System's POV
chapter-187

The City Lord of Parania City, Paven, was livid after hearing the report of his subordinate.

Not only were their granary and underground food storage arsoned, but their barracks also caught fire.

For a brief moment, he even thought that his own residence might be set on fire next, but fortunately, his worst fears didn't happen.

The altar in the underground basement of his residence was very important because it allowed him to communicate with "that" person, who would soon make him the King of the Sumatran Kingdom.

He was fine with letting Brigham think that he was the one manipulating the scenes from behind and controlling the Radical Faction like a puppet master.

After all, the true person who had been playing everyone else along on the palm of his hand was none other than him, Paven.

He was the one chosen by that being to become the King of the Sumatran Kingdom, and later, the entire Valbarra Archipelago.

All he needed to give that person in return was his undying loyalty, which he didn't mind giving.

For this reason, he worked very hard and made use of all the connections he had to speed up the war preparations.

But just as everything was going smoothly, tragedy struck!

'Damn it!' Paven cursed internally when the blazing flames finally settled down, leaving only scorched land behind.

As the City Lord of the City, he did his best to keep up his dignified act on the surface, but his anger still got the best of him.

However, it didn't seem to affect how the people thought of him.

The reason?

They were just as angry as he was!

They were happily celebrating the Harvest Festival when the granary, which had stored their harvest, burst into flames.

Today was supposed to be a festival of bountiful harvest, yet after this incident, the thing they were celebrating for was burned, and people started to fear that they wouldn't have any food to put on the table for the next few days.

"Some of you stay here and ensure that the flames don't reignite," Paven commanded. "Sawyer, come!"

The Commander of the Guards, who was stationed in the city, appeared before the City Lord with a determined look on his face.

"Have you found any leads about who caused this incident?" Paven inquired.

"No, Sir," Sawyer replied. "We've interviewed a few people, but none of them had seen anything suspicious. The guards guarding the granary were knocked unconscious and dragged away, they didn't see who attacked them or why."

"Do you think the Barbarians are involved?" Paven asked.

Sawyer was about to shake his head but stopped himself midway.

"The possibility exists, Sir," Sawyer answered. "However, if they can infiltrate this deep into our Kingdom, then it means that we are in greater danger than we originally thought."

Since Paven couldn't do anything about his losses, he decided to use this tragedy in order to rally the Tigerkins and make a declaration that as long as the Barbarians were not subjugated, the Sumatran Kingdom would never be safe.

This was a good plan, and he believed that the King would support him after this incident.

Little did he know that the same thing had happened to the 3rd and 4th cities with the biggest granaries and underground food reserves in the Kingdom.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this move by Thirteen crippled the Valbarra Kingdom, preventing them from mounting an all-out war against the Barbarians.

The King would naturally prioritize his people and would open the palace reserves to ensure that everyone had enough food to eat.

After doing that, they would no longer have enough to feed their army as they marched across the Valbarrian Strait to attack the Barbarian Lands.

Of course, Paven still didn't know this. The only thing running in his mind was to find a way to turn this tragedy into an opportunity to start the war at an earlier time.

"Put the City under Martial Law, and don't let anyone out unless I give you explicit permission to do so!" Paven ordered. "Catch everyone who tries to flee, and throw them in prison. Interrogate anyone suspicious, regardless of whether they are innocent or not.

"Make sure to double the city's security, and triple the number of guards watching over the Gate. I want Parania to be in a complete lockdown. Do I make myself clear?"

Sawyer nodded. "Yes, Sir!"

After he was dismissed, the Commander of the City Guards immediately rallied his captains and gave them his orders.

Paven then motioned for his own guards to return with him to his residence to rest.

The fires raged for four hours before they were completely brought under control. Truth be told, Paven was already exhausted, and only his rage was keeping him standing.

As they made their way back to the residence, the City Lord couldn't help but see the fear and anxiety in the eyes of his people.

He planned to make a speech in the plaza a few hours later, but he decided to rest first and let the situation calm down a bit.

