The gatekeepers hadn’t wasted a second before they opened the gates and let her pass. Just the way she had introduced herself had lit up their eyes, and such a person with such a huge amount of money shouldn’t be disrespected.

They couldn’t afford to throw her out.

Rena entered the runner and drove through the gates, with the gatekeepers still praising and bowing to her. They already saw her as a rich figure, definitely someone from a wealthy family or community.

When Rena entered the city, she immediately started figuring out how to carry out her plans. First, she had to have a plan to strategize with, and then plot how to carry them out.

She believed that Roman and Arnold were still in the city, and that didn’t mean that their messengers wouldn’t be there as well. In her thoughts, she suspected that the messengers and the Mayor of Strength City were still trying to get hold of them.

And before they would succeed...

"I have to find him before them," she muttered, and increased her speed, heading straight into the city.

It was already dark at that time, and even though the city was basking in rich lightings and colors, it was still hard to recognise a person unlike during the natural daylight.

With her hood on, she had parked at one side and began to wander around the city, peeking through every direction and corner.

Her main task was to find somewhere suitable to hide. Any crazy spot that one wouldn’t be expected to hide in. Or at least, even a trace of where they could be.

She was all ready for it, but she hoped it wouldn’t take too long to avoid people suspecting her, which might eventually make them alert the security bodies.

If anything like that happened, she might just end up being another captive.

Rena didn’t want that.

She had spent about thirty minutes walking through the western part of the city when she suddenly heard a voice from behind her.

"Is that not... Rena?"

Rena didn’t turn her back just yet, but she went still and tried to process that voice.

It wasn’t Arnold’s. Definitely not Roman’s... But ridiculously, it was still familiar.

She took a deep breath before she turned, ready for anything that could come next. And when she caught sight of who had just spoken, her face had suddenly brightened a bit.

"Nelston?"

"Yeah, that’s right. I knew you wouldn’t forget me so soon."

It was a young man of about her age, smiling widely as he stared at her. His brown hair was shiny and long, and his face was a real definition of handsome, but the question had been about what they had known each other from.

The truth was that...

Rena and Nelston had attended the same academy. It surely was a prestigious academy where they had to come out as the best of the best, and that’s why Nelston was in Strength City, and Rena, who had graduated with a First Class, had the opportunity to be in any community of her choice.

Even though she had decided to settle for a low tier community like Blood Trial Outpost, in fact, Strength City was one of the communities she had turned down.

"What are you doing here? I heard everything that happened," Nelston said as he approached her.

"Maybe it’s better to keep your voice down. I really don’t want to be noticed here."

This was the response that Rena had given him, and he immediately understood.

"Are you heading somewhere?" he asked.

And somehow, he didn’t wait for her response and just asked another question.

"Do you mind if we have coffee over there?"

He pointed at what looked like a café not quite far from where they stood, and Rena, not really having any reason to say no, nodded and agreed.

First of all, she was going to need answers and information on how she could get to Roman and also know the situation. If she didn’t have much info, things might not go as planned.

As a certified member of this community, Nelston should know what had been going on, or at least have a little idea.

Any information she could get was something.

They walked straight to the café where Nelston took it upon himself to buy hot coffee, and due to the cold weather, it just felt right.

"So, why are you really here?" Nelston asked after taking a sip. "I heard what happened in Citadel City. Your father’s messengers causing chaos and two guys from your community trying to save you, only to get themselves into trouble."

"I also heard that they were taken by the messengers, brought here, where they escaped of course."

"You know all these?" Rena asked.

"Yep," Nelston replied with a smile.

"Do you know more? I mean, have you heard anything other than that yet?" Rena then asked.

Nelston shrugged and took another sip, then grimaced for a second.

"Well, earlier today..." He paused, and then continued.

"Earlier today, one of them escaped through the help of the Wanderers. It was a rumour we had been hearing, but people in the North wall said it was true. And then the other was captured by the guards hours later. He was taken to the Mayor’s residence."

