Crowne stepped back one step when his slash was blocked. The person who stopped the attack stood between him and Hedley, a man in tight black clothing, his face blank, and his eyes empty like a soulless doll.

"He is strong," Crowne muttered.

Hedley smiled with satisfaction when he saw Crowne's shocked expression. It made him feel victorious.

"He is quite strong, Crowne," Hedley said while patting the guard's shoulder. "My father said he can kill an S rank adventurer. What can you possibly do?"

The guard stepped forward. Not rushing. His steps were heavy but stable. He was like an executioner who understood that his prey was also strong. He waited for an order.

Crowne tightened his grip on the Dwarfwood Chainblade. His breathing was steady. He could not be careless. His opponent was strong, and he had not fully recovered after his battle with Ruth earlier. Crowne never expected this would happen.

"This is going to be bad," he complained.

At the same time, Hedley raised his hand. He pointed at Crowne. "Kill him!"

Woosh.

The guard vanished from sight and appeared right in front of Crowne. The punch struck the air, splitting the wind. Crowne crossed his arms. His body was pushed back and slammed into one of the cages until its bars bent.

Crowne felt pain in his back, but he forced himself to stand. At the same moment, his opponent appeared in front of him again and swung another powerful punch.

"You are really not giving me time to recover, huh!" Crowne groaned.

He spun his sword. When the punch was about to hit him, he vanished. He had prepared his skill. He appeared behind his opponent and immediately swung his blade. He aimed at the guard's neck.

Clang.

The guard deflected the blade with only his magic coated arm. Crowne was pushed back several steps.

Hedley laughed. "You see? He is strong, right? Well, strong enough for someone like you."

Crowne hissed in annoyance. His breathing started to turn unstable. His opponent advanced again and continued to attack. The guard launched a relentless barrage. Crowne used all of his strength to block and dodge everything.

Though he still got wounded several times. He lost his balance. His opponent appeared before him again and swung another powerful punch.

Trrraaaang.

His sword vibrated. The enemy stepped forward again and prepared another punch, but he suddenly stopped for one second. Crowne quickly threw his dagger.

When the opponent began moving again, Crowne pulled the dagger back. In just a split second, the tip of the dagger pierced the back of his opponent's neck. Blood dripped from the wound, but it did not stop his enemy at all.

BAAM.

A punch hit Crowne's face. His body was thrown back and crashed into another cage. The cage even broke apart. The slave inside was injured because of Crowne's impact.

"Die. You must be killed," the guard said.

He appeared in front of Crowne again. At the same time, Crowne exhaled. He was fully ready to move at high speed.

"Do you need my help?" Sylvara asked.

"No. I need your strength to chase Velrisa. We must find her after this. My intuition feels terrible," Crowne answered.

He felt Sylvara's strength was needed later. This time, he believed he could win using his own power. He did not know what kind of enemy Velrisa fought that could injure her so badly. But it was definitely strong.

"Help me, Doran!" Crowne demanded.

"Yes, my lord!"

Darkness covered Crowne's body. Magic energy entered him. He felt stronger. When the punch was nearly touching him, Crowne pushed his body. He dodged the punch, ducked, then rammed his shoulder into his opponent's chest.

Baam.

His enemy was pushed back. When the enemy tried to move again and throw another punch, Crowne suddenly kicked the guard's leg. The enemy fell. He was ready to strike, but Crowne held himself.

"Damn. Looks like I have become too soft."

Baaak.

He struck the guard with the pommel of his sword until the man passed out. Then he stored the slave inside the Dimensional Prison Ring.

"Do not let him escape," Crowne commanded.

At the same moment, his body returned to normal. His eyes sharpened toward Hedley. Seeing Crowne defeat his best slave made Hedley terrified. He was restless. He looked around for something he could use.

He was too confident in his slave. He did not prepare any weapon at all. It became a huge problem now.

"Why are Lina and Daisy here? What did you do to them?"

