Sylus stood in front of the group, eyes fixed on the single man with black hair and a green shirt, whom the bartender had told him was the leader of the gang faction.
The rest of the men seated around the man all threw dangerous glances at Sylus.
They were seven in number—eight if you were to add the man Sylus was looking for.
One of them suddenly spoke,
"Uhn?! Which faction are you from? Are you blind or something? Don’t you know that’s the leader of the eight factions you’re speaking to?"
Sylus paid the irrelevant man no mind, his eyes still fully focused on the one in green.
"I believe I asked you a question. Are you Liak?"
This action angered the group; it was immediately apparent, as the whole place fell silent right after.
Those who were drinking on the poorly maintained side of the shop all froze in fear, wondering who would dare to ignore a member of the Red Viper organization.
About four different men stood up from their seats.
They each brought out a dagger and moved closer to Sylus; their killing intent was not hidden either.
If they were willing to murder him at the first hint of inconvenience, then it further proved they had been doing this for a long time.
And since there was no one to oppose them, they got away with it as well.
As soon as one tried to touch him, Sylus grabbed his hand, and without a second thought, he crushed it, breaking every bone.
The man screamed, crying loudly before falling to his knees.
Seeing this, the rest quickly took it as a challenge to their pride.
No doubt, this man wearing a mask was not part of any faction, perhaps an intruder. Either way, they wanted to get rid of him.
If news spread that a stranger took out one of the Red Vipers, people would start getting ideas.
That wasn’t what they wanted.
"You just signed your own death sentence!"
From all sides, after successfully cornering Sylus, they began to launch their attack.
’Go ahead, Sophia. You are free.’
The entire tavern froze in fear after hearing that terrifying voice.
And then, from Sylus’s body grew a dark, misty monster. Its black mist nearly swallowed the whole hub.
Some of the men who had wanted to harm Sylus fell to the floor, eyes widened at the horrific monster before them.
Others were not so lucky.
As soon as Sophia manifested herself, her dark mist swallowed them whole, leaving behind only their skeletons with small pieces of flesh on them.
Scared, many of the customers ran out of the tavern screaming, while the other workers who had been roaming the tavern were hiding behind the counter.
All that was left was the man in green, visibly shaking in fear, and the men on the ground, who knew if they moved an inch from where they were, the dark mist would devour them like it did their partners.
"Let me ask you again: are you Liak, leader of this faction?"
Liak quickly nodded his Fhead.
"Good. Now, tell me, where is your organization’s hideout? And who is the leader of this organization? If you so much as lie, I will kill you—gruesomely."
(The Count’s Mansion)
"Welcome, welcome, please sit."
Alfred walked into the room, his eyes first picking up on the wide selection of food and drinks set on the center table.
It was the guest room, so he wasn’t expecting something in such a place.
In fact, the moment he set foot inside the mansion, he noticed trays of food were on almost every table he came across.
Calmly sitting on the chair, he asked,
"Did you have a guest before I showed up?"
The man the question was directed at was the Count of Linye, Eric Daliton.
He was bald and fat and had multiple rings on his fingers. He also wore a majestic red robe, complemented by gold chains and bracelets.
Behind him were two men, dressed in black suits and wearing black hats on their heads.
Eric leaned forward. "No, we didn’t. Is there a reason you ask this, Lord Alfred?"
Alfred sighed, "Never mind, it’s nothing. How has the city been coming along?"
"The city has been marvelous, as planned. Since I am the one in charge around here, you should be rest assured that everything will go according to plan." Eric smiled. "Is that why you are here, Lord Alfred—to run an inspection on me?"
"What? Is it weird that I’ve come to pay a visit to one of the Counts under His Highness?"
Eric shook his head frantically. "No! Of course not. I did not mean it like that. It’s just... this is the first time anyone from the royal assembly has dropped by around here. I’m just curious as to why."
True, places like these were often never brought up during meetings, and if Alfred ever tried to bring awareness to it, Martin would toss it aside.
At some point, Alfred came to the conclusion that the king merely wanted this place to end up bad—just to see how his children would fix it during the Adon Vale.
This was Martin. It shouldn’t be that much of a surprise. After everything that had happened, it made no sense why Alfred never called him out; being under another person’s command without knowing so was sad and frustrating.
Alfred scraped the thought from his mind and leaned back in the chair.
"No, that isn’t why I’m here. There is a business idea I would like to speak to you about."
Eric’s attention was piqued.
"Oh yes? And what might that be?"
It was just as Sylus said: this man wouldn’t be able to resist the topic.
With his arms folded, Alfred continued, "I just came from a long trip all the way from the main capital. Surely you can tell I’m exhausted. I need to rest before I can speak about business or anything related."
A forced smile showed on the Count’s face. "Of course. Please, make yourself at home."