach had topromise and let them believe what they wanted with apromise that no one discuss this topic in the ss with him.

    As a result, the efficiency of the learning process kept increasing. Ironically, it turned out that it was easier for the people to understand the same knowledge when theybeled it as divine magic instead of the work of humans.

    Zach started out with the description and usage of all products based on crude oil and its distition process and led them towards lotive driving and repair which he was nning to venture into soon. He nned to revolutionize transportation in this world that still relied on horses to pull the carriage. He could swear that all the humans in this world had grown dumber in the presence of magic.

    Thanks to this knowledge having attained the rank of divinity in the eyes of the servants, they treated it as a treasure of immense value and did their best to learn whatever was given to them. Zach was pleased with the results as well and didn''t bother with the fact that the people had begun to treat him more and more like a god.

    Of course, part of the reason for that was that he already had some experience with these kinds of situations. The more he tried to exin, the weirder their thoughts would be.

    It didn''t take long for the servants to embark on the path to enlightenment that Zach had nned for them.

    Zach became content with their progress after just a few days and only asionally oversaw some of the practical experiments that were part of the curriculum he had designed.

    The process of the transformation of the servants into factory workers went on smoothly and Zach became focused on the other tasks that he had been pushing back until then.

    бн

    "бнI can''t believe he shared such secrets with poor servants like us."

    "How can we understand the intentions of a god?"

    Diana overheard her handmaidens discussing something in a whispering tone. She wondered who they were talking about and especially put an ear out for any such discussion.

    "Do you think that a thing that can make our skin softer really exists?" One of the handmaidens asked while fantasizing.

    Which woman wouldn''t want to get prettier? Even these handmaidens weren''t oblivious to that. So petroleum jelly had naturally be the most discussed topic amongst them.

    "Then what reason do you think our god would have to lie to us?" the remaining handmaiden retorted in annoyance as if she couldn''t believe that the other handmaiden would dare to doubt Zach''s teachings.

    Diana found it a little odd that the servants of the Luther family were worshipping Zach as their god even though Zach himself insisted that he was anything but.

    She couldn''t help but feel a little paranoid even though Zach was her life savior and her master who had taught her how to use a gun and had given her the ability to protect herself and her dear ones.

    At the same time, she too became interested in that skincare product that her maids kept on referring to. Maybe she could ask Zach to give her some of it as well.

    The more she witnessed the worsening condition of the servants of the household, the more Diana felt that she should talk to her big brother about it. This way she would at least be relieved of one of her worries that kept on haunting her.

    Lately she had grown somewhat ustomed to the changes in her handmaidens but the worry regarding her brother had begun to sprout in her heart. She was afraid that her big brother had also turned into a fanatic like the servants after following after Zach this whole time. She was increasingly thinking about the mental and psychological state of her brother after receiving so much knowledge from Zach.

    Therefore, making up her mind firmly she went to her brother''s room for a thorough discussion on the topic.

    She knocked at the door lightly like a proper girl from the elite families and waited for her brother to answer from the inside.

    "Come in~"

    Diana wondered if she had heard wrong. Her brother''s voice sounded somewhat different from usual. It sounded happier to her. But then she shook her head as if toe back to reality and opened the door to get inside.

    As soon as she entered the room, she found Bruce in front of the study table looking at somerge charts that could only be one of those diagrams that the servants kept discussing so fervently these days.

    Panic arose in her heart as she imagined her brother acting like those groupies with stars shining in their eyes while beingpletely devoted to her master Zach.

    Thankfully, her brother soundedpletely normal as he called out to her with a smile like he always did.

    "Oh~ Diana,e on in. Don''t stand at the door."

    "Mmm~" Diana tried to get some words out but she forgot what to say in her earlier panic. Therefore she only made a small sound for acknowledgement and closed the door behind her beforeing over to take a look at the chart that her brother was analyzing.

    She too was curious as to what it was that made Zach''s status take a sudden hike like this.

    She tried her best to analyze the diagram but failed to make any sense out of it. She wondered how the servants were taught to interpret such things.

    Not paying any more attention to the chart on the table, Diana decided to address the issue with her brother directly.

    "Brother, have you noticed any changes in the servantstely? It looks like they would even be willing to go against you should master tell them to. What are you doing exactly?"

    Her words were sharp and stinging. She didn''t hold back despite the fact that she was talking to her beloved big brother.

    "Should I be worried?" Bruce retorted with a question and an expression that said, "You are being overcautious."

    Diana became incensed at this disy of indifference by Bruce even though he was the family head and should have taken these things into consideration before her reminder.

    "Of course you should. Do I have to tell you that? What if master turned out to be a bad guy and decided to oust our family from our own home? Have you thought about that or have you thrown caution to the wind already like those fanatics you are growing with master?"

    Of course the fanatics she was referring to were the servants who were currently under the tutge of Zach and were learning the higher concepts of science and were training to be useful workforce for him.

    "So what if he does? You should know that whatever we have today, even our very lives are due to his grace. The fact that you are confident and powerful enough to say such things to me is also because of him. And yet you want me to doubt him when I can''t thank him enough already." Bruce calmly answered her as if her worries were unfounded and she was just being paranoid but that just made her angrier.

    "Why don''t you just give over your leadership to master and make him the new family head? Of course master has helped us out so much and is still helping us but have you thought that you might just be burdening him by allowing these people to deify him like this?"

    Bruce felt her frustration and could understand where she wasing from but that didn''t mean that he had the ability to control things as she was expecting.

    "Diana, if I could control it, I would have already done so. The fact that Zach has pulled off feats that aren''t less than miracles doesn''t help much in suppressing the voices trying to deify him. Can you think of any other human who is this capable? Even S rank mages can''t augment a low rank mage to kill of a group of higher level mages like picking off ants, can they?"

    Even Diana didn''t have any words to retort his argument. Bruce had tossed a low ball this time. Hisst words were of course referring to Diana and the way she had ughtered so many of Raisman''s men when they came after her.

    When Bruce felt that his words were taking effect, he struck the iron while it was still hot and pushed on.

    "I am not worried that Zach would end up bing the next leader of the Luther family at all. Because even if he does, I believe he would make a good leader who would treat you and our family well. As for those deifying him, I think we don''t have the right to denounce someone else''s faith. The more we will try to suppress it, the more it will bounce back and be ingrained in their minds. Also, Zach has earned himself the right to their worship. The knowledge he has imparted them and the favor he has shown them is far heavier than their lifelong loyalty and their worship."

 Chapter 93 93 Conference

    Bruce still didn''t say everything that was on his mind. In fact he had a lot of trust in Zach but didn''t want Diana to be angrier than she already was after finding out that her brother had be a lot like those fanatics. Inwardly Bruce felt that Zach would never take over his position because he didn''t seem like such a person who would backstab his friends.

    Thanks to Bruce''s timely fire fighting and apt situational reading, Diana''s earlier anger vanished as if it had never been there in the first ce. What reced it was just frustration; pure unadulterated frustration that made her want to pull her hair out. It wasn''t that she was against Zach in any way. She too felt grateful to him but the fact that their family had started to seem like his from some time ago made her somewhat unsettled and even slightly agitated.

    While all this fiasco with Bruce, Diana and the servants was going on, Zach was close to dying. He felt that his life had be so hectic that he barely had any time for himself. He had never been so busy even in the previous world where there were means to keep him busy. But even though this world had no such thing, Zach still felt like his schedule was nned down to thest minute. For the first time in his life, he felt like he could stand alongside those rich billionaires who think of their time as money and act all cool about it in dramas and movies.

    The primary duty that Zach needed to perform every day had never changed since his time in the forest. And that was feeding his lovely Luna every day. Zach knew how Luna felt about him and knew about her mood swings that came every time he dyed their sessions. Therefore, in order to lead a happier and peaceful lifestyle, Zach never denied her.

    But these days, Zach was doing it for an entirely different reason. He was even being more proactive than necessary but Luna was thoroughly enjoying it. He had even had to miss a few lectures just so he could roll around in bed with her a few times more.

    The reason was that he needed to unlock new equipment in the Weapons Arsenal. This time he was in dire need of trucks that had a low unlocking rate. Therefore, he was putting in more effort than normal and was absorbing the energy from Luna at an increased pace.

    Countless notifications popped up during this time but he was only able to unlock a few of the trucks that he needed. For his vision regarding the establishment of a transport chain in this new world, Zach needed a lot more of those.

    Thankfully, he had nned out everything in advance and had given himself more than enough time to arrange everything. For now things were going in the right direction. He just needed to confine himself to the room with Luna for a few more weeks during which the technical expertise of the servants would increase even more.

    Not to mention, the pleasure of ying with an overly affectionate Luna was pulling at his heart strings and was making him submit to the bliss of the little pink world that the two had established in their room.

    бн

    A whole month passed during which many events took ce that further shaped Zach''s vision for the future. The servants became somewhat capable of handling the technical and scientific aspects of their duties and understood the logic and importance behind their tasks.

    Meanwhile, Bruce sent out invitations to all the noteworthy families of the Elizabeth city whether they be big shots or budding and rising families. The reason for this huge gathering nned by the Luther family was none other than theunch of their new product.

    Knowing the need for marketing a new product, Zach asked Bruce to not hold back and to bring out the big guns this time because their product was bound to make waves. Zach knew the worth of his products and he wanted the whole city to know about it as well.

    Therefore, Zach had also given some instructions as to how to publicize the news and the ways to promote their product.

    Since the main customers for the product were the elite families of the city, Zach had asked Bruce to insist that the product was going to revolutionize the lifestyle of these elites. This approach was the best because where there is an abundance of wealth, material things and the lifestyle determined one''s worth. For example, a wealthy man driving a Volkswagen and amon man are no different. To satisfy his vanity, the wealthy man must have an eye catching style or an eye catching ride like a Ferrari to cause eyes to turn towards him.

    This was a product akin to Ferrari since Zach was nning to revolutionize the transportation industry from animal driven to mechanical. The word ''luxury'' was going to be redefined.

    Therefore, even the invitations said,

    "You are cordially invited to our estate for theunch of our new product that will revolutionize your current lifestyle and will change it in ways that you haven''t even imagined yet.

    For the first time ever, magic will cross over to the mundane and will be avable for those who cannot wield magic. Please be our witness as we the ''Luther family'' take the first step towards progress in the name of mankind as a whole."

    The invitation made so many families unable to contain their curiosity as various among the invited sent over their people under the veil of the darkness to get a look at the activities of the Luther family. But thanks to the security measures taken by Zach, none of them were able to even get close to the Luther family estate.

    Rumors spread that the new dark mage had spread a death trap around the Luther family and anyone who stepped into it without prior permission from the household would die an untimely death. Thanks to the rumors, no new attempts at espionage and information gathering took ce near the Luther family home and their activities continued in peace and the preparations for the productunch nearedpletion.

    The top families that had been unable to gather any information were frustrated. They too had their own businesses and were wondering whether this new product would end up rendering any of their own businesses obsolete.

    Other than that, there was also curiosity that wouldn''t let them rest at ease. Up to that point, Zach had only pulled off feats that were close to miracles and these top families knew that. The fact that this new product was being promoted on such a grand scale told them the actual worth of the product and they both wanted to be a part of it if possible.

    The productunch had be a popr topic amongst the rich as the rising Luther family had created a huge hype regarding the topic from as early as three weeks before the actualunch date.

    The families even tried to approach the members of the household in an attempt to find someone who was willing to be a mole or someone who would leak the information to them. But to their misfortune, some of the servants didn''t know anything at all and the others who were in the know were so tight lipped that even bribes as high as the sky were unable to shake off their fanatical loyalty.

    When underhanded means failed and no family was able to acquire any kind of information regarding the project, they could only resort to using friendly means.

    Therefore both the families sent their special envoys in order to extend their congrattions on what seemed to be a sessful venture. And at the same time both showed their interest in investing in their product on the pretense that they were worried that the product wouldn''t be able to see the light due to the pressure of the other families. After all the Luther family had spent too much on promotion and thought that they might becking in funds now. On the same pretext, the families wanted to preview the item so that they could invest more if the Luther family could convince them that the product had true business value.

    Of course their feeble attempt was seen through by Bruce in a second. Because the Luther family not only did not need any funds but also wouldn''tck investment once the product was unveiled. The reason was that Bruce knew the effect that this product would have on the world and was therefore confident of attracting investment after the productunch. In fact he was sure that families and businessmen would soon be dying to invest in their product.

    Bruce didn''t entertain the envoys for very long and after a delicious supper, he excused himself and asked the guards to escort out the esteemed guests with respect.

    Of course the envoys had been tasked with getting as much information as possible from the Luther family manor. But to their horror, not even a little bit of information could be gleaned from all the parts of the household they visited; almost as if it had all been carefully nned by the Luther family leader Bruce.

    бн

    Not long after, the appointed day dawned and various families from different parts of the city took their beautiful gilded carriages with intricate designs and metalwork to one specific corner of the city where the residence of the Luther family had always been.

 Chapter 94 94 DianaтАЩs Speech

    Guards had been positioned outside the perimeter of the Luther family household for this event. Since the scale of it was going to be quite grandiose, there were even greater chances that someone was going to cause trouble. Bruce had therefore positioned them in the most suitable position to stop any unauthorized ess and to stop any trouble from reaching the productunch location.

    The location for the event was none other than the same yground where the servants had been gathered before everything began. It felt quite fitting to bring the uninitiated to this ce to show them the wonders of science and human technology.

    A stage had been established in the middle of the ground with a huge board on a tripod stand which had been covered by a cloth as if to create even more suspense. Bruce was standing in the center while Diana stood beside the presentation board with her eyes on her brother who was going to be the star of the day.

    Bruce hade up with the idea of using Zach''s earlier presentation as the model for the productunch ceremony.

    The reason was that Zach''s presentations had be quite popr amongst the servants and even Bruce and Diana quite liked the way Zach delivered his lectures and the presentation made it easy for them to understand the higher concepts that Zach taught them every day.

    The crowd kept whispering among themselves as they wondered what was beneath that cloth to create such hype in the city. They forced down their urge to snatch that sheet away to reveal the thing hidden underneath it as they let out their frustrations by talking to each other.

    "I wee you all to this productunch ceremony of my Luther family. This is the first time for me hosting an event such as this so I hope you will forgive me for any mistakes or omission." Bruce began his announcement once the representatives of the major families had all arrived on the scene and had been seated by the servants running here and there to escort all the esteemed guests.

    "I won''t keep you waiting for much longer as I can understand how you must be feeling since we have deliberately kept everyone in suspense from the moment we first announced the productunch till today. But I assure you that what you will witness today will change the history of this world for the generations toe. This day will be remembered as the beginning of a new era where the true potential of this world and the human mind will be unearthed."

    Bruce was quite talented when it came to being the announcer of the event. He had the potential in him because the audience was mesmerized by his words and the confidence oozing out of him on the stage as he described the dawn of the new era.

    Only the most cynical of the lot thought that Bruce was trying to bloat his achievement with flowery words and euphemisms. But even they couldn''t control their rising heartbeat that increased its pace with his words and the tone of his voice.

    "Since all those meant to be here, are already here, I won''t keep you waiting any longer. Without further ado, I would like to invite my dear sister to present a short exnation of our product so that you all can understand its significance for this world. Ladies and Gentlemen, WELCOME; wee to the technological era."

    There were quite a few eyes that became agitated as they looked around to figure out if they were the only ones who hadn''t understood what that word Bruce said at the end meant. Of course, all they received were nk stares that were an exact replica of their own. No one here knew what that ''technological era'' was.

    As Bruce rolled himself off the stage, all the burning eyes shifted towards his sister who flinched slightly at being the center of attention in front of such arge audience. Buting from a good family like the Luther family, her education hadn''t beencking at all. She didn''t take long to get used to it and stared right back at them with a confident gaze.

    She pulled on the edge of the sheet covering the presentation board with one swift and fluid motion which made her look like a dancing fairy who had lost her way and had wandered into the mortal world from the fairy realm.

    "I am Diana Luther and I will be taking over from my brother to introduce the new product that our family has researched after countless trials and errors."

    The first page of the presentation had been intentionally left nk and the moods of all those watching fell after looking at the in white paper staring back at them after the white sheet had been removed. The mystery had not been revealed at all. It was like peeling an onion; peeling off oneyer revealed anotheryer underneath.

    pж┴зсdж┴-и╛?ж═и║|бдзуиозо Again there were several disgruntled whispers in the audience but several "Shushбнshush" sounds managed to silence those loudmouths. Some were even snickering in delight at the change of the announcer. After all, everybody would choose a beautiful girl over a cripple in a heartbeat.

    Diana ignored those abominable and disgusting stares and focused on the task at hand. Instead of looking straight at some individuals, she kept the entire audience under her focus which eased her growing disgust at those who were throwing weird looks in her direction.

    "Before we go towards the details of the product, let me tell you that this product is the amalgamation of the toils of all humans since the creation of this world. Each and every single human, mage or not, who ever lived contributed to this knowledge and passed it on for us to work on it further and enhance it. And in the end, we the Luther family were able to take it to the next level following the teachings of our ancestors and our willing to share the result of our efforts with you all in an attempt to change the primitive methods that we whock magic are still bound to."

    Diana took the first page and folded it towards the back of the presentation board like those experienced teachers at school.

    The audience was burning with frustration by this point. They felt as if they had been brought here for torture instead of a product release. The Luther siblings kept stringing them along by giving them hope that they would soon be able to see the product for themselves. But once they felt that they had reached the destination, it was another long story that began from the dawn of civilization.

    But the next page had only three words on it and an image of a wheel. It looked crude like it was the very first wheel that came into existence and quite matched with the words written on the sheet.

    "History of Transportation"

    Diana had already thought about what to speak in order to set fire to the curiosity of the audience using each page of the presentation. So she didn''t wait for them to douse their curiosity by whispering amongst themselves and began talking again.

    "Nobody knows which human thought of moving his things from one ce to another. Maybe it was a survival instinct or just human curiosity that brought about the first journey. We cannot be sure as to what was the cause but what we can be sure of is that the first journey did transpire and the mode of transportation used would have been our ancestors own feet that carried them and their things."

    Several voices of dissatisfaction arose amongst the audience as they felt that the Luther family had called them over to ridicule them with this nonsense. They imed to have surpassed the ancestors by telling them trivial matters like these.

    Of course, Diana already knew such things would happen once she began. Therefore she didn''t pay any heed to any of it and kept talking in the same mysterious tone that aroused the sense of adventure of those listening to her.

    Diana turned another page and there was a diagram of some cattle carrying load on their backs as humans walked leisurely with them.

    "The knowledge was then passed on to theter generations who made use of animals to carry their luggage during the journeys. If our ancestors werezy like us, the progress and the evolution of human machinations would have stopped right there. Since the burden had been shifted over to the animals, our ancestors could have taken it easy but they didn''t and persevered for perfection."

    At this stage she turned to the next slide in her presentation and there were two drawings adorning the sheet this time.

    One was a wheel made of wood and the other was a crude carriage that was more like sleigh that was being dragged on the ground by an animal that looked like a horse but slightly different.

    Unknowingly the audience had shut up at some point and was focused on the presentation. A smile threatened to escape her control over her facial expressions but she held it in. Still the corners of her lips twitched with the effort.

    "The wheel was one of the most important inventions that came at a time when humans were the most leisurely when it came to long journeys. And it made their lives easier still. And yet, human progress didn''te to a halt. The descendants used the knowledge passed on to them to build the first carriage that in the modern times looks to be a poor excuse for one. That only goes to show how far the human mind can take us and what kind of potential it hides within it."

 Chapter 95 95 The Truck

    The humans in the audience naturally felt a little pride at being one of those humans with limitless potential that the announcer kept praising. They had all been caught in the that Diana had cast for all of them. Like unknowing fish, they hade in the range of the by themselves for the fisherman to collect.

    "But when the baton was passed over to our generations and those before us, something terrible happened that makes me want to hide my face in shame in front of my incessant and persevering ancestors."

    The whole audience was burning with curiosity as to what she was going to say. All of them were impatient to hear the answer but Diana on the stage just looked at the audience with a crestfallen expression that caused them to hold their breath.

    "We stagnated."

    Just two wordsбнbut those words struck into the hearts of all those present. They had been ruthlessly excluded from the humans with limitless potential.

    Diana had not only cursed the audience with those words, but also their fathers and grandfathers in one go.

    Anger and disgust could be seen on the faces of the representatives of some super families but none of them said anything. Their pride was hurt but this was not the time to make a fuss. They needed to take a look at the product before deciding whether to hold their anger permanently or to demand rpense for their damaged pride.

    "I am sure some of you are feeling angry and dissatisfied with what I said just now."

    Some of them unconsciously nodded at her words before discovering midway that they were being led by the nose again.

    "But let''s take a look at what our generation and the few generations before us have to give to the future generations."

    Diana turned over to the next slide with practiced finesse and revealed a set of two new diagrams. There were two more horse drawn carriages but the usage of the two was definitely different.

    One was the carriage with increased space for storage which was mostly used for transportation of material goods while the other looked like the armored chariot used for warfare. The carriage had been reinforced with metal and there were several spikes jutting out from the sides. The carriage looked like it would be a beast on the battlegrounds that would gut and pierce through any number of obstacles in its path.

    "What do you all see when you look at the fruit carefully sculpted by our generation? This armored military chariot is thetest version that is being used in battles across the world while the other one is thetest carriage capable of carrying the loads equivalent to ten others and can only be drawn by the wild destriers with above average strength."

    None among the audience took the bait she had carefully thrown. They knew that Diana wasn''t just a flower. She was one with thorns. The way she had been ying with their sentiments was quite exceptional for someone her age.

    Diana decided to light up some more fireworks to give wind to their burning anger.

    "Since none of you are willing to answer me, I am sure you are nervous about saying what is truly in your heart. You all are thinking that this is your achievement and you can proudly pass it on to the next generation."

    The audience wondered if Diana had the ability to see through their minds. She had urately read what was going on in their heads. Only the few capable ones managed to see through the fa?ade that Diana had carefully drawn them in. They had been led to believe that it was their duty to pass something on to the future generations but no such rule existed in reality. She was merely using sophistry to rile them all up.

    "If you all are thinking along these lines, then I can''t help but call you out on your shamelessness. Because what I see is stagnation. Just because you learned different applications of what has already been invented doesn''t mean that you can take the credit for our ancestor''s work. We haven''t created anything noteworthy; something that we can proudly call our own and give a name to like the first ancestor who made a ''wheel'' and named it as such."

    Once again, Diana caught on to the hidden shame in their hearts and grilled them for it.

    People even forgot about their actual purpose in this ce and tried to hide away their faces just to keep their patchy pride intact.

    Diana stopped speaking, and stared at her audience. The same audience that had been looking at her with insulting looks at the start was now unable to look at her straight. She felt truly satisfied and slightly amused at the result of her presentation.

    She wondered what these people would say when she revealed their product. Diana had riled them up enough for them to tear her apart at the first chance they got. She knew she was going to be at the receiving end soon but was rtively calm because all that was already within their calctions.

    "It is finally the time."

    Her words caught the wavering attention of the guests once again. Was it finally the time for the product to be revealed? Their expectations had been raised because they had had to sit through a series of verbal attacks that questioned their intelligence as humans.

    "We the ''Luther family'' can proudly say that WE have not shamed our ancestors. Without relying on magic, we have managed to CREATE something that we can name and call our own."

    There were several disgruntled voices that were dissatisfied with how shameless the Luther family was being.

    "How boisterousбн" said one of the dissidents under his breath.

    "Can the Luther family create anything other than clever insults?" another voiced his opinion out loud. They had long since forgotten their purpose and were unable to hold back their anger.

    Only the truly clever ones kept their mouths shut in the event that the product turned out to be everything that the Luther family was iming it to be. Wouldn''t that be like pping their own faces?

    "The answer to that question would beбн''of course we can''. Unlike some others, we know the value of our words and take responsibility for them." Diana didn''t hold back and directly pped the person who ndered the Luther family with her words.

    The man could only try to hide his burning face from the other sitting beside him. He wanted to argue but that would have only made him look petty. He only had to wait for the product revtion. Only then would he get his chance for revenge.

    Therefore, he waited eagerly.

    "Continuing onwards, it is the time to reveal the reason that all of you so graciously gave us your time and have been listening to my wild ravings for so long. Without further ado, Ladies and Gentlemen of Elizabeth city, I present to you thetest product developed by the Luther family. We call it ''Truck''."

    pж┴зсdж┴ зл?ж═и║|,зуи░зо Diana turned over the next page of her presentation simultaneously with her announcement.

    The audience held their breaths in anticipation and only let it out once theyid their eyes on the new diagram that depicted the thing that Diana had referred to as ''Truck''.

    Some were disappointed as it didn''t appear to be as grandiose as the Luther family had imed it to be. They wondered what this kind of thing could be used for.

    "Before all of you get disappointed, this is only the design." Diana said as she pointed towards the presentation slide.

    "The real thing is over there." Diana turned towards her right where something huge had been covered beneath a huge grey colored sheet. Not a single one of the guests had even paid attention to it even though they had been next to it the whole time.

    The audience adjusted their position on their chairs and turned their head and eyes towards their right.

    And as if on cue, two guards walked over and grabbed the ends of the sheet and looked towards Diana.

    Diana gave them a slight nod and they pulled down the sheet covering the truck.

    "Whoa~" Several gasps escaped the audience members as they looked at the metal monstrosity.

    Even though they were in awe of the thing Diana called Truck, none of them knew what it was or what it was capable of. The only one who could now satisfy their curiosity was the girl on the stage. Therefore, scores of heads turned in her direction prodding her for answers that they knew she had been hiding from them so far on purpose.

    Some of them still stole nces at the Truck in between as their ears kept their focus towards the announcer.

    "I am sure all of you have questions but let''s keep those questions for the end. I will now exin the function of this truck that you see before your eyes. Despite its size, its purpose will definitely surprise you, so I would advise you to hold on to your seats and avoid dropping your jaws to the ground."

    The audienceughed incredulously but some of the more timid ones actually strengthened their grips on the side arms of their chairs.

    "Since the theme of my presentation so far was transportation, some of you might have already deduced that this product has to do with transportation."

    Diana turned to the next slide which depicted aparison between a carriage and the truck.

 Chapter 96 96 Formidable

    Again there were two images but the first image was the earliest carriage and the second was that of the truck. Both the images had been broken into theponents so that it became easier to draw aparison.

    "As you can see, Truck is an improved carriage with the capability of moving loads equivalent to a hundred carriages with ease."

    Diana knowingly gave a pause after making this statement. She knew the kind ofmotion it was going to cause amongst the audience since she herself had barely gotten around the concept once Zach revealed the details to her.

    There were three different kinds of reactions amongst the audience.

    "Whaaaaat~" this was the mostmon reaction among the audience at this revtion.

    "How can thбн" some were barely able to utter half a sentence before going back into the fantasy world.

    "LIES!!" this was thest but the most extreme reaction amongst the haters who had been waiting for the opportunity. They couldn''t believe that there were horses that powerful that were capable of dragging around the metal monstrosity of that scale.

    One of these people was of course the person who had previously been virtually pped by Diana in front of everyone.

    Diana ignored their protests as they were in a minority and continued her presentation.

    "All of you please look at this portion of the truck", she pointed towards the trailer as she attracted the attention of the audience once again with her experience.

    "It is essentially the same as the carriage that you are already familiar with but the capacity of the carriage has been multiplied and the efficiency of transportation has been increased by a few thousand percent."

    "Isn''t that the same as what you scolded all the humanity for earlier? How can you call this a new invention and our military chariots are just an application of the previous carriages? Isn''t the Luther family being too shameless?" This time the voice of dissent was from one of the most prominent families whose primary business was based on the military chariots and battle logistics.

    "Of course not; let me exin. This hereбн" Diana pointed towards the horses dragging the carriage in the first diagram as she said, "бнhas the same function as the front portion of this truck." Her pointer reached the engine portion of the truck by the end but the apuse that she had been expecting never came.

    She found several audience members smiling slightly as they scratched their heads in embarrassment.

    That was when she discovered that the guests in the audience were unable to understand despite the fact that she had exined it in as simple a manner as possible. She could only feel sorry for these people who had given up on their imaginations after having stagnated for so long. She could finally understand why Zach continuously mentioned this ''stagnation'' again and again.

    "For those of you who could not understand, this truck does not need any horses to pull it like the carriages you use. It is a self driven carriage. All it takes is someone to control its movement. And ''No'', before you ask, it does not require any magic for its usage. Any normal human can drive it."

    "IMPOSSIBLE" several screams rang out but even those voices were unable to hide their excitement just thinking of the future possibilities of such an invention.

    "It is not impossible. I can assure you. Not only that, the speed at which it can travel on ground can exceed even an agility focused mage at their best."

    "LIES" the extremist faction amongst the audience increased each time she emphasized the strong points of the Truck that Zach wanted her to announce.

    Several private conversations among the prominent family members broke out at this point as they all tried to get their heads around reality and thought about the product and its true implications if what Diana had imed turned out to be true.

    But thosecking in imagination were sure that the Truck couldn''t actually be as great as Diana had blown it up to be.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    And finally someone took a bite of the obvious bait Diana had carefully thrown among them during her presentation.

    The stupidest and the most restless person in the audience; the same person Diana previously scolded stood up to get his revenge for the previous humiliation.

    "There is no way such a thing can be true unless you employed magic engineering in its genesis. And even if such a thing was possible through advanced level magic engineering, I don''t believe it would be the turn of your Luther family to take the lead in front of the top families of the city."

    The man smiled especially sinisterly after throwing dirt on the Luther family name.

    But this time, his words stung Diana like never before. Although she was already expecting someone to call them since she herself had thrown out the bait, even she had never expected that the man would try to so directly attack her family name. She was angry for the first time since the start of the ceremony.

    "I assure you that not a single trace of magic was used in the development of this product. Neither does it require the help of any mage nor magic engineering to develop it in its entirety. It can be used bymon folk to the full extent of its abilities. You are quite wee to be the first to test its capability. In fact, I insist that YOU be the one to test it since you were the first to raise voice against our credibility and the functionality of our product."

    The man felt slightly uneasy at the fact that Diana had readily agreed for him to test the product. He couldn''t help but feel that there was something wrong with that.

    Before he could say anything in response, Diana continued with the same tone that had turned slightly aggressive after countless voices arose to discredit their achievement.

    "Since we have received a volunteer for the testing of our product, you all will soon be able to witness the miracle with your own eyes. I implore you to bear witness and pass on your experience regarding the wonders of the human mind to everyone around you. So that the knowledge we have managed to create will never be forgotten and will be passed on to the next generation just like the way we received it from our ancestors. Of course if any of you manage to find the slightest trace of magic from our product, we will withdraw our ownership of this Truck."

    Diana''s words dropped like a bomb on all the attendees. All of them knew that the possibility that all the statements could be true was quite high.

    The man who had raised his doubts was now reconsidering whether he had made the right choice to antagonize the Luther family. But he could not back down now that he had. He needed to y his role until the end in order to get vengeance for the earlier disrespect.

    "Just talking big won''t help you in this situation. Let''s see how much the Luther family has exaggerated the functions of this thing. I want to see for myself how good this thing actually is."

    Diana smiled and indicated to a servant who had been standing beside the truck with an angry look on his face. This was one of the best drivers that Zach had managed to train. Therefore, this person obviously knew what kind of an invention it was. And being one of the followers of Zach, he couldn''t bear any insult towards the product that Zach had developed and was generously sharing with these ungrateful people.

    The servant opened the driver side door and entered the drivers'' cabin with a swift motion. The audience members who had previously been wondering how the movement of the truck was going to be controlled finally got their answer.

    "Rest assured that the person driving the truck is a normal human with not a single drop of magic in him. He can be considered to be simr to a carriage driver who is responsible for controlling the direction of the carriage once the horses begin to pull with all their might."

    The man who had raised his objections actedpletely unafraid as he stood in the path of the truck with his hands on his hips.

    He looked in the direction of Diana and said something that was inaudible to her but the smug expression on his face said it all to Diana. It seemed to be telling her, "I am still waiting for it to begin".

    Diana motioned for the servant driving the truck to begin the performance. Everything had already been briefed to him since this had all been nned before the event.

    When the servant turned the key in the ignition, the engine rumbled with a heavy sound that was loud enough for all to hear over their constant chatter. They couldn''t help but feel fear from the monstrosity that seemed to be vibrating in the distance. Unease spread through the crowd as to their shock the huge metal monstrosity began to inch forward at a snail like pace.

    At first the volunteering man was startled from the threatening sound of the truck but as it started to move, the speed almost made himugh. It was even slower than the carriages that he was familiar with. With boosted ego, he stood even straighter as he pushed out his chest with pride at having made the right choice.

 Chapter 97 97 ChristinaтАЩs Intendings

    But before he could get the chance toe back to earth from the heavenly fantasies that he had concocted, the truck elerated suddenly like an arrowunched form a taut bow. The man stood still as he didn''t even get the chance to witness the eleration of the truck. Thest thing he saw was the increasing size of the truck in his vision but before he could try to get out of the way, the truck hit him into the air like a kite with a broken string as he bled from several ces.

    At that moment, all the questioning gazes towards the Luther family and their product disappeared as if in thin air. Nobody dared to raise an objection fearing that they might suffer the same result as the previous man. They didn''t want to be the next testing dummy that would serve the purpose of a scarecrow for others.

    Diana didn''t say anything either after the man''s body fell to the ground broken in a few ces as he bled continuously. She didn''t have to say anything since all the doubts the guests had were cleared by this point.

    While most of the audience was focused on the horror that the truck was capable of producing, only the most astute individuals like Christina and Sarah were able to realize the true implications of the situation. This meant that the ims of the Luther family were by no means fake or exaggerated. They had seeded in moving the metal monster at a speed beyond that of the carriages without using any horses to pull it. And on top of that none of their mages had been able to detect a single ounce of magic from the truck.

    Christina felt that she needed to do something now that the product had been confirmed to be way better than they had expected. Being a scion of the best business family in the whole Elizabeth family, Christina knew the implications of this truck. Soon there won''t be any family that wouldn''t want to do business with the Luther family. In fact they would have to beg the Luther family to do business with them.

    This truck was going to change the entire mechanism of the logisticswork being used by the families for their businesses. Not only the business setups, but even the mundane life would be affected due to this. By curbing the transportation costs, the truck would be able to bring several varieties of the products to the doorsteps of themon folk. As a result the meaning of the words like trade and business would get changed.

    Therefore, Christina deduced that the Luther family was about to rise to prominence after the productunch. Only thinking of the way her father, ''George'' had handled that Sosis family incident, she couldn''t help butment over what could have been had her father followed the original n that they had decided on.

    Not that Christina could me George for the lost opportunity because even she had thought that her father had made a good decision after careful evaluation of all options. But now that the situation had changed, they desperately needed the goodwill that had been lost.

    Regardless of what happened in the past, Zach had proved their decision wrong by showing the things he was capable of doing. They had failed because they could not properly identify the future potential of Zach and the Luther family that was associated with him. They underestimated and undervalued both of them and as a result, suffered a loss today.

    Christina felt the need to rectify the situation somehow therefore she tried to analyze her situation.

    The truck, although a product of absolute genius, could not havee out of the Luther family since they neither had the ability nor did they put in enough effort due to their previous condition. They were being suppressed by various small families headed by the Sosis family which meant that they hardly had time and the capacity to pull of such a feat. Therefore, Christina came to a conclusion that the one in charge was neither the figurehead of the Luther family, Bruce nor his sister Diana who was responsible for the presentation today. She believed that none of the siblings could actually make any decision regarding the product because the final authority regarding the product seemed to be Zach who had not even made an appearance today on theunch event.

    She steeled herself and prepared a mana pulse with her as the center. It was a kind of locator spell that could be used to analyze a terrain or to identify the number of mages in the area. The mana in the pulse resonated with the mana in the mage''s body and sent a signal back to the caster.

    As soon as Christina released the mana pulse within the boundaries of the Luther family, several signals popped up close to her but none of them were as powerful and the kind that she was looking for. She let her pulse spread wider and only after a period of time did she find a strange force that she wasn''t familiar with.

    Christina didn''t wait any longer fearing that someone else might take this heaven sent opportunity before her if she dyed any further. She searched in the direction that she had encountered that strange force and sure enough she was able to find a group of two. One was a figure that was hiding under a loose robe which covered every part of their body and the other was a young man who looked even younger than herself.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    She didn''t even need to analyze him further because she was sure it could only be Zach; the actual person responsible for the development of the Truck.

    The figure in the hood shifted as she tried to get closer to Zach. Christina could only oblige when the hooded figure attacked her out of nowhere.

    Of course in their defense, Christina''s approach wasn''t wee at all. If Zach had wanted to meet someone, he would havee to theunch event as well. But ignoring his wishes, Christina had barged into the Luther family estate to find him which irritated the group.

    Therefore, despite being quite a bit stronger than her assant, Christina understood their sentiments and didn''t really try to fight back with all her strength.

    Of course the hooded figure was Luna who attacked as soon as she perceived an unknown person approaching her master. She was not willing to take any risk when it came to him. Therefore, she d herself in her fire and attacked at the first sight.

    mes danced around her as they changed shape and color every time she punched or kicked Christina with the full force of her ability. She wasn''t holding back considering that the wench was able to hold Luna back with some strange kind of magic. It appeared to be a magic but there was no casting and no spell. Christina seemed to be manipting the mana in the air to thwart all her attacks. Luna of course wasn''t able to do such a thing because she was still a B rank mage considerably far from the A rank Christina who was considered to be a genius when it came to magic.

    Christina did not know who the girl covered in mes was but she had already assessed her ability. Despite being good, Luna was far from being able to hurt Christina with her spells since Christina was superior in terms of mana control and mana capacity. Luna looked like a cat that was waltzing on the road unaware of the dangers.

    Zach noticed what was happening and immediately ordered Luna toe back. If not for anything important, Zach never used such a tone with her because he didn''t like it when Luna acted all meek and ufortable. He wanted her to be free to make her own decisions and hardly ever tried to order her around. But this time he needed her to understand her weakness and relent.

    At the same time, he had already assessed that the strange girl who had somehow located him very easily wasn''t aggressive at all. The proof was that the girl hadn''t once tried to return the greetings that Luna gave her on their meeting. She not only held back with her strength, but also allowed Luna to retreat without a single scratch on her. That''s how Zach came to know that the girl was a formidable opponent who hade bearing some other purpose in mind.

    Since Luna wasn''t a match for her at her full strength, Zach inferred that the girl must at least be an A rank mage to render Luna''s mepletely ineffective like that.

    After pulling Luna close to him once again, Zach turned towards Christina and looked her in the eye before asking, "Who are you?"

    "You should have done that from the start. I had no intention to fight from the beginning but you didn''t give me a chance to talk. But given that we haven''t met before, your approach isn''t exactly one that I am unable to understand. It''s just that we could have saved a lot of precious time that way. I am Christina Elizabeth, daughter of the current leader of Elizabeth family, George Elizabeth."

    Christina introduced herself formally and at the same time conveyed her grievances at being attacked out of nowhere. Given the current scenario, she wasn''t in a position to condemn such actions since she had tracked down Zach despite his intention to stay hidden during theunch event. Therefore, instead of condemnation, she said that she understood Luna''s actions as an act of self defense against a stranger they had never met before. She was truly business minded as she even catered the small details like this in her calctions.

 Chapter 98 98 Unexpected Joking And Answer

    Before Zach could answer Christina in kind and apologize to her symbolically on behalf of Luna, a familiar *ding* sound attracted all his focus.

    [You havee into contact with a mysterious power. There is a high chance that some new possibilities might open up if you ingest this power.]

    Zach cleared his vision as he took care of the notification window that had popped up out of nowhere. If before he was intent on establishing a connection with the Elizabeth family due to Christina''s initiative, he was now focused towards the mysterious power that could only be within this girl.

    Zach had never received this kind of message before. Even though he had an ability that allowed him to absorb energy from women and get stronger, the system had never given him this kind of notification for any woman he hade across before; not even Luna.

    This could only mean that this girl Christina was special even among the otherdies of this world. Therefore, Zach changed his tactic and looked at her with indifference as if her presence didn''t matter to him at all. He waited for the proud girl to initiate the conversation regarding what she wanted.

    Christina was hoping that Zach would not be averse to the Elizabeth family due to their earlier betrayal of trust but his behavior told her that the opposite was probably true. Announcing her identity to him hadn''t brought a single change in his deadpan expression.

    She knew then that Zach wasn''t willing to listen to her at all. If she dyed her apology any further, she might even lose this chance that she had earned with a great amount of difficulty.

    Zach kept his silence in an indifferent manner and waited as he looked at her. His gaze seemed to be saying, "I don''t have time to waste on you. State your business as fast as possible or I am leaving."

    Christina could see the window of opportunity closing slowly. She had to make her move before Zach shut that window permanently. She could only imagine the consequences and the losses that the family would suffer should that happen. Therefore, without waiting any more, Christina bent down from her waist as her waist length hair iled around and almost touched the ground in front of her.

    "Please ept my apology regarding what happened between my family and yours in the past. My family''s founding policy is profit maximization and that''s what we did. Granted that it ended up causing more harm than good, I want you to know that there was no personal grudge involved. For that, I can only apologize and return what rightfully belongs to the Luther family. And I am willing to do anything to make up for our earlier mistakes so that the future construction does not get hindered by the wreckage of the previous one."

    Zach allowed Christina to say whatever she wanted with her waist bent low in apology and didn''t interrupt her once.

    "Since you still don''t believe that your familymitted anything wrong, why bother with a fake apology?" Zach asked with the same deadpan expression. He needed to keep up appearances for what he was nning.

    "Only by clearing up the previous wreckage can I hope to build a strong foundation for the new construction." Christina replied sincerely without raising her head. She was determined to get this cooperation because the survival of the Elizabeth family was dependant on it.

    "What made you think that I wanted an insincere apology like that? My cooperation isn''t that cheap, you know." Zach sneered as if he found her actions utterly disgusting.

    "Then what it will it take to earn your trust and forgiveness? I am willing to do anything if it means that we can wipe our past record clean." Christina asked hopefully as she prayed in her heart that Zach would give them a chance at least.

    "I want you to be my woman." Zach blurted out without even thinking.

    Christina felt as if someone had punched her in the gut with full force knocking the wind out of her. She hadn''t expected that the price to save her family would be so steep.

    But being the daughter of the family head, she felt that it was quite a cheap price to pay to secure her family''s prosperity.

    "I agree to your condition." Christina barely took a second to give her answer and finally raised her face to look him in the eye without the slightest twinge of emotion on her face.

    But to Zach it felt as if the answer was instantaneous.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    He had only wanted to test the waters and her sincerity at the same time through her answer but the result shocked his very innards out of him. His joke had been taken quite seriously which fulfilled the end purpose that Zach had been hoping to achieve through the coboration with Elizabeth family.

    Zach found that the woman in front of him quite agreeable to look at. She was a beauty with brains. Not only did she understand the worth of the trucks before everyone else, but she was also brave enough to make a choice that would be beneficial to her family without bringing any personal feelings into it. She was true businesswoman who only worked for her interests and wasn''t averse to paying any kind of price to achieve her end.

    Knowing that Zach was currently standing on the pulse of the Elizabeth family, Christina had taken the leap of faith and offered herself as the coteral to establish an alliance of interest with the Luther family so as to avoid being buried underneath the rubble of the previous business regime that would soon be reced by the technological era.

    Both Zach and Christina got what they wanted from this deal but there was one person who was feeling lost and full of anger at the situation that had unfolded.

    The only dissatisfied person in this situation could only be Luna whose master was about to be snatched by some vixen that he barely knew.

    Luna had been with Zach for so long which was why she knew the kind of person he was. He wasn''t like those noble heirs who bedded anyone theyid their eyes on. Till date, she had been the only person that Zach had slept with and that too was mostly at her request or urging. But now that Zach had shown open desire for a woman, she couldn''t help but be wary and jealous towards the woman.

    Luna wanted to show how angry she was but she couldn''t bring herself to go against Zach who was everything to her. Not forgetting her position in her rtionship, she only hoped that Zach wouldn''t neglect her now that he had found someone else.

    "Can I consider this deal final then?" asked Christina with a smile that was the most businesslike smile Zach had ever seen. It felt as if she was focused on the business deal instead of her own future.

    Zach admired such devotion towards her profession but it also made her seem a little less human to him.

    Zach nodded in answer to her question which satisfied Christina as she pushed her disheveled hair behind her ears elegantly.

    "The ceremony can be conducted in a few days time since several preparations need to be made. I am sure that your side needs to do the same." Zach couldn''t be sure whether she was talking about the contract proceedings or the contract condition that he had put up. She just looked that much unconcerned as she talked about her own marriage preparations.

    "The formal ceremony will start in a few days. Please allow me to take my leave now so that I can go back and prepare for it. In the meanwhile, you can look forward to my return." Christina winked provocatively at the end but the action looked slightly unnatural to Zach since he had been observing her the whole time and she didn''t look all right with the new development.

    Without waiting for an answer form Zach, Christina turned around and left with her loose hair swaying with the wind as if in jubtion.

    Christina wanted to skip like a little girl the whole way back. She had achieved all her objectives today. She was not going to be sad just because of a variable that she had not expected. The deal had gone just as she had expected. She secured her family''s future even in the changing business environment and that was cause enough for jubtion. Not betraying her father''s trust was the top most in her priority list since her father had been willing to go against tradition to make her the heir to the family business.

    But the happiness she was feeling doubled instantly when she encountered Sarah the daughter of the co-conspirator behind this tragedy that the Elizabeth family was suffering from. George had in fact been instigated by the leader of the Macrae family to grab the assets of the fallen Sosis family but time had proved how dumb a decision that was.

    Just from a single look, Christina could deduce that Sarah hade to this part of the estate for the same reason as her. Thankfully, she hade to him first. To see someone in a simr situation as her made Christina overwhelmingly happy.

    On the other hand, Sarah''s face darkened after she took in the sight of Christina sauntering back with a happy expression.

    "What are you doing here?" asked Sarah with a less than pleased expression. It was far from the kind of greetings that two girls their age would usually use for each other.

 Chapter 99 99 Respective Acquisition

    Christina gave her a knowing smile as if she had already seen through her intentions.

    "The same thing you came here to do. But unfortunately you are toote now."

    Sarah''s expressions shifted slightly at the mention of her motives but she felt that Christina was only fishing for information and didn''t actually know anything.

    "What do you mean?" Sarah tried to look genuinely puzzled and her acting skills weren''t bad enough that Christina would notice her attempt at deception.

    But Christina''s answer made all her hopese crashing down like a meteor from outer space.

    "I mean that Zach and I are already engaged. So your little attempt to seduce him is going to end in failure."

    Christina on the other hand smirked like a teenage girl who had managed to snag the school hunk. Seeing that her words had caused Sarah agony, Christina didn''t stop and continued to push salt into her wounds.

    "Elizabeth family entered into an alliance with Zach through our engagement so you can put aside any thoughts you or your family were having towards him."

    Sarah burned with righteous anger as she thought of how all her ns had gone to the gutter just because she had been a few minuteste. She had been nning to apologize to Zach for their previous faults and wanted to enter an alliance based on interests of both the families by using the capital of the Macrae family and the infrastructure of the Luther family as the bargaining chips. She was sure that the terms she had thought of had been good enough for Zach to agree to her proposal but Christina had ruined it all by shamelessly selling herself for the deal.

    Cursing her luck, she stomped her feet in annoyance because she now had toe up with a different countermeasure to save her family from the iing changes in the business world. Since whatever she proposed now wasn''t going to be as good as what Christina had done, there was nothing she could do but turn back for now and let things cook a little more.

    ----------

    Elizabeth family mansion

    George listened to the report of her daughter who had gone off to discuss the possibility of an alliance with the Luther family after the release of their new product.

    He had wanted to go in person but his daughter had persuaded him to let her go. The reason was that he and his son had already lost the goodwill of the Luther family after their actions regarding the Sosis family assets were revealed.

    George hadn''t thought much of it at the time because he understood the importance of this alliance and had let her take the lead. But now he could only regret having sent her for the negotiation.

    He wasn''t at all happy with the news that she had brought home. The fact that his business was saved by his daughter who had to sacrifice her happiness and her future to bring about such a result disgusted him. He couldn''t bring himself to feel good despite the fact that his daughter had saved the family legacy from being tarnished during his time.

    His face didn''t hide this displeasure as he stared at his beautiful daughter with helplessness and guilt.

    "I should have thought of it beforehand. How can someone not covet my daughter after seeing her? I shouldn''t have let her go alone for this." Those were the only thoughts going through George''s head at the moment.

    He knew his daughter''s attractiveness very well considering the amount of wedding proposals he had to reject on daily basis on her behalf. Her standards for a husband had been very high from the beginning and George had been very thankful for that. This way he didn''t have to expend much effort because his daughter knew how to protect herself from profit seekers and those who purely lusted after her body.

    This kind of situation had not even registered in his mind where his daughter would agree to a political marriage just to secure a good business deal for the family.

    Under all the stress, he had forgotten how his daughter acted when it came to business matters.

    She became as emotionless as a doll and measured everything in terms of profit and loss just like a good businesswoman.

    That very attitude had led to this situation where he had to see his daughter smiling happily after having sold herself off for the profit of the family.

    Christina on the other hand was feeling quite smug at having grasped this opportunity before everyone else. She wasn''t like her father who kept thinking that she had ruined her life.

    Her thinking was quite the opposite in fact. She had already been nning a political marriage for the benefit of the family but a suitable candidate hadn''t appeared so far. But when she met Zach, who was not only good looking but far more qualified than anyone she could ever hope to meet, she agreed to his proposal on the spot.

    To her, it was a good deal but for her father who had to witness such a thing within his life, it was nothing short of the depiction of his failure as a parent.

    бк бк бк бк бк бк бк бк бк бк бк бк бк

    Striking a deal with one of the most prominent families for financial support of his project was always one of the goals that Zach wanted to achieve through this product showcase but the fact that he had agreed to give this opportunity to the Elizabeth family could only be attributed to the quick wit, enhanced intellect and the decision making ability of Christina who came to him on behalf of the Elizabeth family.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    She checked all the boxes for an aplished business ally but just a joke got him engaged to her. Even though Christina was quite pretty, Zach wasn''t someone who would be attracted by just the inherent beauty alone. The major reason behind the fact that he had continued the joke that Christina had somehow misconstrued into a marriage proposal was the he system prompt that notified her regarding the mysterious energy inside her.

    With increased attention towards him, he needed to get stronger faster and Christina was the closest solution to that.

    After the deal was done and dusted, Zach didn''t wait around outside anymore and went back to the mansion where he asked the servants to serve him tea.

    Luna tried to act cute and cuddled with him on the couch and Zach indulged her as much as she wanted.

    He knew she must be feeling a sense of loss from what had happened earlier. He wanted to reassure her that her position wouldn''t change in his heart. She still was the first woman who came into his life.

    Satisfied with the caresses of her loving master, Luna obediently sat beside him as Zach sipped on his tea while munching on a biscuit.

    It wasn''t long before the exhausted Diana and exceptionally cheerful Bruce entered the dining room as well.

    "So? Did you catch a big one?"

    It was Bruce who asked in anticipation of the answer. Since he already knew most of Zach''s ns, he had an idea as to what Zach had wanted to do during the showcase.

    "Mmmбнa really big one." Zach yed along as he responded to his question with a smirk.

    "Which one is it? Stop trying to be mysterious."

    "Elizabeth family" Zach replied with a helpless expression.

    As he had expected, Bruce''s expression fell at the mention of the family name after all they had been the ones to stab him in the back after the Sosis family incident.

    "Why them?" Bruce asked with visible annoyance on his face.

    "Because I am going to marry Christina, the Elizabeth family heir, very soon. This way we can forget about them hiding an ulterior motive and we can receive financial support from the greatest business family of the city."

    Zach''s reasoning was sound and the logic irrefutable yet it left a bad taste in Bruce''s mouth. Still, it didn''t take very long for him to ept Zach''s decision as it was the most profitable approach for the Luther family for the time being as it involved almost risk free benefits.

    Diana on the other hand didn''t seem to care much about the new alliance as she congratted Zach on his engagement with a smile on her face before taking her leave with measured steps.

    To Zach she looked to be quite tired after the events of day as her steps wobbled every time her feet touched the ground as if there was no strength in her legs.

    He could only pity her condition since she had to stand for quite a while during the product showcase.

    бн

    As soon as Diana entered her room she mmed the door with enough force to pull the door offpletely from its hinges.

    Her face was already red from all the anger she had been holding inside. All that angst burst out as soon as she was alone in her room. She hadn''t wanted to reveal this side of her in front of the object of her affection.

    "I was supposed to be the first. How can master agree to marry someone else before me?" She thought as her insides boiled in anger.

    Unable to contain the tsunami brewing inside her, she viciously kicked the only chair in front of her dressing table which sent it reeling along the ground before striking the wall with a loud thud.

    Breathing heavily she sat on her bed in exasperation as she thought of the logic behind Zach''s actions.

    In the end she could only deduce that Zach had taken the most appropriate steps to protect the Luther family from their enemies.

 Chapter 100 100 ZachтАЩs Concerns

    This marriage alliance with the Elizabeth family would only end up benefiting the Luther family in the long run.

    Therefore, she epted the situation with a heavy heart and decided not to foil the weddingpletely. She put all the weird and destructive thoughts that kept popping up in her head aside and focused on her family''s progress instead which allowed her to distract herself.

    On the contrary, Luna who had been the first to know about this development waspletely unaffected. Even though she should have been the most affected by the situation because she had been Zach''s first woman, Luna supported Zach unconditionally. Just that little bit of reassurance from Zach earlier had been enough for her to set all her worries aside.

    In her view, her master was the most perfect person in the world and it was only natural for the women to covet him because he was so exceptional. Moreover, she knew what her position was and was satisfied with it. She had no intention to demand more from her master who had been nothing but kind to her. Therefore, not interfering with his decisions and supporting him unconditionally were the only things she could do for her master provided that her master allowed her to remain by his side forever.

    Undoubtedly, the happiest amongst the group turned out to be Bruce who couldn''t keep himself from smiling every five seconds or so. The smile that kept tugging on the edge of his lips made him look like an excited kid who had something to tell his parents.

    The reason for his happiness wasn''t Zach''s uing wedding but the heights that the Luther family would soar to once this alliance started to operate together. He couldn''t be more satisfied with this turn of events unlike his little sister who was busy sulking in her room.

    бн

    Just as Bruce had expected, the trucks revealed to the public created a never ending buzz in the businessmunity. Ever since their introduction, most of the business families who had already antagonized Luther family began to think of countermeasures they could take against the unfair advantages provided by the trucks to their employers. And those who had fortunately never gone against the Luther family or had somehow managed to develop a cooperative rtionship with them became busy thinking of the various possibilities of the invention and how they could implement a business model based on the efficient transportation system involving trucks.

    Most of the individuals who had seen the truck in action could not get over their awe and admiration even after they got home. They were curious as to what principle the Luther family employed in order to make that metal monstrosity move at such a fast speed. Several debates took ce between the high profit conglomerates as to how they could get their hands on the secret behind the Truck. They needed to break the monopoly of the Luther family on these trucks as soon as possible if they wanted to survive in the Elizabeth city. As the situation was, it would not be long before the Luther family would have the reins of the entire city in their hands.

    The reason was that all the businesses would soon be dependent on Luther family and if that happened, the Luther family would be able to change the powerndscape of the city with a wave of their hands. As long as they had a grasp on the transportationwork of the city, no one would be able to go against them in the city. Therefore, it was imperative that the monopoly of the Luther family be broken before the families coulde up with a better means of transport to take away the business entirely.

    As for now, all the business families associated with the Luther family were enjoying unprecedented profit margins in their businesses. The logistics cost had been reduced by more than 300% after the introduction of trucks. Moreover, the stock needed to be held had reduced so much that the manufacturing nts only produced products when they were demanded as transporting them over long distances had be as easy as running errands in the vicinity of their homes.

    The economy of Elizabeth city experienced a boom that was never before seen in history. The wealth from other cities began to converge towards Elizabeth city as various well known families began to transport their products to far off areas and other major cities of the empire. This not only improved the economy of Elizabeth city but also improved their business image amongst the true elite business families of the empire.

    The increased import into the city brought about a lot of specialties from far off areas that could not be obtained previously due to theck of fast enough transportation means that could allow their usage before the expiry of their shelf life, especially perishable goods like food items that were previously only avable for the elite could now be made avable to the masses at reasonable prices.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Many families were making tons of money selling the previously luxury items at a cheaper rate which not only kept the demand of the items high but also ensured a heavy profit margin.

    But the one thing that Luther family had absolute control over was the price of the trucks in the market. Zach asked Bruce to ensure that there was no resale of the trucks sold to the other families. This way no one else will be able to profit off of their product. For that purpose, Bruce announced that whosoever was found involved in the resale or an illegal purchase of their product would be shunned by the Luther family and their business associates and would never be allowed to do business with any of them. This also included the sale of the fuel that the truck used in order to operate. Since the fuel was aponent of the crude oil or as the aborigines called it ''fire water'' which was under theplete control of the Luther family, the resold truck would never be able to run again considering that the fuel to be used had to be bought from the Luther family.

    Even though this would not have been much of a threat to any family out there in the recent past, after the release of the trucks, this was the kind of threat that could force any of the families to drop down on their knees to beg for forgiveness.

    Scared of the strict policies put forth by Luther family, various elite family leaders flocked to the Luther family estate in order to secure a lower price by offering various things in return. Since the Luther family hadplete hold over the sale price of their product, the other families had to make good with them or suffer.

    Bruce was tired of hearing such requests over and over again. Some wanted to marry their daughters off to him all the while under the impression that he was a cripple who couldn''t even walk on his own feet for the rest of his life.

    He only wondered what kind of hearts these people had in their bodies or whether the girls were even their own for them to treat them like this. But then he remembered how he had agreed to the engagement of his little sister to that bastard Raisman because he had to secure a way out for his family.

    Even though he didn''t take any action against such people, he didn''t strike any deal with them either. He carefully reviewed the business models proposals of all the guests and finalized a few deals that involved selling trucks at a lower price or the lowering of the price of the fuel to be used by the truck. This way he was able to shift a lot of his work load on to others. He had his hands full dealing with such people therefore; he was unable to pay attention to the uing event of the Luther family that was going to shake the very foundation of the Elizabeth city. Zach was after all going to marry the heiress of the founding family of Elizabeth city.

    Zach on the other hand was neither concerned about the business matters that he hadpletely left in the hands of Bruce nor was he bothered about the wedding ceremony that the Elizabeth family was busy preparing for him and Christina. He only saw it as a business deal and had mostly forgotten about it. His main concern at the moment stemmed from the fact that the entire security of the Luther family was dependant on him which was not a good sign for a family aiming to rise to the top. A single man couldn''t drag with him such arge group of people.

    Therefore, he wanted to train a special unit that would be able to carry out tasks that even the most trained individuals of the Luther family guard would be unable toplete.

    Thinking of those well trained Special Forces of the different countries from his previous world, he got the idea of developing his own Special Forces unit that would be able to engage in gueri warfare or strategic warfare at hismand and would be able to handle the modern hot weaponry to counter the mages from this world.

    The reason behind this sudden urge tomand a battle unit of his own was due to the fact that Luther family was currently holding a hot potato that could burn their hands any time. This hot potato was none other than the truck that they had developed and were selling to the whole city.

 Chapter 101 101 Special Forces

    Zach couldn''t be sure if their current monopoly at the transportation chain wouldst very long or whether they would be able to enjoy the fruit of their efforts for much longer. Many families were eyeing them and their rising influence in the city in a not so good manner. One single mistake or onepse of judgment on their part could lead them into an abyss from which they would never be able toe back.

    Zach couldn''t stay put and be cautious all the time. He needed insurance in the event that some outside elements tried to harm the Luther family. And that he couldn''t leave in the hands of people he couldn''t trust or weren''t capable of earning his trust.

    Despite being the next son-inw of the Elizabeth family and the future husband of Christina Elizabeth, Zach was sure that they wouldn''t lend him the military strength no matter how important he became to their family in the future. The reason was that he would never stop being the outsider and the shameful dark mage who could tarnish their long preserved reputation if he ever came out in public. How could they let someone like Zach,mand their forces?

    As always, Zach could only rely on himself since all the support with him, except for Luna, had their own motives and their own purposes which made it difficult for him to trust them as well.

    As if having decided something, Zach got up from where he had been sitting and rushed off towards the ce where Diana usually trained to maintain the uracy of her shot. She had never missed a single day after the incident with Raisman had happened. It only made her more adamant and more persistent about her personal safety.

    Zach knew that he would find her at the shooting range at this time of the day. Therefore he didn''t bother checking with anyone else and came straight to the location.

    As expected, Diana was there rolling around on the ground with two pistols in her hand and firing at multiple moving targets to simte a situation. Her uracy had never taken a hit ever since he had begun teaching her. Her talent in the field had been so great that it had left even him surprised. Therefore, as a recruit with potential and his very first student to undergo the shooting course under his tutge, Zach wanted to take her under his wing as he considered the development of the Special Forces unit under him.

    Zach waited for Diana as she simted the whole situation before holstering her weapons. At that point she seemed to have found him too as she rushed out towards him at a brisk pace.

    "Did youe to see me?" asked Diana hoping that Zach wanted to be with her instead of Christina and hade to his senses after thinking about it for some time.

    "Yes, I did. I needed to talk to you about something." replied Zach with a serious look on his face.

    Hopes began to rise in Diana''s heart but she wasn''t going to count her blessings before confirming their existence. Therefore, she wanted to hear him out first before she misconstrued something.

    "What is it?" asked Diana curtly as she untied her hair that she had previously tied into a ponytail for the shooting practice.

    "I have some reservations regarding the security detail of the family considering the amount of attention that is being directed at this ce from several families of the city who wouldn''t stop at anything unless they got their hands on the confidential information regarding the trucks and its fuel. We need to have some kind of security measures in ce to fight off against a rtively bigger source of danger such as a group attack of various mages in the event that the families decided to pool their strength together to attack us. The responsibility for the incident would then be divided between the families in such a way that not a single one of them would suffer any after effects or the kind of retaliation that a single family would if they attacked solo. Another angle would be that they would collectively be shameless and deny all responsibility which would leave us with either no customers or an enemy that wouldn''te to light and wouldn''t ept responsibility for targeting us. These are only some of the loopholes in our system that these families would soon find and begin to exploit. Our business model may be good but it is far from being perfect. We need to take security measures as fast as possible."

    Zach rambled off for a long time as he exined each and every one of his reservations regarding the security of the mansion and the people but he failed to witness the change in the expression of Diana who had been expecting this visit to be something else.

    Her hopes had been doused with cold water and her expression during the conversation continued to be sterner with every word he said. Nheless, she listened to him as he gave voice to his fears and understood that they were quite valid. He wasn''t just being paranoid. There was an actual possibility that something like that could happen very soon.

    "I understand what you are trying to tell me master but what is it that I can do for you?" asked Diana in an almost professional and business-like manner.

    "I need capable and brave servants who will undergo the same training as you did in the past. The number doesn''t have to be veryrge but make sure that each and every one of them is a loyalist. In short do not bring me someone you can''t entrust your back to with confidence."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Will a hundred of them do?" Diana nodded and asked as she tilted her head towards the side in confusion as to what Zach meant by ''a small number''.

    "No I don''t think I can handle teaching all those people. Just a few hands would do. What I want is an elite group that would undergo the harshest of training so a few able bodied and disciplined individuals would be best."

    Before he could say anything else, Diana headed off towards the mansion and wordlessly gathered a group of servants that she thought were the most loyal to the family or had some vested interests with their family that made them essentially bound to Luther family.

    It didn''t take long for her to scour the long list of servants to shortlist a total of 20 that were both able bodied and young enough to learn this new kind of warfare that Zach was nning to teach them.

    When she returned to the shooting range, she found Zach in the same position as if he had never moved from his location. He stood rooted to the ground like some ancient tree with a rigid posture.

    Behind her came an entourage of servants who lined up properly behind her and came to a halt at her direction some distance from the range. She then proceeded onwards to meet up with Zach who looked like he had been waiting for her.

    "I found the 20 physically and potentially best servants from the list and brought them here. Will this number do? Or should I scour some more?"

    "This is enough. Rather this number is perfect for the vision that I had in mind. I want to create a special security group with YOU as its centre. Although you have learned shooting skills because of your natural talent in that regard, you still have a lot to learn from me. Therefore, I want you to undergo this training along with these servants so that all you can act as a single team in the future and can take on any threat whether magical or otherwise in the future."

    Diana couldn''t have been happier since it had been a long time since Zach taught her anything. She had already been looking for a reason to get close to him in some way but hadn''t gotten the opportunity or any valid reason to do so.

    Now that he had taken the initiative and asked her, she wasn''t going to waste this godsend opportunity.

    Zach called the rest of the servants who were looking at him with an almost fanatical expression. He looked towards Diana helplessly as he wondered what kind of a selection criterion she employed to gather such a group of obvious fanatics.

    Diana smirked following his helpless expression and began to brief him about the servants who had expressed their willingness to undergo this training. In order to get them to agree to this, she had presented them with various benefits including and not limited to their family status being raised to that of the lower end guards as soon as they started their training.

    None of them could say no to such conditions as they epted without a second thought. This kind of opportunity was practically godsend for these servants who had already epted their situation and were going to spend the rest of their lives in the miserable constraints put on them by their status.

    Addressing all of them, Zach said a few words to motivate the group regarding the uing training regimen that he was nning for these people. But before that he needed to test their physical ability.

    He demonstrated how to do several exercises used by Special Forces in their testing mechanism such as push-ups, pull ups, kip ups etc. He then asked them to follow his lead and do as many as they could one by one.

 Chapter 102 102 Special Training

    Zach was surprised to find that the weakest out of them far surpassed the initial screening test of the Special Forces in his previous world. He felt slightly ashamed as well as quite surprised that the servants of the Luther family were almost at the same level of the Special Forces recruits from his past life in terms of their physical attributes.

    He wondered if all the servants of the Luther family had been like that or had Diana gathered them all based on a set criterion that was more focused towards physical attributes.

    Zach first worked on honing their physique and their hand to eye coordination through a set of exercises that Diana hadn''t needed since she had been a natural talent.

    Following the training regimen he had devised, Zach allowed them a half a day of rest between the training exercises and continuous firing starting from an SMG which was the least difficult in terms of gaining firing experience. He had also used an SMG to teach Diana in the past and this time was no different.

    Still it wasn''t as easy as it had been when he was teaching Diana even though she was helping this time with the servants as they brought them all up to speed with Diana before the actual content of this course could begin.

    Basic shooting and uracy training followed by an intense physical routine was slowly shaping the elite unit into the form that Zach wanted to get out of this training so that he could work on the teamwork and strategic warfare.

    Although the servants weren''t as good as Diana and didn''t have as much talent, none of them was willing to be the ck sheep as they trained harder than everyone else. It was like there was some kind ofpetition going on between them as they pushed each other into bing a better soldier.

    It wasn''t long before the servants were well versed in basic shooting and had an uracy rate of above 90% with basic firearms that Zach was willing to give them for practice.

    It was then that Zach began to teach them the true purpose of their group. Strategic warfare based on their teamwork and how to execute an already formted battle n as wlessly as possible.

    He started from the basics and they simted various situations ranging from hostage rescue to infiltration and assassination missions. In defensive warfare, he taught them how to defend an enclosed space using their low numbers against an enemy that holds an excessive numerical advantage against them.

    He taught them how to back each other up as they moved and as they rested in their barracks. There was not a single moment of their training when they weren''t being tested. But they didn''tin and continued with their training with an iron will that allowed them to soak up everything that Zach taught them like a dry sponge.

    Beginning with basic attack tactics, the group worked their way up towards the hostile infiltration into allied camp with multiple hostages where the situation failed every time a single mistake was made by any of the team members.

    Zach didn''t let any single mistake go as he punished the entire team; Diana included for every failure with an even more intense bout of physical training that let themy sprawled on the ground with coughing fits and hyperventtion.

    Diana on the other hand was happier than she had been in a long while even though Zach became quite harsh with her when they were training. The reason was that she realized during the training that Zach had only chosen to marry Christina for profit and for the betterment of the Luther family. And the only one he cared about was her which was the reason that not even Luna had been included in this special training. Diana conveniently removed even Luna from amongst her rivals in her fantasies let alone Christina who wasn''t there.

    During one of the training sessions as they simted a defensive situation with enemy forces attacking from multiple directions, Diana was supposed tomand the special unit but the situation failed spectacrly. The reason was that Diana who was supposed to give directions to her fellow trainees was busy watching Zach who waspletely engrossed in teaching some of them with a grave expression that only made him look cool and reliable in her eyes.

    Zach noticed what happened and he had a severe urge to p himself in helplessness. He walked towards the still uncaring Diana and noticed her eyes wandering all over his body.

    Feeling that she had panicked in front of him, Zach pulled up close to her and pinched both her cheeks with a little strength that pained her slightly and caused her to awaken from her fantasies with a flushed face.

    Zach couldn''t even begin to understand the kind of effect his actions had on the heart of the maiden in front of him but he carelessly kept throwing oil into the burning fire like a pyromaniac.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    It wasn''t long before Zach shaped the servants into the soldiers he wanted. They weren''t as talented as Diana but they were hard working. And most of all, they were willing to carry out any order without hesitation that Zach gave them in a disciplined manner no matter how strict or against logic it might be. In Zach''s dictionary, this was the minimum criterion for his special unit.

    But what surprised Zach more than anything was that the hardest working person amongst the group was none other than Diana. Even though her talent was the highest amongst the group, she worked herself to the bone and also helped out with instructional duties in his stead once he wasn''t avable.

    Of course the reasons behind her hard work were quite different from what Zach was thinking. She was purely doing this for Zach so he would notice her more than he would normally. After all, Zach would never ck off from bearing witness to the training regimen of each individual. So she wanted to show him her best self.

    Disappointing him was something she did not want to do even at the cost of her life. His very presence was enough for her. As long as she could stay close to him and make him look at her like she was the only woman in the world, and make him feel proud of her, Diana could be content.

    Little did she know that her little desire had already reached fulfillment. Zach was more than satisfied with her performance. He had alreadyplimented her countless times in his head for being so persistent and hard working during her training. He had only held back a lot so she wouldn''t getcent about her abilities which might harm her development in the long run.

    Still a girl in love could move mountains without knowing. Diana too didn''t think about anything other than Zach as she pushed through the several training routines with wless performance but that too came at a cost which she was willing to pay.

    It wasn''t until the end of a training session when Zach finally noticed the adverse effects of her immense effort into the training.

    He saw her wince as she tried to curl her palm several times in an attempt to close her palm into a fist. Zach grew worried since she wouldn''t be able to perform optimally if something happened to her hands during practice. He came forward to check on her and grabbed a hold of the hand she had been shaking wildly as if to put out the fire burning on her hand that kept irritating and hurting her.

    Taken aback by the sudden action of the object of her adoration, Diana''s face turned beet red and her expectations turned up a notch.

    "Is he finally going to ept me? Does he want to confess heбнhereбнin front of all the servants?" Diana tried to prepare her fragile heart for what wasing next but her wildly beating heart grew increasingly out of control the longer he held her hand.

    Of course all these were Diana''s own delusions and fantasies she had concocted from god knows which third rate romance novel.

    Zach carefully observed her hands as he traced one of his fingers along the skin of her open palm.

    Diana felt as if Zach was flirting with her but in reality there was no such thing. He was merely diagnosing the problem and the reason for her pain like the doctor would have done. He had no such feelings in his mind whatsoever. Of course Diana couldn''t see it since she was looking through the pink ss of love and one sided crush.

    Zach observed several boils and blisters on her palm and one on her trigger finger that was especially pronounced and about to burst.

    Several blisters had already burst open while some had boiled up to such an extent that it had be difficult for her to close her palm properly. Of course they were going to hurt her.

    Zach himself had gone through this kind of pain once he started gaming in his previous life. But of course that was nowherepared to the kind of blisters she had on her hands. There were blisters on both of his hands but he could ignore the pain when he needed to y. They were painful for him until they finally burst apart and new but more durable skin reced them. From then on, he had never suffered from the same problem again.

    Zach believed that Diana would have to go through the same process in order to get rid of these blisters.

 Chapter 103 103 Kolt

    Therefore instead of trying to hold her back he intended to do the exact opposite. Not that Diana would have listened to him had he tried to stop her from participating in the training for some time until her hands healed.

    Diana was slightly disappointed when Zach suddenly let go of her hand after tracing the outline of her palm with his fingers that were too thin and beautiful for a man like him. She wanted him to continue and explore more of her body but Zach didn''t fulfill her heartfelt desire and let go of her before she could even begin to enjoy his touch.

    Zach moved towards her back abruptly causing her to turn around with a jerk to keep him within her sights. She was worried that this was it and Zach was about to leave.

    But Zach bent down to pull something out of a rucksack that he liked to carry during the training sessions which kept all the necessary materials such as anti-sprain sprays, first aid kit and a few necessary items for training such as extra targets or team bands used to denote the attack and defense teams amongst the group.

    Zach pulled open the first aid kit and brought out a roll of bandages from it.

    Diana''s eyes sparkled at the thought that Zach was going to tie the bandage around her hand as she wasn''t that far gone to be unable to understand what Zach was fretting about. She knew the condition of her hand herself.

    Of course, Zach didn''t give her that satisfaction thinking that she might get angry and think that he pitied her even though he had designed their training regimen that all the servants were following through without a problem.

    Therefore, Zach handed over the bandages to her and said, "Tie them around your hand during the training sessions. It should help with the pain somewhat and would prevent any new blisters from developing on your hand."

    Zach''s professional attitude slightly irritated her but she was still happy that Zach was worried about her despite all theints she held in her heart.

    Diana didn''t know that Zach was worried to the point of shock. He had never seen someone developing a blister on their trigger finger. He wondered just how many bullets she had to fire in order to reach such a stage.

    Still Zach didn''t try to stop her maniacal approach towards training. He had already heard from Bruce the kind of maniac she was in her mage training previously. Despite finding no signs of any improvement, this girl had ridiculously continued to train her mana capacity to the point of exhaustion and had even gone as far as to hunt in that dangerous forest that was full of magical beasts just so she could improve her strength.

    Had he not known about the kind of person she was, he might have advised her to practice more sparingly to take care of herself. But Zach didn''t know that even that kind of advise would have worked the exact opposite in this scenario where the girl was trying to attract the attention of her object of adoration.

    -------------------------

    One month after the product showcase

    While the training of the Special Forces unit proceeded smoothly under the keen eye of Zach, there was absolute chaos in the world outside the Luther family estate.

    The news regarding a new invention that could carry goods into far off areas within days instead of months began to spread to all the corners of the empire through the various businessmen who originated from Elizabeth city. Rumors of steel monsters travelling at a speed that exceeded even that of agility based magical beasts spread all over the empire as there were countless beings who imed to have seen such a sight.

    These rumors gained substance when the businessmen from Elizabeth city entered the different cities to collect goods to take back to Elizabeth city. The sight of the trucks attracted countless gazes from curious people while some hid in their homes and closed off to the world in order to hide from the beast invasion.

    As these rumors gained substance and became epted facts, the news regarding the trucks reached the royal family pce in the capital city of Rome through reliable sources who were eager to use this opportunity to benefit from the product and to increase their loyalty points with the royal family in one go by being the first to bring the news to them.

    Kolt was the prince of the Norman Imperial family that ruled in the capital city of Rome. Despite having the moniker of prince, Kolt didn''t have the authority of any kind of Prince. He was currently one of the princes who were out of the limelight and were desperately trying to build some influence amongst the powerful families of the city in order to prove their worth to the royal family.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Currently the biggest obstacle in Kolt''s path was capital. No business, even that of the royal family could run without the necessary capital. He couldn''t even develop the necessary alliances and the rtions with the influential families without that capital backing him up.

    Therefore, he actively sought out the sources that smelled of money and profit. The recent news regarding the trucks was so far THE best potential source of capital that he had gotten his hands on. In his Princely pce, Kolt was busy thinking up a method that could solve this problem for him. Although he had already received the news and had even verified its substance through his reliablework, he still didn''t know how to approach the subject.

    His ambitions could not be fulfilled until he found a way to tap into the well of wealth that this new transportation method could offer him.

    Despite being a part of the ruling imperial family of the empire, he didn''t have the power to take over whatever he wanted otherwise all the influential families of the city would rise up in revolt against his family. At most the imperial family had the authority to chance several policies within the empire but the ones that could affect the economic state of the cities could be contested by the respective influential families of those cities if they deemed it to be harmful to the city governance.

    As he began to unravel the mystery behind those trucks, Prince Kolt found out that the trucks were being produced in the Elizabeth city and the hands of Elizabeth family seemed to be involved in it which made him proceed with caution as to what loophole to exploit in order to get into this business. Even Prince couldn''t take on an influential family like Elizabeth family from the front and survive unscathed especially when it came to their new business with such a huge potential.

    Braxton, the very same Braxton who almost got killed by Zach when he tried to Lunaafter Zach saved her from the hunters, was holding a piece of paper in his hand that he handled with quite a bit of care and apprehension because this was the only means of recognizing his enemy whom he hated with all his soul. He had been looking for this hateful man for a long time and only now did he manage to receive a glimpse.

    At the time of his escape, he had promised Zach that he would make Zach regret his actions.

    At that time, he had been unable to locate the whereabouts or the identity of the man who had almost killed him. His inability to find him had irritated him and caused him sleep deprivation for quite some time.

    Zach tormented Braxton even in his sleep after thetter returned home by using the teleportation scroll. He suffered from night terrors and parasomnia for quite a bit of time before normalizing. However, Braxton never forgot the shame of that day and the helplessness he felt. Therefore, he had been on the lookout for Zach or his lookalikes and god had finally favored him as he chanced upon the information regarding his hateful assant out of nowhere.

    Taking that piece of paper with Zach''s image on it, Braxton rushed towards Kolt''s residence with excitement overshadowing his usually frowning face.

    Braxton was in fact hoping that Kolt would help him avenge the previous grievances now that he had gotten a hold of the culprit''s whereabouts from his sources.

    "Brother-inw, take a look at this." screamed Braxton in his excitement when he saw Kolt sitting in his office behind the elegant and expensive mahogany desk.

    Prince Kolt who was busy thinking about the new potential capital source to fund his ambitions was the least interested in whatever his useless brother inw had brought for him to see. He didn''t have time to listen to his good for nothing brother inw rambling about some new business idea that would solve all his problems.

    Noticing Braxton''s bubbling excitement which wouldn''t calm down until he listened to him, Prince Kolt had was left with no other option.

    "What is it?"

    "Look at this. I finally found the man who killed my brother for that slut of a subus." Braxton cleverly didn''t mention that Zach was also the person who almost sent him past the death''s door.

    Prince Kolt was tired of hearing this story. He didn''t want to hear more about the time Braxton''s ''poor and innocent'' brother was murdered in cold blood by a ruthless killer. He was fully aware of the kinds of work Braxton''s other brother was involved in and could be sure that he wasn''t innocent based on even the minimal standards of the term.

 Chapter 104 104 Different Custom

    But the next words that came out of Braxton''s words grabbed his attention like a fish dangling in front of a cat.

    "That bastard is called Zach. I wouldn''t have found out about him since he is so far away in Elizabeth city if not for this thing called Trucks that he has produced recently. Even though he is hiding behind the Elizabeth family, my sources got me this sketch of him so I could confirm it with my own eyes."

    Prince Kolt smiled a little awkwardly like it was his first smile in a decade. His lips twitched at the corners but the jubtion he felt was as real as reality itself.

    Braxton who was excited beyond limit was unable to process the change of expression that urred on Prince Kolt''s face but he was happy that Kolt was willing to take a look at it which meant that Prince Kolt was willing to help him get his revenge.

    Although Braxton was his wife''s brother, Prince Kolt didn''t have any affection for him. If it hadn''t been for the royal family that wanted to give Braxton special attention and care because of his potential of a rare element mage at a very young age, Prince Kolt would have thrown him out of the house a long time ago; brother-inw or not.

    But this was the first time, Kolt wanted to ept Braxton as his brother and exact righteous vengeance on his behalf from them monster who terrorized his dreams and caused him to go sleepless for several nights in a row.

    Kolt couldn''t hide his shining white teeth as he thanked whatever gods there were for giving him the opportunity to follow the path of life he had chosen for himself and for guiding him towards the beacon that would light up the path he wished to tread.

    -------------------

    Several weeks had passed since Zach had gotten engaged and he still hadn''t gotten used to the fact that he now had a fiancижe whom he was going to marry very soon.

    In his previous world, Zach hadn''t even had a girlfriend let alone a wife. This was a big step for him no matter how much he tried to ignore it.

    Even though he wanted to forget about it and focus on training the Special Forces unit, the preparations for his wedding ceremony with Christina didn''t let him escape into fantasnd. The scale of the wedding preparations was sorge that he couldn''t understand how these rich families were still rich after indulging themselves so much.

    Even the Luther family that was previously considered a low end family of Elizabeth city was spending rivers of money every day preparing for his wedding.

    Apparently, this was quitemon in this world.

    When Zach questioned why Bruce was making it all so extravagant, he was thrown off by the condescending look that Bruce gave him in return as if he was some bumbling fool from thecountryside who didn''t know tradition at all.

    As a result, Zach didn''t disturb the arrangements and let Bruce handle everything for him. The result was a never ending party that started a week back and wasn''t about to end any time soon.

    Thankfully it was like a little grandiose in-house pre-wedding celebration where the presence of the groom or the bride wasn''t necessary. Although that didn''t stop Christina froming over to visit every now and then using the excuse of seeing the wedding ceremony arrangements.

    When the scale of preparations started to get even more out of hand, Zach wanted to convey his intentions of keeping it simple and constrained to Bruce who was spearheading the whole thing even when he was busy dealing with several families who wanted to ally themselves with the Luther family after theunch of the trucks.

    Of course Brucepletely ignored his wishes. For him, this wedding was a method of announcing the Luther family''s alliance with the Elizabeth family to the world which would only be beneficial for the Luther family. Therefore, Bruce ignored Zach whenever he started this conversation and made the excuse of being busy all the time.

    But Zach finally got a hold of him at the dinner table and conveyed the anxiety he had been feeling in his heart.

    "I don''t understand how I can get married to someone I hadn''t even met before we got engaged." Zach scratched the back of his head in irritation and confusion as he asked Bruce.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Bruce couldn''t help but think that Zach was acting like a normal teenager despite being such an aplished dark mage. He acted mature in other matters but his wedding got him stumped as well.

    "You say that even though you proposed the marriage in the first ce. I hear that it was your condition to let bygones be bygones with the Elizabeth family." Bruce looked towards Luna for confirmation as he asked Zach rhetorically.

    Luna nodded uncharacteristically in response even though she usually wouldn''t have answered such a question that was intended to put her master in a difficult position.

    "I didn''t know that she wouldбн" Zach wanted to retort but halfway across he stopped since it really was his fault that this situation hade up. Had he not made such a poor attempt at a joke, Christina wouldn''t have agreed to it.

    "Whatever you did to bring about this resultбнI am happy that you did it. This is for the best not only for you but also for the business."

    "I know that is exactly what I had in mind but I am not sofortable with it anymore." Zach was adamant which irritated Bruce but he still used the soft approach to convince Zach.

    "I don''t know how weddings happen in the ce youe from. But this is verymon in this area. There have been high profile weddings where bride and groom hadn''t even seen each other''s face before their wedding day and their married life turned outpletely fine. You have at least talked to each other a few times before and Christina isn''t bad looking either. I am sure you will figure it out on your ownter."

    Zach couldn''t help but curse his past self who wanted to make an unnecessary joke just to see Christina getting worked up for the apology. And now, he didn''t dare look her in the eyes because he was unsure what to talk about with this stranger who had suddenly be his fiancижe.

    Even though Christina jumped at the opportunity that allowed her to tie herself to Zach, he thought otherwise. He regretted every millisecond of that moment when he decided to make that joke but didn''t stop Christina from saying ''yes'' as the answer.

    Everything would have been different if only he had said, "I was just kidding" after she said yes. Maybe he would have embarrassed her but that was better than getting stuck with each other for the rest of their lives.

    Making use of various excuses, Christina had visited several times after his strange proposal. No matter what her intentions were Zach was always wary of seeing her and usually avoided her by heading off to train the Special Forces unit.

    Despite her father''s displeasure, Christina was quite happy with her decision. She was sure that this union would elevate her Elizabeth family to new heights, making it stronger than it was before; stronger than even in her ancestor''s time when the family was at its peak.

    After returning home several times without meeting her fiancижe, Christina had been in low spirits but she didn''t give up. Her goals and ambitions kept her from feeling down and she took the initiative to go see Zach once again.

    No matter what the servants had been trained to tell her, she was adamant on seeing Zach. Fortunately, she found the leader of the Luther family, Bruce and decided to hold the discussion with him since Zach was obviously unwilling to see her for some reason or was truly too busy to spare some time for his future wife.

    "I needed to discuss something with Zach but since he isn''t here, maybe you can make the decision for him. He is a member of your family, right?"

    Christina didn''t leave him any way out. If Bruce said that Zach didn''t belong to his family, then the marriage alliance would have nothing to do with Luther family. Therefore, he had to tread on the narrow path between offending Zach by making decisions on his behalf or to deny the newfound alliance between the Luther family and the Elizabeth family.

    "What do you want to discuss? I need to see if it is something I can make a decision about."

    "I was thinking that since we are going to be allies by marriage in the future, can you allow me to bring some of my people to learn how to operate and maintain this truck? Of course, I am not shameless enough to ask you to divulge the core techniques used in the development of the trucks. I just want my own people to understand some basic things about the trucks so we can carry out basic maintenance at our end so it would save us both some time and fuel. What do you think?" Christina asked in a begging tone totally believing that Bruce could grant her request if he wanted to.

    But of course he couldn''t take such a decision on his own. He needed to ask Zach''s opinion since it was all his idea and his product. What if he made a decision and Zach felt that Bruce was taking advantage of his generosity?

 Chapter 105 105 ChristinaтАЩs Request

    Bruce took another look at Christina who looked very hopeful as she pleaded her case with him.

    Unable to shake her eyes off of him, Bruce did the only thing he could do. He diverted the problem to where it should have gone to in the first ce; to Zach who was avoiding Christina with the excuse of training the Special Forces unit out in the shooting range.

    "I don''t think I should make this decision since this project is being spearheaded by Zach. Why don''t you take it up with him? He should take out some time for his fiancижe at least." Bruce red his nostrils as if he was angry that Zach had not showed up even though Christina hade to visit him from so far away.

    "But he seems to be busy at the moment." Christina was a little reluctant to disturb Zach when he was busy.

    "Why would he be busy when his fiancижe is here to see him? Let me tell you where you will be able to find him. If you do, make sure to tell him not to work so much."

    Bruce finally managed to dump the trouble on to Zach as he told her how to get to the shooting range.

    бн

    Zach was busy giving a lecture on leadership to Diana who was focused towards performing well but most of the time was uncaring about what her team members were trying to do which affected the overall efficiency.

    And that''s when Christina approached Zach rather carefully. She was inwardly wondering what Zach was doing that took up so much of his time. But when she saw him talking with Dianainstead of the training regimen that he was supposedly overseeing, she felt irritated as if something was burning inside of her body.

    But Christina didn''t let that momentary feeling take over her senses as she hade here with a purpose in mind.

    "Why don''t you oversee their training for a bit while I talk to Christina?" Zach ordered Diana as he saw Christina making a beeline towards him.

    Diana obeyed his instructions even though her heart ached in doing so.

    "What brings you here?" asked Zach with a half smile on his face.

    "I wanted to ask something from you. I know it is shameless of me to ask you when our rtionship has barely begun but I have no choice if I want my family to stay at the same position it was before."

    For the first time since their engagement got finalized, Zach felt that Christina was just as awkward around him as he was around her. She was nervous too.

    "Don''t worry, and tell me about whatever you need. If it is within my power, I will try to do my best to help you out." Zach reassured Christina and encouraged her to speak her mind.

    "Can you please allow my Elizabeth family people toe here to learn some tricks and techniques regarding the trucks that you have produced? I am not asking for the core technology; just the basics so they can learn the basic principles that can help them improve their understanding and do maintenance on their own so we don''t have to go back and forth between us for trivial matters." Christina exined her intentions and waited for Zach''s reaction.

    Zach took a moment to think and felt that it shouldn''t be any problem at all for him to agree to her demand.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    But theck of any decipherable expression on his face caused Christina''s mood to fall. She knew that her rtionship with Zach was basically the insurance for a business deal but she still ended up harboring up expectations.

    "If you want I can offer you some of the Elizabeth family''s property in return for training my family''s people. I gave the same offer to the head of the Luther family earlier but he told me that you were overseeing this project and he was reluctant to make this decision on your behalf. So I had no choice but toe find you here."

    Before Zach could open up his mouth to agree to her request, Christina sweetened the pot on her own so that it would be easier for Zach to acquiesce.

    Gears turned in his head as the neurons in there operated at full capacity as Zach thought of the various possible reasons behind such a request from Christina. The only thing that came to mind was that Christina was thinking of exploiting everything that the trucks had to offer in the future in order to build a firm capital base for the already financially sturdy Elizabeth family.

    Zach didn''t think that the progress of Elizabeth family was a bad thing for him considering the fact that it was the family of his future wife. Even if that hadn''t been the case, Zach didn''t consider trucks to be some kind of miracle like the others. He had seen far better stuff than this in his previous life. Therefore, Christina''s request was way too easy for him to fulfill.

    Thinking of the ns he had for the future, Zach felt that it would be a good investment to strengthen the Elizabeth family. After all, he wouldn''t be able to rely on the Luther family forever. Just the amount of manpower he would require in the future was something that Luther family could not provide on its own.

    Not only that, Zach would need increased capital support and strategic support from his future partners. And for that he needed his partners to have some basic understanding of his ventures. Since the Luther family alone was not enough, Elizabeth family could be of great help in that sense considering that the scope of this family was far greater and spread outpared to Luther family which was basically confined to Elizabeth city. This would help him greatly when he tried to expand outside Elizabeth city in the future.

    Zach wasn''t na?ve enough to think that Christina had no selfish motive behind this request. She was using their rtionship to benefit her family business but Zach wasn''t going to judge her on that since he was doing the exact same thing by agreeing to her request. Therefore, he didn''t reject Christina''s offer of Elizabeth family''s property in exchange for the knowledge. After all, Christina would be able to reap enough benefits from the trucks to forget about this meager loss in the future.

    "Since this is the first request you have made of me, I wouldn''t be heartless to reject it. You can choose the first group of people who would undergo training at our facility. Make sure that they are extremely loyal to your family or the chances of the secrets leaking out will be exceptionally high. That would neither be beneficial to me nor to you." said Zach as soon as he was finished considering everything in his mind.

    Christina could not understand how Zach agreed to such a one sided request so easily. She hadn''t taken him to be a fool at all. On the contrary, the man was a genius at business. He had single handedly created the trucks and had even devised the marketing n on his own. Christina was unwilling to believe that such a person was unable to understand what she was nning.

    Therefore, the only thing that came to her mind was that Zach didn''t n to teach her people sincerely at all. He was most probably going to teach them superficial things so that the alliance wouldn''t end up being affected.

    Christina hade prepared to offer up anything in return for her request. The property didn''t matter to the Elizabeth family at all and she believed that it was of no worth to Zach as well who would be able to build up an even greater empire than the Elizabeth family with his potential. Therefore, she was at a loss and somewhat suspicious of Zach''s motives when he didn''t make any additional demands.

    To be honest, Christina had imagined the scenario where she would have to give some sexual favors in return for her request. The reason behind her line of thought was that Zach had asked her to marry him during their very first meeting. No matter how business minded Zach might have been such an action indicated that he harbored at least some amount of lust towards her. Even if he wasn''t a pervert, Christina felt that any man in Zach''s position would want her in that way.

    Christina wasn''t one to leave holes in her arrangements. She didn''t want to receive half-hearted promises out of pity. She was willing to pay in full for what she wanted.

    Therefore, she addressed the elephant in the room first to draw out Zach''s true desires thaty hidden underneath that stubborn exterior. Unlocking his true nature proved to be quite a tough task as she assumed several seductive positions where her assets would be easily visible to him but she failed in her endeavor. It was as if he had the power to deflect or scatter her charm before it even reached him.

    Zach''s facial expressions didn''t change one bit despite her subtle hints at the lengths she was willing to go to. He only had to say the word and Christina would have offered him her long cherished ''first time'' but Zach didn''t say a word.

    In fact, Zach couldn''t understand what more this woman wanted from him after he had already agreed to her request. She looked more foolish and unlike what he had assumed her to be with each passing second.

 Chapter 106 106 Just Respect

    Flustered with his unresponsiveness, Christina blurted out what she had been trying to say for all this time.

    "I am willing to go to any lengths to ensure that my people get trained in this technology. Even if you want some ''special services'' from me; I am willingбнjustбнjust don''t do a half-hearted job with them."

    Zach was annoyed to hear her out this time. Just what kind of impression did this woman have of him? When he thought about it, it was partially his fault for proposing to her in their first meeting but he couldn''t allow such an impression to take root in her mind.

    They were going to get married soon and he could not have his wife sell her body to him for every little thing she asked for. Sure this was a business venture in her eyes but that didn''t mean she could belittle the rtionship between the two at every turn by pulling off stunts like this.

    To nip the evil in the bud, Zach grabbed a hold of Christina''s shoulders in a firm grip that didn''t allow her to resist or move around without his permission.

    "Aah~"

    Christina got scared and a little yelp of surprise escaped her little mouth. She hadn''t expected Zach to pounce on the chance right there and then.

    Unknowingly, disappointment drilled into her heart even though she had expected this to happen. Despite knowing that all of this was a business deal to make her family stronger, she had harbored the hope of finding a decent husband for herself in the deepest reaches of her heart. That hope had now vanished since her fate was already set in stone.

    But soon she witnessed the expression on Zach''s face changing into one that gave off the feeling of a lonely and cold iceberg in the middle of the sea that should be avoided at all costs. She became sure that she had offended Zach somehow.

    Trying to decipher the meaning behind his current expression, she sifted through a lot of possibilities in her mind but could only think of two. Either he was angry with her over her outrageous demands before the finalization of their rtionship or for treating him like a fool as she offered him her body in return for the valuable information. Even she knew how valuable that information she asked for was. Just her body and a share in the property wasn''t enough to cover the gains Elizabeth family would receive through it.

    Zach noticed her wandering eyes and shook her body slightly to shift her focus towards him as he said, "Look at me" in a low tone of voice that was strangely melodious to her ears.

    Christina''s full attention was on her soon to be husband as he held her shoulders in his iron grip and made her look at him with that charming voice. Even though she was a professional businesswoman, she couldn''t understand the current situation. As such she did what he told her and looked him straight in the eyes.

    "Christina" Zach called her name in the same mesmerizing but stern tone.

    "Yusбнyes" Christina stumbled on her words as she unconsciously replied.

    "I want to make something very clear to you before we go forward with this rtionship."

    "Mm~" Christina could only make silly sound to answer him as she felt his heavy breath on her face. He was just that close to her which made her feel strange and slightly apprehensive about what he was going to say next. He either wanted to draw a boundary between their rtionship or he wanted to graft the terms before they did the deed. It was not that farfetched a theory considering the scenario she had found him in when she came here; him talking to that beautiful girl of the Luther family earlier when he should have been ''busy''. Depending upon the meaning of that scenario, it was entirely possible that Zach had no interest in her at all and only wanted her body.

    "Although the forces that have led us to our current situation where we are about to get married to each other weren''t exactly normal. I don''t intend to disparage the spirit of our rtionship in any manner." Zach couldn''t tell her how irritated he was with her approach towards this matter but he made it clear that he had no intention of defiling her or making their married life into a series of business deals.

    Christina who was on the receiving end of it could only be shocked out of her wits. She had always believed that men were the same everywhere. Before she could say her piece in an attempt to extract the truth out of him, Zach began to talk once again.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Our rtionship may have started as a business deal for profit between the Luther family and Elizabeth family. But that is where the business matters wille to a halt. As my future wife, I won''t force you to do things that you don''t want to do. I will give you the respect that you deserve and as your future husband, I expect the same in return from you."

    Christina was in a trance as she heard him say the words that she could not have expected from any man she knew. Therefore, she didn''t know how to answer him and could only stare at him like a lifeless doll as he tried to hold back his anger at being treated in such a way by his future wife.

    She finally found the reason why he had been so angry earlier. She had treated him like a pervert who would go after her body at the first chance without even knowing his true self. And to top it all off, as his future wife, she had acted like a cheap slut who could give away her body to anyone for profit. What would a husband feel upon seeing his wife act in such a manner? Of course she would be just as angry as Zach had been; maybe even more than that.

    A shame she had never felt before crawled up to her face from who knows where and warmed up her cheeks as a crimson hue covered her already rosy cheeks and stretched down to her long neck.

    As she tried to cover up her shame with her hands, she noticed that Zach had already let go of her some time ago. She looked around but couldn''t find him. It seemed that he had left her there to ponder on her own mistakes.

    Instead of trying to locate him, Christina turned around on her feet and left. She didn''t know how to face him after showing him such a shameless side of her.

    On her way back to the Elizabeth family estate, the servants that apanied her all felt that their youngdy seemed a little distant; even more than usual.

    However, in reality, their youngdy was in shock. She had never expected that Zach would turn out to be a gentleman in the truest sense. The term seemed to have been coined only for him since all the men she had encountered in her life excluding her brother and her father were the same; without an ounce of shame and had nothing in them that could make her respect them in any manner.

    A woman as beautiful as herself was bound to make waves wherever she went so she was quite used to the attention of the men around her; from the lowest to the higher tier and status, all men looked at her with the same dirty gaze and even her parents had never tried to call them out in front of the people. Due to that very reason, Christina had taken it as the norm and hade to hate and ignore all the men in general who were not only ipetent but also incapable of thinking other than with their dicks.

    Everything passed by her like a blur as if the world didn''t register with her ever since she had that talk. She didn''t remember how she got home, how she answered all the questions her father asked her or how she got to her room and on her bed for the night because the only thought that upied all her mental capacity was how to face Zach again in the future after showing such a miserable side of her to him.

    She rolled around the bed trying to shake off the difort she felt in her entire body but the irritation didn''t subside no matter how many times she rolled or how much she kicked the air with her dainty feet.

    In her defense, this isekai took yellow jokes about women as nothing serious. Even her parents despite their all epassing power tried to avoid magnifying the situation by not making a fuss every time something like this happened. Therefore, she had grown up listening to men making jokes about her beautiful body and how it would feel if they managed to get their hands on it. Even her status as the future heir of the Elizabeth family didn''t deter them from dastardly conversations about her body.

    And in the due course of time, she began to assume that all the men were like that and maybe they really were.

    But Zach, her future husband turned out to be different from them; different from those hateful beasts who could only think with their little worms.

    She wondered just how different he waspared to the men she knew. A desire to venture into those unexplored waters took over her as she thought about Zach until slumber took over her and she proceeded into thend of dreams where she encountered him once again.

    бн

 Chapter 107 107 During The Wedding

    The day for the wedding came only after both the families were too tired of the celebration that had been going around for close to a month with little ceremonies in between in the name of tradition. Zach had even wondered if his wedding was only an excuse for both the families to keep the party going.

    Both the families made quite a big deal out of it as if there wouldn''t be any wedding after this one in their respective households. Just the way both the estates had been decorated was beyond anything Zach had ever seen. There were things that he had never seen before; decorations based on magic. Several mages had been hired to keep these decorations running. Simr was the case with all the lighting that changed colors every two or three minutes.

    Both the families had gathered in the Luther family estate as per the tradition. Both families had invited the distant family members and friends. And of course all the notable families of their stature had been invited to the ceremony to bear witness to their alliance.

    The only one missing from the ceremony was Diana who refused to attend the wedding ceremony of the person she loved. Of course she made the excuse that she didn''t want to deal with the male members of these reputed families who had their noses up their asses and their eyes in the gutter. She didn''t want to go through such a thing again after she had to go through it at the product showcase ceremony a month back.

    Even Bruce didn''t force her to attend after hearing her reason. This ceremony was very important for both the families and he didn''t want anything to sour the mood of everyone present especially because this was the wedding of his benefactor. There was another reason behind his decision that he was unwilling to admit to himself. He was afraid that some other rich prick would take a liking to his little sister and he would be powerless to stop him. Diana was quite beautiful after all.

    Zach had to stand at the entrance of the mansion to receive all the guests. It seemed that as the groom, it was his responsibility to do so. Cursing the customs of this isekai, Zach did what he had to do but it almost took it his all just to finish receiving the guest because of their huge number. It felt as if both the families were taking revenge on him for something he did to them.

    Thankfully, he didn''t have to keep standing there after the appointed time of ceremony came close even though the guests were still arriving apparently uncaring about the timings conveyed to all of them.

    Even after he came inside, Zach couldn''t be rid of those money grubbers. They kepting to him to thank him for helping them all out.

    Zach on the other hand, barely recognized any of them and only nodded his head sparingly towards each of them before moving on to the next one. These people didn''t show the slightest bit of attitude despite the way Zach was treating them. They felt that Zach had the capability to treat them that way because of his increasing influence that would probably not stop any time soon considering his achievements.

    Not only that but he had brought each and every one of them pile of benefits that they were not willing to part with by offending Zach or anyone associated with him. The trucks had not only raised their profits by manifold but had also allowed them ess to foreign markets that were previously unreachable. That was the reason that all of them wished him happiness for the future and not a single one of them cursed him for his inability to socialize properly.

    There was one family though that had not received any benefits from this project; the Macrae family. They had previously tried to take over the leftover assets of the Sosis family that rightfully belonged to the Luther family in alliance with the Elizabeth family. Although, Christina had apologized to Zach on behalf of the Elizabeth family and made use of the trucks, Macrae family had failed to take the initiative to do that since they couldn''t get as much benefits as the Elizabeth family after Sarah lost to Christina in her approach of Zach.

    As a result, Sarah didn''t bother apologizing to Zach and in turn took over everything left behind by the Sosis familypletely without sparing anything for the Luther family since she didn''t expect to form an alliance with Luther family any time soon.

    Sarah had alsoe to attend the ceremony on behalf of the Macrae family but wasn''t too enthusiastic about it. She was in fact here to measure the degree of danger that each family allied with Zach posed to her family now that they had fallen behind in the race for progress. She was worried that there would soone a time when the rest of the families like the Elizabeth family would close the gap with her Macrae family that had reigned at the top of Elizabeth city for decades.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    As the gap became shorter, there would be families contending for the top position of the city with them. To her father, there was no greater humiliation than that. Therefore, she was sure that blood would flow at the time and she didn''t want to bear witness to that.

    Sarah took a look at Zach who had a forced smile on his face as he angrily nodded towards all those people that approached him and sighed heavily. She could not help but regret. She regretted not being faster; faster than the bitch of the Elizabeth family who acted even faster than her. Sarah prided herself for being a business equal to that of Christina despite being born in a mage family instead of a business family. But on the day of the productunch, she had lost to Christina quite thoroughly. If only she had secured the alliance with Zach, she would have been in Christina''s ce today and it would have been her family widening the gap between them and the rest of the families which would have secured their number one spot for decades toe.

    In an attempt to be less conspicuous and to pass the time that was moving slower than a snail, Sarah hid herself in a corner where no one would notice her drinking all by her lonesome to drown her frustration.

    Christina on the other hand was like a fish in the water switching between guests every few minutes as she tried to give time to all the prominent members of the city. Her smile couldn''t be hidden from anyone as it was practically stered over her face the entire time.

    Some took it as the disy of the bride''s happiness but only the truly cunning and business minded ones knew what it truly was.

    Her cheerful greeting was actually a deration; a demonstration of her victory over everyone else in attendance. It was a disy of the future authority that she will wield due to her husband''s influence over the transportation industry.

    Despite being the bride and groom, Zach and Christina weren''t the busiest of the lot. That slot had been upied by Bruce who was building connections, making all kinds of promises and cautiously avoiding the traps between the cunning words of all those who approached him. He was sweating profusely as he tried to bring as much profit to the family as possible as he wearily looked in the direction of Zach who was annoyingly sipping on his wine as the procession of guests said their greetings to him one by one.

    Bruce envied how carefree Zach could be since he barely cared about anyone in this ce. On the other hand Bruce who had to deal with all the business matters had to make good with everyone in attendance on the off chance that they would be a business partner in the future.

    The reason that Bruce had to take on this entire burden was that Zach wasn''t interested. Otherwise, everyone in attendance knew that Zach was the actual source of the trucks while Bruce was only looking after all the business activities that involved socializing with others.

    Therefore, despite not having anything to do with the production of the trucks, Bruce was in an extremely important position. He could determine the fate of anyone as long as he willed it so which was the reason that he was being buttered up by everyone from all sides.

    Unlike Sarah and Zach who were drinking to their hearts'' content, Bruce was so crowded that he couldn''t even grab a drink for himself let alone take a sip. His throat was parched after all the pleasantries he had exchanged but not a single person cared whether he was thirsty or not as long as they managed to exchange some words with him. After all, those words could decide whether their business would progress in the future or not.

    Unlike the Luther family where Bruce was being swamped by the horde of unruly guests, George had it quite good. With a ss of wine in hand, George wandered around and exchanged pleasantries just like his daughter. But unlike his daughter, he wasn''t doing this to unt or to taunt the others who couldn''t be in his ce today. He was doing this so he would not appear to be vain and superficial after having gotten his hands on a treasure that everyone coveted but couldn''ty their hands on.

 Chapter 108 108 During The Wedding II

    A person in his position had to think of countless situations and prepare a suitable contingency n for each of them. He was not only a seasoned business man but also someone who knew how the world worked.

    As the head of the most prominent business family in the city, he knew that being at the front of a prominent group came with a price. As the saying went that the tallest tree attracted the fiercest wind.

    George wasn''t worried that the trucks would fail in any kind of scenario; if anything they worked too well. He had checked the performance himself. On the contrary, he was worried that they would make too much noise; enough to cause chaos in the capital which might attract some big fish towards their city.

    And when the big fish got involved in something, the little fish had to make room for them or end up devoured by the big fish. That was how things worked in the real life but his daughter was caught up in the momentary sess of this business venture.

    George didn''t try to undermine the proceedings in any way. On the other hand, he acted cool even when the people didn''t pay him any mind and gave more attention to his son-inw. It wasn''t a bad thing for now as long as the situation didn''t get out of hand. George felt that Zach had the right to enjoy the fruit of his efforts as well.

    His son-inw might look like a simpleton or an antisocial person but George already knew the kind of person he actually was. Zach was in fact the most ambitious person he had ever seen in his life. The reason he didn''t care about any single person in attendance was because they were not worthy of his attention at all. They neither had the power nor the potential that Zach could develop on his own given some time.

    He decided to be the lookout for any disaster that might head their way in ce of Zach due to the increasing brilliance of the trucks.

    He wasn''t sure if Zach had considered this angle before or not but this was hardly the time for him to get this discussion going with his son-inw. Today was an important day for his daughter and he didn''t want to ruin it by being the harbinger of bad news and bad luck.

    George carefully put this long pending discussion at the back of his mind as he would get ample time to discuss this with his son-inw in theing days. But that discussion wouldn''t be as a business partner but as a family member.

    As a veteran businessman, he knew that the value of a subject changed with the time and ce. Therefore, his concern regarding the well being of his daughter and his son-inw would hold much more importance thenpared to now.

    Unlike Diana who was reluctant toe to Zach''s wedding because of the bleeding wound in her heart, Luna was glued to her master''s back. She followed him around like an unwavering shadow whose presence remained unaffected even in the absence of light. Even when Zach was called out by several maids to change into the ceremonial clothes, Luna followed after him without a single word.

    The maids tried to dissuade her but Luna was stubborn and quite intent on following after him as if she wanted to dress him up with her own hands. She barely held herself back from burning them all to a crisp since she didn''t want to create a scene at her master''s wedding ceremony. Of course the reason for that was something else but she couldn''t tell everyone that.

    Contrary to the norm, Zach was being attended to by Elizabeth family''s maids who were chosen by his future wife instead of the usual Luther family maids as they had gone to attend to his bride. Apparently this was the custom of this world but Zach didn''t care about any of it.

    He pushed open the door to his room with Luna in tow as he closed the door and ordered the maids to remain outside since he didn''t need their help.

    The maids tried to make silly noises in order to show their resistance but before their meek voices could reach Zach, he had already closed the door in their faces.

    Left with no other option, the maids could only wait outside the room like a bunch of guards as they discussed the shameless girl following around the groom on his wedding day.

    "Don''t worry; our youngdy will put her in her ce once she marries Lord Zach."

    "Hmm~"

    "What? You don''t think that Lord Zach would prefer this girl over ourdy? She doesn''tpare to ourdy in any way. Just look at the way she was dressed like a country bumpkin."

    "No, it''s not that I doubt ourdy''s ability. It''s just that our new master seems to be very indulgent. He didn''t stop her from entering his quarters at all. On the contrary, he stopped us. Maybe she is his maid?"

    "Maybe; Lord Zach seems to be quite shy since it is the first time he has met us as I noticed that he didn''t talk much at the gathering as well. As for that maid, I can only say that she is extremely snobbish and shameless. Our youngdy must definitely get rid of her after she takes her ce beside Lord Zach."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    As the maids criticized the ''maid'' Luna in whispering voices that couldn''t be heard by anyone else unless they pushed their faces between the maids'' bosoms in order to eavesdrop, Zach was busy changing into his wedding suit.

    Since it was Zach''s first time getting married and on such arge scale to boot, there were many things he was confused about. He had never even imagined attending a wedding of this caliber in the past but now he had be the main character of the wedding that everyone would envy and look up to.

    Zach somehow pulled on all the clothes prepared for him. Surprisingly, there were fouryers of clothes even when the weather was warm. Apparently, the difort of the groom and bride in their wedding clothes was amon theme in both the worlds.

    Zach was only able to put on all the clothes thanks to the help of Luna who knew quite a bit about the clothes of this world. She adjusted his clothes and his hair for quite some time until she was satisfied with the look.

    "Go ahead master. It''s done. Take a look."

    She grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to take a look at himself in the mirror.

    The man that looked back at him from the other side of the mirror looked drastically different from his normal self that was nowhere as chic as that man in the mirror. Thinking that the clothes definitely made the man, Zach turned to the side and back in order to view his reflection from various angles and couldn''t help but be mesmerized by the whole picture.

    Zach even felt like he was dreaming but Luna''s carefully nudges and pinches from behind him brought him back to reality as he jerkily turned around to face her and with an annoyed expression asked her, "WHAT?".

    Of course, Luna wasn''t deterred by this scary look on her master''s face because she knew that he was only doing this to hide his embarrassment.

    She looked him straight in the eye and said, "I want itбнNOW".

    Zach couldn''t believe what she was asking him to do after dressing him up herself. He couldn''t help but consider if she had some fetish for doing it with him in these clothes.

    "Why does it have to be now? Can''t you wait?"

    "You won''t be avable tonight since you would probably be busy with your new wife and the poor me would have to go hungry for two days in a row. Don''t forget about your poor subus, master; now that you are getting yourself a wife." Luna pouted yfully as she pulled on his sleeve in a seductive manner.

    Just as Zach was about to be drawn in by the seductress, the door to his room burst open as if it had been rammed open from the outside with a battering ram the size of a dinosaur.

    "Tsk~" Luna was angry at the sudden intrusion but seeing who the intruder was, she retreated to her master''s back. This person was going to be her master''s father-inw in the future and even if she didn''t like him, she had to give him some respect for her master.

    Zach on the other hand waspletely focused on George who had a serious look on his face. It had to be known that George was one of the most aplished businessmen out there. It wasn''t easy to shake him up to such a degree. Something big enough to make him act like that had definitely happened.

    "What happened?" It was an involuntary reaction that Zach blurted out the question that George was raring to answer already.

    "Someone unexpected hase to the wedding ceremony despite not being invited. I am afraid we do not have the ability to decline entry to this person no matter how powerful we may be in Elizabeth city. And unfortunately, this person is asking for you by name."

    "Who is it?" Zach tried to ask George but thetter grabbed him by the arm and almost dragged Zach with him.

    "You will see. Better not to let him wait."

 Chapter 109 109 During The Wedding III

    Zach didn''t see fit to insist on getting answers. He just followed along George like the cabins of a train follow the engine without question as they move on the same path.

    Of course, Luna wasn''t going to separate from Zach even if it was the devil himself who hade for him.

    When they exited the dressing room, the maids who were supposed to be there waiting for Zach were surprisingly nowhere to be seen. And in their ce, stood two armed guards with a garb that waspletely unfamiliar to Zach even though he had taken the pain to study the familial crests of the various families in attendance.

    Zach deduced that the guards could only belong to the person who hade to visit him uninvited.

    Luna moved behind the two as they headed towards a room that was neither the banquet hall, where the ceremony was going to take ce, nor a room that she had seen before.

    The Luther family mansion was so grandiose that Luna had never truly seen the whole thing before. It wasn''t such a surprise that she hadn''t been to this room before.

    Surprisingly, George led Zach to the ce without any error and without the aid of any servant.

    The two guards who had been following after them stopped outside the room and took their positions on either side of the room after they closed the door behind Zach and his entourage.

    Zach found himself in a room with a huge ornate oval table lined with exquisite chairs on either side of it. It seemed like an antique conference room of some sort. Zach truly liked the style of it. But of course, even more than the design of the conference room, he was interested in the man sitting on the head chair, which was more akin to a majestic couch, as if he belonged there and no force in the world could dare to move him.

    He was wearing magnificent ornate robes in front of which even his wedding attire, he had been admiring earlier, lookedckluster. The man had a confident smile on his face and he appeared to be one with the background. His clothing and his bearing quite matched with the magnificence of the room.

    Other than the man, there were two other people he knew who were already present in the room but they had been standing off to the side as if they were unworthy of sitting at the same table as this man. One was his soon to be wife Christina and the other person was her brother and his brother-inw Barry.

    Zach wondered how much of a big shot this person was. He wasn''t old enough to be the patriarch of some top ss family and looking at the number of guards this person had brought with him, he could either bebeled as an extremely important VIP or some paranoid idiot with money to spare.

    There was another man standing right behind the man and Zach assumed him to be the bodyguard of the pompous looking man who was trying to assert his presence. From his clothes and the air of power surrounding the person, Zach could tell that this person was a mage; maybe an extremely powerful one at that.

    George let go of Zach''s arm as soon as they entered the room and went forward to greet the man sitting on the head chair. George was the first one to bring his right hand forward in front of his chest as he bent his upper body forward in a gesture of respect that was simr to the salute of the olden times in his previous world.

    Christina followed after him as she curtsied like a properdy who was learned in the proper ways. Barry followed after her and saluted just like his father, George.

    Zach was unsure what to do as he was unaware of the status of the man on the receiving end. He didn''t know what the proper etiquette for amoner like him would be in such a situation. He was hesitating whether to imitate George and Barry or not.

    Thankfully, Luna helped him make his decision by pulling on his coattails from behind in her nervousness and the strength of her grip told him of the hatred oozing out of her for this man. Zach couldn''t help but feel that this wasn''t the usual feral Luna who hated most of the humans out there. This hatred was much more targeted as if she felt disgusted by the person sitting in front of them. Zach could see it in her eyes how much she wanted to be away from that strange man.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Zach held on to Luna''s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze in order to reassure her of his presence in order to let her calm down a bit. He was worried that Luna would end up doing something irreparable due to her impulsive behavior.

    He then turned to look at the stranger who was done receiving greetings from George, Christina and Barry and was looking at Zach as if he was waiting for Zach to put on the show as well.

    As if to answer his expecting gaze, Zach said, "I am sorry but both of us haven''t met you before so we don''t know how to address you let alone greet you properly. I apologize if there is something that the two of us have done to offend you due to theck of our knowledge."

    Zach could tell that Luna was barely holding herself back from pouncing on to the man. Therefore, he spoke for the both of them as he tried to pry out the information regarding the man from nobody in particr as hey down his apprehensions in front of everyone in the room.

    At his solemn eptance of hisck of knowledge, Christina felt like it was her responsibility to share that information with her future husband. She came to him like a stealthy cat as her steps made no sound at all against the marble floor. Her lips came so close to his ears that they were practically touching his earlobe.

    Zach didn''t mind but Luna couldn''t help but feel that Christina was unting her rtionship with Zach to her.

    "This person is Prince Kolt from the Norman Royal family that resides in the capital city of the empire. They are single handedly the most powerful family in the empire. Therefore, please watch your words around him and don''t try to antagonize him if possible. He has brought along hundreds of men and they are currently surrounding this ce with not an inch of gap left unwatched. A single extra word from you can be the difference between the life and death of some people attending our wedding."

    Christina was tactful enough to not say such words out loud. She had practically muttered these words in the depths of his ear so even Zach barely managed to make sense of it.

    Christina''s words were not only full of information that he had wanted to hear but she also warned him of the potential danger that this person posed to the families in case he decided to let loose his men who were waiting like hungry hyenas outside the estate.

    Prince Kolt wasn''t the least bit bothered that Zach wasn''t showing him the respect he deserved as the member of the Norman Royal family because he was here for a different purpose. There was no reason to engage in trifles and waste time that could be used to carry out productive business that would yield him capital for future investments.

    Instead of replying to Zach''s witty remarks, he snapped his finger maintaining his graceful and royal outlook. He looked like a graceful dandy from an elite family with people wiping his ass every time he shat.

    "You don''t need to bother with the formalities since you are unaware of the customs of our empire. You might not recognize who I am but there is someone who came here just to meet you and even dragged me along with him just so he could introduce me to you. He told me that you are his old friend whom he has been unable to find for a long time now. I wonder if you still remember him."

    As if the guards had been waiting for him to snap his magical fingers, they opened the doors in a swift but practiced motion and in came a person that both Zach and Luna recognized the instant he appeared in the conference room.

    The man who entered the conference room with all the eyes on him was none other than Braxton who had broken the news about Zach to him. He assumed that Prince Kolt hade here on his ount to exact revenge on Zach for the injustice he did to Braxton in the past. Of course all this was his own fantasy and Kolt was only here to make a profit. But the smug look on Braxton''s face revealed the things going through his head.

    Zach almost dug his fingernails into his fist as he tried to control himself fromshing out at the bastard who had almost managed to kill both him and Luna at the same time in the forest by leading them to the Earth Bear.

    Just like Zach, Luna also remembered Braxton quite vividly since he had been the reason that Luna had almost caused the death of her precious master. Possessed by her wrath, she intended to rush out and tear Braxton apart with her own hands but Zach held on to her wrist as if to hold her back from doing something that might haunt the both of them.

 Chapter 110 110 During The Wedding IV

    As a result, Luna looked like a feral cat about to pounce on her target but was being held back by her leash.

    Prince Kolt looked like he didn''t care about the show taking ce in front of him but in face all his senses were focused on the reactions of Zach and Luna as he scrutinized even the tiniest change on their faces.

    Prince Koltughed in merriment as soon as he noticed the oozing enmity from the two as soon as theyid their eyes on Braxton who had entered the room following his cue.

    "Looks like your friend can barely hold herself back after seeing her old friend. Maybe we should let them have a moment alone to catch up and discuss old times since they have met after such a long time. What do you say?" Prince Kolt''s eyes were focused on Luna as he addressed Zach with obvious glee clouding his face. Moreover, Prince Kolt''s words were as provocative as possible towards Zach in order to evoke some kind of reaction from him.

    Realization dawned on him like the first ray of light slowly illuminates the dark world into an orangey haze. Zach finally figured out what Prince Kolt wanted to achieve bying so far from the capital.

    The only reason Prince Kolt had left the warmth of his home to travel so far to meet Zach wasn''t to exact revenge on him but because he held leverage against Zach. Prince Kolt surely knew about the true identity of Luna which was no doubt the courtesy of his old enemy Braxton who had somehow escaped his death at thest second.

    Kolt''s previous words were in fact a subtle threat to Zach so that he would not dare to reject whatever n Kolt had concocted against him. And if by some chance, Zach tried to resist, Kolt could just reveal Luna''s identity to the public which would inevitably lead to the ousting of both of them from the society. There was no way that anyone would dare to help them out afterwards. No rtionships that Zach had forged through Bruce in this city were strong enough to ovee the resistance of all the families in the city.

    Zach didn''t mind giving in to the Prince if it could save Luna from being persecuted by the humanmunity even though he didn''t like it. Kolt could not only turn everyone in the city against Zach and Luna with a few words, he could even have the two of them arrested with the number of people he had brought with him to surround the area.

    The only reason that Prince Kolt would have pulled off this stunt could only be that he needed something from Zach. Otherwise he would have already revealed Luna''s secret and would have arrested both of them; Luna for being a subus and Zach for fraternizing with the enemy.

    Zach could not help but feel that the whole thing was a carefully nned operation to take advantage of his only weakness. As a result he angrily stared at Braxton who was the root cause of the problem but thetter gave Zach a smile of his own.

    Instead of taking out his anger on Braxton instantly, Zach wanted to learn of Kolt''s true intentions. He could tell that Braxton despite how haughty he was acting had no say in the matter at all and Kolt was in control of everything. Therefore, addressing Kolt, Zach asked, "Let''s not beat around the bush any longer and get straight to the point. What do you want from me exactly?"

    "What do you think I came here to do?" Prince Kolt answered with a question of his own with an amusing expression on his face as if he found the whole situation quite fun.

    "If I knew, why would I have asked you?" muttered Zach angrily as he held back his desire to punch Kolt in the face.

    "I have to say, I am a bit disappointed. You hardly seem to be as bright as I had imagined you to be. The creator of the mighty trucks seems to be a country bumpkin with hay for brains. I wonder how you managed to make something so profound."

    "Stop with the threats and the witty quips and tell me what you want so we can get on with this." said Zach with a bit of anger and anxiety in the mix.

    "You are quite the straightforward person. I can''t say that I hate your kind entirely. On the contrary I like people like you because of how efficient talking to you can be. You don''t waste time unlike the others." Kolt smiled sinisterly as if he had caught Zach within the web that he had carefullyid out to trap him.

    On the other hand Zach looked impatient as he folded his hands in front of his chest and stared impassively at Prince Kolt as if saying, "Tell me once you are done ying around so we can talk business".

    Prince Kolt finally relented and stopped teasing Zach who was on the verge of bursting out with emotions.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Even though you don''t seem as smart as I had imagined, you must be quite the genius considering you invented such a monstrosity all by yourself. Therefore, I will leave it to your intelligence to understand the meaning behind my earlier actions."

    Zach nodded in response even though he felt irritated by his words.

    "I am assuming that your truck business is in the expansion phase and you might be thinking of establishing a chain of your own under your own name or that of your affiliates." Kolt looked at George and Christina as he uttered the word ''affiliates''.

    Zach had no other option but to nod at him with a gaze filled with annoyance if he wanted to understand the true reason Kolt hade to look for him. Even though he was sure that it had something to do with the trucks, he had no other information to suggest or support further reasons behind Kolt''s actions.

    Thankfully, Kolt seemed to be satisfied with Zach''s cooperation as he continued talking once again.

    "I want to help you out in expanding your business beyond the reaches of your imagination. What I want is for you to hand over the majority shares of your trucks chain to me. Unlike you who are unable to protect the entire length of the operations of your vehicles, I can guarantee that your products will be protected along the way in the name of the Norman Royal Family."

    "And you expect me to just hand it to you? Do I look stupid?" asked Zach sarcastically as he red at Prince Kolt for even suggesting such a thing.

    "No, of course not; on the contrary, I think you are quite smart. And for that very reason you will want to ept my offer." Prince Kolt had a threatening tone as he uttered these words despite maintaining a smile on his face throughout.

    Braxton couldn''t hide his joy at the situation. He had long since wanted to make this dreame true. He wanted to see the man who had almost killed him, on his knees begging for mercy. The day hade that Braxton would finally see it happening thanks to the timely help of his brother-inw.

    As soon as he saw that Zach was in a passive position in front of Prince Kolt, he produced several sheets of paper out of nowhere and threw them on the table in front of Zach.

    It appeared that the so called royal family had already drawn up the papers to get their motives fulfilled and were only awaiting the signatures from Zach toplete the business transaction that would seal the fate of the truck chain that Zach wanted to build sooner orter.

    "Sign these papers if you want to get out of here on your own feet." Braxton yed the role of the tough guy in order to feel power over the man who nearly took his life in the past.

    "Are you threatening me?" Zach asked in a menacing manner that frightened Braxton out of his wits for a second and almost made him fall back on his ass beforeing back to his senses.

    "Of course not; why would I need to threaten you since you already know that this is an advantageous deal for you." Braxton acted his part since Prince Kolt had already instructed him to wait until they managed to get Zach to sign the deal. He had promised Braxton that they would be able to torture him to their heart''s content before finishing him off.

    Zach on the other hand felt trapped in the designs of Braxton and Prince Kolt. He knew that the moment he decided to go against Prince Kolt, Luna''s identity would be revealed and they would have a hard time staying in this city. Moreover, the extent of the damage might even spread to the Luther family and the Elizabeth family for their association with him.

    Still he hesitated. Unable to bring himself to sign the documents, Zach felt as if he was signing away his freedom in doing so. The reason was that he knew that the royal family definitely nned to wring himpletely dry. They wouldn''t let him go now that they knew his weakness. Surely, by using this weakness they would have a ve who would willingly listen to all theirmands in the future and would be an unending source of finances with his genius business acumen.

 Chapter 111 111 During The Wedding V

    George was not only older than all of them in the room but was also the most experienced in the business dealings like these. Given his life spent doing business, he had been a part of many such negotiations where he had to make deals at the edge of sword tips due to bad decisions but had always found a way to not only survive but also thrive. Given that the parties weren''t exactly trying to hide the situation, George could easily piece together the entire situation. He quickly realized that Zach wasn''t acting like his usual self. Given how outspoken he usually was in matters pertaining to business, George assumed that Prince Kolt had some dirt on Zach to make him act in such a cautious manner.

    Even though Zach was soon going to be his son-inw, there was nothing that George could do in the current situation where Zach was pitted against the Prince of Norman family. He couldn''t exactly support Zach against a member of the royal family. That would be nothing less than treason which would result in him being sent to the gallows.

    His only course of action was to stay silent as he took repeated nces at his daughter to determine whether thetter had also figured it out or not and what her reaction to it was if she had.

    No matter what, his daughter hadn''t taken any action that could be considered to be in favor of Zach or even the slightest bit against the Prince for that matter. Just like George, she had not taken any position in the matter even though her husband to be was involved in it. George couldn''t figure out whether to be sad on her daughter''s impassiveness or to be happy at her impartial business mind that wouldn''t budge at all if not for profit. There was no room for emotions and rtionships in her dictionary, since all that space was upied by just two words; profit and loss.

    Zach got more annoyed the more he looked at the contracts that had been drawn to take advantage of his weakness but he didn''t show any signs of agitation or frustration on his face. His face was so impassive that even Prince Kolt would have been deceived had he not already seen his reaction when Braxton entered the room.

    Before anyone could properly make sense of the situation, Zach summoned the fire gloves from his weapons arsenal in a lightning fast movement. Currently the weapon that could grant him the highest burst damage was the me Gloves. Therefore he opted to use them in this thin as ice situation where he wouldn''t possibly get another opportunity.

    Arms wreathed in mes, Zach lunged towards Prince Kolt who in his royal grace was still lounging on the head chair not expecting the sudden outburst from Zach.

    Several gasps were heard throughout the conference room as various jaws crashed to the ground in astonishment. No one could have expected Zach to actually try to attack the Prince even in their wildest dreams.

    Even Luna who knew Zach the best could never have imagined that Zach would attack the prince all of a sudden. ording to her impression of Zach, she had never seen him acting so impulsively. In her view, he was an extremely calcting man who nned meticulously and waited for the right time to act against even his most hated enemies. So this sudden impulsive behavior caught her off guard because just a few moments ago he had been trying to hold her back from attacking Braxton. And now he himself had directly attacked the Prince.

    Several chairs in his path were flung into the wall due to the sheer force of his collision and the ming aura surrounding his arms granted him explosive eleration that allowed him to reach Prince Kolt before anyone could even take notice of him.

    s, the punches crackling with fire were unable to make contact with their target. There was another sh and Zach found his sped tightly by a foreign pair of hands. No matter how much he tried to rid himself of their grasp, the tenacious grip on his arms didn''t relinquish its hold on him.

    The mes flowing along his arms burst apart due to the sudden decrease in Zach''s momentum and were flung away from Prince Kolt as they split through the middle and passed on either side of him without causing any damage to their intended target.

    Despite the actual force behind the mes, there wasn''t much destruction since most of the power behind the mes had been nullified by the mage holding Zach''s arms in an iron grip. A small part of the walls had been scorched and some chairs had suffered the entirety of the wrath behind the surprise attack.

    "Tsk" Zach clicked his tongue when he became sure that his attack ended in failure. He had been expecting to do the prince in before anyone could take notice of him which was why he had never shown his real intentions on his face.

    Regretfully, he hadn''t taken into ount the strength of the mage who stood behind the Prince as his bodyguard. Considering that Kolt was a prince, there was no way that the bodyguard responsible for his person safety would be too shabby. Unluckily, this mage turned out to be quite adept in the art of conflict with a penchant for sensing the threats to his liege. Thanks to his sharp senses, Zach couldn''t aplish his goal of killing Kolt in a single blow.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    But this mage''s strength was too high. As soon as he struck Zach''s weapons in order to save the prince, not only did Zach''s attack scatter like thest embers of a long burning fire but alsopletely ruined the me Gloves that Zach had been using for quite some time and was currently the only elemental weapon in the same damage range that Zach was able to wield without any conditions.

    Seeing that he was no match for the mage even in close quarters despite wielding his strongest weapon, Zach gave a bright smile and raised both his hands as if in surrender. Even the mage opposite to him was dazed as to how someone could change their colors without breaking a sweat and without any shame.

    "It was just a friendly joke. No need to take it so seriously." Zach had a foolish smile on his face that no one could rte to the murderous glimmer that they had seen in his eyes just a moment ago when heshed out with his ming gloves.

    Even though the mage let go of his hands, he still stood warily in front of Prince Kolt as he hid thetter behind his back just in case Zach decided to act on his beastly impulses once again.

    Prince Kolt had suffered from quite a scare despite the fact that his bodyguard had managed to block the threat to his life. His heart was pounding like the biggest drum and its music was strumming on his nerves which almost caused him the loss of his soul from the fright alone.

    But once his bodyguard took control of the situation, it didn''t take long for Prince Kolt to regain his calm. His breathing returned to normal and his heart stopped trying to escape his body.

    "Come back; I don''t think Zach intends to make enemies with the royal family due to this small matter. As he said, it was a joke."

    Prince Kolt called the mage back after he overcame his fright. He wore his grace once again and resumed his rxed position before looking at Zach in an intimidating manner that was full of hostility that vanished almost as soon as it appeared.

    "For your sake though, I would advise not to repeat the same joke with someone else. Anyone unknowing of your joking nature might assume that you were truly out for their life." Even though Prince Kolt acted as if he hadn''t taken any offense, the slight anger in his voice could be distinguished by everyone in the room. He acted as if he was joking with Zach like they were old friends but really Prince Kolt was threatening Zach to not pull a stunt like this again.

    Despite his constant attempts at appearing calm and graceful, Prince Kolt had begun to be quite wary of Zach who in his view was quite unpredictable and capable of doing anything since he had the balls to attack a Prince in front of audience and his guards.

    Zach on the other hand was cursing in his heart at the failure. He had really intended to get rid of Prince Kolt so that he could take Luna and get the hell out of there. As long as there was someone who knew their secret, there wasn''t a ce in the empire where Zach could grow steadily. He knew the value of his technology to this world and was sure that there would always be people like Prince Kolt who would try to exploit his weakness to take advantage of him and use him to their preference.

    He had also intended to extend this invitation to flee to the Luther family who he had gotten attached to after spending all this time with them. But things didn''t go his way.

    Zach was at a disadvantage now that his attack had failed. Morally he could be condemned for fraternizing with an enemy race and he was at a physical disadvantage because he couldn''t truly beat all those in attendance to do things his way. As such he needed a moment to think about his next course of action.

 Chapter 112 112 During The Wedding VI

    Luna was biting her nails in worry as she pulled on the hem of Zach''s shirt from time to time.

    Zach tried to ignore her as he deliberated on what to do. Trapped in the carefully crafted n of Prince Kolt, he had no other option but to agree to his demand. As such, he needed to get the maximum benefit even if the whole deal was against him to begin with.

    Before Prince Kolt could truly lose patience, Zach had already formted a n that might not help him immediately but would prove to be useful in the longer run considering that this wouldn''t be thest time that someone came knocking on his door to demand their pound of flesh for him just because he had be sessful now.

    "Fine, I will do as you say." Zach announced as soon as he saw that Kolt was about to say something and that worked like a charm. Prince Kolt looked obviously pleased as he signaled to Braxton who started to flip pages immediately in order to lead Zach through the pile of papers.

    Prince Kolt could barely suppress the wave of happiness surging through his innards. The smile on his face this time wasn''t forced but of genuine happiness. His scheme had worked and he had gotten his hands on a working mule that would keep on bringing him money as long as he could control it.

    But Zach wasn''t about to take all Kolt''s punches without throwing one back at him.

    "BUT I have a condition." Zach stopped his hands right before he was about to put his signatures on the first page of the business contract.

    Prince Kolt who had been looking forward to it was visibly disappointed and displeased at this sudden hindrance. He looked at Zach with annoyance visible on his visage as he asked, "What is it now?" as if he was unsure about what Zach was asking for.

    "I said I have a condition that you need to fulfill before I put my signatures on any of these papers." Zach didn''t stutter as he confidently repeated his words while staring into Kolt''s fuming eyes.

    "What did you sayбнcondition? Are you not forgetting something? Should I remind you that you are in no position to be stating conditions with me?" Kolt threatened Zach as his voice rose in resonance with the boiling anger inside of him.

    "I couldn''t care less about what you can do now that it is all out in the open. If you want me to sign these papers, you better fulfill my condition or you can forget about the shares in my business. I would rather destroy my business with my own hands than to let you get your hands on it for nothing." Zach on the other hand replied in a calm and unaffected manner as if the heavy atmosphere in the room had nothing to do with him.

    "What is itбнthis condition of yours? You better know your ce before putting in some ridiculous request." Prince Kolt had visibly calmed down but on the inside he was seething. He had not expected that this Zach would be so hard to deal with. Nothing was going his way as Zach seemed to sense his intentions one step ahead.

    "I want his life. Give him to me as a gift for the start of our alliance and you can have what you want."

    Zach was eighty percent sure that Kolt would fulfill his condition before he even asked him. The reason was that he had figured out the kind of person Kolt was. For his own benefits, this person was capable of doing anything. He was a snake in human form that would bite anyone regardless of who they might be.

    As if to cement Zach''s judgment regarding him, Kolt only froze for a single moment after hearing his demand. A rosy smile appeared on his face that expressed his delight. He had been thinking that Zach would demand something like a change in policy for his business which he would be unable to do without the approval of his family but all he wanted was his good for nothing brother-inw''s life.

    Prince Kolt stared at Zach as if to ascertain if he was serious regarding this condition. Zach didn''t back down either and replied in kind.

    In that moment, Prince Kolt came to an understanding regarding Zach as well. Just as Zach had been trying to get a read on Prince Kolt, thetter had also been trying to understand how Zach''s mind operated. Kolt realized that Zach was a tougher enemy than he had expected. Just from his behavior earlier, Kolt was sure that Zach would not mind even if he had to destroy all the trucks in existence if he couldn''t have his way just to spite Kolt for not acquiescing to his demand.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    As Kolt became more inclined to let Zach have his way, Braxton began to see his demise in the distance. He became more and more fearful that Kolt would throw him away since he could tell that Kolt was actually hesitating in the face of Zach''s demand.

    "Hahaha~ Do you really think that you can have my life so easily? Let me tell you how absurd that notion is. My sister is Prince Kolt''s current concubine. Do you still believe that my brother-inw would give up on me just for your measly business? He hase here on my behalf to get me my vengeance that was long overdue. You can only regret for the rest of your pathetic life for not killing me when you still had the chance." Braxton needed to emphasize his position as his brother inw just so he could keep Kolt''s mind from swaying. His voice kept on increasing in volume as if he gained confidence for every word he uttered about his own importance but that was only another means of self-preservation that he subconsciously developed as a means to keep his fragile mind from fracturing in the face of his death.

    In his heart though, Braxton was clear regarding his own importance in his brother-inw''s house. If not for his magic talent, the royal family wouldn''t even have allowed him to enter their household. Therefore he was fretting over the decision that Kolt would make regarding Zach''s condition. Braxton could only hope that he was more important than a singr business deal in Kolt''s heart.

    Kolt on the other hand felt that this wasn''t even a choice. There was no disadvantage whatsoever. He finally stood up from his chair as the mage behind the seat followed right after him as Kolt made his way to Braxton who was standing beside Zach with a bunch of papers in hand like a secretary.

    Raising his hand, Kolt patted the side of Braxton''s face as if he was a baby.

    Braxton too felt a little odd because Kolt had never shown such intimacy towards him before. Braxton felt that maybe Kolt was reassuring him that he would never throw him under the bus and happiness surfaced on his previously crestfallen and fear stricken face but the next words that came out of Kolt''s mouth froze his very soul as if the beasts of Niflheim had cast their breath on him.

    "Your sister would be so proud of you when she finds out how you sacrificed yourself for her happiness and mine." The words hadn''t evene out of Kolt''s mouthpletely when a solid kick into his sternum sent Braxton reeling towards Zach''s feet.

    Even though Zach had been sure that Kolt would eventually agree to his condition due to his snake-like nature, he had expected at least a little resistance. Turns out that Kolt didn''t even have that much humanity left inside him and Zach had overestimated him.

    Braxton had wanted to take his vengeance on Zach ever since his return from the forest. But ironically, the one at the edge of the knife turned out to be him instead of Zach, his hated enemy. While in search of vengeance, it seemed that Braxton had found his own death instead and that too as he groveled at the feet of that very same enemy.

    Braxton felt primordial fear seep into his soul as hey trembling at the feet of the enemy he hated more than anything in the recent past. But today he could not help but feel that the same hatred was nothing inparison to what he was feeling for his brother-inw.

    "Plбн please spare me brother-inw. For my sister who has faithfully served you all this timeбнthink of her please." Braxton bawled his eyes out as he tried to appeal to Kolt''s emotions but regretfully he didn''t truly know this brother-inw of his. Kolt was someone who wouldn''t bat an eye while killing his entire family if he could achieve his own ends or the benefit was great enough, let alone someone like Braxton whom he didn''t even consider family.

    As expected, Kolt didn''t even spare him a nce despite his tearful countenance. The only thing Kolt''s face revealed was his indifference towards Braxton''s fate.

    Neither Christina nor George could have expected things to take such a turn. They couldn''t understand how Zach could be so confident in front of Kolt even though thetter had some kind of leverage over him.

    George couldn''t help but admire Zach at this moment. His negotiation skills could only be top notch for him to have forced Kolt to such a point despite being at a lower vantage point.

    When Zach became sure that Kolt wouldn''t go back on his words, he signaled Luna with his eyes. Luna understood what he wanted with a single nce.

 Chapter 113 113 During The Wedding VII

    She reached out towards Braxton who was still begging Kolt for mercy and grabbed his cuffs as if she was unwilling to touch him for fear that his being would dirty her in more ways than one.

    As if Braxton weighed nothing, Luna dragged him out of the conference room into another room with adjoining wall. Braxton tried to resist with all his might but due to how scared he was, he couldn''t call on his magic and physically he was not strong enough to push back Luna who was already stronger than the average human.

    Not a single person in the room tried to stop Luna as they watched her drag Braxton along the ground like he was a sack of potatoes. Luna used her foot to close the door behind her with a loud thud.

    Before long miserable cries rang out from behind the closed door and everyone in the conference room could imagine Braxton''s fate when Luna would be done with him. Zach had some inkling as to how much Luna hated this man but the kind of screams emanating from next doors made even him cringe on the inside.

    The screams continued for a good amount of time before they came to a halt as if the runaway silence had returned to the world after a long journey across the gxy.

    Luna looked into his barely open eyes and increased the temperature on her hands burning away his insides into a charred ck mess, finally relieving him of his anguish and handing him over to the reaper of life. The only remains of his pathetic life was his hollow shell of a body that was now devoid of all its organs and the disfigured face that couldn''t be identified even by his closest kin.

    The door to the adjacent room opened a little after Braxton''s gut wrenching screams vanished. Hands covered in blood and gore, Luna exited the room like she had fought a war on her own. None of those in the conference room wanted to know what she had done to Braxton after seeing her blood soaked hands and the manic re in her eyes.

    They were sure to vomit their guts at the spot if they ever found out what Luna did to the man who almost killed her beloved master in the past due to her weakness.

    Zach saw Luna''s condition and held her hand to bring her out of her maddened state. Whatever she was thinking couldn''t be anything good considering what she had done inside that room.

    The warmth of his hands did the job as a hint of rationality returned to her eyes as she pulled her hands free from Zach''s grip and nodded slightly to reassure him.

    Zach had read many such stories rted to transmigration in his previous world but so far he had failed to act even closely simr to those MCs that he was familiar with. Unlike those MCs, he wasn''t overpowered enough to decimate the whole world, neither was he the chosen one whom everyone would worship as soon as he transmigrated. Instead he had ess to thetest technology but for that he needed a solid background to even begin.

    The only powerful weapon he could use had already been rendered useless by the enemy and he had been forced to such a miserable state by measly enemies who weren''t even at the boss level.

    All of this had happened just because he had let one of his enemies escape. Unlike the MCs that he was familiar with, he hadn''t been ruthless enough to his enemies despite all his caution and nning because he wasn''t blessed with enough luck to offset what the world could do to him.

    Zach couldn''t help but consider himself a failurepared to those MCs who had been in a simr situation to him and still managed to remain on top.

    It was at that moment that Zach vowed never to suffer this kind of humiliation ever again in his life whether it is in this world or the one he came from and might eventually return to. The only way he would be able to pull such a feat off was if he shed off the useless mercy and morals he had inherited in his previous world. This was a more primitive worldpared to his previous world but the nature of humans was still the same. He needed to be merciless and powerful if he wanted to prevail here.

    Since Prince Kolt had held up his end of the bargain, Zach considered it beneath him to back out of the deal he had made with him.

    Prince Kolt on the other hand, was unfazed with the death of Braxton. In his opinion, Braxton had only been a waste of space and now that he had died to elevate Kolt to new heights, he felt that Braxton could be said to have achieved his life''s purpose.

    It wasn''t that Kolt didn''t know what Zach was trying to do by asking for Braxton''s life in return for the shares of his trucks business. He knew that Zach was decreasing the number of people who knew his secret through this deal and soon Zach would turn his swords in his direction. But Kolt was sure of the strength of his family and the mage who was guarding him. As long as Prince Kolt remained a part of the royal family and the mage kept on protecting him, Zach wouldn''t be able to do anything to him and would have to live as Kolt''s money printing machine.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Zach couldn''t be sure of Kolt''s thoughts but he knew that these documents wouldn''t be thest ones he would sign as long as Kolt knew of his whereabouts.

    He signed the documents that the now deceased Braxton had brought with an expressionless face as if he wasn''t the least bit bothered that the royal family was now the majority shareholder in his business that hadn''t even reached its full potential yet.

    Zach looked up from the heap of documents once he was done and moved in the direction of Prince Kolt with his hand extended in front of him as if he intended to strangle Prince Kolt to death.

    The mage standing behind Prince Kolt immediately took action and rushed in between Prince Kolt and Zach with a nervous expression on his face as if he was afraid that Zach would jump his liege without notice.

    Zachughed in response to this as if found this funny.

    It had to be known that everyone in the room had assumed the same thing; even Luna almost thought that Zach intended to attack Prince Kolt again.

    "Please don''t take my previous joke to heart. I just intended to shake hands on our deal and nothing else. You can stand behind him if you want." Zach had a smile on his face as he asked the mage to take it easy.

    The mage didn''t listen to a word he said but Prince Kolt signaled him to do as Zach told him to. Therefore, the mage moved to the side and allowed Zach to approach Prince Kolt with the maximum caution.

    "Thankfully, you aren''t as rigid as your men and can take a joke. Otherwise, our cooperation would have been quite difficult since I like to joke around quite a lot. I hope that this cooperation doesn''t end up being short lived and would bring prosperity to us." The fake smile on Zach''s face that was obvious to everyone irritated Prince Kolt but he didn''t pay it any heed and shook hands with Zach to finalize the deal.

    Kolt could only sense the sharp thorns in Zach''s words and his threats to his life. At first he wondered if he was feeling biased towards Zach due to his earlier attempt on his life but when he saw that irritating smile on Zach''s face he knew that Zach was cursing him to die an early death with his flowery words.

    The sheer provocation caused his face to disfigure in anger for a moment but he held it in since he needed to maintain his graceful and royal outlook in front of other people in the room.

    As soon as the deal was done, Zach and those from the Elizabeth family were ushered out of the room by the royal guards who had been guarding the doors outside all this time.

    None of them resisted and went with the flow before closing the door behind them. The guards then resumed their position outside as they watched the group rushing to leave in different directions.

    Christina had pulled Zach with her as she took thetter somewhere while George and Barry went back to the banquet room where the ceremony was going to take ce.

    Inside the conference room, both the mage and Prince Kolt had dark expressions on their faces as they looked at the door where Zach had just left from. Anger and apprehension were the only two words that came to their minds as soon as they thought of Zach who was not only cunning but also hateful.

    "My lord, we can''t leave a scoundrel like him alive. He will grow into a threat sooner orter. Snakes like him don''t think before biting their master''s hands. Let me take him out now that we have gotten what we came here for." The mage escorting Kolt reminded him with hesitation. As his bodyguard, the mage had the duty to prevent anything from happening to the prince but today he had been belittled by a weakling like Zach. Of course he was angry and wanted to rip him apart. The only reason he hadn''t done anything was because Kolt had asked him not to.

 Chapter 114 114 During The Wedding VIII

    Kolt saw his mage acting on his sentiments andughed heartily. He had never seen his stoic bodyguard acting in such a manner but that went to show how concerned he was about Zach''s retaliation.

    Kolt''s eyes narrowed down to a slit as a cruel expression took over his previously smiling face as he replied, "Don''t fret; he won''t be alive for much longer. The only reason he is currently breathing is because he needs to work for me. He needs to make me more money to help me with my goals. He needs to live so this project can reach maturity soon. The day I get these trucks to mass production will be hisst day."

    The mage was visibly worried even though Kolt had disclosed his ns to him. He was worried because he couldn''t ascertain the height that Zach could reach during this time. s, Prince Kolt was unable to understand him at the moment since he was busy counting the money that would roll in for him soon.

    But one thing that both the Prince and his bodyguard failed to take into ount was that there was someone else who heard that conversation between them; someone other than the two principal actors in that dialogue; someone who had been hearing every single word that had been uttered in the conference room since the very beginning.

    Unknown to the Prince Kolt and even to Zach, Sarah the daughter of the Macrae family leader had been hiding above the roof of the conference room. The roof was surprisingly very weak when it came to soundproofing thanks to which she had been able to listen in to every single thing without making her presence known to everyone involved.

    Surprisingly, Sarah was the first one to notice the scores of royal soldiers who had been positioned in ce to surround the entire Luther estate. She had been drinking by herself when this happened and therefore with nothing to do she had ended up following the Prince who hade sauntering into the estate like he owned it.

    As Prince Kolt was led to the conference room, she had chosen to follow him from above so as to keep an eye on him. The presence of a Prince in a small city like this was nothing short of a miracle. Therefore, she knew that there had to be a good enough reason for his arrival and with so much fanfare to boot. She could smell something exquisite cooking right under her nose and she wanted to know about it at the very least even if she could not be a part of it.

    When she witnessed the events that took ce in that room and the discussion that took ce after Zach had left the ce, she hurriedly retreated towards the banquet hall so as to not attract suspicion. Afterwards, upon finding a chance she sneaked out of the Luther family estate and rushed towards home. She needed to discuss this with her family since it was big news. The prince himself hade to take a portion of Zach''s truck business and it seemed that he had something to grab Zach by the balls.

    While Sarah was thinking that she had been quite clever and not a single soul had seen through her actions, there was one person who had not only seen everything but had allowed it to happen purposely in this way.

    It was none other than Christina who had long since found out that Sarah had been eavesdropping on them from above. The only reason she had not revealed anything about her presence was because she had been having a bad feeling ever since Prince Kolt had arrived at the scene of her marriage.

    From what Christina made of the situation, Prince Kolt was her enemy in every sense. Since she was going to be Zach''s wife, his enemies were going to be her enemies as well whether she liked it or not. Therefore she believed that sharing this kind of information with the Macrae family might secure some help to her and Zach albeit in return for certain benefits. But sharing a part of the business with Macrae family was definitely better than handing it all over to the Prince. Since Kolt had be theirmon enemy for the time being, Christina wasn''t averse to apromise with the Macrae family as well.

    The only thing Christina was still wondering about was why Zach who had been nothing less than domineering in front of all the families had suddenly given in to the Prince despite attempting to take his life in the middle of the negotiations. She was unable to make sense. She could only imagine what it was that Prince Kolt knew about Zach that he could use against him and that was why she had dragged Zach with her to the dressing room to find out.

    "What is it? Why did you drag me in here?" Zach asked Christina who was still holding his arm captive and wasn''t willing to let go despite his obvious resistance.

    Christina didn''t answer and closed and bolted the door from the inside so that no one other than the two would be able to enter the room.

    Before she coulde back and reply to his earlier question, there was loud banging on the door like someone was trying to break the door to pieces.

    Zach knew who it was without even asking.

    "Luna, wait outside for a bit. I will be out in a moment."

    The thudding on the door ceased as soon as Zach spoke.

    Christina couldn''t understand what Luna wanted with Zach but she needed some answers from Zach as well.

    "Tell me, why did you sign those papers? What does the prince have on you? I need to know as well if I am going to be involved in this. I have a right to and you know that."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Zach obviously understood her concerns as he looked at her withpassion. He could tell that she truly wanted to help him but he had more important things to do at the moment.

    "Don''t worry; I won''t hide anything from you. Wait until after the wedding, because right now I need to make some arrangements so we can be prepared for what is going toe inevitably."

    Zach didn''t wait around to listen to her answer or any of her objection as he rushed towards the door, unbolted it without a hitch and went off somewhere with Luna in tow who had somehow cleansed herself of the blood from earlier.

    Christina stood rooted to the spot as she watched him leave. She thought that Zach was unwilling to trust her entirely before their marriage and that was the reason why he had been unwilling to reveal his weakness to her. To some extent she was right but mostly it was because Zach was pressed for time.

    Christina felt that it was only right for a marriage that was the result of a business deal and not of love but she couldn''t help but feel slightly bad about it.

    As Christina stood rooted to the spot in the dressing room wondering if things could have been different somehow, Zach was making his way towards Bruce who was still surrounded by the horde of guests who were all vying for his attention.

    Surprisingly, no one in the hall knew of the arrival of the prince despite the entourage he had brought with him. Even Bruce the master of the estate had not been informed apparently and everything had been strictly contained by the Elizabeth family.

    Pulling out Bruce from the crowd of guest turned out to be quite a difficult feat for Zach who had to apologize countless times for taking their precious Bruce away from them. Seeing as he was the groom, everybody gave him face and let Bruce go with him with saddened faces.

    Picking up a wine ss for the both of them, Zach took Bruce to a secluded corner and told him everything that transpired within the confines of the conference room.

    Bruce was quite shocked to say the very least. The fact that his eyes hadn''t popped out of their sockets in surprise was quite the favorable turn of events. Bruce didn''t know what to say when he found out that Zach had tried to neutralize the Prince. The business shares transfer was quite the delirium for both Bruce and Zach since it was a joint venture for both of them. While the idea belonged to Zach, the infrastructure had been the responsibility of Bruce and the Luther family.

    "What are you going to do now? Knowing you, there must be something cooking up in that brain of yours." Bruce asked Zach as soon as he had consumed all the information ryed to him by Zach.

    "Of course I have a n. What do you think I called you out here to discuss then?" Zach retorted with a helpless smile on his face.

    "Out with it then" Bruce furrowed his brows as he asked Zach to reveal the mystery.

    "I am going to leave Elizabeth city soon." Zach dropped the bombshell without even changing his expression.

    "How soon are we talking about?"

    "Right after the wedding ceremony" Zach replied with a solemn look clouding his face.

    "Aren''t you being too hasty? There must be some other solution to this." asked Bruce as he ran his fingers through his hair in contemtion.

    "There aren''t. I wouldn''t be trying to leave if there was the slightest chance that I could get rid of that bastard''s hold over me. As long as they know where I am, they will continue to exploit me to gain more benefits from our hard work." Zach replied solemnly as he knew why Bruce was trying to convince him to stay.

 Chapter 115 115 During The Wedding IX

    It hadn''t been long since Bruce and his family had regained their lost status in the city and all this had happened because of Zach. Bruce didn''t'' want Zach to leave because they might have to go back to living their previous lives if Zach decided to abandon them.

    When Bruce didn''t have anything else to retort with, Zach decided to ask the question which was the reason that Zach hade seeking Bruce right after the meeting.

    "Will youe with me if I ask you to? Of course, I am talking about the whole Luther family. Will the Luther family be willing to follow me out of the city?"

    Bruce was stunned since he had never even considered this possibility. Ever since he had opened his eyes, he had been a resident of the Elizabeth city and now that he had be considerably influential in the city, Zach had asked him to leave with him all of the sudden.

    Bruce couldn''t tell Zach that he didn''t want to leave this newfound sense of power and superiority he felt every time some family leader tried to tter him. Instead he thought of the repercussions this decision of Zach would bring on the Luther family.

    Among the two choices avable to him, one involved leaving the city which would cause him the loss of this new businesswork he had established through various contracts and business deals with the families. On the other hand, if Zach moved away on his own, there was no guarantee that Bruce would be able to maintain the same lifestyle anymore. The fact that everything he had currently was due to Zach and his ideas made Bruce feel slightly empty but that didn''t stop him from reaching the conclusion that the Luther family needed to follow Zach if they wanted to flourish in the future.

    "The Luther family will follow you till the end." Bruce''s determination touched Zach but he wasn''t going to say anything out loud.

    Smirking at Bruce, Zach said, "No need to be that serious. We are only moving, not going to war."

    Zach immediately fished out amunication transceiver that he had unlocked sometime back. It allowed him to make use of the satellites of the world to contact anyone else just like a mobile phone but without being hampered by theck of mobile signals.

    "Where are you at the moment?" Zach asked as if he was in a hurry. At the same time he moved towards a more discreet corner of the room where not a single soul could overhear a word he was saying.

    The one he had reached out to was none other than Diana who had refused to attend the wedding ceremony of the person she loved. Diana could not ovee her unhappiness no matter how hard she tried to be happy for Zach. She had wanted to be his first wife and now due to her procrastination, someone else had taken the lead. Therefore she had been hanging out at the shooting range trying to take out her frustrations at the trainees and the shooting targets. She had already shot several magazines worth of ammo corresponding to various weapons lined up on the table in front of her. The poor targets in front of her all had giant holes in the area that made up the bulls'' eye. Her precise shooting capability could be judged from the fact that despite the anger clouding her nerves, there wasn''t a single bullet that had hit outside the smallest circle on the target.

    Her satellite phone had rung while she was busy shooting with her pistol; the same one that Zach had gifted to her in the past. She took off her noise cancelling headphones and put the gun down on the table after taking out the magazine.

    The moment she picked up themunication device she had received from Zach, she was bombarded with Zach''s question as if his tail had been set on fire by someone else.

    "I am at the shooting range. I would have felt stuffy at the wedding ceremony. I don''t like such events." Diana thought that Zach was angry with her for not attending his wedding ceremony which was why she tried to give out several exnations in a row that might be believable and would allow her to keep the real reason to herself.

    "I don''t care about that. Listen to me carefully."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Diana was dumbstruck with sadness at his words. She felt that Zach had been too straight forward. Even though he didn''t care, she did. She had been holding in her love for him but Zach told her that he didn''t even care whether she was with him on his special asion or not. He was practically dousing her hopes with cold water.

    But before Diana could give voice to her objections, Zach began to talk again. He had assumed Diana''s silence to be a go-ahead to continue with what he was about to tell her.

    Zach narrated the whole incident that had taken ce in the Luther family mansion moments ago in as concise a manner as possible so that Diana would be able to understand the grave nature of the task he was about to assign her without wasting any of the precious time that he could use toplete several other tasks that still needed to be taken care of.

    "I get it now. What do you want me to do then?" Diana soon forgot about the useless things she had filled her head with earlier and changed into her Special Forces soldier mode. If Zach could have seen her at this moment, he would have been quite satisfied. She lookedpletely like those devoted soldiers from the movies asking for their superior officer''s orders.

    "First of all, I want you to order everyone in the Luther family to pack their belongings and be ready to leave the city at an hour''s notice. Secondly, I want you to gather all the technicians and tell them to check all the trucks for any abnormalities since the trucks might be needed for long distance travel. At most within five hours, I want all the Luther family to leave the city using the same trucks in the form of a scattered convoy that would converge after exiting the city so as to not alert anyone who might be monitoring the Luther family. I am sure that the Prince''s men would be doing exactly that."

    Dianamitted these instructions to memory as she asked Zach, "Is that all?" as she moved her mouth closer to the satellite phone.

    "No, that''s not all. There is one other thing. After arranging everything, you are going to lead a team of twenty of the most capable Special Forces members to the mansion where my wedding ceremony is taking ce. Your target is to extract me, your brother and Luna escape safely so that we can join the exodus of the Luther family as well. Make sure that your operation is as discreet as possible since there will be eyes everywhere in the mansion. Use force where necessary but avoid hurting innocents."

    "I understand; I will be there soon after I take care of all the things. You can leave everything to me without any worry. I will be sure to carry out those orders as effectively as possible." Diana was determined to show her worth to Zach so that he would look her way as well instead of giving all his time to Luna and his new bride.

    As soon as the call cut off, Diana put down the satellite phone on the table since it was troublesome to carry it around due to its size. She picked up her pistol and holstered it after shifting the magazine in the magazine slot once again.

    She rang a bell by the side of the shooting range that Zach often used to get the attention of every one of the trainees in the field who were busy practicing their individual weak points or their team synchronization.

    Before long all the trainees left whatever they were doing and ran towards Diana with the fastest speed they could muster. They had been called to assemble by their superior so they had to fulfill the order to the best of their capabilities.

    "Listen up carefully, from this moment onwards none of you is a trainee any longer. Training is over. It is time for you all to put everything you have learned into practice. We have orders from above to carry out an extraction mission. But unlike before it is not going to be a simtion or a practice. This is a going to be a real test of your abilities but only twenty people amongst you will be going with me this time." Diana took out a piece of paper from her pocket on which she had written the names of the people who would take part in the extraction mission assigned to her.

    "I will call out the names of those who will being with me. As soon as I call out your name, step out to the side and make a separate group." Diana then began calling the names out loud with a solemn look on her face and the men began to fall out with every name she called.

    At the end, there were twenty of the people with the best skills standing in front of her while the others were wondering why their names had not been called. They wanted to take part as well since all of them had been training for these kinds of moments.

 Chapter 116 116 During The Wedding X

    "The rest of you will have an even more important job to do. You are going to escort the Luther family people who will be leaving the city in trucks five hours from now. Spread the message to everyone in the family to pack only the things that are valuable and can be easily carried otherwise it will either hinder therge scale movement a few hourster or the people would be left behind for not being ready in time. Wheels will roll in five hours. Make sure that everyone of the Luther family is in the trucks by then. If not, they will be responsible for their own well being from that moment onwards. Do you all understand?"

    Diana skillfully distributed the tasks assigned to her by Zach to her undermand in the most efficient manner. By delegating the tasks to the other members of the team, she ensured that these tasks would note to a halt even if she proceeded for the extraction mission. At the same time she ensured that every individual of the Luther family would only carry the most valuable but easy to pack items since every packing everything in their house was not a five hour job. Thus she decided to discard the useless baggage that would not only take up precious space within the trucks but would also slow down their ns.

    Diana turned out to be quite the strict manager after her time with Zach. She not only kept an eye on the extraction team who were looking after and rechecking their equipment but also on the remaining members who were currently helping out the Luther family people discreetly in their packing. Some had also been assigned to oversee the maintenance of the trucks if any of them required any. Thus all the tasks were carried out simultaneously under the scrutiny of Diana''s watchful gaze as the Luther family''s great migration out of Elizabeth city entered its implementation stage.

    ------------------------------------------------

    The wedding ceremony turned out to be even longer than Zach had anticipated. The guests were unwilling to sit down and wait calmly as they insisted on introducing themselves to Zach from time to time fearing that he would forget who they are. Being the groom, he couldn''t exactly be rude to these people. Therefore, he showed them the limited respect they deserved as they hade to celebrate his wedding by taking out their time.

    It wasn''t until a few hours had passed that the ceremony actually began. The guests got seated as Zach waited by the door for the bride to make her appearance. If it hadn''t been for the impending escape that Zach had to make on a moment''s notice, he might even have looked forward to seeing Christina in her wedding dress that he had yet toy his eyes upon as previously she had been wearing an elegant evening gown to receive the guests for the wedding and throughout the episode that took ce in the conference room with Prince Kolt.

    Zach had his hands behind his back as he listened to the conversations of the guests who were all throwing their blessings at him. Some were envious that he had gotten himself such a beautiful bride and others were jealous that Zach had married into the Elizabeth family. Zach of course paid such remarks no heed and continued to wait patiently.

    Before long, the doors to the wedding hall opened and Christina came in gently holding the arm of her father George who was nervously busy as he tried not to step on her train.

    Christina on the other hand was the very epitome of grace and splendor in her golden bridal dress. The luxurious wedding dress was a stunning sight to behold, crafted from the finest silk and satin fabrics that felt soft and smooth against the skin. The dress covered the bride''s entire body, from her shoulders down to her feet, with a flowing skirt that pooled elegantly on the ground.

    The intricatece detailing on the bodice added a delicate and feminine touch, with exquisite embroidery and beadwork that shimmered in the light. The dress hugged the bride''s curves in all the right ces, entuating her natural beauty and creating a figure-ttering silhouette.

    The dress was designed to showcase the bride''s delicate shoulders and neckline, with a sweetheart neckline that plunged down to just the right depth. The long sleeves added an element of sophistication and elegance, withce detailing that matched the bodice perfectly.

    As the bride moved, the dress caught the light and shimmered with every step, with a subtle sheen that made the fabric look like liquid gold. The luxurious wedding dress was a true masterpiece, crafted with skill and precision to create a timeless and unforgettable look that would be remembered for years toe.

    The father and daughter stopped close to Zach as George gave him a look from top to bottom as if assessing whether he really deserved his daughter or not.

    After a moment of consideration, George nodded in satisfaction and carefully freed his arm from his daughter''s and held her hand gently before turning back to Zach.

    Zach didn''t say anything but he felt slightly nervous standing in front of George for the very first time today. He couldn''t tell whether the nervousness was because of his n or because of the wedding itself.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Christina is my most precious treasure and I have treated her as such her whole life. Even though she thinks she is very smart, when ites to things of the heart she barely understands anything. She can''t even differentiate between business matters and her own sentiments when thingse down to it. She is far too objective even towards her own life. Therefore, I hope you will be a pir for her and will support and guide her in matters that she doesn''t understand. I hope that you will protect her and watch over her just like I have kept her from all kinds of harm throughout her life." George''s eyes were slightly teary and his face was solemn as he spilled all his expectations regarding the wedding to Zach.

    He knew that Zach was capable enough to protect his daughter but he needed to say it to Zach in order to lighten the burden of responsibility over his shoulders.

    Even Christina was slightly taken aback at her father''s sudden outburst of sentimental talk. She had never seen her father talk in such a manner before. Just like her, George had always seen things objectively in terms of profit and loss. To her it seemed like George had changed with the passage of time.

    Zach felt the responsibility that came with the wedding for the first time. He knew that he was going to make his escape soon so he was hesitant in making light of a father''s words who was sending his daughter away from him with a stranger.

    "I will try my best."

    George was extremely observant and easily noticed that brief pause and hesitation and couldn''t help but freeze for a moment as he got worried about his daughter. But then he thought that this much would have to do for the time being.

    George carefully ced Christina''s hand in Zach''s as he tried to hide his worries behind a smiling fa?ade and didn''t say anything to Zach.

    Zach and Christina turned towards the altar and started walking slowly down the aisle among the pping sounds of the guests seated on either sides of the aisle. George on the other hand turned around with a grim look and headed straight towards the rear end of the hall where Barry was standing as he cast a gentle gaze towards his sister who was about to be married.

    George pulled Barry into the corner by tugging on his clothes so as to not alert anyone.

    Barry was slightly taken aback at how suspicious his father was acting. He felt that George should be happier considering that Christina was getting married to a capable person. He had a questioning look on his face as he followed after his father who was practically dragging him behind.

    "We need to be prepared. I don''t believe that Zach is the type to stay silent or acquiesce to the demands of others as easily as he did to Prince Kolt today. I think that there is something brewing underneath that we are not aware of yet. Just in case, you go back home and gather our men first so that we can be ready if a situation arises suddenlyбнand I have a feeling that it will." George patted Barry on the back as if asking him to hurry up and not waste any more time.

    George had analyzed the entire situation ever since the incident in the conference room. It appeared as if Prince Kolt had some kind of leverage over him but that was definitely not all. Zach clearly hated Prince Kolt with everything he had but had stillpromised eventually and signed the deal that brought him no profit at all. From how the Sosis family came to their end, George could guess the kind of person Zach was. At least he could be sure that he wasn''t the type to bend easily through coercive means like Kolt had used.

    George deduced that Zach couldn''t have known the Prince before today''s meeting which meant that the hatred between the two wasn''t of personal nature. As such there was only one possibility that the secret Zach was hiding was important enough for Zach had tried to kill the Prince without even batting an eye and thetter had made use of it to force Zach into epting such a loss.

 Chapter 117 117 Create Chaos

    Therefore, George was expecting Zach to retaliate very soon and Zach''s earlier response to his heartfelt request made him even more certain that whatever Zach was nning was going to take ce in the near future.

    Just like George, Christina sensed Zach''s restlessness as they walked down the aisle with the guests making noise on both sides. But to her, there was only silence as the only sound she could register was Zach''s uneven breathing despite the calm on his face. Even if it hadn''t been for the bodily signs, Christina wasn''t exactly stupid. She was in face sometimes even more perceptive than her father who was a seasoned veteran in reading people. Therefore, she could tell that something wasn''t right with Zach. But given the asion and the people all around them, she couldn''t ask Zach about it. She could only wait until the conclusion of the wedding ceremony to ask him about it or to assist him if she could help him out in any way.

    The aisle wasn''t as stretched out as Zach was finding it to be at the moment he walked down with Christina towards the altar. Zach took a breath of relief as soon as they reached the end of it and stood in front of a priest with their backs to the crowd of guests. Zach wondered what kind of religion the aborigines of the Elizabeth city believed in but he decided not to care about it.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, we have gathered here today to bear witness to the union of two families through the sacred rite of marriage. Marriage is a beautiful and sacred union, a reflection of the love andmitment shared between two individuals. As these two stand before us today, they do so with hearts full of love and anticipation for the future they will build together. They have chosen to make a lifelongmitment to one another, to love and support each other through all of life''s joys and challenges. As their officiant, it is my honor to be a part of this special day and to help facilitate their wedding. We ask for the blessings of those present, and for the love and guidance of those who have gone before us. May their marriage be filled with joy, love, andughter, and may they always find strength andfort in each other''s arms. Let us now bear witness to their love andmitment as they exchange their vows and be one in marriage. If anyone wants to oppose this union, speak now or forever hold your peace for thismitment will surelyst a lifetime." The priest finished with his opening remarks gave a hearty smile that was as benevolent as the morning dew in summer season and gazed intently at Zach and Christina as if giving them ast chance to back out if they wanted to.

    Seeing that their gazes held no doubt, the priest turned towards Christina and asked, "Do you Christina take Zach to be yourwfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish until death do you part?"

    Christina remained unfazed in the face of the priest''s question as if she had no hesitation at all as she answered with a smile on her face, "Yes, I do."

    "Do you promise to be a faithful and loving wife, to honor and respect him, to be a source offort and support, and to stand by him through all of life''s joys and challenges?"

    "Yes, I do." Christina''s smile grew brighter and more precious every time she answered the priest''s question.

    "And do you vow to create a home together that is filled with love,passion, and understanding, and to alwaysmunicate openly and honestly with each other?"

    "Yes, I do."

    There was a chorus of apuse and cheers from the audience as Christinapleted her wedding vows giddily.

    The priest appeared to be satisfied with Christina''s answers as if he wasn''t the officiant but the judge who was going to make the decision whether Zach and Christina would be married or not.

    Zach on the other hand was growing a little restless wondering if the n was going forward as he expected or if Diana had run into any kind of hurdle because it was already a little past the time he had designated for the extraction mission.

    The priest turned towards Zach this time and asked, "Do you Zach take Christina to be yourwfully wedded wife, to join with her in the sacred covenant of marriage, to share in all of life''s joys and challenges together, and to love and cherish her always, until death do you part?"

    Christina looked on with a little expectation towards the man who was going to be her husband soon.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Just when Zach was about to say something, in response to the priest''s question, a reunched into the air right outside the wedding hall and its shy light illuminated the surroundings a tad more than the sun and the sound made by the shot from the re gun attracted the attention of the guests towards it.

    That''s when Zach knew that it was time to leave. He felt sorry towards the girl he was about to leave at the altar but he was left with no choice since he might not get another chance to escapeter on. As soon as the prince''s men made their move, the three of them would be left with no route of escape.

    Zach grabbed Christina''s shoulders and pulled her towards himself slightly before whispering, "Sorry" in her ear. He then pulled out several smoke bombs from his Weapons Arsenal and threw them on the ground in the manner of those shy ninjas from the ind country.

    The smoke filled the entire wedding hall as all the guests began to scramble towards the exits thinking that it was some enemy attack so as to ensure their own safety. Chaos ensued as the people ran like they were in the Olympics finals.

    This was exactly what Zach wanted from them. He needed to create enough chaos so that the three of them would be able to escape unnoticed by all the guests.

    Kolt who was witnessing everything at a distance from a high vantage point wasn''t surprised at all. In fact he had been waiting for something like this to happen ever since he had seen how daring Zach had been during their slight interaction. The fact that he had tried to assassinate him in front of everyone was a testament to his courage and rebellious attitude towards authority. Therefore, he had been sure that Zach would retaliate in some form very soon.

    As such, he hadn''t ordered his troops to retreat despite having aplished his goal in this ce. Instead he ordered his soldiers to surround the ce like an iron curtain that wouldn''t let even a bird escape its confines. So, Kolt was sure that whatever Zach was nning was bound to fail because his soldiers would never let him escape this ce even if he wanted to.

    The only thing that caused Kolt to furrow his brows in annoyance and slight surprise was the sound of the distant but distinct explosion he had heard. Kolt hated surprises because they had the potential to ruin his carefullyid out ns no matter how perfect the n might be.

    The explosion was definitely close to the encirclement of the troops he had positioned around the Luther family estate. Kolt could have assumed that the explosion could be a coincidence only if the several incidents had been mutually exclusive. The several incidents were definitely connected since the explosion sounded as if in tandem with the re thatunched near the wedding hall and the smoke that spilled all over the hall subsequently. It was as if someone had carefully nned everything out and had timed everything down to thest second.

    Kolt deduced that Zach had called for reinforcements. The earlier explosion also corroborated that fact. But what made him ponder more deeply was the fact that Zach shouldn''t have found the time or the opportunity to send a message to anyone since he had positioned his men for that very purpose. He wanted to know what method Zach had used to get his message across to his people who had no doubte to rescue him now considering that they were bombarding everything without holding back.

    Nothing was going as Kolt had intended as the chaos allowed Zach to escape his eyes and those who were keeping an eye on him. Meanwhile, his reinforcements were getting closer and closer to him.

    Kolt was worried that Zach would make contact with his men soon and that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. It had taken him too much time to corner Zach and he didn''t want him to escape his clutches so easily. In order to avoid such a scenario froming true, Kolt turned towards his guard mage, irritation evident on his face and ordered, "Get my warhorse ready. I want to see how he dares to escape when he already signed the agreement. I won''t let his designs of escapee to fruition even if I have to capture him myself in the act."

    The guard mage acted as if he had no tongue inside his mouth and the one he did was only for show as he nodded with his eyes and left in a hurry obviously to carry out the orders given to him by his lord Prince.

 Chapter 118 118 Discourage

    Within minutes the guard mage came back with two sturdy looking destriers, one of dull grey color with a hint of darkness in its mane and the other of dirt brown hue and a tail which was an even darker shade of brown. The majestic horses were the rides of the prince and his escort respectively.

    "Let''s go. We can''t afford to dy any longer. I want Zach captured no matter what." Thundered Prince Kolt towards his escort mage and gave a slight nudge towards the side of the horse with his heels. The horse broke out into canter as he slowly advanced in the direction of the Luther family estate from where Zach was going to make his escape. The escort mage too turned his horse in the same direction by pulling on its reins and followed after Kolt by matching his pace.

    Kolt had taken the explosion in a stride because he felt safe with the exaggerated number of soldiers he had brought with himself. He was of the opinion that only he could harm the others and no one else could harm him in the presence of his forces and his escort mage who could be considered to be one of the strongest mages when they were so far out of the capital. But the guests in attendance of the wedding ceremony could hardly stay calm after the sound of the loud explosion that almost blew off their ears. To top it all off, the whole hall had been filled with murky and dark grey smoke that was affecting their breathing causing them to panic. Some guests began to scream hysterically as if the end of the world had arrived and all they could do was to scream at the top of their lungs in eptance of their fates.

    Those who knew magic found some way to save themselves from the stampeded building up inside the hall for everyone wanted to exit the ce first in order to run away somece safe. For example, there was a mage who was using wind magic to keep the smoke away from him and those he was protecting but he didn''t bother expanding the range of his magic in order to restore the sanity of the others around him. An earth mage built a small cocoon that was as sturdy as a nuclear bunker all around him in the hopes that he would be safe from all harm should another simr explosion take ce in their immediate vicinity.

    But there weren''t only mages in that hall. Most of the people in attendance were ordinary people who could only admire magic but couldn''t wield it. As such, they could only let panic get the better of them as they rushed about like headless flies trying to look for an exit only for them to barge into walls time and time again.

    Zach took advantage of the chaos and pulled out his thermal contacts in order to avoid bumping into people amidst the smoke that filled the hall. Since he had been keeping track of the two people he needed to take with him the entire time, it didn''t take long for him to find Bruce and Luna both of whom had been staying together near the back exit since they knew of the n in advance.

    Taking advantage of the chaos and the smoke clouding the vision of the guests and the hostile entities keeping an eye on them, Zach, Bruce and Luna left the ce in order to rendezvous with Diana and her team who would then escort them out safely.

    Zach heard the system warning him of a probable hostile intent in the vicinity when he had barely made it out. The hostile entities were advancing in their direction at a brisk pace like they were intent on cutting them off amidst their escape.

    Zach was sure that they were probably Kolt''s men but he didn''t have enough time to throw them off his scent. They were too close to him for that.

    Just when he tried to make thest ditch effort and broke into a run with Bruce and Luna in tow, they were intercepted by two ruddy warhorses that came out of nowhere right in front of them in a cool manner as they neighed and lifted their front hooves in the air beforeing to a halt.

    Zach was surprised not because of the appearance of the horses since he had already guessed that the enemies were either agility oriented mages or were riding some kind of transport in order to achieve such a movement speed. But what he couldn''t have guessed were the identities of the people riding the horses.

    It was none other than the Prince Kolt and the guard mage who had blocked Zach''s attempt at Kolt''s life earlier.

    Kolt didn''t look angry with his escape attempt at all. He knew that it was inevitable that the weak would resist when in the grasp of the strong. Kolt had Zach''s jugr in his grasp and no one, not even an animal would be capable of epting such a thing without any resistance. Therefore he wasn''t even feeling annoyed that Zach had tried to throw their previous agreement to the dogs in his attempt to escape.

    Instead it made him feel more powerful and more in control of everything. Kolt was confident that Zach was ying in the palm of his hands. Therefore, he asked Zach in a benevolent voice devoid of any ill intent, "Why are you trying to mar the rapport we have established with each other? What aren''t you satisfied with after all that I did for you? You put forward the condition that you wanted my precious brother-inw''s life in exchange for the contract and I obliged you despite how much it hurt my heart and yet you are trying to back out of our deal. I won''t let you do that. At the same time I don''t want you to feel forced. Tell me if there is something you aren''t happy with. I can ensure that all your requirements will be fulfilled until you are satisfied. The only thing I ask in return is that you fulfill your end of the bargain especially when you already signed the agreement." Kolt pulled out the contract and waved it in front of Zach in a provocative manner.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Zach didn''t grace his bullshit with an answer. He knew how two faced hypocritical characters like Kolt could be. Therefore, he would not trust him when his life depended on it.

    With the escape so close that he could almost see it, Zach wasn''t going to back down. He was looking for a means to make his escape before Kolt''s forces could surround thempletely.

    Zach knew that Kolt''s forces were slowly congregating towards him and Kolt as if they had been ordered to do so. While Kolt was dragging him through long conversations; he was in fact making time for his soldiers to surround Zach once again.

    Unaware that Zach had already figured out his little n, Kolt continued to seduce Zach into agreeing to stay by offering more boons.

    Zach nudged both Luna and Bruce slightly with his hands as they were standing on either side of him. The motion was so subtle that even the guard mage who had lightning fast reflexes and over the top observation skills was unable to notice it.

    In a voice that only the two closest to him could listen to, Zach said to Luna and Bruce, "If his army got here, we won''t have a path left to make our escape. So, we are going to do it right now. Wait for my signal and just follow suit. But keep in mind that Kolt''s guardian mage is far stronger than us. There is no need to engage him due to any reason. Avoid him like the gue and focus on escaping."

    Before Zach could make his move, Bruce muttered under his breath in a slightly grating voice as he wasn''t used to murmuring like this, "What will the signal be?"

    Zach was slightly taken aback as he wasn''t expecting such a question in this situation and especially not from Bruce. But maybe the pressure of opposing the Prince had gotten to him. So, he exined in the easiest words he could muster, "You will know when the timees."

    Bruce could only wait desperately as he didn''t want to be in this situation any longer. It was taking a toll on his heart.

    Following that conversation, Zach didn''t wait at all before summoning his skeletal armor and theser dagger which were the strongest equipment in his arsenal at the moment following the destruction of the me gloves that boasted the greatest attack damage without any conditions whatsoever.

    The skeletal armor was the same artificial skeletal armor that uncharacteristically allowed the wearer to resist three attacks unconditionally from his assant provided the gap in strength wasn''t more than one rank. Moreover, the unnaturally high defensive skills attached to the armor provided additional defenses against specific types of enemies. For enemies like the prince who were weak in magic and relied on their physical capabilities, it could increase the physical defense considerably bypromising the magic defense while vice versa was true for enemies who specialized in dealing magic damage.

    Theser dagger on the other hand was a high prated dagger that could be used from both sides and could be held in any type of grip as it allowed the user more flexibility and was just as effective for shing and stabbing attacks.

 Chapter 119 119 Timely Rescue

    Zach waspletely on guard against the mage escorting the prince as he pulled out the equipment he felt would work against the mage.

    He activated the "Anti-Magic Barrier" skill attached to the Skeletal Armor and increased his magic defense in preparation of what was surelying.

    As expected, the mage was the first one to attack as soon as he saw Zach pulling out weapon and some weird armor out of nowhere. Since he couldn''t take any risks when it came to Kolt''s safety, he decided to curb the rebellion of Zach and the others before it could begin in the first ce.

    His proactive approach couldn''t dy the speedy maneuvers of Zach even then as he was already as prepared as he could be.

    Just as the mage lunged at the group, Lunaunched herself in order to intercept the mage midway but was deftly ignored by the powerful mage with a quick side step that left her staring into emptiness.

    The mage wasn''t interested in Luna as his main target had always been Zach as instructed by his lord. He had been ordered to stop Zach in any manner and that was what he intended to do, even if he had to break several bones in Zach''s body to do so.

    His move had been so unexpected that Zach couldn''t think of anything and swung hisser dagger at thest possible moment. As if the mage had already expected it, he nimbly dodged at the edge of the effective range of the dagger and sessfully closed in on Zach for a counterattack. A single kick from the mage caused Zach to take several steps back in order to curb the force behind the kickpletely.

    In that moment Zach knew that his armor was for the most part useless now. The invulnerability to the three attacks didn''t work at all against the mage. It turned out that the mage wasn''t dealing magic damage at all. The mage was somehow using magic to augment his physical damage. It allowed him to exhaust the three strikes of the Skeletal Armor in a single attack and damage it on his right arm which took the brunt of the damage. The durability of the armor surely dropped below 80 at that moment.

    Zach was practically defenseless in this situation and both Bruce and Luna could see that as well. While Luna was still some distance away from Zach, Bruce was fully capable of intercepting the mage before he couldunch more attacks at Zach.

    As such, when the mage was about to reach Zach in order to deal a crippling blow to thetter, Bruce jumped in between the two using the maximum agility his artificial limb allowed him to move with and stopped abruptly right in front of the mage in order to win Zach some time to recover and improvise.

    The mage DID NOT appreciate this attempt of Bruce at all. He was extremely annoyed at having missed the golden chance to apprehend Zach due to Bruce''s interception.

    With an extremely irritated expression on his face instead of the usually calm and expressionless front, the mage kicked Bruce with enough power to break his bones andunched him into the air.

    Bruce was flung to the side like a kite with a broken string but the little amount of time he bought for Zach allowed thetter to bring out a pistol from the Weapons Arsenal. Due to theck of time, Zach didn''t have the time to choose a better weapon and drew the first weapon heid his eyes on.

    Zach pulled away to create some distance and aimed the pistol as Bruce was flung away by the mage with a powerful kick.

    The mage had exceptional agility and maneuverability as he changed direction mid-stride andunched himself at Zach who was busy pulling away with the pistol barrel aiming towards him.

    Zach pulled the trigger several times but not a single bullet made contact with the mage''s body. There were two factors that contributed to this failure and Zach''s uracy had nothing to do with it. The first was the exceptional agility of the mage who was able to enhance his physical capabilities using magic which allowed him to dodge the projectiles using lightning fast movements. The second factor was the choice of weapon. Thecking magazine size and the inability of the pistol tounch a hail of bullets at the enemy like a sub-machine gun or an automatic rifle was the major cause of failure.

    The mage remained unfazed by the surprisingly long ranged weapon as he speedily closed in on Zach like a tiger. Another kick sent Zach tumbling backwards as he tried to regain his bnce. Zach had used his left arm to block the kick this time which rendered the left arm of the skeletal armor in pieces as the defense of the armor for that part of the body was reduced to nothing. The broken shards of the armor were swept off his arm due to the excessive force leaving his arm exposed to the attacks of the mage.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    For the first time since his arrival in this world, Zach felt the terror and the dangers thaty hidden in this world despite his obvious advantage in terms of technology. He found the hard way that in some situations, magic was far ahead of the technology he wielded. Even his guns had been renderedpletely useless in front of an enemy who was strong enough to resist and knew the right way to employ the magic avable to him.

    Zach couldn''t best the mage, no matter how many simtions he ran in his head or how many ns he made. His caution was useless in front of an enemy who was not only superior in terms of speed, but also in terms of strength and magical capability. No matter how much Zach tried to equalize the battlefield with the help of his weapons and armor, the chasm between their strengths couldn''t be diminished until Zach could unlock weapons capable of dealing with a threat of this level.

    Zach felt that this was a lost battle to begin with. There was no chance of victory even if he took thedy luck into ount and prayed to the non-existent gods to help him out.

    While Zach was thinking of a way to preserve his life and that of hispanions, the guard mage lurched forward as his feet dug a few inches into the ground to provide the mage with a significant boost in eleration.

    Another kick wasunched from Zach''s left side which was his most vulnerable side at the moment. There was no defensiveyer of the armor on his left arm to protect him from the iing kick that was akin to a ballistic missile.

    Zach panicked as he knew he couldn''t dodge the kick with his current speed. He gritted his teeth and waited for the kick to connect to the weakest part of his armor. He was even prepared to lose the arm in an attempt to save himself from the powerful attack.

    Just before his arm could be kicked off of his body by his assant, a powerful but dainty arm managed to stop the kick before it could touch Zach''s arm. The lovely arm that held the foot of the mage in its firm grip belonged to none other than his fiancижe whom he had nearly married just a few minutes earlier.

    Christina was still in her gilded wedding dress but the train was nowhere to be seen. The edge of the wedding dress looked as if it had been through a shredder. She had probably ripped the train offpletely as a trade off for ease of movement and uninterrupted battle capability.

    Zach lost control of his lower jaw as it struck and lodged itself into the ground in surprise. He had never expected that the girl who had almost be his wife was such a strong woman. The mage he had barely been able to keep at bay using everything at his disposal had been casually stopped by Christina as if it was some routine task.

    The biggest reason for his surprise wasn''t the unnatural strength wielded by Christina but the fact that she hade out to rescue him even after he abandoned her at the altar and escaped by himself.

    Zach had heard that the spite of women was the greatest of all dangers in the world which was the reason he half expected Christina toe for his life instead of his rescue like this.

    But he had to acknowledge that he liked the way Christina had saved him in the nick of time. He had even begun to understand why those girls from the cheap stories liked those MCs who always came at thest possible moment to save them from the jaws of adversity.

    The effect was so pronounced that Zach couldn''t help but think that Christina in that moment looked far more beautiful than she had ever been before. Even when he hadid eyes on her in her shimmering wedding dress, she hadn''t looked as magnificent as she did now.

    Christina on the other hand was thankful to the gods that she had reached in time to save Zach''s life. Otherwise, she might have lost her husband on the day of her wedding.

    The fact that Christina had still managed to find Zach amidst the turmoil that ensued after the explosion could be attributed to the fact that she had an excellent perception and situational awareness. She was the first person amongst the many present in the wedding hall who managed to catch on to Zach''s intentions and his possible escape route.

 Chapter 120 120 Break Through

    After using her analytical ability she managed to deduce the direction that Zach was most likely to run in and finally found him at the brink of death in a pitiful condition.

    She couldn''t let him get injured anymore and intervened in battle at the first opportunity.

    Prince Kolt who had been content in witnessing the downfall of Zach and hispanions at the hands of his escort was extremely dissatisfied with the sudden interference. He hadn''t expected someone to save Zach just when things had started to get interesting.

    He was livid as he turned towards Christina who was standing in front of Zach like a stalwart bulwark of defense as she shielded Zach behind her.

    "What is the meaning of this? Should I take it that Elizabeth family is willing to go against the Norman Royal family for the sake of this nobody?"

    The guard mage had long since retreated beside Prince Kolt since he had judged that Christina had the ability to immobilize him which could then leave Zach open to attack Prince Kolt. Therefore, he felt it was best to retreat first and learn about the intentions of the new opponent.

    Christina didn''t bother looking at the guard mage as she returned the piercing gaze of the Prince with a small smile that illuminated her entire countenance.

    "I wonder what you mean by that my lord. Elizabeth family will never try to go against the Norman Royal family even in our dreams. I think there is some kind of misunderstanding."

    It looked like Christina wanted to y innocent and that further irritated the prince. She was saying these words even as she shielded Zach behind her back and made sure that he was not injured extensively.

    "Then what should I make of this? Why are you interfering in our battle?" Prince Kolt pointed towards her back where Zach stood dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events which led to his salvation from the onset of death.

    "Well, he is my husband. I can''t exactly abandon him when he is close to the jaws of death right in front of me. This has nothing to do with the Elizabeth family since I am only a wife trying to save my husband from an early demise. You see, I don''t want to be a widow so early on in my life. Therefore, I have to apologize if this puts a stunt in your ns." Christina still had the same innocent smile on her face as she remained unfazed by the killing intent radiating from the Prince and the mage beside him.

    Although Zach wanted to say something to her or at least thank her somehow, no words came out of his mouth as if they were stuck at the edge of his throat unwilling toe out no matter how hard he tried to spit them out. He was feeling guilty that he had wronged Christina but she had stille out to save him despite the implications of such a decision that her family might have to faceter on.

    Prince Kolt was beside himself in fury as his face turned purple with angst. He nodded towards his escorting mage as some kind of signal that only the prince and the escort mage somehow understood. The rest were still trying to solve the mystery when the escort mage suddenlyunched out towards Christina with fists that were radiating golden aura as if the magic had been concentrated in his fists elevating the power centered in them to new heights.

    Unlike earlier, the mage was giving it his all since the prince had deemed Christina unnecessary to his ns and had given him the authority to kill her if necessary. Previously he had to control his strength in order to prevent the idental death of Zach who was crucial to his lord''s ns. But now he had been given free rein to destroy everything in his path.

    Therefore, Christina who had previously managed to subdue the mage without much difficulty was unable to pull off the same thing again. This time, the both of them were quite neck and neck in terms of strength, rank and power level. Christina only had the slightest advantage because of her higher mana capacity and slightly higher magic rank.

    Zach knew that the longer he stayed in front of the prince, the longer she would have to fight in order to protect him. Even though she seemed to have the upper hand in battle at the moment, he didn''t know if she could sustain it for long. Therefore, while Christina was holding the mage back, he needed to make full use of this opportunity created by her and escape along with Bruce and Luna.

    Zach signaled Luna and Bruce to make a run for it. The two of them responded without a thought and sprinted away from the battle of Christina and the other mage.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The trio needed to rendezvous with Diana and the others as soon as possible in order to make this escape n slightly more realistic because as the situation stood currently, the forces of the prince were currently spread out in a circle around them and the mage would not take long to follow them from the back as soon as he managed to give Christina the slip.

    Prince Kolt, who was left seething in the righteous mes of anger back at the scene of battle, was afraid to follow Zach and the others on his own even though Christina the strongest out of Zach''spanions was still engaged in fighting his escort mage.

    The reason was that he was afraid to do so. He couldn''t possibly confront Zach when thetter had made an attempt on his life in the presence of his guards and witnesses.

    Unlike his posturing, Prince Kolt was barely stronger than a worm in front of Zach and Christina. He was merely a C rank mage and would be crushed either by Zach or Luna before he could even blink in front of the trio.

    The warhorse underneath him was the finest trained horse used in warfare as the smell of blood and the swamp of gore underneath his hooves didn''t make it panic. Instead the rider seemed as if he was petrified in ce, unable to move. Fear of death forced him to let Zach and hispanions run away without even trying to pursue them on his horse.

    бн

    Meanwhile, Diana and her Special Forces team were currently engaged in a battle. Firepower was being traded back and forth with nothing holding them back. Of course, in case of the soldiers of the royal family, firepower was equivalent to the attacks of the mage type soldiers.

    Diana and the twenty Special Forces soldiers were holding back a force that was many times their number, had better resources and had been training for far longer than them. There were several hundred of them but their primitive battle strategies kept them under the firm grip of Diana''s team.

    When it came to low level mages and soldiers, the firepower of the Special Forces team was far greater the former due to the superior nature of the technological weapons as was evident from the fact that Diana had cleared out a group of more than 10 people with a single pistol in the past when she wasn''t as well trained or as well qualified for such a job. When such high-tech weaponsbined with the various battle tactics that Zach had ingrained in the Special Forces team, the royal family soldiers fell by the scores. Since the total number of the soldiers numbered several hundred, there were always more soldiers who were eagerly trying to encircle the small group of Special Forces trained by Zach.

    No matter how much the royal force tried to aplish the goal of stopping their advances, Diana always managed to find the weakness in the encirclement and used various strategies in conjunction with her force to fight their way out once again. The weakness of the encirclement could always be short listed to the mages who were studded in between the formation of soldiers so as to act as their support and to augment their defenses remotely.

    Kolt''s soldiers on the other hand only had their numbers. They neither had superior training nor superior weaponry to fight back against Diana''s group. And as a result were suffering heavy losses.

    Diana was in constant coordination with Zach and had in fact been waiting for his signal. Her extraction mission would be over once Zach, Bruce and Luna had reached the rendezvous point. This way, her team would be able to retreat before suffering any unnecessary losses.

    Prince Kolt who had already let Zach and hispanions escape earlier due to the intervention of Christina couldn''t hold still as he heard the sounds of the ongoing battle in the distance. He was nning on capturing those who were making trouble for his forces in an attempt to put pressure on Zach into surrendering to him. As a result, he put his warhorse into a gallop and rushed towards the scene of battle.

    When Kolt arrived at the scene of battle, there were only the burnt corpses of his men thaty there in mangled conditions. Some were missing body parts while the others were studded with several holes in their bodies. The shame of the matter was that there wasn''t a single body that belonged to the enemy forces. It was aplete loss; the greatest shame in the history of the royal forces.

    His royal soldiers were not only unable to take down a single man from amongst Zach''s forces but also couldn''t hold them back long enough for Kolt to witness their actual prowess.

 Chapter 121 121 Successful Confluence

    Like fools, they had offered up their lives on a silver tter to the enemy and once the enemy was well fed, they let them escape peacefully.

    Prince Kolt saw the shameful situation of his forces and almost went crazy in his wrath. His nostrils red with each breath and his chest heaved up and down like a machine in overdrive. His face was flushed as he tried to rein in the burst of anger he was about to let loose on his soldiers who had thrown the pride of the royal family to the dogs.

    He called for themander of his troops and told him to organize a pursuit. Prince Kolt decided to lead the pursuit himself. Themander just needed to convey his orders to everyone on the behalf of the prince.

    Themander happily handed over the reins of the troops to the prince in order to wash his hands off of such an unorthodox battle. He had never seen such a battle before despite having spent the major portion of his life on the battlefield as the prideful soldier of the royal family. The tactics of the enemy were so different from what he was used to and the weapons in their hands were capable of overpowering the mages and the soldiers alike from a long range.

    Before long, Prince Kolt was leading a group of bloodthirsty soldiers who were especially working hard because they wanted to leave a good impression on the prince. They knew that as long as they managed to get into the good graces of the prince, they wouldn''t have to worry about anything for the rest of their lives.

    бн

    Zach kept a watch on the mini-map as he rushed towards the rendezvous point that he had decided on with Diana earlier. With Luna and Bruce in tow, he was being extremely cautious since he knew that the mage who was escorting Kolt could be upon them any minute. No matter how powerful and smart Christina was, he knew that she would not be able to hold off the mage for a long time. The reason was the difference in thebat experience between the two. While the mage had spent majority of his life fighting for the royal family, Christina was nothing more than a flower in a greenhouse that had never been exposed to the wind and rain in the storms.

    Therefore, by monitoring the map at short intervals, Zach would at least be able to prevent any sneak attack on them in advance.

    Thankfully, they experienced nothing too threatening along the way and even the forces that Zach spotted on the map were either too far away or were heading in entirely different directions. It even looked like the royal forces were unable to locate him and were searching for him like headless flies in the wilderness hoping to spot his traces.

    Before long, Zach, Luna and Bruce managed to reach the rendezvous point where they could spot some figures waiting for them in advance. Zach was sure that Diana had already arrived and was keeping an eye out for him so he waved towards the group so as to grab their attention and to indicate that his intentions were aboveboard.

    The Special Forces team members who had been lying prone on the ground camouged in the trees immediately signaled towards each other in a hurry and before long a message was delivered to their team leader who was visibly pleased at the news.

    Diana who had been anxiously waiting for the news rushed out to greet the people she had been waiting for.

    The team members responsible for the mission enthusiastically greeted Zach as soon as he reached the clearing that they had been using as the temporary camp. They bowed slightly as smiles spread on their faces. Since Zach had sessfully reached this ce, it could only mean that their mission was a sess and they could finally breathe a little easy. Their nerves had been taut ever since they retreated from the battle in which they were severely outnumbered.

    Bruce apanied Zach towards the center of the temporary camp where his sister was supposedly waiting for them. He was very surprised to witness the changes that had urred in the servants of the Luther family who had sessfullypleted their transition into well-trained soldiers. As soon as Diana entered his sight, he wanted to rush to her and ask her if she was okay after all the bloodshed she must have seen during the earlier battle.

    But Diana beat him to it as she lunged in his direction with the speed of a tigress. His eyes watered as he looked at the running figure of his sister who was so excited to see her brother survive through a tough ordeal.

    Just when he thought that the mini-sized rocket in the shape of Diana was about to make contact with his chest, Diana turned abruptly and mmed into Zach with the entire force of her being as if she wanted to merge her soul with his.

    "Thank god you are safe." Diana muttered as she practically rubbed her face onto his chest as if to confirm that he was real.

    "Me too" Although Zach was surprised at this kind of reception, he still mirrored her thoughts considering the fact that they truly had lost their lives there for a second had it not been for Christina who came as their salvation at their desperate moment.

    Unlike Zach and Diana who were quite happy to see each other, there were two souls who were feeling extremely ufortable with this reunion.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    One was of course Bruce who had been thinking that Diana''s earlier enthusiasm had been for him and the other person was Luna.

    Even though Luna was clear about her position in Zach''s heart and her status, she couldn''t help but be possessive of him. She knew she had no right but she wanted to monopolize his love for herself. She couldn''t stop Zach from going after as many girls as he wanted since Zach was her master. Luna wouldn''t dare to say a word about it just as she hadn''t said anything when Zach asked Christina to marry him.

    But when some other woman tried to hit on Zach like Diana was, Christina felt aggression in every cell of her body as she wanted to keep Zach away from such foxes.

    Zach on the other hand didn''t notice the fire in the eyes of Bruce and Luna as they looked at the couple who were still clinging to each other. He was too focused on the mini-map that was currently disying the number of enemies who were in pursuit.

    Unlike the previous times, when the enemy forces did not know their location at all, thisbined effort seemed to be carefully directed and it looked as if this leader somehow knew Zach''s location as they were making a beeline towards his group.

    Zach grew worried since they couldn''t afford to get held back this time. There was no one who would be able to save him this time if such a thing happened again.

    "We need to leave immediately. Everyone pack up whatever things you have left and get into the trucks. We can''t dy any longer." Zach urged all those who were within the listening range to gather their things. The enemy would soon be upon them if they dared to stay in this ce any longer. At the very least they had to change location before thinking of their next course of action.

    "What happened?" Diana who was unaware of the entire situation got alert with Zach''s warning and asked with a hint of surprise in her eyes.

    "We have enemies on our six. It looks like Prince Kolt hasn''t given up on us yet and is nning to catch up to us at top speed. Have you prepared the trucks as I asked?" asked Zach with urgency in his voice.

    "Of course, two trucks are ready for departure at your order. I have long since made sure that nothing would go wrong. The maintenance specialists have taken a look at their condition already so that they wouldn''t break down on the road."

    Zach could only show his thanks with his eyes as he motioned to her to lead the way as he didn''t want to dilly dally any longer.

    Two trucks were waiting for Zach and the others. Camouge efforts had been put in to keep the trucks from being noticed by any stray soldier or passerby.

    Zach nodded in appreciation at the precautionary measures taken by his Special Forces team.

    "Get on fast. We''re leaving." Diana shouted towards her team who formed two straight rows near the rear of the truck as they stood with their guns in salute towards their true leader.

    Zach, Bruce and Luna were the first to get on followed by Diana. After that the rear most soldiers in both the rows abruptly turned on their feet and climbed the back of the truck. The same procedure was followed until everyone was in the truck.

    Zach couldn''t help but nod to himself in appreciation as the conduct of the Special Forces team was quite admirable. They werepletely disciplined even in such a life-threatening situation.

    When the two trucks were fully boarded and loaded with luggage, the group set off on their long journey towards freedom.

    As they rode away from danger, Zach was unable to put off the feeling of insecurity as he looked all around and checked the map continuously only to find no anomaly at all.

 Chapter 122 122 Hurry Up

    This pinched him a lot but he didn''t sour the mood of the others who had gottenfortable after a day of hard work and nerve wrackingbor.

    Bruce wiped off the sweat from his forehead with a white handkerchief that he took out of his pocket.

    "Thank god we managed to make it. I thought we would die for sure when that mage attacked me. I wonder how I managed to survive past that kick. I don''t know how many bones of mine he broke with that brutal kick. Even breathing is getting difficult by the second." Bruce was the first to let go of his fear after he finally felt safe in the moving truck.

    Zach too remembered how close to death he had been and how he would have definitely died had it not been for Christina who had somehow managed to locate and save his pathetic self in time before the kick of the mage could connect with his side.

    Diana heard the whole story of their escape; even the part where Zach and Bruce almost died. Therefore, she got rid of her hatred of Christina who had swooped in out of nowhere to snatch Zach from her even though she met him first.

    "We must help her out in the future just like she rescued you this time. Not everyone in her position would have done something like that." Diana acted like a virtuous wife as she reminded Zach to take care of Christina in the future should she ever be in need of his help.

    Everyone in the truck looked at her as if she was some weird creature that had been newly discovered. The way she was acting seemed delusional to all those who witnessed the changes in her feelings towards Christina throughout the conversation. It began with heavy jealousy, changed to full blown hate as if they were life and death enemies and eventually stopped at a positive note. She not only epted Christina but also vowed to help her out in the future; she even reminded Zach in that weird way that made everyone else listening to it ufortable.

    It wasn''t only the other listeners who felt ufortable at her sudden change in behavior. Even Zach was somewhat shocked to see her use such a tone with him all of a sudden even though she had refused to talk to him nicely in the recent past. Little did he know that Diana only acted in such a manner because she was against Zach''s wedding with Christina. And now that the wedding was obviously on hold, she let go of her grudge against Zach for not considering her first.

    Suddenly, Zach felt goose bumps spread all over his body as if something invisible had grabbed him from behind with enough force to crush his bones. He was still as if he had witnessed something that scared his very soul and diminished his thinking capability.

    Zach even doubted his mental capacity for a moment because what he was witnessing was not possible even by the standards of this world. Therefore, he waved off the map in front of him and recalled it again to differentiate fiction from reality.

    As soon as the map reappeared in front of him, Zach checked for the same anomaly once again.

    It was moving towards his group at a speed that was faster than a form 1 racing car. This kind of speed should not even be possible considering the only kind of vehicle he had introduced in this world was a truck that couldn''t be used in such a manner. The only situation in which this was possible was if the entity chasing after the group with ill intent turned out to be a mage who had reached the S rank or someone capable had managed to build a vehicle based on magic that could reach that kind of speed.

    Zach didn''t have another moment to reconsider as the hostile entity would be able to reach their trucks that were moving at sixty kilometers an hour, in about 10 seconds.

    Everyone else witnessed as Zach''s face changed colors countless times in a matter of seconds and couldn''t help but ask if he was all right but Zach didn''t bother with any of their questions. Instead he ordered the driver of his truck to pull emergency brakes and stop the truck immediately. The other driver was ryed the same message with the help of the satellite phone even though there was no need for such a thing as the other driver had already pulled the brakes after the first truck followed the order.

    He was worried that it was some kind of explosive projectile that was heading their way which might end up destroying the vehicles that they were using. Therefore, Zach called out to the team leaders and asked them all to evacuate the remaining members from the truck on an immediate basis. The luggage was no longer the priority as the lives of his people were more important to him.

    The team despite being in a pinch did not panic as everyone got out of the truck in an orderly manner. With surprising agility, everyone escaped the two trucks that would soone under fire.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Thankfully, the sh of light in the distance headed straight towards them like a fallen star leaving a shiny trail behind it. In the very next second that sh of light mmed into one of the trucks which had been evacuated in time. The following explosion was so loud that the birds in the distance started wailing out loud as Zach and the others had to take cover and shield themselves behind trees and other solid objects in order to withstand the powerful shockwaves. The violent shaking of the earth caused their steady feet to wobble slightly as they leaned against the cover for support.

    The truck couldn''t withstand the force behind the impact and exploded like a gas tank on fire. The momentum of the humanoid figure was so high that it didn''te to a stop even after the first impact and plowed through the first truck and mmed into the second one that was parked parallel to the first.

    The resultant fire from the two consecutive explosions spread out in the vicinity and viciously burnt everything in its wake. Thankfully, Zach had already pulled out everyone out of the harm''s way which allowed them to be safe from the effects of the explosion.

    Even those with thermal vision could make out nothing amidst the smoke and fire. The fire that had spread out in the surroundings had rendered the thermal visionpletely useless. Therefore, all of them had to squint in order to make out what it was thatpletely decimated both of their trucks in a single hit.

    Unlike the others, Zach was at an angle from where he could barely make out a humanoid figure standing amidst the smoke trying to pull out its fists from the wreckage of the truck that was still on fire. The figure was well built but the shape of its head seemed to be quite odd. There was no way, that a human could have a skull in that shape. It was almost as if a human had the skull of a leopard or a panther.

    Zach didn''t discard the possibility of this being the case since this was a magical world where subi were real. Therefore, it was not entirely impossible that the creatures such as werebeasts were also real. A world full of magic had endless possibilities after all.

    The sound of the explosion had also reached Prince Kolt who was leading his forces in pursuit of Zach and his group. A smile appeared on his face as he excitedlyshed his horse in order to speed up.

    In fact, Kolt knew the reason for the explosion he had heard. In order to stop the advance of the trucks that were considerably faster than his forces that were travelling using the horses, Kolt sent his escort mage ahead of him in order to intercept Zach. He was not sure if the mage would be able to pull it off and therefore the sound of the previous explosion was music to his ears.

    Kolt hurriedly indicated hismander toe closer as he ordered him in a loud voice that could be heard over the thundering sound of the hooves striking the earth.

    "We need to hurry up and catch up to them or we might lose them again if we keep going at this pace. Urge the men to rush forward like their lives depend on it. No need to worry about the men or the horses; I am paying them more than enough topensate such trivial losses."

    Themander nodded in understanding and fell behind once again in respect to his lord and then let out a loud yell in order to raise the morale of the forces that were extremely intent on proving themselves useful in front of the prince.

    Kolt seemed satisfied by the result as the sound of the thundering hooves increased exponentially after themander''s roaring voice fell into the ears of the troops.

    "His sacrifice will no doubt cost me a lot but not quite as much as I would lose if I allowed Zach to escape from my clutches. I will need to hire a new one to act as my bodyguard." Kolt thought as he spurred his horse ahead of everyone else.

    бн

    The figure that shed into the trucks with its bare body was none other than the escort mage that had been fighting against Christina all this time.

 Chapter 123 123 KoltтАЩs Last Card

    After she retreated, the mage had joined up with Kolt and his troops but he was too tired to pursue Zach and the others at his full speed. Even if he had been in his top condition, there was no guarantee that he would have been able to catch up to them since they were travelling on trucks which didn''t utilize any magic or physical ability. As such there was a high possibility that the mage would have exhausted his magic before catching up to the trucks. Even if he did manage to reach Zach, he would have been too tired to attack them in order to halt their progress.

    Therefore, when his lord asked him to move ahead to stop Zach and the others, he could only tell him the truth regarding his condition which annoyed Prince Kolt as it put his entire n in jeopardy.

    "Then you are of no use to me in your condition. You might as well have died trying to kill that slut who caused this." Prince Kolt yelled at the mage as if it was his fault that he was exhausted.

    The mage could only take it all in silence since he had no other choice but to work for Prince Kolt. As soon as he outlived his usefulness, he was sure that Prince Kolt would discard him like a used tissue paper.

    "I will give you a choice. You can bepletely useless in this moment of need and disgrace yourselfter which will no doubt have some bad implications for yourself and your family in the near future. Or you can upgrade your mage rank to S ss and capture that slimy bastard before he makes his escape." Prince Kolt sneered as if he knew what the mage''s response would be in advance.

    Seeing that the mage seemed to be unsure of himself even after he told him how he could be useful, Kolt whispered in his ear like the devil incarnate.

    "Think of your poor daughter. If I were in your position, I would have already epted the deal considering your family circumstances. You should know by now how kind-hearted I am. I can ensure that your family will be taken care of till the end of their lives should you choose to obey my order. But if you choose to do otherwiseбнthen you already know the consequences don''t you? Make your choice carefully."

    Kolt used the stick and carrot approach like a skilled maniptor in order to force the mage to do his bidding.

    The mage on the other hand already knew that there was no other choice as soon as Kolt ordered him to upgrade his strength. The choice was an illusion that Prince Kolt had carefully crafted in order to make him feel like he was choosing to carry out such a self-harming order.

    The mage was too familiar with Prince Kolt and was positive that the only reason Kolt had given him a choice was that he had his leash in hand and was sure of obtaining the result he desired.

    Kolt didn''t even give him time to consider as he brought out a bottle that looked like it contained shimmering ruby colored potion that was akin to viscous blood. The potion was in fact a poison that had been named the upgrade potion. The reason for that was one of the side effects of the potion that increased the rank of the mage by one level after ingestion. Although the momentary power was beyond anything any mage could imagine, the other side effects more than made up for it in terms of the disadvantages.

    If a mage consumed the upgrade potion, he was likely to experience a permanent decrease in his original strength. Other than that, the potential of the mage would be consumed in return for the amazing amount of power which meant that the mage would never be able to advance his strength in the future no matter how much he tried. The ability of the body to handle the mana would be crippled in return for the momentary increase in strength.

    Therefore, all mages only resorted to this inhumane method in order to save their lives in crucial moments but Kolt forced his escort mage to ingest the very same poison in order to bring Zach to him.

    Despite knowing about the plethora of side effects, the escort mage was bound to obey Prince Kolt''s will due to his daughter. As Kolt knew all too well, his daughter had been suffering from a serious disease ever since she was a child. No doctor all over the empire had been able to treat her. The mage knew that because he had travelled all over the empire and had consulted all the renowned doctors only to be disappointed in the end.

    Finally someone told him about the skill level of the royal doctor who was responsible for the well being of the Norman family. As a result he had ended up in the service of the Prince just to make sure that his daughter would survive her fatal disease that was waiting to eat her up because he could ensure that the royal doctor would continue to treat his daughter.

    The mage had therefore always given his best to protect the prince since his daughter''s life depended upon it. And it was for the same reason that he couldn''t disobey this order from the prince even though he knew that he wouldn''t be able to live the same kind of life after this.

    Just as he took the potion, he felt as if something broke inside of him. He felt like a part of his very soul was being consumed to fill him with vigor and strength far beyond he had ever felt before despite being one of the most skilled mages in his rank.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    But the changes were hardly limited to increased strength alone. His body started to change its shape due to which he had to suffer intense pain of his bones being broken and reformed. Even though his skull changed its shape, there was no damage to his brain or his mental acumen.

    Instead he felt that his brain was functioning faster than normal. It was so fast that the other things around him looked as if they were moving in slow motionpared to him.

    All his senses were heightened but that only increased the degree of pain he felt during the change. Due to the increase in pain sensitivity, the pain he felt during the transformation was several times the normal range. He could hear his bones being broken. Every crunch not only sent him rolling in pain but also caused his soul to tremble in fear anticipation of the next bout of pain that awaited him after the first.

    Thankfully, the process wasn''t too long as it was finished within one or two minutes and the thing that stood in the ce of the mage as a result was neitherpletely human nor beast. It was something in between; something monstrous.

    Prince Kolt didn''t wait around to find out if the process of the transformation reached finalization or not as he had to pursue Zach who was increasing the distance between them with each passing second.

    Not long after he left, a sh of light passed above his head with a shocking speed. Prince Kolt smirked to himself as he waited for the signal from the lightning fast figure of the mage.

    бн

    Zach on the other hand could notprehend what kind of abomination had been sent after him to destroy the trucks in order to stop him from escaping. The thing that stood in front of him was an amalgamation of human and beast.

    It looked like a bipedal ck panther that waspletely made of dark ink. The shape was distinct but sometimes it looked as if the body was made entirely out of ink that was flowing constantly to keep its human shape intact.

    Standing amidst the explosion with billowing mes all around him, the panther human remained unfazed by the heat of the mes or the burning sensation as if he couldn''t feel pain.

    Zach tried to understand what it was and in that he couldn''t react appropriately. Meanwhile, Diana was too concerned for Zach''s safety and led the Special Forces team tounch abined assault on the monster. Hundreds and thousands of bullets were fired in that short duration for which the monster remained stagnant as if in a daze but not a single bullet managed to prate the thick exterior of its skin. There was something akin to a force field made of ink surrounding the monster that bounced back all the bullets intended to cause it harm.

    The only result of the all out assault was that Diana and her people managed to royally piss it off. The panther kicked its leg slightly behind it in order to elerate and the very next second it disappeared from the view of all the soldiers. Even Zach was unable to spot it no matter how hard he tried.

    "Aaarghhh~"

    A scream echoed all around in the very next second. The soldier that was the closest to the monster had been nabbed by the monster and in one swift motion it snagged his neck as if to keep him under control. The soldier tried to pull himself free but the difference in strength between the two was too apparent for all to see.

    The soldier only had time to pull the pin on a grenade that he had been carrying with him before the monster could kill him.

 Chapter 124 124 The Other Side

    As a result, his scream acted as a caution for the rest of the team members while the grenade exploded before he could die at the hands of the monster.

    The explosion sent the panther flying far off into the distance but to Zach''s surprise there were no signs of severe bodily damage like he would expect from a normal human. As if to make his thoughts into reality, the panther recovered in less than five seconds and was once again on the offensive.

    Zach was dumbfounded by the bizarre nature of the entire scenario. This was his first time witnessing such a scene within this world as no one had told him about the existence of such a powerful race. He wondered why such a race wasn''t the overlord of the world if they had this much strength to spare even after being bombarded by a grenade at such a long range.

    "What kind of strength is this? And what is that thing?" Zach muttered to himself in astonishment as he carefully analyzed the fight in order to grasp anything that could give him a clue regarding the identity of the monster.

    Bruce sensed his confusion as he knew that Zach wasn''t aware of many things that were consideredmon sense in the empire. Therefore he moved closer to him and tried to exin the situation.

    "I can only assume that this is the same mage who attacked us earlier with the Prince."

    Zach looked at Bruce incredulously as if he was unwilling to believe a single word that left Bruce''s mouth.

    "Do Ie off as such a gullible person? Howe I can''t see the resemnce then? Is it some kind of forbidden magic skill?" Zach asked still confused about the whole situation. Still he acquiesced to Bruce''s exnation since thetter looked quite confident that his exnation was true.

    "It''s not a skill; rather it is not magic at all. I can only think of one thing that can increase the strength of a mage by that much while bringing about such drastic side-effects along with it. I think that the mage used an upgrade potion earlier after his battle with Christina and is currently pushing himself past the normal boundary. He will either end up suffering from a severe bacsh that would potentially kill him or he will lose his strength permanently. Upgrades in general and especially violent ones like thise with the most severe drawbacks. I am sure that this mage would be of no use to anyone in the future. So we just need to hold out until he is tired from his rampage and loses all his energy. We need to buy as much time as possible to survive until then."

    Since time was of the essence in this situation, Zach needed a careful strategy in order to escape from the hands of the mage as well as the prince who was no doubt heading their way at his fastest speed. As soon as his horde managed to meet up with the panther, it would be impossible for Zach to escape along with his soldiers.

    Therefore, their only chance for survival would begin with the death of the mage before Kolt could get to them.

    Thanks to the trucks, there was still some time before Kolt would be able to catch up to them. Therefore Zach could prepare in advance and prepare some things in advance to hold the advantage.

    Ordering his troops to retreat into the forest next to the road, he followed suit along with Bruce and Luna. They moved as they took cover behind trees so as to throw off the panther monster so that they could avoid dealing with him. They needed the panther to consume his energy after all.

    Thanks to the dense trees in the forest, the battle almost came to a halt as the monster''s vision could not prate into the rear end of the forest. Zach''s troops were masters at gueri warfare and therefore used the entirety of their skills in the favorable environment to attack the panther. As a result a mini battle began in the heart of the forest where the agile panther was being bombarded with firepower from all the sides. But whenever he moved in order to attack in a certain direction, he would be interrupted by the troops in the opposite direction so that the others could retreat further. The same process was repeated again and again in order to irritate and control the attacks of the mage so that they could minimize damage. Showers of bullets one after another hit the panther but its body was as strong as ever.

    Of course, nothing could actually hurt him in his current juiced up condition. The only task that had been assigned to them by Zach was to keep it upied and engaged for some time in order to tire it out. Only then would they have the chance to kill it to avenge their fallenrades.

    ...

    Sarah went straight home after listening in on the conversation between Zach and the Prince. She had been the only person who had heard about the intentions of the prince after everyone else had left. Therefore, she was sure that Prince Kolt and Zach would soon be on the opposite ends of the ring.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Since she had already seen the number of troops that Prince Kolt had brought with him, she decided to gather all the fighters and mages in the household so as to be prepared to fight against the troops at all times. Knowing Zach''s temperament, she was sure that arge scale battle was a must by the time the wedding ended.

    When she discussed her n with her father Calvin, he decided not to intervene in the battle. Calvin was a seasoned veteran in the field and knew that a clever rabbit needed three burrows in order to truly survive in the cutthroat world. Instead of fighting on the battlefield and offending the royal family directly, he went off to prepare something else after informing his daughter to take control of everything. He believed that his daughter would be able to handle everything with ease considering her strong upbringing and her genius level intellect.

    Sarah took the forces she had gathered and rushed towards the Luther family mansion where the wedding was taking ce. She knew that the troops had surrounded the ce and it would be difficult for Zach and the others to escape. Therefore, she was nning to open up a gap in the perimeter being controlled by Prince Kolt.

    But before her forces could even reach the Luther family, there was an explosion that was loud enough to shake the entire city. It was at that moment that she knew that she was still toote and the battle had already begun.

    Even though she increased the pace of her forces by motivating them, she couldn''t reach in time to support Zach''s retreat. By the time she reached the scene of the explosion, Zach and his allies were nowhere in sight. The only sight in her eyes was a devastated battlefield that was full of deep craters, scorch marks and corpses strewn across thendscape.

    The condition of those corpses was so revolting that Sarah almost threw up at the spot.

    Nevertheless, she urged her forces to follow the sound of the explosions in the distance so as to catch up with Zach who would no doubt be running away from the deadly pursuit of the royal forces of the Prince.

    The same thing repeated over and over again as she followed the trail of explosions. Not once did she witness the battle between the royal forces and Zach because she was toote every single time. So she urged her army to travel faster and put her horse into a gallop. Her followers imitated her and rushed behind her.

    It wasn''t long before they heard two distinct but sessive explosions in the direction they were heading. Sarah was sure that Prince Kolt might have caught up with Zach and another battle might have started between the two. This time she could surely reach the scene in time in order to earn Zach''s goodwill.

    The first thing that came into her sight was the mass of royal troops all spread out with the intention of surrounding a small area of the forest. She assumed that Zach was somehow fending off the forces with the help of his men which led to Koltying siege to the forest.

    The sound of loud explosions continued along with bursts of light from multiple directions within the forest which meant the battle was still taking ce but at a lower scale which could only mean that Kolt was keeping his distance from the battlefield.

    While she was sneaking in from behind, another force seemed to be thinking of doing the same thing as her. The force was simr in size to hers but it intended to nk the royal forces from the direction of the woods.

    Her eyes crossed with the person leading them for a moment. She was finally able to breathe right after she confirmed the identity of the other force. It was none other than Barry, Christina''s brother, who was leading Elizabeth family''s forces in order to support his brother-inw.

    Both the groups understood each others'' intentions in crossing over such a long distance for Zach. They had a tacit understanding that their personal shes andpetitions didn''t matter at the moment as the only objective the both parties had was to facilitate Zach''s escape in order to strengthen their ties with him.

    бн

 Chapter 125 125 Support

    While the two forces were still circling around the true battlefield, Zach''s group found themselves in thick waters. They somehow managed to contain the destructive panther to a small area hoping that it would get tired soon. It was doable only because they found the bnce between defending, retreating and grabbing the agro of the monster.

    Zach''s ideal oue would have been the death of the panther before Kolt could catch up to them but contrary to his expectations, the monster panther was too much for them to handle. It was not only far more powerful than he had expected but also more durable and had considerablyrge reserves of stamina and mana capacity. As a result, not only did his men get severe injuries while fighting off the monster, they were also surrounded by Kolt''s army troops from the surroundings. He could see it all on the mini-map as a rough outline of the troops could be found scattered around their current position and they were slowly closing in on their current location.

    All the battle statistics indicated utter defeat of Zach at the hands of the panther. Zach could barely hold the enemy back by investing everything at his disposal. There were seven deaths among his men who bravely sacrificed themselves in order to keep the panther from attacking Zach and the others.

    Two of them couldn''t keep up with the pace of the battle as they died without knowing what struck them at the start of the battle. The panther didn''t wait for them to get used to what a true gueri battle looked like and squished the two into mush with his powerful punches. This served as a lesson for the others who began fighting the monster from behind covers.

    Three others soon sumbed to exhaustion as the pace of the battle turned out to be beyond their endurance limit. In the end they blew themselves up when they knew that their deaths were close just so they could deal some damage to it and ease the burden of the rest of theirrades. The panther of course didn''t even register the damage from the three grenades and soon got up from where it had been flung off to and shrugged it off before resuming its attack.

    It wasn''t long before another mistake led to the death of two more soldiers under hermand. Zach grew desperate because she felt responsible for these people. None of them deserved to die in such a manner.

    The rest of the soldiers were so battered and wounded after luring and defending against the panther that they would be unable tost very long.

    Zach couldn''t stay behind his forces any longer as he pulled out all the weapons at his disposal one by one in an attempt to fight against the ck panther. Neither cold nor hot weapons seemed to work on the monstrous being as it stood unfazed under the barrage of bullets. Even a grenadeuncher couldn''t deal any damage to it. He cursed the conditional activation of the Lightning rod that kept him from using such a destructive weapon in a life threatening situation like this. After all, what was the use of such a powerful weapon when he couldn''t even use it to defend himself in critical situations?

    Just when he was about to lose all hope of ever escaping this predicament alive, he saw an anomaly on the mini-map at the corner of his vision. He had been ignoring it all this time because he already knew the position of Kolt''s troops. Therefore, he ignored the two other forces that hade out of nowhere and were now nking Kolt''s troops from both sides.

    Chaos erupted among the ranks of Kolt''s troops as horns red and the irregr thundering sound of horses galloping spread across the forest. It felt like the whole army was in disarray due to the arrival of the new forces.

    Even the panther seemed to be distracted by the sounds as it momentarily stopped its assault. It was not long before the forces appeared within Zach''s line of sight. Both the forces wore different colors and had different gs but Zach couldn''t recognize anyone that he could consider an ally. He wondered if these two forces hade to take advantage of the chaos to spirit him away as their personal ve just like Kolt intended to do with him. There was a high possibility that other influential families of Elizabeth city had made their move after figuring out the incident at the wedding earlier.

    Flustered he looked towards the others one by one hoping that someone would be able to clear his doubts away. Luna whose robe waspletely disheveled by now was just as clueless as he was while Diana was too worried about her soldiers to even think about anything else. She used this momentary respite from the battle with the monster to allow her soldiers to breathe.

    The first to recognize the colors of the two forces was none other than Luther family leader who was the most experienced in terms of the knowledge of the various families of Elizabeth city. He had spent his entire lifetime in the high society there after all. His eyes sparkled as he stared at some of the soldiers who were heading towards them by charging through the blockade of Prince Kolt''s forces.

    "What is it? Who are these soldiers? They don''t look like Kolt''s soldiers. I wonder what they want from us."

    Zach questioned Bruce as soon as he saw that Bruce looked like he knew something about these soldiers.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Looks like we got some reinforcements. Can you see those soldiers bypassing the blockade to advance in our direction?" Bruce pointed towards the soldiers who were wearing either bronze tunics or lustrous mage garbs with hoods marked with a weighing scale.

    Zach nodded in response immediately since he was curious about the same thing.

    "That specific mark and the way these soldiers are equipped, I am positive that they belong to the fighting force of Elizabeth family. They must havee to help us out."

    Zach couldn''t help but think about Christina who had ced herself in harm''s way just so he would be able to escape from the clutches of the Prince earlier. Looks like that wasn''t the full extent of her support at all. She had even prepared the fighting force of her family toe support him when he was at his lowest.

    Zach couldn''t help but notice another grouping from the exact opposite direction. At first he had thought that Elizabeth family had nked the Prince''s forces from both directions in a carefully nned strategy but then he noticed the difference in how the two forces were dressed. Instead of the weighing scale as the insignia, the new force donned an insigniaprising of two crossed swords on their chests. Unlike Elizabeth family, this forceprised of seasoned fighters and mages since Zach could tell from the disciplined way they moved.

    Bruce exined before Zach could ask about this new force, "Those soldiers belong to the Macrae family. It appears that the Macrae family allied themselves with Elizabeth family to help us escape. God knows we need all the help we can get with a monster like that. The man leading the Elizabeth family seems to be Barry; Christina''s brother."

    Bruce wanted to thank Barry for keeping his promise earlier but this wasn''t the time for that because the panther monster was back in his berserk mode and began tosh out at everyone in his path. But the reinforcements that both the families had brought with them were able to tie it down with the help of the Special Forces team who were rejuvenated after receiving the momentary respite from the continuous battle.

    Seeing that his trump card had been rendered useless by the arrival of the two families, Kolt became furious as he spit fire at hismander to stop the advance of the two families.

    Themander in turn could do nothing but take out his anger and frustration on his soldiers. So he yelled like never before and ordered the troops to take out all the enemies.

    The soldiers on the other hand were tired of the long pursuit. They had been fighting since the beginning and the constant losses led to a blow to their morale. Even their prince was panicking on the inside and they could see it on his face. How could they still move with the same zeal when their prince''s strongest fighter was being held back by the enemy force?

    Macrae family wasn''t the strongest in Elizabeth city for no reason. There martial and magical prowess was second to none even in the more developed cities. They could even bepared to some well known forces of the capital in terms of quality of training and discipline of their forces. The strength of the Macrae family further jumped since the one leading the forces was none other than Sarah who was the brilliant daughter of their family head. She was not onlypetent when it came to her own strength but also a strategist far ahead of even her father.

    The royal forces were being cast aside like useless trash by the side of the road every where the forces of the allied families passed. Kolt couldn''t contain the fury searing his insides and shouted in the loudest voice he could muster. He had long since forgotten his grace and position as the Prince of the Norman Royal family.

    "Do you all even know the person you are fighting for? Do you know his background? Where he came from? Or who that woman beside him actually is?"

 Chapter 126 126 Different Choice

    There was silence following his question in the royal forces only. The others weren''t bothered with the prince as the ones leading them hadn''t given any orders to stop. They turned a deaf ear towards Kolt and continued fighting to secure a path for Zach andpany to escape. Even the panther wasn''t paying any heed to the prince and continued to pluck and throw any soldier that came in his path.

    "That man you all are trying to defend is a traitor to the human race. He is a turncoat who is conspiring with the Subus race against us. If you don''t believe me you can ask him to reveal the true colors of hispanion. Why does he keep her hidden underneath that hood? He has been deceiving you all along by bringing along a subus with him wherever he goes. She no doubt knows enough about the whole city to bring it down without any effort."

    While Zach was gritting his teeth in rage at Kolt''s shameful behavior, the panther changed directions mid way and rushed towards Luna who was stunned after her identity was revealed to the world. She was worried that Zach would be implicated due to her identity. She would rather die than cause trouble for her master whom she loved with all her heart and soul.

    The panther reached out with his outstretched ws and shed at Luna who was caught unawares. The robe that had been with her ever since the beginning of her journey with Zach was caught by the sturdy ws and was torn from her body in one go.

    Her seductive figure covered by her somewhat skimpy clothes was in full view of everyone on the scene.

    There were several gasps among the audience since they hadn''t expected that the words of Prince Kolt would turn out to be true. Only those truly involved in it knew that Kolt was acting like a child as he wanted to destroy what he couldn''t have for himself.

    When her onyx horns and her thin pointed tail were in in view of the public, Luna felt as if she was standing naked. She was ashamed that her existence was going to create problems for her master. She hated herself more than anyone around her in that moment.

    Several soldiers belonging to the families stopped fighting and were reluctant to raise their arms when Prince Kolt''s allegations turned out to be true. Their faces revealed their shock as they retreated to the side and looked towards their leaders for further orders.

    "The royal family has taken it upon itself to weed out such traitors from the empire and a thorough strategy for this has been implemented by the highest echelons of the empire. This traitor will be arrested along with this slut. Whosoever will try to hinder my soldiers from carrying out this duty for the sake of the human race will from now on be an enemy of the royal family and the entire human race."

    Kolt''s earlier anger had been reced by feigned righteousness as he tried to make the best of the situation. His reputation had taken a deep plunge after the earlier failures which were the reason he couldn''t let Zach escape from him.

    Kolt had only been reluctant to reveal Luna''s secret because he needed it to control Zach to do his bidding. The only reason he had been able to sign such a disadvantageous contract with Zach was Luna whom Zach probably cared about a lot.

    But now that Zach had no intention to work for him and bring him the much needed capital, Kolt couldn''t care less about it.

    With the secret out, Kolt couldn''t use Zach any longer since he had no means to exploit his genius. Therefore, he wanted to destroy the man who wouldn''t listen to the voice of reason and wouldn''t bend to his will and wish.

    Both the families were in a conundrum following the convincing logic behind the words of Prince Kolt. They didn''t think that they were righteous in defending someone who was a traitor to the entire mankind. The proof was right in front of them. One of the targets of their protection was none other than a subus.

    It had to be known that the hatred between the humans the subi was quite prevalent and mutual. Even the subi hated humans since they condemned them for seducing and killing their men despite the fact that all of their victims were willing to do the deed with them while being aware of the consequences.

    Barry knew that his men were feeling disappointed and confused at the moment. Even though they were working for his family, they were onlymoners. They didn''t harbor the guts to go against one of the royal princes and the authority of the royal decree. It was the same for him as he didn''t want the Elizabeth family to openly oppose the royal family in front of witnesses when his family was clearly in the wrong for dying the righteous actions of the Prince.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    As such he had no choice in the matter. If he had to choose between Zach and the preservation of his family, he would undoubtedly choose his family no matter how much Christina would hate him for making that decision. Barry felt that even George might condemn his actions this time since George had been the one to instruct Barry to defend Zach while he went somece else in a hurry to carry out some other task on his own.

    Sarah on the other hand had witnessed everything in the conference room and was aware of the true reason why the Prince had dered this to be a crusade for the human race. Therefore, she only smiled in response to the great reveal staged by the Prince.

    "Everyone gather around; it looks like we are in the wrong here. No one needs to be afraid for you were only following my orders. Since we can''t interfere in this any longer then there is no use in us staying here. Gather your things fast; we are leaving."

    With that Sarah left with her men following behind her like ducklings following behind their mother duck.

    Barry too retreated with his soldiers as he witnessed Sarah doing the same with her people. Only this time he didn''t dare to cast a remorseful nce in the direction of Bruce whom he was letting down for the second time. He was regrettinging here because now he wouldn''t be able to look his sister in the eye if she asked him about Zach afterwards.

    Kolt on the other hand had a pleased look on his face as he witnessed the disappointed faces full of shame retreating behind their leaders. Despite the way he acted, he loved shoving his authority in the faces of others in order to get what he wanted. He loved how the name of the royal family caused the fearsome soldiers who were pushing back his troops to tremble at their knees.

    He ryed another order to hismander in a graceful manner. He had managed to recover his lost grace following the departure of the two families which lifted a considerable amount of pressure from his shoulders.

    "Bring Zach and that subus to me as soon as possible. I don''t want a single one of those rats to escape. Capture those you can capture and kill those you can''t. But I need Zach and the subus alive no matter what."

    Themander was about to ry the order to initiate capture of the traitors when some kind of white fog in humongous proportions rolled in from everywhere all at once. It was dense enough to obscure the vision of the most aplished mages. The mist surrounded the troops from all sides and built up an illusory cage around them that the troops were unable to escape.

    The soldiers could barely see their own hands let alone find the enemies they were supposed to capture. Even the monstrous panther came to a halt as if taking his time to sniff out its target amongst the smoky fog with his newly enhanced senses.

    A clever unitmander amongst Kolt''s forces gathered his wits and shouted to no one in particr, "Use wind magic to drive the fog away."

    The mages specializing in wind magic summoned strong gusts of wind in an attempt to force the wind to move in a southerly direction away from the battlefield. Contrary to expectations, the fog turned out to be quite stubborn as if it was unwilling to leave the ce. After being disced by the wind, it continued to run back to surround Kolt''s forces in no time. Even after consuming the majority of their mana, the wind mages were barely able to make a difference. So they stopped their futile attempts and waited for the orders of theirmander.

    The unitmander who hade up with the genius idea didn''t voice out anymore of his thoughts as he hid his face in shame. He could only thank the presence of the fog that hid the shame evident on his face from everyone around him and kept his identity secret.

    Kolt cursed under his breath as he began to contemte how this kind of fog could appear out of nowhere when it had been all clear just a few minutes ago.

    Sarah who had never left but was hiding close by was already waiting for her chance. Since she knew the true reason for the conflict between Zach and Prince Kolt, she hade totally prepared.

 Chapter 127 127 The Fog

    Being the strategist of the Macrae family reigning at the top of Elizabeth family she had already anticipated Kolt''s move if he were to be at his wit''s end.

    As a result she hade up with various ways to help Zach withoutpromising her identity.

    Sarah was a senior water mage with years of experience and inherent talent of the Macrae family in wielding and manipting water element mana. The fog had in fact been the concoction of several mages belonging to the Macrae family with Sarah leading the orchestra of mages to y a deceitful and illusory tone that pestered and hindered the royal forces.

    As she controlled the fog to stay in ce despite the attempts of the wind mages, she ordered her men to change into white clothes that were free from all kinds of markings and blemishes. As a result it was hard to deduce the forces these people belonged to. Sarah had even brought along face masks in order to keep anyone from recognizing themter on.

    When her men were all dressed up and ready, she waved her hand in a graceful manner and water vapors began to rise up from the ground and the trees all around her intensifying the density of the fog even further so that even the gusts of wind summoned by the enemy forces would be unable to move it as they pleased. It looked as if the clouds hade down to the ground in response to her call.

    "Trust me when I say that Zach harbors no traitorous intentions towards the human race. Hide your identity and try to hold back the royal forces for as long as possible. This way our Macrae family will definitely have a chance to establish its prestige even in the capital very soon." Sarah motivated her people as she felt that some of them might be harboring guilt in their hearts for aiding and abetting a traitor to the human race.

    Leaving Kolt''s army in the capable hands of her trusted men, she conjured ayer of water underneath her feet. She looked like she was surfing over a low wave with her bare feet as the wave took her towards Zach who was probably trying to survive the clutches of the ck panther.

    As she moved, the fog in front of her cleared up as if it was being split into two by some invisible de.

    Sarah had decided to help Zach deal with the ck panther as it seemed to be the core of the Prince''s fighting force and his only chance at capturing Zach or hispanions.

    Prince Kolt was livid with rage leaking out of every pore on his skin. He had long since figured out where the fog came from. Even though he was weak, he was as cunning and treacherous as a snake. The arrival of the men in white garbs only intensified his suspicion as the majority of those mages utilized powerful magic to deal with his men. He saw through the farce of the Macrae family in a single nce as he cursed their very ancestors for trying to get in his path.

    Even though he had already figured it all out, there was no way he could hold the entire Macrae family ountable for what they were doing. He had no evidence that anything like that ever happened. From a purely objective point of view, the group attacking him was made up of unknown assants dressedpletely in white. Such a group was neither wanted in other parts of the empire nor had there been any report of the crimes of such a terror group that Kolt could make use of to threaten Sarah and her men.

    Moreover, the weather made it impossible to truly see another person''s face clearly even if he stood nose to nose with the other person. Fog swirled with increased intensity as the opposing forces of the wind mages and the person controlling the fog collided with each other. Kolt couldn''t put the me on Sarah since he had seen her retreat from the battlefield earlier and the new unknown group in white had revealed no evidence that he could use as evidence against Sarah.

    Filled to the brim with rage and with nowhere to vent out his frustration, Kolt shouted in a hoarse voice that was audible to all those in the forest.

    "I want him at all costs. Bring him to me or your daughter will suffer the consequences of your inability."

    Even though the threat was directed towards the imperial escort turned monster that was currently fighting against the Special Forces and Sarah, everyone on the battlefield felt their hearts clench at the sudden threat from the Prince. The morale of his forces fell to an all time low and the forces of the Macrae family made use of the opportunity to cleanse their way of the hostile forces to secure a safe passage for the youngdy of their house and Zach who was the target of this mission.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    While Sarah was fully intent on breaking Zach out of this ce and hade fully prepared to deal with whatever secret Zach had been hiding from everyone, Barry wasn''t as resolute or as decisive as her in this regard. He had previously believed in Zach only because thetter had shown a genius that no one could rece which could be used to elevate the standing of the Elizabeth family. Even the fact that Zach was his brother-inw didn''t matter much to him when it came to the well being of the family.

    When the Prince Kolt revealed the identity of the mysteriouspanion that always apanied Zach, Barry couldn''t ept it. But as soon as the monster tore off her robe, he had to ept the harsh reality that he witnessed with his own eyes. He couldn''t believe how Zach could be so shameless as to wed his sister when he had been apanying such a vile creature all this while without remorse.

    As a result Barry was hesitant in continuing to defend Zach like Sarah was intent on doing. He believed that his father would have made the same decision in his situation since they couldn''t afford to offend the Norman Royal family for someone like Zach whocked righteousness.

    As soon as Kolt raised his voice to shout into the air his orders regarding Zach to the imperial escort, the panther who was being surrounded by the Macrae family mages, the Special Forces team and Luna went berserk as if some hidden switch in its circuit had been flipped.

    Zach noticed its expression change in real time despite the speed with which it was attacking his allies. With a solemn expression on his face he witnessed as the panther jumped high into the air as an earthly aura surrounded its very being making it look like a bronze statue. The panther fell towards the ground with its fists leading the charge. Its speed continued to elerate as if the gravity in its vicinity was constantly on the rise. Its body struck the ground with the force of a meteor and shook everything in the vicinity up to a hundred meters in the surroundings.

    The trees in the vicinity were uprooted as if the earth had lifted its support towards their life and had parted its way around the trees. The shaking didn''t stop for a few seconds after the impact. The men surrounding the panther were all thrown off into the nearby trees or were flung off into the air far into the distance.

    Seeing as it was free of the nuisances hindering it from reaching Zach, the panther lunged towards him in one swift motion with a bloodthirsty look in its eyes.

    The moment he became sure that nothing would be able to keep him from taking Zach away, he suddenly felt as if the air around him had be more viscous. The atmosphere itself was slowing him down as if it wanted to prevent it from doing whatever it intended to do with Zach.

    The panther got irritated as it punched twice into the air around it but to no avail. The water bubble surrounding it easily dispersed the entire force of its attacks. Water magic might not have been the best when it came to attack or burst damage, but when it came to defensive and deflecting maneuvers it excelled beyond even the wind magic. The lightness allowed one to wield the element more flexibly while the increased viscosity gave it enough density to stand steadfast in the wake of solid attacks.

    Sarah was one of these water element mages in the Elizabeth family. In the entire Elizabeth city there wasn''t another mage who could proim to be the first water mage if Sarah dered herself to be the second. She was just that good.

    The fact that the panther had already lost a lot of its energy by creating the earlier shockwave also contributed to her impable defense against its vicious attacks.

    Sarah showed herself as she appeared out of nowhere in front of Zach while facing the panther. It seemed as if she had used fog to create an illusion of her appearance out of thin air or she had been there in the first ce. No one could contemte which of these was true due to theck of time to process all the facts.

    Zach of course couldn''t recognize the woman and thought that she must be some ally of the Elizabeth family sent to support him. Since he couldn''t see Barry, he assumed that she had been sent here by Barry to takemand of the forces in his absence.

 Chapter 128 128 Water Barrier

    But Bruce, who was still waiting on the Elizabeth family to make a move, found himself ecstatic, blurted out the identity of the woman to Zach. He was very surprised that the woman was willing to help them even after Luna''s secret had been revealed. Even Barry and Elizabeth family had perhaps left them out to hang after the revtion made by the prince. He couldn''t understand why Sarah would put herself and her family as the target of the Norman royal family to create a chance for them to escape.

    Zach couldn''t figure out the motive of the woman who was currently keeping the panther from moving but at this time he didn''t have the leisure of asking or contemting on it. He could only cast a grateful nce at his savior whom he had never seen before this.

    Sarah didn''t turn her head towards Zach and the others who were standing behind her and shouted in a melodious but firm voice, "I will hold it here for as long as I can. Go first and don''t look back. I won''t let it go after you for a while."

    Zach was dazed as he stared at her back which seemed quite weak due to her womanly figure but the strength and confidence hidden in her voice made him want to believe in her as well.

    Just as he was about to make a run for it so as to not put more burden on the woman who already looked like she was having a hard time holding the berserk panther back, she turned towards him and winked with a seductive smile on her face. Zach couldn''t help but find Sarah extremely attractive.

    But he didn''t let that get to his head as he knew what Sarah meant by that wink. She was by no means trying to seduce him, or even if she was, he could not tell from her expressions. Her only motive that he could be sure about was to remind him that he now owed a favor to her; no, a favor to the entire Macrae family.

    Zach didn''t wait any longer and waved his hand towards his people and rushed away with his group. They ran like the wind since they couldn''t be sure for how long Sarah could hold that beast that was capable of fighting three armies on its own.

    Luna stayed at the back of the group so that she could take care of any dangering from the back, specifically the panther that coulde at any time after taking care of Sarah. Zach didn''t convince her otherwise either as he began to lead the rest of his group towards what he considered to be a safe zonepared to the current battlefield.

    Sarah waited for a while after Zach left as she kept the panther in suspended animation within her water bubble that threatened to burst at any time under the inhumane force of the beast.

    Before the beast could break through by force which would cause her to suffer from the bacsh, Sarah cut off the supply of her mana to the water bubble and began to chant in an inaudible voice the incantations for her new spell.

    This new spell didn''t take long to manifest as a sea of water began to formte behind Sarah hiding everything behind her from the vision of the beast no matter how abnormal it might have be after its change.

    The towering and regurgitating water waves sent shivers down the spines of the enemy soldiers who were still encased in a shroud of mist but none could imagine how huge the scale of the attack would be. On the other hand the rising tide further raised the morale of the Macrae family mages who basked in the glory and power of their youngdy. They were willing to follow behind her even if she marched through the gates of hell if they could continue to witness this magnificent side of her.

    The water from the sea behind Sarah branched off into various tentacles of currents as it looked like some ancient creature from the depths hade to harvest the souls of the living. The tentacles looked as if they were spreading out from Sarah as the center. Therefore to the panther it looked as if Sarah had grown numerous watery tails and was using them to attack him from all sides.

    Even though there wasn''t much mana invested in those attacks, the sheer volume and weight of all that amount of water made it far too much to handle even for the ck Panther. Therefore, with everysh of the tentacles, the water that made the tentacle would be rendered useless as it would turn to mist after growing out of Sarah''s control.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    With her fine control, the used water began to replenish the vanishing mist and the cycle of defensive attacks continued to keep the panther and the army in their ce.

    Even though the panther didn''t suffer any damage from these attacks, it was pushed back every time it wasshed with a water current. The panther visibly put extra force behind its attacks as it began to smash through all the currents that Sarah threw at it as it wanted to go through the water wave without trying to take Sarah on who was a troublesome enemy for the panther. Not because she was more powerful but because she was just a difficult opponent in terms ofpatibility. Panthers didn''t do well with water anyway. He kept being pushed by the whirlpools that Sarah created amidst her waves.

    Being pushed back to its initial position, the panther couldn''t control its angst at being controlled in such a manner. It bared its teeth at her like it wanted to tear her apart with its teeth but the surging waves of water behind Sarah were the perfect deterrent to keep it in check.

    Finding itself truly stuck until Sarah''s mana ran out, it had to try something. Therefore, the panther tried to go around the huge sea surrounding Sarah. Even though the magic spell she had cast covered arge area, it wasn''t something the strengthened escort mage could not cross in seconds.

    Sarah was far smarter than she appeared to be. She wasn''t the sole strategist of the family for nothing. Even though she wasn''t in as much limelight as Christina due to the battle prowess of her father that overshadowed her talent, she wasn''t any less cunning and sly than Christina. She could deduce what the panther was about to do with a minor twinge in its expression or the movement of its eyeballs. As soon as it even thought of moving across the sea she had conjured by using a hell lot of mana, she countered by spending even more copious amounts of mana to increase the size of the sea.

    Sarah made it so that the sea expanded in size with the movement of the panther. She wasn''t about to let it get away aftering this far.

    Angered by the outrageously difficult to deal with magic of the woman in front of it, the panther had a bloodthirsty look in its eyes as it opened its death dealing maw wide enough to fit a water melon through and a ck colored ball began to form in between his sharp teeth.

    Sarah couldn''t understand what it was doing but remained vignt in case the panther did something outrageous. The future proved that she had been very right to remain vignt as the panther released the ck ball it had been condensing in its mouth.

    The ball shot towards her but Sarah managed to redirect a lot of water to form a solid barrier in front of her before the shot could reach her. The explosion that ensued was muffled by the water barrier; otherwise it would have shaken the eardrums of everyone in range considering the power and the amount of mana that had been condensed in it.

    Sarah had never seen this kind of mana before. The ck ball felt as if it was made of ck colored fire but unlike the usual fire it didn''t burn her at all. Rather it had a corrosive effect as it was spreading all over her water shield and was basically thinning out her water barrier to make it easier for the panther to cross through it.

    The panther didn''t stop at the first shell though. It continued raining it towards her as if the consumption of this much amount of mana was nothing for it. She wondered what kind of a monster had it be to sustain that much mana in the body.

    The huge explosions in the water tore off arge amount of her defensive barrier as vacuums were created in the sea under her control. It was as if the ck explosive shells were capable of eliminating even the mist that should have formed as a result of the explosions. But not even a wisp of that mist remained inside the sea and what reced it was the boundless emptiness that could only be found in vacuum.

    It was difficult for Sarah to maintain her control over the water barrier with the explosive shells taking bites out of her mana reserve but she was still trying to manage somehow. She had noticed that the ck Panther couldn''t use more than a few shots at a time and needed a moment of rest after that. As long as the same situation persisted Sarah felt that she could hold it back for another few minutes. She only hoped that this was the monster''s limit.

 Chapter 129 129 Impasse

    Her worst nightmare didn''t take a few minutes to manifest into reality as the monster shot several shells in quick session and in close proximity to each other. As a result there was a distortion in the sea of water that took a moment of Sarah''s entire attention to amend.

    Since she could not stay focused on the panther in that moment, she lost her perception of it for those few seconds. She racked her mind wondering what the panther wanted to do by creating such a diversion. It couldn''t attack her since her defense still stood strong in front and behind her the wave acted as a barrier. Not to mention she would be alerted to any attacks beforehand. That only left the panther with one option which would be to cross the wave during the momentary gap in the water.

    Therefore, she sent surges of her mana throughout the water wave under her control but couldn''t even find the panther''s mana in the waters which could only mean that the panther wasn''t trying to cross the wave again.

    It was nning something else entirely. Sarah did not like it when she found that out. She hated it when her ns turned their backs on her. This situation was ying out in the same scenario as the one she hated with all her heart.

    The panther had left no traces of itself as if what she had been fighting had been an illusion all along. She tried to pull the water close to herself in order to shield herself from all sides in case the panther was trying to surprise attack her.

    The moment she did that, there was a loud explosion underground. The location was precisely the spot that she was standing on.

    It couldn''t be a coincidence as the location of the explosion was too precise. That could only mean that it was what the panther intended to do in the first ce.

    The panther had used a great amount of its mana and shot several ck shells in a row all just to create a diversion for Sarah to move her eyes away from itself. It wanted to hide its position from Sarah since it had a n in mind.

    As soon as Sarah''s attention was no longer on it, the panther had dug up the ground with its sharp ws and had crawled into the ground. By travelling underground like a mole, it had reached under the spot where Sarah was andunched another sneak attack that could cost Sarah her life had she been careless enough to ignore that threat.

    The explosion sent Sarah flying. Even though she had managed to conjure a thin water barrier around herself, it was not enough to keep the panther from flinging her away.

    The panther barely looked at Sarah afterwards as its goal wasn''t her but Zach who was currently on the run. If it lingered around to finish Sarah off, there was a possibility that it wouldn''t get an opportunity to catch Zach.

    Zach was running but his eyes weren''t looking ahead of him. They were instead focused on the virtual mini-map that was hanging on the bottom edge of his vision. He was monitoring their surroundings in order to detect any hostile element even a bit faster. A few milliseconds were enough to save someone''s life. Moreover, the fear of the panther didn''t let him rest easy. The monster was far too strong for anyone to handle at the current stage. None of his weapons worked on it and all the strategies he had taught his men scattered in front of raw and unadulterated power that emanated from that monster.

    Before long his excessive precaution proved useful as a light dot appeared on the map. The size of the blip was small which meant that it was still some distance away from them. During the time, Sarah held back the panther, Zach and the others had put in a great amount of distance between them. As a result, even though the panther had escaped Sarah''s confines, it would still take some time for it to reach them. But that didn''t mean that the panther wouldn''t be able to catch up with them. The speed it had disyed earlier when chasing after the trucks was enough to shatter Zach''s confidence. Therefore, he knew that it was only a matter of time before the panther caught up to them.

    Since running further would have only tired them out and made them an even easier prey to the panther, Zach held up a fist in the air above him and everyone following him came to a halt except Luna who managed to catch up to him in order to find out why Zach had stopped them all. She didn''t use her mouth to utter the questions in her mind but Zach had long since learned to read her eyes. He understood what she wanted to ask and Luna knew that as well so she remained silent and allowed Zach to gather his thoughts.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Right at that moment, Kolt''s army still had a long way to go if they even dreamed of finding any traces of Zach and his group behind. They had been dyed too much by the Elizabeth family and the Macrae family forces earlier. Even though the Elizabeth family withdrew not long after, the damage to the royal forces was already dealt. It wasn''t like the royal force was made up of monsters like the escort mage.

    Zach was thinking that his group needed their well deserved rest so they would have the strength to face the panther in the final battle. There was no one else who would being to save them this time so he had to rely on the people beside him if he wanted to survive.

    "I want all of you to gather your breath. We will stay here until our enemy catches up to us. The pantherian monster from before is chasing after us as I speak; and at a frightening pace." Zach was addressing everyone in the group and he expected them to show some resistance to his decision as well. He was asking them to stay there like sitting ducks as the panther hunted them from behind. This wasn''t logical at all.

    If it had been in the past, Zach would have taken a different approach to break the news to them but the current situation was far from normal. He didn''t want to use politics and maniptive tactics to use the people who had fought and sacrificed for him today. He gave them the hard truth just as he knew and trusted them to follow him despite that.

    Just as the voices of concern rose among the people, Zach opened his mouth once again to address the reason behind his decision.

    "I know you might not agree with me since you can''t see it for yourselves. But the panther is far faster than you can imagine. You have seen its strength far better than me since you have fought it for yourself. It doesn''t look like it even gets tired. So, instead of consuming our strength to widen the distance that the bastard can cover in minutes, use it to recover as much of your strength as possible because only by killing that mutt can we move to our freedom and survive. I cannot motivate you all by lying to you or by deceiving you that it will be any easier this time. But I sure as hell am not going to let it drag me away with it. I will either bite it to death if I have to in order to survive or I will die trying. There will be no other ending for me."

    Silence ensued; not a single person in his group tried to say anything else. They had received their answer.

    Zach''s group only consisted of the people most loyal to him and the Special Forces team; or at least what remained of the twenty who had been chosen for this mission. The remaining included the fanatics of the Luther family who considered him to be some kind of god. None of them had the intention to betray him at all to save their own skin.

    Zach on the other hand was only saddened to hear no words of resistance because any deaths from amongst the group would be his burden to bear in the future. And he wasn''t much optimistic about the situation they were in. Even after the group was all rested and in a better condition, there was no surety that they would win against the beastly mage. The odds were against the group since the difference in strength was far too great to be ignored.

    Everyone didn''t waste any more time and did as they were ordered by Zach. They began to rest and recover whatever strength they had left in their bones.

    Diana too was amongst those people and was more than aware that this might be thest battle she would probably have a chance to participate in. She was adamant on protecting the people she loved and she had the responsibility to see the mission through to its end. She owed that much to the team members who had sacrificed their lives so they could make it till this point.

    She didn''t let the fearmand her or deter her from doing what she thought was right and wouldn''t bring shame to her as themander and the leader of the courageous special forces team and the household of Luther.

    While others rested, she roused their doused spirits with her shrilling screams that resonated with their very souls.

 Chapter 130 130 LunaтАЩs Determination

    "FIGHTбнFIGHT!" she shouted as if to rekindle the fire inside their cold hearts that had begun to ept their fates without a fight. She wanted to inspire them to survive for as long as they could. Even if she didn''t make it, she wanted at least some of them to make it past this battle.

    The soldiers of the Luther family and the remnants of the Special Forces team had teary eyes watching their youngdy try so hard. The girl had never backed down in the face of adversity and they were the living witnesses to her struggle over the years. She probably had it the worst out of them all and yet she cared about them so much.

    The soldiers and other members of the family resolved to not let a single hair on her head be harmed by the beast. They were willing to be loyal to the family to the ends of time if they survived past the disaster that was encroaching onto them like the silent wind.

    While Diana was worried about the people, Luna had only one man in her eyes. He was her world, her reason for survival and her dream for the future. Her longing for her master had long since crossed the threshold of obsession. She was utterly and truly devoted to the man with her very soul resonating with his ambitions and goals. She was dependent on him for her happiness as there was nothing in the world that could arouse her interest if he ever left her behind.

    Her heart hurt as if it had been clutched by some evil spirit inside her body as she saw Zach''s wounded state when he tried to sit with the support of an especially wide tree. He would have slipped on the blood that was spilling from underneath his clothes had it not been for the tree behind him. No one else noticed how poor his condition was because people unconsciously relied on him. He was the savior, the god who had saved the entire Luther family from utter destruction. He had pulled off miracles like the trucks so no one deduced how much he relied on people. He couldn''t do everything and he wasn''t all powerful like people assumed him to be. She had seen him suffering for her sake in the past and she was watching him repeat the same thing all over again just because he was harboring a subus like her who could not stay away from him even if she wanted to.

    Luna knew that if the things progressed at the same rate, there was a high chance that Zach would suffer even more at the hands of the beast. He might be captured by the royal family or worse; he might die in order to prevent that from happening.

    Luna knew that if he fell, the rest of the group would scatter like a castle made out of dominoes.

    She hesitated a bit at first but the urgency of the situation helped her determination soar. She had to make a decision now. Or else, countless others might die because of her indecisiveness.

    Shaking her head, she threw out all the distractions in her mind and made a decision; a difficult decision but a decision nheless. In her mind, it was the best possible option and the only choice that would allow Zach to retain his freedom and spread his wings as he should based on his talent and charisma. She knew that she was the only reason that he had been forced to hold back.

    Luna walked towards the ce where Zach was sitting with his back against the tree and his eyes staring lifelessly in the direction of the enemy. She sat in front of him on her toes and brought her face as close to his as possible so that the only thing in his vision was her face. There was no forest, no sky, no enemy forces and no monster; only his precious subus who loved him more than anything else in the world.

    Zach was startled at first but he knew that Luna would sometimes act on her impulses. He didn''t stop her either. He didn''t know if there would be another chance to experience her touch again. So he let her be.

    Luna kissed him fiercely as if it was thest thing she wanted before the world came to an end. She drank from the fountain of love until she was satisfied and whispered in his ear slowly in a voice that was softer than silk and sweeter than the purest of wild honeys.

    "I love you."

    Diana was confused about Luna''s sudden and impulsive behavior because she had never seen Luna act in such a manner before even though she was already Zach''s woman. Though she found it strange, she didn''t feel any kind of jealousy at all. The reason was that she was already nning to do the same before she could lose the chance to even do that due to the current dicey situation.

    Zach on the other hand waspletely tongue tied after the sudden confession. Although he had rtions with Luna and loved her in his heart just as she loved him but the same had never been conveyed in such words between the two. He had always called it ''feeding her'' and she named it her ''food''.

    Before Zach could even try to say a word in response, his attention was diverted by the intense and agonizing pain that shot through his finger.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Zach first took a look at his finger and then at Luna who looked sadder than he had ever seen her before. Her eyes were filled with grief and unwillingness. It was the look of someone who was leaving their home for a long journey that they would not be able to return from. The expressions on her face were akin to the ones Zach usually would attribute to funerals and sad farewells.

    Zach had brought Luna into human society and he had seen her change for himself. During the whole series of events, he had never seen such an expression on Luna before. In his heart he could sense that something was wrong with Luna. She was definitely about to do something drastic enough to break his heart into a thousand pieces but he didn''t know how to stop her. He could see the determination in her eyes and he knew how stubborn Luna could be.

    "What are you nning without telling me? Since I am your master, you better listen to me and refrain from doing anything foolish."

    Zach looked straight at her face as he tried to figure out what she intended but for some reason Luna turned her face away from him.

    "Look at me." ordered Zach with a painful grunt as he held his sides with his hands.

    Luna stood up in order to not lose the resolve that she had built with a lot of difficulty. This was the first time that she did not dare to look directly at her master. She was afraid that her resolve would waver if she looked at his face; that she would want to stay with him longer or she might want something more than what she had already received from him.

    "Don''t go. Don''t do whatever it is you are nning." Zach had already sensed her reluctance to leave so he told her to stop hoping she really would.

    Luna finally looked at him but her eyes were clear as if she was already determined. But the longing for her master was evident in all her actions. Her trembling lips, her failing knees, andck of words all conveyed to him the grief she was hiding in her heart. Still she shook her head with a wistful expression and turned her back towards Zach before walking away.

    "YOUe back this instant. I am ordering you to get back here." Zach ordered Luna using his authority as her master for the first time since he met her but her steps didn''t even waver. She was resolutely moving in the direction of the beast.

    Zach finally understood what she was nning to do and that gave him a bad feeling.

    "Don''t you dare take another step or forget about eating ever again." Zach resorted to threatening once she ignored his orders but nothing worked and Luna left with heavy steps. Zach didn''t even notice that the patterns around Luna''s abdomen had begun to change. They looked like they were moving across her pearly skin that glittered under the sunlight like it was made entirely of gems and sunshine.

    The pattern spread like the gue ravages through anynd in proximity and covered her entire body. She looked like one of those people in his previous world who sported tattoos all over their bodies. These people literally had no space left on their bodies that could get inked; a full body tattoo for short. But these patterns were far too different from the tattoos that Zach was familiar with.

    It didn''t long before the pattern began to glow red like smoldering coal and began to emit heat that could easily rival the intensity of the heat in st furnaces used to melt metals and the like. Her body began to catch fire out of nowhere as if the fire wasing out of her own body. Everything other than Luna was safe from the fire. It was only her body where the fire was still raging like a stormy sea.

    The mes dancing on her body weren''t red like the pattern that had taken every part of her body. Instead they were of blue color like the purest sapphire. They were beautiful but were likely more dangerous than any fire within the reddish spectrum.

 Chapter 131 131 Desperate Fight

    Her clothes were the first line of defense against the mes devouring her luscious body but they didn''tst very long. Her clothes looked like they seized to exist aftering into contact with the baleful fire. There was no smell of burning or ashy leftover of the clothes. The me temperature was likely so high that even gases couldn''t escape burning to oblivion.

    It didn''t take Luna very long to be in her birthday suit as all her clothes had been reduced to nothing in a matter of seconds. In ce of her clothes, the glittering blue mes were draped around her in a fiery costume that made her look like a phoenix reborn in human form and kept her private parts away from the prying eyes of the others.

    Slowly the shape of the mes began to change. Her arms began to expand in size and took the specific shape of wings at her sides. She looked like a bird human in this state but it seemed as if that was just the beginning. The entire suit of mes around her began to change shape as well. Her arms had already taken the shape of wings, her legs changed into talons and her feet took the form of fiery ws of a bird of prey.

    The mes around Luna really turned into aplete bird. The surprise had not ended just yet. The blue bird that was encasing Luna in its midst actually took flight in the air like an actual bird and not one made of mes. She let out a loud shriek and circled in the air over the forest far above the towering trees with her sights on the ground waiting for the enemy of her master to arrive.

    As soon as the panther arrived at the spot where Zach''s group was resting, Zach stood up with a little difficulty, ready to face it with whatever strength he still had in him.

    In the first look, Zach could easily tell the difference in the panther that had sauntered in just now and the one who attacked them at the site their trucks got destroyed. It was slower; not so much as to give them a fighting chance but definitely slower than it was in the past.

    Zach thought to himself that Sarah must have worked hard to stop it and to drain its stamina to such a degree.

    Before Zach could make a move or even order his group to do so, Luna in her bird form swooped down from above like the phoenix descending from the heavens with righteous indignation against the bloodthirsty beast.

    The collision between one bird and one panther was far from normal. mes spread around the area of effect and drowned everything in a sea of blue that danced in rhythm with Luna. This wasn''t a fight between humans but rather a fight between two unnatural beasts. While Luna looked like a pure and unblemished bird of magnificence and sacrifice, the panther was the embodiment of darkness, desperation and selfish behavior.

    The panther wanted to run in one go towards his true target Zach but it had to reevaluate the strength of its opponents. Luna was quite formidable to have enough juice to take him on without bothering about the injuries.

    It got a strange feeling in its gut every time itid its eyes on Zach as if some force was trying to keep it from going after Zach. Therefore, the panther knew that it had to take care of the bird first to reach Zach. The only one capable of awakening its danger instinct in this forest was the ming bird that was capable of fighting it head on.

    Their fight looked a bit primitive as if two beasts were fighting but the explosions in their vicinity were enough to determine whether the battle was as primitive as it looked. The blue fire and the dark shells collided from time to time leading toplete devastation of thendscape. Each and every move the two made was in fact precisely calcted and every step was taken with the intention of bringing ruin to the other party.

    As they fought the distance between the two and Zach''s group continued to increase. Luna was decisively moving the panther away from Zach''s group in order to give them a chance to escape. Zach couldn''t help but feel that the same thing was being repeated all over again. First it had been Christina, then Sarah and now it was Luna doing the same thing in order to protect him.

    Zach could only see two dim silhouettes fighting and shing against each other every few seconds. It was getting harder to differentiate between the two but Zach was sure that the blue silhouette belonged to the fiery bird that Luna had transformed into while the dark one was the panther that was intent on hunting the rest of them.

    Every sh between the two wasden with enough force to dismantle the surroundings. Even the air around the two evaporated as a result of their fight. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Thankfully, the battle was taking ce far away from them. Had it been close to Zach''s group, they might have suffered from asphyxiation due to them going all out against each other.

    Every time the two specks of light came close to each other and burned with increased vigor and luminosity but disengaged after a few seconds following a series of explosions that thundered all around them and cast fear in the hearts of all those witnessing the bout between the two.

    Diana and Bruce were just as stunned as Zach was at the strength that Luna was disying. They had always thought that Zach was the true fighting force of their group and Luna was someone Zach loved and protected under his name.

    They could never have imagined that the subus who always wore a tattered robe to avoid troublesome matters was in fact so strong. No wonder she never strayed far from Zach. She might have been acting as his protector all along with this kind of strength and extreme battle potential.

    The collisions in the distance gradually grew less destructive and less frequent because the panther seemed to be losing its pace as it fell behind every now and then. It was suffering from the mes that Luna spewed from all over her body. The dark fur on its body was slowly being singed into a sooty color and the burns were so painful that it shrieked every time they pulsated on its body as if asking for its attention to torment it.

    Luna on the other hand seemedparatively fine. The panther deduced that the direct entanglement approach wasn''t good enough if it wanted to make good on its promise to the Prince. If the same situation persisted, it was bound to lose to Luna in a disgraceful manner; not that it cared about grace at this point after all the mage had already been reduced to a beast.

    The panther, therefore, pulled back in an attempt to create some distance between it and Luna. The distance was just enough to keep it away from the blue mes surrounding the fiery bird and just within the range of its rangedbat tactics.

    Of course Luna didn''t let it pull back nicely without any resistance. She tried to close in on it but it sprayed a bountiful of dark shells made of some kind of rotting mana towards her. Every time the shells reached her or were close enough to her, they exploded with enough force to turn any normal human into a pulp. Luna dodged the shells she could deftly and endured through the explosions that took ce very close to her in an attempt to not let the panther create a gap between the two.

    While the panther was retreating without even looking back, Luna was advancing bravely enduring or avoiding the explosions in her path while throwing some of her fireballs at the retreating figure as well.

    While the two were fighting their battle, they were cut off from the rest of the world as there were a number of things going through their heads, battle strategies, weak points of the opponent, the people they wanted to protect, their motivation to survive the battle and their hopes for the future. They hardly had any time to bother about other things.

    But Zach as the third party observer was able to witness a battle that left him dumbfounded. He could never have imagined that this isekai also held this kind of power. All he had seen so far was sophistry that could be dealt with the modern hot weapons and battle tactics. This was the first time he failed to ensure his victory and had to rely on other people to survive. When he looked at Luna and the panther engaged inbat, he felt as if he was looking at an F-22 Raptor aircraft going against an anti-aircraft gun that was operating on the surface to air mechanism.

    The fighter was skilled enough to escape the barrage of the anti-aircraft gun as it maneuvered itself between the gaps in the shells fired and countered by spraying fireballs on the anti-aircraft gun in an attempt to be the sole authority under the skies of this world.

    Unlike the panther that was moving across the ground on its feet, Luna had an advantage in terms of flexibility as she could move along all the three dimensionspared to the panther that was restricted to operate in the two dimensional movement spectrums.

    Based on her higher agility and flexible movements, Luna sessfully dodged several dark shells andunched her counterattack with fireballs that she spewed from all over her body.

 Chapter 132 132 At Deaths Door

    Unlike Luna, the panther didn''t have as much room for maneuverability and was struck by several of the fireballs thrown at him by Luna. Another reason for Luna''s increased hit rate was the panther''s decreased agility because its endurance had long since taken a hit after it had to take on several opponents in a row, out of which Luna was only thetest and the most dangerous.

    Neither Christina nor Sarah had been strong enough to give the panther a run for its money. They had barely managed to hold it back for some time by giving it all they had. But Luna was a different breed. Her attacks hurt the panther like hell and it wanted to evade as much as possible.

    Anyone who was witnessing the fight between the two beastly entities learned an important lesson regarding the air superiority over ground units. The attacks from a higher vantage point were always a little hard to avoid for those at a lower vantage point. That was the reason the generals of war opted for higher ground as the base camp in any situation. It was not only easier to defend but also allowed them to attack the enemy more proficiently.

    With Luna on full offense, the panther had no choice but to run around in panic to defend itself from the fighter aircraft chasing after it.

    Even though panther looked like it was running for its life and Luna had the upper hand, the third party observers could see the truth at the heart of the fight. The panther looked to be in a bad condition and there was no doubt that it had to retreat from the fight in order to save itself. But the direction of its retreat was where Zach and his group were at the moment.

    Zach being a spectator of the battle was privy to the same knowledge as well. He could see the panther running in his direction as it tried to dodge the constant barrage of fireballs on its tail.

    It took some time for Luna to register the same as well since she was far too engrossed in the battle with the panther to take ount of the surroundings. But when she did spot its intentions, Luna stopped flying high and reduced her altitude by diving down low so as to stop the panther from reaching her beloved master.

    But she didn''t know that the panther had been waiting for the exact same moment. It had nned to create this kind of opportunity for itself. Previously, Luna had been flying high in the air which was far out of its reach. Therefore, it fainted that it was going after Zach to lure Luna to close in on it.

    As a result, when Luna came within its attack range, the panther suddenly turned around mid-escape and leapt towards her in the air.

    No matter how skilled Luna was, the escort mage had a wealth of experiencepared to her and was far more adept at using battle strategies and the environment to its benefit. Due to that very reason, Luna was caught off guard by the panther that was suddenly lunging in her direction instead of Zach.

    In her mind, Zach was the most important so she had put her personal safety at a risk to stop the panther. s, the panther made use of it to grab onto her with an iron grip that would not budge despite Luna''s desperate struggle to break free of its arms that were wrapped around her lithe figure.

    The guard mage understood its position. Even though it had turned into a beast on the outside, it hadn''t lost its mind. It could still function normally which was why it could hatch this kind of an insidious plot without much effort.

    While holding onto Luna, the panther unleashed his unique skill that allowed it to be the bodyguard of the Prince. Even though it was a suicidal skill, just the existence of this skill was enough for the forces in the capital to back off in most situations. It wasn''t for nothing that Prince Kolt had agreed to keep him by his side.

    Since, the presence of Luna had practically ruled out any possibility of it being able to capture Zach, the only thing the panther could do for its master was to clear the path in its wake by taking down the most powerful threat amongst Zach''s allies so that Kolt''s forces could do the rest.

    By doing this it felt that its daughter might have a chance of survival.

    The cruelty of this skilly in the fact that both the target and the user of the skill would definitely die a gruesome death once used by a mage of its caliber.

    As such there was already no chance of survival for Luna who was in its clutches already.

    The panther muttered the incantations as it curbed the protests of Luna with a deathly grip that didn''t allow for any kind of movement no matter how hard she tried struggling.

    When its mouth finally stopped moving, its body began to deform as if it was liquefying rapidly into an ink colored thick tar like substance that was murky and full of evil intent. It looked like an advanced version of the dark shells that the panther used during the battle earlier because it was just as corrosive in nature.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The ck ink formed from the body of the panther enveloped Luna in a dark cocoon that allowed no escape. The cocoon deformed easily when Luna struggled within it but that was it. It was as if there was no means to break out of its confines. The ck ink was stretchy and sticky to an unimaginable extent.

    Desperate to break out of it, Luna growled and shrieked with all her might as she put her back into it but to no avail. The cocoon didn''t even register her struggle and remained unfazed.

    Zach, who had been watching the battle y out into such an ending, found himself hating his weakness. He could do nothing but watch as Luna ended up in such a situation just to save him from harm.

    Before he could wallow in more self me and regrets, the system prompt issued an alert in a bold red font that attracted all his attention.

    [The Fiery Subus is facing a mortal danger and may sumb to her death very soon.]

    Zach forced himself to avoid panicking after reading the notification issued by the system regarding the condition of Luna. With a great weight burdening his heart, Zach read on because he believed that the system never issued an alert for something it didn''t have a solution for. Thankfully, he was right.

    [Being her Master, you can return the energy absorbed from her in order to give her a fighting chance against the life threatening cmity that is headed her way. It should be understood that the choice to return the energy to the Fiery Subuses with consequences. The loss of energy would result in the temporary locking of all the weapons unlocked in the weapons arsenal as a result of the absorption of that energy.]

    To Zach this wasn''t even a choice. Luna was in this state because she had been trying to protect him. He needed to man out and do what needed to be done or she might lose her life because of his indecisiveness. He didn''t want to live with regretster.

    For better or worse, Luna was his first woman in this world and he was certain that she was utterly devoted to him. Weapons on the other hand were items he could always unlock again with just a little effort in the future but he would never be able to meet anotherpanion like Luna who understood him like she did. After all, she had been with him ever since his arrival in this new world.

    [Knowing the consequences, do you want to return the energy to the Fiery Subus Luna?]

    Zach said "Yes" without a moment''s hesitation.

    [All the umted energy from the subject "Fiery Subus Luna" has been returned.]

    [Some equipped items cannot be used due tock of energy and will be forcibly returned to the Weapons Arsenal.]

    [Most of the avable weapons in the weapons arsenal have been locked due tock of energy. Regain the energy lost to unlock them once again.]

    Zach didn''t feel any remorse over his choice as he already expected this kind of penalties thanks to the system''s caution. What he cared about was this new connection that established itself between him and Luna. It wasn''t a new connection per se but a fortification of an already existing one. His heart pounded with excitement and newfound dread that this might not be enough to save Luna.

    Zach felt that the channel connecting him to Luna grew stronger with the energy transfer from his body to hers. He could feel it being channeled out of him in her direction like an inexhaustible well being drained slowly of its contents.

    Luna on the other hand had an even more drastic reaction to the sudden influx of the energy within her body. Her power instantly soared as if she had ingested some steroids. Unable to contain all that energy, she roared with all her might and the blue mes enveloping her body slowly began to change color. The previously blue me was getting a slightly golden sheen the more energy she devoured from the newfound connection between Zach and her.

    The blue me turned golden blue first as it transitioned at a fast pace which meant that the energy from Zach was being absorbed into Luna''s body at an increased pace.

 Chapter 133 133 After Event

    It didn''t take long at all for the mes to bepletely gilded as a result.

    The mes not only appeared more regal and pure, they also packed intense heat capable of melting down gods and demons alike if they even existed.

    The ink from the melted body of the panther wasn''t any different either. It began to sizzle in the presence of the golden mes as if it was being boiled in the presence of the intense heat being generated.

    Even the stones and the ground around Luna began to turn into molten goo under the devastating mes. From the effect on the surroundings, it seemed that Luna didn''t have enough power to control the mes of such a high caliber. She needed to increase her strength more if she wanted to master the golden mes.

    The golden mes began to fill the space within the ink cocoon gradually. Luna kept emitting the mes and condensing them within the small confines of it. As a result a huge bomb was in the making but nobody witnessing the situation could tell what was happening.

    The small sun with Luna as the center repeated the big bang that formted the universe amidst the darkness of space. A huge explosion akin to the one that formted the universe took ce and violent shockwaves were released that devastated the forest surrounding Luna in the radius of hundred meters around her.

    The ground wasn''t the only thing affected in the aftermath of the explosion, the firmament itself was pierced through and the cloud ceiling broken into pieces as if something had tipped over the world in a matter of seconds. The scene from before and after the explosion revealed too drastic a change to be attributed to the natural entropy of matter.

    Zach and his group were quite a distance away from the ground zero but the fierce winds that were the result of the explosion were so strong that they almost lifted him off the ground with sheer force and the shockwaves almost sent him flying into the distance.

    It could only be imagined what became of the others when even Zach suffered to deal with the shockwave. The Special Forces team members and the normal guards were unable to stand their ground and were flung off into the distance. The lucky ones were stopped by the trees early on while the unlucky ones flew for a few tens of meters before making their fall.

    Even Kolt, Sarah and Barry who were still far away from Zach and his group heard the thundering sound and felt the ground shaking profusely in the aftermath of the violent explosion. They could only wonder what was happening on the other end since they were still out of the visual range to tell.

    Zach only felt the connection that he had just established with Luna weaken suddenly as if a chunk of it had been torn away from it by someone. He grew worried at the thought of Luna suffering in the aftermath of the explosion and rushed towards the center of the explosion that shook the earth a few minutes ago.

    Zach did not care about the danger to his own life as he searched around for Luna. Had Luna not taken care of the possible threat already, he would have delivered himself in the hands of danger himself due to his recklessness.

    Only after walking around blindly for a little while did he use the connection between him and Luna to guide him towards her. It didn''t take him long to reach her afterwards.

    In the midst of apletely scorched and singed patch of the foresty two bodies strewn on the ground like corpses. One belonged to her assant the panther and the other was Luna. Unlike the badly burned corpse of the man, Luna was still alive and breathing thanks to thest burst of strength that she received out of nowhere.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Zach thanked all the gods there were for he was able to find Luna in time. She was fortunately still breathing even if it was faint and weak.

    Zach pulled of his clothes and wrapped it around her naked body so as to avoid putting her indecency on disy for everyone to see as he carried her on his back. She was as light as a feather and hardly made it difficult for Zach as he made his escape deeper into the heart of the forest. Even if the panther had been taken care of, there were still enemies chasing after him and Zach needed to take that into ount as well. He figured that he would only stop once he was safely away from his pursuers.

    With Bruce and Diana in tow, Zach maneuvered his way towards the exit of the forest that led them away from the forces chasing after them.

    -------------------------------------------------------

    The Macrae family had ced all their chips with Zach this time after theirst failure at the productunch ceremony of the Luther family. Due to their reactive approach, they had lost the initiative to the Elizabeth family. But this time they were determined to earn the favor of Zach so they could enjoy the same benefits as the Elizabeth family.

    As such, Sarah had set out with the fighters and mages of the family to facilitate Zach''s escape from the royal forces while Calvin hadn''t acted along with her. Instead of fighting the royal forces and pitching the entire Macrae family against the Royal family, Calvin decided to use another method to help Zach. Despitecking in the nning and strategizing department, Calvin was an experienced leader of the top most family of Elizabeth city. He knew the workings of the royal family quite well and knew that Zach would find it hard to escape the Mesore state even if he somehow managed to escape Elizabeth city.

    As soon as Kolt announced Zach to be a traitor to the human kind, there would be severe repercussions. Zach would probably be hunted across the empire and the manhunt for him would probably begin in the state of Mesore. Zach needed to move beyond the Mesore state fast if he wanted to throw off the pursuit of the royal family.

    Therefore, Calvin had set out to find some fancy wagons that could help Zach. As things stood, trucks would be too conspicuous and the royal family wouldn''t allow any trucks to escape the state until they found Zach. There were too many checks along the path and government controlled most of them. With each city gate manned and guarded by the forces loyal to the royal family, not a single bird could enter or exit the Mesore state if the royal family didn''t want it to. Due to the influence of Prince Kolt and his fervent desire to control Zach, the gates would probably be guarded more heavily than usual with random checks and increased number of patrols along the path that Zach and his group were expected to follow.

    To avoid unwanted attention, the trucks couldn''t be used for travelling. Therefore, the only way to move still avable to Zach and his group was to use the outdated carriages which were slowpared to the trucks but inconspicuous inparison.

