As Lucilia's words rang in his ears, Ed immediately looked behind him.

A flash of light passed before his cheek. If he had reacted a little later, there would be something stuck in his face right now.

A dagger was embedded in the wall beside him.

Ed looked at the newcomer with a hint of fear and anger. The other party had nearly taken his head off.

An extravagantly dressed man, his face covered in clown paint, strode toward Ed with exaggerated steps, his face etched with a maniacal smile and bloodshot eyes.

Not this shit again... What is wrong with this bastard? Why is he f*cking chasing me like a hungry ghost? First, because of him, I lost my chance with a sugar mommy, and now I can't even loot treasure in peace.

Ed cursed angrily, putting the bag down and ready to send this clown to hell.

"Hahaha, I finally caught you again!"

The dagger embedded in the wall vanished, and new daggers appeared in the clown's hands, one after another slipping between his fingers.

With a flick of his wrists, eight daggers were thrown at Ed, not giving him a chance to speak.

Ed rolled aside to dodge, but one dagger still managed to slit the back of his clothes.

A card flew along the ground toward the clown, but just before hitting him, it suddenly rose upward, only to be deflected by a dagger in his hand.

This, however, bought Ed some time.

"You ugly bastard, leave me alone! What the hell do you want from me? Unlike you, I just do street performance for fun. I'm not your competitor or something. You can dance in front of those rich people as much as you want."

Ed, slightly disheveled, stood up covered in dust, with a tear in the back of his clothing. Although he had already decided to kill this madman, leaving such an enemy alive was far too risky; who knew what he would do? He had to behave as if he were nothing but a mouse being toyed with by a cat. He needed the clown to look down on him.

But his words about "dancing before rich people" acted like oil on a fire. The clown instantly lost his creepy smile and charged at Ed, hurling daggers and yelling maniacally.

"I'll cut off your dick and feed it to you, you bastard! How dare you insult my art!"

This clown seemed even crazier than the last time they fought. After failing to kill Ed and staying away for two months, he seemed to have developed some kind of mental illness.

Ed retreated quickly, his hands constantly moving to his waist, firing cards at the enemy. He wanted to reply, but he wasn't skilled enough at fighting yet—his training had barely begun two months ago, and multitasking in combat was still difficult for him.

The cards traced unpredictable trajectories, launched from various angles, their strange arcs forcing the enemy to halt.

A barrage of daggers overwhelmed Ed, who finally drew the gun from his thigh, flicked the trigger, and fired. The bullets scattered like pale white fireballs, deflecting all the incoming daggers. His other hand was already gripping a pistol, aiming at the enemy and emptying the reel.

Faced with this situation, Nivek the clown rolled on the ground, ignoring the flying cards even when they hit and slashed his flesh. Unconcerned, he pushed off the ground and charged toward Ed.

By this time, Ed was backed against the wall with nowhere to dodge. A card slipped from his trouser leg and was stepped on by Nivek.

"Die!"

The charging Nivek brandished his daggers, wildly swinging them at Ed, ready to hack him until he was crippled before beginning the torture.

Ed could only use his Locker-G3 double-barrel shotgun and pistol to block. But he had only recently begun learning to fight; his close-combat skills were clearly inferior to Nivek's, for whom fighting and killing was a daily routine.

Ed managed to block only twice before the daggers slashed his wrist and shoulder. Enduring the pain, he crouched down and rolled past him.

This action made the bloodthirsty Nivek ecstatic. Without hesitation, he gripped his dagger and plunged it downward. In Nivek's eyes, Ed was now riddled with openings, and his life was in his hands. He could kill him anytime he wanted, but that would be too cheap for this little rat who had escaped last time. He wanted to make Ed feel what it really meant to mess with him.

But just as Nivek moved to give Ed a few more cuts, he realized he couldn't move his hands.

Turning his head, he saw four water chains appear out of nowhere, connected to the ground and binding his limbs. There, under his feet, a blue card shone brightly.

Rolling to his feet, Ed unhesitatingly gripped the shotgun, flicked the trigger again, and aimed at Nivek's face before him.

