One-Eyed Monster

In the already cramped tavern, a few fierce-looking individuals suddenly appeared. Although they were accompanied by a young girl, their behavior and words betrayed their vicious nature.

The mercenary group, Smoke, was already notorious. They often resorted to unscrupulous means to achieve their goals, though after submitting to the Alchemy Workshop, they had become somewhat restrained. However, their previous misdeeds hadn’t just vanished; they had committed quite a few disgusting acts on this continent.

Igor and Kadi didn’t recognize this mercenary band because they had just entered this world. The residents of Gaga County didn’t know them either, as this place had been peaceful for a long time. But Master Lao was different. Having once worked in the Imperial Capital, he had seen many people and heard many things. He had long heard of this infamous group, and today confirmed their reputation.

”Enough nonsense, hand over all the gold coins you tricked us out of, and not just that, give us everything valuable on you!” Grim, the burly Fighter, said viciously, still brooding over being fooled by Igor.

”I didn’t cheat you!” Igor exclaimed, shocked at these people. He only wanted to get out and didn’t want to entangle himself with them, but their insistence that he’d deceived them was unacceptable.

In Igor’s eyes, he hadn’t lied; it was Kadi causing trouble. He had just withheld certain truths.

Although it was a bit of sophistry, wasn’t he just playing dumb now? He could use anything in his favor to fend them off!

”Stop with the rubbish, or I’ll cut you down now!” Grim’s ferocious look made everyone around feel his malice.

”No need to say so much, just tie him up!” Ruben said. This tall, skinny Hunter wasn’t planning on dealing with Igor for long; he was ready to catch him from the start.

”What do you want to do!” Igor shouted, clearly realizing the situation was off; the other side intended to act!

With a whoosh, a flame rushed towards Igor and Kadi. Clearly, this was the work of Sims, the Flame Wizard. Flames from a Flame Wizard were naturally malicious.

Igor realized that they had not intended to engage in much talk; they were here solely for him. He didn’t bother with words either, grabbing a liquor bottle and swinging it like a shield—Spirit Power Shield!

Whoosh! The flame was thus warded off by Igor.

”If you’re going to fight, do it outside!” Master Lao said. At this point, while all of Gaga County’s people were avoiding and not daring to speak, the blacksmith stepped forward!

This surprised everyone; who would have thought a stranger would say such a thing.

”Don’t cause trouble here. If you want to fight, do it outside; don’t disrupt others’ peace!”

”Right, if there’s a misunderstanding, let’s discuss it outside!” Igor promptly echoed Master Lao, thinking his chances of slipping away were greater this way!

Ruben and Grim looked at Igor and Master Lao like they were idiots, as if they hadn’t encountered people like this along their journey.

Is this really something you can decide in a fight? What a joke!

”Stop wasting words with them!” Sims was noticeably more composed than Ruben and Grim, always speaking little, and now launching another fireball!

Kadi, who hadn’t moved until now, was displeased. He thought these people were utterly disrespectful!

To think they’d use fire to deal with them; how childish could they be! Had these guys not been sufficiently terrified by that Exotic Fire yet!

Kadi shared a bit of commonality with these people; at critical moments, he was not verbose. Unlike Igor, he didn’t attempt to bargain with them, having neither the leisure nor the energy for it.

Kadi manipulated his fingers, the Exotic Fire hidden in his palm, invisible to the naked eye. This was crucial to his ability to surreptitiously set their luggage ablaze.

Kadi’s control over the Exotic Fire had reached an expert level. Wherever he directed the Swamp Flame to burn, that was where it would blaze. If he commanded it not to burn somewhere, it wouldn’t. His Flame Control Spell was nearing the freedom level of Stan Sol’s Flame War Pet.

In an instant, the Exotic Fire erupted, encircling the aggressive individuals with blue flame.

”This...” Ruben suddenly realized that this very flame had been the one that burned their luggage earlier, making him agitated. ”Damn it, it was this brat who set our luggage on fire; the flames are the same!”

”We absolutely won’t let them off this time, both principal and interest! We’ll make them bleed!” Grim gripped his axe, almost ready to charge forward.

However, their actions were now restrained by their master’s control, yet the master still hadn’t spoken up!

”Alright!” Kadi clapped his hands, clearly satisfied with the circumference of Exotic Fire he had arranged. ”Now we can fight, and with this fire surrounding us, they can’t harm anyone else.”

”Uh...” Igor scratched his head, not expecting Kadi to be so meticulous, using the Exotic Fire to protect all unrelated people.

”Ah, hahaha, you’re indeed an interesting person. My blades are not gifted in vain. Though the two are still in the forge, rest assured they’ll be delivered to you!” Master Lao praised Kadi’s approach.

”These people have no manners, coming in without good words. They deserve a good lesson!” Kadi said to himself, completely ignoring the sentiments of those guys.

Even though Igor didn’t understand where Kadi’s confidence stemmed from, he felt the opponents were no match for Kadi.

”Hmph! It’s you who don’t know gratitude!”

Suddenly, the smoking elder, who had been silent, finally spat out an angry sentence. Clearly, he was conveying his master’s intent; fearfully, it would not be long before they acted.

”What should we do to teach them a lesson, Igor?” Kadi seemed not to have heard the elder’s words, speaking to himself unconcernedly, completely disregarding those people.

”Too much bullying! Ungrateful wretches!” The smoking elder continued to voice, his tone sounding slightly frantic yet carrying a hint of fear. His agitation originated from his master’s emotions, while the fear came from his own feelings. Clearly, the smoking elder had sensed his master’s anger, and it wouldn’t be long before these people in front succumbed to his master’s intimidation...