Han Jin kicked up the wand with the tip of his foot, while Hogan bowed his head with an uncertain look. He had chosen to surrender because he was afraid to die, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t capable of fighting back at all. He would at least have the time to order the gargoyles to initiate a suicide attack before he was killed!

 The mercenaries gradually quieted down. Dwightsteel, Juventus, and the rest of the mercenary leaders all somewhat nervously stared at Han Jin. They knew that harming the representative of Cold Shadow City would result in a feud, but the Cold Shadow City army was too far away to post an immediate threat, whereas the swarms of hovering gargoyles were right in front of them and had to be immediately taken care of. Of course, it was impossible to cause any real harm to Isolated Cliff City with those gargoyles alone, but there would certainly be casualties.

 During this tense moment, an anxious voice suddenly called out, “My Lord! My Lord!! They captured Cessacioun! You must quickly go!”

 Chipango had just arrived! According to Han Jin and Gibran’s order, he had followed Cromwell and had seen that Cromwell had hired a few thugs, invaded a civilian’s house, and finally realized that Cromwell was setting a trap when he saw Cessacioun approach with the girl. After witnessing Cessacioun’s defeat, he returned to Han Jin as fast as possible.

 Even though Chipango had his mind set on proving himself and impressing Han Jin, he also knew where his limits were. There were certain situations where risks were worth taking; in those situations, he would earn everyone’s respect if he succeeded, but simply die if he failed. However, this was not one of those situations, since his life was not the only thing at risk. If Cessacioun came to harm because of his rash actions, the blame would be too much for him to bear!

 Unfortunately for him, the arena was filled with mercenaries, and Chipango couldn’t push his way in for the life of him. He couldn’t even get to Gibran, let alone the stage and Han Jin. Out of desperation, he had to use the most unsubtle method of shouting to get Han Jin’s attention.

 “What?” Han Jin blanked.

 “My Lord, Cromwell and his thugs just captured Cessacioun!” Chipango was truly desperate at this point as he tried his best to squeeze toward the front while shouting.

 Strangely, even though he had used all his effort to try to push to the front – even to the point of almost drawing his knife – the mercenaries in front of him simply wouldn’t budge. Now, after a few shouts, the crowd shuffled around and even formed a little path for him. Someone was even keeping order, “Make way, hurry and make way!”

 Han Jin was an idolized figure at this point, and his every action and word would always draw countless attention. Those that could directly speak to him were either his friends or those who served under him, both of which demanded respect from the crowd.

 Han Jin took a deep breath and glanced at Hogan. He flatly said, “You are lucky.”

 Hogan appeared even more obedient and bent down even lower.

 “You will now live as someone else from this day on. Are you prepared?”

 “I understand, My Lord… I mean, Master.”

 Han Jin coldly smiled at that. He did not trust Hogan at all, but he truly did not have time for that now. Saving Cessacioun was his most immediate priority.

 “Then do you know what you should be doing right now?”

 Hogan smiled flatteringly and only raised his head after receiving an order from Han Jin. With a fluctuation of magic, the hovering gargoyles flapped their wings and flew away.

 “Master Juventus, Master Dwightsteel, Winston, please take care of this for me.” With a flash, Han Jin left Hogan and appeared on the side of the stage.

 “Raphael, do you need help?” Winston immediately asked.

 “No need, me and Gibran are enough.”

 “Master Raphael, allow me to come with you.” Juventus’s face was stiff, and the joy he had displayed a moment ago had completely disappeared. In reality, he was as angry as Han Jin! With the infiltration of Lord Fosa, the warning from Duke Solomon of Capital of Elements, and the sudden appearance of Cold Shadow City just now, the situation surrounding Isolated Cliff City was becoming increasingly worrisome. No one knew if Isolated Cliff City could remain in its neutral and independent position as time went on.

 The upper management of the Mercenary Association and the Chamber of Commerce had been thinking about the direction the city should go in for a long time, and when a powerful dragon slayer suddenly arrived, it was no wonder that everyone felt a sense of comfort. Had they had known that this would be the case, they would have banished the diplomat sent by Lord Fossa the moment he arrived!

 Juventus’ most important job right now was to fix the rift between the dragon slayer and the city, a position that was unanimously agreed upon by both the Chamber of Commerce and the Mercenary Association. Both also promised Juventus that they would try their best to provide him with whatever materials necessary to accomplish his goal. Unfortunately for them, Han Jin had shut his door ever since he had returned to the city, and counting today, Juventus had only seen Han Jin three times. He couldn’t appear too enthusiastic either, because that would achieve the exact opposite effect. Naive methods such as sending gifts, money, or even women wouldn’t work either, because the leaders of both organizations knew that they must establish a true friendship with the dragon slayer. In other words, they must attempt to make Han Jin feel a sense of belonging in the city instead of playing pointless games of bribery!

