A hunter from a Hunter Earl family—that meant the other party carried a forbidden object.

Without Julius's reminder, David knew the strangeness and danger of forbidden objects. Those things' power could easily twist reality. They couldn't be viewed with common sense.

As for the "Xavier" Julius mentioned, David also knew about that—it represented a duke with overwhelming power in the empire, and the biggest supporter behind First Prince Charles.

This duke's family had already produced three generations of Hunter Earls. The current Duke Xavier was also currently the highest-ranking Hunter Earl in the empire.

No one knew exactly how many forbidden objects they controlled. Fourth Prince Roland, the Order, even the already-rebellious Duke Agamemnon all greatly feared this Duke Xavier.

However, obviously, the hunter appearing across from the station eyeing David wasn't a true Hunter Earl.

He just carried a forbidden object—that eye.

In the Divine Watcher's view, the other party's terrible rust-covered eye was a deep void, the power emanating from it even obscuring the hunter's "health bar."

Using forbidden objects came at a cost. That eye's power had completely corroded the hunter's face and even whole body, causing the face under the hunter's hat to be covered with rust-like scars. When that eye rotated, even some rust fell off... It looked really painful.

David smiled and tipped his hat brim at the other party as a greeting, then pulled out Heavy Hammer, pointing the dark barrel at him.

Strictly speaking, hunters other than Hunter Earls weren't qualified to use forbidden objects. The other party's behavior was "illegal" and could be shot dead.

This was called "American quick-draw"—strike first to gain advantage.

Bang!

Gunfire rang out. The late-night station was empty. The bullet could fly recklessly.

The hunter across moved in a flash. Heavy Hammer's bullet hit the fence behind him, blasting a big hole.

The instant he moved, David discovered the shadow under the other party's feet starting to rapidly spread this way—it was rust.

Dark red rust with a fishy smell crawled down the platform, crossed the tracks, and reached David's feet in a breath.

This strange power seemed to be corroding and transforming everything it touched. Any material swallowed by it would turn into rotten scrap iron.

David started moving, leading away the spreading rust marks, while continuously pulling Heavy Hammer's trigger, forcing back that hunter—the "rust's" source—not letting him keep approaching.

Heavy Hammer hissed as it drew blood from his palm. A blood bullet hit the dodging hunter by chance, but a transparent barrier appeared before him, blocking the bullet with a bang.

"Steel Heart path? Barrier Shield?"

David recognized the other party's ritual power. Same as Doctor Freud, the other party was also Steel Heart, and at least third-tier.

But looking at that barrier's performance, it didn't seem to have Freud's flexibility and powerful repulsive force.

"If that's the case..." David suddenly stopped and leaped toward the opposite platform.

The Rending Demon Claw and Construct Blade simultaneously extended from his back. His reckless momentum carrying crazy fighting spirit made the hunter's rust pupil contract slightly.

That claw and that blade flashing with lightning both startled the hunter, forcing him to reassess his opponent: the other party didn't seem to be a simple mid-tier hunter.

Buzz!

The barrier appeared, pressing up toward David in the air.

The ground below him had already turned into a rust swamp. As soon as he fell, he'd be directly devoured.

Shing—!

However, the hunter's eyes widened as he watched David stop in midair in disbelief.

The Rending Demon Claw stabbed into the barrier, its nails penetrating through but couldn't go deeper.

The other lightning blade stabbed into the ground, supporting David in midair. Lightning and rust clashed, immediately losing. Terrible rust rapidly climbed the blade, wanting to corrode David's body along the arm.

But David only needed an instant.

The crimson fist slammed hard on the barrier. The Hand of Divine Corpse carried ten thousand points of psychic energy. This power was enough to shatter it when the enemy used equal psychic energy to condense the barrier!

The Barrier Shield exploded. Another Hand of Divine Corpse had already swung over.

This punch smashed toward the hunter's face while striking the ground—BOOM!

The platform floor along with the rust swamp was flipped by the terrifying Hand of Divine Corpse's punch. Massive debris exploded. The ground was blasted into a deep pit.

Borrowing the violent force, David leaped backward, retracting the Construct Blade in time, stopping the rust's corrosion.

