Fierce Battle at the 187th Street Intersection

The only window in this cabin faces the port dock, where a row of streetlights are lit at night.

Under the dim yellow light, some Half-Elf were busy at the dock.

The magician Benjamin stared at Abbott, who was hunched over a square table, constantly examining the nautical chart.

A tattered Treasure Map was pasted on the wall of the cabin. Every time Abbott got a sea chart, he would compare it with the Treasure Map on the wall.

Although Abbott had already been put into the water, the wizard Benjamin actually had another worry.

Last night, when he went to check on the Black Pearl, he happened to run into Roy on the beach west of the pier. Luckily, Roy had taken cover in a crevice at the foot of the mountain beforehand.

The wizard Benjamin even considered throwing a few fireballs at Roy and burning him to a crisp...

Just as he was about to make his move, he suddenly sensed a dangerous aura, which made him immediately hide in a crevice in the rocks.

The wizard Benjamin followed Roy all the way to the outside of his yard. Taking advantage of the night and the absence of people on the street, he peeked into the yard through the wall and realized that there were many residents around, and it would be difficult to escape if a fight broke out.

The wizard Benjamin's biggest fear was that Roy would expose his true identity to Abbott.

Abbott sat at the square table, rubbing his sore eyes. Occasionally, he looked out through the cabin window.

I just happened to see... Roy standing in front of the Deep Water Dock.

Abbott stood up abruptly, and after confirming several times, he hurriedly said to the magician Benjamin, "Welsh, look over there, that's Roy!"

Benjamin certainly knew Roy; the first time he saw Roy, Roy was working part-time as a guide at this very dock! In the blink of an eye, Roy had become Novice Priest at the Goddess of Freedom Temple.

Abbott quickly said to Benjamin:

"Welsh, the Golden Key is in Roy's hands. He usually travels between his home, the Goddess of Freedom Temple, and the Elf Academy, and he is rarely alone. Now is definitely a good opportunity to make a move!"

As he spoke, he put on a dark cloak and prepared to chase after them.

The magician Benjamin quickly caught up from behind and whispered in Abbott's ear, "You lure him to a secluded street corner, I'll ambush him from the shadows..."

"Good!"

Benjamin also took a black cloak from the wall, draped it over his shoulders, casually closed the hatch, and strode after Abbott...

The two walked through the corridor, onto the deck of the ship, and ran towards the dock along the sampan attached to the ship's side.

"Hey, it's so late, why are you two still out? The sampan is about to leave!" the second mate on the Moras shouted.

"Don't worry about us, we won't be back tonight," Abbott said without turning his head.

"The Moras will depart tomorrow afternoon. You two better not be late. Our ship won't wait for anyone, and there will be no refunds if you miss it..."

The second mate, with both hands gripping the gunwale, shouted loudly to the two men who had already run onto the dock.

Abbott waved to him helplessly, indicating that he understood.

After disembarking, the two donned black cloaks, the hoods of which completely concealed their faces.

The two then swaggered past the Guard Squad, just in time to see Roy disappear into the Fish Market...

Roy lingered at the Deep Water Dock for a while, his mind filled with the image of Jasper first taking him aboard the Sea Wolf.

After crossing the port docks, Roy went straight into the Fish Market.

He bought a few Blue Mackerel at the Fish Market, but lately Mrs. Windsor's cat hasn't been paying much attention to him.

Carrying the Blue Mackerel, I walked back to Brown Street.

When I passed by the Goddess of Freedom Temple, I saw that the lights were off in the gatehouse at the main entrance, and the entrance to the temple was completely dark.

Whenever he came to Mrs. Winnie's Potion Shop to buy fish, the lazy cat would crawl out of its den and peek out from under the bushes and low wall.

This time, however, it hid deep within the bushes and low wall, its eyes filled with vigilance...

If Roy hadn't peeked through the hole in the wall, he wouldn't have seen it at all.

The Night Blade Leopard's unusual reaction made Roy look around warily.

At night, there are only a few dim streetlights on the street, each one far apart, and there are always places between the streetlights that are not illuminated.

Suddenly, a figure wearing a black cloak strode across the street, his face obscured by a large hood.

Roy recognized Abbott at a glance just by his gait. He immediately jumped up and shouted at the figure:

"Abbott! Don't run away..."

After saying that, Roy immediately chased after Abbott.

Abbott ran very fast, and after running forward for several dozen meters, he ran into the street corner ahead.

Without a second thought, Roy gave chase. As the two Magic Inscription Construct, Great Bear Strength Grace of Wind, began to operate, Roy's running speed increased dramatically.

Even Abbott, who was ahead, hadn't expected Roy to run so fast...

According to Abbott's plan, after running past this street corner and continuing for several dozen meters, they would reach a quieter place.

But now, just after turning the corner, Roy's hand was already on Abbott's right shoulder.

Abbott could only raise his right elbow, barely twisting his waist, and forcefully slam back.

His elbow felt as if it had hit a metal plate, and his entire arm became sore and numb.

Roy seized the opportunity to grab Abbott's cloak and pulled the hood off his head, revealing Abbott's haggard face.

"Abbott, you killed Jasper?"

Roy stared into Abbott's bloodshot eyes and asked loudly.

"I've given him so many chances, but he just won't give me even half of the Treasure Map. Roy, where's your Golden Key? If you give me the Golden Key now..."

Before Abbott could finish speaking, a flash of light appeared behind the bushes at the end of the street corner.

A blazing fireball suddenly shot out from the shadows, its intense light even illuminating a blurry human figure.

The Night Blade Leopard, hidden in the shadow of the tree wall, pounced on the blurry shadow lurking in the corner, following the trajectory of the fireball.

