CHAPTER 733: THE STORM BREWING

"Hey, have you heard?"

"Last night, the City Lord’s mansion caught fire."

"Last night? Wasn’t it this morning?"

"To be precise, it should be said it was before dawn today."

"Really? Is this news true?"

"Won’t you go and see? The City Lord’s mansion has already turned into ruins!"

"I saw it! It really has become ruins!"

"Isn’t... don’t you find this absurd?"

"Yeah, what kind of fire has the ability to reduce the City Lord’s mansion to ruins?"

"That’s the City Lord’s mansion, with so many Oasis Knights, so many magicians, and even the City Lord himself there, how could a fire be allowed to burn the mansion down?"

"I heard that it was a problem with the Magic Department, you know?"

"The Magic Department? Don’t tell me those magicians were researching some bizarre thing that caused the entire City Lord’s mansion to burn down?"

"It’s not surprising, those guys have a record. In the past, didn’t they accidentally blow up a research facility of the Magic Department while researching magic bullets?"

"But this time it’s the entire City Lord’s mansion..."

"I still find it hard to believe that this is true..."

"Exactly..."

In the early morning, such discussions could be heard throughout the streets of Sinyelle, spreading at an incredible speed.

The City Lord’s mansion had become a pile of ruins, burned to a blaze; such news simply couldn’t be concealed and quickly reached the ears of every resident of Sinyelle.

Some residents were unwilling to believe it, some were dubious, and others went directly to the City Lord’s mansion, only believing it when they saw the charred ruins with their own eyes.

For a time, all kinds of rumors surged, causing considerable unrest in Sinyelle.

Some keenly sensed the issues within.

"The City Lord’s mansion really caught fire?"

"Impossible, with that person there, any major accident should have been suppressed, it couldn’t possibly have been burned to ruins, right?"

"But it did happen, the City Lord’s mansion, now a pile of ruins, still sits there, yet to be cleaned up."

"...There must be something we don’t know that happened."

"No good, we need to send someone to check it out."

And so, various figures began to emerge.

Some were rogues whose actions were restricted by the City Lord’s mansion, and some were high-ranking members of major forces, who were shocked and incredulous at the downfall of the mansion. They quickly sent out people to investigate and seek clarity on everything that had occurred.

No one believed that the City Lord’s mansion would have burned down due to an accidental fire.

With the City Lord present, no accident could cause much of a stir.

If such an event did happen, it proves that something significant must have occurred, resulting in even the City Lord being unable to cope, leaving the mansion to be engulfed in flames.

Realizing this, many concerned individuals naturally couldn’t suppress their confusion and curiosity, thus unanimously choosing to send people to investigate the truth, hoping to grasp what had transpired the night before.

However, when these people began to take action, they discovered that the details of the incident at the City Lord’s mansion from the previous night had already been sealed tight.

All those who stayed in the City Lord’s mansion before dawn, whether knights or magicians, combatants or technical staff, had been synchronized in their stories, not allowed to reveal even the slightest detail.

In other words, the news had been locked down.

And it had been sealed off as top-level confidential information.

If someone disregarded the gag order and spoke of the events that took place in the City Lord’s mansion, it would essentially equate to leaking city secrets and they would be subject to a penalty as severe as treason.

As a result, those who were sent to probe for information returned empty-handed, which only heightened the astonishment and suspicion among all interested parties.

"What exactly happened?"

This was the question at the forefront of everyone’s mind who was following the City Lord’s mansion incident.

Unfortunately, it was clear they were not going to unravel this mystery or receive the answers they were seeking.

Today, Sinyelle passed in various states of commotion, some overt on the surface, others churning covertly in the background.

The entire city of Sinyelle began to seethe with undercurrents, slowly descending into chaos.

...

Sinyelle, Knight Division.

This was located on the eastern side of Sinyelle, the closest knight division to the City Lord’s mansion.

Usually, its primary function was to accommodate knights dispatched from the City Lord’s mansion, and these knights were responsible for the security of the entire eastern region of Sinyelle, acting like a small bureau of the City Lord’s mansion’s military power.

But today, it had been requisitioned, serving as the City Lord’s temporary residence.

"Bang!"

In a luxurious room, a vase was smashed to pieces.

Sgranot, whose wounds had clearly been treated and were no longer of much concern, stood in the center of the room, his face twisted with fury.

"Reiger Brillhaut...!"

Clenching the Amber Blade, Sgranot roared as he swung his sword down.

"Boom!"

As the blade’s light swept through, it cleaved the floor, shattered many pieces of furniture, and also demolished a wall at the end of its trail, reducing it to rubble.

