Blood Nemesis-Chapter 116: Hidden Move

Mental attacks create a plethora of effects on the human mind. From making a person forget important information to compelling them to kill another, all was possible through mental attacks. That was also the reason why a superhuman with this ability was feared by most.

But performing mental attacks and mind manipulation was not easy. There are often prerequisites to subtly access another person’s mind. And whoever manipulated the hunter seemed to have fulfilled all the prerequisites and gained enough control to compel him to commit murder.

’Ah! I should have seen this coming from a mile away...’

Oliver muttered while glancing back at the area where he had seen the red glow. The superhuman had disappeared long ago, and there was no point in searching for him anymore.

"Achara, did you bring your ID?" He asked when he noticed the SMB personnel walking towards them.

The Superhuman Monitoring Bureau has more power on Second Earth than the police. So, primarily, their law enforcement wing patrols the city day and night to take care of unlawful superhumans.

When Oliver broke through the cafe’s window wearing golden armour, they must have thought of him as one of the unlawful superhumans.

"I feel like they are coming to get me," Oliver added.

*Sigh*

Achara rubbed her forehead and exhaled.

"I will take care of it." She said and stood between the SMB officers and Oliver. It was just what Oliver wanted.

Meanwhile, Oliver turned to look at the young man he had saved.

"Hey! What’s your name?" He asked.

Oliver knew the name of the kid, but he didn’t want to reveal that information.

"Um! My name is Arthur."

His name was Arthur Schulz, the only son of the external affairs minister of the Continental Republic, Alfred Schulz. And this guy was about to die on Federation soil at the hands of a Federation citizen.

’It would have been a political disaster. No, it was a political disaster.’ Oliver thought about his past life.

The unassuming boy before him was the very cause of the rift that emerged between the Federation and the Republic. This growing separation would later escalate into such widespread mistrust and discord that it would prevent them from uniting against the demons.

Obviously, the one who gained the most from sowing discord between two nations was the demons. But Oliver was sure they didn’t pull the trigger themselves, at least this time.

"Arthur, do you have a lot of enemies?"

Oliver’s question caused the young man to stumble. He realised he had somehow stepped into a web of death. The hunter was trying to kill him for no reason at all. And apparent senseless behaviour was a clue that led him to believe someone was trying to assassinate him.

But why?

Before he could think more, Oliver’s question rang inside his mind.

Does he really have a lot of enemies?

No.

But what about his father?

The thought sent chills down his spine.

"Hey, kid, what are you thinking?" Oliver looked at Arthur, who was in a daze, and asked.

"Ah, sorry."

"Anyway, you should return home and make less trouble for us."

"Ah, yes."

Oliver took a second and pointed at the SMB officers and said:

"Call your family if you can or ask them to drop you off wherever you want. Can you do that?"

"Yes."

Although Oliver didn’t look any older than Arthur, he looked at him respectfully and nodded.

Oliver nodded in satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Achara handed over the hunter to the officers and glanced at him.

Oliver turned around, avoiding her eyes.

Once their conversation ended, he brought Arthur to the officers and asked them:

"Can you bring him to his home?" He is really trying to be polite.

However, the SMB officers looked at him threateningly, and one of the three replied with another question:

"Wouldn’t he prefer going home alone?"

Their eyes were scanning over Arthur’s body, slightly intimidating him.

Arthur took a step back.

This pissed off Oliver slightly.

"Are you really from SMB? Can I see your ID? You talk as if you don’t care about the victim at all. If you don’t want to work, just say that. Why are you making weird excuses?"

His words made the officers angry. Three of them looked at each other and turned towards Oliver, hiding the anger in their eyes.

After all, they couldn’t act like they wanted to in that situation. Achara, one of the well-known A rankers of the city, was standing behind Oliver. Offending her was like offending the entire military.

So, they glared at Oliver for a few seconds and tried to ignore him. Although their pride was hurt, they didn’t want to argue with a kid. It was beneath them, they thought.

Oliver on the other hand didn’t give rats ass about their pride or prejudice. He continued to ask:

"Hey, did the cat get your tongue? Why aren’t you saying anything?"

Finally, something broke inside them.

"Kid, don’t push your luck. Should we bring you in for questioning?"

"Ah! I see... Crap like you are everywhere in the society, huh! Then try me. Let’s see if you have the balls." Oliver stealthily took a step back and stood behind Achara.