    Calvin had prepared some fancy carriages during the time his daughter fought against the royal forces and was waiting at one of the exits in Elizabeth city. These kinds of carriages were mostly used by the elite families of the empire and were usually not checked by any guards at the city gates as long as the carriage drivers provided enough identification. The guards too were afraid of offending the people they couldn''t afford to disrespect. Therefore, most of the guards wouldn''t even bother to check the people inside. Even if they did, no one would suspect Zach as his image had yet to be disseminated to all the guard posts and city gates. It would still be some time before the royal family managed to do so. For the time being, Zach and his group would be able to safely travel along the exit route.

    Calvin wasn''t quite used to doing things proactively like this. He was more brawn than brainspared to the intellectual Sarah. While his daughter made ns and battle strategies, he liked to head into the battlefield with a clear and calm mind as he improvised ording to the situation. But this time he had decided on a proactive approach to arrest initiative for the advancement of his family.

    But what Calvin hadn''t expected was that he wasn''t alone in thinking of such a n. There was another group of carriages heading towards the same city exit as him and the person leading them on horseback was none other than his old friend George.

    Alongside him was his almost married daughter Christina. She was sweating and gritting her teeth from time to time as she winced in pain. It was obvious that she had taken a part in battle just like his daughter Sarah. And from the situation, Calvin could deduce that the girl was probably seriously wounded. There were bandages visible on her abdomen as her blood soaked a greater portion of them. There were several other minor cuts and bruises along the length of her arms and her face but nothing that made her look ugly. The bruises made her look more valiant and courageous. They were medals of honor that she disyed proudly. Rather than the marks of her defeat, they were the evidence that she had stood her ground against an opponent that was far stronger than her in order to help her husband to be.

 Chapter 134 134 Cunning Two

    Calvin noticed the two people and couldn''t help but smirk to himself. His old friend was just as cunning as the rumors stated. Not only had his daughter participated in the battle as evident from the wounds on her body, she was even bringing the carriages to the city exit along with her father despite being covered in bandages.

    Calvin had no choice but to admire his old rival George. And to think that Calvin was being smug a few moments ago, thinking that he had outsmarted the others this time by utilizing the methods that he had looked down on before.

    Just when he was about to praise George for his advanced thinking, his eyes took in the sight of the two trucks following after George and Christina. He scoffed at such a folly beingmitted by the smartest man he knew.

    Calvin opened his mouth fully intent on mocking George with a string of carefully crafted words of advice, but then decided to give it a thought lest he make a fool of himself in front of the younger generation of the Elizabeth family. He could ept being mocked by George if his assumption turned out to be wrong but he didn''t want Christina to witness such a scene. Otherwise, he would not be able to show his face in Elizabeth city again out of shame and humiliation.

    Calvin gave George''s group a once over. There were several carriages; shy ones like the ones he had bought and some good well bred horses; sturdy enough to travel long and rough roads. He wondered why George had brought the carriages with him when he was also bringing the trucks. And that''s when it struck him; the cunning of the most sessful businessman in Elizabeth city.

    The trucks were a diversionary tactic. George definitely intended to confuse the government regarding the route that Zach intended to follow which would allow him to escape unnoticed out of the Mesore state. The most probable strategy that Calvin could think of would be to use the trucks to mislead the government''s attention. George could order his men to drive the trucks in a directionpletely opposite to the one Zach intended to move in. The royal family would be on the lookout for the trucks since they would never expect Zach to escape in carriages when he was the inventor of the trucks.

    Calvin broke out into sweat as he considered the well thought out ns made by George. The more he considered, the more he was able to ept how brilliant the man was. Even though, Calvin had done his best to be ahead this time, he still fell short of the meticulous nature of George. Thankfully, he didn''t bring shame to his family name by slinging mud on George as he intended earlier.

    Calvin wasn''t at all disappointed that he had lost the opportunity to gain Zach''s favor because he knew that such a thing was not possible after his daughter went to support Zach with the forces of the Macrae family. Zach wouldn''t be able to deny the favor of the Macrae family even if he wanted to. The carriages were just a cherry on top that showcased the Macrae family''s contribution to the cause.

    Moreover, Calvin felt that Zach''s brilliance was more than enough for both the top families of the Elizabeth city to profit from.

    As such Calvinughed out loud heartily as he waved at George who had almost caught up to him by that time. The two were riding atop their horses as the beasts trotted alongside each otherzily.

    "Damn youбнyou cunning bastard. I thought that I would be leaving you in the dust this time but you aren''t one to be left behindбнare you?"

    Calvin cursed heartily amidst his bellowingughter.

    "How would I know that you had left your bull headedness behind? Tell meбнwas it your daughter''s idea to do this or your own?" Georgeughed alongside Calvin as he wondered what brought about the sudden change in him. This kind of thing was definitely against Calvin''s nature. Calvin was one of those who fought without considering the repercussions rather than nning before starting a fight. Unlike the truly smart ones, Calvin didn''t choose his fights and simply came across them. It wasn''t exactly an admirable trait in the eyes of George considering his business mind but he couldn''t exactly judge Calvin because he was strong enough to win any fight he came across.

    Calvin snorted in response as he smugly curled his hand and pointed towards himself with his thumb.

    "It was my idea entirely. My daughter is leading our fighters in battle this time. So I thought that I should pitch in some effort as well."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I truly couldn''t have expected this from you. If you had told me that your daughter came up with this n, I would have believed it in a second. But you nning this on your own is one hell of an improvement and an eye opener for me. I have to admire you this time considering that you came up with this idea earlier than me probably. Otherwise, you would not have been ahead of me." George didn''t hold back in appreciating Calvin''s effort. What he didn''t say to Calvin was that he appreciated that the Macrae family was in this together with Elizabeth family. Otherwise, the pressure from the royal family might have be hard to deal with for the Elizabeth family alone.

    In fact, George wasn''t alone in thinking that. Calvin was thinking the same thing. He admired George for aiding Zach despite the fact that he might have to go against the royal family. Previously, Calvin had always thought that George acted like a cautious turtle that would retract its neck at the slightest sense of danger. But this rebellious attitude against the government improved his impression of George. He wondered if it was because Zach had almost be a part of his family by marrying his daughter.

    It wasn''t long after Calvin and George arrived at the designated exit that Zach and his group made it to that point as well.

    Christina sighed in relief at the sight of Zach and subconsciously thanked all the gods in her memory one by one.

    The first thing Zach noticed wasn''t the sudden appearance of Elizabeth family and Macrae family support group but the bandages that Christina was wrapped in. Her belly seemed to have beencerated by the beast. Their bloody state only increased his worry about her pitiful condition. He could neither see the carriages or the trucks behind her as his eyes stuck to her like glue trying to ascertain how badly she had been injured on his behalf.

    Christina allowed him to stare all he wanted but didn''t let him wallow in regret for even a second. Just when he was about to look at her pitifully, she shook her head at him as if to deny his assumptions and said, "It looks worse than it really is. I am totally fine. That beast barely managed to scratch me so there isn''t much damage. It is a minor injury that would heal in a week''s time at best."

    Zach didn''t believe her of course but she was quite an actress. He couldn''t call her out on her lie since she was acting her part perfectly. She neither winced nor groaned whenever she moved but her hand tightly grabbed the helm of her clothes as if to resist the wave of pain without making a sound.

    Still he needed to respect her. If she didn''t want him to worry about it, he too didn''t put much importance on her injury as if he had already stopped worrying about her.

    This was the first time Calvin was meeting Zach in real life. Before this he had only either heard about him from someone or had only seen him from afar. Therefore, he had never expected Zach to be this young. But meeting him raised Calvin''s opinion of him by a few degrees. He felt that Zach was a trustworthy person who could be relied on.

    Despite wanting to get to know him better, Calvin knew that time was of the essence for Zach at the moment. The more they dyed, the more the difficulty of the escape would increase. Therefore Calvin didn''t let the group getfortable as he said, "There will be chances to do this newlywed businesster on. For now you need to get out of this ce before the royal family increases the range of their restrictive measures for you all."

    Christina felt like Calvin was chiding her for being intimate with Zach and her face burned red out of shame because that had not been her intent at all. She just wanted to make sure that Zach didn''t me himself for the injuries she suffered,

    Zach too looked slightly flustered as he scratched the back of his head unknowingly and nodded in response to Calvin''s suggestion.

    "Your family''s assistance this time was very timely and crucial to our survival. For that you have my utmost gratitude. The fact that we can stand here and talk is because of your daughter. Please thank her on my behalf as well. I will remember this kindness for the rest of my life. Should you ever be in need of my assistance, know that I will do everything in my power to return the favor."

    Zach profusely thanked Calvin and bowed towards him slightly to show his gratitude before nodding towards Bruce who began to lead the group towards the several carriages that had been brought by the Elizabeth family and the Macrae family.

 Chapter 135 135 Yes, I Do

    Of course, Zach couldn''t forget about Elizabeth family either. But unlike the Macrae family, he had a rtionship with Elizabeth family. He was almost a family member to thetter. Therefore he only nodded towards George before heading towards the carriages that awaited his boarding.

    George didn''t move from his spot but Christina couldn''t stay still as she watched him leave. She hurriedly followed after him and grasped his pace to stay right behind him as he was about to climb aboard the carriage.

    "If the wedding had gone as nned, I wonder what your answer would have been then." said Christina in a voice that was only audible to Zach. She acted as if she didn''t want to ask him and had let her tongue slip at thest moment.

    Zach didn''t expect this kind of question from Christina whom he considered to be quite business minded and not this sentimental. The sudden question caused him to freeze on the foothold of the carriage as he turned his head back to take a look at Christina who was partly blushing at the moment and partly expectant to hear his answer.

    The look on his face turned extremely solemn as he didn''t want to disappoint the woman who had put herself in harm''s way to save him. He wanted to portray his seriousness regarding their rtionship through his expressions and gestures.

    "Yes, I do."

    Zach felt that this was the only answer that did justice to Christina. He couldn''t let her down; not after what she had done for him. He vowed to treat her well in the future.

    Zach fumbled in his pocket for a while as if he was looking for something but instead he was using the Weapons arsenal to retrieve something. As he took his hand out of the pocket and opened his fist, there was a white colored earpiece in the center of his palm.

    Zach threw it towards Christina whose rosy face was shining after she heard his answer to her question.

    Christina caught onto the earpiece with both hands as if she was afraid of not being able to catch it properly.

    Zach didn''t wait around to see if she had caught it or not and entered the carriage with a smile on his face. The earpiece he had just delivered to Christina was capable of connecting to an artificial satellite. So, Zach would be able to contact her anytime he wanted to in the future.

    Christina held the earpiece in her closed fist as if unwilling to let go of it and stared at the departing back of the carriage that housed Zach. She had a smile on her face and her eyes were filled with expectations for the future as she watched the group leave until they were out of her line of sight.

    ---------------------------

    Zach ordered the carriages following him to move eastward. The reason behind this decision was the geographical location of the easternnds of the empire because therey a wide berth of oceanic body in that direction. After thinking for some time, Zach had deduced that the coastal cities along the ocean were the perfect ce for him and his group toy low.

    There were two reasons behind this decision. Firstly, the governmental influence in such far off cities tended to be very low. Most of the people in the cities barely knew what government was. They were usually inhabited by fishermen who lived their entire lives fishing and selling their produce to the market in close by areas. They neither relied on the other cities nor on the government to survive. So, they made for the idealpany for Zach and his people.

    Secondly, Zach and his group had better chances of escape if they ever encountered the governmental pursuit in these areas because the royal forces would be too weak due to the low influence of the royal family and the passage by sea would offer plenty of simr destinations.

    As soon as Zach and his group left for their next destination, George ordered two of his servants who were trained in the operation of trucks to travel ind towards the heart of the empire due west. The route that the trucks followed was the exact opposite to that of Zach and his group just as Calvin had anticipated uponying his eyes on the two trucks.

    Prince Kolt was relentless as his pursuit of Zach was never ending. He had already invested far too much in this venture to let it go just like that. Therefore, he was intent on getting something out of it by capturing and squeezing Zach.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Soon after the panther made its escape, Sarah ordered her troops to stand down and retreat. Since no one could prove that they were from the Macrae family, it was easier for them to withdraw. The royal forces took a breath of relief as well since they had been fighting for quite some time and were totally exhausted. Seeing that the Macrae family had retreated, Barry also ordered his forces to fall back even though they hadn''t taken part in the earlier battle at all after Kolt announced Zach''s treachery and Luna''s identity.

    To the dismay of the royal forces, Prince Kolt wasn''t satisfied with just repelling the opposing forces. He seemed livid despite all the battles the royal forces had fought for him in a single day. Instead of telling them to rest, Prince Kolt forced them to chase after the escaped Zach and his group with whatever strength they had left.

    Soon Kolt received word of the sighting of two trucks departing from the exit of Elizabeth city headed due west. Prince Kolt seemed excited at the piece of news because it corresponded perfectly with the time that Zach had gone incognito.

    Of course, Prince Kolt didn''t know that Zach had long since left by the means of carriages and the trucks were only a diversionary tactic designed by George and perpetrated by his men.

    Prince Kolt chased after the trucks with vain hope burning in his eyes but only found disappointment and distress when he finally chased them down. Only then did he realize that he had been schemed against and the real Zach had probably escaped through some other means and by that point it was already toote for Prince Kolt to trace him.

    That day his forces witnessed him screaming into the air like a madman and not at all regal like the Princely cloth he wore to hide his vicious and shrewd heart. Prince Kolt on the other hand was too far gone to care about his princely prestige at this point. Instead of worrying about that, he vowed to take revenge against Zach and all those who assisted in his haphazard escape. He promised himself that he would chase them to the ends of the world if he had to.

    Seething in righteous rage and indignation, Prince Kolt had no choice but to return to the royal capital in order to seek help from his family for the injustices he had suffered at the hands of some measly businessmen who didn''t even have a chance to enter the capital with their strengths and wealth.

    George and Calvin kept in touch with the affairs of the empire during these times because they were expecting to receive the warrant of arrest for Zach and the Luther family based on the events of the recent past. They already knew through their intelligence teams that Prince Kolt had returned to the capital. Therefore, both of them thought that it was only a matter of time before the warrant was issued.

    But to their astonishment, no matter how much they waited there wasn''t any news regarding this instant let alone a warrant. It was as if the government had swept the whole incident under the rug. A few weeks passed as they waited for the response of the government before they finally received some news.

    A Prince from the capital hade to meet with the Elizabeth family on behalf of the royal family.

    Calvin could rest easy since the Prince from the capital hade to see the head of the Elizabeth family specifically. But George couldn''t help but grimace at the thought of meeting another Prince. After all, he had seen Kolt and knew how unreasonable he was.

    George rushed out of his residence upon hearing the news so as to receive the Prince at his residence in order to show his respect.

    It wasn''t long before the entourage of the prince made its appearance. There wasn''t as much fanfare as George had imagined. Unlike Prince Kolt who had brought enough forces to take over Elizabeth city, Prince f had only brought a few guards and an escort with him. The whole protocol was an imitation of an ambassadorial visit as if implying to George the purpose of his visit to be purely discussion for mutual benefit.

    Cunning as he was, George picked up on the clues and some strength returned to his jellied feet.

    "My lord, wee to my humble estate. It is my utmost honor to host the magnificent Prince f. You might not know my lord, but the people tell stories about your bravado, knightly appearance and graceful bearing even in these parts."

    Prince fughed heartily upon hearing George''s weing words. He was unlike Prince Kolt in all the ways that mattered. Despite hearing words of ttery, f didn''t feel let it get to his head and still looked calm and dignified.

    George guessed that Prince f would prove to be a difficult opponentpared to Prince Kolt should the need for battle arise.

 Chapter 136 136 Compensation

    "You praise me too much through your words. I am afraid I cannot take a step in shoes so heavy with responsibility and expectations of the people. I am but a human which is why the royal family needs capable people to help manage the empire."

    George nodded as his outlook on the royal family changed for the better. It seemed that the most talked about prince was a true prince. He was humble, prudent and meticulous in his words. It wasn''t for nothing that the prince was the voice of the king amongst the people. Those who couldn''t meet the king knew that the words of the Prince f represented the will and the attitude of the king.

    "I am afraid praise should be given where applicable. Still, I don''t want to keep you here for the rest of the day in order to make my point. So, I can only relinquish my protest in this matter. Let''s head inside first. Maybe we can discuss whatever it is you are here for at a delicious supper."

    George knew the techniques of entertaining authorities through his experience and made use of them to please the Prince as much as he could so that he could dy any possibility of a sh between his family and the royal one.

    George led Prince f and his advisor to the dining table while the guards and his escorts were stationed outside the room as per the Prince''s instructions.

    A hearty supper was served and dishes wereid down on the table from end to end with no space in between. An especially beautiful servant was tasked with serving the guests food from the table.

    This time, Prince f was the one to initiate conversation instead of the host.

    "I believe that the official business should be taken care of during the meal as well, otherwise the purpose of my visit would remain untouched. Mr. George Elizabeth, head of the Elizabeth family the business leader in Elizabeth city, I, Prince f Norman on behalf of the King, havee hither to announce his royal deration."

    pж┴ndж┴---noж═?1,зуoзо The prince took a pause at this moment whichsted a little longer than what George''s heart could handle. He barely took control of his runaway emotions and waited for the next part of that conversation with abated breath.

    "The King has deemed it fit to raise the rank of your family to Marquis thereby bequeathing you with the title of a Marquis of the royal family. You will act on behalf of the King when ites to the matter of your estate and you will wield the authority of the King within the confines of your estate. This title will be the part of your inheritance and your inheritor will enjoy the same privileges after you that is as long as your family stays loyal to the King."

    "Huh?" George had no words to describe the shock he felt at those words. He couldn''t imagine how the news for the arrest warrant had turned into the Elizabeth family being given the status of Marquis. If anything, the royal family should have been hostile to them for aiding Zach against Prince Kolt. There was no doubt that Prince Kolt had already reached the royal capital and must have reported back everything after adding spices of his own in the story.

    Still, he gathered his wits that were spread too far surrounding him and felt ttered. This was by no means a small thing. The number ofmon aristocrats like the barons and the viscounts may be huge in the empire but the number of Marquis was by no means arge sum. There were only a handful of them and only the King''s favored were given such a title.

    George didn''t feel that he had that level of favor with the King. Therefore, the only reason for such a gift was that the king needed something in return but couldn''t ask for it directly. And that was when his mind clicked into ce.

    George called for his son Barry with a loud yell.

    "Bring me the share ownership documents for our new transportation business; the one employing trucks."

    Barry nodded and bowed before taking his leave. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Before long he came back holding a stack of documents with him and handed them to George who could barely hide his smile by then.

    "Since His Majesty has granted me such a favor, it is only natural that I must present a gift as a token of my loyalty. These are my shares for the transportation business that our family has recently acquired in coboration with the brilliant inventor who happens to be my son-inw as well. This is currently my most profitable business and has the potential to advance trade by decades. I want to present these to the King as a way to thank him. I hope that you will convey my loyalty and goodwill in kind, my lord."

    George didn''t hesitate at all before handing over all the forty nine percent shares to Prince f as if they were chump change. They had the potential to revolutionize the transportation industry and yet George didn''t blink an eye before parting with them. He knew that Zach was capable of far more than this and there would be a lot more chances than this in the future.

    In reality, f had been sent to acquire the secrets behind the trucks that had be so popr among merchants recently. But George had acted before f could ask for it in order to let him preserve his grace and f appreciated his gesture as well.

    Another reason why George didn''t feel any pain parting with the trucks was that the status of Marquis was enoughpensation for the earnings of 500 trucks. He believed that with Zach gone, it was only a matter of time before the trucks would fall to ruin or would be unusable due to theck of technical expertise. Most of the skilledbor responsible for the maintenance of the trucks belonged to the Luther family all of whom had joined the Luther family on their exodus. Therefore, the trucks were running on borrowed time. George knew that too well because only a handful of his people could barely carry out the daily maintenance of the trucks after receiving special training at the Luther estate.

    George had expected that the Royal family would use some hard tactics in order to grab a hold of this innovative technology that seemed to be destined for greatness. Therefore, this treatment of the royal family seemed very suspicious of him. Still, he couldn''t outright reject such a favor even in his sleep. So he decided to go with the flow on this one and figure out the reasons behind this slowly.

    f on the other hand didn''t intend to leave anything to time. He was quite outspoken about the decisions taken by the royal family in the past. Moreover, he wasn''t the type to hide or defend the shorings of his own or his people. Therefore, he didn''t spare any words while talking about his brother who had granted George a visit previously.

    "I know that you must be doubtful of the royal family''s intentions regarding you considering that you had to deal with Kolt. I want you to understand that the decisions taken by Kolt were not at all backed by the King or the royal family. The entire royal family''s prestige was dragged through the mud by him and for that he is going to get what he deserves. For you it means that he wouldn''t being to harass you anytime soon."

    "I can only thank you for putting my mind at ease." George breathed easy after hearing that Kolt was acting on his own and not on royal orders otherwise George might have found himself on the receiving end of the sword instead of a title.

    f further exined that the royal family came to know of the potential of Zach a long time after Prince Kolt did and by that time Kolt had done irreversible damage to the potential rtionship between the royals and Zach. Therefore, they could only punish Kolt as per the family rules and keep him under watch until the fire of vengeance in his heart extinguished for good.

    Despite the punishment, the damage done could not be reversed because Zach had departed from Elizabeth city into the unknown and couldn''t be located for the time being. The issuance of the wanted notice was withheld by the royal family as a token of their sincerity and goodwill towards Zach who was now possibly biased towards them.

    Even so, the royal family didn''t believe that even if they found Zach, he would be willing to work for them or with them considering his impression of them due to Kolt''s obsessive antics.

    Therefore, the royal family after countless sessions finally came to the decision that their only breakthrough in establishing a rtionship with Zach would be through the Elizabeth family. It was either Christina who had almost be his wife or George the family head who helped Zach establish the business and was a close business partner of Zach.

    The offer to make George a Marquis was a well thought out n that was executed after quite a lot of deliberation in to the subject and f was sent for the execution process because he was the most direct and the most sensible amongst the Princes.

    "Mr. George on behalf of the royal family I want to ask you to do us a favor." f waited for a moment so that George could consider his words properly.

 Chapter 137 137 Zach Smith

    Due to that f had all his attention now.

    "We would like you to help bridge the gap between the royal family and Zach. We trust you to be a resourceful man and want to entrust this matter to you so that we can rest easy. We don''t want to lose the goodwill of a man so filled with potential because of a misunderstanding caused by a fool."

    eaglesnov?1,зуoзо George considered his words in his heart before uttering them loudly in response to Prince f''s request.

    "I will try my best and will do what I can to the best of my abilities but the truth is that even I don''t know where Zach is at the moment. We did facilitate his escape but all we did was provided him the means. The destination was chosen by Zach himself. If he makes himself known to us, I will help you convey the gesture of your goodwill to him; that much I can promise you."

    бн

    Zach and his group had been travelling all this time using the carriages drawn by the help of horses. The only time they stopped and camped outside in the open was when the horses needed to rest or when it was time to eat.

    The speed of their travel wasn''t as brisk as it would have been had they made use of the trucks. But that would attract unnecessary attention towards the group which Zach wanted to avoid in all conditions.

    He was yet to be sure that the royal family had truly let go of him and the Luther family. In fact they had already found out that there was no warrant for their arrest even after they had escaped the Mesore state where the security was supposed to be the tightest. They exercised caution whenever they crossed any popted area and covered themselves using cloaks and masks in order to hide their identity.

    Zach and hispanions were currently walking on thin ice and they needed to take all the precautions they could. Therefore, Zach made a prudent decision to change his surname which would allow him to keep his identity a secret in front of strangers he had never met before. Previously when he was a video game yer in thest world, he used the name ''Smith'' for his avatar. Therefore, he employed the same as hisst name in this world in order to hide his true name.

    "Zach Smith" the sound of his new name excited him somewhat as if his two lives, the one based on reality and the other in the world of the games had been merged together to create the essence of his whole life.

    "I am going to be Zach Smith from now on. Please take great care when using my name in front of strangers again. Just as a precaution, I would suggest you and Diana to use the same surname as well for some time, at least until we can be sure that the royal family really holds nothing against us and has truly let us go." said Zach as he seriously looked towards Diana and Bruce so that they could think on his words and also convey these instructions to the Luther family people.

    "I agree, I think that this is a great n. I think that if we pretend to be married to each other. That would be a more usible front for the strangers. That way I can alsofortably don your surname since I obviously look like I am from some well known family but your temperament states otherwise. You like to be free which would attract the suspicions of those looking for it."

    Diana agreed without even thinking properly. It felt to Bruce that she was agreeing to every word that Zach uttered without even blinking like a good little wife. He could tell what his sister wanted to do by carrying out this little y but didn''t call her out on it. He knew his sister and her temperament. She was bound to be more stubborn after she set her eyes on an objective. Zach was the newest obsession in her mind and Bruce felt that he would only be safe if he tried not to expose his little sister''s secret.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Bruce too carried along with the farce. Since his sister had already agreed, there was no need for him to flex. As such he nodded to Zach and became Bruce Smith instead of his real surname.

    Zach received their positive replies and turned around to leave inside his tent where hispanion was asleep. Ny percent of all the worry in his heart was directed towards Luna who was still unconscious after her battle with the panther. It had been weeks but there was no change in her condition as if she had been frozen in time. Had it not been for the breath that she was still drawing, Zach might have thought that she was already dead and it was just her dead body that he had been lugging around with him.

    While the others couldn''t help him with her condition, they didn''t at least mind him carrying her about with him everywhere they went. They could only whisper amongst each other that Luna had lost her soul and would never wake up again. Thankfully, they didn''t try to burst Zach''s bubble or they might have suffered from his wrath due to their ignorance. Unlike them, Zach knew what being ina was thanks to the advanced medical practices in his previous world. Therefore, he wasn''t as tense as the others since he knew that she was bound toe to her senses when she recovered from the damage she had rued during the fight with the panther.

    Zach was so upset at her condition that he tried to seek the system''s help on many asions, pleading with it to tell him a solution to her condition. The system on the other hand acted like a cruel bastard who had nothing to do with him. Sometimes, it didn''t even bother to answer his questions while other times it told him that it knew nothing about this particr system or that it had not data regarding this kind of situation in its database.

    The journey didn''t stop in the meanwhile as the group continued to cross thend in search of the promised coastal areas. A few more weeks passed by again and the journey of the Smith family was about to let them encounter the state of Kanewea soon. After crossing the state of Mesore, this was another major state that they had to encounter before reaching their destination.

    Along the way, there was a noticeable increase in the density of the mosquitoes along the route. As they got closer to the coastal areas, the mosquitoes and the other insects were higher in number and the temperature of the surroundings kept on increasing as if they were in a cooking pot and someone had forgot to put off the stove due to which the temperature kept on rising.

    Zach felt that the status quo could not be tolerated any longer because it was only a matter of time before an epidemic like measles or mria broke out amongst the people following after him on this long journey.

    Instead of waiting for the disease outbreak, Zach felt that he should be more proactive. Thankfully for him and his people that the system still had some basic support items left even after Zach lost all the energy that he had umted from Luna.

    And amongst these daily supplies, Zach had items like the insect repellent that could help the people survive such harsh conditions with some semnce offort. Diana was frustrated since the bullets that they had with them couldn''t do anything to the mosquitoes due to their small size. As such they covered themselves uppletely so as to avoiding into contact with the mosquitoes as a preventive measure.

    Zach then pulled out several bottles of the insecticides and distributed them to the group in a fair manner. He also gathered everyone and told them about how to make use of the things he had given to them.

    The Luther family people were all shocked at Zach''s means and the things that he was capable of. This kind of acts replenished their faith in the god that they had decided to follow in their life. That faith hadn''t diminished even after Zach had been unable to take down the panther on his own.

    The Luther family had taken root in the Elizabeth city since their founding and there was not a single time that they had to leave the city like this as a whole no matter how tough the situation around them grew. Even when Bruce lost his legs and his sister was being harassed by a beastly thing, the Luther family had stayed put and fought back in any manner they could. Therefore, this was the first journey for the Luther family as a whole and the servants had a hard time getting used to the changing surroundings and the hardships that came with moving in such arge group. Bruce and Diana too for the first time realized howcking their management skills were when leading a group asrge as this on an exodus. There was always ack of some supplies, or there was always someone who found something unfair in the distribution of supplies. Thankfully, the majority of the people were those who were following the Luther family because they believed in the family head or Zach. Therefore, it was easy to devolve any situation before it could escte.

 Chapter 138 138 Stories At Dinner

    Another problem with long journeys was that it didn''t allow the people to take a meaningful rest. The people were always tired and the exertion was not something that everyone could get used to after all the time that they spent travelling. Sickness and fatigue was only a matter of time and yet the servants kept themselves fromining until it was too much to bear for them.

    Zach on the other hand was all too familiar with these things. He had read many history books that stated how even armies came to a ruin because of the hardships of the environment or the exertions of the long journeys. Therefore, he could spot the symptoms of the hysteria and confusion taking root in the minds of his people. To ease out some of their worries, Zach began to tell some stories to the people along his journeys and after meal times every day. These stories were diverse and opened up new horizons for the people of this world since most of the stories were too new for them just like Zach''s inventions.

    The stories he told these people were in fact the stories he remembered from his previous world. The most popr amongst those stories turned out to be the story of Harry Potter, the boy mage who fought against the most powerful ck wizard of all times. Of course, the story he told these people had a few changes from the original and clicked with their world instead of his previous one.

    Whenever they stopped for dinner and Zach began to tell his stories around the campfire, Diana was the one who acted the most excited instead of the servants of the Luther family. She would sit quietly like a purring cat next to him and gazed at Zach with her wondrously big eyes as if wanting to pry out all his secrets from within him.

    eж┴glesn?ж═el Zach knew that these stories were only a temporary solution but it was enough to keep their minds upied for some more time because this allowed him to wash off some of the negative emotions that had umted in their hearts.

    бн

    One day around the time when the sun was at its highest, a sentry stationed by Bruce around their camping site returned in a hurry to make an urgent report to Diana since the sentry couldn''t find Bruce.

    "Youngdy, it looks like there is a battle ahead if we continue along the same path for a few dozen minutes. There are constant criesing from that direction and the clinking of weapons suggests that the battle is still ongoing. The scout is still out there monitoring the situation but I came back here to report on the situation. Tell us what to do."

    Diana was at a loss for words for this wasn''t her decision to make at all. Up until this point these kinds of decisions were all made by Zach unterally and he had yet to be wrong. There was a possibility that his intuition was really strong or he had an ability to sense these things. Therefore she cast a questioning look towards Zach in order to ascertain his thoughts regarding the situation that was cooking up in their path.

    Another reason that she had decided to ask Zach was that he had been taking detours in the face of such situations after the battle with panther as if he was reluctant to participate in more fights with the lives of his people at stake. As a result, the journey that was supposed to take only a few weeks had turned into a journey epassing more than two months.

    She wanted to know if the status quo he had established was still going to be followed or not.

    Contrary to her expectations, Zach didn''t decide on a detour this time. He knew the condition of the people was getting worse and a detour now could throw them off track for a week at the very least. Therefore, Zach decided on checking out the situation this time before making his decision.

    Instead of sending his people who were already exhausted to the battlefield to scout for more information, Zach took several of his best soldiers and Diana with him. They rode on fine destriers and galloped their way towards the source of the sounds of battle.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Unlike what Diana and the soldiers were expecting, Zach didn''t even get close to the battle and stopped a long way away from the ground zero. He took out the binocrs that the system still allowed him to use and put its lens in front of his eyes in order to take a nce at the situation on the battlefield.

    Unlike what he had expected, the battle wasn''t between two human forces at all. Instead a raging battle was taking ce between a small force of a few dozen soldiers and almost a dozen mantises that were the size of a small house. Their des looked like long saw toothed swords that chopped off wood and metal alike. The human force wasn''t even close to the mantis in terms of battle prowess. The huge beasts were the ones who had the upper hand as the human force was busy running away from the dozen or so mantises frantically as if their lives depended on it. None of them even dared to attack the mantises at their backs.

    "They look like it would be trouble dealing with them. I wonder if that small number of people will be able to deal with the beasts hunting them." Zach wondered aloud as he looked at the scene through the binocrs.

    Diana who wasn''t sure what was going on couldn''t understand Zach''s words at all. Therefore she took the binocrs from Zach and took a look through it at the scene of battle that was still a little too far to witness the details.

    "Umu~ The beasts chasing after those people should be the Iron Mantises. I wonder what kind of bad luck they were born with to encounter more than a dozen Iron Mantises at the same time." Diana mumbled as she took in the details of the battle in order to provide a better outlook on the situation to Zach who would be making the final decision on this matter.

    "Are these beasts strong?" asked Zach curiously since he didn''t believe that they were as much trouble as they didn''t even look as strong as the bear he had fought in the forest.

    "They are. The Iron Mantis is known for its incredibly strong defense that can''t be breached by a mage below C rank. Not only are they incredibly sturdy, the de like arms are capable of cutting metal like they are cutting through butter. On top of that, their stamina is incredibly high and they are extremely vengeful. Once provoked, they will chase the target to the ends of the world to chop it into a dozen pieces with their sharp des. Experts believe that it is better to avoid this kind of beast entirely and not engage in head-to-headbat with it because the probability of suffering a loss is incredibly high against this kind of persistent beast. Thankfully they don''t usually operate in groups. This time seems to be a special situation. I wonder if these people did something to earn the ire of the group of beasts."

    Diana seemed to be especially knowledgeable about the beasts as she had disyed this kind of knowledge at several events. Zach wondered if this was the result of the study she had carried out during her rebellious phase when she insisted on bing a mage to get rid of the troubles of the Luther family and to break her unfair engagement.

    Still he appreciated the fact that there was someone with him who was able to cater for his ignorance regarding the world. Now that Luna was in aa and the system had proved to be useless at more than one event, Diana was a wee sight.

    Diana was staring at Zach as she waited for his response. She wanted to know what his decision regarding this battle would be. She was nning to advise Zach not to interfere with the battle if his reasoning behind it turned out to be a weak thing like morality or kindness towards fellow humans. She wouldn''t let him risk the lives of her people to save strangers just to earn their thanks.

    "We are about to settle down in a new and foreign environment in this Mesore State. Nobody here knows of the Luther family or the Zach who dared to offend the royal family. We will be foreign invaders and neers are always looked down upon on someone else''s home turf. I don''t want to experience the humiliation of being a neer in a ce like this. So, if through this incident we are able to showcase our strength in front of the residents of this ce, I think that it would be a fortuitous opportunity for us. It would give us a chance to develop more rapidly than we can through normal means. We will definitely be respected for the time we decide to spend here if the indigenous people know of our strength. Money and power are the ultimate measure of one''s strength in any ce inhabited by humans. I am sure that this ce will be no different. Therefore, I am going to go out of my way to help these people solve their insect problem."

    Zach exined his intention to Diana instead of giving her the direct order. He believed that Diana would second the decision he made on her own after she understood the underlying reason behind his decision.

 Chapter 139 139 Iron Mantises

    He was definitely not disappointed by the oue since Diana began to carry out his orders dutifully as if there wasn''t an ounce of problem with them.

    Diana gathered her soldiers who frantically obeyed her every order. She had established prestige among the soldiers after she fought with them and led them through the battle with the panther. Therefore, their respect towards her wasn''t at all unfounded.

    It didn''t take long before all the troops had been rallied were ready to depart for the rescue of the people being hunted by the Iron Mantises.

    The sound of galloping horses entered his ears as Zach watched Diana lead her troops away. He wished them luck in his heart as he stayed put and continued to observe the battle through the lens of his binocrs.

    It didn''t take long before Diana took control of the battlefield and spread her people in a circle to surround the mantises. Zach watched as she ordered the troops to shoot their rifles from a distance. She couldn''t risk getting close as the beasts were exceptionally agile and difficult to deal with in closebat.

    Therefore, she ordered her men to shoot and disrupt their movement so as to create an opportunity that she could exploit.

    Diana kept an eye on the battle like an experiencedmander and took in every detail and habit of the beasts along with the terrain around her. She needed to be aware of everything so she could make the best decision for her troops in such a critical situation.

    eж┴glesn?ж═el Diana signaled her people to retreat in advance as soon as she felt that the mantises intended to attack her men. This was the most typical gueri warfare tactic taught to them by Zach which proved to be quite effective in dealing with the beasts that appeared to be quite frustrated after not being able to deal with Diana''s men.

    It wasn''t that Diana''s troops were weakerpared to the beasts or they couldn''t handle the beasts. But rather that her mission had been to save the people being hunted by the beasts. She wasn''t interested in doing something that might result in potential casualties amongst her people. Therefore, she bought time for the small force being hunted by the Iron Mantises through her gueri tactics which allowed them to retreat sessfully after the attention of the Iron Mantises was no longer on them.

    As soon as the rescue targets got out of danger, Diana signaled her men to follow her and joined up with the small force in retreat.

    Diana followed the same path as she wanted to meet up with Zach who was also heading towards them in a hurry.

    Zach had witnessed the battle that Diana had taken part in earlier. He was dismayed to find that the bullets had no effects whatsoever on the Iron Mantises. They were either repelled altogether or ricocheted off the outer shells of the Iron Mantis as if the body was really made out of iron. This made him doubt the power of the technology and he felt that he had sent Diana and the rest into a troublesome situation.

    As such he could only follow after the group at his greatest speed to avoid suffering from any casualties. Thankfully, Diana knew her limits as well and handled the situation perfectly from amander''s point of view.

    When Zach peered at the group that was following Diana from afar, he was surprised to find that the leader of the other group seemed to be a kingdom toppling beauty. The girl had an exceptionally seductive body figure. Her hourss figure and aesthetically pleasing proportions were a direct indication to how hot she must be. His gut instinct screamed at him that the female leader of the other party would prove to be a very special person.

    But since Zach had to yet to take a close look at her, he could only specte about the girl.

    When he was finally close enough to judge with his own eyes he was slightly disappointed as the girl with the hot figure turned out to be just a child based on her immature face that still reeked of her mother''s milk and her short stature that looked like her growth spurt hadn''t yet arrived.

    They had only stopped for a moment but the short statured girl suddenly spoke up to Diana whom she thought was the leader of the group with worry clouding her mind.

    "We don''t have the time to be idling around here. If we fool around any longer, that horde of Iron Mantises would catch up with us. If you think that this is enough to stop them from chasing after us than you have severely underestimated the persistence of those beasts. They have an extremely vindictive nature and wouldn''t let us escape easily. We need to keep moving forward to increase the distance between us."

    Even though the people in front of her had saved her group, she knew that they didn''t have the ability to rid them of the pursuit of the Iron Mantises. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have run away like that earlier.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    A system notification prompted in front of Zach out of nowhere and brought him out of his thoughts. He had been contemting his decision on whether to fight the Mantises or to escape as per the suggestion of the girl leader. But the system message seemed to have made the decision for him.

    It turned out that there were two notifications in total and since the time difference between the two was so low, he had heard it as a single message.

    [Conditions have been fulfilled to trigger the sudden quest, ''Breaching the Iron''. The quest details can be viewed in the quest menu.]

    He didn''t bother to looking at the quest details since he could already guess the contents of the quest. Therefore, he proceeded to check the second message first.

    [You have encountered a girl who hides a special power inside her body. If you can absorb the unknown power inside of her, it could open the door to many new possibilities.]

    Zach found the message to be quite familiar. A simr notification had appeared when he hade across Luna for the first time. Zach had managed to unlock me Gloves at the time thanks to the energy inside of her. Therefore, he was sure that this was a simr situation as that and the girl leader of the other group really was somewhat special.

    Zach ignored the urgency in the girl''s voice and pretended as if he hadn''t heard her warning at all. There was another n brewing in his mind at the moment that didn''t involve running away from the Iron Mantises that would soon emerge after following around the group that they had been chasing after.

    Zach didn''t even register the girl''s existence. Being a leader, the girl obviously found it deeply insulting but since she wasn''t in a position to convey her grievances, she had to hold it in and look at the ignorant leader of the other group with a hint of hostility in her eyes.

    "Tell me more about these beasts. I want to know everything. But hurry up because we might not have much time before they follow you here. I don''t want to hear what you have heard from others. Tell me what you know from when you engaged these creatures inbat. Did you find any weakness or a habit pattern? Creatures like these usually one."

    Zach asked Diana with a slight urgency in his expressions. He knew that he was being impulsive but he had already received a system quest that required this information. Before engaging in conversation with Diana, Zach had already checked the quest window to learn the details of the sudden quest that he had managed to trigger.

    [Quest: Breaching the Iron]

    [Description: You have found a group of warriors surrounded by a dozen Iron Mantises who are known for their formidable defense, metallic skin, and the extreme agility and vengeful nature. You can choose to either fight the Iron Mantises to get rid of the threat to the source of that energy or you can run away from the situation altogether. But in doing so, you should understand that the lives of the group that the beasts are chasing after will be forfeit once you make the choice to steer clear of them. Because the beasts won''t rest until they have killed everyst one of them.]

    [Quest Clear Condition: Eradicate the Iron Mantises from existence so that they can''t pose any threat to any human ever again. The quest would be deemed a failure if any of the beasts sessfully escapes your hunt. If you choose to run away from the situation entirely, the quest would automatically be marked as a failure.]

    [Quest Failure Penalty: Unknown]

    [Quest Reward: A slight chance of gaining a new source of energy.]

    [Would you like to ept this quest?]

    [Y/N]

    He was in dire need of quest reward at the moment which was why he needed toplete the quest as soon as possible. Since he had given all of the energy he had absorbed from Luna back to her, there was nothing he could use to gain ess to all the weapons that had been locked as a result. He needed to unlock those weapons and more for the sake of his future. Otherwise he would end up in a passive position in front of his enemies in the future. He didn''t want to relive that experience especially after what Luna was going through due to his inability to settle the situation on his own.

 Chapter 140 140 The Methods

    Diana didn''t hesitate for even a second after hearing the urgent tone of his question.

    "From the battle just now, I can only ascertain that the Iron Mantises have a defense that is far tougher than any beast that I have ever encountered before. It might notpare to the panther we fought before, but it is still enough to give any of our weapons a run for their money. Therefore, attacking from a distance wouldn''t work at all. All the projectiles, even the high caliber bullets would basically ricochet off of the metallic skin of the beast. Moreover, close quartersbat wouldn''t be beneficial to us either. No matter what we do, we wouldn''t be able to handle the beasts in close range due to its sharp scythe like arms. The agility with which the beast is able to move those things is beyond ridiculous. I was barely able to see them swinging those gigantic scythes even with all my focus on it. Since we can''t cover the gap in agility between the humans and the Iron Mantises, it is better to avoid them altogether if we want to avoid any casualties."

    Zach heard the entire report while nodding from time to time to show his understanding regarding the current situation. He needed to know all the bits and pieces regarding the Iron Mantises that he had to kill in order toplete the quest.

    The leader of the other group was not at all satisfied with how Zach was trying to deal with the matter. She felt that Zach was far too egoistic to retreat in front of his people even though he was not thoroughly equipped to deal with the threat they were facing. She hated this kind of people the most that were unable to distinguish fact from fiction and jeopardized the lives of the others due to their folly.

    She knew better than anyone the strength of the Iron Mantises since she had been fighting them far longer than Diana and her men did. She knew all the things that Diana had just reported to Zach but had kept quiet in order to understand the type of person her savior was. As a result, she found him to be utterly annoying and incapable of leading his people. She even wondered why an excellent person like Diana was willing to follow his orders.

    When she became sure that Zach was an idiot and would eventually lead them all to their deaths, she couldn''t remain quiet any longer. She turned towards Diana with an annoyed look and advised her to ditch Zach.

    "I am telling you that the Iron Mantises aren''t some random beasts that you might have encountered before. They are far stronger than you have imagined. They aren''t something you can deal with just because you managed to gather some information about them. There are no apparent weak points otherwise; we wouldn''t have needed your help to escape at all. We could have run away on our own. This man is acting all mysterious due to his egoistic nature but he will end up being the reason for all your deaths. Since you all are my benefactors and have saved my life and that of my people before, I would advise you not to follow around this pretender who knows nothing of the world atrge and even tries to hunt a horde of Iron Mantises with so few a people under hismand. I can be sure that he cares not a single bit about you people who are under hismand. He is leading you all to your deaths due to his ignorance. Leave him to indulge in his fantasies alone. You should take your people ande with me to escape as soon as possible."

    Diana on the other hand wasn''t the least bit interested or moved by the grunts of the girl who was leading the other group. She believed in Zach wholeheartedly and wasn''t willing to trust this new girl over the person she liked.

    eж┴glesn?ж═el While the leading girl tried to woo his people to her side, Zach was in a world of his own. He was thinking of the past. To be exact he was reminiscing about all the events that had taken ce ever since he came into this world. He recalled all the quests that he hadpleted up till this moment and could boldly say that the system had never issued a quest that he couldn''tplete. There was no impossible quest out there. The quest could be unorthodox but never impossible.

    Therefore, Zach believed that there was a solution to the problem within his repertoire. He was busy searching the Weapons Arsenal for anything that could be used in the battle against the Iron Mantises.

    Due to theck of energy, most of the weapons in the arsenal were currently locked which made the difficulty of the mission increase by several folds. Zach was not deterred due to the difficulty of the situation; rather he was quite motivated because the more difficult the situation, the better the rewards forpleting the quest would be.

    Even though most of the weapons he checked in the Weapons Arsenal turned out to be ineffective against the Iron Mantises, he fervently believed that the system must have issued this quest based on some prior skill or asset that he hadn''t found yet.

    Zach tried to assess the situation from the point of view of a game. Usually, the game designers used a weapon and made its use essential for the clearance of the level. The concept of quest items hade from this since the gamers needed to be told about the things that could be useful to them.

    While keeping the same mindset, Zach believed that the weapons he currently could use were not at all suitable for this kind ofbat. The hot weapons weren''t made to fight beasts like the Iron Mantis. Therefore, Zach wanted to discover the skill that could help him unlock the mystery of the quest as soon as possible.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    To try his luck, Zach pulled out the Weapon Arsenal and began to scroll through the list of items that were still avable to him and were not faded out or marked with question marks. Feeling quite heartbroken after seeing the barren list that used to be studded with names of the weapons in bold, Zach could not help but let out an exasperated sigh. But he didn''t regret what he did to save Luna''s life from the panther even if the price he had paid was quite heavy.

    As he was sifting through the long list of items that were still out of his reach, Zach came across a name suddenly that shook him to the core. It was as if something had finally resonated with his very soul and had drawn out the very essence of his mental strategy.

    Zach was feeling quite confident in approaching the beasts that were relentlessly pursuing the Diana and the group of people she had just rescued. The reason for his unbending posture and determined gaze was the items that he hade across just now.

    Zach pulled Diana with him as he began to move in the direction of the Iron Mantises. At first the leader of the other group felt that Zach had finally decided to listen to her advice and was willing to run away after having witnessed the relentless and vicious pursuit of the Iron Mantises.

    But a series of curses escaped her mouth soon after when she tried to follow after him only to find that she was voluntarily moving towards the Iron Mantises to be torn to shreds.

    Zach didn''t pay her any heed and just asked Diana to follow after him because he had a n to take down the Iron Mantises. The leader girl could only scoff at his mad ravings and turned her head away in annoyance as if Zach''s gruesome death would only ruin her mood.

    Zach used the Weapons Arsenal and pulled out several bottles of what could only be considered powerful insecticides. Although Zach had never used them before, he was sure that they were likely to be effective against the Iron Mantises who belonged to the category of insects despite their metallic exterior.

    "What''s that? Is it some kind of explosive as well?" Diana couldn''t help but ask Zach as she saw him pull out several bottles out of nowhere. Although she was already used to Zach''s magical ways, she couldn''t understand why Zach pulled these things out instead of powerful weapons like the lightning rod he had used before to destroy the beasts. She felt that she deserved to know the answer since she was going to be risking her life for him soon.

    "Pull out your bow. You can still use it, can''t you?" Zach asked in a hurried manner to shake Diana out of herfort zone and drag her into the battle that they were about to face. He didn''t want her to be unprepared for the battle ahead.

    "I haven''t stopped practiced my archery skills. I am still as good as before if not better." Diana replied proudly with a smug look. She wanted to let Zach know how good she was.

    "Good; I expected the same. In a moment, I am going to throw these bottles towards the Iron Mantises when theye within your shooting range. I need you to break the bottles at the exact moment when the bottles hover over the Iron Mantises."

    Zach didn''t feel anything odd telling her about his n. However, he still didn''t reveal anything about the contents of the bottles. He only implied with his actions that the contents of the bottles were going to be helpful in dealing with the Iron Mantises.

 Chapter 141 141 Pesticide

    Zach was confident because he could entrust this matter to Diana. Had he been alone, he might not have been as confident in using the same strategy. But Diana had been practicing with a bow to shoot ever since her rebellious days when she used to run away from home to improve herbat skills. She had not only honed her skills in a hostile environment but had also be an aplished archer before shifting over to the hot weapons that Zach introduced her to. But expecting such a situation, Diana had never stopped practicing her archery despite knowing that better range weapons were avable to her.

    Since Zach didn''t tell her anything about the contents of the bottles, Diana could only take a guess as to what the bottles contained inside them. She believed that it must be some kind of a strong poison that could help them in battle. They didn''t have the time for her to bring up such an important matter at this crucial time.

    When the two were sufficiently close to the beasts that were rushing towards them with surprising agility, Zach finally threw out the bottles in session towards the beasts.

    The throws made a parabolic pattern so that there would be enough time for Diana to shoot the bottles down and rain their contents on top of the giant mantises.

    Diana didn''t wait for the bottles to reach the lowest point of the parabolic arc. Instead she shot the arrows aiming at the bottles when they were still some distance above the beasts so as the surprise hidden inside the bottles would get enough spread to cover most of the beasts.

    Several bottles were broken mid flight by her sessive arrows and the pesticide inside got spilled on the mantises. The condition of the Mantises therefore became extremely unbelievable. Each of the Iron Mantises was swaying like drunkards in a thunderstorm. There de like limbs were iling around as if they had lost all control over them. The agility of the Iron Mantises was now acting against them as they swayed heavily whenever they tried to move and their scythe like arms carved deep crevices into the ground.

    Some of the Iron Mantises even rolled around on the ground in their dizziness and werepletely unaware of the danger that wasing for them soon.

    Diana had long since been waiting for this opportunity as she had already deduced from Zach''s words that the Iron Mantises would be rendered powerless or injured after Zach''s n reached fruition. Therefore, she had already asked her men to remain on standby to exploit the opportunity bought by their leader.

    They pulled the pins on the grenades hanging by their belts and rushed towards the Iron Mantises groveling on the ground. Each of them was trained in the art of grenade lobbing and would hardly ever miss the timing of the explosions. Therefore, when they threw the grenades in their hands one by one into the open mouths of the metallic beasts, the beasts couldn''t resist the invasion of the explosive devices at all.

    The soldiers didn''t hesitate to fall back as soon as theypleted their mission so as to leave the effective range of the explosion hurriedly and to take shelter before the grenades exploded.

    As soon as thest of the men werepletely hidden and protected from the st radius, a huge explosion took the surrounding area by surprise. The silent surroundings resounded with the deafening st conjured by the simultaneous explosion of several grenades in a row and wreaked havoc inside the bodies of the Iron Mantises.

    Their bodies might have been extremely durable when it came to external defenses, but the internal organs were far from being as strong as the exterior. The few grenades were enough to tear apart the body of the beasts from within.

    The scene that the people witnessed that day would have been too bloody and full of gore had it not been for the pesticide in the air which caught fire as soon as the grenades exploded. The bodies of the Iron Mantises along with the surroundings that were covered in the pesticides sprinkled by Zach and Diana''sbo caught fire from the explosion as well.

    The Iron Mantises that were supposed to be the hunters turned into harmless prey as even their corpses were on the path to being burnt to ashes. The fire surrounding them soon engulfed thempletely and Zach was sure that not a single trace of the bodies would be left after the fire extinguished.

    The leading girl of the other group could only open and close her mouth in an attempt to say something. She was too shocked to even try to say something to Zach or the soldiers who werepetent enough to take down such beasts with such ease.

    Only now did she remember how foolish she must have appeared to Zach when she tried to advise him to run away from the Iron Mantises not too long ago. The same man she had been calling a fool had destroyed the beastspletely within a minute and without putting in too much effort as if it was a slightly more troublesome problem rather than an impossible one.

    It took her a long time to finally get her runaway emotions under control. As soon as her mental faculty returned to her and she began to ept the reality of the situation, the girl finally started to simmer down.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    She turned towards her saviors Zach and Diana and opened her petite little mouth to introduce herself to her saviors. She could not just keep calling them, ''Hey'' or ''you'' to address her benefactors.

    eж┴glesn?ж═el "I apologize for my behavior earlier. I looked down on you because I have never seen soldiers as capable as yours and underestimated their abilities. Of course the same goes for you as well. I am sorry for not believing in you earlier and for calling you ignorant."

    Zach didn''t'' me her and gave a carefree nod as if he was not the least bit affected by her statements from earlier. Diana was the same as well since she for one knew how unorthodox Zach''s techniques and battle strategies were. She couldn''t me someone she had met for the first time to understand the greatness of Zach without having had the chance to witness his true capabilities in person.

    Seeing that their eyes only contained encouragement and forgiveness, the girl too didn''t'' hesitate in reveal her identity to Zach and his subordinates.

    "I am called ra. I am from a nearby city of Byzantine. You must have heard of it even if you all havee from afar."

    Diana couldn''t help but get curious. She couldn''t understand how ra could have deduced that they hade from afar. It wasn''t as if there was a que hanging from their foreheads that stated that they had traveled a long distance toe here.

    "I don''t mean it in a derogatory manner. I just wanted to say that a local would have never tried to fight against the group of Iron Mantises. From the way you fight to the weapons you use are all beyond my understanding. At least the people from the surrounding areas aren''t that capable."

    Zach could not feel a sense of awe in her even though she kept praising them. Therefore he deduced that the girl was probably from a prominent background in Byzantine city.

    "Which family are you from?"

    "I am a part of the Windsor family that is based in Byzantine city." Diana felt that ra looked quite smug as she revealed the name of her family but took it as the naivety of a young girl who had yet to see the bigger world.

    What Diana couldn''t have expected was that the girl really had the ability to be smug with such a powerful background. Bruce on the other hand heard their conversation from a distance and almost rushed towards them.

    Bruce wasn''t the head of a prominent family for nothing for all these years. He had umted a wealth of knowledge that was in no way inferior to anyone settled in the capital of the empire. He almost knew about all the prominent and influential families of the empire that were worth knowing about and could generate enough ripples in the world to leave their mark behind.

    The Windsor family''s reputation preceded them and Bruce had long since heard of their influence even though he had never met them before. Therefore, as soon as he heard the girl utter the name of her family, the cogs in his head began to turn mechanically as he rushed to implement the scheme he had just thought up of.

    Bruce summoned all his acting skills and acted as if he was a travelling businessman with a plethora of merchandise to sell. He practically pushed Zach and Diana back as he introduced himself to ra.

    "I am Bruce. Diana is my little sister. I am a travelling merchant by profession and bring goods from far off to trade with the local specialties. I have always wanted to visit Mesore state but never got an opportunity to do so. Now that I am here, I am thinking of setting up a shop here so that I can stay for a little while and enjoy the lives of themon folk. Is there a ce you can suggest that might be good for business around here?" Bruce acted his part perfectly and even ra who looked to be quite shrewd and cautious didn''t feel any sense of falsity from him.

 Chapter 142 142 Clara

    The others apanying ra too came forward one by one to introduce themselves when they began to feelfortable with Zach and his group. They looked on with eager expressions as they awaited Zach and Diana to introduce themselves as well.

    eaglesnov?1,зуoзо Feeling the countless gazes on them, Zach and Diana were obviously pressed to reveal some of their information.

    "I know that it can be hard for you to trust strangers that you have met for the very first time but I hope that we can get along with each other. You can call me Mr. Smith." Before Zach could continue his introduction any further to satisfy the curiosity of the group of people surrounding them, Diana butted in and hijacked his introduction.

    "He might look fierce and cold but he is easy to approach once you get to know him. I am Diana Smith; his wife." said Diana as she pointed towards Zach with a loving smile.

    Zach couldn''t help but want to roll his eyes at this kind of introduction. Why did she have to make him look bad while introducing herself? On top of that, she looked way too enthusiastic to y the role of his wife. This was definitely not normal among couples. They were usually not this excited. Worried that her excitement might expose their lies, Zach grabbed her arm and exerted a slight force to attract her attention towards him in a subtle manner.

    As he had hoped, Diana took control of her runaway thoughts and barely came out of the role of his wife for a moment to consider their situation.

    "Why don''t you let your people get treatment for their injuries before making a move? They seem to be in a horrible state after the battle with the Iron Mantises."

    ra appreciated Zach''s concern for her people and agreed to his suggestion instantly. Various healers in her group took out their equipment from the satchels hanging by the side of their horses and began to treat the others with the help of various potions and herbs.

    Bruce took this opportunity to offer his help as well. He asked his healers to offer their assistance as well in order to earn the goodwill of the member of the Windsor family.

    With Bruce''s help, it didn''t take long to finish dressing up the wounds of ra''s men. Her men came to thank Bruce and his men one by one and Bruce acted graciously as if he hadn''t done anything much.

    While ra was talking to Zach and his wife, a particrly strong looking woman with a heavy sword hung on her back walked towards ra with a frowning face. Zach noticed the strength oozing from this woman and wanted to hear what she had to say with such a serious expression on her face.

    "Youngdy, we shouldn''t have encountered the Iron Mantises in this ce. From what we know, this ce isn''t their territory nor is it anything like their preferred natural habitat. And there should be nothing that could have attracted so many Iron Mantises that are known to be particrly aggressive and territorial to gather together in one ce. It seems our luck isn''t quite with us this time. Maybe we should return home lest we encounter something even more dangerous than the Iron Mantises. Thankfully, Mr. Zach and his people came in time or we might have suffered a fate worse than death."

    ra listened to Grace patiently and didn''t interrupt her but the turmoil in her heart and the feeling of unease wasn''t any less than what Grace was experiencing.

    "Although this can be attributed to bad luck but I believe that the things here aren''t that simpleбнI wonder ifбн" ra frowned as well but her voice gradually trailed off beyond the audible range and nobody could hear what she was mumbling under her tongue.

    Although ra didn''t believe that her group encountering the Iron Mantises had anything to do with their bad luck, she didn''t want to prolong their departure considering the falling morale of her people after having been pursued for so long by the Iron Mantises. She felt that it was better to listen to Grace''s suggestion and head back to Byzantine city in order to recharge their energies as early as possible.

    All the people around ra witnessed her going into a trance as she listened to Grace''s words but none of them could hear what she had to say about it. They only released the breath they were holding when ra turned back towards Zach and Diana and expressed her gratitude with all the sincerity she could muster amidst the worries growing in her heart.

    Of course, Zach and Diana brushed off her thanks as nothing more than a formality and began to chat with her enthusiastically about the Mesore state. While Zach was a good actor and didn''t reveal any weaknesses, Diana was an amateur actor at best. She was fretting at the thought of being caught in her lies especially in front of Zach. She didn''t want to lose this opportunity as this was an opportunity for her to get closer to Zach and pretend to be his wife. Therefore, she was a nervous wreck unlike her confident self when shemanded her soldiers in battle or when she took over the responsibility of training them. She wasn''t afraid of physicalbor as it was evident from how good of a fighter she was. But the mental exhaustion that came with always putting on an act was too much to take for her heart. She could barely breathe without making a nervous sound. She was definitely not fit to be an actress of any kind.

    Diana stole countless looks at Zach''s face while he wasn''t paying attention to her. Of course, Zach didn''t notice her actions at all. He was too busy looking at the system screen in front of him instead of the Diana who was right beside him.

    He had received a system notification just a second ago that had booked all his attention. Hence, Zach was unable to give Diana any form of encouragement to continue with the act.

    Upon clicking the notification window the full message came into his view.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    [**Congrattions**]

    [You have met all the conditions forpletion of the quest ''Breaching the Iron'' by killing all the beasts chasing after the group of humans.]

    [Quest Rewards]

    [A new weapon has been unlocked. You can ess it in the Weapons Arsenal where it will always be avable in the future for your use.]

    Zach was too focused on finding out about the reward for such a challenging quest and couldn''t pay attention to anything that was happening around him.

    While Diana continued to y her role as his wife with trembling lips, Zach hurriedly opened the Weapons Arsenal and began to scroll through the list to find the name of the new weapon he had received.

    It didn''t take long before he came across a name that made him want to jump up and down in jubtion like a little girl who had found candy in the middle of the nowhere.

    The payment he had received for cleaning up all the Iron Mantises was quite more than sufficient. The weapon he received inpensation was more than enough as a reward; not to even mention that he had saved ra as a result of the questpletion who seemed to be hiding another source of energy inside her body.

    Zach hurriedly opened the details of the weapon that he had found in his inventory in order to figure out how good it was and what he could expect from it in the future.

    [Primary Lightsaber]

    [Physical Damage: 4000] [Magic Damage: 3500]

    [Durability: 100/100]

    [Weapon Description: A weapon that is a miracle created by the merger of techniques used in magic engineering and cksmithing. A top level magic engineer begged a top level cksmith for days in order to convince him to work alongside him on a seemingly impossible project only for it to seed miraculously in the end. Even the creators were surprised by the result of their efforts but no matter how hard they tried, they were unable to replicate the results of their research again due to the non-avability of excellent materials like the Diatium cell. This weapon holding the good of both the worlds has the ability to enable the weakest of humans to experience the world of swordsmanship without training their physical bodies as much. The force of the swordsmanship can be imitated through the explosive energy created by controlling the excited light particles along the hilt of the sword. The weapon is excessively durable due to the use of top notch cksmithing skills in its creation and the absence of the de makes it surprisingly light to carry and increases the attack speed beyond that of a rapier.]

    [Weapon Skills]

    [Armor Piercing sh]

    [Skill Description: The basic attack of a lightsaber which involves swinging the lightsaber in a horizontal or vertical arc to deal damage to an enemy. The explosive pration power of the weapon due to the high temperature of the sma de, make it a deadly weapon in close range. The lightsaber is a very versatile weapon, capable of cutting through almost anything, including metal and other lightsabers. Therefore, all shing attacks with the weapon have a slight probability of ignoring the defense of the enemy entirely.]

    [Bulwark]

    [Skill Description: The lightsaber is a deadly weapon capable of both offense and defense. A skillful swordsman can easily deflect or block heavy projectiles or magic attacks relying on the explosive motion of the sma contained by the focusing crystal. A skilled enough swordsman can be practically invincible against ranged attacks with a lightsaber in his hands.]

    бн

 Chapter 143 143 Bedtime Story

    Zach was so happy looking at the weapon description that he unconsciously pulled Diana into his embrace and kissed her forehead with enough force to prate into her head. His joy was untamable like a bull that sessfully managed to break out of a fighting arena.

    Diana couldn''t understand what was happening. One moment she was talking to ra and listening to her words of thanks and the next moment she was in Zach''s embrace being showered with kisses that felt like bullets striking the base of her head. Despite the sudden invasion of her privacy, she didn''t feel anything but happiness from Zach''s actions. Her whole face turned crimson as she tried to remove the dirty thoughts that popped up into her head one by one without relenting.

    The crimson hue on her skin made her ephemeral beauty escape the confines of mortal chains and helped it ascend towards godhood because only gods had the right to look so enchanting and unapproachable at the same time.

    The reason for Zach''s happiness was obviously the description of the Primary lightsaber that he had read. It had explosive pration power that could get past any kind of defense. Even though the probability of getting past the enemy''s defenses wasn''t very high, Zach could pull off a miracle if he couldst long enough against an enemy with overwhelmingly high defense. All he had to do to win a battle against an enemy like the Panther they had encountered earlier was to keep attacking until the activation of the piercing effect of the weapon.

    Even though Zach was nowcking in terms of the weapons in his arsenal, the addition of a single Lightsaber was a significant boost to his waning confidence. Even though he didn''t want to admit it, the battle with the panther had rattled his self-confidence because Luna had had to sacrifice herself in order to save him. It made him feel ipetent and unable to protect those he wanted to protect. This was also the reason why he had been taking detours in order to avoid the battles in their path for the past month.

    Thankfully, he didn''t have to act as cautiously now that he had a weapon that he could rely on in tough situations. The weapon was enough to deal a killing blow to any kind of enemy as long as it wasn''t overpowered enough to kill Zach in one blow.

    He could stop worrying as much as he did in the past and focus on healing Luna who was still unconscious and unresponsive like a vegetable.

    ra might have looked like a young girl but her sense of observation was sharper than the mages relying on sensory magic. She had a penchant for noticing anything out of the odd in any situation, even on the battlefields which made her a challenging opponent for anyone.

    ra noticed the unusual reaction of Diana who had almost jumped like a scared cat upon being hugged and kissed by her husband. This coupled with how enthusiastic she sounded when she introduced herself as Zach''s wife made her think of only two possibilities. First was that the two were only recently married which would exin why Diana wanted to show off her marriage in front of strangers and was not as used to her husband''s touch as a wife should be. And the only other possibility in her mind was that the two were lying to her either because they had some kind of hidden agenda for approaching and saving her or they were being cautions since ra and the others were strangers they had encountered in the middle of nowhere.

    No matter what the truth might have been, ra wasn''t interested in delving into the details since she didn''t n on sticking around these people for very long. Since they had saved her and her people, she needed to show them enough respect until the moment she left.

    Therefore, ra didn''tment on Diana''s odd reaction and maintained her silence as if she hadn''t noticed anything. Even her expressions didn''t betray her innermost feelings.

    Time passed quickly as Bruce''s people and ra''s men got busy trying to set up a temporary camp to rest for a while and make preparations for dinner.

    Some of ra''s men went out to find some food. Since they were more familiar with the terrain aspared to the men of Luther family, they were given the task to collect food while the remaining people were tasked with gathering firewood and for setting up the camp.

    ra''s men came back with some fresh game in a while and some fruits that appeared to be freshly picked.

    When the food was ready, everyone from the Luther family sat around the campfire with their food in their hands and ate as they prepared to listen to Zach''s stories. It was one of the activities in their new routine that they looked forward to the most considering how monotonous their lives had be after leaving the shelter of the Luther family estate.

    ra and her people followed suit and sat along with their new found friends. They could tell that the people seemed to be visibly excited about something but couldn''t figure out what it could be.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What is it? Did something good happen that we missed?" One of ra''s men asked curiously from a soldier who looked extremely excited as he stared at Zach like an extremely hungry wolf looking at a chunk of delicious meat.

    "It is time." the Luther family soldier barely replied before he returned his focus to Zach as if not willing to miss the first word that came out of his mouth.

    "Time for what?"

    The soldier felt annoyed at being disturbed thinking, "Can''t he wait a bit? He will find out in a bit anyway." Of course he didn''t actually say it out loud because the other party was just genuinely curious.

    "Every day during meal times, our lord tells us a story. Since we have been travelling a lot, there isn''t much to do in between. This is the best part of our day. You will see in a bit once everyone settles down."

    The man couldn''t understand how a simple story could make these people feel so excited. In the ce where he came from, storytellers had to beg others to listen to their stories. Still he didn''t act rude by stating what he was thinking in words and decided to wait and see for himself.

    When everyone settled down around the fire, Zach continued the story of the boy wizard from where he left off. He had already reached the midway point of the overall story. He was sure that even though the neers wouldn''t understand what was going on, they would nevertheless be interested in the story at the very least. From where he came from, this story had captivated the hearts and souls of countless individuals. He was sure that there wouldn''t be many people who could dislike such a story.

    As he had expected, even those listening to the story for the first time were captivated and were swayed by the various incidents narrated by Zach. The fact that this world truly had magic made the story feel more realistic. It appealed to even those who liked to differentiate between fiction and reality and avoided fiction and fantasy stories like the gue. Therefore, this story was the perfect hit amongst his listeners.

    Even an hour after Zach had stopped narrating the story, the discussions regarding what would happen next were still ongoing amongst the listeners who were by then preparing to go to sleep. Zach was not at all surprised to see the neers pestering the people of the Luther family to narrate the previous parts of the story to satisfy their curiosity.

    One of the people who were extremely interested in the story of the boy mage but was unable to understand it in its entirety due to theck of context was ra. Fortunately for her, she had Diana to apany her. She not only gave her small tidbits to help her understand the story during the narration but also offered to narrate to her the previous parts of the story as she invited her to sleep with her on her bed at bedtime.

    Zach only smiled when he notice the increase in morale of his people. It seemed that the arrival of new people had allowed them to get out of their previously morbid routine that had sent them into depression and dissatisfaction.

    ra asked Diana several questions as thetter narrated the previous parts of the story that she had missed. Diana already knew what she was getting into when she offered to provide this service for ra. After all she had seen Zach being surrounded by people with simr questions on several questions. Had Zach not made the rule about discussing the story only during meal times, he would have been pestered to death by the curious people who had nothing else to do.

    Therefore, Diana patiently answered all her questions as she tried to imitate Zach''s style of storytelling which she found to be quite attractive.

    While listening to the exciting story, ra didn''t know when she fell asleep. She had been too tired after suffering from the pursuit of the fierce Iron Mantises and the escape that followed with the help of Diana. She not only had to fight the battles but also had to lead her people which increased the weight of the responsibility she felt on her shoulders. As a result she slept like a little baby once she let go of her worries and felt safe in this temporary camp.

 Chapter 144 144 Prospective Company

    While Diana was sleeping with ra, Zach her so called husband was apanying another woman in bed. Of course the woman was none other than Luna who had yet to regain her consciousness after her battle with the panther more than two months ago. Zach couldn''t help but worry about her no matter where he was or whatever time of the day it was. He worried that someone would harm her in his absence which was why he never let her out of his sight. Even when he had to sleep, he slept beside her so he could keep her from any kind of harm.

    Just when his eyelids grew heavy and he felt sleep overtaking his consciousness with its blurry countenance, a system rm pulled him out of his sleep with a jolt like an electric bolt had struck his body directly from the sky.

    Zach pulled up the mini map at the right bottom corner of his vision and expanded it to locate the source of the danger projected by the system to him. He knew that the system only warned him about the life threatening dangers so there was no way that the person or the thinging after him this time could have any good intentions.

    The map showed a red dot that was gradually increasing in size. Zach knew that it meant that the threat was getting closer and closer to him with each passing second. From the movement of the entity, Zach could determine how fast the enemy was moving towards him. It was faster than the top speed of his trucks and faster than any mage he had seen until that moment. It was almost equivalent to the movement speed of the ck Panther after it had begun to chase after him.

    Before he could rush out of the bed, he heard sounds of intense gunfire and explosions in the near vicinity. He deduced that it must be the soldiers guarding the camp at some distance. Judging from the amount of bullets being fired, the hostile intent couldn''t be human because a human didn''t need this many bullets to be disposed off. After all the soldiers he had brought with him were all elites and had been trained well. They could shoot down anything that moved within a radius of a hundred meters without any difficulty. Moreover, there was no need to use grenades to eliminate a human threat.

    Zach stepped out of the tent fully prepared to face the threat heading his way. As soon as he did, he noticed several trails of res in the sky from time to time. These were signals of the guards to each other about how far the hostile entity had invaded past their guard.

    Judging from the res, Zach guessed that it would be a few minutes before he would be able to see the enemy in front of him. Zach didn''t take the initiative to go out. Rather, he waited for the enemy toe to him.

    ra had already mounted her warhorse by the time Zach came out. Zach was slightly surprised to see her all ready despite not having the rm system like him. He believed that she must have extraordinary sensory abilities for such a thing to be possible.

    ra moved her horse towards him when she saw himing out of the tent. She needed to tell him something before it got too busy.

    "I am sorry that you got caught up in my matters. I wanted to tell you that the thing out there has nothing to do with your people. They are only getting hurt because it ising for me. You and your people have helped us twice and I don''t want to be ungrateful to you. Therefore, I will leave and lead it away from here. I don''t want to cause you and your people any more trouble than I already have."

    ra looked sad and actually morose when she decided to leave the ce in order to not let these people pay the price of her selfish behavior. She had taken a liking to Zach''s story as well and wanted to listen to the rest of it if she got the chance. It turned out that she had to leave like this.

    Zach felt like he was in the plot of some game or a movie where the female lead expresses her intention to lead the threat away only for the main lead to take on the threat head on for her sake.

    As expected the system believed in such clichижd tropes and decided to issue a quest at this instance to help ra.

    [A sudden quest ''Unstoppable'' has been generated. You can ess the details of the quest in the quests tab.]

    Zach hurriedly opened the tab to view the details. He wanted to figure out some clues as to what it was that he was about to face. It was always good to have some knowledge about the uing battle so that the participants could be more prepared.

    [Quest Description: A new enemy has appeared and it seems to be hostile towards ra. Find and eliminate the threat as fast as possible to earn the goodwill of the girl hiding the mysterious energy within her.]

    [Quest Clear Conditions: Eliminate the threat to ra''s life.]<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    [Quest Failure Penalty: The mysterious energy would no longer be essible after ra''s death.]

    [Would you like to ept the quest?]

    [Y/N]

    Zach unhesitatingly said, ''Yes'' in response and epted the quest without hesitation.

    ra had been trying to convey her gratitude and her apologies to Zach but he seemed out of sorts as he kept staring into space. She thought that Zach had finally reached his limits and was afraid of this new threat.

    Just when she was about to spur her horse forward and leave lest she implicate Zach and the others, Zach rushed in front of her horse to keep her from going away. Instead of backing down in fear, Zach''s facial expressions and oozing confidence suggested that he was unwilling to let her take on the danger alone.

    "I can help you solve whatever danger you are facing at the moment. I will take care of that thing if you decide to ept some of my conditions. I am sure that even you don''t think that you can handle such an enemy on your own."

    ra was somewhat surprised that Zach was talking to her in such a tone. Previously she had felt that Zach had gotten cold feet after hearing about the strength of the enemy this time. It turned out that she had underestimated him. He was clearly quite confident and apparently wanted to get some benefits for himself through this situation.

    "What kind of conditions?" ra was doubtful of his ability even though she had seen his witty battle with the mantises before. But she felt that the only reason he had been able to kill the mantises was because of strategy and luck and not because of overwhelming advantage in terms of force and physical prowess. Therefore, it was hard for her to trust his words. Still there wasn''t anything wrong with trying to figure out the details of the cooperation before making her decision.

    "If I and my people escort you and your people to your home safely, I want your family to provide me with enough resources to help me establish myself in this new ce. Since this is our first time in this territory, we are quitecking in terms of references and personal connections that could help us ease out most of the troublesome matters. I want the Windsor family to be the bridge between my people and those we would have future dealings with. Of course I don''t want to take advantage of the Windsor family. Therefore, the cooperation will onlyst until I get a foothold in this ce for myself."

    At first ra wanted to refuse his offer since she couldn''t believe that Zach was truly capable of pulling off what he was offering to do in exchange for the Windsor family''s connections. But when she remembered how crazy but effective his battle strategy in the day was like, she decided to put in her trust in him. She believed that she didn''t have anything to lose from this arrangement. She could always escape on her own if Zach failed to hold back the enemy.

    Therefore, ra looked intently at Zach and said, "I don''t mind those conditions as long as you can deliver your end of the bargain. But keep in mind that my words only hold true IF you manage to take down the enemy knocking at our doors right now."

    Zach nodded in understanding and got up on his own horse before motioning ra to follow after him as he sped off into the direction of the res. Currently several soldiers were engaged in a battle with the invader under the leadership of Diana.

    It seemed like Diana had been the first one to be informed of the danger. Maybe she was still awake when the enemy attacked them out of nowhere. Only that could exin why she had been so fast to reach the battleground and why ra appeared to be all ready to depart when Zach was alerted by the system regarding the hostile intent.

    It was still dark out without the moon in the sky to light up the surroundings which was why the soldiers were relying on the light from the res to put up the fight against the enemy beast.

    The beast this time appeared to be some kind of gigantic mutation of a rhinoceros. It was extremely stocky and sturdier andpared to a normal one.

 Chapter 145 145 TwoтАЩs Cooperation

    The sheer bulk of its weight was enough for the ground underneath its feet to crack every time it tried to make a move. It was at least three to four timesrger than a normal rhinoceros if not evenrger.

    While Diana and her people were trying their best to contain the walking disaster as much as possible, it was extremely hard for them to actually do so due to the sheer size of the thing. No matter how much damage they tried to inflict on it, the rhinoceros never took them seriously as if their serious attacks were nothing more than an itch to it.

    Previously they had been thinking that the defense of the Iron Mantises was good but they could never have known that all their concepts were up for a refresher from that moment onwards. The ranged attacks especially werepletely ineffective as they were repelled off by the tough outer skin of the beast. Even the shrapnel grenades that exploded right underneath the beast were incapable of significantly harming the beast.

    After trying out several attack patterns, Diana found that it waspletely impossible to beat the rhinoceros in this manner and therefore began thinking of another strategy like the one Zach had employed in order to beat down the Iron Mantises earlier. But no matter how good a strategy might be if the strength behind the offensive wascking, the abyssal defense could not be countered at all unless they attacked from the inside out.

    Diana quickly came to the conclusion that the rhinoceros waspletely undefeatable with their current strength. There was only one other chance but it came with too much risk. It employed forcing the rhinoceros to open its abyssal mouth so that the soldiers could attack it from the inside to cause damage directly to its vital body organs.

    Seeing that Zach had arrived on the scene, Diana quickly urged her horse towards him and made an extensive report regarding the enemy since he would be taking over from her soon.

    Zach nodded along with all the decisions that Diana had taken on her own and didn''t criticize her for anything because all her decisions were based on his training. He was happy to see that she had not deviated from the path that he had taught to her and had kept her men safe. Moreover, Zachpletely agreed with Diana''s suggestion of attacking the rhinoceros from the inside because at the moment there was no better solution than that to take down the beast.

    Fortunately, Zach had unlocked a weapon that could breach and prate the defenses of an opponent no matter how strong their defenses might be. Therefore he was confident that with the right strategy it would not be far off to im that he could take down the beast with some effort.

    However, there was one small problem. The beast was too strong. Each of its attacks was devastating to the surroundings and its targets. Therefore, Zach needed to get close enough to it without suffering from any of its attacks that were quite capable of killing him.

    Even with the help of the Skeletal armor that Zach always relied on, he could not be quite sure of making it. The fact that the skeletal ego-armor was a low level armor indicated that it was not good enough to take on the attacks of the beasts as strong as the rhinoceros. Even the ability of the armor could only resist three attacks unconditionally from any beasts that were not more than two levels above the user. Therefore, Zach was sure that the armor wouldn''t be able to protect him from the rhinoceros just as it had failed to be useful in his fight against the ck Panther. He was afraid of being trampled beneath the giant rhinoceros'' feet.

    Still Zach had to try because he had already made a deal with ra. Moreover, Zach at least had a chance of winning this timepared to thest time. This time the clouds at least had a silver lining amongst the darkness of the storm.

    Zach called for anyone who had yet to engage in the battle or was currently resting after taking on the rhinoceros in order to talk about his intent to fight the beast.

    "I am confident that I can deal a deadly blow to the beast by getting past its defenses. But I need someone who is confident in creating opportunities for me to get close to the beast without being attacked. Someone who can immobilize an opponent for a second will be my optimum choice but I know that the monster is quite strong. Therefore, I just want someone who can keep its attention away from me for some time while I prepare my attack to take it down in one go."

    Zach''s words sounded like the casual boasting of someone who was not aware of the reality or the consequences that came with uttering such words. ra would have despised him if she hadn''t seen him fight the mantises again.

    To Zach''s surprise it was none other than ra who raised her hand while the burly men and soldiers beside him hesitated while their legs trembled from the fear.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I can restrain it for a short period of time and allow you to approach closer to it but you need to understand that I don''t have any ways to deal it a killing blow. If you fail to do so, my life would be in danger. So please don''t make any superfluous statement that would get us both killed if you don''t have the ability to carry through with your words."

    ra''s words were reasonable since she would be putting her life on the line to make an opportunity for Zach. But he seriously doubted whether ra could really make good on her words. The reason for his doubt was that ra was a young girl who looked no older than fifteen years old. Her body looked so fragile that he couldn''t understand how she could make such a im without even batting an eye.

    To Zach, ra looked like a mascot or a porcin doll that can only be used for decoration purposes.

    Bruce on the other hand was grinning widely as he knew that they could profit from the deal that Zach had made with ra. Unlike Zach, he was quite knowledgeable and knew about the strengths of the various prominent families of the empire. Therefore, he chose to trust them both when he saw Bruce nodding vigorously at him from afar. It was easy to infer from this gesture that Bruce was backing up ra''s stance and was asking him to trust her as well.

    Zach on the other hand seriously doubted that she could make good on her words but Bruce''s assurance allowed him to put his trust in her.

    Since it would be a loss of a good warhorse if both of them chose to ride their horses into battle only for them to abandon it midway, they decided to ride the same horse to make their initial charge towards the rhino.

    Zach thought that it would be better if they used ra''s warhorse which was far better in agility and endurance then his own charger and climbed up behind her in a steady andposed manner.

    ra didn''t seem to mind it either because she knew that it was the logical choice. Only Diana seemed a little upset with this oue. The more she looked at Zach''s hands wrapped around the thin waist of the petite doll like girl, the more she hated it. She felt like a wife who was being cheated on by her husband right in front of her.

    Diana might be a jealous girl but she knew that there was a time for everything. Right now she couldn''t afford to act so petty and therefore didn''t make a fuss about it. She decided to hold in all of her righteous anger for the time being.

    A battlefield wasn''t a ce to harbor such grudges against allies. She made arrangements with her soldiers and made sure that they would be ready to charge into the battlefield at full speed in case there was a problem with the n and they had to extricate ra and Zach. Zach was her personal priority but she couldn''t ignore ra either considering that thetter was a part of Windsor family. Their group had just escaped the confines of the Elizabeth city due to the powerful Royal family and she knew that they couldn''t afford to offend a powerful family at the level of the Windsor family. Therefore, her arrangements were a cautionary measure against such an oue.

    All the soldiers that were on standby had serious expressions on their faces as they watched Zach and ra heading into battle with the rhino on their own. Even though they knew that Zach was the best of them, they still couldn''t let him go with a peace of mind. The reason was that Zach was a symbol of hope for these people and he couldn''t be allowed to fall no matter what. He was far too important for that. Therefore, the soldiers tasked with the contingency measures were exceptionally devoted to the task given to them and were willing to carry out the task at the cost of their lives if possible.

    бн

    ra galloped her horse in close proximity to the rhino and jumped from the horse without any warning to Zach. Although he had been expecting something like this to happen, he still felt a small signal before pulling off such a stunt would have allowed him to keep his eyeballs from popping out just from the suddenness of the action.

 Chapter 146 146 Her Strength

    Zach hurriedly grabbed the reins of the warhorse and took control of it when he felt a severe earthquake shake everything around him. Even the warhorse almost lost its bnce and almost fell to its side. Thanks to its good training and battlefield experience, the horse only kneeled to regain its bnce before getting back on its feet again.

    Zach looked behind him and found the reason for the earthquake to be ra who had stomped on the ground as soon as she jumped off of the horse. The stomp was violent enough to shake thend and leave a permanent crater in hernding zone.

    Zach turned the horse towards the Rhino who was somehow persisting among the earthquake due to its excessively high weight and stable centre of gravity.

    The effects of the earthquake weren''t diminishing at all. In fact cracks began to extend from the ground below ra as they ruptured through the earth in the direction of the rhino that was struggling to maintain its bnce amongst the shaking.

    The force behind the cracks didn''t diminish at all until the cracks extended all the way to the rhino and sessfully grabbed one of its feet.

    Unfortunately for the rhino, it was as if the ground itself had opened its mouth and swallowed its foot whole. No matter how much it thrashed around like a fish outside of water, its foot waspletely stuck in the ground and could not be freed even with all the force it applied.

    Diana had never seenbat on this level before. She deduced that there was a huge gap between her and ra based on the prowess of a single stomp of her foot which horrified her and made her feel miserable at the same time. If possible she wanted to take the ce of ra but unfortunately, she didn''t have the ability to keep the rhino in its ce at all and she didn''t want to risk the safety of Zach by exaggerating or falsifying her abilities.

    Bruce on the other hand had a smile on his face as if he had already expected such an oue from the moment he had seen ra set out with Zach.

    Diana found it annoying as she stared intently at him as if asking for an exnation. She was shaken from ra''s surprising strength but as a hardened soldier herself, she calmed down soon after.

    Bruce couldn''t handle her piercing gaze and raised both his hands in front of him in surrender as he exined patiently, "Her inhuman strength isn''t very surprising considering the fact that shees from the prestigious Windsor family. Among all the families that I know of or have read about, Windsor family is quite unique in the way that their descendants are generally very short in height and petite in their bodily features which makes them look quite youngpared to their true age. Despite their appearances, the strength wielded by each of these members is enough to shake the very earth when they make a move. Each of the Windsor family members is required to start strength training at a very early age. The exceptional amount of physical exertion in the growth phase of the body forcibly distorts the direction of growth and instead of growing and aging the focus of all that growth bes the strengthening of the muscles and the bones. Therefore, most of the strong members of the Windsor family had a short stature and a terrific amount of strength to go with it. The shorter the height of the person, the more pronounced the strength hidden in their body would be."

    Diana heard her brother''s exnation but could not help butbel such a practice inhumane. Even if it produced results and gave their descendants exceptional strength, she could not bring herself to understand how this family could let their young undergo such a torture in the wee years of their lives.

    She unknowingly cast a pitying nce in ra''s direction because the girl seemed to have gone through the same kind of torture. She wondered how much physical abuse it took to permanently set the bones of the kids in their early age which hindered the further growth of their bodies.

    Zach didn''t waste the opportunity due to ra''s surprising strength. Instead he spurred the warhorse on and rushed towards the Rhino. Just when he felt that he was close enough, he brought out the lightsaber from the Weapons Arsenal and jumped off the back of the horse and straight on top of the rhino''s wide and spacious back.

    The rhino almost went berserk at this tant invasion of personal space and tried to pull itself free from the ground using all the force of its body.

    Zach felt the rhino underneath him shaking and moving unpredictably in a vertigo inducing manner. Therefore, he jerked his wrist and a three meter long glittering de of sma emerged from the hilt of the lightsaber in his hand.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Without wasting the opportunity, Zach stabbed the lightsaber into the back of the rhino''s head. As expected, Zach felt almost no resistance at all as the sword made its way deeper into the head of the beast. Even though the pration power of the weapon was immense, the force behind the stab couldn''t bepromised on either. Therefore, Zach bent down his waist slightly and widened the gap between his feet to lower his center of gravity for increased bnce and better application of the force behind the lightsaber.

    While the rhino had no way of shaking Zach off of its back, Zach couldn''t deal the killing blow to it either. It turned out that the back of its head was not the ideal ce for Zach to stab it. The reason was that the base of the rhino''s horns was far sturdier and far stronger than his imagination. The Lightsaber could not pierce through the base of the horns of the rhino no matter how much force Zach applied to it. He could only attribute the exaggerated defense on the back of its head to be the result of some kind of mutation in the beast. The defensive power of the beast was far too absurd for it to be considered normal.

    The rhino shrieked in pain as its body swayed from one extreme to the other as it tried to get rid of the pest attacking it while lounging casually on top of its body.

    Zach felt a bout of vertigo taking over his senses as the rhino swung its huge body in retaliation to the pain it felt on the back of its head. It seemed determined to get rid of Zach this time.

    Zach tightly grabbed on to the lightsaber that was stuck in the body of the rhino in order to keep his bnce but the vertigo inducing motion was making him sick. It didn''t take long for the rhino to shake Zach off of its back.

    Unable to keep his foothold on the rhino''s back, Zachnded on the ground next to its body as he rolled on the ground twice before he could get rid of the momentum of his fall. Zach tried to get his footing even but his brain was still spinning inside his head and made it difficult for him recover to his perfect state.

    The rhino on the other hand looked like it had been waiting for Zach to appear in front of it. It was like the raging bull had seen red right in front of it and was fully provoked.

    Without waiting any longer, the rhino lifted its free foot as it shifted the weight of its humongous body onto its hind legs and stomped with all its might in order to crush Zach with all the strength it could wield. It wanted to show him despair for daring to injure it.

    Zach waspletely vulnerable in his shaken state and could do nothing to defend himself. It was unknown whether he could even determine the extent of danger he was in at the moment.

    Thankfully, ra had been witnessing the whole situation and was on standby. She immediately took action and pushed the ground underneath her body backwards with the entire strength of her body concentrated into her right foot. The action gave her enough burst speed to reach Zach before the rhino couldplete the stomping motion.

    Zach was still preupied and was unable to witness the feat that ra had just pulled off in order to rush to his aid. Otherwise, he would have definitely been impressed by the finesse of her actions and the fine control that she had over the strength she wielded using that tiny body of hers.

    While Zach was busy adjusting his gyros, ra took on the tremendous pressure of the rhino''s stomp by herself using nothing but her own body. The difference in the raw strength and the endurance of the beast and ra couldn''t be considered close at all. It was so pronounced that it couldn''t even be considered to be in the same dimensional spectrum.

    Therefore, in order to resist the tremendous pressure from the stomp, ra had to utilize every ounce of strength in her body that she could muster. So she couldn''t keep this up for very long. The rhino on the other hand wasn''t the least bit bothered about stamina consumption as it rampaged about with all its strength. Even though it wreaked destruction all around it, its endless stamina and endurance allowed it to be so unscrupulous.

    It didn''t take long before ra began to lose the battle of both endurance and strength. She couldn''t keep up the same strength as before and slowly began to be suppressed.

 Chapter 147 147 The Blast

    The rhino''s foot pressed down on her from above and pushed her feet into the ground due to the immense difference in strength of the two parties.

    Thankfully, Zach came to his senses before ra turned into meat paste. He witnessed how her body was slowly being pushed into the ground like a nail being hammered in and knew that she wouldn''t be able to hold her own for much longer. At the same time, he couldn''t help but admire the tremendous strength hiding inside her tiny body that looked akin to a porcin doll that would shatter at the tiniest application of strength.

    Therefore, without wasting any more time, Zach grabbed hold of the golden opportunity provided to him by ra at the risk of her own life and ran towards the other side of the rhino''s body with all his strength concentrated in his legs.

    As he ran, the hilt of the lightsaber in his hands began to glow as the three meter long sma de regained its lustrous glory after a small period of darkness.

    Zach looked like a true Jedi from olden times as he ran with the glowing de pointing towards his back as he held the hilt of the de with both his hands. He built up momentum from this speed and with one swift and powerful swing of the lightsaber; he cut off the foot of the rhino that was still stuck in the ground.

    The rhino shrieked in a voice that was loud enough to shatter the eardrums of all those in the vicinity who were able to hear it.

    ra seemed to be unaffected by the scream as she felt the pressure pressing down of her lessen after Zach''s attack was sessful.

    ra looked up only to find that the rhino was wobbling as if it had lost its bnce and the cause of that imbnce of its body seemed to be the missing foot that had been cut off by Zach a moment ago.

    Taking this opportunity, ra escaped the effective radius of the rhino''s attack and watched the scene as the beast fell to the ground with a loud thud.

    After being so used to the four legs, the rhino was incapable of even picking itself up after Zach cut its limb off. Ity there like a fish on the chopping block waiting for its demise at the hands of the butcher.

    The soldiers gathered all around the beast as they cheered for Zach enthusiastically after he single handedly pulled up the odds of the win against the gigantic beast. They raised their fists and screamed at the top of their lungs as they raised each other''s morale through the battle roar.

    As soon as the beast fell on the ground, Diana found her chance that she had been tirelessly waiting for. She didn''t wait for Zach''s orders at all as she lunged towards the mouth of the beast along with some of her soldiers in tow.

    ra didn''t wait around either as she knew what she had to do to make full use of this opportunity that had fallen unto her straight from the heavens. She pulled her fist so far back that it seemed as if she was trying to dislocate her own shoulder. But when she punched with that fist, it had the momentum of her whole body behind it. The punch was strong and fast enough to cross the sonic barrier as it struck the wailing rhino right on its throat.

    The strength behind the punch wasn''t something that even a rhino could handle without suffering a loss. It pushed back the rhino despite all its weight and the increased friction from the ground considering that its whole bodyy t on the ground which made it increasingly difficult to give its body a shove capable of moving it.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The rhino screamed and wailed in pain as it thrashed its remaining limbs around in an attempt to forget about the pain burning its throat. Even though the rhino was roaring at the top of its capacity, the sound that escaped its throat was like a hoarse whisper. Its throat had been crushedpletely and had been rendered incapable of producing a sound within its normal pitch range.

    Of course, in order to scream loudly, the rhino had to open its mouth that was the size of a giant hippopotamus.

    Diana used this opportunity to throw a grenade precisely into the mouth of the rhino that couldn''t understand the true implications of such an action. Therefore, she took it upon herself to teach it a lesson.

    Diana retreated far away as she counted the time until the explosion inside her head.

    After she was quite far away from ground zero, an explosion took ce inside the rhino''s mouth. The thunderous and explosive noise shook the surroundings as the birds perched on the trees nearby all flew in the air as if preparing for a massive exodus. Thankfully, the shaking and the echoes following the explosion didn''tst very long and things returned to normal.

    However, there was one thing that had been blown out of proportions. And that was the head of the rhino that nowy in a massively disfigured state. Half of the head had been blown clean off with some skull bones jutting out of the remainder of the head. The other half though intact had somecerations from the shrapnel and couldn''t exactly be considered whole.

    The rhino had long since stopped breathing and its corpse waspletely still marking its early death at the hands of humans.

    Grace panicked at the sight of the huge explosion that shook everything around it because ra was quite close to the center of the explosion. The reason for the anger oozing out of Grace was that Diana hadn''t even bothered to warn ra before using such a dangerous tactic in such close proximity to ra.

    Grace ran towards the ra''sst known position amidst the smoke and sand that obscured the vision. Grace only calmed down once it was confirmed that ra had suffered no injury as a result of Diana''s careless tactics.

    Grace wanted toin about such an underhanded means to achieve victory but had to hold in the dissatisfaction due to ra. ra ordered Grace not to take it out on Diana who was able to make the best out of the opportunity ra had earned with so much difficulty.

    Unlike Grace, ra clearly knew how difficult the hunt might have be once the rhino got used to the pain or turned vengeful after suffering so much at the hands of humans. They might not havee across such an opportunity in the future even if they fought with their lives on the line.

    Therefore, instead of being dissatisfied with Diana, ra was grateful to her for ending the rhino''s life with the opportunity she had created.

    Diana turned around after the sound of the explosion and rushed back towards the center because she knew that both ra and Zach had been quite close to the rhino as well when she threw the grenade into its abyss like maw. She was worried that her excessive offense might have sshed on to the both of them.

 Chapter 148 148 AI Medical System

    Thankfully, when she got close, Grace was already standing close to ra and was checking up on her. From the look on Grace''s face, there was only a trace of dislike but no animosity was mixed into his expressions. It could only mean that ra was still unharmed.

    Diana didn''t stop for ra and rushed straight towards the true source of her worries. Zach was even closer to the rhino whenpared to ra and was the most likely to be implicated by Diana''s attack. Therefore, she stopped right in front of the figure she loved the most and only after scanning him from top to bottom was she able to breathe.

    Fortunately, Zach seemed to bepletely unharmed as well. The fact that the explosion took ce inside the rhino''s mouth also acted as the buffer and contained the explosion somewhat. Most of the force behind the explosion was lost trying to ovee the dreadfully tough skin of the rhino from the inside out which kept both Zach and ra from getting injured in the aftermath.

    Zach didn''t notice Diana fretting all over his well being as he was too focused on the notification that sounded the moment the rhino took itsst breath. Zach loved these sudden rewards and he was sure that this notification was going to be the announcement of his reward for taking care of the rhino.

    Just as he had imagined, the notification read:

    [**Congrattions**]

    [You have sessfully defeated the defense type beast ''Giant Rhinoceros''. The threat to ra''s life has been neutralized for the time being.]

    [Quest clear conditions for the sudden quest ''Unstoppable'' have been met.]

    [A suitable reward is being prepared for the clearance of the quest.]

    [A new item has been unlocked as a reward. The item can be essed at any time through the Weapons Arsenal.]

    Zach could not wait any longer because he was already addicted to the feeling of scrolling down the Weapons Arsenal in search of newly essible items. Even though Diana was right in front of him, Zach had barely noticed her. He was busy interacting with the system trying to find out about the new item he had unlocked through clearance of such a tough quest.

    The item that greeted him in the Weapons Arsenal was the best possible item in the category of utility oriented items.

    [AI Medical System]

    [Physical Attack: 0] [Magic Attack: 0]

    [Durability: 100/100]<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    [Item Description: A futuristic medical system operated by the most sophisticated artificial intelligence programmed based on the data gathered from various top notch medical specialists of the era. Having this system is equivalent to receiving high end medical care from the world''s foremost doctors at the same time. The technology has yet to find an equal in the field of autonomous AI based diagnostic and medical treatment facilities of all eras. It not only has a vast amount of knowledge and can distinguish between all the diseases known to human kind but also has the ability to learn and absorb more knowledge allowing it to keep up with the times. It is armed with thetest diagnostic and treatment technologies and can treat all kinds of traumas without the need of human intervention.]

    [Item Skills]

    [Diagnosis (Upgradable)]

    [Skill Description: The AI scans through the hundreds of diseases as it finds the best possible match based on the symptoms being shown by the body in order to give a certain and error free diagnosis of the patient''s condition. Although the skill diagnosis is error free, there might be some diseases that the data bank might not hold any information about. The same will be unrecognizable for the system and might prove to be a challenge for the system. The skill will increase in level with each upgrade which will increase the uracy of the diagnosis. Moreover, the number of diseases that the system can diagnose and the procedures it can carry out will be more numerous with every upgrade.]

    [Minor Trauma Healing (Upgradeable)]

    [Skill Description: The AI uses the various tools at its disposal to heal minor traumas suffered by the patient. Its touch is very sublime and there is very little possibility of scarring after the procedure is carried out by the system.]

    [Medical Detention (Upgradeable)]

    [Skill Description: The patient is detained by the system to undergo several medical procedures in case of a serious illness or a serious internal or external injury. The procedure may be lengthy but the futuristic technology is the absolute guarantee that the patient would be able to receive the best medical care avable. The patient will be released once the danger to his or her life has been averted or after the disease has been fully cured.]

    Zach read through the three skills attached to the item and ended up grinning like the viin from some third rate fiction movie. The excitement was bubbling out of him even though he tried his best to keep a poker face in front of the people. Thankfully, the view of most people had been obscured by the sand and smoke after the explosion. Hence, very few people had been able to truly witness his creepy expressions.

    Zach felt that he was truly blessed by the goddess of luck. The item he had received this time was something he was desperately in need of. The amount of battles his people were taking part in these days had increased so much in thest few weeks. Injuries were obviously unavoidable in such situations. Therefore, the appearance of such an item was a heaven sent blessing for him and his people who could benefit from it through him. Zach vowed to himself that he would upgrade this item as soon as an opportunity to do so revealed itself to him.

    Hiding his bulging excitement, Zach turned his attention to ra who was walking towards him with Grace in tow.

    Diana didn''t get in their way as she stood behind Zach like a good wife and kept a smile on her face. Others would have thought that Diana''s happiness was due to the fact that she had managed to deal the killing blow to the rhino. Only she knew that the reason for her excitement was that she had finally been able to lend her aid to Zach in a battle. Previously, all her attempts to do so had ended in failure. Either the opponent turned out to be too strong or Zachpletely overwhelmed the enemy with his strength without the aid of any outsider.

    ra extended her hand towards Zach as she said, "I am d that you were here by my side or else confronting such an enemy with just my strength might have turned out to be a fool''s errand. Even if I could take it out, the enemy in the shadows would have definitely made full use of the opportunity. Therefore, I sincerely appreciate your help this time. As agreed, in return for your protection during the journey back to Byzantine city, I will offer the maximum assistance of the Windsor family in order to help you all settle down."

    Zach didn''t let her hang for long and grabbed her hand with minimal strength in order to seal the deal between the two parties.

 Chapter 149 149 Tacit Agreement

    A verbal agreement had been made and Zach didn''t feel that it was necessary to get it in written as ra seemed to be a trustworthy person and was unlikely to betray his trust.

    ra on the other hand had grown too suspicious of the force that Zach was leading. She had been out of the city on several asions before this. Ever since she had been young, her family had insisted that she experience the world outside and its dangers. Therefore, she had met with several travelling merchants and caravans that never settled in one ce for long. She found that those people were the most free spirited out of all the strange folks she had encountered. They were not even close to Zach''s men in terms of discipline, strength, strategies and battle sense.

    Therefore, ra seriously doubted Zach''s identity and that of his men. She even wondered if she was leading a group of wolves into her home.

    If not for the fact that her family was strong enough to deal with Zach''s forces on its own, she would never have agreed to lead Zach and his group into Byzantine city.

    Still, ra decided to give Zach and his people the benefit of doubt considering that they had saved her life and that of her people on more than one asion now. The least she could do in return was give them a little bit of her trust and goodwill. Therefore, despite bearing all those doubts in her mind, ra didn''t ask Zach or his people a single question regarding their true identity.

    While Zach''s intentions weren''t too out in the open, ra''s troubles didn''t seem to be a product of her bad luck either. Both Zach and his people had long since figured out that there was a hidden enemy that was targeting ra otherwise the appearance of such powerful beasts in session wasn''t possible because the beasts were usually quite territorial and fought all the invaders in their territory whether they be man or beast.

    Reciprocating ra''s silence on the topic of their identity, Zach didn''t'' ask anything about the identity of the enemy that was targeting her from the shadows. ra didn''t borate either. Both sides hade to a tacit understanding regarding the secrets that both the groups kept from each other.

    Since, both parties were adamant on maintaining their silence on the respective topics until the moment they set foot in Byzantine city which was their next destination and ra''s home. Fortunately, there wasn''t much distance left to cover and the possibility of attack so close to the city was minimal. Therefore, the mood during the rest of the journey was quite jovial with people focusing more on the stories that Zach told instead of spending it being wary and cautious of what might happen.

    The closer they got to their destination, the denser the crowd of people gathered to receive ra continued to be. The gigantic city gates were still looming in the distance but some people hade far out of the city just to greet ra before the others. Fortunately, they didn''t have the guts to forcibly stop and greet ra in the way or the path to the city gates would have stretched indefinitely.

    At most ra waved to them like some sort of celebrity and passed by them with a smile on her face. But most of them werepletely ignored by her. Most probably she didn''t have the slightest impression of these people who were only interested in acquainting themselves with a member of the Windsor family.

    It was not until they arrived at the city gates that the group encountered the core members of the Windsor family. Unlike the people they had met before, this group consisted of people sharing simr bodily features to ra. They all showed off their short stature with pride. Their dainty figures hid enormous and unending strength while their eyes revealed their confidence and their will to ovee any all challenges. All of these people quite closely resembled ra, especially the attractive girl who appeared to be the leader of the group responsible for the reception of the entire group. She was a slightly taller and a slightly mature version of ra who seemed to exude feminine aura naturally.

    ra was well received by the core group of the Windsor family. Zach and his party had to stand to the side in order to not disturb the reunion. They could only watch on from the side as they needed ra to describe their agreement to her family before they could introduce themselves to her family.

    Seeing their intent gaze, ra described the events of her outing this time to the family while putting immense stress on the help provided by Zach and his group of travelling merchants. She also revealed the contents of her agreement with Zach in return for ensuring her journey home without any change.

    Zach couldn''t help but appreciate her honesty in his heart. He felt good that his trust in ra hadn''t gone to waste as thetter acted with integrity when it came to her promises.

    Of course, he needed to see the attitude of her family members as well. Clearly, ra was not the one in charge. Therefore, until he received word from the leader of the family, he knew that the he couldn''t nt his roots in this ce. And for that he still needed to observe them for a little while longer.

    After hearing ra''s story, the attitude of the core group changed for the better towards Zach and his group. It seemed that this group was quite indulgent of warriors and paid attention to people who could hold their own in a battlefield.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Every one of them came forward to shake hands with Zach and his group one by one and briefly introduced themselves as well.

    "Hello, I am ra''s older sister. You can call me Violet. Let''s get back first and we can carry out the introductions then."

    Zach only showed them the courtesy they deserved and replied in kind but couldn''t exactly remember the details of all of ra''s family members. He only vaguely registered that the leader of the group turned out to be ra''s sister; Violet. But the rest of the people passed by him like a blur.

    Zach couldn''t be bothered to remember every detail regarding them in the first meeting. The other party acted a little reserved with him as well as if afraid to reveal more about themselves to a stranger.

    Zach liked his interaction with Violet more than the rest. She seemed like a woman who didn''t like to waste time on pointlessmunication and was probably a woman of action. Instead of chattering around like old shrews, she probably believed in getting things done with her own hands. She was a woman of the elite society just like Christina and Sarah. Her temperament was even fiercer and steadier than the two women.

    Violet didn''t waste time after introducing herself and turned around abruptly with the entire entourage following right after her. ra took her ce next to her as the rest of her group followed after the core group of the family from a distance.

    Violet indicated for one of the servants toe closer by crooking her finger in his direction. The servant understood her signal and rushed close to her before muttering something in a low tone of voice.

    After giving curt instructions to the servant, Violet briskly walked away without looking back. She was proud and magnificent like a peacock as she didn''t look back once after giving out the orders.

    The servant had in fact been tasked with leading Zach and his group. Violet couldn''t be bothered to act as his guide no matter how big a favor Zach might have done to the Windsor family. Therefore, she left without any exnation and pulled ra along with her despite the fact that thetter wanted to lead Zach and his group personally.

    Following after Violet for a while, Zach felt that the servant seemed to be leading Zach and his group away from the group that was led by Violet and ra. They had parted ways all of a sudden and were now heading in apletely different direction.

    "Where are we going? It seems that our destinations are not the same. We still have something that we need to talk to Violet about." Zach conveyed his apprehensions to the servant responsible for leading the path to their next destination.

    "Don''t worry; you will get a chance to do thatter. The youngdy asked me to take you to your temporary residence as per your request. Be content with that for the moment."

    The servant sneered as he as he uttered thest words as he felt that the neers were too arrogant to think that the Windsor family would allow two bit merchants like them into the main estate. They would only dirty the reputation of the family cultivated through shedding a thousand years of sweat and blood.

    Zach nodded in understanding and could somewhat understand what Violet and ra were thinking in sending them away from the main family estate. He could only attribute this treatment to their excessively cautious nature. At the very least, ra hadn''t forgotten her promise to Zach and had provided him with a ce to settle the members of the Luther family down. It had been a long time since the family had actually gottenfortable since leaving their home at his behest. Zach felt a little guilty towards them as well even though he didn''t show it to them.

 Chapter 150 150 Settle Down

    As soon as the servant told him the news, he announced it to the rest of the family so as to raise their morale. They needed a piece of good news like this to get their lost spirits back.

    When the Luther family servants listened to Zach''s announcement, color returned to their previously haggard faces. They had been travelling for a long time and couldn''t be happier to stay a while in any kind of ce. Since they were going to be staying temporarily in a city like Byzantine city; it was akin to the cherry on top of the dessert that they had already received. They couldn''t have been happier.

    Zach too felt that the people deserved to rest their bones and live a somewhat normal life for some period of time. He sincerely believed that ra wouldn''t treat them badly since she seemed like an honest person. But when his party and ra''s parted their ways midway, Zach felt that the situation might not be as optimistic as he had imagined. Maybe she had thrown his people into the damndest area of the city instead of cramming people into the main estate of the Windsor family. Zach could only wait until they reached their destination before making a note of their treatment by the Windsor family.

    Zach was already expecting a rundown ce with broken walls and absent ceilings due to the number of people he had brought with him. Even ra and her family might not be able to arrange amodations for hundreds of people at a moment''s notice. He was willing to make do for the time being if the Windsor family was willing to arrange a better amodation to his people in the mean time. Otherwise he could only take it as the Windsor family going back on their words.

    While Zach was busy being apprehensive about what would be waiting for him and his people at the end of their destination, the servant leading them finally came to a halt in front of an estate that looked to be evenrger than the Elizabeth family''s estate back in Elizabeth city.

    Zach could not believe that this was the amodation that had been arranged for them by Violet. Therefore, he couldn''t help but ask the servant to keep any misunderstandings from distorting the Luther family''s expectations.

    "Is this the ce arranged for us by Violet?" Surprise was evident in his voice and facial expressions as he asked the servant.

    "Where else are you going to take this many people if not here? If not for the youngdy''s favor you wouldn''t even be able to take a single step into this ce. You should show your gratitude through your actions the next time you meet her." The servant replied in a chiding manner like an elder teaching a young one.

    Zach didn''t take the words of the servant to heart and proceeded to take a good look at thend that was going to be their residence for a short while at least until Zach found a foothold in this ce.

    The estate nestled beside theke, like a cozy bird''s nest, surrounded by the breathtaking panorama of nature''s canvas. It was as if thendscape had been painted by a master artist, with each brushstroke perfectly ced to create a stunning masterpiece. The lush greenery and colorful flora were like jewels adorning the natural beauty that surrounded the estate, making it feel like a precious gem in the midst of a treasure trove. The buildings were like elegant sentinels, standing guard around the estate, protecting it from any harm, and adding to the overall grandeur of the surroundings.

    All in all, the estate was a harmonious blend of natural beauty and man-made elegance, like a symphony in which each note perfectlyplements the other to create a masterpiece of music.

    Zach was unsure what to make of Violet''s grand gesture. This was undoubtedly a precious location and the fact that Violet was willing to give it to him was a show of her appreciation and gratitude for his help to ra.

    "This ce is so beautiful. Why would they give such a nice ce to us?" The soldiers began to mutter amongst themselves as they couldn''t believe that such a thing could be possible either. They felt that there must be some kind of misunderstanding.

    "RIGHT; I thought I was the odd one out for thinking that way."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I don''t think that this is impossible considering that we did save ra''s life who seems to be the core member of Windsor family. I think that this is their disy of gratitude."

    As the soldiers began to argue between themselves, Zach was focused on the servant who had led them to this ce as if waiting for him to borate on the situation as well.

    The servant noticed the eyes on him and couldn''t help but say something to get those prating gazes away from him.

    "This is our family''s private tourist estate. It is usually deserted and no one is allowed to live here except for the most distinguished guests of the family. Even then, the approval of the leader of the family is required for them to be amodated in this ce."

    With the servant''s exnation the fog was lifted from the mystery surrounding this beautiful ce. It turned out that this ce had been nurtured and maintained by the Windsor family to entertain their most venerable guests.

    "How far away is this ce from the city center? I am afraid some of our trade activities might be hindered if we are too far away." asked Bruce as he tried to act like a true travelling merchant instead of the family head that he used to be in the past.

    "This ce might seem like it is at the edge of the city. But in fact, this ce is hardly a few miles from the main Windsor estate. The amodation is enough to house all of your people with room to spare. Therefore, all of you can live herefortably." The servant rified all the doubts that Zach and his people had regarding the ce and only then did they feel satisfied.

    The servant then led them towards the housing and under his guidance all the people apanying Zach were checked into their respective rooms ording to their needs. Thankfully, there were plenty of rooms to choose from so there were no apparent disputes regarding the amodation.

    Zach got into his room and sat on the soft and fluffy bed. His body felt so much pleasure that it was almost as if his soul was being lured into the bed by some devil.

    бн

    While Zach and his people were busy trying to get used to their new residence, ra and Violet had already reached the main Windsor estate.

    Both of them were currently seated on the couch in the living room. Violet looked extremely serious as she intently listened to ra describing everything that happened to her during this outing. She told her how she had barely escaped with her life at the hands of the group of Iron Mantises with the help of Diana and her soldiers.

    She described how she was in disbelief when she first came across Zach and listened to him bragging about taking care of the Iron Mantises.

 Chapter 151 151 Real Identity

    The journey she had already travelled was portrayed extensively through her excessive imagination and the ton of information she had to report to her sister. She even exined her doubts regarding the sessive beast attacks that urred with her as the target.

    Violet too doubted that the beast attacks were purely coincidental. She believed that a beast tamer might have used his skills to target ra through those beasts. The situation could only be exined in such a manner. Moreover, the beast tamer had to be at least a ss A Tamer since the beasts that had attacked ra out of nowhere were not weaker than A level.

    While Violet believed that the earlier statement was true, she didn''t have the time or the ability to deduce the identity of the enemy responsible for hiring the beast tamer. Windsor family had been in the Kanewea state for too many years and it had its roots spread out everywhere within the bounds of the state. Therefore, Windsor families had a corresponding number of people who were dissatisfied with them or had dered their open enmity towards the family. Moreover, there were many families who were just waiting for the Windsor family to falter so they could take over the Windsor family''s position. Every step had to be taken with enough caution since wrongfully using any family would only end up being detrimental to the Windsor family be umting the ire of the other families. As such distinguishing the one responsible for the attack on ra and her group was not at all possible currently.

    Violet decided that she would let it be for the time being and would keep an eye on the potential enemies who stood to gain from ra''s demise. She believed that she would be able to find the culprit before long and would then be able to pay them back in their own coin.

    Kanewea State was considered to be one of the richest states of the Hina Empire. There were hundreds of elite families that were well versed in either business or the magical arts. These families fought each other for the resources for their own interests so as to expand their influence. In doing so, the emergence of both allies and enemies was only natural.

    ra was doubtful of Zach''s identity but she hadn''t been in any position to ask questions. She needed to rely on his promise to get her home safely after all. Therefore, she had kept those suspicions about Zach''s identity to herself and only revealed them in front of her sister after she was home safely and out of the reach of that assassin.

    While Violet couldn''t be sure that there truly was a beast tamer targeting ra, she couldn''t push down this recurring thought that Zach might not be an ally either. His timely appearance and uncanny strength to deal with those beasts effortlessly proved that he wasn''t as simple as how he described himself to be; ''a traveling merchant''. She was even thinking if Zach was an aplice of the hidden assassin sent for ra and was only trying to gain her trust so he could infiltrate the Windsor family to target the core personnel. This had in fact been one of the reasons why she had settled Zach and his entourage away from the main estate.

    Violet believed that Zach must have left some traces of his true identity and got some people to look into him with the help of all the resources of her family.

    After learning about him from various sources and through various analysis of their own, the Windsor family girls finally found a portrait of Zach that seemed like it would yield them a lot of good luck and wealth. After identally matching it with Zach''s image that the two of them had seen, they came to understand that the portrait was in fact a crude attempt to gather his good features on the canvas.

    The portrait depicted the countenance of a brilliant dark mage from Elizabeth city who was on the run aftering in conflict with the royal prince.

    Previously, a wanted order was to be issued against Zach but the royal family fortunately hadn''t lost all their marbles yet and kept such a thing from happening. At the same time, they punished Prince Kolt who was responsible for the loss of goodwill between Zach and the royal family.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The Windsor family managed to get secret information like this.

    Just as they barely managed to figure out Zach''s identity, a coughing sound entered their ears from afar. The doors that werepletely shut for fear of any disturbance were flung open by a pair of hands from the outside. The coughing didn''t stop as if it was the signature of the person entering the room.

    Of course, both the sisters were quite familiar with that specific signature. After all, it belonged to their father who had been sick for a long while.

    The old man was the leader of the Windsor family and Violet and ra''s father. Although his face looked extremely pale and lifeless, his eyes were still sharp. His breathing was ragged from taking a walk despite his illness but he refused to give in to the disease. His confident expression never left him despite knowing how vulnerable he was to his enemies due to his sickness.

    While the world thought that Violet was already aplished enough and could hold the mantle of the Windsor family by herself, the old man wasn''t too confident in his daughter. He had raised the girl but he too found holes in her judgment from time to time.

    For example, this time the old man felt that Violet was toocking in ability when she dealt with Zach''s matters. She should have found about his background and true identity a long time ago. She had invited the wolf into her home without even scanning his background and was even willingly nurturing him and his people in the family''s estate. She should have found the true identity of the Luther family sooner instead of engaging in spection by taking in question the morality and reciprocation of good intentions based on their act of saving ra from the dangers she encountered during her journey this time.

    "So you have finally managed to figure it all out, huh?" the old man taunted the two girls as he sat down with elderly grace which was already waning due to his advanced age.

    The sisters didn''t dare to say a single word in response as they silently listened to the old man''s criticism and nodded their heads in acknowledgement of his words every time he said something. They didn''t want him to push himself since his health problems were really quite serious.

    "Father, you should be resting. Why are you out an about? Don''t you trust us to handle everything regarding the Windsor family?" Violet wanted her father to rest but the tone of her voice turned quite aggressive without her knowing.

    The old man''s face turned red with anger as he hit the top of the table with enough force to break it to the ground but the furniture turned out to be quite sturdy enough to handle a hit from the old master.

 Chapter 152 152 Make Preparations

    "You still want me to take a rest? Don''t worry I won''t be dying any time soon. How can I dare to leave the family in either of your hands? If only you two had excellent abilities, I would have retired with a happy smile on my face but it is just my luck that the family exhausted its talent when it was my turn to be the leader. I wouldn''t even mind dying early if that was the case." As if in coordination with his long speech, another coughing fit ensued.

    The old man used a neatly folded handkerchief to cover his mouth but this coughing fit was far from ordinary. When the fit finally subsided and the old man withdrew the handkerchief from his mouth, it had a little blood on it.

    The sisters wanted their father to spend the rest of his borrowed time in peace but their father refused to do so. He was unable to let go of the reins of the family and med it all on theck of abilities of the daughters.

    The sisters looked at the old leader and found that they could not speak at all in front of him and their only reply to his snarky and angry remarks was silence. They wondered how different the situation would have been had it not been for the incident that took ce a few years ago which involved their father.

    The old man was called Marico and was the father of both Violet and ra. In fact Marico wasn''t at an age where he should be suffering from such a life threatening disease. It was only that something happened a few years ago that forced him to this condition.

    Marico hadpletely taken over the family business by then and was looking after all the important details. Therefore, there were many people he had to offend on a daily basis in order to ensure the rise of his family during his tenure as the family head. Therefore, he could never find who it was that hired an assassin to take care of him. The assassin turned out to be quite capable and used some mysterious method to injure Marico.

    The injury wasn''t of severe nature, so no one cared about it as much and it was almost forgotten. Even Marico was not sure when he noticed but when he did, he couldn''t keep his hands from trembling. It began with slight weakness of the body but Marico didn''t have the time to rest at all so he ignored it. The more he ignored it, the more the sickness reared its head in defiance. As a result, the effect didn''t show until a few monthster when Marico felt his body getting thinner by the day. He was losing muscle fiber and his body seemed to be unwinding at a fast speed.

    No healer was able toe up with a remedy for his condition despite the fact that he had employed the best healers in Byzantine city. Even if his condition improved as a result of their treatment, the downward regressing curve of his health didn''t take a turn for the better in the long run. He could feel his death approaching and staring him in the face. Although he felt that he had done everything for the family and wouldn''t need to be ashamed in front of the ancestors, he couldn''t help but be worried about his daughters who would need to take up responsibility once he decided to abdicate his position.

    Therefore, Marico stopped acting as the leader of the family in public and most of the time it was Violet who represented him in the years that followed. He didn''t want ra and Violet to suffer at the hands of the internal and external enemies after his demise so that they could bear the burden of the whole family on their fragile but determined backs. So he had been looking after them and training them to be his sessors. That was why he sometimes acted a bit harshly.

    The girls knew that as well which was why they didn''t say anything even when he didn''t give them credit where credit was due.

    The old man soon returned to normal and refused to keep lecturing the two girls any longer. He threw the blood stained handkerchief in his hand away and took out a brand new one to hold in his hand.

    "Now that you have found out his true identity, talk to your royal friends as soon as possible. Don''t dy it any longer. Find out what happened to the family that helped this man escape from Elizabeth city and what Prince Kolt has nned for this man who dared to offend him. Don''t disappoint me this time and find out the truth behind the whole thing. If we can find out what happened after that prince returned to the capital, maybe we can deduce the stance of the royal family on this matter. From what I can infer, this man was important enough for a prince to almost wage war to keep this person to himself. After we know what the royal family wants to do with him, we can then decide on the kind of rtionship we are going to build with him." Even though the old man had just decided to stop lecturing his children, old habits that had already taken root seldom died so easily.

    Although the old man acted vignt of Zach in front of the two sisters, in his heart he hoped that the royal family would be tolerant of Zach. The hope was due to the fact that no wanted notice had been issued against Zach even though he was responsible for cutting short a lot of royal forces directly or indirectly. Even a Prince was reduced to a pitiful state by him and yet no action had been taken against him. It was only possible because Zach had that much ability to draw this kind of attention from the royal capital even in the far reaches of the Elizabeth city. Marico believed that Zach would prove to be an asset in increasing the overall strength of the family should the royal family show no hostility towards him.

    After listening to their father''s orders, Violet and ra then initiated their meet and greet n with the royalty and the lesser royalty in order to collect information regarding Zach and the incident that took ce in Elizabeth city a few months back. They also inquired about the fate of the Prince who attacked Zach for benefits but the news of that stature was quite suppressed by the authority of the royal family.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    бн

    After stabilizing the situation with respect to the residence of all the Luther family members, Zach finally had some time for himself. It was then that he felt that there was something he had been neglecting to do throughout the long journey. Even though he missed Christina, he hadn''t taken the initiative to call her after thest time they parted.

    He pulled out the satellite phone from his Weapons Arsenal and called Christina.

    On the other end of the line, Christina''s soul almost jumped out of her body in excitement as soon as she received Zach''s call. She had been keeping the device that Zach had handed to her before leaving quite close to her hoping that she would not miss it once Zach tried to actually contact her.

    After so long, Christina felt that Zach may have pranked her by giving her the little earphones. She thought that Zach might have just said that to her in order to give her some false hope and had never actually nned to call her in the future.

    Thankfully, she hadn''t thrown the earphones away and immediately responded once Zach called after such a long time. Just the excitement of it all was more than the adrenaline boost she received during her battle with Prince Kolt''s escort mage.

    Christina had been thinking about Zach all the time during this time. She had trouble eating and barely ever slept a full night''s sleep due to him. Her thoughts were so upied with him that there was barely any space left for anything else.

    Yet Christina had her pride too. Zach only remembered to call her after such a long time. Christina was quite dissatisfied with this treatment. Therefore, she pushed the bubbling excitement in her heart and lowered the tone of her voice by a level before responding to his call. She didn''t want him to recognize the excitement that was tingling every part of her body even before she answered the call.

    "How have you been? Has the royal family caused trouble for your family due to me?" Zach asked slightly ashamed with himself for only calling after such a long time. He wouldn''t feel offended even if Christina refused to talk to him. Thankfully she didn''t take his insensitivity to heart.

    "You still remember me and my family? I thought that you might have forgotten us after so long on the road." Christina replied sarcastically while rolling her eyes as if Zach could see her action over the phone.

    Zach knew that he was in the wrong and didn''t try to defend himself and epted her ridicule without anyint.

    "I will consider forgiving you but you have to make it up to me the next time we meet."

    As Zach looked like he had epted his mistake already, Christina didn''t see it fit to rub his mistake in his face any longer.

 Chapter 153 153 Call Her

    Moreover, she didn''t want to diss him in the first ce. She was only making things difficult for him because she wanted to hide her true feelings behind her cold front.

    As expected, Zach regained his spirits once he heard that Christina was willing to forgive him. He was willing to do anything if it meant that he could earn her forgiveness. He really had wronged her. Not only had he left her on their wedding day, he hadn''t even exined himself to her or tried to contact her during all this time.

    Just the fact that she was willing to talk to him after all this was Zach''s good luck.

    "Tell me what I can do to make it up to you then? If it is something I can do, then I will surely not let you down this time."

    "We''ll see about that. For now I haven''t thought about anything that I want. The day we meet again, I will ask you then. Is that okay?" Christina was only pretending to be angry so she hadn''t thought of how to answer that question beforehand. Moreover, the only thing she wanted from him was to reciprocate her feelings for him anyway. Therefore, she felt that it was better to be face to face when she made her demand to him.

    "Okay then; as you wish. You can ask one thing from me when you decide on what you want." Zach happily agreed to her demand if it meant that he could stop feeling as guilty towards her as before.

    There was a long pause during which neither Zach nor Christina said a single word. It was as if each of them was waiting for the other one to initiate the conversation.

    Zach was slightly confused as to what to talk about with her. This was the first time he was talking to her of his own volition or without any prior objective in mind. Therefore, he found it slightly hard to grab the initiative. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was afraid that Christina would find his words offensive if he spoke anything.

    But when Christina refused to say anything even after a long awkward pause, being a man he finally decided to initiate the conversation despite the risks.

    "What have you been doing during this time? Are you looking after your family business still?" Zach mustered courage and threw out the words stuck in his throat.

    "Of course not; ever since dad became a Marquis, it is like I have been on a vacation. There are so many people trying to ingratiate themselves to him that there is no need for him to be wary during business transactions. Even the most foolish of the families act straight in front of dad. So, there is no need for me to intervene at all. Dad''s enthusiastic and gets most of the work done without any help. He is too excited at the moment to distribute some of his burden. Moreover, the things he does assign to others are mostly through my brother. Ever since I got injured, the whole family is treating me like a porcin doll that would break with a sudden blow of air. Therefore, I am practically free nowadays despite it being terribly boring."

    Zach could feel her boredom from within the earphones. She soundedid back like a sleepy cat which was quite unlike the impression he had of her.

    "It''s good that they are asking you to rest. I would have been worried otherwise. Take it easy for the time being even if it is boring." Zach advised her gently while inwardly relieved that her wounds seemed to have healed mostly.

    "Stop asking about me. I want to know what you have been up to after leaving Elizabeth city. Was it worth it?"

    Christina had waited a long time for his call so it was only natural that she wanted to hear more about Zach instead of telling him all about herself. She believed that it should be an equal exchange.

    "The day we said farewell to you was the beginning of our long journey across the state. It is only today that I managed to reach the safety of a city. Believe it or not, this is the first time that I have dared to sleepfortably on a bed. At first I deliberately avoided the cities or any people that we might havee across on our path. Therefore, the journey that shouldn''t have taken this long was stretched beyond the normal. Since it came to a temporary end today, I felt that I should call you and talk to you. But now that I am talking to you, I feel like aplete idiot."

    Christina felt as if Zach had thrown a boulder the size of a straight on her chest which made her unable to breathe. No matter how hard she tried to suck in the air, her lungs remained unsatisfied. She drew out the worst meaning out of Zach''s words and thought that Zach felt like he was wasting his time with her. Her insecurities took the better of her when she was unfocused.

    Thankfully, this time she was able to reply in a cold and steady voice.

    Zach noticed the change in her voice as she asked him, "Why?"

    "I shouldn''t have waited this long to call you. Maybe then I wouldn''t be feeling this miserable for wasting all this time that I could have spent talking to you."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The more Zach talked to Christina, the morefortable he felt and he told her about everything he encountered during this time. He told her about Byzantium city and the Windsor family. It was like the dam had burst open and the flood of words came out of his mouth drowning herpletely. Of course, Christina didn''t interrupt him or find it bothersome. She listened to him patiently albeit with a little excitement in her eyes.

    Zach chatted with her until Christina stopped treating him briskly before finally asking her the question that he had been hesitating to ask.

    "Luna has been unconscious after the battle. I have tried everything in my possession but there is nothing that can shake her sleep. It is as if she has stopped responding to the outside world. Do you know anything about it? Have your heard of such a thing happening to any other subus before?"

    "I am not very familiar with subus physiology so I can''t answer your question with confidence. But I can ask around for you if you want. Maybe I can find something useful for you." Although Christina''s heart was breaking on the inside, she still wanted to help Zach save Luna. She just couldn''t let Zach keep worrying about the subus. Moreover, Luna had ended up in such a situation while trying to save Zach. Therefore, she couldn''t be prejudiced against her even if she wanted to.

    "Then I will contact you more often to hear more on this topic." Zach seemed full of energy all of a sudden after hearing Christina''s reassuring words.

    Christina felt slightly dissatisfied with this answer thinking, "Was he not going to contact me more frequently if I didn''t agree to provide him with information?"

    Of course she didn''t ask him the question because she was afraid of the answer she might receive in response. Therefore, she hurriedly changed the topic that was interesting for both of them.

    "Do you know what happened to that Prince Kolt from before?"

    "Of course not. You might not know this but there isn''t much news in the wilderness especially when you avoid all the people in your path." Zach replied in a sarcastic tone even though what he said wasn''t true at all. He just wanted to tease Christina.

    It was just that the news regarding the royal matters were mostly kept under wraps in order to maintain the royal prestige which was why Zach couldn''t get the news even though he dispatched his men to the cities on various asions to learn any kind of news regarding him.

    Christina wanted to shout in indignation but then decided to be the more mature out of the two and gave in to his childish words.

    "Then let me tell you. Apparently that Prince acted without the approval or blessing of the royal family and is now being punished ording to the rules of the royal family. It is supposed to be quite a strict punishment."

    "I see." Zach gave a perfunctory reply as he had already expected it after he didn''t find a wanted notice in his name after hurting the spawn of the royal family.

    "WHAT? Is that it? You don''t seem surprised at all."

    "What do you want me to do? I couldn''t care less about what happened to him. Luther family had to leave Elizabeth city, Luna is already in this state. So what if he got punished for it or not; nothing''s changed."

    Christina felt his gloom oozing from his voice.

    "The royal family also didn''t put in any wanted notice for you and even hopes to have a happy cooperation with you. They probably gave made my father a Marquis in hopes that the royal family would be able to build a connection to you through my family. Still, you can at least rest easy and build what you lost without being cautious of everything like before."

    "You''re right about not having to be cautious. But I don''t intend to cooperate with the royal family ever even if I have to disappoint your fatherбн"

 Chapter 154 154 Make A Change

    "You''re right about not having to be cautious. But I don''t intend to cooperate with the royal family ever even if I have to disappoint your father. I can''t put my trust in a politician. No matter how sincere a politician sounds, he will inevitably prioritize benefits over rtionships. At one point or another, I would lose my value and these people wouldn''t think for a second before stabbing me in the back. Even if they are showering us with their goodwill, no one can guarantee how long it willst. Therefore, I for one am going to keep my distance. I know it will be hard for your family to do the same after epting so many benefits from the. But please stay cautious as well."

    Christina felt butterflies in her stomach at the thought that Zach was worried about her. She kept nodding like a fool in response to his words as if he was able to see her through the distance.

    They chatted casually for a little longer before Zach took the initiative to end the call saying it waste and Christina should go to sleep and take better care of her body.

    Christina couldn''t possibly say no to that. She needed her beauty sleep like all other girls her age. But the subtle signs such as her tiny and muffled voice, and the unconscious stutter in her words revealed the longing in her heart which would definitely affect her sleep after disconnecting the call. It would make her regret the moment she decided not to engage Zach in conversation for a little while longer.

    бн

    Zach wasn''t as affected by the culmination of the call as Christina was. If something did disappoint him then it was theck of information about Luna''s condition. Thankfully, he now had hope. Christina had reassured him that she would find information regarding this condition of hers. As such, he could only ce his hopes in her resourcefulness and information gathering skills. Based on her business mindset, Zach was sure that she was just the right person for the job.

    Zach turned towards his side as he put all his thoughts to the back of his mind and looked at the fairy like existence sleeping right beside him. So much time had passed since she entered this never ending sleep but Zach could not get used to Luna''s absence. She had been a constant part of his life ever since he came to this world and this had never changed; not even when he was about to legally marry Christina. And now that she refused to budge at nothing, Zach felt as if the world had abandoned and forsaken him. It took all his will power to part with Luna when he had something to do. If it was up to him and he didn''t have the responsibility to take care of everyone else in the Luther family, he would have long since run away with Luna in his arms.

    Being busy taking care of Luther family''s matters allowed Zach to keep his mind off Luna. Therefore, he didn''t have to spend his time wallowing in guilt and self me over Luna''s condition. It also allowed him to look for a solution or some information regarding her condition along the way as well. Even though Christina had agreed to find some information for him, it would make him feel too unreliable if he didn''t try anything in the meanwhile.

    Zach touched her dewy face that looked slightly sunken at the cheeks as if she was suffering from malnutrition. The long sleep had taken its toll on her morous looks but even then she was a sickly beauty that would arouse the sense of protection in any male that came across her. She had the ability to arouse the protective instinct in any male no matter whether they were prior acquaintances or not.

    Zach''s touch was surprisingly gentle as if he was afraid of hurting her even though she probably couldn''t feel anything at the moment. Seeing her condition, his regrets kept rearing their heads inside him one after the other.

    He had been a pro gamer in his previous life and had hardly ever made any mistakes ying games. He had done things that others could only dream of and had broken records that no one could even get close to. And yet, he couldn''t keep himself from making mistake after mistake even though this world was like a game to him. The fact that one of his loved ones was paying the price for his mistakes was eating at him from the inside. His vulnerabilities increased every time Luna failed to wake up after his careful nudging.

    With his hand on Luna''s slightly cold to the touch cheek, Zach thought back on all the things he had done wrong and all the things he had failed to do ever since he came to this world that contributed to any kind of harm against his loved ones. He remembered how he had failed to take down his first enemy that almost seeding in killing him and Luna.

    The escaped enemy in turn came back and ruined his life in Elizabeth city out of nowhere. Had he taken care of that idiot in time, the Luther family wouldn''t have been forced to move out of their centuries old home and Luna would have still been healthy by his side.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    While he was on the subject, he prodded through the gathering of all the regrets in his heart and found that there were some he had barely even registered before. He had not given them much thought because Luna''s condition upied most of his brain cells.

    Christina was a fine woman who never asked for any exnation regarding Luna''s true identity despite the fact that Zach was in the wrong for keeping things from her. She just silently supported him even after his secret was revealed. She fought for him and got injured because of him but never criticized Zach a single time.

    Zach believed that he owed the woman a lot. He owed her a beautiful wedding that was ruined because of Prince Kolt. He owed her a lot of love for not abandoning him and standing by his side where other women would have drawn a clear line. After all, who had the guts to take on the government to support their husband while he was clearly the one in the wrong?

    He regretted not having taken Christina as his woman even though their wedding ceremony couldn''t reach culmination. He had chosen not to have sex with Christina because he was bound by the morals and the standards ingrained in him by the society of the modern world. Sometimes he forgot how useless those morals were in a world dictated by power and strength; where those with enough magic power could run amok like they were the gods while the others had to take their behavior as the norm and bow their heads in silence.

    Had it not been for his stubborn mindset, and Kolt''s unexpected intrusion, Christina would have already been his wife. So many events that he wanted to change could have been averted easily if he had been more cautious.

    Zach cursed at himself for still following the code of conduct from his previous life. He had wanted to throw it away on many asions but couldn''t actually bring himself to do so. It was too deeply rooted in his subconscious mind. Zach could only slowly work on it in order to change because he believed that this change was absolutely necessary if he wanted to protect the people around him. If he couldn''t even protect those close to him, there was no use of having this technological advantage in this world set in the middle ages. Luna''s current condition was a testament to his uselessness and every time he looked at her, he was reminded of it. It left a bad taste in his mind.

    Therefore, Zach needed to be true to his desires if he wanted to live a life without regrets and pain. Both his regrets regarding Christina and Luna were based on hisck of initiative and his inability to act on his desires due to social and moral constraints that didn''t even exist in this isekai.

    As if the system understood the reason for the rainy season in his heart, it issued a mild weather warning notification to divert his attention.

    [A local rainstorm is expected to hit this ce and the surrounding areas within the range of 40 kilometers. The ETA for the weather system is one hour. Some items have been drawn from the Weapons Arsenal and are still out in the open. The items will lose durability and functionality after being subjected to the rain. You are therefore, suggested to put away all the furniture and the ammunition for the time being so as to avoid soaking them in the rainstorm that will soon follow you here.]

    Zach opened the detail of the notification and found theplete the weather update. As a result he couldn''t ignore the plight of the people who had barely even moved in. Some of them had just washed their foul smelling clothes and had hanged them out to dry. Some had their luggage still lying around in the open because they were too tired to move those things inside. Therefore, Zach needed to do something or the people would lose their remaining morale as well.

    He couldn''t help but thank the gods out there for giving him a system as good as the one he had. It could even deduce when a weather system was about to hit a certain ce.

 Chapter 155 155 Weather Forecast

    Zach found the information unbelievably useful. Since there was no doubt in the information provided by the system Zach issued an order to bring all their things indoors within the hour to all those living in the residential area provided by the Windsor family.

    The servants of the Windsor family were totally confused by this order. They knew how tired the people were after their long journey. They couldn''t help but think that Zach wasn''t a good person at all. He was acting like a tyrant forcing his will upon the people. There was no need to do these minor tasks immediately after all.

    Even the people under Zach''smand thought that the items they had left out to dry in the sun after being preserved for so long in boxes were prone to mould umtion if taken indoors without being sun-dried for a period of time. They couldn''t understand why Zach was ordering them to bring their things indoors.

    However, despite the unorthodox nature and timing of the order, the servants of the Smith family were far more disciplinedpared to the servants of the Windsor family aftering out of so many battles and such a long journey. Moreover, their belief in their leader Zach was beyond the understanding of themon people. They had once treated him like a god and some of them still did. Therefore, none of the servants actually objected to Zach''s order and faithfully began to carry their things inside their rooms one by one.

    There was one person though who was extremely dissatisfied with Zach''s order but had to unwillingly carry it out in order to be an example for the others.

    Diana looked at all the dresses that she had hung out in the sun with unwillingness brimming out of her eyes. With her status she wasn''t bound to follow Zach''s orders. After all, in the eyes of the servants of the Smith family, she was their youngdy and in front of the Windsor family servants she was the wife of the family head. Her status was enough to ignore any of Zach''s orders but her position as the leader of the Special Forces bent her head in front of Zach. She needed to be an example for her soldiers so that none of them could show their dissatisfaction in front of Zach.

    Even if Zach could tolerate such a thing, Diana wasn''t willing to let it go.

    Diana stuffed all her precious dresses in the suitcase even though they were almost about to catch mould and brought them all into her room. She had a premonition that not very long into the future she would be throwing these dresses out with her own hands. There was no way they could survive the mould indoors.

    Even then, a duck-like pout was the only form of disobedience and dissatisfaction that she allowed herself in order to protest against Zach''s order.

    Diana knew Zach the best amongst the group of people that had followed him to this ce from Elizabeth city; of course that is in the absence of Luna. Therefore, she knew that Zach was someone far away from vanity and impracticability. He was the most efficient person she knew of. Therefore, there was no way she was willing to believe that Zach had given this order just to satisfy his dictatorial tendencies.

    This made her want to question the motives behind his decision.

    Diana''s curiosity had been aroused and she wanted to satisfy it at all costs. Women were curious creatures by design and men had to pay for the mistakes they usually made due to their curious nature.

    In this case, Bruce felt like he should be the one to take responsibility for his sister and stop her from making a mistake that she couldn''t take back. As long as she tried to approach or question Zach, Bruce made sure to stand in her path in order to block her attempts. He felt that there must be a deeper meaning behind Zach''s actions. So far, he had found Zach to be extremely logical at all times and currently objecting to his decision was equivalent to shaking his authority over the people.

    Therefore, Bruce did his best to stop Diana from undermining his authority in front of his subordinates because he didn''t think that Zach needed to exin his reasons to them because he had every right to make decisions for them. They only needed to trust his judgment since they had already chosen to follow him.

    Diana however remained unfazed and finally got a chance to approach Zach. As she moved towards him, Bruce who was still some distance away from her tried to deter her using a fierce re but nothing seemed to be working on her.

    Like a junkie going for her quick fix, Diana couldn''t stop herself.

    "Why did you tell us all to bring our stuff inside? You know that even though the people didn''t say anything to you, some of them are dissatisfied with your unteral decision."

    "Are you also one of them?" asked Zach as he smiled mysteriously.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "So what if I am? Can I do anything to you? Being a wife, I can only follow after you or the Windsor family might think that we are lying to them." Diana acted like a cheeky brat as she tried to piss off Zach for ruining her dresses.

    Zach let out a loudugh without caring about anyone else in the vicinity. He felt as if he had shed off some weight from his shoulders after listening to Diana''s silly words that reeked of her insatiable curiosity.

    "I can tell you if you want. It''s not as if it is some secret of mine that I have to take to the grave. You should have just asked me earlier if you were dying to know the reason."

    Diana felt like a fool for falling for Bruce''s words and not asking him earlier. Still, she waited for Zach to tell him his reason as her gaze remained fixed on his face like the answer was written on it.

    "Well, isn''t it normal to bring your things indoors if it is going to rain?"

    Diana couldn''t understand even after he put it in such simpler terms. Seeing as she was still as confused as she was earlier, Zach sighed heavily before exining himself further.

    "It is going to rain within the hour. It will be a small thunderstorm but even that would have ruined our already soaking things. So I wanted to warn the people beforehand lest they suffer even more losses after that hellish journey."

    Diana stared at him dumbfoundedly before gazing at the sky with an annoyed look. She felt like Zach was making a fool out of her. After all, the sun was zing fiercely in the sky like a huge ball of fire raining mes down towards the earth.

    Even Bruce couldn''t believe Zach this time. The evidence was in front of his eyes and he couldn''t bring himself to trust Zach''s words no matter how much he wanted to do so. He turned towards Diana and found the same distrust and skepticism in her eyes as he was feeling in his heart.

    Bruce and Diana weren''t the only ones who heard Zach''s exnation. There were people from the Smith family as well as the Windsor family amongst the audience.

    Unlike the rest, the Smith family was more prone to falling for Zach''s words. The more fanatical ones believed him so whole heartedly that even Zach found itself hard to believe.

    The Windsor family servants on the other hand didn''t believe Zach at all since the sun was still zing in the sky and there was barely any sign of clouds in the sky. Had it been overcast condition or even if there were broken cumulonimbus build-ups in the sky or in the distance, the servants might have believed his prediction regarding the weather.

    But the clear hazy sky made them think that Zach was only forcing the people to work despite how tired they were after the journey and was not at all telling the truth.

    While the servants of the Windsor family returned to the main estate, they couldn''t help but sneer at Zach for making such a joke and for pretending to be a seer who could see through the intricacies of weather. They discussed it with each other without any consideration for the guests of the family.

    Due to their open remarks about the character of the new guests, the news regarding Zach''s order soon reached the ears of Grace who was the personal guard responsible for the protection of ra whenever she moved out of the estate.

    Since Grace had found the Windsor family''s servants talking behind Zach''s back even though he was the savior of the youngdy, he went straight to ra in order to report the current circumstances to her. He had long since been dissatisfied with Zach and the way his people treated ra as if she couldn''t do anything without their help. Therefore, he didn''t let this opportunity to mock Zach go and found ra in the main living room.

    "We have been giving that maniac far too much importance. He ispletely ignorant and can''t even differentiatemon sense and truth from fiction. He has made a fool of himself and still isn''t willing to admit his mistake. In my opinion, the servants aren''t in the wrong at all since he is practically inviting them tough at his meager intelligence. Youngdy you shouldn''t take sides in this matter since he decided to unt his knowledge on his own and nobody actually asked him to do that."

 Chapter 156 156 The Rainstorm

    ra didn''t want to have much to do with Zach either after finding out about his true identity but she was reluctant to reveal such information to anyone else.

    She wasn''t willing to mock Zach like Grace and her servants but she couldn''t treat him so perfunctorily either.

    Just as Grace was about tough in jubtion, a burst of thunder spread across the sky like a web of interconnected blood vessels and shut up everyone else in the surroundings. His earlier words became the rope that would probably hang him. He had been so happy when he found out how Zach was a braggart and a bumpkin who didn''t know when to shut up.

    s! His superiorityplex and his condescending attitude became the things that embarrassed him in front of the people and in front of ra whom he was sucking up to.

    The thundering noise from the sky was a testament to Zach''s words. His prediction turned out to be true as dark clouds began to gather from all directions towards the center of Byzantium city and the clear and hazy sky suddenly became overcast with arge amount of thundery build-ups which was a sure tell sign of rainstorm.

    A minute hadn''t passes since Grace started to badmouth Zach. In just that little amount of time he was pped right in his face. While Zach''s prediction proved to be the truth, Grace began to look for some ce to hide his face. He regretted mentioning this to ra because the only one he had embarrassed this time was himself. Zach probably didn''t even know what he had done. Grace knew that with his temperament, Zach probably wouldn''t have cared even if he knew about the things Grace was pouring into ra''s ears about Zach.

    ra just gave Grace a stern look but didn''t say anything other than that. She believed that Grace had enough shame and was responsible enough to reflect on his mistakes in order to seek rectification on his own.

    Just when she was about to head out, Violet ran into the room with her hands covering the top of her head like a makeshift umbre in order to keep her hair from falling prey to the briskly descending raindrops.

    Even though she had run throughout her way to the estate, Violet still ended up getting drenched from head to toe. There was no part of her body that was still dry. Her clothes were clinging to her shapely body as if they had shrunk to a several sizes smaller version and were making her feel extremely ufortable.

    "What the hell is this? The weather came out of nowhere. Had I known, I would have brought a carriage with me. Look at this mess. My dress ispletely ruined now." Violet could not stopining because her favorite silk dress had been ruined in the rain. She knew that the rain was extremely likely to leave water stains on her dress now that it had been exposed to such a powerful rain shower.

    ra could deduce from Violet''s words that she hadn''t been very close by when the shower hit. She must have run all the way home in order to prevent her dress from being ruined. Therefore, she didn''t say a word lest she earn the ire of her sister.

    Violet looked around the room and ra met her gaze. The only person other than the two in the room was Grace.

    Violet ignored ra and indicated for Grace toe closer by crooking her finger towards herself.

    "Hurry out and help everyone bring everything inside. I want everything to be taken indoors whether it is furniture or clothes. Nothing should be left at the mercy of the rain. Who can tell how long it is going tost for considering the unpredictability of the weather this time?"

    Grace nodded his head feverishly in understanding and ran out at a brisk pace in order to help convey her orders to all the servants. Only then did hee to admire Zach a little even if it was dumb luck or pure intuition that allowed him to see the change in weathering an hour earlier. Still, he wouldn''t admit it to his face because that would be too embarrassing after he had badmouthed him in front of ra earlier.

    Violet held up a towel and began to wipe herself dry. ra watched her actions with serenity but on the inside she was hesitating whether to tell her about Zach''s prediction or not. She didn''t want to sell out Zach or cause any trouble for him despite the fact that he was a dark mage on the ount that Zach had saved her life.

    But on second thought she felt that Zach would never have revealed his predictive ability to the servants if he had intended on keeping his ability secret. Therefore, she let go of thatst bit of hesitation as well and decided to tell Violet all about it.

    "You know what; Grace was in fact here to report something absurd to me just now. Even I felt it was a bit impossible but time proved it to be otherwise." <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Violet''s interest was piqued as she listened to ra. She couldn''t understand what was in that report that made ra feel so intensely about it.

    "What did he tell you? Or did you not have the chance to hear it? I am sorry. It''s my fault. I should have asked you before sending away your guard to run an errand for me." Violet looked apologetic. Due to ra''s cold demeanor, Violet thought that ra was chiding her for not letting her hear the report before sending Grace away.

    Of course it was just a misunderstanding but Violet apologized to her before ra could say anything.

    "No, no, no; it''s not that. Grace reported to me already." ra finally rified the situation to Violet who stopped looking apologetic once again.

    "What did he say to you then?" Violet asked curiously with a hint of coldness in her eyes.

    "He told me that Zach had already ordered his people to bring in their things to their rooms a full hour before the rainstorm first hit. He even told me that Zach had already predicted that it was going to rain in an hour at that time. Of course not a single person believed him at the time except his own people. Even I was skeptical since the sky waspletely clear of clouds and sun was shining brightly. Therefore, when Grace mocked Zach, I couldn''t bring myself to stop him. Surprisingly all of us were proven wrong in a matter of moments. Thunder and rain followed right after Grace reported Zach''s words to me."

    Violet didn''t respond to her after listening to her report. Even her expressions didn''t betray her true thoughts but there was the slightest glimmer in her eyes that ra couldn''t even spot let alone fathom.

    бн

    It had been a few days since the sudden rainstorm and Zach''s reputation had seen a massive increase among the Windsor family these days. The servants talked about his seer like abilities and called him a prophet among themselves. It seemed as if the cult of the Luther family had spread its roots into the Windsor family as well albeit not too deeply.

    The head of the family was aware of the rumors spreading among his people as well but he was in no position to condemn or support such behavior as he was currently lying on his bed staring at the ceiling of his room like a lifeless corpse.

    Marico''s illness had been gaining ground in theter years of his life. If not for the fact that he was too worried to leave the family behind in the hands of his daughters, he would have long since passed on to the next world.

    Another reason for his continuous escape from death was the presence of his close friend Drew who was a capable healer. Although Drew was also an SS ranked mage, he specialized in healing magic and was therefore not as adept at fighting. This meant that despite being an SS ranked mage, Drew was like amon civilian on any battlefield.

    Of course that didn''t diminish his importance at all. At one signal from him, countless mages would be willing to fight to the death because a favor from Drew was essentially another lifeline for any of them. Drew was able to extend the life of any injured or sick person as long as that person still had a living breath in him.

    With Drew''s help, Marico was able to linger on in the world of the living but he knew that his time was quite close at hand. His illness had red up once again following the rainstorm. Therefore, his daughters had called upon Drew as immediately as possible so that he could take a look at their father.

    Marico grumbled slightly in his mouth but didn''t dare to say anything loud in front of Drew after all thetter was only doing him a favor. It wasn''t that Marico was dissatisfied with Drew or his treatment. It was just that Marico was extremely averse to medical check-ups.

    Marico tried his best to avoid them if possible but when his condition demanded it, Drew usually made an appearance in order to keep his condition from deteriorating any further.

    "Just rx. It won''t be any different from the previous times. You won''t even feel it." Drew told Marico in order to calm him down as he tried to assess the old man''s current condition.

 Chapter 157 157 The PatientтАЩs Concerns

    He needed to determine whether his condition had deteriorated even further or not. That way he could determine the type of treatment that would suit the old man.

    That way he could determine the type of treatment that would suit the old man.

    Although there was magic in the world, sometimes physical healing could do the job that magical healing procedures couldn''t even begin to treat.

    As Marico''s furrowed brows rxed slightly, his eyes closed automatically. Drew ced his palms on top of Marico''s body while maintaining a gap of more than four inches between the body and his palm.

    This was the method that Drew used to examine the bodies of his patients. He could determine any kind of anomaly in the magic circuits of the patients and could use that knowledge to determine the kind of illness the patient was suffering from. Just like there was a psychological effect of all kinds of diseases, there was a magical effect of them as well. Each illness corresponded to a certain type of problem in the magic circuits. For example, a patient suffering from flu would have an overflowing magic circuit. The mana would leave the body inadvertently in a random manner.

    Drew had spent his entire life treating and diagnosing patients using this method and it had turned out to be quite effective as well.

    Drew mobilized his magic power and concentrated it all into his hands. An ethereal glow lit up his hands and a white light covered his handspletely like a curtain of light was draped around his palms.

    Drew''s face assumed a serious expression as if his concentration was totally on Marico and his ailing body.

    After he moved his hands back and forth over his body for a small period of time, Drew looked spent as if he had consumed a ton of mana with his hands hovering a few inches above Marico''s body.

    After Drew was done examining him, Marico became a lot more rxed than before. His stiffened expression was nowhere to be seen and he looked to be in high spirits. He didn''t seem like a sick and ailing person at all.

    Drew on the other hand was a bit worried about Marico''s increasingly deteriorating health. He suggested Marico to make arrangements for his family because his days were numbered even with his help. There was nothing that Drew could do that might extend Marico''s life anymore.

    Marico on the other hand could look rxed even in such a condition because he had long since epted his fate. It had be quite difficult to maintain his borrowed existence in the world and he was willing to keep it that way only because he was too worried about his daughters who would have to survive on their own after him.

    The world wasn''t a peaceful ce. Marico had seen greed and jealousy twisting the minds of countless humans in his lifetime. He did not believe that his daughters were capable of withstanding all such people and still keep the family intact after his departure.

    Therefore he had begun thinking of a solution in order to keep his family from falling apart ever since he found his condition to be irrecoverable.

    The most feasible of his ns included marrying off one of his daughters to a prominent family in Byzantium city. That way, he could ensure that the other daughter would be able to keep the Windsor family from vanishing with the support of her sister and her inws.

    Despite the fact that this was the only solution to his problem at the moment, Marico had stopped himself from following along that path. His heart did not agree every time he tried to act on it. His intuition and years of experience screamed at him and wed at his heart in order to keep him from making that decision. He knew what the big families in Byzantium city were like. There was no trace of warmth or loyalty among them. They were driven by benefits and were willing to go to any lengths in order to im those benefits.

    While Marico was a family head and had his responsibilities towards the Windsor family, he was a father as well. He needed to think of his daughters'' happiness as well so that he might not push them into the fiery pit while thinking of their well being.

    Marico wasn''t a saint either. He knew how the big families operated only because he was also the part of the same system. If the situation was reversed and he hade across such an opportunity during the time he was still healthy, he would have definitely done his best to annex the Windsor family as well. Therefore he didn''t condemn the big families and kept thinking of an alternative so that Windsor family wouldn''t just survive in the name alone.

    "Hey old man; what do you think about that SS ranked water element mage that came to your house recently. I have heard the servants gossiping about how he was able to predict the weather an hour before it actually happened even though there were no signs of it at the time. Is that true?"

    While Marico was lost in thought, Drew''s sudden question brought him out of his reverie.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Marico stared at Drew while he tried to make sense of his question. In the end he couldn''t stop himself fromughing. Rumors sure travelled fast and exaggerated the core news by the minute.

    "I don''t know if that person is an SS ranked water mage or not. From what I have gathered, he seems to be a powerful dark mage from Elizabeth city. The information doesn''t rify whether he was an elemental mage or not. But I do know that he must be powerful enough to be admired and coveted by the royal family."

    Drew couldn''t believe his ears at all. He couldn''t imagine that the mage staying with the Windsor family was powerful enough to attract the attention of the royals. But there was one thing he couldn''t understand.

    "But if he isn''t a water mage, then how did he predict the weather so much in advance. And how can you even doubt whether he is a water element mage or not?"

    Drew was suspicious that Marico hadn''t told him everything yet.

    "Before he came here, it seems that he had a huge battle with Prince Kolt who wanted to force him into subservience. As a result the guardian mage escorting the prince was found dead in a mutated condition. His whole body was scorched and his interior organs had been burned to ashespletely. That level of control over mes isn''t something that a mage below SS rank can manage. Therefore, I think that he is an SS ranked Fire mage."

    Drew was thrown off by this piece of information. He couldn''t understand why Zach was able to predict the weather despite being a fire element mage.

    As for why neither Drew nor Marico expected Zach to be a dual elemental mage was because there hadn''t been one in the entire history of the world. In general, a mage could not have more than one mutually exclusive element in their body. It was quitemon for some kind of mutation to ur. For example, liquid fire was a rare element that had the properties of both fire element and water element but the two elements could not exist separately in the mage. The mage could only control his exclusive element and had no control over the individual fire or water element.

    For that very reason, there hadn''t been a single SS rank mage who could wield both water and fire magic of that level.

    Drew had in fact heard of the genius who invented and developed the concept of self driving carriages. He had thought that the inventor had gone into hiding after escaping Elizabeth city. Surprisingly, Zach hade to Byzantium city to develop in secret.

    Drew couldn''t help but admire the person for his courage and admirable will. In his opinion, Zach was a super genius that came once a thousand years bearing the responsibility of raising the rate of development of the human society by a notch. The truck developed by him was in fact such an invention but the whole transportation n had been ruined by the greed of one stupid idiot from the royal family.

    "That stupid stupid bastard Koltбн"

    Drew couldn''t keep himself from cursing out loud as soon as he thought of the idiot prince.

    Marico heard the frustration in Drew''s voice and could only give him the news regarding Kolt to ease his strained nerves.

    "Don''t worry; the royals have dealt with that idiot you are cursing. They aren''t stupid either you know. They too understand that man''s worth and even willingly punished Prince Kolt and rewarded the Elizabeth family with the title of Marquis because of their good rtionship with Zach."

    Drew nodded in understanding. He could tell how much importance the royal family was giving to Zach in order to earn his goodwill and his forgiveness so that they could start anew.

    "Then he might be poached by the royal family very soon. Why don''t you try to keep him here? He might be the solution to your problem as well." Drew suggested with his eyebrow raised as if asking Marico to consider the meaning hidden between the lines.

    "That won''t be happening. Zach has probably grown wary of the royal family and might be trying to keep his distance from them. Otherwise he wouldn''t be hiding here behind the name of Smith. It''s obvious he has no intention of reconciling or cooperating with the royal family at the moment since he intends to establish himself here with the help of my family."

 Chapter 158 158 Location

    Drew didn''t argue with Marico because his logic was perfect. There was no other reason why Zach wouldn''t go to the royal family since no one else could probably provide him with better conditions than them if he wanted to develop.

    "Then why don''t you try turning him into an ally? You do need to prepare a failsafe for your family after you pass on. I think he has the potential to stand on his own against the families of this city. If he wants to build a foundation for his people here, you can offer it to him and in return he can make sure that the Windsor family doesn''t disappear from the face of the world after you. This way both sides will be able to profit and build trust with each other. What do you think?"

    Marico smiled mysteriously as he heard Drew suggest cooperation with Zach.

    "Do you think that only you cane up with such a strategy?" Marico''s smile transitioned into a smug expression that made him look like an evil and egoistic viin.

    Drew grew sheepish as he understood that Marico probably already thought of this and had made his own n regarding the matter. Therefore, he steered the topic of the conversation in the opposite direction so as to avoid touching upon a subject that Marico might not want to talk about with him.

    бн

    Zach stood on a high vantage point, overlooking the sprawling medieval city in the fantastical world. The city was a bustling metropolispared to Elizabeth city that seemed like a small vigepared to this city. It was teeming with activity and life. From one look it was evident that this was a city of great wealth and prosperity as was evident from the grand buildings and opulent architecture that could be seen from Zach''s perch.

    The streets were lined with shops and markets selling a variety of goods, from exotic spices and fabrics to rare books and magical artifacts. The buildings were constructed from a range of materials, from rich, dark wood to sparkling white stone, each one unique and ornate in its design. The materials shone with a metallic luster under the scintiting rays of the sun and yet the material was definitely not metal. There was no way that a city could be constructed out of metal on such arge scale even with the help of magic.

    As Zach looked out over the city, he could see that it was divided into distinct neighborhoods, each with its own character and vor. In one section of the city, the buildings were tall and imposing, home to the wealthiest families and the most powerful factions. In another section, the streets were narrow and winding, with buildings that seemed to lean towards each other, creating abyrinthinework of alleys and hidden courtyards.

    Zach could almost feel the bustling city all around him. The city seemed to be alive with the sounds and smells of daily life. The tter of horse-drawn carriages and the calls of street vendors mixed with the scent of roasting meats and freshly baked bread. Zach could see people of all walks of life going about their business, from well-dressed merchants to peasants in threadbare clothing, each one contributing to the vibrant tapestry of the city.

    Despite the size andplexity of the city, Zach could see that it was well-organized and efficient, with a clear system of governance and administration that kept everything running smoothly.

    Although Zach was being apanied by a beautiful woman like ra, he still wanted to take a few moments for himself so that he could take in the view of theplete city and evaluate and analyze it.

    As Zach took in the sight of the bustling city below, he didn''t feel any sense of awe that a normal human being from this world like ra would feel. He did not wonder about the ingenuity and creativity that had gone into its creation because Zach had seen better things in his previous world. He had seen architectural wonders rise into the skies without the help of magic. Therefore he knew that the humans were capable of far greater things. Magic had limited their ability to think and advance further. Others might think of this city as the testament to the resilience and strength of the people who had built it but he only felt theirziness, their stagnation and their inability to change the status quo.

    "Do you have any ideas about the ce you want?" ra asked as she took out a map of the estate from inside the folds of her clothes.

    "I can think of a few ces but I would like to hear the suggestions of the local first. Can you do that for me?" Zach asked honestly since he had yet to make up his mindpletely. Depending on her answer, Zach nned to improvise on the location for his new base camp.

    ra used the map to show various areas of the city and their geographical and proximity advantagespared to other locations. She highlighted a few areas that Zach might approve of as he was here to mainly engage in business activities. These areas had essibility to the customers, a good roadwork for the carriages which was extremely beneficial for business activities. These could be considered to be the primemercial locations of the city.

    ra briefed about the areas to Zach as she pointed towards the portion of the city in front of her that corresponded to the highlighted area on the map so that Zach could make a reference to it as well before making his decision.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "This is the main marketce of the city where every kind of item is solved. Since it is the main hub of the merchants, you should be opting to choose a location that is in the proximity of the central marketce. This would help you in promoting your business among the high end customers." ra pointed towards the area which was quite close to the city centre and was surrounded on all sides by several residential areas that seemed to be catering to the rich. Although the specific piece ofnd belonged to the Windsor family, Zach was sure that he wouldn''t be able to get his peace of mind while staying in a ce that was surrounded by the greedy bunch like Prince Kolt or worse.

    ra was a little disappointed when Zach only nodded and urged her to continue briefing other locations. She had been thinking that Zach would be sold on this location but her workload suddenly increased.

    There was a growing market towards the edge of the city that was gaining poprity among the masses. Although the goods were more inclined towards the daily necessities, the profits weren''t any less than the central marketce. Therefore, it would be fine for Zach to stay at a location that was in the vicinity but had the sufficient housing standard that Zach had established for his people.

    Zach noted down some of the ces that ra described to him but nothing could make him shout in excitement, "THIS IS IT".

    Therefore, he kept on looking for a ce that would be perfect for him and his people.

    "I don''t think there is any ce other than what I have already shown you that would be more perfect for your requirements. Why don''t you take a look at them all and tell me your decision? You can take your time. I can wait."

    Zach traced his fingers along the locations that ra had marked on the map and found that ra had already introduced most of them to him like an experienced real estate agent. The ces marked by ra were all owned by the Windsor family and ra could ensure getting a ce for him in these locations.

    However, Zach couldn''t get himself to agree on any of these ces. They were either too exposed to the public eye, or too vulnerable to the potential enemies.

    "Which one is this? Why didn''t you show me this one?" asked Zach as he pointed towards a solitary location that seemed to be an ind called Greend. It was about a hundred square miles in terms of area as per the scale of the map. Since it wasn''t marked by ra, Zach assumed that this ind was probably not owned by the Windsor family.

    The location perfectly clicked with what Zach had in mind as his new home and his new base of operations.

    "This is perfect. What is this ce? Can we go there?"

    Zach''s enthusiasm didn''t seem to be contagious as it died down as soon as it reached ra. She could not in her right mind agree to Zach''s opinion regarding Greend which resulted in the sudden cold shoulder.

    "Why don''t you take another look? We still have some time before you need to make a decision. Think about it some more. There are so many better options than this one."

    While Zach was new to the ce, ra knew too well the reputation of the ind and wanted Zach to choose some other ce instead of the ind.

    "Why should I? I like this ce and I think this location would be perfect for all my ns." Zach insisted on choosing the ind no matter what. Still he didn''t want ra to think that her opinion was wasted on him. Therefore, he asked her to give him a reason for why the ind wasn''t suitable as his family''s residential area.

 Chapter 159 159 Greenland

    "That ind isn''t peaceful or deserted. The signs of life on the ind though aren''t from humans. It is full of ferocious beasts that are always out for blood and the conditions of the ind are extreme. Not everyone can survive in such intense and extreme weather conditions. There are even rumors that anyone who dares to anchor their ship at Greend suffers a catastrophe sooner orter. Some of the most seasoned captains of the marine world are terrified of the ce and avoid it like the gue. Therefore, think twice about what''s good about this ce and whether you want to risk the lives of your people in order to stay there."

    Of course, no matter what she said to him, Zach didn''t budge from his stance regarding Greend. After some serious discussion on the topic, Zach''s intention to at least try became set in stone. He had fallen in love with the advantages that the isted ind could bring to him.

    First of all, it was exceptionally protected from all sides even if some hostile agency tried to attack him. The natural protection that the ind provided him on all sides was far better than most of the security measures he or the Windsor family could take on his behalf.

    Secondly, the roaming ferocious beasts were akin to breeding guard dogs if he could somehow be able to traverse the length of the ind without having to confront them in battle.

    Thirdly, there were no influential families in the vicinity to ruin his appetite with their greedy faces. He wouldn''t have to keep looking over his shoulders if he chose Greend as his home because there would be no human around him within the confines of the ind.

    The ind would solely belong to him and he could choose not to allow any unwanted person into his private property.

    Lastly, there was no one to stop his progress since he could develop on his own in this ce and train his people while implementing all the ideas in his grey matter. Ever since he came to this world, he had been itching to use the knowledge from his previous world to make this ce better suited to his taste. The only reason he had been holding back was because he was afraid of attracting unwanted attention like he did when he initiated the transportation project utilizing trucks.

    "Looks like you have made up your mind already. I don''t think there is anything I can say that might affect your decision at this moment but please reconsider it. That ind really is very dangerous. I am telling you this for your own good." ra still warned him repeatedly about the dangers of the ind since she was already aware of the situation in that ce. She didn''t want Zach toe to harm due to a single bad decision.

    ra knew that Zach cared a lot about his people but she couldn''t understand why he wasn''t willing to move to a safer area in order to protect them. Instead he was opting to move house to the most dangerous ind in the vicinity of the entire Byzantium city.

    Zach only nodded seriously in response to ra''s repeated warnings because he knew that she was only looking out for him and his people and didn''t have any ulterior motive.

    ra sighed heavily at his half-hearted response. Since he wasn''t willing to change his mind, she thought that Zach might reconsider it if he saw the dangers of the ind with his own eyes.

    Therefore, she persuaded him to visit the ind first before finalizing his decision. And if he could maintain the same stubbornness even after visiting the ind then she would help him get the ce to the best of her ability.

    Zach couldn''t agree more and readily asked her to arrange transportation for the two of them. He didn''t want to dy this matter any longer because people of the Smith family were getting more and more restless by the day. They needed something to do; something productive so they would have a reason to get out of their lodgings and to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This would also help ease the psychological burden that they had been under for the past few months.

    бн

    The carriage dropped off Zach and ra right in front of the water body that enclosed the ind Zach had his eyes on.

    The carriage driver whispered something to ra before departing with the carriage and left ra and Zach alone. Zach couldn''t help but stare at the carriage driver as he departed.

    Feeling his difort, ra provided the exnation that Zach was looking for.

    "He will be back by the time we are done. The horses are quite tired after the uphill journey so he has gone to tend to them at the nearest inn."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Zach nodded and felt relieved. He was still somewhat cautious after what happened to him in Elizabeth city.

    "How are we going to get across to the ind?" Zach asked as he kept staring at the destination thaty floating in the water quietly.

    "How else? By a boat of course." ra naturally rolled her eyes at such a dumb inquiry that questioned her intelligence.

    Zach ignored her overly exaggerated reaction and moved towards the cockleshell that was supposedly being used as a boat by the people here.

    The cockleshell was in fact half of a giant bivalve mollusk that was capable of floating on the surface of the water. The boatman standing on the shell was holding a long stick with a t surface which he would probably use as an oar to steer and move the boat across the river.

    Zach didn''t find it very strange as it was a magical world to begin with. And the giant cockle shell was probably a product made from the remains of some giant mollusk like aquatic beast that was easy toe across and subdue.

    Under ra''s guidance, Zach stepped on top of the shell and the boatman began to paddle towards the ind. Fear was evident on the boatman''s face as he was incapable ofpletely hiding it. Therefore, Zach didn''t ask him anything about the ind or its reputation. He didn''t want to terrify him any further especially when they were in the middle of the water.

    While the boatman was busy paddling, ra seemed to be lost in her thoughts as she didn''t even look up from herp the whole time. Zach even wondered if she was prone to sea sickness.

    The boat moved across the surface of the sparkling water in silence as Zach put all his attention on the ind.

    The ind was rich in forestry; almost the whole perimeter that was visible to him was enclosed by sky high trees that looked sturdy and green. The ind was pulsating with life like it was a living organism. Everything looked vibrant and verdant but there was no beauty to it no matter how much Zach tried to look for it. Since it was an uninhabited ind, Zach had expected it to be full of wild natural charm and beauty but the ind was far from it. The forest looked as if it had outgrown its natural boundary and trees and vines were spilling out of the ind. Some vines were even growing out of the water before arching up along the wide tree trunks. No matter where Zach looked, he found only chaos. Zach could see how such a ce could be quite harsh for human survival. It was to the extent that it made him want to believe the things that ra had told her about the ce earlier.

    This was truly an uninhabited ind. Even though this ce was so close to the city and had good prospects, no one had its ownership. It wasn''t that no one had the same idea as him before. It was only that no one had been able toy a im to this ind. The degree of danger posed by the ind increased several levels in his mind as soon as that thought struck his mind. But his expressions didn''t betray what he was thinking in his mind.

    When they touched the shore of the uninhabited ind, the boatman was sweating like ice in peak summer. Of course, the sweat wasn''t due to the heat but because of the fear wing at his heart from within. He would rather give his soul to the reaper than to suffer the horrors of the ind.

    As soon as ra and Zach got off the cockleshell, the boatman turned his boat around and paddled off into the distance. His speed was at least double the speed at which he had taken them to the ind. After a while, the boatman stopped in the middle of the water and shouted towards them to hurry up with their business.

    "WAVE your hands when you want to leave and I wille closer to fetch you."

    Before epting the job, the boatman had made it clear that he would neithernd on the ind nor would he wait by the ind shore. He would only be responsible for taking them to and from the ind when they wanted.

    Zach respected his cautious nature and didn''t negotiate with him. He had learned the various advantages of being cautious during the previous few months.

    Zach didn''t let ra take the lead this time as they headed towards the heart of the ind from the periphery. He knew that she was just as ignorant about the ind as he was. Therefore, he couldn''t let her take the risk on his behalf even though she was quite capable on her own.

 Chapter 160 160 I Want It

    They searched around for a path that would lead them in but Zach discovered that there was no path at all.

    There could only be two possible reasons for that. Firstly, it was possible if no one had set foot on the ind before him ever. Or the vegetation on the ind had undergone massive growth during the gap between thest visitors and him which hid the traces of any such exploration visits carried out in the past. Zach believed that thetter was the more usible of the two since humans were naturally greedy and no one wouldn''t lust after such an ind.

    Since there were no paths, Zach naturally had to make one. He steadily walked through the vegetation surrounding him and walked inwards with ra in tow.

    Zach had his survival knife in hand and was chopping off any branches or vines that were blocking his path. The density of the vegetation grew the deeper Zach proceeded into the ind. Even the sun was blocked out slowly as the vines grew in a dome like shape above his head and enclosed the ind like some football stadium that kept it safe from all weathers and sunlight.

    Zach had no choice but to squint as he tried to make out the dark outlines in front of him. ra had it easy because she was holding on to his shirt from behind so as to not lose sight of him in the middle of the dark forest. She was being led around by Zach and had no need to struggle like him.

    Moments after entering the depth of the dark forest, Zach heard the familiar *ding* sound. Thankfully, the system screen didn''t need light to be viewed.

    Zach pulled up the system screen and found that the notification was an rm.

    [Hostile intent detected in the vicinity.]

    The system was trying to inform him that there was an enemy around him. Zach didn''t dy and pulled up the map from the bottom right corner of the screen. The map showed a number of red dots moving towards him at a fast pace.

    Zach knew that ra wasn''t a porcin doll and could hold her own in a fight. Therefore, he broke the news to her so she could remain alert during the confrontation that was about to begin.

    "Stay on your guard. Something is approaching at a ridiculously fast speed." informed Zach seriously.

    ra who didn''t have the system couldn''t detect anything at all. She was wondering if Zach was hallucinating or being overly cautious but knowing what Zach was capable of, she didn''t think that Zach would lie to her about such a thing.

    "How do you know that?" Although ra trusted Zach, she still needed to ask him the reason he believed such a thing was going to happen. After all, maybe it was just a misunderstanding on his part.

    Before she could hear his answer, she heard a buzzing sound some distance away in the direction she was facing.

    She jerked her head up and stared hard into the darkness to discern the source of the buzzing sound. Zach apanied her efforts and red at the approaching figures that were also growing closer on the mini-map.

    "They are here. Stay focused." Zach cautioned ra without looking at her.

    "Hmm" ra nodded and didn''t question Zach''s judgment this time. She already recognized his ability.

    As the distance between the two parties diminished, the shapes of the hostile entities became clearer to both Zach and ra. They were ridiculouslyrge poisonous wasps who had alle apanied by their families for the banquet that had presented itself in their forest.

    The flying speed of the wasps was exceptionally fast and it didn''t take long for them to arrive right in front of Zach and ra.

    ra was already prepared as soon as she figured out what kind of beasts they were. She waved her hand and a curtain of reddish yellow fire fell down from above and engulfed the area in front of her. Freakishly shrill screams of the beasts rang out in the forest as they were cooked alive by her powerful fire magic.

    Zach on the other hand looked slightly disappointed. He had already pulled out his lightsaber but didn''t get the chance to use it. He hadn''t even activated the hilt of the sword to pull out the sma from the power source before ra took care of everything. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    There were so many wasps in the horde but they were still unable to put any form of resistance when they encountered ra''s fire magic.

    She was truly an outstanding warrior. She not only had a strong physical body that could tear apart the ground but the elemental magic she wielded was also sufficiently strong even though her true strength relied on reinforcement magic that made use of her already strong physical strength to deal damage to the enemy.

    "I think there are many more from where these came from. We shouldn''t head further in at the moment; at least not when it is just the two of us. Let''s head back first before we encounter something even worse."

    Although ra looked dignified as she persuaded Zach, her attention was fully focused on the surroundings. She was still vignt even though the danger had already passed.

    Zach admired her for a second before putting away his lightsaber back into the Weapons Arsenal. He knew that he would not be getting the chance to use it again today.

    Zach didn''t take the lead this time. He allowed ra to walk in front this time and lead them back to the shore. Since they were on their way back now, they needed to watch their backs.

    Therefore, Zach kept checking the map for any kind of hostile entity that might approach them from any direction while following after ra.

    They followed the same path that they had used to get to the heart of the forest. It was easy to spot the traces because the only things out of ce were the branches Zach had cut off on his way in.

    It didn''t take as long to return as it had taken them to enter the depths of the forest. They were soon standing by the shore as they waved to the cautious boatman in the distance.

    The boatman saw their actions and mobilized his boat by paddling the oar harmoniously. He picked them up swiftly and their return journey began.

    As ra had already stated, the carriage driver was waiting for them on the other side. The horses weren''t as out of breath as before. They even appeared more energetic to him.

    On the way back towards the Windsor family estate, Zach had already made up his mind about Greend. His gut feeling had been right. The ind was truly a wonderful ce for him to establish his roots away from the high and mighty families and the reach of the government. The environment of the ind could be improved with slight maintenance and there were countless opportunities to train his men on the ind as well. Compared to raising them like greenhouse flowers, Zach preferred to train them in the wild which would give them a sense of danger and will urge them to improve further. Otherwise they would only grow more despondent with time since they wouldn''t be able to employ their training in any of their daily tasks.

    Moreover, building their home with their own hands would surely give them a sense of ownership and belonging with the ce. They would surely work harder in the future.

    "I have thought over my decision from earlier." Zach said out loud to ra in the carriage with a solemn look on his face. The solemnity even gave ra the illusion that Zach was about to ept her suggestion and had let go of his childish fantasies.

    "Oooh~ what did you decided then?" ra asked with some hesitation. Although she was still worried about his answer, she neither wanted him to be embarrassed at having made a bad judgment before nor did she want him to stay glued to his previous decision in order to satisfy his ego. Therefore, she was stuck between a rock and a hard ce.

    "I want Greend." ra''s earlier agitation turned into anger. She couldn''t believe that Zach still wanted to move to Greend even after witnessing the harsh conditions of the ce.

    "You have already seen what kind of a ce that is yet you still want to move there. Do you not care about your people''s lives or are you too hard headed to ept reality?" ra couldn''t stay calm anymore and said whatever came to her mind.

    Zach on the other hand listened to her criticism without a frown because he knew that she meant well.

    "I need a ce to train my people where they can truly experience the danger of the battlefield. I am not nning to protect them their whole lives. They need to learn to live independently no matter where they are otherwise they would scatter the moment I fall or be useless in battle. I want them to be capable of protecting their home with their own hands so they never have to leave their homes again. The city can''t give them such an environment but the ind can. Therefore, I would find it extremely helpful if you help me get this piece ofnd from the government as soon as you can." Zach exined his reasons for choosing the ce because he felt that ra wouldn''t let him choose that ce if he didn''t state his motives. She wouldn''t let him endanger the lives of his people for no good reason.

 Chapter 161 161 Emergency

    "Fine, do whateveres to your mind. I won''t say anything anymore." ra finally relented in front of his stubbornness and decided to help him out even though she didn''tpletely agree with his decision. She could only rest easy because she had made sure that Zach wasn''t doing this because of his inted ego or delusions of grandeur otherwise she would have looked down on him.

    "For how long do you think I can get the lease contract for Greend along with the development rights of the area? Since it is an extensive area, I doubt that the government would be willing to part with it especially after I manage to develop it. But I still hope that the government can part with it for at least fifteen years. Can you help me get it then?" Zach asked sincerely because he was in need of the Windsor family''s help if he wanted to earn a chance of obtaining the Greend Ind.

    "Even though my family is not the overlord of the city, it is still among the best of them. Therefore, the government should at least ponder upon my request if I decide to facilitate things between you and the government by acting as your agent. The years of ess and the development rights would be up to negotiation. Therefore, I can only assure you that I would try my best. As to what the government decides to do, it is entirely up to them. I can only lobby for you to the best of my abilities."

    Zach didn''t push ra either since the girl had already promised him to do everything in her power and Zach trusted her words. He had always found the girl to be extremely upright and true to her words.

    The carriage took them straight to the Windsor family main estate. As soon as they got off the back of the carriage, Zach found that there seemed to be something wrong with the ce. The people here were all acting overly emotional and devastated. They seemed to be grieving because the atmosphere around them all was especially stuffy.

    Although this was his first timeing to the main estate of the Windsor family, even he could tell that something bad had happened.

    As if to imitate the thoughts in his head, ra looked obviously stunned at this scenario. When she had left this morning nothing seemed out of ce but now that she had returned everything seemed to be in shambles.

    She jerked her head in several directions as if observing and looking for answers until a servant rushed towards her from the inside. It seemed that he had just received the news of her arrival.

    "Young miss, old master''s condition has worsened. Even old master Drew can''t seem to do anything for him this time." The servant was quite old and looked like he had been with the family for a long time as he stared at ra with fondness and pity lurking in his gaze.

    ra nodded towards the servant before rushing into her home.

    Zach followed after her without asking anything. He didn''t want to disturb her at this moment.

    ra made several turns in the confusing hallways in a practiced manner. Even though she moved at a brisk pace, Zach was right behind her so he didn''t have any trouble reaching the old master''s room as well. He followed her in despite the fact that he felt like he was intruding onto her privacy.

    The sight in front of him was far from what he had expected to find as his first visit to the powerful Windsor family home. There was a pale old man lying on the bed like a lifeless corpse. Had it not been for the shallow breathing and his chest heaving up and down in a rhythmic manner, Zach might have thought that the old man had already passed away.

    Other than the old man, there were two other people in the room; one he was familiar with but the other one he was meeting for the first time.

    The familiar figure was none other than the proud as peacock Violet whom he had met at the gates of the city when he first arrived in Byzantium city. Unlike her previous proud and mighty self, Violet''s hair was disheveled and her eyes looked slightly swollen as she continued to cry her heart out. Zach could only sympathize with her current state.

    The unfamiliar old man on the other hand sat on the bedside with a sad expression on his face but he hadn''t taken the news as badly as the girls due to his old age. He had probably encountered many such situations in the past and had long since ovee his urge to cry every single time such an incident took ce. Still, Zach wondered what rtionship the old man had with the Windsor family. From what he knew, ra and Violet were the only sessors of the old master of the Windsor family and there was no one else to manage the family after him. Therefore, the old man was probably not immediate family to the girls.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ra, who was previously too stunned to react after witnessing the poor condition of her father, ran towards his bedside and nudged him hesitantly. She tried to wake him up gently at first but there was no response at all. The old man was no different from an irresponsive corpse despite her attempts to wake him up.

    "Why isn''t he waking up? Is father not willing to talk to me sister?" ra was too shaken up by grief to understand reason. She cast a pleading look towards her sister hoping that Violet would plead with her father on her behalf and ask him to talk to her.

    Violet looked at the sorrowful and distressed face of her little sister but there was no way for her to console her when she herself wasn''t feeling any better than ra. She could only answer her with some more tears of her own as they rolled down leaving a wet trail down her cheeks and fell into herp.

    Seeing as her sister could not help her talk to Marico, ra turned her head towards the old man sitting beside her father. She hoped that the old man would be willing to do the same for her but the old man could only shake his head in negative. He wanted to tell her that things had progressed far out of his control and even he couldn''t do anything for her father despite his SS rank healing magic.

    Zach watched everything with sorrow gripping his heart as he felt how the most terrifying thing in the world wasn''t an impossible to solve problem or an inevitable oue like a terminal disease; it was in fact the loss of all hope.

    He believed that human beings could survive in the toughest of situations like cockroaches with just the tiniest bit of hope. The tiniest flicker of hope in their lives could drive away the darkness gripping their hearts. Only when humans lost that light would they fall into the deepest and darkest of despairs.

    He witnessed the strong and reliable ra breaking down after not a single person in the room reassured her about her father''s condition.

    ra felt her knees buckling under feet as she fell down on her knees beside her father''s bedside. Like a lifeless doll, she threw herself into the arms of her big sister in order to share a small portion of her pain with her sister who was going through the same thing as her and could understand her.

    Finally in her sister''s arms, ra broke down and began to sob like a little girl who had identally separated from her parents.

    Zach could only watch the family drama with a serious look on his face as he didn''t want to act disrespectfully in such a situation. Initially he hade to discuss the details of the Greend negotiations with the old master but his current condition obviously didn''t allow him to engage in such a conversation with Zach.

    Zach hadn''t expected that his very first interaction with the old master of the Windsor family would be under such extraordinarily unfortunate circumstances. He could only watch from the sidelines as the family tried to ovee their grief. Every second he spent in the room made him feel increasingly ufortable as he neither knew what to say in such a situation nor did he know how tofort the sisters when their father was lying unresponsive in front of them.

    Although he wasn''t aplete shut in his previous life, he still spent most of his time indoors ying games. His work engagements obviously kept him estranged from such social activities. He had no past experience so he kept his mouth shut in order to keep himself from saying anything inappropriate or offensive to the family.

    While ra had already forgotten that Zach had followed her in and Violet was busy sobbing with ra in her arms, the only one who paid any attention to Zach''s arrival was the old man sitting beside the old master of the Windsor family.

    Zach didn''t know the old man who was staring at him a little cautiously but he tried not to show any signs of hostility to the old man so as to not cause any misunderstanding with the grieving family.

    The old man scanned him from top to bottom vigorously and deduced that the man was probably the dark mage that Marico had spoken to him about. He was surprised to find that the genius who developed the trucks and revolutionized the transportation industry chain on his own was such a young man.

 Chapter 162 162 Sound Out

    Even though the old man had mentioned Zach countless times for the past few days, Drew had never expected the genius to be such a vibrant youth instead of a serious middle aged man.

    When Drew noticed that Zach had already caught him staring, he signaled with his eyes to draw him out to the corner of the room in order to have a good talk with him.

    Zach understood what the old man wanted him to do. Therefore, when Drew got up and began to walk towards the furthest corner of the room from the bed, Zach immediately followed after him. He wanted to take a break from the heart squeezing atmosphere near the patient''s bed.

    Zach was curious about the identity of the old man but he didn''t ask him anything. He still wanted to observe the old man a little more in order to figure out the answer on his own.

    Before he could say anything to the old man, Drew spoke in a hoarse whisper that was barely audible to Zach let alone to the sisters.

    "My friend Marico over there has been sick for a long time. If not for my healing magic, his time would have alreadye long ago. I have been doing my best to keep him healthy but there is absolutely no way to treat his illnesspletely. Therefore, the best I have been able to do all this while was to suppress the disease every so often. Even then, there was almost no surety as to whether he could ovee the disease or not. The effectiveness of my healing magic is wearing down on him which is why there was a sudden reemergence that caught us all off guard. I have tried but my methods arepletely ineffective this time but I don''t want to disappoint the girls."

    Zach listened to the old man without interrupting him. At first he wasn''t sure why the old man was paying so much attention to him when he wasn''t even the member of the family but gradually the frown on his forehead began to deepen.

    Although Zach didn''t have extensive experience in human interactions and socializing, he was no longer the na?ve gamer from the previous world. He wasn''t gullible enough to believe that the old doctor was saying these things to him because he couldn''t tell the girls anything in their current state.

    Zach''s suspicion grew when the old doctor began to tell him the medical history of the old master of the Windsor family even though he wasn''t a family member at all.

    Moreover, Zach and Drew had never met before but the old man approached him without hesitation as if he was already familiar with him. This made him suspect that the old doctor knew his true identity and had strategically approached him to ask for his help in treating the master of the Windsor family.

    Judging from the attitude of the doctor towards him, Zach was absolutely sure that the Windsor family had at least some knowledge regarding his origins but he needed to figure out the extent of information leak. He wanted to figure out whether someone from his household was also involved in selling out his information or if it was the result of Windsor family utilizing their own resources.

    Zach felt that it was quite easy to figure that out. He just had to test them on some things. Depending on whether they knew about certain things, it would be easy to figure out the source of the information.

    At first he began with somemon knowledge regarding him. The incident with the royal family had given him huge publicity and some matters were known to everymoner in the nearby states.

    "You might have heard that I have a lot of people to look after because they decided to follow me. They had to leave their hometown in order to seek business outside."

    Drew couldn''t understand what Zach was trying to get at since he had changed the topic of discussion without even putting in any effort. It was the most deliberate and tant attempt at avoiding a topic that he had ever seen.

    Still, Drew didn''t call him out on it and only nodded.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I have heard. It must have been tough travelling so far from your home."

    Zach was sure that Drew already knew of his identity from this single sentence. He hadn''t told him that he and his people came from far off but somehow he knew that they had. Even ra and Violet weren''t privy to that knowledge. So the doctor or the head of the family probably had this figured out for a long time.

    "When we left home, a friend of mine got injured before losing consciousness. She is probably sick and hasn''t woken up ever since. The sickness of hers is the strangest thing I have ever seen and I can''t seem to figure out what it is." This wasn''t just a test but he truly hoped that this doctor might be able to give him a solution to Luna''s condition.

    Drew on the other hand was busy building up the entire puzzle in his head. He had already figured out that the girl Zach kept talking about was the subus that was the root cause of the conflict between the Royal Prince and Zach.

    "Although I have always focused on healing those from our human race, I have no prejudice in healing other races as well provided that they aren''t intent on harming our race. I have studied subi and their physiological conditions in the past because I had the opportunity topare notes with one of their most outstanding healers. Therefore, I can confidently say that I might be able to help you analyze the condition of your friend." Drew wanted to secure Zach''s help for his old friend therefore, he answered Zach''s question very sincerely.

    "I am willing to trust your words but if you are lying to me, you will be staring down the barrel of my gun soon." Zach knew that only the people from his group could leak the details of the guns since no one other than his people understood the phenomenon. Therefore, if the doctor knew what a gun was, it probably meant that his house needed some rearranging as well.

    Thankfully, Drew''s face only showed confusion but he vigorously nodded his head since he could feel the threat in Zach''s voice.

    Zach noticed it too and didn''t continue the test any further. He was sure that all the knowledge the doctor had came from official sources and because of that Zach could rest at ease. He wasn''t flustered at all that his real identity and that of the Luther family had been exposed in front of the Windsor family. He didn''t see this as a bad thing at all. Instead, he felt that it was only natural for the Windsor family to conduct a background check on him because that meant that they were sincere in cooperating with him and were not just stringing him along to obtain benefits from him. After all no one wanted to cooperate with someone they didn''t know anything about.

    What Zach appreciated though was the fact that the Windsor family hadn''t tried to spread the information about him at all. They hadn''t even let him know that they already knew about his history and were willing to cooperate with him. Whatever reasons the Windsor family had for choosing such a way forward, Zach was happy that no one else other than Windsor family knew anything about him because that would have ruined his ns to stay and develop anonymously with a different identity in order to stay under the Royal family''s radar.

    Other than this, Zach was happy to finally meet someone who might have a clue about Luna''s condition. He had been searching for ways to heal Luna with the help of Christina but so far he had found absolutely nothing. The major reason for that was the hatred of the subi among the humans. The enmity between the races was rooted in their bones and they only wanted to destroy each other. There was no way some human would ever research how to heal a subus when they couldn''t be happier watching them die off.

    As a result, meeting Drew now was a blessing in disguise for Zach. His efforts in that department had finally reached fruition.

    Since Drew had agreed to help Luna and everyone in the room probably already knew who he was, Zach felt it right to acknowledge the fact that he had entered into a de facto partnership with the Windsor family, a rtionship based on mutual cooperation, in order to grow and develop together.

    He wasn''t one to forget favors. In exchange for Drew helping Luna, Zach was extremely willing to take a look at the leader of the Windsor family as a return of the kind gestures shown towards him by the Windsor family.

    Zach smiled and patted the old man''s shoulder in order to reassure him. He didn''t want the old man to worry too much because he still needed him to treat Luna.

    Zach turned around and walked towards the side of the patient''s bed that was devoid of wailing women who were already acting like the old man was dead. Zach didn''t mean to criticize their behavior because it was only right for them to be sad about their father''s condition. But he thought that they should be out looking for a solution instead of bawling their eyes out. They weren''t exactly the weak women from his previous world.

 Chapter 163 163 Invites Distrust

    cing his hand on the forehead of the patient, Zach asked the system, "Help me analyze his condition. What''s the problem with him?"

    After a few seconds several notifications blocked his view and the *ding* sounds reverberated in his ears.

    [Subject is critically weak and his physical body is on the cusp of shutting down. Theck of blood has pigmented his skin a pale yellow.]

    [After a thorough diagnosis it is confirmed that the subject has been suffering from leukemia for a long period of time. The subject''s body is showing an adverse reaction to all the unknown means that have been used to stretch the life expectancy of the subject.]

    [Late stage leukemia is a very serious affliction and it is almost impossible to cure it in this world even with the help of magic.]

    Zach couldn''t stop himself from getting angry at the system for not being able to help with Luna''s condition. He wondered if it was due to Luna being a subus instead of a human that the system was unable to tell him anything about her.

    Putting aside his prejudice against the system, Zach read through the notifications carefully as he pretended to feel the forehead of the patient with a serious look. Even though he didn''t exactly need to touch the patient for a diagnosis, it would have looked too fake or over the top in front of the family. Therefore, he figured a white lie like that couldn''t be considered to be a big deal.

    When he got to the part where the system revealed his disease to be leukemia his eyeballs almost popped out in surprise.

    He had thought that since he was in a magical world, there would be someplicated disease rted to magic or magic flow in the body that he would have to struggle to cure. But Marico was suffering from a disease he was quite familiar with. Although it was quite troublesome to deal with acute leukemiapletely, it didn''t mean that it was incurable.

    Drew saw the solemn look on Zach''s face and deduced that Zach had probably found out the extensive damage and the blood loss in the patient''s body. He felt that as the previous doctor of the patient he needed to share his treatment method and the patient''s condition as he understood it before handing over the patientpletely to Zach''s care.

    "Even though this disease is not verymon, I have stille across this illness during my travels. My research in this area is quite extensive since I have always been looking for a way to treat my friend of this fatal affliction for a long time. As you have probably already figured out, my friend iscking a lot of blood in his body. I have tried to stop the loss of blood through various methods. I have tried to use blood coagnts in order to steady his blood flow. I have used precious herbs in order to replenish his blood loss on more than asions but all these turned out to be only temporary solutions since his condition returned deadlier every single time I suppressed it. After studying and consulting better healers than me, I found that there was only one possible cure for this kind of disease. Even a SSS rank healing mage couldn''t stop the terminal blood loss of his patient and could only prolong his agony a little. The only cure for such a patient is to find the dew produced by the World Tree which is only a legend in the current era. Originally it should have beenpletely impossible for such a patient to survive past ten years but through my suppression of the illness on countless asions, Marico was able to survive far longer than that. Still, it can''t change the fact that I am unable topletely cure this disease and it would eventually result in Marico''s death."

    Zach listened to the doctor attentively as he waited repeatedly asked the system for a possible solution to the problem.

    [The subject can be treated by employing the current AI based medical technology. The sess rate of the procedure is up to 90%.]

    Zach had already expected that the medical technology he had recently unlocked would be able to help him cure the old master''s leukemia. The only reason he had not employed it already was because he needed to take into ount the risk associated with the procedure. Otherwise he might need to face the consequences in case of failure.

    Since the risk of the procedure was exceptionally low, Zach was willing to go take the responsibility.

    "Thanks to you; doctor, I have already figured out the situationpletely. I think I can try to save him. There might still be a way to save him from his imminent demise. I just need the biological family members to cooperate with his treatment a little."

    Drew understood that Zach probably needed to use his dark magic in order to save the old master which was why he wasn''t saying the treatment method out loud in front of the others. He didn''t call him out on it because only he and the two girls knew who Zach was exactly in the whole Windsor family.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Besides, even if Zach told him how he was going to do it, Drew felt like he would still not understand the principles behind dark magic. Unlike conventional magic, dark magic essentially twisted the principles of conventional magic to bring about twisted and otherworldly magical effects. It was why most of the dark mages never found sess after a certain threshold and spent their lives experimenting in order to find the road they needed to follow to progress further.

    Drew showed his enthusiasm to Zach like old people did; by pping his back excitedly. Although it didn''t hurt Zach, it made him feel quite ufortable.

    ra and Violet who had so far been busily crying next to the patient''s bed suddenly heard Zach say that he would be able to treat their father. Their tears dried up in seconds as if the unending spring had suddenly stopped churning out water from its depths.

    At first it was hard for them to believe that the man was able to help their ailing father who had been suffering from the illness for years. All the doctors they had consulted over the years had told them that it was an incurable disease that would eventually eat up their father but they hadn''t stopped trying. Thanks to Drew they had been able to hold on to their father but even an SS rank healer like him hadn''t been able to cure Maricopletely. They wondered who gave Zach the guts to make such an outrageous statement in front of Drew with a straight face.

    Understanding followed right after the initial anger. Zach was here to ask for a favor from the Windsor family in order to get the piece of thend he wanted for the development of his family. It could be said that he was desperate to make a good impression and establish a cooperative rtionship with their family. He was probably impatient and decided to use this method to get in their good graces by using this method.

    While ra and Violet kept their calm, someone other than the two couldn''t keep his calm any longer despite not being immediate family of the patient.

    Grace had been standing on the sidelines the whole time and had been privy to almost all the conversations except the one between Drew and Zach. So he didn''t understand that it was Drew who actually begged Zach to help the old master.

    Grace had already been annoyed by the fact that an outsider had been allowed into the personal chamber of the head of the Windsor family.

    What if Zach decided to use this opportunity to harm the master? After all there were several forces who wanted to get rid of him at all costs in order to devour the foundations of the Windsor family. Zach could have been bribed by those people to do the task since he was already desperate enough.

    Grace being the only person inmand of all his senses at the moment thought that he was the most qualified person to objectively judge the situation.

    Without a second thought, he drew on his longsword and pointed it straight in Zach''s face.

    The tip of the sword was almost touching Zach''s his nose as he stared down the length of the de threatening his life.

    "Your lies aren''t going to work in this ce. I don''t care what your intentions are in spouting so much bullshit. Whether you want to ingratiate yourself to the family or someone paid you to deliberately cause harm to this family, I won''t tolerate your lies any longer. Leave here if you prefer staying alive to see tomorrow. The moment another lie escapes your loose mouth I will not hesitate to cut you down where you stand." threatened Grace while growling through his gritted teeth.

    Before the situation could progress any further, Drew rushed between the two and moved the tip of the de away from Zach''s face with his hand and stared at Grace with a domineering aura full of authority and derision.

    Grace couldn''t understand what the old doctor was trying to do but he knew that Drew was almost like a family member to the Windsor family. So he hesitatingly withdrew his de and took a few steps back before standing at the edge of the room in a vignt manner.

 Chapter 164 164 ClaraтАЩs Determination

    He turned towards the girls in hopes that they would back his im and push out the liar so as to avoid causing harm to the master but the girls didn''t say a word after Drew intervened. They seemed topletely trust the doctor as well.

    Grace knew that he needed to rely on himself in this situation. Therefore, his eyes stuck to Zach like they had been glued to him as if there was nothing else in the room that he needed to be wary of other than him.

    Drew turned to face Zach and saw nothing but calm on his face. Zach didn''t look rattled by the sword in his face. Drew believed that Zach was either an exceptional actor or he waspletely confident in getting out alive even from a situation that was so unfavorable to him.

    Feeling confident in his choice to believe in Zach, Drew solemnly asked him for help by bending his back to the extent his old body allowed him.

    Zach didn''t need any words to know what the old doctor wanted to say. He looked at Grace once before using his hands to pat the old man''s shoulder lightly in order to reassure him.

    "Can the disease really be curedpletely?" Drew asked with some hesitation in his voice. He knew that the dark magic wasn''t limited by the means of the conventional magic but he didn''t dare to assume something about it when he barely had any knowledge on the subject.

    "There is a good chance of curing the diseasepletely through this method. It is at least a better option than the status quo. Although there is a slight possibility of things going wrong during the procedure or some harmful after-effects of the procedure, the possibility is infinitesimally small and usually needs no worry. You can rest assured and leave it to me. I just ask for your cooperation in return." Zach looked towards ra and Violet in at the end in order to announce that he would need their help.

    Although Drew had asked Zach for help, he couldn''t bring himself to believe in his own choice. Had Zach told him that the procedure was extremely risky and would need arge amount of sacrifices, Drew would have believed him wholeheartedly because that was how dark magic worked.

    Zach''s reassurances had worked against himpletely. Logically thinking, the old man was in the right to believe that Zach might not be an expert at all. The reason was Zach''s young age. Countless dark mages spent their whole lives trying to get to such a level of expertise.

    Drew''s instinct on the other hand made him believe otherwise. It was screaming at him to believe in Zach and trust his words. He could tell somehow that the young man wasn''t lying at all. Every word that came out of his mouth was carefully spoken as if he wanted to avoid telling a lie.

    Based on Drew''s experience in medicine, he knew that there should be no other means to cure Blood Loss in the world other than the dew of the World Tree. He wondered if Zach had gotten a hold of the dew already and was only posing in order to get more benefits out of the Windsor family.

    Zach could understand the indecisiveness of these people. They were only worried that he would harm the old master. But there was no way for him to make the decision for them.

    As such he just furrowed his brows in feigned anger as he stood in front of the doctor waiting for his decision.

    At this point, ra got up from the spot where she had been kneeling and stumbled her way towards him. Her legs were short of blood after sitting in the same position for so long. Therefore she was having difficulty walking.

    "Can you really treat my father''s illness?"

    Unlike the people in the room, ra had spent a considerable amount of time with the person and she knew what kind of a person he was. He always pulled through his words and had never disappointed the people he led. ra felt that it was okay to trust such a person with her father''s life especially after he was in such a condition and had no escape anyway. Why not just let Zach try? She had heard of the miracles that he pulled off from his followers and she knew how exaggerated such things could be. But what if even a five percent of those incidents were true? Wouldn''t that be enough to give a new life to her father?

    "I can try. I believe that if healing magic has lost its effect on your father then I am your only hope of ever curing your father without the Dew of the World Tree."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ra nodded in understanding because she was thinking the same thing in her heart.

    "Alright; I believe you. Please don''t break my trust or you and I both will face dire consequences."

    Zach revealed a smile on his face because finally someone had decided to put their trust in him even though he was a stranger in their home.

    "Thanks for the vote of confidence. I will try my best to save your father in return. As for the consequences, you don''t have to worry about shouldering any of them."

    Zach waved his hand and several boxes of pills appeared out of nowhere. Drew and Violet were especially surprised. This kind of magic wasn''tmon at all. Violet even wondered if it was some kind of space magic but she didn''t ask anything thinking that it might be another dark magic. She didn''t want to spill his secrets when he was trying to help her father.

    The pills had been taken out from the AI Medical system as per the old man''s earlier diagnosis. There were several different colored pills and the system advised Zach on the quantity of each of the pills to be given to the patient immediately in order to keep his condition from worsening.

    Zach passed on the instructions to ra exactly as he received it and asked her to feed the pills to her father without any dy.

    ra hesitated at first because she didn''t know what it was that she was about to feed her father at the behest of a stranger who might even mean to do him harm.

    Pushing those thoughts to the back of her head, ra did as he asked without any protest or hesitation. Since she had decided to trust him, she was willing to do it till the end.

    Seeing as she was done, Zach addressed both the girls in the room before voicing out the things he had so far kept to himself so as to not cause them to worry too much about their father. He needed their approval to begin treatment and they wouldn''t have been able to do that if they were not rational.

    "Your father has been suffering from a long time but this time is different. There will be noing back from it this time unless you do something for him. His blood has been corroded too far this time and won''t be able to sustain him for long. Someone out of you or his other blood rtives needs to donate their bone marrow to him if you want him to survive past this disease. There is no other way left. It is already toote. There might have been some other solution in the past but it is unfortunate that I got here toote. So, I will need you to cooperate with me in order for this treatment to be truly sessful. Are you willing to do what is needed?" Zach''s tone had grown increasingly serious and solemn towards the end. The girls could feel the atmosphere around them growing heavier by the second but none of them was cowardly enough to back out when they had the chance of saving their father.

    Both Violet and ra had a determined look on their faces. Zach needed no words to understand what they were thinking as he began to busily prepare for the transnt as soon as possible.

    And for that he needed to prep the patient to undergo the bone marrow transnt if he sessfully found a match for him from among his close rtives.

    ra let Violet make the arrangements to gather the rest of the people here so that Zach could find a match amongst them as she didn''t have as much authority within the family as Violet did.

    Violet held a meeting with all five of herpatriots before bringing them to the old master''s room for testing. She knew that she needed to tell them the truth beforehand so that none of them backed out of it at the end. For that they all had to be willing to make the sacrifice before being tested.

    "You all know that my father is extremely sick. Even the SS rank healer Drew who has been responsible for helping my father forever is unable to do anything for him. Therefore, he has requested the help of another man in order to help him. But the healing method devised is somewhat unorthodox. The man has requested that we need to transfer the bone marrow of one person to my father in order to help him cure the diseasepletely. Our family''s condition is highly unstable at the moment and my father''s survival will determine whether the Windsor family will be able to sustain itself in this city in the future or not. Therefore, tell me now if you are unwilling to do what is necessary to save our family head. Otherwise be prepared for what is toe next."

 Chapter 165 165 The Misery Of Parting

    Violetid it all out in front of them without hiding anything. The only thing she didn''t tell them was the identity of Zach as a dark mage. But of course the kind of treatment method she told them was the biggest hint towards that.

    It didn''t take long for the others to guess the kind of person that the old doctor had invited to heal their master.

    "It must be some magic that will transfer our life blood to the old master but that kind of blood magic is wielded by the most fearsome of dark mages. Experimenting with vitality and life force is the worst kind of dark magic there is after necromancy. How can we trust such a person?"

    One of thepatriots couldn''t help but ask hesitatingly. It was hard for him to believe that a dark mage could be trusted.

    "ra and I have already decided to trust him. Besides he is also the person who saved ra''s life before many times. Even if he has some ulterior motives, I don''t believe he would dare to harm my father in our home." Violet cleared up their worries within a minute and received their agreement. Each one of them was loyal to the Windsor family and wanted to protect its roots. Therefore, none of them wavered in the face of the sacrifice that was being asked out of them. They were going to be trading their life for the life of the old master which was something to be admired.

    When Violet walked in with the remaining people in tow, Zach had already finished dealing with the surgical preparations of the patient.

    He waved his hand once again and this time the AI Medical robot popped out of nowhere surprising the people around him. All of them thought that Zach had called out a familiar for help.

    Zach didn''t mind the murmurings of these people and ordered the AI Medical robot to take the blood samples from every one of the seven people including ra and Violet.

    The sharp syringes punctured the vessels of each one of them on the back of their hands and retrieved half a test tube worth of blood from each one of them. The robot then separated each of the test tubes into two separate vials for further processing.

    "It would still take some time before the results of the testse back. All of you can take a test or drink some fresh fruit juice preferably to replenish yourself in the meanwhile. I will call you once the test results are back."

    How could the people rest at ease knowing that one of them would soon be required to make the ultimate sacrifice? Their nerves were taut and eyes bloodshot from thinking too much. Not a single one of them could take a rest in such a situation. They felt like pigs in a pigsty waiting for the restaurant owner toe take them to the ughterhouse when it was their turn.

    Human psyche is quite weird. It makes us doublethink in troubled times; makes us wish for two separate and essentially opposite oues at the same time. Taking an example of the people waiting for blood test results, almost all of them were wishing to be and not to be a match for the old man at the same time.

    They wanted the old man to be saved somehow but at the same time didn''t want to be the one to donate their bone marrow to the old man.

    The time trickled past slowly as the seven of them huddled around together in solidarity due to the fear that was gnawing at their bones slowly. Although none of them said anything out loud, they were all definitely hoping for the same thing and were expecting the same result; them not being a match and someone amongst them being the perfect match.

    In short, they wanted the benefits that came with the old master surviving eventually but were not willing to pay the corresponding price for it.

    The long waitsted till midnight. Those who were waiting for the test results all looked slightly haggard from worrying too much but they immediately got energized when Zach called out to them about the test results.

    They stood right in front of Zach as he fiddled with the AI Medical robot in order to determine which samples were a match and which ones weren''t.

    [Except Sample#1, all samples have shown negativepatibility with the subject. The sess probability of the procedure can be increased significantly through the use of apatible source of bone marrow.]<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Zach lifted up the contents of the Sample # 1 in order to determine ownership of the blood. It turned out that the sample was taken from Violet; ra''s older sister and the old master''s eldest daughter. She was a perfect match with her father and would be donating the bone marrow in order to cure her father''s disease.

    "The results are out and there is only one person who is a match for the old master. The rest of you can''t donate your bone marrow to the old master because it will only harm him further."

    "Who is it?" all of them wanted to know the answer to that question but they didn''t ask it out loud fearing that they would be misunderstood as unwilling to make the ultimate sacrifice for the family head.

    Zach didn''t know how on edge the people standing in front of him were. They would have charged at him right there and then and made a quick work out of him had it not been for the fact that he didn''t keep the secret with him for much longer.

    "It''s Violet. She is the only match and the only person capable of saving her father from the jaws of death." Zach announced with a smile on his face because the most important step in curing the old master wasplete. The rest would all be done by the AI Medical robot and the margin for error with such advanced technology was close to zero.

    Unlike the other five, ra and Violet being the closest rtives of their father were more than willing to trade themselves for their father but it was still a shock when they actually had to do it.

    ra couldn''t ept the result at all. She wasn''t willing to lose a sister in order to save her father. She would have happily given her life for her father but couldn''t ept that her sister Violet had to be the one to do it. ra too had double standards like other human beings. She didn''t want to see those close to her suffer but was willing to endure that same suffering so she wouldn''t have to endure the survivor''s guilt.

    When Zach announced the result of the blood test, ra had reacted the most strongly. She was close to hissing as her voice was became hoarse and guarded as she stared holes in Zach with her red and puffy eyes.

    Violet on the other hand was quite the opposite. She felt extremely rxed as if she had been relieved from the heaviest burden that had been pressing down on her shoulders from above.

    For the first time in her life, Violet felt like she had the chance to do something meaningful for her family. Her father had always been disappointed with her performance and had been urging her to do more. But now that she could trade herself for her father, it was undoubtedly the greatest feat she could pull off for the prolonged existence of the Windsor family against all odds. She was happy that ra didn''t have to take her ce.

    Violet slowly moved towards ra and held her hand to pull her closer. She didn''t want her sister to feel any emotional pain.

    ra began to cry soundlessly when held by her elder sister. She couldn''t control the well of tears in her eyes as it began to swell and spill outside her eyes.

    Violet tried to hold her own tears back. She couldn''t cry in front of ra especially when thetter was feeling so vulnerable and useless. She could only try her best tofort ra so that she would be able to ept this oue without any psychological burden that might haunt her for the rest of her life.

    Violet pulled on the long sleeves of her top and used them to wipe away the tears from ra''s face.

    "Don''t cry. You have to be strong from now on. I might not be able to protect you anymore so you have to do it for me. Okay?" asked Violet softly as she held ra in her arms like a protective older sister pampering her younger sister lovingly.

    ra nodded unconsciously to her question. She felt like Violet was making herst wishes known and couldn''t bring herself to disappoint her. She became as docile as her appearance made her out to be.

    "This is a good thing you know. Now you can be as leisurely as you want. You don''t have to fight and bear the burden of the family because the old man will be able to handle it from now on. He can support you and you can be as unruly as you want with him backing you up. Don''t be too sad. Windsor family can do without me but the continued existence of our father is essential for the family''s survival. We can''t just think of ourselves in this situation. There are thousands of people who rely on our family for their survivalбн"

 Chapter 166 166 A Belated Explanation

    "бн"

    "The end of Windsor family would mean the end of their lives as well. We have to be responsible for them too because they have supported us all this time. Therefore, the choice between me and our father isn''t a choice at all. You know that as well."

    ra nodded vigorously as if she had carved every one of her sister''s words into her heart and would follow those instructions to her death. She would make it her lifelong creed and would be strong enough to make simr sacrifices for the family if the time ever came.

    The two sisters held each other close andforted each other while the others retreated to the edge of the room unwilling to disturb the two sisters.

    Unlike the rest of the people, Zach didn''t move an inch from his initial position beside the AI Medical robot. He was still trying to read the instructions of the AI Medical system. But when he heard the two sistersforting each other in firm but soft voices, he couldn''t help but think that something was wrong.

    Where had he given the impression that the bone marrow donation would be life threatening. He scoured through the previous interactions he had with the sisters and the doctor but couldn''t figure out anything that might have even closely implied that the procedure would be deadly.

    The more he listened to the girls, the more confused he became until he couldn''t hold it in any longer.

    "Don''t be so dramatic. This will be over before you know it."

    He had previously held himself back and hadn''t spoken out because he didn''t want to embarrass the girls in front of the other people especially when Violet was willing to make such an admirable sacrifice for her father. He didn''t want her courage and selflessness to be treated as a joke in front of the others.

    Despite his good intentions, ra red at him like he was her sister''s murderer. Under that gaze, Zach felt his entire being trembling. He couldn''t stand that cold and lifeless gaze and blurted out the truth that he had been holding back despite the fact that the sisters would feel embarrassed after hearing it.

    "Who told you that your sister was going to die? Did I say that? Why are you assuming on your own?"

    Zach''s words were directed towards ra who was giving him the bloodthirsty look. As soon as he said those words, ra frozepletely. Even the blood running in her veins had probablye under the effect of the frost because her face looked extremely pale for some time before the reddish hue crept down from her blood red cheeks and spread to the rest of her skin.

    Violet too waspletely dumbfounded and tried to remember the discussion that they had with Zach previously. She remembered their previous interaction extremely well and went through it in her mind.

    As a result, she discovered that Zach was telling the truth. He had not said a single word that could be interpreted in such a manner. Instead it was the one seven of them who had assumed this on their own and the thought was further fueled by the fact that Zach was a dark mage in the eyes of the sisters.

    "Extraction of bone marrow and its transnt is a harmless surgery in most cases and is not life threatening at all. How dare you assume that I would be willing to discard the life of a young person in order to save the old? Even the most worthless of doctors wouldn''t make such a decision. I still have my conscience intact."

    Zach sounded somewhat angry towards the end for having been misunderstood. Although this was not the first time he had been misunderstood and his methods ssified as dark magic, he still felt irritated for being treated like that all the time just because these people couldn''t understand his technology.

    While understanding dawned on Violet and her face turned crimson, ra came back to the living world after having stayed in her frozen retreat for more than ten seconds. Her face and her neck had turned extremely red. It could be easily deduced how embarrassed she was feeling from the depth of color on her blushing face.

    She tried to think of some way to ease out of the situation she had created for herself by taking her anger out on Zach who had only been trying to help her family. Since she had already shot herself in the foot and under the scrutiny of the eyes of the people boring down on her she couldn''t think of a possible solution.

    Even her elder sister retreated back a step as if to distance herself from ra who was under the firing range of the others.

    In her desperation, she screamed like a little girl being bullied and kicked Zach''s shin.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Zach felt his soul escaping his body for a second when he saw her attacking but there was no time to dodge it.

    ra didn''t actually use any strength. She was only feigning her anger in order to maintain her self-esteem and to mask her growing embarrassment. She needed to put the me on Zach in order to stop her cheeks from burning.

    Had she used all her strength with her augmentation magic, Zach''s leg would have gone flying to the other side of the city. Since ra was just throwing a tantrum; there was no need for her to use her true strength.

    Although it wasn''t all her strength, just the portion of the force of her physical body that she used was enough to bring tears to Zach''s eyes. He felt as if the bone in his calf had been rattledpletely by her kick.

    Every part of his shin bone was throbbing like an overexcited heart and the pain seeped deep into the very roots but he held himself from screaming out in front of these people. He still needed to maintain his mysteriousness in front of these people so as to not lose his value.

    The cascading tears glittering on his face didn''t affect ra at all. There was no remorse in her eyes as if she felt that he deserved what she did to him.

    "Hmph~ I won''t let you bully me us sisters for nothing. These are the tears you should rightfully return to us for deliberately misleading us the whole time. Can you even understand what we had to go through because of that? How much grief you caused us? Can you understand the fear that made our skin crawl when we thought that one of us had to give their life to our father in order to save him?"

    ra appeared to be more indignant even thought she was the one who had hit the victim Zach.

    Zach could only hold in his pain and me her in his heart for assuming everything on her own. When had he ever told her that they needed to sacrifice their own life for their father? How could they put the entire me on him even though he had never led them to such an outrageous belief?

    бн

    The bone marrow transnt was carried out sessfully with the cooperation of Violet. She looked slightly haggard and weakened after donating her bone marrow to her father but she had a smile on her face that clearly revealed her feelings on her face. She was like a blooming flower in spring. It was as if there was a spring in her gait as she looked exceptionally light on her feet after shedding the weight of the responsibility that she would have to bear in case of her father''s departure.

    After getting a few days to rest, Violet was slowly regaining her lost vitality and her face had grown fuller with each passing day.

    ra on the other hand seemed to be hiding from Zach after the incident on the day of the surgery. Zach didn''t know whether it was her remorse for hitting her even though he was innocent or because of some other reason, the fact remained that she seemed to be avoiding him.

    Drew had made several checkups on the old man and was carefully monitoring his situation in order to appease those who didn''t believe that Zach had sessfully cured the old man.

    These people had been expecting that Zach would work his magic and the old master would awaken in a snap. However these ignorant people couldn''t understand what a bone marrow transnt truly entailed. In reality, curing leukemia wasn''t at all an easy job. Although the bone marrow transnt surgery had been sessful, the new blood that would be produced by the bone marrow would only be generated slowly. The process needed some time in order to improve the deteriorating situation of the old master. Therefore, there couldn''t be any instant results in such a procedure.

    Theck of knowledge and technology made it impossible for the people to believe Zach. Therefore after Zach''s treatment, Drew had been detailed to conduct a thorough analysis of the old master''s body.

    Drew muttered an incantation and his right hand became covered in white light that appeared pure and holy like the light of salvation or the first light after dawn. He ced his hand on Marico''s chest. Tiny strands of light pierced into the body of the old master and began to scan his body from the inside out.

    Drew closed his eyes and sensed the changes that the old master''s body had undergone following the transnt. Unlike before when he could barely suppress the illness from surfacing, this time waspletely different.

 Chapter 167 167 LunaтАЩs Condition

    Zach had promised him that the illness would subside this time truly but Drew didn''t dare to expect too much even though he trusted Zach somewhat more than others.

    The frown on his forehead vanishedpletely as if it hadn''t existed in the first ce. His pursed lips let out a relieved sigh and a smile appeared on Drew''s face unconsciously. He waspletely surprised by the oue of the surgery.

    His old friend was slowly regaining his vitality. The process seemed to be slow but it was definitely happening and that was the most important part of the process if he was ever going to recover.

    Ever since he began to treat his friend for his illness, Drew had never been able to pull off such a feat. Every time he tried to heal his friend, he had to resort to suppressing the disease since it was aplicated ailment that couldn''t be resolved easily. And every single time, Marico''s body grew more burdened by the suppression of the disease. The next time the illness came back, it was always stronger than it was in the past because it had slowly been eating away at the old man''s vitality.

    But this time, the old man seemed to be recovering his vitality slowly instead of being juiced by his ailment. Drew could barely contain his excitement any longer. The rate at which his vitality was recovering, Drew felt that it wouldn''t take long for his friend to get rid of the disease he had been suffering from for a good portion of his lifepletely and an inexplicable happiness reced his solemn attitude.

    For Drew who had been a master of healing ever since he first found his healing attribute. He had never been envious of other people and had carefully walked the path of a true medicinal practitioner which was why he knew of almost all the procedures that could be carried out on a body.

    But even he had never seen or heard of any such medical procedure that could allow the sharing of the organs with other human beings. He felt as if a whole new world had opened and had broadened his horizons. He could never bring himself to say that he had learned everything that the life had to offer regarding the subject of healing and medicine.

    But when faced with Zach''s crazy and oundish treatment methods, Drew felt like he hadn''t done his best for his patients before. This kind of barbaric method that utilized the bone marrow of a loved one to save the patient was bordering at the edge of insanity but turned out to be extremely effective. It made him want to rethink every treatment he had ever done. He wondered how many patients had lost their lives in his hands just because he wasn''t willing to take the risk of exploring into the unknown or dabbling into taboos in order to cure the patient.

    That was the reason he couldn''t stop admiring Zach because he had the courage to do anything for his patients. He had probablye up with such treatment methods because he cared enough for his patients and was willing to learn. Unlike him, Zach had not stagnated after bing an aplished healer. Unlike him, Zach didn''t want to be called a healer. Rather he wanted to heal the sick. Both Zach and Drew healed patients but the difference between the two was just the motives.

    While Drew was busy fantasizing and admiring about Zach''s medical expertise, he vowed to himself that he would do everything in his power to return the favor to Zach for healing his old friend.

    бн

    Zach was still keeping Luna''s body under his watch. No one was allowed to go into his room without his permission because of Luna. He had been trying to keep Luna from those who might want to harm her because she was a subus. Although he knew that there was probably no one among his followers who might want to harm her, Zach couldn''t help but remain cautious because human heart could be a fickle thing. There were countless motivators that could lead a man astray and greed and wealth was one of them.

    Zach didn''t want to endanger Luna because of someone''s cheap or greedy nature.

    Therefore, when Drew went to visit Luna in order to return the favor, Zach was the one who personally led the way into the room.

    Zach stopped by the bedside and cast a longing look towards Luna who refused to respond to him even though he had been pleading with her for so long. He had been whispering sweet nothings to her, coaxing her to wake up every time he was with her but Luna had shown no inclination of waking up so far.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Drew nodded towards Zachpassionately and went over to the empty bedside opposite to Zach. The same white light engulfed his hand as he waved it over Luna''s body like a modern day 3D scanner. He then proceeded to touch her forehead and closed his eyes. The tendrils of light plunged into her body and helped Drew assess her condition.

    Drew''s expressions changed after a few seconds as he withdrew his hand from her forehead as he drew sessive heavy breaths to calm himself down.

    "I have finished examining her body. It''s not a disease or any ailment as far as I can understand. She is in a state of dormancy at the moment and cannot feel anything around her. Think of it as someone who is alive but no longer in contact with the living world. She is just sleeping."

    Zach had assumed as much as well. He knew that Luna was probably in aa or a vegetative state. Since his AI Medical system was unable to tell him what was wrong with Luna, it was probably a magic rted ailment. Therefore, he needed the old doctor to tell him a possible solution and the probable cause of Luna''s condition.

    "That aligns with my line of thought as well but what could be the cause of her condition?" asked Zach with some concern. He needed to discern Luna''s condition urately in order to search for a possible solution to her problem.

    "Although, the subi and the humans are both bipedal intelligent races who have simr appearances, the structure and the functioning of the physical bodies are actually much different. Unlike humans, some rare subi have the ability to hibernate like animals in order to avoid their deaths or any situation that might cause them severe harm. Their bodies basically enter into such a state as a sort of defense mechanism in order to keep them safe. And the subi have the ability to wake up on their own when the danger has passed or their senses deem it safe enough."

    Zach felt slightly energized after the old man''s exnation. Luna had actually been in life threatening situation before she fell into thisa. It might have been the result of the ck Panther trying to harm her. Her body might have shut down due to that.

    Feeling excited Zach asked Drew "Is that what happened to Luna? Is she one of those special subi you are telling me about?"

    "At first I thought that was the case with Luna but sadly her condition appears to be much more serious than self-induced hibernation. I have heard about some cases like these but none of them reached even close to hers in terms of severity."

    Drew didn''t even hesitate before crushing his hopespletely. Only after cruelly telling the truth did he realize what he had done to Zach. He could only ster an apologetic expression on his face as he asked for Zach''s forgiveness employing full use of his visage that was riddled with the signs of old age.

    "If it isn''t a self induced hibernation, then what is it? Why isn''t she waking up? She has had enough rest to outlive all kinds of diseases. Is there something wrong with her body?" Zach''s concern was overflowing as he asked the doctor about Luna''s condition. He couldn''t bear the mystery any longer and requested the doctor to be direct with him.

    "I can''t tell you the exact reason because I think you might know it better than me. I can only assume that she previously carried out some task that was far beyond her capabilities and used some racial secret of hers to consume everything in her body at the same time in return for a momentary increase in her capability. Her body is like apletely drained well that is entirely devoid of mana. Not a single trace of mana still remains in her body. It is almost as if she is an ordinary person who has never been able to wield mana. But being a Subus, I can assure you that such a thing isn''t possible. That can only mean that she has used her body''splete potential somewhat recently and her body shut down in order to prevent her life force and vitality from being consumed as well. Had she been more reckless, she might have lost her life as well."

    Drew exined the situation to Zach in a solemn manner because he knew that the subus was extremely important to Zach.

    Zach on the other hand waspletely shocked. He hadn''t expected the situation with Luna to be so serious. His brows furrowed and a hint of sadness engulfed his eyes as he tried to hold back his urge to cry. He couldn''t believe the price Luna had to pay in order to save him from the ck Panther.

 Chapter 168 168 The Only Method

    This made him want to brutally torture that bastard prince of the royal family and his pet. s! Things had gotten out of his hands now.

    "Is there no way to wake her up? I don''t want her to suffer any longer. The more I see her like this, the guiltier I feel towards her." Zach''s tone had grown solemn and somewhat pleading when he asked the old doctor for a remedy.

    "I have seen simr cases before but never to this extent. Some of them consumed their potential to a certain percentage below the halfway point while others managed to go as high as the half of their potential and the entirety of their mana. But I have never seen someone who managed to use them both entirely and still managed to retain their life like her. She must have been quite powerful."

    "She is powerful. But she was still forced into such a state. Please tell me if there is something I can do to wake her up." Zach answered with a voiceden with remorse.

    "In fact, in situations like these, the patients need to rest for a while in order to recover their energy. When the mana in their body reaches beyond a certain threshold, the body begins to function normally and all the dormant functions of the body start operating again. I think the remedy in this situation is the same but the time it would take for such a method of recovery cannot be estimated at the moment since there is no precedent for such a case. However there is something you can do to shorten the time that it will take for her to recover her energy if you are willing to do so."

    Drew was sorrowful because he couldn''t help Zach at all. The favor he intended to return was out of his power. Even though Zach didn''t say anything that implied Drew''s uselessness, Drew began to feel self-conscious in front of Zach but he still tried to convey all the knowledge he had regarding the disease to Zach and the possible solution for it.

    Zach on the other hand didn''t feel that Drew was useless at all. He was exceedingly grateful to the old doctor because he had been looking for someone to treat Luna for a long time but hadn''t found anyone who was capable enough. Jus the information Drew had provided to Zach was enough to repay what he had done for the old master of the Windsor family.

    Moreover, thest sentence Drew uttered took Zach by surprise. He hadn''t expected Drew to still have more to say on the subject. He excitedly asked, "What is it, doctor? Is there really something I can do to speed up the process?"

    "Actually the time it would take for her to healpletely is entirely dependent on you. Her body is currently dried uppletely. Since you are the person who is closest to her, she will automatically absorb a small amount of energy from your body in order to keep her vital organs from shutting down and to ensure her own survival. This is her basic instinct at the moment and she isn''t doing this consciously. As long as the energy she draws from your body keeps on increasing in quality or power, her recovery should in principle speed up. You can either try to improve your mana capacity or raise your mage rank as soon as possible. This should allow her to recover faster as well."

    Zach pondered on it a bit and deduced that it all came down to his strength. Luna was still lying in her bed because he was still too weak to support her. He wondered if that was the reason that he had to give up all her potential that he had extracted from her when she transformed into that fiery avian. If he were strong enough to support her, she might have just relied on his superior energy to get stronger as well.

    Drew had told him the solution but he had actually been quite reluctant to do so. This wasn''t based on any racial hatred or discriminatory thoughts but because he had seen how humans treated subi and vice versa. He just didn''t want to cause any misunderstanding between Zach and the sleeping subus because there was no way for Drew to guess how Zach would react knowing that the subus beside him had been stealing his energy from him little by little all this time.

    At first he couldn''t establish the connection between the sleeping subus and Zach so he couldn''t figure out why Zach wanted to save this subus. But when he noticed the tenderness in Zach''s gaze as he looked at Luna, he didn''t hold anything back and spat out everything he knew.

    As he expected, Zach''splexion changed visibly as soon as he came to know that there was something he could do to help her. He now looked more alive than Drew had ever seen him before.

    Drew had never seen someone treat a subus as nicely as Zach did. He had been called to treat some subi before but their conditions were worse than animals. Despite being a human his blood sometimes boiled when he witnessed the treatment they received after being captured by humans.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Wanting to save those subi could only be considered a fantasy for a man like Drew who wasn''t at all skilled in battle magic or destructive elements. He was only suitable as a healer and the tag of SS rank mage really portrayed the wrong image in his case.

    Therefore, he always forced himself to focus on healing their injuries or their sicknesses to the best of his abilities instead of ying the hero saving the damsel in distress.

    There were people who made an entire profession out of capturing subi and trained them to be the ultimate sex ves before selling them to the richest customers. There were several underground auctions that dealt in such depravity. Although, the races were quite opposed to each other, it still didn''t diminish the charming effect of the subi over humans. The demand for such sex ves never dipped as owning a subus was a status symbol in some rich social groups.

    In Drew''s opinion, these people were worse than even the most dangerous of subi who preyed on humans out of habit or for fun. They treated the living beings likemodities and traded them for benefits despite iming that they were fighting for justice. In fact, in many parts of the empire, the movement against the subus race was just a front for these ve traders to act all righteous while capturing the subi to keep their businesses running.

    That wasn''t all. These ves weren''t just used as sex ves due to their racial capabilities. There was an exceptionally dangerous group amongst the extremist human factions who trained the subi to be special assassins capable of trespassing all kinds of defenses in order to murder high profile personalities in cold blood.

    Anyone capable of paying their huge prices was able to hire one of their ''whore killers''. These whore killers bewitched their targets using their natural charm and eventually led them to the bed for nightly activities. They would then lead the men on until they were about to climax before brutally murdering them.

    Not a single one of the humans actually sympathized with the plight of the non-human races. They were too busy exacting revenge on them formitting countless atrocities against the human race; atrocities that they didn''t even have enough proof of. Just like Luna had once told Zach, there were extremist and peaceful groups amongst the non-human races as well. Humanity couldn''t judge the entire race just because a small group amongst them refused to adhere to the righteous path. It wasn''t fair.

    Drew wondered what Zach would do if he found out that the humans were treating the subi in such a manner. He wanted to know which side Zach would stand on once he discovered this truth. Still he kept his thoughts to himself in order to keep him from shouldering the burden of knowing the true faces of the human faction.

    Drew wasn''t sure what kind of a person Luna was that a genius like Zach was willing to do so much for her even though she was a subus. From what he had devised, the reason behind the exodus of the Luther family from the Elizabeth city had in fact been linked to the subus as well. Luna''s importance in Zach''s heart could be inferred from just that one fact.

    Drew knew that despite not being as against the subus race, he couldn''t understand Zach''s thinking of throwing everything away for that subus. He even suspected that Zach might have been charmed by the subus and might have been under her control. But reason told him that it was not the case considering the current condition of the subus.

    In the end, Drew attributed it to the entric behavior of a genius. He was sure that anyone else in Zach''s position would have immediately gotten rid of the subus or threw her somewhere in the middle of nowhere in order to save themselves without any mercy. Only Zach had the mettle to carry her along with him wherever he went despite being at a disadvantage.

    Just as Drew was about to leave Zach alone with Luna to give him time toe to terms with her condition, Zach called out to him softly.

    "Thank you, doctor. I now understand what I have to do. She is very important to me. I hope you understand what I am trying to tell you."

 Chapter 169 169 Teasing

    Although Zach was speaking very softly, Drew felt his whole body shudder as if something had gripped his heart strongly. He already knew that Zach''s words were both a token of thanks and a warning to him to keep what he knew to himself.

    Of course Drew wasn''t mad enough to leak the information regarding the person who was so important to a person like Zach with unlimited potential.

    бн

    Marico woke up a few days after Zach used his AI Medical system to conduct the bone marrow transnt. Although he was still weak, vitality was gradually returning to his face. The previously sunken cheeks were now ruddier and tinges with a reddish hue instead of the corpse like pale ashen color.

    Theck of blood in his body was being replenished by the new bone marrow in his body as well. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before he would be healedpletely.

    Despite not beingpletely healed, Marico was already feeling a lot better than he had felt in ages. He could actually feel strength in his body unlike before when it was only a deception for the people he wanted to deter from harboring designs on his Windsor family.

    Drew had been a great help to him all these years and had always been there to take care of him whenever his illness returned but Marico clearly knew his own condition. He couldn''t neglect the truth of his approaching death since Drew had never been confident in being able to treat his disease.

    Therefore, when he woke up this time Marico was extremely surprised to find himself still in the realm of the living. The miracle that he had been hoping for really came when he had already given up on it.

    Since Marico had no hope and had already epted that the end of his life was nigh, he had made some preparations for the continued survival of his family. These included a series of orders that had to be carried out by his trusted people in the event of his death so as to not give those vultures any chance to dig their filthy ws to drink the lifeblood of the Windsor family.

    But now that he had survived past his disease, there was no need to carry out those tasks posthumously. Since he still had the ability to take care of his family, there was no need for him to rely on others to do what he could do himself.

    Instead of feeling sad about all the ns that could no longer reach fruition, Marico felt d that he was alive to make new ns for the future of the Windsor family.

    After contemting for a long while as he rested to recover his lost vitality, Marico decided to make more ns for the future that made use of his presence to help Windsor family reach the top of Byzantium city.

    Marico had seven children in total. Two of those children were the girls ra and Violet. Most people had spected that the girls wouldn''t be able to handle the burden of the family after their father''s death and would eventually be the weak link of the Windsor family sooner orter. Out of all his seven children, ra and Violet were considered to be the least likely to excel amongst their siblings but reality had proven otherwise.

    His survival this time was because of the two girls. Had the little girl, ra not brought home Zach after her ordeal in the forest, Marico might have died in his bed already. Not only that but the girls weren''t in fact useless. Both of them were extremely talented. The younger sister ra was a battle maniac and a genius in augmentation magic that allowed her to increase her physical strength many times over. Her physical augmentation was so strong that her siblings despite being older than her fell far behind her. The older sister Violet was a talent when it came to management of the family. She had been holding the reins of the family in the absence of her father and had fulfilled the role in a dignified manner even though Marico didn''t put all his trust in her.

    Although the two sisters had their specialty, it didn''t mean that they were not good in other aspects as well. For example, ra despite being a genius mage was also quite good when it came to management. Her troops could be considered the cream of the top due to her training and battle tactics. Moreover, she had been assisting her older sister in her daily duties which allowed her to gain considerable experience in the family matters as well. Simrly, Violet was quite good at magic too despite not being a match for ra.

    After recovering from his illness, instead of gathering all his children to revise his ns for the future, Marico just called for ra and Violet whom he considered to be the best amongst his children.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Both the sisters knew that the agenda of the meeting this time was to nullify their father''s posthumous ns and toe up with a better future path for the family.

    "Good good, both of you are here. Take a seat first." The old man perked up as soon as he saw the smiling faces of his capable daughters. He was especially happy to see his daughters doing well. In the past he had no choice but to be harsh with the two due to his condition but he was now willing to make up for it all. He was able to support them for a long time toe now.

    "It''s good to see you doing so well." Violet was the one to answer his excitement while ra only nodded before taking a seat following her sister.

    "I have called you here to discuss a few things with the two of you considering that you were the ones to hold the n afloat in my absence all this time. I wonder if that old doctor told you about my n to marry off ra to Zach in case of my death." Marico looked at both of them and asked in all seriousness.

    While ra wanted to hide her face somewhere, Violet had no qualms about answering the question.

    "We did. We heard him mention it once."

    "Well, now that I am not going anywhere, there is no need for ra to sacrifice herself for the family. She is my daughter and has no deficiency of suitors chasing after her. She can be matched with wonderful young masters of a family that is equivalent in status to ours. She doesn''t have to bear hardships with Zach out in the wilderness anymore. I will take this opportunity to look for a suitable match for her as soon as possible. Our business partners would surely like to strengthen the bond between the families through a marriage in order to prosper together." the old man''s voice turned extremely solemn as he referred to her sacrifice. There were even a hint of tears at the corner of his eyes. He looked extremely remorseful at the thought of marrying ra off.

    Violet tried to hold back herughter as she saw ra panicking at the sudden deration regarding her marriage. There were visible changes in her expression even though she tried to hide her face behind her hands as if she was embarrassed to look at her father for suggesting such a thing in front of her.

    "I think you are right father. There is no way that Zach can be a match for ra even though he helped our family. We must find a good young master for my little sister instead. I don''t want her to be wronged now that you are here to take over the reins of the family."

    Before Violet could say anything else, ra removed the hands covering her face and acted slightly indignant before butting into the conversation.

    "Father, my apologies but I don''t agree with your suggestion. I don''t think that it is wise for us to distance ourselves from Zach especially when he is so full of potential. We haven''t seen even half of what he is capable of. Our Windsor family must stick to him like adhesive if we have to in order to bring our family to new heights."

    Marico acted surprised at ra''s opinion but didn''t stop her from talking her heart out. Violet too didn''t stop her and instead listened to everything she was saying with a mysterious smile on her face.

    "He has already cured me. I don''t think he has anything else to offer our family. We can''t obtain any more benefits from him even if we marry you to him. I don''t want my precious daughter to suffer because of him." Marico acted like a strict father-inw assessing his daughter''s boyfriend for the first time. No matter how much ra praised him, he acted dissatisfied with Zach.

    But the more Marico tried to disregard Zach''s favor, the more ra wanted to defend Zach.

    "You are only saying that because you haven''t witnessed his strength in battle. He is not only crafty and ingenious when ites to battle strategies his method of training troops is so out of the box that even I can''t stop admiring it. His forces are exceptionally disciplined and armed with weapons that I haven''t seen before. Moreover, most of his forces are made up ofmon people instead of mages. You can''t deny his ingenuity even if you want to. In my opinion, we shouldn''t close off the door to the coboration with him so soon. In the meantime, I shouldn''t go out or get in touch with other men so that we can opt whether to coborate with Zach or not at ater date."

 Chapter 170 170 The First Official Visit

    ra''s words were extremely logical but Violet and Marico had been managing the family for a long time to not be able to spot the hidden agenda behind those words. They had already been expecting this but figured that they should tease this serious lookingdy a little.

    "I wonder if your insistence to coborate with Zach stems from you thinking of the well being of our family or your own well being instead." Violet smirked like a cunning vixen as she asked ra.

    "What do you mean by that? What personal agenda could I possibly have to do this?" ra acted as if she hadn''t understood the question at all.

    "I mean to ask if you are in love with Zach. Have you fallen for him after witnessing his power?" Violet had always been straightforward but this time her direct approach stung ra making her feel extremely ufortable. She panicked as she looked at her sister''s smiling face that seemed to be hiding daggers. In her panic she turned towards her father who as it turned out was smiling in the same creepy manner as her elder sister.

    "Of course not; how can this youngdy fall for a man like him?" flustered ra denied every usation of her sister and her father but her face turned red like a juicy tomato about to burst.

    "Thanks for saying that. I have been hoping to hear you say this all this time. I was afraid that you had fallen in love with Zach. Thankfully, you haven''t which means I am now free to pursue him for myself. You don''t mind if I do that, do you?"

    ra couldn''t get any more flustered at this sudden attack. She had only been denying it out of embarrassment but Violet didn''t even give her a chance beforeunching the attack.

    ra looked like she had been holding her breath for too long. Her face looked puffy and flushed with anger as she stared daggers into her sister who looked like an opportunistic vixen to her. She wanted to shout her resistance to Violet and her father but the words got stuck somewhere in her throat as if she lost track of them midway.

    Marico had been silent all this time except for a snicker or two because he wanted to figure out his daughter''s true feelings. He didn''t want her to suffer because of the decisions he made in preparation for the rise of his family.

    Therefore, when he witnessed his daughter''s tsundere act, he couldn''t help butugh freely like old men his age usually did.

    "Let''s not tease her any further Violet. I think she has had enough for today. How about you let her off?"

    Violet had been enjoying the various emotions on her usually stern sister''s face. She still stopped annoying ra as soon as her father told her to let ra be.

    It was only then that ra understood what had happened to her. All of this had been a trap carefullyid down by her evil father and sister duo. She had been ying along their tunes for so long. Embarrassment engulfed her whole being as she thought back to everything she had said regarding Zach.

    Her already red face turned an even deeper shade of red as she realized how she had been yed which made her want to smash her head into the wall with all her strength. She couldn''t believe that all this was a ploy to get her to reveal her feelings.

    Angry with her closest family members, ra stomped her feet with considerable strength to cause some vibrations in the entire floor structure and rushed out the door with such brisk steps that she was practically running.

    Just before she could get a hold of her emotions after leaving the room, she ran straight into Zach and bumped into his chest. She was especially petitepared to Zach who could be considered quite tall. When she bumped into him, she barely reached his strong and muscr chest.

    Due to their closeness, Zach had to look down in order to see who had run into him.

    ra looked up and stared right into Zach''s soulful gaze. Her already pounding heart couldn''t take much of it and burst out of her chest right through her ribs and all.

    Zach was just about to call her name when ra took a step back suddenly and steered clear of him before escaping at an even faster speed. She was barely able to keep her blushing face from being seen by Zach by covering itpletely using her hands.

    Zach could only wonder to himself whether he had done something wrong to earn her ire. He didn''t want to be on the bad side of this girl who could shatter the ground with her punches.

    Zach had visited the main estate of the Windsor family a few times before but that had been in the absence of the old master. These visits couldn''t actually be counted because the leader of the household was either absent or bedridden during those visits.

    Therefore, this was by far the first official visit to the Windsor family estate after the old leader was healed and took over the Windsor familymand once again from Violet.

    In fact, Zach had note alone this time. Diana and Bruce had been following right after him but they were too interested in the little trinkets lining the walls along the way. They were too distracted and separated from him midway. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    They were currently rushing towards him speedily in order to cover the gap between them faster.

    Quite some time had passed since he kept his end of the bargain but the Windsor family had yet to make good on their promise with him. When he had saved ra in the wilderness before, she had promised to help him establish a foundation for himself on behalf of the Windsor family. He had been dying his demand to get a piece ofnd in Byzantium city because he was being considerate of the Windsor family who were going through a tough time.

    Now that he had helped them solve their problem, he believed that it was only right to demand what he was owed by the Windsor family. Therefore, he brought Bruce and Diana with him in order to discuss the details of the acquisition of the Greend Ind.

    Just when he was about to enter the room to discuss it with Marico, he ran into ra who looked quite out of it as if she was being chased by several poltergeists.

    Flustered with the sudden rocket that hit him squarely in his chest, he stumbled before regaining his bnce. Before he could ask her what happened, she made a run for it which left him staring into empty space.

    Thankfully, the awkward atmosphere didn''tst long as Violet came out of the room to wee his group. Diana and Bruce had also caught up to him by this time and returned Violet''s greeting along with him through a polite nod.

    Zach eyed Violet asking what the deal with her sister was.

    "You don''t need to bother with her. She is all right just a little flustered."

    Zach nodded and didn''t pursue the matter any further before following her lead and entering the room. Diana and Bruce followed right after him albeit a little cautiously. They couldn''t rest at ease thinking that Zach had been called to the main estate for the discussion.

    The old master was obviously all smiles to see Zach. He motioned to Zach and hispanions to take a seat across from him.

    When all were seated, Violet walked towards the study table at the edge of the room and took out several documents from the drawer that was as long as a filing cab. She picked out one from among the pile and brought it back with her to her father.

    Zach intended to discuss the Greend project this time with the old master and wanted to request him to expedite the leasing process if possible. Seeing the papers in Violet''s hand, excitement coursed through him and he hoped that they were what he wished them to be.

    "Here''s the lease agreement for the ind you asked for." Violet handed the documents to Zach so he could verify their authenticity.

    Zach was pleasantly surprised by this gesture from the Windsor family. They took care of his request proactively even before he asked them. He had to admire their work efficiency.

    "To be honest, it is a lot earlier than I expected. Thank you for expediting the process. It should have taken some extra effort considering the circumstances." Zach showed his appreciation in a sincere manner.

    Bruce and Diana had simr smiles beside him since the lease agreement would allow them to coax the family members who were dissatisfied at the moment.

    "No need to thank us. This is what we should do in the first ce. Ever since our ra made that agreement with you, our family was prepared to honor her agreement to the best of our abilities. It should be us thanking you instead. Your favors towards our family are way heavierpared to this tiny one."

    Violet was truly grateful for everything Zach had done for her family no matter what his intentions might have been.

    [***Congrattions***]

    [You have sessfully earned the favorability of ra Windsor. You are one step closer to digging into the vast potential hiding within her.]

    [You have managed to leave a good impression on the Windsor family of Byzantium city that is considered to be a powerful family in its own right.]

    бн

 Chapter 171 171 Rewards And Prices

    бн

    [The Windsor family will trust you unconditionally in situations that do not involve any harm to their family.]

    [After toiling for a long time, you have finally found a piece ofnd that you can call your own. This piece ofnd will act as the safe haven you wish to build for your followers. But thend has to be reimed from the wilderness before human society can be developed there.]

    [New items have been unlocked as a reward for this achievement. They might help you reim the wildnd speedily. Details can be viewed in the Weapons Arsenal at any time.]

    [бнhas been unlocked.]

    [бнhas been unlocked.]

    [бнhas been unlocked.]

    бн

    Zach couldn''t help but be excited at the list of rewards he had just received in order to help him reim his new territory. He couldn''t wait to go through their details but he had to wait until he was out of the Windsor family''s eyes. Most of these items were the things he might need in order to transform his territory into livablend.

    For the first time ever, Zach was d that he hadn''t received some powerful weapon as a reward this time because these tools were what he needed the most at this time because they would help him build a foundation for his followers sooner.

    Although, Zach had be the leader of the group, he wasn''t exactly an expert when it came to themon sense or the business strategies of this world. Therefore, he handed the lease contract to Bruce who was an expert in the field of business matters.

    Bruce didn''t take long to scrutinize the whole document as Zach waited for him to reach a conclusion. The expression on his face soon revealed his excitement as he whispered into Zach''s ear in a low voice that would be inaudible to anyone else in the room.

    "Zach, this is too good. The conditions stated here and the price is exceptionally lowpared to the market rate. This price isn''t normal at all. The Windsor family must have pulled a lot of strings to get the government to agree to such an abnormally low price. This will benefit us greatly during the time when we are clearing thend on that ind and would turn into a good source of revenue once we have established ourselves on Greendter."

    Although Zach knew that the conditions were in his favor, he didn''t want to take advantage of the Windsor family. He was unable to ignore the anomaly no matter how much the Windsor family favored him after he saved the lives of the father and daughter duo. The fact that they were already willing to negotiate on his behalf had been a stroke of luck on his part. Therefore, Zach didn''t want them to suffer any kind of hardship because of him.

    Zach took the lease contract from Bruce''s hands. He had to practically pry it out of his grasp because Bruce was unwilling to let go of such a good opportunity.

    "I am sorry but I cannot ept this contract." said Zach with a righteous air around him.

    "Is there some problem with the contract? Don''t hesitate to tell us what the problem is. We will make sure to satisfy you if that''s the case." Violet replied with sincerity.

    Zach didn''t doubt their sincerity at all. It was just that he hated taking advantage of others. He wasn''t willing to receive things that he had not earned by himself.

    "No, there is no problem with the contract. Instead it is just too good. I believe that even your family must have suffered quite a bit to get a one-sided contract like this one. I can''t let you suffer such a big loss for my sake. I can''t possibly take advantage of your kindness to fulfill my ends alone."

    Neither Violet nor the old master of Windsor family could get understand the reason why Zach was insisting on not epting the price of the lease of the contract especially when it had been designed to be in his favor. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "So, you think that this is much more of a return than the favor you have done for my family?" the old man asked Zach in return as he returned the contract to him as it was.

    Zach could only nod in response as this was the basis of why he was adamant on returning the contract to Violet.

    The old man red up slightly after he received Zach''s answer. His voice rose a few degrees as anger took over his countenance.

    "Then do you think my life; the life of the Windsor family leader is this cheap? Let alone my life, just my daughter''s life is enough for me to return the favor several times over. The price difference is nothing inparison to what you have given the Windsor family. Can you put a price tag on the continued survival of my entire family and my life?"

    Zach was unable to say anything when Marico put it like that. After all, there really wasn''t any price for the life of the family head of a prominent family like the Windsor family.

    He bowed his head slightly and took what was being given to him with gratitude.

    Marico finally seemed to be satisfied as a smile bloomed on his face and even Violet looked slightly happier than her stern self.

    Bruce had been in this political world his whole life. He had spent many years in the midst of political turmoil while being sandwiched between various powerful families of Elizabeth city. He knew how the world worked and what the Windsor family must have done in order to secure so many benefits for Zach through this deal.

    Bruce believed that Windsor family despite being a powerful family wasn''t the absolute top of the city. They couldn''t get the government to strike such a deal with them without offering them something in return. There had to be some kind of dark deal that Zach was being kept from.

    Zach wasn''t too far from this truth either. It was due to this very reason that Zach wasn''t inclined to receive the lease documents that too much in his favor. He believed that he didn''t have the right to let the Windsor family suffer on his behalf just so Zach could get an easy and cheapnd contract. Although he had done some favors for the family, they weren''t heavy enough to demand such a price. He wasn''t so shameless yet.

    Although Zach knew that the leader of the Windsor family must have put his family at a disadvantage to get this deal for him, he didn''t shirk from it. Instead he was confident in making his business prosper in the shortest duration of time. With his technological advantage and his technical and business expertise from the previous world, Zach was bound to be a sess. He was confident in himself which meant that the investment of the Windsor family might still benefit from making this deal despite seeming like they were at a disadvantage.

    After suffering at the hands of the Prince Kolt in Elizabeth city, Zach couldn''t help but be cautious. He was getting increasingly worried because of the risk of his identity getting revealed in front of the world.

    Zach had be quite the celebrity after attacking the royalty. Even though he had raised his hands against one of the royal family, the Norman Royal family didn''t bother about it and ignored all his previous actions once they found out how brilliant he was and what his continued existence meant for the society as a whole.

    Therefore, there were many sketches of his true face being disyed in various ces. He was worried that even here, someone would end up recognizing him and his true identity would be revealed. He had made so many ns after putting in a lot of effort but at the end he still couldn''t be sure of anything.

    Instead of being ashamedter on, Zach thought it right to voice out his concerns right now so that the Windsor family leader won''t think that Zach was looking down on him.

    "From what I have seen, you must be aware of my true identity."

    The old master of Windsor family nodded in eptance because there was no use in hiding it any longer. The cat was long out of the box anyway since the doctor had used that card to save Marico''s life.

    "Then it is easier for me to help you understand my point of view. The thing is that I am quite confident in reaching the top of the business world in this city as well. My mind is brimming with ideas that can help the civilization advance without the help of magic. But I can''t do that with the great families around me opposing me at every step of the way. The more they try to dig out the dirt on me to keep me in check, the more likely it will be for my identity to be revealed. If you can find it, I am sure that there must be others who might be thinking along the same lines as you. Therefore, it would be quite easy for the people to throw a wrench in all my carefully developed ns. I am afraid, at that time I might have to make a run for it. My people can''t afford another battle of simr scale. I don''t mind epting thisnd, but I am afraid that I might not be able to live up to your expectations of me."

 Chapter 172 172 Perfect Disguise

    Marico was an experienced leader. He listened to Zach carefully and understood his concerns thoroughly. Being a leader himself, Marico was able to empathize with Zach. In his position, Marico might have returned thend as well as long as he considered the Windsor family a trustworthy ally. Therefore, he was no longer crass with Zach for daring to reject the goodwill of the Windsor family earlier.

    Marico wasn''t willing to let a talent like Zach escape his hands. Not to mention his daughter ra had already beented by the fisherman named Zach.

    Moreover, Zach was Windsor family''s benefactor and since Zach had raised his concerns, Marico felt it his duty to help the young one out of his predicament so that he could put his mind at ease.

    "Although there are my selfish reasons involved, I hope that you can stay here for a long time. I will help you hide your identity from the rest of the city and for that I think I just had a brilliant idea sh through my mind. Do you mind if I run through you for a second opinion? I am getting old and sometimes, I miss important details." Marico wasn''t as old as he made himself out to be. He just wanted Zach to let down his guard a little so that he wouldn''t be as cautious towards Marico.

    "What''s this idea that you are talking about?" Zach was surprised that the old man was willing to think of a solution to help him hide his identity. He was curious as to what the old master was referring to.

    "When I was young; probably even younger than you and ra, I was still living in this city. Many of the young masters of my generation are the current family leaders of the prominent families of the city so they must also remember this. I had a friend who terrified the living souls out of the other youngds. All the current family heads had been beaten up by him at one time or the other. He was far too entric for anyone to control and used to run amok without the fear of authority. Thanks to my friendship with him, I spent those years at the top of my generation. His name was Wood Smith. He was a dark mage with a personality that was hard to categorize as good or bad. It should be something bordering between the two but his twisted nature wasn''t hidden from anyone. It has been twenty long years since any of usst saw him. I don''t even know if he is still alive or not but given the long absence this time, I can only presume that my friend is not in the world of the living anymore. But the prominent families of the city must still have a deep impression of him. They are unlikely to forget him."

    Marico began to narrate the stories of childhood like the old bags from his previous world. From the looks of it, the old were the same whether it was his previous world or this fantasy world. They loved to tell stories of their glory days which wereced with spices ording to their moods. The happier they were, the more boisterous their stories became.

    Zach felt that he was stuck in the simr position. He was unable to interrupt the old master since he needed his help to hide his identity properly. Offending Marico wasn''t a good thing at this time.

    "What has that got to do with helping me hide that identity?" asked Zach cautiously because he felt like he was missing the point of the story that Marico was narrating. He had been going on for so long but Zach could not at all see the point of the story.

    "And I thought you were supposed to be a smart one. But don''t worry I am getting to that soon. Be a little patient." Marico snickered in a smug manner.

    Zach didn''t take Marico''s words to mind because he knew that the old man only meant well.

    "My friend Wood Smith was a dark mage whom everyone in the city still remembers. Using his identity, I intend to forge a new identity for you. It will serve as the perfect disguise for you who are new to this city. You have travelled quite far from Elizabeth city and there are hardly any people left who are still paying attention to your whereabouts. This new identity would allow you to operate without anyone daring to do a background check on you so it will be quite safe for you here for some time."

    "I see where you are going with this but you don''t expect the people of the city to believe that I am Wood Smith, right? So who am I going to be?" asked Zach curiously. He was dying to know the protective measures the old man had devised for him. Unlike how harmless the old man acted, Zach knew that he was a cunning fox and his machinations were bound to be effective.

    "That damn guy must be an old man by now even if he is alive. How can I ask you to pretend to be him? It turns out that being old friends Wood and I decided to betroth our children to each other when we were still young. We promised to each other that if our children in the future turned out to be of the same gender then they would be sworn brothers or sisters like us and if they turned out to be of the opposite gender then they would get married. You are going to be Wood Smith''s son from now on who hase to marry one of my daughters as a result of my promise to your father. Since you are a dark mage as well, it would be even easier for people to believe this story. As for why nobody around here knows you, it''s because your father had you after he left here and you are now here after travelling thousands of miles in his ce to make good on the promise your father made to me when we were still young."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Zach was speechless for a little while. He praised the old man in his heart foring up with such an borate story to safeguard his interests. At the same time he was impressed with the old man''s scheme.

    The old man saw that Zach wasn''t speaking a word and asked his opinion, "What do you think? Would it work?"

    "I don''t know whether it would work or not but I do know that this is the best path for me if I have even the tiniest chance of being able to keep my identity from leaking." replied Zach truthfully.

    "Don''t worry kid; we will take the initiative to "identally" spread this news to all the corners of Byzantium city. By the time your business begins to gain ground, they will all be aware of your background. And with me here, no one will bother to pry into your true identity or what you did beforeing here."

    Zach agreed with the old man''s n wholeheartedly. If the whole city already knew everything about him, they would have no need to ask around about him or stumble on to his true identity by mistake.

    While Zach and the old master were talking and discussing among themselves, Diana and Bruce were apanying Zach as well. They didn''t speak a word but were listening intently to the conversation.

    Bruce was quite surprised at the mention of the famous dark mage with the entric personality; Wood Smith. Even in Elizabeth city he had once heard the mention of this name and the things that person had done.

    When Zach had first followed Diana to the Luther family estate, Bruce had been quite worried to house a dark mage. He had asked for a background check on Zach but there had been no records of Zach at all anywhere. At that time Bruce had even guessed that Zach was connected to Wood Smith who was rumored to be equally off the radar and equally as good in dark magic.

    Bruce also helped Zach analyze the scenario that the old man intended to enact. The more he considered it, the more confident he grew that it would work in hiding Zach''s identity. It was definitely the perfect excuse for Zach to stay and build a foundation in this ce where his inws lived and his father once lived in the past. It was also the perfect excuse for the Windsor family to offer their full support and to fight for the beneficial lease agreement for Zach.

    Diana watched on as Zach and her big brother exchanged knowing looks in between them. She understood their subtle gestures as she had been with them most of the time for the past few months. Therefore she knew that her brother and Zach had tacitly agreed that this was the best solution at the moment to their predicament.

    Unlike the sudden joy that Bruce and Zach had suddenly found from this newfound sense of security, Diana grew only more upset and increasingly insecure. She had been working all this while in order to keep Zach for herself but her brother and Zach were moving in the exact opposite direction.

    Before she had been envious of Christina who had gotten the opportunity to get married to the man she liked before he even considered her a possible match.

    After struggling so much and oveing so many battlefields, she had finally managed to be a fake couple with Zach.

 Chapter 173 173 Hunter Family

    After struggling so much and oveing so many battlefields, she had finally managed to be a fake couple with Zach. It might look like a fool''s errand to the others, but Diana had invested herself fully in this fake rtionship. She was in fact hoping that the fake rtionship would eventually bloom into something real.

    Just when Diana finally felt that she had a chance with Zach now that other bothersome girls were out of the way, another hade to take over her spot.

    She felt that Zach already had a fake wife namely herself and didn''t need another one as long as Diana was with him. She was determined to stand against such a decision even if she had to invest everything she had to achieve this end.

    "I don''t think it''s a good idea at all. How would you make them believe that Zach is the son of that Wood person you just mentioned? What if they begin to investigate Zach because of your information leak? Once someone finds a simplest clue from amongst your web of lies, the whole strategy of yours woulde crumbling down like a house of cards."

    Violet looked like she had seen through the heart of the girl raising the objections. ra had previously told her all about her journey. She had even mentioned how the two introduced themselves the first time they met her. Therefore, she had an inkling as to what was in Diana''s heart as she so vehemently opposed such a great idea that might help them develop the foundation that their family needed while remaining hidden from the prying eyes.

    Instead of taking her objection head on, Violet pulled Diana closer to herself and held her little hand in both of hers. She knew what Diana was trying to pull but she didn''t expose her. Violet was older than her and more experienced when it came to matters that should be handled delicately. Therefore, she tried to be as cautious as possible so as to not offend someone close to Zach.

    Diana was taken by surprise. She had not expected Violet to grab a hold of her hand like that. Before she could jerk her hand free, Violet''s calming voice entered her ears.

    "Mrs. Smithбн"

    Diana forgot all about pulling her hand free from Violet''s grasp. The way Violet just called her sweetened her bitter mood in a second and all the things she previously found wrong with the world suddenly seemed quite reasonable and justified. She didn''t even try to break free of Violet''s hands and if possible she wanted to listen more to her honeyed words that calmed her trembling soul.

    Diana couldn''t help but urge Violet to talk a little more to her through various gestures and her bodynguage.

    Zach dismissed what was happening without a second thought as he took it to be the so called understanding between those of the same gender. Just like he was quite amicable and had tacit understanding with Bruce, Diana must have felt the same with Violet which was why they had gotten so close to each other within seconds.

    "Mrs. Smith no matter what happens in the future, your position as the first wife won''t be threatened. Young master Zach must love you very much for him to bring you along wherever he goes. I don''t think any new girl can shake up his feelings for you in the short term. So you can rest assured that what you are worried about won''t happen so easily. Moreover, you have been by his side through thick and thin, I don''t believe that the new woman would be able to make him forget the sacrifices you have made for him."

    The more Violet spoke about her position as the first wife, the more Diana became satisfied with the situation. In fact she was quite easy to coax as she was rtively young. With Violet''s experience in diplomacy, it was as easy as cajoling a little child for her.

    Diana soon found her raised guns lowering unconsciously as the ttery reached her head. Violet had evoked her strongest desires within seconds but her voice was only audible to Diana. Therefore, no one; not even her father knew what she said to Diana in order to appease her and keep her from objecting any longer.

    Although Zach couldn''t understand how the headstrong Diana acquiesced to Violet so easily, Bruce who witnessed the blush spreading across his sister''s neck had a guess as to what Violet whispered to her.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    бн

    Kanewea State was home to a lot of powerful and noteworthy families and theirplex rtionships with each other were a must for anyone to operate a business in this area. The roots of these families were hidden far too deep within the annals of time and no one even knew how old these families were or how far their influence stretched until they decided to go all out in order to fight for survival. Each such war led to terrible consequences in the state. Therefore, there was an unspoken rule among the top families to not push each other to the edge. Only after a weakness was found that could be exploited without any repercussions would the vultures actually turn towards one of those families.

    Remaining within the limitations, the families constantly fought each other in order to secure resources and to expand their business activities. Hostile takeovers and mergers were amon urrence as long as the families refrained from infringing upon the opposing families'' main sources of ie.

    One of these old and powerful families was known as the Hunter family. For as long as anyone could remember, the Hunter family had always been a part of the Kanewea top influential families. Even though there was a certain drop in poprity from time to time, even time itself had been unable to erase the prestige of the family. The foundation of the Hunter family was too strong and the connections that they had built over the period of time were so numerous that two out of every five people one could meet in Kanewea state owed the Hunter family a favor.

    The Hunter family had been a close associate of the Windsor family in the past. They worked together for a period of time during which their businesses profited mutually and the cooperation was deemed to be quite fruitful for both the parties. s! The friendship and cooperative rtionship between the two families couldn''tst very long due to the deteriorating health of the old master of the Windsor family.

    The Hunter family had set its sight too high and was unable to distinguish greed from their right. Their cooperative spirit vanished and greed upied their minds when they found out the condition of the Windsor family leader.

    Even though the Windsor family was slowly deteriorating, the Hunter family managed to rein in their fantasies. They didn''t dare to attack fearing that the Windsor family might still retaliate and they might not be able to take them on.

    They only derived their courage from the fact that the illness the old master was suffering from couldn''t be cured ever. Only when they were sure that Marico, the patriarch of the Windsor family was approaching the end of his life did they make a move to annex the Windsor family to be a subsidiary of their own.

    Of course, several slightly lower level families had also been pestering the Hunter family for their share insisting that they wouldn''t let the Hunter family eat up such a delicious piece of meat all by themselves.

    The Hunter family had no reason to refuse since the Windsor family was such a behemoth that even after splitting their businesses and wealth into several pieces, it would still be enough to sate the appetite of all the vultures including the Hunter family.

    With Marico nearing death, the presence of ra and Violet had be a hindrance to the Hunter family. They needed the Windsor family to be in chaos in order to take over but the two girls wouldn''t let anyone eye their family. Therefore, Nelson Hunter suggested his father Hogan to get rid of the little girls.

    Hogan was a smart man who had taken the reins of the Hunter family a few decades ago. He wasn''t going to leave about any traces once he decided to kill the annoying girls of the Windsor family off. So, he told Nelson to hire a Tamer instead of an assassin to take care of the younger one. If the girl got attacked out in the wilderness by a bunch of beasts, it could only be attributed to her bad luck and herck of strength. No one would be able to find faults with them or anyone else.

    Nelson agreed with his father''s proposal because it was clean and efficient and the Tamer would never actually show up in front of the target in order to make it all look like an ident. Fortunately Nelson knew of a powerful Tamer who had an S rank beast in his possession. Although the Tamer was only ss A in terms of his mental capacity, the quality of beasts in his repertoire was far too capable; just the horde of Iron Mantises was deadly enough to wipe out a mid-sized party on their own. They didn''t even need the finemands of the Tamer to kill the other party.

    Nelson had met up with the Tamer before assigning him the task. Although he was confident that such a show of strength was enough to take down that little girl who loved going outside the city and into the wilderness, he still decided to ask the old Tamer if he could take down ra or not.

 Chapter 174 174 Aborted Assassinations

    The old man had promised him that not even her full corpse would make it back home. And yet the girl had returned home safe and sound without a scratch. Not even her party had suffered any kind of losses. They had sauntered into the city as ifing back from a morning walk.

    Nelson was unable to understand how the little girl of the Windsor family could havee back alive after all the preparations he had made. The old Tamer had promised him that getting rid of ra was child''s y for him. But in the end, Nelson was smacked in the face with no results at all. It was as if ra hadn''t even encountered any trouble along the path.

    Nelson grew uncertain about the Tamer. He even felt that the Tamer might have changed his mind midway and had never tried to seriously attack ra during the journey. Otherwise, there should have been at least some losses even with her power.

    As the situation made him increasingly furious by the second, Nelson called for the old Tamer he had hired in order to inquire about the situation.

    But the moment that ss A Tamer came face to face with him, Nelson began to shout and scream as he med the old Tamer for his ipetence. He cursed the Tamer for being a weakling and a braggart without even listening to a single word from the old man.

    "How dare you show your face in front of me? After bragging so much, the only thing you managed to do was to tear off the clothes of some of her underlings. I doubt you managed to do that either. It must have been some other ident otherwise they wouldn''t havee back with a smile on their faces.

    He had assumed that the old man was the one at fault and didn''t even stop to consider that ra might have had someone more powerful than the Tamer by her side because he had already assessed the strength of the group that ra had taken with her this time. Logically, he deduced that there was no one capable of averting such a disaster amongst ra''s group. Even the strongest out of her group, Grace wasn''t enough to give a tough time to ra let alone the assassin he had sent.

    "Do you think that I didn''t try my best? The information you gave me wasn''tplete enough. There was someone protecting that girl. His methods were too strange for me to handle. Even my strongest beasts were taken care of so easily that I didn''t dare to bring out more of them so as to not arouse more suspicion. You were the one who told me to keep a low profile and to make it look like an ident but even if I had done my best, I believe I would have failed just as badly. That person alone managed to sabotage two of my attacks. He even took care of a dozen Iron Mantises that I had reared with so much difficulty. Do you think you canpensate me for that? Do you dare to tell me that you can find me more Iron Mantis younglings to tame?"

    Nelson was a little dumbfounded. He hadn''t expected that the old Tamer would dare to retort after failing so spectacrly. So, he was at a loss for words when the old Tamer med him in return for his failure.

    The old Tamer took this silence as the opportunity to speak more and continued tosh out his grievances. Even though he was fully prepared, a mysterious man came out of nowhere to push him into the ground.

    "I have heard a rumor since then that the person who sabotaged both my attempts to kill that little girl is an SS rank Water mage who single handedly caused rainfall on a bright sunny day with not a single cloud in sight. How can I or my beasts possibly take on such a powerful mage and stille out unscathed. It was that little girl''s luck to acquire that mysterious man''s help; otherwise, she wouldn''t have made it back alive. All of her group together couldn''t even take down one of my Iron Mantises. If you still want to me me then go ahead. I won''t stop you. But you should know that I am not guilty of being weak but of being unlucky."

    Nelson had since them calmed down a little. Despite knowing that the old Tamer was not the one at fault, he had vented out all his anger and frustration at him.

    As for the SS rank Water mage that the old Tamer mentioned, Nelson had heard of him as well. He even knew the name of the mage. He was supposedly called Mr. Smith and had just arrived as the guest of the Windsor family along with ra''s entourage. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Based on his investigation, this Mr. Smith had been residing in the house by theke that was maintained by the Windsor family to house their most prestigious guests. Not only this Mr. Smith but the people along with him had all been given residence in the Lake house as if it was somemon inn. Just by looking at this, Nelson could estimate the importance of this guest. He concluded that this mysterious man must have some close rtionship with the Windsor family to be treated with so much protocol.

    When Nelson delved further into the matter in order to understand the kind of enemy he was facing, what came to light as a result shocked him quite heavily.

    Based on several rumors, this Mr. Smith was supposedly some close rtive of that notorious dark mage Wood Smith who was the terror of Byzantium city back when his father was still young and had not taken over the Hunter family.

    Although theirst names were the same, Nelson couldn''t deduce the exact rtionship that Mr. Smith had with the dark mage but he didn''t take him seriously at all. He believed that the old man Marico was going through hisst death throes and would pass on very soon. Therefore, no matter how strong this Mr. Smith could be, there was no way that the Windsor family would be able to survive even with his support.

    Since Marico''s death was predetermined, Nelson was sure that the ultimate fruit would belong to the Hunter family after his demise. Even if Mr. Smith was a man of godly strength and could bring about rainfall with a wave of his hand, there was no way that he would be able to reverse death.

    There was one other goal that Nelson had in his mind that he hadn''t yet shared with anyone. He didn''t tell anyone about what he felt about the eldest daughter of Marico. He always felt that Violet was toodylike and elegant. Her feminine charm and her inherent grace were evident in all her actions. No matter what she did, Nelson couldn''t help but admire her. She was like a wless angel in his heart whom nobody else but him could touch. The idol and the beauty he admired was just a step away from him but the step was proving to be a little too high. Every time Nelson felt that he was close to taking over the Windsor family, something got in his way. Previously, it had been the doctor who kept treating that old dog of the Windsor family and now this mysterious Mr. Smith hade out of nowhere.

    Nelson wanted the leader of the family dead as soon as possible so that he could take over the Windsor family andy im to the goddess in his heart. He wanted to keep Violet by his side and make her his little bitch. She was just the type of woman with oozing feminine charm that he liked.

    But there was one person who was aware of his evil intentions from the get go and did everything in order to prevent Nelson from approaching Violet. He had attempted to get in Violet''s good graces many times but every single time he was thwarted by the little bitch ra. She barely reached his chest when he stood straight but her attitude and the confident demeanor always made her seem taller than she actually was.

    Nelson hated her guts. He hated everything about the little bitch. He hated how perceptive she could be and how she managed to reach Violet in time every single time he tried to approach her alone.

    The old Tamer noticed the changes that took ce in Nelson''s expressions within the few minutes and deduced that this was his opportunity to earn himself a chance to try again. He didn''t want to drop the assassination mission for which he had already paid too much. If he let go of it at such a time, it would surely be too huge a loss for him to bear easily.

    "I only failedst time because that man came out of nowhere and I wasn''t prepared enough to counter him. I had no estimate as to how strong that man was or the strength that little girl was packing. Now that I have experienced both of them, I believe that I can handle them easily the next time. You can rest assured that I won''t let you down this time. Instead of saving my power, I will unleash hell onto them before they even figure out what hit them."

    Since it wasn''t entirely the old Tamer''s fault, Nelson didn''t continue ming him and decided to give him another chance. Still his anger hadn''t faded yet so the harshness in his words was still there too.

 Chapter 175 175 More Preparation

    "Fine, take as long as you want but I want that bitch dead. I am against second chances but since the circumstances this time were somewhat unavoidable, I am willing to overlook your half-assed efforts. But you shouldn''t take my leniency for granted and waste my time."

    The old Tamer shuddered thinking of the daggers hidden in Nelson''s words. His instinct told him to let go of this job but the losses he had suffered already were too much for him to give up this early. He mustered his courage and looked straight in Nelson''s eyes as if to defy his overwhelming presence and keep his self image from deteriorating.

    Nelson didn''t even bother about what the old Tamer was thinking in his heart. Instead of encouraging the Tamer, he threatened his well being so openly as if the old man wasn''t a threat but a chess piece in his eyes that Nelson could move based on his will.

    "You don''t have to report to me until youplete the task. I don''t want to see your useless face until then. And don''t take too long either because that would only be forcing me to destroy everything and everyone you have ever loved. Believe me when I say that it would not be difficult at all."

    Nelson had lost all his patience by that point and was unwilling to even look at the Tamer. Therefore, he told the tamer to get lost from his sight immediately.

    The old Tamer was an energetic looking old man even though he had seen many years of life. But at this moment his figure looked extremely hunched as he dragged his aged body away like a panicking worm crawling its way out of danger.

    The old man had not only lost the best chance to earn easy money but had also ended up losing most of his battle strength. To a Tamer, his strength waspletely based on the amount and the quality of the spirit animals he had tamed. Tamers were quite like the Summoner ss in various role y games. The character itself was extremely weak and relied on its summons to fight in a battle. Even though the Summoner ss was weak in the beginning and was hard to level up, it became the hardest to beat at the higher levels due to the increase in the number of summons around the summoner and the quality of the summons.

    The old Tamer was the same as his own strength was negligible as he was barely able to defend himself without his summoned spirit beasts'' protection. Since he had lost all the beasts in his previous assassination attempts at the hands of Zach, he needed to replenish his strength and the number of spirit beasts to rely on in case he needed to protect himself from Nelson in the near future.

    The old Tamer missed the strength he possessed previously. He had finally be an all rounder in terms of defense and offense after such a long time but the beasts he had tamed with so much difficulty were killed in just a blink of an eye. The rhinoceros was the perfect defense he could have asked for while the Iron Mantises were the most effective offensive team he had ever seen. They were vicious, lethal and extremely dangerous and being the same species their coordination with each other was immensely good. The formation he had developed after oveing several trials was now broken. But the bar was now set too high.

    The old Tamer didn''t think he would be satisfied with anything below the level of his previous team. He needed the new beasts to be at least on par with his previous ones if not better.

    Given the time frame for the job that Nelson had ordered him toplete the task in, there were not many suitable ces that could offer him such a quality of beasts. As such after scouring various information channels, when he couldn''t find any rted information he had to turn to hisst resort; Greend.

    Greend was an isted ind at the edge of Byzantium city that was surrounded on all sides by a huge water body and was still an uninhabited ce. Not a single acre of thend was upied by humans at this moment. This meant that the beasts were probably living in their natural habitat where they would have more opportunities for growth. Natural selection would definitely make sure that only the strongest of those beasts could survive the process and those who survived ultimately evolved into something more formidable and more aggressive by design.

    A tamer needed to be knowledgeable about the habitat of various monsters, their habits and the different ways to train and ultimately mutate their beasts into a higher version of themselves. For example, the rhinoceros that the old man previously had was the first beast he ever trained. It didn''t always have such a great and imprable defense. He had trained it endlessly and groomed it in that direction so as to be his most defensive shield in times of crisis.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Just based on the natural environment, the old Tamer was sure that he would be able to find some high quality spirit beasts deep within Greend. But that didn''t mean he had the guts to go that deep. He was in fact terribly afraid of this ce due to the immense number of poisonous wasps in this ce. Not only were the wasps as big as the biggest birds he had ever seen but their aggressiveness wasn''t any less than the Iron Mantises he had groomed previously. Once these beasts set their sights on someone, they wouldn''t let go until either of the parties was dead.

    The ce was too dangerous for the old Tamer; especially without his beasts. It was as if he was running unarmed into the arms of life threatening danger. If it were during normal times, the old Tamer would probably have been too afraid to enter this ce but in times of crisis he had to turn towards this ce for help. Only by taking huge risks like this could heplete the assassination job given to him by Nelson. Otherwise, he risked being chased around by him.

    Therefore, he was willing to y the high risk high return game this time. He was betting his life on the line for a chance to tame the highly aggressive and numerous poisonous wasps in this ce. Although he could find poisonous wasps in other ces as well, he chose toe to this ce because the quality of these beasts was far higher than any other ce in his knowledge. Not only were these wasps bigger and more frightening, their poison was also very potent and could induce powerful hallucinations through its toxins. Due to his newly raised standards, the old Tamer was now unwilling to tame the normal wasps and hade here to get his hands on these mutated wasps in Greend.

    As he traversed through the dense shrubbery of the ce, he felt that something was different in this ce but he couldn''t quite keep his finger on it. It was as if the answer was eluding him barely as it made fun of him right in his face.

    The old Tamer ignored it for the moment so that he could focus on his surroundings a little bit more. He couldn''t afford to lose focus here because doing that meant he didn''t treasure his life. A single moment of carelessness could mean the end of his already diminishing life.

    After traipsing around in the wild, the old Tamer finally found something useful. He saw a beehive hanging on the lower side of a heavy bough of arge mulberry like tree.

    The old man hade prepared with everything that a Tamer like him might need on an excursion like this. There were beast repents, all kinds of bait, treats and many such tricks of the trade. He took out one of the baits he had prepared beforehand.

    He spread out the prepared honey to the poisonous bees that were hanging around the hive. From the looks of it, most of them were the worker bees. There was no queen bee or the royal guards in sight. He needed to draw them out in order to proceed with his impromptu n.

    Although strength of the worker bees couldn''t be underestimated especially if there were more than one, there was a limit to what the old codger could achieve against an enemy like Zach who was more mysterious and elusive than poltergeists.

    The bees were attracted by the sweet scent of the honey and they rushed out of the hive and crammed on top of the honey he had put in several marked locations. He watched them feed onto it and could rest assured that the bees would definitely be his in the future.

    The honey he had fed the bees wasced with his handmade concoction that rendered the bees very harmless for a period of time by taking control of the neural activity. The old Tamer could easily use that time to get along with the bees and help them break their connection with the queen. Although these bees would no longer have ess to the hive mind, they would be loyal to him in the long run.

    The old man didn''t set his sights on the queen bee for the time being because he knew his current strength. He didn''t have enough power to take on the queen bee and her royal guards on his own. He needed the support of the entire hive in order to instigate a rebellion and to make the queen bow down its head to him.

 Chapter 176 176 Reclaim Wasteland

    Therefore, the old man slowly but gradually mixed in among the harmless bees. He fed them and used his superior taming techniques to take gradual control of these beasts. Since they didn''t have a strong sense of individuality, the more bees he managed to control, the easier it became to tame the remaining ones.

    It took him a few days but he now had the support of hundreds of poisonous bees behind him. Only then did hemand the bees to attack the hive in order to draw out the queen bee.

    Although he was able to control a huge number of bees, the stress on his mind was beyond what he could handle. Every time he tried to escape the mental limits, he would suffer from crushing headaches and the beasts in his possession would temporarily run out of control. Therefore, he needed to tame the queen bee as soon as possible so as to share the burden of controlling the mass of bees with it.

    It would not only help him fine tune his control on the bees, but would also make it easier for him to remotely fight his battles.

    The bees swarmed the hive at themand received from the old tamer and confronted the powerful queen relying on the numbers.

    The old Tamer could sense that he was losing arge number of bees pretty quickly aftering into contact with the queen but he didn''t rescind the order for the attack.

    After a serious struggle, the guards couldn''t fight with the queen any longer and sumbed to the huge number of the worker bees and the queen was dragged out by the swarm in front of the old Tamer.

    Unlike themon bees, the queen was not onlyrger in size but also had a deeper color and more refined and crystalline skin.

    He poured the honey in front of the queen bee on the ground and forced it to eat by pressurizing it using the worker bees.

    Betrayed by its own; the queen bee was forced to partake in theced honey and the taming process began.

    Just when he was about to get closer to the queen bee in order to make himself familiar to it, he heard a strange grating sound that was more intimidating than it was irritating. The sound inched closer to him and because of that the old Tamer couldn''t help but grow cautious.

    This was the first time he was hearing this sound. He even wondered if he was unlucky enough to encounter a newly mutated species that hadn''t been seen before. The sound it was making was definitely not the sound that any documented beast was known before. As such, for safety purposes the old Tamer needed to investigate the source of the sound.

    Before he could scout ahead, the trees that were close to him all fell in session as if a giant was pulling them apart in his anger tearing the ground in the process. The severe shockwaves that the falling of several trees at the same time produced was enough to shake the ground for miles around the center of the incident.

