Way of the Knights

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"Mom, Dad. I want to deal with the clan."

Luis and Eva were stunned. They looked at each other with a visible dismay on their faces. There was a moment of silence before Eva spoke.

"Avi…" Eva stood up and pulled Raven onto her bosom, her child returned the hug and closed his eyes to hear what she has to say. "Mom and Dad are incredibly proud to see you grow into such a fine man even though you aren't even twenty yet."

Raven felt a sting on her heart as he heard this words, still he didn't say anything and allowed her to continue. "It's just that… I feel that you're in such a hurry to become an adult. The things that you achieved… almost all of them, aren't things that a fourteen year old could do. We're afraid that you're pulling too many enemies to yourself and might get hurt in the process. Why don't you take your time and experience your youth first?"

Luis was silent but he wholeheartedly agreed with his wife. He might not show it, but he was always thinking about his only child, everything that he did was for his and their family's sake. If it's not necessary, he didn't really want his son to get mixed up with the dirty side of this kingdom. Eva also thinks the same way.

Raven felt like crying. These words are so similar to what he had expected they're going to say. They've always been like this, putting him first before themselves, shielding him from all harm and conflict for the smallest chance for him to have a peaceful life. This is why the pain he felt when they were gone almost made him insane, back then he wanted to follow them into the afterlife but he decided to pick himself up and swore revenge. There had been countless night where he cried himself to sleep whenever he recalled their faces and how much he missed them.

But it's all different now. Raven would never allow them to get hurt in his watch. Even if it means making enemy of several men he wasn't afraid.

Raven pulled back from the hug and wiped the tears forming on the corners of his eyes. He then took out several stacks of paper and passed it towards Luis, Eva also took a glance at some files on the desk.

"I'm a double agent Dad." Raven started, "While I'm the Holy Son of the Sacred Leaf Tavern, I was also scouted by the Eternal Horizon Clan. After we confirmed about the negotiations for the alliance, I took another mission that they were issuing, and I've found several things that you might not want to hear."

"Eva…" Luis looked at his wife, he was subtly asking her to step out since this topic might hurt her heart. He knew that Raven won't bring up this topic unless he was sure that there's some basis behind it.

"I'll be fine, Luis." Eva's face was placid, she might not have said anything but she had been rather furious about the Burning Heaven Clan ever since they decided to erase them from their ranks.

Luis sighed and looked at his son, with a brief nod Raven started explaining the observations he got.

"They've gone mad." Raven started, "The constant pressure Dad's given them all throughout these years had pushed them to completely pledge allegiance to the Mort Family."

Luis sighed and crumpled the paper he was holding, Eva's face was grieved. This was the worst case scenario that Luis wanted avoid. The reason why he went after them is because he wanted to place them under a strict surveillance so that they won't fall under the clutches of the Mort Family. He made sure to think carefully about every single move he took against them but in the end, he didn't manage to achieve his goal and his worst fears became true.

"The Prince had been rather suspicious about them because of Dad's adamant desire to suppress them. So on top of Dad's constant pressure, the prince also mobilized some of his men to investigate the interior of the clan."

"The people at the Clan Palace are not the same people we thought they were. All of them, every single one, are imposters. The prince's men traced one of the original clan member and they followed him back to the territory of the Mort Family."

"All of them were there, doing the dirty work of the Mort Family such as slavery, smuggling, prostitution, child labor and all sorts of illegal activities. By now, I won't be surprised to know that some of them are in cahoots with the Black Curtain Guild."

Luis went through the files that Raven took out one by one, as he saw the printed images and written reports on each file, his face became somber and somber. Eva worryingly gazed at her husband, her heart bled upon finding how the once prestigious clan stooped so low and resorted to evil things.

"Prince Balmung wanted to make a move with all of these evidences but he's afraid that once the confrontation occurs, Yael and his family wouldn't hesitate to wash their hands and place the entire blame on the Clan, making them escape punishment once more. As much as possible, the prince wanted to use the clan as a supporting evidence to grill the Mort Family but that won't be possible if they had discussed this beforehand and if the clan was willing to be a meat shield for them."

"There are several missions posted on the headquarters of the Eternal Horizon Clan, the main ones are infiltration and interrogation. So far, no one took this missions since it requires going through the Mort Family Estate, many went there already but never returned, it was heavily guarded for them specially now that the family's reputation is damaged and the prince is hot on Yael's trails. But that's them, I work differently and I can't allow this any further."

Raven's determined face was in full display for his parents to see. Luis and Eva looked at their son in a lovingly and worried manner.

"Let me deal with them Dad. You and your forces can't go, with your aggression towards the Mort Family, it wouldn't be surprising if you're under a strict surveillance from them. I want to do this in one clean sweep."

Luis was silent all along, inwardly he felt bitter since he could not provide any help for his son. He felt slightly useless, he started thinking whether all of his hard work before was for naught, his only child was basically charging towards the war and as his father he can't do anything other than to watch and hope for the best.

"How confident are you in this?"

"Eighty percent."

Luis was stunned speechless, he didn't hear any hesitation on Raven's voice at all. He looked at him carefully and sighed, he then helplessly and said:

"I'll agree on one condition." Raven's ears perked up, he then waited for his father's next words and was briefly stunned when he heard it. "Your Uncle Bradley comes with you."

Raven pondered a bit, his thoughts moved quickly and adjusted his plans upon consideration for Bradley coming with him.

"I'm sure that your Uncle Bradley won't allow you to go without him either. Son it too dangerous, even if it's just an infiltration. I know that you have a certain confidence to yourself and I do too, but your cultivation aren't on par with that. If you bring him along, then he should be able to protect you and send you away safely if things go south."

"Plus, your Uncle Bradley and Ellen has to have some closure since they are included in the first place. I'll call your Uncle Bradley for you and you guys discuss this together."

"Thanks, Dad." Raven nodded and hugged his father, "For having faith in me."

Luis ruffled his hair and said, "I agreed because your plan is for the peace of our family. But don't you dare get carried away. At the first sign of possible failure, move out. So long as we're alive, there will be time for us to deal with them. Your safety comes first, you hear me?"

Raven nodded repeatedly, Luis then sent a messenger hawk towards Bradley and the three settled down for some talks as well.

While waiting for Bradley to arrive, Raven roamed throughout Luis's office and browsed through some documents, Luis allowed him to do so since he thought that he might searching for additional clues to raise his certainty of dealing with the Burning Heaven Clan.

That wasn't Raven's goal, true he was searching for clues but not for his mission, it was for the possible moles in his father's forces. As much as possible, he wanted to find a way in order to search and isolate them so that no complications would happen.

While browsing through the files, a soldier announced that Bradley already arrived. Raven pulled his attention away from the files but was stunned when he saw that it wasn't only Bradley who came, but the rest of his friends as well.

"What are guys doing here?"

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