An Understated Dominance (Maria Vittori) novel Chapter 1953

"Ms. Linsor, this is what we found around the camp. It has a strange smell, and it must have attracted the desert rats." Osley held a pile of black stuff in his hands and walked over to Grace and others.

The pile of black stuff was the size of green peas. It appeared to be some sort of bait and had an awful stench.

"What's this?" Grace was a little curious. She moved forward and gave the foul-smelling substance a sniff.

"It looks like a mixture of food and chemical substances. I experimented with it just now. The stench of this mixture can quickly attract desert rats," Osley explained.

"Hence, the desert rat invasion of our food supplies wasn't an accident. Is someone plotting against us?" Grace's suspicions were quickly confirmed.

It was obvious that this bait for the desert rats was not produced naturally.

"That's very possible." Osley nodded and replied, "This black substance was sprinkled around the camp of our food supplies. It was an obvious attempt to lure the desert rats here.

"Besides, all of our night guards dozed off almost around the same time. It's very likely that they were drugged. Judging from all available evidence, I think there's a rat among us!"

"They followed us all this way and decided to destroy our supplies when we took a break.

"In doing so, they know very well that we'll be left without a backup plan. The mastermind is really cruel!" Grace's gaze was chilly as she narrowed her eyes.

She was sure that she made no enemies, but it was also true that someone was out there to thwart her plans.

First, it was the poisoning at the hotel. Now, it was the desert rat invasion. They were really out for blood!

It didn't matter if she was a generous person. No one would tolerate this constant pestering.

"Damn it! If I find out the person behind this, I'd skin them alive!" Garett shouted angrily.

"The martial world is a dangerous place, and people are cruel. The trail that we followed is quite hidden, and how would an outsider find out?" Dustin's question struck a chord.

They left around midnight, and there was a sandstorm on their way here. It'd be very hard to track them down, given that the sandstorm blew away any telltale signs of their existence.

The possibility of having an inside rat was high, given the situation.

"Are you saying we have a mole?" Grace frowned and quickly understood what he meant.

"I'm not sure, but it's highly likely. There isn't any other plausible explanation." Dustin nodded.

"Dustin, are you suspecting us?" Jackson quickly explained himself to prove his innocence.

"The members of the Embersteel Order are all honorable people, and we'll never do such a despicable deed. If you don't believe us, you can search our tent!"

"Jackson, calm down. Of course, I believe you!" Dustin smiled lightly.

"Hmph! If it were up to me, I'd never do anything as lame as this.

"If I wanted revenge, I would have just crushed my enemies with a fight. I have no need for cowardly acts like this." Aidan crossed his arms in front of him and huffed.

With his status as a grandmaster, who could stop him if he really wanted to commit a crime?