忘忧草研究所直接进入

Only the mines had been in place from the start. Rest everything was under Zach\'s control as he slowly but surely guided them towards the mansion while creating the illusion that there were still people on the island.

Hitting the five-minute count down, Zach was sure that it was an impossibility for the invaders to escape being the target of the descending heavenly wrath. Therefore, he sent the activation signal to the drone he had put in place in advance.

The drone pulled up a screen in front of Zach. It was an exact replica of the drone that was currently projecting Zach in front of Hogan. The only difference was that Zach was able to see the dumbfounded Hogan and his horde of mages in the background searching frantically for people who were no longer there.

"I suppose greetings are in order."

Hogan was so surprised that he didn\'t know how to reply to Zach\'s words, especially after he had been caught in the act of raiding the latter\'s home.

Nelson could see what was going on as well because the screen was large enough to be clearly visible from a hundred-meter distance. Nelson on the other hand was close enough to see his father sweating profusely as it dripped down his nose and chin like an unending waterfall.

While Nelson had heard of his father\'s plans from the family butler, he had no way of finding out the results of the venture until the troops returned from Greenland. 

But seeing his father and his troops on the big screen made him curious. He wanted to know if his father had already finished taking over the Smith family or not.

Unfortunately, from the looks of it his father lacked the demeanor of someone who had just conquered the island of a powerful dark mage. Instead, he was acting like he had eaten shit while looking for something delicious.

Hogan, being a seasoned leader, didn\'t let the setback affect him for long. He calmed down quickly and returned a confident gaze back to Zach who was communicating with him through the projected screen.

His confidence was enhanced further when he noticed the presence of his son Nelson behind Zach. This meant that Zach had access to some kind of sensory magic that could link his sight with another location. It turned out to be just a long-distance communication skill. For a second there, Hogan had been scared out of his wits wondering if Zach was already back on the island.

Thankfully, lady luck hadn\'t abandoned him completely yet.

"You are quite rude. Don\'t you know how to return simple greetings? I wonder how you became the leader of a top family while lacking such basic courtesy." 

Zach taunted Hogan as if to provoke a reaction out of him but Hogan didn\'t have the guts to say anything in response. He stood there like a statue devoid of any speech capability like a devoted monk who had taken an oath of silence.

Since Hogan seemed to have nothing to say to him, Zach didn\'t bother waiting for his reply either before initiating a monologue that suggested self-talk instead of a conversation with the enemy leader.

"Since you seem to have lost your tongue amidst your adventures, I will go ahead and say what I want to say. It\'s not like you have much time anyway. For starters, how about I clear up all your confusion. I am sure you must be wondering why there isn\'t a single person left on the island."

Hogan\'s countenance changed as soon as Zach touched on the topic he had been worried about. The calm he had been maintaining on his face despite his broken courage was shattered with a few words from Zach.

But Zach had no intention of stopping just yet. He wanted to make full use of the remaining five minutes.

"You seem flustered...anyway...I was saying...yes, I was saying that you must be frustrated having gone all the distance with such a huge force only to find no one to welcome you. Well, to tell you the truth. I knew long ago what you were planning. I figured a hideous and vicious creature like you couldn\'t settle for just getting your son back safe and sound. A snake like you would try to gain some benefits out of the chaotic situation at least. Since snakes aren\'t even averse to eating their young, I figured you too would be able to abandon your son in a jiffy in your pursuit for power. So, I pondered on this question quite a bit. I thought long and hard about what a hideous old thing like you would do to exchange your son for the maximum benefit. The answer wasn\'t too difficult to guess after that. The moment I found out about your little plan; I evacuated my people in groups. So, your little plan was bound to fail the moment you decided to play tricks on me."

Hogan wanted to cry out in anguish because the worst possibility had turned out to be the truth, but he had no choice other than to keep his anger in check. His survival and the survival of his family depended on it, at least until he came up with another way to keep Zach and the Smith family in check.

"Let me tell you something even more fun. You probably still haven\'t realized the futility of your efforts. Even if you had come with your little army to attack my people a little earlier, your pathetic force wouldn\'t have survived more than a few minutes against my soldiers. What makes you think that your force is better than that of the pirate you hired to kill me? What makes you believe that you can take me on when Blackbeard failed despite having a sea dragon beast to help him out? I don\'t understand how a cunning man like yourself could fall into such an obvious trap. Your delusions of grandeur and smartness must have helped in the process, right?"

Hogan was practically grinding his teeth audibly because he was being humiliated in front of his troops. This was a first for him. Never had he been insulted in such a manner before.

His face hardened as he thought of how the strategy, he had been so proud of was seen through by his enemy so effortlessly. Zach had not only seen through it long ago but had also taken precautions against it well before time.

Since Hogan\'s entire plan rested on the premise that he would be able to get a lot more hostages from Greenland, the strategy was completely useless. It had even turned out to be counterproductive. Due to this failed attempt, Zach was now free to retaliate against the Hunter family.

Still, other than the retaliation that might or might not come, Hogan didn\'t have anything else to worry about. After all, a thousand things could change between now and then. He believed that he would be able to resolve the situation by then somehow.

Moreover, this raid on Greenland didn\'t actually cause him many losses. The core forces of his family were still intact. Therefore, the loss of one or two mages didn\'t affect him much. As for the hired help, they could be let go after handsome compensation that still wouldn\'t put a dent on the large fortune of the Hunter family.

Since most of the losses were monetary in nature, Hogan could ignore them completely by relying on the mounds of wealth accumulated by the Hunter family ancestors. 

His family background allowed him to be extravagant every once in a while. This was the one privilege that the leader of a prestigious family like Hogan could avail, and it was clearly evident from his smug expression that he was quite proud of being able to splurge on a mere whim.

There was no use staying on an island that had been deserted by its inhabitants long ago. So, Hogan reeled in his spread-out forces and began to gather them in one place. He wanted to leave the island as soon as possible as there was no use floundering about to find something that was no longer there.

Zach watched Hogan get busy and couldn\'t help but laugh at the futile attempt. Only he knew the doom that was heading straight towards Hogan. 

He had already won the war between the two families but there wasn\'t a shred of pride on his face. Instead, there was only a trace of helplessness on his face as if what was about to transpire next was out of his hands.

Feeling a bout of pity for the targets of the heavenly wrath, Zach decided to give Hogan one last chance because he believed that no one should have to die such a gruesome death, even worthless scum like Hogan.

But it was entirely up to Hogan whether he made use of the chance accorded to him or if he wasted it due to his foolishness. Zach vowed to leave it up to fate.

"You have tried to kill me and my people using borrowed help. You kidnapped my wife and tried to destroy my home and kill my family, but I have decided to break the chain of hatred. So, I won\'t respond in kind. I am willing to offer you a chance for survival; both for yourself and for your family, only if you are man enough to take it."