Chapter 483

Chapter 483: Chapter 483

Zach picked it from the crowd instantly but the moment he thought his eyes had caught up to her, she vanished into thin air. It was as if his eyes were deceiving himself or the rain had created some kind of illusion for him momentarily.

"Wait here, I will be back in a bit." There was urgency in his tone but Ronaldo failed to recognize it and held Zach’s arm in denial of his request.

"Don’t go anywhere. The servants are just about done. We can then finish going through the official ceremony and become sworn brothers. I can’t wait anymore." Ronaldo was drunk out of his wits but his grip on Zach’s hands wasn’t loose at all.

Even drunk, Ronaldo was a military man. Zach had no choice but to listen to his ramblings that had no purpose other than to spit out words that had no meaning whatsoever.

Zach’s eyes shuttled back and forth between the location where he had last seen the blue clothed woman and Ronaldo. Helpless, he let go of the thought of pursuing the blue clothed woman and decided to focus on the task at hand. Getting rid of Ronaldo should be his priority anyway considering that this kind of opportunity might not come again in the future.

Zach didn’t want to wait that long to get his revenge.

Therefore, he looked towards the side and saw Bruce also looking in the same direction. It appeared that the man had caught sight of the woman as well.

"This makes things easier." Thought Zach to himself as he caught Bruce’s attention with his eyes.

The latter seemed to have recognized the urgency in his eyes and nodded in understanding.

Zach motioned Bruce to go after the woman with a tilt of his head and a wink which the latter acknowledged before running off to find any trace of the woman in blue.

Zach waited in silence as he tapped his feet on the grassy ground in impatience. But Zach’s return wasn’t as fruitful as he had imagined.

Zach implored Bruce with his eyes but the latter only lowered his head after slowly shaking it in response.

Bruce came close to Zach before leaning in to whisper in his ear, "I missed her...I couldn’t find a single trace."

Zach was unsure of what to assume in this kind of situation. Although he had his doubts, there was absolutely no way to tell if the woman truly was the same one, he had encountered in the marketplace, the same one who had beheaded the merchant in front of the whole crowd without leaving a single trace of herself.

He wondered why he was running into her so often nowadays. He was curious as to which side she belonged to.

From her actions, it appeared that she was a righteous soul with a violent side but Zach couldn’t be sure about the side she had chosen to support. He only hoped that she wasn’t an enemy.

But until he could be sure of it, he decided to consider her an adversary, just to be on the safer side.

Even though he had his doubts about the presence of the woman at Ronaldo’s, Zach still decided to move ahead with his plan. The opportunity was too hard to come by in the first place. He could not risk losing this chance on the uncertain possibility of the presence of a woman who may or may not be hostile to him.

Ronaldo busily gave orders and arranged the entire venue in a matter of a few minutes by utilizing all the personnel at his disposal. Even Zach was dumbfounded at how expeditiously everything had been arranged.

The awaited thunderstorm lingered on the horizon, the heavy rain a prelude to the imminent tempest. Despite the downpour, the thunder, the dramatic punctuation to the impending storm, remained a distant rumble. Zach, with a clandestine agenda in mind, yearned for the perfect conditions to set his plan into motion. The ceremony, a potential stage for his covert activities, needed the cover of thunder to mask any untoward sounds.

However, Ronaldo, seemingly anticipating any possible delays, had left Zach with no excuse to postpone the proceedings. Every detail had been meticulously arranged, eliminating any legitimate reason for delay. It was as if Ronaldo had not only mastered the art of event coordination but also preempted Zach’s intentions, closing every escape route. The clash between Zach’s hidden motives and Ronaldo’s meticulous planning intensified, setting the stage for a silent battle within the chaos of the impending storm.

In the midst of a relentless downpour, the garden transformed into an unconventional stage for the mysterious ceremony. A select few friends, braving the rain without shade, stood at a cautious distance as witnesses while Zach and Ronaldo, exposed to the elements, had to take their places opposite each other.

The heavy rain, falling in sheets, muffled any ambient sounds, creating an intimate yet eerie atmosphere. The onlookers, standing stoically at a distance, observed the unfolding ritual with a mix of curiosity and apprehension.

