Darius Belack slammed the table so hard that the cups rattled. His face turned red, his right hand clenched tightly.
"We must find that young man! I will not accept Arther being treated like this."
Darius was furious seeing his son in critical condition. Arther was currently in a coma. He had not woken up since yesterday, even after receiving treatment from several doctors. Especially when Darius saw Arther's arm bent unnaturally backward.
Unlike Darius, Lucian sat calmly. He was better at controlling his emotions, but that did not mean he wasn't angry. He simply did not show it outwardly.
Lucian's hand gripped the armrest of his chair with force.
"Among us, none will allow the culprit to escape. We've already deployed everything at our disposal, so wait for the results!" he said.
Darius turned and pointed toward Lucian.
"Wait, you say! Do you think I can sit here waiting?"
Lucian stood up, locking eyes with Darius.
"You think shouting will solve everything? If that's the case, then I'll do the same as you."
Darius wanted to say something, but no words came out of his mouth.
"Don't fight! We have one common goal, so we must cooperate," Sorbet tried to calm them. "I've already sent a letter to Whitelord City. The special forces of the Valden family will come here. They will help us."
Lucian and Darius looked at each other. They both nodded.
"Thank you."
Sorbet nodded back.
"This isn't only for your sake but for mine as well. My son Alan was truly tortured by that young man. Both of his legs were broken, his stomach stabbed by a sword, and his face beaten to a pulp. This is an insult to the Valden family."
Lucian and Darius nodded in agreement.
"Indeed. This is a great crime. The culprit must be sentenced to death."
Everyone in the room agreed with Darius's words. The culprit must be executed. There would be no tolerance at all.
In that room, it was not only the three of them but also Orion Von Crimson. However, Orion had remained silent the entire time. He felt this was the personal affair of the Valden, Lunox, and Belack families. Of course, he would help, but he would not interfere in deciding what had to be done.
For now, he was only an observer.
"Why wasn't Warlet injured? He was at the same location. What made him different from the others?"
Orion could not understand at all. No matter how much he thought about it, the result was always the same. He could not find a clear motive behind this attack. If it was revenge, perhaps. But injuring the children of a duke, a viscount, and an earl was utter foolishness since the punishment would be death.
Even if it was revenge—who could it be? That was the question. If the one responsible was a commoner, it was almost impossible, for no commoner would dare to commit such an act.
Suddenly, Orion thought of something.
"I see two possibilities."
Darius, Lucian, and Sorbet turned their attention to Orion. They stared at him with questioning looks, waiting for him to continue.
"First, the culprit could be the child of a noble. Only a noble's child would dare commit this. Knowing the whereabouts of all three boys is not something easy. It would require informants. A noble's child could have that, and… they could hire powerful fighters to plan the entire attack."
Lucian, Darius, and Sorbet listened attentively. No one interrupted him. They waited for Orion to finish his explanation.
"Or the second possibility is… a new organization called the Dark Legion. An organization that frequently commits crimes, and it wouldn't be impossible for noble children to become their targets. From what is speculated, their numbers are large and spread across the Everon Kingdom. Gathering information on Alan and the others would be easy for them, and furthermore, they consist of many very powerful individuals.
"Even Moonlight City was once attacked by this organization." Orion clenched his fists tightly as he recalled that incident. "We were almost destroyed by them. Fortunately, adventurers stepped in to help. If not, Moonlight City would now only be a name of the past."
Lucian, Darius, and Sorbet fell silent. They exchanged glances. They were not very familiar with the name Dark Legion since they had never crossed paths with the organization. But indeed, the name Dark Legion had been a hot topic recently.
After hearing Orion's explanation, Lucian, Darius, and Sorbet became convinced that the attackers of their sons were most likely this new organization.
"If we are truly dealing with the Dark Legion, does that mean it will be nearly impossible to track the culprits?"
Orion nodded.
"Correct. It is almost impossible to find their whereabouts unless they choose to reveal themselves first."
Lucian, Darius, and Sorbet clenched their fists tightly, imagining that the ones who hurt their children could still live freely. It tore at their hearts as fathers.
Sorbet rose from his seat.
"I will mobilize everything I have. If this is truly the Dark Legion's doing, then this is no longer just a personal matter. It has already become an issue of the entire kingdom. We cannot allow them to escape."
Lucian and Darius both stood as well.
"We will join too!"
"They must pay for what they have done."
Lucian, Darius, and Sorbet all nodded in agreement. They would unite their strength. Orion, who had been sitting quietly all this time, stood and nodded as well.
"I will help as much as I can."
**
Crowne scratched his ear. It felt hot. He turned left and right, then shrugged before continuing his meal.
Velrisa, noticing Crowne's unease, immediately asked,
"What's wrong, sir?"
Crowne shook his head.
"I feel like someone is talking about me." He returned to eating. "Don't think too much about it."
Velrisa resumed eating. They would head to the Adventurers' Guild to quickly complete the F-rank missions. After finishing everything, only then would they depart for the forest. Crowne did not want to delay any longer.
He had to reach Moonlight City as soon as possible.