Chapter 128: Let the Blood Flow!

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The information broker spilled everything he knew.

For an underground informant, assassin safe house locations were just trade secrets to sell. He didn't care about making money from their misery. The Daedalus family meant nothing to him.

Lili slid another huge stack of Valis across the bar. The broker stared at the small Pallum, surprised by how openly she showed her wealth. He quickly grabbed the money from the counter.

He listed every single assassin syndicate branch without missing a beat. He even pulled out crude sketches of the regional captains and handed them directly to August.

August carefully reviewed the documents, capturing each face and address with his camera for future reference.

"Alright. Besides the main headquarters we just destroyed, there are seven active branches left," Lili said as she checked the broker's information. The safe houses were scattered across the city, hidden in the alleys of the First through Eighth Districts.

When Lili spoke so casually, the broker and the nearby Adventurers flinched.

The headquarters they just destroyed?

"..."

People in the tavern looked at each other in shock.

Did this rookie really destroy the main assassin base and then just come in for a drink?

The broker gripped his bar rag, trying to process how bold that was.

"Is the Daedalus family really this small?" Lili asked, looking over the remaining documents. The lineage seemed absurdly thin for a founding family.

"And all these members operate outside Orario?"

"Those are just the public faces," the broker said, setting down a polished glass. "Inside Orario, the only confirmed members of the Daedalus bloodline are Dix Perdix—the infamous Ikelos Familia captain—and his older brother, Barca Perdix. Both are deeply entrenched in Evilus."

The broker leaned in, lowering his voice to share freshly acquired intel. "According to the underground whispers, those two brothers slaughtered the rest of their own family in the past. As far as the Perdix lineage goes, Dix and Barca are the only ones left."

"Is that so?" August raised an eyebrow.

He hadn't expected the family tree to be this empty.

From what he knew, the Daedalus family had spent a thousand years growing rich and powerful.

"A thousand years is a long time," the broker said. "The family became a huge group, but fighting within the family left deep scars."

"What about their descendants?" August demanded.

He wasn't going to leave any loose ends. If he was going to wipe out a bloodline, he would go after the roots. "Give me the intel on Dix and Barca's children."

The broker froze. A cold sweat broke out across his back.

The question caught him off guard.

Usually, people who bought hit contracts only went after specific targets. No one paid to hunt down someone's unrelated children.

Before the broker could stammer out an excuse, Lili slapped another identical stack of Valis onto the wood.

"I have it." The broker stared at the money, his greed instantly overriding his moral hesitation. He snatched the cash and kept talking.

"Based on past reports, if you're looking for their descendants, you'll need to hit Daedalus Street. They hide them deep in the slums. If you want exact coordinates, I'll need a bit more time to dig them up."

For the first time in his career, the broker felt truly curious. He just couldn't understand how August could be so ruthless.

"I have to ask, Captain August," the broker ventured, his voice strained. "Why go that far? Wiping out a target is one thing, but how can you bring yourself to target their bloodline? Even the kids?"

How could an Adventurer be so cold? Even the toughest assassins usually had some limits.

August paused, his gaze lifting from the intel files.

"Dix Perdix put a bounty on my Familia because he is terrified of my strength," August stated calmly. "He chose to target my Supporter and my weak points because he lacks the spine to face me directly. I am simply returning the favor."

"If he can cross that line, I can do the same."

August didn't care about double standards. He fought back with everything he had. If Dix attacked the weak, August would go after his whole family in return.

"Captain August... you are a very honest man." The broker let out a breath he hadn't noticed he was holding. Suddenly, the rookie's actions made sense.

He wasn't just lashing out—he was a captain protecting his own by fighting back just as hard.

"You would do the exact same thing in my position," August replied dismissively.

He looked through the rest of the documents and saw that some targets were linked to different Familias outside Orario. That meant several Gods were involved. But August didn't care. Any God outside the city was just a small problem. He would deal with them if they tried to get in his way.

"That's enough for today," August said, standing up. "Keep digging for the exact coordinates of the Daedalus descendants. I'll be back for them."

The broker nodded respectfully.

As August and Lili turned toward the stairs, the broker called out one last warning.

"Captain August. Those talking monsters you've been seen with—the Xenos. They are going to become a massive liability. Several top-tier Familias are already organizing a coalition to attack you over them."

August didn't slow down.

He paused for a moment, gave a silent nod at the warning, and kept going up the stairs.

The tavern doors closed, leaving the pub filled with quiet tension.

As soon as the rookie left, the tension faded. The Adventurers in the shadows finally relaxed, and the tavern filled with quiet conversation.

"Hey, why the hell did you tell him that?" a mercenary demanded, staring at the broker. Giving away major faction movements for free wasn't exactly standard business practice.

The other Adventurers at the bar turned to look, just as curious.

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," the broker smiled, picking up his rag to polish a glass. "I can't bring myself to hate a guy like that."

"He doesn't pretend to be something he's not. He does what he says he'll do. Most importantly, he fights for his people."

The broker pictured the small Pallum walking confidently beside the terrifying rookie.

"How many captains in this city would fight a thousand-year-old family, challenge the big groups, and take on Evilus just to get revenge for a Level 1 Supporter and a few rookies?" the broker asked, his voice echoing in the pub.

The Adventurers looked at each other seriously. Every captain in Orario had their faults. But August's strong loyalty to his crew was hard to ignore.

