"Who are you?" Daniel said indifferently as he looked at the black-clad figures blocking their path.
"Us? Haha, naturally, weâre just a few people who happened to be passing by and, by coincidence, took a liking to your wallets," said a black-clad man who looked nearly two meters tall, a smirk on his face.
"So youâre thieves," Andreas growled.
"You could say that," another black-clad figure chuckled in reply.
"But how dare you even think of stealing with so many guards around?" Ilaris, clearly angry, asked.
It was strange to her that these bandits had so brazenly appeared in front of them. Had they forgotten the city was in its most secure state right now?
"Theyâre probably just some useless bandits who just arrived in the city and have no idea whatâs going on here. They mustâve thought that since itâs dark and weâre alone, itâs a good chance to rob us," Andreas said sarcastically.
"Haha, youâre a smart boy. Still, now that I think about it, we have just arrived here and weâre a bit bored. How about you hand over all your gold coins right nowâand we also want that girl," the tall black-clad man spoke again.
But the moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere instantly turned cold and terrifyingâespecially Andreasâs expression, which darkened so much it seemed to radiate killing intent.
Without hesitation, he drew his sword, ready to cut off this bastardâs head. For a moment, the bandits shivered in fear from that killing intent.
However, a moment later they began laughing and released their auras.
"Advanced rank?" Shock spread across Andreas and Ilarisâs faces.
In the power system, Advanced rank was equivalent to Rank B, and such a person... was a thief? For a moment, they were confused.
Someone with such power could easily be hired as a mercenary in any force and earn a huge income without ever worrying about expenses.
But a thief? And a street thief at that? It was absurdâunless they belonged to notorious bandit groups like the Golden Tooth Bandits or similar.
"Theyâre not thieves. Theyâre Wanderers," Daniel, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.
His words didnât just shock Ilaris and Andreasâthey also made the black-clad figures frown, as if they couldnât believe what theyâd just heard.
"What? Are you sure?"
"But why would people like the Wanderers want to steal?" Ilaris asked in surprise. She had heard a bit about this organization when she visited the Lionheart family.
From what she knew, there was no way such people would pretend to be ordinary bandits.
"Yeah, their target is probably you two. In fact, I think I know whoâs behind this," Daniel confirmed.
How did he know these people were Wanderers? Simpleâtheir aura. They had the same strange aura as the group that had attacked him and Serys.
And he could even guess who had hired them.
The black-clad figures glanced at each other, clearly confused and shocked at how this guy had figured out their identity. Still, they didnât try to deny it now.
"Interesting... I donât know how you figured out who we are, but it canât be helped. Youâre not our target, but since you know our identity, you have to die." All of them assumed battle stances.
Ilaris and Andreas didnât waste time either and prepared to fight. Among these enemies were two peak Rank B fighters, and they knew this wouldnât be an easy battle.
The only Rank B here was Daniel, and he was only mid-Rank B. No matter how strong he was, they doubted he could defeat two peak Rank B opponents alone.
The best thing they could do now was hold out as long as possible until reinforcements arrived.
"Boring," Daniel sighed, and suddenly a wave of death energy burst out of his body.
The wave, carrying unbelievable power, rushed toward the black-clad figures, completely enveloping their bodies. They screamed wildly in pain.
"What the hell is that?" Andreas swallowed hard as he watched the scene.
Ilaris stepped back in horror. The fate of these black-clad figures was terrifying on its own.
Their skin and flesh completely melted, their bones turned to ash, and they all died with faces filled with fear, pain, and horrorâlike they had faced a monster.
"Whaâ what did you do to them?" Andreas turned his head toward Daniel, who stood lazily beside them.
"Nothing special." He just shrugged. To him, any being below Rank A was nothing more than an ant.
Why bother putting in effort to kill ants? He could just wave his hand and they would die easily.
However, he didnât realize that Andreas and Ilaris were now going through an existential crisis after seeing his power.
Wasnât Daniel supposed to be Rank B? How did he kill them without even moving his hand? How had he grown so strong in such a short time?
They even began to feel that all the stories he had told them about his adventures had been overly modest, hiding the real truth.
"In any case, this attack was most likely Lioranâs doing. He wanted to get you out of the way," Daniel said, sensing the tension in the air.
"Lioran? But why would he want to get me out of the way? Doesnât he know whatâll happen to him if the family finds out? And what makes you think itâs him?" Andreas asked, finally snapping out of his shock.
"Because that same Lioran tried to do the exact same thing to my friend. You werenât his only targetâhe seemed to want to kill Ilaris as well. It wouldnât be strange if the rest of your siblings were attacked too." Daniel then explained what had happened to Serys.
"That bastard," Andreasâs face darkened. He trusted Daniel completely and knew he wasnât lying.
If everything was true, then Lioran was far more sinister than he had imagined.
"So what do I do now? Just wait around for him to kill me? Damn it, we donât even have any proof against him to give the family so they can punish and strip him of power."