Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 113: It’s been weeks

"It’s been three weeks. What do you mean there’s been no sign of them?" Fell scowled. He was pacing up and down in his room, his mood sour, making the shadows in the room jump and twist unnaturally.

Stowig paused at the entrance to the door, wincing. "All the informants sent into the Veilwood have mysteriously vanished. No one can tell the situation inside."

"And the assassins haven’t reported back?" Fell twitched.

"No, my lord."

Fell stopped walking. "But what could have happened? The assassins are not weaker than me. In fact, we might be considered of equal strength since we’re all A-ranked."

Stowig hesitantly took a step forward. "May... maybe this Vale..."

"Impossible!" Fell yelled at once. Then he calmed himself, his narrow face sullen. "I agree that he’s strong, but nowhere near the rank of Team Ten."

Stowig’s eyes flickered. "But we can’t rule it out. The assassins were sent to the Veilwood to hunt down Vale while he was hunting the outlaws.

"And only two things could have happened. Either the assassins have succeeded and returned to report, or... something happened that made it impossible for them to return in a timely manner." He spoke quickly before Fell flared up again.

Fell took a deep breath, different emotions playing on his face before he settled on mild annoyance. As much as he hated it, he couldn’t argue against the logic.

He said flatly, "Either they’re dead, or they would have returned. Of course, they might be kept somewhere to be tortured, but I doubt that. Vale is more troublesome than I thought."

The real reason Fell was so angry was because up to a month of business, making gold, had already been delayed, and the people he was working for wouldn’t listen to any excuses.

Initially, he thought everything would blow over in about a week, and he could then have total control over Veilwood by using Vale. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

He paused. ’Alyndra... is she working with him?’ She was the one who gave him that mission, after all. But then she also easily approved the use of the assassins... ’Is there more hidden in this? It’s as if I suddenly lost the upper hand in a game I created’

’And the people behind me don’t like this kind of...’ He shuddered. He didn’t want to know what his punishment would be, not to mention what the Flagbearer would do to him. ’I must do something about this before it gets even worse!’

He turned to Stowig and said coldly, "You will go to the Veilwood yourself and report what is happening to me."

Stowig flinched as if he’d been stung. Such work was below him, but he knew voicing any objection was wishing for death. The Scuffed Bones followed a very strict hierarchy, solely based on strength, so anyone who could order you around was stronger than you.

But he still felt bitter and angry about being given this kind of job. ’It was all because of that Vale!’

He bowed. "I will immediately head to the Veilwood."

Suddenly, the sound of feet running up the stairs filled their ears. Someone burst through the door, bowed hard and fast, opened their mouth to speak, only to get everything tangled.

Fell raised his brows, scowling slightly. "What is it?"

The man slowed down, took a deep breath, and spoke more clearly. "I just received news. The outlaws from the Veilwood have just come out! They’ve launched an attack on all the team bases at the edge!

"They’re attacking all the Scuffed Bones teams!"

Fell gritted his teeth and shouted, "Vale!"

"What are we going to do, my lord?" Stowig asked.

"We’ll destroy his plan, of course!" Fell straightened. "I don’t know how he convinced them, but he’s probably among the outlaws trying to fight us. How foolish."

Stowig hesitated. "Why don’t you let me take care of this? I mean, you don’t have to involve yourself unnecessarily, right? After all, they’re outlaws. They can be easily stopped.

"But Vale and his team must be planning something."

Fell paused to think about it. "Right. You’re a Rank 9 leader; you should be able to deal with it. I’ll leave the rest to you, then. Take some of my team members with you.

"Don’t make a mess."

☆☆☆☆

"The outlaws actually attacked. I didn’t believe it. They truly must not value their lives," Dlodus said. He was sipping tea provided by his vice, but he wasn’t feeling the taste.

"I didn’t believe him when he said so, though."

Suddenly, he put his cup on the table and sighed. He looked up at Liam. "Do you think I did the right thing?"

His second-in-command nodded. "If there’s one thing I can describe Vale as, it’s dangerous. And this time... he’s like wildfire. And since what you did doesn’t break any rules, then there’s no problem."

Two weeks ago, Vale had come to Team 2’s base under a guise. He came to the core with his team... almost all his team. Of course, Dlodus had been curious and went to see him. They talked, and Vale told him bluntly that he was going to wipe out the Scuffed Bones.

Of course, Dlodus didn’t believe him. He didn’t think Vale had the strength, but he did know he could cause some damage which was always welcome. The Flags were not friends, after all.

There was only one thing Vale asked for in return a place to stay for one week so they could quickly target Fell.

Dlodus accepted. He didn’t know what went down in the Veilwood, but he knew it must have been something ugly. And besides, he thought of Vale as a wildfire that could be sent at the enemy.

"Why did he come to me, though?" Dlodus said. He still remembered Vale’s face, and it wasn’t the face of someone who needed help.

Liam paused. "I believe he’s testing you, to know if he’ll include you in his plans or not."

Dlodus raised his brows. ’In short, to know if I’m his serious enemy or not’

He smiled. "He’s already taken Rank 1 as his enemy. No matter how you look at it... we’ve got interesting days ahead."