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nWith a great portion of the city already asleep as it was already deep into the night, Merdus looked out of the only window in his room before letting out a satisfied sigh, taking in the sight of the city he had helped manage into what it was today.

nHowever, even though Clossbay City had developed to the point where it could even rival the size of some core cities within the Astella Region, Merdus felt like his calling as a mayor of the city would only truly end once Clossbay City had gone past the point of a city and became a true core city.

n‘For that, I would need the entire city to agree with every word I say.’ Thinking to himself, Merdus looked down at the pile of documents on the desk before him, bitterly smiling as he reminded himself that he was doing all of this for the sake of the city’s prosperity.

n‘I wonder how that plan is coming along…’

nBang!

nThough, just as he was about to continue processing all of the documents on his desk, the door to his room was blown open, sending bits and pieces of rough stone and wood throughout the room as Merdus instantly cast a barrier of mana around himself and the desk.

nFrowning, Merdus stood up from his seat and turned around to see who had the gall to barge into his room this late into the night, and into his private residence no less. Diverting part of the mana within his body to his fists, he was fully prepared to fight against the trespassers, fully expecting the people that had barged into his residence to be bandits that did not know the difference between being brave and being foolhardy.

nHowever, he was instead greeted by the sight of two familiar people once the dust in the room had settled down, causing all of the mana around his fists to dissipate. As the barrier of mana surrounding him and his desk disappeared not long after, a frown soon crept up on his face as he asked the two people in front of him a question.

n“How do you two know where I live?” Hearing the question that came out of Merdus’ mouth, the two looked at each other for a bit, with the one in dull ash gray armor opening his mouth to respond to the question soon after.

n“How? That’s not really that important, no?” Valyr lightly shook his head. “What’s important instead is our reason for finding out where you live.”

n“We’ve heard that there was someone orchestrating the entire Clossbay Killer incident behind the scenes.” Tryndall looked at Merdus with a calm gaze. “And it turns out, that someone was actually you.”

nAs he listened to the words both Valyr and Tryndall said to him, Merdus’ eyes briefly widened in shock as the thought of other people finding out his involvement to the entire Clossbay Killer incident never crossed his mind. Naturally, two people at the middle of Rank 1 finding this information out was even more unbelievable for him.

n“Me? You two must be joking.” Of course, he wasn’t going to admit to this involvement of his that easily, vehemently rejecting the notion that he was involved in the incident in anyway. “Would a mayor like me really go out of his way to bring harm to its citizens?”

n“Normally, that wouldn’t be the case. However, you’re an exception.” Letting out a light sigh, Valyr looked at Tryndall, who nodded back at Valyr as he rummaged a small crystal out of his pocket.

nAt first, Merdus had no clue what crystal Tryndall had brought out, wondering if the claims they had brought up was purely accusation on their part. However, once Tryndall infused a bit of mana into the crystal, the thoughts of his all disappear as he looked at the moving image that had formed within the crystal.

nOn the crystal, Merdus could see Lucas, with his body battered and bruised to oblivion. In contrast, the expression on the man’s face was calm as words started to come out of his mouth. “The person behind all of it is the mayor. Merdus is the one behind all of it.”

n‘You…!’ At the very instant he had heard the sound that came out of the crystal, Merdus’ pupils briefly shrunk in panic as this fear he felt was swiftly replaced with rage. However, he decided that now wasn’t the right time to reveal that rage, considering that Lucas had only said something that could be considered as a wild guess.

nThough, as Lucas continued to speak, this rage Merdus felt gradually intensified with every passing second, to the point that Valyr and Tryndall were able to notice the killing intent that was seeping out of him by the end of Lucas’ response to their question.

nUnsurprisingly, just like their previous operations, the two had a few people from the reconnaissance group record the important parts of the operation with memory crystals, especially the parts that gave them a lead on where they should head in order to obtain the truth of the entire matter.

n‘He’s definitely gonna kill us.’ Just as the image of Lucas within the crystal gradually disappeared, both Valyr and Tryndall looked at each other and faintly nodded, the same thought popping up in their minds as they took a few steps back, with Tryndall hiding the crystal in his pockets once more.𝗈𝒱𝑳xt.𝐂𝒪𝔪

n“So, are you still not going to admit that you were the one behind the entire incident?” Valyr asked to Merdus as the two continued to distance themselves from Merdus. In contrast, killing intent started to radiate out of Merdus, eventually covering the entire room as he took in a deep breath.

n“Why should I?” Merdus looked back at them with an expression of superiority. Then, without hesitation, he released the entirety of his aura, the pressure of his aura swiftly pushing down on the two as they kneeled down on one knee in response.

nNot long after, the feeling of the world aiding Merdus in every move soon appeared within the room, putting more pressure on the two as a devilish smile appeared on Merdus’ face, as if he still had everything under control. “As long as I kill the two of you, none would be the wiser.”

n“I had a feeling this was going to happen.” Letting out a faint chuckle, a bitter smile appeared on Valyr’s face as a man in dull gray armor appeared behind Valyr and Tryndall.

nAt the very instant this man appeared, Merdus let out a cackle, finding it hilarious for Valyr and Tryndall to think that a third person would increase their chances of escaping the predicament they got themselves into. “You really think a guard like him would help you escape from this mess?”

n“Who says we’re the ones trying to escape?” In response, Tryndall could only grin.

nWhoosh!

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