Chapter 92


    "That bitch! You yed me! I''ll deal with you soon."


    Grennan hurriedly attempted to flee, but a dark shadow shed through the dense trees ahead and


    disappeared with a swish, vanishing with astonishing speed.


    "Damn it! Who''s there? Show yourself!


    "Stop skulking about.


    "Is that you, Lucan?


    "Come out, are you going to kill me? My grandfather is Vandill, an Elder of Cobalt Strike!


    "In thisnd, for a thousand leagues, there''s none who dare to provoke Cobalt Strike.


    "Come out! Show yourself!"


    Grennan gasped for air in panic, instinctively reaching for his sword, only to realize he had left his


    treasured de back in his room and hadn’t brought it along. The more he shouted, the more


    nervous he got, and the more he frightened himself.


    "Stop shouting. There''s no one here." A voice suddenly came from behind.


    "Who!" Grennan spun around, facing the youth who walked out from the woods. "Who are you?"


    "A man of the Mallister family."


    "I''ve never seen you." Grennan had barely finished when he felt a flicker of recognition.


    "I''ve seen you." vin, sword in hand, approached Grennan.


    "If you''ve seen me, you should know who I am. I warn you, don''t make a move." Grennan


    intentionally raised his voice.


    "Stop your yelling, yourpanions are already dead." vin stepped closer to Grennan, not


    stopping, forcing Grennan to retreat.


    "What do you want?"


    "Your life."


    "Wait, you look familiar, we''ve met somewhere before. You are... you''re that criminal, vin! What


    are you doing here?" Grennan remembered he had heard about vin crippling Galos at the Arena


    days before.


    ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org.


    "What do you think?"


    "You''ve escaped? You''ve got some nerve..." Grennan quickly shut his mouth, afraid to anger this


    madman.


    vin suddenly chuckled. "Scared?"


    "What do you desire? I can grant it. What do you wish for? I can help you achieve it." Grennan,


    upon seeing a smile on vin''s face, knew there was room for negotiation. This madman surely


    wouldn''t dare to kill him; the consequences would be too grave, more than he could bear.


    "I desire..."


    "What is it? Speak, man."


    "Your life." vin suddenly lunged at Grennan.


    "Stay back, stay back, argh..."


    Terrified screams echoed through the dense forest, particrly harrowing under the cover of night.


    The woond nearby was devoid of travelers, not even a patrol in sight. They had all been


    reassigned by Lucan to other regions.


    In the dead of night, vin stood on a distant hill, looking out over the vast, now quiet mining


    district, his eyes teary. His fingers dug into his palm, blood dripping freely. "Half a year! Wait for me,


    just half a year! I will return, I must... I must..."


    In the small courtyard of the mining district, Oda, Helna, and other kin stood in the darkness,


    watching the direction of vin''s departure. They held their hands together, silently praying that he


    would stay alive.


    Three days after vin''s departure, the manor confirmed Grennan''s disappearance. Vandill hurried


    back from the mines to lead the investigation, but nothing turned out. Not only had Grennan


    vanished, but two Protégés of the Cobalt Strike had also gone missing. Strangely, the other


    Protégés in the manor had no idea where they had gone, or even when they had left.


    They searched every nook and cranny of the estate and found not a trace of Grennan, as if he had


    vanished into thin air.


    Vandill suspected Lucan and his associates were behind Grennan''s disappearance, but in recent


    days, most of them had been patrolling the mining district. Those who remained were not powerful,


    none above the rank of Stage VI, and could not have harmed Grennan, let alone make him


    disappear without a trace from the heavily guarded manor.


    Vandill expanded the search perimeter. Alive or dead, he needed evidence.


    Two dayster, Grennan''s body was discovered in the forest just outside the mining district. The


    scene suggested a mercenary ambush followed by a Magi-Monster''s feast, a sight too ghastly for


    words.


    But Vandill refused to believe it was that simple. He knew his grandson well. Grennan was a coward


    and afraid of his own shadow; he wouldn''t have ventured out of the mining district into the deep


    forest on a whim.