Old Lev

As soon as the words left his mouth, figures emerged from behind the walls and around the alley, each holding a weapon with an unfriendly expression. They surrounded Karl in the center.

Including the stall owner, there were six of them.

"Who would have thought that little Aya could actually find herself some helpers?"

The speaker was bare-chested, revealing a muscular physique. He held a large machete angled downward, dragging it across the ground.

As he strode forward, the sharp blade scraped across the frozen earth, leaving a shallow mark.

An invisible pressure descended upon them.

He was probably the leader of the group.

"Helpers?"

Karl frowned at that.

"Looks like there's been some misunderstanding between us."

"Misunderstanding?" The stall owner sneered.

"Now that we've left the market, what misunderstanding could there be?"

"Even if you're not that girl's helper, my brothers and I can't have gone to all this trouble for nothing. Hand over everything you have!"

As he spoke, he reached for Karl.

He was thin and wiry, but he was not slow. He had still been among the crowd while speaking, yet by the time the final word fell, he was already in front of Karl.

He used a deft trick in that grab. A cold glint faintly flickered across his five fingers—he was wearing sharp clawed gloves.

If those claws caught him, they could easily tear off a chunk of flesh.

In Black City, staying alive was no easy feat. Robbery and murder were even more commonplace to them.

"Hmph!"

Karl snorted coldly.

He was no longer the ordinary man without any foundation that he had once been. Even surrounded by several people, he remained completely calm.

Facing the incoming clawed hand, he turned his palm slightly, avoiding the claws before striking out with the momentum.

"Bang!"

Palm met claw.

The stall owner felt tremendous force surge up his arm. His body instantly lost its balance, and his expression changed.

"Knight Squi—"

"Whoosh!"

The low howl of the greatsword interrupted his shout. The next moment, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, and his entire body flew backward.

"How dare you!"

"Kill him!"

"Everyone, attack!"

The stall owner was sent flying the instant they clashed, before the others had even managed to react.

Amid their roars, the others charged together.

Karl raised his left hand and lightly snapped his fingers.

Light Spell!

In an instant.

Blinding light illuminated the entire area.

To people who spent their lives in dark places, light was their natural enemy.

They had been staring intently at Karl's movements, leaving them no chance to avoid it. In an instant, all of them lost their vision, panic appearing on their faces.

Not good!

The leader's heart pounded wildly, yet instead of retreating, he advanced.

"Ah!"

He roared and charged toward where he remembered Karl to be, furiously swinging his machete at the same time.

The machete tore through the air, its blade vibrating rapidly. It was clearly a combat technique.

"Shhk..."

It was as if he had hacked into thick, sticky mucus. An invisible resistance appeared out of nowhere, startling the leader.

What is this?

Zero-ring Witchcraft—Lesser Force Field!

Karl cast two spells in succession. While the others had no time to react, his greatsword flashed repeatedly.

"Pfft!"

"Pfft, pfft!"

In the blink of an eye, two men fell to the ground.

However, the leader's machete was already close at hand. Karl had no choice but to swing his sword to intercept it, holding the blade horizontally in front of himself.

"Clang..."

What tremendous strength!

The leader's strength was probably even greater than the red-haired man's. However, his martial skills were much rougher in comparison.

Rage Strike!

Plow Stance!

Fool's Stance!

Karl swung his greatsword, unleashing successive slashes from Gale Swordplay. The clash of steel rang out as rapidly as a torrential downpour.

"Ah!"

The leader threw his head back and roared. Exploding with tremendous strength, he forcibly broke through the assault, and his vision gradually became clear.

As long as I can see!

As long as my vision returns!

I...

"Whoosh!"

Several afterimages suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Combat Technique—Gale Slash!

Under the influence of the Lesser Force Field, Karl's burst of power was now comparable to that of a peak Knight Squire.

Meanwhile, his opponent could not even see where the attacks were coming from.

"Pfft!"

Sword shadows swept across the leader's waist, abdomen, and thigh, carving out wounds deep enough to reveal bone and throwing his body off balance.

One mistake led to mistake after mistake.

