An Understated Dominance - Chapter 2466

The next morning, after breakfast at the West Lucozian castle, Austin tried to call Jovian. However, Jovian didn’t answer. After several attempts, Austin began to worry.

“Why isn’t he picking up?” Austin wondered.

They had made plans the day before to go to Oakvale together. It didn’t make sense for Jovian to suddenly be unreachable. Austin thought about how well they got along, often calling each other brothers. They had promised to travel together and look out for one another.

“If Jovian had an emergency, he would have at least let me know. He wouldn’t just disappear,” Austin reasoned.

His concern grew.

He quickly called for his trusted aide. “Go find out where Jovian is and report back to me as soon as you have any information.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the aide replied before rushing off.

Austin poured himself a cup of tea and waited quietly.

About an hour later, the aide returned.

“Well? Any news?” Austin asked, standing up with urgency.

While waiting, he had tried calling Jovian many times, but there was still no answer.

“Your Highness, I went to the hotel where Jovian was staying. The staff said he checked out last night,” the aide reported.

“He left last night?” Austin raised an eyebrow. “Did he already go to Oakvale?”

“I looked at the departure records. Jovian booked a flight but never boarded it. He seems to still be in West Lucozia,” the aide explained.

“He booked a flight but didn’t take it?” Austin muttered, his frown deepening.

“Could something have happened to him?”

Jovian was an important guest, and Dustin had told Austin to treat him with great respect. If anything happened to Jovian, how would Austin explain it to Dustin?

“Is there anything else?” Austin asked, feeling anxious.

“My investigation shows that Jovian left with Boston last night. I went to Boston’s house, but he’s missing too,” the aide reported.

Austin’s expression turned serious. “Find them! Search every corner of Celestria if you have to. Bring them back!”

“Understood!” The aide saluted and rushed out.

What started as a simple search for a person quickly became a major city-wide operation. The West Lucozian monarchy had its own enforcement team that was more powerful than any other group.

Once they were mobilized, all officials in West Lucozia had to stop what they were doing and cooperate. The royal enforcement team had the authority to act first and report later.

Anyone, whether a high-ranking official or a noble, who got in the way of the royal enforcement team could be executed immediately. Resistance was met with harsh punishment—beheading at best or the destruction of an entire family at worst.

Years ago, a high-ranking official thought he could ignore the law because of his status. He let his family commit terrible acts. When the enforcement team came to arrest them, he called his private army to fight back.

In the end, the entire family, including the official himself, was executed. Over 300 people were wiped out in one night.

Since then, the royal enforcement team became a source of fear for all West Lucozian officials. Whenever they were mobilized, the capital city of Celestria fell into chaos as people scrambled to avoid attracting their attention.

Inside

At the Prescott estate, Warrick was in the middle of a live combat training session with his guards on the training ground. He was shirtless, showing off his strong physique, and skillfully wielded a long spear. Even though he faced ten guards, he easily kept the upper hand.

These guards were elite fighters, chosen for their skills, but they found themselves pushed back by Warrick’s fierce attacks. In just a few minutes, more than ten men lay on the ground, defeated.

“Useless fools!” Warrick shouted, slamming his spear into the ground and pointing it at one guard’s nose. “I told you to train harder and improve your skills, but you all slacked off. Now you’re just a bunch of weaklings. You couldn’t even block three of my moves. If I had to depend on you for protection, I’d be dead by now.”

“Sir Prescott, it’s not that we can’t do it,” the guard captain replied, cradling his dislocated shoulder. “It’s just that you’re too strong. Very few in all of West Lucozia can last three moves against you.”

Despite the captain’s pained expression, his compliment seemed to make Warrick happy.

“Hmph! I’ll let it slide this time. But if you’re still this pathetic next time, don’t say I didn’t warn you about the disciplinary rods,” Warrick warned.

He tossed his spear, and it landed perfectly in the weapon rack. The guard captain, still ignoring his injury, quickly grabbed a dry towel and handed it to Warrick.

Warrick wiped the sweat from his brow and casually tossed the towel back. The guard captain swiftly draped a coat over Warrick’s shoulders, showing his dedication to his role.

Suddenly, Huxley burst into the training grounds, looking worried.

“Mr. Prescott! Mr. Prescott!” he called out, rushing in.

Two guards moved to stop him, but he pushed past them with ease, sending them sprawling to the ground. The guard captain watched this unfold, concerned about Huxley’s urgency.

Huxley stepped forward to block Huxley, but Warrick raised a hand to stop him.

“Mr. Thatcher, why the hurry? This isn’t like you,” Warrick said as he took a seat and signaled the guards to pour some tea.

“I just heard that Lord Austin has sent out the royal enforcement team. They’re searching the entire city for Jovian. We might be in serious trouble,” Huxley replied, looking worried.

He had thought that Austin wouldn’t take a big action over Jovian’s disappearance. To his surprise, Austin had mobilized the enforcement team just one night after Jovian vanished.

The last time the enforcement team was fully active was three years ago when the Cosblans family was wiped out. Over 300 of them were executed, and none survived.