Chapter 221: An Opportunity for Redemption

Sophia was right; the Night Blades had indeed been plotting against Irving.

After Elders Howard and Kent returned to the Night Blades' headquarters, they had gained new insights into Irving's strength.

To ensure the success of their operation, the Night Blades had spent a considerable amount of time observing Irving before formulating their scheme.

After Irving and his group returned to the real world, the Night Blades continuously dispatched hidden spies to monitor their movements from the shadows.

The Night Blades had already learned that Irving intended to relocate his shelter.

They also knew that Irving planned to collaborate with James, Benjamin, and others.

The only piece of information that remained uncertain for the Night Blades was the exact location to which Irving intended to move his shelter.

Until they confirmed the site of Irving's new shelter, the Night Blades would not recklessly take any action.

In an inconspicuous building on the outskirts of Starling City, several members of the Night Blades were exchanging the intelligence they had gathered.

"Irving and Sophia have been gone for a while now. They must be discussing the specifics of their action plan. After all, the last thing they said at the dock was to talk about the detailed plan," one member stated seriously.

The other two Night Blades members took note of what he had just said.

"Besides this information, did you discover anything else?" a pale-faced member asked the one who provided the intel.

The latter shook his head.

"Although I've been observing Irving and Sophia's every move from the shadows, they are quite a distance away, so I couldn't hear their conversation clearly."

This answer left the other Night Blades members feeling quite disappointed.

However, they didn't place too much blame on him.

"The information you provided is extremely important! Other members of the Night Blades in Starling City will soon reward you for what you've uncovered.

We must relay this information to Elder Howard as quickly as possible. He has been closely monitoring Irving's every move."

After saying this, the two members of the Night Blades quickly left the room.

They utilized a special dark magic unique to the Night Blades to swiftly teleport to an unknown realm.

This unknown realm was neither the real world nor the world of the shelter game. It was a misty domain, and it was also Elder Howard's personal realm.

Elder Howard wielded dark power to shape the mist into a world situated between the real world and the shelter game world. This misty realm was essentially a gap between the two distinct worlds.

Through this misty world, Howard could swiftly transition into either the real world or the shelter game world.

Under normal circumstances, Howard was reluctant to allow other Night Blades members to enter his misty domain.

However, after the failure at Shadow City, Howard had come to view Irving as a target that must be eliminated by any means necessary.

At that moment, Howard was hiding deep within the misty world, contemplating how to enhance his control over the mist.

Only by improving his mastery of the mist could Howard improve his performance in battle.

He sensed the arrival of his subordinates and quickly used the mist to teleport in front of them.

"The information you've brought this time must be highly significant, right? What are Irving's specific plans? When does he intend to start relocating his shelter?"

Faced with Howard's inquiries, the two Night Blades members felt a twinge of fear.

As Howard's subordinates, they were well aware of his temperament.

They knew the information they brought would likely not satisfy him, so they braced themselves for his impending ire.

"We didn't obtain very useful information this time. We only know that Irving plans to relocate his shelter in seven days.

However, we still don't know the specifics of his plan or the new address of his shelter. We hope you can give us more time. We will do our utmost to collect more information for you."

Upon hearing this, Howard's expression shifted slightly to one of disappointment.

However, he didn't explode in anger, knowing that his subordinates had done their best.

"I understand. Continue to gather more information for me!" Howard waved his hand, dismissing his two subordinates to leave quickly.

Naturally, Howard's subordinates were very pleased.

They solemnly promised Howard that they would soon gather useful information before swiftly exiting the misty world.

Even Howard's subordinates didn't wish to remain in the misty realm for long.

They felt that the longer they stayed in the misty world, the more likely it was that their powers would be absorbed by the mist.

Their assessment was, in fact, entirely accurate. The misty world continuously absorbed the power of others, and all the strength absorbed by the mist would ultimately converge into Elder Howard's body.

After his subordinates left, Howard opened a portal.

Stepping through the portal, Howard found himself in front of a magnificent building.

This grand structure was the headquarters of the Night Blades.

Waiting for Howard's arrival at the entrance of the headquarters was another individual—Elder Kent.

Both elders had experienced failure in the Desolate Canyon and were required to face inquiries from other high-ranking members of the Night Blades.

"Are you ready?" Howard asked Kent in a calm tone.

Kent nodded but did not respond verbally.

"Others will surely take the opportunity to attack us while we're down. Our relationships with them aren't exactly strong. If they expel us from the council of elders, they will gain more power for themselves."

Howard continued, not particularly concerned whether Kent would reply to his words. He merely wanted to share his assessment with him.

At that moment, Kent, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up. "I don't think the others will take this opportunity to undermine us. They don't have the confidence to defeat Irving either.

If they were to attack us while we're down, the task of defeating Irving would fall to them. So they will want to keep us around to handle Irving. They likely won't expel us from the council until Irving is dealt with."

Kent's words served as a reminder to Howard.

"However, the higher-ups will certainly hold us accountable, right? Our operation not only ultimately failed but also led to the destruction of Shadow City. Shadow City is extremely important to us, the Night Blades.

Without Shadow City, our control over the Desolate Canyon will not be as solid as it once was. We'll have to continuously send out more Night Blades members to maintain our grip on the Desolate Canyon and the Abyss of Death."

Howard still harbored some concerns.

Kent had no intention of elaborating further, feeling that Howard's thought process was not keeping pace with his own.

After exchanging a few more words, the main door of the Night Blades headquarters slowly opened.

The two men stepped into the darkness behind the door, one after the other.

"Ah, the two of you finally decided to come to headquarters to face our inquiries. I thought you would hide away forever," a familiar voice spoke in a provocative tone as Howard and Kent entered the headquarters.

"You two elders have indeed achieved some shocking results. Shadow City, which took the Night Blades a long time to build, was so easily destroyed by you.

I suspect you aren't elders of the Night Blades at all; you must be allies of Irving, right? You must have collaborated with Irving to inflict such significant damage on us," another elder taunted, his tone dripping with mockery.

Facing the derision from others, Howard and Kent remained silent.

They knew their previous actions had resulted in complete failure. Since they had failed, they had to accept the scorn of others.

After a while, the leader of the Night Blades council finally appeared before everyone. As usual, he was cloaked in a dark robe.

"I am already well aware of what transpired previously. So I hope you will refrain from wasting time with useless banter," the leader interrupted the other elders' mocking of Howard and Kent. S~eaʀᴄh the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

He then turned his gaze toward Howard and Kent.

"You two must be under significant psychological pressure right now. You should know that your failure has caused considerable losses for the Night Blades. You must be hoping for a chance to redeem yourselves, right?"

In response to the leader's inquiry, both Howard and Kent nodded eagerly.

"You are correct; we do wish for an opportunity to make amends. If you give us just one more chance, we can prove our capabilities," Kent said, though he wasn't usually one to speak much—he was more adept at handling pressure than Howard at critical moments.

The leader nodded.

"Very well, I will grant you a chance for redemption. For now, do not concern yourselves with other matters; focus solely on dealing with Irving.

We cannot allow Irving's plan to relocate his shelter to proceed smoothly. You must stop his actions. However, I do not require you to succeed; I only ask that you slow him down."

The leader's statements left everyone puzzled.

Though Howard and Kent were also unsure why the leader did not demand their success, they did not question it.

After all, receiving a chance for redemption was already a rare opportunity.