Raffaele walked forward and checked if there were any switches around the ring carefully. When she had determined that she was correct, she prepared herself to extend her finger and grip the ring.
Woo…! Woo…!
Suddenly, the sound of an alarm could be heard clearly throughout the entire Holy Fist Palace. In only a few seconds, all of the training scholars, disciples, external trainers, and Middle and Upper-level members were all rushing towards the biggest training hall in the center of the palace.
While the sound of close footsteps echoed, groups of internal palace members in black and white uniforms passed by the hidden room frantically.
The main door of the hidden room had been resealed long ago but Raffaele had exited the hidden room without anyone noticing. She currently stood in the doorway, looking as if she had just happened to be passing by.
“What happened?” Raffaele pulled over an internal palace member disciple whom she had met earlier.
“It’s definitely a serious problem. Otherwise, Holy Fist Master would not have sounded the emergency assembly command!” the person answered frantically with a solemn look on their face. “Come with us to the training hall in the center if you want to know more.”
“Serious problem?” Raffaele’s heart stirred. She glanced at the corners and surroundings of the palace where white monitors and surveillance cameras had extended out suddenly and were beeping there. These surveillance cameras were almost the same color as the walls, making it extremely difficult to distinguish them. It was obvious that they had all of the security systems were activated immediately because of the critical state.
She congratulated herself unconsciously. If she had hesitated earlier and left slightly later, she would definitely have been detected by the monitors. At that time, it would have been impossible for her to escape as she was a member of the enemy camp.
Without much time to think, she merely nodded.
“Show me the way, we’ll go together!”
The other person nodded and pulled Raffaele along before rejoining his team in front. The footsteps of groups of people who were running echoed throughout the corridor behind him.
****************
Inside the white round arch-type stone hall
White cylindrical stone pillars stood upright throughout the area while steel chains hung from the center. Dark green chains that were thick but nimble matched the simple style of the large stone brick floors. They gave off an unsophisticated but rough look that felt barbaric yet divine.
Each of the stone bricks on the ground was actually a large brick that was more than three meters wide. Perhaps it was unfitting to call them bricks anymore, as they were more like a typical large rock.
Groups of scholars and internal palace members flowed through the area in one direction like streams that met at a lake. They gathered inside the hall here from entrances of different sizes before quickly forming three square formations with different uniform colors of white, black, and red.
Bright light cascaded inside from all four stone walls, shrinking everyone’s shadows to a position that was below their feet and shining so that there were no blind spots.
Soon, almost all of the members were present.
Garen sat on the highest seat in the stone hall. There were two empty black high-back chairs below right below the level of his arms. Below that were the seats of the Four Major Generals while rows of seats were specially set up on the right. The ones who sat there were the other high-level important diplomats who were temporarily stationed here. Besides that, there were a few other generals and high-level leaders of organizations. Rod and his older brother were currently chatting in low voices with another director and leader of an organization, who seemed as if he had just gotten into his seat.
The Four Major Generals sat down quickly while the crowd of Middle and Upper-level internal palace members and the other external members below them took their seats in the lower rows according to the ranks of their posts.
Meanwhile, a few of the higher level members of the Lightless Alliance who were constantly stationed here entered the room as well. They were arranged to be seated in the VIP seats on the right side of the hall at the same level as the Four Major Generals.
As the number of people increased, the stadium-sized hall finally quietened down gradually, displaying the members’ exceptional discipline. When most of the people there became silent, the VIPs who were whispering to each other quietened gradually as well before their gazes were focused on Garen who was seated in the highest position.
Garen was fully dressed in black clothes while his long golden hair cascaded down his shoulders. His body sat upright on the seat like a large mountain, giving off a terrifying imposing feeling. His expression was cold as if he was thinking of something troublesome.
The atmosphere was somewhat heavy for a while.
When the final member entered, the whistling alarm noises finally stopped.
The entire hall finally fell into a state of complete silence.