There were still at least two to three hours before sunrise, and the sky was still dark. But, darkness had never posed a problem for Tigerkins because they had Dark Vision.

When they arrived at the residence, the Grandmaster, who had stayed to protect the residence, was the first to greet his Master.

"Welcome back, My Lord," the Grandmaster greeted Paven, who nodded back to him in response.

"Were there any problems while I was away?" Paven asked.

The Grandmaster hesitated for a bit before nodding his head.

"Yes, Sir. There was a problem," the Grandmaster replied with a pained expression on his face. "My Lord, you have entered a trap."

Before Paven could even understand what the guard was trying to tell him, the gate of his residence opened, and several masked individuals stormed in.

The City Lord's Protectors immediately took action, but their eyes widened in shock the moment they clashed with the intruders who appeared out of nowhere.

"Champions!" the Leader of Paven's personal guards shouted. "Run, City Lord!"

The Leader of the guards was also a Champion and had been serving Paven faithfully over the years.

He had his fair share of troubles, but he never expected that someone was bold enough to attack Paven in his own residence.

Just as he was about to run to the City Lord's side in order to keep him safe, an arrow flew in his direction, forcing him to dodge to the side.

Two more arrows followed suit, completely stopping him from reaching the City Lord in time, forcing him to fight against the masked men, who had gotten close enough to attack him.

Thirteen, who was on top of the roof of the residence, fired one arrow after another, targeting the guards who had escorted Paven back to the residence.

All of his arrows had been laced with a concentrated syrup of the Sleepy Wolfsbane, making those who were hit by his arrows feel their bodies becoming heavy.

Finally understanding what was happening, Paven no longer hesitated and ran toward the wall of his residence, intending to climb over it.

Thirteen gave his target a sidelong glance, but he didn't bother to fire even a single arrow in his direction.

The seven-year-old continued to provide cover fire to support his people, who were quickly subjugating the guards still doing their best to resist.

Paven didn't even look back at his subordinates and ran as fast as he could.

He believed that as long as he could climb over the wall, he would be able to hide inside the forest until help arrived.

The City Lord was also a Champion, but he didn't specialize in combat.

He had used his wealth to attain the Rank he currently had, so he was only a Champion in Rank, but not in skill.

'Just a little more!' Paven thought as he prepared to jump over the wall in order to reach safety.

But just as he was about to jump over the wall, four robed individuals appeared before him, blocking his path.

"Why are you doing this?!" Paven roared as he tried to attack one of the robed assailants who tried to ambush him.

But since he wasn't a fighter, his attack was easily deflected.

Dixon, whom Paven was facing, didn't hesitate to punch the City Lord's stomach, making the latter curl up like a shrimp.

Not giving Paven any chances, Dixon gave a finishing chop on the back of the City Lord's head, knocking him unconscious.

"Secure him," Dixon ordered as he gazed in the direction where their reinforcements were fighting with the City Lord's personal guards. "I'll clean up the rest."

Without even waiting for an answer, Dixon joined the fight and helped neutralize the enemies, knocking all of them unconscious.

Even the Champion, who was meant to act as the City Lord's bodyguard, was unable to hold back the four individuals who had the same rank as him.

Because he was too busy fighting against them, Thirteen was able to hit his back with several arrows, greatly weakening his ability to fight.

Soon, the Guard Captain was finally knocked down and then dragged into the residence with the rest of his men.

"Bring him inside," Thirteen ordered as he looked at the City Lord, whom Armand was carrying over his shoulders like a sack of rice. "Norris, I'll leave the rest to you."

The black-robed man, who had stayed on the roof with Zion, chuckled as he looked at the unconscious old man, whose glasses had already fallen on the ground.

This was his first time turning a high-profile Tigerkin into a slave.

To be honest, he even pitied Paven, knowing that the moment the City Lord regained his senses, he would be serving a new Master, who would soon take over the Old Man's connections and become the new King of the Underworld in the Sumatran Kingdom.