It was noon. At the clubhouse of the Hummer’s residence, Edwin Hummer was struck on the head with a wine bottle. Blood trickled down his body, along with the merlot.
“Hummer! I was screwed because of you!” Tatum sat on the couch; his features contorted in anger. “Didn’t you say that Dustin Rhys was a nobody? Why was he that powerful? Did you lie to me on. purpose?”
At his mentor’s request, Tatum had shown up to avenge Joshua Hummer. In the beginning, he thought he could show off his talent, but he was badly defeated in the end. Not only that, his core was destroyed. He had all the reason to be mad.
“Sir Thunders, in my records, Dustin Rhys did not come from a remarkable background. It wasn’t wrong to describe him as a nobody. As for his actual abilities, I recall giving you a heads up, but you didn’t take it seriously,” Edwin murmured with his head hung low.
“Are you blaming me for being weak?” Tatum glowered at him. If he weren’t hurt, he would have taught Edwin a lesson.
“In my opinion, it is unnecessary to issue a public challenge to men like Dustin Rhys. You can use whatever means to get him killed,” Edwin further explained.
“Oh, are you fucking teaching me how to get things done now? Tatum’s expression darkened, his eyes gleaming with hostility.
“Of course not.” Edwin lowered his head.
“I have no time for you!” Tatum looked irritated. “Didn’t you get Substratumis from Dr. Linden Watkins? Give it to me now. I need it for my injuries”
Substratumis, the core restoration pill, was created to heal internal injuries. It was rather effective in restoring one’s core. As long as the patient took it within 24 hours, they would stand a chance to regenerate their core. However, due to the preciousness of the ingredients, the Stoneray Valley only produced a few pills annually. Each batch of pills would be scooped up by members of various guilds upon hitting the market. Thankfully, Edwin had spent a fortune on one of those pills, just in time for Tatum to use it.
“Sir Thunders, I accidentally crushed the pill. So, I can’t help you. I’m sorry.” Edwin shook his head regrettably.
“You crushed the pill?” Tatum’s eyes narrowed, and he snickered. “Are you kidding me? Any sane person would take great care of that precious pill. How could you have crushed it? Your son’s dead anyway, so you can’t use it on him. Who else except for me will need your pill?”
“Sir Thunders, I am telling you the truth.” Edwin appeared serious.
“Oh, shut up! If you don’t hand me the restorative pill today, I’ll crush your legs!” Tatum threatened him spitefully.
Edwin stared at Tatum with his cold but bright eyes. “But, Sir Thunders, I wonder how you are going to do that, given that your core has been destroyed.”
“Hah! I might not have any bit of internal energy left, but killing a man like you is child’s play!”
Tatum was conceited.
“Is that so?” Edwin chuckled icily and brandished a gun from his back without warning. He pointed it at Tatum. “Can a man without internal energy defend himself from bullets?”
“Hmm?” Tatum’s expression hardened. “How dare you point a gun at me, you son of a bitch. Do you know who I am? Put the gun down and cut your hands in front of me. If not, I’ll…”
Edwin suddenly pulled the trigger before Tatum could finish his sentence. Following a loud bang, the bullet shot Tatum in the forehead, leaving a splattered mess of blood on the wall.
Tatum grunted, his body trembling and his eyes wide-opened in disbelief. He’d never believe that Edwin would pull the trigger on him, and a fatal, point-blank shot at that.
Finally, Tatum’s body slumped heavily onto the floor, his eyes remaining open as he drew his last breath.
“Huh?” Fletcher Lawson, who had been standing by the side, appeared mortified at the scene. “S- Sir Hummer, what are you doing? Tatum Thunders is Sir Lincoln’s principal disciple. How are we going to explain this to Sir Lincoln?” He secretly thought Edwin had gone mad for having the guts to murder Tatum.
“Yeah, I killed him. Why do I need to explain that? Edwin took out a handkerchief and calmly wiped the spot of his head injury from the wine bottle attack.
“If Sir Lincoln learns about this, he will not let this slip!” Fletcher was panicking as he pictured the guildmaster of Boulderthorn, halfway to becoming a grandmaster. The man was powerful enough to massacre the entire Hummer Family!
“If we don’t tell, no one will know,” Edwin muttered emotionlessly.
“But Tatum died on our territory. How can we hide the fact?” Fletcher was drenched in cold sweat by now.
“You don’t have to panic. Just remember-none of us met Tatum Thunders today. He suffered a sudden death in his home after the battle with Dustin. We shall leave Boulderthorn to figure out the murderer, and we have no clue about it at all. Got it?” Edwin tilted his head, his eyes shimmering with a cold gaze.
“Sir Hummer, are you telling me to… shift the blame to Dustin Rhys?” It didn’t take Fletcher long to piece the puzzle.
“It was Dustin Rhys’ doing all along. When did we shift the blame to him?” Edwin questioned.
“Oh, right! It’s all Dustin Rhys’ fault!” Fletcher nodded furiously. At that point, he finally caught a glimpse of the depths of Edwin’s dark soul. Edwin had decided to kill a top ace like Tatum without blinking an eye. The mere thought of it was mind-numbing.
At the Boulderthorn branch in Millsburg, Clement Lincoln sat on the throne, his expression darkening when Tatum Thunders’ body was brought back. As the guildmaster of Boulderthorn who had extensive experience in the field, he never had anyone offending him in this manner. “Who was it? Who did this?” He gritted his teeth as his eyes bulged.
Sir Lincoln, it was Dustin Rhys!” Luther started fanning the flames. “Dustin Rhys pulled dirty
tricks in the battle and destroyed Tatum’s core. Tatum was assassinated right after that!”
“Dustin Rhys! It’s him again!” Clement banged his fists on the table out of rage, and the wooden table instantly cracked and split into pieces. First, it was Joshua Hummer. Now, it was Tatum. Clement had lost two beloved disciples, one of whom was his heir. It was tough not to feel anger and hatred at the culprit.
“Sir Lincoln, Dustin Rhys is sly and ruthless. He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. If we don’t get rid of him in time, he might be a pain in the ass in the future!” Luther added fuel to the fire.
“Send out my orders-The Royal Valor of Boulder thorn is looking to arrest Dustin Rhys!” Clement said with grief. “I’ll use all necessary means and make any sacrifices to tear him into pieces!”
“Yes, sir!” His disciples bowed and took his orders The Royal Valor was shaken from the orders, and its aces were called back from all corners of the world for the quest. At that moment, Dustin Rhys was the most-wanted man on the Royal Valor’s blacklist.
