In a simple yet still luxurious study, a green letter was reduced to ashes between a set of long slim fingers. Josh sat on a redwood chair, and swirled the amber wine in the crystal goblet in his hand. His handsome face normally wore a benevolent and refined expression, but it was currently as cold as ice. "So you really survived, Alex. But where could you be hiding now? The dragon island? No, those idiots all want to kill you. Twilight Forest? No, countless orcs died by your hands in the battle on the border. There"s no way you"d be at the Wind Forest, either. You have enough confidence and insanity, but appearing in the Wind Forest with that half-elf daughter of yours is pretty much asking for death…" His low voice sounded in the room as he fiddled absentmindedly with the papers on his desk.
"If you"re not in the Roth Empire, then you"re most likely in Chaos City. All races and species live there, so no matter what kind of person appears there, they won"t attract too much attention. Alex isn"t very bright, but he"s very alert. He knows which places are dangerous and which places are safe. However, trying to find someone in Chaos City isn"t going to be easy." Josh slowly raised his goblet to his lips, but he suddenly stopped before taking a sip, and smashed the goblet violently into the ground.
Amber wine and glittering crystal shards flew in all directions. Josh"s face was twisted with a sinister expression as he clenched his fists, and snarled, "Alex, you"d better not let me find you. Even after so any years, Irina still hasn"t forgotten about you. I have to kill you, and that little half-breed too. I was still too naive back then."
"Are you alright, Your Highness?" The butler"s anxious voice sounded from outside the door.
Josh"s expression immediately smoothed out as he replied, "I"m fine. Tell Seuss to come and see me."
"Yes," the butler replied. The sound of footsteps hurrying away immediately followed.
Josh pulled out a map from the top shelf of his bookshelf, and spread it open on his table. His brown eyes slowly scanned across the map, and his brows furrowed as if he were thinking about something.
"Your Highness, Seuss is here." After a short while, the butler"s voice sounded again.
"Tell him to come in," Josh instructed without even raising his head.
The heavy wooden door opened, and a thin and tall young man with cropped golden hair and wearing a set of black magician robes walked in. There was a red reaper scythe emblazoned on the chest of his robes.
The magic caster appeared to be about 30 years of age, and his face carried a sickly pallor. There was a scar extending from his left eye to his glabella, while his pupils were a rare gray color, making them appear a little like dead fish eyes. His entire body was enveloped in those black magician robes, giving him a cold and sinister aura.
He stepped onto the crystal shards on the ground with his black leather boots, creating a crackling sound, but his expression didn"t chance in the slightest. His fervent gaze was fixed on Josh, and he said respectfully, "Seuss pays his respects, Your Highness."
"I want you Asuras to find someone, then kill him." Josh s.h.i.+fted his gaze away from the map on the table.
"Please specify our target, Your Highness." Seuss bowed his head in a respectful manner.
"Mag Alex," Josh replied in a calm voice.
"Alex!" Seuss immediately raised his head, and stared at Josh with shock and incredulity etched on his face. He hesitated momentarily before asking, "Your Highness, isn"t Alex already dead? We"ve been searching for evidence to confirm his death during these past few years, and nothing indicates that he"s still alive."
Josh shook his head, and looked at Seuss with a serious expression as he said, "No, he"s still alive; someone has already proven that to me. So, you must find him before anyone else does, and kill him. Return to me with his head."
"If Alex is still alive, then I"ll be sure to kill him in revenge for what happened last time!" Josh"s expression suddenly turned sinister again; the scar on his glabella was like a hideous centipede now.
"Remember, I don"t care what happened between the two of you in the past, just find him and kill him. If you fail, then you can put an end to your own life," Josh said in a cold voice.
"Yes!" Seuss hurriedly bowed his head respectfully. Even though he was the youngest 9th-tier magic caster in the kingdom and the leader of the Asuras, he was still struck by a sense of fear and awe when interacting with Josh.
That was not just because he was one of the people in line to the throne. He was more frightened by the fact that Josh was able to bring down Alex when he was at the height of his powers. That man was an extraordinary talent who had once stomped him into the ground.
Back then, they had both advanced to the 9th-tier at the same time, and theirs should"ve been an evenly matched battle, but it became the biggest disgrace of his life.
One strike—Alex only used one sword strike to defeat him.
If it weren"t for the unavoidable sense of impending doom that he was struck by when the sword pierced his glabella, he would have never believed that he couldn"t even take a single sword strike from Alex.
From that day, he fell from grace, and became a laughingstock.
After that, Alex continued to rise higher and higher, defeating 10th-tier powerhouses and slaying giant dragons. His rate of progression and overwhelming power placed him well and truly at the pinnacle of the younger generation. Even a supreme prodigy like him could only look on in despair.
Thus, a magic caster that had never skipped lessons went missing at the Magus Tower. At the same time, a new leader was instated among the Asuras, and his reaper scythe harvested one life after another.
"Even though I know he"s not dead, I still can"t ascertain his location. The likeliest place is Chaos City." Josh pointed at a certain spot on the map on his desk, and said in a dark voice, "Remember, this must remain strictly confidential. No one aside from the Asuras is to hear about this."
Seuss packed up the map on the table, and said respectfully, "Yes, I"ll send scouts to Chaos City right away."
Josh was momentarily silent before continuing, "Also, kill all of his friends and family as well, no matter who they are."
"Yes." A hint of surprise flashed through Seuss" eyes, but he didn"t say anything.
"You can go now." Josh sat back down in his chair and closed his eyes.
Seuss lowered his head, and took a couple of steps backward before turning to leave, closing the door to the study behind him.
"Mag Alex, many people will be unable to sleep at night if you"re still alive, so you should go and die…" Josh"s voice reverberated within the study.
…
On the outskirts of Rodu, there was a black horse-drawn carriage situated outside a large estate.
"Your Highness, this is Simon"s estate," Quine said in a low voice.