Chapter 317 Chapter 317 Reasonable Betrayal
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 accept 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's last 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 plan 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 plan 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 to commit a massacre if he could help it.
So, when he saw the remnants ignore Nelson like the very embodiment of plague, he knew that they planned 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 clash 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 plan 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 Greenland 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 Greenland. 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 the latter 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 planning 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.
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