Chapter 2704: One-Voice Rule

"Miss Nelson, for something this minor, I don’t think we need to bother Demarco Mount."Someone beside Nelson advised, "Dirk Ridge, even some nameless nobody dares to assassinate you? How about this, I’ll send people over and have him brought in!"

"Exactly! Small fry like that, best not disturb the people over there. Trash of this level might just be mentally deranged. Once we catch him and let you interrogate him, we’ll know the real reason. If there really is something big behind it, you can still report to Demarco Mount, it won’t be too late."

With everyone saying that, the one who’d been ready to hit send started hesitating.

He looked toward Nelson, asking for the will of this supreme leader.

"Hard to imagine you, Nelson, have stayed by Julius Reed’s side for so long and still ended up with subordinates like this." Merrill Caldwell gave a small laugh and pointed at the people behind her. "See them? Not one of them dares question my decisions. I’m the master. Right or wrong, I bear the consequences myself."

"Wait until later? Let me tell you, once something happens, it’ll be too late." Merrill suddenly stepped up to Nelson. "People like that will drag you down."

As she spoke, her sword flashed out!

She directly killed those few people.

Her strike was so fast the ones who died didn’t even react.

They didn’t even know how they’d died.

Several corpses crashed to the floor.

Blood splattered everywhere.

"Protect the lady!"

The Martial Artists rushed forward.

They formed a line in front of Nelson.

"No need." Nelson lifted her head, looking at Merrill Caldwell, her face likewise carrying a meaningful smile. "She’s right. From this moment on, anyone who questions me dies."

With that, she rose and walked away.

The man in charge of sending the message immediately hit the send key.

Too dangerous.

He wiped the blood off his face, grateful he’d kept his mouth shut.

If he’d shot off some snark, he’d probably already be dead.

His life was intact, but in the days to come he’d better tread carefully.

After quietly warning himself, he grabbed the laptop and followed right behind Nelson as she left.

Once they got in the car—

Someone from Boulevard Mountain couldn’t help asking, "Miss, if you lose your temper like that and he finds out..."

"I want him to know." Merrill’s eyes held a shadow of resentment. "Think about it, how long has it been since he came to Boulevard Mountain? Fine, don’t come. But when I want to go to him, I can’t even find him. He’s either away somewhere, or he’s just gone."

Merrill’s tone sounded just like a resentful wife.

Luckily all these attendants were her most trusted. Otherwise, they’d be silenced too.

"You’re helping out of kindness, how come Miss Nelson has that kind of attitude?"

The maids got along very well with Merrill. Though master and servants, they were also friends.

There was basically nothing they couldn’t say.

The key thing was, in public these maids never said a word.

Like mutes.

That gave Merrill maximum face.

Whatever they said in private was no problem at all.

"How could she possibly back down? Haven’t you noticed? Aside from Hiddy’s unshakable position, the only two who can stand right beneath Hiddy are Nelson and Quella Radcliffe."

Merrill gazed at the main gate, murmuring to herself, "If she gave in, how would she compete for favor? Look at people these days, who isn’t going all out? Even I’m working hard for this."

When it came to her relationship with Julius Reed, she didn’t bother to hide anything from her servants.

"But your relationship with Lord Twelve is completely different. You rise and fall together, sharing honor and loss."

A maid couldn’t help saying, "They don’t get that kind of treatment."

Up on Boulevard Mountain, these people knew a lot.

Merrill kept very little hidden from those she trusted.

These maids had followed her for years; some were even strategists.

"And that’s exactly why I’m at a disadvantage." Merrill sank into the chair, like a little girl, propping her chin in both hands and staring off into the distance in a daze.

"If it weren’t like this, I wouldn’t have so many misgivings. Maybe he thinks the same way, so the reason he treats me so well isn’t purely because he likes me."

...

Nelson got into the car.

Her expression was grave.

Her instincts told her there was a conspiracy behind this!

In the car, she watched the video Merrill had sent once more, finding it utterly unbelievable.

In this world of Martial Artists, almost no one could pull that off.

That was a luxury cruise ship he’d lifted with one hand!

And he’d sprinted across the surface of the sea!

Calling him a beast wouldn’t be an exaggeration at all.

For someone like that to appear on Dirk Ridge’s turf was abnormal from the start.

Coupled with Dirk Ridge’s whole string of reactions and this stupid assassination attempt, Nelson felt more and more uneasy.

"Merrill did help us out, but her attitude really was too much."

Fernando Percival sighed. "Can’t be helped. They’re all the Holy Master’s people."

He’d been transferred over from the Wolf Cavalry, responsible for protecting Nelson.

But both Nelson and Merrill had ambiguous entanglements with Julius Reed.

Fernando was stuck in the middle, feeling very awkward.

"Just kill the assassin. No point keeping him. I think if I make a call in a bit, I should be able to figure things out."

Nelson glanced at the time.

It had already been half an hour since they’d sent word to Julius Reed.

As expected.

The phone rang.

"Miss Nelson."

The voice on the other end was an old man.

"Senior Shadow Kims." Nelson spoke with great respect.

Toward Julius Reed’s people, she was always courteous, never the least bit arrogant from favor.

"I’ve watched the video you sent over very carefully. That man is very likely an Ancient martial artist."

Shadow Kims’ voice over the phone was extremely serious. "Even in our era, Silvio Reed was basically the peak of the martial arts world, and he still wasn’t this strong. In fact, not even close!"

"Back when Nine Nether True Lord was here, I exchanged a few words with him, asked about their era."

"Now it’s almost certain people like this are probably from the same era as Nine Nether True Lord. But the Holy Master and Nine Nether True Lord aren’t back yet, so I can’t be definitive. What I can do is warn you—be extremely careful!"

"I understand." Nelson nodded.

"The Holy Master should be back soon. Once he returns, I’ll report immediately. Be careful in everything. Best if you move to a different residence. If someone like that launches a sneak attack, there is absolutely no way you can dodge it."

Shadow Kims reminded her once again.

"Alright." Nelson nodded and hung up.

"Turn around, head to Three Mountain Fort."

She spoke to Fernando.

"Got it." Fernando immediately swung the car around and disappeared down the street.

Meanwhile—

In the Five-state Group office.

The phone rang.

The young man frowned slightly and said nothing.

"This is a phone, a communication device." Dirk Ridge finished explaining and asked, "Want to listen?"

"Yes." The young man nodded.

"Alright, I’ll answer it."

Dirk Ridge picked up the phone and heard, "The assassination failed."