Obi-Wan Surrenders, Undercurrents Stir

Central Circle Street, Hunter Base.

The bells rang from the highest bell tower of Hunter Base, echoing throughout Tinos. Yet within a hundred meters of Hunter Base, not a single person could be seen.

"Finally..."

Yet at that very moment, a figure appeared on the empty, desolate street.

The newcomer was powerfully built, with a long blade hanging at his waist. Expressionless, he walked toward Hunter Base—the fortress known as an "impregnable stronghold," and once what he had believed to be his home and haven.

"What irony!" It was Obi-Wan. His heart had already turned completely cold. Even as he walked this familiar road again and looked upon those majestic buildings, not a ripple of emotion stirred within him.

At the same moment Obi-Wan appeared, several people atop Hunter Base revealed themselves and looked down at him from above.

"Isn't this the Great Swordmaster?" The leader stood over two meters tall, with a scar across his face. Seeing Obi-Wan arrive, the scar-faced man immediately sneered, "Want to come up and have some fruit? I just picked some juicy peaches!"

"Yeah, she's just a little fledgling," a lecherous man behind the scar-faced man said in a mocking tone.

Obi-Wan was no fool. The moment he heard it, he knew they were insulting Rami.

"Animals!" Obi-Wan forcibly suppressed the fury in his heart. Every ounce of strength in his body was devoted to stopping himself from drawing his blade. Otherwise, the entire plan would be ruined.

Of course, he knew the scar-faced man was deliberately provoking him. That was simply the kind of person Nader was—someone who kicked others while they were down.

Rami was only eleven. Nader had better be merely trying to provoke him. If anything had truly happened to Rami—Obi-Wan would no longer care about any plan. Even if it cost him his life, he would make these beasts pay the price!

"Enough!" Obi-Wan roared. His imposing aura flared, and the air around them instantly turned cold. "Nader!"

The scar-faced man was called Nader. Hearing his name, Nader's expression darkened as well. He looked at Obi-Wan and said flatly, "So, you came to turn yourself in?"

"Release Rami!" Obi-Wan looked at his former colleague, grief filling his heart, though rage burned even more fiercely. He was using all his reason to suppress the urge to kill Nader.

"From the moment you stepped in here, you lost the right to bargain!" Nader laughed as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world. "Kuhahaha—don't tell me you intend to storm Hunter Base all by yourself?"

Hunter Base was easy to leave, but trying to enter it again required paying a price a hundred, even a thousand times greater!

Led by the lecherous man behind Nader, the others all burst into laughter as they looked at Obi-Wan.

"Weren't you always so high and mighty? Come on, make a move!" The lecherous man crazily raised his middle finger at Obi-Wan.

Click! Obi-Wan could not help resting his right hand on the hilt of his long blade.

The people atop Hunter Base instantly became alert, and cold sweat broke out on Nader's forehead.

"If you dare make a move, we'll kill that little girl immediately." Nader was genuinely worried that Obi-Wan would disregard everything and take them down with him.

Nader had called in reinforcements, but if Obi-Wan was truly enraged and decided to risk his life just to take Nader and the others with him, that would be anything but fun.

But Obi-Wan ultimately did not make a move, and Nader wiped away his cold sweat.

Though Nader was powerful as well, there was still quite a gap between him and Obi-Wan.

"Move in and take him down!" Seeing Obi-Wan hesitate, Nader immediately gave the order. Hidden experts received the signal and moved at once, subduing Obi-Wan.

"A bunch of treacherous trash, without even the slightest bottom line or dignity!" Obi-Wan stared fixedly at Nader, but what he was thinking was, Who exactly are these people? Could Lord Aeneas really have been right?

"What use are those things? They paid us a lot of money. Isn't this the duty of pirate hunters?" Seeing that Obi-Wan had been subdued without resisting, Nader finally relaxed. "If you want someone to blame, blame the fact that you once served as the Dunhold Family's butler. It has nothing to do with us!"

Obi-Wan's heart turned to ashes. He no longer wished to say another word to Nader.

Though they had once been colleagues, he had still held onto the faintest hope that they might change their minds. That was why he had chosen to turn himself in—perhaps they could settle this peacefully through negotiation.

Obi-Wan had been too naive.

"Still, fortunately, there are two other plans. I'm counting on you, Scusen! Lord Aeneas!" Obi-Wan obediently allowed himself to be put in handcuffs, and his weapon was confiscated as well.

Now, all he had to do was wait for the right opportunity...

Even after watching Obi-Wan being escorted to the cells, Nader remained uneasy. He ordered the lecherous man, "Increase the guards around the prison. Do the same for that half-dead little girl. The warship probably won't arrive until tomorrow. I don't want anything going wrong before then!"

"Understood, boss!" The lecherous man accepted the order and quickly went off to arrange the manpower.

Scusen and the others, hidden in the shadows, witnessed the entire process of Obi-Wan's capture. Their hearts were all heavy. Only after Hunter Base had fallen quiet again did Scusen speak to those around him.

"Do not bring shame upon Lord Obi-Wan. Proceed according to the plan. This time, Aeneas was right—our enemies are far stronger than we imagined!" Scusen was referring to the person who had stepped in to subdue Obi-Wan. In terms of strength, that person was absolutely beyond those half-baked pirate hunters.

Among the pirate hunters, there was only one person Scusen truly respected from the bottom of his heart: his brother-in-law, Obi-Wan!

But for some reason, his sister was always scolding Obi-Wan.

Shaking off those strange, irrelevant thoughts, Scusen led his men back to the underground base. The others who had been waiting there for a long time also received their orders and began blasting open the entrance to the underground base.

"Judging by the distance, it will take at least a day to blast our way through," a scout reported to Scusen. "And even then, there's no guarantee we won't alert the people at Hunter Base."

Scusen frowned.

"Dig a small passage, then carry out a single detonation. That way, even if the enemy notices something, they won't have time to react. One day is still too long. Keep shortening it!" Scusen did not care how difficult the process would be. Whether Obi-Wan and Rami could be saved depended entirely on him!

"Yes!" Having received the order, his subordinates immediately began digging and planting explosives.

"Emondi, Aeneas, I wonder how things are going on your side." Scusen could only pray now. This Round Street Slaughter won't be simple. You must be careful!

It was not only the Scusen Group in District Three that was carrying out all kinds of underground operations.

The Orton Group in District One and the Kam Group in District Two each had their own ulterior motives, and all of them had coincidentally turned their attention toward the underground base.

On the surface, the Round Street Slaughter was a chaotic melee, but beneath the feet of the major forces, undercurrents had already begun to stir!