Chapter 2003: Devastating

The third most likely was Sixth Nova, and that was only because Leonel knew the least about him, while the fourth was First Nova. Sixth Nova was an unknown variable while First Nova was the son of the current Patriarch, the latter faced almost too much scrutiny on the daily basis to avoid detection of the masses.

But the real question was... what would Leonel do about this?

Given the strength of Kira and Auran, he didn't think anyone of the Umbra family could follow them covertly, the best he could do was monitor the general situation of the night side supercontinent.

But what if he failed?

Leonel's brow furrowed. Just as he was thinking, several flashes entered the city lord's mansion. He didn't even need to look to know that it was the Umbra family. They were actually a day late, but he didn't berate them. If there wasn't a good reason, they wouldn't be. Leonel had originally expected them back yesterday, but the fact they had only come today wasn't bad news, it was actually good news. If meant there was information to be had.

As expected, after Radlis began his report, Leonel's gaze narrowed. When he got to the end, Leonel's entire perspective shifted.

"Fourth Nova fell?"

Leonel's heart skipped a beat. This could only mean that his deduction was wrong. If the number one threat to Auran could fall to Third Nova's hand so "easily", then Auran would have never had to put in so much effort in the first place. Leonel had a hard time believing that someone as powerful as Auran, and more importantly intelligent, would put so much effort into something that was such a non-factor.

The only explanation was that Fourth Heaven wasn't the true threat, the true threat was Third Nova.

"Third Nova's forces were too overwhelming. He had exaggerated numbers under his wing and they were all of exceptional strength. Fourth Nova didn't even last very long before he was directly kicked out.

"After that, his actions caused a cascade of events. Sixth Nova fell not long afterward, and its somewhat unknown how this happened. Originally, Sixth Nova was stuck between the Spiritual Faith and the Omann Empire, but neither seemed to have been the ones to take him out. He just suddenly vanished and his territory crumbled not long after."

Leonel frowned. Could it be that Second Nova had gone after Sixth Nova? Was he wrong about his intentions all along?

Then again, it might also be a method of protecting Sixth Nova. Aside from him, Sixth Nova was the youngest, and he was most definitely the weakest among them all after the strength Leonel had seen Fifth Nova display.

This wasn't the fault of Sixth Nova, he was just disadvantaged. He had only just entered the Seventh Dimension and most of his subordinates weren't up to par. He faced similar issues to Leonel, more than just himself had been screwed over by the delay in the Heir Wars.

But would Third Nova really dare to kill? At the end of the day, Patriarch of the Morales family was just a temporary position, and one could almost be considered a figurehead.

The ones who held the real power in the family were still the Ancestors. Just by becoming the Patriarch, Third Nova couldn't just hand over the reins of the family to the Suiard family. Even if there were family rules protecting Third Nova, given the fiery tempers of the Morales Ancestor, would he even last a day past a single reckless decision?

That was when Leonel's expression suddenly changed.

That was right. The checks and balances of the Morales family were so impossibly sturdy. There was an underlying threat here that he wasn't seeing, an underlying threat that made Second Nova entirely unwilling to see Third Nova even have the chance.

Leonel's gaze suddenly became frighteningly cold.

Third Nova had made an enemy he wasn't even expecting to have made. Not only would Leonel defeat him, he wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

Worse came to worst, if Leonel interrogated his soul and found that he was wrong, he would simply revive him. But from what it seemed like now, although he didn't have the evidence, Third Nova was tied to something exceptionally sinister.

Auran could have never guessed that just a single probing attack of Leonel, an encounter that lasted no more than a few minutes, would actually give the latter this much information.

As for whether this was a good thing or not... only time would tell.

"After Sixth Nova fell, there was a huge shift in the land. He had controlled a great deal of territory, and with his disappearance after his badge was crushed, all of his subordinates vanished as well.

"The other territories attempted to swallow it up, leading to a whole host of battles, of which it seemed that First Nova came on top. Third Nova had been occupied by his battle with Fourth Nova and didn't receive the information until much later. By the time he marched over, the land had already been divided.

"The only powers worthy of note left on the night side continent are First Nova, Third Nova, the Spiritual Faith, the Omann, the Suiard family, the Ram family and the Pyius family."

Leonel's gaze flickered. Could it be that Second Nova had taken out Sixth Nova to cause this abrupt change? His timing was even so perfect, with Third Nova occupied by Fourth Nova, the one who gained the most advantage was First Nova and Third Nova was late to react...

"What is the Suiard family up to? Why does it feel like you have so little information about them?"

Leonel couldn't help but realize this. Also, he hadn't quite abandoned the idea that Third Nova was tied to them. With one being so active and the other being so silent it felt... suspicious.

"It doesn't seem that the Suiard family has done much, but they are currently preparing to form the first Gold-Grade territory of that continent. Although I can't be certain, it seems that their trust in their Heir is exceptionally high. They aren't using any schemes or plans. Until this point, they've crushed everything in their path with pure strength.

"It seems like they're waiting for something."

Leonel fell into silence. Something was brewing... He had already expected the Heir Wars to come with a ton of extra baggage, but this single encounter with Second Nova had blasted open a door that he hadn't expected. These Heir Wars and the aftermath would be more devastating than he had imagined.

Leonel didn't know how right he was at that moment.