Cyart Kingdom, Emerald Lake Province.
Located in the southernmost part of Cyart, it was as affluent as Elphinia Province, which was under the complete control of the Royal Family. They were the two most important provinces in the entire kingdom.
One third of the Emerald Lake Province’s land was occupied by the Romann family, another third by many minor nobilities, and the last third was owned by the Middell family.
One of the Ten Great Pillars of the Eastern Continent, the “Ruins Song Spirit” Middell family, the most powerful branch of their family was within the territory of Cyart, with most of their members residing in the most important city of Emerald Lake Province, Wight City.
Within the Middell family manor, Marquis Middell, known as “the Ghost,” was nearly fifty but still handsome. He comfortably sat in a white chair, calmly watching the children of the family frolicking on the lawn in a white tailcoat.
"Your Grace, your letter.”
A subordinate dressed in white servant attire slowly approached, elegantly and respectfully handing over the letter. Marquis Middell nodded slightly and calmly began to read the letter.
Afterward, Marquis Middell set the letter down and pondered for a moment.
"Boone Garcia is dead, I remember him. That man’s father once brought him to our family. He was a crude and impolite fellow, not much like his father.”
He smiled gently, calmly instructing his subordinate:"He has disappeared, but it is very likely he’s already dead.”
"Although I do not like him, this matter must be investigated thoroughly because the previous head of the Garcia family had been an important confidant of my father. Given the relationship between our two families, the Middell family cannot stay indifferent.”
"We must make the murderer pay the price; otherwise, the prestige of the Middell family within the nation will be eroded bit by bit.”
Marquis Middell paused, mulling over the content of the letter, which detailed the likelihood that Viscount Garcia and other important members of the family met with mishap due to an ambush on a Fischer baronial family.
And the head of that family was named Byrne Fischer, who was the target that Viscount Garcia and the others had intended to kill.
"The Fischer family, eh?”
Byrne Fischer.
He made a mental note of the name.
——
East Coast Province, Chevron Town.
Within the Garcia family, everyone was gathered, looking somber and keeping silent, their eyes filled with bewilderment, as if the sky had fallen and yet they did not know what to do.
Every one of them was well aware that Viscount Garcia and two significant family members were in trouble!
They had been missing for days and were very likely dead by now. As for who killed Viscount Garcia and the others, it was all too easy to guess—it must be someone from the Fischer family!
The reason was simple, as the intent of the family head and others was to ambush Byrne Fischer, something well-known among the core members of the Garcia family.
"It’s not only the Fischer family’s doing. They alone couldn’t possibly have taken care of our family head and the others. It must also be with the aid of the Lion clan!”
"But would the Lion clan violate ‘The Oath’?”
"Who knows, they say ‘The Oath’ isn’t completely void but from various bits of information gathered, its force seems to have decreased significantly.”
"What’s the situation now with Viscount Zavier? The Eagle clan must take a stand!”
"What should we do? Our family’s status may not be preserved, and in the coming decades, it’s uncertain whether Young Garcia could achieve high-level Transmutation.”
"Quiet! We should first seek the Middell family’s opinion and also the World Order Church, as our Lord Viscount had connections before…”
"They might not be dead, just missing, don’t use ‘before his death’ to describe it!”
"You’re still clinging to hope? Accept the reality!”
In extreme anxiety, repression, and despair, the members of the Garcia family finally broke out into a full-fledged argument.
At this moment, the son of Viscount Garcia, the only remaining Transmutation Extraordinary Exponent in the family, Young Garcia, finally stood up.
"Silence!”
He bore no resemblance to his father, Viscount Garcia, but looked more elegant and even had a scholarly air.
"From this moment on, I am the acting family head! If my father returns, then my role as acting head will naturally be invalidated. Otherwise, starting today, I will lead the entire Garcia family!”
The crowd was stunned for a moment, then each one of them lowered their heads, realizing that, both reasonably and emotionally, Young Garcia should lead the Garcia family.
He was the son of Viscount Garcia and also the only Transmutation Extraordinary Exponent currently in the family.
No one could shake his position.
"Our family must give up some interests.”
Young Garcia took a deep breath, clasped his fists tightly, and made a very difficult decision, which everyone understood was also a necessary one!
He would marry a daughter from the Viscount Zavier’s Eagle clan, then hand over the entire horse gambling interests in Black Mountain Town to the Eagle clan in exchange for protection of the family’s future, while the Garcia family would only retain the most important gold mining town of Chevron and the impoverished town of Fiera.
"Proceed immediately with the marriage alliance to the Eagle clan, then cede the interests of Black Mountain Town.”
"I have made a decision! And from now on, everyone’s share of the dividends within our ranks shall be adjusted too; we must get through the family’s most challenging times together!”
Although everyone felt indignant after hearing this decision, deep down, they couldn’t bear to let go of the benefits, yet they were completely helpless.
