“Father.”
A handsome, tall, and robust middle-aged man, though his face showed sorrow, his heart remained calm and undisturbed.
He first bowed to the person sitting behind a black desk, then straightened up.
Wade Cassel had always disliked this study, and even more so, his father's chosen spot within it.
The study, which should have been built facing the sun, was instead placed in a shaded area, giving the entire room a chill. This even required more expense to maintain the study's dryness and ventilation, to prevent the books from getting damp.
And his father's seat was in the deepest corner of the study, his entire body almost enveloped in shadow.
What he feared most in his childhood was meeting his father in this room.
“Have you investigated thoroughly?” A low voice resonated from the shadows.
Vissen Cassen's hands were clasped on the desk.
From Wade's perspective, he could only see those hands, which did not resemble an old man's.
“Yes,” Wade nodded. “Deadwood Forest experienced a special situation at the time. All Bloodline Users and demon beasts within Deadwood Forest were affected by a soul-level deterrence. According to my fourth brother's account, it seemed to be a kind of pressure originating from the depths of the Bloodline. He was also unable to move at the time, and it was probably two or three days later when he regained consciousness.”
“So, my grandson's death was truly just a pure accident?” Vissen's voice was chilling. “Is that how Asens protected his nephew?!”
By the end of his sentence, Vissen had slammed his palm heavily onto the desk, leaving a deep imprint on the steel-like surface.
Wade dared not speak at this moment, not even breathe loudly, and could only quickly lower his head.
He, of course, knew his father's rage.
The aptitude of his brothers and him was indeed ordinary. To this day, only he and his eldest brother were Fourth-Tier Bloodline Users, still a considerable distance from the Fifth Tier. But if his two brothers still had hope of reaching the Sixth-Tier Bloodline User, then his second and fourth brothers, who remained at the Third Tier, could at most become Fourth-Tier Bloodline Users in this lifetime; the Fifth Tier was certainly out of the question.
And there was nothing to criticize about his second brother being unable to become a Fifth-Tier Bloodline User, as Wade knew that both his eldest and second brothers were born before his father became a Sixth-Tier Bloodline User, and thus did not possess a Bloodline Imprint.
However, he and his fourth brother were born after his father became a Sixth-Tier Bloodline User, and possessed a Bloodline Imprint. Consequently, their descendants also had a Bloodline Imprint, giving them a unique advantage in Bloodline advancement.
Yet, out of their five children, only Burton had the potential to become a Sixth-Tier Bloodline User.
This was already a matter of considerable disappointment for Vissen Cassen.
But now, even Burton, the Kasein Family's future successor, was dead. How could this not enrage his father?
Facing his father's fury, Wade dared not speak easily, nor did he dare offer any defense for his younger brother.
In fact, this so-called trial, under the secret protection of Third-Tier Bloodline User Asens Kǎsài yīn, was against an Armored Demon Rabbit whose weaknesses were already known. Therefore, no matter what, no accidents should have occurred.
But perhaps it was the so-called 'man proposes, God disposes,' so the accident still happened.
And now, no one was clear what exactly happened in Deadwood Forest at that time, or why that sudden “Bloodline pressure” phenomenon appeared.
After panting heavily for a long while, Vissen Cassen finally calmed his inner rage and then spoke in a cold tone: “Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Even if your son died, and you went from second-in-line to first-in-line, the position of Marquis is not so easy to hold. You don't have the strength. You will ultimately only be an acting Marquis, do you understand?”
“Father, I never thought that way,” Wade retorted.
Unfortunately, Marquis Vissen had no intention of listening to his son's defense, his tone remaining cold: “You are my son. I have watched you for over forty years. Do you think I wouldn't know your disposition?”
Wade immediately fell silent.
He was indeed jealous of his son, but how could he possibly harm his own son? After all, he knew very well that while the title of a Marquis Family sounded impressive, if one did not possess strength above the Sixth Tier, they could not secure that position. Even if they managed to sit on it, it would only be a title of an acting lord. If, after his death, no Sixth-Tier Bloodline Users emerged among his descendants, then at most within two generations, they would be replaced by other Sixth-Tier Bloodline User families.
“Have all participants in the Deadwood Forest incident been dealt with cleanly?”
There were only four directions from which one could enter the Deadwood Forest territory: the Gem Territory to the north, the Red Soil Territory to the west, and the Eagle Head Mountain Range running southeast.
However, the south was barren land, and the east was the Eagle Head Territory, where Marquis Vissen resided. Therefore, in reality, there were only two directions for supply when entering and exiting the Deadwood Forest territory: one was Red Soil Town in Red Soil Territory, and the other was the border town in Eagle Head Territory.
