Chapter 82: Enzo Dawnwick
In the Wraithbone Residence Villa, the air hung thick with the tang of blood. The disciples of the Wraithbone Bloodline exchanged uneasy glances in surprise, but did dare not to defy or refute, they bowed in agreement. They scurried off to carry out Bloodline Lord's edict.
Moments later, a young cultivator in a crisp white robe burst into the chamber, his breath sharp with urgency. "Your Honor! Word's spreading—you're sending men to butcher the Payne Clan in Deerspring Town?" His voice cut through the stillness, bold yet edged with deference.
Miu Tyanh, slumped in his grand seat, wounds still seeping beneath the bondage, lifted his gaze. "Dawnwick," he acknowledged with a slight nod, voice gravelly but steady. "That's right."
Enzo Dawnwick fixed him with a respectful stare, then flicked his wrist—a shimmering privacy ward flared to life, sealing the room in a faint, rippling glow. His tone dropped, firm and unyielding. "Your Honor, forgive my bluntness—this clan slaughter edict is a mistake. You shouldn't do it."
Miu Tyanh's brow furrowed, not with anger but curiosity, his lips tightening. "A mistake? Explain yourself, Dawnwick. The Deerspring is nothing important, and the Payne Manor there is a merely flea—wiping it out's a flick of the wrist, a trivial chore." He paused, then leaned forward, voice dipping into a sly, measured drawl. "Sure, Payne Manor's Clan Heir Hugo Payne's a useless lump of a cultivator—but Lordi Payne? That fresh-faced bastard got talent, and he's latched onto Kinson Wexford's bloodline like a leech."
Miu Tyanh smirked, eyes glinting with cold calculation. "Slaughtering the entire Payne Clan now? It'll crack this motherfucker's Dao Heart wide open—rattle him waste before he's even settled in the holy sect. That's my gift to Sect Successor Chou's faction party." His tone hardened, a hint of smug triumph creeping in. "Even if Lordi Payne runs crying to Successor Lith for vengeance, hmph, Successor Chou's got our back—Wraithbone won't feel the heat. So tell me, what's the problem with slaughtering that manor to dust?"
Enzo Dawnwick leaned closer, his white robe stark against the gloom. His voice dropped to a hushed, urgent murmur: "Bloodline Lord, look—Lordi Payne's a gifted runt, sure, but he's just an Outer Sect nobody, barely wet behind the ears. You, my lord? Advanced-Phase Foundation Stage, Lord of Wraithbone. You went after him yourself, came back battered and empty-handed. If this leaks—our bloodline might shrug it off, but Successor Chou? What's her highness going to think?"
Miu Tyanh's eyes narrowed, a spark of unease flaring beneath his scowl, but Enzo pressed on, voice steady and cutting. "Fairy Chou, her highness, backs us because you've kept Kinson Wexford under your boot since the Outer Sect days. That's our leverage. But if she hears you took a hit from some lowlife disciple—doesn't matter how it went down—will she still bet on Wraithbone? Or will she see us as a pack of dogs that can't bite?"
Miu Tyanh jolted, his face darkening as he opened his mouth to retort: "I didn't lose to him—it was—"
The Inner Demon Oaths clamped down, a spectral gag choking his words. Lady Joanie's shadow loomed in his mind, her hollow gaze a silent shackle. He faltered, just as he was thinking about how to explain the situation without mention the Inner Demon Oath detail, when Enzo stamped his foot, urgency sharpening his tone. "Your Honor, it's not about losing! Lordi Payne's leagues below you—cultivation, status, everything. Even if he scrambles away like a whipped cur, he'll be the talk of the sect—'the Outer Sect kid who survived Miu Tyanh.' Even you kill him with more than one punch, this will make him a legend. However, you haven't even killed him yet!"
Enzo's voice dipped lower, a fierce whisper. "You've got to bury this—hide that you hunted him in the Gworm Abyss. And the Payne Manor? Don't touch it. It's too low status like fleas, meaningless—but slaughtering them now, while Lordi Payne walks free? That screams you're powerless against this bastard Lordi Payne, and you could only lash out at his clan kin like a cornered beast. That'll tarnish your fame and hoist him up as some untouchable star."