'Are they trying to buy Isabella's loyalty, or do they truly see potential in her?' Nemus pondered.
For now, things had beco a bit more troubleso, but the problem was not too severe.
Although Isabella could not keep an eye on Rhine, it was not as if Nemus had no one else to use.
The Construct Protocol needed to lay low for a while; they had to thoroughly consolidate their strength.
Besides them, Nemus still had the Caravan at his disposal.
'From the looks of it, the smuggling business will likely beco unstable as well,' Nemus reflected. If Dong He was smart, giving up the chance to beco Bishop would be the absolute correct choice.
Dong Luo might realize this, but there was a high probability he would choose to ignore it out of sheer unwillingness to yield.
Dong Luo was not a particularly wise man to begin with; he was rely highly experienced.
Otherwise, as a retired Holy Knight, he would not have opened the Old Bones Tavern and flaunted his presence so openly.
Although he managed the smuggling operations, he had gradually reduced himself to a re thug doing dirty work.
Their understanding and control over authority and factions were inherently flawed.
If they did not back out now, the smuggling business would most likely beco a pri target for their enemies.
This ant Nemus would be dragged right back into the ss.
Since that was the case, it would be better to have Opper and the others temporarily leave to handle other matters.
Over the past six months, Opper and his crew had grown quite well.
Sending them to directly confront a master like Rhine was definitely out of the question, but finding opportunities to gather intelligence would not be difficult.
Moreover, speed was paramount in war.
With a re shift of his thoughts, Nemus issued the command.
Opper, who had just finished arranging a batch of goods and was about to rest, imdiately stood up and looked at the people around him.
Arlo, the Dual Swordsn, the Halfling Brothers, and the Desperado Duo.
It was obvious they had also received Nemus's transmission.
They made so brief preparations and quietly left the stronghold without alerting anyone else.
After putting on disguises, Opper's Caravan stealthily made their way into the North District.
This was not a difficult task for them.
Through their smuggling operations over the past half year, they had mapped out many secret passages and surveillance blind spots in the North District.
Soon, they locked onto an Estate.
The periter of the Estate bore a highly conspicuous family crest.
In Tail Fin Town, even the Dartnerly family, a forr Saint Family, could not proudly claim to be the number one household.
One of the reasons was Rhine's lineage, the Nidon Family.
This bloodline was also a Saint Family.
The difference lay in the fact that the Nidon Family here was rely a Branch Family.
The main branch of this Saint Family resided on another Whaleback. They possessed Golden Rank experts and maintained contact with the current Nidon Branch Family.
At this mont, there were not many family mbers present within the Nidon Estate.
After all, it was not an important holiday, and the family was not supported by Rhine alone.
Moreover, quite a few mbers of the Nidon Family harbored resentnt toward Rhine.
This was because Rhine never took the initiative to secure benefits for the family. Despite being the Bishop of Tail Fin Town, he refused to flaunt his authority or help out with their various businesses.
If not for Rhine withholding his support, the entire smuggling operation in the North District would have fallen under their control.
It would not have landed in the hands of soone like Nemus, who had forsaken his family, and a washed-up figure like Dong Luo, who had not even managed to establish a proper family.
Of course, no one dared to voice these grievances to Rhine's face.
After all, even if Rhine would not actively help them, they could still leverage his reputation to profit the family.
As the Bishop, Rhine was already the face of their household.
"Haa!" With a furious roar, a figure bearing a faint resemblance to Rhine swung the sword in his hand, slicing the humanoid dummy in front of him into several pieces.
"Excellent work, Leydo!" an old man standing on the second-floor balcony praised, leaning on a walking stick.
The old man was the Nidon Family Head. He once enjoyed considerable prestige and was known as the Decisive Blade.
However, decades ago, a fierce battle had left him physically disabled.
This disability could not be healed even by the Divine Arts of the Priests, forcing him into early retirent back then.
For a ti, the family had teetered on the brink of collapse. Relying on the support of the main branch kept them from completely falling apart.
But the main branch was located on another Whaleback, after all, so the assistance they could provide was extrely limited.
It was not until he nurtured a genius like Rhine that the Nidon Family finally managed to rebuild their influence on the Azure Sky Whaleback.
Now, after carefully sifting through the sprawling branches of his descendants, he had found another promising seedling. He nad the boy Leydo and kept him close, teaching him day and night.
His goal was to groom soone capable of inheriting his title as the Decisive Blade.
"Grandfather, I feel there is still room for improvent in that strike." Leydo swung the sword in his hand, as if trying to grasp the perfect feeling.
"Very good, Leydo. Keep this up, and you will absolutely surpass Rhine."
"That is inevitable!" Leydo held the sword level in front of him, his voice brimming with confidence.
"But Rhine is a Priest, so there is no real point in comparing myself to him. Once I advance to the Iron Rank, I want to challenge that Nels to a sword duel!"
"I have heard his Sword Art is the best in Tail Fin Town, leaving countless people in awe. I will prove to everyone that I am no worse than him. In fact, in the way of the sword alone, I will surpass him!"
Hearing Leydo's words, the Nidon Family Head smiled in gratification.
However, right at that mont, the old man on the second floor suddenly sensed sothing and looked up at the sky.
"It seems the family truly has grown slack over the years, allowing so naless rats to sneak right into our ho." The Nidon Family Head's words instantly put Leydo on high alert down below.
Although Leydo appeared sowhat arrogant, early-stage confidence was crucial. Beyond that, he was not so defective product intentionally raised to be flawed like Cici Marie.
Right then, several figures cloaked in black robes materialized within the training grounds.
Yet, despite such a blatant intrusion, it failed to attract the attention of anyone else in the Nidon Family.
"I see. Did I overlook the weather phenona in the sky?" The leading Opper had observed the Nidon Family Head's movents and now realized the remaining flaws in his Summoning Spell: Do.
This spell summoned a transparent, incorporeal do that completely enveloped an area.
Once enveloped, no matter what happened inside, everything would appear perfectly normal to outside observers. It also emitted a subtle disturbance designed to drive away ordinary people.
Those inside would find it quite troubleso to leave the do; in fact, most would not even realize they had been isolated.
Through this, one could perfectly establish an isolated battlefield right in the middle of a bustling city.
As Opper's voice fell, the sun in the sky slowly began to move, patching up the final flaw in the spell.
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