"The Duke of Dawnmere has arrived! Make way!"

Vendors froze, and shoppers stumbled back, following the announcement. The crowd, just moments ago vibrant and surging with energy as if they wanted to rebel against the troublemaker, parted like dried leaves on the ground with a gust of wind.

Qin Wei, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes as a broad-shouldered figure stepped down from the carriage. The figure was cloaked in crimson brocade trimmed with gold, with deep scars visible along his jaw and neck, showcasing that he was a veteran. Despite the stately robes, his demeanor appeared more like a warrior who had gone through life and death battles.

"The Duke of Dawnmere. Now, it makes sense where I have witnessed that carriage," Qin Wei muttered.

Vanessa immediately grabbed his sleeve. "Master Icarus," she hissed, "we have to leave."

Qin Wei turned to her, confused. "Why?"

She leaned close, voice low and urgent. "That's the Duke of Dawnmere. It's well known that your House is on bad terms with him. And those masked men…"

Qin Wei's eyes flicked to the black-robed warriors circling the carriage.

"They're the Grim Squad," she said. "They were all Rank-8s. The eunuch is even Rank-9. And him…"

She glanced at the Duke, who now scanned the crowd with a cold and controlled gaze.

"He's a Grand Sorcerer. He can kill us with a snap of his fingers. We shouldn't be anywhere near this place. Let's go."

Before Qin Wei could respond, another figure emerged from the carriage. It was a younger man, about Qin Wei's age, who stepped down.

Qin Wei's pupils shrank at recognition. "That guy…" he whispered, taking half a step forward.

Vanessa noticed the shift in his expression immediately. Her hand latched onto his arm. "This fellow?" She recognized the young man, too. It was the nobleman Qin Wei offended just a while ago by beating up his men in the market.

As Qin Wei's lips pressed into a hard line, Vanessa's expression darkened. "We're definitely leaving."

Without another word, she wrapped one arm around his waist, stepped back, and with a surge of mana, they shot into the sky, trying to vanish into the rooftop shadows.

But they didn't make it as a voice, firm and cold, rang out behind them, shaking the very air around them: "Since you're here, why run, House Griffin's Elite?"

Qin Wei and Vanessa were both frozen in paralysis in mid-air.

And then, like a mountain falling from the heavens, something slammed into them heavily. Vanessa gasped as her legs gave out, and both she and Qin Wei crashed onto a nearby rooftop at once, cracking the tiles under the force.

"Ugh!" Qin Wei coughed our blood, feeling extreme pain in his back as if his bones were fractured. He wiped the blood off his mouth, and his gaze turned deadly.

However, the pressure didn't ease at all, even after that.

Vanessa gritted her teeth, "This… this is the strength of a Grand Sorcerer. We're ants to him…"

Everyone turned at once to the source of disturbance, including the young nobleman who had just stepped out of the carriage.

As he shifted his gaze toward the collapsed figures on the rooftop, his expression twisted, recognizing the fallen figures. "You!" he spat.

Qin Wei slowly pulled himself upright, staring at them in hatred. But he knows when not to be reckless. Hence, he kept his mouth shut, despite the injury in his body.

Vanessa then stepped forward, trying to be composed as she bowed low with her hand to her chest. "Battle maid Vanessa of House Griffin greets the Duke."

Duke Mikhael Fireheart turned. His gaze swept over her like a blade, then fell to the man beside her. "This boy… he looks familiar…" A subtle flicker passed across his face by faint recognition, "Hmm?"

Before he could speak, the young man beside him stepped forward and shouted aloud. "Everyone, kill that bastard!"

"He's the one who tried to kill me!"

"Hmm?" The Duke blinked, glancing at his son. Meanwhile, the Grim Squad immediately shifted their stances. Their hands dropped to hilts, and mana began to surge, enveloping them, upon sensing that one of the targets was a rank-8, just like them.

Knowing they had nowhere to run, Vanessa steeled her mind, and with one step, she placed herself firmly in front of Qin Wei. Releasing her aura of rank-8, she spoke.