"Goodbye, f*cker!" Although he wanted to say more, Ed knew very well that most villains died because they talked too much before finishing their enemy. He would rather curse Nivek's dead body than waste time. He had no intention of becoming another cautionary tale.

Aiming at the head, a dense barrage of bullets shot from the muzzle. The pale white flames burning on the cluster of bullets mingled, resembling a fireball.

Crack!

A sound like shattering glass rang out in the vault. The bullet struck a thin, shield-like energy barrier, which then shattered under the impact—but the bullet had also lost all its power. The shattered shield chips fell to the ground.

Behind them was a grinning clown.

"You aren't the only one who can buy this kind of thing. It's really good to learn from your enemy," Nivek spoke with a smirk.

It was as if the past was repeating itself. Last time, a shield had saved Ed's life at a critical moment; this time, a shield had saved the enemy.

Why are these life-saving things so easy to get? Can any Tom, Dick, or Harry buy one?

Ed cursed, seeing he couldn't finish Nivek. But at that moment, he felt numbness in his left hand. Turning his head, he saw the wounds on his left wrist and shoulder had turned a suspicious color.

"You even poisoned your daggers?" he asked with disbelief.

How can this fucking clown be so smart? And why didn't I think of that? Ed now wanted to cry. If he had poisoned his cards, he might have already won the battle.

Nivek's smile became even more sinister. He forcefully broke free of the water chains and strode over, while Ed could only stagger back.

"I told you, I would cut off your dick and feed it to you. How can I let you die so easily?"

"If you love my dick so much, why don't you take it in your mouth instead of feeding me?" Ed retorted with a mocking smile, patting his crotch to tease Nivek, who seemed to take a bit too much interest in it.

"Huh?"

Ed's sudden reply left the clown slightly bewildered. He didn't understand the joke, he had never received oral sex, as every woman he'd been with either ended up tortured to death or subjected to inhuman acts, never given the chance to take the initiative. It was a blind spot in his knowledge. But looking at Ed's smile, he knew he had been insulted.

Then, his already fading crimson eyes filled with blood again, and visible anger spread across his clown-like face. He had been insulted, his brain arrived at this conclusion after a few seconds of pause.

He roared through gritted teeth, "You shit-hole, how dare you! I will kill you!"

This man's mentality was far more fragile than Ed had thought; a few casual words could easily enrage him to the point of explosion.

Ed couldn't help but think this, then controlled his breathing and retreated.

Nivek, already enraged, was no longer prepared to give Ed any chance. Wielding a dagger, he charged forward like lightning.

Seeing the charging clown, Ed's previously disheveled face suddenly broke into a smile. A blue gradient card had appeared at the clown's feet again without him noticing.

Upon activation, water chains gushed out one after another, instantly launching forth. They bound the charging clown from a distance, forcibly pulling him to the spot. In addition to binding his limbs, they wrapped around his waist, firmly imprisoning him in place.

This was the first card he had obtained from Jack. Compared to the one he had made and used earlier, it was much more powerful, and its activation was far smoother. After all, the cards he made couldn't even achieve a gradient color.

Ed took this opportunity to reload.

A dense network of red, thorny lines appeared on Nivek's face. With a roar, the water chains began to falter, spraying water everywhere.

Seeing Nivek had broken free, Ed, while reloading, dodged to the side as daggers flew toward him, grazing the mud and walls around him.

At that moment, Nivek strained again, about to break free of the water chains binding his legs. His hands flashed with daggers, hurling them at Ed to stop his attack.

Ed ran forward, rolling and dodging the daggers. The attack suddenly stopped.

Turning around, Ed saw Nivek trying to break free of the chains binding his waist. Ed fired a shot; the clown, struggling against the chains, had no time to dodge and immediately raised his hand to protect his head.

The bullet struck his wrist, the dense shot festering across his wrist and the surrounding area. The crimson thorns began to glow, non-fatal wounds were no longer an obstacle for him.

Under Nivek's bloodthirsty gaze, Ed, seemingly out of nowhere, produced a magic hat and placed it on his head.

Looking at the clown, who was now bound only by the chain at his waist, he smiled and said, "Let the show begin."

The cards that Ed had flung out and pinned to the ground began to emit a faint, transparent, colorless light.

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