anwhile, in the governor’s mansion...
The governor’s plump fist echoed against the desk, his body moving up and down with his deep breathing.
"What do you not understand?!" he roared. "That thief has returned! Are you all planning to take advantage of this situation and take down?!"
Before him was a laptop connected to the other two governors. However, their faces were not shown on the screen.
"Governor Gehran, you have to calm down," one of the governors cooed, his voice slightly elderly. "Since the Thief of Ravah escaped the territory, she has inspired many others who heard the story. So, many of them tried to copy her."
Even though his face was not shown, one could tell he was smirking. "So of them ca dangerously close to how the real Thief was. This could be one of them."
"One of them?!" the governor Gehran, who initiated the eting, roared. "Godfrey, would I initiate this eting and listen to your old voice if I were not certain I am dealing with the real one?!"
"You always call for such etings at every inconvenience, Gehran," the Governor of Halvik — the sa one who had constant issues with the plump governor — chuckled. "However, I do understand that you want to call for a truce. Let’s do that, then."
"I’ll tell my n to pull back, but to stay in the vicinity," he continued in the sa leisurely and elderly manner. "What I will not tell them, however, is not to fire back if your n try anything silly."
Gehran ground his teeth, glaring at the screen. Displeasure was written all over his face, but he had expected the lack of participation from the old folk of Halvik. He could only wish the old fellow dead right here and now.
Then, Gehran’s eyes drifted to the other participant on the conference call. Just like the governor of Halvik, Godfrey, this one also had his cara turned off.
The Governor of Ashkar — Malvek.
"What about you?" Gehran huffed, narrowing his eyes. "What is your decision, Malvek?"
There was silence on the line for quite so ti, but neither governor urged him to speak. They knew the governor of Ashkar was a quiet man who rarely spoke. In recent years, however, he had grown even quieter.
The other governors didn’t think much of it, as they were too busy feuding with one another.
Besides, the governor of Ashkar was the glue holding this strange relationship between regions together. Having the strongest military power among them, neither governor wanted to cross him. After all, if Malvek allied with one of them, taking down the other would be guaranteed.
"Malvek." Gehran frowned deeply. "You do not care? That thief has done quite a lot, especially in your region. She even slaughtered two of your sons. Who knows?! She might be coming back to get the last one!"
Godfrey let out a shallow scoff, shaking his head at Gehran’s words. Surely, that fat fool in the New Gehran region was sothing.
Didn’t Gehran know this was sothing he shouldn’t even bring up?
"I cannot send you reinforcents, Gehran. I do not think Godfrey would like that."
Finally, another man’s voice echoed through the line. It was calm and distant, as though he were far from the device.
"However, I can close all borders and send n to ensure no one escapes your region."
"Do not worry about us, Gehran," Godfrey chid in. "Focus on catching them while they’re still in your territory. With Jarvis there, I am certain he’ll get the job done. If they cross into mine, however... you don’t need to worry. I’ll capture every single one of them for both of you."
"You—" Gehran hissed, but Malek’s line cut off with a sharp clack. Monts later, Godfrey chuckled loudly before leaving the call as well.
Bitterness flickered in Gehran’s eyes. His plump fist tightened until it trembled, then slamd into the desk once more.
"Those bastards," he grumbled. "Have those two ford an alliance?"
As ntioned, the governors never truly got along. They were civil only because they understood that Ravah thrived under this balance of tension.
And even though Godfrey and Gehran wouldn’t cross Malvek, that didn’t an Malvek could easily take them both down. Gehran was confident Malvek wouldn’t ally with either of them — not yet. He liked his current position too much.
Even so, their reaction to the Thief of Ravah was suspicious.
"Did they really not believe ?" His face twisted as the gears in his mind turned. "Or... do they have other plans?"
Gehran pondered this deeply, especially with the growing tension between himself and Godfrey. But before he could draw a conclusion, a knock echoed through the room.
"Co in," he said without hesitation.
Jarvis entered. The mont Gehran saw him, he leaned forward.
"Is it really the Thief of Ravah? Jarvis, I need you to tell for sure if it’s her, so those fools sitting on the thrones of their regions wouldn’t dare mock !"
Jarvis stopped several steps from the desk and lowered his head. "The man I brought here for confirmation is the sa one who escorted her into the territory," he answered politely. "So I am certain the one who took our prisoners was her."
"That bastard!" Gehran hissed, fury blazing as he shoved himself upright. "Take to that brat."
Gehran stord to the corner, grabbed a golf club, and glared at Jarvis.
"I’m going to beat that brat to death."
"Governor, please calm down," Jarvis said, lowering his head again. "That man is crucial in luring that woman to us."
"Lure her?!" Gehran barked. "One of their friends is already on the way here! There’s no need to lure her! Just hunt her down and kill her!"
Jarvis remained still, sighing quietly. "That would ruin our plan."
"You—" Gehran’s eyes flared. "Jarvis, do you want to beat you instead?"
Furious, Gehran marched toward him and raised the golf club. But just as he swung, another voice rang out.
"Governor—!"
The sa young man who had delivered Atlas’s resu earlier froze when he saw the scene. He gulped, but forced himself to step forward.
"Governor, please don’t beat Jarvis yet!" he shouted, panic clear in his voice. "Jarvis already has a plan, and we’re going to catch all of them!"
The governor halted mid-swing, glaring at him. "What plan?"
"The people we captured had so interesting items on them." Jarvis slowly raised his eyes to et Gehran’s. "And earlier, soone attempted to hack into our signal satellite."
His expression hardened.
"Once their communication is established," he continued, "we’ll know their next move and their whereabouts. Not just Haji’s group, but every single rat he had brought into this territory."
Reviews
All reviews (0)