Ed was still not very familiar with the key figures in Dorey City. He hadn't gained much access to the upper echelons of Dorey City's society, so at this moment, Ed could only look to Jade.

Jade closed his eyes, his fingers tapping more urgently on the desk, matching the increasing speed of his thoughts.

After about seven or eight minutes, Jade suddenly opened his eyes and said one name: "Duke Morton!"

"Yes, that's right. The person more important than Lord Gavin is Duke Morton! He can more naturally interact with the Morton Family, and at this moment, he plays a crucial role as the bridge between Dorey City and the Morton Family!"

Duke Morton?

Ed furrowed his brow, asking for more information about Duke Morton.

Jade briefly explained that he was an outer member of the Morton Family, having lived in Dorey City for a long time, making him one of the more important upper-class figures in the city. Compared to Lord Gavin, Duke Morton, with his Morton Family bloodline, would be much more trusted by Finniel Morton and her group.

Moreover, just a few days ago, Duke Morton had gone to a small town outside Dorey City, where he waited for Finniel Morton's arrival. In that town, Finniel and her group would rest for a night before heading to Dorey City the following day.

Ed said, "Alright, for now, let's consider Duke Morton as the potential host for Parasitic Serpent Monster Vil. But there's still another important question."

"Finniel Morton will bring four Gold-level Hunter guards, along with Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association's president Arya. These people are very powerful. How will the enemy manage to achieve their goal?"

Toronto immediately replied, "Poison?"

Jade speculated, "An ambush? Or perhaps they have helpers with similar strength!"

Ed recalled that the Parasitic Serpent Monster Vil's entry into the ruins was most likely to find Delphilis's eye, and sacrificing tens of thousands of civilians, along with five Gold-level Hunters, would be required to awaken Delphilis's eye.

Delphilis had once almost destroyed the entire world, so the power of such an entity would undoubtedly be incredibly strong.

However, what Vil had gotten was the unawakened Delphilis eye, so its power boost should be limited.

Ed took a deep breath and concluded, "There can't be many poisons capable of affecting Gold-level Hunters. That's a lead we can follow up on."

Suddenly, Toronto seemed to have an idea. He stood up quickly and said, "Regardless of whether the enemy plans to use poison, poison could very well appear at the banquet."

Jade froze for a moment, unable to immediately understand what Toronto meant by his words.

However, Ed instantly understood Toronto's train of thought.

As long as someone were poisoned at the banquet, no matter what, Finniel Morton and her guards would definitely fall into a state of heightened alert. This would certainly interfere with the enemy's plan.

It was a good idea, but before that, Ed wondered if they could get Finniel Morton to believe in the impending danger to Dorey City in advance.

Ed shared his thoughts, and Jade felt it was worth a try, but Toronto wasn't so optimistic.

There was simply a lack of critical evidence, and getting to Finniel Morton before anyone else was going to be difficult. Furthermore, compared to Duke Morton, who had a blood relation to Finniel, their sudden appearance as Hunters would make them seem far more suspicious.

As for contacting Finniel Morton through the president of the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association, Arya, Jade immediately dismissed that idea.

If it came down to trusting only one person between him and Reve, Arya would undoubtedly trust Reve without hesitation.

The relationship between Jade and Arya wasn't good at all. They had clashed multiple times in the past, and there had even been a few instances where Jade considered leaving the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association.

Ed asked, "Is it because of the monster issue?"

Jade nodded, sighed, and replied, "President Arya used to be a decent person. I don't know what happened to her to make her turn out like this. And there are many people within the association who are unaware of the connections between the association and the Lord's Mansion. They aren't to blame for that."

"If I leave, the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association will only get worse."

Ed didn't know what to say to that.

As for what Arya used to be like, Ed wasn't interested. He only remembered that she had treated him like a slave and nearly caused his death.

The three of them continued discussing many details, with Ed suggesting the main strategies, while Jade and Toronto filled in the gaps. They continued their important discussion until the moon appeared in the sky.

