Brent

Since Gino had noticed that he was waiting here for him, Yinsen could no longer be bothered to keep hiding. After learning Brent's identity and general circumstances, he stood up and walked outside, openly blocking Gino and the others' path.

This time, he had fully equipped himself with armor, a longsword, an iron rod, and Bracers. As usual, the Book of Inheritance was tucked into the specially made Book Sheath at the small of his back. He had even brought along two newly acquired firearms—fully automatic pistols holstered on the outer sides of his thighs. He was armed to the teeth.

All these preparations were to ensure that he killed Gino today. Especially when he noticed that Gino had deliberately shown him a smug expression upon spotting him, as if Yinsen truly did not dare do anything to him.

"Idiot."

Yinsen could not even be bothered to waste his breath on someone like that. He drew his longsword directly. "You should know perfectly well why I'm standing here, so I won't waste time with polite nonsense."

When Gino saw Yinsen draw his sword right away, he was startled for a moment. Then he noticed Yinsen's young face and suddenly understood.

"Actually, there isn't that much hatred between us..."

Yinsen was too young. At his age, there was no way he could have known about Brent, who had once been extremely famous on the Sea of Tranquility. Gino therefore felt that he needed to keep acting, making sure Brent would step in and mediate between him and Yinsen.

In truth, he had never expected things to develop to this point.

After hiding at sea for a while, he had deliberately intercepted several small boats. Such targets would normally never have caught his eye, since even fully loaded, they had little worth taking. This time, he had done it purely as a precaution, specifically so he could send people to gather information.

The result left him deeply frustrated. That young man had stayed on Stat Island and refused to leave. Naturally, he would not naively assume that Yinsen had remained on the island because he had struck it rich and become content to indulge in a comfortable life—if that were the case, Gino would have been even happier.

According to the information his men had gathered, Yinsen went to the Training Ground every day to practice his swordsmanship. He was punctual, and the intensity of his training was steadily increasing.

A young man like that would never be someone without ambition. The only explanation for why Yinsen had not returned to sea was that he was waiting for Gino on the island, intending to settle things with him once and for all.

There was a very high chance that, on land, without the protection of his ship and Magic Cannon, he would die at that young man's hands.

He had thought he would have to risk his life this time, only to unexpectedly run into Brent, the kind-hearted man who had once been so famous on the Sea of Tranquility. Brent had suddenly returned to the Sea of Tranquility and come to Stat Island.

He did not know why Brent had returned. He only knew that his problem had been solved.

Brent was still the same good man. Gino had merely explained the situation, and Brent had agreed to help him settle this grudge. He firmly believed that everything Gino had done before had been forced upon him, and that Gino truly wanted to turn over a new leaf and become a good person.

"How touching."

For that instant, Gino had genuinely considered whether he ought to become a good person.

Of course, the thought had vanished in a flash. While Gino's earlier words had contained some truth, he had still concealed and embellished certain parts. For example, the reason Yinsen was so determined to kill him was ultimately because Gino had shown hostility first.

So he needed to put on a performance to make Brent even more determined to protect him. How could someone like him possibly become a good person?

"With Captain Brent's help, I've already resolved to return to the right path. Since neither of us has suffered any losses yet, let's put this grudge behind us."

Seeing Gino's hypocritical act, Yinsen could not even be bothered to give him a smile. He raised his left hand and fired a short arrow straight at him.

Gino had not expected the young man to attack without saying a word. In particular, he remembered that Yinsen's short arrows were Magic Stone Equipment capable of exploding. He hurriedly responded—the Magic Stone Gauntlet on his left hand activated, releasing a ball of flame to meet the short arrow.

Gino believed that his flames would be enough to trigger the magic stone energy contained within the arrow, causing it to explode before it could reach him.

He was not wrong. The short arrow Yinsen had fired was indeed detonated by the flames he had released. But unlike what Gino had assumed, this was not the Flame Arrows he had seen before. It was an Ice Arrows containing Frost Power.

Cold and heat collided abruptly, producing a massive explosion and releasing a thick cloud of mist that obscured both sides' vision.

