*Clack!*

Clovis closed the door while smiling.

"It seems that we have got what we want." Melody turned to Clovis from the front seat.

"Yeah." Clovis nodded in agreement.

"What's this all about?" Jay asked. He didn't really want to think about plans, so he was usually left behind in every discussion. It was clear that the leader forced them into a disadvantageous position.

"This is the map." Melody projected the map for all of them to see. She had copied the map from earlier, but there was one more mark on this map. She pointed at the crosshair mark, asking, "What do you think about this place, Jay?"

"Mhmm?" Jay squinted his eyes. The mark was pointing at a certain building behind the Tier 4 beast. He soon remembered that they were supposed to visit a facility in this city. "Ah! Is it the target that Kanaria's mother told us to visit? Something related to the new utilization of the beast soul?"

"Indeed. Right now, we still have two beast souls that we haven't used yet, the thylacine and the yurlunggur. Right now, we don't have anyone that can use them, so I hope that someone will be more compatible with the new utilization." Clovis nodded, confirming Jay's words.

"From my mother's information, it seems that one of them is related to Elina and the Drake Group. The other two Tier 3 captains are somewhat neutral. The Tier 4 is from the military, so I think they won't be messing with us. That's why we know that they'll be scheming something in this raid," Kanaria explained.

"That's why we believe that they're planning to do something that will force us to flee for our lives. And Ivan, who is stationed near us, will come and defeat them. Our reputation will be pummeled after that while they are going to get back the face they lost previously." Clovis added.

"We both have thought about this. We're planning to let them achieve their goal," Kanaria continued.

"Wait. Does that mean our reputation will be crushed after this? I don't really care, but I'm afraid that it will affect our two houses…" Jay frowned.

"Not for long. We're only letting them achieve their goal so that we can go to this facility before restoring our reputation. There's no guarantee that it will work, but this is the best plan we've come up with so far." Kanaria shook her head. Obviously, she had considered their families' reputations as well. There was no way she wanted to smear their names.

"I see. Well, as I already said, I don't like using my brain. I get the general idea, but you just need to order me the details. I'll definitely do it." Jay shrugged.

"That's why I like you, Jay. You're a perfect subordinate." Clovis grinned, teasing Jay.

"What did you say? It's the subordinate's job to think for their leader. That's why we have a profession called strategist. The boss only needs to complete their part and take responsibility for their actions." Jay harrumphed.

Melody looked at them before shaking her head, realizing why these two hit it off with each other.

"Anyway, Melody is going to set up a route for us depending on the situation. I will stop the Tier 3 beast while the rest of you take care of the rest of the beasts." Clovis took a deep breath. "In any case, they will record our contribution, so let's aim for the number two contribution."

"Number two? Not the first place?" Jay didn't think that Clovis would lower himself like this.

However, Clovis immediately added, "The first place will definitely be the commander of this raid, who will fight the Tier 4 beast. There's no way we can defeat him in terms of contribution. In this raid, it's not about winning, it's about not losing."

"I see. Let's beat up Ivan's group again, shall we?" Jay smirked.

"Yeah." Clovis nodded with a serious expression.

"Hey. That's the flag. We're supposed to go now!" Melody pointed at the person waving a green flag.

They didn't realize at this time that this raid would become much more dangerous than they originally thought.

…

On top of a building, two people were observing the entire raid group.

"They're going. Is everything prepared?"

"Yes. We can head to Starion City as well."

"That's great. This time, we can't fail. We have to kill Clovis Hacfield in Starion City."

"Agreed."

The two smiled before a voice echoed from behind.

"He has managed to overcome trouble after trouble this whole time, so what makes you think he will fail this time?"

Both of them turned around at the same time, glaring at this middle-aged man.

"A smuggler like you doesn't understand. It's better if you stay quiet in the city or we'll kill you."

"Fucking Mule."

The mule chuckled. "I don't care what you're planning to do. But if things go in a way that I don't like, I'll have to intervene."

"Are you going to challenge us, the Red Dagger?"

"No way. As I said earlier, I'm not planning to stop you from cutting off the Hacfield bloodline. But at the same time, you better give me some respect and not piss me off."

"What can a smuggler like you even do?" The assassin snorted.

"Just like you said earlier, I'm just a smuggler. But if you piss me off, I don't mind breaking my neutrality and side with the Hacfield, you know." The mule smirked.

"!!!" The first assassin thought it was an empty threat, but the second assassin knew what the mule actually meant. He wanted to smuggle goods to Clovis's grandfather or their affiliation so that they could use them to crush the Red Dagger.

The second assassin raised his hand, stopping his friend while saying, "Hmph. You better pray that you won't be the next target of our Red Dagger."

"Oh, scary." The mule shrugged before leaving the building. His expression turned very cold. At the same time, the assassins couldn't rest easy either, knowing what the mule was capable of doing.

It seemed that things wouldn't go exactly as planned.