Ray's gaze deepened.

The Aurum family was different.

Instead of being biased to men and treating women differently.

The family head position was passed down to the most capable.

It didn't matter if you were a man or a woman, as long as you were better than the others competing for the family head position, you will become the heir to the Aurum Family.

Selena wanted to become her father's heir.

So she was fighting for it.

"She is as capable as she is beautiful," Ray praised Selena.

"When will she return?" he asked.

"Not before summer," came the attendant's reply.

Ray's understood the reason.

He understood too well.

Winter in the Northern Outer Region was a season of death.

It was the time of the year when mortality surged.

Only fortresses like Labyrinth City, shielded by several Silver Tamers and a Viscount, could resist the dread of winter.

Everywhere else, survival was a gamble.

"Then about the skinned corpse," Ray said calmly. "I'd like to buy it."

The attendant looked briefly confused.

The meat of a Demonized Alpha Wolf was rough, bitter, and foul-smelling. Its blood—worse. Hardly food for nobles. And its organs were unbearable even to the most adventurous palate.

'A noble like Torvin who grew up in luxury? What use could he have for it?'

But he kept his thoughts to himself and bowed respectfully. "Please wait. I'll fetch it right away."

It wasn't his place to question a customer's decision. His job was to serve. And there was no rule stating that the skinned corpse of demonic creatures couldn't be sold.

Moments later, Ray walked out of Fang & Fang with the corpse, purchased in exchange for level 1 low-level demonic cores useless to him.

'Another piece has fallen into place,' he smiled.

Although the Metal Slime King couldn't use Devour until it had leveled up, the corpse of the Demonized Alpha Wolf would prove useful once it had reached the bronze rank!

'Time to hunt my first target,' Ray thought.

********

Ashclaw's mansion was located in the Eastern District of White Sparrow Town, the part where all the wealthy nobles lived.

That area was worlds apart from the crowded commoner streets and the unguarded outskirts.

Every building there was extravagant, every road wide and polished, every corner designed to show power and wealth.

Each mansion stood tall, not one of them less than three storeys high. Their walls gleamed white as ivory or shone dark as obsidian, depending on the taste of the noble who owned it. Each was designed impeccably, radiating an aesthetically pleasing charm that was hard to ignore even for someone as indifferent as Ray.

The roads were paved with smooth stone tiles imported from the Labyrinth city, polished so finely they reflected moonlight like a mirror. On either side of the road, trees had been planted at measured intervals, tall and straight, their branches heavy with blossoms. Their fragrance perfumed the air, drowning the stench of commoner streets far behind.

"For people so ruthless, they sure know how to surround themselves with the beauty of nature," Ray remarked as he strolled through the town's Eastern District.

He wasn't walking aimlessly. He was heading towards Ashclaw's home.

The time for the confrontation had come.

He had racked his brain to come up with a plausible plan to lure Ashclaw into the only place where he could be killed.

He had rehashed it many times in his head, so he was confident he wasn't slip up!

Soon, a familiar mansion came into view.

Ashclaw's mansion was one of the largest in this town.

Four storeys tall, its structure was a sight to see.

Dark gray walls wrapped around it, decorated with golden trimmings and crimson banners that bore the emblem of his family.

Spiked fences of black iron surrounded the grounds, sharp enough to pierce through armor.

The gates alone were ten feet high, engraved with roaring wolves.

Two guards stood outside the gate.

Both were tall, with hardened faces bronzed by years under the sun.

They wore black breastplates polished to a shine, the emblem of the wolf engraved at the center. Their pauldrons were spiked, their helmets sharp, and their boots heavy. Each carried a halberd taller than themselves, its blade gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

A figure appeared in their midst as they were slacking off.

When they found a lean figure standing before the gate they were supposed to guard, they brandished their halberds at once, crossing the blades before the lean's figure chest, barring his path.

"Who are you?!" one barked.

"Have I been away from home for so long that the dogs no longer recognize their master?"

The lean figure's eyes glinted with cruelty and his voice was cold enough to freeze marrow.

Ray was mimicking Torvin's attitude impeccably.

Was acting hard? Yes!

But if one had enough motivation, they could pull off an unprecedented performance.

And Ray had that kind of motivation.

His mind, body, and will were in perfect synch, chasing after the same goal.

Kill everyone involved in the disgusting business of refining humans into pills no matter the cost!

It wasn't Ray's face that looked at them—it was Torvin's. His disguise was flawless.

The guards froze, hearing the familiar voice, and when they took a good look at him, their eyes bulged as they feared the worst.

"Y-Young Master?!" They dropped to their knees without hesitation, their foreheads almost touching the ground. "Please forgive us for our grave offense. We made a grave mistake in not recognising you. Please be generous and forgive us. We beg of you." They begged for mercy while trembling.

"Stop crying here like cowards. Go inside and inform my father that I have returned," Ray said commandingly.

"Yes, Young Master!" they shouted in unison, relief flooding their voices. "Thank you for sparing our lives!"

They scrambled up, still shaking, and dashed inside the gates as fast as their armor allowed.

Ray followed behind them, his steps unhurried, his gaze dark.

'Ashclaw, death has come to take your life.'

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