Chapter 372 - 263: Misfortune (2)
His subordinate had been reckless, but his loyalty was precious. If he was to be punished, it should have been by him, Jean Shields. And yet, the Dudley Family had just lynched the man... Even knowing the source of the Dudley Family’s power, this was an insult he simply could not stomach.
The dispute escalated into a conflict between the military and the Noble Houses. It also touched upon the friction between The Shields Faction and the Kane Faction within the Power Corps, as the man the Dudleys had killed was one of Kent Kane’s subordinates.
Jean Shields was a smart man.
He didn’t have a guaranteed victory facing two factions alone, so he first contacted Commander Chandler to secure an alliance.
Everyone knew Commander Chandler was fiercely protective of his own, and he would fly into a rage if one of his soldiers was killed by the Power Corps.
The conflict between the regular military and the Power Corps was long-standing. Things had been better when Owen Reid was alive; after all, he and Commander Chandler had been colleagues before the apocalypse, and their relationship had always been decent. But with Sheldon Reid’s generation, his arrogance had caused the relationship with Commander Chandler to deteriorate, and the two men found each other to be a complete eyesore.
Back then, whenever they had a disagreement, it was usually Commander Chandler who had to concede. What choice did he have when his men were all ordinary people? Sheldon Reid had finally gone missing, and the great weight on his shoulders was lifted. But he hadn’t had long to relax before something like this happened again...
He had no intention of enduring it any longer!
He and Jean Shields quickly formed a united front. This time, they would not settle it privately. Everything would be handled according to legal procedure!
The nearly two-week-long fog had passed, and people could finally venture outside the city again.
But a heavy gloom still hung over Sheldon Dudley, the Clan Leader of the Dudley Family.
In the main hall, he looked down at the dozen or so disheveled family disciples standing before him, so furious he wished he could slap every single one of them.
But he couldn’t. As the Clan Leader, he had to leave their parents with some dignity.
Besides, it would be pointless now.
He closed his eyes, forcing down his anger. He turned his head and ordered the person behind him, "Send men to rescue the Walsh Family’s people immediately!" After the man left to carry out the order, he turned back. "Did you even consider the consequences of abandoning the Walsh party and fleeing back here?"
"Uncle—uh, no, Clan Leader..." Wayne Dudley, the one at the front, stammered. "We had no choice! Those Mutant Beasts were too ferocious! We couldn’t even fend for ourselves. If we hadn’t run, you’d be collecting our corpses..."
’I would have rather collected your corpses!’ Sheldon Dudley thought bitterly.
But what he said aloud was harsh. "The Walsh Family and our Dudley Family have been allies for generations! Our families sent disciples to hunt outside the city together to improve our strength and deepen your bonds. Your parents should have told you all this! But you? You deserted your posts and left your friends in mortal danger... You’ve brought utter shame to the Dudley name!"
His sharp gaze swept over the group, and his voice dropped low. "This time, if the Walsh party can’t be rescued, you can all expect to be severely punished!"
Hearing this, a collective shiver ran through the group below.
They were well aware of Sheldon Dudley’s ruthlessness.
When it came to disobedient or useless disciples, he was known to turn on them in a heartbeat. If he said "severely punished," what hope did they have of getting off easy?
Wayne Dudley pitifully raised his face, wanting to offer a few words of explanation, but he fell silent the moment he saw Sheldon Dudley’s vicious glare. He shot a look at the others, and they all slinked away.
In truth, he had misunderstood.
Although they had made a grave mistake, Sheldon Dudley would never go so far as to kill them all. He was furious that they were such disappointments, only making a bad situation worse.
The Dudley Family was already in a season of crisis.
Yesterday, the Government’s judicial department had sent men to their door, demanding the arrest of several murderers. The first was his son, Edwin Dudley, followed by his younger brother’s second son, William Dudley... The charge was the brutal murder of a Senior Soldier from the Power Corps.
He knew the gist of the incident.
As for this Senior Soldier who had dared to cross the Dudley Family, he agreed that the man could not be left alive. But a kill had to be clean, not leave behind evidence for others to use against them!
Unfortunately, by the time he learned the details, it was already too late.
He could dismiss the squad that came to his door for now, but he knew perfectly well that they wouldn’t have dared to come without someone powerful backing them.
This matter was far from over...
Sure enough, by this morning, he had uncovered the truth. It was those two pulling the strings from behind the scenes.
That made things tricky.
And just as he was trying to figure out how to resolve that issue, with no clear plan in mind, Wayne Dudley had to go and lead the charge in this major incident offending the Walsh Family.
To say he was at his wits’ end would be an understatement.
All he could do was wait and see.
If the members of the Walsh party could be saved, there would be room to salvage the situation.
Unfortunately, while his wishful thinking was optimistic, reality delivered a harsh slap in the face.
The rescue party he had dispatched returned two hours later with the worst possible news.
When they arrived at the scene, it was all over.
Everyone from the Walsh party, except for the Clan Leader’s grandson, Khai Walsh, had been killed by Mutant Beasts. Not even complete corpses were left. The ones who happened to save Khai Walsh were a passing Hunting Party, and they had only managed to snatch him from the jaws of a stray beast. His life was saved, but both of his legs were completely ruined...
According to the report, when Khai Walsh saw them, his eyes were bloodshot, and his hatred was bone-deep.
Hearing this, Sheldon Dudley was like an ant on a hot pan. He couldn’t sit still, pacing back and forth in the hall.
The relationship with the Walsh Family had actually been forged by the Old Master. Now that things had come to this, he truly didn’t know how to clean up the mess.
After thinking long and hard, he felt the only option was to ask the Old Master to step in personally.
’If the Old Master takes action,’ he thought, ’the Walsh Family will surely show him the proper respect. Then I can focus on dealing with the legal trouble from the Power Corps, and everything will be resolved smoothly.’
But he did not know that this... was only the beginning.