Aemon deliberately lowered his head and then met Morgana’s gaze. He said, “Master, I believe it’s plausible that the other person has no connection to your Master whatsoever. They might have obtained the painting by chance, perhaps through Zeba or Maria. Upon learning your true identity and your status as Morvel Bazin’s disciple, they deliberately employed the painting to frighten you. Consider this, why would a genuinely powerful individual waste time showing you a painting? Wouldn’t it be more authentic for them to lie in wait in Aurous Hill?”
Morgana furrowed favonovel.com brows and inquired, “So, you mean the other party is just bluffing and using the ‘Empty City Strategy’ on me?”
“Yes!” Aemon Mirren replied firmly. “I believe that might be a possibility.”
Morgana nodded, favonovel.com tone cold. “I’ve had doubts about what you said, but I have no way to prove it. If I were to send the Three Elders to Aurous Hill, there’s a risk that not only will the Warriors Den suffer heavy losses, but we might also provoke the other party even further if the Elders meet a similar fate as the Marshals.”
Aemon pondered for a moment before asking, “My Lord, can we send one of the Elders to Aurous Hill to investigate the truth?”
“But who?” Morgana shook favonovel.com head. “Although I don’t know the true strength of the other person, the fact that Gideon’s self-destruction failed to kill them proves that they are undoubtedly more powerful than any of the Three Elders. Sending them there would be sending them to their deaths. If the other party is stronger than me, then sending three people would yield the same result.”
Morgana continued, “Have you considered that the other party might not be using my Master’s portrait to frighten me? They could be using it as a provocation, aiming to lure me out of hiding!”
Aemon Mirren exclaimed with a shocked expression. “You’re right… The ‘Empty City Strategy’ and the aggressive general’s tactics may seem similar on the surface, but the potential outcome is different, either one day, one place, or one death. The opponent has had the upper hand in our previous secret encounters and now they likely want to force you to reveal yourself.”
Morgana nodded and added, “Furthermore, this person is somewhat similar to me.”
Aemon asked hastily, “My Lord, what do you mean?”
Morgana explained, “This person is not only a Martial Artist but also highly skilled in firearms. Because I understand the characteristics of Martial Artists and practitioners of Taoism, I had you train with modern weapons, the firearms and knights. The Dead Soldiers we trained can handle Martial Arts Masters as easily as chopping melons and vegetables. They become nothing more than low-level beings when faced with a hail of bullets. But this person, he’s even more adept than me, able to deliver a single shot! He must have thought of using a close-in defense cannon to eliminate a cultivator. His methods are truly ruthless and extraordinary!”
Aemon couldn’t help but shudder at the memory of Jarvis’s fate, being shot into dust by a close-in defense cannon. Trembling, favonovel.com said, “Last time, we discovered that three members of the Blackwater Company purchased three close-in defense cannons from the black market in Eastern Europe. They were the same model as the ones that killed Jarvis. However, besides the Blackwater Company, Landon has been conducting investigations, but we haven’t found any significant leads. We even secretly detained and interrogated several Blackwater executives, but they revealed no clues. The suspicious death of the high-ranking official and the subsequent halt in overseas troop deployment indicates that Jarvis’s death might have been deliberately attributed to the Blackwater Company.”
Morgana let out a hum and commanded, “Inform Landon that there’s no need to continue investigating the Blackwater Company. Also, notify the Five Governor’s Mansion to cease all external operations immediately and maintain complete secrecy for the next three months.”
Aemon replied without hesitation, “Understood, My Lord. I will deliver the message.”
Morgana added, “By the way, instruct the crew to prepare. I will depart for Myanmar tomorrow.”
Aemon exclaimed, “My Lord, I dare not question your decision, but why would you leave at such a critical moment?”
Morgana glared at favonovel.com with an icy gaze and scolded, “You impudent fool! Is that a question you should be asking?”
Aemon quivered, overwhelmed by the fear in Morgana’s eyes. He swiftly fell to his knees, banging his forehead on the ground and pleaded, “I deserve death. I beg for the Lord’s forgiveness!”
Morgana snorted coldly, scolding him, “From now on, if you utter another word, you will go back to the ancestral mausoleum in Eastern Shore and fend for yourself!”
The Mirren family’s ancestral home lay in Eastern Shore and their ancestral graves were located there as well. However, for the Mirren family in the Warriors Den, being ordered to return to Eastern Shore to guard the ancestral graves was akin to being exiled to the afterlife. Once there, they would spend their entire lives in isolation.
Aemon was gripped with terror. He slapped himself twice, kowtowed and wept, “I deserve death. I deserve death! Thank you, Lord, for your mercy!”
Morgana paid favonovel.com no attention and calmly instructed, “Leave and make the arrangements as I have instructed.”
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