This was exactly what Yinsen had been waiting for. He had prepared himself the moment he fired the Ice Arrows. As soon as white mist filled his vision, he grabbed his longsword and charged forward, using the fog as cover to rapidly close in on Gino. He had no intention of giving Brent any chance to speak.

He held no ill will toward this man. He even admired him a little.

In a world like this, anyone who persisted in doing good deserved respect. Whether Brent did it for fame or because he was truly a saint, he had at least done many good deeds. So if a direct conflict could be avoided, Yinsen still hoped to avoid it.

Brent had once dominated the Sea of Tranquility, successfully made it to the next sea region, and even earned quite a name for himself. Yinsen's movements were fast and well concealed, but Brent was standing right beside Gino. Moreover, Gino had immediately stepped back a few paces, giving Brent the space and time to protect him.

Thus, Yinsen's sword strike was blocked by Brent.

"Young man, can't we talk this out? Why be so impulsive?"

Brent revealed a very friendly smile and immediately sheathed the greatsword in his hand, signaling that he did not wish to fight Yinsen.

"Gino told me about the grudge between you two. Of course, I can't make a judgment based solely on his words. But you're so intent on taking revenge against him—did he steal something from you, or did you lose family or friends because of him?"

Yinsen paused, then denied it. "No."

Brent's brow furrowed slightly, as though he were somewhat dissatisfied with Yinsen. "Then why are you being so ruthless?"

There was a hint of accusation in those words. Yinsen only found the man baffling, and the sliver of goodwill he had just developed instantly vanished.

"If he could beat me, would you still have the chance to stand here and accuse me?"

Brent froze for a moment, apparently not expecting Yinsen to respond with that attitude. He had not encountered this sort of situation in a long time. After making a name for himself on the Sea of Tranquility, everyone he met had treated him warmly. Even his enemies had spoken to him politely.

Later, after arriving in the new world, he had only encountered this at the beginning. As his strength and reputation rose, the treatment he had enjoyed on the Sea of Tranquility gradually returned. From then until now, it had been a long time since anyone had spoken to him in such a tone.

After looking Yinsen over and realizing that he might not even be twenty years old, Brent resumed his kindly expression. "Young people shouldn't be so hot-tempered, and you shouldn't always assume the worst of others."

Yinsen's opinion of this man dropped even further. Still, Brent was very strong and happened to be blocking his path forward, so Yinsen had no choice but to keep talking nonsense with him.

"Assume? No. Back then, he made no effort to hide his filthy side. I don't need to assume anything." Yinsen stepped back half a pace, widening the distance slightly. "And I have no interest in discussing whether my temper is too bad. Right now, I only want to confirm one thing. Are you determined to protect that trash?"

When Brent heard Yinsen's earlier words, he first frowned. He realized that much of what Gino had told him had been embellished, or that some details had simply been omitted. But when he heard the latter part, he felt that Yinsen was being overly stubborn and far too murderous.

"Young man, I can understand your desire for revenge, but there's no need to insult others."

"Insult?"

Yinsen had long known that he and Brent would not be able to talk things through. Their values were vastly different. He had never intended to become friends with this man, and he could not even be bothered to interact with him. He had only refrained from attacking because Brent was not a bad person.

Now, it seemed this could not be resolved without a fight.

"I never insult people... It's just that some trash doesn't deserve to be called human." Yinsen swung the longsword in his hand. "I'll ask one last time. Captain Brent of the Braveheart, are you sure you want to protect that trash behind you?"

Brent did not answer Yinsen's question. He still tried to persuade him, saying things like, "Young man, calm down. We can sit down at a nearby shop first. There's really no need for your grudge to escalate this far." At the same time, he did not yield even half a step, keeping Gino firmly protected behind him.

"I understand." Yinsen readied his stance again. "I've heard people talk about you. You're a good man who has done many good things on these seas. I don't want to fight you."

"Thank you for the praise. What I've done is nothing much. Those are things that everyone from the Sea of Tranquility should do."

"But that doesn't give you the right to stop me from killing my enemy whenever you please." Yinsen was not praising the man. He was merely adjusting his state, because Brent was the strongest opponent he had encountered so far—he could tell that from their earlier exchange alone. "Since you're standing here and refusing to step aside, I can only treat you as an enemy as well."

When facing enemies, Yinsen never hesitated or showed mercy!