Chapter 318 Chapter 318 Andy's Reaction
Eternal prosperity was only a pipe dream. But his father had pursued that goal with all his heart. He had been determined to cement the position of the Hunter family at the top of the food chain in Byzantium city.
Alas, his struggle had only yielded the exact opposite results. Fate smacked the Hunter family down to the bottom with a single slap. The authority that the father and son duo had been expecting to wield following the demise of the dark mage's faction fell into the hands of their enemy and they ended up on the chopping block like defenseless fish about to be barbecued.
Nelson had yet to come out of the shock of the sudden exchange of position between the Hunter and Smith family. Just when he was about to win, his hopes were dashed by a literal rock from outer space, and he found himself in the clutches of his enemy with no support behind him. His subordinates had already exchanged him for their lives while his only hope and backing, his father, was in the realm of the dead.
Not a single word escaped his mouth as Nelson tried to come to terms with the life of torture that surely awaited him. The fear caused him to lose control over his bowels as a yellow stain began to form on the underside of his pants unknown to everyone else.
Zach had no interest in Nelson who was already foaming at the mouth in anticipation of his end. He turned his face away from the eyesore and turned his attention to Violet who looked more feral compared to her normal self. It was almost as if Clara was possessing her body.
"I have no more use for him. Do as you please with him without any remorse. This scum surely deserves whatever you have planned for him." Zach wasn't the least bit concerned about what Violet had in store for the scumbag as he couldn't have cared less about the lustful bastard with no courage or will of his own.
The gathering dispersed with this final transaction as Zach led his force back to the Windsor family guest house which had once again become their temporary residence following the fall of Greenland.
...
Zach all but forgot about the bastard scion of the Hunter family after that. It was only much later that he came to find that the lustful idiot had ended up committing suicide which surprised him to a certain extent.
He wondered what kind of hellish torture Nelson had been subjected to which enabled him to gather enough courage to commit suicide. Cowards like him rarely had it in them to take their own life even in the face of extreme brutality and pain. They would whimper through it all but wouldn't have the guts to end their lives with their own hands instead of prolonging their sufferings.
Knowing Nelson, his disposition was nowhere in the vicinity of the steel hearted. So, the suicide could only have been a result of extreme fear that caused Nelson to momentarily overcome his cowardice and take the final plunge into the valley of the dead.
Remembering the feral look on Violet's face that day in the forest, Zach couldn't help but be a little wary of the usually graceful and composed woman. Who knew what kind of bloodthirsty torturer hid itself underneath that calm fa?ade that forced Nelson to drink the potion of death as if it was sweet nectar from the realm of the gods.
…
After choosing a side in the war between the two families, Andy's life was anything but smooth sailing. He was constantly haunted by the fact that he had gambled his entire future upon a hunch regarding the strength and the potential of the dark mage.
Undaunted by the consequences of his choice that would undoubtedly ensue later on, Andy decided to concentrate on his job in the police station. He decided to ignore the problems he had created for himself until he had to confront them. So long as the Smith family could keep the Hunter family at bay, his life wouldn't experience much change.
As for the disappearance of one of the two forces in the short run, Andy didn't have much confidence of that happening. He had seen the conflicts between these large families over the years he had spent as a police officer. And during all that time, he had never seen such conflicts ever reach their conclusion. On the contrary, he had witnessed those enmities and tussles changing into alliances based on mutual benefits.
Nothing was eternal when it came to politics and power. Even the enmities forged in blood could be dismissed when it came to the struggle for power amongst those noble families.
Not knowing that his concepts that had developed into their current form over time were about to take a direct and fatal hit, Andy continued to labor away in his office when massive explosive sounds distracted him.
He rushed outside to take a measure of the sudden chaos that ensued as a result of those massive bangs.
The commotion outside couldn't be hidden from his sight. The people seemed to be terribly afraid. Some of them were even kneeling on the ground with tears running down their faces. It was as if they had seen some foul monster in the flesh and were busy begging for their lives.
It was then that the tremors came; the aftershocks of the massive explosions that had taken Greenland by surprise.
Andy could immediately tell that something terrible had happened. He intended to investigate the source of the tremors because it sure as hell didn't seem like a natural catastrophe.
Andy immediately directed the distracted looking police officers to maintain discipline among the masses to keep them from panicking any further. Chaos in such situations was never a good thing after all. It only served to increase the number of casualties.
Since he had been deep within the police station and focused on his work, he didn't have a hint of what happened before his arrival that sent the masses into such chaos. He didn't have time to ask any of his officers for details as he urged them all to help out the common folk.
While Andy kept on trying to take control of the situation by positioning his officers at various crucial locations, he kept an ear out for the information he seemingly missed out on.
"...have never seen something so beautiful in my life before." said one of the chubby females huddling together under a massive tree.
Since, the clearing served as a safe zone from the crumbling infrastructure in the wake of the tremors. The police had been sending the civilians to open areas like that to avoid any loss of life.
"I guess...but...can you imagine the place where they fell?" dread was evident from the trembling woman who could not bring herself to agree with the opinion of the earlier woman.
"Yes, just the shock is so strong. I wonder what it's like over there." the third woman seemed to agree wholeheartedly with the opinion of the second woman except that she wasn't as scared. Instead, there was curiosity laced in her words.
"Is it the first time you young ones witnessed a meteorite shower?" asked one of the aged females who seemed to be standing apart from the group, probably due to the difference in age.
"Yes" all three women answered in unison as they patiently waited for the elderly woman to keep the conversation going. Being women, they were all naturally chatty.
"A meteor shower huh...I remember seeing one when I was just a child. It was such a beautiful sight that I remember it like it was just yesterday that I gazed upon it with wonder and adoration. I never got the opportunity to do so again until now. But it doesn't feel the same now that I have witnessed the havoc it can wreak. I can only thank the gods for keeping such a disaster away from me all this time. A beautiful disaster...but a disaster nonetheless."
Andy overheard the conversation of the ladies during his relief efforts and made head and tails of the situation at least.
A massive meteor shower had probably made contact with the surface and the tremors that could be felt even now were the aftershocks of the impact travelling underneath their feet.
Based on the information he had gleaned from the common people; he deduced the general direction in which the meteorites had fallen.
As expected, when he stared into that particular direction, he found the horizon to be stained by a reddish orange hue as if the sky itself was on fire.
Based on the direction, the possible point of impact lay in a direct line connecting Byzantium city with Greenland.
He could only hope that the target of impact hadn't been Greenland itself. Or he was bound to lose the gamble he had bet his life on.
Although worried out of his wits, Andy felt that he wasn't qualified to inquire about the well-being of the Smith family directly. Because despite the favor he had done the Smith family recently, he had only carried it out through Marico who bore some degree of goodwill towards him for his help in the prison.
Therefore, he didn't directly approach the Smith family and called on the Windsor family once he was done curbing the unrest in the city in the wake of the tremors.
It wasn't easy holding down the fanatical religious ones but he somehow managed to pull it off with the help of his officers.
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