Chapter 530 Exchanging Strikes
The young man was taken aback to see Wilbur here. “Lieutenant General Xanthos…” he greeted carefully. The young man recalled how he was cut short earlier as panic flashed across his gaze.
Wilbur chuckled gaily. “Why are you looking at me this way?” As his lips curled, the scar on his face turned more menacing. Anyone would shiver in fright at the sight.
“Are you feeling guilty as I caught you badmouthing me behind my back?” Wilbur burst out laughing. The young man paled instantly as cold sweat trickled down his face.
Behind him, someone placed a hand on his shoulder lightly. “What are you doing? Won’t you go back to work?”
Hearing the reminder, the young man lost his balance as though he had just been dragged out of the water. He leaned against the wall and panted heavily.
Wilbur glanced at Joshua and raised his right hand to give him a casual salute. “Commander, there’s no need for you to welcome me personally. I don’t deserve it. Your subordinate is quite interesting, huh? He can’t take a joke.”
The young man stood straight and tamped down his fear to force a smile after hearing Wilbur’s teasing words.
Joshua gave a perfunctory chuckle. “He’s young, but you’re the commander of Yaleview Army, in charge of six hundred thousand soldiers. Even I have to show respect for you, so obviously, he’s afraid of you.”
The smile on Wilbur’s lips froze when he heard Joshua’s words.
He quickly shook his head. “Commander, please don’t joke around. You were the one who appointed me. Even though I have military control, you can take it back anytime.”
“You’re right when you said it was a joke.” Joshua spun on his heels and entered the garden. “Besides, where else could I get such a capable commander if I were to fire you?”
After Joshua heard Wilbur’s reply, his lips curled as a murderous look glinted across his eyes. They walked to the table, where Joshua poured two cups of tea.
“Have a seat. Try this expensive tea. I only got a little of them this year and rarely drink them. You got lucky today.”
After taking a seat, Wilbur accepted the cup of tea from Joshua. Instead of drinking it, he placed the cup aside. Seeing that, Joshua sat down and sipped on his tea. He then shot Wilbur a smile.
“You rarely visit me. There must be a reason for you to pay me a visit today. Tell me. What is it about?”
Hearing Joshua’s question, Wilbur hesitated briefly before revealing, “Commander, you must’ve heard about the two big news in Yaleview today. First, the Goldstein family is withdrawing from Yaleview and won’t interfere in the prominent families’ business anymore. Also, over one hundred family members of the Xydias family had been massacred. There were two crossed daggers placed at the door, so it should be Jonathan’s doing.”
“Yes, I’ve heard about both matters.” Joshua bobbed his head. “They are slightly tricky matters. For the time being, we must focus on maintaining peace, especially within the Office of Government Affairs. We can’t let anyone panic. I can handle the politicians, but you and your Yaleview Army have to handle the pressure outside.”
While Joshua spoke, he shot Wilbur a pointed look and placed emphasis on his last few words. Across from him, Wilbur stared at the flowers afar idly as though he didn’t notice Joshua’s stare.
“Commander, your Intelligence Bureau isn’t doing its job well. Let me tell you something you don’t know,” Wilbur said in an impassive voice as he looked into the distance.
Joshua’s hands froze, and he placed the cup he was holding back on the table. “That sounds interesting. Is there anything in Yaleview that escaped my notice?” he drawled.
To a leader, intel meant power and control. They had been testing each other since Wilbur’s arrival. Wilbur was about to strike once again.
“You’re the commander-in-chief, so many things require your attention every day. Of course you can’t think of everything. After assuming your position, instead of using the old intelligence system, you trained your own team,” Wilbur said as he turned over his shoulder to look at Joshua.
“Commander, kids like that young man are inexperienced and will expose themselves easily,” he declared. Joshua’s face turned dark after he heard what Wilbur had to say.
The latter was obviously telling him that the man he sent to monitor his every move had been exposed. Joshua had no choice but to keep his misery to himself.
“Rookies have their advantages. I won’t have to worry when I use the men I trained myself,” he responded. Snorting, he added, “You have other intel, right? Why are you being mysterious? Be frank with me.”
Taking in Joshua’s icy expression, Wilbur grinned. “Garrison from the Osborne family is dead. He’s a God Realm expert.”
The news caused Joshua’s heart to sink to the bottom of his stomach. Shocked, he held his breath and asked, “Did Jonathan do it?”
“I’m not sure about that.” Wilbur’s brows snapped together. “I can only confirm that Jonathan went to Moonriver Estate and attacked Garrison and that Garrison died. However, I’m not sure if Jonathan killed him or something else happened.”
Those as powerful as Wilbur had a habit—they never infer the result with little information.
Back when Jonathan arrived at Yaleview, Wilbur exchanged a few moves with the former to sound him out.
Jonathan didn’t unleash his full potential, but Wilbur knew they had similar strengths. A God Realm martial artist could easily escape if he were to run into a capable opponent. There was no way Garrison would be killed easily.
However, all that was left of Garrison at the scene was a puddle of a bloody mess. Jonathan was a horrifying presence if he was the one behind Garrison’s death.
Deep down, Joshua was plagued with conflicted emotions.
Previously, he ordered his subordinate to set a trap for Sophia. He wanted to use her to sow discord between Jonathan and the Osborne family so they would be at odds.
No one knew that Jonathan was ruthless enough to kill Garrison in a horrible manner.
Things did not pan out the way Joshua had imagined.
A God Realm martial artist was dead. It wasn’t just between the Osborne family and Jonathan now.
To protect their family’s pride and profit, the Osborne family would definitely do their very best to teach Jonathan a lesson as a warning to the entire world.
The results of his plan were beyond his initial expectation.
Joshua was ecstatic to hear that, but he did not show the joy on his face.
The Osbourne family restrained Jonathan, but Wilbur was a massive threat to him.
“It’s good news for the Office of Government Affairs,” Joshua said cheerfully.
“Looks like my intel about the Osborne family is lacking behind compared to the Yaleview Army. If that’s the case, let me share a few intel with you that you might be interested in,” he offered.
“Commander, there isn’t much intel that I’m interested in,” Wilbur replied with a grin.
Hearing that, Joshua dipped his finger in his tea and drew an “X” on the table.
“Aren’t you interested in intel about Asura’s Office?”