There was a moment of silence while Garen waited for everyone’s concentration to be focused on him before he began to open his mouth slowly.
“I am about to issue some unfortunate news here today.”
The initially heavy atmosphere suddenly became even more tense when that sentence was spoken. Everyone focused their attention on Garen unconsciously. Even the VIPs who were being absent-minded earlier had now sat up slightly straighter with stern looks on their faces.
Raffaele had also been seated in the VIP section. She glanced at Garen who was seated at a high position quietly while an abnormally powerful force spiraled around that man’s entire body. The air around his seat seemed as if it was sticky together densely. Although he was seated there alone, his force field was apparently suppressing the momentum of everyone in the hall!
It was worth mentioning that there were almost a thousand people here!
While fearful feelings were trembling in her heart, she heard Garen continuing to speak.
“One of the two great Marshalls, the Bloody Marshall Dahm was unfortunately killed in battle outside.”
At first, the entire hall fell silent at once. It was a deathly type of silence as everyone was convinced that they had misheard or that Garen was merely joking.
Moments later, the attention of the crowd of a thousand people had fully focused on Garen again.
“None of you misheard me,” said Garen casually. “I wasn’t joking either. Dahm has died in battle.”
His voice trailed off. The first person to react was Dahm’s underling in red clothes, who was also his division subordinate and a member who was born to his own clan.
The next ones who responded were the superiors from the VIP section who had the most interactions with Dahm. The others were the scholars and disciples who had learned the Royal Fist Technique from Dahm.
Boom!!
The entire hall seethed with shock and hubbub instantly.
Dahm had died in battle! An individual who possessed peak standards had actually died in battle outside?
Who could kill him? An Upper-level? Maybe a Death Apostle? Was it possible that the Blood Breeds had officially launched a full-scale ambush attack against Holy Fist Palace?
Everyone was making assumptions. For an expert who possessed an Upper-level strength to die in battle, neither Blood Breeds nor Witches would be able to endure such pain, much less a new member of Holy Fist Palace.
“I haven’t finished speaking,” Garen waited until everyone had digested the news somewhat before he opened his mouth again. “The main reason that Dahm died in battle has nothing to do with the encirclement of the Blood Breeds.”
His gaze scanned the entire hall and everyone who felt it lowered their heads unconsciously.
“He was killed by his fellow Marshall Hochman. Hochman has currently betrayed and fled Holy Fist Palace.”
Boom!!!
When he finished speaking this time, an even louder uproar exploded through the hall. Everyone looked at him with widened eyes and gaping mouths when they realized that their minds were unable to keep up with these changes.
Other than Holy Fist Garen and Tu Lan, the other two strongest Marshalls in Holy Fist Palace had disappeared completely. One of them was dead while the other had fled?! This was simply the latest piece of sensational news. If a reporter was on the scene, they would be able to sell so many copies of the newspaper at the first instant that everyone else would be green-eyed with envy.
It was worth mentioning that among the regular humans, Holy Fist Palace was currently the highest ranking force against the Blood Breeds that most people paid attention to. Furthermore, it was also the assembly point of the hope of all of humanity.
The current question was, how would they sort it out?
That was the first reaction that anyone would have when they heard the news at the first moment.
“My decision is to release commands for a counterattack on all fronts from now on. We will put up wanted signs for the Boxing Overlord Marshall Hochman and set a confirmed reward of one million euros for anyone who is able to provide information regarding his whereabouts. Those who are able to injure or kill him will be rewarded with ten million euros. Furthermore, I will personally guide them in the ways of the Fist Techniques once and increase their lifespan by two years. If someone is able to defeat him, I will personally teach them the refined meaning of the Royal Fist Technique before adding ten years to their lives.”
Garen’s voice sounded like thunder that echoed throughout the inside of the hall endlessly.
“Regardless of whichever methods you use and whatever measures you take, you must find him! Kill him!”
