An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

After a hearty meal, the burly Warrick sprawled lazily onto the bed and dozed off. He slept soundly till dusk, lost in a deep dream. When the sky was painted in brilliant hues of the setting sun, only then did he wake up leisurely.

The exhaustion from the previous day seemed to have melted away. He felt invigorated, refreshed, and in high spirits.

At that moment, Leigh had already set the table in the hall with quiet efficiency. Compared to the first meal, this spread was far more lavish.

At the center of the table sat a whole roasted pig. Its golden-brown skin glistened with a rich, crispy sheen. The mouthwatering aroma filled the room, making it impossible not to crave a bite.

Warrick had never been one for formalities. The moment he saw the feast, he didn’t hesitate. He strode over, took a seat, and started digging in. He ate with zero restraint without sparing a single thought for Mulder, who was still out gathering intel.

After a while, half of the roast pig was gone. His face was smeared with grease, and he occasionally let out a satisfied belch.

Just then, the tightly shut door creaked open.

Mulder and his men returned, looking weary from the road..

Seeing Warrick feasting alone, his face slick with grease, Mulder wasn’t annoyed. Instead, he sat beside him and started eating as well.

His subordinates could only watch hungrily from the sidelines and didn’t dare to overstep their bounds.

“Well? Did you find anything useful?”

Warrick asked.

now, he had eaten his fill. He set down his fork and knife, let out a loud belch, then grabbed

good news and bad news. Which one do you want

deliberately kept him

bad news,”

news is that West Lucozia’s forces are conducting a full-scale manhunt for you. They’re combing every city and village, leaving no stone unturned. If

have two days?” Warrick narrowed his

has locked down every port and dock, and they’ve even seized control of

you’re telling me

had someone look into it. Four of the five smuggling routes we

last hidden route that is yet to be discovered by them, so we can

for?

four out of five routes already blocked, they couldn’t afford to waste any time. If they didn’t act soon, even the last remaining path might be discovered. And if that happened, escaping West Lucozia

be so hasty. Let me

this is a trap set by Austin. He might have left this opening deliberately to lure us out, only to spring the trap at the last moment and

just a greenhorn. Sure, he’s witty, but there’s no way he could pull something like

concerns our lives, so we can’t afford