Charles froze, then looked utterly shocked. "What did you say?! Force Grey's squad was wiped out?!"
That was Blackstaff Tower's subordinate unit—Liberl Port's most prominent enforcer of order, a force of over five hundred mages who had mastered 3rd-level spells! A group powerful enough to level the entire city if unleashed!
By the gods, who would dare such a thing? And who possessed the strength to pull it off?!
Though Liberl Port had declined from its former glory as the southern gateway of the Empire of Sein, now reduced to a puppet city serving international conglomerates, a dying camel was still larger than a horse. If the city's creaking, corrupt bureaucracy truly stirred to action—if they deemed the events in South Harbor District a threat to all of Liberl Port—and dispatched a real Mage troops, no one in South Harbor would survive the reckoning!
Even Amazon Fisheries Company could face utter annihilation with one misstep!
The thought sent a shiver down his spine. All desire to gift the witches something to lift their spirits vanished. He hurriedly asked, "What exactly happened? Hattie, give me a detailed account of how you uncovered this, and what befell Force Grey's squad."
Hattie quickly replied, "Well, this morning, shortly after you left, Andny's worms noticed that Blackstaff Tower's investigation team hadn't appeared as expected."
"We conducted a more thorough search based on their previous investigation sites and found multiple traces of blood around an abandoned timber yard."
"After cross-referencing with the blood samples from the mosquitoes Andny controls, we confirmed the blood belonged to members of Blackstaff Tower's investigation team!"
"They likely met their end in that timber yard—most likely, the entire squad was wiped out."
Hattie delivered the conclusion coldly, and Charles' face paled slightly.
It was over. The matter was decided. Blackstaff Tower's wrath would soon descend upon South Harbor District…
"Wait!" His brow furrowed sharply. "Who in South Harbor has both the strength and the audacity to strike at Blackstaff Tower's people?"
Hattie hesitated. Beside her, Sephera's delicate eyebrows knitted together as she listed them off methodically: "Though South Harbor is crawling with gangs large and small, only three factions could possibly pull this off."
"Amazon Fisheries Company, Xanathar's Guild, and the Zhentarim." She counted them on her fingertips. "As for the smaller gangs? Against that female paladin leading fifteen elite warriors? They wouldn't stand a chance."
Charles frowned. "True, but would any of those three actually do it?"
"Even Xanathar's Guild only bullies city guards at most. Would they dare confront Blackstaff Tower directly?"
Others might not know, but Charles, as a player, was fully aware—even aware that Xanathar's Guild was led by a beholder! He knew its strengths and weaknesses inside out.
That guy might be a long-established Beholder Tyrant with legendary-level strength, but against Blackstaff Tower and its artifacts? He wouldn't stand a chance. The current Blackstaff could crush him with a single fingertip!
As for the other two? Even less likely.
Sephera's expression faltered, her voice hesitant. "Well… probably not. So then… who else could have both the ability and the nerve…"
Her words trailed off. Charles swallowed hard as a bold suspicion formed in his mind. "Everyone… what if this was…"
"The work of an out-of-control Sophia?"
The moment he spoke, silence fell. It was as if an invisible hand had seized every throat in the monastery, leaving the air deathly still.
Yes. That seemed the most likely possibility.
A Sophia at her peak certainly had the power. And a Sophia who had lost her memories and gone berserk… might act without restraint.
The nuns felt their hearts tremble. They could already envision it—Blackstaff Tower's mages storming the slums, capturing Sophia, and unraveling the truth until they uncovered the monastery's existence…
Everything they had worked for would be ruined.
Charles realized this too and immediately made a decision. "We must prepare at once. After sunset, we head straight for that timber yard to see what really happened!"
As he began preparations, a similar conversation was just beginning at Amazon Fisheries Company's South Harbor District headquarters.
"Blackstaff Tower's investigation team—along with our people—vanished near that timber yard?"
Gale Porter, a female executive about to leave for the day, listened to her subordinate's report, her thick brows furrowing deeply. The woman before her nodded urgently. "Yes. And judging by the blood trails we found… they likely met a grim fate."
Troublesome!
Porter cursed inwardly. She wasn't afraid of Blackstaff Tower investigating that night's monster raid—after all, her company had nothing to do with it. At worst, the investigation team might demand a bribe, something she could easily handle.
But if the investigation team had been wiped out here? That meant slapping the faces of Liberl Port's higher-ups.
Sure, their pride had been bruised more than once over the years—but always by major conglomerates like Golden Dragon Bank, entities powerful enough to shake the world with a gesture. Not some small-time company like hers!
Inevitably, this would provoke the higher-ups' fury. They'd dispatch their most elite forces to turn South Harbor District inside out, making an example of someone to deter future defiance…
And that would ruin years of the company's careful arrangements!
Amazon Fisheries Company was powerful in South Harbor District, even making the District Office bow to its whims—but on the grand scale? It was insignificant. The Amazon Kingdom backing it was a fledgling archipelago nation, barely a century old and far behind superpowers like Golden Dragon Bank or Blue Dragon Bank, whose slightest actions could shift global politics.
This couldn't escalate. It had to be crushed tonight.
"Alert my team. We move out now!" Porter stood abruptly, eyes blazing. "Those bastards can die anywhere—just not in South Harbor District!"
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