Unedited chapter. It will be edited soon.

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Before heading to the northern part of the district, Jackvin stopped by to pick up Theos, and after traveling for about an hour, they entered the northern area, where they went to the house where Jacob was working.

They got out of the car wearing full disguises and quickly entered the house to avoid being noticed.

Jacob really wasn't expecting visitors at this time of day, so he was almost scared to death.

"It's me, don't worry," said Louis, removing his hood and sitting down at the table in the house.

"Lord Carwine." He breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at the others. "Brother, you came too." And he greeted the others.

"What's going on, why did you all come?" he asked.

"There's a lot to talk about," he said and looked at those behind him. "I'll call you if I need you," he said, sending them out.

When Jacob was left alone in the room with Louis, he swallowed hard and sat down. "What's happened, Lord Carwine?" he asked, carefully, fearing he had done something wrong, although that shouldn't be the reason.

"Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong. But lately I've seen some things that made me come here. Tell me, how are things really going here?" he asked.

Jacob sighed with relief when he heard the question, even though it was a little complicated to answer, but the situation had to be addressed seriously.

"Things have been going a little badly recently, Mr. Carwine. While what you entrusted me with is going well and I've managed to acquire shares in numerous companies with the money you gave me, I've even managed to buy some outright, it seems that those guys are being more cautious than usual," he said.

"What makes you think that?" Louis asked.

"Although this is not being said, businesspeople were recently expelled from the roundtable that brings together the local government, the church, and business leaders. This means that they are closing ranks because they fear that there are infiltrators among the businesspeople," he said.

Louis nodded. It made sense, considering that businesspeople tend to seek out places where there is more money, as they benefit greatly from it.

And there is no better place to look for money and investments than the southern region, which has just invested tens of billions of dollars in the market, one of the most powerful investments the region has seen in recent years.

Therefore, in order to protect their interests, they had to close themselves off in this way, even though that in itself is not very smart.

It could be exploited.

Although he had some ideas about how to take advantage of it, he decided not to rush and to listen to Jacob's entire report.

Which took quite a while.

After talking for a while and showing him some documents, Jacob began to talk about things he feared.

"Recently, repression in the streets against certain opposition groups that have always existed in this area has increased. They don't have much support, but they are numerous. They are almost as numerous as the revolutionaries and call themselves 'Revolutionaries without Lies,' but they have been repressed more frequently, causing many to disappear."

"Forced disappearances?" Louis asked, and he nodded.

"Indeed, Mr. Carwine. In fact, there have been several recent executions of nobles and people who were once important. They were not made public and were passed off as murders by enemies or natural deaths, but they were killed by the church."

"These movements are quite dangerous. Even though I have found several traitors spying on my side, I have not killed any of them yet. And I am the bloodthirsty one?" He scoffed in his mind and allowed Jacob to continue speaking.

"The increased militarization in the streets and the sighting of strange characters entering and leaving the church and local house facilities have caused even the neighbors in the area to start wondering what is going on."

"Has that intensified lately? In the last week."

"Yes. I've also noticed other strange things, it's as if there's been an increase in foreigners."

"Could it be because of the tournament?"

"That should be the case, but upon investigation, the vast majority of them have not paid for hotels, which are cheaper for temporary stays, but have instead paid rent for houses for more than a month. And those who have stayed in hotels have still rented them for more than a month, so perhaps they are preparing for some long-term missions."

"All of them are plotting something or working for the church and enemy troops," thought Louis.

"The last day of the tournament is in a few hours. I'm afraid the situation will get complicated soon, so I'll leave you with several things to protect yourself. Avoid going out much during this time and prepare escape routes in case you need them."

"I understand, Lord Carwine. You expect something big to happen, right?"

"When the top of the pyramid makes such drastic moves, the bottom will also move. So we have to be careful. I'll leave you a list of some things you need to do from now on, so that the mission won't be so difficult for you, so make sure you follow them."

Louis left him a lot of things. Money, firearms, magical items, potions, and also personal security items such as internal armor.

To continue the mission, he left him several guidelines to follow, although if everything continued like this and what was feared happened, then... it would be difficult for Jacob to continue with the mission.

After talking for about two hours, he let the leaders of the houses in, and they all shared information about what was happening, but this time with a more generalized view.

Even though Theos was his brother, Jacob understood that Louis didn't want to reveal too much information to these guys, perhaps because he didn't trust them, so he had to avoid revealing too much.

They finished putting together a contingency plan for emergency situations, and Jackvin, Fraid, and Theos, as specialists in human trafficking and legal drug networks, taught Jacob how to set up a proper escape network in just a few hours.

After another hour-long discussion, the car driven by Jackvin returned to the southern zone.

It was difficult to track that car, and thanks to Louis' constant vigilance, as well as Jacob's skill at hiding, no one saw it.

It was still before dawn when they arrived in the southern zone. Each went to work on their respective tasks, while Louis took the opportunity to sleep as much as he could.

Any rest was important when the real tournament was practically starting today.

Although he couldn't sleep much.

The next morning, Velharthe City woke up to celebrations and fireworks. Many people wanted to see the tournament, as was common every time it took place.

However, this year was different because, due to the presence of the emperor, the northern castles, numerous noble houses, and the gathering of two of the three local castles with their respective noble houses, the media attention attracted by this tournament was unprecedented.

It was the first time that so many powerful figures had gathered in public view. Who knows if fate would bring them more surprises today?

That's why no one wanted to miss it.

The stands were packed, and people were even watching from other locations with long-range viewing devices, although this time the academy did not flaunt its technology and did not bring out the long-distance transmission devices.

No one knows the reasons, but these were academic decisions.

Louis and Laura went together, with Hardrial.

The rest of their acquaintances went their separate ways, including Jessy. She took advantage of Louis' invitation, but went with several noble ladies and first-class nobles who offered her a VIP seat (on Louis' advice). Although she wasn't very willing, she knew she could help him more there.

The conversations of the nobility are always worth listening to, for a spy.

That day, even the VIPs arrived early.

"It's strange that these guys arrive earlier than me," said Robert Priestley, sitting next to Robert Neville.

As of today, there were not several VIP rooms on their side.

There was only one, with many chairs.

With the arrival of Robert Priestley, Miss Evergreen also arrived with her brother and an elderly member of the family, so the two main seats were filled.

There were seats for the Nevilles, the Priestleys, the Evergreens, and numerous other first-class nobles, including another Great House, the Sadlers.

There were also empty seats, so when Robert Priestley arrived, everyone turned to look at him.

"Mr. Priestley, who are your guests today?" one of them asked.

"Mr. Sadler, as I told you before, we are at a disadvantage. We can't embarrass ourselves in front of those guys, but we don't have that much strength right now. So I had to invite a few more friends," he said.

Just then, the door opened and a well-dressed man entered.

"I don't think I'm late, but if I am, I apologize," he said.

"Lord Duke!" Sadler was surprised to see him here.

Even Neville and Evergreen were surprised. "What is the Duke of Velharthe, Lockward's subordinate, doing in this place?" they thought in shock.

He greeted each of them and then sat down in his seat.

He may not have been the highest-ranking person present, but as a loyal subordinate of Lord Dan, he was immensely respected.

And behind him...

Someone else entered. Even more shocking.

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