"Not yet," Nathan replied coldly, a sneer on his face.
He had known of Tig's connections with the Golden House through the Silver House lineage.
But considering Tig's low-profile demeanor, he hadn't targeted him much.
Now, it seemed he had underestimated him.
Tig replied with a confident smile, "If I'm not mistaken, it should arrive very soon. Why don't we use this time to hand over the work?"
"Is that so? Well, we can hand over the work once the notice arrives," Nathan said as he sat down, unceremoniously. "All of you, out!"
"You too," he glanced at Tig, his tone no different from usual.
Tig chuckled coldly and stood up leisurely.
"I hear that Lynch Clark of the Golden House, guardian of the Tempest Mountains, will return to the capital in two days. I wonder if you'll have the opportunity to meet him?"
Lynch Clark, a level 6 warrior and one of the twelve guardians of the Tempest Mountains, was no ordinary figure.
A flood of information came to Nathan's mind, but he quickly suppressed it.
In two days, he should have already left the capital, so even if more formidable figures returned, they were not his concern.
He rapidly wrote a few documents, stamping them with practiced ease.
Just then, a subordinate whispered something in Tig's ear.
Tig's face turned sour, and he suddenly spun around to Nathan. "Is Lia Clark in your custody?"
Ignoring him, Nathan grabbed the documents and left.
"What are you doing?"
Tig's eyes were sharp enough to notice the document about the warrant for Wales and tried to stop Nathan.
But the next moment, he reeled back, a strong sense of danger washing over him, his face turning extremely pale.
In close quarters, a fire elementalist could be a formidable adversary.
"Mind your position," Nathan said coldly, "You are still just my subordinate."
Tig clamped his mouth shut, watching Nathan leave the office.
The armored guard escorted the carriage towards the outskirts of the city.
...
About half an hour later, the carriage stopped at the entrance of the City Defense Office.
An armored guard entered with a document.
Shortly after, another guard in scale armor and a steel helmet emerged.
"Third Unit of the City Guard, level 4 warrior Aaron, at your service, Chief."
Nathan lifted the carriage curtain and appraised the man, nodding in satisfaction.
"Not bad, but why are you alone? I recall requesting twenty men from your chief this noon."
"This... The others are off duty today. You might have to wait until tomorrow to see them," the armored guard hesitated but decided to tell the truth.
Nathan was well aware that this was merely a token gesture.
With rumors circulating that he might soon be ousted as the Intelligence Bureau chief, cooperation from the various offices was no longer as forthcoming as before.
"A bunch of ungrateful wretches," Nathan muttered inwardly.
When he had been raiding the Clark house, these people had been eager to ingratiate themselves with him, borrowing over three hundred men at once, including nine level 5 warriors.
Nathan had rewarded them by allowing them to partake in the plunder.
During those days, Nathan single-handedly raised the spending level of all entertainment venues in the imperial city, and even the courtesans in the brothels privately praised the newly appointed intelligence officer.
But now, barely half a month later, even though he hadn't yet been dismissed, he was already feeling the cold shoulder.
"It's all about interests, no matter the world," Nathan sneered internally, ordering the rear compartment of the carriage to be opened.
Four armored guards then lifted a heavy chest from the compartment.
Upon opening it, Aaron's eyes lit up.
A quarter of an hour later, Nathan's carriage left the City Defense Office.
Unlike before, two elite squads of city guards now flanked the carriage, marching menacingly towards a specific direction.
The Golden House Mansion.
The death of Clan Chief Aidan seemed to mark a turning point from prosperity to decline for the Golden House.
The once imposing mansion now lay in disrepair, stripped of its invincible air.
Various materials were piled up around the estate, with craftsmen busy repairing the crumbling courtyards and collapsed buildings; magi were inscribing defensive magic array on the courtyard walls using precious mithril solutions.
With a thunderous crash, the mansion's gate was broken open.
The Clark family members, just released from Imprisonium and returning to their ruined estate, were once again confronted by a fierce group of city guards and Intelligence Bureau armored guards who stormed in without a word, charging straight into the mansion.