He didn't care about politics—just his mission and his people.

"He's right," a battle-worn veteran muttered, taking a long pull from his mug. "If my captain had half that kind of spine, I'd wake up smiling every day."

"A captain who actually protects his squad... August is a real man," another added. "Damn. I wish I knew how to join the Hestia Familia."

August's bold moves lifted the spirits of a city burdened by Guild rules and divine politics.

For Adventurers, having a leader who made them feel safe was all they could hope for.

"Don't bother," the broker scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"That little Supporter drank Soma's divine wine and still forced herself free through sheer willpower, all so she could leave her Familia. Unless you've got that kind of freakish mental strength, the monster rookie won't even give you a second glance."

"Are you serious?" The crowd was stunned.

Most people saw Lili as just a lucky baggage carrier. But breaking free from Soma's wine took real strength.

Rumors about the Soma Familia falling apart had been going around for days, but finding out that this small Pallum was behind it changed everything.

"Alright, back to your drinks," the broker said, waving them away as the tavern slowly returned to its usual gritty pace.

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Outside, August and Lili made their way through the dark alleys.

"Information brokers are the best. For the right price, they'd even sell out their mothers," Lili said with a grin, holding the intel files.

Now she knew exactly how they could take down the syndicate.

"But what's our next move, Lord August?" Lili asked, looking up at him. "Since we bought this openly, the assassins definitely know we're coming for them now."

"We make an example of them," August replied, his voice devoid of emotion.

"The main headquarters is gone. The seven branches left will try to take in the survivors and claim to be the new leaders. We give them a choice."

August cracked his neck. "If they refuse the Daedalus bounty, I'll destroy another branch."

He had them trapped. The assassins could either keep protecting the Daedalus family and risk being wiped out—or turn on their Evilus allies and go after Dix Perdix themselves to survive.

August challenged them to stand their ground.

If the underworld really wanted a drawn-out fight, he was ready to destroy them. But assassins were like rats hiding in the dark. Once exposed, they usually turned on each other.

"I kinda hope they choose to fight," Lili muttered, a dark glint in her eye.

If the assassins fought back, it would give them a reason to wipe out the whole network and take their loot. It sounded great, but she knew the syndicate was too scared to fight someone as strong as August.

"Still, I can't believe the other Familias are really teaming up to attack us because of the Xenos," Lili said with a sigh, remembering the broker's warning.

"Let them," August said, brushing off the threat. "If harboring intelligent monsters didn't spark a massive public outcry, I'd be disappointed in this city's survival instincts."

He really didn't care about bad press. If the big factions wanted to ruin his name, they could try. His reputation was already as low as it could get. After bombing the slums, executing nobles, and torturing prisoners in public, sheltering a few talking monsters hardly mattered.

"It's just a short-term PR problem," August said with a smirk.

"Our Familia runs on pure vengeance. Public backlash doesn't matter. The winners write history, and as long as we keep winning, people will find ways to justify what we do."

When you had overwhelming power, morality was just a suggestion. Let the so-called righteous Familias complain. The Hestia Familia was the one actually doing something.

"Fair point..." Lili giggled, picking up her pace to match his stride.

They headed for their next target. Another assassin branch would soon have to choose: take the Daedalus contract or face destruction.

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Inside the Hermes Familia headquarters.

While August acted openly, the city's intelligence networks were busier than ever.

"LORD HERMES!" Lulune Louie burst into the grand office, panting heavily.

"Lulune, what's the rush?" Hermes asked, looking up from a huge pile of paperwork. As the top intelligence Familia in Orario, they always had a mountain of paperwork to get through.

Asfi Al Andromeda stopped writing and adjusted her glasses. "Did something happen?"

"The Hestia Familia captain isn't bluffing," Lulune reported, dropping into a chair. "He just wiped out the Assassin's Guild headquarters. Turned it into a crater. And he just bought the exact coordinates for the Daedalus and Perdix bloodlines from the broker."

"He's really starting a full-on bloodline purge. I thought he was just making threats, but he's actually hunting them down!" Lulune shook her head, stunned. She had never seen an Adventurer act with such open malice.

"Is that so?" Hermes set his pen down. He leaned back in his plush leather chair, resting his chin on his steepled fingers.

"I have to admit, the boy likes to make a scene." A dangerous, fascinated grin spread across his face. He had never seen a mortal act with so much reckless authority.

Asfi frowned, her mind calculating the fallout. "Lord Hermes, if he actually tries a bloodline extermination, Lord Ouranos and the top-tier Familias will have to step in. That level of unchecked slaughter clearly breaks Guild law."

She knew August was taking a big risk. If he pushed things too far, the whole city would join forces to stop him.

Hermes just laughed.

"But it fits his core beliefs, Asfi. He acts openly, without any hypocrisy or fake justice."

Hermes chuckled, his eyes beaming with excitement. "This kid from another world is a real force of nature..."

But as his laughter faded, his face grew serious and thoughtful.

"I'm very curious. If he goes through with this, he'll turn the entire city into his enemy. How exactly does a mortal from another world plan to fight the world?"

Hermes had no plans to stop him. The God of Trickery leaned forward and looked out the window toward the slums. Right now, he didn't care about the Guild's laws or the city's peace.

He just wanted to watch the chaos unfold.

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