What shocked him was that two gunshots rang from the smoke. Two rust-marked blood bullets hit his chest, sending him flying.

David, landing after flipping, immediately used the Rending Demon Claw to tear off a large piece of flesh from his chest. That brief rust corrosion had already made him sweat coldly in pain. His health directly dropped by one-tenth, and even the black claw that contacted the rust began changing, forcing him to cancel the manifestation.

"I clearly hit him. Why didn't he die?"

Only then did he recall the feeling when he'd hammered the enemy—it seemed like a ball of soft scrap iron...

"Damn it, the forbidden object's power!"

In the distance, the hunter's unharmed figure appeared again behind the raised dust. But this time he was slowly retreating.

He wanted to escape...

David narrowed his eyes and got up.

Unfortunately, he couldn't chase.

That rust swamp was also retreating with the hunter's figure but always kept him surrounded. David couldn't get close at all.

But now he'd already seen the other party's health bar. That punch from the Hand of Divine Corpse wasn't without gains. The other party's rust-iron-like eyeball seemed to have cracks.

[Life Energy: 40000/40000]

Forty thousand health... That was very rare for an ordinary third-tier hunter. Even the steel-boned Freud's health didn't reach one-tenth of his.

And the other party was still completely unharmed. Looked like that forbidden object had indeed given him very powerful strength.

Watching the enemy retreat into the forest, David gave up pursuit and elegantly tipped his hat brim at him. "Don't let me run into you again."

"You'll definitely run into him again. I told you, the First Prince won't give up easily." Seeing the enemy had fled, Julius pushed the wheelchair over.

Right then, distant "woo woo" whistle sounds rang out. The steam locomotive returning to the imperial capital was about to arrive at the station in the late night.

"You don't need to worry about that. Next time he's looking for won't be me, but His Highness Roland."

David shrugged and took the wheelchair from the alchemist.

The girl in the wheelchair had already fallen asleep. The battle's commotion hadn't woken her. Looked like she was truly exhausted... After temporarily removing those legs, she could finally relax her nerves and not endure that burning sting.

The train arrived rumbling. In the spreading steam, the carriage door opened. A red-haired figure appeared before David, smiling at him.

"Long time no see, Master David." The person was Veronica. This was within David's expectations.

Roland's reaction was indeed fast.

"Hello, Veronica." David smiled and nodded.

Seeing the bloody wounds on David's body, Veronica seemed somewhat surprised. She looked around and found the platform in ruins, obviously having just experienced an intense battle.

"Are you... alright, Master?"

After seeing David shake his head, she breathed a sigh. "His Highness Roland summoned me back." She looked at Julius behind David, her purpose self-evident...

At dawn, the train arrived at the imperial capital's southern district station. David pushed Dorothy's wheelchair, walking down the steam-wreathed platform.

Veronica had left with the alchemical master and the massive amount of data he'd recovered from the Monster Cage merchant guild. Only David and the girl remained.

...

Right now, in an ancient castle built in a mountain canyon far from the imperial capital, a rust-stained letter was delivered into the hands of a blond middle-aged man with a handlebar mustache.

"Failed? Heh heh... Funny. When did the Hunter Earl family become so useless?"

The man said "funny" but angrily flipped the table over, immediately throwing the room into chaos.

The attendants outside the door shrank their necks, completely not daring to peek at that roaring prince.

First Prince Charles's temper seemed to be getting worse and worse...

At the same time, inside a manor in the imperial capital, a rust-stained letter was also delivered into the hands of an elegant gray-haired old man.

"Mm, red arm? Interesting..." The old man raised his eyebrows, carefully reading the reported content twice before tossing it into the fireplace to burn.

"Red... arm..." These words sent him into contemplation.

What exactly was that?

Duke Xavier, who'd seen countless things in his lifetime, furrowed his brow, seeming to have another forgetfulness episode.

But he wasn't in a hurry. As long as it was something he'd seen, he'd remember it someday.

"Have someone investigate—that mysterious hunter who took Julius away and could block 'Rust,' who exactly is he?"

The duke gave a quiet order. A shadow behind him moved. It bowed to the duke's back, then dissipated on the spot...

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