As Zach and Ronaldo prepared to exchange vows of brotherhood, the rain, unrelenting in its descent, added an unexpected layer of determination and commitment to the occasion.

The garden, now saturated and glistening, bore witness to a pact that seemed to thrive on secrecy. The lack of umbrellas and the somber faces of the onlookers heightened the gravity of the moment.

The rain, a relentless force, symbolized not just the unpredictability of the weather but also the hidden complexities of the vows being exchanged. In the midst of the downpour, the ceremony unfolded like a clandestine dance, with nature itself playing an unwitting accomplice to a commitment wrapped in enigma.

Despite a lingering apprehension about the ceremony concluding sooner than anticipated, Zach found himself with no alternative but to join Ronaldo in the unfolding proceedings, emerging as one of the central characters in this unusual spectacle.

The onlookers, wise enough to avoid the pouring rain, stood a bit further from the venue, attempting to stay dry. In stark contrast, Zach and Ronaldo, seemingly impervious to the weather, couldn’t wait to forge their brotherly bond. Their enthusiasm, bordering on lunacy, was evident as they braved the downpour, highlighting a peculiar contrast between sensible observers seeking shelter and the two individuals eagerly plunging into their unique ceremony.

Zach, disregarding the dampness seeping through the cushions, skillfully folded his legs beneath himself. He settled into his seat, directly opposite Ronaldo, on the rain-soaked cushions meticulously arranged in the garden for the ceremony. The once-plush fabric now clung uncomfortably to his attire, but Zach’s attention remained steadfast on matters of greater significance.

The cushions, sodden and offering a less-than-ideal perch, became a metaphor for the inconveniences Zach was willing to endure.

Despite the discomfort, his gaze locked onto Ronaldo, and in that moment, the wet seating arrangements seemed to fade into the background. Zach’s mind was occupied with intentions far weightier than the physical discomfort of a damp cushion.

On the contrary, Ronaldo was initially so engrossed in the unfolding event that he scarcely registered anything amiss. His singular focus was on hastening the ceremony’s conclusion, a pivotal step toward securing his safety from Zach’s potential threats.

The urgency to bring this ritual to an end weighed heavily on him. For Ronaldo, the prospect of a completed ceremony meant more than just a symbolic bond with Zach; it held the promise of respite, a guarantee that once the formalities were over, he could finally lay to rest the nagging fear of being ambushed.

The gravity of this moment was not lost on Ronaldo. As the rain continued to fall and the dampness intensified, his desire for a swift resolution became a driving force.

Only with the ceremony’s culmination could Ronaldo hope to reclaim a sense of security, allowing him the elusive luxury of peaceful sleep, unburdened by the constant dread of potential harm looming over him.

With the intensifying rain, the oppressive weight that had settled on Ronaldo’s mind due to his intoxication began to slowly recede. Like a gradual awakening, his mental faculties started to regain clarity, but the process unfolded at a languid pace, akin to the unhurried movement of a snail.

The relentless downpour seemed to wash away not only the physical dampness but also the fog that had clouded Ronaldo’s thoughts, revealing the slow but steady return of coherence in his mind.

In a serendipitous alignment with the first stirrings of rational thought in Ronaldo’s mind, thunderous arcs roared across the sky, engaged in a race to cross the horizon and strike the ground below. However, their existence was ephemeral, their lives cut short before they could complete their journey.

Like fleeting specters, these lightning bolts vanished into the vast expanse, leaving behind a transient display of power that mirrored the brief emergence of clarity in Ronaldo’s recovering consciousness.

The resounding thunders echoed like a sinister melody to Zach’s ears. With each booming roar, he felt the symphony of nature aligning with his clandestine intentions. The storm’s wrath became the perfect cover for Zach’s calculated move. Ready to execute his plan, he saw an opportunity in the divine chaos, an act of god to veil the artistry of his intent.

In the thunderous cacophony, Zach readied himself to take down Ronaldo, confident that the natural tumult would cloak his actions in obscurity. This was a meticulously orchestrated assassination where suspicion would never find its way back to him.

As the rain washed away the haze of intoxication, Ronaldo found himself navigating through the murkiness of suspicion.