Instantly, defusing the situation.

"And, if you don’t care about the victim, we do. We will bring it home safely." Oliver declared.

He displayed a reassuring smile when he looked at Arthur.

Finally, the people from the SMB had to tuck their tails behind and leave.

—

A few minutes later, Oliver returned to the cafe and paid for the damages.

The cafe owners were happy to receive twice the compensation they had asked for.

Nearby, Achara, who was standing with him, poked his shoulder after pulling him to the side.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"Who is that kid?" She pointed at Arthur, who was sitting inside the cafe, sipping coffee, and asked.

"Son of a bigshot."

"Whose?"

"The son of the current external affairs minister of the Continental Republic."

"What!!!"

Achara couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

"Why didn’t you..." She mumbled something in a hushed voice.

"What?"

"Why didn’t you tell me that?" Achara came close to his ear and whispered. "Wouldn’t that mean it was not a normal fight between two angry superhumans. Into what mess did you pull me?"

Achara’s warm breath tickled Oliver’s ear as she came closer and closer. So, he avoided her and said,

"I have absolutely no idea about that."

"It’s an assassination attempt against the son of a foreign minister on our soil. It could become a big issue." Achara warned.

"What assassination attempt? Which son? I thought you said it was a squabble that turned into a fist fight when the SMB officers asked about it."

"But that’s what I said when I didn’t know his identity. I should inform SMB and Commander."

Achara tried to take out her phone and call the Thunder Emperor. Oliver quickly stopped her.

"What are you doing?"

"What! I am informing them..."

"Don’t. It will only become an issue when everyone knows about it." Oliver pushed down the phone she was holding. "Think about it. Nothing happened, right? We prevented him from getting assassinated and saved the day. No one else has to know."

"So you agree that it was an assassination attempt. How did you know about it? Do you really have a seer-type ability?"

"I wish. I got a warning from someone I know that something bad might happen today. So, I came here to prevent it."

"That’s a lot of some."

"No, just two. If you want, I can make it three."

Achara immediately took a step back.

"He he he..." Oliver giggled. "Anyway, don’t tell anyone about it. I was not sure if it was going to be an assassination attempt or not. And I didn’t know what method they would choose or who they would attack. Fortunately, I recognised the young man over there." Oliver lied through his teeth.

"So, don’t blame me for what happened. Blame that asshole over there who is still in the mood to drink coffee."

He motioned towards Arthur, who was sitting in the corner of the cafe, drinking coffee.

"Okay, let’s believe half of what you said is true..."

"Why half?"

Achara ignored him and continued, "... doesn’t that mean there exists someone out there trying to kill that kid. Why and who? Can you answer that?"

Oliver took a short pause before answering.

"You have to look at who gains the most benefits because of the assassination."

"Any idea who?"

"Why did the external affairs minister come to this city in the first place? Do you know it?"

Oliver’s question forced Achara to think about it deeply. Then, she remembered the news article she had read a few days ago.

"The delegation came to procure the mana stone refinery rights. The first of its kind, where a foreign country invests in the development of a refinery in another country."

Mana stones were just stones or crystals that contain a high amount of mana. They are mined from mana veins that are seen all across Second Earth. Once refined, the mana stones could be used to power almost anything, for example, war machines like Behemoths, Mechs, Battleships, Missiles, or industrial machines that fuel the development of a country.

So, an investment in a new refinery in a foreign nation was a big deal. After all, it could backfire if they went to war for some reason.

Still, a delegation was sent from the CR to the UF to talk about the feasibility of it.

"The Republic’s refinery tech is better than that of the Federation’s. It would be great for us if we could agree to share technology and create a joint venture." Oliver added. "So, who do you think will benefit the most by preventing the talks from going forward?"

"Broadly speaking, anyone who is going to lose money," Achara replied.

"Who are they?"

Achara’s brows twisted into a frown.

"The refineries from our side. Who has weaker tech?"

"Who might that be?"

"The military-industrial complex."

"Great work."

Oliver patted Achara with a smile. The young woman was too shocked to speak.

"You must inform the Thunder Gramps of our little conversation." He said and walked to Arthur.

Suddenly, he paused and turned around.

"And, we have to discuss something about the communication system investment we talked about. You should come to meet Sathyamoorthi with me." He said and continued to walk away.