NOVPUB
Chapter 95: The One Behind It?
Aldrian looked at the corpses scattered around the carriage. He saw Eleine and Sylphia tried to probe the bodies, searching for any useful information. Xin Haotian still acted as if nothing mattered to him, but Aldrian knew he never lowered his guard. When they all sensed Aldrian’s return, Eleine approached him.
"They really decisive to chose suicide, they must be from a professional assassin group, we found nothing on their bodies."
"There are a few assassin groups on the continent. Some even dare to operate within the Ivory Empire, so I’m not surprised they would attack us in the Thorny Flower Garden’s territory," Sylphia added.
"I didn’t find anything that could identify their group either, we still don’t know if they acted alone or if someone hired them." Aldrian replied.
He then turned to Xin Haotian.
What do you think?"
"Not all assassins leave signs of their group during a mission. When I checked them, their armaments were fairly standard for assassins, so it’s difficult to identify them just from that. However, we can narrow it down to a certain group because I found that all their weapons are made from thunder iron, which is mostly found in the northwest of the continent, in the Atria Empire. I assume they’ve mastered the lightning laws, and I have one particular assassin group in mind," Xin Haotian replied, his eyes still closed.
"The Thunderous Shadow Pavilion. Their whereabouts are unknown, but they’re famous for using thunder iron, and most of their members practice lightning laws, which coincidentally are favored by some families in the Atria Empire. No other group outside the Atria Empire has specialized in lightning laws, which is why many believe this assassin group originated there. But we have no solid evidence to confirm it."
Aldrian grew more confused. The Atria Empire? Why would assassins from a place I have no connection to come all the way here just to his group? If someone wanted them dead, wouldn’t the mastermind have hired one of the demon groups for the assassination? It all seemed far-fetched. He had no ties to anyone from that empire—
"Wait—I do have a connection with them," he realized, nearly forgetting that group.
"The Golden Swan Commerce."
The Golden Swan Commerce, which had its headquarters in the Atria Empire. He had uncovered their betrayal, exposing their collusion with the devils to the Ivory Empire.
The Golden Swan Commerce was a giant in the merchant world. Their business connections spanned the entire continent, with only a few merchant groups rivaling them, such as the Diamond Spirit Commerce and the Golden Phoenix Pavilion. These three were the top merchant groups, constantly battling for business domination across the continent.
The Golden Swan Commerce consistently ranked in the top three, just slightly inferior to the Golden Phoenix Pavilion, which had its headquarters in the Vindas Empire. Meanwhile, the Diamond Spirit Commerce, based in the Doria Empire, trailed closely behind.
The rivalry between the three had been well-known for generations, dating back to when their respective empires sought to rebuild after the destruction caused by the Great War three million years ago.
Yet Aldrian still couldn’t understand why a powerhouse like the Golden Swan Commerce would betray the entire continent by working with the devils. With their prestigious name, it would be far more profitable for them to keep their hands clean of devilish dealings.
He shook his head. Their reasons were beyond his understanding for now. There were greater concerns weighing on his mind.
"If these assassins were really sent by the Golden Swan Commerce, do they know that I’m the one who uncovered their betrayal and hindered their operations with the devils?" Aldrian wondered. He wasn’t sure if that was the truth. The evidence and reasoning strongly pointed to the Golden Swan Commerce, but if that was indeed the case, how did they know about him?
"Oh well, we’ll figure it out later. Let’s get out of here first."
"If your guess is correct, then I think I know why they’re targeting us," he continued. "Either way, we need to be more cautious from now on. It seems they know our location and movements. From now on, Elder Sis and Sylphia, you must avoid going anywhere alone. At the very least, you should bring me or this ’elder’ here to accompany you." Aldrian pointed at Xin Haotian, emphasizing the word ’elder.’
Xin Haotian’s mouth twitched slightly, but he opened his eyes and looked at Aldrian.
"What are you thinking?" he asked.
Aldrian then shared his information about the Golden Swan Commerce.
"Yes, it’s strange," Sylphia said, narrowing her eyes. "If they really sent these assassins, how do they know about you? Something doesn’t add up."
"Let’s leave this place. The Thorny Flower Garden will handle the rest—I’ve already notified them about our situation," Aldrian said. Before arriving here, he had sent the location of the assassins’ hideout and details about the ambush to the people of the Thorny Flower Garden. Without waiting for their response, he had disappeared to join the others.
Aldrian then told the coachman, who was still staring at them in amazement, to continue the journey. The road had already been cleared, and without much delay, they resumed their trip to Blooming Flower City.
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Losaris City, the next day.
The capital of the Atria Empire, Losaris, was one of the busiest cities on the continent, a place where countless opportunities awaited those destined to seize them. It was also home to the headquarters of one of the largest merchant groups on the continent.
In the noble district, within a certain manor, in a particular room, the aura of wealth was overwhelming. The room was filled with luxurious items, rare treasures and expensive artifacts from across the land. Glowing objects adorned every corner, flaunting the might and status of the room’s owner.
A giant painting of a golden swan hung on the wall, commanding the attention of anyone who entered the room.
At the other side of the room, a man sat in a lavish chair, staring at a paper in his hand. He was a middle-aged man with black hair, his noble attire enhancing his masculinity and charisma. However, his furrowed brow and dark expression made it clear that the news he was reading was not favorable.
"The Ivory Empire has certainly realized something... I’m sure of it. But why do they seem so unconcerned? What are they planning?" he muttered to himself.
His thoughts drifting back to an event from a year ago. A mysterious swordmaster had shaken the continent, and from that point onward, nothing seemed to go according to his plans. After the devils’ infiltration into the Ivory Empire was discovered, he had ordered all branches involved with the devils to halt their operations temporarily within the empire.
They held their breath, waiting for developments regarding the devils, fearing that their involvement would be discovered by the elves. After some time passed without any significant updates in the investigation, it seemed the Evergreen imperial family were still unaware of the Golden Swan Commerce’s involvement, at least, that was what he thought.
Not long after, the Evergreen imperial family unexpectedly approached the Golden Swan Commerce branch in the Ivory Empire for deeper cooperation. Initially, he didn’t find this suspicious; in fact, he was extremely pleased. The Evergreen imperial family was notoriously difficult to negotiate with compared to other powers.
For the Evergreen imperial family to seek out the Golden Swan Commerce was a significant morale boost and presented a promising opportunity to dominate the Ivory Empire’s market, much to the delight of the higher-ups. They discussed the cooperation regarding black rock distribution and the exchange of certain goods that the imperial family would allow without the need for taxes.
It would truly be game-changing if he agreed, but something inside him warned that something was wrong. After a while, he began to sense that the Evergreen imperial family’s behavior toward them felt like a trap, a bait for them to take.
He didn’t want to ignore his intuition. One of the abilities he prided himself on as a merchant was his sharp instinct for seizing opportunities and detecting dangers. This intuition had helped the Golden Swan Commerce compete with the Golden Phoenix Pavilion.
The feeling only intensified when today he received news that the Evergreen imperial family would allow the Golden Swan Commerce to open a new distribution line in Evergreen City. To him, it felt like a red flag, and he couldn’t shake the ominous feeling in his heart.
Knock knock.
The sound of knocking pulled him from his thoughts. He set down the paper and sighed.
"Come in."
After the door opened, a butler entered and bowed to him.
"The ’first finger’ is here, my lord."
The man stood up and walked around the table to sit on the sofa.
"Bring him in."
After he gave the order, the butler left, and not long after, a middle-aged man entered. Once he sat down opposite the man, the man asked a question.
"How is the operation? Was it successful?"
