The opening address didn't take too long already, as all the soldiers had already been briefed prior to the day of the operation.

The entire operation could be summarized into two essential elements: the Day and Night.

The Day Operation was a more broad search, disguised as some kind of super patrol. As for the night search, it would be a lot more aggressive.

The goal was to utilize the day patrol as an excuse to execute a more thorough investigation in the night due to a reason they would cook up.

By patrolling and searching in the morning, soldiers would take up strategic positions around the city, and they would also properly cover all the grounds that made up important checkpoints.

Once that was established, a more intense approach could be carried out.

Above all else, the goal of such a roundabout strategy was to ensure that they didn't tip off the enemies during their search.

Or, at least, ensure that it was too late for the criminals to run and hide once they figured out what was happening.

This was the essence of the Full Sweep Operation.

*******

"Looks like you can take things from here. I'll be on my way now."

Ralyks began to step away from Conrad, who was about to join the soldiers in starting the operation.

"As promised, I'll investigate things with Kara on my end."

"Ah, yes! I understand." Conrad replied with enthusiasm.

Ralyks had never failed them before, so he had no doubt in the man's abilities.

"How is she, by the way? Kara Verte, I mean. Does she still appear suspicious to you?"

In response to this, Ralyks shook his head.

"I don't trust her. However, she isn't suspicious, so there's no need to worry. Just carry out your operation, and I'll carry out mine."

With this agreement in place, Conrad and Ralyks shook hands once more before the Councilor jogged to meet up with the troops while Ralyks opened a portal and vanished from sight.

Not too long after, the Operation on the Merchant City began.

*******

'Huu…'

Rey appeared in his next destination—the Safehouse that held his other allies.

He had to knock and say the passcode, of course, before being allowed to enter. It all felt like a silly spy movie, but Rey played along anyway.

Once he went through all due processes, though. The door opened, and the first face he saw behind the door was none other than Kara's.

"Welcome back, Sir Ralyks."

Rey shrugged and greeted back in a more casual tone before entering the premises.

The moment he did so, he could feel an intense Magical Flow circulating throughout the room.

'It's heavily enchanted.' He noted to himself, taking a good look at his surroundings.

The Safehouse looked more like a simple cottage, or a partially worn-down shack, on the outside… but the inside could not be more different.

The walls were painted an exquisite lacquer brown, with the furniture in the parlor so well designed and arranged that Rey felt like he was in a miniature version of the Blanc Mansion.

The place was indeed small, but with the grand designs that filled his sight—from the chandelier on the ceiling, to the perfectly tiled floors, and solemn ambiance—Rey could tell that this was a perfectly comfortable place for his allies.

'I guess they would still be comfortable even when they're in hiding.' He mused, taking his seat in the most exquisite-looking chair in the room.

He didn't particularly want to stir anything, but with the arrangement of the seats, Rey simply assumed that they placed it there for him to occupy.

Besides, the moment he sat there, Kara smiled in approval.

He wasn't wrong.

A few seconds after he entered the Safehouse, Asher and Rebal rushed out, their faces filled with expressions of relief.

"Sir Ralyks!"

"Sir Ralyks, welcome!"

As father and son approached Rey, he couldn't help but feel a little awkward watching two grown-ass men treat him with such high esteem.

'Why can't I just get used to it?' He wondered while addressing them and telling everyone to take their seats.

They instantly obeyed, allowing all the formalities to die down.

It was time for the important bits to come up.

"The attack on the capital will most likely be a two-pronged one." Rey began, both hands intertwined with each other.

It made him feel smart, so he decided to go with it.

"They'll attack the Capital itself—that is, the Blanc Mansion and the surrounding areas, and then they'll attack the Black Market underground."

This was to ensure the complete ruin of the Blanc House, and also a hostile takeover of the Capital.

'I don't think Scylla and her goons will want to govern the entire United Human Alliance, though. If I had to guess, it's more like they'll make a grand statement of their power.'

If that was the case, it meant that the Royal Council and every resource of the mainstream market and government would merely be puppeteered by Scylla's New Order.

In essence, she would have absolute control over everything while remaining in the shadows.

The surface would fight her wars, and they would protect her and her interests from the Dragons and any other enemy that surfaced.

'At least, that's what I think.'

If that was indeed the case, then Scylla was quite the nefarious schemer.

'A little too ambitious, though.' Rey decided to shrug off his thoughts and focus on clarifying their roles in the imminent conflict.

"As planned, Asher will be transported to the KariBlanc Shop in the Black Market, where he will remain for the duration of the entire incident."

Of course, he wasn't going to be without help.

"My subordinate will be with you, so there's no need to worry."

Then, there was the obvious issue of the Capital. The New Order was bound to raze a lot of things to the ground in order to send a message, while also completely destroying the Blanc Mansion and whatever other assets they had on the surface.

There was no need to be so concerned about that either.

"Another of my subordinates will handle that as well, so there's no need to fear." He told the people who were listening to him.

However in truth, Rey only had one subordinate to handle both affairs.

—His Familiar, Ater.

'He said he can properly handle everything without any innocent casualty, so I'll take him at his word.'

He also knew Ater was more than capable, so that was pretty much a closed chapter.

"As for the Dark Gathering, the roster remains the same. Rebal and Kara are the participants, while my partner and I will act as your guards…" As Rey said this, he realized something.

Or rather, he chose to address something he had realized a while back.

"Where is she, by the way?"

By "she", Rey meant Esme. She wasn't to be found among all the people who gathered before him.

As if waiting for him to ask, a sweet-sounding feminine voice echoed from behind Rey.

"Right here."

'I already knew you were standing there…' Rey's thoughts trailed, but he simply decided to play along with the current situation.

"Hm…" He slowly tilted his head and turned in the direction of the voice.

What he saw, however, defied his expectations.

'Is that… Esme?!'

*

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Thanks for reading!