Chapter 79: Two Days To Find The Dolly Bridle Faction

Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Two Days To Find The Dolly Bridle Faction

The moment Steven Holloway mentioned the Dolly Bridle Evil Faction, Xavier’s expression changed slightly.

He had never heard of such an organization before. Still, that was hardly a problem. Steven was standing right in front of him, and Xavier had every intention of getting the answers he needed.

"What exactly do you know about the Dolly Bridle Evil Faction?" Xavier asked.

Steven had no reason to hide anything anymore. With his life hanging in the balance, he answered every question as honestly as he could.

Unfortunately, his knowledge of the organization was limited.

The Dolly Bridle Evil Faction had only begun showing signs of activity in Valemont within the past two years.

Its members were fanatical followers of an evil god known as Dolly, although they referred to their deity as the Blood God.

What made the organization particularly disturbing was the way it operated. They secretly abducted people and gathered their victims together on the fifteenth night of every month.

Once everyone had been assembled, they would carry out a mass human sacrifice as an offering to their so called Blood God.

Steven had only learned about this because he once mentioned the organization to his superior in the Bloodshadow Cult, the man known by the codename Tea House.

Tea House had apparently been in an unusually good mood that day and casually told Steven about the Dolly Bridle Evil Faction as though he were sharing an amusing piece of gossip.

Beyond that, Steven knew almost nothing. He had no idea where the organization was based, where they kept their captives, or how many members they had.

Xavier’s gaze sharpened.

"How did you discover that the woman they took was Helena? And where exactly did this happen?"

Steven immediately answered.

"It happened in a rural area roughly thirty kilometers west of here," he said.

"One of my men happened to return to his hometown to visit someone he was seeing. While he was there, he accidentally witnessed several people being taken away. Later, he compared the faces with the information we had, and that’s how he realized one of them was Helena."

He hesitated before continuing.

"She looked badly injured at the time, but I don’t think they’ll let her die. The people in the Dolly Bridle Evil Faction are obsessed with their Blood God. Someone at the peak of Foundation Establishment is too valuable to lose before the sacrifice."

Xavier’s eyes narrowed.

"What happened to the man who saw them?" he asked.

Steven’s face stiffened.

"He’s dead," he said, raising his remaining hand and pointing toward one of the headless corpses scattered around the abandoned bridge. "He had a butterfly tattoo on his left arm."

Xavier followed his finger and immediately recognized the body. It was one of the ten Foundation Establishment fighters he had killed earlier.

A faint smile touched his lips. What a coincidence.

Fortunately, the man had apparently known nothing beyond what he had witnessed.

He had merely happened to see Helena being taken away and had no idea where she was being held. That saved Xavier the trouble of worrying that his information had already spread further.

He glanced at the sky and began calculating. Today was May 8th.

There were only seven days left before the fifteenth. If the Dolly Bridle Evil Faction really performed its sacrifices on the fifteenth of every month, then Helena might have less than a week left.

Xavier turned back to Steven.

"You work with information," he said. "Surely you have your own methods for finding people."

Steven immediately understood what Xavier meant.

"Sir, I may have a way," he said, his voice becoming more eager. This was his chance to prove that he still had value.

"I can arrange a meeting with my superior, Tea House. He’s stronger than me, but he’s definitely not at the Spirit Platform Realm. Against someone like you, he wouldn’t stand a chance." His eyes flickered.

"If we can get close to Tea House, we can follow that connection and learn more about both the Dolly Bridle Evil Faction and the Bloodshadow Cult. At the same time, I can mobilize the people under me to search the surrounding areas. We can look for anyone connected to the Dolly Bridle Evil Faction, capture them, and force them to talk."

He spoke quickly, almost desperately because he understood his situation perfectly.

Once Xavier finished extracting every useful piece of information from him, what reason would there be to keep him alive?

The only thing protecting him now was his usefulness.

As long as he could continue providing value, he had a chance of surviving.

