Another World Mall

"Look at this." Clovis' mother, Aisha, pointed at the screen.
"Yes, I'm watching." Gerald nodded. "He has gotten much stronger. Do you think you can win against your son now?"
"Are you saying that I'm weak?"
"Of course not." Gerald smiled wryly.
"Well, in terms of strength, definitely not. However, he has yet to fully mature. If he exposes his strength like this, I'm afraid that people will begin considering him a threat."
Gerald's expression turned solemn. "Indeed. But what can we do about it? He has his own path. It's dangerous. As his parents, we can help him, guide him, or support him, but we can't force him to take the path we deem to be the best. After all, 'best path' is subjective."
Aisha nodded. "Still, I'm afraid that this fight will stir some old fogies. It would have been better if he had only fought the people in his generation, but his advancement is simply too swift. The people he has to fight will soon be the people of our generation or even Father's generation."
Gerald nodded. "But Clovis is not so weak or so foolish that he doesn't know about this. Besides, I heard Grandma was the one giving him that quest."
"..." Aisha's eyebrows twitched. "I guess he will end up going against the world."
"Yeah. I guess this will be the second round of our Hacfield family against the world." Gerald smiled. "We have made ample preparation, but who knows if it will be enough?"
Aisha sighed. "I guess Father has influenced him too much."
"Yeah." Gerald shrugged. "Worrying about this won't change anything. This sparring match will definitely cause some trouble for him, so I guess we should stop them?"
"But didn't Grandma tell us we don't have to do anything?"
Gerald thought for a moment before saying, "At least escort him in case something big happens. I don't know what Grandma is planning to do, but it's clear that she is only taking care of that part. We have to handle the rest."
"Fair enough."
…
As the clash between Clovis and Iskandar continued, there was another battle that was also going on.
"You…" Chairman Lanol was clenching his hands into fists. There were two people in front of him. The first one was Vina, while the second one was someone he didn't recognize.
"Chairman Lanol. I hope you don't do anything during this sparring match and after this match. Consider it a warning."
"And why would I consider your threat?" Lanol frowned. Natasha had guessed that Vina might be related to this woman. In other words, she might be someone from the Dark Moon Mercenary.
However, Maya proved him wrong by giving a hint. "Why do you think Clovis Hacfield came to this place? There should be nothing in this country that can excite him. If he wanted a Tier 8 beast, he could hunt it in Absalom."
"!!!" Lanol widened his eyes, understanding what she actually meant. "And whose request was that? While it's true that our company might not be comparable to Tier 9, if Michael Hacfield was the one sponsoring this, I might not necessarily fear him. If he comes, it won't be just me. It will be the entire nation that will go against him."
Maya shook her head. "Allow me to introduce myself. You may call me Shadow."
"Shadow?" Lanol was confused for a moment, but the dots in his mind started to connect. "You… You are that Shadow? Don't tell me. The Ghost was the one sending him here?"
Maya only smiled, which made the answer even more terrifying. She indirectly implied there was a connection between him and the Ghost. As for what kind of connection, she didn't plan to make it clear.
"You should be clear about how she handles a matter. If anyone disturbs her, I guess I don't have to explain the result to you."
Lanol's body was shaking. It was a threat far more fearful than Michael Hacfield.
"This…" Lanol looked down, not knowing what he could say. On the one hand, the relationship with the Anatas family was important due to Iskandar's potential. On the other hand, the Ghost's way of handling things was simply too scary.
If he pissed off the Ghost, the latter would probably sell his weakness to his competitors. It wouldn't be just one competitor. She would be selling it to all his competitors.
When that happened, they could definitely swallow his entire company, just like what he did to reach this position in the first place.
"If you think that's too much, feel free to ignore my warning, but the retaliation will be severe." Maya politely nodded and walked away.
Before she left, Lanol extended his hand. "Wait."
Maya turned her head.
"The Anatas family…"
Maya smiled. "This sparring match shouldn't have happened, let alone taking advantage of the contract to smear the client's reputation. What do you think?"
"..." Lanol felt chills down his spine. It looked like the Anatas family would have a hard time after this match.
However, with the help of the Ghost, Clovis could really leave this country with no problem. Lanol could only grit his teeth while shouting inwardly, 'Why am I getting involved in all this? I was just trying to marry my daughter off to a future Tier 9… Why are the elders of the Anatas family so foolish?'
Natasha's face turned pale. This was the first time she had seen how helpless her father was.
'Ghost… No. 1 on the Global Wanted List, known for its secrecy and the control of information in the world. It's said that the Ghost has all kinds of dirt on governments all around the world, so that's why, despite being on the wanted list, none of them dare to capture the Ghost.
'With the Stel Neven Archive, the archive that is said to contain all the information of all explorers around the world, Ghost is practically untouchable.' Natasha gulped down. She felt defeated as she helplessly turned around, looking at the sparring match.
No matter who won the match, the Anatas family couldn't escape the Ghost's anger.