Souta turned his head and looked in the direction of the Star Pavilion, the overlord of White Line City. He was contemplating whether he should meet the leader or not. In the end, he shook his head and placed those thoughts in the back of his mind. He didn't want his existence to be known by these people until he learned something about the assassins. It's better to stay low-profile at this time.
That's if he was going to use his true appearance.
He could simply create a different identity for himself.
A smile formed on Souta's face as he strode on the streets. He placed his hand on his hand and without anyone noticing it, his appearance had changed. Even his skin tone gradually changes into a lighter color.
Then, he held the bracelets on his wrist and activated its effect. It was the [Bracelet of Silencing] that came from Raeshka and the other one was a bracelet of Alice, which she used to hide her real appearance and strength.
Two artifacts for disguise. He was sure that no ordinary expert would be able to see through this disguise unless they had the same eyes as him.
In this state, he couldn't use his real power. He would only be able to wield a fraction of his strength but it's enough for him. It's equivalent to a Peak Stage Solidifying Realm. No, he was stronger than Solidifying Realm but weaker than Shackled Realm.
He forcefully suppressed his best feram and only used the mana he stored in the Queen Parasite.
'This should be enough for now.'
Souta went back to the black market. No one recognized him as his appearance had changed. He approached the person before.
The information dealer looked at him and said, "Do you know the deal?"
Souta nodded and passed five gold coins to the dealer. The dealer was surprised when he saw the gold coins in his hand. Before he could say something, Souta already said, "I wish to talk to your boss, the leader of the Night District."
Night District. It was the organization that ruled the black market of White Line City. Although it wasn't as strong as Star Pavilion, the Star Pavilion would suffer heavy casualties if the two organizations fought. It couldn't compare to those bandit groups in Ekatoe City.
The dealer narrowed his eyes and asked, "Do you think five gold coins is enough to meet our boss? Who do you think you are?"
"Tell him that I have something useful. It's about the Governor, Ray Faustin." Souta said in a low voice. He was only bluffing since he didn't know anything about the Governor but this was enough to get the attention of the leader of Night District.
Any information about the Governor was important.
"Are you sure?" The frown on the dealer's face grew deeper.
"The death of envoy," Souta said.
The dealer opened his eyes widely before he nodded. "Wait for me here. I'll have to verify this information first." He said before he left.
Looking at the dealer's back, Souta knew that the death of Envoy Jeoban already spread. Although the public still didn't know about it, it was only a matter of time. After all, organizations like Night District would be able to hear it first than ordinary people.
Souta wanted to meet the so-called leader of Night District. He was sure that the leader knew things that his subordinates didn't know. But it would attract a lot of attention if he used his true appearance without any disguise or restrictions. Although he didn't come here for trouble, there's a chance that a fight would break out if a misunderstanding occurred.
While waiting, Souta closed his eyes and sensed his shadows. Until now they haven't found anything. He guessed that the intel he could gather in one city was limited. Well, it was within his expectation so he wasn't disappointed.
The dealer came back and simply said, "Let's go."
He didn't explain anything. There's no point in that since Souta would understand it once they arrived.
The two went inside a huge mansion filled with guards. It looked like a household of an ordinary noble but the truth was... This mansion was under the Night District. It was one of their properties within the city.
The dealer guided him into a room. Inside it, there was a chubby man with thin facial hair. He was eating a bunch of meat across the table and beside him, there were various girls of different races.
He was the boss of the Night District, Nathan.
The moment he stepped in, Nathan stopped eating and focused his eyes on Souta.
'Quite strong... A Peak Stage Solidifying Realm.' Souta said inwardly as he assessed the strength of the person in front of him.
"My men said that you have information about the Envoy of Mine Valley..." Nathan said slowly while examining Souta.
He was a little bit surprised since he couldn't see the depth of this person's strength. Souta was probably on the same level or above him. He wanted to scan Souta using his mana but that was too disrespectful. It would lead to a fight.
"Yes, I know a little bit about it. That's why..." Before Souta could finish his words, the ground suddenly shook heavily.
Rumble!
A huge earthquake hit the whole city. A lot of people outside panicked but for Liquefying Realm and above, they could handle this earthquake.
Souta was disturbed as he looked around and felt nothing wrong. He thought that this was just an ordinary earthquake but his eyes saw something unusual.
There was a strange energy flowing in the air. It gives off pressure but nobody felt it, including him. He couldn't explain it but this reeks of danger.
"Is there something wrong?" Nathan asked when he saw Souta's reaction. He felt nothing and thought that the earthquake was ordinary.
"No, something just came into my mind." Souta shook his head. He focused on what was in front of him for now. "If I'm not wrong the Envoy of Mine Valley visited all the cities to deliver a letter, right?"
"That's right. The envoy arrived in this city a few days ago but I don't know the contents of the letter. What about it? Do you know something about it?" Nathan nodded but he bit the piece of meat in his hand.
"I couldn't tell you where I got this information but the information that I'm about to tell you is verified." Souta paused for a moment before he continued, "The letter is an invitation from the Governor. He is inviting every City Lord to Bland City."
Nathan narrowed his eyes. "Invitation for what? The City Lords will not accept the invitation if it's not important. Also, most of them are wary of the Governor since he took over three cities. The moment he rose into that position."
"The Mine Valley. The Governor wanted to unify it and the letter contained words that he wanted to create a council called Dragon Council. As for the specific details of the Dragon Council, I don't know about it. I'm still gathering information and I think that it is the cause of the envoy's death." Souta explained.
"I see... So someone is trying to stop the formation of the Dragon Council. It's really weird that the Governor easily took three cities without fighting but it seems that there's more to it." Nathan nodded in understanding.
"What I want to know is the information of the assassin groups in the Mine Valley. Is there a group here that would go against the Governor just like that?" Souta asked.
"You're right. I have something in my mind after hearing your words."
"What is it?"
"The Murder Society," Nathan said in a low voice while looking straight into his eyes.
"What's that?" Souta was a little bit confused. He was new to this place so he didn't know a lot of things here. What he knew was just public knowledge.
"It's an incredibly powerful organization. I don't know if they would care about the Mine Valley but it's possible that they are the ones behind the assassination. As for why they killed the envoy, it's simple, someone must have paid them huge money. That's their job." Nathan's tone was grave and from his words, the so-called Murder Society was all over the entire Hall Plains. It runs one of the darkest jobs here in this land.
"Do you have contact with them?" Souta asked.
"How could I? I haven't even met anyone of them but according to the rumors, they will come to you if you needed them. Honestly, I don't believe it. I'm more inclined that there's some sort of password that acts as a signal and once you utter those words, they will hear you." Nathan shrugged his shoulder.
Souta was a little bit disappointed since the Murder Society could be the one who killed the Envoy of Mine Valley.
"If what you said is true then the Mine Valley will undergo a huge change soon. I can only protect what's within my territory. Also, don't mention the Murder Society in front of other people. It's dangerous." Nathan warned him.
