At the end of the day, as far as Nova, Nina, Benson, and the Blacksmiths’ Association, who knew Vice, were concerned, Vicente Fuller left Millfall for Saltstar City.
But that same afternoon, the Symons family, Shelby, Casey, and several others interested in Cesar noticed him walking back through the local streets!
After staging his departure from the city, Vicente put on his mask and metal armor and did not hesitate to return to Millfall under his second identity, with some of his masked men carrying boxes.
He didn’t hide his movement this time, as he had done several times in the past few days. With his situation with the royal forces in this city resolved, Cesar Mazzanti no longer owed the Martial Court or the army anything that could make him hide!
He made his way through the eastern entrance of Millfall with three men, heading for his family’s headquarters while people on the streets looked at him strangely.
Some respected the man, for in a matter of weeks, he had risen from anonymity to become one of the most talked about in the town.
Others feared him, seeing him as just another criminal on the rise, someone who would likely be Ryker’s equivalent in no time. As such, not everyone looked upon him favorably and considered him just another piece of manure that made the town stink.
But while ordinary people watched Vicente move into his territory in the eastern part of the city, some assassins hired by the Symons family were already watching him from afar.
Vice was aware of this, as he could sense practically every living thing within a radius of up to 150 meters from him.
In that space, he could sense the presence of creatures weighing more than 30 kilograms and even determine their position without seeing them.
Through this mastery of his first skill, something he had sharpened while working as a blacksmith, Vicente could sense his enemies watching him.
‘Two level 4 Acolytes. But they’re not moving.’ Vicente avoided looking in their direction, sensing that neither of them intended to attack him.
If none of them would attack him, he couldn’t counterattack or shoot them down by prevention. He wouldn’t have justification to do so and could be questioned by real soldiers. ｎ𝚘𝚟ｌ.ｃｏ𝚖
But besides that, Vice would rather not have to deal with enemies right now.
As much as he was angry and wanted to see some heads roll, he understood that the best thing he could do now was to continue advancing toward level 1 and upgrade the rest of his group’s weapons.
‘If I continue at my current pace, I’ll reach level 1 in no more than three days of training. That’s also the time I need to upgrade all my people’s weapons and start some expansionist actions.’ He thought to himself, clenching his fists and holding back so as not to act against the men who were ready to attack him if he moved strangely.
But just as Vicente didn’t want to fight right away, the assassins watching him didn’t want to attack him with so many witnesses around and without knowing more about him.
Some of these men had already heard the rumors about the leader of the Mazzanti family and how mythical the man’s powers were.
Even though they were level 4 Acolytes, these two couldn’t help but respect Cesar’s powers and were afraid to act against him without better preparation.
The two were merely observing Cesar’s territory, waiting for some important man of the Mazzanti family to show himself in public, when suddenly they saw Cesar walking down the street as if it were no big deal.
Overwhelmed and intimidated by his courage, they both hesitated, feeling that it would be better to prepare more before attacking this person who had powers over metallic objects.
A sneak attack like the one the man who had tried to kill Rory this morning wouldn’t work on Cesar!
“What are we going to do?” One of the two partner assassins asked his companion.
“This person is complicated. Even though he’s an Apprentice, he can’t be underestimated.” The other level 4 Acolyte said. “His weapons are terrible, and from what we know, his magic talent is enormous.
I wouldn’t be surprised if his Magic Gem is cyan!”
Gulp!
While these two followed Vicente’s movements, he soon arrived at his headquarters, where his men were already waiting for him with the doors open.
“Welcome back, Don Mazzanti.” One of the men waiting at the mansion’s door said loudly, his chest puffing out.
“Hmm, take me to the deputy. I want to see him before we begin our work.” Vicente said as he entered the place with his men.
Vicente’s three companions quickly took the metal bars they were carrying in boxes to the training room of the house while one of the Acolytes took Vice to Rory.
As they walked there, Vicente said aloud to his men. “I want all of our group’s weapons that have not yet been upgraded to the 1st-grade limit. I’ll start working on them tonight.”
…
While Vicente and his group were on their way, the Symons family had already received the news of Cesar’s return.
“What? The bastard dares to come back like this?” Marcus shouted to his men when he heard that Cesar had returned as if he were just an ordinary citizen of this city returning from a trip.
Even though there were no soldiers after him, Cesar was still someone everyone knew was up to no good and involved in underworld affairs.
For him to walk quietly in was an affront to the powers that be who lived under the law of the realm, like the local noble families.
Marcus’ advisor wasn’t happy either, but he had something else in mind. “None of the assassins acted? What’s going on? We hired a dozen assassins to go after the Mazzanti family! Why aren’t these bastards acting?”
“The first group acted this morning. After that, there was an incident in one of the taverns protected by the Mazzanti family, where two of our hired assassins were shot, and one of Cesar’s men fell.
As for Cesar, he’s a monster. Maybe the other men are preparing to move against him later.” One of the three men standing in front of the desk in the Viscount’s office said this to the young man sitting in his father’s chair and the middle-aged man next to him.
Marcus pounded the table in front of him and shouted. “Send our men to the bloody Mazzanti residence! These assassins cannot be trusted! Let’s take care of Cesar personally.”
The men in the room fell silent as Marcus’ advisor looked at his young master.
“Young master, if we do that, we’ll give Cesar’s group an opening to act against ours.” The man said. “Without the Martial Court or the army approving any action against the Mazzanti family, any action on our part will give that group the right to defend and counterattack.”
The laws of the Seidel Kingdom were simple. If you were not in trouble with the tribunals, you could defend yourself and counterattack anyone who attacked you, for it was forbidden to attack an innocent citizen.