Chapter 14
752words
The Dorn Trading Company responded first.
The day after receiving our "anonymous" intelligence, their president—a middle-aged man renowned for shrewdness and decisiveness—took swift, ruthless action against the traitor who had betrayed company interests. There was no public trial, no lengthy explanation. The distant relative and several accomplices simply vanished overnight, as if they had never existed.
Following this, a bloody vendetta against the Iron Wolf Mercenaries unfolded silently in Aruba's underworld.
Dorn Trading Company spent lavishly to hire top assassins and mercenaries, launching a relentless hunt for Iron Wolf members. Meanwhile, our "accidentally" leaked information allowed other mercenary groups to smell blood in the water, and like vultures circling carrion, they joined the feeding frenzy.
Overnight, this established mercenary group became prey that everyone hunted. Their strongholds were raided, assets seized, and members dispatched in taverns, in their sleep, even in bathhouses.
Within three days, the Iron Wolf Mercenaries ceased to exist, completely erased from Aruba's power structure.
---
At Dorn Trading Company headquarters, in their luxurious reception hall...
"Father, your strategy was brilliant!"
Emily sipped red tea, gazing admiringly at her father. To her, his operation represented textbook business revenge.
Chairman Dorn reclined on his sofa, rubbing his tired brow. Despite their victory, his face showed not satisfaction but profound respect.
"Brilliant? No, Emily." He looked at his daughter seriously. "Do you truly believe this was solely my accomplishment?"
"Wasn't it?"
"You're still young." Chairman Dorn sighed. "Have you considered why that intelligence was so precise, and why it 'happened' to reach us?"
"Well..." Emily hesitated.
"The mole in our organization was deeply embedded—even I couldn't detect them. And the Iron Wolf operation was equally mysterious. To investigate everything so thoroughly so quickly, even tracking their financial flows... Emily, could any ordinary intelligence network accomplish this?"
Emily's breath caught. She immediately thought of the Crescent Moon Society, of the composed young man Ando, and especially of the silver-masked Shadow Arbiter.
"Father, are you suggesting..."
"Precisely." Chairman Dorn nodded, fear briefly crossing his eyes. "We were merely the blade. The hand guiding it belonged to that Arbiter and his Crescent Moon Society."
"He not only saved you but eliminated a major threat to us, delivering Iron Wolf's assets into our hands like a feast. And through it all, he never once showed his face."
He stood, walked to the window, and gazed at Aruba's bustling streets, his voice low and solemn.
"This debt is immense. So immense that... I don't know how we can repay it."
"From today," he turned, giving Emily his highest directive, "elevate Green Leaf Village trade to absolute priority! Spare no expense, fulfill their every need! Dorn Trading Company will become the Crescent Moon Society's most reliable, most loyal partner! Understood?"
"Yes, Father!" Emily nodded firmly, her eyes showing not just admiration but growing reverence for that mysterious organization.
---
Meanwhile, in the Demon King Academy, at the exclusive training ground for the first-ranked student...
Fujiwara Shizuka methodically wiped blood from a dagger with a silk handkerchief. At his feet lay several slaves tortured beyond recognition.
A trusted subordinate entered and knelt.
"Lord Fujiwara, we have the latest intelligence from the Neutral City."
"Speak," Fujiwara didn't look up.
"The Iron Wolf Mercenaries have been eliminated. Dorn Trading Company's business is expanding rapidly."
"A group of nobodies, dead is dead," Fujiwara replied dismissively.
"However, my lord, our informant reports a mysterious figure called the 'Shadow Arbiter' behind these events. And Dorn's success appears connected to a place called 'Green Leaf Village'."
"Green Leaf Village?"
Fujiwara paused his dagger-cleaning.
He raised his head, snake-like eyes flashing with interest.
"Isn't that where our unremarkable Sakurai conducted his 'suppression' mission recently?"
"Yes, sir."
"Interesting." Fujiwara's lips curved into a cruel smile. "A village terrified by a mere C+ mission, a mediocre student who only knows how to practice diligently... what connection could possibly exist between them?"
"Investigate thoroughly," he ordered. "Uncover everything about this 'Shadow Arbiter' and Green Leaf Village. I want to see what games my 'peace-loving' seventh brother is playing behind the scenes."
"At once, sir!"
The subordinate departed swiftly.
Fujiwara lowered his gaze, studying his reflection in the bloodstained dagger.
"Sakurai Hayato... I hope you provide some entertainment."
He extended his tongue, slowly licking blood from the blade, eyes gleaming with predatory anticipation.
An investigation targeting me had begun, initiated by the academy's apex predator.
And I remained completely unaware.
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