Chapter 166 Buffer Zone

With the contract signed, Cabrera handed over the recipe.

Nathan took charge, his voice having lost its edge.

"When will the buffer zone be announced?"

"Immediately"

Bolton continued…

"As stated, henceforth, the recipe's creator is Sir Oleg" he said, pointing to the old man.

"The certificate?" asked Cabrera, with a palm on his forehead.

Messing with his mind had left him with a massive headache.

"Here" a scroll appears in Balton's hands, which he gave to Cabrera.

Folded, it looked like any other piece of brown paper.

Touching it though, Cabrera realizes the difference.

The texture was smooth and, unfolding it, he found the other side white in color, and the ink permeated a unique aroma.

'They really put money into this'

One thing was for sure, this was no normal scroll.

Then again, something given to other royals wasn't supposed to be normal.

Bolton stated a few rules.

​ "You are unallowed to use that for anyone other than yourself"

Meaning that he couldn't buy land for others.

A few seconds passed.

Cabrera asked.

"Can we tell others about it?"

Bolton giggled.

"If you wish to die early, go ahead"

'Ah'

High ranking guilds wouldn't stand a G-rank guild having something unallowed to them.

Word of it getting out would mean the swift destruction of his guild.

Cabrera gulped. The certificate was as much a blessing as it was a curse.

Bolton's voice pulled him out of his reverie.

"Well, it seems we're done. I'll have you return to your humble abode"

"To purchase land, go to the Sentinel with the certificate. Now, get out" he added.

Snapping his finger thrice, the guards entered.

To one, he says…

"Escort these two out"

To the second, he said while pointing to the girl…

"Have her returned to her cell"

A parchment appeared in his palm, which he scribbled with fast hands.

A minute later, he handed it to the third guard.

"I'll have you discharge these orders"

With that, Nathan and Cabrera were escorted to their abode.

All building's affected by their fight were being repaired.

Gold Moles, Raven Skull, and Fire Scar buildings were being renovated.

It was Ezra's last day in the royal vault, and unlike expected, he left the book's section entirely, instead focusing on taking as much platinum as possible before the day's end.

He decided he had copied more than enough books, and besides, he could always come back for Combat Manuals.

"This is to be delivered to the Sentinel" the third guard said.

He was currently in the Missionary, and in front of him was Amy, Kogar's secretary.

She was the only one aware of the Sentinel's abrupt departure, and now had to stand in place to prevent others from knowing.

"Then, I'll make sure he gets it, but he is busy at the moment"

The guard nodded, handing her the parchment.

"Orders from the Royal Advisor"

She nodded, collecting the parchment as the guard left soon after.

The moment he left, she read the orders and her eyes shook.

"Buffer zone..?" she muttered.

It was unused for so long she had forgotten about it.

Reading further, she quivered once more.

'Black Jaws?!'

'…!'

Wasn't this the guild of the man visiting the Sentinel to collect money every now and then?

'What could have made the Royal Advisor offer them a buffer zone? One lasting ten years too?!'

Things were becoming complicated, and Amy felt a headache coming.

Reading even further, she didn't shake, but froze.

'Land Proprietorship Certificate?! To a G-rank guild?!'

The heck was going on?!

At this point, her brain was approaching a total meltdown trying to understand the situation.

Soon, she threw it to the back of her mind.

'I need to sleep a bit'

It was too early for her to die over such matters.

But then, she abruptly raised her head.

'Right! I have to send word'

Giving a guild buffer zone meant they were untouchable.

Literally.

To avoid confusion, a message was sent to all guilds.

And to make things easy,  a mechanism was prepared for such situations.

The Sentinel left her in charge, so he gave her the pass to his workspace, where the item was.

Walking in, she turned to face the door, or rather, the small button within a golden circle cover placed above it.

She imbued it with manacode translating as 'Buffer Zone for Black Jaws guild' and pressed.

*Ting!*

The sound revealed lines, too thin to be noticed normally, attached to the device as the mana particles flowed within them.

Each line led to other devices, causing the rooms to light up in a colorful symphony of ocean blue.

Amy gasped at the sight, for it was awe inspiring.

Like that, the message was delivered to all guilds simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Bolton made use of his extensive connections and began plans to take the mithril.

Soon, the afternoon sun arrived.

With it, a team of five entered Kingsmere on horses.

Each one had quality armor discernable at a glance, but contrasting rugged appearances.

The leader, with short disheveled hair and a burn on his forehead, stopped a passerby with his longsword.

"Where is the Black Jaws guild?"

"O-over there" the man hastily pointed.

"Thank you" he said, sheathing his blade.

"Let go" he commanded the others and urged his horse into a sprint.

They arrive at the designated location within minutes.

"Is this the Black Jaws guild?"

"Who are you?"

The man swiftly unsheathed his blade and decapitated the man.

"I'll be asking the questions"

Such action had the surroundings descending into chaos as everyone scattered.

A group came running.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"I said-"

He twirls his sword.

"-is this the Black Jaws guild?"

They gave each other looks.

"Yes, it is. State your business"

The man grinned.

"I'm Barthel, and this is my crew"

"We've been hired to kill you for a very handsome price. So please, don't struggle too much"

Among them, one spoke.

"We haven't gotten a job this easy in years. I'm definitely going to enjoy this!"

"Aye" Barthel concurs.

"Let's get to work, and of course, have fun while doing it"

The crew members smiled.

"Aye boss"

"Definitely"

"This is going to be soooo good!"

With that, they charge at the group of boys.

The boys responded by turning tail. These weren't people they could contend with.

"Not so fast" one lunged from his horse with a dagger in hand.

"Hehehe" he chuckled, nearing his target in an instant.

As he plunged his dagger to pierce the boy's head…

*BAM!*

Something slammed him into a building at the side.

The crew paused, their momentum grinding to a halt.

A figure appeared in front of them.

The boys had their eyes shining.

"Boss!"

"It's Boss"

It was Cabrera.

*Clank*

From within the wrecked building, the one he slammed away got to his feet.

"That hurt" he said, snapping his neck in place.

"Stop" said Barthel.

Barthel connected the dots.

"So…you're the Black Jaws guild master, huh?"

Best

Cabrera said nothing.

Barthel looked at his crew as they burst into hysterical laughter.

"This is too easy! Now we won't need to go looking for you"

Cabrera was staring intermittently at his arm and the body of the person he punched.

'I was going for the kill'

Yet, his attacks gave little more than scratches.

Barthel's voice rang out.

"You must have run out luck-"

He said, pointing his sword at Cabrera.

"-to have met us like this"

He dismounted.

"Let's make this quick"

Then, Cabrera bursts into laughter of his own.

Barthel raised a brow.

"What's so funny?"

"Haa…if you met me just yesterday, then I would've truly ran out of luck, but now…you guys have some seriously bad timing"

"What does that-"

Barthel didn't get to finish.

"Ahhh!"

A scream resounded from behind.

He turned his head to see the one Cabrera punched with a spear piercing his chest.

"Like I said, very bad timing"