The place the men brought Girium acted as the temporary stronghold for the BB gang and originally was a textile factory.
Which made it so, it had a lot of giant open rooms that have been subdivided through wooden walls to make smaller compartments.
This was a temporary measure, so not much planning went into this setup. Making it easier for Girium to learn the structure of this whole place with a single glance.
And in his judgment, this whole building was harder to defend than the hospital from before.
There were too many exits and too many open places even for a sniper to shoot from. Only madmen would choose a factory to act as their stronghold.
But how can he claim he knew better? These people have been in this business for far longer than what he had read in some books. He can't compare the knowledge in books against hard experience.
'Yes, the God Constructs are a lot more common now.' And this was probably why the gang members active in this building didn't bother much with strength.
The books he read were from fifty years ago and at that time, the highest beings were still the transcenders and not the artifact users of the present day. So it was understandable from his perspective that the strategies of the present-day gangs might have already adapted to the new circumstances.
So there might be nothing to worry about. All he needed to keep watch over was his food from getting poisoned again. This had already happened two times, he doesn't wish for a third one, or he might genuinely get angry.
"Did that man open his mouth?" Girium asked Teerath, who had come to visit him.
This was the four days since he shifted to this place and nothing much has changed in his usual daily routine, besides one thing.
Which was asking for the details of "his" assassin.
"Just an assassin, he didn't know who his client was, he was approached by his agency," Teerath explained how it usually happens in the world.
No one was foolish enough to directly meet the assassin. Ignoring the risk, the chance of being blackmailed by the same assassin and the chance of being exposed to your target increases.
So to prevent incidences like this, the people utilize agencies who had contracted killers always ready for a hit.
"Name of the agency?" Girium asked, his intent clear and cut. But Teerath, who was given the job of a babysitter, calmly explained to him.
"Don't even think about it. It's impossible to track them and they change faces and their brokers a lot."
The world of the assassination was far and wide and to be in this business, the agencies have found multiple methods of self-preservation. One of which included the dummy agencies that acted as temporary meeting points.
Those dummy agencies will be active until an important hit falls in their hand, after which they would dissolve the dummy agency, cleaning any of their traces.
"Where is the dummy one?" Girium asked after the explanation. His intent is not a bit affected by this revelation.
To which, Teerath can only sigh.
This guy was headache-inducing sometimes.
*****
"Kale, I think you know what to do now?" Sia asked, her eyes staring at her employee.
"But we are not ready yet…"
"So do they." Sia retorted before Kale could complete his sentence.
"Our friend had dealt with one of their members and hence they sent an assassin to kill him." She explained. "This is the story we will go with to justify our attack on their land."
She didn't know who was the ones to hire a hitman to eliminate Girium. And she even knew that DragonStar Clan was not so stupid to bomb a place where civilians were present.
As it would attract the wrong kind of attention while setting up a precedence that the war had turned into no holds barred.
It would be anarchy at the end where no one will know how many innocents on both sides will die.
And one shouldn't also forget about the gang members. These small-time crooks were not alone, they had a family they had to feed and people they had to support. They might die on their job, but they never wished to
But that sort of question didn't matter in the world of gangs.
Who will it be if not the rival gangs?
And even if they didn't do it, it doesn't mean that she can't blame them for their bad past. A kind of false flag on her side, just to earn justification to take revenge.
And as this was for revenge, the city won't be able to interfere with them as long as they kept things civil.
"We can't ignore casualties, but if possible. See to it that no one dies on our side."
Sia's orders were straightforward and the time she chose for the attack was also mind-blowing.
At the moment, the face of the city, the mayor was absent and the Governor in preparation to welcome their own God Construct user had started to ready his family and move resources around.
As for the case of Jacob, their hired help. He won't attack until he is requested by his friend.
As for whether this was a coincidence or not, no one would be able to answer it besides Sia.
But in her own words, she would claim that she had planned this attack for a long time.
"But isn't it too early? Without that man, it's impossible to destroy the God Construct of DragonStar's boss."
"Who said we are going to destroy it? It's his fault for being injured. For now, our main goal is to eliminate that old bastard and bring him down to the same level as us."
As for his artifact. There was a person in Sia's mind who would be a better pick for that weapon than the current owner.
'It's time to start.'
*****
Robin was one of the many youngsters from the Restvil that had joined on this expedition that the Elder of his family was taking him to.
Originally, he was just from a weaker branch with no chance of ever entering the eyes of the main branch. And when he eventually grew up, he would have been handed a small job to overlook some small business, like his father once experienced.
A fate that he desired to struggle against.
But struggling in a family this big with lots of political struggles will eventually put you into a pit.
And the same happened to the boy.
For his age, he was too bright and had shone brighter than the children from the main family. Which made him a perfect target for bullying.
No one liked to be outshined and not by someone they considered lower than themselves.
And the only escape that Robin found was to volunteer for this journey.
From the words of the elder who was also the mayor of their city. Whoever won the heart of the God Construct will become the next family head.
And an instant upgrade to an Elder position even if he was from a lower branch and only 16 years old.
This was how fate worked.
Or so he thought.
"Brother, you seem very happy?' A young lady asked, her eyes as bright as the autumn sun.
This was Jory, Robin's little cousin's sister and someone he had taken care of since long ago.
"Why wouldn't I be? This is a chance that is hard to come by, I wish to be the one chosen by this God weapon." Robin was unashamed of this dream because it was a dream that was pursued by everyone in the group.
"But don't you find it, weird brother? That none of the children from the main family are going with us?" She asked.
Although she looked young and innocent, the experience in the family had left her shaken, and to adapt, she had become very attentive to her surroundings.
And if she was like this, of course, Robin was the same.
But he knew what to speak and what not to, so he quickly placed his hands on his little sister's mouth and gestured to not speak anymore.
"Everyone is asleep, so it's good. But don't speak those words to others nor let it be heard by any adults." Robin said in a small voice.
"I don't know the reason, neither should well for one. You already know how the main family treat's us. If they choose to leave us in the middle of the road, it will be unknown if we even survive for long on our own."
Whether the family was truly that cold to them, Robin didn't know. But he has experienced too much with the main family to know the truth.
To the main family, the branches were primarily servants and in case of an accident, the backup.
That's how things went in big families like these.
They used the cage named bloodline to bind its members into a small group and then exploited their blood for-profit and cheaper manpower.
So Robin was not so stupid to think that these people would give them a chance of a lifetime so easily while not letting their kids into this race. There should be an element of danger.
An element he was ready to overcome on his own.
"Remember Jory, whatever happens, you don't have to fight. Just leave if something dangerous eventually happens."
He didn't like the fact that his uncle had sent Jory on this journey as well. But as the big brother, he still had to uphold his responsibilities of keeping her safe.
"Don't treat…"
"Are you still awake?>... Go to sleep." A loud shout startled the two, causing both of them to hide in their blankets.
Tomorrow is the day.
And both knew nothing of the disaster that was coming their way.