The current plan for dealing with the impending crisis in Dorey City was to try to obtain Finniel Morton's itinerary and see if they could get her to believe in the danger Dorey City was about to face.

Of course, this plan carried some risk. If Vil really was parasitizing Duke Morton, their movements would be hard to conceal from Vil, and if the enemy adjusted their plans, they could be at great risk.

Another approach was to try to get into the banquet the Lord had organized to welcome Finniel Morton, and create some chaos, forcing Finniel Morton's group to be more cautious, thus putting the enemy on the defensive.

Then, he would look for an opportunity to approach Finniel Morton and explain everything.

This plan, based on the current information they had, was hastily devised and not entirely perfect.

If, during the ongoing investigation, they could obtain key and convincing evidence, everything would become much easier.

As for Reve's invitation tomorrow, Ed didn't plan to refuse. He first wanted to see what Reve was going to do. Besides, he still had the protective scroll that Melissa had given him, so even if Reve decided to make a move, it wouldn't matter.

At that point, Jade would be providing support outside. Ed preferred that Reve acted directly rather than holding back—if Reve did, things would be much better.

It was already quite late. Ed reflected for a moment. When he and Jade had walked to the Blackstone Team's villa earlier, it had still been daytime, and they hadn't encountered any other Hunters.

In that case, he could keep things hidden for a while, especially ensuring that no one knew Jade had already aligned with him.

Ed gave a few simple instructions, then parted ways with Toronto. They carefully left the Blackstone Team villa and returned to their respective rooms.

The next morning, Ed ended his meditation session.

[Progress to breakthrough from Silver level lower-tier: 39%]

He had stayed too long at Blackstone Team's villa the night before, which had affected his usual meditation practice. Fortunately, the night before that had been quiet, and the two nights together had brought his progress up by 8%.

Ed had become somewhat accustomed to this pace. What he was most eager for now was whether there would be any rewards when his strength broke through from Silver level lower-tier to Silver level mid-tier.

Perhaps something like swordsmanship mastery, Killer Intent Perception, or the Low-Level Monster Codex—things that would greatly assist in his power growth.

Silver level mid-tier strength still felt too low.

After all, the enemy's target was all of Dorey City, and there were five Gold-level Hunters. As a Silver-level Hunter, he wouldn't be able to influence much of anything.

If Ed had the strength of a Gold-level Hunter right now, there would be many more things he could do and many more ways to handle the enemy.

Ed sighed. He just hoped his luck would be a bit better. Maybe, when he broke through from a Silver-level lower-tier Hunter to a Silver-level mid-tier Hunter, he would get some extra rewards.

He quickly packed up and knocked on Melissa's door.

After talking to her about wanting her help to create some undetectable but non-lethal poison, Melissa readily agreed, saying it would take her two or three days.

Walking out of Melissa's room, Ed looked at the warm sunlight outside, taking a deep breath as he tried to pull that warm feeling into his lungs. Soon, he would need to go find Reve.

Ed continued walking, realizing that during the day, he couldn't rely on the moonlight for meditation to enhance his strength. Right now, he wasn't sure what else he could do.

At that moment, he saw Anthony leading his warhorse into view.

Anthony noticed Ed as well, stopping in his tracks, standing still, saying nothing and not greeting him.

The two exchanged a brief look, and then Anthony simply led his warhorse toward the entrance of the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association.

Suddenly, Ed spoke up, "What kind of Hunter do you think is a qualified Hunter?"

Anthony paused for a moment, instinctively replying, "Someone strong, someone who can do the things they want to do."

Ed continued, "For example, revenge?"

Anthony spun around suddenly, glaring at Ed, and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Ed ignored Anthony's question and shifted the topic, saying, "In Dorey City, is there anyone or anything that you care about?"

Hearing Ed's question, Anthony's gaze filled with confusion. He didn't respond, instead, he continued to lead his warhorse, intending to leave.

Ed's voice slowly came from behind Anthony, "One or two months is enough to change a lot of things. Maybe, by the time you return, Dorey City will feel like a completely different place to you."

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