n

nShang furrowed his brows.

nBy now, he was certain that the Cleaner had been sent by the Wilbury couple. They were the only ones with a motive, and they had the funds to send one.

nThe timeline also fit very well.

n“Can you tell me more about the Wilburys?” Shang asked.

n“Baroness Wilbury is one of the five teachers in the outpost of the Mage Academy,” Soran explained. “The outpost is specifically for students with a Poison Affinity, and it’s inside the Empress Cobra Zone, inside Swamp Lake City.”

n“Major Wilbury is assistant to the commander of the guards of Swamp Lake City. Individually, there are two people in Swamp Lake City more powerful than them, namely the commander and the head teacher, but combined, those two hold a lot of sway over Swamp Lake City.”

n“You can view Swamp Lake City as a smaller and weaker version of Warrior’s Paradise. Swamp Lake City, just like Warrior’s Paradise, is responsible for killing beasts and selling their corpses. It is the southernmost outpost of humanity in the Empress Cobra Zone, and it takes the brunt of attacks during the Day of Chaos.”

n“It’s only outclassed by Warrior’s Paradise, which is the most powerful and biggest city in Duke Whirlwind’s territory, and Ice Heaven, which is the place where most nobles live in Duke Whirlwind’s territory.”

n“In short, those two are very powerful,” Soran said.

nShang looked at Soran. “What will happen from now on?”

nSoran could only sigh. “Even though we can be certain of their guilt, we can’t judge or report them without evidence.”

n“And we have zero evidence.”

nShang furrowed his brows. “So, there’s nothing I can do?”

n“You can’t do anything against them as you are now, Shang,” Soran said. “Even though you have a connection with Duke Whirlwind, he can’t just start an investigation without any proof.”

n“Many nobles do shady things, and the Duke knows this. If the Duke suddenly starts investigating people, a great number of nobles will leave for Duke Mithril’s territory.”

n“Green Wind County would lose a huge chunk of its force, and Duke Whirlwind can’t risk that,” Soran explained.

n“So, I’m just supposed to not do anything?” Shang asked.

nSoran sighed again. “It’s not that you shouldn’t do anything. It’s that you can’t do anything.”

nShang raised an eyebrow.

n“Theoretically, you could do the same thing they did. You could hire a Cleaner. You could even do it yourself as long as you stay hidden.”

n“I’m not telling you to stay put like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. It’s normal to retaliate if someone attacks you, and nobody will fault you for that.”

n“However, you neither have the money nor the power to do anything.”

n“So, while you definitely should do something, you simply can’t.”

n“You’re just too weak.”

nShang gritted his teeth in frustration.

nSoran had basically told Shang that Soran wouldn’t mind if Shang killed the couple. Even the Dean would have no problems. Duke Whirlwind wouldn’t say it, but he would probably also not mind, as long as Shang wasn’t found out.

nEveryone essentially gave Shang the go-ahead to take his revenge.

nBut Shang simply didn’t have the means!

nCould Shang ask for help?

nSure, but what was the point?

nRight now, Shang’s life wasn’t in danger as long as he didn’t leave Warrior’s Paradise. On top of that, nobody above the General Stage had technically attacked him.

nIt wasn’t like Shang was only waiting for his death right now.

nWhile he couldn’t go against these two, for the time being, he could protect himself by not going to isolated places.

nAnd he was supposed to call for help in such a situation?

nFirst of all, Shang disliked asking for help, but more importantly, what if something similar, or even worse, happened in the future?

nIf Shang couldn’t even get through such a minor crisis, how could he expect to reach the top?

nWhat about when Shang became the most powerful warrior?

nAt that time, his enemies would all be Mages.

nIf Shang needed help then, would he even get any help?

nShang knew that he couldn’t rely on someone else during every single crisis.

n‘I hate this!’ Shang thought.

n‘Someone tried to kill me, but I don’t even nearly have the power to fight back!’

nThis was the first moment Shang truly got confirmation of his initial beliefs regarding this world.

nFrom the very beginning, Shang had been under the impression that this was a world where nothing but power mattered.

nHowever, over the next years, Shang went through many experiences that contradicted that belief. There were plenty of people that didn’t let power define their actions.

nBut now, Shang saw what he had feared ever since he had arrived in this world.

nSomeone more powerful than him had gone against him, and there was absolutely nothing Shang could do.

nShang got reminded of the trial.

nBack then, Shang had felt the hopeless powerlessness that came right before someone stronger than him decided to kill him.

nThis feeling was identical but weaker in intensity.

nNothing Shang did could stop this from happening as long as he gave them a chance.

nSoran watched Shang silently with a complex expression.

nSoran was someone that valued cooperation a lot, but he had also gone through a lot of pain, terror, and helplessness.

nHe knew exactly how Shang felt.

nAfter all, he had gone through very similar situations in the past.

nWhile Soran valued cooperation and empathy, he wasn’t some naïve and innocent kid.

nIf he needed to kill, he wouldn’t hesitate to do so.

nIt was just that he preferred finding another way.

nSeveral seconds of silence passed.

n“So, there’s nothing I can do except protect my own life?” Shang asked.

n“Theoretically, you could ask someone for help,” Soran said. “However, I would advise you against that. If you want to become more powerful in the future, you should learn how to deal with these situations on your own.”

nShang nodded. “I had the same thought.”

nSome more seconds of silence passed.

n“This means I can’t leave Warrior’s Paradise anymore,” Shang commented.

n“There’s a high likelihood that the Wilbury couple will send a Peak Adept Cleaner next,” Soran said. “If you go out hunting or to visit any other place, chances are high that you won’t return.”

n“Even more, the Cleaning Service should now know about your new appearance now. As long as you don’t change your height, build, and weapon again, you won’t be able to fool the Cleaner. They are very good at doing their job.”

n“I know,” Shang said.

nAfter that, Shang stood up.

n“I need to think. Thanks for your help,” he said as he turned to leave the office.

n“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me,” Soran said as Shang left his office.

nAfter Shang left, Soran looked at the closed door of his office.

n“His first instance of having someone more powerful than him target him,” Soran said to himself with nostalgia.

n“Been a while since that happened to me.”

nWhile Soran thought back to his younger days, Shang entered his old room on the first floor of the main building.

nShang didn’t even look at the room he hadn’t been in during the last year and directly sat down.

nAnd for a long time, Shang didn’t move.

n‘I hate this!’ he thought again as he shot up from his bed.

n‘But there’s not much I can do for now,’ he thought as he looked at the center of his room.

n‘Except for increasing my power.’

nAnd not even two minutes later, Shang had already returned to training.

nThe sooner he became powerful enough to kill a Peak Adept, the sooner he could leave Warrior’s Paradise…

nAnd the sooner he could make the Wilbury couple waste another fortune by killing another Cleaner!

n