Chapter 321: Confrontation (2)

Gill took a deep breath.

"All right then. Spender Family will no longer take part," he spoke in a loud voice while attempting to remain calm. "Let's go!"

"Wait, you must stay here until the end of the competition," the man seated on the chair suddenly said.

"You!" Gill became enraged and his face turned red.

"He is right. The garden's location is a secret. We do not trust you. You should just wait here." Christopher, Morgan Family's head, nodded slightly.

"Ha...When we first arrived at this gate, the Spender Family was the strongest family yet now they are the weakest...You should at least stand up for Kita's sake, considering how he is still inside the garden." An elder who belonged to the Philip Family sneered while shaking his head. "What a joke."

Members of the Spender Family had been utterly enraged due to those words. Some of them even had already placed their hands on their weapons, all at the ready.

The man seated on the chair curled his lips into a smile. He had immediately brought his subordinates in this place after learning the information on the garden. They had ambushed the two strongest elders of the Spender Family and murdered them, which was the reason for the Spenders' sudden plunge in battle capability.

He would have taken everything from the garden himself if not for him feeling uncertain of his chances of winning a battle against the entire three families. What he did not know, however, was the three families had never once thought of uniting due to their terrible relationship with each other.

The atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense.

The Spender Family was in a tough position. They wanted to depart but Unos, of the Blue Eagle Nest, and the other two families would not let them do so.

Although the Spenders seemed to have started cooperating now, the rest knew their priority was to guarantee that Kita could safely leave the garden and that they did not want to initiate a fight.

"Come on...We can let the Spender Family leave once their family heir leaves the garden. What do you think?" A woman who had long, black hair and was standing beside Unos said.

No one reacted to her suggestion. The other two families knew they could not win a fight against the Blue Eagle Nest once the Spender Family left.

Gill's plan was to avoid any battle then come back once the other two families' power was weakened. After all, he needed an assurance that his family could still survive once they returned to the city.

The current situation had reached a conundrum.

But suddenly, they heard intense footsteps which seemed to belong to people hiking to the mountaintop.

The members of the Spender Family looked happy. Since the situation was currently against the odds, to them, any form of outside interference was a necessity in order to disturb the balance.

The other two families, and Unos, were dissatisfied about such changes.

Unos' expression changed, and with a flick of his finger, his voice soon became louder and more powerful due to the influence of energy particles.

"We are having a meeting on the mountain's peak. I am Unos of the Blue Eagle Nest. Strangers, please leave the mountain immediately!"

Unos' voice echoed throughout as he glared toward the narrow path between the dark green trees.

"Watch your filthy mouth, you are addressing the representatives of THE Elemental Hand!" a cold voice belonging to a female retorted.

The family heads and Unos exchanged eye contact with each other upon listening to these words. They were uncertain on how to react to that.

"The Elemental Hand...We are in trouble."

"How did they find this place...?"

"One of the most powerful organizations in the region of Tarry River, ha, now that's interesting." Gill's expression loosened.

Several minutes later, a group of black-robed and red-robed men and women arrived at the peak led by a black-robed female who wore a face devoid of any expression, her eyes glowed in red. In reality, though, she did not expect to see so many people competing for the opportunity to enter the gate.

"I have already told you who you're dealing with, yet it seems you do not even care...I will..."

"Calm down, Lyn. This is a public place, and they came here before us," a gentle voice belonging to a man interrupted.

When Unos listened to the voice, he looked at a brown-haired man stand behind the female wizard. The man was clothed with a long, black robe. Him being in the safest position of the formation indicated him as the leader of this group.

The man had an average face but his overall appearance was eye-catching. A pink glow surrounded his eyes and a silver glint on his skin.

It was Angele; they had finally reached the mountain's peak.

"We are members of Elemental Hand, here for the garden's secret treasure. We will not harm you as long as you do not attempt anything stupid." There was a gentle smile on Angele's face.

His words were easily understood. Elemental Hand was a far more powerful organization compared to Blue Eagle Nest and the three families. With such authority and power, they should be the ones to take possession of the treasure.

"Elemental Hand...they cannot just come here and steal the treasure right from under our noses." There was a serious expression on Unos' face.

"Master, that is how Elemental Hand often deals with things. I think we should..." An aged female wizard communicated with Unos through energy particles.

"That is unacceptable! We have put so much effort into our plan. It's too late for us to step down. Through the garden's blessing, I will get promoted!" Narrowing his eyes, Unos replied through energy particles.

Angele stepped forward and stood in front of his group looking at the leaders of the three families and Blue Eagle Nest.

He expected them to recall their forces upon hearing the name of the organization, but it did not occur. The fairy garden's value was too high that they would not even mind stirring a conflict with Elemental Hand.