Having already experienced a raid, the clan members showed expressions of utter terror at this scene, scattering in all directions while letting out cries like those heralding the end of days.
At that moment, a tall, thin young man emerged from the residence, leading a group to confront Nathan's troops.
Behind him stood several second-generation elementalists and even more warriors, with numerous younger generations from the third and fourth following.
"Nathan, you traitor! If the news is correct, you're about to be dismissed. How dare you come here and act so arrogantly?"
The young man shouted upon seeing his panicked clan members.
Hearing these words, the previously panicked family members seemed to grab onto a lifeline, revitalizing them all at once.
"Did you hear what the young clan leader said? Nathan, the traitor, is about to be dismissed!"
"Good, that's great! Even if I die, I'll bite off a piece of his flesh. I want to see if his blood is black."
"Right, he ate at the Clark house, slept at the Clark house, but then turned around and bit the hand that fed him. He's worse than a dog."
As many clan members regained their composure, a standoff ensued between the two sides.
"Alex Clark! As of this moment, I am still the chief of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau. Where did you get your information, and why am I unaware of it?"
Nathan ignored the clamor of the clan members, as well as the fact that everyone once saw him as the disgrace of the Clark family.
Staring at the legitimate member of the Golden House who had once falsely accused him of stealing the family's arcane fire magic and left him severely injured, his words stirred a wave of murmurs among the crowd.
Facing him was Aidan the Pyromancer's eldest son.
He had golden hair, inheriting his mother's silver-gray eyes from the Silver House.
At Nathan's words, anger surged within him, yet he couldn't respond directly.
Instead, he glared at Nathan fiercely, resembling a forest wolf ready to pounce.
Nathan noticed that Alex Clark was holding a fire coral scepter, indicating that following Aidan's death in Imprisonium, the family's power had fallen into his hands.
Seeing Alex Clark remain silent, Nathan spoke with a sneer, his expression arrogant: "Should I address you as my brother, or should I call you the Clark clan leader?"
Nathan gently stroked the back of the tiger-striped lion cat, stepping forward to meet Alex Clark's gaze:
"Wales attempted to assassinate me this afternoon on Grove Street. After failing, he fled and is now missing. The entire city is on his trail. Are you aware of this?"
Alex Clark's face turned ashen, his words squeezed out through clenched teeth:
"Whatever Wales has done is unrelated to the Clark family. He is not currently part of our family. Please leave."
"I suspect the Clark family is harboring a fugitive. Search the place!" At Nathan's command, twenty ready armored guards split into two groups and charged into the mansion.
"Who dares!" Alex Clark bellowed, and his clan members immediately blocked the guards' path, resulting in another standoff.
Seeing this, Nathan added, "Anyone who dares obstruct will be considered an accomplice to the assassin and will be captured on the spot!"
He gestured behind him, and a small troop of city guards joined the search party.
The city guard, unlike ordinary armored guards, were soldiers experienced in real combat.
As they burst forth, they immediately suppressed the Clark family's momentum, forcing the obstructing family members to retreat.
The armored guards and city guards, already instructed, stormed into the mansion, smashing anything in sight.
Last time, they had come to plunder; this time, they came to destroy!
The Clark family's wealth had been severely depleted during the last raid, especially their external assets, most of which had been annexed by other powers taking advantage of the situation.
This time, to repair their ancestral home, each member of the Clark family, particularly the direct descendants, had contributed their most valuable possessions, only to watch helplessly as their materials were constantly knocked down and smashed.
The half-completed defensive magic arrays were also being destroyed, causing many eyes to redden in anger and grief.
"You'll pay for this, Nathan, you cur! Just wait until my uncle returns; he'll have your head!"
Nathan, observing the scene, suddenly felt a surge within him.
Opening his system panel, he saw the [Hostility Index] progress bar rapidly advancing, already past the halfway mark.
Once the bar was full, he would receive his reward.
He looked around, contemplating how to further provoke the Clark family members.
Just then, someone pointed behind Nathan, stammering, "Li... Miss Lia!"
The voice wasn't loud, but as soon as it was uttered, it immediately captured everyone's attention.
In an instant, the air around them fell silent.