At the sa ti, the highest floor of the rcenary Guild headquarters on Daresk was sealed with layers of security.
One vast room in particular seed far more guarded than the others. Inside, a beautiful round obsidian table stood at its center, large enough to seat dozens of people.
Yet this ti, only a handful of individuals occupied it.
On one side of the table sat four figures.
Two were leaders of the local rcenary Guild, both seasoned B-ranks, while the other two represented Daresk's governnt, their expressions tight and cautious.
Across from them sat only two n, their expressions stone cold.
Both wore white-golden clothes, their chests lined with golden dals and even a special diamond badge, signifying their Peak B-rank strength.
No one spoke.
A holographic display hovered above the center of the table, playing several blurry, distorted fras on a loop.
The outline of an armored figure was barely visible before a dazzling blue light swallowed the image, and the footage cut off abruptly.
Each ti the video repeated, the expressions of the two Sovereignty officers grew colder.
"It's been two weeks," one of them finally spoke, his voice rough and completely devoid of emotion. "Yet the murderer of my people still hasn't been found."
One of the rcenary guild leaders leaned forward, opening his mouth.
But before he could say anything, the other Sovereignty officer slamd his fist on the table, cracking it.
"Save it," he snapped. "You should be glad the mass murderer we were originally after isn't also here. Otherwise, I would've destroyed this utter garbage of a planet."
The faces of the governnt representatives imdiately drained of all color, both shooting up out of their chairs.
"Sir, please calm your anger," one of them pleaded, his voice shaking despite his attempts to keep it steady. "We'd never wish to offend the Darla family. Please excuse our incompetence."
"We're doing everything in our power to gather information," the other joined in, raising his hands slightly to deescalate the situation.
The Sovereignty officer from the Darla family stood up, slamming both his fists down on the table and breaking it in an instant.
"It's not enough, is it?" he shouted, dust flying into the air. "I don't see the murderer here, or are you trying to convince that I'm blind?"
"No, no," the first representative said, waving his hands in panic. "Please calm your anger, sir. I'm sure we can arrange sothing."
The second representative nodded, remaining far calr.
"With all due respect, sir," he said carefully, "we can arrange for more, but this is still Daresk's jurisdiction. As a planet of the neutral zone, direct Sovereignty interference requi—"
In a split second, the burly Sovereignty officer moved.
A massive warhamr manifested in his hands, its head already descending.
There was a single, dull impact.
The second representative didn't have ti to react, let alone scream.
When the warhamr was lifted again, only a thin blood mist hung in the air.
The rcenary guild leaders quickly recovered from their shock, pulling the remaining representative closer to them.
The burly Sovereignty officer simply smirked, kicking the table aside while aiming his hamr at the trembling representative.
"You're next if you bring more nonsense into this conversation."
A mont of silence fell over the room as each party stared at one another.
The remaining governnt representative shook like a leaf, but still managed to glance back at the rcenary leaders, a pleading look in his eyes.
"You don't have to look there," the burly Sovereignty officer chuckled, easily seeing through his intentions. "They won't be able to keep their own lives against , let alone protect yours."
Both rcenary leaders grit their teeth, their expressions darkening.
Despite their anger, they knew he wasn't lying. The gap between a normal B-rank and a Peak B-rank was like heaven and earth.
A heavy silence fell once more.
Finally, the first Sovereignty officer stood up, breaking the tension ever so slightly.
"Have the governnt start a planet-wide manhunt," he said, staring emotionlessly at the group. "And let the rcenary Guild release a five-million-credit mission for capturing the murderer alive."
Then he turned, locking eyes with the burly officer.
"Let's go," he said, not waiting for a response.
After the Sovereignty officers left, the governnt representative imdiately collapsed to the floor, still trembling like a leaf.
The rcenary leaders looked at each other, bitter expressions on their faces.
"We'll have to follow their orders," one said, clenching his fist. "Regardless of the consequences."
The other nodded slowly, staring at where the blood mist still lingered.
Outside the room, the corridor was silent.
The two Sovereignty officers walked toward a large glass window panel and shattered it with a single flick.
They jumped out without fear, slowly descending toward their ships below, leaving behind the chaos they had just caused.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then, once they were far enough away from the building, the colder of the two broke the silence.
"Good work, Veyron," he said calmly. "With the chaos this will cause, control over this planet will loosen faster than expected."
The burly officer, Veyron Darla, let out a low scoff, his warhamr vanishing as it brushed his shoulder.
"I don't care about your control, Lucien," he replied flatly. "My granddaughter was murdered here."
The other officer, Lucien, stopped.
Slowly, he turned to look at him, his expression unreadable.
"Since when have you cared about that?" he asked indifferently.
Veyron tilted his head slightly, a frown forming on his face.
"It's not like you don't have dozens more," Lucien continued, his tone unchanged. "The Darla family never lacked blood, after all."
Silence fell between them.
For a mont, heavy tension settled in the air as Veyron narrowed his eyes.
"My blood is not a resource," he growled. "Besides, that lass was pretty talented."
Lucien stared at him for a mont longer before turning away again.
"Then consider this convenient," he said. "Catching the perpetrator serves both purposes. Your revenge… and our expansion."
They resud walking.
"With the neutral planets destabilized," Lucien continued, "the Sovereignty will finally have justification to intervene."
Veyron's eyes narrowed.
"Just make sure the one responsible is found," he said coldly. "Alive or dead."
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