After reading the Void Lightning Arts description, Ynder reclines in his chair, closes his eyes, and considers something. Right now, Ynder is completely taken aback, that such powerful cultivation arts could exist and, moreover, be given to him? He could not believe it himself.
( My family's cultivation arts, which I trained in, are nowhere near to this one. Moreover, this is a unique elemental art, and according to its description, it is related to the lighting element, which is known to have the greatest destructive power of all the elements.
I find it hard to believe that I am being rewarded with such an art, as all knowledge regarding the unique elemental arts are tightly controlled by the most powerful families and nations in the world.
Now, with this, I can definitely increase my family's influence.)
Ynder opened his eyes and sat upright after organizing his thoughts, and he immediately called a name.
"Robert."
The door opens, and a white-haired man in his 50s wearing a butler suit enters the room.
Robert walks towards Ynder, stops just a few inches before the table, and bows a little.
"Count, you have called." Spoke in a respectable manner.
Upon seeing Robert, Ynder overcome with gratitude for everything this man had done for him.
So previously, Ynder used his power to grant Robert a common rank [1] to give him a strong body as soon as he finished his closed-door cultivation. This allowed Robert, who had previously peaked at rank B, to be reborn as a member of the Dragevil species with a S rank cultivation level.
"Yes, Robert. Please set up a room for me so that I can conduct business," said Ynder.
After hearing it, Robert spoke straight away with a neutral expression.
"Certainly, Court, but may I know what business you are seeing to attend as I have to prepare accordingly?"
Smiling, Ynder responds.
"I am going to train in a new cultivation art that the system has given me for completing my recent mission."
Robert's stoic expression cracked slightly when he heard it, but he fixed it right away.
Robert bowed right away. "The room will be ready in a few moments; count." He replies in a neutral tone of voice, but it is just a front for the excitement he is experiencing.
After that, Robert immediately hurried out of the office and gave a serious set of orders to the servants who were standing nearby.
Robert, being the owner of the system, understands how important this assignment is because the cultivation arts that have been given by the system may not be your typical arts, and a single leak of news could seriously jeopardize the Ballad family's future development. He must thus accomplish this task flawlessly.
With an air of seriousness, "Joran" called Robert.
A silhouette appears behind Robert's back, emerging from the night's darkness.
"On standby, head butler." The man answered, moving and walking behind Robert.
"Shadow Lockdown of Virro and Mansion" Joran hears Robert say just a few words, but they are more than sufficient to help him understand what he should do.
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Joran has known Ynder since he was a young boy, until he became the count. He also has a great deal of respect for him because he is the only count in the Ballad family's history to achieve S rank despite investing a significant amount of money in Elixer and Treasure to do so. But in spite of that, only a select few people can actually reach S rank on their own, even with those enhancers and treasures.
He was therefore shocked to learn that Ynder had achieved SSS rank because Ynder had unexpectedly jumped a rank—one that is never heard of—and went on to attain the highest realm, SSS rank, that a mortal could attain without the help of heaven, which is well-known.
Nevertheless, he didn't ask many questions about this issue because he was aware of the proverb "curiosity kills the cat."
Being a trade hub, Ballad County's intelligence agencies has an understanding with various intelligence agencies from other territories to not kill their agents, if it is not discovered that the spices from other territories have violated the terms agreed upon by both organizations.
As a result, as soon as joran left the Ynder's office following his meeting with Ynder, he started to consider which territories' spies should be killed or which should not be.
However, after receiving Robert's order for the shadow lockdown, things have changed.
As This makes the situation more complicated because once this order is put into effect, any agents or organizations that have been sent or supported by third parties within the effective range will be mercilessly eliminated. Spy operators of friendly territories will only be granted a 10-minute head start, and if the agents are unable to escape, they will also effectively be killed. For the general public, it will be your typical day, but underneath the shadows, there will be carnage.
This also illustrates the significance of the "shadow lockdown" state, as even spies from neutral areas that could turn against Ballad County in the future will be eliminated.