The two directions were different, and the types of demon beasts encountered also varied.
To find an Armored Demon Rabbit, one could only enter Deadwood Forest from the direction of Red Soil Town. That was why Burton Cassein passed through Gem Territory, borrowed Hughes from Baron Baoshi, and then traveled all the way to Red Soil Territory to find a Hunter guide. Originally, Asens Kǎsài yīn was secretly following and protecting him along this route, but because the incident occurred inside a cave, Asens did not follow them in at the time, which is why he failed to save Burton.
This was also why Burton told Yaka to wait for him in the underworld, because in Burton's view, out of the seventeen of them who entered the cave, only Yaka and his son came out. The person responsible for protecting him would surely capture the father and son, and then all the truth would come to light.
However, it was unexpected that due to Robin's rusted sword, the entire Deadwood Forest fell into a “turmoil.” By the time Asens regained consciousness, it was already two or three days later, and there was no trace of Yaka and his son. Afterwards, he entered the cave, saw the mess, and was shocked by the accident in Deadwood Forest, so he rushed back to Eagle Head Territory to contact his family.
By the time new orders were given, two months had already passed in the back and forth.
The “dealt with cleanly” that Marquis Vissen referred to now naturally meant everyone who had witnessed the anomaly in Deadwood Forest at that time.
“Red Soil Town and the border town have both been dealt with cleanly,” Wade said in a deep voice. “Red Soil Town was covered up as a bandit raid and massacre. All merchant caravans and Hunters who had entered or exited Red Soil Town within the preceding month were eliminated. Viscount of Red Earth only thought we were seeking revenge for Burton's death, so after we made some compensation, he did not pursue the matter.”
“What about the border town?”
“Because it's our family's own territory, there was no mass killing, but all individuals who entered or exited Deadwood Forest in the past three months have been secretly executed. Asens also paid close attention, and there are no rumors about the Deadwood Forest anomaly spreading in the border town, so the matter should be covered up and no leaks have occurred.”
Marquis Vissen did not speak.
The atmosphere in the study became much heavier.
After a long while, Marquis Vissen spoke again: “Place a few demon bloodstones in the border town.”
“Father?” Wade looked astonished.
“Do you know what it means to be foolproof?” Vissen said in a sinister tone. “Deadwood Forest was once the Bourbon Family's estate. Do you know how many pairs of eyes are watching this land? Why do you think Red Soil Territory isn't in our hands? Griffin House has been eyeing Deadwood Forest for almost seventy years, and only in the last thirty years did they finally give up on the idea of the Bourbon Family's inheritance. This is our Kasein Family's only chance to completely control Red Eagle Territory. Do you understand what I mean?”
Although Wade was thoroughly reprimanded, he finally realized why Viscount of Red Earth hadn't publicly addressed their family's massacre of Red Soil Town this time.
The Red Eagle Territory, once controlled by the Bourbon Family, was divided into seven after their family's demise: the current Gem Territory, Red River Territory, Red Soil Territory, White Mountain Territory, Dense Forest Territory, Bayor Territory, and Eagle Head Territory.
Their family was granted this territory by the royal family roughly sixty years ago, when Vissen broke through to become a Sixth-Tier Bloodline User.
Nominally, they were the Red Eagle Marquis, but in reality, the Viscount of Dense Forest and the Viscount of Red Earth were both loyal to the royal family; while Baron of Red River and Baron of White Mountain had pledged allegiance to Count Shufang, who in turn was loyal to the Southern Territory Duke. So, in essence, the entire Red Eagle Territory was divided into two: half pledged to the Duke, and half to the royal family.
This put their Kasein Family in a very awkward position.
After all, their Kasein Family was also loyal to the royal family, a nail driven by the royal family in the south, specifically to counterbalance the Southern Territory Duke. That's why Dense Forest Territory and Red Soil Territory, also pawns of the royal family, dared not obey the Kasein Family, merely maintaining a facade of respect.
Previously, Wade had thought that Viscount of Red Earth had grudgingly accepted their family's massacre of Red Soil Town because their family's first-in-line successor had died.
Now it seemed that Viscount of Red Earth must have realized that the royal family intended to formally let go. Therefore, if they didn't plan to leave Red Soil Territory, then they could only truly obey the Kasein Family, which was why they remained silent about their massacre of Red Soil Town residents. Similarly, these two viscounts suddenly actively cooperated with Gem Territory in attacking Red River Territory, naturally to curry favor with their Kasein Family.
