Two days later...
That afternoon, Vicente went to see Nova again after receiving a message from her that she had something for him.
When he left home, Vicente went straight to his house, avoiding contact with his people or even passing through his territory.
Over the past few days, things had become more complicated for his group. The number of people investigating him had increased greatly, and several assassins tried to act against Vice's men to learn his identity.
As a result, after the Defiant Tyranny bandits' actions had subsided, the number of battles in his faction's territory again increased, with several enemy deaths occurring in recent days.
Most of those who decided to act were low-level Acolytes. By underestimating Vicente's men due to these guards' low magic level, many were surprised and killed.
Because some of them had acted in secret, the news hadn't spread, and several assassins had died before the others searching for Vicente realized there was a problem with using force against this faction.
But the group had lost 1 of its Acolytes and 4 Senior Apprentices in these attacks until the tensions around the group eased a bit.
But after one of those men was interrogated by the enemies in search of Vicente's head, the attacks stopped, as the enemies realized there was no point in attacking these people who wouldn't tell them anything.
Still, the pressure on the group grew, with several observers watching their actions, whether from real forces or underworld groups.
With so many eyes watching them, Vicente's men could hardly keep in touch with their boss!
Fortunately, their operation was still running, and they had wisely used their coins to buy resources for their men.
As a result, despite losing 5 men in the last few days, the group had increased its average strength a bit more with new Senior Apprentices and 2 new Acolytes.
In any case, Vicente was worried. For now, he could live in peace with Nina and Eve, but that might change soon. Until Casey came back with results, his family would be in danger!
Anyway, when he arrived at Nova's door, he quickly greeted her with a kiss on the cheek before sitting down in the living room.
"Vice, I called you here today because of what you sent me earlier," Nova said when he saw what was on his friend's mind.
At their last meeting, Vice had informed her about the nobles he was in contact with before they had exchanged caresses again.
Today, she already had the data of those noble families connected to Vicente.
"What did you find out?" He asked, becoming more serious as he remembered the names he had given this woman.
Among the contacts Vicente had given Nova, he had mentioned some names of powers he didn't want to get involved with. Since she would help him discover relationships between nobles and powers in the local underworld, there was no reason why he shouldn't take the opportunity to find out more dirty details about these families.
"The names you gave me are worrying." She said in a deep tone, concerned about the situation of Vice's allies. "Almost all of them have strange histories connected to the two most dangerous factions in Millfall.
I'd be especially wary of the Fisher, Irwin, and Ross families. But even the Staples and Allan families have strange records in the army..." She looked at Vicente differently. "I can't give you proof, but these families seem to be connected to the main supporters of the Scarlet Syndicate and the Defiant Tyranny."
Hearing this, Vicente made an even uglier face and asked in an offended tone. "But that's terrible. Almost all of them are compromised. Why do so many nobles have their names associated with vile organizations, and the army does nothing about it?"
Nova understood Vicente's frustration and sighed. "It's complicated... Some would say accepting these criminal groups is the only way to keep order in the chaos. Unfortunately, we can't be everywhere. Others would say that it's simply out of our control and that this is an evil we must get used to.
But I honestly believe that this is just a reflection of the greed of the nobles. Unfortunately, they have a lot of influence in the Martial Court, Vice."
She lowered her head in shame after saying these words.
The army had no evidence against these families, so even honest people couldn't use it to take action. But stories were circulating in the corridors of the barracks and even in some books that showed that things had happened between these nobles and local criminals.
Soldiers who sold their information destroyed the evidence they collected. Still, they didn't always keep quiet about what they knew in case of future problems.
Nova and the other soldiers knew about the dirty dealings of the local powers, but they couldn't do much about it.
Vicente heard this explanation, but he didn't need to learn it from Nova. He knew how the minds of the people involved in such situations worked.
His position was to get information, even without proof, so that he could act against these families. 'So all these powers have something to hide... It's not surprising.' He showed an angry expression to Nova, but inside, he thought calmly about what to do.
I can increase my threats against the local noble powers!
After a while, he stood up from where he was sitting and decided to leave.
Seeing how grumpy her friend was, Nova felt uncomfortable and held one of his hands. "I'm sorry I can't do more for you."
"You've done enough, Nova." He held her hand, grateful for the information. "Unfortunately, I don't know who this city's corrupt army soldiers are. Otherwise, I could seek help."
"How?" Nova didn't understand exactly how he could get help.
"I have agreements with some of these compromised nobles that cannot be broken without proof. But while I have these agreements with them, I can be harmed if they fall. One way or another, I supply products to these people...
The only way I can protect myself is to get proof that they have violated the principles of our agreements and compromised things. If I had contact with dishonest soldiers, I could get enough to break those agreements without punishment."
"If that's what you need to protect yourself, I can help you," Nova said while Vicente smiled with his back to her.
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