stjorthotic Chapter 146 "Target" has been locked!
Chapter 146 "Target" has been locked!
Chapter 146 "Target" has been locked!
Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside the secret chamber of the Eternal Tower compound grew increasingly heavy.
The elder wizard had just left with his orders when the door to the secret chamber was knocked on again.
The one who entered this time was a low-ranking deacon who looked hurried, carrying a scroll of encrypted intelligence that had just been received through the emergency channel.
"Lord Holm! Urgent intelligence! From the Tower's Intelligence Analysis Department!"
The deacon's voice was slightly hurried as he presented the scroll.
Holm frowned, snatched the scroll, and quickly deciphered the encrypted runes on it.
His mental energy swept across the scroll, and the information on it instantly flooded into his mind.
His face grew increasingly grim at a visible speed, even flashing with an incredulous look of shock and anger.
"How is that possible?!"
He let out a low growl, his fingers gripping the reel turning slightly white from the force.
Kyle's heart leaped into his throat, a deeply ominous premonition washing over him: "Lord Holm? What happened?"
Holm jerked his head up, his eyes burning with fury. He slammed the scroll onto the stone platform, his voice trembling with extreme rage: "Our deepest mole within the Ed family—has just transmitted top-secret intelligence! Just recently, the Ed family secretly received two unidentified guests! The meeting place was equipped with the highest level of soundproofing and anti-detection barriers!"
"The Ed family?" Kyle was taken aback. The Ed family was one of the Arnold family's main business rivals in Sel City. The two families had been fighting each other for many years. But how could the Ed family have the courage and the virtue to get involved in an event of this level?
Holm's voice was icy cold as he continued, "That's not the most crucial point! The most crucial point is that, according to the fragmented information Nail risked his life to transmit, one of the two guests was suspected of carrying a special item that had just been activated and was emitting faint spatial fluctuations! After the meeting, the two of them left Sael City with the item!"
"A spatial item that was just activated?!"
Kyle was struck dumb, his face turning deathly pale instantly.
"Could it be—could it be our thing?! They—how dare they?!"
Everything makes sense!
After succeeding in their attack, the attackers didn't flee far; instead, they immediately went to the Ed family's residence?!
Was the Ed family behind this?!
Did they hire or collude with the mysterious attackers to steal the "thing" that was supposed to be offered to the Tower of Eternity?!
The thought slithered into Kyle's mind like a venomous snake, making him feel dizzy and chilled to the bone!
If that's the case, then the Ed family has gone completely mad!
This is tantamount to declaring war on the Tower of Eternity!
Holm's eyes turned terrifying, his killing intent almost tangible: "The Ed family, indeed! How well they've kept it hidden! Daring to secretly collude with unknown forces to steal from the Tower of Eternity! Do they want to be uprooted completely?!"
He abruptly turned to the messenger and shouted, "Pass on my order! The priority target for the 'Sun' unit has changed! Immediately and secretly surround all of the Ed family's strongholds in Sel City!"
Monitor everyone entering and leaving! Especially their heads of households and core members! Without my order, do not alert them, but ensure that not even a fly can escape!
"Yes!" The deacon, intimidated by Holm's murderous aura, quickly accepted the order and left.
Inside the secret chamber, Holm's chest heaved violently, clearly enraged. He glared at Kyle, his tone chilling: "Kyle, it seems your Arnold family has been targeted by a viper disguised as a hyena! The Ed family—humph, they're courting their own destruction!"
Kyle was also in a state of turmoil, a mixture of anger, fear, and a sense of humiliation at being so schemed against by his competitor.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Lord Holm, please allow me to participate in the operation! I must personally witness the Ed family pay the price for their actions!"
Holm glanced at him, pondered for a moment, and nodded. "Sure. You know the Ed family well, so you might be able to provide some useful information. But remember, follow orders. After the 'Sunrise' unit takes over, our primary task is to confirm whether the 'item' is truly in the Ed family's hands, and—to find out who the mysterious guests are behind them!"
The massive machine of the Eternal Tower, due to a crucial piece of intelligence, instantly shifted its course, turning its deadly spearhead towards the seemingly unrelated business family—the Ed family.
A massive storm, seemingly targeting the wrong target, is hurtling towards the wrong direction with overwhelming force.
Meanwhile, the Ed family, who are members of Anse Academy and completely unaware of what is happening in Seil City, are discussing the events that have occurred.
In the city of Sel City, at the Ed family manor, several core members of the Ed family sat around the heavy mahogany table in the council hall.
The patriarch, Aubrey Ed, listened with a furrowed brow as he listened to the report from his steward in charge of intelligence within the city, an expensive cigar between his fingers.
"The riot in the market area has been quelled, and the police station has blocked the news, but according to our people's observations, Sena, the little girl from the Arnold family, was indeed taken away by the patrol deacon on charges of murder in public."
The manager reported cautiously.
"Shortly afterward, Kyle Arnold stormed into the police station with a large group of men. There seemed to be a conflict inside, but things quickly quieted down. Then—the people from the Tower of Eternity appeared and immediately sealed off the area."
