487 The Price to Pay

Vicente looked at Rory and Sarah and said. "Let's stay here quietly. I think our chances are good, but let's be careful.

Anyway, we can't go back to Millfall after today. Now we'll have to find new people to represent us there."

Sarah asked him. "When will we do that? If we wait too long, others will take control of what's yours."

"I know. The Scarlet Syndicate is probably already doing that." Vicente smiled bitterly, knowing that this group could not be trusted. "But they're not capable of assembling Mages in a short time. Besides, we have Shelby in Millfall, so our chances of recovering what we lost today are high.

We'll just give the vultures some time to think they have hope, and then we'll regain control of everything.

Until then, we'll settle down in Saltstar City and exercise some caution. As much as we faked our deaths, we won't be able to appear in public or show off our abilities for a while."

"I know." She said with a sigh.

Vicente continued. "Once we arrive in Saltstar City, I'll take care of the family in the city, and you, including Bart, will take care of our affiliated factions."

The three of them easily accepted this order until Rory thought of a problem and asked his question.

"What about the family weapons? We left many of them behind. Even the Scarlet Syndicate people know how to make some basic models."

Vicente saw the concern in his friend's eyes and sighed. "We will have to give up the exclusivity of what we have if we want to continue to operate with our weapons. I've already given Lukas permission to manufacture and sell firearms in Millfall on our behalf.

In the light of day, he'll look like the old family blacksmith who survived its fall and decided to start selling firearms. But in the dead of night, he'll be acting on our behalf, protecting the future of firearms and passing on the operation's profits to us."

Vicente's plan was simple. If the Mazzanti family, especially Cesar, had fallen, then it would be reasonable to think that the guns would disappear. In addition to the weapons left behind, no new ones should appear on the market. If they did, suspicions about Cesar's real downfall might arise.

But Vicente didn't want to be unable to use his weapons. As much as he could produce something better, these devices could make a big difference in the hands of weak magicians.

In order to continue using his weapons without major problems, Vicente left Lukas behind to do what he had just said.

Through the marketing that Lukas would do, he and his group would have a reasonable justification for having firearms in the future, even after the fall of the Mazzanti family!

The downside was that these weapons would spread throughout the province, but that was the price Vicente had to pay to use such devices safely!

"All this for the sake of a battle... Sigh!" Rory closed his eyes, seeing how quickly a person's situation could change.

Three days ago, everything was going well for the group. Two days ago, they had even managed to eliminate the Woodslayer, which would have eased the pressure on the family in the short term.

But suddenly, they had to give up much of what they had done and the exclusivity of their weapons.

It was terrible!

But they all understood that it was a necessary price to pay to avoid being hunted by the king's forces, Sky Sovereigns, and perhaps even the Paragons.

Vicente saw his friend lament and understood what the young redhead was going through. At the beginning of his journey as a criminal on Earth, he had felt the same way.

How many times had he had to give up everything after a single incident? He didn't even know how many times it had happened.

The first few times, he felt like Rory, quite frustrated, often thinking about how things could have been different, and hesitant to give up everything. But after a few experiences, he had learned his lesson and understood never to get too attached to his situation. Things could change at the speed of light, and someone who wanted to be prepared had to be ready for sudden changes.

Because of his past experiences, Vicente didn't feel so sorry for himself, even though he didn't like the situation.

For him, this was another change in his life, the beginning of a new path.

'You'll get used to it, my friend.' He thought to himself, 'This will happen more often. Just wait and see. This is the life of a mafioso.'

...

Meanwhile, Nina returned to the Fuller estate, very nervous about what might have happened to her brother.

"Eve! Eve, where's big brother? What happened to him?" She burst into the house screaming, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Nina?" Eve was surprised to open her eyes in the cultivation room of the Fuller residence and hear the voice of the girl who was supposed to be at the academy right now.

But as she listened to Nina's sobs and questions, the blonde woman who had finished her meditation sighed as she realized the problem.

"Nina, what are you talking about? What does your brother have to do with Cesar and the Mazzanti family?" She asked as she saw Nina enter the training room.

"Everything! I think you're lying to me, and Cesar is my brother!" Nina said while her eyes were red.

Eve opened her mouth in shock at hearing this. 'How did she find out?'

But she didn't want to confirm Nina's theories. That was Vicente's job.

"Don't be silly, Nina. Your brother and Cesar are two very different people." She smiled as she gestured. "And your brother is fine. Cesar died this morning, but Vicente is very well."

"How can you be sure?" Nina asked, thinking that maybe Eve was wrong.

Eve said. "Simple, I have a Magic Agreement with Vicente, you silly girl. If anything were to happen to your brother, I would feel my obligations to him disappear. But I can still feel the stability of my agreement with him, so all is well, Nina."

"Eh? What? But didn't Cesar die?" Nina stopped crying as she expressed her confusion.

"Don't be foolish. Cesar isn't Vicente. I don't know why you thought that, but I don't want you to think that again."

Eve finally hugged Nina as she sighed inwardly, worried about Vicente and what this little girl knew.

'I need to talk to him about this as soon as possible.'

With that in mind, she would try to handle the situation in her own way, reassuring Nina and telling her that Vicente was preparing to move forward with their trip to Saltstar City in light of some recent opportunities for the Fuller family.

Nina was perplexed but believed Eve and soon calmed down enough for her caretaker not to worry too much.

She stayed home for the rest of the day, but later, Eve called Shelby to talk to Nina and make sure everything would be okay.

With that, the first few days since the Mazzanti family's fall would soon pass, with many local changes and preparations for the Fuller family's departure.