 After those few encounters, Juventus was feeling increasingly confident about achieving his goal. Though Han Jin possessed incredible power at a young age, he had a generally mild temper and lacked any of the expected arrogance. Juventus always enjoyed dealing with men like that, since he didn’t have to read into his words or gauge his attitude. Instead, all he needed was honest sincerity. Even without his job, he would enjoy talking to a young man like Han Jin.

 When he suddenly heard that had Cromwell gone as far as capturing Han Jin’s friend, he felt as if someone had slammed a staff into his head. Thinking that all his effort would be in vain, Juventus gritted his teeth in anger.

 　　* * *

 A clamor of footsteps came from the street, and the mercenary standing guard froze for a moment before carefully opening the door to look outside. He was immediately greeted with a crowd charging his way. Startled, he hurriedly shut the door and ran into the living room.

 He was just about to push open the door to the living room when he felt a cold breeze behind him, but when he looked back in suspicion, nothing was there.

 Dauncy’s was still laughing pervertedly as he ripped off the girl’s clothing, piece by piece. At this point, Cessacioun was guilt-ridden. It was clear that he had dragged the girl into this mess, not the other way around. Cromwell simply wanted to know where Keeley had gone, and even if they hadn’t made a move today, Cromwell would have eventually caused trouble for them in the future.

 “Alright, I’ll tell you!” Cessacioun made up his mind.

 “Oh?” Cromwell’s face instantly lit up. He had been running everywhere for this mission for a year now, and finally, he might just be able to find something today.

 Just then, the door was pushed open and a mercenary rushed in. “My Lord, a group of mercenaries are charging toward us!”

 “What? Are you sure they are coming at us?” Cromwell quickly ran through his plan but couldn’t find where it could have gone wrong.

 “I.. I’m not sure, but the mercenaries are running down the street.”

 “Useless junk! Report back when you are certain!”

 The mercenary didn’t dare speak back. He looked back at his fellow mercenaries who stood around the girl and happily molested her body. With a disappointed sigh, the mercenary walked back outside with his head down.

 The mercenary once again walked to his post and opened the door. However, he immediately saw an insanely beautiful girl standing about twenty meters away, holding a disproportionately large wand. The next thing he saw was a blinding streak of light shooting toward him.

 “No…” The mercenary only had enough time to utter one word before he was vaporized along with the door.

 Yalina flung her wand again, and another ball of lightning shot out and hit the door to the living room.

 The men in the room reacted surprisingly fast. One of the thieves quickly grabbed Cessacioun, but they suddenly saw a flash of white. Before he had even realized what had happened, his arm had dropped to the floor. His severed arm, still shooting out blood, feel on Cessacioun, but caused him no real harm.

 The thief screamed in pain but still managed to stab his knife to his side with his remaining strength. With a clang, two knives met in the air, resulting in a shower of sparks.

 Gibran’s body finally became visible. With a light press and a sudden lift, his knife streaked toward the thief’s finger at lightning speed.

 Generally, the shorter the weapon, the more dangerous the fight, which meant that a battle between thieves has always been the most lethal kind. Gibran had targeted his opponent’s finger with his knife, but his opponent could do the same thing to him.

As expected, the enemy thief did not retreat out of desperation and likewise stabbed at Gibran’s wrist.

 Unfortunately for him, Gibran struck first and was also fast. This slight movement was enough to make a difference!

 With a splash of blood, the thief’s four fingers which gripped his knife were cleanly sliced off, while his attack left only a faint red line across Gibran’s wrist.

 Reg appeared behind the other thief and struck his knife toward his neck. The thief immediately reacted by dodging to the side while backhandedly stabbing backward. While blood shot out of his neck, his knife drew a line of blood behind him. Both sides were severely wounded.

 “Damn you!” the thief roared in anger as he dove toward Reg. However, that was only a bluff, and he instead flipped back at an even faster speed at the last moment. He was very smart and knew that the most important thing when encountering a sudden attack was to control the hostage, not to defeat his attacker.

 What he didn’t expect was that his friend would be defeated so quickly, almost instantly deciding the outcome!

 Gibran stepped up in front of Cessacioun while his knife stabbed at the thief’s chest in a blur.

 The thief didn’t have any choice besides blocking Gibran’s strike with all his effort. With a crisp clang, the two knives unceremoniously met. Before he had the chance to change positions, the thief felt a sudden pain in his back. Reg had already buried his knife deep into his spine.

 The thief’s eyes instantly went wide, and the last thing he saw was Gibran’s scornful smile as he sliced open his neck.

 The mercenaries by the table were a little slow but did eventually react and attempted to grab the girl. As for Dauncy, he was completely useless during the whole process and was still frozen in mid-action while trying to take off his pants.

Just then, a hand reached out from underneath the table and slammed it from beneath. The table instantly fell apart, and the girl went flying toward the ceiling, along with the tabletop. The mercenaries’ hands grabbed nothing but empty air.