In this realistic world, even if the relationships between Viscount Garcia and Viscount Zavier were excellent, during times like these, to obtain enough shelter, they had to hand over sufficient benefits; otherwise, the Eagle clan would also become dissatisfied with Viscount Zavier.
Once the meeting had ended, Young Garcia came to the manor’s balcony in silence, gazing into the distance.
"Father…”
Lately, the pressure on him had been immense, and he consistently felt a bit dazed.
My head hurts so much!
Pain!
Young Garcia clutched his head for a long time, unable to help but let out a low growl, feeling some sort of imprint etched deep in his mind causing a throbbing pain!
"Aaaaah!”
He roared like a savage beast, yet he was still powerless against the force of the “Mental Secret Words” in his mind; his eyes gradually becoming lifeless, recalling the instructions once given by Irene.
Who am I again?
"I am a member of the Dawn Church, I must dedicate everything to the great Lord of the Lost; for now, I must still masquerade, not letting anyone detect me, all matters must proceed in the dark…”
His lifeless eyes slowly returned to normal, and Young Garcia was stunned for a moment, then smiled as if the previous anomaly had never existed.
After a while, a servant of the family knocked on the door and respectfully entered.
"Master, the Middell family has arrived, claiming they will ensure our family’s continuance at all costs; they will also help us thoroughly investigate the murderer.”
"However, they also said that if this matter were to be dealt with publicly, in reality, it would be the Garcia family who initiated the conflict without justification; they would prefer to help us retaliate in secret.”
"Hmm, I understand, you may go. I will be right there.”
He nodded slightly, and long after the family servant had left, he muttered to himself:
"The Garcia family will rise again… under the power of my god, it will indeed rise again!”
——
In the basement of the Fischer family manor, Irene stood atop the complex ritual Array, her eyes closed, sending out a long-range command formed by Mental Secret Words.
Byrne and Chris silently watched her, not truly knowing whether the effect of the “Mental Secret Words” would be as good as anticipated.
"It worked!”
Finally, she breathed a sigh of relief, reopening her eyes with a look of satisfaction on her face.
"Great, that’s fantastic! Now we don’t have to worry about Middell family’s revenge anymore. Originally, there was barely any evidence, and with Young Garcia under our control, we can refuse the Middell family’s secret actions.”
Standing to the side, Byrne couldn’t help but laugh out loud, overwhelmed with joy deep within.
Henceforth, they could use Young Garcia’s power to gradually erode the remaining Garcia family.
An utter extermination of the Garcia family was impossible, unlike the up-and-coming baronial families, most viscount families had much stronger foundations, with ties to many other families within the country.
And even if they killed off the Garcia family, the Fischer family could not reap the most benefits.
"Next, the Garcia family will apparently shift from being allies of the Eagle clan to becoming their vassals. In reality, they will secretly become an important pawn for us.”
"In one year’s time, the truce between the Cyart and Rhea nations will have completely expired, and the movements of the Rhea People are also of great importance; the Garcia family might serve as our shield by then.”
A battle between the Lion and the Eagle clans is inevitable!
Nearly everyone on the East Coast shared this consensus; there were supposed to be churches mediating between them, but ever since the demise of the Thunderous Monarch, the Tempest Church’s stance became ambiguous, seemingly not intending to prevent the impending deadly conflict between the two forces.
"When our great battle with the Eagle clan comes, the Garcia family will become a crucial force. We mustn’t tell anyone about this besides ourselves, it must be kept completely confidential!”
Following that battle, they and the “Black Lion” watched the bodies burn together to prevent subsequent investigations, and Byrne wasn’t very concerned about the discovery of Marzo, as this was a secret exchange.
The Fischer family knew of the “Black Lion,” and the Lion clan learned of Marzo’s existence, further deepening the relationship between the two families.
After sorting almost all of the matters, the two families divided the spoils of war; the Lion clan took away the Forbidden rare artifact “Chains of Reversal” and other extraordinary treasures, leaving the “Countdown Timer” for the Fischer family.
Undoubtedly, the “Countdown Timer” was the most important of all the booty; its value alone equated to the total of all other artifacts combined.
The Fischer family certainly didn’t feel shortchanged; as vassals, they were almost equally sharing the spoils, which was considered generous of the Lion clan.
Byrne couldn’t help but glance at Chris, internally astonished by his immense power to catch up alone and then kill the formidable Viscount Garcia.
After all, that man was considered quite strong among those of high-level Transmutation, and also possessed two Forbidden rare artifacts!
Irene calmly looked at Byrne, her voice steady and forceful, slowly saying:
"Let’s begin. The Fischer family needs to offer a new sacrifice, thanking God for his protection… Once this sacrifice is over, Byrne, I have something important to discuss with you alone.”
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