    Of course, the old Tamer was also within the radius. The bees around him were in frenzy as if they couldn''t see their natural habitat being torn apart by another beast.

    бн

    While the old Tamer was trying to figure out the identity of this new threat, the Smith family servants were busy working in the midst of the forest. Surrounded by the wild jungle, not a single one of them was nervous because the soldiers and the mages were protecting them from all sides which allowed them to work in peace.

    After acquiring Greend, Zach had brought his people to the ind in order to develop thend as per his own specifications. They were currently busy changing thendscape of the jungle on the ind. Clearing an entire forest was a tough task but the servants were up to it. They were more than willing to take on the task just so they could call a ce their home. After leaving Elizabeth city, they missed their home very much. So when Zach came to them with the proposal to build a ce they could call home with their own hands, almost all of them volunteered to work hard for it.

    As a result, they were now busy using the Chainsaws issued to them by Zach to take down any trees in the vicinity of their intended location. They first had to prep thend and clear the surroundings of any wild growth so that the foundation for their home would be strong and steadfast so that it would be able to stay standing for a long time toe.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Since they were already in touch with the kinds of otherworldly things that Zach could bring out of nowhere, they were able to wield a tool like the chainsaw just after a few days of dedicated training. Of course Zach himself was the teacher for the first batch since no one other than him could understand the principles behind the chainsaw and the precautions that they needed to adhere to while chopping down trees.

    Previously,mon servants like them couldn''t even dare to think that they could bring down sky reaching trees or cut through solid stone by themselves. It was the norm to call for the mages for jobs like these but only after meeting Zach did they recognize the power ofbor. They didn''t need magic to do menial tasks like these. All they needed was a good set of tools and a tiny bit of perseverance that was nothingpared to the manualbor they were used to.

    "This is so unexpected. Who would have thought we could cut down such strong trees in under a few minutes?"

    "Wouldn''t we be able to clear the entire forest away at this rate?"

    "I believe young master Zach''s ideas are so out of the box. Who would have thought that we would be using these sturdy trees to build our new home?"

    "Isn''t young master Zach a godly being? No human can possible make things like these."

    As the servants worked at cutting down the trees, they couldn''t help but shout over the noise of the chainsaw in order to talk about the greatness of their master. Some believed that he was a god in human form while others believed that he was the most advanced dark mage there ever was and had retained his youth through his magic but in reality he was hundreds of years old probably older than the entire Luther family. Therefore his wisdom and his knowledge exceeded their own by a huge margin.

    "This divine tool is so handy. I was so afraid when master told us to cut down all the trees in the middle of the jungle to clear thend. At that moment I thought that I would have to spend the rest of my life chopping away with my axe because I couldn''t see it happening in my lifetime at the very least. Thankfully, I didn''t raise a fuss back then or the master would have looked down on me."

    "To be honest, I was thinking along the same lines as well. I think Master knew it too and that was why he was so patient with us and trained us to use this chainsaw.

    While the servants were busily mowing down trees with tremendous speed, Zach perched on top of elevated ground and kept a watch on the surrounding area with the help of his binocrs. Several thoughts were blending together in his mind as he took in the terrain of the ind and molded it into the shape he intended for it to have at the end of his development program. He tried to picture it mentally but no matter what idea he used or the structure ofbor distribution he employed transforming the whole ind was tooborious a task.

    Despite his minute nning, the projectpletion timeline couldn''t be shortened. The shortest time that it would take for the project to bepleted came out to be a quarter of a year at the very minimum. Employing this timeline, Zach believed, would prove tooborious for the servants and might end up causing harm to them in an attempt to put this project on the fast track.

    While the servants did their work, Zach didn''t stay idle. He was strategizing all the time since his soldiers were still too green to carry out such arge expedition on their own.

    Zach called for Diana''s unit in order to assign them their tasks.

    Diana soon led the group towards the same elevation in order to receive those orders for her Special Forces Unit. She knew from the expression on Zach''s face that they were about to receive one hell of a mission this time.

    As expected Zach didn''t even falter as he told them, "Get ready you all. You have the most important job this time around. I am going to have you clean up the entire forest of the wild animals and beasts for as far off to the edge of the ind as possible."

    The soldiers were dumbfounded. Even Diana wasn''t spared this time. She was their leader but she was at a loss as to how she was supposed to clear every living creature in the vicinity of their future home.

    Zach waved his hand and several different suits appeared in front of him. These were protective suits that might allow them to stay safe in the face of the dangers posed by the beasts to them.

 Chapter 177 177 Pitiful Tamer

    Although Zach didn''t want to force these people to fight for him, they didn''t have any other choice. There was no time to waste since the servants were cutting down the trees very fast. The destruction of their natural habitat was bound to anger the beasts living within it someday.

    Instead of waiting for the beasts to attack first, Zach felt that it was only right to tell these beasts that the ind belonged to someone else now.

    Zach had thought of everything there was to consider. He had not only equipped the people he brought with him, but also geared them up to the point that the beasts would barely be able to get past their skin even with their most pointless attacks. With the protection of the suits, they could easily wade deep into the center of the forest and exterminate any unwilling beasts no matter the kind of situation that might present itself to them in the future.

    Diana and her soldiers stood tall and resolute, like a mighty oak tree standing firm against the wind. They adorned their special protective suits, resembling armored knights ready for battle, their suits gleaming like polished silver under the dappled sunlight.

    As they ventured into the depths of the forest, the air grew thick and heavy, wrapping around them like a suffocating nket. The soldiers pressed on, their determination burning bright like a flickering torch, guiding them through the shadowy wilderness.

    With each step, the ground beneath them seemed to tremble, like the heartbeat of a slumbering giant awakening from its deep sleep. But Diana and her soldiers remained steadfast, their resolve unyielding, like a mighty river carving its path through solid rock.

    As expected, they soon encountered some wild beasts blocking their path.

    The soldiers moved with the grace of agile predators, their movements fluid like a flowing river, swiftly and tactfully driving the creatures away. Their protective suits acted as imprable shields, shielding them from harm like a fortress guarding its upants from the outside world.

    Most of the beasts that the team encountered were made up ofmon and easy toe across beasts like the snake type beasts, centipedes and some other strangely mutated ones that weren''t especially harmful. But that didn''t mean that the soldiers let their guard down. Their leader had given severe instructions and whosoever had the guts to bex would definitely be punishedter on.

    Neither the wild beasts nor the scarily mutated creatures could bar their way as they exterminated until they had to burn corpses to move further ahead.

    But following right after the force of beasts was a huge swarm. The swarm was a looming green figure in the distance but as soon as it began to growrger in the eyes of the soldiers, it became a poisonous gue heading straight towards themselves.

    There were thousands of poisonous wasps in the swarm and anyone that fell into the range of the swarm would undoubtedly end up in a precarious situation. The soldiers even wondered if there would be anything left of their bodies by the time the swarm crossedpletely. If any of them fell into the swarm, death would be the sweetest release considering that if they didn''t die by the thousands of sharp stingers stabbing countless times into their bodies, they were probably still going to die by the poison within these stingers.

    The swarm soon descended onto the soldiers but surprisingly not a single one of the soldiers deserted their post or ran away or even turned his backs on to hisrades. Diana especially admired them for that. They put all their trust into their master who gave them the protective suits.

    Thanks to their master''s kindness, the wasps were unable to break past the firstyer of their skin let alone poisoning them. The stingers were renderedpletely useless by the protective clothing.

    Once the soldiers were sure that they were safe even amidst the swarm, they grew bolder and two of them who were carrying something akin to a spray can on their backs and had a pipe like thing in their hands took the lead. They began to spray the whole cylinder worth of insecticide that they had already prepared to be used in this situation.

    They already knew that the insecticide was an especially effective method to immobilize any insectoid beasts even the poisonous wasps were no exception to that.

    The spray spread itself around like an atomizer and very soon all the wasps were either wobbling in the air, suddenly dipping down from the air or were already lying on the ground writhing in pain. Unlike the Iron Mantises, the insecticide was especially effective against the wasps due to theircking overall power aspared to the iron mantises.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The soldiers brought out a nozzle from his bag and attached it to the end of the spray mechanism which increased its overall range by passing the spray through a narrow passage way. It not only allowed the two soldiers to coverrger portion of the swarm, but also allowed them to hit their targets precisely with the spray. The rest of the soldiers didn''t stay idle and took care of the wasps that were still in their senses or were close to death already.

    Once the wasps in the back noticed the end of theirrades, some of them began to diverge from the swarm in order to save their lives. Survival instinct was a basic quality ingrained in all living beings after all.

    Diana took care of most of the wasps and ordered her soldiers to move forward saying, "We have topletely eliminate these beasts from the forest. They are a gue that would never end if we let some of them escape today. It would only bring about a disasterter on. So those spraying insecticides make sure to get each one of them. Marksmen, take care of everything that escapes these two."

    The bees found the wasps retreating in their direction and began to panic. It had to be known that these bees were behind the poisonous wasps on the overall power spectrum. Even the number of the beasts was far ahead of the number of bees ever after so many of them had been mercilessly ughtered by Zach''s soldiers.

    The bees that were no longer connected to the queen began to panic while the old Tamer couldn''t control them as precisely. His spirit was limited and could only convey some broader intentions to his beasts instead of micromanagement of each individual bee.

    While the old Tamer was struggling to regain control of the wild bees that were indiscriminately attacking everything in their path, he tried to converge most of his mental strength towards the queen bee in order toplete the taming process a little faster using therger portion of his strength to grease the process.

    Some of the bees were using their stingers to pierce through the tree trunks or the stones in their paths. They were out of their wits when faced with the swarm of wasps and since they were unable to run away due to the old tamer''s control, the only option left to them was to find a way to kill their way through. This led to their indiscriminate assault which was basically an unconscious response when faced with mortal danger.

    The old Tamer grew more cautious of the sound he had been hearing earlier. It gave him an unprecedented sense of horror and fear but he hadn''t caved in. The panicking bees only further reinforced his belief and he put all his effort intomunicating with the queen bee and left the other bees to their own devices as they couldn''t run away even if they wanted to.

    The wasps made no sound as they swarmed towards the old Tamer from behind him. Even the bees weren''t able to make him realize the danger that was heading towards him without a sound.

    The Tamer was caughtpletely unawares by the mass of wasps. By the time he understood what was happening to him, the wasps were already closing in on him as theypletely ignored the incoherent group of bees.

    He released all his magic power to enhance the mental link between him and the bees but the number of the bees was still too much for him. The full body imprable defense he had in mind using the bees as the shield proved to be very draining. He couldn''t control the floodgates of mana that opened in response to his will. The bees greedily sucked in his energy in order to fight back against the wasps but it was a losing battle to begin with. The wasps on the ind had already mutated and were far too strong for the bees to handle on their own.

    They were bypassed by the wasps easily and the old man couldn''t bolster his defense in time. Before he could even try to escape, the wasps stung him full of holes.

    His weak body wasn''t capable of withstanding such an all out attack and faltered the very next moment.

    The toxins from the wasps began to take effect and the hallucinations proved to be far deadlier than the force behind the stings. The things he abhorred, monsters that made him scared as a kid, abominations that could scare his very soul out of him, all became real within the blink of an eye.

    The old tamer closed his eyes to escape from the nightmare but the visions couldn''t be blocked. Everything was happening in his mind after all.

 Chapter 178 178 Clingy Clara

    The more he tried to escape from the hallucinations, the worse his condition became. He was like a headless fly barging head first into the window pane just because it could see its freedom outside.

    The toxins began to drive him mad slowly as blood leaked out of his fresh wounds. The old tamer wasn''t at all concerned about the wounds as he had bigger monsters to defeat in his mind. He began to run around and bumped into things. He fell down hard each time but the fear wouldn''t let him stay in ce.

    The old Tamer suffered from the same fate for a few more minutes before lyingpletely still. Of course, the time he thought he had suffered for and the time he had truly suffered weren''t the same at all. The mind was a mysterious thing and could change the perception of time whenever humans were too excited or too afraid. That''s why time passed quickly when one was happy and passed slowly when one was in pain.

    The old Tamer''s idea worked to a fault. He had been hoping that a swarm of the poisonous wasps would be able to easily take down an A rank mage.

    He was following along the lines of the theory that said even ants could take on an elephant if they were in sufficient numbers. He just hoped that the number of wasps he would ultimately tame would be enough to take care of a high ranking mage like ra.

    Ironically, he ended up testing his theory on himself. He became the first victim of his own scheme which he had not even had the time or the opportunity to use. He hadn''t evensted a minute. The experiment could even be considered a huge sess. Unfortunately, he was no longer in the world to record those results.

    бн

    "Come on Zach, are you really going to leave me hanging like that?"

    ra''s voice, sweet as tangerine, sang its way into Zach''s ears. Her puppy eyes lingered on him suggestively. She drew even closer to him;

    "Don''t act you don''t know what I mean! You still haven''t told me how that story ends. Don''t be mean!"

    Zach threw his head back, and chuckled.

    She practically clung to him like a second sleeve. Zach could not shake her off even if he wanted to. Her voice, firm and assertive, she stubbornly pressed on;

    "Tell me Zach! Tell me what happens next before I loose my mind!"

    Zach found it fairly amusing- all of it.

    ra''s stature was kind of misleading. She had that petite, cute, small girl thing going for her. But that was just about where it ended. It did not take much to get on her bad side.

    As Zach regarded her through his drooping eyelids, he knew that she was more than capable ofshing out at him in ways he would never see hering.

    Zach sighed;

    "Well, where were we?"

    Delighted, ra''s energetic self entered a whole new gear of excitement;

    "Yes!" She adjusted to face him properly. "Before we were rudely interrupted by that big bad rhino, you were saying something about a skeleton key???"

    бн

    After a full hour and a half, Zach finally managed to steal away from her, with the promise that he would find herter that night.

    Of course. It was all but a ploy to get away.

    As Zach trudged his way back to his room, for the first time in a hot minute, it was looking like he could afford some free time for himself!

    Alone in his room, Zach began the first itenerary on his to do list.

    On his carpet, seated cross legged in meditative stance, and with his arms stretched out on his knees, he inhaled deep, rich gusts of air, filling his lungs in preparation for the meditation toe. Zach closed his eyes and his own thoughts echoed in his mental space;

    ''Finally, some peace. . .''

    Fully submerged in the feeling of nothingness, he allowed himself to simply exist. Slowly, he began to be unaware of his surroundings, and more aware of himself- his inner self.

    Zach began to distance himself from the humid climate of his room. He no longer perceived the fruity scent of the pineapples on his desk. The cooling effect from the asional gentle breeze was lost on Zachpletely. Zach became so still, and his breathing so controlled, that he would have passed as aa patient.

    He wanted one thing only- the undisputed power that came with weilding lightsaber. But to do that. he needed to develop his ability to tap into the force. And as luck would have it, meditation just so happened to be the one true path to getting jiggy with the force.

    However, Zach was quick to find out that it was not as easy as he had thought. Gradually, despite having perfect mental coordination, his concentration began to wane.

    "Oh screw this!" He cursed as he broke formation; "This isn''t working at all. System, proffer the fastest possible solutions to tap into the force!"

    An embarassing silence screamed back at him.

    He nced at lightsaber resting on his knees. With renewed zeal, he crossed his knees again, ced lighsaber across his knees for motivation.

    Very slowly, he went into meditation- again.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Cross-legged, eyes closed, and heartbeat so dangerously low, he took the journey into a supremely meditative state once again.

    At the base of his existence, he felt his consciousness slowly link with his spirit. He felt himself getting sucked deeper and deeper into the chasm that was his own self. In the process, Zachpletely lost all concept of time.

    Perhaps an hour had passed. Maybe even two- or more.

    BANG! BANG!! BANG!!!

    It was his door.

    Zach heard it, but he was submerged so deep in his introspective astral journey, that it genuinely felt like it wasing from a long way off. It sounded like something at the edge of a dream, like some farawaynd. The annoying, violent disruptive knocking came again.

    BANG! BANG!! BANG!!!

    Zach could not hold back on his temper.

    He finally opened his eyes, and spun his head wildly in the direction of the door.

    "WHO THE FUCKK IS THAT???"

    "Zachyyy it''s me!"

    Shit, he froze. That was a voice he knew all too well.

    "Come on! You promised you''d finish the story about the wizard boy!! Let me in Zach!"

    When he realized it was alreadyte evening. Jeez! Had it been that long already?! It felt like he had only closed his eyes for a few seconds! At best, a couple of minutes! But apparently he had been out for at least a few hours. While he figured out what to do, stubbornly, ra began to tug at the door handle, trying to force her way in, despite not being invited.

    Zach jumped to his feet quickly, and began to search for a way out! Zach bounded towards the other side of his room. Already breaking out in cold sweat, he deftly leaped over his bed, narrowly avoiding crashing into the six feet vintagemp, and glided towards the window lintel.

    Heart racing, he found the bolt and detached it, with the hope of giving ra the slip.

    But it was all over in an instant.

    Just as Zach''s feet was touching down on the other side, ra''s petite form came lunging at him like a small, portable rocket. She virtually came out of nowhere. And as Zach was not expecting her at all, her right shoulder came hurling at him, and caught him right in the gut.

    "You thought you were slick huh?" she sneered at him as she got up, "Nice try. But you got me all hot and bothered about mister Potter and his friends. You''re not going anywhere Zach. So, shall we?"

    She stretched out her hand to him.

    Zach, still on the ground, smiled mischevously as he took her hand;

    "Sure. . ."

    As he pretended to pull himself up by her hand, Zach suddenly burst forward. This surge of strength pulled ra towards the ground. And to make sure she fell, he yfully set his foot to trip her. ra ended up paying the full price for being too trusting. She came crashing down, and she crashed down hard.

    Zach tore off in the opposite direction immediately, eager to put some distance between them. However, ra had pulled a nasty trick of her own. In that brief tussle, she had snatched something that levelled the ne field- Lightsaber.

    "Zach!" she called out after him; "Look what you dropped!

    Zach was no child. There was no way he would fall for that. Not until ra said;

    "Am I also a jeddi now?"

    Zach decelerated so hard and so fast, he spun aplete one hundred and eighty, only to see her holding the hilt of his sword.

    "ra. . ." his voice dropped several decibels lower; "That is no toy. . . hand it over."

    Though he genuinely wanted to keep her from hurting herself, he had inadvertently told ra that she had something of grave importance to him. Zach saw the silent streak of insanity sh in her eyes. It was the same insane streak he had seen in her eyes before she rode off to battle.

    He held his breath as she stretched it out towards him invitingly;

    "If you want it. . ." her voice was dripping with heavy sarcasm; "all you have to do ise get it. . ."

    With a dash that was so quick, even her shadow could not follow, ra sprinted on her heels and tore away in the opposite direction.

 Chapter 179 179 Misunderstanding

    With a dash that was so quick, even her shadow could not follow, ra sprinted on her heels and tore away in the opposite direction. Cursing under his breath, Zach shot after her- fast. The petite girl tore through the estate grounds like she had swallowed rocket fuel or something. Her feet barely seemed to touch the ground as she effortlessly avoided mming into the grounds keepers.

    With clear unbriddled excitement, she giggled happily as a couple of sheep, and a cart of cabbages nearly toppled her over. And yet, somehow, despite Zach desperately praying that she would at least stumble, ra sailed through every obstacle like a little daredevil.

    Zach swore hoarsely and called after her in a more than serious tone;

    "This is no fuckin'' joke ra! Get back here! NOWW!!!"

    Damn, how could a cold blooded killer like her be so petnt?! He wondered.

    Really, Zach was literally trying to protect her from hurting herself. After all, just one misstep, and she could activate the high-density sma de.

    The ruckus and noise both Zach and ra had made in their little temple run, had attracted the attention of just about everyone. Unfortunately, the audience interpreted the scene in a totally wrong way.

    "Heavens! Did you see??? Mistress ra is running for her life!!"

    "What?"

    "It''s that man, that one who practices dark magic! He wants to kill her!"

    "Heavens!"

    "He had the madness in his eyes! The blood rage from taking too much blood!"

    "Oh no. I knew he was bad news."

    "He wants to drink her blood, I''m sure of it!"

    With Zach on her heels, ra bounded down a narrow alley with firm sturdy walls on each side. Zach doubled up, thinking maybe he could get lucky and grab her if he lunged at her. But the alley way soon burst into an open street. ra burst out at the other side unscathed.

    Unfortunately for him, Zach unknowingly ran straight into a very powerful, armored knee. It mmed right into Zach''s chest, almost knocking the wind right out of him. But at the dying moment, his instincts kicked in to block. Even that was hardly enough.

    His stumbled back a couple of step, feeling the full weight of the assault in his arms. Then, his assant emerged from the corner, bearing down on Zach. The man offered Zach his own version of highborn hospitality by introducing his right foot to Zach''s chest- again.

    Instinctively, Zach raised his two hands in an ''X'' like manner. He ended up blocking the kick, but once again, the kickback sent him sliding back by a couple of steps. Now Zach was pissed. Who in the hell is this? Zach thought. And why is he attacking me like I stole his wife?

    The two began to encircle each other. The setting sun in the distance cast their shadows on the ground- long and menacing. Then, with impressive quickness and agility, the attacker lunged at him at full speed, and swung his heavily armored right arm, hoping to smash Zach''s jaw in the process. Zach easily ducked. But as he did, he realized the first arm had been a feint, designed to drive him in the direction of the mean punching from the left.

    Zach navigated a dangerous curve in an equally grand maneuver, and at the same time, struck out with his elbow, hoping to smash the rib cage under the assant''s exposed arm. Itnded home. But not with sufficient power, because he himself had not been one hundred percent bnced.

    All this had happened within the blink of an eye. Zach could sense the other man''s bloodlust and could not tell why he was so enraged. But he was more than willing to return his bloodlust back upon his own head. He readied himself, as did the other armored freak. Just as they were about to close in on each other, they both felt a small, but powerful hand, grab her arms.

    "Why can''t boys y nice for five seconds without trying to kill each other?"

    It was ra.

    "Easy. . . " she turned to the other guy; "We''re all friends here."

    Armored dude took off his helmet, revealing a fine aristocratic-like face with a haughty set of eyes.

    "ra, I assumed this peasant was trying to harm you," he sheathed his sword. "I could not just stand by and watch."

    Zach growled; "Boy did you just call me a peasant?"

    "If I had known you were a peasant, I would not have wasted my breath on you." He shrugged nonchntly; "I have dogs for that. Staining my royal tunic with your blood is a crime punishable by death---" He added dramatically; "Even if you''re dead already."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ra had to step in now. "Come on babe, you need to dial back your bravado by about a thousand percent."

    Zach''s left eye twitched. Babe?

    Violet, who had heard about the ruckus, rushed in at that point. She caught Zach''s confusion and swiftly made to remedy the situation;

    "Zach please stand down. This is all a big misunderstanding."

    He swung towards her; "You think?"

    She ignored his sarcasm.

    "This is Prince Luke, a good and trusted friend of ours from childhood." Then to Luke, she said; "And this is our friend Zach. He''s the one who helped with my father''s healing."

    Both men sized each other up, but withpletely opposite reactions. As soon as Zach heard the word ''prince,'' he immediately tensed up.

    ra got flustered as soon as she saw sparks flying between the prince and Zach. She didn''t want Zach to have any misunderstanding regarding her or her family. The presence of a prince could lead him to some negative opinions. Therefore she intervened immediately.

    "Don''t think too much." ra whispered in a voice that was unusually sweet and enticing.

    Zach jerked his head towards her in an attempt to figure out what this little imp was up to this time. These days he had been pestered and tortured in so many different ways that he couldn''t bring himself to trust ra to be serious this time.

    "Prince Luke doesn''t have as good a rtionship with the royal family. For as long as we remember, he hasn''t been back to the capital or to any branch of the royal family close by in a very long time. So there is no need to raise your guard like this."

    Of course Zach wouldn''t believe her so easily. He needed to verify this as well before putting down his guard in front of a stranger that had royal roots. He had a family now and he had to think of their well being along with his. He couldn''t afford another exodus. His people wouldn''t be able to bear it.

    The sharpness in his eyes wasn''t hidden from ra. She knew he was having a hard time believing her due to his previous grudges with the royal family.

    She didn''t me him for that. Instead she felt like she had to slowly get him to believe her.

    "Prince Luke is a childhood friend of my elder sister and mine. We trust him and you can trust him too. He definitely won''t let us down just for the royal family."

    As she expected, Zach''s fierce expression from earlier eased out a bit. Even though he kept running away from her routinely, he still listened to her from time to time when she wasn''t ying around.

    Prince Luke witnessed how close ra seemed to be with Zach. She was not only whispering sweetly in his ear but was also clinging to his arm from the side as if she was afraid that Zach would run away from him.

    He wondered why she was running away from him like that previously. Of course others were going to misunderstand when a man would go around chasing a petite woman like ra with that bloodthirsty look in his eyes.

    Still, Prince Luke didn''t believe that it would be right to voice out those thoughts at this moment. Since he had done something wrong and had misunderstood Zach, he needed to apologize. This was the basic courtesy he was expected to adhere to as a role model among his generation.

    "I am extremely sorry for not realizing that you two were acquaintances. Had I known, I would have tried to befriend this young friend. I apologize for attacking you without understanding the circumstances and for jumping to conclusions on my own."

    Zach didn''t expect that a haughty prince would be able to bow down and apologize so sincerely. Zach had already spent some time in a leadership position and he trusted his ability to judge people''s character. Prince Luke appeared to be quite sincere as he epted his mistake which was a rare thing to do for someone in a position of power. Moreover, there was no guile or deceit in his eyes.

    Unknowingly, the caution and the distance in Zach''s expression eased by a lot which was caught by the prince as well.

    "But I was quite surprised earlier. You are pretty sturdy for a weak looking guy. Anyone who fell for your appearance is definitely in for a surprise. How do you train your close quarterbat techniques? I was almost done in by you if not for the element of surprise on my side."

    Prince Lukeplimented Zach on his skills. It was a way for him to show his admiration for Zach''s talent and also a method to sweep the previous misunderstanding under the rug.

    Zach on the other hand would have easily believed it if ra had told him that Luke wasn''t a prince but a swordsman.

 Chapter 180 180 Luke

    Zach on the other hand would have easily believed it if ra had told him that Luke wasn''t a prince but a swordsman. His physique was off the charts. His muscles were quite toned and from the earlier confrontation he found them to be bursting with strength and vigor. They weren''t just for looks like some body builders from his past world who were only in shape but were absolutely weaker than they looked.

    This Prince had trained in the right direction and was more like a swordsman or a soldier than a Prince in his opinion.

    "You aren''t bad either. If you hadn''t stopped, I might have gotten my ass beat by you today."

    ra found that the atmosphere had cooled down a bit after the earlier sparks so she pushed herself in between the two in an attempt to introduce Luke to Zach.

    "Zach, you shouldn''t judge Luke based on his earlier actions. It is just that he takes his military training quite seriously and thinks of himself as a hero of justice."

    "Oyyбнwhat do you mean by that?" Luke tried to interject when ra attacked him with swords hidden in her words.

    ra merely threw her tongue out towards Luke and made a face at him before turning all her attention towards Zach once again. She sped his arm once again so that she was practically leaning her petite frame on himpletely.

    "He has been in the military from a young age and has slowly but gradually built himself up from amon solider despite his royal upbringing. Many people admire him in this city and girls can''t wait to offer themselves up to him just to get a second look from him. He might not look like it but he is not a bad person."

    While Zach listened to ra''s words, he couldn''t help but make an annoyed face as he looked down at ra hugging his arm like it was the most precious thing in the world.

    She was too clingy.

    ra dragged her face out of Zach''s arm as if still unsatisfied and turned her face slightly in order to address Luke. Since she wasn''t willing to let go of Zach''s arm, she couldn''t turnpletely towards Luke. Instead she was facing nothing as the direction of her face was somewhere in between Zach and Luke. This was as far as her neck would go without releasing Zach''s arm.

    Zach sighed helplessly as he stared at the cute antics of the petite ko bear hanging on his arm. He could try to get his arm free but he couldn''t be sure that she would rip it off with that monstrous strength of hers if he tried that. She was just too damn unpredictable.

    "Luke this is Zach; my fiancижe that father has chosen for me. As for what you saw earlierбнw-we were justбнpl-ying. That''s right." ra''s face turned red by the end of the sentence. She felt like a newlywed who had been caught by her family as she yed silly games with her brand new husband and whispered sweet nothings to him.

    "I didn''t know that the two of you were so close or I wouldn''t have misunderstood Zach. Let me apologize once again. It is a smear on my royal honor that I used force on an innocent for which I can''t forgive myself. I seek your forgiveness so I can forgive myself."

    Zach felt a little ufortable with Luke''s overly considerate words. He was like an honorable knight from the olden times with chivalry and knightly discipline. The regality in his tone could be seen as honorable by others; but to him it only made Luke look ludicrous and pretentious. From the time he came, chivalry was already dead and there was no such thing as honor or heroes of justice.

    Luke didn''t wait for Zach''s reply this time and left without taking a second look at Zach or ra who was still obsessed with Zach''s arm. She was swinging it using both of her arms and looked like a little girl pestering her elder brother to y with her.

    Only Zach knew that he couldn''t get out of this situation even though he wanted to. It wasn''t so easy to throw ra off and escape.

    He wondered how long it would take him this time to get rid of her or before she got tired.

    Luke left Zach and ra in order to fulfill his true purpose ining to the Windsor family estate. He was here to visit Marico after hearing about the rpse of his disease from amon acquaintance.

    Although he wasn''t very close to the old man because he could be rarely seen in public due to his disease, it didn''t mean that there was no connection between them at all.

    Luke had been friends with Marico''s daughters since young and was often a guest at the Windsor family estate even though he only asionally managed to see the old master. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Despite the rare asions where he met up with the old master, Luke considered him a benefactor and was concerned about his well being. That was the reason that he hade back especially to visit Marico after travelling a long distance upon hearing that his ailment had returned.

    Violet saw her sister acting so intimately with Zach and couldn''t help but sigh in her heart. She didn''t want to deal with Luke alone but seeing as ra was unwilling to separate from Zach or pay attention to anything other than him, the burden was definitely going to fall on her.

    She whined in annoyance and ruefully looked at ra onest time before following after the Prince.

    As soon as she turned away from the intimate couple, ra turned her face towards her elder sister''s back and made a face with her tongue hanging out of her luscious lips.

    Zach was the only one who witnessed her silly actions but he only smiled at her antics. She appeared especially cute when she acted like that. Whenever he saw her acting in such a manner, he couldn''t help butpare it to the serious and fierce leader she had made herself to be when Zach first met her while she was making her escape from the Iron Mantises.

    Zach pried his attention away from ra and shifted it on to Luke. This was far from what a Prince should have been like. The image of the princes in Zach''s mind was that of those overbearing, bratty and pampered greenhouse nts who hadn''t seen much of the world; just like Prince Kolt. He was a typical example of the fools who brought down entire dynasties and kingdoms single handedly with their foolish arrogance and false ego. Prince Luke could not be further away from such fools. He was not only powerful on his own but also had the ability to understand and admit his weaknesses and faults which such pampered young masters with a golden spoon up their asses severelycked.

    Seeing the puzzled look on Zach''s face, ra could guess what he was thinking about. She knew how people usually reacted after meeting Prince Luke for the first time since she had witnessed it herself on several asions.

    "I know what you might be thinking from that confused look. Want me to tell you?" asked ra yfully.

    "Are you a bug in my stomach? Why would I need you to tell me what I am thinking? Don''t I know it myself?" replied Zach with an equally yful smile. He knew that ra didn''t like bugs much.

    As he expected, ra wrinkled her little nose cutely as she showed him her disgust for beingpared to a bug.

    "Don''t be mean. Tell meбнdo you want me to guess?" asked ra expectantly with her eyes shining like the beautiful night stars.

    Zach couldn''t bear to disappoint her again considering her overflowing enthusiasm. He was worried that she might swing his arm off their socket if he dared to antagonize her any further.

    "All rightбнtell me what am I thinking now?"

    ra nodded as she finally felt satisfied with Zach''s query.

    "You are definitely thinking that Prince Luke must be pretending to be nice. There is no way that a member of the Norman Royal family would do such a thing without a clear motive. Don''t try to deny it now that I have caught on to you."

    Zach truly had such thoughts so he didn''t deny her the joy of being right this time.

    "How did you know?"

    "It''s written all over your face."

    ra acted smug for a while before she exined Luke''s situation to Zach so that he could better believe Luke''s sincerity.

    "Luke is one of the least noticed princes in the royal family. He is rated even below that Prince Kolt you encountered. He was sent to this ce to be trained at a very young age at the request of the king himself. He has been here ever since and has barely ever returned. The amount of hardships he has suffered through isn''t any different from amon soldier in the army despite his royal blood. Therefore, he is different from the royals you have encountered before. I wonder if anyone besides the royal family even remembers him after all this time. He has no power and no influence left in the capital after being exiled to this ce for so long. He hasn''t returned for a long time and none of the princes probably want him to return either which would only increase thepetition between the princes further."

 Chapter 181 181 Only Permanent Interests

    "бн"

    "His faction over here isn''t strong enough to influence the strong division of the city''s overall governance among the elite families either. Therefore, he has to rely on the influence of the Windsor family to act as his backing so he can fearlessly survive in Kanewea State."

    Zach stared at her for a bit before finally opening his mouth sarcastically.

    "Don''t you think you should let go now? There are only two of us left here." Zach pointed towards his arm that she was still clinging on to and smiled a fake smile that was more mocking than a true smile.

    ra acted as if she didn''t understand his sarcasticments at all. She pretended to be as natural as possible and subtly let go of his arm. Although she still wasn''t satisfied yet, she had enough of it to let it go for a while.

    бн

    Hogan had been looking forward taking over the Windsor family after the long awaited news of their old master''s demise. Marico had been suffering from the illness even when Hogan took over as the leader of the Hunter family. Marico had somehow lingered on till this day which was already excruciating enough for Hogan. But now he hade across a piece of news that the old master Marico was now on the verge of healing back to health.

    At first he thought that it was just a rumor that would be refuted just with the passage of time. He believed that if there was a chance of healingpletely from the illness, Marico would have long since recovered from the illness over this long period of time.

    Therefore, he didn''t pay any attention to the rumors that were being spread around the city and thought that this was just thest ditch effort of the great Windsor family.

    Hogan maintained this belief until the moment he saw Marico with his own eyes. He no longer looked like the pale and dying version of his previous self. The previously sunken cheeks now had a reddish glow on them as if the darkness in his body had been pushed out by the new infusion of blood. His bent back and weak knees looked straight and full of strength. The weak looking old man was now full of energy only slightly weaker than Hogan himself.

    Hogan couldn''t interact with the other socialites after making this discovery. It felt as if something had ruined the taste in his mouth for all eternity.

    After witnessing such a thing, Hogan couldn''t bring himself to stay and hurriedly said his goodbyes to the host before leaving the banquet before time.

    People gossiped about him for a while before they eventually got busy dealing with their own businesses. The intention of these gatherings was to promote the businesses of the top elite and to make more contacts in the business circle. Nobody was going to bother about a single individual leaving a bit earlier for a long time.

    бн

    Hogan entered his study as soon as he reached home and ordered the servants waiting on him to call his son Nelson to him. The servant was too terrified at the solemn mood of his master and rushed out of the study at the speed of light. He didn''t even wait for any details and took off the moment Hogan stopped speaking.

    Sitting down on the couch heavily, Hogan took a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart. This was too different from the future he had been fantasizing and nning for all this time. He had invested far too much effort into weakening the Windsor family from within so that he could take over the Windsor family in the shortest possible manner but all that nning was dependent on the premise that Marico sumbed to his death and ra suffered from an untimely death. Thetter wasn''t as important as the former as it was an absolute pre requisite to his takeover strategy.

    Before he coulde out of his thoughts, Nelson walked into the room calmly. He had already heard from the servant that his father was in one of his rough moods, so he tried to be as careful as possible.

    Nelson patiently listened to his father vent for some period of time. As he broke the news to Nelson, Hogan felt himself calm down as he viewed the scenario from an objective point of view as well. He deduced that the Hunter family could no longer be as deliberate in their attempt to destroy the Windsor family as they had been in the past.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Son, be careful in the near future. That old fart has survived which is not a good thing for us. Previously he couldn''t do anything to us but now we can''t afford to provoke him. Thankfully, that old tamer failed to kill the little bitch of his or we might have been fighting a war with the Windsor family already under that old fart''s lead."

    "I understand father. I will tell all of my men toy low for a while. They won''t be able to find any evidence about our actions even if they try to."

    Nelson was optimistic about clearing out all the evidence before the Windsor family could catch wind of it. Even if the Windsor family tried to condemn them, they wouldn''t have any proof to hold the Hunter family ountable for the injustices in the past.

    Hogan was satisfied with his son''s answer. His son was capable enough to understand what he had to do without being dictated. Hogan felt that this was the fruit of all the effort he had put in to groom his son to be the next leader of the Hunter family.

    "Hmmбнtell your men to do that but you also need to ensure that no such actions are to take ce against the Windsor family in these days. I am sure that the old fart is waiting for a fish to bite the bait. It won''t be long before he retaliates. He has always been a cunning one and along with that dark mage Wood Smith, his deviance only ever got more exaggerated. Therefore, strive hard to build a longsting rtionship with the Windsor family. Who knows what the future might hold for the two families? Who are we to decide whether we will be enemies or friends in the future?"

    Nelson only nodded but his facial expressions clearly indicated his confusion. He couldn''t understand why the man who was just a few days ago condemning him for failing to assassinate ra was today telling him to build a good rtionship with the recovering Windsor family. He couldn''t understand how Hogan could change the strategy he had been preparing for so many years so easily.

    Nelson could understand if it was a small change in the n but the old man had practically taken a one-eighty degree turn and changed his stance entirely.

    Seeing his confusion, Hogan shook his head from side to side in disappointment thinking his son still had room to grow after all.

    "There''s a famous saying that says, ''There are no permanent friends, only permanent interests.'' I wonder if you have heard of it."

    Nelson shook his head but he had gotten the gist of what his father wanted to tell him.

    "We need to think of the bigger picture at all times. The Hunter family has reached this stature after putting in generations'' worth of hard work and sacrifices. If we lose it all or damage its foundation in our time just because we couldn''t recognize whom to antagonize and whom to befriend, then wouldn''t it be a pity? I am not saying that your stance is wrong and wanting to expand the family business is wrong. It''s just that you have to look at the overall interest of the family. Previously, the old fart was at his death bed and it was better for the Hunter family to pull a hostile takeover after his death. But now that the weak Windsor family has made aeback, it is no longer a given whether we would be able to do that without suffering any loss in return. This would not only be a loss for both the families but would also put us in a precarious situation in front of the other families who are looking for the chink in our armor."

    Nelson listened to his long winded lecture because it was based on logic. But even that annoyed the hell out of him. He kept on thinking about the figure that wouldn''t let him sleep at night. The figure that was a permanent part of his fantasies and nightly dreams wouldn''t let him wait any further. He wanted to rush out that very instant in order to take possession of that exquisitely petite but mature beauty his ything.

    Thanks to his father now, Nelson couldn''t act on his instinct because it had the potential to backfire on to the Hunter family just as Hogan had predicted. Therefore, he decided to put a stop to his growing lust for the uing period of time.

    "Be patient. Our time wille soon. I don''t believe that the Windsor family would be able to stay at the top in this generation. Just like us, several hyenas would be eyeing the Windsor family as well. We can use them to determine the current strength of the Windsor family and n our next course of action. Did I ever tell you about the most important thing in a hunt?"

    "I don''t recall anything like that."

    "Take a guess."

    "The weapon?"

 Chapter 182 182 Coffee?

    "Nahбнit''s patience. If the hunter is impatient and makes a mistake, the prey gets alerted and the hunt bes increasingly difficult. Even the hunter with a blunt weapon can take down a beast as long as he is patient enough and waits for the right opportunity."

    бн

    Zach was slowly getting used to the life in this ce. He was usually busy working on the Greend restoration project with the help of the Smith family. Thankfully, the project hadn''t revealed any unsurpassable obstacle yet. Unlike the scope of the project, there weren''t as much problems as he had anticipated. The clearing of the surrounding space proved to be easier than he had imagined.

    The inhabitednd was slowly bing devoid of monsters. The beasts were moving towards the periphery of the ind as if it was their natural instinct. The Alpha was entitled to stay at the center which was the prime location.

    But Zach couldn''t help but be slightly dissatisfied still.

    There were too many reasons for him to be happy but Zach couldn''t help but frown whenever he looked at the local coffee. The people in this world didn''t even know how to sweeten the coffee they drank.

    Therefore, the taste buds of these people had developed a bit differently. They were quite used to the local coffee even though it was too bitter and was usually capable of keeping one awake for long duration of times just because of the extent of its bitterness. The after taste of the coffee was very strong and the bitterness didn''t leave the tongue even after a long time.

    Zach had been a coffee lover in his past world but he couldn''t have imagined that the taste of this world would be so different from his past world. The coffee was always so bitter that it made him want to spit it all out in one swift motion.

    He missed the sweet and frothy cappinos andttes. Even in the previous world he hated espresso and ck coffee the most. But now he could dream about them at night. The coffee made here was just that bad.

    Zach just wanted to drink regr coffee sweetened with sugar unlike the sweetening agent used in this world which was far from the sucrose he was used to. The locals here extracted their ''sugar'' from honey which was far from being able to rece sucrose effectively.

    This world was so far behind that they hadn''t even understood the process of sugar extraction. He cursed the ancestors of these people for beingzy bums who passed their time without wondering about all the things in the world.

    There was no curiosity left in this generation because their imagination had been limited to the bounds of magic. They believed their fantasies could onlye true through magic and their own hard work and intellect wasn''t worth a damn.

    But some baristas did work out their own recipes making use of whatever was avable to them. But instead of using a sweetening agent to curb the bitterness of the coffee, they used various spices and salt to vor it instead. Zach still could not understand how the locals could dub such an abomination ''genius''. He wanted to throw up the moment he heard of such a concoction.

    Bruce and Diana on the other hand were not averse to this concoction. They even looked excited as if it was a drink that they could hardly evere by.

    Not long after they began drinking the coffee as if it was the best drink in the world. Even their demeanors changed as soon as they held the cup of coffee in their hands. The aristocratic grace that was hidden in their bones surfaced on their faces making them look regal as they took small sips of the coffee due to the high temperature. They tasted it to savor the vor of the roasted coffee beans that had been strengthened by the barista by grinding them until it was fine powder bursting with the characteristic bitterness of the coffee beans.

    "Why aren''t you drinking your coffee? Drink it while it''s hot. It won''t taste as good after it cools down." advised Diana as she saw Zach making a face while putting his own coffee away like it was the gue.

    "I don''t want to."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Zach made a face as if he was disgusted by what was in front of him. He couldn''t imagine what the horrible abomination would taste like and he didn''t want to try it either. Just looking at Bruce and Diana''s faces as they sipped their coffees made him want to gag instantly but he held his disgust in so as to not ruin it for them.

    "I know that the strong vor of the coffee might take some getting used to but once you do it is so much better than the regr coffee. You might not believe it but it is the drink of the aristocrats. Not just anyone has the privilege to drink this. You should give it a try too. I am sure you will like it." suggested Bruce with a kind expression that was akin to an older brother giving out advice to his younger one.

    "I don''t think that I can match the regality of the aristocrats who drink this kind of coffee. It is better if I keep away from it now and in the future so as to not mar the social etiquettes of the high society by my humble background. Moreover, I would very much like to keep my taste buds intact please." Zach wanted to sarcastically convey his viewpoint but he merely thought of saying it all. He couldn''t criticize Diana and Bruce for theirck of knowledge since they knew of nothing better than this.

    "It''s just not to my taste. I will try to stay far from this one I think."

    Zach was afraid that if he stayed in this ce any longer, his taste buds might be affected as well. He vowed in his heart to do something to make his coffee taste closer to what he was used to and to never give in to the taste standards of this world.

    бн

    The development of the ind he had leased from the government was taking ce at expedited pace nowadays with the introduction of heavy machinery and sophisticated construction equipment that helped pave the wildnds with ease.

    Of course Zach had emptied his inventory just so the servants and the soldiers wouldn''t have a hard time working on thend that would be their future home. There wasn''t a single man who wanted to shy away from the hard work especially after Zach made it look so easy with the help of his machines.

    Before letting the servants handle these machines on their own, Zach believed that some sort of training was in order so that they would be able to understand how these items worked. Previously they had been lying about in their inventory since Zach didn''t think that they would have any use for him in the near future. He believed that he didn''t need to create infrastructure for himself as long as he stayed in the city. But his beliefs were turned upside down by single prince.

    The training took an entire week but the people were all well versed in the modern machinery and were able to handle the magical machines very easily to clear thend and build the foundation for their home.

    The best among the trainees didn''t surprise Zach at all. It was Diana again. She seemed to have a unique talent and the matching intellect to understand the inner workings of the machinery he introduced her to. She could not only understand the theory behind theplicated machines but was also able to operate them like a professional after a few days of tinkering with them.

    Hertent talent didn''t just stop at the small and uplicated machines like guns. She was able to learn and handle theplex and mega sized machines such as cranes and excavators with ease. In just a few hours, she was using the crane and excavator just as well as Zach. Thend development project took up its pace as soon as the heavy construction machinery came into y. Dian led her team of construction workers and turned thend upside down. She dug out the roots of the trees from underneath the ground with the help of excavators and ordered the crane operators to carry away the fallen trees in an orderly manner. After all; the trees were going to be their construction material for their home.

    Zach was extremely proud of her achievements. There was no doubt that after him, she was the most tech savvy person in the group. She could basically manage the entire construction crew on her own but Zach didn''t want to burden her. Even more than that, he didn''t want to appear useless in front of his people. Just giving them the right tools wasn''t enough. He believed that in order to build up trust, he should be involved in the construction process as well.

    However he couldn''t deny how good it was that Diana could act as his substitute whenever he wasn''t avable. Thanks to her, he was now dispensable and the construction crew could keep working even without him to guide them.

    бн

    Zach was lounging around at an elevated location as he watched the servants and the soldiers busily working to prepare thend. He was wearing an inte in order tomunicate with the workers at all times.

 Chapter 183 183 Unexpected Surprise

    From time to time, he would order the teams to switch over or told them to take a break when he felt that they were tired. He would also direct the mechanical assets to help out the teams that were spread out over the entire area. That way, the machines could be positioned at the ce they were needed the most.

    "Diana; bring the excavator to the demolition team. They have destroyed a small hill and the debris is blocking the path for the others. Help them clear the way and dig out the roots in the vicinity while you are there."

    "Bruce, watch over the level of the ground in the area we have already cleared. Make sure that it is suitable for further construction since I can''t check it from here. So, help me keep an eye on the process."

    Although this was originally a job for an engineer, Zach had to make do with Bruce who had life experience and was able to understand the nature of the task assigned to him quite easily. Even if Bruce didn''t understand the method, Zach could guide him through the inte. Therefore, he sent Bruce without hesitation and thetter didn''t hesitate to take on the task. Bruce also knew that Zach was there to guide him through his job. His trust in Zach was already absolute.

    Bruce and Diana set out to follow their orders immediately. They were both quite efficient.

    There was a map of Greend towards his right side. He was using it to direct the efforts of the people. There were the blueprints of the manor he wanted to build towards his left. So far, he had been guiding the efforts of his people in line with the construction blueprints.

    "Hey! What are you doing? You thereбнyou without the helmet; I am talking to you. Do you think you are invincible and would remain sturdy if a hundred kilogram stone fell on top of your head? Or are you a daredevil who likes to live an adventurous life unafraid of death?"

    Since Zach was talking on the inte, everyone was able to hear him and those not wearing their helmets were immediately alerted. They believed that Zach could see them shirking the safety measures he ordered them to adhere to.

    Even though the helmet was for their own safety, the servants weren''t used to the extra weight on their heads. It made them feel ufortable and even got in the way of their work. Therefore, they preferred to take it off while they worked.

    Zach had grown to understand this tendency since the servants had never been concerned of their safety before. So, from time to time, he would throw a series of insults into the inte so that they would behave themselves and take proper safety precautions as they worked.

    "Whether you are a daredevil or not, as someone who has the guts to ignore my orders, listen carefully. I don''t need people who can''t follow orders even if they are a hundred times more efficient than their counterparts. If you can''t follow simplemands then I can''t trust you with the lives of your colleagues. You will only be a danger to them as long as you don''t let go of these habits and I won''t have meaningless and pointless deaths on my conscience. So behave yourself or get out of here."

    The servants hurriedlyplied with the instructions and wore their safety helmets immediately after the announcement on inte.

    Zach nodded to himself and turned his attention towards the wild periphery. From time to time, he was able to witness the sh of guns from amidst the dark wilderness. He knew that it was the result of his soldiers exterminating the beasts on the ind. This was the advance team responsible for the clearing of the ind. Following right after them at the edge of the wilderness were the deforestation team with their chainsaws running wild.

    Zach used his binocrs to carefully evaluate the way these people were using the chainsaws. Even though, the chainsaw was especially useful in mowing down trees, it was equally dangerous as well. It wasn''t for nothing that the chainsaws were an essential part of the most horrifying sher movies from his past world.

    "Be careful while operating your chainsaws. A slight mistake can lead to insufferable consequences. Take your safety and those of around you as the topmost priority. Remember your training and don''t be in a hurry. We can still afford to take our time."

    Zach continued to announce safety precautions to the people so as to avoid any injuries. He knew that it was impossible to eliminate any incident considering it was their first time operating these machines. But he wanted to minimize the losses as much as possible.

    "Deforestation team; please cut the trees in a nted manner so as to make the tree fall in the direction that is away from your colleagues."

    Despite all the safety precautions, Zach couldn''t help but sigh as he heard of an incident over the inte. Apparently someone had ended up getting a cut on their finger from improper operation of the chainsaw. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "A thirty five year old male has been injured. He has a severe cut on his finger, probably from the chainsaw. He is bleeding profusely and the current location is the zone A of the deforestation team. Please send the healers as soon as possible."

    Zach immediately got up from his seat and rushed in the approximate direction announced on the inte as he passed on the instructions through the inte to the nearby healers to reach the location of the patient as soon as possible.

    "Cover the cut on his finger and apply a little pressure to keep the blood from flowing out. Wait for the healers or me to arrive. We are on our way."

    Thankfully, he had already included this type of emergency announcement in their safety training so everyone knew what to do when an incident like this took ce on the construction site.

    By the time Zach reached the location of the patient, the healers had already arrived. They were trying their best to mend the separated flesh but it was proving too much for them. More than seventy percent of the finger was cut off by the chainsaw and was hanging along the finger through the remaining mass. It took all they could do to barely connect the almost separated pieces of flesh.

    "We have already sown the finger together but it will take quite some time to heal. He will have to visit the healers on a daily basis to receive treatment and the pain wouldn''t subside until the inside of his finger is healed as well."

    Zach understood that there were certain limitations of the healers as well. Even though the smith family had some healers, they weren''t as outstanding in terms of capability and their rank. Therefore, healing injuries like these was not easy for them.

    He pulled out the AI Medical system and gave the patient a dose of painkiller for the time being. He additionally handed out some anti-inmmatory drugs and some antibiotic drugs for him to take on a regr basis. Other than that he gave him some painkillers for whenever the pain became too much to handle.

    "You have worked hard to build our home. It is time you take some rest. Let your fellows take over your task for the time being until you are all healed."

    Zach patted the patient who was now feeling relief from the pain after the painkiller injection. He intended to encourage him but thetter in no way looked demoralized. Instead he was eager to return to work but Zach forbade him from doing so on the plea that the relief from pain was only temporary.

    Just as Zach was about to return to his position to oversee the construction work, his gazended on a certain nt amidst the wilderness. Thankfully, no one had taken it down already or Zach would not have been able to confirm the existence of the nt by himself.

    It was none other than a sugar cane from the looks of it. But Zach still needed to confirm it. There were too many familiar things that turned out to be strange in this world.

    As he got closer, he inhaled the sweet scent emanating from the nt and his suspicion strengthened. He believed that it was definitely sugarcane.

    Zach could no longer contain the excitement bursting out of him. This discovery had opened up new prospects for him and the people of this world.

    Now that Zach was sure that sugarcanes existed in this world as well. A business model began to take shape in his mind. The business proposal consisted of locating and farming sugarcane to develop sucrose. After so many years of using mild sweetening agents like honey whichmon folk could barely afford, sucrose would definitely turn the market upside down. The word ''dessert'' would change its meaning after the arrival of sucrose in the markets. There were so many recipes he knew of that made use of sucrose as the basic ingredient. Most of those things were especially liked by the masses and could bring in a great amount of revenue. Based on those facts, it wouldn''t be long before sugar would be a necessity in every householdmon or elite.

    Putting all that aside, the greatest benefit it offered to Zach was that he could drink his favorite coffee again. He wouldn''t have to stick to the weird tastes of the people of this world.

 Chapter 184 184 Sugar

    Bruce and Diana were also at the location in order to see the extent of the injury of the patient. They witnessed the changes in Zach as he stared at a bamboo like nt as if it was a hidden treasure.

    Bruce knew that look. He had a sense of dижjид vu as he stared at Zach unconsciously.

    Diana couldn''t help but get excited along with Zach even though she didn''t know what he hade across. She just knew that it must be a good thing considering how happy Zach looked all of a sudden.

    Bruce on the other hand remembered when he had shown him the crude oil for the first time. Zach had reacted in the very same manner as this one. Andter he had used that same material to power the huge trucks. He had created an entire business out of it with just a single discovery. It was then that Bruce knew how muchcking he was in the knowledge of the worldpared to Zach.

    He was going through the same feeling all over again but he trusted Zach to give him the details as well. He just hoped that Zach would make him a part of the process if he had such an intention.

    "What is it? Did you find something interesting again?" asked Bruce with no hesitation. He was certain that Zach wouldn''t hide anything from him.

    "MmбнI did find something very interesting. This is going to turn the culinary industry upside down. This is going to change the tastes of the people all over the world if we position this product right. Tell me; have you seen this nt before?" Zach answered casually and asked a question of his own to gain more understanding regarding the sugarcane.

    Basically he wanted to know if the people of this world knew what sugarcane was or if they did what was its name.

    "It looks like a bamboo tree but based on your expression it doesn''t seem like it. Bamboos wouldn''t make you so excited; am I right?"

    "You are right of course because this isn''t a bamboo tree at all. This crop is called sugarcane. I don''t know if there is only this one single nt here or if there are others. But one thing I can be sure about is that it can be grown in thisnd should we decide to farm it here."

    Bruce wasn''t sure why Zach wanted to farm this thin stick like nt. He didn''t think that it was durable enough to support construction and it surely wasn''trge enough in size unlike bamboos that could get many times the size of this nt.

    "I don''t understand what you mean. This nt doesn''t look sturdy enough. Why would we want to farm it when we have those strong trees we cut down already to build our home?"

    Zach was dumbfounded. He couldn''t believe that Bruce thought he would use the sugarcane for construction. Even if he was sick in the mind, he wouldn''t have made such a mistake.

    "This nt is edible and it tastes extremely good. Why would I use it for construction? Do I look insane to you?"

    Zach cut off a portion of the sugarcane with a small hatchet and peeled off its skin for Bruce to have a taste.

    Bruce was only skeptical for a moment before he did what Zach told him to. He took a small bite of it and chewed on what looked like soft wood from the outside.

    Just as he took the first bite into the soft woody texture, sweetness spread throughout his mouth. The juice that secreted out of the nt was so sweet that it lifted his mood in a jiffy. He rolled his tongue around and ravenously chewed to extract as much juice out of it as possible.

    "Don''t s-swбн"

    Just when Zach was about to remind him to throw out the woody bit after chewing on it, Bruce swallowed itpletely. Thankfully, the bite wasn''t too big or it might have gotten stuck in his throat.

    "UmmбнBruce my friend; you aren''t supposed to swallow it. Chew on it, get the juice out of it and when it has lost the sweet vor, spit it out. That''s the way to enjoy the sugarcane."

    Bruce looked a little ashamed. He knew that Zach wanted to tell him something earlier but Bruce was too lost in the sweet taste to pay attention to him. His greed momentarily took over and made him swallow everyst bit of the sweet thing.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Of course, only after swallowing it did Bruce realize how awfully difficult it was to get that thing into his stomach. It was practically grinding against his esophagus.

    "I get where you areing from. This is very sweet, sweeter than the purest of honeys. Are you telling me that you can rely on this juice to make a sessful business? I doubt it. There are countless other fruits that can dish out simr vor upon being crushed."

    It was not that Bruce doubted Zach''s proposition and his idea. He just wanted to see where Zach wasing from and he wanted to know the basis for Zach''s business idea.

    "What if I told you that this sugarcane could basically be converted into little crystals of sweetness that could be stored and used to sweeten any dish unlike those fruit juices then would you believe it? Not just that but also the annual yield of sugarcane far exceeded those of the normal fruit trees. It can be harvested twice a year and can be farmed quite easily in ces where there is excess water avable. With the help of water mages it could be done very easily. Moreover, this is an ind. The sea water could be converted into freshwater by water mages for irrigation purposes as well. If this business was sessful, there would be no need for honey and everymon household would be able to afford a sweetening agent just like any other spice. It would be a daily necessity that would be sought after at every ce in the world."

    Zach painted the picture that he had in his mind regarding the introduction of sugar to this society. Bruce barely swallowed it all down. Even though he knew that Zach was capable of pulling off miracles, this seemed too far-fetched to be believed. Had it been any other person, Bruce would have rejected the business proposal without any regrets but the fact that Zach was quite confident in this project and was excited about it proved how much value it truly held.

    Bruce was willing to believe in this project because of Zach. He would probably have believed it even if Zach had told him that the sugarcane could make money rain from the skies directly.

    "If it truly can be made into a sweet tasting spice asmon as the salt then it would truly be a blessing for themoners. Even if the profit margin is low, the business could thrive based on the huge number of customers that the business could reel in. Can you show it to meбнthose crystals, I mean?"

    Bruce wanted to see it for himself in order to truly evaluate the worth and to make a business proposal for the prospective partners. As they were now, there was no way to fund the project on their own. They would definitely need help and Bruce knew that Zach already had a financier in mind who would happily inject arge sum of money into this.

    Zach didn''t mind Bruce''s curiosity and his unwillingness to believe in him. It was human nature after all to doubt what they couldn''t understand.

    Zach called for Diana who stopped her work and handed over her tasks to the subordinates before rushing over to him.

    "Find simr nts to this in the nearby locations. I am sure that there must be more of them. Gather at least ten to fifteen of these full length ones."

    Diana nodded in response and called her soldiers in the vicinity so that they could take a good look at the sugarcane nt before heading back into the wilderness to look for more. Only the soldiers were good enough to enter the forest where beasts ran rampant. Therefore, no servant had been called to participate in the search.

    It didn''t take long before messages came pouring in one after the other on the inte. There were several sightings so Diana asked them all to bring back the nt in one piece.

    When the sufficient number had been gathered Diana looked towards Zach for further guidance whoplied to her request before she could even voice it. She couldn''t help but feel proud about their tacit understanding and decoding of the subtle gestures.

    "Listen to the procedure that you are going to follow carefully. There can be no mistake in the process. Make sure to follow it perfectly otherwise the end result might not be what we want it to be."

    "I will keep what you tell me in mind."

    "HmmбнLet''s seeбнfirst you have to wash and peel the outeryer of the sugar canepletely. Then crush it to extract all the juice out of it. Filter the juice to eliminate any foreign particles. You have to purify the juicepletely before taking the next step. Do you understand until here?"

    "Yesбнyes I understand everything. Just tell me everything in one go. I won''t forget, I promise you."

    Diana was pretty confident in herself after everything new that Zach had taught her.

 Chapter 185 185 Let It Go

    Diana was pretty confident in herself after everything new that Zach had taught her. Even Zach had begun to trust herpletely because she was able to get used to his methods faster than anyone he had ever seen.

    "Okбнafter purification heat it all up. Heat it until there is no water left and only solid crystals are left behind. Then leave the crystals to dry up for a while and then bring them here. I will let you see how incredible they taste."

    Diana was colored in his excitement and Bruce grew hopeful as well.

    Zach handed her few of the tools and experimental equipment that she might need to carry out the experiment. Due to their previous lessons, Diana was already aware of some of the methods. She just familiarized herself with the new apparatus that Zach prepared for her and did what she was told based on the method Zach described to her.

    She religiously followed each order until she was able to produce a crystalline structure as the end product. The crystals were not as separate as Zach had previously enunciated.

    After a suffering failures a few times and refining the practical process a few times, Diana deduced that the reason for her failure was due to the impurity of the extracted juice.

    She filtered the collected juice more than three times before finally obtaining the first crude result. It gave her hope that Zach was really telling the truth. The juice really did solidify into crystals upon being heated so much.

    A small amount of sugar was produced after a few days of work. Diana had to put in a lot of work these days in order to not let down Zach''s expectations of her.

    Bruce hade over to see the progress of the experiment a few times and was holding on to the same belief that Zach wouldn''t lie to them.

    The moment she managed to extract the transparent white crystals from the heating dish, she felt exhrated from the joy of sess and the fulfillment of all her hard work.

    She called Zach over to show him the results.

    Bruce tagged along with Zach as well.

    Zach picked up a few crystals and put them in the palm of both Diana and Bruce.

    "Since you have worked hard, I will let you taste it as well." said Zach to Diana with a smile on his face.

    "And you should give me an honest opinion about the business proposal we talked about earlier."

    Zach was focused on Bruce this time as he asked seriously.

    Diana didn''t waste a single second once she knew that it was a good thing.

    She brought her palm to her mouth and threw the few crystals into her mouth.

    The sweetness spread from the tip of her tongue and filled all her mouth. The more she sucked on the crystals the sweeter the taste became. She couldn''t believe that there was something sweeter than honey and she had made it with her own hands.

    Diana was clinging on to Zach as if he was the source of the sweet taste in her mouth. Zach tried to get rid of her at the first instance but the girl was inseparable from his body. It was like an octopus was making use of all its tentacles to stick to his body.

    Bruce on the other hand didn''t appear to be as excited as Diana. It was either that he didn''t think the sugar had much business potential or that he was capable of shielding his true emotions from leaking on to his face.

    Either way, the truth was that he had already somewhat expected the result ever since Zach told him about it. Therefore, the surprising taste of the sugar didn''t affect him as much as Diana.

    "You have already proven that the thing you call sugar can be produced from this sugar cane. What do you intend to do next? Do you have a n regarding the promotion of the product and the investment?" asked Bruce once he was sure that the business proposal that Zach had previously proposed was in fact quite feasible.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    бн

    These days Bruce had been working hard to develop the perfect way to handle the sugar production business that Zach had pioneered.

    Although Zach had shown him the path and was the person responsible for the business, he didn''t seem as interested in the project. Instead Zach was pouring his heart into the construction on Greend. The sugar project was therefore being spearheaded by Bruce who was overly passionate about it. He was busily making ns in order to attract proposals so as to build a basic foundation for the Smith family in Byzantium city.

    Zach had in fact not been interested in the production of sugar from the very beginning. The only reason he was so passionate about the production of sugar was so that he could drink sweet coffee instead of the one explosively spicy or the dark bitter coffee that the people here were used to. They not only drank the terrorist coffee but also drank it with relish like it was a national delicacy that was hard toe by.

    Just when Bruce was about to go out to attract investments, he decided to ask for Zach''s opinion regarding it.

    "I am thinking of asking the Windsor family to invest in this project. This way we can also pay them back for the favor of letting us stay here. Even our servants can tell that this business is going to be a sess so the Windsor family should be able to profit from it. What do you think? Would the old leader of the family agree to invest?"

    "How would I know if that old master would be willing to invest in your project or not?"

    "You know the Windsor family better than I do. You must have some idea as to what the old master''s attitude towards this might be."

    Zach made a disgruntled face as if he couldn''t understand what Bruce was trying to get at.

    If by being close he meant the fake rtionship he had with ra, then Zach felt like Bruce needed to be taught a lesson.

    "Bruce, what if I ask you to hand over the sugar production business to the Windsor family? Would you agree?"

    Bruce''s pupils quaked as he felt ufortable on the inside. He had worked hard on the project and there were several ideas in his head that he wanted to implement for the marketing of their product but Zach just asked him to let it all go. If he had an option, he would definitely be unwilling to give such a big and juicy fruit basket to the Windsor family without any remuneration.

    Zach felt Bruce''s hesitation as he shifted his gaze to Diana in order to seek an objective opinion on the matter.

    Bruce too was hopeful that Diana would support him in this matter. Unlike how she looked, Diana wasn''t one to suffer a loss when she wanted to do something. Therefore, Bruce was sure that she would support his decision instead of Zach''s that was emotionally biased.

    But he had no choice but to be disappointed when his sister sang a totally different tune from the one he had been expecting. She offered herplete support and all her faith to Zach and didn''t spare a single thought for her brother''s feelings.

    Since her faith in Zach was close to blind, she didn''t doubt a single decision that he made. She not only maintained her calm demeanor as her brother panicked but she also felt confident that Zach wouldn''t disappoint her even if the decision seemed arbitrary or harmful to the Smith family at the first nce.

    Bruce didn''t have the guts to openly resist Zach''s decision. The former didn''t want to offend thetter because the survival of the Smith family was heavily dependent on the Zach''s continued support and assistance.

    Despite the possibility that Zach might mind his nosiness, Bruce gathered his courage and asked, "Why would you do such a thing? This is such a huge opportunity for us to develop in this city and you want to give this opportunity to the Windsor family. I don''t have the intention to stop you if you intend to do that but I am entitled to an exnation at the very least as to why you are doing this; don''t you think?"

    Zach considered his question for a few moments before nodding thoughtfully as if judging it to be logically correct. But the very next second he burst into a smile and replied, "Our Smith family can''t be tied down by such a small project. We have greater things to do. We can''t waste our time working on such trivialities that won''t even matter in the long run. Why do you want to look at the shit on the ground when the heavens are raining rainbows and sunshine?"

    Bruce finally let out the breath he had been holding in his chest for fear that Zach would mind his questioning. Thankfully, Zach didn''t feel offended and even stated his reasons for the decision.

    For the first time since they had left Elizabeth city, Bruce felt excited to the core. He could feel Zach''s intentions for the development of the Smith family.

    Although Bruce could build a huge business empire if he wanted to by using the sugar production business model and stretching it across the empire, Zach thought that Bruce was still thinking too small. The things he had in mind for the Smith family were far greater than this.

 Chapter 186 186 Prospect Of The Future

    Bruce relented to Zach''s idea of handing over the business to the Windsor family but he still wasn''t willing to give up the projectpletely. He figured that the Smith family should at least get the maximum benefit out of the deal even if Zach had alreadymitted the business to Windsor family.

    "I can bear letting go of this business opportunity since you are advocating it but I insist that you let me go to negotiate with the Windsor family on your behalf. I know that you will simply give it away like chump change if I am not there."

    Zach opened his mouth to say something but before he could make a sound, Bruce interrupted him.

    "Since you already consider this to be a trivial matter, don''t involve yourself in it. Let me handle it. In return, I assure you that I will carry out your will sincerely and the Windsor family won''t feel wronged even after the conclusion of the deal. They will still be grateful to you for giving them the opportunity. You can''t seem toprehend how big of an opportunity it will be for them."

    Zach took a moment to take in everything he heard from Bruce and let it simmer in his mind. Since Bruce had already put it in such a manner, Zach didn''t think there was anything he to retort about in Bruce''s way of handling the deal. Therefore, he nodded and gave him a thumbs up to indicate his agreement.

    It was therefore decided that Bruce would be the negotiator and Zach wouldn''t interfere in the matter.

    Zach forgot about the matter as soon as he made a decision. To him, the sugar business really wasn''t as important as it was to Zach. He had neither put in much thought about it and to some extent he felt that Bruce might have been right about him giving it away to the Windsor family without anypensation. The only benefit he was thinking of receiving through this arrangement was the avability of his favorite coffee instead of the local bitter coffee that he couldn''t get used to no matter what.

    Although it appeared that Zach hadn''t put much thought into the matter and waszy while Bruce was working hard for the Smith family. The truth was that Zach was thinking of the bigger picture. He had to take several factors into ount in order to determine the development direction of this new Smith family.

    Zach had learnt a crucial lesson from the attack of Prince Kolt at the previous Luther residence. Without power and sufficient influence, he would always be at the mercy of someone else no matter how much he tried to improve this society. There would always be some greedy sharks waiting to bite off a pound of flesh from his bleeding body no matter how well fed he kept those sharks.

    Even money was far from keeping him safe. Therefore a purely business family had no means of survival unless they relied on someone else or the government like the Elizabeth family that was weak in terms of battle capability but had the support of the government now. But what if the temptation in your possession was big enough to tempt the government? Who would save you from you own backer then?

    Therefore, Zach had set a direction for his people to develop based on several important reasons. These were also the reasons why he had not involved the Luther family people in the sugar business despite the obvious resistance and hesitation of Bruce toply with his orders.

    First reason was that money wasn''t as important for Zach at the moment. A project, as big as the sugar production business, was bound to shine a light on the pioneers who managed to develop such a useful household item. Zach couldn''t afford to be in the limelight during this period where the whole family would be in the development phase.

    The second reason was thecking manpower. The total number of people under him at the moment was close to five hundred approximately. It was far from enough to take on such a huge project so as to keep the production method a secret. Therefore, it was better to give the project away for sufficient benefits.

    The third reason was that Zach intended for the family to be powerful not in terms of riches or political influence but in terms of strength and battle power. With the current number of personnel at his beck and call, Zach didn''t think the emergence of a fighting force was feasible even with the support of thetest technology and equipment. Therefore, in a situation where he needed to make efficient use of everyst man at his disposal, it was almost impossible for Zach to spare someone to manage the production process of sugar.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Zach still remembered the scale of the battle that took ce when they left Elizabeth city behind. The forces that Prince Kolt had brought with him had covered the groundpletely in an area epassing several hundreds of meters around the Luther family estate.

    If a single Prince could muster such strength without the support of the royal family, Zach could not bring himself to imagine the true force of the royal family that had yet to show itself. Zach could only hope that the royal family would not make a move against him until Zach developed his force sufficiently. Although the royal family was trying to make a good rtionship with him, Zach had read enough history to know that the interest of a single individual could never outweigh the interest of the state. The moment the royal family found themselves in a situation where taking over Zach''s technology appeared to be beneficial to the state, they would not hesitate to order to Zach toply with their unjustified demands in the name of righteousness and self sacrifice for the nation.

    In order to not be in a passive situation in front of such powers of the empire, Zach needed the Smith family to absorb more members into its fold. He wanted to raise the power of the Luther family to the point that even the top ss forces of the country would hesitate to sh with it.

    Although money was the greatest motivator in a generic sense, not everyone was interested in earning loads of money when they already had enough to support them for a lifetime. To such people, the amount of money you waved in front of them didn''t matter. They were more interested in things that could hold their interest.

    For example, an experienced craftsmen dealing in luxury goods wouldn''t becking in money but might be tempted towards rare wood materials to practice his craft on.

    Thinking along the same lines, Zach felt the need to gather precious and rare resources in order to attract capable people and to tempt them to join his faction. The ideology could work wonders provided that there were enough people who had yet to join a faction despite being capable.

    After all, he wasn''t the only person interested in talents. Everyrge and medium sized family usually had talent brokers who head hunted such capable people on a regr basis for their group.

    After putting in some further thought, Zach found that this kind of recruitment could produce faster results and could build arge force quite quickly but couldn''t be reliable. There was no way to keep the loyalty of the people who joined Zach''s faction only for resources. If one day they found more resources from somewhere else, wouldn''t they switchover once more?

    Therefore, Zach couldn''t trust outsiders with the management and key positions in his force. He needed to ensure the loyalty of the management in his faction so as to keep the faction from getting out of his sphere of influence. He could settle for a weaker but reliable and cohesive force rather than a powerful but scattered force that was only good for show of power.

    In and so foreign, he didn''t have a lot of options in to choose from that Zach could rely on. The only sure method was to choose from a group of people he could trust unconditionally. From that perspective, there were only two groups that fell into this range. One was the Luther family that had arrived with him to Byzantium city and the other was to ask the Windsor family to contribute some manpower. Zach believed that the old master of the Windsor family wouldn''t cheat him after receiving life saving grace from Zach.

    Although, Zach didn''t doubt the Windsor family people, he still wasn''t willing to build the foundation of his faction relying on the strength of the Windsor family. Therefore, he had to build up the strength of his people in order to proceed further with his ns.

    The Luther family people would be his hands and feet in the new organizational structure. They would not only be the highest levelbatants of the group after being armed with thetest technology and trained ording to his special forces standards but would also hold the most important management positions in the family. In this way, there won''t be any loophole for the other families or powers to exploit when targeting the Smith family; which they would eventually after the meteoric rise of Zach''s force became imminent and threatened to divide their piece of pie.

    The servants of the Luther family were unaware of the ns being hatched by Zach to turn them into capable fighters, assistants and managers who would lead the future fighting force and the business empire of the Luther family on Zach''s behalf.

 Chapter 187 187 Talks

    In order to bring these people up to his standards from their current status as the servants of the household, Zach nned to train them through the harshest of methods. Even then, he felt that the training mightst a long time because there was so much that these people needed to learn in order to be better versions of themselves that Zach would find useful. Therefore, with no time to waste, Zach had the thoughts to begin their training immediately so as to not regret in the future.

    бн

    Since Zach had already agreed to Bruce''s condition to let him negotiate the deal between the Luther family and the Windsor family, he hade alone to discuss the details of the matter with the leader of the Windsor household; Marico.

    Currently he was seated in the conference room of the Windsor family. The conference room was quite different from what he had expected. Instead of a round table or an elongated table lined with chairs on both sides, there were mats ced at regr intervals on both sides of the room at equal distances for aesthetic purposes.

    Bruce was upying one of the mats that were closest to the head while Marico upied the presiding position. Violet and ra were seated opposite to Bruce and were looking skeptically at Bruce.

    Even though they trusted Zachpletely, the same was not true for Bruce and the people of the Luther family. ra didn''t have as close a rtionship with the rest of the people other than Zach and Diana. She hadn''t had much interaction with the rest of the people even when they travelled together.

    Bruce could understand their apprehension as he himself had been in their position once when he was being assaulted from all sides by the hidden vultures who were eyeing his family''s possessions and power. But he hade here to discuss important matters with them which could not be hindered byck of trust. Therefore, he had brought sufficient evidence to prove his ims so as to earn their trust before the discussion.

    "I know you have your reservations against us because we hardly know each other but I have brought with me the proof that my ims are true."

    Marico was rtively calmpared to his daughters who showed their disbelief on their faces.

    "All right; let''s see if the product can live up to your ims."

    Bruce knew that his opportunity had arrived. He had previously exined the existence of sugar to the old leader and his daughters in detail but they had been skeptical of its existence. Now he just needed to make the most of this opportunity and convince the Windsor family to buy his business proposal.

    Bruce stood up from his seat and knocked on the door of the conference room exit. The very next moment, the servant standing outside, brought a tray wrapped in silken red cloth into the conference room and ced it in front of the old leader Marico before retreating outside the room once again.

    Bruce assumed his previous position and waved his hand to the girls to try the sugar before skillfully removing the red cloth covering the porcin tray.

    Sparkling little white crystals adorned the tray. The crystals werepletely transparent and solid in shape. The old master picked up a handful of crystals before rubbing them in between his thumb and index finger in order to check its crystalline structure.

    His eyes sparkled with a tinge of excitement as he brought a crystal to his mouth. He could only imagine the possibility of it all being true. The things Bruce had told him before didn''t seem too far-fetched anymore.

    The girls too took an interest in the product in front of them.

    ra and Violet took a handful of sugar from the tray following the example of their father. The father and daughters simultaneously tasted the crystalline sugar in their hands and got lost in the sweetness that was iparable to anything they had ever tasted before.

    "Do you believe me now?" asked Bruce knowingly because this had been his exact reaction and that of his sister when they were first introduced to this sugar by Zach.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Did Zach make this too?" asked ra with eyes in the shape of crescents. She was visibly pleased with the sweet taste of the sugar. Her fondness for sweets and desserts was apparent to anyone."

    Violet looked at Bruce at the same time. She wanted to know the answer to that question as well. To the girls, Zach was akin to a credibility stamp. If the sugar truly came from Zach, it would mean that Bruce could be trusted as well.

    Bruce had no intention to hide it from the Windsor family from the very beginning. Although he wanted to introduce the product without mentioning Zach, he was going to reveal it to them anyways so that they would know the favor being shown to them by Zach in return for their help.

    "The source nt used in the production of this sugar was first discovered by Zach. It was also him who told us how to produce sugar using the source nt. From start to the end, it is Zach''s brain-child."

    ra vigorously nodded her head and her expression clearly said, "I knew it. No one else could have brought about such a miracle". She appeared to be extremely proud of Zach''s achievement as if he was her closest rtive.

    "What do you think? Do you still doubt my previous proposal?"

    "No, if I still doubted your words then I would have lived my life in vain up till this point. Obviously, this sugar or whatever it is called would very soon be an everyday necessity in all households provided that it really can be produced at such arge scale. Otherwise, it would just be another luxury item that every elite family of the empire would strive to have. Therefore, I think it is good to go about that marketing route if the production can''t match the supply after the introduction of this product in the market."

    Marico understood the details of the business proposal very easily and was even able toe up with his own ideas regarding it. He was after all a business veteran who managed to keep his family at the top of the business world for a long while despite his deteriorating health.

    "Don''t worry, the crop needed for the production of sugar has a low maturity age and can dish out two crops a year. Provided that there is sufficient ntation space avable, you won''t go short of the demand even if you wanted to. Also, the market pration strategy would be far more beneficialpared to positioning it as a luxury item that few can afford."

    Marico was surprised that a product like this could be made from something that could be produced so easily.

    "If what you say is really true then this sugar would definitely be a household necessity in the near future; maybe evenpared to salt. We humans are creatures who cannot get used to monotony. We instinctively seek adventure; excitement and new things. We may be able to survive on a single kind of diet infinitely but it would definitely leave us soulless. I think we need to stimte our tastes with exotic new things in order to keep our souls thriving. Therefore, the introduction of a whole new taste as a part of themonly used food items will definitely appeal to thosemoners who cannot change their tastes because of the effect it would have on their pockets. Moreover, arge industry like this would provide enough opportunity to my family to expand beyond Byzantium city. It is even possible that this will be the biggest and the most widespread business in the history of my Windsor family. Who knew that my Windsor family would see such rise during my time especially when I was just about to reach the end of my life a few weeks back? It truly is my luck to meet Zach in this lifetime."

    Bruce was happy that Marico had truly understood the implications of this discovery and the benefits this deal might bring to the Windsor family. This only meant that he would have more bargaining power when negotiating the deal. Bruce always liked to be the one with the upper hand in negotiations after surviving past the oppression of therge scale families of Elizabeth city.

    "Can I take it that you have agreed to invest in this project?" asked Bruce with a firm and confident tone.

    "It will be an honor to witness the whole world taking a step towards the future; albeit a small one after such a long time. Maybe this would help awaken the dormant adventurous souls of the humans to set out once again to make discoveries that might benefit the entire human race. It is truly an honor to set things in motion for the generations toe. Humanity can bear witness to my Windsor family advocating a new and better future for the descendants."

    Marico was somewhat emotional towards the end of his monologue but he didn''t show it on the surface. Emotions were the bane of a sessful businessman which was why he was able to maintain a perfect poker face during important negotiations.

    Violet could sense that her father was acting a bit weird and decided to steer the conversation towards a more favorable topic which was to seal the deal as soon as possible.

    "Windsor family will fully support the Smith family so that the sugar production chain can be established along the whole length of the empireбн"

 Chapter 188 188 Conditions

    "Windsor family will fully support the Smith family so that the sugar production chain can be established along the whole length of the empire. We can start with a small region on an experimental basis and can attract future investments from the other cities based on the demand of the item in the future. All we ask in return from you is to give us a small percentage of shares and the transparency regarding the well being of the industry and our finances."

    Violet had been looking after the family for a long time as well. She was more up to date with some of the matterspared to her father who had stayed in bed most of the time due to his illness. Therefore, she still held most of the decision making power even after her father had returned to take over the family. Therefore she didn''t even ask for her father''s opinion when she knew that her father might have a biased opinion this time.

    Still, the conditions she had proposed were the least difficult in the industry and would be readily epted by any businessman, let alone the budding Smith family that had no capital whatsoever.

    Contrary to her expectations, Bruce shook his head in the negative.

    Violet couldn''t believe her eyes. She had already promised to give them the controlling stakes and had only asked for a very small percentage of the total profits and yet Bruce wanted more from her. She wondered if Zach was kicking them to the curb after gaining benefits from them. Even though he had helped out the Windsor family, they had given Zach some benefits in return as well.

    This kind of approach was akin to burning the bridge after crossing to the other side. Violet didn''t believe that Zach was such a man but his actions so far caused her to misunderstand. Not only had Zach note himself to negotiate with Marico but his representative was unwilling to ept a deal as good and reasonable as she had presented.

    Marico''s facial expressions were not good either. He was worried that some other powerful family like the Hunter family had approached Zach with better conditions due to which thetter was willing to throw them away after gaining benefits from them. If such a thing were to ur, the survival of the Windsor family would be threatened.

    During the years of his weakness, the foundation of the Windsor family came close to crumbling. If the enemies gained a helper like Zach in this crucial time, it wouldn''t take long before they would be able to deal the final blow to his family without suffering any consequences at all.

    His scrunched up face and frowning eyebrows gave a clear picture of the worry in his heart. Sweating his insides out, Marico looked at Bruce helplessly as he wished that Bruce wasn''t serious about his demands. They couldn''t possibly invest in a venture that would not earn them any money but will be an iron trap for all their capital.

    Violet couldn''t help but be a little dissatisfied with the Smith family''s way of doing things. Her unhappiness was visible to Bruce as well who hurriedly tried to take control of the matter so as to not let the Windsor family misunderstand the Smith family''s motives and Zach''s goodwill towards them.

    Bruceughed heartily as if everything he had just said was a lighthearted joke. He had been trying to be mysterious earlier by saying no to their proposal but his n had backfired in the worst possible manner. Thankfully, he wasn''t kicked out of the Windsor family for rejecting such a gesture of goodwill from the Windsor family.

    "Your conditions are too good but we cannot ept your proposal unfortunately. I am here as a representative of our leader to do his bidding. If it had been up to me, I would have readily epted your terms since they are very lucrative to me as a businessman. Our leader on the other hand doesn''t think the same as me. He has already given me instructions on what to do with this deal."

    All the listeners'' attention was piqued by Bruce''s words. They had been wondering if Bruce was acting on his own when he came to them with the proposal but Bruce''s words made them dissatisfied with Zach.

    Even his subordinate thought that the terms of the Windsor family were good but Zach had instructed him not to settle.

    Unlike Violet and Marico, ra didn''t believe that Zach would be so harsh with the Windsor family. Therefore she hurriedly asked, "Then what conditions did Zach ask you to agree on? What is your bottom line?"

    Bruce smiled when he saw ra cooperate with him in revealing the surprise he had nned for the Windsor family.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Smith family will not be involved in the sugar production business in the future. Since it is arge scale project that would surely attract the attention of the whole world, our leader doesn''t think it is suitable with his strategic direction for our family. He intends to keep a low profile. Therefore, he has decided to teach everything regarding the production process to Windsor family so you will be able to build the production and distribution chain for the product as you see fit. The smith family will not interfere with your business in any manner whatsoever. This will be the business of the Windsor family in the future."

    Bruce was focused on saying everything he had to say but he failed to check the facial expressions of those involved. The announcement seemed to have imed the souls of the participants. They looked like lifeless dolls that were devoid of all intelligence and were incapable ofprehending the meaning behind Bruce''s words.

    Violet was dumbstruck at first but then embarrassment took over her disbelief and made her feel guilty for ever doubting Zach''s sincerity. She had even scolded him in her heart so many times for being ungrateful and for forgetting those who helped him when he made it rich. Thinking back on it now, she remembered that they had received more help from him than he did from them. Not only that, the Windsor family had helped him because of their selfish motive while he had helped her sister in the wild when he didn''t even know her.

    Based on the facts, Violet should be the one ashamed for still expecting to receive benefits from him. She hurriedly put on an embarrassed smile on her face so as to listen to the details of the cooperation from Bruce.

    Marico was the same as Violet. He was in disbelief and felt as if he had misheard the whole thing or had misinterpreted Bruce''s words into what he wished them to be.

    He looked at Bruce''s expressions in order to make out if he was joking or not.

    Upon confirmation, Marico couldn''t control his thoughts from running wild. In so many years that he had been the leader of the Windsor family, this was the first opportunity of this size that Marico had encountered. This one opportunity would have a greater impact on the prestige and the market value of Windsor family than all the opportunitiesbines since the inception of the family by the founding members.

    Marico imagined himself as the controlling authority of such a huge business empire. Even though it would get busy due to the scale of the business he had in mind, Marico could not help but feel the power such a position would entail. Hundreds and thousands of people would be looking at him to receive amand as ruled over the entire sugar production chain. His family could even make the jump to be a great family that was previously impossible during his tenure as the leader. If they could master the sugar production process, the Windsor family would surely enter a new era of prosperity like none before.

    Before his fantasies could go any further, Marico reined in his mind and put in some thought before epting such an offer. The reason was that there was no such thing that was free in this world. There was no pure kindness or pure affection. Everything wasced with greed and selfish desires. Such a kind and generous offer appeared good on the surface but the underlying conditions were usually too harsh to be considered.

    Therefore, he needed all his mental faculties active when he made the decision to either ept or reject Zach''s offer.

    "There can''t be such a good thing in this world. What are his conditions for giving us such arge piece of pie to us?" asked Marico conscious of some underlying scheme.

    He didn''t even think how his emotions had taken a one eighty degree turn. Previously he had been scolding Zach for being ungrateful when he thought that Zach hadid down conditions that were too harsh to ept. And now when Zach''s conditions were too good and beneficial to Marico and his family, he doubted his sincerity.

    "Of course there are conditions that you have to ept in return for such a generous offer. Despite the good rtionship between the families, we are businessmen at our core. We can''t ignore easy benefits when we can help it."

    "I understand; please state his conditions." Marico obviously understood that there were terms. He was a businessman as well. But he didn''t know that the conditions for the deal didn''te from Zach but from Bruce. Zach hadpletely left the matter of the negotiations to Bruce as he put his entire focus on their future home.

 Chapter 189 189 ZachтАЩs Plan

    "First of all, the technology that we will help you install in various locations around the empire for the production and extraction process of sugar; our Smith family will have a seventy five percent controlling stake in it. You can''t outsource your sugar production mills to others and our machinery cannot be sold to others for profit. Unserviceable machinery will be properly disposed of by melting in the furnace and will not be left for others to salvage anything from it. The Smith family will have a right to veto any decision regarding the future of cane sugar production industry."

    Bruce gave a pause between stating the first and second condition. He wanted to make sure that Marico had understood the first condition before moving on to the second.

    Marico had not only understood but had also epted the first condition in his heart. He was willing to settle for much less. This was nothing considering all the machinery woulde from the Smith family. They definitely had the right to control the misappropriation of their technology.

    Marico nodded for Bruce to continue.

    "Secondly, for the Smith family to trust the Windsor familypletely, our leader believes that the two families should have familial rtionship instead of just a business rtionship which is far less reliable. Therefore, he intends to make ra his real wife after your agreement. The disguise that you have created would no longer be necessary as well."

    Violet was surprised and used both her hands to cover her wide open mouth while ra was feeling that it was only natural that Zach would be smitten to her. Even then there was a blush that was sneakily creeping up all over her face and her neck. She tried to say something as well but couldn''t as her voice didn''t reach the audible range.

    Marico saw her flushing and fretting about as she tried to say something and knew what his daughter wanted in his heart. Had it not been that he already knew that ra liked Zach, he would never have agreed to Zach''s condition even if it was the biggest opportunity for the Windsor family. He was not willing to sacrifice his daughter''s happiness in order to gain more riches and resources for the family.

    "Thirdly, Windsor family must protect Diana no matter what happens in the future; whether we are allies or enemies even if god himself wants us dead. You have to promise to keep her safe unconditionally."

    Marico didn''t think there was any condition that was unreasonable in the whole deal. ra was willing to marry Zach so there was no problem towards that end. Protecting Diana in times of danger would be an easier task because she wasn''t an important enough member of Zach''s forces from what he had inferred. The government wouldn''t specifically target her ever when her brother and Zach were still living. Therefore, this condition wasn''t bad either.

    The only real condition was the seventy five percent controlling stake and the right to veto any decision. Although it would limit some of his freedom in developing the sugar production chain, this was still more than enough for the Windsor family to earnrge amount in profits and market value.

    Marico knew he couldn''t find a better deal than this so he readily voiced out his agreement.

    "I agree to all the conditions you stated. When can we begin?"

    Bruce got up from his seat and the rest of the participants of the meeting stood up following his lead.

    Bruce extended his hand towards Marico and thetter shook it enthusiastically. The handshake was a visual finalization of the deal between the two families.

    бн

    A few days had passed since Bruce came back and told him that the negotiations had seeded with the Windsor family and they had agreed to invest and work on their business idea. Zach didn''t ask him for the details of the negotiations because he had promised him earlier to not interfere in the matters rted to the sugar business.

    Therefore, he was unaware of the terms that Windsor family had agreed to. He didn''t even know that Bruce had already arranged his marriage with the annoying ra.

    He was currently seated on a chair far above the constructions site as he looked at the Luther family people working hard to build their future home. He was like azy site manager who does nothing but order people around all day and ends up profiting the most at the end as well.

    These days had been quite leisurely for Zach considering the training period for the people was already over. He didn''t have to nitpick over every little detail now that they knew how to operate the modern machinery and were already used to it.

    Except for cautionary words every now and then to keep them from making mistakes, Zach just had to direct Diana from time to time to control the direction of the construction efforts.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Lounging on the chair, sipping on his steaming sweet coffee, Zach felt that his life was finally perfect. He just had to wait for Luna to wake up now to leave his past behind.

    But something at the back of his mind kept pinching him; as if he was forgetting something important; like something important was missing from his life still even though he had already achieved so much.

    He mulled it over before concluding that this uneasy feeling was because of that girl ra who was so determined to pester her until he told her all the stories in his repertoire.

    Lately she hadn''t beening to see him like she previously did.

    Maybe she was finally fed up after so many rejections from him.

    Although he tried to avoid her as much as possible, he still couldn''t help but feel her absence now that she hadn''t shown herself for such a long time. Absence truly did make the heart grow fonder.

    No matter how much he tried to stay calm and feelfortable, the uneasiness didn''t let go of him. He kept wondering if she was going toe today or not.

    Unknown to Zach who was still cut off from the rest of the world, due to him spending all his time on Greend, the news of his engagement with ra had long since be the talk of the town.

    The youngest daughter of the Windsor family was about to marry the only son of the dark mage Wood Smith. This was the rumor amongst those who knew Marico''s friendship with the dark mage. But themoners only knew that the daughter of the Windsor family was about to be wed to an SS rank water mage who was responsible for the rain when he arrived in the city.

    The news had spread like wildfire spreads in a forest full of dried wood. Everyone knew about it except the groom himself.

    Zach wanted to train his people inbat as soon as possible but his hands werepletely tied. There weren''t enough people avable when all of them were still working on the remodeling of Greend into their new home. He couldn''t slow down the construction just because he wanted to train them.

    Therefore, he pulled out some books on basic physical training from the system. There were several guides piled up that he had never read before. They were extremelyprehensive and detailed so that even ayman could understand and practice based on the instructions to be a goodbatant.

    Before teaching things to the others, he felt that this was the perfect time to give these guides a read and think of a training n for his people.

    As soon as the remodeling of Greend wasplete, Zach was going to im these people for a long time and was going to train them in the harshest area of Greend that he nned to cordon off so that his people could gain real time experience inbat against beasts who were countless times stronger butcking in the technology that they were going to train in. He wanted to ingrain thebat spirit in them so that they wouldn''t falter in front of a dragon should onee with a gun in their hands.

    But just the technology and his battle tactics were far from enough to make the dominant force he was nning to make his people into. He needed the help of both the technology he could offer and the magic that this world had to offer. Both magic and technology was the answer that Zach had reached after his failure in front of the Back Tiger. Only by making use of the good of the both worlds could he reign supreme in this world.

    So, he needed someone to teach his people magic. He wanted to separately train the people who had the ability or potential to be mages but were unable to be one due to theck of resources. He was sure that not all the people in the Luther household would be incapable of sensing and using magic. These would be the elites of his force who would wield the good of both worlds to make the impossible happen at hismands.

    And for those who could not use magic, Zach didn''t want them to bepletely clueless about mages.

    "To know one''s enemy is one of the best ways to win a war."

    Zach believed in the saying wholeheartedly. If his people didn''t even know what they were up against, they would never be able to defend themselves. After all, the unknown is only feared until it bes known.

 Chapter 190 190 HoganтАЩs Concern

    Zach wanted to train these people into a cohesive andplete force that could take on the best forces in the world. He couldn''t have them be passive in the face of mages who constituted the greater part of the world''s elite forces but were weak to the smallest of his guns. He needed to show them that the mages were not to be feared. They weren''t as outstanding as they had believed in the past.

    Unfortunately, the belief had been ingrained in their thinking since birth as they were born in very and needed to deify something or someone to continue moving forward. Tomon folk, magic was no less than a miracle.

    Therefore, he needed a magic tutor who was not only good at his job but also loyal and trustworthy enough to steer his people in the direction that Zach wanted.

    бн

    With the finalization of the deal with Bruce, the Windsor family began preparations tounch their new product in the market. The promotional events included free tastings at various locations in the local market and sending free samples of sugar to various influential families of the city in order to understand the true demand for themodity they were about to expend so much on.

    The feedback so far had only been positive. The marketces were willing to pay any amount to get their hands on such a lucrative product. Marico knew what those people in the local market wanted to do by making such an offer. They were definitely thinking of selling this sugar in the other cities as a luxurymodity to highly influential families in order to make profit before the Windsor familyunched it beyond the confines of Byzantium city. He knew because he would have done the same in their ces. It was mainly business. There was nothing shameful about it.

    One of the recipients of those free samples of sugar was the Hunter family. They had been thinking of methods to build a good rtionship with the Windsor family but so far they had found no opportunities to do so. It was as if the head of the family was purposefully avoiding the Hunter family.

    So, when the Hunter family leader heard of the new project Marico was working on, he became livid with frustration. He couldn''t ept that the Windsor family that was just about to be trampled on by him had gotten a new lease on life. It had not only survived but was obviously thriving. Had they managed to establish a good rtionship with the Windsor family, Hogan could have tried to partner up for this project.

    His thoughts were interrupted when Nelson came into the study with a servant in tow who was bearing a trayden with snacks and a teapot. Upon his instruction, the servant ced the tray on the table in front of Hogan and left with hurried steps. The servants already knew that the family head was in one of his moods again and it was better to avoid him until he calmed down.

    Nelson bent towards the table and poured the coffee from the teapot in a cup gently so as to not spill any. His father hated it when someone spilled anything in front of him.

    He then picked up a spoon and poured a spoonful of sugar from the sample being kept in a small ss jar marked with the unique crest of the Windsor family.

    After gently stirring the coffee with the help of the tea spoon, Nelson handed the cup full of coffee to his father who had been waiting impatiently for it.

    Nelson didn''t sit down and waited for his father to test the sweet coffee as the Windsor family now called it.

    Hogan took a small sip of the cup and his face turned dark like the underside of the bed. It was frightening how bloodshot his eyes became once he tasted the sugary concoction. One would think that the reason for such an borate expression would be because the coffee tasted extremely horrible.

    But the truth was quite the opposite. The coffee has a heavenly taste that he couldn''t have imagined before this.

    Hogan''s grip on the cup tightened slowly as the cup shattered under the excessive grip strength spilling the sweet coffee everywhere in the study.

    Nelson immediately called for a servant to clear the pieces of the broken cup away before cleaning the floor of the study.

    Hogan figured that the Windsor family was working its way towards a meteoric rise while the Hunter family hadn''t even begun to make its move yet. This made him furious but he couldn''t do anything about it. He had to drink up his anger in frustration and change his family''s strategy soon if he wanted to catch up to his rival families.

    Nelson had been in suspense all this while but he didn''t dare to ask until Hogan calmed down enough to talk properly.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    When the servant left along with the tray in her hand, Hogan finally began to speak his thoughts.

    "We won''t be able to catch up to the Windsor family once this product reaches the market. There will be no stopping it if it became amon household item. Had it been luxury goods, we could have made up for the difference with our other profitable businesses or by making alliances but the fact that Windsor family is using this product to enter unexplored markets makes it worrisome. We can''t afford to let them expand their influence or they would very soon leave us behind in dust."

    It felt as if Hogan was talking to his son but only Nelson knew that Hogan was in fact muttering to himself. This wasn''t a dialogue but a monologue that he shouldn''t interrupt.

    Still he wanted to speak his mind.

    "I have heard that this has to do with the man who healed that old fart. That SS rank water mage who arrived with a huge number of people and stayed with the Windsor family for some time before moving to the uninhabited ind at the edge of the city."

    "I don''t care whether it was that Mr. Smith who developed this product or the Windsor family. The fact that the Windsor family is currently marketing this product in their name means that the business belongs to them. We can no longer afford to offend the Windsor family until we are able to get our hands on the production method of this thing."

    "I don''t think we can do that. I have heard that the production process is impossible to copy without the infrastructure that the Windsor family has developed. Even if we wanted to, what can we possibly do to arrest their growing influence?" Nelson raised his concerns as he had read up on thetest news regarding the Windsor family and their constant promotions.

    "We need to revise our external affairs strategy before moving any further. Make sure that we don''t offend the Windsor family or even attract their attention for a period of time until I think of a possible solution. If we don''t do something worthwhile at this time, I am sure that our businesses would be swept off by the tide of change that is surelying for this city soon. Thankfully, we aren''t the only ones who might be affected by this sudden change. If our luck is good, we will soon have powerful helpers on our side to take the Windsor family down a peg."

    Hogan had already settled on a suitable strategy. He was only waiting to implement it at the right time to get the maximum benefits.

    бн

    Byzantium city was far greater in scalepared to Elizabeth city that stood at the very edge of the empire. Even thergest family in Elizabeth family couldn''t surpass the mid tier families in Byzantium city.

    Unlike Elizabeth city where only one family reigned supreme at the top, Byzantium city was being ruled by four elite families that kept each other in check so that no one family could gain absolute power to dictate everything in the city. The four families had lived in equilibrium with each other for as long as the current leaders had been conscious. There were slight skirmishes in between this time and of course there were various attempts to dethrone each other in the dark but on the surface there was a harmonious atmosphere in the city. This was also one of the reasons why no one had been able to touch the Windsor family despite the deteriorating state of the leader.

    These four families were named as the Hunter family, Windsor family, Davis family and Brown family in the order of their individual strength. These families had lived in mutual respect until now at least on the surface but Hogan figured that the bnce was about to be broken by the increasing influence of Windsor family soon.

    Putting his n into action, Hogan mobilized his trusted servants to deliver two urgent letters to the leaders of Brown and Davis family so as to invite them for an emergency gathering. This emergency meeting would address the issue that Hogan Hunter was worried about.

    бн

    Midnight, Hunter family mansion

    In a cramped conference room that didn''t even have any windows to vent out the inside air, three individuals were seated facing towards each other with a small triangr table in between the three of them.

    At first f hadn''t wanted to pay any attention to Hogan who had been bing more and more paranoidtely after the revival of the Windsor family but the sense of urgency in the letter forced f to give him a chance at least.

 Chapter 191 191 Emergency Meeting

    He didn''t want to miss out if it truly was something that demanded such urgency.

    If there was the slightest possibility that this discussion might turn out to be important to maintain the current status quo, f didn''t want to be the only one not in attendance.

    Therefore, once he had confirmed that the leader of the House Davis would be attending, he too departed towards the residence of Hunter family which enjoyed the reputation of being the top most family of Byzantium city.

    "What are we doing here? I hope, for your sake, that this isn''t just because of your paranoia regarding the revenge of Windsor family. You look even more terrified than what I had imagined you to be. Is that old Marico so frightening to you? He doesn''t even have any evidence on you. You don''t have to mind him so much." asked f the leader of the Brown family derisively.

    Hogan didn''t say anything before Austin, the leader of House Davis, retorted on his behalf.

    "It seems your intelligence gathering system is as useless as ever. You haven''t even heard of such a prominent matter. I suppose that every starving beggar on the streets of Byzantium city knows of this by now and yet the leader of one of the most prominent families ispletely unaware like a country bumpkin." Austin didn''t hold back and mocked f whole heartedly foring to the conference without even investigating a single thing. He even wondered in his heart how f had managed to keep his family at the same position with that level of intelligence and caution.

    "What do you mean by that? I presume you are seeking to go to war with my family based on your attitude. Is that right?" f threatened Austin with a heavy tone of voice.

    Austin didn''t intend to trigger f for no reason. Therefore he stopped mocking him and exined the agenda of the conference. Meanwhile, the host of the conference sat to the side waiting for the argument between the guests to finish before stating his purpose.

    "I don''t know if you have heard of it yet but a new product has recently be extremely famous among the nobility and the elite families of the city. It''s a solid crystal like product that can be used to make any kind of food taste sweet. It is akin to salt except for the fact that it tastes sweet."

    "Where are you going with this? I doubt it would make much waves. Don''t we already have honey as the sweetening agent? Why would we shift to this low grade powder?" f didn''t find the new product as threatening as the other two leaders did.

    "What if the product also became avable to the masses and wasn''t a luxury product? What if the Windsor family was the one to push the product into the market and were intending on making it an empire wide supply chain? Would it affect you then? Windsor family is now worth its weight in gold and we can''t afford to touch it carelessly. Are you willing to let the Windsor family lord over you with their increasing influence among the government factions and the masses?" Austin couldn''t help but mock f again.

    f didn''t intend to defend his intelligence system this time. He was clearly behind in timespared to his counterparts. Thankfully, they hadn''t forgotten him when they conducted this meeting or he might not have found out about it until it was toote.

    "Do you think that new and younger version of Smith is behind all this new development? Think about it. The moment that Smith came to the city, Marico recovered from his life long illness and now the Windsor family is making waves not long after. The Windsor family also helped him lease Greend soon after Marico imed to have recovered."

    Since f knew that the cannons were targeting him at the moment, he tried to divert the topic of discussion by shining light on Zach and his achievements.

    "What could he possibly do with that piece ofnd? Didn''t we all at one point try to develop that piece of god forsakennd? There is no way for him to actually pull it off when all of us failed despite all our resources."

    The one to mock Zach was none other than Hogan who had been simmering like a pot at high temperature trying to keep its lid from flying off.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I don''t think a man capable of making things like this sugar would be so foolish to take up residence in such a dangerous area without any strategy. I believe that there is a huge secret behind his decision. There must be something on that ind that we failed to discover previously which is worth the risk he is taking. I don''t know what his intention is but it must not be something foolish considering that Marico is even willing to marry his youngest daughter to him without any regret."

    f believed that there was a conspiracy behind Zach acquiring the lease for Greend and the old foggy Marico was definitely a part of it considering the amount of resources that he was willing to invest in Zach. Not only had he helped him acquire the lease at a low rate by making some secret deals with the government but he had also sealed his rtionship with Zach in cement by marrying his daughter off to him.

    Hogan on the other hand didn''t want the focus of the conversation to be the remote ind at the edge of the city when he had called the meeting to discuss the countermeasures for the Windsor family''s new business that could potentially change the rankings of the influential families in Byzantium city.

    "We don''t have the leisure to pay attention to every little action of that kid when we don''t even have any proof of his strength. All I know is that if we don''t do anything to stop the Windsor family at this critical juncture, then we can all start looking for a new ce to call home. Once the benefits from this sugar business start to roll in, we will surely be kicked out of the city."

    Hogan could only rely on maniption to get what he wanted. He decided to capitalize on their fears to make them move against Windsor family.

    Although he was the only one who had actively campaigned to destroy and take over the Windsor family, none of the other families in Byzantium city had tried to stop him from taking action against a half dead family. Not to mention stopping the Hunter family, they hadn''t evene forth to show their support for the Windsor family and Marico surely remembered every single detail.

    Those going through hard times rarely forgot timely help rendered to them in their most vulnerable moments. Marico would have surely remembered them had they revealed any form of goodwill to him in his tough moments. Unfortunately, there was nothing these families could do now to get in Marico''s good graces now that his business was about to sky-rocket.

    Instead they had to worry about his revenge that could be directed towards all of them. Decades of bottled up anger and frustration could make anyone do criminal things and these families had done more than their fair share to kick Marico when he was down.

    Therefore, Hogan was sure that the n of his would definitely work. Capitalizing on these family heads'' insecurities was the best way to get them on his side.

    As expected, there was a noticeable change in f and Austin''s previously cheerful faces. They were now grim and solemn as if they were attending the funeral of their close ones.

    They hade to realize the seriousness of the problem from Hogan''s words and felt the need to do something as well. Since they had been called here by Hogan, both of them looked towards him in anticipation that he might have some kind of n since he had called this emergency meeting to deal with their problems. At the same time, they felt slightly thankful that Hogan hadn''t excluded them from this meeting.

    "What do you think we should do then?" asked f who was always a little behind in the intelligence department but knew how to get things done when it was a crucial moment. He had not secured the seat of the family head for so long based on nothing. He could be extremely cruel when he had to. Only through such methods could he have a firm grip on hisrge family business.

    "I do have a figment of a n in my mind but it depends on you two whether it sees the light of the day or not. If you agree to follow my lead without question, then we might have a way to bring down the Windsor family before they gain enough power to stand up to all of us together. If you don''t then I would have no choice to snuff its life in the darkness so as to think of another survival strategy for my family."

    Hogan was extremely borate in his maniptions. Although the other two family heads had a vague idea what Hogan was ying at, they didn''t pay any attention to it. They pretended not to know it in order to maintain the semnce of an alliance that would yield mutual benefits in the long run.

    "I have no problem in joining hands with you provided that your n is based on reason and mutual benefit."

 Chapter 192 192 Expansion

    "I have no problem in joining hands with you provided that your n is based on reason and mutual benefit. I wouldn''t want to be a pawn for your Hunter family to get all the benefit from this alliance. Share the details of your strategy so we can consider whether to work with you or on our own." Austin had been ying this game for a while and knew that Hogan probably didn''t have their best interests at heart and was only using them for his own benefit.

    Austin wasn''t averse to being used by Hogan, but he couldn''t bear to part with the benefits of toppling the Windsor family at such a crucial juncture. He wanted to make sure that the benefits from the alliance would be distributed among the three families equally or at least based on their individual contribution. Otherwise, Hogan would end up hoarding all the benefits in the end and the difference between the three families would increase even further. The Hunter family would end up recing the Windsor family but the end result would be the same.

    "You don''t need to be so apprehensive. I can assure you that the benefits from this alliance would be divided amongst the three families equally. The alliance would share both costs and the profit until we seed in our objective of disrupting the sugar business and stifle the Windsor family''s growth as much as possible until there are only threerge families left in Byzantium city." replied Hogan with venomced in his words as he tried to reassure his future partners. But he didn''t know he looked like a snake coaxing its children as it prepared to swallow them whole.

    бн

    The Windsor family was preparing to enter the market keeping in view a slightly higher profit margin than previously anticipated. They already knew that the rivaling families would create trouble but they had only recentlye to understand the true extent of it. Therefore, the initial n to reach the grassroots level had to be altered slightly.

    Instead of reaching the true bottom of the society, the Windsor family decided to make their new product essible to the middle ss families who had enough buying power to use salt throughout the month.

    While salt was the most basic condiment being utilized by normal households, the lowest tier didn''t even have ess to salt in some areas. Therefore, Marico was of the opinion that they would be needlessly decreasing the value of their product if they even included the lowest tier of buyers in their potential customers list.

    As a result, the final price was decided to be a silver coin per pound which was equivalent to the price of salt in this world. The extremely poor still couldn''t afford this price since their total wages for the month didn''t exceed a few silver coins in the slightly better cases. No one could afford such luxuries when faced with starvation as the only other alternative.

    The middle ss families on the other hand would be able to squeeze this sum in, if they wanted to, in their weekly or monthly expenditure.

    Based on this new marketing strategy, the new product that could add sweetness to anything and everything, every household in Byzantium city knew about Windsor family and theirtest achievement. While the middle and elite tier of the poption enjoyed this overwhelmingly sweet taste, the poor could only hope to taste such a thing once in their lifetime. This helped the product gain poprity through word of mouth and the overwhelming demand of the product in all kinds of demographic groups.

    The reason why food industries rarely went bankrupt was that they didn''t need to stress whether there would be any customers for their product or not. As long as it was food and could be eaten without vomiting out, there would definitely be buyers for it and those who would be regrs in the future.

    Sugar was one such project that only required investment once. Afterwards, there would be nothing but benefits that would keep rolling in to be counted with both hands and feet at the same time.

    As Marico and Violet began preparations to produce andunch their new product, several families tried to put a wrench in their ns by creating difficulties where there were none previously. For example, thend they had leased for one of the sugar mills got involved in trouble all of a sudden. The government imed to have the ownership of thend still and asked Marico to move out his people as soon as possible.

    Marico was an old yer and knew that someone was targeting him from behind the scenes otherwise they wouldn''t have been so tant in their actions.

    Since these people weren''t afraid, Marico felt that it was only right that he trample on these people through his sess. Their obstructions and strange plots only made Marico more determined to make the sale of sugar a sess. This was also the reason that the price of Sugar had been raised slightlypared to the initial n.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Being a tough soul himself, Marico took pleasure in oveing all the troubles headed his way. As if in retaliation to those who wouldn''t stop trying to throw stones in his path, he didn''t stop until the marketing efforts for his product seeped into every nook and cranny of the city and any random individual of Byzantium city knew what sugar was and its use.

    It didn''t take long for the demand for their product to reach the skies. The factories had to be run overtime in order to meet the demand of the masses. Some of these people saw this as a business opportunity to buy the sugar at low rates which they could sell at a higher rate in far off areas where Windsor family''s promotion had yet to reach. It was easy money without any investment after all.

    Another reason that the masses were crazily buying sugar was that they felt that sugar prices would see an upward trend in the near future seeing as the demand was already so crazy. They believed that the Windsor family would not be able to keep meeting the demand very soon and they would have to revise their business model to promote sugar as a luxury product as it should have been. Therefore, they nned to hoard as much sugar as they possibly could to wait for the time when the production ran low and there wasn''t enough sugar to go around.

    Unfortunately, these people failed to take into ount the enormous capital that Marico was willing to invest into this business and his ns to take this chain global. The processing nts in Byzantium city were just the beginning. There were many more that were under construction and ever more that were waiting for the newly nted sugar cane crop to yield a bountiful result before they could be processed.

    Marico didn''t try to stop these people either because he knew that they were only bringing benefit to the Windsor family by buying more of his product. Only after some time passed would they understand how useless their scheme to hoard sugar had been.

    As Zach had promised Marico, the tastes of the people began to change once they knew that there was another option avable.

    Not a single one of the aristocrats chose to put salt in their coffee after they tasted cane sugar mixed in their coffees as an experiment.

    It was impossible to go back to their primitive ways after tasting it once. Zach was a living proof. He would gag at just the mention of coffeeced with salt or other spices. It felt nothing less than poison to him.

    The new aristocracy chose to take coffee with cane sugar as the new ultimate treat as they began to curse their old selves for not finding such a useful product sooner.

    Only now did they understand what they had been missing out on previously and despised their other counterparts who had yet to taste the ultimate sweetness that went perfectly with the mellow and creamy texture of coffee and made their hearts bubble with happiness and bliss.

    Since the demand for sugar was constantly on the rise, Marico had no other choice but to use all the manpower avable in order to supplement the production of sugar. Currently, almost all the servants of the Windsor family were engaged in one way or the other leaving only the bare minimum personnel to take care of the family mansion so it would not umte dust.

    All the human resource had been deployed in various locations to produce and distribute sugar across the city. This allowed the Windsor family to rein in money as if they were printing their own money with the machines working overtime every single day.

    The bountiful luck brought joy to the Windsor family who felt acknowledged for their perfect nning and execution of the business idea given to them by Zach. As a result of their new business, their wealth was expected to multiply in the near future. The amount of money they had earned in a scope of few weeks was more than what they had made in thest five years from all their businessesbined.

    Happiness of one individual was a painful memory to another. While the Windsor family couldn''t stop celebrating their sess, the rival families who had done their best to stop them in their tracks were eyeing a single opportunity to bulldoze everything the Windsor family had built during this time.

 Chapter 193 193 Obstruction

    They hated the Windsor family for getting such a huge opportunity. Even though they had implied on various asions to Marico that they wanted to be a part of his new business, Marico had ignored their good intentions essentially pping their faces red metaphorically.

    They didn''t even consider how illogical the reason for their hatred of Windsor family was. Blinded by jealousy and driven by fear, they were manipted into going against Windsor family by the leader of the Hunter family who was in fact trying to save his own hide for having designs on the Windsor family in the past when Marico was weak.

    If these families knew what Marico was thinking after achieving such an overwhelming sess, they would definitely spit out a few liters of blood and die on the spot.

    "This isn''t it. I don''t think that we have even scratched the surface of the business potential that this sugar holds. We need to work harder and expand further than our ancestors could imagine. I want to bring in a new era of prosperity where the Windsor family would be the new overlords of the city. It''s time the city underwent a power shift after staying dormant for so long."

    Marico was unsatisfied with this little achievement and wanted to achieve even more. Heid out his concerns and his wishes for the future to Violet who had been as much responsible for the current sess as himself. She had proved to be an effective manager capable of producing results which sometimes exceeded his own. She was definitely a talent and under his honing was like an uncut gem finally revealing its brilliance.

    "We don''t have the capital to reach more markets at the moment. With the capital we have umted from the sales of sugar this time, it might be possible for us to expand our business to a few more cities in the vicinity if we strain ourselves. But managing such a widespread business requires trusted individuals. Our family is at the cusp of achieving great sess and we can''t afford any mistakes that might put a stop to our steep rise. We can''t trust any outsiders; which means that the decision to expand would have to wait until we earn ourselves some good reputation." Violet felt that her father was overly enthusiastic and had be incapable of straight and logical thought process. Therefore, she became the reality check that her father desperately needed.

    Marico on the other hand didn''t feel that his hopes were far-fetched especially when the business idea was as great as the one he had gotten his hands on. Moreover, he wasn''t that far gone to invest so much into expansion at such a crucial stage. He only intended to delve deeper into far off markets in order to build the reputation of his family business.

    "Who said I wanted to build more production facilities based in other cities? As you said, I can''t put my trust in anyone at this crucial stage of business development. Don''t think so little of me. I have been looking after this family for a long time. My intention is to explore foreign markets but I can send the produce from Byzantium city to other cities to be sold. I don''t have to produce it there. We only need to strike coborations with a few transportation businesses in order to help my project reach fruition."

    Violet was convinced by her father this time as a scarlet hue covered her cheeks. She felt slightly guilty for underestimating her father too much. Although he hadn''t shown his presence in the past few years and all the management of the family had fallen on Violet''s shoulders, it didn''t mean that her father had lost his edge. He was still cautious and diligent enough to produce exceptional results.

    While Violet endorsed her father''s ns, they both knew of the predictable hurdles in their n to ship cane sugar to other cities. The other three families were surely going to interfere in their smooth business operation.

    Hogan led the other two family leaders and approached the various transportation businesses in Byzantium city. Since the three families controlled most of the resources in Byzantium city and held enormous power among the government through their business influence on the economy, they were easily able to coerce the owners of the transportation hubs to do their bidding.

    The three families forced the owners to reject any and all transportation requests from Windsor family or they would end up suffering the wrath of the remaining three familiesbined.

    No one wanted to provoke the three families at the same time for the sake of profits or for a solitary Windsor family that might not even be able to retain their position for long considering the coalition of the three families that was working against the Windsor family with persistence reaching the level of shamelessness.

    Neithernd nor routes were avable to the Windsor family.

    Although Marico approached several transportationpanies personally, none of the owners were even willing to meet him face to face. They not only refused to see him but they had passed down orders to all their subsidiaries to reject any and all orders from the Windsor family even if it was a pocket sized item of minimal significance.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Marico had expected to face some hardships considering the level of animosity he would garner from the other three families due to his new venture. But even he hadn''t expected the resistance and retaliation from the three families to be so severe that they were unwilling to even leave him breathing space. They definitely wanted to strangle the Windsor family businesses so as to keep them from advancing ahead of them.

    Although he tried to employ all the connections he had built over the years as the head of an influential family, but he couldn''t drag the Windsor family out of theirtest predicament. He had no choice but to suffer it all in silence since no matter where he went, thepanies were unwilling to offend three influential families in favor of a single family that was on the verge of copse just a few weeks ago.

    Marico felt the water had crossed over his head and felt the need to call for help. But who to ask was the matter of grave importance. Firstly, he didn''t want to reveal too much about his desperate efforts to someone who might use it against him in the future. And secondly, he couldn''t trust anyone as the whole city seemed to be plotting against him. Choosing a person who would not betray him was of paramount importance at his critical juncture.

    Therefore, there was no one else more suitable to help Marico other than Zach and the Luther family. He felt truly ashamed to be asking for help from Zach even though he had received so much help from him already. The business he was boasting about in front of the entire city had been handed over to him by Zach as well. And now that he had run into problems, he felt that he would look extremely ipetent in the eyes of Zach and his subordinates.

    Despite the reluctance in his heart, Marico couldn''t let things be and approached Bruce to seek help from him. During the time Zach was busy overseeing the construction of Greend, Bruce had been acting as Zach''s spokesperson.

    Therefore, instead of finding Zach in the middle of the wilderness, Marico felt that it was far easier to talk to Bruce who was more approachable and was clearly in the know of the situation considering the fact that he had been sent to close the deal regarding the project on Zach''s behalf.

    Marico recounted the methods that the three families used to suppress the business activities of the Windsor family in a solemn manner.

    Bruce listened to his struggle and dismissed his worries with a wave of his hand. The way he waved his hand implied his strong confidence in being able to solve the problem of the Windsor family. It looked like this little problem was nothing in Bruce''s eyes.

    At first Bruce had thought whether or not to inform Zach about the request of help he had received from Marico. But then he decided on keeping it a secret from Zach considering his penchant for goodness. Moreover, Bruce felt that Zach had greater things to worrypared to solving the little problems of Windsor family. Zach was not only looking after the entire construction project on his own but was also trying toe up with ways to increase the fighting prowess of his people on their ind. Bruce was therefore reluctant to ask Zach for assistance when it was purely the Windsor family''s own fault, that things had reached this point. It was their leader''s incapability that led to the other families eyeing their business.

    "Don''t disturb Zach, he is currently busy. I will handle this." Bruce instructed Marico as he called for a servant to bring him something to write on.

    The servant returned with a piece of parchment and an expensively fancy looking quill.

    Bruce wrote a few lines on the piece of paper before folding it into a tiny square. He put it in one of the envelopes that he took out of his study table.

    He sealed the envelope by dripping red colored wax on it and sealing it with the stamp of the previous Luther family.

    Marico had long since known his identity so he didn''t bother asking about the seal in his possession. He had already done his due diligence and knew that Bruce was probably seeking out his previous connections for help.

 Chapter 194 194 The Letter

    Bruce had no contacts that were capable of resolving the trouble that Windsor family was facing. Instead he knew of a business oriented family that would be willing to do anything in the name of Zach. After all, Elizabeth family had almost be inws with his Luther family since Zach was already a part of his family by then. Even during their escape from Elizabeth city, the family had helped them out until the end.

    Despite not being on the same level as Windsor family, Bruce believed that Elizabeth family would have some means to help out with the situation. They might becking in terms of capital but the Elizabeth family he knew of was more than capable of standing toe to toe with the top families of Byzantium city if they ever got the chance and the same amount of capital that the four families enjoyed. Therefore, he felt that asking the Elizabeth family for help was only the right thing to do.

    Bruce handed over the letter with his unique wax seal to one of his servants and instructed him to make haste in delivering the letter to Elizabeth family as soon as possible.

    бн

    The letter reached Elizabeth family in a matter of few days. Magic was truly a fantastical thing as even the distance that Zach and the rest had taken more than a month to cover was minimized to a few days journey.

    The letter was akin to the royal announcement in the Elizabeth family household. The moment the news reached Christina''s ears that a letter from the Luther family had been received, she rushed back home with the speed of the wind and ran straight to the study to see her father.

    She had been out working on a new project and had gone to inspect the site for the construction of a newmercial district at the periphery of Elizabeth city. She had left everything in the middle to run back home when she received the news from her escort mage.

    The relevant parties were all dumbfounded as they watched the everpetent and workaholic Christina leave everything behind to read her love letter.

    бн

    George was sitting in the study waiting for his daughter who he could be sure was rushing back this very instant. He couldn''t help but sigh that his daughter might be disappointed to find that this letter isn''t meant for her.

    He knew how much his daughter longed to be with Zach and couldn''t bear to see her disappointment. He regretted telling the guard to go fetch Christina as soon as he received the letter.

    Out of curiosity he had opened the letter and read through the details only to find that the letter was purely to ask his family for help.

    "Haaah~ why is my daughter so pitiful? If only the wedding hadn''t been stopped by the circumstancesбн"

    Christina barged into the room before he coulde out of his thoughts. George''s whole body jerked towards the study door and looked at Christina with some surprise before letting out a deep breath to calm his racing nerves. He felt that one of these days his daughter would be the end of him if she didn''t stop scaring him like that.

    Christina stopped in front of him and put her hand forward as if demanding her father to hand something over without saying what it was.

    "It''s not what you are thinking. Don''t get your hopes up." George handed her the letter that he had received a few hours ago. The letter had been carefully packed inside the envelope once again after George took a look at it.

    George closed his eyes as if thinking that Christina wouldn''t be able to read the letter if he did that. He was only acting in a moronic manner but his daughter was very precious to him and he wasn''t willing to let her suffer the slightest of grievances.

    Not too long after, Zach opened his eyes slightly to peak at Christina''s face after she had presumably read the contents of the letter. But the expected sadness, resignation or disappointment was nowhere to be seen in her eyes. Instead her intelligent eyes were sparkling as if from the ambition hidden deep in her heart.

    "What do you mean it isn''t what I am thinking? Isn''t it a letter from the Luther family?" asked Christina with a blissful smile on her face. She had been waiting for this day ever since Zach left her. Finally her wait hade to an end and she could go to visit Zach if she wanted to.

    "It is but its contents might not be what you have been expecting."

    "And what do you think I am expecting from this letter? Hmphбнdo you think I am a little girl who would wait for some childish love letter from him? I talk to him from time to time okay? I don''t need to wait for a letter to know whether he is thinking of me."

    Christina was in fact acting childish as she tried to unt her rtionship with Zach to her father even though he was just worried about her.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    George''s mouth was sealed shut. He had never seen her daughter acting coquettishly. He only wondered how she would act in Zach''s presence. Just the possibility of a letter from him had raised her spirits so much.

    "Father I am leaving. Don''t try to stop me."

    What do you mean? Where do you want to go?" asked George as he tried to figure out her meaning. He truly couldn''t understand how his daughter who always worked based on logic was suddenly acting so irrationally.

    "Didn''t you read the letter before me? Of course, I am going to see him. Since he needs our help with something, it is only right that I go there in order to show the sincerity of our Elizabeth family."

    "Are you sure you are going there to show the sincerity of our familyбнor maybe just your own?"

    The way her cool and calm visage almost fell to the ground and cracked allowed George to guess her true motives. Therefore he didn''t try to stop her. He knew his daughter too well to understand that she wouldn''t listen to anyone once she set her mind to do something.

    Even though Zach had left the city and the transportation business behind, the transportation system based on trucks was still being operated by Elizabeth family under the guise of their new identity as a Marquis family. It was not only bringing in huge benefits but had also helped the Elizabeth family expand theirwork even more in far off ces.

    Business was thriving and the umbre of the title of Macrae allowed them to operate the trucks without any problem. The little bit of training that the people of Elizabeth family had received from Luther family wasing in handy when they had to repair the leftover trucks. As a result of continuous experience gain, the employees of Elizabeth family looked more like the mechanics from Zach''s previous life than anyone else.

    Without the intervention of the government and the royal family after the bestowment of the Marquis title, the Elizabeth family could keep on operating the logistics system without any obstacle.

    Therefore, Christina was nning on solving the problem of the Windsor family by taking arge number of trucks to Byzantium city to help transport their produce since no other family was willing to cooperate with Windsor family there.

    George understood what his daughter wanted to do but couldn''t stop her from being willful. He was worried that his daughter would refuse to marry anyone else once the time came. Therefore, he couldn''t bring himself to forcibly stop her or confine her to her room.

    Since the result was already inevitable, George felt like he should take advantage of the opportunity to fulfill the promise that he had made to the royal family.

    He looked deep into Christina''s eyes and solemnly uttered the words he had in mind.

    "Since nothing I say is going to stop you; then you have to do something for me in exchange."

    "You already know that I can''t say no to anything you say now. What do you want me to do? Hurry up and tell meбнI need to go pack my bags and prepare so many things."

    Christina had already turned her body forty five degrees towards the door as if waiting for the words to leave George''s mouth before rushing out of the study door.

    George could see how excited his daughter was and didn''t mean to hold her for long. But being a father he was still slightly worried about her.

    "Take care of yourself along the way and make sure to write me back once you reach safely. Also, help me persuade Zach to reconcile with the royal family. They have already shown their sincerity and it is time he recognized their goodwill towards him and towards us. I hope you can do this for your father otherwise it will put me in a tough spot with the royals."

    "Alrightбнalright; I will do what you want. Can I leave now?" Christina was in a hurry and barely gave him a response as she tripped over her words and mixed them up over and over again in her excited state.

    George had no choice but to release all his pent up frustration in a long and highly audible sigh. He was obviously doing it to show his helplessness in front of his daughter.

    "Daughters who marry out of the family really do stop thinking for their fathersбн"

 Chapter 195 195 A Surprise From Afar

    "Daughters who marry out of the family really do stop thinking for their fathers. They don''t even care about their father''s feelings anymore."

    Anyone with eyes or ears could have deduced that George was pointing to his daughter''s heartlessness but Christina was too out of her mind to understand what her father was telling her. She felt that he was only nagging and ignored his muttering as she hastily made her way to her room along with a few servants.

    бн

    When Christina knew that Zach probably needed her help; she set out towards Byzantium city with enough fanfare following after her to scare the entire city.

    There were currently a total of a hundred different trucks on the road following after her. The monstrouslyrge trucks were enough to scare the living souls out of anyone witnessing the spectacle in that medieval era.

    She was in the leading truck while the convoy she was leading stretched out into the horizon. It was literally a train with no ending in sight. Just the noise from the trucks gave the illusion of a fantasy beasting to life.

    Even Bruce might have not have expected such enthusiasm from the Elizabeth family when he asked for their help.

    Even though it was slightly over the top, Christina didn''t regret her actions. She knew that her help was not required in Byzantium city and the problem of the Windsor family could be solved with a few trucks.

    But she had sent such arge fleet so as to create a reason for her inclusion into the convoy.

    She could plead the role of fleet manager for therge convoy while remaining within the bounds of reason and irrefutable logic.

    Therefore, she didn''t hesitate even once after she thought of the idea.

    In fact, she had been missing Zach a lot and this was the only excuse she had to go and see him face to face. She didn''t want to lose this opportunity due to any reason; especially not for a flimsy reason like logic.

    Unlike Zach and the Luther family, who took several weeks to finally reach Byzantium city as they continuously avoided monstrous beasts along the path and fought them when they couldn''t, Christina didn''t take much time at all.

    It only took her convoy a total of three days to reach their destination despite driving slowly due tock of proper roads. It was many times faster than Zach and his group.

    Bruce had long since received the news that Christina herself would be leading the convoy rushing to their help.

    He still remembered how the girl had protected them from the ck Panther as they made their escape. The injuries she had suffered as she protected them were still vivid in his mind. Moreover, she had almost be Zach''s wife in the past and he probably still had some lingering feelings regarding her.

    Any single one of those reasons was enough for Bruce to give thedy special treatment. Therefore, he felt it his obligation to receive her himself at the city gates.

    Christina alighted from the leading truck of the convoy in order to meet up with Bruce who was already waiting for her at the door of the city.

    "It''s been a while since we saw each other. I couldn''t thank you properly at the time due to the urgency of the situation but the whole Luther family is extremely grateful for your timely help." Bruce greeted and thanked Christina at the same time.

    "No need for the thanks. I don''t want to be an outsider by receiving your thanks. Since Zach considers you family, I will too." Christina already considered Zach to be her husband. She was more than willing to be a part of his family which Bruce already belonged to. Even though her marriage with Zach never reachedpletion due to the circumstances, his parting words were more than the acknowledgement she needed towards their rtionship.

    Bruce didn''t want to block the city entrance with the entirety of the convoy stationed outside it.

    "Let''s go in before we continue our conversation. I am sure you must be tired after the long journey. We can grab a bite as we talk." suggested Bruce as he waved his hand towards the inside of the gate.

    Christina nodded before following him in. Although she was a little disappointed that Zach hadn''te to pick her up from the outskirts, she didn''t take it to heart. She didn''t want to show her disappointment on her face but her lifeless shoulders and her dim eyes told her story to Bruce who had be perceptive in such matters ever since he started interacting with Zach.

    "He doesn''t know that you areing. I didn''t tell him. He has been a little busy so I didn''t want to disturb him with this small matter so I approached the Elizabeth family for help. I hope you don''t mind." Bruce tried to ease her misunderstanding and pave the way for Zach who didn''t know of his wife''s arrival.

    As he already expected, a beautiful smile blossomed on the previously dim face. Her eyes twinkled with new found life and excitement coursed through her entire body after listening to Bruce''s exnation.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    She thanked the gods in her heart that Zach wasn''t ignoring her.

    "Can you ask your people to disperse the trucks to somewhere far from the city? Otherwise, it will inconvenience the city people until we find a suitable location to house such arge number of trucks."

    Christina found the request to bepletely logical and didn''t say anything. She just waved her hand and the escort following around her at a certain fixed distance rushed toe within ear reach.

    She issued the orders to wait a few kilometers from the city before she sent further instructions. At the same time, she asked her people to set up camp outside the city and instructed her escort to buy food from the city before heading back to treat the drivers. At the same time she asked him to reassure the people that they would all soon be entering the city after she found suitable lodgings for them all.

    Bruce led her to a beautifully carved carriage and helped her in before following her into the spacious cabin.

    Christina was already familiar with Bruce so she didn''t find it ufortable. Along the way, Bruce introduced her to the various areas in the city and introduced some well known recreational sites to her so she coulde to visit in her free time.

    Christina listened carefully and made a mental note toe with Zach whenever she had the time.

    It didn''t take long for the carriage toe to a halt as the Windsor family estate wasn''t that far off the city.

    The moment Christina and Bruce alighted from the carriage some distance away from the Windsor family estate, another carriage stopped right at the mouth of the Windsor family mansion and a young man got off with his hands in his pockets.

    Just as Christina and Bruce turned towards the gate of Windsor family estate, Christina''s eyes stuck to the young man she had been missing for such a long time. It was to the extent that just listening to his voice was no longer enough. She needed to see him.

    Bruce noticed Zach''s arrival as well and couldn''t help but smack his head at the timing. He was worried that Christina might misunderstand that Zach was truly ignoring her and was about to call out to him when Christina''s fair hand stopped him from doing that.

    "Don''t do it."

    Christina''s eyes got glued to his back as she followed after Zach with the precise steps and matching pace.

    Bruce got the impression that Christina wanted to surprise Zach so he did as she told him and stayed out of her way.

    Meanwhile, Zach felt immense joy upon leaving the construction site. He had been utterly bored in that ce with nothing to do but say words of caution every once in a while. Now that he was out and saw the hustle and bustle of the city, he felt rejuvenated. At the same time, he remembered the girl who was always waiting for his call and was always able to share in his joy and sadness.

    He reached into the arsenal and pulled out the satellite phone before calling Christina whom he had been thinking about. The bell rang for a minute before an angelic sweet voice responded with honeyed words.

    "I was just thinking of you; you know?"

    Zach''s mood immediately lifted even further and he felt ted.

    "I wish you were here with me at this moment. You don''t know how boring it has beentely. My employees are so capable that as the boss I have nothing to do the whole time. I got away from that ce today for a break but I ended up missing you more."

    Christina couldn''t hold back her joy on being at the receiving end of such words. She knew from Bruce how busy he had been recently so she knew that every word Zach was saying was the truth; not that she had doubted him anyway.

    "I can fulfill that wish of yours if you want." Christina chimed yfully as she tried to get a rein on her overflowing happiness.

    "And how do you n on doing that?" asked Zach incredulously. Although he hoped that she could truly fulfill his wish, he didn''t believe that she was capable of such a thing.

    "I know space magic. I can blink to your location any time I want to. So tell me if you want me toe over."

 Chapter 196 196 Who Are You?

    "I know space magic. I can blink to your location any time I want to. So tell me if you want me toe over."

    Zach couldn''t believe a word of what she said and assumed that she was joking with him. Although he wasn''t from this world, he still remembered from his conversations with Luna about how rare space magic was. Moreover, Christina was a light elemental mage and a mage couldn''t have two elements in this world.

    Still, he didn''t want to douse her cheerful spirit and chatted with her with simr excitement in his voice.

    "Then why didn''t youe over earlier if you could do such a thing? Come over this very instant."

    Zach didn''t actually believe it when he said it but the happiness and anticipation in his voice said otherwise.

    "Then turn around; my hero."

    Zach turned around instinctively as he heard the magical voice prate his ears from the phone.

    The moment he did, every cell in his body froze like the temperature of the environment had fallen to absolute zero and even time stopped.

    In the slowed world there were only two individuals and the rest of the world was covered in a haze that steered everything other than the two towards the outskirts to be ignored.

    Zach could see Christina waving at him from afar and fell into a trance unknowingly. His eyes opened to unimaginable extent and widened in surprise as he tried to blink the illusion away but no matter what he did, the image of Christina in his eyes didn''t even flicker. It remained solid just like reality.

    A long time passed before Zach came back to his senses and took a careful look at the approaching figure.

    Christina was running at the speed of the bullet as she mmed into his chest with all the weight of her body behind her.

    Zach almost keeled over from the force of the impact and barely managed to stabilize his footing as he hugged Christina back who was smiling foolishly in happiness. At the same time, he wondered how a super smart woman like Christina could act so fluffy.

    The servants stationed around the entrance of the Windsor family estate couldn''t help but wrinkle their noses at the happily hugging couple. They felt extremely dissatisfied considering the fact that this young man was supposed to be the fiancижe of their youngdy ra.

    Christina noticed the annoying looks she was receiving but she couldn''t care less about any of them. She was too busy inhaling Zach''s scent as she applied more force to get even closer to him. She looked like she wanted to enter Zach''s body and share it with him based on the amount of force she was applying to pull him into a fierce hug.

    Zach was slightly taken aback by Christina''s enthusiasm as well. Thest time they had parted, Christina was still acting like a well groomeddy. Thinking back, Zach felt that it was probably because she was injured at the time that she had let him off easy.

    He couldn''t have known that distance truly made the heart grow fonder. Christina had missed him so much during this time that her feelings for him had grown beyond liking and affection. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Bruce watched the two reunite and let out a sigh of relief. His soul had been on tenterhooks the whole way as he thought of how to exin the current scenario to Christina and Zach but things seemed to have resolved themselves easily.

    But before Bruce could rest easy, he saw another girl huffing in anger as she walked towards Zach and Christina with heavy footsteps that caused the ground to crack with every step.

    He wanted to smack his face for being born with bad luck. Just as one trouble resolved itself, another made its appearance in the timeliest manner.

    The approaching earthquake was none other than ra the supposed most recent fiancижe of Zach that even he didn''t know anything about.

    Bruce rushed towards ra and tried to get between ra and Christina but the force being released by ra made it impossible for Bruce to interfere. He was being blown back by raw force.

    ra waved her hand and Bruce was cleanly pushed out of her path as she established line of sight with Christina and Zach''s clinging bodies.

    ra already knew that Zach had a wife but Diana was the only woman he supposedly had. She had alreadypromised with Zach for having a wife before her but she wasn''t willing to allow him to be a phnderer while being in a rtionship with her.

    She wanted to establish her position as his fiancижe and pull the girl clinging to Zach apart with enough force to shake all her organs but she barely held herself back so as to allow Zach to exin himself.

    "WHO IS THIS WOMAN?"

    ra screamed in anger as she questioned Zach with indignation visible in her watery eyes. Her body swayed as if her legs were about to fail her but she somehow managed to keep herself upright.

    Christina finally let go of Zach''s neck once she saw a random woman shouting at Zach. She felt the need to establish her position as Zach''s wife.

    "I am his wife. Who are you to talk to my husband in such a manner?"

    Christina raged on ra as well and at the same time turned her head towards Zach in order to ask him the same thing.

    "Who is this little girl?"

    Zach was dumbfounded at the y taking ce in front of him. If the main character of this y wasn''t him, he would have sat down with some popcorn to witness the fun. The story was ying out in such a fine manner that even he had to admire his bad luck.

    "I should be the one asking, ''What is going on?''." Zach thought in his head before remaining silent to think and grasp the situation first.

 Chapter 197 197 Wife?

    ra heard Christina''s answer and couldn''t help but storm towards her in anger breaking quite a few floor tiles in the process.

    She grabbed a hold of Zach''s arm and pulled her towards herself. ra hid Zach behind her back as she proceeded to re at Christina righteously.

    "You are a liar. There is no way you are her wife. He has only one wife and her name is Diana. You didn''t think I would have met her before, did you? Tell me, what is your purpose in approaching and acting so familiar with him?"

    Zach was dumbfounded at the way ra was protecting him from Christina as if she was some horrible monster that would gobble him up in one go.

    Christina on the other hand was lost in thought. She obviously knew who Diana was. The girl of the Luther family had left a deep impression on Christina on the day of the productunch of Trucks and on the day Zach made his escape from Elizabeth city. But as far as she knew, there was no such rtionship between Zach and the girl. Even if there was, Christina would expect Zach to tell him something that important during one of their numerous phone calls.

    As such she didn''t answer ra and instead focused the venom in her gaze towards Zach who was hiding behind the little girl''s back without any shame.

    There were thousands of questions swirling in Christina''s mind at the moment but she stared at Zach with a smile on her face that was obviously not a smile. It was oozing with malicious intent which filled the entire atmosphere with dark and gloomy aura.

    "Since when did Diana be your wife? Don''t you think you should have told me if you were going to do things like these behind my back? So many phone calls and not a single peep out of you on such an important matter; I want to see how you justify yourself." Christina had lost the primdy attitude and the wit she had cultivated all her life. She was acting like any woman who had been cheated on would act.

    The only thing keeping her from falling into a vat of jealousy and anger was the answer he had yet to give her.

    Zach could tell the change in the air. Christina was truly getting angry now and was no longer ying around. Therefore, he decided to intervene before matters got out of hand.

    "Of course, we aren''t married. If something like that had happened I would have definitely told you. I don''t like to hide things from you." replied Zach calmly as at least one of them needed to be sensible in the conversation.

    "Then who is she? And why is she asking me who I am?"

    "That''s ra. She is the youngdy of the Windsor family. I previously helped her out during our journey here and we got along well with her. So her family helped us out in return by helping us get thend for our new home."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "That doesn''t seem to answer my question. Why is she acting so intimate with you?"

    Zach was in for a headache. This wasn''t the Christina he knew. The woman he knew was so level headed and simple to get along with and yet he was here exining himself to her. He wondered what kind of bad luck he had encountered today.

    "Since I wanted to hide my identity from the royals, her father suggested that I act as her fiancиж whom he had decided on in her childhood. This gave me an identity to operate freely in this city without worrying about being hounded by the royal family. But this girl takes ying house too far sometimes. She is a little passionate but isn''t too bad to get along with. She is kind and good hearted once you get to know her. I am suбн"

    He was heartlessly interrupted by ra who almost turned her head one eighty degrees to the back in order to re at Zach.

    She ground her teeth viciously as she stared holes in Zach''s body with a fierce look in her eyes and spat out the words she had been holding back all this time. She was hurt that Zach would try to hide his rtionship with her in front of Christina.

    "He is my fiancиж and we are about to get married soon. I don''t know who you are but please don''t interfere in my rtionship with him. Our marriage has already been approved by my father and the Smith family and we are going to make it official soon."

    ra went on to grab Zach''s hand as if it was the most natural thing to do. And at the same time she red at him with ferocity to indicate that she would break his wrist if he tried to shake her hand off this time.

    Zach was stuck between a rock and a hard ce and before he could resolve the misunderstanding between the two girls, another shriek came from behind them.

    All three of them were startled out of their thoughts and they turned towards the source of the pained scream wondering what kind of tragic event had taken ce in the vicinity for such a grief stricken shriek to resound so loudly around them.

    The woman with the startled and saddened scream was none other than Diana who had overheard ra announcing her marriage with Zach.

    Diana finally lost it. She had somehow epted that Zach spent most of his time with Luna and therefore epted his rtionship with her only because Luna had been with him first. It had been her limit when Zach got together with Christina even though she had met him first. That dissatisfaction had been the reason she hadn''t attended the wedding ceremony held in Luther family estate in Elizabeth city.

    Fate willed it so the wedding didn''t reach its conclusion and Diana had been trying to get close to Zach ever since then.

 Chapter 198 198 Babelism

    She believed that even her brother knew about her intentions and was supporting her from the shadows as he created more opportunities for the two of them to be together at countless asions.

    But it turned out that even her big brother had betrayed her and had set the wedding dates for Zach and ra despite knowing how she felt about him.

    She had been foolishly thinking that Zach and ra''s impending news had only been a ruse and the public was giving air to the rumor. She thought that it was the strategy of the Windsor family to protect Zach, therefore she had not paid much attention to the public musings about the rtionship between the youngdy of the Windsor family and Zach Smith; the supposed son of the dark mage Wood Smith.

    Only now did shee to understand that she had been yed. The inside story had only been revealed after the arrival of Christina.

    "Stop with your delusions ra; I was nice to you because you seemed like a good girl but you even wanted to take Zach for yourself despite knowing that he is my husband. I should have fed my goodwill to the dogs instead of you."

    Diana spat venom the moment she spoke and even ra didn''t have words to retort this time. She truly was theteer this time. Even the unknown woman named Christina seemed to have known Zach before her. She lost her earlier confidence and lowered her eyes to think of some kind of response to earn back her position as the rightful fiancижe of Zach.

    "Ohhh~ since when was my husband your husband? Am I mistaken or your rtionship with Zach was also a ruse to throw the royal hounds off?" Christina seemed to have put two and two together as she looked at Zach for confirmation.

    Zach nodded to indicate that it was the case but the indignation in Christina''s eyes didn''t vanish. Instead she began to fight the two women even more fiercely. The two of them wanted to snatch her husband from her. They would need to ask her permission.

    "Since I don''t have the right to call him ''husband'' then you can''t do it either. Your marriage ceremony didn''t reach culmination as far as I remember. I recall rescuing him before he could go ahead with it." Diana retorted before Christina could feel smug about her earlier remarks.

    Christina had almost seeded in establishing her authority when her sand castle was kicked to ruin ruthlessly by Diana who obviously knew the truth of her rtionship with Zach.

    ra who didn''t know the context of the conversation between the two women was bbergasted but she didn''t take a step back either and hurled all kinds of insults at the two whether they made any sense or not.

    Now it was Diana''s and Christina''s turn to be dumbfounded. ra''s petite figure and the venomous wordsing out of her mouth were too different inparison.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Even Zach''s face twitched when he heard her swearing her heart out. He knew that ra had a boyish streak to her but this was the first time he was seeing her dark side in its ultimate glory.

    Now that the actual rtionship of the three women with Zach had beenid out in the open for all to see, the women grew even bolder. They now knew that none of them had managed to establish an actual rtionship with Zach yet and were almost on equal footing with each other.

    So, they could barely stop themselves from entering into a swearingpetition, in between question answer sessions, where curses like slut and whore were too inferior and low ss to be counted as curses. It seemed as if they were under the wrong impression that Zach would choose the one woman out of them who excelled in cursing amongst the three.

    While Zach tried to find words to interrupt the conversation in order to take control of his potential brides, Bruce marveled at the scene with his eyes wide open. He couldn''t have imagined that his sister would act in such a manner right in front of him.

    While Bruce could have taken his sister away by force, he didn''t do so. He felt too ashamed for causing Zach such a huge trouble after all he was the cause behind these misunderstandings.

    Only Christina had been chosen by Zach while he didn''t even know about his wedding deal with ra. As for his sister, he had failed to quell the fire of affection in her heart despite having tried. As such the situation was the result of his inadequacy and faulty judgment.

    Therefore, in order to not aggravate the situation any further, he decided to leave it all up to Zach to resolve the conflict between the three terrible women. He believed that Zach had the ability and the wit to do it.

    The three top families of Byzantium city couldn''t have imagined it even in their wildest of fantasies that the Windsor family could have connections with a family like Elizabeth family that was stationed at the other edge of the empire. The distance between the two cities was so great that they didn''t even consider such an oue.

    s, the alliance was in distress. Their efforts so far had resulted in absolute failure. The transportation blockade that they had created in order to keep the sugar from being supplied to other cities was rendered useless by the huge convoy that had just arrived at the outskirts of the city. The intelligence gathering abilities of the three families were definitely up to the mark as the news reached the leaders within an hour of Christina''s arrival.

    They couldn''t help but grieve over the amount of funds they had invested in this venture which were more than enough to support any small family to transition into a mid grade family. Bribing so many business owners and transportpanies needed money after all. They couldn''t have just forced thosepanies to do their bidding without offering them any benefits in return.

 Chapter 199 199 Once Again

    They had handed out mary benefits and hadpensated the rest of thepanies by giving them more business opportunities through their own firms.

    All of their efforts had been directed towards putting a halt to the Windsor family''s sugar business. But with the help of the fleet of trucks that Elizabeth family had sent over, the Windsor family had no need for any coboration with the transportpanies of the city.

    As a result, not only had they failed to achieve their objective but the transportpanies were also approaching them one by one to condemn their attitude. The opportunity of coalition with Windsor family for a huge project like sugar had been given to a foreign business. The transportpanies based in Byzantium city couldn''t take it and med the three families for forcing their will on them. Some of them even demanded morepensation.

    The atmosphere in Hogan family was especially heavy. Any outsider wouldn''t be able to lift their head properly when faced with that kind of pressure. It was like all the family members were waiting all tied up on the scaffolds as they waited for the terrifying guillotine to fall and end put an end to their lives.

    The other two families weren''t much different because even if they hadn''t offended Windsor family before, they had done so now for sure. Both of these families med Hogan in their hearts but the fact that they still had to work together kept them from opening their mouths to the truth.

    Windsor family on the other hand was elerating on the development track as if the tracks had been freshly oiled allowing them to practically glide to their destination. With thest of the hurdlespletely solved, there was nothing stopping them from entering into more markets and introducing the life changing product to the whole human poption.

    Hogan was panicking in his estate but his mind was working over time. After ejecting steam from his brain several times, there were some ideas in his mind that could potentially end the predicament that his family was currently facing.

    But all of these needed help from the other two top families. He felt the need to call another meeting of the coalition at his home in order to discuss their next course of action. After all; they couldn''t wait for the guillotine to fall before taking action. They needed to destroy it before it could reap their lives.

    Hogan hurriedly penned down a message to be delivered to f and Austin and sealed the envelope with his wax seal before stamping the sigil of his family on it for authentication. He ordered a trustworthy guard to deliver the letters to the leaders of the two families with his own two hands so that it wouldn''t fall into the wrong hands.

    It would be best that the two families could respond to his summons otherwise he would have no other option left.

    бн

    Once again the two family leaders arrived at the Hunter family mansion discretely and hurried entered the study with the leader of the Hunter family who hade out to wee the two of them personally.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    f liked this treatment and couldn''t help but feel satisfied that the leader of the top family of Byzantium city hade out to greet him at the entrance. At this moment, any previous problems he had been thinking of in his mind regarding their coalition went out the window.

    Austin was ttered but understood why the Hunter family leader was going so far. Hunter family definitely needed this meeting more than the other two families. Unlike the others, Hunter family had offended the Windsor family to an unforgivable extent.

    Hogan stationed two trustworthy guards outside the study entrance and locked the door from the inside so as to keep any prying ears from listening in to their conversation.

    "Your previous n failed so spectacrly that I even considered whether I should even attend this meeting again. So far, I haven''t seen any benefits of this coalition but my family has been dragged into the enmity you have with Windsor family." Austin couldn''t hold back his frustration as soon as the three sat down to discuss their next course of action.

    "I remember that you agreed to the n whole heartedly. No one forced you to. We are open to suggestions. Let''s listen to your great input before we proceed with the meeting." retorted Hogan without giving Austin any face. He was already frustrated with how his efforts had failed to put a dent in the Windsor family business and was not going to entertain Austin as he was looking to vent.

    f, the most impulsive of the trio, was surprisingly calm in this position. He looked at the two chidingly and said, "We can me each otherter. For now, let''s discuss how we are going to proceed from this moment on."

    Austin was pleasantly surprised at this development and stared at f to confirm if it was truly him or some impostor in his ce. The man he knew was slow to grasp things and would have surely asked the agenda of the meeting.

    Hogan on the other hand took this opportunity to collect himself so as to not offend the only two allies he had.

    "Since you two seem to be a little flustered, let me tell you what I have been thinking after our previous n failed."

    Hogan and Austin turned all their attention towards f who seemed to be taking the initiative to kick start the meeting this time.

    "We have tried to settle ourmon problem in a gentlemanly way while remaining within the bounds of the business world and the unspoken rules therein. No one would have been able to condemn us for our actions had our n seeded. But unfortunately we don''t have that kind of luxury anymore. If we don''t break some rules or are unwilling to get our hands dirty, then we should just obediently wait in our respective homes until the Windsor familyes to harvest our lives."

 Chapter 200 200 Coerce

    The picture that f painted was a grim one. Not a single one of them wanted to end up like that. Therefore, they couldn''t help but agree to his statement in their hearts.

    Even though it was an impulsive and cruel idea which was just like f, it seemed quite usible. The righteous manner had already failed. They couldn''t fail a second time or there won''t be a third time. They would definitely be toote by then.

    "I for one don''t want my family to be annexed by Windsor family. The rate at which that old fart is developing his business, it won''t be long for such a thing to turn into reality. Therefore, I am willing to do what f suggested. We have to abandon some business rules for the survival of our families or our descendants would curse us in the future for bringing the downfall of our glorious families." Austin was the next to voice his agreement with f''s suggestion.

    Hogan had a greater visionpared to the other two leaders which was also the reason the Hunter family was the number one family of Byzantium city and not the other two. He had a broader vision and used a long term strategic approach that the other two could not replicate due to their respective personalities. f was toozy to care about such things as he believed in the saying that the end justifies the means. He wasn''t one to carefully n his way forward and most of his decisions were based on impulse. On the other hand, Austin was too cautious. He had too many things to consider before he could go forward with a strategy. He was too rigid in the execution of his ns as well which didn''t leave much room for maneuver and was therefore not as flexible as long term ns ought to be.

    In a situation where even the other two leaders realized their only way forward, Hogan couldn''t have been behind the other two. He had long since made simr ns and was waiting to put forward his ideas in the meeting. He could not have been happier when the other two leaders came to the same decision without him having to manipte them into doing his bidding.

    This would allow him to shirk responsibility in case of failure after all f was the one to suggest the strategy and Austin was the one who endorsed this decision.

    Hogan nodded his head vigorously instead of saying anything and looked into the eyes of the other two leaders in order to seal the deal.

    The three old men realized that the time for action hade and all of them were on the same page regarding the method to deal with Windsor family. Survival of the fittest was the norm but even a group of jackals could take down a lion if they found the right opportunity and used the right means.

    The representatives of the three families affirmed their intentions to take down the lion and strengthened their determination as they looked at each other with a fervent gaze that made them recall their youth when such dangerous and risky ventures used to pump them full of adrenaline.

    бн<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Grace had been a loyal and fierce warrior who had spent his whole life working for the Windsor family with fervent passion and integrity. During the tough times of the family, he had stayed by ra''s side and hadn''t left despite his colleagues who left in portions every time the master suffered from a rpse of his disease and the Windsor family fell into the danger of being devoured by the other top families. He was prideful and couldn''t bring himself to be so disloyal to the people he had vowed to protect. He wouldn''t leave them out to dry when the going got tough; after all it was his job to protect Windsor family in times of trouble.

    Many people called him a fool for his continued devotion to the falling Windsor family while some admired him for his integrity and courage to go down with a sinking ship. No matter how the people thought of him, his poprity was always on the rise. The return of the old master of Windsor family especially pushed him high in the eyes of the masses.

    Now he had be a loyal knight who could be relied on in troubled times and also a talented strategist who knew what would be good for his future and knew how to forge his own path.

    The social butterflies cracked his life story through any and all means they could make use of and discovered tidbits about his daily life in order to ride his coattails to gain more poprity.

    But not a single one of them had been able to discover the secret that lied at the core of his heart carefully protected behind his life blood.

    In his heart rested the image of a beautiful fairy that was untainted and pure. No matter how the outside world tarnished her image due to her status as a geisha, the image in his heart was still devoid of any stain.

    Grace was in love with the geisha named Taylor and was willing to take her hand in marriage if the situation allowed it. Unfortunately, Taylor turned out to be the ve of the Hunter family which was not only the most influential family of the city but was also the archenemy of Windsor family that he had vowed to serve for the rest of his life.

    The only thing stopping Grace from announcing his intention and love for Taylor to the whole world were the consequences that woulde with such a deration. Not only would the Windsor family be suspicious of his actions of courting the enemy but the Hunter family might also use this opportunity to take a jab at Windsor family. It might even lead to the Hunter family harming Taylor or manipting him to betray the Windsor family by threatening her well being.

 Chapter 201 201 Coerce II

    Grace couldn''t let any of these scenarios turn into reality. His nights were often spent worrying about such matters but every day he consoled himself by thinking that he would soon be able to save enough money to buy Taylor''s freedom from the Hunter family.

    Until the day Taylor could be free, Grace couldn''t let the information about their affair leak even by mistake. Therefore, he was always cautious whenever he went out to see Taylor. Whenever they met, it would always be at locations that were devoid of any prying eyes for example a cabin in the heart of the forest or in the middle of nowhere surrounded by water in a boat he kept solely for their ndestine meetings.

    He had taken enough precautions to keep the matter under wraps so as to avoid suspicion from both the families that might ruin his happiness.

    As usual, Grace headed out towards the cabin that was his usual rendezvous point with Taylor, full of expectations and longing for his loved one. He was making the list of the things he wanted to ask her in his mind as he changed directions several times in the city to throw off any pursuers that might be following after him. Even though he knew that there was no such person after him, he couldn''t take any risk when it came to his beloved.

    Leaving the city with hurried steps, he looked around discreetly and made sure that he was alone before changing direction once more and took a long detour before heading towards the cabin in the woods that was secluded away from the heart of the poption where nobody ever stepped even by mistake.

    As he approached the cabin, Grace had a feeling that something was wrong. Although, it was always quiet when he came here, there were always some birds or insects or critters making all kinds of noise. Today, it was as if the woods had gone into a lull.

    Pushing back on his instincts, Grace looked around carefully and made sure that he was truly alone before approaching the door of the cabin. He would have turned back on the slightest suspicion from his surroundings but there was nothing that could arouse his suspicion in the vicinity. There were no fresh tracks or a sound of any kind that might give him a hint. There were no weird odors in the air even after he attempted to smell it twice.

    As soon as he opened the door to the cabin, something swung straight towards his head. Even though he was still blinded by the sudden darkness of the cabin, he could feel the intent of his attacker. The aim was definitely his head.

    With no time to pull out his sword or to dodge out of the way, Grace could only raise both his hands above his head in an attempt to block whatever it was that was about to cave his head in.

    At the same time, Grace leaned his body to the side in an attempt to divert the force of the blow so as to avoid hurting his sword arm which he needed to fight out of this situation.

    The attacker hadn''t imagined that Grace would be this skilled. He not only managed to sense the attack despite his limited vision but also managed to sessfully block it with his hands without suffering much harm.

    He reached out his hand to the longsword behind his back and pulled it out before assuming an attacking stance. Despite the darkness shrouding his vision, he was able to sense the general direction of his opponents based on the sound made by the creaking of the wooden floor of the cabin and the heavy breathing of his opponent.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    He sessfully defended against another two attacks in session before his eyes got used to the darkness and he found out the grim situation he had found himself in.

    The sound of apuse came from the center of the cabin which made Grace divert his attention from his attacker to the man slowly pping his hands as if to mock him.

    The moment he recognized the source of the apuse, Grace felt as if the ground underneath his feet had turned into an abyssal hole that was calling out to him.

    The man was none other than Nelson Hunter; the son of the leader of the Hunter family. The man had been after the eldestdy of the Windsor family for a long time and had been rejected countless times by her. But his shamelessness truly knew no bounds as he was relentless in his pursuit and was willing to go to any extent.

    Violet had been extremely wary of him because she had found out about his ill intentions and had been constantly been on guard against him. Even ra had snubbed him on countless asions or had be the buffer to keep her elder sister out of his reach.

    Grace truly lost hisposure when he saw the tied up Taylor beside Nelson. It was then that he knew that his attempts at hiding his romantic escapades had been a failure. The hunter family probably knew about it a long time ago and had only been waiting to make use of him at a critical juncture.

    Taylor was whimpering next to Nelson but the piece of cloth that had been stuffed down her throat burned her insides and kept her from making a sound.

    Grace''s heart was in tatters as he watched his beloved in such a condition. He couldn''t help but me himself for putting her in such a dangerous situation despite knowing that they were from two opposing factions.

    Grace put all his weight on his leaning leg in preparation of a dash straight in the direction of Taylor with his sword drawn but his attacker was faster. He pulled out his dagger and put it on Taylor''s neck before he could even make a swing in Nelson''s direction.

    The threat was more than enough for Grace to put down his sword with hesitation in his eyes. Taylor was everything to him and he couldn''t watch her die right in front of him.

 Chapter 202 202 Coerce III

    Grace''s legs almost turned to jelly as his attacking stance faltered and he barely kept himself from falling down by leaning on his sword that was now lodged in the floor of the wooden cabin.

    "Ohh~ let''s see for how long you can maintain this rebellious attitude when I have your little sparrow in my hands." Nelson smiled wickedly as he taunted Grace into attacking him. He knew that Grace wouldn''t dare to attack him with Taylor''s life in his control. He just sought pleasure in Grace''s misery. Nelson had hated this man quite a lot because of ra. Grace was the protector of the hateful woman who kept getting in between him and the goddess in his heart; Violet.

    Grace was gritting his teeth furiously and his face had turned red in anger. He looked like he would pounce on Nelson the moment the dagger on Taylor''s neck retreated.

    "Looks like you have guts. You don''t even care what happens to your little girlfriend here. Maybe it is time to teach you a lesson."

    Grace''s furious expression faltered the moment Nelson mentioned Taylor. He was now afraid; afraid that something might happen to Taylor because of him. He tried to look more obedient andpromising but the hate he felt towards Nelson couldn''t be hidden despite all his efforts. His eyes held the daggers intended for Nelson''s heart and Nelson could see it too.

    "This lesson will be very helpful to you in the future. I know you will thank me one day for it."

    Nelson was only teasing him by lingering around Taylor with a menacing expression because he loved how Grace''s crestfallen expression looked. So he decided to y with him some more.

    "The lesson that I want to teach you is ''You DON''T fuck with the person holding a knife to your girlfriend''s throat''. A little slip and the little sparrow''s neck might be dangling the next second spilling blood all over like a broken faucet." Nelson viciously ripped Taylor''s blouse and her brassiere right in front of Grace''s eyes as he taught him the lesson syble by syble and asked Grace to repeat it with him.

    A grief filled gut wrenching scream escaped Grace''s throat damaging his vocal chords from the inside as he watched his girlfriend''s breasts fully revealed in front of two outsiders who were leering at her bosom greedily with lust clouding their eyes.

    Roaring his lungs out, Grace lunged towards Nelson with his fists raring to make an impact with his smug face but was held back by a group of guards who had appeared out of nowhere.

    The trap had been carefully prepared for him because the guards had arrived as soon as he entered the cabin. They had to have been watching the cabin from the vicinity.

    Despite all his strength and sword skills, he felt powerless in front of them. He could beat down one or two with his bare hands but the group of guards managed to control him in mere seconds after his outburst. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    A stream of tears leaked from Taylor''s eyes as she tried to struggle against the two men on her either side. She looked towards them in defiance but the tears in her eyes only urged them on more.

    The man with the dagger threateningly put the dagger closer to Taylor''s throat as he made a few swishing actions that nearly pulled Grace''s soul out of the body. Even Taylor almost saw the end of her life but her assants seemed to have no intention of killing her; they were just ying with her and torturing Grace for no apparent reason.

    Grace only hoped that Nelson wouldn''t touch Taylor. He couldn''t risk her life even if he had to sell his soul to keep her safe. He was willing to give his life for her but even he knew that Nelson wouldn''t make it that easy for him. The monster definitely had his ns. The best he could do was to keep his woman safe no matter what.

    "It looks like you haven''t learnt your lesson well. I don''t like dumb students like you. Show me your potential; what you can do for me and I just might let go of her." Nelson was intent on breaking down Grace''s spiritpletely because only then would he be of use to him.

    Grace on the other hand looked like a beast with his teeth clenched tightly and red overtaking his vision. He couldn''t handle the disgrace his girlfriend was going through and most of all he felt anger at his own weakness for not being able to save Taylor.

    "Don''t you dare touch her; you bastard. I swear I will tear your whole bastard family limb from limb if you darey your hands on her. I will chase you down to the ends of the world if I have to but I will pull your insides out myself." Grace roared at the top of his lungs as he viciously cursed and threatened Nelson while fighting off the plethora of guards holding him down.

    "It looks like you still don''t understand the situation entirely. You see; this little woman over here belongs to me, not you. She is the Hunter family''s property since birth and has yet to pay off her value to us." Nelson ran his finger along the length of her face as he took his time caressing her face while the man with the dagger kept her from struggling by holding on to her chin.

    Taylor couldn''t spit venom or else she might have murdered the both of them already.

    "What do you want? Let her go and we can talk by ourselves." said Grace as he tried to hold in his indignation. He only wanted to save Taylor from the humiliation she was going through.

    "You never learn, do you? This isn''t the right attitude to talk to someone in my position. It seems like I need to demonstrate more of my power so you can understand your own position."

 Chapter 203 203 Coerce IV

    With that Nelson indicated for the man with the dagger to go ahead. He must have already known what Nelson wanted as he proceeded to use the dagger to cut off Taylor''s pants and her underwear.

    Taylor curled up in fetal position in an attempt to hide her womanhood that had been put on disy for everyone but the man with the dagger forced her to sit on her behind.

    Grace roared once again but he couldn''t even put the slightest amount of resistance against the group of guards holding him down.

    "You see, this bitch is amodity that my family has bought. She belongs to the Hunter family which means that I being the young master can do whatever I want to her and no one can stop me from doing it; not even you. If I order her to spread her legs for me, then she had better do it like those skilled whores if she wants to survive."

    Nelson once again motioned towards a few guards as if inviting them to put on the show for his guest; Grace.

    The guards all proceeded to hold one of her limbs while the guards holding the legs spread her legs apart as if they wanted to dislocate her legs from her hip socket.

    Her pinkish white pussy was on full disy in front of all the guards of the Hunter family. They not only leered at her like perverted wolves but alsoughed and pointed andmented at her womanhood sarcastically in order to torture Grace even more.

    "Look at that; she is still a virgin. I never took you to be such a pure man. s, you missed your opportunity. Her first night should bring me quite the fortune. Those perky breasts, that sexy ass and this delicious looking cherry must have been quite tempting. I mustmend you for holding yourself back. He doesn''t have a problem in that area, does he?" Nelson asked Taylor as he taunted Grace while crouching in between Taylor''s outstretched legs and pointing towards her pink womanhood. He stared at Grace as if trying to elicit some kind of reaction from him.

    Taylor closed her eyes in humiliation as tears constantly leaked from her eyes and travelled down the sides of her face into the ground. Her aggressors remained unmoved as if all this had nothing to do with them. They couldn''t care less about the dignity of a poor ve girl like her.

    She tried to resist and jerk her arms and legs free from their grasp as they tried to hold her still but her feminine body couldn''t struggle against those burly men no matter how much force she put in. The men didn''t pay any attention to her struggle as if all her effort was no more than the weak buzzing of an annoying fly.

    In the end she had no other choice but to turn to her beloved who had promised to protect her from all dangers. Faced with humiliation, Taylor couldn''t help but turn to the only man who respected and loved her and called his name amidst her painful sobs.

    Grace found himself to be the most powerless person in the whole world when he heard her call out to him while being subjected to such humiliation. All his physical strength and all his sword skills were entirely useless at this moment. His woman was crying her heart out but Grace was being held back by the horde of guards protecting Nelson. They wouldn''t let him pass no matter how badly he wanted to kill Nelson for tarnishing his beloved.

    "Arrgghhh~" <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Grace roared with angst and grief but most of all a zing fury that came from the depths of his soul and was the product of the helplessness he felt at not being able to save his beloved. He wanted nothing more than to cut the bastard Nelson into a thousand pieces for touching her with his filthy ws.

    "Graceбнmy dear friend Graceбнjust how much longer are you going to take to learn? Why can''t you learn properly like all my good dogs? This woman probably won''t be able to take so much humiliation. If you still don''t understand what I am trying to teach you, then I might end up breaking this little toy."

    "STOPбнSTOOOOOP~"

    "I won''tбнTeachers must take their responsibility seriously after all."

    "What do you wantбнpleaseбнtell meбнI will do anything you want. Just let her goбнplease." Grace had utterly let go of his desire to kill Nelson. He knew that Nelson wanted his obedience and he was willing to offer it to Nelson if it meant that he could save Taylor from humiliation. Therefore, Grace''s voice had turned extremely low aspared to his violent and energetic voice from before.

    "This is not the right way to beg. You can''t be a good dog this way. Let''s see what we can do to help you learn some mannersбнHmmбнI''ve got it."

    The wicked smile on Nelson''s face reminded Grace of the mindless and brutal murderers he had encountered in the wilderness. He couldn''t help but grow afraid. He was worried that Nelson had thought of some other way to torture him and Taylor.

    Unfortunately Grace was right this time.

    "I have decided that I won''t sell her first time anymore."

    Grace finally got control of his runaway soul after he heard Nelson say that he won''t be selling Taylor anymore. But just when he was about to let out a sigh of relief, he felt that something wasn''t right. The smirk on Nelson''s face was the confirmation he needed.

    "Such a beautiful woman; you should have taken her for yourself when you had the chance. Unfortunately, I have taken a liking to her now. I am surprised how no one has fucked such premium quality goods before. No-no, I should be thankful to all of you for leaving this chance for me. I will definitely show her heaven today as you all bear witness to our union."

 Chapter 204 204 Coerce V

    Nelson motioned for the guards to hold her down strong as he pulled down his pants and underwear as he towered above Taylor with his dick in front of her pussy as if awaitingmand to break down the door and enter.

    "Don''t be afraidбнIt will only hurt in the beginning." Nelson was looking straight at Grace as he said those words. They were obviously meant to irritate and torture him.

    Grace roared once again as tears trickled down his face unwontedly. His worry for Taylor was now showing on his face. He kept trying to struggle free of the hold of the guards but failed at every try.

    Nelson was slowly inching towards the entrance to her love cave and each centimeter that he crossed caused waves of agony to rise into Grace''s soul.

    As soon as Nelson''s dick touched Taylor''s body, a terrifyingly shrill scream escaped Taylor''s lips. The shrill shriek terrified the souls of those present and the terrible grief hidden underneath was evident to all. But most of all, it prated Grace''s heart with the force of a skewering drill.

    Grace''s face turned white as he saw how Taylor was struggling at Nelson''s touch. She pulled herself free from the hands of the guards using thest of her strength but was immediately grabbed afterwards and mmed back into the ground breaking the wind out of her lungs.

    She could only lie there whimpering in pain and shrieking her throat raw as she tried to resist the invasion of Nelson''s cock.

    Nelson began to enjoy the process like a pervert. He was enjoying torturing Grace and Taylor. Both of them were defiant but now their eyes had turned dull like they had already seen the end of their lives.

    Nelson''s hystericalughter as he yed with her pretty pussy prated the deepest recesses of Grace''s mind and made him want to unleash his wrath on the world for giving birth to such a heartless and evil demon.

    Her tears and screams turned him on like nothing before as his member stood at attention waiting for hismand like a battering ram waiting to m into the castle door, intent on breaking it down to splinters.

    He held his dick in his hand before rubbing the tip on her clit as if threatening to insert it at any moment.

    Taylor''s shrieks got exponentially louder as she grew more and more terrified of being defiled.

    Nelson finally felt like he had enough and his purpose ining here had been achieved. He got up on his feet while holding his member in one hand and turned around to face Grace.

    "I am about to eat the delicious fruit you couldn''t even taste despite having watered it for so long. I am not cruel enough to pluck and taste the fruit in your absence so I will invite you to watch us from the side. If you behave wellбнI might even consider sharing the leftovers with you. What do you think? Aren''t I generous?"

    Nelson disyed his generosity while swaying his member with every little jerk of his body as he talked. His minions dragged Grace to the side so that he would be able to get full view of what was about to happen at the order of their master.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Just as Nelson was about to get on top of Grace in order to take the final step, Grace couldn''t take it anymore and thest of his will sublimated into nothingness.

    His knees that had refused to bend for so long couldn''t take it anymore. Watching Taylor getting defiled was the breaking point of his soul.

    THUMP~

    His knees met the ground with enough noise that it distracted Nelson from doing what he was about to do. He snickered as he watched Grace with his eyes and head lowered in submission as he begged on his knees in order to save his beloved.

    "Pl-please let her go. I''ll do anythingбнanything you want. Just let her go. I will be your dogбнpl-pleaseбн"

    Nelson finally got what he wanted; absolute submission. Now that Grace had reached his limit and his spirit had been brokenpletely, he would willingly carry out any order given to him by Nelson.

    Since Nelson had already achieved his objective, he didn''t continue to put on the show. Even though Taylor was attractive, it wasn''t to the point that Nelson wouldn''t be able to control himself.

    Nelson pulled on his pants and tucked away his member as he signaled to the guards holding on to Taylor.

    The guards simultaneously let go of Taylor''s limbs and torso immediately and went back to Nelson''s sides in order to guard his safety just in case Grace tried to pull of something.

    Taylor was far too terrified to maintain her senses. She rushed in the direction of Grace who was still kneeling on the ground in order to save her. He was her only safe haven while being surrounded by wolves.

    Her tears kept on dripping endlessly onto the wooden floor like water leaking from a broken faucet. She couldn''t control her emotions as fear had taken over all her senses. Being a poor and weak woman, her purity had been the only thing she could give to Grace in return for his love. Therefore, what transpired just then was her worst nightmare that she didn''t want to go through ever again even if she had to die to avoid it.

    Taylor jumped into Grace''s limp arms and hid her nudity in his embrace. She waspletely naked after her clothes had been ripped from her but she felt peace and salvation in his embrace. Even though she was shivering and sobbing silently as she stered herself to his strong chest, she tried not to make a sound so as tofort Grace who looked like a lifeless doll being manipted by someone behind the curtain.

    Grace caressed her hair and whispered into her ear in order to help her calm down. He took off his shirt and wrapped it around her so as to keep the guards from leering at her.

 Chapter 205 205 ChristinaтАЩs Purpose

    From the way she was shivering, Grace knew that she had been frightened past her wits and would not be able to calm down untilter. Therefore, he kept on caressing her hair as he allowed her to cling to his existence in order find her safe harbor once more. At the same time, he turned all his attention to Nelson who was standing there silently as if waiting for Grace to finish up with his personal matters before discussing business.

    Grace was able to deduce what was going to transpire next and he knew he couldn''t get out of it now that he had sold his soul to the devil.

    бн

    It had been a few days since Christina arrived in Byzantium city. Other than the day of her arrival, she hadn''t interacted much with the other suitors that her husband had attracted. She knew that it was the women who had those kinds of intentions towards Zach and not the other way around. Therefore, she didn''t hold it against him and supported him whole heartedly. Another reason was that she could not keep acting like a jealous wife forever unlike those petty girls. She didn''t want to risk Zach hating her for it.

    Based on her intelligence and level of cunning, it wasn''t difficult for Christina to make things difficult for the other two girls. But she knew that it would only end up harming Zach and would earn her his ire. Moreover, she already knew that she wasn''t Zach''s only woman from the get go. Even their rtionship had flowered from a business deal mean to secure the foundation of Elizabeth family. Therefore, she didn''t have the right to demand anything from him.

    She was unlike ra or Diana who would do anything to cling to Zach. She didn''t know why girls like them could do this but Christina couldn''t bring herself to act in such a manner without Zach''s approval. Otherwise she risked diminishing her worth in his eyes. She couldn''t stoop to their level even if she tried to.

    Therefore, she didn''t flirt with Zach in public and tried her best to make herself useful to him when she was by his side. She took care of the business on the side of the Windsor family and also helped Zach with things he found too burdensome to deal with. She didn''tin about hisck of attention like the other two and just apanied him silently so as to not cause him trouble when he was in the beginning phase of establishing his faction.

    Even though she was hiding a well of feelings deep inside her for Zach, she acted all professional as if out of instinct. Her work ethics got in the way of her romance but was also the greatest driving force behind her charm. Any man would find such an amodating womanforting and would definitely rush back home into her arms the moment he got any free time.

    Recently she had been taking care of sugar shipment to various cities and invested a lot of her time into charting out the vehicle routes and delivery schedules. For that purpose she divided the empire map into four quadrants based on the cardinal directions and nned routes for each of those quadrants. She made sure that a single vehicle could be used to satisfy a cluster of cities so as to avoid sending out excessive amount of vehicles. Her careful nning and meticulous strategies allowed her to distribute cane sugar several times the efficiency of a normal transportationpany even if they had the same technological background. Elizabeth family wasn''t the top business family of Elizabeth city for nothing. There methods were far too advanced and their business cunning far more boratepared to factions handling even more capital than them.

    The reason she had been taking so much time out of her precious time with Zach to deal with this transportation mechanism despite the avability ofpetent workforce was that she didn''t want anything to affect Zach''s development in Byzantium city. Therefore she couldn''t afford any mishap. As such she could only make it so that her diligent efforts wouldn''t leave any room for an unexpected oue.

    ...

    Nelson was a perverted individual with a twisted sense of love and adoration. Whenever he had free time, he would use it to harass the person he was chasing in the name of adoration despite knowing that Violet only felt ufortable in his presence.

    As usual, Nelson hade to the Windsor family to pay his routine harassment visit to Violet. It had long since be a habit for him toe over unannounced since the days Windsor family was weakened due to the old master''s sickness.

    Just as he was about to head into the state, he found a group of people wearing simr clothes loading heavy looking bags into the trucks at the entrance of the Windsor family estate.

    Another small group was listening intently to a woman giving them instructions on the routes to follow and the speed to maintain. She was cautioning them on what to do in case they encountered severe weather conditions and to ensure and prioritize their personal safety at all times.

    Even though he had been taking part in the business matters of the Hunter family for so long, he still didn''t know half the ces she had listed down to them.

    He was too busy admiring the view from the back. Just based on her heavenly hourss figure, this woman was worth pining after by the heroes of the world.

    Nelson dearly wished her face to be just as impressive as her figure and hoped to get a glimpse. His previously determined steps faltered as he forgot all about Violet and shifted all his attention towards Christina who was busily giving instructions to the drivers who would be driving towards the North-East quadrant to deliver a huge consignment of sugar in various cities.

    Christina turned to head into the Windsor family estate after finishing her work and Nelson greedily took in the stunningly gorgeous appearance of the fairy in human form.

 Chapter 206 206 An Uninvited Guest

    He could swear on his life that the Byzantium city hadn''t seen a beauty like her appear in thest hundred years. He was sure that there was no such person in the whole city otherwise he would have already known about her. This meant that she was not from this city and had only just arrived.

    Nelson felt that this was his chance. He could get to know her slowly behind the guise of showing her around the city. And once she knew his true identity, either she would throw herself into his arms herself to gain his favor or he would be able to have his way with her. After all; no one within in the confines of the city would dare to offend someone from the four families and especially the heir of the strongest family out of the four.

    Nelson assumed it would be so because this wasn''t the first time he was using this approach to get his way with a woman. He had been doing this for a long time now. Countless girls had delivered themselves to his arms when they knew of his status in hopes of bing the young mistress of the Hunter family while many more had tried to resist his advances only for them to crawl underneath his crotch in the end. None of them were able to go against his status to reject him which had led to him sessfully molesting these girls into submission.

    Some of them evenmitted suicideter on in shame but none of them dared to cross his family or seek revenge in any form considering the astronomical power of the hunter family in Byzantium city. They knew that whatever they plotted would end up harming the rest of their family so they had to die with a heart full of grievances in the end.

    Based on his prior experience, the notion that he might get rejected didn''t even cross Nelson''s mind this time as he made his move on the fairy-like woman with the temperament of the royals.

    бд?ж╚m He intercepted her as she tried to snake her way past him as if he was some kind of rubbish that was blocking her path.

    "Beautiful things are meant to be admired. Who can bear to make a fairy like you work in the sun? How do they sleep at night?"

    In Nelson''s opinion, women were vain creatures who were narcissistic about their looks. Any woman would appreciate this kind of approach even if they were really from the royal family.

    This mellow approach was the perfect ice breaker and Nelson was sure that it would be a breeze to get this woman to hop into his bed when she found out his identityter on. Women dreamed of their prince charming and Nelson ticked all the requirements that women sought in their prince charming. He was rich, not bad in terms of looks and powerful. Who wouldn''t want to associate with him?

    Christina didn''t even bother to give him a look. She had long since anticipated what Nelson was trying to do from the way he was looking at her from afar. She had sensed him from the moment he started paying attention to her.

    Women had this kind of sixth sense akin to an instinct which alerted them whenever someone from the opposite gender was staring at them inconspicuously. They would find out the source instantly even if they weren''t directly looking in that direction.

    Christina side-stepped the excited Nelson again as if he was cow dung by the side of the road. She ignored his entire existence and was unfazed as she walked past him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Christina was more than capable of teaching the perverted Nelson a lesson on her own. She was powerful enough and her status wasn''tcking either. She was the daughter of a Marquis which was far more prestigious than whatever amount of wealth the Hunter family had umted over the years since their inception.

    The only reason she had been trying to avoid him without saying a single word was that she didn''t want to cause trouble for Zach here. She would eventually return to Elizabeth city after her business with the Windsor family reached its conclusion but Zach was trying to set up his base of operations in this ce. He couldn''t possibly leave all his problems behind like her.

    Until the time, she could assume her position beside him as his wife she didn''t want to add to his troubles by creating unnecessary conflict between him and the other influential families of the city.

    Moreover, Christina fully knew that her being here wasn''t because Zach needed her here. It had been her personal decision. Zach hadn''t even known about her arrival till the moment he met her outside the Windsor family estate.

    She had rushed to Byzantium city so as to get a chance to see the person in her heart whom she had been missing dearly over the past few months. Therefore, she was didn''t want to create problems for him when she was unable to shoulder his burdens alongside him.

    Although Zach wouldn''t me her even if she acted on her instincts, Christina didn''t want to be a useless woman like that. She would hate herself if she ended up causing such a situation for him.

    Nelson had encountered these kinds of women before who thought that they were something just because they had pretty faces. Once they got to know his identity, they all ended up in his bed willingly or unwillingly. Therefore, he had cultivated shamelessness beyond the normal range.

    It didn''t affect him in the slightest when she tried to avoid him like the gue. Instead it only made him want her more.

    As soon as Christina walked past him again, Nelson broke into a jog in order to catch up to her brisk pace and blocked her path with his chest.

    Christina almost rammed into him as he cut into her path abruptly. Thankfully, she had enough control over her physique to maneuver her body out of the way in order to avoiding into contact with Nelson''s body.

 Chapter 207 207 An Uninvited Guest II

    Nelson felt slightly pissed this time. The woman made him feel like he was a dirty beggar pestering her for alms. How could a pampered young master like him suffer such an insult?

    But when he looked at the curvy figure of the woman, he pushed down the bubbling anger rising in his chest and put his hands into his pants pocket.

    When he pulled his hands out, there were several glittering gold coins in the palm of his hand. He closed his hand on the coins and used the opening in his fist to pour the coins into the palm of his other hand. He was clearly showing off his wealth to tempt the woman into agreeing to his advances.

    But he didn''t know that he had overestimated himself this time. Christina wasn''t like the other girls he had encountered before. She was the furthest from the norm in fact.

    Unlike the girls who would start pandering after him at the mere glimpse of the money he had, Christina only felt disgust and disdain at his pitiful existence that needed him to show his money to earn a second look from a girl he wanted to woo.

    Unbeknownst to Nelson, Christina was holding back her anger as well. She was barely keeping herself fromunching the pest into the sky in order to keep it from chasing after her.

    On the outside though, Christina had a perfect poker face that didn''t allow a single one of her true feelings to leak out. Therefore, Nelson couldn''t understand why his tricks were failing this time. The woman turned out to be even more shameless than he was.

    He thought that she wanted more from him and was only pretending to ignore him because the benefits she could get weren''t enough.

    Nelson was furious as there were bystanders witnessing their interaction and each time he tried to approach her, she embarrassed him in front of all those people by ignoring his advances without a single word. She hadn''t even bothered to look at him this entire time.

    The employees that Christina had just been cautioning heard the entirety of their interaction since she hadn''t been able to walk further away due to Nelson pestering her constantly.

    Even though Christina didn''t know who Nelson was, the employees who were actually the servants of the Windsor family clearly knew Nelson''s identity. They had seen him pestering their eldestdy before and knew he didn''t have any good intentions towards Christina.

    Despite their low status, Christina had treated them with respect therefore; they were more than willing toe to her aid when she was in a tough spot. After all, they didn''t know that Christina was an aplished mage who had managed to hold back an S rank mage all on her own before.

    The servants crowded around the two and tried to keep the young master of the Hunter family from harassing Christina.

    "Young lord, miss is our family''s most respected guest. Our old master has especially emphasized about her well being as long as she is staying with us. Please don''t make things difficult for her."

    Nelson was too far gone already to notice the meaning of their words. Someone that even the rising Windsor family had to treat with respect wasn''t someone he could offend but his fragile pampered ego had been hurt by her indifference towards him and his wealth. He didn''t listen to a word the servants told her and threateningly moved his hand before grabbing her ample bottom with his hand.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Nelson was lucky that he was in Byzantium city and Christina was trying not to cause trouble. Had it been Elizabeth city, Christina would have already hacked his arm off for such an affront.

    The result of his actions wasn''t as Nelson had expected. Christina neither screamed nor called for help. Instead she calmly stared deep into his eyes with a frigid look that froze his very soul.

    Before he could understand what was happening she had already grabbed the back of his hand and twisted it towards his elbow. The slightest application of force in this position could potentially fracture his wrist.

    Nelson being the pampered young lord had never experienced such pain before. He shrieked like a little girl in pain and caused amotion.

    Even the servants of the Windsor family witnessed his pitiful condition and wondered if this kind of thing could be called a man too.

    His screams attracted Christina the ire of the guards who had been following after Nelson for his protection. Hogan had been afraid that Windsor family would try to get rid of Nelson in an attempt to threaten him to open the blockade of transportation.

    Even though the guards were a little slow to react, they were skilled. They pounced towards Christina with the full force of their bodies behind their fists.

    Christina controlled Nelson using the force of her grip on his wrist with one hand and fended off the attacks of the guards with the other. She appeared to be exceptionally skilled in hand to handbat as she managed to throw them off their feet in just a few exchanges; and with a single hand to boot.

    The guards were too surprised to say anything. They had seenpetent women who could fight before but almost all of them were mages who made use of their mana to repel their attacks. This was their first time encountering a woman skilled in hand to handbat who was even more proficient than they were.

    Christina was practically ying with the three of them.

    бн

    Zach had been in the marketce meeting up with a few vendors in order to strike a deal with regards to some construction material for the ind when the system alerted him to a hostile entity near the Windsor estate. The man clearly had no good intentions towards the Windsor family.

    Ever since Christina began to stay more and more at the Windsor family estate, Zach had deployed several of his surveince dragonflies in the vicinity in order to keep an eye on her. This was the only way he could stop worrying about her despite knowing how powerful she was.

 Chapter 208 208 An Uninvited Guest III

    The decision turned out to be a good one as he pulled up the footage from the surveince with the help of the system and rushed off in the direction of the Windsor family.

    Although he had been keeping tabs on the situation along the way, Zach reached just in time to see Christina making a fool out of Nelson while his guards staggered while breathing heavily. They were obviously exhausted while Christina didn''t seem to have suffered much. She was the one making them suffer.

    It had blown her fuse when the filthy lecher dared to touch her bottom that even Zach had yet to touch. She had barely controlled herself from doing something radical. Even now she was fighting the urge in her body to break his useless arm constantly.

    After breathing heavily a few times, Christina just let go of his reddened wrist with disgust evident on her face. Her disgust was so obvious to the spectators that nobody would have thought it odd if she pulled out a handkerchief from her person to wipe off her hands after right in front of Nelson''s face.

    Zach took this opportunity to intervene between the two. He positioned himself in the middle of the two with his back towards Nelson as he blocked the view of thetter and kept him from leering at Christina.

    "Are you alright? What happened?"

    Concern was evident on his face and Christina felt grateful for it. She didn''t miss his careful positioning either. She grasped his careful gestures and could understand the silent concern he had for her well being. Even though he didn''t say anything, Christina knew that Zach cared about her a lot from these little gestures.

    Christina almost wanted tough at how Zach checked her condition from top to bottom like he was appraising a premium product before buying it. He was only satisfied after he gave her a once over but still asked her if she was feeling okay.

    "I am alright. Nothing happened to me. Why are you so worried? You know I can protect myself."

    How could a woman not fall for such a caring man?

    "Mr. Smith, thankfully you are here. We have been telling young lord Nelson that Miss is our family''s esteemed guest but this situation still arose. You can punish us however you want for our ipetence."

    The servants were extremely good at handling such situations especially after they had suffered all kinds of injustices during the time their old master was sick. They knew they couldn''t afford to offend the heir of the Hunter family and could therefore only push the responsibility to Mr. Smith. Almost all of them had heard of the spectacle that had taken ce at the entrance of the Windsor family estate and the news that Zach had two women besides the youngdy ra had spread amongst the servants already.

    Therefore they knew that Christina was his woman as well and felt no guilt pushing everything on to him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Nelson jerked his head towards Zach as he heard the servants address him as ''Mr. Smith''. He had wanted to meet this legendary dark mage''s descendant who was supposedly capable of bringing about rain on a clear summer daypletely devoid of clouds.

    All his carefullyid out ns and strategies had failed due to this person so Nelson had been wondering what kind of a man this Mr. Smith was.

    Now that he met him, he lost interest instantly. There was nothing special about the man. He looked weak and didn''t have a strong magic pressure like those power offense type mages above S grade.

    Ignoring Zach, Nelson stared doggedly at Christina with eyes like daggers that wanted to rip apart every shred of clothing on her body. As he stopped considering Zach a threat, he focused all his attention on Christina who had not only humiliated him but had also dared to reject his advances and had hurt his ego.

    Despite all that, Nelson wasn''t angry. He knew getting angry wasn''t worth a damn in front of an arrogant and prideful woman like Christina. Instead, he returned the humiliation he had received by staring holes into her gargantuan breasts and curvy behind which was in equal proportion to her bosom leading to her seductively charming figure.

    "You should remember the way you treated me just now. I will make sure that you get on your knees in front of me and beg me to take you into my bed like a roadside whore. I won''t make you wait much longer. The time wille sooner than you think."

    Before Christina or Zach could deter him from his foul tendencies, Nelson arrogantly threatened in a smug and arrogant manner which was quite in line with the petty viins who overestimated their actual worth in front of the MC and ended up losing their livester on in the most pathetic manner possible.

    Christina couldn''t care less about the threats of a useless man who couldn''t event take care of himself. She had so many of these spoiled brats that she was already sick. Before her father became the Marquis, she was courted by many such idiots. As a result, she had taught them a lesson that they could never forget as long as they continued living.

    Unfortunately, this wasn''t Elizabeth city and she could not do as she pleased. She needed to hold herself back. Therefore, not a single trace of the emotions she felt actually made their way to her face.

    Seeing no response from Zach or Christina, Nelson couldn''t help but feel smug. He thought that the two didn''t dare to retort or retaliate against him which gave him a confidence boost.

    "You can enjoy as much as you want now. Theing days will be full of pain and your future pathden with thorns. You should have thought twice before threatening me. If you still have sense, hurry up and apologize to me and ask this little slut to apany me in bed and maybe I will let you and your little group be."

 Chapter 209 209 Quarrel

    Zach couldn''t even give a crap about the threat made by the heir of the Hunter family. No matter how prestigious he felt his family to be, Zach couldn''t care less about his supposed power. All it would take to silence him forever was a bullet. But Zach couldn''t be bothered to waste a bullet on a low life like Nelson.

    Without even sparing him a nce, Zach turned his back to him and focused all his attention on Christina who had suffered everything in silence even though she had the power to st the idiot Nelson into a pool of his blood.

    Zach wanted to say something but Christina understood what was in his mind. She knew that Zach was feeling guilt at not being able to protect her but she had no intention of ming him. She knew his hands were tied at the moment and her presence had more chances of inconveniencing him instead of helping him. Still, she couldn''t control her heart that kept longing for him when she was in Elizabeth city.

    Christina didn''t want Zach to me himself. Therefore, she barely frowned and gave Zach a bittersweet smile as she shook her head from side to side.

    An ufortable feeling arose in him as he watched Christina acting so helpless despite having such a prominent background and so much magic power.

    No matter how much Zach wanted to stomach this result, it made his insides boil. He couldn''t understand why Christina was willing to go through this humiliation silently. The smile on her face was meant to reassure him but he only felt annoyance.

    Christina didn''t notice the streak of annoyance on Zach''s face as he hid his difort from her so she wouldn''t feel even worse than she already did. Instead he pulled her close to his chest and held her for some time, allowing her to calm down.

    Zach held onto her hand and ushered her towards her bedroom that the Windsor family had given to her for as long as she stayed in Byzantium city to help them with their logistics rted problems.

    Christina let go of his hands as soon as they entered her room. She led him to sit down on the bed before pouring him a cup of coffee. She added two spoonfuls of cane sugar, stirred it thoroughly and brought it to him like a good little wife.

    Zach took the cup from her and tasted the coffee that Christina offered him but even the sweetness of the coffee couldn''t dissolve the difort he felt deep down in his soul.

    When they were in the public, Zach had pushed down the rising difort but now that the two of them were alone, he felt himself getting angry; not just at Nelson who had tried to make a move on his wife but also at Christina. Despite not giving wind to Nelson''s obscene intentions, Christina hadn''t taught him a lesson despite being fully capable of doing so.

    The Christina that Zach was acquainted with back in Elizabeth city wasn''t so meek as to let such an insult go. She would have retaliated with a calm and unaffected manner but she would have definitely made an example out of a fool like Nelson.

    The person that was with him now was only a shell of the real Christina. He couldn''t understand why she chose to let such a person go out of her own volition.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Personally, Zach would be happier if Christina had killed the pest right then and there. Then maybe he wouldn''t have to feel this odd feeling that was about to shred his soul to pieces if he let it fester inside him.

    Zach med himself for this because Christina was here to help him even if it was out of his knowledge. Had she been in Elizabeth city, Christina would never have suffered such an affront. Her father was the Marquis of the empire and even the royalty had to treat her with sufficient respect. She was the princess of an aristocratic family and yet she was here suffering the problems that evenmoners rarely encountered.

    "Why did you do that? Why did you let him go after he did such a thing?"

    Zach was boiling with indignation as he spat those words out. He put his coffee down on the table beside the bed and turned towards Christina who was sitting beside him as she apanied him silently without a frown on her face.

    "Do you think I wanted to let him go? I would have strangled him with my bare hands for touching me like that. Do you really think I am that easy?"

    Christina didn''t want to fight Zach but the tone of his words made it seem like she had enjoyed being in that situation. She couldn''t help but feel hurt. Why would she want to let such a person go after he tainted her body with his filthy touch? Just the thought of it made her want to churn her insides out.

    "Then why didn''t you do anything?" asked Zach because he really wanted to understand her thought process. He had been pondering on a few reasons the entire journey to the bedroom but he couldn''te up with a feasible one that might have prompted her to act in a manner that was so uncharacteristic of her.

    "Should I have ripped his arm off then? Would that have made you feel better?"

    There was resignation in Christina''s tone as if she suddenly felt tired.

    "I would have felt morefortable if you had. This makes me worried for you working on your own. What if such a situation repeats itself in the future? What would you do then?"

    Zach softened his tone as well knowing how downtrodden she was feeling.

    "If I had, wouldn''t I just be creating more problems for you? Put yourself in my shoes and think for a moment. I came here to solve one of your problems. What would be my use ining here if I added to your already huge burden instead of helping you carry it? I couldn''t let that happen." Christina felt that it was better to exin her reasoning to Zach instead of letting him misunderstand her actions.

 Chapter 210 210 Apologize

    What she didn''t know was that her words set off a nuclear reaction inside Zach.

    Zach gritted his teeth and asked in between the grating noise of his teeth grinding against each other.

    "Then did you let him go because of me?"

    "Why else would I do what I did? I know that you are trying to develop your faction in this ce. Even though he was an idiot, he looked like he belonged to some powerful family of this city. If you earned the enmity of such a family because of me, your development here would have been affected. Your faction is only in the beginning stage of its inception and is vulnerable to interference from the outside agencies. Powerful families would definitely be able toy down more hurdles in your path. I don''t want you to suffer because of me."

    The boiler that was close to bursting already, exploded with the intensity of a supernova. Something cracked inside Zach at that moment and he pped the table beside him with enough force that caused it to sink inwards.

    Christina was startled by the sudden outburst from Zach. She had never seen him act in such a manner. She had seen him fuming before when he interacted with Prince Kolt but even then she hadn''t felt afraid.

    But now she didn''t even have control of her faculties anymore. The expression on his face made him look like the incarnation of some murderous demon instead of the good natured man she hade to know.

    She didn''t understand why he was acting like that. In her opinion, she had not done anything to elicit such an exaggerated reaction out of him.

    "EVERYTHING бнI haveбнor will build in the futureбнwill bepletely meaningless if you have to suffer such humiliation in return. You are my womanбнand putting material things before your dignity and respect would make me failure of a man in my eyes. It would make me too ashamed to look myself in the mirror. If your disrespect is the price that I have to pay for my sess, then I don''t want to seed in this life."

    Zach fixedly stared at Christina and the bloodthirst on his face vanished. Instead there was only helplessness that was akin to someone on the brink of losing everything.

    "All I have ever wanted is to provide for and give a good life to those who put their trust in me and decided to follow me. My precious family is the foremost amongst that group and you belong to it too. I can''t have you holding back on my ount when I WANT you to do whatever you want so I can support you just as you have supported me. If I let you suffer because of my business or career, wouldn''t that skew my whole reasoning behind all this? What use would this business be if it can''t even protect you? So, don''t ever hold back in such situations and do whatever you feel like. You still have me to handle the consequences."

    Christina''s eyes welled up with tears that glistened with the sweet radiance of moonlight and made her look alluring with a touch of innocence that brightened her overall cold countenance. Her eyes revealed her surprise at Zach''s words. She had never expected to hear such words for him. She had initially wanted to be thoughtful for her husband but it turned out that it only caused her husband a world of hurt.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Only now did she understand how well Zach treated her and the kind of position she held in his heart.

    Seeing her cry was thest thing Zach wanted to do because he wouldn''t know how to handle such a delicate situation without hurting her. Christina was normally a cold and aloof woman who was more concerned about her business than herself as could be inferred from how she practically sold herself in marriage to Zach so as to give her family an opportunity to rise in Elizabeth city. But when she cried, she looked so innocent and so timid that Zach didn''t know if he could handle it.

    Given that he had already made her cry, Zach felt that he needed to take responsibility for his earlier actions.

    "Don''t cryбнplease don''t cry. I am sorry I was so mean earlier. I didn''t mean to snub you. I just couldn''t control myself when I heard that you had to go through so much because of me."

    Zach looked extremely apologetic. He even seemed to be panicking on the inside as his voice was extremely affectionate and his tone soothing as if he was trying to caress her very soul.

    "Please forgбн" Before Zach couldplete his apology, Christina covered his mouth with her hand as she didn''t want him to feel sorry for her. She was willing to give up everything for him; a little bit of humiliation was nothing if it could allow her to gain Zach''s affection.

    "You don''t ever have to apologize to me. You treat me so well. How would you be able to wrong me in first ce?"

    Christina inched closer to Zach and wrapped her hands around him before pulling him into a tight embrace that was akin to a ko hugging a tree.

    Christina felt as if her life-long wish had been fulfilled and she could not stop herself from mumbling her thanks over and over again. Even she wasn''t sure if her gratitude was directed towards Zach who epted her or towards the god who was out there steering the situations to around to bring her to this conclusion.

    Tears of a woman were the heaviest things in the world for their man. Zach was currently under the greatest burden he had ever been in his life. The woman he had always assumed to be strong and independent was sobbing her heart out in his embrace which made him feel even worse. What made him even more uneasy was that he couldn''t figure out the exact reason for her tears. One second earlier, she had looked so happy but a momentter she was shedding ake of tears wetting his chest without a warning.

 Chapter 211 211 First Blood

    Instead of acting like a hug toy, Zach kept stroking her hair in order to let her know of his presence as well as to help her out of whatever sentimental phase she had suddenly entered. He keptforting her until her tears eventually dried up and just choking and sobbing sounds remained.

    Christina calmed down after there were no tears left to shed. Her eyes looked slightly puffy and faint redness could be seen beneath her eyes and on the tip of her nose.

    As soon as she lifted her face to look at Zach, he was entranced by her beauty. She looked so innocently seductive that Zach couldn''t help but be mesmerized.

    This kind of beauty wasn''t supposed to be seen by mortals. Only the gods could live to tell the tale of such a heavenly view.

    Christina didn''t let him appreciate her beauty thoroughly as she reached out with her lips suddenly and pecked him on his lips affectionately.

    Zach was taken by surprise since he never saw iting. He was still thinking of how to coax her after she had been crying for so long so the sudden kiss almost stole his soul and left him with his mouth wide open.

    Being a man, he had let a girl take the initiative. It would be a shame if he still held himself back when the girl had already revealed his feelings so clearly to him. It was only right for him to respond with his own sentiments.

    Zach didn''t even let her breathe before he was back on her lips with the ferocity of a maddened tiger. Unlike the kiss initiated by Christina which was extremely soft and tender, this one held a maic force that wouldn''t let the two involved parties separate until the both of them were satisfied.

    Zach''s kiss was ferocious as he sucked on her luscious lips like it were the heavenly ambrosia and used his tongue to collect the sweet nectar from her mouth. His tongue explored every corner of her little mouth tasting all the vors it had to offer.

    Christina tried to pull herself away from him when she felt trouble breathing as a result of his sudden invasion but Zach was far from satisfied. He wasn''t about to let her go after she deliberately awakened the sleeping monster in him.

    Zach let her go only after a few more seconds when he was done conquering everything in there with his tongue that was covered in her saliva after the ferocious battle.

    Both Zach and Christina were young people who were of age and already considered themselves to be married to each other. Christina even called him her husband whenever she referred to him back at home.

    When a fire got lit in such a scenario, it was hard to extinguish itpletely. As if to prove it, the two didn''t let go of each other after the long kiss. Instead, the affection in their eyes only deepened and the longing for each other''s warmth increased until they wrapped around each other once again.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The only difference this time was that the focus of the two wasn''t on kissing but on taking off each other''s clothes. They were clearly on the cusp of taking the final step in their married life. Their marriage that had been interrupted at thest stage was about to progress anew as they were about to consummate their marriage directly.

    The two began to undress each other amidst passionate kisses. Zach already had experience in the act as he had been feeding Luna regrly in the past. But Christina was aplete newbie who barely knew what was happening to her let alone taking the initiative to do anything to Zach. She ended up fumbling with his clothes as if she was in uncharted territories and didn''t understand they of thend.

    Zach took the lead and slowly Christina caught on as well. She didn''t hold back and removed every little bit of clothing item she came across.

    Her figure had always attracted Zach but when he saw herpletely in her birthday suit, he ended up biting his tongue. The pain brought him to reality as he marveled at the carefully chiseled body without a shred of fat and perfect proportions. He couldn''t help but touch her all over.

    His touch had an electrifying effect on her as it made her shiver in anticipation and happiness. Christina could feel his affection through his gentle touch and the passion burning in his eyes.

    She had already made up her mind to give herself to him but now that even thest hurdles were gone, there was a hint of panic inside her.

    They were both in their natural state and were proceeding naturally towards the consummation of their rtionship but Christina couldn''t help but take repeated nces towards the door to her room which was not locked at the moment.

    She cursed herself inwardly for not taking such a huge thing into consideration previously. What if someone interrupted the two of them when they were finally about to take thest step into confirming their rtionship.

    Christina busily kissed Zach as their naked bodies entwined with each other like two entangled snakes. She was so lost in the moment that she forgot where her body ended and his began. The euphoria clouded her senses but her personality didn''t let her forget about the importance of precautions.

    She twirled her finger and a bubble of mana escaped the end of her index finger. It waspletely transparent and when it erged even Zach didn''t notice it as it surrounded Christina''s roompletely. The barrier was a silencing barrier that was capable of keeping any sound from crossing it.

    Christina had two reasons in her mind for casting such a barrier around her room. Firstly, she didn''t want anyone to disturb them from the outside because there were numerous employees who woulde to disturb her on a daily basis in order to take instructions from her. And secondly, she didn''t want anyone to hear the embarrassing sounds she might make from the outside. This would allow her the perfect privacy to do the deed.

 Chapter 212 212 First Blood II

    Next she cast a spell to lock the door tightly so that no one other than her would be able to open it. Only then could she curb the constant worry that someone might interrupt them midway.

    Once she was done, she leaned her face into the side of his head and whispered seductively, "Make me yours."

    Zach felt a fire ignite in his loins as he felt himself being led by the nose by his mating instinct. He lifted her off the ground in one swift motion and threw her gently to her bed.

    Christina looked nervous with anticipation as shey on the bed in her birthday suitpletely defenseless against the monster that was about to ravish her.

    Zach followed her onto the bed and got on top of her. He looked her into the eyes and leaned in for a tender kiss. Their lips lingered together as his tongue carefully explored the insides of her mouth. His hands moved downwards and caressed the supple skin on her beautiful mounds.

    Girls'' first time was apanied by intense pain and Zach didn''t want her to be overly rough with her despite how calm andposed she normally looked. She was precious to him and he wanted her first experience to be of love and happiness and not of pain.

    To ease her into it, Zach was intent on teasing and ying with her body first.

    He groped her breasts in a firm grip. He was not surprised to find that his hands could barely cover the soft and jiggly jellyfishes. The excess flesh of the inted balloons escaped through his fingers making for an alluring sight that almost caused Zach to lose control of his senses.

    Christina on the other hand was experiencing this for the first time and the fire in her body was gradually taking over her senses. She wanted to douse this fire that made her increasingly more ufortable by the second.

    Zach caressed her soft breasts and used his index fingers on both hands to trace circles around her nipples which made her shiver in ecstasy.

    Christina was getting restless as she unconsciously started to rub her legs together.

    Zach could sense the urgency in her muffled moans and grabbed her breasts before his thumbs began to tease the flower in the middle. He rained down kisses on her face in quick session as he gradually moved from her forehead to her chin, then her neck and onwards to the valley between the mountains.

    Each little kiss jolted Christina''s soul and her back began to be arched.

    When Zach finally reached onto her bountiful breasts, his gazended on her hardened nipple. He couldn''t help but want to y with it.

    When his tongue flicked the hardened flower bud, the girl below him let out a high pitched moan that almost drained her soul and her floodgates burst open with a burst of sweet juices that travelled down her thighs and were absorbed into the bed sheet.

    Even though it was practically raining on the bed, Zach still felt it wasn''t enough and she needed more stimtion before he could partake in the main course.

    Zach used his fingers to part her wet pussy as he used his thumb to stimte her clitoris which sent shivers down to her soul. Her back arched instantly like a bridge as high pitched moans echoed in the bedroom once again. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Zach couldn''t help but feel that this woman was way too sensitive. Earlier she had cum from a few gentle flicks of her nipples and now before he could even begin touching her pussy properly, she was flooding again.

    "I haven''t even begun yet and you are already like this. What am I going to do with you?" Zach couldn''t help but tease her as she tried to hide her embarrassment by covering her face with her hands.

    Christina was a pure girl who had never participated in any carnal activity before. She couldn''t even begin to understand what was happening to her. She lost control of her body every few seconds. Even she knew that it was not normal but she could not control her outbursts at all.

    Zach pulled her hands away from her blushing face and smirked, "What is there to be embarrassed about? I love how sensitive you are."

    Christina blushed again but this time didn''t cover her face. Instead she turned her head towards the side so that she wouldn''t have to look at his smirking face directly and mumbled in a voice that barely reached his ears, "Pleaseбнnowбн"

    Christina was far too different from how she usually was. She was a woman who knew how to lead in a world where men reigned supreme. But now he was seeing the submissive side of her.

    "Are you ready?" asked Zach trying to ascertain her meaning.

    "Mmm" answered Christina amidst her increasing nervousness and excitement.

    "Tell me if it hurts okay?"

    Being a mage she wasn''t as afraid of pain as the other girls might be in her situation but that didn''t mean that she couldpletely disregard it. She was used to gritting her teeth through pain instead ofining.

    Still she noticed the tenderness in Zach''s voice and couldn''t help but nod affectionately in response.

    She knew in her heart that she wasn''t going to stop even if it tore her insides. She had been waiting for this moment for a long time and was intent on going through with it to confirm her rtionship with Zach.

    Zach gently lifted both of her legs with his hands and gazed at her beautiful face with overflowing love. Her luscious dark hair fanned out around her head making her face look even smaller and even more innocent than it already was.

    As if in anticipation of what wasing, she had closed her eyes and her brows were frowning slightly. Zach decided to not make her wait any longer.

    His soldier was already at attention and was ready to dig in at hismand but he ordered it to scout the peripheries. It brushed against it from top to bottom before exploring the entrance slightly. It sent a jolt of ecstasy coursing through the delicate woman.

 Chapter 213 213 First Blood III

    Zach pushed his thick shaft past her vaginal opening. Her swollen and overflowing pussy couldn''t take in the girth of his cock and expanded under pressure. Her vaginal walls clenched around his dick offering severe resistance but his soldier was top notch and wasn''t one to back down.

    The pain came for her as soon as Zach invaded her. The pain was unlike any she had ever felt before. It wasn''t torturous in any manner. It made her want to bite her lips but there was a tinge of joy and happiness mixed within it. She didn''t know if every woman felt the same thing but to her this was the most enjoyable pain she had ever felt.

    She knew that this much pain was inevitable and was prepared for it. But when it actually came, it brought myriad emotions with it and filled her with overwhelming lust and awakened her carnal instinct.

    Zach was afraid that his sudden thrust might have hurt her so he hurriedly pulled out.

    A soft moan escaped her lips as an expression full of longing overcame the pain on her face. She was anticipating the next invasion with hope filled eyes.

    How could Zach have rejected such a beautiful wish?

    He took his time exploring every nook and cranny of her womanhood slowly so as to give her time to recuperate from the earlier surprise and for what wasing next.

    Pain filled moans and gasps filled the air which turned Zach on even more. To conquer a cold and professional woman to such an extent was every man''s fantasy. Zach turned out to be one of the few lucky men who could actually live their fantasies in reality.

    When she looked ready for more, Zach buried his sword to the hilt inside her sheath and began to thrust with all his might; slowly at first and gradually increased the force behind the assault greatly ravaging her insides.

    Christina grabbed onto the bed sheet with her hands in an attempt to get grip over her runaway senses. She was on cloud nine and wasn''t aware of what Zach was doing to her. All she knew was that she badly wanted him inside her and she didn''t want him to stop.

    The pain had long since vanished and had been reced by a burning passion that made her want to merge her soul with his.

    In the throes of passion, sheunched herself onto Zach, wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into her mountainous embrace. Zach couldn''t bring himself to reject such a passionate invitation and sucked onto her little cherry blossom buds hungrily knowing that it was her sensitive area.

    Their bodies moved in a singr rhythm and rocked back and forth at the same pace. Zach''s soldier pounded her womanhood and carved out its depth as it marked its territory inside her and forever dered it as its own.

    Christina couldn''t take the constant ramming and moans filled with delight escaped her lips every now and then narrating the story of a girl who had be a woman. The sweet melodies didn''t stop until Zach felt her insides clench tighter than ever and knew she was at her limit.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    He quickened his thrusts and he felt her moans increase in frequency and volume along with his thrusts. It was as if he held the remote to those lewd sounds and could turn them up or down with the push of a button.

    His own breathing got increasingly rugged as he felt himself close to bursting. Hisbored breathings and the pounding of his body against her hips were the only noises that disturbed him from listening to her pleasure filled moans.

    Zach''s body trembled as he lost control of his body to the orgasm. He pushed forward in a final thrust and rammed his soldier straight into her womb with enough force to tear it apart. An animalistic grunt escaped his parted lips as he breathed heavily and released his load deep inside his lover.

    Zach rested his forehead in between Christina''s mounds as he heard her equallybored breathing and felt the massively gushing spring underneath him leak over all over his crotch wetting the bed sheet in the process.

    Before she even got the chance to take a breather, Zach was already stiff. He didn''t even give her a signal before heading into her cave once again.

    She let out a surprised but meek moan as she stared at Zach with some anticipation. She hadn''t wanted to end it so soon. Thankfully for her, Zach wasn''t about to stop anytime soon.

    Christina had already experienced it once and cooperated with Zach as if out of instinct. She moved with the same rhythm and matched her timings with him as he moved back and forth inside her ravishing her insides exploring the deepest parts of her with fervent desire in search of a lustful adventure.

    Her mind became filled with nothing but the man on top of her. As she stared into his eyes, she felt like giving her soul over to him for safekeeping. She trusted the man more than she trusted herself and in that moment she knew that her love for him had far surpassed her greatest imaginations already.

    Several boutster, Zachy underneath Christina panting due tock of air in his lungs. Before he could breathe properly, Christina was already prepared for the next round of battle as she hovered over his dick waiting to take a dip in the ocean of pleasure.

    Zach couldn''t help but smile wryly as he felt his shaft being guided through the entrance to heaven by two soft hands that were coaxing it slyly to do their bidding.

    His na?ve soldier was goaded into another deep exploration as Christina sat on it with the weight of her entire body. Erotic moans resounded in the bedroom once again as they sang the song of lustful pleasure urging the soldier to work harder.

    But this time, the soldier wasn''t the invader but the employee working for the pleasure of the mistress as she twisted and turned on top of Zach''s body like a slithering snake that couldn''t be satisfied.

 Chapter 214 214 First Blood IV

    Her thin and alluring waist was a sight to behold as ayer of sweat glistened on it like the luster of pure and unadulterated gems.

    Sounds of her bountiful hips crashing on top of his crotch made for a lewd song of lust that hypnotized Zach into doing her bidding with every note.

    Christina felt a strange heat pooling inside her belly. Her breasts heaved up and down every time she moved and Zach''s dick vanished and reappeared as if inplete resonance with her movements.

    Zach found it extremely alluring when Christina began to take the lead. Watching a woman like her work so hard appeared to be very enjoyable to him. He let her bounce around all she wanted as he watched the amazing spectacle taking ce right in front of his eyes. The huge jugs bouncing with her every movement were nothing less than a heavenly sight. He groped them greedily with a righteous expression on his face depicting the utter peak of shameless and rogue behavior.

    In his defense, no man could have resisted in the face of such a temptation.

    Christina smiled smugly and held his hands with her own while bouncing on his crotch. She held his hands and led them to grope her in all kinds of manner. Her breasts being her sensitive areas brought her to the peak.

    Zach had a front seat show to the debauchery of her light pink alluring pussy as it took in the entire girth of his cock relentlessly. He couldn''t help butpare her lustful initiative to that of Luna. Although Christina wascking when it came to experiencepared to a subus who was innately adept in the sexual acts through her genes, her passionate initiative and willingness to try any and all positions couldn''t bepared. She was like a littlemb that was slowly being corrupted and led astray by Zach and was unknowingly being converted into an alluring little seductress who could charm him with just her body figure.

    Zach matched the motion of his hips with the woman riding him and struck back in the same position causing her to let out a few nasal moans each more seductive and more delightful than thest.

    Several notification *dings* sounded out in his ear at that moment but he ignored all of the messages clouding his vision and continued to pound straight into the pink cave, each thrust more powerful than thest like a rocketunching into space. At this moment nothing was more important to him than making love with Christina who had captivated his entire soul.

    Christina was reaching her breaking point. Her juices had long since begun to overflow and her insides clenched with the force of a thousand grips. The juices had already drenched his thighs and were in the process of being absorbed by the bed sheet.

    The area all around the two on the bed had been decimatedpletely like the bed had blocked a tsunami by itself. The hinges were creaking and the absorption limit of the bed sheet had long since been crossed thanks to the excessive secretions from her love cave. Her love juices were now in the process of making arge puddle underneath them.

    Christina moved her hips faster and tried to take the entirety of his girth inside her as deep as she could. She wanted him to ravage her to the depths of her soul.

    Her moans became more pleasurable as beads of sweat were produced on her body from the continuous workout. The sound of her hips pping against his thighs made for such an erotic sound that she lost control of her faculties and came with a spray of love juices.

    The moment her body tightened and her insides clenched on to his dick, she felt it throbbing like a pulsating veined monster and knew she was in for a huge load as well.

    The two climaxed simultaneously and Christina felt her body shaking and trembling in anticipation as Zach injected a huge load of semen directly into her womb.

    Christina felt a powerful energy course through her entire body in that moment but the force of the energy only deepened the impact of the climax she was feeling. Her overly sensitive body couldn''t take in such stimtion especially right after climaxing so many times that she couldn''t count.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    As a result she couldn''t withstand the neural shock; her eyes rolled back into her eye sockets and she saw ck before fainting helplessly on top of his chest with her tongue hanging out of her mouth in dark pleasure.

    Zach knew that something like this would happen to Christina so he didn''t panic. He was an experienced man now and knew that his ability "Casanova" had that kind of effect on women whenever he copted with them.

    He caressed her silky ck hair affectionately like a doting husband and pulled open the notifications that he had dismissed earlier. There were so many notifications waiting for him that it made his heart waver about whether to open this Pandora''s Box.

    While stroking her luscious hair that was spread all over his chest like a cascading ck waterfall, he began to look through the notifications in ascending order of their time of urrence.

    [***Congrattions***]

    [You have managed to tap into the hidden energy within the target ''Christina Elizabeth'' sessfully.]

    [Arge amount of hidden energy has been absorbed.]

    [Several functions that were rendered unavable due tock of energy have been made avable once again. This includes the weapons previously locked due to loss of excessive hidden energy.]

    [бнcan now be essed from the Weapons Arsenal]

    [бнcan now be essed from the Weapons Arsenal]

    [бнcan now be essed from the Weapons Arsenal]

    [бнcan now be essed from the Weapons Arsenal]

    Zach swiped away all the messages spamming the resurrection of his previous weapons. He wasn''t interested in those messages because he already knew this would happen once he took the final step with Christina.

    He was more interested in finding about the new weapons that had unlocked as a result of his jousting with Christina.

 Chapter 215 215 First Blood V

    The system had previously reminded him that Christina hid a power that he craved when he first met her in the Luther family estate. Therefore he had easily agreed to her marriage proposal.

    Now he wanted to find out exactly how special she was and how much of a treasure cove he had tapped into.

    After dismissing several notifications, he finally came across something noteworthy.

    [бн.. has been unlocked. It will be avable in the Weapons Arsenal from this moment onwards and can be essed at any time.]

    After a series of notifications regarding the unlocking of new weapons, Zach was dumbfounded. He finally knew how much of a gem Christina was for her. She had opened so many doors for her that it was difficult for him to count the boons of his union with her. He couldn''t help but want to kiss her badly but unfortunately she was still out of her senses and probably tired beyond herself.

    No matter how strong she was, it was still her first time and he hadn''t held back at all and had given in to her passionate embrace. She was bound to be in distress. Therefore, Zach only stroked her head and patted her back from time to time with a loving look in his eyes.

    Zach dismissed the new weapons notifications as he could take a look at the Weapons Arsenal to find out all the new weapons that had been unlocked. He skipped over them and found his way to the end of the notification pile.

    [A new ability has been unlocked using thetent potential hidden in the target ''Christina Elizabeth''."

    [''Force'' has been unlocked. You can now use Force to wield higher level weapons and use them to their utmost potential. A new set of possibilities have opened up and a branch of weapons dedicated to the usage of Force can now be unlocked with more absorption of energy.]

    Zach had already reached the end of the notifications but the motivation in his eyes was burning stronger than ever. He immediately pulled open the Weapons Arsenal to determine the resources that were now avable to him because that would decide in which direction he was going to expand the newly established Smith family base.

    Although, he was already working on their base of operations, he had yet to figure out the businesses that he would try his hands in. Therefore, the resources he had would end up determining the path he would take.

    Opening the Weapons Arsenal, he found several weapons highlighted in bold andbeled ''New''. Zach scrolled through the list and his eyes were close to bursting by the end of it. He couldn''t even estimate his gains as he had never expected his haul to be so massive. There were so many new weapons that it was hard for him to take a count. Even he couldn''t imagine the extent of his power taking into ount these powerful weapons that were now avable in his Arsenal.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The new unlocks included several torpedo boats for water based warfare and defense systems, RPGs capable of taking down dinosaurs in one hit, a batch of more advanced surveince drones, strike drones that could be remotely controlled to make precision strikes, several armored tanks of different kinds based on the terrain and the level of destruction they may cause and many others. This was only the beginning. The more he looked through the list, the more confident he felt about his future and those of his people who had put their trust in him and were working hard to build their new home with their own hands.

    But most important of them all was still the new ability he had unlocked. The notification that was the most inconspicuous of them all ended up bringing him the greatest benefit.

    Now that Zach had the new ability to wield Force as he pleased, the earlier unlocked Lightsaber would be a terrifying weapon with endless potential which would enable him to fight harder battles and still emerge victorious.

    When Zach studied the notification of his ability once again, he came to know that the future weapons he would unlock by absorbing energy from Christina might all be reliant on the application of Force. These higher level weapons would require him to be proficient in the use of Force or they might probably be useless. They might even remain in a locked state until he could acquire the necessary ability to use them.

    Zach couldn''t help but wonder how much of a treasure Christina was and regretted not taking her with him sooner. He had hurt both himself and Christina by waiting this long. Not to mention, he had dyed the awakening of Luna who was stitose in the room next to Christina''s.

    Zach vowed to himself to cherish Christina now that she had given herself to him and was already his woman. He would then have all the time in the world to love her and to tap into her full potential just like he had done with Luna.

    Although it would take some time, Zach still wanted to make her stronger with the help of his innate abilities. Just as Luna had grown stronger through coption with him, Zach intended to let Christina ovee her limits to explore her true potential hidden underneath. The process would also let him absorb more of the hidden energy that might allow him to breakthrough his current limits.

    While Zach was busy, thinking of so many things something he had been eagerly awaiting for so long happened in the room next to his.

    Theatose Luna furrowed her brows for a moment and her left hand index finger trembled slightly as if she was on the verge of climbing out of the great dark abyss only to fall short in her efforts and drifted off back to sleep.

    бн

    In a murky underground dungeon that radiated darkness and malice from the unknown number of souls that had taken theirst breath, a jailer loitered around a particr cell overwhelmed with fright and terror that reached into his chest and grabbed his beating heart.

 Chapter 216 216 The Visitor To The Prison

    The cursed dungeon that housed the souls of those vengeful and murderous individuals was stained with the blood of sinners far beyond the realm of normality. Only the craziest of offenders were brought to serve a life sentence in this ce so the number of upants wasn''t very high. But the crimes any one of them hadmitted were enough to send shivers down the spine of anyone willing to delve into such thick darkness.

    Even amongst these criminals, the particr jail cell belonged to a terrifying individual that frightened even the staunchest believers of justice. The jailer who was tasked with delivering food to this particr criminal was unable to bring forth the courage to look at the prisoner even though thetter waspletely shackled and held down under the weight of the chains.

    Not all the prisoners in the underground dungeon were given the same treatment. This prisoner was special because his crimes were too terrible and the possibility of such an evil out in the open was a curse on humanity that would slowly but gradually eat away at it in the long run.

    While the jailer was fumbling about gathering his courage to open the cell and venture beyond, he was interrupted by an officer marching in his direction.

    "Oyeбнyou thereбнWAIT."

    The jailer couldn''t be happier at being interrupted. He turned towards the voice immediately and awaited further instructions hoping that the officer would relieve him of his duty for the time being.

    The officer didn''t issue any further orders and the jailer obediently waited until the officer was standing a few meters away.

    The officer took a step forward and a whispered a few words in his ear that caused his lips to curl upwards.

    The jailer handed over the tray of food to the officer and left that particr corridor all the while hiding the intense bout of happiness that spurted forth from his soul. Just the fact that he didn''t have to see the terrifying sight for a day made his day sunny and bright even though no sunlight could prate the heart of the dungeon.

    Just as the jailer left, the officer signaled with a low pitch whistle that was more of a croakpared to a whistle. It appeared that the officer wasn''t very proficient in the act of whistling but did it anyway.

    Following the croaking signal, a tall and broad figure wearing an oversized cloak appeared out of an inconspicuous corner as if he had been waiting for the signal all along. As he moved, there was a slight dragging of footsteps as if the man under the hood was an old figure. The cloak swayed as the old figure moved towards the officer with hurried steps and finally under the light of the wallmps the figure hidden under the hood turned out to be that of Hogan; the leader of the Hunter family who had recently been looking for underhanded means of taking down the Windsor family.

    The prisoner in the cell had previously not taken the slightest interest when the officer had sent away the terrified jailer responsible for bringing him his daily meals. But when the old man made his appearance beside the officer, the prisoner cast a wary nce towards the cloaked figure.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    It appeared that the prisoner had grown suspicious at the appearance of an outsider in the godforsaken dungeon. The logic behind his inference was further steeled when he noticed that the cloaked man was neither wearing a uniform of the police nor did he reveal his identity.

    On the contrary, the cloaked figure did his best to hide from the eyes of thew and came to meet him in secret which could only mean that he needed something.

    The prisoner''s previously lifeless eyes shed with a cunning glint as he turned his head to stare straight at Hogan with no intention to hide his murderous intentions.

    бн

    Marico was diving in the sea of wealth ever since Christina brought those trucks with her. The wealth in his treasury kept on increasing as the profits from various sales trips returned a bountiful yield that couldn''t bepared to any of the Windsor family''s previous businesses.

    There was nothing for him to do besides counting money on a daily basis as the business was booming. He made several new deals in the cities further away from Byzantium city in order toy down foundation of his sugar business in those cities. This would help his business with the entry into those foreign markets once he intended to build his sugar factories in the vicinity of those markets.

    When Christina had firste to Byzantium city with the hundred trucks in tow, Marico had taken the time out of his busy schedule to negotiate the terms of their cooperation with her. He had long since heard of her reputation as a shrewd businesswoman who was following in the footsteps of her father; the Marquis of the empire.

    Marico hadn''t expected the negotiations to be easy as the Windsor family was on itsst legs already. The pressure from the other three top families of Byzantium city had forced them into the corner by issuing a blockade on all types of transportation for their product. As such Christina and the Elizabeth family was their resort.

    Marico believed that Christina being the professional that she was would try to get as much benefit out of the deal as possible. But instead of wringing the Windsor family dry, she was perfectly reasonable and agreed on the deal in such an amicable manner that he couldn''t even believe until after the deal had been struck and the necessary procedures finalized.

    Christina had been so amodating that Marico couldn''t help but feel extremely guilty afterwards. That was one of the reason that he insisted that Christina stay with them at the main Windsor family estate during their coboration.

    Moreover, Marico knew that Christina wasn''t acting this way out of the goodness of her heart. She was doing this because the Windsor family had good rtionship with Zach. He was practically taking advantage of Zach without thetter even knowing about it probably.

 Chapter 217 217 Arrest

    Paying back such a huge favor was out of his league. Zach had not only given them the business idea practically free of cost but had also paved the way for them tounch their product in the foreign markets. As such, the demands he had put forward weren''t really difficult. Therefore, Marico had agreed to Zach''s conditions without even thinking.

    With the appearance of Christina who was supposedly another suitor of Zach, he felt the urge to guide ra into taking the initiative. Otherwise, her status in the Smith family might fall even lower. She would end up as a third wife instead of second.

    Thinking along the same lines, Marico called for his daughter in the study to have a heartfelt talk with her. Ever since her skirmish with Christina and Diana, she had not been pestering Zach as much. Marico even felt that ra might have stopped having those feelings for Zach as she did before.

    When ra entered the study, Marico asked her to take a seat in front of him before asking in a genteel tone, "What are you going to do about Zach?"

    "I am going to marry him." ra didn''t even think for a second before replying. It was an instinctive response that came naturally out of her mouth.

    "Then why haven''t you done anything towards that endeavor? Yourpetition keeps getting tougher. What if he doesn''t want you any longer? Have you thought about that?"

    ra finally understood what her father was getting at. He was worried after Christina arrived and dered her position in front of everyone. But ra didn''t think of Christina as a threat at all.

    "Why wouldn''t he want me? Compared to that woman, I am cuter. My petite figure is popr amongst men. It makes them want to protect women like me. I am sure Zach won''t be able to reject me for her."

    Marico sighed helplessly as ra sounded like a smug little girl who hadn''t seen the world yet. She didn''t know how to grasp the heart of her man yet. It was more likely that the girl Christina would make her move before her.

    "Do what you want but don''te crying to me if that girl Christina manages to seduce Zach before you. It will be your loss then."

    Marico believed that he couldn''t get involved in the matters of the youngsters. He had to let them settle these among themselves. He had already done all he could by warning his daughter; the rest was up to her.

    ra wasn''t as dumb as she appeared. In reality, she already saw Christina as apetitor but she didn''t want to duke it out with her because Zach apparently had good feelings towards her and wouldn''t want them to argue.

    Another reason she had still been holding back was because she felt more threat from Dianapared to Christina. She was the legal wife of Zach in front of the public and had the right to live in the same room as him. Compared to Christina, Diana had more of a chance to snatch Zach from him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Moreover, Diana also had the power to interfere in her rtionship with Zach. As long as she was willing to keep her from getting intimate with Zach, ra wouldn''t be able to do anything unless she was willing to scandalize herself as a home-wrecking slut.

    ra couldn''t tell her father how jealous she actually was of Diana who could sleep in the same room as Zach without any interference or the public side-eyeing them.

    Marico could tell the gears were turning in his daughter''s head but she was unwilling to take the direct approach and dere her love to Zach before the others. She was still ying harem politics with the other girls so she wouldn''t have the time to engage in intimate rendezvous with Zach.

    Since he couldn''t convince ra, Marico decided to take a more hands-off approach towards this as he shook his head helplessly as he watched his daughter let such a once in a lifetime chance go through her hands.

    Before the overly active ra could bounce out of the study, Marico called out to her.

    ra turned back and said, "Hurry up if you still have something to tell me. I need to go somewhere."

    "Take care of yourself these days and take your guards with you wherever you go. You are not allowed to disobey this order. Your security detail must follow you wherever you are headed." ordered Marico as he was worried about his daughter''s well being.

    ra made a whining face but Marico raised his hand to indicate that he didn''t want to listen to anything else that came out of her mouth.

    "An inmate named Jack has recently escaped from Prison and word is that he is THE WORST criminal out there. I don''t want you to put yourself at risk by going anywhere alone. Same goes for your elder sister as well."

    ra pouted in annoyance but eventually relented when Marico exined his reason to her. Her attitude took a one eighty degree turn all of a sudden as she heavily patted her bursting breasts and dered, "Don''t worry father, as long as I am here, you and elder sister don''t need to be afraid. I will definitely keep our family safe no matter who mighte our way with bad intentions."

    Marico wasn''t satisfied with this result at all. He knew his daughter well and could tell what she was thinking. She was probably going to go out and seek the criminal on her own. He felt the need to deter her so she wouldn''t end up harming herself.

    "ra, there are enemies that you might not be able to handle; just like those iron mantises. Didn''t you end up relying on the Smith family to save yourself? Be a good girl and keep your head down during this time, at least until the criminal is captured back into custody of the police."

 Chapter 218 218 Sound Out

    "Even if I can''t handle it, with Grace as backup I will definitely be able to hold my own against any enemy. He is strong and has always been at my side."

    "I am not asking you this time ra. You should know what is good for you. You can''t keep ying around at your age." Marico snubbed her once again and saw the unwillingness in her eyes. But he could tell that ra had really agreed and wouldn''t do anything out of the ordinary.

    "Fine, I will trбн"

    ra was interrupted before she couldplete her agreement as the doors to the study burst open as if someone had rammed through it.

    Both ra and Marico jerked their heads towards the door to figure out the head and tail of the situation.

    Marico was bewildered because the study door should have been locked and there should have been attendants outside to keep the people out.

    Just as he was about to shout for the attendants to show themselves; several policemen made an entrance through the door like a gang of misfits out for mischief.

    Marico saw that they were cops and kept his words inside. He noticed that the man leading the group of cops was an old acquaintance of Hogan''s. Danger rms rang inside his head the moment he recognized the Police Captain Andy. He knew that something was very wrong right there and then.

    Even though the Windsor family wasn''t considered the absolute top in Byzantium city, they were still respected enough by the police to give a notice before arrival. But this group being led by Andy was not only unruly but they seemed to have long since forgotten the basic courtesy of paying a visit to a family like the Windsor family.

    Despite the discourteous behavior shown by the police, Marico wasn''t one to go against thew for petty reasons. He was at a good position currently and could easily fight against any kind of injustice that the rest of the families might throw his way.

    Marico pulled ra behind his back instantly as he went forward to greet the group of police. He knew how headstrong his youngest daughter could be and was afraid that she would start butting heads with the police for no reason.

    "Hello, to what do I owe your presence here and that too in such an explosive manner, Andy?" Marico asked the captain of the police force. Even though his words stung, there was a benevolent smile on his face as if he didn''t mind their barging into his home.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Andy on the other hand didn''t share his gesture of goodwill. He was acting like a man with a n. The script had probably already been written and the characters hade over to y their roles to get it over with. Therefore, instead of replying Andy waspletely indifferent as if Marico was nothing more than air in front of him.

    Andy stared at Marico for a while. There was a strange glint in his eyes. Marico could see a hint of pity in them but he didn''t believe that Andy was a kind person. He was aware of why his rtionship with the Hunter family was so good.

    Andy turned towards the two burly cops behind him and barked out his orders in a thundering voice, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING STANDING THERE LIKE IDIOTS? CUFF HIM ALREADY."

    The two burly men, who were following right behind him, sprang into action like two cats that had seen water. They knew their captain''s temper and didn''t want to be on the wrong side of him today. They had already known that this was an important job and they needed to do their best.

    Marico couldn''t understand what was happening at all. Even though he had expected that something was amiss when Andy brought the police force to his home, he had expected it to be more like a warning call or a threat from the Hunter family to slow down his business.

    "What right do you have to arrest me? I have done nothing wrong. Even if you are the police captain, you can''t wrongfully arrest anyone you want to? I can have you stripped from your position for this." Marico was incensed that Andy hade to arrest him at his home in front of his daughter knowing that Marico hadn''t done anything wrong. He was deliberately causing trouble for the Windsor family and marring their reputation amongst the general public. Therefore, he was willing to fight for his rights and was going to use his power and the newly booming business to force the government to strip Andy''s position that he was using to do whatever he wanted, instead of enforcing thew.

    The cops who were about to cuff Marico stopped when they heard Marico''s threat and turned back to look at their captain as if asking whether to continue still.

    Andy fumbled inside his jacket pocket and took out a piece of paper that had been carefully rolled like those ancient parchments with the seal of thew office.

    Unrolling the sheet of paper, Andy turned it towards Marico and said righteously, "Mr. Marico Windsor, we are here to arrest you on the charges of selling toxic goods through your widespread business which has caused damage to the popce that trusted and bought the goods you sold. This is a crime against the public and the office of thew has issued this warrant for your arrest. You can judge my person all you want but don''t point your finger at the way I carry out my duty. I am here to arrest a criminal and not to pay a visit to the esteemed Windsor family. Therefore, I don''t think the way we came here is out of the ordinary. This is how we treat criminals. You better get used to it."

    Andy finally answered all his questions with a smug smile on his face and his hypocrisy was stered all over his face.

 Chapter 219 219 Sound Out II

    He was using the warrant as the excuse to justify his actions and Marico didn''t have the right to criticize him now that his status was that of an alleged criminal.

    "Gentlemen, escort our Mr. Windsor out of his home with respect deserving of a criminal and onwards to our police station."

    The two burly cops finally let out a breath of relief after they saw their captain take out the arrest warrant and their courage level increased. One of them grabbed onto Marico''s hands and pulled them behind his back while the other took out handcuffs attached to his waist and was about to cuff Marico when ra ran out from behind Marico''s back and pushed the cop away.

    Just when she was about to get violent with the cops for daring to treat her father with disrespect, Marico turned towards her and red at her with red eyes. He seemed furious.

    "You are NOT making this any easier with your violent actions. Don''t make it any worse than it already is. Stand back and control yourself. Don''t lose your mind just because of a little surprise."

    Marico snubbed his youngest daughter on the outside but on the inside he felt happy about how she was trying to protect him. Still he didn''t need her to solve it with violence. Instead he needed her to stay calm, analyze the situation ande up with a solution together with her calm and rtively more experienced sister.

    As soon as the police got involved, Marico knew he needed to gather evidence of his innocence before anything else. He needed someone on the outside who knew of the entire situation. What ra was about to do would have only allowed the police to take her into custody as well for interfering in police business.

    ra looked like she was about to cry but the water in her eyes didn''t trickle down due to her stubbornness. She stood back as she watched her father being cuffed by the two cops in such an insulting manner. It made her blood boil but she held it in and bit her lips bloody instead.

    When she looked at the cops, there was murder in her eyes but her father had told her to stay calm; so she did.

    Just as the cops were about to drag Marico out of their home, Marico turned back and said to ra, "Go back to your sister and tell her everything that happened here. Don''t try to tangle with the police, no need to engage the other families in battle; stay calm and think of a solution with your sister. She will probably know what to do. Listen to her; alright?"

    ra nodded in understanding. She knew that what her father had told her was very important and she needed to act on his instructions as soon as possible. The sooner Violet knew of the problem, the sooner she would be able toe up with a solution and the sooner their father could be brought out of the prison cell he was being taken to.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ra didn''t wait for the police to take her father away and left immediately as her tears finally trickled down her face. She didn''t want to cry in front of the police that was more like bullies. But as soon as she left, the knowledge that her father might be mistreated by them made her heart sink. She wanted to punch those idiots but her father had forbidden her from doing anything. All she could do was to find her sister and talk her intoing up with the necessary evidence to get their father out before they did anything to him.

    Once ra left; Marico wasn''t as troubled as he was before about being arrested. As a father, he didn''t want his daughter to see him so helpless. This was his selfish desire but he wanted his daughters to treat him as their hero and not as a burden. He had spent half his life as a sick person who was bedridden most of the time. His daughters had to grow up early because of his inadequacy. Now that he was healthy and back on his feet, he didn''t want his daughters to see him like this again. He wanted them to see him as their pir of support.

    Marico looked at Andy in a provocative manner before moving his head upwards slightly as if saying, "What now? Do what you have to do. I don''t have all day."

    Andy didn''t care about Marico''s action and turned around in the direction of the exit of the mansion.

    The cops nudged Marico from behind as they escorted him on either sides as if the feeble old man like him could run away by pulling a sheet over a group of burly and cunning cops like them.

    Heughed slightly at their actions and followed after Andy in his footsteps. There was not a trace of resentment or anger on his face now. It was the epitome of serenity and not the slightest hint of panic could be found from his bodynguage.

    Marico had epted his situation and he believed that his daughters would be able toe up with a way to save him sooner orter.

    As he walked, he slightly increased his pace and started walking abreast the police captain Andy. The escorts tried to pull him back but Andy raised his hand to stop them from going overboard. What could a handcuffed man possibly do to him especially when he was alone amidst a dozen cops?

    "Why are you doing this, Andy? Did Hogan put you up to this?" Marico tried to sound him out as if to check the depth of the water. He knew what kind of rtionship Andy had with Hogan and could smell Hogan all over this petty scheme. Still he needed to know.

    Andy had gone back to being his aloof self. He didn''t respond to Marico''s questions because he had sensed Marico''s intentions as well.

 Chapter 220 220 Sound Out III

    "Why do you want to follow a sinking ship only to sink along with it? Does he have some dirt on you?" Maricoughed heartily as he continued to send out his testers to draw Andy into the conversation. Only once he was willing to talk would the conversation progress forward.

    Marico stared intently at Andy''s face as he walked side by side with a smile on his face and acted as if he had found out his secret.

    "What does he have on you? Is it some woman you are keeping on the outside? Noбнyou don''t look like a henpecked man. It must be your previous dealings with him, isn''t it? He must have the evidence on you." Marico''s tone was joking but his words were crafted to prod the meat off Andy''s bones. He was getting closer and closer to the truth which made Andy increasingly ufortable.

    "Let''s not talk about that. Look at the advantages of working with me. First of all, unlike the bleak futures of the three top families, my Windsor family will be dominating the business world in Byzantium city because of our new sugar business. You must have heard of it by now if not already tasted it. Windsor family is set to rise. My business is booming not just here but in many cities of the empire. If you are going to work for someone; then do so for the right person. Give me your loyalties and I can guarantee that you will get what you want."

    Andy gave Marico a condescending look as if he didn''t believe a word that Marico had uttered. He already knew the kind of trouble Marico was in. The other three families were intent on razing the Windsor family to the ground. This little arrest was probably only the beginning and they should have more in store to rattle this confidence that Marico still had.

    Andy knew what Marico was telling him was the truth regarding the rise of Windsor family but that was only possible if the three families were willing to leave the Windsor family alone for some time. Given how impatient they already were, chances were that this was thest time Marico would be seeing his family.

    In Andy''s opinion, the Windsor family was the sinking ship; a ship that had steered into troubled waters and ended up hitting the rocks, puncturing its keel and waiting to fall to the lonely bottom of the sea.

    Marico gritted his teeth and tried to sweeten the pot more to entice Andy into epting the cooperation with him.

    "Whatever the Hunter family is paying you; I can double it or more. All I have is money and it is not going to stop increasing anytime soon. You can demand as much as you want and we cane to an agreement that benefits the both of us. What do you say?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    This was Marico''sst hope. There was nothing more tempting than money and if Andy still didn''te over to his side than it could only mean that he didn''t think that the Windsor family was stable enoughpared to Hunter family. Moreover, Andy probably didn''t believe that the Windsor family would be able to take on Hunter family ande out on top in the future because the hegemony of the Hunter family in Byzantium city had left a shadow on his heart as well just like it had on every individual in Byzantium city.

    Andy was a calctive person who knew what he wanted. He wasn''t a fool who could be goaded into doing something that wasn''t to his advantage. He could already tell that Marico was trying to pull him to his side and the benefits he had offered weren''t too bad either. If the other party hadn''t been the Hunter family, Andy might even have switched sides the instant Marico made the offer.

    But the current condition of the Byzantium city was too chaotic. At one corner was the Windsor family that was destined to rise to the top of the pyramid but on the other corner was the coalition of the three top families of Byzantium city which shook Andy''s confidence. He didn''t believe that the Windsor family had it in them to ram past the obstructions being created by the other families.

    As such, during this heated period when even the families involved weren''t sure what the oue of the war was going to be, he didn''t want to make the wrong decision. He didn''t dare to choose a side because if he ended up taking the wrong one then he would probably be the most pitiful victim in the entire situation.

    Being a smart individual, Andy knew what he needed to do in order to not be crushed by the pressure from both sides. He had already anticipated that he would be dragged between the two opposing parties. The only thing he could do to ensure his own safety was to maintain his silence because the moment he chose a side, he would need to put his life on the line.

    As such, when Marico made him an offer, he neither epted nor rejected the offer outright because epting would throw him in the middle of the quagmire while rejecting outright would turn him into Marico''s enemy which would essentially be cutting off his future path.

    Therefore, by not rejecting the olive branch extended by the Windsor family leader, he might be able to ept it at the most opportune moment; that is if the Windsor family ended up on top after the skirmish and their victory was in sight. Otherwise, he would have made the right decision by not helping Marico.

    Like any greed filled human being, Andy wanted to secure maximum benefit for himself without shouldering the associated risk. Of course what he didn''t take into ount was that only timely help in times of crisis can be called a favor. When the tide turned and Windsor family came out on top, Andy might be just one of the many gunning to help the Windsor family.

 Chapter 221 221 Calm Down First

    Andy''s silence irked Marico. He couldn''t help but be irritated by Andy''s continued silence andck of response to his offers. Anyone in Andy''s ce might already have epted the deal. Yet, the man of the hour wasn''t willing to utter a word in response.

    Marico felt humiliated. His family was also one of the top families of the city. He wondered when had his words lost their value? Not even a paltry police captain was willing to put his trust in him for his own benefit.

    Since Marico didn''t get any response from Andy, he stopped talking altogether and just walked silently alongside Andy hoping that thetter might change his mind.

    Andy felt Marico''s disappointment. His intention hadn''t been to discourage Windsor family from approaching him. Instead he just wanted to wait it out without revealing his allegiance until the right time. He needed to maintain an ambiguous attitude towards Marico and Hogan so that both could continue making him tempting offers that he could choose from.

    Andy threw in a little tidbit to keep Marico''s shaking confidence afloat; at least until the time to choose came. This would also give Andy a way to back out at any time he felt the opposing faction losing their ground.

    "Marico, you better take this seriously. Hogan isn''t ying this time. He is willing to go to any extent. You have pushed him so far that he is afraid now. Stay cautious and watch your back at all times; your time in the prison might not be as easy as you are probably imagining it to be. He must have some borate n calibrated for you."

    Marico had been waiting for an answer from him this entire time but when Andy spoke, he pulled out Marico''s very soul with his words. It frightened Marico that Hogan had let loose and was willing to go to any extent now. Instead of being afraid of the suffering that was probably waiting for him in the prison, he was more worried about his two daughters. In his absence, there was a high chance that the three families might try to coerce them in some manner.

    Marico turned into the epitome of seriousness in that instant. He thanked all the gods there were that he had already sent off ra to warn Violet about the situation. Otherwise they might have been caught unawares by the schemes of the three families.

    бн

    Just like Christina was busy dealing with the logistics of the entire sugar industry of the Windsor family ever since his arrival, Violet was busy taking care of the operations. She was making sure that the output of all the sugar production nts could be maintained at an optimal level withoutpromising the quality and the efficiency of the production process.

    She was not only managing all the human resource of the production setups but was also busily calcting and estimating the demand of the sugar in all the various markets that Windsor family had already managed to prate. She was now in the process of locating newer andrger foreign markets to introduce her product in. The market research alone was taking up most of her time while the rest was taken up in solving the emergent problems in the production process.

    Just when she was about to go look for Christina to discuss the congestion of the vehicle schedules and the working hours of the employees detailed as escorts with the trucks, ra came barging into her office with tears running down her face.

    In all the time she had been together with her sister this was the first time Violet had seen ra in such a pathetic state.

    Tears and snot were marring her face but ra couldn''t care less about it.

    Violet was shocked at first but quickly calmed down and held on to ra''s hand as she pulled her arm to sit beside her on the office couch.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "What happened? Why are you crying like this?" Violet was concerned about her little sister. No matter how strong she tried to be, she was still a little na?ve when it came to most matters and sometimes didn''t understand the way of the world.

    "Fa-Fatherбнhe isбн" ra stumbled on her words as she tried to tell Violet about what happened with her father. Her continuous sobbing didn''t allow Violet to make out what ra was trying to say.

    "Calm down first. I won''t be able to understand you if you keep talking in your current state."

    Violet poured a ss of water from a jug on her table and handed the ss to ra.

    ra tried to swat the ss away because she was in a hurry to tell Violet about Marico so she could think of a solution. But Violet insisted on making her drink some water before listening to her.

    Left with no solution, ra hurriedly took a few sips to satisfy Violet.

    When ra had calmed down enough, Violet held on to both of her hands tofort her to ease the information out of her.

    "Now tell me what happenedбнstep by step. Don''t be in a hurry."

    Violet''sforting and mature voice allowed ra to calm down a little bit. As soon as she felt moreposed, she began to stutter the words she wanted to tell Violet.

    "J-Just a minute agoбнcopsбнcops came."

    Violet nodded slightly like a gentle mother coaxing her child to speak slowly at its own pace.

    "They took f-fatherбнforcefully." ra finally managed to narrate the crux of the situation and immediately caused Violet''s brows to furrow.

    "Tell me everything you saw and everything you heard. Don''t miss out a single detail. Did theye to the house to arrest father? Did they tell anything about why they were arresting father?"

    Violet was worried about her father as well but she didn''t act like ra. Instead she waspletely cool and calm because at least one of them needed to be. Otherwise, the two of them would end up bing a crying mess together and the solution to the problem would still be very far away.

 Chapter 222 222 Ask For Help

    "Yes the cops said that we were selling toxic goods to the public and were here to arrest father for that reason. They had a warrant for father''s arrest too. One of them kept waving it in front of father''s face. I wanted to punch him so badly but father held me back."

    Violet listened intently to ra''s words and managed to make some sense out of it this time. She let out a breath of relief when she heard that her father had held the impulsive ra back or the situation would have turned even worse.

    In her opinion the whole situation smelled of the Hunter family. This was their usual modus operandi. Whenever they couldn''t get what they wanted the right way, they would resort to uwful means and dishonest methods to take down their opponents. That was the only reason that the Hunter family still maintained their position as the top family of Byzantium city despitegging behind in terms of business capabilities. She believed that the Hunter family was perfectly capable of orchestrating this scheme to stop the increasing poprity of sugar by dering it to be a toxic product. After all, it was quite easy to hire a few desperados willing to lie for money.

    Unlike in the past when Marico was weak and the Windsor family didn''t dare to retaliate, Violet was now empowered by the current sess of the Windsor family. She could retaliate in a simr manner if she wanted to but she needed more information to make her move. Moreover, she still needed to ensure her father''s safety first before thinking of retaliation.

    "Did you hear anything else?" asked Violet hurriedly because she was worried that the Hunter family might try to make things difficult for Marico using their connections.

    "No, Father sent me to you before I could hear anything else. They must have taken him away already. Maybe I shouldn''t havee back immediatelyбн"

    ra was about to burst into tears again as she thought of her father being dragged away by those hateful cops but Violet''s calm gaze hypnotized her into forgetting what happened.

    Violet now knew everything ra witnessed but she couldn''t reject the bad feeling she was trying to suppress. Although the Hunter family was full of schemes, they had always done so behind the Windsor family''s back. This was the first time they had attacked from the front. She was worried that they might be nning to remove the root of their problems this time.

    And this didn''t allow her to calm down. She was panicking on the inside but had to stay calm andposed for the sake of her sister.

    Thinking for a while, she couldn''te up with a solution to this problem because the charges against the Windsor family had to be settled in front of a judge. They still didn''t know who the source of the allegation against the Windsor family was.

    Only after Violet heard from the affected individuals suing the Windsor family could she do something to take care of it. Meanwhile, she had to think of something else that could ensure her father''s safety.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    After deliberating over it for some time, Violet hurriedly got up from her office couch as if to go somewhere.

    ra was leaning on Violet for emotional support at the moment and she couldn''t let go of her for the sake of her mental health. She clung on to her arm and asked in a trembling voice, "Where are you going?"

    "We should get Luke to help us. That is our only option in this situation where we don''t know anything about our enemies. In that case, we can only keep our father safe until we do."

    "What can he possibly do to the hunter family? The royal family has probably ousted him already and has forgotten all about him. They might not help him even if he asked them on our behalf."

    ra was skeptical about the help Luke could provide them. The royal family had already sidelined him to Byzantium city while the poor bloke kept working hard for the sake of the empire. Luke couldn''t even help himself; ra wondered how he could help their father with his current status.

    "Even though he is the furthest thing from being the part of the royal family, his words still hold a lot of sway in the army. He can probably stop the police from mistreating our father and the government officials to hold back on their dishonest practices so that we can focus our energy into finding evidence for our father''s innocence. At the very least, he can help us hold them all back until wee back with the evidence."

    Violet walked out of her office door while dragging the clinging ra along with her. Since ra wasn''t willing to let go of Violet until she told her the entire n, Violet had no choice but to bring her along to ask Luke for help. Unlike the other people who reveal their true colors when they were in trouble, Luke had always been genuine with the two of them. Therefore, they had an understanding of each other''s character which allowed Violet to put her trust in the man without blinking an eye.

    бн

    During this time of the day, Luke was usually busy training soldiers in the more suburban part of Byzantium city. He had long since be a symbol of hope and an ideal for the people. The hard work he had put in since he was young was visible to the members of the army who joined before him. They not only respected him because he was part of the royal family but also because he was the only one willing to fight for the empire with his own body instead of hiding away in a castle deep within the capital.

    All the warriors were usually entric like that. They disdained those in the government who were unwilling to put their lives on the line and considered the lives of the soldiers as chess pieces. Therefore, the exception that Luke was highly appreciated and respected by even the upper echelons of the army.

 Chapter 223 223 DonтАЩt Worry

    Luke was now a general of the army and this position had nothing to do with his identity as the prince of the royal family because he had long since left that identity behind. He had trained himself up from a simple soldier to his current station. Therefore, the training of the next generation soldiers was something he took very seriously.

    ra and Violet obviously knew where Luke would be at this time of the day. They had spent most of their childhood together after all. They exited the Windsor family mansion and made a beeline towards the suburbs under the weird gazes of the servants who looked like they had many questions in their minds.

    As soon as they entered the training area, their eyes fixated on the young man correcting the posture of a soldier who looked older than him. It was none other than Luke.

    Luke was alerted to their presence as if he could sense theming from a mile away. His eyes twinkled in surprise since he hadn''t expected the two of them to march in on him like that especially when ra had already found the object of all her attention. He had seen how she had looked at Zach that day and knew that his presence in her life had diminished by a huge margin.

    Still, he could not help but be reminded of their childhood when they yed together. He patted the soldier on his back and came forward to greet them while dusting his hands as if he was just finished with his work.

    Once the two girls were close enough to him, he could tell that there was something wrong with them. They looked like they were about to cry and obvious worry crowded their faces.

    Luke grew concerned watching them in such a state. ra especially looked unlike herself. There were obvious tear streaks on her face as if she had been crying only recently.

    "What happened? Why are you here in such a condition?" asked Luke as he looked ra from top to bottom with an eyebrow raised high. Obviously her condition was way worse than Violet and Luke''s eyes wandered towards her instantly.

    ra was about to speak but Violet interrupted her to save time. ra was clearly in shock and would undoubtedly waste precious time exining. Therefore, Violet took over the reins of the conversation and exined everything that had happened with their father to Luke.

    At first Luke was only concerned but as he listened to Violet, his expression distorted with anxiousness. It had to be known that the old Windsor family head had been a great help to the young Prince Luke when he first came to Byzantium city to be a soldier. With no help from the royal family, Luke had managed to survive because the name of the Windsor family had shielded him every step of the way. He felt ingratiated to the old family head and was willing to help the two girls in any way he could.

    "The police captain who took away my father is Hogan Hunter''s man. I am worried that the arrest might be an excuse to do something worse. The Hunter family has been on edge recently. I can''t shake off the bad feeling I have been having in my gut. Please help us make sure that our father is alright." <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Luke felt a bit weird to see Violet begging him for help. In all the time he had known her, she had always been a cool andposed elder sister who was always unfazed in the face of troubles despite the heavy burden she had on her shoulders.

    Luke shook his head from side to side and widened his eyes to look at Violet who seemed to be a different version of herself; a version he had never met before.

    "Don''t worry I will go to the police station at once. Since the police came to take him so openly in front of the public, there is no way that they would dare to do something drastic to him. Even the Hunter family would not have so much sway with thew." Luke did the only thing for the poor girls that he could do; heforted them as much as he could with his words. At the same time he vowed to do whatever he could to return the smiles on their faces.

    Luke hurriedly rushed off towards the other end of the training room and untied the reins of his ck stallion. It was a beautiful animal with powerful hind legs and extremely lush mane. The stalwart animal wasn''tden with heavy armor as it usually was during training but a simple saddle sat atop its back.

    Luke ran as he pulled on the horse and pushed himself on to the saddle with a jump. He didn''t stop to discuss anything with ra or Violet and galloped off on his horse in the direction of the center of the city where the police station was located.

    Both ra and Violet looked extremely thankful as they watched him leave in such a hurry on their behalf. They could not help but feel touched.

    бн

    Luke rode through the city and approached the entrance of the police station where two cops were standing guard. As they watched Luke getting closer to the police station, the two cops reached out their hands towards the hilt of the sword on their waists as if alerted by the increasing momentum of the horse striding in their direction.

    Luke didn''t barge into the police station on horseback because he didn''t want his precious warhorse to get hurt in the process. He got off the horse when he reached the entrance and tied its reins to a nearby wooden pir before rushing towards the police station.

    What he didn''t expect was that he was stopped at the entrance by a bunch of cops who came trickling out of nowhere as if they had been lying in wait for someone toe.

 Chapter 224 224 Barge In

    This was a police station and it was normal for the public to want to enter but these cops were acting as if they were guarding some imperial treasures behind them. They pulled out their swords in order to threaten Luke but couldn''t deter his burning gaze.

    "Stop, the police station is out of bounds for today. No one is allowed to go inside by the order of the captain." The cops used theirst resort to bring Luke to a halt.

    Luke wasn''t deterred by the small hurdle. He pushed through the blockade of cops knowing that they wouldn''t dare to stop him outside in full view of the public. After all, even he could tell that they had no right to stop the public from entering the police station to demand justice no matter what the situation in there might be.

    Luke was furious as he watched how the police were working to hide a crime beingmitted in their very own police station. All of them were rotten to the core. As a part of the military, he felt shame as he watched them act in such a pathetic and humiliating manner. They were truly dragging their uniforms and the entire justice system through the mud.

    As the guards stood in his way as thest resort to put a stop to his advances, Luke rammed tucked in his arms and mmed his wide shoulder into the cops in front of him, knocking them to the ground in an ugly manner.

    Before the other guards could take the ce of the knocked down cops, Luke pulled on the hilt of his silver sword that was designed like a greatsword but had the length of a shortsword. It seemed like a hybrid of the two that he could wield with a single hand but had enough force and weight behind it to shatter the bones of its target in one hit.

    "I swear anyone of you who dares to stand in my way today will die by my hands. My sword hasn''t tasted blood in a while; I want to see who amongst you has the courage to stop me when you don''t even have the nerve to stop an injustice happening in your very station."

    It didn''t take long for the police officers to recognize the sword that Luke was wielding. All the courage they had melted in that instant. They were no more the rowdy bunch who had barged into the Windsor family to arrest the leader of the family with smug expressions. Instead they were cowering to the side as they stared at Luke in horror.

    The silver sword that Luke was wielding was a gift from the emperor. The red gem adorning the edge of the hilt was undoubtedly an imperial red jade. The imperial red jade was the symbol of the current emperor and no one in the entire empire was allowed to use it on their person unless gifted by the emperor himself.

    As Luke was a famous personality in the city due to his odd upbringing despite being a prince of the royal family, even the cops knew of his identity. The red gem could only mean that the sword had been given to the prince by the currently serving emperor which revealed the fact that Luke would not be held liable to any crime when he was using that sword.

    Even thew had no right to tarnish the imperial honor. The emperor was after all the greatest authority in the empire. He was even above thew in some situations.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The only restriction for Luke was that he couldn''t wield it against any member of royalty. Other than that he was free to kill anyone he wanted and no one would be able to hold him ountable except the emperor. Therefore, it was the perfect time to use the authority that came with the sword.

    The guards saw the fire burning in his eyes and backed out of his way as if avoiding a gue. They lookedpletely spineless in front of Luke who forcefully barged into the police station despite the resistance.

    Luke didn''t bother sheathing his sword that gleamed with a silver luster with a tinge of red that came from the reflection of light through the imperial red jade studded into the hilt. It gave the sword a fiery appearance.

    He charged straight towards the prison cells and not a single policeman dared to get in his way. It seemed that they were already aware of the incident that happened outside.

    Luke charged towards the cells with hurried steps holding the naked sword in his hand as he threateningly waved it around from time to time when he came across a new police officer. There were several cells lined on both sides of the narrow corridor that he was currently walking through. He took his time as he kept watch on both sides out of the corner of his eyes and walked faster in order to cover more ground.

    As soon as he turned the next corner, he saw a congregation of jailers standing in front of a cell at the end of that corridor. He could tell that something wrong was brewing there and decided to take a look.

    The jailers all turned towards him and were bbergasted as to how Luke managed to enter the deepest part of the prison without triggering the rm.

    They subconsciously tried to grab on to their weapons but none of the jailers carried their swords into the prison as a rule to avoid the possibility of the prisoners getting their hands on a weapon. The only thing they had on their person was a wooden baton they used to beat up unruly prisoners.

    When Luke came closer he realized that the person in the cell was none other than Marico whom he had been looking for. What he saw next caused his eyes to turnpletely bloodshot.

    Several jailers were in the cell holding wooden batons which they were using to torture Marico illegally. Luke knew that such practices werepletely against thew and no officer of thew had the authority to torture any prisoner in their custody.

 Chapter 225 225 Overawe

    "STOOOOP!!" yelled Luke in an attempt to stop the jailers from hitting Marico who had only just recovered from his long time illness and probably still had a weak body.

    "What the hell do you people think you are doing?"

    The jailers already knew that they were doing an illegal task at the behest of their superior officers but they didn''t dare to decline the orders. Moreover, they had been reassured that no one other than the trusted cops would be allowed to enter the police station today. And yet a man had barged into the holding cells and had witnessed everything. They felt intimidated by the zing aura around the man as if a fierce beast had been let loose.

    Moreover, the sword in the young man''s hand was the source of the greatest intimidation. They didn''t have the guts to continue with their superior''s orders and hid the batons behind their backs.

    Marico looked alright and all the injuries on his body were bruises and superficial injuries. It seemed that Luke had made it in time before they could do much to him.

    Marico''s torturers kept looking between the young prince and a tall looking middle aged man with a scraggly beard who seemed to be their superior officer. The prince''s words were like chokers around their necks while the gaze of the tall middle aged man induced terror in their very souls.

    Before they could turn to ask the tall middle aged man for further instructions based on the new developments, the man began to yell at the jailers like they were worthless worms corrupting the environment with their presence.

    "What did I tell you? Just a kid has scared you out of your pants. If I don''t see every one of you carrying out my orders in the next five seconds, you can start looking for another job; that is if you get the chance."

    "But Warden, that young manбнhe is a prince of the royal familyбнwe mi-" A jailer tried to exin logic to the tall middle aged man who seemed to be the warden of the prison but the warden only red at him to halt his words midway. The warden was probably a very intimidating man considering the responses of the jailers when confronting him.

    "Do you think I am joking? Then let me repeat myself in all seriousness. If you don''t carry out my orders now, leave your badge here and get lost this instant. Wait at home for disobeying your direct superior." The warden threatened the jailers again and this time the threat was quite substantial.

    The jailers who had been torturing Marico in the cell couldn''t help it and began to rain down batons on Marico''s fragile body. He screamed in pain but the stubbornness in his eyes didn''t vanish.

    One of the jailers who were trying to outdo the others brought out a short sword that was norger than a dagger and had a de as thin as a rapier. He seemed to have hidden it underneath his clothes to bring it into the prison cells.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    As he began to advance towards Marico with that short sword in hand, Luke finally couldn''t wait any longer. Before that jailer could even scratch Marico with his sharp weapon, Luke stepped forward andnded a heavy swing of his heavy short sword on his right shoulder cleaving a major portion of his sword. Several bone crunching sounds were also heard as the de of the sword made contact with his body. It was obvious that several of the jailer''s ribs were now broken.

    A single strike from Luke''s sword brought down one of the jailer as hey there in his own pool of blood while the rest of the jailers backed off in a hurry. They didn''t want this monster to unleash its anger on them as well. They still had families to take care of and had a full life ahead of them.

    The jailers even threw down their weapons in order to avoid incurring Luke''s wrath. Even if they wanted to, they couldn''t attack Luke because he was the scion of the royal family. As such they could only look towards the warden for justice because they had only been following his orders.

    The warden noticed the lingering gazes on him and knew he needed to do something to keep the situation from getting out of hand.

    "How dare you interfere with official police business? Just because you are a prince doesn''t give you the right to kill anyone you want. You must be held ountable today otherwise you will turn into a gue for this nation; prince or not. I will personally make sure of that." The warden was fuming like a raging bull by the end of his long rebuke.

    "But to hold me ountable you will have to answer for your own crime as well. Not even the police can torture the civilians by pushing them into jail cells on allegations that are yet to be proven."

    Luke''s words caused the warden''s eyes to narrow into a slit. Although he felt threatened slightly, therger portion of his mind was taken over by his fury. He seethed in anger as he red at Luke with all his might.

    "I am willing to admit to my crime and take responsibility but do you have the guts to admit to the illegal torture that was being carried out under your orders in your own prison. I don''t think you have what it takes because you are a pretty little puppet that dances on the rhythm of someone else but still wants to feel powerful."

    Luke noticed the change in expression of the warden and continued with his threat as he shamed him in front of his subordinates without stopping. He wanted to provoke the warden into attacking him so he would have a reason to eliminate him or at least to condemn him for attacking a member of the royal family.

    Unfortunately, just as he was about to pull on his sword, the police captain that Luke recognized as Andy, the leading figure who arrested Marico, came forward and held onto the warden''s outstretched hand.

 Chapter 226 226 Analysis

    The warden furiously turned his head towards Andy wondering why thetter had stopped his hand when they were clearly standing on the same side.

    Andy leaned in closer to his ear and whispered, "Don''t do anything stupid. He is a prince of the royal family even if only in name. As long as he died in this prison, none of us will be able to take responsibility for it. All of us would be as good as dead. Even if he did kill one of your jailers, he has that right. You can''t judge him and thew can''t hold him ountable for it. Calm down and don''t implicate us with your stupidity."

    The warden visibly calmed down after listening to Andy''s words but the anger in his eyes didn''t wane. Luke didn''t back down either and red back at him provocatively.

    "Just because we can''t hold you ountable, does not mean there isn''t anyone who can. I will make sure that you get the punishment you deserve."

    The warden didn''t wait to listen to whatever clever retort Luke was preparing in his mind and stomped out of the prison with forceful steps that revealed his anger and the fury searing his insides.

    бн

    ra and Violet came back home after Luke left on his own to see Marico in the police station. Since Luke had been riding his warhorse, he didn''t let the two girls tag along. Firstly, he was concerned that the girls would tire themselves out emotionally if they kept running around in their current state. Secondly, Luke didn''t want them to see the condition their father might be in while incarcerated in the prison cell.

    ra was pacing around anxiously inside the living room of the Windsor family mansion waiting for further news on her father from Luke. At the same time she had sent several servants to look for her guard but there was not a single trace of him anywhere.

    Previously whenever there was a need, Grace was always there and would usually take charge of the situation considering that ra with her impulsive personality wasn''t suitable for it. But now that she needed him the most ra couldn''t find him anywhere. This perturbed her already disturbed mind.

    When she was at the end of her sanity, ra could only think of one shoulder to lean on. Previously she had been hesitating to call him for help because she didn''t want to trouble him any more than her family already had. They already owed him far too much and didn''t want to drag him into their troubles.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    At her wit''s end, she called on a few servants to the living room as she paced around like a robot following and repeating a fixed path.

    "Go find my fiancижe and tell him about our family''s troubles. Tell him how my father got arrested and how the three other families are targeting our family. Tell him that I need him. Tell him that I am waiting for his help."

    While ra was busy thinking of different ways to acquire help, Violet was busy with her own set of troubles. She was sitting on the head chair of the dining table as the gears in her head turned rapidly while the events of her way back reyed in her mind like a perfect recollection.

    On their way back, Violet had heard several people gossiping about them. The people tried to act as if they were talking about something else but Violet wasn''t a fool. She had spent several years getting used to such hidden voices during her father''s illness. As such, her sharp ears had already picked up on the conversation that the people were having behind her back.

    There were several rumors circting amongst the masses regarding the toxicity of sugar being supplied by the Windsor family. Many people were talking about how the sweet cane sugar had in fact caused poisoning in many individuals around the city and was actually harmful for human consumption. Some even discussed how heartless the Windsor family was for supplying such a harmful product in huge quantities among the masses. One of them even wondered if the price of the sugar was deliberately set so low because the Windsor family already knew of the side effects and wanted to make as much money as possible before they were found out. Otherwise, no other family would have agreed to sell such a product as amonmodity instead of a luxury product as it should have been.

    Violet had no arguments against their allegations because whosoever was behind the rumors had dished out borate schemes against the Windsor family and made perfect sense to those who didn''t know the reality of the product.

    The timing of these rumors was quite in synch with the arrest of her father. Therefore she was sure that it was another ploy of the Hunter family to undermine the booming business of the Windsor family.

    Violet had already gotten the gist of the n that the Hunter family had concocted but there was one thing that she had yet to figure out. She was currently deliberating on how the Hunter family had poisoned the sugar in their stores or production stream to cause so many cases of poisoning among the masses.

    Violet put in some thought and finally concluded that there were only two possible methods that the Hunter family might have used. Firstly, they might have poisoned the sugar owned by a few specific individuals among the masses because poisoning the sugar at the source just wasn''t possible. There was always a strict quality check and a scrutiny of the production mechanism by the various assigned managers and Violet herself. Therefore, the only possibility that she coulde up with was to poison the product of the end user. The second possibility that she had thought of was even more horrifying. The Hunter family might have bought a few people who deliberately ingested mild poison to use the Windsor family.

 Chapter 227 227 Chase

    But in the current situation, she was in no position to prove anything. She had no conclusive evidence that the Hunter family was trying to defame the Windsor family deliberately.

    "Sister, there must be something we can do to help father. Why don''t we prove that sugar isn''t poisonous? We can eat it in front of the public if we have to in order to prove that it''s edible and not harmful to the body at all. If the public sees us eat it, they might believe us." ra was just as impulsive as she had always been. Even the solution that she had thought of turned out to be simr to herself, impulsive and straightforward to the core. Unfortunately the world wasn''t as straightforward as ra considered it to be.

    "It''s not that simple. The Hunter family has already made thorough preparations. We can''t go out into the public during this time or we would end up making the situation even worse. Let''s think of something else until we hear back from Luke."

    Violet didn''t want to douse her spirit so she advised her to wait in a soft voice that soothed her angst.

    Just when the two sisters were talking to each other, ra felt like something was bothering her. She couldn''t help but nce sideways towards one of the windows that opened out into the garden. She felt like there was a dark silhouette spying on them from outside the window.

    Fear gripped her as a sense of foreboding took over her heart. Their conversation shouldn''t have been heard by a third party since it was rted to her father''s safety. If their ns were to be made known to their enemies, there was a possibility that her father might have to suffer because of their inadequacy.

    Although the silhouette had hidden itself to the side, his shadow was still visible over the window sill and ra had picked up on it.

    The moment ra moved towards the Window, the man wearing full ck clothes turned around and made a run for it. He realized that he had been found already and was probably afraid of being caught. His purpose had been listening into their conversation but it would only be fruitful to him if he managed to make it back to his employer to deliver that information.

    Therefore, he didn''t act greedily and made a run for it the moment things took a turn for the worse.

    ra didn''t think of anything else either. She and Violet were already perturbed trying to look for clues regarding the mysterious poisoning, so when this mysterious dark clothed man presented himself, ra felt like she was closer to a clue than she had ever been since the arrest of her father. This way she would be able to get as much information out of the dark clothed man as she needed because she was sure that the dark clothed man probably knew more about the situation than the Windsor family.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ra didn''t wait a second longer and ran right through the window with her herculean strength like a bull that could only see red at that moment.

    Violet who was still in her senses tried to stop her from acting in such a foolish manner but she had only raised her hand in protest before the girl had already broken through the window pane and jumped out. Even her voice didn''t reach ra because it was a tad toote.

    But the moment she realized that she hadn''t been able to stop ra from giving a chase, the gears in her head turned and she shouted towards the various guards standing around the living room.

    "Go after her and keep her safeбнGO!"

    Violet knew her sister was quite impulsive and wouldn''t let go until she caught up to the man in ck. Therefore she was afraid that she would be led right into a trap by the ck clothed man. Her sister was quite simple minded when it came to such things and had probably not even thought that the dark clothed man was fully capable of deceiving her.

    Just as Violet had feared, ra was like a bull chasing after red without giving her situation a single thought. She was not the least bit cautious about her own safety as she chased after the man with increasing speed. It didn''t take long to exit the Windsor family estate for the two of them. Even though ra was already fast enough, she was putting in enough force on the ground to elerate past her norm. Even then the ck clothed figure was still as elusive as ever. ra was practically leaving cracks on the ground underneath her feet with every step but the ck clothed man was easily able to match her speed after every burst of eleration.

    Instead of thinking of the possible implications of that she took it as a form of challenge from the ck clothed man and was fully provoked. Determined to catch up to him, ra chased him down the streets, buildings rushed past her in a blur until the people around them seemed to get scarcer with every meter they crossed.

    The provocation from the ck clothed man had caused her to be ovee with fury and she had long since lost all her senses. She didn''t care where she was or where the ck clothed man was leading her. The only thing in her sight was the sneaking figure that might have the information she needed to save her father.

    But as the chase grew longer and longer, she finally knew that something was amiss in the whole situation. The man was clearlycking in explosive strength and power since he kept trying to escape from her clutches. Had the man been confident in his strength, he would have already taken down ra in order to escape freely. But that could only mean that the man had a strong physique corresponding to agility which made him faster than she was. The problemy in the fact that whiles the man was clearly faster than her; he had been matching up his pace with her as if goading her into following him.

 Chapter 228 228 Fooled

    The more clearheaded she became, the more things she recalled from the chase a few moments ago. The man clearly had several chances to throw her offpletely his tail but he didn''t. She lost him more than two times in the sea of people earlier but as bullheaded as she was, she kept chasing in the direction she thought he was possibly headed and as if by some miracle, he reappeared in the range of her senses and made her think as if she had been following right after him instinctively.

    A bad feeling suddenly took over every one of her senses. The whole chase had the stink on it and she felt increasingly doubtful that she had been led right into a trap. While she might not be able topare with the speed of the ck clothed man, she was confident of taking on the man in contest of raw power and strength. Therefore, she knew that the target of the scheme was probably not her.

    The gears in her head turned further and she came to the conclusion that the ck clothed man had probably intended to lure her away from the Windsor family mansion considering that the ck clothed man had yet to engage ra in any manner. She had been fooled due to her impulsive nature.

    As such she grew worried and turned back around on her heels and ran back towards her home swiftly.

    бн

    While ra was worried about what was happening at home, Violet was pacing around the office in worry about her impulsive little sister. She was cursing herself for not being able to stop her little sister for rushing off like that mindlessly.

    At the same time, she was trying to deduce the reason why the ck clothed man was listening in to their conversation like that. The more she thought the more she couldn''t understand why the three families would try to spy on them when they already had the upper hand. Instead of being smug and making demands, why would they still act so fearfully?

    No matter how much she thought, the whole situation reeked, the poisoning of the sugar produce, the arrest of her father, the ck clothed man and the whole situation with ra. None of it seemed right because it felt as if the Windsor family was being thinned out slowly after each incident.

    Moreover, the arrest of her father had already escted in scale after the involvement of Luke who would undoubtedly protect Marico after promising them. Therefore, Violet was of the opinion that the war between the Windsor family and the Hunter family was imminent. She couldn''t see another way to end this kind of conflict perfectly. After all, the Hunter family had attacked the heart of the Windsor family; there was no way that the Windsor family would let the hunter family live if they managed to survive past this ordeal.

    Just when Violet was lost in her thoughts, she was pulled out by an explosive sound towards her left. Her head jerked towards the door to the study instinctively which nowy in splinters across the room.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    A long and muscr arm shot through the hole in the door and unlocked the door from the inside. An equally muscr figure entered through the frame of the door while ducking through it as if he was too tall for the door.

    Violet''s heart stopped with fright. She had been expecting a move from the Hunter family but the speed with which they made their move astounded her beyond her expectations.

    The tall and muscr figure of the man entered the room and behind him Violet was able to see the fallen bodies of the servants and guards that were supposed to be there. This terrified her even further and knew that the intentions of the muscr man were far from peaceful.

    The figure of the escaped criminal that her father had warned her against ovepped with that of the muscr man in her mind. It was undoubtedly the same ''Jack'' that Marico had told Violet and ra about. He not only looked powerful and strong but was also oozing bloodthirst and killing intent from every pore of his body.

    Only when she recognized Jack did Violet finallye to understand the machinations of the Hunter family. All the puzzle pieces that she hadn''t found the correct position for yet fell into ce right at that instant. She remembered how her father had been taken into custody by the police and then ra was lured away from the house just to catch her off guard and alone.

    It looked like the targets of the Hunter family included her from the very beginning. While her father was the figure head of the entire sugar business, Violet was actually dealing with many of the things behind the scenes while in coboration with Christina.

    Therefore, the hunter family had probably made borate ns to cripple the entire sugar production chain by dealing with both Marico and Violet. The only problem in their entire n had been ra who had the potential to cause them trouble due to her impulsive and forceful personality. As such, they had probably hired that ck clothed figure to lure her away from home to give Jack a chance to enter the Windsor family to finish the job. This was not only the easiest way to cripple the growth of the Windsor family but also had the least possible chance of implicating the Hunter family by cing all the me on the escaped convict.

    Since the three families were involved, Jack was probably not doing their bidding out of personal spite or angst against the Windsor family. A madman like Jack would only do things for another person in exchange for certain benefits.

    Violet was sure that his was the case and was willing to stake her life over the assumption. She forced herself to calm down her trembling hands and her shaking feet and finally managed to bring aposed expression on her face. She wasn''t willing to show any weakness in front of a predator like Jack.

 Chapter 229 229 The Talks Break Down

    "I don''t know what promises Hogan has made you, but rest assured his promises are just as deceitful and unreliable as him. He changes sides like we change clothes and is only concerned with his own benefit. Don''t be delusional and think that he would hesitate in cutting you off once you are done doing his bidding. I would suggest you keep your options open by not going too far or you mighte to regret it in the near future."

    Jack smiled and seemed utterly unconcerned with whatever Violet was trying to tell him. The killing intent and the bloodthirst on his face made it seem as if he was unconcerned with anything other than the thrill of executing Violet. However, there was a slight trace of helplessness hidden in the depths of his eyes that remained unnoticed even by the observant Violet.

    "I don''t think people like me have much else in terms of life choices. So, don''t hate me too much."

    As soon as Jack stopped talking, a burst of wind came out of nowhere and blew everything away in a small diameter with him as the center. It was as if a terrible cyclone had revealed its teeth after subtly sneaking into the Windsor family mansion noiselessly.

    As Violet was trying to make sense of the current situation, she witnessed Jack swaying his hand in the direction opposite to that of the wind. It seemed as if he was trying to judge the strength of the cyclone with his fingers. His arm swayed in and against the direction of the wind and a small but nostalgic smile appeared on his face as if he was reminiscing something that he had long forgotten about.

    Even though Violet was in a dire situation, she couldn''t help but notice the ring talent of Jack who was supposedly a criminal. She wondered what drove a talented individual like Jack to take such a bloody path as his life road.

    Jack didn''t look as strong as the S rank mages she had met before but he was definitely not far in terms of his ability to manipte the wind element that was ying around his finger tips. Jack manipting wind was as natural as it could be. He didn''t even look like he was putting in any effort.

    Unfortunately, Violet despite all her calctions and wits was weaker than Jack. Her level was definitely at the top of the B rank mages but that was about it. Unlike ra, she had yet to improve her fighting capabilities due to the burden of the family business and the management of the family that had been ced on her shoulders while still young due to Marico''s illness. Therefore, Violet had never paid any attention to her personal strength and had always supported the idea of increasing the strength of the family as a whole.

    As such, ra had long since surpassed her in strength while Violet supported her from behind.

    But her previous decisions hade to bite her in the ass out of nowhere. She had no ability to defend herself on her own especially in front of a man who was not only able to get in to her study after taking on the entourage of guards stationed outside as well as inside the mansion, but also an extremely bloodthirsty criminal and an escapee from the prison with no good intentions in mind.

    The wind pressure in front of her throat was increasing slowly as she tried to resist but her meager amount of magic was iparable in front of the cascading waterfall escaping Jack''s body and engulfing the surroundings to take control of the entire wind element.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The stormy wind waspressing in front of her throat and constricting her trachea. She was trying her best to breathe but she couldn''t inhale any of the surrounding air. Her lungs were operating in full capacity as her chest rose and constricted with increasing speed. She looked like she was hyperventting.

