Chapter 242: CHAPTER 241
The next few days after Candice and her subordinates moved into the Heavenly Palace went smoothly. Although tensions between the kingdom of Tripia and the empire were escalating, they had not yet reached the point of declaring war.
Because of this, the different organizations in both the empire and the Tripia kingdom began to make their moves, which for the time being were limited to storing food, weapons, and warriors.
For this reason, businesses like Candice's that were dedicated to the commercialization of groceries were more vigilant, because it was not strange that they were attacked or that their cargoes were looted.
Fortunately, Candice had managed her business well and none of her products were looted, but it was this very reason that could lead unscrupulous people to attack her directly, so Castor who was charged with the task of protecting her, would not leave her side.
Although with Castor's strength, it was not necessary for him to be by her side at all times to protect her, he did not relax for a second and preferred to be close by, to avoid any eventuality.
Candice was not uncomfortable having him around, as she was used to being accompanied by Erick, so it was not a new situation, just a different person, so she continued with her activities as usual.
She had also gotten used to her new life and was no longer so shy when she was with Andrew, in fact, she was already bold enough to show her affection in public without being embarrassed.
Well, to be more accurate, she was still embarrassed to do that, but now she managed to hold her own with confidence before she would instantly run away, so that's great progress.
She had also improved her interactions in bed. While it was true that she was not yet ready to go all the way, she already allowed Andrew to play with her body a little, however, she was still reluctant to do so when Carolina and the others were present.
In that tone came the day Santiago and his distinguished guest visited the Heavenly Palace. This guest is an old man who looks like he is 80, but he radiates vitality as any young man.
Andrew as a sign of respect decided to receive him in person and contrary to what he thought, the old man was quite jovial and carefree, but Andrew was not fooled, as Oliver had already told him that this old man was much stronger than him.
The introductions were short. The old man only gave his name which is Oclam and after thanking for the welcome, he simply went to the dance room accompanied by Santiago.
Everyone in the Heavenly Palace was alert to the old man because such a powerful expert could not be offended, but Andrew was thinking things through because the old man did not make any strange moves and behaved himself throughout the night.
Despite his age, the old man enjoyed the exotic and erotic dancing of the dance room dancers and left happy with the experience which, in his own words, "This not exist anywhere else on the continent."
When the old man left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief because it seemed that a storm had passed through the place. Although inside the Heavenly Palace, Andrew was in total control and the old man was not a threat, it had to be considered that they could not stay there all their lives, so the old man leaving happily was a relief.
You have to know that the more powerful a person is, the more years he can live and at the same time his youth is maintained, so Oclam being so powerful and old, meant that he had lived a lot and his power was more terrifying than it seemed.
Andrew and the others in the Heavenly Palace had no idea, but that old man was so powerful, that the moment he entered the city Arturios visited him in person, to know his intentions, because not even Arturios, could measure this old man's power.
Fortunately, the old man was only passing by and wanted to visit Santiago's family with whom he had a small friendship, and after a couple of days, he left.
After Elder Oclam's visit, the days passed quietly, until an incident occurred. One night when Candice in the company of her subordinates and Castor was returning to the Heavenly Palace, Castor suddenly stood up alertly.
This startled everyone inside the carriage and without waiting for them to ask, Castor said, "Inform the young master, we are under attack," and without waiting for a reply, he stepped out of the carriage and unsheathed his sword.
In the surroundings, not a soul could be seen, so everyone was confused, but experts like Erick and Vala immediately understood that something was wrong, because at this hour the red light district was full of people coming in to have fun, however, not a soul could be seen, that was strange.
Vala who was a specialist in assassination and could move among the shadows wanted to go to the Heavenly Palace to report, but Castor stopped her, as the two Shadow agents who accompanied them, had already left the instant Castor reported that they were under attack.
Knowing that the three stood in front of the carriage where Candice, Gaston, and Canna were, waiting for their enemies to appear and these did not keep them waiting.
From the shadows appeared about 30 people with dark suits and masks and the one who looked like their leader said in a hoarse voice, "I did not expect you to discover us", however, he did not intend to wait and like a leopard, he launched himself into the attack.
The leader of the attackers had identified that Castor was the most powerful of the three, so he decided to attack him. Their mission was not to kill, but to kidnap Candice, so they did not need to defeat Castor and the others, only to keep them busy, so that one of their companions could take Candice.
Castor guessing their intentions deployed all his power and with a single swing of his sword sent the leader of the attackers flying several meters. The masked leader suffered no injuries, as he managed to block the attack, but his hands were numb from Castor's powerful blow.
Feeling Castor's strength, the masked leader adopted a serious expression because he knew that he was no match for Castor, but he was confident that he could keep him busy so that his companions could carry out the mission.
Due to the large number of attackers, Vala and Erick were overwhelmed and could not defend the carriage, as they were too busy preserving their lives, and that made the leader of the attackers happy, as he was sure they would accomplish the mission, but he underestimated Castor.
Castor, seeing that the situation was getting complicated, retreated and defended the carriage with his life. Even the leader of the hooded men could not believe that Castor had the capacity to confront him and at the same time defend the carriage from the other attackers.
Seeing that the situation was getting complicated, the leader of the hooded men raised his hand and waved it in a circular motion as if sending a signal and within seconds a rain of arrows fell on Castor.
Castor managed to dodge the arrows, but at the same time he was forced to move away from the carriage and the masked ones did not lose the opportunity and ran towards the carriage to capture Candice.
Without hesitation, Castor launched himself into the attack, but he had only taken two steps and another shower of arrows attacked him. Annoyed by the tactics of the attackers, Castor roared in annoyance and charged again.
Again the arrows rained down, but this time Castor did not dodge, but swung his sword and destroyed them and although he suffered some minor wounds, he did not care.
Unfortunately, one of the attackers had managed to capture Candice and was preparing to flee, but at that moment Castor exploited all his strength and with one stab shattered the head of the man holding Candice.
Now Castor had recovered Candice and kept her close to him protecting her from all the attackers that were advancing from all angles. Erick and Vala wanted to go to help, but they were being held back by about 5 men each and it was impossible for them.
Castor, although more powerful than the attackers, was outnumbered and as he was protecting Candice, his movements were limited, so he started to accumulate wounds.
Candice, although she seemed composed on the outside, was frightened, as she saw the situation getting more and more complicated. She was not only worried about her safety, but also about her employees because while Erick and Vala were fighters, Gaston and Canna were not, and she had seen them knocked out when she was captured a few minutes ago.
The leader of the masked men had a big smile under his mask because he knew that Castor could not endure long and that he would complete his mission, but his happiness did not last long because at that moment he felt a shiver run down his back.
As Castor was about to be overwhelmed a powerful force descended and crushed all the enemies that approached him and like a ghost Oliver appeared in front of him.
"Well done, you held up well, now leave it to me," said Oliver with obvious restrained anger, and at a speed that was not visible to any of those present Oliver began his attack.
Every second blood splattered the air and one of the masked men fell to the ground. The leader upon seeing Oliver's monstrous performance immediately ordered a retreat, but Oliver would not allow it.
In a second, Oliver appeared in front of the leader of the attackers and with a strong punch in the stomach, knocked him out. The other attackers fled like ants in a hot cauldron at the sight of their leader being defeated with a single blow.
Oliver did not pursue them, as his goal was to protect Candice, so he did not intend to separate from her. Besides, he had captured the leader, so he could get the information he needed from him.