Roy saw a fireball flying towards him and quickly raised his shield. At the same time, stone patterns and metallic luster appeared on his arm as he held the shield.

The fireball exploded violently the moment it hit the shield.

Despite being well-prepared, Roy was still blasted away by the intense impact of the fireball.

The Ironclad Square Shield on his arm was shattered into pieces by the fireball, and the wooden shield underneath was also charred. Roy was blasted back more than ten meters and crashed hard into the courtyard wall at the street corner, causing the entire wall to shake.

Abbott, who was next to Roy, was also caught in the Great Fireball and fell in the opposite direction from Roy. His cloak was charred and his face was burned.

However, Abbott was prepared and only had some burns on his body.

He rolled twice on the ground to extinguish the flames on his cloak, then staggered to his feet and walked towards Roy...

Just as the Night Blade Leopard pounced on the figure in the corner, three more fireballs flew out from the shadows at the street corner.

Two of the fireballs were aimed at the Night Blade Leopard, while the other flew towards Roy, who had crashed into the wall. Clearly, the mage was worried that Roy still had some strength left, and this fireball was intended to finish him off.

The fireball flew straight into the air...

In the firelight, Abbott's scalded face looked somewhat ferocious.

The Night Blade Leopard leaped and twirled twice in mid-air, easily dodging the two fireballs, and pounced straight at the shadows in the corner.

The second fireball exploded in front of Roy, forcing Roy to cross his arms to shield his chest.

Even this barely perceptible defensive maneuver startled Abbott, who was closing in step by step. He couldn't understand how Roy, who had been blasted away by the Great Fireball, could still have the strength to block a small fireball from the Barrage of Fireballs.

The fireball exploded again in front of Roy, but Roy struggled to his feet amidst the flames.

His linen clothes were charred, but his Thick Leather Armor remained almost intact...

"Roy, how do you have Magic Inscription Construct?"

Abbott pointed at the Thick Leather Armor Roy was wearing and asked in a trembling voice.

The Night Blade Leopard nimbly dodged the two small fireballs and pounced on the shadow in the corner. When it got close, it discovered that the shadow was covered by a magical shield.

Its sharp forepaws slammed into the magic shield, causing it to vibrate violently twice. Although the shield dimmed considerably, it completely blocked the Night Blade Leopard's claw attack.

Then, the figure in the corner condensed another fireball, which sprayed outwards in a fan shape outside the light shield. The Night Blade Leopard was covered in flames, let out a whimper, rolled twice on the ground, and then burrowed into the bushes and low wall.

Hidden beneath the bushes and low wall is a drainage ditch, and although the rainy season is long over, there is still some water flowing in it.

The Night Blade Leopard, its body ablaze, nimbly darted into the ditch, rolled around in it a couple of times, and extinguished the flames.

But being timid, it didn't dare to pounce on the shadowy figure in the corner anymore...

The sound of the fireball exploding had already disturbed the surrounding residents, and many elves ran out of their houses, wanting to know what was happening outside.

"Abbott! If you want the Golden Key I have, then come and take it!"

Seeing Abbott hesitate while holding the dagger, Roy, while quickly recovering his strength and enduring the burns on his body, shouted loudly at Abbott.

Upon hearing Roy's words, Abbott immediately quickened his pace.

At that moment, a light appeared again in front of the figure in the corner, and a Great Fireball spun and flew towards Roy.

Just as the fireball was flying halfway toward Roy, a strange chant came from the street corner, followed by a strong magical wave that surged in front of Roy. Countless water droplets appeared out of thin air in front of Roy, and within two seconds the water droplets merged into a wall of water. As the incantation ended, the water wall instantly froze into ice and crashed down in front of Roy.

'boom'

The Great Fireball exploded in front of the Ice Wall, blasting Ice Wall through it, but the Ice Wall also blocked most of its power.

Roy seized the opportunity to rush towards Abbott...

A whistle rang out from the corner, Abbott immediately turned and ran toward the corner.

Roy took long strides to catch up, running faster than Abbott. After a few steps, he caught up and grabbed Abbott's arm.

Abbott was pulled so hard that he staggered to a stop and almost fell to the ground.

Roy tried to take the opportunity to pin Abbott to the ground, but unexpectedly saw Abbott's fierce eyes.

Roy knew things were going badly, but there was no time to do anything else. A beam of holy light flashed in Abbott's hand, and a Light Hammer made of holy light appeared on Roy's chest.

Then Roy felt a sharp pain in his chest, and when he looked down, he found that his leather breastplate had caved in...

At that moment, the pain was so intense that he could barely breathe.

Abbott even considered slashing Roy's neck with the dagger in his hand...

He had just extended his dagger when a nimble, short figure darted onto the wall.

It was Katie Werner, the mischievous kid from next door. He was holding a slingshot made from a tree branch, which he pulled back to its limit. A pebble flew out and hit Abbott's dagger precisely.

'when'

With a sharp crack, Abbott's dagger was knocked away by the brat...

A whistle rang out again from the corner.

Without hesitation, Abbott turned and ran toward the corner.

From the shadows in the corner, a figure shrouded in a black cloak ran out, pulling out Magic Broom as he went.

He rode onto the Magic Broom that floated in the air...

Abbott had already run to his side, and he pulled him up with him.

The Magic Broom slowly gathered its power, then suddenly shot into the night sky and disappeared in the blink of an eye...

An arrow grazed Abbott's calf as it flew past.

Many Half-Elf stood on the walls on both sides of Brown Street, watching the spectacle.

Only one Half-Elf held a Battle Shortbow and carried a quiver, but unfortunately, his arrow missed its mark...