    There wasn''t even a trace of oxygen in her body. What she already had was slowly being consumed in her body and was being turned into carbon dioxide, essentially suffocating her as her body craved the supply of oxygen desperately.

    Jack skillfully controlled the wind around her until her face began to turn pale and any trace of blood on her face was no longer visible.

    Violet burst out with a huge wave of mana that not only strengthened her physical body but also strengthened her internal organs. Her lungs fought against the overpowering wind element and sucked in the oxygen her body needed with the ferocity of a cornered beast.

    The attempt left herpletelycking in magic but she was finally able to breathe. The cells that were slowly stopping their function were being revived by the wave of new oxygen that entered her body through the lungs.

    Violet was in fact an excellent mage but her experience in actual battlefields was negligible due to her family responsibilities. She had enough mana in her body to thwart Jack''s attempts to suffocate her but she had been too inexperienced with the augmentation that her magic could provide her body with. Therefore, she had been caught unaware by Jack with his unique wind control ability.

    Jack was a seasoned criminal and was surely adept at fighting in a dynamic environment. He was able to attune to the changes on the battlefield and was able to adapt to them with his flexible skills and perfect elemental control and mana capacity. The moment Violet augmented her bodily organs with her magic, Jack could already sense that a portion of the wind element had left his control and was providing a continuous oxygen supply to Violet''s body.

    As such, he had no choice but to take on a more violent approach towards this mission that he had deemed to be quite easy.

    He waved his fingers in front of him diagonally and a wave of wind pressure cut in the direction of the already struggling Violet.

 Chapter 230 230 Assistance

    Thepressed wind proved to be sharper than the strongest of swords. While Violet was in her augmented state, her body was tougher than steel and was capable of devastating the ground underneath her feet with just her casual steps.

    This was a testament to the strength of Jack as he was easily able to prate the augmented body of a direct descendant of the Windsor family with just his wind elemental control.

    Violet had to learn it the hard way, the cold nature of ferocious beasts like Jack who didn''t take pity on her at all. Instead, he kept on increasing the strength of the wind that he was using to assault her after he came to understand that her body was harder than a girl her should have.

    As a result she was riddled with cuts and bruises all over her body even though they weren''t as deep due to her mana augmenting her physique. The wounds thought not deep were bleeding all the same and she was beginning to feel anemic with all the blood loss.

    Jack began to get impatient when Violet resisted with all her might. He had been expecting to get this job done easily for the reward that the Hunter family had promised him but the girl was proving to be quite troublesome. She was unwilling to admit defeat and was trying to retaliate in whatever manner she could.

    Jack had been taking it easy because of the request of his employer but it seemed that in order to subdue the girl, he had to be slightly heavy handed.

    He closed his hand into a fist and wind element gathered around his fists as if in response to his will. With the addition of the fast rotating wind around his fists, a punch from him was easily able to mince its target to pieces. Although Jack didn''t intend on shredding Violet to pieces, this was the best he could do to frighten her out of her mind and shake her mental strength.

    Violet''s senses were all on full alert thanks to her physical augmentation. She noticed even the little amount of wind elemental force that was gathering slightly at the feet of her attacker and knew that he was about tounch himself at her.

    At the very first indication, Violet threw herself to the side leaving arge crater in her wake. The force from the push propelled her sideways for close to ten meters before her fall broke.

    Jack''s fist came crashing down at the ce she had just been and the floor made of tough looking marble was instantly shredded into bits like it had been through a grinder.

    Fear gripped Violet at the thought of what would have happened to her had she not sensed the attack early on. She sent all her senses into overdrive as Jack became the center of her focus entirely. She was even keeping track of the slightest twitch in his pinky toe because her life depended on it. If Jack used the wind to propel himself faster, she had to be able to pre-empt every move of his to be able to dodge it.

    Jack didn''t stop after that first punch andunched another flurry of punches like he didn''t care about anything in his path. The wind element crushed every single obstacle his fists paced but he was unable to make contact with Violet''s bodypletely.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    A few nicks from the peripheral winds of his fists sent Violet into a pitiful state. She looked like she was wearing a rag that was so drenched in her blood that it was unable to soak any further of her life liquid.

    Just when she thought that the next punch from Jack would be thest one she would ever have to face, the iing fist was forced toe to a halt. A sword had cut through the path of the fist. It seemed to be both a warning and an attack. Had Jack continued with his attack, there was no doubt that his arm would have been severed by the iing sh of the sword.

    Violet was more shocked than Jack who was on the winning side. She had already lost all hope but the sword had rejuvenated her will to live all of a sudden.

    Jack on the other hand felt more anger than shock. He had been so close topleting his objective and because of the earlier dy another fly hade to interfere with his work.

    He stared at Luke who was looking at him menacingly from the side and bared his teeth at him. His bloodlust shot through the roof and cowed the ring Luke for a second. Thetter recovered almost instantly but the danger he felt from Jack intensified his alertness.

    Luke could tell that Jack was a formidable opponent who probably had enough experience on the battlefield and would prove to be a threat to his life if he dared to hold back in front of him.

    Before Luke could think of a method to let Violet escape while he tried to hold back Jack on his own, a hurricane materialized out of nowhere and blew everything in the mansion towards the outside. Violet and Luke were in the eye of the hurricane while Jack was walking towards them undisturbed as if the hurricane itself was making way for him.

    Luke was unable to push past the ferocious gale of the wind and lost control of the sword in his hand. The wind blew it into the wall behind him where it got embedded with half of its de inside the wall.

    Luke wasn''t as worried about himself as he was about Violet. He knew that Violet hadn''t been involved in any fighting for a long time and was probably too scared to do anything. He wanted to get her out of harm''s way before turning back to fight Jack.

    Jack had gone all out this time and the strength of the hurricane was enough to depict his wrath. It was uncontrolled and was damaging the foundation of the entire Windsor family estate. Even Violet was having trouble trying to stand her ground let alone Luke who was standing in the eye of the attack and the closest one in Jack''s way.

 Chapter 231 231 Kidnapped

    While Luke was struggling to reach Violet, the force behind the skin piercing gales increased tremendously. His body began to lose ground against the wind and he was soon knocked off his feet before crashing into several objects before hitting the wall with enough force to knock the wind out of him.

    Jack had turned his limiter off and was operating at full mana capacity. He was in no position to control the force of the wind that he was manipting. As such, Luke wasn''t able to retain his senses after mming into various obstacles and fell groggily to the ground as he verged on the edge of unconsciousness.

    Violet was shocked because she hadn''t expected that Jack had been holding back against her. Just the force of the gale was more powerful than that wrist de he had used against her. If he had used such a power at the beginning of the fight with her, she would not have survived until Luke arrived to save her from that final blow.

    Luke was already an A rank mage but he had been unable to stand his ground against Jack which meant that Jack was at the very least S rank with a powerful elemental control ability. She was only a peak B rank mage and had only survived this long because Jack had probably never intended to kill her.

    Based on deductive logic, she finally figured out what Jack''s real purpose was. He had probably been ordered by the Hunter family to take control and capture her following her father''s arrest thereby crippling the Windsor family essentially. Therefore, Jack had been holding back against her even though it was taking him longer to get his desired result. Unfortunately, her luck ran out once Luke made his appearance and threw a wrench in Jack''s ns.

    The way things were going; Luke was going to end up dead in her ce. Jack probably had orders to follow when it came to her but when it came to Luke he had no inhibitions and would not hesitate to kill him. Therefore, before things could escte to that point, Violet felt that she needed to take matters into her own hand.

    She hurriedly entered the hurricane''s range with her already torn body. Jack noticed her moving towards the eye of the hurricane and controlled the wind element around her to soften its edges. He didn''t want to fail in his task aftering so far just because Violet had a death wish.

    Violet sessfully pulled off the gamble and pushed Luke out of the range of the hurricane taking advantage of Jack''s original purpose.

    Luke was thrown out with a lot of force because Violet was already augmenting her body with her magic in an attempt to keep herself from bleeding out. The augmentation not only allowed her to strengthen her body and internal organs but also sent her immune system and body recovery rate into overdrive. This enabled her to hold on a bit longer by forcefully stopping her wounds from bleeding out by concentrating the telets in her blood and strengthening them.

    She had already thought out everything in order to save Luke from getting hurt further since there was already no chance of escape at the hands of Jack. Therefore, while pushing Luke out of harm''s way, she slipped a little something into his hand that remained unseen by Jack and even Luke didn''t notice it at the time.

    Luke was too groggy to see everything clearly but he knew that he couldn''t beat Jack even if he tried his hardest. Before he could use his identity to threaten Jack, he was pushed out by Violet and his remaining senses began to fade out slowly beginning with a tunnel vision.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Once Jack got a hold of Violet, he was the least bothered about Luke who was close to passing out. He was already a wanted criminal and didn''t mind getting one more hit on his extremely bloody record.

    Thest thing that Luke witnessed before losing control of all his senses was Jack lifting Violet on to his broad shoulder and carrying her out of the Windsor family mansion without any resistance. It felt as if Violet was going with him willingly in order to save his life.

    бн

    With an ocean of regret in her heart, ra rushed home at the fastest pace she could muster after augmenting her body with all the magic she was currently left with after the long chase. As soon as she found out that she had been fooled by the ck clothed man, she had turned back but the amount of mana she had wasted in the chase and the time she had wasted made her feel extremely stupid and extremely worried at the same time.

    As soon as she reached home, she felt that something was extremely wrong with her house. There were guards and servants lying on the ground in heaps as if some kind of hurricane had passed through their midst destroying everything in its wake.

    She bent down to check whether the guards were breathing or not. Thankfully, they were only unconscious and none of them seemed to have died.

    Even though the worst hadn''t happened, ra couldn''t calm down at all. She ran into her home and rushed straight towards her elder sister''s office. The door looked like something had burst through it. Only a small piece of wood was still hanging along with the iron hinge of the giant door.

    The strength of the invader had to be even more terrifying than hers to pull of something of this level. The scene inside was even more terrifying. The furniture and the decorations in the room were all crushed into the wall as if some explosion had taken ce in the center of the room.

    ra''s heart was pounding with worry as she med herself for the destruction that had ravaged her home. She was currently restraining herself from crying out because she still needed to find Violet.

 Chapter 232 232 ZachтАЩs Arrival

    "SISTERбн" ra called out as she entered the room to verify whether her sister was all right or not.

    Theck of response terrified her and the silence engulfed her whole being.

    It wasn''t until a weak and muffled voice sounded out from behind her. She immediately jerked her head back to find Luke leaning against the wall;pletely disheveled and hurt from several bleeding wounds.

    ra lunged in his direction and sat down on her knees in order to carefully lift Luke up into afortable position. She couldn''t even imagine how strong an enemy who could leave Luke in such a pitiful state would have been. To think that her sister had probably been pitched against such an enemy almost gave her a heart attack. Her tears finally spilled as fear for her sister''s safety overtook her anger and self reproach.

    "Where is my s-sister?" ra asked Luke with stuttering words as she prepared herself to hear an answer she wasn''t able to handle in such a fragile state of mind.

    Luke though wounded terribly was still able to speak. It had been some time since Jack had made it off with Violet therefore, he had already recovered somewhat from the pathetic and delirious state that Jack had left him in.

    "Takenбн"

    ra felt as if a heavy boulder had fallen on her chest especially since the look on Luke was so guilty and remorseful. Still, she was unable to believe the meaning behind Luke''s words. Her mind was trying to keep her from getting hurt.

    "What do you mean?" ra asked as if hoping to hear a different answer from Luke.

    The look in her eyes was so hopeful that Luke almost didn''t want to tell her the truth. But lying in this situation was not the solution. They needed to find Violet as soon as possible before the Hunter family could carry out the n they had so carefully concocted.

    "It was himбнthe criminal that escaped from prison recentlyбнthat ''Jack''. He was here. I tried to stop him but he was too strong for me. Violetбнshe was taken away by him."

    ra clenched her fists in anger and the force in her grip caused her palms to bleed. Her nails had pierced into her palms without her noticing.

    ra finally knew the purpose of that ck clothed man. She regretted not being fast enough to kill him at a moment''s notice. She began to understand how cunning her enemies had been. They had fully used her personality traits and her impulsive behavior to abduct Violet right from their homes.

    At the same time, she found that her recklessness and her own folly had been the reasons behind what happened to her sister. Had she been more prudent in her approach and had listened to her sister when she had tried to stop her, Violet might still have been here. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    She believed that if she had been at home when Jack arrived, she might have been able to allow Violet to escape even if she failed to kill Jack.

    Her body slumped onto the floor as she wallowed in grief and regret at her earlier actions. She looked like a mad woman at this moment. Her eyes radiated so much cold that even Luke wasn''t able to recognize how a sunny woman like ra had changed so much in a matter of seconds.

    Rage was building up inside ra as her whole body trembled with unrestrained wrath. The target of her fury wasn''t Jack or the Hunter family; rather it was herself, her own stupidity and impulsiveness that had allowed the enemies to take advantage of her at the most crucial moment to harm her family.

    As she leaned against the wall, her cheeks burned and tears trickled down her chin after traversing down her cheeks leaving a trail of moisture behind. She pped her face twice in helplessness. She was probably trying to punish herself for harming her sister wondering if it would make her feel better. s it did nothing to reduce the guilt and regret she now felt in her heart. She could only do something to make things right now.

    Just when she needed a shoulder to lean on, a tall man entered through the crevice of a door of Violet''s office with a worried expression on his face.

    Violet wondered if he had always been this tall or it was because she was looking at him from lower perspective this time. But his appearance destroyed thest barrier that was keeping her from expressing all the anguish in his heart.

    The man was none other than Zach who was her promised other half. ra didn''t need to be reserved in front of him and bared her heart in front of him.

    She made a beeline towards his chest and mmed into him with a thud. Only his embrace could give her the sense of relief she sought when she was at her lowest.

    Following after Zach were some servants who seemed to havee to their senses. Previously when ra had arrived, none of the servants had yet awakened from unconscious states.

    Zach had been quite perturbed by the situation of the Windsor family mansion when he arrived. He had received the message that ra had sent to him and had rushed here from Greend at his fastest. But from the looks of it and ra''s wailing, he was now sure that he had arrived far toote still.

    Zach tried his best tofort ra who was clinging on to him and was pressing into his chest with enough force to crush his ribs to splinters. Still he didn''t try to push her away. Instead he kept on rubbing her back and caressing her head in order to calm her raging emotions.

    Zach was very worried about her current mental state. In his opinion, she was already very impulsive but now that she was like this, Zach couldn''t help but want to know what was going on in her mind. He didn''t want her to do something stupid before he figured out the entire situation.

 Chapter 233 233 SinceтАж

    The fallen servants and the guards on the floor and the pitiful condition of Violet''s office allowed him to make a shallow guess as to what had transpired in the Windsor family mansion but he needed concrete information to develop his own judgment.

    Since ra didn''t seem like she was in a state to narrate the events to him clearly. He just held her close to himself in order to keep her from doing something stupid and looked towards the only person who could be of help to him; Luke, the person he had met before in the streets while chasing after ra.

    "Lukeбнright?" asked Zach so as to build rapport with the only witness avable to him. Although, they had met before, they were not very close to each other. Therefore, it was only right to start with the basics.

    Luke nodded in response to his question but there was a trace of helplessness in his eyes. It appeared that ra was not alone in her regrets. There was someone else who was also feeling guilty at not being strong enough to save Violet.

    Zach tactfully didn''t prod into his wounds and asked him an open ended question instead.

    "Can you tell me in detail about what happened here? Anything you might have heard from the assants might prove to be a lot of help. So preferably leave nothing out even if you deem it not important enough to be included in this conversation." Zach had already deduced that Luke had been present when the attacker invaded the mansion otherwise he wouldn''t have been in such a pitiful state. The look in his eyesbined with the injuries on his body could only mean that he had offered some form of resistance to the invaders.

    "ra and Violet came to find me at the training grounds to help them check on the leader of the Windsor family who had been arrested on wrongful usations at the behest of the Hunter family probably. I went alone to check on their father while they returned home. Just when I came back from the police station to set their minds at ease regarding their father, I sensed something different about the Windsor family estate. The guards at the entrance were nowhere to be seen and there was only silence in the vicinity. I grew rmed and worried at the same time. I hurried into the mansion and that was when I found the unconscious bodies of several guards and the servants strewn across the living room and on the stairs that led to Violet''s office. That was when I suspected that something might have happened."

    Zach nodded for Luke to continue since he had no questions so far.

    Luke continued to narrate the events from his perspective after receiving some encouragement from Zach.

    "Since there was no one around to tell me what happened. I could only stumble my way around the mansion in order to find out the cause of the dreadful situation. But the broken down door nudged me in the right direction. When I got closer, I began to hear the sounds of the battle inside. It was that criminal Jack who recently escaped prison. He was attacking Violet and I intervened in order to stop him from harming her. She was already quite injured by the time I reached. They had probably fought for a long while. Unfortunately, I wasn''t strong enough to beat him despite trying my best. His control over wind element was far more exquisite than anyone I have ever encountered. He might be an S rank mage or maybe he has already reached SS level already."

    Zach now understood the gist of what had happened. At the same time, he knew why Violet wasn''t here.

    "Did Jack kidnap Violet then?" asked Zach, wondering if Jack had some kind of grudge against the Windsor family.

    "MmmбнViolet probably already knew his intentions. He had no ns of killing her from the beginning. Violet pushed me out of harm''s way so he wouldn''t deal the killing blow to me. I lost consciousness soon afterwards and when I came to my senses Violet was nowhere to be seen and Jack had vanished as well."

    Zach already knew that the allegations against the sugar business that Marico was currently running, was a scheme of the Hunter family.

    Moreover, the rise of the Windsor family would have directly affected the Hunter family which gave them motive to y out such an borate scheme. Violet''s capabilities were visible to all the higher echelon in Byzantium city. If the Hunter family had already decided to take Windsor family out of the race for the top family of the city, then they had to take care of her as well. Otherwise, the temporary disruption of the sugar business wasn''t enough to stop the rise of the Windsor family now that they had enough capital avable through their recent profits.

    Unexpectedly, Zach''s thoughtspletely aligned with those of Violet. She had left with Jack, knowing that this was all a plot of the Hunter family.

    "Zachбнp-please bring my sister back homeбн" ra lifted her face slightly from his chest which was now wet with tears and pleaded in a pitiful voice.

    "Mmm"

    Zach didn''t say anything in response and only rubbed her back slightly in order tofort her. There was a rare gentleness in his eyes for this little girl who was usually so headstrong. It was heartbreaking for him to see her in such a pitiful state.

    ra seemed extremely relieved after requesting Zach''s help. It was as if she was already sure that her sister would be saved now that Zach had decided to help her.

    To Zach, the crux of the matter was the rescue of Violet from the enemies. If only she was here to take control of the Windsor family, Marico''s absence wouldn''t seem as ring as before. Moreover they needed to prevent anything worse from happening to her while she was in captivity.

 Chapter 234 234 Jade Pendant

    This would also give them enough time to think of a way to prove Marico''s innocence and to get to the root of the poisoning instances. It was most likely that hunter family had orchestrated the entire incident but they needed to earn enough time to prove it.

    Before Zach could voice out his concerns and his ns to orchestrate Violet''s rescue, Luke pulled open the fist that he had kept closed the entire time with enough force to render itpletely pale.

    There was an object wrapped in paper in his fist. The way Luke was holding it in front of Zach made it look as if the object was intended for him.

    Zach looked at Luke as if to confirm his intentions and when he was sure of the meaning behind his actions, he leaned forward and grabbed that object from his hand.

    "What is it?" Zach was curious as he was unable to make the true shape of the object since it waspletely wrapped in paper.

    "You know just as much about it as I do. Before she was taken by Jack, she pushed me away from Jack''s attacks and slipped me this object. I think it must be a clue. I haven''t taken a look at it though." replied Luke as he cried out from the pain from his wounds.

    Zach pulled apart the paper wrapped around the object and found an ordinary stone broken off from the marble floor. It looked to be quite expensive but Zach was unable to make out the significance of that rock in helping them locate Violet.

    Violet was a smart woman and Zach knew that she wouldn''t do something that was pointless. Therefore there had to be a reason that Violet handed Luke the rock before she was taken.

    Hearing what Luke told Zach about the object, ra reluctantly pulled free from Zach''s chest and turned around to take a look at Zach''s hands. She wanted to know if she could recognize the object that her sister had left.

    The moment she took a look at it, she was just as confused as Zach. She had no idea what her sister was thinking when she handed the rock to Luke.

    While she was wondering on the possible reason behind Violet''s actions, an idea struck Zach''s mind. He let go of the rock in his hand and instead looked on the inside of the paper wrapped around it. Although it waspletely crumpled there seemed to be some scribbling on the inside.

    "Jade Pendant"

    Zach didn''t understand what this message meant but the moment ra took a look at it beside him she immediately snatched the piece of paper from his hands in order to confirm the message written on it.

    "Do you know what this means?" Zach turned towards ra and asked her curiously. He understood that the message was most likely addressed to ra as she was the closest person to Violet.

    Zach was thinking along the right path. Violet had indeed hoped that ra would be able to find her through the clue that she had left with Luke.

    "Our father gave us two sisters a jade pendant each when we came of age. The jade pendant in the message is referring to that pendant. Look, this is mine. She has a simr one as well." ra''s actions rified the message to those of them who didn''t know what she was talking about.

    "How can this pendant help us in our search for her? I mean there must be a reason why she wrote this in the final message she left for us otherwise this has no significance at all."

    "Of course it can help us. Our father hoped that the two of us would be able to take care of each other at all times. Therefore, he got these pendants made. The specialty of these pendants is that they can locate each other at all times. As long as we have my pendant, I will be able to find her as long as she is within range. Although the range is small, we will be able to find her if we find her general location from someone." exined ra with an excited smile on her face. She was sure that they would be able to find her sister now that they had a vague strategy to their search.

    "Try to sense her immediately. See if you can find Violet with this. If Jack hasn''t already take Violet away, we might be able to find her at once." suggested Zach but he didn''t hold much hope. Someone who would even take ra''s presence into ount before executing his strategy definitely wouldn''t hang around the scene of the crime aftermitting it.

    ra grabbed the pendant hanging around her neck and channeled her mana into it. A magic pulse was emitted by the pendant in response to the mana injected into it.

    ra waited for a few seconds before her heart fell. There was no response from the other pendant that was still with Violet. It could only mean that Violet had already been taken beyond the range of the pendant.

    She turned towards Zach and shook her head to indicate that there was no response.

    Zach didn''t look shocked because he had already expected the same result. ra on the other hand didn''t know what to do anymore and her tears threatened to leak once again.

    Zach couldn''t have her crying at this crucial time.

    "Don''t worry; we will still be able to find your sister. Leave it to me. You just take care of yourself and stop crying. Your sister wouldn''t want to see you in such a state either."

    Zach wiped the tear stains from ra''s face and waved his hand in front of him in order to draw out a few drones from the Weapons Arsenal. The dragonfly shaped drones were sufficient in number to keep a stringent watch over all the members of the Hunter family from high above. Even if some of the drones were found, there was no way that anyone from the Hunter family would be able to determine that they were being monitored by Zach from all directions at the same time.

 Chapter 235 235 Obfuscate

    The Neb system was connected with all the drones and the live footage of the cameras was avable to him at all times.

    Luke watched in amazement as the several dragonflies flew out the window in response to Zach''s hand signals. He wondered if Zach was secretly a tamer as well. It was hard for him to understand that the dragonflies weren''t actually beasts that Zach had tamed.

    Since Luke didn''t ask Zach about them, he felt no need to answer him. Instead he put all his focus on the vision of the dragonflies that was avable to him at all times.

    The reason he had done this was that the suspicion for the sessive incidents that harmed the Windsor family were somehow or the other linked to the Hunter family. As such, in order to look for more clues, there were no better people than the ones orchestrating the entire strategy behind the scenes.

    The main task that Zach had assigned to the dragonflies was to keep watch on the Hunter family leader and his son who was surely involved in the whole debacle in one way or another. Therefore, he felt that at least one of them would surely try to contact Violet in order to ckmail her or threaten her with her father''s life in order to break her into giving them the production method of the sugar business. This would not only break the monopoly of the Windsor family in the industry thus reducing their overall profits but would also ensure that the Windsor family would not be able to surpass the Hunter family in any manner at least in the short run.

    After dispatching the drones, he carefully bent down and pulled Luke to his feet while supporting him with his shoulder. After ensuring that Luke wasfortable, Zach pulled out the Medical AI system from the inventory and began to treat Luke''s injuries. Some of them were bleeding extensively and needed to be bandaged as soon as possible.

    Zach fished out the satellite phone he used to contact Christina and called her directly. He needed her for what he was about to do next. Since Jack was so powerful, he needed the help of an equally powerful mage to counter him. There couldn''t be anyone better than Christina for the job since she had even held back the personal escort of the prince of the royal family. Jack could not hold a candle in front of the ck Panther that the guard had turned into.

    The call connected after two rings as if Christina had been waiting for his call to begin with.

    "Did you miss me?" Christina wasn''t one to flirt but the two were still in their honeymoon phase after they confirmed their rtionship earlier. She had been longing to see him afterwards but she had business to conduct as well. Thankfully, the phone wasn''t on speaker or everyone would have heard her. ra was there too so it might have turned bad for Zach instantly.

    "Of course I did. Are you busy?" Zach didn''t have time to bring Christina up to speed so he used the bare minimum words to pacify her and ask her what he wanted at the same time.

    "I am not too busy; just the usual. Why do you want to know?" Christina was curious about this sudden change because Zach had never been so interested in her schedule in the past.

    "Leave everything;e over to the Windsor family mansion immediately. I have something that I might need your help withter on."

    Zach sounded very serious on the phone so Christina didn''t hesitate for even a second and acknowledged her husband''s order. The moment the call disconnected, her figure burst into light and she vanished in thin air.

    While the AI worked on Luke, Zach analyzed the information avable to him already. He began to n the rescue operation in detail. A search operation involving the entire city could potentially render their rescue npletely useless so it was obviously not considered an option by Zach.

    In his opinion, the rescue operation only had a small chance of sess if Zach had an elite team of capable fighters at his disposal.

    The enemy was surely keeping an eye on the Windsor family for any kind of development after making such big moves. There was even a possibility that a spy had already been sent into the Windsor family who was secretly feeding information to the enemy. Therefore, Zach was afraid that the mobilization of arge team might rm the enemy into making their defense increasingly tough to break through. As such an elite but small team was required to carry out the task under his guidance.

    Zach didn''t think that there was any need to alert Bruce or Diana regarding this incident. Since there was already a possibility of spies in their midst, it was easier to keep the news out of the listening reach of prying ears.

    There was even less need of the Special Forces team since they relied on numbers and tactics to show results. Zach needed a team with immense individual strength that would give the team the destructive strength of an army and the defensive strength of a castle while still remaining within the maximum number of team members he had in mind for this operation.

    While Zach was nning a rescue operation, he needed to throw off the enemies with a decoy. Otherwise they might doubt the actions of the Windsor family who were doing absolutely nothing to look for their eldest young miss.

    To conceal his true purpose, Zach ordered ra to find a few servants who were still capable of movement. When all of them were brought outside Violet''s study, he told ra to direct them to spread out in the city to search for the whereabouts of the eldest young miss of the Windsor family. They needed to make sure that the people of the city knew that the eldest young miss of the Windsor family was missing and the Windsor family had no clue as to what happened to her.

 Chapter 236 236 Monitoring And Tracing

    Although Zach already knew that Violet was out of town, he didn''t want to give the Hunter family the impression that the Windsor family already knew that. He wanted the Windsor family to look like headless flies looking in every nook and cranny desperate to find Violet.

    This was the only way to set the minds of the Hunter family at ease. It would also give them the courage to act on their n faster thinking that the Windsor family could do nothing in front of their careful nning and cunning methods.

    бн

    Hogan had made his son Nelson responsible for gathering intelligence regarding the Windsor family following the execution of their ns. He wanted to keep an eye out for anything unexpected that the Windsor family might resort to in search of Marico and Violet.

    The several spies nted in the Windsor family were activated at his behest and were now sending him news regarding the ndestine meetings taking ce in Violet''s office. He already knew that the people in that room did not have the potential to fight against the Hunter family on their own. As such their congregation didn''t matter much to him considering that they still didn''t have any idea as to the whereabouts of Violet so long after her abduction by Jack.

    Unfortunately for him, this was exactly what Zach had been hoping he would do after listening to such rumors and the intelligence collected by his spies would only corroborate the rumors further.

    Like a typical and pampered young master bred in the city, Nelson''s chest puffed up after hearing the condition of the Windsor family after taking on the Hunter family. He already believed that he was invincible as long as he was associated with the Hunter family.

    Initially he had decided to hold back on his impulses but now that the Windsor family had hit rock bottom so soon, he felt like he needed to increase the pace at which the Hunter family was going to eat up the Windsor family and all their businesses.

    Still he was not brainless enough to throw caution to the wind in his excitement. As directed by his father, he quietly left the mansion all by his lonesome so as to not attract the attention of anyone around who might be interested in his whereabouts.

    He didn''t use the front entrance of the mansion in order to leave but used the path at the back that was usually reserved for the servants and the guards'' families. Since he was now wearing a ck hood, no one would recognize him even if they saw him taking the back exit.

    He looked around on both sides to make sure that no one had noticed him slipping out of the mansion. s there were eyes in the sky targeted at him that he couldn''t escape no matter how hard he tried. Zach had been on to him the moment he took a step outside the mansion.

    Nelson slowly walked out of the city, feeling smug that he had managed to slip out unnoticed despite this being his first try at doing something discretely. After all he had never needed to do something like this in the past given that he was the scion of the Hunter family.

    The direction that he was headed in led to the outskirts where there were no signs of poption, only wilderness. A lone hill stood amongst the wilderness as if symbolizing the greatest height a man could reach amidst that kind of nothingness.

    Nelson''s destination was exactly this hill which was so far away from the bustling city that there was no chance of anyone stumbling on the ce even with sheer bad luck.

    Nelson was barely containing his excitement. He had waited far too long for this moment. In the past whenever he tried to make a move against the Windsor family, it had been to get his hands on Violet and now that his wish was finally about to reach fulfillment, he was unable to stop his hormones from raging.

    Their borate n was in its final stages but the crux of their n revolved around two main goals that the Hunter family had yet to aplish. Firstly they nned to cripple Marico by using torture in the prison cell.

    Nelson was still unaware that their n had been stopped for the moment by Luke''s interference. The cop Luke had killed was still deterring the other jailers from using any illegal schemes against Marico who was being supported by the royal family. The sword with the emperor red jade was like a ghost haunting them in their very dreams.

    The second goal entailed making Violet into Nelson''s woman by forcing her using her father just in case she refused to ept it through normal means.

    While Hogan was responsible for aplishing the first objective, he had handed over the responsibility for the second goal to his son, Nelson. Since it had been his wish for a long time, Nelson was more than happy to take on the responsibility of converting Violet into his woman.

    The reason why the Hunter family was using this two pronged approach was because they wanted to legitimately im their right over the Windsor family and all their assets. With Marico crippled and Violet married into the Hunter family, the Windsor family would naturally be a part of Nelson''s estate without earning them the ire of the other families.

    Even if the other families turned against them at this juncture, they would have no way to restrain the growth of the Hunter family. Therefore, the gap between the Hunter family and the other top families would only widen in the future and they would end up being the only top family of Byzantium city.

    While Nelson was happily treading the path between the hill and the outskirts of the city, all of his actions were being transmitted back to Zach who was monitoring him from afar. The drones were flying at high altitude and had extremely undetectable designs to help them camouge with the surroundings. Therefore, Nelson didn''t even doubt that he was being watched as he increased his pace to reach his destination faster.

 Chapter 237 237 Haste

    By the time Nelson set out towards the hill, Zach had already finished assembling the elite team that would take part in the rescue operation. Zach had ordered them all to be ready at a moment''s notice as he monitored the footage of the drones in the living room of Windsor family mansion. Since no one was able to see the footage other than him, he didn''t need to worry that his intentions would be leaked by some spy nted by the Hunter family.

    The moment Nelson made his move an alert was sounded by the system. Following that, a map appeared in front of his face on the holographic screen revealing a red blip that was constantly moving towards the exit of the city without a break.

    The other red dot on the map indicated the position of the Hunter family leader but it seemed that Hogan Hunter hadn''t left his mansion for a while as if afraid that someone would hold him ountable for all his misdeeds.

    Zach ordered his team of elites to get ready and to cover themselves up with dark hoods simr to the one that Nelson had been wearing when he left the Hunter family estate. This would allow them to maintain their anonymity and would keep the Hunter family from getting suspicious.

    The dark hoods merged into the dark of the night as they traversed the distance between them and Nelson who had a head start on them. Zach had ordered them to maintain some distance between them and Nelson so that he wouldn''t be able to catch on to them before he reached his destination.

    Following Nelson''s trail, Zach and his group reached the bottom of the hill that stood in the middle of the wilderness like a lone warrior standing up against the heavens.

    When they hit the bottom of the hill, ra''s jade pendant finally gave a response indicating that Violet was really being kept at the top of the hill and Nelson had indeed been responsible for Violet''s abduction from the Windsor family mansion.

    Although the reaction was very faint, it was enough for the group to take action before something worse happened to her. After all, Nelson had already reached the top of the hill.

    Nelson entered a cave near the top of the hill. The cave had a rtively small mouth that only allowed a single person to pass through it at one time. Even someone with a slim figure like Nelson had to turn sideways in order to enter through the mouth of the cave.

    Nelson entered the cave with a perverted expression on his face. He had been looking forward to this moment for a long time and because of that his hormones were running in overdrive. He was barely able to control himself fromunching himself at the bound figure lying helplessly on the ground in front of him.

    Violet had been waiting all this time for someone she could negotiate with just in case she could convince that person by promising some benefits. But the appearance of the hateful worm in front of her shattered all her hopes. Fear took over her senses as if her heart had suddenly been gripped by the devil in its fearsome ws.

    With her hands and feet tightly bound together, she had little to no hope of escaping the dark cave without someone to help her out of her bindings. Still, she preferred death over being defiled by such a hateful lecher.

    With all her might, she arched her back and tried to crawl her way back in order to avoiding into contact with Nelson but her resistance and fear turned on the lecher even more as he smiled lecherously at her as if taunting her for all the times she had rejected him in front of the public and humiliated him. He wanted her to feel a simr manner of humiliation through this. Just the thought of it made him want to jump about in jubtion.

    Although Nelson could already see his prize, he didn''t jump on it directly. Rather he veered his eyes away from the squirming Violet and gave a nce towards Jack who was sitting cross legged in a dark corner of the cave with a cold expression on his face.

    "Wait for me out of the cave. Do not barge into the cave no matter what happens; even if you find the earth shaking or the mountain breaking apart stay on the outside and wait for my permission before entering. Now if you please, I have business to attend to that can''t be dyed any longer." Nelson waved his arm in the direction of the mouth of the cave so that Jack could take the hint and leave as soon as possible. Because only then would he be able to take a good look at what the cold and rational Violet looked like underneath all that fa?ade.

    "With thisбн", Jack pointed towards the tied-up Violet, "бнI have held up my end of the bargain. Make sure to keep your promise as well or we will have a problem." Jack threatened subtly while the expression on Nelson''s face worsened.

    It seemed that Violet''s earlier words had gotten to Jack but he had decided not to go against the Hunter family hoping that they would fulfill the promises they had made to him in return for kidnapping Violet.

    Still Nelson was in no mood to bicker with Jack when there was a heavenly beauty waiting for him right there. He forcefully kept a smile on his face and said, "No need to be in such a hurry, all the promises we have made to you will be kept as stated before. But before we can do so, I need to take control of the Windsor family otherwise everything we have done and everything you have done will be in vain. So, wait patiently until I am done with her.

    Jack warily looked at Nelson as if he was afraid that Nelson was only lying to him.

 Chapter 238 238 Obscenity

    But at this juncture he had no option left but to believe that the Hunter family would keep their promises. Otherwise, everything he had done after getting out of the prison would bepletely meaningless.

    Jack left the cave with slow but firm steps and stood guard at the mouth of the cave like a seasoned bodyguard even though he didn''t have to. The reason was that his own benefit was associated with Nelson and whatever was going on in the cave. Only then would he be able to get his reward. Therefore, he needed to be sure that no one would be able to interrupt Nelson for the time being.

    Nelson had been waiting for this moment as soon as he entered the narrow cave. Even the darkness and the rough ground wasn''t enough to deter his lust. He was oozing hormones as heunched himself at the squirming Violet who was trying to worm her way out of the cave with the pace slower than snails.

    Her mouth had been gagged or she would have been screaming her throat raw. But even though there was no sound of her screaming, her throat was going through unprecedented agony. She was trying to scream but the gag was clogging her throat and keeping her from moving her tongue unnecessarily. It was as if someone had filled her mouth with sand and poured water down her throat to harden it.

    Violet tried to resist Nelson who was right on top of her but there was nothing she could do. She couldn''t even il around her hands to resist his vulgar face that was making its way towards her own. All she could do was heave her waist in an attempt to throw him off her body but that proved to be a task that required herculean force. Nelson was sitting right on top of her stomach which made it impossible for her to move her lower back. He had essentially pinned her to the ground without leaving any leeway for her to move.

    It seemed that Nelson was quite experienced in this. He didn''t even wait a second before ripping Violet''s clothes right off of her. The first to go was the homely dress she had been wearing. It was a purple colored cloth made out of a smooth andcey material that looked expensive and elegant at the same time. It waspletely worthy of her status as a wealthy heiress of a prominent family.

    Before Nelson could move on to the violet colored brassiere covering those fair mounds on her bulging chest, Violet began to twist and turn her body as if her life depended on it. No matter what she wasn''t willing to be toyed with. She was determined to die if she had to in order to keep the bastard from touching her skin. It made her feel like a thousand bugs were crawling all over her body and she couldn''t help but feel creeped out by the lecherous face that the bastard was making.

    Terror could be seen on Violet''s face as her eyes bulged out in shock. Unwillingness and angst overtook all of her emotions as an immense force powered her body which allowed her to throw off Nelson who was too lost in his lust to cater such resistance from a weak woman like her who couldn''t even use her magic after her fight with Jack.

    Nelson was furious. His eyes became bloodshot with his lustful impulses as he once again leaped on top of her. As a man, he felt it to be an insult that a weak woman like her had thrown him off.

    As soon as he sat on top of her again, light went out of Violet''s eyes. The meager hope of survival left her. Her biggest enemy proved to be neither Jack nor the beast sitting on her stomach ogling at the bulges at her chest but the ropes that were keeping her hands tied and the gag in her mouth that kept her from taking her own life before the beast could defile her purity.

    Nelson stared furiously into her eyes as he viciously pped her beautiful face. He felt like he needed to respond in such a manner if he wanted to control her in the future and the Windsor family through her. This kind of attitude from her would only bring him trouble in the future.

    Since he had been courting Violet for so long, he was familiar with how cold her personality truly was. She was not only extremely logical but also extremely indifferent to men who were desirous of her. Even amongst those men, she had viewed Nelson withplete contempt as if he was some kind of dog shit by the side of the road and had dirtied her eyes by being in her path.

    Nelson felt like he needed to change it before proceeding further. For that he needed to make sure that she was willing to do the deed with him out of her own volition. And what better method to force her into submission than her father who was in the control of the Hunter family at the moment.

    "You bitch, do you want your father to die? Or are you too stupid to realize your position right now."

    At the mention of her father, Violet could only shiver in terror. She couldn''t even think of retaliating in the face of such a humiliation because her purity was nothingpared to her father''s life. At the most she couldmit suicide once she could ensure her father''s safety. By then the Windsor family wouldn''t need her anymore as well.

    While Violet was already unable to move her body due to the fear that Nelson''s words ensued in her, Nelson didn''t seem like he was quite done threatening her yet.

    "Your family is screwed. That old fart is probably a cripple by now. If you still don''t recognize who should be currying favor with than you are far less cunning than I gave you credit for. You are not much better than those mindless sluts I have fucked before."

 Chapter 239 239 Obscenity II

    The more Nelson spoke, the more crestfallen Violet became. She looked like she was slowlying to terms with what was happening to her. At the same time, the tears she had been holding back for so long even in such an unfavorable situation began to spill with the speed of a gushing torrent.

    Nelson only got more excited watching her in such a pathetic state; bound with ropes, dressed in rags and helpless to the extent that even he felt pity for her.

    Previously she had looked down on him with that cold gaze that chilled his soul every single time but that aloofness was nowhere to be seen at this time. There was only helplessness instead.

    "Looks like you finally understand the situation you are in. Nod if you understand or I will be forced to send someone to the prison to look for your father who is probably still surviving in hope that you will save him from that hell."

    Since Violet couldn''t talk due to the gag in her mouth, she couldn''t talk anyway. But even nodding was made difficult by the overbearing Nelson. He was holding her chin in between his fingers and was forcing her to look him in the eye.

    Violet felt absolute disgust but she needed to satisfy the beast on her happy or her father would have to suffer in her ce. She was doomed to begin with but she didn''t want her father to suffer with her. At least with her sacrifice, the Windsor family would have room to survive andy low for a while.

    Violet tried to nod her head but when she couldn''t, she blinked her eyes indicating her surrender.

    Nelsonughed like a lecherous goon as he took in Violet''s pitiful appearance. He loved taming wild girls and Violet was the absolute peak of cold women in Byzantium city. He couldn''t stop himself from going crazy over her crying visage as her body grew soft underneath him. The force trying to push him off disappeared as if it was never there.

    Tears trickled down her face and fell towards the side as she decided to give up her body and chose topromise with the Hunter family.

    "Good girl", said Nelson with a smug smile on his lecherous face as he let go of her chin with a jerk.

    Thousands of insults stopped at the edge of her tongue in helplessness as disgust filled her to the bones. Every touch from Nelson made her want to vomit her insides out. She wanted to cut off every part of her body that the beast had touched. She could only close her eyes and wait for the humiliation to pass.

    Nelson on the other hand felt like a dreame true. He had always hoped to receive the same treatment from Violet ever since he began to pursue her but she never even gave him a second look. Conquering such a cold woman made his soul float in absolute bliss. He felt like there couldn''t be a greater high than this. Even the most potent drug wouldn''t make him feel like this.

    His hands began to roam all over her body as he felt the softness of her plump white skin that had been nourished by the morning dew and sunlight. He was extremely excited since he was venturing into uncharted territory that no one had ever invaded before him.

    Nelson pulled up to the bulge in her chest and pulled on the string of her brassiere as if toying with her. He had that vulgar smirk on his face while his hands wandered the crevices inside the bulges of her chest.

    Instead of pulling off the brassiere, he inserted his hands in her undergarment and began to rub her breasts as if he was kneading dough, twisting into various shapes. His grip left red spots on her previously spotless skin. The softness engulfed his fingers like the softest caress of a divinely graceful women.

    He couldn''t get enough of her breasts as he fondled them until his hands began to feel numb.

    Violet could only feel intense humiliation and a stinging pain that made her want to bite her lips and scream in agony but the gag in her mouth stifled her intentions.

    Nelson took full advantage of the opportunity to satisfy all the fetishes he had developed over the years he had been pursuing Violet. He ripped away the brassiere getting in his way and stuffed his face into the morous valley that had his entire attention.

    He sucked on her buds as if they oozed heavenly nectar and bit onto her stiff nipples that were as beautiful as pink diamonds sparkling atop her high and perky breasts.

    Nelson began to kiss his way down as he took his time with her belly button. He licked it clean from the insides with his snake like tongue as he kept on twisting and flicking her nipples with his two hands.

    Since Violet had given up resistance already in response to his threats, she didn''t do anything other than crying her heart out. While Nelson yed with her body, she tried to remain as calm as possible but the burning anger in her chest wanted to spill out like the wrath of the heavens. She felt a stuffy feeling in her chest as she tried to ignore the hateful touch that was moving towards her sacred cave with each passing second as it enjoyed the scenery around. It seemed to be preparing to eat the main dish amongst the banquet full of dishes.

    Although Violet hated every second of it, she couldn''t control her body that was being ravished so badly by the bastard Nelson. She wanted to steer clear of him but all she could do with her bound limbs was whimper in pain and agony while watching his smug expression.

    Instead of looking at his lecherous expression, she closed her eyes and tried to wait it out.

    Nelson couldn''t help but get disgruntled as he noticed her tightly closed eyes. He felt like he had been too good to the bitch.

 Chapter 240 240 Obscenity III

    He immediately rolled her onto her stomach and pulled his hand back as far as he could beforeunching it towards the only bulging part of her body that was soft enough to take in all his strength without injuring her.

    A lewd sound echoed in the cave as he began to spank her ass mercilessly as if he wanted to draw blood with each of his strikes.

    She screamed in pain, only to be muffled by the gag. Her throat began to burn as if the gag had travelled too far down her throat due to her continuous screaming. Even breathing had be too hard for her.

    Her butt on the other hand had begun to turn purple from all the spanking but the way her butt jiggled with each p had entranced Nelson. He couldn''t get rid of the rush he felt every time her ass jiggled in response to the application of force.

    Once he was done, he was finally ready to take this to the next level as he pulled on her arm and made her sit on his crotch with her ass facing towards him. Grabbing onto both her breasts with his hands he began to pull onto them as if they were made of stretchable rubber. He steered her in whatever direction he wanted as he used her ass to stroke his member underneath his clothes.

    Violet felt his member squirming for breath underneath her plump and now swollen ass. It made her want to cut it off but all her effort till now would go to waste if she couldn''t control herself at this moment.

    Nelson had no intention to stop. He tore apart her panties with a single pull. One of his hands was still ying with her breasts kneading it in different shapes while the other snaked itself towards the sacred grove below her belly button. He wandered inside the dark forest for a little while before he found the exit of the wave and moved towards the cave located in the center. The cave was dripping with sacred juice as if inviting the brave adventurers to venture deeper in search of its source.

    The group of five soldiers joined at the back stopped right outside the cave and rang the bell after some reconnaissance. Each time his soldiers flicked the bell, a shiver ran down Violet''s spine but it wasn''t something she could control. Her body was too sensitive at that spot and her mind almost turned nk for a moment when he flicked her clitoris mercilessly.

    As her back arched and her breathing became deeper and more frequent, Nelson forced his finger past the entrance of the cave in order to not give her the slightest respite. He wanted to force her to the edge and torture her until she finally begged him to fuck her.

    Violet whimpered helplessly as tears began to fall like a cascading waterfall from both her eyes. She didn''t even have the right to resist as she was about to be taken against her willingness by someone she hated with every cell in her body.

    Nelson on the other hand was busy exploring her insides with his finger. The walls on the inside were already slippery but Nelson was not satisfied with just this much. He pulled out his forefinger and pushed in another along with it. The two fingers pulled apart her insides as they headed deeper and deeper into the pink abyss. The thumb kept on ringing the bell as if afraid that itsrade would get lost on the inside.

    The moans couldn''t escape Violet''s throat but her eyes were already radiating bloodlust like they belonged to some primordial beast. At this moment, Violet hated Nelson more than anyone else in the world. She would have ripped him apart into pieces if she could still muster some of her magic and break free of her bounds.

    While Violet was suffering from the greatest torture of her life, Nelson was diving head first into the valley of bliss. He had never felt so fulfilled in his life. This was his dream and his only objective in his life that he had pursued with all his might. The more he tortured Violet, the more he felt that he was torturing himself because he had to keep his lust at bay while he yed with her.

    He threw away the thought of ying with her any longer and pushed her seductive figure off him by lifting her from her slim waist.

    He rolled her over until she was lying still on the ground with her face towards him. He pulled both of her legs apart into a V shape before inserting himself in between the two.

    With his member at the ready and looking towards the sky, he was ready to prate the depths of her sacred cave but just when hisnce was ready to pierce thest protective shield of her sacred cave, an explosion that reverberated in his very soul echoed outside the cave.

    Nelson was startled by the booming sound and his soldier couldn''t proceed any further. It was brought down to its knees before it could even begin invading the sacred cave.

    бн

    Jack had been resting on the outside as he secretly guarded the cave to keep any stray from interrupting Nelson. After all he needed to be good to the Hunter family until they fulfilled their promise to him.

    He had been peacefully recovering the mana he had lost in the earlier skirmish with Violet and Prince Luke but fate was cruel enough to not allow him to do even that. He was destined to be at the center of the conflict no matter where he was. Even when he was in the middle nowhere, trouble had found him.

    Jack went on full alert as he jumped on his feet and became extremely vignt towards the source of the uneasy feeling. He had felt someone probing on him using magic power but he couldn''t trace out the exact location. Facing in the general direction of the danger, Jack waited for the other party to make an appearance.

 Chapter 241 [Bonus ] 241 Rescue

    Unfortunately, the other party had no reason to show up in front of him when they had the advantage of surprise attack.

    While Jack was waiting for the enemy, something shed in front of his eyes almost blinding him momentarily. Even though he had been locked up for a long time, he still had his animalistic instinct intact. He could easily distinguish when an attack was aimed at his life and when the opponent released their killing intent.

    Using his senses, he barely managed to dodge the attackunched from the shadows at thest moment.

    Shivers ran through his spine as he did because even though he had moved his head to the side in time, there was still a finger sized cut on his cheek that went quite deep. The attack was even faster than it looked. Had he stayed in ce, his head would have been chopped off clean by that single strike from the enemy.

    Jack couldn''t help but curse at meeting such a powerful opponent. Cold sweat dripped down his face as he didn''t have the confidence to face the opponent. Based on the earlier strike, the difference between the two parties wasn''t much which meant that the enemy had just as equal chance of killing him off as he did of killing them.

    Jack had been brought up amidst danger; he had learned to survive in the harshest of environments where even a piece of bread had to be fought over. He had risen from dust and had reached this far because he had be strong enough to stand on his own. His ability to ovee his fear and adapt was truly exceptional.

    As such, Jack took a few deep breaths as he stared right in the direction of the first attack. He was not so gullible as to think that the enemy hadn''t moved from their ce. He just wanted to create an illusion of that to lure in another attack from the enemy. He needed to gauge their strength and to assess their position as well in order to draw them out.

    As expected, another attack wasunched but this one came from behind him. Being abat expert, Jack had alreadymandeered the wind around him and was able to sense the slightest fluctuation in the wind. The disturbance caused by the attack immediately alerted Jack to the iing danger and he managed to avoid a fatal attack.

    At the same time, the wind pushed back in the direction that the attack hade from and revealed a lithe figure rushing through the shrubbery at such a fast speed that he could only perceive the shadowy figure for a second. Far from being able to guess who his enemy was, he couldn''t even see the face. The only thing he was able to discern was that the opponent seemed to be a woman who was quite pretty if one built up the logic based on her willowy figure.

    With her element of surprise gone, the shadowy figure of the woman didn''t stay in a single ce for long and began to run around Jack who was frozen in ce due to the flurry of attacksing his way randomly from all directions as if his opponent was switching ces in the blink of an eye.

    One moment she was right in front of him and the next she wasunching an attack from the side. Although, he was already on the alert, it wasn''t easy for him to sense the attack beforehand because it consumed a lot of mana to control the wind element in the vicinity. It was getting more and more difficult for him to sense the fatal attacks.

    As such he incurred some injuries due to minor mistakes. The speed of the attacks was beyond his ability to preempt them. As such he could only take risks and dodge them to the best of his ability. At the same time, he was burning his mana at a ridiculous pace in order to keep the wind element under his control.

    If it had been a frontal battle, he would never have wasted this much mana from the get go. But the opponent had chosen a battle style that he found to be extremely troublesome. Unless he could lock the enemy in ce, he would not be able to break out of this predicament.

    After the analyzing the battlefield and dodging several more of the attacks from the shadows, Jack finally realized the essence of the problem he was facing. It wasn''t that the woman was capable of teleporting andunching attacks at the same time but that there wasn''t just one enemy he was facing. Based on the number of attacks beingunched every few seconds, there were at least three individuals or maybe four sneakily attacking him at the same time while constantly moving around him.

    Dread filled him to the bones and the sense of danger Jack had honed for several years amidst blood and bones began to rm him of his iing demise. As such he could only go all out in order to determine the identity of his attackers. Based on that information he would then decide whether to fight or to flee. His life was worth much more than any promises that the Hunter family might have made him.

    While being vignt of his surroundings, Jack began to rush towards a higher vantage point. It was a small node at the top of the hill that was a bit higher than the ground. He reached for the top and released a burst of mana to push the wind outward in all directions.

    The shockwave sent everything flying all around him with explosive strength that could even prate rocks.

    Four figures were soon revealed as they were scattered all around him. There were only two that he recognized among them while the other two he had no idea about. The ones he knew included the impulsive sister of the girl he had kidnapped while the other was the prince who had tried to save that girl. Jack had previously spared him because he didn''t want to make an enemy of the royal family but Luke had delivered himself to him once again.

 Chapter 242 242 Rescue II

    Out of the four of them, the one who made him the wariest was the girl who had attacked him first. She looked a lot more maturepared to both ra and Violet. She had a graceful air about her. But only her eyes revealed the intelligence and cunning that formted her very being.

    Jack began to ponder about whether he would be able to defeat the woman or not. The conclusion that he arrived at after careful and logical deduction was that he had no chance of defeating her in his current condition where he was depleted beyondprehension. Not to mention that even if he was in his peak condition, he might not have proven to be her match.

    Now that he was surrounded, Jack didn''t have a way out. If he didn''t escape, it was likely that he would end up dying in this ce. Moreover, he had already carried out his end of the bargain with the Hunter family. Even if that piece of trash of the Hunter family, Nelson, ended up dying, Jack would still be able to receive his promised benefits from the leader of the Hunter family. If not, there were too many crimes he had alreadymitted, one more wasn''t going to faze him. He will make sure that the Hunter family would remember to keep their promises in their next life.

    Seeing no need to stay on the hill, Jack mobilized his remaining mana and gathered them under his feet. The wind element followed his will like he was lord of the sky and carried him away like a breeze carried away a falling leaf or a paper ne.

    Although the consumption of mana for such a sophisticated movement technique was a lot, the speed more than made up for the loss. Jack had escaped many a situation using the same technique. This was essentially a life-saving technique for him.

    Zach was taking into ount the developments of the fight from the beginning and he had already sensed that Jack was nning to escape from the way his feet were pointing towards a certain direction where there was a gap in their encirclement.

    Moreover, Zach wasn''t the only one who had noticed Jack''s intentions. Christina was right behind him in her assessment of Jack. She was following the flow of mana in Jack''s body. As soon as Jack mobilized the remaining mana to his feet, she had gone on full alert so as to not allow the bastard to escape and harm someone else.

    ra who already had a one-track mind couldn''t focus on so many things at once. Currently her greatest priority was confirming her sister''s wellbeing. She was unable to see anything else. It was more like she had selective vision. She couldn''t bring herself to forget about her sister and chase after someone who most likely did not have her with him.

    So, Zach and Christina didn''t waste any time as they chased after Jack with the greatest speeds they could muster. ra on the other hand plucked the jade pendant from her neck and held it in her hand in order to sense the true location of her sister. Based on the reaction that the jade pendant had given at the bottom of the hill, Violet was most likely still in this ce. She just had to figure out the exact location before bringing her away with her.

    Christina and Zach were stuck to him like glue. Jack couldn''t believe that the escape method he was so proud of was unable to shake off Zach and Christina who were probably not even using any movement technique at the moment.

    But he failed to take several factors into ount before choosing to escape. Firstly, he wasn''t at his peak and the amount of mana had thinned out after the first burst. He was barely maintaining the movement technique which was the reason why Zach and Christina had been unable to catch up to him even after he had tired himself out. On the other hand, Zach and Christina had barely consumed their energy and were still operating in their peak condition.

    While Christina and Zach were busy chasing Jack, ra had already locked onto the location of her elder sister. She was supposedly in a cave near the top of the hill. The entrance was quite narrow for normal people but ra felt like she would not have much trouble entering with her physique. The discovery made her mad for some reason but she couldn''t figure out why.

    She made a beeline towards the cave with the intention of saving her sister as soon as possible but she encountered someone at the cave that made her want to bash their head in. The impulsive and the explosive ra had returned. There was so much hate and so much anger on her face that Zach would have found it impossible to imagine such an expression on an easygoing girl like her if he could witness it.

    The man was none other than Nelson who had heard various explosions taking ce right outside the cave and hade out to take a look at what was happening. His soldier had given out after being startled by the noise and he was better off removing the cause of his anxiety before going back in.

    Seeing ra blew off his top. He was so shocked that he froze in ce and rubbed his eyes twice in order to make sure that the ra in front of him wasn''t some kind of illusion or hallucination that his shocked mind had construed to deceive him.

    Unfortunately, the fury on ra''s face was far too realistic and the sense of pressure he could feel building up around him made his shoulders stoop to the ground. There was no way such a feeling could be unreal which could only mean that ra had truly managed to find Violet in such a short time.

    Even thought he Hunter family had already anticipated that they would be found out sooner orter, they had never imagined that they would be unable to carry out their n before that happened.

 Chapter 243 243 Rescue III

    As it was now, Nelson had been unable to make Violet his woman in the cave. ra''s appearance was nothing less than a wrench in their carefully orchestrated n.

    Before ra could unleash her fury with her fists that contained the power to level the hill, Nelson came back to his senses and chose the only path to survival he could think of.

    He ran.

    He ran with all his might because his life depended on it. Unlike Jack, Nelson was neither good at magic nor was he very good in terms of agility. As a rich heir to the Hunter family, he had lived a very pampered life and had never felt the need to improve his personal ability. Therefore, he wasn''t much different from a privilegedmoner who had been protected from all kinds of dangers by an entourage of mages and warriors.

    As such, ra didn''t take more than three seconds to catch up to him even after he had a head start of five seconds. She basically vanished from her spot and appeared right behind Nelson who was busily trying to escape his death.

    Her clutches tore off a chunk of his shirt and threw him off bnce instantly. Nelson stumbled on his own feet and fell down with a heavy thud, hitting his face on the ground first. There was terror in his eyes as if he could already see the grim reaper sharpening his scythe above him.

    ra couldn''t keep her anger in check and kicked him right in his sr plexus, leaving himpletely breathless. His body flew off for a few meters, rolled around for a bit and only then came to a stop.

    Nelson''s precious and noble clothing was all but ruined at this point. It was not only dirtied but also covered in blood that Nelson had spat out when ra kicked him in the chest with all her fury.

    Nelson couldn''t stop coughing after being kicked. There was a sharp pain in his chest that was piercing his body from the inside. In fact, the kick earlier had shattered several of his ribs and one of them was currently positioned in such a manner that it was threatening to pierce through his lungs.

    He was having difficulty breathing and he could feel his death approaching with the face of ra. He grimaced in pain as he clutched his chest with both hands. Fear overtook all his impulses as he looked towards ra pleadingly who was approaching him in a menacing manner.

    "I didn''t d-do anything. It was allбнall my father''s doing. I was h-here to save VioбнViolet. You can ask her if you d-don''t believe me." Nelson could barely utter the words he wanted to say over the unimaginable pain that he was suffering from for the first time in his life.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Nelson was looking for an opportunity to escape the monstrous ra. He was already aware of the terrifying strength that she possessed and had no intention of suffering another demonstration like that previous kick. He could only do his best to buy some time and appeal to her fluctuating emotions to make an opportunity for himself. Otherwise, if ra witnessed the state in which he had left Violet, there was no doubt that she would kill him.

    As such, pleading and acting pitiful was the only way he could buy time for himself.

    ra on the other hand was consumed with worry about her sister. There was no way that she would believe that the lecherous who had been coveting her sister for such a long time was truly as innocent as he was acting to be. It was a surety that he was involved with his father in the entire scheme. Both of them were snakes of the highest cunning after all.

    "Do you think I am a fool who would listen to your bullshit excuses? You have been lusting after my sister for so long. Don''t I know what kind of worm you are? I wouldn''t spare you even if you were the new chosen saint of god."

    ra was too far gone in her anger as she kicked Nelson who was already curled up into a ball in anticipation of another kick from her. The kick from ra was nothing short of the attack from a ballista. Nelson wasunched into the air like a kite with a broken string and fell several meters away from his initial position.

    The anger bubbling inside ra didn''t cool down even after the second kick. She wanted nothing less than to kick him lifeless and his pleading for mercy only invited her wrath to rain down on him with increased intensity.

    "Pl-pleaseбнI caбнI can tell you where she is? If you don''t stop, you will never be able to find her without my help." Nelson was always proud of his schemes and didn''t even stop to think whether the opposite party was capable of rational thought or not. He believed that other than him, everyone else was just dumb. His confidence also peaked at this time. Even his words were rtively easier to understand this time as he was not fumbling for words or pleading for mercy. His words carried a hint of threat that was barely concealed behind his humble and sincere expression.

    Unfortunately for him, ra didn''t need his help to find her sister. She already knew where she was being kept. Unconvinced by his act she was about tounch him into the air with another kick but her foot came to halt mid air as soon as Nelson began to speak again.

    "It seems that you don''t want to see your father again. As long as I don''t return to the Hunter family, you might as well forget about getting your father back in one piece. My father would kill him to apany me in the afterlife as long as he received the news of my demise." Nelson''s tone was no longer pleading or humble. His tone was threatening and his words suggestive like the whispers of the devil tempting ra to act on his will.

 Chapter 244 244 Rescue IV

    Seeing as ra''s foot was frozen midair, Nelson felt like his words were working this time. He no longer needed to feel afraid as he boisterously struck while the iron was hot.

    "Are you sure that revenge is more important than your father''s life? You can keep me hostage if you want but don''t you dare kill me or the end result wouldn''t be something you would like."

    Nelson had been personally broken down the spirits of many stubborn individuals. He was able to ascertain the psychological weak points of the people which was probably his only talent other than being a rich scion of the Hunter family.

    Unfortunately, ra wasn''t as skilled in psychological warfare. Her specialty was head on collisions instead of the strategic warfare employed by the physically weak. She was taken in by his logical reasoning that was aimed at her weak point.

    As a result, she began to contemte whether or not to kill Nelson considering that her father''s safety wasn''t guaranteed yet. Even Luke had barely managed to restrain the cops from torturing him. Despite his authority he was unable to bring her father out without the proof of his innocence in the sugar poisoning case.

    Briefly considering the situation, ra found the only logical solution to the problem. In order to ensure that her father remained safe, she had to ensure that Nelson remained in a presentable condition as the hostage of the Windsor family to help in the negotiations that would surely ensue following Violet''s rescue and Nelson''s capture.

    But that moment of respite was enough for Nelson to make an escape. While ra was still lost in her thought and was probably thinking of the best method for rescuing her father from the dungeon, Nelson had already pulled out an ancient looking scroll from somewhere within his clothes. It seemed to have been hidden inside the seam of his clothes to keep it away from any prying eyes.

    Just when ra was about to make a move to bring the vile creature under her control, she noticed the archaic scroll in his hands and panicked. She rushed towards him but Nelson snorted in derision as he tore off the scroll in two pieces from the middle.

    A huge amount of mana appeared out of the scroll and engulfed Nelson''s whole being in it. It seemed to be a high grade scroll because only such a scroll had the ability to release sufficient amount of magic power to push back a mage of ra''s caliber.

    The mana pushed her back like a powerful gust of wind but only barely slowed her down. Unfortunately, the scroll turned out to be a spatial teleportation scroll that could probably teleport the target to a fixed location as long as the target was within a certain range of the fixed location.

    The mana condensed around Nelson and the whole space around him vanished along with the conclusion of the scroll effect. ra''s hands only met thin air as Nelson had vanished before she could get any closer to him.

    ra wanted to smack herself in the face and only then understood the look of derision that Nelson had given her before he left. He was mocking her for her stupidity. Not only had he managed to toy with her mind but had also been able to escape without having to pay a terrible price.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ra stomped the ground in anger but her frustration led her to stumble and she idently stamped her own foot in anger. The pain brought her back to reality and she cursed herself for falling for such a stupid trick of the enemy. She should have killed him in a single kick from the get go. She had gone too easy on her enemy because she wanted to torture him just like he had probably tortured her sister.

    As a result, the cunning and vile beast of a man had managed to escape using the spatial scroll and was probably rushing to inform the details of what had happened to his equally disgusting father.

    Maybe she had even put her father''s life in jeopardy by allowing him to leave in such a condition.

    бн

    Unlike Zach and Christina who chased after Jack in an attempt to control him, and ra who was preupied by the rage boiling underneath her skin at the sight of Nelson, Luke was more worried about Violet''s fate.

    ra and Violet had been his friends growing up during the tough times. He didn''t want anything bad to happen to either of them. Therefore, as soon as ra kicked Nelson away, he entered the cave cautiously. Although he was afraid of being ambushed at the mouth of the cave because his movement was restricted in such a narrow space, he didn''t stop. He needed to ensure that Violet was safe before he could take such precautions. As it was now, he didn''t have the luxury to waste precious time.

    Before Luke could think of something, his gaze on the naked Violet who had been tied up in order to control her and was being toyed with by Nelson until all of them made their appearance at the hill in search of her.

    Although she had been hoping to escape all this time, she didn''t like it one bit when Luke actually came for her. The reason was the condition he found her in.

    The moment he entered Violet let out a small scream and her face turned the darker shade of red as if blood was oozing out of her wless skin. She couldn''t help but fret over the fact that Luke had seen her naked body.

    Luke on the other hand wasn''t worried about the trivialities of the matter. Instead, he was thinking of how he hade toote. Considering the beast had been in here for a while before they came to rescue Violet, the naked Violet was all he had to see toe to his own conclusions regarding what had happened in the cave.

 Chapter 245 245 Rescue V

    He hurried over to where Violety stuck to the ground and took off his jacket to cover her first before removing the bindings on her body slowly without hurting her. The bindings had already cut deep into her skin and had left a deep impression on her soft skin meaning she had offered up a lot of resistance to her captives.

    Luke felt deeply ashamed at not being able to save her when he had the chance to do so. If only he had been strong enough to take on Jack, maybe she would not have suffered so much.

    "I don''t have the face to apologize to you but my heart would feel too heavy if I don''t say it. I am sorry that I came toote." Luke offered a heartfelt apology hoping that she would understand the concern he had for her current situation.

    бн

    Nelson had already escaped ra''s clutches by taking advantage of her gullible personality but Luke had managed to secure Violet before anything worse could have happened to her.

    Jack on the other hand was not faring so good. He was being chased by two monsters each more difficult to handle than the other. Christina specifically was making his attempt to escape a living hell. She was so fast that he wasn''t able to create a distance between him and his pursuers.

    Without any room to breathe, Jack was like a trapped beast being slowly driven into the corner by thebined assault of Christina and Zach. No matter which direction he chose to escape into, Christina and Zach were able to find him in mere minutes.

    Unknown to him, Zach had already employed his drones to target Jack in order to not let him escape their hands. If not for the help that he received from the drones, Jack might really have been able to escape the moment he activated his magic on top of the hill.

    Like a cornered beast, Jack struggled to the best of his abilities but the years he had spent in the prison had degraded his actual ability. Despite being at the top of A rank, his actual prowess at the moment was barely A rank. Moreover, the depletion of the magic power in his body had caused all his abilities to weaken. He needed to take some time to recover before he could cast more powerful spells to save his skin. But that was only possible if he could somehow shake off his pursuers.

    His opponent on the other hand seemed to be a mage who was at the top of A rank and was young enough to be called a genius in any ce, even the capital of the empire. While she was at her peak, he couldn''t even muster the totality of his degraded strength due to theck of practice and mana at the moment. The girl was not only an experienced fighter but also an equally aplished mage capable of pressuring him without putting in much effort.

    Moreover, her partner was so cunning that he was able to cut off all of Jack''s escape routes whenever he tried to make a move. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    However, he was unwilling to give up after all that effort he had put in aftering out of that hellish ce. As such, using the ambient air he already had in his control, he pushed out with all the force he could muster. The dust in the vicinity and the falling leaves from the trees became the camouge for him as he snuck out in the middle of all the confusion.

    While Zach''s drones couldn''t catch wind of the escaping Jack due to the screen he had put up, Christina wasn''t fooled. Her senses werepletely locked on Jack as she kept a track of his mana to judge his location.

    Another failed attempt caused Jack''s face to darken and his brows to furrow in worry as he contemted the remaining options he had left.

    In the end, there was nothing more effective than facing his enemies head on. He needed to use the weaker link in the opponents in order to deal a powerful blow before making his escape. Otherwise, the two enemies would keep on chasing after him like they had been until then.

    Determining the weaker of the two wasn''t even a choice for him. There was no way that the man was more powerfulpared to the woman who had been pestering him for so long. In his opinion, the man was most probably a tracker that the woman had brought with her to chase after him.

    Therefore, without wasting any more time, he conjured up a small storm that upied less area aspared to before but the strength condensed in it was enough to blow a grown man off into the distance. Jack meant to repel Zach with the help of the strong gust so as to create an opening for his escape.

    Unfortunately for him, Zach wasn''t the soft persimmon he had imagined him to be.

    Reaching into the Weapons Arsenal, Zach pulled out the lightsaber and injected his force into the hilt which made the lightsaber glow with murderous red light. He didn''t even think before cutting off the wind des in that windstorm. The sma had reached such a high temperature that it even scorched the air around it. Jack''s magic fell apart as soon as Zach cut it with the lightsaber in his hand.

    Jack had never seen a swordsman who could cut apart magic like the man in front of him had. He could not even sense the wind element around that strange sword he was wielding. It was as if the sword was creating a vacuum around it.

    His sense of danger tingled and he chose to believe the keen instinct he had developed over the years. He assigned a danger tag to Zach based on the few interactions with him. He was obviously a dangerous but low-key character who was bound to give him even more trouble than that woman earlier.

 Chapter 246 246 Rescue VI

    Jack gave in to his instinct andunched the most powerful hurricane he could muster in an attempt to wipe off Zach from the face of the earth before Zach could show his true strength.

    The hurricane was even more powerful than he had used in Windsor family mansion. Luke despite being A rank mage had been unable to handle the strength of the storm and had almost been blown away back then.

    Zach wasn''t any stronger than Luke either. He usually relied on the powerful weapons and his vastbat experience at his disposal to put up a fight against opponents stronger than him.

    Since he had been caught unaware by the sudden attack, he was blown off into the distance like a leaf in the eye of the storm. Christina wasn''t any different from him. She was blown along with him.

    The strength of the hurricane was far beyond any of the attacks that Jack had used so far. Therefore, Christina had misjudged his overall ability. He was clearly a far more capable mage than the circumstances allowed him to be.

    Zach could feel a terrifying killing intent locking on to his back as he tumbled through the air after the sudden hurricane threw him off his feet. His senses went on full alert as the system rang out with several warnings.

    Zach ignored the red screen shing indicating life threatening danger from Jack. He didn''t need the system to understand the situation he was in when the source of the danger was right in front of him.

    Jack smirked when he finally got the chance to take out one of his hateful opponents.

    He was usually quite prideful of his strength and the two opponents had looked down on him and had been hunting him despite his intention to escape. Therefore, he wanted to teach them a lesson for underestimating him.

    He waved his hands several timesunching several wind des at Zach who was defenseless in the air. He didn''t even have the ability to dodge the des heading his way with the speed of a bullet.

    Jack was already sure that this was the end of the man with the glowing sword but what happened next left Jack with his mouth wide open.

    Sensing the approaching sense of danger, Zach focused and used the force in his arsenal to conjure adder in midair. He stepped on thedder as the foothold to fight against the wind des with the glowing red saber in his hand.

    The wind des all scattered as Zach swung his saber wildly after stomping on thedder to maintain his foothold.

    Jack wasn''t willing to admit defeat as he continued to send out the wind des with each swing of his hand. The wind des were extremely thin and didn''t use up much of his mana tounch.

    Zach on the other hand not only fought off the des with the saber but also continuously stomped on thedder and kept on heading closer and closer to Jack; the source of the hurricane and the wind des. Only when Jack was taken care of would the storm return to calm once again.

    Jack was startled because the shortdder wasn''t visible to him. To him, Zach was walking in the air to reach him which made him feel a kind of fear and awe that he had never felt before.

    While Jack was in shock, his survival instincts still kicked in and he conjured up a ball of condensed storm in the center of his palm that would unleash a raging storm in order to defend himself against Zach who had reached quite close to him already.

    The lightsaber reached him before long but Jack was already prepared. He immediately mmed his palm holding the mini sphere of storm towards the lightsaber shing towards him.

    The red lightsaber collided with the storm in Jack''s palm but there was no expected storm or an explosion of wind energy as Jack had been expecting.

    Instead, the lightsaber extinguished the storm like a tsunami would extinguish a candle me. The sphere couldn''t even defend himpletely against the weird sword.

    The lightsaber didn''t stop even after extinguishing Jack''s skills but went on to cut off Jack''s entire arm off from his shoulder. An unending jet of blood began to gush out of the hole where his limb should have been.

    For a second, Jack couldn''t even believe that his arm had been cut off even though it was lying on the ground right in front of him. Although he was a ruthless individual who had seen a lot of bloodshed before, he had never been injured to this degree. This was his first time on the receiving end of this kind of torture.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The scream only escaped his lips once the neurons in his brains began to function properly again. The pain came as if out of nowhere and took over all his senses but before he could lose his mindpletely, his survival instinct kicked in once again and saved him from falling into a manic state.

    A heavy and deeply terrifying aura burst forth from Jack along with his screams full of agony. Instead of covering the stump of the arm that was continuously leaking a jet of blood, Jack red at Zach with a maddened ze over his eyes.

    Zach was about tounch another attack but he couldn''t help but feel a sense of danger from Jack who was akin to a cornered beast at the moment that didn''t care about its own well being and wanted to take down the enemy with it.

    As expected, the reason Jack wasn''t trying to stop the bleeding despite the possibility of being anemic in between battle or death wasn''t that he had stopped caring about his life and death. Men like Jack were usually the tenacious kind who struggled till the end. The only reason he was letting his blood flow freely was because he seemed to be preparing for some kind of forbidden spell.

    Jackughed creepily as the jet of blood escaping the stump on his shoulder began to defy thews of gravity and began to float all around him in broken streams.

    Murderous thoughts took over Jack''s rationality as the blood began to congeal in front of him with a single wave of his remaining hand. The bloody streams took the form of several small spheres the size of an immature walnut.

    The bloody spheres were so condensed that the blood had almost be a solid under Jack''s maniption.

    Zach was shocked when he saw this because this world considered blood magic to be a kind of dark magic. The fact that Jack was not only able to control the wind element but also blood made him feel rmed about this opponent. This was probably againstmon sense of this world.

    Now he finally understood why this person was deemed to be such a terrifying criminal despite only being an A rank mage at his peak.

    At the same time, Zach wasn''t nning to wait around for Jack to prepare whatever spell he was preparing. Unfortunately, Jack was not only controlling the blood spheres but was also manipting the hurricane to push back Zach from reaching close to him.

    This was definitely unprecedented for Zach who had never encountered an enemy capable of using two elements at the same time.

    Still the saber in his hand helped him prate the defenses of the hurricane as he used thedder as a step to move forward.

    Jack was already wary of the glowing sword in Zach''s hand. He wasn''t willing to suffer another loss due to that weird sword that was capable of sublimating his magic skill.

    Just when Zach was about to close the distance between him and Jack, thetter swung his arm and the wind element around him began to spin the bloody spheres faster than the turbine in a jet engine.

    Zach probably knew the danger that the bloody spheres might pose to him as his facial expressions twisted with wariness. The rotation of the bloody spheres was no different from the method of propulsion used in high pration bullets and armor piercing rounds in his previous world. Therefore, Zach felt that he could not let himself get struck with the bloody projectiles no matter what.

    Instead of proceeding closer to Jack, it was safer for him to take a defensive stance against the projectiles before moving forward.

    Jack didn''t disappoint him as the strength of the projectiles was no different from solid bullets. It was in fact a little stronger than that.

    Zach immediately injected his force into the lightsaber which gave rise to a blood red sma de capable of disintegrating almost everything in existence. He swung the de in a round arc in front of him repeatedly with a terrifying speed. To an outsider it looked as if there were countless sword shadows protecting Zach from all outside attacks. The sword shadows made a dome like protective area around him and sublimated all the blood bullets being shot at him.

    Jack had been holding onto a little hope since he had managed to make Zach halt in his advances for a moment but the moment the fan of sword crushed his blood bullets, Jack knew that he was no match for Zach''s weird swordsmanship. Therefore, he nned to retreat as he utilized blood magic to slow Zach down.

    Unlike before, Jack used all the blood he could muster from his body without falling helplessly to the ground and rained down a barrage of piercing bullets towards Zach from above.

 Chapter 247 247 Rescue VII

    The previous frontal assault wasn''t very difficult for Zach as the trajectory of the bullets was visible to him and swinging the sword in front of him was easierpared to defending an attack from above.

    Zach solemnly took a defensive stance and prepared for the bloody rain of death from above. The swinging of the lightsaber was even faster this time but there were still some blood droplets that managed to graze his skin somewhat. Fortunately, there was no injury that was very deep and Zach was perfectly capable of continuing the fight. But this time he wanted to finish it as soon as possible so as to not give Jack a chance to unleash such a destructive spell again.

    Zach''s front foot retreated slightly in an attempt to propel in the direction of Jack but when the rain of death passed, there was no one in front of him.

    Zach looked around apprehensively in order to determine if Jack was hiding somewhere. Unfortunately, Jack grasped the opportunity to escape when Zach was busy protecting himself from the bloody rain.

    The hurricane disappeared as if on cue since Jack was no longer in the area to manipte and power the wind element.

    Zach regained his movement but he was in no rush to chase after Jack who had probably gained quite a lot of distance on Zach and Christina.

    "I don''t think he has gone very far yet. If we rush, we can still catch up to him. Let''s hurry."

    Christina who had previously been blown away by Jack''s hurricane had already arrived beside Zach and was now urging him to chase after the murderous criminal. She held on to Zach''s arm as she tried to pull him along with her but Zach held her wrist with his free hand in order to stop her impulsiveness.

    "Stopбнlet him go."

    Zach sighed helplessly as he held her back from chasing after Jack.

    Christina couldn''t believe her ears because she believed that the two of them together were more than enough to take down Jack. Their opponent was already armless and had probably gotten a lot weaker due to all that loss of blood earlier.

    It had to be known that the blood mages were capable of manipting blood around them. More capable ones could even manipte the blood of their opponents to restrict their actions. But Jack was probably too consumed to do something of that caliber. As such, Christina didn''t want to let go of this opportunity to take care of a potential threat.

    But Zach on the other hand wasn''t very hopeful of being able to corner Jack once more especially when thetter was so desperate to survive. A criminal like Jack, who had been wreaking havoc long before Zach was even born, wasn''t someone who could be captured so easily. Murderous demons like Jack were the most ruthless towards themselves instead of others. When cornered, their minds were twisted enough to cause them tounch suicidal attacks towards their enemies.

    Zach was afraid that Christina would keep pestering him and would push him to self-detonation which was thest resort of any mage like Jack. Jack was more than capable of such a cruel counterattack. He would rather kill Christina along with him instead of letting her benefit from his death.

    Hope was both the best friend and the worst enemy of any human. The hope for food in a drought was fully capable of keeping people from starving to death but at the same time it made their existence and continued life more and more painful and full of a longing that might never be sated in their life time.

    Taking away hope of survival from a monster like Jack was to deprive him of the breath in his lungs. As soon as he felt that there was no hope of escape, the monster might as well decide to take Christina down with him in order to make his life more meaningful until the end.

    To Zach, Christina'' well being was far more importantpared to taking down Jack who was on hisst leg anyway and probably had a very low chance of making aeback with hiscking arm. Therefore, he wasn''t willing to let Christina chase after him and take the risk of nevering back to him. His rtionship with her had only just begun and he was not willing to let her take the risk of getting hurt when it was not necessary.

    Moreover, Jack was inconsequential to proving the innocence of the Windsor family leader. He was neither involved in the nning nor was he the direct cause of his suffering. Therefore, he was a witness at most whose testimony might not even be epted by the court ofw due to the criminal charges on him and the fact that he was an escapee from the police dungeon. As such, Zach didn''t think he was worth getting his precious woman hurt in the process.

    Christina on the other hand didn''t seem convinced by Zach. She was confident that she could take down Jack in a few moves had it not been for the powerful hurricane that he had summoned at the end. It wasn''t that she wasn''t willing to listen to Zach. In fact, she wanted to be of use to him. Her deep feelings towards her husband seemed to have thrown her usual sensibility and cunning out the window.

    "Don''t go after him. Who knows what kind of trump cards he still has? We don''t need to risk so much to capture him when there is no merit to doing so?" Zach tried to convince her apathetically. He had already considered the various options they still had at hand and hade to the conclusion that Jack wasn''t necessary to their future ns.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "How are we going to prove the Hunter family''s crimes without him? If we could capture him, we might have had proof against the Hunter family. How is that not a merit?" Christina retorted as she stared at Zach suspiciously, trying to figure out what was going on in his mind.

    Though she had spent the least amount of time with Zach amongst the other women, she still knew him quite well. In her opinion, he was a meticulous person and there was no way that he had missed out on something that even she had taken into consideration.

    "Then who do you think would be more helpful for that purposeбнJack or Nelson?" Zach asked with a smile on his face. He trusted Christina to understand his meaning after he gave her a hint.

    As expected, Christina fell into thought for a moment before revealing an understanding look on her face.

    "Now you know why I let go of Jack. Rather than wasting time chasing after someone we might or might not be able to capture without suffering a loss, it would be good for us to secure Nelson who is still on the hill. Maybe we can force the Hunter family to confess by threatening the leader with his son as hostage."

    Zach revealed his full n to Christina as he wanted her to be on the same page as him. He didn''t want to have to keep on exining his actions to her at every turn.

    "Okay, I will listen to you then." Christina nodded her head obediently this time. She had naturally acknowledged Zach''s reasoning. Therefore, she decided to listen to him wholeheartedly and left all the thinking to him.

    Zach turned around on his heel with Christina right behind him. She imitated his actions and as he began to run back to the hill that was looming in the distance standing alone underneath the starry sky. Their ck robes that were somewhat tattered after the battle billowed behind them like punctured ghostly capes as they rushed back at full speed in order to keep the scion of the Hunter family from escaping their.

    The faster Zach rushed, the more he felt that something was wrong. There was no battle on top of the hill. He had expected Nelson to retaliate in some manner but the silence on the hill indicated that either ra and Luke had already subdued him or he had exploited some opportunity to escape their grasp.

    Zach hoped that it was the former or the n to take down the Hunter family in a blitz might be impossible for the time being.

    When they reached the entrance of the cave that had previously housed the eldest daughter of the Windsor family, they ran into the flustered looking Luke and the gloomy ra.

    For Zach, it was quite a surprise because he had hardly ever seen ra like that. She was a rather strong woman and was slightly impulsive andcking in brain power. But one thing she had never been was a sad and helpless woman.

    "What happened? Where''s Nelson?"

    Seeing that both ra and Luke didn''t seem to be on alert, Zach couldn''t help but ask curiously.

    "бнescaped." ra opened her mouth but her voice never came out. She barely muttered a word with a voice akin to that of a mosquito.

    "What did you say?"

    At first, ra thought that Zach was reprimanding her for letting Nelson escape but the expressions on his face didn''t match the words. It seemed that Zach had truly not understood her words and was asking with genuine curiosity and a mixed apology.

    "H-he escaped when I tried to capture him. He tricked me and crushed a spatial scroll to escape from here." ra finally managed to tell him meekly.

 Chapter 248 248 Whos The Spy

    Zach could only let out a sigh as a result and didn''t me ra for he knew how simple minded and pure she could be while fighting. She relied on her primal instincts topete with the enemy with brute force that was way beyond the normal.

    Before Zach could ask anything else, Violet came out of the cave covered in Luke''s Jacket that was sorge for her that it was akin to an overcoat that reached her knees.

    Before Violet could say anything, Christina lunged towards her and grabbed her hand with worry in her eyes. She couldn''t imagine what Violet might have been through during this time. The fact that her clothes were nowhere to be seen and she was covered in Luke''s jacket made her feel terrified for her.

    "What if she had been defiled by the beast of the son of Hunter family leader? What if they had been toote?", were the thoughts that upied most of her brain. She wondered how to approach the subject in order to confirm her doubts but in the end, she only held on to her hands with a reassuring smile and tried to encourage her with the warmth of her hands.

    After suffering from such an ordeal, Violet found Christina''s concern for her extremely touching. She too held her hands tightly and tried to keep herself from tearing up.

    Zach wasn''t quite tactful like Christina and directly asked Luke about what happened with an inquisitive expression.

    "Thankfully, we came in the nick of time and startled that beast. Otherwise, he would have seeded in defiling her." replied Luke solemnly and with a trace of regret. He thought of the condition he had found Violet in and couldn''t help butment that they had wasted too much time lingering outside or they might have saved her from suffering so much humiliation.

    While Christina was trying tofort Violet, and Zach was prying information from Luke, ra felt out of ce as if she was in the wrong ce. Her guilt for letting Nelson escape kept eating away at her from the inside as if punishing her for her ipetence.

    She took a look at Christina and found her to be covered in bruises and cuts all over her body and assumed that she had fought against Jack along with Zach who was in a simr condition to her. It made her feel ashamed that even the newly joined Christina had managed to pull her weight while she had proved to bepletely useless. She had let a powerless enemy escape from right in front of her eyes. She felt that she had dragged down the whole team down with her.

    бн

    Violet was wearing ra''s ck robe as she returned to the Windsor family mansion along with the people who hade to her rescue. She was feeling extremely disgusted after being touched all over by Nelson. Therefore, she didn''t wait for anyone andunched towards her room in order to take a bath and to wash the filth that had stained her body.

    The rest of the party stayed in her office which was apparently quite safe from prying eyes. There was hardly anyone who came to her office at this time of the night.

    Violet took her time in the bath before she returned to her office in a morefortable but luxury house wear.

    The meeting began as soon as she arrived. There were several thoughts that were raging in Zach''s mind and he needed to get them across to the others in order to take their opinion regarding his concerns.

    The five of them sat around the coffee table on thefortable couches. Those who were injured during the battle earlier couldn''t help but let outfortable moans in their embrace. All of them deserved some rest after the struggle on the hill but they didn''t have the luxury to do that when all the spears were pointed towards Windsor family and a criminal their enemies controlled was still on the loose.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Do you still remember what I told you before?" Zach asked ra solemnly. After Violet had been abducted by Jack, Zach hade to realize that there was some insider feeding him information otherwise with ra didn''t look like a threat to anyone. Since someone had taken the effort to steer her away from home before Jack made a move, it was a surety that that there was a spy.

    "You mean about that spy?" ra answered with a question.

    "What do you think?" Zach knew that ra was not one of the brainy people and turned his questioning gaze towards Violet.

    Violet was not thrilled about this conjecture as it meant that someone from her own family had betrayed her, people that she had done her best to protect and feed. But Zach''s words seemed quite reasonable considering the meticulous nning and execution of the ns carried out by the enemy. Most importantly, the timing of everything was perfect enough to avoid suspicion.

    "I am afraid that I have to agree with your thinking. There are some things I have been doubting since the very beginning of this whole affair. The sugar that poisoned themon folk couldn''t havee out of our production because the whole thing is kept under maximum security. There is absolutely no way for someone from the outside to enter the facility and poison it at our production facility without us knowing about it. Therefore, the only possibility is that someone from the inside did it right underneath our nose. Knives that are the closest to us are often invisible after all."

    With Violet''s confirmation all those present had already epted that there must be a spy amongst the Windsor family.

    "Now that we have established that the spy exists. I believe that the spy must be quite close to you two or at least the head of the family. It is impossible for the low rank servants to pull off this kind of n with their level of power and authority within the family. I believe this mainly because the perpetrator was familiar with the behavior of you two sisters from the get go and had even managed to poison the sugar in the production facilities. The only possibility is that they not only had the opportunity but also the necessary power and rank to pull off such an act. As such, we can begin going through the people that rank right below the core Windsor family and make our way to the bottom of the hierarchy. This way we can determine the person who has been acting the most strangely these days."

    Zach''s n to find out the true culprit was a carefully thought-out n that had the most probability of working out. No one in the group could find a problem with the n that was not only meticulous but also quite systematic in its execution.

    Using Zach''s method there wouldn''t be any loophole in their search for the spy. Therefore, everyone readily agreed to it.

    Violet and ra both burned their brain cells trying to find faults with the trusted aides who had worked alongside them and their father for the longest of time. Just imagining that there was someone amongst these people who had betrayed them for the Hunter family made their hearts ache. But they didn''t dare to make light of this investigation because the survival of the Windsor family and the downfall of the Hunter family depended on whether they could identify the spy in their midst or not.

    They began to discuss various trusted aides of their father first. His guards were the main focus as they were not only free enough to conduct espionage at the moment but were also present with their father at whatever production nt he visited. Therefore, it was entirely possible for them to slip in the toxic substance.

    After brainstorming for some time, there were none that especially caught their attention. With no other choice but to go down the hierarchical chain of Windsor family, Violet and ra began to brainstorm over their own personal guards and aides.

    While the two girls continued to discuss amongst themselves, the other three participants of the meeting couldn''t do anything else but spectate. They were neither very close to the Windsor family to know about their internal affairs nor were they able to follow the conversation taking ce between the two girls especially Christina who was rather new in townpared to the others.

 Chapter 249 249 Suspect

    When it was finally the turn of ra''s guards to be discussed, it was then that ra finally said something that attracted the attention of everyone else in the room. Even Violet felt a sudden sense of unease following her words.

    "When I think about it, Grace has been actingбнa bit strangetely."

    "What do you mean? Strange? How?" asked Violet suspicious of the escort under discussion. As far as she knew, Grace was quite the devoted escort who always followed after ra and was especially passionate about her protection even though she didn''t need it. Even if she had to suspect someone defecting, she would have never considered Grace to be the mole.

    Unfortunately, the closest knives were the most hidden and the most sinister.

    "Previously he was always there whenever I needed him. Even though I never needed his protection, he always stuck to me like glue and forced me to take him with me wherever I went. Buttely he is always absent whenever something happens to me. It is like his priorities have changed all of a sudden. I can''t think of anyone else who has changed so drastically during this period. The more I think about itбнthe more I feel that he is the oneбнthe spy."

    ra''s expression became more resolute and confident as she spoke about Grace to Violet.

    Grace was someone even Zach knew to be quite stubborn about ra''s protection. He remembered how much he had tried to resist his help when they first met in the wilderness.

    Both Zach and Violet''s faces darkened at the thought of such a man being a traitor. Such a betrayal meant that no one could be trusted and everyone was fully capable of betraying them in the face of benefits.

    "I think that ra''s guess should be the right one. This isn''t like Grace at all. He was never this careless about her safety like this before. But I don''t want to risk it if it can be helped. I don''t want to lose the trust of such a devoted person if all of this turns out to be our spection alone."

    Violet exined her concerns to everyone. Although she had her doubts, she didn''t want to interrogate Grace before she could make sure that he was indeed the culprit who sold them out to the enemies in such a heartless manner.

    ra nodded unconsciously as she agreed with Violet''s concerns in her heart even though she was the first one to harbor suspicion against Grace.

    A man like Grace would never be able to ept such an usation. They would never let something mar their dignity and honor earned through a lifetime of loyalty and dedication. As such, questioning him would probably have longsting effects on his rtionship with the Windsor family. It wasn''t that Grace was irreceable but that he had been with the Windsor family for so long that it just wasn''t right to trample all over his loyal sentiments for the family based on pure spection and circumstantial evidence.

    "You are from a prominent family as well, right? How do you people deal with spies?" ra asked Christina thinking that thetter might be able to solve their dilemma for them.

    Christina wasn''t as helpful as ra had assumed. She just shook her head and said, "We aren''t a martial family to begin with. Our family relies on business activities and the foundation of our ancestors to thrive. Amongst businessmen, spies are considered to be the vilest of pests. They are eliminated as soon as the guilt is proven. Leaking business secrets is considered to be worse than stealing and murdering. Therefore, we either trade their life for benefits from the perpetrator or we kill the spies without giving them an opportunity to defend themselves in case they know too much."

    Violet and ra hadn''t expected Christina to be from such a ruthless family. Luke on the other hand nodded to himself as he heard the only method he approved of from Christina''s mouth. This was the way military handled spies and he felt that this should be the only consequence of betrayal. Still, he had the sense to not say anything in front of the girls when they hadn''t asked him for his opinion on such a subject.

    Christina''s suggestion was never taken into ount for the reason that it was too ruthless.

    Just when all present were wondering what to do about Grace, Zach attracted the attention of everyone with a p. Even he didn''t understand why he did what he did but it must have been some suppressed impulse of his that had finally found its way out.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Zach was slightly embarrassed at his sudden action but other than the slight redness underneath his ears he didn''t let it show on his face for fear of being teased by them.

    "I can help you with this. You don''t need to confront him. If you can ensure that I can have a smooth conversation with him, I can tell you whether he has betrayed you or not."

    As soon as Zach offered the solution, Luke snickered as if he didn''t believe him at all.

    "What do you intend to do, ask him nicely and hope that he tells you the truth?" asked Luke incredulously not believing in a word that came out of Zach''s mouth.

    "Something like that. In fact, he doesn''t even need to tell me the truth. I just need him to talk to me with this thing connected to his body and I would be able to tell whether he is the spy or not." Zach pulled out the lie detector from his arsenal and stunned the other participants with his otherworldly prowess to pull things out of nowhere.

    "So, you are telling me that you can get this done without rming Grace or hurting his self-esteem?" asked Violet as if confirming whether Zach could truly pull this off. Although she had seen his methods on countless asions, she had never expected that his prowess had reached such a godly realm. He could deduce someone''s actions just based on their words.

    "ra, you decide. After all he is your escort." dered Violet.

    ra was flustered at first but when she took a look at Zach''s confident visage, she decided to put her faith in him since he had yet to disappoint her since the moment, she met him for the first time.

    "You can do whatever you want. I believe in you."

    Zach nodded in response and controlled some drones that were already high up in the sky keeping an eye out for any new intruders in the vicinity of the Windsor family mansion. He needed to up the security of the mansion in these turbulent times at the very least. With the presence of a spy in the mansion, Zach felt that it was best if he took over the security detail of the mansion with his drones so as to be ready in every situation.

    The drones spread out like a formation of nes breaking off in different directions in a showy manner.

    The dragonflies were sent to all the possible locations that Grace could have been at and finally located him after aprehensive search for thirty minutes.

    Grace was currently in a sugar production nt helping manage the operations in the absence of the core of the family. Violet''s absence and Marico''s arrest had probably made it harder for the sugar production nt which led to Grace taking over the factory for the time being. OR maybe he had some hidden motive; Zach couldn''t be sure about that until after the interrogation.

    "Grace is currently in the production nt by the south east city gate. Did you send him there to help out?" Zach asked ra in an attempt to unravel Grace''s intentions about the Windsor family if he had any to begin with.

    "I don''t think I did but he does sometimes go out of his way to help others with their chores. This isn''t exactly a new behavior if you are asking about that. He isn''t doing this to look good now that he should be under suspicion. This is just how he has been since the time he became my escort." rified ra since she didn''t want Zach to be overtly biased against Grace before even meeting him.

    ""I understand."

 Chapter 250 250 The Polygraph

    "I understand. I will keep that in mind when I talk to him. Can you send someone over to call him over right now? Why wait when we can begin right now?" demanded Zach as if he had some ce else to be at this time of the night.

    "And don''t let him find out that we don''t trust him." ra asked once again as she grew worried that Zach might use forceful means to get the answer out of him.

    "Don''t worry and call him here. Tell him that I am going to perform a medical check-up on him because you have been worried for his health during this time. He knows that I have some unique medical skills so he wouldn''t doubt you or me when I attach this to him and proceed as per the n." Zachid out the whole n in the open for everyone to consider.

    Violet couldn''t help but praise him in her heart foring up with such an borate n instantly. She was impressed with his ingenuity and means and couldn''t wait for the result of the interrogation. She was hoping that Grace hadn''t betrayed them because she was worried about ra doing something impulsive again if it turned out to be true.

    ra exited Violet''s office in order to send for Grace in the sugar production nt and came back in a few minutes after arranging everything.

    In the meanwhile, Zach was busy trying to set up the lie detector machine next to a chair. He tested the apparatus once on Luke and was finally satisfied with it.

    Grace arrived soon after. The servants had been ordered to bring him right to the office by informing him that the situation demanded him urgently.

    Grace knocked on the door to the study mildly and waited for an answer.

    The answer came instantly as if ra had been anxious for his return and had been waiting for him.

    Grace looked at Violet and couldn''t help but be slightly surprised. The shock only surfaced in his eyes for an instant but Zach didn''t let even that escape his notice.

    After that he bowed to ra slightly and asked, "Young miss, you asked for me urgently. Is there something wrong?"

    Although Zach didn''t believe ra was capable of falsity, she didn''t act any worse than him. She stared at Grace with genuine concern and asked, "Have you been all right these days? You have been absent most of the time and whenever you are apanying me, you look extremely down all the timeбн"

    Grace was so surprised by the sudden questioning that his heart was about to beat out of his chest but he acted calm and undeterred. A drop of sweat trickled down his forehead even though it wasn''t so hot inside. His condition only improved once ra began to talk again.

    "You must be sick, right? It seems that I am right; you are sweating like a pig." ra said cheekily with a forced smile on her face which was indistinguishable from her usual sunny smile that was capable of brightening up the day around her.

    Grace let out a sigh of relief as the negative thoughts in his head disappeared instantly. He had almoste to believe that ra had found out about him. Thankfully, ra was just worried about his health.

    "I am a little tired, that''s all, young miss. You need not concern yourself with me. I can''t bear to add to your troubles during this challenging time."

    ra looked like she wasn''t convinced with his answer at all. She acted extremely unwavering as she began to push Grace into the chair that Zach had already prepared near the polygraph and said, "I have already requested Zach to take a look at you. I won''t stop worrying otherwise. All these things have happened to my father and my eldest sister. You are the closest one to me amongst my family after them. I don''t want anything to happen to you after all this. Bear with it and let him check up on you, just to set my mind at ease."

    Grace turned his head to look at Zach and then looked back at ra. His heart was in turmoil at the moment. The concern that ra was showing for him was pinching his insides into a twisted mess. He felt like he didn''t deserve her concern but felt happy about it deep down at the same time.

    "I will do as you say, young miss."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Grace turned towards Zach after saying that and used his bodynguage to ask Zach about what to do now.

    "Please take a seat. I will be using some of my medical equipment to help take a look at your body. If you feel ufortable or any kind of pain during the scanning, please let me know. If everything goes right, it should be a painless process and you shouldn''t even feel a thing."

    Grace obliged and sat on the seat beside the polygraph in an uneasy manner. He was feeling guilt over betraying the people who fed him and clothed him for such a long time.

    "Now let''s attach these clips to your body. Bear with me for a minute, it will take a little bit of time." Zach acted like a professional doctor. His acting wasn''t any lesser than that of ra earlier. Even a doctor wouldn''t have been able to distinguish him from real had it not been for his unorthodox medical techniques.

    Zach attached the two pneumographs to Grace''s body after he was seated. One was attached to his chest after he fumbled for a while trying to pull apart his shirt from the middle. The other was attached to his abdominal region. These two tubes would be able to measure any changes in Grace''s breathing upon being asked a question.

    Zach further attached some of the electrodes to Grace''s fingers. He carefully positioned his arms on the armrests of the chair. The electrodes were to be used to monitor the conductivity of the skin in order to measure Galvanic Skin Response. This would allow Zach to sense the minutest stimtion in his body.

    Grace felt a little ufortable since this looked more like a torture machine than a medical equipment. But since he had already seen his unconventional means when he healed the leader of the Windsor family, he knew that he was in good hands at least when it came to medicalprehension and diagnosis.

    Zach finally ced the blood pressure cuff around his bicep before he was finally done.

    "This one should contract and expand on an irregr basis and might even cut off blood flow in your arm for a bit. But this is perfectly normal and is only a part of the test so don''t be anxious, all right?"

    Zach gave Grace a warning once again because he didn''t want thetter to run off during the interrogation using minor difort like this as an excuse.

    Grace nodded as he was still slightly nervous with all the things attached to his body. It felt like several leeches were sucking out his blood except it was not as gross.

    "This should take a while. Please don''t move around during the examination is going on."

    Grace nodded once again in acknowledgement and tried to rx as much as possible.

    "I heard from ra that you areing straight from the sugar production nt, is that true?" asked Zach in order to test whether the polygraph was working or not. But to Grace it felt as if Zach was making small talk just like doctors usually did while checking on their patients.

    "Yes, I was just helping out." replied Grace as he eased into the chair to give some rest to his overworked back.

    Zach momentarily shifted his gaze and looked at the polygraph that was producing screeching sounds as it recorded Grace''s pulse, breathing, blood pressure and skin conductivity.

    There was no erratic or irregr motion in the polygraph indicating that it was the truth. After confirming that the machine was working properly, he began to delve into the more important matters; things that might prove Grace''s involvement in the n concocted by Hunter family and their associates.

    "Did you hear any more rumors about the sugar poisoning incident? Are there any more victims that you might have heard about by any chance?"

 Chapter 251 251 Testing And Deduction

    "There are some rumors but you know how rumors are. They keep spreading until someone can bring solid proof." Grace''s answer was the truth as he truly felt that Zach was merely asking for his own understanding. He wasn''t the least bit suspicious.

    "To be honest, all of us had been discussing this topic but we couldn''t make the heads or tails of the situation considering that all of us y a managerial role in sugar production. I heard from ra that you like to help out the workers from time to time. Then you must have a different outlook on things which is why I feel that you are the only person who can help me out."

    Zach didn''t want to ask the questions that he wanted to ask all of a sudden because it would then be no different from an interrogation. As such he had to build on a conversation before getting to the main question that he wanted to ask him.

    Grace unknowingly nodded and said, "Since you are willing to give me a medical check-up, the least I can do is answer a few questions for you if that''s what you want. In fact, it would make me feel at ease as well disturbing you like this."

    Zach showed his appreciation with a smile on his face.

    "Then I won''t stand on ceremony. When I heard of the usations on Mr. Windsor, I couldn''t help but feel a little doubtful about it. I have seen theyouts of the production ns and the security is very strict. No matter how I think, it seems impossible to me that someone could get into the production facility and ruin the end product without attracting attention from the public. So, I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about the poisoned sugar that affected so many victims in the city."

    Zach''s question was carefully crafted and even the story behind it couldn''t arouse suspicion in Grace.

    Grace on the other hand wasn''t doing so good on the inside. His heart was practically bursting out of his chest as he could hear the voice of his heart thumping in fear.

    Even though Grace somehow managed to keep a nonchnt expression on his face as if the question had nothing to do with it, the screeching of the polygraph attracted Zach''s attention. The heartbeat was through the roof and even the breathing had begun to make huge waves on the graph.

    Grace''sposure was aplete and utter fa?ade behind which he was hiding something. Zach had to draw out the reason with the help of the polygraph.

    "No, as you said the security really is very tight. There is no way that an outsider could get in without getting detected. As for knowing anything about it, I might be thest person you want to ask about this. Even though I go there sometimes to help, I barely spend much time in idle gossip or rumor mongering. I find it childish. Therefore, I barely know the things that anyone in the street might know about."

    The polygraph showed that it was a barefaced lie.

    Zach could only sigh with helplessness. ra noticed it right away and knew that Grace had betrayed the Windsor family this time. When she thought of how her father was currently in a prison where he was probably being tortured and her sister had been through such an ordeal; all because of him, a me of anger burst inside her with the force of a nuclear explosion and she couldn''t control her actions. She lunged towards Grace pulled him off the polygraph and pinned him down to the ground with one swift motion.

    "WHY? WHY DID YOU DO THIS? We trusted you. I TRUSTED YOUбнthen why...why did you betray us?" ra was yelling as she kept applying force on his cor to pull him off the ground before releasing him.

    Grace looked crestfallen, his expressions a mix of anger, guilt and myriad emotions that he had kept hidden all this time. ra was the girl he had been protecting since she was very young. Therefore, he offered no resistance to her aggressive questioning. He knew that she was acting this way because she was extremely disappointed.

    Grace didn''t try to escape what he knew he deserved. He had already expected this day toe and was prepared to give his life in return for betraying the Windsor family.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ra on the other hand was far from being able to stop once she began to rage. She began to smack Grace right on his face. The strength behind her punches was strong enough to shatter the cheekbones of any normal person but Grace had been trained by the Windsor family who specialized in physique strengthening. Therefore, under the wrathful assault of ra, he was able to survive somehow. He only spat blood a few times but still said nothing in response to ra''s questioning.

    Before ra ended up killing him in her anger, Zach grabbed onto her hand that was now covered in Grace''s blood.

    "Stopбнthat''s enough. We still don''t know why he did it and from the looks of it, he doesn''t n to tell you either. I am afraid if you continue, you will end up killing him."

    ra unwillingly let go of Grace but the indignation in her eyes was evident for all to see.

    Grace couldn''t even lift his eyes to take a look at what she looked like at the moment. He was too ashamed of what he had done. Nevertheless, he believed that his actions were only to save his loved one and not to intentionally hurt the Windsor family. He had been coerced by the enemy into doing this. Therefore, he believed that he had done nothing wrong even if the whole world called him out on it.

    "Let me ask him the questions. I am afraid that he won''t live very long if you end up questioning him like this." Said Zach as he pulled Grace to his feet with both of his hands. Grace turned out to be quite heavy and it took quite a bit of force on Zach''s part to pull him up.

    Zach then had him sit on the chair and connected the polygraph to him once again. He gave him a few minutes to catch his breath so that his vitals could back to normal after the earlier stimtion.

    Now that they had already established that Grace was a traitor, they didn''t need to give him the respect he didn''t deserve. He was a traitor to the family and could be treated with the harshest of behaviors and could be interrogated directly.

    When the vitals were steady enough, Zach began the interrogation with a stiff expression that bordered on the verge of anger.

    "Why did you betray the Windsor family that you have been serving so whole heartedly for the enemy? Did you think that you weren''t being treated right in this ce? Is that it?" Zach asked a series of questions from him in order to determine his reasons.

    However, he was faced with absolute silence from the culprit. Grace was unwilling to answer any single one of Zach''s questions. There was a resolute look on his face as if he was not going to waver even in the face of death.

    To Zach, this seemed to be a little odd. Usually those who were willing to betray once were bound to betray again. This kind of people had no sense of honor and were flexible enough to switch sides as soon as the benefits outweighed what they were currently receiving.

    However, Grace was resolute enough to maintain his silence throughout. This was only possible if the Hunter family had offered him something that the Windsor family would never be able to even if they continued to develop for several years or he was being forced to betray Windsor family due to some coercive means that the Windsor family had no means to handle.

    There was another possibility but Zach didn''t think that was possible given how passionately Grace had served the Windsor family before. It was that Grace had never been loyal to Windsor family from the beginning and had been nted by the enemy side as a sleeper cell until ordered to act.

    Zach chose the process of elimination to test all these theories on Grace so as to ascertain the true reason with the help of the polygraph despite Grace''s continued silence throughout the interrogation.

 Chapter 252 252 Fighting Back

    Zach chose the process of elimination to test all these theories on Grace so as to ascertain the true reason with the help of the polygraph despite Grace''s continued silence throughout the interrogation.

    "Judging on the basis of how you waited for such an opportune moment to take action against Mr. Windsor and Violet, you must have some heavy grudge against them, am I right?" Zach decided to confirm thest possibility first because the rest of the interrogation would be carried out to determine exactly when Grace''s loyalties shifted to the Hunter family.

    Grace didn''t say anything but the skin conductivity response indicated extreme anger which corresponded with the twisted expression on Grace''s face. Zach knew then that he had touched a nerve there. Previously when he med him or interrogated him, he had never shown such a reaction but now it was as if his insides were boiling. It could only mean that he was actually angry as if Zach had stained his honor or whatever he had left in its ce.

    "Even a dog by the side of the road knows how to return favor with gratitude but you have only waited for an opportunity to bite the hand that fed you all these years. What kind of a human being are you if you can''t even distinguish between your master who has taken care of you and the enemies who only want to use you for momentary gain?"

    As Zach expected Grace was like a volcano that was about to explode as soon as he heard Zach''s words. But still the man held in his wrath and refused to speak a word. His fists were clenched so tightly that it was putting a strain on the electrodes connected to his fingers.

    Zach eliminated the third possibility that Grace had been loyal to the Hunter family from the get go. That only left him with two things that he still needed to find out; the exact time when the Hunter family poached Grace from the Windsor family and the reason why Grace decided to betray the Windsor family.

    "I don''t think you are such a heartless person. The first time I met you, you defended ra with your life on the line. Was it all a fa?ade to gain her trust?"

    There was a severe fluctuation on the polygraph as all the parameters spiked. This could only mean that Grace was affected by his words. A disloyal person would never bother with such stinging words.

    "I will tell you my theory that I have built up through our conversation so far. I think you were always loyal to the Windsor family until your recent actions proved otherwise. I am right, aren''t I?"

    There was no fluctuation on the polygraph this time indicating that the statement was probably true for Grace.

    "What makes me wonder is the thing that made you change your mind? What could the Hunter family give you that made you transfer your loyalties instantly?"

    Grace was like a lifeless doll and even the polygraph results were consistent with normal vital patterns. There was no abnormality.

    "Was it wealth?" asked Zach curiously as if he wanted to know how much Grace had received from the Hunter family to sell out the Windsor family so heartlessly.

    Grace''s face twisted into a sneer as if Zach hadn''t talked about wealth but some shit by the side of the road. Obviously, the answer was not money. The polygraph corresponded with the result as well. The man was unaffected by the question.

    "Did they promise to give you a better position than your current one? If they did, I am afraid that they will cut you off the moment they seed." Zach was structuring his questions based on the greatest temptations for all men.

    Unfortunately, power and position didn''t seem to have any kind of effect on Grace either. It had to be something else, something that was capable of coercing a loyal man like Grace into changing the object of his loyalty.

    And that was when something clicked in Zach''s mind. Hadn''t Nelson threatened Violet with her father to get what he wanted? Maybe this was the modus operandi of the Hunter family. If it was due to this, even Zach might have converted let alone Grace.

    "Did they threaten your family?" asked Zach with anticipation.

    There was a severe fluctuation on the polygraph and the graph seemed to have shot through the edge of the paper. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Zach finally had a direction to work with. Obviously, his family had been threatened in some manner.

    "So, it''s because of your family then. Those bastardsбн" cursed Zach as he tried to build up a little rapport with the object of his interrogation. He believed that doing this might get Grace to open up with him.

    Grace was shocked as to how Zach managed to guess the reason even though he hadn''t opened his mouth. He was worried that the Hunter family would hurt Taylor now that he had been found out by the Windsor family.

    "Where is your family now?"

    Zach wanted to offer protection for his family in return for his cooperation.

    Grace on the other hand was close to tears now that his wounds had been pried open by Zach. Taylor''s face kept on appearing in front of his eyes even though she was being held hostage by the Hunter family.

    "How many family members do you have? Are all of them being threatened by them?"

    "That should not be the case. As far as I know, he has no family." ra was the one who had spoken. She was also the one who had spent the most time with Grace in the Windsor family. Her words should have been reliable but in this case her statement could be disregardedpletely since she probably didn''t know anything about Grace''s rtives.

    Grace only shook his head as if in helplessness but refused to reveal information about his only family for fear that the Hunter family might hurt her in retaliation.

    Violet couldn''t stand the stuffy atmosphere and had to intervene. She knew what it was like to be threatened with one''s family. Even she had bent her back when faced with such a threat. Therefore, she felt some sympathy for him.

    "I don''t know what the Hunter family promised you but let me assure you that their methods are extremely ruthless and their promises nothing more than air. If you think that your family would be safe after you are no longer useful to them, then you are severely mistaken. They would never let someone like you who is a witness to their crimes go off unscathed. At that time, both you and your family would suffer the consequences of your stupidity."

    Violet''s words struck like the gong of awakening and made Grace realize how much truth her words held but he seemed to be unwilling to take the risk since even the Windsor family was unable to contend with the power of the Hunter family. Therefore, he couldn''t trust them with Taylor''s safety.

    "Don''t overestimate your worth in their eyes. You are no more than a pawn that would fall after it has fulfilled its purpose. I suggest you tell us about your family and we might be able to help you ensure their safety. This is your only option and I am only giving you this chance because you have served the Windsor family loyally all these years despite your recent actions."

    Violet struck his core this time and offered him the only way out.

    Grace was like a cornered rat that finally found a hole to hide in. He immediately had a hopeful expression on his face as he stared at Violet with excitement that was previously missing from his face. It was as if he had suddenly remembered how to live again.

    Grace finally broke down after the bout of questioning and began to shed tears as he kept muttering, "T-Taylorбнmy Taylorбнthey have her. I c-couldn''t save herбнI tried but theyбнthey took her from me."

    "Howe I don''t know this person if they are so important? Who is this person to you?" ra asked Grace directly this time.

    "No, he''s not lying this time. You might not know of them but he definitely has a family that he is trying to protect." Zach didn''t let her speak since he had already ascertained the truth with the help of the polygraph.

 Chapter 253 253 One Condition

    "My woman."

    Zach took a look at the polygraph and knew that Grace wasn''t lying this time either. This Taylor should be the person that the Hunter family was using to coerce him.

    "So let me summarize the whole situation so far. Taylor, your woman, is being held hostage by the Hunter family and they forced you to do the things you have done so far. Is that right?" Zach still asked some questions in order to determine if this person was actually willing to cooperate.

    Grace nodded tearfully in acknowledgement of the facts stated by Zach.

    "When did they take her? Or rather when did you find out that they had taken a her?"

    "It was a few days before the family head was arrested by the police." Grace looked extremely regretful about it but he had already done the deed and could no longer be taken back.

    Zach kept on ncing at the polygraph in order to confirm everything he had said. Thankfully all of it was the truth. He concluded that Grace could be trusted as he was willing to cooperate at the very least if this woman he was protecting could be saved.

    Zach immediatelymanded the system to use the drones to carry out a search operation across the whole city. They needed to find a woman who was being held captive by the Hunter family. The main focus of the search was supposed to be the facilities under the Hunter family and the facilities rted to them through association.

    The search radius was veryrge and Zach had no identification of the person that they needed to find. As such, he could onlyb the area using therge army of dragonfly drones he had pulled out of his arsenal.

    "We will be able to find out where they are keeping her in a few hours at most. Stay put here until then."

    Zach told Grace as soon as he dispatched the drones in search of Taylor.

    Grace was a little doubtful because he hadn''t seen him do anything at all. In fact, he hadn''t seen Zach even conveying the message to his subordinates. Then how was he going to find Taylor in such a short duration when he had spent countless sleepless nights trying to figure out the same.

    Even afterbing the area for a long while, Zach wasn''t able to find the person he was looking for. As such, he could only modify the search matrix a little bit. Hemanded the drones to follow after the Hunter family personnel as they traveled out of the mansion.

    The method was more helpful than he had expected. The people responsible for hiding the hostage seemed to be visiting the main mansion of the Hunter family quite frequently which was extremely fortunate for Zach as it made his search easier.

    The system alerted him to the location of the bound woman in the video being fed to the system screen by the drone on scene.

    "Is Taylor the woman with fairplexion, long ck hair and a mole under her right eye?" asked Zach all of a sudden.

    Grace who was still confused as to whether he had fallen for a trick or not jerked his head towards Zach after listening to the description he had just narrated. All the details matched with the image of Taylor that he kept in his heart.

    Grace was baffled as to how Zach had pulled this off in such a short time but he still nodded excitedly to show his appreciation.

    "THAT''S HER."

    After receiving Grace''s confirmation, Zach curled his finger inwards to ask Christina toe over to him.

    Christina had been lounging around in the study and had barely participated in the brainstorming or the interrogation session. But now she needed to give her input as well. As such she didn''t hesitate and moved so close to Zach that there was barely any distance between the two. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ra who was looking at the scene couldn''t help but reveal her dissatisfaction with how close the two seemed to be.

    Zach didn''t find it odd at all since he was already in a rtionship with her and caressed her hair as he gave her the location where the woman was being kept. Since he had already surrounded the ce with the drones, he knew that people guarding the woman weren''t a threat to an A rank mage like Christina. Otherwise, he would have never sent his precious woman alone to rescue someone he didn''t even know.

    Christina on the other hand felt his feelings from the tender caresses. She couldn''t help but feel giddy as a beautiful smile spread on her lips.

    "I will be back soon." Christina gracefully left the room with long strides since the situation demanded urgent action. Her words were directed towards Zach who was bound to worry in her absence because she had seen how he acted during the battle with Jack.

    "MmmбнStay on call at all times ande back safe." muttered Zach before he put all his attention to the surveince of the location where Christina was headed.

    The address was the downtown which was a highly developed area of the city. He had expected them to hide her away in some remote location that was out of reach but the Hunter family had hidden her right underneath their noses.

    Since the ce was not far from the Windsor family mansion, it only took Christina half an hour to reach the location.

    As she listened to Zach''s instructions on call, she easily neutralized the guards surrounding the inconspicuous looking house.

    She hurriedly rescued Taylor whose limbs were tied to a chair in the center of the room while Zach kept an eye out for any kind of danger.

    Zach terminated the call as soon as the rescue operation was deemed a sess but he didn''t pull the drones out just yet. Hemanded the drones to follow Christina home and the system to alert him if there were any hostile intents aimed at Christina along the way.

    After waiting an entire hour or so, the dronespleted their assignment as they escorted Christina all the way to the Windsor family mansion. Of course, the hostage was following right after her.

    Since Taylor was an ordinary woman who didn''t have any magic skills, Christina could only match her pace with Taylor. That was the reason it took them close to an hour to reach the mansion.

    The door to the study opened and Christina bounded in towards Zach happily and announced, "I am back."

    "Good job. Rest for a bit." Zach praised her since she had followed all of his instructions and had done an efficient job.

    Christina on the other hand was a little disappointed because she expected a little more praise, probably a little reward to cheer her on. Still, she knew that it wasn''t the time for all that and just assumed her previous position around the coffee table where Luke had been spectating silently.

    Taylor followed right after her and entered the study with reluctant steps wondering why she had been brought here. There was no thought in her mind other than to see Grace. In her opinion there was only one way that she had been brought to the Windsor family mansion with respect and it was that Grace had somehow convinced the Windsor family to make a move to save her.

    But when she entered, the perspective that she had purposely ignored turned out to be the true one. She found Grace all tied up on the chair. She didn''t hesitate a single second and located ra from amongst the group seated around the coffee table. She didn''t even cast a second nce at Grace even though her heart moved towards him in her chest as if it wanted to burst out and lunge at him in a single step.

    Locking on to ra, she hurriedly got down on her knees facing towards ra.

    She knew that Grace was an escort knight for ra and had served her for years. Knowing what Grace had been forced to do to save her made waves of guilt rise up within her. She couldn''t forgive herself for putting grace in such a position where he had to betray those he had sworn loyalty to.

    Therefore, when she saw him, all tied up, she knew that he had been found out and the end of traitors in such big families was too cruel and bloody.

 Chapter 254 254 Escort

    She couldn''t let anything like that happen to Grace if she could help it.

    Being a weak woman with no background and no power, she could only beg ra to spare the man she loved so that was what she did.

    "My Lady, he only did it to sa-save meбнhe didn''t want to do it. The young master of the Hunter family made him do it. He forced him."

    ra was apathetic as she listened to her bawling her eyes out as Taylor begged on her knees. She felt betrayed and angry for Grace hadn''t even asked for their help before betraying them.

    She just turned her face away from Taylor as if she couldn''t even bother to hear her words. The coldness of her face was enough to freeze the hearts of all those present.

    Usually, ra was a bubbly girl but she couldn''t forgive Grace who had helped those who hurt both her father and her elder sister, the two most important people in her life even if he was forced to do so. She wasn''t that na?ve or that nice. Even if he couldn''t help them or stop the Hunter family from carrying out their schemes, he could have at least given them a hint so they could prepare from the uing storm or could help him weather through his difficulties.

    "That beast threatened to r-rape my in front of Grace. How could he let that happen when he loves me so much? If you want to punish someoneбн. then punish me. All of this happened because of me anyway. I don''t want to cause him anymore harm." Cried Taylor as she begged ra with hopeful eyes. She didn''t ask for anything for herself but only wanted to save Grace from whatever fate that awaited him.

    Both ra and Violet looked slightly perturbed at what Grace had gone through before turning against them even if it was against his will. Still the facts remained facts. Grace had poisoned several innocents at the behest of the Hunter family in order to frame the leader of the Windsor family. Therefore, he was the evidence they needed to save their father. Violet wasn''t willing to let him go so easily. She had to take him to the police station in order to get his statement recorded so that she could bring her father back home.

    Grace fiercely shook his head at Taylor, urging her not to say anything but Taylor was unable to see anything at the moment. She was busy securing clemency from the Windsor family for her lover. She ignored everything else in her vision, even Grace.

    ra let her elder sister handle this matter because she looked like she knew what she was doing.

    Zach and Christina didn''t interfere in the matter because it was concerned with the internal affairs of the Windsor family. It wasn''t right for the two of them to meddle in their affairs when they were only external helpers. Same went for Luke who had been a spectator from the very beginning. He had hardly taken action after he got injured in the fight against Jack.

    "I am sorry but there is no way for us to forgive him even if he didn''t want to do it. He hurt several innocent people including my father in an attempt to save you. I am sure he was prepared for this ending the moment he agreed to the proposal of the Hunter family in exchange for your safety." Violet turned to look at Grace at this moment in order to confirm her evaluation of him.

    It turned out that Grace wasn''t the least bit shocked or surprised at this time, as if he had long since seen this end. He had already prepared himself.

    Taylor on the other hand felt as if her soul had been torn from her body all of a sudden. Both her body and mind werepletely numb as if the blood in her body had stopped flowing. Her face was pale and she felt like she would faint the very next second. She slowly turned her pale face to take a look at the person who had given up his everything in order to give her the hope of survival.

    Grace''s lips were upturned as if into a smile that contained the sadness of the whole world. He was satisfied that he had been able to save Taylor from the clutches of the Hunter family but was heartbroken at what he had to do in order to ensure such an oue.

    "You wille with me to the police station now. Admit to your crimes and reveal the dark hand that instructed you from behind so my father cane back home." Violet was talking to Grace this time and was waiting to hear his response with some anticipation.

    "I am willing but I have one conditionбн" Grace wanted to ensure Taylor''s safety in his absence. Therefore, he wanted to exchange this promise from the Windsor family in order to do their bidding.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "This is neither a negotiation nor ckmail. I won''t hold her hostage to make you acquiesce to my demand. I didn''t save her for that purpose. As for you condition, you can forget it. THIS is what you owe us, the Windsor family."

    Violet''s words weren''t threatening. They were exceedingly calm as if she was reading out facts that were undeniable.

    Grace''s face fell as soon as he heard herst words.

    "Yes, this isбнthis is what I should do for them."

    At the same time, he felt ashamed at having dared to put forward a condition when they had saved his beloved before he could beg them to.

    ra didn''t say anything to him as she had figured out how tough a choice Grace had to make in order to allow his beloved to survive with her dignity intact. Moreover, Violet''s intimidating aura was enough to make Grace obedient.

    Zach unstrapped Grace from the polygraph at the indication of Violet and helped him stand up. Not that Grace needed any help, it was just to make sure that he wouldn''t be able to pull anything under his vignt gaze.

    Just when Violet was about to call for a few guards from the outside to escort Grace with her to the police station in order to get her father released, another uninvited group barged into the already devastated study without notice. It was the third time this kind of incident had happened in her home. She even wondered if there was any meaning to stationing so many people outside the mansion if anyone could barge in at will. She made up her mind to fire those ipetent guards or at least put them through harsh training with the help of Zach once she was able to sort out all this mess.

    All those who were sittingfortably after having discovered a means to save the leader of the Windsor family stood up with a jerk. They looked like they had eaten something extremely distasteful which left a bad taste in their mouths.

    Unlike the previous times, this group neither belonged to the cops nor to some criminal organization. They were quite orderly and disciplined for a group that had forcefully entered the premises of the mansion.

    ra had already been looking for a way to unload her frustration that had built up over time. She was close to bursting and was very happy toy eyes on a group of enemies that looked toughpared to the ordinary folk. They looked unarmed but the tones muscles hidden underneath their shirts was a depiction of how well trained these people probably were.

    Violet and Zach went on full alert as they wondered whether this was another trick of the Hunter family to take down what was left of the Windsor family. They had seen first hand how devious the leader of the Hunter family could be in order to get what he wanted.

    Christina had been following after Zach from the beginning. Therefore, as soon as Zach grew vignt, she turned her eyes towards the new group of people with bloodlust oozing out of her very being.

    Zach on the other hand was apathetic in the face of so many strangers.

    The one who was the most affected was none other than Luke, the prince who had left the Norman royal family. He probably knew who these people were.

 Chapter 255 255 Observant Andy

    At first Zach was about to rx since Luke knew the people. But then he witnessed the color on Luke''s face shifting abruptly as if he had figured out theplete plot just then, Zach didn''t dare to let down his guard. It seemed that the people were definitelying to cause trouble.

    Luke noticed the badges tied to the shoulders of these individuals in order to discern the ranks of these people. He had long since deduced that these people were soldiers who had arrived to take him away. The most probable reason was because he had interfered with the police and had even killed one of them. Since the police couldn''t do anything to him, military force had been deployed to arrest him.

    Luke remembered how the tall old warden had previously threatened to retaliate against him through the proper means. Turned out that he had actually done it.

    Luke wasn''t afraid of the warden but he knew that he couldn''t do anything else now that the soldiers had arrived to take him away. Before Zach or anyone else could make a move or provoke the military, Luke walked towards the group of soldiers with both his hands half raised into the air as if to surrender himself.

    "You don''t have to do this you know. They aren''t a threat." Zach held him back by his shoulder and whispered in his ear as if to reassure him that he would support him if he wanted to put up resistance.

    Luke felt gratitude at this disy of trust but he had no intention of hurting his fellow soldiers when he was the one in the wrong. Even though he had done it to exact justice, it was still wrong of him to kill a cop in the station that was meant to provide justice to all.

    "I know but I need to do this in order to uphold the spirit of true justice. If I avoid this, I wouldn''t be any different from those policemen who were torturing Mr. Windsor in the jail cell." Luke walked towards the approaching soldiers as he shrugged of Zach''s hand from his shoulder. He wasn''t the least bit remorseful of his choice this time because he had ingrained these principles in himself during his military training.

    "We are here to take you into military custody for the murder of an innocent civilian who was doing his duty. Come with us quietly and you will be given a chance to plead your case in the military court." The leader of the soldiers came forward to greet Luke as he nodded with his head slightly as if in acknowledgement before revealing his purpose ining to the Windsor family mansion.

    "I understand. I have no intention of resisting arrest. Let''s just go like this." seeing as one of the soldiers was fumbling for a handcuff around his waist, Luke asked the leader with a smile.

    The leader seemed to be a little respectful as well and didn''t deny Luke''s request. Instead, he motioned for the soldier to keep the handcuffs with himself.

    The soldiers divided themselves into two rows and surrounded Luke on either side as they escorted him out of the Windsor family mansion.

    Violet wanted to say something throughout but she was unable to handle the situation the moment she noticed the badges on their shoulders. This was a military matter and she hardly had any say in the matter. She was embarrassed at not being able to help him out despite how much he had done to help the sisters in their time of need.

    Both ra and Violet could only watch them take Luke away. Both of them knew how much Luke valued being the part of the military. Therefore, they didn''t intend to cause him more trouble; any more than they already had by bringing him into their family''s mess.

    While both the girls looked extremely remorseful, Luke was the exact opposite. He was treating this as a minor punishment because being a prince exonerated him from any capital punishment. Moreover, those who still had the authority to punish him were more than aware of his standing in the royal family.

    Therefore, he would at most be awarded a harsh punishment but his life won''t be in danger.

    ra couldn''t help but remember the moment when her father had been taken by the group of police officers. Her emotions fluctuated as a result and her impulses took over as her right foot moved behind her in order to get in a position to rush. She was about to take down those people who were about to take Luke away but Luke looked back at her and smiled.

    "You should be thinking of how to save your father at the moment. Don''t worry. I will see you two soon. They can''t do much to me. I will be back before you know it."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ra unknowingly calmed down seeing his bright smile but the uneasiness in her heart wouldn''t disappear no matter how positive she tried to be. The incident with her father had left a deep impression on her and she was unconsciously interpreting this incident in the same light.

    бн

    The carriage stopped right outside the gate of the center of justice, the police station. The two guards at the entrance to the station immediately drew their weapons and called out loudly, "HALT!", even though the carriage had already stopped and had no intention of going any further.

    The incident with Luke had shaken the police personnel previously and the security measures had been increased after the incident in order to prevent the authority and honor of the entire institution from being marred in the eyes of the public.

    One of the police officers aimed the gun at the carriage while the other put away his weapon and headed towards the carriage in order to affirm the identity of the people inside.

    Before he could ask for them toe out, a young and petite woman stepped out of the carriage. Based on her stature, she could hardly look dangerous but the look in her eyes was cold enough to freeze anyone in sight.

    ra had changed somewhat after the incidents with her father and her elder sister. Her bubbliness and yfulness were reserved only for those close to her. The rest only deserved her cold gaze that was capable of freezing their insides.

    ra didn''t pay attention to the cops on the gate. She didn''t regard them more than pests on her way as she had seen how ruthless these defenders of justice could be in the face of benefits.

    She turned back towards the carriage and waited.

    Grace was the next to step out of the carriage and Zach was right behind him as he kept an eye on the former to keep him from escaping at all times. At the same time, he needed to protect Grace from all kinds of harm to the best of his ability.

    Grace was the only evidence that the Windsor family had against the Hunter family. Moreover, he was the only person who could absolve Marico from the crimes that had been pitted against him unjustly. In the absence of enough evidence, only the true perpetrator was needed to save him.

    As such, Violet didn''t hesitate to turn Grace over to the police in order to save her father. No matter how trapped he felt, it was a fact that Grace had betrayed the family and needed to be punished.

    Violet who looked like her usual cold an elegant self, led the entourage behind her and entered the police station after necessary identification at the gate.

    Since Luke hadn''te with them, the police had no reason to stop them from entering. Violet led the group straight into the police station in order to meet up with the warden of the prison to rescue her father.

    Andy saw the grouping from his office window that was located at the first floor. The moment he saw Violet walking in with a steady gait and the regretful and lifeless looking person following after her, he knew that the Hunter family had lost this bout.

    Andy couldn''t help but thank his gods that he hadn''t taken a clear stance in the battle between the two families. He had only offered a little bit of help to both the parties without antagonizing the other.

 Chapter 256 256 Acquittal

    His foresight prevented him from making a grave mistake that he might have regretted for the rest of his life.

    In order to ride the wave of victory along with the Windsor family, what he had done was far from enough. He felt like he needed to do more. As such instead of going out to meet Violet and the rest of the group, he walked with great strides towards the dungeon that was located at the far end of the prison.

    Thest cell on the right side of the hallway was the cell where Marico was being kept. At this moment, the door to the prison cell was hanging open as if no one was concerned with Marico being able to escape.

    The reason was that the warden of the prison was currently with him, thinking of the various ways he was going to torture him in. He was slowly narrating all his torture techniques that he had learnt over the years in a low but gruff voice that oozed violence and bloodlust.

    Marico tried to remain unfazed in the face of the approaching pain but he was human as well. With his capabilities restrained, he was barely any different from regr humans. As such, there was obvious fear on his face that he was trying to restrain but to no avail.

    The warden appeared to be extremely smug as if he had been looking forward to this. He had in fact been waiting to torture Marico himself because of the previous insult he had to suffer at the hands of the prince.

    After reporting him to the higher ups of the military, the warden waited until the military took action and arrested Luke for the murder of an innocent. Therefore, he was no longer apprehensive about touching Marico this time and was nning to take his time.

    Andy let out a sigh of relief after he noticed that Marico was only slightly fearful and had not received any injuries yet. It seemed that the warden had yet to take action. Andy was relieved that he had made it in time.

    He immediately pushed aside the guard standing watch outside the open prison cell and stepped inside.

    Marico saw himing and hope appeared in his eyes. Andy had been ambiguous in choosing sides from the very beginning. Therefore, Marico hoped to convert him to his side so as to escape the torture of the bloodthirsty warden if possible.

    "Warden can I have a minute with you?" asked Andy with a mysterious smile that didn''t reveal any of his intentions.

    "What is it? Say whatever you want to say here. I am a bit busy making things even." answered the warden grumpily as he hmphed a few times between the sentence.

    "I am afraid it is a bit inconvenient to say it in front of him."

    Andy didn''t want Marico to know that he had onlye to save him after determining the victory of the Windsor family. Therefore, he wasn''t willing to have this discussion in front of him.

    The warden eyed him angrily as he marched out of the prison cell while waving his hands hurriedly to indicate Andy to follow right after him.

    "Spit it out now." roared the warden.

    "I am afraid you can''t fulfill your desire of torturing him anymore. I just witnessed the eldestdy of the Windsor familying here with the traitor of their family in tow." revealed Andy with a smirk on his face. He couldn''t help but be amused by the number of times the warden''s face changed color after hearing the news.

    While the iron was still hot, Andy struck a few more times sessively.

    "They probably have his confession already and would want to exchange their father for him. You can''t hold him here any longer. It would be good for you to keep yourself and your men in check because outside these walls, that man is the head of an influential family. He isn''t someone you want to make an enemy out of due to petty reasons."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The warden seemed to be lost in thought as his eyebrows furrowed into a curve. He seemed to be considering a lot of variables before making his decision.

    "But the leader of the Hunter family promised me that there was no evidence. Otherwise, how could I have taken such drastic measures in here? Am I so foolish?" muttered the warden unconsciously.

    Andyughed amusingly. He couldn''t think of any other word for the warden at the moment other than ''foolish''. He had jumped into the pit believing the words of the Hunter family leader who was worse than a snake. The warden was now a hated enemy of the Windsor family regardless of whether he had done anything or not. Just his attitude was enough to doom him to the depths of hell on earth.

    Still, he sincerely persuaded the warden to let go of whatever grievances he had towards the head of the Windsor family so as to secure a future for himself in Byzantium city.

    The warden considered for a moment beforeing to a decision. He nodded slightly towards Andy and moved towards the open prison cell with faltering steps.

    "Close it up and don''t open it for anyone else until you hear from me." The warden ordered the guard outside the prison cell so as to prevent any other foolish cop from doing something outrageous without his permission. There was no shortage of cops trying to please him in the police station. He was worried that one of those cops would try to torture Marico in hopes of a promotion from him.

    Therefore, until the Windsor family took their leader back, the warden needed to make sure that he remained in a good condition.

    The warden then turned around on his heels and left briskly in order to hide the shame he was feeling. He cursed himself for talking big in front of Marico when thetter was at the former''s mercy. Where things currently stood, the warden could only hope that Marico wouldn''t take his petty actions to heart. Otherwise, only regret and pain awaited him on his future path.

    Andy had expected the same oue as well. The warden wasn''t as dauntless as he tried to be. He was a coward who could only act powerful in front of the weak and was weaker than a wet cat in front of those he considered to be more powerful than him. In simpler words, he was a bully with no real power. He abused his position to torture people at the behest of others and was unconcerned with carrying out true justice.

    After the warden left, Andy smiled and walked in front of the prison cell at a leisurely pace. He cast a smiling nce at the relieved looking Marico.

    Marico was thanking all his gods at the same time. Although he had been hoping for Andy to help him, the chances of that happening were very actually very slim. His being incarcerated in the dungeon like a helplessmb for ughter didn''t help his case either. He had nothing that could have enabled him to earn Andy''s allegiance or alliance at the very least. Therefore, he was wondering what had just happened with the warden and what kind of message had Andy conveyed to the warden.

    бн

    Violet was led to the senior most police officer who looked quite aged by the officer standing guard outside the gate.

    The aged looking officer was supposed to be the most experienced person in the police station and had worked his whole life there. Therefore, he was responsible for handling sensitive cases rted to the upper echelon of the city. He knew how to deal with the rich and the poor alike.

    As such, Violet ordered Grace to sit down and got his confession recorded with the aged police officer.

    "Are you sure you are not being coerced into lying by these people? Do you know what you are saying?" the aged police officer was slightly apprehensive of therge group of people Violet had brought with her. He was wondering if she was forcing Grace to confess to a crime he hadn''tmitted. He had seen lots of such cases in his career after all.

    Grace didn''t disappoint Violet and answered truthfully to all the questions asked by the police officer.

 Chapter 257 257 Hogans Anger

    With all the formalitiesplete, the legal representative of the Windsor family stepped forward and demanded the release of the Windsor family leader on an immediate basis.

    "Since you have no evidence against our family leader and the true culprit has already confessed to his crime, you have no authority to hold our family leader without a cause. Release him immediately."

    Thewyer was a little overbearing as he was confident that the police couldn''t keep Marico in custody anymore.

    Violet on the other hand didn''t share the same attitude. She was polite but cold as asked the police officer, "Can I see my father now?"

    The police officer didn''t dy any longer and nodded his head vigorously while saying, "He can be released temporarily but he has to appear for the hearing of his case when called upon."

    Violet nodded in return as if she understood the necessary procedures that had to be followed.

    The police officer didn''t say anything either and immediately ordered a constable to go inform the warden about the progress on the case.

    бн

    The case proceedings didn''t take very long after Grace confessed to his crime and Marico was soon released from police custody as a free man. All the charges against him had been dropped by thew and the embargo on the sale of cane sugar was lifted as well.

    The case was highly publicized since it was a high-profile case that involved one of the most powerful families of the city. Although the rival families tried to keep the news under wraps, not a single one of them was able to prevent the sale of the sugar in the market after it was allowed byw.

    The reputation loss that the Windsor family experienced due to the poisoning incident was soon recovered after the verdict of the court. The people began to trust the product again as none of them were able to keep themselves from experiencing the heavenly sweet taste of the product for long.

    The sugar supply chain that had been dormant all this while and the stock of sugar that had been stored in the warehouses was transported out of the city in bulk.

    Christina was exceptionally busy during this period because the high stock build up allowed the export quantity to increase by several times which needed her continuous monitoring in order to finalize the routing and scheduling of the trucks for each day. Still, she wasn''t one toin. She did her best to fulfill the expectations of the Windsor family which was her prime purpose in this city.

    бн

    While there were celebrations and rebuilding going on in the Windsor family mansion, there was darkness and gloom in the Hunter family mansion. An oppressive pressure gued every individual in the mansion which strained their breathing and forced them to tread cautiously as if there was some fearsome beast lying in wait ahead.

    The reason for the overwhelmingly repressive atmosphere was the violent temper of the head of the Hunter family who was currently fuming as he paced around in the living room. The servants standing around him all cowered in fear. They were terrified of making any mistake at this time.

    "That bastard; I admit I underestimated him a little too much. The son of such a bastard was bound to be a bastard. I should have known better." Hogan muttered to himself in anger as he berated himself for thinking lowly of his opponent.

    He had previously believed that Zach was too wet behind the ears to pose a threat to his borate schemes. In the end, Zach had been the one to sabotage his carefully thought-out ns.

    While Hogan was busy pacing around the room, a gaunt man dressed in rags stood respectfully to the side as he bled from his mouth. The amount of blood from his mouth suggested an internal injury instead of an external and superficial one. He was probably vomiting blood continuously.

    The man was the object of Hogan''s fury at the moment as he would punch his guts out from time to time in order to mitigate his anger and to calm down the boiling fury inside his veins. The gaunt man had in fact been the only survivor amongst the people tasked with keeping an eye on Taylor. He had luckily survived Christina''s onught but had reported back toote.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    As a result, Violet had made her move decisively and had saved her father.

    Hogan was left twiddling his thumb as his ns were brought to a naught instantly. Therefore, he was busy taking out his anger on the gaunt man while the servants watched on in horror.

    Burning with fury, Hogan once again began to punch the man with all his strength as he kept screaming on top of the man''s cries, "You bastard deserve to die after getting in my way. I''ll kill youбнI''ll kill youбнI''ll kill youбнI''LL KILL YOUбн"

    Hogan calmed down after a long while. The gaunt man was lying on the floor in a fetal position as he squealed like a pig about to be ughtered. His voice was both hoarse and weak after such a long beating.

    Hogan on the other hand was brimming with bloodlust. The idea of killing Zach took root in his mind after this failure. He had unconsciously begun to associate Zach with his supposed father, the rumored dark mage Wood Smith who had oppressed him when he was young. As such his killing intent grew more and more intense when he needed to take this unstable element into ount while formting the new ns to slow down the progress of the Windsor family.

    In the end, Hogan came to the conclusion that the Windsor family would fall easily if only he could take control of the only element, he could not control despite all his schemes. The methods of the dark mage were far from ordinary and far from what he could anticipate in advance. As such he could only eliminate the irregrity before advancing any further with his ns.

    Havinge to a decision, Hogan didn''t want to wait any longer.

    He had visibly calmed down after raining down punches on the gaunt man. Grunting heavily, he called for one of the servants standing at the edge of the living room.

    "Call my son here. I want to see him in front of me in the next second."

    The servant left in a hurry as he stumbled on his feet from fear of the family head.

    Next Hogan turned towards one of the guards who had been standing motionless besides one of the doors to the huge hall and bellowed, "Get ready, we are going to leave the mansion soon."

    The security measures taken for the head and the young master had been increased by a lot these days as Hogan was afraid of the retaliation of the Windsor family. Therefore, he wasn''t willing to leave the mansion without his security detail no matter how angry or frustrated he was.

    Nelson arrived soon after as if he had been waiting for his father''s summons all this time.

    "Father, you called for me?" asked Nelson in a probing manner. He wasn''t sure if his father''s anger had calmed down yet or not. Therefore, he didn''t want to push any of his buttons in a reckless manner.

    "Go pack up some essentials, we are going to travel for a bit."

    Although there were several questions in Nelson''s mind like, ''How many days would it be? Where are we travelling to? How much I need to pack?'', he didn''t have the guts to ask them for fear of his father turning on him all of a sudden. After his recent failure with Violet, his father had been very averse to his existence already.

    With no guts to ask anything, all he could do wasply with the order he received from his father withoutint and hope to do it all right.

    When everything was ready, Nelson followed right after his father as they marched to the carriage waiting for them outside. The luggage for the trip had been loaded on another carriage and dispatched to the docks ahead of them.

    Stepping out of the carriage, Nelson took a look all around him as if this was the first time he hade into the world and was taking in everything like a whale gulping down seawater.

 Chapter 258 258 Blackbeard

    Hogan on the other hand was focused towards the horizon as if he was waiting for something or someone. Although he was ordering his men to prepare everything in advance, his gaze lingered on the sunny horizon as if in anticipation of something good.

    The guards were quick on their feet and hurriedly transported their luggage on the ship waiting for them at the docks. The terror of the family head was something every single one of them wanted to avoid at all costs. Therefore, there were no mistakes in the entire affair.

    One of the guards came forward and reported to the family head in a crisp voice, "Everything is ready sir, the captain is waiting for your orders."

    Hogan nodded to the guard and motioned for his escort guards and Nelson to follow after him. His security detail walked on either side of him while Nelson walked beside Hogan as they swiftly boarded the ship waiting along the quay with its sails lowered and its anchor weighing it down to a stop.

    The guards manned the ship swiftly like trained seamen and raised the sails and the anchor at the stern end of the ship.

    The blowing wind behind the sails allowed them to go out to the open sea at a swifter pace. It took only took the party a few days to travel a distance that would have taken them a week to travel. Of course, the wind mages that Hogan had brought along yed a significant role towards that. They conjured up wind behind the sails until they becamepletely exhausted so as to not earn the ire of their family leader who seemed to be in an eternal bad mood.

    Nelson tried to acquire information about their destination along the way but the guards barely knew where they were going. They had only received a set of instructions from the family leader and were unaware of the exact location. Nelson didn''t have it in him to ask his father directly. His failure while dealing with Violet had lost him a lot of points in front of his father which made him slightly fearful of his wrath.

    Only after they reached the isted ind hidden in the depths of illusory mist did he understand the kind of ce his father had brought him to and he couldn''t help but feel terrified. It seemed to be a den of a brigand of fearsome pirates that roamed the seas andmitted robberies and murders indifferently.

    The person receiving them at the pier was the evidence. He was the epitome of how he had imagined a pirate to look like. ck teeth and gums, golden piercings all over his body, shaggy hair that was worse than a wild beast and a smile that was more ferocious than the cruelest murderers he had encountered before. Not an ounce of warmth could be felt from his cold gaze and ye the pirate greeted his father respectfully.

    These pirates were so infamous that even the government had failed to bring them under control despiteunching several missions against them. None of the missions had ever seeded in reaching the hideout of the pirates but his father had brought him here as if he had known the location all along.

    He wondered what his father had to do with these criminals.

    Nelson stopped thinking any further since he woulde to know of those details soon anyway. He followed his father off the ship confidently since his father had never willingly walked into danger. The safest ce was definitely beside him and Nelson believed that personal safety was the paramount in all situations.

    "When can I meet your Captain ckbeard? I sent a message to him before I set out." said Hogan in a cheerful manner. It seemed that he really believed that this Captain ckbeard was the solution to all of his problems.

    "Our Captain already knows of your arrival. I will take you to him." the pirate replied in a weird ent that made one want to vomit. His ent made it feel like he was gurgling phlegm in his throat all the time.

    Just as they began to move, several pirates came out of nowhere and surrounded their group as if to escort them to their captain.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "How long is it going to take us to see him?" asked Hogan. He was in quite a hurry to take down Zach who was proving to be more of threat with the passage of time. He had already foiled his n two times. He couldn''t afford more failures as the Windsor family was slowly gaining strength in the city. It wouldn''t take the Windsor family long to stand toe to toe with the number one family of the city with their growing momentum.

    The group of pirates were well versed in the forest paths as they skillfully guided Hogan and his men to the center of the ind where their captain resided along with the major yers of the pirate group. Even though there wasn''t much danger on the ind, the twisting paths between the forestry were hard to keep a track of. The hunter family would have definitely gotten lost, had theye on their own to find the fearsome captain.

    Following the twisting maze of greenery, a clearing epassing an area of several kilometers came into view. Several wooden dwellings that looked quite modern stood in the center with a huge hall in the center. A stocky man sat on a huge chair set in the center of the hall like the emperors of olden times. He had an air of superiority around him as he watched the group arrive with an amused smile on his face.

    While Nelson grew wary of his huge countenance and the air of authority that he oozed unconsciously, Hogan grew iparably excited as if he was meeting a long-lost friend once again and had so many things to share with him. While Hogan still appeared regal and terrifying to the guards, Nelson could sense the change in his mood.

    ckbeard, the leader of the pirates stood up, his tall looming figure casting a huge shadow over the ground that was twice as tall as him on the pir supporting the ceiling of therge hall in the middle of the clearing.

    Nelson gulped heavily as he tried to rein in his runaway heart. It was affected by the heavy presence of the pirate leader. Thinking that the pirate leader was smiling at his father helped him calm down his overly sensitive senses and take control of them.

    While Nelson and the guards were apprehensive towards ckbeard, Hogan moved forward with a confident gait as if ckbeard was an old friend of his whom he trusted wholeheartedly.

    The guards wanted to keep him still before making sure that there was no danger to his life but they didn''t eventually. They knew how paranoid their master could be regarding his personal safety and were sure that he felt absolutely no danger from the giant pirate leader.

    "How long''s it been since wes'' met, eh?" asked ckbeard enthusiastically as he pulled Hogan into a bone crushing embrace.

    "Too long my friend; it''s been too long since we got together like this." replied Hogan with just as equal amount of passion as the pirate captain.

    Nelson wondered how his father knew this pirate. They even seemed to be on exceptionally good terms for his father to act so affectionately towards thetter.

    Hogan pulled free from the bear hug and took a few steps in order to take a good look at the fearsome stature of his friend. Although he looked like a brute barbarian, Hogan knew that this pirate captain was in fact a high-level mage. His strong body and oozing killing intent almost always gave his enemies the wrong impression about him.

    ckbeard scrutinized him at the same time. The Hunter family leader was still full of confidence and based on the followers around him, it was obvious that the Hunter family had the same power and authority among the people of Byzantium city as he remembered.

    Although Hogan was an old friend, ckbeard believed in benefits and was unwilling to work with Hogan unless he could offer him something of equivalent value. Therefore, gauging the current condition of the Hunter family was paramount for him before he could proceed with whatever deal Hogan had brought for him.

 Chapter 259 259 Who Do You Think We Are?

    From the looks of it, Hogan seemed to be doing fine. As such, ckbeard''s gaze retained its warmth as he called for a few rtively clean looking pirates and rumbled, "Prepare a feast for our guests. Let them know how we free folk enjoy ourselves out here in the wilderness."

    The pirates returned their ckened smiles as they scurried away towards the open-air cooking establishment in order to ready the sumptuous feast ordered by their leader.

    The leader''s words carried a heavy weight as none of the pirates dared to disregard Hogan or the men who had apanied here. They were given their due respect even though the pirates were used to being scallywags with foul mouths.

    ckbeard turned back towards his distinguished friend Hogan and wrapped his bulky arm around thetter''s shoulders and said, "I will let you taste the finest wine avable on my ind. Let me tell you, it is something your city folk can never taste in your lifetimes. It is strong wine; stronger than you can imagine. It suits men like us who rely on personal strength to survive and earn a living."

    Hoganughed out loud at the sincere gesture from ckbeard and nodded in kind as if to indicate that he was looking forward to it. Matching his pace with that of ckbeard, he followed him to the round but massive table in the middle of the hall which was usually reserved for the leaders of the pirate group.

    The guards apanying Hogan were taken away by the pirates leaving behind only Nelson who followed after his father and the pirate captain hoping to make a good impression on thetter.

    Two hours passed by in their reminiscence as they talked about the good old days while Nelson fully observed the conversation between the two as he stood behind his father. He knew that he was probably not qualified to sit with the two of them until or unless his father took the initiative to introduce him to ckbeard.

    The conversation died down as one of the pirates responsible for the daily chores came to report that the dinner was ready to be served. It was already evening and both of them felt pangs of hunger after talking for so long.

    Therefore, ckbeard ordered for the feast to be served immediately.

    It was at this time that Hogan finally called for Nelson to sit beside him.

    "This is my son, Nelson. He will be taking over the Hunter family in the future. I hope that he will receive the same support as me in the future should there be a need for that."

    ckbeard was a bit surprised. He had previously thought that Nelson was Hogan''s guard. If he had known that Nelson was his Hogan''s son, he would have invited the former to sit with them from the beginning.

    He couldn''t have known that Hogan had done this deliberately to make his son realize his failure.

    Nelson felt gratified as he finally earned his father''s forgiveness. His past few days were spent wondering whether his father had nned some borate punishment for him.

    Turned out that it wasn''t as bad as he had imagined. The failure of the previous n wasn''t all his fault. Some responsibilityy with his father as well since he had underestimated the involvement of Zach in the Windsor family''s matters.

    Nelson sat down excitedly. The happiness that came from earning his father''s forgiveness and for making an acquaintance of the terrible and bloodthirsty pirate leader ckbeard was unprecedented for him and his future development.

    While ckbeard said a few words to Nelson, the serving piratesid down several mouth-watering dishes on the table that were giving off steam and a refreshing aroma of the wild.

    ckbeard took in a deep breath of the fragrance and roared, "This is what a feast should smell likeбн.Bahahaha."

    Nelson joined in hisugh, eager to please while Hogan only smiled gently while appreciating the aroma like a true and seasoned connoisseur.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ckbeard motioned for his guests to dig in and was the first to take a bite of the food as was the custom in such feasts. Obviously, this custom was to assure the guests that the food wasn''t poisoned. In this kind of line of work, such rules had to be followed in order to retain business.

    The heavenly feast along with the treasured wine that ckbeard brought out turned out to be the perfectbination.

    While Hogan and ckbeard drank mug after mug of the heavy smelling wine, Nelson wasn''t able to drink more than a few mouthfuls. He was obviously a lightweight.

    As everyone was getting drunk slowly, Hogan felt like it was finally time to discuss the matter he hade here for.

    "Before one of us falls under the table, I want to discuss a matter with you. In fact, it is the main reason that I came to see you here." Hogan''s voice turned solemn and the pitch of his voice lowered a few degrees to give it a mysterious air.

    "Of course, don''t be so formal and state your troubles without hesitation. That''s what I am here for." replied ckbeard magnanimously. Of course, this magnanimity was also for the business and not because he was such a helpful person. If Hogan had been penniless, Hogan would have fed him to the sharks without hesitation even if he was a close acquaintance.

    "I won''t stand on ceremony then."

    Hogan felt relieved that ckbeard was willing to listen to his request and began to reassemble the messy thoughts inside his head into a deliverable structure so as to give the pirate leader theplete and true picture of the confrontation between the Hunter family and the Smith and Windsor family alliance.

    ckbeard didn''t urge him to hurry up but instead gave him enough time to gather his thoughts. Nothing good ever came out of being in a hurry after all.

    "You already know that my family has been reigning as the top family of Byzantium city for a long time. No family has ever been able to shake the position of our family until now." Hogan began his narration of events in the chronological order with a slow but mystifying voice that added intrigue to his story.

    ckbeard nodded slightly several times in order to indicate that he understood everything so far.

    "Lately the Windsor family got their hands on a new product and is rising in status. Those worms think they canpete with the Hunter family after finding short lived sess. I couldn''t stand their false arrogance and was forced to take action so they could figure out their true worth. Everything was going ording to the n but I failed to take an important element into ount. There is a new supporter of the Windsor family who turned out to be very crafty. He has foiled my n two times already due to his unnecessary interference and I need to eliminate his existence before I can continue forward with a new n. Do you think you can help me?"

    Hogan finally stopped his expectant gaze on ckbeard''s face.

    ckbeard took a moment to contemte whether it was wise to cooperate with the Hunter family when the Windsor family was obviously threatening their position and was on the rise. He even considered the possibility of going to the Windsor family with a simr proposition to determine who was willing to pay a higher price. But then he noticed the zealous and cunning Hogan waiting for his answer with a manic gaze and changed his decision.

    Considering how devious and underhanded Hogan could be, ckbeard felt that the Windsor family stood no chance if they didn''t resort to simr methods to take care of Hogan beforehand. They had to throw away their morals to reach the same position as that of the Hunter family.

    Therefore, he still believed that the Hunter family would eventuallye out on top.

    "Of course, who do you think we are? In the entire empire, there is no force other than the royal family''s forces that can take us on without suffering more losses than gains. Even the government forces are afraid of confronting my people, what can a single man do in front of our might?"

    ckbeard boisterously assured Hogan of sess. Once he figured out that the target was a single man, ckbeard couldn''t help but start counting his money in advance.

 Chapter 260 260 Lukes Problem

    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 inmonбнtheir 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.

    бн

    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."

 Chapter 261 261 Potential Threats

    Marico sighed heavily at this point as if he was letting out all the frustration in his chest like a dying old man filled with regret.

    "Still, I have tasked Violet to fully focus on helping Luke in any manner possible as long as it is something my family can do even if we have to harm our foundation in order to do so."

    Upon hearing her father''s words, Violet began to narrate the direction and intensity of her efforts regarding the task assigned to her by her father.

    "I have mobilized all the contacts our family has in order to find out the circumstances of Luke and the punishment he is due to receive from the military. The only way we can put enough pressure is to put enough stress on the economy of the city to force the government to take action on our behalf."

    Violet had been working very hard on the project. She was very worried about Luke as well and would have done everything to help him even if her father hadn''t asked her to do it.

    Despite all her efforts, Violet wasn''t confident of getting Luke out of trouble because things were moving very slowly on her end. It turns out that influencing the military was a monstrously difficult job for civilians like her who had more wealth than power and authority.

    "It may be difficult but I believe that you can figure out a solution." Zachforted Violet who was probably feeling worse after hearing his unintentional but searing words.

    Both Marico and Violet were excessively busy during this time; the former was busy reorganizing the sugar production business and the logistics chain with Christina''s help and thetter was busy trying to save Luke from the clutches of the military. But ra was nowhere to be seen in the Windsor family mansion. It was like she didn''t care about her family who had barely gotten away from a cmitous situation.

    In fact, ra was too busy clinging to Zach during this time. Even though she was needed at the Windsor family mansion, she refused to budge from Zach''s side despite thetter having pushed her away on so many asions. She was like a stubborn leech hell bent on sucking Zach dry of his blood.

    The reason why she refused to leave was because she was too worried.

    Marico''s constant cautions to Zach had in fact poisoned her mind instead. She grew increasingly paranoid with each warning and eventually her paranoia reached a stage where she couldn''t let Zach out of her sight for a single second, afraid that he would encounter some kind of danger without her.

    Even though Zach was strong on his own, ra was not willing to take the risk of letting him go out alone. She knew that she wouldn''t be able to bear it if something happened to him after what had happened to her sister and father earlier.

    "Hey, why do you keep following me around? Don''t you have something better to do?" asked Zach annoyed by her constant pestering.

    "I don''t." replied ra in a matter-of-fact manner.

    "What do you mean?"

    "You asked me if I had something better to doбнI don''t. Father is looking after the business while elder sister is busy filtering out any spies as a precaution after thest incident. They told me they didn''t need my help because my personality is not suited for either task." ra had a smug smile on her face as if she was proud of being so useless in her own household.

    Zach was speechless this time. The girl knew no shame.

    "Go home, I can protect myself. Don''t take your father''s words to heart. The Hunter family can''t do anything to me while I am here on the ind."

    Zach wasn''t afraid of any enemy on the level of the Hunter family. He could mow down such enemies with ease whenever he wanted.

    "I won''t leave you alone until I can be sure that there is no danger. You won''t mind feeding an extra mouth while I am here, right?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Zach was helpless in front of her as well. He couldn''t figure out how to tell her off even after having tried to do so on so many asions. After all, the girl was only worried about his safety and was trying to protect him in her own way.

    Therefore, Zach hardened his mind and tried to ignore her antics as she followed after him like some kind of bodyguard. A petite girl like her no matter how monstrous she was, didn''t look like a bodyguard at all. It only made for aic sight.

    Zach was trying to slowly get used to ra''s continued presence as he surveyed the development on Greend. The residential area had almost been developed with the help of the trained manpower and the professional machinery that Zach provided.

    As a result, a project that might have taken years toplete in a world devoid of machinery took more than a few months toplete.

    It was already in the final stages though it still wasn''tplete in the truest sense.

    Since, the requirement of manpower for the remaining project wasn''t very high and most of the soldiers of the family were now free, Zach could begin training his soldiers in the new and advanced weapons he had unlocked after absorbing thetent energy from Christina. Based on the new weapons, the tactics of the soldiers needed to be revised as well.

    Zach had already thought up a few battle strategies based on these weapons but the soldiers needed a few weeks of training in order to understand the profundities of the new formations.

    Therefore, he called for an assembly of all the soldiers who were free from the construction duties and were busy idling about or ying with their weapons in the shooting range. Diana was of course the leader of the troops and was standing in front of them like a disciplined general about to report to themander-in-chief.

    Zach nodded towards her as he appraised the condition of his soldiers. He had been worried that the soldiers would be too worn down after days of construction work but they seemed to be in high spirits. Each and every one of them was extremely excited at being called in such a manner by Zach.

    During the time they had spent working on the construction of their family''s mansion, they were unable to fight anyone. This had been an extremely boring stretch of time and had taken a toll on their minds. It even made them want to fight each other in order to experience the thrill of battle.

    ra stood behind Zach like a petite and cute little secretary who looked extremely harmless. But the soldiers in the front had seen her terrifying strength that waspletely capable of altering the geography ofnd.

    Therefore, none of them dared to look her in the eyes even though she was making faces at them in order to make themugh. It seemed that the youngdy of the Windsor family was in the mood for pranks today.

    Zach rolled his eyes annoyed at her childish antics and decided to ignore herpletely.

    "You have been leisurely for far too long. Your fangs have gotten ayer of rust after being away from battle for so long. A soldier can only be called one after experiencing countless bloody rains and deaths. You are still too green to call yourself a soldier. You need more training to get back in shape."

    Zach''s voice was like thunder that ignited a fire in the hearts of all the soldiers. Motivation surged in from the deepest parts of their souls. They were ready for whatever Zach had nned for them.

    Although the atmosphere around the soldiers was full of excitement, the one who was beaming with the most joy was Diana as usual. She couldn''t contain her excitement at the thought of being trained by Zach again. The reason was that she could spend more time with him in this manner especially now that she had morepetitors than before.

    Despite not showing it outwardly, Diana wasn''t willing to hand over Zach to the girls who obviously came after her. She wanted to dere her dominance to the other two girls.

    Her soldiers were influenced by her enthusiasm as well and synchronized shouting was heard a momentter dering that they were all ready to take on the next challenge with all their strength.

 Chapter 262 262 New Training

    Her soldiers were influenced by her enthusiasm as well and synchronized shouting was heard a momentter dering that they were all ready to take on the next challenge with all their strength.

    Diana was too conscious of the two women who hade out of nowhere and had advanced beyond her despite the fact that she had a head start over the two. As such, she wasn''t willing to admit defeat either.

    ra had already found her opportunity to get close to Zach and was already clinging to him which irritated Diana but she couldn''t just send her away. Zach''s safety was important to her as well.

    Her other rival, Christina, had made some achievements by helping Zach with the Windsor family''s problem before. She had proved her worth to him too by fighting off the powerful A rank mage called Jack who was supposedly quite powerful.

    Diana on the other hand had failed to make any achievement in the fight with the Hunter family earlier. It wasn''t that she didn''t want to help but that Zach hadn''t even told her about it considering that she was busy with the remation and development of Greend.

    As such Diana was the happiest she had been in a long while.

    бн

    Diana was the leader of the troops and was obviously at the forefront in the training being conducted by Zach. She was not only the most tech savvy but also the most motivated and the most willing to undergo the new training regimen.

    Zach was stricter than he had been with them before. The new equipment was not only more sophisticated but was also harder to master than the rtively primitive weaponry that the soldiers were trained in previously due to theck of previous options.

    The more sophisticated equipment and the heavy artillery required a new set of strategies that would allow the soldiers to change their tactics from gueri to more frontal warfare.

    With a bulwark like defense and heavier firepower on their side, the soldiers were gradually turning into a mighty force capable of razing entire battlefields to ashes in the blink of an eye.

    Unlike the previous times, the emphasis of this training wasn''t on improving individual capability but on group warfare. Zach would finally be able to call his group of gueris an army after the sessfulpletion of the training. They would be increasingly skilled at taking onrge groups of clustered enemies with rtively smaller numbers.

    Being a small force with advanced knowledge, the Smith family was bound to be a target of the other forces in the near future. Therefore, Zach was preparing his soldiers to take on entire armies on their own.

    With the help of technology, this wasn''t a far-fetched hope at all.

    The training routine was so tough that even Zach sometimes felt bad for the soldiers who were already putting in their best efforts to push through the training. They had to wake up in the wee hours of dawn when even the first rays of sun weren''t out yet and had to keep training until the depths of the night. The training included both hand to handbat to increase physical endurance and lessons on the normal and wartime operations of the high-tech machinery such as battle tanks andbat drones.

    The advanced lessons he had nned would also include the usage of the equipment in their traditional roles. For example, he nned to teach the scouts about the usage of drones for reconnaissance andbat at the same time. This would not only improve the quality of information collected but would also increase the efficiency of the scouts and the variability of theirbat methods; Thus, ensuring their safety despite theck of defensive measures.

    Diana understood his intentions and motivated each and every one of her subordinates with her words during training.

    Soon she found that all her effortsbined weren''t as effective as when she mentioned anything about their enemies trying to destroy their newly built home.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The new home they built with their own hands became the bottom line and the reverse scale of these soldiers.

    Their blood boiled every time she mentioned enemies attacking their home in groups and armies.

    Even thepletely spent soldiers stood up at the mention of their home and struggled to put in theirst bit of energy to improve.

    Except for the time dedicated to meals andpulsory sleep, the soldiers were not interested in anything else as they devoted themselves to the training. Their strength improved and their coordination with each other, as they followed theirmander''s instructions without blinking, improved at a rapid pace as a result.

    Zach was very satisfied with the level of learning ability of these soldiers. He wasn''t sure if it was because these people had long since gotten used to adopting new technologies but it didn''t take them as long as he had expected to learn their important aspects.

    While the soldiers could barely notice the passing of days, it was extremely difficult for Zach to withstand the slow passage of time. From his perspective, time was barely trickling down drop by drop as if someone had turned off the faucet of time and it was only barely leaking one drop at a time.

    Training wasn''t as easy a job as it had been in the beginning. He had barely taught them the basics and had left them to their own designs to improve with the help of the capablemander Diana.

    But he couldn''t do the same because of the sophisticated equipment that was capable of blowing off a chunk of the ind due to misusage. He didn''t want any idents until he could be sure that every soldier was proficient in the role they had been given inrge scale battles.

    The toll on his mind had been far greater than that of Diana who was the actual leader of the troops on the field. After two weeks of constantly training the soldiers, Zach had be sick and tired of it and needed a rest.

    If the soldiers heard of this, they would surely condemn the dictator Zach for his tyrannical methods. While they were the ones suffering and sweating blood and tears in the field, their topmander who only had to order them around at his whim was acting tired as if he had done all the training and was too exhausted to continue.

    After two weeks of continuous torture Zach decided to give everyone a day off to rest and make merry. None of the soldiers knew the reason behind the sudden happiness but Diana felt like she had grasped a part of it. Both Zach and Diana had noticed the waning spirits of the soldiers as they immersed themselves fully into training. While their enthusiasm hadn''t drained, their endurance was reaching a critical point already.

    Even Diana''s encouraging words couldn''t bring back the spark in their lifeless looking eyes.

    Zach didn''t want to break their spirits before the training reached its conclusion. Therefore, a break at this point was absolutely necessary so that the soldiers could gather their scattered spirit and motivation before engaging in their training with renewed vigor and passion.

    Zach ordered a special feast to be prepared for the soldiers on their day off. Soldiers loved nothing more than good food and a good sleep. Both of these things together were enough to rejuvenate them for another long bout of harsh and back breaking training.

    The asion was also marked by another huge event that excited the entire Smith family. Zach was also going to narrate the climax of the Harry Potter story after the feast as a treat. The story that brought hope to the migrating Luther family during their worst moments had long since be the greatest delight in their lives. It had brought them excitement when there was none, happiness when they were bored out of their minds and a sense of unity as if they had experienced and witnessed the growth of the kid called Harry Potter as he overcame all the hurdles in his path and battled against the greatest dark mage of all times on countless asions and survived to tell the tale.

    The dinner didn''tst long as the whole family was far too anxious to hear the true ending of the story. They wanted to know if Harry''s ns to take down Voldemort with the help of the three artifacts was a sess or not very badly.

 Chapter 263 263 Different Feelings

    Since the feast was in their way, they only needed to get rid of it as fast as possible. And that was what they did.

    The whole family gathered their chairs close to the center and formed a semi-circle around Zach as he began to piece together the fragments of the story, he could recall into a deliverable one. His story-telling had improved a lot over this time but he found himself stillckingpared to the professional or natural talents he remembered from his previous life. Some people were just born with that kind of charisma to affect the audience and mesmerize them.

    Clearing his throat lightly, Zach began to narrate thest passage of the story with as much mystique as he could muster. The audience gasped and wowed after each sentence as he narrated the battle of Hogwarts with a gloomy air around him that matched the feelings of the audience perfectly.

    "бнAmidst the thundering sh of spells, a tale of ancient artifacts unfolded, weaving its way into the fabric of the Battle of Hogwarts. The Deathly Hallows, fabled relics of unimaginable power, whispered their presence, as if orchestrating a dance of destiny amidst the chaos.

    In the hands of the Dark Lord Voldemort rested the Elder Wand, a wand of legend said to be unbeatable in duels. With its might, he sought to snuff out the light of hope that emanated from Harry Potter''s heart. The wand had passed through many hands, leaving a trail of bloodshed and treachery in its wake, and now it yearned for a master who could wield it with true mastery.

    As the battle raged on, whispers spread like wildfire, carrying tales of the Elder Wand''s connection to the young hero. It was rumored that Harry had be the true master of the wand when he disarmed its previous owner, Draco Malfoy, unwittingly acquiring its allegiance. The revtion that he possessed this sacred artifact only deepened the stakes of the battle.

    When the time came for Harry to face Voldemort, their wands met in a sh that shook the very foundation of reality. Sparks flew, and magic crackled, as the Elder Wand resisted the Dark Lord''smand to end the young wizard''s life. Unbeknownst to Voldemort, the wand recognized Harry as its true master, bound by the unbreakable connection of their fateful encounter.

    In a moment of profound realization, Harry grasped the significance of the Deathly Hallows. Though he had not actively sought them, fate had drawn him toward them, and now he bore the mantle of their power. He understood that the Elder Wand was not a tool to conquer or control; it was a symbol of the choices one made and the path one walked.

    The Elder Wand, sensing the purity of Harry''s intentions, refused to harm its true master, thus denying Voldemort the victory he so desperately craved. The wand''s loyalty shifted, breaking the cycle of violence and upheaval that had gued its history.

    In the climax of their battle, Harry''s steadfastness proved victorious. Voldemort''s own curse, borne of his arrogance and ignorance of the wand''s allegiance, rebounded upon him. The Dark Lord fell, vanquished not only by the Boy Who Lived but by the very wand he had sought to control.

    In the aftermath of the battle, as Hogwarts began to heal its wounds and mourn its fallen, Harry made a solemn decision.

    He knew the power and danger that the Elder Wand posed if left unimed. With great humility, he chose not to be its master.

    In that act of selflessness, Harry broke the wand''s power once and for all, ensuring that its allure would never again fuel a thirst for dominanceбн"

    The round of apuse that followed the climax of the story was so loud that the birds sleeping in their nests nearly fell out of their nests in the forest from the shock.

    The appreciation for the story was never ending. Christina hadn''t spent a lot of time with the Smith family which was why she never had the chance to hear the entire story. But just from the parts she heard, she was able to infer the level of the story. She couldn''t help but think that there might be some truth to the story. The world Zach mentioned that was devoid of magic and relied on technology like the trucks to improve the standard of daily life entranced her more than the magical world full of wonder and powerful artifacts that only the mages could wield.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    She wanted to experience the world of the muggles like a curious connoisseur of the muggle artifacts like the head of the Weasley family. She believed that magic would be wonderful if it could be used to improve the lives of the ordinary people but s it was being utilized to hold the entire society back.

    Shemented the reality that was in front of her and wished for the world to be full of tools like trucks as it was in the muggle world. She wondered what the train to Hogwarts would look like. Was it truly a metal beast that could be several kilometers in length and capable of carrying thousands of people in a single run? Wouldn''t that revolutionize the entire logistics chain if it could be brought to reality?

    s, the reality was too cruel and this world too dependent on mages and too immersed in battles and war to even think of doing something out of the box that could benefit the entire human race.

    ra gave a bitterugh as well. She was fascinated by the fact that Harry had chosen to dispose of the Elder Wand instead of increasing his own power with it. From the moment she could retain her memory, she remembered that strength was the paramount thing. Her family practiced strong magic even if it hindered their physical growth. The stronger the magic capacity of the individual, the more it hindered their physical growth. But even still, she had always felt proud to wield such strength.

    But now she had changed her opinion slightly. Power wasn''t everything. In the face of the person she loved, she found her confidence waning whenparing herself with her rivals who had a normal height. Even Diana who wasn''t as powerful had found a way to make herself useful to Zach and earn his appreciation. This made ra wonder whether she had taken the right path.

    The story made both ra and Christina ponder on different but negative aspects of magic. While sitting beside each other, they began to discuss the various possibilities of magic and were surprised to find that they were like minded people who would rather not have magic than watch its effects destroy the human society like it currently was.

    ra liked the way Christina thought. She was much more imaginative and much more knowledgeable than a martial minded person like her. Therefore, the hatred she had previously harbored against Christina began to dissolve like a medicinal pellet in water.

    She felt that Christina wasn''t as bad a person as she had previously imagined. But she wasn''t ready to admit the same to Christina''s face at the moment.

    No matter how nice a person she was, she was still contending with her for her fiancижe. As such ra wasn''t willing to just hand over Zach to someone else.

    While Christina and ra were on the same page and were against the martial usage of magic, Diana would have wholeheartedly disagreed with their point of view if she could hear their thoughts in their entirety.

    Power, authority and strength were the most primitive goals of human beings since they came into existence. It was the most basic reason behind conflicts in the world. Only greed and such goals were powerful enough motivators to lead humans astray. They were in a sense more effective than any other kind of motivation.

    Diana believed inpetition and survival of the fittest. She believed that only with sufficient power could one protect what they wanted to protect. Therefore, from the get go she had been stubborn about increasing her fighting prowess so as to avoid her fate of eventually marrying a piece of garbage.

    Later she had increased her power with the help of Zach and had killed the piece of trash with her own hands. The faint notion in her mind had solidified at that moment.

 Chapter 264 264 Level 1 Alert

    The idea took root in her very being and she became obsessed with increasing her power by any means possible. The more she came into contact with Zach, the more her power began to skyrocket and the more confident she became. Therefore, she didn''t agree with Harry Potter''s choice at the end of the story. If she had been in his ce, she would have definitely kept the Elder wand for herself. After all, Harry did deserve its ownership after taking down the greatest dark mage of all time.

    Zach had expected a debate of this magnitude already. Therefore, he had been waiting for a good asion like this to end the story so as to avoid attracting the unending questions of the audience. He hoped that they would discuss it with each other instead of chasing him down the street to find out what happened after.

    Although there were still some people who didn''t understand what ''no questions'' meant. But Zach didn''t turn down anyone who raised their hands to ask a question.

    "What happened to Hagrid at the end?" asked one of the soldiers who had been a fan of the character from the very beginning.

    Zach couldn''t understand why someone would be so interested in Hagrid instead of the other characters but he didn''t refuse the question and was about to answer to the best of his capabilities when the transparent screen in front of him began to sh red and a high pitch rm rang in his ears which sessfully distracted his attention from the question.

    Zach immediatelymanded the system to show him the map. The mini map at the bottom of the screen erged and filled his sightplete. There were several huge dotsing towards the ind from all directions as it to block all exits. The red dots spots were exceptionallyrge as if several smaller dots had congregated together to form therge size dots. Therefore, he assumed that there were several groups of enemies attacking from all sides this time.

    Thankfully for him, the attack was going to take ce while he was still on Greend. He was more than prepared to take on any threat on his home turf. He immediately pulled open the live video footage of the drones supervising the entire ind.

    Not a single corner of the ind was a blind area for these drones. As such, Zach could easily find out the number of enemies and their approximate strength from the video.

    The footage showed several ships headed towards Greend at a fast pace. They looked like they were up to no good at the first nce.

    The Smith family had put in their blood and sweat in clearing out the whole ind and considered this ce their home.

    Zach wasn''t going to tolerate an invasion on such arge scale. He nned to thoroughly and overwhelmingly exterminate these people so no one would ever dare to barge into his home without considering the consequences.

    His approach though looked extreme on the surface wasn''t a big deal in fact. It would allow him to kill one in order to warn the many fools who would no doubt try to test the might of his forces in the future.

    He called for a soldier by curling his finger while his gaze was fully focused on the screen that showed him the various live videos of the approaching enemies.

    "Issue a level 1 alert for all. No civilian is toe out of the mansion until further orders."

    The soldier immediately rushed away towards a guard post located at the entrance of the newly built mansion.

    A siren resounded across the ind and caused several birds to fly off in fright.

    The people were exceptionally trained and the drills that Zach had ingrained in their minds enabled all the soldiers and the employees of the family to act as nned without causing any panic.

    Soon the dining hall was emptied. The servants and the technical manpower who were unable to fight were currently in their rooms. They knew that they would only be a liability to the soldiers if they were found wandering outside by the enemies. As such, theyplied with the instructions issued by Zach and didn''t dare to move around.

    The soldiers on the other hand were more spirited than ever. Excitement had finally found its way to them.

    They rushed to their rooms to get their standard issue gear in mere moments and assembled outside the mansion in neatly aligned rows and columns, fully dressed and armed to the teeth.

    Zach nodded at the swift response and appreciation was visible in his eyes. The response was in fact far better than he had imagined. There were no stragglers and no dumbos who were unable to understand the gravity of the situation.

    "What happened?" Diana had never left his side as she wanted to test the capability of her team as well. She finally broke her silence and asked the question that she wanted to ask since the moment Zach ordered the soldier to sound the rm.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "It looks like someone wants to deal with us in a ndestine manner." Replied Zach in a cool and calm manner as if they wereing to the ind for tea time.

    "Who is itбнthe Hunter family?"

    "I don''t know butбнit should be rted to them. We haven''t dealt with anyone else in the past month who might retaliate in such an aggressive manner."

    Zach was in fact sure that this had something to do with the Hunter family. The several warnings of the Windsor family leader came to his mind and supported this line of thought as well.

    "How many of them are there?"

    "I don''t know the exact number butбн there should be a few hundred judging from the number of ships trying to encircle us."

    Even the soldiers who heard the statement were dumbfounded. They hadn''t expected the number of enemies to be that huge.

    "What are our orders?" asked Diana worriedly.

    "What else? Destroy them." replied Zach in a matter-of-fact manner as he fiddled with the positioning of the drones to adjust the viewing angle. He wanted a holistic view of the ind in order to ascertain the approximate locations where the enemies wouldnd.

    Diana wanted nothing more than to do that but she was afraid that the amount of training that the soldiers underwent on the new equipment was insufficient and could lead to some idents during the battle.

    Therefore, she was of the opinion that long range fire with the help of machine gun drones was the safest option. It would enable the soldiers to stay out of the danger zone and any idents wouldn''t im the lives of the soldiers. It would be more like a field exercise or a practical test with live targets.

    Moreover, the thermal vision drones were highly effective against infantry and could reduce the number of the enemies drastically withoutpromising the battle stamina of her soldiers. The machine guns attached to the drones had a very high firing rate which produced a lead rain that was impossible to escape, even for some agility based C level mages. It would allow them to cover extensive area while targeting scattered enemies and groups with equal efficiency.

    Most of the enemy forces could be taken care of using this method but the scattered enemies with high agility and high strength would have to be taken care of individually by the soldiers.

    Diana believed that the remaining enemy forces could easily be taken care of using gueri tactics at minimum cost.

    She believed that her n was perfect and Zach would definitely approve of it.

    With a smug smile on her face, Diana ryed her n to Zach and asked his opinion instead of carrying out his orders directly.

    "Good jobing up with such an borate strategy given the little amount of time. It is aprehensive strategy that epasses even the training of your soldiers into ount, BUTбнthere is one thing that you failed to take into ount."

    "What''s that?" Diana didn''t think she had missed anything concrete. She believed that she had considered the situation from all possible angles before formting the battle strategy as themander of the forces of Smith family.

    "It''s that we don''t just want to win the battle."

    "What do you mean?"

 Chapter 265 265 Too Easy

    "What do you mean?" Diana tilted her head to the side in confusion as she didn''t understand what Zach wanted to tell her.

    "I mean thatбнthis is the very first battle of our Smith family. We don''t just want to win the battle. We want to decimate them. We want them to fear our very existence so they would never dare to go against us in the future. Since these enemies have probably been sent by the Hunter family to exact their vengeance, I want them to remember what happens to those who target our family. We need to make an example out of our enemies this time. So, we won''t bother hiding any of our strength. We will st them with everything we have in our arsenal."

    Zach exined his motive behind the bombardment strategy. As a new family, the Smiths needed to show their power to the world or they would be bullied like the Windsor family in the future. They needed to show the world the consequences of provoking them.

    "Butбн" Diana wanted to protest that the soldiers were probably not ready for such a big operation yet but Zach interrupted her midway.

    "I trust that the soldiers I have trained would be able to discern whether they are up to the task or not. Anyone who thinks he isn''t capable of carrying out the task can opt to sit this one out. You have a chance to back out NOWбнIs there anyoneбнanyone?"

    None of the soldiers were willing to back out which caused Zach to break out into a smile.

    "I trust you guys. Don''t disappoint me on the battlefield. Just do what you normally do. I have witnessed your training and I believe that none of the men I trained arecking in any aspect. WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK?"

    "WE''RE READY SIR!"

    Several voices merged together to form a loud roar as the soldiers replied in their thundering voices. They werepletely confident ofpleting their mission no matter the difficulty.

    Even Diana was moved by their enthusiasm and Zach''s charisma. A fire began to burn in her chest as she watched Zach give out a string of orders in one go.

    "Let''s prepare a few surprises for our friends. Youбнyouбнyouбнand you, go and make sure that our armored tanks are ready for battle. I don''t want any kind of problem at the time of execution. Your brothers'' lives will depend on your support." Zach pointed at a few good trainees and asked them to make sure that the tanks could be used in battle when needed.

    Then he pointed at a few more men and ordered them to bring over some heavy firepower in the form of RPGs.

    Zach put both of these groups on stand by and asked them to wait for his orders.

    The group wielding RPGs separated with practiced and synchronized movements like shadows dancing in coordination with each other. They distributed themselves along the entire length of the ind to lie in wait for the enemies as per their suprememander''s orders. They were trained shooters and could urately rain down destruction on the designated target at a moment''s notice. They didn''t need to close in on their target either. The rocket powered grenades had enough thrust to cover most of the ind to reach their target.

    While Zach''s orders were being ryed to all the personnel who were not within the listening range, Zach was busy controlling the drones to monitor the enemies slowly advancing towards the ind at a fast pace in a sneaky manner.

    Zach sneered andmanded the drones to move inwards towards the center of the ind and increased their operating altitude so that the enemies wouldn''t be able to spot them. This would also allow him to keep an eye on the enemies as they advanced ind.

    As the topmander, the soldiers were reliant on his orders. Only good visibility of the enemies would allow him to make informed decisions. His soldiers'' lives were dependent on him so he couldn''t afford to be uninformed even if he was only ying with his enemies and didn''t consider them a true threat.

    Both the surveince and the soldiers had already moved towards the center of the ind leaving the peripheriespletely avable to the pirates to make a sessfulnding from all directions.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The pirates on the other hand weren''t aware that they were walking straight into a trap with no escape as theyughed excitedly in their hearts. Their lives would undoubtedly be forfeit once they fell into Zach''s scheme.

    Greend was located in rtively shallow waters and wasn''t very far from the shore of Byzantium city. As such, the big pirate ships were unable to get close to it without risking damage to the keel of their ships.

    The respective ship captains didn''t linger around the ind once they noticed thecking security measures around the ind.

    Not once did they stop to think that theck of patrols and guards around the ind was suspicious. They were too confident in their sneak approach and were sure that the target had yet to notice their invasion.

    As such, the respective ship captains who were directly under themand of the pirate leader, ordered the pirates onboard to let down a few smaller boats with the help of ropes.

    The pirates nned to use the smaller boats to reach the ind shore instead of damaging their ships in the attempt. It was not only faster but also much more effective in terms of a sneak attack. The smaller boats had a lower chance of being spotted by the guards on the ind.

    The pirate boats rowed by the piratesnded on the abandoned shores of the ind within no time. Since there was no resistance from the target, the pirates grew bolder and threw caution to the wind. They didn''t even stop to scout the ind before congregating together tounch a full-scale attack on the ind to wipe out the Smith family.

    ckbeard couldn''t help but sneer once he noticed that the target had still not realized the threat, he and his pirates posed to them. He sincerely doubted whether the dark mage was truly as powerful as Hogan''s information. So far, he had only encountered disappointment after spending so much timeing up with an borate n for this invasion fearing the dark mage.

    "This is too easy. I wanted a challenge after spending so long on the ind. But thisбнthis isn''t enough for me to make a move."

    ckbeard surveyed the ind with a contemptuous gaze. He regretted bringing such arge force with him considering that it seemed to be quite an easy job.

    The pirates apanying ckbeard couldn''t agree more with his words. This job so far looked like the easiest job they had ever taken. There were no defenses at all, no watchtowers or lookouts at the peripheral area.

    Even their pirate ind had a few watchtowers despite how hard it was to reach the ind without a guide.

    "The powerful and terrifying dark mage is probably a hoax that Hogan is using to cover up his uselessness. The Hunter family has fallen quite a bit. Even a newbie with such a weak power can frighten him out of his wits. The Hunter family in my memory wasn''t this pathetic. They were cunning and aggressive and wouldn''t let a kid walk all over them like this." Commented ckbeard as he gestured his men to follow after him.

    Being a pirate, wealth and power was the paramount goal of the pirate named ckbeard. Although he pursued the thrill of battle, it was only because he liked gauging his strength against others to determine the extent of his own development. Therefore, an easy mission like this was free and easy money that ckbeard would never reject.

    "How strong can that dark mage be when he doesn''t even have a few men under hismand to guard his territory?" the pirate walking beside ckbeard ridiculed Zach for his poor territory management and all the pirates joined in on theughter as they merrily made their way towards the center of the ind.

    Little did they know that even if Zach left the ind unattended, they would still be unable to prate its automated defenses. The only reason that they had managed tond on the shores of the ind was because Zach had allowed them to do so by pulling away the surveince and monitoring drones.

 Chapter 266 266 FIRE!

    Just when the pirates were allughing and celebrating their victory in advance, Diana heard Zach''s order through her earpiece and shouted, "FIRE!".

    Zach had handed over themand of the soldiers to Diana as she was the actual leader of the troops while Zach became their eyes and ears as the topmander.

    The RPG wielding soldiers who had all camouged themselves perfectly using the tree branches, mud and moss all revealed themselves. They adjusted their postures in order to counteract the kickback from theunch of RPG ammo.

    The moment they heard themand, several RPGs fired simultaneously towards the coordinates of the ind which Diana had alreadymunicated.

    Explosion after explosion burst out on top of the ind. Fiery explosions engulfed the entirety of the pirate fleet except for those who had stayed back onboard the ship as protection and necessary backup force in case the vanguard needed support from behind.

    Pieces of charred flesh flew around in all directions as one of the explosions took ce right in the center of a small group of pirates while the others only missed the heart of the pirate force by a little margin.

    Bewildered, the pirates looked around in a frenzied manner as they tried to figure out the location of their assants.

    "IT''S A TRAP!" shouted one of the pirates who was smeared with the burning blood of hisrades. He seemed to have survived an explosion from quite close by. It was unknown whether he had used hisrade as a shield like a true pirate or had just gotten lucky that hisrade bore the brunt of it.

    While the pirate kept on repeating his words of caution, not a single one of the remaining pirates could hear him even though he was shouting his throat raw. The sudden explosions right next to the surviving pirates had temporarily rendered them deaf.

    Several pirates echoed his words as contemtion dawned on their faces as to why there were no guards at the periphery of the ind.

    "We''ve been discovered. They were waiting for us toe." This was the only thought in the minds of the pirates as they tried to figure out how the owner of the territory knew that they wereing. This kind of nned and detailed ambush was only possible if the dark mage knew that they wereing.

    Still, no one could contemte the true methods of a dark mage. They were far too mysterious and diverse in their capabilities.

    As such, ckbeard attributed the deadly fireworks disy to the unpredictable dark mage who used such an unorthodox method to wee their arrival.

    "Don''t panic. It is the trick of that dark mage. Follow me. We will pierce through to the center of the ind in one go." Shouted ckbeard towards his subordinates as he began to advance with a watery shield in front of him.

    Panic ensued anyway as the pirates stumbled their way out of the explosion affected area. Since their hearing had yet to be restored, ckbeard''s words fell on deaf ears and barely anyone noticed his leading figure. Every one of the pirates was worried about their own well being in the face of raining death and destruction.

    The pirates couldn''t decipher the mystery behind the sts since there were absolutely no enemy around them no matter how much they scoured their surroundings.

    Although ckbeard was just as startled and dumbfounded by the sudden ambush, he didn''t linger on that line of thought. Hebeled the dark mage Zach as ''extremely dangerous'' in his mind as he tried to think of ways to fend off the onught of fire.

    By this time, the Smith family soldiers were already done loading ammo in the RPGunchers. A new barrage of fire was ready to beunched.

    In the aftermath of the explosions, no one heard ckbeard''s orders so he had to resort to visual aid. He began to chant in a heavy voice and the water element began to condense around him from all directions. The wall was thick enough to hold off another wave of bombardment.

    Seeing the shimmering blue water wall, the pirates began to congregate behind ckbeard under the threat of fiery explosions taking ce all around them.

    Although the water wall provided an effective separation between the iing explosions and ckbeard''s crew, it was not enough to hold off the effect of the explosion itself. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The shockwaves from the explosions and the super-heated steam created from the contact of fire and water blew off in all directions essentially sublimating the pirates with pitifully low strength.

    Even some low-level mages were caught off guard and were blown away amidst the storm of fire and water.

    The safety of the water shield therefore proved to be an illusion as the effect of the explosions could not be mitigated despite the fact that the leader of the pirate crew was an A level mage skilled in the water element. Unfortunately, he wasn''t up against a purely elemental attack. Otherwise, he might have seeded in counteracting its effectpletely with water wall.

    Knowing that the wall wasn''t strong enough to protect his men, ckbeard had to alter his strategy of attack. Instead of pushing forward like a spear thrust with him taking the lead and his men following behind him, he took on a more scattered approach with his power converging towards the center from all directions like several streams merging together to shape a giant river.

    "Disperseбнscatterбнget away from each otherбнandбн" ckbeard turned around and issued the new set of orders. He ignored the new barrage of explosions while simultaneously strengthening the water wall with his mana. He was confident of, at least, defending against the explosions with minimal losses after having used this much amount of mana for a momentary increase in defense.

    This time, the sound of the explosions was greatly muffled as if the water around the explosions had snuffed its breath by swallowing it down its giant maw.

    The pirate crew heard the words of their captain and knew what to do. They had previously adopted simr strategies whenever they were up against a powerful opponent capable of killing them by the scores.

    The group broke down into smaller groups as they ran behind their leader. Slowly they began to scatter in different directions like they had opted for different paths for the same destination.

    Some of the more cowardly members directly turned tail and ran in the direction of their ships. They were terribly frightened by the apocalyptic scene from before. Some had seen theirrades being torn apart by the sudden impacts; some were bleeding from their ears unable to forget thest screams of their colleagues; while some were just cowardly and afraid of getting hurt.

    They couldn''t go forward without burdening their heart into a cardiac arrest.

    ckbeard didn''t bother about these people in this situation but he vowed to get rid of the cowards once he returned after thepletion of the mission. He was extremely dissatisfied with these people.

    But dispersing the crowd was the only method he had to ensure the safety of his crew. As long as they advanced together, the chances of suffering losses at the hands of the enemy would have increased with each step taken towards the destination.

    Zach had been waiting for this reaction from the enemies ever since he gave the order to rain down hell on them.

    As themander of the battle, Zach had to think of his next few moves in advance by anticipating the reactions of the enemy.

    Had it been him in ce of ckbeard, he would have taken the same decision. Therefore, he had prepared countermeasures for it as well.

    Maneuvering the drones, Zach encircled the entire crew to keep them from leaving the ind before the fun he had nned for them began.

    The machine guns slotted on the drones began to fire at hismand. The hail of bullets fell behind the pirate crew and conjured up a force field of raining metal that punctured holes in any pirate daring enough to cross the threshold in his attempt to rush back to the boats they had left on the shore.

    Unable to retreat, the pirate crew had nowhere to go.

    Zach had sessfully contained the targets and began to lure them towards the center once again.

 Chapter 267 267 Trap

    Backed into a corner andpletely overwhelmed by their survival instincts, the pirates could only helplessly rush towards the center of the ind in order to take down the hidden enemies who were busily sniping them from afar like picking off ants from the ground and killing them off for fun.

    ckbeard had long since figured out the only method to escape the tricky situation his crew was in.

    They needed to reach the center and tear out the roots of the resistance they were facing. Unfortunately, some of his men had already lost their spirits from the sudden attacks while the rest wanted nothing more than to escape with their lives intact. The ferocious pirate crew he had carefully nurtured was nowhere to be seen.

    Disappointed and bursting with anger, ckbeard ventured deeper and deeper into the forest as the condense water vapors under his control spread out to find out the location of the enemy. He could easily find hidden enemies within a few hundred meters radius around him.

    Unfortunately, he couldn''t even find the trail of his targets even after he was consuming so much mana every second to do so.

    Zach felt like he was ying an overpowered real time strategy game where he was facing a siege and had to utilize various units under hismand to keep the enemy from invading into the heart of his territory. Of course, the level of the enemy was far too low to pose any threat to him. Comparing the two forces wasn''t fair at all. It was likeparing a level 100 boss monster and level 100 elite minions against a level 1 opponents who were barely capable of defense let alone a sneak offensive against such advanced surveince and automatic defense units.

    Like a sadistic emperor, Zach began to close in the curtain of bullets towards the center of the ind at a fast pace.

    The pirates panicked and increased their pace in order to avoid getting a few extra holes in their bodies.

    But Zach wasn''t done just yet.

    He ordered the RPG wielding soldiers to fire yet again. The simultaneous barrage of fire from the front and the encroaching wave of death from the backpletely broke the minds of the invading pirates. They had no ce to go. There was a fiery death in the front and a horrifying and painful death behind them.

    Unlike his men, ckbeard still had a semnce of mental stability left. He carefully led his men into the denser portion of the forest where it might be easier to avoid the rain of bullets to some extent.

    Despite having the ability to escape on his own with the help of his elemental shield, ckbeard wasn''t one to escape after suffering such heavy losses. Moreover, his men couldn''t die in vain without paying off the value of their lives.

    Additionally, he was adamant on getting even with Zach.

    As such he had to protect his crew because they clearly weren''t powerful enough to escape the encirclement of the explosions and raining metal on their own.

    Troublesome as it was, he couldn''t escape by himself toplete the mission or all his men would end up paying the price and the defeat of his force would almost be guaranteed.

    ckbeard regretted bringing so many people for the mission. He should have brought a team of elites instead of waging war in enemy territory. They would have had an easier time infiltrating the ind as well.

    No matter how fast he tried to move with his people, he was always one step behind the enemy. The trap that the enemy hadid out for him and his crew seemed to be quite borate. It was apparent that the enemy had put in great effort to contain, disperse and weaken his overall crew.

    This was a detailed n with almost perfect execution.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ckbeard was horrified when he looked around him only to discover a measly ten people around him when he had brought over more than two hundred pirates with him this time.

    The force numbering in two hundred had been cut short to a few tens. ckbeard didn''t know the fate of the other groups but he could imagine their condition considering that even he was barely able to survive while carrying those who could keep up with his pace till the end.

    Those groups were either all dead or struggling to survive just like him. Unfortunately for them, their enemy was finished with the preliminary round of the war and was busy gearing up for the second.

    While the long-range assault had managed to blow several pirates to bits, the majority were still alive and were desperately trying to find a way out of the ind like morons.

    Zach hadn''t interfered with their intentions at the beginning because he was looking forward to trapping them with a single move. This had been his strategy all along; divide and surround from all directions. It was intended to make sure that the enemy never reached the center of the ind.

    Now that everything was in order, it was time for the soldiers he had trained to show their set of skills. Constant drills, fight simtion exercises, and the clearing work that they had done on the ind allowed them to learn they of thend. They knew the geographic ups and downs of the ind like the back of their hand. Therefore, the pirates after being separated from each other and weakened significantly, were nothing more than pray in the eyes of these soldiers.

    Just the gueri tactics were enough to take down these shabby pirates. There was no need to showcase the new equipment at all in order to bring doom onto them.

    As Zach sat at the hill top overlooking the ind, Diana and the soldiers engaged the pirates in rtively closer rangedbat. They brought out their guns and began to take down the scattered groups. Some of the B level mages proved rather troublesome on the ount that they were able to conjure up shields which allowed them to deflect the iing bullets before they were turned to sieves.

    Diana either used the element of surprise or heavy bombardment to take down such enemies after they had spent all their mana.

    Zach was rather satisfied with the screams that could be heard from the forest all around the Smith family mansion. The pirates were being executed one by one by the soldiers.

    ckbeard, unlike Zach, was unaware of the fate of his crew but he could already make an educated guess after witnessing the powerful trap he had found himself in as soon as hended on this ind.

    Unlike Diana''s worry, the soldiers were still working fine and the teamwork proved to be extremely smooth just like in the past. Her worries regarding their training not being enough were obviously groundless as they were all experienced soldiers who had fought tooth and nail on several asions ever since the fateful day, they made their escape from the Luther family mansion.

    Using advanced hot weaponry and equipment like NVGs, thermal scanners and scouting drones, each soldier of the Smith family was capable of taking down scores of pirates on their own.

    But since Diana had taken the leadership position for this mission, the task was beingpleted even more efficiently. They mowed down several pirate groups of various sizes. Some were as small as three to four pirates while some were asrge as thirty. Whenever Diana encountered a group of more than twenty pirates, shemunicated the coordinates to Zach and called in hellfire to take care of the entire gatherings. It was easy to take down the thinned down groups afterwards.

    Diana wondered if these people were really fearsome pirates considering the pitiful state they were in; neither able to fight nor able to escape back to the sea.

    They were a rather pathetic sight but she didn''t believe in showing mercy to the enemy. As such none of the pirates escaped a miserable end aftering into contact with her group of soldiers.

    Everything went perfectly until she and her group finally encountered the main group of the pirates being led by ckbeard himself. The reason was that the group was full of rather powerful mages. They were not only harder to kill on their own but were also being supported by ckbeard''s exquisite water element control skill which further boosted their defensive skills.

 Chapter 268 268 Potent Clara

    Even guns were of no use against such enemies.

    Therefore, Diana asked her soldiers to retreat the moment she confirmed that the group couldn''t be taken down through their normal methods.

    "Zachбнwe might haveбнa small problem."

    Zach turned all his attention towards the flustered sounding Diana. He had been monitoring the situation all this time through the earpiece but this was the first problem since the soldiers began to execute the strategy.

    "What is it? What happened?" asked Zach curiously.

    "It''s nothingбнjust that our weapons are ineffective against the core group of the pirates. This group has rather powerful overall strength and peculiar defensive methods. We can''t handle them on our own."

    Diana called for heavy firepower without a thought. She didn''t want her soldiers to die in a pointless struggle when they could easily kill their enemies without incurring any losses on their end.

    "Copy thatбнdon''t waste time and engage other groups instead. I will make arrangements for this one."

    Zach ordered Diana to retreat as well. Just like her, he didn''t want any pointless casualties.

    Zach tapped his earpiece with a finger before enigmatically asking, "Are the two of you ready yet?"

    "Of course."

    Two solemn but determined voices sounded in his earpiece at the same time as if they had been waiting for this question all their lives.

    Since they were ying at their home ground, Zach didn''t want any extra losses but at the same time he wanted the soldiers to experience another battle after having trained for so long without a chance to showcase their abilities. He was treating it like field experience for his soldiers to get them hands on with the new tech.

    Still, he wasn''tpletely out of his mind when he decided to y around with his enemies. As a safety precaution he had already detailed Christina and ra to remain on call at all times in case the enemy had some high level mages as back up.

    "Goodбнit''s up to you two now. Our soldiers can''t handle the high-level mages with their current loadout. Help them make a sessful retreat and then take down those mages as fast as possible."

    The two were already on the move as they nodded subconsciously after listening to Zach''s voicemand.

    Zach had been keeping them up to date about the entire situation. Therefore, they already knew the current location of Diana and her team.

    ra had been secretly jealous of Diana who was the center of attention during the entire operation but she couldn''t say anything as Diana had been themander of the Special Ops team since the very beginning.

    Now that Zach asked her to help Diana and her team, ra was smirking with smugness visible on her soft visage.

    While Christina was practically floating on the ground with her magic, ra was pushing through with sheer force as she damaged the ground behind her to propel herself further to get abreast Christina who was rtively stronger when it came to mana control and mana propulsion.

    Like a model strength oriented mage, ra was oveing the gap between her and Christina with sheer brute force and nothing else.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    бн

    ckbeard was truly angry after losing so many of his crewmates on a useless mission like this. He wanted to tear apart the Smith family who bore the prime responsibility for the current but pathetic situation of his crew. But the anger he felt towards Hogan exceeded even that, for Hogan had fed him false information that led to the current scenario.

    The target had yet to show himself and more than half of his forces had already been wiped out. This was too heavy a loss and the Smith family had turned out to be not as useless as Hogan had stated them to be.

    He still remembered how Hogan had told him about the useless Smith family that would fall apart the moment they lost their leader Zach. As such, he hadn''t taken as much precautions when making anding on the ind. Resultantly, he ended up losing so many men for a mission that wasn''t going to pay him as much.

    But out of necessity, ckbeard put all of that to the back of his mind and tried to take down as many of the enemy forces as possible even though each and every one of them seemed to be extremely skilled at escaping and hiding. While the girl leading them kept blocking his path, the rest of the men kept retreating at a fast pace.

    He had to ept that it was a good strategy to slow him down to let the weaker ones escape. But he was in no mood to y with the girl who looked more tender than trained.

    The girl kept switching between two tube like weapons that he had seen for the first time. The one with a longer tube shot out metal projectiles with a high pration power while the short one burst out several projectiles at the same time with high explosive power.

    Diana kept using the sawed off shotgun to push back ckbeard whenever he got close to her while tailing her and used the rifle to target him as she moved back to provide cover for the rest of the soldiers.

    The water shield that ckbeard conjured up for defense was enough to stop the metal projectiles in their path but he was unable to do much else other than defense.

    This enraged ckbeard because it was a humiliation for him to stumble aftering across a seemingly soft and homely looking girl. He brought out the vast amount of mana in an unending stream and began topress the water element into a thin stream capable of piercing diamond at its best.

    The soft body of a girl like Diana who had never trained her physical body like ra would undoubtedly suffer a fate even worse than pration. Her body might directly be cut apart aftering into contact with it.

    Just when ckbeard was about tounch the deadly sh of water with a swing of his hand, he heard a crunching sound near himself and then felt a bone breaking pain in his left arm.

    ckbeard looked down towards his hand instinctively and found his forearm dangling from the elbow onward like there was no bone left in his arm. One look and he knew that his arm had been rendered useless.

    His eyes narrowed dangerously and his focus shifted towards a petite looking girl who had appeared out of nowhere right beside him. The greatest danger he felt came from the fact that he hadn''t felt her overwhelming presence until the moment she struck him with that punch that broke his arm from the elbow joint rendering the attack he had wasted so much mana on,pletely useless.

    The petite looking girl who had broken his arm bone was none other than ra whose main focus in magic studies was physical augmentation that allowed her to break past the strength limit of normal humans.

    ckbeard grew wary of the harmless looking girl and cursed his luck foring across two terrible opponents who didn''t look the part at all. Not only was he being beaten ck and blue, unable to fight back, the shame he felt at being the punching bag of two boneless looking women was even greater.

    Since Hogan had asked ckbeard to deal with the Smith family and not the Windsor family, he had never given any information regarding her to ckbeard. As a result, ckbeard ended up paying the price.

    As a strength specialist, ra was so powerful that even Hogan had to devise an alternate n to lure her away from the Windsor residence in order to get a powerful criminal like Jack to abduct Violet. Being an elemental mage, Jack wasn''t willing to take on a strength oriented mage who could stter him to the ground with a single punch.

    From the get go, closebat with a strength oriented mage with an indomitable physical body was a folly. But ckbeard was unaware of the overall strength of the girl with a cold look on her face. Although he was wary of her due to her sneak attack, he didn''t expect her to have such a level of strength.

    Therefore, when the newest addition to his crew, a B rank mage tried to attack ra on his own, ckbeard didn''t try to stop him.

 Chapter 269 269 RETREAT

    Only after he sensed the mana building up within ra''s petite body did he understand exactly how much he had underestimated this frail looking opponent.

    By the time he came out of the shock and tried to stop that B rank mage, the damage had been done.

    The mage who was trying to render his meritorious service to the crew thought that ra would be an easy opponent due to her frail outlook and her short height. Unfortunately, the reality was theplete opposite.

    As soon as he got within ra''s range, he found himself unable to move.

    ckbeard who was watching the mage from the corner of his eyes while trying to tie up his dangling arm with a cloth strip screamed at the top of his lungs to warn his crewmate.

    s, his warning came a little toote.

    ra''s frail hand that contained the power to crush mountains waspletely wrapped around the throat of the dumbfounded mage as he struggled with his lower half to escape her clutches. Unfortunately for him, ra''s strength wasn''t something he could defend against just because he wanted to.

    ra gave him a seductive but cold smile and slowly increased the strength in her grip. The mage felt as if his life force was being wrung out of him.

    His throat caved in on itself and his spine cracked disabling his entire lower body. The mage, filled with terror, wanted to scream but to no avail. Due to the constriction of trachea, his breathing stopped and his shatteredrynx could only allow him to produce a hoarse and raw gurgling sound that was only audible to ra.

    The mage died feeling excruciating pain that would have given him nightmares for the rest of his life even if he had survived.

    The battle around ra almost came to a halt as a result of her cruel and heartless demonstration.

    A petite looking girl like her killing without batting an eye was bound to attract the attention of everyone around her. What these people didn''t know was that ra was never one to kill people so heartlessly. The things that happened to her family recently forced a change on her that even she had yet to realize.

    Christina had never seen this version of her before even though it had been more than a month since she arrived at the Windsor family. Although she had already heard from Zach about how powerful ra was, she had yet to witness it for herself. After all, only seeing is believing. ra''s short and petite stature could barely give anyone confidence about her strength.

    The power she disyed caused even Christina to see her in a new light. Seeing her, Christina vowed never to judge her enemies based on their appearance in the future or she might end up with the same fate as the mage with the broken neck.

    It wasn''t that Christina was not capable of dealing as much damage as ra. It was just that Christina preferred to be demurer about it. Moreover, she couldn''t have done it so decisively like her. She might have hesitated a little bit before eventually killing the mage.

    Christina would have killed the mage as well because he hade to the ind with the intention to kill her husband. The only difference between her and ra was ruthlessness. While ra had be ruthless after suffering at the hands of Hunter family, Christina was still a businesswoman at heart. She had to prepare herself before doing something so extreme.

    ra''s method on the other hand was pretty barbaric. It could even give goosebumps to a seasoned killer. But if Zach was there to witness it, he would have surely appreciated ra for dispatching an opponent with such swiftness because he was in fact a staunch proponent of efficiency in battle. Anything that could end the battle earlier even by a single second was something he was willing to reward because

    ckbeard was now fully aware of the strength of the harmless looking girl. She had taken care of a B level mage with a single strike. He was awfully positive about the end that was waiting for him and his crew should he decide to continue with the job. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Moreover, the frail looking girl hadn''te alone.

    She had brought along an equally horrific partner. ckbeard was bbergasted to see how the girl was practically dancing in the middle of the battlefield, a bloody dance that was reaping the lives of all those it encroached on.

    Christina was bursting with anger at these pirates who dared to have designs against her husband. She kept wondering what would have happened if she weren''t with him this time; or worse, if something happened to him in her absence.

    Therefore, she didn''t hold anything back and took care of all those she could in the shortest amount of time possible to relieve the stress on Zach''s shoulders. She knew how he already bore the burden of carrying the Smith family all by his lonesome. And now he was being dragged down by the Windsor family as well.

    Although she felt dissatisfied internally, she didn''t reveal her feelings for fear that Zach might think less of her for being selfish. So, like a good little woman, she did what her husband asked her to do; just a little excessively. She was taking out her frustration and anger on all the enemies she came across and ckbeard only witnessed the result that scared the shit out of him.

    There was only one thought in his mind and it was that the two women were extremely terrifying and the mission reward was not at all worth fighting the two at the same time and risking more of the lives of his carefully selected crew and his own.

    As such he looked towards the sky in helplessness but determination was evident from his unwavering gaze. "RETREATбнRETREATбнRETREAT TOWARDS THE SHIPSбн" shouted ckbeard to no one in particr. His voice echoed all over the ind with the sound amplification application of mana. At the same time, he thanked the gods of the sea that the ships could support their rapid escape.

    His surviving crewmates had a face full of smiles and happiness after listening to his words. It was as if they had received a lunch break in the middle of the most gruesome torture known to the mankind.

    They ran with the wind behind their backs, eager to save their lives from the bloodthirsty sirens that were bound to be the graveyard of any pirate who came across them. They had fought many battles on the ocean but this was the first time they felt as if they were fighting ghosts. Ghosts who were not only invisible but also just as destructive as if they were jealous of the living.

    Invisible enemies could break the spirit of any experienced warrior let alone pirates who could be mobilized with the smallest of benefits. They were marauders and ruffians who could do anything as long as their greed for wealth and power could be satisfied.

    As such, the pirate code they followed and the honor of their captain was left behind in the dust when they ran with enough speed to outrun a ship sailing across the wide ocean.

    Loyalty to ckbeard was only on the surface even though they eagerly obeyed his everymand, like obedient dogs at their master''s heel.

    ckbeard didn''t crave their loyalty either as long as they obeyed his orders like good little dogs craving his attention. After all, he thought of them as money bags too. He could discard any single one of them at any time provided that the benefit was more than enough.

    Running with their backs to thend, they longed for the embrace of the sweet, sweet ocean. They ran to their mothers; the ships that not only fed them but also was the source of their power on the seas.

    Some of them turned their heads back, fearing that the demonic women would be chasing after them to reap their souls. They were afraid that the two women would be looking forpanions for the pirates they had sent to the underworld already so they wouldn''t feel lonely on the road.

    As ckbeard reached the shore with his crew in tow, a sinister sneer crept across his weathered face.

 Chapter 270 270 FIRE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!

    He was the infamous terror of the sea, his name struck fear into the hearts of all who crossed his path, like a specter that haunted the nightmares of innocent souls.

    If only those people knew what had be of him now.

    Defeat tasted bitter on his tongue, but it only stoked the embers of his vengeance against Zach who was his target, the two women who foiled his ns and the core culprit Hogan who had given him the mission with faulty andcking information.

    As for the inhabitants of the ind, since they had dared to defy him, he vowed that he would make them pay for their insolence in the manner that pirates like him knew best. Countless pirate rivals and enemies had already suffered simr fates once they let ckbeard escape their clutches.

    ra and Christina, the targets of ckbeard''s wrath, had proven to be formidable foes, like fierce sirens luring sailors to their doom. Their strength and prowess were a thorn in ckbeard''s side, like a persistent gale hindering his ship''s progress. He could not abide the thought of being outmatched by two women, and his wounded pride demanded retribution.

    His crew, a ruthless band of marauders, shared their captain''s malevolence as well.

    They were a bloodthirsty pack, always hungry for more plunder and power, like a relentless horde of raiders with nothing but wealth in their sights.

    But as they retreated now, those ruthless pirates scattered like frightened rats fleeing a sinking ship, their dreams of victory shattered like a ship dashed against unforgiving rocks. The fear in their eyes mirrored that of cornered prey, knowing that their fatey in the hands of their merciless pursuers who might be sharpening their knives for ughtering them.

    ckbeard''s heart burned with a voracious hunger for revenge, like a raging inferno devouring everything in its path. He swore to avenge this humiliation like an apex predator that had been beaten by someone from the lowest tier of the food chain.

    As long as he managed to survive, he would eventually return to sink this godforsaken ind to the bottom of the ocean.

    Although the sea was vast, it would not hide the two women from his wrath at that time.

    For now, ckbeard''s heart was as dark as the abyssal depths, fueled by a malevolent desire to raze everything around him to the ground. He nned to go back and regroup with his crew first. Then it wouldn''t be toote to wait until the winds of fate and the tide of time shifted, before engaging in a deadly confrontation with the enemies he made today.

    Just as ckbeard ordered his men to board the boats, his eyes widened with horror and rage as he witnessed blood red mes engulfing his favored ship. The inferno raged mercilessly, devouring the vessel that had served as a symbol of his power and dominance, like a vengeful dragon breathing its fiery breath upon a hapless town.

    The little bit of hope that had flickered in the hearts of his crew was snuffed out heartlessly, reced by a chilling realization that they were trapped in the clutches of a cunning and ruthless adversary.

    Zach, the shadowy puppet master behind the scenes, reveled in the chaos he had orchestrated to show his soldiers the true usage of technology to get over the magical means of this world.

    His heart was unfeeling as he watched the ship burn, like a truemander leading the tempo of the battle to make his sidee out as the eventual winner. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Zach''s nning was meticulous as always. He knew that pirates would prioritize survival over thepletion of mission since they weren''t exactly soldiers. A group being held together by benefits wouldn''t be able to stand the test of hardships. Therefore, he had ordered a few of his soldiers to take the boats the pirates had used to get to the ind before the pirates could retreat to the edges.

    Only then did he push the pirates to the extreme in order to force them to retreat to the shore in an attempt to escape the ind.

    Upon his orders, the soldiers used the very boats the pirates had relied on to reach the shore as instruments of destruction, turning them into fiery harbingers of doom, like betrayers among the crew. They headed towards the mother ship and shot RPGs towards the bottom of the ship, damaging the keel and setting fire to the whole thing. Even if the pirates somehow managed to douse the fire, the damaged keel would only cause them to sink in deep waters.

    The leftover pirates on the ships were caught unawares by the bombardment of the RPGs fired by the soldiers. Some were blown to bits while some managed to survive with a loss of a limb at the very least. None of them would be battle worthy for the rest of their lives at the very least. Those who still had their legs intact managed to jump into the sea to survive but without their hands, their injured bodies wouldn''t be able to survive either. The rest of the pirates who were unable to move, burned with the ships like true sailors who regarded their ships as their homes and their burial ce.

    The crackling of the mes was a haunting chorus, drowning out anyst glimmer of hope in the pirates'' hearts. The once-proud vessel that had sailed under their feet was now a funeral pyre, a tragic symbol of their defeat. And with it went their hope of returning home in this lifetime. The demonic forces pursuing them would never leave them alive after all.

    The pirates, who had believed in their leader''s invincibility till today were cursing him now. They felt like rats trapped on a sinking ship with only the ocean all around them. Their only conclusion would be death. They were extremely sure about it after witnessing the twisted expression on their high and mighty captain''s face.

    ckbeard''s rage was like a tempest, threatening to consume him like a hurricane that churned the sea into chaos. He knew that Zach''s cruel tactics had driven them into a no-win situation, like a sea serpent luring unsuspecting sailors into a deadly trap.

    Zach had already carried out a massacre with the help of his soldiers. After killing the pirates by the hundreds, he wasn''t going to stop before taking care of the remaining few. His people needed to know the effects of the equipment they were using this time because they needed to be in awe of technology in order to use it with caution and care. They couldn''t treat tanks and battle drones like they treated their personal armaments. This massacre was just a way for Zach to teach them the new style of warfare that they were going to follow in the future. After all, the wars they were going to fight in the future wouldn''t be suitable for gueri tactics. The scale would be extremelyrge and the losses would be equally higher as well.

    With the demonstration having reached its final stage, Zach spoke into his microphone once again, his voice a mixture of taciturnity and indifference.

    "Group 1бнGroup 2бнFire everything you haveбнdestroy every one of them."

    Group 1 were the RPGs wielding group while the group 2 were the soldiers who had been instructed by Zach to prepare the armored tanks earlier.

    "These wretched pirates dare to point their weapons towards our homeбнshred them to piecesбнFIRE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!"

    Diana being the fieldmander was the final authority in the execution of the n. Her orders immediately put the soldiers into motion and fire rained down from above like it was the end of the world. The sky turned red with the ever-consuming fire burning everywhere around the pirates and the smoke colored the sky gray giving it a deadly look.

    Zach himself wasn''t idle either. He wasn''t unwilling to dirty his hands. It was jus that these pirates weren''t worthy enough for him to raise his hand personally. Therefore, he was controlling the drones with the help of the system. Numerous battle drones in the sky were pointing the weapons attached to their bodies towards the cluster of pirates gathered at the shore.

    Before the pirates could evene out of their shock of seeing their ships burning like kindling in the middle of the ocean, bullet shower greeted them from above.

 Chapter 271 271 Miserable Situation

    Several of the pirates were pierced through their heads and died instantly.

    The unlucky ones survived to witness the horror that followed.

    Those who could move tried to get away from the doomsday like ce but RPG shells fell down and blocked their path in all directions. Shrapnel flew everywhere piercing through the bodies of the pirates with ease while damaging their vitality.

    All those who died as a result had an extremely anguished expression as if they had died unjustly or in shock. This kind of twisted and pained expressions on their faces along with their already wretched upkeep of their body made for extremely unsightly corpses which now studding the shores of Greend.

    There were still some who managed to survive with the help of the water shields that ckbeard cast to support his remaining crew. Even ckbeard was sweating after so much mana usage. He was just an A ranked mage but his consumption today was more than twice that amount.

    Just when the pirates thought that the rain of terror was over, several explosions urred all around them. But the scale of explosions was far more deadly than the previous ones. The impact radius was far higher and the fire damage was even more ridiculous. But the most worrisome thing about these explosions was their pration power. These ones could easily pierce through the shield being conjured by their leader to exterminate them.

    The shield had already begun to shimmer and fade as a result of the initial attack.

    As the RPGs and armored tanks unleashed their deadly barrage, the ind shore erupted in chaos and destruction. ckbeard strained to protect the pirates closest to him with his mighty water shield. The shield held for a fleeting moment, resisting the initial onught of the heavier firepower, like a barrier protecting thest bastion of hope in a destend.

    But the tanks proved to be overwhelming, and the water shield began to crack under the relentless assault, like a dam breached by a relentless flood. ckbeard''s heart pounded in his chest, torn between the instinct to protect his crew and the realization that he could not withstand the full might of this attack.

    Even the few pirates who had been safe following after their leader began to think of escaping by themselves. Since even their captain couldn''t protect them, they needed to cut ties before the situation worsened even further. Because so far, the situation hadn''t turned for the better even once every since they took the first step on this ind.

    The superior water mages in the group who had been kept safe by ckbeard until then, split into several directions that led towards the ocean and spread out all their mana around them in order to defend against the iing attacksunched by the enemy.

    All of them took action at the same time, as if they had tacitly made an agreement in advance in case such a situation arose during the mission.

    They reached the ocean swiftly since luck seemed to be on their side. They ended up choosing the timing between the previous and the next wave of bombardment which allowed them to dive unscathed into the ocean where they were like fish in their natural habitat. The water element was after all the home of all the water mages and they could showcase the entirety of their power in such an environment.

    ckbeard witnessed the scene with fury as his heart burned at having protected those snakes all this time. He watched on in helplessness as the next wave of bombardment followed the first. The remainingpanions whom he had painstakingly protected all this time, fell one after the other and headed to Hades'' pce in the underworld with undisguised anguish and regret.

    His insides wrenched but all he could do was protect himself from this new kind of attacks. They were far deadlier than the earlier explosions and if he hadn''t wrapped himself in a thicker shield at thest possible minute, even he might have been killed without knowing how he died.

    ckbeard knew he had to prioritize his own survival, as the fate of his remaining crew membersy in their own abilities. He managed to shield himself just in time as explosions and devastation surrounded him, like a lone sailor clinging to a piece of wreckage amidst a storm-tossed sea.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    As a result, the pirates around him were left to their own defenses.

    Each of them fell one by one. They were either blown to bits first and then burned to ashes or were burned to ashes in a single go. There was no painless death for these people.

    As ckbeard watched the people around him fall one by one, his heart weighed heavy with grief and his fury burned hotter with a pitch-ck me. Each loss was a painful reminder of his weakness and the consequences of his greed and ambition. The ind that was once the stepping stone for his ambition to him, now looked like a cursed ce where only death and destruction reigned supreme. It wasn''t the turn of a measly human mage like him to dictate life and death in this ce.

    While he was busy cursing his weakness, he found that even the hidden enemies had now revealed themselves voluntarily because he hadn''t seen this many enemies on the ind before. They were holding various suspicious looking tube-like things but he was in no position to satisfy his curiosity at the moment. He didn''t want to be the cat that got killed due to its curious nature.

    Soon after the encirclement of the soldiers split in the middle as if to make way for the people from behind.

    Diana strode in leisurely behind a young-looking man. ckbeard had fought the girl before so he had previously suspected that she was strong enough to be the leader of these people. s the two girls that came after him were even stronger and gave him chills due to their ruthless means. So, he discarded that thought immediately.

    ording to the information he had obtained from the Hunter family, the leader of this force was supposedly the dark mage named Zach. But ckbeard had yet to see such a man even after losing everything on the ind.

    Before he could begin to doubt Hogan for having orchestrated a scheme against him, the youth leading the entourage of women behind him appeared. Diana was walking two steps behind him and ra and Christina walked behind her in a carefree manner unlike their previous encounter when they had been oozing bloodlust like a duo of demons from the lowest level of hell.

    A sense of dread washed over ckbeard when he noticed how obedient the three demonic women looked as they walked behind the young man. Their previous cold and aloof expressions were nowhere to be seen and they even seemed a little leisurely as if they were out to take a walk in the garden.

    He immediately suspected that this man was the one he was looking for, the dark mage-Zach, the architect of the devastating onught they had just endured and the final target of their mission this time.

    ckbeard had encountered many dark mages in his years of piracy but he had never encountered someone as indifferent as Zach before. Thetter had casually massacred hundreds of his pirates and his face had yet to twitch.

    ckbeard tried to find signs of helplessness on his expressionless face but found neither remorse nor excitement on Zach''s face; only casual indifference. It was as if he had only killed a bunch of ants who were not worth living.

    His attitude angered ckbeard to an extent that he hadn''t thought was possible. Even though the pirates in his employment were dispensable, they still belonged to him. He was unwilling to let go of Zach who had murdered everyst one of them without blinking an eye. Who knows how much longer it would take him to gather another group of rapscallions like them again?

    Filled to the brim with vengeful thoughts and killing intent, ckbeard vowed to the heavens of the world, "I, ckbeard, am not a man if I don''t at least take him down with me to avenge my crew."

    The low growl like muttering was inaudible to the spectators but ckbeard''s heart was already set.

 Chapter 272 272 A Sea Dragon

    The low growl like muttering was inaudible to the spectators but ckbeard''s heart was already set. This was not an impulsive decision at all but an unwavering determination because there was no way he could let go of such a hatred. Zach had not only destroyed his crew; he had also destroyed ckbeard''s reign and his prestige in the neighboring seas. The symbol of his power, his ship was already a pile of ashes under the sea and couldn''t be recovered.

    There was noing back from this. As such ckbeard pulled out his dagger from his waist and cut open the palm on his right hand.

    Red blood smeared the insides of his palm as he closed it into a firm looking fist. Bloody tears escaped the bottom of his fist in the ruby drops but there were no signs of pain on his haggard looking face.

    ckbeard began to recite some kind of weird incantation that none of those present would have ever heard before in their lives. It seemed to be some kind of dark magic since it required blood as the medium. Otherwise, ckbeard wasn''t insane enough to cut his palm in remembrance of his vow alone.

    Zach knew that ckbeard was thinking of pulling off some kind of stunt but he didn''t try to stop him considering the overall strength of he had on urgent disposal. Any of the girls could easily take ckbeard on. Therefore, he kept his eyes on ckbeard, calmly wondering if ckbeard still had any cards to y.

    "Don''t be too happy with your victory. I will make you regret your actions soon enough. Even demons aren''t as ruthless as you were today." sneered ckbeard darkly as soon as he was finished with the incantation.

    "I don''t think there will evere a time when I would regret my actions against a bunch of greedy rats like you and your people. No matter how many of you die, it doesn''t matter to me at all because those willing to kill should be prepared to die themselves in the pursuit to do so." remarked Zach in mysterious manner. He was only copying some kind of life philosophy he had heard in his previous life.

    While the two were throwing remarks around, the blood beneath ckbeard''s feet began to flow towards the sea sneakily. It didn''t follow thews of physics at all. It was creeping towards the sea like a snake instead of flowing normally, although no one in Zach''s group seemed to have noticed it.

    The moment this blood snake connected with the sea; a brilliant crimson light akin to a bloody aurora lit up the blood track on the ground like a fissure about to erupt from the ground. The bloody light was iparably sinister as if some malevolent spirit was about to be summoned from the realm of the dead.

    It wasn''t just the ground that was smeared red. Even the ocean began to glimmer with a reddish light as the water began to swirl gently at first before bing an unstoppable whirlpool a distance away from the shore.

    The seawater began to rise slowly. A massive bulge was evident on the swirling surface of the water. It was as if the sea was about to throw up a massive entity on to thend.

    Zach was shocked that the pirate captain had been holding back so much strength. Still, he didn''t feel that the situation waspletely out of his grasp yet.

    The bulge on the sea burst apart with a ssh and the sea parted into two. A colossal sized eel like being came out of the sea as its gigantic body disced the seawater in all directions. The giant wave caused by its appearance threatened to engulf the ind whole but the raging wave seemingly fell down before it could crash on the shore. It was as if the seawater was unwilling to part with the creature and wanted to return to its embrace.

    All the spectators of this scene grew shocked at the sight of the creature. All of them had only heard stories about the creature but none of them had ever encountered one in reality. It was to the extent that some of them even wondered if it was an illusion meant to confuse their senses.

    The gigantic sea blue creature that was glowing with an iridescent red hue all over its body was none other than a sea dragon; the creature out of myths and legends.

    Zach knew that this was a world of magic and could not be judged based on his standard of normal. But this was way beyond what he considered to be normal even by the standard of this new world.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Magic being a norm andck of technology was something he could understand but the existence of dragons wasn''t exactly easy to digest even for him who had experienced two different worlds.

    The sea dragon didn''t move around and focused its eyes on ckbeard whose palm was glowing with the same blood red hue as the sea dragon.

    The bloody crimson light was the link between the sea dragon and ckbeard which had been used to summon the gigantic creature instantly to a location that was so far away from the deep ocean.

    The sea dragon gave ckbeard a stunned look. Despite being a non-human creature, the dragon''s expressions were extremely refined as if it couldmunicate just with its bodynguage.

    Its current expression indicated that it was puzzled as to why it had been drawn here to the edge of the ocean and it appeared to be asking ckbeard for an exnation regarding the same.

    ckbeard couldmunicate with the sea dragon subtly but he didn''t show any signs of it. He secretly sent the dragon a sound transmission through the water element in the air and told him about the events that took ce on the ind in a hurry.

    The dragonprehended his words for a bit before asking, "Why have you summoned me then?"

    "Isn''t it obvious? I need your help to escape this ce. These people won''t let me leave like this. Please use your strength to open a passage for me to the sea. And I want you to kill a person before that. That is an absolute must before we leave." ckbeard exined his reason for summoning the sea dragon so abruptly but there was an element of urgency to his tone that the dragon caught on to.

    "It isn''t easy for me to help you. You know that I need to conserve my energy for a long time in order to advance my strength. By helping you I would be harming myself. So, I will need a lot of offerings after helping you out today. I will only help you if you agree to provide me with resources to make up the difference of the energy that I will lose and then some more."

    The sea dragon was probably just as greedy as the pirate it was acquainted with. Therefore, even in such a dire situation it was only thinking of getting more benefits instead of helping him out.

    Knowing the twisted intentions of the dragon, ckbeard almost wanted to vomit blood at the hoax excuse it hade up with to gain benefits from him. But beggars couldn''t be choosers. It was up to the dragon as to what price he wanted to set for ckbeard''s life.

    Though ckbeard''s heart bled at the mere thought of the price he had to pay for his life, there was no other option avable to him. It was either this or death at the hands of the dark mage who was the new target of all his umted hatred.

    "Fine I can promise you that but only after we sessfully escape this ce first."

    ckbeard made the promise reluctantly but he had no intention to renege on the debt. The sea dragon could be especially relentless when it came to recovering the debts it was owed. If not for the dragon''s inability to venture onnd, it would never have struck a deal with a human like ckbeard who could bring it items that were unavable in the deep ocean.

    The dragon nodded its head in contentment. It was satisfied after receiving a promise from ckbeard and knew that thetter woulde through no matter what.

 Chapter 273 273 Fierce Attack

    "So, what''s taking you so long? Which one is it?" asked the dragon impatiently as if it wanted nothing more than to leave the ce.

    "What do you mean?"

    "It was you who told me that you wanted me to help you kill someone before leaving. So, which one is he? Whom do you want to get rid of?"

    As if he had been suddenly enlightened by the sea dragon''s words, ckbeard hurriedly pointed towards Zach who was still standing at the front of his people seemingly unafraid of the dragon in front of him. Although his brows were furrowed slightly, he wasn''t as worried as the rest of his people. The sea dragon was nothing more than a glorified sea snake in his eyes. He had seen many fierce beasts ever since he came to this world and this sea dragon seemed to be the cut piece from the same cloth. Every single one of them was just as impossible as this one based on the norms of his previous world.

    The dragon received the signal and marked its target with its fearsome gaze that was full of cunning and absolute confidence in its strength.

    In an attempt to grant ckbeard''s request, the gigantic sea dragonunched a relentless assault on Zach with astonishing agility and grace, defying its massive size. Like a coiled serpent striking its prey, the sea dragon weaved through the air, its movements fluid and swift, which caught Zach off guard.

    Zach hadn''t expected such a giant creature to be so nimble when it came to battle. It was not only blessed with a strong body as the legends imed it had but was also extremely adept and experienced atbat. It twisted its body and coiled in on itself like a snake to avoid Zach''s retaliation.

    Zach''s calm facade faltered for the first time since the battle began, like a master illusionist momentarily losing control of his tricks.

    The sea dragon''s powerful jaws snapped at Zach, its razor-sharp teeth inches away from sinking into his body that was as soft as tofu, like a predator closing in on its weak and helpless prey.

    Zach managed to narrowly dodge the attack using all his strength and wit but the sound of that powerful jaw snapping shut beside him, traumatized him for life. It was truly a narrow escape.

    Zach knew that the sea dragon wasn''t something he could take on his own. He needed a party to raid such a powerful boss monster. As such, he touched his right ear in order to determine if the earpiece was still there.

    Finding the earpiece where it should have been, he felt relieved. He spoke a few words before shifting his wandering attention back to the sea dragon.

    The few words proved to be the harbingers of doom as the soldiers all around him began to take action and made the ind shore a fiery hell in the world of the living.

    Armored tanks led the charge with their heavy onught while RPGs and other weapons followed. The drones under Zach''smand began to fire everything they had towards the sea dragon. Explosion after explosion took ce on its body but there was no sign of it feeling anything. It looked quitefortable as if it was getting a massage in a spa.

    The soldiers, in their desperation, increased the intensity of their barrage. Explosions erupted around the sea dragon, creating a tempest of chaos and destruction, like a storm of destruction unleashed upon an unsuspecting world.

    Even the increased intensity of the assault left no marks on the tough as a diamond skin of the sea dragon. Although its body looked fishy, each of the scales on its body offered a high enough defense for it to run amok in the world without a care. Not just anyone was capable of taking it down. At the very least several S rank mages had to be gathered together to raid a monster like this.

    As it advanced towards Zach with an unstoppable momentum, the soldiers grew worried about the well being of their supreme leader. A group of soldiers took out several grenades in their hands hoping to throw some into the mouth of the dragon since the outer skin of the beast was so tough that even tanks had no effect. They were hoping for the insides of the beast to be different.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    s, they never got the chance to even pull the pin. The sea dragon was already raging and didn''t want to waste any more time. it directly shoved these people away using its massive body, its scales struck the soldiers away like kites with broken strings as they fell far off from the battlefield.

    With its massive head lunging in Zach''s direction, there was no way for him to escape even by utilizing everything in his arsenal.

    Christina had been muttering incantations the moment the sea dragon began its attack. Just before the sea dragon was about to reach Zach, she finallypleted the spell she had been working on and a light barrier formed around Zach''s body. although the barrier looked frail and easily prated, it wasn''t so in reality. After all, it had taken Christina a lot of mana and casting time to conjure up the shield. Since it was intended to save Zach''s life, there was no way Christina could have done it half-heartedly.

    The sea dragon crashed into the barriercently but even its tough skin and immeasurable strength were unable to shake it in the slightest.

    This gave Zach some room to breathe as he began to think of a possible solution in the time window that Christina had obtained for him. He didn''t believe that the sea dragon was unbeatable. A game with an unbeatable boss didn''t exist.

    Therefore, he wracked his brains to think of a solution to this puzzle.

    While Zach could think leisurely in the safety of the light shield, the sea dragon grew more and more angry with each passing second that it was unable to prate the light shield.

    When it finally couldn''t take it any longer, its facial features twisted into a snarl as it opened its mouth like a crocodile when it is about to take a big bite. The scene looked funny but no one spectating it had the urge tough. Because inside those powerful jaws, a fiery light began to sparkle as soon as the dragon opened its mouth.

    Although the others had yet to guess what was going to happen since the sea dragon stopped moving all of a sudden. Some even wondered if the sea dragon had given up and was thinking whether to retreat or not.

    Zach on the other hand knew what wasing so he pulled Christina out of the way.

    Momentster a fiery beam of fire gushed out from the sea dragon''s mouth. It was the dragon''s breath attack which was probably the ultimate attack of any dragon type monster he had evere across, in games obviously.

    While Zach wasn''t surprised, Christina couldn''t break out of her stupor. This dragon was too incredible in her eyes, not because of its strength but because of the pure elemental mana it had fired. Even the purest mana that could be found in the world naturally could not bepared with one tenth of the purity of this mana beam that the dragon had fired on a whim.

    The light barrier made up of crude butpressed elemental mana couldn''t stand a chance against the massive dragon breath. The mana beam took a few seconds toplete scatter the barrier in a burst of light, but by then Zach and Christina had already escaped the impact radius of the sea dragon''s attack.

    Zach had no intention to retreat even after having witnessed the prowess of the sea dragon first hand. He still had some means that he had yet to utilize. If advanced weaponry and technology couldn''t take on the magical might of the sea dragon, the only thing he had to do was to bring in even more technologically advanced weaponry that might give the sea dragon a run for its money.

    He took out the lightsaber from his arsenal and the glow of its red de caused the dragon to feel a little bit of danger even though he didn''t know what it was.

 Chapter 274 274 Strong Clara

    Disregarding the feeling of unease, the sea dragon took a leap of faith. Its body elerated like a coiling dragonunching a fierce strike with the full force of its body.

    Zach was already prepared as he ducked down low and slid underneath its gigantic body with a roll. He then struck the lightsaber in his hand upward in a stabbing motion.

    Comparing normal swords with the lightsaber was likeparing a hand grenade to the nuclear bomb. The power enclosed in that thin light de far surpassed the power of shells from the tanks as it easily prated the tough skin of the dragon.

    Given the huge size of the beast, it was impossible for Zach to actually damage it so much with a single poke on its gigantic body but it was enough to give the beast a sense of the danger that Zach and his sma weapon actually posed to it.

    The sea dragon that hadn''t felt pain in a long time grew afraid of the glowing stick in Zach''s hands. It was such a sharp stick that it could bypass thebined defense of its dragon scales and mana so easily.

    While the sea dragon waspletely immersed in thought trying to figure out ways to avoid or destroy such a powerful weapon, ra found the opportunity that she had been waiting for since the beginning of the strife between Zach and the sea dragon.

    She came up from the sea dragon''s blind spot and grabbed the fishy tail of the sea dragon. Instead of being round, it was actually t like an oar probably because the sea dragon needed to swim in the ocean and needed the extra push from the natural rudder like tail to help it change direction or propel itself forward in an instant.

    ra had spent her whole life trying to increase the physical strength of her body and had even sacrificed the body she could have had if she hadn''t practiced the skill to set her bones in her childhood. The strength in her grip wasn''t something even the sea dragon could ignore.

    She used all her herculean strength she could muster by rotating her body in order to gain momentum before throwing the dragon in her grip into the air while keeping a firm grip on the edge of its tail.

    The sea dragon that was inadvertently pulled into the air by a force that could not be ignored grew furious at this sudden and sneak attack but it could do nothing to change the oue. It had no choice but to fly until the force pushing it into the air pulled it back abruptly with a jerk.

    The sea dragon felt the insides of its head turning into mush as a bout of dizziness took over its senses. In its current state it couldn''t tell up from down, let alone control its increasing momentum as its body moved towards the ground like a meteor from outer space.

    The entire length of the dragon was asrge as the shore line of the ind. So, when it mmed into the ground with so much momentum, shockwaves spread out in all directions following the collision and damaged everything in the vicinity. Christina conjured up a light shield to protect the soldiers and those who couldn''t protect themselves. Since she wasn''t defending against the full force of the attack and just the aftershocks, she didn''t have to exert herself very much.

    The spectators were stunned; even Zach''s mouth was open. ckbeard''s face grew pale after the scene he witnessed. The girl was too terrifying, he hurriedly thanked his gods that he had retreated after losing one hand against her. Otherwise, she might have turned him into meat paste with her next strike.

    The sea dragon was suffering as well but it was less pain and more humiliation. Its powerful body had the perfect defense and could defend against such an attack to some extent but the shame that followed turned its inside into a darker shade.

    It was a mighty dragon but it had been picked up and mmed into the ground like a worthless snake by a girl that was smaller than its teeth.

    While its feud with Zach was nothing but a deal with ckbeard, with ra it had be a personal issue. He wanted nothing less than to tear her into a thousand pieces to recover the reputation loss.

    The furious sea dragon managed to pick itself up in no time. it had kept the object of its wrath in sight the whole time. therefore, without wasting time it opened its gigantic mouth that had an angry expression stered all over it.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The opening of its mouth was the indication of the previous attack it had used against Zach but there was no time to stop it from executing the move. The sea dragon had visibly shortened the casting time bypromising on the power of the attack. It was no longer interested in shy moves and wanted to swiftly take care of the girl.

    Before the mana beam could reach ra, Zach intervened as he was the closest to her. Being a strength-oriented mage, ra had no means to defend herself with so Zach was already prepared to defend her after she made her move.

    Zach spun the lightsaber twice and managed to deflect the mana beam on the second swing. The mana beam was cast before time, so the strength behind it had been lowered considerably as well. Zach didn''t have any trouble defending against it.

    The dragon warily looked at the red stick and hesitated tounch another attack. It only roared to release its frustration.

    Christina took this opportunity to cast the magic she had been chanting all this time. It not only had a long range but also the effect was far stronger than anybat-oriented magic.

    It was an illusion magic that caused the target to feel dizzy using the target''s vision. Since vision was based on the principles of light, Christina cast a few light screens around the target. It caused the light to refract countless times before reaching the target''s eyes, causing it to feel its vision shaking continuously. The effect was same as dizziness and there was almost no chance of detection unless the target turned out to be a light oriented mage. And the chances of that happening were almost negligible.

    The sea dragon couldn''t understand how it could have sustained this much damage from ra''s attack earlier. Its head was spinning and it was unable to shake of the feeling of vertigo.

    Although it couldn''te up with exnation about its current condition, it realized one single fact, that these humans weren''t exactly harmless. It could not exterminate these ones on its own without paying a considerable price. Battling these humans without a solid n and a thorough understanding of the consequences would only leave it suffering alone in the end.

    Intelligent as it was, the sea dragon pretended to be in a state of fury as it opened its mouth in an attempt tounch another mana beam.

    Other than the top-level mages and Zach, no soldier or technology was able to interfere in this high-level battle. Even ckbeard who was alreadypletely spent, stuck close to the sea dragon in an attempt to keep himself alive from enemy attacks. He was worried that Zach and his soldiers might take the opportunity to get rid of him before fighting it out with the sea dragon.

    Zach tightened his hold over the light saber and lowered his body posture when the mana beam was about to beunched.

    However, the expected mana beam never reached its target. While all the spectators and those involved in the fight were focused on the expected path of the mana beam, the sea dragon had concocted another n in its cunning mind.

    It turned its flexible body to the side and used its opened mouth to gobble up Diana who was not expecting such an attack.

    Fear took over Zach''s senses as he began to realize what had happened. The sea dragon was so intelligent that it even knew how to scheme. It had purposely diverted all their attention to kidnap Diana.

    Thankfully, it hadn''t actually eaten her but was only holding her in its mouth. He wondered if ckbeard had something to do with this scheme but couldn''t be sure.

 Chapter 275 275 Get Trapped

    Thankfully, it hadn''t actually eaten her but was only holding her in its mouth. He wondered if ckbeard had something to do with this scheme but couldn''t be sure. After all, his attention had been on ra who was unable to defend herself against its long-range attacks.

    The soldiers who saw theirmander being abducted right in front of them couldn''t take it any more and began to spray fire everywhere in hopes of tying down the sea dragon long enough for Zach to save theirmander.

    However, the sea dragon had already fulfilled its scheme and was not going to stick around for the soldiers to seed.

    It swung its tail in a sweeping motion which sent several soldiers flying as it turned around and dived into the ocean.

    ckbeard had already been in secretmunication with the dragon and knew its n. Just when the dragon was about to make its escape after executing its scheme, hetched himself onto the giant body of the sea dragon by grabbing on to its thin beard.

    The sea dragon didn''t stop once it was in water. Instead, it ventured into the depths of the ocean while carrying Diana in its mouth and ckbeard on its back. The color of the ocean around it slowly began to lose its azure shade and turned darker and the pressure that ckbeard had to face began to increase as well. If not for his water magic, he might have died due to the carelessness of the sea dragon.

    ckbeard couldn''t even curse the sea dragon out loud because it had suffered a loss due to him. he was worried that the sea dragon might leave him at the bottom of the ocean if he dared to point out its fault.

    While ckbeard was reveling in the joy and excitement of survival, Zach began to be more and more worried about Diana. He med himself for not being able to decipher the sea dragon''s intentions a little earlier. Otherwise, Diana would have been safe.

    But what was done was already done. There was nothing he could do to change it back. Therefore, he vowed to do whatever he could to change the final oue. He vowed to bring her back as soon as possible and overloaded his brain toe up with a possible solution.

    Then something clicked in his mind which immediately reduced the amount of frustration in his heart. He remembered that Diana was still wearing her earpiece when she was taken by the sea Dragon. Maybe the system could be used to track her location.

    Just as the thought came to his mind, the system notification sounded, and a map of this world opened up. The map was huge this time because the enemies he was looking for this time had escaped into open waters, greatly increasing the search radius.

    Moreover, the speed with which the blip was moving on the map was so high that Zach was shocked at the capability of the sea dragon. Since Diana was in its mouth, it could only mean that the speed of the sea dragon in water was equivalent to the movement of the green blip on the map. It was far greater than he imagined.

    Although the dragon was not very strong, and Zach at least had the ability to drive it away with the current strength of his family, its speed left him so far back in the dust that he dared not try to follow it even with all the technology at his disposal. It was just too damn fast in the water. Even speedboats from his past world couldn''tpare to it in this respect.

    Still, the system set his mind at ease, knowing that he, at the very least, knew where the sea dragon was taking Diana.

    Zach kept following the green blip on the map that indicated Diana''s current location in order to determine the intentions of the sea dragon. If its final destination turned out to be too far away, it would take Zach a considerable time to reach that ce considering the limitations of marine transport. Anything could happen to Diana in the meantime.

    Zach was worried that something might happen to Diana if he was toote in getting her back.

    ckbeard was a pirate who had lost everything, and his mental state would be far from normal even for a pirate. He was capable of anything and could harm Diana as an act of vengeance.

    Since Zach couldn''t make a n or move out with his forces until he could confirm Diana''s location, he decided to regroup the soldiers who had been scattered around Greend for the duration of the battle.

    A temporary but trustworthymander was chosen from among the soldiers in ce of Diana to keep the discipline of the somewhat impulsive soldiers who wanted to set out to save Diana without any n.

    Although their motive was good, their logic was wed. If they set out without a n or strategy, they would only put themselves at risk and might even jeopardize the safety of theirmander. Zach didn''t illustrate the logic to them but instructed the temporarymander to ry his orders to all the soldiers.

    "No one is allowed to move out of the ind for the time being. Whatever you need will be provided to you here by the Windsor family."

    Zach established a total lockdown on the ind so that no lingering or stranded pirate would be able to make his escape.

    "Anyone suspicious on the ind during this time, I want you to immediately get rid of them. Keep an eye on everyone else on the ind. I don''t want any pirate or anyone else for that matter pretending to be one of us. Initiate thorough screening for everyone; including yourself. Have the respective team leaders identify their own and give me a count within the hour. I want to know if there were any losses during this battle and if there were...I want to see their bodies. Mobilize everyone and give me a report without any omission no matter how small it might be in your opinion."

    Themander understood the gravity of the orders from the solemn expression on Zach''s face. Therefore he, didn''t hesitate to nod his head in acknowledgement and swiftly left to execute each one of them.

    Zach was only taking precautions against any enemy infiltrations. While he was thinking of methods to save Diana, he couldn''t be focused on the internal affairs. This was a critical time since Diana the usualmander wasn''t avable. Otherwise, Zach wouldn''t have bothered to give so many orders to the temporarymander.

    Under Zach''s orders, the temporarymander strengthened the patrols around the ind. The soldiers were divided into three shifts and each of them was required to patrol for at least 8 hours a day and weren''t allowed to leave their posts until the next shift came over to relieve them of their duty.

    The atmosphere on the ind was tense. This was the first time since the long journey to Byzantium city that the Smith family had such a tense and gloomy atmosphere.

    While everyone got busy executing his orders, Zach didn''t have the time to supervise their actions like he did in the past. He still needed toe up with a rescue n for Diana. He needed to finalize the number and the people who would be taking part in the rescue operation and he needed to figure out the people he would have to leave behind on the ind in order to keep other potential enemies from taking advantage of his absence.

    There were many factors he needed to take into ount but that didn''t deter him at all. He began to sort down the things one by one without faltering all the while keeping an eye on the location of the sea dragon being shown by the system.

    бн

    While chaos had taken Greend by surprise, two men were particrly excited as they cackled all by themselves as if something good had happened and they couldn''t control their happiness from spilling out.

    These two were none other than Hogan and Nelson Hunter who were currently waiting for ckbeard''s victorious arrival at a nearby port. Hogan was in high spirits because the greatest obstacle in their hostile takeover of the Windsor family was about to be destroyed at the hands of the pirate captain they had hired.

 Chapter 276 276 Unexpected

    ?

    Although he had to pay a high price, the benefit of taking over the Windsor family far surpassed such an expense.

    Nelson, unlike his father, wasn''t as interested in destroying the budding hopes of the Windsor family. Nelson was a degenerate who was incapable of thinking with his mind. His actions were dictated by his cock and even in such a desperate time for their family, he was thinking of fucking the girl who had dared to refuse his advances at the entrance of the Windsor family.

    Christina''s seductive figure had been on his mind ever since heid eyes on her. Seeing her beside Zach had aroused his jealousy and he had ended up asking ckbeard for her.

    Since the fearsome pirate had already promised him the woman, Nelson had been in a state of ecstasy the whole time as he waited patiently for the arrival of ckbeard at a seaside port that was the closest deepwater port to Greend and could support the docking of the pirate ship.

    While Hogan was wondering whether the Smith family had ceased existing or not, Nelson couldn''t think past his dick and was fantasizing about banging the goddess like Christina.

    He nned to break her spirit that had allowed her to stand up to him at the Windsor family mansion. He imagined Christina sobbing and screaming underneath him, her pride trampled, and her dignity robbed, as he had his way with her until he couldn''t be bothered with her anymore.

    All the anger he had bottled up within himself, he nned to let Christina experience every single bit of it. He had been so close to fucking Violet whom he had lusted after for a good amount of time, but Christina and some other meddlesome people had ruined his father''s ns. Due to their meddling, his father had given him a hard time in his own home for so many days. All the frustration he felt then, he was nning on releasing it all now, at once.

    While Hogan was pacing back and forth on the rtively empty quay, Nelson couldn''t keep his eyes away from the sea lest he miss the arrival of the ship from afar. He was so turned on that he nned to ask ckbeard for Christina as soon as his ship made port. Otherwise, his father and the pirate captain would take too long discussing the payment and other formalities. He didn''t want to get stuck between the two of them when he could be fucking an absolute goddess somewhere else.

    Hogan was getting restless by the second, but he knew that taking down Zach wasn''t an easy job at all. Even if they had taken down Zach already, the pirates being the rapscallions they were might be taking their time looting the ind bare before returning to him.

    Just as he was about to go sit down again due to his feet growing numb, the water in the deepwater port began to bulge as if something huge was moving underneath the water surface and the sea was unable to contain it on its own.

    The bulge parted in the middle as a huge snake-like creature with a long beard raised its head. It was the sea dragon that had barely managed to escape Greend with its life intact at the behest of ckbeard, whom it had made a deal with.

    Such a gigantic creature could drive the soul out of anyone''s body let alone Hogan and Nelson duo who relied on their schemes and underhanded means to get things done. They were about to piss themselves in fear when they noticed a particr thing hanging under the beard of the creature.

    At first they thought it was some kind of ornament. But as the sea dragon swam towards the port, they could finally make out the exact shape of the item. It wasn''t an item at all.

    It was a human, and a pretty stocky one at that. It was just thatpared to the beast, even the stocky human looked like a little toy.

    The sea dragon stopped at the edge of the quay and lowered its head slightly. The muscled man jumped down andnded on the stone tform with a thud. One could ascertain how heavy the man was just from that thudding sound.

    "Uncle ckbeard...you are here." shouted Nelson as he happily lunged towards him in hopes of coaxing him to give up Christina earlier, that is before the two men began to discuss their matters.

    "Did you bring something for me?"

    Although the pirate captain appeared to be furious, Nelson thought that he had always been like that and ignored his survival instinct that was screaming inside him. His lust won over his instinct to survive, and he ended up demanding Christina by extending his palm towards ckbeard.

    ckbeard couldn''t keep his anger in check after witnessing how shameless Hogan''s son was. Here he hade after sacrificing his crew and his ship and the little mutt couldn''t keep his dick in check for a little while longer.

    ckbeard kicked the lustful Nelson to the side like a dirty dog in the street and didn''t bother about him any longer.

    Hogan, who had been waiting for ckbeard''s news eagerly could not stay silent anymore and called out to ckbeard in an inquiring tone.

    "What is the meaning of this?"

    There was something in Hogan''s tone that made it seem like he was demanding an exnation from ckbeard for treating his son in such a manner. After all, their coboration had yet to conclude, and ckbeard was already treating his son in such a manner. He even wondered if ckbeard had gone back on his deal and had shaken hands with Zach. Otherwise, such a drastic change in attitude wouldn''t be possible.

    "YOU...YOU...you''re asking me? You DARE...ask me that?" ckbeard was fuming as soon as Hogan called for his exnation. When he looked back at it, Hogan was the root of his current condition. If not for him, ckbeard would have never provoked a person like Zach. Hogan''s shitty informationwork had fed him false information that led to the demise of his crew and drowned him in debt of the sea dragon from head to toe.

    Hogan on the other hand hadn''t expected such an outburst from ckbeard. He couldn''t understand what had gone wrong with ckbeard after theirst meeting. He looked like a different man now. The cheerful yet dangerous man was nowhere to be seen. On the contrary, he looked like a vengeful shrew at the moment.

    An idea popped up in his mind, an idea that made his legs go weak as soon as it appeared in his mind.

    "Did something go wrong on the ind? Did Zach manage to escape? Does he know that I sent ckbeard to the ind?" ckbeard''s furious outlook matched perfectly with the idea, but Hogan needed to figure out the extent of it. He wondered just what had happened on that tiny ind for ckbeard to be in such a foul mood.

    Not knowing the details, he didn''t push ckbeard''s buttons even though he wanted to ask for an exnation regarding his son who had been kicked aside by him mercilessly.

    After carefully deliberating about it, he cautiously asked, "Why is your mood so sour? Did something unexpected happen on the ind?"

    Hogan tried to sound more casual about his inquiry. But ckbeard''s eyes continued to discharge bloodlust like a broken faucet as if the cause of everything that transpired to his group was Hogan and his stupid request.

    ckbeard wanted nothing more than to shred the stupid bastard''s body into a hundred separate segments. s, he still needed to recover the cost he had expended while aplishing the task that Hogan had hired him to do.

    The sea dragon behind ckbeard wasn''t any different as even its beastly face had an expression full of wrath and indignation.

    "Unexpected...Hahahaha...", ckbeardughed viciously before staring Hogan straight in the eyes as if challenging him, "you still dare to ask me that with your pathetic informationwork? All the information you gave me regarding that dark mage...all of it...utterly useless. It was so far away from reality that I think you wanted to deliberately harm me by sending my force to the ughterhouse. You really are cunning. You wanted me and that dark mage to kill each other, didn''t you? Otherwise, you wouldn''t have given me such half assed information about him."

 Chapter 277 277 Wordless Threats

    ?

    Hogan couldn''t even begin to fathom the meaning of ckbeard''s long rant. He wondered how he came to such a conclusion. The information that Hogan had given the pirate leader had been verified to thest degree. Each bit of it was true and Hogan had even warned him that the dark mage was quite capable and could offer some threat to ckbeard and his men.

    So, howe ckbeard was ming him for intentionally hiding information?

    Dumbfounded, Hogan was unable to speak for a moment. ckbeard''s anger didn''t seem to be feigned. He figured that it would be better for him to ask him about the situation first instead of resorting to me game with ckbeard.

    "I don''t know what you are talking about. All the information I gave you was a hundred percent the truth. If you don''t tell me what went wrong, I can''t possibly give you an exnation, right?"

    Hogan had to humble himself in front of the fuming giant in order to calm the storm raging inside thetter.

    "Of course, the information was correct. But do you dare to im that you gave me all the information you had? You deliberately left out the important bits, didn''t you?"

    "Why would I possibly do that? That doesn''t give me any benefit. I want that dark mage dead the most. Why would I give you false orcking information when it would be a hindrance to my goal? Think about it for a minute." Hogan tried to plead his innocence as he really had no ulterior motive. He had told ckbeard everything he knew about Zach.

    "Then throw your damn dogs responsible for gathering information for you into the sea or they will end up harming you more than they would benefit you. Due to those fuckers...because of those fucking bastards..."

    ckbeard''s breathing grew heavier the more incensed he became. He took a heavy breath while trying to dwindle down the anger scorching his insides as he continued telling Hogan the nightmare that befell him and his crew in Greend.

    "That man...the dark mage you sent me to kill...he wasn''t as fucking weak as you made him out to be. He was strong...so strong that all my crew got murdered right before my eyes in under a few measly minutes. The terrifying thing is that we didn''t even know who was attacking us till thest fucking moment."

    Hogan''s mind was in disarray by this point. He had never expected that Zach was so strong. Although he knew that him and his Hunter family were probably no match for Zach''s magical prowess, he didn''t think that despite all of ckbeard''s ferocious means, he was still unable to kill Zach. On the contrary, ckbeard ended up losing his entire crew to that man.

    This made him feel instantaneous regret. Making an enemy out of such a man would not let him feel safe with an army at his disposal. Unfortunately, he had already gone too far to provoke the man.

    Hogan could only hope that Zach would never find out that it was him who sent ckbeard to Greend to wipe out the Smith family. Or the vengeance of such a powerful man wouldn''t be something he would be able to hold out against on his own.

    Stuttering like a frightened rat, Hogan asked, "He single handedly defeated all your men? How powerful is he exactly?"

    The questioning tone in his words was as if he couldn''t bring himself to believe such a story.

    "Your shitty intelligence is so far behind that it can''t evenpare to the real thing. That man has a force that is capable of taking on government army head on without suffering a loss. Even I have only recently dared to do so and only in the ocean, but that man already has that capability so soon after establishing himself on the ind. It can only mean that he has always had that strength and you were foolishly goaded into attacking him like the idiot you are."

    Hogan had never expected such an oue when he first asked for ckbeard''s help. He had never tried to find out any information about Zach''s forces because Zach had never employed the help of his force when dealing with the Hunter family. It wasn''t that Zach didn''t want to use his people. It was just that his people were busy rebuilding their home in Greend. And most importantly, he didn''t need to call for their help when dealing with a threat on the level of the Hunter family.

    Therefore, Hogan or Nelson had never encountered Zach''s forces before. They had foolishly assumed that his personal strength was all that they needed to be cautious about. They had at most considered ra to be a possible hindrance in their n, but the result far surpassed their wildest imaginations.

    As cunning as Hogan was, he didn''t have the guts to refute ckbeard''s ims even though they were very hard to believe.

    "I have lost a great deal from this mission. I not only lost my entire crew, which would set me back a few years, but also earned myself a lifelong enemy, a terrifying one. Moreover, thepensation we agreed on isn''t even enough to pay off the debt I have taken on to survive this pitfall you threw me into..."

    Although ckbeard hadn''t finished his words, Hogan had already guessed what he was about to say. His business cunning was now running in full gear as he tried toe up with some way to refute ckbeard''s absurd ims.

    Hogan believed in reciprocation of efforts and would have been willing to pay more if the pirate had finished the job. But ckbeard had not only failed but was also about to demand morepensation other than the amount finalized as the mission reward.

    Hogan didn''t want to pay up since ckbeard had been unable toplete the task, he had given him. But the presence of the sea dragonpletely obliterated that thought from his mind. It was a natural coercion that didn''t employ any words, but Hogan understood what ckbeard was trying to do by bringing the sea dragon for the trade. It was a method to show deterrence in case Hogan refused to paypensation for his dead crew members.

    This kind of smiling threat was quitemon in the upper ss society and Hogan was already used to it. As Hogan faced ckbeard''s demands, the situation took an unexpected turn when the formidable sea dragon intervened.

    The creature''s presence undermined his confidence, leaving him unsettled and uncertain.

    With a mixture of fear and awe, Hogan witnessed the sea dragon spewing forth Diana, along with a menacing stream of oral liquid. Hogan knew who Diana was at the very least. From his sources he had already found all the people Zach was associated with. It turned out that other than being the promised husband of the Windsor family''s girl, Zach also had another wife. This woman was precisely Zach''s woman.

    "How did you get your hands on her? Is she...is she really who I think she is?" asked Hogan as if to confirm the thoughts he had in his mind.

    "Yes, this woman gave me so much trouble. She was probably a low-levelmander at the very least. Judging from the expressions of that dark mage, this woman might be even more important to him than I thought. So, you wouldn''t be losing out from this deal in any case." replied ckbeard with a cackle as he knew that Diana held some value as a hostage against Zach.

    Diana''s eyes were closed, and she appeared to be unconscious.

    "It appears to be so." Hogan wasn''t as averse to fulfilling the deal as before.

    Nelson, who had tried to stay out of the conversation after being kicked aside by the fearsome pirate, finally showed a hint of uncontroble emotions on his face. It was unhinged lust...lust that could not be contained within his filthy mind and had made its appearance on his evil visage.

    Other than the slightest bit of disappointment that he hadn''t been able to dominate Christina, who had disrespected him in the past, there was no hint of sadness on his lustful face.

    Diana was more than enough of apensationpared to Christina. Not only could he enjoy himself with a beautiful woman, he could also deal unimaginable damage to Zach.

 Chapter 278 278 Tie Her Up First

    ?

    Not only could he enjoy himself with a beautiful woman, he could also deal unimaginable damage to Zach; the sworn enemy of the Hunter family at the moment. As an added bonus, he might even be able to return to his father''s good graces.

    Suddenly paying off ckbeard didn''t seem so unreasonable to Hogan. At the very least, he had given Hogan a lifeline against Zach who would no doubte for him soon.

    Moreover, he realized the extent of the malevolent alliance between the sea dragon and ckbeard, which forced him to acquiesce to their demands. He wasn''t equipped enough to resist such a duo anyway.

    Overwhelmed by the potential consequences of resisting, Hogan reluctantly decided toply with their wicked scheme. In this dire moment, the sea dragon and ckbeard''s devious partnership proved too formidable to challenge directly. He found sce in the fact that he had at least managed to get his hands on Diana in return for the amount he was about to pay.

    Moreover, he could even extort Zach in the future to furnish him more than the amount he was going to lose today to ckbeard.

    Seeing that the expression on ckbeard''s face was overwhelmingly dark, Hogan didn''t tarry any longer. He unveiled the vast and substantial amount of shimmering gold, meticulously readied for the explicit purpose of settling his debt with ckbeard.

    He additionally showcased an assortment of precious magical artifacts, each possessing an ethereal allure that captivated the beholder. Among these mystical treasures were several ancient and potent magical scrolls, rumored to have unparalleled effects for those who could decipher their cryptic inscriptions.

    The impressive array of offerings was meant to serve as aprehensivepensation, diligently arranged to fulfill the exacting surcharge that ckbeard had demanded with an air of unwavering authority.

    While Hogan was heartbroken to part with the artifacts he had collected over arge period of time, he knew that this was the only way to keep ckbeard from turning against him.

    While Hogan could tolerate ckbeard''s revenge, he couldn''t handle the sea dragon on his own. Therefore, he mustered everything from his spatial ring and paid what he could.

    ckbeard checked the offering diligently as he didn''tpletely trust Hogan. Since they were acquaintances, he already knew how devious Hogan could be. Blindly trusting a man like Hogan was akin to handing over the keys to one''s kingdom to a cunning and unscrupulous adversary.

    After subjecting each segment of the payment to meticulous scrutiny, ckbeard''s countenance transformed into a visage of profound satisfaction. The treasure trove before him acted like a soothing balm, easing the sting of loss caused by the fierce battle against Zach and his formidable forces, akin to a healing salve on a battle-worn warrior''s wounds.

    The sight of the wealth and magical artifacts resembled a guiding lighthouse, illuminating the darkness of uncertainty that had engulfed ckbeard''s path, offering him a renewed sense of direction like a sailor navigating the treacherous seas under the guidance of a celestial beacon.

    Just as a weary traveler finds sce in an oasis amidst the scorching desert, the treasures presented themselves as a sanctuary, providing respite and rejuvenation after the arduous conflict, revitalizing ckbeard''s spirits like the cool, life-giving waters that quench a parched traveler''s thirst.

    In the face of such riches, ckbeard''s eyes gleamed with excitement, as if he held the keys to an otherworldly realm. The hope he had lost along with his crew was rekindled at this moment. This muchpensation was enough to leave some for him after paying off the sea dragon.

    With each artifact and treasure, the pain and regret of losing his crew and hopes for the future, died down a bit. The voices of his dead crew members began to grow fade in his mind and the wounds he had received in the battle against Christina and ra hurt him less and less.

    The loss of his loyal crew still weighed heavily on his heart, but now, it was woven into the tapestry of his newfound wealth and power, their legacy forever honored by the exploits he would have in the future with a new crew aboard a new ship for his uing expeditions.

    In this moment of profound satisfaction, ckbeard appeared as happy as a child despite how close he had been to dying in Greend.

    Satisfied with the amplepensation, ckbeard bestowed a nod of appreciation upon Hogan, acknowledging the value of their transaction. With a sense of contentment etched across his burly face, he turned away, his steps guided by the trail left behind by the sea dragon apanying him.

    Unknown to him, something was dangling from a torn portion of clothes on his backside. The tear probably used to be a pocket before it was torn under the relentless attacks from Zach''s forces.

    The item dangling from the torn portion was akin to the earpiece of the standard issue equipment of Zach''s soldiers. It appeared that amunication device had been stuffed there without him knowing anything about it.

    Any of the soldier in Zach''s forces would have easily recognized the headphones hanging from his back but the pirate was unaware of the cmity he would eventually invite for himself due to such a careless attitude.

    Nelson was unable to contain his lust but he didn''t lose himself until ckbeard had left the port on the back of the sea dragon and had moved out of his sight. Only then did he have the courage to act on his instincts.

    "This girl that ckbeard brought back is not bad either. Although I asked for a different one, I will have to make do with this one for the time being. I can get that seductive one on my ownter."

    Nelson was muttering to himself as he advanced towards Diana with his hands outstretched like some lecherous zombie looking for female meat to stuff itself.

    Thankfully for Diana, Hogan still had some sense left in him to stop his son from acting on his ns.

    "What do you think you are doing?" asked Hogan in an annoyed tone that indicated his extreme irritation at his son.

    Nelson got flustered as if under the impression that his father had heard his inner thoughts somehow. Stumbling on his words, Nelson replied with a unconfident tone of voice, "I nned to check out this woman. I wanted to know if she was still breathing or not. Who knows that pirate might be looking to pin the me of killing her on us by misleading that dark mage who is most probably looking for him already in search of his wife."

    Nelson inhaled a heavy breath as if putting aside all his burdens with that breath. He had somehow managed to conceal the truth from his father who looked like a bloodthirsty hound at the moment.

    Since there was some logic to Nelson''s words, Hogan couldn''t help bute forward to check on the girl. He only breathed easy after confirming that the girl was in fact still alive. But from her fluttering eyshes, it was obvious that her unconsciousness wasn''t about tost very long.

    "Tie her up first. We will decide what to do with herter on."

    Hogan took out a long rope from his spatial ring and gave it to his son Nelson who diligentlypleted the task as if it was the easiest job in the world. It seemed like he had quite some experience tying up girls.

    After Nelson was done with the task, Hogan took a look at the final job to make sure that Diana had been tied up carefully and without mistake before turning towards his son with a fierce and warning look on his face.

    Although Nelson had denied it, Hogan knew what had been going on in his mind earlier. He was definitely nning some way to y with the unconscious woman.

    "Listen to me carefully, I will only say this once. Don''t you dare...don''t you fucking dare touch this woman in any manner without my permission. If you dare to cause me any trouble despite the warning, I will cut off your thing and feed it to the sewer rats. It is better in their bellies than out here causing me more and more trouble."

    To Hogan, there was nothing worse than this that his son could do at this time to ruin their rtions with the Smith family.

 Chapter 279 279 To Save Diana

    ?

    Although they had attacked the Windsor family previously, there was no direct enmity between the Smith and the Hunter family.

    There was still a chance that Hogan could avoid any form of conflict with Smith family and the dark mage. But that route involved not harming the unconscious woman in any form.

    Otherwise, not only would the Hunter family embark on the road of no reconciliation with the Smith family, but they would also end up earning the ire of the dark mage by harming his wife.

    Zach was already aware of the courage that the Hunter family leader possessed after the incident where he healed the Windsor family leader. As soon as Marico was cured of his illness, all the schemes Hogan had been concocting were immediately dismantled because he was afraid of the retaliation of the revitalized Windsor family.

    But now that the Windsor family was being backed by the dark mage Zach, it was almost an impossibility that the Hunter family leader wouldunch an attack on Zach or his forces knowing that thetter might find out about it.

    Hogan had previously only felt that Zach was a thorn in his side. But since he was unable to guess the true extent of his power, he had employed the help of ckbeard in order to avoid suspicion falling on himself or his family.

    But now that Zach had survived the first attempt, Hogan no longer had the courage to attack Zach openly or discreetly because he was afraid of his retaliation even more than he feared the Windsor family''s rise.

    Therefore, he never wanted the situation to devolve by letting Nelson do anything to Zach''s wife.

    For the benefit of the Hunter family, Hogan concocted a devious n that involved keeping Diana, Zach''s beloved wife, hostage as a potent weapon against him and his allies. In Hogan''s twisted strategy, Diana became a pawn in his malicious game, a vulnerable target meant to strike fear and despair into the heart of his adversary.

    With a heart as cold as ice and a mind as sharp as a de, Hogan saw Diana not as a person, but as a tool to exert control over Zach to some extent.

    He believed that Zach wouldn''t risk going all out against the Hunter family as long as they didn''t go too far or harmed his wife. Her safety and well-being had the potential to be the shackles that would keep Zach from losing control and destroying the Hunter family.

    As the moon cast an eerie glow upon Hogan''s sinister countenance, he reveled in the prospects of his viinous triumph.

    With each passing moment, Hogan''s malevolence grew, fueling his determination to see his treacherous plot unfold.

    The moon, a silent witness to his wicked machinations, seemed to illuminate the darkness of his maleficent intentions.

    In the shadows of his sinister plotting, Hogan''s mind worked like abyrinth of cunning schemes, carefully calcting the ramifications of his actions.

    He understood that to achieve his sinister goals, he needed to walk a delicate line, using Diana as a tool of maniption to keep Zach and his allies in check without enraging them fully.

    Before making all these ns, Hogan felt that it was necessary to ascertain Diana''s value in Zach''s heart. All this nning would be in vain if it turned out that Diana wasn''t important to Zach at all. Dark mages had twisted sense of self and their rtions after all. They hardly ever cared about anything other than their strength.

    бн

    Zach pushed every task rted to the organization of data rted to the temporarymander and asked him to make decisions on his own and only to apprise him in case of an emergency greater than he was already busy handling.

    Unless there was a threat that could destroy the very existence of the Smith family, there was hardly anything more important than theirmander. Therefore, the temporarymander also understood the assignment and took the power ofmand into his own hands until their suprememander coulde up with a rescue n for their fieldmander.

    As such, Zach was left undisturbed to monitor the situation with Diana who was currently in the hands of ckbeard. But the only way he could keep an eye on her whereabouts was by using the headphones she had brought with him. Otherwise, Zach would have been left with no other choice than toply with any demand that the pirate captain might eventually make as ransom for the girl.

    Following the blip across the vast stretch of ocean, Zach''s heart lurched every time the sea dragon changed direction and headed towards the deep ocean. It appeared that the dragon was quite cautious because it was travelling in a zigzagging path as if to confuse any pursuers.

    Zach''s heart lurched several times but he managed to keep it within his chest at least until he could figure out the final location where the sea dragon might make a stop.

    His happiness peaked when he suddenly found the sea dragon heading towards shallow waters, but the ce wasn''t too far away from his ind. This confused him a bit considering the fact that the pirate captain had been trying to escape away from him. There was no meaning to taking an about turn in order to stop at a port that was closest to Greend.

    Zach pondered on it for a minute so as to take several perspectives into consideration.

    He put himself in ckbeard''s shoes to think about what he would have done if he was in a simr situation to ckbeard.

    In the end, he came to the conclusion that he would probably leave the girl somewhere close after safely escaping death at the hands of the enemy so as to avoid his enemy''s revenge afterwards. Or he would try to extort his enemy in some manner while keeping himselfpletely safe. For that purpose, he needed to hide Diana somewhere in order to keep the enemy from locating the target of his search.

    As such, when the sea dragon made port, Zach began to think along the same lines. He began to wonder if ckbeard was going to leave Diana right under his nose so that Zach would never even doubt the location where Diana was going to be hidden. Moreover, it came with the added benefit of irritating Zach, which ckbeard would surely love after going through what he did on his ind.

    Zach held on to his breath and eyed the blip indicating Diana''s headphones. He nned to watch it for a while in order to make sure that this was the final destination of the sea dragon or the spot where they nned to hide Diana for a while.

    He desperately hoped that it was thetter reason because it would then make his job of retrieving Diana back countless times easier. He wouldn''t have to n so extensively in that case. Moreover, the distance between the ind and the port wasn''t huge. So, a small operationprising of several elite soldiers would be sufficient to carry out the task without the risk of confronting the sea dragon.

    Just when Zach was about to rest easy, the blip on the map began to move once again indicating that Diana was on the move again and the sea dragon was probably with her as well judging from the speed at which the blip was travelling towards the deep ocean. No such ship in this technologically backward world was capable of sailing at such a speed even when augmented by magic.

    Therefore, it was possible that ckbeard had stopped over at the port or had parted ways there. Whatever the actual case, Zach couldn''t care less about ckbeard''s whereabouts as long as he knew where Diana was being held.

    Zach began to monitor the blip once more not knowing that what he was interested in had been left behind in the clutches of the Hunter family in return for a lot of riches. The blip was no longer indicating the position of Diana but of the headphones hanging from the back pocket of the pirate captain ckbeard.

    Diana was no longer in the sea dragon''s mouth, but Zach couldn''t have known that without monitoring the entire event firsthand. Therefore, he mistakenly kept a watch on the whereabouts of the sea dragon and ckbeard.

 Chapter 280 280 Preparation

    ?

    Zach was constantly in the process of concocting a rescue n based on the distance the blip had traveled already. He would alter the minor points from time to time as soon as the distance increased past the feasibility limit of the current n.

    The final shape of his rescue n began to emerge only after the blip stopped moving a long distance away from Greend in the deep ocean, but his n was bound to be unable to satisfy its intended purpose because it was based on a mistake; a small one but a mistake, nheless.

    Zach waited for a few hours and locked down the location of the blip while finalizing his n at the same time.

    Zach had carried out several operations like this one before but never on such arge scale. He nned to mobilize most of his troops this time which spoke of the anger bubbling inside of him.

    He hadn''t been this angry when Violet had been kidnapped because it hadn''t taken ce in front of him, and he had been free from guilt. But this time, the situation had urred because he, as the suprememander of the battlefield, had failed to assess the potential strength of the enemy and had ended up losing hismander to them.

    When Zach had decided to make this ind his temporary base of operation, he had only nned to act as a business family that wanted to stay in peace with the city and its forces. He had never bothered anyone. He hadn''t provoked anyone to suffer this kind of retaliation from them. But the Hunter family had, time and time again, bothered him whether directly or indirectly by going against his allies; the Windsor family.

    In the end, the ones in trouble were his own people who were innocently trying to build and protect their home without caring about the outside world. They had no stakes in the power struggle of the city and weren''t interested in it either. They just wanted to live in peace.

    For that very purpose, Zach had even stopped them from using the name of the Luther family. It was to avoid the approach of the royal family that was already aware of Zach''s capabilities and wanted to make use of him. Once he had to escape Elizabeth city because of that royal family and the people following him had to be uprooted from their long cherished home because of that.

    Zach had always felt responsible towards these people throughout the journey and after they reached Byzantium city. Therefore, he had changed the name of the group and began to refer to the group as the Smith family so that no one would bother the rtives of a dark mage as they were going to stay away from the matters of the city anyway.

    Although no one knew his true identity in the city, trouble came to find him even when he tried to live an anonymous life. He had even given up on using the sugar business to gain poprity in the city and yet the Hunter family came after him, enemies popped up one after the other and the struggle for power embroiled his forces in the turmoil.

    Zach was unwilling to forbear it this time because this time those hostile entities had involved his family in their sinister schemes. This was a big no-no for Zach, and he was unwilling to let it go just like that.

    He vowed in his heart that was filled with guilt and remorse, that he wouldn''t let the enemies make their escape this time.

    Even if he had to make blood flow like a river, he would be willing to do so as a deterrent to all the forces who had a simr thought in their minds.

    He would make sure that no one in the city would ever dare to eye Greend or its residents ever again. He nned to turn the ind into a fortress so imprable that it would be a forbidden zone that no entity, human or otherwise, would dare to cross without paying the price in blood.

    After studying the history of his previous world, he hade to the conclusion that only the forces versed in mystery and fearsted a few generations. The remaining ones either prospered slowly or crumbled too early after sumbing to the pressure of the rival forces.

    Therefore, shrouding the ind in mystery and fear was the path he chose for his forces.

    The first task he had to aplish in order to do that was to establish his tyrannical might. As such, the n for Diana''s rescue involved a show of might that would frighten the powerful forces of the city for times toe.

    After finalizing everything by himself he called for the temporarymander and issued a set of orders in a stern tone that made the temporarymander obey hismands robotically.

    "Tell me how many men are needed to maintain the bare minimum defensive measures around the ind. I don''t want those hyenas waiting outside to infiltrate our home in our absence. "

    The temporarymander stated the minimum number of soldiers who were needed for patrolling the outer perimeter and the ones who were needed to man the fixed defensive countermeasures like heavy artillery installed at various spots around the ind.

    "Leave that exact number of people on the ind. They would be responsible for ensuring the safety of the ind in the absence of the main force. Tell them to kill everything in their way should they encounter a situation where our enemies are dumb enough to try to upy Greend."

    Aside from the number the temporarymander designated for ind defense, rest every single soldier under Zach''smand was gathered at the shore of the ind. Their movement was extremely speedy so that none of the enemies would be able to get a glimpse of their actions. If they found out somehow, then themander believed that they would definitely attempt to cause trouble in the absence of their leader.

    "Get in. Don''t waste time asking pointless questions. Just know that you have been chosen to bring ourmander back with us. Now hurry up before I leave you behind." The temporarymander had no other way to convince the soldiers who were getting more and more inquisitive as they asked for the reason behind boarding such weird boats, so he told them the truth and the urgency of the matter.

    The soldiers resolutelyplied this time and began to board the torpedo boats along with their weapons. Zach had allowed them all to bring any kind of weapon they wanted for the trip as long as they were able to carry it.

    Soon the two weird looking torpedo boats were ready to depart as they waited for the final lineup of generals that was going to apany them along the journey.

    The journey was going to be a very long one. It would take them about twenty hours to reach the blip in the deep ocean even with the help of the ship. Since the sea dragon had been able to cover the same distance in such a short time, it was considerably faster than the fastest means that Zach could muster at the moment when it came to marine transportation.

    Bruce had been pacing back and forth on the quay as he waited for the soldiers to take their positions on the torpedo boats. He was extremely anxious to go after his sister who was probably suffering in the jaws of the sea dragon.

    If it hadn''t been for Zach holding him back, Bruce would have departed on his own to look for his sister even though he didn''t have any means to locate her.

    Zach understood Bruce''s position. Thetter had given up everything, his power and his family just because he wanted to protect his little sister from all kinds of disasters. But now the same sister had been taken away by a gigantic monster perfectly capable of devouring her like a single bite snack. How could he possibly rest easy knowing that every second he wasted could have been used to keep the sea dragon from harming his sister.

    Therefore, the moment the boats were filled up with the soldiers who would be taking part in the operation, Bruce was the first one to board the ship among the leaders of the family.

 Chapter 281 281 Horrific Sight

    ?

    Christina and ra refused to stay behind as well. Even though they usually didn''t see eye to eye with each other as rivals in love, they never wished for such a fate as that which befell Diana. The biggest reason that they were unwilling to stay behind was that they didn''t want Zach to be thinking of another woman even if it was because of his guilt and remorse when he was by their side.

    Zach didn''t refuse their wishes to apany him to the sea and boarded the other boat in a hurry with the girls following right behind him.

