An Understated Dominance - Chapter 2500

**Chapter 2500**

“Here’s the problem—how do we stop Warrick, even if we know what he wants?” Austin asked.

Right now, Warrick had vanished without a trace. Austin’s team hadn’t gotten close enough to catch him, so tracking him down was impossible.

West Lucozia was vast, with many resources, making it hard to completely block every escape route. While it might work in the short term, keeping up such an operation would hurt West Lucozia’s economy. Spending so much on one fugitive wasn’t a smart choice.

“Warrick is wanted all over the city. There’s no way he’s leaving through the official routes. He’ll have to sneak out,” Dustin explained.

He added, “If he’s going from West Lucozia to Artea, he’ll have to pass through Thaloria. That’s our clue. Get someone on it right away—find out how many smuggling routes go from West Lucozia to Thaloria.”

“Got it. I’ll take care of it right now,” Austin replied, nodding. He quickly called his guards and gave them the orders.

The castle’s intelligence network worked quickly. In less than thirty minutes, a special map of the routes was brought to Austin. As he laid it out, he saw many winding paths leading from West Lucozia’s border to different docks and ports in Thaloria. However, five routes were marked in bright red, making them stand out.

These routes weren’t on any regular map, and few people knew they existed. They were secret channels used by smugglers, exploited by dishonest merchants and corrupt officials for a long time.

The castle had known about the smugglers for a while but decided not to act. Taking them down would be a huge task. In some ways, letting them operate freely had its advantages—it was like watching a dangerous situation grow, knowing it would eventually collapse on itself.

“Dustin, look at these five routes,” Austin said, pointing to a map. “These are the main smuggling paths to Thaloria. If you’re right, Warrick will have to pick one of them. If we set up an ambush here, we should be able to catch him.”

“Dustin replied, “Warrick is a grandmaster martial artist, and his senses are incredibly sharp. If we send too many troops for the ambush, it will be too obvious, and he’ll escape before we can act.” Right now, Warrick was like a scared bird; any sudden movement might make him fly away.

“That’s true,” Austin nodded, thinking hard. “If we gather a large force, it will alert him. But if we only send a few elite squads, I’m worried we won’t have enough strength to stop him.” Even after being drugged with Tranqurin, Warrick had still managed to escape from the castle. Regular soldiers couldn’t handle him.

Only elite teams like the Draken Guardians had a chance of taking him down. The issue was that there were only about 100 of them, which wasn’t nearly enough to cover all the smuggling routes. Splitting them up would weaken their strength, and that wouldn’t be wise.

On top of that, Warrick had support from experts at the Hall of Gods. If there was a confrontation, the chances of failure were high.

“No need to go through all that trouble,” Dustin said casually.

“Just deploy your forces to block off four of the routes. Leave the rest to me,” Austin said confidently.

Dustin nodded, understanding the plan. “So, this is what you meant by ‘lure him out.’ That’s brilliant.”

By blocking four routes and intentionally leaving one open, they would give Warrick the false hope of escape. Dustin would wait at the exit to catch him as soon as he walked into the trap. It was a smart strategy that would ensure their success without raising any suspicion.

Austin believed in Dustin’s ability to take down Warrick. After all, Dustin had defeated even the best martial artists on the Champ-Tier List. What chance did an ordinary general like Warrick have against him?

Warrick had only himself to blame for provoking the wrong person.

As dawn broke, the search operation in Celestria, the capital of West Lucozia, was still ongoing. Although Dustin and Austin had a solid plan to capture Warrick, they needed to keep up appearances to avoid arousing suspicion from the Hall of Gods.

In an old estate outside Celestria, a hidden door behind a bookshelf creaked open with a soft click.

Mulder stepped out, followed by several subordinates. After checking their surroundings to ensure it was safe, he called back, “All clear, Sir Prescott. You can come out now.”

“Damn it! I was suffocating in there!” Warrick grumbled as he emerged from the secret tunnel, looking dirty and worn out.

After spending the entire night in the dark, damp tunnel, he finally had a chance to breathe fresh air again. He slumped into a chair and poured himself a cup of tea. Just as he was about to take a sip, he hesitated.

Warrick looked at Mulder with caution. The memory of drinking drugged tea at the castle just a few days ago was still fresh in his mind.

“Don’t worry, Sir Prescott. The tea isn’t drugged,” Mulder said with a reassuring smile. He took the cup from Warrick and drank it all in one gulp. “Can’t be too careful after what happened,” Warrick replied, shaking his head before he too took a sip of the tea.

Then, suddenly, they heard footsteps coming from the doorway.

Warrick’s expression changed instantly. In a flash, he drew his blade, ready to defend himself.