Opponents

Three figures appeared amid a field of ruins.

One of them had a sharp, ratlike face. His eyes darted around as he leaped out of the shadows and looked ahead.

"Nick, are you sure they came here?"

"Of course."

Nick's eyes were blue-green. He answered in a low voice:

"I've been watching Aya and the others for a whole month. Besides, even if you don't believe me, you should at least trust a rat's sense of smell."

"Ben!"

He turned to look at the last man.

"Could they be the people the Brotherhood is looking for?"

"What difference does it make?" Ben sneered.

"A little girl with no foundation managed to build up a force in such a short time. The important thing is how she did it."

"Don't you want to know where she got all that food?"

"Good point." Nick nodded.

"If we get access to her supply channels, then even if we don't join the Brotherhood, we won't lose anything."

No!

At this rate, soon they wouldn't be wondering whether to join the Brotherhood. The other side would be begging them to join instead.

At first, they had been hired by the Brotherhood to find the killer who had murdered Red Hair. But now, compared with what they had uncovered, that no longer mattered.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"First, confirm whether this is where they make their deals. If it is, tell the boss to get ready."

Ben rolled his shoulders and flexed his hands.

"I've had enough of that little brat."

"So..." one of them said.

"You're here for Aya?"

"Of course."

Ben nodded reflexively, then spun around, staring in surprise toward the voice.

"Who's there?"

Karl emerged from the darkness and looked at the three men. His expression relaxed slightly.

"At least it wasn't the worst-case scenario."

It seemed Aya hadn't betrayed him. Even the people in her group hadn't colluded with outsiders, which meant he hadn't chosen the wrong person.

His two days of waiting here hadn't been in vain.

"Attack!"

Nick growled and lunged forward, swinging both hands. Several wrist darts shot ahead of him.

The other two reacted a little more slowly, but the harsh conditions in Black City had taught them to make their decisions quickly.

They charged right behind Nick, one after the other.

The moment they realized someone had been watching them from the shadows, they chose to attack—and they went straight for the kill.

"Heh..."

Karl chuckled.

Zero-ring Witchcraft—Lesser Force Field!

As his mental power increased, so did the spell's strength. An invisible field spread around him.

In an instant, as the darts came within three feet of Karl, they seemed to plunge into water. The powerful resistance slowed them to a crawl.

Clang!

Karl gave his greatsword a light swing, knocking the darts aside.

At the same time, he snapped the fingers of his left hand.

Light Spell!

A dazzling white light burst into view.

The three attackers squeezed their eyes shut instinctively. Their reactions faltered, and their movements fell into disarray.

Damn!

Whoosh!

Karl pushed off the ground and soared like a bird. His greatsword whipped up a gale as he charged at the three men.

Eagle Strike!

Gale Sword Technique!

He held nothing back, opening with his signature combat technique.

Gale Slash!

Several afterimages appeared out of nowhere. Together with the greatsword itself, they engulfed all three men in an instant.

The Lesser Force Field slowed their movements. They couldn't mount any proper defense against the incoming attacks.

In the blink of an eye—

Pfft!

Pfft, pfft!

Blood sprayed everywhere.

"Argh!"

Nick screamed at the sky and jerked his hand. A chain with a sharp point at its end shot from his sleeve.

Clatter, clatter...

The chain whipped through the air, slowing Karl's movements for just a moment.

But that was all. The sword's shadow swept in and out, and a head sailed high into the air. The headless corpse spurted blood a foot into the air before collapsing to the ground.

Dead!

A moment later, Karl crouched down, covered in blood, and asked:

"So, the Brotherhood's Red Hair was murdered, and they couldn't find the killer right away. So they hired you, local toughs, to investigate, promising that if you found the killer and avenged Red Hair, you'd be allowed to join the Brotherhood."

"Then, while investigating, you discovered Aya making deals with someone in secret, so you started looking into those deals instead?"

"That's right." Ben was covered in blood. He glared at Karl and shouted:

"You killed Red Hair. The Brotherhood will never let you get away with it, and the boss won't spare Aya and the others either."

"You all..."

"Are going to die!"

Judging by his condition, he had suffered plenty of torture. He also knew he wouldn't escape death, so his furious shouting was only an attempt to die quickly and be free of his torment.

"Perhaps."

Karl nodded.

"Too bad you won't be around to see it."

As he spoke, his greatsword flashed past. Ben's body stiffened, the light faded from his eyes, and he fell onto his back.

After killing the three men, Karl didn't leave. Instead, he pulled out a whistle and blew hard.

Tweet...

The shrill sound rang out into the distance.

Before long, Aya and Xiao Nan leaped out from a nearby crevice. They glanced around and hurried toward Karl.

"Uncle."

"Uncle..." Aya looked at the bodies on the ground, surprise in her eyes.

"What happened?"

"Someone was following us and investigating us." Karl spoke slowly.

"Their leader's called Iron Fist Abe. Have you heard that name?"

"Iron Fist Abe?" Aya's expression changed, and her eyes turned dark.

"Of course!"

"He's a local tough at Laka Market. He controls more than a dozen stalls, and he's been giving us trouble lately."

Aya wasn't surprised that he had set his sights on her.

But the fact that he had found Karl meant their dealings might already be known to others. That put the lives of her entire little group at risk.

Karl looked at Aya and asked:

"What are you going to do?"

He didn't mention that everything had started with him killing Red Hair. He wanted to see how Aya would handle a situation like this—and whether her response would satisfy him.

"Uncle."

After a moment's silence, Aya suddenly said:

"Xiao Nan is a Knight Squire now."

"That's right!" Xiao Nan thumped his chest beside her.

"Uncle Karl, I'm a Knight Squire now."

A Knight Squire?

Karl's eyes flickered.

That was unexpected.

But Xiao Nan's physique was extraordinary. At just over ten years old, he was already sturdier than most adults. With Old Lev teaching him, and with his Breathing Technique and martial skills, plus all the good food he'd had lately, it was only natural that he'd become a Knight Squire.

"So..."

He looked at Aya.

"What were you about to say?"

"I wanted to say..." Aya spoke one word at a time.

"I'm not the little girl I used to be, someone people could bully whenever they wanted!"

At that,

a smile appeared on Karl's face.

*

*

*

Iron Fist Abe's base was not far from Laka Market. Along with Abe, more than twenty people occupied a dilapidated manor.

Night.

Figures appeared all around the manor, surrounding it on every side.

"Iron Fist Abe has two skilled fighters at his side. Counting him, that makes three Knight Squires. They're his strongest fighters."

"But Abe likes to drink. He drinks every day, and every time he gets dead drunk. No matter what, his fighting ability takes a serious hit after he drinks."

Aya spoke in a low voice.

"Wait for the right moment, then charge straight in. Take out his helpers first, then surround Iron Fist Abe."

"Uncle."

She looked at Karl.

"Sorry for the trouble. Keep watch from the side."

"Mm."

Karl nodded.

Over the past few months, he wasn't the only one who had grown stronger. Aya had too, and they had even brought along a helper for this trip.