Hedley flinched when that question left Crowne's mouth. His body trembled violently. He stepped back several times. He tried to find a weapon but found nothing.

"I-I did not do anything! They came on their own! I only..."

BAAAK.

Crowne slammed the hilt of his sword into Hedley's face. Hedley was thrown back, blood leaking from his mouth, a few teeth falling to the floor. He crawled in panic, looking for a hiding place, but the room was empty and nothing could protect him.

Crowne walked toward him. His steps were calm, but the pressure from his dark magic made the air suffocating. Hedley felt his breath growing heavier with each of Crowne's steps.

"W-Wait! I can explain!" Hedley raised both hands high. "Lina and Daisy… it… it was not my fault! I only… I only helped them. I bought them from someone."

Crowne halted one step away from him. His gaze was dark and cold. He gripped his sword tightly, but he still held himself back.

Hedley swallowed hard. "Listen… listen first, Crowne. I did not know they were your acquaintances. I swear. I only bought them from someone."

Crowne crouched down. He grabbed Hedley's head. "Tell me. What is that person's name? If you lie, I will kill you."

"I-If you do that, then my father will..."

Baaaggh.

Crowne punched Hedley's face. His nose broke. Blood kept dripping from the punch. He wanted to curse and threaten Crowne, but when he saw Crowne's expression, he became terrified. He nodded quickly.

"Cornbell. Cornbell Silver," Hedley answered. "He is the one who offered me those two girls. When I bought them, I never knew they were related to you. If I knew, I would never have done it."

Crowne stood up. He had never heard the name before. But he would ask Ruth. He was sure Ruth knew something. Before that, he looked at Hedley again. He held his sword. Crowne had been holding back his hatred long enough.

"You are useless to me now. So you must repay your sins."

He raised his sword. Hedley shook his head repeatedly. He even prostrated in front of Crowne, but Crowne would not spare him. Crowne swung his sword, but at that exact moment, something happened.

BOOOOOOOOM.

A massive explosion shook the floor beneath them. Crowne lost his balance.

The entire room rumbled. Dust fell from the ceiling. Several cages collapsed. The surviving slaves screamed in terror.

The shaking faded. Crowne was ready to execute Hedley, but when he looked to the spot where Hedley had been, he was gone. He looked around and found nothing. He clicked his tongue in frustration. He wanted to go downstairs to see what happened, but at the same time, he had to save Daisy and Lina.

"Sylvara, can you help me?"

Sylvara appeared immediately. She bowed to Crowne. "What should I do, Master?"

"Get all the slaves out of here. Take them as far as possible, but avoid any fight. I need you to search for Velrisa. I will not take any risk. If you cannot save everyone, prioritize Lina and Daisy. Do you understand?"

He was a bit selfish with the last command, but he had to choose his priority. Crowne did not expect the situation to become even worse.

With Hedley escaping, this was bad news. He could ask Doran to chase Hedley, but he felt a strong magic presence from below. He needed Doran to support him.

"I will go. Do your task," Crowne said.

Sylvara nodded. Then Crowne left. He went downstairs. Benson was there and had to be saved too. Crowne could sense Benson's presence fading. That meant Benson was in serious danger.

Benson was an S rank adventurer, and he was severely injured. That meant his opponent was not someone easy to defeat.

"Are you ready, Doran? This will be difficult," Crowne said.

"Of course, my lord. I will always be here for you."

**

Sylvara stood in the middle of the room. She looked around. There were many slaves. She did not care about them at all because they meant nothing to her. But this was Crowne's order. She could not refuse. Sylvara was a magical beast, not a human. She could live for thousands of years. Her emotions and attachment to other living beings were very thin.

"I do not know why my master cares so much about short lived creatures like them," Sylvara complained.

Sylvara took one step. Then she paused. She forgot which ones were Daisy and Lina. She scratched her head.

Even though she had met them several times. They even spent an afternoon together as a group of four before. But Sylvara never remembered their faces. It was not important to her.

"It looks like I must ask each of them one by one," Sylvara said.

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