    The engines of the torpedo boats whirred at the fastest speed they could muster and set out for the location that the blip indicated on the map. It had yet to move after it stopped in its ce. Therefore, Zach kept on praying that the blip would stay in the same ce as he carried out his ns.

    After a full night and the better part of the day on board the torpedo boats, soldiers had begun to be restless. Before any of the soldiers could turn into a disloyal subject, Zach finally stumbled on the ind that was hidden in the mist. If not for the coordinates of the ind he had received, he would have never chosen the path either.

    Zach was sure that the ind was the pirate captain''sir, the ce he had been using as refuge for such a long time to escape the eyes of the government. No wonder no one has been able to find anything about this ce for so long. I couldn''t have stumbled on it even by ident let alone by design. Therefore, hiding in this ce was quite a safe bet.

    As soon as Zach was done analyzing the situation, he ordered the soldiers to make port and began to organize his forces through the temporarymanders. A few of the soldiers were asked to stay behind to guard the boats, just in case the enemy tried to sabotage their retreat method while they worked to retrieve Diana.

    The rest of the forces were personally led by Zach as theynded on the shore and began to move slowly in a group towards the heart of the ind which was the supposed location of their target ording to the location marker on the map.

    In order to gather reconnaissance, Zach deployed a drone, its propellers whirring as it soared into the sky. He maintained a vignt watch over the live video feed, carefully observing and analyzing the footage to glean insights into the overall state of the ind.

    The drone''s camera captured every detail, revealing the haunting panorama below and providing a remote glimpse into the ind''s grim conditions. With unwavering focus, Zach absorbed the information unfolding before him, determined to uncover any clues that might shed light on the mysteries lurking within the ominousndscape.

    After what had happened with Diana, Zach wasn''t willing to jeopardize his people any more for baseless spections. He scoured the path ahead with the help of the drone first and only then would he allow his men to follow him down that path.

    Consequently, their entrance onto the ind progressed at a deliberate pace, prioritizing caution and safety above all else. Every step was taken with meticulous care, ensuring that their movements remained undetectable, and their presence concealed.

    Despite their actions, any potential rms remained dormant, as if destiny itself dictated that the alert would not be sounded until the point of no return was reached. The group''s approach was a calcted dance of stealth and prudence, a choreography designed to keep them shrouded in secrecy until the inevitable moment when circumstances demanded otherwise.

    It wasn''t long before Zach saw a picture through the live feed that stupefied him.

    The drone''s portrayal of the ind was so horrifying that Zach couldn''t help but wonder if he had unwittingly stumbled into the gaping maw of a colossal sea monster, one that hungered not for fish but for human lives.

    As he gazed at the nightmarishndscape unfolding before him, a chilling unease settled in his chest. The intended destination seemed to have transformed into a ce of malevolent darkness and imminent peril.

    Amidst the waves of dread that swept over him, another concern began to take hold. Thoughts of Diana, his goal for this perilous journey, wormed their way into his mind. He couldn''t shake off the worry that she might be in danger as well, lost amidst the same ominous terrain that had gripped his senses. The fear for her safety crept stealthily into his heart, intertwining with the horrors of the ind''s imagery and forming a knot of apprehension that was impossible to ignore.

    The location in question was a scene of extreme carnage, with graphic depictions of blood, gore, and entrails strewn across thendscape. The gruesome tableau left no doubt that a brutal massacre had unfolded here, painting the surroundings with a macabre palette of violence and death.

    Amidst the horrifying imagery, there were indications that massive creatures, much like the sea dragon Zach had encountered earlier, might have feasted upon their prey in this very ce. The remains of what might have been his own provisionsy scattered, suggesting that these gigantic beasts had made a grisly meal out of his snacks. The unsettling realization only deepened the sense of foreboding that already hung heavily in the air.

    Before long, the soldiers began to trace the path theirmanding officer had taken, inadvertently stumbling upon the very scene that Zach had previously witnessed on the video feed. The juxtaposition of their physical presence against the ghastly reality was a stark reminder of the horrors that awaited them.

    Among the soldiers, those who had initially approached the situation with a light-hearted demeanor found their bravado shattered by the gruesome sight before them. The intensity of the scene proved overwhelming, and for some, a single nce was enough to trigger a visceral response. The revulsion that gripped them was so profound that they couldn''t contain it иC their stomachs churned, and their bodies betrayed them as they expelled their contents in a gut-wrenching disy of repulsion. The brutality of the tableau had an immediate and visceral impact, leaving an indelible mark on those unfortunate enough to bear witness.

    Despite having wreaked havoc on battlefields and dispatched scores of pirates, even the soldiers who were intimately familiar with the concept of death found themselves utterly unequipped to confront this grotesque masterpiece before them. The atrocities they had witnessed inbat paled inparison to the nightmarish tableau that now confronted their senses.

    The artistry of horror disyed before them was of a nature so macabre, so profoundly unsettling, that their seasoned minds and battle-hardened hearts recoiled in the face of it. The visceral impact of this tableau transcended the carnage they had witnessed in the heat ofbat, striking at something deeper within them. The soldiers, who had once faced danger with steel resolve, were now confronted with a horror that defied all rationality and challenged their very understanding of the world. In the face of this disturbing reality, their veneer of desensitization crumbled, revealing the raw vulnerability beneath.

    Not to mention the soldiers, even Bruce found himself stumbling as his knees grew weak in the face of horrific sight.

    "What could have happened here? Was it some kind of disaster or a pre-arranged feast? Looking at the congregation of the people, it appears to be a surprise attack from whatever reveled in the blood of these people. The faces of these people are full of shock as if they were unable to believe their reality that their end had arrived." asked Zach as he analyzed bits and pieces of the information avable to him.

    He hadn''t expected anyone to know the answer to his question. He had just wanted to air out his thoughts to the rest of hispanions.

    Christina, however, unexpectedly spoke up instantly as if she had guessed the reason behind what had happened.

    "The pirates probably didn''t know what was going to happen to them when they came here. The shock probably came not muchter. There are signs of a ritual here; a ritual that requires a lot of blood. These pirates were probably lured here by someone to act as the blood price."

    "Blood price? What''s that?"

 Chapter 282 282 Blood Price

    ?

    "Blood price? What''s that?" asked Zach curiously. The others were just as clueless, but Bruce''s face changed color upon hearing those words. He seemed to have heard about it as well.

    "Within certain arcane practices, there exist rituals that demand a sacrifice from the mage in order to bring a spell to fruition. Among these dark rituals, the most prevalent form of sacrifice is that of human blood. It is a grim transaction, where the potency of the spell is believed to be directly linked to the life force offered in exchange. Only the most formidable and impactful spells necessitate such a substantial quantity of blood to be employed in their casting.

    The act of sacrifice in this manner is shrouded in the belief that the spilled blood carries with it a vital energy, a conduit between the realms of the living and the mystical forces being harnessed. The depth of the sacrifice underscores the gravity of the intended magic, and it is a testament to the profound lengths that some are willing to go to wield the most potent spells. This kind of sacrifice means that the spell cast has to be a sufficiently powerful one." exined Christina, who was the most learned in the magical arts among all those present beside her, including ra.

    "What kind of spell could it be?" asked Zach, who understood the danger of the scene in front of him. If the spell had yet to be cast, maybe the force he had brought with him would be in danger.

    "Perhaps you''ve already borne witness to it without realizing," Christina mused, her thoughts echoing with contemtion. "In retrospect, I couldn''t help but wonder during that moment. How could the leader of those pirates, besieged on all sides by his enemies, conjure forth a summoning spell with such apparent ease? The answer lies in this revtion. This very principle exins it all.

    The sacrifices made are the key, the dark underpinning of his power. It''s the reason he was able tomand the sea dragon''s might in the midst of that dire situation. The very price he paid for that control was etched in human blood. This is the chilling truth behind his actions иC a pact with darkness, a transaction of life for power. The summoning was the culmination of his willingness to forfeit so much in order to ensure his own survival, to wield the power of the sea dragon as his own for a short moment."

    Christina''s words hung heavy, a realization dawning upon them, the extent to which some are willing to go, the horrors they are prepared to unleash, all in the pursuit of power and survival.

    Zach couldn''t help but feel anger on behalf of the sacrificed pirates. Their own captain had ousted them to the devil in order to save himself, which was the ultimate form of cowardice a leader could disy. He felt bad for those people who put their belief no matter how twisted, in their wretched captain who only cared about his own survival and benefits rather than the lives of his subordinates.

    Although he was feeling indignation towards the filthy pirate leader, he had no intention of sympathizing with the pirates who had suffered such an end.

    Instead, he was feeling a little bit odd since the objects of his fury had died at someone else''s hands. Had the pirates encountered him, Zach was sure that they would have suffered a simr, if not the same fate.

    In the wake of those despicable pirates having audaciouslyid their hands on his beloved family, a seismic shift urred within him. The once gentle and kind-hearted demeanor he had exhibited was now reced by an unyielding resolve. No longer bound by notions of mercy orpassion, he vowed to unleash the entirety of his formidable strength against these marauders.

    Gone were the days of being the amicable and forgiving soul. The time for ying the role of the magnanimous figure hade to an abrupt end. The sheer audacity of the pirates'' actions had ignited an unquenchable fire of vengeance within him.

    Zach didn''t stand aside like he did in the past. He was actively leading the soldiers as he used the drones to scour the entire width of the ind.

    Zach employed a grid-based search pattern, directing the drones to fly in ovepping paths across the ind''s terrain. This method ensured that every inch of ground was thoroughly scanned, minimizing the chances of overlooking any potential clue. The captured imagery was streamed in real-time to him by the system. Zach put his entire attention into figuring out the location of the remaining pirates who were no doubt still close to the center of the ind as the location marker of Diana''s headphones indicated.

    Just as he had expected, one of the drones soon found the remaining pirates all huddled up together in the center of the ind. ckbeard sat atop his heavy throne while the pirates were sitting on the various empty tables all around the hall. This was the exact same hall that they had used in the past for their meals but now it was as deserted as a graveyard. None of their fellow pirates who had departed for Greend had returned while the remaining onesy in a heap of blood and guts around the ind.

    They couldn''t go back to the past anymore.

    While the pirates were busy licking their wounds and thinking of countermeasures against the enemy that was surely going to strike back at them for vengeance, Zach had an animalistic smile on his face as he began thinking of the various methods at his disposal to dispatch these remaining pirates to theherworld.

    "The pirates are all huddled up together in the center of the ind. The coordinates are..." announced Zach on the inte so that each and every individual in the force he had brought would be able to hear hismands.

    "I want you to surround them from all directions. Not a single one of those dogs should be able to escape. Rain fire and death as soon as you are in position and destroy them in one go. We won''t give them a chance to make aeback again. Destroy them utterly and thoroughly this time."

    Without wasting any time, the soldiers dispersed in all directions and began to surround the pirates as if wild beasts were closing in on their prey like seasoned predators out for blood.

    With weapons ready, the soldiers waited until all of them were in position before opening fire.

    бн

    ckbeard was suffering from a stinging pain that coursed through his entire arm. It had previously been broken by ra with a single punch. At first, he had thought that there was only a single fracture at the point of contact. But it turned out that the bone in his arm was broken in several different ces along the length of the arm. The shockwave of the impact of ra''s fist had travelled throughout his arm and had wreaked havoc on the bone. A portion of it at the point of contact had even turned into bone dust which not only rendered his arm physically impaired but also hurt him like hell.

    He wailed as one of the pirates tried to immobilize his arm from his elbow to the wrist with the help of a temporary splint. The pain that ckbeard felt from the procedure was enough to drive any suffering man to insanity. The throbbing pain in his arm felt like searing hotva was running through his arm as it burnt its way through it.

    Yet ckbeard only wailed once the pain became too intense for him to bear.

    After the pirate had sessfully realigned the bone and immobilized ckbeard''s arm, he proceeded to secure the injured limb with a cloth sling. This simple yet effective solution prevented ckbeard''s arm from iling or moving around, ensuring that the delicate process of healing could take ce without any further disruption. The cloth sling served as a support, cradling the injured arm in a stable position and promoting the recovery that was much needed.

    ckbeard nodded to himself in acknowledgement of the skill level of the pirate once he felt that the pain in his arm had somewhat subsided. The slightly itchy feeling that apanied the healing process began to appear in most parts of his broken arm.

 Chapter 283 283 Gunshots

    ?

    While ckbeard was trying to get used to his broken limb, he couldn''t help but remember the subordinates he ended up losing in the battle against Zach and his forces. Amongst those forces were the healing mages who could have helped deal with the bone injury with ease. But now that all of the aplished ones were already dead and ashes, ckbeard had to make do with the less skilled ones.

    Although his heart ached at the loss he had suffered, he was unable to empathize with his subordinates who had suddenly lost their lives without any reason or a good enough exnation. Some had died at the hands of the enemy forces while the rest had been sacrificed without their knowledge in order to save their captain''s life.

    While his men weren''t exactly good people, ckbeard wasn''t a saint either. He was more worried about the loss of his property than the lives of his people. He treated all the pirates as his property and the death of one meant that there would be a significant impact on his overall profit. Therefore, he felt blue about his own decreased benefits and the lost value that the dead pirates could have brought him instead of the deaths of his subordinates who protected him even at the expense of their lives.

    Suddenly gunshots rang out from all directions simultaneously.

    ckbeard, who had just had his injury treated, almost leaped out of his throne at the terrifyingly explosive sounds that followed one after the other.

    At first, he was afraid that he was imagining things and such sounds couldn''t be heard in this ce. After all, this was his imprable hideout that had saved him even from government hideouts. How could such sounds be heard here? He wondered if he was suffering from delusions from the fear of the previous battle.

    s, this was no delusion or a figment of his imagination. The sound of death he had barely managed to escape from in Greend hade looking for him again due to his stupidity.

    All of this might havee to an end if he hadn''t taken Diana with him or if he had released her after securing his escape route. The whole situation could have taken a different turn and Zach might not have bothered to go after him in the first ce as he was busy taking care of his people.

    But ckbeard had to touch Zach''s reverse scale.

    Zach was out for blood now. The soldiers didn''t hold back considering the horrendous amount of bloodlust leaking from their leader. They kept raining death on the remaining pirates as one body after another was punctured into sieves by the heavy gunfire.

    ckbeard finally managed to break out of his stupor and tried to make sense of the situation. How could such sounds be heard on his pirate ind? He couldn''t believe that the dark mage had managed to chase him here so soon.

    This ind wasn''t so easy to find unless there was someone on the inside helping him out. When he thought about it, there were others who knew of his secret as well.

    In the past, no one would have dared to oust the news for fear of his retaliation but now this wasn''t the case at all. His power had diminished, and he had already used his trump cards in the previous battle. In this injured state he was already no match for Zach who hade with his full strength and was not intending to stop anytime soon.

    ckbeard wondered if Hogan Hunter hade to an understanding with Zach after he left. He punched with his good arm and the table close to him shattered into a thousand bits.

    "Who was it? Jus... WHO WAS IT?"

    Although Hogan stood as the ring prime suspect in the eyes of many, ckbeard, that shrewd captain with an uncanny sense for people, harbored doubt about the leader of the illustrious Hunter family''s involvement.

    To him, it felt akin to suspecting a skilled swordsmith of taking up gardening as a hidden pastime. The notion was imusible, for Hogan had alreadypensated him handsomely, going beyond the agreed terms, leaving no logical motivation for him to ensnare ckbeard within a web of treachery. It was as if a wealthy merchant, having secured a fleet of valuable cargoes, would risk it all on a venture that promised no tangible benefits, a notion as absurd as a ship''s captain sailing into a tempest without apass or charts.

    Maybe Zach found one of the pirates on the ind and tortured him for information regarding the ind.

    That seemed to be the most probably scenario and the one that ckbeard was able to ept in his heart.

    Still, that didn''t solve the main issue at hand. This sound couldn''t be replicated and was probablying from those tubes wielded by thebatants of Zach''s forces. As such, it could only mean that Zach hade for him.

    His entire being, once a fortress ofposure, now stood defenseless, besieged by a relentless onught of gunshots that echoed through the air like thunderous drums of impending doom.

    With each sessive report, the boundary between fear and courage blurred, and a primal instinct for self-preservation surged through him, urging him to find safety in the chaos. Yet, as the cacophony of gunfire grew closer, its malevolent symphony seemed to be woven into the very fabric of his thoughts, a haunting reminder that danger was inching ever nearer, its footsteps leaving an indelible trail of trepidation that coursed through his veins like a chilling river.

    In the midst of this terrifying onught, ckbeard''s heart raced with a primal fear, a relentless drumbeat of panic that pushed him to sprint forward, casting aside the looming shadows of danger.

    He understood the gravity of keeping his arm immobile, knowing that even the slightest jolt could unleash a torrent of searing pain. With each step, he held his arm as if cradling fragile treasure, his every movement calcted to minimize the risk of exacerbating his injury. Every stride was a delicate bnce between speed and caution, a tightrope walk between escaping imminent danger and enduring the pain that lurked within him, ready to strike with the slightest provocation.

    He dared not nce back, fearing that the source of those gunshots, that relentless threat, might be gaining on him with every passing moment.

    Every stride he took was driven by an urgency to escape this ominous chase, each footfall a desperate bid to outrun the clutches of the unknown, as he raced through the dark and uncertain terrain, driven by the sheer force of his survival instinct and the chilling realization that his life hung in the bnce.

    Initially caught off-guard, the pirates were blissfully unaware of the impending assault, but as the gravity of the situation dawned upon them along with a familiar metal rain, a surge of fear took over them, but the fear didn''t break their spirits. Instead, it transformed into a fierce determination; a fierce will to take down the invaders.

    They swiftly rallied, retaliating with whatever makeshift weaponry they couldy their hands on. Unfortunately, they were unaware that their biggest backing, their pirate captain, had already made a run for his life after listening to the mere sound of guns and all their effort was going to be in vain.

    Zach didn''t show any mercy this time and used everything at his disposal and managed to secure a path for himself and his forces towards the center of the ind despite the resistance offered by the pirates.

    The pirates'' resistance crumbled before Zach''s relentless advance; a feeble defense that left him incredulous. What he had anticipated as a formidable opposition turned out to be a mere shadow of its supposed might. The barriers he had expected to face melted away, as if the fortress of the pirates he had envisioned was made of sand, dissolving at the first touch of his strategic prowess.

    The ease with which his loyal forces pushed through the pirate lines was both a surprise and a testament to his leadership, but Zach knew that the tide of battle could shift swiftly. The absence of a significant challenge left him cautious, aware that a calm sea could quickly give rise to a tempest. This was something he had taught to ckbeard when he came to Greend to attack his family as well.

 Chapter 284 284 Pursue

    ?

    Zach wondered whether the pirates were truly this weak or if there was some reason behind it. After careful consideration, he believed that there was only one hypothesis that could exin everything.

    The reason he had been able to prate into the heart of the ind so easily wasn''t because the opposition forces were weak. It was just that they were toocking in terms of numbers. The individual capability of each pirate wasn''tcking at all. They were skilled in battle and had probably gone through various life and death situations along with their captain.

    Moreover, some of the pirates just stood by and raised their hands above themselves in surrender as if they had no intention of fighting his forces. It looked like they had given up on resistance after seeing the attitude of their cowardly captain who ran away by himself in tough situations.

    This made Zach''s job all the more easier. As to why the number of pirates on the ind was so low, it was because of the sacrifice ckbeard made in order to summon the sea dragon. The bloody scene they had witnessed earlier was the reason the pirate ind couldn''t defend against Zach''s invasion.

    Imagine a captain who, like a siren''s song, lured his loyal crew into treacherous waters, only to abandon them in the clutches of a sea dragon, much like a puppeteer who cuts the strings of his marites once they''ve danced to his tune.

    The crew, like weary soldiers on a battlefield, had fought valiantly, following the captain''s orders with unwavering dedication, only to find themselves betrayed and sacrificed.

    No one would willingly heed the call of such a captain, for trust shattered is like a mirror cracked, impossible to mend, leaving a bitter taste as if sipping from a cup of poisoned wine, the poison being the captain''s deceitful actions, leaving scars as deep as the ocean''s abyss.

    As such, Zach was positive that the internal affairs of the pirate force were definitely in disarray because ckbeard couldn''t have kept the massacre out of the public eye no matter how discreetly he carried out the promise he made to the sea dragon.

    How could a pirate who had been betrayed already still dare to follow ckbeard''s orders without thinking of self-preservation first?

    The surrendering pirates stood on both sides of the road leading to the center of the pirate ind as soldiers from Zach''s side took control of their weapons and got them all under control.

    Being pirates, they weren''t too averse to betrayals and shameless ambushes. Therefore, they weren''t to be trusted. With hulking soldiers wielding deadly weapons keeping them all in check, Zach finally didn''t have to keep an eye on them all. He was only interested in ckbeard who had dared to kidnap Diana.

    As for the rest of the pirates, he didn''t think they had to be killed immediately. Killing them could wait until after he retrieved Diana from their grasp. Even though they had just faced an apocalyptic situation in the form of the murderous sea dragon, there was no guarantee that these filthy pirates would have a change of heart. Some of them were miscreants from the moment they were born and knew nothing else. These people couldn''t be left alone to their devices or innocent people would eventually suffer at their hands.

    Zach had no sympathy for viins. As to why he didn''t kill those who had surrendered immediately, it wasn''t because he had some code of honor to uphold but because he didn''t have the time to do that in this urgent situation.

    But those who had dared to put up resistance in their captain''s name were a separate case altogether. They were all taken care of by the soldiers at the spot. Zach had already ordered them to show no mercy to the enemies.

    While Zach meticulously traced the elusive trail of ckbeard on the map, Bruce, driven by an overwhelming impatience, could no longer contain his restlessness. His sister, the one constant in his ever-changing life, served as a counterbnce after he bid farewell to theforts of Elizabeth City and the familiar embrace of the Luther family home. He couldn''t allow any harm to befall her even if he had to exchange his life with hers in order to do so.

    As her brother, the turbulent waves of worry crashed relentlessly against Bruce''s resolve, making it nearly impossible for him to find a moment of calm. Zach''s repeated assurances, like fragile lifeboats on this tempestuous sea of concern, offered temporary respite, a brief pause in the storm, hinting that she was safe, at least for now.

    She represented ckbeard''s sole lifeline, the one chance for his survival. Zach firmly believed that ckbeard wouldn''t harm her, recognizing her crucial role in ensuring his safe passage through the challenges ahead.

    Despite repeated assurances from Zach, all Bruce could see was red like an enraged bull charging straight towards the matador in his madness. He wasn''t willing to believe anything until he could see his sister in the flesh, living and breathing normally.

    Until then there was no way he could calm down and meticulously follow the n like Zach. Therefore, Bruce couldn''t control himself the moment he came across the first pirate in the center of the ind. He stomped his way towards the dirty but cowardly looking pirate who was beside himself in fear at the sudden invasion of Zach''s forces.

    The pirate didn''t even belong to thebat forces of ckbeard. He was part of the group of pirates who stayed on the ind all year round and were responsible for housekeeping on the ind and for other household chores like washing and cooking. Though he looked fierce and dirty like normal pirates, he was far from sharing the same temperament and greed as them.

    The poor pirate couldn''t even remember his name the moment Bruce shook him wildly after grabbing onto his cor.

    "Where is that bastard? WHERE IS HE?"

    The pirate wanted to ask the name of the bastard whom Bruce was looking for. How was he supposed to know who that bastard was? There were countless bastards on the ind. Was he supposed to name everyone in session until Bruce could find the person he wanted to find?

    s, he never got the chance to ask any question because Bruce looked like he wasn''t interested in the answer at all. Instead, he seemed more interested in shaking the pirate insides like a smoothie machine.

    "Where is ckbeard... that bastard you call your captain? I swear...I will tear you into a thousand pieces...if you don''t...if you don''t tell me the truth...right now."

    Bruce was getting impatient with the pirate''s unresponsiveness. He even wanted to carry through with his threat to make sure the next pirate wouldn''t dare to lie to him.

    The pirate on the other hand was unable to answer due to the severe bout of dizziness that assaulted him following all that shaking. The only thing he could do in response to Bruce''s questions was to keep shaking his head to indicate he didn''t know anything.

    The pirate felt that the invader was being too unfair. For Sea God''s sake, he did chores on the ind...he wasn''t the vice-captain or anyone important like that. Why would the captain even bother to tell him anything? Did he look like someone important?

    But Bruce was too far from realizing the truth; the truth that these people probably didn''t know anything. They looked far less important to know such a piece of information and ckbeard wasn''t a fool to tell them anything when he already nned to ditch them in order to survive by his lonesome.

    While Bruce was being violent, Zach was in a predicament. The blip had vanished. The location marker that indicated ckbeard had vanished all of a sudden. He had been urging the system to try and locate him again but there seemed to be some kind of interference in the signal.

    The location where ckbeard was hiding seemed to be somewhat special. Either there distorting maic fields in that ce capable of producing electromaic interference or the ce was under the ground making it impossible for the signals to transmit past the solidyer of earth to reach Zach.

    Therefore, he had no means to find ckbeard at the moment.

 Chapter 285 285 Location

    ?

    Therefore, he had no means to find ckbeard at the moment. Even though he could be sure that ckbeard was somewhere close by based on the previous location, he couldn''t pinpoint the location.

    As such he could only lead Bruce and the others in the direction of ckbeard''sst known location, the point where the blip eventually vanished, while surveying the ind with the help of his drones.

    His drones were constantlybing the ind in search of any living entity but finding ckbeard was proving to be an impossible task. The location he was hiding in was probably in the blind spot of all his drones.

    Therefore, noticing the increasing restlessness of Bruce, the pressure on his shoulders was continuously increasing.

    Shaking off all the troubling and pressuring thoughts, Zach focused on looking for ckbeard. He didn''t want to imagine what Bruce might do if they failed to find the whereabouts of his sister from ckbeard.

    "Have you located her yet?"

    Bruce stopped pressurizing the pirates and turned towards Zach who was thest bastion of hope for him. There was no one else more reliable than Zach in Bruce''s mind. He always delivered when it was required out of him.

    "Not yet..."

    "How long is it going to take?" Bruce tried to hold in his frustration as he grinded his teeth before asking.

    "I have only managed to find her general location up till now. I should be able to find her location after a few minutes. Until then I can only lead you to the ce, she was at a few minutes ago. We can try to look for her on our own when we get there until the time, I can get a clear set of coordinates for her exact location."

    Bruce appeared to be satisfied with his exnation for now, but Zach knew that his patience was running thin. It might not be long before he would begin to me Zach for what happened to his sister.

    Therefore, Zach didn''t have the heart to tell Bruce that he had lost the location marker on the map a while ago and could only try to locate ckbeard and Diana based on theirst known location.

    Since the location had been changing on the ind since the time they arrived on the shore and engaged in battle with the pirates, Zach assumed that ckbeard was taking Diana with him to run away from the turmoil of the battle that was about to take the ind by the storm.

    He could only hope that ckbeard would try to take Diana with him for protection until the end. Otherwise, Zach might be unable to find Diana unless she made it out of range of whatever it was that was interfering with the signal. They would have to scour the entire ind manually to locate her in that case. Moreover, there was a high chance that ckbeard would be sessful in escaping while they were busy trying to find Diana.

    Just when he was beginning to sweat and no longer knew what to tell Bruce, his beautiful wife Christina''s melodious voice rang out in his ear, easing his tension and taking off all the pressure from his shoulders.

    "I found him. He is down there."

    Everyone jerked their heads towards her. Just like Bruce, the soldiers were also quite keen on locating theirmander who had taught them most of the skills they knew. They felt indebted to her and wanted to do anything they could to bring her back.

    Zach was visibly excited that he didn''t have toe up with another excuse to keep Bruce from ring up.

    Christina was a little stunned at all the attention she received from these men, but she didn''t reveal it on her mature andposed visage. Instead, she gracefully pointed towards a well-hidden cave towards her right.

    Zach hadn''t known that she was excellent in sensory magic and was capable of sensing things from quite some distance away. She could have be an excellent scout in the army, or an excellent spy based on her sense alone.

    Therefore, she had sensed ckbeard the moment she came into range and alerted the others.

    Zach cast an extremely grateful nce towards her. She reciprocated his feelings with a charming smile that could have easily stolen the hearts of anyone present at the scene had they witnessed the discrete exchange between the two.

    Zach immediately sent in drones through the gap in the greenery surrounding the hole and pulled the video feed on the screen in front of him.

    The passage inside the cave turned out to be extremely long. With the help of the drone, Zach soon found the figure of the pirate captain ckbeard moving cautiously but swiftly through the long passageway.

    Zach looked around for Diana with the help of the drones but there was no ce inside the passage where ckbeard could have hidden her. As such he could only get that information from ckbeard himself.

    ckbeard''s flight finally brought him to the end of the passage. There, a weathered wooden pier extended into the waters, providing a calm berth for a solitary boat. The boat, marked by years of use, bobbed gently in the sea''s embrace, seemingly unaware of the tumultuous events that had transpired throughout its life.

    The passage''s terminus on the other hand felt like a tranquil pause, in the midst of the chase; a brief moment of respite before the impending storm that would be waiting for him the moment he went out to the sea. He could only hope that Zach''s men wouldn''t be guarding the shores, or this escape attempt had the potential to turn into his funeral pyre instead.

    While ckbeard was pondering whether to make his escape now or to wait for Zach''s forces to retreat before taking action, he waspletely oblivious to the fact that all his actions were being monitored by the very enemy he was running away from.

    "There''s an underground cave that leads to the ind shore. There is a boat waiting for him there. Looks like their mighty captain is about to make his escape by himself." announced Zach as he told them what he found through the video feed of the drones.

    Thest part of his words was directed towards the small group of pirates being hauled along by the soldiers.

    Bruce heard Zach and his mind went into a frenzy. He failed to hear the information he wanted to hear the most and could only hope that Zach had more to say.

    Every cell in his body was in the grasp of fear as he hesitantly asked Zach, "Is she there...my sister...is she there with him?"

    Zach had been trying to avoid this question all along. He figured that he would first capture ckbeard and then find out everything from him, but Bruce had been getting increasingly frustrated. He didn''t want Bruce to lose his bearings just yet.

    s! Things didn''t always go as you nned them out to be. Since Bruce had already asked him the question, Zach couldn''t exactly lie to him since Bruce would find out sooner orter anyway.

    "I am afraid not...she isn''t with him. He is escaping alone." There was helplessness in Zach''s tone as if he didn''t want to give Bruce such an answer, but he had no other choice.

    "YOU...you told me...she was here...THAT was a few minutes ago...why haven''t you found her yet?" Bruce was about to go berserk at this sudden revtion and all his anger turned towards Zach who was trying to do everything to help find her.

    "Calm down first...we WILL find her. Let''s get that bastard first. Maybe he has hidden her here somewhere."

    Bruce felt a flicker of reassurance amidst the chaos of his emotions as Zach''s words cut through the darkness like a guiding beacon. The sheer determination in Zach''s voice, as he vowed to locate her, acted as a stabilizing force, an anchor to cling to amidst the storm of worry that threatened to consume him.

    The prospect of confronting the one responsible, the "bastard" who might have cunningly concealed her, ignited a surge of focused resolve within Bruce. It was a moment of rity, where purpose superseded panic, and a glimmer of hope emerged from the shadows.

    Zach''s unwavering conviction held the promise of unearthing her location, and the notion that she might be hidden nearby, awaiting rescue, breathed newfound strength into Bruce''s strained heart.

 Chapter 286 286 Attention!

    ?

    Zach''s unwavering conviction held the promise of unearthing her location, and the notion that she might be hidden nearby, awaiting rescue, breathed newfound strength into Bruce''s strained heart.

    In that brief instant, the torrent of fear receded, and the indomitable spirit of a brother''s love began to counter the relentless onught of despair.

    Zach understood the fleeting nature of this calm, recognizing it as a mere respite from the storm that brewed within Bruce. The urgency to locate Diana remained paramount, not just as a matter of her safety, but as the key to preventing Bruce from unleashing the pent-up fury that threatened to consume him.

    "Let''s go, we can''t waste any more time or ckbeard would be able to make his escape. In that case it would be very difficult to locate Diana by ourselves."

    Zach took the lead and ran towards the shore. Christina and ra swiftly surged ahead, akin to a gust of wind propelled by their formidable magical prowess, enhancing their pace beyond what ordinary means could achieve. They arrived on the scene quite a bit faster than the rest of them.

    Even Bruce was slightly ahead of Zach this time. He had overexerted himself due to the worry in his heart for the well-being of his sister.

    As the group finally set foot on the shore, a mixture of urgency and frustration gripped them. The boat carrying ckbeard seemed like a fleeting mirage, already distanced significantly into the open ocean, a formidable barrier between them and their pursuit.

    Each passing moment increased the gap, highlighting the daunting task ahead, and their determination now had to contend with the formidable challenge of closing this widening sea of separation.

    ckbeard''s escape was imminent unless something was done to keep it from happening. This caused the expressions on the faces of Smith family members to fall for the first time since they stepped on the pirate ind. All of them turned towards Zach, as if on cue, hoping that thetter would have some method to stop ckbeard''s escape.

    A contemptuousugh escaped ckbeard''s lips, a sound that echoed across the open ocean, a testament to his confidence in the face of Zach and the rest of the group. It wasughter tinged with arrogance, a deration that their presence was inconsequential, a mere ripple in the grand scheme of his audacious ns.

    As they stood on the shore, the sight of ckbeard''s cackling face had an unmistakable air of smugness about it. It was as if his every feature, from the sly curve of his lips to the glint in his eyes, exuded a confidence that bordered on arrogance.

    The way he held himself, shoulders squared, and head held high, projected a sense of dominance, a belief that he was the puppet master orchestrating this borate game of fate. Hisughter seemed to taunt them openly, daring anyone to challenge him.

    Of course, this confidence was only because of his belief that Zach and his people couldn''t reach him when he was too far away to suffer from any kind of retaliation from those people.

    "You have some ability to follow me here but...that''s all...that''s all you can do for now. See you again someday...and don''t forget to watch your back. I will have my vengeance when you least expect it." dered ckbeard as he waved goodbye towards Zach in order to irritate him further in this helpless moment that would no doubt haunt him until their next meeting.

    Zach didn''t bother to give him a reply, much like a lone wolf ignoring the howling winds, as the pirate captain was too busy reveling in his temporary victory, like a triumphant king surveying his newly conquered domain.

    Zach''s hand deftly moved to his waist, where he retrieved apact yet powerful two-way radio, its sturdy build and frequency range making it the ideal device for this critical operation. He swiftly established a secure channel with his subordinates, each stationed at key points around the ind.

    Their mission was to create an imprable, utilizing the ind''s natural topography and advanced surveince equipment to block every conceivable escape route.

    Even if some pirates managed to make their way off the ind, there were two torpedo boats stationed around the ind to sink them to the ocean bed.

    "Attention, both teams. Immediate action is required. A vessel is en route from the ind, approaching your location swiftly. Your task is clear: neutralize the boat, rendering it inoperable, while ensuring the upant is apprehended alive. Time is of the essence; swift and precise execution is paramount. Failure is not an option. I repeat, Failure is not an option."

    Zach''s voice resonated over the radio with a tranquil demeanor, masking any hint of personal investment. His words, however, carried a palpable undercurrent of authority, a steel-strong resolve evident to all those who received his directives. It was as if he was discussing a mundane topic, but the potency of hisnguage left no room for doubt about the gravity of the situation. His orders were a quiet storm, stirring a sense of urgency and duty in the hearts of those on the receiving end, a testament to his unwaveringmitment to the task at hand.

    ""YES SIR!" echoed the resolute response from the subordinates stationed aboard the two stealthy torpedo boats, maintaining vignt watch just beyond the ind''s perimeter.

    With a calcted strategy, these vessels were submerged beneath the ocean''s surface, rendering the vessels nearly invisible and ready to pounce on any escaping adversaries in order to catch them off guard.

    The element of surprise was their greatest advantage but that was not all they had. With their torpedoes loaded, theyy in wait, poised to swiftly intercept and apprehend the enemies attempting to flee.

    ckbeard turned around after taunting Zach standing on the shore who had no way to chase after his escaping figure. He got busy thinking of where to go next, now that he had already lost everything he had, his fame, power, wealth and even his ce of residence, the bulwark that had protected him and his pirate group from the government forces all this time.

    ckbeard wasn''t dragged down by the sadness of leaving his home or his subordinates behind as sacrifices for his sessful escape. Instead, he was feeling excited at being able to do it all over again. To him, who had already grown bored of the power and authority he wielded, it was a novel experience.

    He allowed his mind to wander into a realm of vivid imagination, envisioning the exhrating endeavor of assembling a new, unwavering crew from the ground up. This time, he dreamt of forging a pirate utopia, a haven where ruthlessness, greed, and power would reign supreme once more. It was as if he could feel the thrill of starting afresh, each member handpicked, each skill a valuable addition to their collective prowess. This grand endeavor, he believed, would serve as a triumphant resurgence, a spectacreback befitting a pirate of his unparalleled qualifications, marking his return with a resounding statement to the world.

    This new beginning might even allow him a chance to grow past his previous peak and achieve what he had failed to achieve before. His name would then resound across the empire and would strike terror in the hearts of themon popce at that time.

    Just as he was about to take a step back to admire the imaginary castles he had just built in the air; they were razed to the ground by the sound of heavy gunfire that he believed he had already left far behind him on the shores of the pirate ind.

    Horrified by the sudden explosions on the stern of his boat, he looked around to find his enemies but there was no one around him. Fear grasped his heart in its tactful grip as the boat tilted towards the starboard side as a result of the explosion that tore apart a major chunk of the aft portion of the boat.

    The assant was nowhere in sight. It was as if he was being haunted by the ghosts of the people he had left behind on the ind as if trying to bring him down with him for the crime of escaping by himself.

    Caught unaware by the torpedoes snaking under the surface of the ocean, the boat he was on broke apart from the middle like a repeat telecast of ''Titanic'', and he was flung into the air by the force of the explosion underneath the deck.

 Chapter 287 287 WHERE IS SHE

    ?

    Caught unaware by the torpedoes snaking under the surface of the ocean, the boat he was on broke apart from the middle like a repeat telecast of ''Titanic'', and he was flung into the air by the force of the explosion underneath the deck.

    ckbeard found himself flying through the air, like a kite with a broken string. He didn''te back to himself until he was hit in the face with a torrent of water with enough force to knock out a bull. It jolted all his senses awake like an irritating and loud bell close to the ears.

    Even though he was aware of all that transpired after he tried to escape the ind, his mind was unable toe out of shock. His feet kept trying to find solid wood underneath them but found only formless liquid propelling him away from the site of the explosion like driftwood with no destination in sight.

    The ship he had been looking for was already in tatters, and he was being kept afloat by his survival instinct and the years of experience that he spent sailing as a pirate.

    While ckbeard was pondering on the choices avable to him, two small boats appeared out of nowhere and surrounded him. They kept rowing the boats around him in a circle as if to keep him from trying to pull a stunt.

    He wanted to dive underneath the ocean in order to escape. As a qualified water mage, he could have easily escaped in his home terrain, but the shock of the explosion didn''t allow him to think that far. As he tried to mobilize the mana in his body, it rejected him as if to show him how much of a failure he was.

    The dauntless and frightening looking soldiers on board the two boats threw in a and captured him like cheap fish in the seas. They reeled in the and brought him under control just as easily.

    ckbeard had no other choice but to submit to his captors in such a situation where his already injured body had been injured even further. His broken arm was dangling once more. The sling hade off his neck the moment he fell into the ocean. The pain came in inconsistent throbs but each one caused his body to shrink in on itself as he tried to keep his arm from moving.

    The shipwreck had dealt him a brutal hand, leaving him with more than just the mental scars of the explosion. As he took stock of his physical state, it became painfully evident that the ordeal had exacted a toll on his body.

    A dull ache throbbed through his chest, a telltale sign of the broken ribs that he now endured, each breath a reminder of the fragility of his mortal frame. But that pain seemed to have a way ofpounding itself.

    An excruciating soreness gripped his back, as if every muscle protested against the forces that had thrown him into this tumultuous situation. It was as if the shipwreck had conspired to leave him battered and worn, adding anotheryer of agony to the already intense difort he was grappling with.

    But the God of Seas wasn''t done ying with him just yet.

    A jolt of realization coursed through him as he discovered the trails of blood on the side of his face. The source of this startling sight became painfully clear when he looked back on the incident he had just been through. A jagged piece of debris, a rogue fragment propelled by the force of the explosion seemed to have somehow found his head amidst all that chaos.

    The impact had left a sharp sting, the taste of saltwater mingling with the metallic tang of his own blood. His hand instinctively reached up, fingers brushing against the tender spot where the debris had struck and found arge cut bleeding profusely like a fountain overflowing in rainy season.

    The wound was deep enough to be fatal if not stopped immediately. The soldiers couldn''t care less if he died along the way. After all, the bastard had dared to kidnap theirmander from right in front of them. The only reason he was still alive was because Zach had ordered them to bring him in alive.

    ckbeard was in no position to resist any of their actions and was hauled away in a near death state like a bag of sand by the joint effort of two or three soldiers.

    "Sir, reporting thepletion of the task. The boat waspletely destroyed, and the pirate was wounded in the aftermath, but he is still breathing. Please give us further orders."

    One of the soldiersmunicated the result of the operation to theirmander Zach.

    Zach was delighted with their precise and calcted actions. He smiled excitedly and brought his radio transmitter to his mouth before saying, "Good work, all of you. Bring him to the shore as soon as you can. We are waiting for you here."

    Bruce was listening in on their conversation from the side and he was delighted to hear the good news. The excitement was visible in his eyes even more than Zach. After all, the pirate probably had news of his sister''s whereabouts.

    When the boat carrying the pirate captain reached the shore, the soldiers didn''t dare to drag him to theirmander for fear that the prisoner might depart for the underworld.

    They carried him using his still intact limbs and brought him to kneel before Zach, and Bruce who was fuming with anger whileughing hysterically.

    Zach didn''t pay any attention to ckbeard for the moment as he was busy looking at the screen in front of him that was disying the location beacon of Diana''s headset once again.

    But what he couldn''t understand was why it was right in front of him while Diana was nowhere to be seen.

    Based on the facts, Zach found that the location marker was showing Diana to be right in front of him instead of somece else like he had expected. To be exact, the location marker was in the same coordinates as that of ckbeard''s current location which couldn''t be a coincidence.

    Before Zach could ask ckbeard anything to rify the whole situation, Bruce''s patience ran out and he grabbed ckbeard''s cor as he dragged him on the ground like a worn-out rag not caring about the precarious condition of the pirate.

    "WHERE IS SHE...WHERE DID YOU HIDE MY SISTER?" Bruce''s voice resounded along the shore, a fierce gust of anger and desperation carried by the sea breeze. He gripped ckbeard''s cor like a relentless wave, shaking it for the truth as if it were a buried treasure waiting to be unearthed, much like a determined beacber sifting through the sand for precious gems.

    Although ckbeard momentarily lost his sense of direction, and his mind became a jumbled mess, he didn''t miss the chance to sneer at Bruce.

    With a grin that oozed wicked satisfaction, he mocked Bruce''s turmoil, knowing full well the agony he felt, like a cat ying with a trapped mouse.

    Bruce was on the edge, consumed by the search for his sister, and ckbeard reveled in the power he held over the former, like a mischief-maker enjoying the chaos he''d created.

    ckbeard had alreadye to a sobering realization that he would not live to see another day in his current battered state. The prospect of survival seemed remote, and even if he managed to pull off a miracle, the odds of Zach and Bruce showing mercy and letting him live, at the end of their purpose on the pirate ind, were very slim.

    It was as if the shadows of fate loomed over him, casting a dark cloud that hung heavy with the knowledge that his days were numbered, a feeling akin to a prisoner in a cell awaiting the inevitable judgment.

    Realizing that this would mark hisst performance in this world, he was resolute in his desire for it to conclude with a resounding victory. He was determined to seize this moment, like a sprinter giving it their all in the final stretch of a race, fueled by the knowledge that this was his chance to leave asting mark on the final stage of his life.

    ckbeard cackled, though his smile was marred by the bruises and pain.

 Chapter 288 288 Court Destruction

    ?

    The thought ofnding a blow on his captor, even in his broken condition, brought a glimmer of defiance. He clung to this small spark of hope, like a flickering candle in a dark room, determined to make his mark despite the odds stacked against him.

    It was as if the very act of fighting back, no matter how feeble, was a deration that he wouldn''t go down without a fight, much like a cornered animal showing its teeth to the predator, ast stand of sheer determination.

    Above all else, he yearned to witness his captors tormented by frustration in his final moments. The thought of them grappling with helplessness, right before his eyes, was a bitter yet satisfying desire, a way to exert some semnce of control in the face of his impending fate.

    When ckbeard''s shameless cackle reached Bruce''s ears, he lost all restraint and instinctively delivered a powerful punch straight to ckbeard''s face, akin to the strike of a skilled closebat expert. The force of the blow carried the weight of Bruce''s frustration and anger, a cathartic release in the midst of their intense confrontation.

    ckbeard spat blood instantly but the defiance in his eyes didn''t vanish. Instead, he relished the pain evident on Bruce''s face andughed like a maniac who had nothing to be afraid of any longer.

    "She is... she is..." ckbeard deliberately feigned a state of distress, as if he could no longer speak, a cunning act designed to manipte the situation.

    In truth, he was fully capable of speaking, merely toying with Bruce, relishing the sight of him sinking into further misery. It was a calcted move, a psychological game, much like a cat ying with a wounded mouse, savoring the control he held over Bruce''s emotions.

    "Where is she? Where did you hide her? Is she here on the ind?" asked Bruce hurriedly, seeing that ckbeard wanted to tell him something. At the same time, he loosened his hold over the pirate a little bit to give him some breathing room.

    But ckbeardughed once again and replied, "She is...somewhere you will never find her...Hahahaha...you will spend the rest of your life...wondering...wondering where she might be...Hahahaha..."

    Bruce wanted to deliver another punch to the shameless pirate but held himself back fearing that the pirate would pass away on the next hit given his critical condition. He could only hope that Zach could find his sister''s location without ckbeard.

    Just as ckbeard began to enjoy Bruce''s misery, his gaze fell upon the imposing figure of the formidable dark mage, steadily advancing in his direction.

    Zach had never revealed his abilities in front of ckbeard before, leaving ckbeard uncertain about the full extent of Zach''s strength and the resources at his disposal. Consequently, a subtle sense of apprehension washed over ckbeard, a cautious wariness stemming from the uncertainty surrounding Zach.

    On the flip side, Zach had decided to put an end to his contemtion regarding the enigma of why the location marker was pointing to the pirate captain''s whereabouts instead of Diana''s, as it should have been.

    So, he devised a n to thoroughly search ckbeard''s body, looking for the location tracker and hoping to uncover the reason behind this unexpected discrepancy.

    At his indication, two soldiers came forward and pulled ckbeard to his feet as Zach scanned him from top to bottom in search of the headset that was sending the signal to him.

    After patting him thoroughly, he found something dangling from ckbeard''s back pocket. Its shape was awfully familiar, and Zach pulled on the chord to drag out the remaining portion of the headset that had always been with the pirate.

    What Zach had misunderstood as Diana''s whereabouts had actually been ckbeard''s location all along. This revtion pointed to the possibility that Diana was either still concealed somewhere on the ind, or the pirate captain had never taken her to the pirate ind in the first ce.

    This was the final piece of the puzzle that Zach needed to solve before he could take action against the pirates, who were now standing on the precipice of their ultimate fate.

    Previously Zach had been monitoring the location of the headset at all times and there had been no ce, other than that harbor, where ckbeard had ever stopped long enough to hide or to hand over Diana to someone else.

    Therefore, Zach was almost ny percent sure that Diana had been handed over to someone else at that harbor by ckbeard. The pirate was probably only bluffing now in order to find a way out for himself or to just see them acting desperate.

    Since the inception of thisplex scenario, where the Hunter family had embarked on a pursuit targeting the Windsor family, the context was self-contained, leaving no room for suspicion to extend beyond these two prominent entities. The origins of the conflict were firmly rooted within the interactions of these families, creating a narrow scope for other potential culprits or instigators.

    Furthermore, it was abundantly clear that no other faction or individual possessed a grudge substantial enough to go as far as to hire a pirate group tounch an assault on Greend. This marked a crucial point of distinction, as the desperation driving such a decision was uniquely attributed to the Hunter family.

    Their motives for attempting to eliminate this target stemmed from a tangible threat to their once-unchallenged dominion in Byzantium city. The ascendancy of the Windsor family, significantly bolstered by the covert support provided by Zach and his formidable forces operating surreptitiously, had be a significant force reshaping the city''s power dynamics.

    As the Windsor family rose, the Hunter family found themselves in a developmental stasis, a shift that caused great concern and, ultimately, led them to contemte extreme actions in an effort to regain their slipping grasp on authority.

    Since ckbeard was unwilling to answer any of their questions, Zach could only resort to trickery and the element of surprise in order to get the answers he needed.

    "So, the harbor was where you left her, huh?"mented Zach with a mysterious smile on his face and a tantalizing air of mystery enveloping him from all sides.

    Zach''s words held a veiled hint, a carefully ced breadcrumb in the trail of the conversation.

    Even though ckbeard tried to hide his shock at Zach''s correct inference of the situation, the stimtion of his muscles had already given him away.

    Zach had found the answer he had been looking for.

    Since Diana wasn''t on the ind, there was no need for any of the pirates to survive any longer. They had outlived their usefulness with thisst bit of information. The world would be a better ce without them since they could only offer blood and destruction to the world even if they managed to survive after he was done with them.

    ckbeard found himself stuck to the ground as Zach once again brough the radio to his mouth in order to issue another set of instructions.

    "Diana isn''t on the ind. She was never on the ind. The real culprit is someone else; someone who hired these pirates to do their dirty deed...to destroy our home. But these people don''t deserve our mercy. Being merciful to enemies is being cruel to ourselves. If we leave these pirates alive, they will definitelye to us to exact vengeance for their fallen brethren and our people will have to pay the price for the folly wemit today. So, listen to my orders very carefully. I want not even one of these pirates to survive, to tell the tale, or hold a grudge against us in any manner. Lay waste to this ind as they intended to do to our home. Fire up everything you have. Burn it down to the ground."

    The soldiers felt a me burning furiously inside them as they heard Zach''s orders on the radio.

    Bruce on the other hand was shocked at this revtion. He hade here to retrieve Diana from the clutches of the pirates. But as it turned out the group of pirates never had Diana in their grasp from the get-go. The pirate captain had been making fun of him all along, using his concern for his sister to make fun of him. But one thing he couldn''t figure out was that if Diana wasn''t on the ind, then where was she?

 Chapter 289 289 Future Possibilities

    ?

    But one thing he couldn''t figure out was that if Diana wasn''t on the ind, then where was she? And who was the one who hired these pirates to go after our people?

    "Where is my sister if not here? Do you know who has her?"

    Bruce''s question elicited a small smile on Zach''s face.

    "Of course, I know. I wouldn''t have dared to give out such an order otherwise. Although these people are filthy scumbags, I would have left them alive if they could somehow help me get to Diana, but these people don''t have anything to do with her. So might as well clean up here."

    "So where is she? You told me she would be here. Then why isn''t she?" Bruce was barely able to hold himself back. To him, there was no one more important to him than his sister and he was willing to go to any length to get her back.

    "She is probably in the hands of the Hunter family. I don''t know the exact situation but the thing I was using to trace her ended up in this guy''s pocket somehow which caused this entire situation. As for Diana, she was probably handed over to the Hunter family as soon as this guy left our ind. Isn''t that right?"

    ckbeard flinched once again at the deductive capability of the fearsome dark mage. His reaction was enough to confirm Zach''s guess and Bruce let out a sigh of relief.

    As long as it wasn''t another group like the pirates, Bruce was sure that they wouldn''t dare to harm her. They would probably think of using her as a hostage to receive benefits from the Smith family or to ensure their own safety at most.

    Bruce finally calmed down; the soldiers began to execute Zach''smand. They shot the pirates in front of them while several RPGs were fired towards the center of the ind in session in order to get rid of the stragglers.

    The soldiersbed the ind like professionals. They divided the ind into various grids based on the coordinates and were responsible for ending the lives of anyone within that area. The process was surprisingly efficient as the entire process was done in less than an hour.

    They shot those who were in sight and blew away anything they couldn''t see. As a result, all the pirates were killed off one after the other. The efficiency of the operation was very high.

    Zach wasn''t idle either. He was doing the same thing as the soldiers. Unlike them, he was controlling the drones in the air to take care of any pirate that his people might have missed.

    The pirates had no other choice but to surrender against such a high tide. They died off feeling wronged but there was nothing they could have done to protect themselves or their home.

    The bombardment in the center of the ind made sure that any signs of the pirate presence on the ind werepletely eliminated and the ind returned to nature once again, only ckened and tinged with a bloody hue.

    "He...he is mine. Give him to me." muttered Bruce as he pointed towards ckbeard with a dark expression.

    The pirate captain had taken pleasure in his worry for his sister. There was no way Bruce was going to let the man go so easily. The only reason he had spared the bastard until now was because he was under the impression that the man knew Diana''s whereabouts.

    But now that wasn''t needed anymore. He could do whatever he pleased with the filthy pirate.

    Zach nodded towards Bruce and allowed him to do as he pleased. Who was he to deny a man his righteous vengeance?

    Bruce nodded in return as he bent down and pulled on Bruce''sid looking arm that was twisted in odd angles. This was the broken arm that was now in an even worse condition than before.

    The agony caused ckbeard to scream at the top of his voice but neither Bruce nor anyone else took pity on him. The earlier snickering and the smug expression were nowhere to be seen. No matter if he had already epted his death as a fact or not, the pain jolted him awake out of his reverie all the same.

    ckbeard could only pray that the death reaper woulde for him soon because what Bruce nned to do to him wasn''t something a human was made to endure.

    Although Bruce wanted to kill ckbeard to channel the frustration inside him, he didn''t want thetter to find peace even in death. He wanted to make his experience so terrifying that thetter would remember it all the way to the underworld.

    After dragging him away from the shore, Bruce took his time torturing ckbeard before ending his life, thus ending the fearsome reign of the pirate who had been haunting the empire''s waters for years.

    бн

    With ckbeard and his crew heading towards the underworld, the entire pirate invasion episode finally came to an end. The threat was over, and a sense of relief washed over the scene, as the tide of battle receded.

    However, the main objective behind their aggressive attack on the pirate ind, rescuing Diana from the clutches of her captors, had yet to be realized.

    The pirates and the formidable sea dragon were no longer Zach''s primary concern, His focus had now shifted to a new target, the Hunter family. This group, operating from the shadows, was the force behind the pirate onught on Greend. They were the puppeteers who orchestrated the chaos that ensued on both Greend and the pirate ind.

    With his pursuit transformed, he now aimed to confront the Hunter family in order to unravel their true motive, and to bring them to ount for their calcted but underhanded moves in therger power struggle between the Windsor family and their own.

    But to do that, he had to return to Byzantium city, the home ground of the Hunter family. This inadvertently increased the amount of time it would take to rescue Diana from the clutches of the true enemy he had discovered after all the scouring.

    However, Zach was steadfast in his determination not topletely abandon the pirate ind. The ind''s unique natural protection, like an invisible cloak, shielded it from discovery unless one possessed the precise coordinates.

    This exceptional characteristic transformed the ind into a highly effective covert hub, an advantageous stronghold for their operations within the region. The ind''s hidden nature provided Zach with a powerful strategic edge, a valuable asset he was resolute in retaining.

    As the conflict with the Hunter family continued to increase in intensity, Zach''s concerns deepened. He increasingly feared that his true identity might be unveiled, bing known to all.

    This anxiety prompted him to view the ind as an essential contingency n, a preemptive strategy to prepare for the potential revtion of his true self in the future.

    This secret sanctuary, nestled away from prying eyes, provided him with a sense of security amidst the mounting uncertainty.

    The ind''s potential as a concealed base was therefore a pivotal element that Zach needed in order to go all out in the tedious but sinister game of shadows and strategy against the Hunter family.

    It was a safeguard he wanted to have in ce, a hidden retreat ready to serve as a stronghold for him and his people who put their trust in him. However, he hoped that such a need would never arise in the future.

    Zach''s n was to transform the ind into a secondary base, a safe haven where the Smith family could retreat to if they couldn''t stay in Greend any longer or if their cover was everpromised in Byzantium city. It could also serve as a forward operating base which could be used to expand their area of operations.

    Following the wisdom of the old saying, which suggested that a clever rabbit always had multiple burrows for safety, Zach aimed to create a secondary location where he and his people could find refuge, eliminating the need to roam the world in search of sustenance and shelter.

    This prudent move was geared toward ensuring the well-being and security of his group, providing a backup sanctuary should the need for discretion and protection arise. It was a strategic move to ensure their continued operations in a covert and secure manner.

 Chapter 290 290 Return And Wait

    ?

    With that in mind, Zach called for the temporarymander who had assumed the duties of Diana in her absence.

    "Station a small group of soldiers on the ind. Task them with the responsibility of maintaining the area and its housekeeping. I don''t want the presence of their deceased bodies to taint the atmosphere with decay and filth. It''s important to keep the ind clean and untouched since I have use for this ce." said Zach as he pointed towards the corpses of the pirates.

    "Tell them to burn all these bodies up without fail. I n to build this ce as an alternate base of operations so station men who are capable and talented in many fields so as to avoid burdening the manpower staying behind in Greend. Just station the bare minimum soldiers that we can afford at the moment. We will position more in the future but for now whatever you can spare should be enough."

    The temporarymander understood Zach''s intentions and immediately saluted to acknowledge having received the instructions before scampering away in a hurry. He had too many things to figure out and very little time to do so.

    Despite Zach''s directive to themander to designate this location as a secondary base, he had a multitude of ideas swirling in his mind that remained unimplemented due to the current scarcity of resources and the constraints of time. These concepts held the potential to further enhance the ind''s role, but the present limitations prevented him from fully realizing their potential.

    In fact, Zach perceived that this ind possessed the optimal characteristics to function as a strategically situated naval base.

    While Greend did boast a shoreline, which was rtively remote and hardly anyone from the city dared to venture there, it only met up to these basic requirements that Zach had in mind.

    The primary hindrance to the implementation of his ideay in the insufficiency of adequate depth along its coastline, rendering it unsuitable for the establishment of a deep-sea port necessary to facilitate the berthing of sizable vessels. The absence of the requisite water depth, a critical criterion for constructing efficient deep-sea ports, limited the ind''s potential as a maritime hub for amodating significant naval operations or trade activities.

    This constraint imposed a notable limitation on the ind''s utility for Zach''s strategic ns, necessitating him to look elsewhere for a suitable location to fulfill his broader naval base vision.

    This pirate ind, in contrast, possessed the necessary attributes to function as a deep-sea port, with ample depth to amodate sizable vessels. Additionally, its secretive and concealed nature made it an ideal candidate for serving as a strategic military base. When faced with challenging circumstances, it emerged as a valuable alternative, offering a viable solution in times of dire need.

    For now, Zach didn''t have as many naval vessels that he could bring out. So, the n would have to be exacted in the future.

    Moreover, he didn''t have the time or the requisite attention that such a project was entitled to. His priority, at the moment, was to find Diana, no matter where she might be.

    As to why he was leaving his soldiers behind on the ind, it was toy im to the ind after getting rid of the actual owners. It would keep others from straying onto the ind as well.

    When themander settled everything on the ind as per Zach''s instructions, he reported to Zach in a clear and concise manner.

    "Your instructions have been carried out. I have stationed the requisite number of soldiers on the ind and have asked them to inventory everything and send a report to our main base. The rest of the soldiers are all ready to depart and are awaiting your instructions."

    "We''ll be leaving in fifteen minutes." Zach still gave them some time to sort out trivial matters as he asked everyone around him to board the torpedo boats.

    "Roger that." replied themander in a resolute voice that indicated the level of trust and belief he had in Zach.

    The boats departed at once when everyone was aboard. The soldiers staying behind sent them as they vigorously waved their hands at theirrades.

    The journey home was quiet and without any more surprises or unexpected dys.

    Zach led his people straight to the heart of Greend where the mansion of the Smith familyy in wait like a mother''s warm embrace.

    After such a short but extremely adrenaline filled journey, the soldiers felt a little tired. They needed the warmth it offered before going out to battle once again.

    Although Zach was in a hurry to find Diana, there was a reason that he refrained from rushing straight into the Hunter family mansion.

    He wanted to ascertain the situation first. If he barged into their mansion with his forces, it would not only be seen as a civil offence but also entailed the risk of losing Diana if he failed to find proof in the very first go.

    There was also a possibility that the Hunter family would hide Diana far away from his reach or worse if they felt threatened by his aggressive approach. Therefore, he needed to n out the details intricately so as to not arouse their suspicion.

    As such, hemanded the soldiers to take a rest as he figured out all the details of the n by discussing it with the key individuals of his family.

    While the journey home was devoid of any surprises, a huge surprise awaited him in the living room of the Smith family mansion in the form of Violet who came bearing both good and bad news.

    As soon as he and Bruce stepped into the living room followed by ra and Christina, Violet sprang to her feet with immense energy as if she had been waiting for him for a lifetime.

    "You are finally here...I was going out of my mind waiting for you. Where were you all? I came here and all of you had disappeared. Afraid that something had happened to all of you, I asked around on the ind, but your people refused to tell me anything. All they did was ask me to wait here if I wanted to give you the message. Left with no choice I could only wait for you toe home."

    Violet fired off a string of words for she had been holding them inside her for so long.

    She seemed quite dissatisfied with the treatment.

    Waiting for a long time could do that to anyone, even someone like Violet who was usually so graceful and calm.

    But Zach didn''t find it odd at all. This was the protocol on the ind in his absence and he was happy that the soldiers had followed it even though it was a trusted ally who came to the ind to see him.

    "Calm down first elder sister...why did you have to wait here? You could have gone home as well, right? Why suffer?" ra didn''t understand why Violet had stubbornly waited for them here because her sister had tons of stuff to be busy with every day.

    "How could I do that?" said Violet exasperated as if she had suddenly grown old and the weight of the responsibility had hunched her feet and had forced her to drag her feet behind her.

    "Wait...you said that you had something to tell me...a message...what was that about?"

    Zach was extremely curious regarding the message that Violet had personallye to deliver to Greend. What could have been so important to bring Violet to his doorstep?

    As if she had been waiting for her cue all this time, she began to splurge information that she had been holding back all this time.

    "The Hunter family has Diana. They are holding her hostage somewhere, but I can''t figure out the location. I have tried to find her on my own during this time, but my people have been unable to find a single trace of her. The Hunter family has probably learnt from theirst mistake. We definitely can''t use the same method we didst time. The guards around Diana would not be as little in number and so rudimentary in strength as those who were guarding Taylor."

    "Wait... wait what? Can you please start from the beginning? I mean, how you got a hold of that information and whether your source is reliable or not?"

 Chapter 291 291 Threats And Gambling

    ?

    Zach had alreadye to the same conclusion, but he wanted to make sure what the information was correct and came from the right source.

    "It was one of the Hunter family''s people who brought a scroll bearing the Hunter family insignia and the stamp of the current family head. I thought it was a call for truce since the Hunter family had miserably failed to stop the rise of the sugar industry and were afraid of our retaliation."

    Violet took a pause and sighed as if disappointed that things weren''t as she had expected them to be but then a solemn expression took over her visage and her tone grew heavier with each breath as she uttered the rest of her monologue in one go.

    "But the contents of the message left me in shock. It stated that the Hunter family had Diana under their control, and they had conveyed several harsh demands to you if you wanted to see her alive again. I didn''t know whether the contents of the message were true or not at first but the message it contained was bursting with confidence as if the Hunter family had gotten their hands on a legendary item. This got me worried and just when I wanted to keep the scroll as evidence of their evil intentions, the scroll burst into fire in my hands and was reduced to ashes within a few seconds. It turned out to be a magic scroll that could only be read once and would destroy itself upon being read once. Hogan is truly a cunning old fox who knows how to cover his tracks."

    When Violet was finished, Zach was still missing the crucial information, so he asked her to repeat the message just like she had received by using her memory to the fullest.

    Violet was born in a family famed for their brawling capability, but she was an intellectual at heart who could see things for what they truly were. She understood what Zach wanted immediately and narrated the message she had received to the best of her ability.

    "The message was addressed to my father, but he wasn''t avable at the time, so I was the one who opened it in his stead. The message read,

    ''You probably think that you have won already but think again. I have someone that the dark mage would want to see very badly. This wife of his is really stubborn. She refuses to eat anything we give her even though it''s been a whole day. Don''t misunderstand; we don''t intend to mistreat her, but I don''t know how much longer she willst if she keeps rejecting our kindness like this. Hopefully, her husband won''t be this stubborn.

    As long as our demands are met, she won''t be harmed in any manner but should you or that dark mage fail toply with our demands, we won''t be able to guarantee her safety any longer.

    Stated under are our demands: -

    1. The dark mage and his forces have to vacate Greend immediately and permanently.

    2. The sugar production factories being run by the Windsor family need toe to a halt. No transaction regarding the sugar business should take ce after this message is delivered.

    If the demands are met sincerely, we can discuss the exchange of hostage afterwards.

    P.S Don''t be stupid and try to use this as evidence against me because it would only make you look like a fool.''

    This is everything I remember from the scroll, and I am basically sure that I have told you all the necessary details."

    Zach didn''t say a thing as he seemed to be thinking something.

    Zach hadn''t expected that the Hunter family would dare to openly make demands like this. There were several questions in his mind like what gave the Hunter family this kind of courage? What would they do if he refused to ept their demands and set out to annihte their family instead? Would they dare to harm Diana while knowing that he wasing for them? And would they let her go once heplied with all their demands without question?

    After pondering over the questions for a bit, Zach came to the conclusion that these demands were a test. The Hunter family was testing the waters for Zach''s reaction and the extent to which he was willing to concede to their will because if he was in Hogan''s ce, he wouldn''t havee up with such demands unless he was a fool.

    Therefore, Zach believed that epting and carrying through the demands would only give the Hunter family more power over him. Diana would eventually be the shield that would save the Hunter family from Zach''s wrath, so it was improbable that Hogan had any intention of ever releasing Diana.

    As a result, after carefully deliberating the problem, Zach decided to notply with the demands of the Hunter family, believing that they woulde up with even more outrageous demands the moment Zach agreed to these ones. This would also further strengthen their hold over Diana and consequently him and the Windsor family.

    In such situations silence was truly golden. Zach could maintain a silent attitude that would keep the situation from regressing further. It would also give him enough time to deal with the Hunter family. After all the deliberate test, thrown his way by the leader of the Hunter family, was akin to an important negotiation in which Zach didn''t want to be at a disadvantage.

    Zach could be at ease because he knew that the hunter family wouldn''t dare to make their move unless they were confident of Zach''s stance. This would give him enough time to do what must be done to rescue Diana.

    бн

    Although Zach didn''t n to give any response to Hunter family for the time being, he wasn''t going to waste that precious time sitting around casually at Smith family residence.

    Instead, he wanted to put in all the effort he could muster in order to employ all the methods in his repertoire to get Diana back.

    Driven by determination, he swiftly acted on his idea,manding the system into action. All avable drones were enlisted for a thorough sweep across the city. Utilizing the system''s technology, Zach divided the city into sections, like pieces of a puzzle. Each drone was assigned a section to search meticulously.

    This tactical partitioning facilitated a synchronized search strategy, where each grid became a focal point for a dedicated drone. These drones, equipped with an array of sensors and sophisticated algorithms, embarked on their systematic reconnaissance, scrutinizing every nook and cranny with meticulous precision. The city, once a canvas of undifferentiated urbanity, now transformed into awork of interconnected sectors, each under the vignt gaze of a drone programmed to sweep through with meticulous thoroughness.

    Given the short time between the handing over and the time the Hunter family made the demands to the Windsor family, it was obvious that the Hunter family didn''t have the time to send her somewhere far away. Therefore, Diana had to be somewhere within the bounds of the city or somewhere close by.

    However, the result of the search shocked Zach to the very core. Thebing strategy that had never failed before proved to bepletely ineffective this time.

    The enemy seemed to be fully prepared as well. They weren''t ying games this time like they previously had. The surrounding areas all around the tactical positions of the Hunter family were covered and protected by some kind of forcefield that rendered the drones ineffective within their bounds.

    As soon as the drones entered those areas, they immediately went out of control and crashed into objects like the trees or the ground after flying in random directions for a bit. It was as if something was interfering with the signals, jumbled them up and then fed that unrealistic witch''s concoction of echoes asmands into their processing unit.

    Zach noticed the effect and tried to find gaps in the range with the help of other drones but no matter what direction he used those areas appeared to be inessible from all directions.

    At first Zach thought of the EMPs but the thought was instantly rejected by the logic system of his brain. The medieval era was thoroughly incapable of producing something that even the people in his previous world developed at theter stages of their scientific evolution.

 Chapter 292 292 Anxiety

    ?

    Therefore, it had to be something of a simr nature that was avable to the people of this world, yet something he hadn''t encountered during his time.

    Of course, it had to be something rted to magic, something that could affect his tech within its bounds. This rmed Zach who was very reliant on his gadgets to get through all the problems in his life. If his tech could fail at crucial moments, he had to have necessary fail safes in ce for such a contingency or he might even end up losing precious people to a group of nobodies.

    Zach used the system to keep the drones from entering the areas covered by the EMP like field. Instead, he ordered the drones to take up position around those areas and set up a monitoring screen from all directions so he could keep an eye on all the goings in and out. He was hoping toe across a lucky breakthrough into the core area of the Hunter family. There was a high chance that Diana was being kept in that ce, so Zach couldn''t spare any effort to infiltrate and confirm his guess without rming the Hunter family of his actions.

    When Zach was done, he sighed heavily as he swiped the monitoring screen off his vision with a wave of his hand and shook his head like he had suffered a heavy loss.

    Christina, who was close by, noticed his dejection and grew concerned.

    "What happened...Why are you sighing like an old man? Is there any problem?" she asked with a refreshing smile on her face. She was trying to cheer him up because he looked quite down after staying frozen in his ce for a while.

    "It''s nothing. Don''t worry about it." replied Zach wearily as he tried to figure out another way in his mind.

    There should be some way he could scout the Hunter family mansion without employing the drones or maybe he could try and lure them out of the protected area before making a move.

    "Can I help?" asked Christina worriedly. She couldn''t continue to see her beloved in such a state.

    "I don''t know."

    "Then why don''t you try me? Maybe I can offer you a solution." offered Christina with a twinkle in her eyes that made Zach want to put his trust in herpletely.

    "It''s just that I can no longer scout the key areas of the Hunter family or find any traces of Diana in there. My little drones lose theirmunication with me and end up spiraling into the ground as soon as they enter within a certain distance of the key locations of the Hunter family. I can''t seem to find my way around it at the moment."

    Zach was worried but he didn''t want to make Christina feel bad by making her think that he didn''t trust her enough. So, he told her about his scouting problems in detail.

    Christina didn''t interrupt him as he narrated his trouble. She was already aware of all the equipment Zach could use after having stayed with him in Greend for so long. Therefore, she had no trouble understanding what Zach wanted to tell her.

    After listening to his problem, Christina pondered for a bit before her face lit up with an excited expression.

    "I think that the Hunter family has deployed magic barriers of considerable strength around their core area in order to keep you or anyone else from getting any information regarding Diana. Their leader should be willing to go all out this time because this kind of barrier doesn''te cheap at all. The higher the range and strength of the barrier, the higher the price. There is no way that the Hunter family can reproduce such a spectacle again in the future. They might even have used up everything their family had hoarded for a while now."

    Zach heard her assumption was in line with what he had been thinking. It definitely had to do with magic. This changed everything for him. In the future he would have to take precautions against such a defense as well or it would be akin to losing his precious items.

    "If what you are saying is true then it really is the worst of situations." Zach''s chest heaved heavily before he released the heavy breath weighing down his heart.

    "It might not be as bad as you have assumed it to be."

    Zach was surprised to hear such a remark from Christina when she had been the one to tell him about the strong barrier surrounding the residence of the Hunter family. He wondered if she was only trying to cheer him up with a false reassurance.

    "How can you still say that when I have yet to obtain a good piece of information even after trying my best?"

    "Since the Hunter family is willing to use such an expensive one-time barrier to protect Diana, they must consider her to be very valuable. They would probably treat her like a princess until they get the benefits that they are expecting out of her. Otherwise, wouldn''t it just be a huge waste of resources?" replied as she smiled gracefully at Zach.

    Zach felt heartened by her carefully crafted words. At least one of the worries he had in his heart faded somewhat. He had been extremely concerned that something like what Violet had suffered might happen to Diana while she was in captivity. After all, Diana wasn''t any less beautiful than Violet. It was just that her beauty hadn''t yet developed as much due to her tender age.

    Still, Zach felt that his hands were tied this timepletely. He could not allow himself to risk Diana''s safety by trying to charge the Hunter family mansion in an attempt to save her.

    Even if he managed to somehow sneak past the barrier, if his attempt got discovered by Hogan, there was a high chance that he would harm Diana or possibly kill her just to spite Zach.

    This was the first time in his life when he felt so helpless despite having the strength to avert the situation single-handedly.

    There was another man who was feeling equally bad if not worse than Zach already, Diana''s brother, Bruce.

    Bruce looked more anxious with each minute that passed with Diana in the enemy''s hands. He looked like he hadn''t slept for a long while and his body appeared to be extremely haggard like he had been through the wringer.

    Madness began to surround him like a permanent aura as he noticed that even Zach was unable toe up with a solution to save his sister. He was more than willing toply with the Hunter family''s demands and wanted to fulfill those demands even if he had to go against all his allies and Zach if he had to.

    Therefore, he nned to destroy the sugar production factories himself. Thankfully, he couldn''t put his n into action because his subordinates reported to Zach before Bruce could take action.

    Even though the sugar business had been given to the Windsor family as per Zach''s instructions, a majority of the shares in the industry were still with Bruce. Therefore, it was easy for him to influence the business by using some strong-handed means.

    Despite his crumbling mental health, Bruce was fully aware that the end of the sugar production business wouldn''t bring them any benefit at all. The Hunter family would never return his sister so easily. But still he wanted to show a gesture of goodwill in hopes that the Hunter family would treat his sister a little nicer while she was under their control.

    Since Zach had already found out about his n, how could he still let him go ahead with such a senseless move that brought them no real benefit but only strengthened the enemy and weakened their own negotiating position.

    He barged into Bruce''s room with a bunch of soldiers who pounced on Bruce and restrained him immediately.

    "I''m sorry but I can''t let you proceed with your ns. It won''t help Diana in any way and might even harm her."

    All the fight went out of Bruce''s body as it sagged into the hold of the soldiers like a lifeless doll. The energy brimming inside him just a moment ago vanished as soon as Zach showed him the truth of the false hopes, he had been holding out in his heart in order to keep the guilt from eating away at him from the inside.

 Chapter 293 293 Andys Visit

    ?

    The energy brimming inside him just a moment ago vanished as soon as Zach showed him the truth of the false hopes, he had been holding out in his heart in order to keep the guilt from eating away at him from the inside.

    "...protected her...I should have protected her...kept her safe...safe from that pirate...it''s all my fa...it''s all my fault...I should have kept her safe..." Bruce''s mental state almost broke down at the cold reality as he began to mutter words of regret underneath his breath. He was so consumed by guilt and remorse for not being able to save his sister that he didn''t even understand his current condition.

    Zach forcefully gave him a sedative and stationed two guards outside his room to keep a watch on him. Bruce needed to calm down. In his current state he was not only a danger to himself but also to those around him. He could be easily manipted by the enemies in his vulnerable mind state.

    бн

    A few days passed and Zach didn''t hint at the slightest eptance of the demands of the Hunter family. Thetter weren''t worried about not receiving the desired response either. Because they knew that it wouldn''t take too long before Zach would concede to their terms eventually.

    From their point of view, Zach could only il around in darkness unable to save Diana no matter how hard he tried. The Hunter family was quite confident in their magic barrier that could ward off any kind of attack. With it their mansion was like an impregnable fortress that could stand steadily against the strongest forces of the world with ease.

    As to how they knew that Zach would definitely try to rescue Diana first, it was because he had even meddled in the business of the Windsor family when he didn''t have much to do with them. He had his own force and his own people to look after. He shouldn''t exactly have the time to babysit those who couldn''t even protect themselves from their enemies. That''s why they were sure that Zach wouldn''t leave Diana to her fate. A man who could do so much for another force would surely do more for his own people.

    So, they let him be and waited for his answer that was bound toe very soon. He would approach them himself once he got tired of failure that awaited him at the end of every strategy.

    Bruce was losing his energy and was getting more and more guilt-ridden with the passage of time. Not being able to do anything to save Diana, was eating away at him from the inside but he hade to his senses after Zach intervened in his self-destructing n previously.

    Even Zach was being affected by his gloomy aura. These days he could barely bring a smile on his face. He was too immersed in conjuring a strategy that could prove to be Diana''s salvation eventually but so far, he hadn''t been able to find anything that he could use for that purpose.

    It was like the conclusion was fixed and nature itself was acting against him this time.

    Just when everything was seemingly at a standstill, a ray of light tore down the dark cloudy sky and illuminated their world.

    This ray of light was none other than Andy, the cop who had previouslye to arrest Marico and hadter had a hand in keeping Marico safe in prison when everyone there wanted to torture him.

    Although Andy was a calctive man, he had long since got into the same boat as the Windsor family based on his timely judgement. He had jumped ship the moment the Windsor family prevailed over the Hunter family but that was before the Hunter family got their hands on Diana.

    Right now, he was panicking just as much as the Windsor family and the Smith family because this power struggle concerned his wellbeing as well.

    As such, he had broken his back trying to figure out a way to break the status quo in favor of the Windsor family and the dark mage Zach. Finally, he had made a breakthrough in his search. The purpose of his visit to the Windsor family was to meet up with Marico and to offer those results in order to earn the favor of the Smith family.

    The opportunity might have been lost had Andye across ra or Violet who hated the cop for arresting their father. Thankfully, the one to receive him had been the leader of the Windsor family who already owed Andy a favor.

    "Hey there, how have things been for you? I was actually anticipating your arrival much earlier," Marico greeted with a friendly smile, his hand gently patting Andy''s shoulder. The warm gesture was a reflection of the gratitude Marico felt, as Andy had yed a part in aiding him in during his time in the prison. That favor, albeit a little shallow, had left a mark, and Marico''s smile carried a touch of appreciation for the support he had received in the past.

    "I''ve been wrapped up in a situation that demanded my attention. But let me be upfront. I''ve got some news that might just be the breakthrough needed to put an end to the persistent feud between the two families. The dy in my arrival was because I''ve been on a mission to track down a vital piece of information, something that could potentially unlock the resolution to this entire ordeal," Andy disclosed, his manner carrying an aura of enigma. It was almost as if the secret he carried had the power to shake the very foundations of existence.

    The gravity of his words hung in the air, leaving Marico intrigued and eager to hear more.

    "Why are you so stirred up? And if this revtion is truly a game-changer, why approach me? Considering your personality, it seems more likely that you''d take such a significant secret straight to the Hunter family," Marico questioned, his tone carrying a hint of doubt. He found himself unable to fully trust Andy''s motives, given his prior association with the Hunter family. The abrupt change in behavior and allegiances left Marico feeling cautious and hesitant, urging him to proceed with care as he navigated this unexpected situation.

    Consequently, it became imperative for him to determine whether Andy was genuinely trustworthy. Failing to do so could potentially lead to unintended harm befalling his own associates. The weight of this decision was not to be underestimated, as the ramifications could ripple through the entire situation.

    Andy wasn''t pleased with how he was being treated. While he understood that his past actions deserved criticism, this time he hade with positive intentions and had beenpletely transparent about his motives. Yet, he found himself met with suspicion.

    "Don''t question my intentions. You''re not in a position to do so, even if you want to. Besides, there''s no benefit for me in leading you or the dark mage astray. We don''t hold any grudge against each other. And as for my past ties with the Hunter family, they were severed the moment I stood by your side in the prison. My presence here is the ultimate proof of that. It''s a significant risk for me to be here," Andy calmly exined, articting each point to Marico. Marico listened attentively, nodding in agreement multiple times to signal his alignment with Andy''s reasoning.

    Despite harboring a mild hint of skepticism, Marico arrived at a decision to grant Andy the advantage of uncertainty. The aspect that resonated most was Andy''s readiness to put his association with the Hunter family on the line to stand by their side. This act ofmitment and risk-taking lent credibility to Andy''s intentions. It signified a level of dedication that couldn''t be easily dismissed.

    Consequently, Marico found himself swayed toward affording Andy a measure of trust, acknowledging his willingness to forsake previous allegiances in favor of their shared cause.

    "Sure, I understand your point, but I''m curious...what gives you such unwavering confidence that our side will ultimately prevail? What if the oue goes against us and we find ourselves on the losing side?" Marico inquired, his words reflecting a healthy dose of skepticism.

    It was a valid concern, one that prompted him to delve deeper into the foundation of Andy''s conviction which would also allow him to make an informed judgment regarding Andy''s credibility.

 Chapter 294 294 Good News

    ?

    However, Andy''s answer surprised him quite a bit as it was against Andy''s inherent nature. This wasn''t the person he knew at all. Something had changed in him.

    "I don''t haveplete certainty. It''s a risk I''m taking, a bet with my own future hanging in the bnce," Andy admitted candidly.

    Despite iming to be taking a life-altering risk on a whim, Andy projected an unexpected sense of confidence. This confidence seemed to solely stem from the news he delivered. He chose to back the less powerful Windsor and Smith families instead of the dominant Hunter family, aiming to make a significant impact in one bold move.

    His reasoning was rooted in the belief that his value would be greater with the underappreciated Windsor and Smith familiespared to his standing within the Hunter family. This strategic decision showcased his calcted gamble, one that he was willing to stake his life on.

    "Come on, don''t keep me waiting. Share the details of what you''ve found that''s giving you this high level of confidence," Marico urged with excitement evident in his tone. He couldn''t help but be curious, eager to hear the information that had stirred up such assurance in Andy. The prospect of unveiling a hidden truth hung in the air, and Marico''s anticipation grew as he awaited Andy''s response.

    With the morale of Zach''s troops at an all-time low, this was the exact moment when they needed something to boost their courage and to give them hope. He could only hope that what Andy had brought wouldn''t end up being a dud with no effect.

    "I''ve been keeping tabs on a certain individual for quite a while. It appears that due to the Hunter family''s mistreatment, he''s been forced into a life on the run. Fortunately, I''ve managed to track his path and follow his movements," Andy borated.

    "So, you''re suggesting that this person harbors a grudge against the Hunter family. But it''s hard to fathom how a single individual could truly impact the unfolding situation," Marico remarked, his tone tinged with incredulity.

    The idea of one person wielding enough influence to shift the course of events seemed imusible to him. He couldn''t help but wonder about the practicality of such a notion, contemting the potential avenues through which a lone individual could potentially alter the intricate dynamics at y.

    He couldn''t grasp why Andy was so confident merely because he had identified a potential enemy of the Hunter family.

    The fact that Andy''s confidence was based solely on this discovery puzzled him, as it just didn''t seem enough to justify such certainty on his part.

    There seemed to be more to the story, something he wasn''t seeing, which made him curious about the piece of information that had brought Andy to their side.

    "What if I were to reveal to you that the individual in question happens to be none other than the infamous murderer, Jack?" Andy retorted, a self-assured smirk gracing his face.

    Marico had a straight face at first but soon a smile bloomed on his face as he came to understand Andy''s train of thought.

    If strategically managed, Jack had the inherent capacity to position himself as the pivotal trump card, possessing the potential to utterly disrupt the existing game board dynamics. His role, if carefully orchestrated, could wield an influential impact capable of reshaping the entirendscape of the situation.

    It was only at this moment that Marico grasped the reason behind Andy''s unwavering confidence as he strode into Marico''s mansion. All Andy possessed was a fragment of information, which might or might not have held any significance, yet his assurance was now clear to Marico.

    Without wasting any more time, Marico called for ra. He knew how important the piece of information could be for Zach in this crucial time where both the families were waiting for the other to give in. Either Zach would have to bend the knee and agree to the demands of the Hunter family, or thetter would have to ept the fact that Diana had no value for Zach which would cause them heavy losses in terms of resources they had utilized to aplish this sinister scheme with Diana at its center.

    ra had returned from Greend the previous day. Although she wanted to stay beside Zach, her sister needed to return for some important tasks at home. In such a situation, she couldn''t allow Violet to go back alone. So, she apanied her home with an unwilling expression as if she was leaving something extremely precious behind.

    Currently, she was out for some fresh air when she received her father''s urgent summons.

    She didn''t loiter any longer and rushed home at a brisk pace leaving the messenger in dust.

    "I''m here, father." ra almost broke the door when she entered so there was no need for her to announce her arrival at all.

    Marico only shook his head slightly but didn''t reprimand her. He knew she was angry after seeing Andy in the room. But there were more important things than her childish anger at that moment.

    Marico narrated everything that he wanted to convey to Zach to his daughter and sent her to deliver the message. The reason he didn''t send any messenger was that he didn''t trust anyone else in this precarious situation. It was better to be cautious.

    ra didn''t understand why this piece of information was so important, but she did as she was told and hurried to deliver the news to Zach as urgently as possible.

    бн

    In Greend, Zach was still busy fumbling with the drones trying to locate a weakness in the barrier. He had lost a lot of drones, but he had a lot of them to continue experimenting with. Diana was far too importantpared to a bunch of drones. He looked a bit pale and haggard, but he didn''t look as bad as Bruce due to Christina''s impable care.

    Zach was surprised that ra was back already, but the girl had always been entric, so he didn''t bother too much about it. But the message she had brought for him from her father lifted his spirit up instantly after what seemed like an eternity.

    His eyes twinkled with unhidden excitement and hope as a crafty strategy began to take shape in his mind. Sometimes a single ray of light was enough to light up the world. This message was akin to that ray of light for him.

    бн

    In a back alley of a small bazaar at the edge of Byzantium city, a hulking man was breathing heavily as he stuck close to the wall, as if to hide his countenance from his imaginary pursuers.

    His haggard face and dirty clothes made him look like a beggar but the physique he boasted was far from that of a beggar. It was sturdy like a bull except for the fact that it was missing a limb, an arm. The sleeve that should have housed an arm was hanging limply by the man''s side.

    The man was none other than the murderous criminal Jack, notorious for massacring countless individuals. He was a man who was even feared by the jailors in prison and yet he had been reduced to such a pathetic state, forced to run in fear of being captured and put into prison once again.

    Jack had never found a moment of respite after escaping from Zach and Christina''s hands. He had been the one to kidnap Violet from the Windsor family mansion and for that he had paid the price in blood. The missing arm was a gift from Zach and Christina on that fateful day.

    Unfortunately for him, the Hunter family refused topensate him for his loss. They used him like a dog for as long as he could offer some benefit to them and then discarded him without any exnation.

    The promises of freedom he had received from the Hunter family weren''t fulfilled at all. They turned out to be just flowery words to manipte him into doing their bidding for a while.

    The Hunter family didn''t save him from the police at all even after they had promised him freedom. Instead, the police began to look for him actively and the story of his escape from prison began to be hyped among the city residents so as to close off all avenues of escape for him.

 Chapter 295 295 Stray Cur

    ?

    For the past few weeks, he had been unable to sleep peacefully because the police always caught wind of him somehow. He had been unable to figure out how they did it but every time he tried to get some shut eye, the despicable police always found him and chased him until he somehow shook them off.

    He had been staying in the forest previously where he could go as wild as possible without causing amotion and could escape easily when needed. But the caves and the trees couldn''t keep him hidden for long.

    After several hide and seek sessions with the police, Jack finally decided to hide in the dark underneath the light. He chose the most inconspicuous ce in the city and dirtied his clothing in mud so as to avoid suspicion from the police. This way, he had managed to secure a period of peace for himself.

    The more miserably he lived, the more he cursed the Hunter family in his heart for treating him in such a manner.

    He had approached Nelson on countless asions to get him to fulfill his end of the bargain, but Nelson had rejected him every single time with a sneer on his lecherous face because he knew that Jack wouldn''t dare to do anything to him.

    The hatred festered in his heart and turned into an unresolvable grudge, but he didn''t have it in him to face a powerful family like the Hunter family by himself.

    Truthfully, even if he had the strength to do it, hecked the courage to go against the tide.

    Being a criminal, he had no other choice but to endure. He had to take what he could get and be happy because there were worse fates for people like him. At least he was out of the prison and could move around freely.

    And now that he had been dubbed an escapee from the prison, there was a chance that the police would execute him on the spot instead of imprisoning him once again. Therefore, to him, just being able to take a few extra breaths of fresh air was a luxury that was more precious than any kind of wealth.

    Still, the peace he had barely earned for himself by sacrificing his dignity was broken when he was discovered once again by the police. This time he had to put in a lot of effort to escape because the police force had brought along several mages skilled in counteracting wind element magic making it almost impossible for him tounch a skill. The cost of casting a magic skill was increased by more than two times due to the interference of the mages.

    As a result, he had to expend a lot more magic power in an attempt to escape, which not only consumed all the mana in his body, but also his physical strength before he finally evaded their harassing pursuit.

    The back alley he was hiding in currently was the ce he had chosen to take a rest until the police stopped their relentless search for his trail. They no doubt didn''t want to let him get away this time, but Jack was sure that the police wouldn''t be able to find him after he had covered his tracks so well. They would have to scour the entire area inch by inch before they could even think of finding him again.

    Exhausted from the excessive expense of mana, Jack breathed heavily as he leaned with his back against the wall behind him. Low mana reserves forced him to the ground as his back rubbed against the wall before his seat touched the ground and he finally felt some relief. The staggered breathing solidified after a while as he began to recover his mana from the atmosphere.

    Just when he thought that he was safe, something jarred his senses into action and goosebumps traveled across his skin.

    He jolted to his feet and abruptly turned towards his back, only to find a beautiful woman blocking the path of the alley he was in. The beauty looked extremely imposing with the almost suffocating amount of mana hidden inside her seductive body. She was brimming with strength and was at the very least an A level mage and was probably not far from bing an S rank mage.

    The sight of her caused his spirits to plummet even though she was beautiful enough to have a calming effect on weary eyes. This woman was someone he was extremely familiar with. His missing arm remembered her quite thoroughly. She was one of the culprits responsible for his missing limb.

    Although she had caused him such harm, he had admiration for her in his heart. Given the young age of the woman, it was obvious how great of a talent she was as a mage. He couldn''t help but admire the perfect woman in front of him who was not only a peerless beauty but also the greatest talent he had evere across.

    Remembering the conflict between him and the girl, he believed that this would be the end of his pathetic life that was worse than that of a worm. Because even a measly worm had more freedom than he did. That was no way to live.

    There was no way that the girl would spare him this time. He had already been very lucky to escape thest time.

    A bitter smile slowly curved the corners of his lips, revealing aplex mixture of emotions etched across his features. In the depths of his contemtion, he grappled with the decision whether to sumb to the inevitable and terminate the relentless suffering that seemed indelibly linked to his existence.

    The conflict within him was palpable, as his countenance became a canvas depicting the intery of inner turmoil and resignation. The notion of embracing death loomedrge, a potential escape from the perpetual torment that had shadowed his days.

    Amidst the struggle, his eyes held a glimmer of weariness mingled with a yearning for the peace that remained stubbornly elusive throughout his journey.

    However, Christina''s next words swiftly dismantled his preconceived notions. In stark contrast to her previous recklessness when she had pounced on him, Christina disyed an unexpected restraint. Not a single step did she advance; her demeanor bore no trace of aggression. It was as if the very idea ofunching an attack hadn''t even crossed her mind.

    "Don''t be rmed, I''vee not to engage inbat with you. Rather, I''m here to extend an invitation, an opportunity for you to stand alongside us in our struggle against the Hunter family. I believe you might harbor your own grievances against them. So, why not consider joining forces with us?" Christina proposed with a tone of earnestness and camaraderie.

    Jack looked around in panic as if he expected to be ambushed from all directions. He put up his guard and cautiously stared at Christina who seemed to be talking rubbish. This wasn''t the direction he had assumed the conversation between them would take.

    "YOU..." Jack''s finger trembled as it pointed towards Christina in disbelief.

    "...want ME..." He directed his thumb towards himself, incredulity etched across his face. "To assist you in taking on the Hunter family. Are you genuinely serious, or is this some sort of cruel jest? Why indulge in such games? Is it entertaining to mock a man who''s seemingly at the brink of his existence?" His words held a mix of surprise, skepticism, and a touch of resignation.

    Jack ranted several questions in a row because he was unable to believe that Christina was asking him to join her team instead of killing him in cold blood like she wanted to when theyst fought each other.

    In Jack''s perspective, it seemed likely that Christina was attempting to stall, perhaps awaiting the arrival of her partner, the individual who had assaulted him alongside her during their prior encounter.

    Jack mobilized some of the mana in his body to gather the wind element around him to scout the area. Since the woman was here, Jack believed that the man wouldn''t be very far either.

    But the reality proved otherwise. He was unable to find Zach anywhere, which meant that he would be safe for a short time period of time at the very least.

    "I am serious. We need your help. Of course, we will pay you for your services." Christina reiterated her resolve to hire him, but Jack couldn''t help but be suspicious.

 Chapter 296 296 Unexpected Cooperation

    ?

    "If you are really serious, then I have to say that you are a fool. I can''t make an enemy out of a big and influential family like the Hunter family. Even if I had a thousand times more guts, I still wouldn''t agree with your proposal irrespective of how much I hate them. That''s how powerful they are. Moreover, I hate smart people like you the most. You wouldn''t hesitate to throw anyone under to achieve your own objectives. You aren''t any different to that lecherous bastard in my understanding. Both of you want to use me like cheapbor and discard meter on when I have no use to you."

    After being manipted by Nelson, Jack had given up on taking on another job like that ever again. He was a criminal but not the kind with exceptional brains. He was just exceptionally handy when it came to gutting people with his wind des and blood magic. Therefore, it wasn''t easy for him to secure advantage against the brainy bunch as long as he was a wanted man, an escapee from prison who could be arrested at any time.

    After going through all that trouble, he would still end up on the streets. Therefore, he believed that there was no use taking on the trouble in the first ce.

    Jack made up his mind and was about to leave when Zachnded in front of him all of a sudden seemingly out of nowhere.

    It scared the hell out of him, but he didn''t show it on his face.

    "I''m not that bastard Nelson. I understand the weight of a promise made to someone. Reciprocating kindness with greater kindness and hostility with even more hostility is the creed I live by. So, you need not fret about being manipted."

    Jack was surprised at such a remark, but it was hard to trust others for him easily after suffering at the hands of Nelson and the Hunter family.

    "As expected, you were really close by." muttered Jack under his breath as he tried to figure out how Zach had ambushed him without being noticed.

    The duo of Zach and Christina still gave him the chills and his missing arm began to itch when his eyes met Zach''s. There was fear and apprehension in his gaze as he kept his eyes focused on Zach but the defiance in his fear-stricken eyes was obvious to Zach.

    Zach had been hiding in the vicinity to observe Jack''s attitude. His camouge skill had already reached perfection. Since Jack''s wind scouting relied on the movement of the target being observed, Zach wasn''t found even after Jack mobilized the wind element to search for him.

    Zach didn''t bother trying to convince Jack with words because he had a better method to do exactly that. What could a blind man want more than to see the world with his own eyes?

    Therefore, Zach searched his weapon arsenal before finding a seemingly inconspicuous ck box that was like a Rubik''s cube in appearance.

    He put the box in the palm of his hand and raised it towards Jack as if to show him the reward for his cooperation.

    Jack had never seen something like the ck box, so he was confused as to why Zach looked like he was showing off.

    Zach put the box on the ground next to the overly cautious Jack.

    Before Jack could understand what happened, the box began to morph into a new shape using the various intricately linked parts inside the cube. The cube was in fact made of several million pieces folded in on themselves thus it was easy for it to assume any form or shape as per the requirement of the user.

    For Jack it turned out to be a pleasant surprise because the ck box changed into the shape of a mechanical arm that integrated with the stump near his shoulder essentially acting as a new robotic arm for the previously limbless Jack.

    Stunned, Jack tried to recall the sensation of moving his fingers in his mind. As a result, the robotic arm moved just as he wanted them to move.

    The artificial limb was based on neural control technology, meaning that it operated without reliance on voicemands or any external input, thanks to its direct synchronization with Jack''s neuralwork.

    This integration allowed his brain to seamlessly and intuitively guide the robotic limb''s movements, bestowing upon him a level of functional control that paralleled that of a natural appendage.

    In essence, the artificial limb had seamlessly melded with his body''s functioning, creating a harmonious synergy between his neuralmands and the limb''s responsive actions.

    Therefore, Jack''s body was now better than before. He was now capable of even more intricate and precise movementspared to his actual limb in the past. This was no doubt a blessing.

    As Jack reveled in the sensation of his missing arm returning, Zach''s voice resonated from his side.

    "Consider this revitalized limb as a preliminary gesture of gratitude for your cooperation in our efforts against the Hunter family," Zach''s words were marked with a firm and unwavering tone.

    "Be assured that substantial rpense awaits you upon the sessful aplishment of our mission."

    Zach''s promise held a sense ofmitment that made Jack want to put his trust in Zach.

    Jack wasn''t a fool who couldn''t ascertain when someone was being genuine. He could tell that Zach was sincere in asking for his cooperation. Moreover, thetter was willing to pay him much more than his help was worth.

    Jack couldn''t have been more thankful towards Zach who had not only given him a chance to survive but had also given him his arm back. The metal arm, though a little foreign, fit just like his original arm and was just as responsive.

    He wondered who Zach actually was. Such miraculous skills couldn''t be so ordinary. Jack had been to many ces but none of them could produce the things Zach had in his hand. He still remembered the red colored sword that could cut through anything. Just how many secrets could one man hold within himself.

    Thankfully, Zach hadn''t harbored a grudge against him for doing the bidding of the Hunter family and hade to offer him a helping hand in his most dire circumstances.

    Therefore, instead of being greedy, Jack bowed slightly towards Zach and said, "Your favor is already enough of a payment. This arm is certainly more than enough for what you want me to do. No need to pay me anything other than this."

    Zach smiled in response. The smile contained the satisfaction of having obtained an ally who was not only powerful but also knew how to hold back his greed. This was a trustworthy quality to have among mercenaries, though a little na?ve. Zach admired Jack for being able to hold himself back even though he could have wrung any amount out of Zach considering that thetter was just as desperate as Jack was.

    Jack offered his still good right hand towards Zach in order to seal the deal between the two.

    Zach didn''t hesitate either and grabbed on to it with gusto. This handshake sealed the deal between the two men whose ideals would now be aligned together until Zach could rescue Diana from the clutches of the Hunter family.

    бн

    The cold war between the Hunter family and the Smith family had been going on for days without any sideing out a clear victor. The Smith family neither agreed nor disagreed with the conditions put forth by the Hunter family. They were clearly trying to drag on things for a little while longer. On the other hand, the Hunter family was unable to force the Smith family to ept their conditions as well.

    They were afraid of pissing off Zach to the point where he would go berserk. Harming his wife Diana was probably such an act and the Hunter family didn''t want to get the situation more tangled than it already was. They only worked hard to keep the situation such that Zach wouldn''t be able to save his wife and would have toy down arms in front of the Hunter family.

    Due to the inaction on the part of both the parties, the war was in stale mate, unable to go forward.

    As such, the ongoing sh between the two opposing forces evolved into a strategic battle of information dominance. The oue hinged on the quality, breadth, and effectiveness of their respective intelligenceworks.

    In one corner, Zach devoted his resources to unraveling the enigma of Diana''s captivity, painstakingly piecing together clues and traces to uncover the exact location where she was being held against her will.

    On the other side of the spectrum, the Hunter family pursued their own quest for knowledge with a vignt eye on the movements of the Smith family. Every shred of information, no matter how seemingly insignificant, was a precious resource. Each tidbit was meticulously collected, analyzed, and integrated into their expanding intelligence mosaic. By amassing thisprehensive understanding of the Smith family''s activities, the Hunters aimed to fortify their defenses against any potential threat, ensuring they were poised to respond to any scenario that might emerge.

    In this intricate dance of gathering and leveraging information, both sides recognized the profound impact that the mastery of data could yield. It was not solely about who possessed the most information, but rather about who could extract the most actionable insights from their amassed knowledge.

    Unfortunately, there wasn''t anything worthwhile that Hogan''s experienced informationwork could gather about the Smith family despite having tried their best.

 Chapter 297 297 Unexpected News

    ?

    Unfortunately, there wasn''t anything worthwhile that Hogan''s experienced informationwork could gather about the Smith family despite having tried their best. The reason was that neither Zach nor his people had made much of a move during this time. Instead, Zach had been scouting around the Hunter family using the drones and the system to monitor every person entering or exiting the magic barrier surrounding the mansion.

    This left the Hunter family wondering whether the woman was as important to Zach as they had assumed her to be. Although she was beautiful, she was far from being irresistible for a man as powerful and enigmatic as Zach.

    The unfolding events gave rise to a collective contemtion within the Hunter family. The question that lingered in their minds was whether the woman they were holding hostage wielded the same significance in Zach''s heart as they had assumed before pulling off such an expensive scheme to force Zach?

    This realization prompted a reexamination of their understanding of Zach''s motivations and priorities, leading them to question whether he would try to save Diana at any cost or would he throw her away and sacrifice her to send the Hunter family to hell?

    In Hogan''s introspective moments, a growing doubt began to take root. He found himself questioning the wisdom of his previous decision to employ that woman as a leverage point in his attempts to extort Zach.

    As he revisited his strategy, he couldn''t help but wonder if he had made a substantial misjudgment in assuming that her influence held enough sway over Zach''s actions. The shadow of uncertainty cast by this contemtion prompted Hogan to reconsider the effectiveness of his approach and the potential implications of his choice.

    Fortunately for the Hunter family, the stale mate didn''tst very long as they soon heard a piece of news that could potentially be a breakthrough point for them.

    An informer of the Hunter family overheard something while collecting news regarding the Smith family and hurried back to report to the leader of the family.

    After being granted audience with Hogan, she narrated the story she overheard from some guards who had been discussing amongst themselves while beingpletely unaware that someone else was also listening in on the story.

    "I heard them saying that the Smith family is in utter chaos. Their leader, the dark mage, goes berserk from time to time harming anyone hees across. I got curious so I got closer to them in order to find out more."

    At first Hogan thought that maybe Zach was frustrated due to their immacte defense. He was probably still unwilling toy down his arms and surrender in order to save his wife. But then he couldn''t bring himself to believe such a thing as thetter had persevered for so long. Zach wouldn''t just suddenly lose all hope, especially when he was unwilling to take drastic measures with his wife whom he was holding hostage.

    "Have you unearthed any pertinent information?" Hogan inquired, his demeanor tinged with solemn anticipation, hoping that her response would align with his conjectures.

    "I have indeed," she replied, her tone carrying a gravity that matched the situation. "It seems that a woman who was often seen beside the dark mage has been abducted in recent times."

    ""Wasn''t it the very woman, his wife Diana, that we have been holding hostage here?" Hogan''s thoughts churned in his mind, a torrent of anger surging within him. Because the description of the woman the informant mentioned was quite simr to Diana who was often seen as the right hand of the dark mage and was in fact his wife as well.

    The realization of the informant''spse who was presenting him with antiquated information bordering on mere hearsay ignited a fiery tempest inside him.

    The inclination to crush the informant into meat paste, for daring to deceive him, surged through him like a tidal wave the size of the highest mountain in existence.

    Yet, in the midst of his tempestuous emotions, he managed to curb the impulse. His restraint heightened when he perceived a glimmer of something more in the informant''s demeanor, a signal that there was further news to divulge.

    Just as he had perceived, the informant had more to say, especially in her defense after she noticed the changing expressions of the family leader.

    "Initially, I too was under the assumption that the woman they spoke of was indeed his wife. However, as I continued to eavesdrop on their discourse, the fog of uncertainty lifted, revealing a clearer understanding of the context. It dawned upon me that the woman in question was supposedly a remarkably formidable mage, her allure enhanced by an enchanting and captivating exterior. She consistently remained by the dark mage''s side, assuming a role akin to that of a spouse. Yet, the stark contrasts between her persona and the characteristics I had associated with the dark mage''s wife became increasingly evident. These disparities eliminated any possibility that the woman they discussed could be the one we held captive. With this newfoundprehension in mind, I hastened to return to convey the information directly. The urgency of the matter prompted me to deliver the news personally, ensuring that you were apprised of the developments without dy."

    As soon as the informant finished rying the news, Hogan thanked his lucky stars that he had refrained from harming her before listening to her in full.

    After asking the informant a few more rted questions, Hogan asked her to return to her position and keep on scouring information on the same subject before dismissing her.

    Aware of her sess, the informant hurriedly departed from the premises of the Hunter family mansion, her countenance radiating unadulterated contentment.

    On the other hand, Hogan was reveling in a jubnt celebration. While he remained unaware of the identity behind the force that had orchestrated Zach''s decline, the surge of delight within him was undeniable. Several heartyughs escaped him, a genuine reflection of the tion that welled up within his heart.

    His jubtion further heightened when he suddenly recalled the woman the informant had probably referred to. He had heard the mention of that woman on numerous asions already. Mostly it had been his son Nelson who kept muttering things about her due to hisscivious desires. And the only person who mentioned the woman had been Jack, the murderer he had hired to kidnap Violet Windsor.

    ording to Jack''s statement, the woman had been strong enough to go against Jack with ease meaning she was a fearsome mage and a strategic ss weapon on the battlefield. Hogan was reassured that a piece with so much battle potential had been taken off the board by this unknown assant.

    Hogan was genuinely happy because the introduction of a few extra challenges for the opposing side inadvertently provided a favorable oue for his side. This approach ensured that Zach or his forces wouldn''t be able to put their entire focus on dealing with the Hunter family as they now had to fight a battle on two fronts; one with the Hunter family and the other with the unknown forces who had kidnapped the other female mage next to Zach.

    As such, Hogan was hoping that the chaos would spread further. If only the unknown kidnapper could put in a few demands of his own, it would definitely pressurize Zach enough to break his spiritpletely. It might even help Hogan bring Zach to his knees sooner than expected.

    While Hogan was reveling in excitement and was concocting more contingency ns for any unforeseen situations, Nelson couldn''t care less about the whole fiasco.

    All he cared about was fucking Diana''s brains out. Unfortunately, his father had set up a guard of several powerful mages surrounding her and had forbidden him from evening into contact with her without his permission.

    Nelson had tried to register his protest with his father considering the fact that the pirate captain had delivered Diana to him in return for his request for the woman beside Zach. As such he wanted toy full im to Diana''s body even if he had to defy his father''s orders.

    He tried to sneak towards her on several asions but was blocked either by the strong guards or by his father who almost went mad with blood oozing out of his eyes as he stared at the disappointment of a son he had borne.

 Chapter 298 298 Tell Me More

    ?

    After getting thrown out of the mansion by his father, Nelson was extremely disgruntled with his father who kept getting in the way of his happiness even though the woman had been nothing other than a bargaining chip against Zach.

    "Damn! That old bastard wouldn''t even let me in the same room with her. What harm can I possibly do to her? Curse that bastard of a dark mage...why are all the women I have my eyes on in some kind of rtionship with him? What kind of heavenly luck was he born with that he can be surrounded by so many beauties while I have to look for warmth in the middle of the night like a despot. One day....one day I must snatch all his women...and make him watch as I fuck everyst one of them in all kinds of..." Nelson''s mind was just as lecherous as his outside appearance at this moment. He was imagining himself with the various women around Zach but that only added fuel to the fire burning in his loins due to his failed attempts on Diana''s chastity.

    Nelson was too pent up to plead with his father to let him stay at home. Therefore, he had no other option but to visit the flower house to relieve his manly desires rather than facing the fury of his bastard father.

    Moreover, he was worried that his father would deprive him of shelter over his head if he dared to make amotion outside his mansion this time or if he made another move on the hostage, Diana, again. He knew his father''s temper after all.

    A few guards followed after him for protection considering the situation with the Smith family, as he made his way towards the most high-end flower garden of Byzantium city where he could pluck up all the flowers in his sight and no one would dare to stop him. Instead, they would butter him up and offer up a few more for his pleasure.

    After releasing all his pent-up lust in the brothel amongst a few messily dressed but petite whores, Nelson felt refreshed.

    Although the fire in his crotch had vanished, the lecherous desire in his eyes had yet to take its leave.

    He was still thinking about Diana, thinking about any strategy that could allow him toplete his designs without his father knowing anything.

    s, the lecherous thoughts kept him from thinking clearly or he would have realized what kind of foolish thing he wanted to do. His father wasn''t a tolerant individual at all. He wouldn''t care a single bit before snuffing him from existence in case his actions brought a cmity to the Hunter family in the form of an enraged Zach.

    Nelson''s mind that had already been twisted by his erogenous desires couldn''t understand why his father had been trying to keep him away from the woman being held hostage in their mansion. Therefore, the same things were running through his head as he exited the brothel and began to walk back towards his carriage while being escorted by his entourage of guards.

    While the guards didn''t dare to enter the carriage and stood outside respectfully, Nelson climbed into the carriage as one of the guards helped him keep the door open.

    As soon as Nelson was seated, the guard closed the door after him before sitting on the front of the carriage with the driver. There was another carriage for the guards responsible for guarding their master. It was moving ahead of them and was busily securing the path for their master.

    But unknown to the useless guards, someone had already entered the carriage of their precious master unbeknownst to them. He had been waiting inside the carriage to have a few words with Nelson.

    Uncharacteristically against his nature, Nelson didn''t freak out the moment he came across Jack who was sitting across from him in the carriage. After all, the guards weren''t there to protect him if Jack dared to hurt him without caring about the consequences. After all, he had discarded Jack previously without giving him the payment he was due.

    Nelson knew that he would be helplessly cut down if Jack no longer had any care about his own life anymore. The life of a murderer on the run wasn''t any fun after all.

    Instead of freaking out, Nelson tried to keep his furiously beating heart from jumping out of his chest. The drums beating in his chest were inaudible to Jack as Nelson somehow managed to keep his panic from leaking out.

    "Why are you here?" asked Nelson calmly as if everything was under his control and he wasn''t in any danger.

    Jack sneered at his attempt to appearposed inwardly but didn''t show his contempt on his face. He was just as capable of concealing his true thoughts.

    "To make a deal with you." answered Jack sneakily as if he was afraid that the carriage was bugged.

    As soon as he heard that Jack wanted to make a deal with him, Nelson''s attitude shot through the roof. He mistakenly believed that he had the upper hand against Jack since thetter hade to him to make a deal despite what he had to go throughst time. Therefore, Nelson assumed that Jack was desperate and needed his help which gave further air to his arrogance and haughtiness.

    "Haven''t you learnt the lesson from yourst attempt at making a deal? The weak have no right to negotiate with the strong. They can only follow orders." sneered Nelson as he looked at Jack with a contemptuous gaze like he was looking at amoner who had dared to sit in the position of a noble like himself.

    "Since I havee to you of my own ord, I am quite confident in the business I bring. I am sure you won''t be able to resist paying everything you owe me once you see what I bring to the table." Jack smiled smugly as if he truly was proud of his achievements this time. At the same time, there was a subtle lewdness to his smile as if he understood Nelson''s true hidden thoughts and could understand them to a certain extent.

    Nelson caught that hint as well and couldn''t help but wonder what gave Jack so much confidence.

    "Fine, you have my attention. What is it? What has given you so much confidence in front of me?" asked Nelson curiously as he brought his hand forward as if asking Jack to hand it over.

    "Ever since I did thatst job for your family, there has been a certain mage who has been chasing after me to hold me ountable for the crimes Imitted. She just couldn''t keep to herself and decided to mess up my life instead. She refused to let me go no matter how many times I told her to stay away from me. Eventually, she chased me out of the city but even that wasn''t enough to satisfy her, so I had an all-out showdown with her. Although she was strong, incredulously strong at that, she wasn''t beyond the realm of what I couldn''t handle by giving my best. So, I managed to overpower and bring her under my control with extreme difficulty." Jack narrated with excitement visible on his face but there was also a dark glint in the corner of his eye that was invisible to Nelson.

    Nelson, though a bit interested at first, easily lost interest when Jack began to stretch the conversation. He lost his patience and thundered, "Get to the point or get out of here."

    "''SHE'' is the point. The mage I am referring to is an absolute beauty with a lot of spirit and attitude. I heard you have an interest in such toys. Not only is she an extremely powerful mage but also a stunning and gorgeous beauty. I haven''t seen someone of her caliber in a long time. So, what do you say? Are you interested in this deal?" Jack tried to make his sales pitch as attractive as possible, and his efforts weren''t wasted.

    Nelson began to grow interested and a lecherous smile covered a better portion of his disgusting face.

    "Tell me more..."

    "I am also aware of the current situation of your family with the Smith family. You will be happy to know that the mage I am referring to is the woman who used to be beside the dark mage..."

 Chapter 299 299 Seduce

    ?

    "I am also aware of the current situation of your family with the Smith family. You will be happy to know that the mage I am referring to is the woman who used to be beside the dark mage. She ispetent and curvy beyond the realm of possibility. I am sure that even the dark mage would be averse to losing her so don''t even think of not paying me this time." Jack talked as if he was afraid of being robbed once again but Nelson, that idiot, couldn''t find anything wrong with the whole situation at all. He felt that it was only natural that Jack was afraid of him and his family''s power.

    Before Jack could entice him more with details, Nelson finally caught on to the crumbs Jack had purposefully dropped to draw Nelson in.

    "Is that mage the one called Christina?" asked Nelson excitedly.

    Jack sneered on the inside but revealed a knowing smile on his face as if he already knew that Nelson would be interested in the deal he was offering.

    "Oooh~ you seem to have an impression of her as well."

    Of course, Nelson knew the woman. He had been dying to have his way with her ever since heid his eyes on her outside the Windsor family mansion, but she turned out to be on Zach''s side. He had even asked the pirate captain his father hired to kidnap her but in the end all their family had received from that arrangement had been Diana.

    His father not only kept him from touching a single hair on her head, but he also kicked him out of the mansion repeatedly to keep that woman out of his reach.

    Therefore, Nelson couldn''t keep his lust in check the moment he heard that he had a chance to have that gorgeous and spirited Christina for himself.

    "Where is she now? Let me see her for myself."

    "Do you think I would be foolish enough to bring her with me? We need to discuss the terms of our agreement first or forget about this deal entirely." Jack acted like he would rather die than give up on his benefits this time.

    "~Ugh...Fine, what do you want? State your conditions." Nelson had no choice but to indulge Jack for the time being since he needed to find the whereabouts of that bewitching woman first. He had absolutely no intention of everplying with Jack''s demands. He was only goading Jack into revealing the whereabouts of the woman before stabbing him in the back.

    "I don''t want much from you or your family. I just want a new identity to leave a peaceful life elsewhere if it isn''t possible in this ce. You can send me somewhere else where no one knows who I am or what kind of crimes I havemitted. That''s all. If you can handle such a thing for me, I will take you to the woman I told you about immediately."

    Nelson immediately agreed to his demand and pushed him to take him to Christina immediately.

    Jack looked like a kid who was not only na?ve but also a pushover as he agreed to show him Christina''s location just based on a verbal agreement.

    Internally, Nelson couldn''t suppress a contemptuous sneer as he marveled at the apparent feebleness disyed by Jack in negotiating such agreements. The audacity of a notorious murderer like Jack resorting to such pitiable dealings struck Nelson as utterly bewildering. Despite having suffered betrayal at Jack''s hands previously, the puzzling aspect was his willingness to return, almost inviting himself to be deceived anew. It was a cycle of trust and betrayal that seemed destined to repeat itself, leaving Nelson incredulous at Jack''s seeming inability to learn from his own history.

    If only Nelson wasn''t thinking with his dick, he would have noticed that he was being yed but he was far too hot in the dick to notice anything out of the ordinary.

    Overjoyed, and excited at being able to aplish his heart''s desire after a long time, Nelson could barely contain himself. But his excitement was cut short by the thought of his father that was like a cold shower that could drown his lust.

    Thinking of his father, he knew that if his father learned of Christina, it would be another few months of drought for him. He would no doubt keep Christina as another important hostage to force Zach into submission.

    Meanwhile, Nelson would be expected to suffer in silence as two beauties were paraded in front of him every single day.

    Nelson refused to suffer from such a fate. So, he nned to keep this knowledge from his family until the moment he had enough fun with the beautiful woman. He was nning on fucking her at least a few hundred times or at least until he grew tired of her. A beauty of such a high standard deserved at least that much in his eyes.

    Seeing as Jack was still being too slow, Nelson bellowed at him in frustration.

    "Take me to her immediately. I can''t wait any longer. The thought of such a perfect woman waiting for me doesn''t let me hold it in any longer. Hurry up..."

    Jack nodded in response and hurriedly gave a few instructions to the coach driver who seemed to be a little stunned to see another man in the carriage but since he seemed to be their young master''s subordinate, he just followed the orders and followed the route to the new destination.

    There was a small window at the side of the carriage adjacent to where Nelson was seated so he could determine where he was being taken just by looking outside.

    Although he understood the logic that Jack had to hide the woman out of everyone''s sights, he still felt a little wary in his heart as the wagon headed into the wilderness. If he had been in his right mind, he would have at least tried to pry some information out of Jack in order to get him to slip up or to gauge his intentions, but Nelson was too far into lust to even think properly.

    His dick was guiding him towards Christina as he forgot everything else in the world and made his way towards the hole he needed to fill with his rod. The little bit of fear he felt vanished as well at a single thought of Christina which aroused him more than all the girls in the brothelbined.

    The carriage stopped at an inconspicuous ce in the middle of the woods with nothing but shrubbery and tall trees on either side. The ce was so far out in the woods that neither Nelson nor his guards had probably been there before.

    Jack on the other hand kept on reiterating that it had to be this ce or Zach would have gotten wind of Christina''s location already. His investigation team was probably a notch above those of even the Hunter family. They had figured out the location of Violet, a few hours after he kidnapped her thest time as well.

    So as a precaution, he was keeping Christina out of the range of his influence.

    Nelson bought that reasoning as well as he had been the victim of that raid too. Therefore, he didn''t pester Jack anymore and urged him to lead him to the location immediately.

    "We have to get off the carriage here and walk on foot for the rest of the way. The path ahead isn''t exactly carriage friendly. I am afraid you will have to walk back all the way to the city if you insist on not listening to my proposition now."

    Hearing the warning tone in his voice, Nelson ordered the guards with him to leave their carriages in ce and follow him on foot.

    Jack led the group like an experienced tour guide as he told them tidbits about the various nts and trees, they encountered on the winding path that was leading them to their destination.

    Nelson was being escorted by a group of guardian mages, none of which was below B rank. Therefore, Nelson didn''t even bother thinking about his own safety. His father had made sure that his safety wouldn''t bepromised in any manner for as long as the feud with the Smith family continued.

    After a few turns, Nelson finallyid eyes on the heavenly view of Christina''s tied up body.

 Chapter 300 300 Hook

    ?

    After a few turns, Nelson finallyid eyes on the heavenly view of Christina''s tied up body. Even some guards behind him had the urge to pounce on Christina. She was already a beautiful seductress, but her current tied up and helpless condition was nothing less than an aphrodisiac for any normal human male. She was the perfect damsel in distress for whom any man would be willing toy down his life in a second.

    Christina was tied to a tree with a huge trunk. She appeared to bepletely helpless. Her clothes were stuck to her body due to the sweat as she had probably been in this position for quite a while.

    Her body was growing numb from being in the same position for a long time. The rope was tight enough to stop her blood cirction. This rendered herpletely unable to move despite how strong she usually was. She looked like she wouldn''t be able to resist a thing even if a monster was unleashed on her in that very instant.

    Nelson was overjoyed that Jack had delivered. The woman who was giving him wet dreams for so long was finally in front of him for the taking, like a fish on a silver tter, so he could enjoy it like the true connoisseur of fine delights.

    "As I promised you earlier, she is right here. So as long as you hold up your end of the bargain, I won''t ry this information to the Smith family. Believe when I say that I wouldn''t have to lift a finger to destroy the Hunter family when that happened; the dark mage would see to it."

    Jack finally bared his teeth after acting like a docile little canine pet this whole time.

    The guards immediately went on alert, but Jack was only flexing. Nelson knew that too and immediately reassured the murderous criminal of thepletion of the agreement.

    On the inside he couldn''t help but sneer at Jack for being dumb enough to bring him here. Now that he had Christina in his hands, there was no way he would fulfill the agreement with Jack. Thetter could tell whosoever he wanted to snitch about this because he wasn''t afraid.

    The Hunter family was already holding Zach''s wife hostage. Nelson believed that Zach wouldn''t dare to jump up and down as long as she was in their custody. Therefore, he was free to y around with this new hostage before taking her home.

    "Don''t worry, you will get what we discussed. Now hurry up and get out of my way. I have greater things to do than to stand here listening to you whine." Nelson was incredibly turned on at the sight of Christina and almost yelled out his frustration at Jack.

    After dismissing Jack with a flick of his wrist, Nelson turned back towards his guards and said, "Don''t disturb me until I call you. Before that I don''t want any of you to appear in my sight or disturb my fun by interrupting me. No matter what happens, solve it yourself. Now, skip away." before signaling them all to shoo away from the ce so he could proceed with his favorite activity with the seductive Christina, who was busy ring at him with blood in her eyes.

    The guards tried to resist the order as they were afraid for his safety in such a remote ce. Just when the leading guard was about to utter a few words of resistance, Nelson jerked his head towards him and bellowed, "Do you want me to fuck this woman in your presence then? Or do you just want to watch the fun...HUH?"

    The guard cowered in front of the raging Nelson as he took a few steps back in order to show his obeisance.

    "Do what you are ordered to do. Don''t try to use your shitty brains again in front of me." Nelson threw out a few more words before turning away from the guards knowing that they didn''t have it in them to go against his orders.

    As expected, the guards did what he wanted and retreated from the scene. Although they were all out of sight of their young master, they were vignt and well trained enough to be able to respond to the slightest thing out of the ordinary.

    With all the annoying restrictive elements out of the way, Nelson felt like he could release the beast waiting to unleash its desire on Christina. He hurriedly moved in her direction as she stared back at him with fury burning in her eyes.

    Instead of feeling even a tinge of guilt, Nelson felt extremely aroused to see the defiant look on Christina''s face. He loved to break the spirit of such strong women in bed the most. Therefore, he was looking forward to what she would look like underneath him as he had his way with her.

    Despite his arousal, he didn''t dare to free Christina from her bounds considering the fact that she was far stronger than him or his guards. Instead, lunged towards her as he fumbled with his clothing and removed any extrayers, he was wearing so he couldunch straight into action.

    Just as he was about to shed thest item of clothing that kept his soldier froming into the view of the damsel in distress, something shook his vision drastically. When the ceaseless tremors atst relinquished their grip, his surroundings were plunged into an abyss of darkness, akin to being ensnared within the confines of an exceptionally dense shroud.

    This obscure veil, impervious to any ray of light, seemed to have settled over his vision like a curtain drawn upon a stage, leaving him stranded in an enigmatic void.

    The aftermath of the seismic upheaval seemed to have ushered in a realm where time momentarily stood still, leaving him suspended within the enigma of the shadowy unknown.

    A wave of searing pain surged through his entire being, much like an electric current racing through a circuit, as he slowly emerged from the numbing stupor triggered by the sudden shift. As his senses began to regain their footing, he found himself grounded, almost as if a giant''s invisible hand had pressed him into the earth.

    Yet, before he could unravel the enigma of the external force that had forcefully nted him onto the ground, an even fiercer agony, akin to the bite of a relentless serpent,nced through his wrist. The sensation was like a jagged de relentlessly probing his nerve endings.

    The searing pain, the torturous throbs and the unknown attacker made his legs grow weak with fear and trepidation.

    He raised his head, a thinyer of dirt coating its surface like a whispered secret. With a mixture of curiosity and caution, he endeavored to steal a fleeting nce at the elusive figure responsible for his sudden predicament.

    The aftermath of the mysterious event left his senses heightened, his pulse racing like his heart had forgotten its limits due to fright.

    The anticipation hung in the air, thick as the tension before a storm, as he sought to unravel the identity of the enigmatic force that had propelled him to his pathetic current state.

    The assant didn''t bother stopping him as they were too busy crushing his wrist with their foot, trampling on it like it was a worm that should not have been allowed toe into existence in the first ce.

    Caught in this perplexing situation, his choices seemed as scarce as a single coin in an empty wallet. Driven by a mix of urgency and fear, he exerted all his energy to cry out for help, aiming his voice towards his guards with the utmost force he could muster considering the precarious situation he found himself in.

    His trembling state didn''t aid matters; the grip of fear was so strong that it threatened to send him into a state of panic.

    As a result, the voice that escaped his throat was barely discernible. It emerged as a feeble whisper, akin to the fragile plea of a timid soul, surrendering to a harsh and unyielding destiny. It sounded extremely meek and weak like the voice of a timid woman surrendering herself to cruel fate.

    Regrettably, he found himself utterly incapacitated to ascertain the identity of his aggressor. The searing pain coursing through his body denied him even the faintest chance of investigating, regardless of any desire he might have had to do so.

 Chapter 301 301 Careful Clara

    <h4>Chapter 301 Chapter 301 Careful ra</h4>

    Moreover, the fear kept his face glued to the ground as if afraid that the grim reaper''s scythe would drop on his neck the moment, he tried to raise his head or showed a defiant attitude.

    Swearing vehemently within the confines of his thoughts, Nelson''s eyes darted about in a frenzied search. He clung to the slender thread of hope that his guards, in their vignce, would have by this time sensed the disruption that had unfolded, or at the very least, intercepted the shrill echoes of his desperate pleas for aid.

    The pulsating seconds felt like an eternity as his heart pounded with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation, yearning for a lifeline in the form of his guards'' prompt response.

    However, with each passing moment, his suspicions burgeoned like a storm gathering on the horizon. Despite the relentless duration during which he had fervently shouted for assistance, his guards remained conspicuously absent from view.

    He wondered if some kind of silencing spell had been cast to keep his guards from hearing and answering his call or something even worse.

    Although Nelson felt annoyed by his guards sometimes, he had no doubt about their individual capability and loyalty because they were the finest guards that his father, Hogan, had assigned to him to ensure his safety in these turbulent times.

    Therefore, Nelson couldn''t bring himself to believe that they had been wiped out or bought out by the enemy forces causing them to betray him so heartlessly.

    He could only continue to hope that they would rush to his location once they heard his painful squeals.

    As a result, he screamed even more exaggeratedly while the assant kept looking at him with derision as if unwilling to stop him from embarrassing himself further. It was as if they were taking pleasure in his pitiful situation.

    Just when he was about to begin another bout of screaming after a small period of rest of two or three seconds, he heard several responses to his shrill screams.

    Equally terrified screams were heard from all around him. It was as if the very souls of those unfortunate individuals were being wrung by the most malevolent of hellish tormentors.

    Within this tumultuous symphony, were familiar notesposed of mournful wails that resonated with a chilling familiarity, the pained cries of his guards, teetering on the precipice of mortality. These anguished utterances carried a weight that reached deep within him, intertwining with the fraying threads of his trust, and confirming the unthinkable reality that his handpicked protectors were being consumed by the merciless hands of fate.

    Nelson wasn''t dumb enough to fail to recognize the dying screams of his guards.

    Thest embers of the hope of escape died out with those screams as he cursed Jack inwardly for bringing him to such a ce.

    Nelson knew that the assant was unwilling to attack him anymore, so he began to act more pitiful as if he had lost everything he had in the world. He truly looked like someone who had resigned himself to his fate but only a few people knew how sharp he could be when it came to his own survival. His survival instinct was truly top notch which had allowed him to survive so far despite his shitty habits and overflowing lust.

    In reality, he had another life-saving card that he could employ to get out of this situation. Therefore, he was only waiting for that opportunity to present itself to him. The pitiful act was a ploy of his to create an opportunity as well.

    But little did he know that the opportunity he had been waiting for would nevere again.

    When the screams that were not his own all died out, meaning that the life had been snuffed out of their sources, the assant who had stood beside him this whole time moved and appeared right in front of him.

    The assant bent down and lifted his pitiful body that was no different from a lifeless sack due to fright.

    The face that came into view once heid his eyes on the petite woman who crushed his wrist bones into powder was someone, he hated with all his guts. It went without saying that he was extremely familiar with her.

    The woman, his assant, was none other than ra, the mad woman who had foiled his ns to bed Violet, her elder sister, on various asions.

    If it had been in any other situation, he would have tried to show her some attitude by threatening her family or close ones, but now he didn''t have the guts to do so. He knew her impulsive nature and was afraid that he would be done for the moment he said something she didn''t like.

    ra on the other hand wasn''t interested in what he was muttering under his breath. Instead, her focus was on something else.

    Without saying anything, ra pounced on Nelson and began to tear off his remaining clothes one by one,yer byyer.

    Nelson couldn''t understand what was happening. Although he had wanted to do the same on his own earlier, this was not the way he wanted to undress himself before having his way with Christina. Being forcefully undressed scared the hell out of him. It wasn''t a turn on at all like he had previously fantasized.

    Nelson was looking for an opportunity to escape but ra was too close to him. He could only wait until ra was done with whatever she nned to do to him. Otherwise, he might lose the only chance at salvation he still had.

    However, ra wasn''t about to suffer from the same thing all over again. She hurriedly pulled off the clothes on his upper body and tore through them until she finallyid her hands on the thing, she wanted to separate from Nelson the moment she caught sight of him.

    Her hand sped around a scroll hidden in the seam of his clothing, a spatial scroll to be exact. This was the same escape technique he had used to escape thest time she captured him.

    Nelson had managed to escape from her clutches thest time because she had been trying to act rational and based on logic. But the same thoughts were flung out of her head the moment she suffered a loss.

    Therefore, she was determined to cut off his means of escape even if she ended up brutalizing him in the process.

    Unfortunately, he didn''t dare to resist, or ra would have loved to break more of his bones.

    ra put away the spatial scroll that was thest hope of the Hunter family''s young master.

    Severed from the possibility of a good life, Nelson could only cry out bitterly like a woman who had been wronged by society and victimized by everyone around her. The shrill screams echoed around the wilderness as the pain from his crushed wrist returned now that the effect of the adrenaline had vanished.

    Several pieces of the puzzle finally fell into ce when Nelson began to think of a few possibilities that he had failed to consider earlier due to the overwhelming effect of his lust on his mental capabilities.

    Nelson had been suspicious when Jack had approached him all of a sudden but the news he had brought for him pushed those thoughts out of his mind. He regretted not going with his gut instinct because the way the situation had turned out, he was sure that Jack had knowingly lured him into a trap.

    Otherwise, he would have at leaste out to help him. After all his profits were linked to Nelson''s survival as well.

    "JACKKK....YOU BASTA....", Nelson tried to curse Jack for deceiving him in the loudest voice he could muster but a huge force attacked him from the side of his face and sunk it down into the ground with enough force to shatter his bones.

    When the tremors receded and he came out of the shock of the sudden attack, he found his lower jaw trembling and a pain akin to a thousand needles stabbing him his lower jaw shot through his overly sensitive nervous system.

    Instinctively, he brought his hand up to touch the side of his face as if to ascertain the extent of damage he had suffered from the sudden attack.

    Obviously, the source of the attack was none other than the person closest to him, ra.

    Nelson cursed her on the inside for swinging her fists around like a mad woman not knowing who or what she was hitting with them. But he didn''t have the courage to call her out on it.

    ra was irritated just looking at the bastard in front of her. Since she had been given an order by Zach to not hurt him more than necessary, she had been holding herself back from punching the bastard to death.

    As soon as he showed the slightest bit of resistance, she believed that she had the right to discipline him while remaining within the bounds set by Zach. The punch that dislocated his jaw earlier was one such attack. She was hoping to be able to deliver more of them soon.

    Nelson on the other hand was done with it all. He stopped trying to act smart or courageous. Instead, his attitude deted like a punctured ball. And he could only wail and whimper in a low voice, afraid of irritating the monstrous woman who couldsh out at him at any moment.

    While ra was venting her frustration and anger on Nelson, Zach was busy dealing with the escorting guards that Nelson had brought along with him.

 Chapter 302 302 Messenger

    <h4>Chapter 302 Chapter 302 Messenger</h4>

    Jack and Christina, who had already been released from her bounds were helping out as well.

    Although, they were all at the very least B rank mages, Zach and his team made quick work out of them. After all, none of the three had abat power lower than that of an A rank mage. While Christina and Jack were true A rank mages who were about to reach the S rank, Zach with his light saber wasn''t too far behind either.

    Dispatching the escorts was too easy for the trio.

    Just when Christina was about to st thest of the escorting guards to bits with her overwhelming magic spell, Zach stopped her by grabbing onto her wrist with the intent to pull her back.

    The very touch of her beloved caused the magic spell she had woven to wither and dissipate, leaving only traces of its ephemeral existence. Perplexity clouded her thoughts as she grappled with the confusion of why Zach, her partner, sought to hinder her from dealing the decisive strike against those who hadmitted such heinous acts.

    In a state of silent contemtion, her gaze locked onto Zach, a clear expectation lingering within her eyes as if she awaited his elucidation. While she held an unwaveringmitment to adhering to Zach''s directives, the notion of allowing individuals of their despicable kind to elude consequences without a valid rationale contradicted her principles.

    "You can''t kill this one." Zach asserted, his tone carrying a mixture of authority and reason.

    "Why?" Christina inquired; her curiosity piqued.

    "Because he still needs to deliver a message for me." replied Zach with a smile on his face as he released Christina''s wrist gently.

    "Message?" Something clicked in Christina''s mind as soon as she heard his answer, and she reciprocated his smile with a smile of her own.

    "Mmm...if he died as well, there would be no one left to tell this news to the Hunter family, don''t you think that would be very sad? How would this poor bastard''s family know that we are holding this bastard hostage?" Zach mused with a sly grin; his words tinged with a touch of irony.

    Even though Zach knew that Christina might have already figured it out from the previous hint, he still exined himself to her. There was no need for a misunderstanding between the two in such a situation.

    With a swift yet purposeful motion, Zach skillfully maneuvered the guard away from the potential havoc that Christina''s magic could wreak. His fingers mped firmly onto the cor of the guard''s uniform, ensuring a secure hold. Positioned with meticulous precision, Zach''s lightsaber hung suspended just a hair''s breadth from the guard''s exposed neck, creating an unmistakable aura of impending danger.

    In a grim and calcting tone, Zachid out the options before the solitary guard, the sole survivor amidst the carnage that had unfolded around them. Each word he spoke carried a weighty gravity, emphasizing the life-altering decision that now rested in the guard''s trembling hands.

    "You stand as the lone witness to the aftermath of this confrontation," Zach''s voice resonated with an eerie calmness, the tension palpable in the air. "Here are your choices: you can choose to follow my directive, acting as the reluctant harbinger of a message to the Hunter family. This path may lead to your eventual demise at the hands of your family''s leader, a punishment for your perceived failure to safeguard his own kin. Alternatively, you may embrace the finality of death right here and now, as my hand carries out the sentence. In this scenario, your lifeless form will still bear my message to your family."

    The weight of those words hung heavily, echoing off the walls of the deste surroundings. Zach''s demeanor remained resolute, offering no room for negotiation or evasion. The guard''s destinyy solely in his own hands, as he grappled with the daunting crossroads presented to him.

    The forlorn guard found himself trapped in a grim limbo; his fate suspended between the choices Zach had delineated. His free will had been stripped away and he was reduced to a mere pawn in arger game between Zach and the Hunter family.

    The guard was forced to choose between a rock and a hard ce. There was no other option. He could either go out with defiance in his eyes, or he could opt to ry Zach''s message and hope for survival; or at the very least a quick death at Hogan''s hands.

    Either option was better than dying in Zach''s hands with no one left to witness his death.

    Zach employed the stick and carrot technique to mold the guard''s thinking to his benefit. As soon as he felt that his words had hit home, he struck while the iron was still hot and whispered in the guard''s ears like a beguiling devil.

    "While there is a slight chance of survival in the first scenario, the chances are non-existent in the second one. If I were you, I would choose the first. Make your choice soon. I hope you can be smart enough to know what is good for you."

    Zach''s words hung heavy in the air, a stark reminder that the guard''s choices were not mere causalities of chance, but rather pivotal determinants of his destiny. The weight of the moment pressed down upon him, urging him to navigate the treacherous crossroads with the acumen of self-preservation.

    "I will do what you want. Just don''t kill me..." The guard ended up giving in as he was terrified of dying.

    "Of course, as long as you ry my message to your master, you are free to go as you please."

    The guard didn''t believe Zach, but he was in no position to question him.

    "Go and tell Hogan that his son will be under my protection as long as Diana stays safe. However, if she suffered the slightest grievance over there, I would make sure that this bastard here will suffer a hundred times more. Tell the old bastard to bring Diana for a hostage exchange if he wants his son back safe and sound."

    Zach had been waiting for such an opportunity for a long time. Since he had no other way to bring Diana back through brute force or violence, this was the only foolproof n that came to his mind.

    After giving him the message, Zach asked the guard to repeat it for him in order to make sure that thetter had memorized it thoroughly before letting him go abruptly.

    The guard desperately fled at his top speed, afraid that Zach was only toying with him. He made a beeline towards the Hunter family mansion in order to report the young master''s kidnapping.

    Hogan waszing around in the garden as he enjoyed delicious treats with sweet coffee.

    His mood instantly soured the moment he took a look at the disheveled guard. Annoyance spread over his face as he thought that his son was probably causing trouble again. The escorts around Nelson were not only to keep him safe but they had also been tasked by Hogan to keep an eye on his son and keep him from approaching Diana.

    "What happened? Did he attempt to cause trouble again?"

    Hogan bellowed at the B rank mage who had barelye out of the devil''s den with his life intact.

    "Young Master was kidnapped." replied the guard with a trembling voice.

    "WHAT? WHAT DID YOU SAY?" yelled Hogan with a fierce aura leaking out of him.

    "While we were on our way back to the mansion, Jack approached the young master. He told him about how he had kidnapped a girl close to the dark mage and led us to her. We were ambushed as soon as we reached the heart of the forest. Rest of the guards all died within seconds. I managed to survive but only barely."

    "Why would Jack do such a thing? He still needs our help to survive. There is no way he would dare."

    "Master is right. It wasn''t Jack. He was working with someone else."

    "Tell me WHO? Who was he working with?"

    "The Smith family" answered the guard before continuing with his exnation after a heavy breath.

    "They asked me to tell you that if we want to trade for the young master, we have to bring the girl we are holding hostage in return."

    Hogan''s forehead resembled a battlefield where the veins waged a furious uprising, threatening to burst forth in a disy of unbridled fury. The surging anger momentarily clouded his senses, like a tempest sweeping through a tranquilndscape.

    His tightly clenched fistsnded on the table in front of him, spilling all the delightful savories all over the ground and crumpling the hardened wood table like it was a piece of paper.

    Hogan couldn''t help but regret not disciplining his frivolous son at a young age. If he had curbed his lustful desires in the early phase of his life, Nelson probably wouldn''t have turned out so useless.

    s, there was no medicine in the world that could cure regret.

    Hogan couldn''t me anyone else for his son''s behavior because he himself was the major culprit behind his son''s twisted self. If not for his permission, how could his son havemitted so many misdeeds under the guise of his authority?

    As a result, he could only unleash his frustration at the ornate furniture all around him.

    As Hogan began to rampage in his fury, the guard stayed still like a marite as if afraid of attracting Hogan''s attention while he was in his maddened state.

 Chapter 303 303 The Disaster

    <h4>Chapter 303 Chapter 303 The Disaster</h4>

    The only thing Hogan could feel at the moment was remorse at not locking up his bastard of a son during this crucial time. His carelessness had allowed the Smith family to have an upper hand against them in a negotiation that would have no doubt ended in their favor.

    Hogan finally calmed down after there was nothing left to demolish. Only wooden debris from the smashed furniture remained around Hogan after he regained control of his senses once again.

    Just when he was about tounch into another fit of fury, an idea popped into his mind that immediately cleared the clustered murderous intentions within.

    Hogan found that his son''s capture might not necessarily have been a bad thing. At the very least it had answered one of his questions regarding Zach. Previously he had been curious as to what Zach thought about the woman he was keeping as hostage.

    Although he hadn''t dared to harm her for fear of Zach''s unbridled retaliation, he also couldn''t tell if Zach ced any importance on her well-being or not. Zach''s continued indifference and unresponsiveness had even given him the impression that he didn''t care about the life and death of the woman at all.

    But now that Zach had made a move and had captured his son in one go, it could only mean that Zach had nned it all to ensure Diana''s safe return.

    Hoganughed uncontrobly at this aspect of the disastrous news. The gears in his mind whirred at unimaginable speeds surpassing the normal brain operation.

    Although Zach had one upped him by capturing his son, Hogan believed that he could still turn the situation around if he yed his cards right. This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to bring down the entire Smith family in one go.

    Hogan dismissed the guard who had brought the news and hurried back to his room. Ordering the guards outside to prohibit anyone from disturbing him, he locked himself in the room. To the outsiders it looked like he was throwing a temper tantrum like a little kid who had failed to have his way with the world.

    While in reality, Hogan was busily thinking about the hostage exchange that Zach had suggested. His cunning mind was especially brilliant when it came to scheming.

    Hogan considered all the possibilities. He took into ount the strength of the Smith family that his intelligence had confirmed and began to go over all the permutations of the situation in his head. Most of the permutations ended in his failure but the night was too long and there were still a ton of possibilities left to ponder upon.

    Finally, as the first ray of light appeared on the horizon, Hogan chanced upon a brilliant idea; an idea that was perfectly capable of producing the results he desired from the hostage exchange.

    With a satisfied smile adorning his frightening visage, Hogan could barely keep his excitement from bubbling out of him as he finalized a few minor details regarding his scheme.

    бн

    Zach was in high spirits as his n to capture Nelson had been executed wlessly. He finally had the means to get Diana back from the clutches of the Hunter family after all this time. He could finally breathe now that he didn''t have to feel guilt and remorse eating away at him from the inside for not being able to help Diana even though he had such arge force at his discretion.

    Together with Christina and the others, he was trying to figure out the details regarding the exchange that he had in mind. There was no doubt in his mind that the hostage exchange would be studded with schemes.

    Therefore, he was nning some schemes of his own so as to not get done in by the enemy at such a crucial time.

    But before he could begin the meeting, an alert from the system consumed all of his attention.

    The system had issued several rms before, some saved him from an impending attack, some warned him of potential hiding in the vicinity and some warned him about the danger level of the enemy. But the alert this time waspletely different from those times.

    The transparent screen was no longer normal, it was blinking blood red like the final alert of a submarine that had sprung a leak and was about to sink.

    The rm that apanied it was so loud that it almost exploded his eardrums. He couldn''t help but put his hands on his ears in order to keep the sound from affecting his hearing capability. But none of his efforts even reduced the volume of the rm by a little bit.

    It was as if the sound was ringing out from within him and there was no possible method of stopping it from outside of his body.

    As such, he somehow ordered the system to dismiss the rm but the screen in front of him continued to blink red as if warning him of his impending doom.

    The notification he received as a result of his demand stunned him to the core. He had to admit that this kind of threat deserved such an rm system at the very least.

    ording to the system, there was a disaster headed straight towards Greend in three days'' time.

    The reason for the disaster was even more unbelievable. A meteorite field was expected to pass through the''s range of gravitational pull in three days. Unfortunately, the pull was sufficient enough to draw in the meteorites towards the surface of the leading to a massive meteorite shower.

    If it had been only up to this, Zach wouldn''t have felt so worried. The problem began when the system announced the possible point of impact of those meteorites.

    Thending zones estimated by the system showed that the possibility of the meteorites falling on to Greend was as high as eighty percent. Even the chances that the meteorites would end up bing weaker due to the gravitational eleration were extremely low. Therefore, it was almost a given that Greend would be destroyed in three days'' timepletely.

    Zach finally understood what that kind of horrendous sounding rm truly meant.

    It meant that he was totally fucked this time.

    A literal natural disaster wasing for his home, and he couldn''t possibly do anything about it. After all, he couldn''t change the trajectory of heavenly bodies even with the greatest advancement in science. It wasn''t possible even in his previous world that was so far ahead of this world.

    Zach couldn''t take it anymore as he fell down on his butt in a moment of extreme helplessness.

    He couldn''t help but ponder where he had gone wrong to deserve such an ordeal from the heavens.

    More than himself, he was worried about the people who had built their home with their own hands after being forced to leave their previous one. How could he tell those people that they were about to lose their home all over again?

    Zach didn''t have that much courage. He almost broke down and his brain almost stopped functioning.

    He had yet to bring back Diana, but a new problem had already shown itself. He wondered if he was just unluck or if fate had it in for him this whole time as it seemed to love toying with him.

    Dismissing the notification from the screen in front of him, he finally paid some attention to the people around him who were worried that something had happened to him all of a sudden. After all, to the others it appeared as if he had fallen onto his butt out of nowhere.

    "Are you alright? What happened all of a sudden?" inquired Christina worriedly. She had been the first to approach him as she was the closest to him.

    "I am fine. Just a little tired it seems."

    Zach didn''t dare to tell the others about the impending doom. He preferred to keep the news to himself after all no one would me him for not being able to predict a natural disaster.

    Moreover, he didn''t want to cause the people to panic more than they already had. A natural disaster of that scale was bound to create widespread chaos among the people.

    For as long as possible, Zach needed to avoid such a situation because he needed the exchange to go well before that.

    Diana was missing. She was one of the pirs who supported the entire Smith family, especially the soldiers. She was the source of their motivation and their drive towards betterment. Her absence had greatly affected the morale of the Smith family as well.

    Zach was gradually beginning to notice the signs, but he couldn''t do anything about it, at least not yet. He could only try his level best to bring her back as soon as possible and let her handle the situation that was getting increasingly out of hand.

    "I told you to rest earlier but you ignored me. Now look at this, you can barely stand." Christina reprimanded Zach but thetter only waved his hand in dismissal.

    "I am fine. Don''t make a fuss over nothing."

    Though Christina wanted to argue that he wasn''t fine, she didn''t say anything knowing that Zach would probably get pissed at her if she continued further.

    "If you say so."

    Now that there were two problemsing towards him from different sides, he had to think of a way to counter both at the same time.

    Zach wrecked his brains out thinking of a possible solution to the problems but after a full ten hours he hade up with exactly nothing.

 Chapter 304 304 Brain Storm

    ?

    Zach wrecked his brains out thinking of a possible solution to the problems but after a full ten hours he hade up with exactly nothing. Hopelessness engulfed him no matter where he turned to.

    As a result, he did the only thing he hadn''t tried yet.

    He asked for help. Ever since the Diana was kidnapped, Zach had been relying on himself to get Diana back. But so far, he had only met with disappointment.

    Therefore, he believed that it was time to change his perspective. Maybe someone else could help him see things that had been eluding him so far.

    ...

    Marico had been Hogan''s rival for a long time. There was no one who knew Hogan and his scheming brain more than Marico in the whole Byzantium city, probably the whole world even.

    Therefore, Zach believed that he was the person to turn to in such dire circumstances. Believing that Marico might give him insight into Hogan''s methods, Zach called on him and asked him to helpe up with a strategy that might work against the Hunter family.

    Even though Marico felt that he was far from qualified to tell Zach what to do considering how thetter had to help him out of so many situations since his arrival in Byzantium city, he still offered his help since there truly was no one else who knew Hogan like he did.

    Both of them were smart people so Marico didn''t just offer his opinion. Instead, he asked Zach, "Hogan is extremely cunning and calctive. He wouldn''t do anything unless he has made thorough preparations and is sure that the oue will be in his favor or at least believes it to be so. Put yourself in his shoes and think about what your next step will be. The best way to understand your enemy is to put yourself in their ce and predict what they want the most."

    Zach had been thinking of the conflict between him and the Hunter family from his own point of view so far. He had failed to take into ount the motives of the Hunter family unless they had something to do with Diana or himself.

    Therefore, he took Marico''s advice to heart and pondered on it a bit.

    If Zach had to state the most obvious objectives of the Hunter family he would definitely say, ''keeping their position as the first family in Byzantium city and to keep the Windsor family from encroaching onto that position''.

    Hiring pirates to kill off Zach and kidnapping Diana when he failed to pull of Zach''s murder, were probably both intended to weaken the Windsor family''s support since Hogan was afraid of offending Zach and Windsor family at the same time.

    Now that he had ended up offending Zach by kidnapping Diana, Hogan was probably looking to destroy the Smith family as the survival of Hunter family would depend on it because the only thing keeping Zach from attacking the Hunter family with all his strength was Diana''s safety.

    As such, Hogan''s goals had probably changed a bit. The highest on his priority list was probably the destruction of the Smith family followed by the destruction of the sugar industry chain. While the former would enable the Hunter family to operate without any fear of retaliation and revenge, thetter would enable the Hunter family to keep their position at the top.

    Even the demands made by Hogan in return for Diana''s release were the same. The first condition was for Zach and his forces to leave Greend which was akin to asking him to leave his seat of power and the second was to stop the production and distribution of sugar immediately.

    So, Zach answered Marico''s question with his insights into the matter.

    Marico couldn''t help but nod appreciatively at Zach''s inference and his sharp mindedness.

    "That''s right. There is nothing more important to Hogan than retaining the position of his family. You can say that he is paranoid and obsessive about it. And that is what makes him so dangerous."

    Marico had a solemn look on his face as he narrated Hogan''s mode of operation to Zach in detail.

    Zach already knew that Hogan was a cunning leader, so he didn''t think Marico''s words were very different from his own thoughts.

    "Don''t think that just because the difference between the two families is too great, Hogan would keep out of your way. His obsession wouldn''t let him do that. He is bound to attack in a manner that you wouldn''t be able to predict and in a location that would be the critical link of the entire Smith family. Remember, when a cunning person like Hogan goes into full attack mode, you won''t be able to see iting no matter what."

    Although Zach respected Marico for his experience of dealing with the bastard for decades, he couldn''t bring himself to believe all the words that came rolling off Marico''s tongue. They seemed more like legends than the truth or his own verbalized fears.

    Hogan might be cunning, but Zach didn''t believe that he was capable ofunching an all-out attack on him without Zach knowing about it considering that he had the system to back him up in case of any threatening situation. There was video monitoring with the help of drones and the danger alert that the system issued every time someone entered his range bearing ill intent towards him.

    But Zach didn''t reject Marico''s kind words of advice outright. He only nodded to indicate his understanding of the things he had told him and that he would keep Marico''s insights in mind whileing up with a strategy to save his home and Diana at the same time.

    Just as Marico was about to say something else to Zach, they were both interrupted by Violet who seemed quite out of character this time as she rushed into the room where the two were having the serious discussion out of earshot.

    It appeared to be an emergency considering that the calm and graceful Violet was acting like the impulsive ra all of a sudden.

    "This...this just arrived at the hands of a messenger." Violet stuttered as she spoke as she seemed to be quite out of breath. It appeared that she had rushed here in quite a hurry without caring about herself. It could only be an emergency since that was the case.

    Violet pushed a letter towards Zach with urgency in her gaze as if she wanted Zach to read it as soon as possible.

    Zach wondered what the contents of the letter could be at first, but then it dawned on him as to who could be the sender of this letter, to send Violet into such a frenzy.

    "What is it?" Zach grabbed a hold of the letter as he inquired from Violet about the contents of the letter as if he did not n to read the letter himself.

    "Hurry up and read it...it''s from the Hunter family. They have proposed an exchange." Violet was slightly excited because she knew that Zach had wanted to do the same thing ever since he made the n to capture Nelson with the help of Jack. Only now, she was slightly worried because the initiative was now out of his hands because the enemy had made the proposal first. She couldn''t help but doubt that something might be wrong.

    Zach''s eyes trembled as he listened to her talk about the exchange. As if to confirm her words, he took the letter out of its gilded envelope that was practically shouting ''wealth'' and bore the sigil and seal of the Hunter family.

    As Violet had already told him, the letter did indeed ask for an exchange of hostages from each side. While he would have to hand over Nelson Hunter, the Hunter family would hand over his wife Diana in return for their scion.

    Moreover, the location chosen for the exchange to take ce peacefully was a forest to the east of the distant suburbs of Byzantium city. The location was not only outside of the city but away from the poption as well. This was good for both the families as they wanted to keep this a secret between them.

    However, the only thing that frustrated the hell out of him was the timing chosen by the Hunter family.

    The letter mentioned that the exchange would take ce in the forest outside the suburbs after a period of three days.

    Before Zach could delve too deep into thought to consider the proposal of exchange seriously, Marico''s voice sounded in his ear like a wake-up call that broke him out of his reverie.

    "Don''t assume that it is going to be that easy even if it looks easy. It would definitely be fraught with danger considering that the originator of the request is Hogan. He is a man who can do anything as long as he can attain more power and influence. How can someone like him do something that would not only bring him no benefit but would also undermine his authority? Not to mention, the Hunter family has already invested too much into this venture to extort benefits out of you. Knowing Hogan, it is possible that he might even throw his son into the fiery pit to secure the standing of the Hunter family which is his life''s work."

    Although Zach wanted to believe that Hogan was doing this to save his son, he couldn''t help but agree with Marico''s words. There was no way of knowing how the thought process of lunatics like Hogan worked.

 Chapter 305 305 Bet

    ?

    "Even though I want to believe otherwise, I am afraid you are right. There is definitely something fishy about this."

    "Of course, I am. How can I not know what Hogan is capable of? So, you have to be cautious. Otherwise, you might regret it in the future like I did." replied Marico with a tinge of solemnity in his voice.

    Zach was about to agree wholeheartedly with Marico''s line of thought when he suddenly caught onto an elusive insight that made him believe that there was more to this trap than it appeared on the surface.

    This trap of a hostage exchange appeared too obvious, almost as if someone needed them to focus on it in order to hide the true threat.

    Since Hogan was such a cunning individual, he would have waited for Zach to initiate the hostage exchange before rigging the exchange in some inconceivable manner. That was what Zach would have done. If Hogan was half as smart as Marico made him out to be, then he would know that this was the worst method to trap someone like Zach.

    "Let''s assume for a moment that I am Hogan. What would I do in such an unfavorable situation?" thought Zach as he began to assume himself in the position of Hogan the leader of the Hunter family and a father who was more concerned about the family standing than the life of his son.

    "Since I am Hogan at the moment, and assuming that I am extremely smart; I wouldn''t set the obvious trap as the main dish of the banquet. Therefore, it is highly likely to be a decoy to exploit the overconfidence of a certain dark mage. As vengeful and smart as I am, I would definitely opt to exterminate my enemypletely. I would probably deal the killing blow, the first chance I get so as to rid myself of the possibility of a future disaster based on vengeance. To create an element of surprise, I would need to make my enemy feel superior. What better way than to give him the satisfaction of figuring out my scheme in advance; only to discover his follyter on when it was toote. But...but all of that doesn''t answer my question at all."

    With a deep exhtion that carried the weight of umted frustrations, Zach released a resonant sigh, as if attempting to cast off the burdens that had settled upon his shoulders.

    "What is the nature of my current thoughts? What drives my intentions? Am I aiming solely to trade my son for the captive, or do I harbor ulterior motives, seeking to exploit this diversion for a greater purpose?"

    A thought flickered past his mind in that instant which captivated his entire being as if it was something he could see himself doing. It matched perfectly with Hogan''s calctive and vengeful persona.

    Zach was sure that he had stumbled onto the truth probably and was willing to stake everything on this gamble based on his instincts.

    The only thing that still made him doubt his judgement was that the time of exchange was too much of a coincidence. It coincided with the time that Zach was dreading; the time that the meteorites would make contact at Greend.

    Zach didn''t believe that Hogan had the capability to cause such a natural disaster. If he did, there was no way he would have needed to employ the help of the pirates.

    Therefore, Zach felt that his hunch was more believable than Marico''s well-intentioned advice or so he hoped. It was better for him if the timing of the exchange was just dumb luck instead of a pre-orchestrated scheme.

    After having stayed frozen in ce for a long time with the exchange proposal in his hand, Zach jerked his head towards Marico and said, "Can I ask you for that matrix magic that can supposedly block off space?"

    "Huh?" Marico failed to register his words at first but as soon as his brain processed the sudden influx of information, he finally came to his senses and replied, "WHAT? What do you want that for?"

    бн

    After thinking it all through, Zach had decided to ept the proposal of the Hunter family for a hostage exchange and had sent his letter of eptance in response to Hogan on the same day.

    Three days had already passed since his conversation with Marico at the Windsor family mansion. Zach had made the necessary preparations as he believed he had uncovered the schemes of the Hunter family and had taken countermeasures proactively.

    Therefore, Zach arrived at the designated location in time to go through with the exchange smoothly.

    Marico kept urging him to take necessary precautions to avoid falling into the trap of the Hunter family. Although he didn''t feel the need to do so, he still brought with him arge number of troops to safely escort Diana home.

    What Zach didn''t tell Marico was that this was also to put on a show in front of the Hunter family so they would believe that he had fallen for their trick.

    The dense forest was hardly a ce to have a big gathering as there was no clearing in the middle of the dense forest. This kind of ce was perfectly suitable for setting up deadly traps and ambushes.

    Moreover, Zach''s people had divided into groups that travelled along the same line with several tree lines separating one group from the other.

    Zach didn''t mind the dispersal of his forces though. Because he believed that he wouldn''t need the help of his men at all. He just needed them to put on an borate show for the Hunter family.

    Christina kept remembering Marico''s warnings and became wary of the possibility of the traps. As such she activated her sensory spell and consumed arge amount of mana to keep an eye on the surroundings. She scoured every suspicious looking bush and treetop; eyed every movement no matter how subtle; and even tried to locate any traces of the enemy forces waiting for an ambush.

    Thankfully, no matter how hard she concentrated, she was unable to find any traps or any hidden troops of the enemy.

    "It''s really strange; I can''t seem to find anything out of the ordinary. There are no traps, no hidden enemies at all. Only a few of them are here and they are all out in the open like they have suddenly be honest." announced Christina with a thoughtful look.

    She was wondering whether she was being influenced by some magic skill which had distorted her perception of things. She didn''t believe that the Hunter family hadn''t tried to pull off any trick at all.

    But she couldn''t be sure because she had seen the evidence herself. Maybe...just maybe, Nelson was really important to the Hunter family, and they had sincerelye to make the trade.

    Zach on the other hand was extremely relieved as if a huge burden had beenid off his chest. A smile blossomed on his face as the forest around him began to seem brighter to him now that he knew that his gamble had paid off. He had been right in his assumption regarding Hogan''s intentions.

    For the first time since Diana had been abducted, Zach wasn''t feeling like a giant was pressing its heel on his chest suffocating him as hebored for each of his breaths under its terrible and oppressive weight.

    "Don''t think too much. It really is like you found. They aren''t hiding anything." Zach reassured Christina since thetter was too hung up on finding any hidden scheme of the enemy. But Zach knew all too well that there was no scheme at y in this forest even though it was the perfect location for one.

    Ever since Zach brought Nelson back with him, Violet had barely been containing her wrath. She would have already cut Nelson into a thousand pieces for what he had done to her in the past, but the thought of Diana''s safety kept her hands tied. Otherwise, Nelson would have found himself dead in a ditch somewhere with his member stuffed down his throat.

    Even though Violet didn''t say anything, anyone could tell the kind of murderous intentions she had for the young master of the Hunter family.

    Zach wasn''t any different despite how out of his mind he had been for the past few weeks. So, he was already nning on handing over Nelson to Violet after the exchange.

    "After the exchange is over, there will be plenty of time to vent your hatred on him," Zach pointed towards Nelson, his voice steady and measured, as he continued to address Violet''s inner turmoil. "You can do whatever you want to him then. I will leave his punishment to you, allowing you to unleash the pent-up anger that has gued you for so long. This will be your chance to unburden your mind, to let go of this grudge that has held you captive. Once he''s in your custody, you''ll have the power to decide his fate, to impose upon him the consequences of his actions as you wish."

    While Violet was still confused as to how she could get her hands on Nelson after the exchange was made, Zach moved closer to Nelson who was all tied up and ready for the exchange. Only his hands had been tied up behind his back, and he was free to walk around as he pleased. This was only to facilitate the exchangeter on. Otherwise, Zach had no intention of treating him so well.

 Chapter 306 306 Standoff

    <h4>Chapter 306 Chapter 306 Standoff</h4>

    Zach pped him lightly on the face as if to wake him up from whatever wet dreams thetter had been having. A sympathetic look appeared on Zach''s face as he stared at Nelson like thetter was the most pitiful creature in the world. But in mere seconds, the sympathetic look changed into a contemptuous sneer.

    "I had been hoping that your father would choose you over family benefits, but it turns out that you are too worthless even in the eyes of your own father. I don''t know if it is that your father is too heartless and cold or is it you who is too useless which forced your father to resort to such a decision for the wellbeing of the family. No matter the case, you are a poor son; a son whose father wants him to die for the continued existence of the family, like a chicken bound for ughter."

    Zach''s words were like a confounding charm for Nelson who was already out of his mind of sorts. But what he did glean from Zach''s arsenal of heartless words was that his father had chosen not to save his life for some reason which was ridiculous.

    Nelson knew his father wouldn''t abandon him or at least he believed it to be so. Therefore, he didn''t pay any attention to Zach''s disorienting words.

    "Stop spouting bullshit. You must be getting afraid, right? If you give up and surrender to my father right now, I will tell him to spare your life at least. Otherwise, you will die a horrible death once I am back with my father. I will make sure then that he crushes your pathetic soul in his fist as soon as possible. By then, you will be begging me for this chance."

    Nelson grew overconfident like the pampered young master he had be due to his upbringing. He was unwilling to let his suffering go unpunished. Since he couldn''t actually do anything to Zach due to the overwhelming strength of thetter that even his father was afraid of, he didn''t forget to taunt him knowing that Zach wouldn''t harm him at least until he made the exchange with the Hunter family.

    Zach maintained the same look on his face that seemed to be stating, ''I can''t help but pity a poor soul like yours.''

    Nelson grew furious with such an irritating gaze locked on him. He retaliated by cursing out loud as he threatened Zach in a childish but fierce manner to assert his dominance and control over his situation.

    "Remember that the moment I leave here, I will get my hands on all the women beside you...and fuck their brains to mush. Those tasty bitches look hungry anyway. Since you seem to becking in that aspect, I will help you out. I will even let you watch as they transition into my little whores. Arghh...forget it. You look like someone who would enjoy watching that. I won''t give you the satisfaction."

    There is one thing though...You might be a bastard, but I have topliment you about the women you keep around yourself. Each one of them has the potential to be a great cum dumpster. I will surely use all of them until I run dry on your behalf."

    Zach didn''t stop Nelson from spouting bullshit which gave a push to Nelson''s budding confidence as it soared into the sky like a bamboo shoot growing endlessly with every passing second.

    Zach of course wasn''t afraid of the idiot Nelson. He was just waiting for him to soar as high as possible so that the fall would be equally hurtful for him. He was waiting for the moment he woulde to the realization that his father no longer had his safety as a priority and had abandoned him when faced with benefits.

    The greatest vengeance he could exact on Nelson in return for the insults would be the hopelessness that would soon engulf Nelson''s existence and his soaring confidence would only make sure that he would feel it even more intensely.

    Zach didn''t deign to give his ravings an answer. Instead, he swiftly turned around on his heels and began to walk at the front of the procession of the soldiers apanying him for a smooth exchange of hostages at both ends.

    They were already close to the location where the exchange would take ce. Zach nodded towards Christina as if asking for her confirmation.

    Christina understood Zach without a need for words, like an old wife who knew her husband thoroughly and didn''t need tomunicate to reveal what each of them wanted from the other.

    Amidst the dense, towering trees of the forest, she took on the role of a vignt sentry, utilizing her magical senses to sweep the area meticulously. Much like a sonar transceiver, she emitted her awareness outward, waiting to detect any disruptions in the natural rhythm of the surroundings; a rustle of leaves, a discordant sound, or any telltale signs of concealed danger.

    Amidst the forest''s verdant expanse, sunlight filtered through the foliage, casting a dappled pattern on the ground. The earth beneath was a mosaic of moss-covered rocks and fallen leaves, their muted colors harmonizing with the tranquility that belied the tension of the moment. The atmosphere was charged with a sense of anticipation, akin to a held breath.

    After her meticulous inspection, Christina''s gaze met Zach''s, and in that unspoken exchange, her nod conveyed both the absence of immediate threats and the readiness for their next move.

    This final act of caution marked the threshold before their encounter with the opposing faction. Despite being a mere hostage exchange, it demanded meticulous precision, for even the slightest oversight could tilt the delicate bnce between the two families. Every detail had to be ounted for, for the intricacies of this transaction extended beyond the apparent surface.

    In this choreographed exchange, no margin for error existed. Each nuance held the potential to reshape thendscape of their rtions, a fragile equilibrium that both families navigated with trepidation.

    The stakes were high, for an omitted detail could inadvertently tip the scales in favor of one side, bestowing an undue advantage.

    Therefore, Zach only proceeded after Christina had carried out ast search of the area which was closest to the point of exchange.

    A confident smile graced Zach''s lips, as if a surge of unwavering assurance had coursed through his veins. His demeanor reflected newfound confidence, for the absence of Hogan at the designated rendezvous point fueled his optimism.

    "Where''s your leader? Is he too afraid to get out of his home nowadays?" asked Zach sarcastically as he pretended to look down on Hogan.

    Zach''s words struck the butler like barbs, each one igniting a fiery surge of indignation. However, the butler knew that a disy of outrage would only serve to y into Zach''s hands.

    So, with practiced control, he masked his inner turmoil behind a veneer of tranquility. Aposed smile curved on his lips; the serenity depicted on his poker face a stark contrast to the turmoil within.

    The exchange between them was a masterful dance of hidden intentions and veiled emotions. Zach''s mocking tone was a calcted taunt, a way to provoke a reaction from the butler so he might give away information about Hogan''s whereabouts.

    Yet, the butler''s practiced restraint was a testament to his understanding of the game being yed, a game where every word and gesture was a move on a chessboard of power and influence.

    "Our leader is preupied with matters of significance. I, as the family butler, am more than capable of tending to our young master''s affairs," came the retort from the Hunter family''s butler, his words veiling a restrained annoyance. If not for the current situation, the butler would have definitely attacked Zach for insulting his master.

    s, his master had asked him to settle this matter without any conflict and bring the young master home safely. He couldn''t bring himself to defy his master''s will.

    Nelson felt angered by the family butler''s words, but he had bigger problems to worry about.

    "Where is my father? Why didn''t hee himself?"

    Nelson''s mind churned with the weight of Zach''s words, a seed of doubt taking root, suggesting the possibility of his father''s abandonment. Shaking his head in quick session, he vehemently expelled the notion, determined to erase any trace of uncertainty.

    His focus turned to the Hunter family''s butler, his eyes locking onto the man with a mix of frustration and urgency. His intense gaze silently demanded an exnation, a need for rity regarding his father''s perplexing actions.

    The butler didn''t respond to anything Nelson asked him. It was as if he was nothing more than a puppet following the directions of Hogan Hunter, the leader of the Hunter family. He neither said anything unnecessary nor did anything that he hadn''t been ordered to do.

    The butler''s loyalty to his dutypelled him to address Nelson''s inquiries, yet he found himself ensnared by a web of secrecy spun by none other than the master of the household.

    Struggling between hismitment and the hidden orders that bound him, he carefully chose his words. It was a delicate dance of bncing honesty and discretion, all while maintaining the integrity of his role.

    He understood that divulging the true purpose of the impending exchange was strictly prohibited, a directive that extended even to the young master himself, particrly as the exchange had not yet transpired.

    "Hey old man, I am asking you something. Have you gone deaf from old age or what? Or have you forgotten who I am to you?"

 Chapter 307 307 Exchange

    ?

    "Hey old man, I am asking you something. Have you gone deaf from old age or what? Or have you forgotten who I am to you?"

    Frustration welled up within Nelson, fueling his voice as he unleashed a roar that reverberated through the air. His words carried the weight of his vexation as he confronted the aging butler.

    The disrespectful demeanor of the butler struck a blow to his dignity, a pang that stoked the mes of his anger. He demanded an answer, unwilling to ept any evasion or indifference.

    The air crackled with tension, a sh between generations and authority, as Nelson''s identity and his ce within the family hierarchy were challenged by the butler''s demeanor.

    However, contrary to what he had expected, no matter how much he pressurized thetter or threatened him, the butler seemed intent on maintaining his silence.

    "It seems like you don''t have much value in your house.... Hahaha~"

    Even Zach was beginning to grow interested in the drama. He wondered if the butler would break down under the irrational assault of the young master he served or if he would spill the secret he was guarding so vehemently.

    The butler, a figure seasoned by a lifetime of servitude to the Hunters, bore no trace of timidity. Unfazed by Nelson''s furious outburst, he carried himself with an air of unwavering authority.

    Turning his attention to the two imposing guards nking him, he issued an order with casual authority. His voice held amanding tone that brooked no opposition.

    "Bring her forward. Keep her hands tied up and prepare for the exchange."

    Several guards around the butler broke into a frenzy of movements as they assumed positions between the two families as if guarding the path that would bring their young master home in exchange for the dark mage''s wife.

    Zachughed a little at their antics, but he liked the idea a little bit. As such, instead of opposing them, he positioned his soldiers along the rest of the path as well to give a warm wee to Diana who had spent a lot of time away from home due to his carelessness.

    "Bring him forward as well." ordered Zach like an unfazedmander about to conclude a peace treaty with the opposing faction.

    Two soldiers paid heed to his order and dragged Nelson forward swiftly.

    Neither the butler nor the soldiers around him revealed any hint of joy or sadness after seeing their young master. Instead, their gaze became more focused like a guided missile that had locked onto its target.

    "So, how are we going to do this?" asked Zach curiously as he stared at the old butler who was the decision maker of the Hunter family assigned for the hostage exchange.

    "Our young master walks towards us and she walks towards you. Any party makes a move, the peaceful exchange turns into a bloodbath. The exchange will be over once we have our young master, and you have your woman." The old butler was quite straightforward as he didn''t spout any bullshit and remained to the point.

    Zach nodded as he said, "Sounds fair enough. It feels good dealing with intelligent people."

    Both Zach and the old butler signaled their men at the same time. The soldiers on both fronts let go of the hostages at the same time.

    Released from the chains that bound them, both the hostages began to walk in the direction of salvation in the form of their loved ones. There was no ambiguity in their gaze as to what they wanted. There was only pure joy at having attained their freedom once again.

    But the spectators on the other hand, couldn''t help but clench their fists in anticipation of an attack that may or may not arrive. They were all on edge as if waiting for that single spark of conflict that would allow them to let loose without taking any responsibility for initiating the conflict.

    Both sides expected trouble from the other side as they couldn''t believe that the other side would let it go just like that. The feud between the two families after all wasn''t simple.

    One of them had tried exterminating the otherpletely and had even kidnapped the wife of the enemy leader. This wasn''t a feud one could casually forgive and forget, especially not a dark mage like Zach who considered human life more worthless than dog shit.

    Since the soldiers on both sides had received severe instructions to not make any kind of stupid move, there were no signs of trouble from either party.

    Diana looked slightly frail and had dark circles underneath her eyes as if she hadn''t slept properly for a long time.

    Zach sighed heavily as he noticed her condition. He knew that the Hunter family wouldn''t have dared to treat her badly. Therefore, it was highly probable that her military training was the reason behind her pitiful state.

    Knowing how religiously she took the military rules, he could guess how she ended up in such a frail and sleep deprived state. She might have done this to herself by refusing to eat and sleep unnecessarily so as to not be caught off guard by the enemy.

    Zach didn''t know what to say as it made him feel extremely guilty, both for educating her about the unspoken rules of incarceration and for not protecting her properly.

    But Zach couldn''t exactly change her stubborn nature.

    While Diana walked towards Zach looking like a zombieing back to life, Nelson also rushed towards his camp while holding in his fury regarding the old butler''s insolence and his father''s indifference to his wellbeing.

    Unlike what most of the spectators had expected, the exchange went smoothly on both ends. There were no ulterior motives at the scene of exchange as Marico had warned him about so vehemently.

    The exchange ended as soon as Nelson reached the other side of the camp and the soldiers of the Hunter family rushed forward to untie his hands from behind his back.

    A simr scene repeated itself with Diana as the rope was pried apart from her. She had managed to keep a straight face through it all but the moment she saw Zach, her tears ran unhindered like a waterfall in rainy season.

    She ran like the wind and mmed into Zach''s chest and clung to him like a ko, hugging him tightly as if intent on never letting go of that particr embrace for the rest of her life.

    Zach could feel it through the force of her hug, her pain and her suffering during the time she was being held by the Hunter family.

    A protective instinct awakened inside of him as he vowed to himself not to let her experience such a fright ever again. He hugged her back and patted her back encouragingly like an elder would have done for a child in such a situation.

    As if on cue, she began to bawl her eyes out. The unending ocean of tears wetted his chest, but Zach didn''t pay it any heed and focused onforting the lean figure in his arms.

    While the Smith family felt warmth witnessing such a heartwarming scene, two women felt quite the opposite. mes were raging inside their bodies instead.

    Of course, the two women were none other than Christina and ra who shared the same love interest as Diana but were powerless to stop her due to what she had been through. If any of them showed their jealousy at such a time, anyone would begin to hate them, let alone Zach who had been ming himself for Diana''s ordeal this whole time.

    Therefore, they held in their righteous indignation as they unhappily scrunched up their noses at the sight of Zachforting another woman right in front of them.

    Both of them looked towards each other and nodded as if they had reached the same decision.

    They pretended not to notice Diana getting physical with Zach as they gave her a one-time pass because of the hardships she had suffered on her own in enemy territory.

    After Zach continuously patted her back encouragingly and whisperedforting words into her ear for a while, her wailing reduced to silent sobs that came and went. Every time she stopped crying, ra and Christina barely held themselves back from prying her out of Zach''s arms. Thankfully they didn''t act on their instinct or Zach might not have forgiven them for their insensitivity.

    "Are you feeling better now?" inquired Zach in a hushed whisper. His intention to spare her any potential embarrassment evident.

    His tone carried a gentleness that acted as a soothing balm for Diana''s emotional wounds.

    In the wake of his words, she felt a surge offort wash over her, as if his concern had the power to mend the pieces of her shatteredposure.

    "Mmm...Mmm..."

    The response came as a series of subdued, quivering sounds, the remnants of stifled sobs and uneven gulps. Despite the tumult within her, Diana''s determination pushed her to nod in affirmation twice, a silent insistence that she was regaining her equilibrium even as her voice remained veiled in emotion.

    "Since you are alright, then don''t forget to give your big brother a bigger hug. He was probably the most worried about you out of all of us here. You need tofort him as well or he might kill me in my sleepter on." joked Zach in a barely audible whisper that was onlyprehended by Diana and himself.

    Zach''s words acted as a soothing breeze, gently coaxing Diana to release her grip on him.

 Chapter 308 308 HoganтАЩs Plan

    <h4>Chapter 308 Chapter 308 Hogan''s n</h4>

    Her attention shifted towards her brother, her reluctance to let go visible in the way her fingers reluctantly loosened their hold. As she turned her gaze to him, she couldn''t help but notice the toll her disappearance had taken on him.

    The heavy shadows under his eyes mirrored her own exhaustion, telling a silent story of the sleepless nights and worried thoughts he had endured in her absence. It was a shared experience that spoke volumes without the need for words.

    Others might not have known; but she knew how much her brother cared about her. Therefore, she had an idea as to how much fuss her brother might have created to find her whereabouts during her absence.

    She let go of Zachpletely and turned towards Bruce as she began to walk in his direction with a smile that carried all the hurt in her heart.

    Bruce gazed at the approaching figure of his beautiful sister lovingly. He opened his arms and pulled her into his embrace gently.

    Only then did the worry eating away at him from the inside vanishpletely.

    "Did you worry about me while I was gone?" asked Diana yfully as she teased her elder brother who was the most important person in her life other than Zach.

    "Of course not, I knew that the Hunter family wouldn''t be able to handle you. A few more days and they might have delivered you home themselves....hahaha"

    The siblings bantered yfully with each other while their eyes sprinkled water constantly.

    No one from the Smith or the Windsor family disturbed the precious moment between the two as they hugged each other with overflowing familial affection.

    While the reunion on the side of the Smith family was studded with tears and sentiments, the opposite was true for the Hunter family.

    Nelson was furious. He was extremely dissatisfied with his father who had left him for dead. Since he was unable toe to the hostage exchange himself, he should have at least sent his elite forces for his protection. But all he had sent was the old butler and a few low-level mages and soldiers who were probably ranked in the mid-tier of the Hunter family forces.

    Just that was enough to show the importance he held in the eyes of the Hunter family leader.

    Nelson was previously under the impression that his father was a harsh man with a temper, but he had never associated him with such a heartless character. He had even thrown his son into fire in order to keep himself safe.

    Nelson stomped his way over to the family butler and was about to p the old man across the face but something in thetter''s eyes stopped him from acting.

    "Young master, wee back."

    "Oooh~ now you remember who I am?" said Nelson sarcastically as he tried to sound out the old man.

    "My apologies, young master but I was under the orders of the old master. Actually, your father is currently..." the old butler narrated what the leader of the Hunter family was currently trying to pull; the true strategy of the Hunter family.

    Marico had been right in the assumption that the Hunter family would have some kind of huge scheme behind the hostage exchange. But he couldn''t have predicted the exact strategy that the leader of the Hunter family would opt, just as Nelson couldn''t; even though the leader was none other than his father.

    The more Nelson listened to the whispers of the old butler, the more the smile on his face deepened.

    "Is that true? Are you sure...are you sure this is what my father has nned?" he asked excitedly.

    The sudden exuberance in Nelson''s eyes was perfectly visible to all. Even Zach noticed the change from afar.

    Upon learning the truth from the elderly butler, Nelson''s demeanor shifted dramatically. A smug grin crept onto his face, resembling that of a clichижd, dim-witted viin from a low-budget movie.

    While the relief of not being abandoned by his father certainly contributed to his improved mood, there was something more that fueled his tion. Nelson''s anticipation was focused on the moment when Zach woulde to grasp the reason behind his father''s absence from the hostage exchange. The thought of witnessing Zach''s reaction, the shock or frustration that might paint his face, added an extrayer of satisfaction to Nelson''s delight.

    бн

    While the hostage exchange was taking ce in the dense forest surrounded by wilderness for several miles, Hogan was busy sailing the sea as he led a group of ancient-looking boats towards Greend, Zach''s home base.

    The people on board were obviously not tourists going for aplete tour of the ind. Since Hogan was their leader, the intentions for such arge-scale visit were obvious.

    The group was in factposed of all the elite fighters and mages that the Hogan family had produced to date and those they had enough influence and money to hire for a short period.

    Hogan had crafted his n with meticulous precision, each detail carefully considered like a masterful chess move.

    Instead of sumbing to his paternal instincts and rushing to save his son, he had opted for a more strategic approach. Gathering his forces like a general before a major battle, he prepared for a full-scale assault on Zach''s well-fortified base during the absence of its leader.

    In his intricate web of strategy, Hogan had chosen to use his own flesh and blood, Nelson, as well as the vulnerable Diana, as bait. They became the pawns in his grand scheme, drawing Zach''s focus away from the ind. This diversion was the linchpin of Hogan''s calcted n.

    By creating this distraction, he aimed to exploit the opportunity to execute a surprise attack on Greend, his eyes set on seizing the territory without the immediate threat of Zach''s retaliation.

    Given that most of the raw material for sugar came from Greend, Hogan believed it to be an important strategic location for the Windsor family and the Smith family. It was also a ce that he had to raze to the ground no matter what.

    Thanks to his borate nning, Zach and most of his soldiers had already vacated the ind and were elsewhere. By the time they managed toe back, it would already be toote.

    Hogan''s intricate n extended beyond just dismantling Zach''s formidable fortress and neutralizing his remaining troops on the ind.

    He had a more insidious motive in mind; the strategic abduction of additional individuals from Zach''s ranks.

    These captives were to serve as leverage, a sinister insurance policy that Hogan could exploit should his intricate n falter. This calcted move aimed to keep Zach in check, preventing him from sumbing to uncontrolled fury even in the face of significant losses.

    By securing these hostages, Hogan aimed to shackle Zach''s potential retaliation, rendering him unable to unleash his fury recklessly.

    It was a chilling disy of Hogan''s cunning, a move to ensure that Zach''s actions would be tempered by the lives of those under his protection, an implicit threat hanging over him like a sword of Damocles.

    The n was soprehensive that even Hogan could barely believe that such a good thing could just fall into hisp out of nowhere. There was only a little bit of risk that he had to take in order to execute this n perfectly.

    In order to bring down the Smith family and take over Greend, he needed to ignore the plight of his son even though there would be no retaliation from the enemy as long as theyplied with the terms of the exchange as trustworthy people.

    Moreover, it was also possible that Zach would find out about the attack before the hostage exchange concluded.

    Therefore, Hogan had to make sure that Zach wouldn''t learn about the attack until after the exchange took ce sessfully.

    So, he had worked extensively to coordinate the timing of the exchange with the timing of the attack on the ind. This would in turn leave very little opportunity for Zach toe into contact with anyone from Greend except until after the exchange.

    While ckbeard had charged him extensively and had failed to take down Zach, Hogan still felt quite grateful to him. Because without him, Hogan would have never found out how deep the dark mage had been hiding. The extent of his true strength would have eluded him, and that error in judgement would have probably cost him everything he held dear to him, just like it had cost ckbeard.

    Hogan heeded ckbeard''s warning and called for a call to arms in the professional circle. He hired mercenaries from all over the empire and paid them handsomely to create a huge force of B rank and A rank mages who could easily overpower most elite forces of the empire except the royal forces.

    While the B rank mages had been easier to hire, they charged a huge amount for a singr task. Hogan could stifle his groans underneath the benefits they were going to provide but the A rank mages were a different breed altogether. They were not only cream of the crop among the mages but were also extremely demanding. Only a few of them agreed to take his money, the rest of them hade to secure various magical artifacts or scrolls in return for their help in taking down the dark mage and his base.

    Though expensive, Hogan believed that it was necessary for the execution of his meticulous n without error.

    Hogan was proud of his work this time because he believed that even if Zach and his people found out about the raid now.

 Chapter 309 309 Sneak Attack

    <h4>Chapter 309 Chapter 309 Sneak Attack</h4>

    Hogan was proud of his work this time because he believed that even if Zach and his people found out about the raid now, they would never be able to reach back in time to keep him and his people fromying waste to the newly developed scenery of Greend.

    Since the example of ckbeard was a precedence for him, Hogan approached the solitary ind in the midst of the ocean with exceptional caution. He didn''t n on tolerating even a single mistake from his people, going forth.

    Therefore, he had even especially gone out of his way to hire a sensory mage who was supposed to be extremely skilled in scouting due to his perception enhancement magic.

    As soon as theynded on the ind, the sensory mage on his team carried out a special survey by himself. He checked on the vicinity and deduced that there were no traps and no defenses at all to stop their advance.

    With a confident gait, he walked towards Hogan and said, "I have already taken note of everything in the vicinity. There is almost no living thing in range and the defenses here seem to be extremelycking. No signs of guards or battle stations as well. It is safe to move inwards in my opinion."

    "How can that be possible? This ce had easily destroyed a hoard of pirates before they even reached the center. There is no way that the defense here is sox."

    The sensory mage ran another scan of the area and found simr results.

    "I still found no signs of humans in the vicinity. There can only be two reasons for such a result. One is that for some reason the people on the ind have evacuated. Or that they are hiding themselves deliberately by means of a high-level scroll or spatial spell that my senses are unable to prate." The sensory mage borated the situation for Hogan so he could understand easily.

    Hogan remembered how ckbeard had suffered the defeat at the hands of Zach. His forces hadn''t even shown themselves until the very end of the battle. Therefore, it was highly likely that Zach''s people were skilled in the art of camouge and were only biding their time before they ambushed his forces out of nowhere.

    As a result, Hogan believed that the second option had the most probability of being true of the two because there was no way that Zach would leave Greendpletely defenseless unless he had no ns on staying there anymore.

    "Men...don''t hesitate. This is the heart of the enemy camp, and we need to burn it down to the ground if we want to survive till tomorrow. Those who show mercy will be our greatest enemies in the future. But be careful, for the ind is definitely rigged with traps deadlier than the maws of a titanic beast."

    In stark contrast to the recklessness of a figure like ckbeard, Hogan''s demeanor was a blend of genuine self-assuredness and prudent caution. He navigated his path with measured steps, fully aware of the stakes involved. This mindset led him to issue a firm directive to his men, a reminder to remain vignt and astute amidst the circumstances they found themselves in.

    With an air of authority, Hogan cautioned his subordinates to be on the lookout for any potential hazards or traps that might lurk in their surroundings. This meticulous attention to detail showcased Hogan''s strategic mind at work, highlighting his determination to ensure that every angle was covered, leaving no room for unpleasant surprises topromise their mission.

    It wasn''t long before Hogan''s warnings saved the lives of several mages who ended up triggering a trap. The automatic drones fired off a few bullets as if to deter the invaders, but they turned out to be too stupid to heed the warning.

    In an unexpected turn of events, what had begun as mere warning shots swiftly escted into a brutal tableau of violence.

    Amidst the chaos, members of Hogan''s party were suddenly felled, their bodies marred by minuscule, button-sized perforations. The lethal precision of the assault left no room for evasion or defense.

    Even the formidable mages within Hogan''s ranks found themselves powerless against the relentless onught of the drones. These hovering mechanical assants seemed impervious to the mightiest of magical forces that the group could muster. Hovering just beyond the effective range of the mages'' powers, the drones proved frustratingly elusive targets.

    The sudden deaths brought a sense of foreboding in the hearts of those people.

    Hogan distributed his men into teams each with a sensory mage capable of rying orders back and forth. There were both defensive and offensive type mages in each batch which allowed them to defend the group when under attack by the drones.

    Since the groups were already scattered, the effect of auto machine guns mounted below the drones was even lesser.

    Although there were still some losses here and there, they weren''t something that Hogan couldn''t endure by gritting his teeth a little harder.

    Not long after that, the elite mages from each team banded together andunched a flurry of long-range spells meant to take down the drones.

    Despite the drones maintaining a long distance from the invaders, the elite A rank mages were able to close in on the drones with some difficulty.

    As a result, several drones were damaged and a few broke down in midair as they spiraled out of control as they began the journey of their eventual demise.

    Before long, the drones retreated into the air and vanished as if afraid of the retaliation they might face the next time they tried to attack them.

    The drones validated Hogan''s prior suspicion. It seemed evident that those upying the ind had adopted ndestine techniques to obscure their presence. Otherwise, what exined the stringent security measures enacted even when the ind appeared devoid of upants?

    Moreover, he was sure that he had deduced it rightly because the little resistance posed by the drones indicated that the inders were trying their best to stall for time.

    Based on the scheme he had nned; the major chunk of Zach''s forces should be in the far-off forest ensuring the safe conduction of the hostage exchange. As such, those who remained behind on the ind had no option but to stall the attackers until the true forces returned to take on the mantle of the battle.

    A hearty, exuberantugh escaped Hogan''s lips, resonating with the joy that bubbled up from within him. It was as if the crescendo of his victory yed out in thatughter, echoing the symphony of his triumphant orchestration. The sheer perfection of how events unfolded, precisely aligned with the blueprint he had meticulously constructed in his mind, left him in a state of near disbelief. Not a single thread of deviation could be found, a fact that bolstered his unshakable confidence in his own intellectual prowess, his conviction to outmatch the dark mage in their high-stakes mental duel.

    As Hogan issued themand for his forces to press forward, a thought reverberated through his mind like thunder rolling across a darkened sky: "The dark mage''s absence leaves you with no savior this time... Hahaha."

    His tone, weighty and resonant, carried an air of authority and power that could make even the bravest heart pause. With each step his troops took, the echo of that thought seemed to lend an invisible force to their advance, a force propelled not only by steel and strategy but also by the unwavering belief in their leader''s strength and cunning.

    At this point of time, the men following behind Hogan couldn''t help but be overwhelmed by the charisma overflowing from Hogan. Hogan had shown them the epitome of strategic warfare and leadership during this raid on the ind which was the territory of the frightening dark mage.

    Their progress was nothing short of remarkable. Not only had they prated deep into the heart of the ind, but their casualties were far fewer than anticipated, given the formidable reputation of the dark mage on his home turf. It was as if the very ind itself recognized their audacity and yielded before their determined march, its resistance tempered by the unwavering resolve of Hogan''s leadership.

    This unexpected turn of events stood as a testament to both their collective strength and Hogan''s strategic acumen, abination that had managed to tilt the scales in their favor even against the backdrop of the dark mage''s legendary power.

    Ignited by the exhration of battle, the men surged forward in Hogan''s wake, their spirits ame as they ventured deeper into the ind''s core. Yet, their fervor was tempered by a cautious awareness of the treacherousndscape thaty ahead; andscape woven with devious traps and lurking ambushes, carefully orchestrated by the ind''s inhabitants and the remnants of the dark mage''s forces that skulked in shadow. Each step they took was marked not only by determination but also a vignt readiness, as if their very strides echoed with the rhythm of their wariness.

    Amidst the perilousndscape, certain traps stood out like ominous signposts, their malevolent designs apparent to even the untrained eye. Yet, lurking amidst them were traps of a more sinister nature, intricately concealed and devilishly cunning. These cunning contrivances evaded easy detection, requiring the acumen of a sensory mage or the foresight of a diviner to unveil their hidden menace from a distance.

    Even though, his men were on full alert, not all of them were able to sense the surroundings like the sensory mages because there were too many things to look out for.

 Chapter 310 310 Deep Into

    <h4>Chapter 310 Chapter 310 Deep Into</h4>

    Moreover, the diversity among the traps was too high for them to remember all the signs or look out for all of them at the same time.

    There were ambushes by automated drones from the sky as soon as someone tried to invade past the programmed range; minefields just under the surface of the ground that sometimes even the sensory mages were toote in finding and reporting but the worst of them all were the proximity mines that exploded in session without giving them any warning or reaction time.

    Since the forces were spread out due to their huge number, the warnings usually came a hair''s breadth toote even if the sensory mages managed to recognize the telltale signs very early on.

    As a result, the inevitability of losses became an unfortunate reality, a bitter pill to swallow despite the meticulous nning and precautions.

    Hogan''s urgency left no room for hesitation. Time was a fleetingmodity, and he had to assert his control before any inkling of the unfolding situation reached Zach''s ears. As such, he considered these losses as necessary sacrifices to secure the future of his family and its members. Failure was already not an option since it would mean Zach''s retaliation and his vengeance wasn''t something that the Hunter family could bear all on their own.

    Unexpectedly, the losses didn''t affect his soldiers much. The heightened spirit of his followers helped keep up morale despite the losing numbers. Turns out that venturing into the fortress of a renowned dark mage and the benefits it offered was quite a big boon that these people seemed willing to risk their life for.

    A sequence of unfortunate events unfolded as a result of several mines being triggered, a consequence of the carefree attitude exhibited by certain mages who failed to acknowledge the lurking danger.

    These mages, lost in their own thoughts, neglected to give due consideration to the potential threat posed by the unseen traps. Theirck of caution was met with swift and merciless retribution, as the proximity mines activated and the explosive force they carried reduced the heedless mages to mere charred fragments of their previous selves.

    The merciless detonations left the unfortunate souls with no time to muster the protective spells that could have potentially saved them.

    Hogan witnessed everything with a stoic face as if he didn''t give the slightest shit about any of them losing their lives in the venture. It was as if the gravity of their demise barely registered on his countenance.

    A significant portion of those falling were bound by their allegiance to him, while the remainder had willingly embraced the venture for the rewards that he had promised them in return for taking the risk. In light of that agreement, their fate, no matter how grim or bloody, held no sway over his emotions. He couldn''t care less about those people as long as they fulfilled the agreement. He cared even less about his own people and could sacrifice them to thest person as long as it could ensure the position of his family in the future.

    His entire focus was on the goal instead which could make his dream of taking the Hunter family to new heights possible.

    The absence of the people on the ind kept on bugging him. He needed to take control of those people to deactivate the traps, but he could not seem to find their hideout no matter how hard he looked for them.

    As such, he ignored the losses and kept leading the troops further towards the heart of the ind. Since the remnants of the Smith family were still hiding in the shadows and were unwilling to reveal themselves despite the fact that Hogan was almost upon them with his army in tow, there was only a single possibility left.

    It was that the Smith family''s situation was dire, with Zach and the majority of their forces absent to protect them. Since engaging in a direct confrontation would only worsen their predicament, they had no choice but to use the hands-off approach, conducting warfare away from Hogan and his troops.

    This bolstered Hogan''s confidence further and excited him for the future that awaited him after he took over Greend.

    While Hogan was sure of the presence of the Smith family on the ind, the sensory mage couldn''t find the grounds to establish a reason for that. No matter how much he expanded his sensory field, he was unable to find any signs of living beings around him.

    This was the strangest battle he had ever been a part of. There were no living things around him and yet the forces he was allied with were suffering losses one after the other. There were constant ambushes, destructive surprise attacks and deadly traps all over the ind but no signs of intelligent life forms human or otherwise.

    And yet, the leader of the crusade seemed to be sure of human presence. While logic dictated that the line of thought had to be urate, the sensory mage believed in his senses even more. There was no way that he was unable to sense so many people who seemed to be hiding in in sight. The reason was that eluding his senses was even impossible for mages of S rank because all of his magic spells were oriented around his sensory magic. He was a specialist who disregarded all other forms of magic to concentrate on improving a very specific skillset. It was no easy feat eluding his senses. Therefore, he was slightly doubtful of Hogan''s conjecture that Smith family forces were hiding on the ind.

    Believing in his own senses, the sensory mage reduced his speed and began tog behind and acted as if he was severely weakened due to over exertion.

    "What happened? Can''t you try and keep up?" rumbled Hogan as he noticed the pathetic state of the sensory mage who had been acting as his right hand and saving him from the possible traps. Being the leader of the raid, his safety had been paramount, and the sensory mage had ensured that Hogan avoided all the traps in his path.

    "It''s nothing, I have just overused my mana while detecting the traps and ambushes in our path. Don''t worry about me, I just need to rest for a bit and will be good to go again in no time."

    The sensory mage knew that Hogan would never allow him to rest because he was pressed for time. Thanks to the time constraint binding Hogan, the sensory mage could see a way out for himself.

    "I can''t wait for you to recover. Fall back to the group bringing the rear and join us when you are good to go again. The longer you take, the more it will affect the rewards we discussed before." Hogan was extremely disgruntled by this show of weakness by the sensory mage, but he couldn''t exactly force the mage to follow through until the end. Unlike the other mages, this one didn''t belong to the Hunter family and wasn''t bound to follow his will.

    The sensory mage almost jumped in joy at having escaped immediate danger to his life. His senses were never wrong and therefore he believed that Hogan was venturing straight into the open mouth of an invisible but deadly demon.

    He nodded lethargically and stopped to rest until he could join the group that was leisurely bringing up the rear of the army Hogan had brought. The force consisted of medics, the battered and wounded, and some reserve forces that could protect the rear of the force in case of a surprise attack.

    Hogan had been relying on the skills of the sensory mage all this while, but the mage wasn''t a must-have for the sessful execution of the raid Hogan had nned. The mage had already done his job by leading them most of the way with minimal losses.

    The responsibility for detecting traps for the rest of the way could be taken over by other mages with weaker but still somewhat useful sensory skills or abilities.

    Moreover, after having scoured most of the ind, Hogan had already somewhat extrapted the location of the Smith family remnants.? Based on the process of elimination, Hogan hade to believe that the Smith family couldn''t be hiding in any other ce but the mansion where the dark mage resided.

    While Hogan gave his permission to the sensory mage, the same could not be said for the people following after him like he was their redemption and only choice of a leader moving forward.

    Bound by a collective mindset, these individuals found unity in their shared mockery and evident scorn directed at the sensory mage. His disy of vulnerability during a pivotal juncture of their campaign had not gone unnoticed, and it served as the catalyst for their open disdain.

    Within the framework of their group mentality, the sensory mage became a stark embodiment of timidity, a representation of precisely what they deemed ipatible with their ranks.

    To them, his actions spoke of cowardice, a trait that shed vehemently with their ideals. In their alliance, the sensory mage became a symbol of discord, an anomaly they were determined to distance themselves from, their collective conviction shaping their perception and guiding their response.

    Therefore, theyughed at him and mocked him for being unable to hold on because most of them believed that the battle wasing to an end as they were about to reach the center where the remaining forces of the Smith family were hidden.

 Chapter 311 311 Vanish

    <h4>Chapter 311 Chapter 311 Vanish</h4>

    So, they not only called him out for being a weakling but also for being an absolute fool who couldn''t endure his weakness for a little while longer in return for the massive rewards that awaited him at the end, owing to his contribution throughout the journey.

    Yet, hisck of endurance turned those contributions into naught, casting a shadow of futility over the efforts he had invested throughout the raid because due to his cowardly actions the leader''s recollection whenever he thought of the sensory mage would be singr now. He would only remember how the sensory mage had to retreat just as the battle was on the cusp of its climax.

    As events unfolded, it became evident that the fervent followers of Hogan were indeed correct in their assessment as the battle was truly rapidly nearing its culmination.

    In a surprising turn of events, not even half an hour had psed before the grand mansion belonging to the Smith family emerged into view from a distance.

    Even though not a single person was in sight, the defenses of the mansion were not to be trifled with. The automatic weapons installed around the perimeter were given eyes by the smart surveince system that acted as the processing system for all the footage being captured by the cameras. The weapons attacked anything and anyone that didn''t have permission to ess the Smith family residence.

    The Smith family estate was fortified with concentricyers of intricate defense mechanisms, aplex arrangement that posed a formidable challenge for anyonecking the necessary ess. Interestingly, the closer the Hunter family forces believed they were to securing victory, the more perilous their situation became.

    Considering the sophistication of the defense system, finding a way to bypass it wasn''t a viable choice. Consequently, Hogan had no alternative but to resort to a strategy of total annihtion, aiming to dismantle the intricate defenses in a bid to breach the mansion where the remaining members of the Smith family were believed to be concealed.

    Through a consistent struggle that drew upon the concerted efforts of every mage apanying him, Hogan ultimately managed to prate the intricate defenses encircling the mansion. Like a conqueror of olden times, he walked into the now defenseless mansion as he looked around in anticipation; a new king surveying his nascent kingdom with excitement and pride.

    As Hogan basked in the glow of pride for his remarkable achievement and the seamless execution of his strategy, an unsettling realization abruptly disrupted his triumphant reverie. Amidst his satisfaction, he discerned something ringly out of ce, a detail he couldn''t miss out on even if he pretended to ignore it.

    The exhration that had illuminated his expression dissipated in an instant, reced by a perplexed demeanor. Despite his aplishment, Hogan''s countenance darkened as he remained unable to uncover any sign of the Smith family members within the mansion''s confines.

    A sense of frustration gnawed at Hogan, tainting his tone with irritation that reverberated through his assembled forces,pelling their attention to snap to alertness.

    With a voice that rumbled like distant thunder, he issued his orders in amanding manner, his words piercing the air with amanding urgency.

    "Search every crevice of this damn ce. Employ whatever means necessary, even if it means that you have to dismantle this ce brick by brick. I want the Smith family members found, regardless of whether they are concealed, deceased, or invisible. Leave no stone unturned, even if you have to bring them back from the underworld itself...do it. In the next half hour, I expect them to be in front of me, captured and ounted for...NOW, GO!"

    A sense of unease gnawed at Hogan, a stark contrast to the satisfaction he had anticipated. The mansion stood void of life, devoid of the anticipated signs of panic or turmoil. Every corner exuded an eerie tranquility, as if the upants had departed in haste, leaving behind their possessions as an afterthought. The scene before him defied his expectations, unraveling his carefully constructed assumptions.

    Furthermore, a departure of this magnitude would have undoubtedly set off reverberations within his intelligencework, yet not a single whisper had reached his ears.

    The trail of evidence painted a perplexing picture: it seemed that the inhabitants of the ind had ceased to exist at a precise juncture. They had forsaken their possessions, dissolving into thin air as if they were mere specters, leaving no trace of their presence behind. Hogan''s forces, despite theirbined efforts, scoured the mansion to no avail, unable to locate a single soul within its walls. It was as if the very fabric of their existence had been erased, casting a bewildering aura over the deserted mansion that had once teemed with life.

    A surge of intense fear gripped Hogan''s senses, a cold realization dawning upon him like a creeping shadow. The implications of this enigmatic urrence bore weight not only for himself but also for the entire Hunter family. As it usually is in such times, Hogan began to anticipate the worst.

    He wondered if the mansion was empty because Zach had figured out his scheme from the get-go. It seemed imusible for Zach to have orchestrated the evacuation of so many people from the ind in such a ndestine manner provided that he found out about the threat to his people not very long ago.

    But if that was the case, hadn''t Hogan unknowingly pushed the Hunter family into the fiery abyss with his own two hands condemning the future generations to Zach''s vengeance?

    Based on Zach''s actions so far, Hogan knew that Zach wouldn''t let go of them for attacking his home in his absence. It would be a significant blow to the Hunter family''s power in Byzantium city.

    A slender thread of hope still lingered, offering a potential lifeline for the Hunter family. It revolved around the notion that Zach might have been oblivious to Hogan''s ndestine raid on Greend when he ordered the evacuation of his people. The mass evacuation of the ind''s inhabitants could then be interpreted as a preemptive action, taken in anticipation of an imminent threat to their safety instead of a calcted measure against Hogan''s imminent attack.

    This alternative possibility cast a glimmer of optimism amidst the uncertainty, painting a picture where the decisions made were not driven by the awareness of Hogan''s covert maneuvers, but rather by a sense of precaution rooted in the preservation of their own security.

    While the likelihood of this scenario being urate appeared remote, Hogan clung to a fervent hope that it held true because the alternative was a grim reality where the Hunter family stood poised to face the ominous retribution of the dark mage.

    In the bnce between these two potential oues, Hogan held out for the sliver of a chance that the evacuation stemmed from a precautionary instinct rather than a response to his secret raid.

    The Hunter family''s fate rested precariously on the precipice, teetering between an uncertain hope and the dark mage''s vengeful wrath.

    Just as Hogan was about to recall all his people to escape the ind, hoping that Zach hadn''t found out anything about the raid; his hopes shattered like a mirror struck by a sledgehammer.

    Driven by the glimmer of hope that Zach remained unaware of his covert maneuver, Hogan was about to recall all his forces when a swift blow of reality shattered his aspirations to bits like a mirror struck by a giant sledgehammer.

    A drone, unlike the murderous ones armed with ranged weapons he had encountered before, appeared out of nowhere. Instead of going on a killing spree, it dropped a projection screen instead.

    Hogan and his forces were on edge as they began to take precautionary measures to save themselves. Some even nned to take the drone down if possible but Hogan shook his head to keep them from being impulsive.

    As if reaffirming all the fears Hogan had hidden in his heart, Zach''s face began to reflect on the screen projected by this drone. Not only was the image very life like, but it also appeared as if Zach was somehow looking straight at them.

    Hogan felt like he had been caught in a frivolous act and his shamelessness had been revealed to the whole world. It would have been better if he had in fact been caught doing something shameless. It would still have been countless times better than being caught infiltrating Zach''s home like this.

    A heavy sigh escaped Hogan''s lips, carrying the weight of a bitter understanding. He recognized that, from this point onward, the animosity between the Smith family and the Hunter family had reached an irreparable juncture.

    бн

    Unknown to the Hunter family''s forces, Zach had been monitoring them on the map. The hostile intent behind their invasion of the ind had already caused an rm to ring out through the system. Ever since then, Zach had been keeping an eye on the progress of the Hunter family forces enthusiastically as he had a n of his own to execute in response to their gift.

    "How much time is left until the meteor shower?" Zach asked the system without paying it much attention as he was still focused on monitoring the tiny blips on the map that indicated his enemies crawling across the ce, he had called home for the past few months.

    [Five minutes until impact]

    Zach looked at his watch unconsciously as if to mark the time when the meteorites from space would decimate his home in a brilliant cloud of mes and destruction.

 Chapter 312 312 Expose

    ?

    Not only was Zach keeping an eye on the Hunter family forces, but he was also putting up just enough resistance to lure them towards the center. The drones getting in the way of the Hunter family had been his handy work as well.

    Only the mines had been in ce from the start. Rest everything was under Zach''s control as he slowly but surely guided them towards the mansion while creating the illusion that there were still people on the ind.

    Hitting the five-minute count down, Zach was sure that it was an impossibility for the invaders to escape being the target of the descending heavenly wrath. Therefore, he sent the activation signal to the drone he had put in ce in advance.

    The drone pulled up a screen in front of Zach. It was an exact replica of the drone that was currently projecting Zach in front of Hogan. The only difference was that Zach was able to see the dumbfounded Hogan and his horde of mages in the background searching frantically for people who were no longer there.

    "I suppose greetings are in order."

    Hogan was so surprised that he didn''t know how to reply to Zach''s words, especially after he had been caught in the act of raiding thetter''s home.

    Nelson could see what was going on as well because the screen wasrge enough to be clearly visible from a hundred-meter distance. Nelson on the other hand was close enough to see his father sweating profusely as it dripped down his nose and chin like an unending waterfall.

    While Nelson had heard of his father''s ns from the family butler, he had no way of finding out the results of the venture until the troops returned from Greend.

    But seeing his father and his troops on the big screen made him curious. He wanted to know if his father had already finished taking over the Smith family or not.

    Unfortunately, from the looks of it his fathercked the demeanor of someone who had just conquered the ind of a powerful dark mage. Instead, he was acting like he had eaten shit while looking for something delicious.

    Hogan, being a seasoned leader, didn''t let the setback affect him for long. He calmed down quickly and returned a confident gaze back to Zach who wasmunicating with him through the projected screen.

    His confidence was enhanced further when he noticed the presence of his son Nelson behind Zach. This meant that Zach had ess to some kind of sensory magic that could link his sight with another location. It turned out to be just a long-distancemunication skill. For a second there, Hogan had been scared out of his wits wondering if Zach was already back on the ind.

    Thankfully,dy luck hadn''t abandoned himpletely yet.

    "You are quite rude. Don''t you know how to return simple greetings? I wonder how you became the leader of a top family whilecking such basic courtesy."

    Zach taunted Hogan as if to provoke a reaction out of him but Hogan didn''t have the guts to say anything in response. He stood there like a statue devoid of any speech capability like a devoted monk who had taken an oath of silence.

    Since Hogan seemed to have nothing to say to him, Zach didn''t bother waiting for his reply either before initiating a monologue that suggested self-talk instead of a conversation with the enemy leader.

    "Since you seem to have lost your tongue amidst your adventures, I will go ahead and say what I want to say. It''s not like you have much time anyway. For starters, how about I clear up all your confusion. I am sure you must be wondering why there isn''t a single person left on the ind."

    Hogan''s countenance changed as soon as Zach touched on the topic he had been worried about. The calm he had been maintaining on his face despite his broken courage was shattered with a few words from Zach.

    But Zach had no intention of stopping just yet. He wanted to make full use of the remaining five minutes.

    "You seem flustered...anyway...I was saying...yes, I was saying that you must be frustrated having gone all the distance with such a huge force only to find no one to wee you. Well, to tell you the truth. I knew long ago what you were nning. I figured a hideous and vicious creature like you couldn''t settle for just getting your son back safe and sound. A snake like you would try to gain some benefits out of the chaotic situation at least. Since snakes aren''t even averse to eating their young, I figured you too would be able to abandon your son in a jiffy in your pursuit for power. So, I pondered on this question quite a bit. I thought long and hard about what a hideous old thing like you would do to exchange your son for the maximum benefit. The answer wasn''t too difficult to guess after that. The moment I found out about your little n; I evacuated my people in groups. So, your little n was bound to fail the moment you decided to y tricks on me."

    Hogan wanted to cry out in anguish because the worst possibility had turned out to be the truth, but he had no choice other than to keep his anger in check. His survival and the survival of his family depended on it, at least until he came up with another way to keep Zach and the Smith family in check.

    "Let me tell you something even more fun. You probably still haven''t realized the futility of your efforts. Even if you hade with your little army to attack my people a little earlier, your pathetic force wouldn''t have survived more than a few minutes against my soldiers. What makes you think that your force is better than that of the pirate you hired to kill me? What makes you believe that you can take me on when ckbeard failed despite having a sea dragon beast to help him out? I don''t understand how a cunning man like yourself could fall into such an obvious trap. Your delusions of grandeur and smartness must have helped in the process, right?"

    Hogan was practically grinding his teeth audibly because he was being humiliated in front of his troops. This was a first for him. Never had he been insulted in such a manner before.

    His face hardened as he thought of how the strategy, he had been so proud of was seen through by his enemy so effortlessly. Zach had not only seen through it long ago but had also taken precautions against it well before time.

    Since Hogan''s entire n rested on the premise that he would be able to get a lot more hostages from Greend, the strategy waspletely useless. It had even turned out to be counterproductive. Due to this failed attempt, Zach was now free to retaliate against the Hunter family.

    Still, other than the retaliation that might or might note, Hogan didn''t have anything else to worry about. After all, a thousand things could change between now and then. He believed that he would be able to resolve the situation by then somehow.

    Moreover, this raid on Greend didn''t actually cause him many losses. The core forces of his family were still intact. Therefore, the loss of one or two mages didn''t affect him much. As for the hired help, they could be let go after handsomepensation that still wouldn''t put a dent on therge fortune of the Hunter family.

    Since most of the losses were mary in nature, Hogan could ignore thempletely by relying on the mounds of wealth umted by the Hunter family ancestors.

    His family background allowed him to be extravagant every once in a while. This was the one privilege that the leader of a prestigious family like Hogan could avail, and it was clearly evident from his smug expression that he was quite proud of being able to splurge on a mere whim.

    There was no use staying on an ind that had been deserted by its inhabitants long ago. So, Hogan reeled in his spread-out forces and began to gather them in one ce. He wanted to leave the ind as soon as possible as there was no use floundering about to find something that was no longer there.

    Zach watched Hogan get busy and couldn''t help butugh at the futile attempt. Only he knew the doom that was heading straight towards Hogan.

    He had already won the war between the two families but there wasn''t a shred of pride on his face. Instead, there was only a trace of helplessness on his face as if what was about to transpire next was out of his hands.

    Feeling a bout of pity for the targets of the heavenly wrath, Zach decided to give Hogan onest chance because he believed that no one should have to die such a gruesome death, even worthless scum like Hogan.

    But it was entirely up to Hogan whether he made use of the chance orded to him or if he wasted it due to his foolishness. Zach vowed to leave it up to fate.

    "You have tried to kill me and my people using borrowed help. You kidnapped my wife and tried to destroy my home and kill my family, but I have decided to break the chain of hatred. So, I won''t respond in kind. I am willing to offer you a chance for survival; both for yourself and for your family, only if you are man enough to take it."

 Chapter 313 313 Count Down

    <h4>Chapter 313 Chapter 313 Count Down</h4>

    "You have tried to kill me and my people using borrowed help. You kidnapped my wife and tried to destroy my home and kill my family, but I have decided to break the chain of hatred. So, I won''t respond in kind. I am willing to offer you a chance for survival; both for yourself and for your family, only if you are man enough to take it."

    Hogan was surprised at Zach''s sudden offer. The salvation he had been hoping for was suddenly within reach, but he was too proud to consider it as a possible way out. It didn''t help that he had already been humiliated in front of his underlings before. Therefore, he didn''t intend to show weakness in front of them any longer.

    Still, he got curious and wanted to know what Zach''s offer entailed.

    "Don''t take me for a fool. After what I have done, there is no way you would actually let me go. You just want to take thest shred of dignity away from me, don''t you? You just want to see me beg."

    "I am willing to let the Hunter family go. I promise not to hold you responsible for anything you have done up to now if you take your entire family and leave Byzantium city forever within the day. If you fail to appreciate my kindness, death would be the least of your worries. I will make sure that there won''t be a trace of the Hunter family left in the city once I am done with you all."

    Zach was extremely domineering as he uttered thest part.

    Hoganughed soundlessly as he contemted the hidden meaning behind the chance that Zach had offered him. Intimidation was what it should have been called instead of a choice. In fact, there was no choice. There was either death or exile. For a family like the Hunters who were used to being at the top of the food chain, exile was even worse than death.

    "Is that what you call a choice? The mercy of a dark mage; I guess I was expecting too much from the scum of human society." Hogan sneered with derision at Zach''s attempt to undermine Hogan''s authority in front of his people.

    "It''s up to you to make it what you want. I call it advice; you are free to consider it in whatever way you want. It''s your life and death; nothing to do with me. I couldn''t care less about it." Zach acted nonchnt as he dismissed the fact that Hogan had failed to grasp thest bit of kindness that he was willing to show the Hunter family.

    s, Hogan was too proud to bow his head in the end. His position didn''t let him seriously consider the threat in the clothing of advice.

    Moreover, Hogan believed that the two families were beyond the point of reconciliation. They were already mortal enemies. Just as he would never let go of a chance to deal a fatal strike to Zach, he believed that the letter would never spare him as well when the time came. So, there was no point in begging for mercy from Zach because the enmity that started with small squabbles could only end once any of the two parties sumbed to their fate and permanently met their maker.

    Until then, the war would continue to be waged between the two families.

    Haaaah~

    Zach sighed as he closed his eyes in helplessness. Although he was unable to stop the unnecessary loss of life, he was content, and his heart was at peace. He had tried his best to stop the bloodshed, but the enemy was too prideful to acknowledge his efforts and his goodwill. Therefore, the rain of blood that would soon ensue would be their own doing; a product of their stupidity and vanity.

    This was the first time Zach was going to ughter so many people, many of which were probably irrelevant to his grudge against the Hunter family. Unfortunately, they were all blinded by greed and had followed Hogan to attack his family. They naturally had to share in the misery that was reserved for their leader.

    For the first time since he came into this world, he felt like praying to the unknown deity responsible for his awakening here. Even though he didn''t regret what he was about to do to the people on the screen, he still prayed for them so they would find rest in the embrace of death and not be gued by the sins they hadmitted in their lifetimes.

    The moment he opened his eyes after his silent prayer concluded, there was no trace of remorse in his eyes. They werepletely devoid of any emotion as if he was some kind of robot designed to bring about the end of the world.

    Raising his arm in front of him, he took a look at his ancient-looking watch that was currently counting down instead of showing the regr time.

    The countdown showed the figure two hundred which decreased by one with each passing second.

    "200...199...198...197...196..."

    Zach silently stared at his watch as the time continued to tick away bringing the all-engulfing destruction closer and closer to Greend and in turn Hogan''s forces.

    Hogan peered at Zach through the screen. His behavior struck him as very unusual. There was no trace of joy on Zach''s face. Instead, it disyed a pallid and morbid expression that revealed nothing.

    Before Hogan could ask him anything, Zach began to count out loud as his eyes never left the disy dial of his watch.

    "...176...175...174...173..."

    "What are you doing?" Puzzled by the string of numbers that came out of Zach''s mouth, Hogan couldn''t help but ask.

    "It''s a countdown..." replied Zach unenthusiastically before his focus reverted back to the countdown on his watch. "...140...139...138...137..."

    "What do you mean...countdown to what exactly?"

    Hogan was getting a bad feeling. It was as if a deadly monster had gripped his heart within its frighteningly sharp talons and was about to crush it to bits. The tightening feeling in his chest was the biggest proof of the ominous feeling that was weighing down his shoulders.

    Zach didn''t bother saying anything as he continued counting, "...132...131...130..."

    The more Zach tried to ignore him, the more the danger sensor in Hogan''s mind fluctuated. The readings were going off the charts in his mind as he had no choice but to listen to Zach''s ominous countdown.

    Before Hogan could go mad with anxiety, Zach finally spoke up.

    "That''s the time until the forbidden magic strikes. Since you failed to hail my sincere advice, I had no choice but to unleash a forbidden dark magic that would terrify all the dark mages in the world if theyid their eyes on it. Unfortunately, no one has survived witnessing my magic up close like you and your people soon will."

    Hogan''s heart fellpletely, and his knees almost buckled in fear of what was approaching him very soon. He didn''t take Zach''s threat for granted this time since thetter was far too serious to be joking around like that.

    Before Hogan could ask what kind of treacherous magic the dark mage had unleashed, his inadvertent trembling caused him to bite his lip. Fortunately, Zach had no intention to let Hogan go without knowing how he died. He wanted Hogan to experience the fear that came with the knowledge of one''s impending death.

    "Fiery rocks the size of an ind will fall from the sky once the countdown ends. The shower of meteorites, the embodiment of my wrath, will descend the heavens. Its sole target will be the ind you so much wanted to upy."

    Hogan went into shock the moment he heard that he was going to be crushed by a falling ind on fire. It was too much to take in at once. Logic stated that it was impossible for Zach to be that powerful, but he couldn''t rule out the possibility of an ancient scroll. And who could exactly measure the extent of destruction a dark mage could cause when pushed into a corner.

    But Zach didn''t seem to be done just yet.

    "Since you wanted my ind so much, I will let it apany you on your final journey to the underworld. It is the least I can do for you. Not just the ind, all your people, every living thing in your vicinity, every tree, every fish in the ocean; all of them will go with you so you won''t feel lonely. It''s the least I can do for someone like you who is going to bear witness to the destructive capability of my ultimate spell. It makes me sad to see you go like this, to be honest. But you left me with no choice other than to take drastic measures when you rejected my kind advice earlier."

    While Hogan was about to pee himself in fright, he somehow managed to gain control over his faculties by taking a few deep breaths. At the same time, he remembered that he still had a trump card capable of saving him if all else failed; a failsafe in other words.

    Emboldened by the fact, Hogan began tough albeit a bit nervously.

    Somehow Hogan got a hold of the notion that Zach was trying to scare him in an attempt to humiliate him in front of his forces. Therefore, he ended up hypnotizing himself into believing that the skill Zach had just described was nothing more than a figment of thetter''s imagination.

 Chapter 314 314 Meteorites

    <h4>Chapter 314 Chapter 314 Meteorites</h4>

    Just as Hogan was about to mock Zach for the pathetic attempt at humiliating him, the mages around him began to frantically jerk their heads towards the sky that was now filled with glittering spots that shone brighter than the sun in sky. It was as if numerous stars had rebelled and had begun to encroach into the territory of the sun instead of waiting for their turn at night.

    "Oooh~ what''s that?"

    "Look at those things...in the sky..."

    "Don''t they look like...."

    Hogan''s men suddenly went out of control as a hint of truth to Zach''s words began to show on the azure tapestry known as the sky.

    His men weren''t the only ones who lost their marbles at that moment. Hogan wasn''t faring any better as he began to reevaluate his earlier decision of rejecting Zach''s second chance.

    Panic spread among the ranks of Hogan''s forces like gue in the Middle Ages. The chaos that ensued as a result was beyond Hogan''s control, especially since he was the reason that the soldiers were about to face such a catastrophe.

    бн

    While the forces of the Hunter family were busy running around like headless chickens in their panic, the soldiers and the servants of the Smith family were enjoying a rare period of leisure after months of constantbor and the fierce battles they had been a part of since then.

    The gruesome death from the meteoric impact on Greend was supposed to be their fate had it not been for Zach who received the system''s warning. Following Zach''smand, the whole Smith family had evacuated their home in the middle of the night in groups led bypetent soldiers who took different routes and congregated back together at the agreed upon destination. Zach''s order had two reasons as its basis.

    Firstly, he had already figured out that Hogan wanted to invade the ind in the absence of the major forces of the Smith family. And secondly, Zach wanted to allow his people to avoid the impending catastrophe that was surely heading their way at a celestial speed.

    Although the people of the Smith family were reluctant to leave their homes behind once again, their trust in Zach by that point was almost blind. The man had led them through despair and held their spirits afloat even during the troubled times. Therefore, none of them protested and the mass exodus was carried out without a hint of news reaching the ears of their enemy.

    As a result, Hogan and his forces ended up bing the new targets of the heavenly disaster. They were the new sacrifices meant to appease the wrath of the heavens. Zach had carefully lured all of them into that position.

    Therefore, while the Smith family witnessed the heavenly punishment falling from the sky just as Hogan''s forces despaired and cursed their leader for damning their fates by bringing them there.

    It wasn''t just the Smith family people who were viewing this scene of utter beauty, the whole city was mesmerized as their gazes lingered on the sky in amazement.

    While the Smith family could watch the whole spectacle from the private estate of the Windsor family leisurely, Hogan''s forces couldn''t do the same. They could neither tell the beauty of the falling meteorites nor the mesmerizing scene it created in the sky. They could only see the grim reaper''s scythe about to cleave their necks from their bodies in the next few minutes.

    Obviously, none of them hade with the intention of giving their life for Hogan''s cause. They only wanted the benefits that came with raiding the Smith family''s base of operations.

    At first the scene only sparked interest because of the beauty of it but the more the people in Byzantium city noticed the phenomenon, the more they began to panic because the falling meteorites seemed to be headed straight towards them in their ungodly descent. They didn''t even want to imagine what would happen should one of those tiny sparks in the sky fall in the middle of the city. The devastation in such a scenario would be so great that it would leave behind any wars that might have ravaged thends in the past.

    "Father, those pretty lights areing right towards us? Can you get me one.... please.... please?" a child pestered her father into getting her one of the meteorites. But she didn''t know that her father was no longer listening to her demands. He on the other hand was about to pull his hair out in panic.

    Her daughter was probably right because the meteorites did look like they were heading straight towards them.

    Simr scenes repeated themselves in the entire city as people began to gossip. Trouble mongers made use of the precarious situation to spread whispers around the city, threatening the peace.

    Some boasted just as Zach had boasted in front of Hogan''s forces that the situation had all been caused by him.

    The religious ones prayed to whatever god was out there listening to them. The religious propaganda spiked during the few minutes that terror reigned in the atmosphere of Byzantium city.

    Of course, the inhabitants of Byzantium city were not the only ones who witnessed the trajectory of the falling meteorites. To begin with, Byzantium city was not that far from Greend. They were only separated by a small stretch of ocean between them. Therefore, all of them were witnessing the same sight as they looked towards the sky in that moment.

    Nelson, who had been beside Zach this whole time, began to tremble at the thought that Zach had brought forth such a world ending disaster. Just what kind of a monster did one need to be in order to pull something like that off. Couldn''t he just destroy the whole world if he had that kind of power in his hands?

    Nelson couldn''t help but think that it wasn''t fair that his father and his people had to face such a monster on their own.

    Life was never fair. The rich couldn''t tell the suffering of the poor while the poor could never understand the hours and hours of hard work that went into maintaining that gap.

    Nelson tried blinking his eyes a few times to make sure that the scene in the sky wasn''t an illusion and it was still there after he scrunched up his vision a few times before getting it back to normal.

    Only after a few desperate measures did the reality of it all finally set in. Nelson came to acknowledge the fact that Zach was about to kill his father who was stranded on the ind with his people. Even though the bastard had a temper, his father had always been the umbre that shielded him from all kinds of rain.

    Fear stricken and pale, his voice caught in his throat. Nelson was so terrified that he was seconds away from falling on his knees to keep himself from offending the god like figure capable of calling in a disaster with a mere thought.

    While Nelson was terrified of what mighte next, Hogan didn''t share his feelings at all. He wasn''t going to gamble his life away like an idiot. Unlike lesser minds, Hogan wasn''t arrogant enough to im that his ns were a hundred percent guaranteed to seed. Therefore, he never went anywhere without taking contingency measures.

    Just as Nelson had his own means of escaping in troubled situations, Hogan had one too. He had been betting on that trump card to save himself if the need arose.

    That had also been the reason that despite the situation devolving into a chaotic mess, Hogan had still retained a cool and calm head on his shoulder. As the leader of the group, it was expected out of him to go down with his ship like the sea captains from the stories who preferred to continue their journey into the underworld aboard their beloved ships.

    But Hogan wasn''t a fool. His ego wasn''t big enough to not care about his own survival. If even Nelson carried a spatial scroll on him at all times, it was only natural that Hogan did too as the most important person of the entire Hunter family.

    Hogan pushed his hand inside his shirt and pulled out a sheet of rolled parchment that looked like it would crumble at the slightest touch. But of course, spatial scrolls wouldn''t be destroyed so easily. It was an ancient scroll that was even more powerful than the one that Nelson had in his possession.

    Obviously, Hogan took his personal safety very seriously.

    Before he could tear the scroll in half in order to escape the mess that he had created, someone around him yelled as if to inform everyone, "We can''t teleport out of here. The space has been restricted. None of my scrolls worked."

    "It''s true...my scrolls aren''t doing anything. Is there some sort of restriction on using scrolls in this ce? Other scrolls work just fine. It''s only the spatial scroll that is unbale to keep its utility intact." exined another one who was probably very wealthy or addicted to using the scrolls he obtained using his meager wealth in battle. Obviously, these scrolls were nothing more than imitation goods in front of the real power ones.

    Their words made it seem like the fault didn''t lie with the scrolls but with the location. The location was somehow restricting them from using spatial scrolls to teleport out before the ce turned into a high heat furnace.

    Hogan couldn''t help but despair hearing those words.

 Chapter 315 315 Desperation And Pleas

    <h4>Chapter 315 Chapter 315 Desperation And Pleas</h4>

    Hogan couldn''t help but despair hearing those words. This was his final safety measure. If he failed to pull this off even with the help of the scroll, then there was a high chance that he wouldn''t be going back to the Hunter family in this lifetime.

    He prayed so that the scroll in his hands would work. After all, it was considerably stronger than the ones those people had on them.

    "Our scrolls are being blocked by matrix magic. There is no way out for any of us. Even if you have a strategic ss spatial scroll, you wouldn''t be able to get out of here." yelled one of the morepetent mages. He had been studying the restriction in hopes of bypassing it somehow. But he was also powerless in front of it.

    Hogan fell into despair as well; he finally figured out why Zach had been acting so smug earlier. It turned out that he was sure of keeping his enemies in ce because he had already made the preparations to burn arge funeral pyre for his enemies.

    Obviously, he knew what matrix magic was capable of. It was capable of stabilizing the space in an area for some time. During that time, using spatial abilities became a chore. Stable space was not only difficult to tear up but also unavoidably difficult to manipte for people skilled in using spatial or void magic.

    Therefore, the teleportation scrolls, that required connecting two spatial tears in different locations, were unable to function as well.

    Due to the highly stable space in Greend, each of the scrolls was only able to produce a single spatial tear instead of two which caused the teleportation to fail.

    Driven by madness and despair, Hogan crushed the scroll in his hand, cing all his chips on the strength of the ancient scroll that had always been with him as a means to ensure his personal safety.

    He had paid an enormous amount to get the scroll and couldn''t bring himself to believe that it would prove to be so useless in the direst situation he had ever encountered in his entire life.

    With two pieces of the ancient scroll in both hands, Hogan looked towards the sky as he stared death in the face hopelessly. The weight of those falling stones seemed to have increased by a lot as Hogan could feel the pressure bearing down on his shoulders from above, pushing him into the ground as if he was a weakling.

    Of course, the meteors had no way of exerting such strength on him. It was only the weight of the future that would unfold after his death that was burdening his very soul. When he was gone, there would be no more Hunter family to stand at the zenith of Byzantium city like overlords. The work of his ancestors and their tireless umtion over the years would only end up benefiting outsiders. The fact that he was going to be the reason for the downfall of the family only made it that much worse.

    He remained stuck at his spot like a lifeless doll. It was as if his soul had left his body the moment he realized that he too wouldn''t be able to escape the disaster.

    The people around him began to curse out loud. They cursed their terrible fates; they cursed Zach for doing this to them and for leaving them no escape route; and theyshed out at Hogan for leading them to this godforsaken ce in search of benefits.

    Purely from an objective point of view, the anger of the Hunter family forces was certainly justified. They were not only unable to escape death but also their death was going to be so gruesome that the generations toe would probably remember this day with painful expressions.

    Unlike the hoard of people, he had brought with him, Hogan was able to retain some of his rationality in the face of certain death. He didn''t run about the ind in panic as he tried to figure out a means of escape as there were probably none.

    If he were in Zach''s ce, he would have made sure of that. This ce was probably no different from a cage at this time; a cage that was about to implode in on itself in the near future if Zach''s countdown could be trusted.

    Only less than three minutes were left until impact. There was no use trying to run out of the impact range because there was no time.

    Zach had chosen to tell them the truth only when he was sure that his enemies had no fighting chance. Otherwise, he would have let them all die ignorant.

    Hogan understood that logic, being the leader of the faction. Therefore, he had already epted that he was going to die. Not doing so at this point would have been an even greater folly.

    Unlike Hogan, there was someone who still retained some hope of escaping the deathtrap.

    The sensory mage from earlier had managed to stay behind even though the people around him had kept urging him to keep pace with them. Fortunately, all of them were highly motivated and had no choice but to leave a cowardly person like him behind when they felt like they were about to be separated from the main group.

    Thanks to that, the sensory mage didn''t have to travel deeper into the ind. So, he was still around the outskirts when he felt the greatest warning his senses had ever given him.

    Jerking his head towards the sky in disbelief, he praised himself for being prudent earlier. His premonition had turned out to be right.

    Without thinking of warning the others, he turned tail and ran. He wasn''t so noble to risk his life for people he had barely met and who would have done the same if they were in his ce.

    The sensory mage felt that he would be able to escape the brunt of the heavenly wrath if he sessfully made it into the ocean. Therefore, he rushed madly in the direction of the shoreline faster than his feet were capable of carrying him in normal times.

    When confronted by the grim reaper''s scythe, Hogan closed his eyes like an aging sage finally embracing death after having cheated it for a long time. A heavy sigh escaped his mouth as the thought of having failed his family took the maximum space avable in his brain.

    Zach didn''t bother with how his adversary was faring or what thetter''s mental state was like. He just kept counting, "...120...119...118..." like an unfeeling machine.

    As the huge burning inds in the sky began to move closer to him, reality burst apart Hogan''s fragile mind. He had only been maintaining a fa?ade of calmness so far.

    In reality, Hogan still harbored hope of survival in the tiniest corner of his heart. Therefore, the descent of meteors only hit him that much harder. It was enough to break his fragile state of mind and theposed fa?ade into countless pieces.

    He hatefully looked at the screen where Zach''s face hung in the air as it counted the time until his untimely demise like the harbinger of death.

    "...64...63...62...61..."

    "@%#$#%@#$@бнbastard... you are undoubtedly the shittiest...the most disgusting scourge of human race to walk the earth...#$@%$#$#%бн your whore of a mother...that bitch should have strangled you in the cradle...that slut probably slept with a hundred different mutts to give birth to a mongrel like you..."

    Hogan wailed and cursed in the foulest ofnguages, but Zach remainedpletely unaffected by this outburst. It was as if he didn''t even register the words of someone who was about to die in a few moments.

    He raised his hand to stare at his watch once again as if to make sure that he was counting right.

    "...35...34...33..."

    There were only thirty seconds left on the watch. The fiery doom of Hogan Hunter was descending faster as if it had picked up speed on its way down.

    The meteors looked like they couldn''t wait to smash their targets into meat paste.

    "You have no way out. Don''t waste your time thinking of escaping. Now is the time to talk...anyst words?"

    Zach reminded Hogan to say hisst words and prayers before the me of his life was snuffed out forever. Zach had already won. Therefore, his words didn''t have any intention of mocking or ridiculing his dying opponent. It was purely out of sympathy for someone who was about to die an especially terrible death.

    Hogan had been ranting madly but as soon as he heard Zach''s words, his visage shifted to be the epitome of ''calm andposed''. There wasn''t a trace of that previous madness in his eyes and even his words became extremely gentle and respectful as he pleaded with Zach to grant his final wish; a final favor to make his journey to the underworld a little easier.

    "I beg you to spare my son. He had no hand in it. He didn''t even know about my n until today. The Hunter family will crumble without me and most of its protective force. The hyenas waiting on the side will pounce and the vultures circling above my family mansion will descend to have a feast soon. There is no need to pull out the roots of my lineage. Please, let my son go. He neither has the courage nor the strength to exact vengeance against you or your family members."

 Chapter 316 316 RUNNN!

    <h4>Chapter 316 Chapter 316 RUNNN!</h4>

    Hogan''sst wish reached Zach through the screen. Even Nelson was able to hear his father''sst words. It would be a lie to say that he wasn''t moved by how much his father truly cared about him. But he couldn''t digest his father''s words properly about him being a coward and a weakling who was unable to go against Zach.

    Zach wasn''t one to deny a dying man hisst wish especially when it waspletely within his power, but the fate of Nelson Hunter wasn''t within his hands. He had already promised his end to someone else.

    "What do you want to do? Do you want me to spare him or not?"

    An internal struggle sprouted within Violet as soon as she heard Zach''s question. She looked at the screen where a father was pleading for his son but all she could see was the man who tried to have her father killed pleading for the rapist who almost had his way with her.

    The struggle was extremely evident on her face; as was the hatred she harbored for the father and son.

    Obviously, Zach noticed her fluctuating mentality and tried tofort her by saying, "You can decide without any judgement from me or anyone else''s for that matter. I promised to give him to you once it was all over and I intend to keep my promise. No one will interfere with your choice."

    With Zach''s assurance the troubled expression on Violet''s face eased a little.

    But that didn''t mean that it was easy for her to reach her final verdict about Nelson''s life or death. She deliberated on the topic for a while as she didn''t want to deny a dying man his wish just like Zach. Despite the anger bubbling inside her, she was still capable of rational thought.

    Unfortunately for Hogan and Nelson Hunter, just when she tried to find it in herself to spare Nelson, Violet couldn''t help but remember Nelson''sscivious actions in that cave. She remembered her helplessness in her tied-up state as she pleaded with him to let her go. She remembered how she hadn''t received any mercy from him then. The monster had torn her clothes apart and had touched all the private parts of her body with his hateful ws. Her tears and her cries had fallen on deaf ears back then.

    So why did she need to think so hard about whether or not to pardon the monster who had insulted her and had ravished her in such a brutal manner when she was weak and defenseless?

    The answer was obvious to her. But her kindness interfered with her judgement.

    Once again, she tried to put herself in Hogan''s shoes but there was no forgiveness in her heart to offer to Hogan''s monster of a son who would undoubtedly destroy even more women''s lives, the longer he lived.

    In a bout between vengeance and forgiveness, vengeance came out on top once again.

    Though Violet was aposed woman, she wasn''t a pushover. She couldn''t let Nelson go just because the monster father had asked tearfully for his monster son to be spared.

    Both father and son were monsters in their own right who had tried to destroy her family in the past.

    Despite not being a cruel or bloodthirsty person, Violet didn''t want to let Nelson get away without paying the price for his past actions. She couldn''t bring herself to forget all that she had suffered because of the Hunter family.

    "I don''t think a monster like him deserves to be out in the open. Mad dogs like him need to be leashed and kept from disrupting society. So no, I won''t let him go."

    Zach received his answer and turned towards the screen where a crestfallen Hogan stared back at him with eyes devoid of all hope and life.

    Hogan had received his answer so there was no need for Zach to reiterate Violet''s words. His son''s fate had already been decided and there was nothing Hogan could do to change the oue set in stone.

    Thest ten seconds before impact was when the fear of the Hunter family forces was at its peak. Even death wasn''t as scary as the time approaching that. It was the anticipation of death that destroyed their spirits even before the meteorites fell and wiped the life from their bodies.

    Hogan could feel the heat from the falling heavenly bodies on his skin. The fiery heat was melting his skin even before the impact. The pain of his body melting in a furnace was enough for him to scream his lungs out.

    "...five...four...three..." Zach continued to count the remaining five seconds as emotionlessly as possible. He couldn''t allow himself to feel regret. After all, he was the architect of the fiery hell that the Hunter family had found themselves in.

    Betweenborious breaths and painful wails, Hogan stared intently towards the screen depicting the scenery of Greend being consumed by hellfire. The deep breaths caused the burning sensation to invade his lungs as his body began to burn from the inside out.

    The pain almost sent him to shock but he still had something left to do. He didn''t allow himself to say goodbye to the world so easily. At the cost of increasing the pain he felt before death, Hogan screamed with the full force of his lungs, "Hah...Haaah...MY SON...you are my legacy...survive no matter wh-what...RUUUUN...RUN AWAY FROM THERE...RU..."

    Hogan''s screams were snuffed out of existence by the rumbling of the heavens and the intense fireworks that were witnessed by everyone in Byzantium city.

    The earth shook from the impact of the fiery meteors on Greend and tides high enough to drown mountains rose out from the point of impact.

    The screen in front of Zach began to show static almost in sync with the earthquakes that followed. The drone on the ind couldn''t possibly have survived the apocalyptic scene.

    Before the people beside Zach could die of curiosity, the screen came back to life, but the perspective had shifted.

    The new view began to show the burning vestige of Greend following the impact of meteorite shower from hell. The ripples in the sea had yet to calm down and therge waves continued to crash against the shores of Byzantium city drowning the shorelinepletely as if it had always been a part of the sea. The waves thatshed on the shore were strong enough to break the rocks that had been tempered by the sea for decades.

    Greend was no longer visible. It was just a sea of fire burning away in the middle of the ocean like an immortal me burning away with hatred even when enclosed by the opposite element.

    It wasn''t just Zach''s party that was aware of the horrific scene.

    The major forces had already figured out thending spot of the meteors and were busy thinking about how to take advantage of the chaos that would undoubtedly ensue as a result of the fiery destruction.

    With the dark mage gone, there was no one to threaten them from going against the Windsor family. Moreover, with the forces of the three familiesbined, it was more than a piece of cake to push the Windsor family out of the city with a little nudge.

    However, no one knew that the power structure of the city had already changed and the ones to perish weren''t the Smiths but the Hunters instead.

    The entire Byzantium city was panicking. Themon people were unaware of the exact location of the disaster that had just struck Greend, but the intense rumbling and the terrifying explosion from earlier had broken their spirit.

    Some of them were on their knees asking for forgiveness from whatever god they worshipped. They were trying their best to appease the wrath of the deity that was trying to smite the surface dwellers with its celestial punishment.

    Even more shocked than themon popce of the city was Nelson who watched his father''sst moments through the screen. He had yet toe out of the shock when the screen began to show the events after the terrifying collision. The scene that was probably a teaser of hell struck deep into Nelson''s soul.

    Nelson couldn''t bring himself to believe that his father, who had just been talking to him, was no more.

    His steps began to falter, and his escorts had to support him from both sides in order to keep him from falling down. Disoriented and disengaged from reality, Nelson stumbled on his own feet but didn''t ept the support of the escorts around him. He pushed them away with all the force he could muster using his iling body that had turned to jelly from shock and fear.

    Nelson stared at the fiery hell being shown on screen and tried to locate the burning corpse of his father out of the many pieces of flesh being roasted on high me.

    Unable to find him, Nelson''s fragile mind, in order to protect itself from crumbling, refused to acknowledge his father''s death.

    He staggered and iled his arms around until his hands grasped the cor of one of his escorts who was standing nearby in order to keep Nelson from falling.

    Nelson yelled right in his face as if afraid that the escort would be unable to hear him.

    "He isn''t dead. He can''t be dead. YOU HEAR ME? MY FATHER...HE WON''T DIE SO EASILY."

    The escort lowered his head in sadness.

 Chapter 317 317 Reasonable Betrayal

    <h4>Chapter 317 Chapter 317 Reasonable Betrayal</h4>

    The escort lowered his head in sadness. He didn''t want to be the one to break the fragile fantasy of his young master. He didn''t have it in him to bring the young master back to reality and tell him of his father''s demise.

    Nelson''s tears fell on continuously unknowingly and the rims of his eyes grew blood red, but he refused to ept his father''s death deep inside his mind. The proof was right in front of him, but Nelson ignored it like all of it was an illusion that was meant to break his spirit.

    Unable to find the source of his frustration, Nelson pinned everything on Zach. He believed that the source of his unease and the sudden burst of sadness that he was feeling was the dark mage. So, he cursed Zach to his heart''s content. He had long since forgotten his father''sst words. Even if he did as his father had told him to do, Zach would have still captured him back. Without his father''s support, Nelson was nothing more than a bug that Zach could crush anytime he wanted to.

    "It''s all because of him. None of this...none of this is real. It''s all a conspiracy to fool us into believing that my father is dead. My father is so strong. How could he be dead? It''s obviously an illusion or a trick to make us surrender so he can use us against my father. I won''t fall for it."

    Nelson kept muttering to himself first but then he acted as if he had received a sudden epiphany following which he smiled smugly and locked eyes with Zach before continuing his rant, "Your obvious n will never reach culmination as long as I am alive. I have already figured it out."

    Zach shook his head in resignation and stopped paying attention to Nelson who had long since stopped being sane.

    "You fools get back to reality. How long do you n to make a fool of yourself?" Nelson yelled at the remaining people, including the old butler of the Hunter family.

    By that point everyone was aware of Nelson''s condition. He was no longer fit to be the next leader of the Hunter family.

    The remnants of the Hunter family couldn''t leave it up to Nelson to make a decision for their well-being. Nelson was too far gone to be able to pull that off.

    They didn''t doubt that the first chance Nelson got, he would order them to fight off the Smith and Windsor family to get vengeance for his dead father.

    They couldn''t have that. After all, the dead had already departed but they still needed to live in this world. Offending the Smith family was like signing their own death certificate at this point.

    Therefore, the Hunter family stopped paying any attention to Nelson''s mindless rants and began thinking of various methods to save their own skins. While Nelson was already marked for death, they still had a slight sliver of hope for survival as long as Zach didn''t deem them a threat to the Smith or Windsor family.

    As if on cue, the remaining people of the Hunter family took a few steps back as if to keep a certain distance from their previous young master who had embraced insanity.

    Zach was very pleased with the actions of the Hunter family. This was the exact response he wanted from his enemies. Although he wanted to see the fall of the Hunter family, he didn''t want tomit a massacre if he could help it.

    So, when he saw the remnants ignore Nelson like the very embodiment of gue, he knew that they nned to surrender instead of foolishly thinking of retaliation despite knowing the gap between the two families.

    Looking at the old butler of the Hunter family, Zach could not help but smile. The butler had previously struck him as a smart man. The way he had carried himself without an expression on his face during the transaction had impressed Zach. But now Zach was sure that the butler had the brains to deduce what Zach wanted him to do.

    Ignoring Nelson''s loud but mad ravings, Zach addressed the remnants of the Hunter family in a loud and authoritative manner as was his right as the winner of the sh between the two families.

    "I am not a cruel man, but I do know how to reply in kind when someone tries to harm my family. What I did...what I had to do...the one who forced my hand to take such drastic measures was none other than your deceased family leader who tried to harm me and my family time and time again. Some of you might have been his confidantes while some of you might not have known of his n to wipe out my family. So even though I risk sparing some of you who are deserving of death, I am willing to let everyone of you, who has survived the aftermath, live as long as you hand over that piece of trash to me and leave Byzantium city forever, never to return. Of course, you are free to go against me as well. I assure you that the result in that case won''t be much different from that."

    Zach pointed towards the screen which was still showing the burning remnant of Greend in order to threaten them.

    The result was no different from his expectations. The butler stepped forward immediately in response to Zach''s offer and bowed his head in gratitude. Not only was the bow not forced but the butler even seemed a bit enthusiastic at having received such an offer from the enemy.

    "Oi you all, what are you still waiting for? Do you have a death wish? Please escort the young master with due respect." His words still carried some respect for Nelson, but his eyes showed no remorse or sadness at all.

    It may be that the butler had gotten too used to his role in the Hunter family and had said it out of habit. Otherwise, he wasn''t the least bit reluctant in offering up Nelson to Zach in order to save the remaining people.

    The guards beside Nelson turned on him immediately as well. There was not a single loyal bone in their bodies left after witnessing the scene of destruction at Greend. With no intention of dying a meaningless death where not even their bodies would be left behind to tell the tale, the guards brought the raving mad and animalistic Nelson under their control with some difficulty and bound his hands before carrying him towards Zach like a sack of wheat.

    They threw him onto the ground in front of the dark mage and returned beside the old butler who had taken on the duties of the leader.

    "From today onwards, there will be no Hunter family in Byzantium city. I promise to dismiss every single family member once I return, just as you have demanded. In a day at most, I will leave the city along with anyone willing to leave here. As for anyone left, you can do with them as you please."

    The old butler was a crafty man who was not only full of schemes but was also someone truly caring of the well-being of the members of the Hunter family instead of blindly following after Hogan and Nelson in the wake of the former''s death. The reason he had managed to get to such a high position in the family had been because of this very cunning and his willingness to go to any lengths for the sake of the family.

    Therefore, Zach had no doubt that the old man would stay true to his words and the Hunter family would truly be dismantled by the time he returned to the city.

    The old butler nodded gratefully towards Zach before leaving with the entourage of guards who had changed their loyalty after witnessing the scene of destruction that Zach had projected for them all to see.

    The people from the Windsor family couldn''t bring themselves to believe the events that had unfolded in front of them. Even Violet felt like everything in front of her was a dream that would dissolve with a single touch of reality.

    After all, the Windsor family had been trying to fight off the Hunter family ever since she gained the ability to retain her memories. She had seen her father crumbling away under the effect of the disease and her family falling prey to the machinations of the Hunter family. Despite her and her father''s struggles over the years, they had barely gained an upper hand against their hateful enemies.

    Yet, Zach had so easily destroyed them at the root level. He had not only killed off the leader but had also destroyed the main lineage of the family by taking control of Nelson and dismantling the remaining forces using the high-ranking members all the while knowing that thetter would never dare to think of vengeance after witnessing the fiery grave of their previous leader.

    Even more dumbfounded than the Windsor family was Nelson who had been cast aside by the people he and his father had put their trust in. Not only had they thrown him to the enemy without remorse, but they were also nning on destroying the foundation of the Hunter family on Zach''s orders.

    The wheel of time had a way of reversing reality in cyclical order.

    Those enjoying life at the top had to fall and experience the struggles of the lowly and vice versa at some point.

 Chapter 318 318 AndyтАЩs Reaction

    <h4>Chapter 318 Chapter 318 Andy''s Reaction</h4>

    Eternal prosperity was only a pipe dream. But his father had pursued that goal with all his heart. He had been determined to cement the position of the Hunter family at the top of the food chain in Byzantium city.

    s, his struggle had only yielded the exact opposite results. Fate smacked the Hunter family down to the bottom with a single p. The authority that the father and son duo had been expecting to wield following the demise of the dark mage''s faction fell into the hands of their enemy and they ended up on the chopping block like defenseless fish about to be barbecued.

    Nelson had yet toe out of the shock of the sudden exchange of position between the Hunter and Smith family. Just when he was about to win, his hopes were dashed by a literal rock from outer space, and he found himself in the clutches of his enemy with no support behind him. His subordinates had already exchanged him for their lives while his only hope and backing, his father, was in the realm of the dead.

    Not a single word escaped his mouth as Nelson tried toe to terms with the life of torture that surely awaited him. The fear caused him to lose control over his bowels as a yellow stain began to form on the underside of his pants unknown to everyone else.

    Zach had no interest in Nelson who was already foaming at the mouth in anticipation of his end. He turned his face away from the eyesore and turned his attention to Violet who looked more feralpared to her normal self. It was almost as if ra was possessing her body.

    "I have no more use for him. Do as you please with him without any remorse. This scum surely deserves whatever you have nned for him." Zach wasn''t the least bit concerned about what Violet had in store for the scumbag as he couldn''t have cared less about the lustful bastard with no courage or will of his own.

    The gathering dispersed with this final transaction as Zach led his force back to the Windsor family guest house which had once again be their temporary residence following the fall of Greend.

    ...

    Zach all but forgot about the bastard scion of the Hunter family after that. It was only muchter that he came to find that the lustful idiot had ended upmitting suicide which surprised him to a certain extent.

    He wondered what kind of hellish torture Nelson had been subjected to which enabled him to gather enough courage tomit suicide. Cowards like him rarely had it in them to take their own life even in the face of extreme brutality and pain. They would whimper through it all but wouldn''t have the guts to end their lives with their own hands instead of prolonging their sufferings.

    Knowing Nelson, his disposition was nowhere in the vicinity of the steel hearted. So, the suicide could only have been a result of extreme fear that caused Nelson to momentarily ovee his cowardice and take the final plunge into the valley of the dead.

    Remembering the feral look on Violet''s face that day in the forest, Zach couldn''t help but be a little wary of the usually graceful andposed woman. Who knew what kind of bloodthirsty torturer hid itself underneath that calm fa?ade that forced Nelson to drink the potion of death as if it was sweet nectar from the realm of the gods.

    бн

    After choosing a side in the war between the two families, Andy''s life was anything but smooth sailing. He was constantly haunted by the fact that he had gambled his entire future upon a hunch regarding the strength and the potential of the dark mage.

    Undaunted by the consequences of his choice that would undoubtedly ensueter on, Andy decided to concentrate on his job in the police station. He decided to ignore the problems he had created for himself until he had to confront them. So long as the Smith family could keep the Hunter family at bay, his life wouldn''t experience much change.

    As for the disappearance of one of the two forces in the short run, Andy didn''t have much confidence of that happening. He had seen the conflicts between theserge families over the years he had spent as a police officer. And during all that time, he had never seen such conflicts ever reach their conclusion. On the contrary, he had witnessed those enmities and tussles changing into alliances based on mutual benefits.

    Nothing was eternal when it came to politics and power. Even the enmities forged in blood could be dismissed when it came to the struggle for power amongst those noble families.

    Not knowing that his concepts that had developed into their current form over time were about to take a direct and fatal hit, Andy continued tobor away in his office when massive explosive sounds distracted him.

    He rushed outside to take a measure of the sudden chaos that ensued as a result of those massive bangs.

    Themotion outside couldn''t be hidden from his sight. The people seemed to be terribly afraid. Some of them were even kneeling on the ground with tears running down their faces. It was as if they had seen some foul monster in the flesh and were busy begging for their lives.

    It was then that the tremors came; the aftershocks of the massive explosions that had taken Greend by surprise.

    Andy could immediately tell that something terrible had happened. He intended to investigate the source of the tremors because it sure as hell didn''t seem like a natural catastrophe.

    Andy immediately directed the distracted looking police officers to maintain discipline among the masses to keep them from panicking any further. Chaos in such situations was never a good thing after all. It only served to increase the number of casualties.

    Since he had been deep within the police station and focused on his work, he didn''t have a hint of what happened before his arrival that sent the masses into such chaos. He didn''t have time to ask any of his officers for details as he urged them all to help out themon folk.

    While Andy kept on trying to take control of the situation by positioning his officers at various crucial locations, he kept an ear out for the information he seemingly missed out on.

    "...have never seen something so beautiful in my life before." said one of the chubby females huddling together under a massive tree.

    Since, the clearing served as a safe zone from the crumbling infrastructure in the wake of the tremors. The police had been sending the civilians to open areas like that to avoid any loss of life.

    "I guess...but...can you imagine the ce where they fell?" dread was evident from the trembling woman who could not bring herself to agree with the opinion of the earlier woman.

    "Yes, just the shock is so strong. I wonder what it''s like over there." the third woman seemed to agree wholeheartedly with the opinion of the second woman except that she wasn''t as scared. Instead, there was curiosityced in her words.

    "Is it the first time you young ones witnessed a meteorite shower?" asked one of the aged females who seemed to be standing apart from the group, probably due to the difference in age.

    "Yes" all three women answered in unison as they patiently waited for the elderly woman to keep the conversation going. Being women, they were all naturally chatty.

    "A meteor shower huh...I remember seeing one when I was just a child. It was such a beautiful sight that I remember it like it was just yesterday that I gazed upon it with wonder and adoration. I never got the opportunity to do so again until now. But it doesn''t feel the same now that I have witnessed the havoc it can wreak. I can only thank the gods for keeping such a disaster away from me all this time. A beautiful disaster...but a disaster nheless."

    Andy overheard the conversation of thedies during his relief efforts and made head and tails of the situation at least.

    A massive meteor shower had probably made contact with the surface and the tremors that could be felt even now were the aftershocks of the impact travelling underneath their feet.

    Based on the information he had gleaned from themon people; he deduced the general direction in which the meteorites had fallen.

    As expected, when he stared into that particr direction, he found the horizon to be stained by a reddish orange hue as if the sky itself was on fire.

    Based on the direction, the possible point of impacty in a direct line connecting Byzantium city with Greend.

    He could only hope that the target of impact hadn''t been Greend itself. Or he was bound to lose the gamble he had bet his life on.

    Although worried out of his wits, Andy felt that he wasn''t qualified to inquire about the well-being of the Smith family directly. Because despite the favor he had done the Smith family recently, he had only carried it out through Marico who bore some degree of goodwill towards him for his help in the prison.

    Therefore, he didn''t directly approach the Smith family and called on the Windsor family once he was done curbing the unrest in the city in the wake of the tremors.

    It wasn''t easy holding down the fanatical religious ones but he somehow managed to pull it off with the help of his officers.

 Chapter 319 319 Potent Resort

    <h4>Chapter 319 Chapter 319 Potent Resort</h4>

    It wasn''t easy holding down the fanatical religious ones but he somehow managed to pull it off with the help of his officers. It took some convincing before those people went back to their homes quivering in fear of the deity''s wrath that had descended onto them.

    Upon reaching the Windsor family mansion, Andy realized howte he was. There seemed to be a plethora of guests already waiting inside thepound as if to confirm their respective conjectures regarding the Smith family just like him.

    Marico was busily moving between the groups gracefully giving one of them his undivided attention for a minute or two before moving on to the next one, seemingly unaware of the true intentions behind the sudden visit of so many guests.

    Marico was busily moving between the groups gracefully giving one of them his undivided attention for a minute or two before moving on to the next one, seemingly unaware of the true intentions behind the sudden visit of so many guests.

    The guests tried to bring up the topic discreetly, but Marico always managed to brush it aside as if he couldn''t understand the question.

    The guests were frustrated by his evasive responses but none of them had it in them to go against him.

    Spotting Marico in the middle of the hoard, Andy made a beeline for him disregarding the number of cold and murderous gazes trying to bore holes through his body with their hatred.

    Obviously, they were trying to keep him from acting shamelessly when it was still not his turn to gain Marico''s attention. They disdained Andy for not adhering to the firste first serve principle.

    "Mr. Windsor."

    Andy called out to Marico who had his back to Andy and was busily chatting with a group of people.

    Marico turned around in response to the familiar voice calling out his name and was shocked to see Andy in front of him.

    "What brings you here like this?" asked Marico, surprised at the sudden visit from Andy who had been trying to keep a low profile ever since he changed sides.

    "Don''t you know already? Why do you think all these people are here?"

    Andy was dumbfounded at how clueless Marico was. He wondered if thetter was only pretending to be clueless considering his close rtionship with the dark mage. There was no way he could have been so leisurely after the disaster that befell Greend.

    "What do you mean? What happened?" Marico noticed the solemnity and anxiousness in Andy''s manner which prompted him to ask the questions.

    Out of all the people, only Marico knew the gamble Andy had made on the potential of the Smith family. Therefore, Andy had no trouble revealing the bit of information he had gathered until then. But he wasn''t willing to make it a public announcement. So, he signaled Marico to take their conversation to a more deserted area in the manor.

    Marico nodded in understanding. He turned towards his guests and bowed slightly as if to apologize for not entertaining them any longer.

    "Something urgent hase up. I hope that you can excuse me since I can no longer entertain you all. I implore you all to partake in the meal especially prepared for you all before taking your leave."

    Marico had only said so much to keep up appearances. He had long since lost interest in the impromptu gathering. He had already been feeling that something was wrong when he was suddenly called on by so many people who tried to prod him with leading questions.

    Thankfully, he was experienced enough to avoid such pitfalls. Andy''s arrival only cemented his belief, and he was dying to know what had transpired during this time to cause such an upheaval in the upper society of Byzantium city.

    "So, tell me what is it that made youe out into the open like this? I was under the impression that you still intended to maintain your anonymity until you could be sure of Zach''s potential."

    "I would never know how you managed to evade Hogan Hunter''s advances for so many years with such a pathetic intelligencework."

    "Are you here to insult me? Spit it out already, what do you want?" Marico was getting impatient and had no time to entertain Andy''s quips.

    "You should have at least heard the explosions earlier, right?" questioned Andy.

    Marico nodded to indicate a positive answer to Andy''s query.

    "Then do you know what caused those massive explosions and the tremors that followed?"

    "I am not blind. I too saw those meteors descending from the sky. They must have fallen somewhere close to the city, or the shockwave wouldn''t have been so intense." Marico revealed his own conjectures with a snort.

    "So have you guessed the location of the impact yet from the sudden influx of the elites of the city or do you need me to spell it out for you?"

    Marico had been delving into the upper society of the city since he was young. He was aware of all the undercurrents that dictated the actions of those in power.

    Therefore, he already had a few guesses based on the information that Andy brought him, but it was better to hear out his guest.

    "Go on, tell me everything you have."

    Andy narrated the information he had gathered on his way. The more he talked, the more Marico got lost in his thoughts as if on the cusp of a massive discovery.

    Marico couldn''t bring himself to believe that the impact location was a coincidence because the entire Smith family had evacuated Greend just a day prior as if...as if they knew about the disaster beforehand. All the preparations Zach had made presumed that the Hunter family would attack Greend using Diana to lure him away.

    Marico hadn''t agreed with Zach back then because he believed that the Hunter family intended to ambush him during the hostage exchange. Despite Marico''s constant warnings, Zach had insisted on moving the entirety of his forces to the Windsor family as if he was a hundred percent sure of what was going to happen next.

    Even after listening to what had transpired from Andy, Marico might still have written it off as a coincidence had he not recalled thest conversation that took ce between him and Zach a day prior to the hostage exchange.

    He clearly remembered Zach asking him for the matrix magic capable of bringingrge spaces under a spatial lock to prevent all sorts of teleportation and maniption of spatial element.

    Marico had found it to be a little odd that Zach was so interested in spatial matrix when he imed to be extremely worried about the hidden intentions of the Hunter family. In the grand scheme of things, there was absolutely no use of matrix magic because it could at most keep people from using the spatial element and teleportation mechanisms.

    Still, he had generously helped out Zach due to how much of it he had received from thetter in his troubled times.

    But now he could see the underlying reasons behind such a request.

    Slowly but gradually, Marico began to figure out the details of Zach''s strategy. He marveled at Zach''s forbearance and his ability to judge his enemy''s actions. It had to be known that Marico, being a long time rival of Hogan, had been unable to do the same.

    Moreover, the fact that Zacha had unleashed such terrible magic that at least was SSS rank, spoke plethora of the wrath he had contained within himself.

    Only the heavens knew how much Zach hated the Hunter family to have nned such an borate death for Hogan. He had not only wiped the entire family in one go but had also killed them all in the most gruesome manner possible while they still had illusions of grandeur. He had gone so far as to use matrix magic to freeze spatial nodes to keep the targets he had set his eyes on from escaping his cage.

    While Marico began to mutter to himself, asionally revealing a terrifying tidbit regarding what Zach had done to the Hunter family, Andy''s heart began to race like an excited horse running through an empty field.

    He couldn''t help but feel that he had survived a disaster narrowly. Had he chosen to side with the Hunter family, he would probably be lying on his funeral pyre along with the rest of the Hunter family. Only the heavens knew what Zach would have done to him if he was still opposing the Windsor family to please the Hunter family. Thankfully, he hade to his senses a lot earlier and had seen the little bit of potential in the dark mage that thetter had shown.

    Feeling jubnt in his heart at switching sides at the right time, Andy looked towards the sky where the red sky was still telling the tale of blood and cruelty and praised himself for not being an idiot.

    Despite all that Zach had achieved in such a short time, he had done so through exceedingly brutal means which could not go unpunished by the government or there would be now and order in the world.

    Andy knew that better than anyone else as he was a part of the judicial system responsible for meting out justice to themon folk. He knew that the crimes that Zach hadmitted were too big to be covered up.

    Moreover, Andy believed that it was toote for him to try and contain the news from spreading out, especially when the remnants of the Hunter family were still living.

 Chapter 320 320 Fickle Fortune

    <h4>Chapter 320 Chapter 320 Fickle Fortune</h4>

    Moreover, Andy believed that it was toote for him to try and contain the news from spreading out, especially when the remnants of the Hunter family were still living. There was no way to keep the truth from rearing its ugly mug because the Hunter family remnants would have probably spread the news to half the city by then.

    Legally, Zach was bound to be brought before thew for carrying out a ughter that would be remembered for years toe. In the history of dark mages, this was the greatest damage any single person had ever caused with a single attack.

    Still, after witnessing the scene of destruction even if from afar, there wouldn''t be a single living soul in the city that wouldn''t cower before thinking of subjecting Zach to any kind ofw. The dark mage was akin to a god capable of razing their city to the ground with a single spell after all.

    As for Andy, he couldn''t even think of apprehending Zach for his actions because doing so was nothing less than suicide. He was happily going to leave that task to the higher ups and let them brainstorm on different methods to hold Zach ountable for the loss of life due to his impulsive actions, not to mention the loss of property that still belonged to the government.

    "You must warn him that the higher ups would soone looking for him to hold him ountable for his actions. Let him prepare for it beforehand. But there is no need to worry, my gut tells me that the investigation is going to be perfunctory anyway. They wouldn''t take the risk of offending him after knowing what he is capable of."

    Andy gave Marico a heads up for what wasing next before leaving the Windsor family estate, practically skipping the whole way back in happiness. He was incredible excited after having sessfully grabbed onto the thigh of the most powerful person in the city for a long time toe.

    Andy went back to the police station and revealed the information he had gathered so far to the higher ups with some apprehension. He was afraid that thetter would assign him to be the bearer of bad news for Zach which was undoubtedly a one-way path to hell. He was even willing to leave the force if he was forced to do such a thing in the end.

    There was another reason that he hadn''t hesitated to inform the higher ups himself even though there was a risk of offending Zach in doing so.

    Andy had spent his whole life working in the same profession. He was aware of the machinations that took ce on the upper level and was sure that those greedy higher ups would never dere Zach to be a threat to peace and security of the empire.

    Instead, they would consider him to be a strategic asset and would probably try to curry favor with him instead of punishing him for what he had done. At most they would condemn his actions outwardly but the odds of even that happening were close to nil.

    Therefore, it was highly probably that Zach might receive benefits from them instead of being condemned for his brutal actions.

    While it was necessary to take the risk of offending Zach, Andy had no other choice if he wanted to further his connections with the higher ups and to gain more authority using their backing.

    As for who could give him the greatest bundle of resources, it would be none other than the governor responsible for taking care of Byzantium city on behalf of the royal family.

    Therefore, after leaving the Windsor family, Andy didn''t make any idle stops and ventured straight towards the residence of the governor in order to break the news regarding the mayhem before anyone else with simr motives did.

    Andy''s journey took him on a path that led him through the very nucleus of the city, where the Hunter family''s residence held its stately presence.

    Positioned at the city''s epicenter, it served as a tangible symbol of prestige and authority, a grand edifice that silently proimed the family''s standing in themunity.

    Surrounding this formidable epicenter were the residences of the other families, each strategically ced to reflect their rtive authority and prosperity within the city''s intricate social structure.

    Like celestial bodies orbiting a powerful sun, these families had organized themselves in concentric circles, with the Hunter family at the center, exerting its gravitational pull over the urbanndscape.

    It was a living map of influence, where proximity to the Hunter family''s mansion symbolized not just geographic location, but also the echelons of authority and wealth within the city.

    As Andy''s gaze briefly fell upon the Hunter family''s abode, he found himself lost in contemtion. It was a stark illustration of the fragile equilibrium that often governed the dynamics of power.

    Merely a day prior, the Hunter family had been so overbearing based on their newfound authority after havingid down their hands on the dark mage''s wife. They had even been nning to slowly take over the Windsor family by manipting the dark mage through their ckmailing tactics.

    Little did they realize that their actions towards their cause had set in motion a chain of events far beyond their control and called upon a natural disaster that exceeded their withstanding capacity.

    Andy saw this reversal of fortune as a poignant reminder of life''s capricious nature. Because the very force that had emboldened the Hunter family now loomed as an unstoppable and indiscriminate menace upon them and forced them to vacate their generations old mansion like chickens scurrying around in fear of being gutted.

    The ill-advised decision to provoke an adversary they could ill afford to offend had brought the once-prosperous family to the very precipice of ruin in the span of a single day.

    The Hunter family''s abode had transformed into a scene of utter pandemonium. While the halls and chambers bore the deste marks of abandonment, a handful of individuals who still bore the Hunter family name darted through the sprawling mansion in a fric dance of panic. Their faces were etched with raw fear, their every step resonating with the palpable dread of being hunted, as if a relentless, malevolent force was closing in, its voracious hunger threatening to consume them whole.

    This chaotic spectacle was a stark contrast to the family''s former stature. Once esteemed and authoritative, they were now reduced to trembling shadows, their lives hanging by the thinnest of threads. There was a sense of urgency in all of them as they gathered what they could find and hurriedly escaped the mansion while looking about themselves in fear.

    Of course, Andy had already deduced that these people were the remnants who were trying to escape the terrible fate that they would be branded with, in case they were found lingering about the mansion by the Smith family.

    As for the crowd that had gathered around the mansion, there was evident avarice behind their concerned but fake expressions. There gleamed a covetous gleam in their eyes, an insatiable greed that appeared to transcend reason and logic.

    It was as if the wealth amassed by the Hunter family over the course of generations had cast a potent spell, beckoning those whocked the wisdom to resist, or perhaps those who valued their lives so little that they were willing to gamble their well-being for a chance at unimaginable riches.

    Andy disdained those vultures more than anyone else. These people only showed their true selves once a force like the Hunter family fell and chaos ensued for them to grab whatever benefits they could get a hold of without attracting attention.

    Andy could only watch on in amazement as these chicken-hearted and bird-brained people took advantage of the demise of a behemoth to rise in stature.

    Despite not being a prominent figure himself, Andy held himself distinct from these opportunists. While he too intended to capitalize on the Hunter family''s decline, he knew he stood leagues apart from these freeloaders who merely rode the coattails of the Smith family.

    What set him apart was the fact that he had earned the right to reap these benefits by putting his life on the line, a stark contrast to those who sought to profit without any personal sacrifice. In this respect, Andy was driven by a sense of earned entitlement, a testament to his willingness to stake everything for his aspirations.

    Andy couldn''t help but shake his head in sheer astonishment at the audacious shamelessness that humans were capable of exhibiting as he continued his stride towards his intended destination, leaving behind the mansion that now bore the haunting visage of despair.

    бн

    The SSS rank magic that Zach had unleashed to vanquish his foes along with an entire ind was not only the talk of the town but was also being discussed spiritedly amongst the higher echelons of the government. There were several discussions involving recruiting such a talent for the betterment of the city or for the betterment of the empire.

    The whole idea was quite strange because Zach was a well-known dark mage. He had never spoken against the subject, so the masses had already affirmed his identity as a powerful dark mage capable of unimaginable destruction. However, only Zach knew the truth. Not even his closest allies were privy to the truth.

    Strangely, the government never mentioned his status as the dark mage as if they wanted to wipe that stigma from Zach and give him a rightful status so as to establish a cooperative rtionship with him.

 Chapter 321 321 The Siblings Discussion

    ?

    The gong of his achievements had even sounded in the royal halls where two voices were busy discussing the affairs of the state in a graceful manner.

    The owners of the voices were none other than the scions of the royal family. The raspy and low-pitched voice belonged to Prince f while the high-pitched voice but low magnitude voice belonged to Princess Candice.

    Both of them appeared quite regal in their formal garb as they argued back and forth under the guise of debate.

    From the familiarity of their facial structure even someone meeting the two for the first time could deduce their blood rtionship with each other in a single nce. It was as if they had been crafted from the same mould. The physical resemnce between the two bordered on the edge of being identical like that of identical twins.

    The pair of siblings had in fact been born to the same mother and had totally inherited her gic traits but the way the two carried themselves brought about all the difference.

    The pair of siblings had in fact been born to the same mother and had totally inherited her gic traits but the way the two carried themselves brought about all the difference.

    While Prince f appeared to be haughty and stoic, Candace was diametrically opposite to her big brother. She had a sweet looking face and gave off a simr vibe to everyone who came into contact with her despite the difference in the stature between them.

    Although Candace looked like a soft woman, she was anything but na?ve. While discussing the affairs of the state, she was just as sharp and calctive as her elder brother.

    After reaching an impasse with her elder brother during their conversation, she picked up a few documents and began to flip through them.

    The few pages of paper grabbed all her attention as a helpless smile appeared on her face as if she found something to be equally frustrating and exciting in those pages.

    "What are you enjoying so much that you decided to ignore your elder brother like a peasant at a street stall?" asked the wronged Prince f as he stared at his sister with curiosity.

    "It''s about that dark mage who has recentlye to power in Byzantium city. I happened to get some first-hand information about him through an informant of sorts."

    "Oooh~ you have my attention. Let''s see what this mysterious dark mage is capable of." Prince f attempted to grab the papers from Princess Candice''s hands, but the attempt proved to be futile as thetter had seen iting.

    "Fine, tell me what it says then. Being your elder brother, I at least deserve to know what you are getting yourself into."

    This time Princess Candice offered no resistance as she wanted to discuss the situation with her brother as well because the events mentioned in the intelligence report were straight out of fantasy.

    "This mysterious dark mage arrived in Byzantium city followed by a huge group of people and took residence on an uninhabited ind a few months back. At that time, he was believed to have reached SS rank. In those few months he not only changed the entire structure of the uninhabited ind, but also turned it into an imprable fortress. In a matter of months, he developed enough to threaten the top family of the city. In the final war between the top family and him, he ended up unleashing SSS rank magic in order to wipe out the entire opposing force sinking the uninhabited ind in the process."

    "Oh...to be so young and so powerful at the same time, I don''t think that is possible. Maybe he is an old monster pretending to be young. Dark mages are certainly capable of pulling that off."

    "But I don''t think that''s the case."

    "Pray tell, why?"

    "Because his actions hardly reek of old age. Unlike those cold and calctive bastards, he seems to have some semnce of sentimental attachment for his close acquaintances."

    "If that''s the case, then this kind of talent is good enough to be the foremost in the whole continent. After all, there are no mages his age capable of unleashing SSS rank magic in the entire continent. He is definitely worth it to be groomed by our royal family."

    "He definitely is. Maybe you can take him under your wing, brother." suggested Candice as she sighed at the emergence of such a talent.

    "I do find his mysterious persona quite intriguing, but I don''t have enough to waste in such frivolous activities. The western border is on the verge of copse. Our forces are spread out too thin to stop any spy from reaching our ranks. Taking advantage of our limitations, the enemy keeps on ambushing us without rest. So, I have been tasked to eliminate the pointless friction by meeting up with the fieldmander of those Vikings and to strike up a deal. I hope to keep it peaceful, but it doesn''t look like he''ll agree to my suggestions until I perform a show of power." Prince f''s words contained excitement even though he looked like he was being forced to go to the frontier.

    Princess Candice scrunched up her little nose at the mention of the Vikings. She had always hated them. They called themselves a nation of warriors but were too afraid to evenunch a frontal assault. Their only capability was harassing the soldiers positioned along the western frontier so as to keep the Hina Empire on her toes. But whenever the conflict between the two states had the potential of escting into a full-scale showdown, they always backed out knowing the strength of the Hina empire.

    "Good luck with those cowardly people. If I were in your ce, I would have wiped out their entire camp to make my point. That''s the only way they will take you seriously since they want to avoid a war at all costs." suggested Princess Candice with a sadistic smile.

    "My good sister, I would have definitely agreed were it not for the change in their military might. You know that the Vikings provoke any all forces that they share their borders with, right?" asked Prince f like a teacher instructing his student in a gentle manner.

    "Of course, I do. What do you take me for?"

    "Well, they have just defeated the Teutons and have managed to absorb a good portion of their remaining military strength. So, the situation is different this time. They might not necessarily back away from a frontal war. Therefore, I have been asked to act a bit diplomatically so as to avoid a conclusion that might lead to war between our empire and their faction."

    While Prince f was in the mood to discuss the situation from a geographical and political point of view, Princess Candice had already lost all interest in the military situation on the western frontier.

    She turned her head back to the papers in her hand and scoured through their contents with a zealous light gleaming in her irises.

    The intelligence she had received was very potent as it included the fact that the sugar production was in fact Zach''s brainchild. Even in the entire Byzantium city, there were only very few people who actually knew about it. Not even all of the people in Windsor family were aware of the situation even though their family was the greatest producer and supplier of the product across multiple states.

    Obviously, Princess Candice had used that product as well when it was brought to the royal family as a gift by someone. Being a woman, she was fond of desserts and the possibilities that such a product brought to light were practically endless. She had wondered what kind of person could havee up with such a thing. Now that she knew that the source of it all was a dark mage so young, she couldn''t help but be more interested.

    At first, she had believed that sugar would be a rare product avable to the elite popce and the upper society only, but she was incredibly surprised to find that it was the mostmonmodity there could be. It was being sold at a priceparable to that of salt andmon household goods. She wondered why the dark mage opted to make it a low-end product when he could have just as easily made it into a luxury by producing it in low quantities and making it avable to the masses all across the empire.

    While Princess Candice was busily studying the intelligence report, Prince f couldn''t help but advise his sister based on his own findings.

    "Even though the Byzantium city isn''t veryrgepared to the other major cities of the empire, it is still aplex hodge podge of powers that are constantly struggling against each other. Once you are there, you need to be careful about who you take under your wing lest you end up offending the Smith family."

    "Brother, do you take me for a fool?" Princess Candice seemed a bit angry at her brother for treating her like a fool. Of course, she would take action only after careful deliberation considering that the goal of her visit was the Smith family this time.

    Stumped by her question, Prince f had no words. He had only said what he said out of worry for her. To remedy the situation, he didn''t waste any time before responding curtly in the negative.

    ""Of course, I don''t. Who can im to know you better than I do?"

 Chapter 322 322 Rumors Abound

    <h4>Chapter 322 Chapter 322 Rumors Abound</h4>

    "Of course, I don''t. Who can im to know you better than I do? I just wanted to tell you that you don''t necessarily understand the current situation of the city. After the top family was dismantled, there is bound to be chaos and the rise of many new forces can be expected if the Smith family fails to take up that spot in time. Therefore, you need to be in liaison with not only the Smith family but also the other major families."

    "Why do I have to make it soplicated? Can''t I just support the Smith family into taking over the city? It would eliminate the hassle of dealing with the other families entirely."

    Prince f sighed before continuing his exnation.

    "My dear sister, wars aren''t waged with people or armament. Wars are waged with money, a lot of money. A business hub like the Byzantium city is one of the major sources of wealth in the Empire. You can''t let the entire city crumble just because you want to show your appreciation for one of the forces. Being a part of the royal family, you can''t overtly discriminate among the noble popce of the city or there would be unneeded friction. Try to support the Smith family but you have to appease the local forces as well. They need to know that we are not biased against them."

    Princess Candice could only roll her eyes in response to her brother''s ranting, but Prince f didn''t look like he was done even after she revealed her take on his advice.

    "You should keep in mind as to why our royal father chose to send YOU there instead of any of our other siblings. Obviously, this is very important to our royal father. He probably intends to make an ally out of the dark mage and is looking forward to future coborations that employ his genius. Make sure to live up to his expectations or you know what might happen if you fail to do so."

    Prince f sounded genuinely concerned for her and Princess Candice also got the hint of it.

    "Rx brother, I know what to do. You should focus on dealing with those vulgar cowards on the western frontier and stop worrying so much."

    Princess Candice seemed confident as if she had no doubt regarding her ability to get the job done. She was treating it like she had received a rare vacation outside the capital.

    бн

    Although it had already been some time since the incident that sunk Greend but there were still people whispering and gossiping about the sudden rain of destruction that took the whole city by surprise with its beautiful appearance but deadly intentions. Some believed it to be the wrath of some deity while others believed it to be a happy and beautiful coincidence.

    But only a select few believed that the incident was due to the machinations of the dark mage of the Smith family. Of course, they weren''t right either.

    Most of themon popce though, waspletely unaware of the cause of the sudden meteor shower and the destruction it brought along with itsnding. Therefore, they only considered it a slightly dangerous but beautiful phenomenon that they would remember for the rest of their lives. They would probably even tell stories about it to their children and grandchildren about it one day.

    Andy was one of those people who believed that the meteor shower was the result of an SSS-rank spell that Zach cast in order to eliminate his enemies, the Hunter family at its root level. Of course, his belief was based on what he considered facts as the knowledge of the incident he hade from personal observation and the Windsor family leader who was a close ally of the dark mage and his contact with thetter.

    Still, listening to others formte their own conclusions and reaching closer to the truth based on their spections and weird reasoning that was far away from semantics was enjoyable to him. Therefore, he often visited public ces like taverns, markets and restaurants just to enjoy the different versions of the story.

    Currently, Andy was in a tavern, drinking out of arge wooden mug. But this time, he was not alone. There were close to a dozen of his colleagues from the police station who had pulled him to the tavern for an after-work drink.

    Andy didn''t care for it, but his colleagues wouldn''t let him leave without a drink in his system no matter how much he tried to deny their invitation. As a result, he ended up in the tavern surrounded by a bunch of other police officers and quite a few patrons who looked like they were regrs in the ce based on how familiar they were the with the staff and the owner of the bar.

    Despite havinge at the invitation of his subordinates and colleagues, he wasn''t the least bit interested in spending the evening with them. Instead, his ears were all perked up as they picked up on all kinds of conversations taking ce among the patrons of the bar.

    "That family...they really came out of nowhere. I heard that they followed the dark mage here." murmured one of the patrons secretly as if he wanted to keep anyone from hearing him even though the whisper was loud enough to buzz the ears of everyone in the tavern.

