Nolan laughed, his eyes cold but amused. "Skilled with your sword, huh? Show me what you can do," he said, stepping forward.

Zari's hands shook as he tightened his grip around the hilt. Nolan didn't move, just watched. The sword in Zari's hand began to tremble violently, as if resisting him.

Then, in an instant, Nolan moved—so fast it looked like he hadn't moved at all—and Zari's sword split cleanly in two. Half of it fell to the ground with a heavy clatter.

"What… what just happened? How… how did this happen?" Zari stammered, eyes wide in disbelief.

Nolan smiled faintly. "So now tell me… what are you going to do with a broken sword?"

Zari pressed himself against the wall, panic creeping into his voice. "What do you want? Money? Gold? I'll give it! Anything!"

"No. I don't want your money. To be honest, I'm rich," Nolan said, his tone calm but firm.

Zari swallowed hard. "Okay… okay! I'll give you one million gold coins!"

Nolan shook his head. "Two million. Step back."

Zari pointed to the pile of coins on the table. "Two million! Take it! But not all—just a portion, two million!"

"No," Nolan said. "I don't care about your money. I want to remove every single threat you've sent after me."

Zari paled. "Fine! Take it all! There's about 20 million gold coins here—take it, it's yours!"

Nolan walked toward the table, pretending to reach for the coins. Then, with a swift kick, he sent the entire pile flying. Coins scattered across the floor, clattering and shattering.

At that moment, he heard footsteps. From the blacksmith workshop, ten of Zari's men—each armed with a sword—entered and began surrounding him.

Nolan remained perfectly still, unflinching, as they closed in, encircling him. His calm, unshakable presence unnerved them even more, making them hesitate as they prepared to strike.

They moved closer, surrounding Nolan. As they closed the distance, one of them sneered, "Aren't you going to use your skills, or do you plan to come at me with nothing but sword?"

"It's just a sword—nothing else," one of them said. "What do you mean? We're blacksmiths. That's our craft."

"Hey," another said. "No need to answer his question. Let's just take him down. Cut him to pieces."

They moved in. Two of them rushed Nolan at once; he ran toward them with his sword, ready to slash. Nolan barely bent his head and — with a single, precise motion — punched one in the throat. The man fell, clutching his neck and coughing on the ground.

Another attacker lunged at Nolan. Nolan caught the sword between two fingers and bent the blade like it was paper. "Hey—what?" the man sputtered as he stared at his ruined weapon. Nolan flicked a finger toward his head; the attacker flew back and slammed into the wall.

The rest hesitated, then surged together. "Strike at the same time!" they yelled, closing in. Nolan kept dodging—dodging, dodging—taunting them. "Is that all you've got? This your best?" he asked.

In the blink of an eye, it was over. Nolan moved through them with lightning speed, delivering a series of controlled punches to each face, holding the backs of their heads so they couldn't recover or tumble away. One by one they collapsed to the floor.

Zari watched, stunned. "What is going on? How did that happen?" he croaked.

The remaining men scrambled to the window. One of them climbed out and leapt across the alley, landing and trying to flee. Nolan grabbed him, hauled him back inside, and threw him down among the others.

Nolan straightened and looked at Zari. "So—where were we?" he said.

The other man, who had stayed stagnant in the room, finally turned and walked out. No one attacked him, and no one even looked at him as he left.

Nolan's eyes narrowed. "Tell me the truth. I want to hear it from you. Why did you come after me? What reason do you have? I've never offended anyone. It's been four months since I arrived in Sindra, so why target me? Do you have a problem with me?"

Zari's face twisted with frustration. "What? Why would I have a problem with you? Huh? You're… annoying. Very annoying. You came from nowhere and defeated the people branding my armors and weapons in Sindra. They were my representatives, and rookies often looked up to them… they came to my shop. But since that day, when you defeated Garrick… I barely get customers anymore. And it's all because of you!"

Nolan's eyes flicked toward him. "Oh… so that's the reason. That's the reason you planned to kill me. And what now? What should I do to you?"

Zari didn't answer. He looked around nervously as the sky began to lighten. Dawn was approaching, the first rays of morning stretching across the horizon.

Nolan's expression hardened. He walked forward, producing a rope and swiftly tying Zari's hands and legs. "Now… what should I do with you?" he asked.

But then, a sharp sensation ran through him. His connection to his tamed beasts—his monsters—flared. Normally, he could sense if one of them was in danger, if their life force was waning. But this time… it wasn't his beasts. It was Lyra. Her life force was dangerously low.

"What…?" Nolan muttered, panic surging. "Lyra…? No. This is my fault. I shouldn't have let her go. That Divine Dragon King… it must have struck her."

He bolted from the shop, ignoring Zari's panicked protests. "Hey! Come back! Are you not going to untie me?" Zari shouted, struggling against his bonds.

Nolan stopped in the middle of the road, closing his eyes to focus. His connection pulsed stronger. "Where are you, Lyra? Hold on. I'm coming." He clenched his fists. "I can't use search… not at this distance. But I can summon anyone I've tamed."

He shouted with authority: "Summon Lyra!"

In an instant, the earth shivered. A figure erupted from the ground, coughing violently, blood flecking her lips. Nolan sprinted forward, gathering her into his arms.

"Lyra! What happened? Are you okay?" he demanded, his heart pounding.

Her eyes fluttered open weakly, filled with pain but also relief. "N-Nolan… it… it was the Divine Dragon King… too strong…" she whispered, every word ragged.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.