As soon as Joran gets the order, he heads straight to the top of the count's mansion and makes a call.
"Agents." 500 men all dressed in black materialize behind the Joran, engulfing the entire top of the courthouse.
"The state of shadow lockdown is about to begin. Target of effect: the Court Mansion and the entire virro." Order's joran, with a stern demeanor.
Once the order was given, every agent dispersed from the rooftop to execute the directive.
The bloodshed madness has spread from the virro to the count mansion, from midnight until sunrise. Any spies in these two regions were brutally murdered. Every single individual who was thought to be or was suspected of being a spy was killed, whether they were a maid, servant, child, elderly person, wealthy businessman, or gang leader.
This kept up for a full two days, preventing the county agent's blade from ever drying out.
In the spy hunt's history, this was the most heinous purge ever documented; even the thought of this incident will send shivers down the spine.
At exactly midnight on the final day of the hunt, two suspicious-looking individuals—a man and a woman—appear in the city square, unaccompanied by any citizens. Their unique facial features set them apart from the rest of the crowd.
The agents, who saw this pair materialize out of nowhere, were unable to move at all because they each had a natural instinct that if they moved, they would die.
Those two couples just strolled in the direction of the court mansion, acting as though the two thousand agents that watched over the area were not there at all. The amusing thing is that not a single agent was unable to leave their position, despite their large number.
As one of the brave agents attempted to move to attack the duo, the woman walking beside the man looked directly at the agent.
When that's agent's eyes met the woman's black eyes, the woman simply shook her head, seemingly giving the man a warning not to move.
In that instant, every agent in the vicinity sensed that as if two sets of eyes were observing them intently from behind their backs. The agents also knew, based on the leaking aura, that the woman, who seemed to be the man's maid, was a skilled cultivator and was aware of everyone's presence.
Joran, who's also there, is not in any better shape. He knew right away when the two showed up in city square that they were more than just a simple couple because nobody normal would go to the court mansion in the middle of the night when it was occupied by 2,000 individuals skilled in ambush tactics.
Though joran mustered every last bit of willpower to escape this condition, he was immobile, and the two of them just strolled in the direction of the front gate of the count's mansion. This is when he sensed the woman's aura and knew instantly that she might be as advanced in cultivation as his lord.
After the duos stopped in front of the mansion gate, the man who had been grinning nonstop all along suddenly turned to face the agents and let out an exclamation.
"Pressure releases." All of the pressure the agents were under suddenly disappeared, especially joran but the man continued to speak.
"If you deem that you can defeat me, attack now or after this, I will kill the count, but know that those who come in this direction will surely be dead, but then also, I am giving you all a chance to try."
Despite some hesitation, the agents listening to this at that moment raised their weapons, but some of them also betrayed their allies in order to escape with their own lives.
Joran, at the front, took the initiative and gave a series of fierce, determined commands. He feels that all he needs to do is wait for the count.
"Group 1 Left, Group 2 Right, Group 3 Up, Group 4 Ground, Group 6 Back. Assume your position, bide your time until I give you another order, and then launch an attack simultaneously.
Give him no time to react, or we will all perish; but despite the fact that we may become dead in a few moments, know this: it is for our homeland, our county, and our family. Keep him in place until the count arrives."
Six groups then took up their positions and awaited for their further orders.
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[1] common rank: Dragevil society is divided into 2 parts: common rank individuals and noble rank individuals. Noble Rank Dragevils; They have more of the sun's blood concentrated in their bodies, making them pure-blooded dragevils. Consequently, they will be stronger and more talented.
Common rank dragevils are less pure blooded than pure blooded kinds, and their cultivation level varies from c to s rank. The highest ranking common dragevil is an individual with a S rank, which is the highest rank that can be attained by a common rank dragevil. However, common rank dragevils can still rise in rank to noble Dragevils. [ More information would be revealed at later chapter.]