Chapter 103: A Good chance to take out some Competition

Before the Maverick Guild arrived, others had already gathered at the spot where the energy beam had erupted. They seemed to be among the first three groups to arrive, as more people appeared after them.

"Where is the elemental beast?" Reyes shouted, scanning the frozen area surrounded by clusters of buildings. The blue signal had emanated from this cluster, and some curious onlookers were peering out from nearby windows.

For a moment, Reyes thought that the first group—a bunch of slim, hungry-looking youths—had already killed the beast, but there were no signs of battle.

"Dammit, did I come late again?" a voice called from above as Captain Bofan landed gracefully in the midst of everyone. A puzzled expression crossed his face. At first, he assumed the group had already dealt with the beast, but the beam had only been shot a minute ago. This meant that the beast had likely escaped, which was a relief.

It was better that the beast escaped than for someone else to claim it. Moments later, his subordinates also arrived and stood beside their captain, glaring at the other factions with hostility.

"Bunch of slowpokes! You weaklings made me late!" A loud voice cursed as a silver-haired youth skidded to a stop in the middle of the others. The first person his eyes fell upon was none other than Nox.

"Y-you! You're here too!" Ren flinched back immediately, recalling how this kid—who didn't seem older than thirteen—had flooded an entire city. He had been trying to gather information about Nox for the past week, so suddenly running into him was shocking.

Nox stared at the silver-haired youth in confusion, wondering why he was reacting like that. However, at that moment, he spotted a familiar white-haired girl in Ren's group. S~eaʀᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

'Nox, why is he with them?' Wendy, who had arrived just a few seconds later, wondered. She knew there was a high chance of running into him here, but she didn't expect to see him with the members of the Maverick Guild, who were also hunting for the elemental beast.

Despite recognizing the white-haired girl, Nox looked away, pretending as if he hadn't seen her. He didn't want to give Ren the impression that they knew each other, as that might cause trouble for Wendy.

As more people arrived at the scene, the absence of the beast turned their attention to each other, and tension filled the air. Their gazes were intense, and everyone summoned their weapons.

Nox's fanged daggers appeared in his grasp. He could tell a fight would erupt at any moment, and due to his childish appearance, he would undoubtedly be among the first targets.

"Well, well, this seems like a good opportunity to take out some of the competition." An unusually large youth with muscles that could put the best bodybuilders back on Earth to shame spoke with a smirk on his square face. He wasn't the only one that looked like this—behind him stood other students, equally imposing.

Nox's gaze lingered on the ground, where he noticed giant footprints that looked like those of a beast in the frozen earth. They weren't wearing any footwear, which seemed strange to Nox because this entire city was literally freezing.

The group of slim-looking men raised their weapons in a threatening manner, as if they wanted to clash with the large youth.

'They won't even know how they died,' Nox thought in amusement at the sight.

"No fighting in the middle of the city! I'll tolerate your presence here, but fighting in the city is taking it too far!" Captain Bofan shouted authoritatively.

"Calm down, old man, we'll only break a few bones—not actually kill them."

"I don't care if you kill each other; my only stance is that no fight is allowed in the city!" Captain Bofan repeated firmly.

"Hehehehe, it seems even the Maverick Guild is here," a woman in a blue robe commented with a chuckle as her gaze scanned the group. "It seems you're so desperate that you even recruited a kid… how shameful."

"At least we didn't bring our entire guild for a single elemental beast; you guys are the truly desperate ones."

Nox didn't know the robed people, but it seemed they had quite the history with the Maverick Guild. As the two groups exchanged words, he took the opportunity to scan the surroundings.

The first group that piqued Nox's interest was the large, barefooted youths who were students of Bladesong Academy. They were all imposing and domineering, standing at 6 to 7 feet tall, and their clothing clung tightly to their muscular bodies.

Looking at them, Nox felt something was off. Their aura was wild and untamed, as if they were bred for war. They looked like the kind of people who would sacrifice themselves to achieve their goal.

'A very troublesome bunch.'

As if sensing Nox's gaze, one of the large students stared back at Nox with a predatory smile, licked his lips, and then looked away without commenting.

'Yup, this group will be very troublesome.'

Next was the military, led by Captain Bofan, an awakened halfway to reaching Level 100. He was surrounded by his soldiers. His grey eyes held a profound glint as if he had witnessed a lot in his lifetime. His expression was stoic, and it seemed he was also scrutinizing everyone just like Nox.

Though the soldiers weren't high-level Awakened, the captain—Level 50—was enough to carry the team.

Nox's eyes wandered to the next group, a cluster of individuals with an otherworldly aura. According to Brenda beside him, they were mages from the Silvermist Guild. Their robes billowed behind them, and their eyes shone with an ethereal intensity. Nox sensed a deep understanding of the arcane arts emanating from them, as if they had spent centuries studying the intricacies of magic.

The final group consisted of slim, undernourished people; they were Awakened, outcasts, and misfits who had banded together for survival. They radiated an aura of chaos, with a hint of desperation and hunger in their eyes. Even without asking, Nox could tell this group intended to sell the crystal and divide the profit among themselves.

Nearby, a lone figure caught Nox's attention—a hooded person whose presence was like a shadow, dark and unnoticeable until they moved. The aura Nox felt from this figure was very familiar.

At that moment, the figure glanced at Nox, and a shiver ran down his spine; her gaze felt like a promise of death.

'Strange.'

There were still others arriving, but either they were late, or they didn't know about the signal. After all, Nox would have been clueless too if not for the Maverick Guild.

Just as he was observing the others, Nox felt someone staring at him. Turning his head, he wasn't surprised to see it was the same silver-haired boy, Ren, who seemed to be the leader of Wendy's group.

Ren didn't take his eyes off Nox; he felt that looking away would be a sign of weakness.

'Who is he? Just where is he from?' Ren wondered. If not for the tense atmosphere, he would have asked. 'Perhaps he's from the Valerian Kingdom since he's with the Maverick Guild.'

Meanwhile, Wendy briefly exchanged glances with Nox, her mind still occupied. She still didn't understand if Nox and the Maverick Guild were some sort of allies who had signed a truce or if he was their captive. After all, with his powerful beast, everyone would want him on their side.

'He doesn't look like someone who is being held captive,' she thought.

"Be warned, the next time we meet, it will be a bloody war!" the leader of Bladesong Academy said in a booming voice before fleeing the area. Soon after, the others began to disperse gradually.

This left only Captain Bofan and the Maverick Guild at the spot. The reason he had forbidden fighting in the city was to prevent property damage and protect the citizens. But he knew that wouldn't be the case should they encounter each other again. He cast one last glance at the Maverick Guild before leaving as well.

"Now that everyone has seen each other, expect assassination attempts," Reyes warned the group in a casual voice. "Especially from Bladesong Academy and the Silvermist Guild."

While they were speaking, Nox noticed something that all the others had failed to see… an orb.

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