Chapter 257 The Powell Family Castle
"Ms. Waverly, you're really impressive."
Rosalind smiled but said nothing.
"One more time!" Alton took a deep breath, gathering all his strength into his fist. "Ms. Waverly, please be careful."
This time, Alton used all his force to attack Rosalind.
Rosalind didn't meet his punch head-on. Although Alton's movements seemed fast to ordinary people, in her eyes they appeared several times slower.
She easily dodged and struck precisely at Alton's weak spot with one palm, sending him flying with a single move.
Alton spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Sorry, I didn't hold back enough."
Rosalind walked over and helped him up from the ground. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
Alton scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Although he knew there would be a gap between himself and Rosalind, he didn't expect it to be so huge that he lost without any dignity.
Tyrell, seeing Alton spar with Rosalind, walked over too.
"No wonder the Baldwin family can't make it into the thirty-six noble families. Just in terms of martial strength alone, we're far behind."
Earlier, Rosalind hadn't even used any techniques against Alton—it was pure power overwhelming him.
A seemingly delicate woman possessing such terrifying strength—this was the charm of ancient martial arts.
"The Waverly family only ranks at the bottom among the thirty-six noble families," Rosalind said modestly. "We're not as impressive as you say."
"It's getting late, I should head back to the hotel."
"Alright, Ms. Waverly, take care."
Alton watched Rosalind's retreating figure, his eyes full of admiration.
He increasingly felt that Rosalind and William were a perfect match.
In terms of status, Rosalind was the second daughter of the Waverly family in Novaria. In terms of ability, Rosalind was the vice president of the new company, and she managed the business in Novaria very well.
The more Alton thought about it, the more he hated that woman Isabella.
He even hoped Isabella would disappear from this world immediately. He didn't want to see such a vulgar woman by William's side, lowering William's class.
——
Isabella had watched the entire sparring match between Alton and Rosalind from the balcony. She couldn't help but turn to look at William. "Are you sure you want Alton and Tyrell to protect me?"
With Alton's skills, if he faced those assassins from last time, he wouldn't survive a single move.
William was reviewing documents. He paused at her words and looked at her with confusion. "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Isabella: "No problem."
William probably didn't know that the four assassins who injured her last time were top-level ancient martial arts professionals.
Alton and Tyrell were no match for them at all.
Ancient martial arts professionals were rare, and top-level ones wouldn't be willing to work as bodyguards—they preferred serving their families. So Alton and Tyrell were probably the strongest bodyguards William could hire.
"On this trip to Novaria, Alton and Tyrell will come with us, but with Rosalind there, there shouldn't be any problems."
"Okay."
Isabella nodded.
As the daughter of the Waverly family, one of the thirty-six noble families, Rosalind had a certain status in Novaria.
Isabella and William agreed on tomorrow's departure time. Just as she left the Brown Villa, she received a phone call.
It was from the police station.
"Isabella, we found three male bodies with terrible deaths in a small motel. They match your description of the armed criminals. Could you come and identify them to see if they're the people you saw last time?"
Isabella was somewhat surprised. "They're dead?"
"Yes, dead." The officer on the other end said, "One had his throat slit, one died from excessive blood loss from a stab wound to the abdomen, and another died from suffocation."
"I understand. I'll come right away."
Isabella had the driver take her directly to the police station.
Led by the medical examiner to identify the three male bodies, she recognized them at a glance. "It's them."
The lead officer nodded. "We found guns on them."
"Do you know who killed them?" Isabella asked.
"No leads yet."
The surveillance at the motel where it happened had been destroyed, and it happened at night with no witnesses.
There was one guest staying on the same floor, but according to his description, he only heard some noise near dawn but didn't pay attention to it.
Besides the guns, nothing else was found on these people.
These men died suddenly and mysteriously. Isabella knew that with the current evidence, they couldn't catch the mastermind behind it, so she left the police station to go home and rest, preparing for tomorrow's trip.
——
The next day, Isabella met up with William and Rosalind directly at the airport terminal and boarded the plane.
Two hours later, the plane arrived in the airspace above Starlight City, the capital of the Northern Ice Empire.
Isabella looked down at Starlight City from the plane and found its architectural style very unique.
Unlike Lumaria's skyscrapers, Starlight City, as the central district of the Northern Ice Empire, didn't have that many tall buildings. Instead, there were more castle-like structures. The most eye-catching building was a super large castle built on a mountain, almost merging with it.
The castle's outer walls were interwoven with gold and silver, every inch reflecting light. From a distance, it seemed like giant murals were carved on the walls. But from Isabella's distance on the plane, she couldn't make out the pattern clearly—she just vaguely felt it looked like... a bird?
But regardless, being able to see the complete shape of this castle from the plane showed how large it actually was. The castle's height started from halfway up the mountain and reached the peak—very spectacular.
"Could this be the Northern Ice Empire's... what's it called, the palace?"
Isabella thought about it and felt the word "palace" might be more fitting.
She thought this large castle must be where the Northern Ice Empire's royal family lived.
Hearing Isabella's words, Alton sneered. "How ignorant!"
"This castle is a landmark building of our Northern Ice Empire, but it's not for the royal family to live in, nor for officials. This is the Powell family's private building! The Powell family has lived in it for generations."
Speaking of the Powell family, Alton's eyes were full of awe.
The Northern Ice Empire existed because of the Powell family and prospered because of the Powell family. Who wouldn't be in awe?
"What?"
A flash of shock crossed Isabella's eyes. "Such a large building is actually private? How rich must this Powell family be?"
"Rich?" Alton's face was full of mockery. "This building sits in the center of Starlight City and serves as a landmark, and you think the Powell family is just rich? How naive."
"The Powell family has long been wealthy enough to rival a country. But besides money, the Powell family, as the leader of the major ancient martial arts families, has a status in the Northern Ice Empire that's even higher than the royal family!"