So, compared to the immense benefit of completely controlling the entire former Red Eagle Territory, simply massacring a few thousand people in another border town to silence them was naturally nothing.
“I understand, Father. I will make the arrangements immediately.”
“Do it cleanly.”
“Yes.” Wade nodded, then quickly left the study.
And it was only after Wade had left the study that Marquis Vissen, sitting in the shadows, finally let out a low roar.
However, his roar did not sound human; instead, it resembled the growl of a demon beast.
Immediately after, four thick arms seemed to extend from the shadows.
Then, a monkey-like head emerged from the shadows.
Its eyes were sorrowful, yet its bared teeth and grimacing expression made it appear exceptionally terrifying.
“Burton... my Burton!”
...
At the same time.
In another Count's mansion, a middle-aged man also entered his father's study.
But unlike Marquis Vissen's gloomy study, this one was much brighter and grander.
“Father!”
“Is everything arranged?”
Hearing the greeting, a robust man facing a large floor-to-ceiling window turned around to look.
He was handsome, with a tall and upright physique like a sturdy pine. His face did not appear old, bearing a seven or eight-tenths resemblance to the middle-aged man who had just entered, also appearing middle-aged.
This middle-aged man was none other than the current head of the Aques Family, the lord of Fertile Plains, Count Peterburg.
Shufang Aques.
And standing before him was his eldest son, Grate Aques.
“Yes,” Grate nodded. “I followed Father's instructions and arranged for three Bloodline Knights to go and assist, but I did not send private soldiers, nor did I let them take their own mercenary groups.”
“Are you sure there won't be any loose ends?”
“Rest assured, Father, these three Bloodline Knights were secretly recruited and trained before, and we had never made any contact with them previously, only a few covert assistances, so no one knows they are all members of our family,” Grate replied respectfully.
“Then did you instruct Baron of White Mountain to burn the letter immediately after reading it, leaving no evidence and not showing it to his son?”
“This…” Faced with Shufang's inquiry, Grate immediately froze.
Seeing his son's expression, Count Shufang finally sighed softly, saying with some disappointment: “Once Red River Territory is breached, immediately arrange for two Second-Tier Bloodline Users to go to White Forest Castle.”
“Yes.” Grate was already drenched in cold sweat, his heart filled with dread.
It was not a problem that he had conveyed his father Count Shufang's order for Baron of White Mountain to send troops to support Baron of Red River.
But he had also mentioned in the letter that he would send three Bloodline Knights along, which amounted to leaving behind incriminating evidence.
After all, this war was not a friction or contest between the royal family and the Duke. At most, it was the Kasein Family, which had lain dormant for thirty years, finally seizing the opportunity when neither the royal family nor the Duke were paying attention to Deadwood Forest, to reclaim control of the territory that rightfully belonged to them.
As the Duke's de facto representative of interests embedded in the Bourbon Territory, Count Shufang's original mandate was to maintain the stability of this Red Eagle Territory on behalf of the fallen Bourbon Family. Now that Marquis Vissen Kǎsài yīn wanted to reclaim what was his, Count Shufang naturally could not continue to occupy it, otherwise, the matter would immediately escalate into a war conflict between Count Shufang and Marquis Vissen.
If Marquis Vissen were to learn that these three Bloodline Knights were sent by Count Shufang, the Kasein Family would immediately gain a sharp weapon to attack them, and to settle the matter, they would have to pay a large sum in compensation.
It should be known that Red Eagle Territory had nominally been the Kasein Family's territory for fifty years. Therefore, Count Shufang sending three Bloodline Knights to White Mountain Territory was tantamount to fracturing Red Eagle Territory and attempting to subvert the Kasein Family's rule—everyone's unspoken secret was one thing, but when evidence falls into the hands of others, it becomes another matter entirely.
Count Shufang, for the sake of his reputation, could not simply abandon Red River Territory and White Mountain Territory, otherwise, no minor noble families would ever pledge allegiance to their family in the future. Therefore, this battle had to go through a war process to conclude. Of course, as for the impending outcome, Count Shufang was actually very clear that Baron of Red River and Baron of White Mountain would certainly not survive.
However, the difference was that Baron of Red River's family would certainly be annihilated, but Baron of White Mountain's family might have had room for maneuver, possibly saving the lives of Baron of White Mountain's descendants. But now, with such an oversight by his son, the situation had developed completely differently.
“Let this be a lesson. In the future, when making decisions and issuing orders, think more about the consequences, because often, a single oversight can lead to the deaths of a large number of people.”