Such intense commotion could not possibly go unnoticed.

Yet those within the division could only stand in place, quaking with fear, not daring to face the wrath of the City Lord.

"Damn it!"

"Hateful!"

"Damn it!"

"Hateful!"

Sgranot vented his fury, constantly destroying the items in the room, even wrecking the room itself, quickly reducing the exquisite space to a pile of rubble.

"Huff... Huff..."

After an indeterminate amount of time, Sgranot finally stopped, gasping for breath violently.

Of course, his chest still brimmed with rage, and his eyes, filled with bloodshot veins, looked as dangerous as a wild beast ready to choose its next victim.

"Since becoming a Sword Saint, since becoming the City Lord of Xinjel, this is the first time I’ve been put in such a disgraceful state, manipulated to such wretchedness by someone else."

"Reiger Brillhaut..."

"You did well! Very well!"

"I won’t rest until I’ve had my revenge!"

The fury in Sgranot’s chest had fully transformed into hatred, burning fiercer with each passing moment.

Just as Sgranot was still fuming, unable to help wanting to swing down his amber blade again, a voice arose behind him.

"I think it would be better for you to calm down a bit."

It was a voice so very cold.

It was a voice colder than frost, beyond indifferent or harsh, almost devoid of emotion.

Upon hearing this voice, Sgranot stopped his actions and slowly turned his head to look behind.

There, in a badly damaged corner of the room, unnoticed until now, a figure had appeared.

It was a young girl shrouded by shadows, her full appearance obscured, yet exuding a chilliness all the same.

The girl did not step out of the shadows; she leaned against the wall, arms crossed, with a weapon hanging at her waist. At a glance, she seemed barely noticeable, yet she radiated a deadly allure and magnetic force at every moment.

From her voice and posture, one could guess that she was probably as youthful as her appearance suggested, certainly not of great age.

Yet such a young girl, facing the fierce, beast-like glare of an experienced Sword Saint, showed not the slightest sign of being unsettled.

"What’s wrong?" the girl said emotionlessly, "Do you want to attack me?"

Sgranot did not answer but stared coldly at the girl.

"What are you doing here?" Sgranot’s tone was much more hostile than usual, quite grim as he said, "Have you come to ridicule me?"

"I have no such interest," replied the girl indifferently. "I came to talk to you about the previous matter, but then..."

Then she learned about the situation in the City Lord’s mansion, and after sneaking in here, about the rough course of events, understanding what exactly had happened to Sgranot.

"Frankly, I am surprised," said the girl. "Reiger Brillhaut, the man who shattered my record, becoming the youngest Sword Saint of the Akasha Continent, was able to defeat even you. I guess not even ’Sky Hunt’ anticipated this, huh?"

At these words, veins popped on Sgranot’s forehead, and his fists clenched tightly.

"...There won’t be a next time," growled Sgranot. "Something like this... will absolutely not happen a second time!"

"Next time, I’ll definitely kill him."

"Kill him!"

Sgranot’s growl was met with only pity from the girl.

"I’ve heard that he defeated you while his magic powers were sealed, right?" said the girl mercilessly. "If his magic hadn’t been sealed, if he was at full power, do you really think you could kill him?"

"I can!"

Sgranot turned fiercely towards the girl, his voice almost hysterical.

In response, the girl looked at Sgranot with even more pity—and now, with a hint of scorn as well.

"Unable to accept reality, is this the City Lord of Xinjel?" asked the girl bluntly. "I’m starting to question whether allying with someone like you was the right decision."

"Are you here to provoke me?" Sgranot emitted a fierce aura, glaring at the girl, "Don’t think for a moment I won’t dare lay a hand on you."

"Whether you dare or not actually makes no difference to me," the girl said undaunted, even nonchalantly, "I’m ready for a battle any time you wish."

The girl touched the weapon at her waist.

Sgranot cast a wary glance at the weapon and then took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.

"The alliance you proposed, I’ve agreed to it."

These were the words Sgranot uttered.

"Finally willing to agree?" The girl raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Weren’t you always so resistant whenever I brought it up before, touching on what you called taboos?"

"...Such things no longer matter," Sgranot clenched his fists tight and spoke in a low voice. "Now, all I want is to kill that man."

"To achieve this goal, I must obtain that item in the ruins."

Upon hearing this, the girl’s eyes narrowed slightly.

But she said nothing and simply turned to leave.

"When you’ve healed, we’ll set out."

Leaving behind those words, the girl disappeared.

Sgranot watched her vanishing figure, eyes red.

"Just wait..."

"We’ll meet again soon..."

In the shattered room, his voice rose like a malevolent whisper, chilling the very air.