Karl pursued relentlessly, his greatsword raining down like a storm. Despair spread across the leader's face.

Even though his vision had recovered, he could no longer change anything.

"Ah!"

With a scream, the leader's burly body crashed to the ground.

Karl turned around and was about to chase after the remaining two when his brows lifted slightly. He immediately stopped.

Just as the two were about to escape, more than a dozen arrows suddenly shot out of the darkness, turning the defenseless pair into pincushions.

"At last, there isn't a single mistake in this version!"

"Uncle!"

Xiao Nan leaped out while holding a powerful crossbow and waved excitedly at Karl.

"We're here too."

Figures emerged from the darkness. Aya was among them, her face filled with delight. Behind her stood an old man.

Looking at Karl, the old man lightly tapped his cane.

"Karl, the honorable friend Aya mentioned. We finally meet."

*

*

*

Black City,

What Black City had no shortage of was abandoned houses.

After sweeping away the dust, everyone found a place to sit in the hall.

Aya gestured toward the old man.

"Uncle Karl, this is Grandpa Lev. Xiao Nan and I have relied on Grandpa's care all these years. Otherwise, we would have died long ago."

"This is..."

She looked toward the woman behind the old man.

"This is Big Sis Eve, the helper I specifically invited."

Karl nodded.

Aya had brought quite a few people this time, but almost all of them were ordinary people. Only Eve possessed a certain level of strength.

To be honest,

if not for him, it was hard to say whether all the people Aya had brought would have been able to drive off their opponents.

"Eve. Dorn."

Eve looked at Karl warily.

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." Karl smiled, then looked at Aya again.

"I didn't expect you to find so many people willing to help."

Before he knew it, so many people had gathered around Aya, and she had even developed a certain amount of influence. She was no longer the little stall owner who had once gone hungry.

"They're all friends I knew before," Aya replied.

"When they heard that my stall had been robbed, they all came to help."

"Speaking of which, we have to thank you for the things you gave us. They've kept us from suffering so badly during this Month of Severe Winter."

"Karl."

Old Lev spoke slowly.

"Aya is a young girl, and it's easy for others to bully her. Just like this time—someone took a fancy to the stall in the market and tried to force a sale. Without you stepping in, who knows what the final outcome would have been?"

"Mm..."

"If you need anything, please feel free to ask. We'll do anything we can."

"Please don't stand on ceremony."

As he spoke, Old Lev rose and stood up, then bent his trembling body toward Karl in a respectful bow. His attitude was deferential, even flattering. The others' eyes flickered, but not one of them stopped him.

They knew very well.

Aya's current position, and the fact that everyone could eat their fill and stay warm, were all thanks to the goods Karl supplied from behind the scenes.

Moreover, after witnessing Karl's strength today, they felt even more awe toward him. If they could attach themselves to him, everyone's lives would hold more promise in the future.

They had gathered together not because Old Lev was highly respected, nor because Aya possessed some unique charisma, but because of Karl.

"You're too polite, Old Sir."

Karl shook his head.

"I only happened to be there. It was nothing. You're already so old, so please sit down. Let's talk while seated."

He did not agree to anything.

Black City was vast, but Aya was too weak.

Looking over the entire group, he saw only the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled. They could not provide him with enough assistance and would only become burdens. Trading was fine, but it was best not to tie themselves together.

Old Lev clearly understood this. His expression changed slightly before he said,

"Aya told me that you're collecting Breathing Techniques?"

"That's right." Karl's eyes lit up.

"You have a Breathing Technique?"

"I do, but... the Breathing Technique I possess cannot be passed on." Old Lev looked troubled.

"However, I do have a martial skill that I can teach you."

"A martial skill?"

Karl frowned.

Naturally, he was interested in martial skills too, but to be honest, not very interested.

Especially after coming into contact with the Wizard World, even Breathing Techniques had become less important to him. Martial skills were even more dispensable.

Seeing Karl's changing expression, Old Lev gritted his teeth and said,

"Besides martial skills, I also know a thing or two about spell seals."

"Spell seals!"

Karl's eyes lit up.