Chapter 48: Plan ahead
The relationship between the Blue Pegasus Family and the Saint Family had never been one of simple rivalry.
It was hatred.
Hatred that had been passed down through countless generations, becoming deeply engraved into the blood of every descendant.
Neither side could even tolerate breathing the same air as the other.
Whenever members of the two ancient families crossed paths...
Blood would inevitably be spilled.
Very few people knew how such overwhelming hostility had first begun.
The truth had long been buried beneath the endless passage of time.
Some claimed it was because of an ancient inheritance.
Others whispered that one family had betrayed the other centuries ago.
There were even rumors that the two patriarchs had once been sworn brothers before becoming mortal enemies.
No one knew which story was true.
Perhaps...
None of them were.
But one fact remained beyond dispute.
If a full-scale conflict ever erupted between the Blue Pegasus Family and the Saint Family...
Neither side would emerge unscathed.
Even the victor would pay a horrifying price.
...
Cole had no intention of returning to the Saint Family estate immediately.
Instead...
He vanished into the enormous city like a ghost.
By day, he blended seamlessly among merchants, mercenaries, and wandering awakeners.
By night, he quietly observed the movements of every major force.
Like a patient hunter waiting for the perfect opportunity, he silently collected every fragment of information that might prove useful.
The A.I. Chip operated almost without pause.
Thousands of conversations.
Countless facial expressions.
Subtle movements, changing patrol routes, Shifting trade patterns.
Every seemingly insignificant detail was analyzed and categorized before gradually forming a much larger picture.
Time flowed onward like a quiet river.
Without anyone realizing it...
An entire week passed.
...
The atmosphere within Blessed Moon City had changed completely.
The once bustling streets had become noticeably quieter.
Merchant caravans that usually traveled in endless lines had all but disappeared.
The number of city guards had doubled.
Patrols could be seen almost everywhere.
Every major intersection contained heavily armed awakeners standing vigil, their sharp eyes constantly scanning the surrounding crowds.
Even ordinary civilians subconsciously lowered their voices whenever discussions involved either of the Four Great Families.
A strange pressure lingered over the city.
It felt...
Like the suffocating stillness before an earth-shattering storm.
...
Inside a well-known tavern frequented by mercenaries and veteran awakeners...
The lively atmosphere of the past had completely vanished.
Normally, loud laughter echoed endlessly throughout the establishment.
Warriors competed in drinking contests.
Adventurers boasted about their latest hunts.
Arguments frequently broke out over whose prey had been stronger.
Today...
None of that remained.
The cheerful laughter had been replaced by quiet whispers.
Tankards rested untouched upon wooden tables.
Every expression carried varying degrees of worry.
Even the serving girls moved far more carefully than usual, afraid of accidentally provoking someone already on edge.
In one corner of the tavern...
A rugged man with a thick beard and an untidy black mohawk slowly drained the contents of his mug.
His weathered face was unusually solemn.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
"The situation has become terrible."
His deep voice carried throughout the quiet tavern.
"It would be best if we leave Blessed Moon City as soon as possible."
The man sitting opposite him appeared considerably younger.
His complexion was pale, making him seem almost sickly.
Upon hearing those words, he frowned deeply.
"Brother..."
He forced out an awkward laugh.
"Surely things aren’t that serious..."
Before he could finish speaking...
The bearded man slammed his mug onto the wooden table.
Bang!
The loud sound startled everyone nearby.
"What do you know?"
His voice rose several degrees.
"I’ve spent the past three days escorting supply caravans near the western district."
He leaned forward slightly.
"There isn’t a single day without bloodshed anymore."
His expression grew darker.
"In just one week..."
"The Saint Family has already lost more than ten of its younger generation."
Silence.
The entire tavern abruptly became deathly quiet.
Several awakeners who had been secretly listening immediately froze.
Even the waitresses subconsciously stopped walking.
The bearded man lowered his voice.
"From what I heard..."
"Even Young Master Amorpheus himself was ambushed."
"He didn’t die..."
"But he was genuinely injured."
The moment those words left his mouth...
A cold chill spread throughout the tavern.
The pale man’s face instantly turned white.
"What...?"
"Even Amorpheus?"
"Isn’t he already one of the strongest geniuses of the Saint Family?"
Someone at another table inhaled sharply.
"Over ten young awakeners..."
Another person’s expression stiffened.
"They’re targeting the Saint bloodline..."
"They’re systematically killing every promising descendant."
The implications behind those words were enough to send chills crawling down everyone’s spine.
This wasn’t an ordinary conflict between two noble families.
