CHAPTER 86: LOGAN’S MONOLOGUE

Upon hearing the report from Logan, a seed of suspicion was raised in Leonard’s mind.

He didn’t suspect Logan to be lying because he and the rest of the Crimson Guards members had all signed a strict magic contract.

Despite this, he didn’t voice out the possibility of their incompetence being the factor in their failure to uncover anything. Based on their earlier display of trying to restrain Mirelle without listening at all, it made it clear to him that they were the stubborn and robotic type of personnel.

Had it not been for Caroline sensing something was amiss in the skies, he would have been afraid of the outcome turning even more chaotic.

Thankfully, his supposed disruptive layer was on the containment and not the function and directive. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to connect with the command token and make a directive statement to halt their fighting.

"Sir, should we continue to spread out and search for the middleman?" Logan inquired when he noticed Leonard was silent for a while.

"No need," Leonard shook his head. "You and the rest of the Shadows should stick to your original task. Avoid any unnecessary actions that would cause others to discover your presence. You shouldn’t stay here for long either."

As much as Leonard wished to use them to help resolve his predicament, he decided against it in the end. They were called Shadows for a reason. They had to remain hidden and only appear at critical junctures.

Moreover, he was concerned and cautious of the muddy water in Velastra.

The fact that even his trained Shadows were helpless meant the opponent was more meticulous and resourceful than they were.

’There’s only that person who held such influence and was capable of hiding a person in the blink of an eye.’ Leonard quickly pinpointed the culprit to be Wesley Livingstone.

However, he wouldn’t speak it aloud or confirm his deduction to be true. He still needed to investigate everyone in the Merchant Guild within Velastra.

Besides the Merchant Guild’s people, there were also the noble factions in Velastra that needed to be investigated and reorganized.

These two major powers in Velastra were the main concern, but there were also other lesser-known powers that could be accomplices or the culprits themselves.

The city of Velastra was too big, filled with all sorts of races and backgrounds.

Sometime later, Logan retrieved a magic list and handed it over to Leonard.

"Sir, this list is our layout in Velastra, and the code message we used to identify each other. It’s encrypted and only requires a small mana injection to see. Any unauthorized personnel trying the method would cause the list to explode and deal a fatal blow to them." He then explained and emphasized the unauthorized consequences.

Needless to say, it was Logan’s way of speaking in a roundabout manner to advise Leonard to never use other personnel when dealing with the Shadows.

As for who it was, Logan was naturally referring to Mirelle, whom they had almost executed previously.

"I was occupied earlier and sent Mirelle to intercept you all to avoid suspicion. I didn’t expect that you wouldn’t recognize the token until I somehow figured out that I can connect with it." Leonard lamented. He didn’t know whether to praise their efficiency or reprimand them for being stubborn.

After all, in the case where he might really be in danger, their action was completely justified. The command token was connected to him, but it could still be snatched away by others if he became restrained.

"We initially meant to capture her to interrogate, but she proved to be a difficult foe. Thus, we were forced to change to a lethal intent."

"There’s no need to explain. I understand your perspective and the type of circumstance you believed I was in."

Leonard waved his hand to dismiss the explanation. He wasn’t going to penalize anyone in the matter. If anything, the culprit of this misunderstanding came from him.

He knew there must have been people secretly protecting him, but he didn’t expect to have a defensive barrier placed on him all along.

It was precisely because of this mishap that Leonard believed the fault lay in him.

"Mirelle Ashthorne is ultimately still a tutor hired by Spencer for me. I hope you can at least mend the relationship a little bit better with her." Leonard explained. There might be a chance where the two sides had to cooperate, so it was best to resolve their issue here and now rather than letting it fester and potentially causing a malignant tumor.

Logan absorbed the information and nodded in understanding. They stood up, canceled the sound barrier, and approached Mirelle.

While his footsteps were light, almost as if there was no one walking, Mirelle’s senses were still heightened from the previous battle. She still recalled how badly matched she was against these Shadows.

’Master was right. Even though I’ve attained a high level in magic, I cannot become complacent. There are too many weird abilities in this world where even having a high level in magic doesn’t mean absolute safety,’ Mirelle thought to herself as she recalled the conversation she held with her mentor.

As her eyes shifted to the approaching Logan, she remained vigilant.

"I won’t apologize for our action despite it being a misunderstanding." That was the first thing Logan said.

THUD!

Before Mirelle and Caroline could even respond to such a statement, Leonard nearly crashed to the ground from disbelief.

What sort of mending relationship was that?

Was that how you mend the soured relationship?

’You can’t be serious, right?’ Leonard coughed a few times and nearly took matters into his own hands when Logan continued with his monologue.

"The Shadows only apologized to three people. I hope you can understand that."

Mirelle’s face fell, her fist trembling somewhat.

"I—" Just when Mirelle was about to reply and tell him to scram, she was ultimately cut off.

"Rather than an apology, I have a few words regarding your fighting ability." Logan seemed detached from the awkward atmosphere as he relayed his findings.

"You spoke too much in the fight and revealed many small openings in the process. In a battle, one slight carelessness is enough to lose one’s life. You also failed to properly balance between defense and offense, resulting in sustaining heavy injuries. Last but not least, you need to control and temper your emotions. To be enraged after receiving a few hits was... quite pathetic."