Chapter 89 Collapse
After making sure that he could create an alibi, Alex took out one of his Joker cards and engraved a message inside it. A simple message to inform Kalina that he was not her enemy. He decided to make it short and simple to decrease his contact with Kalina.
Now, Alex has to find a way to deliver it to her. Even he, as fearless as he was, didn't want to mess with the mad bull of the ice phoenix tribe. So, he decided to take a discrete approach.
Hiding his presence, Alex went around the place where Kalina was staying. When she appeared in his line of sight, he threw the card at her lightning-fast. The metallic lustre of the card flashed when it left his hand. No one noticed the card that was blitzing through the air towards Kalina.
Kalina, who sensed the projectile approaching, flicked her hand and grabbed the card effortlessly between her fingers. Although the card came directly towards her, she didn't sense any danger from it. It prompted her to snatch it gracefully from the air.
With the Joker card firmly grasped in her hand, Kalina attentively examined its intricate details. Although she had never encountered Alex's joker card before, she swiftly discerned its origin.
"It's the white-robed man," she mused, recognising the depiction on the card. The image showcased a white-robed figure forcefully stomping upon a black-robed adversary, aligning perfectly with the descriptions provided by witnesses.
As her curiosity deepened, Kalina's gaze shifted to the engraving at the bottom of the card. To her surprise, she discovered a simple sentence etched into the surface: "Just a man stomping on evil." It was a phrase that, ironically, would later make even Alex cringe upon hearing it. But Kalina was happy to see it.
The realisation that the white-robed man could potentially be an ally filled Kalina with a tinge of disappointment. Reflecting on her previous actions and interference with his plan, she couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. If only she had been aware of the sinister connection between the Noble Trader Association and the evil organization, she would have taken decisive action to bury them herself.
Like that, their fate intertwined once again.
—
The problem known as Kalina was finally resolved. Alex could now prepare for launching another assault. But his attention was suddenly diverted by a procession of carriages heading towards the headquarters of the Noble Trader Association.
Finally, the important people of the association began to arrive at the premise. Their carriage was adorned with elaborate designs, escorted by guards from all sides. This showed their influence and power inside the city.
Penthe was among the people that arrived at the headquarters.
Alex was not surprised by their visit. After all, the things he did to their headquarters were borderline unbearable. The only question that remained in his mind was why it took them that long to arrive at the scene.
He began his attack at midnight, later he returned to attack at three in the morning. If they were not stupid, they could have arrived much earlier.
'They were delayed deliberately. Come to think of it, where is the crowd that was supposed to form near here? Can't they hear the thunderous sounds?' Alex thought in his mind. 'This shows Penthe's ability to control the flow of information inside the Association and the city. He might have deliberately kept the information from reaching the other members of the Association. Even the public had a hard time knowing about the incident. It might be the work of an evil organisation. After all, their ability to manipulate information was out of this world.'
Alex publicised his enmity towards the evil organisation when he threw the card which showed him stepping on them. So, they must have tried everything in their power to eliminate the information from flowing to the other members. In short, created the needed time to clean the crime scene and destroy evidence that could pose a threat to them.
As the members of the Noble Trader Association laid their eyes upon the state of their ravaged headquarters, a surge of anger and outrage coursed through their veins. These individuals, wealthy merchants accustomed to a life of influence and power, had never anticipated that someone would dare to venture to their doorstep and wreak havoc upon their domain.
While they may have lacked physical prowess, their wealth and connections had granted them the means to conduct their business within the city, often under the protection of formidable allies. They had grown accustomed to a sense of invincibility, shielded by their wealth and influence.
However, the scene before them shattered their illusion of security. The sight of their headquarters reduced to chaos and ruin ignited a fiery rage within them. They were incensed that an audacious intruder dared to breach their headquarters and disrupt their operations.
Determined to protect their interests and salvage their reputation, they swore to take swift and decisive action against the assailant, vowing to restore order and reestablish their dominance within the city.
"Penthe, you have to give us an explanation." They ordered Penthe with one voice. Even if he was the current leader of the Association, they could still vote to replace him with someone else.
Initially, they didn't have any reason to replace him, even if he threw the reputation of the Association into the mud, he was making a lot of profit for them. But now, they had a clear reason to condemn him. So, Penthe felt the threat looming over his mind. He cursed the white-robed man in his mind.
First, it was some guy with a land dispute that caused his mood to turn foul. Now, some other guy in a white robe was giving him a headache.
Why was his life turning into a mess? He thought deeply about the reason while not realising the fact that in both instances, Alex was the reason for his headache.
The Association members were ready to overthrow Penthe. But that's when they noticed Kalina. Instantaneously they forgot everything and quickly bowed their head, surrounding her to curry favours. Their initial aggression was nowhere to be seen. Even the charred and broken building, the headquarters didn't hold as much importance as Kalina for them.
Meanwhile, Alex stood at a distance and watched the drama from the sidelines. It was almost six in the morning, and pedestrians began to fill the streets. They were startled to see the headquarters of the Noble Trader's Association in shamble.
They curiously walked around checking the situation that was unfolding. Thankfully, the buildings in the surroundings were not damaged. The other business owners sighed in relief.
'It was about time that I ended my night job.' He thought before teleporting to a kilometre above the dome-shaped headquarters. From the sky, he could easily identify the charred building below him. It was his target.
Alex yawned once and began free falling towards the ground. His white robes swayed in the wind while he took out ten giant stones from his inventory. They each weighed almost ten metric tons.
With him, the stones began to fall towards the ground. Alex stepped on the stone, and relaxed while viewing the ground approaching closer and closer. Before anyone could think, the stones rained down on the building while Alex teleported away.
"BOOOM!" With a deafening sound, they crashed into the smooth dome of the building. Just one stone was enough to destroy the roof and smash the wall. When the remaining one fell, they tore through the entire building leaving nothing behind. Everything was broken, shattered or disintegrated. The entire building collapsed onto itself.
A cloud of dust rose from the ground covering the entire street making it hard for the crowd near it to view the current condition of the Noble Trader Association Headquarters. However, the few quickwitted people ran away to take cover. The warriors of the Association members channelled energy to create a protective shield around their masters. Kalina stood nonchalantly witnessing the scene. Somehow, it felt familiar to her.
After a while, the dust settled revealing the pathetic condition of the building. It was beyond any repair.
As the realisation dawned upon Penthe, he was about to unleash his rage upon his incompetent subordinates, only to be interrupted by the sight of a figure emerging from the swirling dust cloud. Clad in pristine white attire, the white-robed man emerged seemingly untouched by the chaos around him. His face remained concealed, veiled by the shadowy covering of his robe, rendering his identity a mystery to all who laid eyes upon him.
In his hand, he held some metallic cards. When the crowd finally noticed his presence, he threw the cards towards them.
"Swish…" The cards reached their hands.
Penthe's heart sank as he comprehended the gravity of the white-robed man's actions. The events unfolding before him threatened to expose the dark underbelly of the Noble Trader Association to the public eye, turning them into the prime enemy of the entire city. The weight of this realisation pressed heavily upon Penthe's conscience, as he understood the catastrophic consequences that would follow.
After leaving behind the cards, Alex disappeared. He had achieved his goal and it was time to rest. Before that, he needs to visit the blue gem city and create an alibi.
'Rumour about the white-robed man will spread like wildfire from now on. Slowly, I will garner public attention and spread fear into the evil organisation. One by one, I will destroy their plan.' Alex vowed while teleporting away.