Duke Gould Lanlos

By the time Sordil arrived with the "melon-eating crowd," more than ten men in leather armor were already sprawled on the ground, while a blue-haired girl paced among them. If any of them dared to get up, she would immediately go over and kick them. The kicked man would start foaming at the mouth, and the worse-off ones would even cough up blood!

"Get up! Didn't you say you were going to properly teach This Lady a lesson? Didn't you say you'd let me see how formidable you are?"

"Big sis, we..."

Bang

A man who seemed to be a minor leader tried to beg for mercy, but the instant he opened his mouth, a blue-violet boot stamped onto it. Teeth and blood flew together, his lips matching the color of the boot sole—how could one word like "miserable" possibly describe it?

"Big sis? Who are you calling Big Sis? You're practically halfway into the grave, and you're calling me Big Sis? What are you trying to say? That I'm ugly, or that I look old?"

The blue-haired girl gave him a kick, but still didn't feel satisfied. Thus, that minor leader had the honor of becoming a foot-wiping mat. By the time the blue-haired girl had vented enough and stopped, his entire face had swelled by a full circle. His nose, eyes, and mouth were all squeezed together. If he hadn't had hair on his head, no one would have recognized it as a human face.

"Um... little girl, I..."

Boom

After witnessing the girl's brutality, the men lying on the ground wanted even more desperately to escape. One of them, a chubby Big Baldy, launched another "probing attack." His fate, however, was no better. The blue-haired girl picked up the "man-made fatty" and smashed him straight onto Big Baldy, then swung him up and slammed him down again and again.

"Little girl? You're the little one! Your whole family is little!"

Bang

Sordil silently mourned for the two of them. No matter the world or species, as long as they were female, their sensitivity to words like "old" and "little" was definitely greater than a mine detector's sensitivity to landmines. Yet these two idiots had stepped right on that taboo. How could things possibly end well for them? Still, Sordil couldn't let Diphiya keep fooling around, or this would become difficult to clean up.

"Diphiya, stop messing around! Take these guys out of the city immediately. We'll meet up outside."

"Brother Sordil?"

Hearing the telepathic message in her mind, Diphiya muttered softly, then immediately swept her gaze around. However, she did not see the figure she had hoped to find.

"Idiot! Don't look around, or we could expose our identities!"

Sordil's scolding made Diphiya blush. She put down the "fatty" in her hand, then ordered the people lying on the ground, "Dig out the one underground, then carry those two and follow me."

Lindel and the others, who had been sitting nearby watching the show, immediately gathered around upon hearing Diphiya's words, wanting to find out what was going on. But before they could get close, a voice sounded in their minds.

"Leave this place immediately! We'll meet outside the city. Watch out for the tail behind you!"

Having received Sordil's instructions, the four immediately cooperated with Diphiya and drove the men on the ground out of the city. Seeing Diphiya and the others heading toward the city gate, the surrounding spectators gradually dispersed. Sordil and the other person also blended into the crowd and headed for the city gate.

Philiers, Eastern Woods

"Squat down! Don't raise your heads, and don't move! Otherwise, you'll end up just like those two!"

Following Sordil's instructions, Diphiya drove the dozen or so men into the eastern woods and made them squat among the trees. A moment later, two figures hurried over from the direction of the city gate. They were Lindel and Mevajena, who had stayed behind to cover the rear. Just as the two arrived, Magic Array patterns lit up one after another, and thick white mist shrouded the entire forest.

Crunch

The sounds of branches breaking beneath footsteps came from behind Diphiya and the others. Then, two figures in black robes appeared before them.

"Flying Dagger Di, didn't you promise me you'd keep a low profile? Is this what you call keeping a low profile? And you four, why didn't you try to stop her? You even joined her in causing trouble!"

A familiar voice came from beneath the black robes, and Diphiya and the others instantly relaxed. However, faced with Sordil's questioning, Diphiya immediately surrendered, not even daring to look him in the eyes. In the end, unable to endure Sordil's "light of judgment," Diphiya defended herself.

"Brother Sordil, you have to believe me. I really did keep a low profile. These guys were the ones trying to capture me, so I had no choice but to fight back."

"That's right, Young Master Sordil! You have no idea how awful these guys were. They said they were going to capture Miss Diphiya, Sister Mevajena, little sister Anna, and me, then marry us off as someone else's concubines. Miss Diphiya had no choice, so she knocked them down!"

"Yeah!"

"That's right!"

Murellia and the others immediately chimed in to support Diphiya. Faced with the united "girl group," what else could Sordil say? Besides, this time, the other side really had been at fault. Staring at the culprits who had ruined his infiltration plan, Sordil truly wanted to beat these bastards senseless again. But things had already come to this, and the most important matter now was how to deal with it.

"If you face something like this again, lure your opponents to a secluded place before making a move. And don't leave behind any traces, understand?"

Seeing that Sordil was gradually calming down, Diphiya and the others immediately nodded furiously like pecking chicks.

"Diphiya, go ask whether there's someone named Slaik among them. Also ask where their hideout is and who hired them this time!"

"Brother Sordil, what if they refuse to talk?"

"Refuse? Are your fists just for decoration? If one won't talk, beat one. If none of them will talk, beat them all. Keep beating them until they talk. But remember, don't kill a single one before they do!"

"Got it!"

Thus, over the next few hours, a "percussive concert" officially began.

"Brother Sordil, they talked. That Slaik isn't here—he went to meet some employer!"

"Didn't you ask who the employer was?"

"I did. They said they didn't know."

"Did you ask where their hideout is?"

"They did tell us that. It's the Silver Moon Bar in the western part of the city."

"Very good! We're going to the Silver Moon Bar. Mevajena, you're in charge of cleaning up. Make it thorough and leave no traces."

"I understand!"

Philiers, Silver Moon Bar

Seeing the bar completely intact, Slaik breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking of the five terrifying people he had encountered that afternoon, he still felt lingering fear. If he had not cautiously hidden in the back to observe the situation instead of rashly making a move, he would probably have been taken outside the city and dealt with like those unlucky fools. Still, even though those people had not come looking here, Slaik decided to take the money he had hidden and lie low elsewhere for a few days. Quietly slipping into the bar, he felt his way through the darkness toward the spot he remembered. Suddenly, the lights came on. Seven black-robed figures sat ahead of him, staring at him.

"Sorry! I didn't know you were here. I'll never steal again—please, let me leave!"

"Slaik, drop the act. I'll only ask once: who hired you?"

"Hired me? What employer? Big brother, I'm really just a thief. I don't know anything about an employer!"

Watching his clumsy performance, Sordil impatiently waved a hand. "Mevajena, the usual."

"Understood!"

As the figure steadily approached him, Slaik knew he was truly in danger. No longer daring to hide anything, he shouted, "My lord, I'll talk! I'll talk! Duke Gould Lanlos hired me!"

"Excellent answer! Unfortunately, it's too late. Do it!"

Slaik tried to get up and run, but discovered that he could not move a single part of his body. Then a flash of light swept past him, and his neck felt slightly cold. Next, he saw a headless corpse kneeling on the floor. That corpse looked very familiar, because it had been with him for more than thirty years.