Shang looked for a while at the cracked emblem. 'Sure enough, it was Vice-Commander Wilbury. I've had a feeling that it was him when such a powerful warrior suddenly attacked me.'
'So, this is the power of a Vice-Commander over a big city like Swamp Lake City.'
At that moment, Shang remembered his first Day of Chaos.
Back then, Shang had followed an officer in golden armor, and Shang had felt like the officer was about as powerful as Vice-Dean Soran.
'That officer was probably on the level of Swamp Lake City's Commander,' he thought. 'And the person I just killed was one level lower.'
'Interesting. Originally, I thought that Late Commander Stage warriors were Vice-Commanders, but Wilbury was at the Mid Commander Stage.'
Shang's brows furrowed. 'However, he was also very powerful, and his techniques were varied and flexible. He didn't seem to be at a disadvantage in the air, but he definitely was. He needed to waste Mana to move, while I didn't need to. Even more, I can move several times in quick succession while he had to gather his Mana.'
'Additionally, he has a Darkness Affinity, which means that he has probably received special attention and training. I think the reason why he was a Vice-Commander is that he can fight a warrior at the Late Commander Stage.'
'His dead son was also only in his teens, and I don't think they had an older child. It might very well be that Vice-Commander Wilbury was only in his forties or fifties.'
'I think he had quite a bright future ahead of him. With his power, he would have definitely reached the Peak Commander Stage, and there might have even been a chance that he could have reached the True Path Stage.'
'My physical power is equal to someone at the Early Commander Stage, and usually, it isn't very difficult for me to kill an average warrior one level above me.'
'Yet, I had to use Entropy while fighting him in an advantageous battleground for me. He definitely wasn't an average Mid Commander Stage warrior.'
Shang only looked silently at the emblem.
'And yet, he came for me personally. Why? I mean, sure, the reason was because of his son's death, but I'm certain that he knew that he could never keep his excursion a secret. If he went to the Wasteland in the Storm Eagle Zone on the same day as when I died, he would be the prime suspect.'
'Additionally, how did he even find me? The Caves are gigantic, and I could have been anywhere.'
'What would I have done in his stead?'
'He had several months to anticipate my next move and plan accordingly. That was definitely enough to set things up.'
Shang scratched his chin in thought. 'But how did he do it? How would I have done it?'
'Well, if I were in his shoes, the first priority would be to guess what my opponent would do next, which isn't difficult in this case.'
'He knew that I was holed up in Warrior's Paradise without a way to truly fight. He was probably quite sure that I would go to the Caves next.'
'After knowing where my opponent would go, I would set up a way to track them. On top of that, the way should be untraceable and unnoticeable.'
'I wouldn't trust that someone following my opponent wouldn't be noticed, which means that it must be some kind of tracker.'
'So, how would I get this tracker to my opponent? Placing something like this on their body would be difficult since Duke Whirlwind and the Dean know my opponent. They would notice this very quickly.'
'Which means that the tracker has to be somewhere they can't see.'
Shang's right eye went to his Space Ring.
'Like a Space Ring. However, I can't access someone else's Space Ring, which means I have to make someone do it for me.'
'What have I put into my Space Ring recently that came from someone else?'
And then, a light of recognition appeared in Shang's eye.
'The talisman!'
'Since my enemy would go to the Caves, and since my enemy doesn't lack any money, I would assume that they would use a talisman to get back. So, I would bribe one of the guards handing out the talisman to give the talisman with the tracer to my enemy.'
'That way, I would find them!'
'And lastly, I need a way to get to them without being noticed. I might be gone for several hours, and my absence can't be seen by anyone, which means I can't leave the Empress Cobra Zone, and I might not even be able to leave Swamp Lake City.'
'That sounds impossible at first glance, but with several months of preparation, there might be a way.'
Shang remembered where he was currently.
The Calm Zone was at the border between the Storm Eagle Zone and the Empress Cobra Zone.
Shang took out his maps and looked at the most eastern tunnels.
There were a couple of tunnels entering the Empress Cobra Zone, but they were still a couple of kilometers away from Swamp Lake City.
'I could buy or build a vacation home in the swamp. As reason, I could say that, since I have a Darkness Affinity, I wanted to be closer to the poison swamp. After all, the Poison Affinity includes the Darkness Affinity.'
'Then, I would dig a hole for a couple of kilometers. Something like that should be impossible for someone on Earth, but with incredible physical power and a Space Ring to transport the dirt, this should be possible.'
'I think I know what happened.'
'In chronological order:'
'Buy a vacation home.'
'Dig a tunnel.'
'Prepare a talisman with a trace. With a True Mage as a wife, this shouldn't be difficult.'
'Continue my day as normal until my contact in Warrior's Paradise contacts me.'
'After that, give any reason to go to my home in the swamp and enter the tunnel.'
'Follow the trace until I reach my opponent.'
'The journey, by itself, shouldn't take more than an hour.'
At that moment, Shang realized that Vice-Commander Wilbury had probably watched Shang for quite a while.
He had probably wanted to kill him as soon as he found him, but when he found him, Shang was currently opening a mysterious black wall.
At that moment, interest and greed appeared in his eyes.
This was a place that nobody had entered before, and there could be incredible wealth stored in this place.
So, he let Shang finish creating the hole.
And when Shang looked with wonder and shock at the place behind the wall, he had also been too distracted to notice Vice-Commander Wilbury's approach.
Everything would be over in one strike. A Peak General Stage warrior couldn't possibly wear armor that could protect them from a fully powered strike by a Mid Commander Stage warrior.
And he had been right…
If it had been a normal Peak General Stage warrior.
However, Shang's body was far more powerful due to the Procedure, giving him the necessary physical strength to carry the armor, and he had also received an amazing set of armor from Duke Whirlwind.
Without Duke Whirlwind's little present, Shang would have died to the first strike.
'So, that's what happened,' Shang thought. 'I might not have all details correct, but I believe it went down somewhat like this.'
Shang looked at the emblem. 'You invested quite a lot to get rid of me.'
'I'm not sure if all of this was for your son or if fear and the bounty were included in your reasons.'
'Maybe you were scared that I would find revenge?'
'Maybe you simply wanted the 20 million gold?'
'I don't know, and I might never know.'
'But you failed, and now, you're dead.'
'And with you dead and your emblem as proof, I can contact the Inquisitors. They will enter your household and perform Mind Searches on your family, which will bring everything to light.'
'This time, the matter with the Wilburys is truly over.'
Shang put the emblem into his inner world, and while he was at it, he also transferred some useful items into his inner world.
He didn't want to find himself in this situation again, unable to access the items he needed because he was out of Mana.
After cleaning up the place and dealing with the Wilbury matter, Shang looked around.
'And now, I should check this place.'
Shang left the useless items behind and wandered down the hallway.