Whether the Bloodshadow Cult eventually came after him for betraying them was a problem for another day.

There was no point worrying about tomorrow if he could not survive today.

Xavier listened quietly. The plan was not bad.

"How long will it take you to arrange a meeting with Tea House?" he asked.

Steven thought carefully before answering.

"Three days," he said. "Give me three days, and I’m confident I can get him to come out."

"Three days?" Xavier’s brows drew together. "That’s too long."

Steven’s heart jumped. He quickly explained himself.

"Sir, please understand," he said.

"The Bloodshadow Cult is extremely cautious. Tea House normally contacts me only when he has a mission for me. Since there isn’t an assignment right now, I can’t simply summon him whenever I want. I’ll need to create a believable reason for him to meet me without making him suspicious." He lowered his head respectfully. "I hope you can give me some time."

Xavier remained silent. Under normal circumstances, waiting three days would not have bothered him.

The Bloodshadow Cult could wait. But Helena could not. Every hour that passed increased the danger to Mira’s mother.

If the Dolly Bridle Evil Faction intended to use her in the next sacrifice, Xavier could not afford to spend three days merely waiting for Tea House to appear.

He finally made his decision.

"The Bloodshadow Cult can wait," he said, his eyes settling coldly on Steven. "But the Dolly Bridle Evil Faction cannot."

Steven’s expression tightened.

"You have two days," Xavier continued.

"By noon two days from now, I want useful information about the Dolly Bridle Evil Faction." He raised one finger.

"I don’t care what method you use. Search for them, question people, use your connections, or create an opportunity to approach them. That’s your problem." He pointed toward Steven’s chest.

"But if you come back to me with nothing useful—" a faint smile appeared on his face, "—the chaotic energy inside your chest will explode."

Steven’s face instantly turned pale.

"It’ll be no different from what happened to your right arm," Xavier added calmly.

Steven’s breathing became heavier.

"Of course, you’re welcome to find a way to remove my control before then," Xavier said, his smile deepening.

"Whether you can do it is up to you."

He reached into his spatial ring and tossed Steven a small bottle. Steven caught it instinctively.

"A 3rd-Grade Vitality Elixir," Xavier said. "Consider it payment for your cooperation. If you bring me information that satisfies me within the next two days, I’ll consider giving you more."

Steven stared at the elixir in his hand. Xavier was giving him a reason to work quickly while also showing that cooperation could bring real rewards.

Xavier then gave Steven his phone number before turning around and leaving. He did not bother saying anything else. There was no need. Steven already understood exactly what was at stake.

Once Xavier disappeared from sight, Steven remained where he was, sweating heavily as he stared at the elixir.

The chaotic energy Xavier had planted inside his body was still there. Xavier had not been bluffing. If Steven failed to deal with the situation within two days, that energy would eventually detonate.

The only uncertainty was how precisely Xavier could control it.

After reaching the Spirit Platform Realm and advancing his Chaos Body, Xavier’s control over chaotic energy had improved dramatically.

However, his mastery was still far from perfect, especially after releasing a considerable amount of chaotic energy from his own body.

He could control the general timing, but guaranteeing an exact moment was still difficult. Whether Steven survived would ultimately depend on how efficiently he handled the task.

Of course, if Steven truly proved himself useful, Xavier had no intention of killing him simply for the sake of it. He might even let him go. If necessary, Xavier could provide him with some resources and continue using him.

Xavier understood something very clearly. A society that was completely clean and orderly existed only in theory. Every era had its shadows.

There would always be people willing to do things that respectable organizations could not openly touch. People like Steven were dangerous weeds.

Leaving them unchecked would only allow them to spread, but completely eliminating every one of them was neither realistic nor necessary. Controlling them was often more useful.

More importantly, Xavier needed people who could operate in places he could not openly enter and handle matters that would be inconvenient for someone with his current identity.

If Steven could become one of those people, keeping him alive would save Xavier a great deal of trouble.