Chapter 78 - Provoked

Roger flew nervously all the way to Line City. All throughout his trip, he was fighting himself as what was in his mind was his family's safety. It was a half-good and half-bad decision to abide by the law; after all, they were greedy themselves.

Roger had learned that being vigilant would be his best course of action after this.

'If those people were able to come at me and still survive, my people would not be able to have a long fight with them if their numbers continued to add up. I am also not sure if those people had planned this.'

Roger slowly arrived at the border of District Wish, but as soon as he saw smoke in the direction of where Line City was, his knees felt numb.

Roger's eyes widened as what he saw would crumble his world.

***

A week ago, just before Lucas had contacted the Trio Golden Rookies, a large number of people had arrived outside of Line City. They were the hunters of the Hunter Association, ranging from B-rank to A-rank with a mission to take over the Line City.

From the reports, Roger had this city under his control with Awakens at his command. Hence, to make sure that they could get Roger's neck, they wanted to use the city to control Roger, thinking that he might prioritize their safety before his since it was the attitude he posed.

Also, they took the internet's perspective. Roger was seen as a hero of Line City, and it had already been revealed that Roger was the boss of the Demonyo Clan. Hence, thinking that his influence could grow more with the people around him safe, they wanted to hold them and control the flow of Roger's influence as well.

And, as soon as Roger left, everyone began carrying out their plan, led by Nina and her twin brother Rini.

Nina was a renowned A-ranked hunter under exclusive contract with the Hunter Association. She had thin lips and an aggressively static expression on her face. She was at least slightly taller than the general population of females.

Nina was mostly known for being a sadistic person. She would love to hit people and see them suffer from the severe injuries they would get from her. And apart from that, she was the 5th ranker among A-Rankers.

Her popularity, however, was accompanied by her twin brother, Rini, who possessed the polar opposite personality to hers.

Rini had thin lips, but his face was a soft-looking one that anyone would be relaxed looking at. He was handsome, it was already given, but what was strange about him was his masochist personality.

Because of their personalities, they have been known, apart from their ranking, as "A-Rankers." Rini was the 4th ranker of the A-rankers and had control of a squad under the Hunter Association like his twin sister.

Rini stood up from his position, which was previously laying down on the ground while leaning on the tires of their truck. And as the signal that Roger had left the city, they should start taking the people by now.

Rini smiled and then looked at his underlings and gave them a pleasing smile.

"We should start now."

They were assigned to cause a fuss in the Purple Neighborhood. Along with the other squads, they had been assigned to their respective neighborhoods to attack as well.

And with that, they descended the mountains and made their way straight to the city, intent on wreaking havoc on the land.

***

It was just a peaceful day for the citizens of Line City. The city was bustling as ever and people had their tasks to perform. 

In the main building of the Demonyo Clan, Kaspher was disturbed as his underlings had just arrived with a disorganized expression. They were panting as they had arrived with papers in their hands.

"What? What's the problem?" Kaspher asked.

His underling was about to give him the paper, but one of them shook his head. He then approached Kaspher's computer and tapped on a few keys.

Kaspher was bewildered by their actions. They were hysterically acting, and just as one of his underlings finished clicking, he showed the contents of the computer to Kaspher.

"Sir, we have trespassers. There were plenty!"

Kaspher's eyes became dilated as he fixated on the monitor. He could see a huge number of people walking down the different streets of Line City. They were unfamiliar to him, and Kaspher looked at them and pointed to the subjects on the monitor.

"Who are they?"

"We don't know, sir. But, they were Awakens as our reactors had alarmed. They sensed mana from each of them."

Kaspher's knees trembled and his lips became numb as soon as he heard it. He was startled.

'Boss has just left the city. What should I do? Should I contact him and wait for his orders? But if I contacted him, it would be too late if these people were threats to the city.'

Kaspher gulped and then ordered them.

"Contact Boss and also prepare some troops. Call the Red, Jungle, Blazing, and other buildings. Inform them to protect their respective neighborhoods and contact the Elite 30. Tell them to protect the Wyles family."

"Yes, Sir."

The orders were quickly spread, and they carried out the orders Kaspher had given them. At the same time, Kaspher was having his thoughts run wild as he didn't know what to do next.

"I should try to communicate with these people."

Kaspher was extremely anxious. He had no information about them apart from them being Awakens. They also had a number exceeding a hundred, which could threaten the security of their city.

He still didn't have any idea of any strategic response to them. But, not being too advanced in thinking, he should keep with the idea of talking with them respectfully.

Hence, Kaspher had left his room with the intention of meeting one of the groups of these people. He was the second in command, or at least, one of the people who had the highest position in the gang. His responsibility was right in front of him.

Kaspher left with his car, and after a few streets, he stopped, seeing a group of people casually walking as if it was their land. They also had unbothered expressions on their faces.

Their group made the citizens worried since their numbers flocked together, making them look like gangsters in action.

'Keep it smooth, Kaspher.'

***

Mark and other members of the Elite 30 were just traveling until they were bothered by one of their colleagues. This colleague of theirs came from the Green Building, and as they were in the Blue Building, this person traveled intensely, even though the distance was just short. He was panting.

Mark and others were confused by him and raised an eyebrow. They pondered, but later on, Mark asked this person.

"What's bothering you? Why are you breathless?" 

The person took a deep breath and then faced them with his disturbed face. "Sir Kaspher ordered me to give you a report. He was telling me to tell you that you should prepare and protect the Wyles family. Groups of unknown individuals had entered the city and all of them were Awakens."

"Hmmm? Are they threats?" Mark asked.

"It could be. Sir Kaspher was still planning what to do. That is the only order he gave to me."

Mark and the others frowned. "We could just attack them. Since they were Awakens as well, it could be possible that we would have an equal footing with them."

The person who relayed the order shook his head. "It is impossible. They were above a hundred, so fighting with them isn't a good decision to consider."

"Hmmm... We understand, but, why did you run all the way here just to relay that message."

The person paused and awkwardly smiled. "I don't know."

Meanwhile, Mark had a deep thought. He was discerning and assessing what he had just heard. 

'It is dangerous to fight them. But, it is the purpose for which we were formed—to fight. But, since they were above a hundred, it could be a disadvantage to us. So, talking with them will be the best method to use.'

'However, the possibility of talking with them would be higher than expected. Let's say they are Awakens. It is not certain that they will attack the city. They could be just visiting our city or even trying to meet with Boss.'

'But, Boss just left the city. If they wanted to see him, they should not have come in a group and inquired about it first.'

Even with suspicion, Mark didn't jump to a conclusion as it was important to think rationally as always. If he jumped to one conclusion, as Roger told them, he would be biased in his views in the future.

He took a deep breath and then faced everyone, relaying what was on his mind.

"We will protect the Boss's family. Just don't bother them and secretly protect them. That's the Boss's words that he left to us." Mark said with a firm tone, to which everyone listened.

"Understood!"