“Go away!” Billy glared at Ivy and then turned to Bob to change the subject. “Bob, give Opal and Amber a rundown of what has been happening in the Arctic Snow Region!” Billy instructed.
“Sure thing!” Bob responded and began explaining to Opal and Amber.
“When do you plan on taking action against Northfortia?” Opal asked Billy after hearing Bob’s summary.
“Soon. Once we have a resolution in Aquilandia, we can move against Northfortia.” Billy replied. “Otherwise, if we engage both Aquilandia and Northfortia at the same time, our chances of success will be slim.”
“I see,” Opal nodded. “Don’t delay too long, resolve the Northfortia situation quickly, and make your way to the Central Polar Domain.”
“I know.” Billy nodded in response.
A few hours later, the group returned to the city.
“Lord Dragon, are you all okay?” James Reynolds and Ernest Shepherd hurriedly approached.
“We’re fine,” Billy shook his head slightly. “How is the situation in the city? Have there been any movements from Northfortia?”
“No sign of anything,” James Reynolds shook his head.
“Keep a close eye on the surroundings of the city,” Billy nodded.
“We’ve already made arrangements. There are people within a radius of two to three hundred kilometers,” James Reynolds replied.
“Good,” Billy nodded once again.
Northfortia made such a big fuss in the Southern Polar Domain this time to divert the attention of the city and send their elite forces to support the southern area, preparing to strike here. However, they failed to achieve their goal in the end because they didn’t dare to make any reckless moves.
“Opal, Amber, this is Lord Reynolds…” Harleen turned to Opal and Amber, asking.
“We’ve already met,” Amber Barnes interrupted with a smile. They had come from the Polar City and arrived at the city before meeting Billy and the others, so they had already met James Reynolds and Ernest Shepherd.
After some more conversation, Billy led everyone back to the courtyard.
“Opal, Amber, you should stay with us from now on,” Harleen said as they entered the courtyard.
“There are several empty rooms here. Let me show you around, and you can pick one for yourselves.”
“Later, Ivy and I’ll take you out to buy some daily necessities.” she continued.
“Sounds good!” Amber Barnes replied with a smile.
…
Just as Billy and his group returned to the courtyard…
In Nordhaven City, Northern Polar Domain.
After Casey and Azure Dragon had handled their own matters for a while, they went to the largest restaurant in Nordhaven City for dinner. Since it was the peak dining hour, the hall was packed with people, and it took Casey and the others quite some time to find a vacant spot in a corner. People of various skin tones, including yellow, white, and black, were dining here, so Casey and the others didn’t appear too conspicuous.
“So, did you find anything?” Casey asked Azure Dragon and the others after Felicia and Rakshasa had ordered their food.
“Rakshasa and I went around the north side of the city, but we didn’t find anything unusual.” White Tiger spoke first.
“Everything seems normal in the south side too. I talked to several shop owners, and they haven’t seen anyone from Northfortia in Nordhaven recently.” Azure Dragon added.
“What about you, Vermilion Bird?” Casey then turned to Vermilion Bird.
“No sign of anyone from Northfortia in the west side either,” Vermilion Bird shook his head slightly. “But I heard that a lot of people from the Guardians have arrived from the Western Polar Domain these past few days, led by the Provincial Governor of the Western Domain.”
“That makes sense!” Stout commented. “After Boss took down their Provincial Governor in the north, they want to come and assess the situation.”
“It’s probably not that simple,” Vermilion Bird replied, shaking his head. “The Guardians in the west are basically a branch organization of Northfortia. On the surface, they are responsible for maintaining order in the Western Polar Domain, but in reality, they are just acting as Northfortia’s lackeys.”
“Vermilion Bird, any guesses?” Casey nodded slightly.
“Dealing with the Guardians is one aspect!” Vermilion Bird added after a moment of thought. “On the other hand, it’s not ruled out that they are here on behalf of Northfortia to negotiate with Aquilandia!”