Another family elder, Marcus Ed, Aubrey's younger brother, scoffed and flicked his cigarette ash: "Hmph, that spoiled little brat from the Arnold family has finally caused trouble? Murder in public? That's more like the kind of stupid thing she'd do. Kyle was impulsive too, daring to storm the police station. Does he think Anse Academy is his personal fiefdom?"
Aubrey took a puff of his cigar, slowly exhaling a smoke ring, his eyes shrewd and calm: "Things aren't that simple. The people from the Eternal Tower reacted too quickly, and intervened directly—this doesn't seem like a simple security case, even one involving noble children."
He looked at the steward: "Do you know why the Tower of Eternity is getting involved? Is it related to the Arnold family's recent clandestine activities?"
The steward shook his head: "We can't find anything, sir! The people of the Eternal Tower are extremely tight-lipped; our people can't get close at all. But there's something strange—"
Shortly after the people from the Tower of Eternity left, several corpses appeared to be carried out of the police station, covered with white sheets. Judging from their robes—they seemed to be from the police station.
"To silence them? Or what?"
Marcus sat up straight, a look of interest on his face.
"It seems this pool is deeper than I imagined."
Aubrey pondered for a moment, his fingertips lightly tapping the table. "The Arnold family has been getting very close to the Tower of Eternity lately. I heard they're secretly preparing a lavish gift, trying to establish a connection. This whole affair is probably related to that. Maybe something went wrong with their gift, or—maybe they've been targeted."
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes: "This might be an opportunity for us! If the Arnold family offends the Tower of Eternity or Anse Academy because of this, their status in Sel City will inevitably be damaged."
"Give the order to have our people closely monitor all movements, especially the Arnold family's properties and the Tower of Eternity's headquarters. Report any unusual activity immediately! But be extremely careful not to get involved."
"Yes, Master." The steward replied respectfully.
Another female elder in charge of the family business spoke up: "Should we take this opportunity to put commercial pressure on them? Recently, they had that batch of ore in the east of the city—"
Aubrey waved his hand, interrupting her: "Not yet! The situation is unclear, and rash action would only give others ammunition. Let's observe first. The Eternal Tower's involvement means danger, but it could also be an opportunity. What we need to do is prepare our fishing nets and wait until the waters are murky enough to catch the biggest fish."
He smiled shrewdly: "The Arnold family—they're probably in deep trouble this time! We just need to wait and see, and if necessary—"
Perhaps we could also offer some "friendly" assistance to the Tower of Eternity, such as—some clues about the Arnold family's somewhat illicit business dealings.
Upon hearing this, the people in the council chamber all smiled knowingly.
Unbeknownst to them, a massive, deadly trap based on misunderstanding and framing was quietly descending upon them in the name of the Tower of Eternity.
Unbeknownst to them, the two truly tumultuous "mysterious guests" had already fled with the hot potato, merely shifting a piece called the "Ed Family" on the chessboard of fate, thus diverting the disaster upon the completely innocent.
Meanwhile, the focus of the Ed family's discussion—Kyle, the eldest son of the Arnold family—was following behind Wizard Holm, filled with anger and a thirst for revenge, heading towards the Ed family's stronghold, which was about to be closely monitored by the "Sun" forces.
A storm is approaching, but those in the eye of the storm still believe they are merely spectators.
Kyle's heart was still pounding, half from lingering fear, and the other half from being burned by burning rage and the desire for revenge.
The Ed family! It was them!
This realization spread through his veins like venom.
They arrived at a room filled with complex monitoring arrays.
Several enormous crystal mirrors floated in the air, clearly displaying real-time images of the Ed family's main strongholds in Sel City—a manor house, the guild headquarters, and several hidden warehouses and villas.
Around each stronghold, several figures moved and lurked silently, almost blending into the environment, like a pack of leopards before a hunt, quiet yet exuding a deadly threat.
Those were members of the "Sun" unit, composed entirely of formal wizards and some level-two wizards, one of the sharpest daggers in the Eternal Tower.
"The Sun Squad is in position, Lord Holm."
A wizard in charge of communications reported in a low voice, his voice coming through the communication array, clear and calm.
"All exits have been sealed off, and spatial interference has been deployed! No signs of abnormal energy leakage or large-scale personnel mobilization have been detected."
Holm nodded expressionlessly, his gaze sweeping across the crystal mirror like a hawk's before finally settling on the image of the Ed family manor's main residence.
Through the window, one could vaguely see that inside the council chamber, several core members, led by Aubrey Ed, seemed to still be discussing something, completely unaware of the impending disaster.
"It seems they're still dreaming of taking down their competitors."
Holm's voice was icy cold and devoid of any emotion!
"Kyle, look closely. Do you recognize any faces, or do you find any suspicious? Especially, have you been in contact with any unfamiliar people or people with unusual auras recently?"
Kyle suppressed the urge to rush over and crush the Ed family, forcing himself to concentrate and carefully observe each figure in the crystal mirror.
He saw Aubrey's shrewd face, Marcus's usual mocking expression, and several familiar elders who frequently tripped up the Arnold family in business negotiations—
"They are all core members of the Ed family, and we can see them regularly."
Kyle frowned, trying hard to remember.
"I didn't see anyone who seemed particularly unfamiliar or strange—wait a minute!"