Lakeside City, Commerce Union Building.
In the innermost hidden room, the atmosphere was so oppressive it was suffocating compared to before. As the representative of the Three Kings, Archscholar Horn was pacing back and forth by the window.
On the sofa chair beside him, Taylor of the Abundant Harvest Chamber of Commerce, also the leader of Lakeside City’s former nobles, sat upright, barely breathing, afraid to disturb Horn’s terrible complexion, lest he trigger the old man’s accumulated thunder.
In contrast, Lord Cleveland on his other side was a bit more relaxed.
Although he also sat upright, his eyes were exceptionally lively, clearly scheming something in his mind, thinking about how to gain benefits.
Next to Cleveland was an empty sofa chair, which had originally been Vincent’s seat. But he had already fled, and that chair had remained empty all these days.
Across from Cleveland, the golden-haired, stunning Lady Melita had a faint smile on her face, looking exceptionally composed.
After Vincent fled, Melita had not come to these behind-the-scenes meetings, but today she had uncharacteristically appeared here…
She must be up to something!
Horn didn’t initiate the conversation because he didn’t want to fall into Melita’s trap, so he kept pretending not to notice her unusual behavior.
The situation remained deadlocked until a white dove flew in through the window and landed on the table in front of Horn, then transformed into a white feather.
Horn reached out his withered hand and picked it up.
Then, his expression grew worse and worse.
Finally, Taylor couldn’t hold back and softly called out to the stunned Horn.
“Elder?”
“……”
Horn clenched his bony fist and slammed it onto the table. His originally kind face was now covered in resentment and gloom.
“The Hall of Shadows has been destroyed, only a small part remains, the source of power has been taken away, it’s hard to rise again, the City of the Other Shore has completely disappeared, we lost too thoroughly!”
“Ah?!”
Taylor felt a chill run through his body and nearly collapsed.
That immortal Kill Hall Master is dead? That’s simply impossible, right?
Ever since the Hall of Shadows existed, there had been an enduring rumor that its immortal and indestructible leader was three meters tall, had six thick arms growing from his back, a bloody mouth on his chest, and his body was surrounded by thick blood aura.
He was a terrifying existence that would scare ordinary people to death just by looking at him!
He’s actually gone?
Taylor almost suspected that there was something wrong with his ears and that he had misheard Horn. He was about to open his mouth to confirm, but saw Horn stagger and sit down on the chair.
“Old… Old Sir.”
“Just an hour ago, a dragon swept over the territory of the Northland States. Especially above the capital of the Three Kings, it lingered longer than elsewhere.”
Horn said weakly.
When he said this, everyone present except for the representative of the Marigold Chamber of Commerce, Lady Melita, was stunned.
Taylor’s mouth fell open.
“Dragon?”
“Really a dragon?”
Cleveland added, his eyes wide as he stared at Horn.
Horn raised his hand, intending to hit the table again, but in the end he just let it fall weakly and looked down at the white feather.
He sighed mournfully and said.
“The Three Kings have made a decision. The message just now contained instructions…”
Taylor and Cleveland tensed up.
The curve of Melita’s lips never returned to flat. She covered her mouth, intending to listen to the leader of the Northland States’ number one power’s decision after facing absolute strength.
—
Tea Rose Chamber Building. Penrose stood in his office, smashing things. These past few days had been extremely agonizing for him.
Bam!
A priceless antique item was smashed to pieces on the ground. Originally, he had cherished these things extremely, since they were assets he earned himself, treasured like a wife—even polishing them himself.
But now they might fall into someone else’s hands. How could Penrose allow it?
So, as if venting, he smashed these precious collectibles he had bought with countless money into a pile of useless waste.
If they weren’t his, he might as well turn them into a pile of scrap!
Knock knock knock~
The sound of knocking came.
Penrose did not rein in his murderous aura. He called for the person outside to come in. It was his loyal attendant.
“What is it?”
“My lord, the informant from the City of the Other Shore just returned. He said that the City of the Other Shore has already…”
The attendant lowered his head with a troubled expression.
Penrose thundered.
“Already what? Speak quickly.”
“The City of the Other Shore has disappeared, turned into a wasteland!”
Hearing this, Penrose was momentarily stunned.
“What did you say?!”
“Absolutely true, my lord…”
The attendant lowered his head even further.
“He also said that two women came that day, one of them a foreigner. They fought in the city with three Local Snakes’ men plus the Hall of Shadows’ men. In the end, those two slaughtered their way from the south of the city to the north, and those people simply couldn’t stop them!”
“!?”
Penrose trembled again.
The attendant took a breath and continued.
“Later, chaos broke out in the city. Soon after, the Hall of Shadows’ lair, that cloud-touching mountain called Mount Blacksky, was destroyed by a suddenly appearing dragon’s breath. He said that everyone who was still conscious at the time saw it.”
Penrose stumbled into a pile of junk, his eyes wide, the whites filled with bloodshot veins. His originally handsome appearance had become haggard, and his skin showed a sickly pallor.
Although he had felt a hint of unease after Vincent fled overnight, he still stayed in Lakeside City, continuing to use his propaganda ability to create a momentum favorable to himself.
Today, there was even a slight effect, with many still believing that the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce was finished.
But when he heard this news, it was like being struck by lightning, and the last breath in his heart was scattered by this thunderbolt.
“Two women? One foreigner? They slaughtered through the City of the Other Shore, ascended Mount Blacksky, and destroyed the Kill Hall Master, the nightmare of the Northern people’s hearts, along with the Hall of Shadows itself?”
“Is that possible? You tell me, is that possible? There’s no fucking way!”
“No… no…”
Penrose stood up from the ruins, gritting his teeth, clenching his fists, and said in a deep voice to the attendant kneeling before him.
“Go inform them.”
“Ah?”
The attendant was stunned. He hadn’t expected Penrose’s reaction to that news to be like this; he was truly frightened.
Penrose stared at him coldly and said.
“I told you to go inform them. Now! Immediately! Right now!”
“Y-yes, my lord.”
The attendant’s face turned pale. He stood up and hurriedly left. Penrose stared at the closed door, snorted coldly, and muttered to himself.
“Can’t wait until tonight. We must act now, immediately!”