Sealed: Breaking Destiny

Bastard Son

"Ohhh, look who showed up. Come sit with us and have some wine, hehehe."

Luke only managed to take a few steps into the Piggy Bar before he was recognized by the owner of the place, Tristan Midwell. Tristan was a man in his forties with a big belly, who despite being the owner of the Piggy Bar spent most of his time drinking and chatting with the people of Ludwit City. Luke always ridiculed the guy by calling him 'everyone's friend'.

Tristan had been the first person Luke had spoken to after arriving at Ludwit City, and with whom he maintained a close relationship to this day. It certainly wasn't that he enjoyed his company, but because he was one of the strongest people in the city. From the information Luke had with him, there was only one person stronger in Ludwit City: The City Lord, Anthony Merrick, who was a cultivator at the 0-Star Fourth Rank.

Prior to the devastating attack of the Magical Beasts 200 years ago, the Merrick Family belonged to the nobility and resided in the capital of the Doira Kingdom, but after that event they were forced by the Royal Family to move to Ludwit City for the sake of protecting the borders. Therefore, it was reasonable that, although the power of the Merrick Family had declined, there was still a cultivator in the Fourth Rank within their ranks.

For his part, Tristan was at the Third Rank, only one step away from reaching the next level. In Luke's opinion, this was a trick by the Royal Family to keep the Merricks under surveillance.

'I wonder what treasure was given to Tristan to hide his true level. If it weren't for the fact that I theoretically still have an Eighth Rank Core, I could never have discovered it. Haha, the Royal Family certainly must be bored to play hide and seek in such a remote place.'

Why was Luke so sure that Tristan had been sent by the Royal Family and that it wasn't some other organization? There were 3 solid reasons.

The first: bars were the cheapest way to collect a large amount of intelligence without having to spend too much money.

The second: the cultivators who worked in the intelligence units of each realm usually had a greater affinity with the wind element. Such was the case of Xavier, one of the members of The Circle that Luke killed.

And finally, the third and most important. Luke had spent half his life working with the major criminal organizations of the Aurora Continent, so he was sure that, although they had branches in Doira Royal City, they would not waste money in a place as insignificant as Ludwit City.

'Now I need to be more careful than ever with Tristan, he's the only person who can stop me before I reap the fruits of my schemes. But I also can't stay away, in this city there is no better way to find out about what's going on in the main families than by talking to him.'

With this in mind, he quickly approached the table where Tristan and the other Piggy Bar regulars were sitting. After a few hours, when evidently everyone had lost any trace of inhibition thanks to the cheap wine, Luke asked the question to which he desperately wanted an answer.

"Hey, do any of you guys know what's going on in the Rockwell Family? When I was at the entrance, I watched how some of the direct descendants went to the outskirts of the city along with the guards."

"Hehe, dude, I can tell you haven't been here to drink in a while. The Rockwell Family Patriarch has decided to choose an heir to his position. The ceremony where the decision will be made will be in six months, so those guys were probably heading to Rotten Valley for training." One of the regulars at the bar immediately replied.

"So, who was that guy in green clothes? I know Tilly and Aaron are direct descendants, but I've never seen that kid before. Doesn't look like he was part of the guards." Luke tossed out a question again, hoping his guess was correct.

"Ah, I'm sorry, but I have no idea. Tristan, since you are familiar with everyone, do you know who this boy is?" It was clear that this person's identity was special, as almost all members of the important families of Ludwit City were known among the common population.

"Mmmh, if I'm not mistaken that must be Matthews Rockwell's bastard son. I heard that the Patriarch ordered that all his grandchildren must participate in the competition in six months. So that must be Adam Rockwell, who has never shown himself in public until now." Tristan replied in a disinterested manner, for in his eyes they were talking about something insignificant.

At that moment, Luke couldn't help but smile in his heart. This opportunity was too perfect, there was no better pawn for his plans than someone who most likely had a thirst for revenge, but at the same time was patient enough to not put himself in danger.

'Hehe, finally some good news. He is certainly talented enough to find himself on the doorstep of the Second Rank despite not having the support of his family, but I must see how far that talent can take him. I hope he doesn't disappoint and give me a surprise or two. The future of the Rockwell Family is bound to change.'

At the pinnacle of power in Ludwit City stood the Merrick Family, which was by far the strongest of all. Below it were the Kinsley Family, the Rockwell Family and the Carlisle Family.

The Rockwell Family had a peculiarity with respect to the other two families, as Colin Rockwell was the only patriarch who belonged to the previous generation. Despite having two sons and a daughter, he had decided not to give his position to either of them and instead grant it to his grandchildren.

According to rumors, he had made this decision as his children were not talented enough to ensure that the power of the Rockwell Family would not diminish once he retired. As a result, he had earned a reputation for being a very fair person, so it was not too surprising that he would allow a bastard son to join the competition. It was very likely that, in his mind, Adam had no chance of winning and so he let him participate.

"Ohh, so the Rockwell Family has dead bodies in the closet too, hehehehe. But why should we care? Come on Tristan, ask them to bring us another round." Luke acted like nothing had happened and continued drinking at the Piggy Bar until it closed, then went home to decide what steps to follow.

It was now midnight, and Luke was still looking for the optimal plan to get the best out of Adam.

"Mmm, I certainly have to help the kid get the patriarch position, but I can't expose my identity. I guess I need to play dress-up again and help him from the shadows."

If Luke wanted to reach Duke Valkrys inheritance grounds, he needed one of the great families to help him. The Merrick Family was the perfect choice because of the power they had, but it was simply impossible to infiltrate among them and manipulate them with his current cultivation.

Therefore, he had to pin all his hopes on making Adam the patriarch. Once that happened, he could cash in on the favor and get them to take him to the site. As far as he knew, there shouldn't be any Fourth Grade Magical Beasts in the area where the inheritance grounds were, but there was a large amount of lower grade Magical Beasts, so a large contingent of cultivators was necessary, which only the great families could offer.

"Well, I guess the most direct way in the short term will be to deliver some magic spell to Adam. Besides, creating chaos in the Rockwell Family isn't that hard, I just have to assassinate the useless Aaron and Tilly, hehehe."

With the first stages of his plan now defined, Luke decided it was time to rest. The next few months would be very exhausting....

---

One week later.

Luke had spent the entirety of these last few days researching Tilly, Aaron and Adam. Within the direct descendants, they were the youngest and weakest. Tilly was the youngest of them all with 14 years and daughter of Vince Rockwell, the eldest of the siblings. Aaron, meanwhile, was soon to be 15 and was the son of Melinda Rockwell, the middle sister.

Finally, Luke found out that Adam had turned 15 a few months ago. But this was the only thing he had been able to learn, since Matthews Rockwell had decided to hide all the information related to his bastard son.

With this knowledge, and after following them for the past few days to get an idea of their habits, it was time to begin his plan.

Today, April 3rd of the Year 20316, the events that would change the destiny of the Aurora Continent began.