Aile was planning to go to Fort Bot anyway, but now he should hurry and check on Port Kiar and leave to Fort Bot quickly after the old lady's warning. She also knew his need for information, and from her hints, it was clearly pointing to Hazel and Sara's problem.
She now had the upper hand, knowing everything about him and could take advantage while he did not know anything. Did she only want that necklace? It was hard to say, after all, if it really was important she could take it from him, and he would not be able to stop her. One thing that was for sure was that she had visited intending to meet him.
With a complex mentality, Aile rushed to Port Kiar. Wearing the mask of Moon Merchant Union, the guards checked his entry token and allowed him in. The town's atmosphere was filled with worry and a sense of danger. Everyone was looking around worriedly and staying apart. Aile went past the Sun Merchant Union, and it was heavily guarded. As he got closer, Aile's eyes of fate flashed. Sighing Aile continued ahead, he then went past it, changing his appearance and towards his mansion. Which was also ready for war. Quickly heading inside, he heard the sound of loud sobbing, in the outer court. Looking for the sound's origin, Aile found himself in front of a house.
Inside he saw Aurelius and Beshoy on two beds. Aurelius was missing a hand, and both his legs were crushed. The other parts of his body seemed to have been damaged badly. He would not be able to fight and hold a leadership position with his injuries, even in the unlikely chance he survives.
Beshoy had his eye that was stuck in half winking state punctured, and one of his hand was crushed. He would survive. The two girls were imprisoned at a side room secured by a guard, it seems they wanted to get revenge, but they were forced to stay. With this, he got the gist of the situation, and he understood that they had faced the risk that was going to kill them. However, he did not stick around. He had warned them, and their injuries were, to a considerable extent, their fault. He was more worried about everyone else at this point, he knew that something happened. It seems the bandit group were not too prepared or did not value his warning. With proper preparation, things should have ended on a better note.
Entering the main house, Aile noticed another depressing atmosphere and following the sad current, he found himself in front of Luna's bed. Luna was the assistant of Fiona, that has become responsible for the economic side of things in Port Kiar. She was sleeping with a wound on her stomach. Around her bed was Hazel, Leia, One, Two, Three, Four, Zero, Diana, and Xue. Their expressions coagulated around rage, anger, hatred and controlled wrath ready to be released. Noticing Aile's arrival, everyone looked down. They were responsible for everything that happened here in his absence, and they failed to maintain the status quo. Aile knew what they were thinking, but consoling them would only be done after understanding the situation. If anyone made a mistake, they had to live with it. This would make sure nothing like this happen again. Although, no-one was dead, downplaying it will only increase the chances of such a situation from happening again.
"What happened?" said Aile in a calm and chilling tone. Seeing Luna, the cute short girl, that always had a blush, and talked in a low volume in front of him, in the bed with a hurting expression made the dark part of his soul heat up in rage to a boiling degree. His anger excited the dark part of his soul, which sought blood lust. If he did not know better, Aile would not stop the fury from building up and attack the culprit. But that would only put everyone here at risk, seeing one person like this was already hurtful.
Aile was not sure if he ever wanted to see another person he cares about like this. While seeking blood would be easily possible, anyone who has made this move was clearly aware of its reciprocations. Mindless retaliation would not be easy, and a taught out plan would take more than a day. This would not be an obstacle for Aile in normal circumstances. But the warning of something being wrong in Fort Bot was too much to ignore, and if he really did not want to see such a situation from happening again, he had to go there. Meeting Aile's gaze, Three trembled, and as the acting leader explained the situation.
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The situation of the town worsened, after Aile and Hazel's departure. Using strategies of bringing the Peona Kingdom's presence and other methods to distract the Royal group worked for 2 days. Then at night of the 2nd day, the royal group made 3 attacks at the same time. The first target was Aurelius. With the help of the remaining faction of the bandits and a group of 3 fifth stage powerhouses, Aurelius was attacked. Even with such advantage, the attack consisted of the 3 fifth stage powerhouse, and the other bandit leader at the same time sneak attacking Aurelius. Aurelius could at most fight 2 of them while being ready, but 4 of them sneakily attacking left him no escape and it led to his current half death state.
Beshoy seeing the situation engaged them, not to win but extract Aurelius. He and the extra group join the losing fight and with many losses and injuries took Aurelius with them out of the warzone. This decimated 70 percent of the remaining loyal bandits on their side. Using some traps that Three prepared in that area Beshoy and 7 other people escaped after many more ambushes, including Aurelius in the half-dead state.
The two bandit girls had wanted to join, but they were stopped and knocked out by Three, who was warned by Aile to keep an eye on them, the fight was as expected a loss. Aurelius and Beshoy's remaining followers were absorbed by the other bandit leader who became the puppet of the Royals. With the interference of the white-robed men from the royal side, no amount of preparation could help, it was a slaughter that was created with perfection. The fact that this many survived was a testament of Three's strategies and the talisman and other life-saving objects that Three sacrificed from his personal collection.
Loosening his angry expression a bit, Aile nodded at Three to continue.
After that Three used a secret passage to enter the town and to this house, storing them and imprisoning the two viperesses.
The other members are also stored in the house, and they are barely in a better shape than Beshoy. Three then indignantly said that this attack had ended Aurelius's power and the trade deal and materials collection that was established, that gave their Merchant Hall an advantage.
Without such an advantage, the merchant hall would lose its appeal and would no longer be worth the trouble.
Three continued, the second attack was on Sun Merchant Union more precisely Luna. After being pressured yet again, in a meeting by the representative of the royals, Luna denied them once again. She said she was not interested in joining the royals or Marquis Andrew in marriage. Perhaps before she would consider it.
But there was only one person that her heart fluttered for now, and just meeting his gaze brought a sense of happiness and made her temperature rise. Even now, when she thought about him, she smiled and remembered something that Fiona had told her, and she flushed. She knew she was gifted to him as compensation of her father's misdeeds, and yet she was not taken advantage of. Such a person deserved her affection, how many would take advantage of such leverage. After all, she had many admirers, and she knew she had something that attracted the opposite gender. She was not fully satisfied by her beauty as she had seen many more beauties around him.
But there was an appeal that made many attracted to her. Even when a more beautiful person was next to her, she was approached first on many occasions. The fact that he did not take advantage of her made her sad and yet grateful. While he would not use the compensation as a reason to get her, she would surely use the promise to her advantage, she only needed a perfect opportunity. As a shrewd businesswoman, she would find the chance.
Finishing her work, while thinking about him, Luna was planning to walk out of Sun Merchant union when she heard the sound of arguing at the entrance. As the person with the highest authority, she went to solve the problem. Fighting in the lobby would not be good for business, and she did not want to disappoint him with poor leadership.
She heard, "Where is the office of Luna, Fiona, and Xue?"