"It seems you did not clearly hear my master's words. Do not overestimate yourselves, or else you will regret your decision." Hakeem himself stepped up as well. "Master, it is pointless to try to negotiate with them. Let's just make an example out of them. If you can win against us, we will give you a share of the secret treasure."

Hakeem complied with the plan and spoke the words Angele told him to.

"While it is true that Blue Eagle Nest is a weaker organization than Elemental Hand," Unos inhaled sharply to calm himself down. "we are the ones who discovered the gate to the secret garden first, and some of our members are still inside. We can negotiate once they come out. What do you think?"

Hakeem was about to say something else but was held back by Angele.

Angele was not afraid of a fight, but if the three families decided to join forces with Blue Eagle Nest, it might pose a problem.

"Let me be honest with you. I am not interested in that so-called secret treasure. I just want to see the Fairy's Spring. You see, we are just a small group. It is impossible for us to take all the treasures away."

The formerly tense atmosphere eased up a bit after Angele finished speaking. However, he was unsure whether the family heads would trust him or not.

Angele was not lying in the slightest; the only thing he wanted was the secret garden's blessing and its Fairy's Spring. Although, he had doubts about whether the secret treasure could actually help him progress faster.

However, those people whose allegiance lay in Blue Eagle Nest were not happy with it. Their plan would go into shambles if he was only after the blessing.

Unos' cold gaze fell on Angele, and he was communicating with the old female wizard behind him through energy particles.

"Have you finished inspecting them?"

"Nearly done. They have three rank 2 wizards and several rank 1 Crystal stage wizards. Their leader is just a rank 1 wizard, interesting. Based on their eyes, they should be training in the Molten Core River," the aged female wizard replied.

There was a translucent crystal orb on right palm, glowing.

Unos thought for a while and made up his mind. "The three rank 2s are the biggest threat to us...Training in Molten Core River indicates that they are part of the Watchers and are all elite, seasoned fighters. Garcia, make arrangements for your team to ambush the three rank 2s. Command the rest to eliminate the rank 1s. Their leader must be an important entity to Elemental Hand. I will capture him myself," he passed this message through energy particles.

"But we need to inform the division leader first..." the woman who had long black hair interrupted.

"Do not worry about the division leader. Our headquarters is not within Tarry River, so it will not be a big problem if we can retreat after winning the fight," Unos coldly replied. "Use the secret strategy and separate their forces. It will be an easy fight."

"Master, you have only advanced to rank 2 not too long ago. I think you will need my help..." the woman advised.

"Their leader is merely a rank 1 wizard at the Crystal stage. We have already set the magic matrix. I don't think there will be a problem." While glaring at Angele, Unos shook his head.

Angele turned to the side and smiled after noticing Unos' line of sight focus on him

"Start the ambush once the gate opens. Watch out for my hand gesture." Unos pursed his lips.

"Understood," his subordinates immediately replied.

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Lance had arrived with the Elemental Hand's members at the mountain's peak. Nevertheless, he complied with Angele's order to return to his own family right away.

The words Angele had said flipped the entire situation. The three families would no longer be in a conflict with Elemental Hand.

"And I agree with the point you have raised. We should start the negotiation only after the gate opens." His lips curled into a smile. "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Angele."

Once the elder of the Spender Family, Gill, heard him introducing himself, he quickly stepped up to exchange introductions as a courtesy.

"I am one of the elders of the Spender Family, my name is Gill. You are certainly correct, master Angele. We should wait together for the gate to open. Since it is an ancient ruin, there might be guardians. We must combine our strengths to prepare for any possible encounter," Gill spoke loudly. Meanwhile, the one who brought Angele to this place, Lance, was standing behind Gill.

Christopher, the head of the Morgan Family, forced a smile on his face. "As long as you are not here to deprive everything from us, I shall be on your side."

The female head of the Philips' slightly nodded her head. Clearly, she agreed with Angele's point as well. Just like the rest of her family, she was not that talkative.

The mountains they were in were within the territory of Elemental Hand. Even high-ranked wizards must answer the call to the organization's guard posts. According to the intelligence report sent by the headquarters, the ranks of all the wizards in front of the secret garden's gate were below rank 3.

The family elders, Liv, Hakeem, Lyn, and Unos—all of them were rank 2 wizards.

The only problem was, wizards who trained in the Molten Core River could be easily recognized. Everyone knew of the fact that only the Watchers had the access to this advanced meditation technique. Vivian had defeated the lords and the storm giant right in front of Thousand Waterfall City alongside her Watchers. People would think twice before trying to mess with such a powerful force.

Members of the Watchers were trained to kill. Majority of them had served in multiple wars. Average wizards stood no chance in the face of their great strength.