Chapter 264 Helpless
Chapter 264 Helpless
Shang furrowed his brows.
By now, he was certain that the Cleaner had been sent by the Wilbury couple. They were the only ones with a motive, and they had the funds to send one.
The timeline also fit very well.
"Can you tell me more about the Wilburys?" Shang asked.
"Baroness Wilbury is one of the five teachers in the outpost of the Mage Academy," Soran explained. "The outpost is specifically for students with a Poison Affinity, and it's inside the Empress Cobra Zone, inside Swamp Lake City."
"Major Wilbury is assistant to the commander of the guards of Swamp Lake City. Individually, there are two people in Swamp Lake City more powerful than them, namely the commander and the head teacher, but combined, those two hold a lot of sway over Swamp Lake City."
"You can view Swamp Lake City as a smaller and weaker version of Warrior's Paradise. Swamp Lake City, just like Warrior's Paradise, is responsible for killing beasts and selling their corpses. It is the southernmost outpost of humanity in the Empress Cobra Zone, and it takes the brunt of attacks during the Day of Chaos."
"It's only outclassed by Warrior's Paradise, which is the most powerful and biggest city in Duke Whirlwind's territory, and Ice Heaven, which is the place where most nobles live in Duke Whirlwind's territory."
"In short, those two are very powerful," Soran said.
Shang looked at Soran. "What will happen from now on?"
Soran could only sigh. "Even though we can be certain of their guilt, we can't judge or report them without evidence."
"And we have zero evidence."
Shang furrowed his brows. "So, there's nothing I can do?"
"You can't do anything against them as you are now, Shang," Soran said. "Even though you have a connection with Duke Whirlwind, he can't just start an investigation without any proof."
"Many nobles do shady things, and the Duke knows this. If the Duke suddenly starts investigating people, a great number of nobles will leave for Duke Mithril's territory."
"Green Wind County would lose a huge chunk of its force, and Duke Whirlwind can't risk that," Soran explained.
"So, I'm just supposed to not do anything?" Shang asked.
Soran sighed again. "It's not that you shouldn't do anything. It's that you can't do anything."
Shang raised an eyebrow.
"Theoretically, you could do the same thing they did. You could hire a Cleaner. You could even do it yourself as long as you stay hidden."
"I'm not telling you to stay put like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. It's normal to retaliate if someone attacks you, and nobody will fault you for that."
"However, you neither have the money nor the power to do anything."
"So, while you definitely should do something, you simply can't."
"You're just too weak."
Shang gritted his teeth in frustration.
Soran had basically told Shang that Soran wouldn't mind if Shang killed the couple. Even the Dean would have no problems. Duke Whirlwind wouldn't say it, but he would probably also not mind, as long as Shang wasn't found out.
Everyone essentially gave Shang the go-ahead to take his revenge.
But Shang simply didn't have the means!
Could Shang ask for help?
Sure, but what was the point?
Right now, Shang's life wasn't in danger as long as he didn't leave Warrior's Paradise. On top of that, nobody above the General Stage had technically attacked him.
It wasn't like Shang was only waiting for his death right now.
While he couldn't go against these two, for the time being, he could protect himself by not going to isolated places.
And he was supposed to call for help in such a situation?
First of all, Shang disliked asking for help, but more importantly, what if something similar, or even worse, happened in the future?
If Shang couldn't even get through such a minor crisis, how could he expect to reach the top?
What about when Shang became the most powerful warrior?
At that time, his enemies would all be Mages.
If Shang needed help then, would he even get any help?
Shang knew that he couldn't rely on someone else during every single crisis.
'I hate this!' Shang thought.
'Someone tried to kill me, but I don't even nearly have the power to fight back!'
This was the first moment Shang truly got confirmation of his initial beliefs regarding this world.
From the very beginning, Shang had been under the impression that this was a world where nothing but power mattered.
However, over the next years, Shang went through many experiences that contradicted that belief. There were plenty of people that didn't let power define their actions.
But now, Shang saw what he had feared ever since he had arrived in this world.
Someone more powerful than him had gone against him, and there was absolutely nothing Shang could do.
Shang got reminded of the trial.
Back then, Shang had felt the hopeless powerlessness that came right before someone stronger than him decided to kill him.
This feeling was identical but weaker in intensity.
Nothing Shang did could stop this from happening as long as he gave them a chance.
Soran watched Shang silently with a complex expression.
Soran was someone that valued cooperation a lot, but he had also gone through a lot of pain, terror, and helplessness.
He knew exactly how Shang felt.
After all, he had gone through very similar situations in the past.
While Soran valued cooperation and empathy, he wasn't some naïve and innocent kid.
If he needed to kill, he wouldn't hesitate to do so.
It was just that he preferred finding another way.
Several seconds of silence passed.
"So, there's nothing I can do except protect my own life?" Shang asked.
"Theoretically, you could ask someone for help," Soran said. "However, I would advise you against that. If you want to become more powerful in the future, you should learn how to deal with these situations on your own."
Shang nodded. "I had the same thought."
Some more seconds of silence passed.
"This means I can't leave Warrior's Paradise anymore," Shang commented.
"There's a high likelihood that the Wilbury couple will send a Peak Adept Cleaner next," Soran said. "If you go out hunting or to visit any other place, chances are high that you won't return."
"Even more, the Cleaning Service should now know about your new appearance now. As long as you don't change your height, build, and weapon again, you won't be able to fool the Cleaner. They are very good at doing their job."
"I know," Shang said.
After that, Shang stood up.
"I need to think. Thanks for your help," he said as he turned to leave the office.
"If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me," Soran said as Shang left his office.
After Shang left, Soran looked at the closed door of his office.
"His first instance of having someone more powerful than him target him," Soran said to himself with nostalgia.
"Been a while since that happened to me."
While Soran thought back to his younger days, Shang entered his old room on the first floor of the main building.
Shang didn't even look at the room he hadn't been in during the last year and directly sat down.
And for a long time, Shang didn't move.
'I hate this!' he thought again as he shot up from his bed.
'But there's not much I can do for now,' he thought as he looked at the center of his room.
'Except for increasing my power.'
And not even two minutes later, Shang had already returned to training.
The sooner he became powerful enough to kill a Peak Adept, the sooner he could leave Warrior's Paradise…
And the sooner he could make the Wilbury couple waste another fortune by killing another Cleaner!