    "You mean the Smiths, right?"

    "Who else could it be? Do you know any other prominent family that appeared out of thin air and reced the top family of the city overnight?" The whispering patron found his voice as soon as he received attention from his listeners.

    "I heard someone say that those people used to live in the wild before this and that they are beasts in human form." The spections were endless as there were as many stories as there were people in the tavern. Andy had long since gotten used to it and had grown to enjoy every little perspective no matter how far it might be from the reality that he had dug out with the help of the Windsor family leader.

    The others around the man rolled their eyes simultaneously at the absurdness of the notion. They couldn''t bring themselves to believe in a make-believe story like that. At most the story was good enough to scare children.

    "Oh...please. Don''t be ridiculous. We all know how outside the realm of possibility that is. Obviously, those people are followers of the dark mage and were probably brought by him to help with his citywide domination n. I just hope that the city government wouldn''t give in to his demands." One of the patrons finally got up and spat out the words in his mind. This person appeared to be quite optimistic about the government as he was still hoping for the government to take action against Zach who was aiming forplete domination in the city like a full-blown tyrant.

    "I don''t think so. I believe that it all has to do with that meteor shower that shook the city. The Smith family arrived not too long after that incident. Maybe they had something to do with it?"

    The people in the discussion group seemed to be an odd bunch as every single one of them had a distinct opinion of their own. If not for the fact that Andy knew the topic of discussion and had extensive knowledge on it, he might even have believed them to be learned schrs debating about politics and the affairs of the kingdom based on how serious they looked as they fought off each other''s ideas repeatedly.

    "Yeah...and did you forget that the Windsor family is responsible for the rains that asionally fall, and the other two families have dominion over the seasonal changes? Just how delusional do you have to be toe up with something like that? Can''t you ept the truth already?" sarcasm was evident in the tone of the speaker.

    "For once I have to show my agreement. No matter what, we can''t deny the fact that the dark mage seems to be too young to be an SSS rank mage. I am amon schr and even I know how rare an S ss mage is let alone someone who can unleash SSS rank magic on a whim. There is no way such a young man is capable of pulling off something like that. In my opinion, the dark mage must have used some kind of trick to give that impression. He might have received the aid of a true expert; probably his father. From what I gathered; his father was the dark mage who terrified the city in the past by snubbing the nobility single handedly. All the current family heads used to be his toys back in the day. It could be that the meteor rain was a product of his magic, and the father was only paving the way for his young one."

    The person was one of those overly talkative ones whock the ability to stay on the topic and are unable to end a conversation after starting it. He didn''t stop talking until everyone in the room was ring at him murderously for hounding the limelight for so long.

    Despite how lengthy the argument was, the other patrons couldn''t help but think along the same lines. His semantics were extremely sound.

    "You just might have stumbled on the truth. The dark mage couldn''t have been so strong."

 Chapter 323 323 AndyтАЩs Return

    <h4>Chapter 323 Chapter 323 Andy''s Return</h4>

    "You just might have stumbled on the truth. The dark mage couldn''t have been so strong. Otherwise, he would have just trampled on the Hunter family a long time ago. From what I know, they had been pestering him for a long time and even dared to kidnap his wife to get him to submit. But that only pissed him off and the result was the meteor shower we saw."

    "I am sure this is it. No wonder he waited for such a long time before making his move. He even had to destroy the base he established in order to bury the Hunter family with it. If he really was strong enough to cast that kind of SSS rank spell on a whim, then why couldn''t he keep his stronghold from being destroyed?"

    More and more confident voices of support rose among the patrons as if they were finally reaching a consensus regarding the true strength of the dark mage. They even managed to build a theory regarding the events that led to the meteor shower which devastated Greend.

    Although most of the people in the bar already supported the former idea, there were still a few voices of dissent.

    These people were those who had suffered at the hands of the Hunter family in the past and had been unable to do anything in the wake of their filthy schemes and ckmailing tactics. As a result, they found Zach''s actions to be pretty satisfying and hence developed a need to defend his actions even if they were a little extravagant.

    "I don''t care how the dark mage did it. I am just happy that he did. Who knows how many more lives would have been ruined if he hadn''t taken action? You all say it was excessive, I say it was necessary. The Hunter family only got what wasing for them. It was their karma that brought about their destruction. The dark mage was only the means to an end and thus the reason as to why he was unable to do it before."

    Although this turned out to be a not so popr opinion, the man supporting Zach''s actions got himself another supporter a few seconds of silenceter.

    "I don''t understand how you people can sit here discussing whether or not he is capable of doing it. The fact that he managed to bring down the tyrant that had been weighing down on this city is praiseworthy enough. That bastard and hisscivious son ruined the lives of so many in the city. The dark mage gave them an apt death and I am more than thankful for it. I just hope that we aren''t trading one monster for another by letting the Smith family take over. If they turn out to be just as unsufferable as their predecessors, where would wemon folk go."

    "Oi oi...don''t go sugarcoating the whole incident. The dark mage is a cruel murderer no matter what his intentions were. He carried out a massacre and whether you give it the name of vengeance, karma or exacting righteous justice, the facts are not going to change. The man is guilty in the eyes of thew, and I can only hope that our judicial system is fair enough to be able to see that. If our government can''t even distinguish between murderous psychopaths and usmon folk, then I don''t know where this city is headed."

    A fierce debate ensued immediately after with one side acting all righteous as they condemned Zach''s actions as extremely overboard and reason enough to be punished by thew. The other side though believed that Zach had done a favor to the poption atrge who had been suffering under the tyrannical rule of the Hunter family and as long as Zach didn''t rece the original tyrant to continue his deeds, they were willing to stand with him and were willing to raise their voice against thew for him if need be.

    Andy enjoyed all the popr and unpopr opinions about Zach as he continued sipping on his drink that his colleagues had forced upon him. The sound of the people bickering amongst themselves against or in support of Zach was the only joy he found in thepany of his fellow officers.

    Even though he was quite enjoying the back and forth between the various patrons, he refrained from making any kind ofment as he was currently in his uniform and was representing one of the pirs of the judicial system. If he took a side amongst the patrons, only chaos and anarchy would follow.

    Andy was not just acting aloof with those debating patrons but also with the officers who had invited him out for a drink. He was taciturn and stiff as the fellows came up to him one by one and offered him a toast.

    Andy knew what the toast meant. It was a subtle indication that these people wanted him to take care of them in the future as he had sessfully managed to climb the socialdder using the opportunity extended to him by the Windsor and the Smith family. Some of them even hoped that Andy might pull them along with him so that they would be able to enjoy riding on his coattails without risking anything and without putting in any real efforts to get the opportunity.

    Andy knew all this because he had been the same in the past. Though no one had ever extended their support to him. He had finally found a reason as to why he was given the cold shoulder every time he tried to earn the favor of the higher ups. It was because he wanted to get everything without putting in any of the work.

    The distinction between those who risked their lives and those who offered a toast had to be maintained or there would be no one left who would be willing to take risks and put in efforts to excel. All of them would rather choose the option of hugging a fat thigh to embark on the path of sess.

    So, Andy gave everyst one of his colleagues the cold shoulder and not a single one of them dared to point it out knowing that Andy had the backing of the Windsor family that was a close ally of the Smith family.

    Before the procession of toasts hade to a meaningless end, a shout from the outside garnered the attention of everyone in the tavern.

    "...a royal messenger...someone from the royal messenger was seen at the Windsor family home..."

    The loud announcement started out loud but eventually faded into oblivion as if the announcer was running around the city trying to gain the attention of the masses.

    Andy heard a part of the announcement and guessed that it might have been the truth as it was about time that the royal family made their move. The prowess that the dark mage had shown was far from ordinary and the royal family was nothing if not adept at seeking geniuses with potential and gaining their favor.

    A few of the patrons rushed outside to hear the rest of the announcement with red faces as if the announcement was regarding their own life and death. Of course, in reality these drunk patrons cared about nothing more than to prove their own opinions to their drinking buddies. They wanted to settle their earlier debate with proof.

    As soon as they stepped out into the street, they heard the information that was being spread like wildfire raging through a dry forest. Some of the patrons returned with a ruddy expression while the others looked downtrodden.

    Obviously not all of them could have turned out happy. One group''s win was bound to end in the defeat of the other.

    When these scouts returned, they immediately spilled the beans to the rest of the drunkards in the tavern. Even the police were interested in the newest gossip in the streets as they listened carefully about the announcement earlier.

    "As you all heard previously, the royal messenger arrived at the manor of the Windsor family and made an announcement in front of the audience."

    "Did they condemn their actions of supporting and hiding the dark mage? I knew that the government would not take it lying down as that dark mage wreaked havoc and murdered as he pleased." one of the anti-Zach faction members spoke up in delight after hearing just one half of the story. People like him were meant to be face-pping material. They were cannon fodder to make their enemies look better.

    The anti-Zach faction was in high spirits following hisment but unlike him they refrained from passing on anyment before they received confirmation of the fact.

    "Well, sorry to disappoint you all. The royal messenger announced that the leader of the Smtih family had been raised to the status of Viscount following his deed of ridding the city of the pestilence that had been guing it for decades. They even praised his act of keeping themon folk out of the crossfire between the two families."

    Every individual in the tavern froze like a block of ice. Time stood still as neither the anti-Zach faction nor the pro-Zach faction could take in the information all at once. Even the police officers were bbergasted despite having anticipated the result.

    Only Andy appeared to be indifferent to the announcement as he had already heard the news beforehand. After all, he had be one of the inner members of the Windsor and Smith family based on his timely help in the past.

 Chapter 324 324 Superficial Conflicts

    <h4>Chapter 324 Chapter 324 Superficial Conflicts</h4>

    It was only after a little time passed that life returned to the tavern.

    The anti-Zach faction couldn''t bring themselves to believe what they had just heard. The judicial system did not condemn Zach''s actions. Instead, they rewarded him with an honor reserved for the people with highest contribution towards national strength and economic growth.

    The pro faction was over the moon as they whispered subtly, ''I told you so'' and ''I knew it'' amongst themselves as the pitch of their voices gradually turned high due to their bubbling excitement.

    Even though they wanted to throw the result into the faces of the anti-faction, they didn''t want to start a war by kicking them when they were low.

    That day the tavern had a variety of moods in different parts. Some were jubnt while gloominess prevailed in the others. The officers on the other hand were busy in their own way. Their ttery had reached a whole other level as they went beside themselves to get into the good graces of Andy whose status had just risen a tad higher than it already was following the announcement of Zach''s new status.

    Andy didn''t care about the police officers doing their best to get him to acknowledge them. Instead, he thought back to the day when it all took ce andmended himself for having the foresight to predict this kind of oue.

    бн

    On the day when the inevitable descent of the meteors shook Greend and sunk the majority portion of the ind into the ocean, the Smith family waspletely unaware of all that had transpired. They had been waiting for Zach and the soldiers apanying him to return along with Diana. Only the select few who apanied Zach to the hostage exchange were privy to the information.

    The others were all huddled up together in the Windsor family''s guest house as per Zach''s orders. None of them understood why Zach had ordered all of them to empty their homes and precious belongings in the darkness of the night but not a single one of them distrusted Zach. They chose to put their trust in their leader hoping that thetter would have a good reason for it.

    Like the rest of the city, the Smith family taking shelter in the Windsor family guest house heard the explosions as well and witnessed the sight of ming meteors falling in the direction of their homes but none of them linked it with Zach. It was simply not the first thought that came to their minds considering a natural disaster like that was notmon at all. None of them even dared to link it with the evacuation orders received from Zach the previous night.

    While some believed that the meteors had fallen into the ocean, others wrote it off as a lucky coincidence that they were not on the ind to deal with the tsunamis following such a downpour of space rocks.

    Therefore, the events that took ceter in the day were iprehensible for all of them. A huge force of police officers armed with all kinds of magic artifacts surrounded the guest house from all sides. Even without the advantage of their home turf, the Smith family did not have anyone who was incapable of pulling his / her own weight in the family.

    So, despite being surrounded by the government dogs, they had yet to panic. The Smith family had a clear hierarchy. Therefore, a sudden attack was far from enough to faze them. All of the soldiers hidden among the workers took up their arms and surrounded the rest of the family members in a tight protective circle as they red at their oppressors.

    Before the Smith family could begin to question the motives of the police, a loud voice assaulted their ears. The sound was booming enough to rouse dead souls after all. No human being was capable of speaking that loud.

    Obviously, the one speaking to them was using sound amplification magic or a magic artifact with simr abilities to pull off such a feat.

    "Attention! This is the police. You have been surrounded from all sides. Don''t bother trying to escape because there is nowhere for you to go to anyway." The announcer from the police thought he was being funny by pointing out that the Smith family no longer had their home in Greend.

    The rest of the police officers gasped in shock as they heard the announcer''s words. Thetter obviously exceeded their ranks by quite a bit. Otherwise, there would have been plenty of voices of dissent to shut his mouth already.

    Who amongst them didn''t know what Zach was capable of? Only a fool would dare to slight the family members of such a madman.

    Still, under the leadership of the fool, all of them were forced to act so disrespectfully.

    "Surrender yourselves to thew obediently and we will think about not punishing all of you for coborating with that dark mage. Resist and you will lose your only way out. So how do you want to y this game?"

    Apparently, the police leader wasn''t quite done digging a grave for himself even knowing that the majority of the police officers who were with him had all offered resistance against the mission given to them by the higher ups fervently.

    None of them truly intended to back him up in case the situation went south. Obviously, only a fool could have opted to lead such a suicide mission all the while knowing the strength of the enemy. Therefore, he failed to take many things into consideration before provoking the Smith family.

    Just when the soldiers inside theke house were about to retaliate, Andy came over in time and pushed the leader of the force to the back with his authority as a superior.

    Andy had just been back from visiting the governor when he came across a piece of news that terrified him to no end. Apparently, the foolish government had decided to mobilize a police force to surround and contain the Smith family until the mess could be resolved.

    Having been in the police force, Andy was perfectly aware of the things that could go wrong in such a situation. Therefore, he rushed towards the guest house operated by the Windsor family at the greatest speed he could muster.

    Thankfully, he reached the encirclement in time, or the situation might have taken a turn towards something horrific. He couldn''t even imagine what Zach might have done if someone from his family was harmed by the police in his absence.

    Andy cursed the higher ups in his mind foring up with such a suicidal strategy just to put up appearances in front of the public about their active judicial system.

    Even the police officers were relieved at the arrival of Andy who seemed to be in control of his mental faculties. None of them had epted the mission of their own volition so obviously none of them wanted to lose their lives because of the folly of theirmander and his overly inted ego. The fool was trying to bullshit with the family of the man whoid waste to an entire ind in order to wipe out his enemies from the face of the earth.

    The police officers had no delusion regarding the value of their own lives. Therefore, they knew that even if they were murdered by Zach in retaliation, the government would try their best to bury the news under the rug instead of trying to hold Zach ountable.

    The reason; his strength, the potential he had and the threat he posed to the city once enraged. Just like Luke who was a member of the royal family, no one could hold Zach ountable for his sins because he had his strength and SSS rank magic to back him up. The police officers surrounding Zach''s home would have an end no different to the one suffered by the jailers who died at the hands of Luke. Meaningless death was what it was.

    Andy took a hold of the situation and kept it from changing into a warzone filled with the blood of the innocents.

    No one wanted such a result, not the Smith family, not the police officers standing guard outside theke house and definitely not the government. Even the higher ups had no intention of antagonizing Zach, but they failed to take into ount the stupidity of the people they sent out for appearances sake.

    Zach was a threat in the eyes of the public and the government had to make it look like they were taking action against the Smith family for murdering the Hunter family in droves in order to keep peace in the city. Otherwise, the worth of the judicial system would have taken a nosedive.

    Among the soldiers in theke house, only Bruce noticed what was happening outside the walls of the guest house. He had already deduced the dilemma of the police force and sighed to himself about the struggles of the powerless. After all, despite being the leader of the Luther family in the past, he had experienced simr feelings of powerlessness due to his condition and the pressure of the other forces in his hometown.

    Therefore, instead of giving the poor cops a hard time, he ordered the soldiers inside the residence to calm down and stand guard while the rest of the people were sent back to their amodations to avoid panic.

    Next, he ordered the cooks in the kitchen to prepare a hearty meal for all the cops standing on tenterhooks outside with terror in their hearts.

 Chapter 325 325 Viscount

    <h4>Chapter 325 Chapter 325 Viscount</h4>

    Bruce couldn''t help but sympathize with the cops and decided to help them out a bit. A rich dinner could at least lift the waning spirits of the bottom feeding cops who were being forced to act against their wills.

    Andy was a shrewd man. He didn''t stay with the encirclement after giving out orders to the cops standing guard. He just marched right into the guest house as if he was a part of the Smith family instead of the force that had been sent to prevent the members of that family from escaping.

    Bruce came forward to greet Andy as he saw him enter. The soldiers were a step ahead of him, but Bruce signaled for them to go about their own jobs and leave Andy to him.

    The soldiers of the Smith family stuck close to him but obeyed his orders, nevertheless.

    Bruce had heard about the ally who appeared out of nowhere and gave them a fighting chance against the Hunter family following the capture of Diana. Naturally Bruce had thanked that cop in his heart countless times for his timely help, but he had yet to meet the person face to face as Bruce had been under containment orders during the time Andy came to the Smith family with the news.

    So, this was the first time Bruce and Andy came into contact with each other. The two were essentially the same kind of people with plenty of brains and schemes formting every second within their minds.

    "You must be the rumored person behind the recent business opportunities of the Windsor family. I am Andy, you might have heard of me before. We belong to the same camp after all."

    Bruce''s eyes twinkled at the name and the aloof attitude on his face vanished altogether, reced by a trace of warmth reserved for close friends.

    "I am the useless brother of the girl you helped rescue. Name''s Bruce."

    Bruce didn''t bother saying any words of thanks as he knew that Andy didn''t want his thanks at all. He just kept the gratitude in his heart so he could return the favor someday.

    The two shook hands as if they had been friends for a long time and sat down in thewn near theke to chat. Two servants immediately set up a pair of chairs with a tea table in the middle with several different snacks on it.

    Being intelligent, each in their own right, allowed the two to get along better. As cunning as they were, they had no difficulty assessing each other''s intentions and what the both of them needed in this situation. Therefore, they didn''t bother prodding each other cautiously and got down to getting to know each other thoroughly.

    It was always easier tomunicate with intelligent people. Both Andy and Bruce managed to glean the meaning of the sentence clearly that day. They were surprisingly enjoying each other''spany as they shared their insights into the situation with each other while munching on the delicious delights on the table along with steaming hot tea that burned right through their exhaustion.

    "To be honest, I still can''t bring myself to believe that he did such a thing even after you confirmed it for me. I knew that he was powerful, but to think that it was to this extent baffles me still. It seems that I need to reevaluate my opinion of him after this."

    Bruce revealed his shock after he heard the news of his sister''s rescue because along with it hade the news of what Zach had done in the forest. He had been holding back on releasing the news to the rest of the family members because he knew how the destruction of Greend was going to affect the Smith family considering their love for the new home. He hadn''t wanted to be the one to break the news because he didn''t want to handle the aftermath. As such he was waiting for Zach to return eagerly.

    Andy only nodded in understanding and affirmed Bruce''s actions in his heart. After all, it was the same for him as he couldn''t understand how someone could manipte the forces of nature to such an extent. This was far from what normally strong mages were capable of.

    "So, what are the chances that the government would target him after this?" Bruce asked while frowning with worry.

    "Both zero and a hundred percent at the same time." Andy smiled mysteriously as he answered Bruce.

    "What do you mean?"

    "Well, whether or not the government would be after him depends on what you mean by ''being after him''. If you want to know if they would try and hunt him down formitting a heinous crime, then the probability is absolutely zero. The government has neither the power to do so nor the intention. They are a bunch of cowards. As long as the city keeps functioning on the economic front, there is no reason for them to go against someone who can destroy the city so easily. Another interpretation of the same is that the government would seek his coboration. In that sense, there is a hundred percent chance of him being hounded by the government at every turn."

    "Wouldn''t the government be averse to working with a murderer? How can they openly coborate with someone who is clearly an enemy of justice in the eyes of the public? Isn''t that the reason why you are here against your will? To show the masses that you cops still have some use."

    "You really believe the world is ck and white? There is no such thing as morals or right and wrong in the face of benefits. The government is made up of people like you and me. Do you really think they would dare to go against someone powerful like him? I have been working under the bastards for a long time to know that they would not only turn a blind eye to what he has done to the Hunter family, they might even help him take the ce left vacant by the Hunter family in this city."

    "And why would they want to do that? They can just as well appoint someone else. What''s stopping them from putting one of their own at the front?"

    "Because they have use for him. They need a strong elite like him to keep the forces in the city from acting out. Why do you think they let Hogan do whatever he wanted even though his atrocities were visible to all themon folk in the city? Let me tell you, they are probably thinking up a way to reward him and to support him and your Smith family to take over the reins of the city as the top family."

    Bruce was taken aback by Andy''s revtion, but he could certainly see it all ying out just as Andy suggested. His spection was backed by a semantic thought process that Bruce couldn''t deny.

    "Well, we''ll just have to see for ourselves how it all turns out then." suggested Bruce so as to close a conversation with seemingly no end in sight.

    бн

    As it turned out, Bruce didn''t have to wait very long to find out the government''s viewpoint regarding the havoc that Zach wreaked on Greend.

    It hadn''t even been a week since the incident that the messenger from the royal family arrived at the doorstep of the Windsor family where Zach had been staying during this time. Everyone in the city was well aware that the Windsor family was working in cahoots with the dark mage who was also the son-inw of the Windsor family.

    Therefore, the royal messenger made the announcement in front of the mansion followed by the hoard ofmon folk eager to hear the announcement.

    "I havee from the capital bearing an imperial edict from the emperor himself. Listen up, all the subjects of his majesty the emperor. From this moment onwards, Zach of house Smith has been raised to the status of a Viscount of the Royal family. He is entitled to all the benefits and the respect and honor that is the right of anyone bearing such a title. As a viscount, his majesty has bestowed all thend left behind by the Hunter family to the Viscount and his family, the house of Smith. The territory will belong to Viscount Zach for all the generations toe as long as he stays loyal to the empire and doesn''t do anything that can be considered a betrayal of his majesty the emperor''s trust."

    There was a hugemotion in the city due to the sudden announcement. The people began to guess why the emperor had given the dark mage a reward instead of a punishment. The mass murder of the Hunter family was evident to all of themon folk.

    To quell the voices of dissent, the government soon disseminated rumors through confidential channels to absolve Zach of any crime associated with the disappearance of the Hunter family. To begin with, there had been no evidence to support the fact that the meteor shower was the result of Zach''s magic or that he was responsible for the disappearance of the Hunter family other than the word of mouth that could not be considered as incriminating evidence.

    The incident was soon brushed under the rug through the involvement of the government. The Hunter family was proimed to be extremely unlucky to havee under heaven''s wrath. They were just in the wrong ce at the wrong time and ended up destroying themselves.

 Chapter 326 326 Nobody Morty

    <h4>Chapter 326 Chapter 326 Nobody Morty</h4>

    The story, though not quite popr among the masses, soon gained weight by the constant propaganda of the government. The more themon people began to believe in the story concocted by the government, the more suspicion was lifted from Zach and people began to ept him in his new role as the Viscount.

    The deaths of the Hunter family were ruled out as the result of a natural disaster and Zach and the Smith family were absolved of every crime that they had been used of by the judicial system soon after.

    In another rted news, Andy finally began to reap benefits of the choice he made between the Hunter family and the Smith family. He was promoted by the higher ups as a result of his exceptional relief efforts to help themon folk during the disaster. His exceptional leadership during the emergency situation was praised in the department and he was promoted to the position of the chief of the police department and the warden of Byzantium city based on his efforts.

    Andy was sworn into his new role and took charge of thew and order around his area of jurisdiction. Even he had never expected to take such a giant leap. His rise was akin to a carp leaping through the dragon gate to emerge as a dragon on the other end.

    While themon people praised him for his bravery and hard work, the cops knew the reason for his sudden promotion. After all, many of them were way ahead of him in the line for promotion but still found their path ahead blocked by a giant boulder. There was not a tinge of doubt in their minds as to why Andy was so far ahead of them when he had been aggard only a few weeks back.

    In the current situation of the Byzantium city, Andy had earned the support of not one but two giants. One was the economic leader of the city with the booming sugar business that is the Windsor family and the second was the most powerful family of the city that is the Smith family led by Viscount Zach.

    If despite both those pirs of support, Andy failed to reach such a position, then that would have been more suspicious and shocking to them.

    But the rise in position doesn''t always juste with new perks. Sometimes ites with a few more obligations and a few more responsibilities to shoulder.

    Morty was Andy''s brother-inw. His wife''s younger brother who had been idle for as long as Andy could remember. The useless idiot had always been looking for an easy way to sess, but no one had ever given it to him due to his penchant forziness and shitty attitude.

    Hearing of Andy''s abrupt rise to power in the police department, Morty found his one-way ticket to sess. He had finally found the thigh he could hold onto with all his might without the thigh being able to reject his advances.

    Andy knew the kind of person Morty was, so he wasn''t willing to help him out no matter how much he pleaded with him. Morty kept telling Andy that he was a changed man and was willing to go above and beyond to earn his keep. He kept asking for a single chance, but Andy knew better. He threw him out without any further thought as he couldn''t afford to keep a parasite who would only stain his reputation in the long run. This was a crucial period for him after all. He couldn''t afford to earn the ire of the masses just after taking the oath for office.

    While Andy was adamant about staying away from Morty, his wife Martha kept pestering him about it. She couldn''t see her brother wasting his life away like that.

    So, when Morty approached Martha for help, she was more than willing to plead his case with her husband. Of course, she didn''t ask him out straight and used the greatest weapon in her arsenal to manipte Andy into agreeing with her request.

    The great weapon; what could it have been other than pillow talk, the most lethal weapon of them all that was responsible for the downfall of countless empires.

    With no choice left, Andy had to ept Morty into the force as a newly inducted employee.

    Although Morty had no set of expertise or personal skills and was useless for the most part. There was one thing that he excelled at; keeping secrets. The man could hold his tongue and could be trusted to do it too. It wasn''t out of some twisted sense of loyalty but because of his overly inted ego. He didn''t do well with interrogations, demands or orders. He could be quite stubborn in such situations.

    Therefore, Andy employed him for his stealthier activities in the future. Now that he had be the head of the sheep, he would be required to do favors for those who helped put him in power. Since he couldn''tplete those tasks himself, he decided to let Morty handle them for him.

    The first favor came knocking on their door far sooner than anyone had expected. Surprisingly, it wasn''t a government official or someone from the upper echelons of power who made the request, but rather the head of the Windsor family himself.

    Marico had a task that required careful handling behind the scenes, and Andy saw a golden opportunity to put Morty''s unique abilities to good use. Instead of acting as an intermediary, Andy directly connected Marico with Morty. He had to maintain his newfound image as a man of authority, especially now that he had ascended to his new role.

    Morty, on the other hand, saw this job as both effortless and rewarding. Not only could he savor the privileges that came with being the police chief''s brother-inw, but he also had the prospect of ascending the socialdder through the connections he could cultivate over time by granting favors rmended by his influential brother-inw.

    The initial task, it turned out, hade directly from Andy''s own benefactor, the leader of the Windsor family.

    Morty couldn''t have been more motivated. This was an opportunity to prove his worth, cement his position, and establish himself as a valuable asset in the intricate web of power dynamics and ndestine operations.

    бн

    He walked with heavy footsteps as if carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Each and every step he took managed to leave a footstep in his wake in the soft ground that led towards the wilderness. They had long since left the safety of the city and were closer to the dangerous part of the forest where even beasts could be found if one was extremely unlucky.

    Finding himself in such a situation, Grace couldn''t help but reevaluate the things he had done in the past. Even though he didn''t regret his actions, that didn''t mean he was happy with how his life was going to turn out from that moment onwards.

    The future that had always smiled back at him with its blinding radiance had gone bleak after a single bad decision which was forced on him by circumstances. Only darkness surrounded him, and the ckness only increased the further he moved. There wasn''t a source of light left in his life ever since he was sentenced to confinement in prison for his sins and his betrayal.

    Grace had spent thest few months in prison, pondering over his actions that almost led to the death of the Windsor family leader and the demise of the whole family; not to mention the obvious smearing of their name in the public.

    While the punishment he had received for his crimes wasn''t extreme, it was still severe enough to drown him in negativity about his future. As per his sentence, he was supposed to spend at least a dozen years in prison following which his trial would be conducted in front of a jury to determine if he should be let go or not.

    But everything changed a few days back when his sentence was reverted out of nowhere. Paperwork signed by a notable judge was delivered to the police station following which he was pulled out of the prison and informed that he was going to be exiled.

    Grace couldn''t have predicted a blow that came right out of the fantasies. Such an oue wasn''t something he could have imagined even in his wildest imaginations.

    s, he had been smacked by fate once again. Following death, exile was the next capital punishment in the empire after all. Just when he thought that things couldn''t get any worse, they did.

    Exile in this world didn''t just mean being thrown out of the city to fend for oneself. No, it was far worse than that. It meant a life worse than that of ves andborers until death. Some exiles were sent to the mines to mine ores until their backs gave out while others were forced to pull weight. The most unfortunate ones were used as cannon fodder to clear out dangerous areas. They were used as scouts in order to avoid pointless innocent deaths. Such exiles were well fed but tended to have shorter lifespans.

    Grace was not willing to live like any of those groups. He still had many things he wanted to aplish in his life, many debts he owed, and sins he had to make up for. He couldn''t waste his lifeboring away in some ve camp.

    His survival instinct awakened and forced him to resist his fate.

 Chapter 327 327 Awesome Pardon

    <h4>Chapter 327 Chapter 327 Awesome Pardon</h4>

    Thankfully, the police officer detailed to escort him to the construction camp in the wilderness turned out to be a free spirit. He was more asleep than awake even when he was walking on the road. Grace had seen him hitting several trees in his path face first like a blind man.

    Grace felt that this was his chance and his blessing that the goddess of luck had bestowed upon him after the tides of misfortune that had befallen him before.

    Even though his escorting officer looked severelycking in terms of caution and responsibility, Grace didn''t want to take a risk especially when his escape was so close at hand that he could almost feel the breath of freedom brushing past him.

    Grace wasn''t an overcautious man by nature, but the easygoing escort and his bouts ofziness and long sleep hours reeked of a plot. He was therefore unwilling to believe that nothing fishy was going on.

    Instead of making a false judgement due to haste and his eagerness to escape, Grace observed Morty who would suspiciously take a rest every now and then without a care for the world.

    Grace kept an eye on Morty the whole way until he could recall Morty''s habits, both conscious and subconscious, at his fingertips. He clearly remembered his sleep patterns and his slight quirks. Only after he was sure did Grace finally make an escape n.

    Finding an opportunity when Morty was asleep, Grace cut the chain with the help of a few rocks and a sharp de edge.

    Since Morty was asleep like the dead, there was no waking up for him even though the sound of the chains breaking apart was loud enough to rouse any human being from his sleep no matter how deep.

    Taking advantage of the deep and dark night, Grace slowly retreated into the shadows wearily, afraid of rousing the snoring police officer at the most critical juncture of his escape.

    He was finally free from the life of captivity andbor that awaited him in the construction camp. The feeling he had in his heart at that moment was something he would never trade; even if he was offered the whole world in exchange.

    Of course, no guard would be that clumsy in his duties. It was undoubtedly a pretense, a fairly obvious one at that. But Grace had long since convinced himself that it was his luck and not the escorting officer that was providing him with the golden opportunity to break the chains restricting him.

    The proof of that was the smile that came over the face of the sleeping Morty a few minutes after Grace escaped into the night forest.

    Morty had long since be tired of acting sleepy. He couldn''t understand why Grace was being so stubborn when he had been creating so many opportunities for thetter to escape his confines.

    After a few days of effort, the man finally got a clue of what he was supposed to do and escaped at once without looking back.

    The grin that stretched across Morty''s face as the prisoner slipped away, eluding his vignt gaze, could have easily conveyed an impression that he considered the escape to be of minor significance.

    It was a smile that carried a curious mix of nonchnce and something more enigmatic, as if there were hiddenyers to his reaction. It could have made any onlooker wonder if Morty''s demeanor concealed a deeper motive or if he possessed insights that others did not.

    In practice, the consequences for civil servants who allowed exiled prisoners to escape, even due to seemingly minorpses or errors, were both substantial and weighty. Suchpses were viewed with great gravity within the system, and the expected penalties were far from trivial.

    These individuals were subject to rigorous disciplinary actions, investigations, and potential legal repercussions, all of which could tarnish their careers irreparably. The repercussions of such a failure were not something Morty could have simply brushed aside if he had been left to fend for himself.

    What provided a sturdy foundation to bear the weight of these impending consequences was the fact that he had a powerful brother-inw. This influential connection allowed Morty a certaintitude in his professional undertakings, affording him the freedom to act in a manner that might have otherwise been untenable. It was this familial alliance that would, in all likelihood, serve as a bulwark against the potential ramifications of the numerous failures thaty ahead in his career.

    Morty had unwavering trust in his brother-inw, as the professional bond between them needed to be solid and unshakable. This trust was a two-way street, with Andy having no reason to betray Morty''s confidence.

    Therefore, Andy had taken proactive measures long ago to preemptively address any consequences stemming from the minor mistakes made by Morty, obviously on his orders.

    To ensure Morty''s continued protection, Andy had discreetly secured the cooperation of those responsible for evaluating and adjudicating any errors orpses on Morty''s part.

    He employed abination of tactics to sway those responsible for assessing Morty''s mistakes. Some were convinced through the judicious use of money, while others yielded to his authority within the department. For those who remained resistant, the weight of peer pressure bore down upon them, ultimatelypelling them to relent to Andy''s strategic maneuvering.

    Through abination of influence, favors, and strategic arrangements, Andy had effectively mitigated the potential fallout from Morty''s slip-ups, effectively safeguarding Morty from the severe consequences that might have otherwise awaited him.

    The entire hierarchy of officials had silently concurred to a collective act of willful ignorance regarding Morty''s actions, so long as he continued to act on behalf of the police chief.

    It was, of course, a subtle and unspoken arrangement.

    Andy didn''t openly dere that Morty would serve as his covert enforcer in the future. Instead, he merely requested their understanding and leniency, urging them to allow Morty a free hand in his actions. Andy framed this request as essential for maintaining his own peaceful life, one that was intimately tied to his wife''s happiness, which, in turn, hinged upon Morty''s well-being.

    бн

    After sessfully escaping his jailor, Grace didn''t even stop to think about his next course of action as he got his bearings in order and turned towards Byzantium city as if on instinct. He rushed back home like the wind itself. Both the excitement of his escape and the anticipation of seeing his beloved Taylor brought an unintentional spring in his footsteps.

    He hadn''t gone much farther when he found a couple standing at the crossroads with their eyes lingering in his direction, as if they had been waiting for him all along.

    The two people were the entirety of Grace''s life. One was his beloved woman, Taylor for whom he had betrayed the one family he had vowed his allegiance to. And the other was the head of that family he had betrayed. While he owed a debt of love towards the former, guilt and gratitude alike bound him to thetter.

    Therefore, when Grace saw the two people together on the crossroads waiting together, he almost couldn''t believe himself. He wondered if he was dreaming and blinked his eyes a few times to make sure he wasn''t just imagining things.

    Getting closer, the notion turned into reality and a lot of things clicked into ce. The sleepy escorting officer and his overly suspicious actions, his smooth as butter escape from captivity and the sudden change of his punishment from imprisonment to exile; all of it had probably been orchestrated by the leader of the Windsor family, his former liege and his benefactor.

    Grace found himself unable to dismiss the series of fortunate events that had unfolded during this time as mere happenstance. It became increasingly clear to him that what he had once casually attributed to luck was, in fact, the oue of a meticulously crafted and expertly executed n. This n had been designed with an unwavering focus on a single, overarching goal: to engineer his escape from the confines of his imprisonment.

    As Grace contemted this revtion, he couldn''t help but marvel at the level of intricacy and calction that had gone into his liberation. Each piece of the puzzle, every twist of fate, had been carefully orchestrated to serve this singr purpose. It was a testament to the dedication and resolve of those who had worked tirelessly behind the scenes even after what he did to them.

    Tears welled in his eyes; their emergence akin to the gradual awakening of a dormant spring. At first, they trickled down his cheeks slowly, hesitant in their descent. Yet, as the floodgates of emotion opened wider, they gained momentum, transforming into a ceaseless stream of salty droplets.

    It was a torrential outpouring of sorrow and emotion, a manifestation of feelings that had long been held in check but now surged forth with an undeniable force, washing over him in waves of catharsis.

    Grace''s wail, in that vulnerable moment, evoked the image of a repentant child who, despite his grievous wrongs, had been enfolded in the warm embrace of parental forgiveness. It was a cry that bore the weight of his past transgressions yet carried with it the redemptive power of unconditional love.

    As the echoes of hisment reverberated, Grace''s emotional flood surged unabated, causing his knees to falter and give way. His legs, no longer able to bear the burden of his overwhelming emotions, sumbed to the tidal wave of feelings that had surged forth.

    It was a physical manifestation of the emotional turmoil he was experiencing, a release of pent-up guilt, remorse, and gratitude that left him trembling in the wake of his emotional storm.

 Chapter 328 328 Repayment

    <h4>Chapter 328 Chapter 328 Repayment</h4>

    The whirlwind of changes in his life had descended with such abruptness that it left him utterly disoriented. Everything had shifted at an astonishing pace, leaving him struggling to keep up with the sudden transformations.

    During this time of captivity, he had harbored the notion that a substantial chunk of his remaining years would be cloaked in a somber veil of introspection and repentance. His vision for the future had been one of humility, with his head held low in acknowledgment of the grievous transgressions he had perpetrated against those who had extended their benevolence to him.

    And over time, he hade to relinquish any semnce of hope for his redemption. The weight of his past actions had extinguished the flicker of optimism, leaving him resigned to a life burdened by the unrelenting shadow of guilt and self-doubt.

    Had it not been for the arrival of a golden opportunity, an urrence that appeared as if conjured out of nothing, his emergence from prison could have been profoundly different, not to mention veryte.

    He might have emerged as a person fundamentally changed by the suffocating weight of his past actions. A profound shift in his core identity wasn''t a stretch either.

    Alternatively, he might have emerged as a mere husk of his former self, stripped of the vitality and spirit that had defined him before his incarceration. The opportunity that now beckoned him offered a chance for redemption, a path to reim the essence of who he truly was, and it was a lifeline he clung to with a renewed sense of hope and vigor.

    Marico''s involvement had rescued him from the abyss into which he had been steadily descending, a dark and deste ce where loneliness and guilt had been his relentlesspanions.

    Grace couldn''t stop his thoughts from gurgling out in between the asional sobs and wails. He still hadn''t gotten over the betrayal he had rewarded the Windsor family with after all the years he had worked for them.

    Even though the Windsor family didn''t act like they med his choices, Grace did. He med himself for his weakness and he med himself for hisck of trust in them. He had chosen to be spineless so he could save Taylor even though he could have trusted the Windsor family and asked for their help. He had ended up receiving their help either way and it hadn''t taken them longer than a few hours to get Taylor out of the clutches of the enemy.

    "My lord, I don''t deserve it. I don''t deserve your mercy after what I did. How can you still find it in you to go out of your way to save me like this? I should have just followed my fate and died in that prison. At least that way I wouldn''t have to feel like I had gulped down a load of shit."

    Marico didn''t n on letting Grace continue to demean himself in front of the person he loved. Even though he had betrayed the Windsor family, Marico believed that he would have done the same given the circumstances.

    After all, Marico himself hadn''t exactly been the beacon of hope for the people of the Windsor family during the time he was sick and then when he was being suppressed by the Hunter family through their incessant schemes.

    Marico believed that the result would probably have been the same even if Grace had chosen not to betray him. Someone else would have taken his ce. There were plenty of people with loved ones and not enough trust in their family leader in the Windsor family at that time.

    "Get up already. Don''t bother with the formalities. You have served my family for a long time, and this is just a repayment."

    Marico pulled up the sobbing Grace and brought him to his feet even though there was some resistance from thetter. Grace was feeling too ashamed to get off his knees but Marico asserted his will and didn''t let him continue to wallow in his regret.

    "Now I believe that you two young people have a lot to catch up on. I don''t think anyone should have to live a life in captivity, not even the worst of criminals. Personally, I found it quite weary for the spirit."

    Marico didn''t think he needed to say anything else to convey his intentions regarding Grace and Taylor. He just put his hands into his pocket and pulled out some gold coins carefully bundled together in a pouch. Just from the sound of the coins and the weight of the bag, it was easy to infer that the pouch contained a substantial amount, enough for Grace and Taylor to live afortable life until Grace could find employment elsewhere.

    Marico pushed the pouch into his hands even though Grace tried to resist his kindness out of shame. Eventually, he couldn''t bring himself to embarrass the leader of Windsor family and epted it with his tears falling heavily like summer rainfall.

    A smile appeared on Marico''s face when Grace epted the gold. He patted Grace''s shoulder encouragingly as if jolting his soul back to reality and stared into his eyes coldly as if ordering thetter toe back to his senses by snapping out of the sentimental state he had fallen in.

    Following that, Marico just turned around and left with unhurried steps like those protagonists from the books who pretended to be cool all the time using simr means. However, the Windsor family was a tad too old to be one of those cool main characters.

    Grace could no longer see Marico''s face, but the view of Marico''s back evoked his still raw emotions again.

    Marico was slowly and gradually growing distant from him, but Grace was unable to move his eyes away from his back. The man was someone he had vowed to protect but had ended up harming. Therefore, he was both the reason for Grace''s rise and his downfall.

    Grace had received Marico''s blessing despite the fact that his betrayal had almost ruined the Windsor family he was supposed to serve. His heart couldn''t take it anymore and he fell down to his knees. The tear stains on his face had yet to vanish but there was no sadness in his eyes, only gratitude.

    Grace proceeded to perform three kowtows towards Marico''s back. This was the highest respect one could give to someone else. Usually, this kind of respect and obeisance was reserved for blood rtions like parents and grandparents. It only went to show the kind of respect Grace was harboring for Marico in his heart after the favors he had received.

    Taylor as his wife couldn''t just stand there. She too joined her husband in paying respect to their benefactor. She knew what Grace had done to that family but despite all that the family had not forgotten him and had repaid him in every manner.

    Grace and Taylor only got back to their feet after the Windsor family leader had gone out of their sights. Grace held her trembling hands in his andforted her with his gaze that reached her soul directly and delivered the message he wanted to convey.

    Taylor of course understood the meaning in his gaze. The two had been in love for such a long time and this much understanding was only basic for them. They could judge each other''s intention based on intuition alone. It had been hard wired into their systems after they had spent so much time together.

    Nodding her head at him gently, she wiped her own tears away with the sleeve of her arm that was still free. She then proceeded to rub the same sleeve on Grace''s eyes to wipe away the tear stains.

    Grace let her do what she wanted and only enjoyed her touch on his face with his eyes closed. Once they were done, he squeezed her hand tighter and uttered, "Let''s go then".

    Oddly, Grace had no feelings whatsoever as he led Taylor away from the city, he had called his home for a long time. Simrly, Taylor had spent most of her life as a ve in the Hunter family, so she had no lingering attachments to Byzantium city either.

    The Windsor family had given them a new lease on life. Marico''s efforts in breaking Grace out of the prison with the ruse of exile wasn''t for nothing. He had intended to give the couple a brand-new chance to start afresh and build their lives up from scratch without anyone controlling their fates this time because they didn''t need to stay bound to any force and could live their lives like ordinary people.

    Having guessed Marico''s intentions, Grace didn''t hesitate and took Taylor away from Byzantium city in search of a ce they could call home from now on. The woman didn''t offer any resistance either and just followed behind him while holding on to his hand like it was her most precious treasure.

    бн

    Meanwhile, in the temporary residence granted to the Smith family by the Windsor family, Zach was having a discussion with Jack who had proved to be very useful in their strategy against the Hunter family. Jack had not only fulfilled his end of the deal, but he also hadn''t even asked for anything in return other than the auxiliary limb that Zach had provided him with as a gesture of goodwill.

    The conversation wasn''t a serious one by any means. It looked like both Zach and Jack were enjoying their well learned leisure time, sitting by theke and munching on the snacks brought by the servants after regr intervals.

 Chapter 329 329 Unexpected Advice

    <h4>Chapter 329 Chapter 329 Unexpected Advice</h4>

    But just when the evening of casual chit chat was about toe to an end, Jack stood up from thewn chair as if to indicate that the conversation he was just about to initiate wasn''t something he could say while seated in such a casual manner.

    "I want to propose something to you. I wonder if you are willing to hear me out?"

    "What''s gotten into you all of a sudden?" Zach frowned questioningly as he got up from his seat as well. He didn''t know what Jack wanted to say but he had to at least return that much courtesy to the person who had helped him save Diana.

    "You have already taken over Byzantium city by taking down the Hunter family. I don''t think there is any force brave enough to take action against you after you became a viscount but there are always exceptions."

    "Don''t beat around the bush and get to the point. Just tell me what you want to say without any hesitation." Zach waspletely serious as he didn''t like how Jack was saying irrelevant things to soften the subject he was trying to bring up.

    Jack nodded reluctantly and acquiesced to Zach''s demand.

    "I want to say that you will have to dirty your hands even though you stand at the top of the city. If you try to stay clean, your hold over the city will falter in no time and the power structure of this ce would break down. Thew of the jungle is applicable everywhere as long as there are greedy people involved. Since your position is now quite lofty, it isn''t appropriate for you to quell these riots and revolts with your own hand. You will definitely need someone to wade in the darkness for you and wipe out those targeting you or your people."

    Jack hesitantly raised his head and peered at Zach as if to gauge his reaction before proceeding further.

    Naturally Zach wasn''t one to show his feelings on his face.

    "I am willing to swear my loyalty to you since I have found you far more credible than the Hunter family. If you truly intend to wage war in the darkness against the uncertain element that might destabilize your family''s reign in the city, I am willing to do it for you discreetly so no one will be able to tie anything to you. Let me do the dirty work while you stay pristine in the eyes of the public. Only by getting rid of the uncertain elements would you be able to maintain this peaceful state of the city, so I advise you to think it over before rejecting me."

    Jack could sense that his words hadn''t been able to impact Zach very much.

    Instead, Zach had been thinking of some other useless things.

    There was no doubt that it was a good proposition from Zach''s point of view. After all, there was nothing in it that would harm his benefits or that of his family and the benefits were more than attractive.

    Zach considered it for a bit and decided that he wasn''t someone who needed to resort to dirty means to get things done because power wasn''t his ultimate goal. There were greater things he had in mind and this kind of thinking would have strongly bound him to Byzantium city.

    Additionally, Zach''s trust in Jack''s capacity to restrain his murderous instincts remained precarious at best. The prospect of granting Jack unrestricted power was a double-edged sword, fraught with uncertainty. There lingered a genuine concern that once unshackled, Jack might unleash a devastating spree of violence, indiscriminately taking lives and invoking Zach''s name to strike fear into the hearts of the popce, further cementing his brutal authority.

    These doubts weighed heavily on Zach''s mind, creating a disconcerting dilemma. On one hand, he recognized Jack''s ruthlessness as a potential tool for maintaining control, but on the other, he couldn''t overlook the precarious unpredictability that came with it. It was a delicate bnce between harnessing Jack''s brutality for his own ends and preventing it from spiraling into uncontroble chaos.

    Zach''s perception of Jack ran deep. He understood that at the core of Jack''s charactery an aversion to taking orders and a penchant for independence.

    The only reason Jack had yielded to Zach''s authority was due to the fact that Zach was undeniably stronger, both physically and in terms of his influence. Moreover, Zach could dangle the enticing promise of a prosperous future in front of Jack, which was a persuasive motivator.

    However, Zach''s insight also extended to the inherent fragility of this arrangement. He knew that Jack''s loyalty was transactional, hinging on the assurance of personal gain. There was no unwavering bond of trust or undying fidelity.

    If a better offer were to materialize, or if a more formidable figure came onto the scene, Zach had no illusions about Jack''s willingness to switch allegiances. Jack was, at his core, a viin, guided by self-interest rather than unwavering loyalty.

    Zach was well aware that relying on Jack to watch his back was a precarious proposition, as it contradicted the very essence of who Jack was as an individual.

    In a departure from the conventional approach of exploiting and then casting aside someone like Jack, Zach opted for a different path.

    Rather than outright rejecting Jack''s initial proposition, he countered with an offer that held the allure of an irresistible opportunity for those seeking a shot at redemption and a fresh start in life. It was a gesture rooted in a deeper understanding of human nature and the motivations that drove individuals like Jack.

    "My friend, consider the fact that life extends far beyond the confines of this city. Why restrict yourself to a single ce when you have the opportunity to explore the world beneath the expansive blue sky? After enduring captivity for so long, why not relish the freedom to roam unburdened instead of forging your own chains by pledging allegiance to someone like me? I understand that, prior to our meeting, your sole desire was to evade the relentless pursuit ofw enforcement, to secure your liberty once more. In your past, you''ve known little but bloodshed, violence, and negativity. It''s high time to recognize that life can be vibrant and diverse. Perhaps it''s time to embark on a different path, to embrace your existence as an ordinary man rather than persisting down the road of destruction as a remorseless harbinger of death under another''smand."

    Jack listened to Zach attentively, his typically unyielding demeanor softened by the sincerity of Zach''s words. He mulled over the proposition with a mind uncluttered by skepticism, genuinely contemting the path Zach had outlined. The appeal of Zach''s words was undeniable, but Jack grappled with a deep-seated doubt that lingered within him.

    He couldn''t easily ept that such a life was still within his grasp, not after the unforgivable deeds he hadmitted. His hands were already stained with the indelible marks of blood and gore, and no amount of virtuous intentions or noble pursuits could cleanse them of their grim history. The pungent stench of his past actions clung to him like an inescapable shroud, a haunting reminder of the darkness that had consumed him for so long.

    Zach didn''t let Jack consider it for long and put his hand inside his jacket pocket to pull out a white envelope with his seal on it. He handed over the envelope to Jack with a smile on his face.

    "This is a letter of rmendation from me. I have a few friends in Elizabeth city. You can go there and start a new life without anyone knowing about your previous identity. You can start afresh there. No one will be able to fault you for your previous lifestyle there. I have a feeling that you will fit right in there if you take my advice and stop being the obstacle in your own path to happiness."

    Before Jack could work himself out of the sudden shock, Zach continued with his shocking words again.

    "Find the Macrae family there. It is a reasonably powerful family, one that I owe life saving grace to. Show the leader this letter and I am sure that they will have a suitable role for you, not the kind that you have been used to here, the simple kind. I hope that you can try to live differently this time. Because from now on you won''t be able to me others for how your life turns out."

    Jack''s mind was mush as he robotically epted the letter of rmendation that Zach had written for him. His eyes were bulging as he was still bewildered at what had happened. He hade to Zach with a different n in his mind and Zach had sprung a surprise that was beyond his imagination.

    As Zach pivoted to make his way back toward his residence, he noticed that Jack remained firmly nted in his current position, seemingly as if he intended to transform into a permanent fixture within the Windsor family guest house.

    бн

    With the new position of Viscount came new responsibilities and new problems that Zach had never had to face before since his arrival in this world. The world had changed but the rules of power and strength basically remained the same. Just like the position held power in his previous world, this new world was the same.

    While he was still the dark mage that was feared by everyone, themoners avoided him and made horrifying legends about him but the strong coveted his power and the resources he and the Windsor family had under their control.

 Chapter 330 330 New Stage

    <h4>Chapter 330 Chapter 330 New Stage</h4>

    Underneath all their schemes, the reason that the Hunter family had targeted him, and the Windsor family was the cheap greed of their leader and his foolish ambition of staying at the top for the untold future. The venture itself was foolish, for nothing that had reached top could remain there forever, not even the divine. Every rise was followed by a fall no matter how long it took. There were no absolutes in the world.

    But now that he had be a Viscount of the empire, it was like he was seeing a different world. The world that had shunned him in the past was more than just epting. It was practically rolling itself on the ground in front of it as if to please him and provide him withfort during his walks.

    Zach wasn''t used to it but the feeling wasn''t half bad. After being misunderstood for so long, he felt like he deserved to be brown nosed by others if only a little bit.

    Getting used to his new life was a bit of a chore as he had to change his lifestyle a bit. The shift demanded tweaks and modifications to his ustomed way of living. He had to encounter new people on a daily basis. The demands of his newfound position dictated forging connections and associations that he might never have considered in the past. It was a transformation that stretched beyond the superficial, urging him to embrace a more diverse and expansive perspective on human interactions than before when he didn''t even need toe into the limelight to get things done.

    However, with the passage of time, he started to limate to his new reality. Each passing day brought a modicum of eptance, nudging him closer to a ce of familiarity within this altered life. The initial difort began to dissolve, making room for a growing sense of ease and understanding.

    His daily life grew busier day by day, because he had recently begun to n the naval base he had had in mind for so long. The city''s coastal location provided the ideal impetus for this endeavor, propelling his ns into action earlier than anticipated. The confluence of his vision and the opportune setting inspired him to dedicate considerable time and effort to bring this significant project to fruition.

    Fueled by this aspiration, Zachunched an extensive exploration of the coastal regions and the expanse of the ocean surrounding the city. His eyes were dead set on discovering an ind that would serve as the cornerstone of his vision.

    The ind he was looking for had to meet two crucial criteria: first, it needed to have sufficient space to amodate a deepwater port, a critical element of his naval ns. Second, it had to be expansive enough to cater to the varied needs and desires of his family, offering them a haven amidst this ambitious undertaking and an alternative location to keep them safe in times of need.

    Other than this, the location had to be geographically advantageous towards trade in case he decided to expand into maritime transportation. For that he had to study the tidal patterns around the location to ensure suitability.

    Days seamlessly blended into weeks as he delved into maps, scrutinized coastlines, and dispatched exploratory voyages under his most learned personnel. His determination was relentless, driven by an unyielding desire to locate the perfect setting that would harmonize his professional goals with thefort and requirements of his family.

    It was an exhaustive search, but one imbued with purpose and hope, a quest guided by a singr objective to fuse his vision of maritime strength with the haven of family tranquility.

    Zach was already swamped with the tasks at hand but the problems in his home kept on piling up on top as if to squish his little existence underneath all that weight. They forced him to split his focus in order to keep both ships afloat with his meager presence alone.

    In the wake of their newly built home being decimated by the catastrophic natural disaster summoned by Zach, the Smith family found themselves in a profound state of despondency. The emotional toll of witnessing their dreams reduced to cinders weighed heavily on their spirits. The once-vibrant hope that had fueled their aspirations was now eclipsed by a pervasive sense of loss and discouragement.

    This plummeting morale presented Zach with a multitude of challenges within his household. The atmosphere was thick with an air of mncholy, making it increasingly difficult to maintain a sense of normalcy.

    The usual rhythm of the household was disrupted, and the need for Zach to navigate through this emotional turmoil was pressing. It became evident that addressing the emotional wounds and rekindling motivation was as critical as physical reconstruction, demanding reassurance and attention from Zach.

    In fact, the prevailing sense of purposelessness among most family members nudged Zach to contemte the construction of a naval support base on the distant ind he had carefully chosen. Not only would it serve strategic purposes, but it also presented an opportunity to rekindle the fading spirit of his family.

    Engaging in a substantial project, having a concrete goal to work towards, was a potential remedy to their despondency. It could reignite their sense of purpose, offering a collective effort to reweave their shattered dreams and aspirations.

    Bncing the daily affairs of the Smith family while also finalizing the intricate details of the naval base kept Zach perpetually engaged. The load of responsibilities on his shoulders seemed to mount, yet he weed this weight. The bustling schedule, filled with intriguing choices and decisions that could change the dynamics of the entire power structure of the city, brought a sense of purpose andfort to Zach. It was as if he had found a rhythm that resonated with his ambitions and drive. This newfound busyness, although demanding, was invigorating. It propelled him forward, providing a renewed sense of direction and fulfillment that idleness had failed to offer.

    It was a stark contrast to the idle periods he had endured, where his people toiled tirelessly in clearing out Greend and turning it into a habitable ce while hezed around with nothing to do as his people never needed his direct management based on their individual work efficiency and passionate approach towards the construction process.

    These days there were only two goals in Zach''s mind that kept him motivated despite the heavy workload. One was to keep the morale of the Smith family high by solving any problem that arose while working towards the construction of the naval base and the second was to save Luke from whatever punishment had been decided for him.

    Given that Luke was far away from home and had been cut off from the royal family for a long time, there was no guarantee that Luke would get justice for his actions. Those who considered him to be an eyesore were probably going to make use of this opportunity to kick him while he was down, and Zach had taken all that into consideration.

    Despite the military being the entity responsible for determining Luke''s punishment, Zach held a firm belief that his elevated position would grant him at least some influence over their decision-making.

    Zach nned to fight on Luke''s behalf even though it was going to be a political battle at best. His influence on the officials of the city was going to determine whether Luke would be treated fairly by the militaryw or not.

    Zach therefore reluctantly delved into the intricate web of politics that unfolded among the upper echelons of the city. Even though he harbored a deep disdain for the necessity of engaging with his adversaries while maintaining a facade of congeniality, a practice he viewed as profoundly hypocritical, he recognized its necessity.

    Participating in this political arena was crucial for him. It was a means to solidify his position among the influential government officials who held sway over the military or had their benefits under their grasp.

    In order to advocate for Luke effectively, Zach had to navigate these political intricacies and strategically position himself so that he controlled the benefits of the officials who had the military under their thumb. He was not averse to ''using and throwing away'' approach when it came to these people because in his position, they would have done the same thing to him. He treated all those higher ups like enemies that he had to wage war against in order to protect his family and his interests and fought psychological battles against the old freaks continuously to scrounge up any benefits for the family.

    Thankfully, Zach had Bruce helping him out and showing him the ropes. Otherwise, Zach would probably have stumbled around and hit a few obstacles before getting the hang of it. Thanks to Bruce sharing his experience as the leader of a family in the political circle of Elizabeth city, Zach was able to glean various insights that helped him develop his political character, a fa?ade that was going to protect his true self and his family from being exploited by the old coots who had been upying their positions since times immemorial.

    As it turned out, Zach was exceptionally good at building up these political rtionships. Not only was Bruce a good teacher, but Zach turned out to be a good student as well. He sponged every teaching from Bruce and employed it to further his interactions with several high ranking officials who could turn out to be potential threats to him, his family or Luke, whose punishment was going to be decided by the militarymand very soon.

 Chapter 331 331 Ask A Favor

    ?

    Zach wanted to make sure that it never came to that point.

    Based on the urgency of the task, all his focus had shifted towards saving Luke. He was nning to get Luke released before a punishment could be announced by leveraging on the fact that Marico had beenpletely innocent while the police had been paid off by the Hunter family to harm him. Because those police officers were far from innocent like they were being hailed to be by the police department and the higher ups, acting in such a violent manner as Luke did was sufficiently justified to shield the ordinary citizens from the horrors of injustice and the corruption of the custodians of thew.

    Thanks to this, Zach could not see himself escaping such nonbat political battles any time soon even though he hated them to the core. The pretentious atmosphere during those interactions made him want to gag but he had no other choice but to go through them for as long as he intended on making Byzantium city into a stronghold for the Smith family.

    Though hateful, these nonbat battles had their benefits. For example, in this instance, to save Luke he had to deal with the higher ups of the military and the military court.

    But the one who turned out to be his greatest helper wasn''t Bruce. Instead, it was Andy who was now a police chief responsible for maintaining thew and order in the city on the surface and formitting all kinds of unscrupulous tasks for the top brass in the shadows.

    Due to the never-ending favors he granted to the higher ups, Andy was quite well acquainted with most of the higher echelon members of the city.

    Zach made use of Andy''s connections to break ice with several members of the military in order to determine the current condition of the military. While the government was rotten to the core, Zach still hoped that the military would be better considering that they had managed to produce a righteous person like Luke.

    After toiling through many a formal meals and boring conversations with hidden underlying meanings to be deciphered, Zach finally came across the person who might have the ability to help him set Luke free.

    The person was named Ronaldo, a colonel attached as themanding officer with the border guards for the Kanewea state. Kanewea state wasn''tndlocked. Instead, a major portion of its borders were enclosed by a coastal strip that connected it with a wide expanse of sea filled with endless water. Therefore, the border control was only responsible for the security of a small area of the estate. The rest of it had been handed over to the naval forces since their powerful and sturdy vessels along with their specialized water mages were technically better equipped to deal with any threat from the waters instead of border control.

    Amanding officer was supposed to be a big deal because he was not only responsible for the entire unit which contained thousands of warriors and hundreds of mages at various ranks ranging from support and auxiliary mages tobat mages with top notch destructive potential but also meant that Ronaldo had the authority to decide the life and death of anyone in his unit without being held responsible to anyone.

    Of course, Ronaldo couldn''t just execute anyone without reason, especially not the royal prince even if he did wield enough authority to kill off the entire unit in the events of an emergency. Harming a royal prince, no matter how idiotic or detached from his family, was something he wouldn''t have the guts to pull off.

    A colonel was a high-ranking officer in the military. Ronaldo''s status in the army was equivalent to that of Andy in the police force. But there was surprisingly little to do as the border defense of a state that was enclosed by vast water bodies for most of its perimeter.

    To his dismay, Zach discovered that the geographical positioning of the state induced a change in the military forces stationed here. Over time, the focus of the army stationed there changed from border defense to city management. Since border security of the state was being carried out by the naval forces, the border control moved inwards and took to the city center in order to live a luxurious life in the name of training and protecting the citizens from the inside.

    The armed forces of any state are meant to be the first line of defense against any foreign invasion or infiltration. They can only keep up with the enemies of the state as long as they keep preparing themselves for any kind of contingency. That is why the state pays them even during peaceful times when they practically do nothing but train themselves as they wait for the interstate rtions to worsen so that their presence may be required on the battlefront.

    Unfortunately for the Kanewea state, the army had long since forgotten the horrors of the battlefield. It had been a long time since they saw any kind of blood. The state was secure from all sides and there was barely any need to station an entire unit for security. Still, even if they were there for precautionary measures, the state should have been prudent enough to rotate the stationed unit after some time.

    The failure of the management led to the demise of the military in Byzantium city. Theck of pressure and threat from the outside sources soon revealed its effect on the military forces. Theirbat effectiveness for one took a rather severe hit. Most of the soldiers didn''t even remember thest time they fought for their lives in a battle. They had grown overconfident, weak and gutless over the years they spent away from the front lines.

    Moreover, the focus of their attention had long since shifted away from the security of the state to their personal benefits. Each and every one of them, from the bottom most tier to the top, had been corrupted. The major reason for that was the overwhelming prestige they enjoyed in the city even though they barely contributed anything to it. They were lifted to a higher pedestal by themon public despite their inaction and inability to protect the masses with their sloth ridden limbs.

    As a result, those very soldiers had begun to ept such treatment as their right. What was supposed to be a reward for those who sacrificed for the people had turned into a right that the army began to demand. They began to employ their privileges to gather up more benefits for themselves.

    Zach was disgusted by these people and wondered why the people continued to show forbearance for their actions.

    Still, he needed to bring Luke back. And interacting with these people was a necessary step towards achieving that goal.

    For that very reason, Zach had requested Andy to set up a meeting with Colonel Rnd to discuss the terms of the agreement that would ensure the safe and efficient release of the royal prince Luke. Zach wasn''t worried that the Colonel would refuse to see him because he had be well acquainted with the kind of person that Colonel was.

    Since he was sitting at the topmost spot of the corrupted force, it was an obvious fact that the leader would be a corrupted bastard as well; the worst of them all to boot.

    Andy didn''t take long to bring back the good news to Zach.

    "He has agreed to meet you tomorrow." Andy was excited as he delivered the news to Zach. Even though he had be the chief of the police, his ambition had not died yet. He still considered Zach to be his pir of support. He would keep on clinging to Zach''s thigh as long as he could. Therefore, a request from Zach was always wee in Andy''s eyes.

    When Zach approached him for a favor, Andy did his best to get that meeting with the military colonel and he returned excitedly to break the news himself in order to earn extra points with Zach.

    "Finally...he''s been eluding us for so many days. How did you manage to get a hold of him? You must have gone to see him in person if you managed to get a time out of him, am I right?" asked Bruce curiously. Before Andy, Bruce had tried to secure that meeting as well but had failed due to the overly inted ego of the militarymander who refused to see him no matter how he tried to approach him. So, he was genuinely wondering how Andy had been able to get the stubborn bastard to agree to meet them.

    "It was nothing. I know some people who know some people who have a good rtionship with Ronaldo. Since I had a few things on them, I convinced them to do me this favor." Andy had a smug grin adorning his face which made him look slightly childlike.

    But Bruce knew the kind of things Andy might have done to convince those people. Obviously, he must have ckmailed them with their crimes.

    Bruce harbored no objections to Andy''s actions; in fact, he held a deep admiration for the man. In a city steeped in corruption, Bruce understood the impracticality of attempting to enact positive change without substantial power or social standing. The pervasive corruption rendered noble intentions futile without the leverage to make a real impact.

    Andy''s pragmatic approach in navigating this reality was something Bruce respected.

 Chapter 332 332 Waiting

    <h4>Chapter 332 Chapter 332 Waiting</h4>

    Andy''s pragmatic approach in navigating this reality was something Bruce respected. It was a testament to his understanding of the world they lived in, and the strategies required to navigate it effectively. Bruce saw in Andy a kindred spirit, someone whoprehended the need for a strategic and calcted approach to deal with the city''s pervasive corruption.

    Andy had enough power, and he knew how to wield that power. He understood that sometimes to dismantle a corrupt system, one needed to operate within its confines. He aimed for strategic interventions, leveraging his power to challenge the status quo and drive reforms. It was a realization that true change often required a bnce between idealism and practicality, utilizing the avable means to achieve a greater good. He could do a lot more good than someone idealistic who yed by the rules.

    Zach gratefully nodded towards Andy in appreciation as if asking him to continue and Andy obliged.

    "He extended an invitation for a meeting, suggesting we convene tomorrow at the renowned Windsor family''s upscale restaurant. It''s a ce frequented by the elites of the city, making it an ideal venue for a discreet exchange. The exclusivity of the location guarantees a sparser crowd, ensuring our conversation remains confidential. To add an extrayer of assurance, I''ve already arranged with the head of the Windsor family to subtly thin out the patrons during our meeting. Maintaining confidentiality is paramount for us; it''s prudent to keep our ns veiled from any prying eyes, if you understand what I mean."

    Zach and Bruce simultaneously expressed their agreement to those words. Andy had really turned out to be an excellent ally to them even though they had been off to a rough start due to the incident with Marico''s arrest.

    The next day, Zach, Bruce, and Andy arrived at the designated restaurant at the agreed-upon time for their meeting with Ronaldo. However, to their dismay, they found themselves waiting for more than twenty minutes, and there was no sign of the Colonel.

    The minutes ticked by, and impatience settled in as they wondered about the dy. They exchanged nces, their concern growing. Being a military man, it was hardly expected out of the man. Despite being corrupted to the core, Zach would never expect such tardiness from someone who used to be a soldier.

    Being a trainer himself, he had inculcated a sense of strict self-discipline in his people and his soldiers had never disappointed him. He wondered if Ronaldo still considered himself a soldier despite hisck of discipline. The people he knew were punctual to the fault and would always keep theirmitments.

    Why would Ronaldo keep them waiting without any prior notice? Had they been yed? Anxiety crept in as they anticipated the reason for his tardiness.

    Zach began to entertain the unsettling possibility that Ronaldo might have intentionally left them waiting, a deliberate act to humiliate them. The suspicion gnawed at him, intensifying as each minute passed with no sign of Ronaldo.

    As time dragged on, minute by agonizing minute, Zach''s apprehension deepened. The absence of Ronaldo fueled his growing concern, leaving a bitter taste of uncertainty in his mouth. He grappled with the increasing likelihood that this dy was not a mere ident but a calcted move to toy with their patience and pride.

    Turning to Bruce, Zach sought his opinion on the situation. He valued Bruce''s experience and expertise in dealing with the intricate politics and mind games of the city''s elite.

    "Bruce," Zach began, his concern evident in his tone, "what''s your take on this? Could Ronaldo be ying a game here, trying to get under our skin and unsettle us?" He leaned in, eager for Bruce''s insights into this perplexing scenario.

    Bruce shook his head to indicate that he was just as baffled as him. He couldn''t understand why Ronaldo would agree to see them but won''t show up. What was the man trying to achieve by doing that?

    "I can''t say for sure," Bruce replied, his expression reflecting his uncertainty. "I''ve had limited encounters with the man and haven''t immersed myself deeply in the elite circles of this city. It''s possible that such behavior ismon practice here, a subtle form of power y."

    The enigmatic ways of the city''s upper echelons remained somewhat elusive to Bruce, leaving room for spection and interpretation.

    Andy was the first one toe up with the right answer. He immediately put his hand on Zach''s shoulder to keep thetter from acting out as thetter was slowly giving in to his anger. They had got this chance after a lot of effort, so he wasn''t going to let Zach ruin it by a momentary fit of anger and impatience.

    "Don''t worry, he will show up soon. He is just trying to test you since you are new in the circle and don''t have a reputation. He is probably worried that you are some kind of spy sent to expose all his sinful deeds to the public. People who deal underhandedly need to be cautious and the man is as cautious as he can be."

    Andy''s understanding of the intricate dynamics of the city''s elite helped provide a perspective on the situation which was quite unique and understandable.

    It was quite a logical exnation, so Zach decided to act on Andy''s judgement this time.

    Andy on the other hand didn''t stop. He shared his own experiences of dealing with the elite but crooked forces of the city. Even though his position had its perks, sometimes it was just a chore to deal with these kinds of people with no regard for time ormitment.

    "You might be new to this, but I have been through this kind of situation a lot ever since I took up office. Don''t take it to heart. The more you do, the more it will show on your face during the meal. Think of it as a prank and let it go. Be magnanimous or it will only serve your enemies. Since we are the ones who need something from him, he can put on all the airs he wants, and we can do nothing about it."

    Acting unperturbed, Zach and hispanions took their seats at the table, suppressing any irritation they might have felt as they waited for Ronaldo. Hunger teased their appetites, but the prolonged wait cast a slight shadow over their moods.

    As they waited for their guest, Zach found himself drawing parallels between the dynamics of power in his previous world and the current one. Themon thread was evident, the rules of influence, maneuvering, and politicalplexity remained strikingly simr across different worlds. Regardless of the realm, human nature seemed predisposed to a certain propensity for greed and corruption, leading to inevitable political strife wherever they inhabited.

    It wasn''t until an hourter that Ronaldo finally strolled into the restaurant, his casual demeanor andposed expression giving no hint of the dy that had frayed their patience.

    Zach, Bruce, and Andy exchanged nces, their expressions a blend of frustration and curiosity. They wondered if this tardiness was a tactic, a test of their resolve, or perhaps a disy of superiority.

    Zach spected whether Ronaldo had been lingering nearby, observing their reactions and using this dy to gauge their temperaments, or if he had been intentionally prolonging their wait from thefort of his home. The uncertainty of the situation added to the brewing tension in the air.

    Ronaldo had dressed extravagantly for the asion, perhapspensating for the dy with a disy of ostentation. Despite being a middle-aged man in his thirties, sporting a beer belly and a receding hairline, his attire somehow managed to soften his appearance. The tailored suit he wore was undoubtedly expensive, exuding an air of affluence. The fabric, smooth and dark, clung to his form but was unable to hide the protruding belly.

    His choice of essories included a golden watch that adorned his wrist and reflected the ambient lights in the restaurant. His fingers were decorated with rings, each gleaming as they caught the light, dazzling the onlookers. It was as if he aimed to portray an image of opulence and influence, contrasting starkly with the reality of his age and physicality.

    There was nothing in his appearance that announced his professional upation. One might have expected a military official like him to have a more discernible air of authority, a well-maintained body and a disciplined outlook but Ronaldo defied this expectation.

    He could have easily been mistaken for a wealthy businessman enjoying a leisurely evening rather than a key military figure. The contrast between his appearance and his role in the military disgusted all three whoid their eyes on him, but they hid it well and didn''t let it show on their faces.

    Zach couldn''t help but assess Ronaldo as thetter ambled towards their table. His pace was deliberately unhurried, almost mocking their patience. As Zach''s eyes traversed the man''s form, a sense of repulsion and unease settled within him. Ronaldo''s appearance did nothing to dispel this sentiment; in fact, it heightened it.

    There was a certain arrogance in the way Ronaldo carried himself, an arrogance amplified by the extravagance of his attire. It was as if he enjoyed ying with power, relishing the difort of those waiting on him.

    This portrayal was a far cry from Zach''s conception of a military figure. Having personally trained soldiers, he found it unfathomable that an individual like Ronaldo could be entrusted with the crucial responsibility of defending the popce during times of crisis.

 Chapter 333 333 Rhetoric

    <h4>Chapter 333 Chapter 333 Rhetoric</h4>

    If Ronaldo had been under Zach''smand, a single discerning nce would have been sufficient to warrant his prompt dismissal.

    The lethargy, an archenemy of any diligent soldier, was ringly apparent in this militarymander. Ronaldo''s demeanor did not befit a fierce soldier; instead, he resembled a shrewd and crafty businessman with his rat-like, ingratiating smile. This stark contrast to the image the public expected of a robust military leader was unsettling for Zach and Bruce.

    As the fat on his belly jiggled with every step, Ronaldo finally reached the table, albeit with visible effort. He stood beside the table, attempting to assume a military posture, with his hands sped behind his back. However, his hunched shoulders and protruding belly did little to support his efforts to project a dignified image.

    Zach suppressed his disdain for being in the presence of such a man. He reminded himself that this man held the power to save or condemn Luke, and so he put on a forced smile. He received Ronaldo as if he was an old-time friend who had just yed a funny prank on him for old times'' sake.

    "Since you are here with Andy, I guess you must be the person buying me this meal. I am Colonel Ronaldo, the militarymander of the border control force for this region. Can I have the honor of knowing your credentials?"

    The man didn''t look like he was done putting on airs. No one in the city could have missed out on who Zach was considering that he had recently been elevated to the status of Viscount. Therefore, Zach didn''t bother arguing with the man and instead just tried to remain silent.

    Andy took over for him when he didn''t utter a single word and managed to exchange pleasantries with the military leader on Zach''s behalf and finished introducing everyone on the table to the military leader.

    "I should apologize for my tardiness and for making you wait for me like this. I ended up forgetting about our little arrangement and only remembered it after it was toote."

    Zach on the other hand tried his best to curtail the anger rising within. The man''s shamelessness truly knew no bounds. He didn''t even apologize properly even though the apology was more than warranted in this situation. He skipped past that apology with word y.

    Though they were the ones in need of something from Ronaldo, it didn''t mean that he had the right to drag them through the mud. It wasn''t like they were going to ask him to help them out for free. They obviously nned topensate him for his troubles.

    "Oh please, there is no need for you to apologize. It was barely a few minutes. In your absence, we took the initiative to order a few dishes so you wouldn''t have to wait for the meal to be served." Of course, the bearer of such a servile tone could only be Andy. Being the chief of police who had toe into contact with officials on a daily basis, it had be a habit of his.

    "Of course, I don''t mind. I just hope that you give me the chance to order the wine of my preference. I love drinking. In fact, I would like to invite all of you to drink with me tonight as a celebration for our little coboration."ughed Ronaldo boisterously as he picked up a menu from the table and directly ordered the most expensive wine avable.

    Zach sneered in his heart about the shameless behavior of the military colonel. The man was practically looting them to their faces, and he expected them to take it with a smile. Moreover, he had the nerve to invite them to drink with him while they were the ones who were going to foot the bill for him.

    Bruce had an embarrassed smile on his face as he wondered how the man could have a straight face while acting so shamelessly. Still, he signaled the waiters in the distance to bring over the dishes when ready.

    The waiter nodded as he mouthed, "certainly" in response to Bruce''s signal.

    Bruce had no option but to call for the meal before the main topic for the dinner was broached. But only the meal could reduce the awkwardness at the table now.

    Soon three waiters came bearing a table full of dishes, each more luxurious than the next. Bruce had obviously pulled out the big guns. They couldn''t let it all go to waste.

    While the waiters were setting up the cutlery and the dishes, Ronaldo engaged Zach directly with a knowing smile on his face.

    "So, you must be Viscount Smith that I have been hearing so much about recently. Andy here has been telling me that you wanted to see me and make my acquaintance, is that right?"

    Zach found Ronaldo''s smile to be like that of a snake. Even his words were just as insidious, but Zach hadn''t spent so many hours in thepany of such shameless people for nothing. His facial expressions barely changed as he replied.

    "Of course, I wanted to meet you and get a chance to host you. Let''s just say that this chance didn''te easily. You are a hard man to find and a harder man to reach."

    "What can I say? A man like me has responsibilities to shoulder. I can''t do whatever I want like animals. Although I would love to be free of those chains, I don''t have it in me to disappoint all the people who put their trust in us to ensure their security." There was barely a twitch on the man''s face as he lied through his teeth and used the people as an excuse even though they both knew why the two of them were here.

    Let''s just say that it wasn''t for the benefit of the people at least.

    "It seems that you are quite busy most of the time. Your job must be stressful. Have you thought of changing jobs? Maybe there is something else that suits a man of your caliber." Zach''s words had hidden intentions that a cunning man like Ronaldo couldn''t have missed but if he did, Ronaldo didn''t reveal it on his face. His poker face was perfect as he became fully immersed in the conversation with Zach.

    "This is what I should do as a leader. You must know, you are the head of your family too. It is stressful but rewarding at the same time. I wouldn''t give it away for the world."

    "Of course, you wouldn''t. That way you wouldn''t be able to rip people off like this." thought Zach in his head but didn''t say it out loud obviously. Instead, he said, "Your dedication to the people is quitemendable. I must say that the security of the people seems to be in the right hands."

    There wasn''t a tinge of sincerity in Zach''s words but the smile on his face was quite practiced. Even a cunning individual like Ronaldo might have been fooled.

    "This meal is quite fine. Even though I have been in this city for a long time, this is my first time to this establishment. You could say that it is one of the burdens thate with my job. There is barely any time for oneself."

    "I am sure that is the case. Sorry to take away that precious time for you but we had an urgent situation ourselves. Prince Luke whom you have detained for a crime, I wan..."

    Zach''s words were cut short abruptly by Colonel Ronaldo as he initiated a conversation topic of his own.

    "A Viscount at your age is quite the achievement. How do you feel about it, proud?"

    "There is nothing to be proud of about it. The government deemed me worthy enough to award me. To be honest I was only trying toy low and not attract any attention to myself. Instead, I ended up bing a Viscount."

    The four of them began their meal in between a conversation that was pointless and served no purpose at all. Any time Zach tried to turn the conversation towards his intended topic, that is Luke''s release, Ronaldo would do something to divert it once again.

    His actions made Zach believe that the military leader never intended to hear them out and was just ying with them.

    The meal ended on a pleasant note, but the night was still young. Moreover, the topic Zach intended to discuss had yet toe up due to the interference y of the Colonel.

    Zach was slowly losing it and Bruce had to grab his hand under the table to pinch it in order to calm him down so he wouldn''t do something he might regretter on.

    Zach clenched his teeth in anger while both Andy and Bruce tried to calm him down. Unfortunately, no matter how much time passed, he failed to grab attention of the middle-aged man who was drinking and toasting happily in between petty conversation topics that ranged from anywhere between self-introduction to taking down a nation hypothetically. He just wouldn''t stop to answer him whenever he tried to say anything about Luke.

    In the end, Zach was forced to drink a ton of wine to the point that his stomach was about to burst. He had to relieve himself two times in the middle of the drinking. There was no doubt that Ronaldo could drink. He fully had the capability of drinking them all under the table in a single sitting.

 Chapter 334 334 Powerless Frustration

    <h4>Chapter 334 Chapter 334 Powerless Frustration</h4>

    The man had been pouring in wine into his system without a break and he had yet to go the bathroom to relieve himself. Zach could only wonder about the size of that man''s stomach.

    Even Andy and Bruce had to excuse themselves at least once during the session, but the man looked extremelyfortable as if this much wasn''t enough to faze him.

    Zach wasn''t a heavy drinker to begin with. Therge amount of wine only brought him more trouble. His system was unable to take it and he ended up drunk; dead drunk to the point that he didn''t remember anything the moment he woke up with a nasty headache and grogginess that could confuse the most sober person.

    He tried to recall what had happened thest night at the end of the meal but all he could remember was him drinking toast after toast due to that militarymander with a beer belly who refused to listen to him. In addition to that, he remembered puking his guts out; not once but on several asions and in several different locations.

    Based on that, he could establish that he had puked his way home after the drinking session. But no matter how much he nudged his mental faculties he was unable to recall the most important event. He was unable to remember anything about his discussion with the military leader about Luke''s release.

    Since he was in his room, he had probably been carried here by someone; maybe Bruce or Andy. Both of them seemed to have quite the capacity for drinking as well. He must have been the first to kick the bucket.

    Zach opened his eyes after a lot of effort and grunting as he tried to ovee the hangover fromst night. The moment he did, he noticed Diana dozing off next to him in an udylike manner. Her mouth was open, and her saliva was flowing out of her open mouth. She had to be quite tired to sleep in such a state.

    The creaking of the bed when he tried to get up roused the sleeping Diana as well who hurriedly wiped her mouth with her sleeves and acted as if she had nothing to be embarrassed about. She believed that Zach must not have noticed her shameful condition based on how hungover he was.

    "What are you doing?" asked Diana a little groggily but her eyes were clear of any sleep. Unlike Zach, she was not hungover, and that little bit of sleep had refreshed her already.

    "Just getting myself a ss of water. My throat feels like it is filled with sand and my mouth is burning and this headache just wouldn''t go away." grunted Zach as he tried to squeeze his head between his hands in order to reduce the pain.

    "Just lie down. You are still hungover fromst night. You shouldn''t get out of bed so soon. You might end up hurting yourself."

    "All right. Can you please get me one then?"

    "Wait a minute." Diana hurried over to the round ss table towards the foot of the bed and poured a ss of water from the crystalline jug that was full to the brim.

    She handed over the ss to Zach and watched him drink it to the bottom before asking, "Do you want some more?"

    "Yes please."

    Diana poured him another one to quench his thirst. Moreover, those dealing with hangovers needed to drink more water to appease their stomach.

    "Do you know what happened with that Colonelst night after I passed out?"

    Zach believed that Diana would havee to know about it from her brother. Even if he had no intention of telling her, knowing Diana, she would have pestered him until he did.

    As expected, Diana began to narrate the events that followed his passing out on the night before.

    "After you passed out from all that drinking, the Colonel agreed to our request in return for a favor in the future whenever he would be in the need for one. All your drinking brought out some benefit at least. My brother told me that you were a lightweight. Howe you can''t even drink when you are so outstanding in everything else?"

    Thest question was rhetorical in nature and there was no right answer to it anyway. Therefore, Zach ignored her ramblings and focused on the core idea of her revtion. It seemed that they had seeded somehow. Must have been the work of Bruce and Andy.

    "I must thank themter for their efforts." thought Zach in his head or at least he tried to, but the soul tingling headache kept him from thinking anything else.

    Even though Zach tried to jolt his brain awake, he couldn''t recall the conversation where Ronaldo specifically agreed to release Luke. Zach believed that if he were there to witness such a conversation, he might have some recollection of such an important event.

    But he couldn''t me anyone else for it. He had brought it on himself by drinking so much. Maybe he had forgotten about the conversation as well like he had about so many other things. The headache itself was like a fence keeping him from essing certain parts of his brain.

    "I don''t think I remember anything like that. I should at least have some recollection of it if the negotiations had seeded." muttered Zach to himself but Diana overheard his confusion and answered his queries.

    "Don''t worry, it''s not that you have forgotten. It''s that he never said it out loud."

    "What do you mean by he never said it out loud? Then how do you know that he agreed to help Luke even though he didn''t say a single thing? Did we just assume that he agreed to our proposal?"

    Zach was puzzled. He could not for the life of him understand the unwritten rules of this world. Even though he had tried to meld in as much as he could, he found himself stumped at the smallest of problems that were akin tomon sense in the eyes of the general popce.

    "Well, you might not have understood the underlying conversation given how much you abhor politics and yourck of knowledge in the field. There is an unspoken rule that all those asking for uwful favors have to adhere to even if they are sure of never getting caught."

    "What''s that?" Zach was intrigued thinking that he had stumbled upon another of those things he didn''t understand due to the differences in the culture of both the worlds.

    "There are so many ways of the information being leaked due to the possibilities of magic. There are countless sensory mages, not to mention magical artifacts straight out of antiquity that are even more of a threat to the reputation of the higher ups. As a result of several mistakes, they havee to adopt an interaction mechanism where they don''t leave any proof that can be used to incriminate themter on. The Colonel was probably used to such ndestine arrangements and used the same method to conclude the deal with us without saying anything. In fact, this is not very rare here. Most of the political favors are granted in such a manner."

    Diana smiled smugly as she took in the image of the befuddled Zach. She almost never had the opportunity to see him in such a state. Usually, he was such a know it all or beyondmon sense where his knowledge seemed to be beyond the bounds of the world, just like the gadgets he made. They not only didn''t use any magic but were also strong enough to take on strong mages by themselves. Even the weakest of soldiers in their family were capable of fighting on equal grounds with mages with Zach''s help.

    Diana gazed at his face a little longer before she noticed the odd look in his eyes. He seemed to be appraising her as if trying to ascertain what was different about her. There was no way for Diana to be very much different from him in terms of general understanding of the political world. She had spent a lot of time out of her family due to the troubles at home and Bruce had always tried his best to keep her out of that world.

    Therefore, her knowledge in the field wasn''t much higher than his own. So, Zach couldn''t help but contemte how she knew so much.

    Diana blushed profusely but didn''t avoid making eye contact with him as if unafraid of his prating gaze.

    She returned the stare but hers was the gaze of the goat suffering from Stockholm syndrome after being nabbed by the lion as its dinner.

    Seeing that look, Zach didn''t bother asking. He had already figured out the answer to that question at least.

    "I don''t understand. Even if he wanted to convey his eptance, he could have probably nodded to show it. Instead, he pulled off the whole fiasco about the drinking party and made me suffer through this excruciating hangover just so he could make a point?"

    No matter how he thought about it, the whole deal seemed very brainlessly construed to him. In his opinion, even amon teenager could havee up with a better idea.

    Diana shook her head to indicate that he still didn''t understand.

    "In fact, the whole meal was a test. No matter what your current position is, it is a fact that you are new to the circle and your credibility hasn''t been established in this circle."

 Chapter 335 335 In Vain?

    <h4>Chapter 335 Chapter 335 In Vain?</h4>

    "Just the fact that the colonel was willing to meet you can be considered a piece of good luck for a neer like you. The meal was a way for him to confirm that he could trust you not to b to someone else about your deal."

    "So? Did I pass that ridiculous test?" asked Zach as he contemted whether the others were too paranoid or if it was him who was too carefree.

    "Of course, you did. Why do you think that colonel agreed to save Luke? From what I heard, you passed with flying colors too. The colonel was quite satisfied with your obedience through that drinking game."

    "Did Bruce tell you anything else or is that all of it?" asked Zach in a nonchnt manner.

    "No, that''s all...." replied Diana instinctively before something came to her and she jerked her head towards Zach only to see him smiling like he had caught her red-handed doing something shameful.

    Her face turned red instantly like a bloody tomato. She couldn''t help but blush that Zach had already seen through her.

    Of course, the knowledge came from her brother. She had gotten too curious after witnessing Zach''s drunken state upon his return.

    She had to pester her brother for a long time before he agreed to reveal the proceedings of the meeting to her.

    After confirming that the information had indeede from Bruce, Zach let out a sigh of relief as if a great burden had been taken off his shoulders. Even though he had an inkling as to where Diana had gotten her information, there was a lingering suspicion in his mind that Diana was only saying so to make him feel better or maybe her inference was far away from the truth.

    At the same time, Zach couldn''t help but marvel at the rate that society was being corrupted. Even though there were lesser overall vices in this world due to theck of technology and the like, there was no way to stop moral corruption. And this society had been corrupted to the very core.

    No matter how prepared he was to witness the dark underbelly of the political world, he was still caught off guard by how ck it truly was. The existence of the twisted custom was proof of how frequently these people met up with immoral and illegal factors because only then could they devise such a norm that was not only understood by everyone in themunity but was also epted.

    Zach had yet to understand the normal customs of the world and yet he had been thrown into the corrupt customs of the top brass.

    He was still able to keep up with it all with the help of Bruce and the police chief Andy. Otherwise, he would have long since gotten tired of it all. All of them were pretending to be good while their hands were soaked in darkness and corruption. But he didn''t know for how long he could keep it up. He was gradually getting exhausted from dealing with such matters.

    Moreover, it didn''t help that he had to build another residence for himself and his family all over again. The pressure was taking its toll on him as he finally understood why the saying ''Heavy is the head that bears the crown'' existed. He was certainly feeling the weight as he witnessed the lifeless eyes of his family members who were still grieving over the destruction of theirst home in Greend.

    There was heaviness deep in his chest and his eyes revealed the turmoil he had been hiding within himself.

    Diana noticed it instantly. She had been with Zach the longest and had developed a knack for guessing what he was feeling somewhere along the way. This was the reason why they were able to cooperate so efficiently when it came to battles. She was perfectly able to understand and follow through with his orders.

    So, the heaviness in his heart couldn''t remain hidden from her. She reached out and pulled him into a tight hug.

    Her sudden embrace felt soft and tender. Zach couldn''t help but indulge himself in her care. He let himself loose and allowed himself to rest for a moment on her shoulder.

    She smelled soothing like a bunch of colorful and fragrant flowers in an otherwise colorless and odorless world.

    Diana felt sorry for Zach. She believed that Zach could have easily lived a good life by himself given how powerful he was and the otherworldly means he had at his disposal. And yet, he was willing to protect and shelter her family. She couldn''t help but feel heartache as she rubbed his back delicately in an attempt to provide some sort offort to him in his time of need and self-doubt.

    бн

    Both the Windsor family and the Smith family had been of the opinion that Prince Luke would soon be released from the prison given that the Viscount Zach had requested the colonel himself. Not to mention that Prince Luke never had any murderous intentions to begin with. He had only been trying to stop the injustice of the cops following the Hunter family''s will.

    Since innocents couldn''t be punished byw and the Viscount had already vouched for Prince Luke, the release was practically a done deal.

    s! Things didn''t go as smoothly as they had previously imagined. And to blow the situation out of proportions even more, it wasn''t the military trying to keep him under lock. It was the prisoner himself who was refusing to be released from confinement as if adamant about spending the rest of his life in the solitary darkness of his confinement.

    The Windsor family was shocked at such a response from Prince Luke. Even Violet, who had been a childhood friend of Luke, was unable to figure out his reasoning behind such a self-mutting action.

    Zach immediately called Bruce and Andy to discuss the situation with the both of them. His intention behind the meeting was to figure out if the Colonel had yed them. What if the Colonel only agreed for appearance''s sake and never intended to keep his promises? It wasn''t as if he was under some kind of agreement or if they had some kind of leverage on him to make him adhere to the agreement.

    s! The meeting turned out to bepletely useless as well. The only conclusion Zach could infer by putting his head together with the only two politicians in his social circle was that the Colonel wouldn''t have done such a thing, especially when there was no benefit whatsoever in offending a royalty.

    Zach couldn''t agree more with that line of thought. Therefore, the only possible reason for Luke still being imprisoned was that the prisoner himself didn''t want toe out.

    Zach couldn''t understand why Luke chose confinement over freedom. Was he being coerced into doing that? But who could possibly be so influential to be able to restrict a prince like him?

    Or maybe...was he suffering from murderer''s remorse? Was he feeling guilty over killing the cops?

    He had heard of such psychological problems regarding prisoners in the past world. Even though the prisonerspleted their sentence, they still couldn''t get over their guilt that manifested after theymitted the deed. Such prisoners often refused to be released and stayed in the prison till their eventual demise.

    Zach wondered whether Luke was amongst that group. But the time period he had spent in prison was probably not enough to even ovee the shock of the incident. So, he somehow doubted the whole premise.

    Since he couldn''t figure out the true reason despite all the hours he spent brainstorming, he decided to visit him in the prison to hear this important reason for himself.

    Zach told Andy to investigate the conditions that Luke was living in at the ce of his confinement. He wanted to know if his current condition was somehow induced by the environment, he was in.

    It wasn''t long before Andy returned with the results. It was a thick envelope that contained all the information about Luke ever since he stepped into the prison. There was a detailed log about him. It was obvious that the military had given him special treatment since he was one of the Royalty. The detailed log was necessary in case something happened to him during his sentence.

    The information was probably a gesture of goodwill from the Colonel because it was almost impossible for Andy to get his hands on the secret military records otherwise.

    Zach tore apart the seal on the envelope and sat down on the study table in his room to go through it once Andy departed the mansion.

    Surprisingly, it didn''t take him very long to go through the thick stack of documents. There wasn''t much information on Luke''s mental state. It was more like his daily routine. Whether he ate his meal or not, the time he did if he did and any other activity that he took part in was all recorded in the log. But it didn''t help much in determining what Luke was thinking when he refused toe out despite having the opportunity to do that.

    The only information he got out of the whole bundle of documents was that Luke was being kept in solitary prison instead of the general popce both due to his exalted status and because of the severity of his crime. He had killed several jailers even though the jailers were corrupted. The fact that Marico was innocent didn''t negate the fact that he had indeed murdered several people even if they weren''t exactly innocent.

 Chapter 336 336 The New Dawn

    <h4>Chapter 336 Chapter 336 The New Dawn</h4>

    The fact that Marico was innocent didn''t negate the fact that he had indeed murdered several people even if they weren''t exactly innocent. That kind of guilt could be amplified by solitude and break a man''s will, no matter how strong.

    Zach grew worried about Luke because he knew that the prince had a strong sense of justice. Such people were the most adversely affected by moral dilemmas.

    For example, choosing between an old man and a kid wasn''t too difficult for a viin with no value for human life. He could instantly make the decision to kill one of them to save the other, or he could kill both of them because it didn''t matter to him either way.

    But a righteous man who believed in justice would study the situation from every perspective and would end up lost in his struggle to do right by both the old man and the kid. He would try to find a righteous reason for his action in a situation where there was none.

    Left with no way to absolve himself of the guilt, it was highly likely that the righteous man would find it impossible to forgive himself.

    Zach''s final hypothesis regarding Luke''s refusal to be released was that he was probably suffering from idealistic bullshit and remorse for his actions which were further amplified by the loneliness of the solitary cell he had been put in.

    The reality of the hypothesis could only be confirmed once Zach met Luke in person. Therefore, he arranged for a visit with the help of the Colonel using Andy as his proxy to finalize matters rted to the visit.

    The military prison wasn''t like the dungeons being maintained by the police. They didn''t have the dreary atmosphere that Zach had assumed he would find. The military prison was more sophisticated as all the necessary living arrangements had been made for the prisoners.

    It seemed that the military took care of its soldiers just like in his past world. The soldiers deserved that even if they hadmitted the most horrific of crimes for the past services they rendered in the defense of the general popce.

    The well-lit corridors allowed him to forget the stereotypes. He found that this prison wasn''t bad at all if one didn''t have the courage to live by oneself.

    The soldiers leading the path stood at both ends of the corridor some distance away from the cell that belonged to Luke so as to give Zach some privacy with the prisoner. They weren''t afraid that Zach would do something to help the prisoner escape as Zach was an honorable Viscount and it was surely beneath his station to pull off such an act.

    As such, they patiently waited while Zach stared through the iron bars barring Luke from running free in the prison.

    The prison cell holding Luke was quite spacious and had a bed that appeared to be quite soft and plump. From the empty crockery on the small table by the bed, it could be inferred that he wasn''t being maltreated in any manner.

    Still, although the prison had the basic necessities covered, it was far from enough. Freedom was something any prisoner would begin to covet after a certain time.

    Zach couldn''t help blurting out the question that had been guing him directly as soon as he came across Luke who was looking back at him through the iron bars.

    "Did you refuse to be released?"

    There was curiosity and helplessness in his voice that probably met Luke''s understanding, for thetter didn''t find it offensive. After all, Zach hadn''t even bothered to exchange pleasantries before getting straight to the point.

    Zach couldn''t have known how much Luke appreciated his straightforward manner.

    "Yes, I did."

    Luke sounded even more blunt in his response. It was almost as if the answer was ringly obvious.

    "Why? Why would you blow up such a chance?"

    Zach wanted to tell him that he had put in a lot of effort to get him out and that he was being ungrateful through his actions. But he pushed down those thoughts because to begin with Luke had never asked for his help. He hadn''t even shown his eagerness to escape his prison.

    Therefore, Zach only wanted to hear his answer so he could try to find some reason in them which he could use to influence the Windsor family as well.

    "I didmit a crime and it is only right that I suffer for it. I deserve the punishment and being a prince shouldn''t enable me to escape the oue that I chose through my actions."

    Luke''s reply was simple and consolidated. It included everything he felt about his confinement and the things he did. It also revealed a tinge of regret at the inevitability of his actions. But there was no regret. It almost seemed like he was saying that he would do it all over again given the choice.

    Zach felt intrigued at his words. Although a part of his hypothesis had turned out to be true, it wasn''t to the extent he thought.

    Luke was remorseful, but not to a veryrge extent. He just felt that his identity should not hinder justice from prevailing. He was a righteous one indeed.

    "Every one of us knows that you didn''t mean any harm to those cops. Those bastards deserved to be killed for shirking their responsibility to uphold justice. You were only doing your duty as a righteous citizen to save the innocents from being harmed. You shouldn''t have to suffer for that."

    Zachid out his arguments reasonably. He had long since prepared the string of words that could convince an individual such as Luke.

    Judging from the hesitation on Luke''s previously poker face, it was obvious that his words had hit the bull''s eye.

    Zach struck while the iron was hot.

    "It wasn''t easy trying to secure a path out for you. Don''t waste our efforts like this. You are being too hard on yourself."

    Luke underwent a plethora of emotions, but he still refused with a shake of his head.

    "I owe the Windsor family a lot. By doing what I did, I was able to pay off a tiny bit of their goodwill. As for the punishment, I deserve it since it is in ordance with thew. But as far as getting bail through illegal means is concerned, I am sorry, but I don''t think that I want to follow such a path. I am aware of how far corruption has invaded into our system. The officials are corrupt enough to assume that they have be the rulers of the public they were supposed to serve. So, don''t insult my intelligence by telling me that the military court offered to ept my bail because you somehow managed to prove my innocence."

    Obviously, Zach had no answer to that. He had taken advantage of the corrupt judicial system that had also spread to the military to get Luke out.

    Taking his silence as the answer, Luke continued his reasoning, "I did what I did because I wanted to be of help to the Windsor family and I was mostly aware of the punishment. I won''t, in good conscience, let you pay the price on my behalf knowing that the price would probably be high as a mountain. You might even be forced to do something that doesn''t agree with your ideals."

    Zach couldn''t help but admire the man who refused to be rescued due to his ideals. The action itself seemed dumb to him but the intent behind it revealed how dissatisfied Luke was with the government. Instead of enjoying his freedom, Luke wanted to stay and suffer if he had to rely on the government and their nasty means of extortion to get that freedom.

    This gave Zach a lot of confidence. Luke was far from being guilt ridden or mentally deranged.

    In fact, Zach wasn''t much different from Luke himself. He was just as dissatisfied with the rot that had festered the core of the empire. From the royals down to the lowest tier that held the slightest bit of authority was far beyond redemption in his eyes.

    But Luke''s presence gave him the confidence that there was still some good left; that there was still hope for this empire yet. The fact that Luke belonged to the royal family only bolstered his intentions.

    Zach wanted to build Luke up as the new ruler of the country. He believed that only Luke was capable of bringingw and order to this country being ruled by beasts in human skin who cared nothing for the people and just used them as tools for their own benefits.

    With an enigmatic smile, Zach held onto the iron bars of the prison cell as if trying to tear them apart with his bare hands.

    "I just thought of something fun."

    бн

    Governor Lird hadn''t been in his position for very long. It had taken him a life full of ass licking and arge number of favors to actually reach his current stature. Even though he was still not very authoritative in front of the governors of more prosperous regions, his aplishment couldn''t be considered to be bad at all. Better men than him had fallen in pursuit of power and authority and yet he had managed to survive, all because he did what he could and called in favors when he couldn''t.

    Through countless toils and effort, he finally managed to earn himself the recognition of royalty which helped him rise to his current position.

 Chapter 337 337 Governor Lillard

    <h4>Chapter 337 Chapter 337 Governor Lird</h4>

    To this day, Governor Lird still enjoyed the backing of Prince f who hade to appreciate his talents and had taken him under his wing.

    Being a loyal follower of the prince, he had already begun to implement the instructions he had received from him regarding the economics of Byzantium city.

    Prince f had instructed him to bolster the economy of the city by implementing strategies that could earn him foreign investments faster. The prince intended to provide employment opportunities by raking in well established businesses from other locations across the empire.

    With the worsening situation at the borders, the prince needed the economic centers like Byzantium city to be economic strongholds that would hold strong even under severe market fluctuations if the war crossed over the border region.

    The Governor being the loyal follower was in the process of implementing the policies that would be beneficial for the businessmen when someone brought him a piece of news that could allow his venture to exceed expectations in terms of effectiveness.

    Of course, the timely news of the Hunter family''s demise hade from Andy who was looking for a promotion for himself in return.

    The crucial piece of information allowed the Governor to take action before any of his counterparts or rivals could make a move. He sessfully managed to grab a hold of several crucial businesses of the Hunter family in the turmoil. Moreover, he sent his forces to keep the Smith family upied while he ensured that the economy of the city wouldn''t implode due to the sudden change of heavens in the city.

    His righteous action of confronting and containing the aggressive Smith family was seen very positively by the general popce and the image of the government in their eyes changed for the better.

    His swift action in keeping order from being thrown to the dogs and his efforts to ensure the prestige of the government were sincerely appreciated by Prince f who was akin to the fat thigh he had been clinging to for a long time. The prince even wrote him a letter as a means to show his appreciation for his actions.

    Even though Governor Lird''s efforts were somewhat eptable, they were not enough to warrant a letter of appreciation from Prince f who was a powerful member of the royal family.

    The letter also included a new set of orders that the Governor had to follow in order to keep his position. The tone of the letter was quite authoritative which meant that the orders had to be strictly followed and anypse on his part would end up fatal for him.

    After going through it, Governor Lird understood the importance of his new assignment. It had to do with his task of managing the economy of the city, but he was no longer the one with the highest authority on the task. Someone else had been tasked to spearhead the project; a royal with no less qualifications than Prince f.

    Princess Candice, the blood sister of Prince f, had been sent to take control of the economic situation of Byzantium following the announcement of the dark mage being raised into the honorable position of a Viscount.

    Byzantium city hade into the limelight following the destruction of Greend. Even royalty had taken notice of it and had sent a princess to help manage the city operations.

    Lird wasn''t happy that he had lost his power in the city, but he also knew that this was a chance. This was his opportunity to strengthen his bond with the royal family. Princess Candice was Prince f''s blood sister. Judging from how Prince f had written to him to take care of the princess in advance, they probably belonged on the same side despite the countless feuds in their family.

    If Princess Candice managed to find his presence and his managerial abilities even the slightest bit helpful, it would help his influence skyrocket among his social circles.

    While the general popce had varying opinions about the session to the imperial throne, the higher echelons were already aware of the chosen sessor. The battle among the royal family was a ruse created to generate conflict and the urge to develop among the younger generation. The method had been utilized by the Norman Royal family for generations and had proved to be highly productive.

    Still, the person who had risen to the top among those conflicts had been none other than Prince f. The prince had distinguished himself in all possible fields. He was a seasoned warrior, an even better general and a spiritedmander capable ofying waste to hordes of barbarians that kept assaulting the borders of the empire.

    Prince f had spent most of his time defending the empire from invasions at the borders, but his character was as refined and regal as the emperor himself. Not only was his character well-polished but his abilities had also been recognized by the imperial court as exemrypared to his other half-siblings.

    Therefore, those in the high circle of the empire were already aware that the royal emperor had already chosen the heir to his throne; Prince f.

    Since Princess Candice was his sister, being able to serve her as an advisor was a heaven-sent opportunity for Lird.

    As the royal family had sent forth a princess to deal with the matters of the Smith family, it was obvious how important the dark mage was to the ns of the royal family. Therefore, Lird nned to assist Candice with all his heart even though he still couldn''t ascertain whether Princess Candice''s goal was to assume control of the Smith family or to get them to cooperate with the royal family.

    No matter what it was, Lird was sure that it was his only ticket to getting into the central power of the country. Having a backing as strong as the emperor of the empire was more than enough for him to brag about for the rest of his life.

    бн

    Lird issued several orders in the following days and even employed the local people to prepare a grand wee for Princess Candice who was supposed to arrive a few dayster along with her entourage. The streets were decorated and not a speck of rubbish could be found in the entire city.

    The police were set loose to hunt down and arrest anyone who disobeyed the orders of the governor. As such, themon popce grew afraid of throwing rubbish randomly. Or at least they learnt to cope with it until the Princess''s weing ceremony was over with.

    Filled with excitement for the uing opportunity, Lird threw himself into preparations so as to prepare a surprise for the guest.

    The time passed as slowly as a snail during that period for him. It was some kind ofw in fact. The more passionately you wait for something, the longer the waiting period would stretch.

    After an exasperating wait, the day finally came when Lird would get the chance to wee the princess who was arriving from the capital to takemand.

    While immersed in the meticulous preparations within the conference hall, examining every detail with a discerning eye, a waiter abruptly approached Lird. With a respectful gesture, he whispered urgent words, concealing his message by covering his mouth with his hand, conveying a sense of urgency and secrecy.

    It was a moment of unexpected interruption, and Lird felt a sense of intrigue mingled with concern, prompting him to delve deeper into the unfolding situation.

    "What did you say? Is she here already?"

    The waiter nodded his head furiously as if trying to make Lird believe his words through forceful nods.

    Lird''s round face flushed with exhration, teetering on the edge of bursting from the unexpected delight. He eagerly sped his hands together, fingers tingling with excitement, and swiftly issued a series ofmands.

    Adorned in his immacte white gloves, each movement calcted and precise, he made his way toward the entrance of the conference hall, eager to personally greet and receive the esteemed guest.

    The air was thick with anticipation and nervous energy as the moment drew near, akin to a child awaiting a gift on a festive morning.

    The conference hall was supposed to be the venue where the princess would first interact with high society and the ruling body of Byzantium city. Lird had made sure that everything was up to standard as he hurriedly walked towards the entrance while surveying everything around him to ensure perfection.

    Walking out of the entrance of the conference hall, Lird found himself looking at a scene that destroyed his dreams in an instant.

    There was someone else who had engaged the princess in conversation even before she managed to reach the conference hall where the rest of the political proceedings were supposed to take ce. The man was elegantly dressed, an air of confidence about him that spoke of high status. His voice carried effortlessly through the courtyard, capturing the princess''s attention as they exchanged words.

    Lird''s face turned crimson with fury and humiliation. All his meticulous nning seemed to crumble before his eyes. He had envisioned himself being the first to wee the princess, to showcase his devotion to duty and gain her favor. But fate had conspired against him.

    He rushed towards the princess, his heart pounding with anger and frustration, trying to regain control of the situation. But as he approached, he found himself dwarfed by the man''s charisma and the princess''s evident interest in their conversation. It was a bitter pill to swallow, the realization that he had been overshadowed, his moment of glory stolen.

 Chapter 338 338 The Reason For His Visit

    <h4>Chapter 338 Chapter 338 The Reason For His Visit</h4>

    His hatred soared like mercury in a thermometer ced in boiling water.

    He looked around and confirmed that there were only two of them; the targets of his hatred, the bastards who had stolen his limelight.

    Once was an old man who was well dressed enough to look like a high born while the one beside him was a gorgeous youngdy who was probably his daughter.

    The two had surrounded the princess and were barring her from making her way to the conference hall.

    Of course, the fantasies in his mind were far from the truth. The old man and the woman didn''t look anything like thugs or stragglers who had somehow managed to stop the princess of the empire on the street despite their low upbringing. The guards around the princess would have long since taken care of them had that been the truth.

    Lird lunged in the direction of the princess so as to announce himself to the princess as her humble servant for the rest of her stay.

    The two strangers were intrigued by his intrusion and stared at him with calm but indifferent eyes. Their gazes seemed to be asking him, ''Is there a need to go that far?''. There was slight disgust evident on their faces after seeing how he was trying to humble himself in front of the princess.

    "Mydy, you are finally here. Wee to our humble city. It is an honor that you graced us all with your brilliance even though we don''t deserve it. In an attempt to lighten the weight of your heavy favor on our shoulders, we have done our best to prepare everything so that it might appeal to your transcendent senses. You must be tired from...."

    "I will decide whether or not I am tired. Are you the one in charge here?" asked Princess Candice coldly. She didn''t like it one bit when someone interrupted her conversation for something foolish. She had barely heard the introductions from George and Christina when they were interrupted by Lird.

    Therefore, she didn''t give him any face and treated him in such a cold manner.

    "Mydy, I am the governor of this region. Byzantium cityes under my jurisdiction. I was tasked by your royal brother f to help you with all the lowly matters that are beneath your exalted status in this city. If I have earned your ire in any manner, feel free to strike me down where I stand. I wouldn''t dare to resist."

    Although the governor had already run his mouth, his legs were trembling in fear that the princess would take him up on his offer.

    "Do you think I am interested in your foul life? Just get to the point. Who are you?" bellowed Candice in a calm but threatening manner. She was obviously angry, but her anger seemed to be directed towards the old man and the young woman beside her instead of the pushy governor.

    "My apologies. It seems that I forgot to introduce my humble self to your royal highness. I am called Lird, the governor of this region and the one currently responsible for maintaining the economy of the ce."

    Princess Candice nodded in a cool manner as if indicating that this was much better than his previous attempt where he was only one breath away from getting himself killed.

    Of course, no one in attendance had the right to demand an introduction out of the princess, not that she needed one. Her identity was obvious to anyone with eyes.

    While the princess was being greeted by several onlookers of noble status, the strangers took the initiative to introduce themselves to the governor.

    Since the Princess had no intention of announcing herself or her entourage to the governor, thetter had been feeling quite awkward despite being the highest-ranking person in that ce other than the princess.

    "Nice to meet you, I have been rude thus far for not introducing myself earlier to you. My name is George. I am the leader of Elizabeth family in Mesore State. And this is my daughter, Christina. While we are on the topic, I feel like I must appreciate this city under your management. My daughter has been staying here for the past few weeks and I don''t know what kind of sorcery she has encountered here that she refuses to return to her old father. She probably forgot about me while she was ying around here."

    Georgeughed good naturedly as he teased his daughter while Lird carefully studied the conversation trying to figure out any hint of a trap.

    Christina blushed slightly as she used her elbow to hit her father lightly for teasing her in front of outsiders. Still, she didn''t go overboard as barely anyone witnessed the exchange between the father and daughter as they were busy trying to guess the background of the father daughter pair to be able to gain the attention of the royal princess even before the governor.

    Lird pushed the gears in his mind into overdrive in an attempt to glean some information regarding the two strangers who just introduced themselves as the part of the Elizabeth family of Mesore state.

    He felt like he had heard of the Elizabeth family but no matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn''t recall where he had heard of this family.

    His rational mind took over and he kept himself from offending the duo until he could ascertain their background and their supporters.

    Putting some more pressure on his feeble mind, he managed to recall the Elizabeth family that rose to prominence only a few months back. The leader of the family, named George, was supposed to be a Marquis appointed by the emperor as an award for devising a new means of transportation for the country.

    The Elizabeths had gotten too close to the central power in a much shorter time because of their innovation. They had the right to negotiate terms with the government based on the trucks they had to offer.

    Even Lird would have to think twice before trying to confront George given the poprity of their means of transportation. Even the sugar business of the Windsor family that was practically keeping the whole city economy afloat, relied heavily on the trucks of Elizabeth family.

    Not to mention that the current status of George Elizabeth wasn''t any worse than his own. A marquis wasn''t any less affluentpared to the governor of a small state like his.

    Therefore, forgetting about his earlier resentment against the Elizabeths, Lird took a deep breath, straightened his uniform, and approached them with a smile that concealed the storm within. He knew he had to be subtle, to not let his true emotions betray him.

    Lird reached the duo, greeted them politely, and introduced himself, masking his disdain with practiced courtesy. He extended his hand to the old man, trying to suppress the resentment bubbling within him.

    The old man reciprocated the greeting with a firm handshake and a congenial smile, seemingly oblivious to the storm brewing beneath Lird''s calm exterior.

    Lird proceeded to exchange pleasantries with them while sneaking nces at Princess Candice who was witnessing the situation with a bit of curiosity as she made small talk with a bunch of highborn trying to gain her favor with ttery and gifts.

    Despite his cordial attempt at establishing good social rapport with the Elizabeth family members, Lird didn''t feel at ease associating with them.

    He believed that their sudden appearance in Byzantium city was nothing more than an attempt to get a share of the piece of pie that should rightfully belong to him alone. There was a high chance that Elizabeth family was an enemy in disguise waiting for him to show a weakness.

    "I wonder why you decided to pay my city a visit. Is it because of your daughter or maybe there is some other reason? Could it be that you came specifically for her royal highness?" prodded Lird carefully. He wanted to know George''s intentions and whether he was going to end up bing apetitor to him.

    Unfortunately for him, even George didn''t know the reason for his visit.

    "I wish I could answer that question for you, but just like you I ampletely in the dark. It would be more prudent to ask her royal highness. Only she knows why I am here."

    George pointed towards the princess while letting out an exaggerated sigh.

    In fact, his presence in Byzantium couldn''t even be considered a visit as he hadn''te here of his own volition at all. On the contrary he had been summoned here by the royal family.

    It was a summons of the highest order that he could not refuse even if he wanted to. And the summons not only required his presence for the weing ceremony but also that of his daughter Christina.

    Christina had gotten used to staying close to Zach during her stay in Byzantium city and was extremely resistant to the sudden summons. But in the end, she caved in because her father would end up in a tough spot because of her willfulness.

    Lird was dumbfounded when he didn''t find any traces of falsity in George''s words. He hadn''t expected George to be that straightforward. As such he couldn''t help but look forward to the fun that would take ce once Prince Candice decided to have them pay their respects to her.

    Princess Candice didn''t allow anyone to get too close to her. Everyone who wanted to greet her had to do so from a distance.

 Chapter 339 339 War Of Words

    <h4>Chapter 339 Chapter 339 War Of Words</h4>

    Everyone who wanted to greet her had to do so from a distance. Her guards made it truly impossible to breach the gap, especially an old man who followed behind her like her shadow and was always there to foil the n of anyone foolish enough to think about hurting her.

    In total, there were at least a few dozen guards following Princess Candice, some were out in the open while others were hidden close by but would emerge in time of emergency.

    The remaining guards led the way for the princess and the maids followed right after them in twos.

    The whole procession induced awe and wonder among the masses who had been there to witness the enjoyment. They couldn''t help but steal a few furtive nces towards the maids and the Princess they were serving.

    The procession marched straight towards the conference hall before dispersing and letting out the main character of the evening in her full glory.

    Her guards dispersed around the venue and stood like lifeless dolls. They looked extremely vignt as if they wouldn''t even tolerate a single house fly to approach the princess without her permission.

    The maids too took to one of the corners and stayed still as if they were part of the background and exuded a peaceful image. Although all of them were beautiful in their own right, as maids they had been trained to never steal the spotlight of their master.

    Princess Candice was only followed by the old man who walked right behind her in in clothes. There wasn''t even a protective armor on his body that traditional knights or protectors liked wearing. Compared to those knights in shiny armors, the old man looked surprisingly ordinary. Anyone who couldn''t feel the threatening aura radiating off the simple looking old man wouldn''t be able to understand how horrifying the man actually was.

    Christina had been born with a keen eye for detail. She had already noticed the man who kept squinting his eyes as if to warn all those nning ill for his mistress. He was like a snake hiding his fangs all poised to strike. Even though he looked like he was sleeping, anyone with eyes could understand that it was only a fa?ade.

    Christina tried to sense his mana signature around him but was surprised to feel that the sense of oppression didn''t seem to be intentional on part of the old man because there was no mana fluctuation around him at all. The oppressive aura was probably instinctive.

    There was another reason why Christina was unable to sense his mana fluctuations despite being so close to him. It was because she was weak; she was too weakpared to the old man.

    She was so weak that the old man looked like a giant to her that she couldn''t possibly reach in her entire lifetime. It was the more obvious answer as the king probably wouldn''t have entrusted the safety of his daughter to the old man if he wasn''t at least that much powerful.

    Princess Candice on the other hand didn''t stand out like was expected out of the royal family. She neither dressed very extravagantly nor acted in such a graceful manner.

    She looked like an ordinary girl next door with a slightly extraordinary temperament. She appeared to be aloof from worldly matters.

    Even though the royals were expected to be high and mighty, Princess Candice didn''t look anything of the sort. She was like any ordinary girl that one coulde across at their neighbor''s house. If not for the fact that Princess Candice had an entourage of guards and a trail of maids by her side, no one would have been able to distinguish her from the rest of the elite crowd.

    Candice didn''t put on any airs as she came towards Christina and George with calcted steps. She stopped right in front of Christina as if ignoring George on purpose and offered her hand for a handshake.

    "We didn''t have the chance to get to know each other before due to some unnecessary meddling. Let''s continue where we left off, if that is all right with you?"

    Candice had a smile on her face, but her words were frozen. There wasn''t even a tinge of warmth in the way she spoke.

    Christina failed to notice but George was a cunning old man with a wealth of experience and knew that he was better off not offending the woman.

    "Of course, mydy. It would be an honor to make your acquaintance." replied Christina warmly as she reciprocated Candice''s enthusiasm with a smile of her own. The smile was dazzling. Its allure along with the scenery of her heavenly figure was a deadly aphrodisiac that could easily send some of the weaker willed men into frenzy.

    "Christina, I have yet to see a woman as perfect as you even though Ie straight from the capital that is tens of times more prosperous than this ce. Your figure is so perfect, I can''t believe that all these men are able to keep themselves from going insane after looking at you once."

    Candice kept praising Christina as she grabbed a hold of her hand after their handshake. It appeared as if Candice didn''t intend to let go of her hand in the near future.

    Christina was a woman who was proud of her looks. She had been confident of her charm even when she was still in Elizabeth city. Countless men had tried to pursue her, but none had caught her eye until she met Zach and eventually fell in love with him.

    Therefore, she knew how desirable she was. But hearing it from one of the most desired women in the empire caused her to blush. She tried to hide her reddened face behind her hands as she felt extremely ttered by Candice''s kind words.

    Candice didn''t give her a chance to recover from her blush as she prepared another barrage of eulogies for her beautiful countenance.

    "You really are very beautiful. Have you got yourself a man yet or are you still on the lookout for someone worthy enough? I don''t think there is anyone worthy enough for you out there though."

    George had already felt that something was off from the behavior of the princess. Even though it hadn''t been very long since he came into contact with the royalty, he still had learnt some of their ways. They were akin to sharp hidden daggers that could strike out of nowhere.

    George couldn''t help but feel that dangerous air around Candice. He even knew that his daughter had yet to realize the situation she was in.

    No woman liked to praise another woman, especially when it came to beauty and fashion choice. The fact that Candice was doing it for Christina meant that she was paying Christina exceptional attention, which could never be good.

    Therefore, in order to divert Candice''s attention, it was necessary to push his daughter down a notch. As such, George took the initiative to belittle Christina.

    "Mydy, please don''t praise her without reason. She already has a big head after she attained some sess in business. I can''t have her thinking she is some kind of fairy that deserves a prince. Wouldn''t I have to wait a lifetime to marry her off to someone then? She is still a little girl who doesn''t understand how the world works. Compared to you, she is still a fledgling firefly while you are the sun itself; no matter whether in terms of beauty or in terms of intelligence and business acumen."

    The more Princess Candice heard his words, the more genuine her smile became. There was no doubt that she liked George''s words.

    After all, no woman could have resisted such obvious but borate ttery especially when she was questioning her meager self aftering across someone like Christina who was obviously better looking than herself.

    Christina knew how much her father loved and treasured her. He wasn''t someone who would belittle her like this in front of anyone. After all, the man never got tired of praising her in front of his acquaintances.

    Not only was she one of the main decision makers in the family after her father but she was also overseeing most of the businesses of the family due to her exceptional business intelligence. Her father often sought her counsel when it came to several important decisions for the family, and she had yet to disappoint him once.

    Therefore, she could not believe that the same father was acting differently. Such a ring abnormality in her father''s behavior could only mean that something was horribly wrong.

    rm bells rang in her mind when she focused back on her conversation with the princess. She had been acting friendly with the princess unknowingly. Thetter had that kind of charm that could pull you in without your feeling it.

    The only thing she failed to infer was whether the princess was doing it purposely or not.

    Thinking of how she had been acting overly friendly so far to the princess despite their obvious gap in status, Christina felt that it was better to withdraw before she did something to offend the princess. She felt like her father''s previous words were also a warning to her so she wouldn''t go overboard.

    Christina softly pulled her hand free from Candice''s grip. Her slippery skin allowed her to do so without using much force.

    Candice noticed the change in Christina immediately and the momentary smile on her face vanished instantly reced by a serious countenance that could make the most powerful of men shiver in fright.

 Chapter 340 340 War Of Words II

    <h4>Chapter 340 Chapter 340 War Of Words II</h4>

    Christina began to act respectfully and refrained from making any improper remarks even though the princess acted like she wouldn''t mind it one bit even if Christina behaved improperly.

    A smile that was more like a threat bloomed on Candice''s face.

    "Now that I think about it, you are from THAT Elizabeth family, right? The one our royal forces ended up fighting, aren''t you?"

    "There they are; the thorns on the rose stalk." thought George as his gut instinct turned out to bepletely on spot. Candice really seemed to have some hidden agenda, or she wouldn''t have brought up a topic like this from the past.

    "Indeed."

    George knew that there was no hiding the truth from the princess. She definitely knew everything in advance and just wanted to threaten them with the truth that had gone unpunished in the past.

    "From what I gathered, my brother was chasing after a subus; the enemy of all humanity but someone hindered the royal forces midway and allowed that demon to escape with its life. Wasn''t that man your son? Barry, if memory serves me right."

    George could feel the perspiration on his forehead umting uncontrobly. The princess had mostly shattered his will through psychological warfare, but she had yet to reveal her true purpose in digging out old corpses.

    "I will take the meaning of your expression to be a ''Yes''. So, George, tell me whether your son is guilty or not? He would rather save the enemy of all humanity instead of helping his fellow humans wipe out the vermin that infect the minds of our weak and defenseless people. What side is he on exactly? Should I doubt your loyalty as well?"

    George could not, for the life of him, answer her question as it would be akin to giving up on his son entirely.

    Moreover, the princess never brought up Zach or Christina who had directly fought against Prince Kolt. Instead, she pushed all the me on Barry.

    Obviously, she was targeting the Elizabeth family and was making up a reason for her actions.

    George wrecked his brain thinking but was unable to realize what she was cooking in that mind of hers.

    Christina too realized that the conversation had taken a cold turn. She wondered if it was something she had done that elicited such a response from the previously cordial princess. But recalling how her father had warned her through his actions, she figured that the princess never intended to befriend them.

    She had probablye prepared, which meant that their presence at her weing ceremony wasn''t a chance. She had most likely summoned them here to target them.

    Christina could tell that her father, despite his wealth of experience, was not able to match the princess on an intellectual level. It wasn''t that her father was weak, but that he was far inferior in terms of power and authority. A single word from the princess could doom the entire Elizabeth family as long as the former willed it.

    George couldn''t possibly offend her knowing that.

    Christina wanted to help her father, but she didn''t know how to handle the situation more appropriately.

    She could only watch on as Princess Candice made several pointed remarks regarding Elizabeth family''s actions that went against the interests of the state, and George didn''t make a move to deny any of them.

    She cursed inwardly as the royal family had been the ones who offered the position of Marquis to her father in an attempt to seek his cooperation in developing the modern transportation chain.

    At the time they had been more than willing to overlook everything but now that they needed to coerce her father, they were digging out all the previous mistakes that the family hadmitted without any shame.

    Lird felt overwhelming delight with every passing second. He had already been dissatisfied with the old man and his daughter inwardly. Seeing their precarious state made him feel fulfilled, as if he had dined on ambrosia from the divine world.

    But that wasn''t all. His happiness came from the fact that he hade across another opportunity to make himself useful to the princess. From how she was targeting Elizabeth family, Lird had already deduced that the princess either wanted something from them or she had a serious bone to pick with them.

    Of the two, the first option was more likely in Lird''s opinion. He believed that the princess was using this method to gain the upper hand in whatever negotiations would follow.

    If she were truly furious over what George or his family had done in the past, she could have just asked her guards to eliminate the Elizabeth family from Mesore state. It would have been as easy as raising her hand. There was no reason for her to resort to such subtle threats.

    Lird, being a seasoned politician, knew that a stick was more likely to break if stretched past its flexibility range. The way Candice kept on suppressing Elizabeth family indicated herck of experience. She was on the path to break the stick instead of bending it to her will.

    So, he kindly intervened in time and broke the tense atmosphere with a bright smile on his face.

    "Brother don''t make such a serious face. I am sure that the princess is only messing with you. How can a Marquis like yourself ever go against the interests of humanity to side with those mongrel demons? Aren''t I right, my royaldy?"

    Lird''s smiling face somehow alleviated the gravity of the situation created by the princess through her undue suppression of the Elizabeth family.

    George had been holding his breath like his life depended on it. Candice''s words had pushed him to the edge of despair as she was basically demanding him to throw his son under the bus. Even though he didn''t say a word that would incriminate Barry, the princess somehow managed to use his silence against him.

    Given his position, he was unworthy of opposing the princess even though every fiber of his being wanted to do that. Had it not been for his daughter who was apanying him, George might have lost his cool for the first time in a long time.

    He didn''t want Christina toe to harm because of his impulsiveness.

    As such, Lird''s words saved both him and his daughter and allowed them to breathe a little. Lird''s intervention also allowed them to muster their spirits once again after the princess'' relentless psychological onught.

    The father daughter duo felt thankful to the man even though they didn''t have any good impression of thetter.

    Lird kept on ncing towards Candice from time to time like a shy maiden in order to ascertain whether his actions had brought about the desired result or not.

    By using his wit, he managed to help Candice achieve her true goal and he had been wondering ever since if he had deduced her intentions rightly or not. After all, he didn''t want his actions to have the opposite effect. He needed to get into Princess Candice''s good books in order to rise to a higher station, probably in the capital this time.

    To his relief, the cold and horrible expression on Princess Candice''s face had vanished and it had been reced by a frigid smile that seemed to be permanently stered on her visage like an evesting painting.

    Gauging the change in her expression, Lird found himself a new direction to show his abilities to his new master.

    Candice''s eyes met Lird''s sheepish grin and thetter almost jumped up in delight as if he had felt a sudden electric shock that fried his brain circuitry and left him grinning like a stupid idiot, permanently incapable of any other mental state.

    Candice''s first expression of the governor had been far from good. She disliked his overly eager expression and his spineless demeanor but that didn''t keep her from recognizing his ability as a politician.

    She made a note of this man mentally who knew how to distinguish benefits and risks and had the ability to make use of the opportunities in a cunning manner. Moreover, this was a man who was willing to dirty his hands on her behalf which could only be beneficial for her.

    Candice smiled at George and Christina in a good-natured manner, but the frigidity hidden deep inside her made it impossible to warm the hearts of the father-daughter duo. They still looked at her cautiously as if prepared to retaliate against any kind of aggression on her part or her guards who were standing all around the venue at attention as if afraid that someone in the audience would have the guts to attack their youngdy.

    Like an expert politician who had already gained the upper hand in the previous negotiation, Candice refrained from discussing the same topic again. She didn''t mention anything about the previous mistakesmitted by Elizabeth family only because she knew that she had already left an impression on George. Thetter wouldn''t dare to go against her even if he wanted to.

    "Currently the empire is facing several outside threats. My royal father and royal brother are both busy trying to suppress the various mutinous elements within and the powerful forces threatening to invade. As a Marquis of the empire, the least you should do is support the empire in these turbulent times, but you have been keeping your distance so far. Previously, we didn''t have any interest in your meager force and authority. But things have changed. You need to y your part as well for the empire."

 Chapter 341 341 War Of Words III

    <h4>Chapter 341 Chapter 341 War Of Words III</h4>

    ?

    Candice pretended to be righteous and logical throughout her monologue and she didn''t even deign to listen to what George had to say about it.

    George felt the princess'' obvious disgust, but he didn''t mind it at all. He had always wanted to stay out of politics, so he could focus on his business.

    But it seemed that the royal family had finally decided to revoke his freedom.

    "The capi..." Candice tried to continue her monologue but George interrupted her mid-sentence so he could try and act clueless. He wanted to figure out the princess'' motives.

    "I don''t know how a businessman like me can be helpful to the empire inbat. Even the armed forces of my family are far from the standards of the army that the empire can train. I am not a miracle worker after all. Or is it that the royal family finally can''t tolerate my existence anymore."

    "I wasing to that had you not so rudely interrupted me earlier." There was a cold glint in Candice''s eyes as she stared a hole into George with her frigid eyes.

    Still, the cold aura around her vanished after a bit and she began to exin what she wanted George and his family to do.

    "Due to the constant need of logistics support at the borders, most of the transportation resources of the capital have been engaged. Even the trucks we received from your family are among those being sent to the borders to deliver weapons and food and to bring back our dead to be buried with their families. As a result, most of them are on the verge of breaking down after several back-and-forth trips and we are still not even close to routing out our enemies."

    "I understand how war can be. I am willing to y my part in the empire''s efforts to thwart its enemies. Complete logistics for the battle troops on the borders will be carried out through the exclusive transportationwork my family has established over the years. The trucks in our possession are still in good condition and with timely maintenance they can be easily used for repeated trips as well."

    George offered his help without hesitation because he considered it his responsibility as well. He had been enjoying the privileges of his enhanced status in the empire but had never actually shown any responsibility towards the matter of the state. As such, this was the perfect opportunity to showcase not only the strength of his family but also his willingness to do what was necessary in times of need.

    But the princess looked like she was fuming with anger despite the fact that George had taken her up on her suggestions.

    "Do you really think it was just the problem of transportation that has the empire so stumped? Or do you doubt thepetency of my royal family? The capital of our empire, Rome, is currently in a tattered state after our concerted efforts to root out the traitors and the spies. The rebuilding is taking a long time, and we don''t have any excess resources to allocate to this job. Moreover, the trucks that are being operated on a daily basis are in dire need of maintenance. So, we need someone experienced to watch over the entire project. After working it out, we have found the perfect candidate for the job, your daughter, Christina."

    Thunder struck George''s mind the moment he heard the n concocted by the princess. Never in his dreams had he imagined that the royal family would try to pull such a scheme even though he was sincere in his offer to provide logistics support to the forces fighting on the borders.

    Instead of appreciating his efforts, the royal family was not only casting doubt in his direction but were also using Christina to ensure that he wouldply with everything they required of him.

    "Mydy, Christina has been away from home for some time. She is inexperienced in the technology governing the trucks and would not be very helpful in the reconstruction efforts. I can provide skilled manpower for the maintenance of trucks and for the rebuilding efforts. I can assure you that any truck that fails to continue will be reced by a truck from my own business fleet so that your logisticswork would remain operable the entire time."

    "From what I have heard she has been handling the logistics of the expansive sugar business of the recently emerging Windsor family almost single handedly. My sources tell me that she has changed the entire structure of the business ever since she arrived, and the Windsor family couldn''t do without her." Candice smiled coldly as she stared at George and then at Christina as if examining their very souls.

    George''s face fell as Candice spat fact after fact that was antithesis to his intentions. He even wondered if the princess was deliberately targeting their family.

    But on second thought, he couldn''t understand what Candice could possibly stand to gain from it. Although the rise in his status was sudden, they were far from being a threat to the Imperial family.

    "That''s not her achievement at all. Whosoever''s been giving these statements was probably too kind or owed us a favor. In fact, I sent some of my most skilled manpower to assist the Windsor family after hearing about their business idea. They are the cream of the top and are capable of handling any operation on their own. I only sent my daughter because she wanted to have some fun in a big city. She is just a figurehead for the project in fact."

    George did his best to diminish the capabilities of his daughter to the extreme but unfortunately, he couldn''t hide or deny her brilliance when it was obvious to all at a nce.

    "Are you doubting my intelligence, Marquis George?" Royal demeanor instantly burst out of the previously homely but cold looking girl. Candice seemed to be angered by George''s constant denial. She was a princess.

    All the people in the Empire had to bow down to her and listen to her every whim as long as they knew of her status but George had dared to stand up against her.

    Lird was inwardlyughing at George''s foolishness. He even wondered how George came to be a Marquis with that kind of sentimental approach.

    Christina on the other hand was more worried about her fathering to harm than she was about her own fate. At worst she might have to go to the capital for a few years. But her father might have to face severe punishment if he ended up angering the princess.

    "It was never my intention to insinuate anything about you. I was just apprising you of the fact that several of my workforce managers are far more skillful than my daughter. I was only thinking for the best of the empire. After all, it is my utmost privilege to be able to work for the betterment of the royal capital. It is an honor, and I wouldn''t want my incapable daughter to tarnish it with herck of knowledge."

    George''s words were flowery, but they had been carefully wrapped up in a candy of patriotism that even Candice couldn''t deny outright. She would have to sidestep it if she wanted to insist on taking Christina away.

    George''s words wereden with a trap that Candice had to traverse knowingly or unknowingly. The former would only anger her more while thetter would be more beneficial to George. Either way, George didn''t care much because he was intent on prodding her true intentions in order to understand what the royals had nned for the Elizabeth family.

    He had been cautious when he first received the honor of being a Marquis, but his caution had died down with the passage of time. The current situation was forcing him to revert back to his former self to think whether the price he had paid for this status had been worth it or not.

    Candice remained expressionless as if she hadn''t figured out what George had nned to do. Whether she did, or if she was only pretending not to notice it, could not be gleaned from her facial expression.

    "It''s all right. We need someone of noble upbringing like your daughter to take over the project."

 Chapter 342 342 War Of Words IV

    <h4>Chapter 342 Chapter 342 War Of Words IV</h4>

    "Since it is the capital, we don''t want the leader''s upbringing to be a hurdle in fast redevelopment." Candice looked like she really had no choice but to send Christina for the job, but George knew better that it was only an excuse, a pathetic one at that. It was as if she was letting him get a taste of his own medicine.

    "Since she has been acting as a figurehead here, let her do the same in the capital and you can send several of yourpetent managers to assist her throughout the process. It will be easier that way, won''t it?"

    Candice didn''t wait for George to answer her this time because she didn''t want any moreplications. She smiled brilliantly and signaled George to do as she had ordered.

    "Let''s do it then."

    With her words, there was no doubt remaining in George''s heart. The princess had probably called them to the weing ceremony with those intentions. It didn''t seem as if she was out to target the Elizabeth family but to target Christina specifically.

    George couldn''t understand how the royal princess even came to know of Christina when thetter had barelye into contact with royalty if Prince Kolt wasn''t counted.

    His brain churned like a vortex in an attempt to figure out her hidden intentions behind moving Christina to capital when the royals already had more than enough control over Elizabeth family through him.

    And then it urred to him that he was in Byzantium city because of the royal princess but why was such a princess being sent to govern such a peripheral state of the empire when there were plenty of other options who would have willingly taken the opportunity to do so in her stead.

    Of course, the benefit had to be high enough for the royal family to mobilize a princess of such a high stature. Of all the things he could imagine, there was only one possibility that George found feasible.

    "The royals have sent one of their own to reel Zach into their fold. They are finally unable to contain themselves after seeing a talent like Zach." thought George to himself as he carefully guarded his facial expressions as if afraid of his thoughts leaking onto his face.

    George had already managed to establish why the princess hade to Byzantium city. From thereon it wasn''t exactly rocket science to deduce why the princess wanted Christina to move to the capital to oversee the construction project.

    "The Princess needs a hostage." It dawned on George all of a sudden and he could only gaze helplessly at his beloved daughter who would probably have to suffer a little in the future due to the person she fell in love with.

    Zach had grown too powerful, and his legends had already spread across the state. Even the royal capital had heard of the powerful young man who could cast SSS rank celestial magic at his age and that too of the highest level.

    George had pinpointed the end game of the royal family and was therefore able to infer much from his earlier conversation with the princess.

    It appeared that the royal family was wary of Zach and his unpredictable power. Therefore, they had no option but to hold someone hostage subtly in order to keep him in check should he dare to move against the Imperial family.

    George could understand that line of thought. No one wanted a weapon that could destroy themselves. They needed a tool that would not outlive its usefulness and the only way to do that was to hold something Zach held dear in their possession.

    George couldn''t exactly me Zach for his brilliance, after all he had married off his daughter to him because of the benefits he could bring to the Elizabeth family. The only thing Georgemented was the fact that there was more than one woman around Zach, but the royal family ended up choosing Christina.

    She seemed to have drawn the short end of the stick and ended up gaining the attention of the royals.

    George failed to consider that his status as a Marquis was the reason that his daughter had been chosen among the pool of women around Zach.

    Christina wasn''t a ss vase in the Elizabeth family despite how much George insisted on it in front of Candice. Instead, she had been just as brilliant as her father. She was not only well versed in business dealings, but she also had considerable experience in politics due to her upbringing as the heir of the Elizabeth family.

    She already had an inkling as to what the intentions of the royal family were in regard to her and Zach. She was the tranquilizer meant to diffuse the nuclear bomb that Zach could be, once triggered.

    Considering the distance between the two cities, it was obvious that Zach would have no way but to bend his knee in front of the royal family in order to keep her safe and she would eventually be the chains that would bind him to the royal family.

    Thest thing Christina wanted was to harm Zach. She would rather kill herself before causing him any trouble. It hadn''t been easy for her to reunite with him after the separation. She wanted this honeymoon period tost as long as possible.

    Since her father was bound by his position and status as a Marquis, he was unable to truly defend her from the royal family. Therefore, she believed that she had to advocate for herself if she didn''t want to be a pawn in this borate game.

    "Mydy, I am ipetent as my father said. I believe that I will end up ruining the project. That would be a grave sin, one that I don''t dare to shoulder. My meager self is incapable of carrying such a huge responsibility. In front of nobles such as yourself, I will only embarrass myself in the capital. I would rather live my life among the peasants who are unable to distinguish my clumsiness from royal etiquette and I don''t have to fear staining the reputation of my family here. I beseech you to take a more qualified person for the job and not my humble self who can barely take care of herself."

    Christina had done her best to demean herself in front of the Princess, but thetter was adamant about sending her to the capital as she had already done her due diligence regarding all the people close to Zach.

    Therefore, instead of listening to Christina who was trying toe up with a better excuse for herself, Candice ignored her altogether. She didn''t think that Christina''s opinion was required in this discussion when she was already talking to her father, the leader of his family and the Marquis of the Empire.

    "The royal family can''t trust anyone else for this project. There are higher elements at stake. We can''t trust anyone who is not from a vessel family to operate near our jugr vein. Therefore, there is no better candidate than Chirstina. This is better for your family as well. The experience will enable her to better assume the responsibility that will surelye with the position of the family head. She will have a much better future in the capital. Her horizons will be broadened by the bigger world that is the capital. You should be begging me for this opportunity if you cared one bit about this family of yours that you im to hold above your personal beliefs and wishes."

    Candice had finality in her tone as if indicating that she had heard enough. She was adamant about doing what she intended to do irrespective of whether Christina was capable or only acting to be so.

    George picked up on the subtle threat in her words, and a surge of panic gripped his heart like a vice closing in on fragile ss. The threat loomed over him like a storm cloud, darkening his thoughts and casting a shadow of fear across his mind.

    It was akin to standing on the edge of a crumbling precipice as the ground beneath his feet gave way to an abyss of uncertainty.

    Candice was a princess, and the power she wielded was like a relentless tempest, capable of annihting his entire family from its roots.

 Chapter 343 343 War Of Words V

    <h4>Chapter 343 Chapter 343 War Of Words V</h4>

    It hung over him like a sword of Damocles, poised to cut through the very foundations of his lineage, leaving nothing but ruins in its wake. The weight of her influence felt as heavy as a mountain, pressing down on him, threatening to crush all he held dear.

    Since she was only asking for Christina as a hostage, George could infer that she had already made whatever concessions she had been willing to make.

    Giving up Christina was the only way to get her off the back of the entire Elizabeth family. Otherwise, she just might use her authority to wipe out Elizabeth family from its namesake city.

    George panicked as he cursed the moment that he decided to ept the status of Marquis. He had willingly given away his freedom for a rise in status. If only he hadn''ttched on to the Royal family, Christina would never havee onto their radar, and she could still spend her life the way she wanted without any interference.

    The anxiety was evident on his face now. He couldn''t hide it anymore with his poker face. Even his experience in politics had no use at this moment. He was like a king in chess that had been cornered from all sides and was only one move away from checkmate. Fear bubbled up inside of him while he pondered on his various options. He had to decide whether to give up on his daughter to save his family and the honor of his ancestors or to fight to thest breath against the Royals who were intent on confining his daughter like a princess in a gilded prison for no reason at all.

    As George contemted his next course of action, several expressions revealed themselves on his face, but nonested more than a fleeting moment.

    Christina too managed to understand several things from the changing colors on her father''s face and the unmoving gaze of the princess.

    If not for the presence of the old man beside the princess, Christina might have considered resisting her fate a little bit, but the old man was far too strong for her to even consider taking that option into consideration.

    Time passed but no matter how many courses of action George devised in his mind, all of them turned out to be dead ends. They either led to the demise of the entire Elizabeth family or the unhappiness of his daughter or both.

    Before he could make any one of those painful decisions, Christina, who had been beside him the entire time, jumped like a little girl brimming with joy and wonder. Her watery eyes had no sorrow or remorse after hearing about her fate. Instead, they were exuding happiness and love.

    The gloomy aura around them was instantly banished by her joyful outburst as if she was in a separate world from them. While they were surrounded by darkness and the grey aura of destion, she was surrounded by rainbows and flowery fields on all sides.

    George and the governor wondered if she was aware of the situation that she was in. She was practically about to be given over to the royal family as a hostage to suppress Zach. And yet she had the guts to smile andugh about it.

    While the governor wondered if she had lost her mental faculties, George couldn''t believe that she was his daughter. He refused to believe that Christina wasn''t aware of the true nature of the conversation. Therefore, he wanted to know what could have made his daughter forget about such an abrupt turn in her life.

    Both of them stared at her in surprise as if waiting for her to respond, but she had no time to acknowledge their questioning gazes. She was too busy trying to fish out the something from her purse in a hurried manner.

    A woman''s purse could be a world in itself. They could stuff all the things in it, and it would still appear to be exceptionally slim like space itself had beenpressed in it. That could have probably exined why men found it disturbing to find women searching their purses for longer durations as if the item they were looking for had hidden itself somewhere in the spatial folds.

    George waited for her to finish turning the purse inside out, but the others didn''t share in his patience. Many in the group red at Christina as if she was acting in a manner that was inappropriate for interaction with the royalty.

    Among those murderous res, the one that belonged to the governor turned out to be the most lethal. He looked like he could barely keep himself from wing her face with his fingers like a shrew. After all, it was another opportunity to get into the good graces of the princess.

    No matter the intensity of his gaze, he was still ignored by Christina who seemed as if her entire being was smiling from end to end.

    She couldn''t care less about what was going to happen to her in the future because the familiar vibration she had felt in her purse belonged to the satellite phone that Zach had given her and there was no one other than him who ever called her through that phone.

    Undoubtedly it was Zach trying to reach her and nothing could have made her happier. Even the gloomy atmosphere of the wee ceremony couldn''t keep her from relishing the happiness that came from her beloved''s call. Just the thought that he was thinking of her no matter where he was, could illuminate her dark world better than the brightest of suns.

    She picked up the satellite phone and answered it before putting it back inside her purse after stuffing the headphones in her ears.

    "Hello, is the beauty on the other end of the line busy? Should I call backter?"

    Zach teased her the first instance she answered his call. He had been talking to her on the satellite phone for a long time and he had long since stopped feeling awkward on the phone with her despite not having much experience in the field.

    It was Christina who was feeling flushed by the sudden teasing. His words caused a blush to creep up on her face and the side of her neck. She still couldn''t help but feel ted despite the fact that they had already taken thest step in their rtionship.

    While the oppressive atmosphere in the room was enough to strangle her dead, she had been managing because she had to for the sake of her father.

    Only after she heard his voice did her dead heart resuscitate itself. Her shivering heart settled after listening to the sound of his breath as he talked.

    She listened intently to the background noise and figured that Zach was probably taking a walk. The wailing of the wind could be heard in the background along with steady sound of footsteps.

    While Christina was lost in the world that she had created for herself and her beloved, someone was ring at her with fury in his eyes. Had it not been for the orders from the princess, the old man beside Candice would have smitten Christina into oblivion.

    He was responsible for upholding the honor of the royal family and had been detailed with the Princess as her guard and it was his responsibility to take care of all ignorant fools who dared to step on the dignity of the royal family in his presence.

    What Christina had done in front of all the witnesses was an affront to Candice''s dignity and was punishable by death in his eyes. Even though the princess needed Christina alive, that didn''t mean that he would allow her to do anything she wanted in Candice''s presence.

    He opened his eyes beyond normal and a fierce reddish light surfaced vaguely around his pupil but remained unnoticed due to the vicious expression that reced his previously calm countenance.

    "Uh-uh...I am as free as..." just as Christina was structuring those words into a sentence in her mind, static buzzed her ears, and she felt a sudden shock inside her ears.

    Ouch~

    She flinched heavily in pain and almost missed her footing as she pulled out the headphones from her ears that had been ruined. She tried to push the one that still appeared to be in one piece but all she heard was consistent noise.

 Chapter 344 344 War Of Words VI

    <h4>Chapter 344 Chapter 344 War Of Words VI</h4>

    Zach''s voice could no longer be heard as if it had gotten lost in the noise while on its way to her.

    She looked around as she realized that something or someone had interfered with hermunication with Zach and had broken her headphones.

    While looking for the potential source of the trouble, she found the old man ring at her viciously with unquenchable fire burning in his eyes.

    As soon as her eyes met the old man''s, a terrible pressure descended on her back. The air itself felt heavy as it got increasingly harder for her to breathe in that terrible pressure.

    She tried to circte her mana to resist the pressure. A thin barrier appeared around her, but it didn''tst a second against the terribly oppressive pressure.

    Christina was shocked by the sheer power behind the force pushing her down towards her knees.

    She forced herself to stand straight but inwardly she was shocked beyond belief. She had known that the old man was strong, but never in her imagination had she considered that there was such a huge separating her and the old man.

    He had easily suppressed her with his aura alone while she could barely move in his presence. She wondered if the old man had even used his true strength to suppress her. What if he had yet to show his real strength? Wouldn''t that make her little strengthpletely useless?

    She wondered if there was any point in struggling against her fate when there was such an enemy amongst those she was nning to resist.

    For the first time in her life, she felt as small as an ant. The old man made her feel just as worthless. Compared to her tiny self, he was like a giant with his head up in the clouds.

    In front of him, she was just as helpless as an ant was in front of a human when thetter was about to stomp on it to end its life identally.

    Christina forgot how to speak in fright. The old man seemed to have no intention of going easy on her despite the obvious chasm between their strengths.

    The princess and those around her including George had forgotten about their earlier conversation and were interestedly watching the show being put on by the old man.

    George knew that his daughter was strong, but he was also painfully aware of the strength of the royal guards. He couldn''t keep watching as the old man kept hurting his daughter in front of him.

    George clenched his fists in anger, but he noticed the visible fright on Christina''s face. All his anger dissolved into thin air, reced by tranquility as he engaged the princess once again.

    But this time, he had no intention of refusing her orders because that was the only way of saving his daughter and his family. He did not believe that the princess would let Christina go unscathed if he decided to resist her will. Based on the strength of the old man, it would be impossible for Christina to even escape the conference hall.

    "I think your highness has a valid point. My daughter has spent her life ying around. It is high time that she learns to take responsibility. I am sure that under the able guidance of the royal family, she would learn enough tost her a lifetime."

    George''s voice was devoid of any warmth, ttery or excitement. It wasced with indifference. His attitude towards the royal family had turned frigid after what they did to his daughter.

    But on the inside, he was afraid as well. He shuddered to think about the result of his refusal. Given how cold the princess was, she might not even have blinked an eye before deciding to y with their lives and those of the Elizabeth family in case they aroused her anger.

    Candice was satisfied after hearing George''s agreement, but his rebellious attitude made her frown.

    Candice wasn''t willing to let go of his attitude and George was obviously unwilling to relent to her demandspletely, both sides reached an impasse. Lird was the first to notice the small spark that could possibly ignite a huge fire.

    Lird didn''t care about Elizabeth family, but he did care about the princess'' mood that was suddenly taking a turn for the worse. He was worried that the princess'' worsening mood would cause her to see even his carefully arranged event in a bad light.

    As such, he intervened once again.

    "Brother, that was the correct decision. I can''t help but envy you. Had it been my family that had received the honor of attracting the royal attention, I would have readily died of happiness. Mark my words right now. Your daughter will thank her in theing years for giving her such an opportunity."

    It appeared as if he was trying to help the Elizabeth family but in fact, he had no intention of actually doing so. He was only thinking selfishly and wasn''t as kindhearted as his words made him out to be.

    As expected, the smile returned to Candice''s face. Even though she looked like she was unlike the royals who took their honor too seriously, she was in every way just like them. She just hid it behind her homely appearance, probably to fool those she interacted with and to catch them unawares.

    The old man beside her stopped pressuring Christina. Color returned to her face as if the pressure had been keeping her blood from flowing to her face.

    Candice too reverted to her previous self as she began socializing with all the people who craved her attention.

    "So, its settled then. We will be relying on you to handle the reconstruction in Rome. Even though your father thinks that you are unable to handle it, I believe in the potential of your family. You will only find sess in the capital, far more than you may have achieved on your own here in this remote part of the state."

    Candice sugarcoated it as much as possible, but George and Christina could already see past her docile fa?ade and were treating her as such as well. Therefore, their responses mirrored their feelings. They responded in a robotic tone like they would to any superior whom they didn''t want to ingratiate themselves with.

    бн

    Zach had been far away from the city due to his visit to the prison where Luke was being held. The military stronghold housing Luke had been very close to the border that the military residing in Byzantium city was tasked to protect.

    It was built in a rtively remote and secret ce away from any prying eyes due to the sensitivity of the prisoners being held there. There were war criminals, traitors and those who had dared to show their backs to the enemy in times of war. All those were potential risks if left to their own devices. As such, the military housed such individuals till their death and the location was kept a secret except for those who were granted permission by the militarymand.

    It had taken him more than a day just to travel to the ce. It consumed even more time trying to convince Luke to listen to reason so he could get him out at the earliest before the military could announce his sentence. He even told him that there were no strings attached to this favor from the Colonel so that he woulde to terms with it, but Luke wasn''t willing to believe his words.

    Only after he had exhausted all his options did he begin his journey home without Luke. The prince had proven to be even more stubborn than he had was.

    Zach took two days travelling back to the city as he took his time to return.

    He was surveying the area for any future development and was also trying to understand they of thend given that he was probably going to stay in Byzantium city for a longer period now that he had been made into a Viscount. At least, this new identity could provide the Smith family with a better living environment.

    Once he reached home however, there was a surprise waiting for him. Instead of the excited faces that he had been expecting to find, all he could see was anxiousness and turmoil hidden underneath their skin.

 Chapter 345 345 Anxiety

    <h4>Chapter 345 Chapter 345 Anxiety</h4>

    Bruce and Andy were both waiting to wee him home but there was neither excitement nor question on their faces.

    Instead, they looked like they were in trouble. Bruce was even sweating profusely as if trying toe up with a way to reveal what had happened behind his back in the city.

    The fact that they had been waiting for him at the door irked him somewhat. It was obvious to him that something bad had happened and it was probably bad enough for them to be so eager for his return; so much so that they were practically watching the path he was going to tread to return home.

    "You''re back." eximed Bruce in relief. He sighed as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his back.

    "I''m back...but you don''t look too happy to see me. Is there something wrong?"

    Zach cast a questioning nce towards Bruce and Andy one after the other, expecting to hear the answer from them as soon as possible.

    Bruce hesitated to tell Zach about Christina because he knew how protective Zach could be about the women around him. Christina even seemed a little too close to him; maybe more so than his sister was. If he had rained hell on earth for Diana, Bruce wondered what he might do for Christina if the royals treated her the wrong way.

    Andy on the other hand wasn''t that concerned about Zach''s outburst as long as it didn''t involve him. So, he was the one who narrated how the royal order had asked for Christina''s presence at the weing ceremony arranged by the higher ups for the princess.

    "Do any of you know why they demanded her presence at the conference hall?"

    Zach couldn''t figure out why the royal family would specifically call for her even though she wasn''t even the family head of Elizabeth family. It was her father who was a Marquis and not the other way around. Why would the royal family ask for her when they shouldn''t have even noticed someone of her level?

    "Who knows? But the weing ceremony was arranged for the princess who ising to take charge of Byzantium city. She is one of the leading figures of the royal family as her brother is the crown prince of the empire."

    Bruce was the one to answer this time. Although he preferred not to break the news fearing that he woulde to regret it, he didn''t want to keep any information from him.

    "Did that princess call her over? Or was it someone else?"

    Zach wanted to make sure if it was the royals who had set their eyes on her or if it was someone else.

    "I don''t think anyone else would have dared to call her over in the name of the royal family. It is highly likely that Princess Candice summoned her."

    "Do you have any idea why this princess would want to see her when she had barely arrived in the city?" Zach asked Andy this time because he was sure that Bruce had already shared whatever he knew with him.

    "I don''t know if it is rted or not, but I did hear a piece of news from one of my colleagues. He is responsible for receiving and seeing off dignitaries along with the governor and often ends up stumbling onto the secrets of those bigshots. This news came directly from his mouth. I am not asking you to trust the man unconditionally but there is high likelihood of it being the truth."

    "Don''t dilly dally and give it to me straight. What is it?"

    Zach looked like he was in a hurry as he pushed Andy to increase the pace of his narration.

    "All right; I heard that the princess arrived in the city as early as three days ago. She didn''t show herself or reveal her identity in front of others as she stayed by herself in a remote corner of the city."

    Zach wondered why she would hide her identity even though revealing herself would have allowed her to live morefortably.

    It wasn''t one or two hours but three whole days. She had stayed hidden for the whole time and Zach didn''t believe that it was for a good reason. Otherwise, the princess wouldn''t have bothered to hide herself the whole time.

    The uncertainty began to eat away at his sanity and Zach couldn''t help but call Christina out of worry even though he knew that she was busy attending the wee event staged for the princess.

    The phone rang for a few bells until she answered the call.

    Zach only found sce when the call was answered. The burden of guilt that he had been carrying on his head felt lighter all of a sudden.

    He had barely said a sentence when the call was cut abruptly as if someone had interfered with the connection.

    He could instinctively feel that the person on the other end of the line was Christina even though she hadn''t said a single word to affirm his belief.

    The static buzz from the satellite phone made him regret noting a little earlier. He could have easily joined her to go meet this princess from the royal family if he had. Instead, the princess had seeded in her venture as she managed to meet up with Christina in his absence.

    Zach wondered if the princess had been waiting for him to leave the city before making her move or if she was so unbelievably lucky.

    He couldn''t exactly stay calm when the subsequent calls went unanswered as well.

    "Something is not right. I need to go and see it for myself whether she is safe or not." thought Zach as he couldn''t sit still not knowing if Christina was suffering all by herself.

    Zach could not bring his emotions under control anymore. Who could know if the royal family was trying to coerce her into doing their bidding?

    Overwhelmed by his fury, Zach decided to ride straight into the conference hall to check her wellbeing for himself.

    "How long was that weing ceremony supposed tost? When will she be back?" asked Zach worriedly as he stared at Andy for the answer to his question.

    "The governor was pretty secretive about the arrangements of the ceremony. He was probably afraid that someone else would steal his ideas. So, even the security detail around the conference hall don''t have much information in that regard not to mention an insignificant official like me who is barely included among the top brass."

    Zach''s mood was further put off by Andy''s answer and an unknown anxiety began to rece his worry for Christina. It wanted him to erupt and rain down his fury on everyone around him.

    "I can''t stay here any longer. I am going to find her and bring her back."

    Revealing his intentions to Bruce and Andy, Zach rushed outside towards the stable to get a horse to ride into the city.

    Zach was soon done saddling up his horse and was just about to ride it when he felt a force tug his shoulder back in an attempt to keep him from climbing onto its back.

    It was Bruce who grabbed his shoulder in time and tried to keep him from taking any drastic action that mighttere to bite him in the back. He had been afraid of this when he hesitated to provide him with all the information regarding Christina''s summons.

    s! The worst had stille to pass even though he had tried to prevent such an oue.

    Andy also looked extremely helpless as he stood beside Bruce as if to support him in stopping Zach from taking any drastic measures.

    Zach shook his shoulder free from Bruce''s grip as he could already infer what thetter wanted to tell him from the grim expression on his face.

    "There is no use in you going there to cause a ruckus. It will only harm her more. Going there without any information will only be counterproductive. Why don''t you wait a while, so we cane up with a possible solution?" suggested Bruce as hisst attempt to stop the inevitable from happening.

    Zach on the other hand looked like a mindless beast that had lost control. He could not hear anything that Bruce was telling him. His mind had been upied with the sound of static that appeared after the call was cut off abruptly.

    Pulling himself free and onto horseback, Zach was about to gallop towards the conference hall when Andy''s words forced him toe to a halt.

    "What if your impulsiveness ends up harming her instead of helping her? You DO realize that you are putting her at more risk, right?"

    Andy''s question kept Zach from kicking his heel into the horse to nudge it forward. Instead, he turned his head around to look at Andy as the logic in his words forced him toe to a halt.

    "By inducing her to offend so many higher ups of the government, you are essentially making her an aplice in your mutinous behavior against the royal family. Even if she is capable of thinking for herself, the moment you show up and ask her toe with you, she will follow you without hesitation. But that will only bring her harm."

    Andy figured that he must have said something right to attract Zach''s attention. Therefore, he continued to reinforce his previous words with more logic and managed to convince Zach to stop his impulsive actions.

 Chapter 346 346 What Happened

    <h4>Chapter 346 Chapter 346 What Happened</h4>

    The ferocity vanished but the anxiousness remained inside Zach''s troubled mind. Helpless in front of the absolute power that these influential figures controlled, Zach turned to Andy and asked, "What am I supposed to do then?"

    "Don''t do anything. It would be far more helpful for her than whatever it is that you are thinking of doing. You might be thinking of doing her good but mark my words, the royals won''t let any insult go unpunished. Since they have their eyes on you, they might not harm you directly. But that doesn''t stop them from going after people close to you without revealing themselves."

    Andy''s words struck like thunder inside Zach''s brain. He couldn''t bring himself to believe the magnitude of the threat that royals posed to him and the Smith family.

    "I can''t just do nothing. Wouldn''t that mak..." Zach''s voice trailed off as heprehended his ownck of power.

    He felt useless despite his new status and the technology to back him up. He had no political power and no ability to influence other peak powers of the world.

    It irritated him.

    "Why can''t you do nothing? Think for a moment. It is a weing ceremony for the princess of the royal family. There can''t be a more esteemed guest that this city can receive. Do you think that the governor would let anything go wrong when his position is at stake? As long as the conference is going on, there will only be negotiations or a war of words. No one will dare to harm that girl with the entire city watching them. I am sure that she is as safe as she can be."

    It irritated Zach how much sense there was in Andy''s words. Thetter had much more experience dealing with politicians and was probably much more aware of their modus operandi.

    But Zach couldn''t bring himself to calm down. He had to at least see for himself if she was alright. After all, the abrupt loss of connection was impossible without any outside interference considering that it was a satellite phone.

    "I have to see her at least. I won''t go in, I promise. But I need to know for sure that she is alright."

    Zach looked like he was begging Andy and Bruce to let him go. He was like a pampered but obedient child asking for his father''s permission before eating the candy he was forbidden to partake in.

    Witnessing such a sight, neither Bruce nor Andy had the heart to tell him off. Since they couldn''t stop him, they decided to follow behind him in order to stop him from doing anything irreversible.

    "It''s not like we can stop you if you are adamant to go. But we will be apanying you. Please let us take the lead. I don''t want you ruining yourpatibility with the royals now that they have taken an interest in this city."

    Bruce no longer tried to hold him back. Instead, he walked towards the nearest horse and followed right after Zach as they exited the stable and headed in the direction of the conference room, trotting at first and changing into a gallop soon after.

    Andy didn''t stay behind either. He had a horse of his own as he followed after the two of them with a heavy heart. Even if Zach ended up offending the Royal family, Andy was willing to follow through with this alliance, thinking that at most, he would be making another wager with his future on the line. It would not be any different than what he did in the past though.

    The three horses galloped one after the other as Zach made a beeline towards the conference hall.

    Fortunately, he didn''t have to ride his horse into the hall to determine if Christina was safe or not because the moment the conference hall came in his sight, he found Christinaing out of the hall.

    He wondered if the two of them had some kind of telepathic connection that allowed her to sense his arrival.

    A smile crept up on his previously worried visage and he stopped his horse a little distance from the conference hall.

    He noticed the elderly man walking beside Christina and was a little surprised to see George who should have been back in Elizabeth city.

    Zach took long strides and walked swiftly towards Christina. He could barely keep himself from running as it would have attracted too much attention from the people passing by.

    "Long time no see. How have you been all this time?" Zach addressed the elderly first as it was only right to acknowledge his father-inw before engaging in a loving reunion with Christina.

    While Zach was in high spirits after making sure that both Christina and George seemed to be all right, the same could not be said about the father-daughter duo. They looked like they had seen better days.

    "Yes, it''s been a long time. Stories about you have now spread far and wide. Even I have heard about them back in Elizabeth city. I always knew that you would be able to do good for yourself even if you had no backing."

    George praised him generously, but it was obvious that he was only saying it to give Zach face. He was in no mood to talk after what transpired in the conference hall.

    Moreover, George even resented Zach somewhat, for he was the reason why Christina was going to suffer in the hands of the Royal family.

    Zach didn''t take long to decipher that as well. He sensed the hidden bitterness in George''s words that was directed at him.

    Zach turned to Christina as if to ask her to help him understand why her father was looking at him like that.

    It was only then, like the sudden crack of a dam that had been holding back a torrent of emotions, he noticed the glimmer of tears at the corners of her eyes. Christina''s eyes resembled a stormy sea, with tears like unrelenting raindrops, eager to break free and cascade down her cheeks. They were like uninvited guests at a party, ready to make a grand entrance, unwee yet insistent on making their presence known, signaling the weight of her distress.

    Her tear-filled eyes were akin to fragile ss ornaments, delicate and on the verge of shattering, reflecting the fragility of her emotions. Each tear teetered on the edge, like a tightrope walker, battling the gusty winds of despair before taking that inevitable plunge, leaving its mark on her porcin skin, a visible testament to her inner turmoil.

    Zach felt a storm of fury brewing within him as he witnessed her tears, yet he restrained it, understanding the urgency of uncovering the reasons for her distress before he let loose his wrath. It was like a tempest contained in a fragile bottle, threatening to shatter the ss if left unattended.

    His anger simmered like a kettle reaching its boiling point, ready to whistle its protest, but he knew he had to be the steady lighthouse amidst her turbulent sea. He stood at the edge of a precipice, carefully bncing on the thin line between vengeance and understanding, aware that one misstep could plunge them both into an abyss of irreversible consequences.

    "What happened in there?" asked Zach, his voice a taut rope barely containing the weight of his growing anger.

    Christina didn''t answer him but wiped away her tears in order to hide the helplessness she felt after her meeting with the princess. Her father shared in her sadness as he kept on shaking his head for no reason.

    Zach, brimming with a mix of worry and anger, didn''t press her to speak. He pulled her close, wrapping her in his protective embrace, and began to rub her back gently, as if trying to smooth away the turmoil in her heart, like a lighthouse offering sce to a ship lost in a stormy sea.

    He felt a little odd doing it in front of her father, but he couldn''t stop himself after he saw her in such a pitiful condition. It was like an instinct, an urge to shield her from the emotional tempest that was raging within her, akin to a knight protecting a delicate flower amidst a relentless downpour.

    It had to be known that Zach had never seen Christina in such a poor condition. She had always been like a goddess that everyone desired but no one had the good fortune ofying their eyes on.

    Seeing her in such a state was no different from witnessing a star, bright and unattainable, suddenly dimming and falling from the sky, its brilliance fading into a somber glow that left everyone watching in disbelief

    She had a high status in Elizabeth family and countless suitors, but she had never shown favor to anyone besides Zach. Her strength gave her the capital to stand at the top of a small city like Elizabeth city.

    But such a woman had been reduced to tears. Zach could not imagine what she might have gone through to end up in such a condition.

    "Let''s go home first. It''s not right to question her out here when she isn''t feeling well." suggested Bruce as he felt that George didn''t look too good. He had known the man for a good amount of time, but he had never seen the man sweat so profusely even in the midst of the most difficult situation.

    Andy was the one to lead this time as the rest of them followed after him.

 Chapter 347 347 Blame

    <h4>Chapter 347 Chapter 347 me</h4>

    Zach pulled Christina with him and trotted after Andy at a leisurely pace. He held her close to himself as if afraid that something might happen to her.

    His touch, gentle and reassuring, was a beacon offort for Christina. His presence was like a sturdy anchor keeping her from drifting into the turbulent sea of distress, allowing her to gather the shards of herposure and find a moment of respite.

    Fortunately, the journey home wasn''t filled with any surprises.

    Reaching theke house, Zach weed George into his residence in order to figure out what had spooked the father daughter duo so much.

    "Can you tell me what happened now? What is troubling you two so much?"

    George didn''t answer Zach and nced at Andy and Bruce who were still in the room with them. He didn''t think anyone was trustworthy when he wanted to talk smack about the royal family.

    "Don''t worry, they are trustworthy. You can say whatever you want in here without worry. You already know Bruce, and this is Andy, the police chief in these parts."

    George nodded in an attempt to acknowledge Andy''s presence and thetter responded kindly as well.

    "Do you know the reason a princess has been sent to this city all of a sudden when it had been such a neglected area in the past?" George asked Zach with a mixture of curiosity and hidden indignation. He was curious to find out if Zach knew the reason behind the change in Byzantium city''s government and the consequences of his actions.

    Zach shook his head in response. He wasn''t much interested in who stood at the top of the city as long as he and his family could develop easily.

    George looked like he had expected such an answer.

    "Seems like you still don''t understand what you did when you destroyed the Hunter family."

    George shook his head as if disappointed at Zach''s cluelessness. He also noticed that the other two people in the room had probably already figured out what he was about to tell Zach.

    "You revealed a power that is considered far beyond the norm for someone of your age. The royal family caught wind of your overflowing potential and decided to bring you over to their side. They ignored how you rooted out the Hunter familypletely even though you ended up destabilizing the economy of the whole city which used to be one of the major economic hubs of the empire; a strategic hub whose importance was further increased by the heightened tension at the borders. As such they sent a princess to clean up the mess you created as well as to guide the city economy towards a more stable path. Her presence would ensure that the major families wouldn''t fight amongst themselves. So, in short, all of this is because of you and the reason behind why we were called to the conference hall also has to do with you."

    Zach was shocked to hear about the changes he had caused in the city with his disy of power; a power that didn''t even belong to him. He had just been shameless enough to call the force of nature his own personal strength. Even the royal family had been shaken by his borate posing.

    "But how has that affected you? If they are interested in me, they should try to win me over. Knowing her rtionship with me, they should have tried to be nice to you. So why do you look like you want to hit someone?"

    George wanted to roll his eyes so bad at his reaction.

    "Do you think the world will fold itself before you if you have a high level of strength? It isn''t as simple as that. If the gap in strength is not wide enough to take away all hope, there will still be people attempting to throw you down from your gilded throne. You are definitely powerful but not enough to threaten the royal family significantly. They are only afraid of your potential and not of your current strength. You are insignificant in the greater scheme of things."

    "I understand what you are saying but I still don''t know what happened to you in that conference hall to leave you two this upset?"

    "They called the two of us specifically to hand over a reconstruction project in the capital of the empire."

    "Isn''t that a good thing? You can establish connections in the capital and begin trade. You are a businessman so you should know better than me the potential of a new market."

    Zach didn''t understand why the two of them were acting in such a manner after receiving an important task from the royal family.

    "Let me finish before you reach your conclusion." George red at him before continuing with his exnation.

    Zach nodded obediently, like a soldier acknowledging a direct order from hismanding officer.

    "They asked me to send Christina over to the capital to oversee the construction projects but that is only a ruse. In fact, they need her as a potential hostage to be used against someone with higher value."

    Zach didn''t expect that his vengeful actions had set everything in motion.

    Zach couldn''t get over the fact that the only person responsible for the ordeal that Christina would have to go through was him.

    Zach felt the crushing weight of guilt, like As struggling to support the world on his shoulders. He was the architect of this predicament for Christina. He was the cksmith who had unknowingly forged the chains that would eventually bind her to the expectations of the Royal family.

    Zach could onlyment not containing himself from boasting about the meteorites being his spell. Had he done that, maybe she wouldn''t have made it onto the radar of the royal family.

    He wished he could turn back time to retract his actions before it was toote. Perhaps Christina would still have a chance to escape the suffocating of pressure then.

    The more he pondered on that line of thought, the more responsible he felt.

    His face contorted from the turmoil within, the deepening frown carving lines on his once cid visage like a sculptor chiseling a masterpiece.

    It was a gradual transformation, akin to the sky darkening before a storm, heralding the impending tempest of regret that brewed within him.

    He was feeling awful; even more than the time when he had let that pirate kidnap Diana. Because at the time, he had been unaware of the pirate''s intentions.

    But now, even knowing what the royals intended to do to Christina, he was unable to stop them from taking her away from him.

    George was right. Zach''s strength was perfunctory at best.

    Even if Zach had the strength to cause that meteor shower, there were probably mages in the empire who were capable of dealing with him still. He wasn''t exactly all powerful.

    Not to mention that his entire strength was dependent on others and his technology. His personal strength was not even close enough to beat an S rank mage.

    Zach didn''t have the words to say anything back. George had truly paralyzed his tongue with his revtions.

    Zach stole asional nces at Christina, hoping to discern the emotions that yed behind her eyes. He sought answers in the depths of her gaze, attempting to read whether me danced within her irises or if understanding and forgiveness found a ce in her soul.

    It was a discreet quest for insight, like a detective scrutinizing a cryptic clue for the truth it concealed.

    He wanted to know whether she med him for her fate or not. After all, if not for him she could have led a pampered life back home.

    From what he found; Christina was saddened but not because she was being taken hostage. The reason for her overflowing tears was something else.

    Her eyes held the sorrow of a lover forced to part from their beloved for a long time. It was akin to the ache of a sailor witnessing the relentless tide pull them away from the shore, leaving them stranded in the vastness of the sea, yearning for the stability of thend they cherished.

    Zach could almost hear her mournful cries despite theck of sound. Just the longing in her eyes was enough to reveal her true thoughts.

    Zach felt a profound sense of shame. It would have been easier for him to cope if Christina directed her ire at him, ming him for the ordeal she would have to endure.

    But how could Christina bring herself to hate Zach, the man she had been longing for and had only just consummated her rtionship with?

    The turmoil within him grew as Christina refused to ce any me on him and continued to smile at him despite the tear stains on her face. It was akin to the roiling waves of a tempestuous sea, where emotions crashed and shed, leaving his heart tossed like a ship caught in a violent maelstrom.

    Christina held the belief that trials were an inevitable part of any rtionship, a rite of passage that would eventually present itself, testing the mettle of their bond. Just as a cksmith forges a de, subjecting it to intense heat and hammer blows to strengthen it, so too did rtionships need to endure the crucible of challenges to be steeled for the future.

    Their rtionship had been a beautiful yet delicate ss sculpture, carefully shaped and nurtured with love and devotion. Just as a ss sculpture needed to undergo the tempering process to fortify its structure, their rtionship had reached a juncture where it needed to face trials and challenges to strengthen its foundation.

 Chapter 348 348 Not Your Fault

    <h4>Chapter 348 Chapter 348 Not Your Fault</h4>

    The fires of tribtion would refine their love, allowing it to emerge resilient and enduring, like a masterpiece that had faced the crucible and emerged more beautiful and unbreakable.

    Only by suffering together through the ordeal could they build a rtionship that would be strong enough tost them a lifetime.

    Despite what Christina believed, Zach was not someone who would let Christina suffer if he could help it.

    He vowed to save her soon. He wouldn''t let her stay away from him for long, especially after knowing that it was all his fault that Christina had to go in the first ce.

    Had he been strong enough, he would have kept her by his side even if he had to fight the empire for it.

    Only Diana could read Zach''s face like an open book. She could easily deduce what he was thinking from the subtle micro expressions that appeared on his face for an instant before vanishing. After staying with him for so long, this was one of the skills she had picked up.

    It wasn''t for nothing that the coboration of Zach and Diana on the battlefield was so lethal. A fieldmander who was able to understand and act on the orders of the higher-ups without a shred of doubt was bound to be a devastating cmity for anyone unfortunate enough to be the enemy.

    Christina was crying buckets despite not wanting to do so. She had tried to rein in her unwillingness to leave Zach, but her feelings outweighed her rationality and revealed the truth she had been trying to hide.

    While George tried tofort Christina, Diana felt sorry for Zach. She could sense how he was ming himself. While the others were busy feeling sorry for Christina, she only had eyes for Zach.

    She reached out to Zach and pulled him close to her. She rubbed his back and his arm as she hugged him from the side in an attempt tofort him.

    Zach tried to break free from her embrace, but Diana was unrelenting. She stuck to his side like the strongest superglue. She knew that if she let him go, he would only end up stuck in a quagmire of regret and pain.

    "It''s not your fault. Don''t beat yourself up over it." Diana spoke as softly as possible as if afraid of hurting him with her words.

    "How could you know that? If not for me, they wouldn''t even know of her existence. She could have lived a carefree life." Zach muttered in an equally muffled voice, but Diana had all her attention on him. There was no way that she could miss any word that came out of his mouth.

    "But I DO know it. She and I aren''t very different. How can she bear to me you? If someone is to be med, then it must be me for causing this situation in the first ce. The only reason your power was exposed was because you were forced to do so to save me." Anger was evident in her voice as if she was snubbing Zach for thinking nonsense.

    Diana knew that Zach had no other choice but to take drastic measures when the safety of the entire Smith family was threatened by the Hunter family. Had he not taken countermeasures in advance, the Hunter family might have destroyed Greend anyway, but the tragedy would have been even greater.

    "Don''t talk nonsense."

    Zach wasn''t willing to listen to her patronizing words. He had chosen to go big on his own even though he could have passed it off as a happy coincidence that wiped out the entire Hunter family. Therefore, he felt responsible.

    "Zach, you made the best out of that shitty situation. There was nothing else you could have done. You saved the Smith family and our home. You did all of that alone. Now let us carry the burden with you at least; otherwise, we would only feel like unnecessary weights pulling you down from your ce at the top. I am sure Christina doesn''t want to weigh you down either."

    Zach couldn''t keep his eyes from resting on Diana who had changed so much from the time they first met. The stubborn girl from before had turned into someone who could influence his thoughts andfort him with logic and reason.

    Sessfully holding his attention to herself, Diana pushed Zach further to remove the dark thoughts from his mind.

    None of his women would want to see him me himself like this. She didn''t need to hear from Christina to know her thoughts about the matter either.

    "You don''t need to feel sorry. You don''t need to apologize either. You did your best. And as for the consequences, we hope to stand together with you no matter the circumstances. I am sure she feels that way as well." Diana outstretched her index finger and pointed to Christina who was trying to regain control of her emotions. It had been a long time since the floodgates had been opened. Therefore, the moment she let her emotions take over, the resultant flood of tears was unending.

    Christina was too absorbed to know what Diana was whispering in Zach''s ears, but she would have surely held a simr opinion.

    Convinced by Diana''s timely counselling, Zach began to take apart the situation piece by piece in order to analyze it. No matter how many angles or perspectives he viewed it from, the root of the problem remained the same.

    His weakness was the problem; not just his individual strength, but that of the Smith family.

    He had a gnawing feeling in his bonestely that his personal strength would no longer be enough in the grand scheme of things.

    He had already made contact with the Royal family when he came across Prince Kolt. He couldn''t bring himself to forget the hatred from that time even though the prince had supposedly been punished by the Royal family.

    Given the inherent arrogance and haughty nature of the royal family, he inferred that it wouldn''t be long before a conflict of interest arose between the two groups. As a result, the road to survival for him and the Smith family was constant improvement of strength and war potential.

    The more united the family was and the more power they held within their grasp would determine if they would be able to hold their heads high even in front of the royal family.

    Zach believed that strength spoke for itself. If the Smith family ended up bing powerful enough, even the royal family would have to think twice before targeting any member of his family for fear of his retaliation. Only then would he have the ability to protect everyone close to him.

    Thinking along those lines, Zach began to chart a course for the development of the Smith family in his mind.

    Whileing up with several ideas regarding the expansion of Smith family forces away from the sight of the royal family, Zach could not help but pause in fascination as he gazed at Diana. She had been the weakest of the women he had encountered in terms of potential and magical capability ever since his arrival in the new world.

    Yet Diana had the talent to absorb everything he imparted to her. She not only turned into a fine general with the help of his technologically advanced weapons but was also trying to console him in his momentary self-doubt. It appeared as if she believed in him even more than he did in himself.

    Although he hadn''t made his intentions clear to her despite knowing full well about her feelings for him, he had to admit that Diana was wife material through and through. She was gentle, thoughtful, responsible and fully capable of leading his forces in his ce like a queen.

    Due to the time, she spent training the soldiers of the Smith family at Zach''s behest, she was highly regarded in the family. Even Bruce didn''t hold as much sway as she did.

    Zach swore to appreciate her help more in the future even if he didn''t end up marrying her.

    Zach decided on his future course as he gazed at her worried but charming face softly. The Smith family would be the force with which he would deter all the forces eyeing his power or the strength of his technology. He would make sure that the name of the Smith family would resound across the world striking terror in all those who heard of them.

    Only then would he be able to stay independent of the royal family. Failure to do the same would only result in the Smith family''s annexure to the royal family where neither his life nor the life of his loved ones would be safe.

    Even though it appeared as if the Smith family hadn''t encountered a predicament as great as this, the reality was quite far apart from it.

    After all, there was no obvious or serious threat to the Smith family considering that the royal family didn''t try to offend him outright. They were only trying to keep him from aligning with other forces by using Christina as a hostage.

    Since they intended to make an ally out of him. That could work in his favor.

    Moreover, there was an obvious solution to his problem. It was so obvious that it was practically staring him in the face. To boot, it was the easiest solution to his problem.

    Since the royal family was interested in him and Christina''s safety was guaranteed as long as they remained interested in him, the only thing he had to endure was a long separation from Christina.

 Chapter 349 349 Introspection

    ?

    But as long as he took advantage of the situation to improve the power and influence of his Smith family, there was a high chance that he would be able to bring her back from the capital very soon. Even the royal family wouldn''t dare to stop him by then.

    Keeping that goal in mind, he just had to use the political advantages he could receive through his connections with the government and slowly and gradually develop his Smith family into the behemoth without which Byzantium city would be unable to function.

    Building up a force capable of resisting the royal force could not be done in the span of a single day. The process needed some time as he had to train his people further.

    Only a limited number of the Smith family personnel were in fact hands-on with the various technological inventions. The remaining were either too afraid to try or had never received the opportunity due to the limitations of the number of people who could be taught at a time dedicatedly.

    Zach had neither had the time to teach every one of them individually nor did he have the intention of doing so in the first ce.

    He had only nned to formte an elite unit responsible for fighting on his behalf and enforcing his will. His project had begun with the Special Forces team that Diana was leading whichter incorporated the elements of the armored military forces from his previous world. It was nowposed of the original gueri forces and the newly inducted technologically augmented soldiers who were capable of using the high-tech machinery to fight military battles despite being muggles.

    Greend had allowed him to improve his forces a step further, but it was far from enough. There was so much more he had yet to bring out.

    Zach had never nned on dominating anything despite having the means to do so easily.

    He had in his hands the capital to sustain any empire for generations so they would remain at the top of the food chain even if they didn''t do anything.

    Just the naval armada in his possession was enough toy waste to any sea bound country in the world.

    However, he was never greedy and didn''t take the initiative to start a feud.

    Had the series of events with the Hunter family never taken ce, Zach might have stayed within the bounds of Greend. He would have kept his power hidden from the world and would have never tried to invade other ces as long as he and his family could livefortably.

    s! The incident with the Hunter family became the spark and the royal family poured fuel in the raging fire by separating Christina from him using their power and influence to threaten the safety of his family.

    Gradually, Zach began toe to terms with the true face of the world. The only way to survive in such a cruel and heartless world was to be strong; strong enough for your voice to be heard.

    An individual voice was mostly always weak. There needed to be a chorus of voices behind his own to make himself visible to those who stood at the peak of this world.

    This was the only way to survive because a single soldier couldn''t learn everything as evident from the division in his previous life.

    Therefore, Zach needed more people, and he needed them to be trustworthy so he could produce several specialists in their respective fields. He couldn''t keep using his soldiers for menial tasks that involved the usage of machinery. For example, his soldiers had taken part in the construction and reshaping of Greend only because they knew how to operate machinery more effectively than themon popce.

    In a nutshell, he needed to establish his power through his family by making use of the government. Pulling a reversal by doing something the royal family couldn''t expect was the best move he had.

    But all that was too far in the future. He didn''t have to put all his ns into motion right that instant.

    For now, there were more important things he needed to do.

    бн

    The day passed before they knew it. It was already night outside. The sky was darker than darkness itself and the stars twinkling amidst that inky sky seemed a tad sadderpared to usual. Even the heavenly phenomenon seemed to be exhibiting the sorrow they felt in their hearts.

    Both Zach and Christina had spent a lot of time apart and there was an even longer separation ahead of them. But they instinctively refrained from mentioning it in front of each other as if afraid of falling prey to the gloominess of the subject which would ruin their remaining time together.

    Instead of wallowing in the grief and loneliness that awaited them, they decided to focus on the time they had on their hands and make the best of it so they would have some beautiful moments to reminisce about in the tough lives that awaited them in the future.

    As such they forgot about the rest of the world and stared into each other''s eyes as if they intended to freeze that image of each other in the mirror of their hearts.

    Zach could feel the warmth oozing out of her eyes. He could tell that she didn''t me him even a little bit despite how much she had been affected. It filled him with shame, but he didn''t let it deter him from giving her all of his attention.

    No words were needed between the two souls that were raring to meld into one another.

    While taking in the sight of her beautiful figure, Zach took the initiative to reduce the distance between the two of them. Her seductive body called to him like the sweetest nectar of the flowers attracted a bee.

    He grabbed onto her soft and boneless hand like it was the most precious treasure in the world. She shivered at this sudden touch as excitement coursed through her entire being. Even her soul was filled to the brim with jubtion at having felt his touch.

    Her body softened unintentionally as her body seemed to melt. She leaned her head against his shoulder and entered his embrace on instinct.

    Zach pulled her into hisp and whispered softly in her ear, "We''ve been together so many times but even now I can''t help but stare when I take a look at you. How can a beautiful woman like you be mine?"

    Christina blushed profusely as his praise echoed in her ears like the sweetest melody that melted her heart.

    Her heart raced like a thousand elephants stampeding across a nd. Zach still had that kind of effect on her. She felt like a lovestruck girl every time she was so close to him.

    Although she felt shy, this time she didn''t want to hold anything back. She wanted to let herself free and boldly proim her love under the starry night.

    Feeling her sudden boldness, Zach didn''t hold back either. He held her delicate chin between his index finger and thumb and turned her head, so she was looking straight at him.

    Leaning towards her, he kissed her softly at first, but gradually it turned steamier as they got into it. Zach sucked on her lips like he wanted to wring the heavenly nectar out of them while Christina fought against him frantically.

    The battle became increasingly heated as they felt the rising heat from each other''s body.

    While in his embrace, Christina became even more eager than he was as their faces melded into each other so much that they could no longer distinguish whose saliva was smeared across their faces.

    Zach took the chance and invaded her mouth with his sneaky tongue. Her teeth offered no resistance as her arousal allowed its invasion like a city with open gates waiting for the enemy to conquer it.

    He explored every inch of her mouth battling her slimy tongue from time to time. Only after he felt her chest contracting from theck of oxygen did he let her go.

    Christina took deep breaths, but she seemed more eager to return to the battlefield of tongues than she was about breathing life into her oxygen deprived lungs.

    As if out of instinct, Christina''s arms wrapped themselves around his neck like a boa constrictor.

    Zach pulled her even closer to his chest and his hands began to roam around her body, naughtily teasing her sensitive spots as if ying a musical instrument.

    It was like he knew which chords to pluck to send her down the road of depravity and endless desire.

    "Mmmh...ngh..." Christina moaned seductively near his ears as his hands grabbed onto her plump buttocks. Her hot breath in his ears aroused him to no end.

    Zach couldn''t help but indulge in the softness of the two buns in his hand.

    His devilish ws kneaded them into different shapes as he greedily explored every part of the softness and made her moan endlessly.

    Her muffled moans destroyed the silence in the room for a while before she felt herher region heating up. A warm fluid was flowing down the inside of her thighs.

    Without looking she knew what the hot sensation growing between her legs was.

    Everything around her was colored pink as her desire to be one with Zach reached its peak.

    Primal desire took over her senses. She could barely keep herself from pouncing onto him like a tigress in heat.

    Zach felt her body heated kisses as he kept on pleasuring her sweet spots with his hands.

 Chapter 350 350 Crazy Night

    ?

    His soft touch elicited seductive moans out of her.

    Her hands unconsciously moved into his hair as she gripped it and pulled him towards her mouth to kiss him intensely in between her moans.

    It wasn''t long before she felt his hardness underneath her. The pulsating tower she was sitting on pushed her past the edge of insanity as she lost her reason and began to madly devour him like her survival depended on it.

    Feeling her desire, Zach reciprocated in kind. Their kissing became heated and more urgent as they both felt their lower bodies ache for each other''s apaniment.

    Zach''s soldier was ready for invasion as it stood on attention waiting for his orders.

    Christina could feel the pulsating beast between her thighs as she opened her legs wider as if offering an invitation to the former. The hardness and the girth of his soldier sent shivers down her spine, but she decided to be bold for the day.

    Christina wanted Zach to take her right then, but thetter had a different n in mind.

    Even though he could feel Christina''s overflowing desire, he kept on teasing her body. He grabbed hold of her buttocks and pulled her up to her knees in front of him.

    Their heights were trulypatible as her breasts were right in front of his face. Zach could swear right there that he hadn''t experienced a more heavenly view than that.

    Staring at her pink flower buds, his mind went nk. A hunger like that of a primordial beast awoke deep inside him as if he had been starving for times immemorial and only now had he found a method to sate it.

    He leaned into the heavenly mountains and suckled on the teat of mother nature as he experienced the boundless joy of having a big-boobed beauty as his wife. He took one flower bud in his mouth and sucked on it like a hunger crazed baby while his other evil w explored the nearby twin peak.

    Her moans grew louder as the desire in her eyes reached its peak.

    She could feel herself bing more aroused with each passing second. She was practically writhing under his touch.

    "Ah...yes...just like that..." she moaned, her fingers gripping his hair tighter as she pulled her towards her chest as if to encourage him to ravage her peaks more.

    "Zach...ahh...please..." she begged, her hips instinctively grinding against his member.

    Without a word, Zach moved his idle hand towards her lower half and slipped his fingers between her legs.

    Christina''s moans turned into outright cries of pleasure. She was nowhere close to the graceful and aloof goddess she usually was. She looked like she had let go of her fa?ade and had embraced her primitive self.

    "God...yes...more...please more..." she begged, as Zach began to explore her depths with his fingers.

    She could feel herself getting closer and closer to the edge, the pleasure building inside her like a raging tidal wave about toy waste to everything around her.

    The pressure began to build up insider her as her body turned into a heated furnace with each passing second until the dam in her lower body finally burst apart amidst her loud and euphoric moans.

    Her thighs clenched automatically and a thick sticky liquid showered Zach''sp.

    Christina''s legs turned to jelly following the leaking wetness as she sat directly on top of his member.

    Zach felt a fire burning in his loins from the sudden pressure of her soft buns.

    Christina was out of air but her anticipation of what wasing next made her hold her breath further.

    Helping her shed thestyer of clothing, Zach lifted her into the air before letting her down gently on top of his attentive member.

    Her soft and perky breasts jiggled in the effort arousing Zach''s member to be even sturdier. The view was more than capable of causing the downfall of the empire on its own but fortunately no one other than Zach was there to witness the heavenly scene.

    Christina gasped as the entire length of his member invaded her inner sanctum as it scoured the deepest reaches of her womb.

    Only after she had ovee the initial shock did Zach begin to ram into her delicate bottom from underneath her.

    He supported her soft buns with both of his hands as he gently lifted her light but shapely body and dropped it onto his member impaling her till her womb and sending bursts of ecstasy through her entire being.

    She cried out in pleasure as she felt the forceful entry into her deepest reaches.

    "Ah~...yes...harder...give it to me..."

    Their bodies began to p against each other in a lewd melody that had only been heard by those who had experienced the pleasures of the flesh.

    Their bodies fought a relentless war as they shed against one another only to be separated from the force of the collision beforeing back once again with greater momentum.

    Christina''s moans turned into screams as the momentum of their shes began to rise.

    It was obvious who was on the losing side of the battle.

    But this was one battle where Christina was more than happy to be on the losing end.

    Her screams increased in intensity and pitch until her body came undone underneath his intense pounding. She lost all her strength as her body settled in his embrace,pletely devoid of energy, shivering helplessly as her soul experienced true nirvana.

    Warm juices flowed down on his member dousing itpletely, but instead of extinguishing it, it only served as kindling for the raging fire burning within him.

    Zach wasn''t too far off either. Holding Christina''s boneless body in his embrace, utterly defenseless and burning with fiery passion was too much for him.

    With one final thrust into her sensitive embrace that was still writhing in pleasure, Zach emptied his thick load inside her.

    A bone tiring exhaustion took hold of his body but the fire in his eyes had yet to go out.

    Several system messages interrupted him one after the other. He obviously knew what the notifications meant but Zach didn''t have the time to keep track of the messages. There were too many of them to remember.

    [A new weapon has been unlocked.]

    [A new weapon has been unlocked.]

    [A new weapon has been unlocked.]

    бн

    He just instructed the system to dismiss them for the time being. He was neither interested in the weapons nor the skills they had to offer. He just wanted to love his beloved Christina enough to let her feel his touch for the time they would have to stay apart from each other.

    They stayed in the same position for a while as both of them tried to recover their breath following the long battle.

    "That was...amazing," she said sweetly, before kissing him deeply once again.

    Zach pulled himself free suddenly and smirked, "Who said it was over already?"

    Christina couldn''t keep her eyes off him. The anticipation made her body heat rise once again as she decided to hide none of her feelings. She set herself free from the conventions of modicum she had devised herself and gave into her animalistic instincts as well.

    She practically pounced on his face and began to devour him. Zach reciprocated her passion and the two beasts let go of anything holding them back from merging into each other.

    The entangled bodies had long since be one. Lost in lust, they didn''t know where one of them ended and the other began as they rubbed against each other like snakes in a tangled mess.

    Christina gathered her courage and pushed Zach onto the bed.

    Zachy on his back while Christina secured her position on top of him. A new session of lovemaking began all over again as their passionate throes echoed in the room.

    Christina didn''t let Zach do all the work this time. She sat herself carefully on top of his erect member that was still bursting with strength and energy.

    Sliding it into her deepest part, she hummed slightly in pleasure as she began to shake her hips slowly.

    Zach''s cock was like a spear she was impaling herself on every time she let her ass fall on top of him. Shivers ran down her spine at every impact, but she couldn''t bring herself to stop.

 Chapter 351 351 Separation

    <h4>Chapter 351 Chapter 351 Separation</h4>

    She leaned down and rained down kisses on Zach''s chiseled body beginning with his lips all the way down while she stimted his member with her hips.

    Zach was going crazy, but he let her take the initiative. It was the first time Christina had been this forting in their nightly session and he was enjoying her service fully without doing any of the work.

    Christina on the other hand was acting like a cheap whore as she bounced her soft ass on top of him without any modicum of shame.

    Zach grabbed onto her breasts as they dangled in front of him like ripe fruits, seducing him with their sweaty mor, forcing him to w at them like a hungry beast.

    He stimted her peaks by rubbing them between his finger and thumb as he pulled on them as if to check the limit of their sticity.

    Christina screamed in pleasure, but her hips didn''t stop as if they had a mind of their own and had long since stopped listening to their owner.

    She retaliated by bouncing even faster on top of his sword; an act that led to her tits bouncing up and down as if threatening to rip themselves free from her body. In her mindless state where she was a ve to bodily pleasures, she ignored Zach entirely and focused on pleasing herself.

    It looked like she was using Zach as a sex toy in order to appease her urges. She was practically raping him while hey underneath her like a helpless doll meant to douse the fire burning in her loins.

    Christina finally slowed down as she came closer to the edge and the madness in her eyes blurred slightly.

    Seemingly a little dissatisfied with the sudden stoppage, Zach took advantage of the sudden break and grabbed her arms before ramming his lower body into her ass from underneath her.

    Christina screamed loudly as if she had been pierced through by the dragon going wild inside of her.

    Pain and pleasure were mixed in such a ratio that her tears began to flow from the euphoric bliss she was feeling for the first time ever since they began to engage in their nightly activities.

    It was probably due to the stimtion of the separation ahead but both of them were especially beastly andcking in basic etiquette. They engaged in coitus like two mindless freaks who knew nothing other than sex.

    Christina finally gave in after she came for the third time, but Zach didn''t look satisfied. In fact, he was far from it. Seeing Christina in a pitiful state, panting and out of breath, Zach didn''t feel any sympathy.

    Instead, he excitedly drove his rod into her tight ass that was still cum free.

    Christina grunted in pain as she didn''t have the strength to scream anymore. She frowned in pain but still raised her ass a bit higher so Zach would have an easy time prating her.

    The pain of having her tight ass explored widened her eyes but she held it in and eventually came to feel pleasure through the pain. The pain not only made her forget about theing day but also allowed her to feel Zach inside her once again.

    The passionate scene continued until morning and Zach made sure to fill all her wholes with his milky liquids.

    Only when her asshole and her womb began to overflow with his milk, did he let go of her. Her tummy seemed to be fully stuffed. It looked like her womb had swollen from all the loads that Zach had pumped into it that night.

    Despite the fact that he was tired to his bones and his knees were about to buckle under his own weight after the effort he had put in, he couldn''t bear to stop because that would mean the end of the beautiful night and the beginning of the new day which would bring about his separation from his beloved wife.

    бн

    Christina had barely gotten any sleep due to the nightly activities she had indulged herself in for the entire night.

    She got out of bed dripping with cum from both of her holes. Her whole body was killing her like she was being forced to lift a heavy weight like the titan who held the sky on his back.

    Intense pain coursed through her as her bones creaked with every step she took. She supported her back with her hand and breathed heavily as she tried to regain a semnce of normalcy after the adventurous night.

    It took a few minutes to get used to the weakness she felt but she could walk on her own, albeit a bit ufortably.

    She could not get used to the lethargy that was slowly spreading through her body like a virus. She didn''t want to move about when all the parts of her body seemed to be protesting against her, but she had no choice.

    The royal princess Candice had already given instructions to her father to send her to the capital on the next day.

    While Christina was unwilling to obey any royal, she had to think of her family as well. She couldn''t just cling to Zach while ignoring the plight of her father and her family. Therefore, instead of running to Zach, she chose to follow the orders of the princess until she and Zach became capable of taking on the royal family without suffering.

    Seeing how reluctant she was to leave, Zach felt guilty about not being able to do anything for her. As such, he decided to tag along with her on her journey towards the capital for as long as possible and as far as he could apany her.

    Leaving the Smith family residence, Christina felt like she was leaving a part of her behind. Had it not been for Zach who had taken the initiative to apany her for a while, she might have felt the urge to cry. The parting even made her miss the people she didn''t like. For example, she didn''t think badly of those women even who seemed to have nothing better to do than to keep circling around her husband day and night.

    The quarrel between the women had only urred because they had met each other for the first time and were trying to mark their territory by warning off each other from getting close to Zach.

    Since their attempt to do so failed, they didn''t hold much negative thoughts about each other from that moment onwards.

    Therefore, Christina couldn''t even transfer her hatred onto them as they got the chance to stay with her husband while she was being marched off to the capital.

    "Can''t you leave a day or twoter? Does it have to be today?" asked Zach anxiously, which pleased Christina a lot. It was a reassurance for her that the love she felt for Zach was not just one sided and he felt reluctant to part with her as well. The separation was going to be just as painful for him as it was going to be for her. This made her feel at ease.

    "We already received orders from the royal family to depart for Rome today through the fastest means. It appears as if they cannot do without me for a moment longer. See...they already know how good I am. It''s only you who can''t seem to understand how lucky you have been to have me here to help you out."

    "I can do without you..." Zach was about toplete that sentence out loud when he stopped after feeling a death stare. He instinctively felt that only true death awaited him if he managed toplete that sentence. He would be torn to shreds body and soul if he uttered the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

    "I mean, I may be able to make do without you here when ites to business but no one else can fill the void that you are going to leave in my heart." Zach intelligently changed the structure and the meaning of the sentence to avoid inducing the goddess of destruction to rain down hell on his meager self.

    Christina burst into a chuckle at the brilliant improvisation. Zach joined her as well and the atmosphere around the two turned joyful from the previously dreary atmosphere that reeked of parting and sadness.

 Chapter 352 352 I Will

    <h4>Chapter 352 Chapter 352 I Will</h4>

    "How long are you going to be apanying me for? Why not say goodbye here?" Just as the two of them reached the trucks waiting for Christina outside the residence, she asked Zach so he wouldn''t trouble himself further.

    She knew how busy he usually was and didn''t want to increase his burden even more.

    "Just a bit further. I don''t want to see you go just yet. Maybe till the edge of the city." Zach seemed really reluctant to see her leave and Christina could feel the sincerity in his words.

    She was happy at being able to elicit such a reaction from him at her departure.

    "Stay here. There is no need to apany me anymore. I might not be able to leave if you continue to stay by my side any longer. Let''s part here or I might change my mind."

    Christina had built up her courage and was determined not to show her tears to him. She was only afraid that if Zach apanied her any further, he would be able to see her tears leaking despite her efforts to contain them.

    Before Zach could say anything else, a burdened and creaky voice sounded from behind them.

    "It''s time to go. You should have been on the truck sooner. If you dy any longer, it would only be counterproductive. You might even have to spend an extra night in the wilderness before you make it to Rome. It''s better to leave now."

    The voice belonged to George who was out to see his daughter off as she headed out to see the wider world. Since she was going to Rome, it would undoubtedly widen her vision a lot.

    "It''s time. I need to go now."

    Christina ignored her father''s words as she kept all her attention on Zach.

    "It''s time. I should go."

    Zach nodded his head in understanding as he strongly held her soft hands in his own. He wanted to let go of them, but it wasn''t exactly easy for him. Christina had long since be an integral part of his heart. Watching her go was like tearing off a piece of his heart.

    "Take care of yourself. Let Bruce and the others help you. Don''t do everything alone. And most important of all, think of me from time to time. Don''t make me wait for your call for months."

    Christina fired off a few pieces of advice in session, making Zach feel as if he was the one leaving, and Christina hade out to see him off.

    "I will." Zach''s reply was curt and precise, but he was only trying to hold back the flood of emotions that was threatening to drown his being.

    Just as Christina was about to board the truck, she remembered that there was no way for Zach to call her when the satellite phone she had been relying on so far to contact Zach had been broken by the old guard following that Princess Candice around.

    "How will we contact each other? The satellite phone you gave me, and the headphones are already broken."

    Zach hurriedly pulled out a few drones from the Weapons Arsenal and handed them to her. These were simr drones to the ones he had used tomunicate with Hogan Hunter when he had invaded Greend.

    Video feeds could be transmitted across the empire through the satellite using such drones and Zach intended to use them for video chatting with Christina.

    "We can use these for the time being. Keep them safe and contact me immediately if you have any problem settling over there."

    "Mm"

    Christina didn''t ask him the purpose of the drones as she had seen their use in that forest when they went to exchange hostages. This was an even better means ofmunication than the satellite phone she had.

    The fact that she would still be able to look at his face despite being in the capital made her heart bounce in jubtion.

    Unable to restrain herself any longer, she surged towards Zach, crashing into his chest like a rocket, and clung to him with a fierce embrace, as if attempting to absorb a piece of him to carry with her.

    It was a desperate effort to hold onto the warmth of his presence amidst the impending storm that was about to ravage their lives, tearing them apart like a tempest wreaking havoc on a fragile garden.

    The hug was akin to theirst sanctuary of love and reassurance, a bubble offort in a world about to be engulfed in uncertainty.

    Like a climber clinging to a sturdy rope on a steep cliff, she clung to Zach, her grip firm and unyielding, as if trying to grasp onto the familiar when staring at the unknown in the face.

    Zach, too, held her close as if he could shield her from the iing storm, his arms providing a cocoon of safety for her fragile build.

    His grip was tender yet steadfast, like the roots of a tree embracing the soil, unshaken by the storm above.

    It was a moment frozen in time, a capsule of love and longing, captured before the inevitable separation. Their hearts beat in sync as if following the rhythm of a timeless love song.

    The world outside seemed to blur and fade, leaving only the two of them in that warm, loving embrace. It was a beautiful, fleeting eternity, a fragile reality in the vast garden of life, about to be plucked by the hands of destiny.

    George, torn between a father''s concern and a man''s understanding of the situation, refrained from intruding on the tender moment shared by Zach and Christina.

    He felt an urge to nudge his daughter to start her journey to ensure her safety while keeping in view the royal family''s impatience. He was afraid that any dy on their part might provoke the princess into dispatching her own personnel to escort Christina to the capital.

    He watched, his heart heavy with helplessness, as they clung to each other.

    It was a battle between his desire to keep her close, to shield her from the storm that brewed on the horizon, and the harsh reality that demanded she tread her path alone for the time being.

    It was a painful dichotomy for him, a sh between paternal instincts and the necessities of the world they lived in.

    She reluctantly let go of him. She wiped her tears stealthily using her sleeve and managed to put on a faint smile that trembled at the edges from time to time.

    Christina climbed into the truck, her each step heavier than thest, as if the universe conspired to turn the act of departing into an arduous task.

    Her luggage, neatly arranged at the back of the truck, carried the scent of her past life, a life she had to leave behind for the time being.

    The engine of the truck started, and the vehicle began to move slowly as it drove out of the mansion.

    As she looked out the passenger side window, her gaze traveled back to Zach. She was extremely reluctant to turn her gaze away from Zach. She craned her neck outside the window in order to keep her eyes on Zach until she couldn''t anymore.

    As thendscape shifted outside her window, Christina grappled with the weight of the uing journey. The vanishing silhouette of Zach was a visual reminder of the love they shared, a love that would sustain her through the trials thaty ahead.

    Only after Zachpletely disappeared from the view did she turn her head back and looked out through the windshield of the truck to focus on the path that would eventually take her to her destination.

    There was heaviness in her heart, but it would still be some time until she reached the capital.

    With the passing miles, she began to embrace her present. Freedom, though temporarily constrained, still remained. The wind that whispered through the open window seemed to carry hints of adventure and excitement that was yet toe.

    For now, she chose to revel in the fleeting moments of solitude as the path ahead would eventually intertwine with the chaos of the capital.

    At least until then, while she was still enroute, she could enjoy freedom she had.

    The road seemed to stretch infinitely before her, a metaphor for the journey that was now an inseparable part of her destiny.

 Chapter 353 353 A married daughter тАФ split water

    <h4>Chapter 353 Chapter 353 A married daughter бк split water</h4>

    The heaviness in her heart slowly metamorphosed into a quiet resolve.

    For every mile she covered, she inched closer to the mission she had set in her heart. She was unwilling to be Zach''s weakness. She wanted to be stronger, she wanted to be the master of her own self at the very least.

    Because only then would she be able to rewrite her destiny the way she wanted to ultimately reunite with the man who held her heart in his grasp.

    бн

    Christina''s departure brought about a lot of changes in the Smith family and the Windsor family but no one wanted to point it out as it was a sore spot for the leader of the Smith family who was the lynch pin between the two families.

    The sugar business was still bustling but Violet had to break her back trying to take over Christina''s job as well. The honeymoon period of the cooperation between the Windsor family and the Elizabeth family was over. They needed to use their own resources to manage the logistics of their business as well. Elizabeth family only provided the maintenance staff and the trucks that were needed for the transportation of the product.

    Marico didn''t insist on poaching a manager from the Elizabeth family either. He already knew that everything starting from the sugar business to the logistics services he was getting from the Elizabeth family was due to his rtionship with Zach.

    If not for his goodwill, his status wasn''t enough to request anything out of George Elizabeth considering his status as a Marquis.

    Therefore, he didn''t get greedy and became satisfied with what he received.

    From a business perspective, the Windsor family undeniably felt the repercussions of the royal decree necessitating Christina''s presence in the capital to oversee the reconstruction project.

    Their operations were disrupted, and their daily affairs faced a setback as key decision-makers had to be diverted to help with the logistics of the business as well because they had essentially lost the support of the logistics department and had to do that task in their respective domains.

    The absence of Christina, who had be a key decision maker when it came to delivery schedules and vehicle nning and routing, left a noticeable void in their strategic discussions and nning.

    Some projects were dyed, negotiations had to be put on hold, and some prospective business opportunities were temporarily set aside so they could deal with the in-house clutter first.

    ra found the result to her satisfaction. She was content that at least one of her romanticpetitors vying for Zach''s love had lost her right to participate in thepetition for the time being.

    It was akin to a piece being taken off the chessboard, lessening theplexity of the game.

    For a brief moment, thepetition for Zach''s affections seemed a little less daunting, and she reveled in this respite from the emotional tussle that more than often apanied matters of the heart.

    It was as if Christina had been suspended from taking part right before the finals and ra ended up winning by default. She didn''t even have to do anything to get ahead in the race that would eventually get her into Zach''s heart.

    ra felt like she was in heaven following the departure of the most threatening element around Zach. This was a God-given chance that might nevere again. It was like a moment in a storm, a sudden calm that allowed her to breathe and n her moves.

    Like a hunter spotting vulnerable prey, she saw this as an opportunity to solidify her position in Zach''s life. The absence of Christina felt like a weight lifted off her shoulders, at least temporarily, and she relished the possibilities thaty ahead.

    Therefore, she began to n how to spend her time getting close to Zach. Like a meticulous gardener tending to delicate nts, she carefully strategized each move, each conversation, as if nurturing a fragile bud to bloom into a beautiful flower.

    If not for the consistently annoying Diana still lingering around Zach, ra felt that life couldn''t have been more perfect.

    It was as if the clear night sky had been marred by a singr pesky cloud which was keeping her from gazing at the view of a perfect starlit night.

    Diana was that persistent cloud to ra, always threatening to overshadow her hopes and dreams using the amount of time she had spent with Zach as a sword hanging over her budding rtionship, forever blocking her path to Zach.

    Ignoring the annoying Diana, ra spent most of her time hanging around Zach as if to be there for him all the time during his time of emotional turmoil.

    She was hoping tofort him using this opportunity, to be the soothing balm to his wounds, and in doing so, ignite a me of love in his heart.

    ra saw this as her chance to draw him closer, to build a bridge between them strong enough to carry the weight of Zach''s affections.

    To that end, ra practically lived at theke house where Zach was staying, refusing to depart even when Marico attempted to call her back home. Theke house became her haven, a cocoon of opportunity to be close to Zach, to linger in his presence and seep into his thoughts.

    She clung to the hope that proximity could spark something more between them, a chance for her to be more than just a friendly face in his life. Theke house echoed her determination, a symbol of her unwavering quest for his affections.

    Marico persistently tried to persuade ra to return home, but she adamantly resisted, throwing tantrums each time to emphasize her desire to remain with Zach.

    Her determination was as fierce as a tempest, refusing to be swayed by Marico''s pleas. Like an unyielding rock against the waves, she stood her ground, unwilling to let go of the opportunity to be close to Zach and further her own aspirations.

    ra was happy idling as she followed Zach everywhere. She didn''t know whether he was annoyed by her presence or liked it. But she wanted to make sure to burn her image in his heart by whatever means possible before Christina returned, or Diana made her move.

    However, her happiness didn''tst very long. As is fate of all things, it too was about toe to an end, like a sudden st of wind that blows everything clean in its path.

    She had been summoned by her father back home.

    The only reason she had bothered to go back despite her busy schedule was that the messenger had given her a secret message that was supposedly for her ears alone.

    The messenger told her, "Family leader wants to talk to you."

    "I don''t want to talk to him. He can wait for me toe home on my own. Tell him to not pester me."

    "Master told me to tell you that it was regarding your engagement and that it was urgent. Youngdy, it''s been a while since you came home. Why not take this chance to visit home and talk to master in person?"

    She had been intrigued by the secretive approach of her father and ended up falling into his trap.

    ra had been an impulsive person to begin with. Hearing the message that aroused her curiosity, she couldn''t help herself as she made her way home after quite a few days of lingering in the guest house that was the current residence of the Smith family.

    Marico was ra''s father and knew her disposition quite well. He prepared for a hearty feast knowing that he would surely be seeing ra that day.

    "What is it? Why did you call me back here?" asked ra the moment sheid eyes on Marico. Her voice was a mix of irritation and impatience, like a kettle nearing its boiling point, ready to let off steam at the slightest provocation.

    Even though he was her father, she didn''t even take the time to ask about his health or whether he had been eating well enough in his old age. That hurt him somewhat, but he didn''t take it to heart knowing the kind of person his daughter was.

    "This is your home. Don''t act as if you have been brought here against your will. Even if you want to stay over there, you should stille home every once in a while." Marico expressed a touch of frustration.

 Chapter 354 354 Put On Hold

    <h4>Chapter 354 Chapter 354 Put On Hold</h4>

    He was a little angry at his daughter''s behavior. It seemed to be true that girls changed for the worse once they found someone they loved. They would change their allegiance to favor their loved one unconditionally and would begin to think of their own family as their enemies.

    "Father, just tell me why you called me over. I still need to go back." ra was acting impatiently as if she couldn''t wait to go back to the Smith family.

    "Let''s have dinner first. We can talkter."

    Marico''s tone had an air of finality, asserting that his decision was non-negotiable.

    However, ra, being ra, wasn''t one to ept defeat without a fight.

    "OR... we can talk right now," she retorted, a spark of defiance in her eyes, "and you can tell me all about why you called me over all of a sudden." Her words hung in the air, challenging the assumed conclusion.

    Even though her eyes were full of defiance, her voice came out all meek like that of a mosquito. It was as if she was trying to test how deep the waters were.

    Despite how impatient she was, ra didn''t want to truly piss off her father who could be quite scary once angry.

    A long sigh escaped his mouth as if he had been hoping to avoid this conversation indefinitely if possible.

    "I called you home to talk to you about your engagement with Zach," Marico''s voice carried a slightly hoarse quality, a testament to the passage of years that had affected the pitch of his voice.

    "What about it?" inquired ra with uncertainty evident in her eyes. She had a bad feeling in her heart as she made eye contact with her father''s serious gaze.

    She wondered if her father wanted to expedite their marriage now that Zach was a Viscount but judging from the serious look on his face, ra knew that the probability of that being true was quite bleak.

    "Your engagement with him has been put on hold for the time being." revealed Marico as he waited for ra''s expected outburst.

    "What do you mean? Why? For how long?" ra shot a few questions in session. She couldn''t believe that her father was doing this to her while knowing how much Zach meant to her.

    The news seemed iprehensible, a jolt to her understanding of her father''s unknown intentions.

    "I don''t know."

    Marico squeezed the news out of his mouth painfully, as if the mere act of doing so was causing him infinite pain.

    ra''s emotions erupted like a volcano, spewing forth her anguish and frustration. Her voice, a tumultuous storm of hurt and disbelief,shed against her father''s stoic announcement.

    "Why are you doing this to me, Father? You know how much Zach means to me! You know how much I love him!"

    ra''s words were a desperate plea, as if trying to reach the heart she knew was buried somewhere within her father''s stern facade.

    "I''ve waited for so long, believing in this engagement. How can you just break it off like this, without any clear reason?" Her voice trembled, on the edge of breaking, mirroring the fragile state of her emotions.

    Marico looked pained, as if the words he had to deliver were cutting through his own heart.

    He responded, his voiceden with sorrow, "ra, this decision is not mine. I really don''t know the reason behind this. It was the royal family; the princess who just arrived doesn''t like this rtionship for some reason. She has disseminated a royal order for the annulment of your engagement to Zach and she isn''t willing to listen to reason or argument."

    ra was dumbfounded. She couldn''t believe that it was not her father but an outsider who was deciding her fate without any shame whatsoever. And to top it off, her father was acting meek as if he couldn''t do anything for her.

    "How long has she dyed it for then?" ra asked in a cautious manner as if taking each step with caution. Based on her luck so far, she hade to abhor all kinds of surprises that she was getting right and left.

    "As far as I could tell...indefinitely. It looks like she doesn''t want you to marry him altogether."

    "She can say whatever she wants then. I am not pampering that princess by catering to all her whimsical thoughts. It is high time she learnt that not everything will go her way."

    Marico knew his daughter best and could already tell that she was headed down the road that would eventually lead to a disaster. As a father, it was his duty to guide her towards the right path even if it meant hurting her or going against her will and wish.

    "Even if it is based on a temper tantrum, it is still a royal decree. We can''t do anything. Just lower your head this once."

    "If I lower my head once, it will keep happening over and over again. They will force me to lick the ground under their feet next while still acting as if they were still on the moral high ground. I will not let them walk all over me like this." thought ra as she shook her head as if to deny the part of her that wanted to give in to the royal decree.

    She felt a lot better after clearing her head but the fury in her heart didn''t die down.

    "Can''t that royal witch stay away from my personal matters?" ra seethed silently, her mind concocting dark theories.

    She silently cursed the princess in a thousand different ways for trying to destroy the foundation she had built for her rtionship with Zach after countless toils and effort.

    At one point she even began to wonder if the newly arrived princess hade to Byzantium city bearing a hidden agenda. Because the first thing the princess had done was to drive away Christina who had been the closest woman to Zach at the time.

    Following Christina''s departure, the princess had changed her target to ra who was obviously closer to Zach than anyone else. It was as if she was picking them apart to pave the way for herself.

    Therefore, she couldn''t help but wonder if the princess was harboring designs on Zach and wanted to get rid of the women around him to seed in her venture.

    The princess shouldn''t have any right to interfere with her rtionship no matter who she was.

    Who ra chose to love or who chose to love her back didn''t have anything to do with the princess.

    But for some reason the princess had still decided to erect obstacles in her path.

    ra grew angrier the more she thought of the high and mighty bitch known as Princess Candice. Just because she had power and royal backing, she was doing as she pleased, going so far as to meddle in someone else''s personal matter.

    "Have you told her that you don''t agree to her request? She shouldn''t be shameless enough to disregard our opinions altogether, right? It''s been a long time since my engagement to Zach. Why are they only raising their opinion now?"

    "And how do you expect me to do that?" asked Marico helplessly with his shoulders hanging loose by his side like that of a man who has lost all hope and worldly desires. Although he knew that the answer was probably going to be full of bullshit that her daughter believed to be true, he still didn''t deny her outright. He gave her a chance to exin herself thoroughly.

    "Say it to her face obviously. Such important matters must be conveyed in person. You were the one who taught me that, remember?"

    Marico ignored her sarcastic words as if he didn''t even register them.

    "And should I also bury the rest of the family and my daughters with my own hands? Because I wouldn''t even get to do that once the royal family decided to take action against my disobedience. Even your fiancиж might not escape unscathed the moment I go against the royal family. Is that what you want?"

    ra''s displeasure knew no bounds. She didn''t even let her father go with his dignity as she said whatever came to her mind before storming out of the mansion in search of the princess Candice so she could kick her ass for making such a decision on her behalf. ra felt that the princess needed someone to beat her royal ass red before she could even begin to understand reason.

    The table full of dishes was left untouched. Since ra had stormed off without taking a bite, Marico felt like he had lost his appetite as well. It was as if she had run off with his appetite in tow.

    Marico understood his daughter''s feelings as well as he had been the one to give wind to her ideas at the beginning. But that was due to the potential Zach had disyed.

    And if he were to be honest, he did it because there were a lot of benefits to befriending Zach as was evident from the current status of the Windsor family.

    Zach had not only helped them rise to the top of the city, but he had also be the most important person other than the royalty and the government in the entire city. Not to mention that Marico was only alive because of Zach otherwise he might have already died from sickness and the Windsor family might have long since be a part of the Hunter family.

 Chapter 355 355 To Do What Comes Naturally

    <h4>Chapter 355 Chapter 355 To Do What Comes Naturally</h4>

    Despite all the favors Marico and the Windsor family received from Zach, Marico was still doubtful about whether or not to marry his daughter off to him.

    The reason for this was again Zach''s terrifying potential. His strength turned out to be far more than he had initially disyed. It was enough to break down the sanity of any living human in existence. And Marico wasn''t an exception to this as well.

    A monster capable of raining down meteors from the sky wasn''t someone who could still be considered to be among the realm of the living. He was either a devil from hell or a god from the heavens out to y in the human world.

    Marico had first met Zach when thetter was still in the process of finding a home for himself and his family. He had been on the run from the royal family, but he had potential. Therefore, Marico earned his favor by giving him a ce to live and helping him acquire Greend.

    In return Zach had done so much more for him over the period of time. It had only been a few months, but the changes experienced by the Windsor family were far too much. They had gone from the top four of the families to the topmost family in the city. All of this was because of Zach, there was no doubt about it.

    But the fact that pinched Marico was that the Smith family he had sheltered ended up bing even more terrifying. They had the strength to fight against any army based on their technological advantage and had a monster like Zach to lead them into battle.

    From what he had heard, Zach was even nning to strengthen the Smith family even more after what happened with Christina.

    Therefore, marrying ra to Zach was akin to annexing his Windsor family to the more formidable Smith family. The alliance between the two families would be a merger with the Smith family gulping down the Windsor family.

    Either the Windsor family would end up bingpdogs of the Smith family or they would have to live under the shadow of the much more formidable Smith family for the rest of their lives.

    Therefore, the rtionship he had painstakingly built with Zach was like a thorn in his side. He had long since wanted to break off the engagement, but he was afraid of his daughter''s retaliation. Thetter was far more impulsive and didn''t have it in her to keep the greater good in sight. He was afraid that ra would end up breaking ties with her family for Zach if he forced the issue.

    As such he had waited all this time for a suitable reason. Only when Princess Candice approached him and instructed him to dissolve the engagement between Zach and ra did he heave a sigh of relief. She had asked him to do something he wanted more than she did.

    Despite what he had told his daughter, Candice hadn''t just childishly ordered him to break off a long-standing engagement for no reason. She had stated her reasons clearly and they had to do with the bncing of the city economy.

    Candice had hurried over to Byzantium city after the mayhem caused by Zach to stabilize the tilting economy of the city by strengthening its foundations and to favor trade and business activities to fill the capital gap left behind by the Hunter family.

    Zach represented the most powerful force in the entire city. Even without the support of his family, Zach was practically a force of nature, a walking disaster in human disguise. No force in the city could stand against him if he decided to act. The only thing the Smith family wascking was the business foundation to grasp the economic lifeline of the city. Thanks to that, the other families could still be called the three great families of Byzantium city without feeling ashamed.

    What would happen if two of these three families decided to build an alliance?

    Probably it wouldn''t matter much because there was a monster like Zach to deter them from going overboard.

    But what if the two families allying with each other were the two topmost families in their respective fields of expertise that is the Smith family with their technological expertise and formidable battle strength and the Windsor family with their widespread businesswork.

    That would be reason enough for Princess Candice to interfere.

    She wouldn''t want the whole city to be monopolized by the two families as it would break the bnce that she was trying to maintain.

    Understanding the logic behind her interference, Marico went along with it and portrayed his heartfelt request as an order from the royal family to insinuate that he was being forced to do so. This allowed him to break off her engagement without earning her ire directly.

    Of course, Marico wasn''t resistant to the rtionship between Zach and ra at all. He only wanted to prevent the possibility of marriage between the two, which could threaten the independence of the Windsor family.

    Fortunately for him, the princess had the same thoughts which allowed him to use her as a borrowed knife to dismember any possibility of marriage between Zach and ra.

    Therefore, he wouldn''t stop ra from continuing her rtionship with Zach due to her stubborn nature. He wouldn''t even mind if they engaged in a carnal rtionship as long as they didn''t try to make their rtionship legal.

    After all, her rtionship with Zach had brought the Windsor family countless benefits and it wasn''t as if he hated Zach to begin with.

    Zach was undoubtedly an impressive man, a rare breed that attracted admiration and affection from many women. He possessed that maic charisma that effortlessly drew people towards him. It was as if he had an invisible aura, a siren''s call that tugged at hearts, causing them to flutter in his presence.

    Fine men like him, with their captivating smiles and confident strides, seemed to naturally elicit the attention of the fairer sex. Their mere presence could light up a room, turning heads and stirring emotions. They were the kind who could make hearts skip a beat with a gentle nce, leaving a lingering imprint long after they had moved on.

    Since times immemorial, capable men had the privilege of having three wives and four concubines. Most of the emperors had hundreds of women in their harem just because they were capable enough to hold on to their affection.

    Therefore, Marico didn''t mind that his daughter would only be one of his women. Marico was a man of discernment, well aware of the dynamics at y. He had long realized that his daughter, ra, would be one of many in Zach''s life, considering the charismatic aura that surrounded him. When he had set up this engagement, he had foreseen such a situation.

    It was no cause for distress now. He would allow them to carry on as they pleased, intervening only when circumstances demanded it.

    His daughter''s happiness was paramount, and if Zach yed a part in it, then so be it. For now, he would observe, waiting for the right moment to steer things in the desired direction.

    бн

    Candice was settling into her new role perfectly.

    Her style of politicscked the ir that is usually associated with politicians as they used flowery words and tempting promises to delude their audience into believing in them even if their treachery was out in the open for everyone to see.

    Unlike them, Candice didn''t believe in using words. She was a woman of action and believed in doing things her own way.

    Candice navigated the politicalndscape like a skilled mountaineer, ascending a treacherous peak with careful steps, securing her footing on the most unstable rocks, always looking ahead to find the safest path.

    Her approach to politics was akin to that of a shrewd gardener, nting seeds of influence, carefully tending to them as they sprouted, and reaping the harvest when the time was right.

    In the grand theater of politics, she didn''t like to y the role of the lead actress who could captivate the audience with her poise and eloquence. Instead, she liked to pull strings from the sidelines while acting like a minor character that was unable to draw any attention from the audience.

    Her methods were not only effective but also secretive like a dark hand behind the curtain affecting every action of those around it, a master puppeteer influencing the actions of its puppets with masterful movements of his fingers.

    Even though she was quite young, there was a reason why she was able to outsmart those who had been in the circle longer than her.

    The reason was that she had been involved in politics since the moment she was born. The struggles of being a member of the royal family were unimaginable tomon folk.

    Born into the royal family, she was privy to the shadows that danced behind the grand facade of royalty. It was akin to being a jewel, captivating to the eyes but held captive in a gilded cage.

    The expectations and demands were like invisible chains, binding her to a destiny that was chosen for her before she could even speak.

    The whispers in the pce corridors were like haunting echoes, a constant reminder of the secrets and plots that lurked in the corridors of power.

    She had to navigate through those murky waters, where alliances were like shifting sands, and trust was a fragile ember in the darkness, easily extinguished by a single breath of betrayal.

 Chapter 356 356 Strategic Goals

    Chapter 356  356 Strategic Goals

    From a tender age, Candice was thrown into the colosseum that was thepetition within the royal family. It was like a merciless battle, with every sibling vying for the favor and attention of their royal father.

    The stakes were higher than a gambler''s bet in a smoky backroom, and the odds were never in her favor considering that she was a girl. Each move she made was scrutinized, every word measured, as if she was a yer on a chessboard, strategically calcting her moves to stay ahead.

    The pce became the stage, and she, a performer under the watchful eyes of critics as she strived to deliver a wless act. The pressure was a vice grip around her heart, squeezing tighter with each passing day.

    It was as if she was on trial for an unending crime, judged not by a jury, but by her own blood. She had to show her worth amidst the fading whispers of her siblings who got discarded for being failures.

    The cacophony of whispers reminded her constantly that she too was dispensable. Not being able to prove her worth meant that she too would be snuffed out like those other voices that had turned into ghostly whispers echoing in the halls of the royal family as if to haunt the remaining residents.

    In a nutshell, thepetition between the siblings and their respective maternal families was strict enough to force her to mature earlier.

    And thanks to her blood brother, who was recognized for his abilities a lot sooner than her, paving the way for her, Candice''s life had been rtively easier as she received several opportunities to showcase her managerial abilities.

    As a result, her brother eventually became the fierce, gleaming sword that struck down adversaries at the empire''s gates with a thunderous sh. He became the guardian of the realm as his de cut through the enemy ranks like a mighty tempest.

    In contrast, Candice operated in the shadows, a concealed hand orchestrating the intricate dance of power. She became the unseen puppeteer, her actions subtle and cunning, manipting the strings of fate that influenced every living being in order to support her brother.

    While her brother fought battles in the ring light of day, she wielded her influence in obscurity.

    He was the roar of thunder during a tempest, reverberating across the battlefield, a force that everyone acknowledged.

    She, however, was the whisper in the night, subtle and unnoticed.

    Both of them had their own plus points but one thing was certain that their brilliance outshone that of their siblings by quite much.

    As such, their royal father began to entrust more and more matters to them.

    By earning their royal father''s favor, her brother ascended to be the esteemed general overseeing the empire''s frontiers, eventually securing the coveted position of crown prince even though there were far too many with their eyes glued to that position.

    Meanwhile, Candice honed her political acumen, delving into the intricate matters of governance and finance. Her charge was to manage key economic hubs, essential pirs that directly fueled and sustained the ongoing war at the borders.

    Each held a distinct role, her brother at the forefront of military might, defending the kingdom''s borders, while Candice operated in the shadows, maneuvering the critical financial and political dimensions that underpinned the empire''s stability and aspirations. It was a symbiotic rtionship, each contributing to the empire, and safeguarding its future in their unique ways.

    Since Candice had no errand to run or no responsibility to shoulder for the time being, her life in the capital had been very good. She had been enjoyingzing around after breaking her back shouldering the economic and financial burden of the empire. Surprisingly, she hade to like this new life.

    Unfortunately, good things don''tst as long as we want them to.

    Before long, Candice received the order to take control of Byzantium city as soon as possible.

    Leaving behind her leisurely lifestyle was a bitter pill to swallow but she could not opt otherwise. Candice grappled with the reluctant submission to the directives handed down.

    It was akin to having the strings of her life manipted by invisible hands, robbing her of the autonomy she cherished.

    Every step towards this new role felt like a reluctant stride, burdened by a heavy yoke of obligation.

    In the capital, Candice had reveled in herfort, surrounded by luxury and time, much like a cat lounging in the sun. She had been just aszy andfortable.

    s! even a house cat had some responsibilities forced on it by its owners, let alone a princess like her. Therefore, she too had to abandon the warm spot by the window after she received the imperial order.

    The only thing in her power was toplete the job as soon as possible so she could return to her normal lifestyle.

    Of course, taking control of Byzantium city was only a part of the true reason.

    But she had to get this city on its feet nevertheless, as it was one of the main objectives of the new role that had been assigned to her.

    Candice''s first strategy involved orchestrating a delicate bnce among the power contenders within the city. Like a puppeteer pulling strings, she aimed to set these forces against one another, maintaining equilibrium in aplex dance of politics.

    She saw the factions within the city as chess pieces on a board. Each move needed to be calcted, ensuring no single piece gained too much power. It was a high-stakes game where she had to be the master yer, anticipating every move and consequence.

    Upon investigation, Candice discovered a historical power bnce in Byzantium city. Four families, each nearly equal in strength, had longpeted for dominance. A delicate equilibrium was maintained, as the strength of each family was counterbnced by thebined might of the other three.

    This intricate web of power kept any one family from rising uncontested, forming a symbiotic power structure where they both kept each other in check and supported the overall economy of the city in general, thereby raising the standard of living for themon folk.

    Unlike what she believed, the bnce between the four powers of the city had begun to crack long before Zach made it onto the stage. The seemingly unshakable equilibrium among the four dominant families had been gradually deteriorating over the period of time.

    Aplex intery of internal strife, ndestine rivalries, and sinister plots had be the norm among the four families.

    While they outwardly maintained a high and mighty image, they were in fact constantly thinking of different methods to destroy and gulp down one another like hungry beasts forced to cannibalize.

    The Windsor family leaders'' sickness and the cunning of the Hunter family leader was the fuse that lit the first spark.

    The Hunter family took advantage of the vulnerability of the Windsor family and managed to expand their strength.

    As a result, the power gap between the Hunter family and the other three families began to increase subtly and gradually until there was an uncrossable chasm between them and the remaining three families.

    The city had been a battleground where battles were not fought with swords and armor, but with subtle maneuvers and strategic alliances.

    Each family sought to expand its influence, and like a game of chess, they positioned their pawns and knights, anticipating the moves of their opponents.

    However, even the most carefully plotted games could be disrupted by unexpected yers, and Zach''s appearance became the greatest wildcard in this intricate game of power.

    Therefore, what Zach did only brought about the copse of the crumbling bnce of power sooner than it should have been.

    Given her understanding of the situation, Candice had full confidence in being able toplete the jobpared to what she had imagined.

    Because from what she gathered, the four families had been operating at an imbnce from the get-go.

    It had always been three families keeping a single family in check for a long time.

    And that was what Candice nned to do because it was the least stressful option for her.

    Moreover, it was also a way for the royal family to show their power to Zach and tempt him over to their side.

    Granting Zach an official status within the city was but the inaugural stride in their carefully crafted n.

    It was akin to setting the board for a strategic game where each move was calcted, each piece meticulously ced.

    The second step was to ensure that this newfound power, while tantalizing, was still bound and controlled. It was akin to leading a stallion with a bridle, offering freedom yet maintaining restraint, allowing just enough leeway to fuel the desire for more.

    By subtly influencing and nudging him in the direction they wanted him to grow, they intended to foster a subtle yearning for greater authority within Zach.

    Like a skillful puppeteer, they would manipte the strings of ambition and ego, crafting an illusion of immense potential just beyond his grasp. It was like they nned on dangling a shimmering prize before the hungry predator, enticing it through the savory smell but keeping the bait at just the right distance to keep it between the realm of reality and elusiveness.

    The final phase of their design was the most pivotal; the promise of elevation, a carrot of influence and dominion. They would whisper in his ear, painting visions of grandeur and authority, promising to augment his already substantial might.

    The caveat, however, was clear: this augmentation would be tethered to theirmands, their strategic goals.

 Chapter 357 357 Well Aware Inside

    Chapter 357  357 Well Aware Inside

    It was a calcted gamble, a gamble that they could secure his loyalty through enticement, cemented by the allure of even greater power.

    In essence, they sought to mold him into a loyal asset, an instrument wielded for their ambitions, all beneath the guise of granting him prestige and dominion.

    But in order to do that, she had to remove the hurdles first. She couldn''t have any two teams forming an alliance to gang up on the others because that would only lead to ughter and more imbnce. The already shattered economy would end up beyond the realm of recovery.

    Drawing on the pre-existing connections between the Windsor family and the Smith family, Candice deftly set her n in motion.

    She easily recognized the intricacies of these alliances as both the alliances were built around marital rtion with Zach. In case of Elizabeth family, it was Christina who married Zach while in case of the Windsor family, it was ra''s engagement to Zach that kept the rtionship between the two families, cordial.

    Breaking the alliance was easy enough for her. She just had to send the two women who were the lynch pins of the coboration out of the picture.

    So, that was what she did.

    She forced the Windsor family and the Elizabeth family out of the picture first using the women who were the anchors holding the alliances steadfast.

    She used her identity as the royal princess to make them drift apart from the Smith family with the excuse of bncing the forces in the city and the reconstruction of the capital respectively.

    With the first stage of her intricate n sessfully executed, Candice turned her attention to the remaining two formidable forces within Byzantium city who seemed to have lost all their confidence and were busy keeping an extremely low profile.

    The conflict between the two top forces had left them wondering if they were still worthy of being mentioned in the same words as the other two top families.

    The gap in strength was far more than they had imagined, and they were afraid that Zach might retaliate against them if they still tried to hold any grudge.

    As such they had already lost the battle for the apex of the city in their hearts. They had grown afraid after witnessing the demise of the Hunter family.

    Candice intended to convince them toe out of their seclusion and to keep them from trying to maintain a low profile.

    Candice had no hope to begin with. But when she met the two old men from the Brown and Davis family, she could tell how mediocre the two truly were. The fact that they had stayed at the top of Byzantium city had to be attributed to the toil of their ancestors. They didn''t have the ability to actually reach their positions on their own.

    "Since your two families have gone toe to toe with the Hunter family over the years and have managed to keep that behemoth in check, you should have already figured out why I called you both here." said Candice while exuding a royal and untouchable aura.

    Her demeanor amazed the old men as they wondered if they were truly in the presence of someone who was many years their younger. She made them feel like children in front of a strict teacher who was admonishing them.

    Moreover, her words not only ttered them somewhat, but also seemed to be questioning their abilities at the same time.

    f had always been more impulsivepared to Austin. He was quite easy to influencepared to Austin who was a level-headed and cautious person and could see through some of her ns. Therefore, f nodded furiously as if he had seen hering to him from a long while back.

    "Of course, I am aware."

    f, driven by arrogance and a desire to assert superiority, exaggerated his posture, and puffed up his chest like a peacock disying its feathers. He probably believed this grandiose disy would somehow intimidate Austin.

    On the other hand, Austin, unimpressed and unaffected, held a countenance that oozed disdain and contempt. His eyes narrowed slightly, his lips formed a thin line, and his bodynguage spoke volumes.

    He saw through f''s attempt to project power, and theck of response from him made it evident that f''s disy had fallen t. It was a subtle yet powerful expression of disapproval.

    Even Candice couldn''t help but feel amazed at f''s shamelessness. He was even stupider than she thought, naively taking her sarcasm as genuine praise. Fortunately, Austin, with his sharp intellect and perceptiveness, seemed to have a brain on his shoulders. His understanding and discernment alone were enough to assure Candice that there was at least someone sensible in this ratherplicated scenario.

    She had meticulously researched and analyzed the situation, identifying the key actions needed to bring the two leaders into alignment with her intricate ns.

    "Frankly, I don''t have time to waste on you two old fogeys." Candice''s words wereced with a calcted impatience. She knew she needed their cooperation, but she was determined to assert her authority and set the tone of the conversation from the beginning lest they begin to think that they had what it took to confront her.

    The two family heads exchanged nces, a mixture of anger and humiliation simmering beneath theirposed exteriors. Yet, they refrained from retaliating, cognizant of the watchful royal guards and the potential consequences of a reckless act.

    As such, they had to bear with the insults of a woman far younger than them with a smile on their faces, a forced veneer hiding their seething resentment. It was a bitter pill to swallow, yet maintaining appearances was crucial.

    Their pride was wounded, but their minds were focused on therger chessboard, where each move they made could either preserve or destroy the legacy of their families to smithereens.

    The momentary humiliationpared to the preservation of their family legacy was a very small price to pay. Albeit begrudgingly, they still paid it, for they had the bigger prize in mind.

    Since the old fogeys did well in holding in their grievances, she continued.

    "You had your whole life to adapt and change your families for the better, but you didn''t. Instead, you are still where you were when your families were handed to you. Both the Windsor family and the Hunter family either fell or rose in status during this time but you managed to keep your families stable. You might be a good leader in the eyes of others, but you are worthless in my eyes because your families have be stagnant, afraid of the smallest progress. You neither took any risks nor made any progress during this time, which clearly shows that you don''t have the guts that the leader of a family should have. Therefore, I don''t'' want you two to be the family heads as I implement my new policies."

    Their chests tightened with the weight of the truth. The shame they felt this time was not because Candice had berated them publicly, but because they realized the extent of theircency. The stagnant state of their families, clinging to tradition and fearful of change, was an undeniable reality.

    As they reflected on their past actions, they knew her words were true because that was how they had been leading their families amidst the pressure of the Hunter family. They saw how they had failed to adapt to evolving circumstances.

    They had been so preupied with maintaining the status quo that they missed countless opportunities for growth and progress. It was a painful realization, gnawing at their pride and challenging the very essence of their leadership.

    Despite the shame and the undeniable truth in Candice''s words, the allure of their current positions held a strong grip on them. The benefits and privileges that came with being family heads were not easy to let go of. It wasn''t merely about prestige; there were financial gains, respect from themunity, and a sense of authority that made the position enticing.

    They were at a crossroads, torn between holding onto what they had for the sake offort and embracing the necessary change that might propel their families forward. The decision weighed heavily on their minds, prompting them to reevaluate their priorities and ambitions.

    "Your highness, stability is also a crucial aspect when ites torge-scale businesses like ours," Austin countered, his tone respectful yet firm. "We have managed to generate consistent profits, enough to sustain our family''s lifestyle and more. Being content and satisfied is a virtue, one thates with experience and time." Austin tried to y the age card with the princess as she was too youngpared to the two of them and probably had much less experience as well.

    He knew that challenging her was a risky move, but he also understood that silence might lead to relinquishing his position as the head of his family. The weight of his responsibilities pressed on him, urging him to assert his stance and fight for what he believed was right or what he believed was beneficial for himself and his family.

    Still, he tried to be as respectful as possible. After all he couldn''t go against the royal family for no reason.

    "Both of us know that stability was merely a byproduct, not your primary objective. You were preupied with survival, hiding from the Hunter family, masking your weaknesses to avoid being devoured, much like they attempted with the Windsor family," Candice pressed, her arguments sharp and well-informed. She didn''t leave any leeway for further argument.

 Chapter 358 358 Show Weakness

    Chapter 358  358 Show Weakness

    Austin, realizing the logic in her words, nced at f, almost seeking support or hoping for some kind of assistance from the seemingly clueless man.

    f nced at Austin, and it was clear from the look in his eyes that he had no intention of supporting him in this matter.

    From the moment the princess told them to vacate their spots, it was already a done deal.

    f knew he couldn''t risk the stability and growth of his family by opposing Candice''s directives. He wasn''t willing to stake the security of his family in an unwinnable battle.

    It was a harsh truth, but survival and progress were paramount for him, even if it meant relinquishing his position. He had no intention of allowing his family to be consumed by the fires of power struggles or internal strife.

    As such, he assumed the most subservient smile he could muster and said, "What does your highness propose then? You must have something in mind." He turned his head to look at Austin before continuing, "Let''s hear what her highness has to say before you offer any resistance."

    f looked stupid on the outside, but he could discern hidden intentions quite well. Otherwise, he would have long since been fooled into selling out his family.

    f, in a masterful disy of diplomatic finesse, subtly discredited Austin, portraying any resistance as illogical and unwarranted. Simultaneously, he skillfully showcased his unwavering loyalty to the royal family, leaving no room for doubt about hismitment. It was a delicate bnce, ensuring he stayed in their good graces while achieving his objectives.

    Austin clenched his teeth in frustration as f, the tactless oaf, had effortlessly shifted allegiance without a trace of hesitation. This maneuver had not only undermined Austin but had also tarnished his image in the eyes of the princess, who appeared to be scheming a n involving their families.

    Still, Austin wasn''t nning on following the Princess like f. His ambitions and his efforts were worthless if all he wanted was to be a puppet being manipted by the princess. It was uneptable to him. Therefore, he couldn''t bring himself to stop even though his fellow family leader had already decided to be subservient to the princess.

    "Forgive me for being blunt, your highness, but survival is the instinct of every human being. We do what we do to survive and grow. You might not be able to understand the ways of themon people since you have spent your life being nurtured in the royal family. Out here, not everything goes the way you want it to. We did our best given the circumstances and made the best of bad situations. Now that you havee here, you will likely learn the same lesson soon and wille to know how difficult it can be to make good in this world without royal backing."

    f was taken aback, his eyes widening in disbelief as he turned to Austin. It appeared to him that Austin was treading on incredibly thin ice. His choice of words was so blunt and his demeanor so unyielding that it seemed stubborn to the point of risking an irreparable fracture in their rtions with the princess. It was like watching someone walk on the edge of a precipice, tempting fate.

    He only hoped that Austin''s suicide attempt wouldn''t rope him in with him.

    If the princess ended up feeling offense due to his words, it was undoubtedly going to spell Austin''s doom. f only prayed that the princess wouldn''t consider him to be Austin''s aplice in this insult. Therefore, he acted as if he was overly indignant at Austin''s disy of resistance.

    Princess Candice''s face twisted unnaturally as she scoffed in an extremely sarcastic manner. She was thinking that if she didn''t know what survival of the fittest meant, then there was no one among the popce of the entire empire who could im to be otherwise.

    The survival of the fittest was thew that governed the politics in the royal family. She had grown up in that kind of atmosphere and here she was listening to an old fogey who wanted to teach her how the world worked when he had spent all his life hiding behind the power of his name instead of improving his individual abilities.

    Her patience wore thin as the older man seemed utterly oblivious to the subtle cues, aggravating her further with his persistent verbosity.

    "Well, it seems I''ll have to awaken that survival instinct of yours before you will pay heed to what I''m about to say," she dered with a tinge of irony.

    There wasn''t a hint of anger visible on her calm countenance but the threat in her words was far more effective than any disy of anger she could have mustered.

    She nced over her shoulder at the old man who had been performing his duties as her bodyguard the entire time.

    The old man seemed visibly excited that the princess had finally allowed him to take action. Listening to the two old men disrespect the princess had been infuriating but he hadn''t acted because the princess hadn''t ordered him to. In fact, she had forbidden him from taking action against them as it would only crumble the bnce of the city further.

    She didn''t want to lengthen her task in this city if she could help it.

    Now that she had willingly lifted his restraints, the old man couldn''t hold himself back from teaching the two mongrels a lesson.

    Her subtle signal allowed the old man to unleash the entirety of his magical might. The force of his magic wasn''t targeted, or the family leaders might have directly exploded to bits.

    It was just a show of power that could hardly damage anyone with substantial power, but it was enough for old men like Austin and f who had lived sheltered lives and were far from being truly expert mages.

    The overwhelming power left Austin and f shivering as their legs quaked in fear despite their substantial experience in dealing with those in a higher position than themselves.

    Candice raised her willowy hand and the pressure vanished instantly as if it had only been an illusion construed by their ill minds.

    They stared at the old man with horror. He had been standing to the side silently like a side character with little to no importance so far but had turned into a murderous demon at the slightest signal from the princess.

    For now, he had already reverted back to his initial state but the two had already witnessed the terrifying aura he had released just a moment ago.

    At that time, they understood what the princess wanted from them by summoning them to her workce.

    This wasn''t a negotiation at all like they had expected it to be. It hadn''t been from the moment she had called them here and insulted their intelligence without pause.

    This was only a show of power of the royal family. It was a deration that she had taken over the reins of the city and the top families had no option but to cater to her whims and wishes if they wanted to sustain themselves in a simr manner.

    The Princess was like amon thug lord trying toy im to a foreignnd after invading it through force. The two family leaders were like the original inhabitants who were being forced to bend to her will due to the visible gap in their respective strengths.

    From what it seemed; they wouldn''t be able to say no to her even if they wanted to due to the presence of the elderly mage witnessing everything from the side.

    Austin felt that the eyes of the old man were surprisingly icy as he stared at him. Feeling the murderous gaze, he knew that he had already lost any lifeline he might have had after insulting and refusing the favor shown by the princess.

    As such, there was a one hundred and eighty degrees shift in his attitude as he humbly lowered his head in front of Candice before saying in a respectful voice, "I am sorry if I offended you, your highness. I am an unworthy man you need not concern yourself with. Please overlook my faults this time and I am willing to listen to any orders you have for me. I would be extremely obliged to carry them out if it pleases you."

    f lowered his head as well even though he hadn''t exactlymitted any fault. He just felt that it would be safer to do so than to earn the ire of the murderous old man watching them with his hawk like eyes.

    "It seems that we can finally discuss reason among ourselves."

    Candice smiled slightly. It was just a casual curve at the edge of her lips, but it caused her entire demeanor to undergo a beautiful change.

    Her smile was as beautiful as the sunset but there were hidden daggers in it which made it just as dangerous as it was captivating.

    "Now, I know that your families have been vying to be the top power in this city, but you should forget about doing that while I am here."

    "We wouldn''t have dared to do that if you had said that to us sooner. If we had known sooner that you were interested in this city, we would have voluntarily offered it to you as a tribute."

    f was an even bigger bootlicker than Austin had imagined. He didn''t let go of a single opportunity to cozy up to the princess. His words even earned him a soft look from the powerful old man.

 Chapter 359 359 Renew

    Chapter 359  359 Renew

    Austin had lost the opportunity to do the same. He could only nod his head furiously as if to show his agreement with f''s words.

    Disgruntled, Candice''s face scrunched up as if she had seen something utterly unpleasant. She spoke as if she was vomiting her words out of disgust.

    "Do you think that I would be interested in this kind of ce? You overestimate yourself and this city. It isn''t even worthy of entering my eyes."

    Her words caught the two leaders by surprise. They wondered what she wanted if not that. There was nothing else in the city that could be worthy of her presence if not the wealth the city had to offer.

    "We don''t dare insinuate such a thing." answered Austin cautiously while sneaking nces at the scary old man. Thankfully, the old man seemed like he had not heard a word of what he said.

    "You don''t need to concern yourself with what I want. You short-sighted old fogies can''t even begin to understand the things I covet. So, you should be more concerned with what you can do for me?"

    Candice''s royal aura made her appear oundish and supreme in the eyes of f and Austin.

    "We are at your disposal your highness. Please give us your orders."

    "No need to act like that since you already know where you stand. Just step down from your position and announce it to the whole city. Your era is over already, and you will only hinder the next generation from developing if you keep on sitting on the throne for the rest of your pathetic lives."

    Candice sounded casual as she decided on their fates so easily. They were wondering what she meant by that. Them stepping down from their position as the top families of the city would hardly change anything because they would still retain their strength as one of the top families.

    Seeing their obvious confusion, Candice decided to exin her intentions further.

    "I don''t mean that you go into seclusion with your families. I just want you to go back into the shadows and let someone younger take over your positions; someone more capable and more willing to take riskspared to yourselves. Is there someone you have in mind, or should I choose the candidates for myself?"

    Their faces brightened as they heard her rify her intentions. This was far better than what they had expected. She only wanted to rece them with the younger generation.

    Although they would have been unwilling if she hadn''t shown them the power gap, this was still somewhat eptable to them.

    They had several suitable candidates in mind who had the will to carry on the legacy of the family and had sufficienttent potential that would enable them to grow with time.

    They were not only excellentbat mages but could also be nurtured into good leaders especially when they could guide them throughout the process by staying in the shadows.

    It wasn''t a bad deal for them at all, especially when it could bring them into a cooperative rtionship with a royal princess.

    "I have a son named Joyce. He is a bit young, but he has the makings of a good leader for the new generation. I have been grooming him since he was a child to take over my position.

    "Me too. My eldest son, Andrew...he is a good candidate as well. He is excellent evenpared to the young geniuses of the city and has the makings of a good leader, unlike those petty and pampered young masters. He is both prudent and daring enough to meet your requirements as well."

    Both f and Austin named their sons as the new masters of the family following Candice''s orders.

    They had long since forgotten to show any indignation towards her. They were even excited to name their sons as their sessors to fulfill her orders.

    "I think those two would be good enough as well. Unlike you two, they still have some guts and good enough ability toprehend what I have in mind for them. They haven''t been tainted by your cowardly thinking yet."

    Both of them heaved a sigh of relief after getting Candice''s approval because her approval would ensure the continued existence of their respective families in the future.

    "Under your leadership, the gap between the top families has only grown wider. Even the newly emerging Smith family has left you far behind in terms of strength. You could barelypete with the Hunter family which was led by Hogan Hunter who was barely capable of reaching the toes of the Smith family. Therefore, you two can''t possiblypete with Zach Smith. Your time of glory is up, and it is time to let go of themand totem to the younger generation of your family. I believe that your sons will be able to do what you couldn''t and bring bnce to the city by keeping the Smith family in check."

    The two old men felt shameful after hearing the truth from the Princess'' mouth. They truly couldn''t keep up with the Smith family. They were too afraid. Their hearts leaped into their mouths every time they thought of Zach''s revenge.

    They had been equally involved with the Hunter family in scheming against the Smith family and the Windsor family. Although they had been in the background, many of the things the Hunter family did couldn''t have been possible without their involvement.

    For example, the embargo on the export of sugar couldn''t have been possible if they had allowed the Windsor family to use their transportation hubs.

    After witnessing what happened to the Hunter family, they were afraid that they would end up suffering the same fate as them.

    Therefore, for several weeks after the destruction of the Hunter family, the two families had closed off their doors to any outsiders fearing that Zach mighte for them.

    The mere thought of Zach was akin to an unsettling specter, haunting their minds and keeping them restless through the night. He had be a relentless nightmare, lurking in the shadows of their consciousness, tormenting them regardless of whether their eyes were closed in slumber or wide open in the wakefulness of day.

    Candice''s words brought the light of hope in their worlds submerged in darkness. They too began to believe that their sons would be able to confront the Smith family and the terrifying demon Zach under the guidance of the royal princess.

    With the old guard backing her up, the two believed that even Zach would have trouble trying to resist the orders of the princess.

    So, they unhesitatingly fell in with the group being herded by the princess as they dreamed of being able to oppose the Smith family and the dark mage from their worst nightmares.

    "I will make the announcement as soon as I reach back home. It shouldn''t take more than a day. I just need to finish a bit of the paperwork to make it official which might take a day or two before they can be ready. I want to request your patience, your highness."

    Austin managed to grab the upper hand this time as f was still structuring his words inside his head and repeating them over and over so he wouldn''t look foolish in the eyes of the princess.

    "Andrew and Joyce will be the new governors in your ce. Tell them that they will assist me in restoring bnce to this city and encourage them to do their best."

    There was a smile on her face but on the inside, she was practically spewing venom thinking, "If they fail to live up to my expectations, I might have to restructure the power bnce of the entire city. So don''t me meter if your sons turn out to be just as disappointing as you two."

    бн

    Zach had been paying attention to the recent changes in the city. Both Bruce and Andy had been assisting him in gathering information and Zach had managed to discern how active the princess had been during this time.

    She was not only taking control of more higher-ups with each passing second, but she was also absorbing their authority step by step as if she wanted to be the only one with power and authority.

    She was structuring a highly decentralized system in which she reigned supreme while the rest of them were given just enough authority to give them the false idea that they had power as well.

    While this might not have been enough for the top families of the city, it was more than enough for those who struggled at the bottom and mid-tier of the noble families.

    Thanks to that, Candice was growing increasingly popr in the city and the low to mid-tier families even wished that she would never leave.

    They had entered a prosperous era ever since their arrival. The business policies werex, and these families could develop in a rtively safe environmentpared to before.

    Even though their revenues couldn''t bepared with the revenue of a single top family, it was still somewhat effective in restoring the crumbling foundation of the city.

    Moreover, the families had potential to grow. They could just as easily be the next top family under the careful nurturing of the Princess. Had they tried to do this when the Hunter family was still reigning, they wouldn''t even have known how they died.

    While Zach wasn''t interested in politics much, he could barely discern what the princess was trying to achieve by empowering the low and mid-tier families.

 Chapter 360 360 Vision For The Future

    Chapter 360  360 Vision For The Future

    She had even visited the other two families and had urged the leaders to vacate their positions voluntarily.

    If the princess hadn''te here to target him, he wouldn''t even have paid any attention to her. But now that he was, he could tell how outstanding the woman was. She was an incredibly skilled politician with a focus on efficiency instead of verbose bullshit.

    In the short time she had been in the city, she had managed to solidify the power structure and had basically designed the entire framework that Byzantium city could follow in the years toe. The new framework she devised incorporated the strength of all the families of the city instead of just the top families.

    It was a carefully nned failsafe in case the incident with Hunter family repeated itself. After all, there was a crazy mage capable of causing celestial phenomenon residing in the city.

    Under this new framework, the low and mid-tier families focusing on business for their growth formed a top force and could use theirbined strength to pressurize the behemoths if a need ever arose.

    Zach came to admire the princess a lot. He was surprised that there was such a person in the royal family given that all his experience with the royals came from Prince Kolt who was practically rubbishpared to his other siblings.

    The difference was so much that if all the scions of the royal family sat at the same table, Kolt wouldn''t even qualify to share the same room as them.

    Zach hadn''t even met this princess yet, but he had already felt the changes her policies had brought in the city. She was efficient and effective but had a very low presence as if she didn''t like to be in the limelight even though she was a princess.

    Zach was intrigued but not so much that he would leave everything to go and pay her a visit. He believed that there would be time to do so at ater date and time. For now, he had to focus on building up the strength of his family.

    The current strength he wielded was far from enough because the element of surprise he had been relying on so far was no longer avable. Every single person in the city knew that he had rained down meteor showers on his enemies and had extinguished the entire Hunter family using a single attack.

    There was no one who would dare to underestimate him after that. Therefore, the only enemies he would be facing in the future would be those confident enough to take him on despite knowing his true strength.

    And for that, he needed to build up his personal strength and that of his family.

    After thoroughly researching all the factors that were and could contribute to his future strength, he discerned that he would need to have an army that was roughly a hundred thousand in number if he wanted to make a stand against any invading force even if it was the royal family.

    Zach took everything into ount whening up with this number. This was the maximum number of troops, army, navy and air forcebined, that he could support using his technology and the financial resources left behind by the Hunter family for him.

    Following the demise of the Hunter family, the royal family had authorized that thends of the Hunter family would be his territory along with his status elevation. It also included the im on the businesses that the Hunter family was operating at the time.

    He already had and-based force that he had trained himself and was led by Diana. He had chalked out a n for the establishment of the naval hub on the ind he had chosen far south of Greend.

    It would act as a logistics center for all his trade, a safehouse if he ever needed one, and a naval base for all his deadly maritime monsters from the future. Even a world full of magic could nevere close to what he had in his arsenal, and he was assured of its maritime superiority before even building the naval base he had in mind.

    But his ambition was far from ordinary. It wasn''t easy converting his hopes to reality especially when he was socking in manpower. His followers were few in number as he had never actively recruited any members for his family. He had been hellbent on gathering only loyal and trustworthy people around himself.

    The minimum requirement for building a force of a hundred thousand was an even bigger poption consisting of people who would be willing to die for the Smith family and would be willing to dedicate their lives and their loyalty to them.

    If it was some kind of cheap novel, people would have surely congregated around Zach due to his overflowing charisma. But it was neither a novel nor the world Zach was familiar with. The only one he could trust was himself and the people in his family who had been with him from the very beginning and had made it with him through thick and thin.

    Unfortunately, Zach believed in solid and tangible reality that would smack him in the face with truth instead of giving him false hope.

    As such, he had be quite pragmatic. He recognized his situation as if from an objective point of view and was painfully aware of the conditions he had to meet in order to realize his vision of building a force capable of confronting and threatening the royal family.

    The first and the easiest of those conditions was to find and own a ce that was vast enough to amodate all his loyal followers and the people he intended to lead. It had to be an extremelyrge tract ofnd because the poption he had in mind was the second biggest hurdle in the development of his force.

    The geographical location of thend didn''t matter much since he was nning on upying arge enough area but it would be extremely helpful if it was by the edge of the sea so he would always have a connection with the ocean.

    It would be of use in case they needed to make an emergency escape towards the naval base.

    It would also be convenient to have a port in his territory so he would be able to implement an intermodal transportation system using thebination of sea and road.

    His businesses would be able to expand further by using his services and it would also be quite economical considering the gigantic size and capacity of a freight ship that could carry several thousand times the load that a fleet of trucks could.

    But there was a catch, of course.

    He needed at the very least a million followers to realize his ns. Only then would he be able to undertake development projects on arge scale.

    He severely needed specialists in every field. He couldn''t keep on pushing his soldiers to do all kinds of civil jobs for him as well just because they were good with technology.

    Moreover, only a poption of more than a million could enable him to have a force of able men numbering more than a hundred thousand.

    Building a force was an extensive project that would require him to take care of the families of the people he was recruiting. Therefore, a poption of million might as well have less than three hundred thousand adult men who could be used for his designs.

    Lastly, he needed to introduce a better management system than was already in ce. Since the size of the current Smith family wasn''t veryrge, he had been managing things on his own or Diana had been helping him out from time to time.

    As a result, the workload was quite lowpared to what awaited him if he put his ns into action in future.

    A capable manager was worth a thousand workers because he could effectively increase the efficiency of the workce by a huge margin just based on his capabilities alone.

    Zach needed such people to lighten his load so he could focus on directing instead of teaching and managing. Moreover, the businesses he had inherited from the Hunter family thanks to his new status as a Viscount were without any figurehead. He needed some able men to take those positions so as to build a stable source of finance for his group.

    A good administrative team could very well build a stable society that wouldn''t need any help from the outside. Zach intended to develop the Smith family towards that line as well. He didn''t want to rely on anyone else. Only by developing based on indigenous methods would the Smith family have less and less weaknesses that the empire could exploit.

    But such elites were like stars at noon. They were extremely hard toe by in this backward world. Even if there were such elites, they were heavily reliant on their magical capabilities. They wouldn''t even begin to understand the greatness of technology that Zach had to offer.

    As such, Zach initiated a course for all the servants and the warriors of the Smith family. He was going to turn them all into elites and specialists. He was even hoping to develop some managerial talents from among them.

    Zach not only trusted these people but was also already sure of their loyalty towards the family. He hoped that these people would form the core of the Smith family in the future and would help him sustain the pressure of managing arge family in the future.

 Chapter 361 361 Whats Your Dream

    Chapter 361  361 What''s Your Dream

    Zach opted to teach this group of people personally. Unlike in the past, he wasn''t focused on imparting knowledge regardingbat tactics or a specific field of expertise like construction or use of high-tech equipment. The course he nned to teach involved the basics of science and the knowledge he felt his people needed in order to truly grow beyond the scope of this world based on magic.

    This core team would then be able to train and recruit more individuals on his behalf while following the standards of education he would set in advance.

    Instead of rushing into things like in the past, Zach took his time and developed aprehensive training n that involved both theoretical and practical aspects. He discussed the n with Diana at times in order to understand her take on the subject as a native of this world.

    Unlike the others, Diana was closer to a person from Zach''s previous world. She would have definitely been called a genius in his world as she could grasp even the hardest of concepts with ease, even shocking Zach at times.

    Therefore, discussing with her gave him a broader perspective about his training n and brainstorming with her made it easier for him to finalize his n.

    The day he finished devising the curriculum for the new course he was going to teach, he called for an emergency meeting of all the Smith family personnel, no matter whether they were ves in the past or true family members, all of them were called to the meeting.

    Except for those who were still stationed on the isted ind in the middle of the sea where Zach nned to build his naval base in the future, everyone else rushed home to heed the summons of their family leader.

    Seeing their zealous expressions and passionate smiles, Bruce was somewhat jealous, as the people of the Smith family were previously his Luther family.

    But none of them had ever been so enthusiastic when he called for a family meeting.

    Zach was truly charismatic to be able to affect them so much.

    Bruce calmed his restless heart thinking that it was all due to the difference in their individual strength. People worshipped power and individual strength overall. So, it wasn''t very odd that he was less popr than Zach.

    Gathered in the expansive open area near the sereneke house, the Smith family stood with a sense of anticipation.

    The emerald-green grass stretched out like a lush carpet, the sunlight filtering through the trees creating dappled patterns on the ground. The air was scented with a mix ofke water and the blooming flowers that adorned the edges of the gathering space, adding a touch of natural elegance to the scene.

    The gentle breeze whispered through the leaves, carrying with it the promise of a new beginning, mingling with the murmurs of the expectant family members.

    The Smith family waited for their leader with expectant gazes, as thetter surveyed the crowd and tried to assess the total number of attendees.

    This heightened anticipation was intriguing, especially given that Zach had kept his true intentions concealed from the rest and none of the people in attendance actually knew what he wanted to talk to them about.

    It appeared that all of the family members hade. Based on the information he had received, there were a total of four hundred and eighty-six members in attendance which was the total number of personnel under the umbre of Smith family with the exception of the few dozen men stationed on the future naval base.

    Therge attendance was the reason that the meeting had to be organized outdoors.

    Zach faced the audience as he carefully considered the words, he wanted to use in order to reveal his intentions to the people.

    After all, they were the same people who had their homes taken from them twice and were probably weary of conflict that would undoubtedly ensue once he put his n into motion.

    Therefore, Zach couldn''t be sure that these people would support his idea, but he still wanted to give them a chance anyway by breaking the news to them as gently as possible.

    Bruce stood behind him while Diana took her pace beside him as if she wanted to support him unconditionally.

    Bruce was unsure about what Zach wanted to say to the people. He had tried to pry the information out of him, but Zach had refused to tell him anything as if he was trying to be mysterious.

    Bruce felt that such an action didn''t suit Zach at all, who was straightforward all the time.

    Since Zach didn''t tell him anything, he had to wait along with all the people in the audience to hear the contents of the sudden meeting.

    Zach''s opening words couldn''t have been further from Bruce''s expectations. It caught him by surprise just as it did all the others in attendance.

    "Tell me, do you have a dream?" Zach''s question hung in the air, making the atmosphere tense with anticipation.

    Silence descended on the meeting area and even the sound of therge crowd breathing in harmony could be heard by someone with slightly keen hearing ability.

    "Anyone? Is there something you want so passionately that you''re willing to cast everything else aside for it?" Zach''s inquiry held an intensity that resonated through the assembled members.

    The weight of his inquiry seemed to press upon them, yet all of them felt as if the questions weren''t meant to be answered; as if they were rhetorical in nature.

    "Does your blood boil for nothing then?" Zach''s voice carried a note of intensity, probing deeper into the thoughts and passions hidden within the hearts of those assembled.

    A young man finally crossed the sea of people and made it to the front of the audience. He looked straight at Zach with a broken smile on his face, a mixture of anxiety and determination dancing in his eyes.

    Hesitation hung in the air for a moment, a palpable tension that seemed to amplify in the silence.

    The weight of the crowd''s gaze bore down on him, making his steps feel heavier and his heartbeat faster.

    Yet, he summoned the courage, oveing his inner struggle, and spoke, "I do...I have one."

    It was a hesitant admission, a confession of a desire that had likely been kept hidden, perhaps even from himself.

    The crowd shifted slightly, curious and eager to hear what had driven this individual to break the silence.

    The young man took a deep breath as if preparing to reveal his dream to the gathering.

    "You do? And here I thought I was addressing a bunch of corpses without any desires and goals for themselves." answered Zach jokingly but the seriousness of his words wasn''t hidden from anyone in the audience.

    "What is it...your dream?"

    "I want to be able to eat chicken legs whenever I want...three meals a day." the young man answered with barely contained excitement. He was just hesitant and stuttering because he was unsure how the others would react to his statement.

    A burst ofughter spread throughout the crowd. It was such a silly dream. All in attendance couldn''t hold back fromughing their guts out.

    Zach on the other hand had a serious look on as he surveyed thoseughing in the audience.

    "At least he has the courage to announce what he wants out loud."

    Silence returned to the venue until someone else came forward and announced what he wanted from his life.

    "I want money...lots of it...so, I can spend the rest of my lifezing around."

    More and more voices followed as if someone had suddenly injected a dose of courage into their bodies, inducing them to blurt out the wishes they held deep in their hearts, safe from any outside influence.

    "I want to be a brave general like youngdy Diana."

    "I want to marry a rich man."

    "...there is a woman in my heart...I want to be good enough to propose to her."

    "Money...I want to make tons of money and let my parents retire into luxury."

    "I want to be an S rank mage. People say that I don''t have the potential, but I want to give it my all."

    бн

    бн

    Listening to the people tell him all about their deepest desires caused his mouth to curve upward into a smile.

    The audience was in a frenzy as all kinds of ridiculous dreams were announced without any hesitation. But none of them criticized each other as if they had a tacit understanding regarding it.

    The general dreams could be easily categorized into three categories. In the first category, there were those who wanted wealth, or wanted to do something that was only possible with the help of a lot of money. At the core of it all, they wanted to be rich.

    The second category wasposed of those who were driven by their most primal desires. All of their efforts were in pursuit of finding themselves a better mate, a good husband, a beautiful wife, which would have been otherwise impossible for them in the realm of reality.

    The third category of dreams involved self-improvement. It contained dreams that involved working on oneself. For example, someone who wanted to be an S rank mage or someone who wanted to be a politician despite being timid and introverted by nature.

    Zach believed that the third category of dreams were the hardest to achieve because their achievement depended not only on a lucky opportunity but also on the strength of will.

 Chapter 362 362 Zachs Commitment

    Chapter 362  362 Zach''s Commitment

    But that didn''t mean that the other two categories of dreams weren''t worth having. It just meant that the dreams involving self-improvement were the most fulfilling for the individual and the most awe-inspiring for the people in the audience.

    The people in the audience were all looking at each other with excited expressions as Zach had triggered their innermost desires.

    Zach analyzed their goals and realized something.

    No matter what category their dream belonged to, it was impossible to achieve without perseverance, hard work and a strong will.

    Even those who wanted to marry a good partner needed to persevere to obtain the love of the person they adored. Nothing in the world came easily.

    There were those who achieved their dreams and made it big and there were those who were pped back to reality by the cruel world, unable to dream again.

    But that didn''t stop people from having a goal that they cherished with all their heart.

    Once the voices died down, Zach addressed the crowd once again and asked, "How many of you believe that you will be able to achieve your dream? Tell me by raising your hand."

    Several hands shot up instantly as if they were waiting for him to ask that question.

    Some were hesitant at first but followed suit as soon as the first group raised their hands.

    The rest appeared to be hesitant about whether or not to raise their hand. These people were those who didn''t have much belief in themselves.

    "What about the rest?"

    There was another flurry of movement and several more hands shot up as if they had decided to be more optimistic regarding their dreams.

    "Almost all of you then...but...not everything in this world can be handed to you on a silver tter. You will need to work hard. You will need to persevere. You will need to have a strong resolve. No matter how simple your dream may be, don''t think that something you desire with all your heart wille to you easily. Otherwise, it wouldn''t be your deepest desire. It would just be another wish, not your dream."

    Zach let his words sink into their minds for a few moments as he took a breather before continuing his speech.

    "Some of you were ves in the past while some of you are still working as servants for the family because you weren''t considered to be worthy of anything else. But who decided your worth? Was it the family or was it you? You tell me that you have dreams, but you were too weak to pursue them. There are those who strive hard and achieve their dreams and there are some who fail to do so because they haven''t put in enough work for it. Those of you who are still here are either part of the second group or you were too timid to pursue your dreams, believing yourselves to be too weak. It was YOU who decided that you were unworthy of having a dream...IT WAS YOU."

    Zach took a pause as his chest was heaving. His voice had risen due to the heightened emotions he was experiencing, and it left him gasping for air.

    "To get something you want in this world, you need to be strong and brave enough. Only your strength will determine whether you will achieve your heartfelt desires in the future or not. So, the only thing you all should be thinking about is to increase your strength by any means possible."

    One of the servants standing at the back raised his hand so he would be visible to Zach amongst the audience as he raised his question without any hesitation.

    "Master, we know that even without you telling us that. Do you think that I haven''t tried to be something else? I wanted to be a mage, but I was tested to have no magical affinity at all and was thrown in to be trained in the art of serving the nobility. Who wouldn''t want to improve their strength? I just don''t have ess to any means through which I can do that. Otherwise, there would have been one less servant in Smith household. But no one wanted to teach someone like me with no potential or background. Sir, sometimes just hard work and perseverance are not enough. You need an opportunity as well. But we were too busy trying to survive the troubles that life has thrown our way to even dare to look for an opportunity."

    The servant finished saying his piece which led to a cacophony of voices that rang out as if in agreement with him. His words, though not very awe inducing, were very heartfelt for those who felt that they had for some time in the past been in a simr situation.

    Zach smiled and looked at the servant who had dared to speak his mind in such a situation. This only spoke of how strong his will and his courage were to be able to speak without fear in a situation where those far better than him didn''t dare to let out a peep.

    "Well done. At least you dared to say what was on your mind even though you have already stopped believing in yourself. If you really wanted to be a mage, then you should have tried harder for it instead ofing up with excuses. Those with determination don''t falter behind the times. But since you seem to believe that this was all because you didn''t get any opportunity, let me even the ying field for all of you who are here to listen to me today."

    Hearts stopped beating for a second as they staggered in anticipation of Zach''s next words. Coming from Zach, it was obvious that this opportunity wasn''t going to be mediocre at all. Zach didn''t do things in moderation after all.

    And everyone in the Smith family was quite aware of it.

    "Since youck someone who would be willing to teach you, then how about if I teach you personally? Will you still say that you didn''t get an opportunity to be stronger, to fulfil your dream that you hold deep inside your hearts?"

    Zach''s question this time wasn''t targeted towards the servant who had dared to speak. Instead, he was questioning everyone in attendance. He wanted to know if these people had the guts to pursue their dream when even fortune was shining brightly on them from above.

    "Is that true? You aren''t joking, right master?" asked another servant with stars sparkling in his eyes. Even though he was usually quite timid and shy, his words were loud and hurried as if excited beyond what he was capable of handling.

    "Why would I want to do that?" Zach smiled and answered his question with a question of his own.

    The audience began to contemte the meaning behind his words and came to the conclusion that he truly had no need to try to beguile them with lies when they were already under hismand. They were already destined tobor away for him for the rest of their lives. Why would Zach try to deceive them in that case?

    Understanding dawned on them slowly and they began to believe Zach''s words, no matter how otherworldly they sounded to them

    The excitement bubbled up in the crowd like an active volcano had erupted under the surface of the sea.

    The crowd went out of control and themotion they caused would have already attracted an evenrger crowd had the location of the meeting been some popted area.

    Unlike the rest of the Smith family, Bruce had gotten used to Zach''s peculiar ideas. Therefore, he didn''t take as long to believe Zach and came forward to support and help him in his endeavor even though he didn''t know why Zach wanted to do such a thing. There was absolutely no need to train people from scratch when all he had to do was to raise his voice to summon any capable people under his g.

    His new status of a Viscount could help him considerably in recruiting several powerful mages who were dying to attract the attention of someone of Zach''s stature.

    Before the crowd couldunch a flurry of explosive questions on Zach, Bruce came forward and stood beside him with a fierce look on his face as if to deter the people from acting out. Unlike Zach, Bruce knew not to rile up any kind of crowd, even the kind you trusted with your eyes closed because a crowd was a kind of bipr living organism that could change the way it behaved based on the smallest of changes in the atmosphere and there was no way to determine how it would react to a sudden change.

    As such, he had experience in controlling crowds as well.

    "Let me borate what your leader just announced. Since you can''t believe his words maybe you would believe mine. Zach wants to take a few more disciples and as it happens, you are the closest people he has. He has decided to give you that chance before outsiders so that it will help strengthen the family. So, from this moment onwards, all of you will be his disciples and will be able to learn under him as much as you want."

    Bruce had done his best to state the truth more realistically, but the crowd had already assumed that it was a lie. They were of the opinion that no master ever took on so many disciples at once unless they were the useless kind who charged money for their lectures.

 Chapter 363 363 Expectations

    Chapter 363  363 Expectations

    They were of the opinion that no master ever took on so many disciples at once unless they were the useless kind who charged money for their lectures. Only such people had the audacity to take in crowds of people as disciples and still dare to im that they were doing them any favor.

    The people were full of indignation as they had previously revered Zach but this side of him put off their mood for some reason. They even began to wonder if the previous spell had been some kind of a fluke. Otherwise, Zach''s strength was enough to enroll any talented disciple. Instead, he was choosing all of them.

    Was it that their abysmal luck had taken a turn for the better or was it just Zach''s desperation?

    Unknowingly, Zach had turned himself from an enigmatic figure with unending strength into a con artist who wanted to deceive his own family members using his position as the family head.

    "What is happening? Why do they look so disgusted when it is a good opportunity for them?" Zach asked under his breath from the only person who could help him understand the situation; Bruce, who was standing right beside him trying to clear up the suspicions he had brought onto himself.

    "Because they don''t believe what you said, or what I said for that matter?" replied Bruce hoarsely. His throat was slowly swelling up from all the shouting he had done to clear Zach''s name.

    "But why? Can''t they see that I am doing this for them and the Smith family?" asked Zach incredulously as he couldn''t understand why the people would behave in such a manner when he had presented them with such a huge opportunity.

    "That''s the problem. They don''t see it as the truth. No good teacher would ever take in such a huge number of disciples. This strategy is mainly used by con artists and cheats. That''s why they can''t bring themselves to put their belief in you even though you want to help them out."

    Bruce exined everything to Zach patiently who in turn slowly understood why these people were acting so out of character.

    Had Zach been aware of the unspoken rules of this world, he wouldn''t have made such an announcement. Instead, he would have chosen his words a bit differently or at the very least he would have discussed with Bruce before making a fool of himself.

    "Please listen to me. I think you and my good friend here are misunderstanding something. Not all of you will be able to be my personal disciples but all of you will be given an equal chance to do so while I teach you the basics. Until the course isplete, the rtionship between me and you will be that of a teacher and a student, not that of a master and a disciple. But...I will choose the most exceptional out of you all as my disciples if you have what it takes to surpass my expectations of you."

    Zach amended his words without causing too much suspicion and the members of the Smith family finally epted his words as the truth. They brought out their brightest smiles and began to shower him with praise.

    The transition was too sudden.

    If someone could witness how the crowd was practically fawning over Zach at the moment, they would definitely refuse to believe that the same crowd was cursing him like anything for being a petty thief and a liar just a few minutes back.

    With eptance came excitement. The crowd went out of control as each of them was thinking of the dreams they had pushed back into some dark corner of their minds. They suddenly felt that their dreams were within reach if only they could be the personal disciple of a man as great as their family leader.

    Thepetition was going to be tough, but they were determined to excel in everything he decided to teach them.

    Most of them had been stuck in a meager position their whole lives. They had either been ves or servants from the moment they opened their eyes in the Smith family.

    Despite trying their best, they were unable to transform into a butterfly and continued their puny existence akin to wriggling worms on the ground.

    Finally, they had been given an opportunity to undergo metamorphosis but not a single one of them was willing to waste such an excellent one.

    Bing his disciple was the biggest chance that these people could ever encounter in their remaining lives. Therefore, they considered it their greatest blessing that they had probably used up the luck of a lifetime to encounter.

    Anyone who sessfully became Zach''s protижgиж would have a free trip to the top. This was a sure shot method of raising one''s status. Not to mention that it would definitely increase their personal ability and would allow them to stand up on their own without the support of anyone else. They would be able to look themselves in the eyes without feeling ashamed of how little they had achieved in their entire lifetimes.

    "It''s too early for you to be happy. Those of you, thinking that it is going to be easy need to reconsider. No road that leads to the top is easy. You must break your back if you want to improve, and I will make sure you do that."

    A hush fell over the audience and each of them was busy contemting what Zach meant through those words. They already knew that it was probably not going to be a walk in the park, but it should not be that difficult to pull off either considering that Zach wanted to give them basic training.

    "Since, the turnout is exceptionally good, I can''t give enough attention to all of you at once. Moreover, we need you guys to effectively manage the family businesses as well. Therefore, we will conduct this training in two separate groups. Group one will train from breakfast to lunch and will perform their duties as members of the Smith family in thetter half of the day. Whereas Group two will do their duties as part of the Smith family in the morning from breakfast till lunch and will train with me from dinner till bedtime. One group will handle the routine tasks assigned to you by the family and the other will attend sses to ensure that each group at least attends one session a day whether morning or night. That''s up to you."

    The audience unconsciously nodded their heads in eptance as Zach had been quite authoritative when conveying the details of his arrangement. To them it felt like Zach was leaving them no room to negotiate. After all, this way their burden of work would increase by almost a hundred percent.

    While they were previously working in shifts, they now had to devote themselves to training tirelessly even during their free time.

    Only then did they understand why Zach told them not to be happy so soon. Those who wanted to take part in the practice would have to work twice as hard just because they wanted to be stronger and upgrade their status. This was the price they had to pay if they wanted to evolve into a better and more literate version of themselves.

    "Diana will be responsible for teaching you all in the beginning. She will teach you everything you need to know to understand what I have nned for you. Most of you are still unable to understand my teachings early on. As such, pay attention to what Diana teaches you and make sure tomit every word of her to memory."

    Diana heard Zach mention her name and was instantly alerted. It was as if her ears were standing on alert after hearing Zach call her name.

    But she was severely disappointed after hearing the contents of his talk with the Smith family. She was actually quite against the responsibility he had given her without even asking. Had he asked her beforehand, she would have stopped him from ever uttering such nonsense in front of the whole family.

