The wind rose, and the leaves around them rustled loudly.

A flash of red moved swiftly, blocking Bruno's path. The figure raised her right hand with a smooth motion.

Clink!

The longsword stopped dead in its tracks, caught firmly between Elena's fingers.

"What!" The assassin's eyes widened in shock. He tried to pull the sword free, but no matter how hard he tugged, it wouldn't budge.

Without hesitation, the assassin released his grip, spun around, and made a run for it.

Elena ignored him. She turned to glance at Bruno and said, with a hint of exasperation, "He's just a 4th stage Warlock-Warrior. No need to shout for me right away. You could have tried a bit first, get some combat experience."

Bruno shook his head slightly. He was worried that the assassin might pull out an alchemical bomb. If that happened, it would be over.

Combat experience could easily be acquired through the Book of All Things. As long as he searched carefully, he should be able to find some older Warlock-Warriors who had been through many life-and-death battles, now aging and fading.

He could simply trade for their combat experience later—no need to go through all the trouble.

Bruno stretched out his hand and pointed at the assassin, who had already gotten about a hundred meters away.

Elena's legs bent slightly, and the ground beneath her cracked open. Her body shot forward like an arrow, closing the distance in an instant.

A few breaths later, Elena appeared in front of the assassin, her fist swinging out.

Boom!

The powerful punch pierced through the 4th stage Warlock-Warrior's abdomen, sending a spray of red organs and shattered fragments, mixed with blood, flying into the surrounding leaves.

Elena calmly retracted her fist, wiping her hand on the Warlock-Warrior's shoulder.

The assassin's eyes were wide, his mouth opening and closing as if trying to say something. But his abdomen had already been pierced, and his strength was rapidly draining.

Elena was about to turn back toward Bruno when she suddenly heard something. Her ears perked up.

She whipped around and, with a swift kick, sent the Warlock-Warrior flying into the air.

Boom!

A massive explosion rang out.

A burst of red fire bloomed in the air, and countless small pieces of flesh and blood rained down like raindrops.

"An alchemical bomb. This guy's insane. He actually had an alchemical bomb hidden inside him!" Elena's voice carried a hint of fear.

It was a good thing Bruno had called her out immediately. If the assassin had detonated the bomb near Bruno, she wasn't sure she could have ensured his safety.

At this moment, Bruno was still lost in the scene he had just witnessed.

The enormous explosion, the shockwave—he had only seen things like that in movies before.

"Elena, with that kind of power, even an 8th or 9th stage Warlock-Warrior probably wouldn't be able to withstand it, right?" Bruno asked.

Elena nodded. The strength of a Warlock-Warrior, before reaching the 12th stage, was still human. They all had clear weaknesses.

"Let's go. Follow me to Bar 19. This is the core area of District 2. It won't be long before a lot of peacekeepers show up. If we get surrounded by them, it will waste time." Elena took a deep breath and said.

Bruno didn't understand why Elena still wanted to go to Bar 19, but he didn't ask. Instead, he obediently followed behind her.

Sure enough, as soon as they reached the entrance of Bar 19, the area where the battle had just taken place was already surrounded by a large group of peacekeepers.

No surprise—this was the Third District. Even the slightest disturbance would bring out the peacekeepers.

In the lower districts, on the other hand, if something like this happened, it might not even get noticed for a week, unless it involved someone important.

As Bruno was mulling over these thoughts, he suddenly heard Elena's voice.

"Black Eye, I'll give you one chance—withdraw the assassination task on Bruno."

He turned to look and saw that Elena had somehow already entered the bar and was standing at the bar counter, coldly staring at Black Eye.

At that moment, Bar 19 looked completely different from the way Bruno had seen it earlier. The alcohol at the bar was nearly gone, and there wasn't a single customer in sight.

"Elena, you know the rules of Bar 19. Unless the client requests it, the task will remain," Black Eye said, his face serious.

Elena didn't hesitate for a second. She raised her right hand and slammed it down on the bar. The entire counter shattered like a brittle cookie, breaking into several pieces.

"You should know," Elena said coldly, "if my master comes, Bar 19 will face the consequences."

Upon hearing this, Black Eye took a deep breath and glanced at Bruno.

"It seems his importance is greater than some people imagined."

"However," he added, "even if the esteemed Mr. Nell Gaston himself shows up, Bar 19 will still follow the rules."