Murderous intentions that resembled dark clouds rose up in both of Garen’s eyes. These murderous intentions crept around the room and made it difficult for the thousands of people inside the stone hall to breathe. Everyone was secretly terrified of his wrath.
Scorching hot flames burned in the eyes of the Four Major Generals. They were the only ones who understood the severity of Garen’s words. It was obvious that Hochman had not simply killed Dahm. Instead, he had done something to anger Garen as well. Under these circumstances, if he was able to achieve his goal, his position in Master’s eyes would surely be increased by a large degree. Master Garen had spent many years helping both of these Marshals increase in ranks from earlier on. He would only need to work a little harder to find new people to fill in these new ranks.
Although they merely possessed Middle-level powers and were far from the two great Marshals, victory and defeat were not merely decided by strength many times. Otherwise, everyone would be able to discover the strongest person within the realm easily, and what need would there be for them to compete in training then?
Tu Lan stood in the shadows of the hall and exchanged gazes with Quentin and Xander of the Four Major Generals. Both of them were in charge of one information branch respectively. One of them was responsible for the strength networks in the external combat club, though both possessed networks of strong forces. During the recent period of time, as Quentin and Xander were both occupied in learning the Fantasy Fist, they had become good friends with Tu Lan and Ninox when their interactions had increased. Of course, Tu Lan would never treat herself as their senior…
Then, the few of them exchanged glances. All three of them had reasonably good relationships with one another. When they heard about Garen’s reward, all of their hearts were stirred immediately. The other rewards were good, but the prize of additional life force was an unquenchable and unattainable desire of numerous outsiders.
This was an opportunity to lengthen their lifespan and improve their bodily functions without any harmful side effects! The eyes of a few old high-level organization leaders had lit up while their minds now burned with a passion.
Money, martial arts knowledge, and life. A combination of these three things had stirred the desires of everyone in the hall as it encompassed the deepest yearnings of the majority.
This was the first time Garen had mentioned the opportunity to add ten years worth of life force. The maximum amount was only five years in the past. However, he had now increased it to ten years in one go. This was equivalent to extending one’s lifespan by ten years. Especially for older individuals, the ability to live for another decade was simply a dream that could wake them up with a smile.
When the sound of his voice trailed off after the final sentence, he was met with an enthusiastic response at once that came from the seats of the VIPs and the Four Major Generals.
“Master, we’re willing to form an alliance and cooperate with Master Tu Lan to move forward and attack!” Quentin stood up suddenly. It was obvious that she was secretly inspired by Tu Lan.
Tu Lan played a subtle role in Holy Fist Palace. She was higher than the Marshalls but lower than Garen. No one objected to the rumor that she was the second strongest person in the palace. However, the outsiders knew that she had betrayed the Blood Breeds to come over. They did not trust her very much while only a few superiors were aware that Tu Lan probably only remained respectfully because she was tired of being cowed in the beginning. However, she had truly learned to love the practice of Secret Techniques now and her fear towards Garen gradually turned into awe. After she had slaughtered Blood Breeds whom she once recognized as her own people, it did not matter that she gave her reputation away as she had already joined Holy Fist Palace fully.
With Tu Lan there to perform the task, Garen was able to relax slightly. However, Hochman had absorbed Dahm’s Primer now and no one knew which stage he had grown into. Moreover, if that external force appeared again…
“Alright, but you’ll need to inform me right away if you receive any news of his whereabouts.”
“Understood!” Quentin and Xander smiled happily and withdrew quickly. It was obvious that they were acting swiftly before going to prepare to leave and collect information immediately.
Garen narrowed both of his eyes. That external force could apparently grasp the movements of Hochman and the others accurately. It was likely that they had an extensive intelligence network. Therefore, they would definitely have a source that informed them about the movements of the troops within his Holy Fist Palace as well. Furthermore, he was unsure whether the strength of Tu Lan and the other two people were enough to suppress Hochman.
It looked like he still needed to take action personally…