Nor was it merely revenge.
Someone...
Or perhaps an entire organization...
Was deliberately hunting the future of the Saint Family.
They weren’t interested in territory.
Nor wealth.
Their objective seemed singular.
Erase the Saint bloodline.
One descendant at a time.
A heavy silence descended once again.
Finally...
Someone couldn’t help but mutter under his breath.
"...Have they gone mad?"
"Do they truly not fear..."
"...the wrath of Markovich Saint?"
The name alone caused several people to instinctively hold their breath.
Markovich Saint.
The acknowledged number one expert of the physical cultivation path within Blessed Moon City.
A man whose mere presence had protected the Saint Family for decades.
To openly slaughter his descendants...
To challenge the dignity of the Saint Family so brazenly...
Whoever stood behind these assassinations was either unimaginably powerful...
Or completely confident that even Markovich could not stop them.
Not far away, seated alone in the shadows with a hood partially concealing his face, Cole quietly listened to every word.
His fingers lightly tapped against the wooden mug before him.
His expression remained calm.
But deep within his eyes...
An icy light slowly flickered.
The enemy...
Had finally begun revealing its fangs.
Just as that thought surfaced in the minds of countless people...
Something suddenly clicked.
The fragmented clues that had seemed unrelated moments ago abruptly connected together.
Several awakeners stiffened.
Their pupils shrank ever so slightly.
A terrifying possibility silently emerged within their minds.
Don’t tell me...
A series of sharp gasps echoed throughout the tavern as several people simultaneously sucked in cold air.
The expressions on their faces changed dramatically.
One after another, they exchanged uncertain glances, each seeing the same shock reflected in the other’s eyes.
If someone truly dared to massacre the younger generation of the Saint Family...
Then...
The target was never the conflict between the Blue Pegasus Family and the Saint Family to begin with.
The real objective...
Was the Saint bloodline itself.
...
Hidden beneath the shadow of his hood, Cole quietly lowered his gaze.
His fingers unconsciously tightened around the edge of the wooden table.
There is more to this...
The information he had gathered throughout the past week silently flowed through his mind.
Countless clues began connecting one after another.
Someone...
Was systematically hunting every promising descendant of the Saint Family.
Even Amorpheus hadn’t escaped.
Who could possibly possess both the courage and the ability to accomplish such a thing?
The Blue Pegasus Family?
The thought appeared almost instinctively.
Yet...
Cole immediately rejected it.
He slowly shook his head.
Impossible.
Although the Blue Pegasus Family and the Saint Family had been mortal enemies for generations...
Their hatred remained within certain unspoken boundaries.
Open warfare was one thing.
Secretly exterminating another ancient family’s bloodline...
Was something entirely different.
Such an act would only provoke the Saint Family into an endless war of mutual destruction.
Even the Blue Pegasus Patriarch wouldn’t make such a reckless decision.
Then...
Who?
Just then...
A forgotten memory quietly resurfaced.
Cole’s footsteps froze.
His eyes suddenly narrowed.
The force...
That targeted the original owner of this body...
A cold light flickered deep within his pupils.
The more he thought about it...
The more everything began aligning.
The assassination inside the Lightning Domain.
Orion’s mysterious death.
The repeated attempts on the Saint bloodline.
They no longer appeared to be isolated incidents.
Instead...
They resembled pieces of an enormous conspiracy that had been unfolding long before his arrival.
Who exactly are you...
Cole silently muttered inwardly.
Just as he was about to leave the tavern and investigate further...
Another conversation drifted into his ears.
"...This has gone too far."
A middle-aged man sighed heavily before taking another sip of ale.
"To think they wouldn’t even spare a maid..."
Cole’s footsteps abruptly halted.
His expression subtly stiffened.
Nearby, another awakener let out a cold snort.
"What do you know?"
"The Saint Family is truly furious this time."
He lowered his voice.
"That useless Cole ignored the Patriarch’s direct summons."
"Openly defying the head of one of the Four Great Families..."
He slowly shook his head.
"That’s considered a direct challenge to the family’s authority."
"The punishment couldn’t possibly be light."
Someone else immediately joined the discussion.
"And after all this time...."
"He still hasn’t shown himself."
Another man leaned closer before speaking in an almost whisper.
"I heard...."
"If Cole doesn’t return soon..."
"...that maid Trish will receive the punishment in his place."
"What?"
A young adventurer nearly stood up from his chair.
His face was filled with disbelief.
"How does that make any sense?"
"Why punish a maid for someone else’s crime?"
The older man merely gave him a meaningful glance.