System's POV

Chapter 178 There Can Only Be One Villain In This Kingdom

Two days after they left Karabor City, Thirteen, and Dixon's Scouting Party arrived at the city of Parania.

It was a very big city, at least twice the size of Karabor City where General Stark's family lived.

This was also the territory of the Old Tigerkin, Paven Merdosk.

Parania City was the trading hub of the Sumatran Kingdom. Perhaps, due to its prosperity, most businessmen and merchants wanted to set up their own stores in its busy streets.

"Not bad," Thirteen muttered as their wagon entered the city. "Since the city is like this, this means that Paven is rich, right?"

"Rich?" Dixon snorted. "He's extremely wealthy, and has connections with almost every noble family out there. Calling him Rich is like saying that he is poor, when he actually governs the second most prosperous city in the kingdom."

"Oh, my~ this means that we're gonna be wealthy after this operation. Am I right, Vassago?"

"They say that money can't buy you happiness, Master. But, you know what? It sure isn't gonna make you sad."

"Indeed. As expected of my trusted advisor."

The two evildoers then chuckled at the same time, making Poca, who was beside Vassago tilted her head in confusion.

Tiona, on the other hand, felt a bit jealous of Vassago because her Master was paying more attention to him as of late.

She also wanted to help Thirteen as much as possible, but the things she could do for him were very limited since she only specialized in killing people.

Seeing that his Beast Companion was feeling left out, Thirteen lightly rubbed the Black Snake under her chin, and planted a kiss on her head, making Tiona feel better.

Vassago, who understood Tiona's feelings, no longer talked to his Master, and closed his eyes to rest.

Half an hour later, Dixon stopped the carriage in front of an inn located at the Easternmost edge of the city.

This was the ideal location for their operation because it was very near their target, which was the granary of Parania.

It was the biggest granary in the Sumatran Kingdom, supplying the entire nation with food.

Right next to the granary was the underground storage where dried meat was stored in barrels filled with salt.

Praven had been stockpiling these resources for the past year, in preparation for the upcoming war.

Truth be told, all they were waiting for was the nod of the King, and the mobilization of the army would occur in full.

But General Stark, as well as more than half of the military, didn't want this war to push through.

This was also why the Radical Faction decided to send assassins to capture his wife and daughter. It was their hope that, by doing so, they could manipulate General Stark into supporting the war in exchange for their safety.

Unfortunately for them, the Assassins that they sent had been turned into Anwir's subordinates.

Thirteen's Sworn Brother was currently in a different city, performing a similar mission as him.

Anwir had divided his forces into two teams, with Amery's group going to another city in order to set fire to the granaries located there.

They knew that once a Granary had been burned down, all the other cities would increase their security, preventing something similar from occurring.

This was why Thirteen had told everyone that they would set fire to all the Granaries at midnight on the 7th day, after they had left Karabor City to head to their respective destinations.

Thirteen also made sure to tell the Assassins the truth about why they were doing this. At the end of the day, they were still Tigerkins.

Because of this, he needed to tell them the importance of this mission, and called them the unsung heroes of the Sumatran Kingdom.

Of course, the Assassins still doubted his words, but in the end, he told them that they should investigate for themselves, whether he was lying or not.

"I will take a stroll around the city," Dixon stated. "Since we still have five more days before our operation starts, I will see if I can gather some worthwhile news in the city. How about you guys?"

"I'll go with you, Captain," Armand said.

"I'll check the marketplace, and see which Big Time Merchants are around," Thane commented.

"I'll stay here and watch over Zion," Alina glanced at the seven-

year-old, who decided to take a nap on the soft bed. "Someone has to stand guard to make sure that he doesn't cause trouble."

Vassago and Tiona nodded their heads in agreement to Alina's words.

"I'll go explore the surroundings," Vassago told Poca. "Are you coming?"

Poca thought for a bit before giving a low chirp of agreement.

Dixon opened the window to allow the two birds to do what they wanted.

What they didn't know was that the seven-year-old also planned to do some exploration of his own.

However, he would do it under the cover of darkness.

This was why he was resting now, so he would be fully awake when night came.

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Dunn City in the Sumatran Kingdom…

Anwir glanced outside the window of his room, and stared at the magnificent estate in the distance.

Dunn City was the city under the governance of Lord Brigham, whom Thirteen said was the Mastermind behind the war propaganda of the Radical Faction.

The younger boy stated that Anwir should never, ever, try to assassinate the City Lord while they were completing their mission to sabotage the Radical Faction's Food Supply.

His reasoning was simple.

Currently, Anwir didn't have enough manpower to take their enemy down.

Right now, he only had four subordinates with him, which was the first group of Assassins they had captured before Amery's team arrived in Karabor City.

They only had enough manpower to commit Arson, and not an Assassination.

Besides, Lord Brigham would definitely have strong guards protecting him, so killing him was an impossible task.

At least for now.

'Zion, you're really a capable boy, huh?' Anwir thought as he remembered the advice of his Sworn Brother, who had gone to Parania City to deal with Paven Mordosk, who was handling the bulk of the Logistics of the Radical Faction.

Anwir had hated the boy for making his life miserable.

But, after understanding that there was a greater threat that threatened the Sumatran Kingdom and his Family, Anwir decided to cooperate and recognize him as his Sworn Brother.

Zion didn't lie to him.

If they really succeeded in their missions and survived the upcoming war then he would be hailed as a Hero of the Sumatran Kingdom, which was many times better than a traitor, who had betrayed his own family.

'Brigham,' Anwir mused. 'Zion called you a Villain. But, there can only be one Villain in this Kingdom. I'll kick you off of your throne soon. Until then, wash your neck.'

The Tigerkin's gaze hardened as he looked at the home of the person who had given the order to kidnap his Mother and Sister.

This was a crime that went below Anwir's bottom line, and he would not rest until he personally crushed Brigham's heart, and mounted his severed head on a spike, displaying it for the world to see.