Raphael Blackcrow and the Feud Between the Two Households

In just a few minutes, the more than twenty black-robed men were either killed or subdued. 

[You have killed five enemies! Reward: 5 Years of Battle Experience!]

Cain brought him the masked man who seemed to be their leader alive. "My lord, what should we do with them?" 

Fredrinn wiped the blade of his sword using the clean part of a corpse's clothes before he put it back to its sheath. 

When he turned his gaze over to Kristine and the others, he noticed that their eyes now held a trace of fear when they looked at him. He already expected this after he had exposed his strength. "Tie up the ones who are still alive and put them inside the carriage! As for the rest, burn their corpses!" He shouted. 

"Yes, my lord!"

Cain and the rest immediately took action. They were only forced to follow his instructions before because of his identity as the heir of the Firecrown Household. However, after seeing his martial prowess, there was no longer a hint of hesitation in their actions. 

After everyone had dealt with the corpses and traces of the battle, Fredrinn commanded the group to return to the estate.

Meanwhile, hidden on top of a four-story building's roof were two figures. One was a young woman dressed in green cheongsam with white highlights. The other one was an old man who was as thin as a matchstick. 

"It seems like the rumors about him being a trash were untrue. It was stupid of me to judge him based on hearsay." The young woman muttered with a light smile. 

The old man nodded in agreement. "What do you intend to do next, Miss Aubrey?" He asked. Although he was surprised by the events that unfolded before them, he was someone who had experienced the vicissitudes of life. He managed to quickly regain his composure. 

"Let's return for now. We'll see them again if we are fated to meet." 

The old man nodded. 

Soon, their silhouettes disappeared.

***

Olivia quickly checked his body to see if he was unharmed. She only heaved a sigh of relief after making sure that he wasn't injured. "I'm glad that you're unharmed, my lord, but you shouldn't be so reckless next time." There was a hint of worry in her voice.

"You nag more than my mother." Fredrinn chuckled while shaking his head. 

Olivia pouted when she heard this. She wanted to say more, but she suddenly noticed the awkward silence after Fredrinn had spoken.

Kristine looked like she had a lot to say, but she chose to remain silent. Meanwhile, Felix and Ren looked a lot more obedient than usual. Their faces were covered in sweat and they didn't even dare to look at Fredrinn as if they were afraid of him. 

'What's wrong with these guys?' She thought. 

Fredrinn also noticed the changes in their behavior. When they first encountered them, those two young disciples looked stubborn and they only followed his instructions on the surface. 

'I'm sure Roland will question me once we report this incident. What should I tell him then?' Fredrinn could already imagine the troubles he had to go through the moment they returned to the estate 

A pained groan broke the awkward silence. 

It was the masked man from earlier, but his mask had already been removed. He looked ordinary and from his facial features, he looked to be in his mid-thirties. 

"Drag him here," Fredrinn said while looking at Cain.

The latter nodded and forced the man to kneel in front of Fredrinn.

"Who are you? Why did you attack us?" Fredrinn muttered in a cold voice. They had yet to ascertain if the goal of these people was simply the Limit Breaking Pills. 

The man sneered and smiled in disdain. "You should release me if you don't want your family to be destroyed!" 

"Such insolence! Do you know who you are speaking to?!" Cain was about to slap the man's face, but Fredrinn stopped him from doing so. 

"At least you are smart. Untie me and I will forget this matter." The man thought that his threats scared Fredrinn so became even more arrogant. 

Fredrinn rubbed his chin and stared deeply at the man. "Now that I have taken a closer look at you, I think recognize your face." He had a cold smile when he uttered those words.

Hearing this, the man's body shook, but only for an instant. "Do you think you can deceive me?!" He glared at Fredrinn uneasily. This person was unlike the rumors he had heard about him. 

"Oh, really?" Fredrinn leaned back. "I was so sure that you are the third heir of the Blackcrow Household, but it seems like I got the wrong person." He shrugged while looking at the man with a playful expression.

The man's eyes widened in shock and horror. "How did you…" He quickly covered his mouth, but it was already too late. 

"Raphael Blackcrow, did you enjoy pretending to be an assassin?" Fredrinn's eyes were like that of the devil's, making him terrified.

'Just how did this guy find out my identity?! I never showed my face to an outsider! Only the people loyal to us should have seen my face! Could it be that there is a mole in our ranks?!' A few faces flashed in Raphael's mind. 

"Cousin, is he really someone from the Blackcrow Household?" Kristine could no longer remain calm. 

The Blackcrow Household was a competitor of the Firecrown Household. In terms of overall strength, the former was slightly stronger compared to the latter. This was because the Blackcrow Household has three Nascent Soul martial practitioners whereas the Firecrown Household only has two. Furthermore, the Blackcrow Household also had three talented heirs to inherit the position of their patriarch. Meanwhile, the Firecrown Household only had Fredrinn who has a very notorious past. 

The conflict between the two households started because of a single energy stone mine which was currently under the jurisdiction of the Firecrown Household. The energy stone mine was the main source of income for the family, but the Blackcrow Household couldn't accept the fact and used all sorts of ways to claim ownership over the energy stone mine. There were only minor skirmishes between the two households in the last few years and they were yet to go into a full-blown war. They maintained this delicate balance for over a decade, but there were signs of this equilibrium slowly collapsing in the past few years. 

If something happened to the third heir of the Blackcrow Household, Kristine couldn't imagine what the consequences would be.