Chapter 412: Finally Doing It! Arthur Claymore Has Been Pushed Into A Corner!

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Riven waited, already bracing himself for the next words. He had heard the reassurance. Now came the part where Arthur told everyone what would happen to those who stood against him.

"I address the perpetrators directly. Whoever you are, whatever twisted ideology drives you, you have made a fatal mistake! You have attacked not only a company but the foundation of humanity’s survival in this new age of Gates! We will find you. We will unmask every face behind this cowardice! And when we do, the full weight of Claymore, the Association, and every allied force will fall upon you without mercy. Be prepared. Claymore takes no risks. We will see this through to the end and eliminate all threats to humanity’s survival and progress toward a bright future!"

"OOOOHHHHHHHH!!!"

The crowd erupted in wild applause. His words were not only inspiring but carried a conviction that few politicians had ever shown.

Arthur Claymore was truly a man of his word, or so everyone there believed. They were certain he would do anything to punish the bastards behind this.

People who had been demanding answers just moments ago were now cheering for him. Several raised their hands above their heads, clapping where the cameras could see them. Others called out his name, joining in before the applause had a chance to fade.

He had told them what they wanted to hear.

The company would recover. Their money would be safe. And the people responsible would not get away with it.

That was enough for many of them. Questions about how the attacks had happened could wait, apparently. Right now, they wanted to show that they stood behind the man promising to make everything right.

Camera flashes went off as photographers tried to capture every moment. Several reporters immediately began shouting questions, while others focused on the reactions of Gawain and Guinevere standing beside him.

Stock tickers on secondary screens flickered as some investors tried to stabilize their positions. The announcement had clearly helped reassure the market, at least for the moment.

Riven watched in silence, the coffee cooling in his hands. He didn’t even realize that a faint cold aura was emanating from his body in response to what he had heard. The temperature around him had dropped slightly, and Label glanced at him with concern, although she decided not to interrupt.

Her gaze moved from his face to the cup he was holding. He had not taken a sip in a while, and his fingers were still wrapped firmly around it. When the cheering grew louder, he did not react to that either.

Label shifted in her seat, feeling the chill against her arms. She looked as though she might say something, but Riven’s attention remained fixed on the screen.

He was watching his father, not the crowd.

All those people saw a leader making promises. Riven knew better than to judge Arthur by the applause he received. What interested him was how much effort his father was putting into making this look like something he could still control.

But then a cold smile appeared on his lips.

Yes.

He’d finally done it. He had really, really enraged his damn father.

The threats had made that clear enough. Arthur could dress them up as concern for humanity, but he had still stood in front of the cameras and promised to hunt down everyone responsible.

For Riven, hearing that was almost worth sitting through the rest of the speech.

He was not stupid enough to think his father would stop at words. Claymore had the means to follow through, and Arthur would use them. There would be consequences, probably sooner than Riven wanted.

But that did not stop him from enjoying this moment.

His father had been forced to respond. To explain the losses. To reassure people who had suddenly found a reason to worry. No amount of cheering could change the fact that someone had made him do all of that.

"Father, as always, is great at manipulating the masses," he murmured. "He’s always been this way... Calm the masses, reassure the investors, and tighten the noose, as usual."

Daniela looked at Riven with concern. "Gawain... that handsome young man was your older brother, Riven? He looked strong... Guinevere was there too... without Cagliostro..."

She glanced back at the screen, studying the two figures beside Arthur. Seeing them there made the announcement harder to dismiss as just another speech. These were Riven’s relatives, standing with the man who had promised to find everyone responsible.

Daniela waited for him to answer, but he was still watching the broadcast.

She did not press him. There were probably enough things going through his head already.

"Hmph. She looks depressed," Cagliostro said, manifesting by Riven’s side.

Daniela turned at the sound of that voice, then looked toward Guinevere again. It was difficult to tell much from the camera’s view. Cagliostro, however, seemed certain about the assessment.

Riven gave no answer to that either.

Label’s eyes narrowed. "What should we do now? Won’t security be even tighter? Can we even conquer more dungeons this way? And that’s without mentioning those super-strong soldiers we encountered... T-There’s no guarantee we won’t run into them again, possibly in even larger numbers..."

She looked from Riven to the others, waiting for someone to tell her she was worrying too much. Nobody did.

Those soldiers had been enough of a problem already. The thought of finding more of them at the next dungeon was not something she could ignore, no matter how pleased Riven seemed with his father’s reaction.

They still had to get through whatever came next.

Label glanced at Vladimir’s missing arm and stopped herself from saying more. He was right there, after all. He knew what those encounters could cost them.

Still, pretending there was nothing to worry about would not help. Arthur had just announced that he was putting more resources into finding them. That had to change something.

Vladimir glanced at his sharp claws. His last human arm was still missing, but he didn’t seem bothered at all. He was probably already planning to replace it with something else. The loss had done little to affect his confidence, although it was certainly an inconvenience.

Perhaps he could ask the Mutants who are masters of technology to help out with that.

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