Ghostship turned invisible and flew out of Micheal's residence.
The servants working in the residence, along with the butlers, didn't notice anything weird.
There was only half an hour before midnight and they were understaffed.
In one of the main courtyards, second class butlers hustled for the final minute preparations.
To describe the arrangements, one word stood out.
Lavish.
The chairs and tables were made from Green Wood. The cost of a single chair was enough for a family of four to live comfortably for three months.
Then the delicacies.
Each dish was meticulously prepared by the Fire Awakener chefs.
Level 7 magic beasts' meat was used. There were even a few Level 8 Magic Beasts dishes. Complementing precious herbs multiplied the value of the dishes.
The special wine was sura—also known as fake ambrosia. Its name spoke for itself.
Just one meal and a low Awakener would reap the benefits of half year's cultivation.
But of course, that would be a mere fantasy.
The security was enough to stop even high awakeners.
Besides the star treasures projecting multiple barriers, there were a hundred elite guards taking care of the perimeter.
These were mostly level 6 Awakeners.
Amidst such a lineup, the Vice Head of Astor Clan—Daiyu rubbed her forehead.
Her gentle yet commanding voice sounded across the field. "If you do any mistake, you'll be hanged."
The second class butlers responsible for overseeing the arrangements were sweating at her calm yet serious remarks.
"What happened to Micheal?" Daiyu frowned and turned to her personal butler.
"He asked us to not disturb him. The cluster officers' scam must have been too much to bear." Her personal butler replied.
"...If it's gone, it's gone. Strength is the final word." Daiyu waved her hand in irritation.
Managing such matters wasn't her strong suit. She liked twisting off heads better.
That was why she was chosen as the host of this meeting. Of course, being a Vice Head gave the other party enough courtesy.
But to host a level 8, one must be a level 8.
Of course, that was how it seemed. Like a normal meeting.
The true aim of the meeting was…
"Miss, the security is lower than expected." Anna's figure flashed, and she appeared before Sarah.
Sarah glanced at the most important building of Astor Clan — the administrative block.
Her goal was to find the evidence of Astor's colluding with Shadow Order and, preferably, Abyssals.
"Let's go." Sarah said and crushed a red crystal.
The aura around her disappeared, and she turned invisible.
It was a treasure—items found in Ruins, but cannot be manufactured by humans.
They were much more precious and even Sarah inherited only a couple from her late mother.
Anna crushed a similar crystal and followed her in.
The original plan was to let Anna enter while Sarah waited in a safe location. In case of danger, Anna could teleport to the Sarah and they'd leave in her private spaceship.
But due to some reason, the security was much lower around the building.
After drugging a guard retiring from her duty and a couple of her superiors, they had an idea of the building's layout and made an interesting discovery .
The high level awakeners were absent for some reason. They seemed to be transferred out somewhere.
So Sarah, too, would be joining the search.
They attributed the weirdness here to the important meeting a few miles from here.
'Are they trying to salvage their officialdom?' Anna thought as a small orb in her hand scanned the data storages in the adjacent rooms.
The guards in the hallway and the officials walking in and out didn't seem to notice her actions.
The treasure had its limits both on time and level. A Level 9 could easily sense them. But Anna was pretty sure the Astor's Clan Master wouldn't be in this building at midnight.
"Miss, if you weren't a Dual Awakener, Evander would cry in joy." Anna bitterly smiled as her figure blinked in and out of the rooms.
As she expected, there was no evidence about Shadow Order in the early rooms.
Sarah went deeper.
"But even if you are not fated to be a Sovereign, I believe you'll be the strongest Level 9." Anna clenched her fist and teleported to a larger office.
In a luxurious office, the orb in Sarah's hand glowed red.
'Here.' She looked around and saw a peak level 6 awakener in the office. He wasn't an officer, but a guard. It only showed the importance of the room.
She tapped a ring, and the super maid appeared beside her in an instant.
Anna didn't need to be told as she knocked out the man and used her own orb to locate the special switch.
With a click, a secret door was opened, and Anna dived in first.
After a second, she poked her head out and nodded at Sarah.
The data that would destroy Astor Clan was right inside.
At the same time, in the meeting venue:
A black spaceship descended, and three men in black jumped down.
There was a hooded figure symbol in their suits. The face part was black, but with a blood red smile mark.
It was the Shadow Order!
Daiyu smiled at the incoming guests.
The man in lead, the vice head of Shadow Order, nodded at her and turned back.
Abyssals sauntered out of the spaceship.
Leading them was a female Abyssal in a red dress.
Ruslana, Level 8, Demon Abyss's Royal Princess, daughter of Demon King, nodded lightly at the humans.
Her grey skin was in contrast with her red dress, but somehow she exuded a strange elegance.
"Let's begin."
Soon, the vice chiefs of Astor Clan and Shadow Order started their meeting with the Abyss Princess.
The members of Astor Clan calmly received the scene that would've shocked any normal human.
The servants walked around with soulless eyes. There was a high level mind awakener controlling them.
The second class butlers were enthusiastic as they greeted the familiar Abyssals and Shadow Order members.
The third class butlers tried to fawn up and develop a harmonious relationship.
Obviously, this was not the first time.
It wasn't as if this didn't weird out a few butlers. It surely did and quite a few threatened to expose this to public.
They were no more. Including their families, friends and relatives, everyone related to them was gone.
Those who remained were the ones with tight mouths.
"It looks like you're in a pinch." Ruslana sipped the wine and smiled at Daiyu.
"So are you." Mandla, the vice head of Shadow Order, chimed in.
Abyssal spies were hunted down. Astor Clan's officials were exposed.
It was an embarrassment for any major power.
The air turned still for a few minutes.
"We all have the common enemy." Ruslana endured the shame of sitting with the inferior species and broke the silence.
"Enigma."
That name was like a bomb that silenced all friction.
Even Daiyu stiffened up and clenched her fist.
Ruslana smirked and continued. "Just how long can you keep your Astor Clan keep your geniuses from going out?"
Daiyu gritted her teeth. There was no answer.
"No one can catch her. She has no one to be threatened with. Her strength is enough to overwhelm every Level 8. The day she wills it, all the geniuses of your clan would be killed." Ruslana said while enjoying the contorting face of the inferior female.
"Like Martin and Ganbold Clan, all their promising geniuses are killed. Even though we too lost our best geniuses, we at least have the younger ones." Daiyu sighed before glaring at Ruslana.
"She was against us in every step, but her focus was always on you. So what happened?" She growled at the haughty princess.
Ruslana didn't answer and instead, following human etiquette, started her late dinner.
Mandla glanced at the angry Daiyu and sighed. "It doesn't matter if this plan is perfect, right?"
Daiyu, who seemed furious, laughed out loud. "I really hope so."
Ruslana said. "Martin, Ganbold Clans are vassals of Xanders. You are next. We got enough people here. Just wait, once she comes…"
"I'm here." A cold voice drifted with the wind.
Her voice was colder than the night.