"Lord Fireheart, please think twice before laying hands on this man," she declared loudly so that everyone could hear her words. Or maybe, hoping for a possible scout to hear and relay the news to the House Griffin about the trouble in case this situation turns out ugly, "Master Icarus is the Lord Kaelan Griffin's only son-in-law and His Majesty's nephew."

A beat of silence as the guards halted at those words. They glanced at their master, unsure of whether to proceed or not.

Then a scoff escaped from the Duke in reply. "Oh, Aegis Phoenix's youngest son. No wonder I feel familiar."

Mikhael Fireheart then stepped forward, grinding his heavy boots against the stone as he spoke in a low tone to his son. "Zion... Are you saying… he tried to kill you personally? And not the woman?"

Zion Fireheart growled like a dog denied a bone. "It was him. That bastard himself. The woman didn't interfere."

He then jabbed a finger toward Qin Wei. "Father, he knocked down a Rank-5 warrior and a bunch of Rank-4 warriors… with lightning techniques in front of my very eyes. Making him try to act like a cripple was clearly an act presented by those cunning House Phoenix bastards. They deserve to be exterminated..."

There was a murmur among the Grim Squad as they exchanged glances. One even raised a brow behind his mask.

Duke Mikhael's brows furrowed deeply at his son's words. He gave Qin Wei another long stare. "Strange," he muttered. "I can't sense any mana particle from his body. He is a plainfolk, indeed."

As if remembered something, he looked back at the shop, at the rush of customers still crowding its entrance.

Then he muttered under his breath, more to himself than anyone else, "Could it be… the weaponized talismans? The House Griffin owns the store while a Talisman Master from the House Phoenix crafts them. It is no means a sheer coincidence."

Exhaling a mouthful of air, the Duke of Dawnmere shifted his gaze to Vanessa. "House Griffin's Elite, this squabble between juniors is beneath me. I won't act on my son's behalf today." At first, Vanessa sighed in relief, but then her breath was held as the Duke further said, speaking coldly, "But, when you return, tell your master to clear his any pre-arranged meetings or events."

Vanessa bowed gracefully, her head low but her spine rigid. "As you command, Lord Fireheart."

Without another word, she took Qin Wei's arm and pulled him close.

Before he could say anything, she leapt into the air, and then wings made of energy flashed briefly behind her, leaving the market in almost an instant. Their horse-drawn carriage was abandoned in the street below.

Down below, Zion Fireheart scowled, watching them vanish into the skies. "Father," he snapped. "So what if he has a little background? Even the Emperor won't punish us for teaching that trash a lesson. The House Phoenix was destroyed. The whole Empire knows that his siblings don't care about him, and the Emperor wouldn't even step in for his own sons, much for this trash. He was basically nothing. Moreover, the House Griffin only has three Grandmasters. Of those three, one of them is presumed to be missing or dead. Are you going to let this slide, fearing some non-existent consequences?"

Duke Mikhael Fireheart didn't look at his son. Instead, he stared at the busy store, the stream of buyers, the fluttering banners, and the whispers in the crowd. "Zion, if you are going to lose your emotions over petty squabbles, how will you inherit my position in the future?"

"Father?" Zion Fireheart blinked.

The Duke glanced at him and said. "When you do things, you have to make sure to put yourself in the right. At the very least, in the eyes of the public. What would happen if we let the Grimm squad kill the boy? Do you think you are invincible just because your father is a grand sorcerer and held the position of a Duke?"

Zion clenched his fist and questioned in response. "But… if we don't do anything, won't the same crowd see us as cowards who fear the House Griffin?"

Mikhael Fireheart shook his head calmly. "You don't understand a thing. Since when did I say that we will let him go?"

"Eh?"

"No one humiliates the Xu family and walks away from it," he said coldly, "Soon, you'll get your chance, and when you do, no matter what your actions were, no one will judge you."

Zion Fireheart blinked a couple of times, not understanding his father.

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