Following the news, a quest notification came to Jack.
*
The Attack on League Factions
Difficulty: SSS
Rewards: 10,000,000 exp, 100 gold coins, 10,000 mana cores
Find out who is behind the attacks and deal with the perpetrator.
Quest is time-sensitive. Not dealing with it for too long will fail the quest.
*
'Damnit, when we are about to go on full assault against Liguritudum,' Jack cursed in his mind. He wondered if he should just ignore this quest, but what if there was a serious consequence that followed?
Jack turned to Thaergood "Was there something like this going on? Why haven't I heard about this?"
"Please don't blame Sir Thaergood here," Andrea said. "This is a hushed issue. None of us league factions want to let others know about the calamity that has befallen our leaders."
"Additionally, some of us think it is just a rumor," Gruff added. "I came here to meet these people to confirm these incidents."
"Has something happened to your faction's leader?" Jack asked.
"No, but after this confirmation, I will have to talk to him to get him more protection," Gruff said. "But I doubt he will listen. I bet he will say, let the assassins come and try taking his life."
"What about yours?" Jack asked Haestus and Andrea.
"My leader has been attacked. But luckily, he survived the attack," Haestus answered. "He is recuperating and is now placed under protection."
"My leader went into hiding after hearing the rumors," Andrea said. "She was a cautious one. She didn't take any chances. That's why I said she won't be meeting Your Majesty for the time being."
"I see…," Jack said. If he still wanted her faction's blessing, he would have no choice but to help everyone get to the bottom of these incidents. He sighed. When had he ever gotten things easy?
"Do any of you know about the other league factions?" Jack asked.
"Some of the leaders whom I heard to have also been assassinated were the leaders from the Alchemist Union and Firearm Corps," Willem said. "There is also a rumor about the leader of the Church of Creation being assassinated but I knew that was false because I saw her when I went to visit her after hearing the rumor."
"I heard the leader from the Assassins Guild had also fallen victim," Ducasse added.
Jack almost cracked a joke about the leader of the assassins getting assassinated, but he restrained himself.
"Well, we know it is not the work of those shady assassins then," Haestus said. "We have been suspecting them at first."
"Wait, your leader survived the attack, right?" Jack asked. "Did he see who his assailant was?"
"That's the thing. He said it was a blurry creature," Haestus answered.
"Blurry creature…?"
"It is humanoid shape, though. He thought it might be a native, but he couldn't tell for sure. Whatever it was, it didn't talk. It attacked once it appeared and was gone when our other members came to the rescue. Our leader always carried a beacon that called for help from faction members in his vicinity. He managed to survive until the reinforcement arrived because of an experimental armor he was developing. This armor was very fascinating. It was stored in a magical pocket and could be equipped at a moment's notice. Thus, he could make the armor as thick and sturdy as possible even when it became cumbersome once equipped. I figure he was trying to duplicate the convenience of an Outworlder's equipment system…"
"Are you sure you want to share all that with us…?" Willem asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I get excited when I talk about blacksmithing projects," Haestus laughed. "Anyway, our leader wasn't able to identify his attacker."
"Hm… Well, at least we know the attack was done by one individual instead of a team," Jack said. He was wondering if he should send one of his investigative teams on this case. He suddenly thought of something. "What about the Order of Magi? Has anyone heard if anything happened to that faction?"
Haestus and the others looked at each other before shaking their heads. "We haven't heard anything about them. But we also have not heard about the many other league factions out there, so we can't tell for sure how many have been attacked and how many have not. We aren't even sure if the factions that have not been attacked will be attacked in the future. We can't find a connection between those who have been attacked. We sure as hell don't understand the reason for these attacks."
"The leaders of the Order of Magi and my faction are among the most powerful league faction leaders," Gruff said. "Whoever or whatever this attacker is, it won't find them an easy target."
Jack didn't deny that. The real Janus was a level 90 mythical. Still, the fact that young Janus wasn't present in this gathering worried him.
Jack asked Willem and Ducasse if he or his team were allowed to check the bodies of their leaders who had been assassinated. The two firmly replied that they wouldn't allow anyone to desecrate their leaders' bodies, even if it was to find out clues about the perpetrator.
Jack thought that was very old-fashioned thinking, but he didn't insist. He decided to leave the gathering early. He thanked everyone for attending and apologized for not being able to stay longer. Grace and Thaergood covered for him by continuing to entertain these guests.
Jack changed into Unrivaled Arcaner before heading to the Order of Magi's hut. Entering the hut, he saw young Janus manning the desk as usual.
"Mister Storm Wind, it is always a pleasure having your visit. Do you wish to continue your challenges?" Janus asked.
"Not yet. I have other things to deal with at the moment. Is everything okay here?" Jack asked.
"Why would things not be okay here?" Janus asked back.
"Have you not heard the rumors regarding league factions' leaders?"
"Are you talking about the assassinations?"
"So, you know?" Jack asked.
"Those are other league factions' problems. They have got nothing to do with us," Janus answered.
"Are you sure? Your real self might get targeted as well."
"I would like to see them try."
'I guess the League of Champions and Order of Magi are truly mirrored factions. Even their leaders behave the same,' Jack thought.
"Well, I'm glad everything is okay," Jack said. "Can I meet your real self? I want to talk more about these attempted assassinations."
"I'm sorry. My real self has things to attend to," Janus replied.
Jack didn't push. He asked, "Why didn't you send one of yourselves to the palace? Don't you always attend the monthly gathering?"
"Oh? So, you came because you are worried about us? Mister Storm Wind, I'm touched!"
"Well, I'm glad everything is okay," Jack said.
Since it was so, their best clue was the leader of the Blacksmith Circle who had survived the assassination. Jack sent a message to Grace who was still at the gathering to ask Haestus about the spot where the assassination attempt took place. He also asked permission for their guild to question the leader.
The Blacksmith Circle had a good relationship with Everlasting Heavenly Legends, so Haestus believed that Jack and Grace meant well. He cooperated fully. Unfortunately, the crime scene was in Palgrost. Their leader was also in Palgrost, where Blacksmith Circle's main headquarters were located.
Since the teleportation barrier was not yet lifted, the investigative team would have to cross the border on foot. Jack and Grace sent the details to one of the team and had them headed to Palgrost immediately.
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