Chapter 50. A Stab in the Back (3)
Caw, caw.
Crows cried as they flew around the area.
They were waiting for the humans below to leave so they could feed.
But the humans did not leave easily.
Stab.
Braxton martial artists stabbed the corpses again to check whether anyone was still alive.
Then they gathered the injured and brought them before Edgar.
One man glared at Edgar and shouted.
“You bastards! We’re at war, but you even attacked the elderly and children?! And you still dare call yourselves one of the North’s major families?!”
Edgar chuckled and walked toward him.
“If we do this, we can’t call ourselves a major family? Huh. I didn’t know.”
“A major family should protect people!”
“Oh, that? It’s a famous saying, so of course I know it. If I remember correctly, it was said by the first head of the Runei Family.”
“Exactly! Never forget why martial families and sects exist!”
Edgar rubbed his chin.
“But you know something? Runei, the family that said those words, is currently trapped in Ranga and can barely come out. And your Ashton Family also played a role in making that happen.”
“That was because of the Holy Empire—!”
“No. That’s wrong. The Holy Empire only created the crack. You, us, and Winslow took the broken pieces one by one afterward.”
Edgar crouched and placed a dagger beneath the man’s chin.
The man swallowed nervously.
Because of that, his Adam’s apple touched the blade and moved away again.
He kept his mouth tightly shut.
He felt that if he argued, the blade would cut him immediately.
“See? You can’t answer. You keep pretending to be righteous, as though you’re some true major family...”
Edgar stopped speaking for a moment.
Then he cut the man’s throat.
It was as casual as cutting grass.
“That’s why Ashton will never surpass Braxton.”
Edgar wiped the blood from his dagger on the man’s clothes and stood.
Then he called Bella, who was standing nearby.
“Interrogate them.”
Bella silently bowed and led the survivors away.
Soon, terrible screams began echoing.
After a long time, Bella returned to Edgar.
“They knew nothing about the masked experts.”
Braxton had suffered tremendous losses because of the masked experts.
Because of that, the family head, Gawin, ordered Edgar to track them down.
However, there was still little progress.
“We’ve already gone through ten places, yet not a single person knows anything.”
Braxton could not be the only family suffering.
So they had begun launching major attacks against Ashton and Winslow.
Thanks to that, Edgar had gained opportunities to properly interrogate people.
He had been moving through places under the influence of both families.
Bella watched Edgar think.
Then she cautiously spoke.
“They may be the same people who rescued the dwarf chief.”
“Weren’t those people dead?”
“There was a large amount of blood at the bottom of the cliff, so they definitely fell. I mean whoever ordered them.”
“Evidence?”
“...None. But I thought it was more likely than a completely new third force suddenly appearing.”
At the time, they had searched for a long time to find the culprits.
But in the end, they found no clue that could identify anyone.
Ashton and Winslow also seemed unaware of the dwarves.
So they had assumed that whoever tried to rescue the dwarf chief belonged to an outside force.
If that incident and these masked experts were connected, it could help with tracking.
If the same group is behind both incidents...
Then their objective would be the remaining dwarves.
That was worth thinking about.
Edgar nodded and turned.
“Let’s go back first.”
There would be a lot to do.
They needed to prepare a net.
The operation over the past several weeks had been successful.
It had been so successful that all three families were in chaos and searching desperately with their eyes burning.
Yet Mitchell and Grant had never once been caught.
At the moment, they were enjoying a sweet rest beside a campfire in the mountains.
Grant stared at the flames while chewing dried jerky.
Then he turned toward Mitchell.
“Do we really need to attack Winslow and Ashton too? Wouldn’t attacking only Braxton be enough?”
“If only Braxton collapses, our family could become dangerous too.”
Braxton was much stronger than the other two.
But the current war was still a three-way conflict.
Because of that, none of the three could look elsewhere.
If the balance completely collapsed, no one knew how the situation would change.
After Mitchell explained, Grant nodded.
“So we’re damaging Winslow and Ashton too, so the three families remain balanced? Then we’ve roughly succeeded.”
Braxton’s important businesses had suffered heavy damage.
Winslow and Ashton had also suffered losses, but mostly to businesses of lower importance.
“This is more than enough success. Now we just need Braxton to start using the gold they’ve hidden.”
“That was the objective. But raids are getting harder. Are we going to be alright?”
Recently, all three families had strengthened patrols.
They also increased guards around businesses and important facilities.
Because of that, even approaching them had become difficult.
But Mitchell did not seem too worried.
He placed more firewood into the campfire.
“For now, let’s watch the situation. Thanks to the chaos we caused, Braxton seems to be launching full-scale attacks. The more they move, the more money they’ll need.”
Only a few days later, Mitchell’s prediction came true.
They entered a small cabin near a small village.
