Chapter 324 Chapter 324 Superficial Conflicts
It was only after a little time passed that life returned to the tavern.
The anti-Zach faction couldn't bring themselves to believe what they had just heard. The judicial system did not condemn Zach's actions. Instead, they rewarded him with an honor reserved for the people with highest contribution towards national strength and economic growth.
The pro faction was over the moon as they whispered subtly, 'I told you so' and 'I knew it' amongst themselves as the pitch of their voices gradually turned high due to their bubbling excitement.
Even though they wanted to throw the result into the faces of the anti-faction, they didn't want to start a war by kicking them when they were low.
That day the tavern had a variety of moods in different parts. Some were jubilant while gloominess prevailed in the others. The officers on the other hand were busy in their own way. Their flattery had reached a whole other level as they went beside themselves to get into the good graces of Andy whose status had just risen a tad higher than it already was following the announcement of Zach's new status.
Andy didn't care about the police officers doing their best to get him to acknowledge them. Instead, he thought back to the day when it all took place and commended himself for having the foresight to predict this kind of outcome.
…
On the day when the inevitable descent of the meteors shook Greenland and sunk the majority portion of the island into the ocean, the Smith family was completely unaware of all that had transpired. They had been waiting for Zach and the soldiers accompanying him to return along with Diana. Only the select few who accompanied Zach to the hostage exchange were privy to the information.
The others were all huddled up together in the Windsor family's guest house as per Zach's orders. None of them understood why Zach had ordered all of them to empty their homes and precious belongings in the darkness of the night but not a single one of them distrusted Zach. They chose to put their trust in their leader hoping that the latter would have a good reason for it.
Like the rest of the city, the Smith family taking shelter in the Windsor family guest house heard the explosions as well and witnessed the sight of flaming meteors falling in the direction of their homes but none of them linked it with Zach. It was simply not the first thought that came to their minds considering a natural disaster like that was not common at all. None of them even dared to link it with the evacuation orders received from Zach the previous night.
While some believed that the meteors had fallen into the ocean, others wrote it off as a lucky coincidence that they were not on the island to deal with the tsunamis following such a downpour of space rocks.
Therefore, the events that took place later in the day were incomprehensible for all of them. A huge force of police officers armed with all kinds of magic artifacts surrounded the guest house from all sides. Even without the advantage of their home turf, the Smith family did not have anyone who was incapable of pulling his / her own weight in the family.
So, despite being surrounded by the government dogs, they had yet to panic. The Smith family had a clear hierarchy. Therefore, a sudden attack was far from enough to faze them. All of the soldiers hidden among the workers took up their arms and surrounded the rest of the family members in a tight protective circle as they glared at their oppressors.
Before the Smith family could begin to question the motives of the police, a loud voice assaulted their ears. The sound was booming enough to rouse dead souls after all. No human being was capable of speaking that loud.
Obviously, the one speaking to them was using sound amplification magic or a magic artifact with similar abilities to pull off such a feat.
"Attention! This is the police. You have been surrounded from all sides. Don't bother trying to escape because there is nowhere for you to go to anyway." The announcer from the police thought he was being funny by pointing out that the Smith family no longer had their home in Greenland.
The rest of the police officers gasped in shock as they heard the announcer's words. The latter obviously exceeded their ranks by quite a bit. Otherwise, there would have been plenty of voices of dissent to shut his mouth already.
Who amongst them didn't know what Zach was capable of? Only a fool would dare to slight the family members of such a madman.
Still, under the leadership of the fool, all of them were forced to act so disrespectfully.
"Surrender yourselves to the law obediently and we will think about not punishing all of you for collaborating with that dark mage. Resist and you will lose your only way out. So how do you want to play this game?"
Apparently, the police leader wasn't quite done digging a grave for himself even knowing that the majority of the police officers who were with him had all offered resistance against the mission given to them by the higher ups fervently.
None of them truly intended to back him up in case the situation went south. Obviously, only a fool could have opted to lead such a suicide mission all the while knowing the strength of the enemy. Therefore, he failed to take many things into consideration before provoking the Smith family.
Just when the soldiers inside the lake house were about to retaliate, Andy came over in time and pushed the leader of the force to the back with his authority as a superior.
Andy had just been back from visiting the governor when he came across a piece of news that terrified him to no end. Apparently, the foolish government had decided to mobilize a police force to surround and contain the Smith family until the mess could be resolved.
Having been in the police force, Andy was perfectly aware of the things that could go wrong in such a situation. Therefore, he rushed towards the guest house operated by the Windsor family at the greatest speed he could muster.
Thankfully, he reached the encirclement in time, or the situation might have taken a turn towards something horrific. He couldn't even imagine what Zach might have done if someone from his family was harmed by the police in his absence.
Andy cursed the higher ups in his mind for coming up with such a suicidal strategy just to put up appearances in front of the public about their active judicial system.
Even the police officers were relieved at the arrival of Andy who seemed to be in control of his mental faculties. None of them had accepted the mission of their own volition so obviously none of them wanted to lose their lives because of the folly of their commander and his overly inflated ego. The fool was trying to bullshit with the family of the man who laid waste to an entire island in order to wipe out his enemies from the face of the earth.
The police officers had no delusion regarding the value of their own lives. Therefore, they knew that even if they were murdered by Zach in retaliation, the government would try their best to bury the news under the rug instead of trying to hold Zach accountable.
The reason; his strength, the potential he had and the threat he posed to the city once enraged. Just like Luke who was a member of the royal family, no one could hold Zach accountable for his sins because he had his strength and SSS rank magic to back him up. The police officers surrounding Zach's home would have an end no different to the one suffered by the jailers who died at the hands of Luke. Meaningless death was what it was.
Andy took a hold of the situation and kept it from changing into a warzone filled with the blood of the innocents.
No one wanted such a result, not the Smith family, not the police officers standing guard outside the lake house and definitely not the government. Even the higher ups had no intention of antagonizing Zach, but they failed to take into account the stupidity of the people they sent out for appearances sake.
Zach was a threat in the eyes of the public and the government had to make it look like they were taking action against the Smith family for murdering the Hunter family in droves in order to keep peace in the city. Otherwise, the worth of the judicial system would have taken a nosedive.
Among the soldiers in the lake house, only Bruce noticed what was happening outside the walls of the guest house. He had already deduced the dilemma of the police force and sighed to himself about the struggles of the powerless. After all, despite being the leader of the Luther family in the past, he had experienced similar feelings of powerlessness due to his condition and the pressure of the other forces in his hometown.
Therefore, instead of giving the poor cops a hard time, he ordered the soldiers inside the residence to calm down and stand guard while the rest of the people were sent back to their accommodations to avoid panic.
Next, he ordered the cooks in the kitchen to prepare a hearty meal for all the cops standing on tenterhooks outside with terror in their hearts.
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