From MC's perspective:
Richmond Household,
I stood in front of the door. Seeing the cautious behavior of those two. I know something is going on. So I decided to enter inside.
Creak~
After opening the door, I walked in.
The black hooded person and Van Richmond who are just talking startled all of a sudden by my presence.
"Who are you?" Van Richmond asked.
In response, I exerted a small amount of pressure on them.
Crack~
The next second, the table and chairs broke down. The immense pressure caused both of them to be pinned down to the ground.
Pfff!
Coughing up blood, Van Richmond showed a pained expression on his face. His mind went black. He was a low-level wizard, to begin with.
So facing such a powerful presence, he doesn't know how to react for a while.
At the same time, I saw the appearance of the hooded person. The fall caused him to show his real face.
The person appears to be an old man in his sixties. But his mana signature showed the sign of a level-3 wizard.
With that, I can confirm something. Surely, he was looking for his enemy. Then I slightly reduced my pressure. So that they can breathe.
Gasp~
Right after, both of them gasped for air. After a few seconds, Van recovered his bearings. But his whole body trembled with fear.
Because of the mana pressure, he can tell that the stranger is a high-level wizard. Even stronger than Mile.
Mile is none other than the name of the old man who wore a hoodie to hide his face. But now there was no need for that.
He was scared sh!t right now. Van can guess that the stranger is a high-level wizard. But the old man Miles felt the difference.
Even his superior's mana presence was not comparable to this.
Meanwhile,
I observed the facial reaction of these two. Seeing that they understood the reality. I decided to start my interrogation.
"Listen!"
"I want you guys to tell me. What's going on here? And of course, without hiding anything."
"If not I will break every bone in your body," I said to them.
Van Richmond shuddered. He thought he was exposed. Old man Miles also felt a cold shiver go down his spine. He too thought their plan was exposed.
He even begins to suspect the identity of the stranger. He couldn't help but think of Silver House.
Seeing the silence between the two, I added, "Looks like you guys won't talk."
Before I could increase the pressure, Van said," Wait."
"Senior, I will tell you everything," Van Richmond said.
Hearing that I completely canceled the pressure so that they can talk freely.
"Now, talk!" I replied.
"Senior, we are discussing joining the Brown Household. As my other family members had already sought help from the Silver House."
"If I don't do anything, then my life will be in danger," Van Richmond said with a sigh.
Hearing that my eyes gleamed with a twinkle.
"Silver House & Brown House"
"Looks like some top family," I said in my heart.
Then I looked into his eyes and asked, "That's all."
Van Richond's face became pale with fright. He retreated in fear.
He is a mere low-level Wizard. I doubt whether he has high-level information in his hands. So my gaze turned to the old man.
I asked, "So, what about you?"
Old man Miles broke out in cold sweat.
"Lord, my name is Miles. I'm from a local organization. Van Richmond had requested me to act as a middleman between him and the Brown House," He said.
I furrowed my eyebrows and asked, "Okay, Tell me about this city. Especially about the top powers looking after this country."
When the words reached old man Miles and Van Richmond's ears. Both of them were shocked to the core.
They have realized the masked wizard is a foreigner. Now they are caught in an even more deadly situation.
"You..," Van unconsciously opened his mouth to question.
Ting~
He felt a small hit on his head. The next second, he fainted on the spot.
"This...," Old man Miles uttered in fear. He saw a small piece of broken wood beside Van. He realized what happened to him.
"Lord, the Tolu Capital is in a state of turmoil. Especially the two wizard houses who are caught in a power struggle."
"Because of this, every other medium and small family was forced to pick sides. The Richmond Household is a small merchant family. Van Richmond's elders have joined the Silver family."
"Whereas other merchant families also picked up their side," Miles said.
There was pin-drop silence right after his words.
I touched my chin in contemplation. Before coming here, I knew this country was not normal.
Otherwise, the academy's branch wouldn't have requested protection. Don't tell me they are in danger because of the power struggle between these two families.
What about other forces? I don't think there are only two big forces in this whole country. What about the academy? A lot of questions popped up in my mind.
But answers can't be found on the internet. Because most of the information is blocked.
"Are these two families governing the country alone?" I asked.
Old man Miles shook his head. He then answered, "There is a Tolu Wizard Academy. Which is a neutral force. Our country is small. And the country is run by representatives selected by these three forces."
Hearing that a look of understanding dawned upon me.
"Guess what"
"The academy has gotten weaker. That's why these 2 forces are in a power struggle," I said.
"Lord, you are right," Miles replied. His eyes widened in disbelief.
Before I could ask, Miles added further, "The tolu academy was fine three years ago. But the graduated wizards started to support these 2 houses."
"After that, the tolu academy started to weaken gradually. There was a lack of new blood in the academy's force. Which led to our country's current state."
I sighed inwardly. This country's government is simpler than I thought. I was expecting something bigger. But it's fine anyway.
I can see whether I can help the Academy's branch office. If not, I'll start my journey to No Man's land.
Old man Miles is sweating profusely. He doesn't know what the foreigner is thinking. He even begins to doubt whether he can escape alive or not.
"Do you know the strength of their wizards?" I asked.
Old Man Miles comes back to reality. He nodded his head before replying, "Both the houses have half-step supreme as their head."
"Do you mean Level-9 wizard?" I asked back.
To this Miles nodded his head.
"Level-9 Wizard uh?" My expression turned solemn. Even back in the academy, I haven't seen information regarding the level-7 wizard and above.
But here they are family heads. And other members must be level-8 or level-8 wizards. I think it's best to leave the capital. Before the situation gets worse.
I don't want to get caught up in their struggle.
"Alright, you guys can go," I said.
Hearing the old man Miles sighed in relief.
Pfff!
The next second, his head crushed like a watermelon and his lifeless body dropped dead on the ground.
Seeing that I turned my attention to Van Richmond. I exerted pressure on his body.
Pfff!
Blood splattered on the ground. His body was crushed as well. I didn't even hesitate to kill these two. Because I don't want any sort of information to be leaked.
After taking a glance at the corpse, I left the room. Then I walked out of the mansion. The two guards are yet to come. So they avoided getting killed.
Soon, I walked out of their territory and entered the main road. There are several high-rise buildings on both sides of the road.
But I'm looking for the academy's branch office.
10 minutes later,
I found a medieval-style building. When I walked in front. I saw the huge name board welcoming me.
[Yellow River Academy Branch]
A quick glint flashes in my eyes. I don't know what the purpose of a branch office is. Shaking my head, I walked closer.
I spotted 2 guards guarding the gate.
Swoosh~
Seeing that I entered the building without alerting them. I don't want to expose my identity right now.
Before doing any of the help, I want to know who is threatening the branch office.
Without alerting anyone, I slowly rose in mid-air and landed on top of the building. Fortunately, the magic cloak is providing good cover.
Even if there is a wizard who is working here. He won't be able to sense my presence. Then I found the store room and entered inside.
I'm going to do my investigation in the morning. In the meantime, I decided to hide in the Gregor Mansion.
...
Burnett Clan,
Tony Burnett is awake inside his room. He wasn't able to sleep at all. His mind is occupied with Vincent Carey's disappearance.
Even after using the family's power, he wasn't able to find Vincent Carey. Not only him, even there was no news about his insider Gutt.
He doubts whether Sub-Taboo Hall was aware of his scheme. Their silence is making him even more confused.
