Northwinds were involved in a lot of businesses. This wasn't a surprise. A lot of these werent exactly legal either. Nobles could do anything and no one would be able to do much at all about it ... as long as they didn't mess with the church and in lesser degree military in which they liked to extend their influence.

Kaden pondered what he should make Northwind's tell once they returned. Over the next few days situation had settled down. Everyone were basically waiting for each other to attack, but no one did. Soon, if culprit was not found, one would be made.

Kaden was telling Fanin to subtly try to push everything on Shadow Pact. That they attacked the nobles to weaken them and thus increase their influence.

Fanin had received information that some of Kaden's slaves had been taken. Most of them just happened to die and had their bodies destroyed one way or another, but some did die normally. As per original plans, they had some 'evidence' on their bodies, but now Kaden had Fanin push the new plot.

Shadow Pact was a good scapegoat. The evidence was obviously fake! They were trying to make nobles fight each other!

Obviously none of the nobles trusted each other so there were problems trying to convice them. That was mostly what Fanin was trying to handle. Kaden had given him permission to point other potential culprits too, if it pushed suspicions away from Kaden himself and Northwind family.

There were a few surviving slaves in Corand still. Kaden made sure to have them prepared to fight to death as the rest did or be prepared to quickly destroy themselves. With the new possibilities with Northwind family, Kaden hoped to still make use of the remaining slaves who had been basically expendable until now. They were still generally compromised and someone would eventually connect them to the hunter town and continue investaging.

There was very littly to discover. Nor was Kaden worried about the enslavement formations. With only dead bodies, no one would be able to tell there was something odd with their souls, signs of vengeance mana or anything.

The bodies would only reveal an odd stab wound on each of them and potentially remains of a formation on their bodies. With most of the mana gone upon their deaths, the formations would be faded and would be next to impossible to determine what they were.

"I will have to keep my slaves out ot trouble", Kaden thought to himself. "I cannot allow Northwinds or their servants to be connected to the events. No one can know they are all controlled by someone."

This was fine. Kaden had no plans to make such obvious moves any time soon.

What could be discovered from the bodies was at best inconclusive. The matching wounds and formations could point to some cult or perhaps some militant group of malcontents.

The weak point would be Nervin. Someone might be able to tell he came from the same hunter town and was now employed by Northwinds.

Kaden did not wish to discard a useful slave. Otherwise he could have just had Nervin destroy himself and have Fanin say the man disapeared during all the commotion. Then it would be easy to assume Nervin was leader of the attackers.

This was still too good excuse so Kaden simply would not discard Nervin entirely, but simply have him stay with him at the Northwind's secret hiding place.

Due to Nervin, who had originally workded for Shadow Pact, Kaden was pushing them as the culprit.

Fanin, being as seasoned politician, would easily be able to put up an act being angry that he was used in such a way. Other noble families would try to blame him for sure, but it wouldn't be hard to point out that any of them could have been in Fanin's place. At worst Fanin would lose some influence and suffer some losses due to it, but would be fine in general. Kaden didn't really care. Northwind family would remain useful.

-----------------

"None of this makes any sense!" Said a investigator working for the nobles.

Technically the group investigating the bombings was a neutral party tied more to the emperor than the nobles. Yet, since the emperor was still rather young, some parts of the goverment was handled by the emperor's advisors, who in turn were very willing to listen to noble's words and accept their coin. Even so, everyone wanted to know what was happening, including the young emperor.

Wherever their loyalties lied, the nobles trusted them more than what any one of the noble families would have hired.

"Everything points to these people were just some nobodies in a hunter town and then ... then they just came here in Corand and attacked nobles?" The man continued as he was trying to make sense of the situation.

"Perhaps a new cult?" Another suggested. "There seems to be some scarring on each of them. A blade wound. Remains of a formation. Possibly strengthening one?"

"It might be anything. A new minor god worship fits", the investigator replied. "But it all could be the current situation with war, everyone blamed being heretics, cultists, beasts at the borders, people being executed or minor reasons, conscription. People get angry." He paused for a moment. "But this feels weird. Usually we know when such groups form and dismantle them before anything happens."

"That potential leader", the other one continued. "Hmmm, Condensation stage warrior named Nervin. The information we have suggests he just killed a merchant selling illegal goods he was supposed to protect as a member of Shadow Pact. Should we take a deeper look into them?"

"Absolutely", the investigator said. "Check also, if any of the hunters in that place had business with them. Yet, considering how little things have made sense so far, I suspect it is only the leader."

"Then who do you think is behind all this?" The other one continued.

"I don't have the faintest idea", the investigator replied. "We will keep the investigation open and offer the angry nobles and emperor our best assumptions. Whether it is a death cult as all the members tried to ensure their own deaths during this suicide mission or terrorists angry at current leadership, I have nothing concrete to show for now." He took a deep breath. "They won't like it, but with the current resources and information, we can't do much else. I just feel there is something bigger behind this, but absolutely no evidence of it."

