The Dark Hand of the Dark Alliance

Lei Lin took a deep breath and said, "Our Zi'ao Family has followed a moderate path in recent years, sharing the benefits with everyone. Although we have made some enemies, they were nothing more than small fry."

"At least within the kingdom, I don't think anyone would dare to make a move against me right now."

"Especially since I've earned the title of number one in history; no one would choose this moment to target me!"

"Furthermore, to dare to act against me, there must be at least one level eight expert among you. No, given how calm you remain even after I've seen through you, you must be a level nine powerhouse."

"To mobilize experts like you and target me at a time like this, if my guess is correct, it can only be you people from the Dark Alliance!"

As he spoke, he looked at the black cloth in his hand and added, "And your goal shouldn't be to assassinate me, otherwise you would have struck the moment we met."

"Since you don't intend to kill me, then as long as you keep me alive, you must want something from me."

"So, let's make a deal: let my butler and my female companion leave. No matter what your plans are, I will cooperate as much as possible."

"That would be better for everyone, wouldn't it?"

Lei Lin spoke in an unhurried tone, and the leader of the men in black praised him after hearing this, "Such composure; you truly live up to your title as the number one in history."

"But letting them go is impossible. Our original plan was to abduct you and kill everyone else present."

"However, I've changed my mind now. Your performance has earned my approval."

"If you can remain this calm and sensible and cooperate with us, as a trade-off, I can let your butler and female companion leave together."

At this point, Princess Lantan, who seemed to have just realized the gravity of the situation, said in terror, "What? You are from the Dark Alliance!"

"Heavens, Mr. Lei Lin, the people of the Dark Alliance are all villains and thugs! You must not trust them!"

Lei Lin, already feeling frustrated, sighed inwardly: As a princess, has she never learned what it means to be a person who knows the times?

Does she even know what kind of situation this is?

We are the fish on the chopping block, and she's afraid they won't crush us to death immediately, is that it?

Although he judged that there must be a level nine powerhouse among the Dark Alliance members, to be honest, Lei Lin was not afraid at all.

Because he was confident that even if he faced a level nine powerhouse, he could escape, though the price he would have to pay might be severe.

But if he ran, the situation for the old butler and Lantan would be dire; they would most likely die.

The old butler had taken care of his family since he was a child, and Lei Lin had some affection for him. As for Princess Lantan, to have the strength of a level six at her age, she was definitely the cream of the royal crop.

If she died on the very first day they met, it would definitely create a rift between the Zi'ao Family and the royal family.

Even if Clyde didn't say anything on the surface due to Lei Lin's talent, and would likely even magnanimously express his understanding, he couldn't be sure if Clyde would secretly sabotage the development of the Zi'ao Family later.

The next few years would be a time of rapid development for the Zi'ao Family, and he didn't want to affect the family's growth because of this kind of messy nonsense.

Therefore, his first instinct was to negotiate, hoping the other party would let the old butler and Princess Lantan go.

Without these burdens, he could act without restraint!

Lei Lin suppressed the irritation in his heart and comforted Lantan, "Lantan, although we have only known each other for a day, I have to say you are very much to my liking. But I don't want you to fall into danger, so please listen to me, okay?"

"I will be fine!"

After saying that, he took out a scroll and said, "You must have made thorough preparations to capture me. After taking me, you will likely release various smoke screens to prevent my disappearance from being discovered too early, which would affect your subsequent plans."

"But I assume you didn't expect me to bring a female companion!"

"I must state that Lantan is a princess of the Fenlai Kingdom. If she goes missing, the resulting stir will not be small, and it will definitely affect your subsequent plans."

He tossed the scroll in his hand: "This is an Oath Scroll. We can make an oath that they will not speak nonsense after they leave."

"Although my family will soon realize something is wrong and use methods to break the effect of the oath, it will at least guarantee that they won't expose the fact that I've been captured for two or three days!"

"Two or three days should be enough time for you to handle me with your methods!"

Having said this, electric arcs flickered around Lei Lin's body, activating the cool effect of the Thunder God Set, and he continued, "Let them go, and I will cooperate with you as much as possible."

"Otherwise, even if a non-cooperative me cannot cause you too much trouble, I can surely cause you all a bit of a headache!"

The leader of the men in black looked at Lei Lin for a moment in silence, then burst into laughter: "Interesting, what a truly interesting little fellow. I like you more and more."

Just as Lei Lin said, the mission they received was to capture Lei Lin, the number one genius of the Magnolia Continent; if the difficulty was too high, they were to switch to assassination.

But after receiving the job, they had never considered capturing him because the difficulty was too high; similar missions usually ended in assassination.

Yet, this time, the mission was being carried out relatively smoothly.

Especially after realizing that the Lei Lin before him was definitely not some fool brainwashed by the Radiant Church who only believed that justice would prevail, and that even in such a dangerous situation, he could still communicate so rationally and fight for his own interests.

He suddenly realized that there might actually be a possibility of successfully capturing Lei Lin and taking him back to the Dark Alliance. If that were to succeed, the benefits would be far greater than just killing him.

As for how to ensure the loyalty of a captured genius? Heh, their Dark Church had plenty of ways to make their subordinates loyal!

With a flicker in his eyes, the leader of the men in black nodded and said, "Fine, I can choose not to harm them."

"However, I don't trust things like contracts, and I don't need two or three days. One night is enough."

"I will break their hands and feet and poison their throats to make them mute."

"After dawn, people nearby will naturally find them and send them for medical treatment. The priests of the Radiant Church still have some decent skills."

"Although there will be some lingering effects, healing these minor injuries won't be a problem!"

"What do you think?"

Hearing these words, the two men in black behind him exchanged an involuntary glance.

This was the heartland of the Holy Alliance, and to ensure the completion of their mission, they had long since killed everyone in the small town.

If Lantan and the old butler were truly to have their hands and feet broken, there would be no one to discover them and send them for medical treatment. If too much time dragged on, even if they were cured, they would be left with extremely troublesome sequelae.

If their luck was bad, they might even just perish right here. If Lei Lin found out about this in the future, who knew if he would go insane?

However, they did not care about that; as far as they were concerned, as long as the mission could be completed, that was all that mattered.