The enemy squads residing in the town gave their all and used every strategy they could think of once they had learned that the war god, the man revered as an unstoppable force and a hero, was leading a squad to eliminate them.But as anyone who had witnessed just what Arthur Rhyfel was capable of or had even heard it from those who had seen it firsthand, would expect, the efforts of the enemy squads were utterly useless.In order to eliminate any opportunity for the soldiers to cause any harm to the civilians within the town that they held hostage, Arthur ordered his men to observe, noting the behavior and patterns of his enemies.And then when they had let down their guard, in the dead of night, Arthur struck, his men following right after him and carrying out his orders without any hesitation.The plan that the commanders of the enemy squads had thought to be solid and fool proof, crumbled before their very eyes. They believed that even if the war god was to attack, the main force
Arthur shook his head with a small smile, ridding himself of some of the few fond memories he had during the war. He stole a glance through the side mirror at the silent Henri who appeared to be looking through a few documents.“Being tense will do you no good, Henri. Relax and look at this like a vacation.” Arthur said calmly, his tone and message hinting at his attempt at reassurance.Henri looked up, shaking his head with a nervous chuckle. “I'm afraid that will be difficult, Mr Smith. We are walking into the lion's den after all.”While he tried to appear fine on the outside with his smile that through years of practice, appeared genuine although Arthur saw through the façade easily, his hands shook nervously and almost immediately, Henri clasped them together, attempting and failing to hide the nervousness or rather fear he felt.“Know this, as long as I am around, there is no greater reassurance than that,” Arthur's voice took a more grave undertone but even at that, Henri could
Arthur's eyes locked onto Viktor's, but Henri nodded, and together they donned the hoods.The van doors slid shut, and the vehicle pulled away from the curb, heading towards the cruise ship.As they drove, Arthur's mind raced with possibilities. He knew the Merchant's security would be tight, but he had a plan. And with Henri by his side, he knew he could pull it off.The van pulled up to the dock, and the doors slid open. Viktor and the woman gestured for Arthur and Henri to exit.As they stepped out onto the dock, Arthur caught a glimpse of the cruise ship, its decks gleaming in the fading light.Just as Arthur and Henri were about to head in, Viktor called out to them.The two men turned to him, with Henri being the only one out of the duo to visibly show his confusion, whereas Arthur who posed as his bodyguard had his expression remain as stoic as it had been from the start.“Sirs! You can't go in just yet, after all there's one last requirement before we let you enjoy your stay.”
The Blue Horizon, that was a name Arthur had come across more times than he had preferred to, but there wasn't much that could've been done to change that.After all, it was the name of the cruise ship that he was currently on, the same ship that was his target location for one main reason, the masked woman who stood before him flanked by guards in well tailored suits.She didn't make any direct introductions, but that was unnecessary, Arthur was already very familiar with who she was. Even if one were to ignore the somewhat obvious signs present at that moment that showed her true identity, he had memorized everything Charles had on her and her physical appearance was a part of the details, as one would expect.So an extravagant dress and well decorated mask were far from sufficient in deceiving the war god of all people and if that wasn't enough to prove his point, the exact same tone that had rang out from the speakers during the announcement was the very same one that he heard fro
The Merchant had decided to postpone her conversation with the masked Arthur and Henri as she was notified about what seemed to be an issue of far higher priority than satisfying her curiosity.And so with a wave and her lingering predatory gaze that seemed a bit long at least to Henri, she left the room, her long black dress flowing after her before her guards trailed her.Arthur watched one of the bigger bodyguards who followed his target for a brief moment before he moved to shut the door.“I can't believe-” Henri's remark was cut short by Arthur's shushing response, his index finger over the position where his lips would be if he was unmasked.The head of the Lefevre household watched his apparent bodyguard bring out a small piece of candy and unwrap it, popping the candy into his mouth before he began to move around the room, rubbing the wrapper together to let out a small squeaking noise.Afterwards, he went to the window and shut it before switching off the lights in the room.
“I'll be back.” Arthur said, rising quickly. “I have something I need to check.”And so he exited the room without explaining further, wearing his mask on the way out.Arthur stepped out into the hallway, scanning his surroundings just as he had done when they had first boarded the ship and Henri was doing his usual businessman interactions and greetings with the other attendees of the event.Just as his research had shown, the guests on the cruise ship or rather the Blue Horizon were a great number and they were immensely diverse.Both people who appeared and interacted like citizens of the empire and those who were obviously foreigners, and under close observation, one would note that they were from a great number of other countries and regions.It just emphasized how reputable the Merchant's event was as well as how much hold the Hughes family had on the upper brass in so many regions of the world and not just within the empire.When considering those among upper echelon that were
Arthur paused, calming his breathing as he observed the tense interaction between the Merchant and none other than the first son of the patriarch whom she served, Ian Hughes.Ian sipped the champagne in his glass and remained quiet, gazing out at the dark ocean that occasionally sparkled due to the stars dotting the night sky.The silence seemed to stretch for a long period of time but just as the Merchant was about to speak up once more, he stated.“You know I am not one to involve myself in all of this.” Ian gestured to the cruise ship but both his subordinate and Arthur understood the true meaning of his statement.As far as the Hughes family and anyone who had information on them was concerned, Ian Hughes had made his stance on the illegal businesses owned by his family clear, he wanted no part in them.It was not to be mistaken for an intention to shut down that means of revenue for the Hughes family or some form of righteous thinking. He simply found it annoyingly tedious and un
“Sir?” The Merchant asked, tilting her head to emphasize the curiosity she was trying to convey.Ian returned his gaze to the open sea, his brows furrowing as he recalled a troublesome event. Remaining silent for a few moments, he spoke up.“I'm sure you're well aware of my brother, Saul's death?”“Yes sir.” Indeed she knew, in extensive detail in fact, but she dared to not emphasize that point, after all she couldn't guarantee that the heir to the Hughes family would take that lightly.Yes, everyone in the Hughes family knew that the three children of Leonard Hughes were not the closest set of siblings. That was to be expected if one were to consider the great family's method of upbringing. Hostilities, strength of all sorts and competition were heavily encouraged while things like the regular family bonding was frowned upon.It was why Laura for example considered her father as just the patriarch and nothing more. It was the kind of relationship that Leonard himself had enforced. Ev