An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

Substratumis, the core restoration pill, was created to heal internal injuries. It was rather effective in

restoring one’s core. As long as the patient took it within 24 hours, they would stand a chance to

regenerate their core. However, due to the preciousness of the ingredients, the Stoneray Valley only

produced a few pills annually. Each batch of pills would be scooped up by members of various guilds

upon hitting the market. Thankfully, Edwin had spent a fortune on one of those pills, just in time for

Tatum to use it.

“Sir Thunders, I accidentally crushed the pill. So, I can’t help you. I’m sorry.” Edwin shook his head

regrettably.

“You crushed the pill?” Tatum’s eyes narrowed, and he snickered. “Are you kidding me? Any sane

person would take great care of that precious pill. How could you have crushed it? Your son’s dead

anyway, so you can’t use it on him. Who else except for me will need your pill?”

“Sir Thunders, I am telling you the truth.” Edwin appeared serious.

“Oh, shut up! If you don’t hand me the restorative pill today, I’ll crush your legs!” Tatum threatened him

spitefully.

Edwin stared at Tatum with his cold but bright eyes. “But, Sir Thunders, I wonder how you are going to

do that, given that your core has been destroyed.”

“Hah! I might not have any bit of internal energy left, but killing a man like you is child’s play!”

Tatum was conceited.

“Is that so?” Edwin chuckled icily and brandished a gun from his back without warning. He pointed it at

Tatum. “Can a man without internal energy defend himself from bullets?”

“Hmm?” Tatum’s expression hardened. “How dare you point a gun at me, you son of a bitch. Do you

know who I am? Put the gun down and cut your hands in front of me. If not, I’ll…”

Edwin suddenly pulled the trigger before Tatum could finish his sentence. Following a loud bang, the

bullet shot Tatum in the forehead, leaving a splattered mess of blood on the wall.

Tatum grunted, his body trembling and his eyes wide-opened in disbelief. He’d never believe that

Edwin would pull the trigger on him, and a fatal, point-blank shot at that.

Finally, Tatum’s body slumped heavily onto the floor, his eyes remaining open as he drew his last

breath.

“Huh?” Fletcher Lawson, who had been standing by the side, appeared mortified at the scene. “S- Sir

Hummer, what are you doing? Tatum Thunders is Sir Lincoln’s principal disciple. How are we going to

explain this to Sir Lincoln?” He secretly thought Edwin had gone mad for having the guts to murder

Tatum.

“Yeah, I killed him. Why do I need to explain that? Edwin took out a handkerchief and calmly wiped the

spot of his head injury from the wine bottle attack.

“If Sir Lincoln learns about this, he will not let this slip!” Fletcher was panicking as he pictured the

guildmaster of Boulderthorn, halfway to becoming a grandmaster. The man was powerful enough to

massacre the entire Hummer Family!

“If we don’t tell, no one will know,” Edwin muttered emotionlessly.

“But Tatum died on our territory. How can we hide the fact?” Fletcher was drenched in cold sweat by

now.

“You don’t have to panic. Just remember-none of us met Tatum Thunders today. He suffered a sudden

death in his home after the battle with Dustin. We shall leave Boulderthorn to figure out the murderer,

and we have no clue about it at all. Got it?” Edwin tilted his head, his eyes shimmering with a cold

gaze.

“Sir Hummer, are you telling me to… shift the blame to Dustin Rhys?” It didn’t take Fletcher long to

piece the puzzle.

“It was Dustin Rhys’ doing all along. When did we shift the blame to him?” Edwin questioned.

“Oh, right! It’s all Dustin Rhys’ fault!” Fletcher nodded furiously. At that point, he finally caught a glimpse

of the depths of Edwin’s dark soul. Edwin had decided to kill a top ace like Tatum without blinking an

eye. The mere thought of it was mind-numbing.

At the Boulderthorn branch in Millsburg, Clement Lincoln sat on the throne, his expression darkening

when Tatum Thunders’ body was brought back. As the guildmaster of Boulderthorn who had extensive

experience in the field, he never had anyone offending him in this manner. “Who was it? Who did this?”

He gritted his teeth as his eyes bulged.

Sir Lincoln, it was Dustin Rhys!” Luther started fanning the flames. “Dustin Rhys pulled dirty

tricks in the battle and destroyed Tatum’s core. Tatum was assassinated right after that!”

“Dustin Rhys! It’s him again!” Clement banged his fists on the table out of rage, and the wooden table

instantly cracked and split into pieces. First, it was Joshua Hummer. Now, it was Tatum. Clement had

lost two beloved disciples, one of whom was his heir. It was tough not to feel anger and hatred at the

culprit.

“Sir Lincoln, Dustin Rhys is sly and ruthless. He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. If we don’t get rid of

him in time, he might be a pain in the ass in the future!” Luther added fuel to the fire.

“Send out my orders-The Royal Valor of Boulder thorn is looking to arrest Dustin Rhys!” Clement said

with grief. “I’ll use all necessary means and make any sacrifices to tear him into pieces!”

“Yes, sir!” His disciples bowed and took his orders The Royal Valor was shaken from the orders, and its

aces were called back from all corners of the world for the quest. At that moment, Dustin Rhys was the

most-wanted man on the Royal Valor’s blacklist.