That same day, a group of hooded people on horses and in a carriage arrived in Millfall through the town's main entrance.
As they drove slowly along the main avenue that crossed the entire town, they made their way slowly, looking at their surroundings as if they were tourists in the area for the first time.
"Where is the headquarters of our target's family?" A bald man asked an old acquaintance of Jasmine and Layla.
Mark looked at the man and answered. "I can take you to his estate later, but we must be careful. Cesar Mazzanti is a member of the local underworld. If we're careless, he'll realize who we are, and Jasmine will be finished."
"Victor, I want you to go with Mark and look at our opponents. We won't act until we have accurate information about them." The strongest Mage in this group said from inside the group's carriage, a simple vehicle that looked like an ordinary farmer's cart from a distance.
Since everyone in Mark's group was hiding their mana and dressed like peasants, nothing about them would catch the eye of local observers.
A tall young man with a straw hat heard this and jumped out of the carriage just before Mark did the same.
"You should look for us at Mount Doom later. It's a great place to decide what to do next." Mark said as he jumped out of the carriage and walked next to Victor.
"Come with me." He said to his companion, moving quietly through the Millfall area, quickly moving through the town's narrow streets towards the Mazzanti estate.
After about five minutes of moving at a brisk pace, the two arrived not far from their point of interest when they stopped approaching, sensing a powerful aura coming from their destination.
"Hey, what the hell is that?" Victor shoved Mark against a wall. He felt his back break into a cold sweat as he looked up at the massive creature on the Mazzanti estate!
Mark was also surprised to see the 3rd-stage basilisk on Cesar's property, as there had been no beasts in the Mazzanti family before.
"What? Where did this basilisk come from?" He exclaimed in surprise, ignoring Victor, who was pinning him against a wall, both hiding in an alley near the street of the Mazzanti family home.
"Don't you know? Don't play dumb, Mark. Did you set us up on purpose?" Victor asked, keeping his voice low but showing his irritation and surprise at Mark.
"Do you think I'd have the nerve to do that?" Mark looked seriously at Victor.
This man and the others he had hired to deal with Cesar were members of the second-largest underworld faction in the Scott Province, a group that had several Mages and even the support of a Marquis!
This Ironcrest faction was nothing like the Congregation of Revelation. Yet, Mark didn't have enough influence within his faith to be able to move it enough to not have problems with groups like that.
Being much smaller than those people, he would never dare to go against them!
"Do you think I'm stupid?" Mark's face turned red, and the veins in his neck popped. "If I take such a risk, wouldn't it be better if I gave up my freedom? Do you think I don't know how you deal with problems?"
"Then how do you explain this damned beast?" Victor knew Mark's words were reasonable, but he wasn't satisfied.
"I don't know. It must have happened during the time I was with you. That damned Cesar is too crazy, I told you not to underestimate him!" He almost shouted but managed to keep his voice down so that only he and Victor could hear his exclamations. "We need to investigate this. I doubt it will be difficult to find out exactly what happened."
"Okay. How do we start?"
"Let's check out the local taverns. We'll surely find some whisper who'll tell us what's been happening in town lately. That will give us a clue as to what we need to do to answer our questions." Mark said, thinking that returning to the local Awakening Temple wouldn't do.
If he did, he would inevitably alert Cesar he was already there. By then, Jasmine would be in an even worse situation than she already was, and he would probably be forced to negotiate with the enemy before he could prepare with his group.
To have time to prepare well enough to act against Cesar, Mark would not return to Millfall's Awakening Temple.
'When my group is ready, I'll see what that damned grey-haired woman has done to get in my way.' He thought of Layla, imagining she was already there, probably doing whatever Cesar wanted.
...
Meanwhile, Mark's companions were still in the dark about the situation with the Mazzanti family and the start of the investigation against them.
The two Mages of the party were in the carriage from earlier, arriving at an inn in the northern part of the city where the party would be staying.
As they surveyed the cobbled streets of this part of Millfall, the two strongest of the group discussed their plans for this mission.
"This Cesar... He did us a great favor. Will he give us what we want without too much trouble? He's just an Acolyte." One of the two strongest men in the group commented to the other.
The other man looked at his companion, who had many tattoos all over his face and body, and said. "Let's not underestimate him. Mark isn't stupid, even if he was wrong to trust us. If what he said is true, this Cesar is a genius. Then let's kill him the right way."
"But what about the Barber girl? I've heard the Mazzanti family has excellent weapons. One shot from one of the Mazzanti soldiers, and we'll lose our chance."
"Hmm, we need to make sure her life is guaranteed." The group leader commented with a deep look on his face. "What good would it do us to get such a valuable hostage if she's dead? Her father is very powerful. He won't let us get away with this if we don't bring her back in one piece."
"What about Mark?" Mark's friend, a level 5 Acolyte, who had 'helped' him with this group, asked.
"We'll kill him after this is over." The man with tattoos all over his body said as he looked at the Acolyte. "That will be your mission."
"I'll do my best, elder." Mark's 'friend' smiled, not bothered by his superior's order.
