CHAPTER 173: THE BECKONING

Shortly after the corpse was dragged out of the office, leaving a trail of blood, Wesley began to give a series of instructions.

"Start having more people to monitor the Marquis and Crown Prince’s side. I want to know what the link was between them and our dearest gold ranked merchant."

"Yes, Lord Wesley." Ethan nodded and adhered to the command.

"You can leave now." Wesley gestured with his fingers. "Don’t disturb me anymore if it was just this information. At least have it compiled and condensed properly."

"I understand," Ethan bowed his head.

He understood that this was an indirect warning to him.

The guard’s death was merely a message to have him start to wise up and avoid committing the same mistake.

After all, it was due to his permission that Vincent was able to escape the Merchant Guild’s clutches.

Now, it was just great.

The tiger had returned to the mountain, and it would be impossible for Wesley to make a move on him.

"Just a pity that the Rosalia Troupe was given away like this." Wesley turned to the windows, his eyes spotting another city guard being overwhelmed by a berserk slave and killed on the spot.

"The Rosalia Troupe could have been used to ruin the Marquis. What a pity indeed."

While Wesley appeared melancholy, Ethan’s body flinched a bit.

’It seems like another cleansing purge would begin.’ Ethan still felt goosebumps whenever he recalled the cleansing purge event, which resulted in multiple gruesome deaths.

...

Fragrant Garden

In the garden, a fierce battle had been ongoing after a group of berserk slaves managed to breach the formation and enter.

"Just what are you guards doing?" Darius was enraged. His mood had soured after being granted a cuckold hat by a mere gold ranked merchant.

He had barely just gotten his emotions together when news of berserk slaves managed to breach the garden’s formation.

These were all berserk slaves he triggered, so how could he be on the receiving end?

"Reporting, the formation appeared to be tampered with." One of the Death Guards relayed the situation.

"Tampered with?" Darius clenched his fist. It took him less than a few seconds to quickly realize the tampering must have been done by the gold ranked merchant’s group. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that the formation was tampered with as soon as they exited?

Just when Darius thought things couldn’t get any worse, another batch of Death Guards returned.

"Reporting, the Melodious Bar has been burned down to a crisp." This batch was precisely the team that had rushed to the bar after receiving a reinforcement signal.

"Burned down to a crisp?" Darius staggered backward, his chest tightening.

That bar was one of his bases to train the Death Guards, but most importantly, it was also the place where he kept his betrayed guard’s sister.

He had planned on bringing her over to serve him later tonight to vent his frustration until this news broke out.

"What happened to my Death Guards and Zach?" Darius questioned coldly.

Zach was a relative of his from a far branch, so he entrusted him to take care of the Melodious Bar.

To think that Zach would be such a disappointment and allow the bar to be brought to ruin. He definitely had to punish the former severely.

When the reporting Death Guard heard the question, he quickly turned silent, afraid of answering it.

"ANSWER ME!" Darius roared. He raised his leg and kicked the guard for withholding the response.

Frightened, the guard trembled visibly as they answered, "None were left alive. There were piles of corpses that could be seen, all burned to death. Even the customers who patronized the bar weren’t spared."

THUD!

Finally, Darius’s legs gave way, his strength waning. He plopped to the floor, unable to process this series of information.

It was fine if Zach got killed. The Death Guards’ dying was also fine. He would feel a bit bad not being able to taste the traitor guard’s little sister, but it wasn’t the end of the world.

However...

The death of the customers in his Melodious Bar was something he couldn’t accept.

This bar was not just a hub for tournament betting and money-making.

Instead, it was a major hub of his network connection with not just the people in the Valodria Continent, but the other Continents as well.

’Who is behind this?’ Darius clenched his fist. Without a doubt, those people behind the deceased customers were bound to find him responsible.

After all, they all died in his bar.

Not to mention, some of them knew about his action in causing today’s chaos in an attempt to overthrow Wesley and gain enough power to confront the Crown Prince.

"Reporting!"

Once again, another Death Guard arrived at the room, their presence frightening Darius on the spot.

The other nobles were also visibly shaken after learning of this series of incidents. They reacted more or less the same way as Darius because they were all on the same boat.

Even though the majority of them were clinging to the hopes of jumping ship to the Crown Prince’s side, the reality remained that they were still on Darius’s side.

"What is it this time?" Darius struggled to get back up on his feet and asked coldly.

"The gold ranked merchant that we followed had gone to the Royal Velastra Hotel. We can’t approach further due to the Crimson Guards’ presence."

BOOOM!

Like an explosion had occurred, Darius’s pupils constricted.

If the previous incidents weren’t clear enough, this particular news had finished the jigsaw puzzle.

"The Crown Prince of Aldros... he has been staying silent for a long time but was actually planning this." Darius laughed hysterically.

This was a beckoning from the Crown Prince!

A warning and a greeting to his authority in Velastra.

As Darius was undergoing a mental breakdown, the other nobles also plopped to their seats, deeply frightened and alarmed by the Crown Prince’s moves.

The Crown Prince’s banquet had yet to start, and they had already received such greetings.

How could they not tremble as to what was to come when the banquet officially commenced?