With his two constitutional upgrades and his LV 1 Strength talent, Henry knew he had few rivals in terms of sheer power.
He decided to save his remaining pearls. He would wait until he had the one thousand grey pearls needed to upgrade his Rifle Mastery to LV 5. He could hardly imagine what that level of skill would be like, and he was eager to find out.
At the McKinley manor, the world was a canvas of chaos. The ground-shaking explosion had covered the entire estate in a thick layer of rocks, branches, and dirt. The horses in the stable screamed in terror, and the residents rushed from their rooms, fearing the house itself would collapse around them.
The dozen guards who had been positioned at the main gate thought the apocalypse had come.
When the tremors finally subsided, Commander Cian fired five signal flares and ordered two men to scout the road ahead.
The men returned, their faces pale with shock. The first hundred meters of the plaza were gone, having completely collapsed into the valley below. The road no longer existed. The collapse had stopped a mere twenty meters from the two main watchtowers.
Cian felt a strange mixture of relief and despair. Relief, because the enemy was surely gone, and the manor was safe. Despair, because the attack had been so devastating that it had completely cut them off from the outside world. They were trapped.
In the main hall, Brendan and Rocky received the report, their faces grim. They had been attacked by a powerful, unknown enemy, lost eighty-nine of their best men, and now the very foundations of their fortress had been nearly destroyed. It was all so sudden, so unbelievable.
And the enemy, from beginning to end, had been a single, masked man.
At dawn, Brendan, Rocky, and Cian walked to the edge of the plaza. The road that had been there just hours before was now a sheer, eighty-meter cliff. The corner where the enemy had hidden was also gone, part of a massive landslide.
The only way down the mountain now was to use ropes, a feat only the strongest and bravest men could manage. The entire manor was stranded.
To make matters worse, the explosion had damaged the manor's spring. The water flow had been cut in half. Fortunately, with half their men now dead, the remaining water would be just enough. They had enough supplies to last for a couple of weeks. But even if they could eventually blast a new road out of the mountainside, the manor would never be the same. After this, it could no longer serve as the McKinley family's primary Western stronghold.
Brendan and Rocky looked at each other, their hearts filled with a crippling sense of helplessness. It truly felt like they were calling to heaven, and heaven wouldn't answer.
The next morning, at the Mellon estate in Denver, Richard and his wife were reading the Denver Post over breakfast. The headlines were shocking.
MCKINLEY MANOR ATTACKED BY UNKNOWN ENEMY, ROAD DESTROYED BY HIGH EXPLOSIVES
…reports from the scene indicate a massive battle involving Gatling guns, howitzers, and dynamite…
EAST DENVER BUILDING DESTROYED, OVER 200 BODIES FOUND
…sources say the building, located behind the Hamlet Saloon, was the secret headquarters of a powerful criminal organization…
Richard and Madeline looked at each other, their faces pale. The timeline of both events matched Henry's "night out" perfectly.
My God, Richard thought, remembering the crowd he had seen gathered in East Denver on his way back from the McKinleys' dinner party. That was the black market headquarters.
This state is far too dangerous.
"Linda," Richard said, turning to their guest, "we should have the butler purchase the train tickets. How many will be in your party?"
"I'm sorry," Linda replied, "you'll have to ask Henry. I believe his plans may have changed."
Richard smiled. "Of course. Madeline, my dear, would you please coordinate with Henry and have the butler handle the tickets? I have some business to attend to this morning."
"Of course," Madeline said. "But please, take two of the deputies with you. Be careful."
Richard kissed his wife, gave a nod to Linda, and then left the manor, with Thor and Hank as his escort.
It was after 9 AM when Henry finally awoke and came downstairs. The children had already eaten.
Edith, Madeline, and Linda were chatting in the main hall. When they saw him, their faces lit up. Even in a simple shirt, vest, and leather pants, he had an undeniable presence—tall, handsome, and radiating a calm, steady strength.
"Good morning, Henry," Madeline said with a smile. After the shared trauma of the past few days, the formal titles had been dropped.
"Good morning, Madeline, Linda, Edith."
"Henry, I was about to have the butler purchase the train tickets. How many should I ask for, and for when?"
"Four adults—Linda, Mary, Pete, and myself. And two children. Perhaps Becky won't need a ticket. So, five tickets in total. Any time after today is fine."
"Alright," Madeline said, and rang the bell for the butler. "I'll see to it."
A maid, Ruth, brought Henry his breakfast—with an extra pound of steak.