Golden-Scaled Monster?

On the way back home, Hillman chatted with Moke as they traveled. "It's not vacation yet. Is it really okay for you to come back like this?"

"It's fine. The school is very lax. No one cares even if I don't attend class."

After replying, Moke asked, "When was Father injured?"

"Yesterday."

Hillman quickly said, "When I came back yesterday, I found that your father had been injured. Then that very night, he took Wharton for a bloodline test."

"Your father was probably afraid that if he encountered danger later, he wouldn't have the chance to give your younger brother a bloodline test." Hillman sighed.

"Is it serious? Are only his bones broken?" Moke asked again.

"His arm and sternum are fractured. His internal organs also seem to have been injured by the impact."

"They're all external injuries. Easy enough to treat." Moke felt relieved.

"Uncle Hillman, let's speed up. I want to see Father as soon as possible."

Moke reminded him with a smile, then immediately increased his speed severalfold.

"Hm?"

Hillman, a Sixth-Level Warrior, was instantly startled by Moke's speed.

It was not that Moke was particularly fast. He merely had the speed of roughly a Sixth-Level Warrior, about equal to Hillman at full speed.

But...

"Not even ten years old, and already a Sixth-Level Warrior?" Hillman's eyes filled with shock.

"How many things has Young Master Moke... been hiding from us?"

Hillman stared wide-eyed, the horror in his gaze replaced by delight.

Today, he had truly been shocked beyond measure.

The sky was dim as night fell, and the residents of Wushan Town had all shut their doors.

"Wushan Town?"

Four men with red spider tattoos on their arms stepped into Wushan Town's territory.

Beside them followed a ragged, disheveled beggar.

The leader looked coldly at the beggar beside him. "Are you sure the man who killed Hall was the lord of Wushan Town?"

"Absolutely true! Absolutely true!"

The beggar hurriedly explained, "When they fought, Lord Hall seemed to have been injured. But in his final counterattack, he also injured that man and tore the human-skin mask off his face!"

"I was beneath the bridge at the time. I saw everything clearly!"

"Then how do you know that man was the lord of Wushan Town?"

The leader asked again.

The beggar hurriedly said, "Because many years ago, he came to the Holy Capital with a woman. That woman gave me a lot of food, and I remember it clearly. She had the clearest eyes of any woman I've ever seen! I, James, could never be mistaken!"

"They seemed to be husband and wife. That woman was about to give birth at the time!"

Seemingly afraid they would not believe him, the beggar James added more details.

"Oh?"

The leader immediately smiled, his face wearing a teasing expression. "That woman showed you kindness, yet you treat her man like this?"

The leader had already confirmed that Hogg was the man they were looking for.

After all, he had been one of those involved in capturing that woman back then.

"So that's why. Still, the fact that he traced it back to us means he has some skill." The leader sneered inwardly without concern.

A Sixth-Level Warrior was someone he could crush with a wave of his hand.

"I, I, I..." The beggar was at a loss for words, unable to say anything.

Was he supposed to say that he coveted the ten-thousand-gold-coin reward these men had offered?

Ten thousand gold coins!

That was enough for him to buy land in the countryside, purchase a beautiful woman, and live a good life for the rest of his days.

Pfft!

A flash of cold light streaked past. James's head was sent flying by a single slash from the leader's sword, while his headless body sprayed blood and collapsed limply.

James's head flew through the air. His eyes were wide open and bloodshot, and his lips even twitched faintly.

But after a few seconds, he still lost all signs of life.

"I need that ten-thousand-gold-coin reward too."

The leader chuckled. "It'll let me enjoy myself at Azure Water Heaven for a long time."

"Move!"

With a wave of his hand, he led the other three swiftly toward Baruch Mansion.

Even the leader had not expected such an important matter to be witnessed by a beggar, nor that the beggar would dare come asking for a reward.

All he could say was that even heaven was on his side.

"Moke, we'll be home soon. You absolutely cannot say I told you."

Hillman repeatedly warned him, "You have to say that you noticed something was wrong through careful observation, then insisted on following me back."

"Something's wrong!"

After listening to Hillman's repeated nagging, Moke's expression suddenly turned cold.

"Hm? Who are those people?" At that moment, Hillman also suddenly held his breath.

Four people were quietly climbing over the side wall of Baruch Mansion.

"Thieves?!" This was the first thought that sprang into Hillman's mind.

"No!"

"They climbed over the wall far too easily. They must be quite strong!"

Hillman's expression immediately grew serious. "Are they Duke Patterson's men?"

He immediately recalled that Hogg had only been injured yesterday, yet someone was infiltrating Baruch Mansion today.

"Uncle Hillman, wait here." Worried about Hogg and Hiri's safety, Moke gave the instruction before swiftly darting toward Baruch Mansion.

"Moke, wait! I'm coming with you!" Hillman hurried after him.

Moke paid Hillman no mind. With him here, no one could possibly be hurt.

"Who's there!"

Hogg, who had been reading in the living room, abruptly raised his head!

He then discovered that four masked men had somehow infiltrated the mansion without his noticing them beforehand!

With a flip of his hand, Hogg pulled a longsword from beneath his recliner and stood ready with it in hand.

"Who are you?" He frowned.

Hogg believed he had killed Hall very discreetly, and no one should have discovered it, so he did not immediately think that these men were Duke Patterson's people.

"Are you the one who killed Hall?" The leader removed his mask.

The other three also removed their masks.

"You?!"

Hogg's expression changed drastically.

He recognized this man as the deputy captain of Duke Patterson's guard.

Luke, a peak Seventh-Level Warrior!

"Lord Hogg!"

At that moment, the butler Hiri also appeared with a sword in hand after hearing the commotion.

"Uncle Hiri..." Rather than feeling happy upon seeing Hiri, Hogg let out a soft sigh.

From the moment these four appeared, he knew he would not survive the night.

One of them was a Seventh-Level Warrior, while the other three were all Sixth-Level Warriors.

There was no way he could defeat such a terrifying lineup.

If Hiri had not shown himself, there might still have been a chance for him to live.

But now Hiri had appeared as well...

"Oh no, Wharton is still at home!" Thinking of his son Wharton, Hogg's face immediately turned pale.

Then, like an arrow leaving the bowstring, he instantly sprinted in the opposite direction.

Even if he died, he had to lead these people away!

"Trying to run?"

Luke lightly tapped the ground, moving several times faster than Hogg!

In just two steps, he reached Hogg's back, and his savage blade slashed directly at Hogg's head.

"A peak Seventh-Level Warrior... is this the strength of a peak Seventh-Level Warrior?"

Hogg's heart sank into despair. "The Seventh-Level Warrior I killed back then was poisoned. The gap between me and a Seventh-Level Warrior is simply too great."

Feeling the fierce wind rushing from behind him, he knew he likely could not block even a single strike.

"Ah!"

Yet the expected blow never fell. Instead, a miserable scream came from behind him, and it clearly belonged to Luke.

Hogg turned around in astonishment, only to see a figure that had appeared behind him at some unknown time, its entire body covered in golden scales, looking both holy and terrifying.

This golden-scaled person seemed to have severed Luke's forged battle blade with one hand, then grabbed his wrist and crushed it alive.

"Young Master Moke..." Hillman, who had followed right behind Moke, was utterly frozen in shock as he looked at the golden-scaled monster Moke had become.