    While she didn''t say anything to discredit his words during the family meeting, she intended on showing her dissatisfaction to Zach at the very least. She just didn''t want to embarrass him in front of the entire family by showing her dissatisfaction right there and then.

    The reason why she was hesitant about teaching the members of the Smith family was her status. As the mistress of the family, she was worlds apart from the servants and the ves of the family.

    But Zach expected her to teach them basic knowledge despite knowing the obvious chasm in their statuses. He wanted her to act as their teacher all the while knowing that her students would probably be unable to lift their heads up in her presence.

    In Zach''s defense, he had no other option as well. There was no one else who was as perfectly suited for the position as Diana had been. She was his best student and was perfectly capable of imparting his teachings to others without him needing to correct her at every other turn.

    Unfortunately, the men he had chosen to teach were barely literate. They didn''t even know how to read or write, and Zach had handed over that part of the teaching to Diana which was obviously the hardest part and the most insulting to someone of Diana''s level.

    Zach dismissed the family meeting after announcing the schedule for the training he had nned. There was a lot ofmotion as such arge number of people scattered everywhere after they were dismissed by Zach.

 Chapter 364 364 Has No Reason

    Chapter 364  364 Has No Reason

    They were very excited and began to discuss among themselves the changes that would soon be introduced into their lives.

    Diana was the first to rush towards him while puffing up her cheeks like a squirrel. It was obvious that she was mad. She expected Zach to discuss it with her at the very least if he wanted to give her such a responsibility.

    Bruce was right after her as he too wanted to teach Zach a lesson for almost causing a disaster. Had he lost the trust of the people, it might have caused an irreparable crack in the family. Unlike what the rest of the families in Byzantium city thought, Zach hadn''t been the Smith family leader from the beginning after all. It had previously been the Luther family which had been led by Bruce. Therefore, Bruce had every right to ask him about the blunder he had made after calling a family meeting.

    Diana was the first to reach him. So, she dragged him away from prying ears to give him an earful.

    "What do you think you are doing? Who said I was going to teach those people? Did you for once stop to think the kind of impact it would have on me?"

    Diana sounded really angry as she asked him several questions while ring at him with indignation.

    To Zach, she looked like a sweet girl pretending to be a strict teacher and failing spectacrly. He enjoyed being chided by her for a bit before answering, "And who else do you think is more capable than you? Should I have given your brother the chance to teach them? Could he have done a better job than you?"

    Zach replied to her questions with questions of his own, but they were extremely effective.

    A blush spread on to her face, stretching across her neck and spreading downwards slowly. Even though Zach''s tone had been questioning, she could sense the confidence he had in her. She almost melted right there and then thinking that Zach trusted her so much.

    "Even if you are right, it doesn''t give you the right to make a decision on my behalf. You should have at least asked my opinion on the matter before announcing it to everyone."

    Diana still felt wronged but was slowly beginning to ept it. Still, she didn''t want to make it too easy for Zach.

    "I am asking now. Can you do it for me please?"

    Zach had barely even uttered his request while Diana was already nodding her head in eptance.

    Zach couldn''t believe that she had agreed so easily when she had been opposing his choice so vehemently before.

    It hadn''t even taken him more than a minute to coax Diana into epting the responsibility.

    Either she had be more gullible, or he had be too convincing. Whatever the reason for the change might have been, it made his life easier, so he didn''t bother finding out the reason for it.

    Seeing as Diana had changed sides so easily, Bruce couldn''t find it in himself to argue with Zach either. He was worried that Diana would end up opposing him if he tried to put Zach in a tough position. By not bringing up the topic with Zach, Bruce was essentially saving his own face.

    Zach had a lot of things going on in his mind, various projects that he had been thinking of going ahead with, Christina''s plight, Luke''s release from the military prison, the changing attitude of the Windsor family and the training of Smith family into a tech savvy group capable of leading people on his behalf and recruiting them.

    Since there was so much to do and very little time to waste, Zach didn''t stay in the guest house after the adjournment of the family meeting. Instead, he turned on his heels and hurried out of theke house with rushed steps.

    бн

    With everything settled in the Smith family household, Zach decided to tackle the second problem on his mind. He had been of the opinion that this particr problem was quite low on his priority list, but it turned out to be quite important to him as it had been bugging him for quite some time.

    After leaving the guest house, Zach made a beeline towards the Windsor family mansion located near the center of the city. He had been there so many times but this time was slightly different.

    For the first time, he felt that he wasn''t wee. He felt like an outsider trying to smuggle himself in but that didn''t deter him from looking for ra whom he found sulking in the back garden,pletely unaware that the man she had been pining after, was standing right behind her.

    Zach silently took a seat beside ra without making any kind of disturbance that might bring her out of her trance.

    ra didn''t notice when Zach arrived as she was sitting on thewn chair while hugging her knees and hiding her face in them.

    Zach coughed slightly to get her attention, but his actions startled her so much that she almost fell out of her chair. She had been sitting in the back garden because she wanted to be alone for a while but that was not all. She also didn''t want anyone else to see her in such a pathetic condition.

    ra had always been a warrior at heart and had the instincts of one too. She didn''t want anyone to see her weak side. Therefore, she was immensely shocked when she found that someone had creeped so close to her. To top it off, she had failed to notice him spectacrly.

    How peculiar?

    "Who allowed you toe here?" ra shouted without even raising her head. She knew that she wasn''t alone anymore but that didn''t mean that she was willing to raise her tearful face. She couldn''t reveal her current condition to anyone, not even someone from her own family.

    "Am I not wee here? Should I go back then?"

    Zach''s voice was soft as he could feel the anger and desperation in ra''s voice.

    ra jerked her head up in surprise as if unwilling to believe that Zach was truly there to see her.

    Zach shed a bright smile at her and asked, "Since you aren''t willing to talk, I should head back home."

    "NO..." ra''s voice was loud enough to scare the birds sitting in their nests outside the mansion. Even Zach was somewhat surprised at the pitch of her voice.

    Her scream was abruptly cut off once she came to know what she had done inadvertently. It had been an instinctive response to Zach''s leaving and she had been unable to control herself for a moment.

    "Who said...I wasn''t willing to talk to you." this time her voice came out as a sweet whisper that was somewhat alluring as if inviting Zach to stay for a while, like a siren''s song that became the doom of many experienced sailors in folklore.

    "What happened? Why are you pouting?" asked Zach, slightly concerned about ra. He knew that no one in the capital was probably powerful enough to bully her so it had to be something else.

    "Our wedding...it was cancelled." replied ra pitifully. She was barely holding her tears back as she conveyed her worries to Zach.

    "I know...your father told me as well."

    Zach had a matter-of-fact kind of attitude towards the cancetion. Unlike ra, he didn''t care much about the government intervention because he was nning to gain strength to resist them anyway. If he couldn''t marry her now, then he could only wait for a while before doing so.

    But ra had already begun to think of it as her final fate. So, Zach needed to give her some reassurance at the very least.

    "Aren''t you even a little bit put off?" ra was slightly indignant that Zach hadn''t shown the slightest reaction. It was as if he couldn''t care less about her.

    "Why should I be?"

    ra''s heart fell and tears creeped up to the edges of her eyes threatening to fall along with all the emotions she had been holding inside of her.

    She hadn''t expected Zach to be so heartless. She had done so much in an attempt to gain his affection, but he hadn''t acknowledged her efforts at all. He didn''t even feel a sting when they were forcefully separated.

    Zach noticed the changes in ra and knew he had fucked up this time.

    "I have no reason to feel bad..."

    ra cut him off mid-sentence because she couldn''t keep on listening to his heartless words that were slowly sawing her off from the middle.

    "...because I can still see you like this." Zach''s voice grew increasingly affectionate with every word.

    She was taken back by the sudden change in attitude, but she didn''t jump to conclusions no matter how honeyed his voice was to her ears.

    She raised her head up and stared right into Zach''s eyes as if looking for any sign of deceit. She wanted to know if Zach truly meant his words.

    The sincerity he was disying and the smile on his face made her want to believe him but she was afraid of it all being a concoction of her tired mind.

    Zach knew how vulnerable she was at the moment despite how strong a woman she usually was.

    He walked up to her.

    The sound of his footsteps getting closer to her rang like the beating of gongs in her head. She was weary of what might happen next but was also anticipating it to some extent.

 Chapter 365 365 Her First Kiss

    Chapter 365  365 Her First Kiss

    Before she could manage to say anything, Zach grabbed onto her soft hands and pulled her to her feet.

    He then ced his hand on the back of her head and pulled her into his embrace lovingly.

    "I can still do this. Then...why should I bother about a cancelled marriage?"

    ra felt her heart swell with a kind of love she hadn''t fullyprehended until now.

    It was a love that went beyond titles and social expectations. It was a love that connected with the very essence of Zach, a love woven from the threads of shared moments,ughter, understanding nces, and the unspokennguage of their hearts.

    She marveled at the depth of her affection for him, a love that whispered promises of support, of standing beside him through trials, of celebrating his victories andforting him in defeat.

    It was a love that cherished his quirks, his dreams, and his ws alike.

    In this moment of revtion, she realized that love was more than a formal rtionship sanctioned by society. It was an intimate bond, a genuine connection that needed no validation.

    She loved Zach for who he was, for the courage that defined him, and for the way he made her feel safe and valued.

    A sense of liberation washed over ra as she understood that her love for Zach was not bound by the constraints of a nned future or a prearranged engagement.

    It was an organic, powerful force that would guide her actions and decisions, no matter what the world expected of them. This love was hers, pure and genuine, and she would embrace it, nurture it, and let it shape her path in ways that mattered most.

    Therefore, there was no need to care about a cancelled marriage because she didn''t need to be his fiancижe to proim her love for him.

    The thud of her heart was like thunderous apuse, a cacophony of emotions echoing in her chest. Each beat was a reminder of her closeness to Zach, a proximity that sent shivers down her spine.

    His steady, rhythmic heartbeat beneath her ear was like aforting symphony, a song that whispered promises of warmth and belonging.

    As she leaned against him, she could feel the strength in his arms, the firmness of his chest against her back. The contours of his muscles were like the cliffs of a fortress, sturdy and protective, and being held in his embrace made her feel safe, cherished. It was a feeling of security, a sanctuary she had longed for.

    The fragrance of his body, a subtle and unique scent that was distinctly Zach, filled her senses. It was a scent she associated withfort, with the familiarity of home. It wrapped around her like a gentle embrace, making her feel like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

    In this close embrace, the world outside faded away, and it was just the two of them. Time seemed to slow down, giving her the chance to savor this moment, to imprint it on her soul.

    Every sensation, every heartbeat, every breath they shared was etched into her memory, a memory she would carry with her, a reminder of this beautiful connection.

    The desire to remain in hisforting embrace forever gripped her heart like ivy on an ancient wall. Just the thought of spending the rest of her days nestled against his chest was intoxicating.

    Yet, the practicality of life knew that this fleeting pleasure had a shelf life. The sands of time stopped for no one and were destined to flow past them at some point.

    Still, she refused to let the impending end sour the sweetness of now. She was determined to bask in the joy of his arms, to absorb every ounce of love and warmth they offered.

    She didn''t waste her time talking and snuggled in closer as if trying to merge her body with his, a union of souls that would link her spirit to his for all eternity.

    Zach, lost in the embrace of this petite and delicate woman, felt no urge for words either.

    The tender curves of her form, the gentle hold of her presence, rendered him speechless. He marveled at the delicate featuresposing her face, each one a testament to her beauty and grace.

    Her eyes, like pools of sincerity and emotion, held depths he could lose himself in. As his fingers tenderly traced the contours of her cheek, he couldn''t help but wonder at the serendipity that had brought them together.

    In that moment, silence was their most eloquentnguage. The beating of their hearts spoke louder than any words could.

    He could feel the soft rise and fall of her breath against him, a gentle rhythm that harmonized with his own.

    Gently, he used his fingers to lift her chin, tilting her face slightly upward, before bending down to kiss her on her lips.

    He didn''t give her a chance to reciprocate his advances as he pulled away after a short contact on the lips.

    In that fleeting moment, when his lips met hers, ra''s heart seemed to momentarily stop. It was like time had slowed down, and her mind couldn''t catch up with the suddenness of the event.

    The sensation of Zach''s touch on her chin sent shivers down her spine, and her senses were overwhelmed.

    Hesitation gripped her heart tightly. It was her first kiss, a moment she had dreamed of, but reality had eclipsed her fantasies.

    Caught in the whirlwind of emotions, she was a deer caught in the headlights, unsure of what to do next. Thoughts raced through her mind like a tempest, too swift for her to grasp and articte her desires.

    The world around her seemed to fade into a blur as her mind grappled with this new reality. How should she respond? Was she ready for this? Did she truly want it to be this way, caught off guard and lost in the surprise of the moment?

    Regret began to nibble at the edges of her thoughts, as if a golden opportunity had slipped through her fingers. She wished she could rewind time and handle the situation differently, take charge of her emotions and respond with the passion and love she felt for him.

    But in that fleeting moment, all she could manage was to stand still, frozen in the wake of an overwhelming rush of emotions and desires she hadn''t quite anticipated. It was a blend of joy, fear, longing, and uncertainty, all tangled into a knot inside her, leaving her momentarily paralyzed.

    She was too stunned to do anything and just like that she missed the biggest opportunity of her life to make advances on the man she loved.

    The kiss itself was sweet and gentle, like a soft melody in the midst of a storm. It wrapped around her like a warm embrace, shattering the walls of skepticism and doubts she had built in her mind regarding Zach.

    In that fleeting connection of lips, it was as if the universe whispered to her, reaffirming the love he held for her.

    It was aforting kiss, a balm to her wary heart. Every touch of his lips conveyed a reassurance that her doubts were unfounded and that their connection was genuine and deep-rooted.

    It also reassured her that her feelings were not one sided and Zach too liked her to some extent.

    Therefore, when she came back to her senses again, she didn''t feel that she had missed any opportunity.

    Instead, she couldn''t have been happier because Zach had finally shown his stance regarding her.

    "I didn''t take the matter regarding the cancetion very seriously because it didn''t matter much to me as long as I could see you and be with you whenever I wanted. But now that I know how much it means to you, I will definitely marry you. That I can promise you, but it might take some time. Until then, don''t let it bother you, okay?"

    Zach''s words were like a barrage of missiles ramming and exploding continuously in her heart.

    She had never expected to hear such open promations of love from Zach, especially when she had been using the excuse of their arranged marriage to pester her way into his heart.

    She never noticed when his feelings regarding her changed to this extent, but it ddened her heart and filled her with warm and fuzzy feelings.

    "But..." ra was just about to say something when she was cut off by Zach.

    "Hear me out first, okay? There is no need to think so much about marriage when we can do whatever we want right now. We could kiss right now, and no one will be able to stop us. We could even take thest step before marriage and have sex, and it would still be fine. Not even your father can probably stop you from doing what you want. Do you want to try?"

    ra''s face turned beet red at the mention of sex. It was almost as if blood would leak out of her face if Zach said anything further to push her buttons.

    This was the first time Zach had confessed his feelings to her. Even this first confession had been quite physical, which was so unexpected for ra that it fell beyond the realm of herprehension.

    Her head began to spin, and it felt like she had plunged herself into a whirlpool of confusion and uncertainty.

    She didn''t know what to do. She was trying toe up with the words in her head in order to answer Zach''s questions.

 Chapter 366 A Jealous Woman

    366 Chapter 366 A Jealous Woman

    But every time she tried; it was as if the congested heat popped off the lid of her brain and her thoughts scattered everywhere until she was unable to form a single coherent thought.

    "I...I...I wnt...I don...th-this...whaa...what are you saying?"

    Blushing profusely, she hid her face from him by turning to the side and her voice grew sheepish as if she didn''t want her thoughts to leak out.

    бн

    sses for all the servants and soldiers of the Smith familymenced promptly the very next morning, just as Zach had assured them. The estate buzzed with a newfound energy and purpose, each member excited and eager to learn and improve themselves under the guidance of their newfound leader.

    The announcement of these educational endeavors sent ripples of joy and gratitude through themunity. The people of the Smith family were beside themselves with delight, not only for the opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills but also because Zach had proven hismitment to keeping his promises. This bolstered their faith in him and further fueled their dedication to the family''s cause.

    The moment they reached the location that had been designated as the ssroom, they found a list of names on the entrance. They had been divided into morning and night sses. Those who had their names in the morning ss were able to enter and learn while the remaining turned around to go back to their respective stations.

    Those who couldn''t read the list asked the others for help and came to know whether they had been ced in the morning or the night ss.

    No matter who was ced where, the day was bound to be hectic for all of them. Because those attending sses would need to devote themselves entirely into learning something beyond their usual means and their potential, while those working for the Smith family would have to do twice the work due to the non-avability of half the usual manpower. Not only that but they would also have to attend the ssester on.

    The basic sses began after everyone was seated.

    Diana had been given the task of teaching them the basics. She had to improve their reading and writing ability which would give a boost to their learning capability and in turn their peak potential.

    Unlike normal sses, there was no need for everyone to introduce themselves on the first day. Therefore, Diana didn''t bother with the pleasantries either because they were short of time, and she had lots of things that she needed to teach them. She skipped directly to the topic of the day and began to talk non-stop until someone raised their hands to ask a question.

    No one could tell if the question was meant to stall her so the ss could breathe or if that person really wanted to ask that question.

    Diana was a bank of knowledgepared to anyone else in her world. She had learnt and mastered everything directly from Zach who brought with him otherworldly knowledge and was far ahead of this world in terms of scientific technology and theoretical knowledge.

    Still, she was forced to teach them how to read and write because starting from advanced knowledge from the beginning would only make all their efforts, all of Zach''s efforts, counterproductive.

    Finishing up the ss, Diana walked out with a weary look on her face.

    The sight that greeted her was not a wee one at all. It soured her mood further.

    "What is she doing here?" Diana muttered to herself, seemingly dissatisfied with the person she had seen.

    Obviously, there weren''t many people that Diana held a grudge against. The only reason she had even shown a reaction to someone was because that someone was none other than her rival in love, ra.

    She was busy joking around with some of the soldiers who had just finished taking their sses. Even though she wasn''t a part of the Smith family, she spent most of her time in the Smith family household and was therefore familiar with most people. During the time she hovered around Zach, she had taken a liking to several like-minded people and had gotten on talking terms with them. She was nowfortable enough with them to joke about all kinds of things. Most of these people were her kind of people, the kind that believed in strength above everything else.

    Diana wasn''t a possessive person per se. But when it came to Zach, she didn''t want to tolerate even a single woman around him. Her jealousy, though harmless on the surface, churned within her like a tempest. Every time she saw another woman interact with Zach; a tinge of unease clenched her heart. It was not born out of malice but out of a profound affection for him.

    The sight of Zach''sughter and easy camaraderie with others always sent a pang of insecurity through her. She feared the possibility of another person capturing his attention, stealing even a moment of his time from her. It was an irrational fear but not exactly unfounded. After all, emotions often defied logic. Diana wanted Zach all for herself, but that was not possible. And she knew it as well. There was that subus, Luna, and then there was also Christina. Both of them had been ahead of her in earning Zach''s affections and had managed to solidify their rtionship with him already.

    But she didn''t hate the subus because she had been with Zach before Diana even met him.

    On the other hand, she was filled with indignation towards Christina and ra because she had met Zach before both of them and it was her ce that Christina had usurped through her slutty and shameless behavior.

    While ra hadn''t done anything to topple her position as the next in line, Diana couldn''t rest at ease with the woman due to how impulsive she was. It would only take a single oversight on her part for ra to snatch her right away from her.

    Diana didn''t hate ra. They had obviously gotten along with each other when they travelled together to Byzantium city. Back then they had even slept in the same room.

    But now that ra had set her sights on Zach and had even be his fiancижe, Diana couldn''t hold it in any longer. She felt irritated every time she thought of the other women who were vying for Zach''s affection along with her, even if it was someone she liked otherwise.

    Before she could rush out to meet her head on like two fighter jets due for a fatal and explosive collision, she was held back by Bruce who had seen several changes in her expression from far away.

    He was her elder brother, but he had brought her up as if he were her father. He knew the meaning of even the micro changes in her expressions and was able to infer what she was thinking of based on them.

    As a result, it was quite easy to figure out that she was about to confront ra for being in her ''territory''.

    Thankfully, he was close by and managed to stop her from creating a scene that might mortify her in the future. Moreover, he knew that ra wasn''t here of her volition but had been invited by Zach to teach these people just like Diana.

    "What are you nning on doing?"

    Bruce was slightly amused at the murderous look that hade over his sister. He had never found her so overbearing before. A woman''s jealousy was truly a thing from nightmares and needed to be feared.

    "What do you think brother? I want to ask her what she is doing here." Diana''s anger vanished slightly at the sight of her brother but the look in her eyes didn''t change at all.

    "Don''t be impulsive. She was called here by Zach. Don''t cause trouble with her now or you might regret itter on." advised Bruce gently as he let go of her slowly, thinking that Diana had already understood his concerns.

    "Why would he call her? It must have been because of her. She must have been pestering him again." Diana bared her teeth angrily but could only growl and roar like a chained beast instead of pouncing on her target.

    "She is here for the same purpose as you. He has asked for her assistance as a magic teacher for the new students. So, you two are on the same boat."

    "Whaat?"

    Diana was shocked to hear the reason for ra''s appearance. Previously she had slightly disliked how Zach had thrown such a responsibility on her shoulder even though it was beneath her status to teach those people. But now she felt like Zach had betrayed her by giving such a responsibility to someone else even though her logical mind understood the reason behind it.

    She knew that ra was the best choice as the magic teacherpared to her who barely knew healing magic of the lowest tier, but she was a woman before anything else and she could not control her jealousy.

    "Since you two are going to be working together for some time, try to get along with her and don''t go around provoking her for no reason. Zach wouldn''t want his newly recruited teachers fighting each other instead of teaching his people."

    Bruce knew his sister and was certain that she wouldn''t do anything that might ruin her chances with Zach. By this point, his sister was addicted to Zach and could barely survive without him. She wouldn''t do anything that might bring her Zach''s ire.

 Chapter 367 367 Provoke

    Chapter 367  367 Provoke

    Therefore, instead of continuing to babysit her, he left her there to deal with his own troubles.

    Unlike how it seemed, he was usually very busy as well with the businesses of the Smith family. Moreover, he had an additional duty as well to act as Zach''s advisor in all matters political or otherwise. Zach was using him as an experience bank with unlimited withdrawal.

    As soon as Bruce left, a sense of unease overtook Diana. There was a gut wrenching feeling deep inside her and she didn''t know what to do with it.

    ra had already found the means to barge into the Smith family despite being an outsider. Even though the connection she had with Zach had already been cut off, she had still managed to find her way in.

    Diana analyzed the situation and was certain that she couldn''t stop ra from interacting with Zach now that she had epted the position as a teacher in the Smith family. She would have more and more chances to meet up with Zach and to be in close proximity to him. She would even have a reason to frequent his room if she wanted to because Zach would never say no to her as she was only here to help him out at his request.

    This mortified her to no end. This meant that ra could easily take her rtionship with Zach to the next level, bypassing herpletely, just like Christina had done.

    While ra was thinking of some method to keep ra from advancing further towards Zach, ra noticed her.

    She turned towards her and smiled enigmatically as if she had already figured out what Diana was thinking.

    Diana was surprised but she didn''t show it on her face. She needed to show her determination as well.

    ra hurriedly said her goodbyes to the soldiers she had previously engaged in a hearty conversation.

    It was in her nature to be impulsive.

    Therefore, not a single soldier found it odd when she didn''t even wait for their replies before marching towards Diana with an oddly light gait that made her seem like an otherworldly fairy walking on air for fear of dirtying her feet.

    There was a friendly smile on ra''s face as she waved towards Diana enthusiastically. No one could tell from her demeanor if she really meant it or not, but her actions were sincere enough to put even Diana in doubt as to what her intentions were.

    Diana didn''t trust her eyes fully. She was extremely wary of ra to begin with. Therefore, she didn''t let the sight in front of her fool her and tried to look for any oddities in ra''s behavior in order to understand what she was thinking.

    ra greeted her with a genuine smile, a warmth in her eyes that seemed to extend beyond mere pleasantries. "Hello, Diana! It''s nice to see you."

    Her greetingcked any of the defensiveness that Diana was harboring in her heart which irked thetter.

    Diana immediately registered it as an anomaly because ra was acting overly friendly, which was unlike her. The strain in their friendship had sustained ever since Diana found out that ra was trying to win Zach''s affection as well.

    She felt disgusted by ra''s friendliness. To her, it felt like a facade, like a thin veil that was masking deeper intentions.

    This perception bred a sense of revulsion, as she perceived it as nothing but a mask of hypocrisy. ra''s outward warmth shed with theplex history and emotions that had built up between them.

    Due to the nature of their rtionship, no matter what ra did, Diana took it in a negative perspective. Her logic had long since been twisted by her jealousy. She couldn''t even imagine ra doing something good.

    Diana''s perception of ra resembled a tarnished mirror, reflecting a distorted image. Every interaction with ra was seen through a lens of envy, warping even the innocent gestures into something sinister.

    Even her sincere attempts at amicability were misinterpreted as veiled cunning, her genuine intentions clouded by Diana''s suspicions. And before long, ra''s actions became like twisted shadows, devoid of any positive connotations.

    A simple smile from ra seemed, to Diana, like a taunt, and her friendly greetings were interpreted as acts of mockery. The negativity that Diana felt towards ra had darkened her outlook, obscuring any chance for them to build a genuine understanding.

    Therefore, despite ra''s friendly manner, Diana didn''t even bother to give a response to her greeting. She deliberately turned her head away, pretending to be engrossed in a document she was holding, as if ra''s presence was inconsequential. The subtle gesture was a clear indication of her disdain for ra, a disdain that was rooted in jealousy and rivalry.

    She was about to turn around and leave when ra leaned her head towards Diana''s shoulder to whisper something in her ear. She wanted to convey a private message, something intended for Diana''s ears only.

    However, Diana interpreted even this innocent act as an intrusion. The mere proximity seemed to repel her, and she wanted to jerk away as soon as she felt her approaching closer, as if ra''s presence was contaminating.

    It was a physical manifestation of the emotional barrier she had constructed against ra.

    At first Diana thought that ra was trying to pull her in for a hug but then refuted that thought instantly. After all, it wasn''t just Diana who hated ra''s guts. Thetter didn''t like her much either after she found that Diana and Zach were only husband and wife in name. Obviously, they didn''t show it on their faces but being women who loved the same man, having differences was only normal.

    As she had expected, ra stopped just short of touching her ear with her face. She looked like she wanted to say something to Diana covertly so that others wouldn''t be able to hear the words she was about to utter.

    "I heard something recently. It shocked me so much that I have not been able to sleep properly for the past few days."

    To others it looked like ra and Diana were fast friends and were hugging each other while muttering friendly nothings to each other in close proximity.

    Anyone witnessing such a sight wouldn''t think that a war matching the Cold war in magnitude was actually taking ce between the two at that moment.

    "What''s that got to do with me? Keep what you hear to yourself. I am not interested in your childish games."

    Diana belittled ra without holding back in a simrly low voice with a smug smile on her face.

    "I would normally but I couldn''t help but want to share it with you. After all, you are the main star of this exciting piece of gossip I heard."

    Diana was intrigued at first, but she pushed down her curiosity forcefully. Women were curious creatures by nature and have an inherent urge to figure out all kinds of mysteries, but Diana felt like she had to suppress this urge so as to maintain an upper hand in her interaction with ra.

    "Did I somehow give you the impression that I would be the least bit interested in whatever you have to say to me? If so, I apologize but nothing you may have to say can arouse my interest."

    Diana was about to celebrate an early victory over ra when thetter decided not to pull her punches.

    "I heard that you have yet to sleep with Zach. The moment I heard it, I was so excited that I just HAD to share this with you as soon as possible. Do you know how hard it was for me to keep it in without rubbing it in your face?"

    ra''s words were like moltenva seeping into her body through her ears. Every inch of her body and soul burned in anger at having her secret revealed; and that too in front of her rival in love.

    ra''s lips curved into a smug smile, her bodynguage subtly exuding triumph. It was a silent victory, but one that made her feel powerful.

    Meanwhile, Diana, with immense effort, maintained control over her temper. She could feel the heat rising within her, the urge tosh out almost overwhelming, but she held it back, forcing her face into a stoic mask. The battle of emotions was like a storm raging inside her, threatening to shatter the fragileposure she clung to.

    Diana was shocked to say the least. Her feet were frozen to the spot. She even forgot to breathe properly in front of ra.

    "Count me surprised. I couldn''t believe it when I heard it, but the proof was uncontestable. I can''t believe that you had the audacity to act so smug when you have yet to take thatst step."

    ra didn''t hold back and mocked her to heart''s content as if she wanted to provoke Diana into action.

    So far, the only advantage Diana had against ra was her position as Zach''s wife in the eyes of society. Even though it waster revealed to be a cover for hiding the Smith family.

    Despite that, ra had been of the opinion that Diana just didn''t have the status of a proper wife but was one in every sense of the word.

    After all, she spent most of her time with Zach and was fiercely protective of him against all the other women. No woman other than a wife would probably go through all that trouble. Even if that woman wasn''t a wife, she had to be physically intimate with him at the very least.

 Chapter 368 368 Dianas Determination

    Chapter 368  368 Diana''s Determination

    But recently she had begun to doubt it.

    The momentary surprise and then the bubbling anger underneath Diana''s calm fa?ade was the only confirmation ra needed for her doubts.

    The trigger for her doubts had been her sister''s words. Violet had nted the seed that she had been nurturing in her mind all this time and finally she had been able to confirm her suspicion through the twisted expression on Diana''s face.

    During one of their sisterly conversations, ra had revealed her insecurities about Zach to Violet. ra had been afraid that Zach wasn''t interested in her at the time. On top of that, she had to deal with two other women at the same time, namely Christina and Diana. She was unsure of her chances and sought Violet''s opinion on the matter.

    It had been Violet who told ra about theck of physical intimacy between Diana and Zach. Any couple who engaged in carnal activities were bound to show it in some manner. They couldn''t do without that little bit of touch. But Violet found that Diana and Zach always maintained a safe distance from each other.

    Violet, as thorough as she was, even took Zach''s attitude into consideration and assumed that Zach might have been averse to public disys of affection.

    But that hypothesis was soon snuffed out as well due to Christina. Between Zach and Christina, there was no awkwardness or a sense of newness. Instead, they seemed extremelyfortable around each other like old couples.

    Therefore, Violet ruled out the first possibility and concluded that while Christina and Zach had probably slept together, Diana had yet to do so with Zach.

    Violet had therefore encouraged her sister to be more proactive in her approach so as to overtake her in the race for Zach''s heart. An outstanding man like Zach needed to be held onto before someone could snatch him away.

    Violet had always been the wise one in the family, her intellect and political acumen guiding them through challenges. In contrast, ra was seen as the brawny one, relying more on her physical prowess. Sheplemented Violet''s intellect with her formidable strength.

    While Violet devised intricate strategies and made diplomatic moves, ra was the shield, the one who ensured those strategies found footing in reality. Her physical might often yed a crucial role in ensuring their ns came to fruition.

    Still, it was often Violet who solved all of ra''s problems that didn''t involve the usage of violence.

    ra in turn trusted Violetpletely.

    Therefore, when Violet revealed her analysis of the situation to her, ra decided to take her words as the truth to carry out an investigation of her own.

    As it turned out, her trust in Violet had not been unfounded at all. Diana''s identity as the wife was nothing more than ayer of disguise configured to save the Smith family from undue attention from the government.

    "So, it really is like that. Thanks for confirming my suspicions."

    ra sneered at Diana; her mockingughter itched Diana in the worst manner and her face turned uncontrobly ugly, as if someone was twisting her insides.

    She hated it all. She hated ra. She hated her situation, her responsibilities that kept her from getting closer to Zach in that manner. She hated how her rival had gotten her hands on this information. But most of all she hated how she had fallen for her trick so easily and had ended up confirming her suspicions herself.

    Had she known that ra was only probing the truth, she would have acted as enigmatically as possible to keep her from finding what she was looking for.

    But now that everything was out in the open, the ying field waspletely level. The little bit of advantage that she had previously held over ra had been swept away now, and that made her feel ufortable.

    Trying topose her twisted expression into a somewhat normal one, Diana retreated away from ra. She knew that further interaction would only bring her more harm since the enemy had gotten a hold of her weak point now.

    Sulking openly, Diana left swiftly with several thoughts swirling in her head chaotically like a whirlpool in a stormy ocean.

    raughingly watched her back away. This was the first time she felt that she had gained a victory over Diana who had the added advantage of being together with Zach before ra even came into picture.

    бн

    Back in her room, Diana paced restlessly, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts trying to navigate through the sudden problem. The invisible gears in her brain seemed to be working in overdrive, attempting to align a solution to the sudden change in her situation.

    A feeling of intense unease was congregating in the back of her mind. She constantly felt that something was very wrong, but she couldn''t figure out what. She tried to keep her mind off ra, but she couldn''t forget her smug and mocking smile. It was eating away at her from the inside.

    Her worry etched lines of furrowed brows on her face and her lips asionally mouthed fragments of potential ns before she scrapped them and started anew.

    She sat on the edge of her bed, attempting to gather her racing thoughts, clutching the fabric of the sheets in her trembling hands. Her anxiousness had made her truly restless as she could not stay in ce for a long time.

    She felt perturbed in her heart, a burning sense of uneasiness overtook her rational mind and fueled her resolve to fight back.

    The notion of ra using her schemes to win Zach''s heart before her would be a p in her face and an insult to the love she had nurtured in her heart for all this while.

    She was not one to sit idly by, especially when it concerned matters of the heart. Therefore, a call to arms was inevitable.

    With trembling legs that suddenly found courage and strength, she got up from the bed and then rushed towards her wardrobe like a madwoman.

    Rolling around in bed and pacing around the room for the whole afternoon, Diana had reached a decision.

    She surmised that she couldn''t keep acting in such a cid manner and foolishly hope that Zach would somehow notice her or respond to her feelings.

    She decided to be more like ra and Christina. Even though she didn''t think of them kindly, she respected them for at least having the courage to pursue what they wanted, unlike her.

    Had ra not found out about her secret, Diana might never have taken the initiative like them. But the situation demanded that she take matters into her own hands, or she risked losing Zach to ra.

    Therefore, she was no longer averse to seducing Zach with her body if that was the only way to secure her position in his heart.

    In her wardrobey an array of dresses, each one a reminder of a time when she''d been captivated by their allure. But now, they were mere fabric and ornaments, empty symbols of femininity she couldn''t bring herself to appreciate. All of them felt unaesthetic and worthless at that moment because not a single one of them gave her the impression she desperately needed.

    With trembling hands, she picked up a dress, inspecting it under the dim light. It was a delicate thing, carefully chosen for its elegance and charm. Yet, in the maelstrom of her emotions, it seemed meaningless, a futile attempt at embodying a part of herself she had grown to resent.

    The essories gleamed in the soft light, their beauty contrasting sharply with her disheartened spirit. They were meant to enhance, to entuate her grace. But today, they felt like chains, binding her to a role she was no longer willing to y.

    Her fingers ran over the garments, the soft fabrics slipping through her grasp. In that moment, she longed for something genuine, something raw and unadulterated.

    It wasn''t about the frills or the fa?ade; it was about what she really wanted. She wanted toy herself bare in front of the man she loved and wanted him to respond to her openly.

    Overturning the entire wardrobe, she took a step back, a decision forming in her mind. She wanted to cast off the trappings of convention, the symbols of an identity she no longer resonated with.

    Today, she wanted to be true to herself, unapologetically so.

    For that purpose, she required something that would evoke Zach''s hidden desires and would make him want to jump her right there and then.

    After spilling and scattering the contents of her wardrobe across her entire room, she finally managed to find something remotely close to what she was looking for.

    Unlike the rest of her dresses and gowns that were all pure white andrger than her size to hide her figure, this one was a deep ck color leotard that entuated her figure immensely.

    In the past, due to that very reason, she had never worn it even when she was sleeping. It had made her feel naked and ashamed for even thinking about wearing it someday.

    Therefore, she had thrown it to the back of her wardrobe and had forgotten about it altogether.

    But now that she needed to seduce and attract Zach''s attention, she chose this exceptionally tight and thin leotard that could allow any man''s imagination to run wild like a stallion in an open grassy field.

    Since, it was still early in the night, Zach had yet to turn in for the night.

 Chapter 369 369 Failed Seduction

    Chapter 369  369 Failed Seduction

    Based on his daily habits, Diana knew that Zach would still be in his office at that time. Therefore, she wore a gown over her leotard and pranced towards his office which was adjacent to his room.

    Fortunately for her, there was no one else living in the same hallway that housed both her and Zach''s room. She didn''t have to cover herself uppletely to walk to his office.

    She took off the gown outside the doorway before pushing the door open with a slight creaking noise that attracted his attention.

    She looked absolutely seductive like a temptress. Her long legs were further emphasized by theck of pants in her outfit. Her milky white thighs and her bouncy bosom werepletely on disy for Zach to feast his eyes on.

    Diana closed the door behind her. Swinging her hips seductively from side to side, she approached Zach who was seated on his study table surrounded by a bunch of books and reference materials.

    Hearing the door opening, he raised his eyes to check who it was and when he saw that it was Diana, he lowered his head once again to resume whatever it was that was more important than heaven itself.

    Diana was dissatisfied by hisck of interest even though she had worn such an outfit for him. It was as if she had no appeal to him whatsoever. It made her feel cheap and insulted.

    But there was no time for her to back out now. She needed to see this through no matter what.

    Gathering all her courage, she walked behind his chair and peeked over his shoulder to see what he was working at.

    Zach didn''t make a move throughout this time as if he hadn''t even seen her.

    Diana wondered if he had even registered the change in her or not because he had yet to show any kind of response to her advances.

    While Bruce thought that he had dumped all of his responsibilities on Diana, Zach hadn''t been able to rest at ease either. He had been busy devising the curriculum and the textbooks that would be used to teach the Smith family people. It was an amalgam of different subjects that he could recall from his previous world.

    Even though he knew enough about various subjects, it was difficult for him to recall them all perfectly. Therefore, theption of the textbooks was bing an increasingly tedious task.

    Zach had divided the textbook into three main sections that were most relevant to this new world and were an absolute must for anyone who wanted to be a core figure of Zach''s group.

    First was Politics which was the yground of the elite. Political know-how was an absolute must in both worlds. It allowed a leader to make informed decisions and allowed them to learn what to do and what not to do in front of the masses.

    Zach was about to take his forces to the new level where he would be fighting against empires instead of local families. Therefore, he needed subordinates who could be diplomatic and were capable of individual thoughts.

    The second section consisted of the knowledge rted to the economic domain. It included how to build a stable economy starting from a low-level business to a macroeconomy that was built on the back of several such stable microeconomic systems.

    Zach wrote down all of the business models he could remember from his previous world. The importance of transportation and logistics was exined thoroughly. He even included knowledge rted to intermodal transportation to cut down costs further.

    The reason he had included this as well was because he would soon have a port of his own that could house huge ships that would help him revolutionize the transportation chain of the entire empire. He even included concepts such as vertical and horizontal integration to further exin the importance of having an efficient supply chain in any business.

    Lastly, the third section of the textbook was going to focus on military tactics andrge-scale warfare. He had several examples he could quote after all his previous world had been rife with wars and widespread destruction. His knowledge regarding wars probably exceeded this world by a few thousand years as he had the entire history of his world in his mind and the tactics of the ancients along with the technology of theter generations.

    Zach wanted to instill the discipline and the physical routine of the ancients while arming them with weapons far beyond the times of this world.

    Moreover, he could even include a magic corps in the fold that would further increase his options on the battlefield. He felt like this single addition could bring about innumerable changes to all his battle tactics.

    He not only wrote down everything he knew but also made improvements to them based on the fighting style of this world to incorporate mages intorge scale warfare.

    Zach''s task was already arduous enough but theck of typewriter or aputer raised the difficulty level by many folds. Because theck of sophisticated equipment warranted him toplete his textbook by hand and it was taking him several long hours daily to write a few pages on a daily basis.

    Diana knew what he was doing because she had been watching him work ever since he began working on the textbook.

    Her visits started because she was curious about whether the textbooks held any knowledge that was still foreign to her or not. But with time, her interest faded as the textbook was meant for Zach to divulge his knowledge to all of them. There was no need for her to be greedy or impatient.

    Therefore, she began to focus on supporting him until his task wasplete and she made sure to visit from time to time in order to check if he needed anything while he worked.

    Diana leaned in towards the table as she purposely squished her well rounded and perky breasts against his arm as she tried to reach out towards the coffee pot.

    Her breast ttened against his shoulder, but Zach barely gave her any attention and focused on finishing up on his day''s work.

    Diana got a hold of the coffee pot barely and filled up his empty cup again before pushing it in front of him.

    "How long until you are done? You have been writing for so long now. It should be done by now, shouldn''t it?"

    Diana pretended to ask about the progress of his work as she peeked into the contents of the textbook to make it look like she really was interested in his work.

    "I have been nning to write this book for a long time. As time passed, the things I wanted to incorporate in this book began to increase. It is still a long way from the finishing point currently mainly because writing like this is exhausting. I wish there was an easier method for me to convert the thoughts in my head into written material instead of jotting them down one by one with my hand."

    Without lifting his head up, Zach responded to her question wearily. It was obvious that he was tired but was still persevering.

    Diana lost interest the moment Zach began to talk about his ns regarding the textbook.

    Her thoughts were somewhere else at the moment.

    "I don''t know when it all will end because I have so many things to do. These textbooks are just the beginning. The Smith family needs to expand much further and we need to umte strength as much as possible in a short while. I am afraid I will be busy even after I am done with this."

    Diana lost herself in ecstasy entirely as she felt his firm muscles between her bouncy breasts. The heat spread throughout her chest making her breath heavier with each passing second.

    There was something in his touch that made her want to throw everything aside to pounce at him. But some rational part of her kept her from making the first move. She still wanted Zach to take the initiative towards her as a man.

    Zach kept on talking about his ns for the future while Diana focused on wrapping herself around him in the most seductive manner possible.

    She nodded to indicate that she was listening to him, but her mental faculties were otherwise engaged to even register the meaning behind his words.

    All she wanted was to seduce Zach somehow to stamp him as her own as soon as possible.

    Zach''s words acted like a soothing melody in the midst of the turbulent storm of emotions brewing inside of her.

    The intensity of her emotions, a tempest of feelings she was struggling to control, seemed to find a temporary calm in his presence. She was adrift in the sea of her love for him, unable to navigate beyond the currents that pulled her towards him.

    Every word he spoke was a note, a gentle hum that resonated within her, making her heart sway like a leaf caught in a gentle breeze. It was both beautiful and frightening, the power he held over her. The fire of her love zed deep within, an inferno that threatened to consume her if she didn''t find a way to temper its intensity.

    With a practiced breath, she tried to steady her emotions, to douse the mes of her passion that threatened to engulf her reason. But in that very attempt, she found herself ensnared, her eyes bound to his like a moth drawn to a me.

 Chapter 370 370 Naked

    Chapter 370  370 Naked

    It was a battle between the love that propelled her forward without any semnce of control.

    In the depths of her heart, she knew she had to find a bnce. Her love for Zach was fierce, but it needed to be channeled, like a river guided by its banks. The challenge was to find that equilibrium, to let her love flow without overwhelming her, to be a part of her without consuming her entirely.

    "I am thinking of expanding outside the city. It will give our family a chance to gain power explosively. Although it is slightly risky because we will be making enemies many times as fast, we need to go through it someday anyway. So why not now? What do you think? Am I being too hasty in my hurry to save Christina from the clutches of the royal family? Should I wait until the Smith family is strong enough to stand up on its own before venturing out of the city? What''s your take on this? What would you do in my ce?"

    Zach''s words acted like aforting luby, gently coaxing her into a state of ease and tranquility. As he spoke, she found herself nodding in agreement, each gesture a rhythmic response to the cadence of his voice. It was as if she had been ensnared by an enchanting melody, lulled into a mesmerizing trance.

    Her eyelids grew heavy, like the soft descent of curtains at the end of a y, and she surrendered to the soothing timbre of his words. The world around her began to blur, fading into a distant backdrop. His words echoed in her mind, each syble like a note in a melodious tune, sending her deeper into a state of calm.

    As Zach concluded his monologue, the absence of any response nudged him to nce upwards. There, he discovered Diana, her countenance softened by slumber, nestled against him. Perched upon the armrest of his chair, she had leaned into his frame, her form draped over his arm and shoulder.

    A tender smile tugged at Zach''s lips at the sight. The room, once filled with the buzz of thoughts and words, now held a hushed reverence.

    Carefully, so as not to disturb her peaceful rest, he adjusted his posture, allowing her to find an even morefortable position in his embrace.

    Zach couldn''t move around now that he had the beautiful girl sleeping against him. Therefore, he decidedly opted to end his work for the day.

    It was only then that he realized how seductive Diana seemed. It was so different from her usual style that Zach was somewhat shocked. She had been a reserved girl for as far as he could remember.

    But she hade to his office wearing such a thinyer of clothing; even a fool would be able to figure out what she had intended on doing.

    And like the fool that he was, he had ignored her disy of affection and her need for emotional security because he was too busy working. Instead offorting and showering her with affection, he had bored her with unnecessary talk which led to her feeling sleepy while still on the mission.

    Regret washed over Zach like an unforgiving tide. He felt an urge to shake himself, to jar his consciousness awake from its drowsy negligence. How could he have been so blind to Diana''s feelings? How could he have missed the hints and signs that now seemed ringly evident?

    The thought of causing Diana any pain cut through him like a de. He cared deeply for her, cherished her friendship, and thest thing he desired was to inflict hurt. He hoped fervently that he hadn''t let things drift too far, that he could mend the situation before irreparable damage was done.

    In the cocoon of the office, amidst the hush of Diana''s sleep, he resolved to rectify this oversight. He''d seize the earliest opportunity to have an open and honest conversation with her. It was time to clear the air, to ensure that their friendship remained intact, untainted by misunderstandings and unspoken emotions.

    With renewed determination, he gently rearranged Diana''s position, ensuring she wasfortably settled, and then turned his focus to the impending tasks at hand.

    The weight of responsibility and the need for careful navigation through this delicate situation propelled him into a state of heightened awareness. He couldn''t afford to let his guard down, not when the equilibrium of their bond hung in the bnce.

    бн

    Opening her eyes, the next day, Diana found herself in an unfamiliar space, but she was too drowsy to register where she was. She stretched herself thoroughly like a cat and let out a long yawn before taking a good look at the ceiling. It was different from what she was used to, which meant that this wasn''t her room.

    This caused panic to rise within her. The feeling of unease only settled once she turned over to see that she wasn''t alone. There was someone else in the bed as well.

    It was Zach, deep in slumber, his features rxed. Memories of the previous night flooded back, and Diana''s mind raced to understand how they both ended up in this situation. She recalled the events of the previous night and Zach''s words, her struggle to contain her emotions, and seeking sce in his office.

    Though confusion and embarrassment loomed, there was a strangefort in his presence. For a fleeting moment, Diana allowed herself to appreciate the tranquility of the morning, the soft sunlight filtering through the curtains, as she pondered theplex dynamics of her heart.

    Despite Diana being in such a vulnerable state, her beauty was undeniable. Her figure, her grace; it was alluring, to say the least. The dim light in the room highlighted the curves and shadows that yed across her features. Her breaths were soft and steady, adding to the tranquil ambiance.

    No man could have resisted such a seductive sight, but Zach had somehow managed to go to sleep even when Diana was wearing nothing.

    Diana felt a moment of confusion and disorientation. She tried to recollect what happened the previous night, but it was as if her memory had a gap. Panic set in as she realized her leotard was missing. She nced around the room, her eyes widening in surprise and worry.

    The realization struck her like a sudden wave crashing against her consciousness. Her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment as she frantically searched for her clothing, trying to piece together what had transpired in the hazy shadows of the night.

    Diana''s eyes narrowed, studying Zach closely. She tried to recall if he had seen her in such a vulnerable state. The concern that her privacy might have been breached added to the whirlwind of emotions already storming within her. Zach was still sound asleep, seemingly unaware of her distress.

    She observed his peaceful slumber, a myriad of thoughts racing through her mind. Had he seen her undressed? Had something happened that she couldn''t remember? Her mind raced to solve the puzzle while her heart was torn between anxiety and the trust she had in Zach.

    She lifted the sheet that was wrapped around their bodies and took a peek at Zach''s body.

    One look and her face turned red like a tomato. Just like her, Zach was not wearing anything. There were no clothes sprawled around the room which could indicate that her wish hade true.

    But Diana couldn''t understand how she hade to be in this situation if nothing had happened between her and Zach. How could she exin her current condition then?

    She didn''t know whether to be excited or sad about it. Because Zach was sleeping with her naked but hadn''t probably touched her all night. She wondered if it was because he wanted to respect her boundaries or because he just didn''t find her attractive enough. The second case was so worrisome that Diana was close to crying but the hope that the first situation could also be true kept her from running away instantly.

    She thought about her next move as it was a golden opportunity for her. Both of them were naked and ready to take the next step. She just had to carefully nudge him in the right direction, even a slight idental brushing of their bodies could do the trick. But she didn''t want to be so shameless.

    A woman''s heart was aplex puzzle. Even though she had worn a thin leotard to entice Zach, she still desired him to take the initiative, to be the one to approach her and not the other way around. It was a delicate dance of desire and expectations, a bnce of longing and modesty.

    Diana grappled with these conflicting emotions, unsure of how to proceed. The air in the room seemed charged with unspoken words, desires, and yet a sense of propriety held her back. It was a battle between her boldness and her reservations, a struggle that she had not anticipated.

    She was now at a crossroads, uncertain of which path to take.

    Hesitantly, she carefully lifted the bed cover off her slim but shapely body, cautious not to disturb Zach who was still lost in sleep. Each movement felt like an eternity, her every nerve alert, fearing even the slightest rustle might wake him. The fabric slid off smoothly, revealing her form.

    Her feet gently met the cool floor, and she stood beside the bed, her heart beating like a hummingbird''s wings. The room felt expansive, the airden with a strange mix of vulnerability and excitement.

 Chapter 371 371 Candor

    Chapter 371  371 Candor

    She tiptoed, aiming not to disturb the tranquil atmosphere of the room.

    Fortunately for her, someone had already noticed her movements before she could tiptoe away from the bed.

    With swift movements, Zach caught a hold of her from behind and pulled her towards him with a jerk.

    "Where are you going?"

    Diana heard the teasing tone in his voice and couldn''t help but be startled.

    "What are you doing?" although she didn''t at all want to stop whatever it was that he was trying to do, she still sounded like she found his advances annoying.

    Obviously, she wasn''t actually annoyed. She was only feeling wronged that Zach had taken this long to notice her attempt.

    In that moment, the air seemed to crackle with electricity, a palpable tension enveloping the room. Diana''s heart raced, caught off guard by Zach''s sudden action. His arm wrapped securely around her waist, pulling her close, creating a maic proximity that sent shivers down her spine.

    She could feel the warmth of his body against her back, the strength in his grip, the subtle rise and fall of his chest. It was as if their hearts beat in harmony, a synchronization that neither could deny.

    Yet, despite the closeness, Diana was torn between her emotions. Confusion and uncertainty battled with the desire that pulsed through her veins. Was this the right moment, the right time to let her guard down and embrace what she truly felt?

    Zach''s closeness was both afort and a torment. She yearned to turn around, to see his expression, to understand the intentions behind this sudden move. Yet, she also hesitated, fearing the potential implications, the storm of emotions that might follow.

    In that suspended moment, time seemed to freeze, the world narrowing down to the two of them.

    Diana grappled with her thoughts, wondering whether to break free or surrender to the enigmatic pull that held her captive in Zach''s arms.

    Because her body felt like it was on fire. It was burning up like dry kindling.

    As their bodies began to harmonize with each other, their body temperatures began to advance in tandem with each other. It was as if the fire of desire was consuming both of them at the same time with the same intensity.

    Diana was surprised that Zach had finally decided to make his advances on her, but it was a bit disappointing for her at the same time.

    Because even though she had tried so hard to earn his affection, all it had taken for him was to see her naked for the first time. She tried to act pure at first because she had heard that men liked dainty girls who needed their protection. But that didn''t seem to work for Zach.

    She then became his student and learnt his strategies and made them her life''s goal. She eventually became themander of his special forces team so she could spend more time with him and learn from him all she wanted. Unfortunately, Zach soon gave her all the control and took a hands-off approach regarding the team he had built from scratch.

    In the end she had to resort to seduction in order to attract Zach''s attention like a primitive animal. But Zach didn''t even register her effort like an incapable man. She would have doubted his manly power had she not known about his carnal rtionship with Zach and Luna. To her, Zach had seemed to bepletely oblivious to her intentions.

    Although, she didn''t know if she had been bold enough by modern standards, it was already much more than most women were capable of being without feeling any shame in their hearts. But even then, Zach had ignored her, purposefully or not, she still couldn''t be sure considering how she had woken up naked in Zach''s bed.

    Had she known it earlier, she would have just snuck into his bed at night. It wouldn''t have been so hurtful for her that way. She wouldn''t have had to listen to ra''s provocations and would probably have earned her ce beside him before Christina.

    Instead of feeling wronged now, she would have been the one mocking theters for losing out to her.

    Zach couldn''t have known that his actions had somewhat disappointed Diana as she had failed to receive her perfect proposal. Instead, she felt like she had handed herself to Zach on a silver tter.

    "Why do you want to leave so soon? You weren''t so eager to leavest night, were you?"

    Diana was dumbfounded that Zach was trying to use her meager attempt at seduction against her at this time.

    "So, he did notice it but didn''t show it outwardly." thought Diana as she cursed Zach inwardly for ying with her emotions.

    She blushed for the sudden skin contact of their bodies and the heat coursing through her body made her feel sheepish.

    Zach''s words had made her remember the shameful act she had put on the night before and it further amplified the blush spreading across her milky white skin, tarnishing its purity like a virgin finally graduating from a life of loneliness.

    Full of shame, Diana tried to pull herself free from Zach''s grasp, but it was hard for her to tear open his ws that were encircling her entire being. She resisted for a while but felt that her resistance was only giving wind to the fire burning in his loins. Therefore, she calmed down and pulled the bed cover over her head to hide herself from sight. It was as if she didn''t want Zach to see her in such a state.

    Like any other woman, her feelings were extremelyplicated for any man to understand. Any objective person would have easily deduced how irrational an act this was, especially when Diana had been willing to go all the way just the previous night. She had been trying to seduce Zach but when Zach was about to go through with her desires, she was trying to hide underneath the covers.

    Of course, she didn''t want to hide away from him. It was just that she was afraid to look him in the eye because she was unsure of what she might find there. Moreover, she wouldn''t know what to say to him after the stunt she pulled.

    Zach on the other hand was oblivious to her mental battle and was afraid that Diana didn''t want to be intimate with him. Maybe it was just the wrong time to engage in such activities.

    Still, he wanted to exin himself to her. He knew how she had been interested in him for a long time. His thoughts were confirmed when she had leapt into his arms instead of Bruce''s when she was rescued from the Hunter family in the wilderness.

    Although it had been a sensitive time, she could have only found sce in the arms of the person she trusted the most and had missed the most during the duration of time she had spent apart from her family.

    Even after being sure of her feelings for him, Zach had acted as if he didn''t know anything. His actions had hurt her feelings greatly but, in his defense, he needed to be sure that her feelings were unchanging and irreversible so as to not look like an absolute jerk.

    Otherwise, he risked hurting not only her future but also risked losing her brother''s trust in him if he made false promises to her or treated her feelings for him half-heartedly.

    As for how he had hurt her by taking so long to respond to her sincere feelings, Zach couldn''t apologize enough. He med himself in his heart and wanted to convey how sorry he felt towards her.

    "I am sorry that I have been keeping my distance from you despite knowing how you felt about me. At that time, I thought that it was just a growth phase that you were going through and that you would forget all about me very soon, but the truth is that I did not have the guts to openly acknowledge your feelings. I was so busy with everything after we left Elizabeth city. At first, I had to be the leader of the family when I had no experience doing such a thing in the past. Then I had to fight against the Hunter family when they kidnapped you. I had no other choice but to madly find out any means of rescuing you. And when I sessfully rescued you, it turned out that my sess led to Christina being held hostage by the royal family. Since the moment I left Elizabeth family, I have been running continuously. I haven''t even had the chance to catch my breath yet."

    Diana''s body in his embrace trembled as soon as Zach mentioned how apologetic he felt for not being able to return her feelings in the past.

    "You had time to return Christina''s feelings but no time for me huh? You even use her as an excuse to deny me." thought Diana in her heart but she didn''t dare to say those words out loud for fear that Zach might truly not care about her anymore after he heard how jealous she was.

    "I know that it is extremely selfish of me, but I cannot help it. I cannot sit still knowing that Christina is being held hostage against her will by the royal family. I needed to find a way for her to regain her freedom as soon as possible before even daring to think of my own happiness."

 Chapter 372 372 I Believe You

    Chapter 372  372 I Believe You

    Zach tried to exin his reasons for ignoring Diana''s feelings but no matter what he said, it was not exnation enough for his actions, especially when he had progressed in his rtionship with Christina during that very period.

    "What if it was me in her ce and she in mine? Would you have ignored her feelings as well? Would you have tried to save me before considering her happiness or yours?" Diana''s words were full of indignation as she had truly been wronged by circumstances. She had not only found Zach before all his other women but had also expressed her interest in various settings through different means.

    "If the person taken hostage by the royal family had been you instead of Christina, I would still have worked just as hard to get you your freedom as soon as possible. In fact, I did the same when the Hunter family took you hostage. During those times, I hardly did anything else and focused all my attention on figuring out some strategy to get you back safe and sound."

    Diana''s body went soft at the mention of her kidnapping. She still remembered how haggard he had looked when she firstid eyes on him after she was rescued from the Hunter family. Her heart had ached so much that she had jumped into his arms the moment she was released. Therefore, she didn''t doubt his words at all.

    "So don''t doubt my intentions or my motives for epting your feelings all of a sudden. After what you didst night, I just felt that it wasn''t appropriate to drag the matter any longer when both of us felt the same way for each other and were intent on being with each other for the rest of our lives."

    Diana''s body was shaking in his embrace but there was no resistance left in her. She let Zach hold her in any way he wanted and managed to squeeze out a few words as well.

    "I believe you."

    "What? You do?" Zach couldn''t bring himself to believe what she had just said. He therefore had to ask her again as if for confirmation.

    "Of course, I do. I know what kind of person you are. I have spent so much time with you. I wouldn''t be of much use if I couldn''t even figure that out in all the time we spent together."

    Zach was both surprised and ttered to hear such trusting words about himself.

    "Then why do you sound so mad? Is it something I said or did?" asked Zach hesitantly because he genuinely couldn''t remember what he had done wrong that earned him her ire.

    "Do you know how hard my life has been due to your indecisiveness? Let alone others, even I had grown to be doubtful if you had any interest in me at all."

    "Why would you think that? How can anyone not have any interest in you? Have you seen yourself?"

    He didn''t know what he had done to give off such an impression, but he ttered her as much as possible just to be on the safe side. It would be helpful for him if it turned out that he truly was at faultter on.

    Diana blushed profusely at his ttery and her tone of voice turned somewhat coy and soft.

    "It''s all that stupid ra''s fault."

    Zach was startled at the sudden mention of another one of his women. He wondered why it was ra''s fault. When he grew certain that Diana wasn''t going to borate on the matter, he hesitantly asked her, "Why is it ra''s fault?"

    "Because it was her fault that I did ''that''."

    "You did what?"

    "THAT...I mean..st night...she taunted me that I was a fake wife and hadn''t even been with my husband."

    Zach finally found out the reason why she had suddenly be so active when all had been going well between the two of them before that. It turned out that she just wanted to be his ''real'' wife so she could escape ra''s taunts.

    Zachughed lightly as he thought, "ra really is at fault then."

    Diana shuddered, hearing herughter as she tried to control the embarrassment from leaking onto her face. Her ears had already gone hotter and had turned blood red in embarrassment. She didn''t want the same to happen to her face and neck because it would have truly given away the contents of her thoughts.

    She bobbed her head up and down in response to Zach''sughing words as if unaware that he found them amusing.

    "When she said that to me, I was not only full of anger and embarrassment but also envy. While ra had nothing that I would be envious of her for, Christina wasn''t the same. I envied her strongly for having such a strong bond with you. Even though she isn''t here, you still keep on thinking about her safety and work hard for her sake, even forgetting to rest at times. I can''t help but feel envious of her. And to top it all off, she has even...with you..."

    Diana couldn''t bring herself to say the word that was almost at the tip of her tongue. She was too embarrassed to say it outright in front of Zach.

    Zach on the other hand couldn''t hide his amusement at her antics. The girl could wear a thin skintight leotard to seduce him but was unable to say the word ''slept'' in his presence.

    "I mean that she has been with you as well while I can only work hard to attract your attention like a fake wife."

    Diana hurriedly tried to shake off her embarrassment so that Zach wouldn''tugh at her.

    Zach already had a general idea of all her insecurities that led her to act in such a straightforward manner despite how reserved she usually was. He nned to help her resolve all those insecurities one by one.

    "She told you that you were a ''fake wife'', and you believed her?" Zach posed her a question for which she couldn''t immediatelye up with an answer.

    She wanted to say ''Yes'' but she knew that the answer had a high chance of pissing off Zach. Therefore, she didn''t say anything at all and gave him silent treatment.

    "Let me tell you something. You were, and you have been my wife from the moment you decided to fight for me. The moment you stood up on my behalf, I epted you as my wife and life partner for the rest of my life with the heavens and earth as the witness to our union."

    Diana was stunned under the covers. She wanted to move but her body wouldn''t respond. It was as if the sudden explosion of happiness inside her body had cut apart the entire neuralwork that was responsible for sending control signals to every part of her body.

    After the fit of happiness passed, Diana slowly pulled the sheet cover down and poked her head out slightly at first to ascertain the situation.

    Zach was staring at her face despite the fact that it was hidden under the sheet cover.

    Their eyes met and for a moment Diana forgot to look away. She was mesmerized by the intensity and the sincerity of his gaze.

    "I am sorry I cannot give you the status of being my wife through a wedding in front of the whole world. That is something I will regret for my whole life and something I will be sorry about for the rest of my life because it isn''t something I can make up for. I hope you can forgive me."

    Diana''s eyes turned watery as her tears stopped right at the precipice of falling as if waiting for a single push to flood everything around her.

    "I don''t want a wedding. I don''t even want the status of being a wife as long as you reciprocate my love for you and cherish me for the rest of our lives. I want to be your strength, not your burden that will further weigh you down. So, don''t feel sorry for me. I don''t need much from you."

    Diana moved her head closer to Zach and kissed him on his mouth as if to reassure him that it was really all right and that she had forgiven him.

    Their lips pressed against each other, and Zach too began to reciprocate like a beast that had been released from his chains after a long time.

    It was slow and awkward at first, but the passion hidden underneath their gazes could dye the whole world the color pink. Their kiss gradually became more intense, and they stuck out their tongues, looking for each other.

    As their kiss became more and more passionate, Diana hugged Zach''s neck tighter and his hands began to roam around her back freely until they eventually found a soft and jiggly mountain that engulfed his entire hand within it.

    Their naked bodies rubbed against each other as if to satiate their desire from the friction of their bodies alone.

    After the sensual kiss, his tongue slid into her mouth which made her feel an entirely new kind of sensation. At first, she was unable to respond and let him guide her through the process.

    She made some clumsy movements to catch up with his tongue, but it was too elusive as it intruded into every corner of her mouth, licking and sttering saliva throughout her mouth. The feeling made her head go nk as she let go of her inhibitions.

 Chapter 373 373 I Will Be Gentle

    Chapter 373  373 I Will Be Gentle

    She no longer bothered about what Zach would think when she tried to kiss him back given her inexperience in the field while Zach was already a veteran.

    His past experience even included a subus. So, even though she was worried about not being able to fill the shoes of her predecessors, she still wanted to be good enough for him.

    The kiss turned extremely passionate as her inexperienced tongue tried to fight back against Zach''s elusive and active invasion. Saliva sttered everywhere as two tongues entwined with each other like two flexible snakes.

    Their kisssted for a bit, and when he took his head back to take a good look at Diana, a thin string of saliva connecting their mouths glistened in the light that brightened the room. It bridged the increasing gap in between their mouths before fading away. Its short life, the only proof of the rtionship that was budding between Zacha and Diana.

    Diana''s eyes opened up with a daze as if she had lost herself in the war of the two hungry mouths. It was extremely seductive to look at.

    While Zach was busy admiring the view, Diana looked lost as if she was unaware of where she was or how she got there. Zach smiled at how seductive she looked at the moment.

    Just when she began to think that the fun was about to end, Zach started kissing her again, sending sparkles of pleasure through her body.

    He gently touched her chin, with his fingers, tracing her jawline while his thumb caressed her cheek right beside her mouth. Then slowly, his hand went down to her neck, tracing his finger on her skin, sending tingling sensations through her body.

    Zach''s experienced hand traveled to her shoulder, caressing her vicle and shoulder muscles, with his fingers, sometimes applying some more very subtle and precise force that made her feelfortable, with light pleasure spreading from the spots he touched.

    Diana''s breathing paced up a little, her heart rate shot up, and her face flushed red slightly.

    He slowly moved his other hand on her slim waist, with profound movements of his fingers, spreading a delightful feeling wherever they passed.

    "Nghhh"

    Finally, a short and low volume moan involuntarily escaped her mouth as she gradually felt more and more sensitive to his electrifying touches.

    She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand as if unable to believe that such a lewd moan hade from her own mouth. But Zach had no intention of stopping anytime soon, especially after hearing that especially lewd moan.

    Massaging her neck and her shoulders, his rtively free hand inched closer to her chest where tworge mounds of milky softness waited to engulf his hands in their soft embrace.

    He made sure to leave a trail with his hand so she would know what he wanted to do next.

    As if in response to his actions, her breathing grew uneven, each breathing faster and shallower. The proximity of his body to hers and his enigmatic touch that left her shivering in pleasure, sent a flush of warmth surging through her, coloring her cheeks with a rosy hue.

    The connection between them felt electric, as if the air itself was charged with an uncontainable tension.

    Diana''s heart raced in her chest, a drumbeat of uncertainty and desire, echoing the uncharted territory of their rtionship.

    She closed her eyes, as if she did not want to see his eyes that were so intently looking at her. It made her feel embarrassed.

    Zach''s hand began to trail downward, its movements deliberate yet sensuous, like a sly predator closing in on its unsuspecting prey. It ventured lower, exploring the uncharted terrain with a hunger akin to a ravenous beast stalking a vulnerable rabbit, intent on capturing its prize.

    He caressed her thighs with his gentle yet electrifying touch, igniting a fiery anticipation that made her tremble with desire. Her legs, responding to his intimate advances, started to close in on his hands, their movements driven by instinct and the overwhelming passion that enveloped them.

    Zach paid no heed to the sultry symphony of sounds escaping her lips, instead, he skillfully explored her lower abdomen with the expertise of a man who knew how to tease and tantalize, deliberately prolonging their shared journey towards the zenith of their passionate encounter.

    The closer Diana drew to the precipice of her desires, the more vexing it became when Zach, with a teasing finesse, skillfully retreated just at the brink, denying her the culmination of her yearning.

    He paused momentarily, straightened up, and observed her as shey there, her chest rising and falling in a seductive rhythm. She convulsed slightly from time to time, lost in the waves of pleasure that still coursed through her.

    Her pupils dted with an intensity that matched the mes of their desires. It was as if a storm of passion had enveloped her, and her body was a canvas painted with the hues of longing and anticipation.

    Every curve and contour seemed to beckon, inviting Zach to explore the depths of her desire. There was a look of passion in her as if she was anticipating what came next.

    Her body heated up as an alluring look of excitement took its ce in her eyes.

    Zach, captivated by her yearning and the desire reflected in her eyes, gave in to the hunger that radiated from her like an irresistible force.

    Diana''s innermost longings began to unravel. Her hidden desires, often concealed behind a veneer ofposure, surged forth with an intensity she had never known.

    The touch of his hands, the ardor in his eyes, all stoked the mes of her passions, igniting a fire that burned brighter than ever before.

    It was as if a part of her that had long been dormant had been awakened, and she was immersed in the overwhelming whirlwind of her desires, yearning for more.

    As if telepathically understanding what she wanted the most, Zach put some pressure on her milky thighs and pulled her legs apart so he would have easy ess to the flower hidden within. At the same time his spear was ready to tear down all walls. It was pulsing with energy after a night of rest and was ready to draw blood at the slightest indication.

    Diana offered no resistance to Zach when he tried to get her ready for what was about toe even though she was feeling extremely ashamed on the inside for being in such a perverted position and how she came to be in such a situation.

    But she somehow managed to control herself and didn''t push Zach away. Instead, she did as she wanted and spread her legs apart for him, allowing him to witness the heavenly view in all its glory.

    He positioned his spear in front of her lower lips, touching her slit with his erect member, while spreading her legs with his hands a bit so he could aim his spear properly.

    She looked at his sword with some fear in her eyes as she knew that there would be pain, and it also looked too big to fit inside her, there was also expectation.

    He did not immediately enter her but spread her lips a bit with the help of his index and middle finger of his left hand and rubbed the tip of his erect member on the slit, up and down to cover it in her vaginal juices, savoring the light and sweet moans that came from her in the process.

    He slightly slid in the tip of his member causing her insides to burst with a pleasure that was previously unknown to her.

    As he looked up at her, she noticed his gaze, and after a moment, slightly nodded her head.

    He applied some pressure and started spreading her cave with the tip of his shaft as it barely slid inside of her again.

    "AH!"

    Zach hadn''t even entered her yet. So, she was either too sensitive or she was afraid that the act was going to hurt her. Obviously, she should have heard about it as well.

    His doubt turned to certainty when he saw her clutching the bed covers on both sides tightly and clenched her teeth as she tried to prepare herself for the pain like a seasoned soldier who was too ashamed to back down or to say that she was in pain.

    Zach waited for her to calm down as he gently stroked her cheek with his right hand as ifforting her and reassuring her.

    "Are you afraid that it will hurt? asked Zach with an amused look.

    Diana hurriedly shook her head to indicate that she wasn''t the least bit afraid of being hurt. She was a mighty general in his army, how could she be afraid of getting hurt?

    "Hmm...don''t be. I promise I will be gentle, okay?"

    Diana believed Zach and nodded to indicate that she was ready...ready to be pierced by his attentive spear...ready to graduate from a girl to a woman.

    Zach eased his cock into the gentle folds of her flower as he spread her lips apart using his fingers to help with the invasion.

    A loud moan escaped her lips and it felt like it was both filled with pain and pleasure. Or at least that was what it sounded like to Zach considering how sensual and arousing it was to him.

    Diana on the other hand had forcefully closed her eyes as if in anticipation of the pain as was evident from how much force she was putting into closing her eyes.

 Chapter 374 374 Void Body

    Chapter 374  374 Void Body

    Zach yed around on the periphery for a while to let her get used to the pain before prating her hymenpletely.

    Diana wanted Zach to take herpletely once and for all so the anticipation wouldn''t keep her on her toes but at the same time she didn''t want the pleasure that was tingling her very soul to end. She wanted him to caress every part of her body with his electrifying hands.

    She wanted him to stop teasing her.

    But Zach took his sweet time floundering around the periphery. He would invade her insides only to pull out a momentter.

    The sensation was enough to destroy any semnce of sanity left in her as she lost herself in the realm of pleasure and lust that was beginning to overshadow her rationality.

    Zach couldn''t hold himself back for long either. He knew that it was her first time, so he was trying to be gentle and amodating. He wanted to at least ease the pain by moisturizing her insides first.

    He started gently moving the tip inside her, a bit further in with every thrust and going back to almost exiting her cave again. He then started to move a little further inside with several thrusts apart, making her feel newer sensations.

    As she was adjusting, he went further and further, stretching out her cave walls and gradually making her ustomed to him. Her moans started to be louder and more passionate.

    She felt the heat of his rod exploring her cave, and he felt the heat of her tight cave with his member. All the while, they were looking into each other''s eyes and seeing the feelings in themid bare.

    Finally, he reached near the end of her cave and his member was almost fully inside her, making her scream louder and louder.

    While Zach was worried about hurting her, Diana was surprised by herself. Unlike what she had heard about the act, there was no pain at all. She couldn''t even feel a tinge of it despite how exaggeratedly other women had told her about their experience.

    All she was feeling with every thrust was excessive pleasure that swept her off her feet and almost pushed her into heaven. Her soul was about to ascend from the pleasure that was being thrust into her by the man she loved.

    Her passionate moans started to grow louder and louder, as she felt his rod touch several points that made her feel particrly good.

    While Diana was too busy enjoying herself, Zach was flustered. There was something wrong with the way Diana was acting. This wasn''t how a girl doing it for the first time was supposed to be acting. She was enjoying it a little too much.

    From what he knew, Diana was a virgin who had never been close to the word sex before, but he had faced no resistance at all when invading her cave which was a surprise for him. He wondered if she had lied to him but then pushed that thought out of his mind, thinking that she had no reason to lie to him.

    Unlike how she had been acting in anticipation of the pain that was about toe earlier, she was enjoying herself too much like an experienced woman who had never known the pain of first pration.

    Moreover, theck of resistance was an indication that her hymen was no longer intact. This rang rm bells in Zach''s mind. But he also knew from his previous world that idents could cause the hymen to rupture as well. There was no need for carnal activity to be the only reason behind it.

    He even sneakily took a few looks at the bed sheet in order to scour it for any kind of blood stains just to be sure that he wasn''t mistaken.

    As expected, there were only signs of carnal fluids but no red spots along the length of the bed sheets.

    Zach couldn''t understand why she didn''t feel anything at all despite knowing for sure that it was her first time. He wanted to ask her to be sure but knew that it wasn''t the right time because he risked upsetting her or destroying the mood.

    Just when he was starting to feel like he was about to lose his mind trying to uncover the truth, a system message notification sounded in his mind and grabbed his attentionpletely.

    Even the act itself couldn''t keep him from seeing the message. Unlike the previous times, he couldn''t just push the messages or the notifications to the back of his mind until the end of the act because he was already irritated enough.

    [Congrattions on finding one of the few hidden gems in the world. Compared to all the women in this world that you have met so far, she is far superior both in terms of the amount of energy that you can harvest and thetent potential she hides within her body.]

    Zach was dumbfounded. A woman like that had been by his side and it had taken him so long to get his hands on her despite her obvious interest in him. It was clearly a major failure on his part because if he had done this a little earlier, he might never have needed to move out of Elizabeth city due to his weakness.

    Just being with her would have given him the strength to stand up against that stupid prince who drove the entire Luther family to take shelter in Byzantium city. Even Luna would never have fallen to her current state had he been stronger at the time.

    s, there was no way to turn back time. He had already left Elizabeth city and Luna was already in aatose state. There was no going back now.

    Still, he couldn''t help but be curious as to why the system thought so highly of Diana. It had to be known that the system didn''t have suchments about Christina, who was a lot stronger than Diana in terms of magic. Diana was not only weaker in terms of magic capacity but was also much weaker when it came to physical capability.

    Compared to Christina, Diana could even be termed ordinary if her ability to learn everything perfectly wasn''t taken into ount. Therefore, Zach was curious as to what made her so special that even the system took the opportunity to tell him about how extraordinary she truly was.

    "What do you mean? What potential are you talking about? She can barely perform healing magic and is even a lot worse than Christina or Luna, but you still say that she is far better than them in terms of potential. Is there something about her that I haven''t yet figured out about?"

    [She is a void body.]

    "What is that supposed to mean? This isn''t some cultivation novel. And what the hell kind of physique is that? Something rted to space?"

    [Even better...born without a hymen...she is a pure girl who is born without any particr talent.]

    Zach wanted to roll his eyes at the response from the system, but he was too busy pounding Diana to do anything of the sort.

    Instead, he just thought of another question in his mind hoping that the system would find the sarcasm in his words without him having to do anything

    "And how is that any good? Being born talentless is supposed to be a good thing?"

    Thankfully, the girl he was doing couldn''t hear him or she would have been thoroughly offended at being called useless by the man who was pistoning her lower body, ramming his battering ram deep inside her like a relentless siege engine.

    [The potential she holds within her makes her particrly good at everything. She is like a nk canvas of the best quality with nothing painted on it. Whatever she wants to learn, she can excel in it beyond the realms of any normal human which means that she will be inhumanly talentedpared to any other human in all fields of life...whatever path she decides to take, she will eventually be the leading figure on that path.]

    Zach''s excitement grew with every word that the system ryed to him. He couldn''t help but imagine the kind of progress he would make after copting with her or the kind of strength she would have after reaching her full potential.

    His excitement transferred into her through the link created by their lower half. The strength in each thrust increased, the more excited Zach became and the louder her moans grew as a result.

    Diana''s hands clenched the bed covers again, as her back arched slightly pushing her chest up.

    Zach didn''t waste the opportunity either. He gently grasped her breasts and started kneading and massaging them, intensifying her pleasure and making her moan even more, and then approached them with his mouth again when she started to calm down a bit as he started sucking and kissing them.

    He then started to move again, as he pleasured her chest, and her moans filled the room.

    "Zach!"

    Just when her inner walls tightened and her back arched unnaturally, Zach pulled himself out and stopped ying with her chest, leaving her hanging just at the precipice of the promised climax. He didn''t want the pleasure to end just yet, especially when he found out that the result of this act was going to bring endless benefits to both him and Diana.

    Diana felt pure and unadulterated irritation. It was as if someone had taken her favorite thing from her and was unwilling to return it to her.

 Chapter 375 375 Dont Stop

    Chapter 375  375 Don''t Stop

    She wanted Zach to continue fondling her breasts and tease her nipples with his burning touch.

    She stared at Zach willfully as if coercing him to continue but her pitiful act didn''t do the job. Zach was unmoved.

    She wanted him to y her like a musical instrument, each touch sending jolts of electricity coursing down her body and forcing her to produce sounds that were either too sensual or outright lewd for any outside ears.

    Zach gazed at her shy but seductive expression. He didn''tply with the demands she was making through her watery eyes and instead, intently stared at her as if telling her to say it out loud.

    "Please...give it to me. Don''t stop. I can''t take it anymore."

    Diana pleaded with her head lowered as if shying away from his prating gaze that was fully focused on her.

    As if suddenly rejuvenated after seeing her pleading act, Zach lifted one of her legs onto his shoulder, grabbed onto her juicy and plump thighs and gave them a pull, essentially positioning her lower body closer to his member.

    His member was in a ready position at the entrance to her cave and Diana couldn''t think straight from the anticipation of the uing pration.

    He gave her some time to adjust and then started moving like that, first slowly but then gradually intensifying both the speed and magnitude of the swings. Her dripping wet cave gushed with lewd juices every time he drove his member deep inside her, making both of their crotches wet which made it even easier for him to touch the deepest spots inside her.

    She let out seductive moans every time Zach''s member hit a sensitive spot.

    Wet and loud pping sounds along with Diana''s blissful moans reverberated through the cave chamber like echoes of a distant past making their way into the present forcefully using their passion as the conduit to bypass space time continuum.

    *p!* "Nngh!" *p!* "Mmgh!"

    The hot and humid air inside the chamber overflowed with their scent and their carnal fluids.

    He gave her a deep passionate kiss as his tongue scoured her mouth and held her tongue captive, thering it in his saliva. As a result, the sounds of her lewd moans became slightly muffled, but then reverberated again as their lips parted once again, leaving a thin and shiny bridge of saliva connecting their obscene expressions.

    While he was ramming his member through the defenses of her pink folds, he used his left hand to hold on to her thigh tightly to keep her in position and used his right hand to grab her perky breast that seemed to be calling him.

    Spreading his fingers wide, digging it into the soft and stic flesh, he kneaded it slightly in unison with his hip movements, adding on to the carnal pleasure she was already feeling.

    His left hand kept her from moving around while his right hand massaged the base of the breast with experience, asionally rubbing the pink flower bud between his index finger and thumb sending jolts of pleasure coursing down her spine, leaving a burning sensation on her breasts.

    Diana felt his excitement but was too shy to respond to his suddenly hurried and strengthened movements. Despite how eager she was at the beginning; she couldn''t push back her shyness and the modicum of humility she still had inside her.

    Zach on the other hand didn''t need to concern himself with such things as he increased the magnitude of pration. With each thrust he was reaching a deeper part of her that he had previously left unexplored. Each thrust was a new expedition into the deeper folds of the cave in search of her sensitive spots.

    He eagerly explored every inch of her insides, molding her cave in the shape of his member.

    Diana''s shyness began to recede as well, the more pleasure she felt, the more her body began to burn, and the more her brain began to focus on the pleasure instead of the useless rationality and reason that kept her from acting on her desires.

    She needed to douse that fire burning deep inside her soul through any means possible before it consumed her from within.

    Slowly and gradually, she began to respond to his movements. She matched the movement of her hips with his producing a carnal hymn that awoke all her sexual instincts and multiplied them by many folds.

    It was an instinctive reaction of any female who found herself in Diana''s position, but she was discovering this instinct for the very first time. The shroud of decency and grace she had worn her entire life was ripped to pieces as soon as carnal lust took over her mind. She threw her decency out the window and engaged in the act that she had previously considered disgusting, only because this time she was doing it with the person she adored with all her being.

    Zach was aroused by her sudden cooperation and thrusted with added zeal which almost caused her eyes to pop out of their sockets as Zach was touching her most sensitive part with each thrust. He had already figured out her weak spot and was making full use of it.

    Tingling sensations were running through every corner of her body, making it sensitive to any stimtion.

    He did not stop his movements, driving her higher and higher to the peak, and even as she went down from it, he continuously drove her up again and again keeping it just short of climaxing.

    Her back began to arch unnaturally as a result. It was as if it would snap into two with the next thrust but somehow, she held on despite Zach''s relentless assault.

    Zach intensified his movements a bit more, and Diana started moaning louder and louder.

    Zach kissed her in order to muffle the lewd soundsing out of her mouth. Her body started to convulse as if she had been struck by an electric shock of a high enough magnitude thatpletely fried her nervous system and heightened all the sensations she felt in her body to the limit.

    Diana was experiencing the first orgasm of her life with the man she loved but she was too upied to notice what was happening.

    Her eyes had half rolled back into her eye sockets and she was barely hanging on to her consciousness so she could experience those beautiful moments with her beloved.

    Zach could feel her lewd juices spraying on to his member,pletely drenching itand lubricating it.

    Finally, he made a long and slightly slower withdrawing motion and then initiated a fast and deep thrust inside her, reaching the very end of her cave almost barging into her uterus, and released a massive load of semen to paint her insides in his color.

    As her sensitivity was already heightened due to her orgasm, she vividly felt a scorching hot and thick liquid gushing into her deepest part, causing her eyes topletely roll back.

    A wave of intense heat and pleasure spread through her, making her body that was clinging to him spasm over and over again. She was like a fish out of water, sshing around to return to the embrace of the sea.

    Zach did not release his kiss this time, so her moan that was growing louder and louder in intensity unconsciously was still being muffled by his tongue that had marked her mouth as its territory.

    She was twitching while they kissed in each other''s embrace and the sounds of her lewd juices gushing out of her cave spread. ckness spread all around her for a moment, but she returned to her senses as soon as the twitching stopped, and she gradually calmed down.

    Unwilling to release the kiss, she still entwined her tongue with his and enjoyed ying capture the hill with him in between deep and audible breaths.

    "Mmmmбнhaaaбнhaaaбнhaaa"

    As he ended the kiss, they gasped for air simultaneously.

    "HaaaбнHaaaбнHaaa"

    Zach straightened his torso upwards, and slowly tried to exit her cave, causing her to lightly moan and twist her lower half as if unwilling to let go of his spear.

    Just then a burning sensation from her uterus caused her to lose focus and she passed out with her eyes tightly shut and her body perfectly still like the dead.

    But that burning sensation was followed by a burst of energy that was unlike any that Zach had previously experienced. It was as if all the flood gates had been opened simultaneously and a flood of energy wasing his way destroying everything in its wake like a monstrous world ending tsunami.

    It erupted from Diana''s pussy and flowed into his body through the only connecting medium, his cock, that was still resting inside her after relentlessly ploughing the field for such a long time.

    Zach''s inner circuits overloaded from the enormous supply of energy. The harvest this time was obviously far greater than he had anticipated. Even though the system had warned him beforehand that Diana was a gem amongst the women of this world, he had failed to register the enormity of the situation.

    The magnitude of the energy was far above his maximum threshold. He was practically spilling it all over, unable to absorb itpletely. Despite having the experience from the previous two times, he still could not ovee the difference. As such, he too passed out while trying to fight the invasion of the enormous wave that had mmed into his body with the force of a tsunami.

    Putting all his trust in the system, Zach allowed himself to be engulfed by the ckness that was all around him.

 Chapter 376 376 Burst Of Energy

    Chapter 376  376 Burst Of Energy

    ?

    He believed that the system would be able to help him absorb the overflowing stream of energy as it had done so in the past.

    бн

    Zach stirred from a fitful sleep; his eyelids heavy as ifden with lead. Blinking repeatedly, he struggled against the morning haze that enveloped his vision. Fatigue lingered, a heavy weight upon his senses.

    Rubbing his eyes only offered a fleeting respite from the drowsiness, failing to dispel the grogginess that clung to him like a persistent mist.

    The remnants of sleep seemed determined to persist, refusing to yield to the rity he sought, leaving him in a state of bleary-eyed weariness.

    Zach was lying on his side and right in front of him, conjoined with his bodyy Diana who was still connected to him. His previous attempt to separate from her had been stopped by her which had resulted in their current condition.

    They were still in the same position they had been in before they both passed out. His dick was still lodged deep into her pussy and seemed to be stuck in there as if her cave was full of quicksand sucking his member inside continuously, as if intending to keep him there till the end of time.

    "System, what happened earlier? I remember that sudden burst of energy that assaulted me? Was it her?" Zach had felt the energy that had struck him all of a sudden and was of the opinion that the source of that energy had to be Diana because there was nothing else that could have affected him to such a degree. After all, it was not the first time that he had slept with a woman and was experienced enough to not be affected by post coitus fatigue. Therefore, he wanted to rify it with the system who must have noticed it all.

    In a rare turn of events, the system responded with an unexpected eagerness, almost as if it couldn''t wait to provide an answer to his inquiry. It felt like the system had been dormant for ages and was now eager to spring into action.

    [You are right. The energy truly came from the girl. Her potential was unlocked after copting with you. The leftover energy was passed to you in one go but it was so massive that you received a neural shock as soon as it entered your body causing you to pass out. I helped your body absorb most of the energy while you were asleep but the rest of it can be absorbed slowly from now on.]

    Zach finally remembered the events before his slumber. The residual energy as the system described it, had surged into him like an unstoppable tidal wave, a sudden deluge that inundated his entire being. It had crashed against the walls of his senses, overwhelming his system with its colossal force and sheer magnitude.

    The abrupt influx had hit him like a searing bolt of lightning, sparking a neural shockwave that reverberated through every nerve and fiber of his being. The impact had been akin to an electrical surge, a jolt that sent his mind and body reeling in an instant.

    Submerged in a sea of excessive energy and unable to withstand its power, Zach had felt himself being cut off from the stream of consciousness. The sheer force and unexpectedness of it all had caused his consciousness to falter, and he had been swiftly swept into the realm of unconsciousness.

    At the same time, several questions that he had in mind had been answered by the system''s response.

    For example, Zach finally understood why he was feeling so full after awakening from his slumber. Although his body felt overworked, he wasn''t exactly feeling the fatigue in his bones. The excessive energy in his body made sure of it.

    "Will my absorbing her energy affect her development in the future?" asked Zach visibly concerned about Diana''s wellbeing. He didn''t want to hinder her development in order to further his own. He wanted to be stronger but not at the cost of her future.

    [No, it won''t. If it had been any other woman, it might have been so. But she is an exception. She has the legendary void physique, and her talent is otherworldly. You still fail to acknowledge That little bit of energy that sent your system into shock was just the excess energy her body had gathered up to now and was expelled the moment you unlocked her potential. Worry about yourself instead of her.]

    "Why''s that?"

    [With her potential unlocked, she can easily learn anything that she wants to learn without any hurdle. It won''t be long before she will be able to outss anyone in any field she chooses. Even you might not be her match in whatever she chose to excel in.]

    Zach finally understood why she had seemed so talentless before even though she had such a special physique. It was because she had yet to unlock the true potential of her physique.

    He had to admit at least one thing about Diana that the system had revealed to him. The talent to grasp anything was definitely top notch even amongst the unique abilities that the mages in this world were sometimes born with.

    "Can she learn things that are not of this world as well?" asked Zach since he was curious and wanted to determine the limit of Diana''s abilities. Usually, the system would have shut him out by this point and would have refrained from exining any further, but he had been lucky so far, so Zach kept on pushing his luck.

    [Yes, as long as she has ess to the core concepts behind the ability, she can master it faster than anyone else in the world.]

    "Then she can even learn ''Force''?"

    [Of course. There is nothing she cannot learn even if it is beyond the limit of this realm.]

    A smile spread on his face as soon as he heard the answer because that would mean that Diana had the potential to surpass everyone else in this world despite getting ate start. She had the ability to bring everything to reality through her extraordinary potential, even the things that didn''t exist in reality in this new world.

    Her superior talent would make sure that she would not only be able to excel in magic, but she would also have the ability to learn all the abilities Zach could master thanks to the system he had managed to awaken.

    This would make her an advanced version of Zach, but without all the technology he had in his weapons'' arsenal.

    Zach marveled at the revtion and couldn''t help but envy the talent that Diana was born with even though he hade to this world with his system to guide him. It was a true case of ''his fields being more fertile than mine''.

    Zach shook his head to throw out such thoughts from his mind and pulled his entire focus towards his message log.

    Like all the times he engaged in sexual activities with his beloved women, Luna and Christina, there were several rewards for coption with Diana as well.

    While he consummated his love with Diana passionately, a flood of system messages had poured in incessantly due to the rewards that were constantly being unlocked in the process. Later on, it had be so overwhelming that Zach had decided to instruct the system to mute all kinds of notifications pertaining to the unlocking of various rewards.

    The influx of constant messages had inundated his interface, creating a chaotic cascade of pop-ups alerts. And in an attempt to quell this deluge, Zach had struggled to maintain focus on the task at hand, a task that he was fully enjoying.

    Therefore, he had no choice but to interact with the system settings to mute the unnecessary notifications if he wanted to pay full attention to pleasuring Diana to show her the heights of the heavenly ecstasy.

    His effort had been aimed at bringing a semnce of peace to the screen that had transformed into a mosaic of vibrant notifications, bombarding him incessantly, disrupting his focus. The swift action of muting the notifications was a much-needed respite, providing a momentary relief from the virtual onught that had momentarily overtaken his vision.

    Thankfully, the system, in all its efficiency, meticulously maintained aprehensive record of each and every message and notification that flooded Zach''s interface.

    This preserved log served as a repository of the myriad alerts and updates, ensuring that none of the information was lost amidst the ceaseless influx of system notifications or messages.

    Despite the overwhelming volume of iing messages, this methodical documentation by the system offered a meticulousption of all the rewards, achievements, and progress markers that Zach acquired.

    Without the system, Zach wouldn''t even have known the kind of treasures he was holding in his hands until the veryst moment or until after it was already toote.

    Going through the system log, Zach noted down anything worth paying attention to. Although there were myriads of weapons that had been unlocked, most of them were slightly more upgraded versions of the base weapons he already had or were not the things he needed currently.

    Out of all the unlocked rewards, two of them caught his eye like nothing else. He was wide eyed as he contemted all the possibilities, they would bring to hisbat style.

    The first of them was ''The Force Armor".

    [The Force Armor]

    [Description: The Force Armor, an extraordinary manifestation drawn from the energies within, is a shield of remarkable resilience and imprability...

 Chapter 377 377 New Abilities

    Chapter 377  377 New Abilities

    [Description: The Force Armor, an extraordinary manifestation drawn from the energies within, is a shield of remarkable resilience and imprability, rooted in the fundamental understanding and harnessing of an enigmatic force akin to that revered in many distant narratives. Crafted from the ethereal energy known as ''The Force'', its protective abilities are inexhaustible, forming an imprable barrier that halts any intrusion, be it physical or metaphysical. Like tales of old legends and the mystical sagas known to a select few, the Force Armor stands as a beacon of defensive prowess, essible only to those initiated in its unique concepts.]

    [Durability: Infinite (Barrier is imprable unless user''s spiritual energy is expended.)]

    [Conditions of Use: Wielding this armor is not a simple endeavor. Theprehension and utilization of this force are prerequisites. Only those who possess at least a foundational grasp or higher proficiency in this enigmatic energy canmand and utilize it.]

    [Effect: The manifested armor, a product of one''s adept control over ''The Force'', acts as an imprable barrier against a variety of attacks. It grants the user a shielded defense, capable of repelling blunt, shing, and lower-tier prating assaults. Such attacks, within or equivalent to the user''s strength level, are effortlessly nullified without any drain on the user''s spiritual energy.

    When faced with stronger assants, the armor mitigates the impact by partially deflecting the iing force, absorbing a significant portionбкup to 70%бкof the assault''s strength. However, against adversaries wielding strength significantly surpassing the user, there exists a chance that this resilient shield will yield. Only those wielding power two levels beyond the user''s capabilities might have a remote possibility of breaching the armor, but even then, sess is contingent upon the assant''s strength exceeding the user''s spiritual fortitude at that precise moment.

    This intricate bnce relies on the wielder''s skillful maniption of ''The Force'' and their capacity to manage the energy used in sustaining this protective shield. The armor serves as a testament to the user''s connection to ''The Force'' and their adeptness in utilizing it for defense.]

    Zach contemted the capabilities of ''The Force Armor,'' realizing its unparalleled quality in the realm of defensive armaments.

    It stood at the pinnacle of defensive fortitude, nearly imprable in its resilient design. When wielded by a skilled individual, this armor became an impable bastion, capable of effortlessly withstanding an array of attacks. Its robust nature provided an exceptional safeguard against diverse assailments, making it a coveted shield for those that were adept at its use.

    Yet, Zach harbored doubts about fully harnessing the armor''s capabilities owing to his limited spiritual capacity. Employing the armor exacted a substantial toll on his already modest spirit strength. This realization led him to believe that he could only sustain the armor for a minute, at best.

    The second thing that caught his eyes was ''Partial Mastery of Lightsaber'' which was another augmentation and application of ''The Force''. This overpowered skill involved thepression of ''The Force'', a weapon that materialized as a manifestation of one''s spirit energy.

    Mastery in wielding this lightsaber not only required adeptness with traditional swordsmanship but also a deep understanding and control of one''s inner force.

    Users capable of channeling their force could summon the de, that allowed them to cut through almost anything with ease.

    However, the level of mastery was crucial for this as well; beginners could only summon a faint, almost translucent de, while those with advanced expertise could materialize a solid and powerful incandescent de capable of cutting through formidable defenses like a hot knife through butter. The range that the de could reach, and the pration power, both depended on theprehension level of the wielder.

    Zach immediately summoned his lightsaber and tried to wield it using the enhanced mastery that he had unlocked. Although the difference was obvious and he could easily defeat any enemy within the radius of thirteen feet thanks to the increased reach of the lightsaber, Zach knew that the increased range wasn''t without its side effects.

    As a penalty for the increased range, the consumption of spiritual energy for Zach had increased many times. Through experimentation, Zach was able to determine that the maximum limit that he could maintain this advanced lightsaber was limited to ten minutes. Any more than that would be extremely taxing on his mental strength, and he would be unable to maintain it longer than that.

    In the hushed expanse of the room, an inexplicable enthusiasm gleamed in Zach''s eyes, casting a gleeful luminescence across his face. This wasn''t a mere smile; it was an eerie curve that stretched from one ear to the other, a smirk that held a twinge of obsession. It revealed not just joy but a fervent obsession to delve into the realms of his newfound abilities.

    Zach''s excitement was palpable, crackling in the charged air, as if he was on the verge of unlocking a treasure trove of mysteries hidden within these novel skills. The limitations that might have dampened the spirits of another only seemed to fuel his curiosity, igniting a relentless zeal to understand and master these extraordinary talents.

    He had long since been dissatisfied with his personalbat evaluation as it was subparpared to his wives. He had to rely on the strength of his wives to survive when the ruthless Prince Kolt had ousted them from their homes and even then, Luna had fallenatose unable to wake up again because she had burned her potential in order to fight off the ck panther back then.

    Even when facing off against Jack, Zach had never dared to confront him alone and had brought Christina along for added security on all asions. It had to be known that Jack was only an upper A rank mage. He had not even reached S rank.

    Even now, he wasn''t exactly confident of facing stronger opponents with just his lightsaber to back him up.

    Therefore, the sudden increase in strength was a wee opportunity to increase his confidence in his own strength.

    With these additions to his arsenal, he recognized the potential to engage adversaries of SS-ranked mastery, an exhrating notion that electrified his being. The sheer essibility to techniques capable of challenging such high-caliber opponents infused him with a fervent enthusiasm for the confrontations thaty ahead.

    Although the window of time in which he could engage SS rank opponents was quite short, Zach believed that it was enough for him to figure out a path to survival in that time even if he was incapable of defeating the opponent within the time limit during which he was able to sustain his new abilities.

    Diana''s awakening was a gradual process, marked by a leisurely pace that contrasted with Zach''s swift examination of the numerous rewards he had just received.

    After a long time, her eyelids disyed the slightest hint of movement as they fluttered unconsciously. It was evident that she had concluded her restful slumber and was almost on the verge of opening her eyes.

    By the time she forcefully roused herself, Zach had alreadypleted his survey of the array of new rewards and their possible implications on the increase of his personalbat strength and that of Smith family members in training.

    Upon awakening, she nced about with an air of bewilderment, akin to finding herself in an entirely unfamiliarndscape that seemed rife with potential danger. Her demeanor mirrored that of a cautious feline, its fur bristling, as if attempting to contort into a hunched posture, all senses heightened, resembling a cat tentatively standing on its toes, ready to pounce at the first sign of trouble.

    Since her back was towards Zach, she had yet to spot him.

    But as soon as she remembered the events of the night, her face reddened, and she tried to turn around to take a look at whether Zach was still around or not. The moment she did, a painful groan sounded from behind her, and she felt something twitch inside her flower cave.

    It was apparent that the guest fromst night had yet to depart her flower cave and was probably still resting inside her.

    Just the thought of it caused her to blush profusely as she tried to push that thought out of her mind. Her body had begun to heat up just thinking about it and she was too tired to deal with it at the moment.

    As such, there weren''t many options avable to her in such a situation.

    Obviously, the resident of her flower cave belonged to Zach who was probably right behind her. She could touch him if only she tried to move her butt a few inches back.

    "Stay still, will you? You just woke up. No need to move around so much." advised Zach thinking of his poor member that had been a few milliseconds away from snapping in half and assuming a right angr shape instead of the straight spear it was.

    Diana, who had been a virgin till the previous night, could not take such naked words to her face and immediately hid herself under covers like a traditionally shy bride who could not get used to the stranger next to her after her wedding night.

    Zach obviously was a witness to her every action. He observed her every movement keenly, anticipating her demeanor and the subtle disy of reticence. He was prepared to intercept her hesitation before it could evolve further into shyness.

    As for how he was going to do that; he already had a n in mind to restrict her shy demeanor.

    He wanted her to be her true self with him, especially when they were trying to expand the whole family.

 Chapter 378 378 More Loving...

    Chapter 378  378 More Loving...

    And for that, he needed Diana to befortable around him to do that.

    Although her shy act was extremely adorable, it was neither his personal preference nor the requirement of the Smith family at the time.

    Given the current scenario, he needed his general Diana, and not his wife who might have to muffle her steps around him in order to avoid earning his ire.

    Instead of a coy wife, he needed someone to take charge of the situation and for that he needed to get that shyness out of her.

    Zach tried to lift the cover from over her head, but Diana had already anticipated his actions and was gripping the sheet cover tightly in her hands and underneath her head.

    Zach didn''t force it when Diana wasn''t willing to relent. Instead, he put the course of action in his mind to execution.

    "Well, since you don''t want to talk, I can only assume that you don''t want to let go of me. Pitiful me can only go for a round two then."

    Zach sounded extremely yful as he jerked his hips underneath the sheets which jolted Diana like she had received a shock worth a million volts. She sprang to action and whelped loudly in surprise.

    Diana could feel Zach''s pulsing member that was still inside of her and could almost imagine it standing at attention, full of energy and ready to plough her field all over again.

    She couldn''t take it anymore after all the pistoning she had received the previous night. She was absolutely unwilling to go for a second round.

    The thought pushed out all the shyness from her stubborn personality and she immediately pulled the cover down and snuck her head out before moving her hand towards her lower body to pull out the snake piercing her lower body.

    "NO... I can-can''t go on anymore. I''m too tired. My back is hurting and even my...that...that part is in pain too."

    Zach didn''t stop her actions and enjoyed her spooked reaction as she warily pulled out his member and turned to look at him in an extremely cute manner like a bunny that was trying to look pitiful so that the hunter would spare its life.

    "I feel so sad that you would say that. I was REALLY looking forward to the second round too."

    Diana felt worried after listening to his words and couldn''t dare to look him in the eyes for a while but then she felt that something was wrong. Zach wasn''t someone who would impose his will on anyone, let alone her.

    She immediately raised her lowered head and red straight at him.

    It was then that she found him snickering smugly after teasing her.

    "You...y-you..." Diana was unable to find the words to express the feelings she had at that moment. While she was worried about disappointing Zach, thetter was enjoying himself watching her fumbling around in worry.

    She really wanted to punch him in the gut to wipe that smirk off his face, but she couldn''t bring herself to execute that move despite the itch she was feeling in her hands.

    "But seriously...you really don''t want to do it?" asked Zach in all seriousness as he hid his foolish grin after seeing Diana act in such a manner.

    Diana couldn''t decipher what Zach truly wanted. Was he really disappointed or was he just acting to make fun of her? She wanted to say no right away but there was no way she could handle his disappointment after earning his affection after so long. She just wanted to make sure that her rtionship with him wouldst for a long time.

    "I...I...really want to do it but I am sore all over. I am tired and my body...it has no strength at all. I can barely move."

    Diana uttered the truth in the desperate hope that Zach would be understanding of her limitations.

    Unlike his other women, her physical capability was toocking. She couldn''t put up with simr strain as them as they had heightened physiques already; Luna because she was a subus and could increase her strength through such activities and Christina because the mana in her body had naturally strengthened her from the inside out, at leastpared to a weak mage like her.

    Zach could tell that Diana was getting increasingly nervous. Obviously, he knew what a girl''s first time was like and he wouldn''t want to cause her any kind of harm knowing the condition she was in. He was just ying around with her and didn''t actually want to engage in such an act right after her first time.

    She needed to rest properly in order to recover first.

    Just as Diana was about to agree to a second round despite how tired she was, Zach burst into a boisterousugh. Even his eyes were smiling as he lovingly stared at Diana for being the cute woman that she was.

    Diana felt like a fool for falling into his trap all over again and red at Zach murderously. She really felt like strangling him before storming out of the room. Unfortunately, her legs were like jelly at the moment, and she was worried that she wouldn''t even be able to walk on her own for a while.

    "You are too sweet." whispered Zach in a honeyed tone as he brought his mouth infinitely closer to her ear. His whispers blew air in her ear, heating up her body like a furnace.

    Even though Zach meant to tease her for being gullible, Diana felt like he was flirting with her, and her body temperature began to rise.

    "Humph~"

    Diana snorted and turned her head away from Zach in order to calm down her racing heart from running about like a wild horse inside her chest.

    "Knowing that it was my first time, how could you be so insensitive? Can''t you be more...more..." Diana felt exasperated and couldn''t figure out what she wanted to say to him.

    She didn''t know previously that Zach could be so childish. She had never seen him act that way before. He was either too aloof or too mature for her but now she was seeing him in a different light.

    She wondered if this was the true him or if there was even more that she had yet to explore about his personality and habits. She wanted the mystery to never end as she slowly figured out every bit about him.

    "More...what?" asked Zach yfully as he grabbed her chin between his index finger and thumb and slowly tilted her head towards himself.

    "More loving..." her voice came out as low as that of a mosquitopared to what she had imagined it would sound like. Zach''s actions had flustered herpletely.

    Zach had trouble trying to understand what she was saying as she was barely audible to him. But he still tried his best and managed to catch the words that escaped her mouth and acted as if he hadn''t heard her at all.

    "More WHAT? I couldn''t hear you clearly. A bit louder this time." Zach asked once again to goad her into saying it again.

    "I said, ''More understanding''." answered Diana loudly this time, after gathering a bit of her lost courage.

    "I don''t think that''s what you said earlier."

    His words acted as a catalyst, instantly igniting the simmering fury within her, much like pouring gasoline onto a raging fire. In an instant, the ze of her anger erupted, as if threatening to devour everything in its path.

    Her eyes red at him with an intensity that suggested not just anger but an almost palpable intent for retribution.

    "B*stard, you heard everything clearly, didn''t you?" Diana roared as sheunched herself into his chest like an unhinged rocket and almost smashed his fragile ribs into a million fragments.

    Although she only intended to hide her face from him in embarrassment, he got scared for his life for a moment.

    Zach hugged her tightly as if he wanted to absorb herpletely in his body whileughing all along.

    When she was done enjoying his embrace, she finally pulled herself free from his body and bent her neck back to stare at his face with a somber expression.

    She was wondering what he might be thinking about her.

    Did he think that she was too emotional or was heparing her to his other women?

    There were a thousand thoughts circling in her head, but she couldn''t bring herself to ask him those questions fearing the answers she might receive in return. Silence was the best policy, but it was proving to be an equally arduous task.

    The silence in the room was broken by Zach this time. But his tone was no longer yful or mysterious like before. Instead, it was clear and straightforward, without any facy.

    "Diana"

    "Hmm~"

    "Jokes aside, I want to discuss something with you."

    "Mmm~"

    "Does your body feel any different from before?" Zach sounded like an experienced interviewer instead of her lover and Diana inferred that Zach wasn''t pulling any prank on her this time. He seriously wanted to discuss something with her.

    "I don''t know. I feel sore, everywhere hurts. My legs are worse than jelly especially. Is that what you want to ask?" Diana thought that Zach was concerned about her bodily condition and wanted to confirm her physical health.

    "No, that''s not what I meant." Zach shook his head vigorously in response.

    "Then what?" Diana felt curious as to why Zach was probing so much.

    "Have you sensed any alterations in your body?"

 Chapter 379 379 I am not joking

    Chapter 379  379 I am not joking

    "Have you sensed any alterations in your body? Maybe a different energy or a shift in your strength?"

    Zach attempted to convey his thoughts, searching for words to express a particr concept to Diana. He was eager to find the answers, but his efforts to articte the questions seemed to falter just short of making sense.

    His frustration grew further as he tried to restrict the information he was sharing, leading to a sense of inadequacy in getting his point across.

    On the other hand, Diana felt increasingly confused, unable to fullyprehend the specifics of Zach''s inquiries. Theck of rity left her feeling puzzled and disconnected from whatever it was that Zach was trying to do.

    "I don''t think I feel any different from what I usually feel. There are no changes at all and the amount of mana in my body doesn''t seem to have changed either."

    Diana truly felt nothing different fromst night. Other than her sore body, there was nothing that she could tell him. Still, it made her feel curious as to why Zach was so interested in her body all of a sudden.

    "Why do you want to know such things?"

    "Darling, you have so much unused potential that I can''t help but envy you." Zach sighed as he answered her question. He truly sounded envious of her, but Diana couldn''t understand why a strong man like him would want what she had. As far as she knew, there was nothing special about her.

    "Don''t exaggerate."

    "I am serious. There is nothing you cannot learn if you put your mind to it. I believe that you can be stronger than all the people I know Ibined."

    Diana burst intoughter thinking that Zach was pulling a prank on her this time, but Zach''s expression only grew more somber.

    "I am not joking."

    Diana couldn''t bring herself to say anything after his deration. It was as if her clever retorts got stuck in her mouth and were unable to find their way out.

    "I want to teach you something that will help you increase yourbat power instantly. I am pretty sure that other than you, no one else in this world will be able to learn it let alone mastering it and drawing out its true potential."

    Diana was stupefied. Zach was suddenly praising her even though she had done nothing.

    She was wondering if Zach had some kind of misunderstanding regarding her but refrained from saying anything until they found out for themselves if Zach''s words were justified or not.

    "What is it that you want me to learn? If it is rted to magic, then I don''t think I will be able to do it. I am really unable to learn any kind of offensive magic." Diana ryed her concerns beforehand so as to not disappoint Zach, but she didn''t know that Zach already knew everything about her.

    "Don''t worry, I am not teaching you any magic spell. It''s a totally different thing. You might even have seen me use it before in battles. It''s called ''The Force''."

    бн

    ra, although associated with the Windsor family by name, hadtely exhibited inclinations and behaviors more akin to those typically associated with the Smith family. Instead of maintaining a guarded distance from Zach after their engagement was abruptly annulled by the royal family, she gravitated towards him like apass needle finding true north.

    It was as if she were drawn to him maically, akin to how the moon orbits the earth, regardless of the space the royal decree had intended. Her presence around Zach was akin to a persistent melody, lingering in the air like an unshakeable earworm.

    Despite the annulment severing the official ties of their engagement, it was as if her heart refused to acknowledge this newfound separation.

    She clung to the idea of being a part of the Smith family with a fervor that resembled a sailor clutching desperately to a lifeboat amidst a tempestuous sea.

    Her connection with Zach persisted as if it were an unbreakable thread woven into the very fabric of her existence, refusing to fray or unravel.

    In her mind, she saw herself as an inseparable piece of the Smith family puzzle, adamant in her desire to continue writing her narrative alongside Zach, like an author penning an unwavering plotline in a beloved novel.

    The thought of relinquishing him felt as though she were being asked to surrender a part of her own identity. She held onto him as if he were thest surviving ember in a fading fire, unwilling to let it extinguish.

    Her determination to keep their bond alive echoed like a heartrending melody, refusing to fade into the silence of a forgotten verse. She wasn''t willing to let go of him so easily.

    Her fervent efforts to hold onto what she considered an integral part of her life wereid bare for all to witness, akin to a spectacle staged in an open theater, drawing the attention of bystanders, regardless of their affiliation with the Smith family.

    It was as though she carried her emotions on her sleeve, wearing her unyielding determination like a vibrant, yet slightly frayed, badge of honor.

    Her struggle to retain a connection with Zach was as apparent as footprints in fresh snow, leaving an indelible mark for all to see, regardless of their involvement in the intricate affairs of the Smith family.

    ra''s frequent presence at the Smith family''s residence was as conspicuous as a bright beacon in the night sky, drawing curious gazes and prompting whispered spection.

    Her frequent visits surpassed the asional and approached a sense of permanence, resembling an uninvited guest who had made themselves quite at home without heeding customary boundaries.

    It was as if she had transnted herself into their abode, seamlessly integrating her existence as though she had bypassed the formalities of marriage and directly assimted herself into the Smith household.

    The Smith family''s dwelling became more than just a setting for brief encounters she had with Zach; it transformed into ra''s chosen sanctuary, a refuge where she sought sce and familiarity amidst the turbulence of changing circumstances. The annulment of her engagement had taken her by surprise.

    Following Christina''s departure, the four of them, namely Bruce, Zach, Diana and ra often had their dinner together. It was an unspoken rule amongst them and not a single one of them missed the appointment for any reason if they could help it.

    Not caring about what the outsiders were saying about her, ra never missed a single dinner at the Smith family. She had grown especially conscious after the dynamics of her rtionship with Zach changed due to the royal interference. She made sure to never miss that appointment even though she had to share Zach with his other women.

    Currently, there was only Diana who would join them at the dinner table, as Christina had been taken to the royal capital while Luna had yet to wake up from heratose state, but no one could guess exactly when it would happen, not even Zach.

    The uncertainty of Luna''s awakening was an unsolvable riddle that perplexed everyone, including Zach, who harbored a silent hope tinged with constant anxiety. But it was as though time itself had paused in apprehension, unwilling to reveal its secrets, leaving the fate of Luna''s return veiled in a shroud of uncertainty.

    So, she wasn''t a threat to ra either, at least for the time being.

    ...

    As the night unfolded, following the vibrant and unforgettable night Diana had shared with Zach, the dining table saw a gathering with one notable absence. Bruce, an influential figure responsible for the intricate web of political affairs and the custodian of the Smith family business, was notably absent for official reasons.

    His presence, or ratherck thereof, was almost anticipated as he juggled responsibilities that seemed to consume his every waking hour and Zach had no choice but to appreciate his efforts considering the fact that the duties that Bruce carried out routinely had actually been his responsibility.

    Bruce was only sharing his burden so he would have an easy time figuring out a method to develop the family and to bring back Christina from the royal capital.

    Not even Zach questioned his absence as he was already aware of the mountain of responsibilities he had diverted towards Bruce.

    Despite the seemingly tranquil ambiance at the dinner table, an underlying tension simmered beneath the surface, brewing a concoction of unspoken animosity and concealed emotions.

    The air, while outwardly calm, carried an almost imperceptible weight, hinting at unexpressed grievances and simmering conflicts that threatened to rupture the peaceful facade.

    Unbeknownst to Zach, a storm was silently brewing in the midst of what appeared to be a serene evening. The atmosphere crackled with unspoken sentiments, like a hidden wildfire steadily gaining strength in the heart of a dense forest.

    While Zach remained oblivious to the mounting undercurrents, the discordant notes of unspoken tension reverberated quietly, shaping the unspoken narrative that threatened to rupture the calm facade of their shared meal.

    His appetite seemed insatiable, eagerly consuming every dish Diana ced upon his te. It was as if he were not just feeding a physical hunger, but voraciously seeking something more profound within each morsel. The way he indulged in the food mirrored a deeper hunger, an unspoken craving for a sense of fulfillment that transcended mere sustenance.

    Each bite he took seemed infused with a deeper significance, as if he sought sce and satisfaction in the vors, relishing not just the taste but the emotional sustenance that came with each mouthful.

 Chapter 380 380 In Claras Vision

    Chapter 380  380 In ra''s Vision

    Exhaustion weighed heavily upon him, a tangible burden after a relentless day of ceaselessbor. He teetered on the brink of physical copse due to an acuteck of sustenance.

    The effort put into his work had drained him to the point where even the basic act of nourishing himself became a crucial need for recovery rather than mere indulgence.

    His hearty eating was not just a gesture of pleasure, but a desperate attempt to replenish his depleted energy reserves. Each bite served as a restorative remedy, not just to satiate hunger, but to revitalize his fatigued body and spirit.

    It was as if every morsel held the promise of renewed strength, a means to refuel his body for a little longer, allowing him to press on with his duties, even if only for a brief extension of time.

    As ra observed the scene unfolding before her, an enigmatic expression graced her countenance. Her eyes, usually calm pools of reflection, now held an unsettling intensity. Within them, a menacing flicker danced, a spark of fire that burned with a disconcerting ferocity.

    The intensity in her gaze was unsettling, akin to a tempest brewing beneath a deceptively calm surface.

    The glint in her eyes held a certain ominous quality, hinting at a tempestuous storm gathering within her.

    It was a silent warning, a portent of inner turmoil that seemed ready to erupt, like a dormant volcano on the verge of awakening. It was a glimpse into a realm of emotions best left undisturbed, a foreboding signal of an impending emotional eruption that could prove both rming and deeply disconcerting.

    Given ra''s typical temperament, all the signs pointed to an imminent eruption of emotions in the most violent manner possible. Her current state was reminiscent of a pressure cooker about to release its built-up steam in an all-epassing explosion.

    However, Diana seemed unfazed by the impending storm brewing within ra. She was even going out of her way to provoke her further by acting all lovey dovey with Zach.

    In the face of the menacing res directed her way, Diana remained resolute in her mission to cater to Zach''s needs.

    She defiantly disregarded the threatening gazes, focusing solely on her goal: ensuring Zach''s nourishment andfort all the while revealing subtle hints about the depth of her new connection with Zach so as to keep other bimbos like ra from congregating around him.

    With deliberate intention, Diana took it upon herself to curate Zach''s meal. Not only did she meticulously assemble his te with all his favored dishes, but she went a step further.

    In a captivating and alluring manner, she took it upon herself to personally feed him, a gesture that transcended mere care and veered into a realm of naked provocation in the world of women.

    As she blew gently on the food to cool it down, ra felt as if molten lead was being poured into her eyeballs forcefully. She couldn''t just stand by and watch while Diana kept on provoking the violence, she had been rearing behind her stiff butposed expression.

    Meanwhile, Diana acted as if she hadn''t even noticed that ra was sitting there. It was as though her actions carried an enchanting grace, drawing attention not just to the act of feeding but also to the affection and tenderness in her gestures.

    Her alluring manner of feeding Zach wasden with a mesmerizing charm that was like the work of the devil in ra''s vision.

    She wanted nothing more than to strike that obvious smirk off Diana''s face but doing so would undoubtedly attract Zach''s attention and put her in a negative light in his eyes.

    Therefore, she clenched her fists and gritted her teeth but kept herself in check. But how could Diana let her be so easily?

    ra finally lost control when Diana crossed all limits and smirked provocatively before taking a napkin in her hand to wipe off a smidge at the edge of Zach''s lips softly.

    She dabbed it a few times around his lips, but each dab felt like a stab in ra''s feeble heart, wounding her feelings andcerating her insides with jealousy.

    The otherwise nurturing gestures from Diana seemed to be loaded with an unspoken message at that moment, one that ra perceived as a subtle assertion of dominance in the unspoken rivalry among all the women vying for Zach''s affection.

    The tenderness in Diana''s actions felt like a deliberate highlight to her, a way of drawing attention to the closeness she now shared with Zach.

    It was also a cruel reminder to ra about the still ambiguous rtionship she shared with Zach, which was the greatest regret in ra''s heart.

    Diana didn''t even bother to pull her punches even though she was already ahead in the race. Instead, she was sprinkling salt on ra''s wounds every chance she got.

    ra felt a surge of violence bubbling inside her due to what she took to be a calcted move by Diana, aimed at asserting her superior position in Zach''s life.

    Her impulsive tendencies were already widely recognized and notorious throughout the city, a reputation that preceded her wherever she went.

    The idea of her, known for abrupt actions driven by unrestrained impulses, attempting to subdue these violent inclinations was imusible.

    Unable to contain her mounting agitation, ra resorted to a covert act of aggression, swiftly aiming a sharp kick at Diana''s shin beneath the table, a move strategically concealed from Zach''s view.

    Despite her desire to keep her sentiments veiled from Zach''s awareness, the forceful kick represented a sudden eruption, a physical manifestation of her inner turmoil.

    It revealed the depth of her emotions, overshadowing her attempts atposure and highlighting the power of her uncontrolled impulses in a moment of distress.

    Despite ra''s physical limitations, her shorter stature made the act of reaching Diana, seated on the other side of the table, a considerable challenge.

    Her legs, which offered limited reach, posed a hindrance in executing the impulsive action she had resorted to.

    However, the magnitude of her strength, although dwarfed by her diminutive form, was not to be underestimated, even if it seemed a fraction of its potential. Her herculean strength due to the strength augmentation magic that she was proficient in was far beyond the realm of normalcy.

    The force she exerted, though visibly restrained, carried a power that defied the constraints of physicalws and was just short of keeping Diana''s bones from getting fractured. She had significantly restrained herself because she knew that Zach would never condone such an act and might even stop seeing her altogether.

    Diana expected such an outburst from ra from the moment she decided to assert her dominance over her. Considering the amount of time that they had spent in each other''spany, ra''s impulsive nature was not unknown to her.

    Diana had been caught off guard by ra''spleteck of restraint. The sudden and painful kick, delivered with unbridled force, took her by surprise, leaving her in searing agony.

    The pain coursing through her was so intense that it threatened to wrench a scream from her throat, like a banshee''s eerie wail breaking the silence of a tranquil night.

    But Diana, resilient and determined, refused to grant ra the satisfaction of witnessing her pain.

    Despite the excruciating agony coursing through her, she held herposure, determined to maintain a facade of stoicism.

    Her decision to bear the pain in silence, to not let ra witness the distress she had caused, spoke of her inner strength and resolve, as she endured the torment with unwavering determination.

    Suppressing the sharp, searing pain, Diana fought back the instinct to cry out, instead clenching her teeth tightly to stifle any potential sound. Her response to the intense difort manifested in a physical struggle, her head swaying from side to side, a silent attempt to distract herself from the excruciating sensation.

    As she gritted her teeth, her muttered words under her breath carried a mixture of pain, frustration, and perhaps a hint of suppressed anger.

    The utterances served as a release, an attempt to channel the pain, a privatemunion with her inner resilience, a silent prayer for fortitude, a whispered plea for the pain to subside and herposure to prevail in the face of the distressing physical sensation.

    Diana thought that she had held in the pain sessfully but unknown to both her and ra, Zach was able to hear her gurgling words albeit not clearly.

    "What? Did you say something to me?" Zach''s query pierced the air, his attention diverted from his contemtions by Diana''s whispered mutterings.

    The inquisitive tone in his voice held a hint of confusion, as he pondered whether her words were directed at him.

    Zach''s inquiry prompted an unexpected, startled "eeek" to escape from Diana, her reaction a mix of surprise and the realization that her mutterings had inadvertently drawn attention.

    In response to Diana''s startled exmation, Zach raised an eyebrow in a subtle gesture, his expression a silent question, as if inquiring, "What was that?".

    His raised eyebrow and quizzical look conveyed a mix of surprise and a genuine interest in understanding the reason behind Diana''s sudden reaction.

    Diana on the other hand couldn''t exactly tell him what had transpired earlier. It would be akin to a hen sauntering off to the butcher and pleading to be ughtered.

    "I-I... I d-didn''t say anything. Did you?" Diana immediately threw the ticking time bomb towards ra in order to divert Zach''s attention away from her.

    Zach immediately looked towards ra in an inquiring manner as if asking the same question from her.

 Chapter 381 381 The War Under The Table

    Chapter 381  381 The War Under The Table

    ra, who had been enjoying Diana''s flustered expression, was immediately caught off guard as well and shook her head in a simr manner to Diana''s stutters.

    Zach shook his head slightly thinking that he couldn''t understand women even after he had already been with three of them. Their thoughts were still too far away from him.

    As such, he turned all his attention towards his te that was still brimming with food, thanks to the caring consideration of Diana who was more focused on him than her own te.

    Even though Diana had somehow managed to steer Zach''s attention away from her, she was far from done with ra who had chosen to use violence first.

    In retaliation for ra''s kick that left her leg in stinging pain, she decided to return one with all the strength in her body.

    Unlike ra, whose physical reach was constrained by her limited stature, Diana had the advantage of wielding her body''s full strength without such limitations.

    In the moment of retaliation, she harnessed the entirety of her physical power, utilizing herplete range and might to deliver a forceful response.

    Determination and a surge of intense emotions fueled her action as she reciprocated with a swift and powerful kick, propelled by the strength born from a mix of pain and resolve.

    Even as Diana threw her entire force behind the retaliation, she harbored the realization that her strength might not be adequate to make ra flinch given her inhuman physical body. She clearly understood the stark contrast between their physical strengths; after all, she had seen ra punch a hole in the ground with a single punch before.

    But she also knew that her kick, though possibly insufficient to physically affect ra, carried a very different weight in ra''s eyes. She was acutely aware that it possessed the potential to stir up ra''s emotions and aggravate her in a significant way; and that it was more than enough to royally piss ra off.

    And Diana was betting on a violent outburst from an impulsive woman like her.

    ra was physically strong but that didn''t mean she didn''t feel any pain at all from the kick. Still pain was just an excuse to cover up the frustration welling up inside her.

    She couldn''t bring herself to ept the fact that Diana had gotten ahead of her as well even though just a few days ago, she had given Diana an earful about it and had dissed her for not being able to gather up courage to confess her love for Zach.

    Diana''s retaliation hade too early and had hit her hard. She couldn''t take it sitting back as Diana rubbed her victory in her face. She needed to fight back somehow but the only way she knew was a violent one. She couldn''t be further from the dirty politics, or the mind games other women excelled in. She was the type to disy her feelings on her face after all.

    As such, she reached under the table with her leg and struck Diana''s calf once again with the bottom of her heel, sending a bout of agonizing pain coursing through thetter''s nerves.

    Diana whelped in pain. The pain was so agonizing that she even forgot that she was sitting beside Zach and screamed unconsciously as she rubbed the portion of her leg that was struck in an extremely udylike manner.

    Zach was startled to hear her scream and hurriedly held her hand and inquired, "What happened?"

    Diana gripped his hand hard to stifle the pain in her leg before returning the favor to ra in an even more exaggerated manner.

    Diana directed her heel to stomp on ra''s right foot with intense force, a calcted action aimed at causing considerable pain. The impact was so forceful that it felt like her heel was drilling into ra''s foot, inflicting an excruciating sensation that elicited a sharp, piercing wail of pain from ra.

    Confused and bewildered, Zach found himself at a loss, unable toprehend the sudden turn of events. The cacophony of screams from both girls beside him left him utterly perplexed, his mind reeling in an attempt to grasp the abrupt chaos that unfolded before him.

    His bewildered thoughts grappled to find a usible exnation; the only scenario he could fathom where two women would scream simultaneously was if they hade across some kind of insect.

    No sooner had the thoughte to his mind before he pushed that thought out of his head as ra wasn''t the kind of woman who would scream at the sight of some bug, no matter how nasty. The mental image of ra swiftly crushing the insect under her foot using her inhuman strength further bolstered his reasoning.

    "What happened? Why are you both screaming?" Zach''s concern was palpable, etched on his face in evident worry. His genuine worry mirrored in his expression, a reflection of his unease at witnessing the distress of the two women. He found it difficult to meet their pained expressions, the distress evident in their faces, as it added to his own growing anxiety.

    "I-I''m sorry, Zach. It''s just... a sudden pain. Caught me off guard. I''m alright, really." Diana gritted her teeth and replied, her expression a blend of difort and pain, in an effort to y down the situation in front of Zach.

    Zach''s bewilderment grew as Diana''s exnation didn''t align with ra''s simultaneous screams.

    Thoughts raced through his mind, pondering if there was something wrong with the food or if they had caught a simr disease at the same time that was causing them pain.

    However, his doubts cleared once he saw the clear animosity that shone in the eyes of the two girls. Despite Zach watching, they were unwilling to stop trying to kick each other.

    The esction of their conflict continued to intensify, and its impact grew palpable, even to Zach. The table trembled and shifted visibly, a physical manifestation of the growing intensity of their dispute.

    In the midst of Zach''s attempts to intervene, the mounting tension between the two women reached a breaking point. ra, overwhelmed by the intensity of the situation, reached a tipping point. With a sudden, unrestrained action, she raised her leg high, disrupting the stability of the table beyond its limit. The resulting imbnce led to a chaotic overturning, sending silverware and food cascading from the tabletop to the floor in a disordered flurry.

    Even more shocked than Zach were the two women who thought that their actions had been hidden from Zach''s eyes. They were trying to gather their wits about them as they noticed the changing expression on Zach''s face.

    Previously he had been genuinely concerned about their well-being but the worry and concern was no longer there. Instead, his eyes had grown cold like doused charcoal. Even though they appeared calm, they could catch fire in the blink of an eye. It frightened them somewhat and reminded them of the time when they did something wrong and were afraid of being scolded by their parents.

    Zach nced around, an air of exasperation evident as he brushed off the food that hadnded on him, surveying the scene before him.

    The scattered and wasted food, once neatly arranged on the table, nowy haphazardly across the floor. The weight of the situation bore heavily on Zach as he processed the mess and the squandered meal. His eyes shifted from the chaos, a mix of frustration and disappointment flickering in his gaze.

    Dusting off the remnants of the meal from his clothes, he drew in a deep, measured breath, his exhtion marked by a heavy sigh that conveyed a blend of annoyance and resignation.

    With deliberate focus, he redirected his attention toward the two women who appeared visibly guilt-ridden, their expressions belying any attempt to hide their remorse and their minds racing in an attempt to find a suitable excuse for their conflict. They couldn''t exactly tell Zach that he was the reason for their conflict.

    Zach couldn''t help but feel angry at the highly immature and reckless disy of conflict without any concern for anything around them.

    ra''s impulsivity, while not entirely surprising, was amplified by the stark contrast to Diana''s usual rationality. The deviation from their typical behaviors that culminated in a highly immature and reckless conflict left Zach not just frustrated but also disappointed in the two women.

    Noticing how Zach''s face had hardened, ra''s inner turmoil surged with a mix of regret and frustration. Even though she had promised herself to always keep her impulsive nature in check, she had failed to do so at this moment, which furtherpounded the guilt she was experiencing.

    Regret washed over her for as she berated herself for allowing her emotions to spiral out of control, resulting in a situation that was not her intent at all. She never wanted to cause a scene. She just wanted to teach that smug woman a lesson but resorting to violence had never been her original intention. On the contrary, it had never even crossed her mind while she had still been thinking rationally.

    Diana wasn''t feeling any different from ra. Her rational mind struggled toprehend her involvement in the chaotic disy as she couldn''t imagine how she had be a part of such a childish dispute.

    Both women were wrestling with a wave of emotions,den with regret and dismay at their unexpected roles in the tumultuous situation but Zach was not intending on letting them get away with it so easily.

    He stared at them inquisitively for a few seconds each as if non-verbally telling them that he was still waiting for an exnation.

 Chapter 382 382 Master~

    Chapter 382  382 Master~

    Despite the weight of Zach''s inquisitive gaze, Diana remained steadfast andposed. Known for her resilience and determination, she didn''t easily sumb to pressure, even when facing such scrutiny in front of Zach.

    In contrast, ra felt the full force of Zach''s prating gaze, herposure melting like ice cream in front of a zing fire. The intensity of his scrutiny seemed to pierce through her, causing her usually resolute demeanor to falter under the weight of his probing stare.

    Unlike Diana, who had solidified her rtionship with Zach, ra remained in an uncertain, undefined position. She grappled with the limbo of their rtionship, feeling anxious about the potential impact of the incident on her chances with him.

    The weight of Zach''s piercing gaze felt especially cutting to her, as it delved into her uncertainties and the fear of jeopardizing any possibility of establishing a deeper connection with him.

    The intensity of Zach''s scrutiny was deeply hurtful for ra, particrly because of the ambiguity in their rtionship. The fear of the incident tarnishing any budding connection with Zach intensified her distress.

    Desperate to mend the situation and concerned about the potential damage, she yearned to divulge everything in that moment, hoping to salvage any chances of deepening their rtionship.

    The depth of her love for Zach had not only left her emotionally depleted but also robbed her of the self-assuredness she usually possessed. This internal conflict had shattered her confidence, making her hesitant and unsure, especially in the face of Zach. It made her want to reveal everything to him before he could assume the worst.

    But on second thought, what could be worse than the truth. They hadn''t exactly had any good reason for their actions. It was just a childish dispute that went too far, and they were too stubborn to ept their shorings.

    "It was all because of her. She provoked me." snitched ra as she put all the me of the conflict on Diana. Unconsciously, she wanted to show herself to be the victim so as to get in the good graces of Zach and also because her earlier thoughts made it obvious that telling the truth and epting her fault wasn''t the way to go about it.

    Zach seemed pissed after all. She hadn''t seen him with such smoldering eyes before.

    "HUH...How is it all my fault?" retorted Diana, finding ra''s words extremely incredulous. After all, if they truly thought about it, ra was the reason behind their conflict. Had she not taunted Diana for not having consummated her rtionship with Zach, Diana would never have resorted to such petty provocations as a means of retribution to get back at ra. And as a result, the conflict would have never arisen in the first ce.

    Therefore, in her head, Diana concluded that all the faultsy with ra who taunted her first.

    "It''s all your fault. You started it. Don''t you dare say you didn''t," ra interjected preemptively, almost cutting off any chance for Diana to defend herself in front of Zach.

    Her words were strategically aimed to close off any avenues Diana might use to present her case. The tone carried a mix of usation and a sharp edge, cleverly attempting to silence any possibility of Diana exining her side of the story.

    ra''s approach and choice of words struck an unexpected chord. Her typical demeanor, marked by impulsivity and iplete logic, was conspicuously absent. It was unlike her to express herself in such a sensible and calcted manner.

    Her usual bratty or childlike tone had transformed into something vastly different, presenting aposed and measured front that deviated from her usual behavior.

    It appeared to be either an extraordinary stroke of luck or a scenario where ra''s fears had jolted her to the point where she momentarily harnessed her womanly instincts, enabling her to confront potential love rivals with surprising efficiency.

    Diana wasn''t any different from ra either. She had been sheltered behind her brother most of her life. But recently, she had been integrated into the decision-making body of the Smith family and had familiarized herself with politics and the art of diplomacy. She knew enough to not be in the dark about the ways of handling difficult situations and could hold her own even against experienced opponents.

    But instead of making use of her new experience, she engaged ra in a bickering match that was far away from the realm of being sensible.

    "Don''t throw the me on me unjustly. You kicked me first. So, you are the one who started it, not me."

    Diana pointed at her face and offered her reasoning as a means to rify the suspicion on her. She didn''t want Zach to think that she was using her new identity to bully ra.

    "No way, Zach, she provoked me into kicking her. You didn''t see how she was taunting me throughout dinner." ra immediately became defensive as she tried to assure Zach that she wasn''t lying to him and that it had truly been Diana who caused her to act in such a manner.

    "Stop it, you two. I feel tired listening to the two of you." Zach sighed heavily and raised both of his hands in order to tell the girls that he had had enough of their lies and wanted to listen to the truth.

    "But it was her fault." ra insisted on her point of view still and even Diana was thinking of doing the same.

    Before Zach could reprimand both of them, a sweet, melodious voice chimed in from his right, instantly capturing his undivided attention.

    "Master~"

    The tender and affectionate tone of the voice diverted Zach''s focus, drawing him away from the tense situation.

    The word ''Master'' rang with a sense of endearment and familiarity, evoking a shift in the emotional atmosphere, momentarily interrupting the intense scene that was ying out.

    In an instant, everything else seemed to fade away, eclipsed by the presence of this familiar voice calling out to him. It was as though time stood still, and all other concerns dissolved in the wake of this voice he could unmistakably recognize. In that fleeting moment, there existed nothing else in the world that mattered except for the connection evoked by this endearing call.

    Countless waking hours had been spent by Zach, pondering and imagining the sound of this very voice. Now that it graced his ears, its sweetness surpassed all his prior musings.

    In that moment, it resonated within him, evoking a feeling that he couldn''t help but describe it as the call of home. It sounded familiar and elusive at the same time as if itcked the strength to remain in the material realm. It was an indescribable melody, a symphony of emotions that could outshine even the most celestial of tunes.

    This voice held an unparalleled familiarity for Zach, so deeply ingrained that he could identify it even in the depths of slumber. It belonged to his dearest and most endearingpanion in this new world, a constant presence from the very onset of his journey.

    Through all the trials and experiences, the owner of the voice had been a steadfastpanion to him and an unwavering anchor in times of trouble.

    Its resonance held a significance that surpassed mere recognition; it was his definition offort and familiarity in the vast unknown of this new reality.

    The realization that it was Luna''s voice, despite her supposedatose condition, added ayer of astonishment and wonder to the emotional whirlwind already coursing through him.

    Simultaneously, both girls turned their heads to the left, their attention instantly drawn by the voice calling out Zach''s name. The synchronized movement underscored the immediate impact of the familiar voice, signifying a shared curiosity and intrigue in response to its call.

    With quick recognition, Diana''s surprise was somewhat tempered upon seeing the person standing there, casting a tender gaze at Zach.

    It was no shock to her as she had already identified the voice; it was really Luna, in the flesh.

    Diana couldn''t help but wonder about the miraculous turn of events that had led to Luna being out of her bed again.

    Recalling the tremendous effort Zach had invested in trying to rouse her from heratose state, Diana was struck by a mix of emotions.

    Diana vividly remembered the tireless efforts Zach had made to awaken Luna, yet those attempts had proven unsessful, leaving him extremely regretful for not being able to keep her safe from the royal family back in Elizabeth city.

    It seemed beyond logical exnation that Luna was standing in front of her eyes again, leading her to perceive it as a miraculous event, filling her with a sense of amazement and astonishment.

    Contrary to Diana''s familiarity, ra found herself unable to recognize the voice. Yet, her immediate response to the siren-like call stemmed from a different motive.

    Fueled by the desire to ensure no potential romantic rival had emerged, she swiftly turned towards the source of the voice. Her actions were prompted not by recognition but by a determined effort to assess the situation and protect her love interest, Zach, from any woman who might be interested in him.

    Deep inside, Zach was tormented by an overwhelming wave of guilt and remorse as he grappled with self-me regarding Luna''satose state.

    The weight of responsibility pressed heavily on his heart, as he believed he was at fault for not being able to wake her from her unconscious slumber.

    Every attempt he had made to bring her back seemed to haunt him, fueling his feelings of inadequacy and guilt.

 Chapter 383 383 Lunas Return

    Chapter 383  383 Luna''s Return

    The burden of guilt was a heavy cloak he wore, a constant reminder of his perceived failure to revive someone he deeply cared for.

    Therefore, hearing her voice all of a sudden, Zach was instantly gripped by disbelief that left him hesitant and even fearful to direct his gaze toward the source of the voice.

    Fearing that what he hoped for might just be a mirage or a fragment of his imagination, he hesitated, uncertain of the reality unfolding before him.

    In the silent moments that lingered, he sought to fortify his spirit, bracing himself against the prospect of disappointment. Fearful of allowing his heart to fall into the trap of premature expectations, he treaded cautiously, seeking to shield himself from the pain of a potential letdown.

    As he turned towards Luna, Zach''s eyes remained shut, hesitating to confront the reality thaty before him.

    With a deep breath, he slowly unsealed his eyes, allowing the moment to unfold.

    While Zach and Luna were busy staring into each other''s eyes, ra looked towards Diana with an almost questioning gaze as if asking her about how such a thing hade to ur.

    Although ra couldn''t recognize her voice, she was more than aware of what Luna looked like.

    She had seen her when she first met Diana and Zach out in the wilderness and hade to know of Luna''s unfortunate condition as well.

    Now that she was seeing Luna moving about, she couldn''t help but ask Diana if she had missed something or if she had been kept out of the loop about it.

    Diana couldn''t tell her anything and only shook her head to indicate that she was just as knowledgeable about it as ra.

    Zach on the other hand couldn''t help but stare at Luna''s alluring figure. The sight of Luna, a vision he had envisioned countless times in his dreams, was his sole focus.

    With bated breath, he beheld her appearance, cautiously taking in the sight that had lived in his thoughts and dreams.

    Slowly unraveling the image, he had carried in his mind, the reality of her presence left him in a mix of emotions, a culmination of longing and hope finally manifesting before him.

    In Luna''s eyes, a mix of emotions stirred as well; excitement, anticipation, and above all, an overwhelming aura of unblemished, unconditional love. Each glint in her eyes radiated an excitement for the moment, an expectation for whaty ahead, but most prominently, an outpouring of pure, undiluted love.

    Both the women who were being ignored were speechless as they didn''t know what to do in such a situation.

    Given the circumstances, they decided to maintain their silence as the reunion of the two separated souls took ce right in front of them in a tearful manner.

    бн

    Fueled by a desire to rectify the evening''s tumultuous situation, ra chose to forgo her opportunity, hoping to garner goodwill with Zach as a form of apology for her part in the earlier turmoil.

    This selfless gesture was an attempt to make amends and exhibit remorse, aiming to restore her standing in Zach''s eyes after the dinner fiasco.

    Though deeply appreciative of ra''s gesture in his heart, Zach refrained from outwardly acknowledging or showing gratitude. His attention was solely and entirely focused on Luna, to the exclusion of everything else in that moment.

    Engrossed in Luna''s presence, Zach''s thoughts and emotions were solely devoted to her, rendering him almost oblivious to any other actions or disys around him.

    He was more concerned with Luna''s well-being and took Diana''s sacrifice as a matter of fact.

    He believed that Diana understood his heart as well. He had spent so long waiting for this moment that it was almost like a dreame true for him.

    Consequently, Zach felt a strong desire to have some private moments alone with Luna. He sensed an unspoken mutual desire from her to share this secluded time together as well.

    Another reason that Zach had no choice but to drive everyone away right there and then to have some alone time with Luna was that he had to feed Luna.

    Having spent an extensive period in aa, Luna was experiencing a profound sense of hunger.

    Her prolonged state of sleep had left her feeling incredibly weak, making the fact that she could even stand on her own two legs seem almost miraculous.

    The immense duration of her unconsciousness had left her physically depleted, resulting in a sensation of extreme weakness and an urgent need for nourishment.

    Zach was well aware of the consequences of subi not consuming food, as he had witnessed the effects firsthand upon arriving in this world. He had observed how the absence of sustenance affected their well-being, having seen the tangible impact it had on subi who refrained from eating.

    During that time, Luna had reached her lowest point, being incredibly weak, but had refused to ept Zach''s seed to restore her energy.

    As a consequence, she gradually lost all her strength, ultimately bing even weaker than Zach, despite being a D-level mage at that time.

    Her refusal to partake in the subi''s customary method of energy replenishment had left her in a deteriorating state, significantly weakening her beyond her usual capabilities.

    He did not want a repeat telecast of such a situation. Therefore, he decided to feed her to the brim so she wouldn''t go hungry for a long time. He wasn''t nning on letting her separate from him anyway so he could take care of her well-being himself.

    Of course, the feeding that Zach was talking about was different from the food of humans.

    It was the specialized diet that only he could produce, and that Luna was used to eating.

    Following her recognition of Zach as master, there was no one else who could produce food for her other than Zach. Therefore, Zach could only offer his semen to replenish her lost energy.

    As soon as the two of them reached Zach''s room, they let go of all inhibitions and practically ripped each other''s clothes apart with their hands.

    There was no need to go slow as the two couldn''t be more familiar with each other. The long gap due to Luna''satose state hadn''t made much of a difference in their feelings. They were still madly in love with each other and were just as lustful.

    As such, the time gap only made it that much more novel.

    Luna was curious about all the things she had missed. She didn''t know where she was or how Zach brought her here. She wanted to know everything but then felt that there would be time for that very soon.

    Right now, she needed to focus on something else. It was that craving she had that was affecting her very soul.

    She pushed Zach towards one of the walls of the room and without wasting any time she reached straight for the source of her milk fountain and grabbed his family jewels like they were the most precious artifacts in the world.

    She got down on her knees in front of him and began to stroke his member with her hands arousing his lust like the subus she was.

    Since the member was toorge for only one hand, she had to employ the efforts of both of her hands simultaneously as she moved them in concentric circles trying to perk Zach''s spear up into its erect state.

    Zach had barely found his footing when he felt the warmth of her lips on the exposed skin of his half-erect dick.

    At first, it was a slight graze, barely registering as contact, and then, Luna''s long, wet,scivious tongue came again. This time, with intentional well-coordinated movements.

    It rolled across his full, naked length, from bottom to top, and then back to bottom again, trickling, and leaving moist slobs in its wake.

    Goosebumps formed across every inch of his body. Unable to think, breathe, or even move, he simply existed there against the wall, subject to Luna''s whims.

    It was a long, wet lick, that eventually ended in her tongue cascading on the tip of his sensitive organ, curling around it like a cobra, and ttening her tongue against the tip of his dick.

    Zach felt no shame when a deep guttural groan escaped his throat.

    This was every bit as fantastic as it had been in the past. In all his experience, there was no one who could be better than a subus at giving head. Their unbridled lust could arouse the primitive instinct of any man and could turn them into sex maniacs.

    A billion neurons fired off on all cylinders in his brain, violently forcing an upsurge in his mental activity, numbing out the background, and heightening all his senses to the extreme.

    His naked butt pressed up against the wall behind him, and with his scrotum gently being cuddled by Luna''s hands, he felt her jaw unclench, her lips part, and her tongue unfold as her open mouth closed in on the tip of his cock.

    Zach''s brain imploded on itself due to her actions as she yed with his cock in a sensual manner. Her actions couldn''t have been more alluring for him as she knew everything there was to know about him.

    She knew his weaknesses and his sweet spots better than any other woman and she wasn''t one to shy away from using all of them to get what she wanted, what she craved to satisfy her hunger.

    In her mouth, her artful, sulent tongue pressed up against his member, as the walls of her cheeks closed around him, tightening in for the first suck.

 Chapter 384 384 Absence makes the heart grow fonder

    Chapter 384  384 Absence makes the heart grow fonder

    Mercilessly, her hands simultaneously gripped the base of his cock, squeezing him into hardness as she sucked him with tempered assiduousness.

    Zach literally felt his manhood begin to grow inside her mouth as if it was being forced to stand erect in her presence.

    Luna must have felt it too, because she doubled down on him, garbling all over his cock, leaving the steamy sounds of ''slurp, slurp'' in the air, as her tongue made love to the tip of his cock.

    Zach unconsciously leaned his head back on the wall and began to enjoy her service as he watched her go at his dick without any restraints.

    Luna was one hundred percent aware of just how much pleasure she was giving Zach. She had spent countless hours doing the same with him in the past and the act itself was etched into her memory for all eternity.

    She looked up into his eyes from time to time with a smile on her face as if expecting to be praised for her actions as she worked hard grinding with both her hands and her mouth to obtain the piping hot semen that could satiate her needs for the time being.

    Zach''s hands found her hair, and he grabbed onto her horns that were sticking out as if they were the controls, he could use to lead her actions. He greedily pressed her head deeper as if goading her on to take his member in for a deeper dive down her throat.

    Luna''s left hand roamed upwards towards his torso, roaming freely across his lower body as she caressed his abs as if reminiscing about the past time with her master.

    Down south, her other hand began to slide in up and down motions across his shaft, stroking his dragon, while her slobbering mouth sucked on the top half of his dick with the uncontrolled intensity of an insatiable maniac.

    She was finally revealing her true colors as a subus. She could enter a manic state whenever hungry to the extreme and the symptoms she was showing at the moment were no different from her manic state.

    As her head bobbed up and down, Zach''s balls contracted in his scrotum and her hands caressing is family jewels noticed even that little bit of movement.

    Expertly, she focused on sucking his tip, as if she were trying to use it as a straw to vacuum out every single ounce of semen in his balls.

    Almost overtaken by sweet pleasure, Zach struggled to maintain control of all his bodily faculties as he fought the sweet and unpredictable battle in order to restrain himself in the face of the seductive and expertly proactive subus that was trying to drain him for all the milk he had in stock.

    His back against the wall, and with the subus'' moist mouth tactfully guiding him to orgasm, he tried to force down every groan that rose in his throat but failed as every lick of her tongue and every movement of her experienced fingers was aimed at eliciting such a response from him.

    He knew that it was no use trying to fight the urge to spray every bit of his milk in her mouth because being a subus Luna knew how to draw out a meal for herself.

    After being familiar with his member for so long, it came as a surprise to her when Zach''s dragon continued to swell in her mouth beyond the size that she was used to. It continued to swell in her mouth as if it had no intention of stopping any time soon.

    She wondered if it was because she was taking him in her mouth after a long time and it felt better than it actually was. Maybe it was just her hunger that was ying tricks on her much like when humans found everything delicious when they were close to starving.

    It kept growing, expanding in length and in girth as her jaw began to ache from the effort of keeping him inside her.

    She had to asionally pull it out and curl her tongue in sloppy flicks from his balls through his shaft, while massaging the tip with her thumb, and forefinger before taking the giant cock in her mouth once again.

    His girthy cock dove in and out of her mouth as he kept mming the back of her throat, intermittently blocking her windpipe, and restricting her airflow with each jab while holding onto her horns to keep her in ce.

    Zach took control of the pace and used one of his hands to grab a handful of hair at the back of her head. sping her in ce with her horn and her hair, he began to fuck her mouth wildly without any inhibition.

    The initiative was no longer in the hands of Luna as Zach began to assert his dominance as the master of the subus.

    Luna struggled to breathe as Zach''s cock clogged up her windpipe. She tried to move her head so she could try and extricate herself from his firm grasp but his hold on her horn was akin to a death grip.

    She had a sudden urge to cough but with the huge cock clogging her throat wouldn''t let her.

    The struggle only excited Zach more.

    He missed this feeling, the feeling of letting go of all inhibitions while having sex. This was the one thing he couldn''t get from women other than Luna because they each had a little bit of conservative side to them. But Luna wasn''t like that. She was open to any and all things while they were in bed.

    Luna stopped trying to free herself from Zach''s grip and let him explore the deeper regions of her throat with his cock which caused gurgling noises to escape her mouth which aroused Zach even more than her little tongue that was constantly lubricating his monster inside her mouth.

    This time, she did not even need to try and squeeze her cheeks together for vacuum suction as Zach''s member throbbed a few times and then filled up her mouthpletely with his milk.

    It sprayed uncontrobly inside her mouth, painting the walls of her mouth white as it went down her throat and clogged up her esophagus as well.

    By the time she finally broke free, Zach was panting and had a satisfied smile on his face.

    She savored every bit of his semen as she used her tongue to clean her lips and her mouth for any leftover semen she could still ingest.

    She tasted it after such a long time, but it evoked the same feelings inside her which made her feel somewhat nostalgic.

    She felt full already because the potency of Zach''s cum was far more than any other human. But that did not mean that she was done. She was still a subus, a creature known for itsscivious nature and undying lust. She was far from done.

    Her survival needs had been fulfilled but her bodily needs were an entirely different matter, and she was nning on making up for all the time she had lost with Zach due to heratose state in this one session.

    Zach, now possessed by a ravenous want, grabbed her impatiently and carried her to bed as he thrust his tongue inside her mouth fighting where it fought a battle of its own with her tongue. They twisted and curled around each other as they fought for supremacy.

    While fervently kissing her and sucking on her full juicy lips, he reached for her chest, and hungrily grabbed her right boob in his ferocious w.

    Luna was just as soft as he remembered. The mound in his hand felt just the right size, extremely perky and invitingly fleshy.

    He copped her voluminous breasts hungrily, eager to feel her out, and squeeze out every bit of pleasure he could from there. His fingers found her hard nipple, and he pinched it ruthlessly, knowing that she would like it. A slight whimper escaped her throat which was as seductive as it could be.

    And that was enough to get him going until he couldn''t anymore.

    He grabbed her big bouncy butt and turned her over so that her belly was touching the bed, and her butt was raised towards him, perfect for carnal harvest.

    Luna began to get increasingly wet. It was as if all the dams had released their floodgates at the same time and had diverted the water to her pussy. She was drenched to say the least.

    Luna wondered if it was because it had been a long time for her, and her body remembered it. Her legs were shaking in anticipation and her ass wiggled from side to side as if to attract Zach''s attention.

    Ever since she had taken Zach''s cock in her mouth, she had felt the trickling moisture in her pussy. Even now, squatting on her knees in front of him, with her thighs spread apart, and her big butt arched perfectly behind her, she sensed just how soaked her pussy was.

    Since her underwear had already been ripped apart by Zach, she had nothing to stop her pussy from dripping onto the sheets.

    Luna felt a burning need for cock in her loins like never before.

    Her original n had been to eat his cum straight off his dick without having him prate her as there were so many things she was still confused about and wanted to hear about from him.

    However, right now, that thought seemed had drifted so far away into the distance that it was barely in her sight.

 Chapter 385 385 Absence makes the heart grow fonder II

    Chapter 385  385 Absence makes the heart grow fonder II

    Zach''s eager hands grabbed her butt cheeks and squeezed them fervently molding them into different shapes like they were made out of soft y.

    As he touched her butt and explored all her sensitive regions from behind, little pleasure bombs detonated between her thighs exponentially, leaving her with a frustrating need to fill the void between them without dy.

    His fingers slid through the crack that divided her divine ass into two and massaged it all the way down to her gushing pussy.

    Firmly grasping her ass cheek with his left hand, his other hand tapped, and stroked her pussy, threading her moist vagina, until they grazed her clitoris. Bright electric tingles ran through her entire body when Zach''s fingers invaded deep inside her and found her G-spot. She shuddered andy t on the bed with her ass slightly raised as if in anticipation of what was about toe next.

    Luna fought the urge for as long as she could so she could enjoy Zach''s desirous caresses, but the hunger of her loins couldn''t be controlled any longer and it wore down her self-control in no time.

    She wanted it more than anything...his cock.

    Unconsciously, she moved her ass slightly backwards until it reached Zach''s erect member and began to rub it against the hard shaft in an extremely erotic manner. Even Zach found it extremely seductive and let her engage his dick in a seductive dance battle.

    When a deep, heavy, and dangerous breath of air escaped her lungs, she decided she could not wait anymore. Her insane need was so consuming; she knew she would be consumed if she did not indulge it.

    She reached out with her hand and grabbed onto his shaft as she pulled it towards her ass as if prompting Zach into stabbing her ass with his erect member.

    Zach groaned as he sensed the change in their dynamic and Diana''s growing need and adjusted himself so that he would have the perfect angle when prating her from the back.

    Holding the top of his dick that was already moist with her saliva, she pressed him down, slid backward, and held his massive cock in ce just behind her, ready to prate.

    Slowly, she began to ease him in, enveloping his hardness in the softness of her vaginal folds as if embracing every inch of him, devouring everything he had to give her.

    The head of his viciously throbbing dick began to ease in at her insistence.

    She whimpered softly as her legs shuddered from the unexpected pleasure just from the tip.

    Zach groped her perky breasts from behind and pinched her nipple ferociously as he alternated between the two boobs while he invaded her sacred temple with his throbbing penis. One of his hands sneakily left her breasts and moved towards her head as he pulled on her horn to force her to turn her head towards him.

    Zach wanted her to look at him as he began to thrust deep into her with practiced motions.

    It wasn''t long before Luna began to reciprocate his actions. Her wide hips began to move back and forth in conjunction with his thrusts and their movement began to align with his thrusts. She took no time grasping the rhythm and cooperated with him using the entirety of her experience and skill.

    Luna''s wet pussy grinded against him, soaking his pelvis with her lewd juices after each thrust.

    She was like a leaking faucet that was unable to control its release.

    pping sounds and the smell of lustful and erotic ventures filled the room as Zach felt the walls of the cave encroaching around his soldier as if they wanted to constrict the air out of it.

    Luna increased her pace progressively, pausing in between thrusts to milk his dick with her clenched pussy walls, repeating the diabolic motions over and over again, and rode him fucking hard till all the veins on his forehead were popping out like slithering snakes.

    Luna''s head threw back, submitting to the intoxicating waves of pleasure. Her clitoris grazed the stump of his hard cock, and each ramming thrust slid his dick sweetly across her g-spot, tilting her world upside down.

    Her lips parted, and heavenly music came out. Just the sound of her frantic rasping, and heavy breathing was enough to lead entire nations astray.

    Zach growled and groaned deeply as Luna''s ass continuously struck his pelvis energetically. He found his toes curling inwards as she milked him with her pussy squeeze, bringing him closer and closer to bursting his thick load of cum into her.

    Both couldn''t care less about who might be listening and got as loud as they could as it spiced up their lust for each other further.

    Luna, dying to scream out her lungs, had to bite down on her tongue to keep herself from going insane due to the immense pleasure that was threatening to tear down the veil of her sanity.

    It was sheer torture having to bottle her feelings for him in. Her racial instincts prompted her to scream and yell about just how much he meant to her and how much she had missed his cock inside her.

    At the moment, she was unaware of anything that was happening beyond the bounds of the cocoon of her delirious want. She couldn''t care less about what was going on outside Zach''s room that was currently their yground.

    The immense pleasure that she could feel in every inch of her body caused her eyes to roll back inside her head as she bounced her jiggly butt cheeks against his cock with all the strength her jellied legs allowed her to muster.

    Her heavy breasts swayed back and forth with each thrust from Zach''s monstrous member, arousing his carnal instinct and forcing him to work harder on her from behind. As a result, Zach''s thrusts continued to increase in strength until each thrust felt like it wanted to prate her to the other side.

    From her pussy, hormones fired all through Diana''s body, numbing her mind to her environment, and bringing nothing to focus except her own pleasure.

    Zach tried to tell her about the things she had missed and how the Luther family had turned into the current Smith family, of which he was the leading figure. But Diana used her free hand and used it to cover Zach''s mouth without even looking back. She was too into enjoying the heavy pounding she was receiving.

    She put all of Zach''s words to the back of her mind as she decided to listen to him once she was done receiving what she wanted.

    As she heaved dry and rugged breaths, and romped on his pelvis with her heavy behind, his hands squeezed all over her, caressing every inch of her delicately soft body with his hands. Each creamy and moist thrust sunk him deeper and deeper into her.

    Just as his dick began to throb violently, Luna controlled herself and pulled herself free from his grasp. She turned around and pushed him towards the edge of the bed with a yful push.

    Zachplied even though she didn''t use much strength.

    Zach reclined his back to the edge of the bed and closed his eyes as if he could already fantasize the future in his mind.

    Luna didn''t disappoint his expectations at all. She was like a bitch in heat that was unable to keep itself from sumbing to the allure of the bait in front of her. She was too hungry to think of trivial matters and too impatient to let Zach take the lead.

    She rode him as her dangling treasures came face to face with Zach.

    Luna leaned in closer to his face as if allowing him to nudge them with his face and to take in their grandeur up close.

    Zach couldn''t be more aroused as the sight of Luna''s perky breasts was a heavenly view to behold. He couldn''t help himself and stuffed his face between the two soft mounds as they engulfed himpletely.

    Zach enjoyed her service as she meticulously controlled him using his sensitive points, as if pushing buttons on a remote control meant to control his arousal. She moved her waist like an alluring serpent and her wide hips moved up and down while simultaneously traversing along the horizontal ne.

    As an experienced man who was well versed in the seduction techniques of the subi, Zach felt every bit of the creamy insides of her pussy without losing himself in the fantasies. He felt every fold of it, every inch, and every contracting and expanding muscle that wrapped around his manhood.

    Luna continued to bounce away, asionally rotating her ass in cobra like circr movements, all the while twitching like a sex crazed maniac.

    Like an addict, she was trying to get her fix by angling her ass to Zach''s dick so that it would continually graze her sensitive spot in rapid but sensual thrusts, sparking mini orgasms, and soft shudders along the length of her body.

    Zach gritted his teeth as the steamy walls of her pussy continued to close in like a room caving in on itself, squeezing with a sensual tightness and suffocating the guest inside, forcing it to vomit.

    Feeling the overwhelming tide building in her pussy, Zach held her tightly.

    A momentter, a soft but violent explosion rippled in her pussy that caused her back to arch and her butt to unconsciously lift upwards. Legs shaking, and torso convulsing, the moisture trickled down her fleshy thighs on to hisps, igniting a high-pitched squeak from her throat.

 Chapter 386 386 Absence makes the heart grow fonder III

    Chapter 386  386 Absence makes the heart grow fonder III

    And yet, Luna continued to wiggle her hips, sping her pussy lips around his cock in a wet squeeze, drawing out his semen in delightful sucking motions.

    As if she sensed his reaction, she wickedly tightened the squeeze on his dick even harder, and in slow circr movements, began to rise and fall, gifting him the pleasure of even tighter and wetter thrusts even though she herself wasn''t in a much better condition with her whole body twitching unnaturally with every rise and fall of her wide butt.

    He could feel the rising surge of his semen threatening to burst loose.

    Luna''s head threw back, and her hair her hair bobbing up and down and back and forth, as she felt Zach''s semen begin to garner momentum. She wiggled her blown out hips fervently, using her pussy to fuck, and suck his monster cock like a sex machine.

    Milking him, with slow sensual thrusts, she continued to mercilessly squeeze his dick. When the first drops of pre-cum came, her whole being burst into me.

    Eager to im her prize, she leaned forward, sped both arms around his neck, and began to fuck him wildly.

    Nexus could not hold it in anymore. The flood gates opened, and he let loose a phenomenal load of cum into her pussy as if intending on filling it to the brim and stuffing her insides full of cream.

    Due to her instincts as a subus, Luna felt every single bit of his journey. She noticed how the base of his cock swelled inside her which was an indication of how Zach was intending to pump her body full of his precious seed.

    With the burning effect of a sensual volcanic eruption, heavy loads of semen surged through his shaft with delirious aggression.

    Luna clutched him tightly, too tightly, and squeezed her creamy pussy so tight that Zach felt himself turn to jelly as the first load escaped his cock.

    The first load shot straight into her, and Luna coiled like a viper. Again, and again, he continued to fire hot, sticky, sweet nectar into her pussy.

    Only after the first load safely reached its destination did Luna be able to hear his words. She had been too busy trying to get her grip on her hunger to even listen to Zach''s story.

    Now that she was absorbing her food aggressively, she wanted to hear about all the things she had missed.

    "There is so much that you need to know after being asleep for so long. Things have changed quite a lot. It''s no longer just you and me out in the wilderness alone. Oh, I became a viscount of the Empire. That''s one you probably didn''t know before. But let''s forget about that for a second. I will tell you everything from the start, from the moment you defeated that ck Panther and fell into aa..."

    As if sensing her desire, Zach immediately began to unravel the tale of how the Luther family became the Smith family and the things he had gone through before making it to Byzantium city.

    Luna listened to him as she continued to rub her hips against his still erect member in a seductive manner as if challenging it to continue thrusting into her watery cave.

    She enjoyed the taste of sex mixed with the pleasure of listening to her master''s story and her body shivered with his every word.

    From his words, she felt how sorry Zach had been for the sacrifice she had to make for his sake. Even though Zach hadn''t said anything, she could tell how regretful he had been regarding her condition just from the first look on his face. It was the look of a man who was trying to hide his face out of shame, as if he had been caught unaware.

    She found it heartening that her master treated her so well even though he didn''t have to. Therefore, she listened to his ramblings and received all the necessary information she needed from him to get up to date with the current situation. After all, she wanted to be by his side from the moment she woke up again.

    While Zach got busy telling her the story of the Smith family, their arduous exodus and the troubles they faced in Byzantium city, Luna''s heart rose and fell with his words. She was heartened when something good happened and felt the pain behind his words whenever something bad happened.

    Being Luna, she wasn''t concerned about the well-being of the other humans that Zach was leading. She couldn''t care less about their life and death. She was only concerned about the things that saddened Zach or took away the smile from her master''s face.

    Zach finished his story but felt his member still standing erect as if adamant on going on another venture into her dark and moist cave.

    He looked at Luna desirously and felt the same fire burning in her eyes, except even more passionately. His story had roiled her emotions even more than her lust. Even more than stuffing herself up, she wanted tofort him so he would stop feeling sorry for her.

    But the only method she could think of was to give herself to him in both body and soul and the same was reflected in her eyes that were gazing lovingly at Zach.

    With a primitive zest, he grabbed her hips with a beast-like vigor and began to fuck her from underneath as if intending to fuck her brains out in one fell swoop.

    Sweating profusely, he delved in and out of her creamy pussy with reckless abandon, riding out the pleasure wave all the while drowning the guilt, he had been keeping in his heart, into oblivion.

    At the same time, he began to think that his mental faculties had slowed down somewhat. With how careful he usually was, he should have known that Luna would wake up as soon as he came to know how special Diana had been. The amount of energy she had given him was beyond anything he had ever received before. The system had even reminded him about the same, about how he needed this energy to pull Luna out of heratose state when he had first fucked Christina.

    There were so many things he had to aplish now that he waspeting against the royal family. And Luna''s arrival couldn''t have been timelier in that regard.

    She was the key to changing his poor circumstances, but Zach hadn''t bothered to utilize all that hidden potential. He was too busy venting his frustration and longing that came from being apart from his beloved subus.

    At the same time, he thanked Diana in his heart for taking the initiative to approach him and seduce him intomitting the deed. Had she left the choice up to him, he might have never even thought of making a move on her considering that he risked ruining his rtionship with Bruce and at the same time his most capable general. Therefore, he might have tried his best to avoid such a situation as much as possible.

    As such, Diana more than deserved the credit for the awakening of Luna.

    Diana on the other hand wasn''t even close to uncovering the truth behind Luna''s sudden awakening. If she knew that Zach was thanking her in his heart, she might have stopped him there and then to tell him that it wasn''t her intention at all. Had she known the result that her coitus might have, she might have let her brain run another full circle beforeing up with such an idea.

    Zach wasn''t done yet. He was like an addict who had found his fix after a long time and couldn''t help but fall off the wagon.

    He tightened his grip on her arms and pulled them to her sides as if to keep her in ce and pumped his hips up and down eagerly prating open her womb that was already full of his dripping cum lubricating it even further and allowing him to explore even deeper areas of her insides.

    Luna felt electric arcs coursing through her insides every time his dick touched a sensitive part. She felt like countless fireworks were exploding inside her for every second that Zach stayed inside of her.

    She pulled back her head and moaned even harder before she tightly wrapped her arms around his head while her whole body trembled as if in anticipation of the heavenly orgasm she was about to reach soon.

    Zach felt her insides closing in on his dick and his member began to pulse as if in synchronization with Luna''s raw lust.

    Her moans went up again, as she felt the overwhelming desire of Zach''s member as it rammed inside her with the force of a battering ram, jolting and messing up her insides till her womb as if an explosion had destroyed it to bits from the inside out.

    Luna''s moans turned into screams as she lost herself in pleasure.

    She quickly approached her second climax and began gushing out lewd juices that drenched his memberpletely as if it had just finished showering.

    He held her thin waist as if it was his most precious asset before rubbing her lower back gently as if worried for her wellbeing like a hypocrite who was the reason behind the strain in her back.

    He lifted her off his body while holding onto her waist andid her beside himself after pulling his member free from her slippery embrace.

 Chapter 387 387 Absence makes the heart grow fonder IV

    <h4>Chapter 387 Chapter 387 Absence makes the heart grow fonder IV</h4>

    Raising one of her legs into the air again while holding her thigh, he adjusted the tip of his fully erect spear to the entrance to her cave again.

    Luna did not have the time to grasp what was happening to her or was about to happen to her as she was still reeling in the sensations from before.

    She then felt it go inside of her and go deeper without much resistance as her leg was raised high into the air. All the resistance her pussy walls had to offer in the beginning were juiced down by the lewd fluids gushing out of her cave endlessly like a never-ending spring.

    Luna''s half-closed eyes opened wide at the insertion as she screamed with pleasure every time his spear stabbed deeper and deeper into her.

    Every fiber of her being was soaking in carnal bliss, every nerve in her body was travelling carrying small jolts of electricity representing pleasure leading to her muddled state of mind and confused expression.

    At the same time, Zach spilled his second load inside her warm pussy that embraced him so affectionately, wrapping around his dick softly as if begging it to spray her insides with its creamy milk and paint the folds of her moist pussy with white color.

    Zach grunted like an animal as he finished spraying his dick cheese inside her. There was satisfaction on his face and his chest was heaving up and down as if he had just finished fighting a physical battle of the highest caliber.

    On the other hand, Luna was in no position to do anything at all. She was frozen on top of his chest, her heavy mounds pressed against his chest as her legs twitched from time to time.

    Her lower half seemed to be the only portion of her body that was still capable of some kind of movement even if it was involuntary as well.

    Luna''s eyes rolled upwards behind her eyelids. Water was leaking out of her eyes, and drool was dripping down from the tip of her tongue that was sticking out a bit out of her slightly opened mouth.

    But the expression on her face was far from being hideous. It was radiating pure and unadulterated joy. It was an expression that indicated fulfillment of the highest order, a fulfillment that a woman could only dream of but never achieve in her lifetime.

    Luna urged her still sensitive body to absorb as much energy as it needed from the well of energy that Zach had drilled deep inside of her. She could probably use that amount to sustain herself for a long time. After all, before meeting Zach, she had been surviving on the most limited amount of sustenance.

    Even though she was a subus, there was a limit to how much energy she could absorb at a time. She could be full too. Therefore, any excess energy in her body was bound to go to waste.

    As such, Luna wanted to try her best to not waste Zach''s tasty treats for her and devoured everything she could.

    The effort left her brimming with energy and a little hot in the body due to the umtion of all that energy that she could barely withstand. She burped loudly in an udylike manner. It was far too drastic a change from her usual personality.

    Despite her usualck of restraint and apleteck of shame regarding her race or charm techniques, Luna maintained a graceful anddylike demeanor. Even with her subus nature and abilities, she carried herself with a certain elegance and poise, disying a refined and dignified presence that transcended the stereotypical expectations associated with subi.

    The only reason she had forgotten her manner was because she was too full and because she had been unable to control herself.

    While she was bursting with energy, Zach was the exact opposite. His chest was heaving heavily as if there was a heavy weight ced in the exact center of his chest that was making it difficult for him to breathe. He looked like he would pass out the next moment but was too unwilling to stop right there.

    With cum leaking out of her pussy she rolled off his chest andid down beside him with her face staring up at the polished wooden ceiling that was screaming luxury with its every fiber. Obviously, a ce that one of the top families of the city built was not going to have third ss materials used in its construction.

    Zach''s chest rose and fell violently as he panted for breath while Luna was busy locking up her thighs so as to keep Zach''s precious cheese from leaking out too much. She wanted to keep it inside her for the longest time possible.

    After a few minutes, she was done digesting the greater part of the energy that was threatening to tear her body apart and brought her condition under control. By then, Zach had also gotten a hold of his runaway breath and had managed to sustain a steady breathing rhythm like that of an athlete.

    Luna rested her head on her hand and raised herself up on her elbow as sheid on her side to look at Zach who was saving her seductive image in his eyes as he assumed a position very simr to her.

    "It must have been hard." muttered Luna sympathetically as she tried to understand what Zach might have gone through as he tried to establish himself in an unknown ce while taking care of the entire Luther family and heratose self. She couldn''t imagine how much self-reproach he might have undergone for not being able to save her in the first ce.

    Even though he hadn''t said it out loud, she knew the kind of person he was, and she could somewhat guess his mental state urately.

    "It wasn''t hard at all..." answered Zach in a straightforward manner but before he could say anything else to reassure her further, Luna burped involuntarily. The burp was loud enough and long enough to startle Zach.

    As Luna blushed, the warmth of embarrassment crept across her cheeks, caught off guard by the unexpected release of her burp. Her momentarypse inposure left her feeling exposed and self-conscious, the realization of being caught in the act weighing on her.

    Contrastingly, Zach''sughter filled the air, a stark departure from the serious tone that had dominated just moments ago. Luna''s embarrassment, juxtaposed against Zach''s amusement, created a scene where vulnerability met lightheartedness, highlighting the unpredictability of the moment and the humor found in the unexpected.

    Luna, with a face still tinged with redness from embarrassment, lifted her gaze in response to Zach''sughter.

    However, instead of joining in the shared merriment, her expression shifted to one of mild indignation. Theughter of the person she loved, though good-natured, stung her pride a bit.

    The vulnerability of beingughed at in that moment, even by someone so dear to her, stirred a hint of frustration and a touch of yful protest in her eyes.

    As Luna''s gaze bore down on him with a hint of indignation, Zach felt a peculiar mix of vulnerability and recognition.

    There''s a universal truth that men, especially in the presence of the women they love, could find themselves instinctively cowering under such stares.

    It was as if a switch had been flipped, and the atmosphere shifted fromughter to a nuanced dance of unspoken dynamics.

    In these moments, women held an undeniable power, a gaze that spoke volumes without uttering a word.

    Men, even those with the best intentions, could suddenly feel like they hadmitted a transgression. The weight of a woman''s disapproval, especially when intertwined with affection, carried a unique intensity that made men pause, reflect, and often retreat into a stance of humility.

    Zach, caught in the crossfire of Luna''s gaze, recognized this age-old truth, hisughter silenced and reced by a subtle acknowledgment of her authority in that brief, charged moment.

    Zach, in this scenario, proved no different from countless other men who found themselves navigating the delicate dynamics of love and rtionships.

    Despite Luna still addressing him as Master, the unspoken evolution of their connection had propelled them far beyond the boundaries of their initial roles.

    The transformation of their rtionship had shifted the power dynamics, making Zach susceptible to the nuances of Luna''s emotions.

    The title of "Master" still lingered between them, a vestige of their past interactions, but the emotionalndscape had grown more intricate. It reflected the subtle dance of affection, understanding, and the uncharted territory that came with deepening feelings.

    In those moments, even Zach, with all his experiences and knowledge, found himself navigating the uncharted waters of love, where emotions held the reins and titles faded away into the background.

    Their eyes locked in a silent exchange for a few heartbeats, a connection that transcended words.

    A shared understanding passed between them, an unspoken acknowledgment of the intricate dance their rtionship had be.

    As if trying to contain theughter bubbling within, both Luna and Zach pursed their lips, a visible effort to stifle the impending eruption of mirth.

    However, the allure of shared joy proved irresistible. Their attempts to restrain themselves gave way, and theughter they had been holding back burst forth simultaneously.

    The air was filled with the harmonious sound of theirughter, a shared moment of levity that washed away any lingering tension and deepened the connection between them.

    Zach''sughter, unbridled and infectious, reached a point where it transformed into fits of coughing, each spasm interrupting the merriment.

 Chapter 388 388 On A Daily Basis

    Chapter 388  388 On A Daily Basis

    Luna, her concern immediately kindled, shifted her focus from amusement to a gentle touch of worry.

    With a tenderness that bespoke genuine care, Luna began to rub Zach''s back soothingly, her touch a pacifying balm against the unexpected consequences of their sharedughter.

    As the coughing persisted, Luna whispered words offort, her pacifying utterances a soft melody amid the residual echoes ofughter.

    Theughter faded into oblivion abruptly, reced by the tender notes of Luna''s apologetic voice.

    Her words,den with remorse, echoed in Zach''s ears, the melody of mirth giving way to a more subdued harmony and her gentle touch, now transformed from a source offort to a soothing gesture aimed at alleviating his difort, continued to rub his back with a newfound tenderness.

    "I am sorry... for missing it all. I am ashamed that I wasn''t by your side when you needed me. It... it must have been hard doing everything by yourself. I am sorry... for worrying you so much, for being asleep while you were trying your best to save me by yourself."

    Luna''s words carried a weight of genuine remorse, each syble a testament to her deep regret for the moments she had missed.

    Her apology, infused with a profound sense of self-me, resonated with a sincere acknowledgment of the challenges Zach had faced alone.

    Zach could feel the sincerity in her words. It had always been the same. From the moment she called him ''Master'', Luna had always been simrly honest with him.

    But this time, Zach understood that she wasn''t the one at fault at all. The burden of responsibility weighed on his shoulders, a realization that it had been his own perceived weakness that left Luna vulnerable.

    Yet, he didn''t interrupt her, allowing her to voice the depths of her remorse. He weed her words, not out of a need for reassurance or absolution, but because he craved the soothing cadence of her sincere and loving voice.

    "Although I couldn''t be of any use all this time and even troubled you by letting you take care of me, let me help you now to make up for all that trouble. Believe me...I have the perfect n to solve most of your problems."

    Luna''s words, delivered with a newfound sense of confidence, resonated with a genuine desire to contribute and alleviate the burdens that Zach had shouldered alone. Her acknowledgment of past shorings carried a subtle weight, but her eagerness to help now carried a promise of support and coboration.

    Even Zach was somewhat dumbfounded after listening to her. He couldn''t understand the reason behind her confidence as she had been asleep for thest few months. She didn''t even understand his circumstancespletely, so it was obviously even more impossible for her to concoct a solution based on her fractured understanding of the situation.

    Still, he didn''t want to douse her enthusiasmpletely with acking response. As such, he opened his eyes wide as if in surprise and almost produced a squeaking sound from his throat to show his excitement to her. Even if it was feigned, Zach didn''t want Luna to feel as if he didn''t give any importance to her opinion.

    "I can''t believe you thought of a solution as soon as you woke up. And here I have been struggling so much for nothing." Zach sounded envious of her ability as he smiled at Luna with inquiring eyes as if asking her what she had in mind without actually saying anything.

    "After I get some rest and recover my lost strength, I n to go back home..." Luna paused after dropping the bomb as if to gauge the destruction her words had caused before continuing any further.

    "What do you mean?"

    Obviously, Zach understood what she meant by ''going home'' but he didn''t want to acknowledge her meaning. He was worried that if he did, she would truly leave him after he had waited for her to wake up for so long. So that left him with only one option; he pretended to be ignorant.

    Luna knew him well enough to know when he was trying to fake it. As a result she didn''t want to leave anything up to chance and answered instantly, "I mean that I will go back to the subus tribe, my people. They can help you in your fight against the royal family as well. They not only have the numbers but are also proficient mages for the most part. And the fact that they don''t have any good feelings about humans will ensure that they won''t be able to betray you for anyone else among the humans."

    Zach stared at the ceiling while he pondered on her words seriously as if considering the feasibility of her suggestion.

    The idea of getting the subus race to help him was quite an eye opener for Zach who hadn''t even considered the idea. Although he didn''t think that the idea was very practical, it changed his perspective regarding the problem he was facing, and it made him feel thankful for Luna''s awakening.

    Ever since he had arrived in the new world, he had Luna as his advisor who would always tell him about the ways of the world if he ever strayed frommon sense.

    As a result, he had learnt a lot of new things, but he had also grown to be dependent on her and her absence had distanced him from themon sense of this new world.

    Having her back was like getting a piece of his mind back again, theck of which had been keeping him from making full use of his mental faculties which had been resulting in half boiled strategies.

    "But you seem to be forgetting the fact that I am a human as well. You are different but your tribe will never agree to support me given the history of enmity between my race and yours. Even if your people are different from those extremists, they would still hold some form of hatred for humans since they feel oppressed due to theircking numberspared to humans. How can you be so sure that they would even be willing to hear me out, let alone help me?"

    Zach''s concern was genuine, but Luna seemed to be ignoring the fact for some reason as if she couldn''t see the elephant in the room at all.

    "There won''t be a problem. Problems ur when there is any conflict of interest or an external threat. But there is no conflict between you and my tribe and there isn''t any reason for it either. As for threat, there is even less of that as I can vouch for you. You are already my master, so it won''t be too difficult. Our situation is so rare that my tribe would smilingly ept you as a tribe member if you wanted to. So, understand...that...you are different...different from the other humans, and I know that my tribe will definitely agree to support you."

    Luna was still her confident self even after being questioned by Zach. She understood his concerns, but she was the expert in this world and not him. So, she was fully capable of overruling his judgement in order to get some help.

    "I don''t think that our rtionship is enough for your family to enter into a cooperative rtionship with me." Zach had his doubts. He believed that the subus tribe would never trust him since he was a human, so a cooperative rtionship seemed a little far-fetched.

    "I am not na?ve enough to think that they will trust you without receiving anything in return. I am sure that they will agree not because of our rtionship, but because of what you can give them. Our rtionship will also help grease the whole process of them determining whether you are trustworthy or not." Luna sounded mysterious as she implied how Zach was sitting on a treasure trove using sentences with hidden meanings.

    "Whaaat? What could I possibly have that they may want?" asked Zach incredulously.

    "You are forgetting that all my tribe needs is food. Unlike our extremist counterparts, we are not very sessful in securing food for all of us. We don''t intentionally harm humans which is why most of my tribe goes hungry until absolutely necessary. Not to mention your semen is the best food they might have tasted in their whole lifetime. Believe me, I know. Cooperation with you is their best option since the subi need your semen and you need their support to stand against the human faction."

    Luna''s suggestion wasn''t bad at all. Zach could say that it was even a great idea because it had the interests of both the parties involved. They were a match made in heaven, but the idea caused Zach to shudder on the inside.

    Just Luna had been enough to suck him dry, he wondered what kind of torture he might have to go through after he entered into an agreement with the Subi tribe. It would obviously involve him having sex with a lot of their tribe members. After all, the only food that these subi were able to eat would be his semen.

    If he ended up in a cooperative rtionship with them, he would probably need to make sure that all of their people were well fed. Given the harmful effect that feeding a subus had on other men, Zach would have to handle all the burden himself since he was unaffected by whatever charm they had.

    Thinking of a bunch of sex crazed subi vying for his semen on a daily basis, Zach felt goosebumps all over his body.

 Chapter 389 389 Dont Worry

    Chapter 389  389 Don''t Worry

    His body shuddered just thinking of such a scene. He looked at his balls, wondering whether he would have enough to satisfy them all, before shaking his head in the negative. There was no way he would have enough cum in them to keep these subi full of energy.

    When he looked at it this way, he didn''t think that arge-scale cooperation was possible without harming the men in his camp. He was about to ry his doubts to Luna when thetter seemed to have read his mind entirely.

    "I know what you are thinking. Rest assured that it won''t be a problem at all." Luna noticed the terrified look on his face and felt an overwhelming urge tough at Zach because the man didn''t know his own worth. He didn''t know what kind of a treasure trove he was for the subus tribe.

    "How is that not a problem to you? What kind of a cooperation will it be if we can''t even hold up our end of the deal?" Zach was worried that their cooperation might fall through if he was unable to keep all the subi well fed which was a herculean task to begin with. One man couldn''t possibly have that much sex on a daily basis without being close to death.

    "Who says that we won''t be able to fulfill their needs?" Luna seemed to exude confidence from every pore of her skin. She had absolute trust in Zach''s capabilities and was even more confident than he was in his manly duties.

    "I am only one man. I can''t possibly feed all of them." Zach still couldn''t rest easy after Luna''s reassurances. He couldn''t understand how Luna could be so blind to the situation. He wasn''t exactly a vige well that could churn out life sustaining water as long as the vigers threw in a bucket and pulled on the rope repeatedly.

    "Don''t worry, they don''t need as much as I do normally. Moreover, the energy your semen holds after you acquired Diana''s energy is far greater than before. Her overwhelmingtent talent has infused your body with enough energy to feed the whole subus tribe in a single setting."

    Zach didn''t hide anything from Luna, not even the miracle of how she recovered from heratose state. Therefore, she had grown even more confident in Zach''s ability.

    The thought of Luna leaving him alone all over again left him in low spirits. His face scrunched up as if in pain but he had no better option either. He couldn''t exactly ask her to stay when it was obviously better for the both of them if she visited back home.

    On the one hand, Luna could reconnect with her roots after living amongst the human popce for so long. While on the other hand, she coulde back with a tangible support for Zach and the Smith family. It might even prove to be the fastest method to achieving Zach''s goal of shing with the Royal family and bringing back Christina from the capital.

    Luna had already charted out her next course of action even though she was still feeling a bit disoriented after waking up from her long slumber. But Zach couldn''t be the same as her. He felt shaken by reality once again. Even though he had decided to never part with Luna ever again, he was humbled by reality once again as he was being forced to let go of Luna as soon as she woke up.

    His weakness was as evident as nakedness and dirt on a poor beggar asking for alms on the side of the road.

    It slowly began to dawn on him that he hadn''t grown strong at all. Even though he had now received the title of Viscount and was feared amongst the masses for his astonishing strength, only he knew that it had all been a coincidence at best. It wasn''t even luck that had suddenly favored him.

    All the weapons he had unlocked, the war potential he had umted through the Neb system, and the experience of two worlds couldn''t bolster his strength in any way.

    He was still as helpless as he had been when he came to this world. He had to be cautious of provoking a strong enemy at every turn and the helplessness was slowly eroding his mental health.

    He gradually began to think that he was powerless even though he had the support of the entire Smith family.

    Unfortunately, the enemies he made at every turn surprised him with their overwhelming strength and he was forced to make a choice every single time.

    He began to feel like a loser who was only able to survive in the new world because of the overwhelmingly talented and devoted he came into contact with. At first it was Luna who guided him throughout the way. Then it was Diana who became a general under him and helped him with material and human resources of her family. When all felt lost and he found himself against the prince, it had been Christina who hade to his rescue and Luna was the one who eventually got him out of the boiling wok.

    In the end, nothing he had achieved so far had been the result of his own efforts.

    Before he could fall deeper into the quagmire of self-doubt, and self-reproach, Luna sat up on her knees and slowly crawled towards his bottom half. She wrapped her silky smooth and milky hand around his member and began to stroke it gently.

    As always, Zach''s member stood on attention at her slightest touch. It was always willing to render its services to her as long as she needed it.

    Zach could not me his soldier for that because her touch really was too mesmerizing. It charmed him into giving his everything to her.

    Lost in a world of tight strokes, Lunapletely took Zach by surprise.

    With surprising agility, the subus bent forward, and took the tip of his dick in her mouth.

    Zach growled a deep dreary groan that was like the roar of a primordial monster echoing throughout space time, shaking the souls of all those who heard it.

    Luna''s wet luscious tongue ttened against his pee hole, and trailed with a long, sensual lick, leaving a warm trickle of her saliva as a memento.

    Zach''s toes curled inwards from the unending pleasure.

    Before he could get himself out of the moist trail of her tongue thered with saliva, he felt a tremendous pressure building up from his ball sack as it traveled up his shaft and threatened to burst out at any moment.

    He ravenously stared at the back of her head as she bent over his groin, her luscious ck hair bobbing up and down with the rhythmic movement of her head. Her onyx horns peeked out of her cascading hair every now and then which gave Zach an otherworldly feeling.

    Seeing her devotion to his member, it was abundantly clear that Luna was ravenous for his cock even though his cum was spilling out of her pussy just a few minutes back.

    Zach had been with three women so far but not a single one of them couldpare with Luna in the art of giving head and the capacity for it. Not only did she have an inherent advantage due to her race, but she also had a truckload of experience to back up her skill.

    Grateful that he could finally enjoy her service as her master, Zach reclined his head further back and surrendered to the overwhelming surge of pleasure that was rippling through his throbbing penis as he ignored all the other voices in his head for the time being.

    So, as Luna sucked himsciviously, and stroked him dedicatedly, Zach shamelessly groaned in a raw voice as if to show the extent of pleasure he could feel through her actions.

    Still slurping on his bulging cock, Luna sensed the unnatural swelling at the base of his cock. She had spent enough time ying with his cock to understand what was about to happen.

    But this time she held herself back from sucking the cum out of his cock like a straw as she usually did.

    This time, she surprised him;

    "Hold it, don''t cum yet." she ordered as she pulled away from his cock and sat up again on her knees.

    "Quick, cum in my mouth. Hurry."

    She remained in a kneeling position as she urged Zach to hurry up as if desperate to receive his seed.

    Well, Zach did not need to be asked twice as he could even willingly give his life to a girl if she asked for it in such a loving manner.

    He pushed himself upward, and shot to his feet immediately, feeling every bit of the imminent geyser that was about to burst through.

    Zach steadied himself on the feathered bed, and cupped Luna''s mouth in one hand, while directing his pulsating cock towards her lips.

    Still thinking of her master, Luna sank a bit towards the downside, giving him the perfect angle to pour down the contents of his dick inside her throat.

    Growling dangerously, Zach ced his dick directly over her mouth which got her extremely excited. He pped his dick around her face twice before pushing his spear into her mouth, gently at first but like a monster when he was close to spurting out his milk.

    The skin patch at the tip of his cock swelled dangerously, turning bright pink. A trickle of white liquid escaped from his pee hole and spilled into her parched throat, moistening the inside of her throat.

 Chapter 390 390 Lets stop for now, okay?

    Chapter 390  390 Let''s stop for now, okay?

    Luna moaned as the first drops of pre-cumnded on her tongue.

    From the tiny hole, hot thick streams of cum began to gush freely. Its thickness shot out in long bursts, right into her mouth.

    Her eyes flickered with sinful desperation. Her long ivory neck arched as the fluid spilled down her throat in thering streams.

    Zach couldn''t hold himself back after seeing such a scene in front of him and desperately plunged his throbbing cock into her mouth. His balls rammed against her chin every time he thrust into her mouth pussy with the full force of his hips behind each thrust.

    Luna''s chest swelled dangerously as she inhaled deeply as if she had been feeling asphyxiated. Being experienced in the act, she didn''t try to push Zach away to regain her breath and instead forced the air out of her lungs and closed her lips around his girth.

    Her hand wrapped around the base of his pulsating rod in a tight grip, and she began to devour his climaxing manhood so as to urge it into calming down its growing momentum.

    Cushioning his rod on her tongue, she bobbed her head up and down, sliding his leaking organ in and out of her saliva filled mouth. Zach''s semen continued to gush out freely. Her mouth foamed as trickles of semen leaked out from the sides of her mouth.

    Luna held her hands underneath her chin as if to catch the dripping columns of milky fluid so as to keep any of it from going to waste. She licked her hands clean afterwards and gave him a seductive and satisfied smile.

    They had been at it for quite a long time but Luna was far from being done. She was going back home and there was no source of energy waiting for him back home. After all, she couldn''t even ingest a foreign source of semen other than her master. For her, Zach was her everything. She couldn''t betray him even if she was starving to death. Even if she intended to, her body would shut down and wouldn''t cooperate with her. Therefore, she felt that she needed to be prepared for the long journey. She had to save up every ounce of energy for her trip. She would need it to show her family her newfound strength.

    Her n couldn''t possibly work without a disy of strength. She needed to show them the effect of Zach''s semen, if possible, to reassure them about him.

    Luna had filled up every part of her body with massive amounts of cum. She had stored it wherever possible and was busily extracting energy from it and was keeping it in reserve for when she would need it. Her body at the moment was like a furnace that was converting all of Zach''s semen into useful energy that she would be able to harness at a moment''s notice if she wanted.

    Even though she was practically bursting with this potent energy, Luna didn''t have any thoughts of stopping anytime soon. She needed to be able to protect herself along the journey and she needed to get her hands on all the help she could get and that included all the energy as well.

    Zach on the other hand didn''t share her thoughts. He couldn''t understand what Luna was trying to pull. She had been milking him straight for hours and looked like she still wanted more. He was worried that she was overdoing it because it had been a long time. Her body couldn''t hold in any more of his cum. She was dripping white sticky mucus like liquid from every hole in her body. It wouldn''t be long before it would be dripping out of her nose as well if they kept going at the same rate.

    "Let''s stop for now, okay? You have just woken up. Your body needs to rest. We can continue when you wake up." suggested Zach in a pleading voice as if to keep her from getting hurt.

    Luna on the other hand turned around and propped her chest t against the bed before showing him her butt cheeks in all their glory. They had turned slightly red and there were obvious marks of his fingers along the bouncy portion, but they were still firm and seductive.

    "Why? I can still go on." retorted Luna in a pampered manner as if she didn''t like Zach trying to stop her from having her fun.

    "See this? It''s still empty. I won''t stop until you fill me up to the brim." Luna seemed to be adamant on having him in every part of her body as if she wanted to be stuffed until she couldn''t anymore. Of course, the one who would have to work the hardest for that endeavor would have to be Zach and no one else.

    His brain almost got fried after witnessing such a seductive sight. He could not keep the image out of his mind despite using several methods. He thought of several fugly women he knew from the previous world. He tried to imagine their weird figures and hairy bodies, but Luna''s image seemed to be printed on the inside of his cornea as if it was a permanent feature that couldn''t be erased.

    No matter how much he tried, he couldn''t bring himself to ignore such a sincere and humble request.

    His dick bulged even harder, and he gulped greedily as he thought about prating the greedy little subus from the back.

    With her hole just a few inches away from his dick, Zach found himself getting excited. It had been a while since he had done anything of the sort because he had only let out his inner beast with Luna so far.

    The carnal interactions he had with his other women had been pure and filled with love and tender affection because his rtionship with them wasn''t as strong as it was with Luna.

    With Luna it was different because they had slept together on countless asions, so much that carnal activity had already be a daily routine for them.

    So, the only woman he could truly go wild with, without pushing her away, was Luna.

    He had been holding himself back somewhat in her absence but now he didn''t need to do that any longer.

    But immediately, he chided himself.

    What was he thinking? Of course, Luna needed to rest first. He couldn''t keep ploughing her even if she was a subus and was innately built for such intense carnal action in the first ce.

    Instead of denying her outright, he proceeded to lick her womanhood with the fluttering movement of his tongue that sent shivers down her body as if prompting her to take action.

    Unknown to both of them, the room had gone slightly darker as if the night had invaded their room.

    The candbras were no longer giving out as much light as they did in the past. The first of the seven candles had died outpletely on the dresser. The wax spilled all over the bronze holder, trickling all the way down, solidifying at the base- and dimming the light in the room, turning the environment even more conducive for such nightly activities. The rest of the candles weren''t far from going out either.

    But neither of them took notice of the fact that the previously well-lit room was slowly and gradually falling into the embrace of evesting darkness, devouring the light within to support their lustful intentions towards each other.

    On the luxurious woolen carpet, the four wooden pirs of the bed continued to creak softly, but the sounds were muffled somewhat due to its presence.

    A rift of moans, gasps, and slurp-slurp sounds, coiled into the air, echoing lightly in the candle lit room.

    From his nose, to the area around his lower face, fresh beads of moisture glistened on his beardless chin. He was drenched in her golden showers, and yet, both his hands were still pressed up on her bubbly buttocks, forcing them apart, trying to find the correct angle to devour her delicious pink peach in between.

    He slid his pinkie finger all along her butt crack and then slipped it into her asshole as if by mistake just to test the waters before wading through them. He needed to know if there was any need for lubrication before ploughing it.

    He clenched his jaw and swallowed glumly in anticipation of what wasing next. He was extremely eager to carry out all that she desired. He owed her and himself at least that much.

    Moreover, as a fertile man, with everything right with his body, it would have been a grave sin to disappoint the bodily needs of a woman as tantalizing as her. Dissuading her from such a noble act would have been akin to pping all the men in the face who would even be willing to sell their soul to the devil to experience such a moment.

    As Luna''s body rode out thest wave of orgasms, her heaving breaths began to stabilize but the murkiness in her eyes didn''t fade at all. She seemed to have invested her soul in the act and had probably been looking for a chance to unleash her inner desires.

    His runaway finger in her ass seemed to have be the spark that ignited the fireworks inside of her.

    She stirred her headzily and gripped the mid-section of his rod tightly in reverse grip as she tried to turn her head as far towards her back as possible.

 Chapter 391 391 Lost In Carnal Pleasure

    Chapter 391  391 Lost In Carnal Pleasure

    She wanted to see him as he fucked her from behind. She wanted to smile at him as he injected her hole that was supposed to be used for excretion.

    But then she shook her head as if to shake that thought out of her head.

    For as long as she knew, she had been fighting the natural way of things. She was a subus and was still living happily with a human despite it being the opposite of the natural order.

    The thought of going against the natural order excited her somewhat as she urged his dick towards her now gaping hole.

    "I want you deep inside of me, all the way in. . ." Luna pumped and pulled on his dick, directed it towards her anal entrance and moaned at the slightest graze of his dick against her butt.

    "Make me see stars Master. . .make me feel alive again. . .stick it in me. . ."

    The softness of her charged voice snaked into Zach''s ears, causing his whole body to tingle with unbridled lust.

    His whole body instantly hardened.

    The fireworks inside him caught fire instantly and he vowed to himself to destroy the greedy subus'' ass.

    In a series of swift but precise movements, Zach positioned himself at the right angle, pulled his finger out of her anus that appeared to be cordially inviting his member to stay the night, and plunged his dick inside with no restraint.

    She screamed like a little girl at the sudden pain that coursed through her ass. The tight folds of her ass weren''t as amodating as her wet pussy and Zach had to prate with force and raw power that caused her pain that was even worse than her first time.

    On her face, the edges of her eyebrows shot straight up, as her eyes widened in shock and surprise, as she fought to control her breaths.

    Nearly every single vein on Luna''s face bulged out. She felt that Zach''s dick had grown bigger in the time she was asleep. She was out of breath just from a little insertion.

    A short sharp scream screeched through her throat as both her hands instinctively pressed up into the pillow underneath her that was supporting her while she kept her ass afloat for Zach so that it would be easier for him to prate her ass.

    The sudden pain almost caused her eyeballs to violently pop out of their sockets.

    And she was horrified to find that it was just the tip.

    Looking up at Zach with frantic eyes, and steady whimpering gasps, Luna''s face contorted in confusion. It had never been this big before. Maybe Zach was excited as well and it had caused his dick to bulge so monstrously.

    Luna needed to make a decision now that she had felt the pain that apanied doing it in the ass.

    She was battling between going along with it and bringing an end to the rectal pration.

    But Zach no longer gave her that choice.

    Luna couldn''t exactly me him for not stopping considering that she had been the one to tempt him into going along with her selfish desires.

    His rippling rod was rock-hard, and hot boiling blood was rampaging through thework of crisscrossing veins in his manhood.

    Lips sputtering, and hands balled into fists, Zach clenched his teeth, put his back into it and shoved his rod even deeper, drilling straight through her ass, burying half the length of his bulging member in her unbelievably tight asshole.

    Luna screamed out loud into the still night air. With her elbows nted on the bed, she tried to keep her ass raised but her legs had begun to tremble from the effort, and she could barely lift herself off the bed.

    "No...noбнstopбн" chanting in between heaving breaths; "бнno...pleaseбн" She felt like she had made a mistake by suggesting anal.

    Above her, Zach''s face was as ck as a storm. He gritted his teeth with effort, as his massive manhood throbbed inside her small hole.

    He looked down at the squirming woman who seemed to be asking him to stop while shaking her ass in front of him at the same time to tempt him into plunging even deeper.

    Her full round breasts that were pressed underneath her chest and into the bed had been distracting him all this time. He wanted a chance to y with them a bit as well.

    In a swift motion, he pulled himself out of her ass and turned her body over so that she was lying with her back on the bed with her eyes on the ceiling of the room.

    Looking into her eyes, he found that they were round and teary. They almost looked pleading even as her head kept shaking from side to side, but Zach pushed her slim waist downwards using his hand to put some pressure on her lithe frame essentially pinning her down.He knew that the only thing she was pleading for at the moment was his dick.

    His hand identally grazed against the inner walls of her womb and she almost orgasmed again.

    The sound of her moaning, and quivering body under his arms caused Zach''s dick to harden.

    With her back on the bed, a pillow under her head, and her arms spread out on the sides, she raised her knees upwards, exposing the pale white skin of her juicy thighs that jiggled with her every movement.

    In a birthing position, and with a stoic, yet inviting expression on her face, slowly, very slowly, she made up her mind and parted her thick thighs under the waning light of the candles, unfolding them like the blooming of a flower. She could handle a little bit of pain, but she couldn''t let go of this opportunity.

    She took the initiative to let him do what he wanted, which was also a silent affirmation that she wanted to do it as well.

    Zach''s jaws clenched as streaks of lightning shed in his round eyes.

    He groaned, thinking, "This might just be the most beautiful sight on earth. . ."

    "Come", she said.

    Unable to keep himself from acting, he arched his butt out in a slow withdrawing motion and slid his member back into her tight hole.

    They both groaned in one long, stretched out symphony.

    With his arm slid under her, holding her in ce, he immersed himself back into her butt again, sliding in with frictional thrusts that caused his bulging member to rub forcefully against the walls of her asshole.

    His trim body eclipsed Luna''s face as he plunged his member into her. The bed creaked once again under his moving weight.

    Zach groaned as each deep, long, thrust raked through her tight flesh. Her asshole was even sweeter than her pussy. It embraced him in such a passionate manner as if not intending to let go of him ever again.

    His furnace hot rod drilled in and out of her butt, stretching her insides in pleasurable strokes.

    Luna on the other hand was unable to open her eyes due to the mixture of pain and pleasure.

    She kept her eyes shut firmly and spread out her arms on both sides. Her mouth was parted slowly.

    And each deep prative thrust widened her butt cheek over and over again, invoking short gasps, and delicious moans.

    In his pulling out, and thrusting in, Zach''s rod stroked the insides of Luna''s sweet ass. Her entire body shuddered as the frequency of his strokes began to increase.

    Her fingers curled on the sheets, as Zach mmed in and out of her, forcing her into involuntary heaving motions, interrupting the tempo of her cries with intervals.

    Completely surrendering to the moment, Luna arched her head backwards, and threw her hands around Zach''s head.

    Meanwhile, Zach took that as an invitation to suck on her perky and round breasts.

    With a savage look in his eyes, his heart rate rose rapidly, and his arm came swooping down on her other boob. His fingers sank into the softness and made her squeal in part delight and part surprise.

    But both feelings melted away inparison as soon as she felt his tongue tten on her right nipple.

    From her upper body, a fresh surge of pleasure waves tore through her mind- unconsciously triggering a tight clenching of her ass that was busy enveloping his girthy cock, chomping down on it from all sides as if trying to squeeze it into releasing all the white stuff it was hiding inside it.

    Zach growled and pinched her nipples and bit on it even harder.

    In response, she gathered up all the strength in her body and focused it on her ass to clench it once again making him growl like an injured animal with lung injury.

    He gripped her waist even tighter and sucked voraciously on her flower buds, as if forcing them to gush out milk even though she wasn''tctating.

    Both boobs sat beautifully on her chest oozing not even a single drop of milk to his chagrin.

    Under the orange glow of the midnight candles, they jiggled freely, as he fucked her anally.

    He opened his mouth wide, taking in rich mounds of flesh along with her perky pink nipples sucking her greedily. They were deliciously soft and addictive.

    Lost in pleasure, it only urred to Zach after a bit of time had passed that he hadn''t been moving his lower body for a while.

    Luna had conducted a coup detat while he was lost in carnal pleasure and had seeded in taking control of the act.

 Chapter 392 392 Arent you tired?

    Chapter 392  392 Aren''t you tired?

    Despite being underneath him, she became the one fucking him.

    She expertly kept clenching her butt muscles in effortless movements, milking his dick, and sucking out his seed in small bursts, drawing out his orgasm from the almost depleted balls.

    Zach''s whole body rampaged as his dick continued to swell inside her sweet ass.

    She closed her eyes even tighter, feeling it stalking around the edges, and willed it to cum.

    The incredibly tight walls of her rectum squeezed tightly on Zach''s cock and made him feel as if he was on the verge of giving up.

    Consoling himself with the knowledge that no man could survive long in a hole this tight, he slipped his other hand under her waist, holding her tightly in both arms, he arched his naked butt out, and mmed into her ass with the full force of his body behind it.

    Her ass cheeks bounced back defiantly as they defended against the suddenly powerful attack with the inbuilt shock absorbers.

    Zach repeatedly mmed his lower body into her ass, but each thrust was faster and stronger than thest time. He didn''t want to give Luna a moment''s respite to clench his member any longer.

    The slurping sound of his wet cock, sliding in and out of her tight ass, rode on the heels of the tap-tap sounds of his crotch pping against her bouncing ass.

    He gripped her even tightly with both hands, burying his head next to her whimpering mouth, and felt her thighs spread even wider to amodate his aggressive invasion.

    Her eyes rolled, feeling every inch of it in her bowels.

    She took control and began to rub against his dick, wiggling beneath him, prodding his stiff rod along the walls of her rectum that ignited sparks in her brain.

    Luna''s body trembled all of a sudden when she felt the throbbing dick inside her reach its bursting point. She couldn''t have been more familiar with Zach''s spurting limit. As such she seized all movements and gave onest clench with her butt muscles to squeeze his dick from all sides.

    Zach felt his soul leave his body after this point and he couldn''t help but release everything he had been holding back with the sheer force of his will.

    On the wide bed, fully naked, and gasping like a slut, Luna let him fill her up, thoroughly enjoying the feel of the throbbing of his cock in her ass hole and the sticky liquid that painted her ass in white.

    She twitched and whimpered under the weight of Zach''s body on top of her, but she was far too invested in the fulfilment of her lustful desires to understand what was going on around her.

    She was gasping for breath like a sprinter after a hundred-meter sprint, but Zach couldn''t have been more stable.

    The situation was always the exact opposite in the past. It had always been him who was left panting and struggling for a breath after a heated session with Luna. Given her racial advantage in such matters, Zach had never felt like he had won in their nightly battles because he was always drained outpletely by the little subus.

    But now he barely felt anything. He was still bursting with energy just as he had been at the beginning of the nightly session. It was as if the sperm in his balls couldn''t be used up even if he filled up all of Luna''s holes one by one.

    Luna wanted to take some time to rest before going again but Zach seemed to be thinking along a different track entirely. He wasn''t the least bit tired and couldn''t help but think back to the heavenly feeling of his dick inside her tight ass. He wanted to experience it once again.

    Zach turned her over on her chest so that her ass was facing towards the ceiling. He pulled on her waist and Luna inadvertently raised her ass slightly to give him the perfect angle of pration.

    He hoisted his mast into her asshole once again. His dick slipped right into the deepest region thanks to his residual cum acting as the lubricant for his member.

    A powerless moan escaped her lips, and it was further muffled by the pillow that was underneath her face.

    Despite being lost in pleasure, she still had the sanity to ask Zach to rest for a bit before continuing.

    "Aren''t you tired? Why don''t we take a rest first?" pleaded Luna in a low groaning voice.

    "Surprisingly, I don''t feel tired at all, not even the least bit. It''s like we have yet to begin. I wonder why that is?"

    Zach truly couldn''t understand what had changed since thest time he had sex. It had never been like this. Aftering this many times, he would usually be sprawled across the bed with no knowledge of his surroundings. But this time was different. He not only felt full of energy but was also fully capable of continuing for any length of time. It was not natural at all.

    [The host does not need to be shocked. You have absorbed a lot of energy from Diana. She is an overwhelming reservoir of energy, and it is your luck that you managed to secure her for yourself before anyone else. It has helped strengthen your body.]

    "So, does that mean that I have unlimited supply of semen in my balls?" asked Zach excitedly as he tried to prod the limits of his body with the help of the system.

    The system was usually unresponsive to all his questions. Now that it had taken the initiative to answer his question, it could only mean that it was willing to answer him for some reason.

    Therefore, Zach didn''t hold back on his questions and asked them all without hesitation.

    [The excess energy that I helped you absorb while you were unconscious is still stored inside your body and has improved your bodily functions. That''s why you don''t feel tired even after having coitus for as long as you did. Also, the fact that there is no end to your sperm is only because that excess energy is assisting you in keeping your body in an optimal state at all times. It will replenish the depleted stock automatically so as to keep you in a perfect condition.]

    "You mean that this isn''t just limited to sex?" Zach wanted to understand the kind of benefits he was entitled to thanks to the energy he extracted from Diana.

    [Of course, its use isn''t that limited. Otherwise, the name of void body wouldn''t be worth anything at all. It increases the rate of recovery of your body by several times. Since your sperm count is also considered a part of your body, it has an exceptional recovery rate and can be continuously recovered as long as there is enough energy in your body.]

    "So, it isn''t endless after all?"

    Zach was somewhat depressed at the revtion after all, the endless semen wasn''t real. It was just a byproduct of the excessive energy in his body.

    [No, it is.]

    "What do you mean? You just said that it depends on the energy in my body."

    [Then do you think that these little bits of sexual acts are enough to deplete those energy reservoirs in your body? You are severely underestimating the talent that a void body has. Don''t think about these things at the moment. You will surely understand what I am telling you in the future.]

    The system went into the background once again and no matter how much Zach tried to involve it in a conversation, there was no reply or any kind of system message.

    As such Zach put all his attention back into pounding Luna without mercy. The poor subus had no choice but toply even though her whole body was sensitive from their previous session. Her body twitched and tingled but she neither had the strength nor the willingness to stop Zach from making love to her in a beastly manner.

    Zach took this opportunity to do whatever he wanted with her. Although he let her rest by doing all the work, it was far from what she needed. Her body was already out of it. It was twitching crazily and was so sensitive that she experienced orgasm even with the slightest brush against her skin.

    While Luna was trying to reassemble herself, Zach went wild as if he had no intention to stop until the end of the world.

    Luna couldn''t handle the stimtion of her body and passed out while her whole body spasmed, giving Zach a sadistic pleasure, something he never knew he woulde to like. Zach forgot everything else and pounded away like a well-oiled piston engine.

    Exactly ten minutester, Luna''s mountainous chest struck out as she awoke with a deep inhtion that seemed to have filled her empty lungs with oxygen. The air filled her with a breath of life as if she was rising from the dead.

    Her small head bobbed upwards, meeting Zach''s piercing eyes above her as if staring deep into her soul.

    Surprise crept across the poor subus'' face as she felt extremely embarrassed that she had passed out amidst sex with her master even though she had been the one to insist on more.

    "No...did I...did I actually fall asleep?" she wondered in disbelief "...that can''t be..."

    Reading her mind, Zach spoke out loud.

    "Yes. . ." he said "You went out for a minute there. . ."

    Heughed softly and he didn''t stop what he was doing despite the obvious disbelief written all over the subus'' face.

 Chapter 393 393 Im coming... master

    Chapter 393  393 I''ming... master

    Heughed softly and he didn''t stop what he was doing despite the obvious disbelief written all over the subus'' face.

    "Since you passed out after encouraging me, it is only right that I punish you. So, prepare yourself because from now on we aren''t stopping until I am satisfied."

    Luna nodded inpliance obediently as she knew that it was truly her fault.

    lightsжнж╧vel Zachughed inwardly at her meekness and lifted her from her waist to position her body on top of his own as heid down close to the headboard of the wide bed.

    The two figuresy in bed, one on top of the other.

    In the dark, their silhouettes shimmered on the headboard, slithering like twin shadows slowly merging into one another to be a single being.

    On either side of Zach''s head, Luna''s slender arms dug into the mattress, supporting her reclining figure. Behind her, the round curve of her plump ass curved out, exposing her tiny asshole beneath, as well as the veined erection that was slowly making its way into that tight opening.

    Between her bubbly cheeks, it throbbed and pierced her insides like a spear. The surrounding soft tissues around her hole seemed to be contracting and retractingpletely in tune with its intermittent throbs.

    It seemed as if her unconsciousness hadn''t kept her from following Zach''s rhythm at all.

    When his erect member entered its favorite tight hole, a soft moan in her throat escaped the confines of her lips and she leaned forward instinctively, nestling her breasts into Zach''s face.

    Head in between her round breasts, his hands found the spilling curve of each boob at the sides. Kneading her firm bulging flesh, Zach merged the two together, squeezing till they bulged out in each hand.

    Silently, his lips parted, revealing a hungry opening and an eager tongue.

    He swallowed both nipples with a hungry suckle and the subus moaned slightly. Then, in slow muttering sounds, his lips smacked against her nipples one by one.

    As the cold air swept across her naked back, she remained still, recoiling only when his tongue retracted in slow twirls around the circumference of her nipples.

    Her arms trembled slightly, and she leaned further towards him as if feeding him her luscious warm breasts forcefully.

    Time passed, Zach wasn''t sure how much, but the cold stud of her pink nipples began to pull away from his mouth as her heavy body retracted away from him.

    Steadying herself, Luna threw her head back, and reclined, leaning all the way backwards till both her hands rested on his knees behind her.

    The bed creaked softly as it was the only source of sound in the room.

    On the left side of the bed, the subus lifted her fat thigh. In one fluid motion, still with his massive dick lodged on her butt, she swung it over his body and brought it to rest on the other side of his body essentially twisting her body on top of him by a hundred and eighty degrees.

    She had turned aroundpletely and was now facing his legs in a reverse cowgirl position.

    The curve of her waist bent inwards as she dropped forward, cing her hands on each of his kneecaps giving Zach a full view of her bubbly ass.

    Zach gulped as if in anticipation of what woulde next. He wanted to close his eyes in an attempt to thoroughly enjoy the feeling his dick was enveloped in, but he couldn''t bring himself to turn his eyes away from the heavenly view in front of him.

    The feast had only just begun, and it was bound to be even more beautiful.

    Both his eyes flickered at the sensational sight.

    It wasn''t just the fleshy bulging of each cheek, but it was also whatid in between.

    The tissue surrounding her pink hole had stretched as it puckered outwards, enveloping his girth in an unnatural squeeze. The sight of his own dick in her tiny hole surprised him.

    He wondered how such a tiny hole of hers could take in all of his member without her screaming to the high heavens about the injustice of it all.

    Like a tree trunk, his member towered straight upwards while pulsing between her twin fleshy molds.

    A hungry lump formed at the base of his throat. His hands found each buttock in sequence, and he dug into the jiggly flesh with his ravenous ws.

    He heard a silent moan from the other side as she curled forward, pressing her hands against his knees with a little more force.

    Zach''s knees buckled slightly under thebined weight of her crushing buttocks and the solid grip of her hands as her ass began to rise and fall in a rhythmic manner.

    Eyes wide open, Zach watched the jelly-like mounds striking against his pelvis like two monstrous mountains nailing him further into the bed with each downward strike.

    With heavy thuds, her glorious buttocks heaved and fell, and her mesmerizing pants sounded in his ears like the call of the sirens from the depth of the ocean, charming him into diving headfirst into their cold embrace.

    Natural as she was due to her racial advantage, her waist began to move in a slow mesmerizing twirl following each bounce on top of his pelvis.

    The outermost part of her anus puckered outwards and then slurped back in again, sliding his rod in and out in tight squeezes.

    In his clenched jaws, his teeth began to grind against each other in an attempt to keep himself from cumming instantly from the pleasure.

    The bed squeaked frequently as if it would give out any moment now.

    From her shoulders to his knees, the trajectory of her slender arms remained firm like adjacent pirs meant to stabilize her rocking body.

    Eyes closed, and hair spread across her face like that of a virgin ghost, she slowly increased the pace of her rise and fall.

    Her butt pped hard against his firm body.

    Zach watched his girth slide in and out of her mesmerizing buttocks with sparkling eyes.

    Matching the rising beating of her heart rate, her buttocks rose and fell on his cock, fucking him in tight squeezes, and rotating her waist like it was made of water.

    Every time she twisted her body with his dick inside her, Zach groaned heavily as if trying to rein in the monster inside of him.

    Her long ck hair danced across his face, gyrating in sync with her bouncing body.

    Thick ck veins appeared on his cock as he took in the sight of her hardworking body.

    As she heaved her ass upwards, she clenched her rectum in a tight squeeze, letting his rock-hard erection throb against her bowel wall with each thrust and then released it as her butt came down.

    She repeated it several times before his urethra began to throb against her prostate nds.

    She grinned deliriously while looking into his eyes tauntingly just as he was about to cum.

    Frantically, she gripped his knees even tighter, wedging her weight against his legs and tilted her head to the side to push the cascading hair to one side, and began to bounce even harder.

    A thin line of sweat began to travel from Zach''s forehead to his chin as he began to lose control of his member that was about to spray out everything it had.

    Veins stood out on his neck as his head jerked forward trying to control his impulse to spill.

    Jaw hanging loose, his eyes burned passionately in his sockets while Luna obliviously rode the fuck out of his erection.

    A hot surge throughout the length of his tube.

    It rose upwards fast and hard like a volcanic geyser, defying gravity in one single outburst of natural force.

    He roared like lightning thundering on a rainy night in the distance.

    The subus didn''t give him time to enjoy his release as she tried to milk him dry with her ass.

    The beefy curve of her waist tilted slightly to the left, targeting her pleasure nds, and slid his erection against his which was already beginning to loosen.

    A burst of squeals erupted from her throat, followed closely by a chant of whimpers.

    "I''ming... master."

    Against his teeth, his tongue cked softly;

    "Luna...I aming too."

    Luna wickedly clenched her buttocks despite her sensitivity due to the orgasm she was experiencing, drawing out his milk in tight squeezes.

    She sped his rod firmly between her buttocks and refused to let it go until it had paid the toll for crossing into the mountains.

    Zach''s whole body spasmed and he lost strength in his knees momentarily until his lower body was no longer under his control.

    Clenching her hole viciously, the subus sank her buttocks down on his pubis with ast forceful thud as she waited for the final spray that would paint her insides white.

    The semen came shooting shot out of his pee hole with a savage burst, sending explosive tingles through her entire body.

    Together, their heads arched backwards toward the ceiling as they tried to endure the euphoric pleasure their bodies were experiencing.

    Like night wolves, they howled into the void together.

    The room absorbed their eager moans and their whimpers as they tried to bring their overly sensitive bodies under control.

    Still throbbing violently, Zach''s organ shot out another long hot stream of cum into her butthole.

    His toes curled at the foot of the bed and his waist jerked uncontrobly.

    The paralyzing orgasm rippled through his cock and Zach lost all bearing.

 Chapter 394 394 Apart

    Chapter 394  394 Apart

    Time stretched into an endless loop as both of themy sprawled on top of each other,pletely out of their senses as they gradually came to terms with the gripping pleasure their bodies were experiencing.

    By the time thest gripping waves of his orgasm released him, Zach had already opened his eyes.

    In front of him, just south of his groin, Luna had copsed.

    Her soft breasts nudged against the calves of his legs.

    And in between her luscious butt cheeks, his stiffness bulged defiantly.

    Zach was not done.

    Not even close.

    Grunting, he leaned forward with an energetic spring, jerking himself to an upright position.

    Eyes zing, he held himself steady and shoved her off him in a half-gentle, half-rough shove.

    Shended on her side, but with her right leg crossed over the other.

    Grunting, Zach slid out of the bed, and pulled her unconscious body towards the edge.

    Her breasts jiggled uncontrobly as he dragged her away from the wet pool of her earlier release.

    He hovered above her, eyes zing over her naked body as he lowered himself onto her gradually.

    His powerful right hand sped the base of his rod as he stroked himself fervently. His body had already reverted back to its optimal state and his balls were once again filled to the brim with his essence.

    It seemed that he was ready for another invasion of the tight cave of mysteries between her jiggly mountains.

    His knees forced herps apart, and her beefy thighs separated with a soft rustling on the sheets.

    Laying the tip of throbbing rod at the bottom of her clitoris, he rubbed against it circles- pleasuring himself in deep low groans. Finally, he angled it downwards and slipped it in- prating her asshole again in deep slow, luscious strokes.

    Soft plushy thuds followed his every descent.

    A deep growl escaped his throat again.

    His hips thrust forward, sliding deeper, prating her fleshy folds and gliding into the warm moisture of her groin.

    His body tensed slightly as he went all the way in, not stopping until his entire length was inside of her.

    She was tight.

    The deliciousness of her cream cradled his rod. Her moisture cushioned his pration making every single inch of travel feel like a mini orgasm.

    He tried to remember this feeling since it would be a long time before he would be able to feel it again.

    Her asshole was oppressively tight. He wanted to keep her with him if fate allowed it. Unfortunately, he was in no position to say no to her suggestion.

    Grunting, his hands grabbed each side of her waist impatiently adjusting himself between her legs. Slowly, he withdrew his cock out of her.

    The slimy wetness of her grointhered all over his cock.

    He looked upwards and found her staring at him with eyes filled with love and lust at the same time.

    He didn''t know how she did it but every time she had this look in her eyes, he wanted to make love to her in the most animalistic manner possible. It made him want to mark her as his territory and guard her like a dragon keeping watch over its precious treasure.

    The night was already turning into a day outside the borders of the room but the two inside the room acted as if they were the only two people in the world and the survival of their respective species was dependent on their procreation.

    Flesh against flesh, the game continued until morning when Luna began to retch his cum from her nose and her mouth. He had pumped her so full in her rectum that there was no way for the cream to exit other than her mouth and her nose.

    бн

    The following afternoon, Zach woke up first as he wasn''t tired to begin with. All caught up with his sleep, he left his bedroom, leaving the seductive figure of his precious Luna behind.

    Luna was too tired from the brutal nightly session. She had barely managed to stay conscious throughout the session and it did not look like she was going to be awake any time soon.

    Zach didn''t want her to leave in such a condition so he purposely didn''t wake her up, so she would rest a bit more. He knew how bullheaded she could be when she wanted to. Therefore, instead of dealing with her impulses immediately, he chose to postpone them until she was in a good enough condition to depart for her home.

    None of the servants in the household knew that Luna was awake. Before she had arrived, Zach had already dismissed the servants due to the scene that Diana and ra had caused.

    Thinking back on it now, he felt like he should be thanking the two of them. Otherwise, the news of Luna''s return would have spread in the entire city already.

    But at the moment, he needed to keep this matter a secret, at least until Luna had left the Hina Empire safely. He didn''t want her to be hunted along the way. And keeping her return a secret was the only method he could think of.

    Even though he had be a viscount of the empire, he didn''t have any real power to prevent the people from going after her.

    Racial discrimination couldn''t be eliminated so easily out of these people. It was in the blood of all the humans born in this world.

    Therefore, asking them to hold back generations of hatred and bloody vows for him was a bit far-fetched. It might even have incriminated him in the eyes of the citizens if he tried to stand up for her defense.

    Another reason he was keeping it a secret was because of the royal family and the presence of that princess in the city.

    From what he had heard, they were here to keep him in check and if possible, and to recruit him by using Christina as a hostage and through a show of power that he would have no chance but to bend the knee.

    But unfortunately for them, Zach didn''t consider them anything more than a cinch in his quest for domination. He was ying the long game and wasn''t interested in serving the royal family.

    Instead, he wanted to overthrow the cruel government that had forced him into such dire circumstances in Elizabeth city and had taken his beloved Christina from him.

    The royal family considered Luna to be dead after the incident in Elizabeth city and Zach wanted to keep it as such.

    No matter how much he wanted to deny it, Luna was his only weakness in the city and the only reason that the Empire could use to attack him into submission.

    If her presence were to be revealed to the royal family, it would cause the Smith family tons of problems that the family was unable to face at this time.

    Therefore, her leaving for her hometown was probably a good thing, both for her and for him and the Smith family.

    While eating a hearty lunch, he waited for ra and Diana to arrive. He had already sent someone to fetch them as soon as he left his room with the message that he needed to talk to them in person.

    Zach was quite hungry because the energy in his body wasn''t enough to keep him sated. It could curb the requirement of food needed by his body, but it couldn''t satisfy his mind that was tuned to eating three meals a day no matter what.

    Habits were hard to change and there was no need to use the energy in his body just to avoid eating when the food was readily avable, and he enjoyed eating.

    It wasn''t long before the two of them arrived and took their seats opposite each other beside Zach who was upying the head seat at the dining table.

    "You are here. Eat up, you must have rushed here."

    Zach didn''t need to say anything else as it wasn''t their first time eating with him.

    Both of them took a few dishes and poured them out on their tes before staring at Zach as if waiting for him to say something.

    Their hearts were pounding in their chests. They were thinking that Zach had called them over to give them a scolding for their childish act the previous night. They were so nervous that they hadn''t even touched their food and were only ying around with it with the help of a fork.

    "Why aren''t you eating?" Zach noticed how the two of them weren''t eating anything and asked curiously. He wondered if the two of them were already full and had onlye at his request to join him.

    "Nothing, it''s just that I am curious why you called us here." answered Diana with her head lowered.

    ra cursed her in her mind thinking that Diana had needlessly provoked Zach. They could have dyed the inevitable for a little while longer.

    "Oh...about that...I called you here because I wanted to ask you something."

    "What is it?" Both the girls answered in unison as if they knew that he would broach the topic in such a manner. There was still hope in their hearts that Zach hadn''t called them here about the incident that took ce yesterday.

    "About yesterday night..." Zach wanted to begin by asking if they had already spilled the beans to anyone. After all, the previous night he hadn''t asked them to keep this to themselves.

    Their faces darkened as soon as they heard Zach''s first few words.

 Chapter 395 395 Her Journey

    Chapter 395  395 Her Journey

    He had clearly mentionedst night.

    "We''re sorry about what happened..." was what Diana wanted to say but nothing came out of her mouth when she tried to say it. It was as if someone had mped her mouth shut.

    ra was ring at her but she didn''t have a solution either and was sorrily waiting for the scolding.

    But it never came.

    "Did you tell anyone else about what happened yesterday?" continued Zach. Their answers were truly important for him because it would give him a way forward. He would have to change his strategy ordingly.

    If the two of them had already told anyone else, he would have no choice but to send Luna along with some powerful escorts and high-tech followers. Otherwise, he would be too afraid to part with her.

    In the opposite case, there would be no harm in letting her go alone as long as he could ensure that the information regarding her could be contained.

    "Why would we tell anyone else about that?" It was Diana who replied. She wondered if Zach was teasing them intentionally. Otherwise, why would he keep mentioning the embarrassing incident over and over again.

    "Right, isn''t it already embarrassing enough that you saw that?" thought ra as she reinforced Diana''s words in her heart.

    "That''s great. I had been really worried that you would have told someone about Luna''s awakening by now." Zach let out a breath of relief and a smile appeared on his face. It seemed that he could continue with his n of letting Luna go on her own without anyone knowing a thing about her.

    With this she would not have to worry about being hunted along the way home and it would also help him rest easy knowing that she was safe.

    "So, that''s what he was talking about." unknown to Zach, there were two more breaths of relief that were released at the same time as him. Both the girls had been thinking that Zach was talking about their squabble, but the doubts had been cleared now. They hade to understand Zach''s reason for asking them such a question out of the blue. He had even asked them over just to hear their answer in person.

    Although they didn''t like it that Zach was doing so much for the subus, they kind of understood why he was doing it. He probably felt guilty about not being able to protect her.

    Moreover, this also meant that he had forgotten about their fight, and they could put that at the back of their minds as well.

    "I want to request something from the two of you."

    "What is it? If I can do something for you, I will do it without hesitation." It was ra who answered. Her usual impulsiveness allowed her to ignore all the consequences of what she was agreeing to. Therefore, she was able to get ahead of Diana in making a good choice for herself.

    Diana wanted to mirror her words but only ended up nodding her head excitedly as if she was more than willing to hear out any of his requests. But the fact that ra managed to take the spotlight irked her somewhat.

    Still, she had conveyed her willingness to Zach that drew out an excited smile from him.He nced at the two of them one by one as if emphasizing the point that he was about to make.

    "You know how Luna is awake already."

    The two nodded their heads in acknowledgement.

    "I want you to keep that to yourself. I don''t want it to spread beyond the three of us. Let it be a secret no matter what."

    Zach''s serious look caused the two of them to understand the severity of the situation as they agreed readily and eliminated any thoughts that they had about gossiping about it with others.

    Zach was done with his lunch soon after. But the girls who had been keeping themselves from eating anything due to their anxiety were now busily devouring the food as if they had survived the toughest ordeal in their lives and wanted nothing more than to stuff themselves with all kinds of delicious food.

    The lunch ended without any further conversation as Zach seemed to be lost in thought. The two didn''t think it right to disturb him at that moment because of how concerned he looked. His thumbs were constantly fidgeting and changing their position as if they couldn''t find afortable one despite several permutations.

    "Are you done eating, master?" a silvery voice sounded behind Zach and brought him out of his reverie like nothing else. Because it belonged to his most precious person, his greedy subus, Luna.

    "Mmm...I am done. Were you able to sleep well?" asked Zach in a concerned tone. Both of them had been too wild the night before and he was worried that he had overdone it and might have hurt Luna in the process.

    "Of course, I was so stuffed that I slept like a log. I only just woke up and found that you were gone." There was obvious glee in her voice.

    She sounded like a little girl springing in joy from the happiness she felt inside her.

    "That''s good. Will it be enough for the time you will be away from me? I am worried that it might not be."

    Zach got up from his seat and walked towards Luna with a perturbed look. He was struggling on the inside whether to let her go or not.

    Although he had already decided that Luna''s departure was necessary for himself and the growth and continued survival of the Smith family, he was still somewhat reluctant to let her go alone on this venture when there were enemies all around her.

    He had taken whatever precautions he could take to keep her safe, but he didn''t want to part with her too. Just Christina being away from him was hurting his heart terribly. Luna''s departure was bound to shatter his heart into millions of pieces.

    "You don''t have to go, you know. I can think of something else. It''s not like I am out of options already." said Zach hoping that she would listen to him and would decide to stay with him.

    His words, though convincing, were far from being enough to convince Luna. She was stubborn once she decided to do something, especially something that concerned her master''s well-being.

    As he expected already, Luna wasn''t affected in the least. Instead, her determination to leave seemed to be stronger than ever.

    "I know but I want to help master. I don''t want to be useless anymore. I feel like I am only holding you back."

    "It seems to me that you won''t change your mind no matter what I tell you."

    "Yes, I won''t. It''s the fastest way to help master achieve your goals." Luna was uncharacteristically adamant on leaving for her home.

    "Even if it makes me sad to see you leave." Zach tried to y the emotional card with Luna, hoping that she wouldn''t be able to see him sad.

    "Master, your words will only cause me more pain, but I will leave, nheless. So, I implore you, please don''t stop me." Luna sounded as if she was in pain, as if she was already experiencing the heartache of separating from Zach but was still determined to carry through with her decision.

    Zach pulled on her arm and brought her into his tight embrace.

    Luna felt her heart race and her blood rush to her face as she held her head against Zach''s shoulder,pletely unable to move as he caressed her hair with boundless gentleness, his touch sending shivers down her entire nervous system, jolting her sleeping senses awake.

    "When are you nning to leave?" asked Zach but he already knew the answer from her earlier behavior. She had already decided to leave and had probablye to say farewell to him.

    "Right now. It is better if I leave right now. The earlier I go, the earlier I can be by your side again." Luna''s voice was close to breaking down, but she managed to maintain a strong front so as to reassure Zach.

    "That would probably be best." Zach was somewhat relieved as he didn''t know how long he could keep the news of her awakening under wraps. Therefore, he felt that it was good that she was leaving immediately when there was no outside threat.

    And as for what would happen after she left, Zach could deal with it then. It would be easier for him as well at that time.

    "Will you apany me outside, master? I want you to send me off." Luna rubbed her face against his chest as she wrapped both of her arms around his waist. It was as if she wanted to memorize what his embrace felt like before she left on her journey.

    "Mm"

    Luna looked up at his face and noticed how torn he looked but she steadied her heart and took a step back from him before walking steadily towards the door that would mark the beginning of her journey back home.

    Zach followed after her and easily matched his pace with hers and caught her hand.

    He adjusted the gown she was wearing to hide her horns and her beauty from any prying eyes.

    "You don''t need to prove anything to me. I''m grateful for yourpany and care." Zach made onest attempt to stop her.

    The result; she shot him down instantly saying, "It''s not about proving, master. I want to be your partner.

 Chapter 396 396 I Promise

    Chapter 396  396 I Promise

    "It''s not about proving, master. I want to be your partner. I want to face all the challenges together with you. I want to contribute, not just be someone you take care of because of your rtionship with me."

    "Fine then, I won''t try to stop you. But you have to promise me that you will take care of yourself. And there is no need to force yourself. If you find yourself unable to convince your family, rush back to me immediately. We can think of some other solution together, okay?" Zach had no other choice but to relent to her stubbornness and let her go.

    "I promise, master...and when Ie back, we''ll face everything together and I won''t have to be away from you ever again."

    Luna gave him one final smile before walking away from him slowly. She used the servant exit to venture into the outside world as Zach was left behind to watch her receding back with remorse in his eyes.

    With a brief goodbye hanging in the air, Luna had embarked on a journey that was as uncertain as it could be, her steps echoing the unspoken emotions of departure, decimating Zach''s heart.

    The atmosphere was charged with a bittersweet blend of determination and anticipation as she left behind thefort of familiarity to go back to her roots.

    Watching her gradually escape the range of his vision, Zach tried to grapple with the recurring theme of parting with his loved ones, a feelingpounded by the departure of yet another significant woman. The emotional tone in his heart was heavy,den with the weight of connections severed or altered by circumstances beyond his control.

    After Christina, he had been hoping to never experience such a feeling again.

    Little did Zach anticipate that the wave of emotions associated with parting would crash upon him sooner than expected.

    The feeling took him by surprise, a twist of fate that defied the joy he had envisioned upon Luna''s awakening.

    Instead of reveling in the celebration of her return, he found himself forced by circumstances to bid her farewell.

    At this moment, the only person he hated more than the royal family was himself. Despite having the system at his disposal, he had been unable to secure a safe haven for himself and his people.

    His expressions resonated with the depths of remorse and frustration as he grappled with the consequences of his perceived inadequacy.

    Even the system, once a source of empowerment, now stood as a stark reminder of his inability to make use of it properly to shield those he cared for.

    He had not only jeopardized the lives of all those he loved but had also allowed the royal family to target him through his women even though he was practically sitting on a treasure trove of futuristic weaponry.

    Both Christina and Luna had been targeted by the royal family in different ways, but the result had been the same in both scenarios. He had ended up separating from both of them with no knowledge of their well-being and a heart-rending longing that wed at his chest from the inside.

    Zach had previously envisioned himself as the protagonist of a fantasy novel. He had been dreaming of effortlessly building a vast harem and reveling in a life of perpetual enjoyment for the rest of his days.

    But the dreamy expectations that once fueled his imagination now stood in stark contrast to theplex and challenging reality, a p in the face that awakened him from his foolish fantasies.

    The disparity between fantasy and actuality weighed heavily on Zach''s shoulders. The romanticized notion of an idyllic life shed with the intricacies of his struggles, evoking a sense of yearning for a simpler life that he could enjoy without being disturbed on and off by any external factors.

    The harsh reality persistently reminded Zach that human nature remained immutable, and greed was one of the best motivators for human activity.

    No matter what he did, there would always be some elements who would get in the way of his ideal lifestyle. There would always be someone who would covet what he had.

    Therefore, there was no escape for him as long as he stayed within human society. He had to get strong enough to evoke subservience in all those around him. Only then would he be able to live his life as he wanted to.

    бн

    Zach had not stopped writing the textbook despite all that had transpired in the past few days. Although he had been grieving Luna''s departure in his heart, that didn''t keep him from working tirelessly to improve the overall strength of the Smith family. After all, they were the assets he was relying on to help him stand against the Royal family in the future.

    The textbook he was writing was supposed to be used for their education. ra and Diana had been using excerpts from his textbook to do the job at the moment but Zach wanted to give all the knowledge he wanted to impart a shape of a textbook so that it would be readily avable to all the members of the Smith family.

    In time, there would be no one in his family who could be considered illiterate. They would all be several times ahead of their counterparts no matter where they went.

    As such, Zach was taking this job very seriously and had finished writing most of it. He was busily reviewing his work for the day when there was a knock on the office door.

    The door was pushed open before he could say anything to invite the person in.

    The only person in the house other than his women who had the guts to open his office door like this was Bruce.

    Therefore, Zach didn''t even bother lifting his face from the textbook to acknowledge his presence and continued running his pen across the sheet of paper lying in front of him.

    In the midst of Zach''s focused endeavor of handwriting a textbook, Bruce''s hurried steps and palpable excitement sliced through the tranquil atmosphere, but Zach seemed to be ignoring him.

    Bruce didn''t stand on ceremony either and pulled up a chair to sit opposite Zach as if it was the norm between the two.

    The air crackled with Bruce''s anticipation; his energy contagious as he approached Zach.

    Eager to share the news that had clearly stirred him, Bruce couldn''t contain his enthusiasm.

    "Zach, you won''t believe what we''ve just discovered!" Bruce eximed; his words punctuated by the rapid rhythm of his heartbeat.

    Zach, sensing the urgency and excitement in Bruce''s voice, set aside his quill, his own curiosity piqued as Bruce wasn''t someone who liked to make a fuss without any reason.

    "What did you find that has you so excited?"

    Leaning in, Bruce hastily spilled the revtion. "One of our servants stumbled upon something incredible in the former Hunter family''s basements. Two women, Zach! They were imprisoned there."

    "I didn''t think you were one of those who think with their little brother. It''s just two women. Is it worth being so happy over two women?"

    "I reacted the same way when I was told the news as well. But what I found outter on, almost blew my mind. The two women, when I found them for the first time, just the temperament of the girl and the elegance with which she carried herself was quite visible. Even the most trained women couldn''t be as well-spoken as her. So, I couldn''t help but want to figure out their secret. Guess what I found?"

    ...

    It had been some of the soldiers responsible for scouring out the dregs of the Hunter family who were still lingering in the city. These were the ones who had been abandoned by the old butler of the Hunter family before taking all his family members away.

    Thanks to their thorough search, Bruce was able to chance upon the two women who had previously been locked up in a cer.

    Instead of wasting time listening to their stories and figuring out what was truth and what was false, he called for the polygraph test from the very start. However, he didn''t tell the two women anything about the capability of the polygraph.

    He called the two of them in and interrogated them about their identities. Of course, from the initial introduction the two made, he had already inferred that one of them was supposed to be the princess of the destroyed Ascar Dynasty which used to be one of the major yers in the world in terms of war potential.

    However, he needed to confirm the same through the help of the polygraph.

    "Who are you two? Why were you being held captive here?" asked Bruce with a solemn expression but there was not a trace of sympathy on his face. He wasn''t obligated to care about every single person in the world. The fact that he was able to somehow cater to his own people was more than enough for him to earn blessings for a lifetime.

    "We used to be a princess of a fallen empire and her weak maid. But now you could call us the ythings of the Hunter family." The bony woman seemed to be quite timid while the plump and sexy figure seemed to be quite outgoing as she answered all his questions.

    "Both of you?" Bruce stared at the bony figure as he asked the question as if wondering why would anyone bother being with the skeleton like figure when there was the plump princess beside her.

 Chapter 397 397 Identity

    Chapter 397  397 Identity

    "Men would never touch a maid when there is a princess at their mercy especially when the difference is this great. She escaped the fate of being defiled even though she is only a maid. While I ended up soiled beyond count despite having lived a sheltered life without any threat."

    Bruce nodded.

    "What is your true identity? Don''t lie to me." Bruce had figured out many things with the help of the polygraph during their conversation. Most of the things the two women were telling him were the truth. However, most of those questions involved both of them as a single unit.

    But whenever he asked questions regarding one of them, the polygraph showed that they were lying.

    Before long he was able to decipher what was going on. They were telling the truth about their identities but there was a catch. The two had switched their identities with each other and one was pretending to be the other for God knows what reason.

    The bony maid turned out to be the actual princess while the plump and sexy princess turned out to be the maid who was supposed to serve the princess.

    Bruce sent them for a bath before rushing to Zach in order to narrate the events to him and ask for his opinion.

    "What do you mean?" Zach''s fading enthusiasm was reignited by his words as he felt genuinely curious about their identity.

    "One of them is a princess...a princess of a destroyed dynasty that had long since be a part of the Hina empire."

    A surge of emotions flickered across Zach''s face, a blend of eagerness, hope, and a hint of cautious optimism. The news, unexpected and promising, kindled a spark in his eyes.He had been looking for allies but had been unable find any so far.

    Members of a fallen royal family could be an excellent addition to his force. Unfortunately, the two girls didn''t look like they could fight at all from what Bruce narrated to him.

    While Bruce fervently unraveled the details, Zach''s mind diverged, contemting the formidable might of the Ascar Dynasty.

    From his studies, Zach had gleaned insights into the dominion of the Ascar Dynasty, a ruling force presiding over a modestndmass yet wielding the most formidable fighting force on a global scale.

    The intricacies of their military prowess especially had left an indelible mark on Zach''s understanding of geopolitical dynamics. Recollections of political maps and insightful excerpts danced through Zach''s thoughts.

    The Ascar Dynasty''s reputation for honing the most elite soldiers fascinated him. Their training methodologies, meticulously documented in the snippets he had encountered, showcased amitment to excellence that surpassed geographical constraints. It had been the force that was closest to the special forces he had trained himself.

    Regrettably, the once-mighty fighting force of the Ascar Dynasty had encountered its downfall when confronted by the overwhelming numbers of the Hina Empire.

    The sh between these titans had wrought a grim tale of death and devastation upon the Ascar Dynasty, a narrative etched with the scars of conflict and the ebb of once-unassable power.

    The Hina Empire, shrouded in the veil of territorial expansion, had justified its conquest at the expense of the Ascar Dynasty''s sovereignty.

    Two decades had psed since the tragic events unfolded, yet whispers of a resilient hope lingered in the global narrative.

    A pervasive rumor traversed the world, weaving a tale that hinted at a glimmer of salvation for the Ascar Dynasty.

    The spection suggested that, amidst the ruins of a once-proud dynasty, the princess had been ndestinely ushered to safety.

    In the ndestine corridors of global hearsay, a murmur persisted; the exiled princess, safeguarded from the tumultuous tides of war, would one day return to reim her rightful ce on the throne of the Ascar Dynasty.

    Even the passage of time had not dulled the resonance of this whispered prophecy. Instead, it had persisted stubbornly, a testament to the enduring allure of tales that spoke of resurgence and redemption.

    As Zach absorbed this piece of spective history, he couldn''t help but acknowledge the potent symbolism embedded in the possibility of a princess''s triumphant return, an echo of hope resonating across the annals of a bygone conflict. It almost made him want to root for the princess.

    The outside world still believed that the princess was out there waiting for her chance to strike back at the empire, but reality always had a way of rearing its ugly head in the worst of ways.

    The princess these people had been waiting for had already been caught before she could make any big moves and was locked in a basement for the personal pleasure of the Hunter family leader and his son.

    In aligning himself with the captive princess, Zach harbored aspirations beyond the immediate realm of rescue and liberation.

    The strategic importance of securing her allegiance resonated deeply with his ambitions. In his strategic calculus, having the princess on his side symbolized more than a mere act of rescue; it represented the potential rallying of all sympathizers and remnants of the Ascar Dynasty under his banner.

    However, the sess of this intricate n hinged on a delicate yet crucial factor бк earning theplete trust of the imprisoned princess.

    The intricacies of geopolitics demanded a foundation built on trust, and Zach recognized that his efforts to unite the remnants would only bear fruit if the princess saw him as a reliable ally.

    Zach found himself perplexed by the unexpected disparity in size between the princess and her maid when they were brought before him. He wondered if the Hunter family had been mistreating one more than the other.

    Scratching his head in confusion, he turned to Bruce for rification. In response to Zach''s quizzical expression, Bruce offered an enlightening exnation.

    "I told you before that the maid had switched identities with the princess earlier. The bony one that looks like a maid is the actual princess while the plump and sexy one is the maid." Bruce began, his voice carrying a hint of intrigue.

    "You see, nobody in the outside world knew what the princess truly looked like. To shield her from potential threats, her devoted maid took on the role of a deliberate decoy, assuming the likeness of the princess in secret. As a result, Hogan and his son defiled the maid countless times just because she had taken the ce of the princess while the bony princess went unnoticed and untouched."

    Zach couldn''t help but marvel at the intricacies of the princess''s protection, realizing that her safety had been safeguarded by the discreet sacrifice of her loyal maid.

    Such devotion and selflessness were not easy toe by. Despite being locked up for several years without a chance of escape, the maid had been keeping her princess safe from harm; even when there were no chances of ever making it out alive.

    He wondered if the princess could appreciate the sacrifices made by the maid for her. If she turned out to be like those pampered royals he hade across as well, he would be extremely disappointed in the scion of the Ascar Dynasty.

    "What are your names?" asked Zach once Bruce brought the two women with him.

    "I am Carol, former princess of the Ascar Dynasty as I told this gentleman here before as well." announced the fake princess, her voice carrying a regal air despite the circumstances.

    The maid truly knew how to y the part of the princess well. Her act wasmendable and devoid of any obvious holes.

    It seemed that she hadn''t deceived the cunning leader of the Hunter family for nothing all these years.

    Brittany, as was the name of the full-figured maid, acted very forting in front of Zach as she wiggled her hips in an attempt to attract all of Zach''s attention to herself.

    To others, it would have appeared as if she was selfishly trying to hoard all his attention to herself so that he wouldn''t be able to favor the other woman or might even ignore her presence altogether.

    But Zach could see the truth since he had alreadye to know the secret of the two women.

    She wasn''t acting selfishly at all. On the contrary she was giving it her everything in order to keep the other woman from catching Zach''s eye, but not to earn his favor.

    Instead, she wanted to protect her from Zach if he had any lecherous designs for her. She wanted to be her meat shield that would be able to protect her from all harm if possible.

    Such loyalty wasmendable. It was rare to find such selfless and devoted subordinates. Each one was akin to a precious deep-sea pearl; unique and rare in design, dimension and disbursement.

    Zach didn''t stop Brittany''s actions outright. He nned to see how far she was willing to go for her liege.

    He was curious as to how someone could be this loyal when the other person had nothing to offer in return.

    The princess was obviously penniless and had nothing to her name considering that the Ascar dynasty was no more. So, what could she possibly have to offer the maid that thetter was willing to do anything for her sake?

    From the actions of the maid, Zach also deduced that the two women obviously didn''t know that their little scheme had already been found and they werepletely out in the open. Their little pretense was of no use in front of Zach who had heard everything from Bruce already.

    Polygraph didn''t belong to this world, so the princess and maid duo had acted carelessly while they were being interrogated by Bruce.

 Chapter 398 398 Two Women

    <h4>Chapter 398 Chapter 398 Two Women</h4>

    They had revealed far too much information to him already but werepletely in the unknown and the maid was even attempting to seduce Zach on top of that.

    Although Zach was sympathetic after hearing the story of the exiled princess and the maid who offered up her body in the ce of her liege to keep her purity intact while hoping to receive nothing in return for her sacrifices, he wasn''t the na?ve him from the past.

    Zach had been through too much during the past few months. He had been driven out of Elizabeth city, roamed the wilderness in search for a shelter, almost lost Luna to the royal family, was schemed against by the Hunter family despite not being in their way, lost Diana to a brigand of pirates on his own ind, lost the home he painstakingly built once again to a natural disaster, caught the eye of the Royal family once again and ended up losing Christina to them this time.

    At every turn, the Royal family had shown its greedy nature to him.

    In his eyes, Luna and her race was far better than any human from the royal family because whatever they did at least brought pleasure to the people and was a consensual act. However, the royals had done nothing but harm to him in pursuit of their greed for more power and benefits that he could bring them.

    Therefore, he couldn''t as easily trust the two members of another royal family without putting them through the wringer to ascertain whether they were worth saving and didn''t have any hateful traits like the royal family he was familiar with. He didn''t want to have to deal with a knife from behind his back after helping these two out.

    Zach felt a bit of pity towards Brittany whose voluptuous figure was ''identally'' brushing up against his arms and thighs every now and then as she answered all his questions in a sensual voice meant to arouse him into unleashing his inner beast.

    She was probably trying to wring him dry so he would have no thoughts of going after Carol.

    Little did she know that this endeavor of hers could bring her an ocean of pain considering that Zach was a bottomless well when it came to his sperm bank. He could fuck all the women in the city and still have semen to spare.

    Unaware of Zach''s capabilities, Brittany exerted her best efforts to captivate all of his attention with the subtle allure of her swaying hips that danced from side to side as if unintentionally.

    Brittany noticed Zach''s expression shift for a moment as his eyes became glued to her ass like a pendant being used to hypnotize someone. The gentle swaying was like a hypnotic charm to all the men she had encountered so far. That''s how she had been able to keep her princess safe all this time. This was her secret weapon, one that brought men to knees in front of her even though they always tried to assert their dominance in front of her.

    While she was busy feeling smug about her charm and how easily she had managed to arouse Zach, a shift urred within Zach''s thinking process.

    Something inside him altered beyond repair, a transformation that was imperceptible to the naked eye, but his quivering gaze revealed the secret to all those who were perceptive enough to notice it.

    The sympathy that had graced Zach''s eyes just moments ago vanished abruptly, leaving behind an air of cold indifference.

    His gaze, once carrying a hint of understanding for the ordeals of the two women, now projected an icy detachment. It was as if the hardships they had endured failed to evoke any genuine concern from him.

    They had seen countless indifferent gazes hiding viciousness underneath and assumed that Zach was one such person as well. They had no hopes of salvation to begin with.

    The shift in Zach''s demeanor was prominent enough, but the two women didn''t know him well enough to notice the difference.

    But Bruce did.

    He knew how Zach usually was. He wasn''t exactly kind, but he was never cruel to anyone if he could help it. It was as if he was keeping himself from crossing a self-drawn line.

    However, the current Zach was no longer the one he knew. The limit he had imposed upon himself had been withdrawn and what stood before him now was a very different Zach from the one he was previously familiar with.

    The sudden transformation hinted at aplexity within Zach, an enigmatic quality that obscured his true thoughts and emotions. Even Bruce was having difficulty reading his thoughts now. Therefore, he didn''t know how to advise him on it.

    As Brittany and Carol stood before him, they didn''t dare to have any hope for better treatment than they received from the Hunter family as they were met with his stoic indifference. It left them uncertain about the true nature of the man they now faced.

    Brittany gritted her teeth and proceeded ording to what she knew would please all the men in the world. In her eyes, all of them were lecherous and full of unbridled libido. Therefore, there was no better method than that to please the stoic man.

    Before the man could show them his true nature, she acted on her thoughts and sprayed the pheromones through the seductive dance of her flesh.

    Had it been the old version of Zach, untouched by the harsh realities that revealed how his kindness could be exploited, he would have willingly assisted the two women, offering them support to the best of his abilities. This approach mirrored the way he had extended help to Luna when they first crossed paths. Driven by a spirit steeped in justice, Zach''s heart hadn''t been able to bear the thought of leaving a girl, subus or otherwise, at the mercy of the hunters.

    Therefore, despite the peril to his own life, a deep-seated sense of morality had propelled him into action. His body had moved before he could evenmand it toe to a halt and he had ended up interfering in the battle to save Luna.

    It was proof of how na?ve he had been in the past. The core principles that made his psyche guided him to protect her even though his mind was screaming for opting self-preservation.

    The contrast between the past and the present highlighted a transformation in Zach''s outlook. The experiences he had endured had shaped a newer, more guarded version of himself.

    The idealistic willingness to offer aid without reservation had given way to a cautious skepticism, a realization that benevolence could sometimes lead to unforeseen consequences. The evolution in Zach''s perspective hinted at theyers ofplexity beneath the surface of his character.

    In the past, Zach might even have sent someone to escort the two women to their former home in an attempt to make up for all the hurt the two had experienced over the course of the few years they had spent locked up in the Hunter family basement.

    Now, matured by experience, Zach understood that nothing in this world came without a cost.

    He hade to realize that freely giving something to someone could be the worst thing, as it might enable them to think that they were entitled to receive such care and help from the world.

    It would not only hinder their drive to grow stronger in the long run but would also keep them from taking any action for themselves.

    They would always be on the lookout for someone who would be able to save them from their predicament so that they could keep beingzy and didn''t have to work to save themselves.

    Zach wanted the two women to understand that in the harsh reality of life, one had to either pay the due price or endure an equal amount of pain to attain one''s desires.

    Zach hade to recognize that nothing came easy; help didn''t simply fall from the sky. It was a rtively pragmatic realization of the world''s workings, emphasizing the principle that achievements and aspirations often demanded a reciprocal investment of effort, sacrifice, or perseverance.

    The two women needed to learn that as well. Therefore, instead of helping them outright, Zach put the two of them through a cruel test. Something that would test their will and their loyalty to each other to the limit. He was curious to know how far the two of them could go.

    With the same stoic indifference and cold chill surrounding him like an unapproachable aura, Zach curled his finger towards himself as he indicated Brittany toe closer to him.

    Brittany didn''t waste a second as she practically rushed towards him in an obedient manner. It was a trick she had learnt to please the men who raped her throughout this period of shame and helplessness. The more eager and obedient she appeared to be, the more those shameless men desired her. The trick had helped her save Carol''s purity all this time.

    Therefore, she assumed that she could handle Zach this way as well.

    Zach caressed her cheek in an affectionate manner before his thumb slowly approached her full lips and parted their union before invading her mouth in a forceful manner.

    His other hand fell on top of her head and pushed it down as if forcing her to assume the position for what he wanted her to do next.

    "Get down on your knees this instant. A fiery little subus like you should be punished for being so alluring."

 Chapter 399 399

    Chapter 399  399

    "Go ahead and pleasure me with your slutty mouth."

    Although Brittany had expected to encounter this situation the moment she was brought in front of Zach, Bruce wasn''t the same. He had never seen Zach acting in such a lecherous manner before.

    There were many women who were willing to fall at his feet if he wanted but he had never touched any of them without taking responsibility for them. His sister Diana was the greatest example of this.

    Even though she had been practically throwing herself at Zach, the man had enough self-control to keep himself under check. He had refrained from harming Diana in any manner and had only recently epted her advances.

    Bruce had witnessed everything himself. Therefore, he couldn''t bring himself to believe that the same man had just asked the voluptuous maid to suck his cock in such an open manner. And that too, in front of him and the real princess Carol.

    No matter how he thought about it, this act of his was quite cruel and demeaning for the two women.

    For the first time since Bruce met Zach, he felt slightly disappointed in Zach, but he didn''t really have any problem with it if Zach wanted to engage in such a pointless sexual release.

    It wasn''t as if this was the first time such a thing had happened in an aristocratic family. This was pretty much the norm for all the women of the defeated aristocratic families. They either ended up being sold to the highest bidder or were kept as trophies or sex ves.

    Although it wasn''t exactly odd for Zach to engage in such an activity, Bruce didn''t want to be there to witness such an act. He took his leave without making a sound and exited from the back so as to not disturb Zach from ravaging the voluptuous maid.

    Brittanyplied with Zach''s orders and immediately got down on all fours like a bitch.

    She wagged her ass alluringly as if putting on a show for Zach before moving forward on all fours while arching her ass outward.

    Zach stood at the spot waiting for her to take position right underneath his dick.

    Brittany didn''t disappoint Zach as she crawled on all fours towards him and then raised her mouth high enough to reach his pants. She kissed the bulge of his dick on his trousers showily as she licked her tongue around her lips as if in anticipation of what was hidden underneath.

    Her actions were like a siren''s song, a melody that stirred the deepest, most primal instincts within any man.

    Zach, too, found himself captivated by the allure, his senses responding to the ancient, bestial urges thaty dormant within him.

    It was as if the call of the wild had echoed through the air, awakening a fierce and untamed side of him that yearned to embrace the irresistible maism she exuded.

    Outside the room, Bruce hesitated, caught in the dilemma of whether to allow Zach to proceed with his intentions or to intervene and prevent a potential action that could lead to regret in the future.

    Unfortunately, he didn''t get the time to ponder the choices as he saw Diana rushing towards Zach''s office in a hurry.

    He recalled the time and found that it was already the end of the school timings. Diana was probably done with her sses and was rushing to be with Zach in her free time.

    Bruce knew that the two of them were already together and Diana wanted to stay glued to him during this time. She had established a habit of running back to him the first chance she got.

    Before she could enter Zach''s office, Bruce held her arm and pulled her back. He couldn''t exactly let his sister see what her lover was doing inside his office.

    "What''s wrong?" Diana couldn''t understand why Bruce was stopping her from going to see Zach.

    Bruce''s grip on Diana''s arm tightened slightly, his expression a mix of concern and hesitation. "Diana, I think you should give Zach some space right now. He''s dealing with something important."

    Diana''s eyes narrowed, abination of worry and frustration crossing her face. "Important? Big brother don''t keep me in the dark. What''s happening?"

    Bruce hesitated for a moment wondering whether to reveal all the information and risk her finding out such a side to the man she loved or to let out a bit of the information so she wouldn''t suspect anything.

    As her brother, he knew what she was like. She could be extremely stubborn if she got curious or suspicious about something. Had she been only a curious person, Bruce wouldn''t have hesitated to reveal the information to her.

    The problem was that she was also quite smart and could sniff out the truth with some effort.

    Therefore, the safest option was to keep the information from herpletely.

    "No-Nothing...it''s just that he is busy at the moment. It''s better if you don''t disturb him right now. Your rtionship with him has only just begun. Don''t cling to him too much or he will find you to be an eyesore." Bruce was flustered at first but then managed to cover it all behind a calm and big brotherly fa?ade mixed with witty humor tailor made to tease his sister.

    The change in his attitude was so smooth that even his own sister was fooled by his amused expression.

    Diana didn''t seem to be suspicious either. Although there was curiosity in her eyes, she wasn''t being stubborn about it and gave way as soon as she heard her brother''s reason.

    She really didn''t want to get on Zach''s bad side especially after Luna awakened from her slumber.

    Thinking about Luna, her previously shining face turnedckluster and was growing dull by the second.

    She had been extremely enthusiastic about sharing the results of her teaching the Smith family people, but it seemed that she would have to wait for some time to see Zach. She couldn''t exactly force her way into Zach''s office to check on him. She didn''t want to give the impression that she was suspicious of him.

    He was probably still busy dealing with some official business, otherwise Bruce wouldn''t have stopped her from seeing him like this.

    She really didn''t want to do anything that might end up harming her rtionship with him at this point. It was a crucial time for her.

    Despite her misgivings regarding how difficult it had been to see Zach after their steamy night, Diana held it in and decided to give Zach some personal space.

    Zach on the other hand didn''t know that a storm had been blocked at the door of his office thanks to Bruce''s timely interception. Had he not stopped Diana, she would have witnessed something extremely unseemly.

    Brittany, who had been ordered by Zach to service his member, had been seductively crawling on all fours in front of him at that very moment.

    She swayed her wide hips and raised up her face until she was abreast hisher region. She rubbed her face against the protruding region of his pants as if it was some fluffy toy that she couldn''t help but stuff her face in.

    Zach didn''t stop her actions. He was somewhat enjoying her service.

    She seemed to be quite experienced in giving pleasure as every single action of hers was full of seduction and mind-numbing charm that could make any man feel captivated just from witnessing it once.

    Of course, Brittany had years of practice under her belt.

    She perfectly knew what buttons to press in order to get men going because only by urging their innermost desires could she entice them intoying with her instead of her mistress.

    Her desperate attempt had been gradually perfected and as it stood now, she wasn''t any different from those subi she had heard so much about. Although she had never seen one, Brittany believed that she could give them apetition in their own specialty if she tried.

    Hardly had any man ever thought of going for the skinny princess in her presence which could only show the extent of her hold over those she captivated with her womanly charm and her false aura of royalty and her graceful demeanor.

    Zach looked at her smiling face. No matter how he tried to peel off her disguise, there seemed to be none. It was as if the woman was truly feeling delighted to have an opportunity to please him sexually. There was no trace of any animosity in her seductive gaze.

    Brittany looked like a chaste woman who had been waiting for her absent husband for a long time and had finally managed to reunite with him. There was unbridled happiness as she raised her hands to undo his pants.

    Since this obviously wasn''t enough to test her limits, Zach stopped her hands from going through with the unbuttoning of his waistband that was holding his pants intact.

    Brittany jerked her head up as if in shock, wondering why Zach didn''t let her release the dragon that was obviously struggling like a caged bird inside his pants. Her intense eyes seemed to be asking a silent question, "Why did you stop me?".

    Zach let go of her hands and rested his hands on his hips. He appeared to be quite arrogant in that pose as he looked down at Brittany with a piercing gaze that was neither full of lust nor any other emotion. It was as if he was looking at something lying beside the edge of the road, something that was not his concern.

 Chapter 400 400 Help Her

    Chapter 400  400 Help Her

    "Use your mouth."

    The words were spoken without a tinge of emotion, but Brittany smiled even more brightly after hearing the order. Because it meant that the cat was already in the bag. She didn''t need to work overtly hard if the man was already eager to do the deed and was conveying his fetishes before they barely began.

    Brittany didn''t reveal the calctions she had made on her face for everyone else to witness. Instead, she revealed a blissful yet alluring look to keep Zach from turning away from her.

    She pulled back her outstretched arms and raised her lower body and got on her knees. She used her teeth to unbutton his waistband slowly. She took her sweet time for every little action but not long enough for Zach to disregard her.

    The innocent expression on her face as she expertly used her teeth to undo his buttons was alluring to say the least. Zach''s member had already begun to twitch and throb inside his pants.

    The woman who was the closest to his member obviously had seen it already and was teasing him by taking her sweet time undoing his pants.

    Once the waistband was released, she pulled on his pants and moved her head downwards in one swift motion. The loosened pants came undone instantly and his bulging monstrosity of a dick was revealed to both Brittany and Carol as it pped on Brittany''s face in its eagerness to be released from the prison of his pants.

    While Carol had no intention of taking part in such an awful act, she couldn''t exactly go out of the room without Zach''s orders. She had no choice but to avert her eyes to avoid witnessing the two of them going at it.

    Brittany took a deep breath, and then softly wrapped her right hand around the shaft near the base. She was not an inexperienced and bashfuldy as she had gone through the process countless times with different people before, but she still acted like a pure and demuredy because men liked their women to be pure and dignified. Not to mention that she had to maintain the fa?ade of being a regal princess.

    She had a decisive character so once she prepared herself there was no hesitation, she went straight into action.

    She took some time feeling the sensation in her hand, stroking the shaft a bit up and down. Then she applied her second hand slightly above in a mirroring wrapping motion and her face came right in front of it.

    ''It is really bigбн and thickбн''

    She thought to herself as she lightly stroked it. This was undoubtedly the biggest one she had encountered so far despite her obvious experience in the act.

    Zach on the other hand felt like he was about to ascend into heaven, but he controlled the beast inside from going on a rampage before he was done dealing with the two women. The softness of the woman''s hands made it impossible for him to keep his dick from acting against his wishes.

    It began to throb and twitch against his wishes, but Zach didn''t show the slightest expression that indicated how much he wanted to stuff that dick inside Brittany''s mouth.

    Brittany''s hands could feel the pulsating heat radiating from it, sending shivers down her spine.

    Zach''s dick was bigger than anything she had ever taken before. She was feeling slightly nervous at having to gobble it down her throat, but she had no choice but to take it. She couldn''t let Zach be disappointed in her or the next target would be Carol.

    She mustered her courage and brought her face to his crotch to make good on his instructions.

    Unconsciously, she ended up taking a sniff and the smell made her slightly dizzy from the tingling she was feeling between her legs.

    Her tongue, thered in saliva, escaped the confines of her mouth as it reached up to touch the tip of his pulsating erect member.

    Just as it was about to brush up against his member, Zach called out, "STOP".

    His hands simultaneously patted her head and pushed her downwards in order to keep her from touching his member. He still needed to carry out the test and was worried that if her mouth even made the slightest contact with his dick, he would be unable to keep himself from stuffing her face full of cum before stopping.

    Brittany''s face flushed as went over her actions once again in an attempt to determine if she had done anything to earn his ire or something that might have been a turn off for him.

    In the end, she didn''t find anything that could have caused Zach to stop her so abruptly.

    Brittany could only stop as she had been ordered. She plopped her ass on the ground in response and began to analyze Zach''s actions to determine what had gone wrong.

    "As a maid, don''t you feel bad that your princess is working so hard for your sake and hers? Why don''t you join her and help her through her ordeals?"

    Zach turned towards Carol and asked her with an ambiguous smile on his face.

    His smile was akin to the smirk of the devil to Carol. She was frightened.

    Previously, all the men who engaged in coitus with Brittany never even gave her more than a look because she was an eyesore to all of them. Therefore, she had never even entertained the possibility that someone might possibly want her when her maid was around.

    She panicked and the shock was visible to Zach as well. Of course, Zach knew why she was so startled, but he didn''t want to burst the bubble just yet. Otherwise, his test would have to end prematurely.

    Seeing as Carol was looking here and there before staring at Brittany as if asking what she should say, Zach addressed her once again.

    "Your princess is doing some tiring work. As her maid, you should be helping her out. Why aren''t you? Get over here and use your little mouth to help her. How long do you n to live off her toils and effort? Such ungratefulness..."

    While Carol seemed to be in shock, Brittanyughed Zach''sments off with an imperial grace despite the fact that she was currently on her knees and about to lick his dick.

    "My lord, she is just in shock at being invited like this. No owner liked her in the past. Just look at her body. She isn''t worth having at all. Her bones stick out and she might hurt you without even thinking about it."

    Zach looked at Brittany incredulously. Although he knew the truth, it was still somewhat fascinating to see hering up with all kinds of reasons to keep Carol away from the steamy scene.

    "Her tongue shouldn''t be bony. She can give it a lick alongside you. What can be better than one woman sucking a man off? It has to be two women, of course."

    Brittany gritted her teeth in anger behind her feigned smiles. She wasn''t going to let anyone harm her princess after all that she had done to keep her safe. Wouldn''t her torment have been in vain if she was going to let this man defile her at this moment.

    "As you can probably tell, this maid of mine has no experience at all. Her technique is so bad, she might even injure your little brother with her teeth. You might not know this, but she has done it on many asions. It isn''t that she does this intentionally, but her teeth are like jagged edges of a sword. They can injure with just a light graze. I don''t rmend that the owner should call for her. Let her do some menial jobs in the mansion like sweeping dust and carrying out the trash. She deserves it."

    Zach couldn''t control himself andughed hysterically at the lie Brittany had just concocted. He could bet that Carol had never been close to a dick before considering the shock and fear thetter was experiencing upon listening to him calling for her. Anyone else in her ce might even feel happy to know that someone wanted them.

    Carol on the other hand was in shock. She had never experienced such a thing before. Her entire body was shaking like a wet cat shivering in winter. She didn''t know how to save herself from the grasp of this new owner who seemed to be more interested in her than her maid.

    So far, she had never needed to consider such a thing because her maid had always acted as a go-between and had saved her from any such gazes using her body as a sacrifice. No man had ever tried to reach for her when engaging in such an act with Brittany.

    However, Zach seemed to be different. Although he had begun to take Brittany, he didn''t seem satisfied. He wanted her to join her which had never been the case with the owners before him. All of them had avoided her like a gue for being too bony and without any flesh.

    All those owners would look at her once and grunt in disgust at her looks and her overtly skinny body that looked diseased in one look. They couldn''t bother with her and had always avoided her. Some even asked her to stay out of their sight even if she was the princess'' maid and had to be with her at all times.

    Zach probably had some weird fetish for women like her.

 Chapter 401 401

    Chapter 401  401

    Carol could only imagine such a reason behind his insistence that she join Brittany in servicing him. No normal man would have shown any interest in her.

    "Although I am an easygoing man, I am not that forgiving to those who don''t listen to my orders. I can forgive you for being inexperienced because it can be taught. But I won''t let you go if you don''t heed my orders and lick it this instant. Believe me you don''t want to see me pissed."

    Carol had never imagined that someone would be so insistent on having her suck his dick due to how she looked. She was practically glued to the spot in fear. She couldn''t bring herself to walk towards him. Her feet felt heavy like two blocks of stone. But she couldn''t exactly say no in her position.

    Anxious beyond herself and shivering in terror, Carol looked towards herst ray of hope, Brittany. She was the only person who had stood beside her all these terrifying years. She was the only person who was capable of helping him at this time considering she was the only other person in the room.

    While Zach''s facial expressions were slowly worsening, Carol could feel herself falling into an inescapable trap. She wondered if this was as far as she could remain pure. The fact that she had been able to maintain her purity all these years was a testament to how much her maid had sacrificed for her sake.

    But all of it was about toe to an end in front of this man who kept insisting that she give him a blowjob despite Brittany''s several warnings.

    While Carol tried to muster her courage under Zach''s persistent gaze, Brittany decided to take matters into her own hands. She wasn''t about to let Zach wash away everything she had tried to protect through all these years of captivity.

    While Zach was waiting for Carol to make a move, Brittany took his little brother into her mouth in one swift motion like a monkey gulping down a banana in a single bite.

    The sudden deep throat massage on his dick almost sent him to heaven despite his living status. It was far too different from what he was used to.

    The only one out of Zach''s partners with this kind of technique was Luna. The rest were still too green to be able to employ such a sophisticated technique. They barely had any experience.

    Zach''s brain imploded from the wave of pleasure he was trying to endure so as to not make any kind of sound. He felt like he needed to maintain hisposed image in front of the two women in order to carry out the test perfectly. Otherwise, who would carry out the test he had prepared if the invigtor got too invested in the process.

    In Brittany''s mouth, her artful, sulent tongue was pressed up against his hard cock. She had never felt something this hard and tough before. It was akin to a steel pir prating her throat, reaching her thoracic cavity and causing it to swell up like a puffer fish when it senses danger.

    Brittany was experienced enough to not show any pain on her face.

    But the immense pain that came from taking his entire girth down her throat was so intense that it easily broke past her threshold and caused tears to roll down her cheeks.

    Even though she was hurting from her mouth to her chest, she appeared as if she had swallowed the sweetest candy in the world that she had snatched before anyone else.

    The happiness on her face was unreal.

    Even Zach couldn''t tell if it was fake or not.

    Brittany endured the pain and began to move her head back slowly.

    The relief came to her instantly, as if a sword that was previously stuck down her throat, had finally been pulled out.

    The slight relief was enough for an experienced person like her.

    She immediately went back to the task at hand after a slight reprieve. She couldn''t allow Zach to turn his attention back towards Carol, after all.

    The walls of her cheeks closed around his dick that was now glistening in her saliva and tightened around it for the first suck.

    Her mouth was akin to a vacuum pump eager to suck out all the cum his balls still had in them.

    Her lips gripped his rod mercilessly as if attempting to strip it of its skin as she pulled her head back simultaneously with enough strength to suck out his soul.

    Her throat constricted as Zach''s member rubbed against the walls of her throat causing her more pain than she was ustomed to.

    But she wasn''t willing to back down so easily. Her experience allowed her to fight back using her technique.

    One above the other, both of her hands gripped the base of his cock, mercilessly squeezing him.

    She moved her hands in opposite directions as if wringing his dick in both directions simultaneously while her mouth enveloped the tip of his dragon in its embrace.

    Brittany had acted before Zach could make a move to stop her. His hands raised in an attempt to push her away from him. But he couldn''t bring himself to make good on that intention. The woman was simply a heaven sent. Her blowjob was perfect. He couldn''t resist her approach and allowed her to suck on his treat sloppily.

    She pulled her mouth free from his shaft with a plopping sound and licked her lips as if savoring the taste of the appetizer at the beginning of the banquet.

    Opening her mouth, she put out her tongue, making a small licking motion with it along the shaft upward from where her hands were holding it.

    She then shifted to longer licking movements around the side of his shaft, thering it with her saliva.

    Her cheek and the side of her nose slightly touched the back side of his rod as she slid her tongue on the side of his bulging rod.

    Her tongue traveled downwards until it almost reached the root of his dick, just a few centimeters from his scrotum.

    Opening up her hands a bit so her elusive tongue could reach him, she made a long continuous lick to the tip of his rod, prompting a wave of pleasure to spread through him.

    Just when Zach was wondering if the woman had some kind of magic in her mouth, her tongue switched sides and she began to repeat the same soul drawing act on the other side of his member until it reached the tip where she began to spin circles around the sensitive tip before pausing at his pee hole causing him to shiver in pleasure and anticipation.

    As she busily licked and teased the tip of his dick, she shifted her eyes slightly upward until they met his eyes that were no longer as frigid as before. They seemingly contained some emotions now; excitement and pleasure amongst a mixture of other things.

    Zach noticed the provocation in her gaze. As a man, it was an affront to his masculinity to let a woman take the lead in the carnal activity.

    It pissed him off but also aroused him like nothing else could.

    Zach literally felt his manhood begin to grow inside her hands, as if resisting the force of her grip with every fiber of its existence. It exceeded its physical limitations and began to grow in size with each throb.

    It kept growing, expanding in length and in girth. So much so that Brittany was feeling it much harder to contain its bulge in her tiny mouth.

    As experienced as she was, Brittany felt Zach''s excitement in her mouth.

    She already knew that what she was doing could potentially cause men to leak their juices in a matter of seconds.

    After all, she had done this on many asions to get rid of the Hunter family scion when she wasn''t in the mood to indulge the weak bastard.

    Feeling Zach''s current condition, she believed that he wouldn''t be able to hold on for much longer either if she continued at the same pace.

    In a matter of few seconds, she had already located all of his sensitive spots and was efficiently stroking all of them in the process of sucking his little brother. Every time she stroked his sweet spots with her naughty tongue, he felt a tingling shock passing through his whole body beginning with his girthy member.

    To keep him from turning to Carol again, Brittany had no choice but to get him off as soon as possible. She doubled down on him, garbling all over his cock, leaving the steamy sounds of ''slurp, slurp'' in the air, as her tongue caressed the tip of his cock. Tiny streams of saliva connected her tongue to his dick as she pulled free of his cock with a plop.

    Zach unconsciously leaned backwards but managed to control himself from cumming in her throat.

    Slowly, he began to regain control of his nerves as he steeled his mind to her tricks. The throbbing in his dick stopped as well.

    But this new situation didn''t fare well for the poor maid. She was finding it increasingly difficult to keep him in her mouth.

    She wasn''t willing to back down either. She had invested far too much to keep Carol safe. She wasn''t about to lose it all to a dick.

    With a single gulp, she pushed the entire shaft down her throat until it reached the edge of her throat.

 Chapter 402 402

    <h4>Chapter 402 Chapter 402</h4>

    Her lips were touching the base of his dick while his scrotum was rubbing against her chin.

    Gagging on his massive cock, struggling to control the massive cock from rampaging in her mouth, she grabbed onto his knees in an effort to keep herself stable.

    Her tongue inside her mouth was naughtily licking the veiny cock from all directions sending sensational stimtions of being licked and sucked simultaneously.

    Brittany had pitted all her skills against Zach in an attempt to garner his favor, but he knew her purpose from the beginning and was able to take countermeasures against her seductive yet pleading gaze.

    She was requesting him to leave Carol alone with her eyes and was willingly offering herself up with such a feverish fervor that no other man would have been able to reject her.

    But Zach wasn''t anyone else. He had experience dealing with a subus like Luna. How could he not control himself when he was up against a normal but slightly experienced human.

    Zach''s veiny member ruthlessly ravaged her tiny mouth every time she bobbed her head up and down all the while mping down with her lips.

    Her hands rubbed his dick along the base while her mouth moved back and forth. The two-dimensional pleasuring and her sad puppy like gaze was her all out attempt at making him shoot his cum into her mouth immediately.

    But his girth was too much for her, especially when it kept getting bigger and bigger inside her mouth, making it increasingly difficult for her to keep herself from gagging and vomiting out the contents of her stomach.

    Zach witnessed her attempt to save Carol. He couldn''t help but admire Brittany from the bottom of his heart.

    This maid was truly devoted to her mistress. It was to the end that it was infinitely approaching madness.

    He wondered if it was because the maid felt like she had nothing else to live for in this world. She probably made it her life''s purpose to keep Carol safe from those who desired her.

    Otherwise, there really was no need to do so much for someone who couldn''t offer up anything in return.

    In Zach''s opinion, Brittany might have had some kind of material gain in mind.

    But after investing so much time and gaining nothing in return, receivingpensation for her sacrifices was probably the only hope that kept her going.

    OR he had read her wrong and she was just greatly indebted to the ex-princess of a dynasty.

    Her technique of swallowing had already reached perfection. She was even close to approaching the level of Luna who had an insane pain threshold and was crazy for dick. Just like Luna, she could easily take his dick deep inside her throat all the while sucking him off with the help of her lips and tongue.

    But unlike Luna who was racially talented at such an act, Brittany probably had to suffer a lot to get this proficiency.

    Zach could only imagine the number of men who had passionately rammed their cocks deep inside her throat thinking of her status as a princess.

    The thought repulsed him somewhat but the feeling his dick was sending to his nerve center was too pleasurable to be ignored.

    Very nearly overtaken by the immense pleasure, Zach remained on his toes the whole time, fighting the sweet unpredictable battle of restraining, and unleashing his building wave that was threatening to burst through.

    His back arched and his legs grew weaker by the second as her moist mouth tactfully guided him towards an early release.

    He had to force down every moan that threatened to rise from his throat, for he still had to fulfill his true purpose in doing this to the two women.

    Much to Brittany''s surprise, Zach managed to get a grip on his member just when she thought she had seeded in her purpose.

    It kept growing, expanding in length and in girth but it was no longer throbbing eagerly for a release. Instead, it was rock stiff like an immovable rod.

    She had to pull out his member and curd her tongue in sloppy flicks from his balls through his shaft, while massaging the tip with her thumb and forefinger in an attempt to take a breather herself. Or there was a high chance that she might die of asphyxiation.

    Brittany''s goal was to keep Zach from focusing on Carol. So far, she had managed to keep him from demanding Carol again.

    But Brittany didn''t just want to maintain the status quo. She wanted to make himpletely forget about Carol through her seductive servicing.

    Mustering courage to go for another few minutes without oxygen, she took him in her mouth again.

    This time, she did not need to squeeze her cheeks together, or tighten her mp on his dick because Zach filled up her mouthpletely.

    As his humongous cock dove in and out of her mouth, he kept mming the back of her throat, intermittently blocking her windpipe, and restricting her airflow with each jab.

    Her purpose might have been fulfilled, had Zach not known about the identity of the two of them beforehand.

    He forcefully overcame the pleasure, raised his hand until he was patting Brittany''s head, and swiftly pushed her away despite her obvious intention to resist.

    A slurp was followed by a few coughs as Brittany gagged on his dick and Zach got the opportunity to pull himself free from her grasp.

    "Enough" rumbled Zach as he turned his body to face Carol who was frightened out of her wits at the sudden attention, she was receiving from him.

    "You stand back and watch...", said Zach with narrowed eyes while pointing at Brittany with his finger before turning to Carol and continuing, "...and YOU...youe over here and continue where she left off."

    Brittany ignored Zach''s orders as she tried to rush towards his dick swiftly in order to keep him focused on her and away from Carol. She wished she could distract him for a little while longer.

    Unfortunately for her, Zach had already anticipated her intentions and had been ready for her from the beginning.

    He immediately willed the force around his body and used it as a repulsive force to push Brittany away from him.

    Brittany felt as if she had hit something invisible while she tried her best to reach Zach to continue her dance of seduction. She tried to prate the invisible barrier but the repulsive force seemed to be far greater than her imagination.

    It threw her back with enough force to knock her into the wall behind her.

    Even though Zach had used quite a bit of energy, he made sure to cushion her fall with a bit of force so that she wouldn''t suffer any significant harm. He only wanted to warn her through this method so she wouldn''t interfere with his test again.

    While Brittany had the wind knocked out of her, she wasn''t willing to give up so easily.

    She tried to get up with a wild look in her eyes as if she was willing to go to any extent to keep Zach from harming Carol.

    Left with no other choice, Zach used The Force to pin her against the wall behind her. The force was just enough to keep her suspended against the wall.

    Fortunately, the maid wasn''t very strong, therefore, Zach could keep this up for a very long time even as he saw the test to its conclusion.

    Brittany tried her best to struggle but the invisible pressure bearing down on her kept her firmly stuck to the wall, unable to move even an inch. She felt as if she had been shackled to the wall with the help of invisible restraints rendering her unable to move even her head to the side in order to avert her eyes from what was about to transpire in front of her.

