The next day, news about the battle in the Poisonous Viper Gang and the Ape Gang headquarters spread throughout the city. First, the general public heard the sounds of fighting that night and reported this matter to the officials right away.
Secondly, the pedestrians walking in the streets could still notice traces of blood and clash in the vicinity. Although some gangsters were cleaning up the scene and blocking the view, they couldn't be hidden.
There were reporters frequently interviewing the nearby public to get answers, and hoping to enter inside but they were ruthlessly rejected.
Furiously, they contacted the police force, requesting permission. Yet, they were denied once again. Thus, they could only turn their attention to another great rumor circulating in the streets helplessly.
Indeed, it was related to Swordmaster Igor. It was said that he was injured by a gangster yesterday. Connecting the dots, they guessed that these two incidents might be somewhat associated.
However, they were meant to be disappointed as they were turned down by the Bright Moon Guild as well. This infuriated them to the core. But there was nothing they could do.
It was the first time that the media outlets were refused everywhere they went. Even during much bigger events such as monster invasions and cult rituals, they weren't prohibited like this. It seemed as if someone was pulling strings to suppress this matter.
And the only one capable of doing it was the Military. So, what actually happened? What was the Military afraid of? Why were they stopping them?
The more they looked into it, the more astonished they became. They just learned that the Skull Gang had bought all the properties belonging to the Poisonous Viper and the Ape Gang.
Didn't this signify that the Skull Gang was one of the culprits? There was also gossip about how the gang leaders of the Poisonous Viper and Ape Gang never returned after entering their headquarters.
Everything was a mystery and the media loved such things. Therefore, they published news with various speculations, creating great headlines that hooked the public.
"Skull Gang, the rise of a new guild?"
"The mysterious powerhouse of the Skull Gang crushes the Swordmaster!! Who is the new A-rank warrior?"
"Bright Moon Guild refuses to disclose the matter! Are they scared?"
"Where is the police force? Are they so incompetent?"
"How many lives were taken?"
Hundreds of similar news stories were shared on each platform including Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Seeing this, Sophia, the guild master of the Bright Moon Guild threw her cell phone straight out of the window in a rage.
"How dare they?" An icy aura burst from her, slowly freezing the villa.
She had already received lots of phone calls since the morning, frustrating her every second. Especially, the mocking voices of the other guild leaders gave her a headache.
Nonetheless, they talked about business too. The other guilds were eager to know the man behind all this. When they realized that the person was supposedly an S-rank warrior, they all closed their mouths in disbelief.
That's why no guilds came to trouble the Skull Gang for the time being. Despite the fact that they had lost a part of their manpower and strength.
"Mama! Are you fine?" Suddenly an immature awkward voice rang in the room, awakening her.
"You.." Perceiving Igor, she despaired even further. How would the world react if they discovered his present condition?
In the meantime, the Police force was in chaos. They were struggling to deal with the calls from the deceased's family members.
Inside the discussion hall, the higher-ranked officials ranked from B to A were seated around a circular table. In the middle of the ceiling, a projector was fitted, pointing to the whiteboard ahead.
Pictures and rare footage of the Heavenly Demon Cayden were played on the screen. Even though the CCTVs didn't catch him making a move, they were still shaken a bit.
After all, his appearance was ethereal, filled with majesty and terror.
"Eh! Isn't this the same guy that my little daughter was drooling about?" All of a sudden, an old man exclaimed in doubt.
"What?" They all gazed in his direction suspiciously.
"It seems like you guys are all outdated." Shaking his head, the old man opened the Reddit app on his phone, showing the 'Hot' segment in it.
There they could see the photo of Cayden near a garden, posted in a woman subreddit branch with thousands of upvotes and flirty comments, causing them to blush with shame.
"Damn! Old man! Be serious." One of them scolded him, slamming the table.
"I am just notifying you guys to be careful. What if your daughter runs away from home?" The Old man sighed, putting away his phone.
"Ok! Shut up! We are here to discuss how to handle him."
Despite calming themselves down, they were starting to worry about it too.
"Anyways, how shall we take care of him?"
"I didn't think that he would be making such a mess soon. He destroyed two of the gangs in the blink of an eye."
"Yeah! The guilds are pressurizing us for answers."
"Who knows what he's planning next?"
"I think we should make a visit and ask him directly."
"I don't think he is an S-ranked warrior yet. Ellie should have mistaken."
"I agree. How can someone become one without killing a lot of monsters outside?"
"Unless he isn't someone from this world."
The atmosphere became solemn when they had this notion since nobody knew how strong the people from outside the world possibly could be. Therefore, they hesitated to come to any decisions.
While they were debating, the door of the hall abruptly opened with a bang.
"Ellie? What brings you here? I thought you wanted a rest." The old man questioned, displeasingly, glancing at the female who barged in.
"I'm sorry. I had no choice. We have to hurry to the airport and receive Sir Luther and Sir Richard. I heard that they would arrive in a couple of hours." Ellie explained with awe written all over her face.
"Goddam! So fast!"
"It looks like this incident eventually forced them to hasten up."
However, they didn't know that another trouble was approaching them soon. Sadly, they were going to arrive late once again.
***
Currently, the perpetrators of this incident, Cayden and Bryan, were proceeding toward the commercial center in an expensive sedan. While driving, Bryan was describing yesterday's event briefly and Cayden would nod from time to time.
"Besides, I received an invitation for an auction from the underground forces in B-city early this morning. It is scheduled for next week. Should we head there?" Bryan asked.
"Underground forces? Is that the gangs from B-city like you guys? I don't think they possess anything that might interest me." Cayden spoke disdainfully.
"It's not true. City A, B, and C are the biggest cities nearest to the other continents, making them the places where the most resources are available and the powerhouses gather. The two largest guilds along with the military are centered there." Bryan continued explaining.
"The headquarters of the commercial center is located there as well. The materials exchanged there come from the dungeons guarded by the big guilds and the other continents directly. Occasionally, from the S-rank warriors too."
"The only problem there is that spatial storms leading to unknown places emerge more frequently. Nevertheless, due to these reasons, many people come to seek opportunities there."
"The underground factions there have established themselves upon these spatial storms as their foundations. Similar to the guilds, they own dungeons and have their own market to trade goods, known as the black market. Hence, they are hated by the guilds to the core."
"Although they sound similar to the guilds, they are notorious. They plunder the resources of the guilds by sneaking into their dungeons. They are involved in enslaving people and the slave business. They hire and protect criminals from all over the world."
"They also perform assassination missions for bounty. Some say that cults are behind them. But nobody has found out the truth." Bryan paused, taking a deep breath.
"That's why I wanted you to accept their invitation since you were interested in the cult yesterday. In addition, they might have some treasures that might catch your interest. After all, they have access to various dungeons." He suggested.
"We will see." Cayden indifferently replied, still not taking them seriously.
A couple of minutes later, they arrived at a big mall having six floors. Each of the floors contained items according to the ranks. On the top floor, items belonging to A-rank were sold.
Only the headquarters had the right to sell S-ranked materials. Tones of people entering and leaving the place could be seen. There were C-ranked warriors from the guilds and military guarding the entry and exit points, showcasing the prestige of the commerce center.
"My Lord, what are we getting here?" Bryan finally asked the question he was curious about.
"Everything above a hundred years old."