At that point, Rena was hoping that Roman had been the one to escape, because she knew what being caught by the guards meant.

It simply meant that the messengers would have him, which was another big problem.

But then...

"However, what we know is that the messengers had left earlier in the morning before he was captured, which means that he’s still in the Mayor’s residence. Probably held captive, or the Mayor has done what your father would do..."

"Killed him," Nelston stated.

Rena’s mind was no longer at rest, her eyes filled with worry. She started pondering on questions to ask. Questions that would help her know who had been saved from the wall and who had been captured.

It had taken a while, but Nelston had been patient.

"Did you happen to know who exactly was taken to the Mayor’s residence, or maybe who was saved by the..."

"The one saved by the Wanderers? Well, I heard it was the one that came out last in the fight," Nelston said.

*The one that came out last? That must be Arnold,* Rena thought.

*Does that mean that... Roman is the one in the Mayor’s residence???*

Her heart began to beat uncontrollably, and at that very moment, she stood up and attempted to leave the café.

"Hey, Rena! Rena! Where are you heading?"

Nelston began to call after her as he quickly followed.

"To the Mayor’s residence," she said without looking back as she kept walking.

"You can’t get through. It’s the most secured place in the entire city. If they notice you, they might have no other choice but to attack regardless of the fact that you are the Steel Emperor’s daughter."

Nelston was still following.

"I don’t care if they attack. I’m getting in," Rena said.

"That’s a foolish idea. We both know that. We both know the only way this mess can be stopped," Nelston said, and that statement immediately made Rena stop.

She turned back to him.

"Go back to your father. Go back to the Steel Empire where you belong. You are the heiress, and it’s crazy how you are running away from it. Go home. You have to, Rena. You didn’t become the best student in the academy just to settle for a mere outpost in the Frontier," Nelston added.

Rena let him speak and digested every word before speaking.

"Go back to the Steel Empire? I was never there, and I would never be there. Thanks for the coffee, Nelston. This is where we part ways," Rena said before she continued walking, and this time, Nelston wasn’t following anymore.

"Reconsider your decisions, Rena! You might regret this later."

Rena didn’t respond, as she was only focused on finding the Mayor’s residence.

At that point, that was her only aim.

******

After over forty-three hours, the Cavalry Guild men returned to Blood Trial Outpost.

They were complete as they had come, healthy and properly turned out, however, after waiting for the Entrants from the outpost to show up with them, they didn’t see a shadow.

Sylvester and Norman had been watching, and they refused to understand what this meant.

General Warden approached him with a stressed face, but that slight smile on his face could still be noticed.

"Where are my men?" Sylvester asked at once, his face already darkening intensely.

General Warden removed his hat at once and faked a sad face, turning to his men who moved closer immediately.

"Unfortunately, Outpost Head Sylvester Trench, they didn’t make it."

Sylvester’s jaw dropped at once, and Norman... His reaction had been like that of someone who had already expected the news but had failed to believe it.

"They were unrelenting warriors. They fought hard, did their best. We lost them, but we understood the meaning of bravery through them. We are sorry for your loss, Sylvester."

"It is a huge loss for the outpost, and a loss for the Citadel in general as well."

Sylvester clenched his fist, enraged, knowing that all of this had resulted from the General’s cruelty.

He knew that it was highly dangerous, but he still took them...

If not for the fact that he was a General, he would have bashed his skull and made sure he never survived it. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

But the sad fact was that he had no power.

The Mayor had made his order and his men died carrying it out. If he reacted, he would lose his post as Head of the outpost and perhaps even his life.

Sylvester was powerless.

While all those thoughts were clashing in his mind, General Warden was done talking.

"But the good news is... We managed to kill the boss, and most of the other hierarchies were left out."

"We only needed the Boss’s drops for the money, you know? Hehehe..."