The unity of the kingdom could not endure the test of time and fractured into 3 bodies of power; The Royal faction consisting of those loyal to the crown, the Four Great Family alliance which includes all the corrupted nobles, and lastly, the Neutral faction that consist of nobles who could not choose a side and adapted a wait and see. They were the fence sitters.
The Four Great Family alliance had always been keeping watch over the Royal Faction's movements.
The moment Duke Ignis mobilized his men, the spies watching over their mansion were alerted of their movements. They immediately started relaying the information back to their families.
Albert Grey excluded, the other 3 heads of the four great families gathered for a quick meeting.
"Is the Duke finally making a move on us?" Marquis Gregory Weld initiated with an important question.
The situation wasn't clear to him as few spies were planted in Upper North District. That area was managed by the Esmond family.
"Not exactly. They seem to be heading to the Lower West District." Marquis Rae Esmond replied.
"Any recent news from the Lower West District?"
Marquis Rae shook his head. "That is Albert's territory. He should most clear about the situation there."
"Why did he not come? The Greys have been quiet in recent years..." Marquis Gregory stroked his chin in thought.
"Indeed. They seem to be up to something." Marquis Rae nodded in agreement.
To he honest, the Grey did not deserve to sit on the same position as them unless their ancestor also breakthrough and become a peak-level existence.
"The main problem is the Duke is heading to the Grey's territory. They will most likely clash. Do we help him or not?"
"Let him suffer some losses. We can help after and gain some benefits from him. He can only blame himself for being sneaky and not sharing whatever it is he's hiding."
"I agree." Marquis Rae agreed with Gregory's opinion.
They did not want to clash with the Duke's forces unless had their fathers with them, whom both reached the 9th step. The Duke household had monopoly of the firearm production. It would not be a surprised if their men were all equipped with firearms.
"What are your opinions, Marquise Luella?"
The Acker family was one of the fewer noble families headed by a woman. Luella had been silent up until this point. She was a cold and proud woman of few words.
If not for the emergency meeting, she would deigned to attend the meeting. Her daughter, Audrey was of similar character and never interacted with the offspring of the other three great families. All men seem to be their enemy.
"Agreed." Marquise Luella nodded coldly.
Luella was in her 40s but her beauty shows no signs of ageing like her coldness had frozen her youthful appearance.
However no men dares to have designs on her. She was a widow shortly after she had conceived Audrey. Similar cases had happen to all the previous heads of the Acker family throughout history. One would be an idiot if they could not even guess what was going on.
Both marquises were tempted by her beauty but neither of them think they were tired of living. They were both very ambitious people.
"Very well, we shall return and ready our forces. when Albert comes pleading to us, we set out at once."
...
"Fair enough."
The debt of gratitude the Greene family owe Leon was something that couldn't be measured.
What might not have been much effort for Leon was like sending coal in winter for them. Healing Leon's wounds would not be enough to repay the kindness he had given them.
Robert placed his hand on Leon's chest and began to channel wood elements into his body.
Wood element had the best healing properties towards organic lifeforms.
Due his mummified bandaging, Leon's wounds could not be seen under it, but he was able to feel them closing up at a noticeable speed.
The results were astonishing. Much better better than the pills he had on hand. Within minutes, his wounds have fully healed. Only scars were seen after he removed the bandages.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it." Robert waived, while secretly astounded by his own ability.
It was the first time he had use his ability to heal someone else. Heck, it was the first time a member of the Greene family even healed someone other than themselves. They had been using their ability wrongly this whole time!
True wood-users boast great self-generative abilities, but their greatest ability was healing others! It shouldn't be used for combat.
They were more suited to be supporters. Although they won't share the same glory on the battlefield, their honor wouldn't be any less as the number of lives saved could be greater through healing, rather than killing.
Robert could think of the possibilities with his Greene's family ability as his eyes sparkled. He could become a...healer, herbalist or even an alchemist. It was all within the realms of possibilities thanks to his wood ability. Wood element nurtures life, while water sustain it. He can speed up the growth of herbs as a herbalist and refine healing pills as an alchemist.
Money was easy to earn regardless of the path he chooses. They won't have to suffer poverty anymore.
Roberts mood was great. He liked Leon the more he looked at him. Besides, his daughter seems to share some ambiguous feelings for the boy.
Leon was preparing to leave as he was concerned about his foster parents, but he was held back by Robert.
"Where are you going, boy?"
"I need to check up on my parents. They may be in danger. I hope Uncle and Aunty can look after Mia, while I'm gone." Leon answered seriously.
"You're going??" Lina panicked. "It's dangerous!"
She didn't want Leon to get hurt again. He was lucky to keep his life this time, but he may not the next time. It is the Grey family that's trying to kill him after all. She didn't know why they want to kill Leon, but she would stand on his side.
Leon was her whole family's benefactor.
"I must go even if it is dangerous." Leon said sternly. His parents raised him with much love and care despite the difficulty. He wasn't going to abandon them.
"Mm, I understand. Be careful." Robert said. Leon was firm in his choice. It didn't look like they can convince him otherwise.
Leon nodded and left without hesitation. Lina's eyes swelled with tears as she watched him leave.
"The only way we can help him is to quickly recover our strength and get stronger. The Grey family is a titan to overcome." Aisha said unexpectedly.
"Eh? Stole the words from my mouth." Robert smiled dotingly at his wife.
"Crying won't do you any good, my baby girl. Instead you should work hard and train. Only when you are strong will you be of help to him." Robert lectured his daughter before adding, "Maybe I should propose marriage for you, if he comes back alive?"
Her father seemed to have regained his confidence and vigor after his strength returned. He could even crack a joke to cheer her up at a time like this.
"Your joke isn't funny at all, father!" Lina pouted with redness.
"I'm not joking. I'm seriously considering him as an excellent son-in-law. The boy has courage and values familial ties. He is skilled in medicine, capable and young. A boy like him would not lack women. You have to take the chance to grab onto him before the others do."
"I'm going to train!" Lina flushed like a tomato. She wanted to her away.
"Uuuu..." Mia woke up with a groan.
They had forgotten someone was still sleeping in the room. No matter how deep of a sleeper she was, Mia would still wake up if she was constantly barraged with noises.
"Where is big brother?" She teared up when she didn't see Leon.
"Sorry, Mia. Where we noisy? Your brother went to look for his parents and will be back for Mia later." Lina diverted her attention to Mia and rub her cute head, saving her embarrassment.
"Oh..." Mia understood and went quiet. She will wait patiently like a good girl.
...
Leon made haste and arrived home very quickly. His house was not far from Lina's home.
"Mom! Dad!" He called out.
"You finally came home, son." Helen and Brian was happy to see him home. They were still awake and were practicing some simple movements after they awakened as earth-users.
Leon himself was relieved after he saw his mother and father doing fine and well. Maybe he was too paranoid after a near-death experience? ...No he killed their steward. The Greys would not leave him alone. The Lower West District was basically their backyard. It would be too easy for them to find him in their territory. They had to leave, but where?
Leon wracked his brains and could only think of the Lancaster Mansion. He didn't want to rely on others, but he wishes for his parents to be safe. Only when they are safe would he be at ease to do whatever.
"Mom! Dad! We need to move! Now! I offended some powerful people and this place will no longer be safe." Leon did not explained in details as he rushed them. He could explain later after they were somewhere safe. It was better to be safe than sorry.
"What's going on? Who did you offend? Where are we going?" Helen has questions but Leon did not answer them.
"I'll explain later. We got to go move quickly and quietly."
He hag a nagging feeling something big was going to happen.. He didn't want his parents to be dragged in the center of it.