Three days after the test of the robotic armor...
Everyone in Millfall already knew that Cesar had become a Low-level Mage.
With his advancement to the 3rd stage, his status in the town grew once again, and he was now recognized as the strongest and most influential in the area, even more so than Viscount Symons had been.
The nobles who still shunned him changed their ways. At the same time, his old contacts sought to improve their relationship with him, including making more favorable deals for the Mazzanti family.
Amid the many invitations to meetings, dinners, etc., that came to the Mazzanti family, Vicente turned them all down without bothering to justify himself to anyone.
Meanwhile, the army continued to watch the house from a distance, obviously suspicious of Cesar since the current Commander felt that all the problems in the city had to do with this man.
In any case, without the reinforcements from the capital, which weren't supposed to arrive in the city until next week, Nova couldn't do anything against Cesar and only watched him from a distance.
Vicente knew this and could only laugh when he thought about how complicated his relationship with Captain Bain was.
He was at the Mazzanti estate right now, next to Rory and one of the family's oldest soldiers, who would be wearing the robotic armor in Vicente's absence.
Why wasn't Rory the chosen one? Because the Mazzanti family's second-in-command had leveled up the day before, becoming a level 5 Acolyte!
Rory could still benefit from the 2nd-grade armor Vicente had produced. However, since he could fight stronger opponents due to his above-average talent, Vice thought leaving the armor with his best friend would be a waste.
Rory was at level 5, so he could protect himself against all Acolytes. It would be much better for the family if someone else wore the item.
Deputy Point knew this very well and didn't complain when Vicente said who would wear such armor while he was away.
But right now, he, Vicente, and the level 3 soldier were paying attention to a black-haired woman as they stood in their house's basement, the building's detention section.
Facing them was Sarah Mercer, who had an angry look on her face as she had to deal with her enemies once again.
"I'm not telling you anything, Cesar." She said as she looked at Vicente's mask. "I may have told you things that are easy to find out about my people. But I won't say anything compromising about them. I'd rather die than give them up to you!"
Vicente said to her. "We'll find out later, Sarah. But right now, I'm not here for compromising information about your people. Earlier, we talked about the composition of your group and the kind of operation you're involved in, among other things. But where do I find Jasmine? Where can I find your leaders?"
"My leaders?" A teasing smile formed on her face.
Her first thought was that Vicente wanted to die!
After all, she was only the fourth strongest of The Faceless Ones, and there was even a High-level Mage in that group. How would a mere Acolyte deal with these people?
Sarah didn't know about Vicente's advancement. As far as she knew, he was an Acolyte who relied on accessory items to fight Mid-level Mages. So, his death against a High-level Mage would be almost certain.
She laughed and said. "What are you going to try? Talk? I don't know exactly where Jasmine is, but she's definitely with one of my superiors. She's just too valuable for us to leave her with someone weak. If you want to see her, go to one of my faction's three outposts in Ironcrest. Sooner or later, you'll find what you want..."
'Death!' She thought silently, feeling that playing this person against her leaders was the best way to eliminate him.
She thought that Vicente would come to her today to try to learn about her superiors' weaknesses or find out something compromising about them. She was determined not to open her mouth to talk about such things.
But Sarah really didn't care about setting up a "meeting" between Vicente and her superiors.
'If Nash finds out what you did to me, he'll kill you, Cesar!' She thought of the leader of her faction as she felt her whole body ache.
She had been tortured by Vicente and his men several times in the last few days. She now had wounds all over her body, her face was pale, and her ears were deep. At the same time, her hair was a mess, and she constantly tasted blood in her mouth.
Thinking of the leader of her group, with whom she had had an affair in the past, she was sure that Nash would avenge what she had suffered and put an end to Cesar Mazzanti's race!
Rory looked at Vicente and asked in a quiet voice. "What are you going to do? It will be hazardous to follow this woman's instructions. She may be trying to deceive you, and even if she is sincere, she is probably only doing so because she thinks you will perish at the hands of her allies."
"I know... I'll take her with me to Ironcrest," Vicente said. "She must think of her own life. If I fall into a trap because of her, I'll make sure I kill her before I die."
Sarah gave Cesar an ugly look, seeing that things would be difficult for her for a while.
"I'm going to use you as a living shield, woman." He said, looking into her eyes. "I hope you'll think carefully about your priorities during the next few days we'll be traveling. Your life will depend on it."
"Damn you, Cesar!"
"We leave at dawn the next day. Be prepared to die if things go badly for me!"
With these words, Vicente left Sarah behind while he advised Rory and the soldier next to him on what to do in his absence.
After taking care of these two, Vicente went up to the roof of his estate to talk to Bart.
"Bart, I'm leaving for Ironcrest tomorrow. I wanted you to go with me, but right now, the family needs you more than I do." He said to his mount, using his mana to change his voice so the beast could understand him perfectly.
Mages could manipulate their words to convey their meaning in a way that beasts could understand.
The creature listened to its master and used the same ability to transmit its thoughts back to Vicente while the young man understood them.
It was necessary to be at least level 3 for that as well.
"Master, I'd like that too. I hope to carry you on future journeys."
"For now, take care of these men. Some troublesome people will come to town soon, so be prepared."
"All right."
With that, hours would pass, and Layla would appear at the Mazzanti estate, having reached the beginning of the 3rd stage after several days of meditation!
At dawn, Vicente, Layla, and Sarah would leave Millfall and head for Ironcrest, using Vicente's abilities to move there.
