Sinielle, Abandoned Warehouse District.
On the outskirts of the city lay a stretch of deserted district.
It was originally built to store all kinds of scarce resources in the desert, such as food and liquor, but after suffering several large-scale raids by underground forces and having its stockpiles looted multiple times, the City Hall eventually abandoned it, no longer using it for storage.
As a result, this warehouse district became a lawless zone within Sinielle, often used by members of the underworld for illegal gatherings or shady transactions.
Many factions even treated this place as a battleground where they could fight without restraint. Every so often, one would come across pools of blackened blood on the ground, making the place look especially horrifying.
The City Hall had once sent people to guard and patrol the area, but every time, these guards were wiped out by unknown underground forces, which infuriated the City Lord again and again.
Yet, the City Hall could not afford to have the Oasis Knights stationed in a place like this for long, lest they waste valuable elite combat power. Over time, the City Hall simply gave up on managing this district, allowing the chaos and darkness here to go unchecked.
Today, in this deserted warehouse district, a fierce fight had broken out.
It was a fight between two factions.
They were clearly not ordinary—they each had dozens of members, all fully armed and physically imposing, making it immediately apparent that none of them were weak.
Other factions were present as well, but for now, they were watching coldly from the sidelines, showing no intention of joining the conflict between the two factions.
Of course, while it seemed like two large factions were at war, only two people were truly fighting.
One was a magician, the other a swordsman.
While the magician relentlessly unleashed magic spells like a merciless turret, the swordsman, wielding a longsword, dashed through the storm of magic, steadily closing the distance.
"Kill him!"
"Take out that arrogant bastard!"
"Don't let them leave here alive!"
"Come on, Captain!"
"Go for it, Boss!"
Both sides stood apart, clearly backing their chosen fighter, shouting and hollering with murderous intent etched on their faces.
Yet, the two clashing in the center were completely unfazed—the magician in particular kept his cold, emotionless expression as he hurled a storm of blazing magic spells into the side alley of the Warehouse District.
*BOOM!*
As the powerful magical fire blasted apart a corner of the district, flames erupted, scorching the ground into charred earth and filling the air with searing heat.
"Tch!"
Forced back by the magical flames, the swordsman leaped away to put some distance between himself and the magician, his face dark as a storm.
"Hand it over."
Looking like he had the upper hand, the magician spoke coldly toward the swordsman.
"In your dreams! Now that it's mine, no one's taking it from me!"
Blatantly showing disdain, the swordsman spat his words, his face grim.
"Don't be so sure. I'm warning you—that thing's more than you can handle, Kane."
Unfazed by the disdain, the magician spoke expressionlessly.
"You think I get scared that easily, Jayden?" Kane sneered. "If I can't handle it, what makes you think you can? My Dragon Horn's just as good as your Illusionist!"
Upon hearing this, Jayden said nothing more and raised his hand to cast another magic spell.
Kane, still wearing a grim expression, raised his sword and charged forward once again.
Both powerful enough to rival expert Sword Masters, the two clashed fiercely, while the members of both factions shouted themselves hoarse in support.
Such a chaos, of course, drew more and more people and factions to the area, until the Warehouse District was nearly surrounded.
*Swish!*
Just then, Riezel and Lizbeth, both clad in cloaks, appeared out of nowhere.
They landed atop an old, container-like warehouse, gazing out over the conflict with an air of detached indifference.
"Wh-What are they even doing?" Lizbeth blinked, clearly confused.
"Probably a gang war or something." Riezel replied indifferently, losing interest in the fight below.
From what he saw, the people gathered here were many, and none of them looked friendly—likely all underworld members or violent mercenary groups.
And those not aligned with either side, or those who came alone without a faction, watched from nearby rooftops just like him and Lizbeth, observing as bystanders.
Seeing all this, Riezel gained a rough understanding of the chaos in Sinielle.
'If all the people here belonged to one faction, or were all underworld operatives, it would make sense that Sinielle's underground forces could maintain a balance of power with the official city hall.'
Riezel thought to himself as he glanced casually toward his surroundings.
'Hmm, there are simply too many of them, and they're all strong. Even the weakest are at least Level 3 or Level 4, and there are quite a few who seem to be Level 5 or even Level 6 Sword Masters. Together, they form a truly fearsome force.'
Against such a force, even a Sword Saint would struggle.
It was no wonder the City Lord of Sinielle couldn't simply wipe out the city's darkness with a single decisive strike.
Regardless, none of this mattered to Riezel.
He hadn't come to Sinielle to settle down, so whatever chaos plagued this city was none of his concern. All he cared about was whether anyone down below could provide him with the information he wanted—specifically, news about the ancient ruins.
With that in mind, Riezel activated the Transparent World and looked into the fray below.
Under his gaze, the strength of everyone present, both on the field and around it, was laid bare before him.
Ignoring the miscellaneous ones for now, there were only eleven people here worth Riezel's attention.
Five of them, like Riezel, stood atop buildings, simply watching the fight, not taking part. Of the remaining six, apart from the two currently fighting, the other four each led a faction, standing by as spectators.
All eleven were expert Sword Masters, and one of them had even reached the pinnacle, only a half-step away from the level of Albert Borley, the best swordsman just below a Sword Saint.
He was leading a group of burly warriors, cradling his sword as he watched the fight with gleaming eyes and a wide grin—clearly itching to join in himself.
"Battle maniac, huh?"
Riezel remarked about the man, then turned his gaze to the two fighting.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Riezel froze.
