The expression on the cold leader's face switched slightly as he spotted the familiar figure.

"You… you're that lunaris beating kid."

"I prefer the title golden child, but lunaris beating kid sounds just right," Marlon responded with a shrug.

"What're you doing?"

Dagon turned to him with a fierce look on his face.

"I'm handling things," Marlon responded quickly. "You said I was here to prevent conflict, so I'm just doing my job."

Dagon frowned, but before he could respond, another voice cut in.

"If it's the kid doing the speaking, then I might listen."

The assailant leader spoke, making the frown on Dagon's face grow even colder, but he did not refute.

"Fine."

He let Marlon take care of things.

And so he did.

Although the boss put up a tough front, he was a secret fan of Marlon, and their conversation flowed smoothly with no malice involved.

Marlon utilised the few communication lessons he had learnt in the short time he spent with the Storm family, especially from Victoria, who had taken her time to speak to him on certain topics, especially communication and hygiene.

At that time, he found them boring, but who would've thought that in just a few days he would be using them?

With enough confidence and skill to let the conversation flow in his direction without being dominating, he was able to get the boss and even a few assailants hidden within nearby structures to listen.

"I totally understand now."

The boss, who had earlier introduced himself as Tinubu during their conversation, nodded his head with understanding.

"But still…"

He added afterwards, clearly not wanting to agree too easily.

"We would allow you guys raid peacefully and even protect you from the other gangs if you allow a few of my men go in with you and if you decide to share the loots fifty fifty."

Marlon nodded.

As expected, they were after the loots, although he did not expect that he would suggest sending his own men with them.

"I would've to discuss with my colleagues."

"Sure."

Standing up, Marlon strolled back to Dagon and the rest, who were now staring at him with puzzlement.

"How did you make such a scary person listen to you so attentively?"

It was Clarissa who spoke first.

"It just kind of happened," Marlon shrugged.

Then he relayed the deal Tinubu had proposed.

"Fifty percent and he demands to send his men with us? What kind of bullshit is that?" Dagon let out.

"It could be a trap," Emma suggested.

"Yeah, they could be trying to steal the loots or maybe even murder us within the danger-zone to steal our gears and stuff," Davidson added.

Events like these were not rare within the deadlight districts.

It was the reason why most hunters did not even bother to venture into this place, even though there were no regulations or fees, as it was not under the government nor the Hunter Association jurisdiction.

The people here were worse than monsters.

That was simply it.

But Marlon thought otherwise.

"He seemed genuine when we spoke, and honestly, I think we should give it a go," he suggested.

"When did you become the leader?" Dagon asked, clearly pissed by his suggestion.

Emma and Davidson shot him weird looks as well, while Clarissa remained silent as she weighed the options.

"I never said I was the leader. I just made a suggestion," Marlon responded. He did not seem intimidated by Dagon at all.

And that seemed to piss him off even more.

But at this moment, Marlon did not care about formalities either, as he had already seen an opportunity in the current situation and he could not let go of it.

"And what do you plan to do instead? Wage a war against a gang in a territory you have no idea of? Not only would it be very disadvantageous to our mission, even if we manage to complete it without getting killed, the gang would definitely want to wage war on us and that would result in the death of innocent people."

"Besides, we're clearing the danger-zone, not farming loots, so I don't see any reason to lay emphasis on them. Also, I don't think the members he would be sending would pose any threat to our group."

He stated it firmly.

This time, even Dagon began to consider.

"Marlon is right," Clarissa stated.

The three of them turned to her with strange looks on their faces, but she continued.

"Also, I am not sure the gang would be foolish enough to attempt to kill us within the danger-zones because even if they should succeed, which is unlikely, they would only be committing suicide."

She explained her reasoning in more detail, and finally the group came to a conclusion.

Marlon went to share it with Tinubu.

"That is great," Tinubu stated. "There is even a portal-type danger-zone not too far away from here that is on the verge of breaking."

He continued, even going as far as sharing that a few of his members had already been stationed outside the place should the break take place.

The reason why they could not enter was because their power ranks were too low.

====

The fog in this area was pretty weaker compared to the other areas they had been to so far.

But it was understandable.

It was due to the portal in the middle of it.

An unstable one.

Stubborn wind torrents whipped around it, pushing the fog further away and reducing its intensity while also damaging structures nearby.

"This is the portal."

Standing not so far away, Tinubu pointed at the fast spinning blue vortex.

"Hmm."

Dagon hummed as he observed the portal.

He could sense the strong aether radiating from it.

"It is not going to be an easy one to clear," he muttered to himself.

Then he turned to his group members. The three of them had already prepared themselves and were awaiting his orders.

The new addition to the team stood behind them. Three tattooed young men wearing leather clothing that were fairly neater than expected from a place like this.

Each of them was a magic-type talent user. They had all stepped into D-rank recently and were only a few levels higher than Marlon.

Normally, they would not be able to enter the portal alone, but with Dagon and his team, who were C-ranks, entering with them, it was possible.

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