“More than likely.” Azure Dragon replied.
“Do you know which hotel they are staying at?” Casey asked, after a moment of consideration.
“I do!” Vermilion Bird responded.
Just then, the sound of footsteps came from the entrance of the lobby, followed by a group of people walking in steadily. Leading them was a middle-aged man and a young lady, both with Western features, accompanied by about ten followers each. Among them, the woman, in her mid-twenties, had delicate features and a voluptuous figure, making her a true beauty.
“Mr Bent, please come upstairs!” the woman said as she walked, looking at the middle-aged man beside her.
“Thank you, Princess Belina!” the middle-aged man nodded in response.
Then, the group made their way towards the staircase.
“Tsk tsk, who was that beauty just now? She’s stunning!” a man’s voice came from the table next to Casey and the others. After a brief pause, the man licked his dry lips and continued speaking, “It’s worth losing a few years of life to sleep with a woman like her!”
“Hush!” a companion quickly made a gesture to silence him. “Keep your voice down, do you want to die?”
“What’s wrong? Who is she? Does she have a background?” the man asked.
“Her name is Belina, she’s the daughter of the Aquilandia Lord. What do you think?” his companion replied.
“Ah?” The man shuddered and quickly shut his mouth.
Just then, a commotion came from the staircase. A waiter, trying to make way, accidentally spilled a bowl of soup he was carrying, splashing some of it onto Belina’s trousers.
“You idiot, are you trying to get yourself killed?” a man pointed at the waiter angrily.
The waiter trembled in fear and quickly knelt down, his face pale as he begged for mercy.
“S-sorry… I’m so sorry…”
“A pair of hands that can’t even hold a bowl of soup, what use are they?” Belina frowned. “Cut them away!”
“Understood!” the man who spoke earlier responded loudly.
“No… ” The waiter trembled, vigorously kowtowing.
Before he could finish speaking, the man raised his hand and swiftly swung his blade. After the flash of the blade, both of the waiter’s arms fell to the ground, blood spurting out.
“Ah…” The waiter let out a scream before his eyes rolled back, unconscious.
At the sight, gasps filled the air. They were all shocked by what they’d done– Aquilandia’s Lord’s daughter had gone to such extremes for such a small incident. The man at the table next to Casey, scared out of his wits, shivered and felt a chill down his spine.
“This Lord’s daughter is truly audacious!” Stout clicked his tongue.
“She’s no good person!” Vermilion Bird responded. “Not only in Nordhaven City, but even in the entire North Polar Domain, her reputation precedes her. Relying on her father’s excessive doting and her own formidable cultivation, she acts arrogantly and ruthlessly. It is said that just last month, a young noble from another country came to the North Polar Domain for business and encountered her here. Because the young noble didn’t recognize her, he took advantage of her verbally. As a result, she personally killed all twenty or thirty of his men on the spot.”
“Really?” Casey’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Vermilion Bird, how do you know so much about her?” Rakshasa asked curiously.
“There’s a tavern in the west of the city, run by someone from Glavale, so I had a chat with the owner.” Vermilion Bird responded.
“There’s someone from Glavale having taverns in the Northern Polar Domain?” Felicia was slightly taken aback.
“I was also surprised at first.” Vermilion Bird nodded. “After talking to him, I found out that not only in the east, but there are also Glavalean-owned shops in several other regions of the polar snowfields.”
“Oh, really?” Felicia was taken aback once again.
“Yea.” Vermilion Bird nodded.
“Casey, could that person named Bent be the Provincial Governor of the Guardians in the west?” Felicia then turned to Casey and asked.
“Most likely, yes!” Casey nodded slightly.
“In that case, Vermilion Bird’s guess was spot on!” Rakshasa chimed in. “They’re probably here on behalf of Northfortia to discuss an alliance with Aquilandia!”
“If those two countries really form an alliance, it will give us a headache!” White Tiger furrowed his brow. “No, we must find a way to disrupt their plans!”