In his Transparent World, he saw that the gloomy swordsman—who kept dodging the magician's offensive magic spells while trying to get close enough to strike—was actually carrying something strange.
It couldn't be seen through or fully observed because in Riezel's Transparent World, it appeared as a block of darkness, which was truly odd.
'What's that?'
Just as this thought formed in Riezel's mind, a sudden, unexplainable sense of unease surged within him.
'This feeling...'
Riezel's expression shifted, his gaze on the gloomy swordsman sharpening instantly.
"Master? What's wrong?"
Lizbeth, quick to notice the change, asked in surprise.
Riezel didn't answer but simply stared at the block of darkness on the swordsman, narrowing his eyes, deep in thought.
"Ah, it's the big sister from the tavern."
Before Lizbeth could press further, she spotted Rhea.
Earlier, Rhea had left before them, but even she couldn't match Riezel's teleportation speed.
Now, Rhea finally arrived, stepping straight into the battleground.
"Big Sis!"
"Big Sis!"
When Rhea arrived, the people supporting the magician immediately called out one after another.
"How's it going?" Rhea glanced at the fight, then asked a burly man in the crowd. "We still haven't gotten that thing yet?"
"No." The burly man shook his head, speaking with a trace of regret. "Kane's way stronger than the rumors said. Even with the Captain stepping in, we still can't take him down."
"Figures. He's the leader of the Dragon Horn, one of the top underground forces. If he were that easy, the Oasis Knight would've taken him out a long time ago." Rhea frowned, looking worried. "We've been at this forever and still can't beat him, and now all these other factions are sniffing around... Tch, this is getting messy..."
"It's more than just a little messy, Big Sis..."
As he spoke, the burly man gave a bitter smile.
"Even if Captain beats Kane, those crazy Dragon Horn guys are still backing him up."
"And even if we grab that thing, what then? Too many people have their eyes on it now."
"All these guys are slick. Since Captain and Kane are dead even, they're just hanging back, watching. They're waiting for the Illusionist and the Dragon Horn to tear each other apart, and the second either Captain or Kane goes down, they'll all rush in to snatch the thing."
Hearing this, Rhea's expression turned grim.
She understood why only Jayden and Kane were fighting—neither of them wanted someone else to swoop in and reap the rewards.
"Big Sis, how's it on your end? Didn't the Captain send you to Sunset Tavern to put up a commission and grab a few strong helpers?"
"You think I didn't try?" Rhea replied through gritted teeth. "You know what Sunset Tavern's like. Yeah, they've got the best info, but the second they found out what we were after, they pulled my commission. Said they couldn't touch it or the City Lord would be on their asses."
"Tch! Typical double-dealers."
Upon hearing Rhea's explanation, the burly man couldn't help but click his tongue in annoyance.
"I did run into someone strong, but no luck getting him on board." Rhea shook her head. "For now, we'll just have to take things step by step and pray Big Brother figures something out. Stay ready. If anything goes south, we rush in. We can lose the thing, but we can't lose Big Brother. Got it?"
Everyone answered her loudly, of course.
Within the Illusionist, apart from Captain Jayden, his younger sister Rhea had the most authority. Her strength was also among the top three in the group, second only to him and that same burly man, so among all the rest, she was the strongest.
Now that Rhea had spoken, the burly man, who always followed the siblings' orders, had no objections, and the others certainly wouldn't dare object either.
At this moment, the tension in the Warehouse District grew heavier and heavier, filling the air with the smell of gunpowder.
'Interesting...'
Riezel, who had been watching the whole time, suddenly smiled.
He noticed that everyone here seemed to be after the same thing, their eyes locked on the two fighting, watching the others with extreme caution. Even those like him, waiting atop nearby buildings, looked like they could barely restrain themselves, itching to jump down and join the fray.
'Are they all here for that thing?'
Riezel made a guess and felt sure he was right.
'It seems that thing really does have an extraordinary origin.'
Riezel began to ponder, but just as his mind began to race, the situation in the district suddenly changed.
"How long are you guys just gonna stand there and watch?!"
Kane, pissed that he couldn't get close enough to land a hit on Jayden, raised his sword and yelled at everyone around him.
"If we keep wasting time like this, forget the Oasis Knight—even the City Lord's gonna show up!"
At these words, many onlookers' faces finally changed.
"Kane!"
Seeing this, the coldness vanished from Jayden's face, replaced by a flicker of irritation and anxiety.
"Kane!"
Finally, someone could not hold back any longer and stepped forward.
It was the same man Riezel had labeled a battle maniac—the strongest one in this place.
"Leo!"
Kane looked at the swordsman, who was a few years younger than him—around thirty—with a wary expression.
Leo immediately grinned.
"Hand the thing over, and I'll let your Dragon Horn leave."
At these words, Kane's face grew even uglier, and the rest of the crowd also looked the same—their faces changed dramatically.
At this point, everyone could no longer sit still.
*BANG!*
In the next second, someone suddenly charged in from outside the battleground, rushing straight at Kane.
As soon as one person moved, the others, as if goaded, all surged forward as well.
"Hand it over to me!"
"Give it to me!"
"Bring it out!"
With shouts echoing across the district, countless people rushed in, charging at the shocked and furious Kane.
"LET'S GO!"
A Sword Master from the Dragon Horn saw the situation turn dire, let out a roar, and led his men into battle.
"We're going too!"
Rhea immediately gave the order and rushed in with her group.
Everyone moved at once, storming into the battleground.
In an instant, the Warehouse District descended into chaos.
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[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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