    She had never anticipated that the man she had been sucking was in fact this powerful. He had to be one of the strongest mages to be capable of pulling off this kind of feat.

    "Please leave her alone. I am willing to take her ce as many times as you would like. I am even willing to submitpletely to you. You can do with me as you please. But leave her alone...please...I beg you."

    Zach''s expression remained stoic, his gaze piercing through the room. "You would do that for a puny maid. I thought she was there to serve you and not the other way around," he remarked, a hint of amusement coloring his words.

    Brittany lowered her head, her body trembling. "It''s not about servitude. She''s more than a maid to me. She''s my friend, my confidante. I can''t stand to see her suffer. She has stayed beside me all this time even though I have nothing to give her."

    "Is that really enough?" Zach asked incredulously, his skepticism evident as he contemted whether her words held the truth, realizing he might have been overthinking.

    Brittany nodded, her gaze meeting his. "It is... if you have lived a life as difficult as I had to," she replied, her voice carrying a broken element, as if her very soul was out of synchronization with her physical body.

    The weight of her experiences seemed to linger in the air, creating a somber atmosphere within the room.

    Her body shook with indescribable pain as she witnessed Carol struggling to stand her ground against Zach. The emotional turmoil within her intensified, realizing that Carol was slowly sumbing to the influence of Zach''s words.

 Chapter 403 403 Struggling To Survive

    Chapter 403  403 Struggling To Survive

    Brittany, consumed by a fervent desire to break free from her restraints, faced a harsh reality; there seemed to be no escape for her.

    The weight of helplessness bore down on her, intensifying the emotional turmoil within, as she grappled with the impossibility of safeguarding Carol.

    Zach''s preparations were irond. Brittany couldn''t escape and it was Carol''s turn to face his dragon.

    "Is that really all?" Zach, sporting a knowing smirk, saw through the fa?ade of Brittany''s desperate plea, understanding the depths of her turmoil.

    "Did he find out something?"

    As Brittany grappled with the uncertainty sparked by Zach''s words, her confidence wavered for just an instant. The weight of the situation pressed down on her, making her question whether she had indeed navigated Bruce''s inquiries wlessly.

    She quickly shook off the doubt, convincing herself that her answers had been impable.

    Still, a nagging sense of vulnerability lingered, fueled by the enigmatic nature of Zach''s probing.

    Brittany remembered how she had clung to her confidence like a lifeline, relying on the carefully constructed narrative she had woven with the princess before the interrogation conducted by Bruce began.

    In her mind, she reyed the script she had rehearsed with Carol in preparation and ensured that every detail aligned seamlessly with what they had revealed to Bruce and to Zach.

    Since they had had ample amount of time to concoct their narrative, they had therefore managed to perfect the tale that they had intended to share with their new captors.

    As such, she pushed the thought that Zach knew something out of her mind because it waspletely impossible, not after how careful they had been.

    Brittany, already struggling to move, fought to extricate herself from Zach''s invisible but firm hold.

    However, the pointless struggle sent her into further despair when she tried to contemte the meaning behind Zach''s hateful smirk. She wanted nothing more than to tear the bastard into a thousand pieces to keep the princess safe.

    "As the princess, life hasn''t been easy for you. Struggling to survive, you had to endure the lecherous gaze of several scum of human society and yet this one got away scot free just because she is a bit unattractive. Don''t you think that''s unfair to you who had to sacrifice so much to retain your life? Don''t you want to bash her head every time she asks you if you are fine after one of your sessions? I bet you do. I bet you hate her so much that you secretly want her to suffer."

    Zach was doing his best to break Brittany''s mental state. This was a test of her loyalty to her princess, but Zach was also genuinely curious as to what she would choose.

    "Nonsense..." Brittany scoffed at Zach''s attempt to rile her up.

    Brittany''s loyalty towards Carol ran deep, intertwining the bonds of friendship and servitude. She held a steadfastmitment to protect and serve the princess, her devotion unyielding even in the face of Zach''s attempts to sow discord.

    Therefore, the disdain she felt for Zach''s efforts to drive a wedge between them was palpable.

    In Brittany''s eyes, their connection was more than just a mere master-maid rtionship; it was a profoundpanionship forged through shared hardships and trials.

    The trust they had built over time was a testament to their enduring bond, a connection that Zach''s provocations failed to shake no matter how much he tried.

    "Then...do you feel good sacrificing yourself like this? What if I asked you to serve me for a lifetime in return for turning my gaze away from her permanently? Would you be happy then?" Zach wasn''t deterred by her aggressive front and continued to ask her questions that would reveal the innermost thoughts she was trying to hide.

    "Of course, I would be happy from the bottom of my heart. I would have nothing but gratitude for you if you kept me with you and let her go free in return. She has been my onlypanion in my darkest times. Let alone my purity, I can willingly give my life for her if I have to."

    Brittany''s determination was nothing to be scoffed at. She seemed to be fully prepared to do everything in her power to keep Carol safe.

    "It seems that I misunderstood your rtionship with her. You truly do care about her despite the difference in status." said Zach in an attempt to calm down the raging woman who was exerting enough force on the invisible shackles to dislocate her limbs.

    Zach''s observation prated through Brittany''s tough exterior, acknowledging the depth of her connection with Carol. The acknowledgment seemed to momentarily diffuse the tension in the room, as if Zach''s words had touched upon a hidden truth.

    Brittany, still restrained but slightly less defiant, maintained her guard. Her eyes, however, betrayed a glimmer of surprise, as if she hadn''t anticipated such a response from Zach.

    Just when she had her thoughts all muddled up, Zach switched to Carol.

    "But how about you? Can you reciprocate her loyalty and hermitment to stay true to her promise?" Zach turned towards Carol, but he had no intention of forcing her to do his bidding. He only needed to hear her answer to know what he wanted to know about her.

    Carol''s gaze met Zach''s, and in that charged moment, she felt the weight of his inquiry. Her response, uttered with a steady yet emotional tone, carried the depth of hermitment.

    "Of course, I am willing to do the same for her." Carol dered, her words resonating with a mixture of determination and vulnerability.

    Carol truly meant what she had said. She had seen how much Brittany had done to keep her safe.

    In the midst of the tense atmosphere, Carol''s eyes conveyed a profound truth. She had borne witness to Brittany''s unwavering dedication, the sacrifices she made to shield her from the harsh reality they faced.

    The unspoken bond between them had long since transcended the confines of servitude and had bloomed into a profound connection forged in the crucible of adversity.

    With heartfelt sincerity, Carol continued, "Brittany''s loyalty has been my anchor, a beacon of strength in our darkest moments. Every sacrifice she''s made, every hardship she''s endured, it was all for my well-being. And I, in turn, ammitted to standing by her side, sharing the burdens that fate has ced upon us."

    A subtle smile yed on Zach''s lips, a calcted expression that hinted at a well-executed n. He had orchestrated this interrogation like a masterful chess yer, each move designed to unravel the truth.

    Carol''s unwavering affirmation had only solidified his confidence in the web he had woven.

    With an air of satisfaction, Zach spoke, "Thank you for your honesty, Carol. It seems the loyalty between you and Brittany is truly unshakeable. I appreciate such sentiments."

    With her answer, he was done preparing his trap. Now only the result was remaining. Carol would either fall into the trap and fail or she would be able to surprise him with her genuine concern.

    Thinking of the conclusion, his upturned lips switched direction instantly and drooped downwards as if to signal the seriousness of his uing words.

    "So, if you are truly so loyal, what do you feel exactly when you see your princess going down on a stranger just to save your pathetic life and your so-called purity? Does your heart not clench in pain as you witness some lecherous bastard stuff her face with his dick while your princess tries her best to smile while choking on it and holding back her vomit? Or is your loyalty restricted to the good times and the benefits alone?"

    His words dropped like nukes on her mind and shattered her beliefs. They forced her to confront the reality she had been hiding from.

    Taking it as the norm and standing behind her while she toiled away for her sake was no different from the rtionship of master and servant.

    It was no different from demanding Brittany to make sacrifices for her sake even though she didn''t have anything topensate her with.

    Carol couldn''t evene up with an answer as her whole body went into shock after hearing that question.

    "I bet you only think that you survived yet another day without having to give up your purity. If it had been me, I would have been too ashamed to face her the next time. I wonder where you get the guts to call her yourpanion when you look the other way and leave her on her own in times of adversity. I for one, wouldn''t want apanion like you even if there was no other person left on this."

    Zach''s words were thest straw that broke the camel''s back. Carol''s reddened eyes were close to bursting into a flood of tears, but she couldn''t let Zach see her crying. She didn''t want Zach to gain any kind of advantage over the two of them.

    She still couldn''t help but look towards Brittany who was suspended on the wall with her limbs sprawled all over. Even in this situation, Brittany was fighting against her restraints in order to save her.

    Images from the past began to sh in front of her eyes as she began to recount the times Brittany had gone through hell and what she had been doing at the time, what she had been thinking about, and what she had felt while witnessing her friend being used like a cheap whore.

    She tried hard and scoured all the corners of her brain to scour her thoughts at the time but there were none.

 Chapter 404 404 Coerce

    Chapter 404  404 Coerce

    She hated her captors, that was for sure. But there were no thoughts about Brittany who had to bear the brunt of it all. She had long since begun to take her sacrifice for granted.

    Every time someone came to fuck the princess, she would automatically assume that Brittany was there to make everything better. She would be safe for yet another day.

    In Carol''s mind, this was her facing reality.

    She had assumed that this was the best course of action for both the women. Although she couldn''t feel happy about her friend being raped every day or two, she had already epted the fact that she couldn''t do anything about it. She was too afraid of being a victim herself if she tried to help her.

    Carol felt deeply ashamed of herself after finding the truth in Zach''s words.

    She had long since given up on fighting and was only thinking of survival even if she had to throw her maid under the bus for it.

    Zach had called her out on it.

    And he wasn''t wrong.

    Carol rolled her hands into fists as if to gather up all the courage that had hidden itself somewhere during the time she had been held captive.

    Her features turned sharp, and in her eyes, appeared that decisiveness that had previously been missing. Her whole being sparkled with an unbreakable resolve, and it seemed to have given her lifeless soul meaning.

    For the first time since the two women had begun to live a life on the run, Carol was absolutely sure of something.

    She was done ignoring Brittany''s plight.

    She was done with standing on the side while Brittany was being tortured by unknown men in her ce.

    She was done with being the protected one.

    For once she wanted to protect Brittany.

    Her purity wasn''t of any use to her anyway. The dynasty she belonged to had long since been encroached on by the Hina empire. Since, there was no home to go back to and no hope of ever getting her status back, what use was her measly virginity.

    She had therefore decided to share in Brittany''s pain and her burden. She wanted to tell her that there was no need to protect her anymore.

    She walked in a poised manner with a determined look that left no room for ambiguity and kneeled at Zach''s feet.

    Zach didn''t show it but there was a subtle smile at the corner of his lips that was trying its best to reveal itself to the world but was snuffed out. He knew that the two women were genuinely sincere towards one another in that moment and that they were going to pass the test he had so carefully prepared for himself.

    Being haunted by one royal family, he was averse to trusting another without verification of their personality. If this one turned out to be just as spoiled and authoritative as the ones he knew, Zach might not have left them a way out.

    While these thoughts were going through Zach''s mind, Carol had already assumed the perfect position to take his dragon in her mouth.

    There was a disgusted look in her eyes, but she wiped it away with some determination and put a fake but homely smile on her bony face instead.

    She raised her hand and grabbed the root of his shaft, parted her lips and brought it closer to the tip as if measuring if her tiny mouth would be able to take in such a giant member.

    She felt like her jaws would dislocate in the venture, but she was determined to go through with it.

    Brittany on the other hand could not watch her princess having to go through such an ordeal. She screamed at the top of her lungs. The shriek that came out of her throat was nothing less than the wailing of grieving banshees, shrill beyond the hearing range of a normal human and full of heartfelt pain.

    She was watching her dream being torn apart in front of her. There was no other way she could disy her feelings at the moment.

    All these years on the run, Brittany had dared not hope for anything for herself. Instead, she had put in all the effort to keep her princess safe from any defiling hands.

    She had been able to keep her dream safe so far since the men they had encountered were all beasts who thought with their dicks, but this man seemed to be different. He was not interested in her body alone.

    He seemed to be looking for something else.

    Otherwise, he wouldn''t have provoked the princess to this extent.

    Although such thoughts were ying out in her mind, she was not in her right mind to follow any such line of thought. She was too shocked by what the princess was about to do. All that she had done over the years was about to go down the drain.

    It broke her heart and made her want to p some sense into the princess but her restraints weren''t getting loose no matter how hard she tried to free herself. They were just as unrelenting as they had been in the beginning.

    Carol heard her maid''s frantic screams and turned her head towards her all the while keeping her hand wrapped tightly around Zach''s veiny cock that was too big for her mouth.

    "You have been taking care of me for so long. Allow me to help you if only a little bit." Carol was about to turn back towards the dick staring down at her tiny mouth as if excited to ravage and explore it, but she didn''t back down at all. She was ready for it, or at least she thought she was.

    Either way, there was no turning back now. She was determined to follow her true feelings this time. Fear wouldn''t be able to deter her from acting on her impulse.

    "I am sorry for not realizing it sooner. This should havee to me a long time ago, but I was too afraid. I should have shared your pain...maybe it would have been easier for both of us that way..."

    Carol was saddened by how much resistance Brittany was showing towards her decision because it only showed how much Brittany cared about her.

    "...You must have felt so alone all this time. I am truly sorry for not being able to give you a good life...but I can at the very least apany you through the adversity life has thrown at us."

    Saying her piece Carol turned towards the giant cock waiting for her in all its excitement.

    Unbeknownst to her, tears had already begun to trace silent paths down the cheeks of the maid who had worn the guise of a princess for countless years. Witnessing Carol''s genuinemitment, a surge of emotions overwhelmed her.

    While moved by Carol''s selfless dedication, an indescribable pain gripped her from within, an ache that seemed to emanate from the depths of her soul. The dichotomy of emotions yed out on her countenance as silent tears bore witness to the intricateyers of her internal struggles.

    Brittany''s emotional turmoil resembled a fragile ss sculpture, beautifully crafted over time. The exterior, shimmering with the radiant colors of loyalty and sacrifice, showcased her unwavering dedication to Carol.

    Yet, within the transparent structure, subtle fractures appeared, refracting the inner pain she tried to conceal. The delicate ss, a symbol of her emotions, bore the weight of conflicting sentiments, with tears acting like imperceptible cracks threatening to shatter the intricately constructed fa?ade.

    The sculpture, once pristine, now held the dichotomy of devotion and hidden anguish, a fragile masterpiece on the verge of revealing its underlying fragility.

    Brittany''s soul was like a fragile porcin vase, teetering on the edge of an abyss, as she confronted the imminent desecration of her beloved princess.

    Each passing moment echoed like the haunting chime of a breaking piece, resonating within the recesses of her heart.

    The impending vition cast a dark shadow over the delicate structure of her emotions, causing the once-sturdy vessel to quiver with an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

    As the seconds ticked away, it was as if the vase''s delicate surface was being etched with the scars of despair, the impending destruction, mirroring the disintegration of Brittany''s entire being.

    She hated Zach...or at least she wanted to hate him...but a part of her couldn''t bring herself to do it.

    A tempest of conflicting emotions raged within Brittany, torn between the fierce desire to despise Zach and an inexplicable reluctance rooted in a deeper realm of her consciousness.

    Hatred, like a tempest, surged through her veins, fueled by the imminent vition of her cherished princess.

    Yet, amidst the tumultuous storm, a hesitant whisper echoed in the corridors of her heart, questioning the authenticity of her animosity.

    It was as if an invisible force resisted the full embrace of hatred, leaving her entangled in a web of conflicting sentiments that gnawed at the edges of her resolve.

    Whatever Zach had done to the two women, it had brought her to be even closer to Carol, something that she had possibly been dreaming about without even knowing about it.

    This newfound closeness, an unexpected consequence of turmoil, resonated within Brittany''s soul, offering a sense of connection she might have secretly yearned for, albeit hidden in the recesses of her subconscious.

    As Brittany observed Carol''s unwaveringmitment and selflessness, conflicting emotions surged within her. A profound joy blossomed in her heart, akin to discovering an unexpected treasure in the midst of chaos.

 Chapter 405 405 The Bond

    Chapter 405  405 The Bond

    Yet, intertwined with this joy was a poignant sadness, a soul-piercing ache that seemed to echo through the chambers of her being.

    The dichotomy of emotions overwhelmed Brittany, for the realization that the princess was willing to go to such lengths for her brought both tion and sorrow.

    She was happy because all the years she had sacrificed herself to protect her princess weren''t wasted as the princess too thought of her in a simr manner.

    Just as Birttany was about to burst into a scream of despair at having to witness the princess'' mouth being defiled, Zach brought his hand on top of Carol''s mouth and pushed her back slightly to stop her froming into contact with his raging cock.

    "You can stop now, Princess."

    Carol jerked her head up in astonishment at the sudden change in the tone of Zach''s voice. It had grown soft and somewhat grounded that gave it the impression of stability and poise.

    Moreover, she was shocked to see that Zach wasn''t looking at Brittany at all whiles addressing her as princess.

    Instead, he was staring at Carol herself.

    It was then that she knew that Zach probably knew about it all along. But she couldn''t understand it.

    Why the pretense?

    If he wanted to fuck the princess, he could just have asked for her instead of saying all those things to her. He could have easily cast Brittany aside and forced himself upon her.

    Instead of doing that, he had awakened her dead soul through his words.

    Carol, therefore believed that Zach was different from the men she had encountered so far. He was either an even bigger freak who had a fetish for a bag of bones like herself OR, he had a different purpose for orchestrating this all.

    Carol''s instincts told her that all of this had been some kind of test. Otherwise, Zach''s devilish demeanor would not have changed into his graceful and stable current self so abruptly.

    Thinking back, it was the moment she decided to give him a blowjob that he suddenly changed his attitude towards her and pushed her back even though it was him who had previously been intent on having her suck his dick despite having an eager Brittany who had been offering herself to do it voluntarily.

    Even Brittany was in shock. The man she considered to be a thoughtless lecher in her mind turned out to be in the know about their true identities already.

    No wonder he kept asking the princess to give him a blowjob instead of her.

    He had been ying with them both all this time.

    Brittany gnashed her teeth at the thought.

    The cruel game he had orchestrated was probably meant for them to reveal their true identities themselves.

    Zach noticed the heavy aura of animosity rising from his side where Brittany was still pinned to the wall. The force keeping her in check had remained constant so far and he was sure that it wouldn''t have caused her any substantial harm, not any more than she could handle at the very least.

    Therefore, he decided to clear away the negative air between them before releasing her. Otherwise, he was afraid she wouldunch herself straight at him once released, in order to take him down in the bloodiest manner possible.

    Zach adopted a grave look on his visage beforeing out with the truth.

    "To tell you two the truth, I knew about your true identities from before you were even brought to me. I heard about your story and couldn''t help but find it a bit hypocritical."

    Zach paused a bit at this point as if anticipating brutal and murderous looks in the eyes of the two women, however the two seemed to be dealing with the fact that he knew their secret. From the looks of it, it would be some time before the two would be able to get over it.

    "How?"

    A mosquito-like voice finally escaped Carol''s lips and reached his ears as it was barely audible enough to convey its meaning to him.

    Zach didn''t hide it from her since she had already passed his test and was privy to knowing how their secret had been revealed. Otherwise, the two might not be able to trust another human being in the future for fear of their secret leaking out to them due to carelessness.

    "It wasn''t me. It was the man who brought you here. He had already deduced your true identities during the time he was interrogating you."

    Brittany was also listening intently in order to ascertain if there was any truth to Zach''s words. More than anything, she wanted to know if she had fucked up somehow and had given out some kind of clue that allowed Bruce to figure out their lies from the truth.

    "We didn''t say anything to that effect. I am positive that both of us were tight-lipped. There is no way you could have found out about it from us."

    Brittany couldn''t hold out for very long before she barged into the conversation despite not being able to move from her position.

    Carol also nodded to reaffirm Brittany''s words.

    "I know that the two of you were extremely cautious. But try to remember carefully, did the man ask you any questions about yourselves or each other?"

    Zach already knew the process after receiving the briefing from Bruce. Therefore, he knew how to handle disclosing the truth to the two women.

    Carol, who had been dazed until that moment, finally gathered her wits about her and stood back up on her feet. Her knees were hurting slightly but it was still bearable.

    She didn''t make a sound as she rubbed the painful parts before once before standing straight.

    "Although you were careful enough to hide all the information you thought was crucial, you didn''t take into ount that we could detect your lies. So, you never had a chance. Every lie you told, gave him the information he wanted to ask the two of you. The more you denied or epted something, the more information he got out of the two of you."

    "So, we have been ying in the palm of your hands since the beginning..." thought Carol out loud while she tried to make sense of the words she had just heard.

    It was harding to terms with what Zach had said.

    She wondered if she was dreaming but it didn''t seem right. Zach looked too real for that and the experience she had just earned today was enough to change her outlook on the whole world.

    She might never be able to trust anyone again until she was fully confident about sessfully concealing her identity from them.

    "Just like you two, I have had my share of tough times. Although I didn''t want to do this to you, it was necessary to ensure the safety of my people. Therefore, I had to orchestrate this game in order to ascertain your true selves before deciding on what to do with you."

    Zach knew that the two women probably hated him to the core, but he didn''t want to hide anything from them as they had passed his test and had proved their character to him.

    "So, what did you decide?" asked Carol with a frown hovering above her eyes.

    "Since I have already established the kind of people you two are, I won''t stop you from leaving. You can request as much help as I can afford to offer you before leaving for a free life. No one will be able stop you."

    Zach answered in a matter-of-fact voice as if the answer was quite obvious. He released the invisible restraints that had been keeping Brittany from moving about too much.

    "The bond between the two of you has moved me. Such selflessness is hard toe by in this world. You should cherish your maid more. She has been tortured and threatened at every turn and yet she has managed to keep you safe from all dangers throughout her duty."

    After addressing Carol, Zach couldn''t help but praise the bony princess as well. She had not only managed to pass the test that Zach had prepared but had also seeded with flying colors.

    Therefore, Zach felt that the two deserved to live a better life than what they had been living for the past few years that they had spent in captivity.

    Carol was now sure that Zach meant what he said. He was truly giving them an option to leave and live freely by themselves. She could see it in his eyes. His sincerity was evident.

    Unlike the beasts in human skin that she was familiar with, Zach appeared to be the only true human she hade across in a long time.

    At the same time, she was somewhat curious.

    She was wondering what the result would have been if they hadn''t passed Zach''s test for them. What if she had opted to throw Brittany under the bus to save herself. Any princess in her ce would have done it easily.

    After all, a princess'' life was considered to be far more precious than the life of any othermoner.

    Instead of keeping this question to herself and leaving right there and then, she stayed back to talk to Zach a bit more on the subject.

    It was as if she was being drawn towards him unintentionally.

    Lost in her thoughts, her steady but low voice caught him unawares.

    "What if I hadn''t agreed toe forward just now to offer myself to you?"

 Chapter 406 406 New Matter

    Chapter 406  406 New Matter

    "Would you still let us leave like this? Would you have let us live in peace even then?"

    Zach hadn''t expected her to ask such a question even though he had given them their freedom already.

    A mysterious smile blossomed on his face and the edges of his lips curled upwards in a dramatic manner.

    "What''s the use of that now? You are free. That''s what you should focus on. Why bother with the trivialities? Since it doesn''t matter anymore, you should forget about it as well. Just leave and go wherever you want to go without fear. No one will stop you. Considering the number of years that have passed since the Dynasty fell, I don''t think many people would still remember you or better yet would still bother about a princess from a fallen dynasty. Therefore, you can follow your heart without restraint."

    Zach was almost sure that the two wouldn''t waste a single second and would leave immediately, considering how much they might have yearned for their freedom after living in captivity for years.

    However, when he put forward the idea to the two women, he was quite shocked to hear Carol''s reply.

    Thinking back on it once more, he tried to rey what she had said in his mind as if to make sure that he had heard it right.

    "What if I don''t want to leave? Can I stay here?" Carol had asked with an expectant look in her eyes.

    Zach was still contemting when Carol''s voice sounded again.

    "You would be surprised to find that beasts in human skin are lurking everywhere. Even if I was a princess who was a hundred years old, those beasts would surely try their best to ravage me for the false sense of uniqueness and nobility that the act would make them feel. No matter where I go, even after leaving this ce, I would still be the princess of a fallen empire and prey to those hungry eyes. There is no safe ce in the world for me, and no escape other than death. Therefore, I have decided to take up my chances with this ce. At the very least, you don''t seem to be too enthusiastic about me being a princess. I even get the feeling that you kind of find me repulsive."

    Zach was contemting how to answer her when Brittany came forward and shook the princess from her shoulders fiercely.

    "What are you doing? We have finally managed to escape the nightmare. Why don''t you want to leave anymore?" Brittany was horrified. She had dreamed of being able to escape every single day. But Carol''s words felt like a betrayal to her. As if her suffering during these years was nothing to Carol. She had ignored how she felt and had agreed to stay with the man who had just about destroyed Carol''s purity a few moments ago.

    Carol might have forgotten but Brittany still held hatred in her heart for Zach and couldn''t bring herself to trust him as Carol did.

    "All of this happened to us because we are weak. If he had decided to take me here, would you have been able to stop him?" asked Carol as her piercing gaze pierced straight through Brittany rendering her speechless.

    Brittany couldn''t have stopped Zach from doing what he wanted. She had been helpless against the invisible restraints that Zach had used on her.

    She unconsciously shook her head in response to Carol''s question.

    "That''s right. We are helpless in front of him. Since he is willing to let us go, it can only mean that we don''t hold much significance in his eyes. So, I want to continue staying here, not as a prisoner, but as a member of his group. I am sure he can find something for us to do, something that we can excel at in this ce."

    "But we can do the same elsewhere. We just have to hide our identities like before. I just can''t bring myself to trust him. What if he..." Brittany argued.

    They were discussing such things right in front of him and were even making him out to be the bad guy in all this when he had clearly offered them their freedom.

    Zach wanted to say that ''he was right there'' but kept his mouth shut while trying to hold back augh.

    "But for how long can you hide the truth? From what we have learnt so far, the truthes out one way or the other. And when it does, we won''t be prepared. I am not ready to go back to captivity again. I have decided to stay here and acquire strength to defend myself and you. I want to repay you for everything you have done for me."

    "Fine, I agree. You can stay here for the time being. If in the future you decide that you have be capable of protecting yourself or you feel like you are not safe here anymore, you can leave without asking my permission. I won''t stop you."

    Zach felt like Carol was a truly interesting person. She had guts for one, wits matching her upbringing, was a littlecking in the courage department but he felt like that woulde with strength.

    Therefore, he agreed to the two joining the Smith family.

    He stopped their pointless argument and gave the final verdict, being in the position of power.

    ---------------------------

    With the guidance and leadership expertise. The Smith family that had been crumbling previously was slowly starting to get themselves back on track. They were slowly putting themselves back on thew map and working towards improving theirpany.

    The sugar cane industry was growing faster than ever and it was having much higher production rates than before. And because of Zach they were quickly starting to restore their positions.

    The economy of Byzantium city that had once been considered crumbling and falling apart was now. Starting to grow again and it was slowly bing much stronger than it had ever been before.

    Zach was sat in his office as he overlooked the production factories. He had his hands sped behind his back as a small smirk made its way onto his features as he observed the workers below carefully

    He was pulled out of his thoughts when he suddenly heard the sound of a loud knock on his door. He quirked a brow before swiveling around to see who it was.

    He watched as the door was pulled open and Bruce walked in slowly. He let out as sigh from his lips as he slumped his shoulders before making his way to his chair and sitting down.

    He gestured for Bruce to take the seat opposite him as well as he offered him as small smile.

    "Well what can I do for you?" He asked him. He watched as Bruce scratched the back of his head as he swallowed deeply before he finally decided to speak up once again after a minute.

    He cleared his throat before speaking. "Well the thing is that there is a lot of sugarcane that is on the market." He said to him and he couldn''t help but raise his brow at him.

    He didn''t see how that was a problem for him. "What is wrong with that. It means that we are thriving. I thought that you would be thrilled."

    However Bruce shook his head at him in response as he let out a sigh. He pulled out a sack from his pocket and Zach widened his eyes when he noticed that the brand on the cover of it wasn''t there.

    "There is a lot of sugarcane on the market but the sugarcane isn''t ours. They aren''t Windsor''s either and that means that there are others selling it."

    Zach let out a sigh as he lowered his shoulders. He had thought that it was something very serious at first but the though that there were other sellers on the market wasn''t a big deal.

    It made sense that there were others out there. After all that was how business worked and there were always going to be others out there that would be yourpetitors.

    "That isn''t something that we should bother ourselves with. There is always going to bepetition. we can''t avoid that," The truth was that the process of making sugar wouldn''t remain a secret forever.

    He knew that not all of his employees were loyal as well and there were those who may have gone out of their way to learn from hum so that they could go on to build their own economies.

    He had never intended for it to be kept a secret. If it meant that the city would grow and be boosted then that was great and it would never be a bad thing.

    "The process of making sugar isn''t one that is meant to be kept hidden and it isn''t supposed to be some type of secret. So it is expected that others would learn about it and that they would wasn''t to get themselves involved in the market as well." He said to him with a light shrug of his shoulders.

    "This only shows that the industry is thriving and that the business is getting bigger. We wouldn''t havepetition either unless others were intimidated by us and they saw us as a threat that they wanted to take down. We are the biggest producers and so the chances that there are those out there that would want to copy us or try to be like us would be high."

 Chapter 407 407 Deliberate

    <h4>Chapter 407 Chapter 407 Deliberate</h4>

    "You have nothing to worry yourself about." He said as he tried to tell him in a reassuring tone.

    However Bruce wasn''t as convinced. He didn''t see how this would be a good thing in any was shape or form. There was a nagging feeling at the back of his head that told him that this was a very bad idea and that this wasn''t something that they should take lightly.

    "This is a big deal and I am surprised that you are taking it so lightly. There is someone who is working behind the scenes on this and he means anything but good." Bruce said to him and Zach couldn''t help but furrow his brows as though urging him to speak further on it.

    "There is word that these small workshops have someone behind the scenes who is sponsoring them and giving them capital. He is allowing them to sell it at a little lower price. Do you know what that means for us?" He asked.

    Zach remained impassive not wanting to show that his words had gotten to him and he knew better than to overreact.

    "It means that they are going to run us out of business soon. No one is going to want to buy from us at a higher price when they knew that they can go elsewhere and get it at a much lower price." He said to him in an emphasized tone.

    "This also means that our sales will be seriously affected. Think about it. Everything that you have built here and everything that you have worked hard for and then someone justes in and sends it crashing down. We could start losing workers as well when they learn about what is happening. Our profits will plumet and we will soon be out of a business." He said to him frantically.

    Zach thought over Bruce''s words and it was then that his words truly hit him. He gulped as he realized that this was serious.

    He knew that he couldn''t allow this to happen. It was up to him to stop everything froming crashing down.

    He had to save thepany no matter what it took. "Show me the financial statements." He ordered to Bruce and Bruce couldn''t help but notice the urgency that was clear in his tone.

    He bowed slightly before leaving the room. He was d that Zach was finally starting to see how serious things were and that he was finally starting to take the situation more seriously.

    He came back in momentster as he handed over the financial report to Zach. Zach took it into his hand as he thanked Bruce for it briefly before pulling the statements open.

    He widened his eyes as he skimmed his eyes over the document. He took note of the transactions that were made and at first he didn''t see anything peculiar.

    However when he looked towards the end he saw that there was a huge influx of money into the industry.

    He couldn''t help but furrow his brows at the sight as he couldn''t help but wonder where the money wasing in from. He didn''t understand what was going on but he knew that he had to get to the bottom of it.

    He knew that he couldn''t allow this to carry on. He had to do something to put a stop to it. Because he knew that if he didn''t reach t now that the Smith''s family financial chain would take a serious hit.

    He didn''t want hiem to have to start all over again.

    They had already put so much faith and truest in him that he would be able to work things out for them and thest thing that he wanted was for them to lose that trust in him.

    He had to find a way to fix this and he had to do it now. Burt he also knows that he had to think about to properly.

    Whenever he tried tosh out he always ends up making things worse. Whenever he tried to fight off his enemies it never ended well.

    And he had told himself that he wanted to keep a low profile and that he didn''t want to interject into matters that weren''t much of his concern. However that was seeming much harder than he had thought.

    He thought back to when he had destroyed the Hunter family. He knew that he had done a good thing and that he was able to take down his enemies but he was also reminded of the consequences that resulted from what he had done.

    Because of what he did Christina was then forced to travel to the capital ad a hostage. If he hadn''t been so focused on destroying the Hunter family then he knew that that would have never happened to Christina.

    He couldn''t get the thought out of his head. The fact that she had been forced into it and he had no control over it.

    He didn''t need another mistake like that to happen. Although he had told himself that he wouldn''t get himself involved in such a matter he found it almost impossible for him not to.

    Especially when he knew that there was someone out there that was deliberately causing trouble for him. He didn''t like the fact that there was in deed someone out there that was intent on making things difficult. At least more difficult than they had to be and he was aware of the fact that?he had to get to the bottom of things soon.

    "So what are you going to do." Bruce asked him suddenly and he couldn''t help but tense up in his spot. It was as though he was just realizing that Bruce was still there.

    He waved his hand away briefly. He knew that he couldn''t think properly with him hovering over him and he needed him to take a step back and give him some room.

    "I am going to need you to leave me be for some time." He said to him and he watched as his lip quivered as though there was something he wanted to say.

    "But what about the others on the market." Bruce asked him.

    Zach fritted his teeth sending him a deep re. "Like I said you shouldn''t worry about it because I am going to have all of it sorted out." He said to him firmly.

    Bruce sighed as he bowed down his head slightly before lowering his shoulders. "well I hope that you know what you are doing because you will have to act fast." He muttered.

    With that Bruce turned around and left. It was just him in the room now and Zach was left alone with his own thoughts. He knew that he would have toe up with something and that he would have to do it fast.

    He knew that he had what it took to defeat his enemies. He had done so countless times before and he had alwayse out on top.

    In truth winning had never been a problem for him. The real problem was that even though he won and although he did possess an advantage there was always a consequence that he would have to dace in the end.

    It was never just him winning. Because he knew that when he did win he would most often end up losing someone that was of value to him in the end.

    It irritated him that he still struggled to find a way out of the loop that he was caught up in. He wasn''t going to stop trying but he hoped that for once the oue of it wouldn''t be so grim.

    He knew that this time he wasn''t going to be able to follow the same tactics that he was used to. If he decided to defeat his enemies in the method that he was used to, he knew for a fact that it wouldn''t end well.

    He had to be more thoughtful about it all. The end goal for him wasn''t to defeat the enemy.

    But it was to find. Way for him to win and keep the Smith''s family in control for a very long time.

    He knew that if he were to defeat the enemy now there was a chance that it would result in the destruction of the Smith empire and that was thest thing that he wanted.

    His main goal was to ensure that thepany was kept afloat and that he was still able to keep them in power for as long as he possibly could.

    Zach spent a very long time sitting in his chair as he thought about what he had to do.

    He came up with several different scenarios in his head and various routes that he would have to follow to get what he wanted.

    However none of them seemed to be usible and have thew lowest risk at the end.

    He let out a sigh as he thought over it for a while longer. However after a moment he couldn''t help but smile brightly as an idea came to him.

    He knew just how he would do it. He had the perfect n for getting what he wanted without causing damage to the Smith family and also all the while with him being able to make sure that their legacy carried on.

    His enemies didn''t know what was about to hit them and he would take them down in a such a way that they didn''t have any choice but to submit to him wholly.

 Chapter 408 408 Blame

    Chapter 408  408 me

    He wasing for them and they should have been afraid. They should have been very afraid because he wasn''t going to stop until he knew that they werepletely defeated.

    бн

    Zach made his way out of his office as he finds Bruce standing there with his hands crossed over his chest. He looks towards him with a raised eyebrow and his curiously peaked.

    "So have you decided on what you are going to do." He asked him and Zach nodded his head at him in response.

    "We are going to have to go and see Andy," her announced to him. Bruce didn''t have time to react as Zach grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the door.

    They made their way towards the precinct before stepping inside. they made their way towards Andy''s office before stepping inside.

    "What is the meaning of this? Why are you here Zach." Andy said to him through gritted teeth.

    "My problem is that you aren''t doing your job right." Zach said to him in a hissing tone.

    Andy furrowed his brows not truly understanding what he meant. "what do you mean by I am not doing my job." He said to him in protest.

    Zach chuckled and he pulled out the fabric ofthe sugar sack made by the rivalpany and mmed it into the table. "So why are you allowing other sugar sources to flood the market?" He hissed.

    He watched as Andy tensed up at his words as he gulped before swallowing deeply.

    He adjusted the tie that was wrapped around his neck ass he adjusted his clothes. "I don''t know what this means." He said to him carefully.

    Zach shook his head at him as he let out a tsk before shaking his head. "This means that you aren''t doing your job ats themissioner of police. So tell me how is it that you allowed for other traders toe into the market and trade our goods. Especially in such an hical manner. So how about you tell me what you are doing in order to put a stop to them." Zach said to him loudly.

    Andy took the piece of fabric into his hand as he ran his hand over it. He sucked in a deep breath after a moment as he cleared his throat before speaking up. "I didn''t know anything about it I swear. You know that I wouldn''t have allowed something like this to happen." He said to him in a panicked tone.

    "Yes well what are you going to do about it. You know what this means for the smiths. It is going to cause their business to crumble and you and I both know that is thest thing that we want isn''t it." Zach asked him with a raised eyebrow.

    He watched as sandy gulped before adjusting himself in his seat as a single bead of sweat ran down his face.

    "No we can''t have that. My promotion depends on that,." He said to him frantically.

    Zach couldn''t help but smirk as he enjoyed the reaction that he was able to get out of him. He knew that Andy had a right for him to worry.

    Andy was one of the key investors for the Smiths and so if anything were to happen to their business it would affect him as well and that was thest thing that he needed.

    If the Smith''s continued to build and grow their business it would mean that he would also have a chance at getting a promotion.

    But if they are unable to seed or it others were to take over them then it would mean that his credibility would also be called into question and there are also going to be those that will look towards him with distrust.

    His credibility as well as his position was riding on this and he wasn''t going to allow himself to crumble because of this.

    "We can''t allow this to happen." He said to Zach suddenly.

    Zach chuckled as he took a step towards him. Without warning he pressed his finger against his chest with a twinkle in his eye and a smirk on his face.

    "Actually you are the one that can''t allow this to happen. This is all on you. You are the one who is in charge here and you are the one who is failing to do their job. If you had done what was right we wouldn''t be in this situation and I wouldn''t have to havee here to call you out. You really are starting to show your ipetence. How do you think others will feel if they are to find out about this/". He asked him.

    He watched as Andy''s cheeks became hearted as he ran a hand over his face. Andy couldn''t help but feel slightly embarrassed by Zach''s words.

    He knew that Zach was right and that he shouldn''t have been so rced but hearing Zach say it out loud made it all that clearer to him.

    Andy knew however that this was out of his control.Because in truth it wasn''t he who had made the decision but it was the superiors who hade to the conclusion on their own.

    He looked around the room knowing that there were windows that were positioned on the adjacent wall.

    He had to be careful what he said and how he behaved knowing that there were people watching him constantly.

    His gaze flickered towards Bruce as he knew for as fact that he wasn''t able to trust him either.

    He stood up from his chair and walked over towards Zach. He grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towardsone of the corners of the room.

    Zach couldn''t help but furrow his brows at him as he found himself struggling to understand his sudden change of behavior. "what is the meaning of this?" Zach asked him in a demanding tone.

    He watched as hew raised up is finger and he pressed it up against his lips as though in a sign for him to keep quiet.

    "they have ears everywhere and we can''t speak openly because they will hear us." he said to him.

    Zach sighed as he looked towards him with a raised eyebrow onest time before shrugging his shoulders.

    He decided that he would try and entertain him for a moment.

    "so tell me what is going on. When are you nning to take action against the other corporations and find away to take them down once and for all." He said to him and he watched as he slouched his shoulders slightly before running a hand over his face.

    "that is what I am trying to say to you. There is nothing that I can do about it. My hands are tied in this matter." He said to him in an honest tone.

    Zach gritted his teeth at his words as he sent him a deep re. That wasn''t the words that he had wanted to hear.

    "And what is the reason for you not being able to do anything about it." Zach asked him.

    He watched as Andy gulped as he looked around fleetingly before leaning in and whispering to him. "it is because they are watching us. It isn''t my fault that this is happening. This was an order that came from my superiors and they are the ones who made this decision. Io had nothing to do with it as my hands werepletely tied." He said. To Zach and he couldn''t help but still l at his words.

    "What do you mean by this was a decision that was made by your superiors." He said to him in a cold tone.

    "This was a tactical decision that they had made on their own. I hadn''t been part od the decision making.You know that I would never try to go against the Smith family. But this is an order that hade from above and you know that I don''t have what it takes to interfere with such matters. My hands are tied and I don''t have a single day on it." Andy exined to him.

    Zach let out a sigh form his lips as he nodded his head at him. In a sense that Andy had to have his form of loyalty. However him knowing now that the order wasn''t from him and that it wasing from above changed a lot for him. It brought him closer to putting his n together.

    His once expression of anger and confusion turned into as bright smile.

    The change didn''t go unnoticed by Andy who took a small step back. "look I know that you are trying your best and of course I am aware of the fact that this isn''t your fault either. I know that you are only following your orders given to you." He said to him as he reached out and ced a hand on his shoulder.

    He gave it a light squeeze as Andy tensed, "I swear I don''t have anything to do with this."He said to him and he only nodded his head at him in agreement.

    "I am well aware of that matter and there is nothing for you to worry about. Don''t worry about any of it. You should know I am on your side." Zach said to him.

    "I didn''te here because I wanted to me you. I only came here because I wanted to get to the bottom of who was the person that was behind all of this."

 Chapter 409 409 Behind This

    <h4>Chapter 409 Chapter 409 Behind This</h4>

    "I know that it wasn''t you but I know that you can help me to find out who was the one that did all of it." He said to him and he watched as he let out a sigh before he loosened himself up slightly.

    Andy looked at him wearily as though he was trying to figure out whether or not he could trust Zach.

    "Are you sure that you aren''t going to me me for any of it." He asked Zach. Zach raised his hands into the air in surrender before making a cross over his heart.

    "I swear to you that I am not going to use any of this against you." He said to him in a promise.

    He watched as he let out a sigh before he leaned in close to him. Zach was still as Andy whispered a name into his ear and he could sense the nervousness that was clear on his fsce.

    Ss he pulled away Zach couldn''t help but smirk. "Well thank you for your help. I am not going to forget that." He said to him firmly.

    Zach pulled away from him as he began to walk away. He smirked at the thought of the name that had been mentioned to him. "Princess Candice." He had to give it to her that the woman was very stubborn. He couldn''t help but feel shocked that she still held her grudge against the Smith family.

    He would have hoped that she would have given up by now and that she would have found someone else for her to torment. However it seemed as though she was still determined to see that the Smith family crumbled.

    He guessed that she had heard about the footing that the Smith family was getting in the kingdom. And that she feared that they would continue to grow more and more powerful.

    And that eventually in doing so they woulde and try to reim Christina who had been taken hostage.

    He guessed that she was doing this so that she could pull out the weed at its source. She wanted to destroy them before they got too strong and to show them that they couldn''t win no matter how hard they tried.

    She thought that she was cunning but Zach realized where her n was heading. He realized that she had tried to be subtle in the beginning but he wasn''t one to be fooled so easily sand he was soon able to piece together her n.

    Her first step was for her to get spies to infiltrate into the Smithpany and to learn about the sugar making process. It had worked well and she had been able to get it done undetected.

    After that she had then gone on to purchase numerous small factories around thend that would be able to produce the sugar and they were able to sell it at a cheaper rate.

    This would allow her to makerge profit as all the while she would be able to crush the economy for the Smith family.

    This meant that her and the rest of the royal family would haveplete and utter control of the sugar cane industry with every?producer under their thumb.

    It would also mean that they would no longer have to deal with the Smith family again and they would be able to have them out of their hold.

    It was pure genius and it would allow them to go through with it undetected.

    Zach smirked as he gave Andy a pat on the back and he offered him a small smile. Andy looked towards him wearily as though wondering what he was nning to do.

    "Thank you for helping mw put." Zach said to him before turning around ready to leave.

    Andy wasn''t entirely content with his thank you and there was a part of him that felt as though something was off about his words.

    "wait what do you mean that you. How about you tell me what you are nning to do. You can''t go against them. You know for a fact that it isn''t going to end well/."he called out after him.

    However Zach only shook his head at him waving him off before turning around to leave. "you don''t have to worry about me or about that happening. I can take care of myself perfectly well and I will get to the bottom of this as well." He called out.

    With that Zach left the precinct as he had Bruce trailing behind him.

    He made his way bac to thepany as he settled himself back down in his seat.

    "So what did you get from Andy." Bruce asked him but he didn''t respond to him instantly and he only shrugged his shoulders at him at first.

    "Nothing much that should be of your concern. We aren''t going to worry ourselves with the otherpetitors. We are going to worry about growing this business. It is our main priority is that we should worry ourselves about." He said to him.

    "What does that mean?" Bruce asked him curiously.

    He let out a sigh in response as he pushed himself back in his chair resting his back. "It means that we are going to recruit more workers and increase their average wages. Instead of being threatened by the enemy. We are going to use this opportunity to sell our business more. make it so that people don''t have a choice but toe to us and also remind them of the reason that they buy their sugar from us in the first ce. Not because we are the most affordable but because we are the best. We have to remind them of what we do here." He said to Bruce firmly.

    It all sounded good and well but Bruce couldn''t help but worry about the fact that this would put strain on the management.

    "Well that is great and all but this doesn''t change the fact that we have spies out there. And recruiting new employees will increase the risk of us hiring staff that are actually spies and are intent on getting our secrets. We will have less control over thepany and there are those that will use it as an opportunity to tear us from the inside." Bruce pointed out unsurely.

    The thing was that Zach no longer had anything to lose and everything to gain. Their secrets were already out there and there was nothing for the enemy to uncover because they already knew it all.

    "Actually you are wrong. Our risks are zero because the enemy already knows all of our trade secrets. There is no longer a need for us to keep a tight lid on everything when it is all already out in the open."

    Bruce looked towards Zach with uncertainty for a moment but he couldn''t help but notice the look of determination that was clear on his face.

    He let out a sigh lowering his head knowing that there was nothing that he could do to change his mind. He reluctantly agreed to him hoping that he was aware of what he was doing.

    бн

    After Zach had been a part of the Smith family for a while. Carol couldn''t help bute to realize that Zach was a special part of the family.

    Although he was a patriarch she knew that he didn''t carry the same principles and mentality as the others.

    He didn''t treat people differently but rather he was the same with everyone as he treated everyone with kindness and in the same way.

    He was always vert considerate with the others as well. When the others couldn''t do things for him due to one reason or the other. He didn''t try to force them into doing anything.

    Rather he was very understanding and he allowed them to take their tine and he would eve n do some of the things on his won if he knew that the others weren''t able to do it for him.

    Zach also told his wife Diana that she is in charge of teaching the soldiers and the servants.

    He taught her that she is also a leader and she had to follow his principles as such. There was never meant to be any form of bias and she was supposed to treat them the same way that she would any of the other members of the family.

    Carol had expected that her life would have be difficult especially with Zach there but she had to admit that his presence hadn''t made things more difficult.

    In fact he had made things much easier for all of them. Thanks to him life wasn''t that much more difficult but rather things had be much easier and she was able to live a normal life much like the others.

    It had always been her dream to live a normal life once more. Especially after the fall of the county.

    She felt as though she was finally able to get what she wanted and it was all thanks to the efforts of Zach. She knew that without him there she wouldn''t have been able to lice the type offortable life that she was able to enjoy now.

    Due to her past she knew that she was constantly on thew run. She had to always look over her shoulder out of fear due to the fact that she was the princess of the Ascar empire.

    She knew that she couldn''t trust anyone and she had to constantly look over her shoulder.

 Chapter 410 410 Suggestion

    <h4>Chapter 410 Chapter 410 Suggestion</h4>

    She had never been able to live a normal life or act like a child. However that had changed a lot now.

    Now she didn''t have to worry about that any longer.

    With Zach there she knew that all of her fears were unnecessary as he was able to keep them protected.

    She was able to live the life that she had only ever imagined in her dreams before.

    She could act like a normal person and go about a normal life without the fear of others catching her. It was perfect. Almost too perfect but she couldn''t have asked it any other way.

    She owed a lot to the Smith family and she knew that although she would never be able to repay them that he would do her part to ensure that they stayed afloat.

    She knew that part that she had to y and she was going to cast aside her princess title in order for her to y her role amongst the family.

    Zach had been trying to spend thest few days trying to keep himself calm.

    He held the confidence that he would be able to defeat his enemies by being better than them.

    Bruce was hard at work to ensure that Zach''s idea was put in motion. However things weren''t working out as easily as he had thought.

    He had holed that he would be able to get everything sorted out and have the matters delt with without the other family members getting to know about it.

    However after a few days carol could tell that there was something that had shifted and she decided that it was time for her to approach him so that she could tell him about what she had observed.

    She found him in his office once more as he stood overlooking the workers.

    The moment that she walked through the door he couldn''t help but tense up slightly as he instantly knew that it was her.

    "what is it?" her asked her as he slowly turned around to face her.

    "I know that we have been having a bit of trouble recently." She said to him and he stiffened slightly.

    He didn''t want to discuss the matters with her, "I don''t know what you are talking about." He said to her calmly.

    She let out a sigh from her lips as she shook her head at him before she took a step forward. She approached the seat that was in front of his table before she sat down in it tentatively.

    "I know that you think that you are smart and that you think that you can hide what is going on from us but I have noticed the increase of sugar production in the market from thepetitors. I know that there is something that isn''t adding up and I have a theory of who is behind it." She said to him as she quirked an eyebrow at him.

    He looked towards her impassively at first before smirking as he decided to entertain her for a moment. "and what is it that you were able to tell?" He asked her.

    She rolled her eyes at him in response as she came to realize that he was intending to tease her.

    "Well I have been looking at recent business activities and I have looked over the books. I have been able to track back the origins of some of the other sugarpanies. They are all linked to one investor and I have reason to believe. That investor is using a pseudonym and the real person who is behind it is the royal family." She said to him.

    He had a twinkle in his eye because the truth was that he was already aware of the information, however he decided to entertain her for a moment longer, "and so what does that mean." He asked her.

    She couldn''t help but grit her teeth as she didn''t appreciate his impassive tone.

    She stood up from her seat as she said to him, "Well it means that the enemy that you are going against is the royal family. They are the ones who are trying to jeopardize everything." She said f to him loudly.

    He hummed at her in response as he raised his hand to rub his chin. "And what does that mean now?" He said to her and she could tell that he was trying to tease her. However it was something that he didn''t particrly appreciate.

    "it means that you can''t win against then. I know how you are and you are probably going to go after them. The royal family isn''t just any enemy and you will lose. This is a bad idea and if I were you I would back down now." She said to him in a calm tone.

    "I am d to see that you have so little fate in me." he said to her dryly as he tried to turn away from her. She was starting to irritate him and he wanted to be done with the conversation.

    "I know that you are stubborn and thest thing that you want is for me to tell you that you are wrong. However I am only looking out for you and you km ow that this more than just about the business. If you win the business battle then that isn''t going to be enough. They are going toe after you in other ways .They are always going to have their eye out for you and they will not stoping for you. Because you know that for them you are like a prickly thorn that is stuck in their side and they aren''t going to stop until they are able to pull you outpletely." She said to him firmly.

    He gritted his teeth at her not wanting to hear the rest of what she had to say. He knew that she was right but he didn''t want to admit it to himself or for him to say it out loud.

    "Well then, I guess you want me to just sit around and do nothing whilst the y destroy everything for the Smith family. I thought you cared for the Smith family." He said to her as he cocked his head to the side.

    He watched as she shook her head at him in response before she spoke up again. " You don''t understand. I am not doing this because I don''t like the Smith family or I want something cruel to befall them. I am doing this mainly because I care about the Smith family. I know that if you continue to y around with the royal family they won''t stop until they destroy you and they destroy the Smith family as well. If you carry on there will not be any Smith family for you to protect because this is going to be responsible for tearing down any sort of future that they might have. Don''t think about yourself for just a moment. How about you think about how this would affect them and what it would mean for them." She said to him in a pleasing tone.

    "Well I see then. So what am I supposed to do. I can''t just sit around and do nothing and they have already put their ns in motion. You don''t think that they are going to just magically change their mind and go back on their ns." He said to her as he crossed his arms over his chest.

    He watched as a small smile made its way onto her features and she had to admit that she hadn''t expected him to say that. For a moment she wondered whether he was starting toe around because of her words.

    "That is why you are the one who has to make the first move now. You have to make the first move towards making peace with them. you have to admit defeat and want them to stop by offering them something that they want so that you both can stop battling it out. Because it isn''t just affecting you it is affecting all of those that are around you." She said to him firmly.

    Zach was quiet after that and she didn''t say anything to her at first. Carol wasn''t one to show much interest in the business and he hadn''t expected her to have much keen insight into it.

    He understood where she wasing from and why she feared for what would happen. Despite his own better judgement. He knew that she was right and that things weren''t going to end well if he continued to push the royal family.

    They had the money and the power to destroy the Smith''spletely and that was thest thing that he would ever want.

    He knew that she didn''t have the entire context of what was going on but she was able toe to a decent conclusion on her own.

    He knew that she cared about the Smith''s a lot and whatever she was to decide to do she would do it in order to protect them because she truly cared about them in the end.

    He couldn''t deny the fact that he was somewhat impressed by her approach.

    However he knew that the reason why she had said that to him was because she didn''t know what had happened to Christina. And he didn''t me her for that.

    However he also knew that she was persistent had that she would continue to press him on the matter unless he exined the situation to her.

 Chapter 411 411 You canтАЩt say that

    <h4>Chapter 411 Chapter 411 You can''t say that</h4>

    "They are keeping Christina hostage." He found himself blurting out.

    He watched as her body froze as her eyes widened and she opened and closed her mouth like a fish. "what?" She found herself asking him eventually.

    "They are keeping her captive and I guess you understand now why I am not willing to make peace with Candice. I can''t do that especially not after everything that she has done." He said to her firmly.

    "Well that changed everything." She said to him in a mutter under her breath.

    He let out a sigh from his lips as he ran a hand through his hair before nodding his head at her. "now you see why I can''t fold to her will and I have to do what is wright." He said to her firmly.

    She hummed as she nodded her head at him in response. "But that isn''t how you go about it. If you really want to take her down then you have to go through the people. The civilians that is." She said to him.

    He thought over her words for a moment and he knew that she did have a point. The royal family held the ount of the people into high ount and if the people were to turn their attention away from them that would cause the royal family a lot of trouble.

    They feared the thought of a coup or a revolt and so they always wanted to ensure that they had the people''s favor.

    Even though Candice was very powerful and she had most of the people in her control and under her thumb she didn''t have control over the civilians. They had minds of their own and if they were to decide that they didn''t want her in power anymore that would cause her a lot of trouble.

    It was thest thing that she wanted and whatever the people decided then that was going to be done.

    And at that thought Zach couldn''t help but smirk. He knew that was the way that he was going to defeat her. He knew that he would have to use her weakness against her.

    That was the reason why Zach would never fail because he had the one thing that he knew would be enough to take Candice downpletely.

    "Thank you for your insight." He said to carol as a smirk made its way onto his face. he had to admit that her words did hold light in his mind and it helped him to see things more clearly.

    Carol on the other hand was curious. "what do you n on doing?" she asked him cautiously. He smirked as he turned away from her.

    "It doesn''t matter. But you should know that I won''t let anything happen to the Smith''s." he said to her firmly.

    Zach was intent on keeping to his word. He was going to make sure that nothing happened to the Smiths and that their business was one that would continue to prosper for a long timeing.

    He oversaw the recruitment of new workers by the Smiths and he made sure to screen all of them thoroughly before he employed them.

    As the Smiths continued to follow Zach''s n they began to see some drastic changes on their business. It seemed as though almost overnight their business had managed to skyrocket.

    Their sales were going up rapidly and any of the original hesitance that they had seemed to almost dissipate entirely.

    Zach couldn''t help but feel thrilled by the fact that things were working out the way that things were working out the way that he had nned.

    And despite what Candice had intended for them the Smiths weren''t going down and he was certain that he wouldn''t allow it to happen that way.

    He knew that she thought buy her making the smaller workshops lower their prices it would mean that people wouldn''t want to buy from the Smiths anymore.

    She also most likely assumed that he wouldn''t consider lowering his own prices and even if he did that the prices wouldn''t be as low as her own.

    Zach knew that was something that would be slightly tougher for him to aplish however he was determined to prove to her that she wasn''t going to win against him.

    He looked over the books as he tried to find out a way for him to get around it and with him being able to move some variable s and crunch some numbers he was able to lower his prices as well.

    He was able to drop them so low that they were even lower than her own.

    This meant that their original customers, the ones that had been interested in his product before and had been known to be loyal to him had their gazes turned back towards him.

    In the end the thing that the citizens cared about the most was about getting the goods at a lower price.

    The low level consumers of Byzantium weren''t interested about the quality but what they cared about the most was the price of themodity.

    The only thing that mattered to them the most was that they were able to get their goods at a cheaper price as truly that was all that they found themselves asking for.

    Seeing as Zach had been able to lower the prices further it meant that he had more customersing back to him. It was as though they hade to realize that they could get it from him at a cheaper rate.

    Soon enough most of the people were able to forget about the other workshops quickly as they turned their attention back towards Zach.

    However the lower price in sugar had also sparked another public debate as people began to wonder where they were supposed to get their sugar from.

    They knew that they wanted to get their sugar from the princess?but they also wanted to be able to get the sugar at an affordable price.

    "Look I love the princess and I know that what she is doing she is doing it for our own good. After all she is the one who is ruling over us." One of the men said.

    His friend who was another restaurant owner was silent beside him as they stood in the market ce. "Look I am not trying to say that I have anything against the prices. In fact I like her just as much as the rest of us do. But you have to keep in mind that most of us here at the bottom we don''t care about how fancy the product looks. All that matters is the cost. If I can get my sugar from elsewhere at a half of the cost them that is what I am going to do. It doesn''t matter how much the princess cares about me." the man said to him as he offered him a shrug of his shoulders.

    The man gasped loudly as her looked around for a moment as though trying to see if there was anyone that was watching them. "You can''t say that." He said to him in a hissing tone.

    He watched as he looked over at him with his brows furrowed and a quirked eyebrow. "And why is it that I can''t do that." Her asked him.

    "Because the princess is purl ruler and you know for a fact that she couldn''t do anything without reason. She brought us this sugar before she cares about us. You know that everything she does is for the people. Don''t you think that it is better for you to buy your sugar from someone that you can trust. Someone that you know wouldn''t do anything to hurt you." He said to him.

    However his friend couldn''t help but shake his head as he let out a chuckle. "Look I don''t care about all of that and as for the princess that isn''t any of my concern. All I know is that the Smiths have a more affordablemodity and so that is where I am going to get my sugar from." He said to him.

    "I mean the princess is down to earth and she cared about the environment and the people. You know that if she wanted to do something she would do it because she did truly care for us. How sure are you that the Smiths don''t use something harmful to make theirs sugar that is why it had suddenly dropped in prices. Don''t you think?that it is little strange that their prices used to be so high and then now all of a sudden as though it was a switch that had been flickered their prices have suddenly dropped outstandingly low." He said to him as he quirked an eyebrow.

    "Well I guess then we are just going to have to test it out in order to find out." The friend said as he took one of the bags of sugar that wasbelled ''Smith'' into his hold.

    He knew that his friend did have some good points but whether the sugar had been tampered with or not he didn''t particrly care about any of that. He just cared about the sugar being able to do what he needed it to do.

    "But what about your restaurant?" The other patron said.

    He watched as his friend turned to look at him with both curiosity and confusion . "What about my restaurant?" he asked him.

    "Don''t you care about the quality of your food? Don''t you think that your customers are going to notice if your food prices remain the same but the quality and the taste changes?" He said to him.

 Chapter 412 412 Mutters

    Chapter 412  412 Mutters

    His friend stopped as he ran a hand through his hair before letting out a sigh from his lips. he raised his hands up in surrender as he realized that his words were true.

    "That is true and it does make sense. But that can be an easy fix I will lower the prices slightly and tell them that it is because we have added in a secret ingredient. But this is all just wishful thinking in the end. I am sure that the taste is going to be the same. There isn''t going to be any changes." He saidto him as his words held a certain bout of confidence.

    "Well I for one am going to stay with the princess'' sugar. It is much easier for us to find and we can get it at a lot more ces. I don''t have to go to a Smith outlet in order to get it and I am sure that the taste will be much better as well." He said to him confidently.

    He sighed knowing that things weren''t going to change his mind.

    "You aren''t going to change your mind are you. You think that the princess is doing this because. She really does want to help all of us." He said to him and he watched as the other man nodded his head at him with full confidence. however he couldn''t help but chuckle at hi in response as he shook his head.

    "Yes of curse she is our princess and she is meant to be here to help us out. If she wasn''t helping us out then she wouldn''t be our princess." He said to him firmly.

    "You seem to have forgotten what the royal family does." he said to him calmly. He furrowed his brows at him in response.

    "What do you mean by what the royal family does? What do they do?" He said to him in an adamant tone.

    "You know that they have been up to no good and they have never truly been up to any good. They are always looking for the interest of themselves rather than the interests of their people. I would like to believe that even what they are doing now they aren''t doing it because they care about us but simply because they care about themselves." He said to him firmly.

    He watched as he furrowed his brows and tilted his head to the side slightly. "What do you mean to benefit themselves? To benefit themselves how?" He questioned.

    "I know that princess Candice doesn''t like the Smiths." he said to him and his friend widened his eyes.

    "How do you know that?" he asked him and he only smiled at him in response as he looked towards him with a glint in his eyes.

    "Let us just say that I have someone on the inside who tells me all about what is going on and I can tell you now for a fact that not everything is as it seems and you should not allow yourself to be so easily fooled by the appearances." He said to him firmly in a warning tone.

    He watched as his friend gulped before nodding his head at him not wanting to ask him any further questions. He understood now that he was much more knowledgeable on the matter than he was.

    "So tell me what It is then. what is going on and why did Princess Candice decided to start sponsoring the other smaller workshops if she wasn''t doing it in order for her to up lift and promote them." He said to him in a curious tome.

    "Well I believe that she is doing all of this because of Zach. She wanted was to get back at him and the Smiths. she wants to try and cripple their business by selling the sugar at a much lower price so that none would want to buy from him but would buy it from her instead." He said to his friend firmly.

    "And which is why Zach must have realized what she was doing and he also decided that he would fight her back by lowering his prices as well so that she would have nothing to hold against him." He exined to his friend.

    His friend couldn''t help but let out a sigh from his lips as he realized what was going on. He couldn''t believe why he hadn''t noticed it before until then.

    "You see the thing is that none of them truly care about us. They are more concerned about themselves. They are both getting the benefits out of the battle that they are going through. We should just take whoever is settling it at a better price. We shouldn''t worry ourselves about that because one thing is certain and that is the fact that they certainly aren''t worrying themselves about us." He said to him harshly.

    He let out a sigh form his lips nodding his head at him as he knew that his words were in fact true. He didn''t know why he hadn''t realized it before and he should have known it sooner.

    He should have thought of it earlier but he had been considering the people and the royal family. He should havee to realize that they themselves hadn''t been considering him at all.

    "I guess that you are right. They really are only doing this for themselves and none of them cared about us." He said to him inn a mutter under his breath.

    "he watched as his friend hummed at him in response before nodding his head at him and letting out a sigh from his lips. "well you see that is why I just like many of the others don''t care about the Smiths or the royal family. We know that none of them care too deeply about us and that is why we are aware of the fact that we have to take care of ourselves." He said to him and he nodded his head at him before letting out a sigh.

    He quirked a curious brow towards him as he thought over it for a moment.

    "Well if that is so. Then who are you in support of?" he asked him. He watched as he shrugged his shoulders at him before responding.

    "Well let us just say that I am in support of whoever it is that gives me more perks. I am in it to benefit myself and no one else." He said.

    His friend couldn''t help but chuckle as he nodded his head at him in agreement. He knew that he was right and the truth was that they should have been worrying about themselves truly.

    And the side that they shouldn''t have been on was neither that of the Smiths or the royal family but they should have been on their own sides. And they should have been working towards choosing someone that would benefit them the most.

    бн

    Princess Candice had grown terribly frustrated. She had taken fast action in order to make sure that she took down the Smith family and she was certain that she had destroyed them all.

    However she was even more frustrated and annoyed by the fact that she was yet to take them down and they were still standing.

    She had hoped that her small workshops would have been able to put the Smiths out of business by now but she had been terribly wrong. She had soone to realize that the Smiths were still very active and they were still working well.

    She had decided to investigate in order to get to the bottom of it and to find out why they were still up and running.

    She hade to realize that it was because they had lowered their prices and that they had increased the wages of their workers.

    This was something that would hinder her n and it made it so that the Smiths had more customers rather than having their business crumble.

    This wasn''t what she wanted. In fact it was thest thing that she desired. She knew that these things didn''t happen all of a sudden but she should have started to see some changes by now.

    However she couldn''t help but smirk at the thought of what Zach had done. She was quite impressed by his execution.

    She had to admit to the fact that he was very tactical and he was also well aware of the ploys in which he would be able to use. In order to make sure that her own business wasn''t able to stay afloat.

    However she wasn''t about to let things go so easily. She had no intention of letting go without putting up a fight.

    She was going to make sure that she won at any cost. And because of that she was also starting to change up her own tactics. She was trying to make sure that her own workshops were greater in number hoping that she would be able to get to more areas than the Smiths.

    However it seemed as though Zach had also caught the hang of that and he was also intent on making sure that he increased his own productions so that he would be able to get to arger set of people at a much higher rate.

    Due to the fact that Zach was hiring a lot more employees it meant that his production had increased greatly and he was able to give much higher output in a much shorter timeframe.

    However the workshops weren''t able to have as many employees and that meant that their own set of work was much slower.

 Chapter 413 413 Combine

    Chapter 413  413 Combine

    She knew that her own employees were not able to keep up with him.

    She knew that this was going to have arger effect on the people as they didn''t care about the quality but were more interested in who was giving them muchrger output in a short field of time.

    She could tell that her own n wasn''t working out as she had excepted and she knew that if she didn''t do anything about it fast that everything was going toe crashing down on her.

    She knew that she had to act fast before her n crumbled. She knew that Zach was starting to think that he had won or that he was at least in the process of winning but he had no idea what wasing to him.

    She was a woman with determination and she wasn''t going to stop until she knew for a fact that she hadpletely had him destroyed.

    Candice was sat in her office as she realized that if she wanted to get things done she would have to get the other families toe in so that they would be able to team up in order for them to be able to defeat the Smiths.

    She was sat at her table so she had her hands crossed over her chest as she allowed for her own thoughts to wonder slightly.

    However she was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard the sound of a harsh knock on her door. She sat up abruptly as she looked around before clearing her throat and turning her attention towards the door.

    She watched as the door was pulled open and the new governors of the Brown and the Davis family, Andrew and Joyce, made their way through the door. The both of them were surprised when she had called them and they wondered what she wished to talk with them about.

    They knew that she was their princess and therefore they were forced to respect her no matter what. The both of them were well aware of the power and the might that she possessed and they knew that she could just as easily destroy them if they went against her wishes.

    Before they hade here to meet her the both of them had been severely warned by their fathers about her character. They knew that they had to be careful around her and they couldn''t argue. They would simply have to agree with whatever she said to them.

    They knew that was the best way for them to get through the industry and make sure that their families were booming with sess in a simr way that the Smiths were. If they wanted that to happen then they would have to do it through princess Candice.

    She was their key to sess and they knew that the only way for them to get to the top was for them to get through her.

    They would have to follow all of her orders ordingly and they wouldn''t be able to ask questions and whatever she were to suggest to them was what would be done.

    If they were to upset her or to go against her then they knew that it would certainly not end well.

    They knew that it would lead to their destruction and she would make sure that shepletely destroyed their families until there was absolutely nothing left. They wouldn''t allow that to happen.

    When it came to having to deal with someone that was much stronger than them they knew that they would have to be tactical and they would simply have to agree with her sayings.

    "You called for us toe princess?" Joyce asked her.

    She hummed at them in response as she gestured for them to step forward and take a seat at the desk that was in front of her.

    "Yes I wanted to ask you toe here because your workshops aren''t cutting it anymore." She said to them sternly. She watched as they furrowed their eyebrows at her as they looked towards her in confusion.

    "Well that can''t be right. How so?" Andrew asked her.

    "Well as you can see the Smiths are still making money. In fact they are still making more money than the rest of usbined. And do you know why that is." She asked them casually.

    She watched as they shook their heads at her and she couldn''t help but let out a sigh as she raised her hands up to her head and rubbed it sightly.

    "You seem to not know much about the business. maybe it was a wrong decision on my part to give you such a high position." She said and she watched as they panicked before shaking their heads at her.

    "No of curse we want to work with you. But princess we really don''t understand how it would be an issue. We are doing everything that you have asked for. We are selling it at low prices and we are doing our best to show it to the people that they should want to get their sugar from us." Andrew said to her.

    "Well that is the thing. The problem is that you are unable to see what is wrong. The fact remains that he is continuing to grow his own business because he hadworkers. He had endless number of them and they are able to produce triple the amount of sugar that you are. You need to change that." She said to Andrew.

    "But we can''t we already have all our avable men workingon the sugar. The only other men that we have are the ones who are working on the estate and it isn''t as though we can simply get up and decide to leave the work that we have on the estate so that we can work on the sugar. The estate is our priority." Joyce said to her.

    She felt a smirke over her features as an idea slowly came to her. "Well that is where you are wrong because that is all about to change. The estate used to be your priority but it isn''t going to be that way anymore. You are going to put all of your efforts and your manpower into the production of the sugar. That is the only thing that you are going to care about from now on. I don''t want you to be having discussions unless it is about sugar. You will eat breathe and live it." She said to the both of them harshly as she mmed her fist onto the table.

    She watched as they widened their eyes at her in shock. "But we can''t do that we have to worry about the estates as well. We can''t risk something happening to them or even consider the thought of them falling apart." Andrew said to her and she couldn''t help but quirk a brow at them.

    She had to admit that she was somewhat surprised that he was defiant towards her. She had expected them to nod at her and agree with everything.

    "I thought that you wanted my help and that you were willing to do anything in order to please me. isn''t that why I appointed the both of you as the governors of your houses because I knew that I could count on you. Maybe you should let me know now if I made a mistake by doing that." She asked them with a quirked brow.

    She watched as they both tensed up instantly at her words as they seemed to realize that she was upset and thest thing that they wanted was to make her mad.

    "No we are not going to do anything to upset you of course. We are going to do our best to make you happy and we are going to leave the affairs of the estate for now. For as long as you need us to. We know that our main profit is the sugar farm and that is why we are going to draw most of our focus there." Andrew said to her and the other nodded his head at her in agreement.

    She couldn''t help but smirk as she knew that they would be loyal to her. When it came to getting what one wanted they were willing to go to any lengths and she knew that they wanted the power and the control that she would give to them.

    They knew that it was going to be hard for them to put their estates aside. and that it wud mostly have some side effects that they would then have to spend a long time trying to fix.

    However they knew that theywould have even more terrible side effects if they were going to go up against her. They knew that the only thing that they could do now was to keep quiet and do as she said.

    Joyce contemted asking if they would get any rewards form focusing on the sugar however they knew how tricky the princess was. He knew that it was going to be much better for him and for the both of them if he chose to remain quiet.

    She had already threatened their estate before and they didn''t want to push her any further. If they were to get her any angrier she could just as easily take back all of the benefits that she had given to them.

    They knew that would be as that they would have to start scraping form the bottom once more.

 Chapter 414 414 Balance

    <h4>Chapter 414 Chapter 414 Bnce</h4>

    That was thest thing that they wanted to di and so they knew that they would have to simply keep their heads down and agree with whatever it was that she threw in their direction.

    "Don''t look so down. You should have faith in me and you should know that I wouldn''t do anything without reason. I am your princess after all and you know that I would always do what was best for the people. There will be benefits for you that I assure."

    She watched as they seemed to loosen up at her words as she couldn''t help but smirk at them in response, they were just as gullible as the others and she knew that they would be more than likely willing to fall for her words.

    "You should. Now that this business battle us only something that is temporary and once all of it is over I will ensure that you are greatlypensated. You should do well to remember that as long as you stay on my side you will remain on the winning team and I do well to protect those that are on my side.

    "I didn''t forget the fact that you have made sacrifices for me and you should be rest assured that they have not gone unnoticed." She said to them.

    "Now tell me do you approve to this agreement." She said to them as she raised up her had into the air and offered it to them for them to shake.

    She watched as they looked between each to her for a moment and she didn''t miss the sight look of hesitation that was on their features. However she knew that she didn''t have anything to worry about.

    She knew that they would agree to team up with her. She watched as they only seemed to deliberate on it for a moment before each one of them reached out and shook her hand eagerly.

    "I knew that you boys woulde around" She said with a smirk. She knew one thing was for sure and that was at the end?of the day they shared amon enemy and that was the Smith.

    No matter how much they feared Candice and they were hesitant about giving her full control over theirnds and theirpanies the one thing that they held?to higher ord was a greater hatred for the Smiths.

    They would cast aside their hesitance about Candice and what her true intentions were and they would focus on getting the Smiths.

    They intended to take them down no matter what happened and they didn''t care for what would happen along the way.

    One thing that was certain was the fact that the Smiths and Zach weren''t going to get away with this and Candice was going to make sure that they werepletely destroyed.

    Zach thought that he was smart now and that he had the upper hand but he was oh so wrong and he was soon going to realize that he wasn''t going to be able to take her down so easily.

    Because in the end she was the one who had the power and the control and she would always win. He may have had the upper hand now. But she was always going to be one step ahead of him and with her having all of hispetition under her thumb he would have nowhere to run.

    And her numbers would outrun his. There was only so much that his wit could do for him and eventually he would have to reach the end of the like and that was where she would be waiting for him in order to take him down.

    By the time that he came to realize that he had lost, he would have no choice but to submit to herpletely.

    бн

    The news of Candice joining forces with the Brown and Davis family wasn''t something that was to remain hidden for a long time. Soon enough multiple people including Marico came to know of the fact that they had formed an alliance with one another.

    He knew that there was something?off about the alliance and nothing good could havee of it.

    There was a reason for them deciding to join forces and it most likely had something to do with the Smiths and Zach.

    Marico knew that Zach already had a lot of his te. He knew that there was a part of him thar knew he should have informed Zach so that he could know the right step to take.

    However he was hesitant about it as he decided that maybe it was best for him to keep the news to himself.

    He decided that it was best for him to stop the news before it reached Zach so that Zach would instead focus on working on the industry and he wouldn''t be deterred by anything else.

    He was certain that this was something that would cause him to falter.

    Marico knew that he and Zach were partners in strategy however he was also aware of the fact that Zach was head strong. He knew that it didn''t matter the level of advice that he tried to give him or how many times he tried to persuade him there would be no changing Zach''s mind.

    He already had his set n in ce and he wasn''t going to change his mind. Marico''s opinion on certain things didn''t matter to Zach.

    Like when Marico had told Zach to consider reconciling with?Candice do that they wouldn''t have to go through the business battle. It would mean that they would solve everything calmly without any form of altercation.

    However Zach hadn''t listened to him and had been adamant against a ceasefire. He had made it clear the fact that he wasn''t backing down and that he was going to stand strong against her.

    He was well aware of Zach''s habit and also he knew that even if he were to tell Zach now about the partnership it wouldn''t be enough for him to see reason and consider backing down.

    He doubted that there was anything that would cause Zach to backdown. Also although he was in an alliance with the Smith family and they were both working together on amon goal.

    He didn''t want the Smiths to also be more powerful than the Windsor''ster on. He wanted the Windsor''s to stay on top and he knew that if Zach continued on his current path that wouldn''t be possible.

    He had to think about himself and his family for once. it wasn''t enough to uplift them but he also had to work towards uplifting himself.

    He had a job to do as the head and the protector of his family and although he knew that he was looking towards helping?out the Smiths he knew that for him the Windsor''s would always co me first.

    He knew that with Zach''s enormous influence the Smiths would be able to take on more power andnd and he had to do something in order to put a stop it quickly before it was toote.

    Her had thought about being civil about it before and ying the part of the gentleman but he couldn''t do it anymore.

    He knew that. A time woulde when Zach would want to cut him off as well but he had to act fast and do it first before he could get to him.

    It wasn''t that he wanted theplete destruction of the Windsor''s the same way that princess Candice did. He wanted then to remain powerful but he also wanted the Windsor name to be only a little bit less powerful.

    That way they could both remain as equals and the two of them could reigning together as equals.

    He didn''t want to have a situation where they would be able to cut him off if they were ever to see it fit.

    He knew that once ra and Zach got married the Windsor name would remain on top?and that he wouldn''t have anything to worry about. But until them he would have to keep his eyes put to make sure that nothing went wrong.

    He knew that the marriage would seal their alliance but until the deal was sealed there were a number of ways that things could go and he had to make sure that he wasn''t affected in the end by any of it.

    He knew that ra was the key to everything for him and he would make sure that things stayed that way.

    Marico was stood in his office as he pondered over what was going on. He knew that what he was doing was right and that it was for the best but for him he couldn''t help but feel as though there was something offsetting about it.

    He heard a knock on his door and cleared his throat as he gestured for the person toe in.

    He widened his eyes when he saw that it was his daughter violet.

    "Violet? what is it?" he asked her curiously. She let out a sigh as she shrugged her shoulders before she made her way into the room.

    She took a seat in front of him as she took a good look at him.

    "I have just been worried about you. I feel as though you have a lot on your mind that is bothering you." She said to him honestly.

    She watched as he gulped and she could tell he was hiding something...

 Chapter 415 415 Different Thoughts

    Chapter 415  415 Different Thoughts

    She watched as he gulped and she could tell he was hiding something, however instead of telling her the truth he shook his head at her instead as he offered her a small smile.

    "Oh it is nothing for you or anyone else to worry about. Everything is fine." He assured her. However violet could tell that there was something that wasn''t quite adding right.

    She knew that there was something that hew wasn''t telling her.

    She narrowed her eyes at him as she looked over at him intently. She watched the bead of sweat that slid down his face and the way that his hands tensed slightly.

    She read through his mind and she widened her eyes as she realized what he was heading.

    She cursed herself internally when she realized that what he was hiding was the fact that he knew about princess Candice alliance and that he wasn''t nning on telling Zach about it.

    She couldn''t begin to understand why he would consider doing that. She knew that it wasn''t going to end well.

    She was well aware of the fact that hiding things from Zach wasn''t a good idea. They were meant to be partners which meant that they were supposed to tell each other everything.

    What that also meant was that they couldn''t lie to each other. She knew that in the end he would find out and he would then have to go on to exin why he had done it.

    "You can''t do that." She said to him suddenly as she sprang up to her feet.

    She watched as her father looked towards her strangely in confusion. However after a moment he let out a sigh from his lips as he rubbed his temples.

    He realized that she had gone ahead to read his mind. He sent her a deep re before gritting his teeth at her. "I told you not to read my mind anymore." He said to her in a warming tone.

    She didn''t seem remorseful as she only shrugged her shoulders at him in response. "well I don''t feel bad for doing it. If I hadn''t then I wouldn''t have been able to find out that you were intending to keep this information away from Zach." she said to him.

    She watched as he shrugged his shoulders at her in response before letting out a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.

    "I don''t see how that is any of your business. You are a member of the Windsor family and you know that we are always going toe first before the Smiths. I am only trying to help our family and look out for us." He said to her as he raised his hands up in surrender.

    She shook her head at him in response as she knew that she couldn''t agree with his words.

    "You are trying to protect us and I appreciate you for that, I know. For a fact that it can''t be easy. But have you forgotten everything that the Smiths have done for us. You seem to forget that they have been looking out for us as well and we owe them our loyalty. "she said to him.

    He chuckled slightly as he shook his head and it was clear that he didn''t entirely agree with her words.

    "Yes well loyalty is good and great but how sure are you that they are going to remain loyal to us. That they will not turn their backs on us at the first chance that they get." He said to her.

    She was silent or a moment because she didn''t know how to answer him and the truth was thar there was no way for her to be sure about their loyalty either.

    "Well I can''t be sure but we shouldn''t be the ones to make the first move of distrust. That is what Candice wants she wants a way for her to be able to tear us apart. And if we are already giving her an avenue for her to do that then she is already starting to win. We can''t allow that to happen. We can''t allow her to win." She said to him harshly.

    He was quiet for a moment as he thought over her words for a moment. He didn''t want to admit it but he knew for a fact that her words were true.

    Candice was already causing more trouble for them. Instead of them drifting apart they should have been working on how to get closer to each other.

    They couldn''t let her win and that would mean that they would simply have to form an even stronger front than the one that they had before.

    "I know that you know that I am right and you are only afraid to admit it. Well that is fine. But I am onlytrying to tell you the facts here.. you have to be careful. You may be doing this for the betterment of our family but that isn''t how it is. You have to consider how Zach will feel if heteres to realize that you didn''t tell him this information and you had been hiding it from him instead." She said to him.

    He knew that it wouldcause theplete copse of the Windsor family and there would be nothing left for him to save because Zach wouldpletely obliterate any agreement that they had with each other.

    Instead of saving his family Marico would end up leading itpletely destroyed.

    He didn''t know why he hadn''t thought about it before. He had allowed his fear of Candice to get the beast of him.

    He knew that Zach''s trust was one of the most important things to him and it was the one thing that he knew that he had to make sure that he maintained.

    "You see as I told you before. You have to be careful about all of this and you know that thest thing that you wasn''t is for you to break the agreement that you already have in order for you to go out in search for one that isn''t assured. You losing Zach isn''t worth it and it will only end badly for all of us." She said to him.

    She could tell that the gears in his head were turning but there was also another part of her that knew that the chances of him listening to her were low.

    She let out a sigh form her lips as she turned around and readied herself to leave the office.

    "I know that you think that you are doing this for us and that you wasn''t to help the family but you should know that some things aren''t always for the betterment of the family and there are some things that will only lead us into more trouble." She said to him in a warning tone.

    "So just think about it." She said to him.

    She watched as he looked up towards her onest time. He had a glint in his eyes as his voice went deeper before he said to her, "I will think about it." She knew however that his words weren''t the truth and that they were only half felt.

    She let out a sigh form her lips as she shook her head before she turned round to leave. she knew that she had at least tried to get him to see reason but she knew for a fact that the man was very stubborn and she knew that he has his mind set.

    Marico watched as she left the room. He knew that she had some convincing points and that there was a part of him that wanted to listen to her.

    There was a part of him that demanded that he did as she asked but there was also a part of him that was hesitant about all of it.

    He sucked in a deep breath as he shook his head at the very thought.

    He knew that Zach was his partner and that he was someone that trusted him and his loyalties did lie with him but for once he couldn''t think about Zach. He had to think about his own people.

    He knew that it may have seemed selfish to some but it was his time to put his family first and he knew that revealing this information was something that would cause Zach to push further away from wanting peace.

    At least if he kept it with him he would have something to use as leverage if a battle were to be waged and he was able to get some form of ammunition in order for him to defend himself.

    He thought back towards violet. He knew that her loyalty lied with her family first. And he knew for a fact that she wouldn''t betray him. He hoped that she would be able to realize why he was doing this.

    She was still just a kid and was still too naive to what was happening in the world around her. He didn''t me her for protesting against whathe was doing but soon enough she woulde to realize the reason why he was doing it.

    He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair before he rxed against his chair and he felt asmall smile over his features.

    He knew that no matter what happened he was going to make sure that he ended up being on top and that was the most important thing for him.

 Chapter 416 416 More Workers

    Chapter 416  416 More Workers

    He wanted to ensure that whatever happened he wouldn''t get swept under because of Zach and his erratic decisions.

    However as violet left the office she knew that there was going to be no changing of her father''s mind. She couldn''t help but feel slightly upset that she wasn''t able to change his mind.

    She had hoped that she would be able to show him reason bug now she had to take matters into her own hands.

    She knew that she couldn''t go and tell Zach about it herself, besides there was a chance that he wouldn''t believe her so instead she decided that it was time for her to go and tell someone that she knew for certain he would believe.

    She stopped in front of her door as she knocked her palms against it.

    She waited a few seconds before she watched rae to the door. She furrowed her brows at the sight of her as she looked at her in confusion.

    "I need you to tell Zach something." Violet said to her and she watched as she furrowed her brows before looking at her over.

    "But why can''t you tell him yourself?" She asked her.

    She couldn''t help but groan as she cursed herself internally. "Well you are getting married to him and the chances are that he will take it more seriously if you are the one who is to tell him and not me." she said toher in a calm tone.

    She watched as she looked her over as she thought over it for a moment. "what is it that you want me to tell him." she asked her and violet couldn''t help but smile at her words.

    She was relieved that she was willing to consider it even if it was for just a moment. "It is princess Candice. She has formed an alliance with the Davis and Brown families. You have to tell him so that he can be prepared." she said to her and she watched ads ra''s eyes widened at her words.

    ra gulped nodding her head at her in response before letting out a sigh from her lips. She was quick to step out of the room as she closed the door shut behind her.

    She had to tell him ahead of time before something bad happened. ra thanked violet for letting her know about what was going on as she beganheading towards Zach''s quarters.

    She didn''t know how he would react but she hoped that he wouldn''tsh out on her or end up doing something that was irrational.

    бн

    ra didn''t know what she had expected when she had told Zach the news. she had expected him to yell orsh out and try to hit things.

    However what wat she didn''t expect was for him to remain calm. She didn''t know what was going through his head at the moment but she had to admit that she was feeling slightly unsettled by his silence.

    "Are you okay?" she asked him.

    He was quiet for a moment as he nodded his head at her in response after a moment. He took a step towards her as he ced his hand on her shoulder. "It is all going to be fine don''t worry about it." He said to her calmly.

    However she didn''t lime the way teat he was so calm about it.

    "What do you mean by it is all going to be fine? She is bing more powerful and she is going to be able to take you down much more easily now." She said to him in a raised tone.

    She watched as he shook his head at her from side to side as he gave her a raised brow.

    "Do you trust me or not?" she asked her. She only thought about it for a moment before nodding her head at him in response.

    She watched as he smiled at her after a moment. "Good well then you trust that I will never do anything that would cause harm to any of our families and everything that I do is to protect us. do you think that I hadn''t considered this. that I hadn''t put into consideration the fact thar she would try to fire back art me." he asked her.

    She let out a breath before shaking her head at him. She knew that he was very cunning and thoughtful and she knew that he chances were high that he had already thought it all through.

    "Good well them you should know that I have all of this already handled and that I wouldn''t allow anything to happen. I am on It and I am not going to stop until I know for a fact that I have taken her down." He said to h er in a promising tone.

    She let out a sigh of relief from her lips. She knew that although there were times when she wasn''t entirely sure of what his ns were, she knew that she could always trust him because he would never do anything that would result in any form of harming to them.

    She has full faith in him and she knew that whatever it was that he had nned it would end well and in the end the princess wouldn''t be able to win.

    However as the days went by it became harder to have full faith in Zach and know that he could keep everything in check.

    Although he was still overseeing his own work, sugar production in thend of Byzantium explodedrgely. With princess Candice having merged with the families she had an endless supply of workers that were ready to awork on the sugar.

    She was producing sugar at such high rates that almost a thirds of the stores in the city were selling sugar.

    Sugar that had once been a rare and hard to findmodity was now being seen in almost every street corner and there were those that were selling it at every turn.

    Soon sugar was an oversaturated market as there were so many different brands andbels even the poor were having easy ess to it as it was seen in so many ces with so many different types that almost everyone could get ess to it.

    With Candice having united forced with the two families she was having so much excess production that she wasn''t limited to selling to just Byzantiumcitizens.

    She was also able to use the opportunity in order for her to sell to other neighboring cities.

    They had also shown their own interests in the sugar industry and she wantedto take the market before Zach had the chance to get control of it.

    It also meant that she was able to have the upper hand when it came to him. That made her happy to know that she was yet again one step ahead of him.

    By the time that he was able to tap into that particr market she had already established herself in its debts.

    He would have no space to take her market and even if he was able to establish himself somehow. He would be left with nothing more than the crumbs that she had left behind.

    She was finally getting everything that she wanted and she could feel her initial n falling perfectly into ce.

    Zach was going down and she had already nted the seeds for her to ensure that it happened.

    бн

    Zach was sat in his office once more as he heard the sound of a loud knock on his door. He cleared his throat gesturing for the person toe in.

    He looked up and quirked a brow when he watched as Bruce walked in with a file in his hand.

    "What is it?" Zach as hed and he watched as Bruce ced the file down onto the table.

    "These are the financial statements for the sugar production industry." He said to him.

    Zach hummed at him in response as he pulled open the file and he began to read through it.

    He found that the Smiths had made quite a lot of profit and he felt as smirke over his features.

    However he froze when he looked down towards the other twopanies the Brown and the Davis family. He was surprised to see that they had been able to make ,ore. Money than the Smiths.

    "Well this is new." He said to him. He watched as he hummed at him in response but he didn''t say anything to him in response.

    He saw that they were able to acquire more market shares in thest month and therefor their own businesses were slowly growing.

    "I guess that Candice is getting what she wanted." He muttered.

    "What are we going to do about it." Bruce asked Zach.

    Zach tried to remain calm. He knew that he couldn''t over react or show his own distress. However he could see the sweaty trickle down Bruce''s forehead. "What do you mean." He asked Bruce calmly.

    "Well I knew that we have hired more workers and we have been doing our best to increase our output but I don''t think that it is going to be enough." He said to him anxiously.

    "How so? Why do you think it wouldn''t be enough?" He asked him.

    "Well we may be getting more workers but we know that the two families have their roots deep and they know a lot more people. They have a much tighter leash on their employees and that is something thar we can''t go up against."

 Chapter 417 417 I have a plan

    Chapter 417 417 I have a n

    "No matter how strong we are. They find a way to one up us." Bruce said to him.

    Zach knew that was true he knew that they had the advantage of their rich heritage and no matter what he did there were always. Going to be people who were going to flock towards them.

    "don''t worry it is going to be fine. We don''t have anything to worry about." He said to him calmly as he did his best to brush off his worries.

    "I have a n and you are just going to have to trust me." He said to him adamantly.

    "I know and I do trust you but you have to remember that they have been here for much longer than you have and they have been more invested in it for a longer time. You on the other hand are just an upstareter. If you are going to win you are going to have to find a way to outdo them,." Bruce exined to him.

    Bruce knew that he was supposed to listen to Zach and do as he asked. however he feared that this battle that they were fighting was a losing one and that it wouldn''t end well for them.

    they might have been in the lead now but from the looks of things that wasn''t going tost very long if Candice continued with her own ns. It was time for them to wake up and realize that they can''t continue this way.

    "We have to act fast and we have to do something about all of this quickly. If not we are going to risk losing our current position." Bruce said to him.

    Zach let out a sigh from his lips but didn''t say anything. "I think that if we want continue to have the control that we have now. We need to seek assistance form the Windsor''s. It will allow us to spread out our work and not put so much pressure on all of our employees. It will allow for us to have some breathing space." Bruce exined to him.

    He was cautious with his words knowing how unpredictable Zach could be and he didn''t want him tosh out on him due to his suggestion.

    "Actually I don''t think that we are going to do that." Zach said to him as he turned his attention away from him.

    Bruce looked towards him in confusion wondering why he would chose against that.

    It was clear that they needed the help and so he didn''t understand why he would reject it.

    "I don''t understand. They can help us out of this situation." He said to him desperately.

    "We don''t need their help. We are going to figure this out on our own. We are perfectly capable of fixing our own problems without involving others."

    Bruce looked towards him in. confusion as he didn''t understand why he was so hesitant about working with them and trying to get any gorm of help from them.

    He thought that was the whole point of them working together in a partnership so that they would be able to help each other out. However he didn''t understand why Zach was hesitant.

    "I don''t think that is a good idea. I thought that they were our partners which meant that when things were hard we could count on each other for help." He said to him in a panicked tone.

    He watched as her let out a sigh from his lips before shaking his head at him. "You don''t understand and that is fine. You just have to trust me. I don''t want to include them in this and that is final. We are going to be able to handle it and get it done on our own without their help." He said to Bruce firmly.

    Bruce let out a sigh ass he knew that there was nothing that he could di in order to change Zach''s mind. It was. Clear that he already had his mind set and usually when Zach said that there was no changing his opinion on the matter.

    "Fine but I have to say that I think that this isn''t a good idea, however know that there is nothing I can do about you when you make up your mind so I know that I will just have to trust you." Bruce said to him and Zach hummed as he nodded his head at him in response.

    The truth was that Zach wasn''t sure that he could trust Marico anymore, he could tell that there was something that was slightly off about him and he could see that he was slightly pulling. Away from him.

    He didn''t like that and he knew that it meant that there was definitely something that was going on which he was keeping form him. He didn''t want to have to wait around too long for him to find out what it was.

    Her couldn''t risk having any loose ends and he knew that he had to be careful around all of those that were around him.

    "Well I hope that you know what you are doing because their profits are still getting higher and we are trill not able to do anything about it. Our own market is crashing and it seems that there'' is only seeming to be more and more booming with business." Bruce said to him.

    Zach hummed as he thought over it for a moment. He knew that that would prove to be somewhat of an issue and that was something that he would have to change.

    "Yes well. I believe that the solution is for us to lower our retail prices even further." He announced to him seed.

    He watched as his eyes widened at his words. They were barely making any profits as it was and if they were to lower their prices any further they would almost be working for free.

    This wasn''t something that was going to end well and if they were to continue with their current way then by the end of all of it they would have nothing left to gin.

    There would be no empire left to save because they wouldn''t be able to keep up their business and continue paying their employees as well as continuing the sugar production.

    "You can''t be serious." Bruce asked him incredulously as he shook his head at him. However his face remained nk as he looked towards him firmly.

    He let out a sigh from his lips as he said, "Yes I mean we can''t just lower our prices any further. If we do then we aren''t going to have any profit left to make and we are going to be forced to be barely scraping by. What do you suppose we do then. You say that we are doing all of this for the family that we do it so that we can ensure that the future is steady. But do you think that there will be a future left if we scrape our profits and our economy plumets." He said to him in a slightly raised tone.

    Bruce was usually very loyal towards Zach but now he didn''t see how this was going to end well at all. He had to talk some sense into Zach before he did something erratic.

    "Well you shouldn''t worry abour that. I have a n and you just have to trust me." Zach said to him.

    However it was hard for Bruce to simply trust Zach. Usually he knew that he was well aware of what he was doing and he was able to do things that were for the benefit of the family but he couldn''t see how this was going to benefit the family. He wanted to believe that he should trust him but it was hard for him to do that now.

    "You can''t be serious. I don''t see how this n of yours whatever it is will work." He said to him exasperatedly.

    Zach wasn''t surprised by his reaction as he knew that to anyone else his idea would have seemed ridiculous because it wasn''t possible for anyone to think that it was a good idea for them to lower their prices even further than they already had.

    However he couldn''t exin his n to them at the moment because that would simply ruin the point of everything. He just had to believe that they would be able to trust him and they would be able to keep full faith in the fact that he was well aware of what he was doing and that he wouldn''t do anything that would put any of them in trouble.

    "yes I know that it is hard for you to see how this would be of any help for any of us. It kike I said you just have to trust me and you have to believe that I am not doing this without reason and I am doing this for all of us. you have to have faith in me, when the nes to light you are going to understand everything but for now I understand why you would find it all to be confusing." he exined to Bruce.

    "This is only going to be temporary and it isn''t going tost forever. I already have ns in ce for subsequent additions and once this battle is over we are going to be able to return our goods to their old prices. We are going to just have to wait out the storm but after it hade to pass you are going to realize that it was worth it." he exined to him.

 Chapter 418 418 How is it possible

    <h4>Chapter 418 Chapter 418 How is it possible</h4>

    He watched as Bruce let out a sigh from his lips. Hope. That was all that he could do. He could only hope that he knew what he was doing.

    He knew that in the end Zach wouldn''t do anything that would end up incriminating him or his family and that whatever he did it was for the benefit of them all.

    "Okay. I trust you." Bruce said to him as he gave him a slight bow. He watched as a smirk made its way onto his features as he quirked a brow.

    "Well I am d to see that you aren''t going to question me any further but can I ask why you suddenly have decided to have a change of heart and why you have changed your mind over it." He asked him.

    Zach didn''t have a direct answer as he shrugged his shoulders at him at first. "maybe I was overreacting at first, I know that you have been taking care of this family for a while now and thanks to you we have been able to grow in power and ended up on top. I shouldn''t have doubted you because of one slip. I should have known that you were well aware of what you were doing and that you wouldn''t do anything that would lead to a slip up." He said to him.

    He didn''t know what to say to that however he couldn''t help but smile at him in response. He was simply d to see that he was starting to see things threw his own point of view. "you know that and that is why I know that even if you question I can always trust you because you trust me wand you trust my ns and my intentions and you know that I wouldn''t make the decision to do anything that would end up causing harm to you or the rest of the family." he said to him.

    With that Bruce turned around and left. Zach watched him walk away and it was only after he had gone and had mmed the door shit behind him that he felt his breathing rxed as he ran a hand through his hair.

    Things were starting to get moreplicated but like a game of chess he would be able to move his pieces ordingly and each time she tried to attack him he would have a move that he would be able to use in order for him to counter her attacks.

    Even though she was still pulling out all of the stocks she was still unable to take him out and any of the moves that she made his way he was able to counter them and it was clear that she was still struggling to take him down.

    He smirked as he thought over his n. He knew that with him lowering the prices things were going to be hard for a whole but he knew that it was only temporary and when it all came to pass that things would be different then.

    Bruce did as he was asked. And he had gone to meet with their production workers as well as their marketers and they were able to lower the prices slightly.

    They were only able to lower it so much that they were still able to pay their workers and still make slight profit.

    It may have seemed hard for them but they were able to make it work slightly.

    Zach continued to oversee the entire process and although he could see that they were still managing to sell the sugar he also knew that it would take a low blow to them.

    He knew that he had to do something about it and maybe Bruce was right about easing some of the pressures.

    But he wouldn''t be getting help from Marico. He sat in his office as he watched the workers below before he finally made his decision.

    He wrote a letter on his sheet of paper before ced it into an envelope. He was intending to mail it to Elizabeth city and once he was done he sealed it writing the address upon it.

    However this time his intention wasn''t to contact George but what he wanted to do was the reach out to the Macrae family.

    If he wanted to get things done and to ensure that she waspletely defeated he knew that he couldn''t do it by himself and he would have to get help gorm others around him.

    He only hoped that he was doing the right thing by reaching out and that they would be able to help him.

    бн

    Candice was sat in her office with a bright smile on her face. She was exhrated to see that she was making more money than ever, and the results were starting to show. in thest quarter the Davis and Brown families had been able to make more money than the Smiths had.

    Soon enough she would have them crippled and they would have no choicer but toe begging back o her.

    She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard the sound of a sharp knock on her door. She cleared her throat as she gestured for the person to step inside.

    As she looked up she found that it was Lird who was stood there with a report in hand.

    As she could tell from the look that was on his face that it wasn''t good as his face was down cast and he had a frown that marred his features.

    However she wasn''t in the mood for beating around the bush. She sent him a deep re before saying, "what is it? Hand it over to me." she said to him harshly.

    He gulped as he took a step towards her before sliding the report onrto the table. She sighed sucking in a deep breath before she pulled the file open and she began to read through it.

    She felt anger bubble deep inside of her as she tightened the grip that she had on the file. Shae began to read through it as she felt her heart sink as she read through the document.

    "What is rthe meaning of this. This can''t be true." she cried out as her voice was raised slightly. He flinched at her tone as she struggled to find the words to say to her.

    "It is true princess." he said to her in a whisper.

    "How is it possible that they have lowered their prices even further than they did before. That would leave them bankrupt." She called out. It frustrated her to no end to see that the Smiths were still finding a way for them to get around her. This shouldn''t have been happening.

    She knew that they couldn''t lower their prices to would leave them almostpletely bankrupt and yet here they were doing exactly that.

    It would mean that their status would lower and they would be barely able to scrape by. She didn''t know how they were doing it but it seemed as though they were taking any chance that they could in order to make sure that they were able to outwit her.

    However she knew that this wasn''t going to end well for them. It may have seemed as though they were having the upper hand now but she had a feeling that it wasn''t going tost long.

    She could feel herself slowly unraveling and it seemed as though things were falling apart for her. However she knew that she couldn''t act out on it and she had to stay calm. She was going to wait to see how long this wouldst.

    She knew that they could only y this part for a short period of time and soon enough they would have to realize that they couldn''t handle it anymore.

    In the long run they had to have known that they were in fact fighting a losing battle. Because she was the one who would be able to wait out the storm and there was only so much lower that he could drop his prices.

    She couldn''t help but smirk as she turned to look towards Lird. "What is it princess." He asked her and she only shook her head at him in response as she couldn''t help but smirk.

    She shook her head at him in response. "they are falling right into our trap and he may think that he is able to restore his profits now but he knows that he can''t keep the prices that low for a very long time. Soon enough he will have to increase them again. Especially when he start losing employees and start struggling with having to pay their wages." She said to him.

    Lird only hummed at her but knowing how to feel about what she had said. He knew that she was unpredictable but he had been surprised that she had been happy buy the news.

    -----------------------

    Zach was calm, he knew that he could have full faith in his n and that in the end everything was going to work itself out. He knew that he didn''t have anything to worry about.

    Bruce on the other hand was still skeptical about it. "How long do you n on keeping this up fore." Brice asked him and Zach looked towards him with a quirked eyebrow.

    "How long do I intend to keep what up." Zach asked and he watched as he gritted his teeth at him.

    "How do you intend to keep us scraping by and continue this battle with the princess?"

 Chapter 419 419 The Goal

    Chapter 419  419 The Goal

    "Do you not see how it is affecting everyone around you? This isn''t going to end well. We are barely managing to pay our workers and we are making less and less money." Bruce said to him.

    "That isn''t going to be. A problem. The main thing is to focus on making sure that we are able to sell the sugar." He said to him.

    Bruce shook his head at him in response. "That is the thing we aren''t able to sell our sugar because most of the people are buying from Davis and Brown. They don''t seem to care that we have significantly lowered our prices. That is not a problem for them. They want theirs. So what do you think we are supposed to do now. Yes we are making sugar but what does it matter when no one is wanting to buy it." He cried out.

    Zach remained calm as he shrugged his shoulders at him in response. "well then we are going to have to keep the sugar in storage. It is as simple as that." Her said to him calmly.

    "What do you mean that we are going to just have to keep it in storage." Bruce asked with a narrowed brow. "Well sugar has a long shelf life which means nothing will happen to it if we keep it stored."

    Bruce was confused by how calm he was however he chose not to say that out loud to him.

    "You see you don''t have anything for you to worry about. Everything is going to be fine."He said to him calmly as he brushed off his words.

    Bruce however narrowed his eyes and he knew for a fact that she shouldn''t have been that calm.

    Everything seemed to be falling apart around them and if there was anyone else that was in their position they would be freaking out. And so it left him unnerved by how calm he was.

    He guessed that there had to haver been something that he wasn''t telling him because it seemed that there was something that wasn''t adding up.

    Zach must have been able toe up with as solution or along term n and he knew for sure that it had nothing to do with keeping the sugar on the shelf.

    "What exactly are you nning." He asked Zach as he turned to look over at him with a raised eyebrow. Zach let out a sigh form his lips as he shook his head at him.

    "I don''t know what you are talking about. There really is nothing." He said to him adamantly.

    However Bruce wasn''t entirely convinced. Although he knew better than to judge or to try and push him any further.

    "I guess that I will just have to believe you." Bruce muttered and Zach hummed nodding his head at him in response.

    Although he knew that he could trust Bruce and he could tell him about his n, he could never fully tell who it was that was listening in and so he had to keep everything to himself.

    If he wanted his n to seed then hie would have to do it on his own.

    The best way for him to get things done was for him to do things on his own and not try to get others involved in his matters.

    His goal was to take princess Candice down in the long run and if it meant that he had to let her win a few of their battles then that was what he had to do.

    But he knew that in the long run that he was the one who ended uping out on top.

    She was going to have to watch her back because when he took her down she would bepletely destroyed.

    ---------------------------

    Compelled by the circumstances, Zach found himself in a position where he had to defer the release of the sugar his industry had manufactured, awaiting an opportune moment to sell it at a more lucrative margin. Despite having a well-thought-out n, the execution of his strategy required some time and careful preparation.

    In the ruthless market dynamics, wherepetition constantly engaged in price wars with him, the decision to withhold the sugar stock was a carefully calcted strategic move.

    By temporarily holding back the product, Zach aimed to create scarcity as Candice''s industry was far from enough to meet the needs of the entire city let alone the produce that was being dispatched to other cities for sale, turning it into a sought-aftermodity.

    Hoarding the stock also served as a means to counteract the aggressive pricing strategies of the princess, preventing a premature race to the bottom.

    This deliberate scarcity could also potentially give Zach the leverage to dictate terms when he finally entered the market again with bountiful produce in his possession.

    It was a tactical maneuver to secure not just short-term gains but to establish a foundation for long-term market dominance.

    But to get his n into motion, he needed to be able to sustain his business for a little while longer, just enough to cripple the small business Princess Candice had been running at a loss.

    After the recent price cuts introduced by Princess Candice, it was only a matter of time before her business went under as she had no ns to make it thrive. She only wanted to put some pressure on Zach through this.

    Due to her aggressive maneuvers, Zach had no choice but to bring his ns forward.

    There were not many people who were capable of helping Zach out of his predicament.

    After all, no one wanted to be on the opposite side of the royal family of the empire they and their families resided in.

    Moreover, it hadn''t been that long since Zach arrived in this new world. There were not many acquaintances he could count on in such a situation.

    Thinking back on his allies in Elizabeth city, he finally settled on a person he could trust wholeheartedly and asked for Bruce''s assistance in setting up a ndestine meeting with that individual.

    Bruce didn''t take long as hiswork was quite widespread. At least in Elizabeth city, Bruce still had some friends who were willing to help him out and had helped him set up a meet without arousing any suspicion of the higher-ups.

    Under the shroud of the night, Zach silently approached the side entrance of his mansion, intending to rendezvous with the elusive figure he hadn''t encountered in a long time.

    The passage of time seemed deceptive, for it felt as though he had departed Elizabeth City only recently. However, the events that transpired in the interim had reshaped his outlook, causing him to perceive the world through a different lens.

    Bruce kept trying to remind him to be mindful of the people all around. They couldn''t be one hundred percent sure that there was no spy around them. Therefore, when leaving the Smith family residence, none of them was apanied by any guards.

    Given his current situation, Zach couldn''t put his trust in a lot of people. There were only a few people who would be willing to stand with him regardless of the gains or losses.

    He was going to meet one such person who also had the capability to withstand some of the pressure from the royal family with his help.

    Zach carefully muffled his footsteps, navigating the city''s nocturnal silence with calcted precision. He moved swiftly until he found himself in a secluded corner, where the usual bustle of urban life faded into an eerie quiet.

    Here, the city seemed transformed into a ghost town, its streets echoing with the absence of human presence, like transparent ghosts haunting the desertedndscape.

    The shadows cast by the moon yed tricks on the surroundings, creating an otherworldly atmosphere as Zach continued his journey through the spectral stillness of the night.

    With a clear destination in mind, Zach stepped into a crumbling building that seemed to teeter on the brink of copse.

    The structure bore the appearance of an inn abandoned by the destitute and overlooked by the affluent. It upied a realm where the poor couldn''t afford its services, and the wealthy dismissed it without a second thought.

    This deste inn, with its decaying facade, served as an ideal setting for a covert meeting, away from prying eyes and hidden from the notice of those who might question ndestine dealings.

    Thrilled at the prospect of unexpected business, the inn''s owner readily agreed to lease the entire establishment once Bruce conveyed Zach''s intentions.

    In a ce where customers were a rarity, this sudden opportunity to reserve the entire space for the night felt like a providential boon to the owner.

    The heavens seemed to smile upon him as Zach''s request promised an unusual windfall for the neglected establishment.

    The inn''s owner relented to the proposition after Bruce generously offered to pay the rent for all the rooms for the night, sweetening the deal with a little extrapensation for the inconvenience caused.

    The sum, though considered substantial by the owner, was a mere trifle for Bruce, who found himself swimming in wealth ever since the sugar business began to flourish.

    As Zach stepped into the inn, an eerie feeling enveloped him, reminiscent of the haunted houses he used to explore for amusement in his previous world. The atmosphere was equally creepy, with an air of neglect and decay hanging over the establishment, amplifying the sense of destion.

    The inn stood like a ghost from a forgotten era, its weary fa?ade resembling a haunted mansion abandoned by time.

 Chapter 420 420 Remember me?

    <h4>Chapter 420 Chapter 420 Remember me?</h4>

    As Zach traversed the dimly lit corridor, each creaking floorboard whispered echoes of past patrons long departed.

    The atmosphere clung to the air like the haunting memories of forgotten guests, and the rooms, much like spectral chambers, seemed to hold the shadows of stories untold.

    The inn''s ambiance was a sepulcher of bygone eras, shrouded in the darkness of neglect and abandonment, a ce where the past lingered like a phantom refusing to fade away.

    After turning right at the edge of the hallway, Zach passed by the first room which was shrouded inplete darkness and opened the second door to his left that seemed to be dimly lit.

    The room retained the eerie aura of the inn, a lingering specter of its neglected history. However, the haunted ambiance was tempered by the gentle glow of flickering candles, casting dancing shadows across the timeworn walls.

    In the subdued light, the figure under the hood stood as a solitary silhouette, patiently awaiting the arrival of another. It seemed as though they had been entrenched in the room''s eerie solitude, a guardian of secrets cloaked in darkness.

    T The figure exuded an air of fatigue, evident in the slight hunch of their posture. Leaning forward, they shifted their weight from one foot to the other after every few seconds.

    Meanwhile their hands crossed underneath a bountiful chest that Zach only just noticed due to the loose robe the woman had been wearing.

    As he approached, the hooded figure slowly raised her hands, delicately pushing the hood away from her head. The hood gracefully fell backward, unveiling her face and allowing her hair to spill out like a never-ending stream, cascading onto her shoulders. There was a certain air of weariness in her actions as if she had been waiting for him for an eternity.

    Though Zach was in time for the meeting, he still felt a bit guilty for not havinge sooner as the woman hade here for him and not the other way around.

    Beneath the hood, revealed in the soft glow of candlelight, was none other than Sarah Macrae, a friend he hadn''tid eyes on for a long while, yet someone to whom he owed his life. The air in the room held a mix of surprise, nostalgia, and a lingering debt that had brought them together once more.

    For all the time Zach had spent in the wilderness and in the confines of Byzantium city, he had never been able to forget the people he owed life saving grace to. Sarah was one such woman who had put herself in harm''s way and had even gone against the royal family toe to his aid.

    He still remembered her brave and unyielding stand as she fought off the royal forces with the forces of her family and had single-handedly held off the ck Panther long enough to cover his escape and that of the Smith family.

    This was a favor that Zach couldn''t repay even if he had to pay off his debt for the entirety of his life.

    He had always kept it in his heart and was on the lookout for an opportunity to repay his debt to the woman.

    However, fate had brought him to her door in search of her help once again.

    "So, you still remember me? I thought you must have forgotten about me already." Sarah''s tone was full of grievances like a woman who had been wronged by her lover in more ways than one.

    "How can I forget you?" Zach replied instantly in order to avoid aggravating the woman who was already feeling wronged.

    Sarah''s expression softened instantly after hearing Zach''s words. The anger in her tone faded away as well.

    Instead there was a smile that could easily cause the downfall of a few empires like the Hina empire. Beauty has always been the biggest pursuit of all men after power and wealth.

    Zach''s previous world had many stories where empires fell because emperors chased after some beauty. The term ''femme fatale'' came out of true stories. Great dynasties were ruined in pursuit of women.

    In that moment, Zach felt that Sarah was fully capable of causing the downfall of a country when she smiled.

    "I owe you so much. How can I dare to forget you? Wouldn''t that be me being ungrateful?" Zach asked rhetorically.

    Just as Zach uttered those words, Sarah''s smile vanished like it had never been there.

    Her mood grew worse, and her words began to turn into sharpened knives that she had probably prepared beforehand as she started to throw them at him one by one with practiced skill.

    "So, you only remember me because you owe me?" Sarah asked word by word while gritting her teeth as if trying to hide the burst of anger that was threatening to escape the confines of her body in the most violent manner possible.

    Despite having rtionships with so many women at the same time, Zach was still unaware of their moods and temperaments. He was unable to gauge the reason behind Sarah''s outburst.

    He couldn''t, for the life of him, understand why Sarah had suddenly taken a turn towards hostility instead of the well-mannered conversation they were just having.

    "Well...that is...one of the reasons." Zach tried to bandage the situation somewhat as he fumbled for the right words but all he coulde up with was a jumbled-up collection of excuses out of which he opted for the best one in his opinion.

    "I would really like to hear your reasons for not contacting me even once in all these months, considering that I am, in your own words, your benefactor." Sarahined again, this time using his own words to attack him as she put special emphasis on the word, ''benefactor''.

    "It''s just that...well...I haven''t had the time. Ever since I left Elizabeth city, it has been one problem after another."

    Zach took a deep breath before continuing, his voice reflecting the weight of the challenges he faced.

    "At first it was all about survival, but then I had to worry about finding shelter for the entire family, so I got busy trying to build a home, and I did. I managed to secure a piece ofnd and even cleared away all the wildlife and built a home there. Life was good for a few days. Just when I thought that life was done throwing stones at me, a meteorite shower practically sank the entire ind where my newly established home was located."

    A tinge of frustration crept into his tone as he recounted the hurdles.

    Even Sarah began to feel a bit bad for him by this point. There was hesitation on her face as she tried to take back her me that she had put on him carelessly wihout knowing a thing about his situation.

    "On top of being homeless again, I was discovered by the royal family, and everything spiraled downwards from that moment on. I have been trying to fight them off all this time. Politics, business, power, no matter what it is, as long as I have a hand in it, the royal family tries to intervene and suppress me in any manner possible. They are probably hoping to recruit me into entering their servitude for the rest of my life and I would rather die than do that.

    The gravity of his words lingered, and Zach paused before delivering the final blow.

    "So, to sum it up, I''ve been fighting tooth and nail to keep this family from bing prey to the vultures circling around us."

    Sarah was at a loss for words. She couldn''t find the words to depict how sorry she was for not even considering his situation before throwing a tantrum.

    If her father were here, he would be shocked to find that his sensible daughter had acted out of impulse without thinking about the result of her actions.

    Despite raising her for so many years, even he had never seen the meticulous Sarah acting on her feelings alone.

    Zach didn''t find anything wrong with her either. After all, he barely knew the woman. The only interaction he had with her was during his wedding banquet in Elizabeth city and during the escape where she hade to help him out with the forces of her family.

    But that interaction had been enough for Zach to determine that the woman was worth being befriended just by the virtue of her loyalty and courageous actions.

    "I see..." That was all Sarah coulde up with in response to his troubles. She couldn''t form up the words for apology in her mind. Her mind was too distressed at the moment.

    Still, that seemed to be enough for Zach as he could already see the guilt evident in her expressions.

    Zach let out a deep breath as he tried to calm his raging heart. Of course, the target of his wrath wasn''t Sarah. It was just that the conversation he had with her caused him to remember all the adversities the royal family had been responsible for in his life.

    "But this much isn''t enough to keep me pressed to the ground for long. I intend to fight back against the royal family and teach them what it feels like to have your cheek pressed to the ground under someone else''s feet. But I will have to rely on you in order to give them the first push. I owe you and your family so much and at the same time I trust you more than anyone else."

 Chapter 421 421 Dont worry

    Chapter421 421 Don''t worry

    "I owe you and your family so much and at the same time I trust you more than anyone else since you came to my aid even when pitted against the royal family. So, I couldn''t ask someone else before you." Sarah wasn''t a fool. She knew what Zach was hinting at. He obviously intended to take a bite out of the royal family and wanted to share the profits with her and her family. Others might have perceived it as Zach needing her family''s help but she knew that Zach was different. The miracles he could bring about were even coveted by the royal family. Had she not seen his potential in Elizabeth city, she might never have supported him against the royal family. Therefore, instead of doubting his capabilities, she asked, "What''s your n? If you really intend to go against the royal family, you should at least take sufficient precautions before butting heads with them." Zach already had a n in mind. He just needed Sarah''s help in determining its feasibility. Therefore, he didn''t hide anything from her. He leaned in towards Sarah''s right shoulder which almost caused her heart to skip a beat. Thankfully, Zach had no intentions towards her, and it was clear from his pristine expression as well. Sarah too kept herself in check so she wouldn''t give away the feeling of insecurity she had felt for a moment there. Zach didn''t notice the changes that took ce in Sarah as he continued to whisper out theplete details of his n in her ear. Although there was no one else besides the two of them in the dark inn. It was still necessary to take precautions against anyone listening in on their conversation. So, he whispered the crucial details in her ear instead of discussing them with her openly like earlier. Sarah too understood his reasoning as she didn''t object once to his approach. The n wasn''t a short one to begin with. Since he wasn''t going to be able to finish it in a short time, he urged Sarah to sit down on the worn-down couch that was at least clean enough for them to sit for a short while. Sarah didn''t object as she didn''t seem like those pampereddies from upper society. If he had topare her with someone, she seemed to be a heroic soul like Christina who believed in producing results and efficiency of a task instead of ruminating over minor details. As time passed, Sarah''s astonishment turned into shock. She had previously believed that Zach was a seriously talented mage who was far ahead of his time but the detailed ns he was divulging to her were far more seasoned than any rookie. He seemed to be an expert politician and even more cunning businessman. With widened eyes, she listened to him till the end without raising any questions. It wasn''t that she didn''t want to interrupt him. Rather, the n was so detailed and all-epassing that she didn''t have to ask anything or raise any objections. Zach''s n was so perfect that he was practicallyying down the future in front of her with his words. She could almost see it happening before it even began. Without even contemting it, she knew that this was a n that could work. Zach''s forward-thinking mindset really struck a chord with Sarah. She was practically fawning over him in admiration of his brilliance. The man was daring and was willing to take any kind of risk. The only thing she was worried about was the feasibility of implementation. She was wondering whether the n would work or not as it seemed to be far ahead of its time. It was too brilliant to fail but the risk was always there. Sometimes being too brilliant could bring about the downfall of a strategy. For example, crafting an intricate n withyers ofplexity might dazzle the opposition, but it could also lead to confusion within the executing team. The brilliance that makes a strategy impressive on paper might be a stumbling block when ites to practical implementation. "Are you really confident about being able to pull this off?" Zach had a smug but confident smile on his face as he answered Sarah''s doubt. "Don''t worry. I wouldn''t have called you here if I wasn''t sure about my n. Although there is a possibility that the n might fail during its implementation, it still wouldn''t affect your family in any manner. Whether we seed or not, Macrae family wouldn''t suffer any kind of loss. Instead , you would be profiting from this deal either way." Zach already owed Sarah and her family. If his n was going to involve risking their well-being, Zach wouldn''t have had the face to call her for help. It would have been akin to relying on a lifeline that has already been extended generously, and asking for more might strain the bond of friendship and mutual support that has been built over time. But now that he had a risk-free strategy, he could confidently invite the Macrae family over to help him. Zach had deep ties to Elizabeth city because it was the first city he had visited since his arrival in this new world. It''s like the city served as his initial anchor, helping him find his bearings in this unfamiliar realm. There was a lot he didn''t know about. He learned the basicmon sense of this world there as well. Elizabeth City became his guide, his introduction to the intricacies of the new world, shaping his understanding and knowledge. Therefore, he couldn''t forget the help he had received in the city. It''s akin to acknowledging the city''s pivotal role in his journey, marking the beginning of his adventures and the formation of crucial connections. Other than the Elizabeth family, with whom he had familial ties through his wife, Zach had the next best rtionship with the Macrae family. The ties with the Elizabeth family were deep and familial, given his marriage, but surprisingly, he didn''t choose them this time. It was as if, despite the familial bond, there was a strategic decision at y which had caused Zach''s choice to pivot to the Macrae family at thest instant. The reason was that George now belonged to the royal family. Even though he was cunning enough to avoid taking responsibility for not helping out the royal family against Zach, there was no guarantee that the Elizabeth family wasn''t already infested with spies of the royal family. He couldn''t risk it while he was walking such a tight rope in hopes of pushing against their suppression. He could not let the royal family have the slightest inkling as to what he nned to do. Otherwise, all his efforts and that of the Smith family might have been wasted. It was a calcted move that Zach had to make after recognizing the unique strengths and advantages that the Macrae family brought to the table. Moreover, choosing the Macrae family came with the added advantage of knowing that the royal family would not be peeping at him through them. Sarah was bbergasted with the amount of detail andplexities Zach had included in his n. It was to the extent that she became worried if she would be able to follow along with it. Even if she managed somehow, it was still utterly manic to assume that all their followers would be able to seamlessly carry out their required actions. Yet, Sarah found herself nodding along with Zach. She couldn''t help but want to agree with him. It was such a brilliant n and the boons her family would receive in case they seeded were far better than she had assumed before epting Zach''s invitation. -------- Candiceunched her strike at his sugar business with renewed vigor. She forced her subordinate forces to move their manpower from their other businesses in order to strengthen the little sugar industry she had developed topete with Zach''s enterprise. As a result, the prices were shed once again and Zach''s product began to settle down on the shelves slowly losing their shelf life to the waves of time. No consumer was willing to buy his product because there was a cheaper version avable. It even had the tag of being operated by a scion of the royal family which not only gave it credibility but also showed them the benevolence of the royal family. The princess was trying to hit two targets with one strike. She was not only undermining his business but was also raising her reputation and the goodwill for the royal family amongst the masses at the same time. She was far too cunning than what Zach gave her credit for. But Zach believed he could handle her strong arm tactics with the help of the Macrae family. At that point, the woman wouldn''t even know what hit her. As for the time being, Zach''s sugar business hade to a halt practically. Except for the meager amount he was able to make in far off ces where the princess couldn''t yet reach, all the other markets had been invaded by the cheaper version that the princess was driving from behind. With higher market pration, cheaper rates, and the tag of being the business of the royal family, her produce was practically heaven sent for the masses. No one was willing to even look at Zach''s produce twice. Resultantly, his sales hade to a halt. Bruce and the other managers for the business grew concerned.

 Chapter 422 422 No Choice

    Chapter422 422 No Choice

    They had watched the business thrive in front of their eyes and were aware of the true potential of the business. They couldn''t let it go to waste just because of the stubbornness of one man even if he was the one who came up with the idea. Zach had a keen understanding of market forces and was able to recognize that pricing his product lower than the princess, even temporarily, could lead to a host of issues. If he undervalued his sugar, it could create a sudden spike in demand as consumers always sought the more affordable option. The spike would be followed by market saturation and once that happened the demand for the product would gradually even out until there was no new consumer to pitch the product to. If he continued to produce sugar at the same production rate, he wouldn''t be able to sell it all off even at a lower rate than the princess. Therefore, Zach felt that it was better to stock the remaining produce and stop further production for the time being, at least until he was able to deal with the princess. Unlike Zach, who was more familiar with the market forces, Candice wasn''t as well versed. The economics of this world wasn''t as advanced as that of his previous world it seemed. Because Princess Candice hadn''t yet figured out the problem, she would soon be facing in Byzantium city. As a result, Candice was under the illusion that Zach was left with no option. She thought that she had strangled the life out of Zach''s business, but she couldn''t have been more wrong. Consumers couldn''t care less about whose product it was as long as it was avable on the shelf at the right time and had the right price tag on it. Zach was only waiting for the right time while Candice was beginning to think that Zach would soon sumb to the pressure, she had exerted by leveraging the entire business chain of the two families under her. Princess Candice was counting down seconds as she wondered how long it would take before Zach came to kneel down in front of her apologetically. Although she wasn''t usually this sadistic, she couldn''t help but get excited at the thought of forcing such a formidable man, who was capable of raining down meteors from the heavens, to beg her on his knees to let go of the Smith family. Obviously, there was no conflict to begin with. The only thing she wanted was to recruit Zach for the royal family andplete the orders she had received from her royal father. Since Zach had been pushed so far that he had no choice but to rely on the forgiveness of the royal family, Candice was sure that in order to save the Smith family''s business, he woulde to offer his services to her of his own volition. At that time, she wouldn''t have to cater to his needs and would be able toy down conditions of her own. Not only would Zach have to ept them, but he would also have to thank her for epting him into the fold. Princess Candice''s ns didn''t stop at that point. While her brother was gaining merit on the bloody battlefield, she was left twiddling her thumbs in Byzantium city. Although the task was difficult, it wasn''t to the extent where she found it to be troublesome. Therefore, it was quite boring for her. She intended to settle the disputes within the city as soon as possible after taking Zach in her service. At that time, she would have ess to therger game. She would be able topete with bigger cities through economic warfare. While her brother preferred the war that was waged with blood as the price, she tilted towards the type that was waged with money. It was what she had inherent talent in and it was the ce where she found herself to be the mostfortable. At the same time, she would be able to aplish the mission handed to her which was to stabilize the economy of the city that had been affected heavily by the demise of the Hunter family. With the top four families under hermand, it would only be a piece of cake for her to get it done. Days passed but Zach didn''t even try to reach out to her. She wasn''t worried though. Because his product was still priced the same as before and had no buyers whatsoever. While the sales on her end had slowed down, they were still substantialpared to the Smith family. While she waited for Zach to reach out, she tried to gather information as to why the business which had been booming earlier was showing signs of slowing down. While her people were investigating the cause, the symptoms began to intensify. The disease that had struck her business seemed to be spreading throughout the economic channels of the empire with Byzantium city as its heart. Gradually, the demand for her product began to fall in the surrounding areas as well. It was far from her vision of the future. In her opinion, the demand for such a lucrative product should have only increased. Why had it suddenlye to a halt? Even though she hadn''t anticipated the problem, Zach had. He had already incorporated all this as a part of his strategy that he shared with Sarah. In fact, this was the basis of his entire strategy; the first and the most important step. It was also for this very reason that he had stepped out of the market entirely and had kept his product off the shelves. The feigned increase in demand due to his exit from the market had fueled Candice into operating her production facilities day and night in overdrive. As a result there was far more production but the demand had already reached its saturation point in the market. If Princess Candice wanted to sell her product, she had to reach out to other markets. Unfortunately for her, Byzantium city stood on the edge of the empire. Even the closest cities were too far apart. Traditional transportation means were by no means an option for shifting the extra produce to far off markets. As a result, the warehouses of the two families were stocked to the roof and there was no outlet. Left with no choice, Candice had to send her produce to the far-off areas so as to avoid its expiry on the shelves. The demand was just not high enough to sell all the sugar she had in stock. But normal transportation means would have taken too long. The goods would have either perished along the way or arrived at the shelves in a deteriorated state. That would have been akin to smearing cow dung on her own face. It had the potential to ruin the reputation of the royal family she had built through this business. Moreover, the cost of transportation alone would exceed the price she had set for her product. The losses were bound to eat away at her own pocket since she hadn''t received anything from the royal family. She had to use the city''s own resources to bring it back on its feet. Seeking alternate methods to sell her product, Princess Candice approached all the well-known merchants through the two families and asked them to buy her stock at a lower price. To any consumer it might have appeared to be a lucrative deal, but the merchants were totally different. The were already aware of the market trend as it was slowly reaching saturation. Since there was no market to sell the product to, only a fool would ept the stock even at lower prices. All the merchants were therefore unwilling to suffer such a huge loss even if it meant offending a princess. No matter how much Princess Candice tried, she couldn''te up with a solution that could allow her to sell off the excess product fast enough without employing the use of trucks that was the fastest means of bulk transportation. Unfortunately, all the truck transportation business was in the hands of the Elizabeth family. She had already lost her chance to ask them for help considering that she had taken the only daughter of the Elizabeth family leader from her home against her will. She couldn''t exactly ask them for help in her current situation considering that she risked being humiliated by their response. With that option out of consideration, there were not many paths left open to Princess Candice. Left with no way to sell such a huge quantity of her product that was wasting away in the silos. Candice urged the merchants to purchase what little quantity they could manage to transport and sell. This way, Candice managed to reduce the stock in her possession little by little. It was trickling out in minuscule quantities, but it was better than nothing for the time being. The more days that passed with the stock still sitting dormant in the silos, the more worried the princess grew. Even more worried and crestfallen were the two families who had joined hands with the Royal princess. They were watching their wealth trickling through their hands like sand. After putting their trust in the princess, they had invested everything they had in the sugar business and had raised the scale of her business by such arge degree. But all they could foresee for the near future was a heart-rending loss that would potentially cripple their families for some time in the future.

 Chapter 423 A Solution

    Chapter423 A Solution

    Just when the families were about to lose their patience and before they could approach the princess to break away from her venture, Sarah came to meet Candice as the representative of the Macrae family. Princess Candice had little to no impression of this Macrae family. After all, she was a princess and wouldn''t bother about anyone other than the top family of a city. Since Elizabeth family far surpassed them in terms of status, the royals didn''t pay attention to the only other family that couldpete with the Elizabeth family in their city. It was only when the Princess heard that Sarah imed to have the solution to her problems did the princess urged her servants to usher her into her study for a meeting. Sarah already knew that the princess wouldn''t be able to turn her away once she heard her words. She hade prepared after all. While she waited for the princess to arrive, she marveled at Zach'' foresight for being able to predict this kind of situation beforehand. At the same time, she was arranging her thoughts in her head in the order that she wanted so as to convey her meaning in the best possible manner. She wanted to leave asting impression on the princess. Of course, she didn''t know that just the words she had sent through the servant were enough for the princess to remember her for a long time toe. The problem Sarah had imed to have the solution for was like pulling out a thorn from the princess'' side in the timeliest manner. There was no way the princess wouldn''t have an impression of such a savior. While Sarah waited in the study, the Princess walked over to the study with her bodyguard in tow. Even though they were inside their residence, the guard still wasn''t willing to leave her side as if the old man wasn''t able to trust anyone even when living under the same roof. Candice didn''t object to it either. She was used to the overprotectiveness of the bodyguard assigned to her by the royal family. It was not only an acknowledgement of her efforts but also showed how important her brother was to the empire as the next crown prince. Sarah was a capable businesswoman like Christina and wasn''t fazed by the fact that she was about to meet the princess. She was even anticipating the princess'' reaction to her ims. That way Sarah might even be able to gauge the extent of the problems the royal princess was facing. The conclusion would allow Sarah to determine what kind of conditions she couldy down in front of Candice in order to get her to pay the steepest price for being rid of the distribution problem of sugar. Pushing in both the doors simultaneously, Candice entered her study in a boisterous manner and her eyes stopped at the figure of Sarah who was in the process of standing up after hearing the doors open. Obviously, Sarah had to give due respect to the princess. Not to mention, even if her hostess hadn''t'' been the princess, she would have still offered the same courtesy. Candice didn''t waste time with pleasantries as she wanted to get straight to the point. She had seen too many failures recently, merchants who refused to buy anything but tried their best to make acquaintance with her to further their gains. She didn''t want to be disappointed once again. Sarah didn''t mind her brusque manner. In fact, she appreciated it as she didn''t want to have anything to do with the royal family if possible. "I have heard that you have a solution to one of the problems my business is facing. Is it safe for me to assume that you aren''t suicidal, and you truly meant what you said? Or should I have you thrown out before you say anything that might harm you more than you already have. You still have a chance to save yourself. I suggest that you don''t waste it." Candice sounded like she was too full of herself, but Sarah felt that she had the capital to do so considering the difference in both of their statuses. Sarah didn''t take her threat seriously because she truly had the solution to all of Candice''s problems. "Don''t worry. I don''t like wasting my time and that of others for no reason. I am a businesswoman and someone like me would never travel to the edge of empire just to y a prank on someone, let alone someone of your stature. It is of no benefit to me whatsoever." Sarah was expressionless as if she hadn''t even registered Candice''s threat. The princess found it interesting. It gave her some confidence that Sarah really meant to buy her stock. "So... what do you have in mind?" asked Princess Candice in a tone that suggested that she wouldn''t mind it the least bit even if Sarah couldn''t actually provide a reasonable solution. Being skilled in negotiation, Candice too knew that the moment she revealed the slightest weakness, the conditions would go up a notch. She might even end up ying right into the palm of Sarah. "I heard that the stock in your silos is still awaiting distribution. I intend to buy it off your hands. I wonder if that covers for a solution..." Princess Candice was enticed just like that. She had been losing sleep over the same issue for the past few days. The two families she had been using to run her sugar industry were slowly losing their trust in her. They were already thinking of breaking away from her just to cut their losses in time. Otherwise, they believed that the princess would leave them in ruins. While she would be able to return to the royal capital in a short while, they would be left penniless and powerless in Byzantium city where the two other giants would be able to swallow their families whole without even spitting out a single bone. "How much do you intend to buy?" This was the question that had been in her mind ever since Princess Candice heard of Sarah''s intention to buy her excess stock. She could only put her worries to rest if Sarah had the intention of buying in bulk. Otherwise, it would be just another petty merchant trying to reap benefits from her while trying to establish a connection with her at the same time. "As much as you can spare." Sarah''s answer was lightning fast. It was obvious that she was a decisive woman. Princess Candice immediately felt a liking for Sarah. She was just the kind of women she admired, decisive and heroic at the same time. Of course, her liking of Sarah stemmed from the fact that thetter was willing to take some of her burden off her shoulders. Princess Candice wanted to ask the reason as to why Sarah was willing to buy her stock while no other merchant dared to do so but then held herself back thinking that Sarah might change her mind after listening to her. "Should we discuss the price then?" Candice asked straightforwardly. "Let''s. But before we do, let me make something clear. Although I want to buy your produce, I won''t buy it at the market price. Your product has no market in the close vicinity. Otherwise, you wouldn''t be in such dire straits. Fortunately, I have found a potential market in my home city. My family has a lot of influence there so it wouldn''t be a problem for me to introduce the new product. However, the transportation cost is sky high. Since even you can''t afford it, it is almost impossible for me." Sarah didn''t state her condition outright. She was up against a princess so she had to operate a little tactfully so that the other party wouldn''t take offense of her words. "So, what do you want from me then?" Although Candice had almost figured out what Sarah wanted, she wouldn''t be so forting as to help herplete her words. "I want the prices to be lower. Since I will be covering the transportation cost as well, I won''t buy it on the market price or the wholesale rate. I want you to sh the prices by at least fifty percent." Sarah revealed her intentions only after she had built upon her reasoning. "Shouldn''t I just give it to you for free then?" Princess was enraged at the audacity of the woman who was hoping to buy the sugar off her hands at half the price. "Princess Candice, I meant no offense. This is strictly business. Since the product in your hands is bound to waste away in the warehouse, selling it at half the price isn''t a bad deal for you. On top of the price of the product, I am also covering for the tremendous transportation cost. It is still a losing deal for me. I hope you can consider my words sincerely." Princess Candice pondered her words, a fleeting difort evident in the furrowed lines on her forehead. The realization that Sarah was leveraging her current predicament unsettled her, but the princess found herself cornered with limited options. The distaste for the situation was palpable on her face, reflecting the internal struggle between her pride and the stark reality she faced. Without any alternative buyers in the market, Princess Candice found herself in a difficult position. Reluctantly, she had to ept Sarah''s offer for her sugar. Despite the substantial loss incurred by settling for half the price, it was a pragmatic choicepared to the prospect of letting the entire stock go to waste.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 424

    Chapter 424

    The princess, caught in the harsh reality of the market dynamics, had to prioritize salvaging what she could from the challenging circumstances. Caught in a challenging predicament, Princess Candice felt a sense of helplessness. The surplus sugar had created immense pressure on both the families under her,pelling them to make difficult decisions. The businesses that were once part of their assets but had a slower revenue generation rate had to be sold off in a bid to stabilize their financial position and prevent the capital chain from unraveling. The harsh reality of economic constraints left Candice with little choice but to navigate theplexities of a market that seemed indifferent to her plight. Despite the fact that Sarah was taking advantage of her plight, the Princess found it admirable. She liked women who were strong enough to stand on their own two feet without anyone''s backing. She marveled at the business sense that Sarah and the Macrae family had cultivated that allowed them to see profit where everyone else only saw loss. It was truly praiseworthy. ....

    Candice sat in her office as she looked over the books. She could tell that they were spending a lot more money now that they had initially expected.

    As though she knew that thefamilies were hesitant about how things were going.

    She was adamant to continue with things the way that they were. She knew that it was all going to be with it in the end as she knew that tri was going to rend with her taking Zach down.

    Their prices were now much higher than Zach''s own however they still had a lot of loyal customers. That was mainly few to the fact that the Davis and the Brown families had been around for so long and it meant that there were a lot of people that were ore aware of them.

    That was something that they were able to use it their own advantage. She was keeping her eyes out on the books of the Smiths family and she could tell how terribly affected they were by the drop of their prices.

    She knew that they wouldn''t be able to keep it up for long and thy would soon have to turn to her and look to make a treaty of sorts.

    She could already tell that their empire was taking a bad hit from it and she couldn''t help but smile and revel at the sight.

    There was a part of her that was excited by the fact and she couldn''t wait to see how long it would take them until they werepletely destroyed. They thought that they were on top now but they had no idea what wasing for them.

    They thought that they would be able to keep things up now but that was only temporary and she knew that soon enough that everythingof there would be sent crashing down.

    She was going to finally see that Zach got what he deserved.

    Her aim had never really been to take down the Smith family in fact the person that she had always been out for was Zach.

    However the Smith family was simply nothing more than a set of coteral that had been caught in the middle of it. She had to admit that it was sad in a sense but there was a part of her that didn''t feel bad for them.

    They should have knownwhat they were getting themselves into when they decided to join his side and when they thought that it was a good idea to be on his side.

    They should have known better than that and they should have known that it was going to be a bad idea.

    She knew that by the time that all of it was over that she knew that she would have been able to destroy Zach entirely andpletely.

    It was time for him to know that he wasn''t indestructible and that she was much more powerful than him.

    He may have been able to acquire as high position but she was much stronger and more powerful that he was. He couldn''t win when it came to her.

    And that in the end she was always going toe out on top.

    She was the one in fact that was winning in the long run and she knew for a fact that at the end of the say she was the one who was going toe out on top.

    He didn''t know what was about to hit him and by the time that it did he was going to be sent crashing down along with the Smiths as well as anyone else who dared to stand against her and go as far as them trying to support him.

    She had to admit that Zach was a powerful force and it was a fact that amongst the enemies that she had been able to face he was one of the more stubborn and the more formidable foes that she had to face.

    He was strong headed and also verymanding. She also had to admit that he was smart as well as strong both in the fields of business as well asbat. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    She knew that if she was to go against any other opponent that they would have been forced to crumble and fold by now but he continued to stand his ground.

    It didn''t matter how many bolts of ammunition that she threw his way he seemed to manage to dodge them all.

    He had a n of action for everything that she did and despite everything that she had done to him he was still able to throw several attacks her way and keep himself standing.

    However that wasn''t enough for her. In reality she didn''t know what would be enough for her. There was a part of her that wasn''t going to be entirely satisfied until she was able to ensure that he waspletely destroyed and she was able to ensure that he had nothing left.

    This was just the beginning and he was meant to ready himself and watch his back.

    Because by the time that he was done with him she was going to ensure that he had nothing left and he was forced toe face to face with the reality of the fact that she won and she was always going to win.

    Candice was a woman of the world. She wasn''t just a princess like the other traditional girls who were licked behind doors and forced to learn how to cook and clean and take care offamilies.

    She was brought to meeting rooms and she was able to take in the sight of several geniuses and see them at work.

    They were all the same. When people were given power they would turn and they would allow their egos to get the best of them.

    They would feel that they were the best and therefore they were invincible.

    But all of them were forced to meet the same fate and all of them were forced toe face to face with the reality of the fact which was that they weren''t indestructible and that they would be taken down easily and with eased.

    However she couldn''t help but realize that when it came to Zach it wasn''t like that. Unlike the others he wasn''t so quick to fold and fumble and maybe that was one of the things which frustrated her.,

    The fact that he was much like a thorn on her back that she wasn''t able to get off. He was determined and he was knowledgeable and no matter how hard she or any of the others attempted to shake him off it was hard for them to do so as he continued toe back.

    She knew however that there were many that had their eyes set on Zach and maybe that was the problem of being one of the best.

    It meant that you had the eyes of several that were trained on you. No one was looking for ways to help you seed or help you forward. But rather they were allowing for new ways for them to be able to further endure that your downfall was secured.

    She knew that if she was able to get rid of him andpletely remove him from the equation there were those who would be veery thankful to her for that.

    People would praise her highly and there are those that would give her fights and she would be able to acquire more wealth for the royal family.

    She also knew that it would mean that his sugar productionpany would be up for the taking as well as his workers who would be out of a job.

    She needed to ensure that he waspletely gone and she knew for a fact that it was too much of a great opportunity for her to consider passing up.

    If Zach was gone she knew that there would be a lot of people that would benefit from it.

    There were a lots of people that would pay her a ,lot of money to take him down and she was looking forward to his take down.

    It would help them with fighting the battle that was going on at the borders.

    She knew for a fact that this was something that she needed and it was going to pay of entirely.

    It was all about power and that was something that she was going to ensure that she was going to be able to acquire at any means.

 Chapter 425 425

    <h4>Chapter 425 Chapter 425 </h4>

    ?She needed the power to make sure that her and the rest if the royal family were able to stay on top no matter way and to ensure that they were able to win in the uing war that was happening.

    And the one thing that she knew about the war was that to make sure that she wonpletely she had to ensure that she was able to seed in getting the favors of the people.

    To do that she knew that she would have to do one thing for sure and that was to make sure she took Zach down.

    He should have been counting his favors because before he knew it he would bepletely surrounded and he would have no more tricks up his sleeve and nowhere left for him to hide.

    Once she hadpletely destroyed him there would only be one person left standing, that was her and he would have to bend to her will and do as she asked.

    бн

    Bruce knew that he was supposed to trust Zach but his trust was slowly thinning. He didn''t know how much longer he was going to be able to continue to have faith in Zach.

    He wasn''t one to question his actions and he constantly did as Zach asked of him without question but it was bing hard for him to do that.

    The sugar production of the Smiths family was slowly crumbling and there was little that he was able to do on his own to ensure that it stayed afloat.

    He was frustrated by how helpless he felt and the way that he felt as though there was nothing that he could do in order to fix it.

    People were withdrawing from buying sugar from the Smiths slowly, and even though they had reduced their prices so low it seemed as though people were still not bothered about that fact.

    They were still buying form theirpetitors instead and it had Bruce in a pickle.

    It had reached a point where the Smiths presence in the market was almost none.

    People weren''t buying from them which meant that they weren''t able to make any more money and they were on the verge of stopping production as they were running out of funds?to continue.

    They didn''t have enough money to continue with the production as usual and the sugar that was being sold outside wasn''t being bought by customers,

    Zach on the other hand was continuing to insist that they remained patient.

    Bruce had tried to exin to him that he needed to consider lowering the prices if that was possible.

    However Zach insisted that they couldn''t do that. He knew that if they went any lower that they wouldn''t be making any money at all and they wouldn''t have enough to pay their workers.

    Zach tried to plead with Bruce that he did have a n and that he only needed to trust him but at the rate that things were going downhill and things were crashing down it was hard to do so.

    Things weren''t looking good and with each day that passed it seemed that they markets only seemed to be crashing further.

    Zach was sat in his office going through some of the papers that were on his desk as he tried to save their market.

    He ran a hand through his hair as even he had to admit that things weren''t looking very good for them.

    He was pulled out of his thought s when he hear the sound of a knock on his door.

    He straightened himself up on his seat as he cleared his throat before gesturing for the person toe inside.

    He groaned internally when he watched the door pull open and he found that it was Bruce who had walked through the door.

    Zach looked towards him with a quirked eyebrow as he intertwined his fingers before writing them below his chin.

    "What is it?" Zach asked him as he looked towards Bruce with a bored look on his face.

    Bruce gulped sucking in a deep breath as he wrung his fingers around each other. He didn''t know why but he felt as though it wasn''t going to end well but he knew that he would have to suck it up even if it was just so that he would be able to get his point across.

    He knew that Zach was a stubborn man and that he wouldn''t conform tohis idea do easily and so it would require him to use all of his efforts as in order for him to convince him.

    "Well go one and say it." Zach said to him with slight irritation in his tone. He didn''t like the thought of them forcing the conversation to go on any longer than it had to.

    "Well it is about the markets and the profits." Zach groaned at his words as he was all to aware of where the conversation was going.

    It seemed as though that was the only sort ofmunication that he was having with any of them these days.

    "Iknow what you are going to say and that you think that we can''t get out of this. And your worries are perfectly justified but you must calm down." He said to him as his tone held slight irritation.

    Bruce was aware of what was happening he didn''t seem to be aware of to what extent it was going on or how bad it was. he seemed to be oblivious to everything.

    It was either that or he was clearly ignoring all of the signs that were clearly ced right in front of his face.

    "You think that you know what is going on but I can assure you that you don''t. You think that it is bad but I will tell you now that it is much worse than that. We can''t just sit around and not do anything about it. We have to act fast." Bruce said to him.

    Zach quirked an eyebrow at him before asking him, "Well go on. what do you suggest that we do and what do you suggest we take as our method of action?" Zachquestioned.

    "Our sales are plummeting drastically and our market isn''t selling. Although. We dropped our prices it isn''t enough to get our prices back up. we are losing money fast and we have lot of our employees wanting to leave asor that they can find work elsewhere. You have to act fast before things get any worse and everything goes crashing down. I know that you have tour ego and your reputation to uphold but this is not the time for that." Bruce said to him in a slightly raised tone.

    Zach couldn''t help but widen his eyes at his words as the truth was that he hadn''t expected him to react in such a way.

    He shook his head as he raised up his hands at him in surrender before offering him a light smile with a glint in his eyes.

    "Well I know that you are anxious and that you have doubts about my ns but you know that I am on your side and it is no reason for you to attack me. You have to sit down and think this through rationally." Zach said to him.

    Bruce was about to say something else however Zach hardened his gaze at him.

    "And even if you want me to end this all now what is it that you want me to do. What is your grand n that you think will be able to solve everything." He said top him in a mocking tone.

    "I think that you should try and call for peace. But an end to this. I know that my doubts may seem like nothing much to you but my concerns are real and thus isn''t going to end well for us unless you do something about it. So please stop all of this and ease our anxiety." Bruce begged.

    Zach sighed as he shook his head before running a hand through his hair. "I know that you think that this treaty for peace is the best idea for us and it is what will save the family but you are wrong. We can''t help the family by admitting defeat and letting Candice win. That will not end well." Zach said to him.

    "And you think that this will. How do you see another way out of this. One that will not resort in ourplete and utter destruction ." Bruce said to him in a raised tone.

    Zach widened his eyes at him in shock as he was surprised that he would raise his voice at him in such a way as it was something that he hadn''t been expecting form him.

    "Look I know that it may all seem impossible right now but like I said you just have to trust me. I have-," Zach started to say however he was surprised when Bruce cut him off.

    "You have a n I know and you have been saying that all along. Ever since this all started and it only leaves me more confused by the fact that you seem so calm by all of this .but I can''t continue to stay calm. So if you want me to continue to go along with all of this. Tell me what is going on." Bruce said to him adamantly.

    Zach gulped as he thought over it but he shook his head after a moment. He knew that he couldn''t go through with it.

 Chapter 426 426

    <h4>Chapter 426 Chapter 426 </h4>

    ?"I can''t tell you the n you just have to?believe I can take care of it."

    Bruce knew that if it was any other day and at any other time that he wouldn''t have questioned Zach''s words, he would have simply nodded his head and gone ahead with whatever he said.

    But things had escted way too far for him to do that. He told him that there was a n and that he simply had to trust him but how did he honestly expect for him to continue to trust him.

    "Look I know that you told me to trust you and that it would all be fine but you can''t honestly expect me to continue doing that anymore. I have to be getting something in return as well. You have to consider the fact that I am not just your loyal underdog but I am also meant to be your friend, you need to tell me what this n of yours is or else I am sorry but I am going to have to say that I can''t continue to do things like this." Bruce said to him honestly.

    He watched as Zach let out a sigh from his lips as he ran a hand through his hair. He didn''t want to tell Bruce because he didn''t want to ruin everything but Bruce was relentless and he kept on pushing him.

    He didn''t know how much longer he would be able to carry on like this and he didn''t know how many times he would have to tell him no before he actually listened to him.

    "I already told you that I can''t do it and you have to simply understand that. This n is my n not ours. And that means that it doesn''t concern you and the only person that should be bothered by it is me." he said to him firmly.

    Zach looked towards brie as he noticed him appear to be slightly taken aback by his words.

    There was a part of him that held hole that this would be enough to word him off and that he would take it as a sign for him to take a step back however Bruce was determined.

    He had promised himself that whatever Zach would say to him that say that he wasn''t going to back down and he wasn''t nning on leaving util he got what he came for and that was for him to get the answers that he so desperately wanted.

    "Well then I guess we are going to have to do it the other way since you have left me no choice." Bruce announced as he took a seat in the chair that was position in front of Zach''s desk.

    Zach looked towards him in confusion as he couldn''t help but wonder what he was up to and what he meant by all of this. "what are you doing?" he asked him in confusion.

    "Well since you aren''t going to tell me what your n is then I am just going to have to find out on my own." Bruce said and Zach couldn''t help but smirk.

    He knew that Bruce was smart but it l didn''t matter how hard he tried he wasn''t going to find out his n.

    He knew that he often overestimated himself and he thought that he was just as cunning as Zach but Zach wasn''t going to allow things to be known about what he was nning unless he wanted people to know about them.

    "Well you can go ahead and do that. Please be my guest I have no intention of stopping you." He said to him honestly. He watched as he opened and closed his mouth like a fish before gritting his teeth as he was soon able to realize that Zach was pushing him.

    Zach didn''t actually think that he was going to be able to find out the n and he was only saying that he could try so that in the end he would have no other choice but to give up and submit to him.

    "You think that I am not going to be able to find out don''t you. Well you are wrong because I am not going to stop following you around until I get to the bottom of it. I am going to be like your shadow and I am going to be trailing your every move." He announced to him.

    He crossed his hands over his chest as he looked towards Zach with a firm smirk on his face. Zach stared at him with a quirked eyebrow as his features held some slight amusement on them.

    "You can''t be serious." Zach said to him after a moment as he stood up to his feet. He watched as Bruce did the same and without warning he came to take a stand behind him. He was so close that he could almost feel his breath on his neck.

    "I am very serious. We are all worried and you are doing very little to ensure that at least some of our worries are easier. All you do is sit around and tell us to trust you. That isn''t how things work. You have to give a little as well.. so I am going to do this so that I can finally find out what it is that you are hiding." Bruce said to him firmly.

    He couldn''t help but groan loudly as he threw his head back in frustration.

    Zach didn''t want to have to do this but I t was clear just how adamant Bruce was and it was obvious to him now that if he didn''t try to do something that Bruce was going to find out on his own and the methods that he would in order to do so was one that he wasn''t going to appreciate.

    "Fine." Zach said to him in a mutter after a moment.

    Bruce furrowed his brows as he looked towards him in confusion. "fine what?" Bruce asked.

    Zach huffed rolling his eyes as he made his way out of the door. He knew for a fact that Bruce was only teasing him and he was making an attempt to further get on his nerves.

    "Just follow me and dint try to lush me or you aren''t going to like the consequences.": Zach said to him in warning.

    Bruce couldn''t help but smile at his words ads he was surprised that his adamant nature had actually worked on Zach and that he was in fact agreeing to let hime along with him.

    Bruce chose to remain quiet however as he didn''t want to ruin it any further. He trailed behind Zach as they made their way past the offices and at first he found himself confused but there they were heading however it all, seemed to add up when they came to a stop in front of therge factory doors.

    Zach stopped for a moment as he turned to look at him and he ran his gaze over him for a moment before he slowly pulled open the doornd they stepped inside.

    As soon as they stepped inside they were hit by the smell of sugar and they could hear the sounds of the machines bustling. As Zach ran his gaze over the workers he pulled his fingers into his mouth as he let out a low whistling sound causing all of them to freeze.

    They all swiveled around towards him as they smiled when they noticed that it was Zach.

    They gave firm salutes as they said, "hello sir." In unison and they went on to giver hm a slight bow.

    Bruce was quiet as Zach began to lead him through the factory. They passed by all of the production units as they knew that there was one thing that was recurrent with all of the staff.

    Bruce could see that all of them were happily working and there were none that seemed to have anyints.

    However he didn''t understand if this was supposed to be Zach''s n. They had been walking through the factory for several minutes and Zach was still yet to exin to him exactly what was going on.

    He couldn''t help but admit that he was slightly frustrated by it all and there was a party of him that wished that Zach would simply stop all of it and just tell him what was going on.

    "Okay what is happening here." Bruce said all of a sudden as he was brought to the raw material section.

    Zach turned around to face him as he looked towards him with a quirked eyebrow.

    "What is going on here how?" Zach asked as he feigned naivety. He watched as he gritted his teeth at him in anger as he was clearly frustrated by hisck of answers.

    "You are supposed to be telling me about your n. And yet here you are showing me the factory instead. The factory that I know like the back of my hand. Have you forgotten that I am the one who supervises it." He said to him in a slightly raised tone.

    Zach let out a sigh however he made no attempt. To show that he was affected by his words.

    "Well it was you who said that all of the workers are anxious and they fear about what is toe and how all of this is going to y out in the long run." Zach said and Bruce took a minute before he slowly nodded his head at him in response.

 Chapter 427 427

    <h4>Chapter 427 Chapter 427 </h4>

    ?"Well yes I did say that." Bruce said and although he wanted to say mire he was unable to do so as Zach was quick to cut him off.

    "Well you see that is exactly my point. You said that everyone is anxious and upset however they all seem to be happy and they all greeted me with respect. The only person that seems to have a problem with all of this is you. it isn''t all of the worker that are having trouble. Only you are." Zach said to him adamantly.

    "It isn''t just me that has doubts. The rest of the Smiths are having doubts as well." Bruce said to him surprised that he would try to y that card on him.

    Zach quirked a brow as he raised his hand before gesturing towards the lively factory workers where some of them were whistling a tune as they worked and most of them were chatting happily.

    "Look at them. Do they seem unhappy to you. And for the Smiths. I have spoken and interacted with the Smiths and they all seem perfectly rxed and content. Unlike you they know that I will do what I have to do in order to protect the family. and so they have no doubts in me." Zach said to him with a pointed look on his face.

    "Are you really trying topare how much I value thispany to how much employees would." Bruce asked and he watched as Zach nodded his head.

    He couldn''t believe that Zach would say something like that. "you can''t honestly believe that these people are interested in the betterment of the Smith family. They don''t care about it and they don''t care about it. The only thing that they care about is them making more money. Bruce started to say.

    Zach shook his head as he tsked before a small frown made its way onto his features. "no that isn''t right you are wrong." he said to him firmly.

    "Think about it they are some of the highest sry earners who are making much more than the standard. Do you think that they are truly going to care about thepany falling apart. All they are going to be worried about is if they are going to get paid." Bruce?said to him honestly.

    Bruce watched as Zach remained quiet as he didn''t say anything at first and he knew that he had to admit the fact that he was right. He couldn''t help but smirk at him as he continued.

    This might have been one of the only times that he was going to be allowed to say his mind and get his point across and so he knew that he would have to use the opportunity wisely.

    "You think that they care about our future. If you do then you must be not as smart as I and everyone else thinks you are. They truly don''t. if I was making the same money as they were of curse I would be happy as well. I wouldn''t question you and I will always have a smile on my face." He said to him firmly.

    And his words were the truth. He was barely making it by and he knew that their own content didn''te from a ce of truth but kt was one where they cared about their own status.

    If he was making as much as they were he wouldn''t hesitate to follow Zach''s every word and he would never dare to question him at all.

    He knew that Zach is smart and that he already knew this and so what confused him and what he didn''t understand was the fact that he was telling him something so obvious.

    "But I knows that you were already well aware of that. So how about you tell me what is truly going on instead of you to pretend as though you are simply oblivious to everything." Bruce said to him harshly.

    "Well our workers are happy. Like io said and that is the most important thing. It doesn''t matter where their source of happiness ids m\but the most important thing is that they are." he said to him.

    Bruce furrowed his brows at his words as he found himself confused but his constant incessance that the workers were happy.

    "And what does that have to do with anything." Bruce said to Zach.

    Zach hummed before he began to speak up again. "well what I am trying to show and exin to you is that our workers are happy here. however Candice''s workers aren''t going to be very happy." Zach said to him and Bruce couldn''t help but furrow his eyebrows in confusion as to why.

    "And what is the reason why they would be unhappy." he asked him. He watched as he shrugged his shoulders at him. "well she isn''t a very nice person and I assume that she isn''t very nice to work with. Plus I know that she isn''t paying them as handsomely as we are and plus they are being force d to work over time in order for them to be able to meet up with her production needs as well as her outrageous demands." He exined to him.

    Bruce nodded his head at him in agreement and he did known how tough her working conditions would be for them to be able to meet up with their demands they were going to have to work over time and that would put much strain on the workers. however Bruce struggled to understand how this meant anything.

    "But what does that have to do with anything." Bruce asked him and he watched as Zach let out a sigh as he slouched his shoulders slightly. It annoyed him that he had to exin everything.

    "Imeans that they aren''t going to be putting in all of their efforts to ensure that they are able to put out the best products that they possibly can." He said t him as he tried to exin to him what was going on.

    "Well yes that is true that they are going to be unhappy but that doesn''t change anything. Because it isn''t then that get to decide the prices it is the Brown and Davis families and it isn''t as though they are going too stoop working for them simply because they don''t like the working conditions. They don''t have a choice in the matter and they knew for a fact that they have to carry on and continue to go through with it no matter what." He said to him.

    "That is where you are wrong and that is what you are yet to understand. The people at the top may be the ones who decide the prices but they aren''t the ones ion power they aren''t the ones who have the real control." Zach said to him and Bruce couldn''t help but look towards him in confusion as he wondered what he was talking about,

    "then if they aren''t the ones that are in power and they aren''t the ones making the final decisions then who is it. Bruce asked him.

    Zach hummed as he turned his attention towards the workers that were down below. Bruce watched as they continued to put in their all and continued to go hard at work.

    Despite everything they did continue to have smiles stered on their faces which was something that was hard toe by these days.

    "The people that determine the oue of the market and the ones that are in charge of the industry in the long run are the workers. That is why the employers are supposed to treat then with kindness and care because in the end they are the ones who are able to make or break the market, if they are happy then yourpany will be sure to flourish even if at one time it may seem as though it is falling apart. But we aren''t just looking at the small picture we are looking at the much bigger one and you know that in the end your workers will vouch for you and they are going to remain there for you." Zach said and Bruce couldn''t help but nod his head at him as he knew that there was a level of truth to his words.

    "And what about those who treat their own workers badly." Bruce asked him suddenly and he watched as he let out a sigh form his lips before letting out a tsk sound as he shook his head at him in response.

    "Well let us just say that although they knew that they can''t do anything about it right now and they know that they Can''t do anything to fight off their employers that are oppressing them. They are aware that in the long run that they are going toe to the realization that the market is in their own hands and they are going to grow fed up with their working conditions and that is why it is going toe a time when they aren''t going to continue to work that way and they are going to revolt." Zach said to him.

    "But this is just wishful thinking. You can''t be certain that all of this is going to work out in your favor in the long run." Bruce said to him as he was still slightly unsure about Zach''s n. It wasn''t that he didn''t have faith in him.it was simply that he wasn''t sure how this was going to all turn out in their favor.

 Chapter 428 428

    <h4>Chapter 428 Chapter 428 </h4>

    ?"That is what you don''t understand. With Candice making more and more money right now it makes her chances of failing much stronger. she is starting to grow an ego and she is growing more and more confident in herself.?She seems to that she is invincible and so because of that she is going to try and grow her exports and her business even more." Zach said and Bruce furrowed his brow as he still struggled to understand how thins was going to be of benefit to them in the long run.

    Zach let out a sigh from his lips., "If she is growing her business then if means that she is going to need to increase her production even more and if she is doing that then it means that she doing to have to work harder in order for her to be able to get ess to even more workers. But the workers aren''t going to want to work under her if theye to learn about the working conditions and how unhappy the ones who are currently under her are." Zach said and Bruce nodded his head at him.

    "Well she has to keep her prices high if she can''t get any more workers and that would mean that she can''t continue to producerge amounts of sugar and it means that in the long run although she wants to out produce us as she won''t be able to meet up with the market demands and soon enough she is going to have everything seamlessly falling apart around her and there is nothing that she can do about it." Zach said to him and he stood there as he listened to him intently.

    He was surprised by Zach''s train of thought and he had never considered it that way. He didn''t know why that hadn''te to his own mind,.

    "That is great and all but that still doesn''t change our current situation. We still aren''t making sales and she is still making a lot of money. So I guess what I am trying to say is that even if she is short on workers her problem is that she is making much more customers than she can handle. Well let us just say that there is a part of me that wishes we could have that problem."

    "But instead it seems as though we are having the opposite problem. We don''t have customers and I don''t see how her making more money is something that we are supposed to be happy about. In fact I think that we should be discontented by it." he said to him and his tone was slightly raised.

    "Well that is what you don''t know because I had already worked with Sarah earlier and she was able to buy out the rest of Candice''s avable products in bulk at a much lower price. And that means that she is going to have to start up production again because at the moment she doesn''t have products that are on the market." Zach exined to him.

    "And what does that mean for us." Bruce asked him once more.

    "Well for the two families as well as Candice they have lost a lot of money since Sarah had bought everything at a much lower price. They think that they are being tactical and smart and that by doing so they are able to get ahead of the market and to push the Smiths out of the industry." he exined to Bruce who nodded his head.

    "And now the eyes of the people have turned away from the Smiths. But despite that we are still notpletely crumbled. I know that people believe that the Smiths are out of the industry and are at a crisis point but despite that we still maintain some form of financial stability. Candice has managed to spend a lot of money on the business because she is certain that she will be able to keep it afloat and that she will have more money. Coming in soon enough. But she had failed to take into ount the workers and their own feelings about it all. However, despite what it may seem are able to pay our workers'' wages and still manage the ounts of the family. Although we have suffered a few blows we haven''t been entirely destroyed and there is still a bit of hope for the family." Zach said to him in reassurance.

    He had to give it to Candice that she was smart but she was allowing her ego to get the better of her. It was making her to make some mistakes and also forcing her to be short sighted. There were things that she was. Overlooking and she was going to know soon enough how bad of an idea that was and she was going to find out in the long run that it wasn''t for her own good and int wasn''t going to end swell.

    "So we have somewhat of a stable financial chain and I am not saying that is bad thing but again how does thate to be in our favor." Bruce said to him.

    "Well you see I havee to learn that the thing that all of you have inmon is the fact that you are focused about the money,. You look at what ourpany iscking in finances and she does the same. That is why she thinks that we are falling apart. but money is something that is more than what you have in your assets. We have a n in ce that is going to make sure that our industry isn''t shaken and it continues to remain steady." Zach said to him.

    Bruce gulped as he looked over at him and he couldn''t help but notice the small smile that was on his face.

    He had to admit that he was anxious and he couldn''t help b tew slither of uncertainty however the way that Zach said it had him rethinking his initial doubts.

    "But you see the trying with Candice is that although her industry is now bigger and it seems as though she has a lot more customers and there are a lot more people that are flocking towards her market. On the inside her market is a crumbling oner and it is anything but steady. In fact on the inside it is falling apart." He said to Bruce.

    "Theirpany may seem steady to you now but it is much like a house of straw. It isn''t heavy and it isn''t able to stand its ground. All I need is a small gust of wind and I will be able to bring it crashing down. But I know that I can''t rush into it. I have to think about it tactically and not let my emotions get the better od me." Zach said as he stopped before turning his attention towards Bruce and giving him a pointed look.

    Bruce couldn''t help but feel his cheeks burn up at is words as he turned to look away from him for a moment.

    "I will have to sit and wait and not over react and when the timees and everything is right then that is when I will attack and I will strike ordingly." He said to him firmly.

    "That is great and I do have to admit that it does ease some of my concerns to know that you do have some form of a n in ce but what is your follow up n. After all of it is over then what happens. What do you n to do after you are able to take down theirpany and you are sure that you have the Smiths as the soul producers back at the top of the sugar industry once more." He asked him.

    "Like I said it is all about them." Zach said to Bruce as he gestured towards the workers.

    Zach didn''t say anything again after that as he turned around to leave. Bruce looked towards him in confusion at first as he found himself unable to understand what Zach meant.

    They made their way all the way back to. Zach''s office before they stepped inside. "l know that you want to use your workers to help but how exactly are you going to do that.

    Zach cleared his throat before he began to speak up again. "well first of all I think that we need to hire more workers." Zach said and Bruce widened his eyes at his words.

    "You can''t be serious. We are struggling with the ones that we have." Bruce tried to say to him in angst.

    "Yes I know and that is why I want to continue to pay them art the current sry that we are paying the others." Zach said to him as he seemed topletely ignore Bruce''s concerns.

    "I don''t think that is going to work. I have looked at our books-," Bruce started to say. However Zach shook his head at him in response not wanting to hear the rest of his words and what he had to say.

    "I don''t want to hear that. I know that you can do it and so I need you to find a way for you to make it work." he said to him adamantly.

    Bruce gulped as he sighed in frustration before he ran a hand through his hair. What Zach was asking from him was something that was almost impossible.

    "Is that all that you want or do you have anything else to add to your grand n."

 Chapter 429 429

    <h4>Chapter 429 Chapter 429 </h4>

    ?Bruce said to him in a slightly sarcastic tone.

    He had expected Zach to shake his head at him and tell him that there was nothing else. However much to his dread and discontent Zach smiled.

    "I also want to improve the working conditions, they work hard relentlessly and I want to find a way for them to know that I appreciate what they do." Zach said to him.

    Bruce looked to him as though he was losing some of his mind. "What do you n to do. Decrease their work days." Bruce said to him incredulously.

    Zach widened his eyes as a smile made its way onto his face. "Well I am d to see that you and I are on the same page. I would like to reduce their days to five days a week." Zach said to him in a firm tone.

    Bruce shook his head at him as he said, "you can''t be serious can you." Zach however only gave him a smile in response.

    "Why don''t you reduce their work hours as well." He muttered. Zach looked towards him with a pointed look on his face before a. small smile made its way onto his features.

    He hummed?before cing a hand onto his chin and Bruce couldn''t help but curse himself internally as he realized that Zach was actually thinking it over. He knew that he should have never suggested it and he didn''t know what he had thinking of at that moment.

    In truth he was thinking of it as a type of joke and he hadn''t thought that he would take him seriously.

    "Yes I think that we need to take their hours and cut them down. They work far too hard and we need to cut it down. Plus it isn''t as though we are having more production now we need to slow it down until it is needed. And even if we need our workers to work harder and longer in the future then that will be under the agreement that we will be paying them for the extra time." Zach said to him and Bruce couldn''t help but suck in a deep breath ant his words.

    He had never heard of anything like it before and yet here Zach was treating the workers as though they were social and for him it seemed as though they were royalty that deserved their own sense of special treatment.

    "why are you doing all of this for the workers. You know that no one else would do something like this." He said to him.

    He watched as he shrugged his shoulders at him in response and he made no attempt to deny the fact. He knew that this was peculiar and that there was no one else that would do something like this but for him that was the whole point of what he was doing. He didn''t want to be like the others. He wanted to be different and he wanted to show that the workers. Deserved to be treated in a humane way and that they were worthy of being treated with the most form of respect.

    "Yes and that is the point. The employees have been the ones who have been putting in all of the effort had putting out all of the stocks to ensure that everything is working smoothly in thepany and it seems as though they are the ones who are never getting the recognition that they deserve. They need to know that we see them and that we value them." Zach said to him.

    Bruce looked towards him in peculiarity as though he was trying to figure out where exactly he was going with that and how that would be any benefit to the both of them.

    "and how would that do anything for the both of us or thepany." He asked him and he watched as Zach shrugged his shoulders at him in response.

    "Well that is simply for us to find out. I can''t tell the future so of course I don''t know with all certainty what the oue of it all is going to be. But I know that us helping out the workers ids never going o be a bad thing. This is thepany for the workers not just the employees and it should be seen as such. Maybe we will set a standard and make an example which the others will be eager to follow." He said to him with a shrug of his shoulders.

    Bruce thought over it for a moment and he couldn''t help but admit for a moment that there was a part of him that did agree that his idea did make sense but it was strange for him to see them taking care of the workers this well.

    He hoped that Zach did know what he was doing and that the oue would be worth all the trouble that they would have to go through.

    However he knew that despite his efforts that there was going to be no way for him to change Zach''s mind and so there was a part of him that wasn''t even entirely sure why he was trying to do so.

    When it came to Zach he knew that he would just have to go along with what he said and then hope for the best of oues at the end of the day.

    And that was the start of it all. Following the order given by Zach the people and the workers were ushered into a new era where workers were given shorter working hours and only had to work eight hours a day. They also had better working wages and theyhad less work days.

    It meant that they would have two days off to rest on the weekend before they would have toe back in to work on a Monday.

    This helped a lot as it meant that they would be ready and refreshed by the time that they would have to wake up.

    "I know that you are going to think that I am going to go against you again. Buy I just have to point it out to you now that I think that is crazy."

    Bruce said to him and Zach couldn''t help but raise a brow at him. "And how is it crazy that I want to help my workers and that I want to make sure that they are able to work in the most suitable conditions ever." Zach asked him and he watched as he shook his head at him before letting out a sigh from his lips.

    "You don''t understand. No one had ever done this before. This is madness and it isn''t going to end well. That I assure you." he said to him as he did his best in trying to dissuade him.

    He knew with all certainty that this wasn''t going to end well and thest thing that he wanted was for things to be even worse than they already were now.

    "Oh so you think that just because something hadn''t been done before then it is madness. because no one has acted on one thing it means that anyone else that would dare to do it must have been wrong and didn''t know what they were going into?" Zach asked and he watched as Bruce shook his head at him inresponse.

    "That isn''t what I meant. Idon''t mean that it is all going to end badly. I am just trying to warm you that you have to be veery careful with what you are doing. This is going to most likely going to result in the business taking a nose dive and it will cause it to plumet effectively. You can''t just rush into this. I beg you to sit down and to think this through before you go on and do something irrational. After all there is a reason that no one had even done this before. I am sure that it isn''t because no one has thought about doing it before but it means that they know the risks and they know what it will cost . That is why they aren''t willing to risk their business and everything that they have been working hard for in order for them to be able to pursue something that they aren''t going to be sure will work out in their favor." He said to him.

    However Zach con the other hand wasn''t listening to him as he only offered him a small smile on his features. He tsked as he shook his head at him before showing off his pearly whites.

    "You speak as though you know nothing about business. you cant just continue to be a pessimist. You won''t get far. Zach said to him.

    Bruce furrowed his brows as he looked him over for a moment and for a second he tried to decipher what it was that was going through his head.

    "Well this isn''t pessimism this is rational thinking. I am only stating it as it is. And that is something that is needed for someone as not just a business man but as a human being as well." Bruce said to him.

    He watched as Zach let out a sigh form his lips as he hung his shoulders low.

    "Well you have to be willing to take a few risks. You can''t simply sat that you are going to allow fear to control you and limit yourself to this world by forcing yourself into the shadows."

 Chapter 430 430

    <h4>Chapter 430 Chapter 430 </h4>

    ?You have to allow yourself to take the risks so that you will be willing. To see some positivity." Zach said to him with a shrug of his shoulders.

    What Bruce couldn''t understand was how Zach was so calm about to all. He couldn''t help but narrow his brows as he looked him over as he tried to figure out what it was that was going through his brain.

    He couldn''t help but wonder why he was so seemingly calm and why he wasn''t freaking out like anyone else that was in his position was.

    Instead he had chosen toe up with an impractical idea that was most likely not going to work. However Bruce knew that there was nothing that he could do about it and he would be the one to carry out Zach''s orders for him.

    Zach sighed as her stood up to his feet and made his way over towards Bruce. He patted him on the back as he gestured for him to stand up to his feet.

    "I know that you are bothered about everything and you think that this is a bad idea. That it will not work out but you need to calm down and think of this in an optimistic way for a second. You should have faith that it will all work out well in the end. You have nothing to worry about." Bruce heard Zach say.

    Bruce nodded his head after as moment as he looked over at him wearily. He watched as hew eyed him or as moment before letting out a sigh.

    "You know that you are my right hand and you are allowed to tell me anything that bothers you or something which doesn''t quite sit right with you." He said to him in an encouraging tone.

    Bruce couldn''t help but agree that ach did always tell him that he was free to voice his opinion to him upon matters that he didn''t entirely agree with.

    But it was hard for him to do so when it seemed that Zach was used to disregarding the idea of others including him and it didn''t matter what you said to him he always seemed to go ahead and do whatever he wanted anyway.

    But this was going to be Bruce''s only opportunity to tell Zach how he felt and have him actually listen to him. For Zach had his full attention on him and he seemed willing to hear what he had to say.

    That was something that was rare and he knew that it wad best for him to male use if the opportunity that he had gotten.

    Because he knew for certain that he wasn''t going to be able to get one like that again any time soon.

    "I t is just that I know that it is great that you want to help but the workers and I think that is going but I don''t think that will end well. I feel as though they are going to misuse that as bad as they are going to start cking off and bezy." Bruce said to Zach.

    It was a weakment but he was right and it did reflect some of his concerns.

    Zach shook his head as he ced a hand on Bruce shoulder and he reached out and he gave it a gentle squeeze before a smile made its way onto his face a twinkle reached his eye.

    "If you are worried about the workers cking off then you shouldn''t allow that to bother you. You should know that they are going to be efficient and thorough in their jobs, they have been that way all this time and so I know that I can count on them." Zach said to him firmly.

    Bruce was quiet however and he only nodded his head at him in response. He wasn''t entirely sure what to say however.

    He nodded his head anyway and he holed that Zach''s words were true because if the workers started reducing their work output they would have more to worry about having a crumbling market.

    They would have a set of workers that didn''t respect their leadership and they were willing to do things their own way. that was thest thing that they needed.

    However Bruce knew that he would simply have to have trust in Zach. He wanted to know that he was doing what was right.

    He would have to jump many obstacles to ensure that the new workers would get paid but when it came to Zach it seemed as though there was always one answer or another for every seemingly tough dilemma that they found themselves in.

    Soon enough Bruce began to post several flyers around town about thepany needing more workers.

    It was a sweet deal and at first there were as few who were skeptical about it all.

    It was too good and in fact it seemed almost too good to be true that they were being offered such high?wages and such low work time.

    Soon enough the flyers and ads reached the view of the workers for the Brown and Davis. They were quick to quit their jobs not wanting to work under such harsh conditions.

    They considered their loyalty to the families but they also knew that there were times like this when they had to think less about loyalty and more about their own wellbeing.

    They couldn''t continue to live in such conditions and they knew that they. Have to leave before things got any worse.

    Thepany was getting more and more orders which meant that the workers had to work even longer hours and the pay wasn''t very much.

    It meant that the workers were barely scraping by and they were treated in terrible working situation.

    A lot of the workers began to quit their jobs for the browns and Davis families and they decided to go and work for the Smiths instead.

    It was a sweet deal and it almost even seemed far too good to be true that they were able to earn so much and work in some of the most human conditions.

    It was like a dream that hade to reality and it seemed almost too good for it to be true. This shift in the employee chain had almost instant side effects.

    Soon enough there were several of the Bruce and Davis employees that were choosing to quirt their jobs.

    They decided that it was best for them to join the Smiths family as it was willing to give them more opportunities and they were able to get more benefits from there.

    It was an offer that they couldn''t refuse. The working conditions were much better. they were able to work without being constantly pushed to put out m more work output.

    They also had much higher wages here and the best of all when they were paid there was no point. In time when someone woulde back to them and have their wages reversed.

    Most of the worker as has only been working for the Brown and Smiths families because they didn''t have another choice in the matter.

    They knew that they needed jobs and they were the ones that were hurting.

    They also felt as though their families had been around much longer and so it wasn''t right of them to simply up and decide to join the Smiths.

    But now the tables had changes and everything was much different.

    Now as things were it was every man for themselves and they didn''t have to worry about what was going to be best for the two families as the only ones that they had to worry about were themselves.

    They were willing to go tithe Smiths even if it didn''t end well and it was just a propaganda.

    But they knew that even if it was for a short period of time that they were going to be able to reap some of the benefits and they would get the chance to reap some of the fruits of theirbor.

    It wasn''t long before they all began to see the effects of what they had done.

    Soon enough the browns and the Smiths could see a decline in their money chain as they didn''t have enough workers that would be able to put out as much of the work as they needed them too.

    They knew that this was a great problem and they were also aware of the fact that they would have to act fast if they wanted to salvage theirpanies and continue being able to salvage theirpanies.

    They decided to default back to their workers and tried to save the employers that they had who had been with them from the very start.

    They knew that they needed workers in order to produce the sugar and they were going to use any of the means that they had possible in order to ensure that they hand they workers still at hand and that they were still ensure under them.

    They weren''t going to lose it all and what infuriated them even further was the fact that the workers were running over to theirpetitors.

    They weren''t simply giving up on them but rather they were going off to the Smiths.

    They had to find a sure fire way in order to maintain their business and to ensure that it was still growing.

    That was hard for them to do especially with all of the ads that were being put up as well as the propaganda that was being spread.

 Chapter 431 431

    <h4>Chapter 431 Chapter 431 </h4>

    ?They knew that if they didn''t do something about it quick that something bad was going to happen and that none of it was going to work out in their favor.

    They decided to keep a tight lid on their briskness and work with what they had. They would have to ensure that they didn''t lose any other workers and try to maintain the ones that they had.

    The workers that were still within the Brown and Davispany were upset that the Brown and Davis set in ce new policies.

    They made it so that if there were any of the workers that were to decide that they wanted to leave they would be prosecuted as well as fines.

    The workers didn''t want to have to endure that. They knew that it wasn''t fair but they wanted to retaliate they knew that it wasn''t possible.

    They knew about the power and the might that the Brown and the Davis families had and although they wanted a better opportunity and for them to have a better off life.

    They knew that it wasn''t worth them risking their own lives in order for them to achieve that they had to remain level headed but there were some of them the that could tell that the Brown and Davis families were falling apart.

    They could start to tell that their businesses where crumbling around them and that if they didn''t do anything about it that it would soon copse before their very eyes.

    They held onto the hope that it would all be over soon and once it was all over they would be able to leave once and for mall and there would be no oner that would be able to stop them.

    The only reason that they stay behind right now and?the reason that they weren''t able to fight back was because of fear.

    They didn''t know how the Brown and Davis family would react when they informed them that they wanted to leave and that wasn''t something that they were willing to find out.

    They tried to convince themselves that it was better for them to keep their heads down and not try to do anything irrational.

    They knew that it wasn''t going to end well for them if someone were to catch wind of what it was that they had nned.

    Joyce tried to keep the news away from princess Candice. They didn''t want her to know the fact that her n was falling apart and that they had failed her.

    They didn''t want her tolerant hat things weren''t going as she had anticipated and they knew that she would be greatly disappointed in them.

    And so they wanted to continue to keep up the ruse that everything was alright.

    They knew how princess Candice could be and thest thing that they wanted or desired was to get caught in the cross hairs of her anger and rage.

    However they were unable to keep it a secret form her for a longtime.

    Soon enough she was able to learn if the whispers going around.

    She was angered to learn that a lot of their workers had left thepany and they had decided to go and work for the Smiths instead of staying behind.

    She had seen the ads and she couldn''t help but scoff at how?ridiculous they were better pay for shorter hours.

    She knew that there was something that wasn''t adding up and the chances were that this was nothing more than a lie.

    She knew that this was Zach''s doing and he was intending to keep her workers off her hands.

    She had thought that the tight leash that she had on them was something that would be enough to keep them all in their ces, however she was wrong.

    It was clear that it wasn''t enough and they were choosing to leave.

    In a sense she had to admit that she didn''tpletely me them for wanting to leave.

    The offer that Zach had given them although it sounded dystopian and too good to be true was a decent offer.

    She realized that she had made an error other part. She had failed to see how the workers were of great value to her.

    To her they were nothing more than disposablemodities that she could easily rece.

    She had held on the hope that the people were poor and that they were in desperate need of work.

    She had told herself that because of that there was no type of living or working conditions that she would put them in that they wouldn''t be content with.

    Because they didn''t care about the quality of the work environment and the most important thing to them truly was to know that they were going to get paid.

    However she realized now that that wasn''t the case.

    They had been on her side before and they had chosen to work in such harsh conditions because of their loyalty because there was no other option for them.

    But now there were options that had been presented to them. One that would be for their full benefit and that would allow them to enjoy days off as well as full wages.

    She hadn''t considered them as humans before with emotions but rather she saw them, asmodities that she could dispose if when she saw it fit for her.

    That was where she had gone wrong.

    The fact that she hadn''t been able to consider a work environment that would be of help to her workers and one that would allow them to want to work harder with her.

    She let out a sigh as she shook her head. That wasn''t true.

    This was something that she could easily fix. She hadn''t considered the workings of the employees before it now she knew that she needed to do so.

    She knew that if she didn''t put their own thoughts into consideration that she was only going to end up losing them and now was the time when she needed them more than ever.

    The business was booming more than ever and that meant that she needed to be making more sugar at much higher rates.

    She knew that or her to be able to do that she would need to get more employees or to have her employees work faster.

    Her employees however were already working for her double and ripple shifts and she knew that there was no way for her to work them even further.

    She would have to find a way to show the workers the new benefits of working for her and why they would wasn''t to remain by her side rather than wanting to go and join the Smiths.

    She was aware that threatening them wouldn''t work this time especially when they seemed so intent.

    She realized now that the truth was that she had never truly cared very much about the work conditions or the wellbeing of the staff.

    It seemed that the only thing that she ever truly cared about was making money.

    That was what was costing her so much now.

    She sat in the office with her hands rested below her chin she tried to think of the best way for herself to greet them out of this situation.

    She knew that I was going to be tricky and she would have to figure out a. way for her to get around it.

    But then her gaze drifted back towards one of the ads that had been released by the Smiths.

    She hated to admit it but it seemed as though they were onto something, they had a good grip of how they were set to run their business and she guessed that they were right.

    Maybe she could take a page out of their book and she could try to improve some of the work conditions of her employees.

    She hoped that they wouldn''t take it as an opportunity for them to try to misuse the opportunitythat she had given them .

    Because the truth was that she wasn''t going to be giving them another.

    She knew that she would have to call in Andrew and Joyce in order for them to help her with the implementation of her n.

    She asked one of the workers to call them over and she waited in her office gesturing for them toe in.

    She was pulled out of her thoughts a whileter when she heard the sound of a sharp knock on her door. She cleared her throat as she straightened her back and adjusted herself in her seat.

    She watched quietly as they stopped for a few seconds before they pulled the door open and they cautiously made their way into the room.

    They had weary looks on their faces as they looked towards her with a slight uncertainty. "You called for us princess." Andrew said to her hesitantly.

    She hummed as she nodded her head at him in response before she gestured for them to take a seat.

    They didn''t know what she had called them in for but she never did unless it was to tell them what they were doing wrong or for her to give them more orders.

    They had been working extra hard in order to keep the business running and to make sure that she was fully satisfied but it never seemed to be quite enough for her.

    She always had a reason toin about everything and it was draining for them to see that they were putting in all of the work.

 Chapter 432 432

    <h4>Chapter 432 Chapter 432 </h4>

    ?She always had a reason toin about everything and it was draining for them to see that they were putting in all of the work but she wasn''t giving them the credit where it was dye and when they deserved it.

    They watched as she pulled open one of the drawers of her desk before she retrieved a flyer.

    She slung it across the take and ced it down in front of the two of them.

    Joyce ran his gaze over the flyer and she saw that it was an ad for the Smith family seeking more workers.

    That they were offering higher wages for a shorter work time. He widened his eyes at the sight as he contemted whether or not the words were true.

    ''Is this real." Joyce asked.

    Candice hummed at him in response before shrugging her shoulders at him in response. "Yes well it is and the workers are already falling for it. They have already started drifting away from your factories and they are going back to the Smiths." She said to them and she watched as the both of them gulped as they sucked in deep breaths and widened their eyes.

    They knew that it was trouble and she wasn''t going to like the fact that they had allowed that to happen.

    "So what does this mean." Andrew asked her.

    She gritted her teeth at him as she sent him a deep re. "how about you tell me what you are going to do about this. Bow are you going to solve this." She asked them.

    Andrew and Joyce looked between each other as they tried to figure out what to say to her. However the truth was that they weren''t sure how to respond to her.

    Instead Andrew scratched the back of his head as he gulped deeply before sucking in a deep breath as he managed to find the words to answer her.

    "Well princess we don''t know how to do it. How about we threaten to take them down." Her said to her in a suggesting tone.

    She shook her head at them in response as she tsked.

    "That is my problem with you. You are thinking too near sighted and not looking at the bigger picture. Threatening them may have worked in the past but it will not work now. They have grown a back one and they know that our opponent as are able to offer them something much better. They won''t being back." Candice said to them,

    She watched as they gulped furrowing their brows before looking towards her intently. "Well if they aren''ting back then what does that mean for us. How are we going to be able to keep thepany afloat. Everything is going toe crashing down if we aren''t careful." Joyce said to her and she could sense the panic in his tone.

    Candice rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "We are going to have to give them an offer that they can''t refuse. They are going to have no choice but toe back to us." She said to the two of them.

    The two of them couldn''t help but furrow their brows at her words as they stared at her strangely.

    "What does that mean?" Andrew asked her after a moment.

    "It mean as that we are going to do exactly what the Smiths are doing but we are going to do it better. We are going to lower our work hours and we are going to increase our wages. I don''t care what you do as long as you make sure that the workerse back to us." She said to them.

    She watched as they turned towards each other hesitantly as one of them bit down on their lip lightly.

    She wondered what it was that was going?through their heads as she hated it when they ran around the bush.

    "Tell me what it is?" She asked them as she watched as the two of them gulped as Joyce reached out to scratch the back of his head.

    "Well the thing is that we can''t exactly do that." He said to her.

    She felt her anger bubble up inside of her as she sent him a deep re.

    "Why can''t you do it.?I thought that you would do anything to ensure that you were able to secure yourpany. That I was your princes s and you were indebted to me and therefore you would do anything that I were to ask from you." She said to them in a raised tone.

    She watched as Joyce shuffled backward slightly on his feet before he shook his head lightly at her.

    "No don''t get us wrong princess. Ewe do love you and we are indebted to you but we just can." He said to her.

    "And why is that?. Why aren''t you able to carry out this simple task that I have asked of you." why is it that you think that you can go against me now." she said to them as her voice got louder in the end.

    "We don''t have the money:" Andrew managed to announce after a long moment.

    She froze as she looked towards him with a raised brow and she turned towards Joyce as well who nodded his head in agreement as though confirming Andrew''s words.

    She scoffed at their words as she shook her head at them. "you can''t be serious really. Why do you mean that you don''t have the money. What happened to the assets and everything else that you have been keeping because of your family. How about you don''t lie to me next time and try telling me the truth instead of you trying to fool me by giving me some sort of flimsy lie." she said to them in a hissing tone.

    Joyce flinched slightly at her tone but he cleared his throat after a moment before he decided to speak up about it.

    "Yes we know that but the reality is that we have put all of our money into thispany and we have been neglecting our estates. Which means that we aren''t able to get any money from our other services because all of our workers are here focusing on the sugar. We aren''t making as much money as before and especially not enough for us to be able to get by. soon we can''t afford to be able to hire new workers and we definitely can''t afford to be able to give them an increasing their wages." Andrew said to her realistically.

    Candice was silent for a moment as she paused sucking in a deep breath before thinking over their words. She couldn''t help but gulp deeply as she thought over what they had said.

    She realized then that they were right and if they didn''t have the money then there was nothing that she couldn''t do about it. However she wasn''t going to allow Zach to get ahead of things.

    She knew that she had to do something fast before things were able to get out of control.

    "Fine then. you are both dismissed." she said to them before she shooed them away with her hands and she raised up her hands into the air before she dismissed them effectively.

    They didn''t move at first as they furrowed there. Brows before they turned around to look at each other in confusion.

    "Are you sure that you are okay princess. What do you want us to do and how do you want us to fix it." Andrew asked her,

    She shook her head at the both of them in response before she stered on a fake smile.

    "It is fine. The two of you can go like I said. I will handle this on my own." She said to them firmly.

    She watched as they stood their ground for a moment and she felt something inside of her snap. "Are you deaf or something I said go." She hissed loudly.

    She watched as they flinched before they turned around and scrambled up to their feet before hurrying to leave.

    She rubbed her temples as she tried to think about what she would do now. she knew that she was in a tight spot but she didn''t want to panic as she told herself that she was going to get herself out of it.

    She could feel herself begin to hyperventte at the thought of losing control of what she had however after a moment she shook her head as she remembered who she was and she knew there was no time for cking off.

    She thought over the situation for a few minutes as she felt a smilee over her features eventually as an idea came to her mind.

    If she wanted to get things done then she was going to have to garner the help of the governors.

    She knew that they were indebted to her and so if she were to tell them that they would have to pay her workers more they would have no choice but to do as she said.

    She decided to call upon the first governor as she wrote a letter. She sent out the first letter and was preparing the letters for the others when she heard a knock on her door.

    She cleared her throat for the person toe in and she found Lird standing at her door.

    She looked towards him with a raised eyebrow and she found herself even more confused when she found him holding a letter.

 Chapter 433 433

    <h4>Chapter 433 Chapter 433</h4>

    ?Not just any letter in fact but the letter which she had written to the governor.

    "What did the meaning of this." she asked him as she tried to keep her tone calm.

    "I intercepted the letter because I can''t let you do this.'' He said to her.

    She felt her anger boil at the fact that he was the one who had stopped her and hadn''t allowed her to go through with her ns.

    "And why are you doing that." She said to him calmly.

    She watched as he let out a sigh from his lips before tucking the letter away in his coat pocket,.

    "That is because prince f implied in his earlier letters that I have to calm you done and that I have to stop you from overreacting and doing something irrational." He said to her.

    She was silent at his words as she bit down on her lip and she knew that she couldn''t go against the princess.

    "Then if you aren''t going to let me go to the governors then how about you tell me what I am supposed to win. Tell me how I am going toe out on top on this if you insist on intercepting me. how am I supposed to suede the employees to return to my side." She said to him in a raised tone.

    She watched as he raised his hands up in surrender before he slowly nodded his head at her. "I know that everything may seem hard and somewhat frustrating but you need to be patient. It seems hard now bur things are going to get easier." He said to her.

    However she didn''t feel that way. "I know that you don''t see it now but you have to look at the bigger picture. What is your main goal at the end of the day and I know that you are determined to reach it. So don''t allow the minor tendencies in your path to stop you. At the end what you want is much bigger than the Smiths and you can''t waste all if your efforts and resources on them." He said to her.

    Candice was quiet as she bowed her hewed slightly.

    She knew that he was right and she shouldn''t have focused on the Smiths. But what she didn''t like was losing.

    She knew however that she wasn''t going to be able to go up against prince f and that it was best for her to stop what she was doing.

    "So what does that mean. That you want me to put stop this and end my battle with Zach and the Smiths." she said to him.

    She watched as Lird nodded his hewed at her in response.

    She was quiet for a while before letting out a sigh. she knew that following his instructions was the right thing to do.

    That the best thing for her to do right now was for her to call. Off the business battle that she had going on with Zach and try to find a way for them both to be able to live in some sort of peaceful agreement with one another.

    After all he had more funding now and he had more employees. Soon enough she wouldn''t be able to keep up with the market and it was much better for her to simply forfeit now with her dignity still intact.

    However she didn''t like the thought of Zach wining this. She had vowed to crush him and although she knew that I r wasn''t over for the long haul.

    "You have to let this business battle go. You have already lost against Zach and it is best for you to admit defeat graciously. Stop acting arbitrarily and think about the bigger picture. Focus on the things that matter the most to you now."

    бн

    Candice decided not to say anything about his words but she couldn''t help but feel conflicted buy what he had said. It left her frustrated that he had decided to inadvertently cut her fun and she couldn''t help but feel slightly annoyed by the fact.

    She tried to distract herself by going on to do other things but the truth was that no matter how hard she tried to push off the thought of the Smiths and Zach she found herself unable to do so.

    She didn''t like the thought of losing and she hated it even more the fact that she was being forced to allow them to win.

    She knew that it would make them feel as though she was weak and she was unable to stand up for herself but she didn''t want that.

    She wanted to show them that they were undoubtedly wrong about her and even more so she wanted to make assure that they were able to eat their words.

    She decided to take a walk around town a few dayster. It had been a few days and yet she wasn''t having any more influx or employees.

    It was something which indeed left her frustrated and she didn''t know why she was having such a hard time keeping a wrap on it all.

    She knew that the Smiths on the other hand were having more and more employees.

    That was the problem that she was now left to face. She was receiving more and more orders than she could handler and yet she wasn''t having enough employees for her to be able to deal with all of them.

    Zach on the other hand was having more and more employees at his disposal but they didn''t have any of the business opportunitiesing his way.

    She thought back to what Lird had said to her and although there was a part of her that wanted to admit that his words were right.

    She didn''t want to admit defeat especially not so quickly.

    As she continued to walk she found herself standing outside the Smithspound.

    At first she questioned herself as to what she was doing there and there was a part of her that wanted to turn around and leave.

    However she was frozen in her spot when she saw Sarah pull up to the Smiths house.

    She decided to stay in the shadows in order for her to see what Sarah was up to and what she was doing there.

    She knew that she had made negotiations with Sarah earlier and she had been the one who had bought out all of her previous sugar.

    But what she didn''t understand was what exactly Sarah was doing there now. She tried to think of what her possible reason was and she found the dots slowly clicking in ce as she watched the door pull open ad Zach letting Sarah in.

    He had a smile on his face and gave her a hand shake.

    Candice couldn''t help but widen her eyes at the sight as she the realization finally dawned upon her about what was going on,

    Sarah hadn''t intended to by her out because she had fate in her business. The only reason that she had done so was because she was working with him.

    She couldn''t help but feel her heart sink at the realization as she felt a wave of anger brew deep inside of her at the veery thought.

    She couldn''t believe that she had been foolish enough to fall for it and she didn''t understand why it was that she hadn''t noticed it earlier.

    so this had been Zach''s n all along that he would work together with Sarah.

    And in the end they had managed to have Candice fooled.

    She didn''t know what it was that irritated her even more. The fact that he had gotten her to be on his sider the fact that she had been gullible enough to fall for his trickery.

    She knew that her and Zach had been in a battle with one another and in a way she had already lost but she didn''t understand why he would humiliate her and bring such an embarrassing end for her.

    She tried to brush the thoughts away as she knew that it was beast if she were to just forfeit it and give in.

    However she couldn''t get past the fact that he had used such despicable means in order for him to be able to get the best of her.

    She wasn''t one to be ashamed or to be treated like a fool and she wasn''t simply going to sit around and let them treat her that way.

    She huffed as she found herself crossing her hands over her chest with disdain.

    She may have admitted defeat and have epted the fac that she was ying at a losing game but for her this was far from over. She wasn''t about to let it all to go down the drain.

    Especially not if she had anything to do with it.

    She made a vow at that moment as she stood in front of the house and stared at themughing obliviously and enjoying their time.

    She made a vow that they were going to regret everything and they were going to wish that they had never tried to go up against her.

    He may have thought that it was mostly over for her and that she had won already but he was wrong.

    It was far from over and she was going to be there at the end of the day when their whole family was falling apart.

    She was certain that their little victory wasn''t going tost long. Because despite the fact that Zach was getting more workers and had managed to buy out all of her sugar that wasn''t going to be enough.

 Chapter 434 434

    Chapter 434  434

    ??He had lost quite a lot of money by hiring more workers and bumping up their wages. Before he could get thepany stable again and would be able to start making profit it would take a lot of time.

    And with his new idea of reducing the workers working hours it would mean that production would be shorter as they wouldn''t be working as hard.

    Although he felt as though there were several factors that were on his side at the moment she could see right through it all. She knew that his house was like oner stacked on dominos.

    It wasn''t going tost long and with the eyes of all of his otherpetitors trained on him. It was only a matter of time before he came crashing down.

    She for one knew for a fact that it wasn''t going tost and she was going to make sure that she was there for the time when it was all going to fall apart around him.

    He thought that he was going to be some sort of savior or a knight in shining armor by that wasn''t true.

    There was a reason why the good guys didn''t win because it didn''t pay off.

    He may have been able to win against his other enemies but he had never been able to face off against an enemy like her.

    He was about to he shown what it meant for him to be able to go up against an actual princess like.

    One who was cunning and patient and she didn''t care how long it was going to take her for her to be able to send him crashing down.

    She was willing to wait for as long as it would take.

    All that mattered to her was that she was able to achieve the result that she wanted and that was to take Zach down once and for all.

    She was going to make sure that she was able to take away from him everything that he desired.

    Zach may have been able to take away their supplies but she knew that this wasn''t something that was going tost long.

    She was certain that this was nothing more than a tactic and a ploy that was being put in ce buy him to cut off the chain of production for the Brown and Davis family.

    She knew that he was putting a lot of his bets on the table in order to ensure that he was able to cut them off but she also knew that doing so was going to result in severe blows on his end.

    He was putting out all of his stocks to make sure that he took them down and she knew that it was more likely than not that in doing so he was neglecting his ownpany.

    With his soul attention focused on the browns and the Davis families he didn''t have time to worry about his own assets.

    The workers may have been getting the best treatment now but she knew that was just a fa?ade and he was doing it in order for him to be able to take them in.

    But once Zach had been able to shut down the production of the Davis and Brown then he would have to resort to treating them poorly again.

    Candice knew that the workers were nothing more than amodity to Zach that he could use and dispose of as he wished and so she knew that she would be waiting for when he would grow bored of them and he would make the decision to get rid of them.

    She knew for a fact that she had nothing to worry about, it wasn''t a battle that she had to carry out with her fists any way.

    It was a game that would y out on its own and all she had to do was to be patient.

    Everything was going toe around full circle soon enough and she wouldn''t have anything for her to worry about.

    This only make her further sure of the fact that this wasn''t over for her.

    In fact it was far from it. This was just a time for her to take a break and she would have the chance to re strategize but she would have the chance to bounce back soon enough.

    She would be able to watch Zach''s n fall down on itself in just a short while and when it did she would be there to witness it all.

    She wasn''t going to allow this to deter her own moves and she knew with all certainty that she was going to bounce back after this.

    It wasn''t going to stop her from getting what she wanted and she was going to bounce right back after all of this.

    Diana couldn''t help but worry about everything that was going on.

    She could tell that Zach was struggling with the. Finances initially but she could also notice that he was making drastic decisions.

    She had been concerned about the fact that he was not only hiring more workers even though they weren''t having any buyers.

    However he was also. Paying them extra and having them work shorter hours.

    She didn''t see how that was going to be of any benefit to them in the long run,.

    Although she didn''t say the words out loud she couldn''t help but feel concerned about the certainty of his ns.

    She trusted her husband''s and she knew that he was a very smart man and that he knew what he was doing most of the time but this time around she wasn''t so sure.

    She had never seen someone do things the way that he had done before.

    She felt as though he was making arge mistake however she was aware of the fact that it wasn''t her ce to tell him that he was wrong.

    She knew that he wouldn''t listen to her anyway.

    The only person that he was ableto listen to was himself and when he set his mind to something and believed that what he was doing was the right thing then there was no one that was able to change his mind on that.

    However she couldn''t deny the fact that her own doubt was starting to get the better of her.

    Thest thing that she wanted was for the Smith family to fall apart. She would me herself for everything and that was thest thing that she wanted to consider.

    She felt as though he wasn''t thinking like a business owner.

    They weren''t making more profits and yet they were employing more workers.

    That meant that they were spending more on the workers and they were making less money as the production was going down.

    That wasn''t something that was to their benefit and although it meant that there were less workers for theirpetitors it didn''t mean that they were going to be making any more money.

    The otherpanies were losing employees yes. But he couldn''t help but wonder how long it was that they would be able to keep up with their current pay and ours.

    Although Zach had tried to make it clear that this new rules for his workers were going to be constant it didn''t seem that way and as it was expected there were a lot of people that weren''t certain how he would pull it off.

    It meant that he would have to be willing to take a lot of risks and that he would have ess to s lot of funds and at the moment that wasn''t something that they had.

    Although they did have money it wasn''t going tost them forever and they would still have tope up with a better and as more usible solution for them to curve it all.

    The Smiths weren''t making any profit at the moment and she didn''t understand what the point of a business was if they were not going to be able to make any profit.

    She felt as though they had to re strategize ande up with a better n of action that would be able to work much better for them.

    Diana decided that she couldn''t keep quiet about it anymore and decided to go andfort Zach about it.

    She didn''t know how he was going to react about everything but she couldn''t keep quiet and continue to act as though she was unaware of everything.

    She was worried and she would have to do something about it before he had their empire crashing down and he destroyed everything.

    She came to a stop in front of his office as she let out a sigh form her lips before sucking in a deep breath as she knocked her palm against the door.

    She waited for a moment before she heard him clear his throat as though letting her know that she coulde in.

    She stepped into the room cautiously watching as he raised his head up to look at her and she turned to him cautiously.

    "What is it?" he asked her and at first she shook her head. Not wanting to upset him.

    She could see that he was going through some of the paperson his desk and from the frown on his face that he wasn''t in a foul mood.

    She watched as he sighed before dropping the papers and he turned back to look at her. e in I am your husband and that means that you can tell me anything." He said to her.

 Chapter 435 435

    <h4>Chapter 435 Chapter 435</h4>

    ?She let out a sigh from her lips as she allowed herself to slip into the seat that was positioned in front of his desk.

    "What makes you think that there is something bothering me. You should know that there is nothing wrong with me and I am perfectly fine."?She said to him in a defensive tone.

    She watched as he looked towards her with a raised eyebrow. "Well the reason is because everyone that works through that door seems to have a reason toin and they seem to have an opinion of how I am doing things around here. I know that is most likely an opinion that you share. So how about you just tell me what you think I am doing wrong." He said to her calmly.

    "Well I don''t think that you are doing wrong."?She announced.

    Her looked towards her with a raised eyebrow as he was surprised by the reality of what she had said to him.

    "Oh really. Then what was the point of this." He asked her as he turned his attention towards her.

    "I know that this isn''t going to end well. I feel as though that these ns of yours aren''t going to end well." She said to him and she watched as he hummed at her in response.

    "So you are saying that you don''t trust in my ns." Her asked her and he watched as she shook her head at him in response before letting out a sigh form her lips and running a hand through her hair.

    "That isn''t what I am trying to say. It is just that it is hard toprehend how you increasing the wages of the employees as well as increasing the number of employees is going to help us in the long run. We aren''t making profits by increasing their wages and reducing their work hours." She said to him and he didn''t react to her words however he knew that she held some serious concerns and her words did hold a level of truth to them.

    "So what do you suppose that I do then. Do you want us to fire the poor leave them unemployed and increase their work hours so that they will be working in bad conditions." He said to her and she couldn''t help but shake her head at him ibn response before letting out a sigh form his lips.

    "That isn''t what I mean. I am just trying to say that making the workers work less hours and increasing wages isn''t going to help outpany it is going to reduce our profit as and it is going to make sure that they aren''t able to meet up with the needs of the sugar industry." She said to him.

    However he shook his head at her in response. "You are wrong. I know that you are thinking about what is able to benefit the family and that is good but you have to think about others. you have to think anout the people. When they see what we are doing for them they are going to be grateful and they are going to be more motivator for them to work harder. You have to have a little faith not just in me but in them too. I know that they will be able to do it."

    There was a part of Zach that knew that she would have some unsettling feelings about it all and he knew that she did have a right to be worried but he on the other hand didn''t feel any of that. Because in realty he only smiled towards her.

    He had his own n and he knew that it was full proof and he knew that it wouldn''t fail.

    They were foolish to think that he would only have one business n because the truth was that her had multiple ns.

    This was just the first one and incase it didn''t work out for him he knew that he had a backup n that he hadn''t told anyone about yet.

    He wasn''t worried about the efficient of the workers. He knew in his heart that they would get the job done and they would do the work right there way that he needed them to do.

    He sighed as he looked back towards Diana. He knew that she was going to be question and he didn''t me her for that at all.

    It only made sense that she would be worried about what he had nned.

    His own n was to gather as many of the workers as he could.

    He wanted to make it so that the Brown and the Davis families were out of employees and he wanted to make sure that he was able to take away as many of their workers as he possibly could.

    He would then be just like a leader for them. They would be under his rule and they would all work for him.

    He knew that one of his main problems at the moment was the fact that he didn''t have the support of the people.

    However he knew that if he were to do this it would be the fastest way for him to be able to gather their support.

    He understood that that n of his was full proof and the main thing that he could do in order for him to get on top of thepetition was for him to win the interest of the masses.

    He knew that it would require quite a bit of sacrifices on his part but things like that were necessary and he knew that they were going to pay off in the end and that was why he wasn''t worried about any of that as he knew that it was all going to work out fine in the end.

    He knew that the reason that Candice was thriving so well was because she had the people on her side.

    However if he was to take away the support of the people that she had and have them turn their attention towards his side then things would be much different.

    She wouldn''t have that. Power anymore and he would be the one that would be in control.

    He couldn''t help but smirk at the thought of that. He felt a smirke over his features at the thought of her being the one to lose everything.

    She thought that she was the one who was in control now but she was wrong.

    Soon enough everything would be flipped and would turn against her and she wouldn''t even know what hit her.

    He chuckled slightly at the thought as he shook his head.

    It was never a good idea for anyone to underestimate him because in theend they would alle to realize just how wrong they were about him.

    He wasn''t one to make his ns visible but rather he was the one who worked on things in the sidelines and you didn''t know what he was doing until he struck you down.

    In the end his ultimate goal was to ensure that the Smiths were able to make their way back to the top.

    The crown was like a thorn that was on their back and he knew that they were not going to allow them get that.

    If they wanted to be able to stay on top then they would have to be able to devise a n that would ensure that they were able to take down the crown and dismantle it entirely.

    To do that they wouldn''t be able to doit by themselves and they would have to put in the work of men and women.

    That is why getting employees were necessary.

    He needed people that were going to be indebted to him and would have no choice but to be loyal to him.

    They would give them their loyalty willingly and he would have to force it out of them using fear.

    But rather it was something that he would be able to get out if him using kindness.

    That was something which was rare to find and it would form a stronger bond for him that the ones which were built out of fear.

    It may have seem as though he was stupid for what he was doing now but he knew that it was all going to pay off in the future.

    He wasn''t looking towards what was happening right now but rather he was looking towards what he could have in the future.

    And what he could have in the future was arge group of people who held him to high ord and respected him greatly.

    The people he knew that he cared for them and that he was able to help. Them out of the tough spots that they had found themselves in.

    Things like that only lead to one thing and that was loyalty.

    They knew where their allegiancesy and they knew how much. They owed to him and for that reason they would be willing to do anything for him.

    Those were the types of soldier that he needed. The ones who were willing to put their lives on the line for him and not the ones who would retreat when things got bad.

    So he wasn''t mad for increasing the wages and reducing the hours. It wasn''t even about the sugar industry but it was about the bigger battle.

    It was about the battle which had been going on for so long between him and the crown.

 Chapter 436 436

    <h4>Chapter 436 Chapter 436</h4>

    ?He knew that if he wanted to ensure that he was able to take them downpletely he would have to take proper measures and had to be certain of what he was doing.

    He needed an army for him to be able to fall back on and that was why he was doing his best in order to make sure that he had garnered all of the men and that he had them in his arsenal.

    But he knew that even if he were to exin that to Diana she wouldn''t fully understand.

    They wouldn''t able to see the vision that he had nned and what he intended. They would most likely push him away and think of it as nothing more as the mere ramblings of someone who had not been able to think past his delusions.

    That was one of the reasons why he had chosen to keep his ns it himself because he didn''t want them to go on and end up refuting him.

    However the other reason was that secrets didn''t remain secrets for long and they were able to travel very fast.

    If he were to tell her what his n was he knew for a fact that before long it would be spread around like wild fire and that was thest thing that he wanted or needed.

    He would have to keep it under wraps because he didn''t want anyone to ruin it.

    They didn''t know what his next n was ands that was perfect for him. He wanted to keep it that was because he didn''t want them affecting how he proceeded.

    Even though Christina had left Zach decided he would keep control of the truck.

    He knew that in a sense that he could have had someone else do it or he could have left it alone but he wanted to do it himself and so he continued to keep his eyes?on it.

    He didn''t know why but he wanted to make sure that nothing happened to it.

    Zach was approached by Sarah and he couldn''t help but notice the small smile that was on her face.

    "You called for me." she said to him as she crossed her hands over her chest.

    His own expression remained passive as he spoke to her. "Yes I did it is about the sugar." he said to her and he watched as she hummed before nodding her head at him in response.

    "Do you want me to give it to you." she asked him and she watched as he shook his head at her in response.

    She looked towards him in confusion wondering what he meant. "Well then what is it?" she asked.

    "I want you to act as a dealer and sell the sugar that you bought at a low price." He said to her.

    Sarah looked towards him incredulously before she spoke up. "As a dealer? So what do you mean as a sealer? I don''t know anything about dealing with sugar how about you get someone else to do it." She said to him nervously.

    He shook his head at her before he spoke up again. "No It had to be you and I need you to sell it at a low price. If I did it then the people wouldn''t buy it from me." He said to her and she sighed as she nodded her head at him.

    She knew that he was right however she didn''t want to admit it to him. "Okay that is fine but what about the prices. This is the only sugar that is in thend and that means that you can sell it at any price you want and people are still going to want to buy more of it." She said to him.

    She watched as he stiffened slightly and he quirked an eyebrow before he turned to look at her cautiously.

    "So what are you trying to say." he asked her.

    "What I am saying is that maybe you should increase your prices." she said to him and she panicked when she saw him turn his gaze away from her.

    "Look I know that you are doing all of this for the people and you are doing what you believe is best for them but how about you do something that is good for you and for the family." She said to him.

    "I am doing what is good for the family. That is all that I ever do." He said to her in a harsh tone.

    She nodded her head at him before she spoke up again after a moment. "I know that you think you are and that is greatest but you have to do more. I know that you aren''t making any more profits and although you are getting more employees you are making less money. So maybe if you increase the price you will still be able to pay your workers and you would still be able to make more money. it is a win-win situation. I am not saying it because of anything but I think that you should at least take a minute to consider it." she said to him.

    He sighed as he thought over it for a moment as she said before he shook his head after a moment knowing that him increasing the prices weren''t something that was going it get him the favors of the people.

    The only ones that it would be helping would be him and the Smiths.

    He couldn''t be selfish and think only about how things would help him and the family. He had to consider the people. The same people that he was trying to get to turn to his side.

    He knew that increasing the prices were not going to get him in their good books and they woulde to hate him.

    That would force his entire n to unravel and that was why he knew that they would have to sell it at low prices no matter what.

    "We are going to sell it at the lower prices. But we aren''t going to sell it here." he said to her.

    He watched as she furrowed her brows at him in confusion.

    "Then where are we going to sell it." She asked him.

    She watched as he let out a sigh before rubbing his temples. "We are going to have to go look elsewhere. The Byzantium market and the neighboring markets are currently very saturated." He exined to her.

    She hummed at him in response before nodding her head at him and letting out a sigh form her lips.

    "So what does that mean then. What do we do about it." She asked him.

    "That means that we have to search elsewhere. We have to go outward for better market. Thepetitors have already managed to fill the markets of Byzantium and all of the cities nearby which means that we are going to have far too muchpetition and because of that we aren''t going to be able to sell our market well enough. We will have to go out further in order to find the people that will be willing to buy from us. " he exined to her.

    Candice had managed to take over all of the cities that were in their neighborhood and that meant that if they were to try and sell their product there they wouldn''t have much luck. Because the people were already aware of Candice and they were more aware of what she was selling than what the Smiths were selling.

    It was no point as it wasn''t going to be well for them.

    "This way then we will be able to make some actual profit from the business. We aren''t going to have to be scraping at the bottom and managing on the scraps that Candice had left behind." He exined to her. Shae let out a sigh from her lips before she nodded her head at him in response.

    She guessed that he did have a point and that his words were the truth.

    "Well I guess that you are the boss. And so you know what you want to do." She said to him and she watched as he hummed at her before nodding his head at her in response.

    He chose to ignore her original snide remark as he decided to ster on a smile instead. "You and everyone else seem to be more worried about how we are going to get more profits and so this is me assuring you that this is the way for us to be able to get everything that we are looking for." He said to her.

    She sighed as she nodded her head before choosing to stay quiet. maybe she shouldn''t have said anything about It before.

    She should have known that he would have had a n b and a c and that he would do everythingthat he could to make sure that they were back upon their feet.

    бн

    However whilst the Smiths were doing everything that they could to ensure that they stayed strong the people around them were doing everything that they could to ensure that they fell apart.

    The members of the government as well as Candice were keeping their eyes out on them as they were almost certain that they were going to fail.

    It was inevitable and there was a reason why others had never tried to do something like that before. It was because it wasn''t going to work out.

    His biggest fail was thinking that he could really on the people and empower them.

 Chapter 437 437

    Chapter 437  437

    ??They were only going to turn their backs on the hands that feed them eventually. It wasn''t something that was wishful thinking on his part but rather it was something that had already been ensured.

    Candice was at the edge of her seat as she watched the markets. She could see that the Brown and Davis family has their stocks stagnant and although they weren''t crashing down at least they were on a steady level.

    However she didn''t like that. She wanted to see them going up and that seemed to be the opposite of what was going on.

    Sher had been keeping her eye on the Smiths stocks as well and she had thought that she would see them starting to crash by now. However she was wrong and that wasn''t what seemed to be happening.

    Instead it seemed as though their stocks were rising. She didn''t understand how that was happening and she knew that it made no sense for her to still be doing well.

    She groaned in frustration as she felt her own anger re.

    She had expected that since he had reduced the work hours of his employees that it would mean that they wouldn''t be able to meet up with the daily production demands.

    However that wasn''t the case. It seemed as though the shorter work hours were pushing them to work even harder.

    They were putting out all of their efforts and he was producing more and more sugar.

    She felt as though she was losing control over everything and it angered her the fact that things were not going the way that she had nned for them to go.

    The workers were almost seeming to perform magic as they were able to perform the tasks that they had previously done in on day in a small time frame of less than eight hours.

    She had no idea how they were doing that and it was something that she struggled toprehend properly.

    Things weren''t seeming to be going the way that she had nned and her n had been for her to be able to secure his downfall.

    It didn''t make sense that the workers were doing less hours and yet they were able to produce such high output for her she didn''t understand and she was unable to make sense of that and something told her that there was something that wasn''t entirely adding up.

    What was even more peculiar weas that even on top of that they do get breaks during the day and even after the breaks instead of them to be drained orzy they are even more energized and they became more driven to work.

    That had never been the case with her own employees. She pushed them to work harder had gave them no breaks but they were less productive that was why she was forced to push then harder.

    There was no way that cutting down on their hours was what then drove them to produce more work output. She knew that there had to be something else.

    There was most likely a secret that she was unaware of something that he was using against them to keep them on his side.

    She just had to figure out what it was and she was yet to understand it at the moment.

    Although they were not making a lot of profit in Byzantium and other cities because there was a lot ofpetition they were still making a lot of profit outside.

    They were able to make more money in the cities outside where there wasn''t a lot of sugar market and their profits were starting to grow exponentially.

    This had also caused the service industries to also grow and they had also bedew able to garner a huge clientele from there.

    This meant that the Smiths were no longer in a tough spot and they were no longer barely scrapping by and struggling to make ends meet. But rather it was quite the opposite as they were able to do well for themselves.

    They were slowly restoring their empire and taking it back to the glory that it once had.

    Even in Byzantium now the civilians were changing their opinion on Zach.

    Their gazes were turning away from loving and being in support of the royal family but they were instead more focused on Zach and the Smiths.

    They had seen what he was doing for the people and the fact that he was the one who cared for the poor. And she cared for the workers and because of that they loved him and treasured him.

    In fact they saw him as some kind of hero.

    This wasn''t good for Candice as it meant that she was losing wone of her strongest powers that she had. The one thing thar she could rely on the most and was the most important thing for her was the fact that she knew that she had the power of the people on her side

    That was something that she could use against Zach because that was something that she had more than him and it gave her more leverage over the people.

    However much to her disdain. She knew that she could no longer pull that card because that was something that she no longer hand.

    Now the people were slowly slipping through her hands as they seemed to be taking more interest in Zach.

    She knew that she had to get things under control fast before they got any further out of control and she would have to find a way to work around things before she was swept under the rug.

    The people of the city however were overjoyed with what the Smiths family was doing for them.

    In. the past they were forced to live in fear as they were forced to mmer in the shadows too afraid to act and so anything that would upset the hunter family.

    They were too poor to stand against the hunter family but now that they had the Smiths they knew that they had someone to rely on.

    The Smiths were finally taking a stand for them and they were showing them that they had rights indeed and they could live a good life.

    For that they were ever grateful to the Smiths and everything they had done fort them as they had worked towards freeing them from the shackles of having to be under the hunter family.

    With them working for the Smiths they were given freedom and they weren''t treated like ves that were built toserve them but for once they were treated as though they were people with personalities as well as feelings and they were meant to be considered when decisions were made.

    The people were slowly pulling away from the hunters and they no longer found a need to live in fear of them or to mmer in the shadows afraid of what they would do to them.

    For once they wanted to stand up for themselves and decided how they would run their own lives.

    They were now receiving more benefits than they could have evert imagined that they would get before. It was almost unbelievable for them to imagine that they would be able to live a free life the way that they were.

    At first Zach''s kindness to the people didn''t have much of an opinion on how the people were able to view him.

    However when Princess Candice began to stop people from quitting working for the browns and Davis there were some people that even turned their anger towards the princess.

    They saw it as her being the one who was provoking Zach and she was causing an unnecessary war.

    To them she didn''t care about the people or the flow of the money in their system.

    She made them feel as though she was the one who was ruining the economy of the city.

    She was destabilizing everything by engaging in such a battle with Zach and that was thest thing that the people wanted.

    In the end the most important thing to them was to ensure that they made money and what happened around them didn''t affect them or their ie.

    The people were soon starting to open their eyes to the truth.

    They could see that the government was working with the princess and they never truly cared about the citizens.

    They didn''t seem to care about helping the citizens in building themselves up.

    And they didn''t care about the development of the city.

    The princess didn''t seem to care about then either and because of that they found themselves turning away from the monarchy as well as the government systems.

    There was only really oner group of people that cared about the city and that was the Smiths.

    They were the ones who were trying to benefit the city.

    They had set up the sugar production industry and set up a new way for the people to make money.

    They had also provided jobs for the people and gave them high wages and free time for them to still be able to live their lives.

    Although the princess had tried to show the people that the Smiths were no good and that they weren''t actually trying to help them.

    The only people that seemed to not care about the welfare of themon man was the government in itself.

    It was the one that seemed to be intent on weighing the people down and. Trying to convince them that they were better of scraping at the bottom buy working for lower rates.

 Chapter 438 438

    Chapter 438  438

    ??Rather than them being able to work for the Smiths where they knew they would be paid much more and he able to make a lot more money.

    бн

    Although at the start Candice still continued to hold onto the hope that she would be able to suede the people into wanting to buy her things soon turned out to be the exact opposite of that.

    Even though at the beginning it seemed as though there were only a few individuals that were openly showing their support for the Smiths.

    soon ENOUGH THAT changed. As more and more people began to get brave and made the decision to stand up for themselves. More people took on the initiative that they no longer wanted to be associated with the browns or the Davis families.

    They could now see clearly that they weren''t after the interest of the people but rather for their own.

    They realized that they Had been wrong for turning their attention away from the Smiths before and they saw now that the one that they should have been buying from were them.

    If there were any people that they should have been doing their best in order to avoid then it was the browns and Davis. They could also see now that the governors and the princess weren''t trying to help them out either.

    They were only getting involved for their own interests and they didn''t care for the interests of the people. The realization was one that brough them pain as they came to realize the reality of the fact.

    And that was the reason why they knew that it was best of them to associate with the Smiths instead.

    Zach was right and the key to the sess of one of thepanies was for them to be. Able to win the interest and the affection of the people because it was the one thing that would pay off in the end.

    At the beginning it may have seemed as though they were following a lost cause but after some time they hade to learn that was far from the truth and that the people were the ones who came to decide in the end which business it was that came out on top.

    And also they decided which ones ended upingcrashing down.

    And as for the Smiths art that very moment their own business was booming and it was growing. Much faster than any of them had ever imagined.

    The people hadpletely turned thewier attention away from the otherpetitors and they were only interested in buying from the Smiths.

    They saw them as a group of individuals who were intent on helping them and they wouldn''t do anything in order to cheat them or to do anything wrong.

    They would be doing whatever they could for the benefit of the people and that was why it was that same group of people that they were concerned about were the ones who had been intent on helping them out.

    But despite the fact that the people no longer cared for the princess they didn''t dare to say it out loud.

    Although they knew for a fact that if they were to speak up more and stand upright out against her they would get punished,.

    They knew that they couldn''t risk that and so they would have to keep their support or the Smiths a secret.

    However most of them had still managed to withdraw their support for the princess. They were starting to see her real colors and they were not interested in getting involved in her war with the Smiths.

    She was risking them just so that she could win as battle that she had started.

    They would no longer find excuses for her behaviors and that was why they had turned their support the other way and had decided to support the Smiths.

    Although they knew that they had to do it in secretly but the secrets wouldn''t stay hidden for long as it as clear that they were starting to buy more from the Smiths and their stocks were slowly rising back up.

    The stocks of the princess however wasn''t going up as it seemed as though she wasn''t getting any more customers withing the city and the people weren''t too keen on buying from her.

    Candice soon came to realize what was going on.

    She could see that she had lost the hold that she had on the people and they were no ;longer interested in following her everymand. Instead they seemed to turn their attention instead towards the Smiths.

    She had tried to get their attention back on her by offering less work hours but it was tooter for that as the people had already lost trust in her and the governors.

    She knew that she couldn''t use fear in order for her to do her best to force them back into her fold.

    She knew that it would be able to work for a short time on some but there were those that wouldn''t bend to her will.

    She had already tried everything that was within her power which she possibly could and nothing seemed to be working,.

    This was the one thing which left herpletely helpless as well as frustrated.

    She didn''t like the fact that she was losing and the fact that Zach was the one that had the upper hand.

    However it. Didn''t matter how hard she tried to deny it or for her to pretend as though that wasn''t what was going on she knew that was the truth.

    Zach had won against her in this battle and she had lost.

    And if she didn''t stop the fight right now then she would have lost the people entirely.

    She knew that wasn''t something that she could risk happening. She didn''t want to risk losing all of the people as she knew that it wouldn''t look good for her.

    She had to stop right. now and focus on winning back the people which she had lost.

    She also knew that she couldn''t go after Zach now. The people had been turned to his side and she knew that been if she were to give orders against him they wouldn''t be enforced.

    Thest thing that the people wanted was for them to go against Zach and she knew that they wouldn''t do anything that would cause him harm or that would hinder his business.

    The power as well as the control that she once had on the people was slipping right through her finger and there was nothing that she could do about it.

    Instead she was left helpless.

    Her city was falling apart and she was quickly losing control; of it with each day that passed. She was forced to watch from the sidelines as everything around her fell apart and she knew that there was nothing that she could do about it.

    She couldn''t believe how she had gotten to this point. She had thought that she was smarter than this and that she was able to outsmart Zach.,

    After all she had seen many like him fall because of their ego however she didn''t understand how he had managed to y and outsmart her.

    The fact that she wasn''t able to have any control of the situation and she felt as though it was falling apart was the one thing that left Candice frustrated more than ever.

    She thrived on the fact that she knew that she was able to have control and yet now she felt as though she was losing it all.

    Sher couldn''t help but groan in frustration at the very thought as she tugged on her hair and ran an angry handover her face.

    She couldn''t allow him to win in the bigger picture. She wouldn''t be able to live with herself if he did.

    He may have seemed strong at the moment but she was much stronger than him in the long run both mentally and physically and she was going to make sure that he didn''t win in the ,long run.

    She wasn''t one to give up and simply because she had met a bump in the road it didn''t mean that she was ready to throw in the towel and give it all up.

    Sher wasn''t done until she had so herself and she was far from it.

    She was determined and she was stubborn and one of the things that she hated and it irritated her the most was when she got upstaged and that was something that she wasn''t going to stand for.

    Despite Candice''s own loses and thefact that she had yed a losing game against Zach for the rest of the Byzantium people things were looking good for them.

    Under the control of Zach the economy of the city was goring at an rming rate and it was as though all of the troubles that the Smiths had been facing seemed to vanish.

    Zach was making a lot of money for the Smiths and the city as well and he was also providing opportunities for the people to make money as well.

    He wasn''t only helping himself and the Smiths but he was helping the people as well as the city atrge.

    He was considered a hero and the people felt as though they were indebted to him. They felt as though he was the one who had saved them and they wouldn''t have been able to make it this far without him.

    For that fact they were beyond grateful and they were able to see all the good things that he had done for them.

 Chapter 439 439

    Chapter 439  439

    ??That was another reason why they were so indebted to him and they were so determined to work for him.

    They could see what he had done for them even when he was at his lowest and they were willing to help him when he was at his own lowest.

    Despite the fact that Candice could see that Zach was winning the hearts of the people on the city she knew that what she wanted to win wasn''t the business battle between the two of them.

    In the end what her and the rest of the royal family was for them to win the battle at the border. Zach may not have realized it yet but indirectly what he was doing including his actions were working towards helping his enemies.

    He had thought that he was too smart to be fooled by Candice but what he didn''t realize was that he had fallen right into her trap.

    She was using him and his industry to generate more money for the city.

    The city was making more and more money and the revenue that they were making form their taxes was being pulled into getting more weaponry and machinery for the war.

    She could also see that people were now more willing to pay their taxes.

    Before they weren''t making a lot of money and paying taxes was hard for them as there were a lot of them that couldn''t afford it.

    As for now with Zach''s employment scheme they felty as though they owed the city for everything and they were in even more of a hurry to pay their taxes.

    The royals had been on Candice''s neck in order for her to be able to find a new source of founding and ways for her to make money.

    Although the Davis and brownpanies were making money for her it was starting to slow down but now that Zach was back up and running that process was now much shorter.

    He didn''t realize it but his actions were helping her out and to was making it much easier for her to win in the war.

    Despite the fact that she had lost the battle against Zach she was reminded of the fact that due tohis own actions she was able to win the long term battle that was being waged at the border and so because of that she knew that she couldn''t be entirely too upset about it all.

    Sher knew that it was time for her to give up her battle with Zach. It was time for her to focus on the bigger picture as everyone around her seemed to tell her over and over again.

    She came to realize that to some extent they were in fact right and it was time to stop beating around the bushes.

    She had to do what she should have thought of doing when all of this had started. She knew that she needed to go and that she had to leave.

    However she couldn''t deny the fact that she was intrigued by Zach.

    She had faced many people who had been intent on destroying her and although all of them hade with their full confidence none of them had been capable of taking her down.

    She couldn''t deny that she was intrigued now. She was tempted to meet this man Zach who had what it took for him to being her down.

    It was almost humorous the fact that she had bever met him. Thew man that had been able to bring her down and destroy everything for her.

    The one that had proven that she wasn''t in fact invincible and she was capable of being defeated.

    There was a part of her that wished that she would be able to. see him. That she could catch a glimpse of the man. Man who had been able to take her down.

    But it seemed that was never going to happen. Thest thing that she wanted was for him to be able to see her at her lowest.

    For him to see the defeated look on her face and for him to be able to realize that he had in fact been the one who had taken her down. She knew that he would be able to revel in the sight and that he would love to see her like that.

    But she wasn''t going to give him the benefit of being able to see her like that. She was much better and much stronger than that.

    And although he had won she was going to leave with one thing that he wasn''t going to be able to take away from her and that was her dignity.

    She wondered what he in fact looked like if he was as strong and as cocky as he appeared to be.

    Part of her wished that he was nothing more than a coward that tried to hide behind a screen. She didn''t know what it was about him. Or about all of this but there was a part of her that felt curious and she wanted to know.

    She shook her head at her thought as she knew for a fact that she was better off not knowing. She knew that it would do her no good for her to find out who he was and it might have even pushed her to stay further.

    That wasn''t what she needed, she had already made up her mind that she needed to go and she knew for a fact that it was also her time to do so. She let out a sigh from her lips as she slouched her shoulders before she decided to start getting ready to leave.

    She had thought that leaving the city would have been easy for her. After all the city wasn''t home to the fondest moments for her.

    However she happened to be surprised by just how attached she had managed to grow fond of the ce.

    She knew that there woulde a time and a day when she may want to return but today wasn''t that time and for mow she was going to have to leave because if she did stay behind it would end up being right she lost even more of what she had left.

    She had to go in order to preserve herself as well as her family and for her to be able totake care of the little that she had left.

    She decided that the best time for her to leave the Byzantium city was in the darkness of night.

    Itmeant that she would be able to sneak out without getting too many questions from the people and it also meant that she would be able to go without anyone giving her much trouble.

    That was what she wanted more than anything.

    For her to. Be able to get in and out without being asked questions and without her being able to run into anyplications.

    However despite the fact that that was wheat she had wished and what she wanted more than anything she knew that was a far cry from the reality and she would have to be careful if she wanted to get passed the people and out of the city without her being detected by anyone.

    That was why she knew that the best time for her to leave was in the darkness of night as it would endure that no one would have been able to catch wind of her and she would have been able to get in and out of there without any trouble.

    She made her way out of her castle in the nket of night as she decided to leave on that day.

    She wore a hood to cover her face so that she wouldn''t be able to get detected by anyone else as she made her way out of the city.

    However as she was leaving she decided that she would pass by the Smiths home onest time.

    She had allowed for her instincts to get the better of her and just for once. just one time she hoped that she would be able to get a look at him.

    She wanted to see the man who had been responsible for everything. The man who had her forced into a corner and the man who had her questioning all of her thoughts.

    She wanted to see who it was who had been able to take her down silently and without breaking a sweat and just as she came to. A stop in front. Of the Smiths mansion she saw his tall figure looming by the door.

    She stood back hoping that she would be able to stay in the shadows undetected as she stared at the outline of his back.

    For a moment she wished that he would turn around so that she could get as better look at him however he didn''t.

    She knew that this was for the best and thest thing that she would have wanted or desired was for him to catch her peeping in on him.

    This was for the best and it was better for all of them if everything were to stay how it was.

    She was able to leave without him seeing her and no one else would have to catch on to the fact that she had failed and she had decided to leave because she was ashamed of her having to face her problems.

    The only person that she cared about preserving at the moment was herself and the city would have to take care of its own.

 Chapter 440 440

    Chapter 440 440

    She wasn''t in fact running away if that made any sense. She was leaving while she still had her dignity intact in order for her to ensure that nothing else happened to her.

    But that didn''t mean that it wads over and that didn''t mean that she wasn''t going toe back. Quite the opposite in fact because the truth weas that she was going to be back.

    And when she returned she was going to be more equipped and this time she was going to be more ready to be able to take him down.

    She may have had arge ego but that was one of the things which drove her further because it meant that she wasn''t one to give up. It meant that despite whatever was thrown her way she would continue to stand firm, and she wasn''t going to allow anything to happen to herself.

    Because in the end it was every man for themselves and before she could think of protecting the people, she would have to think about what was best for her.

    --------------------

    Ever since Brittany joined the Smith family she had been very popr because of her generous heart and voluptuous figure.

    She knew that her figure was one of the things that cause all of the men to be attracted to her and although she did enjoy the attention that she got fort it. She didn''t allow it to get to her head.

    She was very kind and she treated everyone that was around her with the sweetest of hearts and the outmost respect.

    The people loved her for this and that was because of the fact that. In these days people like her were very hard toe by and because of that they had to cherish her.

    As for her curvaceous figure that was something that she did her best not to exploit. But it seemed as though she was making use of it without even trying.

    Every time that she asked someone to help her with something that would only take one small look towards her and she would find them drooling at the mouth and she would find them almost falling to their knees as they seemed almost desperate to please her.

    That was the one thing that she didn''t like. She didn''t want to have any form of special treatment. In fact she wished that they would simply trust her like they would anyone else but it seemed that was never going to happen.

    She didn''t want to be seen as someone who was using them and so because of that she would often turn down the gifts that she was given and push them away.

    That wasn''t the reason that she was working in the castle.

    It wasn''t because she wanted to seek the favor of the men. In fact the most important thing to her was her princess and she wanted to be there for her no matter what.

    She had been a loyal friend to her. Princess and she was willing to do anything that she asked her to do without question. And maybe that was why Carol kept her around because she was so keen on having someone who was loyal to be around her.,

    However carol on the other hand despite the fact that she had enjoyed her loyalty very much and liked the fact that she continued to show her determination to serve her didn''t like the fact that it seemed as though she was throwing everything of hers away in order for her to please her.

    She didn''t mean to be the cause of any happiness on her end to be deterred. She wanted Brittany to be sessful and to find someone that would make her happy.

    She didn''t want for her loyalty to her to end up blinding her judgment and stop her from finding love with someone and even eventually working towards starting a family with that person.

    She wanted to be the one who drove her towards finding happiness rather than her to be the one who pushed her away from getting it.

    And that was why she wanted her to stop rejecting the gifts that she was giving and for her to stop pushing asway her suitors. Although she wouldn''t just agree to each and every one of them.

    Thest thing that she wanted was for her to get up and turn each and every one of them down.

    Carol decided that it was best for her to tell Brittany what was happening and what she wanted of her.

    as carol sat in her room whilst Brittany brushed out her hair she decided that it was best for her to say something. The words had been eating her up from the inside and she knewthat if she didn''t say anything or do something about it she wouldn''t be able to live with the guilt and the what ifs that were bound to swirl through her head.

    "Look I know what is happening." Carol started to say to her.

    She watched as Brittany stopped for a moment as she looked towards her with a furrowed brow in confusion.

    "What do you mean princess? I think that you are going to have to be a bit more specific than that." she said to her with a chuckle.

    However the princess only shook her head at her as she didn''t seem to share her sense of humor.

    "I know that there have been numerous suitors that have beening your way but you have been turning them down." She said to her and she watched as Brittany stiffened for a moment.

    she pulled her hand away from the princesses hair as she began to bite down on her lip slightly.

    "I don''t know what you are talking about-," she started to say btu she was cut off by the sound of a knock on the door.

    She looked towards the princess for a moment in confusion wondering if there had been a package for her but there hadn''t been one that she knew of.

    She slowly walked over to the door and she was able to pull it open to find one of the guards standing there.

    He was holding a small box with a ribbon tied to the top of it.

    "What is this." she asked him.

    She watched as he gulped before refusing to keep eye contact. "it is a gift for you." He said to her as his voice echoed through the room.

    She turned towards the princess for a moment as though wondering if it was for her however she only shook her head at her in response. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Is it for Carol ." She asked him unsure as there was a part of her that wished that he would simply say yes.

    however much to her disgruntled dismay he only shook his head at her. "the package is for you Brittany. It is from a suitor and they say that I must not say their name." He said to her and she couldn''t help but groan.

    She couldn''t believe that they were starting to have items delivered to the princess''chambers now. She was tired of having to push them away and say no to them even though they didn''t seem to want to listen to her.

    "Take it back,. Tell him thank you but I don''t want it I am sure there is another beautifuldy that he can give it to." She said to him and she watched as the guard seemed to contemte hewer words for a moment.

    However after a moment he bowed his head and turned to leave. But before he could the voice of the princess calling out from behind him stopped him in his spot.

    "Wait stop." Carol called out as the two of them turned to look at her.

    "Yes." He asked her cautiously. She hummed as she looked towards the package that was in his hand and gave him a smirk.

    "You don''t have to tasker it with you. I think that you can ce it there." She said as she gestured towards the side table in the room.

    She watched as Brittany''s eyes widened as she began to shake her head from side to side.

    "No you don''t-," however she didn''t get to finish her sentence. As he made his way inside and ced it down before turning around to leave.

    He gave the princess a slight bow before turning around to walk away.

    She slowly turned around to look at her princess as she stared towards her with a furrowed brow in confusion.

    "I don''t understand. Why would you do that, princess?" She asked her.

    "Well I just asked you to exin to me what was going on and you told me that it was nothing." Carol said and Brittany couldn''t help but blush lightly as she turned her face away.

    "I know you have been turning down suitors because of me and I demand that you tell me why." Carol said to her expectantly as she quirked an eyebrow and she crossed her arms over her chest.

    She couldn''t help but gulp in response as she ran a hand through her hair. She hadn''t been put in a tight spot like this before and she didn''t like the fact that she was being questioned because of it.

    "I don''t going on. I just don''t want the attention. It makes me ufortable and that is thest thing that I want." She said to her calmly but her voice quivered at the end.

    Thew truth was that it was a lie and that wasn''t her reason why she was rejecting the advances and the favors that were being sent her way.

 Chapter 441 441

    Chapter 441 441

    She watched as the princess hummed and she had hoped for a moment that she would fall for her excuse and that she would be able to see her own reasoning for what she had done.

    However the princess only chuckled as she shook her head at her in response.

    "I know that isn''t true. So how aboutyou try again and maybe this time you can make more of an effort by trying to tell me the truth." The princess said to her and she couldn''t help but let out a sigh form her lips as she slouched her shoulders and lowered her head slightly at her words.

    "look I know that it would be nice for me to try to entertain some of the suitors but truly that isn''t what I want. I don''t want any of that attention. I have one job and that is for me to stay in servitude to you until you no longer need me. I can''t allow my interests to waver." she said to her.

    The princess was touched by her words and sentiment. But she couldn''t help but feel bad for her.

    She had been suspicious of the fact and she had thought that the reason that she was doing everything was because of her and now she was serving to confirm that for her.

    She didn''t want her to feel as though she was indebted to her. she wanted her to be able to live her own life and be able to go through her own experienced and she knew for a fact that this wasn''t fare on any of them. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "I know that you want to please me and that you want to do anything that you can in order for you to ensure that I am happy. But I can''t be happy until you are happy and that means that want you to meet someone. someone that will sweep you off your feet and that will make you happy effortlessly. I don''t want you to have to settle for less because of me." She said to her firmly.

    She watched as something flickered within her gaze before she let out. A sigh and she nodded her head at her slowly.

    "I know that you want the best for me and that is why I am so determined to serve you because I want to do anything and everything that I can in order to please you." She said to her eagerly as she stered a smile on her face.

    Brittany nodded her head at her in response before letting out a sigh from her lips. She looked the fact that she wanted her to be happy and that she was interested in her own happiness. "And that is why I am telling you this. I want you to be happy. I know that there are some of the suitors that don''t mean you well and are only trying to use you but that isn''t the case for all of them. Some of theme with odd intentions and they do in fact want to court you. But you turning them down is not good. You are known for your good heart and that isn''t seeming to be the case at the moment. The best way for you to make me happy is by you allowing yourself to also experience some form of happiness of your own." She said to her.

    Brittany nodded her head at her in response before letting out a sigh from her lips. She looked the fact that she wanted her to be happy and that she was interested in her own happiness. And that was one of the things that made her love the princess even more.

    It was the fact that she was so selfless and it was one of the reasons that she didn''t feel anything when it came to herying her life down and allowing herself to be in full servitude to the princess.

    She knew that no matter what she would do for the princess it would be nothingpared to what the princess had done for her and that was why she was intent on continuing to serve her no matter what.

    She had grown up as a maid and she was used to being treated as a servant.

    It had been engrained in her that she was supposed to serve her master and never ask questions. Her own feelings as well as her opinions would alwayse first and so to hear princess carol say that she wanted to know how she felt and that she was interested in her own perspective of things was something that was new to her.

    It wasn''t like a switch in her mind that she would be able to turn on and off on a whim and it would take some time for her to get used I to it.

    "I am sorry princess. I didn''t think about it that way. But you know this is what I have been taught and it will take some time for me to get used to not having everything controlled for me." she said to her honestly.

    She watched as the princess looked towards her with a pointed look on her face as though she was expecting for her to say something more.

    "And because of what it is doing to you and to the men I will do my best to ept some of the gifts more." She said to her after a moment and she watched ads her face turned into a smile after a moment.

    She let out a. sigh of relief from her lips as she realized that the princess had no longer looked towards her with anger.

    Thest thing that she needed or wanted was for her to make her upset.

    She wasn''t used to being able to control her own life and to make decisions for herself that didn''t directly impact the person that she was serving.

    She was only supposed to care about her master and she only made decisions on orders that she was given.

    It would take her some time fort her to get used to everything but since the princess had insisted on her doing so she knew that she would have to try. Even if she wasn''t going to do it for herself she knew that she would have to do it for her.

    "Look I don''t want to force you into doing something that you don''t want to but I am only trying to do what is best for you. I know that you are a loyal servant but you have allowed your loyalty to cloud you and you don''t think about yourself. You only think about me and I don''t like that. I don''t want you to have to live for me. I want you to do it because you want to and it is something that you are interested in not because you want to make me happy." She said to Brittany honestly. She sighed nodding her head at her in response.

    She would agree to her words now but she knew that it would take a lot more than that for her toe around.

    It may have seemed simple enough to the princess but for her it was much harder than that and it was hard for her to break free of therules that had been engrained into her from a young age.

    Brittany didn''t answer the princess after that and she only gave her a smile and a head nod. The princess let out a sigh as she turned to look away from her.

    Although she had tried her best in order to show her that it wase okay she knew that it would take much more than that for her to be able to suede Brittany on the matter.

    It was then that she realized just how bad things were for the people.

    Although Zach had preached about equality and the fact that workers were to be treated as equals and that they were not to be treated like ves something like that was harder to implement.

    There were a few of the Smiths that were yet to treat the servants as equals and for the servants they found it strange or they found it ufortable for them to be treated as equals to the people that they worked for.

    Some of them thought that it wasa trick and they tried to revert to the old ways but Zach was adamant.

    However Zach could only give out orders and he couldn''t inertly change the workings of the brains of the people around. however he could try.

    But despite that fact and everything else that was going on things were going to be much harder for him and he would have to work harder in order for him to ensure that the people felt content and safe with him.

    It wasn''t an overnight thing for people to break free of the bonds that had been ced on them for such a long time and carol knew that too,.

    She knew that Brittany wouldn''t give into her word immediately but she was content in the knowledge that she would find reason to listen to her soon enough.

    It was just about her finding a way for her to convince her sop.

    Most of the servants were yet to get ustomed to the new workings pf things and they were still trying to figure their way around it.

    Although they were loyal to Zach and they knew that he was a good person and that whatever he was doing was what was best for them but they were still trying to wrap their heads around everything.

    Carol however could see clearly how everything was panning out and she was instructed to do Zach''s favor.

 Chapter 442

    Chapter 442

    She knew that he trended to be bogged out by such trivia and she also knew that the workers were part of her family. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    That was why it was up to her to ensure that they felt safe and that they understood that the Smiths were there for them.

    They were a family for the people where everyone was meant to be treated the same. they would have toe to realize that sooner orter.

    It was up to her to make sure that Zach''s ns panned out and that she was able to assure the servants that they were just as important as everyone else.

    --------------------------

    Zach had been busy taking care of the aftermath of defeating the royal princess. It had not been easy trying to keep the business from expanding beyond his control. He had to find a bnce between the wages he was paying to the workers and the amount of work he was getting out of them. Otherwise, he would have ended up following the same path as the princess. Thankfully, he had better business sense and a better transportation method to get rid of his worries. But he still had many other things to consider while slowly letting the business expand further. Although the business was spreading into new markets, there was barely any resistance. It was a novel product that people had only heard about. But now it was gradually bing avable to the masses at an affordable price. For that reason, there was a high need for market research and investigation. Zach felt that by observing the needs of the customers was the only surefire method of expanding a business without risk. As he didn''t have anyone under him who was capable of seeing the market trends based on the modern knowledge he had in his brain, he felt the need to go out himself and spend some time in the market to learn some more about his customers. While Zach wanted to go alone on this venture so as to avoid people making a fuss over him, Brittany was adamant on not letting him go alone. "You don''t have to follow me out. I want to keep a low profile." Zach told her his intentions so that she would not follow him as he went out. Unfortunately for him, Brittany wasn''t willing to do so. "I understand. I promise to quietly follow behind you. I won''t tell anyone about your identity." Brittany offered a halfwaypromise, but Zach was cursing in his heart. He knew that she would be like a shing beacon light when he went out. Not only was she extremely pretty but she took her job as a maid quite seriously. Even the slightest movement of her body was respectful towards her master. If she tagged along, Zach was of the opinion that his identity was as good as revealed right there and then. It was as if she wanted him to proim his status to the whole world by following him around respectfully like a royal attendant. Zach wanted to reject her outright but the hopeful expression on her face stopped the words in his mouth. He almost bit his tongue in the effort. Left with no choice, Zach left the residence to take a look into the market so that he could devise the best strategy to cope with the dynamic market demand for his product. Brittany didn''t show it on her face, but she was bursting with happiness when Zach finally agreed to take her along. Although her princess had asked her to try her best to adjust to the new reality of her life, she had been having some difficulty doing so. The reason was that she just couldn''t get used to the freedom that came with it. It felt like she had too much time on her hands, and it made her want to scream in frustration. It was hard to get rid of old habits. She wasn''t used to thinking and making decisions on her own. Now that she was free in the truest sense, she couldn''t think or do something for herself. Zach found it extremely pitiful, but he decided to give it some time. He needed to give her a supportive cushion so she would be able to find her ce in the new world. Since Brittany was also going to be following behind him, Zach found it unnecessary to try and hide himself from public view. He changed his visit from a ndestine one to a public one. Doing so would also give him an idea of the impression he had on the people. A warm wee would obviously mean that the public was either too greedy for the benefits he was giving them, or they were thankful for everything he had done for them. And he would obviously know if there was something he wasn''t doing right. The general public had a thousand ways to say that to his face. Zach asked for a carriage to be arranged for his departure. The carriage had to be casual and not too shy. He didn''t want to attract attention any more than was necessary. Only Brittany apanied him inside the carriage while the driver smacked on the horses'' backs to usher them forward. It didn''t take long before they made it to the edge of the marketce. Although the roads weren''t very narrow, it was still frowned upon to bring one''s carriage into the marketce. Even the top families in the past had to leave their carriages behind before walking on foot inside the area. It was a norm that seemed to havee into existence with time and was considered an unspoken rule. This wasn''t Zach''s first time, so he knew what he had to do. "Ask the driver to stop here. Let''s get off." ordered Zach. Brittany hastily pulled the curtain inside the carriage that kept the driver from peeking into the carriage and conveyed Zach''s orders to him. The driver instantly pulled on the reins of the horses and brought the carriage to a standstill near the edge. He jumped down from his seat and opened the carriage door respectfully before taking a few steps back to allow Zach and his maid to get off. "Don''t go anywhere. I''ll be back as soon as I am done." Zach gave the driver his instructions before walking away from the carriage under the scrutinizing gaze of the masses that seemed to be burning with the desire to scour his identity. It didn''t take long before someone figured out his identity. Not long after, there were whispers everywhere, all of them about him. It was as if these people wanted to tell him that they knew him in the most roundabout way possible. Some of the naivest ones were still afraid of him following the incident at Greend. They kept their distance while the others who were attracted by his identity as a Viscount tried to pull him towards their shops so as to make a handsome profit off the rich person. Zach politely declined their attempts to guide him to their shops. Zach wasn''t interested in every other thing. Therefore, he wanted to visit the shops manned by the Smith family and those affiliated with the Smith family so that he could interact with the consumers directly and gain feedback. The importance of consumer feedback was absolute while doing business. Any change in the market demand could be preempted through consumer feedback. He was only intending to figure out how the demand for sugar was faring with the revised prices of his product following the depression that Princess Candice had caused. Therefore, he wanted to visit the shops manned by the Smith family and those affiliated with the Smith family so that he could interact with the consumers directly and gain feedback. The importance of consumer feedback was absolute while doing business. Any change in the market demand could be preempted through consumer feedback. When Zach arrived at the establishments of his family which were located in the heart of the marketce, he was surrounded by the workers. They had long since got wind of the fact that he was paying them a visit personally. The whispers seemed to have spread through the fastest means possible. After all, it hadn''t been very long since he stepped into the marketce. Some of them were cheering happily as Zach had given them better livelihood and better working conditions that allowed them to rest and spend time with their families as well. They had experienced the work life bnce in its truest sense for the first time in their lives. How could these people not be grateful to the person who had made it all possible for them? If anything, it made them want to work even harder for the sake of this person so that they could somehow repay his favor. Since they couldn''t work overtime for him, the least they could do was to acknowledge his efforts and show their respect to him. Each of them had a wide smile on their face as they tried to approach him while spewing out severalpliments for his new policies. But Brittany stood in front of Zach like a mountain, a beautiful and desirable mountain that one couldn''t help but want to explore. "Keep your distance. Don''t dy master''s business, please." Being a maid of the royal family of Aschar dynasty, she had been trained quite well. Brittany performed her duties fervently and kept anyone from approaching Zach without his permission. Zach found it fascinating as well. It wasn''t as easy to control a mob as it seemed. Brittany had used a few words to keep the mob at a distance. Usually whenever the workers found him, it turned into a long discussion followed by several suggestions and demands. Zach wanted to avoid that for the time being.

 Chapter 443

    Chapter 443

    Although he was happy to get the support of these workers who were working hard to keep producing his product in the factory, he couldn''t give them all his attention for the time being. Sometimes, it was inconvenient for him to listen to them due to the pressing tasks he had to deal with. Such emergent interactions dyed him from carrying out those important tasks like they almost had today, if it had not been for Brittany. Zach was both a little annoyed and grateful at the same time that Brittany had decided to tag along with him. Had he been recognized on his own wandering in the marketce, the workers would have surrounded him from all sides. Who knows how long it would have taken him to escape their clutches afterwards? "Please forgive me. I am a little preupied so I cannot stop and chat with you all." As soon as Zach made his intentions known to the people, the crowd that was barely being held at bay by Brittany parted towards both sides, revealing a pathway within. Zach nodded at the crowd as if to show his appreciation before walking ahead, leaving the excited crowd staring at his back. "Thank you for understanding." Brittany wordlessly followed along, remaining one step behind him at all times. She didn''t want to give the impression that the two of them were equals. Even though Zach had told her that she was free to do as she pleased, she didn''t think that she had a high enough status to act in a carefree manner. She was a little maid with nothing to her name. It seemed that the insecurity that came with the loss of her home was keeping her from moving forward. Travelling through the marketce, Zach stopped at several shops. Some of them recognized him while some didn''t or at least pretended that they didn''t. Brittany remained alert so that no one would interrupt Zach''s business. She kept an eye out for anyone approaching the two of them using her peripheral vision. Zach appreciated her vignce and focused on the task he had set out to aplish. "Can you spare me a moment? I want to ask you a few questions if that is alright with you?" Zach stopped a consumer who had just bought a few bags of sugar and asked. The consumer was a bit startled. The middle-aged man was instantly on guard, wondering if he had done something wrong to be questioned by a stranger in the middle of the street. Zach sometimes forgot that this wasn''t his previous world where everyone understood the importance of feedback and was willing to help out any newpany that wanted to know more about its consumers. The middle-aged man was instantly on guard, wondering if he had done something wrong to be questioned by a stranger in the middle of the street. "W-Why?" The middle-aged man stuttered a bit before answering. His tone was defensive as he was unsure of Zach''s intentions. "It''s nothing much. I saw that you bought a lot of sugar. I was just wondering if you were buying it for yourself or to sell it somewhere else?" "So, that''s what you wanted to ask about? Haah~ you scared me there for a moment." The middle-aged man was instantly relieved. A smile took over his previously frigid face as he began to exin in whispering tone, "It''s too much for my family''s use alone. I am nning on selling it elsewhere. There are a few ces I have in mind where people still don''t know what this is. I n to rake in profits before someone else thinks of the same." "Are there many merchants like you who are thinking of selling sugar?" Zach already knew how big the market for a consumable food item like sugar could be. Merchants who were interested in profits could potentially get rich in a night if they could secure a safer and faster means of transportation. Unfortunately, such means were unavable tomon merchants. Only those affiliated with the royal family or Elizabeth family had ess to trucks. But the merchants were willing to trade their time in order to make big money from a single sales run. "There are so many merchants pulling the same scheme. It is only a matter of time before they reach it. I n to make as much money as possible before that happens." The middle-aged man looked truly worried that this business opportunity would be taken from him if he wasted more time. He impatiently swept Zach aside before leaving after answering his question. Zach had already got what he wanted from the merchant so he didn''t try to stop the man. Instead, he began to walk in the direction where a huge mass of people seemed to be congregating. He wondered if there was a public announcement of some sort that everyone was rushing to hear. People were already gossiping as they swiftly moved with brisk steps. "Do you think there will be something worthwhile this time?" asked one of the people heading to the same destination as him. The question was directed at another person but Zach was intent on following the conversation to the end. The other person seemed to be quite talkative as well. He immediately ryed his thoughts at his request. "I don''t think there will be anything new. Business has been quite low recently. There are hardly any merchantsing to the city following the demise of the Hunters. Almost no one wants to do business here." Zach quite agreed with the analysis, but he was nowhere close to finding out the reason for the sudden rush. Still, he wanted to see what could cause such a fuss amongst the people. When they reached the slightly open area in the narrow marketce, Zach found a plump looking man with a potbelly addressing the masses using sound amplification magic. There was a mage standing beside him and facilitating hismunication with the crowd. One look and Zach knew what was happening. It appeared that the fat man was selling ves to the highest bidder. Unlike his previous life where very had been abolished following the protests by the various humanitarian agencies, discrimination based on status and birth was still rampant in this world. Dealing in ves was one of the most profitable businesses in this world. The more talented a person being sold was, the higher the price. Even mages were sold into very so that the rich would be able to have powerful ves at their beck and call at all times. It was both a symbol of status as well as a form of protection from outside threats. The ves had no rights whatsoever. Those born to ves spent the rest of their lives trying to earn their freedom, but very wasn''t just gic. Otherwise, with their cruel treatment, all the ves would have already been dead. There were those who ended up losing their freedom. For example, there were those who were unable to pay their dues after borrowing. Such individuals were usually forced to give up all their worldly assets and were sold for their body''s worth aspensation. Other than that, very was also a form of punishment employed by thew to punish the criminals. Zach wanted to understand the dynamics of this world better but felt that this wasn''t the time for it. Since he already knew what the purpose of the crowd was, he felt no need to stay. He was about to turn around and leave but noticed Brittany who was frozen at her spot. With her body shaking slightly, her eyes began to grow red around the edges. She looked like she was close to bursting into tears. Zach was baffled at first. He hadn''t pictured Brittany to be a timid and emotional person. Otherwise, she would not have been able to keep Carol safe all those years. Therefore, he had assumed her to be calctive and cunning like a fox. As such, he was shocked to see her in such a vulnerable state. "What happened? Are you alright?" asked Zach, a little concerned about the woman who had gone through so much in her life and yet showed no signs of that maturity at this time. Brittany seemed to be at a loss for words. She looked like she hadn''t even registered his words. Her mind was muddled, and her eyes were fixed on a single point. Zach followed her gaze and found a little girl being sold by one of the ve merchants at the corner of the street. The scale of the shop wasn''t as grand as the one that had attracted the focus of the entire marketce, but it was still sizable enough to enable its owner to earn a handsome amount quite easily. Brittany was too engulfed in her feelings at the moment to notice Zach staring at her with concern evident in his eyes. She was trying to pry her eyes off the little girl who was being showcased to the public by the ugly looking merchant with beady eyes. The merchant was trying his best to intimidate the girl into smiling more for the potential customers but all he could get out of her was a tear-filled smile that cut straight through her heart. She remembered her own life on the run. Although she had opened her eyes in very, she was still the servant of the royal family of Aschar Dynasty instead of somemoner. Her status was still very highpared to the nobility of the Dynasty due to the nature of her work and her direct employers. But after the demise of the dynasty, when they fell into the hands of the Hunter family, her fate hadn''t been any different than the mostmon ve in the market. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 444.

    Chapter 444.

    She was raped continuously like a cheap slut and had been forced tomit sexual acts that made her want to scratch her skin off just to forget the vile touch of those bastards. Seeing such a small and frail looking girl in a simr situation, Brittany couldn''t control herself. She was barely keeping herself in check. Had she been alone, she would have already taken action to save her somehow. Unfortunately, she wasn''t. She had to consider Zach''s reputation as well so that she wouldn''t put him in a tight spot by acting on her impulses. Seeing as Brittany was unresponsive, Zach shook her shoulder with a little force so that she would snap out of her stupor. Thankfully, it was effective, and she jerked her head towards him with a troubled expression marring her beautifully sculpted face. Zach wasn''t dumb enough to still be unable to ascertain the reason for her behavior. After all, her eyes had remained glued towards the little girl who was being thrown into hell for no reason at all. Brittany desperately wanted to save the little girl. She didn''t wany anyone else to go through what she had to endure for the safety of the princess. She wanted to save the girl from being sold into very butcked the means or the capacity to do so. Even the legal system allowed the merchant to sell the girl without any consequences. Brittany had no other option but to ask Zach for help. But due to the caution trained after spending years in captivity, Brittany couldn''t bring herself to ask Zach. She couldn''t possibly make such a demand out of Zach who had so kindly set her and the princess free. Seeing her reluctance, Zach decided to take the initiative to ask her what she wanted to do. "Do you want to save that little girl?" Brittany was startled at the sudden question from her master, but she recovered right away. After all, this wasn''t the first time she found his words so full of understanding. He seemed to be able to read her mind somehow. Even though she didn''t understand how he did it, she found herselfpelled to answer his question despite her usual shyness. As such, her delicate neck stiffly moved, and her head bobbed up and down in a nod. As soon as Brittany broke out of the sudden spell that Zach had cast on her, she found herself in an ufortable situation where she had ended up revealing her inner thoughts to her master. It made her feel as if she was standing naked in front of Zach. To remedy the situation somewhat, Brittany immediately shook her head in the negative which was in contrast to her earlier nod. Zach didn''t say anything about her sudden change of mind but stared at her with a Although she had stayed strong for so many years in order to save Carol, she wasn''t at all an outgoing woman. She used to be very reserved and barely spoke her true thoughts out loud. Carol was well aware of her habits and knew how tight knit she could be. It usually took even her quite some time to unravel Brittany''s tangled thoughts and worries when she needed to. Zach had already found all the details from Carol as well. He found it quite peculiar. Because it meant that Brittany had not only changed her identity to save Carol but was also killing her original personality on a daily basis in order to maintain the facade of being a princess. Brittany was amazing but Zach didn''t want her to suppress herself in front of him. He wanted her to feel free to ask him for things she wanted. After all, she was already acting as if she was his maid and was helping him out in his tasks. "Don''t you want to buy the little girl?" Zach asked inquisitively as he got closer to Brittany. Brittany shook her head once again in negative and acted as if she wasn''t the least bit interested in the predicament of the little girl. Unfortunately, Zach could practically see the inner struggle on her face. The way her eyes kept drifting back to the little girl awaiting her demise, was akin to a child that couldn''t control its desire for sweets. "Then why are you staring at her so hard?" "I am not..." Her voice was muffled as if she had struggled quite a bit to get those words out of her mouth. She didn''t want to bother Zach with her own emotional entanglement. She was still stuck in her maid mindset. She found it absurd to ask her master for something. It didn''t make sense in her mind to do such a thing. After all, she was there to help Zach with trivial matters and not the other way around. As a maid, she was in no position to request anything from her master. Her only job was to follow her master''s orders. Although Zach didn''t believe in such tribal thinking and never expected such kind of obedience from his followers, he couldn''t exactly change the thinking that Brittany had been brought up with. They were the guiding principles of her life, and it wasn''t as easy to change what had already set into her bones. Knowing that she would never reveal her true feelings in front of him, he decided to give her a little lesson on how to live freely. He wanted her to taste the feeling at the very least. He hoped for her to speak up for herself. As such, even knowing what she wanted in her heart, Zach put on a stiff and annoyed expression on his face and pretended to leave in the opposite direction to the girl. He wondered if the girl would be able to gather up enough courage to stop him and ask him for help. If she couldn''t, he would help the girl anyway but if she did, it would be her first step towards a better future. "Well, if you aren''t interested in buying her then what are we doing here? Let''s go. I still have a few ces to visit after this. Then we can go back home." Zach was already walking with his back to her when he suddenly felt a flurry of footsteps behind him as if she was trying to catch up to him and he felt a very slight force pulling him backwards. Zach stopped instantly. At first, he thought that he had felt wrong, and it was only his hope that she would stop him. But then he felt the force on his coat sleeve once again. Brittany was tugging on it softly so as to not cause him any difort, but it was still enough to convey her point across that she wanted him to stop for a minute. Zach turned around slowly, giving her enough time topose her frantic self and to gather up her courage to face her master again. "What is it?" Zach acted impatiently but not so much as to scare her right back into her shell. It was just the right amount to make her feel some pressure. Brittany felt as if something had gotten caught in her throat. There was no sound whatsoevering out of her mouth as if all the air in her lungs had been sucked dry. She couldn''t bring herself to speak up in Zach''s presence. She wanted to ask him for help but that proved too hard for her. As such she decided to settle for the least ufortable option. She took her sweet time to make up her mind. Zach didn''t disturb her train of thought and waited patiently this time for her to give words to her wishes. "Can I borrow some money?" Brittany timidly asked Zach for money. Her tone indicated that she was doing something wrong by asking Zach for a loan. It was either that or Zach was too terrifying a person in her mind whom she dared not confront. Obviously the second case was not possible since she had spent the entire day practically glued to Zach. "Why? Do you want to buy her?" Zach wasn''t about to let her go so easily. He wanted to pry her out of herfort zone for a little bit. So, he set out to make it a little difficult for her. "Umm~ I want to buy her from the merchant. I don''t have any money right now, but I will save up and will pay every bit as soon as possible." Her courage began to increase the more she talked, causing Zach to smile at the sudden transition. Even Brittany herself hadn''t realized the giant crevice she had crossed just then. She had ovee a little of her personality right there, but she hadn''t even noticed it. Zach grabbed her hand that was still tugging at her sleeves for no good reason, and pulled her behind him as he walked towards the merchant selling the little girl with determined steps. Brittany couldn''t pry herself free from Zach''s hands and had no choice but to follow him. Not that she wanted to resist as he was going straight towards the little girl. No matter his intentions, she was getting closer to her goal so Brittany couldn''tin. As the timid and stringy figure of the little girl became clear in her eyes, Brittany couldn''t help but fall into a trance as she began to remember her own childhood that was as difficult as it could have been. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 445

    Chapter 445

    Her parents had been sold to the royal family as amodity at an early age and had passed away while Brittany was still young. Being born a ve, she never knew freedom and had grown up to be timid and introverted. Thankfully for her, the princess had somehow taken a liking to her and had chosen her to be her personal maid. That very act changed her life forever as she went through a hell of pain as a result. But Brittany felt nothing but gratitude towards Carol for giving her a better life. Otherwise, she might have died without even growing up. Life as a ve without her parents, the possibility of surviving such an ordeal was infinitesimally small. She remembered how she tried to find her savior in every other person she came across in the most difficult time of her life. Looking at the little girl, Brittany felt that she must have appeared as helpless as the pitiful little girl as well. Thankfully, she had met a kind master this time who did not intend to harm her or the princess. Therefore, she wanted to be for the little girl what Zach had be for her. Her hope filled eyes filled Brittany with an immense urge to pull the little girl into her embrace so that she would never ever have to suffer the hardships of life. "We would like to take this girl with us?" Zach asked the shopkeeper while Brittany tried to give the little girl some hope. The merchant turned to look at Zach deeply and then something in his eyes changed for the worse. The urge to do business with Zach was no longer there. Instead, his gaze seemed to be filled with ill intent and unadulterated hatred. The man wasn''t even trying to hide it. "Not selling." came the curt reply of the ve merchant as he cut Zach off from saying anything else. "Why not?" Zach wasn''t willing to back down. He was sure that the merchant was here to sell the little girl. Otherwise, why would he have bothered to bring her to the ve market. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The intensity of the merchant''s hatred distorted his face in its entirety. It was as if Zach hadmitted a heinous crime, so severe that it could be equated to the cold-blooded murder of both of the merchant''s parents and the merchant, still grappling with the enormity of his animosity, struggled to find the right expression to convey the depths of his inner hatred. The merchant''s countenance contorted into a snarl, his eyes shooting daggers at Zach. The intensity of his gaze conveyed a deep-seated resentment, leaving Zach with the uneasy feeling that the merchant harbored a personal grudge against him. The intensity of the merchant''s hatred distorted his face in its entirety. It was as if Zach hadmitted a heinous crime, so severe that it could be equated to the cold-blooded murder of both of the merchant''s parents and the merchant, still grappling with the enormity of his animosity, struggled to find the right expression to convey the depths of his inner hatred. Zach couldn''t help but be taken aback by the sudden and naked disy of hatred emanating from the merchant. The intensity of the man''s animosity seemed disproportionate to any interactions they might have had, leaving Zach perplexed and searching for the root of this unexpected enmity. As he observed the merchant''s scowling face, he wondered if there were hiddenyers of resentment or past grievances that he was unaware of. The unexpected hostility injected an air of tension into the atmosphere, and Zach couldn''t shake off the feeling that there was more to this encounter than met the eye. With a smug smile on his face, the merchant rebuffed Zach''s proposal, stating emphatically, "I have no intention of selling this one to you." The merchant''s demeanor suggested a level of vindictiveness that hinted at some perceived cruelty on Zach''s part, leaving one to wonder what actions could have provoked such a strong reaction. Perplexed, Zach couldn''t fathom the merchant''s motivations. A typically avaricious trader, he should have eagerly seized the opportunity to profit from the slender girl, especially with a willing buyer like Zach in the picture. It was a golden chance for the merchant to earn more profit as Zach was acting like a person who would be willing to pay any price to buy the girl. The notion that the merchant might be seeking greater profit crossed Zach''s mind, prompting him to delve into this possibility. He couldn''t bear witnessing the despondent expression on Brittany''s face as the merchant declined the offer. "I will pay double...double what you are expecting to be paid for that little one." Zach offered to pay double the price of the girl but was shocked to find that the merchant still refused to budge. The merchant''s stubbornness resembled an unyielding mountain against the tide, impervious to the tempting waves of Zach''s offers. Each entreaty from Zach crashed against this human fortress, met with a resolute denial that carved a smirk onto the merchant''s face, a smirk akin to a cunning fox reveling in the futility of the hunter''s pursuit. It was as if the merchant held the key to a secret treasure, relishing the power he wielded over the desperate Zach, who found himself entangled in a frustrating dance of negotiations. There was still that mocking smile on the merchant''s face which made Zach feel especially irritated. "You can name your price, whatever you are expecting to make from her, I will give you many times that. Money is not an issue. Tell me what it would take for you to part with the girl?" Zach''s plea echoed in the dimly lit space, a desperate symphony of urgency and determination. His final offerid bare his willingness to break the shackles of mary constraints, allowing the merchant to dictate the ransom for the young girl. It was as if Zach had opened a nk check, inviting the merchant to inscribe his desired sum, signaling a willingness to pay any cost to liberate the captive from her plight. The air lingered heavy with the weight of this pivotal moment, a silent negotiation between the despairing plea and the unyielding resolve of the merchant. Zach''s financial might stood as an imprable fortress, fortified by the amassed wealth under the banner of the Smith family. Even the once-illustrious Hunter family, the top family of Byzantium city, now under his sway, contributed to the bulwark of resources at his disposal. The magnitude of his wealth was so vast that he could generously offer a hundredfold more than any conceivable price for the girl and still not notice any change in his wealth. It was as if Zach''s coffers knew no bounds, an inexhaustible reservoir of riches waiting to be unleashed in order to fulfill the wish of hispetent maid. Zach wielded the power of opulence, prepared to break the chains of financial restraint for the sake of his maid''s mental health. A small expenditure to encourage Brittany was a very small price in his eyes. To Zach, extending a helping hand to the girl for Brittany''s sake was a trivial expense, a mere drop in the vast ocean of his wealth. The resources he allocated to support Brittany''s cause were akin to a minuscule offering, a nominal investment in the face of the grandeur that defined the financial empire of the Smith family. In the grand scheme of his affluence, it was a gesture of benevolence, a gesture that spoke volumes of his willingness to expend resources for those he considered a part of his extended family. The glimmer of hope in the little girl''s eyes mirrored the spark of anticipation that danced in Brittany''s gaze as they both absorbed Zach''s words. It was as if a ray of warmth had prated the cold veil of their circumstances, thawing the frost of uncertainty that had gripped their hearts. Even they felt that the offer was far too generous to decline and were of the opinion that the merchant would definitely sell in the face of the benefits. To the little girl, it seemed that the stranger was more than eager to buy her out of the hands of the cruel merchant. It made her doubt his intentions somewhat, but she wasn''t in any position to bother about his motives. She just wanted to be saved from her cruel master by anyone...literally anyone would be better than her current master. Even though Zach was a stranger and could potentially be even more dangerous than the merchant, the little girl wasforted by the presence of Brittany who seemed to be a warm person who kept smiling at her tofort her from the beginning. She drewfort from her and hoped that Zach would prove to be a better master. "I couldn''t care less about your money. I just don''t want to sell her to YOU." The merchant put enough stress on thest word to convey the true reason behind his stubbornness. The merchant''s disdainful words hung in the air like a bitter aftertaste, emphasizing his vehement refusal. His emphasis on the final word, "YOU," carried the weight of personal animosity, as if there were an invisible barrier between him and Zach, an unspoken grudge that fueled the merchant''s unwavering obstinacy. It wasn''t a matter of wealth or mary enticement; rather, it was a visceral objection rooted in some undisclosed history or resentment, leaving Zach perplexed and Brittany disheartened at the unwarranted rejection. It was obvious that the ve merchant had a problem with Zach which also meant that the man recognized him and was unwilling to take his offer despite knowing about his position. The tension in the air became palpable as it dawned on Zach that the ve merchant not only harbored a profound dislike for him but also had the audacity to refuse a lucrative offer, fully aware of Zach''s influential position.

 Chapter 446

    Chapter 446

    Such hatred couldn''t be without reason. It fueled his curiosity, urging him to delve into the enigmatic past that seemed to connect him and the ve merchant in such aplex web of resentment. Despite wracking his brain, Zach struggled to pinpoint any familiarity with the man standing before him. No recollection surfaced, and there seemed to be no trace of a person resembling the ve merchant in his memory. Theck of recognition left him perplexed; his mind devoid of any link between them. Zach found it odd as the kind of grudge the man held against him was probably quite deep. Such a hatred was mostly rooted in blood, but Zach didn''t know what he might have done to the man to antagonize him that badly. "So, you know me, huh?" questioned Zach while letting out a heavy sigh. He had no choice but to ask the man directly since he couldn''t seem to remember anything about the merchant. The merchant nodded frantically as if he had been waiting for Zach to catch on to his game. Now that Zach knew that the merchant had a problem with him and not with selling the girl itself, he felt that he could probablye up with some sort of agreement with the merchant to change his mind. "I don''t think that we have that kind of hatred between us, or I would have at least recognized you from somewhere. Why not take this chance to put it all behind us and strike a beneficial deal for the both of us?" Hoping to mend whatever perceived grievances existed, Zach proposed a mutually beneficial deal, aiming to dissolve any lingering resentment between them. Zach tried to show his goodwill. He hoped that there wasn''t some unresolvable hatred between the merchant and him that couldn''t be removed by greasing his palm a little bit. After all, his current status didn''t allow him to enter into a pointless argument with the merchant or it could be seen as bullying by the masses. His troubles wouldn''t end once that happened. However, Zach had underestimated the hatred that merchant held for him. Zach had taken his livelihood from him which was as good as throwing him off into the streets with nothing in hand. In fact, the merchant used to be an influential business manager belonging to the Davis family. There were hundreds of employees he used to lord over. The merchant''s ascent to greatness began in the humblest of origins, a lowborn individual with an innate talent for business. Starting from the bottom rung, he meticulously honed his skills, navigating the intricate world ofmerce with shrewdness and determination. Through years of hard work, he coborated with numerous families, each partnership adding to his experience and expertise. His journey, marked by relentless effort, eventually led him to the high table of the city''s elite when he secured a position working for the prestigious Davis family. This move catapulted him into the echelons of power and influence, where his acumen for business became a valuable asset to one of the city''s top families. Everywhere he went, businesses churned money like water from a spring, every stone he touched turned into gold for the Davis family. It was the highest point in his life. He was cashing out all that hard work and sweat he had put into his work. The Davis family had promised him a lot of benefits provided that he was able to expand their businesses without the risk of loss. Confident of being able to pull it off, the merchant had agreed to their terms which dictated that he would share in the profits and loss of the family. He had never expected that the Davis family, one of the top giants of the city, would end up suffering any kind of loss. An established business falling to the bottom was in no way a normal thing in the business world. But all the hard work he had put in was destroyed by Zach in a single go. Zach''s Smith family not onlypeted against the Davis and Brown family but also beat them so thoroughly that the head of the Davis family fired all his business managers for not being able to anticipate the trend of the market before taking up production. The merchant med Princess Candice and Zach for his current situation. He hated them with a passion that was akin to immortal phoenix fire that would keep burning until the end of time. After being fired from the top, there was nowhere he could go. No business was willing to hire him after his reputation got tarnished as the one who sank the Davis family to the bottom even though he hadn''t been the one at fault. With no means of livelihood, he had to resort to establishing a business for himself. In the end, the most lucrative business with easy and fast returns turned out to be the very business. A twist of fate had brought his worst enemy, Zach, in front of him. Being in a stronger position, the merchant was feeling a perverse pleasure in denying Zach''s requests even though he would be profiting quite a bit by selling the little girl to Zach. However, the pleasure of denying a Viscount was too addicting for the merchant and he continued to ignore the various gestures of goodwill from Zach, even when thetter offered to pay even more than his previous offers. "No matter what you offer me, I have no intention of selling anything to you. Being the seller, it is my right to decide who to sell my product to. You can''t force me or do anything to change my mind in this regard just because you are a Viscount." Zach wanted to punch the man in his smug face, but he had his reputation to uphold in the public. Being a figure of authority, he couldn''t act so tyrannically in public, or he would not hear the end of it from Bruce who was always urging him to keep a low profile when it came to such incidents. While the merchant was thanking all the gods that he worshipped for giving him the opportunity to frustrate Zach so much, not everyone felt that way. After all, when one party in a conflict found happiness and satisfaction, the other was bound to pay the price for it. Therefore, it wasn''t only Zach who was disappointed by the constant rejection of his offers. There were two people who were even more affected by the merchant''s heartlessness. One was the little girl whose fate was being decided based on the whim of the merchant who happened to get his hands on her with some dumb stroke of luck. She lowered her head towards the ground as if intent on sticking her head into the ground in disappointment. She kept on ncing in Brittany''s direction from time to time with a pitiful look in her eyes. Brittany couldn''t bring herself to ignore the little girl who would probably have to suffer a lot if Zach couldn''t save her from the merchant. The way the little girl begged with her watery eyes, Brittany couldn''t bring herself to ignore her desperate pleas for help. "Let''s not bring our personal problems into business matters. As a businessman, you want to earn money and I am offering more than anyone else would offer for all the stock you have in your possession currently. Don''t be a fool and consider my offer before letting your ego and foolish pride waste an opportunity like this." Zach tried onest time to move the merchant with his words that were as tempting as a viable business proposal to an investor. But the merchantughed out loud in his face, spewing his saliva with each burst ofughter, disgusting Zach with his shitty personality even more. "I won''t sell anything to you even if you beg me on your knees. As for your offers, I couldn''t care less. I will give this girl away for free if I have to, but I will never sell it to you. Not even a world full of profits can move me into changing my decision." the merchant dered loudly in between his evil and disgustingugh. Zach gritted his teeth in anger and frustration. His hands curled into fists and his nails dug into his palms as he forced himself to calm down thinking that the merchant was trying to rile him up. His goal was to get a reaction out of Zach in front of the masses so as to destroy his image and hurt the goodwill he had earned among the general public. "Oh~ I just came up with a better idea that YOU will definitely like." Pointing at Zach''s face, the merchant turned towards the crowd and announced loudly. The audience had already been intrigued by the conflict between the merchant and Zach. Some of them had already recognized Zach and had spread the news among the others in a whispering tone. As a result, almost everyone in the audience knew that Zach was the Viscount who was helping the economy of Byzantium city recover. Making use of the situation, the merchant intended to use the audience as his assistance to annoy Zach even further, essentially forcing him to do something that would incriminate him in the eyes of the public. Despite goading Zach into saying something foolish, the merchant didn''t get anything worthwhile even after calling him out in front of the audience. As such, he had no choice but to go a step further. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!