Chapter 139: To The City Underwater

The next day. 

At the Strongwald mansion, inside the room with four pillars.

The four leaders of the Strongwald sat at a round table. Merts wore a black and white suit, Pald wore a green sleeveless shirt, Senator Bong had put on his grey suit, and Vid wore a blue shirt with a white lab coat over it.

There was silence in the room ever since they entered. Not even Bong and Pald quarreled. They never expected to loose the captives. How could one person even accomplish such a feat?

Merts sighed. He pressed a button on the table with his right index finger. 

Individual screens appeared in front of the four leaders. It played the events that happened in the plaza.

A lone person jumping onto the stage. The figure had obsidian claws with glowing purple eyes. The masked individual slashed everyone that stood in his way, and if that weren't enough the person used magic that could stop Commander Stage experts from moving.

"Have any of you seen the spells he used before?" Merts asked. In all his years, he had never encountered the magic being used by the individual on the screen. Deep inside, he wanted to have that magic.

The other leaders shook their heads.

"Maybe this guy is someone from a first-rate state. Look how he does battle. It's like he has been fighting for years, and he's not only throwing attacks, but he's using his brain too." The Senator said. Even if the evidence was right in front of him, it was still hard to believe the feats that the individual in the video.

'If only I had that magic, I would be the one truly leading the Strongwald family.' Bong thought.

"How sure are you that the person on the screen is a guy?" Vid asked. He already knew that this was Nexus. They have been contacting each other during yesterday's events. 

Bong scoffed. "No woman is that smart and strong."

Pald turned his head to the Senator. "Well, your wife was. She was smart enough to leave you."

"YOU!" Veins bulge on the Senator's forehead. He didn't want to be reminded about his failed marriage. Especially not from the bald man in front of him.

Laughter erupted from Vid as he tapped the table with his palm while his other hand was touching his round belly.

Merts merely chuckled. He had no energy to be happy. Their one chance of regaining the people's trust and more went down the drain in one night, done by one person.

"Just stating facts, not sure why you're mad." Pald smiled as he went back to look at the video.

*Ring*

"Looks like they finally called." Merts pressed another button on the table.

The video of the man on the screen disappeared and was replaced with the faces of three individuals. Two men and a woman.

"It's good to see you three again, on the screen." Merts calmly spoke to the leaders of Octopi.

"It's good to see that the Vice President of Estra is doing well." Paul slightly nodded.

He continued. "I heard you have had some sort of mishap, and that all the captive creatures escaped."

Paul didn't care about those creatures as it wouldn't affect his plans on Estra, but he knew how important those were to the Strongwald family. 

Merts scrunched his brows. "Let's proceed to business, shall we?"

"Of course," Paul smiled. "That's why we're here."

The other leaders of both groups stayed silent. They quietly watched Merts and Paul. 

"I heard you have taken another state." Merts stared at Paul. "Does that mean you can already come here soon?"

Paul nodded. "We'll be there in three days. Although not all of our forces will be focused on Estra, the three of us will be present there."

What Paul said put a smile on Merts' face. He had been waiting for quite a long time for this. To lord over Estra. To have the other families bow to him.

"Oh, and we also want a lot of money." Miel finally spoke.

"You will get the money that we discussed later on." Pald didn't like Miel's demanding tone. He also thought it was quite disrespectful of the bulky Octopi leader to just speak like that.

"That is not what I mean. We want more money, a lot more." Miel didn't mind the bald man's attitude. He had no problems clashing with a rich bastard any time of the day.

"Ahem," Zee cleared her throat. "What my friend here means is that we used up a lot of resources to speed our last operation. The reason for this is because of you people. So he thinks that it is only right if you compensate our organization for that. Don't you think he is right?"

Both Pald and Bong scrunched their brows. They were used to being overbearing to other people, and not the other way around.

"How about we'll talk about it when you get here? For now, let us focus on the main agenda." Vid suggested with a smile.

"I agree with Vid." Merts was thankful for having Vid on the table today. It wouldn't have been easy meeting the Octopi leaders with just Pald and Bong.

Zee giggled. "You're pretty smart, How come I don't see you often on this table? If you leave international dealings to the two over there, your family might crumble."

Vid shook his head. "They are my family, and I trust them. I'm sure that they won't do anything to endanger this family in any way."

Miel merely scoffed. From what he had seen. Both the bald man and the thin man were incompetent.

"We'll strike the tourist planet owned by Estra first, and then we'll be building our base of operations there." Paul went straight to the point as he noticed that things had quieted down.

"That is a good plan. I'll see what I can do to lessen the guards there." Merts had already been impressed by Paul before. Someone who started from being a nobody and soon reached the top.

"Neighboring countries would probably take weeks before they could assist you. That gives us enough time to set the base and all the defenses." Miel was already keeping an eye on two countries that were close to Estra.

One planet usually only has one country, which makes the other countries far away from each other.

Merts shook his head. "You don't have to worry about other countries interfering. We have a few connections there that could start a civil war."

Paul nodded. "Good, chaos will soon descend upon Estra. I hope this goes well. We'll talk more once we arrive at the tourist planet."

The leaders of the two groups exchanged goodbyes and soon the screen went off.

"I still don't think we can trust those people." Pald furrowed his brows as he thought of Miel. The person got under his skin similar to Bong, which makes him trust the guy even less.

"They won't try anything funny any time soon." Merts knew that the Octopi couldn't pull this operation on their own, and they would need as much help as they could.

"That person who rescued those creatures, you guys think we will expect to see him soon?" Bong asked.

"Most likely,". Merts touched his chin. "He might even be planning something right now. You don't just release dozens of captured sea creatures and just lay on a bed and do nothing."

----

Nexus sat lazily on the couch in the Estra house living room. He shoved chips into his mouth as he switched the channels. 

"Achoo" He rubbed his nose and continued watching the show in front of him.

"Nexus we're leaving now," Eva called from behind.

Nexus stood up, he walked towards Eva while still facing the tv.

----

Marcus and Emily stood by the boulevard. The sun was nowhere to be seen. The sky was covered with dark color clouds. It was as if a storm was coming.

The couple looked at the horizon Marcus' arm was wrapped around Emily's waist.

"We could either ride a boat or just find a discrete location and start swimming there." Marcus wanted to swim, to see the life underneath the sea.

"I don't mind swimming there." Emily smiled.

Marcus leaned in and planted his lips on hers. 

Marcus pulled back. "Let's go." 

He grabbed her hand and went to find a place where no one could see them.

A few minutes later they started swimming.

They wrapped their bodies with mana barriers so as to not get wet. 

The nagas have already told them where the city was. It wasn't really far off from the coast of Estra and is only a dozen or so minutes away.

The couple casually swam and enjoyed the sights.

Large corals and hundreds of marine animals adorned the sea of Estra. 

Although Emily has seen better up in her realm, this was still mesmerizing. 

"I wish Erika and Zoey could see these attractions," Emily said.

The two ladies, Erika and Zoey insisted on cultivating. Zoey said to just get her when they arrive at the city, while Erika said she doesn't mind missing it at all.