...
Nathan was very troubled. After discovering the re-emergence of the Hextech Laboratory, he could not shake off the feeling that something big was going to happen. He had already reported to his father, Samuel Springfield.
As one of the highest-ranking military officials of the Soaring Continent, Samuel Springfield had the authority to form a special unit that would work with the police forces at catching a high-profile criminal organization such as the Hextech Laboratory.
Unfortunately, this matter did not concern the Elder Council, or else, solving this problem would be much easier.
Nathan had to keep an eye on high-profile criminals such as the Butcher and Coffin Maker as he was the only one who could face them. If a clue about these two powerful experts appeared, he had to personally investigate it to avoid unnecessary casualties.
He could ask for some help from his friends such as Elias Stuart and Eugene White, who were currently in the Eastern Sea Region. There was also Joaquin Giovanni, who was already looking at this matter. With the four of them working together, those two criminals would have to be wary of their movements. Any form of carelessness would instantly spell the end of them.
Nathan's main purpose in coming here was to keep an eye on his troublesome nephews. As candidates for being the representative of the Soaring Continent for the upcoming 'Hundred Empire Wars' and 'Battle for Supremacy' in the years to come, he had to make sure that the two of them were going to be safe.
Leonard was also added to the list just recently, so his job had just gotten a little more troublesome. Keeping an eye on just one of them was already a headache, yet he had to deal with these three troublemakers.
Fortunately, the trio was always been together, so monitoring their movements and protecting them was not that hard.
The problem was the number of enemies that kept on coming their way. Aside from the Shadow Alliance that made their appearance in the Main Region, the Hextech Laboratory was now added to the list. There was also the Black Serpent Mafia that was constantly lurking in the dark and waiting for an opportunity to strike like a venomous snake.
What's more, there were also those guys from overseas. The guys were hired by the enemies and competitors of the Cilvana Family. The situation on that side was also getting serious and they could not let them fall. The Cilvana Family was close friends and partners of the Springfield Family. Most of their weapons and firearms were produced by the company under the Cilvanas, so there was nothing much to say about that.
While Nathan was busy organizing the special force units and monitoring any strange movements that could possibly be his main targets, he suddenly received a message from one of his troublesome nephews.
Shin told him that there were some people lurking in the dark near them. Their target and purpose were still unknown, but it was already confirmed that they did not have any good intentions.
The expression on Nathan's face immediately changed the moment when he saw the message. He quickly sent reinforcements without any hesitation. Regardless of whoever those opponents were, he had more than enough reason to be wary of them.
Based on the current information that he had, Nathan could only think of two organizations that could possibly be targeting Shin and the others. It was also possible that the target was not them given that they were currently in a public place.
"Is it the Hextech Laboratory?" he thought at first before quickly rejecting the idea. "No, those guys are currently laying low because their recent movements are exposed. They are not stupid enough to target people in a public place where they can easily attract the attention of the government."
"They will also not target the members of the big and influential families if they want to continue their operation in our country for a little longer," he added before falling into deep thought.
After crossing off the Shadow Alliance from the list as well as the Black Serpent Mafia which was now part of that organization, Nathan came up with the final name on the list. "Then it must be those mercenaries. But why are they targeting those three? Isn't their main target Cloe? Is it for revenge because Shin and the others got in their way and fail their mission? Or is it because of something else?"
After making a couple of deductions, Nathan quickly stood up from his seat and decided to take this matter into his own hands. The rest of the mercenaries were not that strong and the trio of Shin, Arthur, and Leonard were more than enough to deal with them alongside the reinforcements that he sent. The problem was the person who was leading this operation.
According to the reports that were sent to him, there seemed to be a sighting of one of the top mercenaries disembarking from one of the ships docked on the Corner Stone City. And from the information that he received, that person was hired by the competitor of the Cilvana Family.
While riding the military vehicle, Nathan reviewed the data about this particular mercenary.
"Mad Dog. he is a notorious mercenary known for doing dirty work for anyone as long as they have the right price. He may look like someone who values money a lot but he never goes back to his words. Once he accepts the job, he will make sure that he will see it to the end whether it is a success or a failure."
"This guy is not that strong and only a peak of the Ethereal Opening Stage and close to stepping into the Void Manifestation Stage. But his crafty mind is the most troublesome to deal with. He can even give some headache to the Domain Realm Experts due to his special powers."
The strength of this guy was nothing in front of Nathan. As someone who was at the Peak of the Domain Realm, he could not put anyone in his eyes aside from the Old Monsters of Transcendent Realm.
But that was him.
It would be a completely different case when it came to Shin and the others who were only at the peak of the Core Formation Stage. Someone of that caliber was still out of their reach unless they were as strong as Shiella and David who were also at the peak of the Ethereal Opening Stage.
Nathan was planning to inform the two about the situation, but he suddenly remembered that Shiella needed to accommodate the guests from overseas and she invited David to accompany her due to not having any suitable escort.
It might not be as important as the current situation that Shin and the other two were facing, but they still had to accommodate those guests, especially the younger ones since most of them were accompanying the delegates from other countries and representatives of huge international companies.
His only choice was Jerimiah and Vincent who were staying with Shin and the others right now. But the problem was he did not have any contact with those two. He could only instruct his subordinates to get in contact with them and inform those two of the current situation.
Things were starting to get complicated the more time passed and Nathan was starting to get a bad premonition about it. He could not shake off the feeling that something bad was about to happen.
"Looks like the time of peace is starting to get shaken," he muttered as he closed his eyes after urging his driver to increase their pace.
…
In the meantime, the said trio who was the center of this incident was currently busy with their feast in the seafood restaurant. But despite the high-quality and delicious food presented in front of them, they could not bring themselves to fully enjoy their amazing taste.
They were continuously devouring all of the food in front of them and seemingly eating their fill to their heart's content on the surface. But in truth, their minds were currently occupied by their surroundings.
They were even using their respective secret methods to digest their food at a much faster rate and convert them into nutrients that could strengthen their bodies and refill their energies.
These techniques were only being used on battlefields by soldiers to make use of their time and avoid getting an upset stomach when they suddenly called for the battle.
It was not advisable to use on normal occasions since these techniques would waste quite a lot of nutrients of the food in the process. But the trio did not have to think about that given their current situation where they had to fight at any given moment.
Regardless, they were now in a very bad mood. This was supposedly their time to relax, especially for Arthur and Leonard who just went through an intense 'welcome party' from their seniors. But who would have thought that this was going to be this troublesome? They felt that they went back to the days when they were under constant pressure during their recent special training.
The two of them were constantly cursing here and there as they munch on the crab and lobster meats on their plates. They were even aggressively chewing their food as they started to get impatient at waiting for their opponents.
They dared those people hiding in the dark to make their moves now so that they could teach them a lesson.
Shin, on the other hand, was checking his Advance Watch for the updates from the people sent by Nathan. He could not shake off the feeling that something bad was going to happen.
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