-----------------

Weeks passed.

Kaden usually didn't waste so much time doing nothing. That was to simply cultivate, but none of his plans progressed. He was still watching and waiting what was going to happen. What way the nobles were going to act. What was discovered of his actions. As far as Fanin was able to find out, no one really could point anywhere.

In fact, with no obvious culprit, nobles were pointing at more convenient directions. Kaden's own prefered target, the Shadow Pact was one. It wasn't going as well as Kaden had hoped. The criminal organization had some influence and the nobles weren't going to just go against them for no reason.

As expected, Fanin had some explanations to do when Nervin came up. He was able to push aside accusations saying that Nervin was a new recruit and was able to join by deception.

Kaden was not able to hear much about 7RU-MC. It also appeared to have some influence and apparently it pushed aside suspicions that Nervin merely cashed in some old favor. It turned out that 7RU-MC had indeed involved with group that Nervin had been part of in the past. Something about getting hands on some special fabric.

"That machine expected all this most likely", Kaden determined immediately. "It had an excuse prepared by the time it accepted what I requested. It knew it was going to be fine. Considering its ludicrous stories that are probably true, it is involved with very large number of more or less influential groups and inviduals."

All seemed to be fine.

Kaden also wanted to get his talons on materials from Northwind family. Since the teleportation was a bit costly, it would be best to gather as much as possible and make as few trips as possible. In the current situation it was taking time to collect everything.

Its not like there weren't some problems too.

Various people had some questions. Then there were some that knew things that could compromise things even if they weren't talking yet.

Some people knew, for example, that Fanin had Nervin with him when he escaped somewhere during and after the attacks, but Nervin was not with thim after he returned.

Some people were asking where all the materials, that Kaden had demanded, were going. The excuse was that with the damage done the family was prioritizing more important ventures than the projects the said people were involved with. This was indeed true. Kaden had looked at stuff Northwinds were doing and cut off what he considered not profitable enough.

Yet, some people just were too nosy... or perhaps were paid by the opposing families. Northwinds surely had people inside other family businesses.

Kaden had quickly decided on an easy solution.

Fanin's people quietly gathered all these people one way or another. No one would miss a servant with far too much curiosity. Spies disapeared sometimes... more so in the current situation. After everything, the noble families were performing a cleansing anyway. People disapearing would not be odd.

------------------

"Where are you taking me?" Said a shop owner who had basically about to lose everything after Northwinds pulled out their backing.

The young man had not taken that well and had repeatedly come demanding answers. That was stupid to begin with since his backers were nobles who wouldn't give a shit about him. Perhaps he thought he had more influence than he had. He was, after all, very good at his job and had already worked for the cream of the empire. Best plan would have been to find a way to continue otherwise. Get a new backer.

But no!

He just had to dig deeper when he realized there were more people like him who just lost their supply. A supply that was seemingly not going anywhere. Some people had then come offering him money to inform them of any findings. He had accepted. He did need a lot of money with suddenly losing his business.

Then one night as he was trying to look through some ledgers that he wasn't really supposed to have, someone put a bag on his head and dragged him away. The young man had be been able to afford materials to get barely to Formation stage, but whoever attacked him was clearly stronger. Nor was the young man a warrior.

The bag was suddenly removed and he found himself in a cellar with quite a few other people. Clearly they had been brought there against their will too. What he also found was a large pile of the materials. The sort of stuff he had been selling. Perhaps exactly the stuff that had supposed to originally be sold through him.

Then a man who he knew very well walked into the cellar too, Fanin, leader of the Northwind family. With him he had his bodyguards.

"Fanin! We had a deal!" The young man shouted. The other people shouted too. "What is this!"

The bodyguards silenced the people.

"Did you not want answers?" Fanin asked afterwards. "You will get all your answers now."

Fanin did something and the floor opened to reveal a complex formation that the kidnapped people mostly didn't even know what it was.

The young man had never seen a teleportation formation, but he was selling valuable materials and knew of such wonders.

Everyone were placed inside it. The entire formation was full of people and materials as it was triggered.

---------------

Kaden watched everything appear inside the Northwind hideout. The people and the cultivation materials.

The kidnapped people looked around and they quickly saw Kaden. They screamed.

"Fanin have you lost your mind!" A young man screamed.

"Yes", Fanin replied instantly and calmly.

Kaden chuckled, as he allowed Fanin to say, at least technically, the truth. Then he killed all the kidnapped people before their continuous screaming could annoy him anymore. He then set their bodies on fire and started to eat the charred flesh.

These people were weaklings and did not really give much of anything in terms of cultivation benefits nor be useful slaves, but they were still acceptable food in terms of taste. He had grown a taste during his time at the phoenix clan. Unfortunately, he did not have access to meat from Condensation stage humans. Each one he had as a slave was too useful as a slave than a meal. At least he had a large stash of materials ready to be used.

Fanin and his people watched by the side as their master devoured the people.