Elena seemed to be thinking for a moment. She casually picked up a broken piece of the bar counter and began smashing it ruthlessly.

Bruno stood there, stunned. The scene of Elena killing someone still hadn't faded from his mind, and now this was happening.

At first, Elena had given Bruno the impression of being spirited, with a hint of arrogance. But now, Elena was showing him her cold-blooded and ruthless side.

It wasn't until the entire Bar 19 had turned into a pile of rubble that Elena finally stopped destroying things. She looked at Black Eye and slowly asked, "Is that enough?"

Black Eye nodded and replied, "What you've done today will soon spread across Sunset City. Unless someone is a complete madman, no one should dare to attempt an assassination on Mr. Hornes again."

"I'm talking about canceling the assassination task!" Elena repeated, her voice sharp.

Black Eye fell silent for a moment, then finally nodded and started to work.

Throughout the destruction, he hadn't moved a step, as though he had already anticipated this outcome.

"Alright, Miss Elena," he said calmly. "The task has been canceled. From now on, Bar 19 will not issue any assassination orders for Mr. Hornes."

"But the people who have already accepted the task can still complete it for the reward," Black Eye added, his tone still steady.

Elena nodded and turned to Bruno. "Three people accepted the task?"

Bruno nodded. He felt a wave of relief wash over him after hearing that the task had been canceled.

Living with the constant threat of assassination was uncomfortable. While he could use the Contract of All Phenomena to avoid being targeted by assassins, that would make him overly cautious and hinder his growth.

One of the three assassins who had accepted the task was already dead, and in a gruesome way—his body had been obliterated.

The other two assassins probably wouldn't have the courage to continue the task after hearing what had happened.

Elena walked over to Bruno, speaking softly, "Your turn. Go thank Black Eye properly."

Bruno looked at Elena, a bit stunned. His mind raced, processing everything.

The scene of Elena smashing up Bar 19, Black Eye's earlier warning, the changes that had occurred after he left, and Black Eye's comment about his importance...

Bruno may not be the most perceptive or gifted, but he wasn't foolish. In fact, he was quite smart. In just a second, he figured everything out.

He was Nell Gaston's disciple. That's why Black Eye had mentioned his last name as a warning.

And because he was Gaston's disciple, Elena had used force to "persuade" Black Eye into canceling the task.

This was done, on one hand, to maintain the authority of Gaston Martial Arts School, sending a clear warning to anyone thinking of making a move against him.

On the other hand, it was to show others that Bar 19 hadn't directly compromised, but had only canceled the assassination task because it truly had no other choice.

For an underground intelligence exchange, this was undoubtedly crucial.

Once he understood that, Bruno realized that, while Elena's actions might seem impulsive, she was actually very smart.

He quickly walked over to Black Eye, who was cleaning up the mess, and said sincerely, "Thank you for the warning earlier."

Black Eye smiled, found an intact glass, poured some alcohol, and handed it to Bruno. "Bar 19 welcomes you."

Bruno took the glass and drank the contents in one go.

"All right, we need to go. There's still one more place we need to visit," Elena's voice came from the doorway.

Bruno quickly walked over to her.

"One more place? Oh, right, Elena, about Elise's debt—can I extend her payment by a few more days?" Bruno glanced around and spotted Elise in the crowd near the entrance.

Without turning around, Elena replied, "What, are you interested in that girl? You've got good taste. This small matter, you can decide for yourself."

"Elena, don't joke around. I'm not the type to be swayed by beauty," Bruno scratched his head.

Just then, several peacekeepers, holding alchemical guns, walked toward them.

"You two, we've received reports that the explosion earlier is linked to you. Please surrender and cooperate with the investigation!" one of the peacekeepers shouted.

Elena furrowed her brow and immediately pulled out a credential.

With a swift flick, the credential landed precisely in the right hand of the peacekeeper holding the gun.

"Gaston Martial Arts School, Elena. I have other matters to attend to right now and no time to answer your questions," she said coolly.

"Once I'm done, you can send someone to find me."

The peacekeeper stared at the credential in his hand, dazed for a moment.

Elena turned back to Bruno and said, "Let's go."

"Elena, where are we headed next?" Bruno asked again.

Elena smiled, bright and radiant. "Heavenly Gang, Mountain Division Hall."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.